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88ph ICEYE expands its Earth Observation capabilities with launch of two SAR satellites for mid-inclination orbit on the Bandwagon-2 mission with SpaceX

Tax increases in the budget have made it harder for businesses to “take a chance” on hiring people, the head of the CBI says as the government prepares to announce big welfare reforms that aim to “get Britain working”. Rain Newton-Smith will tell business leaders on Monday that measures announced by Rachel Reeves last month are undermining the government’s mission to get people back into jobs. A CBI survey suggests that half of employers are looking to cut jobs since the £25 billion increase in their national insurance contributions was announced. The poll of 266 companies also suggests nearly two thirds are now reconsidering recruitment plans. In a speech to be given to the CBI conference, Newton-Smith says that business will be key to gettingHOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Texans made mistakes in every facet of the game Sunday against the Tennessee Titans to lose for the third time in four games. C.J. Stroud threw two interceptions, the defense gave up multiple big passing plays and Ka′imi Fairbairn missed a 28-yard field goal that would have tied it late in a 32-27 loss . “Just a disappointing loss for us,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We didn’t do anything well enough to win this game. Out of all the positives that we did have, there were way too many negatives, too many negative plays.” Jimmie Ward had a 65-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter and the Texans tied a franchise record with eight sacks. Danielle Hunter led the group with a season-high three sacks and Will Anderson Jr. added two in his return after missing two games with an ankle injury. But the offense sputtered for most of the game as Joe Mixon was held to 22 yards on 14 carries. But Ryans refused to blame the offense for the loss. “Our offense did plenty," Ryans said. "They gave us enough points. On defense, we have to be able to stop them.” Chig Okonkwo grabbed a short pass and rumbled 70 yards for a touchdown to put the Titans (3-8) up 30-27 with 91⁄2 minutes remaining. Safety Eric Murray missed a tackle that would have stopped him near midfield. It was the last of three big passing plays the Titans had Sunday. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine got in front of the defense and was wide open for a 38-yard TD catch that made it 10-7 late in the first quarter. Calvin Ridley had a 63-yard reception that set up their next touchdown in the second. “It was just way too many negative plays,” Ryans said. “Defensively, unexplainable explosives for touchdowns. We didn’t play good across the board and that starts with me.” Despite this, the Texans (7-5) had a chance to tie it with less than two minutes remaining, but Fairbairn’s short field-goal attempt sailed wide left. He fell to the ground after the miss before getting up and slamming his helmet on the field. “The most frustrating part about it is out of all the bad things that happened, we still had a chance to finish the game,” Ryans said. “Everything that could go wrong, it went wrong. We still had a chance there to tie it up and finish the game, and we didn’t.” The Texans forced a three-and-out, but couldn’t move the ball after that and Harold Landry sacked Stroud in the end zone for a safety to make it 32-27 and allow Tennessee to snap a two-game skid. Stroud threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns, but his two interceptions Sunday give him five combined in the past three games. He now has more interceptions in 12 games this season (nine) than he had in 15 games as a rookie last season (five). “It’s no secret that I haven’t been playing well ... I’ve got to be harder on myself,” he said. “I’m not going to hold my head down. I know I can be a great player, but I’ve got to make better plays.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Texans made mistakes in every facet of the game Sunday against the Tennessee Titans to lose for the third time in four games. C.J. Stroud threw two interceptions, the defense gave up multiple big passing plays and Ka′imi Fairbairn missed a 28-yard field goal that would have tied it late in a 32-27 loss . “Just a disappointing loss for us,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We didn’t do anything well enough to win this game. Out of all the positives that we did have, there were way too many negatives, too many negative plays.” Jimmie Ward had a 65-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter and the Texans tied a franchise record with eight sacks. Danielle Hunter led the group with a season-high three sacks and Will Anderson Jr. added two in his return after missing two games with an ankle injury. But the offense sputtered for most of the game as Joe Mixon was held to 22 yards on 14 carries. But Ryans refused to blame the offense for the loss. “Our offense did plenty," Ryans said. "They gave us enough points. On defense, we have to be able to stop them.” Chig Okonkwo grabbed a short pass and rumbled 70 yards for a touchdown to put the Titans (3-8) up 30-27 with 91⁄2 minutes remaining. Safety Eric Murray missed a tackle that would have stopped him near midfield. It was the last of three big passing plays the Titans had Sunday. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine got in front of the defense and was wide open for a 38-yard TD catch that made it 10-7 late in the first quarter. Calvin Ridley had a 63-yard reception that set up their next touchdown in the second. “It was just way too many negative plays,” Ryans said. “Defensively, unexplainable explosives for touchdowns. We didn’t play good across the board and that starts with me.” Despite this, the Texans (7-5) had a chance to tie it with less than two minutes remaining, but Fairbairn’s short field-goal attempt sailed wide left. He fell to the ground after the miss before getting up and slamming his helmet on the field. “The most frustrating part about it is out of all the bad things that happened, we still had a chance to finish the game,” Ryans said. “Everything that could go wrong, it went wrong. We still had a chance there to tie it up and finish the game, and we didn’t.” The Texans forced a three-and-out, but couldn’t move the ball after that and Harold Landry sacked Stroud in the end zone for a safety to make it 32-27 and allow Tennessee to snap a two-game skid. Stroud threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns, but his two interceptions Sunday give him five combined in the past three games. He now has more interceptions in 12 games this season (nine) than he had in 15 games as a rookie last season (five). “It’s no secret that I haven’t been playing well ... I’ve got to be harder on myself,” he said. “I’m not going to hold my head down. I know I can be a great player, but I’ve got to make better plays.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflNone

The tech world is always buzzing with new gadgets, but one of the most exciting pieces of hardware for gamers and creators alike is the graphic card . A quality graphic card can make all the difference in high-end gaming, 3D rendering, video editing, or graphic design. Thankfully, with seasonal discounts rolling in, upgrading or replacing an old card has never been a better time. Graphic cards, or GPUs, are a must-have in any PC. They have a role in rendering graphical aspects of games, videos, and even computations such as machine learning. Since technology is always in flux, the demand for powerful GPUs is at an all-time high. However, updating or buying a new graphic card is expensive, so seasonal sales would be a game-changer. Seasonal deals are excellent times when buying a good graphics card may not necessitate shelling out for the total. 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To take full advantage of seasonal discounts, it’s important to act fast. Popular models can sell out quickly, especially during the busiest sale periods. Setting a budget beforehand can help narrow down the options, ensuring that there is no temptation to overspend. The most important thing to check regarding the specifications of a card is whether it is appropriate for the current PC build. Other considerations include power supply capacity, enough space in the case, and connection ports. Many also offer bundles with other components in the form of a graphics card paired with CPUs, RAM, or even entire desktop setups sold at a discounted price. Another good tip is looking for several retailers offering the best deals. While some discounts may be available only in certain stores, other websites may offer bundled deals, free shipping, or even warranties that make the purchase more attractive. Graphic cards are long-term investments because, although other components have to get upgraded quite frequently, in the case of a well-built GPU, it tends to last several years of gaming and creativity. For the serious gamer who demands ultra graphics, newer models will be released sooner or later. However, grabbing a high-performance card that is much lower than the others is enough value alone. In addition, most retailers provide longer returns during the holiday season, ensuring buyers are assured. If a card doesn't meet expectations or is not as compatible as initially thought, then there is always a return policy or exchange. Seasonal discounts on graphic cards open up the opportunity to upgrade any PC without breaking the bank. Plenty of options are available, whether gaming, designing or simply boosting system performance. With major brands offering discounts across various models, now is the time to invest in a graphic card to enhance every gaming or creative experience. Don't miss out on these incredible deals; the perfect GPU for any task is just a click away.Malique Ewin finished with team highs of 17 points and seven rebounds to lead the Florida State Seminoles to a 92-59 victory over the Massachusetts Minutemen in each team's final game of the Naismith Hall of Fame Tip-Off on Sunday afternoon in Uncasville, Conn. The Seminoles (6-1) won their third consecutive game and went 2-0 in the event as they pulled away in the second half, leading by as many as 36 points. It's Florida State's best start since the 2019-20 season when it went 7-1. UMass (1-5) dropped its fifth in a row following a season-opening win over New Hampshire despite a strong game on Sunday from Jaylen Curry, who scored 17 points. Curry, with six free throws, helped propel the Minutemen on a 10-0 run over a four-plus minute span in the first half to take a 24-23 lead with 4:22 left. FSU closed the half on a 13-3 run to lead 37-27 at halftime. A 15-4 surge to open the second half helped the Seminoles break the game open. Florida State's defense frustrated UMass shooters throughout the contest, especially on the perimeter, limiting the Minutemen to 3-for-24 shooting (12.5 percent) from 3-point range and 18-for-58 (31 percent) overall. The Seminoles finished with 22 points off 17 UMass turnovers. On the flipside, Florida State had one of its best shooting games of the season. The Seminoles moved the ball well throughout the game and finished with 25 assists while only turning the ball over 10 times. The Seminoles shot 33 for 58 (57 percent) from the field and made 9 of 18 three-pointers to put together a season-high scoring output. Once again, Florida State shined thanks to its