3 new Xbox Game Pass games to play this weekend (February 21-23)
3 new Xbox Game Pass games to play this weekend (February 21-23)
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Avowed
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
EA Sports F1 24
Xbox made it clear that there are a ton of upcoming Xbox Series X games in 2025 that Game Pass subscribers will be itching to play. That lineup starts in earnest right now in February but will continue on with great games like South of Midnight and Doom: The Dark Ages in the coming months. If that wasn’t enough, the third-party games hitting Game Pass are excellent games in their own right. If you need something new to play this weekend, these are the obvious choices on Game Pass.
Avowed
Avowed – Official Launch Trailer
Those who paid a bit extra have already been enjoying Avowed as we did, but now all Game Pass subscribers at the Ultimate or PC tier can get in on the action. Set in the same universe as the Pillars of Eternity series, Avowed is a deep RPG that blows all of Obsidian’s past efforts out of the water. The game is full of dynamic choices, flexible combat, and compelling quests and characters. Rather than attempting to be as wide as something like Skyrim, Avowed keeps its scope more focused but gives much more depth to everything. This is one of the first must-play games of the year, no doubt.
Avowed is available now on Xbox Series X and PC.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
Launch Trailer | Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
If you need something to fill the void left by Balduir’s Gate 3, Rogue Trader should be the next game on your list. The 40K games come in all shapes and sizes nowadays, but this one takes the form of an isometric RPG with turn-based tactical combat and deep conversational elements set within that game’s lore. There’s no need to read all the books or play the other games, although the new Space Marine 2 is a great game either way. It is a bit more complex than BG3, but if you were able to learn those systems then you will have a blast with this game as well.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
EA Sports F1 24
F1 24 Official Career Mode Deep Dive
With all these massive RPGs, sometimes you need something with a bit more instant gratification to spice things up. EA Sports F1 24 is the pinnacle of F1 simulation games. It features a complete career mode, challenges, online races, and tons more to satisfy your need for speed. This racer does lean more on the simulation side of things, so it is aimed at the more hardcore crowd than something like a Forza Horizon 5, but is still welcoming to newcomers with tutorials and options to help bring you up to speed.
EA Sports F1 24 is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
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‘Time is running out’: Lawmakers scramble for a deal to stop a shutdown
‘Time is running out’: Lawmakers scramble for a deal to stop a shutdown
A Capitol Hill clash over President Donald Trump’s extraordinary moves to take control of federal spending is upping the chances that lawmakers won’t have a deal to fund the government before a shutdown deadline in just three weeks.
Talks between the top appropriators in the House and Senate have soured in the past week, with lawmakers still searching for an agreement on topline spending levels that are a prerequisite for funding individual agencies and programs for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Negotiators have insisted they are staying at the table to hash out an accord. But there’s no clear strategy to break the logjam, and House Republican leaders privately acknowledge that contingency plans need to be drawn up in case the impasse continues ahead of the March 14 deadline.
“Time is running out,” Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins of Maine told reporters.
The stalemate has been driven in part by partisan distrust over the Trump administration’s remarkable seizure of the federal purse strings. Democrats want assurances from Republicans that the administration will adhere to Congress’s wishes on spending as Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk summarily cut jobs and programs.
“The one thing Rosa DeLauro and I are asking for is simply an assurance that if there’s going to be Democratic votes, that the president and Elon Musk will follow the law, and they won’t just take our bill that we’ve worked really hard on and rip it up and it doesn’t matter,” Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, told reporters Thursday, referring to her counterpart on the House Appropriations Committee.
Though more GOP lawmakers are starting to speak out against the executive branch’s unilateral freezing of federal funds, Republican leaders are not likely to agree to checks on Trump’s ability to slash spending.
That has made a continuing resolution, which funds the government under the prior year’s spending levels, look more appealing to members of both parties — though even this alternative poses a risk of a shutdown.
A core group of House Republicans have repeatedly threatened to revolt if their leaders move forward with anything other than 12 individually negotiated spending measures. They want those bills to include certain conservative policy riders and spending cuts.
Democrats, meanwhile, are signaling they won’t bail Republicans out: DeLauro has said that if a long-term continuing resolution were to come to the floor — one that lasts beyond just a few days to let lawmakers put the finishing touches on a full-year bill — it would be “the job of the majority” to pass it.
Murray in a floor speech Thursday called a full-year continuing resolution a “nonstarter” that would end up creating “slush funds for this administration to adjust spending priorities and potentially eliminate longstanding programs as they see fit.”
A stopgap spending bill would also force Congress to lurch weeks or months at a time on status quo spending, bringing uncertainty to agencies that are already besieged by Trump and Musk’s unpredictable personnel cuts. Short-term, flat funding can halt military equipment upgrades, hinder strategic planning and prompt hiring and procurement freezes.
A sign negotiations were beginning to nosedive came Thursday afternoon, when Collins and Murray volunteered within an hour of each other very different readings on the state of the discussions.
