Pelican Press

Klarman’s hedge fund Baupost adds some value stocks, including a fintech Klarman’s hedge fund Baupost adds some value stocks, including a fintech Baupost Group’s Seth Klarman took stakes in several underperforming stocks in the first quarter, including fintech name Fidelity National Information Services , according to a new regulatory filing with the SEC. The Boston-based hedge fund manager, who oversees roughly $28 billion in assets , built a $261 million stake in the financial services company in the first three months of 2025, making it his fifth largest holding. It could be a classic value play as Fidelity National fell 7.5% in the first quarter. The stock has since recovered some and was recently down 3% on the year. Baupost also added a $107 million stake in health insurance provider Elevance Health as well as a $71 million bet on Irish healthcare name Icon Plc in the first quarter. Elevance shares are down more than 1% in 2025, while Icon’s stock has tumbled nearly 38%. Klarman, a follower of Benjamin Graham ‘s value investing style, has drawn comparisons to Warren Buffett for his patient, disciplined approach, leading some to dub him “The Oracle of Boston.” The 67-year-old Harvard and Cornell grad published his now out-of-print investment guide, “Margin of Safety,” in 1991. The book now sells for thousands of dollars online. As growth stocks and technology shares continue to lead the stock market even after a decade of outperformance, value investors like Klarman have struggled with underperformance in recent years. Baupost gained only about 4% a year since 2014, while investors have pulled roughly $7 billion from the hedge fund in the past three years, according to Bloomberg News. Baupost’s top holdings at the end of March included John Malone’s media conglomerate Liberty Global , Willis Towers Watson and Wesco International . Source link #Klarmans #hedge #fund #Baupost #adds #stocks #including #fintech Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Homegrown talent ***** Baynes to hit Sydney’s Capitol Theatre in award-winning musical The Book of ******* Homegrown talent ***** Baynes to hit Sydney’s Capitol Theatre in award-winning musical The Book of ******* A multi-talented Geraldton-born singer and actress has scored an important role in one of the world’s most beloved musicals, showing in Sydney. ***** Baynes has been cast as a swing for the critically-acclaimed musical The Book of *******. She recently appeared as Bec in the Geraldton-based Stan original series Invisible Boys based on the novel by Holden Sheppard, and has starred in major productions such as Matt Ward’s Priscilla: Queen of the Desert and the Aussie premiere of All Shook Up The Musical. A Tony, Olivier, and Grammy award-winning production, The Book of ******* follows the misadventures of two ******* missionaries in a remote Ugandan village as they attempt to spread their faith and will. Baynes has been cast as a swing — a performer who understudies multiple ensemble roles, ready to step in at any time if a member is unable to perform. Swings may also cover other principal roles in addition to their ensemble duties. Baynes said she was ecstatic to be a part of such a huge musical, and hoped she can do her role justice. “When I found out I’d been cast as a swing in The Book of *******, I was genuinely shocked,” she said. “I’ve done everything from ensemble to lead roles before, but never swing, which is easily one of the most complex and demanding jobs in musical theatre. “The fact that the creative team saw something in me that said, ‘Yep, she can handle this,’ still blows my mind.” Camera IconJade Baynes has been cast as a swing in Sydney’s The Book of ******* Credit: Supplied The musical, which will open in July at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre stars a cast including Sean Johnston (Hairspray) as Elder Price, Nick Cox (Beauty and the Beast) as Elder Cunningham, Paris Leveque who is making her professional debut as Nabulungi, Tom Struik (Sister Act the Musical) as Elder McKinley, Simbarashe Matshe (Filthy Business) as Mafala Hatimbi, Augie Tchantcho who is reprising his role in The Book of ******* as The General and Matthew Hamilton (Tina – The Tina Turner Musical) as Mission President. With cast and creatives coming from Broadway to deliver the show in Sydney, Baynes said she was “more than ready” to use “every bit of my brain capacity” and “be the best swing I can be.” Source link #Homegrown #talent #***** #Baynes #hit #Sydneys #Capitol #Theatre #awardwinning #musical #Book #******* Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Portuguese far-right leader taken to hospital after second collapse Portuguese far-right leader taken to hospital after second collapse The leader of Portugal’s far-right Chega party has been taken to hospital after another collapse during a rally days before the country votes in its third snap election since 2022. André Ventura, whose brash, blunt leadership style has helped make the populist, anti-immigration party Portugal’s third biggest political force, was taken ill at an event in the southern town of Odemira on Thursday, two days after a similar episode. Videos from the rally showed Ventura, 42, grabbing his chest and trying to undo his tie before falling into the arms of aides who carried him away. He was taken to a local clinic and then transferred to a hospital in Setúbal, near Lisbon, to undergo a medical procedure. Ventura had been discharged from hospital in Faro on Wednesday after his previous collapse. The hospital said he had had an oesophageal spasm caused by gastric reflux and high blood pressure. The Chega MP Marta Silva told CNN Portugal on Thursday that an electrocardiogram in an ambulance immediately after the second collapse had shown that “everything is well with his heart” and that it was probably another spasm. Ventura posted a picture of himself giving a thumbs-up sign from a hospital bed on Thursday afternoon. “This is a setback and a difficulty,” he wrote on X. “It won’t bring us down. Keep going … keep going!!! Portugal is much more important, it is this country that moves us.” Chega looks likely to once again finish third on Sunday, behind the ruling, centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) and the Socialist party (PS). Recent polls put the AD on about 33%, the PS on 26% and Chega on 17%. Ventura’s efforts to win a place in government have been rebuffed by Portugal’s prime minister, Luís Montenegro, who has repeatedly ruled out any deal with the far-right party. Chega, which has campaigned on a promise to clean up Portuguese politics at the same time as increasing its rhetoric against the Roma population, has been hit by a series of damaging allegations relating to some of its members over recent months. In January, Chega expelled one of its MPs from the party after he was accused of stealing suitcases at several airports. Another party member was caught drink-driving the same month, while a third has been charged with paying for ********* with an underage male, who was 15 at the time. Reuters contributed to this report Source link #Portuguese #farright #leader #hospital #collapse Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Google rolls out new AI and accessibility features to Android and Chrome – TechCrunch Google rolls out new AI and accessibility features to Android and Chrome – TechCrunch Google rolls out new AI and accessibility features to Android and Chrome TechCrunchNew AI and accessibility updates across Android, Chrome and more Google BlogChrome’s Android app will now let you zoom in on text without affecting the webpage The VergeGemini Can Now Answer Questions About Images in Android’s TalkBack Screen Reader CNETChrome for Android ‘Page Zoom’ now just boosts text as Expressive Captions expand 9to5Google Source link #Google #rolls #accessibility #features #Android #Chrome #TechCrunch Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Here’s Why Nissan Will Shut Seven Plants and Cut 20,000 Jobs Here’s Why Nissan Will Shut Seven Plants and Cut 20,000 Jobs Nissan reveals plans to drastically cut costs through fiscal year 2027, aiming to close seven plants and cut 20,000 jobs, far more than planned just a short time ago. The automaker plans to reduce the number of platforms from 13 to 7 over the next 10 years, and will also undertake extensive measures to reduce complexity in its global lineup. Nissan is facing challenges that materialized over a protracted span of time as the automaker chased volume, while neglecting to keep up with competitors in technology. Nissan revealed this week that it would lay off some 20,000 employees between now and 2027, up from 9,000 as envisioned just a few months ago, in addition to closing seven plants worldwide by the same year. The upcoming