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Best appliance deals ahead of Presidents’ Day
Samsung
If you’re in the market for new appliances, the next best time to score a major discount is Presidents’ Day. However, the shopping experts at CBS Essentials know that sometimes appliance brands offer discounts before the long holiday weekend. That’s why we encourage you to start shopping now.
We found plenty of discounts on appliances from Samsung, Kitchenaid and more top brands. These sleek, modern appliances are all energy efficient and will look great in your home. And with savings of thousands of dollars or more per appliance, you can makeover your kitchen with some of the best appliances of 2024, even if they wouldn’t otherwise be in your budget. (You might even get a rebate from your utility provider, saving you even more money!)
To help you narrow your search, we’ve rounded up a selection of discounts we found from our picks of the best dishwashers, best washers and dryers, best fridges and best ranges, with savings up to 38% off.
KitchenAid 44 dBA dishwasher in PrintShield Finish with FreeFlex third rack: Save $215
Best Buy
This sleek-looking dishwasher from KitchenAid comes with three racks and various dish cycles that enable it to effectively clean large and extra dirty loads. One of the features we really like about this dishwasher is the FreeFlex third rack. Located at the top of the dishwasher, the rack angles downward to accommodate mugs, cups and small bowls, in addition to cutlery.
We also really like the specialized cycles, including “tough” for really soiled dishes, the express wash cycle (which is great if you need dishes clean quickly) and ProWash, a smart cycle that adapts its cleaning techniques by sensing what type of load it’s working with.
This dishwasher has a 4.5-star rating on Best Buy. One customer wrote, “We have had our dishwasher for a few months now and we absolutely love it. The third rack is perfect for our sippy cup nipples and lids. I haven’t had any issues with our dishes not being clean. It has a ton more space than our old one. Definitely recommend!”
Get it for $900 now at Best Buy, reduced from $1,215.
Samsung Bespoke Four-Door Flex refrigerator with Family Hub: Save $500
Samsung
This impressive fridge comes with free shipping, free installation, free haul away of your old appliance and 0% APR for two years after purchase.
This Bespoke model has one of the largest Family Hubs of other Samsung models, with a whopping 32-inch screen. It feels as if you’re operating a tablet on your kitchen door. With the Family Hub, you can pull up your calendar, write notes, see inside your fridge, and if you have a Ring doorbell, see who is at your front door. This would be a great refrigerator for someone who loves getting the latest in tech gadgets.
Like other Samsung refrigerators, the Bespoke counter depth flex refrigerator comes with a dual beverage center and ice maker as well as the SmartThings Energy app, which helps you monitor your refrigerator’s energy usage.
You can get this Samsung refrigerator for $4,499, a savings of $500. You can add on 2 years of Samsung Care warranty coverage for $55, a 68% discount.
Samsung Bespoke ultra capacity front load washer and electric dryer: Save $1,005
Samsung
This washer (5.3 cu ft.) and dryer (7.6 cu ft.) set have settings that make it easy to get your laundry clean, and fast. The speed setting allows you to complete a load in less than an hour, and the steam cleaning option in the washer and dryer helps with getting rid of stains, as well as removing light wrinkles from clothing. There’s also a self-clean setting, saving you time from having to routinely clean the appliances yourself.
Another feature we really like about this washer and dryer is that you can set schedules and get alerts when loads are done on your smartphone with the SmartThings app.
This Samsung washer and dryer set has a 4.5-star rating on its site. One reviewer wrote, “Washer and dryer do the job! Clothes are clean. Quiet when washing. So happy with my purchase.”
Another customer said, “Love this washer dryer set! Very easy to use. I got the stackable kit and can operate the dryer from the washer, which works great for us height-challenged people!”
Whirlpool large-capacity dishwasher with third rack: Save $240
Whirlpool
Unlike other dishwashers that only come in stainless steel, the Whirlpool large-capacity dishwasher allows you to choose between stainless steel, black stainless steel, white, black and biscuit (a light beige).
The dishwasher comes with three racks and cycles such as normal wash, quick wash and heavy wash. There’s also a smart sensor cycle that determines the load type based on soil level, as well as a sanitizing rinse option and heated dry option to add onto cycles. You can schedule cycles for up to 24 hours in the future — a great money-saving feature if your utility company offers time-of-day pricing.
This whirlpool model has a 4.6-star rating on Best Buy. One reviewer wrote, “Quiet and clean! Does its job so good you can’t even hear it! Deluxe dishwashing experience!” Another customer said, “Installed [it] myself, was super easy. Has a ton of space and is a huge upgrade from the standard that came with our home. Color (black stainless) is great.”
