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Grab your party hat! Save on Nintendo games during Mario Day 2024
Nintendo
Unless you’re a Nintendo gamer, you might not be familiar with Mario Day. Nintendo gamers and retailers around the world pay homage to the world’s most famous video game character — Mario. And it’s on this day you’ll discover huge discounts on popular Nintendo games.
Be sure to mark your calendar, because Mario Day 2024 takes place Sunday, March 10. The good news is, retailers like Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart have started celebrating Mario Day early, so many popular games are already on sale.
Score big savings on Nintendo games now for Mario Day
Our team of in-house gamers and expert shoppers have curated this list of impressive Mario Day discounts that’ll allow you to score big savings on the Nintendo games you want the most. This is the perfect time to expand your game library, with titles like “Super Mario Bros. Wonder,” “Super Mario RPG” or “Mario vs. Donkey Kong” — all of which our gaming experts have reviewed and loved.
For more help choosing the best Nintendo Switch games, check out our recently updated coverage of the five best Nintendo Switch games you can play right now. Meanwhile, if you need additional controllers to play your favorite multi-player games, we’ve got you covered with the latest info on the eight best handheld video game controllers for 2024.
‘Super Mario Bros. Wonder’ (Nintendo Switch): $48 (save $12)
Nintendo
“Super Mario Bros. Wonder” is without a doubt the best Nintendo Switch game released in the past few years. It captures everything gamers love about the Super Mario Bros. franchise, but features an all-new and original adventure.
Get ready to experience the type of graphics, sound and non-stop fun that only the Nintendo Switch gaming console can provide. To celebrate Mario Day 2024, Walmart has cut the price of this bestselling game by $12, so you can order it right now for $48. Amazon has also cut the price, to $50.
If your a Mario fan and plan to add only one game to your Nintendo Switch collection this year, this is definitely the game you want.
‘Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’ (Nintendo Switch): $40 (save $20)
Nintendo
Out of all the exciting games on the Nintendo Switch, “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” is one of best high-action, multi-player racing game you can get. It’s also one of the most popular Switch games of all time.
This is one of the few games that people of many ages and skill levels can play together, but it’s also just as fun and whimsical in single-player mode.
If you haven’t yet added “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” to your game library, what are you waiting for? To celebrate Mario Day 2024, you can snag this game for $20 off at Best Buy and purchase it for just $40.
Because it’s a digital download, once you purchase the game, you can download it directly to your Switch and start playing in minutes. Over at Walmart, a physical copy of the game is on sale for $48.
Head over to Amazon to snag “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” and the “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pack” for the special bundle price of $65. That’s 24% off the usual price of $85.
‘Super Mario RPG’ (Nintendo Switch): $45 (save $15)
Nintendo
The world’s most popular plumber — Mario — has starred in all sorts of video games. “Super Mario RPG,” is his first foray into the RPG genre on the Switch.
Nintendo has remade the 1996 classic “Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars” for the Nintendo Switch, and it’s become a bestseller. The new game has updated graphics and some improved gameplay mechanisms, while keeping all of the classic dialogue and story of the SNES original.
Even if you’re not a fan of traditional RPGs, don’t write off “Super Mario RPG.” It’s more reminiscent of a lighthearted Pokemon game with constant exploration, rather than, say, a more elaborate Final Fantasy-type game with complex mechanics and dark storylines.
The game requires a fair amount of reading, so younger players may find it less satisfying than more traditional action-adventure hybrids. But older gamers who have more patience and a willingness to explore will love it.
Celebrate Mario Day 2024 by adding this game to your collection for just $45. That’s $15 off, but only for a limited time when you shop at Walmart.
‘Super Mario 3D World’ (Nintendo Switch): $50 (save $10)
Nintendo
This game features two separate Mario-based adventures, and right now, Amazon and Walmart are selling it for $10 off, which brings the price of this game down to $50.
In “Super Mario 3D World,” each character has a distinct play style. But whichever character you control, you’ll find yourself dashing and climbing your way through dozens of colorful courses, with the goal of collecting green stars and power-ups along the way. Play alone or grab a few friends and have them join in on the fun.
This colorful action-oriented game is rated “E” for everyone, so it’s suitable for players of all ages.
‘Super Mario Maker 2’ (Nintendo Switch): $45 (save $15)
Nintendo
Shigeru Miyamoto is one of the most famous video game designers in the world. He’s the genius behind countless Nintendo classics, including those in the Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong and Legend of Zelda series. He’s been referred to as “he godfather of gaming, which is a title he’s certainly earned.
But if you have aspirations to follow in his footsteps and create your own Super Mario Bros. adventures, now you can — and you don’t need an advanced degree in programming or game development to do it.
