Labor Day signals the end of summer, even though there’s at least a few more weeks before we officially hit the fall (and it’s still hot). But it also marks a great time to score some serious deals.
If your living room TV still takes five full minutes to launch, or you’re tired of second-guessing your health, Amazon is making a strong case for a setup refresh. The retail giant just hit the switch on its early Labor Day Rollbacks, dropping major tech markdowns days ahead of schedule on brands like Garmin, LG, Blink, and more. It’s a rare chance to grab long-weekend pricing before the holiday rush.
I’ve combed through the electronics aisles to hand-pick the markdowns that actually justify hitting the checkout button. We found massive-screen-for-the-money 4K smart TVs, rugged outdoor security cameras, premium health tracking smartwatches, and so much more. And I’ll keep updating this page through this week and the holiday weekend, so make sure you keep coming back to not miss out.
Blink Outdoor Security Camera Early Labor Day Deal
Blink Outdoor 4 Wireless Security Camera (3 pack)
1080p HD live view, enhanced motion detection, two-way audio, infrared night vision, 2-year battery
Protect your property inside and out with the weather-resistant Blink Outdoor 4 three-camera system. Delivering crisp 1080p HD video with wider field-of-view coverage and infrared night vision, it alerts your smartphone the moment motion is detected. You also get two-way audio, which lets you speak to visitors directly through the app.
PCMag expert John R. Delaney rated it “Excellent” in his in-depth review. As he says, “The Blink Outdoor 4 is a battery-powered and Alexa-integrated security camera that captures sharp daytime video, with a wider field of view than its predecessor and optional people alerts.” With wire-free installation and an incredible two-year battery life on included AA lithium batteries, this whole-home monitoring system can be yours for 45% off.
More Deals on Outdoot Security Cameras
*Deals are selected by our commerce team
LG 4K Smart TV Early Labor Day Deal
LG 65-inch evo AI C6 Series 4K Smart TV
65-inch 4K OLED Evo panel, Alpha AI, 144Hz refresh, Dolby Vision and Atmos, G-Sync, FreeSync
Upgrade your home theater with the stunning contrast and deep, inky blacks of the LG C6 Series OLED evo. Driven by LG’s latest Alpha AI processor, it optimizes picture brightness and audio clarity scene by scene, bringing lifelike realism to movies and sports. Gamers get an ultra-fast 144Hz refresh rate, 0.1ms response time, and full Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium support, making this flagship 65-inch display an extraordinary value at a massive $1,200 discount.
The 41mm Garmin Venu 3S packs advanced health coaching and lifestyle convenience into a sleek, lightweight profile. Its bright AMOLED touchscreen tracks Sleep Coach metrics, daytime naps, and Body Battery energy reserves so you know when to push and when to rest. An integrated speaker and microphone allow hands-free voice calls and text replies right from your wrist, all backed by up to 10 days of battery life for over $160 off. Don’t waste time getting one.
Combining razor-thin styling with next-generation AI efficiency, the new 13.8-inch Surface Laptop delivers exceptional mobile productivity. Its 120Hz PixelSense Flow touchscreen provides fluid scrolling and rich color accuracy, while the Snapdragon X2 elite platform powers advanced on-device Copilot+ tools with remarkable battery stamina. With a spacious 1TB SSD and 16GB of snappy RAM in an ultra-light aluminum chassis, it’s a premier ultraportable workstation discounted by $400.
The Bose QuietComfort headphones remain the industry benchmark for silencing everyday distractions. World-class active noise cancellation isolates your music in crowded environments, while Aware Mode lets you tune back into ambient conversations instantly.
Recommended by Our Editors
Our PCMag expert Tim Gideon, rated them “Excellent,” praising the “excellent active noise cancellation and a refined audio signature in a comfortable fit” in his in-depth review. Featuring deeply cushioned earcups for fatigue-free all-day wear and 24 hours of playback on a single charge, they are a standout audio upgrade for $130 off.
Engineered to punch far above its palm-sized footprint, the second-generation Bose SoundLink Micro delivers surprisingly loud, detailed sound with deep bass. Its rugged silicone exterior is IP67-rated to resist water, dust, and drops, while the flexible utility strap easily clips onto backpacks, handlebars, or coolers.
No surprises that our PCMag expert, Christian de Looper, gave it an “Excellent” rating in his in-depth review, and recommends it to people “who like the compact size and the durable build, especially for fans of Bose’s industrial design.” With upgraded Bluetooth 5.4, multipoint pairing, and up to 12 hours of playtime, it’s the ultimate grab-and-go outdoor speaker under $80.
More Deals on Bluetooth Speakers
*Deals are selected by our commerce team
We’ll keep updating this page with more products throughout the week. In the meantime, you can check out even more epic Labor Day Deals on your favorite tech.
In the sequel, set 25 years after the 1998 cult classic, Joey King and Maisie Williams replace Evan Rachel Wood and Alexandra Artrip as the daughters of Bullock’s Sally Owens. Wood has previously spoken out about being recast, saying she was “not asked to come back” and “it was not in my control or my choice.”
On a red carpet for The Shards in July, Wood added that it appeared she wasn’t asked back because “it seems like they’re not following the book,” but wished King the best in taking over the role as oldest daughter Kylie.
At the follow-up’s L.A. premiere on Monday, King told The Hollywood Reporter that she “had a lovely conversation” with Wood following that interview, “and I just was so appreciative of the support that she showed to me and to the rest of the cast. She is so talented and so beautiful and she made this role so special when she was a young girl. I feel so grateful to be able to play Kylie at this age but I love Evan so much and I’m so appreciative of her kind words and the exchange that her and I shared.”
Director Susanne Bier also shed some further light on the recasting decision, explaining, “It had to be a certain age group; in the story they’re just like literally out of college, and with Joey and Maisie it just felt completely right.”
