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Government regulators cleared American flights to get airborne about an hour after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a national ground stop for the airline. The order, which prevented planes from taking off, was issued at the airline's request. The airline said in an email that the problem was caused by trouble with vendor technology that maintains its flight operating system. Dennis Tajer, a spokesperson for the Allied Pilots Association, a union representing American Airlines pilots, said the airline told pilots at 7 a.m. Eastern that there was an outage affecting the system known as FOS. It handles different types of airline operations, including dispatch, flight planning, passenger boarding, as well as an airplane's weight and balance data, he said. Some components of FOS have gone down in the past, but a systemwide outage is rare, Tajer said. Flights were delayed across American's major hubs, with only 37% leaving on time, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company. Out of the 3,901 domestic and international American Airlines flights scheduled for Tuesday, 19 were canceled. Cirium noted that the vast majority of flights departed within two hours of their scheduled departure time. A similar percentage — 36% — arrived at their destinations as scheduled. Meanwhile, the flight-tracking site FlightAware reported that 3,712 flights entering or leaving the U.S., or serving domestic destinations, were delayed Tuesday, with 55 flights canceled. It did not show any flights from American Airlines. Cirium said Dallas-Fort Worth, New York's Kennedy Airport and Charlotte, North Carolina, saw the greatest number of delays. Washington, Chicago and Miami experienced considerably fewer delays. Amid the travel problems, significant rain and snow were expected in the Pacific Northwest at least into Christmas Day. Showers and thunderstorms developed in the South. Freezing rain was reported in the Mid-Atlantic region near Baltimore and Washington, and snow fell in New York. Because the holiday travel period lasts weeks, airports and airlines typically have smaller peak days than they do during the rush around Thanksgiving, but the grind of one hectic day followed by another takes a toll on flight crews. Any hiccups — a winter storm or a computer outage — can snowball into massive disruptions. That is how Southwest Airlines stranded 2 million travelers in December 2022, and Delta Air Lines suffered a smaller but significant meltdown after a worldwide technology outage in July caused by a faulty software update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. Many flights during the holidays are sold out, which makes cancellations even more disruptive than during slower periods. That is especially true for smaller budget airlines that have fewer flights and fewer options for rebooking passengers. Only the largest airlines, including American, Delta and United, have "interline agreements" that let them put stranded customers on another carrier's flights. This will be the first holiday season since a Transportation Department rule took effect that requires airlines to give customers an automatic cash refund for a canceled or significantly delayed flight. Most air travelers were already eligible for refunds, but they often had to request them. Passengers still can ask to get rebooked, which is often a better option than a refund during peak travel periods. Finding a last-minute flight on another airline tends to be expensive. An American spokesperson said Tuesday was not a peak travel day for the airline — with about 2,000 fewer flights than the busiest days — so the airline had somewhat of a buffer to manage the delays. The groundings happened as millions of travelers were expected to fly over the next 10 days. The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 40 million passengers through Jan. 2. Airlines expect to have their busiest days on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Many flights during the holidays are sold out, which makes cancellations more disruptive than during slower periods. Even with just a brief outage, the cancellations have a cascading effect that can take days to clear up. About 90% of Americans traveling far from home over the holidays will be in cars, according to AAA. "Airline travel is just really high right now, but most people do drive to their destinations, and that is true for every holiday," AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz said. Gasoline prices are similar to last year. The nationwide average Thursday was $3.04 a gallon, down from $3.13 a year ago, according to AAA. Charging an electric vehicle averages just under 35 cents per per kilowatt hour, but varies by state. Transportation-data firm INRIX says travel times on the nation's highways could be up to 30% longer than normal over the holidays, with Sunday expected to see the heaviest traffic.

Taylor Swift has made a surprise stop at a Kansas City children’s hospital, shocking parents and patients alike as she laughed with them, posed for photos and exchanged gifts. All parent Cassie Thomas was told beforehand was that she might want to brush her hair and teeth because there was going to be a special visitor. But she was stunned when Swift, fresh off her Eras Tour and one day before her 35th birthday, walked into her son's room on Thursday at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. “No rumors. Like, we literally had absolutely no idea this was happening,” Thomas recalled. Her 13-year-old son, Beckett Thomas, is a cancer patient and a fan of Swift's Kansas City Chiefs tight-end boyfriend, Travis Kelce. Beckett uses a 3D printer to make earrings bearing his and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes' names, walking around the hospital unit selling them to nurses. Now, Swift has a pair as well. “She was amazing,” Beckett's mom said. “So down to earth.” Another patient told Swift that her favorite song was “Love Story" and they later discussed the song “Paper Rings,” in which Swift sings, “I'd marry you with paper rings.” When their conversation veered to discussion of San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy, whose team played the Chiefs in the Super Bowl earlier this year, Swift expressed surprise. Story continues below video “Brock Purdy, What? I mean, I don’t mind Brock Purdy.” Swift said, then continued: “He put me through a lot last February.” Asked before the Super Bowl whether he was prepared to disappoint Swift, Purdy responded: “Yes.” The game ended with Mahomes rallying the Chiefs to their second straight Super Bowl title, 25-22 over the 49ers in overtime. “I was very stressed for a second but it all ended up fine,” Swift told the girl, their recorded conversation posted online. The girl then chimed in: “I like Travis now.” Swift responded with: “Me too. That’s an absolute yes on that one." There is no word on whether Swift will be in the stands when the Chiefs play the Browns on Sunday in Kelce’s hometown of Cleveland.

