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Friday is here and that means all you Competitive Wordle players, playing against your friends, co-workers, rivals, enemies, or against me or the Wordle Bot, must double your points, whether positive or negative. There’s only one way you can’t double your points today, and that’s if you get none. Let’s begin!

Looking for Thursday's Wordle answer? Check out our guide right here.

Today’s Bonus Custom Wordle

Now that we can create our own custom Wordles, I’m including a bonus Wordle with each daily Wordle guide. These can be 4 to 7 letters long. Hopefully this is a fun extra challenge. Click the link below to play the Wordle I hand-crafted for you today.

Play Puzzles & Games on Forbes

Today’s Bonus Custom Wordle is 7 letters long.

The hint: Sad :(

The clue: This Wordle begins with two consonants.

Yesterday’s Custom Wordle Answer: COMEDY

Today’s Wordle Hints And Answer

• Wordle Bot’s Starting Word: SLATE
• My Starting Word Today: POUTY (810 words left)
• The Hint: Pretend
• The Clue: This Wordle has two vowels in a row.

Hints not enough, or curious to see if you did better than me on today’s Wordle? You can find the answer and read my Wordle Bot analysis and check out the current Competitive Wordle score between me, your humble Wordle guide, and the Wordle Bot below!

Today’s Wordle Answer: Friday, August 7

Today’s Wordle Bot Analysis

Every day I check Wordle Bot to help analyze my guessing game. You can check your Wordle score with Wordle Bot right here.

I’m pouting a bit over how bad my opening guess was today. POUTY left me with all grey boxes and 810 words remaining. No luck for the wicked. LIARS slashed that down to 27 and then NEIGH left me with only two. FEIGN was what I thought of first and that’s what I used. Lucky me, that was the Wordle!

Competitive Wordle Score

The most boring outcome possible for 2XP Friday: The Bot and I tied at four guesses, earning us each 0 points. Double that for 0 points. Our August totals remain:

Erik: 6 points

Wordle Bot: 3 points

How To Play Competitive Wordle

• Guessing in 1 is worth 3 points; guessing in 2 is worth 2 points; guessing in 3 is worth 1 point; guessing in 4 is worth 0 points; guessing in 5 is -1 points; guessing in 6 is -2 points and missing the Wordle is -3 points.
• If you beat your opponent you get 1 point. If you tie, you get 0 points. And if you lose to your opponent, you get -1 point. Add it up to get your score. Keep a daily running score or just play for a new score each day.
• Fridays are 2XP, meaning you double your points—positive or negative.
• You can keep a running tally or just play day-by-day. Enjoy!

Today’s Wordle Etymology

“Feign” comes from Old French feindre, from Latin fingere, meaning “to shape, form, invent, or devise.” The same Latin root also gave English words like fiction and figure. Feign came to mean inventing or pretending something that is not true.

Be sure to follow me for all your daily puzzle-solving guides, TV show and movie reviews and more here on this blog! %!s()

"'Massive attack coming … wait, never mind, they want to negotiate.' That's theater diplomacy on loop," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker and top negotiator, wrote in a post on X on Thursday in an apparent jibe at Trump.

The remarks came days after Trump called off planned strikes and said the outlines of a deal had already been settled with Tehran. Iranian officials have rejected the claim, saying no talks were underway.

The conflict is meanwhile broadening across the region, with Gulf energy infrastructure and key shipping chokepoints under renewed threat.

Saudi Arabia is bracing for "multiple coordinated attacks" by Iraqi militia factions working with Iran-backed Houthis, a Saudi official told CNN. Intelligence reports from Saudi Arabia and regional governments reportedly indicated that the groups planned to strike the kingdom "in the very near future" under the guidance of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The warning came a day after the Houthis claimed responsibility for attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Gulf of Aden, another critical shipping chokepoint. Saudi Arabia has come under Houthi missile fire and drone attacks by Iran-backed Iraqi militias in recent weeks.

Shipping through the region's two critical chokepoints has fallen sharply in recent days. Only two vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, down from eight a day earlier, according to Kpler vessel-tracking data, against a pre-war baseline of roughly 130 to 140 daily transits. Traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb collapsed to a single dry bulk carrier, from 20 vessels the previous day.

Flows via Hormuz are unlikely to return to pre-war levels anytime soon, even after a deal is reached between Oman and Iran for managing traffic via the critical waterway.

U.S. and Israeli ships would be barred from the Strait of Hormuz under a draft plan involving Iran and Oman for managing the waterway, Tehran's semi-official Fars news agency reported Thursday, with restrictions extending to countries that have "caused damage" to Iran, until compensation is paid.

Iran also plans to issue penalties of up to 20% of the value of the cargo of those who violate the terms of the agreement, which is currently under review, according to Fars.

