Apple’s M2 MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM drops to a new low of $699
Apple’s M2 MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM drops to a new low of $699
One of the best things about Apple upgrading one of its devices is that you can find better deals on older, still very capable models. Just days after the company , a version of the laptop with the M2 chipset has dropped to . That’s $300 off the regular price.
This is a variant with 16GB of RAM rather than the base model’s 8GB. That’s really the bare minimum of RAM you should be looking for these days (and we were pleased to see Apple start giving the MBA 16GB of RAM as standard). You’ll also get 256GB of SSD storage in this system.
Apple
Just days after the company announced the M4-powered MacBook Air, a version of the laptop with the M2 chipset has dropped to a new record low of $699. That’s $300 off the regular price.
$699 at Amazon
This discount is quite transparently an effort to clear out M2 MBA stock ahead of the M4-powered model’s impending arrival. And while we currently rank the M3 MBA as the and , the M2 version isn’t anything to sniff at — especially at this price.
, we called the M2 MBA “a near-perfect Mac” and awarded it a score of 96. We liked the performance (which of course has been surpassed by the M3 system), thin form factor and terrific display and audio.
The M2 MBA should still be more than capable of handling most everyday tasks. It also supports , for those who are interested in that sort of thing. So this is a great deal on a killer, if a little older, laptop.
Check out our coverage of the best Apple deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
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The ‘Can’t Miss’ Sports Events of the Weekend: Recommendations from The Athletic staff
The ‘Can’t Miss’ Sports Events of the Weekend: Recommendations from The Athletic staff
Each Friday, a selection of reporters and editors from The Athletic will offer recommendations of games, events and shows to watch over the weekend.
Saturday
Men’s College Basketball Duke at UNC 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
The final weekend of the regular season for high-major men’s basketball conferences is loaded with marquee matchups, but you don’t have to overthink this. This will be Cooper Flagg’s last game in a truly hostile environment until he hits the NBA, and it’s the Tar Heels’ last chance to solidify their spot in the NCAA Tournament before things get desperate in the ACC tourney. — Eric Single, senior staff editor for college football
NBA Los Angeles Lakers at Boston Celtics 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC
The last time LeBron James played in Boston, we got his no-call meltdown and Patrick Beverley holding a camera. This time, we get Luka Dončić’s rematch against the Celtics, the team that trounced him in the finals. Basketball’s greatest rivalry, what more do you need? — Mark Puleo, news staff editor
Sunday
Soccer Manchester United vs. Arsenal 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC
United has seen better days and has spent most of the season lurching between crises. But the history of this fixture, dating back even further than a pizza fight in 2004, always makes it unmissable. Arsenal looks secure in second place, and would love nothing more than to pile on the misery for their old rival. — Martin Rogers, head of US soccer
Men’s College Basketball Big South Conference Tournament Championship Game Noon ET on ESPN2
For me, one of the best signs of spring being around the corner is the conference tournaments, where you hone in on your Cinderella picks. That is why at noon on ESPN2, I will be locked in on the Big South Men’s Championship that should feature High Point out of North Carolina. Last year, High Point lost in its conference tournament as a favorite, depriving it of its first-ever March Madness appearance. This year, it will try to make it happen. It is always a thrill to watch these players make their lifelong dreams come true; especially a year after bitter disappointment. Personally, I also like checking out the announcers that I may not regularly watch, so Matt Schick and Paul Biancardi, you are on the clock. — Andrew Marchand, senior sports media columnist
Men’s College Basketball Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship Game 2:15 p.m. ET on CBS
The Ohio Valley Conference will hand out the first automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2), but of the five conference tournaments crowning a champion this weekend, the Missouri Valley provides the most bracket research bang for an aspiring office pool champion’s buck. Head coach Ben McCollum and his band of Division II up-transfers have made No. 1 seed Drake very fun to watch, but No. 2 Bradley and No. 3 Northern Iowa are rock-solid and no strangers to the March spotlight. — Eric Single, senior staff editor for college football
Will we get “UCLA-USC III” this weekend? If so, it’s a can’t-miss game on Sunday afternoon. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Women’s College Basketball SEC Tournament Championship Game 3 p.m. ET on ESPN
The winner of this game will be a top seed in the NCAA Tournament and one of the betting favorites to win it all. ESPN is invested: Its “College GameDay” studio show will be live from Greenville at noon ET on ESPN and ESPN+. Then comes the game — a 3 p.m. tip with the elite crew of Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo and Holly Rowe. — Richard Deitsch, media reporter
NHL Seattle Kraken at Washington Capitals 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+
There’s a Sunday doubleheader on ****. Ignore it. Alex Ovechkin is the biggest story in the sport. He’s 10 goals from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s career record, and he’s in the midst of a vintage Ovi binge (10 in 12 games). High drama on each shift. — Sean Gentille, NHL senior writer
Women’s College Basketball Big Ten Tournament Championship Game 4:30 p.m. ET on CBS
Could this be USC vs. UCLA Vol. III? Whether JuJu Watkins continues her coronation in her first year in the Big Ten, the Bruins capture their first banner of the Cori Close era, or an underdog pulls through, this should be a good one. — Sabreena Merchant, women’s basketball staff writer
New on-demand
Charles Leclerc is involved in one of the most dramatic storylines in Season 7 of “Drive To Survive.” (Netflix)
F1 “Drive To Survive,” Season 7 on Netflix
If you only want to watch one episode, skip to In The Heat Of The Night because it’s a fresh approach for DTS to behind-the-scenes storytelling: Five drivers use phones to capture different parts of their weekends, creating a video diary feel at times. — Madeline Coleman, F1 staff writer
NWSL “For The Win,” Season 1 on Amazon Prime Video
If you’re looking for a quick sports binge this weekend, I’d recommend ‘For The Win: NWSL.’ The series recaps the 2024 NWSL playoffs and sets up the drama for the 2025 season that starts next week. I do advise any longtime fans of the NWSL to go in with tapered expectations. The series only covers the surface of what the league has to offer. It’s target audience very much feels like “new fans” as the NWSL continues to grow — but there certainly are little nuggets throughout that WoSo fans will enjoy (like Lynn Biyendolo describing the Orlando Pride pre-2024). — Melanie Anzidei, soccer staff writer
NBA (and pop culture) “Running Point” on Netflix
‘Running Point’ on Netflix is so fun! It has everything I love in a Mindy Kaling show: A relatably flawed but lovable lead, quippy dialogue chock-full of pop culture references and a quirky supporting cast. Plus: Basketball! Kate Hudson hilariously juggles player chemistry, free-throw yips and streaming deals, all while wearing fabulous suits and high heels. — Hannah Vanbiber, sports betting staff editor
Boxing “A Thousand Blows” on Hulu
As a ‘Peaky Blinders’ fan, I really enjoyed that show creator’s next project, a binge-worthy 6-episode, based-on-a-true-story drama set in 1880s London and centered around the world’s transition from bare-knuckle brawling to gloves-on boxing. And criminal activity. A lot of criminal activity. — Dan Shanoff, sports business managing editor
(Illustration: Will Tullos / The Athletic; photos: Qian Jun, Adam Pantozzi, Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)es)
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All WWE 2K25 Locker Codes & Rewards—Every March 2025 Active Code
All WWE 2K25 Locker Codes & Rewards—Every March 2025 Active Code
2K has a habit of rewarding its player base for simply playing. WWE 2K25 follows suit and provides regular Locker Codes to enter. If you do so, you get bonuses ranging from in-game currency to gameplay modifiers. Let’s see what March 2025 Codes we can dig up for WWE 2K25.
WWE 2K25 lets you be whatever you want: The Face That Runs The Place, The American Nightmare, The Apex Predator, or any other gimmick-infringement-worthy monikers. It has as much content as a WWE game has ever had—plus the biggest roster to date!
It doesn’t matter which feature pulls you in providing it gets the job done. To ensure you don’t become a jobber though, keep up with the latest Locker Codes.
Every Active WWE 2K25 Locker Code & Reward (March 2025)
How much longer will the American Nightmare rule? Credit to 2K
Below are the current Active Locker Codes for WWE 2K25 in March 2025. We’ve also been kind enough to provide the exact characters you need to enter as well.
Double-check what you’ve typed if you get an error, these systems can be finicky. If you get it right, you get a nice WWE 2K25 reward.
Locker Code
Reward
ELITEROCK2K25
Unlocks Mattel “Elite” The Rock
How to Redeem WWE 2K25 Locker Codes
You must venture into the WWE 2K25 Settings screen to find the Locker Codes option. Here, input the codes and redeem your free content.
Here’s some more precise instructions if you’re unsure of what to do:
Boot up WWE 2K25.
Go to MyFaction.
Head to the Live option on the left when the game mode has loaded up.
Go to the bottom and press on Locker Codes.
Enter an Active Locker Code.
If entered correctly, a prompt appears confirming it’s worked and you receive the item!
WWE 2K25 Expired Locker Codes
There are no expired WWE 2K25 Locker Codes at the time of writing.
The above statement is true for now, but the ever-changing nature of Locker Codes ensures it won’t be accurate forever. If you try an Active Code and it doesn’t work, there’s every chance 2K has decided to take it offline.
Remember to always be quick and stay on top of the newest Locker Codes!
2K’s Locker Codes scheme is a great incentive for keeping on top of WWE 2K social media. Goodies and boosts at no extra cost are always welcome. If you think we’ve missed any codes, be sure to post them below.
Check out WWE 2K25’s full Showcase Mode matches if you’ve not seen them yet, and check out the latest PGA Tour 2K25 Codes if you’re an all-around sports game fan.
SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to receive the latest news and exclusive leaks every week! No Spam.
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Latest Alibaba AI model demos AI improvements
Latest Alibaba AI model demos AI improvements
Just two months after the tech world was upended by the DeepSeek-R1 AI model, Alibaba Cloud has introduced QwQ-32B, an open source large language model (LLM).
The ******** cloud giant describes the new model as “a compact reasoning model” which uses only 32 billion parameters, yet is capable of delivering performance comparable to other large language AI models that use larger numbers of parameters.
On its website, Alibaba Cloud published performance benchmarks which suggest that the new model is comparable to AI models from DeepSeek and OpenAI. These benchmarks include AIME 24 (mathematical reasoning), Live CodeBench (coding proficiency), LiveBench (test set contamination and objective evaluation), IFEval (instruction-following ability), and BFCL (tool and function-calling capabilities).
By using continuous reinforced learning (RL) scaling, Alibaba claimed the QwQ-32B model demonstrates significant improvements in mathematical reasoning and coding proficiency.
In a blog post, the company said QwQ-32B, which uses 32 billion parameters, achieves performance comparable to DeepSeek-R1, which uses 671 billion parameters. Alibaba said that this shows the effectiveness of RL when applied to robust foundation models pretrained on extensive world knowledge.
“We have integrated agent-related capabilities into the reasoning model, enabling it to think critically while utilising tools and adapting its reasoning based on environmental feedback,” Alibaba said in the blog post.
Alibaba said QwQ-32B demonstrates the effectiveness of using reinforcement learning (RL) to enhance reasoning capabilities. With this approach to AI training, a reinforcement learning AI agent is able to perceive and interpret its environment, as well as take actions and learn through trial and error. Reinforcement learning is one of several approaches developers use to train machine learning systems. Alibaba used RL to make its model more efficient.
“We have not only witnessed the immense potential of scaled RL, but also recognised the untapped possibilities within pretrained language models,” Alibaba said. “As we work towards developing the next generation of Qwen, we are confident that combining stronger foundation models with RL powered by scaled computational resources will propel us closer to achieving Artificial General Intelligence [AGI].”
Alibaba said it is actively exploring the integration of agents with RL to enable what it describes as “long-horizon reasoning” which, according to Alibaba, will eventually lead to greater intelligence with inference time scaling.
The QwQ-32B model was trained using rewards from a general reward model and rule-based verifiers, enhancing its general capabilities. According to Alibaba, these include better instruction-following, alignment with human preferences and improved agent performance.
China’s DeepSeek, which has been generally available since the start of the year, demonstrates the effectiveness of RL in its ability to deliver comparable benchmark results compared to rival US large language models. Its R1 LLM can rival US artificial intelligence without the need to resort to the latest GPU hardware.
The fact that Alibaba’s QwQ-32B model also uses RL is no coincidence. The US has banned the export of high-end AI accelerator chips – such as the Nvidia H100 graphics processor – to China, which means ******** AI developers have had to look at alternative approaches to making their models work. Using RL does appear to deliver comparable benchmark results compared with what models like those from OpenAI are able to achieve.
What is interesting about the QwQ-32B model is that it uses significantly fewer parameters to achieve similar results to DeepSeek, which effectively means that it should be able to run on less powerful AI acceleration hardware.