Practical Magic 2 sees Kylie Owens in a much larger role, as she discovers hidden family secrets and develops her own dark abilities. As a result, the Owens women — with Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing back as the witchy aunts of Bullock and Kidman’s characters — must reunite to finally break the curse that has haunted their family.
Maisie Williams, Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock and Joey King at the L.A. premiere.
Chloe Kern/FilmMagic
The original film was not a smash hit, but has reached cult classic status over the years. Bullock said there wasn’t the thought of a sequel “until the din got very loud on social media” and “it required a lot of things to fall into place for it to be the right time. We had to find the window where we could shoot it. Do we have the budget? Can we make it for that budget? Who is going to write it? Who knows us? Akiva Goldsman came in and was like, ‘Let me write this,’ and we were like, ‘Have at it.’ It was a lot of things that crashed together at the same time.”
Kidman added, “There were so many parts to the book [Alice Hoffman’s 2021 novel The Book of Magic] that we were basing it off that it was like mining. Going, what do you choose for this particular film? Because it can’t be eight hours.” Bullock teased, “I mean it can, but no one will go” as she noted, “We were very true to the nostalgia of it.”
Producer Denise Di Novi, who was behind the first film as well, echoed that the sequel came together when “the fans built to such a crescendo of saying ‘we want this movie’ and the last few years it kind of became undeniable. We all felt it at the same time.”
And as for if a third movie would be possible, Di Movi emphasized, “We hope so! Spread the word,” while also explaining the decision for Aidan Quinn’s Officer Gary Hallet — who seemed to be getting a happily ever after with Sally Owens at the end of the original — to not appear in the sequel.
“He died! Gary died of the curse,” she confirmed. “We thought the curse had been solved but the curse had not been solved, and it took down poor Gary. We love Aidan Quinn; you have to watch the movie but I think people will be happy with what happens.”
Gal Gadot is criticizing DC’s handling of its superhero talent from when the company transitioned away from its Zack Snyder-led era.
The actress told the Happy, Sad Confused podcast that the shift from the Snyder-verse to the current creative era — run by co-chairmen and CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran — was “not handled elegantly, to say the least.”
First, Gadot was asked if there was a moment where she was told by Gunn and Safran that she would no longer play Wonder Woman.
“No, they told me the opposite,” Gadot said. “They were like, ‘We’re going to develop it with you, the third one.’ But I saw the way everybody else was handled, right? And I, you know — the Henry situation was unfortunate. I was in the middle of that. The Henry situation was not handled elegantly, to say the least.”
Continued Gadot: “Same with [Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins] — it was not handled elegantly. I feel like we’re all adults and it’s all good. It’s not even about them. They are there and they’re there to do what they believe in, and it’s all good.”
Cavill was actually announced as officially returning as Superman just before Gunn and Safran took control of DC Studios. Cavill’s Superman appeared in a Black Adam post-credits scene and then took to social media to declare on Oct. 24, 2022, that he was “back as Superman” and later added there was “a bright future ahead” for the character.
Two months later, Gunn announced his new Superman movie would focus on an earlier period in the character’s life and not star Cavill. The actor then replied, “After being told by the studio to announce my return back in October, prior to their hire, this news isn’t the easiest.” Actor David Corenswet was eventually cast as Gunn’s new Man of Steel for the reboot Superman, which was released last year.
Gunn himself has acknowledged the situation was “really unfortunate,” saying, “The day our [DC] deal closed, all of a sudden, they were announcing that Henry was back. And I’m like, ‘What is going on?’ We know what the plan is. The plan was to come in and do ‘Superman.’ So it was really unfair to him and a total bummer.”
Gunn suggested there was a faction within the studio trying to “force” its own plan for the future of the franchise. Gunn said he and Safran then sat down with Cavill. “He was an absolute gentleman, a great guy about it. He said, ‘The only thing I ask is that I’m able to reveal it myself as opposed to it coming from you guys.’”
As for Wonder Woman, the role has not been officially announced as having been recast, but Adria Arjona has been cast in a mystery role in Gunn’s Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow and fans are speculating the character is Wonder Woman.
Jenkins has previously addressed reports that claimed she walked away from Wonder Woman 3 because she refused to take studio notes. “This is simply not true. I never walked away. I was open to considering anything asked of me. It was my understanding that there was nothing I could do to move anything forward.”
Also in Gadot’s interview, the actress reveals she did a four-hour screen test along with Tom Hiddleston for George Miller’s action classic Mad Max: Fury Road (though they lost the parts to Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy, respectively).
“I came to London, and I remember walking into this beautiful home in London, into this office, and we stayed there for four hours. I came with all layers because it was a winter, cold day in London, and I came out in a tank top. The work that we’ve done was so intensive, and how much we filmed … It was amazing. I felt good about the work that we did. And Hiddleston is such an incredible actor, by the way.”
Gadot is currently promoting her new Prime Video thriller The Runner, in which she plays a single mother whose son is kidnapped.
In the days after Dolly Parton’s death, rumors spread online about recent public funding cuts to the country legend and philanthropist’s Imagination Library, which sends free books to children up to age 5. Readers asked us whether “Republicans,” U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration and/or Congress had defunded Parton’s organization, either before or after her death.
Parton’s Imagination Library, which has a presence in all 50 states, receives state government funding in about two dozen states. Two Republican-controlled and two Democrat-controlled states — Indiana and Missouri, and Maine and Washington — cut that funding months before Parton’s death. In Nevada, which has a Legislature controlled by Democrats and a Republican governor, a state grant that helped maintain the Imagination Library’s presence there ran out, affecting operations in a major county.
Some Imagination Library partners lost federal grant funding that helped support their organizations’ work. For example, New Hampshire’s Whitefield Public Library lost funding to run an Imagination Library program in the northern half of the state after a financial partner shut down because Trump’s administration rescinded its federal education grants.
In several of the above instances, state governments, the Imagination Library and its partners turned to private charity to maintain the program. There also are bipartisan efforts in various states to protect existing funding or secure new statewide funding for the Imagination Library.
