The logos of Walmart and Sam’s Club are pictured in Cuautitlan Izcalli, Mexico, January 30, 2025.
Raquel Cunha | Reuters
Walmart will report quarterly earnings on Thursday, as economists and investors try to gauge how U.S. consumers are responding to President Donald Trump’s decision to raise tariffs on dozens of countries across the globe.
Here’s what Wall Street expects for the big-box retailer, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:
Earnings per share: 74 cents expected
Revenue: $176.16 billion
As the largest U.S. retailer, Walmart offers a unique window into the financial health of American households. As higher duties have come in fits and starts — with some getting delayed and others going into effect earlier this month — Wall Street has tried to understand how those costs will ripple through the U.S. economy.
The company has said it expects net sales to rise between 3.5% and 4.5% for the fiscal second quarter, but it did not provide earnings guidance for the period because of changing U.S. tariff policies.
Walmart said in May that it expects full-year sales to grow 3% to 4% and adjusted earnings to range from $2.50 to $2.60 per share.
The Arkansas-based discounter said in May that, even with its size and scale, it would have to to raise prices for some items because of higher duties.
Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey told CNBC at the time that tariffs were “still too high,” despite Trump agreeing at the time to lower duties on imports from China to 30% for 90 days. Earlier this month, Trump delayed China’s tariff deadline again, keeping the levies at that rate.
“We’re wired for everyday low prices, but the magnitude of these increases is more than any retailer can absorb,” Rainey told CNBC in May. “It’s more than any supplier can absorb. And so I’m concerned that consumers are going to start seeing higher prices.”
About a third of what Walmart sells in the U.S. comes from other parts of the world, with China, Mexico, Canada, Vietnam and India representing its largest markets for imports, Rainey said in May.
Walmart’s comments drew ire from Trump, who said in a social media post that Walmart should “EAT THE TARIFFS.”
According to an analysis by CNBC of about 50 items sold by the retailer, some of those price changes have already hit shelves. Items that rose in price at Walmart over the summer included a frying pan, a pair of jeans and a car seat.
Yet even with higher costs from tariffs, Walmart has fared better than its retail competitors as it has leaned into its reputation for value, competed on faster deliveries to customers’ homes and attracted more business from higher-income households.
It also marked a milestone in May — posting its first profitable quarterfor its e-commerce business in the U.S. and globally. Its online business has drummed up more revenue, as it has sold more advertising and made commissions from sellers who are part of its third-party marketplace.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle received a brutal remark from a fellow Royal on their wedding day.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who tied knot at St George’s Chapel back in 2018, were given a scathing comment from Prince Philip.
Grant Harold, who served King Charles at his Highgrove estate revealed what actually happened during the wedding day.
“Once all the formalities were over,” Harold wrote in his new book, “we watched as the happy couple, and then the other members of the Royal family, filed out of the chapel.
“When Prince Philip came out, he turned to the Queen and said, Thank f*** that’s over”.
Harold earlier questioned Prince Harry’s grievances towards King Charles through memoir ‘Spare.’’
He wrote: “Because I saw them. I saw them having dinners together, I saw them having drinks together, I saw them going to parties together, The King used to do things to make them laugh and giggle.”
Flying between European destinations remains cheaper than taking the train in more than half of cases, according to a new Greenpeace study published on Thursday. Belgium is among the worst performers, with 60 per cent of the routes examined being cheaper by plane than by train.
Greenpeace compared 109 international routes in 31 European countries and found that flights were cheaper in 54 per cent of cases. On domestic routes, trains were more competitive: in 70 per cent of the 33 routes studied, the train was the cheaper option. The starkest contrast was on the Barcelona–London route, where a train ticket cost 26 times more than a flight.
Train trends
Only 29 routes were always or almost always cheaper by train, mostly in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly the Baltic States and Poland.