cuts, part of what the automaker openly called a “recovery plan” dubbed Re:Nissan, would bring its number of plants down from 17 to just 10. Nissan currently has three assembly plants in the US (with 16,000 manufacturing jobs) and one in Mexico. Nissan said some 300 people will be tasked to focus just on cost reduction initiatives as part of the plan. “A key aspect of this transformation involves rethinking the supply chain. Nissan will restructure its supplier panel to secure more volume for fewer suppliers, eliminating inefficiencies and challenging legacy standards,” the automaker said. Nissan intends to reduce engineering costs, reduce parts complexity by 70%, and streamline its powertrain strategy, which will include canceling a planned Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery plant in Kyushu, Japan. Nissan also plans to shorten the vehicle development lead time from 37 months to 30, and by 2035 the automaker plans to rely on just seven global platforms, compared to 13 today. The automaker said it would take a market-specific approach when it comes to crucial regions. “In the US, it includes addressing rapidly expanding segments such as hybrids and revitalizing the Infiniti brand through synergies with the Nissan brand,” the automaker noted. Nissan, as other automakers, now faces much stiffer competition in China, which has seen a rapid rise of domestic automakers that have put pressure on more established auto giants. VCG – Getty Images Overall, Nissan envisions aggressive cost-cutting moves aimed at quickly correcting a rapidly worsening financial picture that had simmered for some time. How did Nissan find itself in this position? It would be too easy to blame the turmoil of the post-pandemic auto industry for Nissan’s downturn. But some of the roots of the company’s current crisis—perhaps its most serious in this century—likely stem from Nissan’s volume-chasing strategy under former CEO Carlos Ghosn that prioritized sales of lower-priced models. New Nissan President and CEO Ivan Espinosa admitted as much. “In the face of challenging FY24 performance and rising variable costs, compounded by an uncertain environment, we must prioritize self-improvement with greater urgency and speed, aiming for profitability that relies less on volume,” Espinosa said. The past decade and a half had seen Nissan’s momentum decline in a number of crucial markets, as the automaker moved slowly to respond to new competitors in new segments. Nissan was also slow to innovate in a quickly changing landscape, even in segments that had been its mainstay since the 1990s. The automaker neglected to expand and update its battery-electric offerings after the launch of the first-generation Leaf until recently, with the delayed debut of the Ariya, though BEV models still account for a relatively small percentage of its sales. Nissan was an EV pioneer early on, but the company had not addressed segments that Tesla quickly captured over the past several years. Now Nissan faces the task of catching up to over a dozen automakers, including Tesla. In the US, Nissan perhaps moved too slowly to respond to a decline in the popularity of sedans of various sizes, after dominating these segments along with Honda and Toyota for quite some time, while not being quick enough to update its crossovers. The Infiniti brand, meanwhile, had not received sufficient attention over the past decade after a few sporadic successes in the early 2000s, and now faces an increasingly uncertain future. More recently, Nissan saw merger talks with Honda collapse quickly, in a move seen as missing a crucial lifeline that could have boosted both automakers in the face of greater competition from South Korea and China. Under the new plan, Nissan aims to return to operating profitability by fiscal year 2026. “As new management, we are taking a prudent approach to reassess our targets and actively seek every possible opportunity to implement and ensure a robust recovery. Re:Nissan is an action-based recovery plan that clearly outlines what we need to do now,” Espinosa added. Overall, the continued rise of ******** automakers is likely to define the second half of the decade for Nissan and other Japanese automakers struggling to hold on to their market shares in several key regions. What vehicles should Nissan add to its US lineup in order to recapture buyers’ attentions? Let us know what you think in the comments below. Source link #Heres #Nissan #Shut #Plants #Cut #Jobs Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

‘Buffy’ Reboot Finds Its New Slayer: Ryan Kiera Armstrong To Star With Sarah Michelle Gellar In Hulu Pilot – Deadline ‘Buffy’ Reboot Finds Its New Slayer: Ryan Kiera Armstrong To Star With Sarah Michelle Gellar In Hulu Pilot – Deadline ‘Buffy’ Reboot Finds Its New Slayer: Ryan Kiera Armstrong To Star With Sarah Michelle Gellar In Hulu Pilot Deadline‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Reboot Pilot Casts Ryan Kiera Armstrong in Lead Role Variety’Buffy’ Reboot Casts Ryan Kiera Armstrong as the Next Slayer Opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar TheWrap’Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Reboot Gets Its Writers’ Room Nexus Point NewsThe ‘Buffy’ Reboot Has Found Its New Slayer Gizmodo Source link #Buffy #Reboot #Finds #Slayer #Ryan #Kiera #Armstrong #Star #Sarah #Michelle #Gellar #Hulu #Pilot #Deadline Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

How Hawks can go from good to great after Suns thriller How Hawks can go from good to great after Suns thriller Sam Mitchell has reminded his Hawthorn side that they’re “good but not great” after becoming the latest victims of the red-hot Gold Coast. The Suns jumped the Hawks to lead by 32 points in the second quarter on Thursday, but trailed by three at the final break before prevailing 16.8 (104) to 15.6 (96) at TIO Stadium. It improved Gold Coast’s record to 8-0 at the venue, putting the Suns second on the live ladder at 7-2, ahead of the fourth-placed Hawks (7-3). Last season’s Gold Coast spanking reduced the Hawks to 0-5, but sparked their resurgence that led to a tight, semi-final exit. Conscious of their progress since then – and the Suns’ new-found legitimacy – Mitchell will leave Darwin with mixed emotions. “I’m a bit torn,” Mitchell said. “There’s part of me, at 30-something points down that’s pleased and proud but there’s also a part that shows we’re not where we want to be just yet. “We’ve shown we’re making progress in that direction but we’ve got work to do to beat the best sides. “The Suns, here, are in that category. “We’re about where we deserve to be and that standard we hold ourselves to is getting higher and higher. “This time last year it was easy to improve. Now we’re a good side, but we’re not a great side. “That’s the challenge now, what we accept of each other, just need to continue to make those gains.” Hawthorn will host ladder-leaders and defending premiers Brisbane, a team they’ve beaten on each of their last five attempts. “The goal is to compete with the really good sides when it really matters. Today was an opportunity, and our next game is against Brisbane, so we get another chance,” he said. Mitchell praised inexperienced ruckman Ned Reeves in his battle with Gold Coast’s dual rucks Jarrod Witts and Ned Moyle and gushed at Nick Watson’s first-half impact. The 20-year-old kicked three goals despite the Suns’ midfield dominance but was unable to add to that tally in the second half. “When the rest aren’t going that well it’s quite hard to be the one that stands out and does the right thing at the right time,” Mitchell said. “Without him in the first 40 minutes, we were well and truly out of it. “His challenge is to do it for longer … that’s what comes when you’re 20 years old.” Source link #Hawks #good #great #Suns #thriller Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

