Pelican Press

A Disturbing Pattern With the Most Hideous Elden Ring Bosses Reveals a Weird Hidetaka Miyazaki ******* A Disturbing Pattern With the Most Hideous Elden Ring Bosses Reveals a Weird Hidetaka Miyazaki ******* When it comes to boss design, Hidetaka Miyazaki has always had a flair for the dramatic. But there’s something particularly fascinating (and slightly disturbing) about a pattern that Elden Ring players have recently noticed in some of the game’s most memorable encounters. Miyazaki at The Game Awards 2019. | Image Credit: thegameawards/YouTube It seems that many of the game’s most formidable bosses share an unusual trait: they become significantly stronger after… well, mutilating themselves. And once you notice this pattern, you can’t help but wonder what this says about Miyazaki’s unique vision for these epic confrontations. Elden Ring‘s Self-Mutilating Menagerie The trend in question becomes apparent when you look at some of the game’s most notorious boss fights: Take Godrick, for example. In what might be one of the most metal moments in gaming history, this grafting-obsessed demigod decides that having a regular arm just isn’t cutting it anymore: Comment byu/Full_Data_6240 from discussion ingaming This fascination with transformation through self-mutilation has become something of a signature move in Miyazaki’s games. It’s a design philosophy that extends far beyond just making bosses look cool—it’s about creating moments that stick with players long after they’ve put down the controller. And this isn’t just limited to Elden Ring. Miyazaki’s peculiar predilection for self-destructive power-ups extends throughout FromSoftware’s entire catalog, from Dark Souls 2 to Bloodborne: Comment byu/Full_Data_6240 from discussion ingaming The consistency of this design choice across multiple games suggests this isn’t just coincidence—it’s a deliberate artistic decision that has become one of Hidetaka Miyazaki‘s most distinctive directorial signatures. The Method Behind Miyazaki’s Madness As always, his design choice has a valid explanation. | Image Credit: FromSoftware What makes these transformations particularly fascinating is how each one tells a story. From Malenia’s scarlet bloom to Godfrey’s rejection of nobility, these aren’t just random acts of self-destruction: Comment byu/Full_Data_6240 from discussion ingaming These moments of self-mutilation often serve as powerful character development, revealing the desperate lengths these beings will go to achieve victory. Take Malenia, for instance, whose transformation has become more than “legendary” among players: Comment byu/Full_Data_6240 from discussion ingaming In interviews, Miyazaki has often spoken about his ******* to create boss encounters that leave lasting impressions on players. This unique approach to boss transformations serves multiple purposes: it creates memorable spectacles, raises the stakes mid-******, and often tells us something profound about these characters and their motivations. The genius ***** in how these transformations affect both the narrative and gameplay. When a boss mutilates itself, it’s not just for show—it fundamentally changes how players must approach the ******. What worked in phase one suddenly becomes obsolete, forcing players to adapt their strategies on the fly while processing the visual and emotional impact of what they’ve just witnessed. This balance of beauty and horror, of power and sacrifice, has become one of the most distinctive aspects of Miyazaki’s game design. It’s a reminder that in the worlds he creates, true power often comes at a terrible price. And sometimes, that price is paid in flesh and blood. Whether you find it disturbing or fascinating (or both), there’s no denying that this recurring theme has become one of the revered designer’s most effective tools for creating unforgettable moments in gaming. And honestly? We wouldn’t have it any other way. What’s your favorite boss transformation in Elden Ring? Which one do you find most disturbing? Let us know in the comments below! Source link #Disturbing #Pattern #Hideous #Elden #Ring #Bosses #Reveals #Weird #Hidetaka #Miyazaki #******* Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

We gave the Lenovo Legion 7i four stars — it’s $600 off today We gave the Lenovo Legion 7i four stars — it’s $600 off today Lenovo In one of its early ****** Friday deals happening right now, Lenovo has cut the price of the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i by 19%. That means instead of paying $3,150, it’s down to $2,550 for a limited time. It’s a high-end gaming PC and easily one of the best gaming PC deals around right now. If you’re looking to game in style for a long time to come, here’s what it has to offer. Why you should buy the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Lenovo makes some of the best gaming PCs around and it’s a name you can depend on. With the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i, you get a 14th-generation Intel Core i9-14900KF processor paired up with 32GB of DDR5 RAM and 1TB of SSD storage. The star of the show here is its Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super graphics card with 16GB of dedicated VRAM. That CPU and GPU combination is quite the powerful pairing, so you can enjoy high-end gaming performance for a long time to come. The Lenovo Legion Tower 7i uses liquid cooling. It’s an effective cooling method combined with decreased airflow obstruction and better efficiency. The Lenovo Legion Tower 7i has a neat looking 3D mesh foot bezel along with an eye-catching rail-side transparent glass panel so you can always see what’s going on in your PC, right down to how good the RGB lighting looks. The tower also offers those extras you might not think of, like 2.5G Ethernet and Wi-Fi 6E support. There are plenty of USB ports for connecting all your favorite accessories. Just make sure to add one of the best gaming monitors and you’re all set for the long-term. Whatever you want to play, it’s going to look great here. If you’re keen to play games at ultra quality levels for a while to come, you need the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i in your life. It ordinarily costs $3,150, but right now it’s down to $2,550 for a limited time only at Lenovo. Now is the perfect time to buy, with the 19% discount a doorbuster deal likely to end very soon. Source link #gave #Lenovo #Legion #stars #today Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Labour to ‘miss homes pledge’ and ‘pension megafunds’ plan Labour to ‘miss homes pledge’ and ‘pension megafunds’ plan The i says Labour’s pledge to build 1.5 million homes by the end of this Parliament has been “plunged into doubt” by comments from the head of Homes England, the government’s housing agency. The paper says that, in an email to staff, Peter Denton said the target was “realistically” part of a “two parliamentary term approach”. The Times says the government is facing a growing “business backlash” over last month’s Budget, which contained, among other things, a £25bn increase in employers’ national insurance. The paper says the British Retail Consortium has drafted a letter telling Chancellor Rachel Reeves its members will not be able to absorb the additional cost of the measures. It quotes the letter as saying the “sheer scale of new costs… and the speed with which they occur, together with costs from a raft of other regulation, create a cumulative burden that will make job losses inevitable, and higher prices a certainty”. Councils will be allowed to increase council tax by 5% next year, meaning a £110 jump in average bills, according to the Daily Mail. The paper says Downing Street will allow councils to do this in order to help them meet rising costs. It adds, though, that the news comes just a fortnight after some “eye-watering” tax rises in the Budget and despite previous attacks by Labour on the Conservatives over similar council tax hikes. Reeves hopes to unlock £80bn worth of investment by reforming local government retirement schemes to form eight pensions “megafunds”, the Financial Times reports. It comes as the chancellor is due to deliver her first Mansion House speech, an annual address delivered by the sitting chancellor in the City of London, on Thursday. Reeves tells the paper she also wants to reassure businesses the recent tax rises were part of a “once in a parliament Budget”. The Daily Telegraph says Essex Police has been accused of attacking free speech after launching an investigation into one of its columnists, Allison Pearson, for allegedly stirring up ******* hatred in a social media post last year. Pearson has said two officers visited her to tell her about the investigation on Sunday, but they would not say which post it concerned or who had made the complaint. Former prime minister Boris Johnson is quoted calling the behaviour of the police “appalling”, while shadow home secretary Chris Philp says he is “deeply concerned this will have a chilling effect on free speech and free expression”. A report by Human Right Watch has said ******* is using evacuation orders to pursue the “deliberate and massive forced displacement” of ************ civilians in Gaza and the policy amounts to “******* against humanity”, according to the Guardian. The