Pelican Press

Israel attacks Yemeni ports, warns Houthi leader Israel attacks Yemeni ports, warns Houthi leader Israel has struck Yemen’s Red Sea ports of Hodeidah and Salif, continuing its campaign to degrade Houthi military capabilities and warning the group’s top leader could be targeted if attacks on Israel persist. The Houthis have continued to fire missiles at Israel in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, although they have agreed to halt attacks on US ships. Israel has carried out retaliatory strikes in response, including one on May 6 that damaged Yemen’s main airport in Sanaa and killed several people. On Friday, the Israeli military said it dropped more than 30 munitions on Houthi targets in its eighth such attack. It said the ports of Hodeidah and Salif were being used to transfer weapons, reiterating its warnings to residents of those areas to evacuate. The Israeli strikes killed at least one person and injured nine, the Houthi-run health ministry said in a statement. Residents in Hodeidah said they heard four loud booms and saw smoke rising from the port following the strikes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement they would hunt down the Houthis’ top leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi. “If the Houthis continue to fire missiles at the State of Israel, they will be severely harmed, and we will also hurt the leaders,” they said, adding that al-Houthi could join the list of militant figures killed by Israel, such as ******’ Yahya Sinwar and Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah. Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a senior group figure, described the Israeli threats as “illusions”, saying on X that they were aimed at buying time by setting “unattainable goals.” The Houthis are part of Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance” against Israeli and US interests in the Middle East, alongside ****** in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. About 60 per cent of the Yemeni population lives under their control. Since the start of the Israel-****** war in October 2023, the Houthis have launched dozens of missile and drone attacks toward Israel, most of which have been intercepted or landed short. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is working on a plan to permanently relocate as many as one million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya, NBC News reported on Friday, citing five people with knowledge of the matter. Citing two people with direct knowledge and a former US official, NBC also reported the plan is under serious enough consideration that the US has discussed it with Libya’s leadership. In exchange for resettling the Palestinians, the administration would release to Libya billions of dollars of funds the US froze more than a decade ago, according to NBC and citing the same three people. Source link #Israel #attacks #Yemeni #ports #warns #Houthi #leader Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The fast-paced 2D platformer “Aureole – Wings of Hope” is now available for PC and consoles The fast-paced 2D platformer “Aureole – Wings of Hope” is now available for PC and consoles “The Barcelona-based (Spain) indie games publisher JanduSoft and indie games developer Team Stargazers, today announced with huge delight and excitement that their fast-paced 2D platformer “Aureole – Wings of Hope” is now, available for PC (via Steam) and consoles (PS5 and the Nintendo Switch) via digital stores.” – Jonas Ek, TGG. Source link #fastpaced #platformer #Aureole #Wings #Hope #consoles Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Case of brain-dead pregnant woman kept on life support in Georgia raises tricky questions Case of brain-dead pregnant woman kept on life support in Georgia raises tricky questions ATLANTA (AP) — The case of a pregnant woman in Georgia who was declared brain dead and has been kept on life support for three months has given rise to complicated questions about abortion law and whether a fetus is a person. Adriana Smith, a 30-year-old nurse and mother, was about two months pregnant on Feb. 19 when she was declared brain dead, according to an online fundraising page started by her mother. Doctors said Georgia’s strict anti-abortion law requires that she remain on life support until the fetus has developed enough to be delivered, her mother wrote. The law, one of a wave of measures enacted in conservative states after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, restricts abortion once cardiac activity is detected and gives personhood rights to a fetus. Smith’s mother says it has left her family without a say in a difficult situation, and with her due date still months away, the family is left wondering whether the baby will be born with disabilities or can even survive. Some activists, many of them ****** women like Smith, say it raises issues of racial equity. What does the law say? Emory Healthcare, which runs the hospital, has not explained how doctors decided to keep Smith on life support except to say in a statement they considered “Georgia’s abortion laws and all other applicable laws.” The state adopted a law in 2019 to ban abortion after cardiac activity can be detected, about six weeks into pregnancy, that came into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned. That law does not explicitly address Smith’s situation, but allows abortion to preserve the life or physical health of the pregnant woman. Three other states have similar bans that kick in around the six-week mark and 12 bar abortion at all stages of pregnancy. David S. Cohen, a professor at Drexel University’s Thomas R. Kline School of Law in Philadelphia, said the hospital might be most concerned about part of the law that gives fetuses legal rights as “members of the species ***** sapiens.” Cohen said Emory may therefore consider Smith and the fetus as two patients and that once Smith was on life support, they had a legal obligation to keep the fetus alive, even after she died. “These are the kind of cases that law professors have been talking about for a long time when they talk about fetal personhood,” he said. State Rep. Nabilah Islam Parkes, an Atlanta-area Democrat, said Friday that she sent a letter to state Attorney General Chris Carr asking for a legal opinion on how Georgia’s abortion law applies when a pregnant woman is brain dead. Personhood divide within anti-abortion movement Anti-abortion groups are divided over whether they should support personhood provisions, which are on the books in at least 17 states, according to the advocacy group Pregnancy Justice. Some argue that fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses should be considered people with the same rights as those already born. This personhood concept seeks to give them rights under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which says a state can’t “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process or law; nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Some saw personhood as politically impractical, especially after personhood amendments to state constitutions were rejected by voters in Colorado, Mississippi and North Dakota between 2008 and 2014. Those who steered away sought laws and restrictions on abortion that stopped short of personhood, although they were often informed by the concept. Personhood proponents argue this lacks moral clarity. Some personhood proponents have been sidelined in national anti-abortion groups; the National Right to Life Committee cut ties with its Georgia Right to Life affiliate in 2014 after the state wing opposed bills that restricted abortion but allowed exceptions for ***** and *******. Unequal access to care for ****** women The Associated Press has not been able to reach Smith’s mother, April Newkirk. But Newkirk told Atlanta TV station WXIA that her daughter went to a hospital complaining of headaches and was given medication and released. Then, her boyfriend awoke to her gasping for air and called 911. Emory University Hospital determined she had blood clots in her brain and she was declared brain dead. It’s not clear what Smith said when she went to the hospital or whether the care she was given was standard for her symptoms. But ****** women often complain their pain isn’t taken seriously, and an Associated Press investigation found that health outcomes for ****** women are worse because of circumstances linked to racism and unequal access to care. Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong, the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging Georgia’s abortion law, said: “****** women must be trusted when it comes to our health care decisions.” “Like so many ****** women, Adriana spoke up for herself. She expressed what she felt in her body, and as a health care provider, she knew how to navigate the medical system,” Simpson said, noting that by the time Smith was diagnosed “it was already too late.” It’s unclear whether the clots in Smith’s brain were related to her pregnancy. But her situation is undoubtedly alarming for those seeking solutions to disparities in the maternal mortality rate among ****** women. