RFK Jr. is Trump pick for HHS secretary. Here’s what he could do
RFK Jr. is Trump pick for HHS secretary. Here’s what he could do
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes an announcement on the future of his campaign in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. August 23, 2024.
Thomas Machowicz | Reuters
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services – a selection that is raising fears in the public health community and leaving the biotech and pharmaceutical industries bracing for disruptions to ***** development.
Trump’s announcement on Thursday gives Kennedy, a notorious vaccine skeptic, a good chance of securing the nation’s top health-care job. The coming ***********-held Senate will ultimately decide whether to confirm him, though Trump has raised the prospect of sidestepping that process with recess appointments.
If confirmed, Kennedy will take the reins of a $1.7 trillion agency that oversees vaccines and other medicines, scientific research, public health infrastructure, pandemic preparedness, food and tobacco products. HHS also manages government-funded health care for millions of Americans – including seniors, disabled people and lower-income patients who rely on Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act’s markets.
The heads of the Food and ***** Administration, Centers for ******** Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services all report to the HHS secretary, though Trump has yet to nominate them. Kennedy will likely have some influence over who the president-elect chooses for those roles, health policy experts said.
Some health policy experts told CNBC that Kennedy could elevate vaccine skepticism and deter more Americans from taking recommended shots, attempt to cut funding or entire departments at different agencies and shift research and development toward more alternative treatments or ******** areas of interest to him, among other efforts.
Kennedy’s so-called “Make America Healthy Again” platform argues a corrupt alliance of ***** and food companies and the federal health agencies that regulate them are making Americans less healthy. Kennedy has long argued that the agencies that HHS oversees need reform or a sweeping overhaul, part which could mean cutting funding, purging staff and hiring new employees who share his often disproven views on health and science.
He has also said he wants to remove fluoride from drinking water systems and target chronic ********* by cracking down on food and chemical additives, among other efforts.
But there will be some limits to Kennedy’s power – even with a *********** government trifecta. Some of his proposals, such as cutting funding, may not easily pass through Congress. Other efforts could spark expensive and prolonged litigation against the federal government.
Spokespeople for Kennedy and Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Here are some of the things that Kennedy may – or may not – be able to accomplish as HHS secretary.
Vaccines
Brandon Guerrero, 34, of Compton, receives both a flu and COVID-19 vaccine at CVS in Huntington Park on August 28, 2024.
Christina House | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
Kennedy is a staunch critic of vaccines, which have saved the lives of more than 1.1 million children in the U.S. and saved Americans $540 billion in direct health-care costs over the last three decades, according to CDC research released in August.
He has long made misleading and false statements about the safety of shots. He has claimed they are linked to autism despite decades of studies that debunk that association. Kennedy is also the founder of the nonprofit Children’s Health Defense, the most well-funded anti-vaccine organization in the U.S.
Ultimately, Kennedy’s influence over immunization policy could lead to an increase in ********* preventable by vaccines, several health policy experts told CNBC.
“He could create considerable distrust in vaccines and make some vaccines highly politicized, so in particularly red states, we could see outbreaks of fully preventable childhood *********,” Gostin said. That includes measles, mumps, rubella and polio.
Despite his history, Kennedy told NBC News in early November that he isn’t planning to take anyone’s vaccines away in the U.S.
That would be a difficult task, experts said. The FDA can pull a product from the market if further trials after approval fail to confirm that its clinical benefits outweigh its risks, or if unexpected risks are detected among patients. That has not been the case with the approved shots on the market.
“It would be hard to imagine that a new HHS Secretary would be able to immediately remove vaccines that are already approved and already being used and recommended by the government from the market,” said Josh Michaud, associate director of global health policy at KFF, a health policy research organization. “He can’t just make that change with a simple wave of a wand.”
Still, Kennedy has repeatedly argued that there is not enough data on vaccines and their effects. He told NPR earlier this month that the Trump administration is going to “make sure those scientific studies are done and that people can make informed choices about their vaccinations and their children’s vaccinations.”
As HHS secretary, Kennedy could “cherry pick” data from additional government studies and release misleading results that undermine trust in the safety and efficacy of vaccines, said Lawrence Gostin, a health law and policy expert at Georgetown University.
That misinformation could deter some Americans from receiving certain shots. Michaud added vaccine misinformation could push health officials on the state and local level to “perhaps allow for more individual choice rather than mandating routine vaccination” for certain *********.
Many state health departments and clinicians rely on vaccine recommendations from an advisory committee to the CDC. Those include who should get what shots and at what age.
Those guidelines have broader implications for public health. Vaccines recommended by that advisory panel and approved by the CDC director are covered under the Affordable Care Act. The agency also administers the Vaccines for Children program, which provides free vaccines for children in low-income families.
Kennedy could attempt to influence that CDC advisory committee and a similar panel linked to the FDA by stacking them with people who hold anti-vaccine views, Gostin said. The HHS secretary has the power to form an advisory committee, remove members and set the terms and qualifications for them.
That could produce more limited vaccine recommendations that aren’t firmly rooted in science, he added. It could also translate to a “fragmentation of vaccine policy” across the U.S. if only some states accept recommendations from advisors selected by Kennedy.
Federal agency funding, staffing
Kennedy in recent weeks has pledged to end what he calls “corporate ***********” at federal health agencies and purge staff when he steps into his role in the Trump administration.
He has said he would clear out “entire departments” at the FDA, saying that workers who stand in the way of approval of several controversial or dubious treatments should prepare to “pack their bags.”
Kennedy, before dropping out of the presidential race, also said he wanted to shift NIH’s focus away from infectious ******** and toward chronic ********* like obesity for eight years. In September, Kennedy said half of the NIH’s $48 billion budget should go toward “preventive, alternative and holistic approaches to health.”
A shakeup at the NIH – the largest public funder of biomedical research in the U.S. – could have major implications for research and the pharmaceutical industry. The NIH funds and conducts research on everything from vaccines and ******* to new ***** targets, laying the groundwork for treatments that companies can develop.
“He could certainly allocate funding away from drugs that he’s not interested in and more towards maybe areas that are more speculative,” said Genevieve Kanter, associate professor of public policy at the University of Southern California.
Kanter pointed to his long history of embracing disproven treatments, such as claiming that hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin work against Covid, even though several studies say they do not. Hydroxychloroquine is an immunosuppressive *****, while ivermectin is used to treat infections caused by parasites.
Major changes or funding cuts at the NIH, FDA and CDC would require congressional approval. Federal employees are also protected against arbitrary or politically-motivated *******.
FDA staff are further shielded because Congress does not fully fund their salaries. Nearly half of the agency’s $7.2 billion budget this year came from so-called “user fees,” or payments made by ***** and medical device manufacturers to fund the staff resources needed to quickly review their products, conduct inspections and ensure the safety of clinical studies.
It seems “unlikely” that Kennedy would be able to end that user fee program, according to Richard Frank, director of the Brookings Schaeffer Initiative on Health Policy. But he may attempt to influence negotiations around how the program is implemented when Congress decides whether to reauthorize it after 2027, Frank said.
Gostin said other “cuts across the board” at the three agencies are possible, especially in areas that are “part of the culture wars.” The CDC could see funding reduced for key functions related to vaccines, chronic ********, ******* and reproductive health and firearm injury and prevention, according to Gostin.
He added that the FDA’s nutrition departments could also see cuts or be “on the chopping block” altogether, given Kennedy’s intent to change what he calls the “broken” U.S. food system.
Cracking down on pharma
Some Wall Street analysts are less concerned about Kennedy stifling ***** approvals and regulation.
“We anticipate RFK to focus on U.S. food policy and its relationship to chronic illness, not medicine,” BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said in a note last week.
Investors are already bracing for a crackdown on food policy, with shares of processed food companies, such as Pepsi and Coca-Cola, falling on Friday.
Wall Street has fewer immediate concerns about pharmaceutical companies. Seigerman said “there is little precedent in recent history for HHS policy dictating or affecting FDA regulation or approval of drugs.”
He added that the impact on the biotech and pharmaceutical industry is still unclear until Trump selects an FDA commissioner, and that the firm is more confident that he will tap a candidate with “robust medical background and ties to the industry.”
Still, Kennedy appears to favor “tighter controls and intervening a bit more” in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, according to Dave Latshaw, CEO and co-founder of AI ***** development company BioPhy.
That could bring some uncertainty to the ***** development and approval process, which poses a greater risk to companies that primarily have products in the earlier stages of development than to large pharmaceutical companies, Latshaw added.
Kennedy could attempt to ****** down on the biotech and pharmaceutical industry in other ways – but they may not be successful.
He has said he wants to ban direct-to-consumer television ***** advertisements. In 2023, pharmaceutical companies spent nearly $3 billion on advertising for the 10 most promoted drugs.
Experts said the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech, would make that an extremely difficult task. Trump also tried to take on pharmaceutical advertising during his first administration by requiring companies to disclose the list prices of products in their ads. Drugmakers sued the government, and a federal court blocked the rule.
Kennedy’s position on the ***** pricing provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, President Joe Biden’s signature legislation, is unclear. That 2022 law gave Medicare the power to negotiate ***** prices with manufacturers for the first time in history – a provision that the pharmaceutical industry is challenging in court.
But the Trump administration won’t have much flexibility to dismantle or scale back the law without change from Congress. It also seems unlikely Kennedy would want to scrap efforts to lower ***** prices, an issue top of mind for Americans, according to Amy Campbell, associate dean for law and health sciences at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.