After country music legend and philanthropist Dolly Parton died in August 2026, rumors spread online about supposed public spending cuts to her Imagination Library, which sends free books to children until their 5th birthdays.
Posts online claimed that Missouri or Indiana Republicans cut funding for the child literacy program. Someclaims were vaguer, merely stating that “Republicans” ended financial support for the Imagination Library. Readers asked us whether the Imagination Library was “defunded” after Parton’s death or in the past year and whether U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, Congress, Republicans or other various entities were the culprit.
Here’s the truth: In about two dozen states, the Imagination Library receives state government funding. In the year before Parton’s death, two states with Republican-controlled governments — Indiana and Missouri — and two with Democrat-controlled governments — Maine and Washington — ended or reduced financial support for the Imagination Library.
At least one state with a Republican governor and Democrat-controlled Legislature, Nevada, also did not renew several grants that supported local partners of the Imagination Library.
The federal government does not directly fund the Imagination Library, which the Dollywood Foundation oversees. However, at least two of the Imagination Library’s local partners lost funding after the Trump administration rescinded education grants as part of a larger clawback of federal funds.
Dollywood Foundation spokesperson Tracy Long declined via email to answer any questions about funding for the Imagination Library; The New York Times reported on Aug. 25 that the Imagination Library was overwhelmed following Parton’s death.
At least one state, Oregon, passed bipartisan legislation in 2026 that codified the Imagination Library as an official state program.
According to the Imagination Library’s website, one in six kids in the U.S. under age 5 receives books from the organization. Imagination Library’s website also has a map showing which areas of the United States have coverage.
Here’s everything we know about the Imagination Library’s funding and why some states and other organizations stopped providing support within roughly the last year of Parton’s life:
How is the Imagination Library funded?
The Imagination Library uses a mix of private and public funding at the state and local levels. The organization itself covers all of the administrative and overhead costs. Local partners who work with the Imagination Library are asked to enroll children in the coverage area and pay an average of $2.60 per child per month toward wholesale books and mailing costs, according to a 2024 infographic from the library.
(Imagination Library)
According to Courtney Vashaw, director at a New Hampshire library that partners with Parton’s foundation, in at least some cases, like hers, the Imagination Library pays for the books, too.
“Where does local funding come into it? The postage,” she said in a phone call. “There has to be some kind of partnership that allows for that money to be raised.”
As of June 2026, the Imagination Library has full coverage in 21 states, according to a fact sheet the organization released. State governments oftensupport those statewide programs through a 50/50 funding match, where the state pays for half of the local partners’ costs.
Many of the Imagination Library’s local partners — which are all nonprofit organizations — also heavily rely on federal or state grant funding.
Did state Republicans cut funding?
Missouri and Indiana Republicans cut funding after reportedly facing budget deficits. Kentucky lawmakers also reportedly considered cutting funding but reversed the move after public backlash.
Missouri
In November 2023, under Republican Gov. Mike Parson, Missouri became the first state to cover all costs for the Imagination Library. (Tennessee, Parton’s home state — which Republicans control — was the first to introduce a statewide program involving partial public funding support.)
In lieu of local nonprofit partners, Missouri had school districts partner with the initiative, and the schools did not have to pay for the books or postage.
But in June 2026, under Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe, Missouri lawmakers cut state funding for the program for the upcoming fiscal year — reportedly from $6 million to $2 million.
“The Governor is a strong supporter of children’s literacy. Given the seriousness of Missouri’s budget imbalance, tough decisions are being made to restore responsible spending across the entirety of state government,” Gabby Picard, Kehoe’s spokesperson, said in an email.
According to the Missouri Department of Education, the planned cuts mean it can’t support adding more children to the program. However, Missouri children already enrolled in the program will continue receiving books “as funding allows.”
Indiana
Indiana began supporting the Imagination Library statewide through the 50/50 funding match model in 2023 under Republican Gov. Eric J. Holcomb, who championed the program. Lawmakers allotted $6 million to the program over two years.
In 2025, under Republican Gov. Mike Braun, GOP lawmakers cut the funding from the state budget entirely. Facing public backlash, the Indiana governor tasked his wife, Maureen Braun, with fundraising for the state-level match.
“In March, Mrs. Braun announced that fundraising for the state-level match for the program through June 30, 2027 is nearly complete,” Griffin Reid, a spokesperson for Indiana’s governor, said in an email. “The program is successfully delivering books to young Hoosiers in all 92 counties in Indiana.”
According to the Indiana Capital Chronicle, the program was on hiatus while Maureen Braun fundraised.
News outlets have reported that the governor’s office has consistently declined to share how much the first lady has raised. Reid also did not respond to our questions asking for specific numbers.
Did state Democrats cut funding?
Yes, in Washington, which was facing budget issues, and Maine, for unclear reasons. Nevada, which has a Republican governor but a Democratic state Legislature, also failed to renew several grants to help fund local partners of the Imagination Library.
Washington
Washington established its statewide program in 2022 through bipartisan legislation under Democratic leadership. The state also used the 50/50 match model.
In 2025, while facing a $12 billion shortfall, Washington cut all state funding to the Imagination Library under Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson and a Democrat-controlled Legislature.
State Superintendent Chris Reykdal, a Democrat, kept the program running through “limited discretionary funds” until June 2026. Reykdal has called on the Legislature and Ferguson to restore funding.
On July 31, 2026, the Imagination Library of Washington announced grants from two private foundations “expected to ultimately restore access for approximately 40,000 children and return the program to full statewide coverage.”
Ferguson’s office did not return an inquiry about restoring state funding.
Maine
Maine’s Imagination Library program launched in late 2023 using the 50/50 match model after the Democratic state Legislature approved a $200,000 proposal from Democratic Gov. Janet Mills.
During Maine’s budget process for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, both Mills and the Maine State Library requested funding to continue operating the program and to expand it into all of Maine’s counties, according to emails from Beth Crist, director of special projects at Maine State Library, and Ben Goodman, a spokesperson with Mills’ office.