paper says the report comes amid mounting evidence that ******* is “accelerating efforts to cut the Gaza Strip in two with a buffer zone” and “building infrastructure to support a prolonged military presence” in the territory. The Metro leads with Donald Trump’s “shock appointment” of a Fox News TV host and former soldier as the US defence secretary. The paper says that, despite having no government experience, Pete Hegseth, 44, will run the “world’s largest military machine and its $800bn (£627bn) budget”, with responsibility for 1.3 million active duty personnel, 1.4 million reservists, and civilian staff worldwide. “Wild west of cosmetic surgery in Britain”, reads the headline in the Daily Mirror. The paper says an ITV investigation has found that potentially deadly operations, including liposuction, are being carried out by people with just hours of training. It adds Health Secretary Wes Streeting has pledged a crackdown on rogue operators. And the Sun alleges a video taken at this summer’s Euros appears to show Premier League David Coote using a rolled-up US banknote to sniff a line of white powder in a clip he later sent to a friend on WhatsApp. The BBC has not independently verified the footage. Source link #Labour #homes #pledge #pension #megafunds #plan Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Survive the Night in IfSunSets | COGconnected Survive the Night in IfSunSets | COGconnected IfSunSets is a new open world survival/crafting game with a pirate theme, set on a mystery-and-monster filled tropical island. Source link #Survive #Night #IfSunSets #COGconnected Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Early ****** Friday Lenovo Laptop deals 2024: Up to 20% off Early ****** Friday Lenovo Laptop deals 2024: Up to 20% off Mark Coppock / Digital Trends ****** Friday falls on November 29 this year, and while it’s still quite early, there are a lot of great Lenovo deals you can take advantage of already. Along with Dell and Asus, Lenovo is one of the best laptop brands on the market right now and offers a pretty substantial choice of laptops for you to pick from. In fact, its laptops often show up on our list of best laptops and best gaming laptops, so pretty much everything you grab from Lenovo is likely going to be pretty excellent. That’s why we’ve gone out and collected some of our favorite early ****** Friday Lenovo deals and put them for you down below. IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 — $507 $634 20% off Lenovo This configuration of the IdeaPad 5i is perfect for those who want a budget-oriented 2-in-1 laptop, and with a 14-inch WUXGA resolution screen, it’s really quite portable. It comes with an entry-level Intel Core 3 100U processor that should handle most tasks just fine, and while the 8GB of RAM isn’t a ton, the 512GB of storage is, plus it has a solid 20% discount. Yoga 7 2-in-1 — $680 $880 22% off Lenovo The Yoga lineup from Lenovo shows up on our list of best 2-in-1 laptops quite often, and this configuration comes with the mid-range AMD Ryzen 5 8640HS processor that gives you a bit more versatility. The 14-inch screen makes this very portable, while the 16GB of RAM is really nice to see at this discounted $680 price point. LOQ 15 — $810 $909 10% off Lenovo This configuration of the Lenovo LOQ is a great budget gaming laptop, especially since it’s been discounted to $810 from $909 and comes with an RTX 4050. That should let you play most free-to-play and older AAA games quite easily, and the AMD Ryzen 5 8645HS is a great mid-range CPU for work and day-to-day activities. Lenovo Slim 7i — $900 $1,130 20% off Mark Coppock / Digital Trends The Lenovo Slim 7i is a great mid-range work option if you want something relatively portable. It has a mid-range Intel Core Ultra 5 125H processor, 16GB of RAM, and a substantial 1TB SSD, as well as a 1080P FHD camera which is great for those who have online meetings. The 20% discount is also pretty great. Legion Pro 5 — $1,750 $2,000 12% off Jacob ****** / Digital Trends / Jacob ****** / Digital Trends A great mid to high-end gaming laptop is Lenovo Legion Pro 5 series, and even our lead reporter Jacob ****** said “The Lenovo Legion Pro 5 is a next-gen gaming laptop that is actually affordable.” This configuration comes with an RTX 4070, which should handle most games pretty well on the 16-inch 2K screen, plus you get an AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX CPU and 32GBs, all for $1,750 instead of $2,000. How to Choose a Lenovo Laptop on ****** Friday There are a lot of great Lenovo laptops on the market, and most of them tend to be broken down into specific subgroups that you can look at depending on what you need. For example, if you’re interested in a gaming laptop, then the Lenovo LOQ is a great budget-oriented option, whereas the Lenovo Legion is the mid to higher-end gaming laptop option you can go for. Just be sure that if you do go for a gaming laptop, to aim for at least 16GB of RAM for a better overall experience. Other options include the ThinkPad lineup, which tends to be made for business uses and tends to be smaller, comes with better webcams, and will often include a fingerprint reader. Alternatively, the Lenovo Yoga laptops are great 2-in-1 laptops but also have some very solid budget-oriented laptops if you’re looking for something like that. Ideapads are another great option if you’re looking for a budget-oriented laptop that’s great for general day-to-day work and also school and university, and some of them even come as Chromebooks. How We Chose These Lenovo Laptop ****** Friday Deals Because there are so many different types of Lenovo laptops, we do our best to include various options at different price points and configurations so you can pick exactly the type of laptop you’re looking for. We also rely on our experience and tools to find the best deals so you’re getting the best bang for your buck. That way, you know that you can shop in confidence knowing that you’re getting the best deal you could possible get. Source link #Early #****** #Friday #Lenovo #Laptop #deals Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

House GOP reaches deal to make it ******* to oust speaker House GOP reaches deal to make it ******* to oust speaker Washington — House Republicans said they have reached a deal to raise the threshold to oust their speaker on Wednesday as the party seeks to project a unified front after winning control of the White House and both chambers of Congress. The leaders of the House Freedom Caucus and the Main Street Caucus, two influential factions, said they have an agreement to change the rule that allowed a single member to trigger a no-confidence vote to remove the speaker. The House Freedom Caucus agreed to increase the threshold to nine members. In exchange for the increase, the Main Street Caucus would drop proposed rule changes that sought to punish those who defied the majority of the party. “We’ve been able to work across the conference to eliminate the controversial issues that could have divided us,” Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, who chairs the House Freedom Caucus, said. Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota, who leads the Main Street Caucus, said Harris reached out to him Wednesday morning to broker a deal, telling him “unity is important.” Johnson conceded that some of the proposed rule changes “probably would have divided this conference.” “Because of this agreement, we are in a better position to move forward the *********** agenda,” Johnson said. Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, a member of the Main Street Caucus, said the proposals were made because they wanted members who rebelled to be held accountable. “We were very let down by the actions of some in…this current Congress,” he said. Infighting has made it difficult for Republicans, who have a razor-thin majority, to govern over the last two years. In January 2023, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California finally won the speaker’s gavel after 15 ballots amid a prolonged — and public — ****** with conservatives who demanded concessions, including allowing a single member to trigger a no-confidence vote to oust the speaker. Nine months later, the deal led to McCarthy’s downfall after he relied on the votes of House Democrats to temporarily avert a government shutdown. It was the first time in U.S. history a House speaker was ousted by such a motion. Though House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana has faced similar issues as McCarthy and has had to rely on Democratic votes to pass legislation, Republicans on Wednesday backed him for another term leading the party. House Republicans are again expected to have a narrow majority in the next Congress, which will temporarily be made more difficult by President-elect Donald Trump’s offers to several members to serve in his administration. Johnson said he changed his plans to spend to the weekend with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida so that he can “be there while more of these decisions are being made.” “He’s very aware of the margin, the size of the margin, but he has an administration to fill, a Cabinet to fill,” Johnson said at a news conference with House *********** leaders. “Everyone