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2025 Volkswagen Polo review | The West ***********
2025 Volkswagen Polo review | The West ***********
The so-called ‘light car’ segment in Australia is continuing to be hollowed out, as more and more brands discontinue their vehicles and instead focus on more expensive, more profitable SUVs.
Camera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpert
The Volkswagen Group, however, is sticking it out with not just one but three separate options: the Volkswagen Polo, Skoda Fabia and Audi A1.
The Polo will be the most familiar to Australians, with the nameplate having debuted here in 1996 (and much earlier in Europe) and being a consistent fixture in the segment.
The current generation first entered production back in 2017, so it’s no spring chicken. It’s not the oldest in the segment, however, with that title going to the Mazda 2.
It wears crisply tailored lines with sharp, uniform side creases and a handsome if conservative look overall. It’s recognisable as a Volkswagen, but not as the latest generation of Volkswagen.
Judging by some of Volkswagen’s newer products, any Polo successor will inevitably feature more blobby, amorphous styling, so enjoy this crisply starched styling while it lasts.
Our tester was finished in resale white – sorry, Pure White – which was a crying shame as you can get the Polo in funky Vibrant Violet. That makes Volkswagen one of the few mass-market brands to offer a purple colour. I’d happily spend the extra $600 to get it.
Camera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpert
For 2025, the Polo no longer starts at under $30,000, though Volkswagen did at least add some extra kit when it raised the base price by $1300.
It now features standard Travel Assist in base Life trim, previously offered in an option package that came with wireless smartphone mirroring, satellite navigation and a better digital instrument cluster – now features no longer available in this trim.
A base price above $30,000 might seem shocking, but everything in this segment has been getting more expensive – the MG 3 is no longer a sub-$20,000 player, while the Mazda 2 recently lost its entry-level trim and the now hybrid-only Toyota Yaris is pricier than before.
Still, this base price is higher than many key rivals. Is the Polo worth the premium?
How much does the Volkswagen Polo cost?
The Polo Life is priced at $30,790 before on-roads and $34,585 drive-away based on a Sydney postcode.
Camera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpert
It’s not just that the Polo is more expensive than other entry-level vehicles in its segment, it’s also more expensive than other entry-level Volkswagen Group products.
That makes it cheaper than a base T-Cross Life with the same powertrain (currently priced at $35,990 drive-away), but more expensive than an entry-level Skoda Fabia Select ($31,990 drive-away nationwide) or a larger Scala Select ($32,490 drive-away).
Even a Skoda Kamiq Select is cheaper at $33,990 drive-away.
To see how the Volkswagen Polo lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
What is the Volkswagen Polo like on the inside?
The Polo impresses with an interior that wouldn’t look out of place in a more expensive car.
Camera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpert
It makes the Toyota Yaris’ cabin look cheap in comparison, and the Mazda 2’s look dated. This is arguably the classiest cabin in this segment.
Across the top and front of the dashboard is surprisingly premium soft-touch trim in a segment where harder, scratchy material is the norm. Volkswagen even applied the stuff to the right of the steering wheel, which would have been a very easy place to cheap out.
Metal-look trim surrounds the centre console and glossy patterned trim runs across the dashboard to provide some welcome contrast in the ****** interior.
Even the cloth upholstery on the seats avoids looking cheap, while the vanity mirrors are illuminated, the sunglass holder has a rubberised insert, and the doors – though featuring hard plastic trim, apart from the armrest – close with a solid thunk.
Camera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpert
We only observed one rattle, which manifested on coarser-chip surfaces and appeared to be coming from the front passenger seatbelt.
You grip a tactile, leather-wrapped steering wheel – Volkswagen knows how to do a good steering wheel – but there’s just a regular centre armrest instead of the clever height-adjustable one found in other vehicles from the brand.
The air-conditioning controls are a collection of knobs – simple, classic and tactile.
Volkswagen’s interior designers still don’t seem to have figured out cupholders, though. Who on the team thought octagonal ones were a good idea? At least there are large, easily accessible bottle holders in the doors.
Camera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpertCamera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpert
Ahead of the driver is a digital instrument cluster, though in the base Life this is a simple setup without a map view. However, you still have multiple selectable layouts.
The infotainment system features an 8.0-inch touchscreen, with quick response times and attractive graphics. There’s also a sound effect that plays whenever you touch the screen, though there’s no haptic feedback like you’ll find in a more expensive Audi.
Maintaining a wired Android Auto connection shouldn’t be this hard, though. On a couple of occasions I’d knock the cable and it’d disconnect Android Auto and not allow me to reconnect. Bluetooth dropouts occurred, too.
While it’s tempting to blame my phone or cable – and I know some of you iPhone evangelists will make a bee line right to the comments to proselytise about the wonders of Apple – the simple fact is I’ve had no issue in every other car I’ve had in recent weeks.
Camera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpert
Even when Android Auto was working, there were constant pop-ups saying my phone was disconnected, while on other occasions the audio would skip annoyingly. And while in most cars Android Auto boots up right away, sometimes I’d have to manually select it in the Polo.
A much more pleasant surprise was the sound system, which is quite good for an unbranded unit in an entry-level light car.
The presence of front parking sensors is also a pleasant surprise for a vehicle in this segment, and combined with the rear sensors and reversing camera makes this an easy car to park.
There’s this mistaken apprehension that SUVs always offer much more practicality, but the Polo compares favourably to its T-Cross SUV sibling.
Camera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpert
The two cars ride the same wheelbase, have almost the same interior width, and while the T-Cross has more headroom the Polo has plenty for passengers around 180cm tall.
Two adults can comfortably sit in the back if they don’t play basketball professionally, though squeezing someone into the centre seat is best saved for emergencies. There’s also a prominent driveline hump impinging on the centre passenger’s legroom.
The front seatbacks are soft and feature map pockets, while there are two illuminated USB-C outlets back here plus three top-tether and two ISOFIX anchor points for child seats. There are no air vents like you’ll find in an MG 3, though, and no fold-down armrest.
Boot space is a competitive 351 litres with the rear seats up, expanding to 1125L with the rear seats folded. It’s a deep, uniformly sized storage area, and underneath the boot floor you’ll find a 15-inch steel spare wheel.
To see how the Volkswagen Polo lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
What’s under the bonnet?
As has been the case for a while, the non-GTI Polo range is powered by a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine. The base manual has been dropped, meaning a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch auto is now standard.
Camera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpert
To see how the Volkswagen Polo lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
How does the Volkswagen Polo drive?
The noise of the Polo’s engine is kept from intruding on the peace and quiet of the cabin, with Volkswagen evidently using a decent amount of sound deadening.
Camera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpert
Not that it would be too much of a pain to hear the engine more, as it has a ******* note as is often the case with turbocharged three-cylinder mills.
It works well with the dual-clutch automatic, which shifts quickly and crisply, and there’s plenty of grunt throughout the rev range.
The Polo has no trouble overtaking or zipping through gaps in traffic, though as with many dual-clutch-equipped vehicles there’s a slight hesitation off the line.
At the end of the day it likely comes down to what you’re most used to and therefore prefer: a dual-clutch like the Polo, or a CVT like in the Swift or a traditional torque-converter auto like in the Mazda 2. All have a very different feel.
Camera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpert
Powertrain refinement isn’t perfect. At 70km/h or so the Polo will be sitting in seventh gear at around 1500rpm and you’ll feel this slight vibration through the car. At low speeds, you’ll also hear the clutches engaging and disengaging.
But generally speaking, noise suppression is superb. On hilly roads when it’s holding a lower gear, you’ll see it revving up to 3000 or 4000rpm but you’ll scarcely hear it. Tyre and wind noise is also well-contained.
The suspension tune is rather firm, and you do feel the torsion-beam rear clomping over some bumps. It takes away somewhat from the otherwise quite polished feel of the Polo.
It’s a good steer, with sharp turn-in and steering that’s light and direct but with a good amount of road feel. You can have some fun with this in the corners.
The automatic stop/start is very eager, activating readily while some rival brands’ systems require a firm press of the brake pedal. I can usually tolerate these systems but this one was too keen.
Camera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpert
The good news is you can turn it off with one press of a button, but the bad news is it’ll always default to on. The lane-keep assist isn’t as annoying, but it can be turned off with just two button presses.
For 2025, Volkswagen has made Travel Assist standard in the base Polo. This combines adaptive cruise control with lane centring, making highway driving almost mindless.
It’s worth noting the base Polo doesn’t feature blind-spot monitoring or rear cross-traffic alert. While visibility is good, if these features are must-haves you’ll need to look at a mid-range Style, a base T-Cross Life or a Skoda Fabia Select.
To see how the Volkswagen Polo lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
What do you get?
There are three members of the local Polo lineup.
Camera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpertCamera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpertCamera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpertCamera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpert
Polo Life equipment highlights:
LED headlightsLED tail-lights15-inch ‘Essex’ alloy wheels with 185/65 R15 tyres15-inch steel spare wheelPark Assist (semi-autonomous parking assist)Power-folding exterior mirrorsRain-sensing wipersManual air-conditioningDigital Cockpit digital instrument cluster8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment systemWired Apple CarPlay and Android AutoDAB+ digital radioWireless phone charger6-speaker sound system2 x front USB-C outlets2 x rear USB-C outletsLeather-wrapped steering wheelHeight and reach adjustment for steering wheelPaddle shiftersLeather-wrapped shifterBlack inlays60:40 split/fold rear seats
Polo Style adds:
Front LED light barFront fog lights with static cornering functionIQ.Light matrix LED ***********‘Premium’ LED tail-lights with dynamic indicators16-inch ‘Palermo’ alloy wheels with 195/55 R16 tyresProximity entry with push-button startDual-zone climate controlTouch slider temperature controlsDigital Cockpit Pro digital instrument cluster with map viewWireless Apple CarPlay and Android AutoSatellite navigation‘Comfort sport’ front seats‘Comfort sport cloth’ upholsteryChrome interior trim for air vents, door handle surrounds, window switchesDark Iron Grey metallic gloss inlaysAmbient lightingLED footwell lighting
Polo GTI adds:
LED driving lightsDual chrome exhaust outletsRed exterior accentsRear diffuserRear spoilerBlack side sill extensions18-inch ‘Faro’ alloy wheels with 215/40 R18 tyresSpace-saver spareSelectable drive modesSport Select adaptive suspensionSports seats with additional bolstering‘Sports’ steering wheel‘Clark sports cloth’ upholsteryBlack headliner and pillar trimStainless steel pedalsKings Red interior inlays (except with Kings Red exterior finish)
A sunroof is optional on the Style and GTI.
To see how the Volkswagen Polo lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
Is the Volkswagen Polo safe?
The Volkswagen Polo has a five-star safety rating from ANCAP, based on testing conducted in 2022.
Camera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpert
Standard safety equipment across the range includes:
Autonomous emergency brakingTravel AssistMulti-collision brakingDriver fatigue monitoringFront, front-side, front-centre, and curtain airbagsFront and rear parking sensorsReversing camera
The Style and GTI add:
Blind-spot monitoringRear cross-traffic alertHow much does the Volkswagen Polo cost to run?
The Polo is covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty like the wider Volkswagen lineup in Australia.
Camera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpert
Opting for the three-year Care Plan plan costs $1500, while the five-year plan costs $2850. That’s much more palatable, but a Suzuki Swift costs $1955 over five years and a Toyota Yaris just $1250.
To see how the Volkswagen Polo lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
CarExpert’s Take on the Volkswagen Polo
The Volkswagen Polo stands out as the most sophisticated in its segment.
Camera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpert
Don’t get us wrong, there’s still some refining that could be done. The ride could be more pliant, while we did experience some infotainment issues.
However, for something coming up on eight years old, it has an impressively insulated, well-packaged cabin with plenty of genuinely nice materials, as well as a punchy powertrain.
It feels more upscale than its rivals, and more modern than a Mazda 2. Volkswagen charges a premium for this privilege, but you may well be tempted to play Polo.
The toughest competition could well be from another Volkswagen Group vehicle: the Skoda Fabia, which features the same powertrain but sharper drive-away pricing and standard blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and wireless smartphone mirroring (albeit no Travel Assist).
If you’re considering a Polo you definitely need to consider its Czech cousin.
Camera Icon2025 Volkswagen Polo Credit: CarExpert
Interested in buying a Volkswagen Polo? Get in touch with one of CarExpert’s trusted dealers here
MORE: Everything Volkswagen Polo
ProsGenerally punchy, refined powertrainGood fuel economyClassy styling inside and outConsIt’s not cheapFirm rideMissing some safety features found in some entry-level rivalsTop Line SpecsPower: 85kWFuel Type: Premium Unleaded PetrolEconomy: 5.4L/100kmCO2 Emissions: 124g/kmANCAP Safety Rating: 5
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MLS anonymous executive survey, Part 1: 2025 predictions, league superlatives
MLS anonymous executive survey, Part 1: 2025 predictions, league superlatives
For the last four years, The Athletic has polled some of the top soccer executives around the league for their thoughts and predictions ahead of a season. The answers have proved it’s no easy task to foresee what’s going to happen next in MLS.
