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Ear Muscles Flex to Help Focus on Sounds, Study Reveals Evolutionary Link Ear Muscles Flex to Help Focus on Sounds, Study Reveals Evolutionary Link A study has found that small muscles in the human ear flex when an individual tries to focus on a particular sound in a noisy environment. These muscles, which were once crucial for movement in ancestral species, no longer play a significant role in modern human hearing. However, their activation suggests an evolutionary remnant of a once-functional auditory system. Researchers believe that understanding these subtle muscular responses could contribute to advancements in hearing aid technology. Research Findings on Ear Muscles According to the study published in Frontiers in Neuroscience, experiments were conducted by Saarland University in Germany to examine the response of auricular muscles during listening tasks. Participants with normal hearing were exposed to overlapping audio sources while their ear muscles were monitored using electrodes. The results indicated that the superior auricular muscles, located above the ears, became more active as the difficulty of distinguishing sounds increased. In contrast, the posterior auricular muscles, which are situated behind the ears, showed heightened activity when sounds originated from behind the participants. It has been suggested that these reflexive movements may have once helped early humans detect sounds outside their direct line of sight. Potential Applications in Hearing Aids Steven Hackley, a researcher at the University of Missouri, stated to Live Science that these findings could influence future hearing aid development. He explained that if hearing aids could detect muscle activation, they might be able to automatically amplify sounds in the direction a person is trying to focus on. While some researchers believe the study provides insights into how humans attempt to enhance their hearing, others have noted that the increased muscle activity may not necessarily correlate with listening effort. Matthew Winn, a researcher at the University of Minnesota, stated to Live Science that the muscle response could instead reflect a heightened state of alertness rather than a conscious attempt to hear better. For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who’sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube. Massive Coronal Hole on Sun Sends High-Speed Solar Wind Toward Earth Apple Said to Stop Development of AR Glasses for Mac Computers Source link #Ear #Muscles #Flex #Focus #Sounds #Study #Reveals #Evolutionary #Link Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Expand your storage with a 4TB WD ****** SN850X M.2 SSD for only $269 at Amazon Expand your storage with a 4TB WD ****** SN850X M.2 SSD for only $269 at Amazon How’s your PC’s storage situation looking? What about your PlayStation 5 console? Are you running out of space for your games and having to constantly uninstall and reinstall your games every time you want to play something different? With the size of new games creeping above 150GB and beyond, it’s easier than ever to fill up your storage, especially if your machine only has 1TB or less. Why not expand your storage to 4TB with a superfast Gen 4 WD_Black SN950X M.2 SSD? The WD ****** SN850X is marked down to $269 at Amazon, thanks to an available coupon that you can tick for a $10 discount. It’s not the all-time low price of the 2023 NAND ******, but it is a discounted price if you’re in the market for a new SSD and we are of course outside of the major sales events like Prime Day and ****** Friday. The WD ****** SN850X features 112-layer BiCS5 TLC memory with a WD proprietary controller. This 2280 M.2 SSD is PCIe Gen 4×4 and can reach bandwidth-topping sequential read and write speeds of up to 7300/6600 MBps, respectively. The SN850X meets the PlayStation 5 specifications checklist for use as a secondary storage option in the PlayStation 5 console, and as one of the fastest Gen 4 SSDs, it is more than capable of getting the most out of your games in your PC or gaming laptop. We originally reviewed the WD ****** SN850X back in August 2022 and were very impressed with the drive’s overall performance in our benchmark testing, rating it at 4 out of 5 stars and awarding it an Editor’s Choice badge. The performance results placed the WD ****** SN850X near the top of the charts and earned it a top spot on our Best SSDs for the PS5 list. Don’t forget to look at our Amazon coupon codes for January 2025 and see if you can save on today’s deal or other products at Amazon. Source link #Expand #storage #4TB #****** #SN850X #M.2 #SSD #Amazon Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Is Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Too Controversial for the Super Bowl? Is Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Too Controversial for the Super Bowl? Kendrick Lamar’s smash “Not Like Us” has been a lot of things since its release less than a year ago: a Drake-slaying diss track, a No. 1 single, a West Coast unity anthem, a Kamala Harris rally singalong, a World Series fight song, a bar mitzvah dance floor party-starter. At the Grammys over the weekend, it swept all five of its nominations, including song and record of the year, becoming only the second rap track ever to win in each category, while also taking home trophies for best rap song, best rap performance and best music video. A week after those victories, “Not Like Us” — with its one billion plays on Spotify and at least hundreds of millions more across radio, YouTube and social media — may reach its ultimate peak: a performance on Sunday for some 100 million people, live from the Super Bowl halftime stage in New Orleans. A casual listener — or Super Bowl viewer — may hear an easily digestible crowd-pleaser. A popular rapper, known for knotty introspection, going playful over a spacious, bouncy beat by the producer Mustard, punctuated with sped-up stabs of strings and an all-purpose, easily co-opted chant of a chorus: “They not like us.” In many senses an inescapable, old-fashioned hit, “Not Like Us” was immediately absorbed into the cultural bloodstream, where it has remained ever since, holding strong in the Billboard Top 40 in its 38th week since release. But while the song’s mega-success can by now be taken for granted, it also happens to be incredibly bizarre. The song’s specifics, and its omnipresence, represent a significant swerve for Lamar, 37, who until recently was known primarily as one of the most revered M.C.s of all time: a Pulitzer Prize winner with a sterling career whose 2015 track “Alright” was adopted as an anthem of the ****** Lives Matter movement. The cover art for Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” Yet on “Not Like Us,” he spends five minutes calling Drake, 38, the most popular rapper of the last decade, a pedophile, along with a “jabroni,” a “69 god” and a “colonizer.” The single’s cover art is a photo of Drake’s Toronto home dotted with markers meant to represent the presence of registered sex offenders. (Drake has since sued Universal Music Group, the giant label behind both rappers, for defamation, arguing that the company knew these claims were false but pushed the song hard regardless.) Across three increasingly intricate verses, Lamar cites obscure members of Drake’s ********* rap crew by nickname; gives a pocket history of Los Angeles slang and Atlanta’s exports (both musical and otherwise); and makes a punny playground taunt of an unlikely hook that even the Grammy audience of A-listers couldn’t help but rap along with: “Ain’t you tired? Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A-minoooooooooor.” Born out of a messy few weeks of back-and-forth with Drake — Lamar’s one-time collaborator and frenemy turned archrival, who made his own tawdry allegations in raps — “Not Like Us” would have been a unicorn of a hit for any artist. But for Lamar, who has made a career of questioning and reinforcing his own high-minded reputation, the song’s singularity in his catalog raises prickly questions about how he might treat “Not Like Us” moving forward — and especially this weekend, as he prepares to headline the halftime show, the kind of legacy-cementing moment only a handful of musicians can hope to achieve. Will the diss, which has featured in promos for the Apple-sponsored performance, be the centerpiece of the show, leaning further into mass mockery of Drake? Or will Lamar minimize its role — or even elide it entirely — either out of an abundance of legal precaution, a concession to the event’s corporate partners, or an aversion to sharing the stage, even spiritually, with his enemy? More generally, what will Lamar’s handling of “Not Like Us” at the Super Bowl mean for the rest of its musical life span, which could easily end in it becoming the defining, most popular and most awarded song of the celebrated rapper’s career? To lifelong rap fans, even considering these questions borders on the baffling — akin to imagining past vitriolic, subterranean classics like Ice Cube’s “No Vaseline,” Tupac’s “Hit ’Em Up” or Nas’s “Ether” as inescapable, mainstream hits. “It’s by far the biggest diss record of all time,” said Charlamagne Tha God, the radio and television host best known for his syndicated morning show, “The Breakfast Club.” “There’s not even a debate about that. It’s ******* than ‘Hit ’Em Up’ ever was, more culturally relevant than ‘Ether’ ever was — it led to an unprecedented lawsuit from the person that it was targeted at.” “There’s a difference between hit records and anthems,” he added. “You can think about a lot of hit records, but how many cultural anthems are there that transcend race, the genre of music, region, anything? Not many. ‘Not Like Us’ is a cultural anthem. Ironically, it’s going to end up on Kidz Bop.” It’s not that Lamar hasn’t had a big song before. Tracks like “Humble” and “All the Stars,” with SZA, who is scheduled to appear at the Super Bowl as a special guest ahead of a joint tour, are both popular and recognizable, each topping two billion plays on Spotify. But it’s worth recalling where Lamar seemed headed before he and Drake goaded one another into battle: deeper inward. An underground mixtape artist until his lauded major-label debut, “good kid, m.A.A.d city,” revitalized L.A. gangster rap in 2012, Lamar favored complexity on the jazzy, searching follow-up, “To Pimp a Butterfly,” in 2015, before balancing storytelling and commercial hitmaking on “Damn.,” which went on to win the Pulitzer for music in 2018. His 2022 release, “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,” however, was a concept album about therapy, trauma and healing that earned Lamar the lowest sales and streams of his mainstream career. When not on tour, he tended to lie low, ducking most any spotlight. Last March, when he resurfaced with a boisterous, targeted guest verse on “Like That,” by Future and Metro Boomin, Lamar was hinting at something different. (He had famously poked the proverbial hip-hop bear back in 2013, with a verse on Big Sean’s “Control,” in which Lamar called out rappers by name, including Drake, as lackluster competition.) But it wasn’t until the heart of his back-and-forth with Drake, in which Lamar released four diss tracks in five days — culminating in the knockout blow of “Not Like Us” — that the rapper flipped his public persona and reputation as a somewhat reluctant hitmaker. Elliott Wilson, the journalist and podcaster who previously edited XXL Magazine, called it something of a “career reset — he built mystique, but now he just feels like more ‘man of the people.’” Lamar had previously tended to shrug off such a mantle. When “Alright,” from “To Pimp a Butterfly,” became a protest chant, he never leaned into the attention, opting to walk silently and camouflaged in a few protests without commenting on his music’s significance. On “Family Ties,” in 2021, he rapped: “I been duckin’ the social gimmicks / I been duckin’ the overnight activists, yeah / I’m not a trending topic, I’m a prophet.” He has been more eager to fan the flames of “Not Like Us.” At his “Pop Out” concert in Los Angeles on Juneteenth, Lamar performed the song five times in a row, flanked by a coalition of California rappers, athletes, entertainers and others who might otherwise be rivals. “He breathed new life into the West Coast,” said E-40, the veteran Bay Area rapper who, along with the late L.A. artist Drakeo the Ruler, provides an obvious touchstone for the hyper-regional sound of “Not Like Us.” “I do not recall a song that captured the young, old and in between like that in many years,” he said. “It hit the clubs so tough and they don’t even look at like it’s about Drake.” In the context of last year’s battle, the song’s tribal messaging is a knotty comment on Blackness, regionalism and authenticity from the Compton-born Lamar, addressing a foe who is biracial, ********* and Jewish (as well as a former child actor). But out in the world, its “us vs. them” ethos has been more widely interpreted. Asi Vidal, an event D.J. based in Los Angeles, said in an interview that “Not Like Us” was among the most requested bar mitzvah songs last season — guaranteed to whip up a mosh pit of 13-year-old boys who would shout along with every