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‘The Worst I’ve Ever Seen’: Trump’s Mass Layoffs Leave Federal Workers Baffled and Angry – TIME ‘The Worst I’ve Ever Seen’: Trump’s Mass Layoffs Leave Federal Workers Baffled and Angry – TIME ‘The Worst I’ve Ever Seen’: Trump’s Mass Layoffs Leave Federal Workers Baffled and Angry TIMEVA employees feel impact from policies shaking up federal workforce, despite exemptions Federal News Network Source link #Worst #Ive #Trumps #Mass #Layoffs #Leave #Federal #Workers #Baffled #Angry #TIME Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Did USC’s JuJu Watkins prove herself as national Player of the Year in statement win? Did USC’s JuJu Watkins prove herself as national Player of the Year in statement win? LOS ANGELES — The celebrities were out at the Galen Center as USC hosted its undefeated crosstown rival UCLA in a top-10 showdown. Vanessa and Natalia Bryant were in attendance, as were Flea, Issa Rae, Kevin Hart, and Los Angeles Sparks Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby. Not to mention actor Sanaa Lathan, who JuJu Watkins personally shouted out postgame for her iconic role as a Trojans basketball star in “Love and Basketball.” No matter how many icons dotted the sidelines, it was Watkins who was the star. The best and brightest in Los Angeles came to see her put on a show, and Watkins delivered. “It’s really a dream come true,” Watkins said of playing on this stage. “And when you have people like that show up, you can’t disappoint.” The sophomore finished the night with 38 points, 11 rebounds, and eight blocks in USC’s 71-60 victory. It was her second-highest scoring total of the season (behind her 40 points against California ********) and her career-best in blocks. Her previous high was five rejections. She became the first Division I player to post 35 points, 5 blocks and 5 assists in a game in the last 20 seasons. Entering Thursday’s matchup, Cori Close stumped for her star Lauren Betts as the Big Ten and national Player of the Year, saying, “I really do believe she’s been the most consistently impactful player on both sides of the ball.” It was fitting that Watkins had her finest performance of the season showing her versatility on both ends, punctuated by being able to help shut down Betts. Watkins affects every facet of the game in every area of the court. Early on, she helped USC build an early lead with her jumper. Perhaps because Watkins had been shooting poorly from long range – she had made eight 3-pointers in her last six games on 22.9 percent shooting – the Bruins chose to go under on screens to guard against her drives. Every time a defender gave her the extra space, Watkins launched, making 6 of 7 3s in the first half. By the time she had made her fifth triple, she had 19 points, outscoring UCLA on her own to put USC up 14. After the Bruins clawed back and tied the game with a minute left in the second quarter, she isolated on Londynn Jones and elevated for her sixth make to keep the Trojans ahead at the break. “We’ll be talking about this with our coaching staff years from now,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said after the game, “JuJu’s just heroic shot-making and effort and intensity, especially coming after the million questions she gets when it’s not perfect out there.” As the tenor of the game changed, Watkins evolved in real time. UCLA threw four different defenders at her in single coverage in the first half, and she found her way past each of them. Gabriela Jaquez could be moved with a screen, freshman Kendall Dudley bit on Watkins’ fakes, and Janiah Barker wasn’t disciplined enough to keep track of Watkins’ movement. Watkins had some initial difficulty with Londynn Jones despite nearly a foot advantage in height, as Jones used her speed and fast hands to disrupt Watkins’ handle. The USC sophomore had to keep the ball a little higher and get to her shot more quickly. In the fourth quarter, Watkins finally figured out Jones’ reaching pattern and baited her defender into fouling her on a rip-through; those free throws kickstarted a 9-0 run that decided the game. Watkins also figured out more ways to impact the game defensively. Early on, she was flying at Jones to close out at the 3-point line, knowing that Jones is a better shooter from outside the arc than in. However, those aggressive closeouts gave Jones the time to step into pull-up jumpers with no contest. Watkins was more measured in the second half, avoiding the urge to leap and get out of position so that Jones couldn’t dribble past her. With the jumper no longer available to her, Jones tried to drive at Watkins, but Watkins was easily able to contain those forays to the rim. Gottlieb also called on Watkins to be more active in help defense in the second half, as Betts was getting too comfortable in isolation. She told Watkins she needed to be smart about when to bring the double, but Watkins had already picked up on Betts’ tendencies. “Betts is just an anomaly, so it was just important that (the bigs) knew the guards had their back as well, and we’re all linked together,” Watkins said. “I was able to get my hands on a lot of Betts’ shots when it came down to the stretch of it. Just any way I can help out defensively, I’m down to do it.” In addition to Betts, Watkins rotated over multiple times to get rejections on Kiki Rice, backing up Kennedy Smith, who was applying aggressive ball pressure on Rice at the point of attack. All of those blocks created transition opportunities the other way, and Watkins was impossible to stop with a head of steam. In addition to her seven free throw attempts in the second half, Watkins also had three assists in transition, all resulting in layups. The Bruins came into the game with a plan to make Watkins beat them from distance. When she proved capable of doing that, they tried to deny her the ball altogether. That forced Watkins to create possessions with her defense, forcing turnovers and getting out in transition. Whatever move the Bruins made, Watkins had a counter. She delivered the last blow, spearheading a 24-8 fourth quarter with her playmaking on both ends of the floor. this sequence >>> pic.twitter.com/PH3KyIG7Xo — USC Women’s Basketball (@USCWBB) February 14, 2025 “It has been a tough couple weeks for me, but I’m just staying true to the process,” Watkins said. “There’s a lesson in everything and I think that is to always stay joyful in the course.” In her second season, Watkins hasn’t had the exclamation points that defined her first, be it the debut game against Ohio State or dropping 51 in Maples Pavilion against Stanford. But she has still produced at the highest of levels and affected winning in a way that few else can, building on her first-team All-America campaign from a year ago. Thursday was her headliner, a marquee performance to highlight her case for the national Player of the Year. No better time or place to showcase her skills than in a rivalry game against the No. 1 team in the country. (Photo of JuJu Watkins: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images) Source link #USCs #JuJu #Watkins #prove #national #Player #Year #statement #win Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Who are the Washington Generals? The Harlem Globetrotters’ archrival, and much more Who are the Washington Generals? The Harlem Globetrotters’ archrival, and much more Editor’s note: Throughout the week, The Athletic highlighted the Harlem Globetrotters and their contributions to basketball, vision for entertainment and overall commitment to goodwill. This series will conclude on Sunday, Feb. 16. The Washington Generals epitomize the notion of an underdog. That’s an easy reputation to earn with more than 18,000 losses compared to three wins on one’s résumé, but the Generals have been on the losing end time and time again when looking at their decades-long rivalry with the Harlem Globetrotters. When it comes to one of America’s favorite exhibition games, the Generals are rarely viewed as “losers.” If anything, they are supporting cast members for a beloved Globetrotters team that focuses on one primary goal: entertaining the masses. The Globetrotters need an opponent. They need a team to defeat. Why not the Generals? “You’ve got to make them look good,” Generals guard Jordan Fuchs told The Athletic. That’s the job of a Washington General: to enhance what’s already on the table. The Globetrotters are the eye candy; somebody needs to make sure they receive the praise on the court. And because members of the Generals are so good at what they do, attending matchups between both teams provides a unique experience for fans. Even if defeat is routinely inevitable for Washington — 1971 is a long time to taste defeat after defeat. The Washington Generals often are the punchline of a Harlem Globetrotters joke. This 2019 photo shows the Globetrotters’ Angelo “Spider” Sharpless pulling the leg of the Generals’ Shaquille Burrell during a Las Vegas exhibition. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images) It’s hard to explain the competitive value of knowing you’ll lose just about every basketball game you play. Imagine training your hardest, only to anticipate the scoreboard not tilting in your favor. The notion can be frustrating, right? Or, to Fuchs, a former football and basketball athlete at Indiana University, games against the Globetrotters can be more than just what’s shown on the scoreboard. “It’s a rewarding experience because I get to put smiles on everyone’s faces, even if I’m on the losing end,” Fuchs said. “Everyone enjoys it, and for me personally, I enjoy it because I get to play the game I love and I get to showcase my abilities. “I get to travel and meet amazing people. The network that I’ve accumulated from doing this is incredible. Different people in different states, different countries. It has been amazing.” For the Generals, created in 1952 by Louis “Red” Klotz and considered the most futile team in sports history, there is always joy in knowing the next day could be the one when they end the skid. The team initially was meant to legitimately compete against the Globetrotters but eventually became the ultimate ****** test ****** for its opponents donning red, white and blue on the hardwood. Being a General requires a unique focus. The roster features skilled players who have to be ambitious enough to recognize the awareness of always being secondary in the show. No matter the circumstance, the goal is to always ensure the Globetrotters come out on top, even though fans will leave arenas impressed by displays of athleticism, 4-point shots and dynamic dunks coming from the team wearing green and yellow. The Generals, in many ways, take on the role of the ultimate antagonists. Fuchs considers himself “the lead villain.” It’s a responsibility he takes very seriously, all for the spirit of entertainment. “If you remove the outcome, you know we’re going to lose, but if you remove the outcome and just focus on the process and the game, you find joy in that,” he said. pic.twitter.com/oiiiu0IrNi — Jordan Fuchs (@therealjordan81) February 18, 2022 On Jan. 5, 1971, in a matchup in Martin, Tenn., the Generals — then playing as the New Jersey Reds — snapped a 2,495-game losing streak with a 100-99 victory over the Globetrotters. As the Globetrotters entertained the crowd, the Generals stormed ahead in the final seconds. Klotz made the game-winning basket as the buzzer sounded to give the Generals their most exciting victory in modern-day history. It was the first time in 14 years the Globetrotters had lost a matchup against their archrival. After the game, Klotz, who died in 2014 at 92 years old, famously quipped that beating the Globetrotters “is like shooting Santa Claus,” but how did the Generals legend feel about finally being on the right side of the scoreboard? “I think it was probably the best day of his whole entire life,” Bronwen O’Keefe, Globetrotters head of brand marketing and content, told The Athletic. “I can’t imagine the celebration and happiness that he had. He probably held on to that day for a very, very long time or through the rest of his life. “We still count that day as being a very important moment in the history of the Globetrotters. You can’t talk about the history of the Globetrotters without talking about the Generals.” How the rivalry plays out has changed over the years. It’s been “good versus evil,” with the Globetrotters as the heroes and the Generals as the villains. There was even a masked General known as Cager who was the ultimate villain and played by multiple players. Other times, it’s simply the story of the underdog Generals trying to upend the Globetrotters. Antics like this, against and not in favor of the Generals, have been happening for decades. (Don Emmert / AFP via Getty Images) Given the lopsided nature of the rivalry, a question is why would someone want to play for the Generals? For one, it is an opportunity to play professional basketball. The Generals aren’t simply props on the court; they’re real basketball players. Some have been scouted in the G League, some in the NBA Summer League, some internationally — just like some members of the Globetrotters. One of the most famous names to play for the Generals is Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman, who suited up for the Generals in the 1980s. Lieberman was the first woman to play for the Generals. Kayla Gabor is on the team now and is the second woman to play for the Generals. Gabor is a former all-conference guard from Division II Lake Erie College in Ohio, a leading scorer during the 2016-17 season for the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. “I’m a General, which is very unique,” Gabor said. “Nancy Lieberman, I believe, was 1977 to ’78, so for me, bringing back the female on the opponent’s side is a unique spotlight. I know in the past, we’re villainous and supposed to just be the enemy, but I always came in like, ‘OK, we don’t win every game, but I set personal goals.’ My personal goals are to get the crowd on my side. “I always like to try and find people out of the audience to be like, ‘Watch this!’ and hit a couple 3s in a row. I’ll do it for them. Seriously, it is motivation for me.” The Generals, like the Globetrotters, practice and work on a variety of areas on the court. They travel wherever the Globetrotters travel, with equal accommodations. “We all understand it’s a show, and maybe the youngest members of our audience don’t understand the full kind of weight or meaning or impact of that,” O’Keefe said. “But we also have to account for the fact that on both teams, these are real people, real athletes with real skills, and they’re playing professional basketball. We want to give them the opportunity to be able to show those skills off.” There also remains the hope for Generals to be moved to the Globetrotters. It doesn’t happen often, but Latif “Jet” Rivers is a Globetrotter who started with the Generals (formerly known as the World All-Stars in 2013 and 2014) after playing college basketball at Wagner College in the early 2010s. Rivers was moved to the Globetrotters in 2017 after spending time on the opposing teams. This week we’re diving into the rich history of the Washington Generals and their unique rivalry with the Harlem Globetrotters! Discover which current Globetrotter has a history playing for the Generals…Tune in this weekend to #PlayItForward on NBC! pic.twitter.com/kLrfzu6cJ5 — Harlem Globetrotters (@Globies) December 27, 2024 The Generals aren’t the stars of the show, but they are definitely an important part of Globetrotters history. Even with loss after loss, they’ve become fan favorites and role models for children. In the eyes of many, they are far from an underdog. “It seriously is almost like a dream,” Gabor said. “There are a lot of eyes on us, but it’s a really good role to take on. It almost gives me a purpose in basketball that I never knew the sport would bring.” “It’s just awesome to be a part of history, as well,” Fuchs added. “The history of the Globetrotters.” — Shakeia Taylor contributed to this report. (Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; photos courtesy of the Harlem Globetrotters) Source link #Washington #Generals #Harlem #Globetrotters #archrival Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Laura Whitmore shares final messages from Caroline Flack on fifth anniversary of death Laura Whitmore shares final messages from Caroline Flack on fifth anniversary of death TV presenter Laura Whitmore has revealed the final messages between her and Caroline Flack on the fifth anniversary of her death. Flack, who had hosted Love Island and The X Factor, took her own life on 15 February 2020, aged 40. In an Instagram post on Saturday, Whitmore posted screenshots of exchanges between the pair, in which she told Flack she had just been offered a role presenting Love Island. Flack responded that she was “glad” she’d landed the role, and said she was “really looking forward to watching the show”. She added that it was “perfect” that Whitmore would be on the ITV series with her husband Iain Stirling, who narrates it, before posting a string of love hearts. Flack hosted the reality dating show between 2015 and 2019, with Whitmore taking over presenting duties in 2020 before leaving in 2022. Whitmore said she’d found the old messages earlier this month, when she got a new phone and was trying to download WhatsApp messages from the cloud. “It really hit me hard,” she wrote. “Looking at messages I’ve never publicly shared as they were private messages. Media outlets wrote a lot far from the actual truth. “I think they show a side to Caroline which is nice to remember. Hence I’m sharing now.” Whitmore, who said she first met Flack when she took over from her hosting I’m a Celebrity’s spin-off show on ITV2 in 2011, said she would always be “so thankful” for the last messages she exchanged with Flack. “Every time I’ve been asked to speak about the situation or be part of a documentary I decline,” she wrote. “I’ve already said all I can say on the tragedy and don’t want words to be misconstrued and need to look after my own mental health. “This was the last correspondence I ever had with her,” she said, adding: “The last message from her to me were love hearts.” In the text message exchange, Whitmore tells Flack: “Hope you’re somewhere lovely and see you soon.” Referring back to that in her post on Saturday, Whitmore wrote: “I’d like to think wherever she is now, she’s at peace and somewhere lovely like I hoped.” She also said that she was saddened to see the press and social media being “so divisive”, adding: “We still haven’t learned from Caroline’s treatment before her death when it comes to women in the spotlight.” In August 2020, a coroner ruled that Flack had taken her own life while she was facing trial accused of assaulting her boyfriend. The inquest heard sections of the media had been “hounding” the presenter over the alleged assault of Lewis Burton, which she denied. The coroner said that Flack’s mental health had deteriorated following her arrest. The mother of the late TV presenter will be exploring the final months of her daughter’s life in a new documentary. In the film, called Caroline, Christine Flack will reflect on the events leading up to her death, and her daughter’s career. If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story, information and support is available via the BBC Action Line. Source link #Laura #Whitmore #shares #final #messages #Caroline #Flack #anniversary #death Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Kylie Minogue fans gather at Perth’s RAC Arena for world launch of Tension Tour Kylie Minogue fans gather at Perth’s RAC Arena for world launch of Tension Tour The Princess of Pop is debuting her world tour at RAC Arena and fans just can’t get her out of their heads. Crowds gathered outside the arena hours before the 56-year-old made her long-anticipated return to WA, launching her Tension Tour on Saturday night. At the front of the line was Perth local Kevin Winder — who was seeing the pop megastar for the 45th time. “I was at Hyde Park in London not too long ago to see that gig and saw her at World Pride in Sydney, and then tonight is going to be spectacular,” he said. Mr Winder, who has been a fan since Kylie played Charlene Mitchell on Neighbours, wore a jacket bearing a photo of him and Kylie hugging at a meet and greet. He was looking forward to making even more memories on Saturday with his friends and his 13-year-old niece Emily. “Those times where our (Kylie and I’s) worlds collide, these are some of the most special moments of my life,” he said. Emily claimed to be an ever ******* fan than her uncle and was looking forward to hearing the song Edge of Saturday Night, featuring Madonna. Camera IconKevin Winder, Emily Ewels and Ashley Renfro. Credit: Ian Munro/The West *********** Friends Lara Sadowski, Leanne Wilson and Tania Farrell flew down from Geraldton for the concert, glittery outfits at the ready. “She is an icon, she is from our era, she gets our style,” Ms Farrell said. Doors at RAC Arena open at 6.45pm, with supporting artist Mallrat scheduled on at 7.45pm. Kylie is due to take the stage at 8.45pm for just under two hours. Jolene Whibley, 27, said she grew to love the Can’t Get You Out Of My Head singer through her mum. “My mum’s a really huge Kylie fan, so I’ve grown up with her albums being played at home all the time,” she said. “I’m here with my mum, so to be able to see her is really special, especially with mum here in person. “I love the divas when they tour, they always give the best shows … I think it is going to feel like a big party rather than a concert. “Growing up listening to her, I hope we have a lot of the old stuff as well as some new stuff.” The popstar hasn’t played in Perth since 2019. Her recent projects mark her eighth and ninth chart-topping ARIA albums, punctuated by the anthemic hit Padam Padam, which won her a Grammy for best pop dance recording in 2023. After Perth she will head to Adelaide, before performing the show at least 70 more times before wrapping up the tour in August, closing out in Mexico. Source link #Kylie #Minogue #fans #gather #Perths #RAC #Arena #world #launch #Tension #Tour Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Israeli hostages and ************ inmates freed in ceasefire swap Israeli hostages and ************ inmates freed in ceasefire swap Reuters The Israeli hostages appeared before a crowd in Khan Younis before their release ****** has freed three Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of ************ prisoners, in the latest swap under the ceasefire agreed by Israel and the militant group last month. The three hostages handed over on Saturday are American-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, Argentinian-Israeli Yair *****, 46, and Russian-Israeli Alexander Troufanov, 29. In return, 369 Palestinians held in Israeli jails were released. So far 19 hostages held in Gaza and over 1,000 ************ prisoners have been freed as part of the Gaza ceasefire that began on 19 January 2025. By the end of the first six-week stage of the deal, 33 hostages and 1,900 prisoners are expected to have been freed. On Saturday, in the sixth swap since last month, Israeli hostages were handed over in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Surrounded by heavily armed ****** militants, the men briefly addressed a crowd of Palestinians before being transferred into Red Cross vehicles. They did not look as gaunt as the hostages freed a week earlier – their appearance had ******** anger in Israel and elsewhere. The three men were airlifted by military helicopters to a hospital in central Israel where they will undergo medical tests and be reunited with relatives. Israeli President Isaac Herzog, posting on social media, said the hostages had been “forced to endure” a “despicable and cynical ceremony”. In a social media post, Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel would continue to work with the US to “ensure that all hostages return to Israel soon”. The majority of the freed Palestinians were taken to Gaza, although some were taken to the West Bank. In both areas, crowds gathered to welcome the former prisoners. The ************ Red Crescent Society told the BBC that five of those released in the West Bank city of Ramallah were taken straight to hospital. “They all have chronic illnesses,” said Mohammad Faqih, an official from the ************ Red Crescent Society, adding that one man had a broken leg. Most of the 36 Palestinians serving life sentences will reportedly be deported to Egypt. Reuters Most of the former ************ prisoners were taken by bus to the Gaza Strip Earlier this week, ****** threatened to delay the hostage release after accusing Israel of violating the terms of the agreement, something Israel denied. Israel, backed by US President Donald Trump, said “intense” fighting would resume unless the hostages were handed over. The latest releases mean that under the ceasefire, ****** is due to free another 14 hostages. However Israel says eight are of them are dead, meaning six living Israelis are still expected to be returned in the first phase. A total of 141 hostages have now been freed, including 81 Israelis and 24 foreign nationals released as part of a previous deal between Israel and ******. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken back to Gaza as hostages when ****** attacked Israel on 7 October 2023. This triggered a massive Israeli military offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, the ******-run health ministry says. Source link #Israeli #hostages #************ #inmates #freed #ceasefire #swap Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

How to rebind skills in Avowed How to rebind skills in Avowed Making proper use of all your best abilities in Avowed is the easiest of the tips and tricks you can take into the game. When you begin, you will have your healing and mana potions set on your quick select bar, followed by the first skill you unlock and first companion ability. That’s great in the early game, but it isn’t long before you unlock new skills that you want on that slot more than what is put there for you. You can always access all your abilities through the tactical menu, but that is a bit cumbersome. Instead, here’s how you can remap your quick skills to whatever you want. Obsidian How to rebind skills in Avowed You have 4 quick select slots on controller and 6 on PC in Avowed that can be set with consumables, skills, and companion abilities. Changing them out is easy and only takes a few seconds, so feel free to change them as often as you want. Step 1: Open the tactical menu and highlight the skill you want to put on your quick select bar. Step 2: With that skill highlighted, press the corresponding direction on the D-pad you want to bind it to, or any of the 1-6 keys on your keyboard to bind it to. Step 3: Exit the tactical menu and your new skill will replace whatever was in that slot previously. Besides skills, you can bind potions, consumables, and companion abilities to any of these slots. We suggest keeping health potions on there at all times, but there’s no restrictions on what you can put there. Source link #rebind #skills #Avowed Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Germany’s Scholz delivers strong rebuke to Vance Germany’s Scholz delivers strong rebuke to Vance ******* Chancellor Olaf Scholz has delivered a strong rebuke to US Vice President JD Vance’s attack on Europe’s stance toward hate speech and the far right, saying it was not right for others to tell Germany and Europe what to do. Vance lambasted European leaders on Friday, the first day of the Munich Security Conference, accusing them of censoring free speech and criticising ******* mainstream parties’ “firewall” against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). “That is not appropriate, especially not among friends and allies. We firmly reject that,” Scholz told the conference on Saturday, adding there were “good reasons” not to work with the AfD. The anti-immigration party, currently polling at around 20 per cent ahead of Germany’s February 23 national election, has pariah status among other major ******* parties in a country with a taboo about ultranationalist politics because of its Nazi past. “Never again fascism, never again racism, never again aggressive war. That is why an overwhelming majority in our country opposes anyone who glorifies or justifies criminal National Socialism,” Scholz said, referring to the ideology of Adolf Hitler’s 1933-45 Nazi regime. Vance met on Friday with the leader of AfD, after endorsing the party as a political partner — a stance Berlin dismissed as unwelcome election interference. Referring more broadly to Vance’s criticism of Europe’s curtailing of hate speech, which he has likened to censorship, Scholz said: “Today’s democracies in Germany and Europe are founded on the historic awareness and realisation that democracies can be destroyed by radical anti-democrats. “And this is why we’ve created institutions that ensure that our democracies can defend themselves against their enemies, and rules that do not restrict or limit our freedom but protect it.” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot added his voice to the defence of Europe’s stance on hate speech. “No one is required to adopt our model but no one can impose theirs on us,” Barrot said on X from Munich. “Freedom of speech is guaranteed in Europe.” The prospect of talks to end the Ukraine-Russia war had been expected to dominate the annual Munich conference after a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin this week, but Vance barely mentioned Russia or Ukraine in his speech to the gathering on Friday. Instead, he said the threat to Europe that worried him most was not Russia or China but what he called a retreat from fundamental values of protecting free speech – as well as immigration, which he said was “out of control” in Europe. Many conference delegates watched Vance’s speech in stunned silence. There was little applause as he delivered his remarks. Asked by the panel moderator if he thought there was anything in Vance’s speech worth reflecting on, Scholz drew laughter and applause in the crowd when he responded, in a deadpan manner: “You mean all these very relevant discussions about Ukraine and security in Europe?” Source link #Germanys #Scholz #delivers #strong #rebuke #Vance Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic: release date, trailers, gameplay, and more Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic: release date, trailers, gameplay, and more Table of Contents Table of Contents Release date Platforms Trailers Gameplay Preorder If you’ve lost count of how many Five Nights at Freddy’s games there are at this point, we wouldn’t blame you. This series is home to some of the best horror games ever made, starting out as just a humble indie game on PC and turning into a multi-media franchise that is on the level of Resident Evil or The Last of Us. Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic is the 11th mainline entry in the series, and yet fans are still just as excited for it as the last 10 games. This game promises new story revelations, expanded gameplay, and plenty of jump scares so let’s see if we can survive even a single night going over everything we know about the upcoming video game, Secret of the Mimic. This game isn’t coming to all platforms, so be sure to check our lists of upcoming PS5 games, upcoming Xbox Series X games, upcoming Switch games, and upcoming PC games to see all the best games coming to your favorite platform. Release date Steel Wool Games Secret of the Mimic already has a release date and will arrive on June 13, 2025. Please enable Javascript to view this content Platforms Steel Wool Games Unfortunately for Xbox and Nintendo fans, Secret of the Mimic is not coming to all platforms. It will launch on PS5 and PC via Steam and Epic Games. Trailers Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic – PS5 Gameplay Trailer The first footage for Secret of the Mimic came during the February State of Play showcase where we got a short gameplay trailer. This time, we will be exploring an abandoned workshop called Murray’s Costume Manor attempting to solve a mystery left by its missing owner. The player is sent in to retrieve some technology he was developing prior to vanishing for the Fazbear corporation. This technology is the titular Mimic, which is an endoskeleton that is designed to fit within any animatronic and become that character. It just so happens that also includes inhabiting your greatest fear. We don’t know who our character is or how they connect to the wider lore of the series, but odds are discovering that will be the main appeal of the game. Gameplay Steel Wool Games We see a few moments of gameplay in the trailer, but it is enough to get a good idea of what to expect. Secret of the Mimic appears to be in the same structure of Security Breach, which opened up the exploration and freedom of movement from the more fixed perspective the series had prior. The footage shows the player exploring the environment, manipulating switches, and interacting with some terminals. Stealth will be a major focus as we see the Mimic in multiple costumes patroling and pursuing the player. We will have access to some distraction tools to draw Mimc away in bad situations. There will also be chase sequences and plenty of in-your-face jump scares to look forward to. Preorder You can secure your preorder of Secret of the Mimic on the PlayStation store via the store page here. There are no versions to pick from, however, PlayStation Plus subscribers get a 10% discount. Source link #Nights #Freddys #Secret #Mimic #release #date #trailers #gameplay Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trump Supporters Shared How He Could Lose Their Support, And There’s One Issue That’s Verrrrry Important To Them Trump Supporters Shared How He Could Lose Their Support, And There’s One Issue That’s Verrrrry Important To Them Editor’s Note: Throughout this post, respondents use anti-LGBTQ+, anti-immigrant, and racist language. We felt it was important to reflect these responses as written but acknowledge this is incorrect and harmful language. We recently asked people in the BuzzFeed Community who voted for Donald Trump a question first posed in the r/AskPolitics subreddit: What could Donald Trump do to lose your support? The responses we received and that people shared in the Ask Politics subreddit were sobering. Here are a few of them: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images 1. “Continue disregarding the laws of this country. We elected a president, not a king.” —Anonymous 2. “If Trump didn’t follow through with his promises to deport ALL ******** migrants, eliminate DEI, purge the FBI, and ban transgenders, he would lose my support.” —Anonymous 3. “Trump lost my support on Inauguration Day when he could not move the country forward by providing optimism, positivity, and hopefulness to the United States. Trump presented as a threat right away, and I know voting for him was a big, big mistake.” —Anonymous Pool / Getty Images 4. “I am from West Virginia, and his recent freeze of federal programs hurt my family and many friends. He has lost my support already.” —Anonymous 5. “The only thing he could do to make me unhappy with him is if he would start putting liberal policies back in place. I love, love, love what he is doing right now!” —redglue59 6. “We voted for border security. We didn’t vote for my husband to lose his government career and benefits for which he has worked so hard.” “This possibility is looming over countless families right now. We don’t know what our financial future holds. My husband dedicated the better part of his life to this country, first in the military and now working for the government. I have watched as he busted his **** every single day for this job. Our story is like many others, yet they [the Trump administration] see them as budget line items. We are not a ******** line item. We are real people with families who need to put food on the table just like everyone else. We have done nothing but support this country. To be disregarded and tossed out to save a buck is sickening. I support Trump on many things, but I won’t support him on this. He has already lost my support.” —Anonymous 7. “I am one year away from retirement age, which is 65. I worry that he will reduce social security benefits before I reach retirement age, putting me in a predicament of having to continue to work until 67 or even 70.” —Anonymous 8. “If he magically morphed into Joe Biden.” —Anonymous 9. “Tank the economy because he’s too arrogant, or drag us into a war because he can’t keep his mouth shut.” —Anonymous Kent Nishimura / Getty Images 10. “He has already lost my support for attacking federal workers who are veterans.” —Anonymous 11. “If he went woke, I would stop supporting him. That’s it.” —chilllion84 12. “I have supported him in all elections and have never completely agreed with his border policies. I think some ******** immigrants pose a threat, but it’s hard to convince a native Floridian with a mom who’s Panamanian that all ******** immigrants pose a threat. I think he is using it as a scare tactic for people who live in the Midwest or in suburbs that possibly lack diversity.” “There are millions of reasons why I like him. Mainly his business mind and toughness. I know many immigrants currently contribute to making America great. I would stop supporting him if I sensed his deportation tactics were creating hate toward Hispanics or inciting violence. I hope we are not kicking out intelligent and qualified people who are disregarded just because they speak Spanish or are brown. It’s hard to know or understand who is getting deported and why, and it seems like most Republicans don’t care.” —Anonymous 13. “Keeping Musk around!” —Anonymous The Washington Post / The Washington Post via Getty Images 14. “If he bad-mouthed JD Vance, he would lose my support. He would lose my support if he tried to get a third term. However, he’s better than the other options, in my opinion.” “There are fair arguments for and against both sides of the aisle. At least he’s kept his promises, regardless of how bad or good they were. That’s more than what most politicians could say.” —sparklylatte66 15. “I would have to stop supporting President Trump if he did something inexcusable like ease up on the importance of deporting individuals regardless of age/sex or giving preferential treatment to any individual based on their sex/race/identity. Also, allowing children to be ********* exploited by teaching them about sexuality or ******* preferences.” —Anonymous 16. “If he starts imposing even larger tariffs without building up our gas and oil supply. So, instead of prices going down, they go up to 2021–2022 levels (which is what it seems like he’s doing).” —Anonymous 17. “If he takes away grants that assist underprivileged people, such as SNAP, Meals On Wheels, Head Start, and veteran services. My heart breaks just thinking my vote may have contributed to this.” —Anonymous Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images 18. “If he does anything other than increase social security. Any cuts would be a reason to vote for impeachment.” —mekent 19. “I am a one-issue voter: border control.” “If you want to raise the minimum wage, I am all for it. If you wish to promote contraceptives to girls, go for it. If you want to provide better healthcare to the struggling middle class, go for that! But when services are taken from US citizens because other people are allowed free and unfettered access to our borders and social services, which are all very meager, then we have to draw the line.” —u/cbogart2 Fact Check: People in the US illegally are ineligible to receive assistance from federal programs like Medicare and Social Security despite financially contributing to both if they work. 20. “He would have to restrict or want to restrict gun rights more than his opponent.” “Gun laws are THE political issue for me. In my opinion, gun control doesn’t work (Chicago, for example). It only disarms law-abiding citizens who should have them for personal defense or to rebel against a tyrannical government.” —u/Trick-Gas5517 Fact check: Illinois has some of the strongest gun safety laws in the country, and its violence rate is just below the national average. 21. “If he doesn’t follow through on tax cuts for lower and middle-income workers, I’ll be extremely disappointed.” —u/Airbus320Driver Fact Check: Trump’s proposed tax cuts have consistently promised to benefit higher-income taxpayers and, in turn, hurt lower- and middle-income taxpayers. Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images 22. “Get the US involved in another endless, pointless war.” —u/mcgiggles121 23. “My Trump-supporting mom said that if he lifted sanctions on Russia, she would vote Democrat next election.” —u/OkIce9409 24. “Fail to deport millions of migrants, legal and ********.” “I voted for him in 2016, and he failed to do that; it was just campaign rhetoric. So I didn’t vote for him in 2020 or 2024.” —u/waxfish1 25. “He’s made some very bold and explicit claims on superfluous things like the JFK files and more serious topics like the deportation of ******** immigrants who have also committed violent crimes. Also, he promised not to put federal restrictions on abortion rights. I’d like to see some pretty quick and intentional actions taken on these issues in his first few months in office.” —u/medicieric Joe Raedle / Getty Images 26. “Tax unrealized capital gains, regulate AI so only big tech can do it, regulate crypto into oblivion.” —u/jgstromptrsnen 27. And finally, “If he fails to secure the borders or deport people who are here illegally.” “If he raises taxes and pushes policies that reduce fuel or power production in the US, causing higher fuel prices.” —u/chaoshaze2 Rebecca Noble / Getty Images Responses have been edited for length/clarity. Source link #Trump #Supporters #Shared #Lose #Support #Issue #Verrrrry #Important Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

3 Xbox Game Pass games to play this weekend (February 14-16) 3 Xbox Game Pass games to play this weekend (February 14-16) Table of Contents Table of Contents Overcooked! 2 Fallout: New Vegas Age of Mythology: Retold Not only is it Valentine’s Day weekend, but we’re also on the verge of Xbox’s first major release of the year with Avowed. Those with early access can already start playing it, but the rest of us waiting for it to be added to Game Pass will need to wait a few more days. With that upcoming Xbox Series X game in mind, as well as the holiday being a perfect excuse to recommend a great game for couples, we picked out some gems for you to enjoy this weekend. As always, we made sure to offer a nice diverse selection of genres to give you plenty of options but you can’t go wrong downloading any of these games this weekend. Overcooked! 2 Overcooked 2: Announcement Trailer You don’t need to be in any kind of relationship to enjoy Overcooked! 2, but it is a game you will want to play in co-op. Technically it is a game you could play on your own, but that removes the chaotic energy of trying to coordinate and synergize with your partners in situations designed to be as inefficient as possible. Because the game uses such simple controls and a concept that most people will be able to grasp quickly, this is a fantastic game to introduce new gamers to as well. There are a ton of levels, and going for the high scores on each one is a real test of teamwork, but even just jumping in for a fun party night with Overcooked! 2 is satisfying. Overcooked! 2 is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, and PC. Fallout: New Vegas We already know a lot of Game Pass subscribers are waiting for Avowed to unlock for the masses, but you can still get your RPG fix with Fallout: New Vegas in the meantime. Sure, this is a huge game that you probably won’t be able to finish before Avowed comes out, but it could be the perfect appetizer if you don’t mind dipping in and out. This is Obsidian’s take on the Fallout universe and features the same level of world building, character writing, and dynamic quests that you can expect in Avowed, only with far better visuals and performance. The fact that it is often considered the best Fallout game despite its age, bugs, and glitches is a testament to the quality of its writing. Fallout: New Vegas is available now on PS3, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Age of Mythology: Retold Age of Mythology Retold – Announce Trailer If you are skipping out on Civilization VII for whatever reason but still want to enjoy a great strategy game, Age of Mythology: Retold hit the service last year without much fanfare. That’s a shame because it is a fantastic game that works remarkably well on a console. You will control a growing civilization, but with a mythological twist of including gods and monsters to help defeat your enemies. It makes it a bit less strict than other strategy games by letting you have a bit more fun with how you engage with your opponents. Age of Mythology: Retold is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Source link #Xbox #Game #Pass #games #play #weekend #February Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Activist Elliott calls for a three-pronged approach to streamline Phillips 66 Activist Elliott calls for a three-pronged approach to streamline Phillips 66 The Phillips 66 Los Angeles Refinery Wilmington Plant stands on November 28, 2022 in Wilmington, California. Mario Tama | Getty Images Company: Phillips 66 (PSX) Business: Phillips 66 is an energy manufacturing and logistics company. It operates through the following segments: Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties (M&S). The Midstream segment provides crude oil and refined petroleum product transportation, terminaling and processing services, as well as natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) transportation, storage, fractionation, gathering, processing and marketing service. The Chemicals segment consists of the company’s 50% equity investment in Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC (CPChem), which manufactures and markets petrochemicals and plastics on a worldwide basis. The Refining business refines crude oil and other feedstocks into petroleum products, such as gasoline, distillates and aviation fuels, as well as renewable fuels, at 12 refineries in the U.S. and Europe. Finally, the Marketing and Specialties segment purchases for resale and markets refined petroleum products and renewable fuels. Stock Market Value: $52.88B ($128.04 per share) Stock Chart IconStock chart icon Phillips 66 shares over the past year Activist: Elliott Investment Management Ownership: ~4.6% Average Cost: n/a Activist Commentary: Elliott is a very successful and astute activist investor. The firm’s team includes analysts from leading tech private equity firms, engineers, operating partners – former technology CEOs and