Get ready because this week's True Romance is filled to the brim. I'm talking so full it looks like it's actually slightly over the top of the side of the cup.

We're going to do some learning today. We're going to learn about an influencer and professional golfer moving in with one another.

We're going to learn about what happens when a couple invites the babysitter to go swinging. And we're going to learn about women who cheat with married men.

THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!

Even with all this learning that is taking place, we're never going to unlock the mystery of Billy Ray Cyrus. At 65, he's engaged for the fourth time.

This time he somehow convinced Elizabeth Hurley to say yes. Congratulations. While confusing, I'm not going to lower myself in order to trash romance.

Let's get back to why we're here this week. That's, of course, to learn. Let's learn about manscaping from influencer Emily Tanner. She and her boyfriend, Wyndham Clark, have moved in with each other.

That opened the golfer up to having his girlfriend riffle through his belongings in order to make content for social media. She shared a video this week from his bathroom for those who want to be boyfriend/husband material.

MAN IN TROUBLE FOR USING ROBOT VACUUM TO RECORD WIFE'S AFFAIR, FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS LEASE UP & HALL PASS WINS

Here's Emily's list of bathroom green flags. I don't know if they're ranked in any particular order, but first to be mentioned was having a good smelling candle. Next on the list is a good grooming tool for manscaping.

You have to keep it under control, fellas. After that came fluffy soft white towels, a good hand soap, lotion, mouthwash and cleaning up after those manscaping sessions all ended up as her green flags.

There you go. Now you're all set to take that next step and have your girlfriend move in with you. The bottom line is; keep it clean and stay groomed all over.

Go follow True Romance on Twitter and Facebook and keep sending your emails here: sean.joseph@outkick.com (anonymously if you prefer).

What happens when the babysitter is invited to go swinging?

It's a question that many have asked themselves. Thanks to one babysitter who received an invitation from a couple she was babysitting for, we're getting a glimpse into the possible outcome.

Katy Orah told The Sun that the couple she had been babysitting for sat her down one day and left her stunned by what they asked her. She said the question was, "Do you want to go to a swingers' party with us?"

She was blindsided by the question. She said, "I assumed it was going to be something about the kids. But they told me they both fancied me and asked if I wanted to go to a swingers' party with them."

That was the beginning of the journey. She surprised herself as much as she surprised them when she accepted. A few weeks later, she was with the couple at a swingers club.

"The wife had explained what would happen and made it clear there was absolutely no pressure to do anything," Katy said.

She learned the terminology, then found herself on the dance floor making out with the couple. A natural next step after walking into a swingers club for the first time.

"I was incredibly innocent," she said. "I was their babysitter, but this didn’t feel weird."

And why would it? What's weird about it? They eventually moved into a private room and the rest is history. But that's not where this ends. She went on to meet her husband at the club.

They kept the party going for a while until the marriage ended. It didn’t work out for them, but following the divorce they remained friends. She then moved to a Thai island to start a new life.

A new life where she would open a School of Sensuality. The invitation to the swingers club by the couple she was babysitting for opened up a whole new world for her. She had been given a gift.

It was time to start helping "thousands of people online and face-to-face to improve their sex lives, embrace their sexuality and reconnect with their partners."

The more selfish among us would keep it all to themselves. That's not who Katy is. She's a giver.

"I have replaced shame with loving myself and now help thousands of people do the same," she added.

And that's what happens when the babysitter is invited to go swinging.

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The power of love: man wants to remarry ex-wife who cut his junk off

Be prepared to be blown away by the undeniable power of love. In 2023, reports Yahoo! News, Daiane dos Santos Farias found out on her birthday that her husband, Gilberto Nogueria de Oliveira, had cheated on her.

That isn’t a birthday present that most people want to receive. To get revenge on her husband, she reportedly seduced him, tied his hands up while they were in bed together, then grabbed a razor and cut off his penis with it.

She then flushed what had been severed down the toilet. Gilberto was rushed to the hospital for treatment. While there, he consented to having his mutilated penis photographed for medical purposes.

Daiane turned herself in. She was then sentenced to more than four years in prison after pleading guilty to the crime. The couple, understandably, got divorced. But that didn't keep Gilberto from visiting his ex-wife while behind bars.

In November 2025, when she was released early from prison, he reached out hoping to rekindle their romance. Now, almost a year later, he plans to marry his ex-wife who cut off his penis and flushed it down the toilet for a second time.

His missing member will help pay for the wedding, although it won't cover the entire cost. Those photographs that were taken for medical purposes ended up on social media and the hospital responsible paid him $20,000 in compensation.

Gilberto is seeking more money for the leaked photos. While that part of the saga is still ongoing, the rest of it is behind him.

"I really want to get back together with her. I love her," he said. "It never crossed my mind to do anything bad to her, and it still doesn't."

If these two can make it there truly is hope for everyone else.

Women who had an affair with a married man: why did you do it?

I told you we would be learning a lot today, which is a good thing.

Manscaping is important. Figuring out what happens when the babysitter is invited to go swinging is important. Understanding the power of love is important too.

So is getting to know the reason why some women have affairs with married men. Some put the blame on their age at the time or selfishness. Others don't think they're doing anything wrong.