For Belgium, only Brussels connections were considered. Trains to Hamburg, Zurich and Berlin are usually cheaper, but routes to Vienna, Bratislava, Madrid, Copenhagen and Budapest almost always cost more, as does the connection to Prague. The greatest difference was found on the Brussels–Madrid line, where the train is more than eleven times as expensive as flying.
Belgium ranks joint sixth worst, alongside Romania and Norway, with 60 per cent of routes more expensive by train. France (95 per cent), Spain (92 per cent), the United Kingdom (90 per cent), Italy (88 per cent) and Hungary (71 per cent) perform even worse, while Luxembourg (40 per cent) and the Netherlands (22 per cent) fare better. Lithuania leads the way, with all routes from Vilnius cheaper by train; in Poland, the figure is 89 per cent and in Slovenia, 80 per cent.
Despite aviation’s heavy climate impact, flying often remains the cheapest option. Greenpeace points out that aviation fuel is untaxed and international airfares are VAT-exempt, while rail operators must pay full VAT along with rising energy and infrastructure costs.
Signs of progress
There has, however, been some improvement compared to 2023: the number of routes where trains are cheapest has risen by 14 percentage points to 41 per cent, thanks to fewer ultra-cheap flight connections and slower growth in rail ticket prices.
Greenpeace is urging the EU and national governments to end aviation subsidies, simplify international train ticketing, and increase investment in public transport. The group also calls for the introduction of “climate tickets”, affordable, simple passes valid across all public transport in a country or region.
“Any route where flying is cheaper than the train is a political failure,” concludes Joeri Thijs of Greenpeace Belgium. “In the coalition agreement, the Arizona government promises to focus on ‘more and better European train connections’ and ‘healthy price competition on international routes.’ It’s high time to make this concrete: train travel must become the cheapest and easiest option, not the last resort.”
If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.
There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it’ll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.
An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.
If you find yourself stuck at any step of today’s Hurdle, don’t worry! We have you covered.
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Hurdle Word 1 hint
A type of diving.
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Hurdle Word 1 answer
SCUBA
Hurdle Word 2 hint
A young horse.
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Hurdle Word 2 Answer
FILLY
Hurdle Word 3 hint
Foolish.
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Hurdle Word 3 answer
INANE
Hurdle Word 4 hint
To hold down.
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Hurdle Word 4 answer
PRESS
Final Hurdle hint
Neither here nor ___.
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Hurdle Word 5 answer
THERE
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not long into Mistress Dispeller, a quietly jaw-dropping new documentary from director Elizabeth Lo, the film’s eponymous character lays out her thesis for ridding marriages of troublesome extra lovers. “When someone becomes a mistress,” she says, “it’s because they feel they don’t deserve complete love. She’s the one who needs our help the most.”
Wang Zhenxi, a mistress dispeller based in north-central China’s Henan province, is one of a growing number of self-styled professionals who earn a living by intervening in people’s marriages – to “dispel” them of intruders. “I was looking for a love story set in China,” says Lo, speaking from Hong Kong. “I thought it would be really interesting to [explore] the peripheral gaze of a mistress.”
Lo’s first feature, the award-winning Stray, followed abandoned dogs on the streets of Istanbul. It was praised for its gentle, non-judgmental perspective on human (and canine) relationships. Mistress Dispeller is similarly restrained, allowing the film’s central protagonists – Mr and Mrs Li, his mistress Fei Fei, and her dispeller – to be seen as fully rounded, sympathetic people.
At its core, the film is, to western audiences, culturally confounding. A woman discovers that her husband is having an affair. Rather than confronting him, she hires another woman to befriend her husband. Teacher Wang, as this mistress dispeller is known, uses powers of persuasion and deception to manipulate the husband and his lover, in an effort to end their relationship. If all goes to plan, it’s happily ever after for the married couple – and for the mistress who, in Teacher Wang’s view, is set free.
