Pelican Press

Schumer pauses Trump DOJ nominees Schumer pauses Trump DOJ nominees Senate ********* Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks at a press conference with other members of Senate Democratic leadership following a policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC May 6, 2025. Nathan Posner | Anadolu | Getty Images Senate ********* Leader Chuck Schumer announced Tuesday that he is putting a hold on Department of Justice political nominations in protest of President Donald Trump’s plans to accept a roughly $400 million luxury jet from Qatar. “This is not just naked corruption, it is also a grave national security threat,” Schumer said from the Senate floor, as he demanded answers from the Trump administration and Justice Department on the planned exchange of the luxury jet. Schumer slammed the move as “so corrupt that even [Russian President Vladimir] Putin would give a double take.” While the nominations will ultimately still likely be able to move forward as Republicans hold the majority in the Senate, Schumer’s move could slow down the process. Schumer’s announcement comes as Trump’s plan to accept the luxury jet to use as Air Force One has drawn strong pushback from Democrats, and even some Republicans, who have raised legal and ethical questions about the move. Schumer in his floor speech on Tuesday called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify before Congress to “explain why gifting Donald Trump a private jet does not violate the Emoluments Clause.” Read more CNBC politics coverage The Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause prohibits presidents from receiving any presents from “any King, Prince, or foreign State,” without congressional approval. “Until the Attorney General explains her blatantly inept decision, and we get complete and comprehensive to these and other questions, I will place a hold on all political nominees to the Department of Justice,” Schumer announced. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told CNBC on Tuesday that “the plane poses significant espionage and surveillance problems.” Conservative podcaster and commentator Ben Shapiro also criticized the move. “If you want President Trump to succeed, this kind of skeezy stuff needs to stop,” Shapiro said on a podcast episode that aired Monday. Trump said Monday that Qatar made a “very nice gesture” in offering the 747 jet to act as Air Force One. “I think what happened with the plane is that we’re very disappointed that it’s taken Boeing so long to build a new Air Force One, we have an Air Force One that’s 40 years old,” Trump told reporters at the White House. Source link #Schumer #pauses #Trump #DOJ #nominees Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Warhammer Skulls Event Returns On May 22 Warhammer Skulls Event Returns On May 22 Games Workshop has announced that the annual Warhammer Skulls livestream will return on May 22 at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET, and it’ll once again be hosted by Rahul Kohli. Similar to previous events, you can expect to see world premieres for upcoming games set in the Warhammer universe, as well as updates on several recently released and in-development games. Kohli–who is a big fan of the tabletop games and voiced the protagonist Malum Caedo in 2023’s Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun–will be hosting Warhammer Skulls for the third consecutive year, and Games Workshop has teased updates for titles like Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, Total War: Warhammer 3, Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus, Warhammer 40,000: Vermintide II, Warhammer 40,000: Warpforge, and Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector. As usual, you’ll be able to watch the livestream through the official Warhammer Twitch and YouTube channels. Last year only had one big Warhammer 40,000 game released in the form of Space Marine 2, but it was one of the better-received entries in the wider franchise. The game received positive reviews and has sold over 4.5 million units as of October 24, 2024. Several big updates are still scheduled to be released for Space Marine 2 throughout 2025 and Space Marine 3 is currently in development. Developer Saber Interactive also released official tools for modders, giving fans to access to the same editor used by the studio to develop the game. This will allow them to build their own levels, gameplay mods, and tweak various elements of Space Marine 2. Source link #Warhammer #Skulls #Event #Returns Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

M&S forces customer password resets after data breach M&S forces customer password resets after data breach Marks and Spencer (M&S) has confirmed that customer data was stolen during the Easter DragonForce ransomware attack on its server infrastructure and will be prompting all online customers to reset their account passwords as a precautionary move. The attack unfolded three weeks ago and is thought to have been the work of a white-label affiliate of DragonForce – possibly the notorious Scattered Spider operation, which uses social engineering tactics to conduct its intrusions. The stolen tranche of data is understood to include contact details email addresses, postal addresses and phone numbers; personal information including names and dates of birth; and data on customer interactions with the chain, including online order histories, household information, and ‘masked’ payment card details. M&S added that customer reference numbers, but not payment information, belonging to holders of M&S credit cards or Sparks Pay cards – including former cardholders – may also have been taken. “We have written to customers today to let them know that unfortunately, some personal customer information has been taken,” said M&S chief exec Stuart Machin. “Importantly there is no evidence that the information has been shared and it does not include useable card or payment details, or account passwords, so there is no need for customers to take any action.” Machin added: “To give customers peace of mind, they will be prompted to reset their password the next time they visit or log on to their M&S account and we have shared information on how to stay safe online. “Everyone at M&S is working around the clock to get things back to normal for our customers as quickly as possible, and we are very sorry for any inconvenience they have experienced. Our stores remain open as they have throughout.” The letter to customers from customer service operations director Jayne Wall – which can be reviewed here – also includes additional standard guidance on how to stay safe online. NordVPN chief technology officer, Marijus Briedis, described M&S’ assertion that the attackers have not yet leaked or shared the stolen data was “overly optimistic” under the circumstances and warned that even if passwords or credit card details were not exposed, the data that was taken was still very useful to cyber criminals. “This type of data can be used in phishing campaigns or combined with other leaked information to commit identity theft,” explained Briedis. “Consumers often underestimate how damaging ‘harmless’ data like order history or email addresses can be in the wrong hands. These M&S hackers could use this data to build highly personalised phishing emails, designed to look identical to what the retailer would send, and these are much harder to spot. “This breach highlights how companies must not only secure financial data, but also treat seemingly less sensitive information – like customer profiles and purchase records – as critical assets that require protection.” Max Vetter, vice president of cyber at Immersive and a former money laundering investigator with London’s Metropolitan Police, also had harsh words for M&S. “M&S saying that customers could change their passwords “for extra peace of mind” does little to reassure those worried about who has access to their personal information,” he said. “As the fallout from this attack continues, customers want clear assurances about their personal data and what M&S is doing to keep it safe from being published online. “M&S want to appear in control and telling people to be more vigilant, however, telling customers there’s no need to act risks does potentially the wrong message. We recommend all customers reset their password. Zetter reaffirmed the stolen data would be prime material for downstream social engineering and phishing attacks, especially if it is indeed in the hands of Scattered Spider who, he said, “often play a long game”. Co-op struggles with supplies Meanwhile, disruption from the parallel DragonForce attack on Co-op continues, with the BBC today reporting that stores in the Channel Islands are experiencing particularly acute shortages and are now working with local suppliers to maintain some supplies. In other remote parts of the ***, including the Hebrides in Scotland, residents are similarly contending with disruption to deliveries. On many islands, such as whisky-making hub Islay, where Co-op stores is the only large food retailer operating, these shortages are now extending to supplier of fresh fruit and vegetables. Co-op has also confirmed that data has been stolen, including names, dates of birth and contact information, but not passwords, financial details, or any information on members’ shopping habits or other interactions with the organisation. Source link #forces #customer #password #resets #data #breach Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Schumer says he’ll place holds on Trump’s DOJ nominees over Qatar jet offer Schumer says he’ll place holds on Trump’s DOJ nominees over Qatar jet offer Washington — Senate ********* Leader Chuck Schumer announced Tuesday that he intends to place holds on President Trump’s political nominees to the Justice Department in response to a Qatari-offered jet for the president’s use, while calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify before Congress. “In light of the deeply troubling news of a possible Qatari-funded Air Force One, and the reports that the attorney general personally signed off on this clearly unethical deal, I am announcing a hold on all DOJ political nominees until we get more answers,” Schumer said in remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday morning. Mr. Trump is making his first international trip of his second term this week, where he arrived in Saudi Arabia Tuesday before visiting Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in the coming days. Meanwhile, an unprecedented offer by the royal family of Qatar to donate a jumbo jet for Mr. Trump’s exclusive use as a presidential plane has sent shockwaves through the political sphere back home. Schumer, a New York Democrat, called the possible gift “so corrupt” that Russian President Vladimir Putin “would give a double take,” while calling it a “grave national security threat.” Senate ********* Leader Chuck Schumer speaks at a press conference with other members of Senate Democratic leadership following a policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC May 6, 2025. Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images The ********* leader outlined a number of requests of the Justice Department, calling on its Foreign Agent Registration Act unit to disclose all activities by Qatari foreign agents inside the U.S. that could benefit Mr. Trump or his family’s organization, while urging that the American people “deserve to know the facts.” Schumer asked who would install security measures on the jet, how the measures would be verified, what modifications would be needed to ensure its safety, along with who would pay for the installations and how much would they cost. He also asked what Qatar is being offered in return, while calling on the attorney general to testify before the House and Senate to explain why the gift does not violate any ethics law or the emoluments clause, which prohibits government officials from accepting compensation from a foreign state without the approval of Congress. “Until the attorney general explains her blatantly inept decision, and we get answers to these questions, I will place a hold on all political nominees to the Department of Justice,” Schumer said. The practical impact of the holds remains unclear. The holds would be expected to slow the nominations by requiring Senate Republicans to take each procedural vote rather than moving forward with the nominees under an expedited timeframe. And Justice Department nominees aren’t voted on en bloc like military promotions, further delaying the process. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that the Qatari government had “graciously offered to donate a plane to the Department of Defense,” while noting that the details were still being worked out. And the president defended accepting the gift of the plane Monday, saying “I could be a stupid person and say, oh no, we don’t want a free plane.” He added that it would “go directly” to his presidential library when he leaves office. But Democrats have vehemently denounced the offer, while a number of Republicans have called the ethics and national security implications of the potential gift into question. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who was asked whether Mr. Trump should reject the Qatari jet, told reporters Tuesday that he didn’t know whether there had been an official offer yet. But he added that he thinks there are “lots of issues associated with that offer,” which he said should be further discussed. Alan He contributed to this report. Kaia Hubbard Kaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C. Source link #Schumer #hell #place #holds #Trumps #DOJ #nominees #Qatar #jet #offer Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Diddy trial live updates: Cassie Ventura testifies about ‘psychological abuse’ in Sean Combs’s sex trafficking case – The Washington Post Diddy trial live updates: Cassie Ventura testifies about ‘psychological abuse’ in Sean Combs’s sex trafficking case – The Washington Post Diddy trial live updates: Cassie Ventura testifies about ‘psychological abuse’ in Sean Combs’s sex trafficking case The Washington PostLive updates: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial continues with witness CNNCassie Was ‘Shaking Uncontrollably’ After Diddy Hit Her, Sex Worker Testifies People.comCasandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura to testify in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial: Updates USA TodayTakeaways from Diddy trial opening statements WBUR Source link #Diddy #trial #live #updates #Cassie #Ventura #testifies #psychological #abuse #Sean #Combss #sex #trafficking #case #Washington #Post Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Next Battlefield Game Draws Heavy Inspiration From a Taylor Sheridan Series Next Battlefield Game Draws Heavy Inspiration From a Taylor Sheridan Series The Battlefield franchise has faced a lot of high points, but also some soul-crushing lows. It was the premier FPS franchise in the late 2000s and early 2010s. However, everything came crashing down with Battlefield 2042, which is regarded as the worst entry in the franchise. Even though DICE has brought massive updates and refinements to 2042, it still hasn’t hit the mark for fans of the franchise. So, there’s a lot at stake with the release of Battlefield 6. EA has brought together multiple studios to support the development, and the game is undergoing extensive testing right now. What might shock you is that the developers have also drawn inspiration from one of Taylor Sheridan’s television series to ensure Battlefield 6 is a success. Battlefield 6 takes inspiration from a Taylor Sheridan series We’ve always seen war-themed video games taking inspiration from iconic films. Over the years, this trend has only grown as movies such as Fury, ****** Hawk Down, and Platoon have shaped the minds of video game developers who are making FPS games. Now, it seems like even Battlefield is hopping onto this trend. Recently, Inverse got an opportunity to sit down with EA Motive creative director Roman Campos-Oriola and chat about Battlefield 6. He gave various insights into the development and revealed which Hollywood series the game takes cues from: Lioness. I’m a big fan of Lioness. If you’re unaware, Lioness is yet another masterpiece from Taylor Sheridan that follows a covert CIA program that consists of female operatives to attack and dismantle terror networks. It’s a show that teaches us a lot about loyalty and sacrifice, something that definitely can work in a Battlefield game. The future looks bright for the FPS franchise. (Image via DICE) It’s not just Lioness either. Senior producer Philippe Ducharme also revealed that Alex Garland’s 2023 film, Civil War, has also had a big influence on the upcoming entry. He’s fond of the film’s unique take on war, focusing primarily on journalists covering a U.S secession crisis. While we don’t know much about Battlefield 6 in terms of its narrative and gameplay, it’s fair to say that it’s going to be a smash hit if it’s learning from such legendary war films and series. Official Battlefield 6 reveal is right around the corner EA’s CEO has finally confirmed the release window for the next game. (Image via EA) Considering the ambitions of EA with Battlefield 6, it’s not a surprise that gamers are all aboard the hype train as they can’t wait to see the franchise returning to its golden days. Fortunately, EA’s CEO has confirmed a full reveal and launch window for the game. That’s right, EA CEO Andrew Wilson confirmed during the company’s Q4 and Fiscal 2025 earnings call that Battlefield 6 will launch by March 2026. It’s supposed to be a massive step forward for the company, and a reveal for the game will go public in the Summer of 2025. It’s still unknown if the reveal will happen at an event such as the Summer Games Fest or a separate one altogether, but it’s great to see an official confirmation. This will put an end to all the speculations that’ve been trying to figure out the game’s release window. Wilson has also confirmed that Battlefield Labs, the franchise’s largest testing initiative so far, will expand to bring more players from North America, Europe, and Asia. With that said, are you excited for Battlefield 6? Let us know in the comments below! Source link #Battlefield #Game #Draws #Heavy #Inspiration #Taylor #Sheridan #Series Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The GPU market might go from bad to worse as Nvidia reportedly increases prices The GPU market might go from bad to worse as Nvidia reportedly increases prices As if the GPU market wasn’t enough of a nightmare lately, Nvidia might have just raised the prices of its best graphics cards. According to a new report, Nvidia is increasing the pricing of its RTX 50-series GPUs for its board partners and suppliers, which might affect how much they cost for consumers. Here’s what you need to know. First of all, we’re not talking about a straight-up increase that, let’s say, raises the MSRP (recommended list price) of the RTX 5090 from $2,000 to $2,500 (don’t worry, that didn’t happen, although good luck buying an RTX 5090 for less than $3,000). This is a behind the scenes kind of price increase, and as such, we have no way to verify whether it’s true — so take it with a pinch of salt. The report comes from Digitimes and was later shared by XDA Developers, and Nvidia itself has yet to comment on the matter, so we have to be patient. Even if it’s true, we might never get an official confirmation. Assuming it’s all true, though, I won’t lie to you — the GPU pricing situation could soon end up looking pretty grim, and it’s not like it was any good to begin with. Digitimes claims that Nvidia is raising its prices, and while this affects the suppliers and add-in board partners (AIBs), Nvidia has reportedly allowed its partners to pass on the cost to the end users. This means that, instead of cutting into their own profit margins, those companies might instead opt for a price increase that affects the customers. Given the current state of the GPU market, that wouldn’t surprise me at all. The report says that one major reason behind this decision lies in export controls. Nvidia’s top GPUs, meaning the RTX 4090 and the RTX 5090, cannot be exported to China, which drives up the global demand and ensures that those GPUs are practically never sold at MSRP. Digitimes says that this kind of demand doubled the channel price for these cards — and yet, they’re still selling and are often out of stock, so clearly that never stopped anyone. Tariffs also play a major part in this (rumored) decision. Jacob ****** / Digital Trends Nvidia has shifted a lot of the RTX 50-series production to TSMC’s Arizona plant to try and combat the tariffs, but it’s impossible to fully escape their impact. By raising the prices, Nvidia could be able to offset some of the losses caused by external factors and maintain its profit margin. So, how much are we talkin’? Digitimes says that the RTX 5090 saw a price increase of 10%, and server manufacturers will now have to pay up to 15% more than previously. It’s unclear whether every single RTX 50-series model was hit by this presumed price increase, but the RTX 5090 is certainly the most likely culprit here. The GPU market has been in a state of turmoil over the last few months. While the RTX 40-series was mostly available at MSRP once the initial hype died down (bar the RTX 4090), the RTX 50-series is most certainly not. Even mainstream GPUs along the likes of the RTX 5060 Ti, or AMD’s RX 9070 XT for that matter, are consistently selling for more, with price hikes ranging from $100 to $300 for some models of the AMD card. Modest GPUs like the Intel Arc B580 are also pricier than they were at launch. If Nvidia does go through with this rumored price increase, it’s hard to estimate just how much of it might be passed over to us — the customers. With the prices already high, we can hope that companies will lower their profit margin and GPUs won’t be much more expensive … although, I might be just fooling myself. Source link #GPU #market #bad #worse #Nvidia #reportedly #increases #prices Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Why was Peter Sullivan not freed earlier? Why was Peter Sullivan not freed earlier? Peter Sullivan is the victim of the longest miscarriage of justice experienced by a living inmate in the ***. And when the moment came for the Court of Appeal to acknowledge that injustice, he held his hand over his mouth, as he watched on from Wakefield prison, and wept. The only miscarriage of justice that took longer to be acknowledged by the criminal justice system was when Derek Bentley’s conviction for ******* was overturned in 1998 – and he had been hanged in 1953, a year after he was convicted. Now 68, Mr Sullivan leaves HMP Wakefield having spent more than 38 years in prison for the ******* of 21-year-old Diane Sindall in 1986, including around a year on remand. The Crown Prosecution Service says it did the right thing by not contesting the appeal. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which ordered the DNA tests that led to the quashing of the conviction, will feel that it has clawed back some respect after the battering it has received over its catastrophic mishandling of the Andy Malkinson case. As for Merseyside Police, it has a problem on its hands: an unsolved ******* with an evidence trail four decades old. The extraordinary facts of the injustice experienced by Peter Sullivan are not the first to raise questions about the appeals system in England and Wales. And there will be many critics today who say it is not fit for purpose if an innocent man can rot in a cell for so long. Two years ago, Andy Malkinson’s 20-year-old conviction for a ***** he did not commit was overturned by the Court of Appeal. And just like Peter Sullivan, his exoneration came down to DNA evidence. So could Peter Sullivan’s name, like Andy Malkinson’s, have been cleared sooner? In 2008, 21 years into his sentence, Mr Sullivan applied to the CCRC for help. He specifically asked if it would look for DNA evidence that could exonerate him – evidence that would point to an alternative suspect. The science of genetic fingerprints was then around a decade old. The Y-STR technique led to the discovery of the profile that has ended Peter Sullivan’s ordeal – but not in 2008 when he first asked for help. Back then, the available test was limited – and the CCRC was told by forensic scientists that they were unlikely to be able to recover any useful DNA. And so Mr Sullivan’s application was rejected. Today the CCRC has said that while alternative techniques were available at the time, and could have been attempted, it is impossible to say whether they would have produced any result. But back in 2010 the CCRC was worrying that it may not be doing enough with the science. It had been put on notice that it had missed an opportunity in the case of Victor Nealon, a man wrongly convicted of ***** in very similar, and earlier, circumstances to Andy Malkinson. Mr Nealon, like Mr Malkinson, was cleared thanks to DNA work by his lawyers, not the CCRC. And so it planned to launch a review of serious cases it had turned down – but it never took place. In 2019, now 32 years into his sentence – twice the minimum term the trial judge ordered him to serve behind bars – Peter Sullivan tried to go back to the Court of Appeal. He asked if it would look at whether disputed bite-mark evidence, part of the case against him, was reliable. He also wanted it to consider an expert report that his low intelligence and suggestibility meant his “confession” in a police interview should not have featured in his trial. It took the Court of Appeal more than two years to reject the application, concluding that Mr Sullivan was out of time and his points could not undermine the totality of the prosecution’s wide-ranging circumstantial case. Mr Sullivan and his solicitor, Sarah Myatt, went back to the CCRC asking for it to look again. The organisation knew by then of the gravity of the missed DNA opportunity in the Andy Malkinson case – and scientists were asked to study biological samples taken from Miss Sindall’s body. They used a form of DNA testing called PPY23 which was invented in 2012 and which fully entered widespread use by 2015. That test found a male DNA profile from ****** cells that comprehensibly ruled out Mr Sullivan and anyone else known to the police. In other words, the test that cleared Mr Sullivan of ******* was not available in 2008 – but it was still available a decade ago. The fact that it had not been used before his 2021 application for help is, say critics, an example that the system needs totally overhauling. “Peter Sullivan’s exoneration provides further evidence that our current appeals system cannot be trusted to swiftly identify and rectify miscarriages of justice,” said James Burley from the legal charity Appeal. He led the investigation in the Andy Malkinson case – and found the long-ignored DNA evidence that cleared his name. “Between them, Peter Sullivan, Andrew Malkinson and Victor Nealon spent over 70 years wrongly imprisoned before finally being exonerated by compelling DNA evidence. “Each had their cases previously rejected by both the Court of Appeal and the CCRC – the institutions which are meant to act as our justice system’s safety net. The case for an urgent overhaul of the appeals system is now overwhelming.” A CCRC spokesperson said: “We do regret that we were not able to identify Mr Sullivan’s conviction as a potential miscarriage of justice in our first review. “As an organisation we are committed to taking forward learning from previous reviews and we continue to develop our understanding around forensic opportunities.” Source link #Peter #Sullivan #freed #earlier Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered | TheXboxHub The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered | TheXboxHub Digital Foundry: “Returning to Oblivion Remastered for a second round of console testing brings a great many issues to light. This isn’t a PS5 versus Xbox issue; all are affected by hitching, crashes, bugs, major sub-60fps drops, and an uneven 30fps line on quality mode. The chance to revisit with a focus on PS5 consoles only underlines the scale of its issues across a breadth of platforms – and the pressing need for a patch to resolve these profound issues.” Source link #Elder #Scrolls #Oblivion #Remastered #TheXboxHub Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Albania’s Rama wins historic fourth term Albania’s Rama wins historic fourth term Albania’s prime minister Edi Rama has secured an unprecedented fourth term in power after his Socialist Party sailed to victory in the election, official results showed, although the opposition claim the vote was stolen. With 96 per cent of ballots counted on Tuesday, the Socialist Party (PS) had 52 per cent of the votes, ahead of the second-placed Democratic Party (***) on 34 per cent, figures from the election commission showed. As it stands, PS wins 82 seats in the 140-seat parliament while *** gets 52. If confirmed, the result would extend PS’s four-seat majority and give Rama a comfortable margin to form a government. It would also enable him to continue working to honour his pledge to bring Albania into the European Union by 2030, although many experts say that timeline is optimistic given the reforms required, especially in eradicating corruption. Doubts clouded the results, however. International observers questioned the fairness of the poll and Albania’s special prosecutor said it was investigating 39 cases related to the election, mostly for vote buying. It did not say which parties were under suspicion. ***’s firebrand leader, former president and prime minister Sali Berisha, dismissed the results and called for a protest on May 16, the day leaders from across Europe are scheduled to gather in the capital Tirana for a summit. “We will never accept these elections – never,” Berisha told a press conference on Tuesday in which he alleged wrong-doing without publicly providing evidence. Berisha continued the acrimonious language of the campaign trail, calling Rama a “narco-dictator”. In a statement to Reuters, Rama’s PS denied election fraud and called Berisha, 80, “an old hopeless former ********** politician” – a particular slight in a country that was locked away from the world for 50 years under hard-fisted ********** rule until 1990. Rama, in power since 2013, had been favourite to win the election, bolstered in part by an influential network built up over 12 years in power, a recent ******* of healthy economic growth and a fractured opposition. Two days before the vote, he forgave all government fines from 2015 to 2024, including for traffic, construction and health and safety infractions. The government has not put a price on the fines, but the opposition say they amount to 200 million euros. Still, the scale of victory has surprised some analysts who had expected that corruption scandals and recent unrest would dent Rama’s lead. Instead, the resounding win may prolong a sense of predictability in Albania in contrast to other Balkan countries such as Kosovo, Serbia and Bulgaria, where ruling parties have faced political crises over the past year. “No-one expected there to be a qualified majority for a single party. It is like (Hungary’s Prime Minister) Orban in his best days,” said political analyst Lutfi Dervishi. Rama has won favour from the West by accepting migrants from Italy and housing Afghans awaiting visa processing for the United States. But voters at home say he runs the country on a system of patronage and has done little to eradicate unemployment and graft that involves Albanian gangs laundering drug and weapons money at home. Hundreds of thousands of Albanians have emigrated since Rama came to power, in search of better prospects abroad. An international election monitoring mission led by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe said there had been a “misuse of public resources and institutional power by the ruling party” in the campaign. It said there were “numerous reports of pressure on public employees and other voters as well as cases of intimidation.” Source link #Albanias #Rama #wins #historic #fourth #term Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Nodule found in former President Joe Biden’s prostate during routine physical exam Nodule found in former President Joe Biden’s prostate during routine physical exam WASHINGTON (AP) — A small nodule was found in the prostate of former President Joe Biden during a routine physical exam, a spokesperson said Tuesday. A short statement said the finding “necessitated further evaluation,” but it was not clear whether that had already taken place or the outcome of the examination. The detection of nodules in the prostate generally requires a further exam by a urologist to rule out prostate *******. These kinds of abnormal growths can be caused by ******* or by less serious conditions, including inflammation or an enlarged prostate. Biden is 82. His age and concerns about his health were cited by Democratic leaders who pressed him to abandon his reelection bid in 2024 following a disastrous debate performance last June. But as recently as last week, Biden rejected concerns about his age, saying the broader party didn’t buy into that, and instead blaming the Democratic leadership and “significant contributors.” President Donald Trump repeatedly raised questions about Biden’s physical and mental capacity during the campaign. In February 2023, Biden had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin *******. And in November 2021, he had a polyp removed from his colon that was a benign, but potentially pre-cancerous lesion. Source link #Nodule #President #Joe #Bidens #prostate #routine #physical #exam Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty steps down UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty steps down Andrew Witty, CEO of UnitedHealth Group, testifies during the Senate Finance Committee hearing titled “Hacking America’s Health Care: Assessing the Change Healthcare Cyber Attack and What’s Next,” in the Dirksen Building in Washington, D.C., on May 1, 2024. Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images UnitedHealth Group on Tuesday announced the surprise exit of CEO Andrew Witty and suspended its 2025 forecast, sending shares of the health-care giant tumbling more than 10% in morning trading. Witty is stepping down immediately for “personal reasons,” the company said. He will act as a senior advisor to his successor, Stephen Hemsley, who served as UnitedHealth Group’s CEO from 2006 to 2017 after first joining the company in 1997. “We are grateful for Andrew’s stewardship of UnitedHealth Group, especially during some of the most challenging times any company has ever faced,” Hemsley said in a release. The company said its decision to pull its guidance was partly due to higher medical costs, which dragged down other insurance stocks. Shares of CVS Health dropped more than 4% and Elevance Health fell over 6%, while Humana also slid more than 6% and Cigna lost over 2%. Witty became CEO of UnitedHealth in 2021 after previously running British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline for nearly a decade. He oversaw a tumultuous last year for the company, which grappled with government investigations, a historic cyberattack, higher-than-expected medical costs and the torrent of public blowback after the ******* of Brian Thompson, the CEO of the company’s insurance unit UnitedHealthcare. Witty in December publicly acknowledged that the U.S. health system is “flawed” and needs reform, but also defended UnitedHealthcare. UnitedHealth Group on Tuesday said it partly suspended the outlook because the medical costs for new enrollees in the company’s private Medicare plans remained higher than expected. The company also said “care activity continued to accelerate while also broadening to more types of benefit offerings than seen in the first quarter.” More CNBC health coverage It comes just weeks after UnitedHealth Group slashed its annual profit forecast, warning of elevated medical costs in so-called Medicare Advantage plans. Those higher expenses have dogged the entire insurance industry over the past year as more seniors return to hospitals to undergo procedures they had delayed during the Covid-19 pandemic, such as joint and hip replacements. The company in April also posted its first earnings miss since 2008, and the ensuing stock decline erased nearly $190 billion in market capitalization at the time. But investors may welcome the return of Hemsley, who oversaw the company’s transformation into a $400 billion health-care conglomerate that controls everything from the nation’s largest private insurer to one of the biggest pharmacy benefit managers, along with physician groups and sensitive health-care data of millions of Americans. “UnitedHealth Group has tremendous opportunities to grow as we continue to help improve health care and to perform to our potential — and, in so doing, return to our long-term growth objective of 13 to 16 percent,” Hemsley said. The company expects to return to growth in 2026, according to the release. Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO Source link #UnitedHealth #Group #CEO #Andrew #Witty #steps Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Supermarket Sort 3D lets you live out your shelf-stocking fantasies Supermarket Sort 3D lets you live out your shelf-stocking fantasies Supermarket Sort 3D is a newly released merge-and-match puzzler Sort and organise your supermarket shelves to ensure things look neat Use boosters to get up your score and unlock new levels There’s something very curious about that particular genre of job simulator releases. The ones where you pretty much do what any retail worker probably does, just without pay. But at the same time, there is something intoxicating about the simple joys, like what Supermarket Sort 3D wants to emulate. The gameplay of Supermarket Sort 3D is as super simple as you might suspect (alliteration intended). You stock and sort shelves, aiming to neaten and tidy them up, while merging certain products together to try and get a high enough score to unlock additional levels. Naturally, you’ll have to take into account how you sort things, and additional boosters can help make your high score even beefier. While its claims of stunning 3D visuals may be a bit overwrought, it’s certainly fair to say that Supermarket Sort 3D is perfectly pleasant to look at. Sorted Supermarket Sort 3D also comes with the usual concessions to players’ lifestyles, and you’ll easily be able to hop into online sessions without much issue. You’ll also be able to look forward to seasonal rewards and events, which suggest plans for plenty of support in the months to come. Yes, Supermarket Sort 3D may not necessarily offer a dramatic twist on the formula. But with inoffensive visuals and the simple pleasure of tidying a messy shelf, combined with merge mechanics and long-term support, it looks to be a good addition to a casual player’s arsenal of time-wasters for your next long train ride or plane trip. But, if that’s not enough to satisfy, why not check out our list of the top 25 best puzzle games for iOS and Android? Featuring some top releases that range from casual arcade fun to bona fide brain busters, suitable for all levels of puzzle players on mobile. Source link #Supermarket #Sort #lets #live #shelfstocking #fantasies Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

A watershed moment for crypto industry, analysts say A watershed moment for crypto industry, analysts say Coinbase is about to become the first and only crypto company to join the S & P 500, an event that symbolizes a great feat for the industry but also has significant positive implications for investors. On Monday evening, S & P Dow Jones Indices announced that the crypto exchange operator will be added to the benchmark S & P 500 stock index before trading begins on May 19. It will replace Discover Financial Services , which is being acquired by Capital One Financial . Coinbase jumped more than 18% on Tuesday, narrowing its year-to-date loss to less than 2%. “Coinbase has gone from being in an intense litigation with the SEC just a few months back (later dropped by the SEC under the Trump regime) to being the latest addition to S & P 500,” said Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani. “This event symbolizes the dramatic turnaround in fortunes for the crypto industry and its rising significance as the frontier of financial innovation.” Coinbase at its current market cap would form 0.1% of the total index, and about 0.7% of the financials sector allocation, he noted. “Getting into the S & P 500 not only increases purchases from index funds, but also puts COIN under a closer radar of non-index funds that benchmark against the S & P 500,” Oppenheimer analyst Owen Lau said in a note Tuesday. “Lack of deep institutional ownership was a bear thesis for COIN, but it has now become a strong tailwind.” COIN YTD mountain Coinbase YTD Oppenheimer raised its price target on the shares to $293 from $279, assuming “increased institutional demand and support for the stock.” Lau added that the news could also help the price performance of Coinbase decouple from the price movement of cryptocurrencies. A confluence of risk-off sentiment, tariff uncertainty and a lack of action by Congress to move crypto regulation forward has created a tough environment for cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin . Smilarly, Benchmark’s Mark Palmer said the development “will position [Coinbase] to benefit from passive investment flows into funds that track the index, such as the SPDR S & P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), that will be required to purchase shares of COIN to match the index. This additional source of buying pressure should help to support the company’s share price.” To be included in the S & P 500, a company needs to be listed on a U.S. exchange, have at least $18 billion in market cap, most of its shares held by the public and profitable in the most recent quarter as well as the last four quarters. The update comes just four years after Coinbase went public through a direct listing in 2021. CEO Brian Armstrong said on the company’s quarterly earnings call last week that the crypto platform aims to become one of the biggest financial services companies in the world in a few years , aided by traditional players who continue adopting crypto at an accelerating rate. Coinbase also last week announced plans to buy Dubai-based Deribit , a major crypto derivatives exchange for $2.9 billion. The deal, which is the largest in the crypto industry to date, will help Coinbase broaden its footprint outside the U.S. —CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting. Source link #watershed #moment #crypto #industry #analysts Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

How Pandora Is Surviving Trump’s Trade War How Pandora Is Surviving Trump’s Trade War Pandora, the world’s largest jewelry company, is based in Denmark and has nearly 500 stores in the United States, more than any of its other key markets. But in some ways, its real home is Thailand, where the company has been making its products for nearly four decades. Like many global corporations, Pandora’s continent-crossing supply chain has allowed it to sell its goods worldwide at a low cost. But last month, that supply chain became a grave weakness when President Trump said he would impose 36 percent tariffs on goods entering the United States from Thailand, alongside steep tariffs on dozens of other countries. After Mr. Trump unveiled his “reciprocal tariffs,” Pandora’s shares were among the worst performing in Europe. A week later, Mr. Trump postponed those tariffs until early July, offering a reprieve. But the threat looms, and Alexander Lacik, the chief executive of Pandora, is not expecting the uncertainty that is paralyzing businesses to end. Unless tariffs return to previous levels, the next year will be turbulent, he said in an interview. For now, he added, there is little to do but wait to see how investors, customers and competitors react. “With the information at hand today, I would be crazy to make big strategic decisions,” Mr. Lacik said. Alongside business leaders all over the world, Mr. Lacik is grappling with how to respond to Mr. Trump’s unpredictable policies, which have generated almost maddening uncertainty. The Trump administration has started to show a willingness to lower tariffs, but his first agreements, with Britain and China, have posed more questions than answers, and tariffs are still higher than they were a couple months ago. Although some aspects of the trade war have been suspended, Pandora and other multinationals are in limbo, waiting for more