Murray insisted negotiators are “extremely close” to landing the topline numbers and that she was in “constant communication” with her Republican colleagues, but didn’t explain how she squared her confidence with the fact that she and DeLauro are pushing for commitments to rein in Musk and Trump that Republicans are unlikely to accept.
Meanwhile, Collins said talks “appear to be at an impasse” after she and House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole of Oklahoma made a joint offer to Democrats on Sunday that had gone without a substantive reply “other than just a perfunctory acknowledgement.”
“I am very in disappointed,” Collins said in a brief interview.
The House has been in recess this past week, but members’ return on Monday could bring more clarity to the state of the talks. In interviews at the Capitol over the past few days, senators have expressed hopes of landing a deal so their efforts to negotiate individual funding bills don’t go to waste.
It typically takes at least a month for lawmakers to close out negotiations on the dozen appropriations bills once an overarching agreement on topline spending levels is locked in, but some Senate Appropriations subcommittee chairs say they will be ready to go when — or if — those numbers are delivered.
“We’ve been ready to go for a long time — we get a top line number, we’ll be done like that,” Sen. John Hoeven, chair of the Senate Appropriations Agriculture subcommittee, said in a brief interview, clapping his hands to emphasize the speed at which his panel is prepared to act.
“We’re looking forward to it,” said Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), chair of the Homeland Security subcommittee, of a toplines deal. “We want to get to work.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, who leads Democrats on the Agriculture subcommittee, offered a more sobering assessment: “It will be challenging to get something done by the 14th.”
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Are semiconductor companies due for a shift in 2025?
Are semiconductor companies due for a shift in 2025?
Semiconductor stocks are experiencing mixed reactions in 2025, especially after ******** AI model DeepSeek rattled the market earlier this month.
Citi Head of US Semiconductor Research Christopher Danely joins Market Domination hosts Julie Hyman and Alexandra Canal to explain that market movements are closely tied to the semiconductor cycle.
“First of all, we start with the cycle because the cycle determines largely the movement of semis overall, and we’re still positive on the cycle,” he said, pointing out that companies like Intel (INTC) have benefitted from short covering.
Danely highlights the underperformance of companies like Skyworks Solutions (SWKS), highlighting that it “lost a major design win to Broadcom (AVGO).” He also sees hope in analog semiconductor names like Texas Instruments Incorporated (TXN).
“We could be really at the beginning of a multi-year upturn in analog [companies],” Danely says, stressing that these stocks are positioned for growth.
To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination here.
This post was written by Josh ******
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Microsoft Is Reportedly Narrowing Down Its Supply of Xbox Series X Consoles In Brazil
Microsoft Is Reportedly Narrowing Down Its Supply of Xbox Series X Consoles In Brazil
ABizzel14h ago
I mean what can the really do. Allegedly they sold less than 3 million consoles the entire year (they’re competing with SteamDeck in sales which is crazy for a major console). Apparently they also sold less than 5 million the year before that. There’s probably enough stockpile currently available that they can cut production in half and easily be able to cover the next few years.
They have 1 more console in them IMO, just for customer loyalty but also so their 1st party developers have targeted hardware for the recommended spec when making their games. They should drop AMD, go NVIDIA (~RTX 6060~), pay the cost, and call it their last generation and push to be the major 3rd party service they want to be.
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Trump administration considering moving U.S. Postal Service under Commerce Department
Trump administration considering moving U.S. Postal Service under Commerce Department
The Trump administration is considering moving the U.S. Postal Service, an independent federal agency, under the Commerce Department, two sources tell CBS News.
The Commerce Department is headed by Howard Lutnick, a billionaire and close Trump ally. The change, should it take place, would occur through an executive action, the sources said.
The Washington Post first reported the Trump administration is considering the move.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a prominent Trump fundraiser who was appointed to the post during Mr. Trump’s first administration, announced earlier this week that he’s resigning. He didn’t say when he plans to depart.
Under DeJoy’s original plan, introduced in 2021, the USPS aimed to turn a profit in fiscal 2024 but instead reported two consecutive years of increasing losses.
The U.S. Postal Service was established in 1775, with Benjamin Franklin serving as the first postmaster general. As an independent agency, the Postal Service is run by the USPS Board of Governors, which includes the postmaster general and a deputy postmaster general.
Ed O’Keefe
Ed O’Keefe is CBS News senior White House and political correspondent. He previously worked for The Washington Post covering presidential campaigns, Congress and federal agencies. His primary focus is on President Biden, Vice President Harris and political issues across the country.
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Avatar: The Last Airbender Joins Magic: The Gathering This November
Avatar: The Last Airbender Joins Magic: The Gathering This November
Last year, at MagicCon Las Vegas, Wizards Of The Coast revealed three “Universes Beyond” collaboration sets would be coming to Magic: The Gathering in 2025: Final Fantasy, Spider-Man, and one mystery set. Today, during a preview panel at MagicCon Chicago, the company confirmed which IP will be the focus of that mystery set: Avatar: The Last Airbender.