Let's take a look at what a few of them had to say about the topic:

• He didn't tell me he was married and I found out about his wife when he died and I googled him and a news article mentioned a wife (and his real age).
• I was 19 or 20. He was approaching 40. I was very naive and fell for his act. He made it sound like they were getting a divorce and not living together, said she was evil and cold, etc. The usual. I genuinely loved him, but when he cheated on me with another coworker, I realized that he wasn't a victim at all, he was a selfish a------. I felt so stupid for falling for it. I learned that him and his wife were not going through a divorce. She had no idea he was cheating, and it made me feel absolutely horrible. I learned a lot from that experience, it helped me to grow up. I still feel really guilty to this day.
• I was 19, he was 45, and no one had ever paid attention to me before.
• I knew he was married. I was 25 and he was 44 at that time. I worked with him but he lived 1500 miles away from me. It started innocently just flirting when we worked together. He was sent to our office on business and that's where it started physically. I was naive & I was enamored with him, he was smart & funny & adored me. It was a lot of fun, but I knew it wasn't going anywhere and ended it. To my knowledge his wife never found out & they are still married today. That was the only time I was ever knowingly involved w a married man. I wouldn't do it again.
• I doubt anyone will admit it here but from being (ex) friends with women who did this, they clearly loved the feeling of being chosen over the wife. Especially if the wife was obviously more beautiful or accomplished or had a seemingly better home life where she was being taken care of.
• I knew a girl in college who had no issue sleeping with married guys. I think she had 5 of them over a couple of years. When I asked her about it she said "If they don’t respect the relationship why should I?"
• Young and dumb. Insecure. Had no morals. Did what I wanted to do because all I wanted to do was to please me me me. Pure selfishness.
• My friend (in her 60s) freely admits to sleeping with married men in her 20s and 30s and she sees nothing wrong with it to this day. She said they were the cheaters, not her.
• I was 23 and he was 47. I was a very naive stupid kid who thought at the time, I wasn’t the one cheating so therefore, I wasn’t doing anything wrong.
• My ex-friend slept with her best friends husband. He convinced her that he wasn't getting what he wanted from his marriage and that he "loved" my friend. She thought he was going to leave his wife for her. She had been lonely for a long time and he said all the right things. Once the wife found out, he went crawling back.

Song of the week

- Deep in the Heart of Texas writes:

Sean,

For this week, a classic for True Romance:

Foreigner - Head Games

Rock on . . .

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-------------

That is it for today and for the month of October. I'll be in Florida next week, and I'm not taking my laptop with me. True Romance will return on the first Thursday in November, which is insane to think that it's going to be November already.

We had a solid finish to the month. A nice song selection to wrap it up. Keep the song of the week suggestions coming, even while I'm out. I'll sift through them when I return.

Also, feel free to send anything else my way. You can reach me, anonymously if you prefer, at sean.joseph@outkick.com. Go follow along on Twitter and Facebook.

Tech company previously complied with president’s demand to rename Gulf of Mexico as Gulf of America

Donald Trump said Google rejected his request to rename the Atlantic Ocean after himself or America.

Speaking at a rally in South Carolina on Wednesday, the president said he had called Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, to ask whether the company could “handle” his proposal.

• A version of this story originally appeared in Business Insider's weekly VC Insider newsletter.
• Sign up for BI's VC Insider newsletter here.

Ben here. Up until recently, it was a great time to be the founder of a neolab, the lavishly funded, research-first AI startups founded by top talent who defected from the likes of OpenAI or Google DeepMind.

We reported last month that Jeff Dean, Google's former chief scientist, is seeking a valuation as high as $50 billion for his new AI science startup. OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever's Safe Superintelligence is worth $32 billion. Another OpenAI alum, Mira Murati, is raising a round for Thinking Machines Lab at a valuation of around $40 billion.

But lately, in conversations with multiple VCs around Silicon Valley, there is a growing divide about whether neolabs can make the economics work with their multibillion-dollar price tags and formidable competition from frontier labs.

One VC at a top firm, who asked that I not use his name, told me neolabs are the most hotly debated type of investment right now.

"Some would say you shouldn't invest in any, and others would say this is basically all you should be investing in because software's dead, and you either have to own models or hardware, and even if you enter at a billion, the company could be worth a trillion," he said.

When I recently asked Menlo Ventures partner Matt Murphy at Business Insider's Growth Mode conference which sector he thought was most overhyped, he immediately cited neolabs, which was noteworthy, given that Menlo invested in some of them.

Murphy pointed to an example from his time as an early board advisor at Google, which he said did so well because it "was like a match thrown into a bonfire."

"The opposite thing you want to do is start a match with a bonfire," Murphy told me. "That's the risk of what's going on now with companies raising such large rounds."

Another Menlo partner, Deedy Das, posted last month about the "difficult game" of making neolab math work.

Das seemed a bit taken aback by the reaction to his post and later texted me: "Like all startups, many will fail, some will work."

Picking which ones will work is why VCs get paid the big bucks.

Neolabs are a power-law bet taken to an extreme, Radical Ventures' Aaron Rosenberg told me.

Investors know most will likely burn enormous sums on compute and talent without ever becoming profitable. But the rare winner could become a foundational AI company worth hundreds of billions or more.

"We're confident that the best neolabs will attract ongoing support," Rosenberg said. "Talent continues to transition out of the incumbents and academia into founder roles, and we see no signs of that slowing."

Like Radical, New Enterprise Associates wrote a bullish view in June. One of the authors, Andrew Schoen, told me his views have not changed. "There are neolabs I know of that are finalizing billion-plus-dollar rounds of equity financing, and those processes are moving very smoothly and quickly," he said.

The Buzz

Katie here. Many of tech's biggest names gathered at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco on Saturday, at a black-tie event in the name of Menlo Ventures' 50th anniversary.

Hollywood titan turned venture capitalist Jeffrey Katzenberg of Dreamworks fame asked the audience to join a prayer "for the blockbuster IPO of Anthropic," a joking reference to Menlo's early investment in the company.

I also spotted Morgan Stanley's storied technology banker Michael Grimes, who is undoubtedly holding his own AI IPO prayers. Other attendees included an array of public company and startup CEOs, including those from Snowflake, Zscaler, Legora, and OpenRouter.

As Menlo partner Venky Ganesan quipped, there was more AUM (assets under management) in the room than in many countries, given the attendees' net worth and the investment capital they manage.

