Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
I thought today’s NYT Strands puzzle was going to be a breeze — I enjoy Star Trek and that was right in the theme. But I found it to be kind of a tough one. If you need hints and answers, read on.
I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.
If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far
Hint for today’s Strands puzzle
Today’s Strands theme is: One for the Trekkies.
If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Sail in the stars.
Clue words to unlock in-game hints
Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:
These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:
TITAN, VOYAGER, INTREPID, ENTERPRISE, DISCOVERY
Today’s Strands spangram
The completed NYT Strands puzzle for Sept. 8, 2025.
NYT/Screenshot by CNET
Today’s Strands spangram is STARSHIPS. To find it, look for the S that is four letters down on the far-left row, and wind across.
Quick tips for Strands
#1: To get more clue words, see if you can tweak the words you’ve already found, by adding an “S” or other variants. And if you find a word like WILL, see if other letters are close enough to help you make SILL, or BILL.
#2: Once you get one theme word, look at the puzzle to see if you can spot other related words.
#3: If you’ve been given the letters for a theme word, but can’t figure it out, guess three more clue words, and the puzzle will light up each letter in order, revealing the word.
Birthday wishes go out to Wiz Khalifa, David Arquette and all the other celebrities with birthdays today. Check out our slideshow below to see photos of famous people turning a year older on September 8th and learn an interesting fact about each of them.
Top celebrity birthdays on September 8, 2025
David Weinberg, left, Martha Stewart and Brooke Burke attend the 38th annual Footwear News Achievement Awards at Cipriani South Street on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Actress Brooke Burke turns 54
Fun fact: Her middle name is Lisa.
Martin Freeman and Rachel Mariam pose for photographers upon arrival at the Olivier Awards on Sunday, April 6, 2025, in London. (Photo by Alberto Pezzali/Invision/AP)Invision
Actor Martin Freeman turns 54
Fun fact: Has two children, Grace and Joe.
Actor and director David Arquette attends the “Gonzo Girl” premiere at the SVA Theatre during the Tribeca Festival on Thursday, June 12, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)Andy Kropa/Invision/AP
Actor David Arquette turns 54
Fun fact: Portrayed businessman Barry Keenan in the 2003 film “Stealing Sinatra.”
FILE – In this Jan. 26, 2014 file photo, Pink performs at the 56th annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center, in Los Angeles. Producers of the 86th Academy Awards announced Friday, Feb. 21, 2014, that Pink will appear on the Oscar show. The Grammy-winning singer joins a lineup already set to include performances from U2, Pharrell Williams, Bette Midler, rocker Karen O and Broadway star Idina Menzel. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, file)Matt Sayles/Invision/AP
Singer Pink turns 46
Fun fact: Has been married to former motocross racer Carey Hart since 2006.
Rappers Wiz Khalifa, left, and Snoop Dogg perform at Hip-Hop 50 Live, celebrating 50 years of hip-hop on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York.(Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP)
Rapper Wiz Khalifa turns 38
Fun fact: Appeared as a panelist on “Hollywood Squares” earlier this year.
More celebrities with birthdays today
Ventriloquist Willie Tyler (with Lester) is 85. Actor Alan Feinstein is 84. Singer Sal Valentino of The Beau Brummels is 83. Bassist Will Lee of the CBS Orchestra (“Late Show with David Letterman”) is 73. Actor Heather Thomas (“The Fall Guy”) is 68. Singer Aimee Mann is 65. Bassist David Steele of Fine Young Cannibals is 65. Actor Thomas Kretschmann (“The Pianist”) is 63. Singer Marc Gordon of Levert is 61. Gospel singer Darlene Zschech is 60. Singer Neko Case is 55. TV personality Kennedy is 53. Drummer Richard Hughes of Keane is 50. Actor Larenz Tate is 50. Actor Nathan Corddry (“Mom”) is 48. Singer-songwriter Eric Hutchinson is 45. Actor Jonathan Taylor Thomas (“Home Improvement”) is 44. Actor Gaten Matarazzo (“Stranger Things”) is 23.
Other popular or historical birthdays on September 8th
Richard the Lion Hearted, English King
Max Reinhardt, director
Sid Caesar, comedian
Peter Sellers, actor
Patsy Cline, country singer
with The Associated Press
Celebrity fun facts
Recent lists: Drew Barrymore fun facts | Kaley Cuoco fun facts | Margot Robbie fun facts | Kevin Costner fun facts | Tom Cruise fun facts | Gal Gadot fun facts | Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson fun facts | Reese Witherspoon fun facts
Popular lists: Robert Downey Jr. fun facts | Emma Watson fun facts | Jason Momoa fun facts | Miley Cyrus fun facts
Check out our full list of more than 40 celebrity fun facts.
