Bafta is taking applications for its Young Game Designers competition
Bafta is taking applications for its Young Game Designers competition
Bafta is now taking applications for this year’s edition of its Young Game Designers competition.
The competition, which is designed to inspire and support *** players aged 10-18 who are passionate about creating their own video games, will announce winners later this year in a virtual awards ceremony.
Before then, however, anyone interested has until 5pm on Wednesday, March 12 to submit their entries.
There are two categories in the Young Game Designers competition – Game Making and Game Concept – each of which will have separate awards for 10-14 year olds and 15-18 year olds.
Those wishing to enter the Game Making Award have to submit an original game, either made alone or as a team of up to three people. Entries will be judged on game design, creativity and suitability for the chosen platform.
The Game Concept Award, meanwhile, challenges applicants to submit a new idea for a game (again, either alone or in a team of up to three). Bafta says good drawing skills aren’t necessary to win the competition, because it’s the idea that’s the most important thing.
“Ever thought about making games when you leave school?” Bafta’s website asks. “The competition can help you start making those dreams a reality.
“Are you an aspiring designer? Get inspiration by reading about past winning games and testing out our game idea generator. Be in with a chance of receiving a BAFTA Young Game Designers Award and access to once-in-a-lifetime experiences with top game makers and industry professionals.”
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British journalist Charlotte Peet reported missing in Brazil
British journalist Charlotte Peet reported missing in Brazil
A British journalist has been reported missing in Brazil, prompting concerns from an association of foreign correspondents which has urged authorities to step up search efforts.
Charlotte Peet, 32, is understood to have last contacted a friend on 8 February, saying she was in São Paulo and planned to travel to Rio de Janeiro. She has not been heard from since.
Days later, her ***-based family told the friend they had lost contact with her. They have provided authorities with details of her flight and a copy of her passport to aid the search.
The Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in Brazil (ACIE) released a statement “expressing concern over her disappearance and solidarity with her family and friends”.
According to the statement, someone initially reported the case to police in Rio before it was transferred it to São Paulo, where she was last seen.
The statement also added that Brazil’s Department of Homicides and Personal Protection (DHPP) was assisting in the case.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Ms Peet has worked as a freelance journalist in Rio and London for outlets including Al Jazeera and the Times.
“Her disappearance has sparked growing concern among colleagues and journalists in the region, with ACIE calling for intensified efforts to locate her as soon as possible”, a statement on behalf of its president Edmar Figueiredo and its board of directors said.
A *** Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British woman who has been reported as missing in Brazil and are in contact with the local authorities.”
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Blizzard Really Wants Players to Return to Overwatch 2 and Its Lootbox Rewards Prove It
Blizzard Really Wants Players to Return to Overwatch 2 and Its Lootbox Rewards Prove It
Loot boxes are back in Overwatch 2. And let’s cut the nonsense, Activision Blizzard didn’t have an epiphany of inspiration to be generous and make change. All this is happening because NetEase Games has wiped the floor with them after the release of Marvel Rivals.
Season 15 just brought a lot of new changes. | Image Credit: Blizzard
One surprising thing is just how all in the studio has gone to this agenda. Players have already started to report that they are getting Legendary tier limited items from the free loot boxes in Season 15. So okay we’ll come back for a free skin or two, but then what Blizzard?
Overwatch 2 players are getting a lot of free skins today
But is that really enough? | Image Credit: Blizzard
Loot boxes were one of the key features of Overwatch and let players earn cosmetics and skins just by playing the game. When Overwatch 2 launched, Blizzard ditched them in favor of a battle pass system that locked rewards behind grind-heavy progression and microtransactions. And to no one’s surprise, players weren’t happy.
Overwatch 2 Season 15 Loot Boxes will also feature paid Skins sold in the Shop
Earn 100+ loot boxes per season Includes previous shop skins, excluding current season store skins No duplicate skins and cosmetics Legendary item within twenty consecutive boxes. pic.twitter.com/8wlHfuo9DY
— Naeri X 나에리 (@OverwatchNaeri) February 13, 2025
More than two years later, Blizzard has now brought back loot boxes in Season 15, making it easier for players to unlock cosmetics, including rare and legendary skins. The system isn’t exactly the same as before because they can’t be bought directly in the store, but we can now earn over 100 of them just by playing, completing challenges, and participating in events.
The biggest surprise about loot boxes in Season 15 is that they now contain weapon skins. Before there were only hero skins, voice lines, sprays, and emotes. But now players are getting weapon skins too. And the best part is, some players have been getting rare and high-value skins from them.
I GOT A REAPER WEAPON SKIN FROM A LOOTBOX HELLO????? LETS GO pic.twitter.com/Jw6ch3eULX
— Aspen (@aspenisoffline) February 18, 2025
first overwatch 2 lootbox pull and i GOT THE CELESTIAL JUNO SKIN HELLO??? pic.twitter.com/9GZVQFXBAS
— gummy (@gummybearrxo) February 18, 2025
There are reports online of players opening loot boxes and finding legendary weapon skins, including Junkrat’s Los Muertos frag launcher and Reaper’s Hard Light shotgun. Tons of other players are sharing that they’re even getting Legendary tier character skins. There’s a lot of generosity from the devs, but what are the intentions behind this?
Don’t be fooled, this could’ve been done a long time ago
It’s only because of the new competition. | Image Credit: Blizzard
According to game director Aaron Keller, one of the biggest criticisms of the game since launch has been the lack of meaningful rewards for players—especially those who play for free. In a recent Developer Spotlight video for Season 15, Keller admitted that Overwatch 2 didn’t feel “rewarding enough“.
He says that bringing back loot boxes has been a way to bring back a sense of excitement and surprise that had been lost. But we all know what the real reason is, Marvel Rivals. Just when everyone had just about given up on the idea that Overwatch, even with all its flaws couldn’t be challenged, NetEase swooped in to show hundreds of thousands of players what generosity looks like.
Overwatch 2 reached an all-time low in terms of player count following the success of Marvel Rivals. But is this really the way to combat competition? A lot of people have already switched over and will surely be interested in getting free skins, but if the game still has the same foundational problems, they’ll leave again. What is the studio going to do about that?
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Palworld Reaches Massive New Player Milestone, Year 2 Promised To Be Even Better
Palworld Reaches Massive New Player Milestone, Year 2 Promised To Be Even Better
Developer Pocketpair has announced that Palworld has reached a massive new player milestone. The game has exceeded 32 million players in the year since the game launched in January 2024.
The player figure covers all platforms, including Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and Steam. The game originally launched in January 2024 for PC and Xbox, with the PS5 edition landing in September 2024. The game remains in an unfinished state via Early Access on PC and Game Preview on Xbox, with Pocketpair promising ongoing updates and improvements.
Palworld hasn’t sold 32 million copies, though, as the game is also available on Game Pass. Additionally, the Game Preview program on Xbox lets players try any game for a limited time for free.
Over 32 million Pal Tamers! It’s been a year since Palworld was released, and thanks to you our fans, Palworld has surpassed over 32 million players across all platforms! (Steam, Xbox, PS5) Thank you so much! As always, your support means the world to us! pic.twitter.com/pSJXmLGoh8
— Palworld (@Palworld_EN) February 19, 2025
Palworld’s community manager thanked fans for their support and promised that the team will “continue to work hard to make Palworld year two even better!” There are a lot of updates coming to Palworld as part of its future roadmap, including co-op cross-play, new endgame content, new pals, and more.