Menlo isn't the first venture firm to host a splashy anniversary party; Index Ventures recently went big for its 30th anniversary.

A person at a rival venture shop expressed disappointment that their firm doesn't host such celebrations.

Menlo's night ended with concerts from two super confidential Grammy Award winners trying to rake in those AI bucks!

Around the Cap Table

• We reported this week that Fireworks AI is seeking fresh funding at a valuation of between $30 billion and $40 billion, a dramatic jump just months after its last blockbuster round was closed.
• "You Can See Everything" has everyone talking. Ben thought it was absolute genius, if a bit long. It will make this year's Oscars race exciting. See it in theaters before the experience is lessened by spoilers.
• Our colleague Rya Jetha explored the excitement and pitfalls of investing in robotics startups. Like neolabs, robotics companies are commanding big valuations with little to show for it, yet.
• Foursquare's $0 acquisition ended with no payout for employees or investors, according to founder Dennis Crowley.

Post of The Week

The VC Insider team

Ben Bergman, chief correspondent, in Los Angeles. Katie Roof, editor at large, in San Francisco. Pranav Dixit, senior technology editor, in San Francisco. Leena Rao, executive editor, in Los Angeles.

Click to see the full-size image

• Russian strikes destroyed targets in the Sumy, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Kyiv, Volyn, Odesa, Khmelnytskyi, Lviv, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv regions, and the DPR;
• According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian forces attacked Ukraine with Iskander-M/S-400/Zircon/Oniks missiles and 186 strike UAVs;
• Russian forces struck an aviation industry assembly enterprise (Antonov State Enterprise), a warehouse complex (Khladokombinat No. 3), an industrial enterprise, a UAV depot, the Yuzhnyi road and rail bridge, and the Novokiyevskaya 330 kV substation in Khotiv in the Kyiv region;
• Russian forces struck infrastructure facilities of the Kiliya port and a dry cargo ship in the port of Odesa;
• Russian forces struck two dry cargo ships at sea delivering cargo to the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk;
• Russian forces struck the Zhytomyrska 330 kV substation in Zhytomyr;
• Russian forces struck gas stations, cars, and power grids in the Kharkiv region;
• Russian forces struck the Epicenter shopping center in Uman;
• Russian forces struck a television and radio company building in Kremenchuk;
• Russian forces struck a production and warehouse complex in Kirovohrad;
• Ukrainian losses amounted to approximately 1,245 troops over the past 24 hours.

Click to see the full-size image

• Russian forces took control of Mirovka in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Click to see the full-size image

• Russian forces advanced in the eastern part of Dibrova and near Yampol.

Click to see the full-size image

• During the past night, Russian air defenses destroyed 808 Ukrainian drones in the rear regions;
• Russian air defenses intercepted UAVs in the Belgorod, Bryansk, Vladimir, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Leningrad, Oryol, Rostov, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tambov, Tver, Tula, and Yaroslavl regions, the Moscow region, the Republic of Crimea, and over the Black Sea;
• Russian air defenses shot down 630 drones over the Moscow region. A Russian Ministry of Defense facility, the JSC 75 Arsenal, was reportedly targeted;
• As a result of Ukrainian drone attacks, a multi-story building and a medical facility were damaged in Lipetsk
  An 82-year-old woman was injured in the Kursk region.

MORE ON THE TOPIC:

• Russia’s ‘Geran-4 Seeker’ Drones Strike Two Ukrainian NASAMS Systems (Videos)
• Military Situation In Ukraine And Ukrainian Attacks On Russian Territory On October 21, 2026 (Maps Update)
• Russian Army Clears More Areas South of Dobropolye

The post Military Situation In Ukraine And Ukrainian Attacks On Russian Territory On October 22, 2026 (Maps Update) appeared first on South Front.

Projeto desenvolvido em parceria com a Wipro Lauak Portugal no âmbito da Agenda Mobilizadora Aero.Next Portugal A Universidade Politécnica de Setúbal (UNIPS) contribuiu para o desenvolvimento de novas competências em fabrico aditivo, através do projeto ProAero3D, coordenado pela Wipro Lauak Portugal no âmbito da Agenda Mobilizadora Aero.Next Portugal, cuja execução física terminou a 30 de […]

On Wednesday’s broadcast of Newsmax TV’s “The Record,” Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Sara Carter stated that while there has been “some progress” from China on narcotic exports, but “we need more progress. We need

The post White House: ‘Need More Progress’ from CCP, ‘Everyone Else’ on Narcotic Exports appeared first on Breitbart.

On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Story Is,” Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-CA) said that he voted against tariffs that have raised costs, while his Democratic opponent “voted for a gas tax increase that has more than doubled the gas tax

The post Kiley: I Voted Against Tariffs That Raise Costs, My Opponent Voted for California Gas Tax That Raised Prices appeared first on Breitbart.

Wednesday on MS NOW’s “The Briefing,” Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) said “Donald Trump ran for president to become a dictator.” Moore said, “Well, I think, you know, when I think about difficult times in our society has faced, you know, there’s

The post Wes Moore: ‘Donald Trump Ran for President to Become a Dictator’ appeared first on Breitbart.

On Wednesday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) said that, in California, “We rely on a small number of people to provide a lot of tax revenue to the state, and that brings with it volatility. So,

The post Dem Rep. Kamlager-Dove: CA’s Tax System ‘Very Volatile’ Because It Relies on Small, Heavily-Taxed Group, Should Be ‘More Equal’ appeared first on Breitbart.

On Wednesday’s broadcast of Fox News Radio’s “Brian Kilmeade Show,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) stated that “Putin doesn’t comply with anything.” And “It’s like Iran, they’re not going to comply” with deals. Scott said, “Putin’s a thug. And so, we

The post Rick Scott: ‘We Can’t Help’ ‘Bad Guys’ Like Putin, Putin Never Keeps Word, Just Like Iran appeared first on Breitbart.

