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A fire incident has forced Japan's space agency, JAXA, to halt an engine test for its Epsilon S rocket, a move closely scrutinized given recent developmental setbacks. Footage from NHK shows the blaze that erupted during the combustion test, though thankfully no damage has been reported. This makes the second such incident in the past 16 months, raising concerns over Japan's small rocket program overseen by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The project partners with IHI Corp's aerospace division to create a new generation of solid-fuel rockets. The mishap impacts financial markets as IHI saw its shares drop by up to 6% following the test halt. Meanwhile, JAXA's flagship H3 rocket has had a recent string of successes after overcoming its own early launch setback, contributing to satellite launches alongside international partners. (With inputs from agencies.)
Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to murder and weapons charges in UnitedHealthcare CEO's death
The utopian dream of solar-powered motoring might not be so distant, as Mercedes-Benz recently opened the doors to some of its most forward-thinking engineering laboratories – and it turns out photovoltaic surfaces are very much on the agenda. During a number of workshops in its home city of Stuttgart, Germany, Mercedes-Benz lifted the lid on how it has been working on a new kind of solar surface that could generate enough electricity for folks in sunnier climates to cover their daily commuting requirements. According to the German marque, the ‘solar modules’ measure just five micrometers in thickness – significantly thinner than a human hair – and weigh just 50 grams per square meter. They can be applied to almost any substrate, with applications of future vehicles likely coming in the form of a "wafer-thin layer of paste" that will cover most of the body work. Mercedes-Benz has past experience with solar panels and the impact they can have on the electric range of EVs, as the company’s record-breaking (the rolling lab that drove more than 620 miles on a single charge) used a small solar panel on the roof that added around 30km (18 miles) of additional range during one of its long distance record attempts. But the breakthrough in photovoltaic surface treatments means much more of a vehicle could be covered, equating to a much greater increase in additional EV mileage. No giant solar panels needed Taking a fairly standard mid-sized SUV like the marque's EQS as an example, Mercedes engineers claim the 11 square meter surface area and the 20% solar efficiencies of the technology would be enough to generate around 7,400-miles of motoring per year in somewhere sunny, like Los Angeles. Nanoparticle-based paint would also allow 94% of the sun's energy to pass through to the solar coating, meaning future EVs won't necessarily have to look like giant solar panels. Studying the daily driving habits of EV owners in Stuttgart, Germany, those close to the project found they cover an average of 52 kilometers (around 32 miles) a day. Around 62% of this distance would be covered using solar energy, the company says, despite the often poor weather conditions. Again, if you live somewhere with plenty of excess sunshine, the 'always-on' nature of a photovoltaic surface means the vehicle could effectively be charging, even when parked. As a result, LA owners could cover 100% of their driving distance on average by solar energy. Any surplus achieved could be fed directly into the home network via bidirectional charging, in theory. Braking down inefficiencies Alongside pondering the state of future cities and speeding up AI decisions with neuromorphic computing, Mercedes-Benz also touched on the fact that it is also working on an EV braking system that removes the need for standard discs, drums and pads. Effectively ridding the world of harmful particles emitted in the form of brake dust, Mercedes’ innovation is integrated into the electric drive unit at the front or rear axle, negating the need for in-wheel brakes. Not only would this be subject to minimal wear and take up less space, it would also mean the company could look at much lighter wheel and tyre combinations, reducing the overall mass of an EV, as well as exploring fully-enclosed rims for optimized aerodynamics, as openings for brake cooling would no longer be required. Plus, the company's research into electrical inverter systems could see the integration of micro-converters directly at battery-cell level, which would allow for greater control over individual cells. It is complicated stuff, but it would result in more efficient battery performance, increased the longevity of battery pack lifespans and greater freedom when it comes to packaging – allowing engineers to use varying cell designs throughout the vehicle. All of these advancements are still a long way from making production, but it is good to see Mercedes-Benz busy exploring innovations that offer its future customers real-world value.