Former Red Sox exec weighs in on controversial Aroldis Chapman signing: ‘I guess enough time has passed’
For the last few years, Apple has been on a quest to end its reliance on iPhone components from other companies. The latest bit to get the ax looks to be the cellular modem chip, and a switch to an Apple-made part looks imminent. Currently, Qualcomm makes the modems in your iPhone, but a new report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claims that Apple's in-house modem will debut in 2025. The first iPhone to feature this new modem will reportedly be the iPhone SE 4 , which is expected to launch in the spring of next year. However, Gurman claims that the first version of Apple's modem will be much weaker than the currently available Qualcomm chip. Simply, the modem on your smartphone enables the handset to connect to cell towers so it can make calls and connect to the internet over cellular. Apple wants to surpass Qualcomm by 2027 with increasingly "more advanced" chips, according to the Bloomberg story. Gurman gets more in-depth in the history of Apple's modem development but briefly, Apple has been working on this project since at least 2021, having spent billions including acquiring Intel 's modem group and hundreds of engineers. Interestingly, the first version of the modem, codenamed Sinope, won't be in the flagship iPhone 17 models next year. Instead, it will launch with the iPhone SE 4. The new modem also may feature in the much-rumored iPhone 17 Air and lower-end iPads. It appears the SE 4 will be a real test for Apple's in-house modem. Sinope won't support mmWave, a 5G technology that can handle large download speeds. Instead, it's supposed to feature a Sub-6Ghz standard that's featured on the current iPhone SE , which debuted in 2022. Allegedly, because this new modem will be more integrated with Apple's iPhone systems, it will be more efficient, use less power and better support network connections, despite its downgraded connectivity. Like much of Apple's chip components, Sinope is going to be produced by TSM, who also make the Apple-designed A-series of processors. According to the report, Apple-built modems will feature in more products in 2026, including the iPhone 18. iPad Pros are slated to feature a third-generation modem by 2027. By then, Apple's modem should support mmWave and bigger download speeds. Gurman briefly noted that Apple is considering merging the modem and main processor as one component. With advancing processors and capabilities the iPhone is a powerful device, it will be interesting to see what effect the modem switch will have on Apple's devices. More from Tom's Guide
For many, the real meaning of Christmas lies in sharing meals with family and friends. These feasts are often extravagant in style or size (or both) and are designed without our gut microbiomes and arteries in mind: Such is their joy. They’re also often laden with tradition. My family’s festive table, however, has been through a series of evolutions. My pescetarian childhood Christmas was celebrated around an enormous bowl of pesto pasta. We had a few years of the traditional roast turkey, followed by beef when it was decided a big bird wasn’t worth the stress. Then the feast was vegan until last year, when my parents decided to welcome small amounts of dairy back into their lives. All the meals were suitably celebratory, but the transition back toward dairy was notable because it echoes a shift I’ve seen multiple times among my peers. Several vegetarian and vegan friends have reverted to eating meat or are considering it, while — at least in my limited experience — no one seems to be going the other way. There’s also been a spate of celebrities renouncing plant-based diets too, including Lizzo, Miley Cyrus and Bear Grylls. Full disclosure: I’ve been a vegetarian for the last seven years, but I sometimes eat fish, and on a few occasions, I have eaten meat. (Some might call me a flexitarian.) It’s tempting to dismiss a preoccupation with others’ food choices as nosy. But it matters, at least on a macro scale. U.K. agriculture accounted for an estimated 12% of UK greenhouse gas emissions in 2023, a proportion that has been growing in significance as other sectors’ emissions decline. And as the U.K. imports around half of its food, our diets have effects beyond those associated with domestic farming. Looking at it from a consumption perspective, food makes up about 30% of the carbon footprint of a typical household in high-income European countries. Most of that footprint comes from animal products, with livestock farming accounting for 14.5% of global emissions. Governments seeking to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions will have to clean up their nations’ plates. This doesn’t mean that everyone must go vegan. Given food consumption is highly personal, influenced by numerous factors including culture, allergies and health, that would be an unrealistic goal. But coupled with improvements in production practices and food waste, big reductions can be achieved with small lifestyle shifts. The Climate Change Committee (CCC), an independent advisory body, has recommended that U.K. meat consumption should come down by 20% by 2030. A 2019 report written by Richard Carmichael, a research fellow at Imperial College London, for the CCC says that halving