Last year, exactly zero of the 30 executives polled tipped the LA Galaxy to win MLS Cup. Only three backed Inter Miami to take the Supporters’ Shield.
On the flip side of things, those same executives correctly picked that Thiago Almada and Caleb Wiley would be the next two MLS players to make big moves abroad. And nine of 30 executives did vote that the Galaxy had the best offseason in the league, pointing to the hire of Will Kuntz and the additions of Joseph Paintsil and Gabriel Pec as a sign that “they should get a lot better, real quick.”
This year’s survey gives MLS executives another shot at predicting the 2025 season. We polled 21 soccer decision-makers from clubs around the league. (Executives from all 30 teams were contacted, but some declined to participate.) Most of those surveyed are the chief soccer officer (CSO) of their respective club — their official titles vary, but CSOs are the individuals in charge of the sporting side of their organization. Some of the respondents are slightly lower down their team’s organizational chart, but all are highly involved in soccer operations and more than fluent on league matters.
This is Part 1 and deals mostly with picks and preferences for the 2025 season: MLS Cup predictions, the best players at each position, the top coach and the best transfer and trades of the offseason.
Part 2, coming Monday, is more open-ended. Our panel was asked about several different big-picture, league-wide topics ranging from the FIFA Club World Cup to the potential fall-to-spring schedule shift and USL’s move for division one sanctioning.
In exchange for their candor, execs were granted full anonymity. No execs were allowed to vote for anyone associated with the clubs for which they work.
Now, onto their responses:
FC Cincinnati has been one of the most aggressive teams in the transfer market, shelling out tens of millions of dollars to become one of the best teams in MLS. That continued this offseason, with what was briefly a league-record $16.2 million transfer fee for Kévin Denkey followed by a $12 million internal transfer for Evander, who replaced Lucho Acosta (sold to FC Dallas for $5 million). That has made them the MLS Cup favorites in the minds of CSOs around the league.
“They’re scary,” one exec said. “The Evander move for me is a game-changer. He’s going at half-speed right now. And Denkey looks the part too. He’s a monster.”
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Inter Miami is the favorite to repeat as Supporters’ Shield winner despite a crowded schedule that includes the Concacaf Champions Cup and Club World Cup. For many executives, a roster loaded with both aging stars and top young players — and the extra general allocation money provided for the Club World Cup — made Miami the easy choice.
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This is always one of the more fascinating categories in the survey, and especially so this year because it was the debut of the internal cash market. It’s no surprise that many execs loved FC Cincinnati’s addition of Evander — but all of them pointed out it was more than just signing the Brazilian.
“They sold (Lucho Acosta) when his value was at its highest,” one exec said. “They were the first to kind of crack the seal on the internal transfer market.”
One CSO put his choice more plainly: “I think (Evander) is really f—ing good and that’s why I think Cincy’s going to win MLS Cup.”
Another exec loved the move more from the Timbers’ side of the transaction: “To get $12 million for him, that’s an incredible deal for Portland.”
Evander and Acosta weren’t the only internal cash moves to get some love. Sporting KC landing Dejan Joveljić earned two votes, as well.
“It’s outrageous to get a 21-goal scorer, 24 years old, for $4 million,” the exec said.
Jayden Nelson signing with Vancouver was a bit under-the-radar, but one CSO we spoke to loved the move.
“He’s at a young age, can still kick on,” he said. “It’s not a splash signing, but I really like it.”
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One of the themes of this category was pointing out how much teams are spending, so it’s no surprise it was the biggest spender that won the category. It wasn’t just about the players, either. Atlanta hiring Chris Henderson as chief soccer officer and Ronny Deila as coach factored into many execs’ votes.
“Coaching hire, two DPs, [Alexey] Miranchuk is going to get better,” one GM said. The jury, however, is out on the Russian international.
Cincy’s big-money window earned some love, even if people thought the prices were a bit high on Evander and Denkey.
“Overpaid for both, but a pretty damn good offseason,” one CSO said.
Said another on Austin’s latest additions: “I’m blown away with the amount of money Austin spends.”
In a way, Seattle stood out from the pack because it didn’t go big in the transfer market.
“They kept the core together and went and got two guys [Paul Arriola and Jesus Ferreira] who are very good in MLS,” one CSO said. “And they didn’t blow up their team.”
Last year it was Bouanga and Thiago Almada pacing this category. This year it’s the Timbers-turned-FC-Cincy star who took the top spot. Some of the answers indicate why the winner of this category was also on the move this winter.
“It’s Evander … when he wants to play,” one CSO said.
A few CSOs didn’t feel like anyone had done enough to change their vote from last year.
Bouanga “has been an incredible signing for our league,” one said.
It’s notable that last year, none of Inter Miami’s aging stars got even one vote. This year, the consistency and class of Sergio Busquets earned three nominations.
For the second straight year, Bürki, the former Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper, ran away with the category. Kahlina was voted last year’s MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, but it wasn’t enough to convince people Bürki wasn’t still the best in MLS.
That the vote was spread out a bit more over the top three is interesting.
“I don’t think we have any great goalkeepers in our league,” one exec said. “We have a lot of good ones — and that’s a product of the league and the rules.”
Notably, Andre Blake lost seven votes from 2024 to 2025, and American Patrick Schulte moved up the list.
“He gives a very calm presence with the ball at his feet,” one CSO said about Schulte, who is hoping to maintain a steady place on Mauricio Pochettino’s radar.
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Overall, the respect for Inter Miami’s big-name stars seemed to go up this year, and Alba finishing tied for second in this category is indicative of that. He got just one vote in this category last year.
Yeimar also got just one vote last year. His MLS Best XI play last season won some fans around the league.
“Yeimar has been excellent and I just don’t think he gets the flowers he deserves,” one exec said.
Keep an eye on the Galaxy’s Emiro Garces in the future.
“He’s got all the tools to be special,” one CSO said.
Walker Zimmerman received a vote from an executive who wanted to “give some love to the domestic guys,” while another CSO said that defending continues to be an area for improvement in MLS.
“If you look throughout the league, I think the weaknesses of the league are probably central defenders and goalkeeping. (NYCFC’s Thiago) Martins is good, he’s a DP but he’s not great and he’s one of the better ones.”
One executive voted for his own player and the vote had to be discounted due to survey rules.
The man who guided the Galaxy to MLS Cup only to miss out on the championship game due to a torn ACL still ran away with this category. The first two weeks of the season may be an indication of just how important Puig is to LA’s success.
Shoutout to the youngster Obed Vargas, 19, for sneaking onto this list.
“For now and for the future,” one CSO said. “Tremendous career he has in front of him.”
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Another runaway winner in this category. And plenty of praise for the man who continues to dominate the league.
“He’s an aggressive son of a b—-,” one GM said.
“He’s a real problem,” said another. “He’s a freak.”
Three executives did not answer this question.
Two of the most respected American midfielders top this list. Roldan, who won last year, drops into the No. 2 spot, while Nagbe, who had two votes last year, vaults into the top spot. The Columbus Crew midfielder is a favorite of GMs across the league.
“His teams win all the time,” said one GM of Nagbe, who has won MLS Cups in Portland, Atlanta and Columbus. “He’s incredibly valuable.”
One CSO said he was “shocked” that Keaton Parks has not been called into even one of the “smaller” national team camps considering his form in New York. Zawadzki, one GM said, “does everything for Columbus.”
It’s no surprise the LA Galaxy winger took the top vote here. One GM voted Vargas as the next to move, but noted that Pec will be the one to go for “big, big money.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t go this winter,” another CSO said. “In the summer he’ll definitely be off.”
One GM went totally off-the-map with his pick of Peyton Miller, the 17-year-old who made 10 appearances last year for New England.
“A lot of people think there are similarities to Wiley at outside back,” the GM said.
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How do you win a category like this running away?
You make $71,400, per the MLS Players’ Association salary release, score 10 goals, earn a USMNT call-up and score twice in the red, white and blue.
“If you’re making $70k and starting over a DP, you probably deserve this vote,” one CSO said.
Klich and Bright warrant additional mention, too. Atlanta is reportedly paying just $300,000 of the Polish midfielder’s DP deal, while Bright has proved his value as a rotation player in Miami despite being on the supplemental roster.
We’re not sure what kind of honor it is to be on this list.
Two of the three coaches on last year’s list were fired by the end of the season, including Jim Curtin, who finished as the No. 2 vote-getter in 2024 by a wide margin. Nancy has, for the second straight year, run away with this category. That points both to the respect he’s earned around the league, but also the perceived scarcity of high-level coaches in MLS. (Though, to be fair, ***** Martino, who coached Argentina, Barcelona and won an MLS Cup, received zero votes in this category last year.)
“You still have to give it to Nancy,” one CSO said. “Even look at Week 1. They got rid of the best guy in the league (Cucho Heráandez) and still did what they did. That’s coaching. That’s a system.”
Schmetzer has coached Seattle in four MLS Cups, winning two, and became the first coach to lead an MLS team to a Concacaf Champions Cup (née League) title. Yet, he only received one vote in the above category, which justifies his leading this category alongside Montreal’s Courtois.
Schwarz was lauded by two CSOs for his ability to reshape the Red Bulls tactically, particularly defensively.
“You could make an argument that he’s the best coach in the league,” one CSO said. “The fact that they made it to the final is because of great coaching.”
Henderson escaped what seemed to be tumultuous times at Inter Miami to reunite with Garth Lagerwey, with whom he built some of the best rosters in MLS history while together in Seattle. It made for an easy choice in this category for many voters.
The half vote is for one CSO who pointed to the package hiring of Deila and Henderson in Atlanta.
Arena’s hiring in San Jose snuck a bit under the radar in this category considering his history of success in MLS. The Earthquakes’ strong start to the season hints at another Bruce-led turnaround.
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Thorrington won this vote in the league’s awards at the end of last season, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that he took it here, too. “They sell and retool and compete every year,” one CSO said.
Right on his tail was one of the newcomers to the group in Kuntz, who quickly turned around a struggling Galaxy side into MLS champions.
“You have to give credit to him for what he’s done, but now you see them blowing the team up,” one exec said. “It wasn’t built to last. So now we’ll see the real ability of the guy to continue to build. That’s the hardest part.”
Albright got love for turning Cincinnati around, though several GMs pointed to how much money Cincinnati has spent along the way. It was a bit surprising to see Philadelphia’s Tanner get just one vote considering Philly’s success and relative lack of roster spend.
A lot of teams got love in this category, which is a nod to some of the behind-the-scenes scouting staff across MLS. LAFC has consistently landed top players at both the DP and U22 level, so it’s no surprise they took this category. NYCFC has the backing of City Football Group and has done a nice job across the board with roster building.
Columbus had what was considered one of the deepest front offices in MLS, but that broke up a bit this year and some said they wanted to see what happened without Tim Bezbatchenko at the helm. Orlando City’s Ricardo Moreira won the category last year for the next No. 2 to get the job, but it was two people behind him — Issa Tall and Corey Wray — who landed CSO gigs. Moreira’s presence in Orlando and his success with Luiz Muzzi earned them some votes.
One voter felt Orlando had done the best job in international scouting, but said Colorado had the best domestic set-up in MLS, thus the half vote for each.
The answer very clearly was Messi, so much so that we decided to give Messi AND options about midway through the survey, and most GMs took us up on that. Here are those responses:
Unsurprisingly, it was two transformative signings that led the way. Giovinco redefined the sort of modern DP, while Almirón became the golden goose that every team chased after his success (and price tag) on his first go-around in Atlanta.
Duran’s presence on this list is a nod to one of the best investments all-time in MLS. A $1.5 million purchase turned into the most profitable MLS ***** of all time.
The Athletic staff writer Pablo Maurer and Senior Graphic Designer John Bradford contributed to this story.
(Top image: Illustration: Demetrius Robinson/The Athletic; Photos: Jeff Dean/Getty Images, Shaun Clark/ISI Photos/Getty Images, Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
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Lenovo joins growing China exodus as manufacturers flee US tariffs — OEM moving production lines to India
Lenovo joins growing China exodus as manufacturers flee US tariffs — OEM moving production lines to India
According to a DigiTimes Asia report, Lenovo announced at Tech World India 2025 that it’s moving all PC manufacturing inside that country over the next three years and that it’s also preparing to do the same for its AI GPU servers in Pondicherry, India.
