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This ETF is ‘coiling’ in advance of a breakout, says Carter Worth This ETF is ‘coiling’ in advance of a breakout, says Carter Worth (Check out Carter’s worthcharting.com for actionable recommendations and live nightly videos.) I’m playing silver for a prospective breakout. Silver: unchanged the past 12 months – and major laggard to gold – is judged to be “coiling” in advance of a breakout to new 52-week highs. We like the set-up here and would play on the long side for a move to, and above, $31. 1-Year Comparative Chart SPDR Gold (GLD): +42% iShares Silver (SLV): +15% SLV: coiling in advance of a prospective breakout. Buy for a move to, and above, $31. DISCLOSURES: (None) All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL’S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. Click here for the full disclaimer. Source link #ETF #coiling #advance #breakout #Carter #Worth Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Community gathers to mourn tragic deaths of two boys Community gathers to mourn tragic deaths of two boys Mourners have remembered the lives of two young boys found dead in a small rural community as their maternal grandmother awaits serious charges. Source link #Community #gathers #mourn #tragic #deaths #boys Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Doom: The Dark Ages Review – Game Rant Doom: The Dark Ages Review – Game Rant Game Rant Writes “Doom: The Dark Ages is an eye-popping first-person shooter with nonstop action and some very welcome additions to the Slayer’s arsenal.” Source link #Doom #Dark #Ages #Review #Game #Rant Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

SpaceX Falcon 9 Successfully Launches 28 Starlink Satellites to Orbit From Florida SpaceX Falcon 9 Successfully Launches 28 Starlink Satellites to Orbit From Florida SpaceX continued its rapid-fire Starlink deployment campaign on Tuesday night (May 6), lofting 28 more internet satellites to orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch itself took place at 9:17 p.m. EDT (0117 GMT on May 7) from Launch Complex-40, marking the company’s 53rd Falcon 9 launch of 2025 and the 36th dedicated Starlink mission this year. The payload offers worldwide internet connectivity by adding to SpaceX’s swiftly expanding array of over 7,200 Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit. SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches 28 Starlink Satellites, Booster Lands Smoothly at Sea As per a Space.com report, B1085, the reusable first-stage booster, executed a perfect main engine cut about 2.5 minutes after launch, then stage separation and a retrograde burn to stop its descent. Roughly eight minutes after launch, B1085 successfully landed on the autonomous drone ship, stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. The mission was the seventh flight for this particular booster, which had previously supported two other Starlink missions. The Falcon 9’s upper stage continued into orbit and deployed the 28 Starlink satellites roughly one hour after launch. These newly deployed units will spend several days adjusting their positions before integrating into the broader Starlink network, which now blankets most of the globe except the polar regions. Each satellite, compact but equipped with large solar arrays, forms part of the larger web responsible for delivering high-speed satellite internet. The May 6 launch demonstrates how quickly SpaceX is moving to meet its broadband goals. In addition to Falcon 9 missions, the company has performed two Starship test flights this year to demonstrate development progress in both satellite launch and heavy-lift capability. An expanding constellation would finally bring reliable internet coverage to remote locations around the world. The drive to offer a reliable internet connection to remote sites globally reflects a commitment to putting the world more in reach. Source link #SpaceX #Falcon #Successfully #Launches #Starlink #Satellites #Orbit #Florida Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

RFK Jr. Caught Lying About New Surgeon General Nominee RFK Jr. Caught Lying About New Surgeon General Nominee Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is lying about his pick for surgeon general’s qualifications. During an appearance on Fox News Thursday night, Kennedy attempted to defend his choice of Casey Means, a wellness influencer and author who has no active medical license and never completed her physician residency. But, as is typical for the anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist, in lieu of evidence, Kennedy just made stuff up. “She was the top of her med—the very top of her medical class at Stanford,” Kennedy said. “She is in every—during her residency, she won every award that she could win. She walked away from traditional medicine because she was not curing patients. She couldn’t get anybody within her profession to look at the nutrition contributions to illness,” Kennedy said. But it would’ve been impossible for Means to be at the top of her class at the Stanford School of Medicine, because students aren’t actually ranked there. A spokesperson from the school told CNN’s Daniel Dale that medical students are graded on a pass-fail system. Kennedy’s claim that Means quit her residency to walk away from traditional medicine is also untrue. Dr. Paul Flint, a former chair of otolaryngology/head and neck surgery at Oregon Health and Science University who helped oversee Means during her residency program, provided a completely different explanation for why she had walked away from her five-year residency program after four and a half years. “She wasn’t even sure she wanted to be in medicine. She wanted to do something different. She wanted to resign,” Flint told The Los Angeles Times. Means was under so much anxiety that she was given three months paid time off. “She did that, came back and decided she wanted to leave the program. She did not like that level of stress,” Flint said. Flint said there was “a lot of anxiety around” being a surgeon. “You become much more responsible the more senior you get,” he explained. Now, Means may become the surgeon general, the highest ranking doctor in the country. Or in her case, the highest ranking non-practicing “doctor.” Kennedy argued in a post on X Thursday that Means’s lack of qualifications were exactly what made her such a great fit with his Make America Healthy Again agenda. No, seriously. “The attacks that Casey is unqualified because she left the medical system completely miss the point of what we are trying to accomplish with MAHA. Casey is the perfect choice for Surgeon General precisely because she left the traditional medical system—not in spite of it,” he wrote. Source link #RFK #Caught #Lying #Surgeon #General #Nominee Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

How long is Doom: The Dark Ages How long is Doom: The Dark Ages Before the game came out, we learned that Doom: The Dark Ages was abandoning its multiplayer mode to focus squarely on delivering the most brutal and satisfying single player campaign possible. The Doom games have always had great campaigns, especially after the reboot, but having that multiplayer component gives you a lot more to do after you’ve conquered every ****** and found every secret. Unless you’re playing the game through Game Pass, you might be a little hesitant to purchase a brand new game if it is only going to last you the weekend before you’ve beaten it. We’ve played through every level, found all the secrets, and unlocked all the upgrades in Doom: The Dark Ages to tell you exactly how long this game is. How long does it take to beat Doom: The Dark Ages ID Software To start, difficulty will always play a factor in how long it takes you to beat a game, but that’s especially true in a game like Doom: The Dark Ages. However, we can do a good job at estimating your playtime assuming you’ve chosen the difficulty level that gives you a challenge, but doesn’t have you stuck on encounters for half an hour or more. Doom: The Dark Ages has 22 chapters, many of which feature large open areas you are free to explore and hunt for secrets, collectables, and the like. Playing naturally, looking around for some optional stuff but not trying to 100% every area before you move on, should average out to around 45 minutes per chapter. If you do want to find it all, bump that number up to an hour or slightly more. That means, for the average player, Doom: The Dark Ages will take somewhere between 15 and 20 hours based on our experience with the game. Completionists who want to find every secret, master every weapon, and do all the optional objectives are looking at around 40 hours of playtime. Source link #long #Doom #Dark #Ages Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