With “Super Mario Maker 2,” just about anyone can create their own side-scrolling Super Mario adventures and then play them and share them with friends. Plus, you can play a nearly limitless number of side-scrolling Super Mario courses anytime and anywhere.
Start with the more than 100 built-in courses in the single-player story mode, which is a new Mario adventure that unleashes the creative potential of Super Mario Maker 2. Then, start breaking the rules as you use a wide range of parts, tools and customization options to create the side-scrolling Super Mario courses you’ve always dreamed about.
‘Super Mario Party’ (Nintendo Switch): $52 (save $8)
Nintendo
There’s no better way to celebrate Mario Day 2024 with your friends than to play “Super Mario Party.”
This is a classic and extremely popular multi-player game suitable for all ages. Whether you’re playing with family members or friends, you’re sure to have a fun and challenging time.
Up to four players will use Joy-Con controllers in clever ways across 80 wild and challenging mini games. Some are all-out free-for-alls, others are two on two, or even one on three challenges. You can also set up a private room and play your favorite mini games and enjoy some competition with friends online via the Nintendo Switch Online service.
Head over to Best Buy right now and save $8 on this classic Nintendo Switch game. It’s on sale for just $52, but only for a limited time.
‘Mario Golf: Super Rush’ (Nintendo Switch): $58 (save $2)
Best Buy
Some golf simulation games, like EA Sports’ “PGA Tour,” are rather complex and require a strong knowledge of golf and PGA players. That’s not the case with “Mario Golf: Super Rush.” This is more a whimsical and cartoon-style golf game that people of all ages will enjoy.
Play alone or against up to three other players, each of whom will control one of 16 popular characters, such as Mario, Peach, Yoshi or Luigi. The game features multiple modes, like speed golf and battle golf, as well as an original adventure mode.
At Best Buy, you can get this game for $58. While this is just $2 off its regular price, this is a fun-filled game that offers a great way to celebrate Mario Day (or any day of the year) with friends.
‘Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope’ (Nintendo Switch): $20 (save $20)
UbiSoft
Select a team of three characters from a roster of nine and then embark on an epic journey through the galaxy.
Your goal is to rescue the Sparks, who ultimately provide your character with unique powers needed to win battles.
This game was developed by UbiSoft, not Nintendo, but it features popular characters from the Super Mario Bros. games.
Right now, the game is on sale at both Best Buy and Amazon for just $20 — which is half off.
‘Luigi’s Mansion 3’ (Nintendo Switch): $40 ($20 off)
Nintendo
In this spooky action-adventure, Luigi gets invited to the towering Last Resort hotel, but when Mario and friends go missing, he’ll need to conquer his fears to save them. Wherever Luigi goes, the area is inundated with ghosts.
He’ll need to slam, blow away and vacuum up the spooks with his Poltergust G-00 contraption. Luigi will join forces with Gooigi to overcome the puzzling contraptions and mischievous bosses found at the end of each floor.
“Luigi’s Mansion 3” is a fun single-player game, but it’s even more exciting when played in multiplayer story mode, or the “scarescraper” mode that supports up to eight players.
Just in time for Mario Day 2024, you can buy this game, which stars Mario’s best pal Luigi, for 15% off and pay $51 on Amazon. Meanwhile, Walmart has this game on sale for just $40 — that’s $20 off its usual $60 price.
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Sen. Duckworth says Trump defense secretary pick is “flat-out wrong” about women in combat roles
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth said Sunday that Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary is “flat-out wrong” in his view that women should not serve in the military in combat roles.
“Our military could not go to war without the women who wear this uniform,” Duckworth said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” “And frankly, America’s daughters are just as capable of defending liberty and freedom as her sons.”
Trump tapped Hegseth, a former Fox News host and Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan as his pick to head the Defense Department earlier this month. The 44-year-old has drawn criticism for his stance on women in combat roles, along with his level of experience.
Duckworth, who in 2004 deployed to Iraq as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot and sustained severe injuries when her helicopter was hit by an RPG, outlined that women who serve in combat roles have met the same standards as men, passing rigorous testing. She said Hegseth’s position “just shows his lack of understanding of where our military is,” while arguing that he’s “inordinately unqualified for the position.”
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“Our military could not go to war without the 220,000-plus women who serve in uniform,” Duckworth said. She added that having women in the military “does make us more effective, does make us more lethal.”
Hegseth has also drawn scrutiny amid recently unearthed details about an investigation into an alleged sexual assault in 2017. Hegseth denies the allegation and characterized the incident as a consensual encounter. The Monterey County district attorney’s office declined to file charges as none were “supported by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.” His lawyer has acknowledged that Hegseth paid a confidential financial settlement to the woman out of concern that the allegation would jeopardize his employment.
Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat who serves on the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, said it’s “really troubling” that Trump would nominate someone who “has admitted that he’s paid off a victim who has claimed rape allegations against him.”
“This is not the kind of person you want to lead the Department of Defense,” she added.
The comments come after Trump announced a slew of picks for top posts in his administration in recent days. Meanwhile, one pick — former Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general — has already withdrawn his name from consideration after he faced intense scrutiny amid a House Ethics Committee investigation and a tenuous path to Senate confirmation.
While Duckworth acknowledged that she’s glad her Senate Republicans “held the line” on Gaetz and also elected Sen. John Thune as leader over a candidate favored by many in Trump’s orbit, she said she’s “deeply concerned” her Republican colleagues will green light Trump’s nominees.
“From what I’m hearing from my Republican colleagues on everything from defense secretary to other posts, it sounds like they are ready to roll over for Mr. Trump,” Duckworth said.
But Duckworth didn’t rule out supporting some of the nominees herself during the Senate confirmation process, pledged to evaluate each candidate based on their ability to do the job, and their willingness to put the needs of the American people before “a retribution campaign for Mr. Trump.”
Meanwhile, a CBS News poll released on Sunday found that 33% of Americans say Hegseth is a “good choice” for defense secretary, including 64% of Trump voters. But 39% of Americans said they hadn’t heard enough yet about the pick. More broadly, Americans generally say they want Trump to appoint people who’ll speak their minds and who have experience in the field or agency they’ll run.
Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican who also appeared on “Face the Nation” on Sunday, said he believes that Hegseth can run the massive Defense Department, despite his lack of experience managing a large organization. Though he did not address Hegseth’s comments about women in combat roles, Paul said he believes the “vast majority of people” support leaders who are picked based on merit, citing Hegseth’s criticism of the Pentagon for what he says has been a move away from merit-based hiring and toward hiring based on “racial characteristics.”
Hezbollah fired at least 185 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, wounding seven people in the militant group’s heaviest barrage in several days, in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Beirut while negotiators pressed on with cease-fire efforts to halt the war.
Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on a Lebanese army center killed one soldier and wounded 18 others on the southwestern coastal road between Tyre and Naqoura, Lebanon’s military said. Israel’s military expressed regret and said the strike occurred in an area of combat against Hezbollah, adding that its operations are directed solely against the militants. The strike was under review.
Hussein Malla / AP
Israeli strikes have killed over 40 Lebanese troops since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, even as Lebanon’s military has largely kept to the sidelines.
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned it as an assault on U.S.-led cease-fire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war.
“(Israel is) again writing in Lebanese blood a brazen rejection of the solution that is being discussed,” a statement from his office read.
The strike occurred in southwestern Lebanon on the coastal road between Tyre and Naqoura, where there has been heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups.
Israel has launched retaliatory airstrikes since the rocket fire began, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war, as Israel launched waves of airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah’s top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several of his top commanders.
Hezbollah fired a total of around 160 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, some of which were intercepted, the Israeli military said.
Oded Balilty / AP
Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said it was treating two people in the central city of Petah Tikva, a 23-year-old man who was lightly wounded by a blast and a 70-year-old woman suffering from smoke inhalation from a car that caught fire. The first responders said they treated three other people in northern Israel, closer to the border, including a 60-year-old man in serious condition.
It was unclear whether the injuries and damage were caused by the rockets or interceptors.
Israeli airstrikes early Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 20 people and wounding 66, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.
On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardments in northern Israel and in battle following Israel’s ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country’s north.
The Biden administration has spent months trying to broker a cease-fire, and U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein was back in the region last week.
The European Union’s top diplomat called for more pressure on both Israel and Hezbollah to reach a deal, saying one was “pending with a final agreement from the Israeli government.”
Josep Borrell spoke Sunday after meeting with Mikati and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who has been mediating with the group.
Borrell said the EU is ready to allocate 200 million euros ($208m) to assist the Lebanese military, which would deploy additional forces to the south.
The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol the area, with the presence of U.N. peacekeepers.
Lebanon’s army reflects the religious diversity of the country and is respected as a national institution, but it does not have the military capability to impose its will on Hezbollah or resist Israel’s invasion.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth says Pete Hegseth is “flat-out wrong” about women in combat roles
Sen. Duckworth says Trump defense secretary pick is “flat-out wrong” about women in combat roles
Israeli strike kills Lebanese soldier as Hezbollah fires at least 185 rockets at Israel
Sen. Tammy Duckworth says Pete Hegseth is “flat-out wrong” about women in combat roles
Sen. Duckworth says Trump defense secretary pick is “flat-out wrong” about women in combat roles