Lenovo has produced 12 million units in India, and it’s planning to increase that to nearly 17 million units to meet incoming domestic and international demand. Although it didn’t mention tariffs, Lenovo, a ********-owned company with five factories in China and one in Mexico, owns 12% of the U.S. laptop market. So, Trump’s 20% tariff on China and 25% tariff on Mexico will impact its pricing strategy, making its laptops more expensive than the competition.
Lenovo isn’t the only company moving out of China to escape Trump’s tariffs. ASRock announced in early February that it will move its manufacturing operations to Vietnam and Taiwan. HP made a similar announcement just a few days ago, saying that 90% of products bound for the U.S. will be made outside of the East Asian country by October this year. Even Dell said it’s diversifying its supply chain, meaning it will reduce its reliance on ******** factories to make its products.
Aside from the tariffs, the White House’s export controls on the latest AI chips also force some PC parts manufacturers to move their operations. PC Partner, the manufacturer behind Zotac, Inno3D, and Manli brands and one of the largest GPU manufacturers in the world, is moving its headquarters to Singapore, with a rumored production shift from China to Indonesia. Other chip companies like Amkor Technology, Hana Micron, and even Intel are pouring billions of dollars into Vietnam to shift their production away from China.
The tariffs that the Trump administration is placing on ******** goods are starting to take effect in the computer industry, with some larger companies announcing investments within the U.S. to move manufacturing within its shores. This includes TSMC, which announced an additional $100 billion in spending on three new fabs, two advanced packaging factories, and an R&D center in its Arizona campus. Trump also announced during his speech to the joint session of Congress that other companies, like Apple and Oracle, are investing hundreds of billions of dollars more because they want to avoid the tariffs that he’s placed on Canada, Mexico, and China.
However, moving manufacturing inside the U.S. might not be viable for smaller companies. So, they’re moving to nations with friendlier ties to the U.S., like India, Taiwan, and Indonesia, that aren’t affected by the tariffs. We should note, though, that these moves will likely take years, especially if a particular company does not yet have an existing facility within the region. So, as they wait for their production facilities and supply chains to come online, companies will have no choice but to raise their prices to cover the tariffs the White House has placed on their products.
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Safe haven stocks with competitive advantages to ride out the market volatility, according to UBS
Safe haven stocks with competitive advantages to ride out the market volatility, according to UBS
Buying stocks with steady profits and a strong competitive edge could provide some protection against the current highly uncertain macro backdrop, according to UBS. Uncertainty around the Trump administration’s new tariff policies have increased volatility in recent weeks. Stocks have seesawed back and forth above the flatline to begin the month, but all three major averages were pacing for a weekly decline as of Thursday afternoon. Against this backdrop of heightened trepidation and unpredictability, UBS screened for potential safe haven opportunities post the most recent market selloff. “This screen is designed to identify firms with strong competitive advantages and consistent levels of profitability that exhibit low volatility,” the firm wrote in a Thursday note. Some of the stocks UBS identified are listed below: UBS highlighted McDonald ‘s as a potential safe haven opportunity. The fast-food stock has risen 6% in the past 12 months. “MCD’s CFROI [cash flow return on investment] profile has been very stable over the past 15 years staying near 10% and it hit an all-time high of 13.4% in 2024. CFROI is forecast to remain near current levels over the next two years and the market is pricing for this stability to continue,” UBS wrote. “MCD’s Economic Profit has been on an increasing trend over the past two decades highlighting the firm’s ability to drive wealth creation.” Most analysts covering the stock are currently bullish on its trajectory, while its average price target points to a 7% upside. Philip Morris International was another name on the list. The ********** producer has soared almost 69% in the past year, rising 28% in 2025 alone. Last month, shares rose 11% in a single day after the Marlboro owner reported better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter, boosted by sales of smoke-free products such as Zyn nicotine pouches. In January, the Food and Drug Administration cleared Zyn to remain on the market, saying it is safer than smoking traditional cigarettes. Analysts are generally bullish on Philip Morris, although the average price target corresponds to a potential downside of 3%. Life sciences stock Thermo Fisher Scientific has slipped 10% in the last 12 months, but has managed to eke out a 1% gain so far this year. Last month, Bernstein upgraded the stock to an outperform rating from market perform. “We continue to believe Thermo will be the industry’s long-term winner because it is best-positioned to address major industry changes; commercial execution (especially ability to cross-sell) is the most under-appreciated reason why,” wrote analyst Eve Burstein. “Although there are many reasons to like Thermo (its innovation; its M & A ability; its strong leadership team…), our favorite is their unique commercial advantage.” Burstein’s $630 price target is approximately 19% higher than where shares of Thermo Fisher closed on Thursday. The average price target sees shares rallying even further, around 26%. Most analysts covering Thermo Fisher currently hold a bullish view of the stock.
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Tennis bends to the wind’s will at Indian Wells as desert weather blows players off course
Tennis bends to the wind’s will at Indian Wells as desert weather blows players off course
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — For a tournament that bills itself as a tennis paradise, Indian Wells has a tendency to bring some Old Testament elements to the sport in the California desert.
The sun that blazes down in the day is replaced with temperatures that can turn frigid at night. In a part of the world that sees rain around 14 days out of 365, a few always seem to land in the first fortnight of March, interrupting play. Last year, bees swarmed the main stadium. This year, the sworn enemy of tennis players at all levels — that rarely stops play, but defines its rhythm more than any other weather condition — is puppeting the small yellow ball they try to hit inside the white lines and driving them to distraction.
“Bloody windy out there,” said Rinky Hijikata, the 24-year-old *********** who credited his childhood in a windy suburb of Sydney for getting through his first-round match with Alexander Shevchenko of Kazakhstan, 6-1, 6-3. Across the complex, 40mph gusts buffeted palm trees, sending serve tosses askew and wobbling ****** through the air like a swerving soccer free kick.
Hijikata said Thursday’s wind wasn’t just powerful: it seemed to be coming from every direction. Given that, there was only one way to survive, and it didn’t involve taking dead aim at the lines to try to end points quickly.
“You got to give yourself big margins,” he said. “You’ve got to hit the ball in the court and get your running shoes on.”
Belinda Bencic, who followed her usual strategy as she prevailed 6-1, 6-1 over Tatjana Maria, had a similar approach. “Trying to play with it, not trying to go for risky shots and just kind of playing a big target and working your legs hard.
“Respect the wind,” she warned.
Heat can be exhausting and rain can delay play, but wind is the most capricious. Much like a powerful first serve or groundstroke, its power over tennis means little without knowing its direction. If it’s blowing up and down a court, parallel with the sidelines, the effects are more predictable. At one end, players have to be wary of overhitting with the breeze at their back. At the other, they have to be mindful of how much it will hold up their shots. The player receiving a ball with wind behind it needs to react quicker; if it’s slowing a ball down, their footwork needs to take them to it and adjust to any sudden changes of direction.
It doesn’t usually work that cleanly. The breeze can howl off Flushing Bay some days at the U.S. Open in New York; Arthur Ashe Stadium, the main arena, was known for its vortexes before the installation of a partial roof in 2015. At the ATP Tour event held in Estoril, Portugal, just north of Lisbon, the wind off the Atlantic could make a mess of matches.
The winds in Indian Wells are of another sort, something that somehow slips most players’ minds as they wax poetic about what is for many their favorite stop on the tennis calendar. The place is basically a wind machine thanks to its location between two sets of mountains, the San Jacintos and the San Bernardinos, in the Coachella Valley about 120 miles east of Los Angeles. The mountains act like a funnel; the hot air from the desert ground rises, and the cool air from above rushes in to take its place. On the outside courts, it will go in whatever direction it has chosen for the day. On the main arena, Stadium 1, the bowl structure and its doors and openings create currents and vortexes to which players have to adapt on the fly.
You can literally see the wind just take the ball over mid-air pic.twitter.com/0uMjtaVD8K
— Owen (@kostekcanu) March 6, 2025
A desert wind can create other hazards as well. Bencic said she left the practice court last Friday with a mouthful of the desert’s finest.
“It was like a sandstorm,” she said.
The wind made for a troublesome first match for Joao Fonseca, the 18-year-old rising star from Brazil who is playing the tournament for the first time. Fonseca had to scramble back from break down in the third set against Jacob Fearnley Britain to win his Indian Wells debut.
Fonseca dominated Fearnley in the first set, as the Briton adjusted to the wind and figured out how to play aggressively in it. Fearnley might have expected to have an advantage. He played college tennis at Texas Christian University, which can be plenty gusty in its own right, especially at the T.C.U. home courts, which are built into a kind of bowl.
“A lot of it is mental,” Fearnley said. “You can’t really control what the weather is going to do, so you kind of just accept it and try and use it to the best of your ability.”
He seemed to have it mastered things, outhitting the Brazilian until a double fault allowed Fonseca to draw even in the deciding set. Fonseca didn’t lose another game in the windiest match he could remember, in which his kick serve, jumping out of the ad-court and into Fearnley’s backhand, shackled his opponent. His hat blew off at one point; a towel rolled onto the court and interrupted play during another.
Players battling the wind as well as each other
The Towel had enough of this point #Tennisparadise pic.twitter.com/Rp6ElRk4Oz
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 6, 2025
“When it’s windy, it’s just a little mistake, and at this level it’s just one point that you won the match,” he said.
Still, the wind made Fonseca so uncomfortable that after the two-hour match he headed for the practice courts to hit for another half-hour and try to gain a feel for the ball.
After Fonseca and Fearnley finished in the main stadium, it was Emma Raducanu’s turn to try to figure out the elements. Raducanu was playing her first match since a spectator was removed from one of her matches for exhibiting fixated behavior toward her in Dubai last month. The person who appeared at her second-round match against Karolina Muchová had “approached her, left her a note, took her photograph, and engaged in behaviour that caused her distress,” according to a statement from Dubai authorities.
Indian Wells brought safety and plenty of support for her. “I didn’t have what happened in Dubai in my head at all today,” she said.
Unfortunately for Raducanu, who thrives on rhythm and finding her groove, it also brought the kind of conditions that no player would want for a first match after a break. The wind, and the tricky challenges of Moyuka Uchijima, who mastered the conditions by varying her shots, proved too much in a 6-3, 6-2 defeat.
Like many players, Emma Raducanu found the windy conditions challenging at Indian Wells. (Clive Brunskill / Getty Images)
“Extremely awkward in the wind here,” said Raducanu, who was playing her first match with her new trial coach, Vladimir Platenik. Platenik previously coached Lulu Sun, who beat Raducanu at last year’s Wimbledon, and top-15 mainstay Daria Kasatkina.
“A lot of ****** that were very, very spinny on these courts in the day and in the wind,” Raducanu said. “So it was just jumping up a lot, and then kind of short, like, almost like mishits.
“I didn’t really know what was coming.”
As night fell and the temperature dropped, the wind died down. Of course, then the rain came, a cold steady drizzle that caused play to stop around 8:30 p.m. At 9:25 p.m., officials called off play for the night.
Prior to the tournament, the BNP Paribas Open’s decision to change its court provider had dominated discussion among the players about conditions. At first evidence, the new Laykold surface is still bouncy, with the desert sand and grit in its paint sending ****** spinning out of strike zones and roughing up the felt. It’s the swings in sun and cloud, hot and cold, and most of all, windy and calm that define conditions that Andrey Rublev has likened to playing four tournaments in one.
If the forecast is right — always a big if in the desert — the gusts will be lighter in the coming days, making life on the tennis courts easier to handle. Unless the bees swarm again.
(Top photo: Frey / TPN via Getty Images)
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Get Succession: The Complete Series On Blu-Ray For Only $60
Get Succession: The Complete Series On Blu-Ray For Only $60
Amazon has the complete series of one of HBO’s all-time best shows on Blu-ray for a new low price. Succession: The Complete Series, which released last summer, is on ***** for only $60 (was $95). Along with all 39 episodes from its four-season run, the Blu-ray box set has a bevy of featurettes spread across its 12 discs. Amazon is also offering steep discounts on 700-plus page Succession scriptbooks.
The hit HBO show ended its run in 2023 with a pile of Emmy awards, high ratings, and universal acclaim. It’s one of the best HBO shows in recent memory. If you’re interested in starting a rewatch, the Blu-ray box set lets you avoid paying monthly for Max.
$60 (was $95)
Succession is the story of Logan Roy, head of one of the world’s largest media conglomerates, who just announced his imminent retirement. Now his kids, and more than a few others, have to spend four seasons jockeying for position in hopes of becoming the new boss while also earning a little bit of love from daddy.
Succession: The Complete Series originally released on DVD in 2023, just a few months after Season 4’s finale aired. It took nearly a full year for Warner Bros. to release the Blu-ray box set. Amazon’s discount on the Blu-ray set brings it very close to the price of the DVD collection ($54.44).