in this room is keenly aware of it as well, and that’s why we’re emphasizing unity right now.” Jaala Brown contributed to this report. Caitlin Yilek Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at CBSNews.com, based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation. Source link #House #GOP #reaches #deal #******* #oust #speaker Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Concerns about Mexico’s trade policies toward China ‘legitimate’: Freeland – National Concerns about Mexico’s trade policies toward China ‘legitimate’: Freeland – National Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Wednesday she shares what she called “legitimate” concerns about Mexico’s trade policies regarding China, and that North ********* countries should be aligned on ******** vehicle tariffs. Freeland, who chairs the newly revived cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations, wouldn’t say if she agrees with Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s call this week to cut Mexico out of free trade talks over the issue, but said she has “some sympathy” with his concerns, which have also been raised by U.S. president-elect Donald Trump. “I have been hearing for some time from people close to the incoming Trump administration, but also from other ********* business leaders and indeed from members of the outgoing Biden administration, some concerns that Mexico is not acting the way that Canada and the U.S. are when it comes to its economic relationship with China,” she told reporters after the committee’s latest meeting. Story continues below advertisement “I think those are legitimate concerns for our ********* partners and neighbours to have. Those are concerns that I share.” Trump and Ford have accused Mexico of allowing ******** companies to bypass rules in the Canada-******* States-Mexico Agreement and export vehicles and parts into the U.S. and Canada through ********-built manufacturing plants. Canada joined the U.S. earlier this year in slapping 100-per cent tariffs on ******** imported electric vehicles and 25-per cent levies on ******** steel and aluminum. Ottawa is undergoing further consultations on whether to expand the tariffs to other ******** imports. Mexico has not followed suit with any tariffs on ******** vehicles or components. 2:13 How Trump’s ‘America First’ policy could affect Canada Ford said Tuesday that unless Mexico imposes similar tariffs, Canada and the U.S. should simply negotiate its own bilateral free trade agreement without Mexico. Story continues below advertisement “If Mexico wants a bilateral trade deal with Canada, **** bless them,” Ford said. “But I’m not going to be drawn down with these cheap imports, taking men and women’s jobs from hardworking Ontarians.” Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Freeland’s comments go further than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did when asked about Ford’s comments Tuesday, though Trudeau alluded to efforts to bring Mexico in alignment with the U.S. and Canada. “We’re going to continue to work with partners like the ******* States, and hopefully Mexico as well, to make sure that we are ******* in our ******* to protect good jobs” as well as environmental and labour concerns, he said. Freeland said Wednesday that Canada’s actions on ******** imports “makes us the only country in the world which is fully aligned with the ******* States today when it comes to economic policy vis-a-vis China.” Trending Now Former B.C. premier John Horgan ***** following battle with ******* Canada Post issues lockout notice after union’s strike warning Trump has said he wants to renegotiate CUSMA when it comes up for a scheduled review in 2026 to address the concerns with Mexico. 1:33 ‘We’ve been here before’: Trudeau says Canada is prepared to renegotiate CUSMA ******** automakers such as BYD — one of the largest in the world — are seeking to build manufacturing plants in Mexico, where a number of ********* companies are already building their vehicles at a lower cost. The ***** is that those ******** companies can then take advantage of CUSMA’s duty-free import rules and flood the North ********* market with ******** cars while avoiding the U.S. and ********* tariffs. Story continues below advertisement CUSMA’s rules of origin clause requires higher levels of North ********* parts in vehicles sold in the three countries compared with NAFTA, which Trump has said China is also trying to exploit by bringing ******** components through Mexico. Trump has vowed to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all ******** imports if it doesn’t stem the flow of migrants arriving at the U.S. border. During the presidential campaign, Trump said he would impose tariffs of at least 200 per cent or more on all vehicles imported from Mexico — which would hurt ********* automakers in the short term — and suggested levies on ******** companies who operate in Mexico and bypass CUSMA rules as high as 1,000 per cent. Mexico has vowed to retaliate with its own tariffs on ********* imports if Trump follows through with his threat, which the country’s economic minister warned would bring economic harm to North America. More on Canada More videos &copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc. Source link #Concerns #Mexicos #trade #policies #China #legitimate #Freeland #National Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Xbox is testing a handheld device, but it’s a long ways off Xbox is testing a handheld device, but it’s a long ways off Microsoft Xbox CEO Phil Spencer confirmed that the company is working on a handheld device, which has been heavily rumored for quite some time. However, don’t expect it any time soon. In a Bloomberg interview, Spencer said Microsoft said that a potential device is only in the prototyping stage at this time. Even if the team was set to bring a product to market, it would still be a few years out. “Longer term, I love us building devices,” Spencer told Bloomberg. “And I think our team could do some real innovative work, but we want to be informed by learning and what’s happening now.” A lot of handheld consoles and cloud streaming devices have entered the market over the past few years. The space is arguably led by the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck right now, but there are plenty of other competitors, including the Logitech G Cloud and the Asus ROG Ally. Xbox’s main competitor PlayStation also released a handheld late last year called the PlayStation Portal that just allows players to remotely stream games from their PlayStation 5. Microsoft executives have been teasing the possibility of a handheld for a while, but Spencer has done a lot of the anticipation-building himself. He’s talked a lot about handhelds in the past, and in June, he told IGN that Xbox is looking to expand its hardware options. “The future for us in hardware is pretty awesome. The work that the team is doing around different form factors and different ways to play, I’m incredibly excited about,” he said. However, a roadmap that leaked as part of a recent FTC trial showed Xbox’s plans through 2030, with a dedicated handheld “not in scope for first party.” In September, Xbox vice president Sarah Bond told Bloomberg that she wants to reach players wherever they play. Xbox Game Pass has expanded to a number of platforms, even allowing Amazon ***** TV users to stream Xbox games. “I want people to think no matter who you are, you can come to Xbox and find a game,” she said. Spencer also said in the Bloomberg interview that the company is interested in more acquisitions to break into new markets like Asia, and to tap into mobile gaming. Xbox has already begun its investment into mobile, with the Activision Blizzard acquisition netting them Candy Crush Saga maker King. “We definitely want to be in the market, and when we can find teams and technology and capability that add to what we’re trying to do in gaming at Microsoft, absolutely we will keep our heads up,” he said. Source link #Xbox #testing #handheld #device #long #ways Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