A brief teaser video gave a quick glimpse of the characters and art that will feature in the set, but no cards were unveiled at the panel. The Avatar expansion will launch November 21, while Final Fantasy is scheduled for June and Spider-Man is still awaiting its release date.
The full MTG 2025 release calendar also includes three in-universe sets: Aetherdrift, which launched February 14, Tarkir: Dragonstorm, which launches April 11, and Edge Of Eternities, which is due August 1. The MagicCon Chicago preview panel also unveiled multiple cards for the aforementioned Tarkir: Dragonstorm, including the serialized Headliner card for the set in Mox Jasper–the first in Magic’s continuing “mox” line of cards since Mox Opal and Chrome Mox in 2020. Those cards can be seen below.
Mox Jasper
Gallery
The Universes Beyond initiative began in 2021, when five cards themed around The Walking Dead were offered a drop via Secret Lair, Magic’s limited-drop program. Since then, Fortnite, Street Fighter, Tomb Raider, Hatsune Miku, and more have been limited Secret Lair drops, with The Lord of the Rings, Fallout, and Doctor Who all received themed retail releases.
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****** Summer scars just below surface five years on
****** Summer scars just below surface five years on
Five years after the ****** Summer bushfires, survivors are reflecting on their experiences and calling for urgent action to prevent repeat disasters.
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The Era of Dive The Recent Balance Update Sparks a Debate in the Marvel Rivals Community
The Era of Dive The Recent Balance Update Sparks a Debate in the Marvel Rivals Community
Since day one, NetEase has been adamant that they wont be enforcing any team composition in the game. They want the players to have the freedom to make any combinations possible. This has caused some dissatisfaction in the past, and now, another problem is seemingly on the horizon.
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The bold plan to bring back Tasmanian devils across mainland Australia
The bold plan to bring back Tasmanian devils across mainland Australia
Tim Faulkner at Aussie Ark gets ready to release a Tasmanian ****** in a fenced sanctuary at Barrington Tops, Australia
James Woodford
I’m sharing a ride with two very cranky and confused Tasmanian devils, loaded in the back of our all-terrain vehicle inside large plastic traps. These devils are a long way from their species’ home on the island of Tasmania. Instead, we are bumping along inside a wild but securely fenced 400-hectare sanctuary in Barrington Tops, 4 hours north of Sydney, Australia.
Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) did live on the *********** mainland once upon a time, but…
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SEC Commissioner Peirce wants there to be ‘greater clarity’ on crypto
SEC Commissioner Peirce wants there to be ‘greater clarity’ on crypto
On Friday, Coinbase Global (COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong announced that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) intends to drop its lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange. Under the second Trump administration, the government agency is likely to construct more crypto-friendly regulatory frameworks.
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce sits down with Yahoo Finance senior reporter Jennifer Schonberger for an extensive conversation about her agency’s stance on regulating digital assets like bitcoin (BTC-USD).
“What I’m hoping that we can get to is a place where we have greater clarity around how we’re thinking about things… in a legal framework that is workable, that is consistent with the statute, but also enables people to figure out what… something is categorized as without hiring lots of lawyers and… having the fear of litigation hanging over them.”
Commissioner Peirce weighs in on the necessary registration for launching crypto products and shifts from the Biden administration’s policies.
To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination here.
This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.
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My Friend Pedro follow-up Shotgun Cop Man is Celeste with guns
My Friend Pedro follow-up Shotgun Cop Man is Celeste with guns
My Friend Pedro developer DeadToast Entertainment just announced its next game: Shotgun Cop Man. Published by Devolver Digital, the action shooter will launch this year for PC and Nintendo Switch at a $10 price point. Ahead of its reveal, Digital Trends demoed its first 17 levels, taking us through its tutorial, first world, and a boss fight.
Shotgun Cop Man is a 2D shooter about a cop who has to go to Hell and arrest Satan. That’s all you really need to know there. It’s not too dissimilar from My Friend Pedro, DeadToast’s 2019 shooter that had players engaging in aerobatic violence pulled straight from a John Woo movie. Shotgun Cop Man is much smaller in scope, opting for comparatively modest visuals over cinematic spectacle. My Friend Pedro‘s DNA is still very much present, though, as it’s a game that ties mobility and shooting together.
The basics are simple enough. I need to move through platforming levels filled with enemies and traps like buzzsaws. There’s just one catch: I don’t have a jump button. To cross gaps, I need to use my guns to propel my body. If I want to jump, I need to aim my right joystick towards the ground and fire. Similarly, an airdash would require me to quickly aim in the opposite direction and fire. A basic sidearm is mapped to one of my triggers, which allows me to short hop, while my shotgun is on the other and can send me sky high. I only have a few shots in each gun and they don’t reload until I touch the ground.