Heavy travel day starts with brief grounding of all American Airlines flightsElena Bionysheva-Abramova/iStock via Getty Images All figures are in United States Dollars unless otherwise noted. G/T = grams per tonne (of gold or silver). GEOs = gold-equivalent ounces. SEOs = silver-equivalent ounces. AISC refers to all-in sustaining costs. LOMP = life of mine plan. TPD = tonnes per day. Alluvial Gold Research offers in-depth research on my favorite miners ranked in order to aid in positioning in the most undervalued miners with upcoming catalysts to drive portfolio outperformance. Subscribers also get access to my current portfolios and buy/sell alerts as well as the following: A Proprietary Sentiment Indicator for gold/silver miners updated weekly not available anywhere else Exclusive Research on Top Ideas Top Takeover Targets Buy/Sell Signals for GDX, SIL & Individual Miners I have been able to outperform GDX consistently since its peak (180% return since August 2020 peak) with the help of timing models I've built & rigid stock selection. Taylor Dart is an individual investor with over 16 years of trading experience, with his primary focus being precious metals developers, producers and royalty/streaming companies. - Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor. All articles are my opinion - they are not suggestions to buy or sell any securities. Perform your own due diligence and consult a financial professional before trading or investing. Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of AEM, AEM:CA, ITRG, ITR:CA either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Disclaimer: Taylor Dart is not a Registered Investment Advisor or Financial Planner. This writing is for informational purposes only. It does not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation to buy, or a recommendation regarding any securities transaction. The information contained in this writing should not be construed as financial or investment advice on any subject matter. Taylor Dart expressly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken based on any or all of the information on this writing. Given the volatility in the precious metals sector, position sizing is critical, so when buying small-cap precious metals stocks, position sizes should be limited to 5% or less of one's portfolio. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Biden, in Africa, decries history of slavery and urges partnership

Sebastian Zapeta charged with murder after allegedly burning woman to death on New York City subway train

ANDERSON COUNTY, Texas — The Texas attorney general’s office is deliberately running out the clock on a soon-to-expire House committee to avoid cooperating with its demand that death row inmate Robert Roberson be able to testify before the committee in person, according to the two lawmakers spearheading that effort. “What the attorney general’s office, I feel like is doing right now, is trying to delay, as much as possible, and not work with us,” state Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, told The Texas Tribune during a Friday event exploring the committee’s intervention in the Roberson case. “They’re basically ignoring the Supreme Court’s order, knowing that in a month or so, when the new legislative session convenes, our committee goes away,” he said. Leach, a member of the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence, and the committee’s chair, state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, appeared Friday at a Texas Tribune event to discuss the historic legislative intervention that halted Roberson’s Oct. 17 execution. The committee is planning for Roberson to testify in person at the Capitol on Dec. 20, two months after the committee forced a delay of his execution through an extraordinary legal intervention. The committee is awaiting confirmation from Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office on whether it will voluntarily comply with the panel’s order and allow the state criminal justice department to transport Roberson from prison to the Capitol so he can testify. Moody discussed how the Texas Supreme Court has told the legislative and executive branches of state government to cooperate on this matter on three separate occasions. But after asking the executive branch if it would agree to produce Roberson, Moody said, its representatives “couldn’t answer the simple question of, can we agree or do you want me to issue a subpoena?,” Moody said. “They have refused to answer that very simple question.” As a result, Moody set the hearing for Dec. 20 and gave the attorney general’s office until the end of the day Friday to answer. If they don’t, Moody said he will issue a new subpoena for Roberson. “I’ve been in this business long enough — that’s just a foot drag,” Moody said. “So I set the hearing and I gave him a deadline.” He said he hopes that Texans question the delays by Paxton’s office. “Why don’t they want to hear from Robert? Why do they not want the Legislature to do this? Why?” The Texas attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to the comments made by Leach or Moody. It’s the latest in the dramatic back and forth between the two government branches over Roberson’s testimony. The day before Roberson’s scheduled Oct. 17 execution, the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence held a hearing airing his claims of innocence and lack of due process. The panel’s surprise move to subpoena Roberson on Oct. 16 then successfully forced a delay in