depth as 10 players scored and four scored in double figures. The Seminoles were able to have 16 players participate in the game as well. Jamir Watkins finished with 14 points while Jerry Deng and Justin Thomas each had 10 points. For UMass, Daniel Rivera finished with 12 points and six rebounds while Nate Guerengomba had 10 points. Daniel Hankins-Sanford collected a game-high 13 rebounds. --Field Level MediaIn the 28 years since the members of Coldplay met in their first-year dorm at University College London, each has, according to the band’s lore, played a certain role: Chris Martin is the creative genius, drummer Will Champion the voice of reason, guitarist Jonny Buckland the moral center, and bassist Guy Berryman the arbiter of cool. “Any coolness that Coldplay have at all comes from Guy,” confirms band manager Phil Harvey. “He’s a cool dude.” From afar, Berryman certainly appears that way — his eyes downcast, his dark hair mussed, his body swaying subtly, and his fingers moving with precision over his instrument — during the Australian leg of Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres tour, which just so happens to be the most attended tour of all time. But on the November afternoon when I meet him in the restaurant of his Sydney Hotel (part of my reporting for our January cover story on the band), he comes off as far more sincere and thoughtful than the “cool” label alone would suggest. Sitting at a corner table, with his back to impressive views of the Sydney opera house, he spoke slowly and softly, reminiscing on the band’s early days, considering their decades-long evolution, and speaking frankly on the chemistry that’s kept them together all these years. “We’re all very aligned with each other, the four of us,” he tells me. “What we have is unbelievably special.” I think you and I have some friends in common and might have run into each other in New York back in the aughts. I mean, it would’ve been one of those dark nights down in Black & White bar or wherever it was. That’s where it would’ve been. When we first started going to New York, we were hanging out with The Strokes, and there was a whole underground musicians kind of drinking scene there. Seems like another life. Yeah, I mean, it’s crazy. I always think how lucky we are. When we got into the music industry, it was before streaming. If you wanted to buy an album, you would go into a store and pay 20 bucks for a CD. The record companies would be making loads of money from acts like Robbie Williams, and then that money would filter down into the different imprint labels like Parlophone, and they would find bands like us and give us money and develop us. There was an infrastructure for so many more people to be artists and to have a career as a musician. Now anyone I know who is a musician, they have to have another job. Now record companies are interested in you turning up with something you’ve already written, produced, recorded. “And by the way, how many followers do you have on TikTok? And then maybe we’ll talk.” Editor’s picks The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time The 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time Well, is that one of the reasons why y’all bring on a bunch of local acts when you’re on tour? Yeah, I think we’re all acutely aware of how tough it is for people now to find an opportunity. You might be a really super talented musician but just not very good at social media. Or you might just be great at social media and you might become a star without anything of huge substance. So I guess it kind of works both ways. And I think we are acutely aware of the fact that we’re still going and we’re still played on mainstream radio stations after so long — we don’t take that for granted. I think that’s why when Chris [Martin] goes into cities, he wants to meet all of the local artists that are on the label and to just kind of connect with them. When you’re in a stadium playing “Yellow,” for instance, are you thinking back to whatever was happening when that song was written or do they sort of evolve in your mind? I think they do evolve. It’s always about being in the moment, performing to the best of your ability. And my job is really about micro-timing. My job is not to be the guy that’s bringing the entertainment or adding the color or whatever. Everything I do has to be like a lockstep. I have to listen to Will, and when his kick drum hits, my note has to hit at the same time. Related Content Chris Martin Has Known What the End Will Look Like for Coldplay Since 1999 How Coldplay Became Bigger, Happier, and More 'Coldplay' Than Ever Watch Dick Van Dyke Star in Coldplay's Music Video for 'All My Love' Coldplay Will Bring Some 'Moon Music' to the 2024 Billboard Music Awards But I do try and change the way I play songs. Even to this day, I will adjust the angle of my plectrum a little bit because I think I’m getting a slightly better timing in a song like “Yellow.” I’ll say, “Okay, if I do it this way, it sounds a bit tighter.” So for me, the challenge is just every night to go up there and play everything a little better than you’ve ever played it before. It’s a very mechanical job I have. I mean, you’ve talked a lot about what got you into music, but why specifically did you first pick up a bass? When I listen to music, I tend to listen to something that makes me want to move physically. I just really loved the rhythms of soul and funk — which went against the grain of what all of the other kids in school were listening to. All of that music is really coming from the rhythm section and the bass. If you think about Motown, it’s quite an amazing story. The songwriters would write a song on the piano, and then it would be given to the house band — they’re sort