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ****** women had a mortality rate of 50.3 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023. That’s more than three times the rate for white women, and it is higher than the rates for Hispanic and Asian women. What is Smith’s current situation? While Smith is on a ventilator and likely other life-support devices, being declared brain dead means she is dead. Some experts refer to “life support” as “maintenance measures,” “organ support” or “somatic support,” which relates to the body as distinct from the mind. Emory has not made public what is being done to allow Smith’s fetus to continue to develop. In another case in Florida, doctors successfully delivered the baby of a 31-year-old woman who was declared brain dead while 22 weeks pregnant, but not without weeks of sustained monitoring, testing and medical care. The woman’s family wanted to keep the fetus, physicians with the University of Florida College of Medicine said in a 2023 paper. On her first day of admission, doctors administered hormones to raise her blood pressure and placed a feeding tube. After she was transferred to an intensive care unit, an obstetric nurse stayed by her bedside continuously to monitor the fetus’ heart rate and movements. She was on a ventilator, regularly received steroids and hormones, and needed multiple antibiotics to treat pneumonia. Her medical team encompassed multiple specialties: obstetrics, neonatology, radiology and endocrinology. Doctors performed surgery to remove the fetus at 33 weeks when its heart rate fell, and the baby appeared to be in good health at birth. “We don’t have great science to guide clinical decision making in these cases,” said Dr. Kavita Arora, an obstetrician and gynecologist in North Carolina who raised concerns about the effect of prolonged ventilator use on a fetus. “There simply aren’t a lot of cases like this.” The 2023 paper warned that “costs should not be underestimated.” It is not clear whether Smith, whose mother said she was a nurse at Emory University Hospital, had health insurance. But JoAnn Volk, a professor, founder and co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University, said that that for people with health insurance, it’s generally up to the insurer to determine whether care is medically necessary and covered under the plan. While it is unclear how much it will cost to keep Smith on life support until the fetus can be delivered, or who will be responsible for that cost, her mother’s GoFundMe page mentions Smith’s 7-year-old son and notes that the baby could have significant disabilities as it aims to raise $275,000. ___ Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Associated Press reporter Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed. Source link #Case #braindead #pregnant #woman #life #support #Georgia #raises #tricky #questions Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The action-roguelite “Lost in Random: The Eternal Die” is coming to PC and consoles on June 17th The action-roguelite “Lost in Random: The Eternal Die” is coming to PC and consoles on June 17th “The Gothenburg-based (Sweden) indie games publisher Thunderful and indie games developer Stormteller Games, today announce with great thrill and happiness that their action-roguelite “Lost in Random: The Eternal Die”, is coming to PC (via Steam) and consoles (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and the Nintendo Switch) via digital stores on June 17th, 2025.” – Jonas Ek, TGG. Source link #actionroguelite #Lost #Random #Eternal #Die #coming #consoles #June #17th Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Nvidia, Cisco and OpenAI backing UAE Stargate data center project Nvidia, Cisco and OpenAI backing UAE Stargate data center project Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang attends an event, “Investing in America,” held by President Donald Trump in Washington, April 30, 2025. Leah Millis | Reuters U.S. tech giants Nvidia, Cisco and OpenAI are supporting the “UAE Stargate” artificial intelligence data center announced this week, a source familiar with the deal confirmed Friday. AI chip leader Nvidia will supply hardware with the latest Blackwell GB300 systems, the source confirmed. The data center will collaborate with the AI infrastructure project of the same name in the U.S. announced by President Donald Trump shortly after his inauguration in January. It is unclear if Oracle is involved in UAE Stargate as well. Co-founder Larry Ellison was part of the U.S. Stargate announcement. The Abu Dhabi data center announced Thursday will be built by the Emirati firm G42. The massive campus will have 5-gigawatt capacity and cover 10 square miles. Trump was in the UAE as part of a first foreign trip abroad in his second term. Trump also visited Saudi Arabia. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and Cisco President Jeetu Patel were all in the UAE as well. OpenAI declined to comment. The first phase of UAE Stargate includes a 1-gigawatt compute cluster. OpenAI announced in February that it was considering building U.S. Stargate data center campuses in 16 states that had indicated “real interest” in the project. The 16 states were Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia. Construction on the data center in Abilene, Texas, is currently underway and is expected to be completed in mid-2026. On Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, Huang announced that Nvidia would sell 18,000 Blackwell chips to Saudi company Humain. The GB300 chips, which were announced earlier this year, will be used in data centers totaling 500 megawatts in Saudi Arabia, according to remarks at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh. AMD said it would also supply chips to Humain. The company said that Humain has committed $10 billion to the project. CNBC’s Hayden Field contributed to this story. Source link #Nvidia #Cisco #OpenAI #backing #UAE #Stargate #data #center #project Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

2025 PGA Championship Round 2 leaderboard, live updates: Jhonattan Vegas extends his lead – Yahoo Sports 2025 PGA Championship Round 2 leaderboard, live updates: Jhonattan Vegas extends his lead – Yahoo Sports 2025 PGA Championship Round 2 leaderboard, live updates: Jhonattan Vegas extends his lead Yahoo SportsLooking ahead to the rest of the 2025 PGA Championship ESPNJhonattan Vegas enjoying surprising ride atop the PGA Championship leaderboard New York Post2025 PGA Championship Friday TV coverage: How to watch Round 2 GOLF.comUS PGA Championship 2025: golf updates from second round – live The Guardian Source link #PGA #Championship #leaderboard #live #updates #Jhonattan #Vegas #extends #lead #Yahoo #Sports Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The cute management game “Train Valley Origins” is coming to PC via Steam on June 12th, 2025 The cute management game “Train Valley Origins” is coming to PC via Steam on June 12th, 2025 “The Beogradpolden-based (USerbia) indie games publisher Polden Publishing and Vilnius-based (Lithuania) indie games developer Flazm, are today very happy and excited to announce that their cute management game “Train Valley Origins” (the latest installment in the beloved “Train Valley” series), is coming to PC via Steam on June 12th, 2025.” – Jonas Ek, TGG. Source link #cute #management #game #Train #Valley #Origins #coming #Steam #June #12th Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Connswater shark sighting was ‘quite a surprise’ Connswater shark sighting was ‘quite a surprise’ Thomas Davidson The starry smooth-hound shark was spotted swimming in the Connswater River at Victoria Park A man has said he “couldn’t believe” what he was seeing when he came across a shark swimming in an east Belfast river. Thomas Davidson was cycling through Victoria Park on Tuesday evening when he spotted a 4ft-long starry smooth-hound shark in the Connswater River, where the waterway meets Belfast Lough. The species of shark has been seen in other urban areas such as the River Thames and the River Mersey estuary. Dr Patrick Collins, a marine biologist at Queen’s University, said while “it’s not something you see everyday, it’s not something super unusual either”. Thomas Davidson Thomas Davidson said when he saw a dorsal fin breaking out of the water he knew it was a shark “In the past I would occasionally have seen several 2-3lb mullet follow the tide in, but on this occasion I saw a much larger shape in the water adjacent to Airport Road,” Mr Davidson told BBC News NI. He said this shape was “too big to be a mullet”, so he stopped to take a closer look. “A dorsal fin slowly broke the surface revealing that familiar profile that looked like a shark,” he said. “I quickly took out my phone and started to video this slow-moving fish as it meandered left and right up and downstream, getting mobbed by a few gulls. “I couldn’t believe what I was watching.” The shark continued swimming in this section of river for about 30 minutes before moving upstream into a shadow area and Mr Davidson lost sight of it. Getty Images Smooth-hound shark have been seen in other urban areas such as the River Thames and the River Mersey estuary “I felt very lucky to witness such a lengthy sighting and was left curious as to how far upstream it might go,” he said. The Connswater River rises in the Castlereagh hills and runs northwards through east Belfast, getting wider until it reaches the sea at Belfast Lough. The river route includes the Connswater Greenway walking route and flows past CS Lewis Square and Connswater Shopping Centre. Mr Davidson said he will “continue to look out for it and others in the future”. ‘Probably having its lunch’ This type of shark mainly eat crabs and small crustaceans, marine biologist Dr Patrick Collins said. The section of the river in Victoria Park probably contained crabs, and so