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay's surest path to the NFL playoffs is a division championship. The Buccaneers will need help to repeat in the NFC South , but only if they first and foremost give themselves a chance. That means winning their remaining games at home against Carolina and New Orleans, while the Atlanta Falcons lose at least once in the final two weeks of the regular season. The Bucs (8-7) and Falcons share the best record in the division, however Atlanta holds the tiebreaker after sweeping the season series between the teams. Tampa Bay, which has won three consecutive division titles, is the only NFC team that has made the playoffs each of the past four seasons. “We’ve got to take care of business or else we’ve got no shot,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said after a 26-24 loss at Dallas cost the Bucs control of the NFC South race. “This one, we've got to take it on the chin,” Mayfield added. “It's a short week. It's Christmas week. We've got to focus on Carolina and figure out a way to win.” If Atlanta is able to maintain its lead, Tampa Bay could make the postseason as a wild card if the Bucs win out and the Commanders lose twice. Coach Todd Bowles sounds confident that his players understand the challenge ahead and will clean up mistakes that contributed to the end of their four-game win streak. “We’ve got to win a ballgame (this week). If we don’t win a ballgame, we don’t give ourselves a chance,” Bowles said Monday. “We have to focus on us like we’ve been doing,” the coach added. “We have to correct the mistakes, and we have to go out and win Sunday, and we’ve got to win the next week, and then we’ll see what happens after that.” What's working The offense, which ranks third in the NFL at 389.8 yards per game, isn't a fluke. Despite losing to the Cowboys, Tampa Bay finished with 410 yards total offense. It was the team's fifth straight game — as well as an NFL-high ninth overall — with 400-plus yards. The Bucs are seventh in rushing (143.7 yards per game) after ranking 32nd each of the past two seasons. What needs helps The defense yielded 292 yards passing against the Cowboys, 226 of it in the first half when Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb had six catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. Bowles said shoddy tackling was the biggest issue — not poor coverage. Lamb had one reception for 5 yards after halftime. Stock up Mayfield's chemistry with rookie WR Jalen McMillan, who has 27 receptions for 336 yards and five TDs, continues to grow. McMillan had five catches for 57 yards and a touchdown — his fourth in the past three games — against Dallas. He was also the intended receiver on Mayfield's deep throw that CB Jourdan Lewis intercepted in the end zone to help the Cowboys hold off the Bucs in the closing minutes. Stock down Turnovers were costly against Dallas. The end-zone interception stopped the Bucs from cutting into a 26-17 deficit with 6:22 remaining in the fourth quarter. Rachaad White's fumble with 1:31 left ended any hope for a last-minute victory. On both plays, defenders ripped the ball out of the grasp of the offensive player. “We knew they were going to rake at the ball going into the ballgame," Bowles said. "We just have to have two hands on the ball, and we have to fight for it. We have to take better care of the football. That’s priority No. 1.” Injuries Bowles said it's too early to project the status of several starters for coming games, including S Antoine Winfield Jr. (knee), who has missed the past two games. TE Cade Otton (knee) and LB K.J. Britt (ankle) were inactive against the Cowboys, while reserve WR Sterling Shepard left during the game with a hamstring injury. Key number 80. Bucky Irving leads all NFL rookie RBs with 920 yards rushing. He needs 80 over the next two games to reach 1,000. He scored his seventh rushing touchdown against Dallas. That tied Errict Rhett and Lars Tate for the second-most rushing TDs by a rookie running back in franchise history. Doug Martin set the record of 11 in 2012. Next up Host Carolina on Sunday. ___ NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl Fred Goodall, The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kendrick Lamar gave music listeners an early holiday present Friday with the surprise drop of a new album. The Grammy winner's 12-track "GNX" is his first release since 2022's "Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers" and his sixth studio album overall. It also comes just months after his rap battle with Drake. Lamar first teased the album with a cover art and video snippet of "GNX," which features multi-instrumentalist Jack Antonoff as a co-producer on every track except for "Peekaboo." Other notable producers include Sounwave and DJ Mustard, who both contributed production on the hit "Not Like Us," the ubiquitous diss track emanating from the Drake feud. Lamar's former Top Dawg Entertainment labelmate SZA appears on a couple songs including "Gloria" and "Luther," which also features sampled vocals from Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn through "If This World Were Mine." On the opening track "Wacced Out Murals," Lamar raps about cruising in his Buick GNX (Grand National Experimental) car with listening to Anita Baker. He brings up Snoop Dogg posting Drake's AI-assisted "Taylor Made Freestyle" diss track on social media and Nas congratulating Lamar for being selected to headline February's Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans. Lamar also shows admiration for Lil Wayne, who expressed his hurt feelings after being passed over as the headliner in his hometown. Lamar, 37, has experienced massive success since his debut album "good kid, m.A.A.d city" in 2012. Since then, he's accumulated 17 Grammy wins and became the first non-classical, non-jazz musician to win a Pulitzer Prize for his 2017 album "DAMN." The surprise release caps a big year for Lamar, who was featured on the song "Like That" with Future and Metro Boomin — a track that spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this year. Lamar is up for seven Grammys, fueled by "Not Like Us," which earned nods for record and song of the year, rap song, music video as well as best rap performance. He has two simultaneous entries in the latter category, a career first: "Like That" is up for best rap performance and best rap song, too. "GNX" track list 1. "Wacced Out Murals" 2. "Squabble Up" 3. "Luther" (feat. SZA) 4. "Man at the Garden" 5. "Hey Now" 6. "Reincarnated" 7. "TV Off" 8. "Dodger Blue" 9. "Peekaboo" 10. "Heart Pt. 6" 11. "GNX" 12. "Gloria" (feat. SZA)
Vincenzo Italiano is glad Dan Ndoye ‘finally’ broke his goal drought with a double and trusts his Bologna teammates can follow suit . ‘We could have many, many more goals.’ The Rossoblu were in dire need of a boost after two consecutive defeats to Lazio in Serie A and Lille in the Champions League. Despite again being terribly wasteful in front of goal, Italiano’s men benefited from two fairly soft penalty kicks and the third was set up for Dan Ndoye by impressive substitute Riccardo Orsolini. “I am pleased with the reaction after two defeats, this is where you can see the team is alive and has character. This game was very, very important for many reasons, that is one of them, another is our position in the table,” “I am glad that Ndoye finally scored, that Orso came off the bench, scored and assisted. This is what we wanted, because if we had failed to get a result this evening too, it would’ve affected our morale. “I think thanks to this victory we are gearing up for the Coppa Italia in good shape.” They will be back on the pitch on Tuesday in the Coppa Italia Round of 16 against Monza, then visit Juventus next Saturday in Serie A. Italiano’s Bologna still have a game in hand to be played against Milan, a fixture that was called off due to flood warnings in the city, but are still on 21 points from 13 Serie A games. It is an impressive haul, especially compared to their Champions League results, where “Playing every three days, we need to do our training during the matches, as there is practically no time to prepare games. This is an area where we need to grow and I saw in 95 minutes that we showed improvement,” continued Italiano. “The second half was better than the first, we shook off the issues of recent matches, won back the ball repeatedly. It’s true we need to score more goals considering our chances and have to improve in our finishing, but it was a good result.” Bologna caused a shock by finishing fifth in Serie A last season and qualifying for the Champions League, so are they aiming to get back in next term? “I already said in our most recent press conference, it’s good that we are closing the gap and need to stay in the slipstream of the top sides. We’ve got to hang in there and try to reach the midway stage of the season in that position,” added Italiano. “The Champions League is helping us to grow and get stronger, it is a learning curve for the team. As Jose Mourinho says, the Champions League is a tournament where details make the difference and perhaps this is where we are lacking. I don’t know if it’s experience, quality or attitude, but our performances have overall been good in Europe, we just lose because of details. “We’ve been able to cause huge problems for quality opponents and tend to keep the game alive until the closing stages. There are three games to go, you never know what will happen if some of those strikers wake up one day and decide to thump them into the top corner.” With tonight’s brace, Ndoye took his career total to three Serie A goals, while Thijs Dallinga is still waiting for his first in the Bologna jersey. “Ndoye honestly could’ve had many, many more goals in Serie A and Europe. He has to focus and apply himself in training, because he’s got the quality, he just needs to learn how to get that ball in the net,” concluded Italiano. “Dallinga also needs to be more efficient in front of goal, but he is showing more dynamism, he’s more involved in what the team is doing and I am convinced he too will break his duck soon.”