Palworld’s growth has definitely slow, which is to be expected. The game reached 25 million players in its first 30 days back in 2024 across PC and Xbox, gaining another 7 million+ since then across all systems.
In September 2024, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company sued Pocketpair in Japan over patent infringement claims. The case is ongoing. One analyst believes Nintendo is suing Pocketpair because it saw the success the game was having and wanted to do something about it as part of a “pure, cold-blooded business” move.
Amid the lawsuit, Sony and Pocketpair have teamed up for a Palworld merchandise deal with an eye towards expanding the franchise beyond games.
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There’s Room to Chase These 3 Stocks Trading Near 52-Week Highs
There’s Room to Chase These 3 Stocks Trading Near 52-Week Highs
The 52-week high is a psychologically important metric for traders and investors to gauge further price movement. Stocks that reach their 52-week high are generally seen to have bullish sentiment. However, many investors are reluctant to chase these stocks higher because when a stock hits this milestone, it can mean that it’s ready to move lower, especially as high-speed trading has become more commonplace.
But in some cases, a stock trading around its 52-week high still has room to move higher. This is usually because the analyst upgrades back it or is coming off positive earnings.
That’s the case with the three stocks in this article. Each has recently hit its 52-week high, which may have investors wondering if now is a time to buy or sell. Certainly, a pullback and even a correction in one or more of these stocks is possible. But in each case, the trend is in the bull’s favor, which means that chasing these stocks at new highs will likely be profitable in 2025.
1. Walmart Continues to Stand Out In a Weak Sector
Retail stocks have been hit-and-miss for investors. Consumers continue to spend, but the limited dollars are going to a shorter list of companies. Walmart (NYSE:) has been one of them. The company continues to be the place where its core audience goes for everyday low prices. And it also attracts more affluent consumers looking to stretch their dollars further.
Since June 2023, WMT stock has been in a bullish pattern of forming higher highs. That pattern became steeper after the company split its stock 3-for-1 in January 2024. The stock is up over 81% in the 12 months ending in February 2025. It’s also trading near the analysts’ consensus price of $101.87.
However the company reports earnings on February 20, and analysts have been raising their price targets in advance of the report. Could the stock give a little back, even after a strong earnings report? Of course. However, WMT stock has delivered a total return of over 180% in the last five years. That includes a rock-solid dividend that has increased for 52 consecutive years.
2. Meta’s Recent Win Streak is Just the Beginning
On February 14, 2025, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:) A stock closed higher for the 20th consecutive day. During that streak, the stock has climbed 17%, and the stock is up over 25% in 2025.
Fans of statistical analysis understand regression to the mean. If a batter has a 20-game hitting streak, you know that the odds are more likely than not that that streak won’t continue. That would mean that META stock is likely to start giving back some of those gains. However, as the saying goes, that’s why they play the games.
Analyst sentiment remains bullish as the company continues to show strength in daily users across its platforms. And in Meta’s latest , it noted that its AI chatbot had surpassed 700 million users. That supports the company’s commitment to lead the way in open-source AI and may justify the billions in spending it will take to achieve that goal.
3. Live Sports Can Lead NFLX Stock Higher
Netflix (NASDAQ:) is now one of my “yeah but” stocks. That means that the company has faced a series of questions about its future growth prospects. In just the last two years, it faced questions over its ability to move customers to an ad-supported tier. Then, it faced skeptics who questioned its ability to crack down on password sharing.
In each case, Netflix has answered those “yeah but” arguments with more subscribers, higher revenue and higher . In fact, the company’s lower-priced ad tier is so successful that it’s actively trying to steer premium plan (ad-free) customers to a lower-priced plan with ads.
However, with streaming services, it comes down to programming. After all, you can cut ties with a streaming service at the touch of a button. In addition to continuing to release titles that users want to watch, Netflix is leaning into live sports. Those efforts may still take several years to really pay off, but the company has the cash to be a major player in this space.
NFLX stock has been up 81% in the last 12 months, including the tech stock sell-off in December 2024. Since then, it’s blown past its previous 52-week high, and with some analysts eyeing a stock split, now is not the time to cancel NFLX stock.
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DeepSeek accused of sharing users’ data with TikTok’s ByteDance in another blow around privacy concerns
DeepSeek accused of sharing users’ data with TikTok’s ByteDance in another blow around privacy concerns
South Korea’s data protection regulator has accused DeepSeek of sending citizens’ data using its AI chatbot to TikTok’s parent company ByteDance. This accusation comes a day after ordering a temporary block on new DeepSeek downloads over privacy concerns.
“We confirmed DeepSeek communicating with ByteDance,” an official at the country’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) told Yonhap News Agency, adding that it is “yet to confirm what data was transferred and to what extent.”
While not directly commenting on such allegations, DeepSeek reportedly acknowledged “shortcomings in considering local protection laws” and expressed the commitment to cooperate with the regulator on the matter.
******** tech under increased scrutiny
South Korea may be the first to formally accuse DeepSeek of illegally sharing users’ data with the controversial TikTok owner, but it’s not the only country going after the new ******** AI chatbot on privacy grounds.
DeepSeek has sent some serious shockwaves across the globe since January’s release, in fact. With 12 million curious people worldwide downloading the new app within 48 hours of its launch, governments have been increasingly looking at DeepSeek’s phenomenon with suspicion.
Italy, France, Germany, the US, Taiwan, Australia, and South Korea are only some of the countries targeting DeepSeek AI. Most are accusing the new ******** AI chatbot of violating the country’s data protection laws.
DeepSeek’s issues are mainly linked to the fact the chatbot stored all users’ data on its ******** servers and, as per the platform’s privacy policy, will be used to “comply with our legal obligations, or as necessary to perform tasks in the public interest, or to protect the vital interests of our users and other people.”
Now, South Korea’s PIPC allegations are reinforcing growing concerns among Western governments about how their citizens’ data is processed by such companies.
While the popular video-sharing app is back in the US app stores, the TikTok ban is set to be enforced again on April 5 unless President Trump can find a solution before that. (Image credit: Shutterstock / Daniel Constante)
Concerns about Americans’ data ending up in the ******** government’s hands are one of the reasons behind the push for a TikTok ban in the US.
Outside the US, many countries including the *** and some European nations have also banned TikTok from officials’ devices over security concerns.
ByteDance, however, has long dismissed these risks – and it did so also for the new accusation brought toward by South Korea.
As The Independent reported, TikTok’s parent company believes its link with DeepSeek is simply because the AI chatbot uses the cloud services provided by Volcano Engine, which is owned by ByteDance. Yet, this “does not mean it has access to DeepSeek data,” the paper notes.
South Korea’s data regulator isn’t the only one suggesting the two ******** companies are communicating. A recent report published by cybersecurity firm SecuirtyScorecard has also found “integration with ByteDance‘s services” within DeepSeek’s code.
What’s certain now is that the provider operating Deepseek will have to respond to South Korean officials’ clarifications over the matter now that an official investigation into its data handling practices has been launched.
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Champions Trophy: Mohammed Rizwan caught by Matt Henry
Champions Trophy: Mohammed Rizwan caught by Matt Henry
Watch as New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips makes a “sensational” catch off the bowling of Will Rourke to remove Mohammed Rizwan in the ICC Champions Trophy.
READ MORE: Follow all the action from the Champions Trophy: Pakistan v New Zealand
Available to *** users only.
