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Obsidian Confirms Avowed Runs At 60 FPS On Xbox Series X; Declines To Comment On PS5 Version Obsidian Confirms Avowed Runs At 60 FPS On Xbox Series X; Declines To Comment On PS5 Version Obsidian Entertainment has declined to comment on the possibility of a PS5 version of its upcoming action role-playing game, Avowed. Source link #Obsidian #Confirms #Avowed #Runs #FPS #Xbox #Series #Declines #Comment #PS5 #Version Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

European shares hit record, eyes turn to interest rates European shares hit record, eyes turn to interest rates European shares have traded higher but the British pound has taken a dive ahead of an expected cut to interest rates. Source link #European #shares #hit #record #eyes #turn #interest #rates Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Whoopi Goldberg Startled by Vocal, Resounding Response From ‘The View’ Audience on Elon Musk: ‘Oh, OK!’ Whoopi Goldberg Startled by Vocal, Resounding Response From ‘The View’ Audience on Elon Musk: ‘Oh, OK!’ The audience of “The View” is never shy about vocalizing their true feelings about a topic on the show, but even moderator Whoopi Goldberg was a bit startled on Tuesday morning, when the crowd gave a crystal clear, unanimous response to her first question of the day. The topic at hand? Elon Musk. To kick off the Hot Topics discussion, the ABC show zeroed in on how much access the unelected tech billionaire is getting to sensitive information within the government, playing clips of Democrats raising alarms. “Are Americans going to be OK with Musk–” Whoopi started. But before she could even finish the question, the audience cut her off, loudly and unanimously answering “No!” At the sudden response, Whoopi startled a bit and laughed, responding “Oh, OK!” Still, she pushed through with the question, which ended with a reminder that Musk was not elected by voters, and is reportedly employing teenagers and early 20-somethings with no government experience themselves. In response, host Sara Haines pointed out that what Musk is doing is ********, as funding was already allocated by congress. “It’s beyond Elon Musk, Donald Trump doesn’t have the power to do what he’s doing right now,” she said. “The View” airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC. The post Whoopi Goldberg Startled by Vocal, Resounding Response From ‘The View’ Audience on Elon Musk: ‘Oh, OK!’ appeared first on TheWrap. Source link #Whoopi #Goldberg #Startled #Vocal #Resounding #Response #View #Audience #Elon #Musk Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) earnings Q4 2024 Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) earnings Q4 2024 The Bristol Myers Squibb research and development center at Cambridge Crossing in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Dec. 27, 2023. Adam Glanzman | Bloomberg | Getty Images Bristol Myers Squibb on Thursday said it will slash $2 billion in costs by the end of 2027, expanding its ongoing cost savings effort to chart a path toward long-term growth. Bristol Myers said savings will be driven by organizational changes and efforts to streamline operations and will allow the company to invest in new science and drug brands expected to deliver growth. The pharmaceutical giant still plans to cut $1.5 billion in costs by the end of 2025 and funnel that money into drug development. It first announced those cuts in April, and expanded on them with Thursday’s announcement. The company is preparing to offset the loss in revenue from top-selling treatments slated to lose exclusivity on the market, including its blockbuster blood thinner Eliquis and ******* immunotherapy Opdivo. Also on Thursday, Bristol Myers Squibb issued full-year 2025 guidance that fell short of Wall Street’s expectations, as some of the company’s older drugs face competition from cheaper generics. That includes four drugs for different cancers: Revlimid, Pomalyst, Sprycel and Abraxane. Bristol Myers expects revenue to come in around $45.5 billion, which is below the $47.36 billion that analysts surveyed by LSEG were expecting. The company’s revenue guidance also reflects an approximately $500 million expected negative impact from foreign exchange. The drugmaker expects adjusted earnings per share of between $6.55 to $6.85. Analysts surveyed by LSEG expected adjusted earnings of $6.92 per share. Despite that outlook, Bristol Myers reported fourth-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings that blew past expectations, boosted by Eliquis and the company’s so-called “growth portfolio” of drugs. Here is what Bristol Myers reported for the fourth quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG: Earnings per share: $1.67 adjusted vs. $1.46 expected Revenue: $12.34 billion vs. $11.57 billion expected Bristol Myers posted net income of $72 million, or 4 cents per share, for the fourth quarter. That compares with net income of $1.8 billion, or 87 cents per share, for the year-earlier *******. Excluding certain items, it reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.67 for the quarter. The pharmaceutical giant’s revenue rose 8% from the same ******* a year ago to $12.34 billion. Eliquis booked $3.2 billion in sales for the quarter, up 11% from the year-ago *******. That is above the $3.03 billion that analysts were expecting, according to estimates compiled by StreetAccount. The blood thinner, which Bristol Myers shares with Pfizer, is expected to lose market exclusivity by 2028. Sales of Eliquis could also take a hit in 2026, when a new negotiated price for the drug goes into effect for certain Medicare patients following negotiations with the federal government. Those price talks are a key provision of the Inflation Reduction Act. The second round of negotiations targets 15 additional drugs and will set new prices that will go into effect in 2028. That includes Pomalyst, which is used to treat a blood ******* called multiple myeloma and a ******* that develops in people with ****. Pomalyst brought in $823 million for the *******, down 8% from the year-earlier *******. Sprycel booked $198 million in sales for the quarter, down 62% from the same ******* a year ago. Abraxane generated $174 million in revenue for the fourth quarter, down 30% from the same quarter in 2023. Revlimid took in $1.34 billion in sales for the fourth quarter, down 8% from the same ******* a year ago. That surpassed analysts’ revenue expectations of $1.10 billion for the treatment, according to StreetAccount. Revenue from the company’s Growth Portfolio was $6.36 billion for the fourth quarter, up 21% from the year-earlier *******. Opdivo brought in $2.48 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter, up 4% from the year-earlier *******. That fell under analysts’ estimate of $2.51 billion for the quarter, StreetAccount said. Source link #Bristol #Myers #Squibb #BMY #earnings Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Why Trump loves them, and how they work Why Trump loves them, and how they work A drone view shows shipping containers from China, at the China Shipping (North America) Holding Company Ltd. facility at the Port of Los Angeles in Wilmington, California, Feb. 4, 2025. Mike Blake | Reuters President Donald Trump has long been a fan of tariffs, and in his first month back in the White House he wasted no time imposing new — and relatively high — tariffs on imported goods from Canada, Mexico and China. While Trump has suspended the tariffs on Canada and Mexico for at least one month while those countries negotiate with the United States on trade and border security, new 10% tariffs on ******** imports began this week. And given Trump’s history, it is likely that he will wield the threat of tariffs again during his next four years in office. CNBC spoke with trade expert David Gantz to get answers to the questions many Americans might have about tariffs after seeing a flurry of headlines about Trump’s favorite trade negotiation tool in the past week. David A. Gantz, Will Clayton Fellow in Trade and International Economics. Courtesy: Wilson Center Gantz is the Will Clayton Fellow in Trade and International Economics at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, and previously served as the U.S. judge on the Administrative Tribunal of the Organization of American States, as well as a consultant for the World Bank. What is a tariff? “It’s essentially a tax on imported goods,” Gantz said. “The tax is determined by … the value of the goods declared by the exporters.” “For some commodities, it’s a price per ton, but on essentially all consumer goods it’s the value of the product,” Gantz said. “Typically the value is what an independent buyer would pay to an independent seller.” Goods subject to tariffs can be commodities or other raw materials, such as steel; component products, such as automobile transmissions; and finished products, such as a Mercedes-Benz sedan. Tariffs are usually a percentage of the value of the imported good. For a tariff of 2.5%, the duty paid would be $2.50 for every $100 value of goods. Who pays the tariff? “Under the law, the importer is responsible for paying the tariff,” Gantz said. A U.S. automobile company, for example, would pay the tariff on a transmission imported from Korea that the company will use to assemble an SUV. “But” — and it’s a big but — “the importer under normal circumstances would transfer it up the line to the wholesaler, to the distributor, and ultimately to the consumer,” Gantz noted. In other words, while an importer will initially pay