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Cruise lays off half its staff after GM sunsets robitaxi program Cruise lays off half its staff after GM sunsets robitaxi program Autonomous vehicle company Cruise is laying off around half of its workforce, according to reporting by TechCrunch. The cuts even extend to the CEO and other top executives. This is part of a major restructuring effort by parent company GM that will eventually see a total shutdown of operations. These layoffs are expected to impact well over 1,000 people and include CEO Marc Whitten, chief safety officer Steve Kenner and global head of public policy Rob Grant. Chief technologist Mo Elshenawy is also being laid off, but will stay on until the end of April to help with the transition. To that end, some of Cruise’s workforce and resources will carry on. They are being shuffled to the Super Cruise team, which is GM’s driver assistance system. These layoffs don’t come as too much of a surprise, given that GM already announced it was giving up on the development of robotaxis. The company, however, hasn’t stopped chasing the dream of autonomous vehicles. GM is still planning on rolling out driverless cars for personal use at some point in the future. Cruise has had a rough last couple of years. The company faced scrutiny after one of its robotaxis struck a pedestrian and dragged them 20 feet. Prior to the ******, the company’s algorithm was fairly notorious for being buggy, as it repeatedly failed to recognize children. The ensuing investigation forced Cruise to stop all operations for its manned robotaxi service. GM was fined $1.5 million for omitting key details about the aforementioned ******. There were also serious layoffs. In recent months, Cruise had resumed some limited activity, though only with human drivers. Source link #Cruise #lays #staff #sunsets #robitaxi #program Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

A software stock with a bright future riding cybersecurity and edge computing trends A software stock with a bright future riding cybersecurity and edge computing trends This is one of the stock profiles of StockStory , a fintech investing company seeking to identify long-term ideas that beat the market using an AI-driven approach. Cloudflare (NET) is a software as a service (SaaS) company that got its start by enhancing the speed and security of websites and applications. It has since evolved into a more comprehensive networking platform offering not only performance products but also cybersecurity products, edge computing services, and developer tools. The company reports fourth-quarter 2024 results on Thursday after the market closes. This report is not meant to call the quarter, but instead, to consider the stock over a multi-year *******. We focus our research not on short-term trends or whether a company can beat Wall Street’s expectations in a single quarter. Instead, we focus on a stock’s ability to beat the market over a three to five-year *******. Key Highlights: Once 2024 is reported, Cloudflare will have grown revenue 6x since 2019 while massively improving margins. Long-term, profitable growth is a telltale sign of business quality. Come for the recent deal with Apple to secure AI queries. Stay for the multi-year tailwind from edge computing. In addition to elite fundamentals, these two dynamics make the stock a timely buy. Cloudflare is founder-led and accepted only 0.1% of job applicants in 2023. Simply put, it’s a company with the best people building the best products. Cloudflare has been a great stock since its IPO over five years ago, rising over 6x. The company’s one-of-a-kind global data center footprint allowed it to dominate the content delivery and web/app performance markets. We believe another leg of outperformance will come from this visionary, founder-led business because that same server footprint gives Cloudflare a leg up in edge computing, a massive megatrend. NET ALL mountain Cloudflare, all time What Does Cloudflare Do? Speed and security are paramount in today’s digital world. However, organizations face challenges in achieving these outcomes as their legacy networking solutions, which often include on-premise hardware and scattered point solutions, are neither fast nor secure in this increasingly cloud-first, distributed world. Cloudflare aims to address these problems by building a faster, more secure internet. The company’s product portfolio can be broadly bucketed into three categories. Website and Application Services These products increase connectivity speed and security for websites, applications, and application programming interfaces (APIs). Two of the most important services in this category include its Content Delivery Network (CDN) and Web Applications Firewalls (WAFs). The former helps customers cache and deliver sites, videos, and games from Cloudflare servers closest to its users and devices–this limits latency. The latter protects internet properties from common vulnerabilities. Cloudflare One An enterprise-grade cybersecurity service, this platform is designed for the new world of IT as the migration to the cloud and remote working have rendered the traditional corporate security approach–where all traffic passes through centralized enterprise data centers–increasingly obsolete. Unlike legacy solutions using physical hardware, Cloudflare One meets modern security standards with its cloud-native and Zero Trust approach. Developer-Based Solutions These products allow engineers to build applications on Cloudflare’s highly reliable, global network. The flagship product here is Cloudflare Workers, a serverless computing platform (serverless because Cloudflare owns and manages the servers for the customer). Workers allows developers to run code close to connected devices such as EVs or industrial robots to minimize latency–a key value proposition as hitting the brakes or swinging a two-ton robotic arm half a second too late could be catastrophic. The company delivers its products through its interconnected web of 115+ data centers spanning 330+ cities in over 120 countries. These dispersed access points allow it to efficiently route traffic to idle capacity, reducing cost and latency. This is an impressive, difficult-to-replicate technical feat, and it’s no wonder nearly 20% of the Internet runs on Cloudflare’s network.Cloudflare didn’t begin its journey as a holistic cloud solution. Rather, it was founded in 2010 and featured web/app performance products and a Content ‘Delivery Network that matched web traffic from its customers’ devices to the closest available Cloudflare servers to speed up connection times. Built into its CDN was best-in-class network security, making it a no-brainer for companies such as video streaming providers. Competitive Landscape Today, no single vendor has a complete overlap with Cloudflare’s product portfolio as the company has greatly diversified since expanding beyond website and application services. In this section, we outline a few companies with the most similar services in each of Cloudflare’s product areas. Website and Application Services This segment consists of Cloudflare’s “Act One” products, but it’s still worth reviewing who plays in the CDN, Web Application Firewall (WAF), and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) markets because they are still on-ramps for many new Cloudflare customers. CDN services are simply about moving data from one point to another, and they are now commoditized products. To stand out, providers must offer the lowest price and/or complementary products. Akamai (NASDAQ:AKAM) and Fastly (NYSE:FSLY) are the dominant CDN providers alongside Cloudflare. In the WAF and DDoS markets, Cloudflare competes again against Akamai and Fastly as well as Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT), F5 Networks (NASDAQ:FFIV), and Imperva (acquired by Thales in 2023). Fortinet, F5 Networks, and Imperva are cybersecurity-first platforms, although most have spent the last decade moving away from legacy hardware and shaking the perception of being outdated on-premise solutions. Compared to the field, Cloudflare’s WAF and DDoS products are performant and compete quite well based on the industry publications and user reviews we’ve analyzed–its biggest strength is that it’s a cloud-first platform not encumbered by legacy technology. Most importantly, Cloudflare’s DDoS capabilities are storied and have brought much street cred to the company, as they have stopped some of the largest DDoS attacks on record. Cloudflare One Cloudflare One is a cybersecurity platform anchored by the company’s Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) offering. SASE is a software-based alternative to traditional physical firewalls and the legacy approach to network security where everyone (employees) and everything (devices) is placed neatly on-premise in corporate offices. In SASE, Cloudflare faces competition from Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). Zscaler is the industry’s pioneer and admittedly features the most performant product in the market. Microsoft’s solution is slightly less advanced and less secure but bundled with the broader Microsoft product suite with a world-class logo slapped on. Zscaler may be the best in SASE, but we think the market is big enough to support multiple winners. Legacy providers in this market include Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW), Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO), and Fortinet; they have nearly 1 million customers combined. Zscaler currently has under 10,000, so there’s still plenty of runway for innovative, cloud-first SASE companies to grow their customer counts. Developer-based Solutions The Developer-based Solutions category encompasses edge computing, where Cloudflare mainly competes against industry giants Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. These businesses dominate the traditional cloud