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There’s a New Royal Feud Brewing—And Prince William Is at the Center of It (Again)

Family dynamics are tricky for the best of us, and they’re even harder when you work together. That goes double (triple?) when you and your co-workers are the Windsors. Toss in the crown, a few palaces and a lot of royal egos, we’re talking full-on regal explosions. It’s safe to say the Windsors have had a bit of a challenging time lately, between Andrew’s continued fall from grace and Prince Harry’s ongoing antics, plus the cancer journeys of King Charles and Princess Kate. So it was a relief—for a time, at least—to believe things had calmed down behind the palace walls and that everything was rosy for the rest of the royals. But is that accurate? Apparently not! Now there’s more behind-the-scenes drama brewing, and Prince William is at the center of it. What’s going on? Read on to find out. Get  Reader’s Digest ’s  Read Up newsletter for more royals, humor, travel, tech and fun facts all week long. Who has William been sparring with lately? His father, King Charles ...

Ring Doorbells Can Now Identify Faces—But Experts Say It’s a Major Privacy Invasion. Here’s Everything You Need to Know

You’re tucked in for the evening, and the doorbell rings. Do you answer it? Or maybe your teenager is home alone and calls you about a strange noise outside. If you have a security camera or video doorbell , you know what to do—quickly, easily and without a trip to the actual door. Video doorbells are incredibly popular for these reasons and plenty of others. But now, some Ring doorbells have a new feature that’s raising concerns about privacy: the ability to scan, store and potentially identify the face of anyone who walks up to the camera. That could be a would-be burglar—or it could be you, heading over to your neighbor’s place to borrow a cup of sugar. From there, your face scan could end up on an Amazon cloud server, without your knowledge or consent. Amazon rolled out this technology in December 2025, and it immediately stirred up some controversy. We spoke to Yelena Ambartsumian, an AI governance and privacy lawyer, to learn more about this new feature and its potential legal ...

Preview! These Are the 10 Best Movies of 2026 to Put on Your Must-Watch List—And When They’re Coming Out

Mickey 17 . Snow White . I Know What You Did Last Summer . Um, I must admit I highlighted these three flops last year in my roundup of the 10 buzziest movies to watch in 2025 . (In my defense, they seemed legitimately appealing!) And, honestly, Snow White wasn’t that awful. But part of the enduring beauty of the movie-watching experience is that for every theoretical sure thing—I did nail F1, Jurassic Park: Rebirth, Superman and Avatar: Fire & Ash , thank you very much—there’s word-of-mouth surprises like Sinners, One Battle After Another, Weapons, Marty Supreme and Materialists . If each movie represents a kernel of popcorn, we love and need to consume the whole darn bucket. That brings us to 2026. I’m pleased to report that fictional icons ranging from Spider-Man to Miranda Priestly are back in action, while the very real Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Matt Damon and Daniel Craig are bringing some of our most beloved book characters to the screen . (Come to think of it, Spider...

How to Be a Better Listener and Really Hear What Others Are Saying

During conversations with a particularly verbose friend, I’ve often realized I haven’t really been listening. She’ll ask me a question , my wandering mind will suddenly snap back to the present, and I’ll have no idea how to respond. My instinct is to cover up my mistake and pretend I heard what she said, but is that really the best strategy? It seems I need to learn how to be a better listener . We’ve probably all had a similar experience in which we’ve heard the words coming out of someone’s mouth without fully appreciating or understanding their meaning. “Often, we reflexively build solutions or tune out when we feel we’ve ‘heard it all before,’ causing us to miss vital nuances,” says conversation expert Debra Fine, author of The Fine Art of Small Talk . “Instead, practice staying fully present to absorb every word.” As a repeat offender, I asked Fine for some advice on listening. Read on to learn how to talk to anyone and truly give them your full attention. Get  Reader’s Di...

Savings Alert: Experts Predict This Will Be the Lowest Mortgage Rate of the Year. Find Out When to Lock Yours In

Like death and taxes, mortgage-rate fluctuations are a certainty of life. From year to year, and even within a calendar year, rates fluctuate so much that it can be challenging to figure out the best time to buy a house . If you bought a home five years ago, you may have benefited from the Federal Reserve’s efforts to stimulate the slumping economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Mortgage rates plummeted to record lows, and by the end of 2020, the rate was 2.65%. But over the next three years, rates crept back up—to a high of 7.79% in October 2023, a rate we hadn’t seen since 2000. Combine that with astronomically high house prices, and homeownership felt out of reach for Americans. Inflation went up. Rents skyrocketed . Fast-forward to 2026. Even if rates aren’t at historic levels, they’re still too high for many people to afford a home. So when can would-be home buyers expect mortgage rates to drop? A new report by LendingTree predicts that this year will finally bring interest-rate r...

The Jellycat Spring Collection Is Coming—And We’re Obsessed with the Cute Carrot Cake

This is  not  a drill: A big batch of Jellycats is dropping for spring! And much like last year’s holly jolly holiday releases , there’s well over 10 precious new pals to pick from. This season’s charming characters come in all sorts of spring-inspired styles , from carrot cake to adorable warm-weather animals—and even lovable veggies sporting soft sprouts. What a harvest! With most new releases dropping on January 13, we recommend shopping before the seasonal shift to ensure you snag all your favorites. If the Valentine’s collection is anything to go by, we expect these sweet and snuggly buddies to sell out faster than you can say “April showers bring May flowers.” Here’s everything to know about the latest assortment from our favorite collectible plushie brand! GETTY IMAGES, VIA JELLYCAT.COM Jellycat Spring Collection Welcome in the new season with a new plush pal. Shop on Jellycat What are the 2026 spring Jellycats? Those unfamiliar with Jellycats, ...