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Ghosts Adds a (Familiar) New Spirit — and Sets the Stage for a Helluva Deal? – TVLine Ghosts Adds a (Familiar) New Spirit — and Sets the Stage for a Helluva Deal? – TVLine Ghosts Adds a (Familiar) New Spirit — and Sets the Stage for a Helluva Deal? TVLine’Ghosts’ Star Danielle Pinnock on Alberta’s Sweet Musical Moment With Alicia TV InsiderGhosts Brought Back A High Potential Actor As That Hilarious Stripper, And His Plot Twist Makes Me So Excited Yahoo EntertainmentHETTY’S GHOST POWER IS REVEALED WHEN JAY’S COUSIN SUNIL VISITS WOODSTONE MANSION ON ST. PATRICK’S DAY, ON “GHOSTS,” THURSDAY, MARCH 13 Paramount Press Express”You Might Find Some ‘Defying Gravity'”: ‘Ghosts’ Danielle Pinnock Reveals What’s on Her Alberta Playlist Collider Source link #Ghosts #Adds #Familiar #Spirit #Sets #Stage #Helluva #Deal #TVLine Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

South Africa-Trump row: Pretoria rejects ‘megaphone diplomacy’ South Africa-Trump row: Pretoria rejects ‘megaphone diplomacy’ The South African government has said it will not take part in “counterproductive megaphone diplomacy” following a fresh social media post by US President Donald Trump repeating his claim that Pretoria was confiscating land. Trump extended his invitation to relocate those seeking “to flee [South Africa] for reasons of safety” to all farmers and offered them citizenship. South Africa has previously said that Trump has misunderstood the country’s new land expropriation act. But it has already led to the US president freezing financial aid to the country. Responding to the latest statement, the government said that South Africa was still committed to building a mutually beneficial trade, political and diplomatic relationship with the Trump administration. A spokesperson added that the relationship between both countries should be based on mutual respect. South Africa’s new land law was signed in January, and allows land seizures without compensation in certain circumstances. In his executive order last month that stopped aid to South Africa, Trump alleged there was discrimination against the white Afrikaner *********, descendants of Dutch and French settlers. The US president said their land was being seized without compensation, something the South African government denies. He also offered refugee status to Afrikaner farmers, despite vowing to crack down on immigration. On Friday, Trump said any farmer, not just Afrikaner ones, could relocate to the US. The status of white South African farmers has long been a rallying cry on the right and far-right of American politics. Land ownership has been a contentious issue in South Africa with most private farmland owned by white people, 30 years after the end of the racist system of apartheid. There have been continuous calls for the government to address land reform and deal with the past injustices of racial segregation. The new law allows for expropriation without compensation only in circumstances where it is “just and equitable and in the public interest” to do so. American funding to **** programmes in South Africa was terminated last week. The US government has also pulled out of a climate agreement that aimed to get richer countries to help a small group of developing ones, including South Africa, transition away from coal to green energy sources. Source link #South #AfricaTrump #row #Pretoria #rejects #megaphone #diplomacy Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

*** Abortion Buffer Zone ‘Absurdity’! Praying Inside One’s Home Could Now Be a Risk *** Abortion Buffer Zone ‘Absurdity’! Praying Inside One’s Home Could Now Be a Risk LONDON, England – While many already knew about the “thought crime” case against a British Army veteran, Vice President JD Vance brought it to the world’s attention again in a speech to the Munich Security Conference on February 14. “A little over two years ago, the British government charged Adam Smith-Connor, a 51-year-old physiotherapist and an army veteran with the heinous crime of standing 50 meters from an abortion clinic and silently praying for three minutes, not obstructing anyone, not interacting with anyone, just silently praying on his own,” Vance said. Smith-Connor was convicted last fall of praying within an abortion clinic “buffer zone.” When he was approached by police officers, they asked, “What is the nature of your prayer today?” Smith-Connor answered, “What is the nature of my prayer? I’m praying for my son,” making the charge against him what many are calling a “thought crime.” We met Smith-Connor at a church in Southampton, England, where he told us of a dream that led him into the pro-life movement, a dream in which he was butchering a baby. He recounted, “I was carving up this baby, as if I was carving up a Sunday roast. I didn’t have any sense of guilt or anything, and it was no feeling of anything as I was doing this. When I woke up, it was like a nightmare in reverse. I was so horrified because I had carved up this child who I knew was my son. And it horrified me that I hadn’t felt anything as I did it. And over the following days, I came to realize it related to an abortion that I’d paid for two decades earlier. That abortion hadn’t even crossed my mind. But God knew that that was sitting on my conscience. He knew that I wasn’t going to figure out for myself and that that needed to be cleansed. So, I feel that he gave me that vision, that dream, to wake me up to what had happened.” He began to go to abortion clinics to pray for his son and would eventually be charged with a crime for praying. Smith-Connor said police officers “decided from that because they knew that my son had died in an abortion, that therefore, I was in breach of the buffer zone. And they asked me to leave the area. I declined because I don’t think that prayer can ever be considered a criminal act or ********. I didn’t approach anyone. I didn’t speak to anyone. Didn’t even look at anyone. And in fact, if you’ve been in the clinic, you wouldn’t have seen me from the clinic because I was behind a tree, out of line of sight of the clinic entrance.” MORE: Is ‘Orwellian’ Britain ‘Sleepwalking into a Totalitarian Future’? The United Kingdom’s new buffer zone law makes it “…******** for anyone to do anything that intentionally or recklessly influences someone’s decision to use abortion services… The law will apply within a 150 metre radius of the abortion service provider.” Lois McLatchie Miller with Alliance Defending Freedom International says the government’s use of the word “influence” has created a very broad law that can potentially be used against private conversations and even a person’s thoughts and prayers. Miller told us, “By using a word like ‘influence,’ it’s very unclear what the law means. What about a mother asking her daughter, ‘Are you sure?’ Is that an ‘influence’? What about a friend who’s offering support to a woman who’s considering continuing her pregnancy? Is that ‘influence’?” Livia Tossici-Bolt, a 63-year-old retired medical scientist from Bournemouth, England, was also convicted under the law last week for holding up a sign reading “here to talk, if you want” within an abortion clinic buffer zone and talking to women who approached her. In Scotland, citizens living within buffer zones were sent letters warning that they could violate the law while inside their own homes. Some think it could include praying near a window if a woman seeking an abortion walks by. READ: Could New Scottish Law Ban ‘Private Prayer’ in Homes Near Abortion Facilities? JD Vance Thinks So Adam Smith-Connor said he’s grateful to Vice President JD Vance for defending him before world leaders. Smith-Connor is a British Army vet who risked his life in Afghanistan. This case makes him reflect on the personal price he paid for freedom and a close friend who died to protect the very rights that his government is now taking away. “I’ve got a profound sense of sadness for our nation. The fact that we have plummeted to such a depth so quickly is truly shocking to me. I believe in the ****** and what the ****** says, and I live that out in my life. And when the civil laws step outside of the laws of God, then I’m to follow God’s laws. And the absurdity of being put on trial for the contents of your mind, the contents of your prayers. It just has no place in a liberal, free, democratic society.” “And yet, here we are.” An appeal of Adam’s conviction has been set for July. ***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you receive the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.