Regularly $840, this top-rated dishwasher just got a new price cut at Best Buy. Get it for $600 now, ahead of Presidents’ Day.
Samsung Flex Duo slide-in dual fuel range: Save $1,100
Samsung
With the Samsung Flex Duo 6.3 cu ft. dual oven, you can cook two dishes at two different temperatures at the same time. You can preheat the oven and change cooking times from your phone with the SmartThings app, or by voice control with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant or Samsung Bixby.
The oven has a dial so you can easily choose your mode of cooking, including air frying. The range comes with four standard burners, plus an elongated middle burner designed for griddle pans. We like that the knobs illuminate when the range is on — it makes a good visual safety reminder.
Take advantage of this Presidents’ Day deal and you can save 28% off this Samasung smart range. The range comes with free shipping, free returns (if returned within 15 days of receipt) and 0% APR for two years when you buy direct from Samsung.
Samsung extra-large capacity smart top load washer and dryer: Save $600
Samsung
This large Samsung washer (5.4 cu ft.) and dryer (7.4 cu ft.) combo is one of the most affordable Samsung laundry duos you can buy. But don’t be misled by the price, these are great machines.
With so much room inside, you can really fill these appliances up with clothes, making this set a great option for large families. In addition to plenty of space, the washer comes with a built-in water faucet that helps with spot treating stains and a lid that closes softly, preventing banging every time you have to open and close your laundry machine.
The dryer offers even more space than the washer (2 extra cubic feet to be exact) and comes with an internal drum light for easy viewing. Like the washer, it can be connected to the SmartThings app, which can help you remotely control laundry cycles and troubleshoot problems.
Both gas and electric dryers are available. Gas dryers cost $100 more than an electric dryer.
Samsung smart slide-in induction range: Save $1,387
Samsung
This large Samsung smart range (6.3 cu ft.) comes with four induction cooktops of varying sizes, making it compatible with pots and pans big and small. On one end of the range you could easily fit an eight-quart stockpot, while the other side could be used for sauteing with a 10-inch cast iron skillet. If you’re looking to replace your old gas range with an induction cooktop, this is the one to buy.
Other features of this range include an air frying mode, a fingerprint-resistant exterior finish and wireless access to the SmartThings app, which allows you to control your appliance from your smartphone. There are illuminated range knobs and imitation flames around each burner to signal when they are on.
When you purchase this range at Samsung, you also get free shipping, free installation, free returns and free haul away of your old appliance. If you plan on making payments in installments, Samsung offers 0% APR for two years.
CBS News
Couple charged for allegedly stealing $1 million from Lululemon in convoluted retail theft scheme
A couple from Connecticut faces charges for allegedly taking part in an intricate retail theft operation targeting the apparel company Lululemon that may have amounted to $1 million worth of stolen items, according to a criminal complaint.
The couple, Jadion Anthony Richards, 44, and Akwele Nickeisha Lawes-Richards, 45, were arrested Nov. 14 in Woodbury, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Richards and Lawes-Richards have been charged with one count each of organized retail theft, which is a felony, the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office said. They are from Danbury, Connecticut.
The alleged operation impacted Lululemon stores in multiple states, including Minnesota.
“Because of the outstanding work of the Roseville Police investigators — including their new Retail Crime Unit — as well as other law enforcement agencies, these individuals accused of this massive retail theft operation have been caught,” a spokesperson for the attorney’s office said in a statement on Nov. 18. “We will do everything in our power to hold these defendants accountable and continue to work with our law enforcement partners and retail merchants to put a stop to retail theft in our community.”
Both Richards and Lawes-Richards have posted bond as of Sunday and agreed to the terms of a court-ordered conditional release, according to the county attorney. For Richards, the court had set bail at $100,000 with conditional release, including weekly check-ins, or $600,000 with unconditional release. For Lawes-Richards, bail was set at $30,000 with conditional release and weekly check-ins or $200,000 with unconditional release. They are scheduled to appear again in court Dec. 16.
Prosecutors had asked for $1 million bond to be placed on each half of the couple, the attorney’s office said.
Richards and Lawes-Richards are accused by authorities of orchestrating a convoluted retail theft scheme that dates back to at least September. Their joint arrests came one day after the couple allegedly set off store alarms while trying to leave a Lululemon in Roseville, Minnesota, and an organized retail crime investigator, identified in charging documents by the initials R.P., recognized them.
The couple were allowed to leave the Roseville store. But the investigator later told an officer who responded to the incident that Richards and Lawes-Richards were seasoned shoplifters, who apparently stole close to $5,000 worth of Lululemon items just that day and were potentially “responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars in loss to the store across the country,” according to the complaint. That number was eventually estimated by an investigator for the brand to be even higher, with the criminal complaint placing it at as much as $1 million.