F.B.I. Dismantles Elite Public Corruption Squad F.B.I. Dismantles Elite Public Corruption Squad The F.B.I. is disbanding a high-profile squad responsible for sensitive investigations into members of Congress and fraud by federal employees, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that comes as the Trump administration seeks to eliminate or marginalize public corruption investigations. The squad’s members are likely to be reassigned, potentially asked to do immigration work, and its work is expected to be merged with one of the other corruption units in the bureau’s Washington field office, according to a person familiar with the changes. The special agent in charge of criminal matters at the field office — who was recently responsible for investigating the Biden administration’s green energy grants — was also pushed out of his job, those people said. The moves, some of the most drastic to date by the F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, could reduce the bureau’s capacity to fulfill one of its core missions: leading major investigations into public corruption cases that have included, among many others, the two federal prosecutions of Mr. Trump led by the special counsel Jack Smith. It follows the decimation of the Justice Department’s public integrity unit, which had its staffing cut from more than two dozen personnel last fall to a skeleton crew of four to six prosecutors now, according to people briefed on the moves. Since returning to office, President Trump has taken other actions to downgrade federal law enforcement’s ability to hold the powerful and well-connected to account. He has granted clemency to political allies, fired those who brought cases against the Capitol rioters, and supported the dismissal of bribery charges against the New York mayor, Eric Adams, which prompted the resignation of prosecutors. A spokesman for the bureau did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The F.B.I. squad, based in the Virginia suburbs, has vast experience handling complicated investigations involving public officials. Getting rid of it also seems at odds with one of the administration’s stated priorities — eliminating fraud, waste and abuse across the federal government, former officials said. The unit’s disbanding was reported earlier by NBC News. The bureau’s Washington field office also oversees two other units that investigate corruption in the District of Columbia and Virginia, one of which is expected to pick up some of the duties of the squad that is being dissolved. Why the special agent in charge was being targeted was not clear. But he was responsible for the overall supervision of the federal corruption squad being dismantled. The squad works with many other agencies to unearth graft at places like the Pentagon and State Department and has built a reputation for making cases that lead to successful prosecutions. That includes Jack Abramoff, a disgraced lobbyist whose corruption became a symbol of the excesses of influence peddling in Washington. In addition, the unit helped send two Democratic congressmen to prison and oversaw sensitive inquiries into the Clinton Foundation and the former governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, another Democrat. More recently, agents on the squad investigated a wide-ranging effort to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election by creating slates of electors pledged to Mr. Trump in states he had lost. As part of that investigation, federal prosecutors accused Mr. Trump of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. The administration has acted on other fronts to limit investigations into public corruption. Officials previously ordered the shutdown of an initiative to seize assets owned by foreign kleptocrats, dialed back scrutiny of foreign influence efforts aimed at the United States and replaced the top career Justice Department official handling corruption cases. In February, President Trump signed an executive order halting investigations and prosecutions of corporate corruption in foreign countries, arguing that such cases hurt the United States’ competitive edge. “It’s going to mean a lot more business for America,” he said of his decision to pause enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977. Source link #F.B.I #Dismantles #Elite #Public #Corruption #Squad Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Maddow Blog | After launching investigations, Ed Martin is suddenly facing an investigation of his own Maddow Blog | After launching investigations, Ed Martin is suddenly facing an investigation of his own It’s been quite a week for Ed Martin. A week ago, the hyper-partisan lawyer whom Donald Trump appointed to serve as the U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., received some unwelcome news: Martin’s prosecutorial nomination, the president grudgingly conceded, was dead. The bipartisan opposition to the “Stop the Steal” activist in the Senate was simply too much to overcome. Soon after, however, Martin learned that he’d land on his feet: Trump said the Missouri Republican would lead the Justice Department’s new “Weaponization Working Group” — tackling a problem that only exists in the minds of Republican conspiracy theorists — and serve as the DOJ’s new pardon attorney, succeeding Elizabeth Oyer, who was fired in March allegedly after she refused to sign off on a plan to restore Mel Gibson’s gun rights. A few days later, Martin announced at a press conference that he intended to use his new working group to “name” and “shame” individuals the Justice Department determines it is unable to charge with crimes. In other words, federal law enforcement officials might investigate suspects, only to discover that the suspects didn’t break any laws. At that point, according to Martin, his working group will take steps to smear these Americans publicly anyway — which, as an NBC News report noted, “would amount to a major departure from longstanding Justice Department protocols.” But if that weren’t quite enough, as NBC News also reported, Martin learned this past week that he’s facing an investigation of his own. The incoming director of the Justice Department’s ‘Weaponization Working Group’ revealed Wednesday he was under investigation by D.C.’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel, accusing the official in charge of investigating bar complaints of ‘weaponizing’ his role, according to an letter viewed by NBC News. The disciplinary counsel’s probe didn’t come out of nowhere. On the contrary, in early March, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee formally requested that the group that governs the legal bar in the District of Columbia investigate Martin, insisting that he’d “abused” his prosecutorial powers — a claim rooted in extensive evidence. They weren’t alone. In April, a group of former Jan. 6 prosecutors and conservative attorneys also sought a disciplinary investigation into Martin from the Office of Disciplinary Counsel at the U.S. District Court of Appeals, arguing the Republican activist had demonstrated a “fundamental misunderstanding of the role of a federal prosecutor.” For his part, Martin condemned the investigation he’s facing in a going-away email to former colleagues in the U.S. attorney’s office, calling the probe “an outrage.” True to form, Martin proceeded to complain that Disciplinary Counsel Hamilton P. “Phil” Fox III, who serves as chief prosecutor for disciplinary matters for attorneys who are members of the D.C. Bar, was “weaponizing his role.” Or put another way, when Martin is targeting his perceived political foes, he’s combatting “weaponization.” When Martin is being held accountable for his alleged abuses, he’s the victim of “weaponization.” Time will tell what, if anything, comes of the investigation, but in a worst-case scenario, the disciplinary probe could result in Martin losing his law license in the nation’s capital. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Source link #Maddow #Blog #launching #investigations #Martin #suddenly #facing #investigation Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

S&P 500 rises for a fourth day, Dow adds 140 points: Live updates – CNBC S&P 500 rises for a fourth day, Dow adds 140 points: Live updates – CNBC S&P 500 rises for a fourth day, Dow adds 140 points: Live updates CNBCStock Market Today: Walmart Cuts Losses But Nasdaq, S&P 500, Russell 2000 Turn Higher; CoreWeave Rebounds Investor’s Business DailyS&P 500 Rises as Fed-Cut Bets Sink Treasury Yields: Markets Wrap BloombergDow Jones Today: Stocks Move Higher as S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite Look to Extend Winning Streaks; UnitedHealth Plunges Again InvestopediaWall Street pares losses to gain for a 4 consecutive session; UnitedHealth, Walmart spoil party TradingView Source link #SampP #rises #fourth #day #Dow #adds #points #Live #updates #CNBC Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Best Sciel Weapons in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 How to Unlock & Optimize Her Build – EthuGamer Best Sciel Weapons in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 How to Unlock & Optimize Her Build – EthuGamer Discover the best weapons for Sciel in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Learn where to find her top gear, how her skills scale, and the best strategies to enhance your magic support build. Source link #Sciel #Weapons #Clair #Obscur #Expedition #Unlock #amp #Optimize #Build #EthuGamer Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Origin ace Cherrington has a laugh at QLD’s expense Origin ace Cherrington has a laugh at QLD’s expense Kennedy Cherrington is revelling in her role as NSW’s chief wind-up