*** Source link #Abortion #Buffer #Zone #Absurdity #Praying #Home #Risk Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

MDMA may have protected Nova attack survivors from trauma, study suggests MDMA may have protected Nova attack survivors from trauma, study suggests Lucy Williamson Middle East correspondent Oren Rosenfeld / BBC Michal is one of the festival-goers who believes MDMA helped her during the attack As dawn approached on the morning of 7 October 2023, many of the partygoers at the Nova music festival near Gaza’s border took ******** recreational drugs like MDMA or ****. Hundreds of them were high when, shortly after sunrise, ****** gunmen attacked the site. Now neuroscientists working with survivors from the festival say there are early signs that MDMA – also known as ecstasy or molly – may have provided some psychological protection against trauma. The preliminary results, currently being peer-reviewed with a view to publication in the coming months, suggest that the drug is associated with more positive mental states – both during the event and in the months afterwards. The study, carried out by scientists at Israel’s Haifa University, could contribute to a growing scientific interest in how MDMA might be used to treat psychological trauma. It is thought to be the first time scientists have been able to study a mass trauma event where large numbers of people were under the influence of mind-altering drugs. ****** gunmen killed 360 people and kidnapped dozens more at the festival site where 3,500 people had been partying. “We had people hiding under the bodies of their friends for hours while on **** or MDMA,” said Prof Roy Salomon, one of those leading the research. “There’s talk that a lot of these substances create plasticity in the brain, so the brain is more open to change. But what happens if you endure this plasticity in such a terrible situation – is it going to be worse, or better?” About 3,500 people were at the Nova festival when ****** gunmen attacked The research tracked the psychological responses of more than 650 survivors from the festival. Two-thirds of these were under the influence of recreational drugs including MDMA, ****, ********** or psilocybin – the compound found in hallucinogenic mushrooms – before the attacks took place. “MDMA, and especially MDMA that was not mixed with anything else, was the most protective,” the study has found, according to Prof Salomon. He said those on MDMA during the attack appeared to cope much better mentally in the first five months afterwards, when a lot of processing takes place. “They were sleeping better, had less mental distress – they were doing better than people who didn’t take any substance,” he said. The team believes pro-social hormones triggered by the drug – such as oxytocin, which helps promote bonding – helped reduce fear and boost feelings of camaraderie between those fleeing the attack. And even more importantly, they say, it appears to have left survivors more open to receiving love and support from their families and friends once they were home. Clearly, the research is limited only to those who survived the attacks, making it hard to determine with any certainty whether specific drugs helped or hindered victims’ chances of escape. But researchers found that many survivors, like Michal Ohana, firmly believe it did play a role – and say that belief, in itself, may help them to recover from the event. “I feel like it saved my life, because I was so high, like I’m not in the real world,” she told me. “Because regular humans can’t see all these things – it’s not normal.” Without the drug, she believes she would have just frozen or collapsed to the floor, and been killed or captured by the gunmen. Oren Rosenfeld / BBC Survivors who had been on MDMA during the attack appeared to cope much better mentally in the months after, says Prof Roy Salomon Clinicians in various countries have already experimented with MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in a trial setting – though only Australia has approved it as a treatment. Countries that have rejected it include the US, where the Food and Drug Administration cited concerns about the design of the studies, that the treatment may not offer long-lasting benefits, and about the potential risk for heart problems, injury and abuse. MDMA is classified as a Class A drug in the ***, and has been linked to liver, kidney and heart problems. In Israel, where MDMA is also ********, psychologists can only use it to treat clients on an experimental research basis. The preliminary findings from the Nova study are being closely followed by some of those Israeli clinicians experimenting with MDMA as treatment for PTSD after 7 October. Dr Anna Harwood-Gross, a clinical psychologist and director of research at Israel’s Metiv Psychotrauma Centre, described the initial findings as “really important” for therapists like her. She is currently experimenting with using MDMA to treat PTSD within the Israeli military, and had worried about the ethics of inducing a vulnerable psychological state in clients when there is a war going on. “At the beginning of the war, we questioned whether we were able to do this,” she said. “Can we give people MDMA when there’s a risk of an air raid siren? That’s going to re-traumatise them potentially. This study has shown us that even if there’s a traumatic event during therapy, the MDMA might also help process that trauma.” EPA Dozens of people were kidnapped and 360 were killed in the festival attack Dr Harwood-Gross says early indications of therapeutic MDMA use are encouraging, even among military veterans with chronic PTSD. It has also upended old assumptions about the “rules” of therapy – especially the length of sessions, which have to be adjusted when working with clients under the influence of MDMA, she says. “For example, it’s changed our thoughts about 50-minute therapy sessions, with one patient and one therapist,” Dr Harwood-Gross told me. “Having two therapists, and long sessions – up to eight hours long – is a new way of doing therapy. They’re looking at people very holistically and giving them time.” She says this new longer format is showing promising results, even without patients taking MDMA, with a success rate of 40% in the placebo group. Israeli society itself has also changed its approach to trauma and therapy following the 7 October attacks, according to Danny Brom, a founding director of the METIV Psychotrauma Centre at Herzog Hospital in Jerusalem, and a senior figure in the industry. “It’s as if this is the first trauma we’re going through,” he said. “I’ve seen wars here, I’ve seen lots of terrorist attacks and people said, ‘We don’t see trauma here’. “Suddenly, there seems to be a general opinion that now everyone is traumatised, and everyone needs treatment. It’s a wrong approach.” What broke, he said, is the sense of security many Jews believed Israel would provide them. These attacks uncovered a collective trauma, he says, linked to the Holocaust and generations of persecution. Getty Images Some survivors say they are still struggling to return to normal life after the attack “Our history is full of massacres,” psychologist Vered Atzmon Meshulam told me. “As a psychologist now in Israel, we are faced with an opportunity to work with lots of traumas that weren’t previously being treated, like all our narratives for 2,000 years.” Collective trauma, combat trauma, mind-altering drugs, ******* assault, hostages, survivors, body-collectors, the injured and the bereaved – Israel’s trauma specialists are facing a complex ********* of issues from the clients now flooding into therapy. The scale of that mental health challenge is mirrored in Gaza, where vast numbers of people have been killed, injured or left homeless after a devastating 15-month war – and where there are scant resources to help a deeply traumatised population. The war in Gaza, triggered by the ****** attacks on Israeli communities in October 2023, was suspended in January in a six-week truce, during which Israeli hostages held by ****** were exchanged for ************ prisoners in Israeli jails. But there is little sense on either side that the peace and security needed to begin healing has arrived. The truce expired last weekend, with 59 Israeli hostages still in ****** captivity. Many Gazans are waiting, with their bags packed, for war to resume. Meanwhile Nova survivor Michal Ohana says she feels that with the passage of time, some are expecting her to have moved on from the attacks, but she is still affected. “I wake up with this, and I go to sleep with this, and people don’t understand,” she told me. “We live this every day. I feel the country supported us in the first months, but now after one year, they feel: ‘OK, you need to go back to work, back to life.’ But we can’t.” Additional reporting by Oren Rosenfeld and Naomi Scherbel-Ball Source link #MDMA #protected #Nova #attack #survivors #trauma #study #suggests Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Call for restorative justice in ******* violence cases Call for restorative justice in ******* violence cases The Lasting Harm, a book by author and journalist Lucia Osborne-Crowley, details her experience covering Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal trial. Source link #Call #restorative #justice #******* #violence #cases Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