The final budget the Legislature approved provided only $100,000 a year, however, which was not enough to expand the program, nor to support the existing nonprofit partners who administered it across seven counties at the time, Crist and Goodman said.
Maine’s budget chairs, both Democrats, did not return an inquiry as to why the Legislature did not fully fund the program. Crist said the Legislature did not provide an explanation to Maine State Library.
Some chapters still operate in Maine without state funding.
Nevada
Nevada does not have a statewide Imagination Library program. However, in October 2025, Storied, a local partner serving Clark County, announced that the Nevada Legislature did not renew a grant that started in 2023, as the Nevada Current reported (and Storied confirmed).
Meredith Helmick, executive director of Storied, said in an email that the organization was able to resume its program in July 2026, “but on a much smaller scale.”
“Kids will start receiving books in September,” Helmick said.
Helmick said Storied spent the 10-month hiatus applying for local and state grants and receiving donations from local private foundations and individuals. She hopes to “find a path towards statewide coverage or to at least bring the program in Clark County back to its previous levels.”
The Nevada Independent also reported that United Way Northern Nevada and the Sierra, a partner in Nevada’s Washoe County, lost state grant funding in 2025.
However, a United Way Northern Nevada and the Sierra spokesperson, Daniel Amaya, said in an email that it was “changes in federal funding and resources being allocated elsewhere” that resulted in a pause in its partnership with Imagination Library.
“The loss of federal funds to the State of Nevada directly impacts the amount of money the state can allocate,” Amaya said.
According to the Imagination Library’s website, Washoe County no longer has an operating Imagination Library presence. United Way is seeking donations to resume the program.
“Our hope and goal is to restart Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Northern Nevada as soon as we secure the funding needed,” Amaya said. “We look forward to the day we can turn the page and begin this important work again.”
Did Trump or the federal government cut funding?
Federal funding indirectly provided support to local partners who worked with the Imagination Library, even though the federal government doesn’t directly fund the program.
Aside from Washoe County in Nevada, the Trump administration’s 2025 cuts to federal grant funds affected at least one other area: New Hampshire’s North Country, which is effectively the top half of the state.
Whitefield Public Library — the Imagination Library’s local partner in the North Country — first launched the program in 2025 after months of work, said Vashaw, the director of Whitefield Public Library.
Part of that work involved finding a financial partner who could cover the local partner costs for the program: an organization called the Education Alliance for New Hampshire.
After just a “handful of months” of that group running the program, however, the Trump administration rescinded federal grant funding that the Education Alliance relied on. The Education Alliance closed down.
“Their doors were shuttered, their programs closed with very little notice and that meant we had no funding,” Vashaw said. “We literally weren’t sure we were going to be able to pay the bills come January.”
The Department of Education declined to answer questions about these funds on the record.
After emergency fundraising, the Whitefield Public Library was able to keep the program going. As of this writing, 620 kids are enrolled, Vashaw said.
Vashaw said private fundraising isn’t on track for 2027. However, she’s hoping a bipartisan effort from New Hampshire lawmakers to make the Imagination Library available statewide will help keep the program going.
Social media posts allege U.S. President Donald Trump’s mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, once called him “an idiot with zero common sense” and predicted he would be a “disaster” if he ever entered politics. The rumor is unfounded.
The alleged quote has circulated since at least 2019. On multiple occasions, Snopes has attempted to find evidence of Trump’s mother making the statement without success.
Some posts spreading the alleged quote included images that resembled newspaper clippings. We have found no evidence of any real newspapers attributing the quote to Mary MacLeod Trump.
Snopes will update this report if additional information surfaces.
An alleged quote by Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, the mother of U.S. President Donald Trump, expressing doubt about her son’s intelligence and ability to succeed in politics has circulated for years.
A meme with the quote that spread on Facebook in August 2026 read:
Trump’s mom knew best!
“Yes, he’s an idiot with zero common sense, and no social skills, but he is my son. I just hope he never gets into politics. He’d be a disaster.”
Mary Anne Trump: Telling the truth before it was trending.
(Facebook user JOE BIDEN 2024)
Snopes readers wrote in to ask us whether the quote was real.
Versions of the alleged quote have circulated for years, usuallywith the part reading “I sincerely just hope he never gets into:” ending with the word “politics.” We’ve hunted for evidence the quote was real since 2019 and have found no proof that Trump’s mother ever said these words. Other publications, such as PolitiFact and Reuters, also fact-checked the quote and found no indication it was real.
Because digital archives of newspapers, books and magazines grow and change over time — meaning it is always possible for new evidence for historical claims to become available — we took another look at the quote after it began circulating again in 2026, during Trump’s second term as president.
In short, just as in 2019, there was no compelling evidence supporting the claim that the quote is authentic, as of this writing.
Searches for the full alleged comments — as well as the distinctive clauses “he’s an idiot with no common sense” and “I just hope he never goes into politics” — on Newspapers.com and Gale OneFile, both of which are large databases of periodicals, uncovered no evidence supporting the quote’s authenticity. Searches on Google Books and the Internet Archive likewise returned no evidence that the quote ever appeared with secure attribution in any legitimate publication.
A Google search found no instances of the alleged remark at all before 2019, nearly two decades after Mary MacLeod Trump’s August 2000 death. The absence of any evidence of a quote dating within the alleged originator’s lifetime is a common red flag for fake or misattributed quotes.
One development since 2019 was the emergence of the supposed newspaper clipping featuring the in-question comment underneath a photo of Trump and his mother, which appeared (archived) to have first circulated (archived) online in June 2020. Examples of the clipping, which did not include the name of the paper in which it was allegedly published or a date, appeared (archived) in numerous (archived) posts on X (archived).
(X user @RobertCStern)
It has not been possible to find proof that the clipping is genuine. Although it included a genuine photo of Trump and his mother that was prominently featured in a 2016 New Yorker article titled “Donald Trump’s Immigrant Mother,” searches uncovered no instances of the picture paired with the quote in any real newspaper or magazine.