agreements to be finalized. Pandora, best known for its silver charm bracelets, has been making jewelry in Thailand since 1989. Across three factories, thousands of people hand craft the products. The company is building a fourth plant in Vietnam, but Mr. Trump has threatened tariffs of 46 percent on Vietnamese goods. Last year, the company sold 113 million pieces of jewelry, about three items every second, making it the largest jewelry brand by volume, with stores in more than 100 countries. A third of its sales, 9.7 billion Danish kroner, or $1.4 billion, were generated in the United States, and Mr. Lacik said he had no intention of moving away from the company’s most profitable market. But prices will rise, he said, and who will bear the brunt of that is unclear. “The big question is, am I going to pass on everything to the U.S. consumer, or am I going to peanut butter it out and raise the whole Pandora pricing globally?” Mr. Lacik said. But Pandora keeps several months’ worth of stock, giving him time to see how other jewelers change their pricing and then decide. A few things can be done immediately, such as streamlining parts of the supply chain. The day after the reciprocal tariffs were announced, Pandora said that it would change its distribution so that products sold in Canada and Latin America would no longer move through the company’s distribution hub in Baltimore, a process that would take six to nine months to complete. Moving production into the United States is not being considered, in part because of higher labor costs. Pandora employs nearly 15,000 craftspeople in Thailand and expects to hire 7,000 more in Vietnam. In an earnings report last week, the company estimated the cost of the trade war. If higher tariffs on Thai imports, 36 percent, and ******** imports, 145 percent, go back into effect, they would cost Pandora 500 million Danish kroner, or $74 million, this year, and then 900 million Danish kroner, $135 million, annually after that. But the jeweler is not panicking. In fact, the economic curveballs are starting to feel normal, Mr. Lacik said. “We are battle ready,” he added. When he joined the company as the chief executive in 2019, Pandora was struggling. Its share price had dropped more than 70 percent from its peak three years earlier. Mr. Lacik instituted a “complete overhaul,” he said, with new branding and store designs, an emphasis on its “affordable luxury” label and showcasing its complete jewelry line, not just charms. That prepared the company for the trials that hit the global economy next. First, the Covid-19 pandemic, when 15,000 store employees were sent home, and some factory workers slept on cots to keep production going. Then a surge in inflation risked customers pulling back. Mr. Lacik’s strategy appeared to be working. In January, Pandora’s share price reached a record high. Since then, however, it has dropped more than 20 percent. The company has managed to shield itself from some of the trade turmoil. After Mr. Trump raised tariffs on China during his first term, Pandora stopped sourcing all of its showroom furniture and display materials for its 3,000 stores from China. “We had some readiness,” Mr. Lacik said, so they were not “caught completely with our pants down.” Source link #Pandora #Surviving #Trumps #Trade #War Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Review: The Precinct Has You Living The Cop Life A Beat At A Time Entertainium Review: The Precinct Has You Living The Cop Life A Beat At A Time Entertainium Developed by Fallen Tree Games, The Precinct has you playing from the other side of the law in a spin on the classic GTA formula. Source link #Review #Precinct #Living #Cop #Life #Beat #Time #Entertainium Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

KDDI, DriveNets team to accelerate open network architecture KDDI, DriveNets team to accelerate open network architecture KDDI Corporation and DriveNets have forged a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the adoption of open network architecture. The agreement aims to ensure the separation of hardware and software elements in networks, as well as expand the deployment of disaggregated routers, improve the management efficiency of these routers and optimise the capital investment and operating costs of high-scale network deployments. Explaining the reasons behind the partnership, the companies said open network architecture is becoming increasingly important in building infrastructures that can respond swiftly to the anticipated step change in traffic. The firms’ approach is said to facilitate new features based on specific requirements and helps improve network scalability. In particular, KDDI noted that for the past five years, it has been pushing forward the development of cluster-based distributed disaggregated backbone routers (DDBR), which are not bound by physical chassis constraints and are designed to allow for flexible capacity expansion, through the Telecom Infra Project, as part of its ongoing efforts to promote disaggregated routers. In June 2023, KDDI completed the commercial deployment of DDBR standalone as peering routers at its internet gateway, and by February 2025, it had completed technical validation for DDBR cluster as core routers in its backbone network. For its part, DriveNets provides software-based network services optimised for disaggregated routers that many leading global carriers have adopted. The peering routers that KDDI deployed commercially in June 2023 are also based on DriveNets’ software. Building on the software’s proven contribution to network operational stability, the two companies have now entered this strategic partnership. As part of the agreement, KDDI will start the deployment of the DriveNets Network Cloud service in backbone core routers at four key locations with the goal of reaching commercial operations by the end of 2025. From that point, the two companies say they will work together to build a flexible network architecture that can quickly adapt to changing market conditions and technological advancements to meet the growing data demands of the AI era. Kazuyuki Yoshimura, senior managing executive officer, chief technology officer and general manager of the core technology sector at KDDI Corporation, said: “We are delighted to have signed the basic agreement for the strategic partnership with DriveNets. Since 2020, we at KDDI have been committed to achieving open and scalable networks, and we believe our collaboration with DriveNets will create significant new innovations. “Our vision for the future is to build a flexible and robust architecture suited to the AI era, allowing us to swiftly respond to the evolving market needs and set new industry standards.” DriveNet CEO Ido Susan added: “We are honoured to become a strategic partner of KDDI, one of the world’s leading telecommunications carriers. Together with KDDI, we will promote openness, disaggregation, and innovation across the entire network – from the core network to the edge and aggregation layers. “By streamlining network operations and introducing automation and generative AI tools, we aim to help KDDI enhance the efficiency of its network and build a resilient architecture that can flexibly meet future demands.” Source link #KDDI #DriveNets #team #accelerate #open #network #architecture Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Cycling champ opens up about his ******** addiction Cycling champ opens up about his ******** addiction Former Olympic champ and Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins has said he became addicted to ******** after his cycling career and was “lucky to be here” after getting sober a year ago. Wiggins, who retired from the sport in 2016, became the first Briton to win the Tour de France in 2012 and collected a then-British record eight Olympic medals, including five golds across four Games. The 45-year-old’s father was *********** cyclist Gary Wiggins, who suffered with drug and alcohol issues before dying of head injuries in 2008 aged 55, after a fight at a house party in Aberdeen, NSW. Wiggins has spoken in the past of his troubled relationship with his father, who left the family when Bradley was a toddler and did not reappear in his life until his late teens. Wiggins said his father was jealous of his talent and told him ‘you’ll never be as good as your old man’, which Wiggins said he used as fuel to drive his subsequent successes. In an interview with the Observer published on Tuesday, ahead of the publication of a third autobiography later this year, Wiggins described how his drug use affected his own family. “There were times my son thought I was going to be found dead in the morning. I was a functioning addict. People wouldn’t realise. I was high most of the time for many years,” Wiggins said. “I had a really bad problem. My kids were going to put me in rehab. I was walking a tightrope. I realised I had a huge problem. I had to stop. I’m lucky to be here. I was a victim of all my own choices, for many years. “I already had a lot of self-hatred, but I was amplifying it. It was a form of self-harm and self-sabotage. It was not the person I wanted to be. I realised I was hurting a lot of people around me. “There’s no middle ground for me. I can’t just have a glass of wine – if I have a glass of wine, then I’m buying drugs. My proclivity to addiction was easing the pain that I lived with.” Wiggins also revealed that former cycling champion Lance Armstrong, who was stripped of his record seven Tour de France titles after being exposed as a doping cheat, had been helping him, adding: “My son speaks to Lance a lot. “He’d ask my son, ‘How’s your Dad?’ Ben would say, ‘I’ve not heard from him for a couple of weeks, I know he’s living in a hotel’. They wouldn’t hear from me for days on end. I can talk about these things candidly now.” In December last year Wiggins, who has also previously described how he was groomed by a coach as a child, and was declared bankrupt in 2024, said Armstrong had offered to fund his therapy for mental health issues. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Source link #Cycling #champ #opens #******** #addiction Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Tekken Director Is Trying To Bring The Game To Waffle House, But To No Avail Tekken Director Is Trying To Bring The Game To Waffle House, But To No Avail What started as a meme has become a quest of sorts for Tekken boss Katsuhiro Harada. Last summer, Harada became morbidly curious about the diner chain, asking his followers what the deal was with these brawls and the culture behind it. He tried to get an official collaboration going, similar to other past collabs with New Japan Pro Wrestling and The Walking Dead, but that doesn’t seem to be on the table. Harada took to Twitter, updating his fans and followers on the situation and confirmed Waffle House has not returned his calls, but he is trying to think of a way around it. You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos. Size:640 × 360480 × 270 Want us to remember this setting for all your devices? Sign up or Sign in now! Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos. This video has an invalid file format. Sorry, but you can’t access this content! Please enter your date of birth to view this video JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031Year202520242023202220212020201920182017201620152014201320122011201020092008200720062005200420032002200120001999199819971996199519941993199219911990198919881987198619851984198319821981198019791978197719761975197419731972197119701969196819671966196519641963196219611960195919581957195619551954195319521951195019491948194719461945194419431942194119401939193819371936193519341933193219311930192919281927192619251924192319221921192019191918191719161915191419131912191119101909190819071906190519041903190219011900 By clicking ‘enter’, you agree to GameSpot’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy enter Now Playing: TEKKEN 8 – Season 2 Update Overview and Fahkumram Reveal Trailer “To be honest, within the bounds of what I can say, I fully understand your (you guys) request–that’s precisely why I had considered taking on this challenge,” Harada wrote. “In fact, I had already been thinking about it quite a while ago. Over the past year or more, I’ve actually tried to make contact through several different channels. However, and this is purely my own speculation, I suspect that the lack of response may be due to the fact that the project I’m known for revolves around fighting-themed video games. By the way, no response = very rare case.” If we can’t get that “House” name license, how about we call it “Hustle House” stage? Doesn’t that make sense to everyone? — Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) May 13, 2025 He did mention that maybe an homage or parody might be the best solution. “If using a different name or format is acceptable as long as the core message is maintained, then I would be willing to seriously reconsider and explore this again.” He had tossed around the name Hustle House, which seemed to catch on with his fans. Since Waffle House seems out of reach, Season 2 of Tekken 8 already had some collabs coming with Pac-Man and Karate Kid Legends, along with much-needed balance adjustments. Source link #Tekken #Director #Bring #Game #Waffle #House #Avail Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

US and Saudi Arabia sign $142 billion weapons deal US and Saudi Arabia sign $142 billion weapons deal The United States and Saudi Arabia signed a $142 billion arms deal on Tuesday, which the White House described as the largest defence sales agreement in history. The US will provide Saudi Arabia with “state-of-the-art warfighting equipment and services” from over a dozen firms, the White House said. The deal includes air force advancement and space capabilities, air and missile defence, maritime and border security, as well as information and communication systems upgrades, it added. This deal is larger than one inked in 2017 during US President Donald Trump’s first visit to the kingdom, which was worth almost $110 billion. Trump, who arrived earlier Tuesday in Riyadh, signed several agreements with Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman on cooperation in the energy, defence, medical and space sectors. The agreements include development and modernizing capabilities of Saudi armed forces, judicial cooperation and medical research, according to Saudi state television. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) meets with US President Donald Trump at Al-Yamamah Palace. -/Saudi Press Agency/dpa Source link #Saudi #Arabia #sign #billion #weapons #deal Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Will GTA 4 Remastered Be Available on Xbox Game Pass Day-One? Will GTA 4 Remastered Be Available on Xbox Game Pass Day-One? With the recent delay of GTA 6 pushing its release all the way to 2026, fans are understandably feeling the sting. But hold onto your pigeons, because rumors are flying that Rockstar may be tossing us a Liberty City-flavored lifeline in the form of a GTA 4 Remastered. If true, this could ease the pain and fill the gap before our next trip to Leonida. But in today’s gaming world, it’s not just about what you play, but how you play it, and Xbox Game Pass has become a budget-friendly way to experience major releases without burning a hole in your wallet. So naturally, fans are wondering: could GTA 4 Remastered join the Game Pass library on day one or perhaps see an eventual release later on? Here’s what we know so far. Is there an official announcement for GTA 4 Remastered on Xbox Game Pass? At the time of writing, there has been no official confirmation from Rockstar Games or Microsoft regarding GTA 4 Remastered, not even a whisper about whether it will launch, let alone if it will be available on Xbox Game Pass. The entire discussion surrounding the remaster stems from credible leaks, particularly from known Rockstar insider Tez2. According to Tez2, a source within Rockstar hinted that a port or remaster of GTA 4 has been in the works and may have had its timeline moved up due to GTA 6’s delay. This was further backed by the removal of the popular Liberty City Preservation Project mod, as similar takedowns happened prior to the release of the GTA Trilogy remasters. Despite the buzz, it’s important to stay grounded: neither Rockstar nor Microsoft has officially acknowledged the remaster, and any talk of Game Pass availability is purely speculative at this stage. What games are currently available on Xbox Game Pass? Rockstar might be serving up a remastered Liberty City. | Image Credit: Rockstar Games The Xbox Game Pass library has grown into a powerhouse for players looking to access premium games without paying full price. While Rockstar Games isn’t a constant presence on the service, notable entries have popped up over time. Most recently, GTA 5: Enhanced Edition made its way to the Game Pass library, drawing in both new and returning players. Similarly, Red Dead Redemption 2 was briefly available on the Game Pass library (console only, though) in 2020, giving fans a chance to experience the award-winning game. While these inclusions aren’t day-one drops, they show that Rockstar is open to collaborating with Microsoft. But the pattern suggests that it often cycles titles in and out depending on Rockstar’s release schedule and marketing plans. With other popular remasters like Oblivion Remaster thriving on Game Pass, there’s a real possibility that GTA 4 Remastered could eventually join the Xbox Game Pass library, even if not right away. Why might GTA 4 Remastered be added to Game Pass later? Not confirmed, not denied… classic Rockstar energy. | Image Credit: Rockstar Games If GTA 4 Remastered launches in 2025, it’s unlikely to land on Xbox Game Pass on day one, but its eventual release later on is entirely plausible. Rockstar has historically favored standalone sales for new or remastered titles, only bringing them to subscription platforms once early demand slows. This approach helps them extend a game’s shelf life and maximize revenue from eager fans. Licensing agreements and exclusivity deals may also factor into how and when Rockstar brings its games to the subscription model. Additionally, Rockstar might view Game Pass as a long-tail opportunity, offering the remaster to a wider audience once the initial hype settles. Given this history, GTA 4 Remastered is more likely to join the Game Pass lineup several months post-launch, especially if it serves as a strategic lead-in to GTA 6. It’s not a matter of “if,” but more likely “when,” making an eventual Game Pass appearance a real possibility, just not an immediate one. Source link #GTA #Remastered #Xbox #Game #Pass #DayOne Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Is Slate Auto’s Electric Truck the Answer to Expensive Cars? Is Slate Auto’s Electric Truck the Answer to Expensive Cars? When Slate Auto, a start-up, unveiled a roughly $25,000 electric pickup truck last month, social media lit up with comments. Many people saw the no-frills vehicle, with an easy-to-repair body and nostalgic hand crank windows, as a refreshing antidote to today’s overstuffed and increasingly unaffordable cars. How unaffordable? Average monthly payments on new cars have soared to $739 in March from $537 in January 2019, according to Cox Automotive. The average new car costs $47,400, with electric models around $59,200. High interest rates, now around 9.4 percent for a 72-month loan, have made cars even more of a financial stretch. “Prices and interest rates are both high and stuck,” said Mark Schirmer, director of industry insights for Cox Automotive. “If you haven’t been in the market since 2018, it’s got to be shocking what a car costs.” President Trump’s tariffs of 25 percent on imported cars and parts have consumers scrambling to buy before prices rise even more. Cars that cost less than $30,000 are especially vulnerable — nearly 80 percent of those are subject to tariffs. They include consumer staples like the American-made Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, which rely on imported parts. Supplies of budget models are expected to shrink, and automakers may stop importing certain models entirely. Enter Slate, a company based in the Detroit suburbs backed by venture capital firms and Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder. Chris Barman, a former Fiat Chrysler engineer and Slate’s chief executive, said the Slate Truck was expressly designed to ease sticker shock, although it won’t be available until late 2026. The company plans to produce the pint-size truck at a retrofitted printing plant in Indiana, with a capacity for 150,000 a year. True to its name, the truck is designed to be a blank slate to which buyers can add more than 100 accessories, like power windows and heated seats, as their budgets allow or needs change. There is no built-in stereo or touch-screen display, but there are docks for phones or tablets, saving money and avoiding the digital obsolescence that often plagues auto entertainment and navigation systems. “We think hardworking Americans are looking for good value for the money,” Ms. Barman said in a recent interview. That message appealed to Liv Leigh, 41, who hopped inside a Slate Truck during its public debut at the Long Beach Airport in California in April. Ms. Leigh, a biomedical designer and electric-car enthusiast, paid $50 to reserve a Slate. She watched the company’s employees transform the two-seat pickup into a five-passenger sport utility vehicle in about one hour, with a clever conversion kit aimed at do-it-yourself owners. Ms. Leigh appreciated the truck’s tidy size, shorter than a Civic, and its modest 150-mile range. “I love the idea of an absolute base, beater truck, where I can stick a dog or muddy bikes or plywood in back,” Ms. Leigh said. “I don’t need a giant vehicle to haul stuff.” Ms. Barman said efficient design and production were key to the company’s promised low prices. The truck’s gray plastic-composite body panels eliminate any need for a steel body-stamping plant or paint shop, which can cost automakers many millions of dollars. Where a Ford Model T, an egalitarian car of another age, famously came only in ******, Slate offers vinyl body wraps in 13 colors, for an extra $500. Buyers can also opt for a larger, factory-installed battery with a 240-mile range. “That all keeps costs down, but also feeds into giving customers freedom of choice,” Ms. Barman said. “They can outfit the vehicle the way they want it, not the way a manufacturer has designed it.” Slate hopes that a U.S.