merchant after the forward stood over the top of Chelsea Lenarduzzi and mocked her Queensland rival. After the Blues wrapped up the women’s State of Origin series with a game to spare in a 26-6 win on Thursday, an image was widely circulated online which showed Cherrington laughing at Lenarduzzi after she had made an error in the first half. The image bears a striking resemblance to one taken of NSW men’s five-eighth Jarome Luai after he shouted in the face of Queensland forward Felise Kaufusi during the 2021 series. Cherrington took great pleasure in getting one over Lenarduzzi, who was recalled to the Queensland set-up with the purpose of beefing up an undersized Maroons pack. Shown a comparison of her triumphant stance next to Luai’s, Cherrington told AAP: “She made an error and I laughed at her… that’s Origin footy. “You’ve got to let them know and this is Origin, you’ve got to express yourself. “I love expressing myself and being my authentic self. “It’s about having my teammates’ back and if there’s more eyes on our footy, then I’d love that.” Cherrington was part of a Blues pack who showed their Queensland counterparts no respect on a sodden night at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium. The Blues outmuscled and outfought the Maroons in every department and their victory has set up a golden opportunity for NSW to rub in their rivals’ faces once more. The 2025 series is just the second decided over three games and after Queensland came from behind to win 2-1, Cherrington has revenge on her mind for game three in Newcastle on May 29. “Last year, they won the first ever three-game series and we want to go another level and sweep for the first time in a women’s series,” Cherrington said. “Yes, we won the series, but we’ve got one job, it’s 70 minutes away and we have to step up another level.” Meanwhile, Blues coach John Strange is confident strike centre Jess Sergis will be fit to play game three after being subbed off at halftime with a neck injury. “She was a bit disorientated,” Strange said. “About 15 minutes after fulltime she started to get back to herself. “Whether she plays game three, that’ll be up to the doctors. We won’t be pushing anyone to play if they’re not ready.” Source link #Origin #ace #Cherrington #laugh #QLDs #expense Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Elden Ring Nightreign Preview – PAX East 2025 – Marooners’ Rock Elden Ring Nightreign Preview – PAX East 2025 – Marooners’ Rock Love Eternal, a genre-warping horror precision platformer that smuggles surreal dread into its nostalgic packaging. Beneath its warm, retro aesthetic lies something darker, and it quickly became one of the most quietly unnerving and memorable games I experienced on the PAX East 2025 Show Floor. Source link #Elden #Ring #Nightreign #Preview #PAX #East #Marooners #Rock Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Coinbase warns of up to $400 million hit from cyber attack Coinbase warns of up to $400 million hit from cyber attack By Niket Nishant and Pritam Biswas (Reuters) -Coinbase forecast a hit of $180 million to $400 million from a cyber attack that breached account data of a “small subset” of its customers, sending the crypto exchange’s shares down nearly 3% on Thursday. The company received an email from an unknown threat actor on May 11, claiming to have information about certain customer accounts as well as internal documents. While some data including names, addresses and emails was stolen, the hackers did not get access to login credentials or passwords, Coinbase said. It will, however, reimburse customers who were tricked into sending funds to the attackers. The disclosure comes days before the company is set to join the benchmark S&P 500 index, marking a landmark moment for the crypto industry. Coinbase said hackers had paid multiple contractors and employees working in support roles outside the U.S. to collect information. It has fired those involved. “This may push the industry to adopt stricter employee vetting and introduce some reputational risks,” said Bo Pei, analyst at U.S. Tiger Securities. Security remains a challenge for the crypto industry despite its growing mainstream acceptance. In February, Bybit disclosed a hack in which around $1.5 billion of digital tokens were stolen — widely dubbed the biggest crypto heist of all time. Funds stolen by hacking crypto platforms totaled $2.2 billion in 2024, according to a report from Chainalysis. “As our nascent industry grows rapidly, it draws the eye of bad actors, who are becoming increasingly sophisticated in the scope of their attacks,” said Nick Jones, founder of crypto firm Zumo. Coinbase has refused to pay a ransom demand of $20 million from the attackers and is working with law enforcement agencies. It has instead established a $20 million reward for information on the hackers. The company is also opening a new support hub in the U.S., and taking other measures to prevent such cyberattacks, it said. (Reporting by Niket Nishant and Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli) Source link #Coinbase #warns #million #hit #cyber #attack Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Foot Locker Stock Soars 83% on Buyout Deal. Why *****’s Has Dropped 16%. – Barron's Foot Locker Stock Soars 83% on Buyout Deal. Why *****’s Has Dropped 16%. – Barron's Foot Locker Stock Soars 83% on Buyout Deal. Why *****’s Has Dropped 16%. Barron’sDick’s Sporting Goods takes on major risk with $2.4 billion bet on Foot Locker Yahoo FinanceFoot Locker Will Give *****’s $2.4 Billion in Buyer’s Remorse BloombergDick’s Sporting Goods nears $2.3 billion deal to acquire Foot Locker: report Fox BusinessDick’s Sporting Goods laces up deal, acquires Foot Locker for $2.4B USA Today Source link #Foot #Locker #Stock #Soars #Buyout #Deal #Dicks #Dropped #Barron039s Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Wander Stars Preview Anime-Inspired Word-Based Combat With Rough Edges – MonsterVine Wander Stars Preview Anime-Inspired Word-Based Combat With Rough Edges – MonsterVine MonsterVine: “Wander Stars blends word-building combat with anime flair in a promising RPG, but gameplay bugs and balance issues hold back the demo’s full potential.” Source link #Wander #Stars #Preview #AnimeInspired #WordBased #Combat #Rough #Edges #MonsterVine Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Councillor’s wife appeals against jail term for Southport tweet Councillor’s wife appeals against jail term for Southport tweet PA Media Supporters held up a banner outside the Appeal Court The wife of a Conservative councillor who was jailed after an online rant on the day of last year’s Southport attacks “never” intended to incite violence, the Court of Appeal has heard. Lucy Connolly, from Northampton, used a social media post on 29 July to call for “mass deportation now” and urged followers to “set fire” to hotels housing asylum seekers. She is appealing against the sentence of two years and seven months she was given after she admitted inciting racial hatred. Supporters staged a demonstration outside the Appeal Court in London. The post came after three girls were stabbed and killed at a holiday club in Southport on the same date, sparking nationwide unrest. Giving evidence from HMP Drake Hall in Eccleshall in Staffordshire, Connolly told the Appeal Court when she initially wrote the post on X that she was “really angry, really upset” and “distressed that those children had died” and that she knew how the parents felt. The court heard that Connolly’s son died tragically about 14 years ago, and that news of the murders in Southport had caused a resurgence of the anxiety caused by her son’s death. Adam King, representing Connolly, asked if she had intended for anyone to set fire to asylum hotels, or “******* any politicians”. She replied: “Absolutely not.” X Lucy Connolly is appealing against her prison sentence When asked why she had deleted the post three and a half hours after publishing it, Connolly added: “I calmed myself down, and I know that wasn’t an acceptable thing to say. “It wasn’t the right thing to say; it wasn’t what I wanted to happen.” Connolly told the court that during discussions with her barrister at the crown court, she did not understand that by pleading guilty she was accepting that she intended to incite violence. She said: “When I wrote that tweet there had been no violence and it was never my intention to cause any.” PA Media Former Conservative councillor Ray Connolly was at hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London and said he was “disappointed” there was no ruling Following Thursday’s hearing, the Appeal Court judges said they would issue a written judgment “as soon as possible” Connolly’s husband, Ray, had been a Conservative member of West Northamptonshire Council but