COOs. When evaluating an investment, the firm also hires specialty and general management consultants, expert cost analysts and industry specialists. It often watches companies for many years before investing and has an extensive stable of impressive board candidates. Elliott has historically focused on strategic activism in the technology sector and has been very successful with that strategy. However, over the past several years the firm’s activism group has grown, and it has been doing a lot more governance-oriented activism and creating value from a board level at a much larger breadth of companies. What’s happening On Feb. 11, Elliott issued a letter and presentation to the Phillips 66 board outlining “Streamline66,” a plan to resolve the company’s continued underperformance and poor corporate governance practices despite its portfolio of attractive assets. It includes the following steps: (i) streamline the company’s portfolio through a ***** or spin-off of the midstream business as well as a potential ***** of its interest in CPChem; (ii) initiate an operating review by committing to ambitious refining targets and closing the EBITDA-per-barrel gap with its peers; and (iii) increase oversight and bolster accountability of Phillips 66’s management team by adding new independent directors to the board. Behind the scenes Phillips 66 (PSX) is an energy manufacturing and logistics company. The company maintains four valuable asset segments, each offering scalability and strong competitive positioning. Its Midstream segment operates a vertically integrated wellhead-to-water natural gas liquids (NGL) business across the Permian and DJ basins. The Chemicals segment comprises their world-scale petrochemical joint venture CPChem. The Refining segment is one of the largest refining systems in the U.S. The Marketing and Specialties segment consists of a scaled fuels marketing business and production of specialty products. Despite the attractiveness of these assets individually, Phillips trades at a significant discount to its sum-of-the-parts valuation. While approximately 70% of the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization comes from the premium multiple Midstream, Chemicals and Marketing segments, which trade as high as 10-times EBITDA, PSX trades closer to the multiple of its lowest-valued Refining segment at 6.6-times. As a result, the company has significantly underperformed the average of its closest peers, Valero Energy (VLO) and Marathon Petroleum (MPC), in cumulative total return by 9%, 33%, and 97% over the past 1-, 3-, and 5-year periods, respectively. Elliott first publicly engaged PSX in November 2023, when the firm sent a letter to the board of directors announcing its $1 billion investment in the company. Elliott criticized PSX for its history of underperformance, citing issues such as shifting away from and being poorly prepared to take advantage of the refining super-cycle in ’22 and ’23, rising refining operating expenditures (OPEX) per barrel in absolute and relative terms compared to peers VLO and MPC, and increasing costs relative to peers in the wake of a cost-reduction program. Elliott saw a potential stock price of more than $200 per share at the time, but the firm shared Wall Street’s concern that PSX was primarily an execution story. Despite this, Elliott acted the way we want active shareholders to do so, as opposed to how they are perceived by many. The firm gave CEO Mark Lashier the opportunity to demonstrate meaningful progress on his targets of $14 billion of mid-cycle EBITDA by 2025, non-core asset divestitures of $3 billion and increasing PSX’s long-term capital return policy. They quickly and amicably agreed with the company to add two new directors with refining experience to the board. The company added Robert Pease, a former executive of Cenovus, to the board in February 2024, and agreed to continue to work with Elliott on identifying a second director in the coming months. The second director never materialized. Now, more than a year later, Elliott has increased its position to $2.5 billion and is going to become more active in creating shareholder value, issuing a public letter and presentation to “Streamline66.” Elliott identifies three primary sources of PSX’s underperformance. First, the firm argues that the company’s intrinsic value has been obscured by its inefficient conglomerate structure, resulting in it trading in line with its lowest multiple refining segment despite a majority of EBITDA coming from its other premium businesses. Second, PSX’s operating performance has failed to meet management’s targets and profitability continues to lag peers. In 2024, PSX delivered annualized adjusted EBITDA of between $4.5 billion and $8.7 billion, well short of its $14 billion 2025 mid-cycle target. The company’s OPEX per barrel has risen in two consecutive quarters, and its EBITDA per barrel profitability gap has only widened versus VLO. Third, Elliott asserts that management’s continuous claim of a successful turnaround without any tangible financial results has eroded their credibility with investors. The firm also said the board has failed in its fundamental oversight duties, rewarding management with compensation disconnected from the company’s performance. This is what has led Elliott to releasing its three-pronged plan to: (i) streamline PSX’s portfolio, (ii) review operational performance with an eye toward refining margin improvements, and (iii) improving management credibility with the addition of new directors. First, Elliott suggests spinning or selling PSX’s midstream assets, estimating that they could deliver approximately $40 billion to $45 billion as a standalone or in a ***** to a strategic buyer. In addition, Elliott also suggests the ***** of CPChem and JET, estimating that net proceeds of $48 billion from the three assets would be equivalent to 96% of the company’s current market cap. The raising of that amount of capital could allow PSX to repurchase between 60% and 90% of the company’s shares outstanding and increase the payout ratio to 100% of free cash flow like its refining peers. With enhanced oversight enabled by the addition of new directors with industry and operational experience, PSX could get on track towards improving its EBITDA per barrel and progress towards its refining targets. Elliott estimates that this plan could yield a share price of approximately $200 per share. Moreover, the firm asserts that if PSX executes the playbook Elliott employed in its engagement at MPC, shares could increase to over $300. At Marathon, Elliott helped facilitate the addition of a new director, transition to a new CEO, closure of the gap in per barrel EBITDA with VLO, retirement of 50% of its shares outstanding since 2021, and ***** of the Speedway retail operation for $17 billion in after-tax cash proceeds. Since Elliott sent its first letter to Marathon on Nov. 21, 2016, MPC has outperformed VLO and PSX by 56% and 116%, respectively. Having a good plan is the first step, implementing it is another story. This time, Elliott will not be settling for one or two directors, especially after PSX failed to follow through on the agreement last time to add a second director with refinery experience. Elliott gave management time to execute. Management failed. Now, Elliott will do what the board is supposed to do, but did not: hold management accountable. Elliott does not explicitly state that it’s looking to replace senior management, but it does discuss management’s damaged credibility and eroded investor confidence, and that is hard to fix without replacing management. Moreover, Elliott does cite CEO replacement as the first item which led to successful turnarounds in their engagements at Marathon and Suncor. With the company’s nomination window closing this week and four directors on the 14-person board up for election, we expect Elliott will nominate a full slate of four directors, if only to preserve its options while discussing governance with the board. Ken Squire is the founder and president of 13D Monitor, an institutional research service on shareholder activism, and the founder and portfolio manager of the 13D Activist Fund, a mutual fund that invests in a portfolio of activist 13D investments. Source link #Activist #Elliott #calls #threepronged #approach #streamline #Phillips Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Flaunt your style with this $65,000 Nvidia H100 purse Flaunt your style with this $65,000 Nvidia H100 purse GPU Purses made news a few months after it converted a $20 Nvidia GeForce GT 730 GPU into a thousand-dollar plastic handbag that looked like it came from Temu. It’s now back with a more premium offering, putting an Nvidia H100 AI GPU (or at least pieces of it) on the same plastic casing, calling it the H100 Purse. However, the purse doesn’t look like it features a complete graphics card—instead, you’ll see the massive chip labeled GH100 at the center of the bag, flanked by several LR22 and LR33 inductors. The listing shows just one picture, and the description only says, “Purse that has a rare one of a kind gpt-4 training gpu.” It also mentions, “This purse is subject to export controls,” even though we’re unsure if it will run or if it’s even an actual AI GPU. The listing priced the H100 Purse at $65,536, adding quite a premium on Nvidia’s Hopper GPU. Although it does not have over a 50x price increase with the GT 730 GPU Purse, it’s still over twice the asking price for a working H100 AI GPU, currently priced at around $25,000 apiece. And if you tack on $5,000 on the final price, you might be able to purchase a working next-generation Nvidia GB200 Blackwell GPU. Luxury fashion items are known for their inflated prices, but they’re at least usually classy or stylish. We don’t see the quality of these exorbitant GPU purses (and we’re unlikely to purchase one, anyway), but the photos of the item, its product page, and the entire website do not inspire confidence. Given its absurd prices, we’re unsure if GPU Purses has sold anything or if it’s even a legitimate site. Nevertheless, it’s pretty interesting how GPU technologies have entered popular culture, where they are now being made into fashion pieces. These GPUs aren’t the first time we’ve seen PC components turned into fashion accessories, though. You could quickly get CPU keychains online, and Etsy has a healthy ‘CPU jewelry’ marketplace. So, if you want to wear something that came from a computer, why not spend on those $20 trinkets instead of plunking thousands of dollars on a questionable site? Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Source link #Flaunt #style #Nvidia #H100 #purse Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

All hero Perks in Overwatch 2, explained All hero Perks in Overwatch 2, explained Table of Contents Table of Contents What are Perks in Overwatch 2? All minor and major Perks in Overwatch 2 Many changes and additions are coming to Overwatch 2 in the next few seasons, such as a third-person Stadium mode, the return of loot boxes, and the Perks feature. Blizzard seems to be replacing the game in its entirety with these new minor and major hero Perks coming to Season 15 on February 18. After fans were immensely disappointed that Blizzard canceled the hero shooter’s promised PvE mode, a huge shakeup like Perks is an exciting feature to play around with. But how do Perks even work, and what do they offer to the typical gameplay experience? Here’s every hero’s major and minor Perks in Overwatch 2. What are Perks in Overwatch 2? Blizzard Hero Perks are new unlockable buffs you can acquire throughout Overwatch 2 matches after your hero levels up. Each hero you play can grow from level one to level three, and as you level up you can start to pick between their available Perks. Starting at level one, nothing has changed and you’re playing the hero like always. Once they reach level two, you can pick one of two minor Perks that slightly alter their gameplay style. Then at level three, you can pick between two major Perks that truly enhance the way they play. Out of everything Blizzard has offered since Overwatch 2 dropped in 2020, this has to be the most game-changing feature yet. Now as you play through a match you can feel like you’re making progress and unlocking your hero’s true potential. All minor and major Perks in Overwatch 2 Tank Perks Blizzard HERO MINOR PERKS MAJOR PERKS D.Va Bunny Stomp: Call Mech’s damage radius increases by 50%. Ejection Suit: Eject grants 75% temporary overhealth. Shield System: Convert 150 health to shields. Defense Matrix restores shields based on 25% of its damage absorbed. Heavy Rockets: Micro Missiles are swapped for Heavy Rockets which fire fewer projectiles with increased damage and explosion size. Doomfist One-Two: Hitting an enemy with Rocket Punch reloads all Hand Cannon ammo. Survival of the Fittest: The Best Defense grants 25 overhealth from eliminations and its max overhealth is increased by 50. Seismic Empowerment: Hitting three of more enemies with Seismic Slam empowers Rocket Punch. Power Matrix: Power Block absorbs projectiles for the first second of its duration. Hazard Off the Top: Violent Leap’s Slash deals 30% more damage to enemies above 250 health. Reconstitution: Jagged Wall hits charge Spike Guard with 25 energy, up to 50 extra. Anarchic Zeal: Spike Guard’s spikes gain 25% lifesteal. Deep Leap: Violent Leap’s range is increased by 20%. Junker Queen Rending Recall: Recalling Jagged Blade from a stuck target refreshes its wound. Battle Shout: Commanding Shout fully reloads Scatter Gun and increased allied reload speed by 50%. Deep Wounds: Scattergun hits extend your wound durations on those enemies by .25 seconds. Savage Satiation: Carnage’s impact damage gains 100% lifesteal. Mauga Kinetic Bandolier: Overrun reloads up to 150 ammo while charging. Two Hearts: While on an objective, Mauga counts as two heroes and regenerates 20 health per second. Firewalker: Overrun ignites enemies hit. Combat Fuel: Critical hits grant Mauga two temporary overhealth on Cardiac Overdrive’s next use, up to 100 overhealth. Orisa Heat Dissipator: Primary fire critical hits refund heat. Fleeting Bulwark: Fortify briefly grants an additional 100 overhealth when activated. Charged Javelin: Hold (RMB) to charge Energy Javelin, increasing its speed and knockback pierces enemies at full power. Protective Barrier: Convert Javelin Spin to instead launch a barrier. Ramattra Void Surge: Void Accelerator periodically releases a burst of six additional projectiles during continuous fire. Prolonged Barrier: Void Barrier’s duration is increased by 25%. Nanite Repair: Ramattra is healed for 50 health per second while within Ravenous Vortex. Vengeful Vortex: While Ravenous Vortex is airborne, use E again to detonate it, dealing 50 damage and pulling enemies downward. Reinhardt Crusader’s Resolve: While using Barrier Field, your passive health regeneration triggers 50% sooner. Fiery Uptake: Barrier Field is healed for 100% of Fire Strike’s damage dealt. Shield Slam: While Barrier Field is active, use (LMB) to damage and knockback enemies. Crushing Victory: Charge damage grants temporary overhealth for 50% of the damage dealt. Roadhog Scrap Hook: Chain hook hits reload two ammo. Hog Toss: Pig Pen’s throw range is increased by 50%. Invigorate: Take A Breather rapidly increases Roadhog’s movement speed by 30%. Hogdrogen Exposure: Take A Breather also heals nearby allies for 50% of healing. Sigma Kinetic Cycle: Absorbing projectiles with Kinetic Grasp also reduces Accretion’s cooldown. Massive Impact: Accretion’s knockdown duration increases up to three seconds based on travel distance. Hyper Strike: Every five direct hits with Hyperspheres, your next successful