It remains possible that a primary source proving the quote’s authenticity exists somewhere — for example, in a newspaper archive that has not been digitized as of this writing — and for that reason we’ve refrained from issuing a definitive rating.
Previously, we looked into the claim that Trump’s mother was an immigrant in the country illegally.
Sources
Emery, David. “Here’s How to Authenticate Viral Quotes Attached to Historical Figures.” Snopes, 5 Dec. 2022, https://www.snopes.com//articles/464027/how-to-authenticate-quotes/.
Evon, Dan. “Did Trump’s Mom Once Call Him an ‘Idiot’?” Snopes, 12 Dec. 2019, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/trumps-mom-call-him-idiot/.
“False Claim: Donald Trump’s Mother Said He Would Be a Disaster in Politics.” Reuters, 17 Apr. 2020. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/article/world/false-claim-donald-trumps-mother-said-he-would-be-a-disaster-in-politics-idUSKBN21Z29U/.
Kasprak, Alex. “FACT CHECK: Was Donald Trump’s Mother an Undocumented Immigrant?” Snopes, 30 Jan. 2017, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/donald-trumps-mother-immigrant/.
“Mary MacLeod Trump Philanthropist, 88.” The New York Times, 9 Aug. 2000, https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/09/nyregion/mary-macleod-trump-philanthropist-88.html.
Pilon, Mary. “Donald Trump’s Immigrant Mother.” The New Yorker, 24 June 2016. www.newyorker.com, https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/donald-trumps-immigrant-mother.
Putterman, Samantha. “No Evidence Trump’s Mother Called Him an Idiot.” @politifact, https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/dec/18/facebook-posts/no-evidence-trumps-mother-called-him-idiot-zero-co/. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
The return Guy Ritchie’s hit comedy crime series The Gentlemen; an animated Asian-American comedy from Andrew Law; the latest special from comedian-of-the-moment Stavros Halkias; the much-hyped comeback of Aaron Donald as the NFL heads Down Under for the first-ever regular season game in Australia; a second season of animated tales from 1985 Hawkins, Indiana; the fourth chapter of Ryan Murphy’s Monster anthology series; a two-part Lego animated One Piece special; and Jacob Tremblay depicting the origin story of Unabomber are just some of the film and TV highlights hitting Netflix in September.
In the midst of all the speculation on whether Meghan Markle will be joining season 3 of The Gentlemen, it would have been easy to forget that season 2 of the hit Guy Ritchie comedy crime series launches on Sept. 3. The logline for season 2 reads, “It’s been one year since Eddie and Susie joined forces to work together in Bobby’s criminal empire overseas. As they drive to expand their enterprise, the decisions Bobby is making seem to be increasingly unsound. Now Eddie and Susie must decide whether to take action or risk losing it all.” Theo James, Kaya Scodelario, Daniel Ings, Joely Richardson, Vinnie Jones, Giancarlo Esposito and Ray Winstone all return for the second season, with newcomers including Hugh Bonneville, Benjamin Clementine, Benedetta Porcaroli, Amra Mallassi, Tyler Conti and Chris Eubank Jr.
Netflix continues its push into adult animated comedies with the launch of Dang! on Sept. 8. The terminally online will have picked up on the spirited debate the show inspired on social media when a trailer for the Andrew Law-created Asian-American project first dropped. Those who are lucky enough not to be brain-poisoned by internet chatter, maybe interested to know that the show “follows a brother and sister duo whose fun, messy lives in New York City are interrupted when their worst nightmare comes true: their high-achieving older sister shows up and wants to hang out with them.” It’s not much deeper than that, for better or worse. Poppy Liu, Andrew Law, Noël Wells and Stephanie Hsu provide the voices.
Stavros Halkias is the comedian-of-the-moment and his fame is only likely to grow with his new Netflix special landing on Sept. 8. Halkias, the former Cumtown podcaster, current star of Netflix comedy Tires as well as scene stealer in films like Bugonia and Tony, is a new breed of standup that’s crude but empathetic, a refreshing change of pace from the Roganverse comics who seem to delight in punching down and being cruel for the sake of it. Uncle Stav is a followup to 2023’s hilarious Fat Rascal, and deals with Halkias becoming an uncle.
Sept. 17 will see the debut of the next installment of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s Emmy-winning anthology series Monster hits Netflix. The eight-episode fourth chapter, The Lizzie Borden Story, is series’ first female-led tale and will focus on the infamous 1892 axe murders of Borden’s father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts. Ella Beatty stars as Lizzie and the stellar cast includes Charlie Hunnam, Vicky Krieps, Rebecca Hall, Billie Lourd, Jessica Barden and Sarah Paulson.
Also on Sept. 17, we return to Hawkins once more for season 2 of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85. Unsurprisingly, the animated series hasn’t inspired the same level of fervor or expectation as the live-action Stranger Things show did, but there are still millions of fans out there to service with more tales of retro horrors from the Upside Down. The logline for season 2 reads, “With Valentine’s Day on the way, the gang must uncover the truth behind ghostly apparitions and a swarm of strange creatures causing chaos around town.”
On Sept. 18, the NFL continues its quixotic attemtps to grow American Football around the world with its first-ever regular season game in Australia, dubbed the NFL Melbourne Game. That’s right, the land of hard-running and hard-hitting Aussie Rules, Rugby Union and Rugby League will host a game of the premiere ball-based stop-start contact sport where you wear full padding and helmets. Fair dinkum! Still, you have to at least try to get skeptical foreigners interested and the NFL is bringing out the big guns with the San Francisco 49ers taking on the L.A. Rams at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. Adding extra spice to the occasion is that the game will likely be the first game back for NFL legend Aaron Donald. After two seasons away from the game, the former three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year has come out of retirement to rejoin the Rams and should play Down Under.
