Furthermore, the prospect of a remake opens up the possibility for EA to introduce new content, challenges, and expansions to the game, ensuring that there is always something exciting for players to discover and explore. With a renewed focus on community engagement and feedback, the remake of "Need for Speed 9" has the potential to become a cornerstone of the franchise's future success.Revolutionary Gaming Tech Unveiled! Supermicro’s Earnings Release Date Signals a New Era
The decision to remove the throwing Pokeball summoning mechanism has sparked heated debates within the game's community. Some players believe that the update is a step in the right direction, as it adds a new layer of strategy and depth to the gameplay. They argue that the new summoning system encourages players to think more strategically about which creatures to summon and when to use them in battles.
Jets' Rodgers insists he'll play despite knee issue, rookie Fashanu placed on IR with foot injury
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Two reporters were killed and several were wounded Tuesday in a gang attack in Haiti on the reopening of Port-au-Prince’s biggest public hospital, Haiti’s online media association said. A police officer was also killed in the attack. Street gangs forced the closure of the General Hospital early this year and authorities had pledged to reopen the facility in Haiti’s capital on Christmas Eve. But as journalists gathered to cover the event, suspected gang members opened fire. Robest Dimanche, a spokesman for the Online Media Collective, identified the killed journalists as Markenzy Nathoux and Jimmy Jean. Dimanche said an unspecified number of reporters were also been in the attack, which he blamed on the Viv Ansanm coalition of gangs. The Haitian Association of Journalists confirmed two reporters and a police officer were killed, and seven reporters were wounded in what it called “a macabre scene comparable to terrorism, pure and simple.” Haiti’s interim president, Leslie Voltaire, said in an address to the nation that journalists and police were among the victims of the attack. He did not specify the casualty numbers or provide a breakdown. “I send my sympathies to the people who were victims, the national police and the journalists,” Voltaire said. Later, the government put out a statement saying it is “responding firmly to the attack.” “This heinous act, which targets an institution dedicated to health and life, constitutes an unacceptable attack on the very foundations of our society,” it said. Earlier, a video posted online by the reporters trapped inside the hospital shows what appeared to be two lifeless bodies of men on stretchers, their clothes bloodied. One of the men had a lanyard with a press credential around his neck. Radio Télé Métronome initially reported that seven journalists and two police officers were wounded. Police and officials did not immediately respond to calls for information on the attack. Another video posted online, which also could not be immediately verified, showed reporters inside the building and at least three lying on the floor, apparently wounded. Street gangs have taken over an estimated 85% of Port-au-Prince and have also targeted the main international airport and Haiti’s two largest prisons. Johnson “Izo” André, considered Haiti’s most powerful gang leader and part of the Viv Ansanm group of gangs, which that has taken control of much of Port-au-Prince , posted a video on social media claiming responsibility for the attack. The video said the gang coalition had not authorized the hospital’s reopening. Haiti has seen journalists targeted before. In 2023, two local journalists were killed in the space of a couple of weeks — radio reporter Dumesky Kersaint was fatally shot in mid-April that year, while journalist Ricot Jean was found dead later that month. In July, former Prime Minister Garry Conille visited the Hospital of the State University of Haiti, more widely known as the General Hospital, after authorities regained control of it from gangs. The hospital had been left ravaged and strewn with debris. Walls and nearby buildings were riddled with bullet holes, signaling fights between police and gangs. The hospital is across the street from the national palace, the scene of several battles in recent months. Gang attacks have pushed Haiti’s health system to the brink of collapse with looting, setting fires, and destroying medical institutions and pharmacies in the capital. The violence has created a surge in patients and a shortage of resources to treat them. Haiti’s health care system faces additional challenges during the rainy season, which is likely to increase the risk of water-borne diseases. Poor conditions in camps and makeshift settlements have heightened the risk of diseases like cholera, with over 84,000 suspected cases in the country, according to UNICEF. ___ Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-americaBy BEN FINLEY The Christmas tradition has become nearly global in scope: Children from around the world track Santa Claus as he sweeps across the earth, delivering presents and defying time. Related Articles National News | Heavy travel day off to a rough start after American Airlines briefly grounds all flights National News | Prosecutors withdraw appeal of dismissed case against Alec Baldwin in fatal movie set shooting National News | Bill Clinton is hospitalized with a fever but in good spirits, spokesperson says National News | Why Finland is vaccinating farmers against bird flu — but California isn't National News | Bluesky finds with growth comes growing pains — and bots Each year, at