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Oil jumped on signs of Tehran's hardening stance on the Hormuz traffic. Brent crude futures for October delivery gained 1.3% to $83.55 a barrel, while September futures for WTI crude rose about 1.1% to $78.17 on Friday, extending losses from a day earlier and reversing an earlier slide driven by brief optimism that a Hormuz deal was days away.

Earlier, regional officials said that Iran and Oman were close to finalizing a framework covering all inbound traffic via Iranian territorial waters as well as outbound traffic through a route closer to Oman, though the arrangement would not automatically reopen the waterway.

In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump pushed back on reports that U.S. munitions stocks have been depleted by the war. "The U.S. has massive amounts of 'munitions,' especially of certain types," he said, vowing to pursue "long-term jail sentences" for leakers.

CNN reported later in the day that, in the Oval Office, Trump acknowledged that certain munitions are in "tighter" supply, while insisting less-advanced weapons remain in virtually unlimited supply. %!s()

The aptly titled episode, “Spoiler: Bert Is Magic,” kicks off with Bert (Brian Posehn) tied at the stake and about to be burned alive. Then he begs for it to rain — and it does. That’s the first sign that in this universe, Bert really is a wizard with magical powers. He can turn regular Coke into Diet Coke at the flick of a wrist, and hocus pocus up a cute puppy.

Back in the comic book store (in this case, it’s called “The Wizard’s Sleeve” and more like a store filled with powerful, spellbinding books), Stuart (Kevin Sussman) tries to explain to the Denise (Lauren Lapkus) from last week’s universe what is exactly going on with the machine that’s transporting them across the multiverse.

Kripke (John Ross Bowie), who had seen Bert on the stake, makes his way back to the store. “Stuart, we have to leave here. The people in this world think science is evil.” Cracks Stuart: “How’s that different from our world?”

Because this universe doesn’t obey the laws of physics, Kripke realizes they need magic to make the teleportation machine work. They ask Alexa where they can find someone to help — and up pops a little demon named, of course, “Alexa” (played by Louis Mustillo). Alexa points them to Bernadette Rostenkowski, “master sorceress.”

At first, it seems like normal Bernadette from “The Big Bang Theory.” She says she’s out of business, because the “Wizards Guild of America claimed I used my powers while we were on strike.” She tells them about a reversal spell that could get her powers back — but she needs the “blood of an innocent.” Having had just one girlfriend, Stuart works.

Bert is back at the store, and turns Kripke into a penguin as revenge for leaving him at the stake. But then they’re interrupted by Wil Wheaton, who’s a wizard in this universe. He shows up to warn Stuart not to trust Bernadette. (Wheaton, of course, was frequently seen on “The Big Bang Theory” playing himself.) Turns out Bernadette is actually a demon. Bert and Wil get into a sorcery battle — and Bert wins. At the same time, Bernadette makes her potion and turns into a 60-foot monster, destroying Pasadena. She wants to rule the universe and take the machine — but Bert, with his powers, manages to get the four of them out just in time.

“I remember a while ago getting a call from Chuck [Lorre] and he shared what the premise was, and I remember him saying that ‘you would be Bernadette, but not really, just a different version of Bernadette. So it’d be extremely different from anything you ever played.’ ” Rauch tells Variety. “And then he told me the cast, and I was just absolutely ecstatic. Because I love Kevin and Lauren and Brian and John so much, both as human beings and also just fans of theirs as actors. I think each of them is just a comedic laser in their own right.”

In reprising Bernadette with a twist, Rauch says, “it was just so wonderful to not only be able to step back into Bernadette’s sensible loafers and her glasses, but then to be able to have this new layer to Bernadette. It sort of made some sense in this alternate universe. There’s always been this edge to Bernadette. So the fact that they then cranked that up a million notches, and now she’s also a demon, just tickled me.

“I just thought it was so fun to play,” she adds. “And my gosh, the fact that I get to play 80 feet tall when I’ve barely reached five feet in real life, is very thrilling. I’ve never done that sort of motion capture before. Just the scale of everything that they did there is truly extraordinary. They built an entire miniature city of Pasadena that I was able to walk through and crush and pick up little versions of people and yell at them. It was a blast.”

Rauch says she wore a motion capture suit for the scene and “got a real high from it. Now I feel like I just want to walk around and crush things. I felt very powerful!” %!s()

,

Sydney Bradley

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Huileng Tan

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Meta must pay a total of $942 million to address harm caused to children on its platforms, a New Mexico judge ruled Thursday.

A jury in March found Meta liable for failing to protect kids and approved a $375 million fine. New Mexico state Judge Bryan Biedscheid issued a ruling Thursday ordering the company to pay an additional $567 million and to make changes to its platforms to make them safer for kids. The judge said the money was to be put into an abatement fund, with most of it, $420 million, to go toward treatment services.