computing market, but they tend to have large, scaled data centers in centralized locations optimized for scale rather than speed. This makes them ideal for customers who have massive data storage or computing power needs where some latency is acceptable. The tradeoff, though, is slower response times. Cloudflare is primed to effectively serve customers who prioritize faster connection speeds, as its server footprint is geographically distributed and difficult to replicate. This footprint was originally established for its CDN business to load content like streaming video with no delay. Today, this footprint allows Cloudflare customers to run workloads closer to the source rather than backhaul to a data center hundreds of miles away. Below is a speed test of Cloudflare Workers versus competing Amazon products AWS Lambda and Lambda@Edge. AWS Lambda response times are in blue, AWS Lambda@Edge times are in green, and Cloudflare Workers are in red. It’s highly encouraging that Workers can outduel the dominant public cloud platform. Why We Love Cloudflare There are many reasons why Cloudflare is a special business, but three dynamics stand out: Intellectual horsepower of its team Go-to-market strategy Profitable growth The Team The talent of Cloudflare’s employees–especially on the engineering side–started with co-founder Lee Holloway, who created a “firewall in the cloud” (hence the Cloudflare name). Impressed by his feat and the company’s mission, which is to “help build a better Internet”, Holloway recruited some of the top minds from Yahoo, Google, and Paypal as his first engineering hires. To this day, Cloudflare’s team consists of the best technical personnel in the world. In 2023, for example, just under 1.2 million people applied for a job at the company. Offers were extended to less than 0.1% of these applicants according to a tweet from CEO Matthew Prince. Over 90% accepted, showing that Cloudflare was their top choice destination. That’s right, 0.1%, not 1%. It’s about 35x easier to get into Harvard than a job at Cloudflare. Go-To-Market This is how Cloudflare sells, upsells, and cross-sells its numerous software and tech products–is the second aspect of its secret sauce. Predictably, the on-ramp for many of the company’s customers is security (DDoS protection, WAFs) or performance (CDN, load balancing that distributes traffic to optimize site performance). Cloudflare smartly goes after these customers with a freemium model that encourages self-serve sign-ups and activation. Since a meaningful volume of new business comes from organic inbounds, this carries little to no customer acquisition cost. From there, Cloudflare converts users to loyal, paying customers who rely on multiple products by introducing services such as Cloudflare One and Cloudflare Workers. This approach has led to breakneck customer growth. As illustrated below, Cloudflare’s revenue has increased nearly 7x over the last five years (2024 results will be reported in early February 2025), growing at an astounding 46% annualized rate. Its customer count shot up impressively as did its revenue per customer, a deadly combination that drives its continued top-line strength. Cloudflare wins new customers and upsells them effectively because innovation is in its DNA. New product velocity is unmatched, and as such, the company’s total addressable market (TAM) expands in multiple areas at the heart of technology megatrends. Profitable Growth Cloudflare’s growth has been profitable as well. During that same five-year *******, anchored by an excellent gross margin consistently nearing 80%, its adjusted operating margin has gone from an eyesore at negative 30% to an encouraging nearly 10%. Its free cash flow margin has also followed a similar trend, going from deeply negative five years ago to a nearly 10% margin in the latest fiscal year. Why Is Now The Right Time to Buy NET? There are two specific reasons why now is the time to buy Cloudflare: a shorter-term catalyst and a long-term market penetration story. The Shorter-Term Catalyst This relates to Apple. On June 10, 2024, Apple launched Private Cloud Compute (PCC), a cloud system for private AI processing. This new service will enable businesses and developers to run cloud workloads on dedicated hardware within Apple’s data centers. A key selling point is that the service will support applications and services developed for Apple’s iOS and macOS operating systems, ensuring that enterprises can easily deploy and manage applications on devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac family. Apple’s Security Blog post noted that PCC requests are encrypted through a third party’s OHTTP relay. “Additionally, PCC requests go through an OHTTP relay–operated by a third party–which hides the device’s source IP address before the request ever reaches the PCC infrastructure..” Cloudflare wasn’t named specifically as this third-party provider, but we have reason to strongly suspect that it is the partner for this new offering. Firstly, there is already a Cloudflare/Apple partnership with iCloud Private Relay where Apple acts as the ingress proxy and Cloudflare as the egress proxy using OHTTP technology. Secondly, Cloudflare mentioned its leadership in OHTTP development in its Q2’23 earnings call, including recent customer wins. If Apple didn’t even name its partner, you can probably guess that no economics were discussed. As such, it’s hard to ring-fence the Cloudflare revenue potential from this deal because we need to make a lot of assumptions, but below is our view of a low-end and a high-end estimate. The truth lies somewhere in the middle and may take multiple years to fully ramp, but it is exciting nonetheless since it is over 25% of 2023 total revenue. The Long-Term Opportunity The multi-year or even decade-long tailwind has to do with Cloudflare’s leadership in edge computing. As mentioned in the previous section, Cloudflare Workers is a serverless platform that allows developers to run code close to connected devices such as autonomous vehicles or industrial robots to minimize latency. Edge computing is estimated to be a $15 to $20 billion market today. It is projected to grow at a remarkable 30%+ annualized rate over the next decade. Workers capitalizes on the company’s existing network established for its CDN, load balancing, DDoS, and other performance services. Importantly, this network integrates with over 12,500 networks globally, including major ISPs (internet service providers such as Verizon), cloud services, and enterprises, keeping Cloudflare’s network costs low. There is already strong traction despite Workers’s general availability (GA) only happening in April of this year. It is now used by two million developers, > 70% of AI startups, and > 20% of Cloudflare’s existing customer base. Going forward, we think Cloudflare’s distributed edge network will play a major role in AI inference models, which ingest data and train models for decision making and predictions due to the reasons in the image below. This will be a huge tailwind for Cloudflare’s revenue growth. If we take the midpoint of the current edge computing market in 2023 ($17.5 billion) and apply 30% growth annually, a $65 billion market in five years is implied. If Cloudflare can capture just 3% share, for example, that accounts for about 60% of our projected Cloudflare total revenue increase over five years. This illustrates just how compelling edge computing could be. What Does the Future Hold? We expect continued profitable revenue growth from Cloudflare, powered by its broad and expanding product portfolio that is at the heart of digitization and connectivity. Specifically, we expect its nearly 190,000 customers at the end of 2023 (2024 results will be reported on February 6th, 2025) to grow to over 350,000 by 2028, a mid-teens percentage annualized growth rate. Not only will customer count expand but also the amount of revenue from each customer will grow–according to our projections, its ~$7,400 of revenue per customer in 2023 should nearly double by 2028. Combined, this will lead to a roughly 4x increase in total revenue over that *******. We’re confident more customers will sign on the dotted line because Cloudflare has a history of developing relevant, on-trend products for an increasingly digitized, cloud-first world. These customers will stay and spend more because Cloudflare helps them discover other products and services they need. The more products customers buy from Cloudflare, the more mission-critical the company becomes to these customers, which generally lowers the probability of customer churn. With this growth will come higher profits, especially because it costs much less in sales and marketing expenses to upsell and cross-sell to happy existing customers than it does to convince new customers to try their very first Cloudflare product. Therefore, we think its 9% adjusted operating margin in 2023 can expand to a high-teens percentage by 2028, meaning its 4x increase in revenue over that ******* translates to a 7x increase in profits. Free cash flow margins and dollar increases will follow a similar trend, going from a 9% margin in 2023 to over 20% five years later. Putting it all together, our price target for Cloudflare approaches $200 per share by year-end 2027. This represents a high-teens percentage annualized return and beats the market’s historical average return. Furthermore, we think this price target is very reasonable, as the stock briefly touched $200 per share at the end of 2021 when the business was smaller from a top-line perspective and much less profitable. Why Do We Believe In Company Management? Founder-led companies catch our eye. It’s a bit dated, but the most comprehensive study on the subject concluded that from 1990 to 2014, founder-led public companies performed four times better than all other public companies. Cloudflare went public over five years ago, and the stock price has increased