his execution. Roberson, who has maintained his innocence in the death of his child for more than 20 years, became a political lightning rod in recent months as members of the bipartisan Criminal Jurisprudence Committee — convinced that the courts had not properly applied a 2013 junk science law to his case — waged a controversial campaign to buy him more time. Roberson was convicted of capital murder in 2003 for the death of his 2-year-old daughter Nikki, who was diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome. He has sought to use the junk science law to vacate his conviction, arguing that new scientific evidence debunked Nikki’s shaken baby diagnosis and showed that she died of undiagnosed pneumonia, not abuse. The committee’s subpoena prompted the ongoing battle between lawmakers and Paxton’s office over securing Roberson’s testimony. The subpoena also created a separation of powers conflict between the state’s legislative and executive branches, prompting the Texas Supreme Court to stay Roberson’s execution on Oct. 17 as it worked through the legal dispute. In an Oct. 28 Texas Supreme Court brief, members of the criminal jurisprudence panel accused Paxton’s office of stonewalling and refusing to comply with the subpoena. “The executive branch has shown no willingness to work out its differences with the legislative branch or meet its statutory duty to assist the Committee,” the brief states. The criminal jurisprudence panel held a hearing on Oct. 21 with plans for Roberson to give his testimony in person. But Paxton quashed those plans, saying that the inmate would only testify via video, “in the interest of public safety.” Both the committee and Roberson’s attorney objected to a virtual set-up, saying that Roberson’s autism and lack of technological experience due to his more than two decades in prison meant that he could not testify effectively over video. Lawmakers then sought to visit Roberson on death row to take his testimony there. But according to the lawmakers’ brief, Paxton’s office again scuttled those plans, telling Moody that “the executive branch would no longer permit any form of hearing with Roberson.” Instead, the brief states, the executive branch proposed a joint letter in which Moody and Leach “admit that Roberson was a murderer, that they had overstepped their authority, and that no legislative committee should ever act similarly in the future.” At the Tribune event, Moody said they had no intent of signing such a letter. “I’ve got to censor myself when talking about that letter because I thought someone was joking with me when they sent it to me,” Moody said. “That was a letter that was sent to us, knowing that we would never sign it. It is written in a way that says, make sure that they never sign this, because it was saying, you know, we’re idiots, we made a mistake, we’re so sorry, Robert’s a murderer.” Paxton, meanwhile, has accused the lawmakers of “sidelining” the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s legal counsel, and said that nothing compelled the executive branch to bring Roberson to the Capitol. On Nov. 15, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that legislative subpoenas could not be used to block death warrants, clearing the way for Roberson’s execution. But the court noted that there was now plenty of time for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to produce Roberson for testimony. The prosecuting district attorney has not yet requested a new execution date, which could not be set within 90 days of the request. “If the committee still wishes to obtain his testimony, we assume that the department can reasonably accommodate a new subpoena,” the court said. “So long as a subpoena issues in a way that does not inevitably block a scheduled execution, nothing in our holding prevents the committee from pursuing judicial relief in the ordinary way to compel a witness’s testimony.” Leach hinted that fighting the committee after the Supreme Court’s decision will have consequences. “Our AG is doing a lot of really good work,” Leach said. “But look, if you’re going to ignore the Legislature and say, ‘We don’t care about you and we’re not gonna do what the Supreme Court told us to do’ — then if we have to, we’ll be back in front of the Supreme Court. And I don’t think ... that should be necessary. Related Articles Man convicted of injuring a child based on Shaken Baby Syndrome exonerated, Dallas County DA announces Trial judge in Robert Roberson’s death row case agrees to recusal Texas high court says execution in 'shaken baby syndrome' case can't be halted by lawmaker subpoena

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers told reporters he's spoken with wide receiver Garrett Wilson about his frustration, per ESPN's Rich Cimini. Those comments came a few days after Wilson was asked about involvement (or lack thereof, at times) in the Jets' 19-9 home loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. Wilson had six catches for 54 yards on seven targets in that matchup. This article will be updated soon to provide more information and analysis. For more from Bleacher Report on this topic and from around the sports world, check out our B/R app , homepage and social feeds—including Twitter , Instagram , Facebook and TikTok .ATLANTA — Hulu is tackling the Murdaughs, a prominent South Carolina family embroiled in cases of fraud and murder, in a new scripted series that is set to begin production in Atlanta in March. The series will be at shooting out of