of loosely called The Funk Brothers — to then say, “Okay, what are the rhythms and arrangements we can add to this song that’s just been brought in,” for whichever artist was going to sing it. And those guys did all of this incredible work to create the sound and the feel and the energy of Motown. It’s only really in the last 10 years that those people have started getting credit for their role in developing that sound. And you knew that history then? Not really, I just felt the music. The first thing that I ever really connected with musically was when I was maybe six or seven, and I was in my sister’s bedroom and she had a cassette player and a box of cassettes, and I was just like, “What is this?” I put a cassette in it, and I pressed the button. I can remember that moment. It’s one of the clearest memories I have, the sound that came out of this thing. It was Stevie Wonder’s song, “My Cherie Amour,” and I was just transfixed by it. So I always loved that kind of music. And of course, that’s why I wanted to be a bass player, because I was into Motown and funk and James Brown. Also, listened to a lot of jazz when I was a teenager as well. There was a jazz bar in Canterbury, which was the city I grew up in. I would go there with my friend, Paul, when we were 16. It was the only place we could get served alcohol without anybody really asking any questions. We used to sit there and drink Guinness, smoke cigarettes, and listen to jazz trios. You’re the only member of Coldplay that dropped out of college, right? Yeah. We formed the band, and I was like, “Okay, I think we have something.” I really believed in it. I mean, it was complete, youthful, dumb naivety. I mean, you were right. I worked in a bar for a year so I could just do the band. I always played in groups in school, and it was great, but it was always instrumental because there was no one that ever really wanted to be a singer. So when I met Chris, I was like, “Fuck, he can sing, and he wants to sing.” I can stand in a stadium full of 80,000 people and play my bass and love every single moment of it, but if you put me in a room with 20 people and a microphone and I need to do a speech or something, I crumble inside. Karaoke is not your thing? Oh, fuck no. Being such a quiet, introverted nerd — which is how I would describe myself — it just felt so great to connect with somebody who had that extrovert magic. But were your parents losing their mind? Not really. We were doing quite well with the band and things were happening and they could see I was just in love with the process. And then when the guys finished their courses, we had a record deal on the table. What does the collaborative process look like right now versus back in the day? Well, Chris has always been in charge conceptually. He’s the songwriter, he’s bringing the ideas, the album titles. He’s writing from the heart, to which we edit and contribute and shape and discuss what goes on, what goes off. But he’s really kind of a creative powerhouse. The songs are credited to all of us. We were all such music nerds, and we saw some of our favorite bands just fall apart because they hadn’t structured themselves right, or this singer would be taking all the credit, taking all the money. I think we pitched it as a long game, like, “Okay, we’re going to do it together. We want everybody pulling in the same direction with the same amount of strength.” And that’s hard to do when you have somebody who’s getting super crazy rich and the other people [aren’t]. Then band members change, and when band members change, the chemistry goes. You lose something. So what we have is unbelievably special, the four of us. Like the other night in Melbourne, I got sick and for the first time in our history, one of us didn’t make the show. Which is actually amazing. Yeah, it’s amazing. It got to six o’clock in the evening, and I was trying to rally — I mean, we’ve all done shows where we’ve been super sick with flu or COVID or whatever, and you can do it. You take a bunch of meds and you get up there and it’s tough, but you do it. But I got food poisoning and my blood pressure dropped and I couldn’t stand up. I texted Chris and said, “Brother, I’m really worried. I don’t actually think I can do this.” So they had to formulate a plan, and of course the stadium was half full, and you can’t fucking cancel a stadium show. People have flown in from different countries. They’ve planned. They’ve booked hotels. They’ve paid a fortune for tickets on resellers. So we had to come up with a plan. Honestly, it got to the point where I knew it was showtime, and I was just laying in bed, thinking, “What have they figured out and how’s it all going to work?” The emotion of it really hit me, and I was just crying. It felt really super emotional. And then I suddenly realized, actually, however sad I was, in bed, feeling like shit, it must’ve been so fucking strange for [the other band members] being up there. I think it was the weirdest experience for them. I know you have a studio that travels with you where you work on new music. Is working on an album while on tour atypical? Yes and no. I mean, I don’t think we’ve ever kind of approached a new album like, “Okay, hey, let’s go in the studio because we need to start a new album.” We always have things which are left over from previous albums — they didn’t fit or we didn’t finish them or we didn’t unlock them. Sometimes you can’t quite get the song right. Sometimes it can take years for you to go, “Oh, okay, the rhythm was all wrong,” or “this chord was wrong,” or whatever. And that’s what you mean by unlock it? Yeah, it’s like a puzzle. I assume you just have to give up sometimes. Sometimes you do. When do you decide to give up? When you’ve tortured it mercilessly