On Wednesday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) responded to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg considering leaving the state over a possible wealth tax by stating that there are questions about having a one-time tax, but “it’s disappointing

The post Dem Rep. Kamlager-Dove on Zuckerberg Considering Leaving CA Over Wealth Tax: Need Federal Rules So People ‘Can’t Cherry-Pick States’ appeared first on Breitbart.

Un destino turístico no se construye únicamente con paisajes, hoteles y visitantes. También necesita a las personas que lo gestionan, limpian las habitaciones y atienden los restaurantes. La falta de vivienda asequible para los trabajadores del Pirineo revela una contradicción: los lugares que generan riqueza gracias al turismo pueden acabar expulsando a quienes necesitan para seguir funcionando. No tiene sentido celebrar el éxito de una temporada si quienes la ponen en marcha deben compartir habitación o renunciar a vivir donde trabajan. Los balances analizan cuántos visitantes llegan y cuánto dinero dejan, pero hace falta preguntarse: ¿Qué condiciones de vida tienen quienes sostienen esa actividad? No se trata de enfrentar a residentes y visitantes, sino de entender que el turismo depende de las personas que lo hacen posible.

Seguir leyendo

• Two years ago, I moved to Spain, and began dating a Spaniard several months in.
• We had some immediate cultural clashes, mostly around communication and our argument styles.
• I've learned that being fluent in a language doesn't necessarily make communication easy.

I'd spent years learning Spanish before I moved to Spain, but once I arrived, I realized how much further I had to go before I could call myself fluent.

I consider myself "conversationally adjacent"; I'm a few neighborhoods over from fluent, but I still get lost.

So, when I started dating a Spaniard six months into moving here, I was fully prepared for regular vocabulary deficits and butchered grammar (especially with my archenemy, the subjunctive).

What I didn't expect was that even when I understood every word, I could still misunderstand the meaning behind it — because language was only part of the equation.

I was shocked when he called me 'ugly'

Early in our relationship, my Spanish boyfriend casually called me "fea" — literally "ugly" — and was baffled when I burst into tears.

To him, the word didn't carry the cruelty I heard in its English equivalent. In Spain, words like "fea" or "feo" are often used as playful terms of endearment. Understanding this, though, didn't make it hurt any less.

Another time, I asked him how to say "making out" in Spanish. He had no idea — and, in fact, he didn't even understand the concept when I explained it.

"You know," I said. "More than kissing, less than sex. The kind of thing teenagers do on the sofa while pretending to watch a movie." He looked at me like I had invented a new sport.

That was when I started to realize that I wasn't just learning Spanish, but discovering that dating comes with different assumptions in every culture.

We followed very different dating rules

After six months together, things were going really well, but my boyfriend and I still hadn't had "the talk."

Having lived in Canada and the US, I was used to relationships hitting a certain point when someone would say something along the lines of, "I really like you, and I think this is going well. Do you want to be in a relationship or date exclusively?"

When I brought this up, my boyfriend looked genuinely puzzled. So I asked how, in his experience, two people knew they were on the same page about progressing a relationship and not dating anyone else. He shrugged and told me that usually it's just assumed.

My mouth dropped open. "But what if you assume you're exclusive, and she assumes you're not, and it turns out she's dating other people?"

He shrugged again. "You just trust that you both feel the same way," he said.

My boyfriend isn't the only one who feels this way. After our discussion, I asked several Spanish friends about this, and they all said that neither they nor anyone they knew had ever had this conversation.

I've had to separate language, culture, and personality

Some differences are easy to laugh about later — like when we argued about "compromiso," a word I understood as "compromise" and he meant as "commitment" — but others are harder, because they're embedded in our DNA.

For instance, we argue in different ways. My boyfriend can feel ready to move on from disagreements moments after they happen. I, on the other hand, take a bit longer to recover.

Two years later, we're still together and still in love. We're also seeing a couples therapist who has experience with bicultural relationships, because not being quite fluent in each other's languages means we may understand most of the words, but we're sometimes still confused about what the other person is trying to say.

Our therapist is helping us see which misunderstandings are linguistic, which are cultural, and which are simply differences between two people.

Movies often make cross-cultural dating seem romantic — after all, body language is universal, wink, wink — but I beg to differ. Communication is supremely important when trying to build a life with someone.

So this relationship has forced both of us to assess our assumptions at every potential speed bump. Now, we ask: Is this cultural? Personal? A relationship incompatibility? Or just a "lost in translation" misunderstanding that we'll laugh about later?

• I had been dating a guy for about a month when I took a chance and invited him on a trip.
• I was worried it might be too soon, but the vacation turned out to be a great compatibility test.
• Six years later, he's now my husband. This trip is one we look back on fondly.

How soon is too soon to invite a new romantic partner to go on vacation? I asked myself that when I had been dating a guy for a month and had an upcoming vacation that I had planned before I met him.

During the height of the pandemic lockdown in the spring of 2020, I was going stir-crazy not being able to travel freely. In those early days before vaccines or access to testing, air travel felt risky, and there were even restrictions on interstate travel. As an avid traveler who always has a next destination in mind, I needed something to look forward to during those dark days when I was afraid to hug my parents because of social distancing guidelines.

I didn't know it yet, but a solo adventure to cure my cabin fever would turn into a litmus test for a budding relationship during those unprecedented times.

I planned a trip that seemed doable, even with pandemic restrictions

I loved hiking and the outdoors before the pandemic. While many places were closed due to social distancing mandates, the national parks were mostly still open. I had never been to Acadia National Park in Maine, even though I lived in New England until I was 10. Maine is within a day's drive from my home in the Washington, DC area, so Acadia seemed like a feasible destination.