Fluoride, food supply
Kennedy earlier this month proposed advising all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from drinking water, falsely claiming that it is “an industrial waste” linked to several medical conditions, such as thyroid ******** and neurodevelopmental disorders. Trump has since said that idea sounds “OK to me.”
But fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral found in soil, water and plants. Adding low levels of fluoride to drinking water is widely considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century for its role in preventing tooth decay.
Campbell said the decision to add fluoride to water happens at the state and local level, so Kennedy could only advise its removal. But even that could eventually lead to certain states doing away with fluoridation, she noted.
Kennedy has been vocal about tackling the root causes of chronic ********* rather than spending resources on treating those conditions with drugs from the pharmaceutical industry. There are still few details on what exactly that would look like, but Kennedy is targeting a real issue in the U.S.
An increasing share of people in America are dealing with multiple chronic conditions, with roughly 42% having two or more, according to the CDC. More than 40% of school-aged children and adolescents have at least one.
Some of Kennedy’s ideas, such as stripping ultra-processed food from school cafeterias and cracking down on food dye, have found public support on the right and left. But he has pushed misleading claims and comparisons related to food in the U.S. and how it is regulated, such as incorrectly claiming that Froot Loops cereal in Canada contains just two or three ingredients when it has 17.
Some experts said Kennedy could pressure the FDA commissioner to scrap or cut down the agency’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. But banning the use of already-approved food additives would require more rather than fewer resources, experts added. They said that the process would likely involve extensive reviews of data and real-time monitoring of the food supply, among other efforts.
Other changes may need to be spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which does not fall under HHS. For example, the USDA sets guidelines that govern school lunch programs.
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While Stellar Blade Faces Issues, Another PlayStation Exclusive Looks “Absolutely Stunning” in PS5 Pro
While Stellar Blade Faces Issues, Another PlayStation Exclusive Looks “Absolutely Stunning” in PS5 Pro
Fans have been waiting for long for the PS5 Pro. The Pro versions of the PlayStation consoles had always come up with a ******* treat than their base variants. However, this was not the case with the recently launched “Pro” console. After being released on November 7, the PS5 Pro has been criticized heavily for its staggering price.
PS5 Pro has been facing criticism for its huge price. | Credit: Sony.
The pro version of the console comes after a huge price jump of over $250 as compared to the base version. Yes, there are some significant upgrades in terms of ray tracing and many more. But after the poor performance of Stellar Blade, ****** Ops 6, and many more, these upgrades now look absolutely meaningless. However, there is a title that is running flawlessly on this recently launched console.
**** of War Ragnarök Is Insanely Good on the PS5 Pro
**** of War Ragnarök is flawless on the PS5 Pro. | Credit: Santa Monica.
There are several complaints from fans that many popular titles like Silent Hill 2, Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Stellar Blade, and many more are performing horribly on the PS5 Pro.
However, a fan on Reddit has claimed that another popular title, **** of War Ragnarök, is running stunningly well on the console. There is a Pro mode, which made the game almost look like native 4K 60 FPS, and it was “hard to tell the difference if there even is one.”
It essentially looks like the 30 frames per second fidelity mode that the base PS5 had. Additionally, it can be run in HFR at 120 frames per second, which feels great and resembles the quality of the PS5’s performance mode. However, nothing comes close to that 4K 60 pro mode right now; it’s breathtaking.
People are yet to discover the reason behind Stellar Blade‘s horrible performance on the console, even after this title was confirmed to be enhanced on the PS5 Pro. Still, Ragnarök‘s impressive performance is a testament to all the upgrades that have been brought in the newly launched console.
The Upgrades Which Have Brought **** of War Ragnarök into Life
Stellar Blade is struggling to run on the newly launched console. | Credit: Shift Up.
At this point, the GPU must be the largest upgrade. The GPU speed of the pro version is now 67% faster than that of the base version. Additionally, Sony increased the memory by 28%. As a result, games will now run 45% faster than on the PS5, include more details, and have better frame rates.
With its refined ray tracing process, the Pro model casts at twice or even three times the speed of the base model. The PS5 Pro will introduce Sony’s PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution technology, which can be viewed as a rival to AMD’s FSR or Nvidia’s DLSS and will be utilized for AI upscaling.
Although the PS5 Pro may be very expensive, there are undoubtedly some improvements. Even PS5 owners who are already using the device must decide whether these updates are worth the additional cost, just for playing **** of War Ragnarök at almost native 4k 60FPS as other games’ states are pretty **********.
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Samsung Galaxy A56 5G Spotted on 3C Certification Website With Support for 45W Charging
Samsung Galaxy A56 5G Spotted on 3C Certification Website With Support for 45W Charging
Samsung Galaxy A56 5G will likely be unveiled soon as a successor to the Galaxy A55, which was launched in India in March alongside the Galaxy A35. The handset has started doing rounds of the rumour mill. Several leaks and reports have previously suggested some key features of the purported smartphone including chipset, operating system and camera specifications. The price of the expected Galaxy A-series handset had been tipped as well. The phone has now reportedly been spotted on the 3C certification site which hints at its charging details.
Samsung Galaxy A56 5G Charging, Other Features (Expected)
A Samsung smartphone with the model number SM-A5660 (via 91Mobiles) has been listed on the 3C certification website. The listing indicates that the smartphone, which is expected to debut as the Samsung Galaxy A56 will support 45W wired fast charging. Gadgets 360 was able to verify the listing on the 3C website.
The listing for the SM-5660 smartphone on the 3C website
This would make the Galaxy A56 5G the first Galaxy A-series smartphone to arrive with support for 45W charging. It’s predecessor, the Galaxy A55 5G, supports up to 25W wired fast charging. Until now, Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S series of smartphones have offered support for 45W charging.
Previous reports claimed that the Samsung Galaxy A56 5G will likely be powered by an Exynos 1580 SoC. It is expected to support 8GB of RAM and ship with Android 15-based One UI 7.0. For optics, the handset could feature a triple rear camera unit, including a 50-megapixel primary sensor, a 12-megapixel sensor with an ultrawide lens and a 5-megapixel macro shooter. It may also sport a 12-megapixel selfie camera.
The Samsung Galaxy A56 5G, tipped to launch in March or April 2025, could be priced between EUR 450 (roughly Rs. 40,900) and EUR 500 (roughly Rs. 45,500). An IMEI listing of the handset suggested that it will also be launched in India.
Notably, the Samsung Galaxy A55 5G launched in India at a starting price of Rs. 39,999 for the 8GB + 128GB option, while the 8GB + 256GB and 12GB + 256GB configurations were listed at Rs. 42,999 and Rs. 45,999, respectively.
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Goldman warns these defense stocks could take a hit from Trump spending cuts
Goldman warns these defense stocks could take a hit from Trump spending cuts
Shares of some aerospace and defense companies could fall under added pressure from President-elect Donald Trump’s reduced government spending plans. Goldman is forecasting that the U.S. defense budget will soon flatten out and then decline, partly given that it’s at an all-time high and that current geopolitical conflicts could potentially be met with a resolution. Also, Trump’s plan to create a Department of Government Effiency, or DOGE, wouldn’t necessarily help the defense sector, the firm said, given that the group intends to restructure federal agencies and cut spending in an effort to bring down the national debt. The Department of Defense receives a large portion of total U.S. government spending. “Whether or not DOGE impacts defense spending, we already hold a cautious view on the defense sector … the DoD budget is near peak relative to historical cycles and spending levels, margins are structurally under pressure, while valuations are high,” analyst Noah Poponak said in a recent note to clients. “Defense spending cycles up and down over time, and can be vulnerable to efforts to reduce total government spending.” Poponak noted that although Trump has expressed broad support for the U.S. military and Department of Defense, any cost-cutting effort could still be a ***** for the national defense budget. “It is difficult to embark on any large government spending reduction effort without touching defense, and there are potentially enough inefficiencies within the defense budget to reduce its total level without necessarily reducing military readiness or capability,” he said. Poponak maintained his sell ratings on Lockheed Martin , Northrop Grumman , L3Harris Technologies and Huntington Ingalls Industries . As of Monday, shares of these four names had taken a significant hit this month, with defense contractor Lockheed losing more than 13% and Huntington Ingalls plunging nearly 25% during this time. Lockheed’s recent earnings report reflected an increase in its annual profit and sales forecasts, but its F-35 fighter jet program has faced several challenges that have dragged the stock lower. Northrop recently beat third-quarter earnings expectations, but fell short of analysts’ revenue projections, per LSEG. Poponak recommended sticking with companies in government IT, as that sector has substantially outperformed defense hardware given current market share shifts in national security budgets to data analytics, cyber and artificial intelligence. Booz Allen Hamilton is expected to be the biggest beneficiary of this trend, he said. Leidos Holdings is another buy-rated pick as it trades at a discounted valuation even after seeing strong growth and margins. “Lower defense spending would flow to government IT to some degree. … It is also possible that a DOGE effort determines the advanced technologies of these companies helps to create efficiencies, especially if there is an effort to reduce the size of federal agencies, such that there is a scenario where government IT companies are a net beneficiary of DOGE,” the analyst wrote. Shares of popular defense ETFs have slumped in recent weeks. The iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF and Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF are down 3% and 1.8% over the past month, respectively, but are still showing strong year-to-date gains.
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Instagram testing tool that removes all recommended posts
Instagram testing tool that removes all recommended posts
Instagram is testing a new feature which allows people to completely remove all the content being recommended to them.
Its “reset” tool – which it says will be available globally “soon” – effectively cleanses a user’s feed of content suggested by the site’s algorithm, though Instagram says recommendations will “start to personalise again over time.”
It comes as Instagram has announced a raft of new features aimed at improving the wellbeing of people on the platform, with safety features in October following new teen accounts launched in September.