Netflix’s major American feature release for September is the Janus Metz Pedersen-directed Unabomber, an origin story for the infamous domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski. Based on true events, Jacob Tremblay plays the 16-year-old Harvard prodigy who is subjected to controversial psychological experiments by Professor Henry Murray (Russell Crowe) and his eventual transformation into the Unabomber. The film, which debuts on Sept. 25, seems to fit into bracket of modestly budgeted well acted projects that Netflix seems to be leaning into more recently. The cast also includes Shailene Woodley, Annabelle Wallis, Alexander Ludwig, Steven Ogg and Marc Menchaca.
The Stranger Things universe maybe showing signs of exhaustion, but Netflix still has a ways to go to satiate the demand for One Piece-related projects. On Sept. 29, the streamer launches LEGO ONE PIECE, the two-part animated special that kinda speed runs the story of “the crew’s escapades across the East Blue and into the Grand Line.” The voice cast includes Iñaki Godoy (Luffy), Emily Rudd (Nami), Mackenyu (Zoro), Jacob Romero Gibson (Usopp), Taz Skylar (Sanji), Charithra Chandran (Wednesday/Nefertari Vivi), Mikaela Hoover (Tony Tony Chopper), Katey Sagal (Dr. Kureha), Jeff Ward (Buggy) and Callum Kerr (Smoker).
Movies added to Netflix in September include 17 Again, About Time, Alien, Aliens, Antz, Battleship, Big Daddy, The Blues Brothers, The Boy Next Door, Conan the Barbarian, Cruel Intentions, Dragnet, The Flintstones, Gothika, Greta, Jarhead, Jaws, Jaws 2, Jaws 3, Jaws: The Revenge, Kick-Ass 2, Knocked Up, Liar Liar, Neighbors, Phantom Thread, Prom Night, Ready or Not, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Resident Evil: Extinction, Resident Evil: Retribution, The Rite, Scarface, Shark Tale, Sleepless in Seattle, Straight Outta Compton, T2 Trainspotting, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Uncle Buck and Unfriended.
Read on for the complete list of titles hitting Netflix in September.
Sept. 1
Jared Freid: The Family Plan Untold Raygun: Breaking Badly (AU) 17 Again About Time Alien Aliens Antz Battleship Big Daddy The Blues Brothers The Boy Next Door Conan the Barbarian Cruel Intentions Dragnet The Flintstones Gothika Greta Heartland: Season 19 Jarhead Jaws Jaws 2 Jaws 3 Jaws: The Revenge Kick-Ass 2 Knocked Up Liar Liar Neighbors Phantom Thread Ready or Not Resident Evil: Afterlife Resident Evil: Extinction Resident Evil: Retribution The Rite Scarface Shark Tale Sleepless in Seattle Straight Outta Compton T2 Trainspotting The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Uncle Buck Unfriended
Sept. 2
Driven: Seasons 1-3 Lovesick (MX) Resident Evil: Damnation Resident Evil: Death Island Resident Evil: Vendetta Turning Point: Generation 9/11
Sept. 3
Fito Páez: The World Within a Song (AR) Folktales The Gentlemen: Season 2 (GB) Major Crimes: Seasons 1-6 Smile 2
Sept. 4
Earle Meets World Teenage Wasteland
Sept. 5
Emeril Tailgates: Season 1
Sept. 8
DANG! Fauda: Season 5 (IL) Stavros Halkias: Uncle Stav Untold Mr. T: I Pity The Fool
Sept. 9
Prom Night Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Again?
Sept. 10
Call My Agent! The Movie (FR) Crew Girl (CA) NFL Melbourne Game The Perfect Lie (NL) We Don’t Live Here Anymore
Sept. 11
Go Team! (ES) Physical 100: Italy: Season 1: Batch 1 (IT) Stolen Heartbeats (CO) Tribeca 25
Sept. 13
Dog Man
Sept. 14
Gabby’s Dollhouse: Season 14 Hot Ones: Extra Heat: Episode 2 When Hope Calls: Seasons 1-2
Sept. 15
The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist I Survived a Serial Killer: Season 1 Jo Koy: Blue in the Face
Sept. 16
The Doll (PL)
Sept. 17
The Fixers (TW) Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story Not a Stranger (TR) Plastic Beauty (JP) Stranger Things: Tales From ’85: Season 2
Sept. 18
Best of the Best Pokémon Horizons: Season 3—Rising Hope Part 4 (JP)
Sept. 20
Stop! That! Train!
Sept. 22
Doc: Season 2 Minerva Academy (IT) Party Down: Seasons 1-3
Sept. 23
Habeas Corpus (BR) Lifehack Wonka’s The Golden Ticket
Sept. 24
A Different World Delusion (TH) House at the End of the Street My Sad Dead (AR) Oculus
Sept. 25
The Final Problem (ES) Law & Order: Season 25 STEEL BALL RUN JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: 2nd-3rd STAGE (JP) UNABOMBER
Sept. 29
LEGO ONE PIECE Mononoke The Movie: Chapter Ⅲ – The Curse of the Serpent (JP) Murder in a Small Town: Seasons 1-2
Sept. 30
Ancient Aliens: Season 13 The Arena (FR) Hoarders: Season 16 What’s Your Number? The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part
Getting healthy and staying active can be challenging, and sometimes it’s hard to keep yourself accountable. Well, a health-focused smartwatch can help you along the way to reach your goals. The Garmin Vivoactive 5 smartwatch is just the thing you might need. Over on Amazon, it’s on sale for $181.97, down from its original $299.99 price. That’s just over $118 in savings!
As of August 31, the Garmin Vivoactive 5 smartwatch is 39% off. According to CamelCamelCamel, this is the lowest price it’s been at since May. So if you missed out on the first discount, now’s a great time to hop on this deal!