over 6x, trouncing the market (the S & P 500 has roughly doubled over this *******). So far so good, and we think there is more outperformance to come with this leadership team at the helm. Cloudflare is led by CEO Matthew Prince and COO Michelle Zatlyn, both of whom were co-founders. Sadly, Lee Holloway, the third co-founder of the company, had to step away from day-to-day operations due to health issues. Prince and Zatlyn have done very well for themselves both financially and reputationally in the tech world, so the fact that they are still involved speaks volumes about Cloudflare’s potential from here. Prince in particular is a special CEO. He is a thought leader on the Internet, cybersecurity, and the evolution of computing. He is a rare leader who boasts decades of experience in an industry but still sits at the cutting edge of it. He also somehow finds the time to be an interesting follow on X (formerly Twitter). “Show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome.” Warren Buffett’s longtime partner and confidant Charlie Munger once said this, and as fundamental investors, we stand firmly behind this. Prince owns over 29 million shares of Cloudflare common stock, worth well over $3 billion. Zatlyn herself owns over 7 million shares worth over $800 million. If shareholders do well, Prince and Zatlyn do very well, and that’s how we like a leadership team’s incentive structure to look. What Are The Key Risks And How Do We Feel About Them? Even the best investments come with risks. We’ve narrowed them down into the three largest: Valuation Competition A breach or outage Valuation The first risk relates to Cloudflare’s lofty multiple. We’re cognizant that the stock is trading at 20x forward revenue. This can lead to jarring near-term swings in stock price, especially as the narrative evolves regarding the Fed’s position on interest rates in 2025. Rates will ebb, and they will flow. The longer an investor holds a high-quality business, the less impact they will feel from these short-term swings (or any other temporal macro factors). As long-term investors, we emphasize economic moats and financial performance more than macro or market dynamics. So while the valuation isn’t cheap, it is justified by its quality, growth, and improving margins. Our model still implies market-beating returns with what we consider reasonable assumptions for future financial performance and valuation. Competition As the company’s growth is increasingly fueled by advanced cybersecurity, edge computing, and developer products rather than the more commoditized content delivery and website/application performance products, it runs into more formidable foes. Our investment thesis is predicated on some level of success in these more nascent product categories, not just the bread-and-butter content delivery, DDoS protection, and web application firewalls (WAF) that Cloudflare made its name with. Should competition prevent the company from scaling these newer offerings, the company and its stock may not grow, get operating leverage, and beat the market in the way we are projecting. As detailed in the ‘Competitive Landscape’ section, we are comfortable, excited even, with how Cloudflare stacks up versus the competition. We’d reiterate that in edge computing, Cloudflare Workers outperforms Amazon AWS’s Lambda family of products, which is no small feat. A Breach or Outage This is a disastrous outcome for any company but especially damaging for a company like Cloudflare that provides performance and security products. If Cloudflare can’t keep its own house in order, the thinking will go, “how can they possibly protect the houses of others?” Look no further than CrowdStrike as an example. While we love the company and the stock has recovered nicely since, the July 19th, 2024 outage caused by its flawed Falcon update was painful. The stock fell roughly 40% from about $390 per share to below $230 in the weeks after. It was a stark reminder of the consequences of a single slip-up after years of building a stellar reputation. Thus far, Cloudflare’s reputation has indeed been stellar. There have been some missteps , but the company has managed to remedy them and generally keep customers happy Who Is This Investment For? Our research indicates that a portfolio of roughly 20 stocks achieves diversification while allowing investors to stay on top of the companies they own. Cloudflare very much deserves a roster spot due to its business quality, supremely talented team, and the exciting opportunities ahead of it. Given its optically high valuation, Cloudflare is certainly an investment for the patient, long-term investor willing to hold the stock for multiple years through some volatility. If all goes right, we would actually never sell this stock as it is a truly special business. We recommend making NET a 5% position, the average size in a 20-stock portfolio. We also suggest averaging into the position over a month or two as prices can decouple from fundamentals, especially with President Trump taking office and the interest-rate outlook still murky as we kick off 2025. Don’t worry—fundamentals always win over the long term, and as always, we’ll let you know how to handle any negative price action in a timely manner. Closing Thoughts Now that we’ve passed Cloudflare’s five-year anniversary as a public company, we marvel at how well the stock has done despite some shorter-term volatility. We think there’s more outperformance to come, driven by nascent areas like cybersecurity and edge computing. We’d also bet that new, momentous products will continue to launch, expanding the company’s market and making its platform more and more of a one-stop shop. Any further questions about Cloudflare? Reach out to our lead analyst Anthony Lee at *****@*****.tld . Disclosure: Anthony Lee and some members of the StockStory team hold positions in Claudflare (NET). Source link #software #stock #bright #future #riding #cybersecurity #edge #computing #trends Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Woman’s body found in vehicle at Empire Mall on Monday had several stab wounds, police say Woman’s body found in vehicle at Empire Mall on Monday had several stab wounds, police say A Sioux Falls man is in custody after a woman was found dead in a car in the Empire Mall parking lot Monday evening, Sioux Falls Police Department Lt. Aaron Nyberg said in Tuesday’s police briefing for media. Police responded to a call for service just before 7 p.m. at the mall, 5000 W. Empire Place Mall, after a man contacted law enforcement to report that 24-year-old Tyson Andrew Christians allegedly told him he killed his girlfriend, Nyberg said. Officers found the body of 23-year-old Emily Isabella Eirinberg in the back of a vehicle in the mall parking lot, Nyberg said. The woman had “several stab wounds,” he said. Christians was arrested inside the mall “without incident,” Nyberg said. Investigators “don’t necessarily think” Eirinberg was killed at the mall but have yet to determine where she died, Nyberg said. Christians currently has seven pending criminal cases in Minnehaha County, according to court documents, involving failure to appear, driving under the influence, possession and careless driving charges. The 24-year-old has been previously convicted of domestic abuse, obstruction, possession of alcohol by a minor, possession of **********, driving under the influence and witness tampering charges, according to court documents. Many of those convictions stem from a July 2020 arrest, in which Christians “got in a fight, stole his girlfriend’s car, body slammed her to the ground and then took off, only to get in two crashes,” according to previous reporting from the Argus Leader. Christians is being held in the Minnehaha County Jail on aggravated assault charges, according to the jail’s inmate listing. The investigation into Eirinberg’s death is ongoing, Nyberg said. This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Police: Body found in vehicle at Empire Mall with several stab wounds Source link #Womans #body #vehicle #Empire #Mall #Monday #stab #wounds #police Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The Last Of Us Season 2 Timeline Won’t Be Same As The Game The Last Of Us Season 2 Timeline Won’t Be Same As The Game HBO’s The Last of Us returns for its highly anticipated second season this April, and now we’ve learned a key piece of information about it. Showrunner Craig Mazin said in an interview that Season 2 will not follow the timeline of the game exactly. It will depart from the game’s timeline, but Mazin didn’t say how–only that the changes from the game were made with care and designed to tell the best story for TV. “We certainly are going to mess around with time the way it was in the source material… we messed around in ways that we felt were appropriate for the show,” Mazin told Entertainment Weekly. “When I say ‘messed around,’ I mean scientifically determined in a narrative way what we thought would be most impactful.” The Last of Us: Part II the game told its story through a non-linear setup as well, as players bounced between playing as Ellie and Abby. The other showrunner, Neil Druckmann, said revealing the story structure for The Last of Us Season 2 would be a spoiler, but he did confirm the team “tried different things” before settling on what will show up on screen. “I don’t even know if it’s worth mentioning where we landed because I think that’s part of the fun for people familiar with the game to see how we approached that challenge in the show,” he said. “I will just say that we gave it a lot of thought and tried different things. There are some deviations of where we place things.” The interview was packed with updates on The Last of Us Season 2. The showrunners also confirmed that Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) did not bulk up to match Abby in the game and that Season 2 will introduce a character who was only