The *** media regulator, Ofcom, welcomed the announcement – but said more action would be needed to make social media safe.
“It’s good to see Instagram bringing these changes in before regulation starts to *****, and we’ll be pressing for companies to do more to protect and empower their users,” it said in a statement.
Tech firms have previously been warned they will need to “make very significant changes” ahead of the ***’s new Online Safety Act (OSA) taking full effect.
“When the ***’s online safety laws are fully in force, the largest sites and apps will have to give people more control over what they see,” the Ofcom statement added.
Some campaigners argue the OSA does not go far enough, and will need to be toughened or supplemented with other restrictions, for example on mobile phone use by young people.
There is also a fierce international debate on how to keep young people safe online, with Australia recently proposing banning social media for under-16s.
Meta – which owns Instagram – says the new system will be available to everyone including those with teen accounts, and will let people to reset their recommendations “in just a few taps.”
“We want to make sure everyone on Instagram – especially teens – has safe, positive, age-appropriate experiences and feels the time they’re spending on Instagram is valuable,” Meta said in a blog post announcing the move.
Users who want to refresh their feeds will be able to select “reset suggested content” from their “content preferences” screen.
From there, they will be asked if they want to unfollow the accounts whose posts are shown to them most often.
At that point, users can then reset their feeds.
People who use Instagram can already have some impact on what is recommended to them by telling the algorithm whether they are interested in posts they see or not.
TikTok already has a similar feature, where people can reset their “For You” feed by following a few steps.
Instagram’s move comes ahead of implementation of the Online Safety Act in December, which will set a ticking clock for tech firms.
Companies like Meta will have three months to assess the risks of ******** content appearing online, and will have to take steps to block it.
Separately, the regulator will finalise its Children’s Safety codes of practice in April 2025, which is set to include a requirement for firms to give children more control over what they see in their feeds on social media platforms.
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Beastieball is a lovely mix of Haikyuu and Pokémon | TheSixthAxis
Beastieball is a lovely mix of Haikyuu and Pokémon | TheSixthAxis
This RPG looks similar to Pokémon, but rather than taking part in turn-based battles your creatures (known as Beasties) take part in turn-based volleyball matches instead.
Each Beastie has a unique personality and teamwork style, which helps them build different types of relationships with other Beasties and learn various combo moves as a result.
The aim is to progress through the game’s story and win the Beastieball League.
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NASA’s Viking Mission May Have Destroyed Martian Life with Water Experiments
NASA’s Viking Mission May Have Destroyed Martian Life with Water Experiments
In 1975, NASA’s Viking programme made history when its twin landers became the first ********* spacecraft to successfully reach the surface of Mars. These landers conducted pioneering experiments, collecting and analysing Martian soil samples for over six years in a quest to determine whether microbial life existed on the Red Planet. However, a provocative new theory suggests that the very methods used in these experiments may have unintentionally ******* potential life on Mars.
Life Detection Methods Under Scrutiny
Dirk Schulze-Makuch, an astrobiologist at the Technische Universität Berlin, has proposed that the Viking experiments might have encountered Martian microbes but destroyed them by introducing liquid water. In a commentary published in Nature Astronomy, Schulze-Makuch argued that Mars’ hyperarid environment, drier than Earth’s Atacama Desert, likely harbours lifeforms adapted to extract moisture from salts in the atmosphere. These organisms, if present, could be fatally overwhelmed by the addition of liquid water, as used in the Viking experiments.
Misguided Assumptions About Water
The Viking programme assumed that Martian life, like life on Earth, would depend on liquid water. The experiments added water and nutrients to the soil samples, monitoring for metabolic reactions. While initial results showed potential microbial activity, they were later dismissed as inconclusive. Schulze-Makuch believes these findings might instead indicate the destruction of lifeforms adapted to Mars’ arid conditions. He has suggested adopting a “follow the salts” strategy, which focuses on detecting organisms thriving in salt-driven moisture environments.
Shifting the Search for Life
Highlighting parallels with Earth’s deserts, Schulze-Makuch pointed to evidence of microbes in salt-rich regions surviving through a process called deliquescence, where salts absorb moisture to create brines. His proposal calls for multiple life-detection methods, including AI-assisted motility analysis and advanced microscopes, to avoid relying on water-based assumptions.
This theory challenges NASA’s longstanding approach of searching for water as the key to extraterrestrial life, urging a broader exploration strategy. While controversial, it opens a critical discussion about refining techniques to uncover life on Mars.
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Bose buys McIntosh, storied maker of high-end luxury audio equipment
Bose buys McIntosh, storied maker of high-end luxury audio equipment
The BOSE display at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
Bose Corp. will purchase the McIntosh Group, a deal that will give the Massachusetts-based company control of one of the most storied names in high-end audio.
McIntosh will continue to manufacture the high-end audio equipment it is known for out of its longtime headquarters in New York, Bose CEO Lila Snyder said. The deal also includes Sonus Faber, a company that makes high-end speakers by hand in Italy.
The purchase of the two audio workshops provides Bose access into the high-end luxury audio market, Snyder told CNBC in an interview.
“There is this opportunity for luxury, where the consumer is more discerning, really interested in the heritage and the story, and that handcrafted nature,” she said.
Snyder, who took over as Bose CEO in 2020, did not provide terms or a price for the deal. McIntosh was previously owned by Highlander Partners, a Dallas-based private equity firm.
McIntosh has been making high-end amplifiers and other audio equipment since 1949, and one of its devices can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Sonus Faber sells a pair of speakers that costs $140,000.
The purchase shows how Bose is navigating an environment where there is more competition in headphones and audio electronics than ever. Bose is privately held and doesn’t share annual revenue, although it had about $3 billion in sales in 2023, according to Forbes. It has about 3,000 employees.
Bose enters the high-end luxury audio market
Luxury audio — defined as products that cost more than $5,000 — grew 12% in 2023 to about $2.8 billion in total sales, according to an estimate from Futuresource Consulting. The deal will allow Bose to test a higher-end market for its products, which are already expensive – a pair of Bose headphones can easily cost $350.
“These are different customers that right now we’re not really reaching with our technology and with our products,” she said.
Snyder did not rule out the possibility of Bose producing McIntosh-branded headphones or other products.
“We do think there’s a real opportunity around wearables in the luxury and high-performance space as well, which is something that we would expect you to see from us down the road,” Synder said.
Bose is best-known for its speakers and its headphones, including the QuietComfort headphones line, which was one of the first noise-canceling headsets to hit the market in 2000. It also sells soundbars, wireless earbuds, speakers and audio equipment for cars. It divested a group that built sound systems for auditoriums and other professional environments last year.
The audio market has grown since Bose was one of the few high-end brands.
Bose now competes against some of the biggest companies in the world, including Apple, which bought Beats Electronics for $3 billion in 2014 and released the AirPods in 2016, targeting the premium headphone market.
There is also new audio-focused competition for Bose.
Sonos, which was best known for its in-home speakers, introduced its first noise-canceling headphones earlier this year, although the company is reeling from an app redesign in May that was received poorly by users. Bose also spent the past decade competing with smart speakers from the likes of Amazon and Google that were often priced aggressively low to spur adoption.
The purchase of the two luxury audio workshops could help Bose grow in the in-car stereo market, which Snyder said makes up about a third of the company’s overall business. Sonus Faber produces speakers for Lamborghini cars, for example, and some Jeeps have a McIntosh-branded audio system. One possibility that Bose is excited about is that it can integrate its noise-canceling technology in electric cars to make the vehicle ride quieter, she said.
“There are places today where the Bose brand probably can’t go. Lamborghini is a great example of that,” Snyder said. “You really want the very best kind of cutting-edge technology to be in those luxury or highest-performing vehicles.”
WATCH: Why the hearing aid industry is poised to grow
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RFK Jr. is Trump pick for HHS secretary. Here’s what he could do
RFK Jr. is Trump pick for HHS secretary. Here’s what he could do
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes an announcement on the future of his campaign in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. August 23, 2024.
Thomas Machowicz | Reuters
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services – a selection that is raising fears in the public health community and leaving the biotech and pharmaceutical industries bracing for disruptions to ***** development.
Trump’s announcement on Thursday gives Kennedy, a notorious vaccine skeptic, a good chance of securing the nation’s top health-care job. The coming ***********-held Senate will ultimately decide whether to confirm him, though Trump has raised the prospect of sidestepping that process with recess appointments.
If confirmed, Kennedy will take the reins of a $1.7 trillion agency that oversees vaccines and other medicines, scientific research, public health infrastructure, pandemic preparedness, food and tobacco products. HHS also manages government-funded health care for millions of Americans – including seniors, disabled people and lower-income patients who rely on Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act’s markets.
The heads of the Food and ***** Administration, Centers for ******** Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services all report to the HHS secretary, though Trump has yet to nominate them. Kennedy will likely have some influence over who the president-elect chooses for those roles, health policy experts said.
Some health policy experts told CNBC that Kennedy could elevate vaccine skepticism and deter more Americans from taking recommended shots, attempt to cut funding or entire departments at different agencies and shift research and development toward more alternative treatments or ******** areas of interest to him, among other efforts.
Kennedy’s so-called “Make America Healthy Again” platform argues a corrupt alliance of ***** and food companies and the federal health agencies that regulate them are making Americans less healthy. Kennedy has long argued that the agencies that HHS oversees need reform or a sweeping overhaul, part which could mean cutting funding, purging staff and hiring new employees who share his often disproven views on health and science.
He has also said he wants to remove fluoride from drinking water systems and target chronic ********* by cracking down on food and chemical additives, among other efforts.