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Complete Like a Dragon Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Trophy List—All Achievements And Trophies
Complete Like a Dragon Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Trophy List—All Achievements And Trophies
Many Trophies and Achievements await those who seek to voyage in Like a Dragon Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. I can tell you already the list is fairly sizable and could make the meaty package even more perilous and piratey.
Like a Dragon Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii arrives barely a year after Infinite Wealth. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has done an incredible job of delivering a polished, pirate-filled party. It develops the Like a Dragon story further, explores Goro’s more, and it also means there’s a new Trophy and Achievement list to agonize over.
I’ve put together a handy guide featuring every trophy—and I’ve separated the hidden trophies for spoiler purposes.
How Many Like a Dragon Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Trophies & Achievements Are There?
You need to be firing on all cylinders. Credit to Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio.
63 Trophies are required to find the Like a Dragon Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Platinum Trophy treasure, and 62 Achievements are in the way of Xbox gamers chasing full completion.
Trophy Hunters looking to add another Platinum, you have your work cut out. Xbox Achievement enthusiasts, the same applies. There’s a lot of work to do. Like a Dragon Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii isn’t as extensive or as long as other games—looking at you Yakuza—but you’ll need to invest quite a few hours.
Every Like a Dragon Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Achievement & Trophy
Here are all of the Trophies and Achievements you can see when you first boot up Like a Dragon Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. Again, I will save the hidden accomplishments for later in the guide to save them from being spoiled for you—thanks to PlayStation Trophies.
Trophy & Achievement Name
Description
Trophy Rarity
Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
Obtained all trophies.
Platinum
Fledgling Mad Dog
Obtained 10 abilities.
Bronze
Powerful Mad Dog
Obtained 20 abilities.
Bronze
Ferocious Mad Dog
Obtained 40 abilities.
Bronze
Legendary Mad Dog
Obtained 60 abilities.
Silver
Boomerang Lover
Used the cutlass boomerang on enemies 100 times.
Bronze
Chain Hook Expert
Used the chain hook on enemies 50 times.
Bronze
Pistol Aficionado
Used the pistol on enemies 50 times.
Bronze
Majima Everywhere
Created a total of 56 doppelgangers.
Bronze
The Man Who Summoned the Gods
Played every dark instrument.
Bronze
Divine Intervention
Summon the gods with dark instruments 30 times.
Bronze
Fashionable Fingers
Equipped rings on all ten fingers at once.
Bronze
Bounty Hunter
Completed 20 bounty missions.
Bronze
Super Bounty Hunter
Completed 50 bounty missions.
Bronze
Sea Legs-Havers
Achieved the rank of Sea Legs-Havers.
Bronze
Popular Picaroons
Achieved the rank of Popular Picaroons.
Bronze
Buccaneer Bigshots
Achieved the rank of Buccaneer Bigshots.
Bronze
Legends of the Sea
Achieved the rank of Legends of the Sea.
Silver
Welcome to the Goro Pirates!
Recruited 30 members to the Goro Pirates.
Bronze
The Goro Pirates Set Sail!
Recruited 50 members to the Goro Pirates.
Bronze
Goro Pirates, Go Go Go!
Recruited 80 members to the Goro Pirates.
Bronze
Bonds Between Boys
Viewed all of Noah’s Drink Links.
Bronze
Bonds Between Men
Viewed every Drink Link with the crew.
Bronze
New Star of the Coliseum
Won 10 different matches in the Pirates’ Coliseum.
Bronze
Ace of the Coliseum
Won 20 different matches in the Pirates’ Coliseum.
Bronze
Master of the Coliseum
Won 30 different matches in the Pirates’ Coliseum.
Bronze
Island Adventurer
Completed 10 different islands.
Bronze
Novice Treasure Hunter
Obtained 10 different treasures.
Bronze
Expert Treasure Hunter
Obtained 40 different treasures.
Bronze
My Glorious Goromaru
Obtained 50 customization parts for the Goromaru.
Bronze
Julie-chan’s Biggest Fan
Created three different cannons at Julie’s Gearworks.
Bronze
Rocket Sniper
Sunk 5 enemy ships with the rocket launcher.
Bronze
Domestic Pirate
Cooked all recipes.
Bronze
Goodbye, Old Me
Obtained 20 types of clothing items.
Bronze
Fashionista
Obtained 50 types of clothing items.
Bronze
Trendsetter
Obtained 100 types of clothing items.
Bronze
Memories of Honolulu
Took 30 different photos for the Photo Rally.
Bronze
Extreme Extrovert
Befriended 50 people through Aloha Links.
Bronze
By Hook or By Crook
Traveled using the chain hook 20 times.
Bronze
Hooking and Gathering
Captured 30 fish and bugs with the chain hook.
Bronze
Taking the Scenic Route
Completed 10 substories.
Bronze
Main Story? What’s That?
Completed 20 substories.
Bronze
My Dream Minato Girl
Partied with the Minato Girls and found true love.
Bronze
Party Pirate
Played 10 different minigames.
Bronze
High-Speed Pirate
Won 3 different cups in Dragon Kart.
Bronze
Sea Shanties
Enjoyed karaoke on the deck of the Goromaru.
Bronze
Erudite Pirate
Obtained 5 certificates from the Ounabara Vocational School.
Bronze
Crazy Captain
Completed all Crazy Delivery courses.
Bronze
Barrel Basher
Destroyed a total of 1,500 barrels at the Bang Bang Batting Center.
Bronze
Making a Menagerie
Obtained 7 pets.
Bronze
Not Counting the Usual Ones
Obtained 2 ******.
Bronze
All Like a Dragon Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Hidden Trophies & Achievements
This is your final spoiler warning as I’m about to reveal the full extent of Like a Dragon Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii’s secret Trophies & Achievements.
Trophy & Achievement Name
Description
Trophy Rarity
Shipwrecked
Complete Chapter 1.
Bronze
Heart of Darkness
Complete Chapter 2.
Bronze
The Old Man and the Sea
Complete Chapter 3.
Bronze
Treasure Island
Complete Chapter 4.
Bronze
Ya Gotta Keep Livin’
Completed the final chapter.
Gold
Legend of the Coliseum
Defeated the Amon Pirates.
Silver
Showdown on Rokka Island
Won the battle on Rokka Island.
Bronze
Showdown on Atali Island
Defeated the first ****** Flags officer.
Bronze
Showdown in Flame Heaven
Defeated the second ****** Flags officer.
Bronze
Showdown in Frost Heaven
Defeated the third ****** Flags officer.
Bronze
Remember the Goro Pirates!
Defeated the leader of the ****** Flags.
Silver
How many Yakuza and Like a Dragon games have you racked up? Is Like a Dragon Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii pushing the pirate ship out far enough? Or do we need to drop anchor and haul things back in?
Check out a bunch of our other Trophy and Achievement lists: Civilization 7, Sniper Elite Resistance, Tales of Iron 2, and Balatro.
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Pay to get playlisted? The accusations against Spotify’s Discovery Mode | Music
Pay to get playlisted? The accusations against Spotify’s Discovery Mode | Music
In November 2020, Spotify published an opaque headline on its company blog: “Amplifying Artist Input in Your Personalised Recommendations.” The post introduced a new program called Discovery Mode, which would ask artists to accept lower royalty rates in exchange for algorithmic promotion. It was pay-to-play, but Spotify introduced the scheme using neutral language: artists would be able to “identify music that’s a priority for them”, which would become one of “thousands” of data inputs influencing how Spotify delivers “the perfect song for the moment, just for you”. Rather than charge an upfront fee, “labels or rights-holders agree to be paid a promotional recording royalty rate for streams in personalised listening sessions where Spotify provided this service”.