If you can’t get enough of Succession, you could read the entire series (and more) by picking up the scripts in paperback format. All four seasons are available for $20 or less at Amazon. These are weighty books, with each of the first three seasons clocking in at 700-plus pages. Season 4’s script is a tad shorter at 656 pages. Succession featured some of the best writing on TV during its run, and what’s cool about these books is that you’ll come across dialogue and scenes that were cut from the show.
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This illuminating Raspberry Pi Pico project wants to improve your photos and YouTube videos
This illuminating Raspberry Pi Pico project wants to improve your photos and YouTube videos
The most illuminating part of the Raspberry Pi maker community is the ingenuity and creativity of the makers. One in particular has been busy lately creating a slew of Pi projects and his most recent creation definitely shines above the rest. Maker and developer Arnov Sharma has built a custom studio light using our favorite microcontroller—the Raspberry Pi Pico.
This studio light offers a great deal of customization through a series of LEDs laid out in a custom matrix. The lights can be tweaked to change its temperature, from a warm light or cool glow and everything in between. There are also WS2811 RGB LEDs for those times when you need to add a splash of color to a scent. According to Sharma, this was a practical project he created out of necessity to help improve photos and videos taken of his other projects.
The LEDs are easy to control using the GPIO on the Raspberry Pi Pico via a MOSFET. The settings can be adjusted using a series of push buttons that are mounted to a custom PCB. The hardware is assembled together using a 3D printed mounting component that Sharma designed using Fusion 360 just for this project.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Arnov Sharma)
(Image credit: Arnov Sharma)
In the official project page, Sharma confirms that the main board powering the studio light is a Raspberry Pi Pico 2 but you could likely get away with using a regular Pico in its place if that’s all you have on hand. It’s connected to a SSD1306 OLED display via I2C which provides live feedback of the current light settings. The custom PCBs connect to not only the Pico and screen but also the LEDs, buttons and a couple of 18650 batteries via a IP3506 5V 2A charge / discharge controller making the unit portable.
Like many of his other Pi projects, this one was made open source so the code is available for anyone to check out. Sharma goes into plenty of detail explaining how it works, as well. The buttons adjust the strength of the warm and cool LEDs in 25% increments. This makes it possible to tweak the lights with extreme precision to get the best lighting possible for your shots.
If you want to get a closer look at this Raspberry Pi project, check out the project page over at Hackster for more details and build guide showing how it all goes together.
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Michael Astorino’s ‘entrepreneurial and creative spirit’ paying off at Wesleyan University
Michael Astorino’s ‘entrepreneurial and creative spirit’ paying off at Wesleyan University
Michael Astorino recently walked into his favorite campus smoothie shop with two things in mind: an order and an offer. He cued up his laptop and gave the owner a pitch deck presentation, which was meant to benefit his Wesleyan University basketball teammates while also helping drum up business for the store.
The deal: If she gave players 50 percent off their smoothies for a limited time, he would create a mini-campaign for her — complete with digital content promoted on social media — in conjunction with Wesleyan hosting games on the first weekend of the Division III men’s basketball NCAA Tournament. An arrangement was agreed upon.
Wesleyan (26-1) begins NCAA Tournament play Friday night at home against Delaware Valley (15-12). The winner advances to a second-round game on Saturday night. If you should be in Middletown, Conn., from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, you can stop by The Fresh Monkee, order from the signature player smoothie menu and receive 25 percent off — all because Astorino saw a name, image and likeness opportunity.
Wesleyan is having a historic season, earning the No. 1 overall NCAA Tournament seed while setting the single-season program record for wins. The Cardinals will attempt to make it out of the first weekend and reach the Sweet 16 for the first time. Yet one of their most intriguing stories comes from someone who likely won’t play.
Astorino, a 6-foot-5, 195-pound junior from Upper Dublin, Pa., has appeared in five games all season for 11 minutes. He doesn’t have a large personal brand. As of mid-week, his Instagram account had 2,289 followers, and his X account had 148 followers. Still, he has managed to carve out a niche in the NIL space, unlike many college athletes at lower levels, through an insatiable curiosity and work ethic.
Astorino, who has partnered with more than 15 brands, co-founded an NIL agency. He earned a part-time job as head of partnerships for a vegan protein company that stemmed from an NIL deal. He is even co-facilitating a “Wesleyan Shark Tank” course that teaches students how to pitch businesses to potential investors.
“He has an entrepreneurial and creative spirit that is in the top 1 percent of guys that I’ve coached,” Wesleyan basketball coach Joe Reilly said. “He’s in good company. I think the difference with him is that he’s taken a non-traditional path, and there’s no blueprint for it. He’s creating it himself. That within itself is the most impressive part.”
Michael Astorino has appeared in just five games for a total of 11 minutes this season. (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)
Most people likely think of NIL opportunities as they relate to Division I players or the best players on major sports programs at lower levels. Astorino is proof that ambition and hustle off the court are just as important, if not more, because there are few collectives or agents for Division III players.
Astorino said he was inspired, in part, by Jack Betts, who played football in the same conference at Amherst College and graduated in 2023. Betts said he earned around $9,500 combined in free product and total compensation. But he amassed more than 35 NIL-related deals, earned the moniker “The King of D3 NIL” and used that experience to found The Make Your Own Legacy Academy, a first-of-its-kind NIL education solution created to help underserved small-market athletes.
When Astorino was a freshman, he reached out to Betts seeking advice.
“I told him, if you want to find success in this realm, you’ve really got to go out there and get it,” Betts said. “It’s going to be difficult. There’s going to be a lot of no’s coming your way. But it doesn’t matter how many no’s you get. It’s not the end of the world. It just matters about that one brand that says yes. It just matters about that one contact that’s like, ‘Yeah, absolutely. I’d love to sit down and chat.’”
Astorino attempted to connect with brands through email, Instagram direct messages or LinkedIn searches looking for a marketing representative at companies. He sought out brands he used in his daily life. He estimated that he sent 20 to 30 messages per day. His unique pitch to them was that he would not only represent a brand as a college athlete but that he would create engaging videos in exchange for free products.
“It was a lot of trial and error,” Astorino said. “I probably was just pumping out emails for the first couple months to see what hit.”
He said the first company to say yes was Air Relax, which sent him about $800 worth of product in compression boots for athlete recovery. He subsequently partnered with the cold-pressed juice brand Suja Organic, along with House Pickleball, Clean Energy and Spacemilk, a vegan protein brand whose founder was so impressed with Astorino that he hired him part-time to oversee social media strategy, influencer marketing and brand collaborations.
Astorino’s ambition wasn’t so much about money as it was to network and learn about the opportunities NIL can present. He estimates he has made roughly $1,000 with the rest coming in free product. His experiences in two years have allowed him to participate in NIL from three perspectives: athlete, agent and brand representative.
Astorino thinks about ways to push something forward. He went to his local grocery store and convinced the owners to sell Spacemilk. When he was initially told the store didn’t have room on the shelves, he spent $75 to create a pop-up display with a big cardboard cutout that he set up at the end of a shelf.
“I’ve hired really expensive people, and you’ve got to hold their hand the whole way,” Spacemilk founder Walter Ross said. “And I wouldn’t hear from Michael for a week, and I’d check back in, and he’s crushed a mountain of deliverables and really pushed the ball down the field. And I’m like, ‘Dude, what? This is like some founder-level commitment that you’re just chasing after this and going for it.’”
Astorino’s foray into co-founding an NIL agency was the result of another cold outreach. His friend’s cousin is Nick O’Shea, a former kicker at Morgan State. O’Shea was thinking of starting Xtra Point Solutions when Astorino messaged him in February 2023 asking if he could be represented in exchange for designing graphics for the website and Instagram account. O’Shea wasn’t looking for a Division III athlete at the time, but he quickly realized Astorino had a legitimate interest in helping the business succeed.
“At first, I just wanted to help him feel included,” O’Shea said. “But then he started providing more value than I was providing in a lot of ways. It turned into me begging him to get on the calls with me.
“He does everything. Seriously, any meeting I go into, Michael’s there with me, whether it’s with the founder of another company, whether it’s with an athlete that we’re trying to recruit, whether it’s an athlete coming to us. Every single conversation. Even to the point where when we write for grants, we do it together. I tell everybody Michael came on as my digital wizard and turned into a wizard in every other aspect, too.”
O’Shea said neither of them has brought in much money because the initial attempt was to find free product for athletes so the two could establish their names. They have helped find deals for more than 80 athletes.
The two partnered to earn a $25,000 grant from the United Way Foundation to conduct the Payton Harvey Cheer Camp in Detroit. Harvey is a former cheerleader at Michigan. Astorino set up registration platforms for the event through the agency’s website and managed T-shirt orders.
O’Shea, a Michigan native, has used relationships from his home state as the backbone for athlete partnerships. But Astorino has been integral in helping to secure athletes, including USC women’s basketball player and former McDonald’s All-American Aaliyah Gayles. Astorino attended IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., for three years of high school, captained and played on the “Varsity Blue” team below the national squad and had the trust of some of his friends to help start their NIL journeys.
“The best part about NIL for us was it’s so new that nobody could tell us that they were an expert and had so many years in the business because no one did,” Astorino said.
Wesleyan hosts Delaware Valley in the Division III NCAA Tournament on Friday night. (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)
Wesleyan is a small liberal arts school that is among the most academically minded Division III programs in the country. U.S. News & World Report ranked Wesleyan in the top 15 for best national liberal arts colleges. Astorino is majoring in psychology because he said the school doesn’t have a business major. Both his parents were psychologists, and his older sister, Eden, will start graduate school in September in a doctoral psychology program. His dad, David, said the family has encouraged Michael’s creativity.
“The only rules we have are you have to be a good person, and you have to find something that gives you energy and try to be the best you can at it,” David said. “Our kids are starting at a very good place in society and life. So in some cases, we just want to raise the bar higher for them.”
Astorino said his classes this semester are on Mondays and Wednesdays, which gives him time to balance everything else: workouts in the afternoon, practices in the evening, homework and his business endeavors. He is typically up by 8 a.m. and asleep by midnight. What takes up most of his time these days is the class he co-teaches as part of a for-credit student forum. His co-instructor, Ben Carbeau, is a senior and Wesleyan football player who already co-owns his own hard tea company.
The idea, Astorino said, is to prepare students to understand financial literacy, legal structure and public speaking. A recent class brought a Wesleyan alum and Harvard law graduate in to discuss how to become incorporated as a business and what constitutes intellectual property. The final project will consist of students pitching their businesses to Wesleyan alumni in a Shark Tank-style event on campus.
Astorino isn’t sure what he wants his future to look like. He has an opportunity to be a production assistant for two weeks this summer in Los Angeles on the actual television show “Shark Tank” because of a relationship he struck up with the show’s director, Ken Fuchs, a 1983 Wesleyan graduate. Astorino has a standing offer for a full-time job at Spacemilk upon graduation. There is also the NIL agency.
All Astorino knows is that he loves marketing and entrepreneurship. And, for now, he’s going to squeeze everything he can out of the Wesleyan experience, on and off the court.
“I love having packed days when my Google calendar is booked end to end,” Astorino said. “I find it’s fun for me. It doesn’t feel like work. And some days it gets super busy and overwhelming. But I love it. If there’s any time to do that, it’s now in college when you’re young and have the energy.”
(Top photo: Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)
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Sen. Blumenthal asks Visa for details on Elon Musk X payments deal
Sen. Blumenthal asks Visa for details on Elon Musk X payments deal
Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the January 6th insurrection, in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 2, 2021.
Graeme Jennings | Pool via Reuters
Sen. Richard Blumenthal this week pressed Visa for detailed plans and documents related to its deal to provide payments services to Elon Musk’s social media site, X, as it prepares to launch a digital wallet.
Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut and the ranking member of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, pointed to Musk’s role in hobbling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — the consumer watchdog that would be a key regulator of the X Money service — as among the reasons for the information request, according to a March 6 letter obtained by CNBC.
“Given the unique position of X Chairman and Chief Technology Officer Elon Musk as leader of the Department of Government Efficiency and his recent role in gutting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau … Visa stands to take advantage of the deep conflicts of interest and unscrupulous conduct of its new business partner,” Blumenthal wrote.
The Senate request is one of the first signs of scrutiny on Visa, which runs the world’s largest credit card network, after a late January announcement that it had agreed to power peer-to-peer payments on X. Days after the deal was disclosed, operatives from Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency gained access to CFPB data systems, leading to accusations that Musk wanted to kneecap a future regulator and that he could steal trade secrets of competitors to his nascent X Money service.
The letter, addressed to Visa CEO Ryan McInerney, also cast doubts about whether a social media network known for “bots, scams and hate speech” would be able to prevent scams and fraud from proliferating on the site. Musk purchased the site in 2022, when it was known as Twitter.