‘You never call it what it is head-on’ … mistress Fei Fei (front left) and dispeller Teacher Wang (front right)
Teacher Wang’s profession, if it can be called that, has only become a phenomenon in China in the last 10 years. As the country grapples with falling marriage rates, rising divorce rates and an increasing number of young people refusing to wed altogether, an entire “love industry” aimed at promoting and protecting the institution of marriage has emerged. There are dating camps, government-sponsored marriage initiatives and even dating apps aimed at parents wanting to set their unattached children up with partners. “Divorce is easy,” says Teacher Wang’s assistant on a live stream. “It’s easy to just leave. It’s harder to take responsibility and provide your family with a good life.”
But while the struggle to find love is a universal one, hiring someone to pretend to be an old friend – so that they can persuade your husband to end his affair on your behalf – is not. Some viewers might wonder why the wife doesn’t just suggest couples therapy. Lo explains that, according to Teacher Wang, therapy is still very stigmatised in China. “To enter as a stranger and a professional into a private setting and ask someone to divulge their family struggles would be unthinkable.” Teacher Wang “would be ejected immediately”.
The dispeller dynamic, while grounded in the strong cultural desire to save face, may seem very deceptive to western audiences. But Lo believes that, despite the profound conflict, there is a “kindness in doing that to each other”. She explains: “On one hand, you can say it’s very repressive, and you’re not fully dealing with the problem at its root. But from another angle, it’s also an incredibly graceful way of resolving a conflict in which nobody has to lose face. You never call it what it is head-on.”
Painfully awkward scenes … Mr and Mrs Li
The indirect approach to family conflict is reminiscent of The Farewell, the 2019 semi-autobiographical feature directed by Lulu Wang, a Chinese-American film-maker. The Farewell tells the story of a family who, upon learning that the grandmother has terminal cancer, decide to keep the information from her, instead hastily organising a wedding so that the relatives can gather to say goodbye to the oblivious matriarch. While the film was hailed as a bittersweet, eye-opening exploration of cultural differences in the west, some Chinese viewers found it unremarkable – why wouldn’t you lie to your grandma about her terminal cancer diagnosis?
For Lo, making Mistress Dispeller was about exploring a culture different from, although closely related to, her own. Growing up in Hong Kong, which was a British colony until it was handed over to China in 1997, she devoured western romances such as Notting Hill and Bend It Like Beckham. But the storylines shaped an “idealised version of love” for the young Lo. “That version is counter to what I understood and observed love to be in my cultural context in Hong Kong, where love is bound up with duty, sacrifice. I really wanted to use this film as a way to get to know mainland China, because I’m from Hong Kong – and to represent the type of love, and vision of family, that feels distinct to Hollywood films.”
Complex set-up … director Elizabeth Lo. Photograph: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for IMDb
But Hong Kong and China also have unique traditions, some of which help to explain how a job like Teacher Wang’s could exist on the mainland. China’s Cultural Revolution – a decade of upheaval and chaos between 1966 and 1976 in which many familial and social bonds were destroyed – shattered traditional hierarchies. So, says Lo, while certain beliefs and customs still run deep, China is in many ways less orthodox than Hong Kong. “A lot of dating coaches and matchmakers we talked to in mainland China said dating today in China is like the wild west, because there are no rules. People are making them up as they go.”
At times, Teacher Wang’s approach certainly seems ruthless. The aim is to make the mistress feel “abandoned on a cold bench”. The situation is “just like a war. You either win or lose everything.” But the overarching feeling that emerges through the documentary’s many layers is compassion. The husband truly feels torn between his two loves. The wife shows respect for the mistress, and vice versa. Teacher Wang ultimately treats everyone with kindness.
That empathy helps to answer the other burning question that the viewer has after watching Mistress Dispeller: how on earth did the cameras get in? Much of the drama unfolds in the intimacy of the married couple’s dining room, with the viewer brought so close to the scene that it feels like being a guest at a painfully awkward dinner party. In one scene, the wife, stage-managed by Teacher Wang, storms out of the room in faux anger at her husband’s cooking – a ploy to get him alone with Teacher Wang.