Quick Melee levitates and knocks away enemies. Levitation: Activate and hold Double Jump briefly to levitate upward. Winston Short Circuit: Tesla Cannon deals 30% more damage to deployable objects. Heavy Landing: During Primal Rage, Jump Pack’s damage and area increase by up to 75% while airborne. Chain Lightning: Fully charged Secondary Fire hits bounce up to two additional targets. Revitalizing Barrier: Barrier Projector heals allies within it for 30 health per second. Wrecking Ball Steamroller: Roll impacts deal 100% more damage to tanks. Pack Rat: Health Packs heal an additional 100 health. Hang Time: Piledriver winds up longer, gaining air control and dealing up to 50% more damage. Transfer Efficiency: Reactivating Adaptive Shield reduces its cooldown by 1.5 seconds per ally affected and ally health gained is increased by 33%. Zarya Jump-ups: Secondary Fire’s self-knockback is increased by 75%. Graviton Crush: Graviton Surge deals up to 30% of enemy max health as damage over time Energy Lance: Particle Cannon’s energy beam pierces enemies while over 50 energy. Spotter: Projected Barrier activates ally health regeneration and increases their movement speed by 15%.d DPS Perks Blizzard HERO MINOR PERKS MAJOR PERKS Ashe Rapid Fire: Unscoped shots gain 30% increased attack speed, but deal 15% less damage. Sidewinder: Coach Gun pushes Ashe and enemies 20% farther. Viper’s Sting: Hitting two consecutive scoped shots on a target deals 25 extra damage and reloads two ammo. Airburst: Dynamite has a 40% increased detonation radius while airborne and refunds three ammo when thrown. Bastion Smart Bomb: A-36 Tactical Grenade’s self-knockback is increased by 25% and no longer damages you. Armored Artillery: Configuration: Artillery grants 300 temporary overhealth. Lindholm Explosives: Configuration: Assault’s Weapon slowly fires explosive shells instead of a rotary cannon. Self-Repair: Press E to rapidly heal yourself. Cassidy Quick Draw: Fan the Hammer shots are individually controlled and can crit for 50% more damage. Past Noon: Deadeye refunds 30% Ultimate charge if it fully expires. Gun Slingin’: Critical Hits with primary fire reduce the cooldown of Combat Roll by three seconds. Bang Bang: Cassidy throws a second Flashbang that travels farther, but both Flashbangs deal 30% reduced damage. Echo Friendly Imaging: Duplicate can also target allies. Enhanced Duplication: During Duplicate, your clone’s first ultimate extends Duplicate’s duration by three seconds. Full Salvo: Sticky Bombs fires 50% more projectiles, but all Sticky Bombs deal 15% less damage. High Beams: Focusing Beam eliminations reset Flight’s cooldown. Genji Acrobatics: Swift Strike resets double jump. Dragon’s Thirst: Dragonblade swings gain 30% lifesteal. Blade Twisting: Swift Strike deals 25 additional damage over time when used shortly after an elimination. Meditation: Regenerate 25 health per second while Deflect is active. Hanzo Sonic Disruption: Sonic Arrow hacks nearby Health Packs for 12 seconds. Scatter Arrows: Storm Arrows split into three new projectiles on their first ricochet and bounce two extra times. Dragon Fury: After hitting an enemy with primary fire, gain 25% attack speed for one second. Yamagami Technique: Wall Climb accelerates your Lunge cooldown by 250%. Junkrat Aluminum Frame: Steel Trap’s throw range is increased by 50%. Nitro Boost: During RIP-Tire, use (LSHIFT) to gain a quick boost of speed. Doing so reduces RIP-Tire’s damage by 50%. Frag Cannon: Frag Launcher’s projectile speed is increased by 40%, but its max ammo is reduced by one. Tick Tock: Concussive Mine arms 0.5 second after landing, increasing damage by 50%, explosion radius by 50%, and health by 200%. Mei Chilling Reach: Primary fire’s range is increased by 30%. Permafrost: Ice Wall’s duration and cooldown are increased by two seconds. Biting Cold: Secondary fire hits slow enemies by 15% for 1.5 seconds, stacking up to 30%. Cryo-Storm: Cryo-Freeze slows and deals 70 damage per second to nearby enemies. Pharah Drift Thrusters: Pharah can move while Barrage is active. Helix Shields: Convert 75 health to shields. Concussive Implosion: Concussive Blast’s knockback is inverted to a pull in. Fuel Stores: Jet Dash grants 50% fuel. Maximum overfuel is increased by 100%. Reaper Death’s Shadow: Shadow Step reloads hellfire shotguns and has 25% increased range. Soul Reaving: Collect Soul Globes from dead enemies to restore 50 health. Dire Triggers: Use (RMB) to fire a volley with long range accuracy from both Hellfire shotguns. Ravenous Wraith: Leaving Wraith form grants 40% additional lifesteal for three seconds. Sojourn Extended Mag: Maximum ammo increased by 15. Overcharged: Railgun’s maximum energy is increased by 50 while Overclock is active. Dual Thrusters: Power Slide gains an additional charge and its jump height shifts to lateral movement. Adhesive Siphon: Disruptor Shot can stick to enemies and generates Railgun energy when dealing damage. Soldier 76 Recycled Pulse Munitions: Helix Rockets reload 15 ammo if they damage an enemy. Field Emergency: Biotic Field’s healing is increased by 100% on critical health allies. Agility Training: Sprint’s speed is increased by 20% and reload can be performed while sprint is active. Stim Pack: Biotic Field can be used as a Stim Pack, increasing attack speed and reload speed by 30% while being unhealable for four seconds. Sombra Viral Efficacy: Virus’ cooldown is reduced by three seconds when an enemy affected by Virus is eliminated. CTRL ALT ESC: Teleporting with Translocator while at critical health initiates passive health regeneration. White Hat: Hack can be used on allies to restore 100 health over two seconds. Stack Overflow: Hack’s silence duration is increased by 100%, but its range is decreased by 30%. Symmetra Sentry Capacity: Sentry Turret gains an additional charge. Advanced Teleportation: Teleporter’s range is increased by 50%. Perfect Alignment: Primary fire’s range increases by 15% with each additional charge level. Shield Battery: Symmetra regenerates 20 shields per second while within 10 meters of her teleporter. Torbjorn Craftsman: Forge Hammer can restore armor health to allies. Turret repair’s heal is increased by 25%. Fully Loaded: Activating Overload fully refills Rivet Gun’s ammo. Anchor Bolts: Deploy Turret’s throw range is increased by 50% and it can now attach to walls and ceilings. Overloaded Turret: Overload upgrades your Turret for five seconds, increasing its health and damage. Tracer Blink Packs: Health Packs restore one Blink charge. Blast from the Past: Pulse Bomb’s radius is increased by 50%. Flashback: Recall restores all Blink charges. Quantum Entanglement: Recall grant 50 overhealth that decays over time. Venture Seismic Sense: While underground, Venture can sense enemies within 25 meters. Excavation Exhilaration: While Tectonic Shock is active, cooldowns refresh 300% faster. SMART-R Excavator: SMART Excavator’s range is increased by 25%. Covered in Dirt: Dealing damage with Clobber grants up to 30 Explorer’s Resolve shields. Widowmaker Scoped Efficiency: Scoped shots cost three ammo instead of five. Focused Aim: Scoped shots charge 50% faster during Infra-Sight. Escape Plan: Scoped shot hits reduce Grappling Hook’s cooldown by up to four seconds. Deadly Deux: Venom Mine gains 50% increased damage and a second charge, enabling two active mines at a time. Support Perks Blizzard HERO MINOR PERKS MAJOR PERKS Ana Groggy: Enemies waking up from Sleep Dart are slowed for two seconds. Biotic Bounce: After exploding, Biotic Grenade bounces and explodes again for 50 damage and healing. Headhunter: Biotic Rifle can crit enemies. Shrike: Using Nano Boost also casts it on Ana. Baptiste Field Medicine: Immortality Field restores 80 health to nearby allies and 40 health to Baptiste when destroyed. Automated Healing: After placing Amplification Matrix, your Shoulder Turret periodically fires up to 12 shots at allies, each restoring 25 health. Assault Burst: Regenerative Burst grants Baptiste 20% attack speed for four seconds, but no longer instantly heals. Rocket Boots: While airborne from Exo Boots, use (SPACE) to dash horizontally. Brigitte Barrier Restoration: Shield Bash restores 100 health to Barrier Shield when it hits an enemy. Morale Boost: Inspire lasts three seconds longer when activated by Whip Shot. Quick Fix: Repair Packs instantly heal an additional health to critical health allies. Whip Lash: Whip Shot’s knockback can slam enemies into walls, dealing 50 extra damage. Illari Rapid Construction: Healing Pylon builds 300% faster and its cooldown is reduced by 1.5 seconds. Summer Solstice: Illari’s flight time during Captive Sun is increased by three seconds and her flight speed is increased by 20%. Solar Power: Fully charged Solar Rifle hits grant 12.5% of your maximum solar energy, overfilling up to 50%. Sunburn: Outburst ignites enemies, dealing an additional 70 damage over three seconds. Juno Familiar Vitals: Pulsar Torpedoes lock onto allies 35% faster. Hyper Boost: While using Glide Boost, passing through Hyper Ring pushes you forward. Master Blaster: Mediblaster can crit enemies. Re-Boots: Activating Glide Boost resets Double Jump. Kiriko Urgent Care: Healing Ofuda projectile speed is increased by 50% when seeking critical health allies. Fortune Teller: Kunai hits launch two Healing Ofuda to an ally in front of you. Shuffling: Swift Step can be used again within four seconds of its initial cast. Foxtrot: Protection Suzu grants 40% movement speed to allies for two seconds. Lifeweaver Cleansing Grasp: Life Grip cleanses negative effects. Life Cycle: While alive, regenerate 10 health per second. Upon death, drop a healing seed that heals allies for 250 health. Lifeweaving: Rejuvenating Dash adds 20 healing to your next Healing Blossom within three seconds. Superbloom: Thorns detonate for 30 extra damage when enough stick within 1.5 seconds. Lucio Bass Blowout: Soundwave’s knockback is increased by 15%. Groovin’: Regenerate four ammo per second while wall riding. Noise Violation: Crossfade’s range is increased by 150% while Amp It Up is active. Accelerando: Lúcio’s attack speed is increased by 50% while Amp It Up is active. Mercy Angelic Recovery: Mercy receives 15 health per second while Caduceus Staff is attached to a full health ally. Winged Reach: Guardian Angel’s range is increased by 30%. Chain Boost: Secondary fire links to a second nearby ally. Flash Heal: Resurrect can be used on Caduceus Staff’s active target to restore 150 health. Doing so incurs a 15 second cooldown. Moira Vanish: Fade’s duration is increased by 0.5 seconds. Uprush: Fade’s jump height is increased by 50%. Ethical Nourishment: Biotic Orb’s first 50 healing is instant on each ally it encounters. Contamination: Enemies being damaged by Biotic Orb receive 25% reduced healing. Zenyatta Zenith Kick: Snap Kick’s knockback distance is increased by 30%. Ascendance: Activate and hold Double Jump to hover for up to three seconds. Focused Destruction: Secondary fire charges 20% faster and can store one extra Orb of Destruction. Duality: Zenyatta heals Orb of Harmony targets for 20% of his damage dealt to Orb of Discord targets. Source link #hero #Perks #Overwatch #explained Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

****** Releases 3 More Israeli Hostages: Live Updates – The New York Times ****** Releases 3 More Israeli Hostages: Live Updates – The New York Times ****** Releases 3 More Israeli Hostages: Live Updates The New York TimesThree Israeli hostages freed in Gaza, Israel begins releasing 369 Palestinians in exchange ReutersThree released hostages returned to Israel looking emaciated and pale The Jerusalem PostMiddle East latest: Israel releases over 300 ************ prisoners after receiving 3 more hostages The Hill Source link #****** #Releases #Israeli #Hostages #Live #Updates #York #Times Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Split Fiction hands-on report / PS Blog Split Fiction hands-on report / PS Blog Learn about the power of friendship in Split Fiction, a boundary-pushing co-op adventure from Hazelight Studios, the masterminds behind It Takes Two. The heroes of Split Fiction, Mio and Zoe, don’t get along at first, but soon enough they become each other’s only hopes. This journey will throw unexpected twists at them and if they want to make it through, they’ll need to have each other’s backs. Source link #Split #Fiction #handson #report #Blog Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Avoid this phrase if you want your kids to be good with money Avoid this phrase if you want your kids to be good with money Even before your children understand how money works, they can start picking up on your attitude and feelings about finances, and that can have a lasting impact. But avoiding talking about money with your kids altogether could be even more detrimental to their future financial success. “Deep down, most people believe that money is a bad thing, that kids need to be shielded from [it],” Ramit Sethi, self-made millionaire and author of the new book, “Money for Couples,” tells CNBC Make It. “You don’t shield kids from riding a bike. You don’t shield kids from trying a tomato. So why would you shield them from something that is far more important than either of those examples?” he says. When you talk about money with your kids, there is a “horrible phrase” Sethi says he would “ban” from households: “We can’t afford it.” Here’s why. ‘Saying no is a good thing’ Many of the individuals Sethi has spoken to on his “Money for Couples” podcast recall hearing “we can’t afford it” from their own parents when they were growing up. “And they really believed it,” Sethi says. “So even when they have a good job and they make good money 30 years later, they still feel scarcity around money.” A positive relationship with money has nothing to do with how much money you actually have, Sethi says. Teaching your kids this phrase can unintentionally make them fearful of spending any money down the line, even when they are technically able to afford the thing they want. Instead of saying you can’t afford something, Sethi suggests echoing the norms and culture you set within your family to explain your decision. You could say, “In our family, we choose to spend money on healthy food instead of popcorn with butter,” he says. Alternatively, “not everything has to have a massive explanation,” he says. It may not satisfy a child begging for a toy at the store, but planting the seeds for your children to understand you can’t and shouldn’t spend your money on every little thing you want to impulsively buy will benefit them in the long run. “Saying no is a good thing,” he says. “I love saying no, and sometimes no is all you need to say.” Help your kids engage with money In addition to talking about money, Sethi encourages families to get their kids involved with financial tasks so they can build a positive foundation for their relationships with money when they get older. Let them watch you pay the bills or even click the “pay” button, he suggests. And try not to gripe out loud about how high the electric bill is or how expensive your rent is. Instead, let your kids know that this money is providing the roof over their heads and the electricity to play their video games. “As teens, they [can] help plan an entire family trip or help purchase a family car,” Sethi says. “That is how they start to learn about taxes and trade-offs. That’s how you equip them to be successful in the real world.” Want to up your AI skills and be more productive? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Use AI to Be More Successful at Work. Expert instructors will teach you how to get started, practical uses, tips for effective prompt-writing, and mistakes to avoid. Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It’s newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life. Source link #Avoid #phrase #kids #good #money Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Warriors: Abyss review: this Hades-inspired Musou is stuck in purgatory Warriors: Abyss review: this Hades-inspired Musou is stuck in purgatory Warriors: Abyss MSRP $25.00 “Warriors: Abyss is a shallow Hades riff that doesn’t put its creative squad building hook to good use.” Pros Tons of characters Intense, satisfying combat Creative squad building hook Cons Low-quality presentation Bland art Restrictive progression Table of Contents Table of Contents Poor presentation Let’s get in formation The number illusion If I had to design the perfect fate for Koei Tecmo’s cast of Musou heroes, it would probably look like Warriors: Abyss. I mean let’s face it: These folks aren’t going to the good place. No matter how well-intentioned their crusades have been, the stars of Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors have killed millions of people apiece at this point. It only seems fitting that they’d wind up in Hell, forced to fight an endless, tedious war on demonkind. While I’d like to imagine that this was the creative intention behind Warriors: Abyss, its origin is likely more clinical than that. The new game takes the action of Dynasty Warriors and shrinks it down into a roguelike that not-so-subtly riffs on Hades. It’s a cheeky copycat that goes through hoops to fit historical heroes into a sparse underworld adventure full of arena battles. It’s completely absurd Warriors: Abyss brings some unique twists to a formula that has been imitated to death, creating a deceptively complex action game with lots of combat nuances to dig into. Those promising ideas ultimately go to waste in a shallow, repetitive roguelike that never quite understands what makes Hades so devilishly fun. Poor presentation Warriors: Abyss wastes no time establishing its absurd premise. A bubbly ****** named Enma has lost control of the underworld to a monster, Gouma. She needs an army to beat it, so who better than the stars of both Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors? After all, what’s one little ****** compared to the more threatening Lu Bu? There are bits and pieces of lore along the way, with a whole collection of unlockable records that chronicle the conflict, but it’s more just a thin excuse to bring 100 beloved characters to Hell (where they belong). Koei Tecmo That low effort story is indicative of the rest of the project’s presentation. Priced at $25, Abyss is a true budget game. Its low-quality UI looks like it was hastily scaled up from a mobile game. There are grammatical mistakes in its ability descriptions. All of the character models appear to be reused from older Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors games. It feels a little rickety in places, but they aren’t deal breakers. In fact, I welcome the idea of developers creating more small, sustainable games that get mileage out of clever asset recycling. Where that modest approach disappoints is in world design. Abyss’ version of Hell largely boils down to nondescript biomes covered in muddy textures. There are four stages of hell to fight through and most boil down to rocky terrain, sparse ruins, and a vaguely frigid area. It’s not like the visuals matter too much here considering that all of the action takes place in open arenas, but it’s a drab vision of the underworld — especially placed next to Enma, presented as a bright anime illustration that feels like it was pulled from an entirely different game. Each always ends in the same boss fight, which plays out the same way every time. The limited artistic scope can be felt in drab enemy designs, too. I’m mostly just fighting back waves of humanoid soldiers with a Halloween makeover. A few other similarly tame demons are thrown in, like projectile spitting flesh mounds, but there’s not much variety or character. There’s a little more life to be found in its handful of bosses, though those too are little more than run-of-the-mill dragons and reapers. There aren’t many of those either, as the scope of the core roguelike run is a bit anemic too. There are four biomes that players explore in the same order each time, featuring eight phases that are split between arena fights, upgrade pit stops, and the boss room. Each always ends in the same boss fight, which plays out the same way every time. It’s there where Abyss commits its first sin as a Hades heretic. Supergiant Games’ genre-defining hit is built on variables. No two runs ever feel the same, even when retreading familiar biomes. The rooms shuffle, bosses switch up their patterns, and new story snippets make each run feel like a discovery. With its comparatively static design, Abyss is stuck in purgatory. Let’s get in formation The lacking presentation is a bit deceptive, because the combat systems that propel the roguelike are surprisingly deep. On its surface, Abyss checks a lot of obligatory genre boxes. A run has players fighting through arena battles, choosing their next room from three options with different rewards, raising their health through peach trees, and occasionally picking up passive perks through treasures and occasional gifts from the dead, which give players a choice of buffs to choose from. The twist is that it’s also a Musou like Dynasty Warriors, which means that combat arenas are dense with enemies. Each room tasks me with clearing a certain number, scaling from 30 to 600 (and even higher in extra-hard danger rooms). That unique twist brings Koei Tecmo’s signature power fantasy to a new genre in convincing fashion, as chopping down hundreds of demons in one fell swoop with a giant Musou attack is about as satisfying as you’d expect. That’s combined with a little bullet hell inspiration, as players need to do that while dodging telegraphed purple attacks that ramp in density the longer a run goes. It’s faster and more furious than your typical roguelike. Abyss hides a surprisingly deep action game with lots of little buildcrafting nuances to learn and master. Abyss is at its best when it’s building on the Warriors part of its title rather than Hades. It features a whopping 100 playable heroes from both Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors. Each one controls the same, requiring me to create basic combos from standard slashes and charged attacks, but there’s a massive range of perks and weapons to toy with. Zhuge Liang uses his fans to add a bit of range to his attacks, while Kiyomasa Kato’s playstyle is all about interrupting telegraphed attacks to boost his own power. If Dynasty Warriors: Origins’ one-character approach left you bored, Abyss fills the gap it left with its diversity. Like any good roguelike, those characters are clay that can be shaped during a run with upgrades — and that’s where Abyss gets really interesting. As the run progresses, players collect allies who both boost their power level and act as summons. The idea is to build a squad of six heroes, with each activated by different combos. To summon the hero in my first slot, I need to attack once and then hold my charged attack. For my second, I’ll need to hit two attacks, and so on up to six. It’s a unique riff on your standard “special ability on cooldowns” idea that makes great use of Abyss’ massive cast. There’s a tremendous amount of strategy involved when drafting new heroes. Each one awards players medals, which grant me character new perks. If I focus on collecting heroes with ice emblems, I’ll add freeze powers to my attacks. If I go for speed, I’ll eventually get a second evasive dash in between movement boosts. That creates a lot of mix and match potential, as a strong build has me maxing out a few trees rather than spreading myself thin. Koei Tecmo Building the best party requires a lot of engrossing decision making. Some heroes synergize well with others, granting them new powers. Each person comes with a list of emblems (like Oda or Brave General), and some characters will give me boosts based on how many heroes I collect with a specific label. I also need to assemble them into a formation, maximizing their power by putting them into specific positions. I can unlock and equip new formations too, which synergize with my build. If I have a lot of heroes with shock medals, a formation that boosts my attack depending on how many shock heroes I have will boost my damage significantly. It’s all topped off by my ultimate power, an Assemble Attack that sends all six of my heroes loose at once in an on-screen explosion of attacks. It’s the kind of sensory overload that makes Koei Tecmo’s Musou games such dumb fun. With all of that, Abyss hides a surprisingly deep action game with lots of little buildcrafting nuances to learn and master. And if you want to keep believing that, stop reading the review here, because I’m about to unravel it all. The number illusion The dirty secret to Abyss is that none of the strategic squad building I’ve mentioned means squat. The truth is that every decision makes a power score go up. The higher the number, the more powerful your hero will be. You can scroll through heroes and try to craft big brain strategies, but you basically always want to choose the one that’ll give you the biggest power boost. That’s baked into the long, complicated tutorial, which ends with Enma suggesting that players simply pick the big number if they aren’t sure what she just explained. You won’t simply win your first run even if you go in with that knowledge, though. Abyss features a meta progression system that has players collecting crystals during runs and then using them to unlock new characters and perks. Each new hero permanently increases their base health, defense, and offense. Completing a set of specific heroes also increases the max level cap players can reach during their run when collecting experience points. Players simply won’t have the power to win until enough of the tree is unlocked (I beat my first run with about 75 nodes unlocked, and I bet you will too). The greatest trick Abyss ever pulled is convincing players that they have agency. You can try to smash your head against the wall and win with patience and perfect dodging, but you’ll Abyss is an absolute drag when you’re underpowered. Boss fights require players to first burn down a long shield bar and then use a small vulnerability opening to inflict as much damage as possible in a short window. Sometimes I’d reach a boss with no problems along the way, only to discover that my power score simply wasn’t high enough and I was barely putting a dent in their health bar. Eventually, I reduced those fights to math. If I was under 15,000 power by the time I reached the first boss, I might as well throw the fight and save some time. I’d want to be at 80,000 at least for the second. If I surpassed those numbers, I could win with ease. But I’d only be able to pull that off once I had high base stats and more powerful allies I could choose from. It’s a resource grind disguised as a roguelike. Once I caught on to that, all of the sticky character building lost its luster. Choice is an illusion here masking a “numbers go up” gameplay loop that leaves me wondering if Abyss was originally going to be a mobile gacha game, but later converted into a budget console game. I only cleared my first run by ignoring my instincts and simply choosing the highest value upgrades every single time. That resulted in a wild exponential growth that let me wipe out the final boss in one phase, whereas I could barely damage it just one run prior. None of the inscrutable character perks ultimately matter either. Sure, they say that I’ll get some complicated bonus from collecting five heroes with Wu emblems, but doing so never actually changes how I play. I’m always mashing the same two buttons the same way from start to finish. Sometimes I inflict a status effect for doing it, but all of those feel fairly interchangeable. There’s no meaningful difference between freezing an enemy and paralyzing them briefly with lightning. Damage output is the sole concern. Koei Tecmo Like so many other roguelikes before it, Abyss misunderstands the appeal of Hades. In that game, every boon I collect makes a difference. An upgrade can fundamentally change the way I play, forcing me to adapt to new strategies on the fly. It makes me feel like an inventor; I’m fusing different boons together to create what feels like an undiscovered breakthrough. Last year’****** Balatro carries the same feeling, letting me feel like a genius for mixing and matching cards in inventive ways that I can tell my friends about later. A successful run in Abyss doesn’t feel like my own; it’s a mechanical victory entirely set up for me by restrictive progression that always points me in one direction. The greatest trick Abyss ever pulled is convincing players that they have agency. I wish I could put the genie back in the bottle, because Warriors: Abyss has a lot going for it until the magic wears off. When I finally got the hang of every system, I felt like a tactical genius as I carefully assembled my team of heroes. Any time those choices would pay off with me clearing a room of 300 demons in seconds, I was intoxicated by that power just as I am in any traditional Musou game. Perhaps there’s a lesson there: Power is a lie that turns men into false prophets. Maybe that’s why Cao Cao is in Hell. Warriors: Abyss was tested on PC and Steam Deck OLED. Source link #Warriors #Abyss #review #Hadesinspired #Musou #stuck #purgatory Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Regulator That Haunted Fintechs Falls Under Trump Ax – The Information Regulator That Haunted Fintechs Falls Under Trump Ax – The Information Regulator That Haunted Fintechs Falls Under Trump Ax The InformationTrump administration agrees to pause any layoffs at CFPB Government ExecutiveSensitive Bank Data Set for Deletion in CFPB Purge, Ex-Aide Says Bloomberg Source link #Regulator #Haunted #Fintechs #Falls #Trump #Information Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

NYT Crossword: answers for Saturday, February 15 NYT Crossword: answers for Saturday, February 15 The New York Times crossword puzzle can be tough, even if it isn’t the Sunday issue! If you’re stuck, we’re here to help you out with today’s clues and answers. Source link #NYT #Crossword #answers #Saturday #February Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid review: Quick drive 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid review: Quick drive The Subaru Forester is renowned for being practical, capable and a bit more rugged than its mid-sized SUV rivals, but the competition led by the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is getting ever more sophisticated. Camera Icon2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid: Quick drive Credit: CarExpert That’s why Subaru has upgraded its sixth-generation Forester with a more modern look and a host of mechanical upgrades. Chief among those is a new hybrid system, which combines the Japanese brand’s trademark 2.5-litre four-cylinder ‘boxer’ petrol engine with electric motor technology. But it retains the all-wheel-drive layout that has made the Forester such a favourite with *********** buyers. Our first drive of the new Forester comes from its *** launch in the English midlands, so this is a review of a British-specification model with a European-focussed 2.0-litre engine that is not expected to come to Australia. However, the fundamentals and the technology remain more or less the same, and we’ve put it to the test on fast country roads, as well as highways and city streets, plus a little light off-roading, ahead of