I was single at the time. I had taken solo trips before and planned to go to Maine on my own. In June, I scheduled my time off from work for the last week of August. I didn't have any accommodations picked out or much of a plan other than driving up to Maine and visiting Acadia.

Then I met someone

In July, I met a guy from a dating app. We hit it off, and soon we were seeing each other multiple times a week. About a month after we first met, we were hanging out, and I said offhand, "I'm going to miss spending time with you when I'm in Maine." He said he was going to miss me too. Then an idea, that seemed crazy, popped into my head. "Well, you could come with me," I blurted out.

As soon as I asked him to join me, I wondered if I had crossed a line. We weren't even in official "boyfriend-girlfriend" territory. We had known each other for a month, and my trip was planned for a month later. Without hesitation, he accepted my invitation to go to Maine.

Going on vacation together was a great relationship test

I was excited my new love interest wanted to join me on vacation, but I couldn't help but consider the potential for disaster. What if we stopped seeing each other before it was time to go on vacation? How would we handle a 9-hour car ride together? What if four days of nonstop togetherness was too much too soon?

As he helped me plan the trip, I got early signals that things would go well. We collaborated on finding a place to stay. We were aligned that while we didn't need a 5-star hotel, we also didn't want a bargain rustic cabin where the only bathroom was an outhouse. The night before we left, he humored my meticulous packing list and impressed me with his ability to load the car as if he were playing Tetris.

The 9-hour drive showed we were a great team, taking turns as the driver or the copilot who assisted with navigation and music selection. We discovered that, as angsty teenagers, we had nearly identical tastes in early 2000s rock music, despite growing up on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Staying together in the cabin ended up being a micro-experiment in living together, which felt effortless.

The trip itself was a blast. We admired the Atlantic Ocean from the top of Cadillac Mountain and skipped rocks on Jordan Pond in Acadia. We went kayaking at the lake by our rented cabin and ate fresh lobster. Inviting someone you're dating on vacation so soon might have been unconventional, but it turned out great. Six years later, we're still together, and the trip remains a fond memory from the early days of our relationship.

Ever find something you want to buy online, leave it sitting in a browser tab and then completely forget where you saw it? Maybe you spotted a great pair of headphones while searching Google. Later, you found a birthday gift at another retailer. Before long, you've got a dozen tabs open and no idea which store had the better deal.

Google thinks it has a solution. On Oct. 15, the company began the U.S. rollout of Universal Cart, a new artificial intelligence-powered shopping tool that brings products from different retailers into one place. It also tracks prices, watches for restocks and helps you find savings before checkout.

With holiday shopping approaching, the timing could be especially useful. But there's another question worth asking. Will having everything in one cart help us spend less, or simply make it easier to buy more?

AMERICANS SAY THEY'RE BROKE. SO WHY CAN'T THEY STOP SPENDING SO MUCH?

Join our upcoming CyberGuy LIVE class: 5 Ways to Travel Smarter and Save Money

In this free live online class, Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson will share five practical ways to protect your trip and your wallet this holiday travel season. You'll learn how to secure your phone and personal information, find better travel deals, avoid common scams, save money on bookings and use technology to make your travels easier and less stressful. No technical experience is needed.

Join us Saturday, October 31, at 11 AM ET / 8 AM PT. Register for free now at CyberGuyLive.com.

AMAZON ABOUT YOU MAY KNOW YOU A LITTLE TOO WELL

What is Google Universal Cart?

Google Universal Cart is a shopping hub that works across Google Search and the Gemini app. Instead of keeping separate lists of products you might buy, you can save items from different retailers in one place. For example, you might find a coffee maker while searching Google and add it to your Universal Cart. Later, while talking with Gemini about gift ideas, you could save a pair of sneakers from another store. When you return, both products will be waiting for you. Google first previewed the tool in May 2026. Now, Universal Cart is rolling out to U.S. shoppers. It uses Google's Shopping Graph, which contains more than 60 billion continually refreshed product listings. That information helps the system monitor prices and availability across supported products.

4 ways Google's new AI shopping cart can help you save

The biggest attraction here is convenience. But Google has added several features that could also help you avoid paying more than necessary.

1. Keep products from different stores in one cart

Shopping online often means bouncing between websites. You find something at Target, check another item at Walmart and then head to Sephora for a gift. Remembering where you saw everything can become a chore. Universal Cart lets you save supported products you discover through Google Search and Gemini. More importantly, your saved items stay together when you return to shopping. That could come in handy when you're shopping for several people or making a big purchase that requires some research. You can keep your options organized without committing to buying anything right away.

2. Get alerts when prices drop or products return

Here's the feature I find particularly interesting. Universal Cart can monitor saved products and notify you when a price drops. It can also alert you when something that sold out becomes available again. Suppose you're considering a new television but aren't ready to spend the money. Rather than checking the same retailer every morning, you can save it and let Google's shopping system watch for changes. The alerts could be especially helpful heading into Black Friday and the holiday shopping season. Still, remember that a price reduction doesn't automatically guarantee the lowest price available.

IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION IS CHANGING: WHAT TO LOOK FOR

3. Find promo codes and credit card savings

This is where Google's AI starts doing some extra work. Universal Cart can surface relevant promotional codes and consider benefits associated with your payment cards. Let's say you have multiple credit cards but can't remember which one offers better rewards at a particular retailer. Universal Cart uses information from Google Wallet to understand supported credit card benefits and help you choose between payment methods. It can also show relevant promotional codes directly in your cart, potentially helping you find savings you might otherwise miss. However, I would still check the details before choosing a card. Rewards programs come with conditions, and the highest points offer may not always translate into the greatest savings.