But there will be some limits to Kennedy’s power – even with a *********** government trifecta. Some of his proposals, such as cutting funding, may not easily pass through Congress. Other efforts could spark expensive and prolonged litigation against the federal government.
Spokespeople for Kennedy and Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Here are some of the things that Kennedy may – or may not – be able to accomplish as HHS secretary.
Vaccines
Brandon Guerrero, 34, of Compton, receives both a flu and COVID-19 vaccine at CVS in Huntington Park on August 28, 2024.
Christina House | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
Kennedy is a staunch critic of vaccines, which have saved the lives of more than 1.1 million children in the U.S. and saved Americans $540 billion in direct health-care costs over the last three decades, according to CDC research released in August.
He has long made misleading and false statements about the safety of shots. He has claimed they are linked to autism despite decades of studies that debunk that association. Kennedy is also the founder of the nonprofit Children’s Health Defense, the most well-funded anti-vaccine organization in the U.S.
Ultimately, Kennedy’s influence over immunization policy could lead to an increase in ********* preventable by vaccines, several health policy experts told CNBC.
“He could create considerable distrust in vaccines and make some vaccines highly politicized, so in particularly red states, we could see outbreaks of fully preventable childhood *********,” Gostin said. That includes measles, mumps, rubella and polio.
Despite his history, Kennedy told NBC News in early November that he isn’t planning to take anyone’s vaccines away in the U.S.
That would be a difficult task, experts said. The FDA can pull a product from the market if further trials after approval fail to confirm that its clinical benefits outweigh its risks, or if unexpected risks are detected among patients. That has not been the case with the approved shots on the market.
“It would be hard to imagine that a new HHS Secretary would be able to immediately remove vaccines that are already approved and already being used and recommended by the government from the market,” said Josh Michaud, associate director of global health policy at KFF, a health policy research organization. “He can’t just make that change with a simple wave of a wand.”
Still, Kennedy has repeatedly argued that there is not enough data on vaccines and their effects. He told NPR earlier this month that the Trump administration is going to “make sure those scientific studies are done and that people can make informed choices about their vaccinations and their children’s vaccinations.”
As HHS secretary, Kennedy could “cherry pick” data from additional government studies and release misleading results that undermine trust in the safety and efficacy of vaccines, said Lawrence Gostin, a health law and policy expert at Georgetown University.
That misinformation could deter some Americans from receiving certain shots. Michaud added vaccine misinformation could push health officials on the state and local level to “perhaps allow for more individual choice rather than mandating routine vaccination” for certain *********.
Many state health departments and clinicians rely on vaccine recommendations from an advisory committee to the CDC. Those include who should get what shots and at what age.
Those guidelines have broader implications for public health. Vaccines recommended by that advisory panel and approved by the CDC director are covered under the Affordable Care Act. The agency also administers the Vaccines for Children program, which provides free vaccines for children in low-income families.
Kennedy could attempt to influence that CDC advisory committee and a similar panel linked to the FDA by stacking them with people who hold anti-vaccine views, Gostin said. The HHS secretary has the power to form an advisory committee, remove members and set the terms and qualifications for them.
That could produce more limited vaccine recommendations that aren’t firmly rooted in science, he added. It could also translate to a “fragmentation of vaccine policy” across the U.S. if only some states accept recommendations from advisors selected by Kennedy.
Federal agency funding, staffing
Kennedy in recent weeks has pledged to end what he calls “corporate ***********” at federal health agencies and purge staff when he steps into his role in the Trump administration.
He has said he would clear out “entire departments” at the FDA, saying that workers who stand in the way of approval of several controversial or dubious treatments should prepare to “pack their bags.”
Kennedy, before dropping out of the presidential race, also said he wanted to shift NIH’s focus away from infectious ******** and toward chronic ********* like obesity for eight years. In September, Kennedy said half of the NIH’s $48 billion budget should go toward “preventive, alternative and holistic approaches to health.”
A shakeup at the NIH – the largest public funder of biomedical research in the U.S. – could have major implications for research and the pharmaceutical industry. The NIH funds and conducts research on everything from vaccines and ******* to new ***** targets, laying the groundwork for treatments that companies can develop.
“He could certainly allocate funding away from drugs that he’s not interested in and more towards maybe areas that are more speculative,” said Genevieve Kanter, associate professor of public policy at the University of Southern California.
Kanter pointed to his long history of embracing disproven treatments, such as claiming that hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin work against Covid, even though several studies say they do not. Hydroxychloroquine is an immunosuppressive *****, while ivermectin is used to treat infections caused by parasites.
Major changes or funding cuts at the NIH, FDA and CDC would require congressional approval. Federal employees are also protected against arbitrary or politically-motivated *******.
FDA staff are further shielded because Congress does not fully fund their salaries. Nearly half of the agency’s $7.2 billion budget this year came from so-called “user fees,” or payments made by ***** and medical device manufacturers to fund the staff resources needed to quickly review their products, conduct inspections and ensure the safety of clinical studies.
It seems “unlikely” that Kennedy would be able to end that user fee program, according to Richard Frank, director of the Brookings Schaeffer Initiative on Health Policy. But he may attempt to influence negotiations around how the program is implemented when Congress decides whether to reauthorize it after 2027, Frank said.
Gostin said other “cuts across the board” at the three agencies are possible, especially in areas that are “part of the culture wars.” The CDC could see funding reduced for key functions related to vaccines, chronic ********, ******* and reproductive health and firearm injury and prevention, according to Gostin.
He added that the FDA’s nutrition departments could also see cuts or be “on the chopping block” altogether, given Kennedy’s intent to change what he calls the “broken” U.S. food system.
Cracking down on pharma
Some Wall Street analysts are less concerned about Kennedy stifling ***** approvals and regulation.
“We anticipate RFK to focus on U.S. food policy and its relationship to chronic illness, not medicine,” BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said in a note last week.
Investors are already bracing for a crackdown on food policy, with shares of processed food companies, such as Pepsi and Coca-Cola, falling on Friday.
Wall Street has fewer immediate concerns about pharmaceutical companies. Seigerman said “there is little precedent in recent history for HHS policy dictating or affecting FDA regulation or approval of drugs.”
He added that the impact on the biotech and pharmaceutical industry is still unclear until Trump selects an FDA commissioner, and that the firm is more confident that he will tap a candidate with “robust medical background and ties to the industry.”
Still, Kennedy appears to favor “tighter controls and intervening a bit more” in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, according to Dave Latshaw, CEO and co-founder of AI ***** development company BioPhy.
That could bring some uncertainty to the ***** development and approval process, which poses a greater risk to companies that primarily have products in the earlier stages of development than to large pharmaceutical companies, Latshaw added.
Kennedy could attempt to ****** down on the biotech and pharmaceutical industry in other ways – but they may not be successful.
He has said he wants to ban direct-to-consumer television ***** advertisements. In 2023, pharmaceutical companies spent nearly $3 billion on advertising for the 10 most promoted drugs.
Experts said the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech, would make that an extremely difficult task. Trump also tried to take on pharmaceutical advertising during his first administration by requiring companies to disclose the list prices of products in their ads. Drugmakers sued the government, and a federal court blocked the rule.
Kennedy’s position on the ***** pricing provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, President Joe Biden’s signature legislation, is unclear. That 2022 law gave Medicare the power to negotiate ***** prices with manufacturers for the first time in history – a provision that the pharmaceutical industry is challenging in court.
But the Trump administration won’t have much flexibility to dismantle or scale back the law without change from Congress. It also seems unlikely Kennedy would want to scrap efforts to lower ***** prices, an issue top of mind for Americans, according to Amy Campbell, associate dean for law and health sciences at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.
Fluoride, food supply
Kennedy earlier this month proposed advising all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from drinking water, falsely claiming that it is “an industrial waste” linked to several medical conditions, such as thyroid ******** and neurodevelopmental disorders. Trump has since said that idea sounds “OK to me.”
But fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral found in soil, water and plants. Adding low levels of fluoride to drinking water is widely considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century for its role in preventing tooth decay.
Campbell said the decision to add fluoride to water happens at the state and local level, so Kennedy could only advise its removal. But even that could eventually lead to certain states doing away with fluoridation, she noted.
Kennedy has been vocal about tackling the root causes of chronic ********* rather than spending resources on treating those conditions with drugs from the pharmaceutical industry. There are still few details on what exactly that would look like, but Kennedy is targeting a real issue in the U.S.
An increasing share of people in America are dealing with multiple chronic conditions, with roughly 42% having two or more, according to the CDC. More than 40% of school-aged children and adolescents have at least one.
Some of Kennedy’s ideas, such as stripping ultra-processed food from school cafeterias and cracking down on food dye, have found public support on the right and left. But he has pushed misleading claims and comparisons related to food in the U.S. and how it is regulated, such as incorrectly claiming that Froot Loops cereal in Canada contains just two or three ingredients when it has 17.
Some experts said Kennedy could pressure the FDA commissioner to scrap or cut down the agency’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. But banning the use of already-approved food additives would require more rather than fewer resources, experts added. They said that the process would likely involve extensive reviews of data and real-time monitoring of the food supply, among other efforts.
Other changes may need to be spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which does not fall under HHS. For example, the USDA sets guidelines that govern school lunch programs.
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New plan for early release of short-term prisoners in Scotland
New plan for early release of short-term prisoners in Scotland
The Scottish government is proposing to lower the minimum term served by prisoners who have been given short sentences.
It is predicted that between 260 and 390 inmates would be eligible for immediate release in February 2025 if the legislation is approved.