Devolver Digital
The easiest way to describe it is “Celeste reimagined as a twin-stick shooter.” The first 17 levels put me through a gauntlet of quick platforming challenges that would require me to time my shots carefully so I could both blast enemies and avoid obstacles at the same time. That may sound like a complicated juggling act, but I picked it up quickly. The early levels start me off easy as I blast my way up to high platforms with my shotgun and fire my pistol to wipe out the little demons on the other side.
Later levels would ramp up by having me dodge spinning blades, requiring me to use my shotgun as a dash to cross the screen quickly. Others had me platforming on clods of dirt floating above spike pits. Once I fired, the ground beneath me would disintegrate, so I’d need to plan my jumps carefully. Two levels dropped me into combat arenas, tasking me with taking out 30 or so minions, while level 17 dropped me into a boss fight with a spinning buzzsaw who I needed to evade while attacking. I got a few different guns to replace my pistol occasionally too, from a faster SMG to a second shotgun.
Super Meat Boy comes to mind a bit, but it doesn’t seem like DeadToast is looking to make a punishingly difficult game. In fact, the demo offered a lot of flexibility. When I took damage, a heart would escape my body and I’d simply need to touch it to freshen up. When I did die, I was usually dropped back right during the segment of the level that killed me rather than going to the start. That was even true for combat arenas, which picked up where I left off every time. Death isn’t really much of a worry in Hell, I suppose. I mean, what’s the worst that can happen after that?
Devolver Digital
That approachable action is counterbalanced by level goals. Each one has three possible medals: one for killing every enemy, one for clearing it without taking damage, and a speedrun goal. That last part seems to tease what DeadToast is really going for here, as this feels like a game custom built for an event like Games Done Quick. I can see a determined player learning to beat it as fast as possible without taking damage, giving it a meta goal that I imagine will draw in the same community that tends to flock to Devolver’s usual slate of fast-paced shooters, like last year’s Anger Foot.
Shotgun Cop Man almost feels like the game that would have preceded My Friend Pedro, not vice versa, but I appreciate that. This almost feels like a deconstruction of that game, pulling back its spectacle to focus on a fundamental action loop that feels great so far. It’s nothing fancy or new, but it feels like the kind of concise, well-designed action game that Devolver generally has a good eye for. The price especially feels right at $10, which already sets it up as a promising budget game from a developer with a proven track record. Plus, how often do you get to detain Satan?
Shotgun Cop Man launches this year for PC and Nintendo Switch.
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US stops sharing flu data with WHO amidst one of its worst flu seasons
US stops sharing flu data with WHO amidst one of its worst flu seasons
The US withdrawal from the World Health Organization formally takes one year, but the country has already stopped sharing influenza surveillance with the international body, which could impact the efficacy of the next flu vaccine
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US budget debate foreshadows political battles to come. Will it help or hurt Californians? – Sacramento Bee
US budget debate foreshadows political battles to come. Will it help or hurt Californians? – Sacramento Bee
US budget debate foreshadows political battles to come. Will it help or hurt Californians? Sacramento BeeSenate Republicans approve budget framework, pushing past Democratic objections after all-night vote The Associated PressSenate G.O.P. Passes Budget Resolution, and Punts on Tough Questions The New York Times
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Bybit hacked for almost $1.5 billion in the biggest crypto theft ever
Bybit hacked for almost $1.5 billion in the biggest crypto theft ever
While 20th-century heists involved scoping out a location, recruiting a person on the inside and having a daredevil getaway driver waiting outside, the 21st-century version looks more like what Bybit experienced today. A hacker stole nearly $1.5 billion in Ethereum (ETH) and staked Ethereum from one of the exchange’s offline wallets, nabbing the largest cryptocurrency haul ever. One blockchain security expert said it’s likely the all-time biggest heist of any kind, not just crypto.
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou posted on X that the hacker took control of one of the exchange’s cold (offline) wallets, manipulating a planned transfer and sending it to an unknown party. “The signing message was to change the smart contract logic of our ETH cold wallet,” Zhou wrote. He explained that the hacker “took control of the specific ETH cold wallet we signed and transferred all ETH in the cold wallet to this unidentified address.”
Rob Behnke, co-founder and executive chairman of blockchain security company Halborn, told Bloomberg the heist was likely the “largest incident ever, not just crypto.”
The Bybit hack eclipses the previous record crypto thefts, including $620 million taken in 2022 from the Ronin Network and $610 million from Poly Network in 2021. There was also the infamous Mt. Gox hack of 2011, which took 850,000 Bitcoins. That translated to around $450 million in losses at the time. But one asterisk on Bybit’s “biggest ever” title is that the Mt. Gox haul would be worth significantly more today: over $81 billion. It’s hard to imagine what numbers for similar incidents could look like in a decade.
According to Bloomberg, Bybit had around $16.2 billion in assets before the hack, averaging over $36 billion in daily trading. Friday’s theft accounted for around nine percent of its total assets. As news of the heist spread, Ether dropped as much as 6.7 percent from its high of the day. Bitcoin also shaved about three percent off its high on Friday.
