Pelican Press

GTA Trilogy dev calls credits removal ‘a ***** move’ GTA Trilogy dev calls credits removal ‘a ***** move’ The CEO of Grove Street Games, the primary developer of the much-criticized Grand Theft Auto Trilogy Definitive Edition ports, has blasted Rockstar for removing it from the games’ opening credits. Earlier this week, a surprise update was released for GTA Trilogy, which made potentially hundreds of changes, including significantly overhauling the three-game package’s graphics. However, one of the most notable changes was removal of Grove Street Games’ logo at the start of each game, and references to them in the games’ copyright blurb (however, their staff still remain in each game’s credits). Now, Grove Street Games CEO Thomas Williamson has responded to the move, which seemingly came as a surprise to him. Writing on X, the owner criticized Rockstar for the opening credit removal, and claimed that his team was behind hundreds of fixes added in the recent update. “Speaking entire hypothetically: It’s a ***** move to remove primary developers from credits in an update, especially when an update includes hundreds of fixes that were provided by those developers that stayed out of players’ hands for years,” he wrote. Released in 2021, GTA Trilogy DE – which is made up of GTA3, Vice City, and San Andreas – received significant criticism for its disappointing presentation and visuals. However, Tuesday’s surprise update seems to have made big improvements. Patch notes simply note that a classic lighting mode – previously added to the mobile versions last year – has been added to consoles. By itself, this appears to have improved the Trilogy’s visuals significantly, but fans have noted there are more changes than Rockstar has mentioned. Source link #GTA #Trilogy #dev #calls #credits #removal #***** #move Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Outlook for November 18-22, 2024 Outlook for November 18-22, 2024 What exactly President-elect Donald Trump’s second term means for the stock market will be the question investors continue to grapple with in the week ahead. Nvidia earnings results will also be on deck as investors deal with stubbornly high interest rates as well. The postelection rally took a pause this week, with all three major averages headed for losses after a historic rally in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s victory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged past 44,000 for the first time ever, and the S & P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite similarly posted new records. Nevertheless, all three benchmarks are now off their highs. Many remain optimistic the recent momentum can lift an expensive equity market still higher straight through the rest of the year, and possibly right up to Inauguration Day. But investors are trying to understand what happens after the president-elect is sworn into office, seeking clarity on a number of campaign promises including tax cuts and tariffs that could spur domestic economic growth but aggravate inflation, and potentially upend markets in the process. “The real heavy lifting starts after [Inauguration Day], at which time, I think, the market will probably start to get bumpier,” said Jimmy Chang, chief investment officer at Rockefeller Global Family Office. On Friday, the three major averages were more than 1% off their record, each. The 10-year Treasury yield jumped back to around 4.5%, after being lower for much of the week. .SPX 5D mountain S & P 500 Nvidia’s ‘insane’ demand Nvidia reports next week, with expectations running high into the print, especially after CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” last month that demand for the Blackwell AI chips is “insane” — a term the chief executive is unlikely to throw around lightly. Indeed, what will matter most to investors is not a beat in expectations for the October quarter, but what management can share about demand for its chips ahead of its product launches. Sales of Blackwell and Grace Blackwell are expected to start to show up in results next year. Harsh Kumar, senior research analyst at Piper Sandler, said he is bullish on the stock, and anticipates having to hike his price target significantly in the coming year. His current price target of $175 on the stock is about 19% above where Nvidia closed Thursday. NVDA 3M mountain Nvidia, 3 months “The build up for the Blackwell is what matters in the minds of people,” Kumar said. “Blackwell will be missing in October. It will show up in January at a constrained level, and then it will really show up as Blackwell and Grace Blackwell starting the April timeframe. And I would agree that the backlog is should be insane. I would agree with Jensen’s comment.” “[I’m] expecting Jensen to say something around the lines, … that we’ll be sold out for all of 2025,” Kumar said. ‘A new sheriff in town’ For investors, the new administration could have more sway over how they invest going forward, given the potential changes that could come from a raft of nominees to key government appointments this week. For example, vaccine maker stocks slid Thursday after President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, as secretary of the Health and Human Services Department. Shares of Moderna closed down more than 5%, while Novavax dropped more than 7% on Thursday. The development has Ken Mahoney, CEO of Mahoney Asset Management, steering clear of pharmaceuticals, which he expects will have the “weight of the government on top of them.” “You might as well not get stuck in an industry which may get stuck with more regulation, or, you know, a new sheriff in town, so to speak,” said Ken Mahoney. “We would definitely stay away from those.” Conversely, the investor said he’s positive on banks, another beneficiary of the Trump trade. The SPDR S & P Regional Banking ETF has surged 11% this month. “There’s definitely winners and losers here,” Mahoney said. Rockefeller’s Chang said something similar: “While we are fundamental investors — a lot of people say they just focus on the companies, right? — you actually have to pay more attention to policies, because I do think they matter in an era of fiscal dominance.” The interest rate outlook Investors are growing concerned about the interest rate outlook. While the Federal Reserve’s most recent dot plot shows the overnight lending rate will fall to 3.4% at the end of 2025 — down more than one full percentage point from 4.50% to 4.75% where it currently stands — some recent economic signals, and the return of Trump to the White House, complicates the path forward. For starters, the latest consumer and producer prices reports indicate the last mile in getting pricing pressures down to the Fed’s 2% target could be more challenging than previously anticipated, though the overall trend ******** to the downside. And, Trump’s threat to slap a 10% tariff across all imported goods — and at least a 60% tax on China — could trigger a global trade war that could reignite inflation. “The economy is not slowing down and core inflation is not cooling down, and with the threat of import tariffs from the new administration in the year ahead, this is a recipe for disaster where the deflation trend in core commodities prices could turn around in a heartbeat,” Chris Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS, wrote this week. Already, investors are recalibrating their expectations, with markets last pricing in a scenario where the overnight lending rate ends 2025 in the range of 3.75% to 4.00%, reflecting fewer than four quarter-point cuts from here, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. That could mean pressure in the bond market, which investors are already carefully monitoring. Some expect a retest of 5% in the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, which was last hovering around 4.5%, could pressure equities, and lead to a pullback in the stock market. This week, Treasury yields spiked after Chair Jerome Powell said he is not in a hurry to bring interest rates down, given the strength of the U.S. economy. Week ahead calendar All times ET. Monday Nov. 18 10 a.m. NAHB Housing Market Index (November) Tuesday Nov. 19 8:30 a.m. Building Permits preliminary (October) 8:30 a.m. Housing Starts (October) Earnings: Walmart , Lowe’s Companies Wednesday Nov. 20 No notable events Earnings: Nvidia, Palo Alto Networks , TJX , Target Thursday Nov. 21 8:30 a.m. Continuing Jobless Claims (11/09) 8:30 a.m. Initial Claims (11/16) 8:30 a.m. Philadelphia Fed Index (November) 10 a.m. Existing Home Sales (October) 10 a.m. Leading Indicators (October) 11 a.m. Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index (November) Earnings: Ross Stores , Intuit, Deere Friday Nov. 22 9:45 a.m. PMI Composite preliminary (November) 9:45 a.m. S & P PMI Manufacturing (November) 9:45 a.m. S & P PMI Services (November) 10 a.m. Michigan Sentiment final (November) Source link #Outlook #November Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The college football road night game dynamic: Real or imagined? The college football road night game dynamic: Real or imagined? ATHENS, Ga. — Aaron Murray and his teammates never liked to sit around their hotel room, waiting for hours to leave for the stadium. That was the worst part. Then they would get there, kickoff would approach, the sky was dark, and the lights were on. That atmosphere was something else. “We could feel the difference in the night games from the fans,” said Murray, Georgia’s starting quarterback from 2010-13. “Just the energy, the excitement, the more ****** they were, probably, the livelier they were going to be in the stadium.” Murray never lost a home game that started under the lights, a domination that hasn’t stopped: Georgia is 20-0 in prime-time games at home since 2010, the last night loss at Sanford Stadium coming to Kentucky on Nov. 21, 2009. That’s a big reason for hope for No. 12 Georgia on Saturday as it hosts No. 7 Tennessee in a win-or-else game for the Bulldogs’ College Football Playoff hopes. Also, as good as Josh Heupel has been as Tennessee’s coach, he’s only 7-8 in road games, including 2-4 the past two seasons. The Vols’ lone loss this season, at Arkansas, was a night game. The Pulse Newsletter Free, daily sports updates direct to your inbox. Free, daily sports updates direct to your inbox. Sign Up But is hosting a night game a real advantage, or anecdotal? It depends on who you ask. Lane Kiffin was adamant a few weeks ago that playing a night game at home was advantageous when the Ole Miss coach complained about not having any night home games in SEC play, while LSU got two. “I think that’s proven over time – both in NFL and college – that playing at night in electric atmospheres is a home-field advantage and tough when you got to do that as an opposing team,” Kiffin said. “That’s been proven for a long time.” Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss team has no home night SEC games scheduled this season. (Petre Thomas / Imagn Images) Ole Miss overcame only getting a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff to beat Georgia last Saturday. And the coach he beat in that game, Kirby Smart, is skeptical that night kickoffs make that much of a difference, saying that some of the best atmospheres he has had at Georgia were afternoon games. That includes a win over Tennessee two years ago, which kicked off at 3:30 p.m. “I just think a home game in general in the SEC is ***** on the road team. I think it’s really hard, man,” Smart said. But not always. Alabama just went into ****** Valley at night and routed LSU. Smart’s own Georgia team, while it lost at Alabama and eked out a one-point win at Kentucky, won comfortably at Texas under the lights. In the Smart era, Georgia has lost four home games, and three started at noon: Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech in 2016 and South Carolina in 2019. The other was 3:30 p.m. to Tennessee in 2016, a game the Vols won on a Hail Mary. In Murray’s case, he compares the atmosphere in his two games at South Carolina: The 2010 game was at noon, while the 2012 game at night. Georgia lost both, and the atmosphere for the visitors was daunting in both, but it was worse in 2012. “You went to more of a fun energy (in 2010) to, ‘Oh my ****, this place is on top of us, swarming us alive’ type of atmosphere,” Murray said. “As an opponent, going in somewhere at night, you feel the energy more too. I don’t know what it is. It’s a completely different feel. It’s louder.” There is data to back up the night-game effect. But some data offers nuance. TruMedia looked at the last decade of SEC games that started at 6 p.m. or later and only those when the home team, either ranked or unranked, played a visitor that was ranked in the AP poll. The purpose was to try to gauge the night-game effect in ******* games. The results show that, compared to all other games involving a visiting ranked team, the home team did better at night, both in winning the game and covering the point spread. SEC home teams vs. AP ranked visitors ********** All others Record 53-60 60-86 Win pct. 0.469 0.410 Cover ATS 64-46-3 71-71-4 Cover pct. 0.582 0.500 What’s more, when the home team was the underdog, it fared better at night than in other games. SEC home underdogs vs AP ranked visitors ********** All others Record 25-52 23-77 Win pct. 0.325 .230 Cover ATS 41-35-1 47-51-2 Cover pct. 0.539 .480 Interestingly, TruMedia found a different story in games when the home team was favored against a ranked visiting team. The home teams fared worse in those night games. SEC home favorites vs AP ranked visitors ********** All others Record 26-8 36-9 Win pct. .765 .800 Cover ATS 21-11-2 23-20-2 Cover pct. 0.656 .535 Digging deeper, in games that were closer than expected — meaning, the home favorite didn’t cover the spread — those teams went 3-8 outright, compared to 11-9 in non-night games of the same type (home team favored over a ranked visitor). The lesson? Maybe the home favorite gets wound up in closer games in big atmospheres, or the visiting team capable of keeping it close on the road is better at finishing off the game. That’s the worry for Georgia, which is favored this week by as many as 10 points, in a fluid line with Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s status uncertain. One theory on visiting teams’ struggles centers on the crowd noise affecting the offense’s ability to communicate and make changes at the line of scrimmage. But Murray pointed out that wouldn’t apply as much to Tennessee, which plays at a fast tempo and doesn’t make many checks at the line. And as much as Murray respects Georgia fans, he thinks the team’s unbeaten record since 2009 has more to do with normal home dynamics and having the better team, rather than anything special about Sanford Stadium. The reason: the acoustics. The stadium is in a more open, spread-out setting, compared to some other SEC stadiums. “The atmosphere is great. It will get loud, it will get difficult,” Murray said. “But we’re not Knoxville where it’s 100,000 people enclosed and coming down on you. It’s not Baton Rouge. Those stadiums are built to keep sound in, and it’s *****. Georgia’s going to be loud, it’s going to be difficult, but it will never be one of those places because of the way it’s built.” Still, Murray could see Georgia fans taking it up a notch this week. Smart called them out for not enough crowd noise after the Auburn game. They’ve only had three home games, and they haven’t been big games. This one is different. That’s why it’s at night. “A night game signals that it’s an elite matchup, that it’s a really important game. Everyone puts more into it,” Murray said. “We can all say we prepare the same way every single week, obviously the coachspeak, the playerspeak. But I think we all know — and I think the fans are the same way too — you know when “College GameDay” is on your campus, and it’s a night game, and it’s a big-time matchup. “So I think everyone takes it a little bit more seriously, everyone prepares a little bit more, everyone brings a little more juice. That’s everyone: Players, coaches, fans, the whole shebang.” Photo: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images Source link #college #football #road #night #game #dynamic #Real #imagined Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Xbox First-Party Studios Pick up the Slack With Insane Updates in 1 Week Xbox First-Party Studios Pick up the Slack With Insane Updates in 1 Week The console war between Microsoft and Sony has always been a rollercoaster of epic proportions, with each gaming giant taking turns to dominate the headlines. This week, however, Xbox seems to have pulled off something rather extraordinary, dropping more announcements and updates than we’ve seen in quite some time. Pulling out all the stops. | Image Credit: Xbox/YouTube While PS5 owners have been patiently waiting for their next big exclusives, Microsoft’s first-party studios have been cooking up a storm. From the mystical depths of ancient Greece to the supernatural vibes of the ********* South, and everything in between, Xbox’s recent announcements have left gamers scratching their heads and wondering: “Did they just do that?” Xbox Studios Finally Show Their Hand It’s been a long time coming, but Xbox‘s first-party studios seem to have finally found their rhythm. The sheer volume of announcements this week has been nothing short of staggering: Xbox first-party studios fired out of all cylinders this week. • Indiana Jones and The Great Circle | Gameplay Deep ***** • South of Midnight | New info / gameplay • Avowed | Pre-orders open / new info • Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6 | Season 01 release • Warcraft | Remastered… pic.twitter.com/J0957xkIAr — Klobrille (@klobrille) November 15, 2024 That’s quite the lineup, isn’t it? Dr. Jones whip-cracking his way through the Himalayas, the mysterious depths of South of Midnight bringing Southern Gothic to life, and Avowed promising to scratch that first-person RPG ***** that Bethesda fans have been feeling. And some fans are definitely here for it: Xbox on top like always Gotta respect it — Master Shake (@_Master__Shake_) November 15, 2024 While we might not agree with the “like always” part, credit where credit’s due—Microsoft seems to be making all the right moves lately. The diversity of genres on display is particularly impressive, from strategy games like Age of Empires II‘s new Greek campaign to the grand scope of Ara: History Untold. Some long-time Xbox fans are particularly optimistic about what this steady stream of content means for the future: It takes them 4 years and it seems that we are finally going to have a constant cadence of releases — TheSewerRat (@TheSewerRat3) November 15, 2024 The excitement is understandable. After years of hearing about Xbox’s lack of exclusive content, seeing such a varied lineup of games and updates all dropping in the same week feels like a statement of intent. Even the PlayStation faithful might have trouble arguing with this showing: “But.. but… the box has no games…” pic.twitter.com/dO7w34SOTy — ᛞᚨᚱᚲ ᚹᛟᛚᚠ – 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐨 𝐋𝐮𝐩𝐮𝐬 (@mgnlps) November 15, 2024 The irony is particularly delicious given Sony’s recent announcement of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 swinging its way to PC, leaving PS5 “exclusivity” looking about as permanent as a web in the wind. Maybe it’s time for PlayStation diehards to update their talking points? The Cost of Gaming’s Infinity War “What did it cost?” …“Everything.” | Image Credit: Xbox/YouTube However, this impressive showing comes with its own set of complications. As one fan nervously noted: Small heart ******* reading “Xbox first-party studios fired-“ But, otherwise: Yes, agreed! Future looks bright — Maui (@Mauimndz) November 15, 2024 That reaction isn’t without cause. Microsoft’s journey to this point has been anything but smooth sailing. The company’s aggressive studio acquisition strategy—from Bethesda to the mammoth Activision Blizzard deal—has come at a significant cost, both financially and in terms of industry stability. Recent months have seen widespread layoffs across the gaming industry, with Microsoft’s gaming division not being immune. While executives continue to see salary increases, many talented developers, and sometimes entire studios, have found themselves caught in the crossfire of corporate restructuring. It’s a stark reminder that behind every flashy game announcement and exciting reveal, there’s a complex web of business decisions that affects real people. Yes, Xbox might be “scoring all the Ws” this particular week, but at what cost to the industry as a whole? Still, there’s no denying that this is an exciting time for Xbox fans. Whether this momentum can be maintained—and more importantly, whether it can be done in a way that’s sustainable for the industry—******** to be seen. What do you think about Xbox’s recent announcements? Are you excited about what’s coming, or concerned about the broader implications for the gaming industry? Share your thoughts in the comments below! Source link #Xbox #FirstParty #Studios #Pick #Slack #Insane #Updates #Week Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Elon Musk recently met with Iran’s ambassador to U.N. Elon Musk recently met with Iran’s ambassador to U.N. Why does Musk want to join Trump? Why does Musk want to join Trump during second term as president? 03:04 Elon Musk recently met with Iran’s ambassador to the U.N., Amir Saeid Iravani, according to two sources familiar with the meeting. The meeting took place at the ambassador’s residence in New York. There’s no indication that President-elect Donald Trump’s national security transition team was aware of the meeting. Nor is it clear that his newly assembled team of advisers, including Iran hawks Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz, Trump’s picks for secretary of state and national security adviser, respectively, knew of the meeting. It is also not clear if Trump himself was aware of the meeting. The New York Times, which was first to report on the meeting, said two Iranian officials described it as a discussion on how to defuse tensions between the two countries. The U.S. does not have diplomatic relations with Tehran, which means the Biden administration’s contact with Iran is indirect and typically conducted via third parties. ********* companies are largely forbidden from doing business in Iran due to extensive sanctions. The U.S. considers Iran to be the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism. Musk’s meeting comes as the Iranians seek a channel into Trump’s orbit. They know Trump is keen on dealmaking and that he has praised Iran’s negotiating prowess. Many of the recent appointees to Trump’s national security team are Iran hawks, so seeking a meeting with Musk was a way for Tehran to bypass them. Musk, the richest man in the world, also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently. Trump put him on the phone with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when the Ukrainian leader called to congratulate the president-elect on his victory last week, according to the Associated Press. The Wall Street Journal also reported that Musk has been in touch with Russian President Vladimir ****** regularly since late 2022. The Standoff with Iran More More Margaret Brennan Margaret Brennan is the moderator of CBS News’ “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” Based in Washington, D.C., Brennan is also the Network’s chief foreign affairs correspondent and a contributing correspondent to 60 Minutes. Source link #Elon #Musk #met #Irans #ambassador #U.N Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Grammy nominated star says ‘you can do anything’ Grammy nominated star says ‘you can do anything’ Getty Images Jordan Adetunji said: “Having a song that I made in my bedroom in Belfast be up for a Grammy is crazy” “It’s great for music coming out of Belfast; it just shows you can do anything no matter where you’re from.” Northern Irish hip-hop artist Jordan Adetunji, who has been nominated for a Grammy, has said he’s “still processing”. The Belfast rapper was named in the shortlist for Best Melodic Rap Performance alongside Beyoncé and the Weeknd for his song Kehlani. Speaking on BBC’s Across The Line programme, he said: “Having a song that I made in my bedroom in Belfast be up for a Grammy is crazy.” ‘Exciting’Getty Images Jordan Adetunji performing during the 2024 VMAs Block Party in Brooklyn, New York The song has amassed 300 million streams worldwide. Adetunji, who had no inkling that he’d be nominated, said it’s “exciting”. “That’s why it was such a surprise, because when it came out I thought it was maybe, you know, those fake prediction lists,” he said. “But then I turned my phone up, because I was in the studio for an hour, and… I was like, why are so many people ringing me and then I realised.” ‘Your phone is your tool’ Adetunji was born in Croydon, London, and moved to Belfast when he was 10. He made his debut back in 2019, posting rap videos to social media while in school. He managed to gain greater musical recognition posting his music to TikTok resulting in him being snapped up by RCA Records, after being spotted by Bring Me the Horizon’s Oli Sykes due to a song Adetunji made called ‘Woke Up.’ His song Kehlani contains elements of R&B melodies and rap.. “It’s taught me a lesson to keep going, no matter what the circumstances are. Your phone is your tool.” “You can do it all. You can do it all from your bedroom,” he said. Getty Images Jordan Adetunji said, if you want to be an artist, “don’t give up” America rapper Lil Baby “was one of the first to reach out to” Adetunji after he “first dropped Kehlani”. The rapper asked him to send him some music to listen to. The ********* singer-songwriter Kehlani also FaceTimed him asking for an “open verse” when he was out in a club. “I remember that day like yesterday,” he said. ‘You only fail when you give up’ Adetunji has been working on “mixing different drum patterns with R&B-sounding music” for his next project. He’s been working in America, where “the crowds have been taking to my music quite well,” he said. “They loved the unreleased music, which was really reassuring.” His advice to blooming artists who want to follow in his footsteps is to “always think of new ways of getting your content out there. Always be on the ball”. “If it’s not doing, try again tomorrow,” he said. Adetunji said being nominated has taught him that “you can make it happen”. “The world is so big, and there is such a way for people to discover you, so don’t give up.” “You only fail when you give up.” Dublin post-punk group Fontaines D.C. have also been nominated for Best Rock Album for their fourth album, Romance, and Best Alternative Music Performance for the single Starbuster. The 67th Grammy Awards will take place in Los Angeles on 2 February. Source link #Grammy #nominated #star Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Montreal port operations to resume Saturday after government orders end to lockout Montreal port operations to resume Saturday after government orders end to lockout By Staff The ********* Press Posted November 15, 2024 3:11 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size Management at the Port of Montreal says operations are set to resume Saturday after being disrupted by a labour dispute. The port authority confirms that the Canada Industrial Relations Board has ordered operations to resume as of 7 a.m. But it adds that it will take several weeks to fully re-establish the fluidity of the supply chains for both imports and exports. On Sunday, operations at the port were greatly reduced when the Maritime Employers Association locked out nearly 1,200 longshore workers after a contract offer was rejected. 4:59 Labour minister orders end to B.C., Montreal port shutdowns with binding arbitration Trending Now Canada Post strike: Ottawa not looking at forced end, minister says Ford government inks $100M deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink system The union representing longshore workers had earlier called an indefinite strike affecting two of the port’s terminals on Oct. 31. Story continues below advertisement On Tuesday, federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon intervened to end the dispute, asking the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order a resumption of operations and move negotiations into binding arbitration. More on Money More videos &copy 2024 The ********* Press Source link #Montreal #port #operations #resume #Saturday #government #orders #lockout Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Bitcoin rises over 16% in a week on hopes of crypto-friendly U.S. policy: CNBC Crypto World Bitcoin rises over 16% in a week on hopes of crypto-friendly U.S. policy: CNBC Crypto World ShareShare Article via FacebookShare Article via TwitterShare Article via LinkedInShare Article via Email CNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what’s ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. On today’s show, Will *****, head of digital assets at WisdomTree, discusses what a national bitcoin stockpile could mean for prices and the future of crypto-focused ETFs. Source link #Bitcoin #rises #week #hopes #cryptofriendly #U.S #policy #CNBC #Crypto #World Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Mike Tyson’s many eras: From ‘Iron Mike’ to prison to Holyfield to a Jake Paul bout Mike Tyson’s many eras: From ‘Iron Mike’ to prison to Holyfield to a Jake Paul bout The many lives of Mike Tyson will add another chapter Friday. At 58 years old, Tyson will ****** Jake Paul, the 27-year-old YouTube-star-turned-boxer who wasn’t even born when Tyson’s career was in its prime. It’s Tyson’s first sanctioned professional match since 2005. The Tyson who will enter the ring at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Friday is a far cry from the Tyson whose pro career ended 19 years ago, when he quit on his stool before the start of the seventh round in a loss to Kevin McBride. He’s an even further cry from the Tyson who infamously bit Evander Holyfield’s ear, the Tyson who spent three years in prison or the “Iron Mike” who dominated the sport in the 1980s. This Tyson is a shell of the fighter he once was — though he retains the confidence of a championship competitor: “I’m not gonna lose,” he said this week. MIKE TYSON HITS JAKE PAUL AT THE WEIGH IN #PaulTyson — LIVE ON NETFLIX FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15 8 PM ET | 5 PM PT pic.twitter.com/kFU40jVvk0 — Netflix (@netflix) November 15, 2024 As Tyson prepares for his comeback against boxing’s viral star of today, his career beckons for a rewind. Here’s a look at Tyson’s evolution by the decade. The 1980s: The rise of ‘Iron Mike’ At 18 years old, Tyson won his professional debut with a first-round TKO against Hector Mercedes on March 6, 1985 in Albany, N.Y. From there, his rise was meteoric. Tyson fought 15 times in a 10-month span in 1985, winning all by knockout. He fought 13 more times in 1986, becoming the youngest heavyweight champ in history (at 20 years, 145 days old) with a second round full of vicious left hooks that sent Trevor Berbick — the last fighter to defeat Muhammad Ali — stumbling around the ring. “I believe sincerely that Mike creates an aura of invincibility,” Tyson’s co-manager at the time, Jim Jacobs, said afterward. “I have watched Trevor Berbick on tapes. And this Trevor Berbick was nothing like the Trevor Berbick I have watched. He fought as if he was in slow motion.” By Tyson’s 21st birthday, he was 30-0 with the unified WBA and WBC heavyweight titles. In ****** No. 31, Tyson defeated Tony Tucker to win the IBF title and become the first heavyweight to hold all three major belts. He went on to defend those belts six more times by the end of the decade — all via knockout. His finish of Michael Spinks, 91 seconds into the first round, is considered by many to be the peak of Tyson’s career. The numbers for Tyson’s 37 fights in the 1980s were staggering: He won 33 by knockout, and 17 of those in the first round. The early 1990s: An upset, and a conviction Tyson was a 42-to-1 favorite and seemingly a safe bet to go to 38-0 when he took on Buster Douglas in February 1990. Instead, the Tokyo Dome was treated to one of the largest upsets in sports history when Douglas knocked him out in the 10th round. Douglas had just been TKOed by Tucker three years earlier and was relegated to the undercard the same night Tyson dominated Spinks. Behind the scenes, Tyson’s personal life had begun crumbling leading up to the upset. His first wife, actress Robin Givens, said in a televised interview that being married to Tyson was “********, pure *****,” and filed for divorce, citing spousal ******. Tyson also split with his manager and trainer ahead of the bout. After the loss, Tyson rebounded with four wins in 12 months to re-establish his standing and set up a match with heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield, but that ****** wouldn’t happen for five years. In 1992, Tyson was convicted of ******* an 18-year-old woman and was sentenced to six years in prison. He would serve three before his release on parole in March 1995. The late 1990s: Tyson vs. Holyfield Tyson returned to the ring in August 1995 to much fanfare and won back the WBC and WBA titles within 13 months to finally set up the heavyweight clash with Holyfield. But Holyfield, seen as over the hill by 1996, produced a stunning TKO of Tyson in the eleventh round. GO DEEPER Rewatching the Classics: Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield 1 A rematch was quickly arranged for June 1997. The highly anticipated Tyson-Holyfield II set a then-PPV record of 1.99 million buys. Those watching on PPV and inside the MGM Grand saw one of the most bewildering moments in professional sports history. As the third round drew to a close, Tyson grabbed Holyfield multiple times and bit both of Holyfield’s ears, severing part of Holyfield’s right ear and ending the bout with a Tyson disqualification. Holyfield touching his right ear after being bit by Tyson in their 1997 match. (Photo: Jeff Haynes / AFP via Getty Images) Tyson’s boxing license in Nevada was later suspended, a ruling followed by other state athletic commissions. It would be over 18 months until the license was reinstated, and it was during that time when Tyson first dipped his toe in pop culture, appearing at WrestleMania XIV. The decade ended with Tyson returning to the ring to knock out Francois Botha in January 1999 and then serving three and a half months in prison for assaulting two drivers in an incident from 1998, before coming back to ****** Orlin Norris in October 1999. That bout was ruled a no contest. The 2000s: Boxing retirement, pop culture emergence At 33 years old, Tyson tried to mount a late-career resurgence. After knocking out Lou Savarese in June 2000, Tyson called out heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis, infamously stating, “I want your heart, I want to eat your children.” His opportunity versus Lewis finally came in June 2002. Lewis largely controlled the ******, as the champion survived Tyson’s round one onslaught and controlled the pace with strong jabs. With less than a minute left in the eighth round, a Lewis right cross landed flush and put Tyson on his back for the count. The loss accelerated the