to death for several years, I think you have to let them go. And we’ve got so many things like that. I mean, I think one day there’s a project that we’ll do where we perhaps present those in an interesting way or something. “We’re kind of dinosaurs in the way that we still approach making albums, trying to make them something really designed to be listened to from beginning to end as a journey.” Chris has said that Coldplay will only put out two more albums. I’m glad to hear that that’s one of the ideas that’s percolating for the retirement period. Yeah, I know. I mean, Chris is such an unstoppable force of nature creatively, so let’s see what happens. There’s so many things that have crossed my mind, like, “Well, maybe the last album can come in five parts or something like that.” Really? I don’t know. I suppose there’s a certain amount of fear attached with that idea of the final thing, because how do you really know what you’re going to feel like when you get to that day? Do you feel apprehensive about it? I don’t know, really. At [a certain] point it’s kind of like, how much do you need to put into the world? For us now, there’s a whole chunk of people that are just kind of only interested in listening to our first two albums. And everything that we’ve done since then is invalid. There’s also people that don’t know our first two albums and only accessed us through the song we did with BTS . I don’t think we’ll ever stop touring. I think it’s really more about: What is an album? Who listens to albums? The whole landscape has really changed. It’s not even about songs now. It’s about 20 seconds of a song on TikTok that somebody sped up to twice the tempo or something. We’re kind of dinosaurs in the way that we still approach making albums, trying to make them something really designed to be listened to from beginning to end as a journey. There’s not many people consuming like that now. I think we appreciate the fact that any great story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. So, I think the idea is really to be in control of the end, somehow, rather than just fading away or not really having your heart in it or just going on too long. I guess the concept is to kind of stop before things change in any way, shape, or form. When you’re on tour like this, I imagine it’s like being an athlete. It’s a marathon. But have you had a chance in Sydney to just sort of go out and chill? So what’s great for me at the moment is for the last few years, I’ve had a fashion label, which is based in Amsterdam. I’ve never been somebody who goes out shopping to the kind of super fancy stores or the designer labels or whatever. But I like going to the thrift stores and the vintage stores and finding stuff. Have you found some stuff in Sydney? Oh my God, I found mountains. I’ve already sent five suitcases full of vintage back to the studio. In December y’all will have a break for a while. What will that look like for you? So I’ll go home and have a couple of weeks to reconnect with the family. I have an eighteen-year-old daughter, a six-year-old boy, and a three-year-old girl. The three-year-old is having a phase at the moment of extreme tantrums. I always thought that was the twos, right? People talk about the terrible twos, but she’s found her foothold in that kind of behavior, and there’s just no reasoning with her. So that’s where we’re at. How long do you go without seeing your family? Three weeks max. We’ve done this a long time, so we know that — I mean, I remember in the early days, I think it might have been on the third album, we did a nine-week tour of the States in a bus. Like sleeping in the bunks of the bus? Yeah. And you wake up in the venue and you go in and have a shower and take what you got to do. America’s big. For a British band to come and do the whole let’s-break-America thing, it’s like you’re going to basically 50 different countries, and you have to shake everyone’s hand and keep every radio station happy and do everything. When we were halfway through it, I remember thinking, “I don’t know how we’re going to do this.” And then by the end of it, I was just like, “I don’t know how we’re all still alive.” Back then there was no kind of fitness regime. We didn’t have any awareness of the concept of mental health. It was like we would just get on the bus, and there’d be stacks of pizza and fridges full of beer, smoking weed, all of the usual tropes. And that’s how we got through it. Brutal. It took a long time to learn that three weeks is the max we can go away, and then we need a certain amount of weeks off. And even within those three weeks, we know how many shows we can do, how many days off we need to place in there. So we’ve really got that dialed in. When did you start realizing what the plan should be to keep yourselves healthy? I don’t know. Things got a little out of hand for a while. And for me, it became quite problematic, just the lifestyle and partying and going out late and really not looking after myself. Which album would you say that was around? Oh, X&Y was the one where we had so much pressure on us from so many different angles. Because the first album came out, and it did really well but it was so quiet and acoustic. We were doing these shows and all these people were coming so it was like, “We need songs with a bit more energy.” And then the second album did really well — I think beyond people’s expectations — so by the time it came to the third album and we were doing quite big shows, we didn’t really know who we were supposed to be anymore. We kind of lost ourselves a little bit. And we lost our manager, Phil. He left. So we didn’t have his really important kind of embrace around us or guidance. It’s funny: I really think we’re a little bit too