Participating artists and labels take a 30% royalty reduction on tracks enrolled in the program, when they are discovered through its channels. Only tracks more than 30 days old are eligible. Notably, there have been no signs that Spotify plans to publicly label which songs are enrolled: a lack of disclosure that has caused many music advocacy groups to liken Discovery Mode to the radio payola of the 1950s, which was eventually outlawed by the US Federal Trade Commission. (Though the company points out that it has published a broad guide to understanding recommendations on Spotify, including a paragraph on “commercial considerations”.)
In the early 1960s, in what became known as “the Payola hearings”, the US government outlawed the practice of radio stations accepting under-the-table cash in exchange for airplay without disclosure. According to several accounts of the day’s payola practices, sometimes DJs were handed stacks of cash, but other times they were offered fake songwriting credits or a percentage of royalties. And while making payola ******** did not automatically make mainstream radio more fair – some say that now there exists just an “institutionalised” form of payola – outlawing it sent a message about the responsibility of regulators to take corporate deception of the public seriously. Payola was outlawed, in part, because regulators said accepting money in exchange for plays could artificially inflate popularity and mislead listeners.
Statistician Bernard Goldstein gives evidence to the payola hearings in April 1960. Photograph: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive
Spotify, of course, framed Discovery Mode – which wasn’t exactly replicating the terms of radio payola – as democratising. One Spotify employee explained it this way: “We’re not asking for any upfront budget or payment, which means there’s no barrier to entry.” More artists would now have the freedom to devalue their work, the opportunity to participate in an extractive system – and that was somehow democratic.
Discovery Mode’s inner workings are, in part, a product of how playlists have evolved more broadly. Many of Spotify’s recommendation systems start with a curator identifying songs eligible to be included in a playlist; a personalisation algorithm then decides which 50 end up on a user’s playlist based on what they are most likely to identify with. Similarly, in the automated mixes impacted by Discovery Mode – user-specific mixes and the Radio and Autoplay features – a sequencing algorithm re-ranks the tracks from a relevant pool before they are delivered, increasing their chance of being served to users, a source explained.
It’s a vicious cycle: we’re losing revenue because of streaming, then streaming pushes these weird opportunities on us
Internally, Discovery Mode’s success has been measured by the percentage of total artists who were onboarded, and how much cash this was saving Spotify. By 2023, Spotify employees celebrated an “exciting Discovery Mode milestone”, according to a review of company Slack messages. More than 50% of what Spotify calls Tier 2–3 artists – those with annual royalties of $50,000-500,000 – had tried Discovery Mode. “Last year we set out with an ambitious goal of getting to 30%,” an employee wrote. “Surpassing 50% felt beyond our wildest dreams and yet here we are. Congrats all!”
Spotify has made a lot of money from Discovery Mode, with profits also exceeding goals. Between May 2022 and May 2023, Discovery Mode had brought in €61.4m (£51m) in gross profit, according to a review of a chart shared internally. In May 2023 alone, it generated €6.6m (£5.5m) in gross profit – with nearly all of it coming from the independent and DIY sectors. It appeared from the breakdown in the chart that there was a direct connection between the musicians who were opting into Discovery Mode and those who already stood to be affected by the introduction of so-called “artist-centric” royalty policies, which as of 2024 have demonetised tracks with less than 1000 annual streams.
But in the long term, Discovery Mode also seemed like an economic arrangement that only the most moneyed labels could afford. “Discovery Mode is very insidious in that it doesn’t matter whether you do it or not, you’re affected by it,” one indie label employee told me. “If all of your competitors are using Discovery Mode and you’re not, your share is going to go down.”
Three years after the launch of Discovery Mode’s pilot version, an employee reflected on Slack about what its architects had accomplished: “It’s amazing to look back on our progress.”
The disingenuous promotional material emphasised how this program was all about what the artist wanted to promote. But by the end of 2023, that was in question, as Spotify introduced “Pre-Campaign Insights” or PCI, an algorithm that would tell an artist or label which tracks were most likely to stream well in a Discovery Mode campaign. It was rolled out for “managed service” Discovery Mode customers, as opposed to “self-service” customers – advertising industry terminology referring to whether a customer has a point-of-contact managing their campaign. For those eligible, the company claimed that the PCI algorithm would recommend, with roughly 85% accuracy, tracks “predicted to see a lift in streams” from a Discovery Mode campaign.
One independent record label manager said she had tried Discovery Mode campaigns for different artists on her indie rock label, but it was only the “folk-leaning artists” for whom it was most effective. “It serves passive listeners,” she told me. She reflected on how frustrating it was that opting into Discovery Mode actually did lead to increased streams for her artists; the fact that someone would hear a promoted track and not know that it was promoted raised ethical concerns. “This, unfortunately, is the way that the future looks for us. And we have zero control over it.”
Another independent label manager noted that despite seeing results from Discovery Mode, he was not sure yet what their royalty statements would look like. “It’s this vicious cycle where we’re losing revenue because of streaming. And then streaming is pushing these weird opportunities on us. And we need to take them in order to make up for that lost revenue. It sadly is so desperate, because the industry changes so consistently and we are constantly thinking of ways to keep up.”
Discovery Mode wasn’t Spotify’s first go at paid promo. Since 2019, it had been trying to get artists to pay for pop-up ads called “Marquees”, which cost 50 cents per click, or 55 cents if the artist wanted to target “lapsed, casual, or recently interested listeners”. An artist set a dollar amount for the campaign, which would then run for 10 days, or until the budget was spent. “Our distributor said, don’t use this, you are going to lose money,” one of the independent label managers told me. In 2023, Spotify introduced another, similar ad product called “Showcase”, a sponsored shelf that sat on the home page; those cost 40 cents per click, and lasted 14 days.
Later that year, Spotify launched an initiative called Campaign Kit, its attempt to get artists to not just purchase Marquee ads, Showcase shelves, or to trade royalties for algorithmic promotion, but to convince them that all of these tools worked best when purchased together. The last component of the kit was Spotify’s tool for submitting tracks for editorial playlist consideration. It’s as if the company were saying it’s not enough to buy ads, take a reduced royalty to use Discovery Mode, or pray at the altar of playlist pitching: artists must do all of these things.
Spotify’s tools for ‘creators’, ie musicians. Photograph: Spotify
In late 2023, a Showcase-related announcement hit the company Slack, detailing a high benchmark hit just two months after launch: over €1m (£833k) worth of ads booked. “We should all be very proud of this moment. As you go through the proverbial halls, don’t forget to pat your local Native Ads Showcase drivers on the back.”
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Spotify’s pitches to the independent music industry seemed to be working. But these ambitions to monetise musicians were seriously concerning to many. The Artist Rights Alliance, in a Rolling Stone op-ed published in April 2021, called Discovery Mode “payola” as well as “exploitative”, “unfair”, and a “money grab”, noting the potential for the royalty cut to be “so steep that working artists and independent labels cannot even afford to pay it, clearing the field for major record labels and pop megastars to ******** up even more of the streaming pie”. The group wrote that the biggest losers would be “working artists, independent labels, and above all music fans looking to expand and diversify their listening.”
In June 2021, the United States House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek, warning that the feature could establish a “race to the bottom” where artists feel required to accept lower royalties in order to be heard. The letter asserted that “at a time when the global pandemic has devastated incomes for musicians and other performers, without a clear path back to pre-pandemic levels, any plan that could ultimately lead to further cut pay for working artists and ultimately potentially less consumer choice raises significant policy issues”.