New AI Update! Transforming The Sims Like Never BeforeReport: Chargers expect WR Ladd McConkey, LB Khalil Mack to play vs. RavensKenya is moving forward with plans to secure a Sh193 billion ($1.5 billion) loan from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This is despite the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urging caution due to concerns that this could exacerbate the country’s debt situation. To address these concerns, sources cited by Bloomberg indicate that the Abu Dhabi loan will be disbursed to Kenya in tranches, ensuring compliance with borrowing limits set under the four-year IMF programme that concludes in April, reported Bloomberg. Kenya is expected to access about Sh91 billion ($700 million) at the beginning of next year, with the remainder to be disbursed later, although timelines are subject to change, reported Bloomberg. President William Ruto’s government reckons that the loan will provide a crucial buffer against a budget crisis, particularly as the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has consistently missed its revenue targets. Kenya has also secured a Sh26 billion ($200 million) loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and is in discussions with the World Bank for a new loan of Sh97 billion ($750 million), a separate report from Reuters said. Director General of the Ministry of Finance’s Public Debt Management Office Raphael Owino, was quoted by Reuters as saying, “The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts. The AfDB is already on board.” Despite the IMF’s calls for reduced borrowing, President Ruto faces challenges following the withdrawal of the Finance Bill 2024 in response to Gen Z protests against perceived punitive tax measures. ALSO READ: 'Broke' government living large: Ruto adds Sh3tr to public debt The National Treasury is now attempting to reintroduce some proposals through the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, projected to yield only Sh174 billion instead of the earlier target of Sh346 billion. The success of these proposals remains uncertain amid ongoing resistance to increased taxes. The IMF had earlier warned of a difficult path ahead for Kenya as it disbursed $606 million (Sh78.1 billion) to support the government’s budgetary needs. Earlier this month, IMF Mission Chief for Kenya Haimanot Teferra, highlighted that if the terms of the UAE loan are more favourable than existing costly loans, it could be beneficial. Teferra cautioned that borrowing at high rates to finance the budget could worsen the situation. “We need to carefully consider how the funds are utilised, their terms, and how they affect Kenya’s current debt dynamics,” Teferra remarked. Stay informed. Subscribe to our newsletter The IMF also revealed this week that its Deputy Managing Director Nigel Clarke is scheduled to visit Kenya next month as the Bretton Woods institution continues to pressure the government to expand the tax base and implement reforms to curb its borrowing appetite, given the limited capacity for new loans. Clarke’s visit on December 9 and 10 will involve meetings with government officials and key stakeholders, said the IMF. Director of the IMF Communications Department Julie Kozack noted that Kenya’s government faces a complex balancing act between urgent spending needs in social programmes, health, and education while managing rising public debt and increasing domestic revenue. She reiterated that the UAE loan discussions with Kenya or any new borrowing should align with a comprehensive fiscal strategy to mitigate debt vulnerabilities amid ongoing fiscal challenges. While discussing the recent reviews of Kenya’s performance, IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath remarked earlier: “Fiscal performance has significantly fallen short of targets, leading to increased debt vulnerabilities. The IMF has noted that a “credible fiscal consolidation strategy remains essential for addressing these vulnerabilities while safeguarding social and development spending.” “Reforms to enhance the efficiency, equity, and transparency of the tax regime are critical to garnering political and societal support.”DALLAS — The Dallas City Council conducted virtual interviews Monday with three finalists for the city manager position, marking a significant step in a 10-month search process that will continue into 2025. The candidates under consideration are Fort Worth Assistant City Manager William Johnson, Sacramento Assistant City Manager Mario Lara and Dallas Interim City Manager Kim Tolbert. The next city manager will oversee Dallas' $5 billion budget, hire permanent police and fire chiefs, and manage departments responsible for road repairs and park maintenance. The position became vacant after former City Manager T.C. Broadnax left to become Austin's city manager earlier this year. "I think we have a great three candidates and I'll look forward to introducing them to our community," said City Councilmember Jesse Moreno. The selection process has faced criticism for its length, but Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins defended the timeline. "I feel like the process was transparent, very open," Atkins said. "We always said that we were going to have the selection of the city manager the latter part of December, first part of January so we're still on that timeline." An initial timeline projected finishing the process by the end of 2024, but a revised timeline calls for the new city manager to take the reins in February. Among the candidates, Tolbert has emerged as a frontrunner, securing endorsements from multiple organizations including the Dallas Fire Fighters Association, the Black Fire Fighters Association of Dallas, the Dallas Hispanic Firefighters Association and the Dallas NAACP. "Not only is she qualified, she's had on the job training," said Sharon Middlebrooks of the Dallas branch of the NAACP. "Why would we want to bring someone in new when we already have a person on the job that has trained?" The finalist pool narrowed from four to three after Mark Washington, an assistant city manager in Grand Rapids, Michigan, withdrew from consideration. Zachary Williams, a county manager in Georgia, was also previously in contention but is no longer among the candidates. The search has been complicated by recent developments in Dallas governance. Art Davis, a director with Baker Tilly, the firm conducting the search, reported that some candidates expressed concerns about recently passed city charter amendments. These include requirements to hire 900 more police officers and allocate half of the city's new revenue to improving police and fire pensions. Following these amendments, Moody's downgraded Dallas' economic outlook from stable to negative. The council plans to allow public input before making a final decision. "The community, those we represent, have an opportunity to give us their feedback on our final selection," Moreno said. Councilmember Cara Mendelsohn expressed optimism about the remaining candidates: "I am very excited about our three qualified candidates and I can't wait for the community to meet them." The successful candidate will also need to hire a new police chief to replace Eddie Garcia, who recently left to take an administration role in Austin.