Movie and TV fun facts & more
Recent lists: 19 actors recast in the MCU | ‘How I Met Your Mother’ guest stars | ‘Groundhog Day’ fun facts | ‘Yellowstone’ trivia
Popular lists: Canadian celebrities | ‘Friends’ guest stars | Celebs on ‘The Office’
Check out our rundown of more than 30 posts featuring trivia and fun facts about movies and TV shows.
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ZDNET’s key takeaways
A hidden YouTube TV promotion might save you $66.
It’s only accessible through a web browser, not the mobile app.
The promotion saves you $33 a month for two months.
If you’re a YouTube TV subscriber, you might be able to save $66 thanks to a hidden promotional offer.
Late last year, YouTube announced that it was raising its monthly price to $83 a month — a jump of $10 a month. There was a workaround to avoid the hike for six months, but that promotion has ended, so most subscribers are paying the increased rate.
A new offer has arrived, though, and while it’s only good for two months, it lets you save $33 each month for a total of $66.
Also: Is your live TV streaming bill too high? You have other options – including cheaper ones
Details about the offer were first posted by a Reddit user yesterday. Dozens of other users quickly chimed in that they got the offer, too. When I checked on my account, I had it.
It’s not exactly clear who this offer is for. I couldn’t find this promotion officially advertised anywhere, but it does seem like a large number of subscribers are able to take advantage.
How to save $66 on YouTube TV
To see if you have the promotion, open YouTube TV in a web browser (I checked in the mobile app first and didn’t see it, but it was there for me on Chrome). Open the settings page and click “Manage” beside “Base Plan.”
If you have the offer, you’ll see a message explaining that you can pay $49.99 a month for the next two months, at which point the price will go back to the standard price.
Also: I used these 11 hidden Fire TV remote shortcuts to unlock new features and menus
The only caveat is that this cannot be combined with the other offer I mentioned earlier. If you took advantage of that when it popped up, it has probably expired for you. But if you signed up a little later, it might overlap.
While the normal price might seem high, YouTube TV is currently right in line with comparable services.
Hulu Plus Live TV is currently $83 a month (but that does get you Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+, too), DirecTV Stream is $87 a month, and FuboTV is $80 a month right now.
Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.
ZDNET’s key takeaways
A hidden YouTube TV promotion might save you $66.
It’s only accessible through a web browser, not the mobile app.
The promotion saves you $33 a month for two months.
If you’re a YouTube TV subscriber, you might be able to save $66 thanks to a hidden promotional offer.
Late last year, YouTube announced that it was raising its monthly price to $83 a month — a jump of $10 a month. There was a workaround to avoid the hike for six months, but that promotion has ended, so most subscribers are paying the increased rate.
A new offer has arrived, though, and while it’s only good for two months, it lets you save $33 each month for a total of $66.
Also: Is your live TV streaming bill too high? You have other options – including cheaper ones
Details about the offer were first posted by a Reddit user yesterday. Dozens of other users quickly chimed in that they got the offer, too. When I checked on my account, I had it.
It’s not exactly clear who this offer is for. I couldn’t find this promotion officially advertised anywhere, but it does seem like a large number of subscribers are able to take advantage.
How to save $66 on YouTube TV
To see if you have the promotion, open YouTube TV in a web browser (I checked in the mobile app first and didn’t see it, but it was there for me on Chrome). Open the settings page and click “Manage” beside “Base Plan.”
If you have the offer, you’ll see a message explaining that you can pay $49.99 a month for the next two months, at which point the price will go back to the standard price.
Also: I used these 11 hidden Fire TV remote shortcuts to unlock new features and menus
The only caveat is that this cannot be combined with the other offer I mentioned earlier. If you took advantage of that when it popped up, it has probably expired for you. But if you signed up a little later, it might overlap.
While the normal price might seem high, YouTube TV is currently right in line with comparable services.
Hulu Plus Live TV is currently $83 a month (but that does get you Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+, too), DirecTV Stream is $87 a month, and FuboTV is $80 a month right now.
Junji Sakamoto’s Climbing for Life has been set as the opening night film for the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival.
Climbing for Life will screen on Oct. 27. The epic biopic tells the story of the late legendary Japanese female mountaineer Junko Tabei, the first woman to ascend Mount Everest, and the first woman to complete the Seven Summits challenge, climbing the highest peak on every continent. Climbing for Life‘s release coincides with the 50th anniversary of Tabei summiting Everest, an event which captivated the world and made her a national hero in Japan.