mentioned in the games. They also revealed that Season 2 will add a brand-new character not from the games. A scene from The Last of Us Season 2 Gallery The creative team behind The Last of Us TV show is expecting fans to have strong opinions about Season 2. Mazin previously said he anticipates “furor” over Season 2 and the departures from the game. Mazin said he is only trying to do what is right for the story, even if people don’t like it. “We don’t operate to either make people happy on social media or avoid making them upset. We just do what we think is right, and we hope that people come along for the ride and enjoy it,” he said. The Last of Us Season 2 debuts this April on HBO and Max. A specific release date hasn’t been announced yet. In any event, April will be a big month for video game adaptations, as A Minecraft Movie (April 4) and the Until Dawn movie (April 25) also debut that month. As for the game series, Druckmann has heavily teased that The Last of Us Part 3 is in the works. Developer Naughty Dog has two single-player games in the works now, including Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet and a second that many believe to be The Last of Us Part 3. The Last of Us Part II Remastered, meanwhile, comes to PC this April–and it requires a PSN account. Source link #Season #Timeline #Wont #Game Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Elon Musk tightens grip on federal government as Democrats raise alarms – The Associated Press Elon Musk tightens grip on federal government as Democrats raise alarms – The Associated Press Elon Musk tightens grip on federal government as Democrats raise alarms The Associated PressElon Musk’s Blitz Shakes U.S. Government as He Sweeps Through Agencies The New York TimesElon Musk’s Power Grab Is Lawless, Dangerous, and—Yes—a Coup SlateHow Elon Musk set off two weeks of chaos across Washington CNN Source link #Elon #Musk #tightens #grip #federal #government #Democrats #raise #alarms #Press Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Terraria Fans are Over the Moon at Starforge and ReLogic’s Collaboration – Here’s Why Terraria Fans are Over the Moon at Starforge and ReLogic’s Collaboration – Here’s Why Terraria is one of those timeless classic games that seems to remain relevant forever because of its deep content and consistent “free” updates. ReLogic, the developers of Terraria, collaborated with Starforge Systems to create a Terraria-themed PC build. While Starforge Systems has been collaborating with several IPs like Frieren and Lord of the Rings, you may wonder if the specifications of these “themed” PC builds are any good. Here are all the details regarding this awesome Terraria-themed PC built by Starforge System, and you’ll know why some fans can’t wait to get one. Starforge System’s Terraria PC Bundle Details Image via Starforge Systems The Terraria PC Bundle features a unique PC build with a customized Lian Li O11D Evo RGB PC Tower. The Terraria art is UV printed into the tower, giving the tower a fully customized look from top to bottom. The bundle includes a Terraria “Beginnings” deskmat, a “Journey Down” swappable wall art, and the mid-tier PC build for $2,199.00. That is an expensive build for a mid-tier desktop. However, fans are more interested in the Terraria-themed PC to show off on their stream or tidy up their gaming setup. Here are the specs for the whole PC build: Component Specification CPU AMD Ryzen 5 7600X CPU Cooler Starforge Custom Bitspower 240mm Liquid Cooler RAM Teamgroup Delta RGB 32GB DDR5 6000 CL38 (2x16GB) Motherboard MSI Pro B650-P Wifi Graphics Card XFX Radeon RX 7800 XT Cables CableMod Pro ModMesh Sleeved Cable Extensions Primary Storage 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVME Power Supply MSI MAG A750GL PCIe 5 RGB Fans 5 x Bitspower 120mm ARGB Case Custom UV Printed Lian Li O11D Evo RGB Mid-Tower Additional Components Starforge Platelight Operating System Windows 11 Home After some calculations, buying almost every component on Amazon will cost around $1,600 to $1,700, excluding the custom Starforge components. These price-checked components are not on *****, and you can easily swap them for other good brands to lower their prices. In short, the build’s performance is way below the standard of a PC build that you would get for its price ($2,199.00). However, that doesn’t stop fans from buying the Terraria-themed PC build, as you are paying the extra premium for the collaboration and brand, and you don’t have to build the PC yourself. If you are a Terraria fan, you should buy one of these exclusive and limited-time-only sets. You can upgrade the other parts in the future anyway. Prima Games is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy Source link #Terraria #Fans #Moon #Starforge #ReLogics #Collaboration #Heres Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trump faces moment of reckoning on trade after delaying tariffs Trump faces moment of reckoning on trade after delaying tariffs Watch: ‘We’re not treated well by Canada’ – Trump on tariff negotiations For the first week of Donald Trump’s presidency, tariffs – a favourite talking point during last year’s presidential campaign – were the dogs that didn’t bark. Trade seemed to take a back seat while the new administration pressed ahead on immigration enforcement, pardons of Capitol riot convictions, a fossil-fuel energy policy and federal workforce upheaval – among a range of other disruptive new measures. That all changed this past weekend when Trump announced sweeping 25% tariffs on US allies Canada and Mexico, along with 10% duties on ******** imports. And while he has since delayed imposing those tariffs on his North American neighbours for a month after both countries agreed new border measures, the president still faces a moment of reckoning in which he will ultimately have to decide whether to match his rhetoric with action. Trump often talks of the trade deficits between the US and its two neighbours as a key source of his dissatisfaction. If that’s the case, then no amount of new border security or drug seizures – whatever the metrics or specific demands – will make the president fully abandon his tariff threats. Trump has also said he views tariffs not just as a tool to achieve policy objectives, but as a permanent source of US revenue and a means to fund government programmes and reduce the budget deficit. And if that is his ultimate objective, then tariffs on America’s largest trading partners may be the only effective answer. Global financial markets reeled at this prospect on Monday, as the US appeared on the brink of waging a multi-front trade war with some of its closest economic partners. Watch: ‘I’m getting angry and anti-American’ – Canadians on tariff threat Then, after conversations with ******** President Claudia Sheinbaum and ********* Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump put the tariffs on pause. While the new duties on China have gone into effect – and have prompted retaliatory measures from Beijing – markets have viewed those US moves as less disruptive and smaller in scope. By contrast, if US had engaged in an escalating series of tariffs with Canada and Mexico, which accounted for more than $1.57tn (£1.24tn) in goods in 2023, the global economic effect could have been catastrophic. That possibly dire development has been averted, for now, with Trump and his administration declaring at least a partial victory. The details of what Canada and Mexico conceded, however, paint a more complicated picture. While Canada agreed to form a joint anti-crime strike force with the US and appoint a “fentanyl tsar”, the concrete steps it detailed were all part of a border-security package Canada had previously announced. Mexico pledged stepped up drug enforcement and 10,000 troops to patrol the US-Mexico border – but those numbers mirror the deployments the nation made in 2019 and again in 2021 In a month’s time, Trump will again have to decide if Canada and Mexico are doing enough to satisfy his demands – or whether the delayed tariffs will go into effect. Solid figures demonstrating progress, however, may be hard to come by. By the administration’s own measures, US immigration officials only seized 43lbs (19.5kg) of fentanyl and caught 193,540 people crossing at the US-Canada border in 2024. The numbers are much higher for the US-Mexico border, but undocumented crossings – and drug seizures- are down there, as well. Watch: ‘Both sides suffer’ – Shanghai residents on US-China tariff tensions Global financial markets have calmed considerably since Monday morning’s tariff-inspired disruption. Investors, it seems, have concluded that on trade Trump is more bluster than action. The president may be able to extract more concessions from ********* and ******** leaders in a month’s time, but they may also conclude at some point that Trump doesn’t have the will to follow through on his threats. Despite claims of success, his sabre-rattling on trade could ultimately produce diminishing returns. At that point, the president would have a decision to make. Does he shelve his most sweeping tariff plans for good? Were his dreams of returning the US to late-19th century trade policy – which he has said was a golden age of American economic power – unrealistic? Or does he press ahead with his vision of a new, more America-focused global trade order despite the risk of at least short-term economic pain? That moment of reckoning has been delayed. But it is coming. Follow the twists and turns of Trump’s second presidential term with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher’s weekly US Politics Unspun newsletter. Readers in the *** can sign up here. Those outside the *** can sign up here. Source link #Trump #faces #moment #reckoning #trade #delaying #tariffs Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Where Are The Newlyweds At The Wedding in Semine? – Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Guide