If you use one of these passwords, hackers will love you If you use one of these passwords, hackers will love you NordPass You would think that at this point, people would be using stronger passwords. Sorry to disappoint you, but according to NordPass’ annual list of the world’s most popular passwords, the unoriginal choices are a letdown. 123456 is the back-to-back champ for the most common and easiest password. But on the bright side, at least “password” doesn’t have the No. 1 spot like it did in the past. The remaining top spots go to passwords such as: 123456789 12345678 password qwerty123 Those are the obvious ones, and if you have any of these, we strongly recommend you create a stronger password. We know passwords are hard, but your security is at risk. It’s better to take a few minutes to have a strong password than to deal with the headache of getting your files and accounts back from a hacker. Perhaps even more interestingly is the extended list, which has some passwords that surprised me. The other easy passwords on the list include: iloveyou monkey dragon 11111111 secret abc123 00000000 ******* 88888888 pokemon superman baseball These are only a few weak passwords used, and the hackers only need one second to ****** them. Clearly, many of the passwords used revealed interests, while the rest of the list shows those who opt for a more aggressive way of saying: “Back off!” If you want to see the most popular passwords in your country, you can use the filter at the top of the NordPass page. If you’re struggling to create a strong password, it’s easy to fall back on options such as “secret” or “123456” (which are among the most popular in the U.S.). But you don’t have to go it alone; another top-tier password manager, such as 1Password, can also help. There is a trick involving a new email address that takes security to a new level, making your online accounts super secure. Don’t forget to check it out. You can also clean up your passwords and strengthen your online security, and remember not to use personal data such as your address when creating your next password. Source link #passwords #hackers #love Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Unemployment rate ******** steady at 4.1 per cent for three months in a row Unemployment rate ******** steady at 4.1 per cent for three months in a row While October unemployment figures have continued to be steady for the third month in a row, record high employment growth is slowing. Source link #Unemployment #rate #******** #steady #cent #months #row Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Bluesky surges to 15 million users after getting a million sign-ups in one week Bluesky surges to 15 million users after getting a million sign-ups in one week Bluesky may still be the underdog in the race for alternatives to X, but the once Twitter-affiliated service is gaining momentum. The app just passed the 15 million user mark after adding more than a million new users over the last week, the company said in an update. While Bluesky is still considerably smaller than Threads, which with 275 million users is its biggest rival, there are signs that Threads users have been increasingly curious about the upstart. “Bluesky” has been a trending topic on Threads in recent days and an in-app search suggestion shows there are more than 19,000 posts about “Bluesky.” Bluesky itself has also made to win over Threads users in recent weeks by posting regularly on the Meta-owned service. That effort seems to be working. A month ago, Engadget , the service had just under 9 million users. Its mobile app also has the top spot in Apple’s App Store, followed by Threads and ChatGPT. Its recent success also seems to be driven, at least in part, by frustration with Elon Musk and X following the US presidential election. A recent report from web analytics company SimilarWeb found that “more than 115,000 US web visitors deactivated their accounts,” on November 7, “more than on any previous day of Elon Musk’s tenure.” The report also noted that “web traffic and daily active users for Bluesky increased dramatically in the week before the election, and then again after election day,” with Bluesky at points seeing more web traffic than Threads. (Threads’ mobile usage, however, is still “far ahead” of Bluesky.) SimilarWeb “In the US, Bluesky got more web visits than Threads in the immediate aftermath of the election,” the report notes. “For context, it’s important to note that both services are app centric, even though they support a web user interface.” On its part, Bluesky seems intent on distinguishing itself from its larger, billionaire-controlled rivals. The company, which began as an internal project at Twitter before it spun off into an independent entity, has experimented with novel features like , user-created and “” for new users. “You’re probably used to being trapped in a single algorithm controlled by a small group of people, that’s no longer the case,” Bluesky’s COO Rose Wang shared in aimed at new users Tuesday. “On Bluesky, there are about 50,000 different feeds … these feeds provide a cozy corner for you to meet people with similar interests. And you can actually make friends again, because you’re no longer tied to a dominant algorithm that promotes either the most polarizing posts and or the biggest brands, and that’s the mandate of Bluesky.” Source link #Bluesky #surges #million #users #million #signups #week Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Today’s Wordle answer is so hard it nearly cost me my 1,045-game streak – and it’s all the NYT’s fault Today’s Wordle answer is so hard it nearly cost me my 1,045-game streak – and it’s all the NYT’s fault Having a very, very long Wordle streak is a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it grants me immense bragging rights over those mere mortals with their streaks in the hundreds. On the other, it turns every game into a must-win ordeal. After all, what would I be without my Wordle streak? A so-called ‘expert’ with no credentials, that’s what. I’d be laughed out of town. I joke, of course, but having gone 1,046 games without a loss I would rather not give up my streak all the same. I nearly had to today, though, because game #1,244 (Thursday, 14 November) nearly sent me back to ground zero. I’m pretty sure I won’t be the only one, though – because today’s Wordle answer is undoubtedly a very difficult one. And it’s all the fault of the New York Times’ puzzle setters. To explain why, I’ll need to reveal the solution, so don’t read past this point if you haven’t played yet, because SPOILERS FOR TODAY’S WORDLE, GAME #1,244, ON THURSDAY, 14 NOVEMBER 2024 will follow. You have been warned. Wordle hall of shame Let’s start with a question: what’s the hardest Wordle ever? Is it CAULK, one of the first games to upset thousands of avid Wordlers soon after the game’s meteoric rise to prominence? Or maybe BORAX, a word that many players outside of the ******* States had almost no knowledge of? Or JAZZY, with its repeated Zs and very-uncommon J at the start? None of those, actually – the toughest ever is PARER, game #454 in September 2022. That’s based on the fact that it had an average score of 6.3, which to put it in context is half a guess more than its closest competitor, MUMMY (#491, 5.8). Those average scores come from WordleBot, the in-game AI helper tool that analyzes your Wordle after you’ve played. As well as doing that, it records the average across everyone who plays, and in turn I note down those averages to keep a sort of league table. I have 956 of them listed now, giving me a pretty good idea of which Wordles people have found most difficult. Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable ****** Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content. By that measure, today’s game is some way down the list of the hardest ever, with an average of 4.9. High, but not ridiculously so. However, that only tells half of the story. Right, let’s get into the specifics now, which means revealing today’s answer. This is your last chance to go away and play if you haven’t done so yet. **FINAL SPOILER ALERT** Sorry, what? (Image credit: ShutterStock) Today’s answer is UVULA. No, me neither. I do sort of know what it means, actually. Or at least I knew before I played it that it was a real word, albeit a fairly obscure one with a very strange spelling. For the unaware, it’s the soft dangly bit between your tonsils at the back of your throat. I thought it was the ridge at the top of your mouth, maybe, but at least I was in the right area. Others will not be so lucky. Twitter is already alight with people complaining that either they had no idea what it means or that it was just too obscure. You have got to be kidding me Wordle 1,244 6/6November 13, 2024 Wordle 1.244 X/6How am I supposed to know THAT ???????? #nyt #wordleNovember 13, 2024 As well as its relative obscurity as a word, UVULA suffers from having an incredibly unusual format, with UVU at the start; that’s not found in any other answer. Plus, it contains two letter Us – and as I show in my analysis of every Wordle answer, that’s a very rare occurrence too, with only 10 games among the original 2,309 solutions having that format. All of this added up to make it a very tough game. Its average of 4.9 puts it just outside of the top 20, but I think that’s misleading – people are probably solving it through brute force in the end, because there are no other words that have that format. With a word like PARER, in contrast, there are lots of alternatives and it’s therefore easy to keep guessing until you eventually fail. Here, you will ultimately reach a point where nothing else fits! That’s what happened to me, anyway. I usually solve Wordle in about 10-20 minutes, sometimes 30-40 if it’s a difficult one and I’m playing carefully. Here, I must have stared at the board and played around with various letter combinations for two hours. That’s genuinely no exaggeration. My family thought I’d gone ****. I nearly gave up – I was completely stumped. However, I have a daily column to write so kept going and eventually scored a five. My streak was genuinely in doubt, though – I could easily have wasted a couple of guesses on similarly obscure words that weren’t correct. (Image credit: New York Times) NYT blues So why is this the NYT’s fault and not mine? Well, it’s worth noting that this is – for the second day in a row – a non-canon Wordle