the tariff, another company and eventually the end user, or consumer, will foot most or some of its cost. Read more CNBC politics coverage Gantz used the example of crude oil drilled in Alberta, Canada, and shipped via pipeline to the United States, where it ends up being refined into gasoline or diesel fuel. Under Trump’s now-suspended tariffs, energy products imported from Canada would be subject to a 10% levy. If Alberta crude is selling for $60 a barrel, the additional tariff will be $6 per barrel imported. Because profit margins on gasoline “are very, very small,” Gantz said, “the full cost of the $6 is going to be passed on” to the consumer at the pump of BP stations and elsewhere. “BP is not going to absorb any part of the additional $6 or whatever it is,” he said. In addition to gasoline, consumers are most likely to see price hikes that fully reflect the tariff rate on perishable food items such as fruits and vegetables, where profit margins likewise are low, Gantz said. But for importers with higher profit margins, “if you have a relatively high mark-up, such as branded footwear, you may be able to absorb much of the additional cost” from tariffs without passing it all on to the consumer, he said. Who collects tariffs? “Tariffs are collected by Customs and Border Protection, a division of the Department of Homeland Security,” Gantz said. But “it’s paid directly into an account that directly goes into the Treasury,” he said. The Treasury Department, which previously had oversight over CPB, is responsible for collecting revenue for the U.S. government. Trucks drive into United States at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, on the U.S.-Mexico border on February 1, 2025 in San Diego, California. Apu Gomes | Getty Images How much does the U.S. government get from tariffs? Not much — despite previously being very much. In fiscal year 2024, the U.S. collected just $77 billion in tariffs, which amounts to about 1.5% of all federal revenue, according to the Congressional Research Service. “Over the past 70 years, tariffs have never accounted for much more than 2% of total federal revenue,” CRS says. Why are tariffs used? When the United States became a country in the late 18th century, tariffs “were the principal source of government revenue, because we did not have an income tax until 1913,” Gantz said. “For well over 100 years they were the major source of U.S. government revenues,” he said. Tariffs are “also very easy to collect,” Gantz said. “Import tax is collected at the border, and if you don’t pay the tax you don’t get your good.” “They were also used over those years to protect new industries … particularly in New England.” High tariffs meant that products imported into the U.S. had a competitive disadvantage to products sourced in the U.S. Workers discuss their job at Steelcon, a structural steel design and fabrication company, before a campaign stop by Ontario Premier Doug Ford in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, January 31, 2025. Carlos Osorio | Reuters Protectionist tariffs remain in the U.S., such as in the steel industry, where imported steel is subjected to levies. Why are they less common today? Tariffs became a less important source of federal revenue in the U.S. after a federal income tax was re-established in 1913, and tariff rates were sharply lowered. In 1930, Congress passed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which raised levies on a broad range of imports in an effort to protect U.S. businesses during the onset of the Great Depression. The act led to retaliatory tariffs by other countries and is widely seen as exacerbating the economic misery of the Depression. “If we raise our tariffs, other countries raise their tariffs,” Gantz said. He noted that after Trump said that he would impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada, that country “came up with a very detailed list of about $150 billion of U.S. imports that they were going to increase import taxes on,” with a focus on good from states whose legislators supported the U.S. tariffs. China on Tuesday said it will impose additional tariffs of 15% on coal and liquefied natural gas imported from the United States, and extra 10% duties on U.S. crude oil, agricultural machinery, and some cars. But Gantz said that having tariffs relatively lower than they were during the 19th century can benefit U.S. consumers, who are also voters. “If we have low tariffs on goods from China, that probably saves families $2,000 or $3,000 per year on everything from television sets to Barbie dolls,” Gantz said. “And that $2,000 or $3,000 has been very important to low-income workers because they don’t have much money,” he said. What about Trump? In his recent inaugural address, Trump lauded former President William McKinley, who served in the White House from 1897 until he was assassinated in 1901. As a member of the House of Representatives, McKinley championed the McKinley Tariff of 1890, which sharply raised import levies. “President McKinley made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent,” Trump said in his speech. Gantz said that imposing tariffs for the reason that Trump recently cited — stemming the flow of migrants and the deadly opioid fentanyl from Mexico, Canada and China — was not a common rationale for tariffs. “But they weren’t the only reason,” Gantz said. “Trump for years has been unhappy with the trade deficit we’ve run with Canada and Mexico,” he said. “And he has also talked about how to get companies in Canada and Mexico to move to the United States.” Trump also sees tariffs as a source of revenue that “will make it easier to decrease taxes, primarily on wealthy people,” Gantz said. “That’s the theory.” “He loves them. He thinks they’re the solution to everything.” Source link #Trump #loves #work Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Bank of England restarts monetary easing, cutting key rate to 4.5% Bank of England restarts monetary easing, cutting key rate to 4.5% Buses pass in the City of London financial district outside the Royal Exchange near the Bank of England on 2nd July 2021 in London, United Kingdom. Mike Kemp | In Pictures | Getty Images The Bank of England made its first interest rate cut of 2025 on Thursday, resuming monetary easing amid ongoing concerns over sluggish growth in the British economy. The central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.5%, with a majority of seven members out of the nine-strong monetary policy committee voting in favor. Economists had widely expected the central bank to trim rates, following a spate of lackluster U.K. growth data. The economy flatlined in the third quarter, according to data released in December, while the latest monthly GDP reading showed the economy expanded just 0.1% in November, after shrinking by 0.1% in October. Weak retail data last month also added to expectations that the BOE would cut rates. Britain’s inflation rate, meanwhile, fell to a lower-than-expected 2.5% in December, with core price growth slowing further — also fueling expectations that central bank policymakers would steer toward their first trim of 2025. The central bank’s inflation target is 2%. BOE monetary policy committee members must judge how to balance the need to boost growth with the inflationary risk posed by a nascent trade war, as U.S. President Donald Trump sets out to impose tariffs on America’s closest trading partners and has threatened to apply the same measures on the EU and U.K. What comes next? Economists are now pondering the trajectory for interest rates in 2025, given that the central bank’s policymakers will be wary of the U.K. finding itself “caught between trade wars and weak domestic momentum,” Kallum Pickering, chief economist at Peel Hunt, noted earlier this week. “The critical question facing policymakers is whether they will signal that another cut could come as soon as March or that they will stay the course set last year — with rate reductions coming at a pace of one per quarter?,” he said in emailed comments Monday. Peel Hunt’s base case, he said, was that the BOE will maintain a one-cut-per-quarter pace and that the bank will wait until the May meeting before following up with a second trim this year. “However, risks are skewed towards policymakers signalling a willingness to react more forcefully to economic weakness – thus hinting at another cut as soon as the 20 March meeting already,” Pickering said. Andrew Wishart, senior U.K. economist at Berenberg, noted that the central bank might perceive a need to relax monetary policy more rapidly. “Until now, the BOE has cut at alternate meetings, but a stagnating economy and declining employment argue for more urgent action,” he said in a note Monday. “The central bank judged the labour market to be broadly in balance at the 18 December meeting, before payroll data for December revealed further job losses. On that basis, it is sensible for the BoE to lower interest rates to prevent a larger drop in employment.” The BOE’s first trim of the year comes after a tough couple of months for U.K. Chancellor Rachel Reeves who has faced sustained pressure since unveiling Treasury fiscal plans last fall that set out to increase the tax burden on British businesses. The package attracted widespread criticism from industry leaders over the potential impact on investment, jobs and economic growth. Reeves defended the plans, saying tough measures were necessary to achieve economic stability and that there was “no alternative.” She has also said tax rises on businesses would be a