In what sounds like the ultimate embodiment of the “This is fine” meme, Zhou capped his X post by reassuring customers that everything is okie-dokie at Bybit. “Please rest assured that all other cold wallets are secure,” he posted. “All withdraws are NORMAL.” (Normal in all caps is most definitely a sign that things are peachy.)
To be fair, Zhou said Bybit had already secured around 80 percent of the funding needed to cover the loss through partner bridge loans. So, perhaps the Dubai-based exchange will recover from the incident better than one would imagine. “Your money is safe, and our withdrawals are still open,” he added on a livestream.
On the other hand, Bybit’s X account posted a request for help. After stating that its security team and blockchain forensic experts were on the case, it added, “Any teams with expertise in blockchain analytics and fund recovery who can assist in tracing these assets are welcome to collaborate with us.”
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OpenAI’s Operator agent is coming to eight more countries
OpenAI’s Operator agent is coming to eight more countries
OpenAI
Following its U.S. debut in January, OpenAI’s Operator AI agent will soon be expanding to eight new nations, the company announced on Friday.
“Operator is now rolling out to Pro users in Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the ***, and most places ChatGPT is available,” the OpenAI team wrote in a post to X. The company is “still working on making Operator available in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein & Iceland,” but has not clarified release timing for those additional countries. As with the American release, users in the expanded nation list will still have to pay for OpenAI’s $200 per month Pro tier subscription in order to access the AI agent.
Operator is now rolling out to Pro users in Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the ***, and most places ChatGPT is available.
Still working on making Operator available in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein & Iceland—we’ll keep you updated!
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) February 21, 2025
Operator is an agentic AI, meaning that, unlike conventional generative models that are designed to output text, images, audio and video based on the user’s prompts, Operator is built to take autonomous online actions on the user’s behalf. They’re capable of monitoring and reacting to changing conditions in real-time, rather than simply running off a pre-written set of instructions. This enables agents like Operator — as well as its rivals like Anthropic’s Computer Use API or Microsoft’s Copilot Actions — to perform a variety of online tasks, such as transcribing and summarizing business meeting minutes, booking hotels and travel accommodations, or researching topics and compiling information into multi-page reports.
OpenAI’s app is powered by a “Computer-Using Agent” model running atop GPT-4o. The company notes that it trained the CUA in much the same way as its o1 and o3 reasoning models. Users launch Operator from the ChatGPT home screen, which in turn, runs in a separate, dedicated web browser page. The agent keeps its user in the loop through a running narrative of its actions and will ask them to take over in performing specific tasks, like entering login or credit card information into a website. Whether the agent is actually any good at its job is a hotly contested issue, with early testers noting that the system is often slow to respond and requires near constant user oversight.
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UnitedHealth and a shoe stock are among most oversold names in market
UnitedHealth and a shoe stock are among most oversold names in market
Investors have retreated from Dow member UnitedHealth Group and footwear company Deckers Outdoor amid a slumping trading week for stocks. The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite both tumbled 2.5% this week while the S & P 500 fell 1.7%. The selloff that began Thursday intensified on Friday as concern over an economic slowdown mounted, inflation fears ticked up and tariff worries weighed on investors. Against this backdrop, CNBC Pro screened the S & P 500 for the most overbought and oversold stocks over the past week by weighing their 14-day relative strength index, or RSI. An RSI reading below 30 often suggests a stock is oversold and may soon snap back. Conversely, a 14-day RSI above 70 implies a stock is overbought and may soon turn lower. UnitedHealth is one of this week’s most oversold stocks, with an RSI reading of just 27.8. Shares sold off more than 6% on Friday, on track for its worst day since March 2020, after the Wall Street Journal reported that the health insurer is under investigation by the Justice Department. UNH has also been pursuing employee buyouts , indicating layoffs may be on the horizon. Year to date, shares have declined 7.3%. Analysts’ consensus price target implies that the shares will gain nearly 40% over the next year from their current level. Deckers Outdoor, the company behind Uggs sheepskin boots, is also oversold. The stock has an RSI of just 25.5. Investors have turned away from Deckers after its latest quarterly earnings in January.The company’s revenue guidance of $4.9 billion came in just shy of analyst estimates, according to LSEG. Shares dipped 2.3% on Friday and are now down 28% in 2025. Consumer giants Starbucks and Coca-Cola may be due for a pullback soon, according to their respective RSI levels of 71.2 and 78.4. Coca-Cola posted better-than-expected quarterly revenue and earnings on Feb. 11, sending the stock higher. The company’s revenue grew by 14% in the fourth quarter, largely fueled by higher priced although Coke also saw higher demand — unlike PepsiCo. The stock added 2% on Friday, pushing it up 14% over the past month. The majority of analysts covering Coke rate it a buy, and their consensus price target implies 5.2% upside potential from current prices. Starbucks has been on a tear this year but appears at risk of a pullback. Year to date, shares have soared around 22.5%, far outperforming the S & P 500’s 2.2% rise. The coffee giant reported a top- and bottom-line beat for the fourth quarter on Jan. 28 as Starbucks began implementing CEO Brian Niccol’s turnaround strategy to reverse declining sales. Shares are trading 7.5% above their average price target, meaning that the stock may soon return to Earth.