lost his seat on 1 May. He remains on Northampton Town Council. Speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice after the hearing, Mr Connolly said: “Obviously I’m disappointed today. It didn’t come to a conclusion and get a result. “It’s 279 days now my daughter’s been without her mother. I’m hoping that within a week she’ll be home and this will come to a positive conclusion.” Source link #Councillors #wife #appeals #jail #term #Southport #tweet Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Star Wars Outlaws: Launching on Nintendo Switch 2 This September with Gold Edition Star Wars Outlaws: Launching on Nintendo Switch 2 This September with Gold Edition CCG writes – “Star Wars Outlaws is fun, kept me engaged for about 90 hours, and Kay is a fun character to explore four fairly large environments with. It does a good job of faithfully representing the Star Wars galaxy far far away and stays mostly true to the lore and established characters. There are tie-ins to several of the movies and shows such as Solo and The Empire Strikes Back. If you like Star Wars and you can overlook the subtle and unnecessary woke expressions, then you’ll likely enjoy the game. In my humble opinion Outlaws is over-priced at $70 for the standard game, so you may want to wait for a *****.” Source link #Star #Wars #Outlaws #Launching #Nintendo #Switch #September #Gold #Edition Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Another critical day in life of Ben Roberts-Smith VC Another critical day in life of Ben Roberts-Smith VC KEY MOMENTS IN BEN ROBERTS-SMITH’S ACTION-PACKED LIFE 1978 * Born in Perth, the son of Sue and Len Roberts-Smith, who became a Supreme Court judge, Army Reserve major general, judge advocate general of the *********** Defence Force and chair of an independent task force that examined abuse in the ADF 1994-1995 * Completes secondary education at Perth’s private Hale School for boys 1996 * Joins the *********** Army, taking part in two tours of East Timor 2003 * Posted to the Special Air Service Regiment * Marries Emma Groom 2006 * On his first tour of Afghanistan, the then-lance corporal awarded the Medal for Gallantry for actions as a patrol scout and sniper 2009 * During SAS mission in Uruzgan province it’s later alleged he made a “rookie” soldier execute one of two unarmed Afghans taken prisoner from a tunnel and executed the other, who had a prosthetic leg 2010 * For his “most conspicuous gallantry” and “valour” during his fifth tour of Afghanistan in the battle of Tizak on June 11, he’s later awarded the Victoria Cross * The Roberts-Smiths’ twin daughters Eve and Elizabeth are born 2012 * His leadership and courage as a patrol commander on more than 50 high-risk operations is later recognised with a Commendation for Distinguished Service * In Uruzgan, he’s alleged to have kicked a handcuffed and innocent farmer off a cliff, before that man was dragged across a creek bed into a cornfield and shot dead * He allegedly shot a terrified adolescent prisoner in the head, with an AK-47 planted on his body to give the impression he was armed 2013 * Retires as a full-time soldier and forms consultancy, RS Group Australia * Named *********** father of the year 2014 * Appointed chair of the National Australia Day Council (until 2017). 2015 * Appointed deputy general manager of regional television network Seven Queensland * Promoted to general manager 2016 * Army Reserve major general Justice Paul Brereton leads inquiry for the ADF inspector-general to determine the substance to rumours of *********** breaches of armed conflict rules in Afghanistan since 2005 * Roberts-Smith graduates with an MBA from the University of Queensland 2018 * He’s alleged to have punched his mistress in the temple causing her to stagger and fall onto a bed in a Canberra hotel room * Sues the publishers of The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times and two journalists for defamation over allegations of war crimes, bullying and domestic violence published weeks earlier. 2020 * Separates from Emma Roberts * Brereton report finds credible evidence of 23 incidents in which a total of 39 Afghan nationals were unlawfully killed and identifies 25 current or former ADF personnel accused of perpetrating war crimes 2021 * Special investigator Justice Mark Weinberg begins follow-up of the Brereton report to determine potential prosecutions * Defamation trial between Roberts-Smith and media outlets begins in the Federal Court, Sydney, in June 2022 * Trial finishes in July 2023, June * Justice Anthony Besanko dismisses Roberts-Smith’s case against the media outlets, finding most of the war crimes and bullying allegations against him substantially true, with a defence of contextual truth accepted in the domestic violence allegation involving his mistress 2024, February * Roberts-Smith appeals Justice Besanko’s findings before the Full Court of the Federal Court over 10 days 2025, March-April * The veteran returns to court in a bid to reopen his appeal, claiming a miscarriage of justice after a leaked recording emerged in which journalist Nick McKenzie says he’d been briefed on Robert-Smith’s legal strategy by his ex-wife and her friend during the initial trial 2025, May 16 * The full court is due to release decisions on Roberts-Smith’s application to reopen his appeal and on the appeal itself. Lifeline 13 11 14 Open Arms 1800 011 046 Source link #critical #day #life #Ben #RobertsSmith Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Popular restaurant chain imitates MicroStrategy and Tesla in its operations Popular restaurant chain imitates MicroStrategy and Tesla in its operations Al Abraaj Restaurants Group, a popular restaurant chain listed on the Bahrain Bourse, announced on May 15 that it has acquired Bitcoin to add to its corporate treasury. With this landmark step, the restaurant group has become the first publicly traded company in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the Middle East to add Bitcoin to its balance sheet. Al Abraaj has purchased five Bitcoin in its first acquisition and aims to dedicate a major portion of its treasury to cryptocurrency, as Bitcoin is the primary reserve asset in its institutional treasury. The company claims to follow in the footsteps of companies such as MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR), Elon Musk’s Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), and Metaplanet (TOKYO: 3350.T), which are among the world’s largest corporate holders of Bitcoin. Al Abraaj has joined forces with the NYC-based investment firm 10X Capital to raise additional capital to add more Bitcoin to its treasury for the purpose of holding maximum Bitcoin per share. 10X Capital is well-known for advising leading Bitcoin treasury firms, including David Bailey’s Bitcoin-native firm Nakamoto during its landmark $710 million deal with KindlyMD Inc. Bailey advised Donald Trump on crypto policy during the 2024 presidential campaign. “Our initiative towards becoming a Bitcoin Treasury Company reflects our forward-thinking approach and dedication to maximizing shareholder value,” said Abdulla Isa, Chairman of the Bitcoin Treasury Committee of Al Abraaj Restaurants Group B.S.C. “I’d like to congratulate Abdalla Isa and the team at Al Abraaj for adopting Bitcoin at the corporate treasury level, finally enabling anyone in the GCC with a brokerage account to gain Bitcoin exposure,” Capital CEO Hans Thomas said. Source link #Popular #restaurant #chain #imitates #MicroStrategy #Tesla #operations Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Supreme Court weighs whether birthright citizenship can remain law in America – NPR Supreme Court weighs whether birthright citizenship can remain law in America – NPR Supreme Court weighs whether birthright citizenship can remain law in America NPRSupreme Court hears historic arguments on birthright citizenship CNNThis pregnant woman sued Trump over birthright citizenship. Now it’s up to the supreme court The GuardianJustice Kagan snaps at Trump lawyer in major case: ‘Every court has ruled against you’ Fox NewsSupreme Court Hears Case on Birthright Citizenship and Judicial Power: Live Updates The New York Times Source link #Supreme #Court #weighs #birthright #citizenship #remain #law #America #NPR Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