Where Are The Newlyweds At The Wedding in Semine? – Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Guide Once you’ve got a few hours into Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, you’ll find yourself revelling in pomp and circumstance at a wedding in Semine. This is one of the pivotal moments of this open-world RPG, but it has a particular task that might be tricky for some. Toward the end of the wedding mission, you’re prompted to congratulate the newlyweds, but the bride and groom are nowhere to be seen. This can leave you searching for a while, as the location they’re in is not at all obvious – and you might never think to look there. In this short guide, I’ll help you find the newlyweds in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. Find the Bride and Groom in Kingdom Come The wedding mission is one of the highlights of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. It’s the culmination of several hours of gameplay, and hopefully, you’ll be well-prepared to deal with everything it offers. In one moment, you’ll be duelling guards, and in the next, you’ll be procuring special alcohol for Moravian guests. It’s a busy time. At the end of the mission, you prepare to leave the wedding, but first, Henry of Skalitz wants to congratulate the newlyweds, but they’ve disappeared and nobody knows where they are. Here’s where you’ll find the bride (Agnes) at the wedding: Head away from the ceremony area through the arch leading to the dining area – nearby where the Moravian crew is sitting. Directly ahead of you will be a dead-end with a door to the left, with a guard posted outside. If you head in there, you’ll see it leads into a wine and beer cellar – it’s in here that you’ll find the bride. If you’ve come here previously with the Moravian task, you’ll already have evacuated the strict guard from inside. Otherwise, you might need to distract him some other way. Either way, this is where to find the newlyweds in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. I won’t spoil what happens when you’ve found the bride – have fun! If you want more Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 guides, check out my walkthrough on how to make Saviour Schnapps. For more KCD2 content, take a look at how to effectively pick locks in the game SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to receive the latest news and exclusive leaks every week! No Spam. Source link #Newlyweds #Wedding #Semine #Kingdom #Deliverance #Guide Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

The 100-year-old symmetry theorem that is still changing physics today The 100-year-old symmetry theorem that is still changing physics today Emmy Noether’s theorem about symmetry is still contributing to modern physics Shutterstock/okanakdeniz The following is an extract from our Lost in Space-Time newsletter. Each month, we hand over the keyboard to a physicist or mathematician to tell you about fascinating ideas from their corner of the universe. You can sign up for Lost in Space-Time here. Chances are, you have never heard of Emmy Noether. But you should have. In an obituary that ran in The New York Times in 1935, Albert Einstein wrote: “In the judgment of the most competent living mathematicians, Fräulein Noether was the… Source link #100yearold #symmetry #theorem #changing #physics #today Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Doug Collins confirmed as veterans affairs secretary in latest addition to Trump Cabinet Doug Collins confirmed as veterans affairs secretary in latest addition to Trump Cabinet Washington — The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Doug Collins as secretary of veterans affairs, putting the former congressman and Iraq War veteran at the helm of a department that provides crucial care to America’s veterans. Collins, a former Air Force chaplain, was confirmed on a 77-23 vote, becoming the latest addition to President Trump’s Cabinet. “We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our active duty servicemembers, veterans, and military families to ensure they have the support they need,” Mr. Trump said in a November statement announcing Collins’ nomination. The Department of Veterans Affairs manages a more than $350 billion budget and oversees nearly 200 medical centers and hospitals nationwide. It also manages national cemeteries and works closely with the Defense Department on personnel matters. Collins has promised to cut regulations across the department and elevate the quality of care for veterans. The challenges facing the department have evolved in recent years, with a younger generation of veterans bringing new health challenges from their service in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. “I’m an Iraq War veteran. I understand burn pits because I slept next to one for many months,” Collins said in his opening remarks during his January confirmation hearing. Collins said that he understand the challenges facing veterans today who “went time and time again, deployment after deployment” to conflict zones. Collins served in the House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021. He has been an outspoken conservative since his time in the Georgia state legislature and was a close Trump ally during the president’s first term. He ran for Senate in 2020 but lost the Republican primary to Kelly Loeffler, a major GOP donor who Trump has tapped to lead the U.S. Small Business Association. Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, called Collins a “friend” who has “an engaging personality that attracts people to what he’s working on.” “It’s not that they’re better doctors or better psychiatrists or better nurses or technicians. It’s that they’re empathetic,” Cramer said. “While they appreciate access to community care, they appreciate the empathy of a fellow veteran, and Doug brings that. But, guys, he’s a chaplain. I mean, come on, how perfect is that?” Collins’ nomination sailed through the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee in a 18-1 vote. The lone dissenter, Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii, said she was concerned that Collins would limit access to reproductive care like IVF or abortion for veterans. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois, said she had a productive conversation with Collins during his confirmation hearing but pressed him on whether he’d commit to working with Congress to “strengthen and refine” the department “rather than resorting to privatization.” Collins said he would be focused on addressing wait times and increasing preventative care. Source link #Doug #Collins #confirmed #veterans #affairs #secretary #latest #addition #Trump #Cabinet Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Hunters who didn’t want to stop shooting get ‘sad slap on the wrist’ Hunters who didn’t want to stop shooting get ‘sad slap on the wrist’ Four duck hunters attempted to deceive Texas Game Wardens over the number of ducks they shot before three of them from Louisiana finally admitted to exceeding their daily bag limit of six each, and for a rather disgusting reason. The three Louisiana poachers said they didn’t want to stop shooting, claiming this was more ducks than they had seen all season in Texas and Louisiana, the Texas Game Wardens related in a Facebook post. Game wardens from Hamilton and Bosque counties were patrolling the Brazos River in Bosque County when they heard several volleys of gunfire nearby. They found no violations. But when loading up their boat, they heard more gunfire from the same area. They used a satellite mapping program to pinpoint several private lakes in the area that could be potential hunting locations. Near one entrance, they encountered a man in camouflage exiting an equipment shed. He appeared evasive and was seen urgently texting. Also on FTW Outdoors: Game wardens descend on popular bass tourney, make huge haul From the Texas Game Wardens report: “The man directed the wardens to a nearby duck blind, where three nervous hunters were packing up their gear and offered conflicting details about their group size. Initially claiming there were eight hunters—then seven—none of the remaining hunters could name the hunters who had allegedly left. “As one warden interviewed the hunters, the other went to inspect a pile of ducks on the opposite bank. As he was checking the ducks, the warden discovered a fourth individual behind the dam, dressed in camouflage with a ********* of ducks he was attempting to hide. The hunter lacked a valid hunting license and had crossed two fences to conceal the 16 birds. When confronted, the group falsely claimed he was retrieving a lost bird. “Further investigation revealed numerous violations. Near the blind, wardens found additional ducks and roughly 250 shotgun shells and hulls containing prohibited lead shot. The hunters admitted to using leftover shot from dove season, knowing it was ******** for waterfowl hunting.” It was determined that four individuals were hunting, and only three had valid hunting licenses. In all, the men used four shotguns to illegally harvest 54 ducks, 30 more than their combined legal limit. “Multiple citations were issued for exceeding the bag limit, hunting without a valid license, and using lead shot for waterfowl,” the Texas Game Wardens post stated. “The hunters were also charged civil restitution for the illegally taken ducks. The fines and restitution total for the group was more than $7,000.” Commenters on the Texas Game Wardens Facebook page took exception to the fine, most saying it should have been much more. A sample of comments: “Good job busting the outlaws, but what a sad slap on the wrist. That’s not nearly enough to discourage that kind of behavior.” “Take their hunting privileges!! This is absolutely insane!” “My opinion is the total fines and restitution should have been a lot more than $7,000. Maybe jail time and loss of equipment and firearms. Does that sound too tough? NO they stole from us.” “People like this are why hunters get a bad rep. Shame on them. Hopefully lesson learned. They got off easy with only $7,000 fine for the group.” Also on FTW Outdoors: ‘History of Sportfishing’ film series said to be worthy of Smithsonian “I’m glad the wardens trusted their gut and found these poachers but also wish the punishment would have been harsher. Especially since they actively tried to deceive the wardens and knowingly broke so many regulations/laws.” “They should never be able to purchase a Texas hunting license. $7,000 is not nearly enough.” The ducks were seized, cleaned and distributed to families in Hamilton and Bosque counties. “This case serves as a clear example of the need for adherence to hunting regulations to preserve wildlife populations,” the Texas Game Wardens stated. Photo courtesy of Texas Game Wardens. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Hunters who didn’t want to stop shooting get ‘sad slap on the wrist’ Source link #Hunters #didnt #stop #shooting #sad #slap #wrist Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