one-off, telling the Confederation of British Industry last November that she was “not coming back with more borrowing or more taxes.” Some economists believe the central bank could take a more gradual approach given the inflationary risks posed by potential Trump tariffs, and the fiscal position being taken by the U.K. government. “Despite the recent weak news on activity and the uncertainty around the global outlook due to Trump’s US import tariffs, the stronger news on domestic price pressures means the Bank of England will probably continue to cut interest rates only gradually,” Ashley Webb, U.K. economist at Capital Economics, said in a note Wednesday. “But while CPI inflation may rebound from 2.5% in December last year to around 3.0% later this year, we think a fall to below 2.0% next year will prompt the Bank to cut interest rates … to 3.50% by early 2026, rather than to 3.75-4.00% as investors anticipate,” he noted. Source link #Bank #England #restarts #monetary #easing #cutting #key #rate Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Education Department staff warned that Trump buyout offers could be canceled at any time Education Department staff warned that Trump buyout offers could be canceled at any time Top officials at the Education Department told staff members Wednesday that if they accept the Trump administration’s deferred resignation package, the education secretary may later cancel it and employees would not have any recourse, potentially leaving them without promised pay. The Office of Personnel Management sent notices last week to federal employees that if they resign by Thursday, they could continue receiving pay and benefits until the end of September. The Trump administration hopes to get as much as 10% of the workforce to quit as part of a plan to shrink the federal bureaucracy. But three Education Department officials told NBC News that Rachel Oglesby, the department’s new chief of staff, and Jacqueline Clay, its chief human capital officer, described significant caveats to the so-called Fork in the Road offer in an all-staff meeting held over Zoom on Wednesday. The officials did not want to be named for fear of retaliation. The education secretary would be allowed to rescind the agreement, or the government could stop paying, and employees who took the deferred resignation package would waive all legal claims, the three officials said they were told in the meeting. The three employees say they have seen only sample resignation agreements so far and would need to agree to resign by Thursday evening before they could see the actual terms of their separations. “It sounded like a commercial for a used car dealership, like, ‘Act now, one day only,'” said a department official who attended the meeting. Spokespersons for the Education Department and the OPM said that was false, pointing to a memo that says the resignation offer’s “assurances are binding on the government. Were the government to backtrack on its commitments, an employee would be entitled to request a rescission of his or her resignation.” However, the memo includes a sample agreement that includes a clause that agency heads retain the sole discretion to rescind the deals and that employees waive the right to challenge them before the Merit Systems Protection Board “or any other forum.” A sample deferred resignation agreement specific for Education Department employees includes similar language, according to a copy obtained by NBC News. Across the federal government, pressure from the Trump administration to take the buyout offer has been mounting. In an email to federal employees Tuesday following up on the original buyout proposal, the OPM wrote: “Please note the Deferred Resignation program (‘Fork in the Road’) expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday February 6th. There will not be an extension of this program.” More than 40,000 people have taken the buyout offer so far, according to a White House official, out of a federal workforce of over 2 million people. There is deep concern among federal workers that the Trump administration’s buyout offer could turn out to be a bait-and-switch, with the government potentially failing to hold up its end of the bargain. Education Department managers’ comments only worsened those concerns, the three employees said. “The morale is pretty bad,” a second official said. “One of the managers I work with just said he hasn’t seen any emails in the last four hours since the meeting ended, because everybody just kind of had the life sucked out of them.” A third employee described the tone of the call as angry, as workers put questions in Zoom’s chat box but then did not get responses. The unusual buyout offer has upended Washington amid a flurry of executive orders and maneuvers by Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk, who is head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, an office within the White House. In just two weeks, Trump and Musk have launched a sweeping effort to remake the federal government, slash spending and even eliminate some agencies. Many Democrats and some Republicans say Trump and Musk are violating constitutional limits on the presidency in ways that are unlawful and that are precipitating a constitutional crisis. Some labor unions for federal workers have sued to stop the deferred resignation program, arguing that the Trump administration does not have legal authority to offer such buyouts. Federal government labor unions and Democratic state attorneys general have warned federal workers that they may never receive the promised resignation benefits and characterized the offers as an attempt to intimidate them into quitting. Trump has nominated Linda McMahon, the former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO and head of the Small Business Administration in his first administration, to be education secretary. No confirmation hearing is scheduled yet. Other staffing changes coming to the Education Department may arrive before McMahon does. The department expects to conduct layoffs, known as Reductions in Force, the three department officials said they were told during Wednesday’s meeting. Oglesby, the chief of staff, and Clay, the human capital officer, did not say when those will take place or which offices will be hit hardest during the meeting. Education Department staff members will also need to go into the office daily by Feb. 24. Clay told staff members that department leaders are working to find another federal building for remote employees to work from within 50 miles of their homes. Trump has said he wants to eliminate the Education Department, which would fulfill a longtime dream of the Republican base but is supposed to take an act of Congress to achieve. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the White House is weighing executive action that could dismantle the department in a piecemeal fashion, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. Source link #Education #Department #staff #warned #Trump #buyout #offers #canceled #time Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Nissan notifies Honda it is suspending merger talks – Nikkei Asia Nissan notifies Honda it is suspending merger talks – Nikkei Asia Nissan notifies Honda it is suspending merger talks Nikkei AsiaNissan open to new partners, sources say, including Foxconn ReutersHow Nissan’s deal to create an auto powerhouse fell apart TheStreetHonda and Nissan Merger Talks in Peril The New York Times Source link #Nissan #notifies #Honda #suspending #merger #talks #Nikkei #Asia Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Do your Philips Hue lights keep forgetting your last settings? There’s now a fix Do your Philips Hue lights keep forgetting your last settings? There’s now a fix Your Philips Hue Bridge is getting an update to fix a bug with motion sensors The problem made bulbs ‘forget’ your settings when activated by movement The update also improves stability for the Philips Hue Twilight lamp There’s a new software update for the Philips Hue Bridge that should fix a problem that causes your bulbs to ‘forget’ their previous settings. The bug meant that lights sometimes reverted back to their default brightness and color temperature when triggered by a motion sensor. That could be mildly annoying, or outright dazzling if it happened in the hallway when you made a late night trip to the bathroom. As Fabian of Hueblog.com explains, software version 1969060020 also makes some general improvements to the reliability and stability of your Hue setup, and improves the operation of “certain models of the Twilight sleep and wake-up light”. However, the official release notes don’t elaborate on what these changes actually are. The Philips Hue Twilight is one of the best wake-up lights we’ve reviewed, and we didn’t experience any stability problems during our testing. For us, the only drawback was its list price of $279 / £249 (about AU$450), which makes it easily the most expensive sunrise lamp we’ve used. There don’t appear to be any widely reported issues, so we’re curious if we’ll notice any differences over the coming days. What else is new? There are no details on the more general system updates either, though one commenter on Hueblog.com noticed a new feature when using a camera to trigger their smart lights, which makes it a more useful alternative to a motion sensor. “I guess motion detection by cameras has something new too,” wrote reader Davy Maekelberg. “Now [you] can set time when light needs to turn off again. Like with motion detectors.” To make sure you get the latest software releases for your Philips Hue system as soon as possible, open the Hue app, go to Settings > Software Update, and make sure Automatic Update is toggled on. Do you have motion sensors as part of your Philips Hue setup, and have you noticed any changes in recent weeks? Let us know in the comments. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. You might also like Source link #Philips #Hue #lights #forgetting #settings #fix Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