Fittingly, Tabei is played by beloved Japanese actress Sayuri Yoshinaga, the winner of four best actress awards from the Japanese Academy, the most of any artist. The cast also includes Koichi Sato, Yuki Amami and Non (Rena Nōnen) playing a younger version of Tabei.
The screenplay was written by Riko Sakaguchi, based on the late Tabei’s memoir My Mountain Life – Up And Down. The feature is the 31st from the veteran filmmaker Sakamoto (Tekken, Another World, KT, Zatoichi: The Last) who also directed Yoshinaga in A Chorus of Angels.
“It is a true honor for our film to be selected as the opening film of the 38th TIFF,” Sakamoto said in a statement. “Although the production process of filmmaking has been dramatically altered in the digital era, the joy of sharing a film with audiences on the big screen and masterful sound design remains timeless. This film also stands as a testament to the enduring talent of Sayuri Yoshinaga, a national treasure who has graced the pinnacle of stardom for generations. I very much look forward to seeing you enjoy the film in the theater!”
Shozo Ichiyama, the programming director for Toyko Film Festival, added in a statement, “Climbing for Life chronicles the inspiring story of a real-life female mountaineer and her devoted family. With a remarkable lead performance by Sayuri Yoshinaga and meticulous direction by director Junji Sakamoto, this film earns a place as one of the year’s most touching films. I am confident that its universal themes will deeply move audiences across the globe. It is a privilege for us to open the Tokyo International Film Festival with this wonderful work.”
Kino Films will distribute Climbing for Life in Japan, with the film getting a theatrical release on Oct. 31.
The 2025 Tokyo Film Festival runs from Oct. 27 through to Nov. 5.
On the evening of 7/8 September, a total lunar eclipse – also known as a ‘blood Moon’ was seen across much of the globe, giving observers the chance to watch Earth’s shadow creep across the surface of the Moon.
During a total lunar eclipse, the Sun, Earth and the Moon are aligned so that sunlight on its way to the Moon is blocked by our planet, casting a shadow on the lunar surface.
The Moon turns a dark, rusty red for a brief moment, its surface transforming from big and bright to a subdued, deep scarlet.
This blood Moon lunar eclipse was visible across the UK and Europe, but the best places to see it were central Asia and Australia.
There, observers and photographers got to see the whole lunar eclipse, from start to finish.
We received lots of images of the 7/8 September 2025 total lunar eclipse, sent to us by photographers from across the world.
Here are some of the best.
Total lunar eclipse, 7/8 September 2025, captured by Srilakshmi N, Chennai, India. Equipment: Seestar S30Total lunar eclipse, 7 September 2025, captured by Federico Mariano, Lecce, Italy. Equipment: Canon EOS 600D DSLR camera, Sky-Watcher 150P Dobsonian, HEQ5 mount. Exposure: ISO 800, single exposure. Software: Adobe LightroomTotal lunar eclipse, 7 September 2025, captured by Hossein Nasri, Ahmadabad, Razavi Khorasan, Iran. Equipment: Canon EOS 6D DSLR modified camera, 24-70mm lens @24mm. Exposure: f/2.8, ISO 2500, 20 secondsTotal lunar eclipse, 7 September 2025, captured by Arash Sefidgaran, Stonehenge, UK. Equipment: Nikon Z6II camera, Sigma 150-600mm lens @ 230mm, Sirui tripod. Exposure: f/7.1, ISO 3200, 1/4 seconds. Software: LightroomTotal lunar eclipse, 7 September 2025, 20:43 local time, captured by Rui Santos, Ponto da Crastinha, Leiria National Forest, Portugal. Equipment: Seestar S50, Seestar tripod. Exposure: Stacked from video: 1-minute raw video, best 15%, drizzle ×3. Processing: PIPP, AutoStakkert, Lightroom, PhotoshopTotal lunar eclipse, 7 September 2025, captured by Paolo Barrella, Scandicci, Italy. Equipment: Canon EOS R8 DSLR camera, RF 24-105 lens, f/4-7.1 @54mm f/5.6. Exposure: ISO 1600, images captured every 1 minute. Software: StarStaxTotal lunar eclipse, 7 September 2025, captured by Ashwini M, Bangalore, IndiaTotal lunar eclipse, 7 September 2025 over skyscrapers in the financial district of Lujiazui in Shanghai, China. Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty ImagesBlood Moon of 7 September 2025 over Islamabad, Pakistan. Photo by AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty ImagesTotal lunar eclipse of 7 September 2025, south of Copenhagen, Denmark. Photo by MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty ImagesBlood Moon total lunar eclipse over a statue of the ancient Greek goddess Irene, central Athens, 7 September 2025. Photo by ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP via Getty ImagesBeach-goers observe the 7 September 2025 lunar eclipse on a shore of the Black Sea, Odesa, Ukraine. Photo by OLEKSANDR GIMANOV/AFP via Getty ImagesBlood Moon of 7 September 2025 behind the Tokyo Skytree, Tokyo, Japan. Photo by STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images
Did you see or photograph the 7 September lunar eclipse? Share your images with us by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com
Firstly, the widely articulated view that Onana is just not very good is wrong.