The new law would see most people serving less than four years being released after serving 40% of their sentence, rather than the current 50%.
The Scottish government says it hopes to pass the Prisoners (Early Release) (Scotland) Bill under emergency procedures to help deal with the significant rise in the prison population over the past year.
Justice Secretary Angela Constance said the bill would ensure jails continued to function safely and effectively, as overcrowding could reach “critical levels” if ministers did not act.
But it would not apply to those sentenced for domestic ****** or ******* offences.
Scotland’s prison population was 8,253 at the start of November – above the target operating capacity of 8,007.
Under the new plans, early releases would be managed in three stages over six weeks.
The change would also apply to new prisoners sentenced from the point the bill is introduced.
In the long term, the government said it could result in a sustained reduction of about 5% to the sentenced prison population.
The proposals replicate a change made south of the border by the *** government.
The new bill also proposes powers for ministers to change the point of release under licence conditions for people serving sentences of four years or more.
In June and July, a total of 477 people were let out early under an emergency scheme introduced by the Scottish government.
It involved prisoners who had been sentenced to less than four years in jail and who had less than 180 days still to serve.
But it was revealed in September that the prison population was already higher than it had been before the early release.
In October, the Scottish government shelved proposals for the automatic early release of long-term prisoners due to concerns from victims of ******.
At the time the justice secretary said a consultation process had revealed “significant practical difficulties” but she was still committed to considering changes to the rules for long-term prisoners.
Unveiling the proposals on Tuesday, Ms Constance said the prison population had continued to rise and was projected to reach critical levels again.
“Long-term action is necessary to deliver a sustained reduction to the prison population and support the effective functioning of prisons,” she said.
“The proposals include built-in exemptions for those serving sentences for ******* offences or domestic ******.
“We need the prison system to focus on those who pose the greatest risk to the public and provide a range of support to help reduce reoffending and integration back into the community.”
Ms Constance said she recognised that victims and their families may have concerns, and that she would engage with victims’ organisations ahead of any changes.
Victim support groups have previously said that early release has been shown not to work.
The Scottish Conservatives’ justice spokesman Liam Kerr said the SNP’s “knee-*****” plans to release more prisoners early represented “a threat to public safety”.
He added: “It is just common sense that a ********* should serve their sentence in full and the public will be alarmed that this out-of-touch SNP government’s approach is letting ********** out of jail even earlier instead.
“The fact that the SNP government wishes to ram this through should concern everyone”.
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NYT Strands today: hints, spangram and answers for Tuesday, November 19
NYT Strands today: hints, spangram and answers for Tuesday, November 19
Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, you’ll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle.
Like Wordle, Connections, and the Mini Crossword, Strands can be a bit difficult to solve some days. There’s no shame in needing a little help from time to time. If you’re stuck and need to know the answers to today’s Strands puzzle, check out the solved puzzle below.
How to play Strands
You start every Strands puzzle with the goal of finding the “theme words” hidden in the grid of letters. Manipulate letters by dragging or tapping to craft words; double-tap the final letter to confirm. If you find the correct word, the letters will be highlighted blue and will no longer be selectable.
If you find a word that isn’t a theme word, it still helps! For every three non-theme words you find that are at least four letters long, you’ll get a hint — the letters of one of the theme words will be revealed and you’ll just have to unscramble it.
Every single letter on the grid is used to spell out the theme words and there is no overlap. Every letter will be used once, and only once.
Each puzzle contains one “spangram,” a special theme word (or words) that describe the puzzle’s theme and touches two opposite sides of the board. When you find the spangram, it will be highlighted yellow.
The goal should be to complete the puzzle quickly without using too many hints.
Hint for today’s Strands puzzle
Today’s theme is “Pick-ups”
Here’s a hint that might help you: eating tools.
Today’s Strand answers
NYT
Today’s spanagram
We’ll start by giving you the spangram, which might help you figure out the theme and solve the rest of the puzzle on your own:
Today’s Strands answers
FORK
******
SPOON
SPORK
SKEWER
TONGS
CHOPSTICKS
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Morgan Stanley sees 25% upside in new autonomous driving pure play
Morgan Stanley sees 25% upside in new autonomous driving pure play
Autonomous driving technology company WeRide has plenty of room to grow as a result of its early-mover advantage in the global self-driving market, according to Morgan Stanley, which brought the firm public in an IPO last month at $15.50 a share . Analyst Tim Hsiao initiated research coverage of Guangzhou, China-based WeRide with an overweight rating and a price target of $23, implying more than 25% upside for the stock versus Monday’s close. WeRide rallied as much as 6% in early trading Tuesday to $19.43. WeRide offers several driverless vehicles such as robobuses, robotaxis and robovans, holds driverless permits in the U.S., China, the UAE and Singapore and is involved in trial and commercial activities in 30 cities. The company has partnered with Uber in the UAE, and Hsiao expects its robotaxi and robovans segments to achieve large-scale commercialization by 2026. Morgan Stanley estimates the global autonomous driving market size will jump to $1.745 trillion in 2030 from $93 billion in 2025. “WeRide is a pure play in global L4+ autonomous driving,” Hsiao wrote in a 38-page report on Tuesday note. Level 4 autonomous driving describes when a vehicle can drive in most circumstances without a human driver, one step below the top-most Level 5 designation for a fully automated vehicle . Hsiao added that WeRide “can generate greater operating leverage and synergies across products than its peers, given its diverse product offerings.” To be sure, the threat of tighter regulation on driverless vehicles is a downside risk for the stock, and Morgan Stanley forecasts WeRide’s earnings and cash flow will remain “volatile” in the near term, Hsiao noted. WRD ALL mountain WeRide shares since its October IPO. —CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
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Predicting College Football Playoff rankings after Week 12: How will SEC be sorted out?
Predicting College Football Playoff rankings after Week 12: How will SEC be sorted out?
There wasn’t too much drama within the top five of the College Football Playoff rankings during Week 12, thanks to No. 1 Oregon’s comeback at Wisconsin, but No. 6 BYU lost for the first time and No. 7 Tennessee fell on the road at Georgia to create some changes in the rest of the top 10.
I have been a bit confused by the selection committee’s ambiguous strength of schedule metrics, so I decided to look into it a little closer. I believe the committee’s strength of schedule metric is based more on win-loss record of opponents than margin of victory. Why is that important? Well, the strength of schedule metrics that I have been posting and the ones that you will see on ESPN during the CFP rankings show are based on margin of victory.
GO DEEPER
College Football Playoff 2024 projections: Colorado favored to win Big 12, earn bye
So when you saw Georgia outside the projected bracket last week despite playing one of the toughest schedules in the country, it’s because its opponents’ records aren’t as good as you’d think. For example, a win over 4-6 Kentucky — a team that is ranked in the top-40 in my ratings — might be seen as worse than a win over 7-3 Colorado State despite Kentucky likely being more than a touchdown favorite if those two teams played on a neutral field. It’s not a perfect process, but I needed to adjust my Playoff algorithm’s strength of schedule component to account for this.
So with that adjustment, let’s take a stab at projecting the committee’s rankings for this week after having a so-so performance last week.
Projected CFP Top 25 after Week 12
Rk
Team
Record
****
AP poll
1
11-0
50
1
2
9-1
46
2
3
9-1
69
3
4
9-1
31
4
5
10-0
79
5
6
9-1
54
6
7
8-2
14
7
8
8-2
47
9
9
8-2
1
8
10
9-1
63
11
11
9-1
73
13
12
8-2
42
10
13
9-1
84
12
14
9-1
51
14
15
8-2
40
15
16
8-2
44
16
17
8-2
52
17
18
7-3
6
19
19
8-2
55
22
20
8-2
38
21
21
9-0
131
18
22
9-2
100
20
23
7-3
41
24
24
8-2
97
23
25
7-3
48
NR
Next five: Missouri, Washington State, Pitt, Syracuse, Louisville
Biggest question: What to do with the logjam in the SEC?
Last week, the committee ranked No. 10 Alabama ahead of No. 11 Ole Miss, which was ranked one spot ahead of No. 12 Georgia after the Rebels’ 28-10 head-to-head win. Now, after Georgia took down Tennessee in Athens on Saturday, Tennessee enters the conversation as it falls from No. 7.
Considering that Alabama and Ole Miss both have wins against Georgia, I think the Volunteers are likely to fall to the bottom of that group despite their win against Alabama. Factor in that Tennessee was ranked below Indiana and BYU last week, and I’d be shocked at anything otherwise. Tennessee isn’t out of the Playoff race, by any means, but it may need to root for some chaos elsewhere. According to my projections model, the Vols have just a 34 percent chance of making the field, compared to 94 percent for Texas, 88 percent for Georgia, 76 percent for Alabama, 70 percent for Ole Miss and 14 percent for Texas A&M.
And if you think that’s all tough to sort out, root for Texas A&M to beat Texas in two weeks to create a six-team logjam. Good luck, selection committee.
GO DEEPER
College Football Playoff stock watch: Can BYU and Tennessee escape the bubble?
What the 12-team bracket would look like
The bracket below is based on the projected selection committee rankings for Nov. 19. Find my projections for the final bracket here.
Note that, based on these rankings, Boise State would get a bye as the fourth-highest-ranked conference champion, while BYU, the top Big 12 team, is the No. 12 seed.
(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
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MEMS drivers are coming to open-wear devices like XR glasses, smart watches and earbuds
MEMS drivers are coming to open-wear devices like XR glasses, smart watches and earbuds
Tiny MEMS ultrasonic drivers have already made a huge difference in sound quality for true wireless earbuds. Now, the company behind those “sound from ultrasound” speakers, xMEMS Labs, is taking aim at open-fit earbuds, smart glasses and smart watches with its new Sycamore micro driver. xMEMS says that this is the first full-range, all-silicon, near-field micro speaker that offers full-range audio for open-air devices.