Daniel Ek, co-founder and chief executive officer of Spotify, hosts a “Now Playing” creator day at the company’s Los Angeles campus. Photograph: Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Spotify
The authors of the House Judiciary letter outlined a series of questions directly for Daniel Ek: Would the pilot become permanent? What safeguards would protect artists from Discovery Mode boosts potentially cancelling each other out? How would the “promotional” royalty rate be calculated and would it be the same for everyone? How could artists and labels measure the success of the program on their streams? And how would royalties be returned to artists if participating failed to increase streams?
Shortly after the Artist Rights Alliance op-ed was published, a staff member shared it in a Slack channel called “ethics-club”, where a group of Spotify employees would debate ethical issues of the streaming business. Some of these employees quickly agreed with the alliance’s assertion that Discovery Mode was payola-like. One said that the article nicely summed up his “raised eyebrows” from the meeting where he first learned about the program. “Controlling more of the listening experience via programming pretty clearly benefits us more than anybody else,” a different employee wrote. “That’s exactly why we have goals to increase programmed share.”
“This isn’t just like selling a banner ad somewhere. The boosted plays come at the cost of other artists,” said another. “And as the article correctly notes, the degenerate case is that artists stop benefitting at all from paying us.”
The cover of Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist. Photograph: Hodder
Even Spotify’s own employees could see that Discovery Mode was a deceptive practice as they debated the general lack of transparency, and the blurred boundaries between pay-for-play and “marketplace”.
According to Kevin Erickson, director of the Future of Music Coalition, there are important distinctions between payola on radio and what may appear to be its contemporary online equivalent. Payola has gone underground with radio, but comparable practices online are happening out in the open. Musicians are not paid at all when they’re played on US AM or FM radio, so there isn’t the same sort of commercial incentive to use payola. “There’s this whole other category of harm that happens on the digital side,” said Erickson.
In his view, many of the issues artists face in the streaming era, including what has been characterised as digital payola, are antitrust issues that both the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have the power to take on as unfair methods of competition (because they suppress wages and contribute to an anticompetitive market) and as deceptive practices (because people don’t know whether they’re listening to a song due to a curated recommendation or a business relationship). In addition, Erickson noted, the FTC could also contribute to a more equitable streaming landscape by investigating the major record label contracts that are currently locked up by NDAs – as well as any contracts digital service providers hold with aggregators and stock music providers.
As he puts it: “Unaccountable power is the problem wherever it pops up. It’s not about any particular technology. It’s concentrated, unaccountable private power.”
In response to points raised in this article, a Spotify spokesperson disputed the characterisation of Discovery Mode as the contemporary equivalent of payola. While users cannot see which individual songs are part of Discovery Mode, the “about recommendations” link in algorithmically generated playlists discloses factors that may have influenced the tracklisting. Spotify disputes the accuracy of views shared by employees in some internal messages featured in this chapter. According to the company, these internal messages “appear to be largely from former employees who were chatting with each other about their views on different company matters, including matters that they may not have been working on or even have direct knowledge of”. The company adds: “We have a culture where employees are free to share their views even when they have concerns or constructive criticism.” They also dispute the claim that Discovery Mode is anticompetitive. The company would not comment on whether the Discovery Mode profits were accurate.
This article is an edited extract from Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist by Liz Pelly, available now in the US from Atria/One Signal, and published in the *** on 13 March (Hodder & Stoughton, £22). To support the Guardian and Observer, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.
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NATO holds combat drills as Trump goes rogue
NATO holds combat drills as Trump goes rogue
NATO members are undertaking their largest combat exercises of 2025, testing their ability to rapidly deploy forces on the 32-nation alliance’s eastern border, as worries grow over its most powerful member, the United States.
The drills in Romania, which borders Ukraine, come as a shaken Europe grapples with a new US course under President Donald Trump.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has demanded that allies dramatically ramp up military spending and said US security priorities lie elsewhere — casting doubts on Washington’s longstanding security guarantees provided to Europe.
Days before the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Steadfast Dart 2025 drills comprise about 10,000 military personnel from nine nations as part of NATO’s new Allied Reaction Force.
They are taking place over six weeks in Romania, Bulgaria and Greece.
The Trump administration has not announced plans to pull US forces from the region.
But Hegseth’s remark that: “European allies must lead from the front” left NATO partners contemplating a potential new reality in which the US is no longer the powerful, nuclear-armed backstop for the continent’s security.
Radu Tudor, a defence analyst in Bucharest, said a US roll back of its military presence in Romania would be “a gift” to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The whole eastern flank of NATO (would) become weaker in front of Russia’s aggressive behaviour,” he said, adding that it would push Romania to ask NATO allies to contribute troops and weapons to plug the gap left by several thousand American troops.
European allies have also expressed concern over being sidelined from talks between Washington and Moscow’s top diplomats on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia on working towards ending the war in Ukraine.
The fast-moving developments prompted France’s president to convene select EU countries and the *** for talks this week in Paris.
Wednesday’s combat exercises in Romania saw live-fire training and trench warfare drills.
Greek and Spanish marines led exercises last week in Greece, including a mock amphibious assault.
NATO’s new Allied Reaction Force, established last July, is designed to deploy at scale within 10 days and combines conventional forces with cyber and space-based technologies.
Britain leads the operation with 2600 military personnel and 730 vehicles.
The drills also include Romania, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey and involve 1500 military vehicles, more than 20 aircraft and more than a dozen naval assets.
After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, NATO bolstered its presence on Europe’s eastern flank by sending additional multinational battle groups to Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia.
Since then, Romania has played an increasingly prominent role in the alliance.
It has donated a Patriot missile system to Ukraine and opened an international training hub for F-16 jet pilots from allied countries, including Ukraine.
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FromSoftware didn’t want Sony to publish Dark Souls as it was ‘disappointed’ by how ******’s Souls was treated
FromSoftware didn’t want Sony to publish Dark Souls as it was ‘disappointed’ by how ******’s Souls was treated
FromSoftware didn’t want to work on a ******’s Souls sequel with Sony because it was disappointed with the way the game was handled, former PlayStation exec Shuhei Yoshida claims.
******’s Souls was developed by FromSoftware in collaboration with Sony Japan Studio. During the game’s development, it was planned that the game would be published globally by Sony, but this didn’t come to be.
Although these days ******’s Souls is considered the first entry in FromSoftware’s popular ‘Soulslike’ series of games, it’s said that at the time Sony couldn’t see the game’s global appeal.
Due to the game’s high difficulty and negative early playtests, Sony decided not to localise ******’s Souls for an English language release. Instead, in the US the game was published by Atlus and in Europe publishing was handled by Bandai Namco.
Speaking to the Sacred Symbols podcast, former SIE president Yoshida explained that Sony wanted to work on the sequel to ******’s Souls with FromSoftware, but the developer turned it down and instead decided to work with Bandai Namco on what would become Dark Souls.
“FromSoftware was already working on the sequel, but they were so disappointed with how PlayStation treated them, we wanted to work with them again but they passed on it,” Yoshida claimed.
Sony would eventually work with FromSoftware again some years later with the PS4 exclusive Bloodborne, something Yoshida said he was happy to see.
“We have huge respect for Miyazaki and we were able to work with them again,” he said. “Bloodborne is one of his best games.”
In an interview with Game Informer back in 2012, Yoshida gave more detail on Sony’s decision not to localise ******’s Souls for the west, admitting that he didn’t get the appeal at first.