Edwin van der Sar observed the Cameroon international closely for three years when he was chief executive at Ajax.
Widely acknowledged to be one of the best goalkeepers in history, Van der Sar was genuinely excited for Onana’s move to United and was still backing him after a disappointing first season.
It is impossible to imagine someone as level-headed as Van der Sar would talk so enthusiastically about anyone without believing what he was saying to be true.
Onana himself has spoken about his introduction to life at United. “I arrived as the best goalkeeper in the world and boom, it went down,” he told BBC Sport before the 2024 FA Cup final. “It was like, what happened?”
Sources close to Onana have said he was brought to United because of his ability to play close passes – and ended up having to go long.
Part of the reason for that was what happened on his Old Trafford debut, when he came well out of his area during a pre-season friendly against Lens and played a pass to Diogo Dalot, who then gave the ball away. Onana was chipped from 50 yards.
Erik ten Hag, who had also worked with Onana at Ajax, axed David de Gea to bring his new goalkeeper in, but the change in tactics reduced the goalkeeper’s effectiveness and the regular mistakes that followed undermined confidence in Onana among supporters.
Ten Hag and then Amorim kept picking him, but a clear sign that support internally was ebbing away followed the Europa League trip to Lyon in April.
In the build-up Onana said he felt United should get through because they were “way better” than the French club.
The comment itself seemed innocuous. However, former United midfielder – and a close friend of De Gea – Nemanja Matic seized on it in the pre-match news conference, labelling Onana “one of the worst goalkeepers in the club’s history”.
It felt like a deliberate attempt to point score on behalf of a friend while heaping pressure on Onana at the same time.
The tactic worked. Onana made two mistakes as the first leg finished 2-2.
Amorim gave Bayindir his Premier League debut in the game that followed at Newcastle and, while Onana did appear to end the season as first choice given he started both legs of the Europa League semi-final and the final, the previous faith in him from the coaching side – Ten Hag delayed his call-up to the Africa Cup of Nations in 2024 so long that the only game he missed was the FA Cup win at Newport – had reduced.
Bayindir started the final league game of last term and then, even though Onana had recovered from the hamstring injury he suffered right at the start of pre-season, kept his place for the first three matches of this campaign.
Onana’s only outing has come in the Carabao Cup defeat at League Two Grimsby, when he was at fault for their second goal.
Evidently, Amorim felt he needed a new goalkeeper. Onana is the one he has decided he is willing to do without.
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IFA is Europe’s largest consumer electronics show, and this year was no different. IFA 2025 featured some of the most eye-catching innovations ever, so much so that it’s hard to narrow down the list of amazing products.
However, at a time when the tech world is saturated with artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, I found it refreshing that the best products I’ve seen don’t hinge on AI. As I walked through the halls of Messe Berlin, these were the best products I saw and would definitely watch for in the near future.
1. Philips Hue MotionAware via Bridge Pro
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
One of the most extraordinary things I’ve seen at IFA is Philips Hue giving existing smart lights the ability to become motion detectors for your smart home. Philips Hue just announced the new Hue Bridge Pro, a new smart hub for its Hue smart lights that has a five times faster processor and can handle up to 150 Philips Hue lights in your home.
Also: Philips Hue Bridge Pro just made it easy to add motion sensing to your old smart lights
The new Bridge Pro also supports up to four MotionAware setups, so you can set a group of Hue lights to work together as a motion detector. Seeing this in action, I was impressed at how a group of Philips Hue lights can be set up together, along with the Bridge Pro, to detect motion by recognizing changes in the wireless signals around them.
This kind of technology sounds futuristic, yet Philips Hue managed to make it happen and make it available for the vast majority of its existing smart lights, excluding the first-generation and portable lights.
2. Rokid Smart Glasses
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
The Rokid Glasses are shaping up to be one of Meta’s biggest competitors in the smart glasses market. Rokid’s latest glasses combine augmented reality (AR) with AI, which can show you data and let you interact with an AI assistant. As an AI wearable, the glasses support real-time translation in 89 languages, object recognition, navigation, transcription, and more.