S Korea orders all airports to install bird detection cameras S Korea orders all airports to install bird detection cameras Getty Images Investigators had earlier last week said they had found evidence of a bird strike on the Boeing 737-800 plane All South Korean airports will need to install bird detection cameras and thermal imaging radars, after an air ****** in December last year killed 179 people. The rollout is set to happen in 2026. Investigators said last week that they had found evidence of a bird strike on the Boeing 737-800 plane – with feathers and blood stains found on both the plane’s engines. An investigation into the ****** – the deadliest on South Korean soil – is still ongoing but will focus on the role of the bird strike as well as a concrete structure at the end of the runway, which the plane slammed into after making an emergency landing. “Bird detection radars will be installed at all airports to enhance early detection of distant birds and improve response capabilities for aircraft,” said the Ministry of Land in a statement on Thursday. Bird detection radar detects the size of birds and their movement paths and relays this information to air traffic controllers. The ministry added that all airports would also need to be equipped with at least one thermal imaging camera. Currently only four airports in South Korea are equipped with thermal imaging cameras. It is unclear if any of them have bird detection radars in place. Sites that attract birds, like rubbish dumps, must also be moved away from airports. Earlier last month, South Korea announced that seven airports would have their runway safety areas adapted following a review of all the country’s airports that was carried out after the ******. The cause of the ****** is still unknown but air safety experts had earlier said the number of casualties could have been much lower if not for the structure that the plane crashed into after making an emergency landing. On 29 December, the plane, from budget airline Jeju Air, had taken off from Bangkok and was flying to Muan International Airport in the country’s south-west. At about 08:57 local time, three minutes after pilots made contact with the airport, the control tower advised the crew to be cautious of “bird activity”. At 08:59, the pilot reported that the plane had struck a bird and declared a mayday signal. The pilot then requested permission to land from the opposite direction, during which it belly-landed without its landing gear deployed. It overran the runway and exploded after slamming into the concrete structure, a preliminary investigation report concluded. Flight data and cockpit voice recorders stopped recording four minutes before the disaster, an investigation into the ****** boxes later found. The 179 passengers onboard the Boeing B737-800 plane were aged between three and 78 years old, although most were in their 40s, 50s and 60s. Two cabin crew members were the only survivors. Source link #Korea #orders #airports #install #bird #detection #cameras Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Israel minister tells army to plan for Palestinians to leave Gaza Israel minister tells army to plan for Palestinians to leave Gaza Israel’s defence minister has told its military to prepare a plan to “allow any resident of Gaza who wishes to leave to do so”, in line with President Donald Trump’s proposal for the US to take over the territory and resettle the 2.1 million Palestinians there. Israel Katz said Gazans should have “freedom of movement and migration” and countries critical of Israel’s war with ****** were “obligated” to take them in. The US secretary of state meanwhile insisted the resettlement would be temporary during Gaza’s reconstruction, though Trump had said it would be permanent. ************ leaders and Arab states have rejected the plan and said that forced displacement would violate international law. The UN secretary general has also warned that it is “essential to avoid any form of ethnic cleansing” and stressed that Gaza would be an integral part of a future ************ state. The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy ****** in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage. More than 47,550 people have been killed and 111,600 injured in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s ******-run health ministry. Most of Gaza’s population has also been displaced multiple times and almost 70% of its buildings are estimated to be destroyed or damaged. Healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed and there are shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter. Source link #Israel #minister #tells #army #plan #Palestinians #leave #Gaza Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The sci-fi open-world action-adventure “Star Overdrive” is coming to the Switch on April 10th The sci-fi open-world action-adventure “Star Overdrive” is coming to the Switch on April 10th “The Montpellier-based (France) indie games publisher Dear Villagers and Rome-based (Italy) indie games developer Caracal Games, today announced with great joy and thrill that their sci-fi open-world action-adventure “Star Overdrive”, is coming to the Nintendo Switch via the Nintendo eShop on April 10th, 2025.” – Jonas Ek, TGG. Source link #scifi #openworld #actionadventure #Star #Overdrive #coming #Switch #April #10th Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Jackson Barrett: The hot hand of Travis Head allowed Australia to pick just three frontline bowlers Jackson Barrett: The hot hand of Travis Head allowed Australia to pick just three frontline bowlers Australia very rarely take just three frontline bowlers into a Test match, but they were able to because the hot hand of Travis Head just keeps getting more and more dangerous, writes Jackson Barrett. Source link #Jackson #Barrett #hot #hand #Travis #allowed #Australia #pick #frontline #bowlers Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trump administration agrees to restrict DOGE access to Treasury Department payment systems Trump administration agrees to restrict DOGE access to Treasury Department payment systems Attorneys for the Justice Department have agreed to temporarily restrict staffers associated with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing information in the Treasury Department’s payment system. The agreement comes after a group of union members and retirees sued the Treasury Department alleging that providing DOGE access to the federal government’s massive payment and collections system — and the personal data housed in it — violated federal privacy laws. The Trump administration filed a motion Wednesday night seeking to enter a proposed order that detailed the agreed-upon terms. “The Defendants will not provide access to any payment record or payment system of records maintained by or within the Bureau of the Fiscal Service,” the proposed order says. The order would allow exceptions for two special government employees at the Treasury — Tom Krause and Marko Elez — saying they are permitted access “as needed” to perform their duties, “provided that such access to payment records will be ‘read only.'” The restricted access would remain in effect pending a subsequent hearing on the lawsuit. The judge still needs to sign off on the proposed order. The White House and the groups that filed the lawsuit did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The suit contends newly minted Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent should not have given DOGE access to the secure system. Bessent “decided behind closed doors to allow individuals not involved in the processing of the government’s financial transactions to root around in the Bureau’s records. Giving access to those records is unlawful,” their filing said. “And the longer that the private information of Plaintiffs’ members remains accessible to unauthorized third parties, the greater the irreparable injury is. After all, as long as the sensitive data of Plaintiffs’ members remains accessible to Mr. Musk and other members of DOGE, the more opportunity there is for that data to be disclosed to still more unauthorized third parties, either accidentally or deliberately,” they added. The lawsuit sought a temporary restraining order barring Treasury from “disclosing information about individuals” to DOGE and directing the agency “to retrieve and safeguard any such information that has already been obtained by DOGE or individuals associated with it.” At a hearing Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, a Justice Department lawyer denied that Treasury was sharing Americans’ personal information. “The allegation that that information is being shared with third parties outside of Treasury is incorrect,” said the attorney, Bradley Humphreys. He said that two DOGE appointees classified as special government employees, the same status held by Musk, have been granted access to the systems but that there is no plan for those two employees or any other DOGE employee working at the Treasury Department to share the information with Musk or anyone