How to watch Games Done Quick’s Frost Fatales speedrunning event from March 9 How to watch Games Done Quick’s Frost Fatales speedrunning event from March 9 Games Done Quick’s next weeklong charity speedrunning shindig kicks off this weekend. Frost Fatales, one of GDQ’s two events celebrating women and femmes, runs from March 9 to 16, raising money for the nonprofit National Women’s Law Center. Frost Fatales is the winter installment of the pair of events organized by GDQ’s Frame Fatales speedrunning community. (Its summer counterpart is Flame Fatales.) Last year’s Frost Fatales raised $155,000 for the same nonprofit, which fights for gender justice in issues central to the lives of women and girls. Since the first Frame Fatales event in 2019, the biannual speedruns have raised over $1 million for charity. Studio MDHR This year’s festivities dive right into the deep end with a run of the charmingly punishing Cuphead at 1PM ET on Sunday, followed by Super Mario Odyssey a mere hour later. Anyone who can beat Cuphead in that time deserves a Medal of Honor. Other notable runs from the week include the OG Legend of Zelda on Sunday, the Wii reboot of Punch-Out!! on Monday, a “girl squad” three-way race in Final Fantasy X-2 on Wednesday and a race to defeat Ganon (again) in Breath of the Wild on Saturday. The week wraps up with a one-handed (say what?) speedrun of the indie platforming classic Celeste later that night. You can check out GDQ’s schedule for the full lineup of games. The weeklong event streams exclusively on the GDQ Twitch channel (also embedded below), starting with that must-see Cuphead run at 1PM ET on Sunday. This embedded content is not available in your region. Source link #watch #Games #Quicks #Frost #Fatales #speedrunning #event #March Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Gene Hackman and Wife Betsy’s Cause of Death Revealed Gene Hackman and Wife Betsy’s Cause of Death Revealed Actor Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa in 1986 – Credit: Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images The causes of death of legendary actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa have been revealed, the chief medical examiner announced Friday, nine days after the couple was found dead in their Santa Fe, Mexico home. Both Hackman and Arakawa’s death were found to be by “natural causes,” albeit six days apart: Dr. Heather Jarrell said that Arakawa likely died on Feb. 11 from Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, while Hackman died Feb. 18 (based on pacemaker information) from heart disease, with “advanced Alzheimer’s disease” also a contributing factor. More from Rolling Stone Investigators also shared a timeline of what they believe was Arakawa’s last day of life on Feb. 11: She was seen on surveillance video that day running errands like going to a veterinarian, farmers marker, and CVS, and had an email conversation at some point that day. At 5:15 p.m. on Feb. 11, Arakawa used the clicker to access the private community where her and Hackman’s house was. After that, there was “no additional outgoing communication or activity,” leading investigators to believe she died on Feb. 11. (There is “no exact scientific method to pinpoint exact time of death,” Dr. Jarrell said.) Hackman, investigators believe, died a week later on Feb. 18, with an autopsy revealing the primary cause as “extensive heart disease,” along with advanced Alzheimer’s disease. Police did not share any other concrete details about Hackman’s last week of life following his wife’s death, though the medical examiner said Hackman had an empty stomach at the time of his death. Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), according to the Mayo Clinic, “is a rare infectious disease that begins with flu-like symptoms and progresses rapidly to more severe disease. It can lead to life-threatening lung and heart problems.” The disease is “usually caused by inhaling hantaviruses that have become airborne from rodent ******, droppings or saliva.” It’s unclear how Arakawa became infected, or if she was aware of her infection prior to her death. On Feb. 26, the actor, his wife of 34 years, and their dog were found dead in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, according to Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza; the dog that died was in a crate following a veterinary procedure days earlier, and investigators noted that dogs can not be carriers of HPS. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said in an initial statement that “foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths” but that “an active and ongoing investigation” was underway. Soon after news of the deaths surfaced, Hackman’s daughter Elizabeth spoke to TMZ and said she and her family suspected carbon monoxide poisoning; the coroner’s office soon dismissed that theory, as local gas companies found no evidence of a gas leak, and the autopsy reports confirmed that. Hackman, whose compelling gravitas and simple humanity made him an onscreen fixture for 40 years, starred in classic films like The French Connection, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Conversation, and Superman. He retired from his acting career in 2004 with five Oscar nominations (including two wins), three Golden Globes (as well as a Cecil B. DeMille Award), and two BAFTA awards. Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Source link #Gene #Hackman #Wife #Betsys #Death #Revealed Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Gene Hackman died of heart disease, his wife died of hantavirus about 1 week prior, authorities say – WTOP Gene Hackman died of heart disease, his wife died of hantavirus about 1 week prior, authorities say – WTOP Gene Hackman died of heart disease, his wife died of hantavirus about 1 week prior, authorities say WTOPInvestigation advances into Gene Hackman’s mysterious death, with update by New Mexico authorities The Associated PressGene Hackman, wife’s cause of death revealed as sheriff reveals possible timeline New York Post Investigators will provide update on mysterious deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife amid intense pressure for answers CNNGene Hackman or Betsy Arakawa may have died of a broken heart after discovering the other dead, pathologist theorizes Yahoo Entertainment Source link #Gene #Hackman #died #heart #disease #wife #died #hantavirus #week #prior #authorities #WTOP Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Surprise package Mainz eyeing Champions League action Surprise package Mainz eyeing Champions League action Mainz have continued their astonishing Bundesliga season with a 3-1 victory at Borussia Mönchengladbach that lifted them to third in the table. Paul Nebel opened the scoring for Mainz in the 39th minute on Friday when he slotted into the bottom left corner off Lee Jae Sung’s low cross from the left. Dominik Kohr poked home for 2-0 three minutes into the second half after Gladbach goalkeeper Jonas Omlin had saved his header off Nadiem Amiri’s chipped free-kick over the top. Gladbach were back in the game when Mainz goalkeeper Robin Zentner fumbled a cross from Robin Hack under pressure from Tim Kleindienst, which allowed Stefan Lainer to score in the 73rd for his first goal since since successful ******* therapy in 2023. But Gladbach’s comeback hopes lasted only four minutes until Amiri drilled into the top right corner for the final score. “We knew what we would be facing and did what it took to win. It was a deserved victory over the 90 minutes,” Kohr told streaming portal DAZN. Mainz moved past Eintracht Frankfurt with a fourth victory in a row and appear to be serious contenders for a top-four finish and Champions League football. They are the only team to beat runaway leaders Bayern Munich in the league this season. “We have 44 points, that’s sensational. But we belong there the way we are playing. I have a lot of confidence in the team. We will see where we will end but I wouldn’t mind staying where we are,” Kohr said. Gladbach would have climbed into fifth with a victory but remain eighth after a second straight home defeat. Frankfurt can reclaim third place from Mainz on Sunday with victory over lowly Union Berlin. On Saturday, Bayern host third bottom Bochum and second-placed champions Bayer Leverkusen play Werder Bremen. Source link #Surprise #package #Mainz #eyeing #Champions #League #action Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Gene Hackman died of heart disease, his wife died of hantavirus about 1 week prior, authorities say Gene Hackman died of heart disease, his wife died of hantavirus about 1 week prior, authorities say SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities revealed Friday that actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease and showed severe signs of Alzheimer’s disease a full week after his wife died of hantavirus in their home. Authorities initially ruled out foul play after the bodies were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Arakawa, 65, was found with an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on the bathroom counter. Authorities linked her death to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Hackman, 95, was found in the home’s entryway. His death was tied to heart disease with Alzheimer’s disease contributing. Hantavirus is a rare but potentially fatal disease spread by infected rodent droppings. It is typically is reported in spring and summer, often due to exposures that occur when people are near mouse droppings in homes, sheds or poorly ventilated areas. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza made the announcement alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. Investigators earlier retrieved personal items from the couple’s home, including a monthly planner and two cellphones. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Source link #Gene #Hackman #died #heart #disease #wife #died #hantavirus #week #prior #authorities Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Gene Hackman died of heart disease, his wife died of hantavirus about 1 week prior, authorities say – SFGATE Gene Hackman died of heart disease, his wife died of hantavirus about 1 week prior, authorities say – SFGATE Gene Hackman died of heart disease, his wife died of hantavirus about 1 week prior, authorities say SFGATEGene Hackman and His Wife Died of Natural Causes, Investigators Say The New York TimesGene Hackman’s dog was misidentified as other mysteries swirl around actor’s death The Associated PressInvestigators will provide update on mysterious deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife amid intense pressure for answers CNNGene Hackman’s Net Worth Proves He Was No Lex Luthor Yahoo Entertainment Source link #Gene #Hackman #died #heart #disease #wife #died #hantavirus #week #prior #authorities #SFGATE Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