Sycamore is based on the same platform as xMEMS’ Cypress driver for active noise cancellation (ANC) earbuds. This means the component uses ultrasonic waves to create full-frequency sound from a 1mm thin chip. The company explains that Sycamore can match the mid-bass performance of current drivers while pushing up to 11dB more of sub-bass. This new speaker-on-a-chip also has improved treble, clocking up to 15dB above 5KHz when compared to drivers that are currently in use. And, of course, there’s the clarity and detail MEMS units offer.
“Everything that you get out of our in-ear speakers translates to Sycamore,” xMEMS vice president of marketing and business development Mike Housholder told Engadget. “In these early products that we benchmarked, our clarity continues to come through in Sycamore, so you’ll get that benefit as well.”
xMEMS Sycamore (xMEMS)
In addition to improved audio performance, another key advantage of Sycamore drivers is their ultra-compact size. xMEMS says these micro speakers are one-seventh the size of conventional dynamic driver and one-third of their thickness. They also weigh 70 percent less. This reduced size would give product designers more flexibility, which could lead to sleeker, more attractive products. One of my key gripes with smart glasses is how thick the ear pieces are, so if companies can make something that’s more akin to real glasses and still improve the audio, that’s a win in my book.
“Because these are fashion forward products, you need something that is really thin and really light, and that’s where Sycamore comes in,” Housholder continued. “The benefit that Sycamore brings to these categories of products is next level thinness and weight.”
Since Sycamore is based on the same platform as Cypress and xMEMS’ XMC-2400 micro-cooling fan on a chip, this new driver will use the same manufacturing setup. This means that xMEMS will be able to deliver it faster, but also expedite the industrial process for future micro products. Samples of the open-air Sycamore drivers are expected to be available in Q1 2025 with mass production beginning next October. Given this timeline, we’re likely to see the first products with Sycamore drivers in 2026.
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A giant hornet from Asia has appeared in Europe for the first time
A giant hornet from Asia has appeared in Europe for the first time
A southern giant hornet in Thailand
Rushen
Southern giant hornets, a species native to Asia, have been sighted in Europe for the first time, raising concerns about their potential impact on native insects.
Between 2022 and 2023, Omar Sánchez Fernández at the University of Oviedo, Spain, and his colleagues accidentally caught four giant hornets in wasp traps in Asturias, northern Spain.
A genetic analysis revealed that the four female workers they captured were southern giant hornets (Vespa soror).
“Although beekeepers in the area…
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Windows 11 24H2 is plagued by more bugs, including weird installation failures and crashes hitting PC gamers
Windows 11 24H2 is plagued by more bugs, including weird installation failures and crashes hitting PC gamers
Windows 11 24H2’s cumulative update for November introduces more bugs
There are some very odd instances of repeated installation failures
Another bug is reportedly causing crashes while gaming
Windows 11 24H2 has run into more problems with bugs – some of them quite weird affairs – courtesy of the latest update released for this most up-to-date version of the operating system.
Windows Latest points out some of the fresh issues uncovered with the cumulative update for November, which was released last week.
One of the stumbling blocks for some Windows 11 24H2 users is that the new update, patch KB5046617, simply won’t install – failing with one of those unhelpful error codes (0x800f0991 and 0x800f0922 are flagged up as being a couple of the more common errors appearing). Sometimes this happens when the installation process comes close to the halfway point.
A new spin on this is that some Windows 11 users are reporting that the November patch seems to install okay, but when checking in the Windows Update history afterward, there’s a message saying it actually *******. In another case, a Redditor reports that this update has been installed a few times, despite seeming to complete successfully each time.
There are quite widespread reports of various installation woes at the usual places online, such as Microsoft’s Answers.com help forum and Reddit.
There are a bunch of other problems highlighted by Windows Latest, including the update promising to fix that ****** issue where Alt-Tabbing led to a big pause – and a ****** screen – when switching between apps. Apparently, this is fixed for some users, but not others.
PC gamers are also running into trouble with glitches causing weird colors in HDR (with them appearing to be overly bright in some cases), and some PCs are crashing randomly when playing games (and at other times, too, but more commonly when gaming, we’re told). ******.
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Other miscellaneous problems include Taskbar icons vanishing, USB devices connected to hubs no longer working after KB5046617 has been installed, and Lenovo laptops having their keyboards and touchpads malfunction – which the tech site tells us is fixed by disabling Fast Startup.
(Image credit: Shutterstock/Grustock)
Analysis: Stormy waters
The stormy seas Windows 11 24H2 finds itself trying to navigate don’t appear to be getting any calmer – we’ve seen plenty of bugs with the latest version of Microsoft’s OS, and a heap more on the pile thanks to this most recent patch isn’t helping.
Of course, installation failures are nothing new – these pop up with depressing regularity, in fact. However, the case in which the November update seems to install just fine, but then is reported as ******* in Windows Update, is a new wrinkle. What we don’t know is if the error is the message informing the user about the ********, or whether the bug is the update seemingly installing okay, when in actual fact it hasn’t. It’s all very odd, and the Redditor who is seeing the update install repeatedly, with no message about ********, caps off the weirdness here.
Coming back to the issue of Alt-Tab misfiring and being seriously sluggish, there are suggestions of tricks to try for those finding that the November update doesn’t fix this problem. Firstly, try turning off Game Mode, and if that doesn’t help, update your graphics driver to the latest version for Nvidia GPUs (it might not hurt for AMD or Intel graphics cards, either).
Otherwise, we’ll have to wait for the next update for Windows 11 24H2 to come through and hopefully stamp out this bug for good – and the fresh ones that have popped up in KB5046617. As we’ve said before: ever get the feeling Microsoft is playing whack-a-mole here?
You may also like…
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EU Budget 2025 deal: EP reinforces EU programmes and manages borrowing costs | News
EU Budget 2025 deal: EP reinforces EU programmes and manages borrowing costs | News
On Saturday morning, negotiators from the ********* Parliament and the Council reached a provisional agreement on the 2025 EU Budget, before the deadline of the conciliation *******.
Negotiators found solution to cover repayment costs for the ********* Recovery Instrument (EURI)
MEPs ensured that the financing of the EURI repayment costs, which are twice the amount initially forecast for 2025, could be achieved while at the same time protecting funding for essential programmes, like Erasmus+ or R&D. MEPs reversed all cuts made by member states and successfully insisted on the proper use of the new “EURI cascade mechanism” introduced in the revision of the EU’s long-term budget. This mechanism is designed to manage escalating Next Generation EU borrowing costs without affecting key initiatives, maintaining the budget’s flexibility and response capacity.
Parliament secured additional funding for EU programmes
In February, during the revision in the EU’s long-term budget, Parliament secured substantial increases to flagship programmes. Building on that, MEPs defended those additions and obtained further funding for essential policies in the 2025 annual budget.
Parliament successfully negotiated an additional €230.7 million in funding beyond the Commission’s initial draft proposal, focusing on programmes and policies aimed at improving people’s lives, boosting competitiveness, and addressing current challenges. On top of it, major increases stemming from previous savings will benefit the 2025 budget, including €62 million for Erasmus+ and €20 million for Horizon Europe. Key increases include:
Competitiveness, social policies and environment:
Migration, border management, and the world:
There were also additional staff and funds secured for the ********* Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and Europol.
The preliminary figures are €199,44 billion in commitment appropriations and €155,21 billion in payment appropriations. Detailed figures will be available in due course.
Providing help for regions effected by climate disasters
As part of next year’s budget, negotiators agreed to frontload payment appropriations of up to €3 billion to provide support for regions affected by natural disasters, including the recent floods. Once the legal base is confirmed, member states would be able to use up to 10% of existing Cohesion Policy funds to prevent and recover from such disasters, provided they submit an amended programme to the Commission.
Quotes
Johan Van Overtveldt (ECR, BE), Chair of the Committee on Budgets, said: “The agreement on the 2025 budget demonstrates the EU’s ability to act and adapt during these uncertain times. It builds on the mid-term revision of the expenditure ceilings in the multiannual financial framework and addresses the ongoing challenges we face: Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, persistent migratory pressures, the crisis in the Middle East, various natural disasters, and the pressures on the competitiveness of our economies. The EU budget is only a part of the whole task that ***** ahead of us. Simplifying procedures, increasing flexibility and cutting the administrative burden are in my view as important as spending money to mobilise the innovative power of our citizens and companies.”
Victor Negrescu (S&D, RO), general rapporteur for the EU budget 2025 (for section III – Commission), said: “The Parliament has reached a strong agreement on the EU budget 2025 of almost €200 billion, which represents 6% more than the previous year. After several days of negotiations, I am glad we achieved increases on education, health, civil protection, research, border protection, agriculture, fighting against ***********, Schengen enlargement, social policies and humanitarian aid. We also managed to secure the €6 billion from cohesion funds much needed for the countries in Central and Eastern Europe affected by the floods. We managed to achieve all of that while finding a balanced approach in financing the debts generated by the Recovery and Resilience Facility. We have showed that, at ********* level, we are capable in coming up with common and clear solutions to EU challenges and citizens expectations.”