Garmin Vivoactive 5 Fitness GPS Smartwatch
11-day battery life, 2-hour charge time, 50-meter water resistant depth,
This smartwatch and fitness tracker comes with a beautiful AMOLED display that’s both colorful and bright, allowing you to get a clearer glance at your health metrics. You can track parameters like sleep and sleep levels so you can make more informed decisions about your health. There are also more than 30 built-in indoor and GPS sports apps, giving you plenty of options both inside and outside activities. Whether it’s cycling, running, or swimming, you’ll be able to measure your progress while being aware of your location.
It’s got some accessibility features too, such as wheelchair mode that tracks pushes instead of steps. If you’re a sleepy person during the day time, the watch also tracks your nap length to let you know how your body is impacted. And with up to 11-days of battery life (five with always-on display), you can ensure that the watch will be ready when you are, with no distractions.
Our expert Andrew Gebhart awarded it an “Excellent” rating. In our in-depth review, he said, “With a gorgeous display, long battery life, and bountiful health insights, the Garmin Vivoactive 5 is an excellent wellness-focused smartwatch.”
The transition comes about one year after Stern and Cohen pranked listeners by having Cohen take over the airwaves and imply that Stern was fired and that Howard 100, Stern’s main channel, was now his own. The prank came amid rumors about Stern’s impending retirement and the cancellation of his show.
This time, Stern is actually giving Cohen Channel 101, his second channel which hosted archival clips of his show, as he returns and transitions to only doing one show a week, rather than the typical two. Stern has also struck a deal with HBO Max to adapt his live SiriusXM show into streaming episodes for HBO Max.
“Last year we pranked the world. We made everybody think that I was taking over Howard 100. It was the best morning. Now the carrot is being dangled that Radio Andy will be taking over 101. Is this a prank? Am I being pranked?” Cohen asks Stern in a new video released by SiriusXM.
“No, you are not being pranked. And Andy has been gracious enough to take over 101. And I have one request: please continue the tradition of doing a lot of gay antics,” Stern says.
On Sept. 14, Howard will also unveil a new lineup for his Howard 100 channel, which will include Wrap Up Wednesday, an expanded version of Howard’s Wrap Up Show hosted by Gary Dell’Abate and Jon Hein that previously ran on Howard 101.
In the past, Cohen, who helms a SiriusXM radio empire, including hosting Andy Cohen Live, has been rumored to be the eventual successor for Stern. SiriusXM did not comment on that theory, but Cohen and Stern seemed to downplay the idea.
“Any chance I could get 100, and you take 101?” Cohen asks in the video.
“No, I’m not giving up 100,” Stern says.
As part of the channel shakeup, Sebastian Maniscalco’s Comedy Radio will take over Cohen’s previous channel, 102, while Netflix is a Joke Radio will move to channel 105, which has been home to temporary or pop-up programming. SiriusXM did not comment on reported layoffs as part of Stern’s move to one show a week.
The last holiday weekend of the summer is here, and no matter what your plans are for Labor Day, you know we’re here to cover the sales. Major retailers have already started unleashing Labor Day discounts early, and I decided the first stop in my coverage would be PCs both portable and desktop. Here are five offers that are already heating up, with more to come as the Labor Day weekend gets closer.
HP OmniBook X Flip 2-In-1 Laptop Early Labor Day Deal
Let’s lead off with a shockingly deep discount on a HP portable that’s got the flexibility to work for just about everyone. In our review of the OmniBook X Flip 2-in-1 laptop, PCMag expert Jorge Jiminez raved over the unit’s lavish 120HZ OLED touchscreen, robust metal chassis and wide range of customization options. This loadout is securely in the midrange productivity bracket, with a solid AMD Ryzen AI 5 processor that acquitted itself very well in testing, with optimizations for Microsoft Copilot on-device artificial intelligence tasks. It’s paired with a Radeon 840M GPU for even more operational efficiency. The keyboard on the 14-inch version that we tested felt a little cramped, so an extra two inches of diagonal space is welcome on this one for a more comfortable feel. Best Buy has it for 48% off, the lowest price we’ve ever recorded for this one.
For a budget-priced Windows machine, this Dell is an absolute steal. Typically portable PCs under $500 have dire loadouts and murky monitors, but this one is a full 2K IPS touch display with good color and contrast. Under the hood, you’re getting great component value, with a peppy but affordable Intel Core i5 processor running the show and 512 gigabytes of internal storage. I would say that the 8GB of DDR5 RAM is slightly skimpy, but memory prices are absolutely out of control right now so it’s not surprising. Just don’t keep a million browser tabs open and you’ll probably be fine. The keyboard and touchpad are both good-sized and well-built, and port selection is solid but not exceptional. Battery life is also a strong point, with fast charging taking you from zero to 80% full in just an hour.
We’re tracking gaming deals as well, and right now the best entry-level offer we’ve spotted is a deep $400 discount on HP’s HyperX Omen laptop. In our review of this unit, we praised every element of its construction and design but one: the underpowered RTX 5050 graphics card it shipped with. Thankfully, HP listened to our criticism and is now building them with a significantly more capable RTX 5060 GPU instead. That makes a huge difference, because we really liked its sturdy construction, comfortable keyboard, well-considered port selection and long battery life. While this isn’t an envelope-pushing machine, it’s built for reliability and can tackle all of today’s top games in good quality.
Dell has been one of the most trusted names in home and office computing for generations, and right now Best Buy has a price drop that brings a very capable tower down to under a thousand bucks. The Dell Slim has a relatively small footprint without compromising on performance, featuring a perky 20-core Intel Core Ultra 7 processor that we consider an excellent value for the money, easily capable of handling everyday productivity and entertainment tasks all day long. A full terabyte of internal storage is also a surprise, given how spendy SSDs are these days. The fan setup and cooling system are also quite good, with near-silent operation even under heavy workloads.
Gaming desktop deals can come from all over, and we’ve found that Walmart is a surprisingly great spot for midrange towers with some nice components. While the RTX 5060 graphics card isn’t the tippy-top of Nvidia’s new Blackwell line, it’s a great 1080p performer that churns out stable framerates and also boosts on-device AI performance. Coupled with a very competitive AMD Ryzen 5 8400F processor, you’ll squeeze a ton of juice out of this one. The case is also well-constructed, with an attractive tempered glass side panel and mesh front panel highlighting the efficient RGB fans within. We have a review of the similar Codex R2 from 2024 where we gave it an Editors’ Choice award for budget gaming excellence.