ESPN flagship streaming app to be named ‘ESPN,’ sources say ESPN flagship streaming app to be named ‘ESPN,’ sources say A general view of the ESPN logo on a camera at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium on April 6, 2024 in Memphis, Tennessee. Wes Hale | UFL | Getty Images At long last, ESPN has chosen a name for its upcoming all access streaming service. Ready? It’s “ESPN.” Disney’s sports media division will announce the new (and also sort of old) name for the all-access streaming application at a media event next week, according to people familiar with the matter who declined to be named speaking about not-yet-public details. A Disney spokesperson declined to comment. Disney executives have referred to the streaming product, which is expected to cost $25 or $30 a month, as “flagship” internally for the past two years as they’ve developed the service. It will consist of everything ESPN has to offer, including all games; programming on other ESPN cable networks like ESPN2 and the SEC Network; ESPN on ABC; fantasy products; new betting tie-ins; studio programming; documentaries and more. This will differ from ESPN’s current streaming product ESPN+, which doesn’t include the most-watched live games (such as Monday Night Football) that currently only air exclusively on traditional pay-TV. ESPN+ costs $11.99 per month and can be bundled with Disney+ and Hulu for $16.99 per month with commercials. ESPN+ will remain a less expensive offering for consumers, according to people with the matter. ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro decided to name the application ESPN to simplify what’s become a cluttered streaming world, filled with different media products that can be bundled with other services at different price points, according to those people. The CNBC Sport newsletter first reported in February that ESPN executives were considering naming the application ESPN among other options. Get CNBC Sport directly to your inbox The CNBC Sport newsletter with Alex Sherman brings you the biggest news and exclusive interviews from the worlds of sports business and media, delivered weekly to your inbox. Subscribe here to get access today. The new ESPN streaming service is a new distribution mechanism, but most of the content isn’t new. Rather, the launch is about introducing consumers to a different way customers can access ESPN’s programming. That led executives to gravitate toward carrying over the legacy name, said the people. The ESPN mobile application will be reimagined and act as the gateway to the all-access service on smart TVs and devices. 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 aren’t available through cable TV. That overlap also played into executives’ decision to maintain uniformity with the name ESPN, rather than a different name that may increase confusion, the people said. ESPN will next week announce the pricing of the application as well as associated bundled discounts, Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said Wednesday during Disney’s quarterly earnings conference call. ESPN has previously said the service will debut in the fall. Source link #ESPN #flagship #streaming #app #named #ESPN #sources Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Watch: Steve Rosenberg reports from Russia's Red Square on Victory Day Watch: Steve Rosenberg reports from Russia's Red Square on Victory Day Vladimir Putin leads commemorations as Moscow marks its annual parade. Source link #Watch #Steve #Rosenberg #reports #Russia039s #Red #Square #Victory #Day Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Acropolis Museum marks International Museum Day with free admission, events Acropolis Museum marks International Museum Day with free admission, events The Acropolis Museum in Athens participates in the celebration of International Museum Day with a series of special activities for its visitors on Saturday 17 May and Sunday 18 May, 2025. This year’s them is inspired by “The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities”. On Saturday 17 May, the Acropolis museum will be open from 9 am to 8 pm with regular general admission. The second-floor restaurant will remain open until midnight (telephone reservations at +30 210 9000915). As every Saturday at 11 am, visitors can attend the gallery talk Aquatic routes: water from nature to myth and the polis. Guided by an archaeologist, visitors explore how ancient perceptions of water are reflected in the museum’s exhibits on display in both the permanent collection and the excavation museum. Online booking is required at events.theacropolismuseum.gr, along with the purchase of a same-day admission ticket at the museum’s ticket counters. At 6:30 pm, as part of the new exhibition Allspice, Michael Rakowitz & Ancient Cultures, on view from 13 May to 31 October 2025, in the Temporary Exhibition Gallery and co-organised with the cultural organisation NEON-the Museum will host a public discussion in the “Dimitrios Pantermalis” Auditorium between artist Michael Rakowitz and one of the two exhibition curators, Elina Kountouri, Director of NEON. Admission is free on a first-come, first-served basis. On Sunday 18 May, the museum will be open from 9 am to 8 pm with free admission to all exhibition areas. The restaurant will also be open during the same hours. On this day, the museum will launch guided presentations of the new exhibition Allspice, Michael Rakowitz & Ancient Cultures. The museum’s archaeologists will present original ancient artifacts from Mesopotamia and the southeastern Mediterranean, placed in dialogue with a series of contemporary works by internationally acclaimed Iraqi-American artist Michael Rakowitz. Through their journey in the exhibition, visitors will ‘experience’ issues of loss, looting and violent displacement of people and cultural heritage due to war, colonialism, or forced migration-and reflect on the role of museums as vessels of human history, sources of understanding the past, and shapers of the future. Official website: theacropolismuseum.gr Source link #Acropolis #Museum #marks #International #Museum #Day #free #admission #events Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Acropolis Museum marks International Museum Day with free admission, events Acropolis Museum marks International Museum Day with free admission, events The Acropolis Museum in Athens participates in the celebration of International Museum Day with a series of special activities for its visitors on Saturday 17 May and Sunday 18 May, 2025. This year’s them is inspired by “The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities”. On Saturday 17 May, the Acropolis museum will be open from 9 am to 8 pm with regular general admission. The second-floor restaurant will remain open until midnight (telephone reservations at +30 210 9000915). As every Saturday at 11 am, visitors can attend the gallery talk Aquatic routes: water from nature to myth and the polis. Guided by an archaeologist, visitors explore how ancient perceptions of water are reflected in the museum’s exhibits on display in both the permanent collection and the excavation museum. Online booking is required at events.theacropolismuseum.gr, along with the purchase of a same-day admission ticket at the museum’s ticket counters. At 6:30 pm, as part of the new exhibition Allspice, Michael Rakowitz & Ancient Cultures, on view from 13 May to 31 October 2025, in the Temporary Exhibition Gallery and co-organised with the cultural organisation NEON-the Museum will host a public discussion in the “Dimitrios Pantermalis” Auditorium between artist Michael Rakowitz and one of the two exhibition curators, Elina Kountouri, Director of NEON. Admission is free on a first-come, first-served basis. On Sunday 18 May, the museum will be open from 9 am to 8 pm with free admission to all exhibition areas. The restaurant will also be open during the same hours. On this day, the museum will launch guided presentations of the new exhibition Allspice, Michael Rakowitz & Ancient Cultures. The museum’s archaeologists will present original ancient artifacts from Mesopotamia and the southeastern Mediterranean, placed in dialogue with a series of contemporary works by internationally acclaimed Iraqi-American artist Michael Rakowitz. Through their journey in the exhibition, visitors will ‘experience’ issues of loss, looting and violent displacement of people and cultural heritage due to war, colonialism, or forced migration-and reflect on the role of museums as vessels of human history, sources of understanding the past, and shapers of the future. Official website: theacropolismuseum.gr Source link #Acropolis #Museum #marks #International #Museum #Day #free #admission #events Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Talks with US over digital services continue, says PM Talks with US over digital services continue, says PM The prime minister has said there are “ongoing discussions” with the United States over digital services, following the trade deal struck with President Trump. The ***’s Digital Services Tax (DST) – a 2% levy which raises about £800m a year mainly from US tech companies – was widely thought to be part of trade talks with the US. On Thursday, the government announced the DST remains “undisturbed and unchanged” as part of the US-*** deal slashing tariffs imposed by President Trump on cars and metals. Asked if he could guarantee that there would not be any changes to the DST, Sir Keir Starmer said: “On digital services, there are ongoing discussions and various other aspects of the deal.” Speaking to broadcasters on board HMS St Albans during a visit to Norway, Sir Keir said the deal reached with the US this week “predominantly focused on steel and aluminium and reducing those tariffs on car manufacturing and reducing the tariffs there”. “On digital services, there are ongoing discussions, obviously, on other aspects of the deal, but the important thing to focus on yesterday is the sectors that are now protected that the day before yesterday were very exposed,” he added. While the new deal offers some relief to industries affected by the tariffs announced by President Trump, the government is continuing to work on a wider ***-US trade agreement. One point of tension has been the DST, which affects large multinational enterprises who run social media services, online search engines or an online marketplace for *** consumers. It is a 2% tax on companies with revenues of more than £500m worldwide and £25m in the ***, affecting global tech giants like Amazon and Meta. It was introduced by the previous Conservative government in 2020. President Trump has made clear his distaste for what he sees as unfair taxes targeting American firms. Previously, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said the government had to “get the balance right” on negotiating with the US. Speaking on BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg she said it was the “right thing that companies who operate in the *** pay their taxes in the ***, and the US government and tech companies understand as well, but we are having discussions with the US at the moment. I want to preserve free and open trade.” Potential changes to the DST have been criticised by the Liberal Democrats, who have previously said Labour is “at risk of losing its moral compass” if it cuts the tax. But on Thursday, Trade Minister Douglas Alexander told MPs the government had “listened carefully” to concerns about weakening online harm protections in trade talks. He added the government had “worked hard to advance the ***’s national interest in the agreement that is reached”. Source link #Talks #digital #services #continue Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe found Pope Leo XIV ‘listens deeply and responds thoughtfully’ when they met Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe found Pope Leo XIV ‘listens deeply and responds thoughtfully’ when they met Perth’s Archbishop says the new leader of the Catholic Church ‘listens deeply and responds thoughtfully’ after meeting him several times. Source link #Perth #Archbishop #Timothy #Costelloe #Pope #Leo #XIV #listens #deeply #responds #thoughtfully #met Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