New Battlefield First Gameplay Look Surfaces as BF Labs Announced – Video, Screenshots Unveiled New Battlefield First Gameplay Look Surfaces as BF Labs Announced – Video, Screenshots Unveiled Our first-ever glimpse of the new Battlefield 2025 game has surfaced! Check out the destruction in video and screenshots. Source link #Battlefield #Gameplay #Surfaces #Labs #Announced #Video #Screenshots #Unveiled Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Spiders can run just as fast after two of their legs drop off Spiders can run just as fast after two of their legs drop off Tarantulas can ditch their legs to escape danger and grow them back Jcrader/Getty Images Spiders can reach their top running speeds again soon after self-amputating a limb – a trick that could inspire robots that can move more effectively when they are damaged. When threatened by a predator, spiders can detach their legs in a process called autotomy – up to 40 per cent of wild spiders have missing legs as a result. Their legs fully grow back when they moult, which can be within one to two months for juveniles. Source link #Spiders #run #fast #legs #drop Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

China reopens antitrust probe into Google, Nvidia, and Intel may be next China reopens antitrust probe into Google, Nvidia, and Intel may be next China has reopened investigations into Google and Nvidia for violating antitrust laws and is considering launching a similar probe against Intel, reports The Financial Times. These actions could result in heavy fines or restricted access to the ******** market. However, the investigations are possibly linked to trade tensions between China and the U.S. and were restarted ahead of a meeting between the two countries’ presidents, so the reopenings could be a way to gain leverage in the talks. The inquiry into Google focuses on its Android operating system and whether it unfairly disadvantages ******** smartphone manufacturers like Oppo and Xiaomi, which depend on Google software for their devices. Regulators are examining whether Google’s market dominance harms these companies. The original examination started in 2019 but was shelved for years. It was restarted in December, and representatives of the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) visited Google’s office in Beijing in January. Nvidia is being probed over potential breaches of commitments made during its 2019 takeover of the networking hardware company Mellanox Technologies. China’s competition authority approved the acquisition in 2020 under conditions meant to prevent monopolistic behavior and ensure a stable supply to ******** customers. However, shortly after the approval, the authority began collecting complaints from the industry, though it is unclear whether it has gathered enough evidence of the green company’s anticompetitive behavior. The potential investigation into Intel is less clear, as no official confirmation has been made that it has begun. If launched, the probe could target the company’s business practices in China, its largest global market, where it commands the lion’s share of the CPU market. The actions of the ******** government coincide with rising friction between the U.S. and China. President Donald Trump has introduced new tariffs against ******** goods, and China’s response may include using competition laws as a countermeasure. Also, the U.S. is increasing its efforts to curb China’s development in AI and HPC sectors, so the investigation into three major U.S. companies could also be a form of response. However, a Tsinghua University researcher noted that while this tactic could serve as a negotiating tool, it also risks controversy, as not only American companies depend on the ******** market, but ******** companies also depend on American technologies. According to The Financial Times, Google and Nvidia have declined to comment on the investigations so far, while Intel has not responded to inquiries. China’s competition regulators and the Ministry of Commerce have also remained tight-lipped about the matter. Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Source link #China #reopens #antitrust #probe #Google #Nvidia #Intel Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Amazon to face legal action after Quebec warehouse closures Amazon to face legal action after Quebec warehouse closures An Amazon warehouse and distribution centre in an industrial park in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. Graham Hughes | Bloomberg | Getty Images Amazon is set to face legal action from a ********* union after the company’s decision to wind down warehouse operations in Quebec. The Federation of National Trade Unions, known as CSN, said Tuesday it plans to petition a court to order Amazon to reopen seven warehouses and restore the 1,700 jobs lost as a result of the closures. Amazon announced late last month it would phase out seven sites in Quebec “following a recent review” of its operations in the province, which is the only location in Canada with unionized Amazon employees. The company said it would return to a third-party delivery model, enlisting subcontractors to handle deliveries. “Amazon thinks it can just shift the work to other corporate entities and outsource some warehousing and delivery operations,” CSN president Caroline Senneville said in a statement. “What it calls the ‘new business model’ is just an attempt to circumvent its obligations under the Labour Code. The court should recognize that this scheme violates the law and it can then order the reinstatement of Amazon’s workers.” Representatives from Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The CSN represents roughly 240 Amazon workers at a warehouse near the Montreal suburb of Laval. Workers at the site unionized last May, becoming the first Amazon warehouse in Canada to do so. Following the closures, Canada’s industry minister Francoise-Philippe Champagne wrote to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy expressing his “disappointment” over the decision, saying it “raises questions about your commitment to Canada and your ********* partners.” Champagne said the government would consider conducting a review of its current deals with Amazon. Amazon also faces growing labor pressure in the U.S. Workers at an Amazon warehouse in North Carolina are slated to vote next week on whether to join a union, while Whole Foods workers in Philadelphia voted last month to join the United Food and Commercial Workers union. Amazon employees at a facility in Staten Island, New York, in 2022 formed the company’s first union at a U.S. warehouse, though they have yet to secure a contract. The group voted to affiliate with the Teamsters last June. WATCH: Tariffs’ toll on e-commerce Source link #Amazon #face #legal #action #Quebec #warehouse #closures Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Off To An Enormous Start On Steam Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Off To An Enormous Start On Steam After years of development, the RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance II from Warhorse Studios is out now, and it’s putting up huge numbers on Steam. The game has exceeded 150,000 concurrent users on Steam, just hours after launch, and is the No. 1 top-selling game on Steam in the US right now. The game is also available on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. The game’s launch is drawing praise from other RPG studios, including The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red. The developer said, “Congratulations on the release of Kingdom Come: Deliverance II! May your blade always be sharp, cup never run dry, and the path stay safe!” You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos. Welcome to the Kingdom – Kingdom Come: Deliverance II 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 JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031Year202520242023202220212020201920182017201620152014201320122011201020092008200720062005200420032002200120001999199819971996199519941993199219911990198919881987198619851984198319821981198019791978197719761975197419731972197119701969196819671966196519641963196219611960195919581957195619551954195319521951195019491948194719461945194419431942194119401939193819371936193519341933193219311930192919281927192619251924192319221921192019191918191719161915191419131912191119101909190819071906190519041903190219011900 By clicking ‘enter’, you agree to GameSpot’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy enter GameSpot’s Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 review scored the game an 8/10, while other outlets scored it highly as well. On GameSpot sister site Metacritic, the game has an aggregate rating of 88 and 89 on OpenCritic. Swen Vincke, the head of Baldur’s Gate 3 studio Larian, congratulated Warhorse on the game’s positive review scores. If you’re just getting started with Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, be sure to check out GameSpot’s extensive guides hub that covers things like how to fast travel, the campaign length, romance options, and lots more. Looking ahead, Warhorse will support Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 with a range of expansion content, including a hardcore mode, more quests, and other story content via a paid expansion pass. Source link #Kingdom #Deliverance #Enormous #Start #Steam Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