New Rambo Book Explores The Action Hero’s Cultural Impact New Rambo Book Explores The Action Hero’s Cultural Impact When you think about iconic ’80s action stars, there’s a good chance that Rambo is at the top of the list. The five-film series starring the troubled war veteran still ranks as one of the most iconic cinematic franchises out there, and if you’d like to explore the cultural impact of the character, you can do just that with The Rambo Report. The 304-page hardcover book is written by film historian Nat Segaloff, and it includes a foreword by Rambo’s creator, David Morrell. It’s available now at Amazon, and even slightly discounted to just $23.69 (was $29). $23.69 (was $29) Billed as the ultimate guide to Rambo, the book examines the entire franchise, starting with the 1972 novel First Blood that inspired the first Rambo film (and the differences between the two), and the sequels that rebooted the character into a one-man army–all the way up to the final (for now) entry, 2019’s Rambo: Last Blood. The project also includes behind-the-scenes anecdotes, critiques about violence in the media, and a whole lot more. If you’re interested in exploring Rambo’s origins, Morrell’s First Blood novel remains popular to this day, and you can easily pick up a copy if you want to read it for yourself. Amazon offers the paperback edition for $15.32 (was $19). Despite serving as the basis for the first Rambo film, the book features some major differences, making it worth reading even for fans who’ve seen Rambo: First Blood numerous times. Like the movie, First Blood focuses on a war veteran who is brutalized by the police chief of a small town and responds by waging a personal war against him and his officers. While the movie makes Rambo a much more sympathetic character who goes out of his way to minimize casualties–in the first movie, anyway–the book has a much higher body count. You can also get a good deal on the live-action Rambo movies. If you want to pick up multiple movies at once, Rambo: The Complete Collector’s Set compiles the first four Rambo movies on Blu-ray for $26.25 (was $45). You can pick up the first three films with the Rambo Box Set for $13.71 (was $25) on standard Blu-ray, or a collector’s edition of the first four movies for $26.25 (was $45). This version includes numerous featurettes focused on the production of the Rambo movies, audio commentary tracks, interviews, and the infamous alternate ending to First Blood. 4K editions of all five films–Rambo: First Blood, Rambo 2, Rambo 3, Rambo (2008), and Rambo: Last Blood–are also available, and there’s a healthy mix of archival materials mixed with new bonus materials and sharper image and audio quality. Rambo Blu-ray deals Source link #Rambo #Book #Explores #Action #Heros #Cultural #Impact Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Supreme Court hears arguments on Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship Supreme Court hears arguments on Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship Donald Trump’s push to end birthright citizenship is being argued at the US Supreme Court, in a case that could help further his agenda on immigration and other issues. The court is hearing arguments on Thursday about whether lower court judges can block presidential orders for the entire country. Trump moved to end birthright citizenship within hours of returning to the White House in January, signing an order that said children who were born in the US to undocumented immigrants would not be citizens. Three federal judges stopped it from taking effect, part of a pattern of courts blocking Trump’s executive orders. Trump contends they did not have the power to issue the nationwide injunctions. If the Supreme Court agrees with Trump, then he could continue his wide use of executive orders to make good on campaign promises without having to wait for congressional approval, with limited checks by the courts. It is unusual for the Supreme Court to hold a hearing in May, and there is no indication of when it may rule. Trump appointed three of the nine justices on the conservative-majority court in his first term. Many legal experts say the president does not have the power to end birthright citizenship because it is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. So, even if Trump wins the current case, he may still have to fight off other legal challenges. Specifically, the 14th Amendment stipulates that “all persons born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens”. In the executive order, Trump argued that the phrase “jurisdiction thereof” meant that automatic citizenship did not apply to the children of undocumented immigrants, or people in the country temporarily. Federal justices in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington, however, issued nationwide – or universal – injunctions that blocked the order from being enforced. The injunctions, in turn, prompted the Trump administration to argue that the lower courts exceeded their powers. “Universal injunctions have reached epidemic proportions since the start of the current administration,” the government said in a March court filing. “Members of this court have long recognised the need to settle the lawfulness of universal injunctions.” Earlier this week, a justice department official told reporters that court injunctions “fundamentally thwart” Trump’s ability to carry out his policy agenda, and that the administration sees this as a “direct attack” on the presidency. The case being heard in the Supreme Court stems from three separate lawsuits, both from immigration advocates and 22 US states. The Trump administration has asked the court to rule that the injunctions can only apply to those immigrants named in the case or to the plaintiff states – which would allow the government to at least partly carry out Trump’s order even as legal battles continue. Nearly 40 different court injunctions have been filed since the beginning of the second Trump administration, according to the justice department. In a separate case, two lower courts blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a military transgender ban, although the Supreme Court eventually intervened and allowed the policy to be enforced. An end – even a partial one – of birthright citizenship could impact tens of thousands of children in the US, with one of the lawsuits arguing that it would “impose second-class status” on a generation of people who were born, and have only lived, in the US. Alex Cuic, an immigration lawyer and professor at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, told the BBC that a potential end of birthright citizenship could force some of these children to become undocumented or even “stateless”. “There’s no guarantee that the countries where their parents are from would take them back,” he said. “It would not even be clear where the government could deport them to.” Source link #Supreme #Court #hears #arguments #Trumps #order #birthright #citizenship Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

We Tried WoW’s Player Housing, And The Possibilities Already Feel Endless We Tried WoW’s Player Housing, And The Possibilities Already Feel Endless There’s a reason Blizzard used World of Warcraft’s 20th-anniversary livestream in November 2024 as the stage to finally announce player housing. It’s likely to be the biggest feature in the game’s two-decade history: a huge undertaking that players have wanted Blizzard to commit to since WoW first launched back in 2004. The news that Blizzard was finally rolling up its sleeves and tackling it was a huge deal that had players buzzing with ideas, possibilities, and more than a few concerns. Blizzard is buzzing with ideas and possibilities, too. That much is clear after spending several hours going hands-on with an early version of WoW’s player housing and talking to the developers behind it. There’s no shortage of “what if this was possible?” or “that’s a great idea!” conversations during my day at Blizzard’s Boston office. It’s the first time a group of players outside Blizzard have been able to take the game’s player-housing decoration tools for a spin, and the team seems eager to learn what members of the press and various WoW content creators in attendance think, both good and bad. Blizzard employees are constantly jotting down ideas or making notes about player feedback. It’s almost as if you can see light bulbs going off in real time about what might be possible. The basics of player housing seem set in stone–the actual mechanics of decorating a home, the philosophy behind all players being homeowners, and the social-driven nature of the entire endeavor–and have already been officially detailed by Blizzard in a series of blog posts dedicated to the subject. Every player who wants a house will be able to get one, and homes will be located in neighborhoods (one for each faction) where players will have persistent neighbors. Home decor will be doled out as quest rewards, from professions, and other areas of the game. Those are the major facts we already knew, but the finer details, as well as the big ideas for what the housing system could be potentially capable of in the future, all still feel a bit ethereal. Blizzard seems well aware it hasn’t thought of