lyric, as with “Fein” by Travis Scott and Playboi Carti or Sheck Wes’s modern jock-jam “Mo Bamba.” Then, Vidal said, “a few songs after, they would still request songs by Drake.” Lamar, in his first public comments after the song’s release, said in a conversation with SZA for Harper’s Bazaar that “Not Like Us” was about “the type of man I represent,” one who “has morals, he has values, he believes in something, he stands on something. He’s not pandering.” He added, “I don’t believe I’m an angry person. But I do believe in love and war, and I believe they both need to exist.” These themes — and the West Coast bounce of “Not Like Us” — carried over onto “GNX,” the album Lamar released in November, which has spawned hits like “Squabble Up” and “TV Off” that share the pugnaciousness of their spiritual predecessor without the Drake-centric details. Could they stand in for “Not Like Us” at the Super Bowl, maybe after a taste of the diss track’s identifiable beat and unobjectionable chorus? Medleys, after all, are common in the 15-minute slot. “Kendrick really wins if he ignores Drake during the Super Bowl,” said Too Short, another West Coast rap legend. “If he has to address Drake, I think it’s too heavy on his mind.” Charlamagne agreed. “The reality of the situation is, he won the battle. ‘The 48 Laws of Power’ teaches you not to go past the mark you aimed for in victory,” he said. “When you win the Grammy, that’s spiking the football. You already got the Super Bowl — that’s spiking the football. I think there is a point where you gotta put it to bed.” Notably, in his Grammy acceptance speeches, Lamar refrained from even alluding to his song’s subject. Still, Super Bowl performances have often succeeded with just the right amount of headline-hungry controversy. In a world after Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction,” M.I.A.’s middle finger and Eminem’s pointed kneeling — during a 2022 halftime performance for which Lamar made a cameo — both provided some frisson with minimal freak outs. Could a carefully executed pedophile joke land with the widest possible audience only 20 years after a bare breast caused an international scandal? “At the end of the day, take out all of the crazy accusations in it, it’s just a very infectious hit record and we love hit records,” Wilson said. And regardless of how Lamar plays it, there may be no coming back from the artist he has become on the back of “Not Like Us.” “I think it’s a new path, and he’s loving it,” Wilson added. “I don’t think he goes back to this artistic cave — at least for the next year.” Source link #Kendrick #Lamars #Controversial #Super #Bowl Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Asteroid impact on moon blasted two grand canyons in 10 seconds Asteroid impact on moon blasted two grand canyons in 10 seconds By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Grand Canyon in Arizona is one of Earth’s natural wonders, carved out over millions of years by the gradual erosion power of the Colorado River. Close to the moon’s south pole are two canyons each comparable in size to the Grand Canyon that were born in a much different process. New research indicates that these canyons, in an area called the Schrödinger impact basin on the side of the moon perpetually facing away from Earth, were dug out in a matter of less than 10 minutes by rocky debris sent violently aloft when an asteroid or comet struck the lunar surface roughly 3.8 billion years ago. Trusted news and daily delights, right in your inbox See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. This impact unleashed about 130 times the energy of the current global inventory of nuclear weapons, according to geologist David Kring of the Lunar and Planetary Institute of the Universities Space Research Association in Houston, lead author of the study published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications. The scientists mapped the canyons using data obtained by NASA’s robotic Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft and then employed computer modeling to determine the flow directions and speed of the flying debris. The rubble would have traveled at up to about 2,200 miles (3,600 km) per hour, they found. One of the canyons, called Vallis Planck, measures about 174 miles (280 km) long and 2.2 miles (3.5 km) deep. The other, called Vallis Schrödinger, is about 168 miles (270 km) long and 1.7 miles (2.7 km) deep. The impact occurred during a ******* of heavy bombardment in the inner solar system by space rocks thought to have been dislodged following a change in the orbits of the solar system’s giant planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune – that is thought to have happened at the time. The object that struck the moon is estimated to have been about 15 miles (25 km) in diameter, larger than the asteroid that struck Earth 66 million years ago and doomed the dinosaurs. “When the impacting asteroid or comet hit the lunar surface, it excavated a tremendous volume of rock that was launched into space above the lunar surface before it came crashing back down. Knots of rock within that curtain of debris hit the surface in a series of smaller impact events, effectively carving the canyons. Adjacent to the canyons, the debris would have covered the landscape,” Kring said. The canyons are straight-line scars on the lunar surface, extending outward from a large and round impact crater, with smaller craters from unrelated impacts also in the vicinity. This marked one of the last of the large impacts on the surfaces of the moon and Earth during this bombardment ******* in the early solar system. The moon still bears these scars on its surface while Earth does not. That is because Earth recycles its surface as part of a geological process called plate tectonics. The outer part of our planet is comprised of continent-sized plates of rock that move very slowly. At points where they meet, one plate dives beneath the other, sending rock that had been at the surface deep below. The moon, a less dynamic body, lacks plate tectonics. The new findings have relevance for lunar exploration in the coming years. The Schrödinger impact basin is located near the exploration zone for NASA’s planned Artemis mission, intended to place astronauts on the moon for the first time since the Apollo landings of the 1970s. “Because debris from the Schrödinger impact was jettisoned away from the lunar south pole, ancient rocks in the polar region will be at or close to the surface, where Artemis astronauts will be able to collect them. Thus, it will be easier for astronauts to collect samples from the earliest epoch of lunar history,” Kring said. Those rocks would allow scientists to test the hypothesis that the moon was created when a large impactor collided with Earth and sent molten material into space, as well as the hypothesis that the lunar surface early on was an ocean of magma, Kring added. (Reporting by Will Dunham, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien) Source link #Asteroid #impact #moon #blasted #grand #canyons #seconds Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Emma Raducanu: Briton loses in Abu Dhabi Open first round to Marketa Vondrousova Emma Raducanu: Briton loses in Abu Dhabi Open first round to Marketa Vondrousova Britain’s Emma Raducanu lost in the first round of the Abu Dhabi Open as she went down in straight sets to former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova. Raducanu, 22, was beaten 6-3 6-4 as she proved unable to take advantage of her late wildcard entry to the main draw. She made a positive start against Czech Vondrousova and led 3-1 after an early break of serve, but she then surrendered the first set by losing five consecutive games. Vondrousova, who returned from a six-month lay-off in January following shoulder surgery, saved four break points early in the second set before breaking for a 5-3 lead and the chance to serve out the match. While Raducanu offered an immediate response to stay in contention by winning the next game, the 2021 US Open champion’s hopes of making a comeback were soon ended. It was all over when Vondrousova, the 2023 winner at Wimbledon, clinched her third match point. Raducanu was promoted into the main 28-player field in Abu Dhabi at the weekend, having initially been set to compete in qualifying for the first time since her fairytale run in New York three and a half years ago. The world number 56 reached the third round of the *********** Open last month. She climbed back into the world’s top 60 last year after missing most of the 2023 season following surgery on both wrists and her left ankle. Vondrousova will play Kazakh fourth seed Yulia Putintseva next. Source link #Emma #Raducanu #Briton #loses #Abu #Dhabi #Open #Marketa #Vondrousova Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

What is Internet Key Exchange (IKE) and How Does It Work? What is Internet Key Exchange (IKE) and How Does It Work? Internet Key Exchange (IKE) is a standard protocol used to set up a secure and authenticated communication channel between two parties via a virtual private network (VPN). The protocol ensures security for VPN negotiation, remote host and network access. A critical role of IKE is negotiating security associations (SAs) for Internet Protocol Security (IPsec). SAs are the security policies for communication between two or more entities. They consist of a set of algorithms and mutually agreed-upon keys that both parties use when attempting to establish a VPN tunnel or connection. Each system maintains a list of SAs for the other systems it communicates with. There are two versions of IKE standards: IKE protocol defined in Request for Comments (RFC) 2409. IKE version 2 (IKEv2) defined in RFC 7296. Most often, IKE uses X.509 public key infrastructure certificates for authentication and a Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol to establish a shared secret session. Diffie-Hellman key exchange works by having both parties choose a private key, calculate a public key, share both computed keys and compute a shared secret key for secured communication. A hybrid protocol, IKE also implements two earlier security protocols, Oakley and SKEME, within an Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol (ISAKMP) TCP/IP-based framework. The SKEME protocol is an alternate version for the exchange key. ISAKMP RFC 2408 is used for negotiations, establishing SAs and securing connections between IPsec peers, specifying the framework for key exchange and authentication. Oakley RFC 2412 is used for key agreements or exchanges and defines the mechanism used over the IKE session for key exchange. Diffie-Hellman is the default algorithm used for exchange. IKE is used by many technologies that are protected by IPsec. Some examples are VPN, Secure File Transfer Protocol, Secure Shell and Point-to-Point Protocol connections. Internet Key Exchange negotiates security associations for IPsec, which secures data transmitted over the public internet by enabling encrypted tunnels. How does IKE work in IPsec? IKE is a part of IPsec, a suite of protocols and algorithms used to secure sensitive data transmitted across a network. The Internet Engineering Task Force developed IPsec to provide security through authentication and encryption of IP network packets and secure VPNs. In IPsec, IKE defines an automatic means of negotiation and authentication for IPsec SAs during the initial connection. This is required for the encryption and decryption process because it negotiates the security that is used for main communication. IKE offers several benefits for IPsec configuration, including automatic negotiation and authentication, antireplay services, certification authority support and the ability to change encryption keys during an IPsec session. The IKE protocol uses User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packets during transmission, generally needing four to six packets with two to three messages. An IPsec stack intercepts relevant IP packets, encrypting and decrypting them as needed. To illustrate the use of IKE, imagine two spies who have not met before need to start exchanging secret messages. IKE is when they first meet, using an agreed-upon secret to identify each other, such as “I’ll be at the park bench wearing a red hat; you ask about the snow.” Then, they can agree on how to encrypt and drop off messages. From then on, they never need to meet again in person and only need to follow the agreed way to exchange messages. Understanding phase 1 and phase 2 of IKE The original version of IKE sets up secure communications channels in two phases: phase 1 and phase 2. In phase 1, an authenticated connection between the initiator and responder is established using a preshared key or a digital certificate. The goal is to secure the communications that occur in phase 2. The Diffie-Hellman key exchange algorithm creates a secure authentication communication channel that is used for further communication. This digital encryption method uses numbers raised to specific powers to produce decryption keys. The negotiation should result in session keys and one bidirectional SA. Phase 1 operates under one of two modes: main mode or aggressive mode. The main mode consists of both parties sending three two-way