“For my personal experience with ******’s Souls, when it was close to final I spent close to two hours playing it and after two hours I was still standing at the beginning at the game,” he recalled at the time. “I said: ‘This is crap. This is an unbelievably bad game.’ So I put it aside.
“Luckily, third party publishers, Atlus in North America and Namco in Europe [stepped in], and it really became a great hit outside of Japan. We definitely dropped the ball from a publishing standpoint, including studio management side. We were not able to see the value of the product we were making.”
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Analysts are doubtful about Ackman’s proposed transformation of Howard Hughes into the next Berkshire
Analysts are doubtful about Ackman’s proposed transformation of Howard Hughes into the next Berkshire
Bill Ackman’s revised proposal to buy real estate developer Howard Hughes didn’t impress Wall Street analysts who believe the deal doesn’t create much value for current shareholders. The billionaire investor said Tuesday Pershing Square has submitted a proposal to acquire 10 million newly issued Howard Hughes shares at $90 each. In January, Ackman proposed forming a new subsidiary of Pershing to merge with Howard Hughes, offering current holders $85 a share. “While the $90/share value being placed on the shares is better than $85/share previously, the higher share price is not being offered to existing investors,” JPMorgan analyst Anthony Paolone said in a note. “The ability for common shareholders to realize and monetize this value may be even more difficult than the prior proposal.” The January proposal also included a $500 million share repurchase financed by newly issued bonds. Ackman’s new plan doesn’t mention a share repurchase. Ackman said the unique career path of the legendary Warren Buffett inspired him. The “Oracle of Omaha” started out running a series of private partnerships, until the 1960s when he closed his partnerships and took control of Berkshire Hathaway, a struggling textile business . Over the span of six decades, Buffett transformed Berkshire into a $1 trillion conglomerate with businesses spanning insurance, energy, railroad and retail. Howard Hughes shares jumped on Tuesday after Ackman teased a revised offer was on its way, with the stock closing up 6.8% at $80.60. But the stock is trading down about 7% on Wednesday in reaction to the new plan. “The latest PS proposal doesn’t offer any cash realization today but rather speaks to converting existing shareholders into investors of PS’ hoped-for version of Berkshire Hathaway,” Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Goldfarb said in a note. Goldfarb believes a fully financed, all-cash offer around $100 per share would be received more favorably. Added layer of management fees Analysts also took issue with the management fee that Ackman proposed. If the deal comes to fruition, Pershing would receive an annual fee, paid quarterly, of 1.5% of Howard Hughes’ equity market capitalization. “In the new proposal, existing investors have to hope that the stock in its new state will trade better than HHH has historically,” Paolone said. “We think this is a stretch, particularly given that the new state of the company under Ackman/Pershing Square control will include the added layer of 1.5% in annual management fees paid to Pershing Square to run HHH.” If the newly proposed transaction goes through, Pershing Square will own 48% of the real estate developer based in The Woodlands, Texas. The revised transaction does not require regulatory approvals, a shareholder vote or financing, so it can be completed in a few weeks. “We believe the revised offer leaves more questions than answers and doesn’t provide the relief many investors were anticipating with a take-private transaction,” BMO analyst John Kim said in a note. “It remains unclear how new HHH will trade, as a more diversified vehicle, with access to valuable resources.” — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting.
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PGA TOUR 2K25 Seasons and Clubhouse Pass Details Announced
PGA TOUR 2K25 Seasons and Clubhouse Pass Details Announced
Expansive post-launch roadmap offers plenty of engaging content for PGA TOUR 2K25.
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What is Challenge-Response Authentication? | Definition from TechTarget
What is Challenge-Response Authentication? | Definition from TechTarget
In computer security, challenge-response authentication is a set of protocols used to protect digital assets and services from unauthorized users, programs or activities. While challenge-response authentication can be as simple as a password, it can also be as dynamic as a randomly generated request. From login verification to machine learning (ML), challenge-response authentication is an easy-to-implement cybersecurity tool to secure sensitive information, identify suspicious behavior or block certain programs.
What is challenge-response authentication?
In its simplest form, challenge-response authentication is composed of two basic components: a question and a response. The goal of the question, or challenge, is to require a response that only authorized users will know. Users that successfully answer the question are allowed access to whatever digital materials the challenge-response authentication mechanism (CRAM) is safeguarding. Though this is a simple premise, the tools, knowledge and information required to pass these challenges can become quite complex.
The goal of challenge-response authentication is to limit the access, control and use of digital resources to only authorized users and activities. After all, users aren’t the only ones sending requests. If a mobile application or a malicious software (malware) program requests access to a set of photos, it can be denied by integrating challenge-response authentication. Because challenges aren’t just limited to questions and answers, they can involve more complicated tasks and code decryption.
Types of challenge-response questions
There are two main types of challenge-response questions: static and dynamic. Each varies in terms of complexity and response variability.
Static challenges are requests that can be satisfied using the same answer or process every time. A static challenge includes the password recovery questions one needs to answer to verify identity. A common example is the password for the lock screen on a smartphone.
Dynamic challenges require a different answer with each attempt. Often, the challenges themselves randomly change, and the user is expected to respond. Some financial institutions provide their account holders with a small security token, a device that can either receive codes or input them. Devices like these also provide a physical element to the authentication process, which makes it even harder for cybercriminals to exploit.
Challenge-response authentication wasn’t always exclusive to digital use. In the early 20th century, U.S. military officials used DRYAD, a simple, paper cryptographic system, to authenticate the identities of radio users. The purpose of this challenge-response authentication system was to ensure the person on either end of the radio was not an imposter. Through the DRYAD numeral cipher, two individuals could verify their identities by reading out the corresponding number for a combination of letters. This example illustrates that challenges don’t have to be in the form of a question; they can be numerical or digital permutations that require a designated response.
One of the most common examples of a challenge-response protocol is password authentication. The challenge, in this case, is providing the word, phrase or code that unlocks the device, network or program. Here, challenge-response authentication is the only thing preventing a criminal from accessing the sensitive files, credentials and information stored in a computer system. Without challenge-response authentication, it would be impossible to perform activities like online banking with a high degree of security confidence.
How challenge-response is used
Challenge-response is a barrier used to protect assets from unauthorized users, activities, programs and internet of things (IoT) devices. It forces cyber attackers to satisfy a potential series of challenges in order to bypass the security barrier and access further materials. A commercial bank, for instance, uses challenge-response authentication to create a multifactor authentication (MFA) process. This process authenticates the identity of a user by utilizing multiple CRAMs.
Multifactor authentication requires a user to successfully answer several questions at once.
An example of a two-factor authentication (2FA) process involves providing a password and a code sent to a specified email address. An MFA variant may also require the answer to a personal question, like “What is your mother’s maiden name?” Account logins aren’t the only instance of challenge-response authentication, though.
Different uses of challenge-response authentication
In addition to login authentication, there are two main areas in which challenge-response can be utilized, particularly when it comes to cybersecurity.
Human verification
Sometimes, when users log in to a website, they are asked to complete a series of challenges to prove that they are not a robot (bot). Challenges like this are designed to block programs, not users, from accessing certain webpages or activities. For instance, many electronic commerce (e-commerce) platforms use human verification in order to prevent bots from automatically buying up massive amounts of supplies. Not only can these bots limit the experience of regular users, but they may also be using fraudulent or stolen information to complete purchases. Challenge-response authentication is a way to avoid this outcome and ensure the safety and security of specific web services. A common challenge used to verify human activity includes selecting images that contain a specific item or object, such as a fire hydrant, for example. CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) is an example of this type of tool being put to use.