4. Check out without starting over

Once you're ready to buy, Universal Cart offers a more streamlined checkout experience with participating retailers. In some cases, you can complete the purchase using Google Pay directly from the cart. Alternatively, Google can transfer your selected items to the retailer's website so you can finish your order there. Google says its simplified checkout experiences include retailers such as Nike, Sephora, Target, Ulta Beauty, Walmart and Wayfair, along with many Shopify merchants. However, the available checkout options depend on the retailer. Either way, the retailer remains the seller of record and handles order confirmations and customer support. That means you'll continue dealing with the merchant for delivery questions or returns.

119,000 FAKE SHOPS COULD STEAL YOUR CREDIT CARD DETAILS

How to get started with Google Universal Cart

Google began rolling out Universal Cart to U.S. users on Oct. 15. The feature works across Google Search and the Gemini app, although availability may vary as the rollout continues. To explore it, open Google Search or Gemini and look for products you're interested in buying. When Universal Cart becomes available in your shopping experience, you can save supported products from different retailers. Google says those items will remain in your cart when you return, allowing you to pick up where you left off. You can also use the cart to monitor price changes, discover promotional offers and review available checkout options. However, Google hasn't provided a single set of instructions that applies to every device. The appearance and placement of these features may vary.

NEW AMAZON AI SEARCH TURNS WORDS INTO SHOPPABLE IMAGES

Does Google's Universal Cart work with every retailer?

Not necessarily. Google says Universal Cart can organize products across retailers, but that doesn't mean every online store supports every feature. The products you can save depend on supported shopping experiences. Meanwhile, checkout options vary depending on the merchant. Some purchases can happen through Google Pay in the cart, while others require you to finish on the retailer's website. Google originally introduced Universal Cart in May with plans to bring it to Search, Gemini, YouTube and Gmail. However, its October 15 launch announcement specifically confirms availability across Search and Gemini in the U.S. Google has not announced a confirmed launch date for Universal Cart integration with Gmail or YouTube.

What's powering Google's new shopping experience?

Behind the scenes, Google uses something called the Universal Commerce Protocol, or UCP. It's a shared technical standard designed to help AI-powered shopping tools communicate with retailers and payment systems. For shoppers, the technical details are less important than what they make possible. UCP helps Google connect product discovery with checkout, reducing the need to jump between different shopping experiences. Google has also been expanding AI shopping beyond the cart. Its Let Google Call feature, for example, can use AI to contact nearby stores and check product availability. Amazon has been developing AI-powered shopping tools, while OpenAI offers AI agents that can assist with shopping-related tasks. The competition to become your digital shopping assistant is heating up.

What about your shopping privacy?

Having Google organize your shopping could be convenient, especially if you already use Search and Gemini. Still, it's worth considering how much shopping information you're comfortable keeping within your Google account. Universal Cart uses Google Wallet to help identify supported payment benefits and relevant offers. However, Google's launch announcement doesn't provide detailed information about how long Universal Cart shopping data is retained or exactly how it may be used for advertising. Before relying on the feature, review your Google account's privacy settings and Google's published privacy policies. For now, I would avoid assuming that adding something to Universal Cart keeps that shopping interest private. And if you're buying a surprise gift for someone who shares access to your Google account, think twice before saving it there. Of course, the usual online shopping precautions still apply. Before completing a purchase, check the final price and verify that you're buying from a legitimate seller. A familiar checkout experience shouldn't replace those basic habits. For more help spotting suspicious sellers, see our guide on how to tell whether an online store is real or a scam.

Kurt's key takeaways

I like the idea of having one place to keep track of everything I'm considering buying, especially when the holidays roll around. The price alerts could be genuinely helpful. And if Google's AI can find a discount code I would have otherwise missed, I'm all for it. But I'm also watching where this is heading. Google is making shopping increasingly convenient, and that convenience can be a double-edged sword. When a company knows what you're interested in buying and makes checkout easier, there's less time to reconsider a purchase. My advice? Use Universal Cart to do your homework and save money. Just don't let the technology do the deciding for you.

Would you trust Google's AI to help you shop and choose how to pay, or are we giving tech companies too much influence over what we buy? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.

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The Ukrainian 3rd Army Corps' Operation Vivaldi—its secretive counteroffensive east of Sloviansk in northern Donetsk Oblast—started earlier than first reported, and by the time it ended on 14 October it had cost the Russians more than 8,000 troops, by the 3rd Army Corps' count.

It was a major Ukrainian victory in one of the most important sectors of Russia's 56-month wider war on Ukraine. But it could prove to be a temporary win, one the Russians may be able to partially reverse, if the administration of US President Donald Trump continues to throttle Starshield, the military version of Starlink that Ukraine's drones and commanders rely on.

The Ukrainians' former command and control advantage, largely attributable to once-reliable Starlink and Starshield access, was pivotal as Operation Vivaldi played out in the Donbas region in stages starting in March. That advantage shrank practically overnight on 14 October, when a new speed cap began cutting off Ukraine's Starshield terminals whenever they moved faster than about 160 km/h (100 mph).

The 3rd Army Corps attacked east of Sloviansk and north of Lyman as early as March, analyst and mapper Clément Molin concluded after scrutinizing official videos and interviews the Ukrainian defense ministry recently released. "The operation began much earlier than initially thought," Molin wrote.

The timing was probably no accident.

In early February, SpaceX, working from a Ukrainian defense ministry whitelist, switched off the thousands of stolen and smuggled Starlink terminals the Russians had been using.

That had the effect of grounding many Russian drones and blinding many Russian commanders. Taking advantage of the Russians' confusion, Ukrainian troops attacked in several key sectors: in Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk Oblasts in the southeast, and east of Sloviansk in northern Donetsk.