everything when it comes to housing. It’s both a little concerning but also, in a strange way, refreshing. There is an air of possibility that comes with seeing such a game-changing feature still in its infancy. Blizzard has made clear that the version of housing that will launch as part of the Midnight expansion (or, as has been heavily implied, ahead of it) will just be a starting point. It won’t launch with 20 years of assets at the beginning, nor will all the tools and functions players might like to see be there on day one. Lead game designer Toby Ragaini says the first version of housing Blizzard is shipping will be “an initial step.” The team is already planning multiple years ahead for a feature that hasn’t even launched yet, he said, and the size and scope of the endeavor is definitely a little intimidating. “It’s a huge responsibility,” Ragaini tells GameSpot. “Players have been asking for player housing for decades now. The belief has always been we will release it when we feel like we can do it justice. We were determined not to just simply meet players’ expectations; we needed to exceed them…It’s something that’s going to be with the game for as long as there is WoW. We really couldn’t do a half measure.” At least on the housing-decoration front, Blizzard already seems poised to exceed expectations. While much of what we experienced as part of the hands-on housing demo has already been “revealed,” actually using the systems for myself, and seeing them used in the hands of a pro like Jay Hwang–a principal artist on WoW and the player housing system’s lead decoration designer–completely changed my preconceived opinion on what the housing tools could be capable of. On its surface, WoW’s house-decoration system is simple. Players will have a collection of decor earned from quests, bought from vendors, or gained through other sources, that can be placed within a home. A house is capable of holding thousands and thousands of decor objects. Decor can be placed simply using the game’s Basic placement mode, in which decor will attempt to snap to walls, ceilings, or floors without fuss. For finer placement, players can turn on Advanced mode, which disables decor collision and can be used for more granular positioning. Players can additionally rotate and resize decor. As Blizzard has previously revealed, a player’s home on the inside can be as big or small as they want, ranging from just one room to a mansion of dozens. There are a variety of different room layouts to choose from, including pre-built staircase rooms that can be used to create a multi-story home. A top-down room layout mode makes it simple to add or delete rooms. For the demo, Blizzard starts each player with a few pre-decorated rooms made by Hwang to help players to get an idea for what might be possible, and from there it’s on each participant to explore their creativity and push the decorating tools to their limit in whatever way they see fit. As someone who is not typically into home building or decorating (both in-game or in real-life), it’s a little nerve-wracking trying to be creative and cook up a cool room while curious Blizzard employees look over my shoulder, eager to see how I interact with the systems they’ve long been working on. Despite not being a survival-crafting player accustomed to placing walls and adjusting objects, it isn’t long before I’m putting together a magical study or a Forsaken-themed dungeon, all with relative ease. I found WoW’s housing tools extremely simple to use, albeit with a few minor frustrations. A room I built using WoW’s interior-decoration tools. The basics are easy. Clicking and dragging decor, resizing them, and placing them in the 3D space works like you would expect it to, which is a ******* compliment than it might seem. A hotbar of housing tools at the bottom of the screen lets players easily swap between modes, whether it’s decor placement or changing the color of decor with various dyes. Some basic functionality you might expect, like the ability to place an object multiple times or copy and paste it in some way, isn’t currently present, resulting in a bit of menu fatigue as you need to open the menu, click an object, place it, and then rinse and repeat every single time. Despite that and my lack of virtual-home-building skills, slapping together a room still felt relatively quick, and I came away happy with the handful of rooms I was able to create in the span of a few hours. While actually assembling rooms felt straightforward in a positive way, I did fairly quickly begin to find the list of decor I could use lacking. All of the basics are there: various chairs, rugs, lamps, beds, and tables. Many of the decor items are themed around various WoW races like Humans, Blood Elves, Night Elves, Tauren, and others. Hwang says it’s a priority for the team to let players decorate their homes according to various race and class fantasies, and so Blizzard focused on providing those kinds of decorating assets first, though there are a few oddball items, like two different guillotines, as well. Overall, the number of decor items on offer is serviceable, but still feels like there are too few objects to satisfy those truly looking to create their Azerothian dream hom54e. That was, until I started paying more attention to the Advanced mode, thanks in part to a live demo Hwang gives that shows off the decorating tool’s full power. Because using Advanced mode eliminates object collision and ignores the standard object-snapping rules, it can be used to essentially make entirely new objects out of existing ones. Suddenly, a bookshelf floating in the middle of a wall can become a kitchen cabinet. A fence angled in mid-air in a particular way can become a stair railing. A container, moved halfway under the floor and combined with a small pillow, can become a cat bed. An example of what’s possible using the decoration system’s Advanced mode. It’s in the Advanced decoration mode where the true genius of WoW’s player-housing system is hidden. Suddenly, the possibilities seem nearly endless, even more so when combined with the ability to resize objects and to use additional walls, pillars, and other objects to transform cookie-cutter room layouts into unique ones or even turn a single room into an entire multi-room home in and of itself. Once I started to look at objects not exactly as they were, but in terms of their individual pieces and components, it was as if an entire new realm of possibility had been unlocked. There aren’t just hundreds of decor items to use–there are thousands, all of which can be used in all manner of creative ways. Hwang says he is a fan of games where building houses is a key component, like Valheim and Minecraft, and wanted to create a decoration system with both simple and more-complex tools. As he continued to work on the decorating system and bumped into various limitations, he began to ask if it would be possible to incorporate more and more features, like Advanced mode. “We got to where it is because we are the kind of player we are making the feature for,” Hwang says. By the end of our hands-on demo time, it’s difficult not to be impressed by what everyone in attendance has accomplished. One player crafted a 3D-platforming maze. Another made an elaborate wrestling arena. Others combined decor or used the Advanced mode to craft items and rooms that I couldn’t even comprehend how’d they’d done it, much less try to replicate it myself. If this is what a handful of people can create in the span of just a few hours, what will the game’s playerbase of millions come up with once it’s fully in their hands? With the tools Blizzard is providing, it’s easy to see players creating dance clubs, taverns, casinos, sprawling apartment complexes, and everything in between. Add in the fact that the decor available at launch will be just a fraction of the total possible decor assets in the game, all of which can be manipulated in all kinds of unforeseen ways, and it’s easy to be overwhelmed at the possibilities. “Those two decades of content for WoW [are] enormously valuable right now,” Ragaini says. “Suddenly, all these assets, every piece of furniture you’ve ever seen in the game, for example, is something that could potentially, and fairly easily, be turned into decor for the player. We’re not going to hit every single one–there [are] tens of thousands of items at that scale–but we’ll get there eventually. It’s just a matter of prioritization.” It’s clear that Blizzard has built a powerful tool–one that hands players the keys to the proverbial castle and says, “Go wild.” In a game that has become increasingly on rails over the last two decades, and where many expansion-specific systems in the past have often felt restrictive and intended to be engaged with in a very specific way, the