Machine learning training
One of the greatest advantages of machine learning is its ability to complete many tasks at the same time. In cybersecurity, ML or artificial intelligence (AI) software combs systems for suspicious or dangerous behavior. Challenge-response authentication tests and trains machine learning models to help them solve complex problems. Some ML programs are given human verification puzzles and their answers are matched and compared to those of humans. Over time, the ML program learns from the human examples to inform its future decision-making.
Examples of challenge-response authentication systems
In addition to its applications for verifying users and passwords, challenge-response authentication systems can be classified by the cryptographic algorithms and techniques they use for securing the authentication process.
Challenge-response commonly incorporates the following authentication technologies:
Secure Shell (SSH) protocol includes a challenge-response mechanism that uses separate public key infrastructure (PKI) to authenticate communication sessions between servers. Each server authenticates itself by sending the other a value signed with the other’s public key.
Zero-knowledge password proof systems use cryptographic methods to confirm to each party that they have a correct password but without the need to share that password with each other.
Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) uses a three-way handshake among an authenticating system, challenge message and local system. If the hash values generated from this handshake match, then the authenticating system can permit the connection. If they do not, it will terminate the session.
OATH Challenge-Response Algorithm (OCRA) uses a challenge-response algorithm developed by the Initiative for Open Authentication for a cryptographically strong challenge-response authentication.
Best practices for challenge-response authentication
How well an organization implements, designs and deploys its interactive challenge-response authentication systems has a significant impact on its overall effectiveness. Businesses should consider the following best practices and guidelines for ensuring high-quality challenge-response authentication:
Implement an automated enrollment system to invite users to complete their challenge-response profiles.
Avoid questions with answers that can be guessed or researched.
Use questions that can be remembered by users.
Use a combination of standardized and user-selected questions. User-generated questions are more unique and, therefore, more difficult to guess.
Use multiple tiers of questions: Ask standard questions first, and then ask user-generated questions after the first set has been correctly answered.
Avoid asking the user to respond to more than six questions during the authentication process to discourage frustration and abandon rates.
Do not display answers to challenge questions. Doing so can expose them to malicious eavesdroppers.
Encrypt all data that may be used for authentication, particularly a user’s answers to personal challenge questions.
Lock user accounts after a specified number of failed authentication attempts.
Learn more about authentication methods and how to best implement them in “Strong authentication methods: Are you behind the curve?”
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Trump endorses House budget plan amid competing proposals in Congress
Trump endorses House budget plan amid competing proposals in Congress
Speaker Johnson on timeline for budget
Speaker Johnson on timeline for budget plan as Senate Republicans move on own proposal
05:43
Washington — President Trump endorsed the House Republicans’ budget proposal to begin enacting his agenda on Wednesday as the Senate pursues a competing two-bill plan focused on border security, defense and energy under the budget reconciliation process.
“We need both Chambers to pass the House Budget to ‘kickstart’ the Reconciliation process, and move all of our priorities to the concept of, ‘ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL,'” Mr. Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “It will, without question, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
The president praised House and Senate Republicans, saying they’re doing a “SPECTACULAR job of working together as one unified, and unbeatable.” But he said the Senate proposal would address just part of his agenda to begin, while the House’s proposal would address it in its entirety.
Senate Republicans, led by Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, have been pursuing a two-bill approach, which leaves the extension of Mr. Trump’s 2017 tax cuts for a later date in order to more quickly address border security and defense priorities. But House Republicans have argued that passing two pieces of legislation carries a wider margin for error, given the narrow GOP majority in the lower chamber.
President Trump acknowledges the crowd as House Speaker Mike Johnson looks on before addressing the 2025 Republican Issues Conference at the Trump National Doral Miami on Jan. 27, 2025, in Doral, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Mr. Trump’s announcement came after Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Senate would move forward this week with its proposal on the Senate floor, after both the House and Senate advanced their resolutions out of committee last week. The Senate had deferred to the House for weeks to kickstart the process, but began pushing ahead earlier this month.
The president’s endorsement follows months of back and forth over the path forward. Though Mr. Trump initially indicated support for a single-bill approach, he had appeared to step back from weighing in on the process in recent weeks, making clear his support for approving his agenda — no matter the approach.
Kaia Hubbard
Kaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.
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Woman charged with killing five-year-old in 1978 bath scalding
Woman charged with killing five-year-old in 1978 bath scalding
A 66-year-old woman has appeared in court accused of killing a child by scalding her in a hot bath nearly 50 years ago.
Janice Nix is charged with manslaughter over the death of five-year-old Andrea Bernard, who was taken to hospital after suffering burns in Thornton Heath, south London, in June 1978.
She was transferred to a specialist burns unit in East Grinstead, West Sussex, but died from her injuries in July of the same year, the Met Police said.
Ms Nix, from Clapham, south-west London, appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court.
The court heard that on 6 June 1978, Andrea had been forced into a very hot bath which scalded 50% of her body.
Ms Nix is also accused of cruelty to Andrea’s brother Desmond Bernard between 1 October 1975 and 6 June 1978, when he was aged five to eight.
The defendant was aged between 16 and 19 at the time of the alleged incidents.
At the short hearing, Ms Nix spoke only to confirm her name, age and address.
A Met spokesperson said the force launched an investigation into Andrea’s death in September 2022, when the incident was reported by Mr Bernard.
Ms Nix was freed on bail with conditions including to surrender her passports and not to travel to any international travel hubs.
She is due at Isleworth Crown Court on 19 March.
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De Minaur fights into Qatar quarters but O'Connell out
De Minaur fights into Qatar quarters but O'Connell out
National No.1 Alex de Minaur has battled his way into the last eight in the Qatar Open but Aussie qualifier Chris O’Connell’s run has come to a brutal end.
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Trump’s approval rating slips as Americans worry about the economy
Trump’s approval rating slips as Americans worry about the economy
By Jason Lange
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s approval rating has ticked slightly lower in recent days as more Americans worried about the direction of the U.S. economy as the new leader threatens a host of countries with tariffs, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The six-day poll, which closed on Tuesday, showed 44% of respondents approved of the job Trump is doing as president, down from 45% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted January 24-26. Trump’s approval rating stood at 47% in a January 20-21 poll conducted in the hours after the Republican’s return to the White House.
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The share of Americans who disapprove of his presidency has risen more substantially, to 51% in the latest poll, compared with 41% right after he took office.
Trump enjoys a relatively high rate of approval on his immigration policy, with 47% of respondents backing his approach that has included promises to ramp up deportations of migrants in the country illegally. The share was little changed from January.
But the share of Americans who think the economy is on the wrong track rose to 53% in the latest poll from 43% in the January 24-26 poll. Public approval of Trump’s economic stewardship fell to 39% from 43% in the prior poll.
A pillar of Trump’s political strength has been public belief that his policies will be good for the economy, and his rating on the economy remains significantly higher than the final readings of his predecessor in office, Democrat Joe Biden, who ended his term with a 34% approval rating on the economy. But Trump’s rating for the economy is well below the 53% he had in Reuters/Ipsos polling conducted in February 2017, the first full month of his first term as U.S. president.
In the latest poll, only 32% of respondents approved of Trump’s performance on inflation, a potential early sign of disappointment in the Republican’s performance on a core economic issue after several years of rising prices weakened Biden ahead of last year’s presidential election. Trump defeated Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, in the Electoral College and narrowly won the popular vote.