this shark spotted by Mr Davidson was “probably just having its lunch”, he explained. He said it is “not very common to find smooth-hounds in cities, but they have been recorded in the last few years”. Patrick Collins Dr Patrick Collins is a marine biologist at Queen’s University in Belfast “It’s a little bit unusual if you’re walking your dog to find one that close to the city, and that easy to see, but they’re not a rare animal,” Dr Collins continued. “They’re found fairly commonly across the *** and Ireland. It’s not an unusual occurrence to have them close to an urban centre because there’s sea water there. “It’s a bit like seeing a deer in farmland.” He added that this type of shark poses no risk to the public. “Because of movies like Jaws and some other strange public perceptions coming from that, there’s this idea that all sharks are dangerous animals – they’re a type of fish. “These animals pose absolutely no threat to us whatsoever.” Source link #Connswater #shark #sighting #surprise Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Ryan Daniels: AFL’s new trade era lined with deceit and mistrust as rumours swirl around Luke Jackson Ryan Daniels: AFL’s new trade era lined with deceit and mistrust as rumours swirl around Luke Jackson The AFL has entered into a new era of player movement — and it’s lined with deceit, mistrust and a whole heap of noise, writes Ryan Daniels. Source link #Ryan #Daniels #AFLs #trade #era #lined #deceit #mistrust #rumours #swirl #Luke #Jackson Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Robert Gates says he isn’t sure you can judge Putin’s intention in face-to-face meeting Robert Gates says he isn’t sure you can judge Putin’s intention in face-to-face meeting Robert Gates says he isn’t sure you can judge Putin’s intention in face-to-face meeting – CBS News Watch CBS News Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan that he isn’t sure if you can judge Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions in a face-to-face meeting. In the interview airing Sunday, Gates said he believes President Trump is “getting the sense” that Russian President Vladimir Putin “is tapping him along.” Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On Source link #Robert #Gates #isnt #judge #Putins #intention #facetoface #meeting Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

A Texas suburb that saw its population jump by a third is the fastest-growing city in the US A Texas suburb that saw its population jump by a third is the fastest-growing city in the US DALLAS (AP) — The fastest-growing city in the U.S. last year was a Dallas suburb that saw its population jump by nearly a third. The number of residents in Princeton, located about 46 miles (74 kilometers) north of Dallas, increased from about 28,000 to 37,000 from 2023 to 2024, the U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday. The growth has come so quickly that the city — which more than doubled its population since 2020 — has struggled to build roads and infrastructure fast enough as it transforms from a farming community. Princeton Mayor Eugene Escobar Jr. said that when he first moved to the area over a decade ago, there were just two stoplights, and they had to do their shopping in the next town over. Princeton now has several stoplights and a Walmart, he said, but has had to implement a temporary moratorium on new home construction so infrastructure can keep pace. Cities of all sizes grew on average from 2023 to 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2024 estimates, with New York City, Houston and Los Angeles seeing the greatest numeric gains and some cities in the Northeast and Midwest marking their first population increase in recent years. The U.S. Census Bureau said that two cities in that time ******* crossed the 1 million-population threshold: Fort Worth, Texas, and Jacksonville, Florida. Fort Worth now joins three other Texas cities topping that mark: Dallas with a population of about 1.3 million, San Antonio at about 1.5 million and Houston at about 2.4 million. Escobar said affordability has been the main draw to the area, which still has a small-town feel even as housing developments have blanketed the area. “It’s still cheaper to commute and live in Princeton than maybe live closer to work,” Escobar said. Median home values there, according to a news release from the city, are around $325,000, which is much lower than nearby suburbs. In addition to Princeton, three other cities in Collin County — Celina, Anna and Melissa — were also among the 15 fastest-growing cities in the U.S. Over the last decade or so, major companies have flocked to Dallas’ booming suburbs, fueling a rapid transformation. Source link #Texas #suburb #population #jump #fastestgrowing #city Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

This money manager won’t follow Warren Buffett’s path with these two stocks This money manager won’t follow Warren Buffett’s path with these two stocks New regulatory filings showed that Warren Buffett ‘s Berkshire Hathaway doubled its position in beer-and-wine producer Constellation Brands last quarter. But at least one investor doesn’t agree with the “Oracle of Omaha’s” investment. Main Street Research’s Chief Investment Officer James Demmert joined CNBC’s ” Power Lunch ” on Friday to offer his take on two Buffett trades, alongside one other market mover. Here’s what he had to say during the show’s “Three-Stock Lunch” segment. Constellation Brands Berkshire doubled its stake in Constellation Brands last quarter, increasing the value of the position to around $2.2 billion. Shares of Constellation Brands, which imports all of its beer from Mexico , have stumbled 11% this year as President Donald Trump’s steep tariffs on ******** imports threatened its bottom line. The stock added nearly 3% on Friday after Berkshire disclosed its position. But Demmert is skeptical of Buffett’s bet. “We don’t think the stars align for Constellation,” he said. “The company expects a billion-dollar hit from tariffs just this year alone. Stock’s down. … Let’s remember this is a lower margin business, and there’s a growing trend of non-alcoholic mocktail drinkers that can have an impact. We’re a seller.” Citigroup With Citigroup , too, Demmert diverges from Buffett. While Berkshire sold out of its Citigroup position by the end of March, Demmert said he was a “big buyer” of the bank stock. “Investors should overweight financials in general, and for the same reasons, we own Citigroup,” he said. “Valuation’s at nine times earnings, which is cheap. They’ve got increasing [investment] bank and trading revenue deregulation, tailwinds are coming their way. And let’s face it, the financials are tariff immune. So is Citi.” Shares of Citi have climbed 7% in 2025. Novo Nordisk Novo Nordisk ‘s stock slumped 3% on Friday after CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen announced he would step down from his position , citing recent market challenges. Jørgensen, who held the position for the last eight years, will remain at the helm “for a ******* to support a smooth transition to new leadership” as Novo Nordisk searches for a successor. But this leadership transition wasn’t enough to convince Demmert the stock was a buy. He said he still sees Novo Nordisk’s market share losses to rival GLP-1 medication producer Eli Lilly as a major headwind for the stock. “Lilly’s taken their market share and had their lunch with it. Stock’s down 52%. The company’s fired the CEO, I think, to get a reaction from Wall Street,” Demmert said. “It’s a value trap. It’s a sell.” Source link #money #manager #wont #follow #Warren #Buffetts #path #stocks Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Man sentenced to prison for SEC bitcoin announcement hack Man sentenced to prison for SEC bitcoin announcement hack A judge on Friday sentenced an Alabama man to 14 months in prison for his role in the January 2024 hack of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s X account, which was used to send out a tweet that briefly spiked the price of bitcoin by more than $1,000, the Justice Department said. The man, Eric Council Jr., pleaded guilty three months ago in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud in connection with helping others who took control of the SEC’s account. The X account was used to falsely claim that the SEC had officially approved exchange-traded funds for bitcoin. The cryptocurrency’s price rose after that tweet, but then fell by more than $2,000 after the SEC quickly regained control of the account and said the tweet was false. Surveillance footage showing Eric Council Jr. in a Huntsville, Alabama, AT&T store posing as an employee of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Courtesy: U.S. District Court, Washington, D.C. Ironically, the SEC said the next day that it had approved rule changes that allowed the creation of bitcoin ETFs. The 14-month sentence that Council received in D.C. federal court was 10 months less than what was requested by prosecutors, who in a sentencing memorandum this week said that a group that provides tools for hackers in February posted on X a video statement “purportedly made by the Defendant.” In the video, the 26-old Huntsville resident Council “acknowledged his role in the hack and referenced his discussions with law enforcement and guilty plea as steps towards accountability, he blamed the SEC’s cybersecurity practices, claiming, ‘[t]he @SECGov Hack was an inside job’ and ‘the SEC still hasn’t taken full accountability for