feeling of freedom found in the housing-decorating system caught me off guard. That this is the tool in what is essentially its first form, before UI improvements, added features, and thousands upon thousands more decor objects, is even more astounding. As for when those improvements and additional decor rewards will be coming, Blizzard won’t say. After all, it’s not even ready to disclose when housing is officially arriving. But like many other more recent WoW features like skyriding, hero talents, or delves, Blizzard is treating housing as an ongoing evergreen feature and not a one-off expansion bullet point for Midnight. Ragaini says Blizzard already has a multi-year content roadmap for housing, but it’s leaving ample room for player feedback and suggestions. “We’re going to be listening,” Ragaini says. “We’re going to be iterating and improving from day one. It would be premature to have this perfectly laid-out plan, because that would assume we know perfectly well how players will respond.” It’s easy to imagine players spending dozens upon dozens of hours building fantastical rooms and elaborate homes once housing launches: an entire game within an already massive one. Blizzard’s hope is that by giving a home to essentially every player who wants one, it will become a core pillar of the game moving forward, with housing rewards sprinkled throughout the game’s various activities serving as a feedback loop for players to return to their home and see what new items they unlocked after completing dungeons or unlocking an achievement. Neighborhoods will be an important part of WoW player housing, but details are still light. If, however, a player has no real interest in spending much time in their home, Blizzard says that’s fine too. There will be “prefab” rooms designed to already look like specific parts of a house, such as a foyer, that players will be able to place down and quickly decorate for those who don’t want to get into the nitty-gritty details of building themselves. Ultimately, Blizzard says that if a player doesn’t want to engage with housing at all, they don’t have to. There will be no player power associated with housing, and Blizzard seems very keen to not repeat the mistakes of Warlords of Draenor’s Garrisons, where players could gather crafting materials and essentially access everything they ever needed without having to leave their own personal base. As one of the core design goals behind housing is for it to be a social experience, Blizzard wants to avoid the pitfall of having homes be a place for things like a mission table or an herb garden that would eliminate reasons to venture out into Azeroth. If there was one landmine Blizzard seems primed to step on during the demo, it’s a prominent “shop” icon located directly in the housing decoration interface. Though it isn’t functioning during the hands-on, Blizzard confirms that it will, in theory, take players to WoW’s in-game cash shop, where certain housing items will be available for purchase. That raises a few alarm bells, to say the least, if for no other reason than it would be the first time a button to the in-game shop was displayed so prominently, as it’s normally relegated to WoW’s main menu or a small button in the right corner of the game’s UI. Blizzard emphasizes that it plans to treat player-housing items for ***** just as it does mounts and other cosmetics currently, and that the majority of items for housing will be earnable through gameplay. That being said, Blizzard seems open to the idea of removing the shop tab from the decorating interface, though whether or not that will actually happen by launch remains to be seen. Blizzard, at the end of the day, seems open to a lot of things when it comes to housing, as it hones in on what the feature will look like initially but banks ideas for the future. It’s poised to be the biggest evergreen addition to WoW in the game’s 21-year life, but it’s also one that may not reach its full potential for many years to come: a fact that Blizzard isn’t shying away from. There are still plenty of unknowns, like additional details about player neighborhoods, the ability to decorate the outside of homes, and the cadence and scarcity of decor rewards. Those are all things Blizzard isn’t ready to talk about just yet, and any one of them, if not done correctly, could potentially derail one of the most important features in WoW history. Even still, this early version of the housing-decoration system, and the creativity it is likely to unleash, feels special. It may have taken over two decades to become a reality, but if Blizzard can stick the landing, WoW’s player housing system could be worth the wait. Source link #WoWs #Player #Housing #Possibilities #Feel #Endless Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Nigeria’s exam body admits ‘glitch’ amid low pass rate Nigeria’s exam body admits ‘glitch’ amid low pass rate The body which runs Nigeria’s university-entrance exams has admitted to a “technical glitch” which compromised some results of this year’s tests, after nearly 80% of students got low grades. Students have complained about not being able to log in to the computers, questions not showing up and power cuts making it impossible to take the examinations. The low pass rate has sparked widespread outrage, especially after one candidate took her own life. Faith Opesusi Timileyin, 19, who was aspiring to study microbiology at university, died after swallowing poison, her family said. Her father and elder sister told the BBC that she had sat the exam for the second time and got 146 marks out of 400, lower than the 193 she had last year. “The pain made her take her own life,” her father, Oluwafemi Opesusi, told BBC Pidgin. Generally 200 or above out of 400 is enough to get a place in university in the exams run by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (Jamb). Only 400,000 of the 1.9 million students achieved that mark, one of the worst performances in recent years. One student, Favour Eke, told BBC Igbo that 10 of the 165 questions didn’t appear on the screen – all she could see was the multiple choice options for the answers. “We were told to omit the blank questions and continue the exam but it was very hard to concentrate after that,” she said. She has also experienced technical problems getting her results, meaning she is very unlikely to get into university this year – the third time she has taken the exams. She sat the test in the capital, Abuja, which is not one of the centres where students can retake their exams, leaving her completely distraught. Another student said he had trouble logging in to the computer before someone else’s profile mysteriously appeared on the screen, showing different questions and then the machine briefly shut down completely. “I did not get to answer all the questions when they told us our time was up because a lot of my time was wasted due to those technical difficulties,” he said. The exams body has apologised for the “painful damage” and “the trauma that it has subjected affected **********”. In a press conference, Jamb registrar Ishaq Oloyede broke down in tears as he apologised. He announced that almost 380,000 candidates in 157 affected centres from a total of 887, would be able to retake their exams starting from Saturday. The zones that are most affected are Lagos and several states in the south-east. Jamb blamed a failure of the computer system to upload exam responses by candidates in these areas during the first days of the exams. It said an “unusual level of public concerns and loud complaints” had “prompted us to do an immediate audit or review”. Ordinarily, this would have happened in June, it said. The national exam, known as the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), is a computer-based test that is a requirement for those joining universities and other tertiary institutions. The 2025 test, which was conducted in March, was marred by disruptions due to power outages in some areas. The head of the exams body earlier this week defended the poor results, saying they reflected the “true academic abilities” of the students and were because of a clampdown on cheating. Many ********** on social media have been calling for accountability, with some seeking Oloyede’s resignation. Opposition figure Peter Obi said that while the admission of fault was commendable, the issue raised “a very concerning issue on glitches and the grave havoc” in critical institutions. Rights activist Rinu Oduala said it was “incompetence. It’s educational sabotage. He should be arrested immediately.” Additional reporting by Chukwunaeme Obiejesi, Andrew Gift, Madina Maishanu and Marvelous Obomanu in Nigeria Source link #Nigerias #exam #body #admits #glitch #pass #rate Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]