“These concerns raise questions about X’s ability to protect consumers from fraud and scams as it ventures into the financial sector,” Blumenthal wrote.
“As the largest payment processor in the world, Visa has a legal responsibility to ensure its network is free of financial crime such as scams and fraud, money-laundering, terrorist financing, and more,” he said.
Blumenthal asked for a detailed description of Visa’s plans to enable payments on X, including the business model of the service and Visa’s role in compliance with regulatory requirements around money laundering and illicit remittances.
He also pressed Visa for “all records” related to the deal and communications between X, Visa, DOGE and CFPB personnel.
Representatives for Visa and X didn’t immediately have comment.
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Broadcom shares rise as AI growth powers strong guidance
Broadcom shares rise as AI growth powers strong guidance
Hock Tan, CEO of Broadcom.
Martin H. Simon | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Broadcom shares climbed about 5% after the company posted strong first-quarter earnings and guidance that signaled ongoing artificial intelligence demand.
The chipmaker posted adjusted earnings of $1.60 per share on $14.92 billion in revenue. That surpassed the adjusted earnings of $1.49 per share and $14.61 billion in revenue expected by analysts polled by LSEG. Revenues rose 25% from $11.96 billion a year ago.
Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya called the results from Broadcom a “reassuring update from an AI leader” and a “positive read-across for AI sentiment.”
Broadcom has benefitted from the artificial intelligence ***** that’s swept Wall Street since the launch of ChatGPT, with shares more than doubling in 2024. The stock has pulled back about 19% since the start of 2025 as chipmakers reliant on parts outside the U.S. face tariff fears under President Donald Trump’s administration.
The results offered a reprieve for an industry that’s faced a tough bar to clear this earnings season. Popular names have slumped post results even after topping estimates. Marvell Technology was the latest example, falling 20% Thursday for its steepest drop since 2001 after missing some elevated buyside estimates.
Along with the first-quarter beat, Broadcom offered upbeat guidance for the current *******, calling for revenues of $14.9 billion. That topped a $14.76 billion forecast from Wall Street. Net income during the first quarter rose to $5.5 billion, or $1.14 per share, up from $1.33 billion, or 28 cents per share, a year ago.
“The [quarter] should provide some relief after the MRVL disappointment, and the optimism around the [serviceable addressable market], and the potential for customers 6 and 7 … will give confidence in the longer term growth profile,” wrote Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore in a note.
Broadcom is well known for creating infrastructure and connectivity solutions for data centers underpinning large language models and advanced AI tools. The company said in December that it was developing custom AI chips for three large cloud customers. CEO Hock Tan also said Thursday that Broadcom has “deeply engaged” with two other hyperscalers, and is working to create custom chips with four other possible customers.
The company’s AI revenues for the ******* grew 77% from a year ago to $4.1 billion. Tan said that Broadcom expects AI semiconductor revenue to reach $4.4 billion this quarter. AI sales stem from the company’s semiconductor solutions business, which grew 11% from a year ago to $8.21 billion.
— CNBC’s Kif Leswing contributed reporting
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Cybersecurity agency’s top recruits decimated by DOGE cuts
Cybersecurity agency’s top recruits decimated by DOGE cuts
For Kelly Shaw, unemployment is unfamiliar territory. “I’ve never been in this situation before. I’ve never been fired,” Shaw said, suddenly quiet, while seated at her kitchen table in Northern Virginia.
Nearly three years ago, the longtime senior intelligence analyst left the Navy, after being recruited by the nation’s top cyber defense agency and rising up through the ranks. Eventually, Shaw helped establish a congressionally mandated program designed to continuously monitor and detect cyber breaches of the nation’s power grid, pipelines and water system – installing sensors across critical infrastructure designed to detect insider threats and foreign adversaries like China, Russia and Iran.
“It was all about the information we can get within networks to find the bad guys – any indicators of compromise, evidence of the adversary, moving through a network and attempting to do bad things. That’s what we did,” Shaw said, pausing. “Well, that’s what some will still do.”
The former manager for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency’s “CyberSentry” program, Shaw was also among the 130 probationary CISA workers mass fired in the “Valentine’s Day Massacre” during the holiday weekend last month.
That weekend, the form letter termination notices arrived for over 4% of CISA’s workforce, telling them they were “not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and skills do not fit the Agency’s current needs.” Among them were the nation’s threat hunters, incident response team members, disabled veterans and employees who’d already signed onto the federal government’s deferred resignation program.
Others were former private sector workers who left lucrative jobs making seven-figure salaries to join the federal government and officials recruited into DHS’ innovative hiring program — dubbed the “Cyber Talent Management System” — and analysts with top secret security clearances.
“I waited literally 13 months from the moment I got my offer letter to the moment I started this job,” said former cybersecurity specialist Paula Davis, recounting her arduous security clearance process. Before her termination letter arrived in her email inbox, Davis said she was required to send agency leadership an email justifying her position, but she never received a response.
Davis spent her days analyzing code for state and local municipalities, identifying risks or abnormalities across the nation’s aging critical infrastructure.
“We’re being targeted daily, hourly and every single minute,” Davis said, citing suspected cybercriminals’ attempts to infiltrate water systems and the power grid. She called her role fighting those intrusions her “dream job.”
“I didn’t take an oath to the Constitution just to start getting a paycheck,” Davis said, “Or else I would have just gone back into the private sector. I would have stayed at a big corporation.”
Since last month, the rapid-fire firings have shaken lawmakers and high-ranking officials, leaving many current and former employees dumbfounded. CBS News has spoken with over a dozen current and former CISA employees, including several who were granted anonymity in interviews, due to fear of reprisal.
“These are the people that are the first line of defense in responding to incidents like Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon, and if we go even further back, SolarWinds,” said one former CISA employee, referencing a string of foreign cyber espionage campaigns dating back to President Trump’s first administration.
“These are elite hunters that look across critical infrastructure and government networks to figure out if these bad actors are active in these networks,” the former employee continued. “The people who find how deeply they’ve penetrated and ‘how do we get them out of there?'”
Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, warned at a hearing Wednesday that lawmakers are hearing that “significant cuts are coming for the remaining workforce” at CISA.
“That kind of talent, you just don’t find it every day,” Thompson told CBS News. “You have to convince many of those individuals to leave lucrative private sector employment and come and accept the public mission of securing our cyber security systems and protecting our country.”
In a post on LinkedIn, last month, Former CISA Director Jen Easterly wrote that the agency had hired over 2,000 new employees during her more than three-year tenure.
Since 2021, CISA’s “strategic recruitment” program – congressionally mandated and more than seven years in the making – has competed with the private sector to attract and retain world-class talent to execute a core mission of the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CISA. Cyber Talent Management System or “CTMS” hires were by law employees with “measurable or observable” attributes including “knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviors.“
A former human resources employee for CISA who was among those fired told CBS News that before his termination, he was tasked with compiling a list of probationary employees, and among them were over 100 CTMS staff members.
“Everybody in CTMS is automatically in a three-year probation, so it’s easier to get rid of them,” the former HR employee told CBS News. “Close to 99% of our CTMS employees were probationary.”
“You are extinguishing the best and brightest in one fell swoop,” a current CISA employee said.
A CISA spokesperson told CBS News in a statement that the agency had 142 employees as part of its talent recruitment program, but did not disclose the number of employees fired.
Shaw was among the first recruits to the “CTMS” program, entering with 12 years of government service, two master degrees in electrical engineering and cybersecurity, plus at least nine different specialized cyber certifications.
“I had such confidence,” Shaw said. “With all my prior experience. I just completed my doctorate in May of last year. So I thought I was well positioned to stay at CISA….But when I saw that executive order come through about probationary employees, I kind of panicked.”
In a statement to CBS News, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the Trump administration is “making sweeping cuts and reform across the federal government to eliminate egregious waste and incompetence that has been happening for decades at the expense of the American taxpayer.”
“To me, knowing how sleek and how well organized of an engine we had at CISA, that’s a lie,” Shaw said of the effort to slash federal spending by eliminating federal workers. “I don’t know who else is going to be cut loose from our nation’s cyber defense organizations. But I’m worried about that. I’m worried about that. This should be the last place that we should be cutting this expertise.”
Along with firing scores of probationary workers, over the last month, CISA has put on leave at least a dozen employees who are tasked with stopping foreign interference in U.S. elections, part of a wider trend of dismantling U.S. efforts to fight foreign meddling in elections.
But concerns stemming from cybersecurity workforce cuts extend beyond the CISA workforce.
Former NSA cybersecurity director Rob Joyce raised “grave concerns” that aggressive threats to cuts of U.S. government probationary employees will have a “devastating impact on the cybersecurity and our national security.”
“At my former agency, remarkable technical talent was recruited into developmental programs that provided intensive unique training and hands-on experience to cultivate vital skills,” Joyce said. “Eliminating probationary employees will destroy a pipeline of top talent responsible for hunting and eradicating [********] threats.”
To help assist fired employers at her former agency, Easterly has created a matching website to connect former CISA alumni and prospective employers.
For his part, Thompson has started a hotline to encourage fired employees at the Department of Homeland Security and its components to share their stories.
After the Trump administration tapped the Office of Personnel Management to fire federal employees en masse, a federal judge temporarily blocked it, citing OPM’s lack of authority to fire employees at other agencies. This week, OPM updated its guidance to reflect that firing decisions are made by individual departments and agencies, spurring the rehiring or reinstatement of batches of fired workers in the weeks since. CISA has yet to follow suit.
Asked if she’d return to the agency, Shaw paused. “I would have to go back,” she finally said, citing CISA’s essential mission and a regular paycheck. “I mean, they’d have to earn my trust back. But I don’t know how you do that.”
Colby Hochmuth contributed to this report.
Nicole Sganga
Nicole Sganga is CBS News’ Homeland Security correspondent.
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Stranded Nasa astronauts to finally return to Earth after nine months in space – MSN
Stranded Nasa astronauts to finally return to Earth after nine months in space – MSN
Stranded Nasa astronauts to finally return to Earth after nine months in space MSNElon Musk’s offer to bring home stranded astronauts never reached the space station, say NASA astronauts who are still in orbit after 9 months YahooStarliner crew says they were unaware of any Musk offer for earlier return The Washington PostAt long last, Starliner astronauts prepare for their journey home: ‘We’re coming back’ USA TODAYStranded astronaut confirms Biden shot down Musk’s offer to bring pair home: ‘Absolutely factual’ New York Post
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Ki’Lolo Westerlund, 17, is America’s flag football star of the future
Ki’Lolo Westerlund, 17, is America’s flag football star of the future
Ki’Lolo Westerlund knew she had a starring role in an NFL Flag 50 commercial promoting flag football that would air during Super Bowl LIX. She knew she’d be appearing alongside past and present NFL players such as Myles Garrett, Justin Jefferson and Marshawn ******. She just hadn’t seen it. It aired on millions of screens worldwide right after halftime, but the 17-year-old flag football star was actually at the game in New Orleans with her father.
Westerlund was a standout receiver and defensive back at Liberty High School in Las Vegas. She also helped the U.S. Girls’ Junior National Team win gold medals in the 15U and 17U groupings of USA Football’s Junior International Cup each year from 2022 to 2024. Last year, she became the first recipient of a Division I flag football scholarship, and before enrolling at Alabama State this fall, she’ll try out for the 2025 U.S. Women’s National Team later this month.
But while Westerlund’s phone blew up with notifications, she eagerly awaited the chance to witness the Super Bowl ad for herself. Once the third quarter ended, it played on the screens at the Caesars Superdome.
Essentially, Westerlund played herself, but with the clock wound back 40 years to 1985. She played a high schooler who, despite being doubted by her male counterparts, thrived on the gridiron, juking and dodging defenders. The climax was a scene in which she mimicked Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley’s gravity-defying backward hurdle to embarrass an opponent who questioned her skills.
Leave the past behind. Let’s make girls flag football a varsity sport in all 50 states. #NFLFlag50 #SBLIX pic.twitter.com/I0yzbDYZGo
— NFL (@NFL) February 10, 2025
Westerlund was sitting — well, standing — in the Eagles fan section at the Super Bowl when the ad played, and the Bird Gang faithful surrounding her, already ecstatic as they witnessed the Eagles’ beatdown of the Kansas City Chiefs, went nuts.
“It was really an honor,” Westerlund said recently in a phone interview. “That’s kind of when it all hit me. I was emotional. And I was like, ‘Wow, this is actually happening. This is crazy.’ All the people around me were like, ‘Wait, that’s you!’”