end of Tyson’s professional career. His last pro win came against Clifford Etienne in 2003. His final professional bout — until Friday’s against Paul — came against McBride in 2005. Tyson, who struggled mightily with his stamina and the height difference, managed to keep the ****** close on the scorecards, but then was issued a two-point penalty for head butting. The sixth round ended with Tyson slumped on the mat after a slip, and the match ended without Tyson ever getting off his stool to answer the seventh round. “I do not have the guts to be in this sport anymore,” Tyson said afterward. “I don’t want to disrespect the sport that I love. My heart is not into this anymore. I’m sorry for the fans who paid for this. I wish I could have done better.” Tyson on the mat after slipping at the end of the sixth round versus McBride. Tyson would quit the bout before the start of the seventh. (Photo: Paul J. Richards / AFP via Getty Images) Within a few years, Tyson found a second career — through movies, television and entertainment. He made an appearance in the movie “Rocky Balboa” in 2006, but his breakout moment came in “The Hangover” in 2009, when he air drummed to Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” before knocking out Zach Galifianakis’ character, Alan. He later made cameos on “How I Met Your Mother,” “Dancing with the Stars” and in a Foot Locker commercial in which he apologizes to Holyfield for biting his ear and embraces his old rival. The 2020s: A return to the ring In 2020, Tyson agreed to battle Roy Jones Jr. in an eight-round exhibition, a bout sanctioned in California. Both boxers were over 50, and the match was competed under specific instructions that it should not go beyond “the boundaries of a competitive boxing exhibition,” meaning neither opponent should attempt to knock the other out. The ****** was scored a split draw despite Tyson significantly outlanding Jones. On the same card, Paul appeared in his second boxing match, knocking out former NBA player Nate Robinson. Netflix announced Friday’s Tyson-Paul bout in March 2024. It was initially supposed to take place in July. In April, the bout was sanctioned by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations to be a professional ****** consisting of eight two-minute rounds fought with 14-ounce gloves. In late May, Tyson suffered an ulcer flareup while flying from Miami to Los Angeles, forcing the ****** to be delayed. According to Tyson, the ulcer was over two inches large in his stomach and resulted in him losing 26 pounds. On the flight, he said he threw up blood. “I asked the doctor, ‘Am I going to ****?’” Tyson said in the preview series, “Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson.” “And she didn’t say no. She said we have options, though. That’s when I got nervous.” Required reading (Photo: Timothy A. Clary / AFP via Getty Images) Source link #Mike #Tysons #eras #Iron #Mike #prison #Holyfield #Jake #Paul #bout Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Rare Funnelbeaker Ritual Burial Site Found in Sweden Rare Funnelbeaker Ritual Burial Site Found in Sweden A unique prehistoric ceremonial site from southern Sweden dating back to the Neolithic *******, or what the archaeologists are calling ‘the peasant stone age’, has been found in Hammar in Skåne. A site for ritual gathering, the objects found here date between 5,500 and 5,000 years ago. They are all within the vicinity of a causewayed enclosure, sacrificed near a wetland – a type of large, prehistoric earthwork. A Causewayed Enclosure: A Rather Unusual Burial Structure “The ******** and artifacts are very well preserved, which is extremely unusual for a site from this *******,” Magnus Artursson, project manager at Arkeologerna (The Archaeologists), National Historical Museums, said in a press release. He’s referring to well-preserved Funnelbeaker ceramic vessels, large quantities of flint tools, bone and ***** tools, all well-worked. A semicircular Neolithic stone structure in the eastern part of the excavation area has been cleared. (Arkeologerna) The causewayed enclosure is situated right at the edge of the aforementioned ancient wetland, with rows of elongated wetlands, 5 feet (1.52 m) deep, ***** out in semicircles. The overall diameter is a whopping 165 feet (50.2 m), all encompassing. This is similar to other structures found outside Sweden, particularly a famous one in Sarup, Denmark. Other finds include an antler billet for knapping flint, a fishing *****, and a leatherworking stylus – all adding to the rarity of this find! “These are unique for the Neolithic ******* in this country. We have discovered a ceremonial complex where people gathered at certain times during the year to celebrate religious festivals. The finds suggest feasts with ritual butchering and deposition of offerings both in the wetland and in the open pits of the enclosure”, says Magnus Artursson. The animal bone material is composed of ********** and food waste, deliberately fractured to get to the marrow. Findings from a large number of flint scrapers indicate that people were engaged in leather preparation on site, reports Newsweek. “In several places on the wetland edge, whole ceramic vessels of the so-called funnel beaker type have been put on stones, but also the skull of a dog has been found, which shows that the area is probably used both in everyday contexts and as a sacrificial site. Organic material, such as bone, is very well preserved, which makes the place special”, provides Artursson. Owing to the unique nature of the site, and the finding of material so labor intensive, the archaeology team is seeking funding from the National Antiquities Office to have the opportunity to continue their investigation. “The stone plant was completely unknown to us when we started. The area has probably been a local gathering place, where you have been engaged in crafts, rituals and partying. We also have traces of a wooden structure that goes into the wetland, which we believe may have been a footpath or jetty. Collecting in this way to party and maintain social networks during the peasantry is a common phenomenon but finding such traces after it is quite unique”, concludes Magnus Artursson. Flint tools and arrowheads found at the site. (Arkeologerna) The Funnelbeaker Culture: A Ceramic Style Eponymously Named In fact, the Funnelbeaker culture (4300-2800 BC), is named after its characteristic ceramics, beakers, and amphorae with funnel-shaped tops; developing as a technological merger of local Neolithic and Mesolithic complex, situated between the lower Elbe and Vistula rivers. It flourished in Central and Northern Europe – what is today Denmark, northern Germany, the Netherlands and parts of Poland and Sweden. Discovering preserved ***** and bone objects from this era is exceptionally rare, especially within the broader context of Funnelbeaker Culture sites in Sweden. (Arkeologerna) It’s one of the earliest farming societies in these parts of Europe, marking the transition from nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyles, to settled, domesticated agrarian lifestyle. In fact, the culture represents the first farmers who came to Scandinavia. The people of this culture practiced mixed farming, cultivated wheat and barley, domesticated cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and continued hunting, fishing and foraging (in smaller measure), reports The Heritage Daily. The culture is renowned for its unusual burial practices (certainly, the current finding can fit into this category) – this is mainly megalithic tombs and monuments, primarily burial mounds called dolmens, and passage graves constructed from large stones. These burial sites served as centers of ritual significance and ceremony. Top image: Archaeologists have cleared a Neolithic stone structure on the western edge of the wetland. Source: Arkeologerna By Sahir Pandey Source link #Rare #Funnelbeaker #Ritual #Burial #Site #Sweden Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Right After ****** Ops 6 Success, Next Big Xbox Game Pass Release is Banning People from Calling Out Their Fake System Requirements Right After ****** Ops 6 Success, Next Big Xbox Game Pass Release is Banning People from Calling Out Their Fake System Requirements ****** Ops 6 was the first Call of Duty title to have been released on Xbox Game Pass at launch. It has never happened before. The game is also currently enjoying a successful run that has established it as a successful game. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl shoots itself in the foot a few days before release. Image Credit: GSC Game World However, things for another much anticipated Xbox Game Pass release do not seem to be going as well. There have been reports of the game banning people for calling out its ***** regarding a key factor about the game. Following ****** Ops 6’s Successful Run, Another Game Seems To Be On The Verge of Sinking Things have become a little difficult for the game now. Image Credit: GSC Game World The most anticipated Xbox Game Pass release after ****** Ops 6 is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl. The game is set to release on November 20th, in just a few days. There has been a lot of hype surrounding the game for its realistic portrayal of what transpired. However, the game is currently being criticized for being deceptive about its one feature that seems to be infuriating a lot of fans. The moderators of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl Community Hub seem to be banning people for calling out how its requirements were false and that you will need an upscaler to run the game. Comment byu/RTcore from discussion inpcgaming Well this is looking more like this game is not going to sell well… — Gohan Creates; Prometheus Creations (@GohanCreates) November 14, 2024 It was earlier believed that you will need to upgrade to run the game, but it now seems like that you will need to use DLSS, TSR, and their analogues to get 60FPS at medium settings, which is just insane. If These Things Persist, The Game Might Lose A Large Chunk of Its Audience Despite an apology fans are still **** about the update on upscaling. Image Credit: GSC Game World S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl’s official Twitter handle issued an apology on the post itself, specifying that the moderator had made a mistake in assessing the situation and that the ban has now been lifted. Hello. Guys, we are so sorry about that situation. Our new moderator provided this ban. He made a mistake with this topic. Before the release, we recruited an additional team of moderators to help us, but this does not remove responsibility. We have removed the ban already. — S.T.A.L.K.E.R. OFFICIAL (@stalker_thegame) November 14, 2024 The apology managed to stabilise things a little following the chaos that ensued once the ban was issued. The game got off to a rocky start just a few days before its release. Nevertheless, the game will be coming to Game Pass on release day. It is one of the most anticipated releases of the year. If a fix is issued regarding the need to upscale, then things might begin to look a little brighter. What do you think about it? Let us know in the comments below. Source link #****** #Ops #Success #Big #Xbox #Game #Pass #Release #Banning #People #Calling #Fake #System #Requirements Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Palantir jumps 9% to a record after announcing move to Nasdaq Palantir jumps 9% to a record after announcing move to Nasdaq Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir Technologies speaks during the Digital X event on September 07, 2021 in Cologne, Germany. Andreas Rentz | Getty Images Palantir shares continued their torrid run on Friday, soaring as much as 9% to a record, after the developer of software for the military announced