outside of Treasury. DOGE’s actions under Musk — a tech billionaire and key ally of President Donald Trump — have prompted fierce criticism from Democrats, who have painted Musk as an unelected bureaucrat who is amassing outsized power and reshaping the federal government without the necessary checks and balances. “Let’s not ****** words here: An unelected, unaccountable billionaire with expansive conflicts of interest, deep ties to China and an indiscreet ax to grind against perceived enemies is ********** our nation’s most sensitive financial data system and its checkbook,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said in a floor speech Wednesday. Musk, who spearheads DOGE, has defended it as “something that is sorely needed,” framing his efforts as cutting down on wasteful spending. “DOGE is the wood chipper for bureaucracy,” he said Monday on X. Musk is working in the Trump administration as a “special government employee,” according to a White House official, meaning he is not a full-time federal worker. That categorization also suggests Musk’s employment ******* in the White House is limited to about a third of a year. On the first day of his second term, Trump renamed the U.S. Digital Service as the Department of Government Efficiency. He had previously announced that Musk would help lead the advisory group. Musk has targeted the U.S. Agency for International Development for elimination, prompting the administration to grind humanitarian assistance to a near-halt. He has also turned his attention toward the other wings of the federal government, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Earlier Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that DOGE would have a role in his department, as well, saying on X that the entity is “going to plug in to help upgrade our aviation system.” Source link #Trump #administration #agrees #restrict #DOGE #access #Treasury #Department #payment #systems Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

After Confederate Forces Captured Their Children, These ****** Mothers Fought to Reunite Their Families After Confederate Forces Captured Their Children, These ****** Mothers Fought to Reunite Their Families A Harper’s Weekly illustration of Confederate soldiers driving ****** Americans south in 1862 Library of Congress In the late summer of 1865, a few months after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union forces at Appomattox Court House, Representative Thaddeus Stevens received a surprising but surely welcome letter. Written from Savannah, Georgia, its author was a free ****** woman named Jane Lyles. Lyles had previously lived at Stevens’ Caledonia Furnace, an iron-producing facility in the southern Pennsylvania mountains between Chambersburg and Gettysburg. She labored there alongside her husband, David, the furnace’s keeper, and their children, Annie, George, Thomas and Jane. In the summer of 1863, however, Confederate soldiers bound for Gettysburg captured Lyles and her children. Two years later, with the Civil War at an end and slavery on the verge of being officially abolished nationwide, Lyles emerged from captivity and set to work recovering the life the Confederates had taken from her. With the help of the famously antislavery Stevens, she hoped to leave the place of her confinement, go to Richmond, Virginia, where she’d been forcibly parted from her children, and finally to “take them home with me.” A letter from Jane Lyles to Representative Thaddeus Stevens Courtesy of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture When Confederate forces approached Caledonia in the summer of 1863, Stevens had fled before their arrival. This was probably a wise choice for a man whom their commander, General Jubal Early, labeled an “enemy of the South” for his support of emancipation and advocacy of vigorously prosecuting the war against the Confederacy. Unable to vent their rage directly against Stevens’ person, Rebel soldiers settled for burning his furnace to the ground and carrying off the materials, provisions and animals needed to operate it. Stevens estimated his losses at a whopping $75,000 (around $1.5 million today), an amount the Confederate press considered the “punishment due for his enormous crimes against the happiness of the human race”—in other words, his opposition to human ********. The congressman wore his losses as a badge of honor. “We must all expect to suffer by this wicked war,” he wrote to a relative. “If, finally, the government shall be re-established over our whole territory, and not a vestige of slavery left, I shall deem it a cheap purchase.” For Lyles and her children, the destruction of Caledonia was anything but “cheap.” In addition to wrecking the forge, Confederate soldiers carried off its ****** inhabitants for enslavement in Virginia and beyond. The Rebels who invaded Pennsylvania waged war to ensure that slavery would endure not merely in “vestige,” but in totality. These agents of the slaveholders’ republic considered the African American residents of Maryland and Pennsylvania fugitives from slavery, fair game for capture and enslavement. Reconstructed blacksmith shop at Caledonia State Park, on the site of the Caledonia Furnace in Pennsylvania Acroterion via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 4.0 As historian Allen Guelzo writes in Gettysburg: The Last Invasion, “To have left [them] in undisturbed freedom would have been tantamount to denying the validity of the whole Confederate enterprise.” Well before the Confederate soldiers arrived at Caledonia, therefore, one local observed them “scouring the country in every direction … for horses and cattle and ********.” Rebel civilians followed behind the men in gray, pursuing people they considered “their stolen ********,” ensnaring what a journalist recorded as “gangs of ******** … captured in the mountains in Maryland and Pennsylvania.” A diarist reported that the Rebels were “driving them off by droves … just like we would drive cattle.” Lyles and at least three of her children were among those kidnapped and sent to the South. As they crossed the Potomac River, the frontier of Rebel territory, a dire fate loomed in the form of the Confederate slave market. Long a pillar of that horrific global institution, commerce in the enslaved survived and even flourished in the South during the Civil War. It did so in spite of serious obstacles, including the fall of major trading hubs like New Orleans to Union forces, a devastating blockade, wild inflation and severe economic turmoil. The practice’s endurance fulfilled an array of Confederate needs. Some slave traders bought and sold people in response to crises such as food shortages or unexpected labor requirements, deflecting the hardships of the conflict onto those they fought to keep in ********. Others trafficked people to prevent them from pursuing the freedom offered by the war. Still others used the slave trade to actively invest in the slaveholding future for which they fought. As a result, despite all the disruptions of the war, Confederates traded thousands of people in the four years between the attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861 and the surrender at Appomattox in April 1865. An Unholy Traffic: Slave Trading in the Civil War South Offering an original perspective on the intersections of slavery, capitalism, the Civil War and emancipation, Robert K.D. Colby illuminates the place of the peculiar institution within the Confederate mind, the ways in which it underpinned the Confederacy’s war effort and its impact on those attempting to seize their freedom. Buy If the Lyles family’s experiences mirrored those of others captured by Rebel raiders, they were probably sold first in the Shenandoah Valley, possibly to a Virginian claiming to have once enslaved them. This enslaver almost certainly sold them swiftly in Richmond, the well-defended Confederate capital and the Confederacy’s largest surviving slave market by the summer of 1863. There, Rebels divided the family yet again. Why different purchasers desired Lyles and her children remains obscure. One may have coveted skills she possessed or her personally. Another might have seen her children as a worthwhile speculation; many Confederates believed enslaved children would appreciate in value after the war and, as they grew up and had families of their own, produce generational wealth in an independent slaveholding republic. In all likelihood, one or more Virginians purchased the Lyles children, while another enslaver carried their mother to Savannah, a city with strong slave-trading ties to Richmond. From there, Lyles seems to have been sold to Thomasville in Georgia’s interior. In the spring of 1865, however, the Confederate surrender and the ensuing breakdown of the slave system offered families like the Lyleses a chance to heal the wounds inflicted by the wartime slave trade. Not only did they now have unprecedented mobility, but they also could draw upon personal networks, ****** churches and (novelly) the United States government in seeking their loved ones. A painting of enslaved people awaiting their ***** at a slave market in Richmond, Virginia Public domain via Wikimedia Commons Of particular utility was the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands. A government agency created during the war to help formerly enslaved people navigate the transition from slavery to freedom, the Freedmen’s Bureau performed many tasks, including serving as a clearinghouse for efforts to reunite ****** families. It assumed this function to rectify the