Richards and Lawes-Richards allegedly involved other individuals in their shoplifting pursuits, but none were identified by name in the complaint. Authorities said they were able to successfully pull off the thefts by distracting store employees and later committing fraudulent returns with the stolen items at different Lululemon stores.
“Between October 29, 2024 and October 30, 2024, RP documented eight theft incidents in Colorado involving Richards and Lawes-Richards and an unidentified woman,” authorities wrote in the complaint, describing an example of how the operation would allegedly unfold.
“The group worked together using specific organized retail crime tactics such as blocking and distraction of associates to commit large thefts,” the complaint said. “They selected coats and jackets and held them up as if they were looking at them in a manner that blocked the view of staff and other guests while they selected and concealed items. They removed security sensors using a tool of some sort at multiple stores.”
CBS News contacted Lululemon for comment but did not receive an immediate reply.
CBS News
Former Trump national security adviser says next couple months are “really critical” for Ukraine
Washington — Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, a former national security adviser to Donald Trump, said Sunday that the upcoming months will be “really critical” in determining the “next phase” of the war in Ukraine as the president-elect is expected to work to force a negotiated settlement when he enters office.
McMaster, a CBS News contributor, said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that Russia and Ukraine are both incentivized to make “as many gains on the battlefield as they can before the new Trump administration comes in” as the two countries seek leverage in negotiations.
With an eye toward strengthening Ukraine’s standing before President-elect Donald Trump returns to office in the new year, the Biden administration agreed in recent days to provide anti-personnel land mines for use, while lifting restrictions on Ukraine’s use of U.S.-made longer range missiles to strike within Russian territory. The moves come as Ukraine marked more than 1,000 days since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Meanwhile, many of Trump’s key selection for top posts in his administration — Rep. Mike Waltz for national security adviser and Sens. Marco Rubio for secretary of state and JD Vance for Vice President — haven’t been supportive of providing continued assistance to Ukraine, or have advocated for a negotiated end to the war.
CBS News
McMaster said the dynamic is “a real problem” and delivers a “psychological blow to the Ukrainians.”
“Ukrainians are struggling to generate the manpower that they need and to sustain their defensive efforts, and it’s important that they get the weapons they need and the training that they need, but also they have to have the confidence that they can prevail,” he said. “And any sort of messages that we might reduce our aid are quite damaging to them from a moral perspective.”
McMaster said he’s hopeful that Trump’s picks, and the president-elect himself, will “begin to see the quite obvious connections between the war in Ukraine and this axis of aggressors that are doing everything they can to tear down the existing international order.” He cited the North Korean soldiers fighting on European soil in the first major war in Europe since World War II, the efforts China is taking to “sustain Russia’s war-making machine,” and the drones and missiles Iran has provided as part of the broader picture.
“So I think what’s happened is so many people have taken such a myopic view of Ukraine, and they’ve misunderstood Putin’s intentions and how consequential the war is to our interests across the world,” McMaster said.
On Trump’s selections for top national security and defense posts, McMaster stressed the importance of the Senate’s advice and consent role in making sure “the best people are in those positions.”
McMaster outlined that based on his experience, Trump listens to advice and learns from those around him. And he argued that the nominees for director of national intelligence and defense secretary should be asked key questions like how they will “reconcile peace through strength,” and what they think “motivates, drives and constrains” Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump has tapped former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence, who has been criticized for her views on Russia and other U.S. adversaries. McMaster said Sunday that Gabbard has a “fundamental misunderstanding” about what motivates Putin.
More broadly, McMaster said he “can’t understand” the Republicans who “tend to parrot Vladimir Putin’s talking points,” saying “they’ve got to disabuse themselves of this strange affection for Vladimir Putin.”
Meanwhile, when asked about Trump’s recent selection of Sebastian Gorka as senior director for counterterrorism and deputy assistant to the president, McMaster said he doesn’t think Gorka is a good person to advise the president-elect on national security. But he noted that “the president, others who are working with him, will probably determine that pretty quickly.”
CBS News
Sen. Van Hollen says Biden is “not fully complying with American law” on Israeli arms shipments
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Couple charged for allegedly stealing $1 million from Lululemon in convoluted retail theft scheme
Former Trump national security adviser says next couple months are “really critical” for Ukraine
St. Paul partners with SPPS to expand college savings program
Couple charged for allegedly stealing $1 million from Lululemon in convoluted retail theft scheme
Former Trump national security adviser says next couple months are “really critical” for Ukraine