Among the changes, Meta must strengthen age verification in New Mexico, limit users under 18 in the state to a combined 90 hours a month on Facebook and Instagram, turn off most push notifications for minors overnight and during school hours, and hide "like" counts by default unless a parent or guardian allows them to be shown.

"This case has always been about protecting children, standing up for families, and making sure that one of the world's largest technology companies cannot profit from practices that endanger young people without consequence," New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez said in a statement following the ruling. "Today's decision is a victory for every parent who has worried about what social media is doing to their child and every child who deserves to grow up safer online."

In a separate statement, Torrez called the ruling a "blueprint" for holding social media companies liable for products that endanger children.

"Now other states, and other countries confronting the same crisis, have a roadmap they can follow," Torrez said.

Meta said it disagrees with the ruling and will appeal.

"We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and have been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content," a Meta spokesperson said in a statement to Business Insider. "We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts."

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Kelsey Vlamis

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Kelsey is a senior reporter for Business Insider, where she covers business and tech news as well as stories about travel, luxury, and consulting.Her feature story "Disaster at 18,200 feet" received awards from the New York Press Club and the North American Travel Journalists Association, as well as honorable mention from the Society of American Travel Writers. It was also included on Longreads' and Pocket's best of 2022 lists. She has also received an American Journalism Online Award for her coverage on missing and murdered Indigenous people in Wyoming.She's appeared on CBS, NPR, NBC, and other outlets to discuss her work. She previously worked on the world news desk at the BBC in London and received a master's in journalism from Northwestern University.She can be reached by email at [email protected] or via the encrypted-messaging app Signal @kelseyv.21.Popular storiesDisaster on Denali: Inside a 1,000-foot fall on America's highest peakThrifting is more popular than ever. It's also never been worse.Rolex wouldn't service the vintage watch my mom inherited. Watchmakers say it happens all the time.A tiny, invasive bug and the climate crisis are changing how guitars are made, and shifting the course of music historyThe tourism free-for-all is overGovernment-run boarding schools were founded to 'civilize' Native Americans. Hundreds of dead children remain buried in the schoolyard graves.Meet the Texas minister who helps fly dozens of women to New Mexico every month to get abortionsPeople are flocking to Colorado for the great outdoors, but the air pollution is so bad, it's forcing many to stay insideInside Kabul: An aid worker reveals the devastating chaos that erupted during the US exit from Afghanistan

Sydney Bradley

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Sydney Bradley has been covering media and tech for Business Insider since 2020. She breaks news and writes extensively about Instagram and Facebook, as well as new social media startups, dating apps, the creator economy, venture capital, and tech culture.She regularly contributes to BI's "After Hours" series, where our reporters dive into the social scenes shaping tech, media, and finance.Sydney's reporting on Instagram was nominated as a finalist for the 2021 Los Angeles Press Club National Entertainment Journalism Awards.She graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in American Studies. You can follow Sydney's work on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram at @sydneykbradley.Have a tip? You can also contact her via encrypted messaging app Signal (@sydneykbradley.123), encrypted email ([email protected]), or standard email ([email protected]). Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here’s our guide to sharing information securely.Selected stories:

• Young founders are going viral mode
• Death isn't the end: Meta patented an AI that lets you keep posting from beyond the grave
• Dating apps are betting millions that AI will convince you to fall back in love with them

• Hitting the social media jackpot is harder than ever — and it's changing the creator economy

• Big Tech's AI obsession is rattling creators

• New startups race to bring back the 'old internet' vibes of the 2000s
• The mysterious demise of a $1 billion social shopping app

• The loneliness epidemic has given rise to a new crop of startups aiming to help people connect in real life
• It's not just you — no one is posting on social media anymore
• How Instagram's unpredictable changes are giving influencers whiplash
• Why YouTube subscriber counts have become an unreliable 'vanity metric' in the era of short video
• Inside the week that changed Facebook forever

Huileng Tan

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Huileng Tan is a senior reporter based in Singapore, covering markets, the global economy, commodities, and investing. Her reporting focuses on how shifts in money, demographics, technology, and policy are reshaping businesses, wealth, and everyday life around the world.Since joining Business Insider in 2021, she has covered everything from commodity booms and investor trends to China's economy, the AI trade, and the forces driving global markets.Before joining Business Insider, she reported for CNBC, Dow Jones, ICIS, and The Wall Street Journal.In 2018 and 2019, she won the Singapore Exchange Orb Awards for Story of the Year – Derivatives for her reporting on the global commodities and derivatives markets.Reach her at [email protected].

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