Also: I tried smart glasses with a built-in display, and they made my Meta Ray-Bans feel outdated
These glasses are also surprisingly lightweight and thinner than other models, weighing only 1.7 ounces, which makes them a compelling option for all-day wear. Even at this weight, the Rokid Glasses have a built-in 12MP camera for taking first-person photos and videos and integrated audio to interact with the GPT-5-powered AI assistant or simply listen to your favorite music.
The glasses are available on Kickstarter and have surpassed the $1 million milestone for pledges. Rokid plans to sell the Rokid Glasses for $599.
3. Ecovacs X11 Omnicyclone
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
Aside from being the longest-lasting robot vacuum and mop, the Ecovacs X11 Omnicyclone is also the first mainstream premium robot to feature automatic cleaning without a replaceable dust bag. This robot vacuum can wash and dry its mop roller at the dock and automatically empty its dustbin when full.
The biggest innovation is that it empties the dustbin into a plastic dust canister at the dock instead of relying on dust bags. This means that you’ll never have to buy another dustbag for this robot vacuum and can simply empty the dust canister when it is full after a few weeks.
Also: Roborock’s new weed-killing robot mowers will save your back (and time)
Combining a large 6,400mAh battery and GaN technology at the dock, the X11 Deebot can quickly recharge each time it goes to the dock to wash its mop pad, refill its clean water tank, and empty its dustbin, gaining up to 6% of charge in only three minutes. This PowerBoost technology lets the robot clean 10,700 square feet without stopping due to low battery, making it a reliable solution to clean large areas.
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
The robot is also one of the smartest I’ve ever seen. Its voice assistant can interact with users to answer setup questions, review troubleshooting guides, and handle complex commands.
Thanks to the improved TruEdge 3.0 technology, the mop roller can reach the edge of floors alongside walls or under cabinets.
4. Eufy Marswalker
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
If you’ve ever grumbled about having to move your robot vacuum upstairs so it can clean your second story, Eufy has a solution: the Marswalker. Thanks to rubber tracks that grip onto the steps, this robot can carry your Eufy Omni S2 robot vacuum and mop up and down the stairs without missing a beat. The Marswalker can travel up and adjust to different stairs and floor types, making it widely compatible.
The Marswalker is compatible with the Omni S2 and S1, and Eufy hopes to ensure compatibility with the Eufy E25 and E28 robot vacuums. The company hasn’t announced a price or date for this robot’s availability.
5. Olight Ostation 2
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
I was impressed with the Ostation battery charger at CES earlier this year, but Olight just upped the ante with the Ostation 2, which automatically charges both AA and AAA batteries.
My family uses more batteries than I’d like to publicly admit, so I’ve been looking at rechargeable battery stations to switch to a more eco-friendly solution. The biggest problem with these is that they typically only charge one kind of battery, either AA or AAA, so you’d have to buy separate stations to recharge both types of batteries.
Also, I tried to destroy this $45 power bank (including driving over it with a tractor) – it refused to break.
The Ostation 2 solves this with a charging dock that can handle AA and AAA rechargeable batteries, holding 12 of them. You don’t even have to worry about lining up the battery just right — simply drop it into one of the slots and the Ostation 2 will recharge it and release it into a sorted tray once done. This station protects rechargeable batteries from overcharging by releasing the connection once the battery is full.
6. Govee TV Backlight 3 Pro
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
Govee’s new TV Backlight 3 Pro is visually impressive, especially to someone with the Nanoleaf 4D light strips installed on my TV at home. The new Govee system has a triple-camera intake system, so it can more accurately mirror the colors on your TV. I watched the lights change along with the image and was struck by how bright and responsive they are. The lights mirror the colors on the screen within a fraction of a second, so you don’t get the sense that they’re catching up to what is displayed on the screen.
Govee has yet to announce a price for its TV Backlight 3 Pro, but it says the product should be available in the coming weeks.
7. Roborock RockMow
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
Robot mowers have become a natural progression for robot vacuums, which function similarly. Roborock is expanding its portfolio to include robot mowers, particularly models like the RockMow Z1, RockMow S1, and RockNeo Q1. The Z1 is expected to be the most premium model in the Roborock lineup, capable of cutting 54,000 square feet daily.
Also: Roborock’s new weed-killing robot mowers will save your back (and time)
It’s unclear when these robot mowers will go on sale and at what price, but Roborock expects at least one model to hit the US in the first half of 2026.
