Factory Output Soared In December, Lifting Economy

Connections: Sports Edition is a new version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans. Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn moreCarlos Sainz of Ferrari in Las Vegas. Clive Mason/Getty ImagesWe've been looking forward to this one, as Vegas hosted one of the most exciting races last year, with plenty of daring overtakes on the tight concrete wall-lined corners.

LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman says Elon Musk shouldn't use his relationship with Donald Trump to steer US policies that could boost the Tesla CEO's AI startup, xAI. Frederic J. Brown/AFP and Andrew Harnik/Getty ImagesLinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman hopes a second Trump term can usher in an era of AI innovation.

7-Eleven stores are at the center of a multibillion-dollar bidding war. Getty ImagesSeven & i Holdings, owner of 7-Eleven stores, is at the center of a three-way bidding war. The company's management, its founders, and a Canadian convenience store company all want control. Depending on who ultimately prevails, the Japan-based company could go private.

If you're reading this, you're looking for a little help playing Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game. Strands requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns.

Bluesky, the formerly Jack Dorsey-affiliated, decentralized answer to Elon Musk's X is closing the gap with Threads at breakneck speed. The browser version of Bluesky surpassed Threads in total usage weeks ago, but now the Bluesky app has exploded to 3.5 million daily active users, putting it just 1.5 times behind Meta’s Threads — an impressive feat considering the Threads app had 5x Bluesky's active users at the start of the month. SEE ALSO: People are importing their lame tweets to Bluesky The momentum shift has been nothing short of seismic, especially in the wake of the November 5 election.