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About Our Expert
K. Thor Jensen
Contributing Writer
Experience
K. Thor Jensen is a writer and cartoonist living in the Pacific Northwest. He has contributed to dozens of prestigious outlets, including PCMag, Tested, Clickhole, and Newsweek. His second graphic novel, Cloud Stories, was released in 2017.
The Venice Film Festival opens Wednesday with Danny Boyle’s “Ink,” a juicy exposé of how British tabloid The Sun propelled Rupert Murdoch’s rise to right-wing media baron, kicking off 11 days of buzzy movies, major stars and an unusually charged political debate on the Lido.
Venice director Alberto Barbera has described this year’s lineup as the event’s “most political” in recent years, with films tackling war, Palestine, immigration, climate change and shrinking political freedoms. And before the festival has even opened, several of those fault lines have already erupted into controversy.
At the same time, Venice remains one of the fall’s key launchpads for prestige movies, awards hopefuls and international titles looking to build momentum with distributors and buyers. Though U.S. studio and streamer presence this year is more muted than in past editions, the selection features a robust roster of hotly anticipated star-driven movies, some of which are making noise even before landing on the Lido.
“Ink” stars Jack O’Connell, Guy Pearce and Claire Foy are all expected on the Palazzo del Cinema red carpet for the Sept. 2 launch of the timely film, which has been acquired by Netflix for the U.S. and Latin America.
Though U.S. studio and streamer presence this year is more muted than in past editions, the Venice selection features a robust roster of hotly anticipated star-driven titles, some of which are making noise even before landing on the Lido.
Robert Pattinson will be on hand to promote Lance Oppenheim’s “Primetime,” in which he plays “Dateline NBC” correspondent Chris Hansen. Hansen recently claimed that he walked away from a preview screening of “Primetime” in the offices of distributor A24 — which will release the film on Sept. 25 in the U.S. — after refusing to sign a legal agreement he described as unlike anything he has encountered in four decades on the beat. A source close to A24 told Variety that Hansen was asked to sign a standard NDA that all preview audiences must adhere to for an unreleased film.
John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell and Steve Buscemi are all expected on the Venice red carpet for the Sept. 3 launch of Martin McDonagh’s “Wild Horse Nine” that sees Rockwell reunite with the “Three Billboards” director in a dark comedy about CIA agents.
Also on Sept. 3, Kate Mara, Rooney Mara and Orlando Bloom will be on the Lido to launch Warner Herzog’s “Bucking Fastard,” in which Bloom plays Gareth Mulroney, the lover of inseparable, synchronized sisters Jean and Joan Holbrooke (played by real-life sisters Kate and Rooney Mara).
Liam and Noel Gallagher are confirmed to be on the Venice red carpet on Sept. 5 for the launch of Disney+ doc “Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger,” about the British band’s reunion world tour which captures the moment the two rocker brothers reconciled after 15 years without contact.
Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Stephen Graham, and Paul Dano will be disembarking on the lagoon Sept. 8 to promote marriage crisis drama “Bunker,” one of the most anticipated films of the fall festival circuit in which Cruz and Bardem appear on-screen as husband and wife. “Bunker” hails from playwright-turned-filmmaker Florian Zeller, who won two Oscars with his feature debut “The Father.” Sony Pictures Classics is handling the U.S. release, while FilmNation represents the film internationally.
Also on Sept. 8, Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney will be back in Venice with Elon Musk doc “Musk,” an incisive nearly four-hour piece probing the world’s richest man and influential “inventor-entrepreneur” that is expected to feature several explosive revelations. Musk has already called it “a hit piece” sight unseen.
The politics surrounding the festival, meanwhile, are unlikely to remain in the background.
In late August, Barbera came under fire from Ukrainian officials for the inclusion of dissident Russian director Ilya Khrzhanovsky’s competition entry “DAU,” which they claimed has Russian state links. Barbera took to social media to deny that allegation: “DAU is not a Russian film; it is not pro-Putin propaganda; it is a film of denunciation of totalitarian regimes and their intrusion into the lives of citizens to limit their freedom.”
Last week, the fest added “NAZA,” a new hot-button documentary from Oscar-winning “No Other Land” directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, to the competition lineup. The doc, which was shot at night on the rooftops of Tel Aviv, shows “in detail the systems behind Israel’s calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” according to its official synopsis.
Also last week, Nobel Prize-winning author Annie Ernaux, Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters and filmmakers including Matteo Garrone and Isabel Coixet signed an open letter urging the festival to take “concrete action in support of Palestine.” The letter was an initiative of the Venice4Palestine collective, which similarly targeted the festival last year. There was no comment from the event’s organizers.
And over the weekend, a small storm erupted after it emerged that the festival was considering scrapping its jury press conference, allegedly due to a scheduling conflict. Barbera and his team then decided to go ahead and hold the presser after online observers blasted Venice’s hesitation to cancel it as a move to shield jury members from being quizzed about politics.
Now it will be interesting to see how the jury, headed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, will navigate this thorny situation on Wednesday. The festival’s main jury also comprises Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, whose acclaimed “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” about the killing of a five-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza, premiered at Venice last year and won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize. The other jurors are Daniel Blumberg, Francesco Casetti, Xavier Giannoli, Shahrbanoo Sadat and Johnnie To.
For all the political noise surrounding this year’s edition, Venice remains one of the industry’s most closely watched fall launchpads, where a strong reception can set the tone for a film’s awards campaign, international sales or wider rollout.
For the event’s organizers, though, what ultimately matters in Venice is what’s on the screen.
“The festival is an open space that is not conditioned by politics; it’s a place of dialogue and discussion between artists and creators,” Barbera recently told Variety.