Niclas Herbst (EPP, DE), rapporteur for the other sections, said: “After tough negotiations, we have now reached an agreement on crucial issues for Parliament, such as cybersecurity. Parliament succeeded in ensuring that EU institutions will be adequately equipped with cybersecurity staff. We fulfilled the security needs of the delegations of the EU’s External Action Service (EEAS). Additionally, the Parliament has managed to strengthen the ********* Data Protection Supervisor’s (EDPS) capacity to supervise the use of AI in the 75 institutions and entities they are responsible for.”
Next steps
Once the Council formally adopts the compromise, a vote is expected in the Parliament’s plenary session (planned for 27 November in Strasbourg), then it is signed into law by the President.
Background
Well over 90% of the EU budget funds activities in EU countries and beyond, benefiting citizens, regions, farmers, researchers, students, NGOs, and businesses. Unlike national budgets, the EU budget is primarily aimed at investment, to generate growth and opportunities across the ********* Union. The EU serves 27 countries with a total population of 450 million. Given this scope, the annual EU budget is relatively small – on average €160-180 billion annually in 2021-27. This is comparable to the national budget of Denmark, which serves 5.6 million people, and is about 30% smaller than the budget of Poland, which serves 38 million. (Source: Commission)
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US envoy says *******-Hezbollah truce ‘within our grasp’
US envoy says *******-Hezbollah truce ‘within our grasp’
A senior US mediator says there is a “real opportunity” to end the conflict between ******* and Hezbollah and that gaps are narrowing, signalling progress in efforts to clinch a ceasefire.
White House envoy Amos Hochstein spoke in Beirut following talks with parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a day after the Lebanese government and Hezbollah agreed to a US ceasefire proposal with some comments on the content.
“I came back because we have a real opportunity to bring this conflict to an end,” Hochstein told a press conference after the meeting.
“It is now within our grasp. As the window is now, I hope the coming days yield a resolute decision.”
Hochstein’s mission marks a last-ditch attempt by the outgoing US administration to clinch a ceasefire in Lebanon as diplomacy to end the war in the Gaza Strip appears totally adrift.
******** Energy Minister Eli Cohen said on Tuesday “there are talks regarding an arrangement with Lebanon” but reiterated that ******* would agree only if all its demands were met, including pushing Hezbollah away from the border.
The diplomatic efforts coincide with an intensification of the war, with ******* stepping up its strikes on Beirut’s Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs and striking three times in the capital itself in the last three days.
The conflict spiralled into all-out war in September when ******* went on the offensive, pounding wide areas of Lebanon with air strikes, sending troops into the south and ******** many Hezbollah commanders including leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Hochstein has tried to broker a ceasefire several times over the last year.
Hezbollah has endorsed its long-time ally Berri as Lebanon’s negotiator.
Hochstein flew to Beirut overnight after Lebanon delivered its written response to a US ceasefire proposal which Berri received last week from the ******* States ambassador.
******* launched its offensive after almost a year of cross-border hostilities with Hezbollah, which opened ***** in solidarity with its ************ ally ****** after the group’s October 7, 2023 ******* on ******* led to the start of the Gaza war.
*******’s declared goal is to dismantle Hezbollah’s capabilities and secure the return of tens of thousands of Israelis who fled from the north.
An ******** strike ******* two people in the Chiyah district of Beirut’s southern suburbs, the Lebanese health ministry said.
At least 35 projectiles were fired into ******* from Lebanon on Tuesday, some of which were intercepted, according to ******** military statements.
The ******** air force also intercepted two drones flown into ******* from Lebanon, the military said.
Cohen, speaking at a conference on Tuesday, said ******* would “make an arrangement only if all our demands are met”.
He said this meant pushing back Hezbollah, ensuring it cannot return and regain strength, Israelis being able to return safely to the north and ******** forces having “full freedom of action, not just in the event of an *******, but in the event they (Hezbollah) try to restore their strength”.
Lebanon has rejected ******* being granted freedom of action.
Berri said last week the US proposal did not mention this.
*******’s campaign in Lebanon has uprooted more than a million people in the last eight weeks.
World powers say a ceasefire must be based on ******* Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 which ended a 2006 war between ******* and Hezbollah.
Its terms require Hezbollah to move weapons and fighters north of the Litani River, about 30km north of the ******** border.
Ali Hassan Khalil, a top Berri aide, told Reuters on Monday that Lebanon had presented its comments on the US proposal in a positive atmosphere
“All the comments that we presented affirm the precise adherence to Resolution 1701 with all its provisions,” he said, declining to give details.
*******’s campaign has ******* 3481 people in Lebanon since hostilities began, most since late September, Lebanese authorities say.
The figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Hezbollah strikes have ******* 43 civilians in northern ******* and the ********-occupied Golan Heights while 73 soldiers have been ******* in strikes in northern ******* and the Golan Heights and in combat in southern Lebanon, according to ******** figures.
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What to expect week before Thanksgiving
What to expect week before Thanksgiving
Wondering what the weather will be in Binghamton this week? Look no further.
Temperatures dropped last week, and will remain relatively steady this week, with highs remaining in the 40s and 50s. Expect sunny days at the start of the week, followed by rain beginning Wednesday night.
At night, temperatures will remain in the 30s this week, according to the National Weather Service.
Here’s what the National Weather Service expects to see in Broome County.
More: Broome County Festival of Lights is open. Here are the details
Tuesday
Tuesday will be partly sunny, with a high near 52 degrees and a calm wind.
Tuesday night will be mostly cloudy, with a low around 39 degrees and a calm wind.
Wednesday
On Wednesday, Binghamton residents can expect mostly cloudy weather, according to the National Weather Service. The day will peak at around 58 degrees and bring a light wind. There is a 40% chance of precipitation, with a chance of showers after 1 p.m.
Wednesday night will bring rain with a 90% chance of precipitation and a low around 37 degrees.
Thursday
Rain will continue on Thursday, with an 80% chance of precipitation and a high around 43.
Expect more rain Thursday night, with a low around 33 and an 80% chance of precipitation.
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Binghamton weather: What to expect week before Thanksgiving
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NFL QB stock report, Week 12: Patrick Mahomes drops; Caleb Williams deserves your patience
NFL QB stock report, Week 12: Patrick Mahomes drops; Caleb Williams deserves your patience
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and his Kansas City counterpart, Patrick Mahomes, delivered yet another epic showdown Sunday. That matchup lives up to the hype almost every time, doesn’t it?
Anyway, as a result of the Bills’ 30-21 victory in Orchard Park, Allen overtook Mahomes in our quarterback rankings for the first time since Week 5.
The Athletic’s Week 12 QB rankings
Allen stamped the performance with an exclamation point, pinballing his way down the field with a 26-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-2 that capped the scoring.
JOSH. ALLEN. GREATNESS.
: #KCvsBUF on CBS/Paramount+ : pic.twitter.com/3HyIoDCaAC
— NFL (@NFL) November 18, 2024
It’s the way they did it that made the game so jolting. Mahomes, whose numbers are down across the board this season, has been excused due to the injuries and overturned depth chart around him, but Allen has mostly thrived while going through comparable circumstances.
Allen’s leading receiver, throughout the season and again Sunday, was Khalil Shakir, who was third on the depth chart in 2023. Shakir delivered game-highs of eight catches and 70 yards against the Chiefs. Curtis Samuel, an eighth-year wideout on his third team, has been an afterthought for much of the season but made five grabs for 58 yards, including a fourth-quarter TD. Amari Cooper, a trade deadline acquisition who missed the past two games with a wrist injury, tallied two big catches for 55 yards.
And yet, Allen trusted his group and made enough big plays on his own to hang 30 on the Chiefs’ fifth-ranked scoring defense (entering Sunday). That group hadn’t allowed 30 points since Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles. Allen finished 27-of-40 passing for 262 yards, one touchdown and one interception; he also paced the Bills with 55 rushing yards and the pivotal score.
GO DEEPER
Reassessing AFC contenders: Bills the best? How dangerous are the Steelers? Sando’s Pick Six
Mahomes, on the other hand, finished 23-of-33 passing for 196 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He leaned on rookie receiver Xavier Worthy (four catches, 61 yards, one touchdown), tight end Noah Gray (four catches, 23 yards, two touchdowns) and DeAndre Hopkins (three catches, 29 yards).
Even though Mahomes hasn’t been at his best, his mere presence changed the game. Call it the flashbacks of Mahomes’ late-game heroics in his three playoff victories against the Bills, or simply just common sense, but the Bills bypassed a 44-yard field attempt to take a 26-21 lead with 2:27 remaining — instead going for it on fourth down rather than ceding a game-winning opportunity for Mahomes.
Greatness sparked greatness. This time, Allen delivered while Mahomes watched from the sideline.
Allen opened the season at No. 2 in the rankings but overtook Mahomes in Week 4. The Bills star only stayed up top for two weeks before slumping and dropping to No. 4, but he’s jumped a spot in two of the past three weeks.
Mahomes, meanwhile, wrangled back the No. 1 spot in Weeks 6-7 before Lamar Jackson seized control. Mahomes’ résumé had plenty to do with that, but feedback from coaches and executives validated his standing despite relatively pedestrian statistics. Now at No. 3, this is the lowest Mahomes has ranked in our debut season of the QB stock report.
Allen comes out of the bye with a Week 13 marquee matchup against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football. He’ll visit the Detroit Lions two weeks after that, giving him a couple more opportunities in the spotlight to chip away at Jackson’s lead in the MVP race.
If Allen wins the coveted award for the first time, the knockout touchdown against the Chiefs could be his MVP moment.
GO DEEPER
NFL Week 11 takeaways: Bills make case as AFC’s best team, Bo Nix rookie of the year?
Bear … up?