wrongs of slavery, to be sure, but its motives extended beyond the purely charitable. In reuniting ****** families, the bureau hoped to prevent them from becoming wards of the state, dependents on government largesse. Thus, when Lyles informed Stevens of her hopes to recover her children and return home, the bureau saw this request as a chance to achieve multiple objectives simultaneously. Indeed, even as its Virginia agents worked to find the Lyles children, the bureau separately organized the transfer of 31 other ****** children from Richmond to Philadelphia. As Superintendent H.S. Merrell wrote in a letter, the logic in doing so was that “these orphans have been for some time supported by [the government] and are now to be provided with homes, relieving it of same.” Multiple obstacles conspired to prevent the reunion that Lyles so fervently desired. She initially lacked the money needed to pay for her travel home, and though she appealed, at Stevens’ suggestion, to a local authority in Georgia he either could not or would not help her. (Within weeks, this same individual would be arrested for assaulting a formerly enslaved man.) Lyles nevertheless made her way to Savannah, where she applied to the bureau for transportation but found no government boats or trains available to carry her north. Illustration of a schoolroom at the Freedmen’s Bureau office in Richmond, Virginia, in 1866 Public domain via Wikimedia Commons At Lyles’ urging, Stevens pressured the bureau into action. Within a few weeks, the agency authorized transportation for Lyles from Savannah to Washington, D.C. and ordered its Richmond agents to find her children “Ann and Jerry” (possibly a nickname for her son George), with the goal of bringing them together and returning them to Pennsylvania. What happened to her husband and other children remains unclear. Perhaps they escaped Confederate clutches, or perhaps the Confederates considered her younger children more effort than they were worth. It’s also possible that Lyles somehow received specific information about these two children’s locations but not the others. What is clear is that the upheaval of war shattered this family as it did all too many others. Whatever the circumstances, by the time the bureau’s orders reached Savannah in the winter of 1865-1866, Lyles had disappeared for a second time. Bureau officials exerted “every effort” to find her, including seeking her in all of the city’s ****** churches (a common tactic for finding lost people of color at the time), but to no avail. She had vanished, leaving no trace behind in the archive. Tragically, so had her children. The bureau’s agents in Virginia followed leads indicating that a pair of children taken from Pennsylvania had been sold to Charlotte County. Upon investigating, they found that these were not the Lyles siblings. The bureau’s failures meant that the destruction wrought by the Confederates and the slave trade would persist well beyond the war’s conclusion. But the search wasn’t completely fruitless. True, the children rumored to be in Charlotte County weren’t from the Lyles family. But they were indeed people kidnapped from Pennsylvania in the summer of 1863 and sold in Richmond. The supposed Ann and Jerry Lyles turned out to be Zack and Sallie Marshall. Zack (who bureau officials also called “Jack”) was 7 or 8 years old, his sister perhaps 9 or 10. The pair had been taken from Greencastle by Confederate cavalry during the Gettysburg campaign, as had their older sister, Rosa. Confederates had probably seized the siblings separately, as Zack and Sallie recalled having last seen Rosa when they were all “at home with their mother,” Priscilla Marshall. A letter from the head of the Virginia Freedmen’s Bureau office to Priscilla Marshall Courtesy of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture Like Lyles, the Marshall family matriarch seized the opportunities presented by the Confederacy’s downfall to begin searching for her children, though initially without success. She lacked Lyles’ political connection but exceeded her in good fortune—an unfortunately essential ingredient to the remaking of ****** families in the war’s aftermath. In January 1866, after learning the identities of the children its agents had found, the bureau sprang into action. It demanded that the probable purchaser of Zack and Sallie send them to Richmond, where they would join dozens of other formerly enslaved children in the city’s Colored Orphans’ Asylum. It also initiated inquiries for Rosa, their still-missing sister. Meanwhile, the head of the bureau in Virginia asked Stevens for assistance in locating the Marshall siblings’ parents. It seems likely that Stevens connected him to Priscilla; two weeks later, the two were exchanging letters, with the bureau promising to send her the children—provided she could get “well-known citizens in [her] neighborhood” to confirm that she was, in fact, their mother. Priscilla rallied the required support and promised the bureau that she could secure “any amount of testimony” the government might require. Representative Thaddeus Stevens Public domain via Wikimedia Commons Bureau officials soon remanded Sallie and Zack into the hands of Phoebe Rushmore, a teacher working with formerly enslaved people in Richmond, who brought them home to Greencastle, ending their ordeal—though Rosa remained missing. Her continued absence, writes historian Hilary Green, testifies to how the effects of Confederate raiding long resounded in the lives and memories of Pennsylvania’s ****** residents. Jane Lyles, Priscilla Marshall and their respective children thus demonstrate the possibilities and limits of the liberation brought by the American Civil War. All fell victim to the armed forces of the slaveholders’ republic and to the wartime slave trade, embodying the lengths to which Rebels would go to keep emancipation at bay. All likewise seized the opportunities created by slavery’s destruction during the conflict, though with varying degrees of success. Their intersecting triumphs and failures demonstrate the uneven emergence of freedom in the U.S. Though both families experienced the powerful undertow that paralleled the war’s liberating tide, the Marshalls were ultimately able to harness the opportunities it unleashed, though the ********** of reunion proved to be tinged with bitter loss. The Lyles family, meanwhile, remained scattered, rendered flotsam of the American slave system. Divided by the slave trade, they sought help from a government under-equipped to help the sheer number of people emerging from slavery—and may well have faced opposition from white Southerners angered by the institution of slavery fading away. Taken together, these individuals’ collective experiences force us to expand our understanding of the accomplishments and costs of the Civil War, and to weigh anew the pangs that accompanied the new birth of freedom. Get the latest History stories in your inbox. A Note to our Readers Smithsonian magazine participates in affiliate link advertising programs. If you purchase an item through these links, we receive a commission. Filed Under: African American History, African American History Museum, American History, American South, ****** History Month, Civil War, Confederacy, Political Leaders, Slavery, Smithsonian Institution, Trade, Transcription Center, Union, Warfare, Women’s History Source link #Confederate #Forces #Captured #Children #****** #Mothers #Fought #Reunite #Families Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Apex Legends Set to Receive Massive Anti-cheat and Matchmaking Updates in a Bid to Regain Lost Players Apex Legends Set to Receive Massive Anti-cheat and Matchmaking Updates in a Bid to Regain Lost Players Respawn Entertainment announced its new arsenal of tools to fight Apex Legends hackers and cheaters in a newly released Dev Update video. A number of matchmaking adjustments will be made in Season 24 to make the game a fair arena for all players. The Season 24 of Apex Legends will launch on February 11, 2025. | Credit: Electronic Arts. Respawn Entertainment has previously stated that Apex Legends will be revitalized in 2025. On February 11, Season 24: Takeover will debut, modifying the battle royale’s tried-and-true formula in an effort to make battles more swift and deadly. Support characters will have their Healing Expert perk nerfed, assault characters will welcome new buffs, and the use of arsenals will enable recently dropped legends to join the battle. Apex Legends is bringing major anti-cheat and matchmaking changes Apex Legends is infested with hackers and cheaters. | Credit: Electronic Arts. Respawn has described its ongoing efforts to combat hackers and cheaters in this video. Apex Legends devs have reaffirmed their commitment to not only combat cheaters but also to collaborate and communicate more openly with players in the wake of the contentious Anti-Cheat techniques implemented in Season 23. Before detailing the new measures implemented to counteract botting and teaming, Respawn states in the most recent developer blog that “anti-cheat and game integrity will always be a top priority for us.” Anti-cheat Updates Action taken against teaming has resulted in sanctions against 1200 accounts and the removal of 17.4 million ranked points. A brand-new “future-proof” machine learning model will soon be deployed to combat bots. A new Report Feedback tool is being developed to provide insights on action taken against reported cheaters. Matchmaking Updates Upcoming measures will help to ensure fair matches including Unranked