WIN a Bottomless Long Lunch for three at The Station WIN a Bottomless Long Lunch for three at The Station Saturdays are for sunshine, cocktails, and indulgence so we’re giving you and two friends the chance to experience it all at The Station’s recently launched Bottomless Long Lunch! Relax on the sun-dappled alfresco as you make your way through delicious share plates and decadent desserts, all while enjoying two hours of free-flowing wine and ********* *****. If you prefer to keep it chill, opt for the booze-free version with refreshing mocktails instead. Discover more about The Station’s Bottomless Long Lunch here. For your chance to win, look for the code word in PLAY magazine in The West *********** and enter your details below. Entries close 12:00pm, Friday 28 March 2025. Terms and Conditions apply. 18+ only. Enjoy responsibly. If you’d like to view this content, please adjust your Cookie Settings. To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide. Source link #WIN #Bottomless #Long #Lunch #Station Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

After Maine’s governor publicly challenged him, Trump threw the state’s Social Security into chaos After Maine’s governor publicly challenged him, Trump threw the state’s Social Security into chaos On Feb. 21, Maine’s Democratic governor, Janet Mills, publicly upbraided Donald Trump over his transgender policies. Here’s what happened after that. Out of the blue, the Trump administration canceled a contract that allowed parents in the state to apply for Social Security numbers for their newborns by simply checking a box on a form at the hospital—the way parents in all 50 states have done for decades, as the Social Security Administration has said. The change meant that new parents would have to bring their infants to one of only eight Social Security field offices in Maine, sometimes by traveling for hours, exposing the newborns to infectious diseases in public. It makes absolutely no sense to me at all to do this. Dr. Joe Anderson, American Academy of Pediatrics That happened Thursday. The change, which came with no explanation, created an immediate uproar among Social Security advocates and healthcare providers in Maine. Dr. Joe Anderson, advocacy chair of the Maine chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said that eliminating the program “creates a lot of unnecessary and unfair burdens for families.” “It makes absolutely no sense to me at all to do this,” Anderson told the Portland Press Herald. “I see no logical explanation for forcing parents and newborns — with 11,000 babies born in Maine every year — to sit in a crowded waiting room, when we have done this easily, securely and efficiently for decades.” As has happened so often with the Trump White House’s thoughtless policy decisions, this one was reversed a day later. Lee Dudek, the acting commissioner of Social Security, issued a press release Friday, stating that the contract allowing parents to apply for their newborns’ Social Security numbers through Maine’s healthcare agency, along with another through which Maine authorities reported deaths of Maine residents to the Social Security Administration, had been reinstated. Read more: Commentary: Trump, the GOP and DOGE have launched their attack on Social Security. You should start worrying now “In retrospect, I realize that ending these contracts created an undue burden on the people of Maine, which was not the intent,” Dudek said. “For that, I apologize and have directed that both contracts be immediately reinstated.” If throwing a stink bomb into Maine wasn’t the “intent,” what was? No one in the administration has said. I asked the Social Security Administration for further explanation, but haven’t received a reply. To Social Security advocates, however, the intent was clear. The move, said Max Richtman, president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, “defies common sense and implies nefarious motives….Why on earth would the administration want to make it harder for parents to register their children for Social Security unless the aim was to shrink the size of the program?” The advocacy organization Social Security Works had the same impression. “Canceling those contracts created waste, abuse, and at least the potential for fraud,” said Nancy Altman, its executive director. “There is no policy reason for canceling them, and many policy reasons against it. The only explanation is political revenge against Maine Gov. Janet Mills.” Trump has said that he’s “not touching” Social Security, but actions speak louder than words. A few points about the Enumeration at Birth policy, which allowed Maine parents, like those of all other states, to register their newborns through their state agencies, almost immediately upon giving birth. Read more: Column: The richest Americans finished paying their Social Security taxes last week. Most of us will pay all year The Social Security Administration website advises new parents on the simplicity of the process: “When you complete the application for your baby’s birth certificate, you will be asked whether you want to apply for an SSN [Social Security Number] for your baby. If you say ‘yes,’ you will be asked to provide both parents’ SSNs. If you don’t know both parents’ SSNs, you still can apply for your child’s SSN.” The procedure has been in effect since the 1980s, and has covered all 50 states since 1997. The Social Security Administration says that 99% of all babies born in the U.S. get their Social Security numbers this way. Since about 3.5 million babies are born in the U.S. every year, that’s a lot of babies. Having a Social Security number soon after birth has become only more important over the years. It’s needed so parents can claim the child tax credit if they’re eligible, claim the newborn as a dependent, open a bank account or buy savings bonds for the child, and for infants to be covered by public healthcare programs, 529 college savings plans, and other services. Requiring parents to bring their infants to a field office is, as Dudek acknowledged, a burden — and dangerous besides. That’s especially true as the DOGE budget-cutters rampaging through the Social Security Administration have stated their intent to cut the agency’s customer service budget, in part by closing field offices. The so-called Department of Government Efficiency’s website, where it lists contracts it has canceled and their value, listed enumeration contracts in five states — Maryland, Arizona, Michigan, New Mexico and Rhode Island (but not Maine) — totaling about $8 million. But those cancellations were purportedly aimed at stripping diversity, equality and inclusiveness elements out of state policies, not at forcing parents to register their newborns in person. I reported a few days ago on the sheer ignorance of the attacks on Social Security by Trump and Elon Musk, his DOGE czar. Musk has called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme,” which is utterly untrue, and Trump has trumpeted claims that the system is rife with fraud — also untrue. This latest fiasco underscores how little they know about Social Security, and how little they care. They’re taking aim at the most popular public program in America, and the best anti-poverty program in its history. Their meddling is certain to produce a massive political blowback. They might even have been able to get away with this latest stunt, but they seem to have read the writing on the wall. Still, the very idea that they tried it was infuriating, embarrassing, and, perhaps more importantly, very scary. Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Source link #Maines #governor #publicly #challenged #Trump #threw #states #Social #Security #chaos Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Tesla shares declined every week since Elon Musk went to Washington Tesla shares declined every week since Elon Musk went to Washington Elon Musk speaks during the first cabinet meeting hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump, at the White House in Washington, DC, U.S., February 26, 2025. Brian Snyder | Reuters Tesla’s stock has never had a stretch this red. For seven straight weeks, since Elon Musk went to Washington, D.C. to join the Trump administration, shares in his automaker have declined, closing on Friday at $270.48. It’s the longest such losing streak for Tesla in its 15 years as a public company. Tesla shares finished the week down more than 10% and at their lowest level since Nov. 5, Election Day, when they closed at $251.44. Since the stock peaked at almost $480 on Dec. 17, Tesla has lost well over $800 billion in market cap. Several Wall Street firms this week, including Bank of America, Baird and Goldman Sachs, cut their price targets on Tesla. In slashing their target from $490 to $380, analysts at Bank of America cited concerns about the company’s falling new vehicle sales and the lack of a recent update from Musk on a “low-cost model.” Goldman Sachs, which cut its price target on the stock to $320 from $345, also pointed to falling electric vehicle sales for Tesla in the first two months of the year across several markets in Europe, China and parts of the U.S. The Goldman analysts noted that Tesla faces, “a tough competitive environment for FSD” in China, where key competitors “do not generally require a separate software purchase for smart driving features.” FSD, or Full Self-Driving (Supervised), is Tesla’s partially automated driving system, which the company sells as a premium option in the U.S. Baird added Tesla to its “bearish fresh picks” this week, with analysts at the firm writing, “production downtime” will complicate “the supply-side of the equation” for Tesla as the company shifts to manufacturing the new version of its Model Y SUV. Elon Musk stands as he is recognized by U.S. President Donald Trump during Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 4, 2025. Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images But Wall Street isn’t just concerned about fundamental metrics like sales and production figures. Investors are also trying to assess how much Musk’s politics and work in the White House will pressure Tesla, and for how long. “Musk’s involvement with the Trump administration adds uncertainty to the demand-side,” Baird analysts wrote. Before taking on his role as advisor to President Donald Trump, and the leader of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk was already heading up his many private ventures, including artificial intelligence startup xAI, social media company X and aerospace and defense contractor SpaceX. Concerned bulls Now Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, has become the public face of the Trump administration’s effort to dramatically reduce the federal government’s workforce, spending and capacity. Meanwhile, he continues to post incendiary political rhetoric on X, slamming judges whose decisions he doesn’t like, and promoting false Kremlin talking points about Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Anti-Musk and anti-Tesla sentiment have been rising in the U.S. and Europe, with an outburst of protests and suspected criminal acts of arson and vandalism at Tesla facilities. Even the most bullish analysts, and many fans, have had to acknowledge the impact of Musk’s politics on the desirability of Tesla and its products to a wide swath of customers and investors. EV advocates at Cleantechnica, which has long promoted Tesla on its site, ran an ethics-focused column on Thursday asking if Tesla owners should sell their cars, and contemplating whether the Tesla board should fire Musk as CEO. Musk and Tesla didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. In a note out Friday, Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives wrote, “Tesla bulls find themselves with their back against the wall facing global negative sentiment around Musk/DOGE and the Trump Administration.” He called it a “gut check moment for the Tesla bulls (including ourselves).” Wedbush said it’s using the selloff as an opportunity to add Tesla to its “Best Ideas” list, and set its 12-month price target at $550. “The best thing that ever happened to Musk and Tesla was Trump in the White House as this will create a deregulatory environment with a federal autonomous roadmap central to the Tesla golden strategic vision,” the firm wrote. The Tesla bulls see the potential for the company to soon launch affordable new model EVs, a robotaxi and driverless ridehail service, and to deliver humanoid robots capable of factory work in the not-too-distant future. Ives said he expects Musk will become more focused on Tesla and his other companies in the second half of 2025. Analysts at TD Cowen are also optimistic. In a note on Thursday, they wrote, “Tesla now appears to be in the early innings of a major 2025-26 product cycle, one that we believe could re-invigorate volume growth and boost overall share price sentiment.” WATCH: Tesla has consequential catalysts beyond Q1 Source link #Tesla #shares #declined #week #Elon #Musk #Washington Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trump Organization sues Capital One over account closures after Jan. 6 Trump Organization sues Capital One over account closures after Jan. 6 U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media on the South Lawn before boarding Marine One at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., Feb. 28, 2025. Nathan Howard | Reuters The Trump Organization sued Capital One in Florida on Friday for allegedly “unjustifiably” closing more than 300 of the company’s bank accounts on the heels of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol by a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters. The lawsuit said that the Trump Organization and related entities “have reason to believe that Capital One’s unilateral decision came about as a result of political and social motivations and Capital One’s unsubstantiated, ‘woke’ beliefs that it needed to distance itself from President Trump and his conservative political views.” “In essence, Capital One ‘de-banked’ Plaintiffs’ Accounts because Capital One believed that the political tide at the moment favored doing so,” the Trump Organization claims in the civil case filed in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County. Read more CNBC politics coverage The suit seeks a declaratory judgment that the bank improperly terminated the Trump companies’ accounts in June 2021, as well as punitive and other monetary damages for what the suit alleged was “the devastating impact” of the terminations on the companies’ ability to transact and access their funds. The closures came more than four months after the riot at the U.S. Capitol, which began after Trump for weeks falsely claimed that he had won the 2020 presidential election over former President Joe Biden. The suit’s named plaintiffs are the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, DJT Holdings, DJT Holdings Managing Member, DTTM Operations, and Eric Trump, the president’s son, who with his brother, Donald Trump Jr., runs the Trump Organization. Son of Former US President Donald Trump, Eric Trump attends the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 16, 2024. Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images The complaint says the plaintiffs and affiliated entities held hundreds of accounts at Capital One for decades before they were closed. Eric Trump said the amount of damages suffered by the companies is “millions of dollars.” A spokesperson for the bank wrote in an email to CNBC, “Capital One has not and does not close customer accounts for political reasons.” The logo for consumer lending firm Capital One Financial Corp is seen on its headquarters on January 20, 2023 in McLean, Virginia. Win Mcnamee | Getty Images News | Getty Images Eric Trump said in a statement, “The decision by Capital One to ‘debank’ our company, after well over a decade, was a clear attack on free speech and free enterprise that flies in the face of the bedrock principles and freedoms that define our country.” “Moreover, the arbitrary closure of these accounts, without justifiable cause, reflects a broader effort to silence and undermine the success of the Trump Organization and those who dare to express their political views,” said Eric Trump. Source link #Trump #Organization #sues #Capital #account #closures #Jan Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Two New Dungeons & Dragons Novels Launching This Year Will Explore New Corners Of Ravenloft And Faerun Two New Dungeons & Dragons Novels Launching This Year Will Explore New Corners Of Ravenloft And Faerun Two new Dungeons & Dragons novels are releasing in the coming months, starting off with Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd on May 13. Written by Delilah S. Dawson, author of the NYT bestseller Star Wars: Phasma, the tale follows five adventurers as they navigate the haunting realm of Barovia. Then, a few weeks later, The Fallbacks: Dealing with Dragons launches on July 29, continuing the story that started with the previous novel, Fallbacks: Bound for Ruin. Hardcover editions of both books are available to preorder now ahead of their releases, and preordering at Amazon makes you eligible for any price cuts between now and launch. You also won’t pay until your order ships. $30 | Releases May 13 This hardcover novel spans 336 pages and tells the tale of five travelers, running the gamut from Rotrog, the orcish wizard, to Fielle, the human artificer. The group wakes up in a mysterious land with no recollection of how they got there–and before they can figure out what’s going on, a bizarre message arrives for them. It’s from Strahd von Zarovich, who has invited the adventurers to his home at Castle Ravenloft. However, this isn’t a simple dinner party, as the castle proves to be haunted with all sorts of ghastly secrets. The five companions will need to work together and battle through its halls if they hope to make it out of Barovia alive. $30 | Releases July 29 Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd isn’t the only D&D novel to look forward to, as The Fallbacks – Dealing with Dragons arrives a few months later on July 29. It serves as a sequel to The Fallbacks: Bound for Ruin, picking up after the band of misfits has traveled through the Undermountain and defeated the powerful lich lurking within. Dealing with Dragons sends them off to a whole new realm, and the stakes are higher than ever. There’s plenty of time to read through the first installment ahead of its release, so consider giving it a look if you’re interested in checking out the sequel. The Dragonlance Chronicles Hardcover Omnibus just released in February–spanning over 1,000 pages, it features three original novels and an all-new cover illustration. There’s also a forward by actor