plans to transfer its listing to the Nasdaq from the New York Stock Exchange. The stock jumped past $64.50 in afternoon trading, lifting the company’s market cap to $147 billion. The shares are now up more than 50% since Palantir’s better-than-expected earnings report last week and have almost quadrupled in value this year. Palantir said late Thursday that it expects to begin trading on the Nasdaq on Nov. 26, under its existing ticker symbol “PLTR.” While changing listing sites does nothing to alter a company’s fundamentals, board member Alexander Moore, a partner at venture firm 8VC, suggested in a post on X that the move could be a win for retail investors because “it will force” billions of dollars in purchases by exchange-traded funds. “Everything we do is to reward and support our retail diamondhands following,” Moore wrote, referring to a term popularized in the crypto community for long-term believers. Last Monday after market close, Palantir reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that topped estimates and issued a fourth-quarter forecast that was also ahead of Wall Street’s expectations. CEO Alex Karp wrote in the earnings release that the company “absolutely eviscerated this quarter,” driven by demand for artificial intelligence technologies. U.S. government revenue increased 40% from a year earlier to $320 million, while U.S. commercial revenue rose 54% to $179 million. On the earnings call, the company highlighted a five-year contract to expand its Maven technology across the U.S. military. Palantir established Maven in 2017 to provide AI tools to the Department of Defense. The post-earnings rally coincides with the ******* following last week’s presidential election. Palantir is seen as a potential beneficiary given the company’s ties to the Trump camp. Co-founder and Chairman Peter Thiel was a major booster of Donald Trump’s first victorious campaign, though he had a public falling out with Trump in the ensuing years. When asked in June about his position on the 2024 election, Thiel said, “If you hold a **** to my head I’ll vote for Trump.” Thiel’s Palantir holdings have increased in value by about $3.2 billion since the earnings report and $2 billion since the election. In September, S&P Global announced Palantir would join the S&P 500 stock index. Analysts at Argus Research say the rally has pushed the stock too high given the current financials and growth projections. The analysts still have a long-term buy rating on the stock and said in a report last week that the company had a “stellar” quarter, but they downgraded their 12-month recommendation to a hold. The stock “may be getting ahead of what the company fundamentals can support,” the analysts wrote. WATCH: Palantir hits record as defense adopts AI tech Source link #Palantir #jumps #record #announcing #move #Nasdaq Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Why tax-loss harvesting can be easier with ETFs Why tax-loss harvesting can be easier with ETFs Izusek | E+ | Getty Images Despite a strong year for the stock market, you could still be sitting on portfolio losses. But you can leverage down assets to score a tax break, experts say. The tactic, known as “tax-loss harvesting,” involves selling losing brokerage account assets to claim a loss. When you file your taxes, you can use those losses to offset portfolio gains. Once your investment losses exceed profits, you can use the excess to reduce regular income by up to $3,000 per year. “Tax-loss harvesting is a tried and true strategy to lower investors’ tax bills,” said certified financial planner David Flores Wilson, managing partner at Sincerus Advisory in New York. More from ETF Strategist: Here’s a look at other stories offering insight on ETFs for investors. After offsetting $3,000 in regular income, investors can carry any additional losses forward into future years to offset capital gains or income. “Investors can benefit substantially over time” by tax-loss harvesting consistently throughout the year, Wilson said. What to know about the wash ***** rule Tax-loss harvesting can be simple when you’re eager to offload a losing asset. But it’s tricky when you still want exposure to that asset. That’s because of guidelines from the IRS known as the “wash ***** rule,” which blocks you from claiming the tax break on losses if you rebuy a “substantially identical” asset within the 30-day window before or after the *****. In other words, you can’t sell a losing asset to claim a loss and then immediately repurchase the same investment. How exchange-traded funds can help While the wash ***** rule is a challenge, exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, can help investors avoid trouble with the IRS, experts say. “The beauty of using ETFs for doing tax-loss harvesting … is that there are so many similar, but not identical, ETFs that could be exchanged for a losing one,” said George Gagliardi, a CFP and founder of Coromandel Wealth Strategies in Lexington, Massachusetts. For example, many ETFs in the same sector, such as large-cap value, emerging market or small-cap growth, use the same pool of stocks with different selection criteria, he said. But ETFs with identical indexes, like the S&P 500, “will run afoul of the wash ***** rule” and the loss won’t be allowed, Gagliardi said. Ultimately, the IRS definition of “substantially identical” isn’t ****** and white and “depends on the facts and circumstances” of your case, according to the agency. When in doubt, consider reviewing your plan with an advisor or tax professional to make sure you’re safe from violating the wash ***** rule. Source link #taxloss #harvesting #easier #ETFs Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Palantir jumps 9% to a record after announcing move to Nasdaq Palantir jumps 9% to a record after announcing move to Nasdaq Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir Technologies speaks during the Digital X event on September 07, 2021 in Cologne, Germany. Andreas Rentz | Getty Images Palantir shares continued their torrid run on Friday, soaring as much as 9% to a record, after the developer of software for the military announced plans to transfer its listing to the Nasdaq from the New York Stock Exchange. The stock jumped past $64.50 in afternoon trading, lifting the company’s market cap to $147 billion. The shares are now up more than 50% since Palantir’s better-than-expected earnings report last week and have almost quadrupled in value this year. Palantir said late Thursday that it expects to begin trading on the Nasdaq on Nov. 26, under its existing ticker symbol “PLTR.” While changing listing sites does nothing to alter a company’s fundamentals, board member Alexander Moore, a partner at venture firm 8VC, suggested in a post on X that the move could be a win for retail investors because “it will force” billions of dollars in purchases by exchange-traded funds. “Everything we do is to reward and support our retail diamondhands following,” Moore wrote, referring to a term popularized in the crypto community for long-term believers. Last Monday after market close, Palantir reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that topped estimates and issued a fourth-quarter forecast that was also ahead of Wall Street’s expectations. CEO Alex Karp wrote in the earnings release that the company “absolutely eviscerated this quarter,” driven by demand for artificial intelligence technologies. U.S. government revenue increased 40% from a year earlier to $320 million, while U.S. commercial revenue rose 54% to $179 million. On the earnings call, the company highlighted a five-year contract to expand its Maven technology across the U.S. military. Palantir established Maven in 2017 to provide AI tools to the Department of Defense. The post-earnings rally coincides with the ******* following last week’s presidential election. Palantir is seen as a potential beneficiary given the company’s ties to the Trump camp. Co-founder and Chairman Peter Thiel was a major booster of Donald Trump’s first victorious campaign, though he had a public falling out with Trump in the ensuing years. When asked in June about his position on the 2024 election, Thiel said, “If you hold a **** to my head I’ll vote for Trump.” Thiel’s Palantir holdings have increased in value by about $3.2 billion since the earnings report and $2 billion since the election. In September, S&P Global announced Palantir would join the S&P 500 stock index. Analysts at Argus Research say the rally has pushed the stock too high given the current financials and growth projections. The analysts still have a long-term buy rating on the stock and said in a report last week that the company had a “stellar” quarter, but they downgraded their 12-month recommendation to a hold. The stock “may be getting ahead of what the company fundamentals can support,” the analysts wrote. WATCH: Palantir hits record as defense adopts AI tech Source link #Palantir #jumps #record #announcing #move #Nasdaq Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Why an NFL star fell in love with Wrexham: ‘They could lose every match and I would still support this club’ Why an NFL star fell in love with Wrexham: ‘They could lose every match and I would still support this club’ At first glance, former NFL quarterback Joey Harrington’s career doesn’t have too many parallels with Wrexham or soccer, a sport he stopped playing around the age of 10. But the third overall pick in the 2002 NFL draft insists the Welsh club’s rise chimes with his own. So much so that Harrington and his family regularly wake up at home in Portland, in the west-coast state of Oregon, early on Saturdays to watch Phil Parkinson’s side playing live 4,750 miles away. “If you had told me 10 years ago that I’d be buying a subscription to something called the Vanarama National League,” he says about the competition, the fifth-tier in English football’s pyramid, Wrexham won in 2022-23, “I’d have laughed at you. “Now, though, I’m up at 6.30am every Saturday to catch the 7am match (3pm *** time). No way could I have imagined doing that just a few years ago. But, as a family, we’re totally wrapped up in the club and the journey they are on.” Harrington’s own sporting journey comes with pedigree. His dad John played quarterback for the University of Oregon in the late 1960s and his grandfather Bernie did the same for the state’s University of Portland around 25 years earlier. If he hadn’t served in the Second World War, Bernie would no doubt have played in the NFL after being heavily courted by several teams, among them George Halas’ Chicago Bears. Joey’s three years following in his father’s footsteps as Oregon’s quarterback proved transformational for the team, as they went from also-rans to being ranked No 2 in the U.S. college game. Harrington was the key man — and a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2001 — before the Detroit Lions drafted him the following year. Only fellow quarterback David Carr (Houston Texans) and future Hall of Famer Julius Peppers (Carolina Panthers) went off the board quicker. He spent four seasons in Detroit, then had stints with the Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints. An impressive resume by any standards, but one that showed no indication of a retirement involving a small club playing a totally different sport on the other side of the Atlantic. Enter series one of Welcome To Wrexham, the documentary charting Hollywood celebrities Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds’ takeover of the club, and a subsequent family visit to north Wales. “Our sons, Jack and Emmet, had reached the age where you want to start exposing them to international travel,” Harrington says. “To give them a perspective of the world and what’s out there. “We framed the trip by getting tickets through Nike (a major backer of the University of Oregon’s sports teams) to Manchester City versus Liverpool. The boys, both goalkeepers, were thrilled, as they had gravitated towards soccer, even though everyone assumed my kids would play ********* football. “The plan was to spend time in London, call in to see some friends in Bristol and drive to Manchester. Jack, my eldest, then says, ‘Can we stop by Wrexham on the way?’ We’d all watched series one of the documentary by now and loved it.” Wrexham were locked in a two-way scrap for the National League title with Notts County at the time, but when the Harrington family visited the ground they were given a warm welcome, including an impromptu ground tour from Geraint Parry, club secretary and Wrexham’s longest-serving member of staff. “The first person we bump into in the tunnel is (Wrexham’s then goalkeeper and former England international) Ben Foster,” recalls Harrington. “He walks straight up to the boys, and I’m not exaggerating here, starts talking to them like they were family, asking all sorts of questions. Harrington’s sons with Ben Foster (Joey Harrington) “When he found out their favourite position, straightaway he says, ‘I’m a goalkeeper, too, my name is Ben’. You could see the click in Jack’s eyes, as he realised, ‘Oh my ****, this is Ben Foster, the England goalie’. “Another three steps down the tunnel and (Wrexham’s manager) Phil Parkinson appears. He says, ‘Hi’ to the boys and then has a conversation with my wife, Emily, that she still talks about today. It’s probably a conversation he’s had a thousand times, one that he doesn’t even remember. But the fact he took a few moments to talk family and the boys with Emily said a lot to me.” The Harringtons’ whistle-stop tour also involved meeting the club shop staff and head groundsman Paul Chaloner before calling in at The Turf, the pub next to Wrexham’s home which has been made famous by the documentary. “Wayne (Jones, landlord) was brilliant with the boys,” he adds. “Made them feel so welcome that Jack, who remember is 13 at the time, so this is his first time in a bar, says to me, ‘Dad, can we play pool? There’s loads of quarters lined up on the table we can use.’ “I’m, like, ‘No, no, no, that isn’t how it works’. But the guy whose money it was said, ‘Don’t worry about it, you can have my slot’. At a time when the entire world was starting to convene on this small town in Wales, these guys treated my family like we were the first to visit. “I’ve seen professional sports at the highest level, including a decade in the NFL. I’ve seen what that world looks like. So, as a father, to see how everyone — literally to a person, from the club shop staff to the guy running the pub and the Premier League goalkeeper who stopped a PK (penalty kick) against Notts County just a couple of weeks later — treated my kids and my family, Wrexham could lose every single match for eternity and I would still support this club.” Autzen Stadium; Eugene, Oregon. October 12, 2024. Actor Kaitlin Olson is back at her former university for the huge college football matchup between Oregon, who are ranked No 3 in the nation, and second-placed Ohio State. She’s joined in an Oregon record crowd of 60,129 by husband Rob. As in Rob McElhenney, her co-star in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Wrexham’s co-owner. 2 years ago @Wrexham_AFC welcomed my family. Saturday my OR&Wrexham worlds collided. ExDir @thehumphreyker is running 26.2 for @WrexhamMiners. To help, I’ll match every $ donated 2his cause up to $2,620. It’s a small world &kindness comes full circle pic.twitter.com/1tYU2SpfFx — Joey Harrington (@joey3harrington) October 19, 2024 Also in attendance is Harrington, back where it all began for him as a college quarterback in the 1990s. They all get talking during the afternoon and later pose for a post-match celebratory photo that sees the trio perform the ‘O’ hand signal that has become synonymous with Harrington’s final Oregon game before turning pro. “This was the first time I’d met Rob and Kaitlin,” he says. “They were great, no pretence about them at all. You’d never know they were Hollywood stars. They were just part of the family and were so welcoming to me and my friends. “We chatted Wrexham and I showed them the photo of Ben Foster with the boys. How they both were didn’t surprise me. It’s exactly how we’d been treated in Wrexham, where the town, the team, the organisation follow the example of the leadership.” Harrington and his family are yet to visit Wrexham for a match, though he hopes to rectify that next year. They did attend the pre-season friendly against Manchester ******* in San Diego, California, last year where Paul Mullin suffered four broken ribs and a collapsed lung, along with this July’s match between Wrexham women’s team and Portland Thorns that attracted a crowd of 10,379 — a record for the Welsh club. GO DEEPER Wrexham are still targeting the Premier League – but how could they afford it? The latter came shortly after Harrington had been confirmed as an investor in National Women’s Soccer League club Thorns, alongside two-time Olympic decathlon Ashton Eaton and Olympic heptathlon bronze medalist Brianne Theisen-Eaton. It’s quite the turnaround for someone who readily admits to being turned off the game for years by what he considered to be play-acting in men’s football. “I’d see the guys go down on the pitch and a stretcher would be brought out to carry him off,” says Harrington, 46, who has pledged $2,620 to executive director Humphrey Ker’s fund-raising attempts for the Wrexham Miners’ Rescue by running next year’s Manchester marathon. “He’d then get to the sideline, where the magic spray would come out and he’d be fine. I had no respect for that. So, despite playing until fourth grade, my experiences with soccer were not very positive.” It took watching Canada’s Christine Sinclair, the sport’s all-time leading international goalscorer with 190 goals in 331 games, play for the University of Portland in the early 2000s to start changing his mind. “Christine got knocked off the ball,” he recalls. “I’m thinking to myself, ‘Oh great, here come the theatrics’. But, no, she popped right back up and gave the girl an elbow on the way back up. Not only was she instantly my favourite player but I thought, ‘I’m only going to watch women’s soccer’.” Harrington playing for the Miami Dolphins in 2006 (Al Bello/Getty Images) Welcome To Wrexham helped change that stance, especially after he started to spot those parallels between his own career and how the Welsh club’s fortunes were being transformed under Reynolds and McElhenney. “What really resonates is the similarities with what has happened at Wrexham and my own time with the Oregon football programme,” he says. “When I showed up in ’97, we were seen as irrelevant by the rest. We were afterthoughts. So, a group of us sat down and decided to change things. We were going to win things, and specifically a national championship. “A lot of people laughed at us. But we stuck at it and things began to change. OK, we didn’t win the national championship in my senior year, we finished No 2 in the country. But to put the programme in a place where we remain part of the national conversation was incredibly special. “Later, I got to the NFL and it was a business — ‘What can you do for me? How am I going to get mine?’, stabbing people in the back to get another year (on your contract). Which I get when you’re in a multi-billion dollar business. “But my point is I’ve personally experienced what can happen when you get a group of people together who truly not just care about the goal — which is coming out of irrelevance into prominence — but also each other. I see the same thing at Wrexham. “There’s more to it than just putting butts on seats, there’s more to it than just scratching and clawing your way to the top. It’s how you do it and who you bring along and why you do it that also matters. Wrexham get that.” GO DEEPER Why are U.S. athletes buying stakes in English football clubs? (Top photo: The Harringtons on their visit to the Racecourse Ground/Joey Harrington) Source link #NFL #star #fell #love #Wrexham #lose #match #support #club Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Fortnite officially announces its biggest update yet Fortnite officially announces its biggest update yet Fortnite has officially announced that the OG season will become a permanent game mode on December 6. The mode will be called Fortnite OG and will kick off with the Chapter 1 Season 1 island. Source link #Fortnite #officially #announces #biggest #update Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Palantir jumps 9% to a record after announcing move to Nasdaq Palantir jumps 9% to a record after announcing move to Nasdaq Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir Technologies speaks during the Digital X event on September 07, 2021 in Cologne, Germany. Andreas Rentz | Getty Images Palantir shares continued their torrid run on Friday, soaring as much as 9% to a record, after the developer of software for the military announced plans to transfer its listing to the Nasdaq from the New York Stock Exchange. The stock jumped past $64.50 in afternoon trading, lifting the company’s market cap to $147 billion. The shares are now up more than 50% since Palantir’s better-than-expected earnings report last week and have almost quadrupled in value this year. Palantir said late Thursday that it expects to begin trading on the Nasdaq on Nov. 26, under its existing ticker symbol “PLTR.” While changing listing sites does nothing to alter a company’s fundamentals, board member Alexander Moore, a partner at venture firm 8VC, suggested in a post on X that the move could be a win for retail investors because “it will force” billions of dollars in purchases by exchange-traded funds. “Everything we do is to reward and support our retail diamondhands following,” Moore wrote, referring to a term popularized in the crypto community for long-term believers. Last Monday after market close, Palantir reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that topped estimates and issued a fourth-quarter forecast that was also ahead of Wall Street’s expectations. CEO Alex Karp wrote in the earnings release that the company “absolutely eviscerated this quarter,” driven by demand for artificial intelligence technologies. U.S. government revenue increased 40% from a year earlier to $320 million, while U.S. commercial revenue rose 54% to $179 million. On the earnings call, the company highlighted a five-year contract to expand its Maven technology across the U.S. military. Palantir established Maven in 2017 to provide AI tools to the Department of Defense. The post-earnings rally coincides with the ******* following last week’s presidential election. Palantir is seen as a potential beneficiary given the company’s ties to the Trump camp. Co-founder and Chairman Peter Thiel was a major booster of Donald Trump’s first victorious campaign, though he had a public falling out with Trump in the ensuing years. When asked in June about his position on the 2024 election, Thiel said, “If you hold a **** to my head I’ll vote for Trump.” Thiel’s Palantir holdings have increased in value by about $3.2 billion since the earnings report and $2 billion since the election. In September, S&P Global announced Palantir would join the S&P 500 stock index. Analysts at Argus Research say the rally has pushed the stock too high given the current financials and growth projections. The analysts still have a long-term buy rating on the stock and said in a report last week that the company had a “stellar” quarter, but they downgraded their 12-month recommendation to a hold. The stock “may be getting ahead of what the company fundamentals can support,” the analysts wrote. WATCH: Palantir hits record as defense adopts AI tech Source link #Palantir #jumps #record #announcing #move #Nasdaq Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Can Trump dismantle the Department of Education? It won’t be easy, experts say Can Trump dismantle the Department of Education? It won’t be easy, experts say President-elect Donald Trump promised during his campaign he’d shut down the Department of Education, complaining that the agency’s budget is too large and that its staff is filled with “people that in many cases hate our children.” In a September 2023 campaign video he accused schools of “indoctrinating young people with inappropriate *******, ******* and political material.” “One thing I’ll be doing very early in the administration is closing up the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., and sending all education and education work it needs back to the states,” Trump said in the video. Dismantling the department has been an unfulfilled, decades-long goal for some Republicans, dating back to its founding in 1980. It’s the first goal listed in the education section of Project 2025‘s “mandate for leadership,” a book that lays out a plan for Trump’s new administration. Trump has publicly disavowed the project, but its goals — and the people behind it — remain influential in his orbit. The smallest of all Cabinet agencies, the Department of Education is responsible for distribution of federal financial aid for education, collecting and disseminating data and research related to schools, and prohibiting discrimination in schools. Its funds account for less than 10% of the nation’s public school funding, which is primarily driven by state and local taxes. Shuttering the agency won’t be easy, according to Michigan State University professor Joshua Cowen. “This is a real thing. They really want to do this,” said Cowen, a professor of education policy. “It’s more realistic than ever, but I don’t want to overstate the possibility. It’s going to be hard.” Cowen said even though Republicans control both houses of Congress and the presidency, a wholesale closure of the Department of Education might not be palatable to some of the party’s legislators. “They realize some of the things that the education department oversees and funds are popular,” said Cowen, adding that the Senate would need a 60-vote filibuster-proof majority to push through a bill to close the department. Instead, he said, Republicans are likely to focus on rolling back funding for programs geared toward “equity, inclusion, or programs that could be particularly beneficial toward migrant communities” — lightning rod issues for ************* politicians. Another target would likely be Title I funding, which provides school districts with funding geared toward low-income students, according to Columbia University professor Aaron Pallas. “One thing that Project 2025 called for that is perhaps most doable and, and most threatening perhaps to local education agencies is a proposal to phase out federal funding for Title I, shifting that to be the responsibility of states and and local governments,” Pallas said. Pallas said that plan also calls for many of the department’s responsibilities to be shifted to other federal agencies. “It’s really just kind of rearranging in order to continue to provide congressionally mandated services to students. Even if the functions get moved to other agencies, there’s going to have to be people available to administer them,” Pallas said. Trump also promised in the campaign video to “give all parents the right to choose another school for their children if they want.” But part of the calculus GOP legislators might need to consider is that enthusiasm for dismantling the Education Department may not be as widespread as they think. On Nov. 5, three states — including two where Trump won handily — rejected ballot measures that would’ve shifted money away from public education. Voters rejected efforts in Kentucky, Colorado and Nebraska to strengthen school choice and voucher programs, in which state funds help foot the bill for parents who choose to forgo their local public schools. “Rural Republicans have long resisted school choice schemes, especially vouchers, for the simple reason they just don’t have very many private schools in their districts,” said Cowen, whose book “The Privateers” examines the role of wealthy donors in politicians’ push for school voucher programs. He said politicians who serve rural school districts might have one other big reason to avoid supporting legislation that strips away funding. “I’m no Karl Rove or James Carville, but I know that you don’t get reelected by voting against the biggest employer in your district,” Cowan said. Education in America: Degrees of Cost More More Graham Kates Graham Kates is an investigative reporter covering ********* justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at *****@*****.tld or *****@*****.tld Source link #Trump #dismantle #Department #Education #wont #easy #experts Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Australia's diversity a mark of pride, says Penny Wong Australia's diversity a mark of pride, says Penny Wong Foreign Minister Penny Wong has revealed the hardship she experienced as an immigrant child after being honoured at the ****** *********** Leadership Awards. Source link #Australia039s #diversity #mark #pride #Penny #Wong Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

CoD: ****** Ops 6 And Warzone Patch Notes Detail Several Fixes, Return Of Nuketown 24/7 CoD: ****** Ops 6 And Warzone Patch Notes Detail Several Fixes, Return Of Nuketown 24/7 Season 1 has only been live in ****** Ops 6 And Warzone for a day, but the developer is already making changes to both games. The November 15 patch notes include several fixes across all modes, but they sadly also remove the legacy XP tokens from ****** Ops 6. You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos. COD Warzone & ****** Ops 6 – Season 01 Battle Pass Overview Trailer Size:640 × 360480 × 270 Want us to remember this setting for all your devices? Sign up or Sign in now! Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos. This video has an invalid file format. Sorry, but you can’t access this content! Please enter your date of birth to view this video JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031Year20242023202220212020201920182017201620152014201320122011201020092008200720062005200420032002200120001999199819971996199519941993199219911990198919881987198619851984198319821981198019791978197719761975197419731972197119701969196819671966196519641963196219611960195919581957195619551954195319521951195019491948194719461945194419431942194119401939193819371936193519341933193219311930192919281927192619251924192319221921192019191918191719161915191419131912191119101909190819071906190519041903190219011900 By clicking ‘enter’, you agree to GameSpot’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy enter One of the major highlights of the patch notes includes a note from Treyarch that explains that the legacy XP tokens, which were tokens players earned in Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone prior to ****** Op 6’s launch, were never intended to be added to ****** Ops 6 in Season 1. The tokens showing up yesterday was an error, and this has now been corrected to only show those XP tokens available for use in Warzone. On the multiplayer side of the update, the popular Nuketown 24/7 playlist was added back to the game for both core and ********* playlists. The update patched map exploits on Hideout and Payback, which previously allowed players to go outside of the intended playspace. It also addressed an issue where permanently unlocking the Ghost Perk could prevent it from being equipped. For Zombies, Season 1’s new Directed Mode is added to private matches with squad-fill off. The update also addresses stability issues for the mode, and an exploit was closed for the Terminus map’s Treasure Hunt side quest, which previously allowed players to earn too much essence. The Warzone update is much smaller, with the most noticeable change being that the number of available custom loadout slots has been increased from 10 to 12. Small bug fixes include a correction for an issue that caused Buy Stations to charge players an incorrect amount for items that did not match the displayed purchase price, and another that caused the ground-loot variant of the AEK-973 marksman rifle to ***** in a full-automatic mode. The full patch notes can be found below for ****** Ops 6 and Warzone, as shared by Activision. In other Call of Duty news, players have discovered that Season 1’s battle pass is a slight downgrade from previous years. It also includes an emote that appears to reference the viral breaker Raygun from the Paris 2024 Olympics. GLOBAL Battle Pass Addressed an issue on Steam where BlackCell content was not correctly awarded after purchasing. Addressed an issue where players could become stuck when viewing the Battle Pass. Addressed an issue where Battle Pass Tokens would sometimes not be awarded properly. Disabled Shader Pre-Loading during the Battle Pass Showcase video. Store Addressed an issue where some filter prompts would show controller inputs when using KBM. Previous Updates PlayStation 5 Pro Updates ****** Ops 6 and Warzone are optimized for PlayStation 5 Pro: Launch Features Using Sony’s PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution ****** Ops 6 supports a higher image quality when running at 4K and 60 Hz. New PlayStation 5 Pro quality settings: higher quality shadows, ambient occlusion, reflections and screen space global illumination (unique to Quality Mode). Players can also opt to play at 120 Hz for greater performance; on the PS5 Pro 120 Hz mode has the same image quality as the PlayStation 5 running at 60 FPS. With Season 01 New variable refresh rate mode that with the allows our highest image quality mode to often exceed 60 Hz on compatible display devices (120 Hz VRR). MULTIPLAYER Maps Hideout Addressed an issue where players could get outside of the intended playspace. Payback Addressed an issue where players could get outside of the intended playspace. Playlist Updates Nuketown 24/7 replaces Radioactive 24/7 in Featured, Quickplay, and ********* Quickplay Loadouts Increased total Loadouts available for all platforms to 12. Ghost Addressed an issue where after permanently unlocked the Ghost Perk it could not be equipped. Strategist Combat Specialty Addressed an issue where deploying Equipment faster with the Strategist Bonus was not functioning correctly. Scorestreaks Improved stability when using the Napalm Strike. Improved stability when using the UAV. Medals Increased the Point Blank Medal range by 40%. This adjustment was included in the initial Season 01 Update. UI Addressed an issue where Equipment skins would sometimes show as locked when owned. Fixed an issue that incorrectly allowed legacy XP tokens to be activated in the ****** Ops 6 UI. Stability Improved stability with the MP Game Mode Announcer. ZOMBIES Maps Terminus Closed an exploit related to the Treasure Hunt Side Quest that allowed players to earn too much essence. Playlist Updates Directed Mode added for Zombies Private Matches (Squad Fill Off) Ammo Mods ***** Wire Addressed an issue where ***** Wire electric fields could ignite zombies while having the Dragon’s Breath attachment equipped. General Closed an exploit where some Field Upgrades would persist after leaving a match. Stability Added numerous stability fixes. WARZON GENERAL Increased the number of available Custom Loadout slots from 10 to 12. BUG FIXES Fixed an issue that was causing Buy Stations to charge players an amount for items that did not align with the displayed purchase price. Fixed an issue that caused PlayStation players to encounter a ****** screen when attempting to access Warzone via the What’s Hot row. Fixed an issue that caused the AEK-973 Marksman Rifle found via ground loot to ***** in full automatic. Source link #CoD #****** #Ops #Warzone #Patch #Notes #Detail #Fixes #Return #Nuketown Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