Doraville’s Assembly Studios, according to an email sent to members of IATSE 479, the union representing most crew members in the area. The tentative production dates are March 3 through June 13, 2025. Assembly is currently home to the upcoming NBC series “Grosse Pointe Garden Society” and a CBS soap opera, “Beyond the Gates.” Jason Clarke, known for his roles in “Oppenheimer” and HBO’s ‘Winning Time,” will play Alex Murdaugh, who is serving a life sentence for the killings of his wife and son in 2021. He also stole millions from his law firm and clients in wrongful death and serious injury cases. While admitting to the thefts, he has vehemently denied the killings and is appealing his murder convictions. Oscar-winning actor Patricia Arquette will play Murdaugh’s wife, Maggie. Arquette starred in the TV series “Medium” from 2005 to 2011 and the current Apple TV+ series “Severance” as well as dozens of films such as “Boyhood” and “True Romance.” The Murdaughs were an influential family in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina, wielding legal and political power. But over a span of a decade, the family was accused of a variety of crimes. The family has already been the focus of a popular 2023 Netflix documentary “The Murdaugh Murders” and a Lifetime movie “The Murdaugh Murders: A Movie” starring Bill Paxton. This Hulu limited series is based on reporting by Mandy Matney, a journalist and creator of the popular “Murdaugh Murders Podcast.” ——— ©2024 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Islamabad deserves debt relief from all creditors urgently, says economist Pakistan’s debt situation has been worsening since 2008, but deteriorated at speed never witnessed since 2019 ISLAMABAD: Several low-income countries (LICs) including Pakistan face severe debt crisis and deserve to receive debt relief from bilateral, multilateral and private creditors urgently. Pakistan’s renowned economist Dr Ashfaque Hassan Khan, who is currently serving at the National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), has come up with a detailed research work titled ‘Sinking in debt: A framework for debt relief for low income countries’ and argued that Pakistan’s current debt situation is far worse than many of the LICs and hence it deserves to receive debt relief urgently. Pakistan’s debt situation has been worsening since 2008, but deteriorated at a speed never witnessed before since 2019. Pakistan’s external debt and liabilities have been growing at differing pace since 2000. They grew at an average rate of 1.4 per cent per annum during 2000-2007; the pace accelerated to 6.2pc per annum during 2008-2015; the pace further accelerated to 8.6pc per annum during 2016-2023. By December-end 2023, Pakistan’s external debt and liabilities stood at $131.4 billion – rising from $36.5 billion in 2000. In other words, Pakistan added almost $95 billion external debt and liabilities in just 23 years as against $37.1 billion in the last 53 years prior to the year 2000, that is, since independence in 1947. More importantly, Pakistan added $66.4 billion in total external debt and liabilities of $131.2 billion or 51pc during the two lost decades (Decades of the 1990s, and 2008-18). Public debt, on the other hand, is influenced by the size of the budget deficit, rate of depreciation of the currency and interest rate. Like external debt and liabilities, the rise in public debt exhibited different pace since the year 2000. Public debt grew at an average rate of 8pc per annum during 2000-2007; accelerated at the rate of 16.5pc per annum during 2008-18; and grew at a dangerously high level of 21.3pc per annum during 2019-2023. Devaluation of Pakistani currency and the persistence of unprecedentedly high interest have contributed enormously to the rise of public debt in Pakistan. With rise in public and external debt over the years, especially during the last five years (2019-2023), Pakistan’s debt servicing liabilities has turned out to be far worse than the many LICs. Devaluation and the persistence of keeping interest rate high have created serious budgetary problems for Pakistan, especially during the last five years. Interest payment as percentage of total revenue continued to surge since 2018-19. It was 28.7pc in 2017-18 but increased to 42.7pc in 2018-19 and further reached to an all-time high at 59.1pc by 2022-23. In other words, almost 60pc revenue (tax and non-tax revenue combined) was consumed by one budgetary item, that is, interest payment. With respect to tax revenue only, interest payment was almost 34pc in 2017-18 but surged to 72.8pc by 2022-23. In other words, Pakistan consumed almost three – fourth of its tax revenue for interest payment. More alarmingly, interest payment alone reached over three times the development expenditure and 35.3pc of total expenditure. Hence, devaluation and high-interest rate policies have seriously affected Pakistan’s economy and made Pakistan even far worse in the comity of developing countries in general and in LICs in particular as externally debt distress country, he added. He suggested that bilateral Creditors may suspend their debt repayment for 10 years. Besides, it is proposed that they may enter into various debt swap arrangements with the eligible countries. This will be a great help for the eligible LICs because instead of repaying principal and interest in foreign currency, they will be using these monies for budgetary purposes to spend on education health, climate change and improving other social indicators.

NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of burning a woman to death inside a New York City subway train used a shirt to fan the flames, a prosecutor said Tuesday at his arraignment on murder charges. Sebastian Zapeta, 33, who federal immigration officials said is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally, was not required to enter a plea and did not speak at the hearing in Brooklyn criminal court. Zapeta, wearing a white jumpsuit over a weathered black hooded sweatshirt, will remain jailed and is due back in court on Friday. His lawyer did not ask for bail. Zapeta is charged with two counts of murder, accusing him of intentionally killing the woman and killing her while committing arson. He is also charged with one count of arson. The top charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez called the attack a “gruesome and senseless act of violence” and said it would be “met with the most serious consequences.” The apparently random attack occurred Sunday morning on an F train that was stopped at the Coney Island station. Police said Tuesday the victim's identification is still pending. Authorities say Zapeta approached the woman, who may have been sleeping in the train, and set her clothing on fire with a lighter. Zapeta then fanned the flames with a shirt, engulfing her in fire, Assistant District Attorney Ari Rottenberg said in court Tuesday. Zapeta then sat on a bench on the subway platform and watched, police said. According to Rottenberg, Zapeta told detectives that he didn’t know what happened but identified himself in images of the attack. Zapeta's lawyer, Ed Friedman, did not speak to reporters after the arraignment. Video on social media appears to show some people looking on from the platform and at least one police officer walking by while the woman is on fire inside the train. NYPD Transit Chief Joseph Gulotta said Sunday that several officers responded to the fire and one stayed to keep the crime scene “the way it’s supposed to be" while the others went to get fire extinguishers and transit workers. “Officers who were on patrol on an upper level of that station smelled and saw smoke and went to investigate. What they saw was a person standing inside the train car fully engulfed in flames,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. They eventually put the fire out, but “unfortunately, it was too late,” Tisch said, and the woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Zapeta was taken into custody Sunday afternoon while riding a train on the same subway line after teenagers recognized him from images circulated by the police. A Brooklyn address for Zapeta released by police matches a shelter that provides housing and substance abuse support. The shelter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Federal immigration officials said Zapeta was deported in 2018 but later reentered the U.S. illegally. The crime deepened a growing sense of unease among some New Yorkers about the safety of the subway system, amplified by graphic video of the attack that ricocheted across social media. Overall, crime is down in the transit system compared to last year. Major felonies declined 6% between January and November compared to the same time period last year, according to data from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. But murders are up, with nine killings this year through November compared to five during the same period last year. Earlier this month, a Manhattan jury acquitted former Marine Daniel Penny in the chokehold death last year of an agitated subway rider. The case became a flashpoint in debates over safety, homelessness and mental illness on the system. Policing the subway is difficult, given the vast network of trains moving between 472 stations. Each stop contains multiple entry points and, in many stations, multiple floors and platforms.

American Airlines grounds flights delaying passengers at Logan Airport

NINGDE, China , Dec. 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On December 24th, CATL officially launched the CATL Bedrock Chassis, the world's first ultra-safe skateboard chassis. With its outstanding performance of withstanding 120 km/h frontal impact without catching fire or exploding, CATL's Bedrock Chassis sets a new standard for intelligent chassis safety, providing comprehensive protection across all scenarios and speed ranges. Ni Jun, Chief Manufacturing Officer, CATL With the battery-centered design, CATL's Bedrock Chassis utilizes Cell-to-Chassis integration technology, which directly integrates the battery cells into the chassis, allowing for a shared structural design between them. And based on the decoupling of the chassis from the upper body, the Bedrock Chassis is capable of absorbing 85% of the vehicle's collision energy (compared to around 60% absorbed by traditional chassis). Through various technological breakthroughs, the Bedrock Chassis successfully passed the world's first "highest speed + strongest impact" dual extreme safety test. This achievement enables the chassis to pass the 120 km/h frontal central pole impact test without catching fire, exploding or thermal runway, redefining the benchmark for safety in the industry. Currently, the speed for frontal impact safety test in the commonly used C-NCAP (China New Car Assessment Program) is 56km/h, which, when experiencing a frontal impact at this speed, generates collision energy equivalent to falling from 12-meter-high building. In comparison, a frontal impact at 120km/h is equivalent to falling from a 56-meter-high building, generating a collision energy 4.6 times that of collision at 56km/h. In more stringent frontal pole crash tests, which simulate crashes with non-standard objects such as power poles, large trees, or animals, the impact area is only 1/6 of that in a full-width frontal impact, exponentially increasing impact pressure. At a speed of 120km/h, the impact pressure on the chassis per unit area in a frontal central pole impact is 21 times that of the 56 km/h full-width frontal impact in C-NCAP testing. Due to the extremely high crash speed and intensity, there has been no previous instance of any new energy vehicle daring to challenge a 120km/h frontal pole impact test. With