the new Forester’s release in Australia later this year. How much does the Subaru Forester cost? In North America, the new Forester Hybrid is priced from US$34,995 (A$55,400), which makes it noticeably more expensive than the cheapest Mazda CX-5, but the Subaru does come with the hybrid system as standard. Camera Icon2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid: Quick drive Credit: CarExpert In fact, standard equipment is pretty generous, with even the basic Premium version getting a powered tailgate, digital instrument cluster and the new multimedia touchscreen. So, on a value basis, the Forester Hybrid doesn’t stack up badly alongside its rivals. Although Subaru Australia has not yet confirmed pricing, we’re expecting it to be similarly positioned here. To see how the Subaru Forester lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool What is the Subaru Forester like on the inside? The Forester’s cabin has never been the most upmarket, and the new Forester Hybrid does nothing much to change that. The cabin is effectively the same as that of the standard model, with a portrait-orientated infotainment touchscreen and a digital instrument cluster. Camera Icon2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid: Quick drive Credit: CarExpert The tech is fairly easy to use, but it doesn’t look all that impressive. The graphics are quite blocky, and the colour scheme is all a bit old-school, which isn’t necessarily a big problem for those upgrading their existing Subaru. But if you’re looking at a Volkswagen Tiguan, RAV4 or CX-5, which is also about to be renewed, the Forester’s screen seems decidedly outdated. As do some of the interior materials, which are robust enough and neatly constructed, but they aren’t exactly tactile. There are some really cheap-feeling plastics knocking about, and even the upholstery on the steering wheel feels underwhelming. Camera Icon2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid: Quick drive Credit: CarExpert Combine that with some dark colours and switchgear that feels less than inspiring, and the Forester really doesn’t feel as up to date as many of its rivals. Even the RAV4, which isn’t exactly salubrious, feels plusher than the Subaru inside. But while the Forester may not be the classiest of contenders in this incredibly competitive market segment, it is at least roomy. Boot capacity is more than 500 litres, which puts it on a par with most of its rivals, while the rear cabin space is also pretty generous, both in terms of legroom and headroom. And the seats are comfortable all around, while child seat mounting points are fitted in the two outboard rear seats – as is the norm in this sector. To see how the Subaru Forester lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool What’s under the bonnet? For Australia, the new Forester Hybrid will combine a 2.5-litre flat four-cylinder petrol engine producing 121kW with two integrated electric motor generators producing up to 88kW. The system then drives all four wheels through a ‘Lineartronic’ continuously variable transmission and Subaru’s proven ‘symmetrical’ all-wheel drive system. Camera Icon2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid: Quick drive Credit: CarExpert The combination gives the Forester Hybrid a total output of 145kW – up on the 136kW of the standard Forester – and Subaru claims it is up to 40 per cent more efficient than the standard model around town. The official fuel consumption figure of 6.7L/100km is more than the RAV4 Hybrid’s, but an improvement on the 7.4L/100km of purely petrol-powered Foresters. To see how the Subaru Forester lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool How does the Subaru Forester drive? The Forester has made a name for itself as being rugged and capable off-road, and Subaru has been careful to retain that capability with the new Forester Hybrid. Camera Icon2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid: Quick drive Credit: CarExpert With 220mm of ground clearance and Subaru’s hallmark AWD system under the floor, the Forester has plenty of traction and, although we only did some very light off-roading during our first drive, it took it all in its stride. It didn’t miss a beat in the muddy ruts, and apart from some squirming from the front wheels, we’d barely have known we weren’t on a much grippier surface. Our ***-spec test vehicle employed a 100kW 2.0-litre hybrid system rather than the 2.5-litre system we’ll get in Australia. But displacement aside, the concept is much the same and it’s remarkably proactive, shutting down the engine and using electric power whenever the system doesn’t have to work too hard. And because Subaru has worked to make it smoother than before, the entire system is more refined than in the outgoing Forester Hybrid. Camera Icon2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid: Quick drive Credit: CarExpert Admittedly, when pushed hard, our 2.0-litre test car made quite a lot of noise and didn’t have that much power on hand, but then 100kW is nowhere near the 145kW that *********** customers will get. That should also help on the refinement front because it won’t be necessary to push the powertrain as you have to push the 2.0-litre car to make anything approaching brisk progress. But the powertrain is not the only thing Subaru has updated. Numerous structural tweaks include extra welding in the bodywork, making the car stiffer and therefore more refined and more agile – at least in theory. In practice, the Forester is a bit more comfortable, with slightly softer suspension that makes the ride more palatable than before over longer-wavelength bumps. It’s too soft over sharper surface imperfections, but on longer journeys it feels noticeably more compliant than its predecessor. Camera Icon2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid: Quick drive Credit: CarExpert Unfortunately, it’s no better to drive. The steering is very light and a little vague, which doesn’t inspire much confidence in corners, where there’s also a fair bit of body roll – presumably a by-product of the soft suspension and axle articulation necessary for off-roading. But it means the car is quite manoeuvrable in town, and the sheer amount of glass above the beltline means outward visibility is pretty good. And the Forester is still better than most of its competitors when it comes to tackling the rough stuff. To see how the Subaru Forester lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool What do you get? Subaru Australia has not confirmed final specifications for the new Forester Hybrid locally, although some details have surfaced. We’re expecting three or four trim levels to be offered. Camera Icon2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid: Quick drive Credit: CarExpertCamera Icon2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid: Quick drive Credit: CarExpertCamera Icon2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid: Quick drive Credit: CarExpertCamera Icon2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid: Quick drive Credit: CarExpert 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid highlights: 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster11.6-inch touchscreen infotainment systemEyeSight driver assistance technologyDriving modesReversing cameraWireless Apple CarPlay and Android AutoAir-conditioningSatellite navigation To see how the Subaru Forester lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool Is the Subaru Forester safe? The new-look Forester Hybrid is yet to be assessed by ANCAP, but the 2.0-litre version passed Euro NCAP testing with flying colours, achieving the top five-star rating from the independent European safety body. Camera Icon2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid: Quick drive Credit: CarExpert Subaru has been busily updating its EyeSight camera-based safety technology to help ensure you don’t need to put those crashworthiness credentials to the test. Many of the functions of that system can be easily accessed through the touchscreen, so you can switch the systems you need on and off relatively quickly and easily. Safety equipment includes: Autonomous emergency brakingLane-keeping assistanceParking sensorsPre-collision throttle managementAutomatic emergency steeringAdaptive cruise control To see how the Subaru Forester lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool How much does the Subaru Forester cost to run? Subaru Australia currently offers a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty for all new cars, and the new Forester will be no exception. Camera Icon2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid: Quick drive Credit: CarExpert On the road, the 2.5-litre Forester Hybrid is claimed to consume 6.7L/100km, which is an improvement on petrol-powered versions and a little more efficient than the outgoing hybrid model. On longer drives, the car isn’t all that economical thanks to its permanent all-wheel drive system, but the electric motor takes a lot of the strain off the engine around town, improving its urban efficiency. To see how the Subaru Forester lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool CarExpert’s Take on the Subaru Forester If you value ruggedness, reliability and off-road capability above all else, the Forester is still the car for you. Camera Icon2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid: Quick drive Credit: CarExpert It’s now better looking and more comfortable than before, but if heading away from the blacktop is less of a priority and you just want a family SUV that feels semi-premium and pleasant to drive, there are better and more polished options out there. Interested in buying a Subaru Forester? Get in touch with one of CarExpert’s trusted dealers here MORE: Everything Subaru Forester ProsSolidly made cabinRoomy interiorDecent off-road capabilityConsUnderpowered hybrid systemDated interior designUnderwhelming drive Source link #Subaru #Forester #Hybrid #review #Quick #drive Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

NYT Connections: hints and answers for Saturday, February 15 NYT Connections: hints and answers for Saturday, February 15 Table of Contents Table of Contents How to play Connections Hints for today’s Connections Today’s Connections answers NYT Connection FAQs Connections is one of the best puzzle games from the New York Times. The game tasks you with categorizing a pool of 16 words into four secret (for now) groups by figuring out how the words relate to each other. The puzzle resets every night at midnight and each new puzzle has a varying degree of difficulty. Just like Wordle, you can keep track of your winning streak and compare your scores with friends. Some days are trickier than others — just like other NYT Games favorites The Mini and Strands. If you’re having a little trouble solving today’s puzzle, check out our Connections tips and tricks guide for some good strategies or check out the hints for today’s Connections puzzle below. And if you still can’t get it, we’ll tell you today’s answers at the very end. How to play Connections Connections is a daily game about finding common threads between words. Players must select four groups of four words without making more than three mistakes. Play now. pic.twitter.com/CqObVOqeUs — The New York Times (@nytimes) November 3, 2024 Please enable Javascript to view this content You can play Connections on the New York Times website or with the NYT Games app on iOS or Android. In Connections, you’ll be shown a grid containing 16 words — your objective is to organize these words into four sets of four by identifying the connections that link them. These sets could encompass concepts like titles of video game franchises, book series sequels, shades of red, names of chain restaurants, etc. There are generally words that seem like they could fit multiple themes, but there’s only one 100% correct answer. You’re able to shuffle the grid of words and rearrange them to help better see the potential connections. Each group is color-coded. The yellow group is the easiest to figure out, followed by the green, blue, and purple groups. Pick four words and hit Submit. If you’re correct, the four words will be removed from the grid and the theme connecting them will be revealed. Guess incorrectly and it’ll count as a mistake. You only have four mistakes available until the game ends. Hints for today’s Connections We can help you solve today’s Connection by telling you the four themes. If you need more assistance, we’ll also give you one word from each group below. Today’s themes DIVULGE – BLAD, DISH, SPILL, TELL WORDS ON A MAC KEYBOARD – COMMAND, CONTROL, OPTION, RETURN WORDS SHORTENED IN ROCK GENRES – ALTERNATIVE, EMOTIONAL, POPULAR, PROGRESSIVE ___ CAKE – CHEESE, CUP, PAN, SHORT One-answer reveals DIVULGE – BLAD WORDS ON A MAC KEYBOARD – COMMAND WORDS SHORTENED IN ROCK GENRES – ALTERNATIVE ___ CAKE – CHEESE New York Times Today’s Connections answers Still no luck? That’s OK. This puzzle is designed to be difficult. If you just want to see today’s Connections answer, we’ve got you covered below: DIVULGE – BLAD, DISH, SPILL, TELL WORDS ON A MAC KEYBOARD – COMMAND, CONTROL, OPTION, RETURN WORDS SHORTENED IN ROCK GENRES – ALTERNATIVE, EMOTIONAL, POPULAR, PROGRESSIVE ___ CAKE – CHEESE, CUP, PAN, SHORT Connections grids vary widely and change every day. If you couldn’t solve today’s puzzle, be sure to check back in tomorrow. NYT Connection FAQs What time does the Connections puzzle change? The puzzle changes daily at midnight local time. Who edits the NYT Connections game? Wyna Liu, who has been editing puzzles at The New York Times since 2020, edits Connections daily. “A few months ago, a new assignment crossed my desk: Create the game boards for Connections, a category matching game that had recently been greenlighted and was in search of an editor,” wrote Liu in an article explaining her process in June 2024. Most of my puzzle experience has been working with crosswords, and I was excited at the chance to try something different. I’ve enjoyed learning how puzzle editing plays out once a game is greenlighted, and seeing how our team fits into a larger ecosystem.” On the one-year anniversary of Connections launching earlier this year, Liu posted this TikTok about her favorite puzzles so far: Source link #NYT #Connections #hints #answers #Saturday #February Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