‘Emilia Pérez’ | Anatomy of a Scene ‘Emilia Pérez’ | Anatomy of a Scene Film directors walk viewers through one scene of their movies, showing the magic, motives and the mistakes from behind the camera. Film directors walk viewers through one scene of their movies, showing the magic, motives and the mistakes from behind the camera. Source link #Emilia #Pérez #Anatomy #Scene Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

South ******** government seeks experts’ help to bring ******** miners to the surface South ******** government seeks experts’ help to bring ******** miners to the surface JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The South ******** government said on Friday it has put together a team including mine rescue experts to come up with a plan to bring to surface ******** miners who remain under a disused gold mine. The move signaled the government was taking a more conciliatory approach compared to earlier this week, when it said it wouldn’t send help to the miners under the disused Stilfontein gold mine in the North West province. Officials have closed entrances to the mineshaft used to bring them food, water and other basic necessities as part of a government strategy to force them to return to the surface and be arrested. Authorities had said the operation, called “Close the *****,” would “smoke out” the miners from the mineshaft. There are no official estimates of the numbers of miners remaining in the mine, but police had cited local information and said up to 4,000 may be underground. But a police spokesperson said on Thursday that they believed the number was exaggerated and maybe be far less than that, estimating a figure of between 350 and 400 miners. A government delegation led by police minister Senzo Mchunu visited the site of the disused mine on Friday to engage with the community and relatives of the miners who are underground. While Mchunu insisted that the ******** miners were committing a ******, he said the government also wanted to save their lives. “We need a much quicker process, because it is risky and dangerous for them to remain where they are for a longer *******,” Mchunu said. Mchunu said they had been advised that the mineshaft was 2,500 meters (more than 8,000 feet) deep and that the process to get people out of there was very dangerous. He added that his team was also wary of the fact that the miners may be heavily armed. A team including mine safety experts, police, the army and various government departments was scheduled to meet Friday to put together a plan, with the mine safety experts expected to do an immediate assessment of the situation. According to the police, 369 firearms, 10,000 rounds of ammunition, 5 million rand ($275,000) in cash and 32 million rand ($1.75 million) worth of uncut diamonds have been recovered from ******** miners since the government’s operation began. More than 1,000 miners have surfaced at various mines in North West province, with many reported to be weak, hungry and sickly after going for weeks without basic necessities. Some family members of the ******** miners have pleaded with the government to deploy resources and expertise to get them out, with community members retrieving some miners themselves this week. A decomposed body believed to be of one of the miners was brought to the surface on Thursday, and police said they were still trying to determine the person’s identity and cause of ******. Source link #South #******** #government #seeks #experts #bring #******** #miners #surface Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

GTA: The Trilogy didn’t scrub dev name entirely GTA: The Trilogy didn’t scrub dev name entirely A massive overhaul took place to the much-maligned 2021 Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy by Grove Street Games. Disgruntled fans took issue with its performance. Following this overhaul, though, Grove Street Games’ name and logo have been scrubbed from the splash screen and main menu, leading to a thinly veiled tweet from studio boss, Thomas Williamson, calling such an action — hypothetically — a “***** move” on Twitter. Speaking entire hypothetically: It’s a ***** move to remove primary developers from credits in an update, especially when an update includes hundreds of fixes that were provided by those developers that stayed out of players’ hands for years. — Thomas Williamson (@TSWilliamson) November 14, 2024 Now, it should be noted that Grove Street isn’t entirely snubbed from GTA: The Trilogy. Both GSG and Williamson himself are still listed in the game’s credits alongside mobile developer — which this trilogy was under the foundation of — Video Games Deluxe. PSA: Rumours being circulated by the community and even some news websites about Grove Street Games (GSG) having been removed from the #GTATrilogy entirely are unfounded. Both GSG and Video Games Deluxe are in the final credits, only the initial splash screen was removed. pic.twitter.com/MUkvgi2uZX — GTANet (@GTANet) November 14, 2024 Despite its problems and even the studio apologizing and offering some free games to ease the bitter aftertaste, it still sold very well. Source link #GTA #Trilogy #didnt #scrub #dev Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Democratic senators call for probe into Musk’s Russia calls: Reuters Democratic senators call for probe into Musk’s Russia calls: Reuters Elon Musk wears a ****** “Make America Great Again” cap while attending a campaign rally with *********** presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5, 2024 (L), and Russian President and presidential candidate Vladimir ****** visits his campaign headquarters in Moscow on March 18, 2024. Gavriil Grigorov | Afp | Getty Images Reports that billionaire Elon Musk has held multiple calls with Russian officials, including President Vladimir ******, should be investigated by the Pentagon and law-enforcement agencies on national-security grounds, two senior Democratic senators said in a letter seen by Reuters on Friday. Musk, who has been appointed to a senior government role by *********** President-elect Donald Trump, oversees billions of dollars in Pentagon and intelligence-community contracts as CEO of aerospace company SpaceX. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a senior Foreign Relations Committee member, and Senate Armed Services Committee chair Jack Reed told U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Pentagon’s inspector general that Musk’s involvement in those SpaceX programs should be probed for potential debarment and exclusion after reports as recent as October of his conversations with Russian officials. Debarment refers to exclusion from certain contracts and privileges. “These relationships between a well-known U.S. adversary and Mr. Musk, a beneficiary of billions of dollars in U.S. government funding, pose serious questions regarding Mr. Musk’s reliability as a government contractor and a clearance holder,” the lawmakers said in a ****** letter dated on Friday. Several Democratic lawmakers have publicly called for a probe into Musk’s communications with Moscow since a Wall Street Journal report last month on the alleged contact, but the letter to the U.S. officials who could launch such an investigation has not been previously reported. The call by Shaheen and Reed for a federal probe is a longshot effort as Trump prepares to return to the White House with backing from Musk, who spent over $119 million on Trump’s reelection campaign and was appointed co-head of the president-elect’s forthcoming Department of Government Efficiency. SpaceX, Musk and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Pentagon and Justice Department did not immediately respond to similar requests. Reports of Russian contact Reports of Musk’s contact with Russian officials emerged in 2022, when political scientist Ian Bremmer, president of consulting firm Eurasia Group, said he was told by Musk that he had spoken with ****** about the Ukraine war and Russia’s red line for using nuclear weapons. Musk denied Bremmer’s claim and said he had only spoken to ****** 18 months earlier, about space. Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported Musk has had multiple conversations with Russian officials including ****** and his first deputy chief of staff Sergei Kiriyenko, citing unnamed U.S., ********* and Russian officials. Shaheen and Reed said in the letter it was “deeply concerning” that Musk reportedly had conversations with Kiriyenko. He was charged this year with other Russian officials by the U.S. Justice Department for spearheading an AI-powered *********** campaign on Musk’s social-media platform X and other sites to promote Russian interests and influence voters ahead of the U.S. presidential election. Musk has publicly claimed he holds a U.S. security clearance, giving him access to secret information at SpaceX, which holds billions of dollars in Pentagon and NASA launch contracts. The company also has a $1.8-billion intelligence-community contract to build a vast spy satellite network, Reuters has reported. “Communications between Russian government officials and any individual with a security clearance have the potential to put our security at risk,” the lawmakers said in the letter. Tensions between the U.S. and Russia in space have spiked since Russia’s 2022 Ukraine invasion. Pentagon officials have condemned suspect maneuvers by Russian satellites in orbit and this year accused Russia of developing a space-based nuclear ******* capable of disabling large satellite networks. Musk’s SpaceX has come to dominate the U.S. space industry and is relied on heavily by NASA and the Pentagon. The company’s Starlink internet network of nearly 7,000 satellites has made SpaceX the world’s largest satellite operator and a disruptive force in the satellite internet sector, with heavy interest from the Pentagon for military communications. Ukraine’s military relies heavily on Starlink for battlefield connectivity. The senators sent a separate letter on Friday to U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall saying Musk’s reported conversations raise the need for more competition in the launch and satellite communications industries and to use more companies besides SpaceX for sensitive national-security missions. “Mr. Musk’s reported behavior could pose serious risks to national security, and as CEO of a company with billions of dollars in sensitive defense and intelligence contracts, warrant reconsideration of SpaceX’s outsized role in (the Department of Defense’s) commercial space integration,” the lawmakers said. Source link #Democratic #senators #call #probe #Musks #Russia #calls #Reuters Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Podcast: One week with PS5 Pro, was it worth it? Podcast: One week with PS5 Pro, was it worth it? The latest episode of VGC: The Video Game Podcast is now available. This week, Jordan and Chris are joined by PushSquare’s Aaron Bayne to talk about our first week with the PS5 Pro. Plus, we chat about Xbox‘s new marketing strategy. If you love this podcast, you can get more bonus podcasts from VGC on Patreon. You can find out more at Patreon.com/VideoGamesChronicle. VGC: The Video Games Podcast episodes are available weekly, hosted by VGC’s Jordan Middler, Chris Scullion and Andy Robinson, and broadcaster Pete Donaldson, featuring regular special guests from across the games industry. You can subscribe to VGC: A Video Games Podcast now on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music and more. Source link #Podcast #week #PS5 #Pro #worth Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]