Skill Display; seeding skill values; lessening Ranked resets; ****** time adjustments; and Ranked Placement matches. Teams of enemy “Apex Bots” may be added to low-ranking matches. Bots will not form teams with players. Testing of called-for features such as preferential matchmaking (solos vs. premades) taking place. Focus on future transparency with the Apex Legends community. Respawn has developed “a brand-new machine learning model” to identify both existing bots and “future variants and evolutions,” acknowledging that Apex Legends has experienced a “recent increase in bots.” According to reports, this “future-proof” tool is “incredibly accurate with low false negatives” and ought to be operational in-game already. In Ranked game modes, where several rival teams band together to rig the match in their favor, Respawn has also focused on teaming. “Rolling out new automated teaming detection algorithms, swifter and more severe punishments, and stripping any ill-gotten ranked points from offenders” is what Respawn has been doing for a few months. What else is waiting for the Apex Legends fans? Apex Legends will be more fun with Arsenals. | Credit: Electronic Arts. Apex Legends design director Evan Nikilich stated in the developer update video that Season 24 will include quality-of-life adjustments, some new features, and the return of fan-favorite modes like Solos and Three Strikes “with a twist.” Additionally, the company is forming a completely new partnership with the game’s community. This implies that the Apex community’s most favored creators will assist fans in creating challenges and the rewards for finishing them, such as a Legendary weapon skin that the creator has chosen for that Takeover. With Season 24 bringing a new weapons system called Arsenals, which features weapon stations that offer every weapon of a single ammo type, Nikilich stated that “major meta shifts will be the focus for us this season and beyond.” Arsenals get you into the action more quickly and eliminate the element of guesswork from looting. You can select the weapons and ammunition types you wish to use by visiting the arsenal stations spread out across the map. But even with all of the developers’ assurances, it’s difficult to think Apex Legends will actually breathe into its new life. According to Andrew Wilson, CEO of EA, a major release regarding the battle royale won’t happen until after the upcoming Battlefield game, which is scheduled to come out before April 2026. Source link #Apex #Legends #Set #Receive #Massive #Anticheat #Matchmaking #Updates #Bid #Regain #Lost #Players Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Music executive Irv Gotti, who helped launch the careers of rap stars, dies at 54 – Yahoo Entertainment Music executive Irv Gotti, who helped launch the careers of rap stars, dies at 54 – Yahoo Entertainment Music executive Irv Gotti, who helped launch the careers of rap stars, dies at 54 Yahoo EntertainmentView Full Coverage on Google News Source link #Music #executive #Irv #Gotti #helped #launch #careers #rap #stars #dies #Yahoo #Entertainment Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-29 Conducts First Lunar Gravity Simulation Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-29 Conducts First Lunar Gravity Simulation A significant milestone in suborbital spaceflight was achieved by Blue Origin with the launch of its uncrewed NS-29 mission. The New Shepard rocket lifted off from the company’s West Texas facility on February 4 at 11 a.m. EST, following a week-long delay caused by adverse weather conditions and a technical issue in the rocket’s avionics system. The booster and capsule both returned to Earth successfully, though one of the capsule’s three parachutes did not fully deploy. Blue Origin stated during the live broadcast that the capsule was engineered to land safely with fewer than three parachutes. Lunar Gravity Simulated for Research Payloads According to reports, the NS-29 mission introduced a lunar gravity simulation for the first time using the New Shepard vehicle. The capsule achieved this by rotating approximately 11 times per minute for a duration of two minutes, a manoeuvre facilitated by its reaction-control thrusters. The mission carried 30 research payloads, with 29 focused on lunar-related technologies. Blue Origin outlined six key research areas, including in-situ resource utilisation, dust mitigation, advanced habitation systems, sensors and instrumentation, small spacecraft technologies, and entry, descent, and landing systems. NASA-Supported Research Aboard the Flight More than half of the payloads were backed by NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program. The U.S. space agency is engaged in efforts to establish a long-term human presence on and around the Moon through the Artemis programme. A NASA experiment named the Electrostatic Dust Lofting project examined how lunar dust becomes electrically charged and lifted under ultraviolet light exposure. Another NASA-supported study, the Lunar-g Combustion Investigation, explored fire behaviour under the Moon’s gravity conditions to enhance safety measures for future lunar habitats. Future Applications of Gravity Simulation In an X(formerly Twitter) post, Blue Origin Chief Executive Officer Dave Limp stated that this capability provides NASA and other lunar technology developers with a cost-effective method to conduct research. He added that New Shepard’s gravity simulation could be adapted for Mars and other celestial bodies, expanding its potential for future space exploration research. Source link #Blue #Origins #Shepard #NS29 #Conducts #Lunar #Gravity #Simulation Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

This 7.6% Dividend Plays Offense and Defense in a Trade War This 7.6% Dividend Plays Offense and Defense in a Trade War Trade tensions ratcheted up to 11 this week, and I know that for many readers the wild swings we’re seeing can feel sickening. A 7.6% Dividend Built for Tariff-Wary Times That’s a key advantage of all CEFs. And perhaps the coolest thing here is that we have CEFs that are purpose-built for times like these, like the Nuveen S&P 500 Dynamic Overwrite Fund (NYSE:)—current yield 7.6%. That’s because SPXX “goes on offense” in the form of exposure to stocks like Microsoft (NASDAQ:), American Express (NYSE:) and Pfizer (NYSE:). At the same time, it plays “defense” with a strategy that creates more income when volatility ticks up. That strategy is the fund’s sales of covered-call options. These offer investors the right to buy SPXX’s stocks at a fixed time in the future, at a fixed price. If the stock fails to hit that price (more likely in a correction), nothing happens, and SPXX keeps the fee it charges for the option, fueling its 7.6% payout. Here’s how recent trade drama sets the table for SPXX and CEFs like it. Trade Shifts Cause Investor Whiplash No matter what ultimately happens, in terms of the length or level of tariffs ultimately imposed (and on whom), the question is to what extent they’d change the flow of funds between manufacturers, importers, retailers and consumers. More importantly, we want to know whether those changes would result in less consumption and, as a result, economic troubles. For Canada, tariffs would almost certainly mean a recession, since 77% of Canada’s exports go to the US. The situation is similar in Mexico. About 78% of that country’s exports go to the US, with the automotive, agricultural and energy sectors most likely to get hit. This, in turn, could cause prices for food from Mexico and energy from Canada to rise. This also explains why the US, Canada, and Mexico reached a deal to pause these tariffs for a month, which means investors don’t have to worry about the impacts of a potential trade war for now. But a month isn’t a particularly long time, and we can expect other factors influencing trade and prices to become more significant. Expect more discussion about other factors driving the price movements of food and energy that could offset the tariffs, such as the fact that Canada has boosted energy production, including 7% year-over-year increases in output, according to the ********* government. Creating a Perfect Setup for SPXX and Other Covered-Call Funds All of this leaves “first-level” investors—by those I mean the ones who stick mainly to the big-cap S&P 500 names—struggling to figure out if Trump’s tariffs will damage company valuations or not. One thing that’s for sure (as we CEF investors know well) is that given that the worst-case scenario is for higher inflation, selling stocks and going to cash (which loses value faster as inflation rises) makes no sense. Further, a US recession is unlikely, as early indicators of over 3% GDP growth suggest the economy is firing on all cylinders. Even in a scenario where China, Canada and Mexico were to retaliate in full, America just doesn’t export enough for that to hit the entire economy all at the same time. A jittery stock market underpinned by a still-strong economy is perfect for SPXX and other covered-call CEFs. That fact is starting to catch more investors’ attention. Consider that since I wrote about SPXX here on Contrarian Outlook in late November, it has returned about 5%, as of this writing, while the S&P 500 has been flat: SPXX’s Covered-Call Strategy Pushes It Higher in the Early Days of Trump 2.0 Market volatility has been driving SPXX’s performance, and the attention that’s been attracting has shrunk its discount to net asset value (NAV, or the value of the stocks it holds) to 4.7%: SPXX: On ***** (for Now) Note that SPXX’s