Entertainment
This Texas startup believes AI can identify and stop mass shooters
The week before the annual SXSW conference in Austin, Texas, a mass shooter killed three people outside a college bar in the city’s bustling downtown district. And at SXSW on Monday, a company called Angel Protection demonstrated technology that uses AI to identify potential shooters before they cause a mass casualty event.
Angel Protection was founded in the aftermath of another Texas mass shooting, the 2022 Uvalde tragedy that took the lives of 19 children and 2 teachers. Founder and CEO Lewis Matthews had two young children at the time of the shooting, and as a data scientist, he believed AI and visual intelligence could be used to mitigate future mass shootings and save lives.
Angel Protection’s technology integrates with existing surveillance cameras and scans them simultaneously to identify firearms. If it detects a civilian brandishing a firearm, it alerts a human reviewer in the company’s Midland monitoring center. Angel Protection says it can identify a shooter and alert law enforcement in 10 seconds or less.
Angel Protection founder Lewis Matthew demonstrates the company’s technology at SXSW.
Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable
“As you can see, I’m an outsider, and I can see that it’s real, material stuff that’s broken in these systems,” Matthews told Mashable. “Stuff is broken at the local level all the way up through the federal government…So, we started studying it. We spent two years just really looking at the problem.”
Matthews said that, as a data scientist, he knew that if you want to change a broken system, you need to have some type of measurement to know if your efforts are working.
“The measurement we look at in this case is time. What’s the time problem that we’re solving here? We started with all the mass shootings from 1999 to 2025. Average time from first shots fired to 911 being initiated is 90 seconds. So if I put my gun out there and start shooting, it’s 90 seconds before someone picks up the phone and calls 911, because people go into denial. They think it’s fireworks, kids playing around, doors slamming, anything other than [what it is].”
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Even when people call 911, they often provide contradictory information.
“Then what happens…is they get inundated with a bunch of calls that describe everyone as being the shooter. Everyone is fleeing the scene. The shooter is black, the shooter is white, the shooter is bald. Shooters got long hair, tall, fat, shorts, jeans, whatever it is, they get every single description before the cops show up. All they know is they’re looking for someone.”
Not only can Angel Protection Systems quickly identify potential mass shooters, but they can send a photograph and precise location directly to first responders.
“We use AI to detect those guns and humans to verify that [and] cut that 90 seconds down to sub 10 seconds, and we do that with extreme, extreme accountability,” Matthews said.
Privacy experts are increasingly worried about AI’s potential to be used for mass surveillance. However, Angel Protection’s chief technology officer told me all the information processing occurs on-site to protect privacy, and Angel Protection is only alerted when a threat is identified.
The company’s human reviewers also help cut down on false positives, Matthews says, though it still happens, especially in an open-carry state like Texas. (Angel Protection’s visual intelligence doesn’t alert to holstered weapons for this reason.) Apparently, ROTC students who carry rifles without wearing the proper uniform have been one early problem.
The ultimate goal, Matthews said, is to identify mass shooters in entryways or parking lots, as these shooters often arrive on scene brandishing a rifle. Mass shootings often progress at lightning speed, and he believes that quickly getting accurate information to first responders will save lives.
Angel Protection is still in its infancy, and a company spokesperson told me the company is currently monitoring about 2,500 cameras in Texas, checking for potential shooters twice a second. So far, the company is working with schools, hospitals, and government sites.
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Artificial Intelligence
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Entertainment
NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 3, 2026
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition will require some knowledge of popular U.S. sports and pop culture.
As we’ve shared in previous hints stories, this is a 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.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections: Sports Edition?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication’s sports coverage. The sports Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
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Here’s a hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Here are today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
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Yellow: In Good Shape
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Green: Current NFL Head Coaches
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Blue: Famous Sports “Curses”
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Purple: Starts of Big Ten Names
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition #586 is…
What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?
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In Good Shape: AGIL, ATHLETIC, FIT, STRONG
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Current NFL Head Coaches: COEN, GLENN, REID, RYANS
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Famous Sports “Curses”: BAMBINO, BILLY GOAT, MADDEN, SI COVER
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Starts of Big Ten Names: BOIL, BUCK, CORN, HAWK
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.
Entertainment
The DJI Mini 5 Pro drone is $500 off right now at Amazon — save on this content creator favorite
SAVE $500: The DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is on sale for $1,099 at Amazon. That’s $500 off the list price of $1,599.
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What’s going to happen to the drone market in 2026? Due to legislative pressure on DJI imports in the U.S., there is so much uncertainty at the moment. We expected stock issues by now, but we’re actually seeing strong discounts on some of the best drones in the DJI range.
The DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is on sale for $1,099 at Amazon. That’s $500 off and close to the record-low price.
The DJI Mini 5 Pro offers a huge 1-inch CMOS sensor, so whether you’re shooting 50MP stills or 4K/120fps slow-motion, the dynamic range more than delivers. The DJI Mini 5 Pro also makes use of forward-facing LiDAR that powers the new Nightscape Omnidirectional Sensing, meaning it can dodge branches, power lines, and buildings even when you don’t have eyes on your drone.
This popular drone offers 42GB of internal storage, meaning you can actually capture a full session of 4K footage without needing an external card as backup. That can have a massive impact for content creators.
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Save $500 on the DJI Mini 5 Pro this weekend.
Entertainment
Put multiple AI models to work at once with this $80 tool
TL;DR: Upgrade your AI workflow with a lifetime subscription to 1min.AI’s Advanced Business Plan, now just $79.97 (reg. $540) until May 10.
Most AI models spit out one answer. There’s one problem with this — you don’t know if it’s the best option unless you run it through multiple models, which takes a whole lot of time. That’s where 1min.AI shines, letting you put your prompt in one place and see answers from dozens of AI models.
Right now, you can streamline your AI workflow with a lifetime subscription to 1min.AI Advanced Business Plan for only $79.97 (reg. $540) through May 10.
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Imagine seeing results from dozens of popular AI models in one window, with no tab-hopping or copying and pasting required. That’s what 1min.AI offers — a one-stop-shop for all your AI needs.
With 1min.AI, you can see responses from major AI models like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Mistral, and more, all in one spot.
Compare them all and easily find the best answer. You can get help with coding, video editing, image generation, answering simple questions, and much more. Just always give things a human once-over, because edits might be required.
Not only does 1min.AI let you consolidate your AI workflow, but it also saves you money in the long run. This lifetime subscription allows you to pay once and avoid not only monthly subscription fees, but also the cost of accessing multiple models.
Your lifetime subscription to the 1min.AI Advanced Business Plan provides an unlimited prompt library, unlimited storage, unlimited brand voice options, and weekly updates. You’ll also receive 4 million credits a month.
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Lock in major savings with a lifetime subscription to 1min.AI’s Advanced Business Plan for only $79.97 through May 10.
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Pirates wreck Reds; tie MLB record for consecutive walks
Max Meyer, 2 relievers hold Phillies to 1 hit