HHS moving to fire probationary employees again, officials say HHS moving to fire probationary employees again, officials say The Department of Health and Human Services is moving for a second time to fire probationary employees at the nation’s health agencies, multiple federal officials said, after many previously had their terminations paused amid court battles over their fate. In mid-February, thousands of recently hired or promoted workers at the department had received letters firing them, but those firings were temporarily reversed by multiple court orders. Many workers who did not leave for other jobs have been on paid leave since. “This is nothing of a surprise. These probationary employees were previously told in February that their jobs were impacted. This is the final step of the process where they receive their final notice,” an HHS spokesperson said in a statement. It was not immediately clear whether all or only some health agencies would be impacted by the renewed wave of firings. Two people at the National Institutes of Health said they had received instructions this week to carry out the terminations. Two people at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they also had also been informed of the renewed termination effort. “It’s all just so awful. Especially given how chronically underfunded and understaffed things are at the best of times,” said one CDC official, who was not authorized to speak publicly. Two people said that letters started being sent in the U.S. mail Thursday. One person said they were surprised about the urgency of the orders to fire the workers, which was accompanied by a demand for frequent updates on the progress of the mailings. The February firings of probationary workers were done differently than the department-wide layoffs that have rocked the nation’s health agencies in recent weeks as part of a sweeping restructuring ordered by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Those February letters to probationary workers claimed that their firings were due to a finding that “you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and skills do not fit the Agency’s current needs, and your performance has not been adequate to justify further employment at the Agency.” Workers and supervisors were surprised by the claim, given some of the fired employees had recently received high performance ratings and were recruited to fill key vacancies. “It is a sad, sad day when our government would fire some good employee and say it was based on performance when they know good and well that’s a lie,” U.S. District Judge William Alsup said in March. In the months since, a handful of offices have been able to claw back their probationary workers by justifying their need to perform critical agency functions. Others have been working with probationary staff to start returning their equipment. Alexander Tin Alexander Tin is a digital reporter for CBS News based in the Washington, D.C. bureau. He covers federal public health agencies. Source link #HHS #moving #fire #probationary #employees #officials Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

President’s son implicated in safari ******* of British woman President’s son implicated in safari ******* of British woman The son of the former Kenyan president has been implicated in the ******* of a young British woman in newly unearthed evidence. Julie Ward was butchered in the Maasai Mara game reserve in September 1988 aged 28. Most of her body was burned, but part of her left leg, pieces of her jaw and her skull were found intact. Whilst officials initially tried to suggest that she had died by suicide, been eaten by animals or even struck by lightning, it quickly became clear she had been murdered. She became a cause célèbre as her millionaire father relentlessly pursued her killers, but the exact circumstances of Julie’s death have never been solved. Now, for the first time, her family has revealed evidence in the case that shows the Metropolitan Police spoke to a witness in 2011 who offered a major breakthrough. The witness gave an account of events that puts Jonathan Moi, son of Daniel Arap Moi, the former Kenyan president, in the frame for the *******. Jonathan Moi, who died in 2019, had previously denied rumours of his involvement in Julie’s *******, or being anywhere near the area where she was killed This newly unearthed statement represented a significant advance in the ******* investigation and reignited the Ward family’s hopes that Julie’s killer might face justice. They have spent more than three decades trying to solve Julie’s *******, and say that this is the strongest evidence yet that puts Mr Moi in the area where the crime was committed at the time. However, in a move that has been heavily criticised by the family, the Met kept the statement hidden without fully investigating the claims. The Ward family believes that this is because of a cover-up orchestrated by the Foreign Office (FCDO) and involving the Met, to preserve good relations with Kenya. At the time of Julie’s death, Kenya was one of Britain’s key defence allies in Africa. Whilst a cover-up by Britain has never been established, The Telegraph can disclose that the evidence was kept out of the public domain, with documents stating the key witness statements were reserved strictly for the use of British police. This was because of the potential risk of reprisals if the contents were “divulged to the wrong person or at the wrong time”. As a result, it remained under lock and key in a London police facility and was only shared with the Wards after Mr Moi’s death from pancreatic ******* in 2019. The witness statement was made by a former official at a safari camp in the Masai Mara where Julie was found dead. The witness said that Mr Moi stayed with them at around the time Julie was missing, contradicting his previous evidence to police that he had been nowhere near the scene of the crime. The family are making the revelation public now because they have tried and failed to bring a complaint against the Metropolitan Police for its alleged failures.  Julie’s brother Bob Ward told The Telegraph it is “unthinkable that those statements with such vital information have been locked away in a safe in Lewisham for all of these years”, and that the chance to achieve justice for Julie may now have been missed. According to the testimony from the camp official, Mr Moi and a small party contacted the camp to make a booking in September 1988, around the time that Julie first went missing. The group allegedly arrived late one evening and left unexpectedly the next morning in a way that “did not make sense” to the camp worker. The disclosure is significant because Mr Moi had previously denied rumours of his involvement in Julie’s *******, or being anywhere near the area. He told Kenyan police in 1997 that he had been at one of his farms, more than 150 miles away from the Masai Mara, “throughout” that September when Julie died. He also said that he had “never been at the Masai Mara game reserve”. The Ward family has long suspected that Mr Moi was involved in Julie’s death, but before the camp official’s statement it was only based on rumour and evidence from someone who was himself an admitted killer. Former Detective Chief Superintendent Phil Adams, whose operation in Kenya obtained the statement, said the camp official’s account was “finally something tangible and factual which put Mr Moi in the vicinity of Julie’s *******, and supported a theory that he and his cronies were responsible”. He added that his personal view “is that Jonathan Moi did go out that night… and he’s taken advantage of her [Julie]. I think he’s either responsible for her death or, having taken advantage of her, he’s got people to dispose of the body”. The Met confirmed in a recent letter to the Ward family that in 2018, when the most recent investigation into Julie’s ******* was made “inactive”, Mr Moi was the “one remaining person of interest”. By that point, the Met had been in possession of the camp official’s statement for seven years. The Ward family did not obtain the statement until 2020, and they have now shared it with the Telegraph. The newly unearthed testimony from the camp official who said they received a booking from Mr Moi and a small party around the time Julie went missing – David Rose for The Telegraph But the Wards claim that too little was done to interrogate the information in the statement whilst Mr Moi was still alive. Mr Adams told the Telegraph that they were unable to investigate as normal, because they had told the witness they would not pass the information to the Kenyan police – but at the same time, the terms of the Met’s engagement in Kenya meant that the Kenyan police had to approve all their plans. “[We said] we’ll keep it under lock and key there until you are comfortable with us using it openly in an investigation, and that’s how I left it when I retired,” Mr Adams said. He added that his officers wanted to obtain a DNA sample from Mr Moi to compare against evidence, but that in the end, they did not make the request to the Kenyan police because they feared they would have to explain why and that this would expose their informant. Mr