exchanges equaling six messages in total. The first two messages confirm encryption and authentication algorithms. The second set of two messages starts with a Diffie-Hellman key exchange, where both parties provide a random number. The third set of messages verifies the identities of each party. Aggressive mode accomplishes the same task as the main mode but does so in just two exchanges of three messages. Whereas the main mode protects both parties’ identities by encrypting them, the aggressive mode does not. Phase 2 of IKE negotiates an SA to secure the data that travels through IPsec, using the secure channel created in phase 1. The result is a minimum of two SAs that are unidirectional. Both parties also exchange proposals to determine which security parameter to use in the SA. Phase 2 operates in only one mode: quick mode. Quick mode provides three resources: proxy IDs, perfect forward secrecy (PFS) and replay protection. The proxy IDs of each participant are shared with each other. PFS delivers keys independent from preceding keys. Replay protection is a security method to protect against replay attacks. The main and aggressive modes found in phase 1 only apply to IKEv1 and not to IKEv2. This image shows an example of IKE version 1’s main message mode structure. What is IKE version 2 and what are its improvements? IKEv1 came out in 1998 and was followed by the release of IKEv2 in 2005. IKEv2, updated in 2014, negotiates and authenticates IPsec SAs and provides secure VPN communication channels between devices. This version does not include phases 1 or 2 like its predecessor, but message exchanges still negotiate an IPsec tunnel. The first of the four messages is a negotiation to decide a security attribute. The second is where each party authenticates its identity. The third includes the creation of additional SAs. The fourth message removes SA relationships, detects IPsec tunnel liveliness and reports errors. Improvements in IKEv2 over IKEv1 are as follows: Requires less bandwidth. Demands fewer cryptographic mechanisms to protect packets. Requires only one four-message initial exchange mechanism. Supports mobile platforms, including smartphones. Supports the security of Stream Control Transmission Protocol traffic. Provides more resistance to denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. Comes equipped with the built-in network address translation (NAT) traversal needed to support routers that perform translations. Detects automatically if an IPsec tunnel is still live so that IKE can automatically reestablish a connection if needed. Enables message fragmentation and IKEv2 to operate in areas where IP fragments might be blocked and an SA may fail to establish. Enables rekeying to build new keys for SA. Mobility and Multihoming Protocol is an extension of IKE in the v2 specification to support mobile devices, such as smartphones. It helps to quickly reestablish the connection when the device moves between networks. How does an IKEv2 connection work? An IKEv2 connection uses less steps than IKEv1: IKE_SA_INIT is the initial exchange where the initiator and responder exchange supported encryption types. IKE_SA_AUTH is where they exchange authentication information and establish the connection. CREATE_CHILD_SA is where they create SAs for each other. What are the advantages of using IKE? IKE includes the following benefits: Automatic negotiation and authentication. Antireplay services. Ability to change encryption keys during an IPsec session. Calculation of shared keys. Fast connection speeds using NAT and NAT traversal. Attempts to restore a connection whenever the connection drops. Support for a variety of devices, including desktops and smartphones. Prevention of DoS and replay attacks. What are the potential challenges of using IKE? IKE may pose the following challenges: IKEv1 is vulnerable to Bleichenbacher attacks, which obtain information about a device based on the device’s response to receiving modified ciphertext. Using IKEv2 in some operating systems (OSes) may require users to make additional manual configurations. For example, if IKE in Junos OS is not explicitly configured, Junos OS defaults to version 1 of IKE. There is also a chance that a firewall or a network administrator could block IKEv2’s UDP port, causing a VPN to stop working. What is an L2TP IP VPN Internet Key Exchange? Internet service providers use Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) combined with IPsec to enable a VPN to pass all traffic. By using IKE, this networking protocol negotiates and authenticates secure VPN connections. Using L2TP is a bit slower than other VPNs but enables it to pass the original packets unaltered. Alternatives to IKE IKE has been largely replaced by IKEv2. For automatic connections using IPsec, IKEv2 is still the best choice. If a system is being designed from scratch, other methods may be considered. A manual IPsec tunnel can be configured that does not use IKE. For this to work, all the encryption types need to be preconfigured for both ends of the connection. By cutting out IKE, it can decrease the initial connection time. This may be useful for fixed tunnels, such as for a site-to-site VPN. Other modern VPN technologies may offer better VPN performance than IPsec with IKE. OpenVPN is a popular and well-understood VPN technology. WireGuard is a recent VPN technology that offers superior performance but is not widely supported yet. Explore the benefits of Always On VPN and the differences between VPN vs. zero trust vs. software-defined perimeter. Source link #Internet #Key #Exchange #IKE #Work Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

How to Sell Stolen Items in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 (Answered) How to Sell Stolen Items in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 (Answered) If you’re going to explore all the trappings of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, it’s a safe bet that, before long, you’ll end up stealing something. However, this is a very realistic game, and stealing something isn’t always as easy as picking it up and putting it in your pocket. In this guide, I’ll teach you how to sell stolen items in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, breaking down the best tactics to maximise your money and stay out of trouble. If you’ve stolen a bunch of items and want to get the most Groschen possible, here’s what you need to do. Read on to learn how to get rid of stolen items in Kingdom Come. Get Rid of the Stolen Symbol in Kingdom Come If you’ve stolen something in Kingdom Come and managed to get away without being noticed, congratulations. You’re the proud owner of hot goods – but it’s not all good news. You’ll notice that the item has an icon of a red hand alongside it in the inventory, which isn’t good. That means that the item can be identified as being stolen – particularly by traders and guards. If you’re stopped for another crime and you have stolen goods on you, they’ll be confiscated, and if they’re valuable enough, your punishment will be increased. How can you get rid of the stolen icon in Kingdom Come, then? It’s like real life (I imagine…). If you take the stolen item far away, at least a couple of towns over, it won’t be recognised as being stolen. Similarly, if you put the item in a safe space like a stash box and wait for long enough, the stolen status will disappear. It takes longer for a more valuable or unique item to lose the stolen symbol. Can You Sell Stolen Items in Kingdom Come? This might be the outcome if you’re caught stealing in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Like in Kingdom Come Deliverance (2018), players exploring Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 can sell stolen goods, but it’s a little tricky. The easiest way is to find a Fence, like Fence Whitebeard in the Nomad Camp near the Lower Semine Mill. They won’t bat an eye at you attempting to sell stolen goods, but they might mess with the prices a little, as there’s no honour amongst thieves. Alternatively, you can sell stolen goods to regular traders that you have a very strong relationship with. They’ll possibly identify the items as stolen and will tell you that you’ll get much less money because of it, but they won’t report you to a guard. What perks help with selling stolen goods? These perks help with selling stolen items in Kingdom Come: Partner in Crime – ‘You can now sell stolen goods to anyone without fear of detection’ ******** – ‘It’s easier for you to sell stolen goods. If you succeed in doing so, you’ll gain some Stealth and Thievery experience’ For more Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 guides, learn how to master lockpicking, and find out the best way to make Saviour Schnapps. SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to receive the latest news and exclusive leaks every week! No Spam. Source link #Sell #Stolen #Items #Kingdom #Deliverance #Answered Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Calls to dial up heatwave response as temperatures soar Calls to dial up heatwave response as temperatures soar Heatwaves and blistering hot days are responsible for more deaths than any other disaster, a reality heat safety advocates want reflected in a national plan. Following days of maximum temperatures in the high 30Cs and low 40Cs across much of SA, Victoria and NSW border regions, Sweltering Cities executive director Emma Bacon is headed for Parliament House in Canberra to make the case for a stronger federal response to extreme heat. “Heat is the biggest killer but is not really treated accordingly, we need a response that respects that,” Ms Bacon told AAP. Responsibility typically rests on individuals to keep themselves safe in extreme heat yet she believes federal and state governments could be doing more to protect communities. She highlighted the federal government’s $1 billion Disaster Ready Fund, set up to support disaster resilience projects caused by climate change and other natural hazards, as an opportunity to secure more money to protect communities from extreme heat. The pitch aligns with the first-ever Extreme Heat Awareness Day on Wednesday, an initiative from the non-profit organisation and the *********** Red Cross. Kate Wylie, executive director of doctors for Environment Australia and Adelaide-based GP, said heatwaves should be recognised as natural disasters that put communities in danger. “We name cyclones … do we get to a point where we start naming heatwaves so that we can kind of acknowledge them as the danger that they are?” she told AAP. “Heat is going to become more and more of a problem to our communities as we go forward, and therefore our governments need to anticipate that and act to keep us safe.” Preventing outdoor work, schooling or sport in unsafe heat conditions should be a priority, she recommended, as well as investing in cool refuges for those without air conditioning or cannot afford to run it. “It’s more than just being able to go to the shopping centre. There needs to be some kind of concerted way of protecting the community,” Dr Wylie said. Heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and suicidal ideation tend to spike during heatwaves, with hot temperatures also linked to higher instances of domestic violence. The elderly, those with underlying health conditions like heart disease or lung disease, pregnant women, and small children are all particularly vulnerable to extreme heat conditions. Not only dangerous, heatwaves are disrupting education, with more than 250 Victorian schools and child care centres found to have closed at least one day last February due to extreme heat. Nic Seton, chief executive officer of Parents for Climate – the group behind the research – said schools and early childhood centres were increasingly affected by rising temperatures and extreme weather. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Source link #Calls #dial #heatwave #response #temperatures #soar Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Review – Fortune Favors the Brave | MP1st Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Review – Fortune Favors the Brave | MP1st Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Review A refined sequel that elevates the series to new heights, delivering one of the best RPG experiences. Source link #Kingdom #Deliverance #Review #Fortune #Favors #Brave #MP1st Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Stockpiling ahead of higher tariffs is a big mistake, experts say Stockpiling ahead of higher tariffs is a big mistake, experts say Many consumers are rightfully concerned about escalating trade tensions. President Donald Trump on Saturday said he would impose 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, and 10% tariffs on goods imported from China. He also signaled that tariffs on the European Union could be next. While Trump has agreed to halt the implementation of tariffs against Canada for at least 30 days and he paused the duty on ******** goods for one month, China already retaliated with additional tariffs of up to 15% on some U.S. imports. A recent consumer survey found that 86% of Americans said tariffs are likely to hit their wallets and 12% are already stockpiling items over potential tariff concerns. More from Personal Finance: Tariffs are a wake-up call for individual investors How tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico may impact you Tariffs ‘slammed shut’ the window for interest rate cuts in 2025 Many businesses will funnel those extra costs to customers — either directly or indirectly — which is why tariffs generally trigger higher prices for consumers, economists say. Specifically, higher tariffs on goods traded between China and the U.S. may lead to higher prices on apparel, appliances, toys and electronics. Meanwhile, Mexico and Canada tariffs could put pressure on already high grocery prices, which are up 28% over the last five years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. ‘Tariffs are taxes paid by Americans’ “Tariffs are taxes paid by Americans, and any new tariff tax increases should be methodically and effectively deployed toward only the most strategic goods,” David French, the National Retail Federation’s executive vice president of government relations, said in a statement. This also comes at a time when many households already feel financially stretched. Five years after Covid’s supply-and-demand logistics crisis drove up prices for many consumer staples, many Americans are still wrestling with higher costs. Overall, the U.S. economy has notched steady progress in lowering inflation. The consumer price index, a key inflation measure that tracks average prices across a broad basket of consumer goods and services, increased 2.9% in December relative to a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s down from a pandemic-era peak of 9.1% in June 2022. But in most cases price increases are only slowing — not falling outright. Why stockpiling can backfire “Sudden surges in demand can disrupt supply chains, leading to shortages and hoarding behavior — issues we experienced firsthand during the pandemic,” said Amir Mousavian, professor of supply chain management at the University of New England’s College of Business. “The psychological impact of such behavior ripples through the supply chain, reinforcing inefficiencies rather than addressing them,” Mousavian said. Any potential consumer savings from stockpiling now would likely be insignificant in the long run, he explained. “Moreover, the overall harm to the majority of consumers — caused by disruptions, shortages, and likely artificially inflated prices due to shortages — far outweighs the potential minimal savings that some individuals may experience by stockpiling,” Mousavian added. How to save money as prices rise There are, however, savings benefits to buying in bulk, said Steven Conners, founder and president of Conners Wealth Management in Scottsdale, Arizona. “Anything imported could be more expensive in the future,” he said. “If you have expenditures that are larger in nature, you might want to do that now as opposed to delaying.” But, “stockpiling is another story,” he added. “Having healed so much of the supply chain, this could throw us back.” In many cases, stockpiling just isn’t practical, added Sunderesh Heragu, president-elect of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers and a professor at Oklahoma State University. “It is not easy for individual consumers or households to stockpile,” he said. Goods that will see a significant price increase quickly are groceries, electronics, cars and gas, according to Heragu. “Consumers may want to consider purchasing big ticket items such as electronics and automobiles, but the prices of these may already have gone up,” he added. A person shops at a Whole Foods Market grocery store in New York City on Dec. 17, 2024. Spencer Platt | Getty Images And still, it’s too soon to tell how the looming tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico will play out, experts say. “There is so much uncertainty in the system,” Heragu said. “Are the tariffs a threat? A negotiating tactic? Will they become a reality and if so, to what extent?” According to Mousavian, “President Trump’s administration uses tariffs as a negotiation tool, as seen in cases like Colombia.” President Trump had threatened tariffs and sanctions on Colombia but later pulled back after the South American nation agreed to accept military flights carrying deportees as part of the White House’s immigration crackdown. While some tariff increases may occur, the likelihood of substantial, lasting tariffs at this moment remains low, Mousavian said. Further, if inflation continues its downward trend, there is also the possibility that prices for many consumer staples could fall in the year ahead, Heragu said. Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. Source link #Stockpiling #ahead #higher #tariffs #big #mistake #experts Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Vance to attend global AI summit in Paris for first international trip as VP Vance to attend global AI summit in Paris for first international trip as VP U.S. military prohibited from using DeepSeek U.S. military prohibited from using ******** AI DeepSeek 05:52 Vice President J.D. Vance will attend a two-day artificial intelligence summit in Paris next week for his first international trip since taking office in January. The Artificial Intelligence Action Summit, which is hosting leaders from across the globe, will focus on problems that can be solved by AI. It aims to “collectively establish scientific foundations, solutions and standards for more sustainable AI working for collective progress and in the public interest,” according to the French Embassy. French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are co-hosting the gathering. The meeting comes on the heels of a new ******** artificial intelligence site that has roiled financial markets in the U.S. and spooked the tech sector. DeepSeek debuted last week as a low-cost, open-source generative AI tool that rivals apps such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, despite the fact that it relies on inferior chips and technology. There are no international regulations governing the development of artificial intelligence. Vance’s trip also comes after the White House announced Stargate — a $500 billion investment in artificial intelligence development in the U.S. backed by OpenAI, Softbank and Oracle. President Trump called it the largest AI infrastructure project in history and said it would provide “the physical and virtual infrastructure to power the next generation of AI.” After the summit in France, Vance is expected to head to the annual Munich Security Conference. AI: Artificial Intelligence More More Olivia Rinaldi Olivia Rinaldi is a campaign digital reporter at CBS News covering former President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. Rinaldi was previously an associate producer for “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell” and a broadcast associate for “Face the Nation.” She is based in Washington, D.C. Source link #Vance #attend #global #summit #Paris #international #trip Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Breaking Down How Much Time Biden Spent on Vacation While President – It’s Not 40% Breaking Down How Much Time Biden Spent on Vacation While President – It’s Not 40% A claim popularized by the Republican National Committee that U.S. President Joe Biden spent 40% of his presidency on vacation stretched the truth. The RNC treated partial days outside of the White House as full days on vacation, made outright errors in its calculations and included locations which are not always used as vacation settings in its analysis. Due to the duties of the office, the president is never truly on vacation. Therefore, Snopes focused on determining how many days Biden spent in a vacation setting, which was about 117 or 118 full days, or about 8% of his presidency, depending on which source you use. Biden also spent an additional 66 partial days in a vacation setting. A White House spokesperson said Biden works “every single day.” His administration’s research said Biden spent 60 total weekdays away from the White House with no public events, or about 4.5% of his presidency. Much of a president’s work schedule is private and not publicly reported. Snopes found 76 to 77 days where Biden spent some or all of his time in a vacation setting and there was no public evidence that he was working, or about 5% of his presidency. Snopes also determined that Biden spent an additional 109 full days at Camp David or his personal residence in Delaware — where Biden often works away from the White House — with no publicly reported events and15 days where the only public events involved campaigning for his re-election. In the months after former U.S. President Joe Biden took office in 2021, a claim began circulating that Biden spent 40% of his presidency on vacation. Examples of this claim appear on Reddit (archived), X (archived) and Facebook (archived). Snopes received questions from readers about this claim as early as October 2021. There are media reports spanning from 2022 (archived) to 2024 (archived) repeating the rumor. In 2022, the New York Post (archived) claimed the rumor originated from a Republican National Committee analysis: The 19-month tally of Biden trips was assembled by the RNC and is consistent with independent journalistic counts. It includes days that Biden spent at his Delaware residences as well as days at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, and trips to Nantucket, Massachusetts, and Kiawah Island, South Carolina. Additionally, the Republican National Committee published press releases in early 2023 (archived) and early 2024 (screenshot) claiming Biden had, at those points in time, spent 40% of his presidency on vacation. The RNC also publicized the claim on X (archived) in 2024, along with a video of Biden on the beach: A comprehensive Snopes analysis of Biden’s public calendar, research from his administration and pool reports — detailed daily dispatches from the White House press corps tracking Biden’s movements — determined that the Republican National Committee stretched the truth. It is difficult to define what a “vacation” is for a president, given that the president is never away from his duties. Thus, Snopes determined how many days Biden was in a vacation setting. Based on this definition, Biden spent 117 or 118 full days of his 1,461-day presidency on vacation, or about 8% of his presidency. He also spent 66 days, about 4.5% of his presidency, partially in a vacation setting. (The pool reports say Biden left his vacation home early on April 13, 2024, whereas his official public calendar as published by Roll Call, an insider publication which covers all things Capitol Hill, said he spent April 13 in his vacation home and left on April 14, 2024. That would change how many full days Biden was on vacation, but it would not affect the number of partial days he was on vacation.) Altogether, that is 183 or 184 days — and on 107 of those days, there is public evidence Biden spent time working in his official capacity as president, which does not mean he was not working, as much of the president’s working schedule is not public. Thus, there were 76 or 77 days where Biden spent time in a vacation setting with no public evidence he was working, or about 5% of his presidency. Debunking the Republican National Committee’s Claim Here’s what Jake Schneider, author of the two RNC press releases, said in an X direct message when Snopes asked how he determined that Biden spent 40% of his presidency on vacation: I’m happy to share my underlying data with you. Basically, we use the standard of all or part of any day spent at a Biden-style vacation destination (e.g., Wilmington/Rehoboth/Camp David/etc) as a vacation day — which is the exact same standard The Washington Post assigned to President Trump during his first term. Schneider did not return additional questions about what sources he used to figure out Biden’s location and how he decided what a vacation setting was. The RNC press releases also provide images showing each day Biden was purportedly on vacation for 2021, 2022 and 2023. Two side-by-side calendars purporting to show the number of days Biden was on vacation, color-coded. Calendars created by the Republican National Committee claiming to show when Biden was on vacation. (Republican National Committee/Snopes Illustration) But an investigation by Snopes found that the RNC’s analysis made sweeping assumptions and included outright errors. As acknowledged by Schneider, the RNC included partial days in a vacation setting. However, the party’s analysis failed to take into account how much or how little time in the day was spent traveling to or in a vacation setting. For example, on September 3, 2021, the RNC calendar says Biden was on vacation. But according to Biden’s public calendar, he spent most of that day in Louisiana touring Hurricane Ida relief efforts, meeting local leaders and delivering remarks in his official capacity as president. He does not leave Louisiana until 7:08 p.m. local time, or 8:08 p.m. EST, before arriving at his personal residence in Delaware at 11:11 p.m. In another example, the RNC claimed Biden was on vacation on Sept. 11, 2022, when he arrived at the Pentagon around 8:46 a.m. and spent most of the day at 9/11 remembrance events. The RNC said Biden was on vacation on