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The Controversial Chain Restaurant That Could Soon Go Bankrupt
The Controversial Chain Restaurant That Could Soon Go Bankrupt
After 42 successful years, ******** may be on the brink of bankruptcy. This comes after a ******* of financial difficulty in which ******** of America was in talks with advisors and money-lenders to address loss in revenue and foot traffic.
Since the chain was bought by Nord Bay Capital and TriArtisan Capital Advisors in 2019, it has faced a number of issues. In 2024 the company shuttered around 40 brick-and-mortar locations, citing “current market conditions,” per Nation’s Restaurant News. However, the wing giant presented an optimistic front, saying in the same release, “With new ******** restaurants opening domestically and internationally, new ******** frozen products launching at grocery stores, and the ******** footprint expanding into new markets with both company and franchise locations, this brand of 41 years remains highly resilient and relevant.” At the same time, the chain also had to pay out $250,000 in a Race and Color lawsuit based on the re-hiring practices of employees following the COVID furloughs.
According to Bloomberg, the chain sold around $300 million in asset-backed bonds in 2021, freeing up capital by selling debts to an issuer. This move is popular with restaurants and other franchises.
Read more: 14 Old-Fashioned Restaurant Dishes That Should Return
What Lies Ahead For ********
A ******** burger and curly fries – DarioSavastano/Shutterstock
The financial hardship the company is experiencing is by no means limited to ******** as an institution. The last decade has been incredibly difficult for the restaurant industry as COVID and other global events have disrupted supply lines, raised ingredient costs, and impacted consumer finances. Restaurant prices increased 44% from 2015 to 2024 and the global pandemic wreaked havoc on any institution that operates primarily as a dine-in establishment.
In 2024, six different pizza chains filed for bankruptcy, including MOD Pizza, which had extended to over 500 locations nationwide, and Mary’s Pizza, a Northern California staple that had been operating for 65 years. The rise of food delivery services, the demands of venture capitalist investors, and the changing palates of American consumers have claimed many chains — just ask Ponderosa Steakhouse, which has seen almost all of its once mighty number of restaurants shut down.
However, just because ******** will likely soon be declaring bankruptcy, that doesn’t mean you’ve had your last chance at getting wings, beers, and novelty merch. There will undoubtedly be hardship ahead for the franchise’s locations, but it’s unlikely that the chain is going to disappear overnight. Similar to how TGI Fridays locations have stayed open despite the company declaring bankruptcy in November, 2024, some ******** locations are going to survive this. This is especially true because of the division of ******** and ******** of America. While the latter is the company declaring bankruptcy, the former, now known as “Original ********” operates separately and owns locations throughout Florida and Chicago.
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Samsung extends LPDDR5 to 12.7 GT/s: Next-gen devices enjoy a nice speed boost
Samsung extends LPDDR5 to 12.7 GT/s: Next-gen devices enjoy a nice speed boost
Samsung has introduced yet another extension to the LPDDR5 specification at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), increasing data transfer rates to 12,700 MT/s (12.7 GT/s). To increase the speed, Samsung had to add four-phase self-calibration and AC-coupled transceiver equalization to its DRAM chips, which it calls its LPDDR5-Ultra-Pro DRAM.
World’s fastest LPDDR5X
Samsung’s highest-speed LPDDR5X, with a data transfer rate of 12,700 MT/s, is a 16 Gb memory IC with an industry-standard voltage of 1.05V made using the company’s 5th Generation 10nm-class DRAM fabrication process. 16 Gb device capacity may not be too impressive on the mobile devices front, considering Samsung announced 24 Gb LPDDR5X ICs in 2023 and then launched 32Gb LPDDR5X ICs in 2024. However, 16 Gb could be quite a decent capacity for applications that do not demand the highest memory densities. This is perhaps why Samsung’s ISSCC paper mentions AI, AR, VR, and server applications, whereas the company’s presentation mentions LPCAMM2 modules aimed at PCs and servers (well, edge servers).
The LPDDR5 specification was introduced in 2019 with the plan to extend the data transfer rate to 6,400 MT/s. In 2021, JEDEC published an extended version of the spec — dubbed LPDDR5X — that pushed the speed to 8,533 MT/s. But that was not enough for at least some LPDDR5X users, so Micron, Samsung, and SK hynix further increased the data transfer rate of LPDDR5X to 9,600 MT/s in 2023, and then Samsung followed up with 10,700 MT/s in 2024 (which it has yet to ship). Now, Samsung has taken another step and introduced LPDDR5-Ultra-Pro memory with a 12,700 MT/s data transfer rate.