British Army too ‘run down’ to keep peace in Ukraine, says ex-military chief British Army too ‘run down’ to keep peace in Ukraine, says ex-military chief Britain’s military is too “run down” to lead a mooted peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, the former head of the Army has said. Lord Dannatt said that it “would potentially be quite embarrassing” to attempt to lead such a mission given the present state of the military. The ex-chief of the general staff said: “Our military is so run down at the present moment, numerically and as far as capability and equipment is concerned, it would potentially be quite embarrassing.” It comes after Sir Keir Starmer said the *** would “play its part” in guarding future Ukrainian security, opening the door to a British peacekeeping force in the country. Lord Dannatt is ex-chief of the general staff – David Rose Lord Dannatt said the Prime Minister and Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, must accept that defence is “more important” than public services and infrastructure. “I mean, if we were to deploy 10,000 troops, each rotation for six months, that would effectively tie up 30,000 or 40,000 troops and we just haven’t got that number available,” he told the BBC’s Week In Westminster. It comes amid US government warnings that American troops could withdraw from Europe after decades of Nato cooperation. Speaking in Poland on Friday, Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, urged: “Now is the time to invest because you can’t make an assumption that America’s presence will last forever.” In Saturday’s Telegraph, David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, John Healey, the Defence Secretary, made a call for Britain and its European allies to “do more” and “share the burden” of defence. Another senior military figure has also warned that the *** will need to increase defence spending to Cold War levels of “around about 4 per cent”. Gen Sir Richard Shirreff, former Nato deputy supreme commander, said the move would “require extraordinary, real sacrifice”. He told the BBC’s Today programme: “It’s a sacrifice that’s got to be made because unless it’s made we are not going to be able to enjoy peace, our grandchildren will not enjoy peace, for generations to come.” “The only way that we are going to be able to enjoy peace is through effective deterrence, a Nato band of deterrence from the Baltic to the ****** Sea and that will need to be paid for,” he said. Sir Richard said that America’s rapprochement with Russia is “a defining moment for European militaries and European governments” because the United States military can no longer be relied upon. British defence spending as a share of GDP peaked in the late 1950s at 7 per cent, during the height of the Cold War. In 1990-91, as the Soviet Union collapsed, the figure stood at 3.8 per cent. Nato’s current defence spending target is 2 per cent of GDP. Britain exceeded the target last year with defence spending equivalent to 2.33 percent of economic output, with a further pledge from the Prime Minister to raise *** spending to 2.5 per cent. In December, Al Carns, a defence minister and former Royal Marines officer, said the British Army could be destroyed within six months if it fought in a major war. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Source link #British #Army #run #peace #Ukraine #exmilitary #chief Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II Review | RPGFan The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II Review | RPGFan Travis Bruno of Capsule Computers writes: “While far from a mainstream JRPG franchise, one that has always been an easy recommendation for those looking to delve into a storied franchise has been The Legend of Heroes games. Spanning across nearly two decades of releases on numerous platforms, there have always been consistent story arcs seeing longtime characters often returning in later entries. What finally made the franchise a bit more approachable was the fact that, while still set in the same world and featuring the same lore, The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak a bit over six months ago placed the franchise in a nearly completely fresh starting point. This allowed newcomers a chance to enter this storied franchise without too much concern for the lore, and even then an extensive glossary was provided in-game. So now that The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II has arrived to continue the journey of Arkride Solutions’ members as well as implement elements from Reverie, is this a worthwhile continuation to Van an company’s story?” Source link #Legend #Heroes #Trails #Daybreak #Review #RPGFan Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trump’s drive to reshape government threatens bird flu response Trump’s drive to reshape government threatens bird flu response A rooster roams on a farm on January 23, 2023 in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell | Getty Images As avian flu drives egg prices to record levels and increasingly poses a risk to humans, moves by the White House to cut spending and restrict communications have hobbled public health officials’ response, with the new administration yet to outline a clear strategy on how it plans to stem the spread of the virus. State and local public health officials have gone weeks without regular updates on avian flu from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after President Donald Trump froze nearly all external communications from the agency, said a person familiar with the situation. It wasn’t until this week that some of those communications began to resume, the person said. Widespread funding cuts across the government and new restrictions on funding for National Institutes of Health grants have also created uncertainty among infectious disease researchers and local health officials, who are unsure about what resources they will have to work with going forward. Meanwhile, cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development have limited monitoring of the virus overseas. “When you add that uncertainty, it plays into what health departments can do when their entire funding situation is at risk,” said Adriane Casalotti, chief of government and public affairs for the National Association of County and City Health Officials. “It makes it even harder to do more when you don’t think you’ll have the resources or they might get pulled out from under you.” At the same time, key positions in the Trump administration central to responding to the threat of a pandemic have remained unfilled. And the secretaries running the Health and Human Services and Agriculture departments weren’t confirmed until this week, though bird flu was one of the first items on Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ agenda after her confirmation. The disruptions come at a potentially perilous time. The virus has been decimating poultry flocks, causing egg prices to more than double. It has been showing signs it can evolve to more easily thrive in a variety of species, including a new strain detected among dairy cattle this month. While there are no indications the virus can be transmitted among humans, at least 68 people in the U.S. have contracted avian flu and one person has died, according to the CDC. Researchers worry that the more the virus replicates, the more opportunities it will have to develop a mutation that would enable it to spread easily from human to human. “This is getting more and more dangerous and urgent, and the scientific community is setting off alarm flares,” said Stephen Morrison, who directs the global health policy center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “But are they translating into the government moving at a faster pace or with a different resolve? No. Instead, we’re in a ******* of confused transition that’s been made worse by the disruptions in government function and the normal slowness of getting the new team in.” The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment on its strategy for addressing avian flu and what additional steps it planned to take to address the spread of the virus. Rollins, who was confirmed by the Senate Thursday, told reporters that she had a briefing in the Oval Office Thursday night and would be announcing more on the department’s plan to address egg prices “in the coming days.” “We are looking at every possible scenario to ensure that we are doing everything we can in a safe, secure manner, but also to ensure that Americans have the food that they need,” Rollins said when asked about the price of eggs. “And as a mom of four teenagers, actually, I fully understand and feel the pain of the cost of these eggs.” White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said in an interview on MSNBC Thursday that the Trump administration would soon have a strategy now that Rollins has been confirmed. “It turns out, President Biden’s team didn’t have an avian flu strategy, and now we’re about to have one, as soon as Brooke Rollins is at the Department of Agriculture,” said Hassett. In a statement on egg prices earlier this week, the White House said Rollins would take “bold, decisive action to address the crisis” by refocusing the agency tasked with stopping the spread of the virus among animals “on its core mission: protecting the health of the United States’ plants, animals, and natural resources while simultaneously lowering costs.” So far, though, public health officials say the White House has created more confusion than clarity. In West Virginia, Michael Kilkenny, head of the Huntington Health Department, said he hasn’t been getting regular updates from the CDC for the past several weeks. “We just don’t know what’s happening right now. We don’t know if this is expanding into our area if we aren’t getting that communication from the CDC,” said Kilkenny. “In more rural areas, there are small health departments that, without the information they need coming from the CDC, they’re not going to be able to inform their small-flock farmers, poultry farmers or higher-risk agricultural workers that depend on the local health department for information or services.” The prospect of potential federal funding cuts have also caused his and other health departments he works with to begin contingency planning and put hiring and new projects on hold. “We are holding on hiring and we are holding on planning while we are waiting to see that there is clear evidence that things are going to be funded before we can spend our work time planning or even submitting for a project,” said Kilkenny. “That is how this disrupts us.” Along with limiting CDC communications with local health officials, the World Health Organization has also been receiving limited information on the spread of avian flu in the U.S. since Trump signed an executive order to withdraw from the global health organization, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a Feb. 12 press conference. The “near-total communication freeze” at public health agencies “is deeply unprecedented, and that alone scares me more than anything else,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the pandemic center at the Brown University School of Public Health. Nearly a month in, Trump has yet to name an official to head the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, which was created in 2022 by Congress to coordinate pandemic response across agencies. During the campaign, Trump said he would likely get rid of the office and criticized President Joe Biden’s efforts to prepare for another pandemic. “He wants to spend a lot of money on something that you don’t know if it’s gonna be 100 years or 50 years or 25 years,” Trump said of Biden in a July interview with Time magazine. “And it’s just a way of giving out pork.” “It doesn’t mean that we’re not watching out for it all the time,” Trump said. “But it’s very hard to predict what’s coming because there are a lot of variations of these pandemics.” Trump’s key Cabinet officials who will be overseeing the federal response have given little insight into their strategy. Rollins said during her Senate confirmation hearing last month that one of her top four priorities would be to put a team in place to stem the spread of avian flu, though she didn’t say what changes she would like to see the Agriculture Department make. “There is a lot that I have to learn on this, and if confirmed, this will be, as I mentioned in my opening statement, one of the very top priorities,” Rollins said when asked about her response to avian flu. “We are hyperfocused on finding the team right now. I’m sure they’re already working. I have, obviously, respected the process and not gotten too involved. I know that the current team and the future team will be working hand in hand to do everything we can on animal disease.” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday, said during his confirmation hearing that he would focus more on tackling chronic disease, like heart disease and diabetes, and less on infectious diseases. When asked about devoting resources to avian flu during his confirmation hearing, Kennedy said he “intends to devote the appropriate resources to preventing pandemics. That’s essential for my job.” Previously, Kennedy has said the currently available vaccines for avian flu that the U.S. has stockpiled may be dangerous and ineffective. Researchers are working on developing a new generation of avian flu vaccines based on the same mRNA technology used to develop the Covid vaccines, which Kennedy called the “the deadliest vaccine ever made,” though studies have shown it to be safe. Kennedy has also been a proponent of drinking raw milk, which can put people at risk of foodborne illness, including avian flu. The CDC has warned that it might be possible to contract bird flu from drinking raw milk and urged Americans to drink only pasteurized milk. Agriculture industry officials and infectious disease researchers have been calling on the federal government to significantly ramp up its response with greatly expanded testing, funding for research to better understand the virus and develop new treatments, and more assistance for dairy farmers to encourage them to test their cattle. The United Egg Producers, an advocacy group for the egg industry, is urging the federal government and Congress to devote more resources to researching how the virus is spreading and evolving and to develop more effective and widespread vaccinations for animals. The industry group has also been calling for more rules and enforcement around the testing and movement of animals, and additional funding for local laboratories to provide quick and accurate test results. “Our industry needs more from our state and federal government animal health partners — and we need it fast,” the United Egg Producers said in a statement. The organization says its industry has lost more than 100 million egg-laying hens since 2022, including more than 29 million over the past four months. Once a flock of birds is infected with the highly pathogenic strain of the avian flu, the virus quickly spreads and is fatal in the vast majority of birds. When a flock becomes infected, farmers and veterinarians are supposed to notify the USDA, which will kill the entire flock and decontaminate the facilities. The federal government reimburses the farmers for the live birds that are culled in the process. Public health researchers have said the Biden administration didn’t react quickly enough to stop the spread of the virus among dairy cattle after it was first detected in herds in March. It wasn’t until December that the Agriculture Department rolled out a national milk testing program, and three of the country’s top milk-producing states still aren’t a part of that federal surveillance effort. The Trump administration will have to work with officials in states that still aren’t regularly testing their milk to try to get them on board, said Morrison. Texas’ state agriculture commissioner, Sid Miller, told NBC News that surveillance milk testing was unnecessary in Texas since there weren’t any active cases of bird flu in the state’s commercial cattle or poultry. “From April until the end of the Biden administration, the response was slow and sluggish,” said Morrison. “We are still not testing animals and humans at the level that is needed, we still don’t have a coherent strategy and a system of accountability, and we still don’t have in place the kind of compensation mechanisms needed for those dairy farmers who suffer losses because of infections in their herds.” Researchers worry the U.S. is running out of time to strengthen its response. “If we don’t act now, we’re only giving the virus more opportunity to continue to adapt and potentially evolve into something more dangerous in a human population,” said Erin Sorrell, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “Now is the time to act.” Source link #Trumps #drive #reshape #government #threatens #bird #flu #response Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]