this extreme challenge, CATL's Bedrock Chassis has blazed a fresh trail for the industry. Open the era of ultra-safe transportation through three technological breakthroughs CATL's Bedrock Chassis has delved deep into the realm of structure and material innovation, leveraging three technological breakthroughs to provide unparalleled protection in all scenarios and speed ranges, ensuring rock-solid safety for the entire vehicle. The CATL Bedrock Chassis introduces a revolutionary three-dimensional biomimetic tortoise shell structure, where the body and energy unit framework are integrated, deeply coupled to provide the energy unit with indestructible protection. And its aircraft carrier-grade arresting structure disperses impact forces across multiple pathways during a crash, gradually decelerating the vehicle and significantly reducing the depth and speed at which obstacles intrude the cabin. The utilization of submarine-grade hot-formed steel with a strength of 2000MPa, aerospace-grade aluminum alloy with a strength of 600MPa, and multiple barrier structures further enhance the chassis' rigidity, making it virtually impervious. Moreover, the CATL Bedrock Chassis incorporates an ultra-safe battery cell design, NP technology, and a high-ductility energy-absorbing insulation film, leading the industry in a groundbreaking manner. In terms of high-voltage disconnection, it achieves instantaneous disconnection of high voltage circuit within 0.01 seconds of impact and completes the discharge of residual high-voltage energy in the vehicle within 0.2 seconds, setting a new industry record. Notably, the battery cells have undergone highly demanding tests, including high-speed sled impact tests at 60 km/h, 90-degree bending tests, and breakthrough sawing tests, the battery did not catch fire or explode across all three tests. These tests, all industry-firsts by CATL, have elevated the safety standards of battery cells to new heights. Unlocking the era of customization, and activating a trillion-yuan market The launch of the Bedrock Chassis not only redefines the standard for intelligent chassis safety but also activates a trillion-yuan market. It greatly accelerates the shift towards modular, personalized, and intelligent automotive design. Addressing the common pain points of high investment, long development cycles, and accelerated product iteration in the industry, the Bedrock Chassis incorporates three core characteristics: internal integration, decoupling of the chassis from the upper body, and external openness. With a rich array of toolkits and solution packages, it offers a scalable software and hardware architecture and standardized interfaces, enabling flexible configurations for different vehicle models and scenarios. This allows the realization of a "one chassis architecture, multiple vehicle models" concept and significantly improves development efficiency and shortens the R&D cycle. The time required for mass production of a vehicle is reduced from the traditional 36 months or longer to 12 to 18 months. Furthermore, the Bedrock Chassis breaks the limits of safety and modeling, and expands design flexibility through the design of decoupling of the chassis from the upper body. The fourth-generation Cell-to-Chassis (CTC) technology and inverted battery cell technology enhance the utilization of chassis space while reducing the risk of chassis scraping. Additionally, in terms of intelligence, the chassis supports mechanical decoupling, software decoupling and EE decoupling, enabling L3 to L4 intelligent driving capabilities. It provides high adaptability interfaces and promotes collaborative intelligent applications. At the launch ceremony, AVATR, the first automaker to use Bedrock Chassis, and CAIT-SH, CATL's skateboard chassis arm, signed an agreement to deepen cooperation on CATL's Bedrock Chassis to create a safer, higher-quality travel experience for users. Safety is a never-ending journey. In the future, CATL will continue to break technological barriers through continuous innovation, and work with partners to build a safe ecosystem for EV batteries and vehicles, safeguarding the safety of users. Yang Hanbing, CEO of Contemporary Amperex Intelligent Technology (Shanghai) LimitedOracle Announces Fiscal 2025 Second Quarter Financial ResultsCNPC: China Reaches Refined Oil Demand Peak

Helldivers 2 was on my radar pre-release, but from its first week I knew it was one of those games I'd be playing for a very long time. I've dabbled in lots of live service games without ever going full no-lifer on any of them and, being a middle-aged dad, Helldivers 2 instantly ticked a lot of the boxes I wanted: Quickfire sessions, simple and self-contained goals, and a real sense of progression atop that, which might be the game's greatest achievement of all. Helldivers 2 isn't just a game I like to play: It's a miniature social phenomenon I love watching play out. The Game Awards saw developer Arrowhead surprise-drop the game's long-awaited third faction, the Illuminate , alongside a bunch of other substantial new content and, just for good measure, a Warthog-style four-man space jeep. Off the bat they've revitalised Helldiver tactics and forced players to re-calibrate from the familiar foes to a much beefier, weirder challenge. It feels like the biggest change in the Galactic War to date, and the capstone on what has been an exceptionally well-planned and delivered first year (well OK, 10 months: The game released February 8, 2024). Rather than running through all the game's patches in chronological order, I'm going to hop around a bit to try and explain the elements that have made Helldivers 2 really sing as a living experience. And the single biggest factor is how Arrowhead engages with and responds to the community in an unprecedented fashion. These interactions are by far the strongest element of how Helldivers operates as a live experience: Arrowhead reacts fast and, more often than not, it reacts with humour and it reacts well. Like the time the Helldivers got it wrong and botched a Major Order at the last hurdle, and Super Earth issued a missive commending their "tactical brilliance." To take a few more examples, in August the Helldivers worked out how to short-circuit