answer. By that I mean that it was not among the 2,309 answers originally dreamed up by the game’s creator Josh Wardle and his partner, but has instead been added by the NYT. Yesterday’s PRIMP (see below) was also one of these, and in total we’ve now had 10 of them: GUANO (game #646), SNAFU (#659), BALSA (#720), KAZOO (#730), LASER (#1038), PIOUS (#1054), BEAUT (#1186) and MOMMY (#1208). Notice anything about those words? Yes – they include some of the toughest in recent memory. I can easily work out the average for Wordle as a whole, and right now it stands at 3.964 across those 956 games that I have a score for. However, if you look at the average for those 10 games added by the NYT you’ll see that it’s a mighty 4.35. It’s official: the NYT is making Wordle *******! There is a reason for this, of course – in that Josh Wardle used up most of the obvious answers. LASER (average: 3.3) and PIOUS (3.8) are the only two below 4.0, and are also the most common words among them, MOMMY aside. That last word is an outlier, meanwhile, because it contains three Ms, an incredibly unusual format (and it had an average of 5.0 as a result). Elsewhere, KAZOO was a 5.1, PRIMP yesterday was 4.5, BALSA 4.4 and SNAFU 4.3, so it certainly appears as though the NYT’s editors are choosing tougher words when given the chance. There’s nothing wrong with this, really – and I like a challenge as much as anyone. UVULA is a perfectly fair word, albeit an undeniably difficult one to solve in Wordle. But I wasn’t feeling anywhere near as charitable when I was sat staring at a seemingly impossible game, and I doubt you will be if you just lost your streak today, either. You might also like Source link #Todays #Wordle #answer #hard #cost #1045game #streak #NYTs #fault Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Republicans projected to maintain control of House Republicans projected to maintain control of House Republicans projected to maintain control of House – CBS News Watch CBS News CBS News projected Wednesday that Republicans will keep their majority in the House, which along with control of the Senate, will make it easier for President-elect Donald Trump to fill his Cabinet posts and potentially fulfill his legislative agenda. Scott MacFarlane reports from the U.S. Capitol. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On Source link #Republicans #projected #maintain #control #House Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

US envoy says Mexico not safe, blames ex-president for ******* security US envoy says Mexico not safe, blames ex-president for ******* security MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, said on Wednesday that the country is not safe and criticized the previous president for a ******* security policy and refusing to accept ********* assistance. “The reality is that at the moment Mexico is not safe,” Salazar said during a press conference at his residence in Mexico City. The ambassador criticized former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador directly, saying security coordination between Mexico and the U.S. had suffered during his term. “Unfortunately this coordination has ******* in the last year, in great part because the previous president did not want to receive help from the ******* States,” he said. Lopez Obrador’s attempt to address the root causes of *********, a strategy he called “hugs not bullets,” did “not work,” Salazar said. He added he hoped that President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office last month, would have greater success in fighting ****** and ********* by investing more in security. Sheinbaum, who belongs to the same party as Lopez Obrador, has stressed that her security policy will follow closely that of the previous president. The comments come as relations between Lopez Obrador and Salazar have become increasingly fraught in recent months, after the ambassador criticized a judicial overhaul being driven by the former president. It marks a distinct change from the earlier part of Lopez Obrador’s presidency when the two were regarded as having a close working relationship – a proximity that some U.S. diplomats privately criticized. Mexico has suffered a recent wave of ********* with hundreds ******* in intra-cartel warfare in the state of Sinaloa as well as massacres in other states such as Queretaro where 10 people were ******* in a bar over the weekend. (Reporting by Diego Delgado; Writing by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Sandra Maler) Source link #envoy #Mexico #safe #blames #expresident #******* #security Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Humble’s New $18 Bundle Includes 10 Sid Meier Games Like Civilization 6, Sid Meier’s Pirates, And More Humble’s New $18 Bundle Includes 10 Sid Meier Games Like Civilization 6, Sid Meier’s Pirates, And More The video game industry is full of famous faces and notable names, but if you’re looking for engaging tours through history, a visit to Sid Meier’s library of classics is always a good idea. Over at Humble, several of the legend’s games have been collected into a bundle that’s now on ***** . While games like Sid Meier’s Railroads, Pirates, and Ace Patrol are a fascinating look back at an older era of PC gaming, the real treat here is for Civilization fans, as they can get the sixth game in the series and a ton of DLC to go with it. Pricing for this bundle starts at $5 for five items, including the games Pacific Skies, Starships, Railroads, Ace Patrol, and Civilization 3. Chip in $9, and you’ll get Civilization 4, Civilization 5, Civilization: Beyond Earth, Civilization 6, and Pirates. For $12, you’ll unlock eight pieces of DLC for Civilization 6, and the full 20-item bundle for $18 throws in two more pieces of premium DLC for the turn-based strategy game. Proceeds from sales will go toward two charities–Covenant House and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research–so you’ll be helping worthwhile causes while getting a fantastic deal. The bundle itself is valued at $397, so this is quite the savings. Civilization is the big draw here, as you’re getting older games that have stood the test of time and DLC that extends Civilization 6 for many more hours. Humble Bundle: The Sid Meier Collection Games Sid Meier’s Railroads Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol: Pacific Skies Sid Meier’s Starships Sid Meier’s Civilization III: Complete Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: The Complete Edition Sid Meier’s Pirates Sid Meier’s Civilization V: The Complete Edition Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth – The Collection Sid Meier’s Civilization VI Civilization 6 DLC Khmer and Indonesia Double Civilization and Scenario Pack Nubia Civilization and Scenario Pack Persia and Macedon Civilization and Scenario Pack Australia Civilization and Scenario Pack Poland Civilization and Scenario Pack Vikings Scenario Pack Rise and Fall Gathering Storm New Frontier Pass Leader Pass Another good deal at Humble is its monthly Humble Choice game bundle that members get as part of their $12/month subscription. This month, you can grab eight games including Persona 4 Golden, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, and The Lamplighters League. The neat thing about this service is that the PC games are yours to keep forever after you claim them, even if you decide to cancel your Humble Choice subscription. Several other game bundles are also available right now, so if you’re in the mood for interactive horror or a blast from the past with Atari, check out the list of Humble Bundles below. Humble Game Bundles Source link #Humbles #Bundle #Includes #Sid #Meier #Games #Civilization #Sid #Meiers #Pirates Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

A news app is using AI to curate clarity over clickbait A news app is using AI to curate clarity over clickbait Trying to figure out the best way to curate your news diet these days can be, at best, difficult. Besides reading everything published by TechRadar, navigating and connecting news stories you want to follow up on can feel like a full-time job on its own. A new mobile app called Particle is employing AI to solve that problem. Particle’s iOS app relies on AI to sift through the news, looking beyond headlines and across multiple platforms to create more comprehensive reports on current events and real-time answers to questions about the news. Particle offers customizable summaries of the news called Stories, claiming they are a more holistic way to explain what’s happening in the world. You can ask the app to simplify the news by telling it to “Explain Like I’m 5” or get the most concise, basic facts with the “5Ws” format of who, what, when, where, and why. If you want to see a range of opinions and views on a story, you can open the “Opposite Sides” summary for contrasting perspectives. You can also ask for the summaries in audio form and in different languages. If just seeing summaries is too passive, Particle also has an AI chatbot to answer questions about stories and see what others have asked. The AI also adapts to your interests so you’re more likely to see stories on the topics you care about. “We’re often scouring the news, looking for answers we might not even find. With Particle, you