Lo’s approach to ethical film-making required a complex set of arrangements, whereby some of the characters were initially told they were agreeing to be in a documentary about “modern love and dating in China”. Only after Teacher Wang’s work was done, and the truth was revealed, were the film crew able to reveal their true role in the process, and ask once again for consent.
Lo says the fact that they agreed is “testament to how Wang was able to build such trust”. In particular, the wife agreed because Teacher Wang persuaded her that by sharing her story – and her approach to dealing with the common but rarely discussed problem of infidelity – she could help other women.
Despite the tension between the two women, the wife shows remarkable compassion to the mistress, something that builds as the documentary reaches its apex. While the relationships in the film may feel uniquely Chinese, Lo does make one final observation. Love, she says, “is the most relatable thing in the world”.
Little by little, the moon is becoming less visible. Which can only mean one thing: we’re getting closer to the new moon. The new moon is a part of the lunar cycle, which is a series of eight unique phases of the moon’s visibility. The whole cycle takes about 29.5 days, according to NASA, and these different phases happen as the Sun lights up different parts of the moon whilst it orbits Earth.
So let’s see what’s happening with the moon tonight, Aug. 21.
What is today’s moon phase?
As of Thursday, Aug. 21, the moon phase is Waning Crescent, and only 3% will be lit up to us on Earth, according to NASA’s Daily Moon Observation.
We’re on day 28 of the lunar cycle, and there’s really not a whole lot for us to see tonight. The only thing visible is the Grimaldi Basin, and you’ll need binoculars or a telescope to see it. The Grimaldi Basin is an impact basin with an outer wall that is almost as long as the Grand Canyon, according to NASA.
When is the next full moon?
The next full moon will be on Sept. 7. The last full moon was on Aug. 9.
What are moon phases?
According to NASA, moon phases are caused by the 29.5-day cycle of the moon’s orbit, which changes the angles between the Sun, Moon, and Earth. Moon phases are how the moon looks from Earth as it goes around us. We always see the same side of the moon, but how much of it is lit up by the Sun changes depending on where it is in its orbit. This is how we get full moons, half moons, and moons that appear completely invisible. There are eight main moon phases, and they follow a repeating cycle:
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New Moon – The moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it’s invisible to the eye).
Waxing Crescent – A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).
First Quarter – Half of the moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-moon.
Waxing Gibbous – More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.
Full Moon – The whole face of the moon is illuminated and fully visible.
Waning Gibbous – The moon starts losing light on the right side.
Last Quarter (or Third Quarter) – Another half-moon, but now the left side is lit.
Waning Crescent – A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.
Space Machines Company has announced the completion of a proprietary propulsion engine. The Scintilla engine has achieved extended burn durations of 65 seconds with over 1,200 seconds of total testing time and 40 restarts and counting, representing a critical advancement in the company’s Rapid Response Vehicle – Optimus Viper, designed for rapid orbital manoeuvring and space domain awareness missions.
Developed entirely in-house by SMC’s propulsion team, Scintilla delivers 50 Newtons of thrust while maintaining 92% efficiency, exceeding the company’s initial 90% efficiency target with a clear pathway to near-100% efficiency in future iterations. The metal 3D-printed engine represents a new approach to satellite propulsion, prioritising reliability, scalability, and rapid iteration capabilities.
“We’ve achieved faster progress than even our most optimistic schedules predicted,” said Rajat Kulshrestha, Co-Founder and CEO of SMC. “The engine has reached steady-state conditions and demonstrated the ability to run for extended periods – a critical requirement for our satellite operations. We can now run this engine for minutes, limited only by total propellant supply from our tanks.”
Unlike traditional satellite manufacturers who typically outsource propulsion systems, Space Machines Company has invested in complete vertical integration for this mission-critical technology. The decision reflects the central role propulsion plays in the company’s satellite capabilities, with the Optimus Viper platform designed around extensive orbital manoeuvring requirements.