Joe Manganiello, who also happens to be a huge D&D fan. The omnibus includes Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, and Dragons of Spring Dawning. There’s also a few books based on Honor Among Thieves–the prequels The Road to Neverwinter and The Druid’s Call, and a junior novelization that’s ideal for young readers. Meanwhile, fans of the tabletop RPG can grab the new editions of the official rulebooks that recently launched, giving you an easy reference for all the latest updates to the age-old game. Check out the complete collection of new Dungeons & Dragons 2024 Edition books below. Dungeons & Dragons 2024 Edition Releases Source link #Dungeons #Dragons #Novels #Launching #Year #Explore #Corners #Ravenloft #Faerun Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Will Michigan Walgreens be affected by company buyout? What we know about the ***** – Detroit Free Press Will Michigan Walgreens be affected by company buyout? What we know about the ***** – Detroit Free Press Will Michigan Walgreens be affected by company buyout? What we know about the ***** Detroit Free PressWalgreens Boots Alliance Enters into Definitive Agreement to Be Acquired by Sycamore Partners Walgreens Boots Alliance Investor RelationsWalgreens is going private in an up to $24 billion deal CNN Source link #Michigan #Walgreens #affected #company #buyout #***** #Detroit #Free #Press Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Trump Organization sues Capital One over account closures after Jan. 6 Trump Organization sues Capital One over account closures after Jan. 6 U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media on the South Lawn before boarding Marine One at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., Feb. 28, 2025. Nathan Howard | Reuters The Trump Organization sued Capital One in Florida on Friday for allegedly “unjustifiably” closing more than 300 of the company’s bank accounts on the heels of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol by a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters. The lawsuit said that the Trump Organization and related entities “have reason to believe that Capital One’s unilateral decision came about as a result of political and social motivations and Capital One’s unsubstantiated, ‘woke’ beliefs that it needed to distance itself from President Trump and his conservative political views.” “In essence, Capital One ‘de-banked’ Plaintiffs’ Accounts because Capital One believed that the political tide at the moment favored doing so,” the Trump Organization claims in the civil case filed in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County. Read more CNBC politics coverage The suit seeks a declaratory judgment that the bank improperly terminated the Trump companies’ accounts in June 2021, as well as punitive and other monetary damages for what the suit alleged was “the devastating impact” of the terminations on the companies’ ability to transact and access their funds. The closures came more than four months after the riot at the U.S. Capitol, which began after Trump for weeks falsely claimed that he had won the 2020 presidential election over former President Joe Biden. The suit’s named plaintiffs are the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, DJT Holdings, DJT Holdings Managing Member, DTTM Operations, and Eric Trump, the president’s son, who with his brother, Donald Trump Jr., runs the Trump Organization. Son of Former US President Donald Trump, Eric Trump attends the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 16, 2024. Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images The complaint says the plaintiffs and affiliated entities held hundreds of accounts at Capital One for decades before they were closed. Eric Trump said the amount of damages suffered by the companies is “millions of dollars.” A spokesperson for the bank wrote in an email to CNBC, “Capital One has not and does not close customer accounts for political reasons.” The logo for consumer lending firm Capital One Financial Corp is seen on its headquarters on January 20, 2023 in McLean, Virginia. Win Mcnamee | Getty Images News | Getty Images Eric Trump said in a statement, “The decision by Capital One to ‘debank’ our company, after well over a decade, was a clear attack on free speech and free enterprise that flies in the face of the bedrock principles and freedoms that define our country.” “Moreover, the arbitrary closure of these accounts, without justifiable cause, reflects a broader effort to silence and undermine the success of the Trump Organization and those who dare to express their political views,” said Eric Trump. Source link #Trump #Organization #sues #Capital #account #closures #Jan Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

You can stream the first episode of Pixar’s Win or Lose on YouTube You can stream the first episode of Pixar’s Win or Lose on YouTube You can stream the first episode of Win or Lose, Pixar’s first original TV series, for free on YouTube. It follows a co-ed middle school softball team (the Pickles), with each episode focusing on a different character’s perspective — including animated personifications of their insecurities and defense mechanisms. The first episode hones in on the “coach’s kid,” Laurie, the Pickles’ right fielder. She’s rubbish at softball, thanks in no small part to her insecurities, illustrated as a sentient perspiration blob (the aptly named Sweaty). If Win or Lose floats your boat, you’ll need to hop over to Disney+ — subscription in tow — to watch the remaining seven episodes (the last two of which premiere on March 12). Should you go that route, you can currently save some money on the ad-supported tier of a Disney+ and Hulu bundle. Pre-release controversy Disney+ Win or Lose stood at the center of a controversy months before its February 19 debut. The show was initially slated to include an openly transgender character, Kai. While the part, played by trans actress Chanel Stewart, is still included in the series, Disney cut several lines of dialog referencing her gender identity. A pair of overshadowing circumstances compounded the online backlash over the decision: The news came on the heels of Donald Trump’s election victory, and the show has an openly Christian character (Laurie) who prays aloud to “Heavenly Father” before heading to the plate. The combination led many to assume the moves were an appeasement to the president-elect, right as business leaders were routinely seen visiting Mar-a-Lago and currying favor by cutting DEI programs and trans-inclusive features. However, Disney framed its decision as being about parental freedom regarding LGBTQ+ storylines. “When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline,” a company spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter in December. An off-record source “close to” the project told the publication that the studio chose to cut the lines several months before, which (if true) would have placed it at a point when political forecasters saw the election’s outcome as either a coin flip or slightly favoring former Vice President Kamala Harris. Regardless, you can check out the first episode below if it sounds like your cup of tea. To view this content, you’ll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the “Content and social-media partners” setting to do so. Source link #stream #episode #Pixars #Win #Lose #YouTube Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trump ‘strongly considering’ large-scale sanctions and tariffs on Russia Trump ‘strongly considering’ large-scale sanctions and tariffs on Russia US President Donald Trump has said he is “strongly considering large-scale sanctions” and tariffs on Russia until a ceasefire and peace deal with Ukraine is reached. Trump said he was contemplating the move because “Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now”. Trump’s comments marked a sharp change in tone. Since coming into office, he has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and blamed Ukraine’s leader for not wanting peace with Russia. Hours later, however, the US president told reporters he was “finding it more difficult to deal with Ukraine”, and repeated that he trusted Putin. Last Friday, Trump berated Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. Days earlier, he had even called him a dictator and blamed Ukraine for starting the war which began on 24 February 2022 when Putin launched a full-scale invasion of the neighbouring country. The public dressing-down was followed this week by Trump pausing all US military aid and intelligence-sharing with Kyiv. It is not clear if this enabled Russia’s large-scale missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Thursday night. On Friday morning, Trump issued his threat of sanctions tariffs against Russia – apparently over the attack. “They [Russia] are bombing the hell out of them [Ukraine] right now… and I put a statement out, a very strong statement ‘can’t do that, can’t do that’,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Friday. Asked if that was a result of the US pause in military co-operation with Ukraine, Trump said Putin was doing “what anyone else would do”. And he justified the US move by saying: “I want to know they [Ukraine] want to settle and I don’t know they want to settle.” In Friday’s post, Trump wrote: “I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED. To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late.” He did not provide any details as to how such sanctions and tariffs against Russia may work. Moscow is already under the heaviest Western sanctions in its history, many of which target its oil exports and foreign currency reserves. It has been able to get around them to a large extent by selling discounted oil to India and China, while importing many of the goods it previously got from the West through countries like Kazakhstan. China is reported to be helping to sustain Russia’s war effort with large volumes of dual-use technology, which it denies. The White House administration cannot have failed to notice the chorus of criticism that all the pressure for a peace deal is being piled on just Ukraine, not Russia. So it is possible that Trump’s threat is an attempt to present itself as being more even-handed. The problem is, we simply do not know what was discussed and what was agreed in that “lengthy and highly productive” 90-minute phone call that Donald Trump suddenly announced he had held last month with the Russian president. So far, Vladimir Putin has played a clever hand, sitting back and doubtless enjoying watching the transatlantic alliance come apart at the seams. Compared to that gain, the threat of US tariffs is unlikely to bother him unduly. Source link #Trump #strongly #largescale #sanctions #tariffs #Russia Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