least 100,000 kids call into the North American Aerospace Defense Command to inquire about Santa’s location. Millions more follow online in nine languages , from English to Japanese. On any other night, NORAD is scanning the heavens for potential threats , such as last year’s Chinese spy balloon . But on Christmas Eve, volunteers in Colorado Springs are fielding questions like, “When is Santa coming to my house?” and, “Am I on the naughty or nice list?” “There are screams and giggles and laughter,” said Bob Sommers, 63, a civilian contractor and NORAD volunteer. Sommers often says on the call that everyone must be asleep before Santa arrives, prompting parents to say, “Do you hear what he said? We got to go to bed early.” NORAD’s annual tracking of Santa has endured since the Cold War , predating ugly sweater parties and Mariah Carey classics . The tradition continues regardless of government shutdowns, such as the one in 2018 , and this year . Here’s how it began and why the phones keep ringing. The origin story is Hollywood-esque It started with a child’s accidental phone call in 1955. The Colorado Springs newspaper printed a Sears advertisement that encouraged children to call Santa, listing a phone number. A boy called. But he reached the Continental Air Defense Command, now NORAD, a joint U.S. and Canadian effort to spot potential enemy attacks. Tensions were growing with the Soviet Union, along with anxieties about nuclear war. Air Force Col. Harry W. Shoup picked up an emergency-only “red phone” and was greeted by a tiny voice that began to recite a Christmas wish list. “He went on a little bit, and he takes a breath, then says, ‘Hey, you’re not Santa,’” Shoup told The Associated Press in 1999. Realizing an explanation would be lost on the youngster, Shoup summoned a deep, jolly voice and replied, “Ho, ho, ho! Yes, I am Santa Claus. Have you been a good boy?” Shoup said he learned from the boy’s mother that Sears mistakenly printed the top-secret number. He hung up, but the phone soon rang again with a young girl reciting her Christmas list. Fifty calls a day followed, he said. In the pre-digital age, the agency used a 60-by-80 foot (18-by-24 meter) plexiglass map of North America to track unidentified objects. A staff member jokingly drew Santa and his sleigh over the North Pole. The tradition was born. “Note to the kiddies,” began an AP story from Colorado Springs on Dec. 23, 1955. “Santa Claus Friday was assured safe passage into the United States by the Continental Air Defense Command.” In a likely reference to the Soviets, the article noted that Santa was guarded against possible attack from “those who do not believe in Christmas.” Is the origin story humbug? Some grinchy journalists have nitpicked Shoup’s story, questioning whether a misprint or a misdial prompted the boy’s call. In 2014, tech news site Gizmodo cited an International News Service story from Dec. 1, 1955, about a child’s call to Shoup. Published in the Pasadena Independent, the article said the child reversed two digits in the Sears number. “When a childish voice asked COC commander Col. Harry Shoup, if there was a Santa Claus at the North Pole, he answered much more roughly than he should — considering the season: ‘There may be a guy called Santa Claus at the North Pole, but he’s not the one I worry about coming from that direction,’” Shoup said in the brief piece. In 2015, The Atlantic magazine doubted the flood of calls to the secret line, while noting that Shoup had a flair for public relations. Phone calls aside, Shoup was indeed media savvy. In 1986, he told the Scripps Howard News Service that he recognized an opportunity when a staff member drew Santa on the glass map in 1955. A lieutenant colonel promised to have it erased. But Shoup said, “You leave it right there,” and summoned public affairs. Shoup wanted to boost morale for the troops and public alike. “Why, it made the military look good — like we’re not all a bunch of snobs who don’t care about Santa Claus,” he said. Shoup died in 2009. His children told the StoryCorps podcast in 2014 that it was a misprinted Sears ad that prompted the phone calls. “And later in life he got letters from all over the world,” said Terri Van Keuren, a daughter. “People saying ‘Thank you, Colonel, for having, you know, this sense of humor.’” A rare addition to Santa’s story NORAD’s tradition is one of the few modern additions to the centuries-old Santa story that have endured, according to Gerry Bowler, a Canadian historian who spoke to the AP in 2010. Ad campaigns or movies try to “kidnap” Santa for commercial purposes, said Bowler, who wrote “Santa Claus: A Biography.” NORAD, by contrast, takes an essential element of Santa’s story and views it through a technological lens. In a recent interview with the AP, Air Force Lt. Gen. Case Cunningham explained that NORAD radars in Alaska and Canada —- known as the northern warning system — are the first to detect Santa. He leaves the North Pole and typically heads for the international dateline in the Pacific Ocean. From there he moves west, following the night. “That’s when the satellite systems we use to track and identify targets of interest every single day start to kick in,” Cunningham said. “A probably little-known fact is that Rudolph’s nose that glows red emanates a lot of heat. And so those satellites track (Santa) through that heat source.” NORAD has an app and website, www.noradsanta.org , that will track Santa on Christmas Eve from 4 a.m. to midnight, mountain standard time. People can call 1-877-HI-NORAD to ask live operators about Santa’s location from 6 a.m. to midnight, mountain time.