investor losses due to cyber security practices of a lonely 85- year-old with dementia,’ ” prosecutors wrote. “Defendant ends the video with a message where he continued to diminish his and his conspirators’ culpability. The animated video, depicting characters dancing, concludes by saying: “But at the end of the day, the only reason their financial regulatory agency got hacked was because of a college drop out that majored in Cyber Security and violently smoked a lot of weed.” Council’s defense lawyer, Dwight Crawley, in a sentencing memo, requested a prison term of 12 months and a day for his client, noting that he has no prior criminal history. “The defendant admitted to using ********** daily prior to his arrest, but he has not had any drug or alcohol infractions since his release on pre-trial supervision,” Crawley wrote. “According to the defendant, his ********** use aided him with his mental health struggles.” Crawley declined to comment on Council’s case when contacted by CNBC on Friday. The lawyer hung up when asked about the video cited by prosecutors. Council’s role in the hack conspiracy involved executing a so-called SIM swap attack on a person whose phone number was linked to the SEC’s X account. Council was tipped to the identity of that person by a member of the conspiracy and then used a portable ID car printer to print out that person’s driver’s license, court records state. He then used the ID at an AT&T store in Huntsville to get an employee there to reassign the victim’s cell phone number to a telephone controlled by Council, records said. Read more CNBC politics coverage After gaining access to the victim’s phone number, “Council’s co-conspirators then accessed the account and posted in the name of the SEC Chairman,” the Justice Department previously said. At the time of the bogus tweet, the bitcoin market was awaiting news of a decision on bitcoin ETFs. Council, who was known online by the handles “Ronin,” “Easymunny,” and “AGiantSchnauzer,” was paid in about $50,000 worth of bitcoin by co-conspirators for his role in the hack. Prosecutors in their sentencing memo said that surveillance agents observed Council on June 12 trying to execute a SIM swap at an Apple store in Birmingham, Alabama. On Jan. 18, “law enforcement executed a search warrant of Defendant’s automobile and the Alabama residence where he was living” and recovered a fake identification card in the name of victim [in the SEC hack] with Defendant’s image and a portable identification printer,” the memo said. “Law enforcement’s search of Defendant’s laptop uncovered templates for fake identification cards and internet searches for ‘SECGOV hack,’ ‘telegram sim swap,’ ‘how can I know for sure if I am being investigated by the FBI’ and ‘how long does it take to delete telegram account,’ ” the memo said. “Schemes of this nature threaten the health and integrity of our market system,” District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement. “SIM swap schemes threaten the financial security of average citizens, financial institutions, and government agencies,” Pirro said. Source link #Man #sentenced #prison #SEC #bitcoin #announcement #hack Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Bungie Responds to Unauthorized Use of Art in Marathon Bungie Responds to Unauthorized Use of Art in Marathon Bungie: “We immediately investigated a concern regarding unauthorized use of artist decals in Marathon and confirmed that a former Bungie artist included these in a texture sheet that was ultimately used in-game. This issue was unknown by our existing art team, and we are still reviewing how this oversight occurred. We take matters like this very seriously. We have reached out to @4nt1r34l to discuss this issue and are committed to do right by the artist.” Source link #Bungie #Responds #Unauthorized #Art #Marathon Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Man sentenced to prison for SEC bitcoin announcement hack Man sentenced to prison for SEC bitcoin announcement hack A judge on Friday sentenced an Alabama man to 14 months in prison for his role in the January 2024 hack of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s X account, which was used to send out a tweet that briefly spiked the price of bitcoin by more than $1,000, the Justice Department said. The man, Eric Council Jr., pleaded guilty three months ago in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud in connection with helping others who took control of the SEC’s account. The X account was used to falsely claim that the SEC had officially approved exchange-traded funds for bitcoin. The cryptocurrency’s price rose after that tweet, but then fell by more than $2,000 after the SEC quickly regained control of the account and said the tweet was false. Surveillance footage showing Eric Council Jr. in a Huntsville, Alabama, AT&T store posing as an employee of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Courtesy: U.S. District Court, Washington, D.C. Ironically, the SEC said the next day that it had approved rule changes that allowed the creation of bitcoin ETFs. The 14-month sentence that Council received in D.C. federal court was 10 months less than what was requested by prosecutors, who in a sentencing memorandum this week said that a group that provides tools for hackers in February posted on X a video statement “purportedly made by the Defendant.” In the video, the 26-old Huntsville resident Council “acknowledged his role in the hack and referenced his discussions with law enforcement and guilty plea as steps towards accountability, he blamed the SEC’s cybersecurity practices, claiming, ‘[t]he @SECGov Hack was an inside job’ and ‘the SEC still hasn’t taken full accountability for investor losses due to cyber security practices of a lonely 85- year-old with dementia,’ ” prosecutors wrote. “Defendant ends the video with a message where he continued to diminish his and his conspirators’ culpability. The animated video, depicting characters dancing, concludes by saying: “But at the end of the day, the only reason their financial regulatory agency got hacked was because of a college drop out that majored in Cyber Security and violently smoked a lot of weed.” Council’s defense lawyer, Dwight Crawley, in a sentencing memo, requested a prison term of 12 months and a day for his client, noting that he has no prior criminal history. “The defendant admitted to using ********** daily prior to his arrest, but he has not had any drug or alcohol infractions since his release on pre-trial supervision,” Crawley wrote. “According to the defendant, his ********** use aided him with his mental health struggles.” Crawley declined to comment on Council’s case when contacted by CNBC on Friday. The lawyer hung up when asked about the video cited by prosecutors. Council’s role in the hack conspiracy involved executing a so-called SIM swap attack on a person whose phone number was linked to the SEC’s X account. Council was tipped to the identity of that person by a member of the conspiracy and then used a portable ID car printer to print out that person’s driver’s license, court records state. He then used the ID at an AT&T store in Huntsville to get an employee there to reassign the victim’s cell phone number to a telephone controlled by Council, records said. Read more CNBC politics coverage After gaining access to the victim’s phone number, “Council’s co-conspirators then accessed the account and posted in the name of the SEC Chairman,” the Justice Department previously said. At the time of the bogus tweet, the bitcoin market was awaiting news of a decision on bitcoin ETFs. Council, who was known online by the handles “Ronin,” “Easymunny,” and “AGiantSchnauzer,” was paid in about $50,000 worth of bitcoin by co-conspirators for his role in the hack. Prosecutors in their sentencing memo said that surveillance agents observed Council on June 12 trying to execute a SIM swap at an Apple store in Birmingham, Alabama. On Jan. 18, “law enforcement executed a search warrant of Defendant’s automobile and the Alabama residence where he was living” and recovered a fake identification card in the name of victim [in the SEC hack] with Defendant’s image and a portable identification printer,” the memo said. “Law enforcement’s search of Defendant’s laptop uncovered templates for fake identification cards and internet searches for ‘SECGOV hack,’ ‘telegram sim swap,’ ‘how can I know for sure if I am being investigated by the FBI’ and ‘how long does it take to delete telegram account,’ ” the memo said. “Schemes of this nature threaten the health and integrity of our market system,” District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement. “SIM swap schemes threaten the financial security of average citizens, financial institutions, and government agencies,” Pirro said. Source link #Man #sentenced #prison #SEC #bitcoin #announcement #hack Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Brock Purdy, 49ers agree to five-year contract extension – NBC Sports Brock Purdy, 49ers agree to five-year contract extension – NBC Sports Brock Purdy, 49ers agree to five-year contract extension NBC SportsSources: Niners, Purdy finalizing $265M contract ESPNBrock Purdy, 49ers agree to terms on five-year, $265 million extension NFL.comBrock Purdy reaches 5-year, $265 million contract extension with 49ers Yahoo SportsBrock Purdy, 49ers agree to 5-year contract extension: Sources The New York Times Source link #Brock #Purdy #49ers #agree #fiveyear #contract #extension #NBC #Sports Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Ubisoft Congratulates Sandfall for Their Success With Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Ubisoft Congratulates Sandfall for Their Success With Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Ubisoft Brasil: “A source of pride for the French gaming community – we celebrate the success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 With over 1M copies sold in one week, the French game has been a global phenomenon since its launch, and we at Ubisoft Brazil wish the team and fans of the game success.” Source link #Ubisoft #Congratulates #Sandfall #Success #Clair #Obscur #Expedition Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