The Donetsk attack expanded into a full-blown counteroffensive under conditions of strict secrecy as the 3rd Army Corps probed for weaknesses along the flanks of the Russian 20th and 25th Combined Arms Armies, then overextended along the axis between the Zherebets River in the east and the outskirts of the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk urban conglomeration in the west.

The Russians had been threatening to lay siege to Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the last two big free cities in Donetsk Oblast, from two directions: the north and the south. Operation Vivaldi eliminated the northern threat—and at great cost to the Russian 20th and 25th CAAs.

Drones lead

Aerial drones and unmanned ground vehicles led the attack, taking the Russians by surprise. "For an offensive operation, the Ukrainians sustained relatively few casualties compared to previous engagements," Molin explained. "Conversely, the defending Russian forces suffered significantly higher losses, largely due to the rapid encirclement of at least three regiments, not all of which managed to escape the area."

It's unclear how many casualties the Russians suffered, but they might number in the thousands. The 20th and 25th CAAs were particularly fragile because the 3rd Army Corps and supporting drone units had been bombarding their supply line with so-called "middle strike" drones.

But many middle strike drones rely on civilian-style Starlink satellite terminals or the more rugged, better-performing Starshield. Now that the 3rd Army Corps has wrecked Russia's 144th Motor Rifle Division, which the Institute for the Study of War assessed on 20 October has effectively ceased to exist as an organized fighting force, and pushed the Russian survivors back to the far bank of the Zherebets River, the Ukrainians are probably "consolidating their gains and adopting a defensive posture," according to Molin.

But that defensive posture, protecting Sloviansk from a northern attack, depends on reliable communications and responsive drones. On 14 October, a new speed cap hit Ukraine's Starshield terminals, cutting the link on any drone flying faster than about 160 km/h. Who ordered it is disputed. Sources told Reuters the order came from inside the White House, and that Pentagon leaders were told the service needed to be slowed.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk himself ordered the slowdown, and that he and Trump discussed it soon after it became public. While Trump has denied ordering the speed limit, it's worth noting that the American president has become more overtly friendly toward Russia as his Republican Party looks likely to lose control of the US Congress in the November mid-term elections.

The speed limit renders many of the faster middle-strike drones unflyable. As a result, "Ukrainian drone strikes have diminished significantly following yesterday's crippling of Ukraine's Starlink/Starshield connections, Russian sources report," the military history account ChrisO_wiki wrote on X on 15 October, the day after the speed limit took Ukrainian operators by surprise.

Explore further

Russia is back at Dobropillia a year after it failed there. Now it’s the southern jaw of a pincer on Donbas’s last big free cities

A reduction in middle strikes on Russian supply lines could help Russian field armies recover from recent setbacks, including their retreat back across the Zherebets River. And if the communications confusion resulting from the partial loss of Starlink/Starshield connectivity persists, it could give the Russians the same kind of opportunity the Ukrainians had back in the spring.

An opportunity to go back on the attack—and an Azov communications engineer warned Euromaidan Press in February that the shoe might be on the other foot.

That's the worst-case scenario for the Ukrainians now that Operation Vivaldi has ended. The best case is that they get full Starlink and Starshield access back—or find command and control alternatives—and duplicate, in other sectors, the same success they enjoyed in northern Donetsk.

"Now that the northern flank of Donbas is secured, at least for some time, the focus will concentrate on the southern flank," Molin predicted.

Explore further

Starlink crackdown cripples Russians—but American engineer warns Ukraine is just as vulnerable

Welcome to Screencaps, "America's Best Daily Column," as named by the readers. Screencaps, which publishes seven-days-a-week, is a mix of sports, pop culture, and emails from sane readers from around the world. This column isn't for the coastal elites. Give us a week to steal your heart. Our track record is pretty good. Let's have some fun.

Thank you, Paige

Ladies, have you been wondering how to tee up a golf ball? You're in luck, Paige and her playing partner have created a step-by-step lesson plan.

I have to give credit to Paige. She spent years as OutKick's No. 1 ranked golf influencer in the world, but the content was just Paige in some costume and it started to get old. Once she started doing this playing partner thing where she leans into just being Paige, giggling, dropping innuendo jokes and having fun, the content HAS POPPED.

PAIGE SPIRANAC NEEDS TO EMBRACE FULL INTEGRITY GOLF AFTER PUTTING INCIDENT, TRUMP'S NEW HIRE & DITKA!

The formula seems to be rather simple: Create content that neanderthals will share in their golf group chats.

"Good girls bend at the knee, bad girls bend at the hip . . . Or something like that . . . might be the other way round," some guy named Rich, who's clearly in a golf group chat, wrote on Instagram.

By the way, that's Kendall Toole, the former Peloton instructor golfing with Paige. I'm sure some of you who rode a stationary bike during COVID remember her.

📩 Email: joe.kinsey@outkick.com
Send photos, stories, tips, rants—whatever you've got.

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I deserve an IMDb entry after doing this voice work for the Cal McCallister show

In case you've been in a coma, OutKick's Matt Reigle created this show and has been using OutKick talent to voice many of the characters. In this episode, my voice talent is on display. Give it a watch and rate my performance.

Speaking of OutKick coworkers, I have to give props to OutKick senior WNBA writer (I gave him that title; it's not an official role) Dan Zaksheske for this single piece of content

This is about as perfect as it gets and shows exactly what it's like to be an OutKick outsider going into many of these environments where the Big Js and the team media staffs absolutely despise you. But, someone has to do it.

Dump Dinners: Are the Millennial parents doing this stuff so they can collect 'Likes' on social media or is it to actually have fun with the kids?

I'm on the fence here. Part of me feels like this would be fun with toddlers who are a complete mess anyway, why not let them go wild. The other part of my brain tells me this is just another dopamine hit for Millennial parents who want to throw this content on Instagram so their yuppie friends smash that like button.