-based supply chain, including batteries made by SK On, a South Korean company, will make the pickup eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit. Republican lawmakers on Monday released a budget bill that would eliminate that incentive and dismantle other Biden-era climate and energy policies. That all depends on Slate’s successfully navigating a treacherous path for electric vehicle start-ups. Several young automakers, including Fisker, Nikola and Canoo, have sought bankruptcy protection and shut down. With or without subsidies, Slate has a viable business plan, Ms. Barman said. The company hopes to price its truck in the mid-$20,000s before government incentives, which would undercut the Nissan Leaf, which is the most affordable electric car at $29,300 but no longer eligible for tax credits. Chevrolet plans to offer a redesigned Bolt S.U.V. by year end for roughly $30,000. The General Motors brand intends the Bolt to qualify for the tax credit, dropping its effective price to roughly $22,500. Erin Keating, the executive analyst of Cox Automotive, praised the Slate Truck’s ingenuity. But she said a pickup with two seats, short range and a bare-bones interior might not appeal to American car buyers who have grown accustom to having many tech and creature comforts. “There’s nothing wrong with trying to crack the affordability crisis, but I don’t see this as a massive volume seller,” Ms. Keating said. “Ultimately, this is an extremely small E.V. with almost nothing in it, in a market with a growing number of affordable choices with much longer range.” The Ford Maverick is a potential rival that may argue for or against Slate’s prospects. That compact pickup is two feet longer than the Slate. It seats five passengers and offers many more features. A hybrid version can reach 40 miles per gallon and travel more than 500 miles on a full tank. Ford sold 131,000 Mavericks last year, suggesting there is strong demand for small, energy-efficient trucks. The company has raised the starting price of the hybrid version of the truck by $4,200 since 2024, to $28,150, including an increase last week that Ford Motor acknowledged was partly a response to tariffs on the truck, which is assembled in Mexico. The company said it was not passing on the full cost of the tariffs to customers and would offer all of its cars for the same price it sells them to employees until early July. As much as any vehicle category, America’s pickup trucks epitomize how cars have changed over the last several decades, mostly by becoming *******, more powerful and a lot more expensive. Some lavish pickups can cost as much as large European luxury sedans. Electric trucks from Tesla, Rivian and Ford range from $70,000 to more than $100,000. Ms. Barman sees a market opening for entry-level truck fans, families shopping for a second car, empty nesters, and businesses such as landscapers, contractors and delivery workers. The company expects to sell many trucks to people who otherwise would buy a used car, the average price of which is $26,000. One big challenge for Slate, or other companies hoping to sell more affordable cars, is that despite what they say they want, many Americans don’t seem to buy such cars. Ms. Keating noted that roughly two dozen models on the market start at less than $25,000. All are small cars or S.U.V.s, including the market’s lowest-price car, the $18,300 Nissan Versa. Nearly every midsize family sedan starts at less than $30,000, including the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Hyundai Sonata. But many Americans have rejected those cars in favor of ******* vehicles. S.U.V.s, pickups and minivans now account for more than 80 percent of the market. Mr. Trump’s trade policies remain a wild card. Analysts expect tariffs will add thousands of dollars to the prices of new cars and drive up the demand and prices for used cars. Americans bought 1.5 million new cars in April, 400,000 more than in April 2024. But analysts said people were buying now to avoid being raked over later. Jonathan Smoke, the chief economist at Cox Automotive, said new-car inventories had fallen to their lowest levels in two years, suggesting that prices could rise as dealers run out of cars made before tariffs took effect. S&P Global Mobility, another research firm, has lowered its forecast for new-car sales and now expects them to fall 4 percent this year. For people seeking safe harbor in a financial storm, electric cars are a smart choice, Ms. Keating said. Between government and automaker incentives, new electric cars were discounted by 13.3 percent on average in March, a nearly $8,000 savings. Ms. Leigh recently leased a Chevrolet Equinox for two years, paying $5,500 upfront, which works out to a monthly payment of $230. The electric S.U.V. has a 319-mile driving range. “Some people don’t realize how many incentives are out there,” she said. Source link #Slate #Autos #Electric #Truck #Answer #Expensive #Cars Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

3 Stocks Plan +$130B in Buybacks: Why Markets Wanted Even More 3 Stocks Plan +$130B in Buybacks: Why Markets Wanted Even More In a bold show of confidence, several of the most influential companies in the technology and financial sectors have unveiled a wave of massive share repurchase programs, with newly announced buybacks totaling over $130 billion. This surge in buyback activity signals that corporate America still sees value in its own equity, even as markets grapple with mixed macroeconomic signals and uneven performance across sectors. Visa (NYSE:) announced a $30 billion program that underscores the strength of the payments ecosystem and a strong start to 2025. Apple (NASDAQ:), with a headline-grabbing $100 billion authorization, one of the largest in history, ironically left some investors underwhelmed. Arista Networks (NYSE:) is also aggressively buying back shares during a downturn, which suggests management believes the stock is significantly undervalued. This article breaks down the details behind these announcements and what they could mean for investors and market sentiment heading into the rest of 2025. 1. V: $30 Billion in Buybacks Amid Impressive Start to 2025 First up is Visa, the global leader in digital payments and financial infrastructure. With a market capitalization exceeding $700 billion, Visa plays a central role in facilitating transactions across nearly every country and industry. On May 9, the company announced a new $30 billion share buyback program, representing one of the largest repurchase authorizations in its history. This new program is a substantial step up from the $25 billion plan announced in 2023 and signals continued confidence in the company’s long-term growth and valuation. With this latest announcement, Visa’s total repurchase capacity now stands just shy of $35 billion when including the remaining balance from its previous authorization. This cumulative figure is equal to about 5.2% of the company’s total market capitalization, a notably aggressive figure for a company of its size. Buybacks at this scale are rare among mega-cap firms and typically reflect strong cash generation, a belief that shares are attractively priced, and limited better uses of capital in the current environment. 2. AAPL: $100 Billion Buyback Program Is… Too Small? The name making the biggest splash so far this earnings season when it comes to buybacks is Apple. The technology giant announced a new $100 billion share repurchase authorization. However, despite this being one of the largest buyback announcements of all time, some investors felt underwhelmed. That is because the record for the largest buyback program ever also goes to Apple, and this new program is $10 billion smaller. The company announced a $110 billion buyback program in May 2024. Many hoped that the firm’s next buyback program would be larger, or at least the same size. This lower buyback figure likely played a part in the company’s stock falling almost 4% after its earnings release. The company beat estimates on revenue and adjusted earnings per share, while revenue guidance was relatively in line. Wall Street analyst Angelo Zino at CFRA called Apple’s $100 billion buyback authorization “the biggest head-scratcher” from the company’s press release. However, the company revealing a forecast of $900 million in tariff-related costs for the current quarter was another possible culprit for the falling shares. The company’s new buyback program represented a still significant 3.1% of its market capitalization on May 1, the day of the release. That is lower than the 4.1% of the company’s market capitalization the $110 billion program represented when Apple announced it on May 2, 2024. That is a sizable difference, but also not one that is going to make or break the fortunes of Apple. It is also not unprecedented for Apple to decrease its buyback program. It did so by a larger percentage from 2018 to 2019, going from a $100 billion program to a $75 billion program. For what it’s worth, Apple’s highest calendar year return from 2014 to 2024 came in 2019, amid that 25% buyback authorization reduction. The stock provided a total return of 86% that year, demonstrating that a smaller buyback program by no means precludes a stock from achieving great performance. To be fair, 2019 was also the strongest return in that ******* for the S&P 500, but Apple still outperformed the index by 57%. Overall, Apple’s smaller buyback program is certainly a bit of a disappointment. But it also shouldn’t mean the difference between having a bullish or bearish opinion on the stock. Apple also announced a moderate 4% increase to its quarterly dividend. 