consumption of animal products by avoiding the highest-impact producers would achieve 73% of the emissions reduction made from switching to entirely plant-based diets. A few years ago it felt like there was a lot of momentum behind the transition to plant-based (or at least plant-heavy) diets. New alternative proteins from companies including Impossible Foods Inc. and Beyond Meat Inc. were hitting the market, and there was a boom in specialist vegan eateries. These days, Beyond Meat’s stock price has plummeted, and there’s a rash of stories about vegan restaurants having to add meat to their menus in order to survive. So what’s happening to our eating habits? A YouGov tracker survey shows that the proportion of respondents in the U.K. identifying as eating fewer or no animal products — from flexitarianism to veganism — largely hasn’t changed over the past five years: As you’d expect, vegans and vegetarians skew slightly younger — but the differences aren’t huge: But what people identify as is less important than what they actually eat. Here, data from the U.K.’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Family Food Survey has interesting insights. Total meat consumption has been slowly declining, falling to a record low in 2021: While cheese consumption has increased slightly, consumption of semi-skimmed milk peaked in 2012. Meanwhile, non-dairy milk substitutes have climbed to about 110 milliliters (around 4 ounces) per person a week in 2022 from less than 25 milliliters in 2004, when it was first broken out as a separate category — this still represents only a fraction of cow’s milk being quaffed, but it’s an impressive growth rate. In the last few years, price has almost certainly been a factor influencing our shopping baskets. As the sticker shocks caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine hit in 2022, you can see drops in consumption of categories including fish and cheese. But our diets have changed a lot since the 1970s, and I suspect the long-term declines in meat consumption are thanks in part to the globalization of food — we didn’t just start importing more produce from overseas (which has enabled us to eat fresh tomatoes, for example, all year), but we’ve been more exposed to plant-based recipes from different cultures. In that half-century, there’s no doubt that vegetarianism and veganism has become far easier and more socially acceptable. That has ripple effects as meat eaters can also now enjoy more flexible dining selections. But left to society and markets, things are moving too slowly to meet targets for meat consumption, and Carmichael’s work reveals that clear barriers to eating more vegetarian and vegan dishes remain. Several things swayed my friends back to animal products, including romantic partners, concerns over ultra-processed foods or merely feeling that they were alone in their endeavors. Given governments have generally avoided policies nudging people toward more sustainable diets, it’s no surprise that people are returning to what those around them are doing. There’s also a lesson for policy in this shift. The failure of vegan restaurants reflects the fact that an exclusive approach is less effective. Vegans and vegetarians socialize with those who eat meat. A social group would likely pick a location where everyone can eat happily. Having both options also normalizes plant-based meals — they are, after all, just food — and makes them more accessible to those who don’t identify as vegan but may want to try a particular dish. Such an approach could be taken with catering at government-funded institutions such as schools and hospitals, which, according to Carmichael, provide 30% of meals in the U.K. But with meat drawn into the culture wars and farmers already angry about a range of policy changes, this is an area that lawmakers are nervous about. At the United Nations climate conference in Azerbaijan, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted that he won’t “tell people how to run their lives.” In the end, the impetus to coax people further toward a more flexitarian practice — where meals are more heavily plant-based but meat, dairy and fish are enjoyed in moderation — may come from another source: public health. Although meat consumption has declined overall, there’s been a steady rise in ready meals and processed meats, which has led to overconsumption of saturated fat and salt. In England, 64% of adults were estimated to be overweight or living with obesity in 2022 to 2023. This puts strain on the National Health Service. Obesity costs it 6.5 billion pounds ($8.1 billion) a year and is the second-biggest preventable cause of cancer. Helping people eat healthier diets with more fruit, vegetables and fiber would have enormous benefits for human well-being and the planet. Research suggests that reducing average meat consumption to two to three servings a week could prevent 45,000 deaths and save the NHS 1.2 billion pounds a year. Starmer may not want to push the envelope, but the government can’t ignore the diet question forever. Perhaps Christmas isn’t a time to dwell too much on what’s healthy. Enjoy your dinner, whatever is on your plate. But come 2025, we should all reflect on whether our diets are serving our best interests. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Lara Williams is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering climate change. ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com/opinion. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.China has banned exports of key materials used to make a wide range of products, including smartphones, electric vehicles, radar systems and CT scanners, swiping back at Washington after it expanded export controls to include dozens of Chinese companies that make equipment used to produce advanced computer chips. Both sides say their controls are justified by national security concerns and both accuse the other of “weaponizing” trade. Analysts say the latest restrictions could have a wide impact on manufacturing in many industries and supply chains. “Critical mineral security is now intrinsically linked to the escalating tech trade war,” Gracelin Baskaran and Meredith Schwartz of the Center for Strategic International Studies, wrote in a report on Beijing's decision. The full impact will depend partly on whether U.S. industries can compensate for any loss of access to the strategically important materials, equipment and components. Here’s why this could be a tipping point in trade conflict between the two biggest economies, coming at a time when antagonisms already were expected to heat up once President-elect Donald Trump takes office, given his vows to hike tariffs on imports of Chinese-made products. China has banned, in principle, exports to the United States of gallium, germanium and antimony — critical minerals needed to make advanced semiconductors, among many other types of equipment. Beijing also tightened controls on exports of graphite, which is used in EV and grid-storage batteries. China is the largest source for most of these materials and also dominates refining of those materials, which are used both for consumer goods and for military purposes. The limits announced Tuesday also include exports of super-hard materials, such as diamonds and other synthetic materials that are not compressible and extremely dense. They are used in many industrial areas such as cutting tools, disc brakes and protective coatings. Next on the list of potential bans, experts say: tungsten, magnesium and aluminum alloys. The Chinese Commerce Ministry announced its measures after the U.S. government ordered a slew of new measures meant to prevent sales to China of certain types of advanced semiconductors and the tools and software needed to make them. Washington also expanded its “entity list” of companies facing strict export controls to include 140 more companies, nearly all of them based in China or Chinese-owned. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the revised rules were intended to impair China’s ability to use advanced technologies that “pose a risk to our national security.” The updated regulations also limit exports to China of high-bandwidth memory chips that are needed to process massive amounts of data in advanced applications such as artificial intelligence. Export licenses will likely be denied for any U.S. company trying to do business with the 140 companies newly added to the “entity list,” as well as the dozens of others already on the list. The aim, officials said, is to stop Chinese companies from leveraging U.S. technology to make their own semiconductors. The Biden administration has been expanding the number of companies affected by such export controls while encouraging an expansion of investments in and manufacturing of semiconductors in the U.S. and other Western countries. Washington also extended the restrictions on exports of advanced semiconductor technology to companies in other countries, though it excluded companies in key allies like Japan, South Korea and the Netherlands that are thought to have adequate export controls of their own. In a word: very. For the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and other producers of advanced technology and components, access to materials with such properties as high conductivity is crucial: gallium and germanium increasingly are used in advanced semiconductors in place of silicon. The materials subject to Chinese export controls are among 50 the United States Geologic Survey has designated as “critical minerals” — non-fuel minerals essential to U.S. economic or national security that have supply chains vulnerable to disruption. Gallium topped that list. It is needed to make the same high-bandwidth memory chips the U.S. wants to avoid allowing China to access for use in artificial intelligence and defense applications. It's used to make LEDs, lasers and magnets used in many products. Germanium is used for optical fiber and solar panels, among other uses. A USGS study recently estimated the likely total cost to the U.S. economy from disruptions to supplies of gallium and germanium alone at more than $3 billion. But the situation is complicated. China imposed licensing requirements on exports of both metals in July 2023. It has not exported either to the U.S. this year, according to Chinese customs data. Antimony exports also have plunged. China produces the lion's share of most critical minerals, but there are alternatives. Japan also imports nearly all of its gallium, for example, but it also extracts it by recycling scrap metal. Washington has been moving to tap sources other than China, forming a "Minerals Security Partnership" with the EU and 15 other countries. President Joe Biden's visit to Africa this week highlighted that effort. Potential supply disruptions also have spurred efforts to tap U.S. deposits of rare earths and other critical materials in southeastern Wyoming, Montana, Nevada, Minnesota and parts of the American Southwest. Germanium has been extracted from zinc mined in Alaska and Tennessee and the U.S. government has a stockpile. The Department of Defense has a recycling program that can extract scrap germanium from night vision lenses and tank turret windows. But China's dominance as a supplier gives it an overwhelming cost advantage, and U.S. resource companies face strong pressures over the potential environmental impact of mines and refineries. Since then-President Trump launched a trade war against Beijing that has ramped up over time, China has adopted a relatively constrained and cautious approach in responding to the U.S. limits on access to advanced technology. Much depends on the future course of overall relations. It is unclear if Trump will follow through on his vows to push tariffs sharply higher once he takes office or if such declarations are the opening gambits in future trade negotiations. China hit back with its own tariff hikes, but excluded many items crucial for its own economy. It sanctioned certain companies, especially defense contractors doing business with Taiwan, but refrained from outright bans on exports of vital materials to the U.S. This time may be different. Just after China's Commerce Ministry announced its export ban, various Chinese industry associations including automakers and the China Semiconductor Association issued statements denouncing Washington's moves to curb access to strategically sensitive technologies and declaring that U.S. computer chips are unreliable. Beijing's announcement also extends its ban on exporting Chinese-produced gallium and other critical minerals to the U.S. to apply to all countries, entities and individuals, saying violators will “be held accountable according to law.”
SWEET treat fanatics are flocking to three discount stores to get their hands on a new selection of Baileys desserts. Both Baileys Eclairs and Baileys Indulgent Biscuits have been spotted on the shelves this Christmas. Aldi and Home Bargains have stocked up on the creamy confectioneries and eagle-eyed shoppers were delighted to find them in Iceland as well. Many shoppers were impressed with the creamy find, and gushed in the comment section of the Iceland website. One wrote: "Wow absolutely delicious. "You can taste the Baileys in the very generous cream, will definitely buy again." Another added: "Very nice, lots of Baileys in a small eclair." A third user commented: "Delicious, just the right amount of Baileys cream." Not everyone, however, agreed. One user posted: "Pleased I didn't pay full price for them. Most read in Money "I wont be buying any for myself for Christmas and will have to decide whether I still give them as gifts or give them to the local church for Christmas raffle - maybe with a very sweet warning attached." Another complained: "Smaller than expected, and with a weird aftertaste. "They don't taste like proper Baileys, more like a cheap imitation." Despite the mixed reviews, shoppers are still keen to give the new Baileys collection a try. The Baileys Indulgent Biscuits are described as buttery but still with a hint of liqueur, and not too overpowering. As the the Baileys Milk Chocolate Creams, they consist a balance of a creamy whisky filling covered in milk chocolate. The mini eclairs have a creamy Baileys flavoured filling in a light pastry, covered with a smooth chocolate coating. These are frozen in a pack of 12 and instructions suggest defrosting them for 30 minutes before tucking in. How to save money on Baileys If you're a sucker for that creamy Irish whiskey liqueur, then there are some sneaky hacks that can save you on splashing out on Baileys this festive season. If you want to save your money for presents, you can always go for a Baileys dupe, which have been described as "almost perfect." If you're prepared to let go of the litre bottle you can purchase the 70cl Ballycastle cream liqueur for £5.79 - just 82p per 100ml. Shoppers have described the product as "lush" and "gorgeous" on Facebook. The Ballycastle product also comes in various flavours, such as the newest addition, which is a luscious Milk Chocolate Clementine version for £7.49. If you fancy giving something new a try, this could save you up to a whopping £16.21 on one bottle of Baileys. For the price of one Baileys bottle from Morrisons or Asda, £22.00, you could nearly buy four bottles of the Ballycastle. Read More on The US Sun However, keep in mind that the ABV of Bailey's is 16 per cent, the Ballycastle booze is 12 per cent. Other supermarkets which offer up their own Baileys dupes include Sainsbury's, Tesco, Morrison's, Asda, Lidl and M&S. Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save money on your Christmas shopping Limit the amount of presents - buying presents for all your family and friends can cost a bomb. Instead, why not organise a Secret Santa between your inner circles so you're not having to buy multiple presents. Plan ahead - if you've got the stamina and budget, it's worth buying your Christmas presents for the following year in the January sales. Make sure you shop around for the best deals by using price comparison sites so you're not forking out more than you should though. Buy in Boxing Day sales - some retailers start their main Christmas sales early so you can actually snap up a bargain before December 25. Delivery may cost you a bit more, but it can be worth it if the savings are decent. Shop via outlet stores - you can save loads of money shopping via outlet stores like Amazon Warehouse or Office Offcuts. They work by selling returned or slightly damaged products at a discounted rate, but usually any wear and tear is minorCARSON, Calif. — The LA Galaxy and the New York Red Bulls have been Major League Soccer mainstays since the league's inaugural season in 1996, signing glamorous players and regularly competing for championships through years of success and setbacks in a league that's perpetually improving and expanding. Yet just a year ago, both of these clubs appeared to be a very long way from the stage they'll share Saturday in the MLS Cup Final. The Galaxy were one of MLS' worst teams after a season of internal turmoil and public fan dissent, while the Red Bulls were merely a steady mediocrity seeking yet another coach to chart a new direction. A year later, these MLS founders are meeting in the league's first Cup final between teams from North America's two biggest markets. "Two original clubs being able to put themselves in this situation, I think it's great," Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. "To see two clubs that have been at it as long as this league has been around be here, I think it's a special moment. Couldn't be two more different and contrasting styles as well, which could make for an interesting game, and I would imagine a high-intensity game." People are also reading... Everything changed in 2024 after a dismal decade for the Galaxy, who are favored to cap their transformation by winning their team's record sixth MLS championship with a roster that's dramatically different from its past few groups — albeit with one massive injury absence in the final. The transformation of the Red Bulls happened only in the postseason, when a team that hadn't won a playoff game since 2017 suddenly turned into world-beaters under rookie coach Sandro Schwarz. New York struggled through the final three months of league play with only two wins before posting road playoff victories over defending champ Columbus, archrival New York City FC and conference finalist Orlando to storm into the Cup final. "We know about the history (of our club), and we know tomorrow will define what that could mean," Schwarz said Friday. "To feel the pressure for tomorrow, it's necessary, because it's a final, and without pressure it's not possible to bring the best quality on the field." The Red Bulls have never won an MLS Cup, only reaching the championship match once before. What's more, they've somehow never won a Cup in any tournament, although they've collected three Supporters' Shields for MLS' best regular-season record. The Galaxy's trophy case is large and loaded, and those five MLS Cups are on the top shelf. But not much of that team success happened in the past decade for the club that famously brought David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard and many other international stars to Hollywood. In fact, this season has ended a grim era for the Galaxy, who haven't lost all year at their frequently renamed home stadium — which was the site of protests and boycotts just a year ago. The club's fans were tired of LA's steady underachievement and ineptitude in the front office run by team president Chris Klein, who was fired in May 2023. One year ago Thursday, the Galaxy hired Will Kuntz, a longtime Los Angeles FC executive who engineered his new club's roster transformation, most dramatically by landing new designated players Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil — two international talents that LAFC also had in its sights. "I give Will and the group up there a ton of credit," Vanney said. "It's one thing to have players you like, and it's a whole other thing to get them here and get them to connect with your group." Pec and Paintsil combined for 32 goals and 27 assists while boosting the incumbent talents of striker Dejan Joveljic and Riqui Puig, the gifted Barcelona product who runs the offense from the midfield. The Galaxy clicked in the postseason, scoring a jaw-dropping 16 goals in four matches. Puig has been the Galaxy's most important player all season, but he won't be in the MLS Cup Final after tearing a knee ligament late in last week's conference final victory over Seattle. The loss of Puig — who somehow kept playing on his injured knee, and even delivered the game-winning pass to Joveljic — makes the Galaxy even more difficult to anticipate. "He played a lot in the regular season, so it was not so easy to analyze all these games now without him," Schwarz said. "But the main focus is to analyze what we need to do, because it's not clear now how they're playing without him." The Galaxy could give some of Puig's responsibilities to Marco Reus, the longtime Dortmund standout who joined LA in August. Reus is nursing a hamstring injury, but Vanney expects him to play. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