can get an instant answer to any question about the story. And because you can see other people’s questions, sometimes the answer you’re looking for is already there,” Particle wrote in a blog post. “We enable powerful and transparent control over which stories you see, and which you don’t. On Particle, you can tune your interests to the topics that matter the most to you. Your news feed will adapt to your interests, bringing you the most relevant stories without the noise.” AI journalistic aid AI’s foibles being what they are, Particle tries to avoid issues of incorrect facts and hallucinations with reviews by AI models and human oversight. The stories all include links to original sources as well; useful if you see something that comes off as unlikely. If the AI gets something wrong, you can flag it to have Particle fix the error. Efficient news gathering is obviously appealing to busy people. Particle’s app can be as in-depth or straightforward as you want, which is another benefit to those who want to be more engaged in current events but who sometimes just want the basic facts and other times want more background than any single article might include. I’d rather rely on Particle than on the sometimes garbled or misunderstood takes seen on social media. If you want to keep up with the news without spending all day sorting through different sources, I’d give it a try after you finish your daily read-through of every word published here. You might also like Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable ****** Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content. Source link #news #app #curate #clarity #clickbait Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trump, Biden meet at White House Trump, Biden meet at White House Trump, Biden meet at White House – CBS News Watch CBS News President Biden and President-elect Donald Trump held a meeting at the White House on Wednesday, where the two political foes shook hands in front of reporters. The two sat in the Oval Office for nearly two hours, discussing domestic issues, plus the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. Ed O’Keefe has more. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On Source link #Trump #Biden #meet #White #House Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Wealth manager reveals how he’s playing as euphoria fades Wealth manager reveals how he’s playing as euphoria fades As investors mull over how to play the market following the U.S. election result, Sanders Morris’ George Bull reveals what he is looking out for right now. “The postelection rally was frenetic and may have been too much too soon. But, it did show that investors have confidence that the business community and earnings will be strong under a [Donald] Trump administration,” the chairman at the U.S.-headquartered wealth management firm told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Wednesday. However, he warned that there was “schizophrenia” in the bond market, which could “fuel indecision and some correction” in the stock markets. Stocks are often rattled when Treasury yields surge, particularly growth stocks as higher yields can hurt their expected future earnings. “There is a great deal of ***** that the tax situation in the ******* States will refuel inflation. So investors are sort of caught, on the one hand, saying, these [bond] yields are quite attractive, let’s buy them. On the other hand, they think, my goodness, if the deficit goes untrammeled into the $2 trillion a year area, the bond vigilantes … will take over once again,” he noted, referencing an expected rising of fiscal deficits under the new administration, which could lead to higher government borrowing and thus higher yields. The term “bond vigilantes” refers to a situation where fixed income traders eschew government debt or sell it, which forces yields higher. President-elect Donald Trump previously vowed to make tax cuts such as in social security and corporate income taxes, leading many to predict that U.S. borrowing will increase as tax receipts fall. The Nasdaq Composite , the S & P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average took a breather midweek from their post U.S. election run and the Federal Reserve’s additional 25 basis point rate cut last week. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield , meanwhile, is hovering around 4.47%. Looking ahead, Bull believes the “euphoria of the moment will fade.” “The threat of the bond vigilantes will subdue the animal spirits, tho[ugh] not conquer them. At some point, the fixed income markets will determine what is fiscally irresponsible, trumping (pun) the Fed,” he said in research notes to CNBC. The wealth manager expects rates on the 10-year U.S. Treasury to reach 5% before the end of the year. Such a phenomenon, he said, will be both an “opportunity to lock in high yields and a signal to the new Trump administration and Congress that budgets count.” “That’s a plus to income seekers-especially retirees and seniors,” he said. Touching upon Trump’s tax cuts, Bull noted that the president-elect is likely to hold taxes down like he did in his first tenure. However, he foresees the imposition of new taxes “in obfuscated ways,” such as a major minimum tax on corporate earnings and limits on deductions. Market plays Against this backdrop, the wealth manager is playing the market with “companies who pay taxes on all of their income, not just income after deductions and shelters.” The energy sector is one he is looking at given Trump’s motive to ****** inflation by reducing energy costs. Names he is ******** on include “well-positioned” companies like Enterprise Product Partners and Energy Transfer with strong annual dividend yields of 6.88% and 7.58% respectively. The banking sector is another one Bull likes, describing community and regional U.S. banks as “attractive.” “They have been on a few days’ tear, but still far below their prior prices. With an economy that is apt to be strong coupled with more reasonable regulation, they deserve attention,” he said, naming the Texas-headquartered Veritex Holdings as an example of a “well managed, growing [and] conservatively capitalized” company he likes. Source link #Wealth #manager #reveals #hes #playing #euphoria #fades Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Blizzard Shadow Drops Warcraft 1 and 2 Remasters for 30th Anniversary Blizzard Shadow Drops Warcraft 1 and 2 Remasters for 30th Anniversary In a rather surprising turn of events, in celebration of Warcraft’s 30th anniversary, Blizzard unveiled and surprise launched remasters of Warcraft 1 and Warcraft 2, which are available on Battle.net at this very moment. If you want to purchase the entire collection, you can score Warcraft Remastered, Warcraft 2 Remastered, and Warcraft 3 Reforged for $39.99 in a unique Battle Chest. Oh, and if you buy now, you’ll also receive Warcraft Orcs & Humans, Warcraft 3 Reforged multiplayer hero skins, and the World of Warcraft Meat Wagon mount, akin to a siege ******* with massive, ******* spikes on its front, rear, and wheels. The surprise shadow drop of both Warcraft remasters occurs alongside the announcement that, after two decades, World of Warcraft is finally getting player housing in its upcoming expansion, Midnight. However, it’s still a year or two away from launch. But for now, if you pick up the Warcraft Battle Chest, you’ll find yourself with plenty of real-time strategy goodness to sift through before then. For now, let’s focus on Warcraft Remastered and Warcraft 2 Remastered. For starters, Brad Chan, senior manager of Warcraft RTS, said: These remasters have brand new hand drawn visuals that capture the original art style from each game, and you’ll be able to swap between the original graphics and the remastered versions in real time. The remasters feature UI and UX improvements, making both real-time strategy games more accessible to modern audiences. Alongside the remasters, Warcraft 3: Reforged Patch 2.0 is on its way, featuring an environment and lighting overhaul, and improvements to the user interface. Oh, and there are uprezzed HD assets. Is Warcraft a little too old for your tastes? Let us know if you’re hopping into the remastered RTS trilogy this week with the Battle Chest by visiting us on the community forum! It wasn’t long ago that Blizzard took the stage at BlizzCon 2023 to announce 20 more years of World of Warcraft with the Worldsoul Saga! Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest news and exclusive leaks every week! No Spam. Source link #Blizzard #Shadow #Drops #Warcraft #Remasters #30th #Anniversary Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