Adams was not in a position to disclose the statements after his retirement, but it is believed that the Met did not share them with the Kenyan Police. The early investigations Julie Ward’s ******* was one of the most notorious unsolved mysteries of the late eighties, comparable to the disappearance of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh in terms of the way it captured the public imagination. That was largely down to John Ward, Julie’s father, who spent more than £2m of the fortune he amassed as a hotelier trying to bring her killers to justice. In his search for answers, he exposed a litany of failures by authorities in Kenya, who initially appeared reluctant to acknowledge there had been a ******* at all. The first pathologist to inspect Julie’s remains said in his draft report that her bones were “clean cut”, implying that she had been cut with an implement. However, Kenya’s most senior pathologist, Dr Jason Kaviti, altered the document before it could be given to the Ward family so that it said her bones were cracked and torn. This suggested wild animals were to blame instead. The amendment made Mr Ward suspicious, and – with his trust in the authorities shaken – he took it upon himself to investigate his daughter’s *******. He was relentless, and over the following years and decades, he helped to ensure that there was a second inquest in Suffolk, and investigations by four different police forces. There were also two ******* trials of three different people, including the then head warden at the Masai Mara game reserve, but all the suspects were acquitted. John Ward seen dredging the river near where Julie’s body was found with a boat magnet, attempting to find keys, her camera or any of her possessions – David Rose for The Telegraph In 2004, the government that succeeded president Moi admitted that there was a potential cover-up. The new justice minister, Kiraitu Murungi, said that Mr Ward’s investigations did not get an “adequate response from the Kenyan authorities at the time”, and that there “appears to be some prima facie evidence of deliberate obstruction” by some officials. What has perhaps been more surprising is the battles that the Ward family have faced with authorities in Britain. In the days after Julie’s death, John Ward was invited to a meeting with two men at the British High Commission. One of the men attempted to persuade him that Julie had been struck by lightning and eaten by hyenas. It later emerged that this man was an MI6 informant and the other man an MI6 agent. Some time later, in 1990, Scotland Yard officers were brought in to look at Julie’s death. Their enquiries led to the arrest of two rangers who stood trial for ******* in 1992 but were acquitted. The Ward family now believes that the Met deliberately bungled their investigations in the 90s in an attempt ‘to pervert the course of justice’. John Ward spent more than £2m of his fortune trying to get justice The relatives have spent the last two years pursuing a formal complaint against the Met Police in the hope that they would persuade the force to acknowledge its failures and reopen parts of the investigation. In a letter handed to the police and seen by The Telegraph, they said: “Justice has not been served to the Ward family, let alone Julie. Our family have been seriously let down by the Metropolitan Police force of past years. “We believe, due to the actions of the Metropolitan Police Service officers, a ********* remained free until his dying day and justice was not served for Julie or the Ward family. This is unacceptable to us.” The Wards added: “We strongly believe these actions were orders or instructions from higher up the chain of command, namely the FCDO.” The Metropolitan Police have declined to reinvestigate the Wards’ allegations that its officers participated in a cover-up, saying that they have previously been cleared and that its resources should be used elsewhere. A Met spokesman told The Telegraph that it had suspended the investigation in 2018 because it had exhausted all lines of enquiry. “This decision was not taken lightly and our thoughts remain with Julie’s family, who were updated accordingly. “We have been clear that detectives would consider any new information provided to them to determine whether it represented a new and significant line of enquiry.” An article in the Nairobi Law Monthly, supposedly by John Ward, blames Mr Moi for Julie’s death – David Rose for The Telegraph A Government spokesman expressed sympathy for the Ward family and said that they “deeply regret” the fact that nobody has been brought to justice in the case. “The Foreign Office has always absolutely refuted any allegations of a cover-up in this historic case,” they added. As part of their complaint, the Wards handed over a dossier of evidence of what they perceive as multiple failures over the years to probe Julie’s death properly. They strongly criticised former Detective Chief Superintendent Ken Thompson for his failure to visit the site of Julie’s remains during a four-day scoping exercise in Kenya in 1990. Mr Thompson said in his report that he had been unable to go because of ground conditions. They also questioned why Mr Thompson directed Kenyan police to Julie’s jeep, without ensuring a forensic examination himself, and believe that he did so in the knowledge that it might hold valuable evidence. When other Met officers went to Kenya later that year, the jeep had been dismantled and potential forensic evidence lost. The Wards believe there were several failures throughout the investigation into Julie’s death – PA Mr Thompson has since died, but at an inquest in 2004, he strongly defended the robustness of his work. The Wards also criticised the detectives who took over from Mr Thompson, citing a 2004 independent investigation by Lincolnshire Police. It said “the New Scotland Yard investigation into the ******* of Julie Ward was poorly led, under-resourced and incompetent”, that “significant lines of enquiry were ignored” and “forensic opportunities were missed”. Despite these criticisms, the independent investigation found there was “insufficient evidence to support the allegation of a cover-up”. Former Detective Chief Superintendent Graham Searle, who was the senior investigating officer on the ground in 1990, told the Telegraph: “Under the circumstances, we did the very best job we possibly could. And I stress that under the circumstances. It wasn’t the easiest place to work.” His deputy, David Shipperlee, added that allegations of a Met cover-up were “utter nonsense” and that he doesn’t believe the investigation was “incompetent”. Former Detective Chief Superintendent Graham Searle, who was the senior investigating officer on the ground, with his Kenya police counterpart during the investigation – David Rose for The Telegraph The independent investigation was not able to get to the bottom of another disturbing finding: that a witness statement made by John Ward was altered to water down his criticism of the Kenyan authorities. The Wards believe it was done at the behest of the FCDO to preserve good relationships with the Kenyans. At the time of Julie’s death, Margaret Thatcher’s Britain donated considerable sums of foreign aid to Kenya. Kenya also hosted – and continues to host – a huge training ground used to train British Army personnel. The British Army Training Unit Kenya, 200 miles north of Nairobi, is large enough to train whole battalions and was used to ready personnel for the Falklands War. The Wards believe that it would have been profoundly damaging to Britain’s relationship with Kenya if the son of its president had been implicated in Julie’s *******. The Ward family believes a cover-up was orchestrated by the Foreign Office to preserve good relations with Kenya and president Daniel arap Moi (pictured) – ALESSANDRO ABBONIZIO They also firmly believe that Jonathan Moi was directly or indirectly responsible for her death, although this remains unproven. In their complaint to the Met, they have accused the force of making deliberate mistakes because it suited Britain “to help a political ally hide a *********”. The first time Mr Ward heard Jonathan Moi’s name in connection with Julie’s death was soon after her body was found, when a clothes seller in the Masai Mara pressed a note into Mr Ward’s hand. It bore the words: “The man you are looking for is Jonathan Moi Toroitich” [his Kenyan name]. The note handed to John Ward as he left the Masai Mara which blamed Moi for Julie’s ******* – David Rose for The Telegraph Some years later, he heard Mr Moi’s name again from a man called Valentine Uhuru Kodipo, who secured asylum in Denmark on the basis that he had been part of a paramilitary unit. He alleged he had witnessed several atrocities, including Julie being tortured and bludgeoned to death with a club. Mr Kodipo claimed Mr Moi was present, along with two other senior political figures in Kenya: Nicholas Biwott, a former cabinet minister, and Noah Arap Too, who was director of the then criminal investigation department. Mr Arap Too has previously said he was in London at the critical time. All three men are now dead, as is Mr Kodipo. Mr Kodipo’s testimony emerged in 1993, and his asylum claim was approved, suggesting that at least some of his outlandish claims may have been seen as credible in some quarters. However, questions have been raised about the reliability of his evidence, including by a member of the unit who said there was no record of Mr Kodipo. Mr Ward also believed he caught him in a lie and at one point dismissed him as a “fantasist” whose story was “nothing more than a brilliantly constructed pack of lies”. Jonathan Moi responded to Mr Kodipo’s testimony with a statement claiming that he was not in the Masai Mara at the time of Julie’s death. “Throughout the months of September 1988, I was at my farm in Eldama Ravine [more than 150 miles north of the Masai Mara]. I have a farm at Narok [a town relatively close to the Masai Mara], and on that alleged date of September 6, I was at my farm in Eldama Ravine. I would also state