New Edition Of Popular Game Design Book Gets Big Discount At Amazon New Edition Of Popular Game Design Book Gets Big Discount At Amazon Aspiring game designers can save on the recently released new edition of one of the most popular game development reference books. Level Up: The Guide to Great Video Game Design by Scott Rogers is discounted to $36.70 (was $50) at Amazon. This deal applies to the 3rd Edition of Level Up, which was published in December, a full decade after the 2nd Edition. If you’ve ever looked for game design books, there’s a good chance you’ve seen Level Up near the top of your searches. Amazon’s deal brings the price of the 3rd Edition within a dollar of the 2nd Edition. $36.70 (was $50) Level Up covers a wide array of game design topics across its 600-plus pages, from creating design documents and optimizing gameplay controls to building levels and crafting a narrative that gels with the gameplay. The lessons are accompanied by over 400 drawings to help readers visualize the concepts. The 3rd Edition of Level Up adds two additional chapters. Since the 2nd Edition was published way back in 2014, the text has been updated to reflect modern industry trends and platforms. Level Up is geared toward designers working on projects for PC, mobile, console, or VR/AR. The two new chapters focus on playtesting your game and designing experiences for virtual and augmented reality. Written by industry veteran Scott Rogers, Level Up has been a mainstay on bestseller charts since its initial publication in 2010. Rogers has dozens of credits to his name across the last three decades, including God of War, Pac-Man World, and Darksiders. Beyond video games, Rogers has also worked as a designer on tabletop games such as Marvel Villainous and Alien: Fate of the Nostromo. If you’re looking to build up a library of game development books, there are several other titles worth grabbing, many of which are on ***** right now. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses by Jesse Schell takes a novel approach by presenting you with over 100 sets of questions for viewing a game’s design, and Theory of Fun for Game Design by Raph Koster takes you deep into the influences that underlie modern video game design. Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding legend Hideo Kojima also wrote a book called The Creative Gene that one examines how movies and stories influenced his work across the decades. Some other books worth looking at are Significant Zero: Heroes, Villains, and the Fight for Art and Soul in Video Games by Spec Ops: The Line writer Walt Williams and Blood, Sweat, and Pixels by Jason Schrier. While these aren’t about game design, they are invaluable for gaining an understanding into the turbulent video game industry. Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction is also worth considering–even if it is geared primarily at budding sci-fi and fantasy writers–as it’s an accessible guide to building worlds within works of fiction. More game design book deals Source link #Edition #Popular #Game #Design #Book #Big #Discount #Amazon Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Tesla shares declined every week since Elon Musk went to Washington Tesla shares declined every week since Elon Musk went to Washington Elon Musk speaks during the first cabinet meeting hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump, at the White House in Washington, DC, U.S., February 26, 2025. Brian Snyder | Reuters Tesla’s stock has never had a stretch this red. For seven straight weeks, since Elon Musk went to Washington, D.C. to join the Trump administration, shares in his automaker have declined, closing on Friday at $270.48. It’s the longest such losing streak for Tesla in its 15 years as a public company. Tesla shares finished the week down more than 10% and at their lowest level since Nov. 5, Election Day, when they closed at $251.44. Since the stock peaked at almost $480 on Dec. 17, Tesla has lost well over $800 billion in market cap. Several Wall Street firms this week, including Bank of America, Baird and Goldman Sachs, cut their price targets on Tesla. In slashing their target from $490 to $380, analysts at Bank of America cited concerns about the company’s falling new vehicle sales and the lack of a recent update from Musk on a “low-cost model.” Goldman Sachs, which cut its price target on the stock to $320 from $345, also pointed to falling electric vehicle sales for Tesla in the first two months of the year across several markets in Europe, China and parts of the U.S. The Goldman analysts noted that Tesla faces, “a tough competitive environment for FSD” in China, where key competitors “do not generally require a separate software purchase for smart driving features.” FSD, or Full Self-Driving (Supervised), is Tesla’s partially automated driving system, which the company sells as a premium option in the U.S. Baird added Tesla to its “bearish fresh picks” this week, with analysts at the firm writing, “production downtime” will complicate “the supply-side of the equation” for Tesla as the company shifts to manufacturing the new version of its Model Y SUV. Elon Musk stands as he is recognized by U.S. President Donald Trump during Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 4, 2025. Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images But Wall Street isn’t just concerned about fundamental metrics like sales and production figures. Investors are also trying to assess how much Musk’s politics and work in the White House will pressure Tesla, and for how long. “Musk’s involvement with the Trump administration adds uncertainty to the demand-side,” Baird analysts wrote. Before taking on his role as advisor to President Donald Trump, and the leader of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk was already heading up his many private ventures, including artificial intelligence startup xAI, social media company X and aerospace and defense contractor SpaceX. Concerned bulls Now Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, has become the public face of the Trump administration’s effort to dramatically reduce the federal government’s workforce, spending and capacity. Meanwhile, he continues to post incendiary political rhetoric on X, slamming judges whose decisions he doesn’t like, and promoting false Kremlin talking points about Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Anti-Musk and anti-Tesla sentiment have been rising in the U.S. and Europe, with an outburst of protests and suspected criminal acts of arson and vandalism at Tesla facilities. Even the most bullish analysts, and many fans, have had to acknowledge the impact of Musk’s politics on the desirability of Tesla and its products to a wide swath of customers and investors. EV advocates at Cleantechnica, which has long promoted Tesla on its site, ran an ethics-focused column on Thursday asking if Tesla owners should sell their cars, and contemplating whether the Tesla board should fire Musk as CEO. Musk and Tesla didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. In a note out Friday, Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives wrote, “Tesla bulls find themselves with their back against the wall facing global negative sentiment around Musk/DOGE and the Trump Administration.” He called it a “gut check moment for the Tesla bulls (including ourselves).” Wedbush said it’s using the selloff as an opportunity to add Tesla to its “Best Ideas” list, and set its 12-month price target at $550. “The best thing that ever happened to Musk and Tesla was Trump in the White House as this will create a deregulatory environment with a federal autonomous roadmap central to the Tesla golden strategic vision,” the firm wrote. The Tesla bulls see the potential for the company to soon launch affordable new model EVs, a robotaxi and driverless ridehail service, and to deliver humanoid robots capable of factory work in the not-too-distant future. Ives said he expects Musk will become more focused on Tesla and his other companies in the second half of 2025. Analysts at TD Cowen are also optimistic. In a note on Thursday, they wrote, “Tesla now appears to be in the early innings of a major 2025-26 product cycle, one that we believe could re-invigorate