The shocking discovery that our gut microbiome drives ageing The shocking discovery that our gut microbiome drives ageing As human beings, we are all keepers of a vast menagerie. Every surface of our bodies, inside and out, is teeming with microorganisms. We have microbiomes on our skin, in our mouths and other orifices and – especially – in our intestines. In recent years, we have grown accustomed to thinking of these internal residents as benign, even essential to our health. Our guts are said to be full of “friendly” bacteria and other microorganisms that do us favours in return for us giving them a cosy home. That is true to some extent, but new research on the role of the gut microbiome in ageing is pointing to what would constitute a profound rethink of this relationship. In this emerging view, our gut microbes aren’t our friends, but an enemy at the gates. Far from being mutually beneficial, our relationship with them is more like a war of attrition – a war we eventually lose. However, there are ways to postpone the inevitable. The gut microbiome is a community of perhaps 100 trillion microorganisms – bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses – that dwell inside our intestinal tract, most abundantly in the colon. It is established early and stays with us throughout our lives, though it is in constant flux. “It’s a very complex, very dynamic community that depends on what we eat, who we interact with,” says Dario Valenzano at the Leibniz Institute on Aging – ****** Lipmann Institute (FLI) in Jena, Germany. The ageing microbiome It also changes as we age. For most of our lives, the composition… Source link #shocking #discovery #gut #microbiome #drives #ageing Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Erdogan discusses tackling Kurdish militants with Syria's Sharaa in Ankara – Reuters Erdogan discusses tackling Kurdish militants with Syria's Sharaa in Ankara – Reuters Erdogan discusses tackling Kurdish militants with Syria’s Sharaa in Ankara ReutersNew Syrian Leader Meets Erdogan in Turkey The New York TimesThe Take: How will President Ahmed Al-Sharaa shape Syria’s future? Al Jazeera EnglishSyria’s Interim President in Saudi Arabia on First Foreign Trip Bloomberg Source link #Erdogan #discusses #tackling #Kurdish #militants #Syria039s #Sharaa #Ankara #Reuters Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Grand canyons formed on moon in minutes after colossal asteroid strike Grand canyons formed on moon in minutes after colossal asteroid strike A view of two large canyons on the moon radiating from the Schrödinger basin NASASVSErnie T. Wright A vast impact crater near the moon’s south pole was formed by an asteroid moving at more than a kilometre a second, releasing energy when it struck equivalent to 130 times that of all the nuclear weapons in existence. Now, researchers say two unusually narrow and straight canyons that splay out from its centre were formed in less than 10 minutes by a chain of secondary debris impacts. David Kring at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas, has researched the 312-kilometre-wide Schrödinger crater for 15 years. Part of that was to develop possible landing sites for NASA’s Constellation programme – which sought to return people to the moon but was ended in 2009. The canyons radiating from it have long fascinated him. “They’re basically hidden, in some sense mysterious, because they’re on the far side [of the moon],” says Kring. “And so they’re commonly overlooked.” To learn more, Kring and his colleagues have now used computer models to investigate the origin of two canyons, or “rays”, that extend northwards from the crater. One is Vallis Schrödinger, which is 270 kilometres long and 2.7 km deep, while the second, Vallis Planck, is 280 km long and 3.5 km deep. For comparison, the Grand Canyon in Arizona is 446 km long and up to 1.9 km deep. But while that was carved by water over millions of years, the lunar canyons are clear, straight grooves formed by vast impact forces in less than 10 minutes, says Kring. The dramatic asteroid strike would have spread dust and rubble over the whole of the moon’s surface, but also into space and onto Earth. The researchers suggest that it would also have driven debris across the lunar surface fast enough to cause craters outside the main one, and these could have been focused into narrow regions by irregularities in the regolith, the loose material that coats the moon. With their models, the researchers calculated that an asteroid impact an estimated 3.81 billion years ago would have been capable of creating the required speed and direction of debris to create the canyons. “You have rock that’s hitting at a kilometre per second, maybe 2 kilometres per second, and that can be devastating,” says Kring. “We knew that the Schrödinger impact produced these rays, but the processes involved… needed some detailed attention.” Kring says the findings will be reassuring for NASA’s Artemis III mission to put astronauts on the moon in the region of the south pole, as the ejected regolith from Schrödinger won’t be deep enough in any of the proposed landing spots to seriously hamper geology experiments. If they had been planning to land north of Schrödinger, where far more material landed, then they would have faced an extremely deep layer that masked earlier geology. A view of the canyons looking straight down at the moon’s surface NASASVSErnie T. Wright Mark Burchell at the University of Kent, ***, says the research goes some way to prove that the canyons are formed by chains of impacts, but doing so for sure would require up-close investigation. “The ultimate proof would be someone bringing back a rock from one of these canyons, or some rocks,” says Burchell. “Then you just cut them up and there will be grains of minerals in there which have been shocked [by impacts], and some of them have changed their structure as a result.” Topics: Source link #Grand #canyons #formed #moon #minutes #colossal #asteroid #strike Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Review – TheGamer Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Review – TheGamer TheGamer Writes “Henry’s come to see us, again!” Source link #Kingdom #Deliverance #Review #TheGamer Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Stephen Castellas: Transperth bus driver who dragged Mandurah boy down road, smashing his pelvis, hand, fined Stephen Castellas: Transperth bus driver who dragged Mandurah boy down road, smashing his pelvis, hand, fined The 12-year-old was taken to hospital with a fractured pelvis, back and hand, and multiple cuts and abrasions before undergoing two skin grafts. Source link #Stephen #Castellas #Transperth #bus #driver #dragged #Mandurah #boy #road #smashing #pelvis #hand #fined Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

MLB The Show 25 Limited Edition Is Up For Preorder, Includes Topps Baseball Card MLB The Show 25 Limited Edition Is Up For Preorder, Includes Topps Baseball Card This year marks the 20th anniversary of MLB The Show, and to celebrate, MLB The Show 25 has three players on its cover for the first time–Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz, and Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson. In addition to being cover athletes, each of these young stars is getting their own MLB The Show Topps Trading Card. MLB The Show fans and baseball card collectors can get one of the trading cards by preordering The Show 25’s physical edition ahead of its March 18 release. Unlike previous years, MLB The Show won’t be available on Xbox Game Pass, so Xbox Series X players will need to buy a copy to play at launch. PlayStation says the game won’t be on any subscription services in 2025. Check out all of your MLB The Show 25’s preorder options below. For more on the upcoming baseball sim, check out our story on the revamped Road to the Show mode. $70 MLB The Show 25’s Limited Edition costs the same price as the standard edition normally does–$70 for PS5 and Xbox Series X, $60 for Nintendo Switch–but it comes with five The Show card packs for Diamond Dynasty mode and a pretty enticing physical bonus. While supplies last, the physical edition includes an exclusive MLB The Show Topps Trading Card featuring one of the three cover athletes: Skenes, De La Cruz, or Henderson. Once the batch of Limited Edition copies sells out–which very well could happen before launch–listings will likely convert to standard edition without the trading card bonus. Only the PS5 edition is listed as “Limited Edition” at Best Buy and GameStop, but the cases for Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X also show the trading card bonus, so the trading card should be available on all three console platforms. You can preorder the Limited Edition at Best Buy, Target, and GameStop right now; we’ll update this preorder guide once Amazon and Walmart unlocks preorders. Unlike previous years, PlayStation is not producing a $100 edition with a baseball cap and steelbook case. You can pick up a digital edition of the game as well, though you won’t get the Topps card. Instead, you’ll get the Gold Choice Pack preorder bonus. Both digital and physical versions also come with 5 The Show Packs. MLB The Show 25 Digital Editions You can pick up a digital edition of the game for $70 as well, though you won’t