NFL Flag 50 is a campaign that the league started to push for girls flag football to become a sanctioned varsity high school sport in all 50 states. There are currently 14 states that have sanctioned it, Louisiana recently gave it conditional approval and 18 additional states have started pilot programs. The NFL Flag program has provided opportunities for youths of all genders to learn and play the sport since the 1990s.
If you’re wondering why the NFL would put together a two-minute commercial to air during an event where a 30-second commercial reportedly cost around $8 million, the popularity of flag football — and the league’s investment in the sport — has exploded in recent years.
GO DEEPER
Why flag football’s Olympics inclusion has been ‘rocket fuel’ for growth, especially among women
Flag football will debut as an Olympic sport in a five-on-five format at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The NFL changed the Pro Bowl to a flag football format in 2023. While it’s uncertain if NFL players will participate in the 2028 Games, it’s something league officials and USA Football (the governing body for American football in the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee) are discussing.
In the last five years, flag football has become a collegiate sport at the NAIA, NJCAA and the NCAA Division I, II and III levels. Earlier this month, the sport got a recommendation to join the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program, which would allow schools in all three NCAA divisions to make a deeper commitment to the sport and one day potentially submit it for consideration for championship status.
Alabama State, an FCS program, became the first DI school with a women’s flag football program in April 2024. This past offseason, it became the first DI school to hand out a scholarship in the sport. It went to Westerlund.
When Alabama State coach Jennifer Constuble received approval to offer a scholarship, she knew she wanted to use it on someone who would be not only a game changer on the field but a trailblazer off of it.
“It was honestly a no-brainer,” Constable said recently. “She was my No. 1 pick to do that. … She’s going to be that person that kids are going to look up to.”
Westerlund is excited to compete at the collegiate level, but her larger goal is to compete in the 2028 Olympics and, more broadly, to continue to grow the game.
“Absolutely,” Westerlund said when asked if she believes people are becoming more accepting of girls and women playing football. “They are coming around and trying to understand it.
“And for those that still don’t, they will soon.”
Ki’Lolo Westerlund was the star of NFL Flag 50’s two-minute Super Bowl commercial. (Courtesy of the NFL)
Boredom led Westerlund to flag football.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic forced shutdowns worldwide, she was a volleyball and rugby player with no intention of playing flag football. But during a ******* of inactivity in 2020, she decided to try out for Apex Predators, a youth flag football club in Las Vegas.
“I was actually really bad,” Westerlund said, but she made the team alongside future U.S. Women’s Team member Maci Joncich and others. They started to play games against boys’ teams. And while Westerlund gradually improved, the team wasn’t faring well.
“We were constantly getting beat and whupped and made fun of, which I think brought us a lot closer as a team,” Westerlund said. “And it just pushed us to keep fighting.”
As the Apex Predators developed better chemistry, they began to talk about how they wanted to play against other girls at some point. So they worked to promote the game both locally and in other states as they traveled to play contests to garner interest.
Nevada had already sanctioned flag football as a varsity high school sport in 2016, so Westerlund was able to start playing when she enrolled at Liberty High in 2021. That was also the first year USA Football held tryouts for its national teams. The process of making the junior national team was an eye-opening experience for Westerlund.
“There were so many girls out there. And just before trials even started, seeing (all of the) like-minded people, it made me want to just keep going,” Westerlund said. “It made me realize that it’s ******* than just what we had in our little league in Vegas.”
Unlike her flag football predecessors, Westerlund had others she could look up to as role models. The biggest was Ashlea Klam, who at 19 became the youngest player to make the U.S. Women’s National Team in 2023. Her former teammate, Joncich, who broke Klam’s record in 2024, was another.
Meanwhile, Westerlund started to develop a reputation in her own right. While coaching a club team in the Los Angeles Open — a flag football tournament — several years ago, Constuble was short a player and found herself looking for an extra body.
Constuble happened to be friends with an aunt of Westerlund, who was in town and signed up for the squad. The team went on to win the tournament.
3x gold medalist Ki’Lolo Westerlund joins us after starring in the @NFLFLAG 50 commercial during #SuperBowlLIX and discusses becoming the 1st flag football player to receive a NCAA D1 flag football scholarship @TheRokuChannel | Check local listings pic.twitter.com/8Ke4RONxEG
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) February 10, 2025
As much as Westerlund’s skills stood out, so did her infectious personality.
“Her personality, her presence, her leadership qualities — she blended with a group of girls she had never met before so instantaneously,” Constuble said. “They all became friends.
“Her play ability speaks for itself,” Constuble continued, “but beyond her play ability, it’s her work ethic and her genuine desire and determination to be better and uplift everyone around her. That (is) such a pivotal role as a true ambassador for the sport and really somebody that young girls can look up to. It goes beyond athleticism. She’s just a genuine person who is humble hearted and has a mindset of, ‘I can do this, you can do this and we can do this better together.’”
Westerlund was constantly dancing and couldn’t stop running her mouth — whether it was talking trash to the opposing teams, complaining to the referees about calls or encouraging her teammates. She backed it up with her athleticism and competitiveness.
“I think it’s just my confidence — that’s what makes me stand out,” Westerlund said. “My passion for this game is just so strong. It’s more than just football. It’s everything that goes into it. I always want to play for a ******* purpose and a ******* reason. I always want to set a great example for other players, young or older.”
As Westerlund prepared to transition into college, Alabama State became the easy choice. It’s an HBCU, which appealed to her with her ****** and Samoan heritage. It would allow her to major in fire science, which she hopes to use to become a firefighter. Given the program just started last year, it provided her an opportunity to help build something.
“It meant the world to me,” Westerlund said. “Five years ago, I couldn’t see myself in this situation because I didn’t know anything about flag. I’m seeing the growth and knowing that I’m making an impact. And this is just a ******* step to open windows for so many young women.”
To Constuble, it isn’t even a question that Westerlund’s flag football career will extend far beyond Alabama State.
“I think she’s already been on that radar to make that Olympic team in 2028,” Constuble said. “If there went on to be a professional, NFL flag football program and it was all men, she’d probably make that, too. Her work ethic and her drive are far superior to most people her age — and even people older than her. She does everything with such a passionate heart that the only limitations are going to be the ones she gives herself.”
(Courtesy of USA Football)
Constuble began coaching flag football in 2003 when she and her husband at the time started an NFL Flag program in Victorville, Calif. She coached at the club and high school levels, then worked in the Los Angeles Rams’ youth engagement and football development program before she was hired as Alabama State’s coach last November. Across her long journey in flag football, the sport has made plenty of strides.
There are now over 100 countries where flag football is played. From 2014 to 2023, the number of children who played flag football in America increased by 38 percent (according to USA Football) to over 1.6 million. During that same time frame, the number of girls participating in flag football increased by 44 percent to upwards of 230,800.
GO DEEPER
NFL and flag football: Why the league has taken interest, invested heavily in it
“I’ve invested in this for over 20 years, so, to me, it’s been a long time coming,” Constuble said. “The sport has taken over the hearts of so many young ladies. And these young ladies who’ve probably grown up watching old highlight films of their dads or being on the sidelines watching their brothers or cheering on their cousins in the stands have developed a true love for the game. And now we’re seeing so many of those girls having an opportunity to actually play it for themselves.”
Still, there was grassroots-level work to be done when she started at Alabama State last November.
This January, Constuble held an open tryout for her inaugural team. She landed on a group of 26 women, none of whom intended on playing flag football when they enrolled at the school.
“Ninety percent of them have never played flag football,” Constuble said. “They just genuinely have a love for football and knew that they wanted to be a part of something special.”
Westerlund is expected to lead that charge moving forward. If she makes the 2025 U.S. Women’s National Team later this month, she’ll compete in the 2025 IFAF Americas Flag Football Championships, which decides who will qualify for the 2026 world championships and The World Games in August.
“And then I also strive to make the Olympic team, which would be amazing. I absolutely love representing my country,” Westerlund said. “After that, I just want to constantly make an impact, whether I’m coaching or playing. I do want to be a firefighter, but I would make time for football, of course.
“My goal is just to stay dedicated, stay consistent and inspire others.”
(Top photo courtesy of USA Football)
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Five Captivating Novels Set in Ancient Greece
Five Captivating Novels Set in Ancient Greece
Francis Oliver Finch (1802-1862). Classical Landscape with Figures, watercolor painting. Credit: Yale Center for British Art, via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
Recently, more and more foreign authors have been turning to ancient Greece to get inspiration for their novels. Contemporary writers, mainly British and American, draw on Greek mythology to add depth to their stories.
And who can blame them? With its beautiful ancient setting and rich mythological and religious themes, ancient Greece makes for an ideal backdrop to a novel.
The appeal of ancient Greece as a setting for novels
The trend of setting novels in ancient Greece began in the middle of the 20th century in the 1960s. Ancient Greece has remained a popular choice for authors. Apart from the breathtaking scenery it offers, full of gorges and temples, ancient Greece’s rich history and mythology add thrilling elements to any story, transporting the reader in what, for some, is the greatest epoch of all time.
By writing novels set in ancient Greece, authors can pick and choose out of a rich pool of myths and legends, such as vengeful or benevolent gods, epic heroes, and mythical beasts. These make for a nice respite from dramatic events like the ******* War or fights between formidable city-states such as Athens and Sparta.
In recent years, authors have also begun exploring lesser-known myths and figures, including those of Theseus, Penelope (Odysseus’ faithful wife), and the sorceress Circe.
The authors of the following five novels set in ancient Greece bring the ******* to life through their words, and one can expect to be swept away into a world of gods, monsters, and unforgettable heroes and heroines.
Five breathtaking novels set in ancient Greece
The King Must Die, by Mary Renault
The King Must Die is one of the two novels in the Theseus series by British author Mary Renault, published in 1958. It is a vivid reimagining of the myth of Theseus that traces his story from a noble youth to a legendary hero through his epic battles with the Minotaur and his struggles to defend his throne, which is threatened by usurpers.
The novel is set on Minoan Crete, with its splendid palaces and rich, vibrant culture. Whether you’re a Greek history connoisseur or not, the story will draw you into a world of ceremony, the intricacies of ancient Greek politics, and the labyrinth where Theseus battles one of Greek mythology’s most famous monsters.
2. The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller
The Song of Achilles is Madeline Miller‘s debut novel and winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2012. As per its title, it is about one of the most popular heroes in ancient Greek myth, Achilles, and is narrated by his cousin Patroclus.
Miller’s novel has been praised for its beautiful prose that explores the deep bond between Achilles and Patroclus amid the chaos of the ******* War. It transports readers into the heart of the Greek-******* battlefield but also offers them repose in the serene landscapes of ancient Greece, its grand mountains, and sparkling coasts. Pick it up this summer if you want a dose of ancient Greek beauty, heroic feats, and romance, all bound together by Miller’s captivating prose.
3. The Penelopiad, by Margaret Atwood
The Penelopiad is one of those novels that explores lesser-known and underrepresented figures in ancient Greek mythology, in this case Odysseus’ patient wife, Penelope. Published in 2005, it is a retelling of the myth of Odysseus from Penelope’s point of view as she navigates life in court during her husband’s absence.
With The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood gives Penelope a voice, whereas in The Odyssey she has none. In this way, the reader gets to know her character and wit in the schemes against her suitors. Set in the idyllic landscape of Ithaca, it is the perfect novel if you want to be transported to the oasis of a Greek island but also delve into the myth of Odysseus with a more critical stance.
4. A Thousand Ships, by Natalie Haynes
Continuing the trend of using ancient Greece as a background to exploring women’s stories, A Thousand Ships is a retelling of the ******* War through a female lens. Haynes brings a range of female figures from ancient Greek myth to life, including well-known characters such as Cassandra, Andromache, and the goddesses Eris and Athena. She also shines a light on lesser-known figures such as Creusa of Troy, daughter of King Priam, and Penthesilea, the Amazonian queen.
A Thousand Ships takes its readers on a journey through the lustrous city of Troy and the rugged landscapes of the ancient Greek world. It tells the individual stories of these female characters, depicting how the ******* War affects them both from within besieged Troy and from afar.
5. Circe, by Madeline Miller
Most people remember Circe as the enchantress who kept Odysseus stranded on her island for a year on his way home to Ithaca. In her novel, Miller reimagines Circe as a powerful figure and traces the goddess’ journey from a sheltered life in her father Helios’ glittering palace to her exile on the remote, wild island of Aeaea.
During her exile, Circe encounters important Greek gods and heroes, some of whom help her and others who oppose her. She comes across gods like Hermes, the hunter Apollo, and Athena, as well as notable figures such as Daedalus, Jason, and Medea. Of course, she also even happens upon Odysseus.
By blending the grandeur of myth with human emotion, all set against the rich green and golden landscapes of ancient Greek islands and the mainland, Miller provides readers with a truly unforgettable experience.