A recent report from the U.S. Labor Department showed consumer prices rose by the most in nearly 1-1/2 years in January, with Americans facing higher costs for a range of goods and services. Other economic data has shown U.S. households expect inflation to pick up following Trump’s February 1 announcements for steep tariffs on imports from China, Mexico and Canada.
While the levies on Mexico and Canada were since delayed until March, Trump has set March 12 as the start date for other tariffs on imported steel and aluminum and he has directed his staff to devise global reciprocal tariffs.
Fifty-four percent of respondents in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll said they opposed new tariffs on imported goods from other countries, while 41% were in favor of them. Increasing tariffs on ******** goods had higher levels of support, with 49% in favor and 47% against.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was conducted online, surveyed 4,145 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of about 2 percentage points in either direction.
(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Scott Malone and Deepa Babington)
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Marvel Rivals Players Name ****** Widow as the Weakest Hero and Offer Ideas How to Fix Her
Marvel Rivals Players Name ****** Widow as the Weakest Hero and Offer Ideas How to Fix Her
Not all Heroes can be perfect. Marvel Rivals community agreed that ****** Widow could benefit from some buffs.
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An RTX 4090, OLED display, and $500 off: Best Buy’s clearance deal on the Asus Zephyrus G16 is tempting
An RTX 4090, OLED display, and $500 off: Best Buy’s clearance deal on the Asus Zephyrus G16 is tempting
Best Buy’s Presidents’ Day ***** is still live, and it includes what’s easily one of the best deals on a high-end RTX 4090 gaming laptop today in the form of this Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 for just $2,799 (was $3,299).
A massive $500 discount brings this one down into a much more reasonable price bracket, although admittedly, this is still a very expensive machine. For a reasonable sum, you’ll get yourself not only that high-end RTX 4090 graphics card but also an Intel Core Ultra 9 chipset, 32GB of RAM, and a stunning OLED display for good measure. Specs like these are rarely seen under $3,000 so I definitely think this one is worth a look.
While gaming laptops with the RTX 4090 will soon be superseded by those with an RTX 5090, I’d still say this G16 is a great option. The RTX 4090 doesn’t get access to some of the latest graphical tech like Multi-Frame Generation, but it’s still plenty powerful enough to max out the graphical settings on nearly every game right now. This machine also carries that blazingly quick 240Hz 1600p OLED display so that RTX 4090 can really flex its muscles on a gorgeous monitor, too.
RTX 4090 gaming laptop deal at Best Buy
Another really great option for an RTX 4090 clearance deal is the Alienware x16 R2 that I’ve attached just below. This machine is slightly cheaper than the Asus and comes with an incredibly quick 480Hz 1200p display – which, some would say, could even be overkill. Personally, I’m partial to the overall design and OLED display on the Asus G16 but this x16 is easily still one of the best gaming laptop deals on the market right now.
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#RTX #OLED #display #Buys #clearance #deal #Asus #Zephyrus #G16 #tempting
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Trump Media sues Brazil justice who crossed Elon Musk
Trump Media sues Brazil justice who crossed Elon Musk
FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk listens to U.S. President Donald Trump speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 11, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
Trump Media and its fellow conservative-oriented social media company Rumble on Wednesday sued a Brazil Supreme Court justice who clashed with Elon Musk last year while blocking Musk’s own social media firm, X, in Brazil.
The Tampa, Florida, federal court lawsuit accuses Justice Alexandre de Moraes of allegedly ******** attempts to censor a “well-known politically outspoken user” of Rumble with orders to suspend that user’s U.S.-based accounts.
The suit notes that Trump Media’s social media site Truth Social “relies on Rumble’s cloud-based hosting and video streaming infrastructure to deliver multimedia content to its user base.”
“If Rumble were to be shut down, that shut down would necessarily interfere with Truth Social’s operations, as well,” the suit says.
Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes in a statement said his company “is firmly committed to upholding the right to free expression.”
“This is not just a slogan, it’s the core mission of this company,” Nunes said. “We’re proud to join our partner Rumble in standing against unjust demands for political censorship regardless of who makes them.”
This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.
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#Trump #Media #sues #Brazil #justice #crossed #Elon #Musk
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Task Force Admiral Launches Demo & Kickstarter Campaign with Goal Already Achieved Twice Over
Task Force Admiral Launches Demo & Kickstarter Campaign with Goal Already Achieved Twice Over
Drydock Dreams Games and MicroProse launched a Kickstarter campaign and a demo of Task Force Admiral – Vol.1: American Carrier Battles.
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#Task #Force #Admiral #Launches #Demo #amp #Kickstarter #Campaign #Goal #Achieved
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Hims & Hers to offer at-home blood draws, lab testing with Trybe deal
Hims & Hers to offer at-home blood draws, lab testing with Trybe deal
Hims & Hers Health announced Wednesday it has acquired New Jersey-based at-home lab testing facility Trybe Labs.
The deal will allow the telehealth company to offer at-home blood draws and more comprehensive pre-treatment testing to its users.
“Access to richer data allows us to deepen the insights that providers can use on our platform to guide their clinical decisions for each individual patient,” said Dr. Patrick Carroll, Hims & Hers chief medical officer.
“At-home lab testing is one more exciting step towards elevating the personal, comprehensive care customers in this country should expect,” Carroll added.
Hims did not disclose terms of the deal, but said it funded it through cash on hand. The company told CNBC it will share pricing for the new testing options when the offering is made available to customers over the next year.
The acquisition by Hims & Hers will offer competition to blood drawing services like Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics.
The startup is expanding its services less than one year after it started offering compounded GLP-1 weight loss drugs. As Hims & Hers casts itself as a cheaper alternative to established companies, it recently took aim at the pharmaceutical industry in a Super Bowl ad, saying the industry is “priced for profits, not patients.”
“The healthcare that customers expect and deserve today is on-demand care with treatments designed specifically for them,” said Dr. Carroll.
While the company’s stock has been volatile, Wall Street has bought in this year: shares have soared 141% in 2025.
The new acquisition will add testing capabilities for LDL cholesterol, lipoprotein(a), cholesterol and apolipoprotein, the company said. It will also expand the company’s ability to offer access to care and treatments across a range of conditions including low testosterone and premenopausal and menopausal support.
The Tasso+ device is a blood lancet that collects whole liquid blood samples. Multiple standard collection tubes are compatible. Tasso+ is FDA Class II Lancet 510(k)-cleared.”
Courtesy: Tasso Inc.
Hims users will be provided a blood lancet provided by home diagnostic testing company Tasso. The lancet is a single-use device that collects whole liquid blood samples and cleared for premarket use by the FDA.
Users attach the device to their upper arm and press a button that triggers the lancet to prick the skin and draw a small amount of blood collected in a microtube.
Providers on the platform will use the information collected as part of determining a treatment plan for patients.
Hims & Hers said it will use data from the blood work — with patient identities removed — to accelerate its development of AI-powered health care.
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#Hims #offer #athome #blood #draws #lab #testing #Trybe #deal
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Tanya Plibersek delays decision on Woodside’s North West Shelf venture, blames WA Government
Tanya Plibersek delays decision on Woodside’s North West Shelf venture, blames WA Government
Mr Cook said an extra few weeks’ wait would not be an ‘inconvenience’.
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#Tanya #Plibersek #delays #decision #Woodsides #North #West #Shelf #venture #blames #Government
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