a Major Order and complete it by cheating . The Super Earth response was to ensure all non-cheating Helldivers got their rewards, while as for the cheaters... "Super Earth High Command has detected a large batch of counterfeit samples within the delivery of the last Major Order," read the in-game message. "As is customary, Medals have been awarded to all Helldivers who honorably performed their duties, and the ones submitting false samples have had their pet fish summarily executed." Another great example came a few months in, when the community struck upon the idea of the Martale Gambit . This involved liberating their own target planets with the idea of disrupting enemy supply chains and, much to their shock, game master Joel got involved: Offering a two-for-the-price-of-one deal on liberated planets if they pulled it off. The sad end to the Martale Gambit is that it came agonisingly close, but the Helldivers fell short at the last. Nevertheless it became such a rallying point that it subsequently inspired further, successful gambits outside of the game's own Major Orders, as well as the formation of groups like the Freedom Alliance to guide such efforts. The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. "When the community manages to [pull off] gambits, that's where the galactic war shines," Arrowhead CCO Johann Pilestedt told PC Gamer in a new interview . "And it's something that we want to keep investing in." And finally, my favourite moment in the game to date: When the Helldivers were given a choice between unlocking a sweet new weapon or going in to save a 'Hospital for Very Sick Children.' You guessed it: No sick child will fall to the bugs while democracy's heroes breathe! The Helldivers absolutely smashed this MO and, in a nice gesture, Pilestedt and Arrowhead responded to the sentiment by donating $4,300 to Save the Children . Pilestedt is a great outspoken presence around the game, alongside the likes of community manager Twinbeard rallying the troops ( who recently spoke to us following his departure from the game), and perhaps the main character: Game master Joel. Arrowhead did a great job of building mystique around Joel , and of course the name quickly became a go-to reaction whenever something went wrong for the Helldivers. The CCO reveals in a new interview with PCG that Joel has now evolved into a hivemind or, to be more accurate, that was the case all along. "Joel is now a team of people working together, and it's always been like that," said Pilestedt. "There's a lot of people that make the world of Helldivers work, and the team has gotten better and better at working together with the community, figuring out what the community is going to enjoy." I think the only major misstep Helldivers 2 made in this opening year was one that the studio relatively quickly self-corrected on. The first few months of Helldivers 2 saw a whole load of balance patching, as Arrowhead tried to tamp-down overpowered weapons and strategies while making other options more viable. But this eventually ended up crimping the fun of the whole thing a little, and let's remember we're playing a PvE game with space cowboys shooting space robots, which Arrowhead itself came to belatedly realise in late summer. Solution? Screw the balance, bring on the buffs ! The studio set itself a 60-day schedule to make things more fun again, and from the first patch everything suddenly felt a lot more powerful. This is a game where the alien scum should be rightfully trembling at your loadout and, if Helldivers 2 lost sight of that for a moment, it quickly got back to where it should be . The flames of liberty shall forever burn bright! October was a big month because of the 26th, Liberty Day, and saw a fittingly gargantuan tribute as the Helldivers fought to protect the construction of a Democratic Space Station that is controlled by literal democracy (players vote on targets). Naturally the thing went live and immediately began incinerating Helldivers from orbit : Woopsies! And this is another of the game's many threads, set-ups that don't quite pay off like players expect. And Arrowhead does a great line in teases, fakeouts, and possibly deliberate leaks. The Illuminate were first glimpsed on the Galactic Map in early September, which Pilestedt immediately pooh-poohed and dismissed as " fake news ". There are dozens of other little bits. The running will-they won't-they battle over Anti-Tank mines , which for some reason players took against. The lovely day when the Helldivers cracked a Major Order at the very last minute and we all got awarded mechs . Mechs! The " T-pose of Democracy " glitch that players can use to avoid fall damage, which Arrowhead found so funny it's stayed in the game. The game got review-bombed over a Sony account controversy: Arrowhead made a cape commemorating it . Finally, as all of the above shows in some form, Helldivers 2 has a tone and it sticks to it. This is a comedy game that also takes itself seriously, and from the game's opening video you're sold on the galactic dystopia it presents, and the ludicrously bombastic ideals of Super Earth. Players talk to each other using the game's language, joke about reporting each other for infringements of democracy, and semi-inhabit the fiction outside of the game. Hell there's an official Super Earth anthem, and it really does make you want to jackboot some commie bugs into paste. Helldivers 2 has managed to tell a story that's quite unlike any other I've experienced in a game, and all we're really doing as players is going from planet to planet annihilating alien scum. None of this would work if the core of the game wasn't great, which it is, but what keeps me coming back for another quick session is catching up on where the Galactic War is at, what new wheezes my fellow Helldivers have cooked up, and what Arrowhead's saying and doing about everything. The whole game feels responsive and alive in a way that so few do and, while part of that is the excellent new content being added regularly, the community's engagement in everything that happens is what excites me most. Whatever the game's second year might bring, if it can keep troop numbers and morale as high as they are, then the sky is the limit.