that I have never been at the Masai Mara Game Reserve, but at my farm in Narok,” he said. He added that he had “nothing to do with…the disappearance of the late Julie Ward.” Mr Moi’s statement in which he denies the allegations against him – David Rose for The Telegraph The newly emerged witness statement from the former camp official offered a potential way to disprove Mr Moi’s alibi. In a handwritten statement, the former camp official claimed that they had personally greeted Mr Moi when they arrived at around 10pm shortly after September 11 1988. Julie’s remains were found on September 13, a week after she first disappeared. A post-mortem has suggested that she spent most of this missing week alive. Mr Moi’s party allegedly left the next morning and never returned, which the camp official found “unusual”, the witness statement shows. One member of the party allegedly came back with an explanation a day or two later, claiming that they had got lost on their way to visit another one of Mr Moi’s farms far away – but the former camp worker said they found this reason “very odd”. “ could not understand why they would have gone to [that farm] as it was on completely the opposite side of the Mara to our camp. It did not make sense for them to have booked our site,” the witness said. Another source linked to the same camp also gave a statement, which can only be disclosed now, and provided letters from the first camp official, which corroborate some of the minor details. For the Wards, these newly emerged documents shed some light on what may have happened to Julie. But the family is also frustrated that they have faced such a battle to get this far – and that the man they believe is responsible for her death will never face justice. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Source link #Presidents #son #implicated #safari #******* #British #woman Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

60-40 portfolio is dead, but it’s not the bond market that killed it 60-40 portfolio is dead, but it’s not the bond market that killed it The classic 60-40 market portfolio — with 60% in stocks and 40% in bonds — has come under serious scrutiny in recent years, with major changes in the bond market leading to fundamental questions about the traditional approach to long-term retirement income planning. But for investors with the goal of financial security as they age, this year’s stock market volatility sent some to take another look at the concept. That’s a mistake, says Ric Edelman, the former head of Edelman Financial Engines. Edelman says it’s not the bond market that killed the 60-40 portfolio. Rather, it’s us humans. And this year’s market volatility shouldn’t send investors running back to the concept as a long-term fix. With the average lifespan increasing, and breakthroughs in health and science expected to increase in the years ahead, too, Edelman says that the 60-40 portfolio cannot possibly provide investors with enough money for a longer life. “It’s dead because of longevity,” Edelman said on this week’s “ETF Edge.” “We are living longer than ever before as a species. Nowhere in human history have humans lived this long,” Edelman told CNBC’s Bob Pisani. “Run your financial planning model assuming you live to 100,” he said. “The odds are good you will run out of money.” It all means that investors planning for the long-term need to have more money invested in the stock market than ever before. Edelman says 70% to 80% in equities is reasonable for many investors who don’t want to risk outliving their savings. “If you die at 80, it’s not a problem,” he said. “But you live to 90 or 100, or 110, it’s an issue.” Financial numbers for super-ager era The number of Americans aged 65 and older is projected to reach 95 million by 2060, according to the World Health Organization, comprising nearly 23% of the national population, an aging trend with profound implications for financial security, according to the Milken Institute. According to Fidelity Investments, an average retired couple aged 65 in 2024 may need as much as $315,000 saved (after tax) just to cover health care expenses in retirement. According to Federal Reserve data, among older Americans, the amounts held in retirement accounts are far too low for the overall costs associated with a longer life. Edelman is most focused on the implications of humans living to 100 and beyond, rather than merely beyond age 65, due to breakthroughs in technology and biotech, from neuroscience to bioinformatics, 3D printing, robotics and AI. This view is not universal, and some research suggests that barring major breakthroughs, the recent gains in longevity will level off in the decades ahead for U.S. citizens. But Edelman is bullish on the outlook for health tech and what it means for investors. “Over the next 30 years, humans will routinely live to the age of 100 and beyond,” he said. Cometary | Istock | Getty Images Alzheimer’s and the cost of living longer The fight against Alzheimer’s is one example. Edelman and his wife have been involved in the effort for decades and they acquired a diagnostics company that is planning to soon launch a blood test that will be able to tell you ten years prior to symptoms if Alzheimer’s is in your future, with 90-95% accuracy, he says. Edelman is hoping to bring the test to market “within the next several months,” and he added that the company discovered through research the test is applicable to other neurological diseases, for example, Parkinson’s, and has potential in ******* as well. While that may seem scary — and 10 years ago Edelman said you probably didn’t want to know the result of this test because there was nothing you could do with the knowledge — a lot has changed. “10 years ago, I would have said I don’t want to know,” he admitted, but he added that we now know fundamental lifestyle changes can help delay and reduce symptoms, from diet to stress, sleep, and exercise. “All the things we tell you to do for your heart are applicable for your brain,” he said. And even simple tech like hearings aids reduce stress on brain and can also delay Alzheimer’s. The cost of Alzheimer’s is massive. On average, those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s live 12 years on average from diagnosis to death, and need 24/7 care. “It bankrupts millions of American families,” Edelman said. Bond ladder for long-term income There is an option in the bond market to deal with the biggest issue related to longevity: fear of running out of money. It’s called the bond ladder and it has recently been introduced in an ETF format. Edelman says bond ladder ETFs are good options for the issue of increased life expectancy because they provide guaranteed lifetime income. These ETFs generate income from buying U.S. treasuries and paying out the interest across a wide range of maturity schedules, from ultra-short bonds to as far out as 30 years, and return capital to investors from the bond ladder as individual bonds mature. The LifeX2035 Term Income ETF (LDDR), and its complementary portfolios timed to other years further out in time, are considered the innovator in bringing the concept to the ETF world. “It’s an incredibly boring ETF. It’s buying U.S. treasuries. *******. End of story,” Edelman said. But he added that to create the equivalent of this bond ladder on your own as an investor, you would have to buy 120 treasury bonds going from 30 days out to 10 years. “What a nuisance!” Edelman said. “This ETF does it for you for 25 basis points.” These ETFs also offer a tax advantage to investors. Using the 10-year bond ladder ETF as an example, investors receive $900 a month from a $100,000 investment, and only about $400 is from the bond interest payment that is taxable. “The rest is not,” Edelman said, referring to the capital being returned to investors from the value of treasuries the ETF is always selling as they mature. “No matter how long you live, you get the monthly stable income from the safest investment in the world” he said, adding that investors should use these ETFs in a taxable account given the tax-efficiency aspect of the strategy. “It’s an innovative idea and I think it is going to catch on,” Edelman added. In the end, human longevity is a good news-bad news situation for investors. Few would argue against living longer, but it puts the pressure on us all to live better, with less financial stress, the older we may get. And Edelman believes that is going to be a lot older for many. “The odds are really good by the time you are 95 you will be healthier than you are today,” Edelman told Pisani, who announced this week after a 35-year run he will be retiring from his day-to-day post as Senior Markets Correspondent at CNBC. Sign up for our weekly newsletter that goes beyond the livestream, offering a closer look at the trends and figures shaping the ETF market. Disclaimer Source link #portfolio #dead #bond #market #killed Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Natasha Lyonne, Rian Johnson Reveal Where ‘Poker Face’ Season 2 Goes Now – The Hollywood Reporter Natasha Lyonne, Rian Johnson Reveal Where ‘Poker Face’ Season 2 Goes Now – The Hollywood Reporter Natasha Lyonne, Rian Johnson Reveal Where ‘Poker Face’ Season 2 Goes Now The Hollywood Reporter’Poker Face’ Season 2: Premiere date, time, cast and how to watch USA TodayNatasha Lyonne remains unconventional as a sleuth in ‘Poker Face’ and in her career Los Angeles Times Source link #Natasha #Lyonne #Rian #Johnson #Reveal #Poker #Face #Season #Hollywood #Reporter Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The Popular Minecraft Remote-Controlled Creeper Is Back In Stock And Discounted The Popular Minecraft Remote-Controlled Creeper Is Back In Stock And Discounted Featuring movement that mimics its in-game gait, the Exploding RC Creeper is a cool toy for younger Minecraft fans. Along with the ability to move the mob with the wireless controller, there’s a button that activates a variety of lights and sounds. Continue pressing the button, and the Creeper will explode, sending its head flying skyward and launching 10 explosion particles from inside its chest. The Exploding RC Creeper comes with a code for an exclusive in-game item. Source link #Popular #Minecraft #RemoteControlled #Creeper #Stock #Discounted Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Bitcoin holds above $100,000 while ether rockets to its best week since 2021 Bitcoin holds above $100,000 while ether rockets to its best week since 2021 People walk past a neon sign advertising a Bitcoin and Ethereum crypto currency exchange in Warsaw, Poland on 19 May, 2024. Jaap Arriens | Nurphoto | Getty Images Cryptocurrencies extended their rally to end the week, with bitcoin holding steady above the $100,000 level while ether rallied to its best week since 2021. The price of bitcoin was higher by 2% at $103,249.99 on Friday, according to Coin Metrics. Earlier, it rose as high as $104,324.65, its highest level since Jan. 31. For the week, bitcoin is up more than 6% and on pace for its fourth positive week in a row – and first four-week win streak since November. “This move above $100,000 should be viewed as more than mere euphoria, but rather as evidence of a flows-driven shift,” said Gadi Chait, head of investment at bitcoin-native Xapo Bank. “Whales have been accumulating on-chain, ETF demand continues to set new records, and investors seek ‘neutral’ assets amid a tariff-shadowed macro environment. Meanwhile, the announcement of a U.S.