Random Mailbag Time®

• Kevin F. in Naples, FL writes: Food that is hard to screw up? Nachos. A sign of a bad restaurant is when their nachos are terrible.

Kinsey: Hold up, nachos are screwed up at an astounding rate. In fact, a few years ago, I told Mrs. Screencaps that there wasn't a single place within 20 miles of our house that can do nachos correctly.

Burning shredded cheese onto chips isn't nachos. I got to the point where I couldn't even trust the Mexicans to produce a legit plate of nachos. I get where Kevin's going here, but they're easy to screw up because these places don't put in the effort.

• Kevin in Frederick checks in: Checking out the site and the Astros chick made me think about the ALCS and WS. I had to jump on the 4 letter website to see where the ALCS stood - the World Series starts Friday, after all, right? Just checked, and apparently it's over (Go Rays!). Didn't even know.

RAYS PUNCH THEIR TICKET TO THE WORLD SERIES, TAKING DOWN GUARDIANS IN GAME 6 TO SET UP SERIES WITH BREWERS

It serves MLB right to have to show the Trop for at least 2 games. Place is a soulless sh–box unlike American Family Field (aka Miller Park). Would cheer for the Brewers if Uke was still kicking it. Would love to hear him call a WS for the home team.

Never really been a MLB fan since the days of the Cubs afternoon games interrupting the 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM window of Scooby Doo and Tom and Jerry - stupid Cubs.

Pulling for TB, (another fan base that does not deserve a title) as I lived there while Sapp was playing. He was always a jerk. His philosophy was always he wouldn't take pics or sign anything because someone would be left unhappy - so he just made everyone unhappy. At least he was consistent.

Finally, The WNBA finals fix is in!. Atlanta beats GSV on the road and gets 15 more FT's than the home team? The WNBA decided they've got the chance to ride the Angel Reece train and they are gonna do just that - by any means possible. This is going 7 games for sure...and crowning her as the new face of the WNBA. Can't promote CC over a WNBA champ can you?

• Greg writes on the world of fast-food buffets: KFC has a good all-u-can-eat buffet here in Tallahassee.

• CF in Kansas tells me: We went to Wendy’s drive-thru the other day and "lo and behold!" there was an older lady working the window.  We had a smooth experience for a welcome change.  Perhaps that Wendy’s manager reads your column and was smart enough to take your advice.  Bring back the old ladies!!!!!!

Kinsey: Thank you for this report, CF. The quicker Wendy's rids itself of the meth addicts and prison-release system workers, the sooner this brand restores order. Now, I'm concerned that too much damage has been done, but it's a great step. Remember how Cracker Barrel created an unnecessary mess with that whole logo change idea from the Rachel Maddow ripoff CEO? She learned a valuable lesson, left and now look at the stock: It hit $69/share this week.

Bring back the Superbar. Fire the meth addicts. I'd even sell monthly Superbar subscriptions. VIP lines like you're waiting for a ride at Cedar Point. You know what Chick-fil-A doesn't have? A f'ing SUPERBAR! DO IT, WENDY'S!

• Greg shares his experience with Warren Sapp: I graduated Univ of Miami in 1978 and have been a huge Cane fan since 1974, my first year on campus.   I don’t recall the exact year but it was likely around 2004,  I was returning back to Florida from Nassau, and Warren Sapp was on the same plane.  After we landed,  I was standing in the terminal with some Cane fans who just wanted to shake his hand and perhaps get a picture.  He could not have been more UNFRIENDLY AND RUDE as he ungraciously denied their request.  I knew from that moment on that despite being a great football player, he was a lousy human being.  It is no wonder you don’t see too many endorsement deals for this miserable person.

How to sync your TV to NFL radio broadcasts

– Tom T. says: Finally! You are covering a topic on which I am an expert. I have been listening to NFL home team broadcasts synced with the TV since Sonny & Sam were calling the Washington REDSKINS back in the 80's and 90's. Back then, over the air AM radio was already synced perfectly with cable TV, so all we had to do was mute the TV and turn on the Technics receiver pre-tuned to 960 AM.

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Nowadays, I listen to the skins on BIG100 out of DC, over the Internet. It is normally about 60 seconds ahead of the cable TV broadcast, so I have to pause TV1 AND pause TV2, which shows Redzone channel. I usually sync on the opening kickoff. I also have to avoid looking at my fantasy football scoreboard until commercial breaks, so I can remain in the 60 second "cone of silence".

A funny thing happens around 5pm, however. At that time, BIG100 starts telling me that I am out of the authorized listening area, so for 4pm or night games, I have to rely on an NFL+ subscription, which runs about $13 per month to listen to any game.

Most of the time, everything stays synced up, but occasionally it is necessary to re-sync. If you can handle that, it is the BEST way to watch your favorite team. I was travelling for work on Monday, and I ended up watching the second half on mute, because I was sooooooo tired of Buck and Troy sucking up to Kyle Shanahan and talking about how much the REDSKINS stink..... I can't handle the truth.

THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!

Kinsey: I'm still not hearing how you sync the broadcast with the radio when the radio is running ahead of the video stream. Are you guys pausing the radio broadcasts for a set amount of time? Have you determined the exact amount of delay the TV stream is on and then you use some sort of counter to get this stuff perfectly synced?

– Steve C. in Kentucky writes: You have to delay and pause both the tv and radio apps then sync them by myself.  After a while it is pretty easy.

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That should be more than enough content to get the juices pumping on a Thursday morning. The sun is still out here in Ohio. The weather has been absolutely phenomenal. I'm talking 69, sunny, no wind, no clouds. Just amazing for this time of year which means we're probably going to get pummeled in about seven days.

Anyway, let's enjoy life. Let's get some work done and get one step closer to the weekend.

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