Like the American “Golden Raspberry Awards” to honor the “worst” in contemporary cinema, the “ Sanddalki (Raspberry) Awards” has been an ongoing tradition since 2017, held by the South Korean media Sports Khan . In 2024, for the 8th Sanddalki Awards, Sports Khan conducted its annual survey of 51 movie and/or entertainment reporters from leading domestic media outlets. While 2024 was filled with unprecedented chaos, actors Jung Woo Sung , Youn Yuh Jung , and Jeon Do Yeon particularly stood out to these industry insiders as the worst-mannered. As Sports Khan expected, Jung Woo Sung received 22 votes and was named 2024’s worst-mannered actor. The voting reporters called out his actions involving model Moon Gabi and the extramarital son, as well as his flirtatious DMs with non-celebrity women. Noting the negative impact he brought upon the Korean movie business, the reporters blamed his multiple scandals as being ill-mannered to himself, his fans, and his career. Reporter comments included: “I’ll always remember how he took the Blue Dragon Awards and gave it a funeral vibe.” “I didn’t know he’d use his good looks this way. Taking responsibility for his child is his duty, but how will he rebuild the reputation he shattered in just three days?” “It’s unfortunate, especially when Korean cinema is already struggling, that public sentiment toward filmmakers is growing colder.” “ 12.12: The Day is one of my all-time favorite films, but he ruined it. No more rewatching for me!” 18 votes went to Oscar-winning actress Youn Yuh Jung. According to the voting reporters, Youn’s attitude at press interviews, especially the ones promoting her K-Movie Dog Days , was “rude.” At one point, Youn blamed the reporters for the death of the late Lee Sun Kyun . While her sadness was understandable, the reporters who participated in the interview were stunned by her baseless accusations. Additionally, there were numerous complaints about Youn Yuh Jung smoking during the interviews and speaking in an informal manner that belittled the reporters. Reporter comments included: “What kind of logic is it to say the reporters killed Lee Sun Kyun?” “No matter how great an actress she is, she should watch her words in an interview.” “Ma’am, there’s a fine line between honesty and rudeness.” “Please show respect and manners that match your global fame.” “If she’s going to get annoyed with every question, how are we supposed to do our job?” “Why does she always ask every reporter their age?” Actress Jeon Do Yeon came in third with 4 votes. In August 2024, the actress was blasted for her behavior toward comedian Yoo Jae Suk at a press conference for her K-Movie, Revolver . “Extra Rude” Actress’s Explanation For Her Behavior Toward Yoo Jae Suk Leaves More Unimpressed Reporters commented: “She’s so stubborn that she couldn’t take a joke as a joke. Instead, she had to make it awkward for everyone.” “So she wanted to use Yoo Jae Suk and his show for publicity, but she couldn’t take his jokes.” Other names mentioned include the late Lee Sun Kyun (for his multiple scandals leading up to his death), Kwak Do Won (for his DUI jeopardizing a movie release ), and Gong Yoo (for his past comments about dictator Park Chung Hee resurfacing amid South Korea’s recent political unrest). Read more about 2023’s Sanddalki Awards winners here: 7 Korean Celebrities Voted 2023’s “Worst Actors” By Movie Biz InsidersHealth In Tech Announces Closing of Initial Public OfferingTexans' Azeez Al-Shaair suspended 3 games without pay after violent hit on Trevor Lawrence

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