It didn’t help on the scoreboard, as the Green Bay Packers blocked the Chicaco Bears’ game-winning field-goal attempt, but Caleb Williams looked more comfortable in his first game with Thomas Brown at offensive coordinator. Williams finished 23-of-31 passing for 231 yards and was a play away from delivering his first game-winning drive.
We were pretty thorough last week when going through Williams’ struggles, but we’ve since heard new perspective to put his start into context.
There’s been plenty of attention devoted to how long Williams has been holding the ball and taking too many sacks, but it’s important to understand the adjustment to the NFL game. One executive, who studied Williams extensively before the draft, pointed out the quarterback wasn’t asked to read safety rotations before the snap under coach Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma and USC.
“That’ll force you to play slow if you’re not used to it,” the executive said. “I think our expectations for these guys is unrealistic, but that’s the nature of the business. Disguising coverages on the back end is all the rage right now in the NFL. That’s asking somebody to go from high school math to advanced calculus without any classes in between. I don’t think it’s an indication of who he is as a player.”
So yeah, Williams has a tendency to hold onto the ball too long because he made so many plays off schedule in college, and it’s more difficult to do that now. But it’s not necessarily because Williams is stubbornly holding the ball too long — although that’s surely been the case on occasion — as it has plenty to do with trying to read more complex defenses in real time, often without the experience of proper fundamentals at prior levels.
Williams needs time and experience to improve in those areas. When he gets to that point, the natural talent should take over.
(Steel) curtain call
Russell Wilson is making the most of his third act.
The 35-year-old has won all four of his starts with the Pittsburgh Steelers and done plenty over the past month to change the narrative after three difficult seasons with the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos. He’s completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 942 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions since taking over for Justin Fields.
Wilson deserves credit for playing well, particularly at this stage of his career after struggling so badly, but it’s also a huge testament to the Steelers. They’re putting him in good situations and not asking him to play beyond his means, which is exactly how it should be for every quarterback.
“They’re revisiting the pre- ‘Let Russ cook’ formula when he was coming up,” an executive said. “They’re running the ball, asking him to play-action pass, win high-leverage situations, and that’s what he’s good at. It starts to fall apart when you make him a high-volume passer. I think it’s sustainable as long as his body holds up. And they’ve got the best defense in the league.”
There’s minimal pressure on Wilson and the Steelers to make this work. He’s making the league minimum because the Broncos are paying the balance of his offset money, so there’s no reason to air it out to justify his contract. And because Wilson has flashed enough with the deep ball, the Steelers’ run game has also benefited.
Of course, the Steelers have also only allowed 19 points per game in his four starts, so Wilson hasn’t had to win any shootouts, sans the 28-27 thriller against Jayden Daniels and the Commanders in Week 10. Realistically, Wilson wasn’t going to go play for play with Jackson on Sunday, but he didn’t need to because the defense was stout.
It’s a sustainable model, though the ceiling for both Wilson and the Steelers may be measured in their final four games against the Eagles, Ravens, Chiefs and Bengals. But for now, Wilson and the Steelers have been perfect for one another.
On a related note …
Jackson had another rough day against a team that his number, completing just 16-of-33 passes for 207 yards, one touchdown and one interception along with 46 rushing yards, as the Ravens dropped a couple games behind the Steelers in the AFC North.
As strong as Jackson has played this season, this type of outing wasn’t unpredictable. The Steelers (5-2), Chiefs (4-1) and Raiders (2-1) are the only teams with a winning record against the two-time MVP.
Jackson has completed 57% of his passes for 1,077 yards, five touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 66.7 passer rating in his career against the Steelers. Against all opponents, that ranks second to last in completion percentage, eighth worst in yards per game (153.9) and last in passer rating. His 44 rushing yards per outing against the Steelers are his fourth fewest against any opponent, and he hasn’t ever rushed for a touchdown against them.
Jackson will get another ****** at them on the national stage in Week 16. That’ll be an important moment for his MVP candidacy, especially four days before a Christmas showcase against the Texans.
GO DEEPER
NFL playoff projections 2024: Bills beat Chiefs; can they take AFC No. 1 seed, too?
Looking Buff
Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders is playing better than any draft-eligible quarterback, and it’s not even close.
That’s the viewpoint of one trusted evaluator. But from another? Miami’s Cam Ward is likely to wind up being the top QB in the class.
GO DEEPER
NFL Draft 2025 Big Board: Travis Hunter takes No. 1 spot, 4 QBs in updated top 50
It’s a relatively down year for QBs, so needy teams are scrambling to formulate their draft plans. Opinions are still varied because it’s early, but there’s also reason to believe teams will remain split on the best prospect in the springtime. Their hope is someone surges like Jayden Daniels a year ago, but the clock is ticking. There could be some major reaches in the draft, and we all know how that tends to pan out.
Like Sanders? Strictly by the game tape, he is playing well enough to be worthy of the No. 1 pick. But teams do want to get plenty of time with Sanders throughout the offseason interview process. They need to gauge just how important football is to him.
In that sense, there’s a bit of a holding pattern. This time two years ago, teams had questions about C.J. Stroud, but he blew them away during the interview process and put concerns to rest.
If Sanders does the same thing, he’s going to put himself in great position to be the first quarterback off the board. If not? Ward might be the pick, even though he’s got a penchant for forcing the ball into high-risk situations.
There could even be quarterback-needy teams in the top 10 that bypass the position altogether because of the uncertainty with the prospects.
Dropped out of the rankings: Joe Flacco (benched), No. 27 last week; Daniel Jones (benched), No. 29 last week.
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(Photo of Patrick Mahomes: ********** Petersen / Getty Images)
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Fable Alpha Gameplay Footage Details Revealed by Insider
Fable Alpha Gameplay Footage Details Revealed by Insider
Reliable industry insider Jez Corden has revealed details about Fable’s alpha gameplay footage, indicating that the game’s style is similar to CD Projekt Red’s.
In the latest episode of The Xbox Two podcast (as shared by ZakkenKloot on X), Jez Corden discussed seeing some alpha gameplay footage for Fable and expressed his excitement by describing it as “fantastic.” However, Corden is uncertain about the timeline for this alpha build.
Corden discusses how the alpha gameplay footage of Fable contains elements reminiscent of “CD Projekt Red DNA.” He explains that Playground Games has hired several developers from CD Projekt Red, including a combat designer.
From the combat footage, he can identify where the inspiration originates. While the gameplay isn’t an exact replica of The Witcher, it features similar mechanics. Furthermore, the footage looks “super polished” for an alpha build.
Moreover, Corden revealed that Fable’s alpha gameplay footage showcased various ******* types, including bows and arrows, spells, and melee weapons—similar to those used by Geralt. He also discusses the design of certain ****** types, featuring comedic and frightening elements for chickens and werewolves. Overall, he felt that the gameplay looked impressive, and the combat was “very tight” for an alpha build.
In other news, Alan Wake 2 has sold over 1.8 million copies. Also, Pokemon TCG Pocket reportedly surpassed $120 million in earnings. What are your thoughts on Fable’s alpha gameplay footage? Let us know in the comments or our new community forum!
For more from Insider Gaming, read about Inaugural Indie Game Awards Announce Full List Of Nominees. Don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter.
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Get over $100 off Philips Hue Festavia lights with this epic ****** Friday deal – just in time for Christmas
Get over $100 off Philips Hue Festavia lights with this epic ****** Friday deal – just in time for Christmas
The official Philips Hue ****** Friday ***** has finally arrived in the US, with huge savings on smart lights. There’s up to 40% off selected bulbs and fittings, but for me the best deal this year is the Philips Hue Festavia 500 LED string for just $251.99 (was $359.99). Shorter strings are also available, with the 250 LED string now down to $159.99 (was $219.99) and the 100 LED string reduced to only $83.99 (was $119.99).
The Festavia string lights feature Philips Hue White & ****** Ambiance LEDs, which means each one can be set to one of 16 million colors. You can also take your pick from an extensive gallery of pre-made effects and animations (including warm candle effects and twinkling stars), or sync them to music for Christmas parties.
Today’s best Philips Hue Festavia deal
Why choose Festavia lights?
Philips Hue Festavia lights are always popular, particularly around this time of year, and the shorter strings (ideal for trees) have a tendency to sell out fast. so it’s a good idea to grab a set while you can.
Festavia lights aren’t just for Christmas, either – they can also be used as white lights the rest of the time to add a touch of interest to anywhere in your home. Try fitting them around a reading ***** or in a bedroom, and use a preset scene to adjust the light temperature automatically to suit the time of day.
You don’t need to buy a separate Philips Hue Bridge Wi-Fi hub to use them, either – just install the Philips Hue Bluetooth app on your phone and get connected. For more details, check our our guide to the Philips Hue Bridge: what is it and how important is it.
More of today’s ****** Friday sales in the US
Amazon: TVs, smart home & air fryers from $12.99
Apple: AirPods, iPads, MacBooks from $89.99
Best Buy: $1,000 off 4K TVs, laptops & headphones
Cheap TVs: smart TVs at Best Buy from $69.99
Christmas trees: top-rated trees from $54.99
Dell: best-selling Inspiron & XPS laptops from $279.99
Dreamcloud: mattress deals from $349 + free shipping
Holiday: decor, lights, Christmas trees & PJs from $10.99
Home Depot: 40% off tools, appliances & furniture
Lowe’s: holiday decor, appliances & tools from $17.31
Nectar: up to 50% off all mattresses
Nordstrom: 46% off boots, coats, jeans & jewelry
Samsung: $1,500+ off TVs, phones, watches & appliances
Target: save on furniture, tech & clothing
Walmart: cheap TVs, ****** vacs, furniture & appliances
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