World’s largest coral is 300 years old and was discovered by accident World’s largest coral is 300 years old and was discovered by accident Measuring the massive coral Inigo San Felix/National Geographic Society In the south-west Pacific, off the coast of one of the tropical Solomon Islands, a giant structure beneath the water’s surface has just been identified as the world’s largest known coral. Visiting the remote site in mid-October, a team of scientists and film-makers from National Geographic thought the object was so large, it must be the ******** of a shipwreck. But when underwater cinematographer Manu San Félix jumped into the water to take a closer look, he was astonished by what he saw. “I remember perfectly just jumping and looking down, and I was surprised,” he told reporters during a briefing. Instead of a shipwreck, San Félix had stumbled upon the largest coral ever discovered. “It is enormous,” he said. “The size is close to the size of a cathedral.” The coral, which ***** a few hundred metres off the eastern coast of Malaulalo Island, has been identified as the species Pavona clavus. It measures 34 metres wide by 32 metres long, making it larger than a blue whale, and is thought to be 300 years old. The discovery was a “happy accident”, says Enric Sala of National Geographic’s Pristine Seas project, which aims to inspire governments to protect ocean ecosystems through exploration and research. It is by far the largest single coral colony ever discovered, easily beating the previous record holder – a giant Porites colony found in ********* Samoa in 2019, which was 22.4 metres in diameter and 8 metres in height. Over the past two years, record-breaking ocean temperatures have triggered a wave of coral bleaching events across the world. But while other reefs around the Solomon Islands are showing signs of bleaching, Sala says the huge P. clavus coral is looking healthy. It is a vital habitat for ocean life, he says, providing shelter and food for fish, shrimp, worms and ******. “It’s like a big patch of old growth forest.” But the coral isn’t immune from ecological threats, from local pollution and overfishing to global climate change. Sala says he would like to see more marine protected areas (MPAs) established to shield marine life from local pollution, alongside global action to tackle climate change. “Protecting the reef cannot make the water cooler, cannot prevent the warming of the ocean,” he says. “We need to fix that, we need to reduce carbon emissions. But MPAs can help us buy time by making the reefs more resilient.” Topics: Source link #Worlds #largest #coral #years #discovered #accident Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Early ****** Friday Logitech deals 2024: mice, webcams, and more Early ****** Friday Logitech deals 2024: mice, webcams, and more It’s November, which means we’re solidly into ****** Friday deals season. Sure, the actual day isn’t here yet, but pretty much all major retailers have launched early ****** Friday sales so you can save big now rather than waiting. That means you can enjoy huge savings today and relax with your Thanksgiving leftovers on ****** Friday rather than be scouring websites. Below we’ve picked out all the best early ****** Friday Logitech deals. Logitech makes some great gaming accessories like headsets and mice, so it’s perfect for teaming up with any early ****** Friday Alienware deals you’ve scored as well as early ****** Friday gaming laptop deals. Read on and we’ll take you through what we consider to be the best around right now from Logitech. We also have some buying advice to help your decision feel even easier. Logitech G305 Gaming Mouse — $33 $50 33% off Logitech For an inexpensive gaming solution, check out the Logitech G305 Gaming Mouse. It offers up to 12,000 DPI sensitivity so it can cope with fast moving games along with a 1ms report rate. It’s really lightweight at only 99g, and the battery life is an impressive 250 hours on one single AA battery. Perfect for the gamer on a budget. Logitech G413 SE Mechanical Gaming Keyboard — $60 $80 25% off Logitech With tactile mechanical switches, the Logitech G413 SE Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is built to last. It has 6-key rollover anti-ghosting performance to enhance your experience. It looks good and it’s full-size, so there are few restrictions here. It also has media function keys up top for those times you’re not gaming so it’s a good all-rounder. Logitech G Pro X Superlight Gaming Mouse — $89 $160 44% off Logitech The newer model of the Logitech G Pro X Superlight Gaming Mouse tops our list of the best gaming mice, but this older version is a better value right now. It’s super lightweight at under 63g, offers 25,600 DPI, and has five programmable buttons. Precise and accurate, it’s perfect for competitive gamers. Logitech Litra Beam Streaming Light — $90 $100 10% off Logitech Whether you’re a newbie or avid streamer, getting the lighting right is useful. The Logitech Litra Beam Streaming Light delivers balanced, full-spectrum LED lighting with cinematic ****** accuracy so you look at your best with natural skin tones. It’s adjustable with a choice of five brightness and five ****** temperature settings so it’s good for every scenario. Logitech Brio 500 Webcam — $100 $130 24% off Logitech Providing a full HD 1080p experience, the Logitech Brio 500 Webcam is more than just your average FHD webcam. It also has auto light correction, auto-framing, and dual noise reduction microphones. All those features mean that you look you best while you’re on a call. It’s good for both streaming and taking calls for work. A privacy cover is useful during down time. Logitech G915 X Lightspeed TKL Gaming Keyboard — $180 $200 10% off Logitech A keyboard I used to own and love, the Logitech G915 X Lightspeed TKL Gaming Keyboard is ultra thin with a low profile. It has some great mechanical switches which can be adjusted as needed, and the brushed aluminum top plate looks good. There’s up to 42 hours of battery life with RGB at 100% or up to 1,000 hours with it switched off. Logitech Pro X 2 Lightspeed Gaming Headset — $220 $250 12% off Jacob ****** / Digital Trends Having used the Logitech Pro X 2 Lightspeed Gaming Headset, I was impressed. They lack ANC, but otherwise they’re fanatic headphones for gaming. The 50mm Graphene drivers provide clear and immersive audio so you can hear enemies coming. It has a long battery life of up to 50 hours. They’re incredibly comfy as well with no pinching on your head. Logitech G29 Driving Force Racing Wheel and Floor Pedals — $240 $300 20% off Logitech For the avid racing fan, check out the Logitech G29 Driving Force Racing Wheel and Floor Pedals. It simulates the feeling of driving a real car well with helical gearing providing smooth and quiet steering. There are pressure-sensitive nonlinear brake pedals for a responsive feel as you brake. 900-degree rotation means you can turn just like a real F1 race car too. How to choose a Logitech product on ****** Friday As with any purchase, it’s a smart move to think about how much you can afford, but it’s also wise to think about your intentions. Logitech is famous for making some of the best gaming mice as well as the best webcams for work. It’s a smart move to think about if you’re a gamer looking for the edge via a sweet mouse or one of the best gaming keyboards or if you simply need a webcam or practical keyboard for work. The Logitech G series is the one for gamers with the G Pro series the ultimate range (and a price tag to boot). From there, think about what will enrich your life. It might be one of the best gaming headsets, but you might simply need a keyboard that works well. Consider things like battery life or whether wired is best for you, as well as what resolution webcam you might need, then go from there. How we chose these Logitech ****** Friday deals We know what we’re doing when it comes to seeking out awesome deals. Every day of the year, we’re checking out all the major retailers to find the lowest prices for you and the best gaming deals around. When it comes to Logitech products, we also know our way around the field. Many of our writers use Logitech products, so we know which ones to recommend thanks to our own personal experience. That means that the ****** Friday Logitech deals featured here are the ones that we would also recommend to our friends and family, so you’re in safe hands. We don’t include old Logitech devices that aren’t really worth recommending any more, as we figure a great discount is only genuinely good if it’s something worth owning. Even a huge discount isn’t so good if it’s something you won’t actually use. We also regularly update with the latest discounts so you don’t miss out. Source link #Early #****** #Friday #Logitech #deals #mice #webcams Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Gaetz resigns from Congress — possibly skirting long-awaited Ethics report Gaetz resigns from Congress — possibly skirting long-awaited Ethics report GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz resigned from the House Wednesday, Speaker Mike Johnson announced, the same day that Donald Trump announced that he had tapped the Florida firebrand to be his attorney general. “He issued his resignation letter effective immediately from Congress. That caught us by surprise a little bit,” Johnson told reporters during a press conference on Wednesday night. Dozens of GOP lawmakers indicated that leadership had told them about Gaetz’s resignation before Johnson made the announcement. Many were excitedly spreading the news, glad to be rid of the architect of Kevin McCarthy’s speakership ouster. Gaetz didn’t attend the GOP’s hours-long meeting near the Capitol on Wednesday, where Republicans elected their leadership slate. Johnson said Gaetz had resigned so abruptly because he knew how long it would take