Enabling such an extreme data transfer rate required Samsung to implement a four-phase self-calibration loop and AC-coupled transceiver equalization. These two features are not defined in the LPDDR5X specification and are vendor-specific circuit-level design techniques used to meet or exceed the official JEDEC LPDDR5X data rate and power requirements.
Four-phase self-calibration loop
A four-phase self-calibration loop is a circuit-based solution that ensures four internal clock phases (0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°) remain properly aligned in high-speed memory interfaces. In LPDDR5X DRAM, clock signals are divided and distributed to create these four phases, which drive data transfers at multi-GT/s speeds. Even slight mismatches between these phases — called phase skew — can affect the timing margin and degrade performance. The calibration loop measures each pair of phases (e.g., 0° vs. 180°, 90° vs. 270°) and automatically compensates for any offset.
Samsung’s implementation of the four-phase self-calibration loop uses two calibration steps: flip and unflip. By flipping which signal is fed to the circuit under test (e.g., swapping 0° and 180°) and comparing the results against the unflipped measurement, the calibration logic isolates and corrects the true clock-phase misalignment. The final calibration codes are then applied to shift or adjust each phase as needed to preserve clean, evenly spaced clock edges inside the chip.
AC-coupled transceiver equalization
At high-speed data transmission rates, signals are prone to attenuation and inter-symbol interference (ISI) along the channel. AC-coupled transceiver equalization addresses signal issues in high-speed DRAM components: on a high level, it boosts the clock signal, equalizes the receiver, and pre-emphasizes the transmitter.
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Samsung’s implementation involves three complementary blocks: an AC-coupled booster (ACCB) in the clock buffer, an AC-coupled equalizer (ACCE) on the receive side, and an AC-coupled pre-emphasis (ACCP) on the transmit side. Each applies extra high-frequency gain at various points in the path, ensuring that attenuated clock edges are restored and timing integrity is maintained. According to Samsung, the net effect is more robust data transmission and reception at speeds exceeding 10,000 MT/s per pin.
Measurements
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Samsung)
(Image credit: Samsung)
(Image credit: Samsung)
Based on the company’s own measurements, at its maximum rate of 12,700 MT/s, Samsung’s LPDDR5-Ultra-Pro DRAM memory chip operates reliably at 1.05 volts. Even at 10,700 MT/s, it maintains stability above 0.9 volts, according to measurements conducted by Samsung. The read and write margins at peak speed measure 0.71 and 0.68 unit intervals, respectively, demonstrating robust signal integrity. These values confirm the effectiveness of Samsung’s calibration and equalization techniques.
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Is Split Fiction crossplatform | Digital Trends
Is Split Fiction crossplatform | Digital Trends
Hazelight Studios has established itself as the team specializing in the best co-op games. A Way Out and It Takes Two don’t encourage playing with a friend, but requires it. The upcoming video game Split Fiction is the same story. While we loved those previous games, the one major fault was that they didn’t have cross-platform support. That meant that you needed to either be playing in split-screen with your partner by your side or have the game on the same platform as your partner. Will Split Fiction also have that restriction, or will you be able to go on this adventure with a friend no matter where they are playing?
Is Split Fiction cross-platform?
Hazelight
Yes, Split Fiction will be the first Hazelight game that allows for crossplay between all platforms. This means players on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S will all be able to play together so long as each person has a free EA Account. If you don’t already have one, you can sign up right here.
One positive returning feature is the Friend’s Pass. If one person purchases a copy of the game, they can invite a friend to play with them who doesn’t own the game for free. With crossplay, now there are almost no barriers to entry.
If you’re not sold on Split Fiction yet, there’s also the Friend’s Pass trial. If neither player owns a copy of Split Fiction, you can both download a free trial and play the opening stages together. If you decide to buy the full game afterward, all your progress will carry forward, too.
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Judge denies bid to block Trump administration from placing USAID workers on leave
Judge denies bid to block Trump administration from placing USAID workers on leave
Washington — A federal judge on Friday declined to block the Trump administration from putting thousands of employees with U.S. Agency for International Development on administrative leave and recalling others from overseas, clearing the way for the president to resume his efforts to overhaul the agency as part of his plans to slash the size of the federal government.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, appointed by President Trump, denied a request for a preliminary injunction sought by two labor unions that represent members of the Foreign Service and civilian employees. Nichols had issued a temporary order earlier this month that prevented the administration from placing thousands of USAID employees on administrative leave and evacuating workers from overseas posts, and ordered the Trump administration to reinstate USAID workers who had already been placed on leave.
But in turning down the request for the preliminary injunction, Nichols now allows the Trump administration to resume those efforts.
In a 26-page decision, the judge said that the employment-related injuries asserted by the unions did not warrant the remedy of emergency relief that they had sought. He said the Justice Department had persuaded the court that the risk to USAID employees placed on administrative leave is “far more minimal than it initially appeared.”
“Plaintiffs have presented no irreparable harm they or their members are imminently likely to suffer from the hypothetical future dissolution of USAID,” Nichols wrote, adding that those employees who are likely to be put on leave can address their concerns with the applicable government body for employee complaints.