days when he arrived at the White House early in the morning or departed for a vacation setting late in the day. In one instance, the RNC said Biden was on vacation on April 22, 2022 when he was working and according to the pool report, did not arrive in Delaware until 12:24 a.m. the next day. In another instance, the RNC said he was on vacation on Sept. 13, 2022, when he left the White House to travel to Delaware and vote before returning to the White House, all on the same day. On some days, Biden spent some time in Delaware visiting gravestones or attending private memorial services to commemorate deceased loved ones, such as his son or his first wife, and the RNC included them as “vacation” days. The RNC also did not appear to have double-checked its work. On Aug. 13, 2022, for example, the RNC said Biden was on vacation, but according to his public calendar and the pool report, he was at the White House all day. On the flip side, the president left for Camp David on Aug. 17, 2023, but the RNC does not note this. Errors like these occurred several times. Defining What Counts as Vacation Finally, the RNC analysis included days spent at Camp David or at Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware. According to the White House, Camp David, a Maryland country residence, “has offered every president since Franklin D. Roosevelt an opportunity for solitude and tranquility, as well as an ideal place to work and host foreign dignitaries.” Thus, while sometimes used for recreation, presidents, including Biden, often work at Camp David, where he has reportedly met with his national security team, signed executive orders and hosted prime ministers. Biden spent many weekends as president at his residence in Wilmington, Delaware, a practice he’s had since his time as a senator, according to both the White House and news reports. A White House official told Snopes that Biden does not treat his Wilmington residence as a vacation home. Based on Biden’s public calendar and pool reports, Biden frequently works from Wilmington. On May 30, 2021, for example, he delivered remarks at Veterans Memorial Park in New Castle Country, Delaware; on Aug. 6, 2021, he leaves the White House and arrives in Delaware before receiving his weekly economic briefing. He has hosted multiple foreign prime ministers at his Delaware home on the same day. Finally, Biden has a vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware that he frequents, suggesting that if Biden was to return to Delaware for vacation, he would go there instead. While Camp David and Wilmington are not always vacation settings, Snopes could not determine how often Biden may have treated them as such. Snopes found that Biden spent 109 full days in Delaware or Camp David with no evidence of work on his public calendar or in pool reports, or 7.5% of his presidency. Here are all of the vacation settings Snopes included in its analysis: Biden’s vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Biden’s annual Thanksgiving tradition where he and his family travel to Nantucket, Massachusetts, vacations in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and a friend’s home in Santa Ynez, California. The Biden Administration’s Response Andrew Bates, the Biden White House’s deputy press secretary, said in an emailed statement that “President Biden works hard every single day — including the few days he has been on vacation during his term — which is reflected in the most accomplished record of any modern administration.” He added that presidents “have been able to perform all their duties from anywhere in the world for decades.” According to an Aug. 19, 2024 pool report, Biden’s press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, when discussing his then-upcoming vacation to Santa Ynez, California, also said “presidents are never on vacation — he’s president wherever he is.” There is evidence that Biden works while on vacation. On June 3, 2022, for example, he delivered remarks on a May jobs report from Rehoboth Beach Convention Center. There was also a weekend in September 2022 where he told the press pool he was at his Rehoboth home because the Secret Service was working on his Wilmington home and he was thus “not on vacation.” Research presented by a White House official said there were 60 total weekdays from 2021 to 2024 where Biden “had no public events and was not at the White House,” or about 4.1% of his presidency. The Biden administration did not include weekends and federal holidays in its analysis and added that this list does not represent total days in vacation areas. It is also worth noting that within those 60 weekdays, there were days the White House noted that Biden had public events not on his public calendar but noted in pool reports, such as briefings on foreign wars and bill signings. Snopes also cross-referenced this list with Biden’s public calendar and discovered that the White House included days in which Biden had his “Daily Briefing,” an event that nearly always appears on weekdays on Biden’s public calendar but is not open to the public. While the White House did not return multiple questions about whether, legally or officially, the president gets weekends and federal holidays off, it is true that presidents cannot fully disengage from their job. “Most presidents are always on the clock; even when they are not working, they are on call, and can be pulled into discussions at a moment’s notice,” said Matthew Dallek, a political historian at George Washington University. So…How Many Days Was Biden on Vacation, Then? It is impossible for Snopes to determine how many days Biden was on vacation and did not do any work or primarily spent time away from work. According to Dallek, presidents do “a ton of work” not visible to the public or on their official public schedule, including “behind-the-scenes conversations, briefings, reading memos, preparing for speeches, prepping for interviews and more.” “A president taking a vacation is a bit of misnomer, although some presidents take the job more seriously and work harder than others,” Dallek added. Therefore, we can only determine how many days Biden was in a vacation setting, as well as days he was in a vacation setting and there is no public evidence, either from his public calendar or from pool reports, that Biden was working. Many of these “working vacation” days only included one or two publicly reported events and were usually noted in the pool report as information given by unnamed White House officials. Snopes did not include informal conversations Biden had with the press as work, given that it is nearly impossible for the president to avoid press in public areas. As noted at the beginning, our analysis found 117 or 118 full days of his presidency on vacation and 76 days partially in a vacation setting, with 107 of the total 183 or 184 days showing evidence that Biden worked. There are 33 of these days where the public calendar does not show evidence Biden worked, but the pool reports say a White House official told a reporter that Biden was engaging in at least one work activity, such as a call with a foreign leader or a national security meeting. Snopes did not include days Biden traveled for work as well as days Biden was campaigning for other lawmakers and officials because campaigning for others is part of building and maintaining working relationships, as well as an attempt to ensure that your party remains in power and can pass its desired legislation more effectively. However, Snopes did determine how many days Biden campaigned for himself because some may consider that time away from presidential duties. There were 15 days Biden campaigned for himself and there were no events on his public calendar; 14 of those days did not have work events recorded by the press pool. For 62 days, Biden spent some time campaigning; 57 of those days were also spent working and five of those days were also spent in a vacation setting. Sources: Beven, J., Hagen, A. and Berg, R. (2021). HURRICANE IDA GOES-16 DAY CLOUD CONVECTION IMAGE OF IDA A FEW HOURS BEFORE LANDFALL AT PORT FOURCHON., LOUISIANA, AT 1400 UTC 29 AUGUST 2021. IMAGE COURTESY OF NOAA/NESDIS/STAR. [online] Available at: [Hidden Content]. ‘Biden Honors 9/11 Victims, Vows Commitment to Thwart Terror’. AP News, 11 Sept. 2022, [Hidden Content]. “Camp David.” The White House, www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/the-grounds/camp-david/. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025. ‘Google Maps’. Google Maps, [Hidden Content],-75.6093709,11.85z?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDEyMi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025. Judd, Allie Malloy, Donald. ‘Bidens Mark Eight Years since Beau Biden’s Death | CNN Politics’. CNN, 30 May 2023, [Hidden Content]. Lakritz, Talia. ‘Photos Show Joe Biden’s 6,850-Square-Foot Delaware Home Where He’ll Likely Move after the White House’. Business Insider, [Hidden Content]. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025. Lakritz, Talia. ‘The Bidens Own a Vacation Home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Take a Look inside the 1,108-Person Town.’ Business Insider, [Hidden Content]. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025. Mason, Jeff, et al. ‘Biden Celebrates “Inflation Reduction Act” as Food, Rent Prices Climb’. Reuters, 13 Sept. 2022. www.reuters.com, [Hidden Content]. Mason, Jeff, et al. ‘Biden Unveils Plans to Rescue Giant Trees as Part of Earth Day’. Reuters, 22 Apr. 2022. www.reuters.com, [Hidden Content]. Nelson, Steven. Joe Biden Visits Louisiana to Tour Hurricane Ida Damage. 3 Sept. 2021, [Hidden Content]. “Pool Reports | the American Presidency Project.” The American Presidency Project , University of California Santa Barbara, www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/app-categories/pool-reports. Accessed Jan. 2025. Roll Call FiscalNote. “Roll Call Factba.se – Joe Biden’s Public Schedule.” Roll Call Factba.se, CQ and Roll Call, rollcall.com/factbase/biden/topic/calendar/. Singh, Maanvi, et al. ‘Obama to Deliver “Forceful Affirmation” for Kamala Harris – as It Happened’. The Guardian, 20 Aug. 2024. www.theguardian.com, [Hidden Content]. U.S. Mission Japan. “Trilateral Leaders’ Summit of the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.” U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Japan, U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Japan, 19 Aug. 2023, jp.usembassy.gov/trilateral-leaders-summit-us-japan-south-korea/. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025. Source link #Breaking #Time #Biden #Spent #Vacation #President Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Apple Invites is a new iPhone app to manage your social life Apple Invites is a new iPhone app to manage your social life Typically when we think of Apple and “invites,” it’s because the company is about to show off some new gear at a splashy product launch. But this time around, the product in question is a new invites-feature. The idea behind the new Apple Invites app is that you can create and share custom invitations for any event or occasion. You can use your own photos or backgrounds in the app as an image for the invite. Image Playground is built into Invites and you can use that to generate an images for the invitation instead. Other Apple Intelligence features such as Writing Tools are baked in as well, in case you need a hand to craft the right message for your invitation. It’s worth noting, however, that only folks with a paid iCloud (aka iCloud+) plan can create an invite in the app. Anyone can RSVP to invites in the app or on the web. You won’t need an Apple Account or device to do so. However, if you do have an iPhone and the app, you can add photos and photos and videos from the event to a Shared Album (in case you need to feel like it’s 2008 again). Even better, you can help decide what to listen to during the get -together by collaborating on Apple Music playlists. This story is developing, refresh for updates… If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission. Source link #Apple #Invites #iPhone #app #manage #social #life Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Boeing Starliner crew spacecraft losses total $2 billion Boeing Starliner crew spacecraft losses total $2 billion Boeing spacecraft Starliner is seen from the window of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule “Endeavour” on July 3, 2024, while docked with the International Space Station during the crew flight test. NASA Boeing has lost more than $2 billion and counting on its Starliner spacecraft after a rough year in which the capsule’s first astronaut flight turned into a headache for NASA. The Starliner program reported charges of $523 million for 2024 — its largest single-year loss to date — Boeing reported in a filing on Monday. The company noted that Starliner is under a fixed-price contract from NASA, so “there is ongoing risk that similar losses may have to be recognized in future periods.” Since 2014, when NASA awarded Boeing with a nearly $5 billion fixed-price contract to develop Starliner, the company has recorded losses on the program almost every year. Boeing’s program competes with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which has flown 10 crew