get the Topps card. Instead, you’ll get the Gold Choice Pack preorder bonus. Just like the physical edition, you’ll get five The Show card packs. Looking for tons of digital goodies for Diamond Dynasty? Consider checking out the $100 Digital Deluxe Edition to snag the following: 4 days of early access Double daily rewards 20 Show Packs 1 20th Anniversary Choice Pack 1 Diamond Choice Pack 5 Gold Choice Packs 20K Stubs 1 Equipment Pack 1 Cover Athlete Bat Skin Source link #MLB #Show #Limited #Edition #Preorder #Includes #Topps #Baseball #Card Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Thousands leave as fresh tremors shake Greece’s Santorini Thousands leave as fresh tremors shake Greece’s Santorini Thousands of people fled the Greek island of Santorini by sea and air for a third day on Tuesday, as more earthquakes shook the top travel destination. Some 7,000 people have left the island, known for its spectacular cliffside views and dormant volcano, which has been hit by hundreds of tremors since last week, officials said. One quake with a magnitude of 4.9 hit early Tuesday and hours later was followed by a 5.0-magnitude tremor. Some 750 earthquakes have shaken the island and the surrounding 1,000 square kilometres (386 square miles) since January 24, according to Greek monitors. No injuries or damage have been reported on Santorini and the neighbouring islands of Anafi, Ios and Amorgos however. Experts say the region has not experienced seismic activity on this scale since records began in 1964. “This is the first time this is happening, we have not seen it before,” Athanassios Ganas, research director at the national observatory’s institute of geodynamics, told state TV ERT. He noted that the area had been hit with over 40 earthquakes with a magnitude of more than 4.0 in the past 72 hours. Santorini lies atop a volcano which last erupted in 1950 — but an experts’ committee on Monday said the current phenomenon was “not linked to volcanic activity.” According to the Greek coastguard, over 5,700 people have left the island by ferry since Sunday. Aegean Airlines said it had flown nearly 1,300 people out of Santorini on Monday, with another eight flights able to carry 1,400 passengers scheduled for Tuesday. Ferry services to Santorini have also been increased. Schools on all four islands have been shut as a precaution until Friday, prompting many people with children to leave until the quake scare eases. Some tourists on the island say they are not overly concerned. “I’m not so worried about the earthquake or volcano because I came from Tokyo,” said Wataru Saito, a 43-year-old economist who spent a day on the island. He noted that the tremor levels in Santorini are negligible compared to the earthquakes experienced in Japan. – ‘Tiny’ tremors – Roger Beauchamp from Arizona called the tremors “tiny.” “We’ve been feeling them all day, little light ones. So we’re not afraid of them,” he told AFP. The head of Greece’s earthquake planning and protection authority, Efthymios Lekkas, has said that a major earthquake of 6.0 magnitude was unlikely. “The residents of Santorini should feel safe. There must not be panic,” he told Mega TV on Tuesday. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday also appealed for calm, whilst admitting that the phenomenon is “very intense”. Santorini attracted about 3.4 million visitors in 2023. European travel agents contacted by AFP said foreign visitors to Santorini at this time of year were minimal, with more bookings expected in the spring. Ted Stathis, who runs a catamaran company and a sushi restaurant, said he expected the disruption to “blow over soon.” “I have to admit, it’s something out of the ordinary,” the 54-year-old said. “I mean, we have had tremors throughout the years, but sporadically. These are just many, many concentrated.” “As long as they start subsiding, we should be in the clear,” Stathis said, noting that most of his reservations start later this month. bur-jph/yad/tw Source link #Thousands #leave #fresh #tremors #shake #Greeces #Santorini Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Is Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Worth It? – KCD2 Buying Guide Is Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Worth It? – KCD2 Buying Guide Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is one of 2025’s most anticipated RPG titles, offering users a massive, open story to explore over many hours. It faced a fair amount of controversy in the weeks leading up to its release, which turned some prospective players off, but in the grand scheme of things, of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 worth it? In this guide, I’ll walk you through the high-level, key points of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 that let you know what you’re getting into before you think about buying this game. Should you buy Kingdom Come Deliverance 2? Read on to find out. Many, Many Hours Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 has so much meat on the bones, it’s dizzying. From the massive maps loaded with secrets to the dozens upon dozens of side quests, you’ll be kept busy for at least 60 – 70 hours in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. That alone is enough to justify spending $60 – $70 on the game if you ask me. This is a direct sequel to 2018’s Kingdom Come Deliverance, which was a great game in its own right. But in this sequel title, Warhorse Studios has made leaps and bounds in terms of technical evolution. It looks, feels, plays, and behaves much better than the first game, offering a near bug-free experience that will have you immersed to no end. Not only that, but Warhorse Studios has already planned a post-launch roadmap that includes three full expansions and some free content drops shortly after release. For achievement and trophy hunters, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is a boon. The full list of achievements can theoretically be unlocked in a single run, but even doubling back to pick up certain trophies won’t feel like much of a bother, given the game’s intense choice and consequence system. Should I Buy Kingdom Come Deliverance 2? If you’ve been concerned about any of the controversies surrounding Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, let me put your mind at rest. What you’ve read online either isn’t true or is inaccurate. The scenes that you’ve heard about are optional, skippable, and in some cases, entirely missable. Stop listening to the uneducated masses and hear this: Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is well worth your money. If you’re on the fence about Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, take this tidbit of advice from someone who has played 100 hours of the game and several hundred hours of the first title: don’t listen to the naysayers. This medieval marvel of a game will spin your head with how beautiful it is at first blush. It’s a massive, expansive title with plenty to see and do, and it has been masterfully crafted. The story is packed with emotion and twists, and the characters are lovable and well-acted. Is Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 worth it? You bet your last dollar it is. For more Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 content, check out my guide on lockpicking in the game SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to receive the latest news and exclusive leaks every week! No Spam. Source link #Kingdom #Deliverance #Worth #KCD2 #Buying #Guide Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

JPMorgan says U.S.-China trade war will escalate, bar is too high for truce JPMorgan says U.S.-China trade war will escalate, bar is too high for truce There’s no relief in sight for the U.S.-China tariff war, according to JPMorgan. In fact, the conflict over trade between the world’s two largest economies is probably poised to escalate, the bank said. Investors hoping for a truce between the Trump administration and China similar to that declared by Mexico and Canada on Monday are likely to be disappointed, JPMorgan’s chief China economist said in a note on Tuesday. “It is not clear whether China and the U.S. could reach an agreement to reach a tariff truce,” Haibin Zhu wrote. “The bar seems to be high,” he wrote in a Tuesday note to clients. “We are not eager to change our baseline assumption of tariff hike to 60%. We maintain the view that the tariff war between China and the U.S. more likely will further escalate from here, but with large uncertainties regarding the timing, the pace and the magnitude of further tariff increase,” the Wall Street bank said. On Tuesday, China announced retaliatory measures against the the 10% U.S. blanket tariff on ******** imports that went into effect the same day. China’s tariffs against the U.S. will start on Feb. 10, and include a 15% levy on coal and liquified natural gas alongside 10% duties on agricultural machinery, crude oil and some cars. On Monday, U.S. stocks managed to claw back some of their early losses after the U.S. and Mexico agreed to pause tariffs for one month following a pledge by ******** President Claudia Sheinbaum to deploy 10,000 national guard troops to the border. Part of the difficulty in the U.S. and China reaching even a similar tariff truce is the result of the difficulty China faces in increasing its purchases of U.S. goods to satisfy the Trump administration. As a result, any agreement between the two “may involve some form of grand-bargaining that will go beyond trade and economic issues to involve geopolitics,” Zhu said. To be sure, President Trump’s rumored visit to China could provide an opportunity for negotiation, the economist added. At the very least, a personal negotiation during a diplomatic trip might mean that higher tariffs are only applied gradually. Source link #JPMorgan #U.S.China #trade #war #escalate #bar #high #truce Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]