He added that complaints from the unions about the effects on their members stemming from being placed on leave and asked to return to the U.S. are “archetypal complaints about changed employment conditions and their follow-on effects — which at this point appear to be largely financial.”
The judge also noted that federal laws allow domestic USAID employees or their union representative to object to being placed on administrative leave, indicating that the district court likely lacks jurisdiction over the unions’ claims.
Nichols found that the Trump administration had made a justifiable case that the actions at issue in the case “are essential to its policy goals.”
Despite the unions’ argument that USAID workers currently overseas had been stranded and locked out of computer systems, at times in dangerous situations, Nichols found that protections in place to keep workers stationed overseas safe were adequate, based on declarations from current USAID leadership.
Melissa Quinn
Melissa Quinn is a politics reporter for CBSNews.com. She has written for outlets including the Washington Examiner, Daily Signal and Alexandria Times. Melissa covers U.S. politics, with a focus on the Supreme Court and federal courts.
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Man Who Stabbed Salman Rushdie Is Found Guilty of Attempted ******* – The New York Times
Man Who Stabbed Salman Rushdie Is Found Guilty of Attempted ******* – The New York Times
Man Who Stabbed Salman Rushdie Is Found Guilty of Attempted ******* The New York TimesA New Jersey man is convicted of attempted ******* in the stabbing of Salman Rushdie YahooMan found guilty of attempted ******* in Salman Rushdie stabbing trial The GuardianSalman Rushdie’s attacker has been found guilty of attempted *******. Literary HubMan found guilty of attempted ******* of Salman Rushdie BBC.com
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This unique 12VHPWR adapter offers a cool fix for melting GPUs
This unique 12VHPWR adapter offers a cool fix for melting GPUs
A ******** manufacturer has come up with a 12VHPWR adapter featuring active cooling and real-time power monitoring, aiming to mitigate concerns of melting GPU power connectors. The unique angled adapter is claimed to improve safety by addressing two major issues: cable bending and excessive heat. Unlike traditional connectors, which can be strained by tight case layouts, this adapter features a 180-degree design, reducing cable stress and minimizing the risk of poor seating.
Additionally, the adapter features an integrated cooling fan to actively dissipate heat, a first for GPU power connectors. It also includes an LCD screen that provides real-time temperature and power consumption monitoring, helping users detect potential overheating before damage occurs. The adapter is currently selling on ******** online shopping platform TaoBao for around $30 and is compatible only with the RTX 40-series GPUs, as there is no mention of any RTX 50-series products.
Notably, third party cable manufacturers including Ezdiy-fab and Cablemod have introduced 12VHPWR adapters with heatsink solutions. While these adapters may or may not offer a workaround for current RTX 40-series owners, the long-term solution lies in Nvidia’s shift to the 12V-2×6 standard for future GPUs.
The 16-pin 12VHPWR power connector has been a point of controversy since its introduction with Nvidia’s RTX 40-series GPUs, particularly the flagship RTX 4090. Reports of connectors melting due to excessive heat buildup and poor cable seating have raised concerns among PC gamers and enthusiasts. Users reported instances of 12VHPWR connectors overheating and, in extreme cases, melting.
Investigations suggested that improper cable insertion, combined with high power draw, led to increased resistance, generating excessive heat. Nvidia initially claimed that ensuring a fully seated connection would prevent failures, but real-world cases continued to surface, leading to further scrutiny of the connector’s design.
16pin adapter with fan… With temperature and power consumption detection pic.twitter.com/1rZGzn3r4G
— HXL (@9550pro) February 21, 2025
The issue prompted regulatory bodies and tech experts to examine the power delivery system. PCI-SIG, the group responsible for power connector standards, later introduced the revised 12V-2×6 connector for the RTX 50-series, designed to improve power efficiency and safety. However, many RTX 40-series cards, remain vulnerable to the original problem, necessitating aftermarket solutions.
Despite the new RTX 50-series adopting the revised 12V-2×6 power connector, melting concerns persist. It was discovered that using older 12VHPWR cables with the RTX 5090 can still lead to overheating issues. This became evident when a Reddit user reported the first recorded meltdown of a 16-pin connector on an RTX 5090 while using a previous-gen third-party cable. The cable manufacturer later clarified that only its 2025-made 12V-2×6 cables are fully compatible with RTX 50-series GPUs, despite the new connector being backward compatible with 12VHPWR.
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While the Helldivers 2 Players Are Busy on the Bug Front, a Planet in Meridias Path Moved
While the Helldivers 2 Players Are Busy on the Bug Front, a Planet in Meridias Path Moved
Some Helldivers 2 players swear that Moradesh moved. Have you seen anything? The devs offer an explanation.
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What took so long? Boy from the bush embraces new fans
What took so long? Boy from the bush embraces new fans
A love of country music made Aussie star Lee Kernaghan the uncoolest kid in school but now he’s among friends as new fans flock to his shows.
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