End of the line for longest *** direct train route End of the line for longest *** direct train route Ken Banks and Ben Philip BBC Scotland News, Aberdeen BBC Aimee Smith wanted to be part of rail history It is a route which has operated for more than 100 years, but for the ***’s longest direct train service linking Aberdeen and Penzance it is finally the end of the line. The connection – first established back in 1921 – is 775 miles (1,247km) long. However, the packed train from the north east of Scotland on Friday morning was the last to run the route, and arrived in Cornwall more than 13 hours later at 21:40. Operator CrossCountry said the decision to end the service was aimed at a “more efficient timetable”. One passenger, Aimee Smith, 40, had made the journey to Aberdeen specifically so as she could join the final trip south and be part of rail history. “All good things do come to an end,” she told BBC Scotland News. It is believed the end of the service means the connection between Aberdeen and Plymouth is now the longest direct route, at 695 miles (1,118km). Dairy Herald Archive/Getty Images Train workers are pictured next to the Aberdeen to Penzance train in 1939 Aimee, who lives in Derby, has loved trains since she was a child. “When I was young, my granddad lived in Wigginton near Tamworth. I am one of 21 cousins and we used to meet up and obviously when you’ve got a load of under-12s hanging around they used to try and burn off some energy,” she recalled. “So we would go over to a train bridge and wave at the train drivers as they went on the line down to Tamworth. That was quite fun.” When she heard about the end of the Aberdeen to Penzance service, she knew she had to be involved. “I saw it come up on my phone, because I get lots of rail-related stuff,” Aimee said. “I thought ‘oh my gosh, that’s amazing’.” The route links Aberdeen and Penzance Aimee travelled the reverse route to get to Aberdeen for the final journey. “I am travelling up on the train and down on the train so I’ll have seen a lot of the train line,” she said. Aimee added that her hope was to “meet some really nice people”, have a nice chat, and “generally just enjoy it”, while armed with a litre of orange juice. She explained: “I’ve got my book, for when it’s a bit quieter, hopefully some like-minded souls, talk trains and talk philosophy. “I’m very excited about just being there and being part of the whole experience really. It is going to be sad. I’m sure I’ll look out for other long train journeys.” Friends Danny, Kieran and Liam described the trip as a “bucket list” moment Friends Danny, 24, Kieran, 22, and 18-year-old Liam could hardly contain their excitement before heading off. Danny, from Edinburgh, said: “It’s quite a cool journey to do within the rail enthusiast community as it’s the longest.” Liam, from Elgin in Moray, added: “It’s always been a bucket list thing for me, I am really excited. “I have wanted to do this my whole life.” The train left from platform three in Aberdeen Including Aberdeen and Penzance, there are 41 stops on the route, featuring cities such as Edinburgh, Newcastle and Leeds. John Labrow got a special new top printed John Labrow, 66, from Manchester, got a special T-shirt printed to mark the special occasion. “It’s probably the longest journey I’ve ever done by train, it’s the last of a great era, ” he said. “It’s a privilege.” He decided to get the T-shirt printed to tell the story of the journey from Aberdeen to Penzance, and have a memento of the day. Chris Playfair The route passes spots such as Berwick-upon-Tweed The service was also removed from the timetable during the pandemic, terminating at Plymouth during 2020, and was not reinstated as the full Aberdeen to Penzance route until May 2023. Luke Iden was also among the enthusiastic passengers Luke Iden said he learned about a “buzz” about the route online and decided to book the journey. The 20-year-old from Bournemouth works in rail maintenance and has always been into trains. “I am just happy that I’m here in the moment and can always say I’ve done it now,” he said. The amateur film-maker said he would be shooting footage out the window to pass much of the time. Martin Wallace said it was exciting to be the driver for the last full journey Train driver Martin Wallace was only assigned to the route in August last year. He said he was delighted to be involved in the historic trip on Friday. “It’s very exciting, isn’t it,” he said, just before departing. “The last voyage.” A CrossCountry spokesperson said: “Amending our Aberdeen to Penzance service from May will mean a more efficient timetable for our train crews and a more convenient service for our customers, making a day trip from Bristol and the west of England to Penzance more viable. “The new timetable will also deliver an additional service in each direction between Glasgow and the north east of England towards Birmingham.” Source link #line #longest #direct #train #route Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

5 Sci-Fi franchises that would make AMAZING games 5 Sci-Fi franchises that would make AMAZING games Science Fiction is easily one of the most popular genres, whether it is TV shows, films, books or video games, sci-fi is a versatile genre that resonates with a huge audience. The sci-fi franchises in this list have proven themselves to epitomize the timeless nature of the genre, but despite reboots, remakes and libraries of expanded media these franchises have never quite made the leap to video games with the same level of resounding success. Despite having the potential to be huge, they’ve only dipped their toes into the world of video games. Here are 5 Sci-Fi franchises that would make amazing video games. The Doctor Who level packs for LEGO Dimensions are the best examples of how well Doctor Who can work in a video game. Okay, it’s an obvious one, and of course the Doctor Who nerd is going to put this on the list. Its here isn’t just the fan side wanting to see the long-running series in video-game form though. With a long, long history including Guinness world record for the longest running sci-fi television series in the world, Doctor Who has an equally long and storied history with video games. With a total of 19 releases since the 1983 Doctor Who: The First Adventure on the BBC Micro to 2022’s entirely generic cut and paste mobile game Lost in Time, none have quite matched its wonder. Despite having plenty of opportunities over the last 40 years to get it right, Doctor Who games are for the most part terrible — the world of terrible Doctor Who games is an entertaining subject for another feature — so the BBC is, perhaps understandably, notoriously picky when it comes to authorizing licensed software for their sci-fi juggernaut. However, given the right developers and the right budget there is an incredible amount of potential to be had in a show that is famously able to throw the rules out of the window. The Doctor Who themed levels in LEGO Dimensions proved just that. A big budget entry into the video game space is what Doctor Who sorely needs and personally I’d like to see a story-heavy, single-player, multi-Doctor experience seeing a Modern and Classic Doctor come together across two time periods to solve timey-wimey puzzles and save the universe. Give me humor, clever twists and turns throughout, and plenty of ways to creatively and non-lethally take down or escape from enemies. Give me the ability to swap between time zones at will, and an emphasis on putting brains before brawn with a protagonist that iconically never carries a gun – yet canonically has a kill count well into the billions. Honestly, give me Doctor Who: The Edge of Reality, but if it wasn’t a VR walking simulator… and that would be good. So, this is definitely a bit of a niche one. Thunderbirds is a classic British sci-fi series that had two short seasons in the mid-60s. It was rebooted with a series that ran three seasons from 2015-2020, received a 2004 Jonathan Frakes (of Star Trek fame) directed live action movie. Then there was Thunderbirds 2086, an English dub of the Japanese anime Scientific Rescue Team Technoboyger that was loosely inspired by Thunderbirds and reused music and sound effects from Thunderbirds and other shows from the same production company. Despite being short lived, Thunderbirds was hugely popular and influential in the ***, in no short part due to its unique aesthetic. Using a form of electronic marionette puppetry called “Supermarionation” and scale model work, Thunderbirds not only has a distinctive look that would translate well into video game graphics, but an exciting premise too. Thunderbirds revolves around the Tracy family, who run International Rescue, an independent rescue organization that uses super advanced technology to save lives from disasters all over the world. The real world UN-registered search and rescue organization International Rescue Corps, was named for the show’s organization. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Thunderbirds Are Go! In order to do this, the family uses vehicles known as Thunderbirds, 5 unique vehicles designed to be able to handle any disaster situation in any location across the globe. In the show, things often get hairy, with disasters often being exacerbated by criminal elements intent on disrupting the status quo or getting their hands on International Rescue’s technology. It’s a premise that I think would be an absolute blast to be at the helm of in a video game, tasking you with responding to active disasters across the world, having to research, build and choose the right equipment for the job to ensure you can save as many lives as possible. A Thunderbirds strategy game in the vein of X-COM could be a lot of fun, as could something that puts you in the pilot’s seat of the Thunderbirds as you and a group of friends work together to rescue lives before it’s too late. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Battlestar Galactica is another iconic franchise that has had only middling success in the video game arena. Tactical RTS Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock and MMO Battlestar Galactica Online have both done alright for themselves but there is still so much more than can be tapped into from the franchise. I’ll be honest, I have really fond memories of the 2003 Xbox/PS2 Battlestar Galactica game. It was a middling starfighter game based on the 1978 series that followed a young William Adama in his career through the First Cylon War, and I for one would love to see a new space combat game in the same vein as 2020’s ill-fated Star Wars: Squadrons. Any new Battlestar Galactica game would likely be set in the revival era due to the that series’ popularity far exceeding the 1978 cult classic and, while I’d love to see a new game in the iconic style of the original series, I’d settle for some skins. Battlestar Galactica is a franchise that has a lot going for it as it explores what it means to be human as the last remnants of humanity limp across the stars to find their lost home. While I’m eager to recreate my childhood excitement of being a viper pilot, the revival series introduced a lot of amazing concepts for the series that provide a plethora of different starting points for a video game entry. There’s potential here for large sweeping space-based romps as you try to avert the course of the Cylon wars, or tense battles for survival as you lead your survivors through the Oregon Trail of space. BLADE RUNNER Blade Runner is a franchise synonymous with Sci-Fi and represents the primary source of inspiration for a large swath of video games that have come since the 1982 film adaptation of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Despite its heavy influence on the genre and much of the Sci-Fi aesthetic that has come to be popular in dystopian and cyberpunk settings since, there have only been a small number of official Blade Runner video games. With the recent news that a new adaptation of the iconic franchise had been canceled and Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth still in development, there is at least some good news on the horizon. The world of Blade Runner is a deep and provocative one, with huge reservoirs of untapped potential for rich narrative titles in the same vein as many of the games that the film has gone on to inspire. Roleplaying games similar to Cyberpunk 2077 or Disco Elysium are obvious choices for the franchise with both of those games taking clear inspiration from the franchise. While any Blade Runner game is likely to follow the film’s example and explore deeper philosophical meanings of what it is to be human as an eponymous Blade Runner hunts down replicants to “retire”, there’s more to explore in the dystopian Blade Runner universe should developers dare to strike out and do something different. Let’s forget this ever happened… SUPERMAN Superman is a character that has both had a lot of his own video games and also featured in plenty of others. While probably remembered for some of the worst video games of all time, I think that we are finally ready for a new Superman game. When discussing a Superman video game, its often bought up that Superman would be difficult to build a game around. Is he too powerful? Too much of a good guy for interesting gameplay? I don’t think so, and I don’t think that means we’ll necessarily get a bad game if we got one now. Open world superhero games such as Sony’s Spider-Man and Prototype are standout examples of how this can work. Provide a sprawling Metropolis with the same level of detail as Spider-Man’s New York for Supes to fly around in, add a fluid combat system that allows you to mix up Superman’s various abilities for creative ways of taking down Superman level foes, and side missions that see Superman helping other heroes or saving cats from trees and I really think we have a winner on our hands. The power levels of Superman also give ample opportunity to have some crazy cool fight scenes that gives players exactly what they want, the power fantasy of being Superman, and there are plenty of foes in Superman’s rogue gallery that can provide a challenge as the game’s antagonist while also being a story built for game mechanisms like Superman taking damage in fights. Perhaps even include some levels as Clark Kent in order to uncover information and investigate leads to a nefarious plot and a solution that requires more than just as heavy beat down from the Man of Steel. What’s more, a Superman game has the potential to branch out into ******* things, with sequels bringing together video game versions of The Justice League to go ******* and more action packed, or even teaming up with Superman’s super-best friend Batman for a video game adaptation of World’s Finest. The Arkham series has shown that there’s an appetite for DC games and superhero games in general, and it’s hard to deny the appeal of the power-fantasy. Superman as a concept and character for a video game is far more versatile than you might think and a new video game entry for the Big Blue Boy Scout is long overdue. Do you think these franchises would make good games? Are there any franchises out there that I missed? Leave your video game pitches in the comments below or on our social media! Ben Newton Contributor Ben is a big nerd, and has been gaming for as long as he can remember. His earliest memories being of playing DOOM with his Dad in the late 90’s and he has recently been enjoying rediscovering all of the games he couldn’t afford as a kid. His passion for gaming is shared with a passion for writing that he hopes to share by contributing to Smash Jump. Source link #SciFi #franchises #AMAZING #games Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Your Week: Music and more this week in Perth Your Week: Music and more this week in Perth Ian Moss — One Guitar One Night Only Saturday May 17 and Sunday May 18, 7.30pm, State Theatre Centre, Perth Camera IconIan Moss. Credit: ROBERT HAMBLING/TheWest Famous for his work with legendary rock group Cold Chisel, Mossy lands in WA for his One Guitar One Night Only shows which, confusingly, he’s performing on two nights. Who knows how many guitars he really has? Expect to hear songs including Bow River, Georgia On My Mind, and a few surprises. Tickets $97 from artsculturetrust.com.au. Pokey Lafarge and His Band Saturday May 17, 8pm, Freo.Social, Fremantle Camera IconPokey LaFarge. Credit: Instagram Get your dancing shoes on for this riverboat chic rock‘n’roller who is steaming into WA for one show only. Pokey is touring in support of his 2024 album Rhumba Country. Support from Lucky Oceans. Tickets $71.62 from Moshtix Kaya Sunday, May 18, 6.30pm-8.30pm, Yagan Square, Perth Camera IconKaya at Yagan Square. Credit: Supplied To mark National Reconciliation Week, a major celebration of Noongar culture is taking place in the heart of the city. Curated and hosted by Phil Walleystack, there will be performances from Bobby Bennell, Tahlia Pabai, Indigo Ellis, Gina Willams and Guy Ghouse, and Sounds of Marawar. Family-friendly. Free Thelma Plum Tuesday May 20, 7.30pm, The Rechabite, Northbridge and Wednesday May 21, 7pm, The River Hotel, Margaret River. She might be on a regional tour, but Thelma Plum has made an exception for WA and is performing a show in the heart of the city before she heads to Margaret River. The singer will be playing songs from her 2024 album I’m Sorry, Now Say It Back, as well as hits from throughout her career. Tickets $66.30, from Oztix. Airship Orchestra Wednesday May 21-June 17, Claremont Quarter The globally acclaimed art piece Airship Orchestra is landing in Perth for four magical weeks. This immersive installation features 16 towering, glowing inflatable characters, some up to 6m tall, and a giant community colouring mandala. An enchanting blend of light, sound and play. Free Footloose the Musical Thursday, May 22, 7.30pm, Planet Royale, Northbridge With it’s well-known songs including Holding Out For A Hero, Let’s Hear It For The Boy, and Footloose, this is a show that will get your toes a-tapping. The play, based on the film of the same name, celebrates the power of rebellion, friendship, and finding your voice. Tickets $89 from Ticketmaster Peppa Pig’s Fun Day Out Live Friday, May 23-May 25, 10am and 1pm, Regal Theatre, Subiaco Camera IconJoin Peppa, and her family and friends as they go to the zoo and also the beach for a special party. It’s going to be an exciting and fun-packed day. Credit: Barry Rivett *****@*****.tld.