hard on that album, because I really think it’s a magical album in many ways. But the songs are like five, six, seven minutes long. It’s just this kind of bombastic nature of them. Chris always says he’d love to go back to that album because all it needs is editing, just cutting here and there, and then you’d have something which is what we should have done. But at the same time, I’m always skeptical of doing things like that because you’ll meet somebody who’ll say, “Well, X&Y is my favorite album.” I like that album a lot. I like it more now than I think I’ve ever done. I was listening to stuff the other day, thinking, “Wow, that’s really inventive. But it could have been three-and-a-half minutes long, not seven.” When you say you approached making music in a different way, what do you mean? I feel like we were willing to accept guidance and input from an external source rather than us being, “We are the ones in control of this. We have to do this all ourselves.” It’s probably a relief to sort of let go of that. But it wouldn’t have happened without Brian [Eno] because it needed to be somebody that we held in such high esteem, where it’s not like, “No, I don’t want to do that.” It’s like, “You’re Brian Eno. You’ve told us to do this. We’re going to fucking do it.” And it was interesting with him, because he made us do so many experimental things. A lot of which didn’t come to anything. What’s the most experimental thing he made you do? Well, I think the most important thing is that he made us all sing. Brian loves singing. He still, every week, has an a capella group in his studio. I’ve seen those videos of you singing in churches and stuff with him. Yeah, he made us all sing, and he always said we were the hardest working band that never did any work. What does that mean? Well, we would spend weeks in the studio and not really do anything. Whereas he would come in and say, “Right, I’ve got this idea. Let’s try this. We’re going to play six bars of this chord, three bars of that chord. We’re going to throw in one bar of this chord, and then we’re going to repeat it. And every time it repeats, I want you to do something different.” So we would have these kind of mathematical exercises that he would make us do. Sometimes we’d sit there, and we’d be going, “What the fuck?” Or sometimes we would do something and go, “Hang on a minute, there was a moment — four minutes into this hour-long thing that we’ve just done where most of it was terrible — there was a moment where something happened.” So he just really got us out of our kind of mindset that we’d gotten stuck in, I think. “Sometimes Chris will bring in something I don’t really get, but I trust his judgment. We used to fight and argue so much in the beginning, but now I feel like we’re closer than ever.” I know back in the day there was a lot of butting heads over songs and ideas. Now when a good song arrives, everyone just kind of knows that? Oh, no. No? Absolutely not. No. Sometimes a song is so obvious. Chris will bring something in, and it’s just like, ‘Wow, okay.” And it becomes our job to just basically not fuck it up. Or sometimes it’s kind of, “Okay, there’s something here. What does it need? How can we unlock the puzzle?” Or sometimes Chris will bring in something which I just don’t really get, but I trust his judgment. I feel like we used to kind of fight and argue so much in the beginning, but now I feel like we’re closer than we’ve ever been. And I also feel like we’re really starting to get into uncharted territory now in terms of what we’re doing with the show and the people and the feeling and the service that I think we are providing to people. I feel it’s so much bigger than me, and it’s so much bigger than us as a band, that we just kind of have this duty now — especially in this day and age — to provide an opportunity for people to congregate and just have a moment of joy where you can forget about whatever you were going through just for a couple of hours. I think it’s become something that’s beyond our control now, actually. When did it start feeling that way? I think this tour. I was flying over the night that Trump got elected. I was just kind of wondering what the vibe was like that night. Honestly, I don’t think the vibe was hugely different in the crowd. For me, as we were approaching the stage, I just felt like, “This feels more meaningful to be walking up on stage, doing this, continuing to do it, and we just got to keep doing it.” Do you have a favorite part of the show? I mean, the start of the show is always special. It never gets old, walking into the stadium and hearing the noise and the first moment where the drums hit. Let’s talk some about the tour’s sustainability initiatives. Well, look, some of the technology is more showcasing technology. Like these floors people jump up and down on, of course it’s generating energy. But I think we always thought the idea would be, “Well, what if there’s somebody who’s going to do a nightclub or a mall or something like that, and they can see that you can put things on the ground that capture people’s movements?” Then there’s the rechargeable batteries that power the show. There’s not really one thing you can do which makes a huge change, but when you put all of the initiatives together, that’s when it starts becoming meaningful. We have this amazing solar-panel material, which they roll out behind the seats now. I saw it last night. It’s an evolution, right? We’ve never said, “Okay, this is it. Done now.” If somebody says, “Hey, we’ve invented this new thing, and maybe it’s cool for the show,” we’ll look at it. And if it’s good, we will put it in and we’ll kind of keep adding to it. Does your 18-year-old recognize that her dad’s a rock star? Oh, for sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She’s super creative. She loves music, art. She loves the shows. And the little ones are starting to get an idea. They’ve seen pictures of me on stage. Sometimes they come to the show and watch a couple of songs before they get tired and have to be taken back to the hotel. So they’re starting to get a little bit of an idea that I’ve got a slightly unusual job. Or maybe it’s just normal to them. Well, that’s what I’m saying. I think it does get normalized. It does. But I live in Amsterdam, and it’s such a nice place to live because I feel like the Dutch are just so grounded and down-to-earth. I just feel like it’s a country full of normality and common sense. I really particularly like living there. I do want to go back to the retirement thing. You said there was a sense of sort of fear around it. Is that feeling sort of infused through what you’re doing? It’s not a prevalent thought or worry that I have in my mind. I still feel like we still have so much right in front of us with this tour, with the ambitions we have for the creative projects that are currently on the table, being thought about, being worked on. I think we’re still years away from any kind of retirement. But you have to have a plan. If you’re a runner and you’re running a marathon, you know you have to run 26 miles. But if somebody said to you, “Okay, start running and just don’t stop,” it’s quite hard to motivate yourself. I’ve heard y’all talk about getting to a point where you didn’t feel like you have to be perfect anymore, that it’s more about creating this space for people to have this experience. How did you get to that point? I think it’s just practice. I mean, I think we are really in uncharted territory. We are really kind of going through something together that I think nobody has done before, just in terms of the length of the career that we’ve had, the size of this tour, the love there is, and just the feeling that’s generated inside the stadiums — I don’t want to sound like I’m big blowing my own trumpet, but it just feels new to me. It feels like new territory. And it’s interesting: We talk a lot about retirement and ending, but there’s also a part of me that’s like, “Well, where else could this go?” Trending Stories Hawk Tuah Girl Breaks Silence After Meme Coin Crash and Class Action Suit Blake Lively Sues 'It Ends With Us' Co-Star Justin Baldoni for Sexual Harassment Millie Bobby Brown Gives Tearful Goodbye as 'Stranger Things' Wraps Production Tom Girardi Must Surrender to Prison Psych Exam, Judge Rules

Levis throws 2 TD passes to help Titans outlast Texans 32-27Rich countries' promise of $300 billion a year in climate finance brought fury at talks in Baku from poor nations that found it too paltry, but it also shows a shift in global political realities. The two-week marathon COP29 climate conference opened days after the decisive victory in the US presidential election of Donald Trump, a sceptic both of climate change and foreign aid. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.Trump threatens 100% tariff on the BRIC bloc of nations if they act to undermine US dollar

Topline Some Republican senators have indicated they’re undecided about whether they’ll vote to confirm President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, as questions are raised about her comments about Russia and interactions with foreign adversaries like Syria’s president. Key Facts What To Watch For Gabbard, or any of Trump’s nominees, can afford to lose only three Republican votes to be confirmed by the Senate, assuming all Democrats vote against the nominee, as the GOP will control the chamber with a 53-47 majority. Vice President-elect JD Vance would cast a tie-breaking vote if three Republicans vote no. Contra Some Republicans defended Haley against Democrats’ criticism on Sunday. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., told CNN Duckworth’s statement that Gabbard is “compromised” were “ridiculous and outright dangerous,” adding, “that’s the most dangerous thing she could say—that a United States lieutenant colonel in the United States Army is compromised and is an asset of Russia.” Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., told NBC it is “totally ridiculous” to characterize Gabbard as “an asset of another country,” calling it “insulting” and “a slur.” Who Is Tulsi Gabbard? Gabbard is a former Democrat who became an independent after leaving Congress, and announced last month she joined the Republican Party and was endorsing Trump. Gabbard, first elected to the Hawaii State House at the age of 21 in 2002, left after one term when she was deployed to Iraq with the National Guard. She was elected to Congress in 2013 and served until 2021. Gabbard ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 before dropping out of the race and endorsing President Joe Biden. She’s known for clashing with members of her party on foreign policy, often opposing foreign interventions—but drawing criticism for backing the views of Russia and other U.S. adversaries. In announcing she was cutting ties with the Democratic Party in 2022, Gabbard called it an “elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by radicalizing every issue.” Gabbard is perhaps best-known for clashing with Kamala Harris on the debate stage in 2019, when she noted Harris oversaw marijuana convictions while working as a prosecutor in California. What Has Gabbard Said About Russia? Gabbard has blamed NATO and the Biden administration for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, writing on X in 2022, “this war and suffering could have easily been avoided if Biden Admin/NATO had simply acknowledged Russia’s legitimate security concerns regarding Ukraine’s becoming a member of NATO.” She also criticized the U.S. for sending aid to Ukraine and baselessly accused the Biden-Harris administration of “prioritizing sending more weapons to Ukraine over the interests of the people of North Carolina” recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Helene, she wrote on X last month. In 2022, she said it was an “undeniable fact” that there are 25 U.S.