missions for NASA and counting on its Dragon capsules. Read more CNBC space news Last summer, Boeing’s first crew flight went awry after part of the capsule’s propulsion system malfunctioned. While Starliner delivered astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station, NASA made the decision to bring Starliner back empty and use SpaceX to return the crew early this year — an agency choice that recently became politicized. Neither Boeing nor NASA have provided details on how or when they plan to resolve the Starliner propulsion issue. Boeing last week confirmed that Starliner Vice President Mark Nappi was leaving his role, Reuters reported, with the company’s ISS program manager John Mulholland named as his replacement. Mullholland previously led the Starliner program from 2011 to 2020. Nearly four months ago, NASA said it was keeping “windows of opportunity for a potential Starliner flight in 2025,” but scheduled SpaceX to fly both its crews on missions launching in spring and late summer. NASA then specified that “the timing and configuration of Starliner’s next flight will be determined once a better understanding of Boeing’s path to system certification is established.” The agency has not given an update on Starliner since making those comments in October. Source link #Boeing #Starliner #crew #spacecraft #losses #total #billion Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Peni Parker Has Turned Into the New Hawkeye, Terrorizing Vanguards and Duelists Alike in Marvel Rivals Peni Parker Has Turned Into the New Hawkeye, Terrorizing Vanguards and Duelists Alike in Marvel Rivals Season 1 of Marvel Rivals is well underway and players have started to gravitate towards certain characters and form the meta. The game has a lot of duelists so there are a lot of good ones, but one Vanguard character has been a menace in competitive, and it’s Peni Parker. The meta is still developing and Peni is quite good. | Image Credit: NetEast Games Peni Parker has quickly become one of the most feared characters in the game in Season 1. Her abilities don’t fit the traditional tank role and it has made her a nightmare for Duelists and even other Vanguards. With players getting one shot left and right by her traps and mines, we might be seeing another Hawkeye situation. Peni Parker is definitely one of the better characters right now She is a menace in competitive lobbies right now. | Image Credit: NetEast Games Unlike other Vanguards who rely on shields or sheer durability, Peni Parker’s playstyle revolves around setting up traps and denying enemy movement. Her Bionic Spider-Nest drone is a major issue for opponents because it releases mines that either slow or outright delete you in some cases. This makes her particularly powerful in objective-based game modes where choke points and tight corridors become death traps. The Marvel Rivals community has been vocal about how difficult it is to deal with Peni Parker. On Reddit, players have shared their frustrations about her seemingly endless traps. One player even went so far as to call her a “******** cockroach woman.” A lot of players agree that she’s one of the stronger tanks in the meta because of how hard she is to deal with. In a way, she has become the new Hawkeye of the current meta. When Marvel Rivals was first released, Hawkeye was a menace because of his very high damage output with few drawbacks. He quickly became the most annoying and meta character of Season 0 and received some nerfs in Season 1. So if Peni Parker continues to one-shot us every game, we might be looking at some nerfs soon. Comment byu/BonanzaBitch from discussion inmarvelrivals The worst part about going against Peni Parker is that she’s just one of those characters that players can’t play against. Think of Loki or Namor for example, you’ll see that people rarely destroy Loki’s clones or Namor’s turrets. The same thing happens with Peni Parker where players just ignore her traps and pay the price. How will NetEase handle character balancing? The developers have been very lax so far. | Image Credit: NetEase Games She isn’t the be-all and end-all of the meta though. There are ways to play against Peni Parker, but they require coordination and awareness. Mobile heroes like Iron Man and Squirrel Girl can dodge her webs and mines and knockback abilities such as Winter Soldier’s hook, or Invisible Woman’s pull can push or pull her away from her traps and reduce her healing. Marvel Rivals is still just in its first season, so balance adjustments are inevitable, and Peni Parker is a prime candidate for changes. Many players believe that her ability to lock down areas without much counterplay makes her a little too strong. NetEase has also restrained in making drastic balance changes to make sure that players always have variety over a strict meta. Balancing the characters and meta is a big part of the job for ages like this and we’ve already seen it before with Apex Legends, Overwatch, and other games. NetEase has definitely decided on a more laid-back approach and we’ll have to wait and see how it affects the game in the long term. Source link #Peni #Parker #Turned #Hawkeye #Terrorizing #Vanguards #Duelists #Alike #Marvel #Rivals Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

SpaceX Falcon 9 Deploys SpainSat NG-1, Enhancing Secure Communications SpaceX Falcon 9 Deploys SpainSat NG-1, Enhancing Secure Communications A next-generation Spanish communications satellite has been launched into orbit by SpaceX, with liftoff occurring at 8:34 p.m. EST on Wednesday, January 29. The Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the SpainSat Next Generation 1 (SpainSat NG-1) satellite, departed from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The satellite, developed for secure governmental communications, was placed into a geostationary transfer orbit. This mission also marked the final flight of Falcon 9’s first-stage booster B1073, which had previously completed 20 missions. Due to mission requirements, the booster was not recovered after launch. The deployment of SpainSat NG-1 was confirmed approximately 31.5 minutes after liftoff. SpainSat NG-1’s Advanced Capabilities According to reports, SpainSat NG-1 is a collaborative effort led by Spain-based Hisdesat in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA). The satellite is equipped with advanced antenna technology designed to enhance secure data transmission and communication efficiency. The system allows for precise beam steering, ensuring targeted coverage where required. Laurent Jaffart, Director of Connectivity and Secure Communications at ESA, stated that this satellite represents a crucial advancement in secure European satellite communications. It is intended to provide enhanced adaptability and security for governmental users across Europe and beyond. Falcon 9’s Final Flight for Booster B1073 As reported, the Falcon 9 rocket’s first-stage booster, designated B1073, completed its 21st and final flight with this mission. Among its previous launches were significant missions, including the HAKUTO-R M1 lunar lander and a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (CRS-27). Given the mission’s performance requirements, SpaceX opted not to recover the booster, as stated in its mission overview. Satellite’s Journey to Final Orbit Following deployment into a geosynchronous transfer orbit, SpainSat NG-1 will use its onboard propulsion to reach its designated orbital slot, approximately 35,786 km above Earth. The satellite will then undergo system checks before commencing operational service. Source link #SpaceX #Falcon #Deploys #SpainSat #NG1 #Enhancing #Secure #Communications Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

IT supplier helps address ‘overwhelming’ volumes of data from space IT supplier helps address ‘overwhelming’ volumes of data from space CGI continues to build on its 12-year relationship with the European Space Agency (ESA), which is helping improve scientific access to data about Earth sent from space. As part of a Serco-led consortium, delivering ESA’s Advanced Data Access and Processing Services for Collaborative Earth Observation Ground Segment (Ascend) project, CGI will provide engineering and cyber security services. But its work on the Multi-Mission Algorithm and Analysis Platform (MAAP) within Ascend, which provides scientists with access to NASA and ESA Earth biomass data, is just part of CGI’s work in the space industry. Supporting ESA, which is partly funded by the *** Space Agency, accounts for about half of CGI’s Earth observation work, and involves processing satellite imagery. It’s 400 ***-based staff, who are focused on the space sector, also support satellite communications companies from their operations in Leatherhead and Bristol. Jaime Reed, vice-president of consulting services, space data platforms and applications at CGI, told Computer Weekly the supplier’s work with ESA is “predominantly environmental monitoring”, such as processing meteorological data. It is involved in controlling satellites, receiving and processing data from them, and providing the software onboard. Specialist knowledge Reed has a background in physics, with a doctorate in atmospheric physics that looked at how the atmosphere works and how it is measured. He then worked as an engineer developing cryogenic coolers for satellites, before moving to Airbus, where he worked on satellites. “My background was in the space industry, designing and building satellites, and working on the data that comes from them,” said Reed. He now applies his knowledge to CGI’s satellite and data processing work. “Most weather forecasts are highly dependent on data taken by satellites, which was what I was working on,” said Reed. Reed said while CGI is a “big IT company” doing all the things a normal IT company does, it has specific expertise in the space industry. Other CGI customers using space data include the Met Office, but most are relatively small organisations, he added. Just over half of CGI’s space business is in satellite communications, and many of the big satellite companies are customers. “We write the software that controls the satellites and we provide the managed IT services around that. It’s all datacentres really. The control segment of the satellite is generally all computer programs that are doing orbit predictions, moving data around, receiving files from the satellites and processing those files.” Everything comes into datacentres and is processed and sent to scientists. The first big deal between ESA and CGI was in 2012, with CGI maintaining the software that processes the data for its environmental monitoring satellite and research satellites. Reed said the volume of data being received and processed has massively increased since then because “there are a lot more satellites being built by ESA and they are more complicated, turning in more data”. Controlling data distribution It is this dramatic increase in data that has led to CGI’s latest project with ESA, working on the Ascend programme, which Reed said is a starting point to look at new ways of providing data to scientists. “The amount of data is becoming overwhelming and it is challenging to make the data available to users,” said Reed. “It used to be a case that researchers could just go to an FTP site, download some of the data and work on it at their workstation, but now you’re talking a terabyte for just one file.” Everything is now moving to the cloud, using “scalable, cloud-based environments”. A key aspect of the work today is enabling a collaborative virtual research environment, where rather than researchers downloading files, they take their expertise to where the data is. “They don’t have to transfer terabytes of files themselves. They bring their algorithms and then they can share their environments within that research environment with other researchers,” said Reed. Collaboration is essential in the Earth observation field, with initiatives within ESA programmes shared with NASA, for example. “We can bring the ***-based and Europe-based researchers to collaborate globally with cutting-edge scientists around the world,” he said. Source link #supplier #helps #address #overwhelming #volumes #data #space Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Oz Lotto: One *********** pockets entire $100 million draw Oz Lotto: One *********** pockets entire $100 million draw One lucky woman has miraculously matched seven winning numbers in Tuesday’s Lotto draw, making her Australia’s newest multi-millionaire. The Sydney resident — who was the sole winner of the $100 million division one prize — made Oz Lotto history by becoming the largest individual winner in the draw’s history. Lottery officials said the woman was in disbelief when she received the call about her new fortune. “Who is this? Why are you calling this late?” she asked when being told the news. “What the hell. Can you repeat that? Oh my god. Don’t lie to me. “You better not be pranking me! I don’t know whether to believe you or not.” She said the money will allow her to buy a home, take more holidays and cut back on how many days she works. Twenty six ticket holders — including four West Aussies — also won big, each walking away with division two wins worth more than $59,000. The winning numbers for draw #1616 are 3, 34, 35, 26, 44, 39 and 36. The supplementary numbers are 5, 45 and 6. Source link #Lotto #*********** #pockets #entire #million #draw Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 – Guides Hub Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 – Guides Hub A vast realm awaits you in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, sequel to the 2018 open-world adventure role-playing game (RPG) from Warhorse Studios. This sequel continues the journey of Henry of Skalitz across war-torn Bohemia, where you encounter friends and foes, both fresh and familiar, in an unforgettable adventure that’s equal parts compelling, remarkable, and frustrating to boot. Here’s our Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 guides hub to help you as you get started. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 guides hub Our Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 guides hub is organized into multiple categories depending on related mechanics and themes. We tackle everything from basic concepts to expansive quest chains. General gameplay mechanics From one corner of Bohemia to the next, Henry of Skalitz has his work cut out for him. Given that this is a sequel, several systems are derived from the original game, though there are vast improvements, too. We talk about some of the basics that you’re likely to encounter within the first few hours of starting the campaign. Characters and companions Your journey is fraught with dangers, but you don’t have to go at it alone. Many allies are willing to lend a helping hand, including animal companions that you’re likely to feel attached to over time. And, of course, you might turn folks–femmes and fellahs–into new flames or flirtatious trysts. Skills guides As you progress further into the campaign as Henry, you make the most out of an assortment of gameplay systems. Many of these are tied to skills and attributes, whether it’s using your gift of gab to get out of sticky situations (or to find yourself in one), or sneaking around at night and robbing people to make yourself rich. Quests and progression Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 features expansive quest chains that offer players a lot of freedom. There are numerous optional objectives to tackle, as well as skill checks that determine how you approach each task. Some of these moments are also tense and exciting, where making mistakes at crucial points can be downright disastrous. We’ll continue to add more articles to our Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 guides hub, so stay tuned. Source link #Kingdom #Deliverance #Guides #Hub Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Concerns Rise Over Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Stability and Climate Impact Concerns Rise Over Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Stability and Climate Impact Concerns over the stability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) have resurfaced, with a recent study indicating that the current system has not weakened since the 1960s. The AMOC, which includes the Gulf Stream, plays a crucial role in regulating global climate by transporting heat from the tropics to the Northern Hemisphere. Any slowdown could result in severe climate disruptions, including extreme weather patterns and colder temperatures in parts of Europe. While the study suggests that the system has remained steady, conflicting research and expert opinions indicate that uncertainty remains. Findings from Recent Study According to a study published in Nature Communications, AMOC strength has remained stable over the past six decades. Researchers used updated climate models, which factor in greenhouse gas concentrations, to reassess commonly used indicators like sea surface temperature. The study suggests that sea-air heat flux, which measures heat exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere, is a more reliable metric. Findings indicate no significant reduction in heat transfer, suggesting AMOC has not yet weakened. Nicholas Foukal, assistant scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and a co-author of the study, stated in a press release that while anticipated changes in AMOC have not yet occurred, this does not rule out a future slowdown. Experts Raise Concerns Over Methodology Several scientists have questioned the reliability of the study’s methodology. Maya Ben-Yami, a climate researcher at the Technical University of Munich, told Live Science in an email that various climate indicators used to assess AMOC trends can produce differing results, making it difficult to draw firm conclusions. Stefan Rahmstorf, professor of oceanography at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, stated to Live Science that uncertainties in heat transfer measurements could lead to inaccurate estimates. He argued that other models used in past research, which indicate AMOC has already weakened, may be more reliable. Future Slowdown Remains Certain Despite disagreements over AMOC’s current state, researchers widely agree that its weakening is inevitable. David Thornalley, professor of climate and ocean science at University College London, told Live Science that past studies suggest AMOC began weakening in the 1800s and has remained relatively stable in recent decades. The possibility of future disruptions remains a major concern, with scientists emphasising that even with significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, AMOC will likely slow down in the coming years. Source link #Concerns #Rise #Atlantic #Meridional #Overturning #Circulation #Stability #Climate #Impact Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Putin revives Soviet-era ‘Eurovision’ with new allies Putin revives Soviet-era ‘Eurovision’ with new allies By Guy Faulconbridge MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a revival of the Soviet answer to the Eurovision Song Contest in an effort to counter what he says is the decadence of modern Western culture. Putin signed a decree on Monday for the Intervision Song Contest to be held in Moscow this year, and told senior Kremlin and government officials to prepare for the event. China, Cuba, Brazil and other “friendly” countries are expected to take part. Trusted news and daily delights, right in your inbox See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. Russia was banned from Eurovision in 2022 after Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, though he has been trying to revive Intervision for more than a decade. In contrast to Eurovision, which often celebrates LGBT+ themes and performers, Intervision will strike a more sober tone, according to documents seen by Reuters, stressing respect for “traditional universal, spiritual and family values”. “Artists may not perform songs that call for violence, humiliate the honour and dignity of society, and it is required that political themes in the lyrics are completely excluded,” said one of the Russian planning documents. Putin has increasingly sought to cast Russia as the defender of traditional family values and says the West has lost its moral moorings in the pursuit of what he sees as excessive individualism and a lack of respect for religious traditions. In Russia, stringent rules now ban anything deemed to promote homosexuality, while the international LGBTQ+ movement is branded an extremist organisation. Russia took part in Eurovision 23 times from 1994 but as ties with the West steadily soured it began to consider reviving the Soviet-era Intervision, especially after Conchita Wurst, an Austrian drag queen popularly known as “the bearded lady,” won the contest in 2014, the year Putin annexed Crimea from Ukraine. INTERVISION Intervision originally launched under Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev in the 1960s as an Eastern Bloc alternative to the capitalist Eurovision Song Contest, bringing together Moscow’s allies in eastern Europe and other ********** nations like Cuba. Russian officials say a number of countries including China, Brazil, Cuba and former Soviet republics such as Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Belarus have expressed interest in taking part in the revived Intervision music contest. According to the documents seen by Reuters, performers will have up to four minutes to sing their song live in whatever language they like. The winner will go on tour and get prize money. “The contest will be open for participation of all countries that wish to do so,” the document said, adding that participants must “respect cultural, ethical and religious traditions of other peoples of the world”. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Gareth Jones) Source link #Putin #revives #Sovietera #Eurovision #allies Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

All WWE 2K25 Ratings & Roster Confirmed So Far—Every Superstar, Legend & DLC Characters All WWE 2K25 Ratings & Roster Confirmed So Far—Every Superstar, Legend & DLC Characters WWE 2K25 features the largest roster and set of ratings ever assembled in a wrestling game. 2K is going ******* and better, and we’ve noted down every confirmed name locked in for WWE 2K25, their role, and how good they are in the squared circle. Lace up your boots and fasten your ring gear. WWE 2K25 was teased, and know we know it’s the next installment of WWE graps and greatness. The cover star is revealed, and 2K25 has several editions on the way. As someone who still fondly remembers the WWF Smackdown and Here Comes The Pain years, the level of polish and presentation currently is ridiculously good. 2K feels confident enough in its product to include hundreds of wrestlers this year. Let’s step through the curtain and see who’s lurking backstage. How Many Wrestlers Are in WWE 2K25? It’s Seth Rollins’ world, and we’re all living in it. Credit to 2K WWE 2K25 features “The largest-ever WWE 2K roster of more than 300 Superstars” and this number stretches across decades worth of in-ring talent. An official WWE 2K25 press release revealed this astounding figure. It’s nearly as many members of WWE’s version of the nWo back in the early 2000s. The epic wrestler count takes us through the years, letting us take the reins of legends such as Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Ultimate Warrior to modern-day goliaths like Roman Reigns and CM Punk. Every Confirmed WWE 2K25 Wrestler & Official Roster Rating The roster is colossal. Credit to 2K Strap yourselves in for a big WWE 2K25 roster list. This table is expected to get ******* as we draw closer to WWE 2K25’s official release date. It comprises Legends and WWE Hall of Fame stars, the best Male and Female Superstars gracing the ring now, and iconic Managers. Check out every confirmed wrestler so far, their rating, and their role in WWE 2K25. Name Role Overall Availability Austin Theory Active Wrestler ??? Launch Batista Legend ??? Launch Bayley Active Wrestler ??? Launch Becky ****** Active Wrestler ??? Launch Bianca Belair Active Wrestler ??? Launch Booker T Legend (Not in WWE) ??? Launch Bret Hart Legend ??? Launch Bron Breakker Active Wrestler ??? Launch Brother Love Manager ??? Launch Carlito Active Wrestler ??? Launch Carmelo Hayes Active Wrestler ??? Launch Chelsea Green Active Wrestler ??? Launch Chyna Legend ??? Launch CM Punk Active Wrestler ??? Launch Cody Rhodes Active Wrestler ??? Launch Damian Priest Active Wrestler ??? Launch DDP Legend ??? Launch Dexter Lumis Active Wrestler ??? Launch Dominik Mysterio Active Wrestler ??? Launch Dragon Lee Active Wrestler 78 Launch Drew McIntyre Active Wrestler ??? Launch Eddie Guerrero Legend ??? Launch Erick Rowan Active Wrestler ??? Launch Ethan Page Active Wrestler ??? Launch Gigi Dolin Active Wrestler ??? Launch Grayson Waller Active Wrestler ??? Launch Gunther Active Wrestler ??? Launch Iyo Sky Active Wrestler 89 Launch Jacob Fatu Active Wrestler ??? Launch Jacy Jayne Active Wrestler ??? Launch ***** Cargill Active Wrestler ??? Launch Jey Uso Active Wrestler ??? Launch Jey Uso “Mattel Elite” Active Wrestler ??? Launch Jimmy Uso Active Wrestler ??? Launch Joe Gacy Active Wrestler ??? Launch John Cena Active Wrestler ??? Launch Kelani Jordan Active Wrestler ??? Launch Kevin Owens Active Wrestler ??? Launch Kofi Kingston Active Wrestler 81 Launch LA Knight Active Wrestler ??? Launch Lita Legend ??? Launch Liv Morgan Active Wrestler 91 Launch Logan Paul Active Wrestler 90 Launch Lola Vice Active Wrestler ??? Launch Maxxine Dupri Active Wrestler ??? Launch Michin Active Wrestler ??? Launch Mr. Fuji Manager ??? Launch Natalya Active Wrestler ??? Launch Nia Jax Active Wrestler ??? Launch Nikki Cross Active Wrestler ??? Launch Oba Femi Active Wrestler ??? Launch Paul Heyman Manager ??? Launch R-Truth Active Wrestler ??? Launch ****** Orton Active Wrestler ??? Launch Raquel Rodriguez Active Wrestler ??? Launch Rey Mysterio Active Wrestler 86 Launch Rhea Ripley Active Wrestler ??? Launch Rob Van Dam Active Wrestler (Not in WWE) ??? Launch Roman Reigns Active Wrestler ??? Launch Roman Reigns “Mattel Elite” Active Wrestler ??? Launch Rowdy Roddy Piper Legend ??? Launch Roxanne Perez Active Wrestler ??? Launch Sami Zayn Active Wrestler ??? Launch Seth Rollins Active Wrestler ??? Launch Seth Rollins ’22 (Shield) Active Wrestler ??? Launch Shayna Baszler Active Wrestler ??? Launch Sheamus Active Wrestler ??? Launch Solo Sikoa Active Wrestler ??? Launch Stacy Keibler Legend ??? Launch Stone Cold Steve Austin Legend ??? Launch Tama Tonga Active Wrestler ??? Launch The Miz Active Wrestler ??? Launch The Rock Active Wrestler ??? Launch The Rock (Nation of Domination) Active Wrestler ??? Launch Thea Hail Active Wrestler ??? Launch Tiffany Stratton Active Wrestler ??? Launch Tonga Loa Active Wrestler ??? Launch Trick Williams Active Wrestler ??? Launch Trish Stratus Legend ??? Launch Ultimate Warrior Legend ??? Launch Umaga Legend ??? Launch Uncle Howdy Active Wrestler ??? Launch The Undertaker “Mattel Elite” Legend ??? Launch The Undertaker ’90 Legend ??? Launch Xavier Woods Active Wrestler 80 Launch Yokozuna Legend ??? Launch WWE 2K25 Post-Launch DLC Characters Content We know WWE 2K25 is releasing at least “Five post-launch DLC Character Packs.” 