–U.K. ‘mini-deal’ and hints of tariff relief with China have reduced overall risk aversion, lifting equities, oil, and, notably, Bitcoin.” The risk-on sentiment bled into altcoins, or cryptocurrencies that aren’t bitcoin, most of which have struggled to keep pace with bitcoin’s gains this year. Ether, one of the biggest stragglers, jumped 10%, bringing its two-day gain up to 29%. A 6% increase in the token tied to Solana brought its two-day gain to 16%. This week the Ethereum network also completed its latest technology upgrade, dubbed Pectra, which enables lower network fees, streamlined ether staking and support for smart wallets. Stock Chart IconStock chart icon Ether heads for its best week since 2021 Ether is up 25% week to date and on pace for its best week since May 2021. The Solana token has added 14.3% this week, which is on track to be its best week since January. Year to date, however, ether and other major altcoins – with the exception of XRP – are still deep in the red compared to bitcoin. While the flagship crypto is up 10%, ether and the Solana token are down 31% and 12%, respectively. Bitcoin’s market structure changed after the introduction of spot bitcoin ETFs in 2024, with demand now coming from retirement accounts, macro funds, and corporate bonds such as Strategy. By contrast, altcoins still rely on crypto-native, risk-on capital, which hasn’t shown significant growth alongside the greater tech sector due to the current interest rate environment, according to Eric Chen, Co-Founder of Injective. Bitcoin is likely to keep outperforming until broader capital flows into altcoins, he added, given their steady supply and lack of a structural buyer base, which are likely to take prices lower until they attract speculative interest. “For us, there remains one singular strategy for crypto investors: stick to BTC until risk on headwinds dissipate,” Wolfe Research analyst Read Harvey said in a note this week. “The coin is one of just two in our basket positive on the year and it continues to dominate the rest of the space on a relative basis. The question now shifts towards if it can maintain recent outperformance vs. equities, or if Gold was right all along.” —CNBC’s Nick Wells contributed reporting Don’t miss these cryptocurrency insights from CNBC Pro: Source link #Bitcoin #holds #ether #rockets #week Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

How much rain is in the forecast for Naples? How much rain is in the forecast for Naples? Those unused umbrellas hidden away in a cars and closets are likely in line for a good workout as early as Monday. Let’s call that good news, OK? Actually, it’s a double-dose of good news. First, Mother’s Day should not be impacted. Second, when it comes to the weather, any rain in the forecast is welcome right now based on the severe drought conditions that has plagued Southwest Florida do far in 2025. Florida weather forecast: How much rain will Naples get? According to meteorologist George Rizzuto at the National Weather Service in Miami, SWFL and Naples will be entering a couple days of wet weather on Monday (May 12) and Tuesday (May 13) with the most widespread rain expected on Monday (May 12). “This will hopefully make at least a dent in the severe drought conditions we’ve been experiencing,” Rizzuto said. In terms of rainfall totals, Rizzuto said a fair estimate would be about 2-3 inches total Monday morning through Wednesday morning in the Naples area. “We’re still a few days out so there is still some time for the forecast to change a bit, but as things stand now, northern Florida is anticipated to get the higher rainfall totals,” he said. When does rainy season start in Florida? Rizzuto said Florida’s rainy season begins on May 15 (based on climatology). Is this storm the start of rainy season? “I can’t really declare the official start based on one or two rainy days, Rizzuto said, “as this is so variable from year to year. I’d better describe the beginning of the rainy season as a gradual trend towards daily showers and thunderstorms through the beginning and middle of May rather than one specific event. Overall as we head further into May, daily showers and thunderstorms and rainy stretches like this will become more and more common and are pretty typical for this time of year.” What is the May 10 weather forecast for Naples? According to AccuWeather, there’s a 25% chance for rain on May 10 for Naples. It will be breezy and humid in the morning with clouds followed by a brightening sky. This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Naples rain: Forecast has slow-moving weather system impacting Florida Source link #rain #forecast #Naples Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

As a Gamer, I Was Blown Away by ‘The Last of Us’ TV Sequence and Now I’m Not Ready for the Story Finale As a Gamer, I Was Blown Away by ‘The Last of Us’ TV Sequence and Now I’m Not Ready for the Story Finale I’ve played through The Last of Us games multiple times, so I thought I knew what to expect from HBO’s adaptation. I was wrong. Dead wrong. The latest episode, Day One just delivered a sequence so intense that I found myself holding my breath for what felt like five straight minutes. What makes the show work isn’t just its faithfulness to Neil Druckmann’s original vision—it’s how showrunner Craig Mazin and the team know exactly when to expand on that foundation. The subway tunnel sequence is the perfect example of this balancing act. And watching it unfold on screen just hit different. Much different. That subway sequence just redefined horror-action on TV Let me paint the scene: Ellie and Dina, trapped underground, with WLF soldiers behind them and a horde of infected ahead. What follows is pure, unfiltered tension that puts most horror films to shame. The way the scene builds is masterful—first with Dina counting infected on her fingers, then the realization dawning that they’re completely outnumbered. The camera work in those dark, claustrophobic tunnels made me feel like I was right there with them, which is exactly what I wanted as a fan. The infected in The Last of Us have always been terrifying, but seeing them in such overwhelming numbers, illuminated only by flashlight beams, took that fear to another level. What elevates this beyond typical zombie fare, though, is how it serves the characters. Ellie getting bitten while saving Dina forces her immunity reveal, which leads to one of the most emotionally charged moments of the season. Bella Ramsey and Isabela Merced sell every second of that scene—the panic, the resignation, the disbelief. It’s raw in a way that even Naughty Dog’s incredible motion capture couldn’t fully convey. Jeffrey Wright’s Isaac is the villain this season needed “Highly conductive.” | Image Credit: HBO While the infected provide immediate danger, it’s Jeffrey Wright‘s portrayal of Isaac Dixon that’s absolute nightmare fuel. The episode’s opening flashback showing his defection from FEDRA immediately establishes him as someone willing to betray his own people for what he believes is right—a dangerous kind of conviction. The torture scene with the Seraphite prisoner is genuinely disturbing, not because of explicit gore, but because of Wright’s chilling calmness. His casual story about cooking for dates while heating a copper pan for torture is pure psychological horror stuff that the game only hinted at. It’s almost fascinating how The Last of Us consistently reminds us that humans remain the true monsters in this world. The infected may be scary, but they’ve lost control of their actions. Isaac and his ilk make conscious choices to inflict suffering. Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann understand this fundamental truth from the games—the Cordyceps is just a backdrop for exploring human nature at its worst. As much as I hate to admit it, after this episode, I’m convinced the show will thrive even without Pedro Pascal’s Joel. His ghost drives the plot—yes, there’s no debate about it—but these characters and their world are compelling enough to stand on their own. What did you think of the subway sequence? Did it have you on the edge of your seat like me? Drop your thoughts in the comments below! The Last of Us Season 2 is currently streaming on HBO and Max, with new episodes every Sunday at 9 PM ET/PT. Source link #Gamer #Blown #Sequence #Ready #Story #Finale Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Tech’s strong ad sales are starting to crack from Trump’s trade war Tech’s strong ad sales are starting to crack from Trump’s trade war Vincent Feuray | Afp | Getty Images The digital advertising market was sunny enough for investors this past quarter, providing what could be a last hurrah before a looming economic storm from President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught. Wall Street cheered the first-quarter results from tech giants like Meta and Alphabet, which both saw shares rise on strong revenue and earnings that beat analyst expectations. The strong numbers from the online advertising titans in the face of economic worries showed that companies were still willing to promote their goods and services to consumers across the internet. Amazon’s burgeoning online advertising unit also topped analyst estimates for the quarter. The online retail giant’s first-quarter ad sales jumped 19% year-over-year, representing a faster growth rate than Meta and Google’s advertising sales, which were 16% and 9%, respectively. Even smaller social media and online advertising firms like Reddit, Snap and Pinterest posted first-quarter sales that topped Wall Street projections. The celebrations stopped, however, when it came time for executives to discuss the rest of the year. Meta Chief Financial Officer Susan Li last week said that “Asia-based e-commerce exporters” are spending less on digital advertising due to the cessation of the de minimis trade loophole that benefited retail upstarts and heavy Facebook spenders like Temu and Shein. “It’s very early, hard to know how things will play out over the quarter, and certainly, harder to know that for the rest of the year,” Li said during a call with analysts. Executives at Alphabet and Pinterest shared similar sentiments about slower, Asia-specific ad sales and broader macroeconomic uncertainty heading into the rest of the year. Snap went so far as to pull its second-quarter guidance over the unpredictable economy potentially shrinking corporate ad budgets for the rest of the year. Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwards “The good news is, Q1 was really strong, and Q4 of last year was pretty darn good,” said Sameer Samana, head of global equities and real assets for Wells Fargo Investment Institute. But with companies from a variety of sectors lowering or even suspending their 2025 sales guidance, as in the case of auto giants like Ford Motor and toymaker Mattel, Samana believes the good times are likely coming to an end. “What it’s telling me is that we better enjoy this rally, we better enjoy these good numbers,” Samana said. “This is going to be about as good as it gets for the coming year.” In an ominous sign for social media and online advertising companies, retail and consumer packaged goods businesses like Procter & Gamble have warned of weakening sales amid the turbulent economy. Jasmine Enberg, a vice president and principal analyst at eMarketer, said companies in these sectors generate “about half of all social ads in the U.S.,” and a decrease in their advertising spend “will have a ripple effect on the social ad market.” Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms Inc.; from left, Lauren Sanchez; Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com Inc.; Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc.; and Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Inc., during the 60th presidential inauguration in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. Julia Demaree Nikhinson | Bloomberg | Getty Images Enberg believes that a potential slowdown in advertising spend will hurt smaller tech platforms more than their larger rivals. “I think what we’re likely to see is what we tend to see in times of economic uncertainty, which is that advertisers seek refuge in larger platforms that provide them with scale and consistent ROI,” Enberg said. But even tech giants like Meta may feel some financial pain, explained Greg Silverman, the global director of brand economics at consulting firm Interbrand. Although other retailers may decide to run Facebook ads now that China-linked retailers like Temu are stepping back, those promotional campaigns are unlikely to be as lucrative for those companies, said Silverman. Temu was willing to spend big on Facebook ads because it previously benefited from the de minimis trade loophole, Silverman said, and it’s unlikely that any U.S. retailer will do the same, particularly with a rickety supply chain and high tariffs potentially raising the cost of their goods. “The return on ad spend that Temu was getting on Facebook is going to be hard for anyone else to recreate,” Silverman said. For Wells Fargo’s Samana, the current economic uncertainty can be traced to trade policy and tariffs and their ensuing effects throughout the markets. “We started the year with very low levels on tariffs,” Samana said. “Tariffs at the end of this are going to be higher, and they’re going to be meaningfully higher, and that is just not good for markets. I think that’s the only point that matters.” WATCH: There are growth positive policies on the horizon. Source link #Techs #strong #sales #starting #crack #Trumps #trade #war Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Sydney Sweeney To Produce Michael Bay-Directed OutRun Movie Sydney Sweeney To Produce Michael Bay-Directed OutRun Movie ***** has been making a concerted push into the multimedia space in recent years. The Sonic the Hedgehog theatrical trilogy has led the charge since 2020, but just last year, we also received the Amazon MGM Studios-produced streaming series Like a Dragon: Yakuza on Prime Video. On top of that, ***** has announced adaptations based on Shinobi, Streets of Rage, and other franchises in the future. The company isn’t stopping there, however, as a new report attaches actress Sydney Sweeney and director Michael Bay to an upcoming adaptation of the arcade driving series OutRun. This report, which comes from Deadline, attaches Sweeney as producer, Bay as director, and Jayson Rothwell as scriptwriter. Additionally, ***** senior executive officer Toru Nakahara will produce from *****’s side, while ***** President and Chief Operating Officer Shuji Utsumi will oversee the project. Nakahara has produced every project in the Sonic the Hedgehog film series, including the Paramount Plus Knuckles show. He is also lined up to produce the Streets of Rage movie. Utsumi has served as executive producer on Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Knuckles, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Sweeney is best known for her roles in shows like Euphoria, White Lotus, and The Handmaid’s Tale, as well as films like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Though best known for her onscreen work, according to Deadline‘s report, Sweeney is only attached as a producer at this point. Bay is known as a longtime director of action films, including Bad Boys, Armageddon, five Transformers films, and Pearl Harbor. Rothwell wrote for Polar and Arachnid. The film is being developed by Universal Pictures, though plot details are scarce at the moment, according to Deadline. You may note that Universal Pictures is also the studio behind The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which is the studio’s third highest-grossing film of all time, behind only Jurassic World and Furious 7. While OutRun hardly has the name recognition of Super Mario Bros., it stands to reason that Universal would want to return to the video-game-adaptation well that brought them success with both The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Five Nights at Freddy’s. Source link #Sydney #Sweeney #Produce #Michael #BayDirected #OutRun #Movie Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Asteroid Vesta May Be a Fragment of a Lost Planet, Say Scientists Asteroid Vesta May Be a Fragment of a Lost Planet, Say Scientists Asteroid Vesta, long considered a stalled protoplanet, may actually be a massive fragment of a larger world that once existed in our solar system. New findings based on gravity-field mapping and spin-rate data suggest Vesta lacks the dense core typically found in differentiated planetary bodies. The discovery challenges previous assumptions, drawn from NASA’s Dawn mission in 2012, that classified Vesta as an embryonic planet. Now, scientists report that Vesta might have been ejected from a differentiated world in a massive collision 4.5 billion years ago, upending ideas about the development of planets and asteroids. New Gravity Data Suggests Vesta Is Debris from a Destroyed Planet, Not a Protoplanet As per a new study published in Nature Astronomy on April 23, 2025, Vesta does not quite match the former model. Refined calibration methods polished the radio Doppler signals, confirming the absence of a metal-rich core, which was inconsistent with earlier work. Seth Jacobson of Michigan State University, who led the research, stated the new interpretation marks a major shift in planetary science. While Vesta’s basaltic, volcanic surface still indicates geological activity, its internal uniformity contradicts the expectations of a body that once underwent full differentiation. This paradox has caused scientists to reconsider the asteroid’s heritage. One scenario is that Vesta started to differentiate but never got very far. But data from meteorites called howardite-eucrite-diogenites (HEDs), thought to have come from Vesta, show no signs of such incomplete differentiation. Jacobson and his team instead favour the explanation that Vesta was formed from material blasted off a fully developed planet during an ancient planetary collision, which could also illustrate its volcanic surface without requiring it to have a dense core. The results not only question Vesta’s identity but also suggest a possibility of a more general theory: that other asteroids could also be pieces of shattered planets. NASA’s Psyche and ESA’s Hera missions, planned for the next decades, intend to do such gravity investigations, which could ultimately confirm this new view. Jacobson noted that Vesta’s composition could even hint at a shared origin with Earth or other early planets, a hypothesis that may reshape asteroid science entirely. For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who’sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube. Samsung Unveils 2025 Smart TV Lineup in India With Vision AI Features: Price, Availability Asus ROG Ally 2 Spotted via US FCC Listing Alongside ‘Project Kennan’ Xbox Handheld Source link #Asteroid #Vesta #Fragment #Lost #Planet #Scientists Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