As we eagerly await the release of the remake next year, the anticipation continues to build among fans and critics alike. With its rich narrative, challenging puzzles, and innovative gameplay, "The Talos Principle" has secured its place as a modern classic in the world of video games. And with the upcoming remake, we can all look forward to experiencing this captivating journey once again in all its glory.Gary Gensler, the Securities and Exchange Commission Chair, said he will step down from the post when President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office on January 20, 2025. The 67-year-old was a strong advocate for strict regulation of crypto and maintained a tight oversight of the market during his time at the SEC. Amid the news of his departure, crypto prices soared further, having already hit new highs after Donald Trump's election. All major cryptocurrencies saw an increase after Gensler's announcement. Within an hour of the announcement, Bitcoin went up by 0.67%, Ethereum by 0.9%, Tether by 0.1% and BNB by 0.72%. Low-priced crypto-currencies, such as XRP and Dogecoin went up by 4.31% and 0.55%, respectively. Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, was full of posts about crypto investors expressing a bullish outlook. Here are some of the posts. Notably, Gensler has been cautious with his regulatory approach to crypto and has emphasized the need to keep it strictly under the agency's oversight. he famously likened the cryptocurrency space to the 'Wild West,' implying that the lack of regulation in the area has allowed a lot of fraudulent practices to flourish. Also read: Gary Gensler Resigns From The SEC With A Whopping Net Worth One of his key focus areas has been the protection of investors and the need for fair markets from trading in crypto. During his tenure as the SEC Chair, he has taken action against various acts of market manipulation and fraud. “This asset class is rife with fraud, scams, and abuse in certain applications,” he had said in a speech at the Aspen Security Forum. “There’s a great deal of hype and spin about how crypto assets work. In many cases, investors aren’t able to get rigorous, balanced, and complete information.” President-elect Trump, a strong advocate for crypto with his series of NFTs and cryptocurrencies, is expected to slash the stringent regulatory regime of the Gensler ear. Since his election on November 5, crypto prices have soared almost 40%. Trump is yet to announce his new pick for the SEC Chair. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from US News, World and around the world.
Israel Strikes Syrian Targets to Dismantle Key Military FacilitiesClaiming Social Security benefits can be as easy or as complicated as one makes it, but sometimes the claim does not go through as one would prefer. These benefits are administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and although the process is usually smooth because of the amount of people that go through it, in some cases there are undue delays that can cause distress to beneficiaries. Depending on the type of benefit you are applying for, it can take more or less time for the application to go through. For example, those who wish to claim their retirement benefits should file about three months before the date they wish to start receiving payments. This can take more time if some of the information in your profile is incorrect or missing, so before tuning in your application be sure to review all the information the SSA has about you and double check it. You don’t want to begin a claim, just find out that your job details from ten years ago are incorrect and that way your benefits cannot be properly processed. The situation changes if you are applying for disability, as this benefit can take upwards of seven months to be processed and allocated, even in cases where the disability is fast tracked by the SSA. In this case ensuring that all the medical paperwork is submitted correctly and that you are open for reviews and questions would be what expedites he process, but even then, it is complicated and many have passed away from terminal illnesses without receiving benefits because of the lengthy processes. What happens with delayed Social Security payments In some cases, although rare ones, the delays are such that it warranties that the delayed benefits will be paid back in a lump sum to the beneficiaries, but these are very rare instances and require the beneficiary to fill out paperwork, forms and meet plenty of requirements. Some of the key retieemnts bneificaires need to meet to receive the back payments from the SSA are: By meeting these requirements, beneficiaries can ask the SSA to reconsider the months that they have not been paid and get the money owed to them, usually in a lump sum payment in order to redress the situation. Since the delays are rare and the lump sum payments even more, there are things that beneficiaries should take into account. The first one being never to count on the money that has not entered their account. Thought it might be tempting to believe that you will most definitely get any lost payments, if the mistake is on your part, the SSA is not obligated to compensate you for your troubles. If the mistake is on the SSA’s part the lost payments would be considered compensation for the inconvenience and possible financial crisis that this could cause. Another thing that you should take into account is that the additional money may be paid to you in a lump sum payment, which means that your income will be higher and that could cause potential consequences with the IRS and even federal taxes . Although it should not be too much of a problem, it is better to be safe than sorry and have all your ducks in a row before the money is distributed.In addition to the ethical considerations, the legal implications of such a portrayal must also be examined. The depiction of Cao Cao wielding a machine gun with AI technology could potentially infringe upon the intellectual property rights of the creators of the video game. While historical figures themselves are generally considered public domain, the specific portrayal and characteristics assigned to them in a creative work may be protected under copyright law. If the depiction of Cao Cao using a machine gun AI modification is deemed to be substantially similar to existing copyrighted works, the creators of the video game could face legal action for infringement.
Title: Debunking the Rumor of "Most Stringent Vehicle Inspection Ever"
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, has become a common health issue worldwide, with its prevalence increasing as people age. Recent statistics reveal that among adults over the age of 45, nearly sixty percent are diagnosed with high blood pressure. Moreover, more than fifty percent of cases of stroke, a leading cause of disability and death globally, are directly linked to hypertension. These alarming figures underscore the urgent need for individuals, healthcare professionals, and policymakers to prioritize the prevention and management of high blood pressure.Annapolis City Council eyes delaying gas-powered leaf blower ban penalties