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Intuitive Machines stock plummets after second apparent sideways moon landing – Reuters
Intuitive Machines stock plummets after second apparent sideways moon landing – Reuters
Intuitive Machines stock plummets after second apparent sideways moon landing ReutersNASA Sets Coverage for Intuitive Machines’ Second Private Moon Landing NASAIntuitive Machines’ Athena Lander Is on the Moon, but Its Fate Is Unclear The New York TimesIce-hunting Moon lander runs into trouble ― leaving scientists in suspense Nature.com
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Two Point Museum Review – GamesReviews
Two Point Museum Review – GamesReviews
From GamesReviews:”Join the adventure in Two Point Museum, a delightful game that combines quirky design with educational management challenges.”
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3 Beaten Down Stocks With Quality Fundamentals and Outlook
3 Beaten Down Stocks With Quality Fundamentals and Outlook
“Quality” stocks with strong fundamentals tend to be rewarding places to stash hard-earned money. Since 2009, investing in a basket of quality stocks over a standard index has been a strong divergence. Analysis from T. Rowe Price shows that the quality-focused MSCI All-Country World Index (ACWI) significantly outperformed the standard ACWI.
However, just because a stock has a quality company behind it doesn’t mean it will be a great investment. Reactions to new information can damper a company’s value, especially in the short term. However, this can also create an opportunity to invest in a quality company at a good price.
Quality doesn’t have a strict definition when it comes to stocks. However, quality fundamentals include high-profit margins, low debt levels, and strong return on equity (ROE). Additionally, being in an industry with rising long-term demand is a big positive.
Below, I’ll detail three stocks that investors have beaten down by 20% or more in 2025 but still have strong quality characteristics. All return figures and other metrics use data as of March. 3 close unless otherwise stated.
1. TTD: Down Over 40% With Strengths Across the Board
Trade Desk (NASDAQ:) was a hot stock in 2024, rising over 63%. However, the stock has gotten crushed to start 2025, down a staggering 43%. Shares got obliterated after the company’s recent earnings report. Revenue growth and revenue guidance were weak, and the company missed its internal expectations for the first time in 33 quarters. Still, this company has many strong characteristics despite its recent ******. The company maintained a strong operating margin of over 17% for the full year 2024, and analysts expect this figure to remain stable in 2025.
Forecasters expect revenue growth to drop significantly next year but will still grow at a solid 18% clip. Analysts see the figure accelerating back to 20% in the following years and that earnings will grow 32% by 2026. Additionally, the company has excess cash of $1.6 billion after subtracting its total debt. Trade Desk is in two large and growing markets: advertising technology and connected TV. Despite recent hiccups, the Trade Desk remains in a strong long-term position.
2. ANET: Data Center Supplier With Big-Time ROE
Arista Networks (NYSE:) is a technology firm that is down 22% in 2025 but still has quality fundamentals. The company has an impressive adjusted operating margin of 47%. By 2025, analysts predict Arista will have an adjusted operating margin of 44%. This is more than 1,000 basis points above estimates for Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:), one of its major competitors. Analysts forecast revenue to keep growing at a solid rate of 20%, while they project earnings to increase around 59% by 2027.
Arista’s cash exceeds its debt by over $8 billion, giving it the ability to engage in significant mergers and acquisitions (M&A) if it chooses. Additionally, the firm sits in another market that most agree is only poised to grow: data centers. This company offers equipment that directs traffic in data centers.
It ensures information reaches its destination quickly and efficiently. The firm also boasts an incredibly high ROE of 33% over the past 12 months, which, according to Koyfin data, is higher than 95% of global technology stocks.
3. STZ: Buffet’s Billion-Dollar Bet on Beer
Constellation Brands (NYSE:) is a significantly different company from the other two, but still has undeniable strengths. The company owns the world’s most popular ******** beers, including Corona, Modelo, and Pacifico. Shares are down nearly 21%. Shares dropped over 15% after the firm’s latest financial release, where it missed on both earnings and revenue.
Constellation had a strong adjusted operating margin of nearly 33% in 2024. Analysts expect this figure to rise by around 200 basis points in 2026. Revenue growth expectations are in the 2% to 5% range annually over the coming years, and earnings are forecast to grow 66% by 2027.
Overall, investors know the beer industry for its steady growth and resilience in bad economic times. Over the past 10 years, Constellation hasn’t seen negative full-year revenue growth a single time. are a risk for this firm, but Warren Buffett is one investor who is notably bullish. Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:) purchased an over $1 billion stake in the firm in Q4. However, given recent developments, seeing if that position gets ******* or smaller after Q1 will be interesting.
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US job gains stable despite concern over economic risks
US job gains stable despite concern over economic risks
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Job growth in the US continued last month, although at a weaker rate than expected, as questions rise about the prospects for the economy.
Employers added 151,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1%, from 4% in January, the Labor Department said.
The monthly report from the government is a closely-watched signal of economic health.
It was under particular scrutiny this month, amid rising concern about the economic disruption sparked by Trump administration policy changes.
Analysts had been forecasting about 170,000 new jobs. The monthly gain in February was similar to the average monthly rise of 168,000 over the past year, the Labor Department said.
Hiring was driven by health care and financial firms.
Government hiring slowed sharply, with employment in the federal government falling by 10,000. Analysts cautioned that the report did not yet reflect the full extent of the cuts that the White House has announced.
Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, said the report felt “reassuringly in line with expectations, showing payrolls growth only modestly weaker than in recent months”.
“Yet, while the worst fears were not met, the report does confirm that the labour market is cooling,” she warned.
“Furthermore, with no shortage of headwinds confronting the US economy, the softening trend is likely to persist and may potentially deepen given the toxic combination of federal government layoffs, public spending cuts, and tariff uncertainty related inertia.”
Even before Donald Trump took office as president, financial analysts had been surprised at the long-running streak of growth in the US labour market, which came despite pressure from price increases and high interest rates.
In his first weeks, Trump’s changes to US policy have added to pressures on the economy, generating widespread uncertainty.
Those include tariffs on America’s top three trade partners, some of which have since been reversed, and cuts to federal jobs and spending, efforts that are facing challenges in the courts.
Polls indicate that the moves have the support of his base. But financial analysts have warned that they are contributing to worries in financial markets, hurting consumer sentiment and fuelling weakness across a range of other economic indicators.
A measure of manufacturing showed new orders dropping sharply last month. Retail sales posted their biggest drop in two years in January, while foot traffic at major chains such as Target, Walmart and McDonald’s fell last month, according to data from tracking firm Placer.ai.
Private firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that layoffs in February jumped to their highest level since July 2020, driven by government cuts.
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The Future Of Call of Duty-Insider Gaming Weekly
The Future Of Call of Duty-Insider Gaming Weekly
Welcome, everyone, to Insider Gaming Weekly: A Video Game Podcast for March 7, 2025. In this week’s episode: Far Cry’s multiplayer game has been restarted, another developer seems finished, and the future of Call of Duty is up in the air.
Mike, Grant, and Albert also continue the battle for supremacy on the trivia board. Meanwhile, Tom joins the show to give his thoughts on Call of Duty’s future and the latest in gaming rumors. There’s also some GTA 6 predictions thanks to a question from the Insider Gaming forums.
It’s Insider Gaming Weekly: A Video Game Podcast!
If you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing (links below) and leaving a rating and review. You can also submit questions for future shows and your feedback to [email protected].
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About The Show
Each and every Friday, Senior Editors Mike Straw and Grant Taylor-Hill alongside Senior Producer Albert Perkins bring you the latest in video game news, events, rumors and more.
From friendly debates to challenges for the audience and each other, you don’t want to miss a single thing from Insider Gaming Weekly. Even Insider Gaming Co-Founder Tom Henderson will stop by from time to time to talk the latest in gaming rumors that players need to know about.
Don’t forget to share the show and leave a rating to help us grow this new venture. You can also submit questions for future shows and your feedback to [email protected].
Join the Discussion
If you want to talk about the latest episode of the show with the hosts and staff, head on over to the Insider Gaming Forums where you can hangout with other gamers and listeners, and talk about everything from your favorite games and shows to even sharing your best in-game artwork. It’s all there at the Insider Gaming Forums.
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AMD might go for Nvidia’s jugular in Q2 with a faster RX 9070 ‘Extreme’ GPU that could leave the RTX 5070 Ti in the dust
AMD might go for Nvidia’s jugular in Q2 with a faster RX 9070 ‘Extreme’ GPU that could leave the RTX 5070 Ti in the dust
AMD is rumored to be planning a faster take on its RX 9070 models
This ‘Ultimate Navi 48’ GPU is supposedly being readied for a Q2 release
AMD is apparently aiming for a performance level of between the RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5080
AMD could be releasing a faster take on its RX 9070 GPUs as soon as Q2 2025, according to a fresh rumor.
Moore’s Law is Dead (MLID) has a new video out on YouTube which discusses a range of topics across AMD’s new RDNA 4 GPUs, with the excellent RX 9070 XT and vanilla 9070 having gone on ***** yesterday – and part of the chatter here is more reinforcement of what we’ve already heard about the MSRPs of these boards.
Before I get into that, though, the most interesting revelation here (in my book) is that AMD is purportedly set to produce a new RDNA 4 graphics card using the Navi 48 chip – the one RX 9070 models are built on – with the GPU pushed to the absolute max.
According to one of MLID’s sources at a big US retailer, AMD’s graphics card making partners have been briefed on an ‘Ultimate Navi 48’ GPU which could be released in Q2, though I’d guess this would be more towards June than April (as this is the first whisper of such a board).
Team Red is apparently shooting for a performance level of between the RTX 5070 Ti and the RTX 5080. Naming-wise, this GPU would presumably be an RX 9070 XTX (or 9070 XT Extreme Edition as MLID suggests).
MLID doesn’t have anything else to share about this theoretical graphics card in terms of how the spec might pan out, so this is an early-stage rumor, for sure.
As mentioned, the YouTuber also talks about the RX 9070 launch supply, which was apparently triple the volume of the entire amount of Blackwell GPUs (all RTX 5000 models) that have arrived so far since the end of January.
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MLID asserts that the supply of RX 9070 boards is going to be more robust than Nvidia’s RTX 5000 models going forward – not just at launch – with one obvious caveat.
That catch is that only a percentage of the entry-level RDNA 4 graphics cards were sold at MSRP, and as we saw yesterday, once that initial batch was gone, those baseline boards got a fair bit more expensive.
If you’re hoping to grab one of AMD’s new graphics cards, don’t forget, we’re here to give you a leg up with securing your purchase courtesy of our guide on where to buy the RX 9070 XT and RX 9070.
RX 9070 XT & RTX 5070 Launch Analysis | AMD RDNA 4 Supply Leak – YouTube
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Analysis: An explosive Q2 beckons – and AMD is clearly off to a better start than Nvidia
Presumably with the supposed RX 9070 XTX, or Extreme Edition, we’d be looking at beefed up clock speeds, and possibly more VRAM (perhaps with the memory notched up on the speed front, too, MLID speculates). Whatever the case, however AMD might go with the spec, the intention is clear enough – to produce a GPU that would be roughly equivalent to a (theoretical) RTX 5070 Ti Super, or thereabouts.
What’s also planned for Q2 officially, as announced by AMD at the RX 9070 reveal at the end of February, is the debut of RX 9060 models, bringing more wallet-friendly fodder to the GPU world. So, in theory there’s plenty to look forward to as we head into Q2 which starts in only a few weeks.
As for the RX 9070 launch, from what I saw, stock did appear to be present in reasonable quantities – even if MSRP-level graphics cards sold out quite quickly (but not in the blink of an eye).
Is it fair that there aren’t any MSRP boards left now, because AMD is only willing to subsidize a limited number of RX 9070 graphics cards to get them at that price level for the on-***** day, so the recommended launch price is technically correct?
Well, it’s not an ideal situation, of course. We’re told by MLID that the entry-level price for the RX 9070 XT is likely to be around $670 going forward in the US, and looking at *** pricing now, entry-level 9070 XT boards are actually in stock, but they’re now 10% over the MSRP (roughly the same as that expected US price).
However, as MLID points out, at least a 10% hike isn’t terrible – when the 9070 XT looks good value in the first place, certainly – and there is still stock available in the *** at least (not in the US, mind, that I can see at the time of writing).
With restocking expected to be more robust, too, with AMD’s RDNA 4 graphics cards, this is at least a lot better than the situation with Nvidia’s RTX 5000 GPUs. That said, it’d be difficult to imagine a launch scenario much worse than Blackwell has been, sadly.
Team Red has done okay here, then, on balance, but it remains disappointing to me that the MSRP of RX 9070 models has proved to be something of an illusion spell cast by AMD. Still, with some ****** Friday or Prime Day magic, those asking prices may well return later this year…
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