volume growth and boost overall share price sentiment.” WATCH: Tesla has consequential catalysts beyond Q1 Source link #Tesla #shares #declined #week #Elon #Musk #Washington Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The Pains of Leverage: Navigating Volatile Markets The Pains of Leverage: Navigating Volatile Markets Leverage can come in many forms these days. For instance, it can come from options, margin, and leveraged ETFs*. While leverage can turn into an addictive use of capital when times are good, the situation can get pretty dark when volatility increases. Observe the recent performance of some popular leveraged ETFs (based trading volumes): Investors using leveraged-bull ETFs may be struggling this year. For instance, while the QQQ ETF is down 4.5% for the year, the 3x leveraged long ETF (TQQQ) is down more than 16%. Or notice how the semiconductor ETF — the SMH — is down 9.3% for the year, while the 3x leveraged ETF (SOXL) is down almost 30% this year! You might see “3x leveraged ETFs” but then wonder why these vehicles aren’t exact multiples of the underlying asset. For example, why the TQQQ ETF is down 16.4% instead of down 13.5% (a -4.5% loss for QQQ multiplied by 3). This is known as “decay.” Leveraged ETFs lose value over time due to daily rebalancing to maintain their leverage ratio. This process can erode returns over time, and particularly in volatile markets. For instance, even if the underlying index were to remain flat, the value of the leveraged ETF can decrease due to this daily rebalancing mechanism. On the table above, you’ll notice that the leveraged-bear ETFs are up on the year — which is expected given the recent price action — but perhaps not up quite as much as investors would have hoped in some cases. Again, that’s “decay” at work. There Are Positives, Too Despite some of the pitfalls of leveraged ETFs, they can be beneficial too. Long-term investors in these assets can suffer from decay — even when they’re right on the direction of the underlying index or asset. However, short-term investors using these vehicles trying to take advantage of current market conditions or as a hedge on their portfolio can profit from them when timed correctly. The Bottom Line Ultimately, volatile environments like this highlight the dangers and the opportunities that can come from using leveraged ETFs. They can be profitable in some cases, but they can also be dangerous when investors have too much exposure to them — especially when the underlying direction turns out to be wrong. Generally speaking, the more leverage that’s involved, the better timing investors will need. On the flip side, some ETFs exist — like the SPLV, which follows the 100 least volatile stocks in the — that aren’t designed to capture volatility, but avoid it. Whatever investors decide — be it with or without leveraged ETFs, using options to hedge, raising cash to buffer increased volatility, or standing firm and doing nothing — it should be based on what’s best for their own risk tolerance, investment goals, and portfolio. *Leveraged ETFs track assets and try to multiply their returns. For example, if a 2x leveraged ETF were to increase in value, that increase would be double an identical, non-leveraged ETF. However, if that 2x leveraged ETF decreases in value, that decrease will double, too. They’re typically short-term products and are not appropriate for all investors. The setup — Berkshire Hathaway Thursday was a tough day in markets, but Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class A (NYSE:) actually held up pretty well. Despite the 1.8% fall for the S&P 500, Berkshire fell just 0.1%. Not to mention, shares are up almost 10% on the year, whereas the S&P 500 is actually down about 2.5% so far in 2025. In other words, Warren Buffett’s firm has been doing pretty well lately. That’s why some investors may be watching this one in case of a dip. Chart as of the close on 3/6/2025. Source: eToro ProCharts, courtesy of TradingView. Keep an eye on the $480 to $485 area. Should BRK.B pull back that far, it would represent a dip of about 7% from the recent record highs. If Berkshire pulls back and holds this area as support, we could see a rebound. If support fails, then more bearish momentum could ensue. Options One downside to BRK.B is its share price. Because the stock price is so high, the options prices are incredibly high, too. This can make it difficult for investors to approach these companies with options. In that case, many traders may opt to just trade a few shares of the common stock — and that’s fine. However, one alternative is spreads. Call spreads and put spreads allow traders to take options trades with a much lower premium than buying the calls outright. In these cases, the maximum risk is the premium paid. Options aren’t for everyone — especially in these scenarios — but spreads make them more accessible. *** Disclaimer: Please note that due to market volatility, some of the prices may have already been reached and scenarios played out. Content, research, tools, and stock symbols displayed are for educational purposes only and do not imply a recommendation or solicitation to engage in any specific investment strategy. All investments involve risk, losses may exceed the amount of principal invested, and past performance does not guarantee future results. Source link #Pains #Leverage #Navigating #Volatile #Markets Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

WIN 1 of 25 family passes to Looney Tunes: The Day the Earth Blew up WIN 1 of 25 family passes to Looney Tunes: The Day the Earth Blew up We’re offering you the chance to win an in-season family pass to see Looney Tunes: The Day the Earth Blew Up. This cult classic film follows everybody’s favourite iconic duo, Porky and Daffy, as they go on the adventure of a lifetime, uncovering a secret alien mind control plot. Will they save their town and the world, and will they drive each other crazy in the process? In cinemas 27 March. Watch the trailer here. For your chance to win, look for the code word in PLAY magazine in The West *********** and enter your details below. Entries close 12:00pm, Friday 13 March 2025. Terms and conditions apply. If you’d like to view this content, please adjust your Cookie Settings. To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide. Source link #WIN #family #passes #Looney #Tunes #Day #Earth #Blew Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

US lawmakers press ******** telecoms over ties to military, government US lawmakers press ******** telecoms over ties to military, government WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The leaders of a U.S. House of Representatives panel have called on top ******** telecom companies to detail any links to the ******** military and government, citing national security concerns posed by the companies’ U.S. presence. Representative ***** Krishnamoorthi, the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on China and the panel’s chair, Republican John Moolenaar, asked China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom to answer a series of questions by March 31, according to letters seen on Friday by Reuters. The lawmakers raised concerns the firms could exploit access to American data through their U.S. cloud and internet businesses by providing it to Beijing, citing a 2024 Reuters report that revealed a Commerce Department investigation into the matter. Trusted news and daily delights, right in your inbox See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. “China Telecom’s ongoing U.S. operations – particularly in internet backbone exchanges and cloud computing environments – could … allow unauthorized data access, espionage, or sabotage by the ******** ********** Party,” the lawmakers wrote in one of the letters to the firms seen by Reuters. The firm’s “documented connections to (********) intelligence raise urgent national security questions in light of the ******** government’s increasingly aggressive attacks on U.S. telecommunications networks,” they added. The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The letters show growing bipartisan concern about the ******** telecoms’ U.S. footprint following a series of high-profile ********-led attacks on American telecoms infrastructure. Salt Typhoon, described by the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee Mark Warner as “the worst telecom hack in our nation’s history,” compromised sensitive data of millions of Americans. Volt Typhoon, tied to China’s Ministry of State Security, is waging what the FBI calls China’s “most significant cyber-espionage campaign in history,” the letters add. Beijing has denied responsibility. China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom have long been in Washington’s crosshairs. The Federal Communications Commission denied China Mobile’s application to provide U.S. telecommunications service in 2019 and revoked China Telecom and China Unicom’s authorizations in 2021 and 2022. In April 2024, the FCC went further and said it was barring the companies from providing broadband service once new rules took effect on net neutrality. But the net neutrality rules were blocked by a court. Nothing prevents ******** telecoms from providing cloud services and routing wholesale U.S. internet traffic, which gives them access to Americans’ data, the lawmakers said. (Reporting by Alexandra Alper; Editing by Marguerita Choy) Source link #lawmakers #press #******** #telecoms #ties #military #government Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]