to fill the seat if he becomes attorney general. Johnson said he reached out to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday and added that because of Gaetz’s early resignation it’s possible they could fill his seat as soon as Jan. 3, when the chamber is slated to elect a speaker. DeSantis’ office did not have an immediate response to questions about when the governor would schedule a special election. But deadlines in state and federal law would make it difficult to schedule one before Congress convenes in January. Other GOP House colleagues believe his decision is actually tied to an Ethics Committee report investigating several allegations including that Gaetz engaged in **** with a minor, which they believe was poised to be released in a matter of days. Gaetz has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and has sought to ******* the panel probing various allegations against him. If Gaetz is no longer a member of the House, the report likely won’t be formally released, though it could *****. One House ***********, granted anonymity to speak candidly, tied Gaetz’s resignation to trying to “stymie the ethics investigation that is coming out in one week.” Gaetz, his spokesperson and a senior aide did not respond to requests for comment about the decision. *********** senators have already expressed doubts that Gaetz could get confirmed as attorney general, as the pick gets fierce pushback across the party. And even some of his House colleagues were quick to predict that Gaetz wouldn’t be able to get confirmed. “I don’t think Matt cares if he gets confirmed — everybody is talking about him … so for Matt this is a win,” said Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), who added that Gaetz “ran around here last term like a six year old with a loaded revolver and a happy trigger finger.” Ethics Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.) told reporters ahead of Gaetz’s announced resignation that the probe would end if Gaetz was no longer a member of the House. “Once the investigation is complete, the Ethics Committee will meet as a committee. We will then return our findings. If Matt Gaetz is still a member of Congress, then that will occur. If Matt has resigned, then this ethics investigation, like many others in the past, will end again,” Guest told reporters about the impact of Gaetz being picked for attorney general. Gary Fineout and Eleanor Mueller contributed to this report. Source link #Gaetz #resigns #Congress #possibly #skirting #longawaited #Ethics #report Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Special counsel Jack Smith seeks pause Special counsel Jack Smith seeks pause Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to members of the media at the U.S. Department of Justice building in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 1, 2023. Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images Special counsel Jack Smith asked a federal appeals court Wednesday to pause proceedings in his effort to overturn a judge’s decision to dismiss the ********* classified documents case against President-elect Donald Trump and two other defendants. Smith’s request cited Trump’s election last week to a second term in the White House. On Friday, the special counsel cited that same reason in asking a federal judge in Washington, D.C., for a pause in proceedings in another ********* case, where Trump is charged with ******* related to his attempt to reverse his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. That request was granted. Both moves reflect the expectation that the Department of Justice will drop both ********* cases against Trump because of his election. DOJ policy says that the department cannot criminally prosecute a sitting president. But even if that policy was not in effect, Trump has the power as president to order his attorney general, who will head the DOJ, to toss out both cases. Trump on Wednesday announced that he would nominate the controversial Florida congressman Matt Gaetz as his attorney general. NBC News reported earlier Wednesday that Smith and his team of prosecutors in the special counsel’s office intend to resign before Trump is sworn in as president in January. Trump was expected to ***** Smith if he did not quit. On Tuesday, a New York state judge granted a request by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for a one-week delay in proceedings in a third ********* case against Trump to give prosecutors time to consider how his electoral victory affects that case. Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in the case on Nov. 26 on nearly three dozen counts of falsifying business records related to a 2016 hush money payment to ***** star Stormy Daniels. Florida federal court Judge Aileen Cannon earlier this year dismissed the ********* case against Trump in which Smith had accused the *********** of illegally withholding classified government records after leaving office in early 2021 and obstructing efforts by officials to recover them. Cannon, who was nominated by Trump, also tossed out obstruction charges against Trump’s valet, Walt Nauta, and a worker at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Carlos de Oliveira. Cannon ruled that Smith’s appointment as special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland, who heads the DOJ, violated a clause in the U.S. Constitution that regulates how government officials are appointed. Smith asked the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to overturn Cannon’s ruling. But in its filing to that court on Wednesday, Smith’s office wrote, “As a result of the election held on November 5, 2024, one of the defendants in this case, Donald J. Trump, is expected to be certified as President-elect on January 6, 2025, and inaugurated on January 20, 2025.” Read more CNBC politics coverage “The Government respectfully requests that the Court hold this appeal in abeyance— and stay the deadline for the Government’s reply brief, which is currently due on November 15, 2024 — until December 2, 2024, to afford the Government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy,” the filing said. The filing also said that if the delay is granted, prosecutors will inform the appeals court “of the result of its deliberations — and, if appropriate, file its reply brief — no later than December 2, 2024.” Trump is charged in Atlanta state court ******* related to his attempt to reverse President Joe Biden’s White House win in 2020. But Trump is not expected to stand trial in that case while serving as president. However, the case could be stayed until he leaves office in 2029. Source link #Special #counsel #Jack #Smith #seeks #pause Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

EA Sports FC 25 TOTW 9 full list includes a 91 Bellingham and 90 Salah EA Sports FC 25 TOTW 9 full list includes a 91 Bellingham and 90 Salah The latest Team of the Week in EA Sports FC 25 has been revealed. TOTW 9 features a new selection of 23 players, who have been given improved stats (and sometimes a different position) compared to their regular versions. The main highlights include a 91-rated Jude Bellingham, a 90-rated Mohamed Salah and an 89-rated Marie-Antoinette Katoto. The full list of players are as follows: EA Sports FC 25 – Team of the Week 9 full list Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) – 91 CAM (normally 90) Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) – 90 RW (normally 89) Marie-Antoinette Katoto (PSG) – 89 ST (normally 88) Rose Lavelle (NJ/NY Gotham) – 88 CM (normally 87 CAM) Lauren Hemp (Man City) – 87 LM (normally 86 LW) Joao Pedro (Brighton) – 86 ST (normally 77) Gabriele Zappa (Cagliari) – 86 RB (normally 70) Angel Di Maria (Benfica) – 86 RW (normally 83 RM) Laura Freigang (Frankfurt) – 86 CAM (normally 83) Marc Cucurella Saseta (Chelsea) – 85 LB (normally 82) Allan Saint-Maximin (Fenerbahce) – 84 LM (normally 80) Lee Kang In (PSG) – 84 RW (normally 79 CAM) Igor Zubeldia (Real Sociedad) – 84 CB (normally 80) Moise Kean (Fiorentina) – 84 ST (normally 78) Hugo Ekitike (Frankfurt) – 83 ST (normally 76) Donovan Léon (Auxerre) – 83 GK (normally 70) Marvin Friedrich (Monchengladbach) – 83 CB (normally 73) Ismael Saibari (PSV) – 83 CM (normally 76 CAM) Kasper Dolberg (RSC Anderlecht) – 83 ST (normally 76) Japhet Tanganga (Millwall) – 83 CB (normally 72) Kwame Poku (Peterborough) – 83 RM (normally 69) Nicolas Milanovic (WS Wanderers) – 83 RM (normally 67 LM) Lamine Fanne Dabo (AIK) – 83 CDM (normally 60) Source link #Sports #TOTW #full #list #includes #Bellingham #Salah Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trump selects Gaetz, Gabbard to join his Cabinet Trump selects Gaetz, Gabbard to join his Cabinet Trump selects Gaetz, Gabbard to join his Cabinet – CBS News Watch CBS News President-elect Donald Trump surprised Washington on Wednesday when he announced he intends to nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to be his attorney general. He also selected former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to be his director of national intelligence. Robert Costa has the latest. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On Source link #Trump #selects #Gaetz #Gabbard #join #Cabinet Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]