“Propulsion is absolutely core to what Space Machines needs to do,” explained Ian Partis, Vice President, Engineering and Mission Operations at SMC. “The better the propulsion system and the more delta-v available, the greater range of orbits we can access and the faster we can get there. This is so fundamental to our mission that the satellite is essentially a propulsion system with a payload on top.”
The completed Scintilla engine progressed through preliminary design, development testing, and critical design review phases. Final accomplishments include:
Extended burn capability: 65-second continuous operation with demonstrated ability for longer durations
High efficiency: 92% performance with an engineering pathway to 99%+ efficiency
Scalable design: Architecture capable of 10 x thrust output with minimal modifications
Restart capability: Multiple ignition cycles for complex orbital manoeuvres
Robust operational envelope: Tested across varying conditions to ensure reliable performance
The propulsion system’s design allows for significant performance scaling, with the ability to increase thrust from the current 50 Newtons to 100-500 Newtons through relatively minor modifications.
The successful completion of Scintilla demonstrates the effectiveness of SMC’s “build-to-learn, learn-to-build” development philosophy. The team discovered failure modes through rapid iteration, maintained multiple backup systems, and ensured continuous learning capabilities through co-located testing and manufacturing facilities.
“Having everything vertically integrated means we can respond immediately to design changes without external contractor delays,” noted Rajat Kulshrestha. “When the team identified an issue during testing, they were able to diagnose it within 10 minutes and implement solutions immediately. This kind of responsiveness is impossible when working with external suppliers.”
With the engine development complete, Space Machines Company is now proceeding to full subsystem integration, incorporating flight-grade valves and propellant management systems. The Scintilla engine will power the company’s Rapid Response Vehicle – Optimus Viper, designed for space domain awareness and rapid orbital manoeuvring missions.
“This achievement demonstrates that small, focused teams can deliver world-class propulsion systems on accelerated timelines,” said Ian Partis. “The propulsion-centric design of our Optimus Viper satellite represents a fundamentally different approach to space missions, where manoeuvrability and rapid response are paramount.”
Orlando Bloom shares plans for ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ reboot
Pirates of the Caribbean, with Disney preparing to breathe new life into the franchise, Orlando Bloom is making it clear that he wants to reunite with his old crew.
The actor, who played Will Turner in four of the five films, recently told fans at Fan Expo Chicago that the best way forward for the series would be to bring the original cast back together, including Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley.
“Everything is in the writing, right? Everything is on the page, and I think there’s definitely, I’m sure there’s a way to create something,” Bloom said.
“I would personally love to see everybody back. I think the way to win on that one is to get everybody back. If they can, and if everybody wanted to go back.”
Bloom and Knightley both appeared in the first three films, The Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End, before returning alongside Depp for Dead Men Tell No Tales in 2017.
The only installment they skipped was 2011’s On Stranger Tides.
For Bloom, a potential return would only make sense if the story was strong enough.
“My thing is, if the script was great and, ideally it was everybody, it’d be kind of like in for a penny, in for a pound, you know,” he added.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer confirmed last year that writer Jeff Nathanson is working on a reboot, while a separate spin-off project, written by Christina Hodson and once attached to Margot Robbie, is still in development.
Bloom admitted the challenge is figuring out the right approach.
“What they’re thinking…is how to do it,” he said. “Do you bring in a female leading character that replicates Jack in some way? I don’t know. The jury is out on how to do it again.”
Bruckheimer has also said he believes Depp could return as Captain Jack Sparrow if the script hits the right note. Knightley, however, has been vocal about stepping away from large franchises.
Reflecting on her experience with Pirates, she shared last year, “The hours are insane. It’s years of your life, you have no control over where you’re filming, how long you’re filming, what you’re filming.”
For now, fans will have to wait and see whether Bloom’s wish for a full cast reunion can become reality, or whether Disney takes the franchise in an entirely new direction.