3. ANET: Buying Back Stock in 2025 Like It’s Going Out of Style Last up is a much smaller, but still important player in tech, Arista Networks. The firm announced a new $1.5 billion share buyback program. The company also has an additional $34 million in buyback capacity under its previous authorization. Overall, the company’s total buyback capacity is equal to around 1.4% of the company’s market capitalization as of the May 9 close. Although this is a relatively small percentage of the company’s value, something that investors should take notice of is the pace at which the firm has been buying back shares recently. From the beginning of 2025 through April, Arista revealed that it has spent $887 million on buybacks. This is by far the largest amount of stock the company has bought back over a four-month *******. Considering shares are down around 22% in 2025, this feels like a clear indication that management has believed its stock to be significantly undervalued. Original Post Source link #Stocks #Plan #130B #Buybacks #Markets #Wanted Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Is Slate Auto’s Electric Truck the Answer to Expensive Cars? Is Slate Auto’s Electric Truck the Answer to Expensive Cars? When Slate Auto, a start-up, unveiled a roughly $25,000 electric pickup truck last month, social media lit up with comments. Many people saw the no-frills vehicle, with an easy-to-repair body and nostalgic hand crank windows, as a refreshing antidote to today’s overstuffed and increasingly unaffordable cars. How unaffordable? Average monthly payments on new cars have soared to $739 in March from $537 in January 2019, according to Cox Automotive. The average new car costs $47,400, with electric models around $59,200. High interest rates, now around 9.4 percent for a 72-month loan, have made cars even more of a financial stretch. “Prices and interest rates are both high and stuck,” said Mark Schirmer, director of industry insights for Cox Automotive. “If you haven’t been in the market since 2018, it’s got to be shocking what a car costs.” President Trump’s tariffs of 25 percent on imported cars and parts have consumers scrambling to buy before prices rise even more. Cars that cost less than $30,000 are especially vulnerable — nearly 80 percent of those are subject to tariffs. They include consumer staples like the American-made Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, which rely on imported parts. Supplies of budget models are expected to shrink, and automakers may stop importing certain models entirely. Enter Slate, a company based in the Detroit suburbs backed by venture capital firms and Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder. Chris Barman, a former Fiat Chrysler engineer and Slate’s chief executive, said the Slate Truck was expressly designed to ease sticker shock, although it won’t be available until late 2026. The company plans to produce the pint-size truck at a retrofitted printing plant in Indiana, with a capacity for 150,000 a year. True to its name, the truck is designed to be a blank slate to which buyers can add more than 100 accessories, like power windows and heated seats, as their budgets allow or needs change. There is no built-in stereo or touch-screen display, but there are docks for phones or tablets, saving money and avoiding the digital obsolescence that often plagues auto entertainment and navigation systems. “We think hardworking Americans are looking for good value for the money,” Ms. Barman said in a recent interview. That message appealed to Liv Leigh, 41, who hopped inside a Slate Truck during its public debut at the Long Beach Airport in California in April. Ms. Leigh, a biomedical designer and electric-car enthusiast, paid $50 to reserve a Slate. She watched the company’s employees transform the two-seat pickup into a five-passenger sport utility vehicle in about one hour, with a clever conversion kit aimed at do-it-yourself owners. Ms. Leigh appreciated the truck’s tidy size, shorter than a Civic, and its modest 150-mile range. “I love the idea of an absolute base, beater truck, where I can stick a dog or muddy bikes or plywood in back,” Ms. Leigh said. “I don’t need a giant vehicle to haul stuff.” Ms. Barman said efficient design and production were key to the company’s promised low prices. The truck’s gray plastic-composite body panels eliminate any need for a steel body-stamping plant or paint shop, which can cost automakers many millions of dollars. Where a Ford Model T, an egalitarian car of another age, famously came only in ******, Slate offers vinyl body wraps in 13 colors, for an extra $500. Buyers can also opt for a larger, factory-installed battery with a 240-mile range. “That all keeps costs down, but also feeds into giving customers freedom of choice,” Ms. Barman said. “They can outfit the vehicle the way they want it, not the way a manufacturer has designed it.” Slate hopes that a U.S.-based supply chain, including batteries made by SK On, a South Korean company, will make the pickup eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit. Republican lawmakers on Monday released a budget bill that would eliminate that incentive and dismantle other Biden-era climate and energy policies. That all depends on Slate’s successfully navigating a treacherous path for electric vehicle start-ups. Several young automakers, including Fisker, Nikola and Canoo, have sought bankruptcy protection and shut down. With or without subsidies, Slate has a viable business plan, Ms. Barman said. The company hopes to price its truck in the mid-$20,000s before government incentives, which would undercut the Nissan Leaf, which is the most affordable electric car at $29,300 but no longer eligible for tax credits. Chevrolet plans to offer a redesigned Bolt S.U.V. by year end for roughly $30,000. The General Motors brand intends the Bolt to qualify for the tax credit, dropping its effective price to roughly $22,500. Erin Keating, the executive analyst of Cox Automotive, praised the Slate Truck’s ingenuity. But she said a pickup with two seats, short range and a bare-bones interior might not appeal to American car buyers who have grown accustom to having many tech and creature comforts. “There’s nothing wrong with trying to crack the affordability crisis, but I don’t see this as a massive volume seller,” Ms. Keating said. “Ultimately, this is an extremely small E.V. with almost nothing in it, in a market with a growing number of affordable choices with much longer range.” The Ford Maverick is a potential rival that may argue for or against Slate’s prospects. That compact pickup is two feet longer than the Slate. It seats five passengers and offers many more features. A hybrid version can reach 40 miles per gallon and travel more than 500 miles on a full tank. Ford sold 131,000 Mavericks last year, suggesting there is strong demand for small, energy-efficient trucks. The company has raised the starting price of the hybrid version of the truck by $4,200 since 2024, to $28,150, including an increase last week that Ford Motor acknowledged was partly a response to tariffs on the truck, which is assembled in Mexico. The company said it was not passing on the full cost of the tariffs to customers and would offer all of its cars for the same price it sells them to employees until early July. As much as any vehicle category, America’s pickup trucks epitomize how cars have changed over the last several decades, mostly by becoming *******, more powerful and a lot more expensive. Some lavish pickups can cost as much as large European luxury sedans. Electric trucks from Tesla, Rivian and Ford range from $70,000 to more than $100,000. Ms. Barman sees a market opening for entry-level truck fans, families shopping for a second car, empty nesters, and businesses such as landscapers, contractors and delivery workers. The company expects to sell many trucks to people who otherwise would buy a used car, the average price of which is $26,000. One big challenge for Slate, or other companies hoping to sell more affordable cars, is that despite what they say they want, many Americans don’t seem to buy such cars. Ms. Keating noted that roughly two dozen models on the market start at less than $25,000. All are small cars or S.U.V.s, including the market’s lowest-price car, the $18,300 Nissan Versa. Nearly every midsize family sedan starts at less than $30,000, including the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Hyundai Sonata. But many Americans have rejected those cars in favor of ******* vehicles. S.U.V.s, pickups and minivans now account for more than 80 percent of the market. Mr. Trump’s trade policies remain a wild card. Analysts expect tariffs will add thousands of dollars to the prices of new cars and drive up the demand and prices for used cars. Americans bought 1.5 million new cars in April, 400,000 more than in April 2024. But analysts said people were buying now to avoid being raked over later. Jonathan Smoke, the chief economist at Cox Automotive, said new-car inventories had fallen to their lowest levels in two years, suggesting that prices could rise as dealers run out of cars made before tariffs took effect. S&P Global Mobility, another research firm, has lowered its forecast for new-car sales and now expects them to fall 4 percent this year. For people seeking safe harbor in a financial storm, electric cars are a smart choice, Ms. Keating said. Between government and automaker incentives, new electric cars were discounted by 13.3 percent on average in March, a nearly $8,000 savings. Ms. Leigh recently leased a Chevrolet Equinox for two years, paying $5,500 upfront, which works out to a monthly payment of $230. The electric S.U.V. has a 319-mile driving range. “Some people don’t realize how many incentives are out there,” she said. Source link #Slate #Autos #Electric #Truck #Answer #Expensive #Cars Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

ESPN streaming app will cost $29.99 per month ESPN streaming app will cost $29.99 per month ESPN’s new streaming application, featuring everything the sports media arm of Disney has to offer, will cost $29.99 per month. The service, which will take the ESPN name, as CNBC reported last week, will be heavily discounted when bundled with Disney’s other streaming services, Disney+ and Hulu. The three services, with ads, will cost $35.99 per month when purchased together. For users who sign up at the time of ESPN’s launch this fall, the price of that bundle will fall to $29.99 per month for the first 12 months. In other words, ESPN customers will effectively get Disney+ and Hulu for free for the first year. An annual subscription to the ESPN streaming service will cost $299.99. “Our priority is looking at the 60 million households on the sidelines,” ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said Monday during a media event. The ESPN application will include all of the network’s live games; programming on other ESPN cable networks such as ESPN2 and the SEC Network; ESPN on ABC; fantasy products; new betting tie-ins; studio programming; documentaries; and more. The new service differs from ESPN’s current streaming product ESPN+, which does not include some of the most-watched live games (such as the full slate of “Monday Night Football”) that currently air on traditional pay TV. ESPN+ will remain a less expensive offering for consumers, functioning as the entry tier for ESPN customers who don’t want the entire service. However, Pitaro added the company will prioritize upgrading current ESPN+ subscribers to the all-access service. ESPN+ costs $11.99 per month and can be bundled with Disney+ and Hulu for $16.99 per month with commercials. As CNBC reported last week, Pitaro decided to name the application “ESPN” to simplify what has become a cluttered streaming world, filled with different media products that can be bundled with other services at different price points. Later this year, ESPN’s mobile application will be reimagined and act as the gateway to the all-access service on smart TVs and devices. The revamped app, which will include new features such as a personalized “SportsCenter,” will be available to all users — not just those who purchase ESPN’s $29.99 direct-to-consumer product. Pay TV subscribers who already get ESPN will automatically be able to authenticate into the new app to get the digital bells and whistles that are not available through cable TV. Customers who purchase ESPN outside of the cable bundle will also receive ESPN+. Disclosure: Comcast, which owns CNBC parent NBCUniversal, is a co-owner of Hulu. Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO Source link #ESPN #streaming #app #cost #month Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]