discount hasn’t flipped to the big premium it saw in 2022 when investors were hunting for pretty well anything that could give them a volatility hedge. And if fears keep growing—on tariffs or whatever else—expect SPXX’s discount to flip to a premium (taking its market price with it). Meantime, buying SPXX now means collecting its 7.6% dividend while we wait for that to happen. Disclosure: Brett Owens and Michael Foster are contrarian income investors who look for undervalued stocks/funds across the U.S. markets. Click here to learn how to profit from their strategies in the latest report, “7 Great Dividend Growth Stocks for a Secure Retirement.” Source link #Dividend #Plays #Offense #Defense #Trade #War Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Albanese government commits $842.5m to boost plan to Close The Gap Albanese government commits $842.5m to boost plan to Close The Gap The Albanese government will work with the Northern Territory government in a bid to further strengthen service delivery in remote First Nations communities. Source link #Albanese #government #commits #842.5m #boost #plan #Close #Gap Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Top 22 NEW Upcoming Turn-Based JRPGs Of 2025 Top 22 NEW Upcoming Turn-Based JRPGs Of 2025 2025 is expected to be a big year for games of all kinds, theres no doubt about that. JRPG fans are probably excited about this springs lavish Clair Obscur, but there are a ton of indie games. Source link #Top #Upcoming #TurnBased #JRPGs Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

California community is sliding toward the Pacific Ocean – New York Post California community is sliding toward the Pacific Ocean – New York Post California community is sliding toward the Pacific Ocean New York Post A coastal California community is sliding 4 inches a week toward the ocean SFGATECommunity south of Los Angeles sinking towards Pacific Ocean Fox Weather Southern California coastal community is sliding toward the ocean, NASA data shows KTLA Los AngelesHistoric Landslide Complex Near L.A. Is Moving Faster and Growing Gizmodo Source link #California #community #sliding #Pacific #Ocean #York #Post Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Troy Baker’s Indiana Jones Is Proof for Harrison Ford That AI Cannot Do What Talent Can Troy Baker’s Indiana Jones Is Proof for Harrison Ford That AI Cannot Do What Talent Can Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, a highly regarded gaming title with the title adventurer at its center, was released by MachineGames and Bethesda in December. Troy Baker, one of the most instantly recognizable names in gaming, played Indiana Jones for this spin around the whip. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was released on December 9, 2024. | Credit: MachineGames. In the past, Harrison Ford has commended Baker for his portrayal of the role and stated that he is more than happy to hand the reins over to him. For his portrayal of Indiana Jones, the iconic actor lavished Baker with praise in a recent interview. Harrison Ford thinks AI can never play the role of Indiana Jones Indy was meant to be played by Harrison Ford. | Credit: Lucasfilm. In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Harrison Ford discussed his acting career, which continues to thrive at the age of 82. During a lengthy discussion about Ford’s latest work, including the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World, and the Indianapolis franchise, the subject shifted to Baker’s portrayal of Indiana Jones in the December release: You don’t need artificial intelligence to steal my soul. You can already do it for nickels and dimes with good ideas and talent. He did a brilliant job, and it didn’t take AI to do it. This comes only weeks after he claimed Baker did “a great job” as Indy on stage at The Game Awards 2024. This is a significant change for the actor, who claimed in 2019 that “nobody else” could play Indy. However, Ford expressed his regrets over not being able to play Indy in the Great Circle. Baker provided the voice and motion-capture acting for a computerized version of Ford’s hero in the Great Circle. Harrison Ford brought up AI while discussing the use of “synthetic versions of famous actors” to fill roles after their deaths. Actors are naturally hesitant to pursue this. Ford stated to WSJ that his plan “is to keep working behind that face till” he doesn’t care what happens anymore, adding that “there won’t be any need for” him, despite the fact that he is clearly against AI performances. He also thinks there’s somebody behind him, doing what he did. Harrison Ford could have easily played Indy in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Troy Baker did an outstanding job playing the role of Indy. | Credit: MachineGames. The well-known Indiana Jones character, which was made popular by Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg, has now made an appearance in video games. Players responded favorably to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle when it was first released a few days ago. Harrison Ford shocked the audience by taking the stage at The Game Awards. He was standing next to Baker and Howard, who have played a significant role in the game’s success. Additionally, Ford joked that he wished he could have been Indy in the game. He stated: If I had known he was so good, I would’ve done it myself. Baker, who had some big shoes to fill, must have been blessed by Ford’s comforting words. It is reasonable to state that the whip has now been successfully transferred and is in capable hands. Troy Baker had made a lot of effort to represent Indy, and his performance in the game undoubtedly showed it. His portrayal of this well-known character has been excellent. Source link #Troy #Bakers #Indiana #Jones #Proof #Harrison #Ford #Talent Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Google Reportedly Internally Testing an AI Mode Feature for Search Google Reportedly Internally Testing an AI Mode Feature for Search Google has reportedly started internally testing a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature for its Search platform. Dubbed AI Mode, the feature was first rumoured in December 2024. It is said to open a full-screen interface where users can ask complex and exploratory queries, and the AI responds in a conversational manner and displays URLs in case they want to dive further into the topic. This feature is reportedly separate from AI Overviews which appears on top of the search results in Google Search. Google Search Could Get an AI Mode According to a 9to5Google report, the Mountain View-based tech giant is dogfooding (testing a product or a service internally) the AI Mode currently. Citing an internal email to Google employees, the publication claimed that the company is now inviting employees to use and test the feature. The reported email describes AI Mode as “Search intelligently research[ing] for you – organising information into easy-to-digest breakdowns with links to explore content across the web.” Google reportedly provided example queries to help users understand the best use case of the tool. One such example states, “How many boxes of spaghetti should I buy to feed 6 adults and 10 children, and have enough for seconds?” Google reportedly also revealed in the email that AI Mode is powered by a custom version of Gemini 2.0 that is capable of “advanced reasoning and thinking capabilities.” Finally, the email also included a screenshot of the user interface. This is reportedly considered an early interface and not the final version. The feature is said to work on mobile as well. AI Mode in Google Search Photo Credit: 9to5Google Based on the screenshot, the AI mode will be placed among other filters, such as Images, Videos, and News. Once a user taps on it, a full-screen interface opens where the Gemini-powered AI chatbot conversationally answers the query. On the right side, it also displays URLs from where it sourced the information. Users can click on any of the links to dive into the topic. At the bottom, there is a text field which allows users to ask a follow-up query. The mobile apps will also allow users to access the microphone to verbally add the prompt. Thumbs-up and down icons are also added at the bottom, letting users provide feedback about the quality of responses. Notably, Google has not officially announced the feature, and it is unclear when it might roll out to users. Source link #Google #Reportedly #Internally #Testing #Mode #Feature #Search Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Lotto: Sole winner pockets entire $60 million Powerball Lotto: Sole winner pockets entire $60 million Powerball One very fortunate Aussie has earnt a place on the rich list after bagging the entire division one prize in Thursday’s Powerball draw. The ticketholder will pocket a staggering $60 million after being the only player to match seven winning numbers and the powerball. Luck was felt for one West Aussie who is among 27 division two winners to snag more than $33,000. Division two continued the streak of good fortune, dishing out $10,940.25 to 102 players. The winning numbers for draw #1499 are 20, 23, 34, 19, 24, 31 and 10. The all-important powerball is 14. The miraculous win comes after a Sydney woman was the sole winner of Oz lotto’s $60 million draw on Tuesday. She made it to the Oz Lotto record books by becoming the largest individual winner in the draw’s history. Source link #Lotto #Sole #winner #pockets #entire #million #Powerball Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]