*** Join Peppa, her little brother George, Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig as they sing, dance, build sandcastles, swim in the sea and, yes, jump in muddy puddles. Tickets $36.90 to $84.90 from Ticketek. Source link #Week #Music #week #Perth Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Why these Republicans finally stood up to Trump – and the price they could pay as a result Why these Republicans finally stood up to Trump – and the price they could pay as a result The One Big Beautiful Bill isn’t quite dead. But it is resting. Five hardline conservative Republicans joined the Democrats on the House Budget Committee to sink President Donald Trump’s massive domestic policy and tax cut legislation. The main culprits were the House Freedom Caucus, the group of rambunctious hellraisers who have long been a thorn in the side of Republican leadership since its formation in 2015. Specifically, Representatives Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Andrew Clyde of Georgia and Chip Roy of Texas led the charge. Roy and Norman, the two most senior Freedom Caucus members on the committee, complained that the bill did not go far enough because it did little to reduce the deficit and it only enacts Medicaid work requirements in 2029, when Trump would leave office. On Thursday, Roy told The Independent that delaying them for four years was “absurd.” Roy, Norman and Clyde in particular have a history of defying Republican leadership. Roy’s record goes back all the way to his time as Sen. Ted Cruz’s chief of staff when Cruz orchestrated a government shutdown — which is when Cruz also famously filibustered by reading Green Eggs and Ham on the Senate floor— in an attempt to defund the Affordable Care Act, Barack Obama’s signature law. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) led the charge to kill the One Big, Beautiful Bill (Getty Images) They also have a history of folding just as quickly when it counts. Initially, all three joined the attempt to block Kevin McCarthy from being speaker in 2023. But a series of backroom deals and sweet committee assignments led to them flipping to support McCarthy. They also did not take part in Matt Gaetz’s coup against McCarthy, but both did block Steve Scalise’s ascent to be speaker, which gave way to a much more conservative speaker in Johnson. Earlier this year, when it came time to vote for speaker, when Roy’s name was called, he remained silent in the middle of the House chamber aisle and tapped his foot while Norman voted for Jim Jordan. But they ultimately voted for Johnson. Then, in April, when it came time for the House to vote for the Senate’s version of the budget resolution to begin writing the legislative text, Roy and Norman spent most of their week stamping their feet about how it did not go far enough on spending cuts before they came around and voted for the budget resolution. Roy and Norman also share another trait: neither of them endorsed Trump in the 2024 primary. Roy endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a founding member of the Freedom Caucus, and even campaigned for him in Iowa. Norman, despite his conservatism, endorsed his fellow South Carolinian and former governor Nikki Haley. That last trait has set off Trump in the past. When Roy joined the Democrats to kill a stripped-down continuing resolution in December, Trump called for a primary challenge. Ahead of the 2024 election, Roy campaigned for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, which infuriated President Donald Trump ((Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)) Roy, Norman, Clyde and everyone else in the Freedom Caucus objecting to the legislation shows that they face a central tension: They see themselves as the guardkeepers of conservatism and the purists while everyone else is a RINO or a fake conservative; but in this current era of the Republican party, conservatism means whatever Trump wants it to mean. That presents a central problem for actual fiscal conservatives who care about reining in federal spending. Trump has never believed much in their ideology. In fact, he busted the budget with his 2017 tax cuts, which the One Big Beautiful Bill seeks to reauthorize, and put them on the credit card. Trump also grew the size of government during the Covid-19 pandemic by sending out stimulus checks and engaging in Operation Warp Speed to develop the Covid-19 vaccine (when The Independent asked Roy, a ******* survivor, many years ago if he had been vaccinated, he said “none of your business”). He also has pledged not to touch Social Security or Medicare and has said only “waste, fraud and abuse” would be targeted in Medicaid while conservatives like the Freedom Caucus want long-term fixes since they see these programs as debt bombs if they remain on their current trajectory. But opposing Trump, even in the name of fiscal restraint, becomes a tall order. The Freedom Caucus will need to make a choice going into the next phase of legislating: Will they decide to be a faction dedicated to controlling spending and lowering taxes like right-wingers of yore, or will they simply be a Trump fan club? Many of the original Freedom Caucus founders decided to pick the latter and were rewarded handsomely. Jim Jordan went from being called a “legislative terrorist” to being House Judiciary Committee Chairman. Mark Meadows became Trump’s chief of staff. Meanwhile, the caucus’s actual fiscal conservatives like Ken Buck and Justin Amash left Congress bitterly disappointed and Trump made it a priority to humiliate DeSantis in 2024. But being the ones who personally sink the legislation of the president of their own party is never a fun position. Just ask Joe Manchin how he feels after killing Build Back Better under Joe Biden. Still, if the Freedom Caucus is serious about their priorities, they might find their biggest opponents aren’t the so-called “tax-and-spend” liberals; it might be the leader of their party. Source link #Republicans #finally #stood #Trump #price #pay #result Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Moody’s downgrades United States credit rating on increase in government debt Moody’s downgrades United States credit rating on increase in government debt Kent Nishimura | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images Moody’s Ratings slashed the United States’ credit rating down a notch to Aa1 from the highest triple A on Friday, citing the budgetary burden the government faces amid high interest rates. “This one-notch downgrade on our 21-notch rating scale reflects the increase over more than a decade in government debt and interest payment ratios to levels that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns,” the ratings agency said in a statement. The U.S. is running a massive budget deficit as interest costs for Treasury debt continued to rise due to a combination of higher rates and more debt to finance. The fiscal deficit totaled $1.05 trillion year to date, 13% higher than a year ago. The influx in tariffs helped shave some of the imbalance last month, however. Moody’s had been a holdout in keeping U.S. sovereign debt at the highest credit rating possible, and brings the 116-year-old agency into line with its rivals. Standard & Poor’s downgraded the U.S. to AA+ from AAA in August 2011, and Fitch Ratings also cut the U.S. rating to AA+ from AAA, in August 2023. The news came as the GOP-led House Budget Committee on Friday rejected a sweeping package for President Donald Trump’s agenda that includes extending the 2017 tax cuts. “Successive US administrations and Congress have failed to agree on measures to reverse the trend of large annual fiscal deficits and growing interest costs,” Moody’s said. “We do not believe that material multi-year reductions in mandatory spending and deficits will result from current fiscal proposals under consideration.” Moody’s officially rated U.S. bonds in 1993 for the first time, but it had assigned a “country ceiling rating” of AAA on the U.S. since 1949. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield shot 3 basis points higher in after-hours trading, trading at 4.48%. In reaction to Trump’s trade battle last month, Treasury yields rose and the dollar weakened against its global counterparts in a sign that investors could be moving away from the U.S. as the safest place to invest. “Treasurys are still dealing with the fundamental factor of less foreign demand for them and the growing size of the pile of debt that needs to be constantly refinanced is not going to change, but it is symbolic in the sense that here’s a major rating agency that’s calling the out that the U.S. has strained debts and deficits,” said Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Financial Group. This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates. Source link #Moodys #downgrades #United #States #credit #rating #increase #government #debt Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Retail Investors Are Betting Big on Rocket Lab—Should You Too? Retail Investors Are Betting Big on Rocket Lab—Should You Too? Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:) became a retail favorite in 2024, gaining recognition and popularity and surging over 300% in value. While the stock has been relatively flat in 2025, that’s the only thing lacking momentum. With the company aggressively pushing forward across multiple fronts, it remains a popular long-term bet among retail investors aiming to get in early on a major player in the growing space industry. A Space Company With Multiple Revenue Streams Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company offering reliable launch services, satellite manufacturing, spacecraft components, and on-orbit management. Its flagship Electron rocket, used for small satellite launches, has become the backbone of the business, launched 63 times as of April 2025. With global demand for small satellite launches accelerating—over 10,000 are expected by 2030—Rocket Lab is well-positioned to capture market share. But the real excitement lies in the pipeline: the Neutron rocket. Neutron is a reusable, medium-lift launch vehicle designed for satellite constellation deployments, national security missions, and even lunar or interplanetary exploration. Scheduled for its maiden flight in the second half of 2025, Neutron represents Rocket Lab’s bid to move upmarket and compete more directly with SpaceX. It’s a key piece of the company’s strategy to scale operations and gain relevance in the booming space economy. Lofty Valuation and No Profitability, But a Pure Growth Play Rocket Lab isn’t a value stock by any measure. With a market cap of $11.5 billion and a price-to-sales ratio of 25, it’s a high-risk, high-reward growth play. The company remains unprofitable and continues to post losses, but that’s not unexpected for a firm in the middle of a deep R&D and growth cycle. In Q1 2025, Rocket Lab reported revenue of $123 million, up 32% year-over-year and slightly above expectations. Its launch services generated $38 million, while space systems pulled in $85 million. However, the company posted a wider-than-expected loss of $0.12 per share and negative GAAP operating cash flow of $54.2 million for the quarter. R&D expenses rose nearly $7 million from Q4 due to continued investment in Neutron’s development. Still, Rocket Lab’s balance sheet remains solid, with $517 million in cash and equivalents, giving it breathing room to keep investing aggressively as it works to achieve major technical and commercial milestones. Recent Developments and Major Milestones The company confirmed its inaugural Neutron launch remains on track for the second half of 2025. Recently, Neutron was officially selected as part of the U.S. Department of Defense’s $5.6 billion National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 program, making Rocket Lab one of just five companies selected for the initiative. As part of the onboarding, it received a $5 million task order to demonstrate mission assurance capabilities. Rocket Lab also received a separate contract from the U.S. Air Force for a future Neutron launch to test experimental point-to-point transportation. Rocket Lab announced a NASA contract to launch its Aspera mission earlier this week. Aspera is a groundbreaking astrophysics project that will study the intergalactic medium and better understand how stars and planets form. Launching on the Electron rocket no earlier than Q1 2026, the mission could enhance Rocket Lab’s reputation as a trusted partner in advanced science missions. Long-Term Growth in a $1 Trillion Opportunity While Rocket Lab remains unprofitable and faces execution risk, particularly with the high-stakes Neutron launch, the broader opportunity in the space sector is undeniable. Morgan Stanley projects that the global space economy could exceed $1 trillion by 2040. Rocket Lab has proven itself a reliable small satellite launcher, now leaping into national defense and large-scale missions. RKLB’s recent breakout and positioning in a rapidly expanding market could offer a compelling entry point for investors with a high risk tolerance and a long-term mindset. Original Post Source link #Retail #Investors #Betting #Big #Rocket #LabShould Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Nintendo details Switch 2 updates for Switch games – The Verge Nintendo details Switch 2 updates for Switch games – The Verge Nintendo details Switch 2 updates for Switch games The VergeNintendo Just Dropped Info on a Bunch of Switch 1 Games That Are Getting Free Performance Upgrades on Switch 2 IGNMore Switch games are getting Switch 2 upgrades EngadgetThe Best Nintendo Switch 2 Launch Day Titles: Here’s How to Preorder Games Online Rolling StoneNintendo Details Free Resolution, Framerate, And HDR Updates For Select Switch Games On Switch 2 Game Informer Source link #Nintendo #details #Switch #updates #Switch #games #Verge Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Meta’s 5 Key Pillars for AI Growth—Zuckerberg’s Bold Vision Meta’s 5 Key Pillars for AI Growth—Zuckerberg’s Bold Vision In its last earnings call, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:) made a concerted effort to add more transparency around its AI strategy. Mark Zuckerberg laid out the “five major opportunities” the company is pursuing through its AI investments. Analysts at Citi called this out as a significant positive. Understanding these opportunities is crucial to assessing whether the tech giant is living up to expectations going forward. How effectively Meta capitalizes on them will likely influence both investor confidence and the company’s long-term growth trajectory. Opportunities for the Here and Now: Advertising & App Experiences The first opportunity is “improved advertising.” This is what Meta has already been doing and generating its great financial results from. The company essentially wants to make it as easy as possible for businesses to get customers. Meta’s technology is learning how to show the right ad to the right person at the right time. As it gets better, advertisers are paying more money per ad, demonstrating the value they are receiving. The company’s AI ad creation tools also saw 30% more usage last quarter. This shows that the tools are likely making it easier for marketers to create ads. The second opportunity is “more engaging experiences.” Essentially, Meta wants to increase the amount of time spent and the level of interaction with content on its apps. This would raise the value of advertising on Meta as users focus more on its apps than on other platforms. The company shares that improvements to its content recommendation systems have led to a 6% to 35% increase in time spent on its various apps. Facebook started as a place where people shared mostly through written posts. However, image—and video-based content are far more engaging. Zuckerberg sees content progressing even further. People and the content they are watching will interact back and forth with each other in real time. He believes AI will be key in enabling the creation of this type of content. Seeing tangible examples of creators producing this type of content and successfully increasing engagement will be vital. Emerging Opportunities: Messaging Monetization, Meta AI, AI Glasses The next opportunity is “business messaging.” Billions of users and messages are sent across Meta’s WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram apps. However, messaging on these platforms is largely unmonetized at this point. Zuckerberg sees a future where companies generate sales through direct messaging customers. Companies in Thailand and Vietnam already do this extensively. However, they use human employees because the labor cost in these countries is low. Companies can use AI agents to message people to make this profitable in developed countries. This could create a large monetization opportunity for Meta. Continued user growth is important as investors await more details on this front. The fourth opportunity is Meta AI. This AI assistant was built into Meta’s apps and is now available as a standalone app. Meta AI now has almost 1 billion monthly active users. Ultimately, Zuckerberg wants to increase engagement as people talk to Meta AI and discover more content that interests them. This can lead to opportunities to show personalized product recommendations. He also anticipates a premium service, presumably some type of subscription. He says it will continue growing the platform for at least a year before thinking about revenue generation. As with business messaging, increased users and engagement will be important to see going forward. The final opportunity Zuckerberg outlined was “AI devices.” Specifically, he mentioned that glasses are the “ideal form factor” for AI and the metaverse. Zuckerberg believes that over the next five to ten years, many of the more than 1 billion people who wear glasses today will switch to AI glasses. He mentioned that sales of the company’s Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses tripled in the past year. It will be important to pay attention to seeing sales grow in this area and to see significant improvements in the technology. What This All Means for Investors Now that Meta has laid out this AI framework, evaluating the company’s performance becomes easier. Investors should stay keenly aware of different metrics and commentary that indicate how well Meta is performing in each of these areas. When it comes to the emerging opportunities, investors also shouldn’t panic if results stagnate. Zuckerberg notes that the company does not need to succeed in all these areas to succeed overall. Zuckerberg gave markets a clear score sheet to judge the company’s performance with. Now, it’s up to Meta to execute. Original Post Source link #Metas #Key #Pillars #GrowthZuckerbergs #Bold #Vision Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]