El Salvador Put Trump Deportees Behind Bars. Now Their Families are Suing. El Salvador Put Trump Deportees Behind Bars. Now Their Families are Suing. Their loved ones were picked up by U.S. immigration authorities, deported to El Salvador and then jailed in a notorious maximum-security prison. Now, more than a dozen families are suing the Salvadoran government, accusing it of illegally keeping their sons, brothers, nephews and partners behind bars for nearly two months. The lawsuit, filed on Friday before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights by a coalition of migrant rights lawyers representing the families, names 18 Venezuelan nationals who are being held at the Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT — a strict and austere megaprison at the center of a deportation deal between El Salvador and the Trump administration. Since March, none of the families have had news of their imprisoned relatives, most of whom had pending or approved applications for asylum or other kinds of humanitarian protection in the United States, according to a copy of the suit seen by The New York Times. “They’ve all been deported without due process, excluded from any protection of the law and are in a situation of enforced disappearance,” said Isabel C. Roby, a senior staff attorney at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, one of the groups bringing the lawsuit. Spokespeople for El Salvador’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House has found an important ally in El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, to carry out its deportation policy. At least 288 U.S. deportees — mostly Venezuelans and several dozen Salvadorans, including a man deported from Maryland in error — are in CECOT custody, the recent lawsuit estimates, but the exact number is not known because neither government has revealed their identities. The complaint requests that the commission order the Bukele government to immediately release the 18 migrants held incommunicado at the prison and facilitate their return either to the United States or to another country where they would be safe. In February, Mr. Bukele offered to take in convicted criminals deported from the United States, for a fee. In his discussions with U.S. officials, The New York Times has learned, Mr. Bukele told them he wanted evidence that all the Venezuelan migrants were in fact members of the Tren de Aragua gang, a claim the Trump administration has used to justify the deportations. But a Times investigation did not find any criminal record, or found only minor infractions, for most of the men. “Neither the Trump administration nor the Bukele regime have demonstrated any case where an individual has been determined by a court to be a member of a gang,” said Isabella Mosselmans, director of the Global Strategic Litigation Council for Refugee Rights, another organization filing the lawsuit. Instead, the decision to deport them has relied on “superficial characteristics,” Ms. Mosselmans said, adding that nine of the men named in the legal action were accused based on their tattoos. Recent legal actions against other Central American nations that had agreed to accept planeloads of people deported from the United States have had some impact. In March, Panama released nearly all 112 migrants who were being held in a remote jungle camp. And last month, Costa Rica returned passports to people it had detained in a former pencil factory, allowing them to leave if they so wished. El Salvador, however, is different. To crack down on his country’s gangs, Mr. Bukele imposed a state of emergency in 2022 that allowed him to suspend normal due process rights. Since then, his government has swept up thousands of gang members and innocent people in mass arrests. Human rights groups have tried to challenge the legality of the arrests, with little effect. Of thousands of legal actions filed over the past years, only a handful have been resolved. Even if the Inter-American Commission rules in favor of the plaintiffs, lawyers in El Salvador caution that it could be difficult to pressure the government to do anything. “The Bukele regime couldn’t care less,” said Enrique Anaya, a constitutional lawyer based near San Salvador, the capital, who has questioned the legal basis of the deportation deal. “El Salvador is going to release these people only and exclusively if the United States authorizes it to do so.” Source link #Salvador #Put #Trump #Deportees #Bars #Families #Suing Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

The Backbone Pro Is A Decent Upgrade To Arguably The Best Mobile Controller The Backbone Pro Is A Decent Upgrade To Arguably The Best Mobile Controller The market for mobile game controllers is becoming increasingly competitive. Not only because Apple opened up the option to use controllers with its devices relatively recently, but also because both PlayStation and Xbox now allow players to stream console games to their phones. It makes having a good compatible mobile device controller very useful. It’s also handy for solid mobile ports of console games like Dead Cells (which is what I used to test the Pro) or Resident Evil Village (among many others). I spent a lot of time with mobile game controllers during my stint at GameSpot as its mobile games editor, and though there are many solid options, the Backbone controller was always and continues to be my favorite. It feels solid without being heavy, it connects easily to your device with little to no fuss, and it’s compact without feeling too small. Perhaps most importantly, once it is plugged into your phone, it feels like a proper controller with good control sticks and clicky face buttons. All that is to say, it made me take notice when Backbone reached out about a new Pro edition of its controller. It will be available exclusively at Best Buy and backbone.com for $169.99. I like the idea of a Pro version of my favorite mobile controller, but considering my appreciation for the amateur version, I was curious if the upgrade would feel necessary. The short answer is the Pro version does not feel like a required upgrade. I am not a better or even necessarily more comfortable gamer using the Backbone Pro, but I do like it. I currently use the PlayStation Edition of the Backbone controller, which is functionally the same as the standard Backbone, but with a PlayStation color scheme. It was also, crucially, purchased for me as a gift by my wonderful and thoughtful wife. I presume most will not share the same emotional attachment to their Backbone One – PlayStation Edition Mobile Gaming Controller for that reason, so feel free to ignore that element of my impressions in your purchasing decision. Comparing the standard Backbone (left) to the Pro (right) The Backbone Pro The big, immediately noticeable difference between the standard and the Pro is that the latter is larger. The grips are thicker, presumably to make room for additional electronics, but it still feels comfortable. The way the controller shells grab the sides of the phone also still feels sturdy. The back of the controller also features two additional programmable buttons. Back controller buttons are an element of modern controller design that I like, but I never take advantage of if I am being honest with myself. I eagerly bought an Xbox Pro controller fully intending to use the back paddles, but to date, all I have used them for is to make little satisfying clicky noises during loading screens. I find myself doing the same here. So, if you like buttons on the back – they’re here! But if you’re more like me and don’t really use them, well, guess what? You have a nice little fidget toy to poke at while your games are loading. I am happy they are there, even if I don’t use them. The Pro’s control sticks are a different design. They are concave as opposed to the convex and also have a rough texture around the edges. This is one of those small differences that is ultimately a matter of personal preference, but I do feel I have slightly more control with the Pro. The d-pads on the two controllers feel the same to my touch, but the face buttons are undeniably different. The standard Backbone’s face buttons click in a satisfying way. The Pro’s buttons are softer and feel more in line with an Xbox or PlayStation controller. I do have some affection for the clicky-er buttons of the original controller, but I like the Pro’s more familiar-feeling buttons. The other big upgrade for the Pro controller that the standard can’t claim is that it can be used without being directly connected to your phone. And since it is Bluetooth, it can also be used with a number of compatible devices. It’s a nice option (and presumably why the Pro grips are a little larger), but for all the positive things I have said about the Backbone, my statements do include the asterisk, “for a controller connected to your phone.” The Backbone is an excellent, convenient controller to use with your phone, but it won’t personally replace the Xbox or PlayStation controllers I use with my PC or Steam Deck. Much like the buttons on the back, however, I think it is a nice option to have and I can conceive of situations where I would want to hold the controller separate from my phone and continue to play. Verdict I like the standard Backbone controller. I think it is still the best mobile controller available. I also like the Backbone Pro. It is a great mobile controller with some extra bells and whistles beyond the standard that I appreciate. Faced with both, however, I don’t think there is anything about the Pro controller that makes it radically better than the standard Backbone controller. Just slightly better. Source link #Backbone #Pro #Decent #Upgrade #Arguably #Mobile #Controller Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]