2K has not indicated who’s included yet in the additional packs though. But the “What are the details of the WWE 2K25 Season Pass?” section of the game’s official FAQ reveals more. Included in the optional Season Pass are “five post-launch DLC character packs and the SuperCharger pack which unlocks all base-game WWE Legends and throwback arenas.” It also says the release date of these packs is still to be confirmed. Please keep checking as details about WWE 2K25’s roster continue to pour in. It’s a hefty locker room with a lot more iconic faces and fighters asking to be thrown into the mix. Is there anyone you think would be a perfect fit for WWE 2K25? Are we likely to see any TNA crossovers thanks to the new partnership between the companies? WWE 2K is also coming to Netflix later this year, and we also know a lot about the new match types and gameplay additions this year. SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to receive the latest news and exclusive leaks every week! No Spam. Source link #WWE #2K25 #Ratings #Roster #Confirmed #FarEvery #Superstar #Legend #DLC #Characters Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

SPHEREx Space Telescope to Map Cosmos in Infrared Light, Launching in February 2025 SPHEREx Space Telescope to Map Cosmos in Infrared Light, Launching in February 2025 A groundbreaking space telescope is set to launch next month to map the cosmos in infrared light. The SPHEREx mission, officially known as the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer, has been designed to provide scientists with a comprehensive map of the sky using spectroscopy. This approach will allow researchers to analyse the composition and distances of millions of galaxies and stars. The mission, expected to last two years, will collect data on more than 450 million galaxies and over 100 million stars in the Milky Way. Key questions about the universe’s early moments, galaxy formation, and the presence of water in planetary systems will be explored. The spacecraft is currently undergoing final preparations for its scheduled launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on February 27. Mission Objectives and Scientific Impact According to NASA, SPHEREx will survey the entire sky in 102 wavelengths of infrared light, a capability that will offer insights into the earliest stages of the universe. The mission will help researchers examine conditions just after the Big Bang and track the evolution of galaxies. Data collected will also contribute to understanding how water and other essential elements formed in planetary systems. Testing and Preparations for Launch Reports indicate that extensive testing of the SPHEREx spacecraft has been conducted at BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado. The observatory has been placed in the Titan thermal vacuum chamber to simulate extreme temperatures it will experience in orbit. In a statement to NASA, Farah Alibay, systems engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, explained that these tests are critical for ensuring the telescope’s performance in space. Design and Structure The spacecraft comprises two primary sections: the scientific instruments and the support systems. A telescope developed by BAE Systems forms the core of its science equipment, while the spacecraft section houses the onboard computer, communication systems, and solar arrays. Three metallic photon shields, arranged in concentric cones, have been incorporated to regulate temperature and protect the telescope from excess heat. Looking Ahead In a statement, Brian Pramann, program manager for the project, expressed optimism about the mission’s impact, stating that the data collected could transform the scientific community’s understanding of cosmic history. The first images captured by SPHEREx are expected to provide significant insights into the universe’s past, offering researchers a glimpse of celestial objects as they appeared billions of years ago. Source link #SPHEREx #Space #Telescope #Map #Cosmos #Infrared #Light #Launching #February Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Nvidia RTX 5090 seemingly has a spanner thrown in the works by new graphics driver, but we should be very careful around reports of ‘bricked’ GPUs Nvidia RTX 5090 seemingly has a spanner thrown in the works by new graphics driver, but we should be very careful around reports of ‘bricked’ GPUs Nvidia’s RTX 5090 has run into trouble with the latest graphics driver There are numerous reports that GPUs are no longer being recognized by PCs after the driver has been installed The problem could be wrapped up in PCIe 5.0 compatibility Nvidia’s new graphics driver, which brings in support for the RTX 5090 and 5080 GPUs, has been causing problems with games crashing – and on top of that, now there are reports from some Blackwell flagship graphics card owners that they’re encountering some serious difficulties. We should clarify right off the bat that the specter of cable melting that famously hit the RTX 4090 is not a thing with the RTX 5090, despite some rumors that were recently circulating. Those reports totally got the wrong end of the stick (or the power connector, rather). These fresh bugbears seemingly affecting the RTX 5090 are mostly about the GPU failing to work (not being recognized by the PC), additionally with a claim that two of these Nvidia graphics cards have been bricked (posted on Goofish). Apparently, part of the issue here is a ‘very small probability’ of internal components ‘burning’ although the translation may well be an issue here, I should note. Furthermore, we should be very cautious around those particular anecdotal reports at this stage (I’ll come back to that shortly). As VideoCardz flagged up, these issues have apparently hit some RTX 5090 buyers, and also those who’ve purchased an RTX 5090 D over in Asia (the variant of the flagship made for that region). While almost all of these reports have surfaced in Asia – popping up on the likes of Chiphell, Baidu, and Bilibili, as Wccftech noticed – and involve graphics card makers such as Manli or Colorful, there are two reported issues on Reddit from owners of an Asus RTX 5090 (the original poster, and a follow-up claim in that thread). It’s worth noting that RTX 5080 graphics cards aren’t affected by these apparent issues. (Image credit: Shutterstock) Analysis: PCIe compatibility woes? What’s going on here? Well, that’s a tricky one to unpick, and for now, we have to give Nvidia the benefit of the doubt, at least regarding the tales of RTX 5090 graphics cards being fried somehow – take that with a whole heap of seasoning. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. However, the problems with the new graphics driver causing the RTX 5090 to not be recognized by the system certainly seem very real. Indeed, this problem was observed in some reviews of the flagship, and it’s something that could be wrapped up in PCIe 5.0 compatibility. The solution for some, as noted in the Reddit thread with the Asus RTX 5090, is to head to the BIOS and drop down to PCIe 4.0 instead. Yes, that’ll mean a slight performance loss, but it’s not that big a drop (and it’ll only be temporary hopefully, as when things are ironed out, you’ll be able to switch back). This drop to-PCIe-4.0 plan isn’t helping everyone, though, and the trick didn’t work for the RTX 5090 owned by the original poster on Reddit. They’ve had to send their board back to Nvidia, with Team Green now investigating the problem, we’re told. This remains one to keep a close eye on, then, for the time being. Of course, with there being very few RTX 5090 graphics cards out there – due to seriously limited stock – any issues aren’t likely to be that widely reported, anyway. We’ve reached out to Nvidia to see if the company can shed some light on this matter, and will update this story with any response. You might also like… Source link #Nvidia #RTX #seemingly #spanner #thrown #works #graphics #driver #careful #reports #bricked #GPUs Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Marvel Rivals Tank Mains Need To Stop Hiding Behind Their Strategists Like 10-Year Olds Hiding From Bullies Behind Their Mommies Marvel Rivals Tank Mains Need To Stop Hiding Behind Their Strategists Like 10-Year Olds Hiding From Bullies Behind Their Mommies In the two months since its launch, Marvel Rivals has taken the hero shooter genre by storm. NetEase’s fresh take on the formula has attracted players from all walks of life, from seasoned veterans to complete newcomers. But with this influx of new blood comes some… interesting interpretations of how certain roles should be played. Front-line? More like ‘behind-line’ these days. | Image Credit: NetEase Games One particularly concerning trend has emerged among Vanguard players: the tendency to treat their Strategists like human shields instead of the other way around. It’s a bizarre role reversal that has experienced players pulling their hair out and support mains questioning their life choices. And while we understand that taking damage can be scary (that’s literally what it’s designed to be), if you’re going to main a tank in Marvel Rivals, you need to understand that being the team’s meatshield isn’t just a suggestion—it’s your whole job description. When tanks forget how to tank in Marvel Rivals Let’s get one thing straight: if you’re playing a Vanguard hero in Marvel Rivals and finding yourself constantly cowering behind your team’s Luna Snow or Mantis, you might want to reconsider your role choice. The tank role isn’t just about having a chunky health bar—it’s about creating space for your team to work their magic. SquiblyMcDuck, as they call themselves, hits the nail right on the head: When you’re the tank, you’re not just another damage dealer with extra HP—you’re the team’s frontline, their shield, and most importantly, their confidence. When you start backing away at the first sign of damage, you’re not just compromising your position; you’re throwing your entire team’s strategy into chaos. Comment byu/SquiblyMcDuck from discussion inmarvelrivals Of course, some players are still learning the ropes, and that’s perfectly fine. The problem comes when tanks refuse to adapt and learn, continuing to play like they’re allergic to damage when the developers at NetEase have custom-built their entire kit around taking hits: Comment byu/SquiblyMcDuck from discussion inmarvelrivals This disconnect between tank positioning and team follow-up often leads to frustrated Vanguards who find themselves isolated and overwhelmed. But then again, the responsibility goes both ways. Team coordination, or the lack thereof Teamwork makes the dream work, after all. | Image Credit: NetEase Games Success in Marvel Rivals (or any team-based shooter for that matter) isn’t just about individual performance—it’s about how well you work with your team. Even the most aggressive tank player needs their team’s support to be truly effective, and sometimes that support just isn’t there: Comment byu/SquiblyMcDuck from discussion inmarvelrivals This is where the real complexity of tank play comes in. You need to be aware not just of your own positioning, but of your team’s ability to support your advances. Sometimes, the bravest thing a tank can do is wait for their team to regroup: Comment byu/SquiblyMcDuck from discussion inmarvelrivals The key is finding that sweet spot between aggression and awareness. Yes, you need to be making space and soaking damage, but you also need to keep an eye on your Strategists when heroes like ****** Panther, Iron Fist, or Psylocke (or even a dive-tank like Venom or Hulk) start harassing them. After all, a dead Strategist means no healing for anyone. At the end of the day, playing tank in Marvel Rivals is about more than just having a big HP bar—it’s about having the courage to lead, the wisdom to know when to hold back, and the awareness to protect your own backline by fending off flankers. Just remember: if you find yourself hiding behind your Luna Snow more often than protecting them… it might be time to try out a different role. What’s your take on tank play in Marvel Rivals? Have you encountered these timid tanks in your matches? Share your stories and strategies in the comments below! Source link #Marvel #Rivals #Tank #Mains #Stop #Hiding #Strategists #10Year #Olds #Hiding #Bullies #Mommies Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]