-funded biolabs in Ukraine that could leak dangerous pathogens, as Russia baselessly accused the U.S. and Ukraine of operating biological weapons facilities as a pretext for its war in Ukraine (though Gabbard did not allege bioweapons were being made). What Has Gabbard Said About Assad? Gabbard said during a 2019 MSNBC appearance Assad—who used brutal tactics , allegedly including chemical weapons, to beat back a civil war, leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths—“is not the enemy of the United States” because Syria does not pose a direct threat to the United States. Gabbard later said she viewed Assad as a “brutal dictator.” She also brought a Syrian Kurdish leader , Ilham Ahmed, Co-President of the Syrian Democratic Council, as a guest to Trump’s State of the Union address in 2019. During her time in Congress, she quietly met with Assad in Syria, explaining she “felt that it’s important that if we profess to truly care about the Syrian people, about their suffering, then we’ve got to be able to meet with anyone that we need to if there is a possibility that we can achieve peace.” What Has Trump Said About Gabbard? Trump touted Gabbard’s military record in announcing the appointment on Nov. 13 in a statement: “For over two decades, Tulsi has fought for our Country and the Freedoms of all Americans.” Trump said, “Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights, and securing Peace through Strength.” Gabbard has criticized Trump in the past: She called Trump’s 2017 strikes on Syria “reckless,” and during a 2020 appearance on “Fox & Friends,” Gabbard called the killing of Soleimani an “act of war” and said Trump violated the Constitution by ordering the strike. Big Number 36%. That’s the share of respondents to a CBS/YouGov poll released Sunday who said Gabbard is a good choice for director of national intelligence, while 27% said she’s not good and 36% said they haven’t heard enough. Key Background Gabbard is one of several controversial, and surprising, Trump cabinet picks Republicans have expressed skepticism about, including former Fox News host Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services secretary. Trump announced his cabinet nominees at a rapid clip, largely completing the process Saturday with the nomination of Brooke Rollins, a former policy advisor during his first term, as agriculture secretary. As director of national intelligence, Gabbard would oversee 18 intelligence agencies and advise the president, National Security Council and Homeland Security Council on intelligence matters. Further Reading Trump’s Cabinet And Key Jobs: Brooke Rollins Tapped For Agriculture Secretary (Forbes) Most Americans Approve Of Trump Transition—As Controversial RFK Jr. Gets High Marks, Poll Finds (Forbes) What To Know About Tulsi Gabbard—Former Democrat Named Trump’s Director Of National Intelligence (Forbes)

Avalanche play the Lightning on 3-game win streak

Prince William's hilariously cheeky three-word nickname revealed by Mike TindallFrom a General Election which saw the political landscape change in the UK to shocking murder trials, a slump in tourism and a string of well-known high-street companies going bust, it has certainly been an eventful year. April might usually be the time for japes and when we start looking forward to summer, but this year there was a lot of serious news to contend with. Jake Hill, who murdered rugby player Michael Riddiough-Allen by stabbing him outside the Eclipse nightclub in last year, was . His co-accused, Tia Taylor, was sentenced to three years in jail after pleading guilty to manslaughter and perverting the course of justice. Chelsea Powell was convicted of perverting the course of justice and sentenced to 15 months in prison. was warned that the cash-strapped scheme to develop the Pydar area of could become its “own ” following discussions that an extra £10 million should be spent to ensure the Pydar development goes ahead. A Bodmin pub that won a coveted Pub of the Year award was stripped of the accolade after it emerged it had Nazi memorabilia on display. The by Camra Kernow – in part due to its unique decor but landlord Steve Hall came under fire after a complaint about “a swastika armband” even though it had been displayed for decades without any issue. Camra later reinstated the award following a . The Isles of Scilly Steamship Group came under fire because its new passenger ferry was being built in a shipyard in Vietnam and not the UK. The GMB trade union said it was an “absolute scandal” that the £42 million contract wasn’t given to a British firm, sharing the benefits with the local community which “needs the work”. The director of a national charity which campaigns to said Cornwall is "slow walking into a crisis as it is being left behind by a lack of action”. The Action on Empty Homes organisation said the number of empty homes is just the tip of the iceberg if the number of second homes, Airbnbs, holiday homes and other categories are taken into consideration. The charity, which has spent 30 years fighting for homes to be brought back into use, said that the number of empty homes in Cornwall is currently around 20,363, which equates to more than one in 14 properties. Protesters took to the as part of a continuing campaign against the planned release of tonnes of a mineral into the sea by Canadian company Planetary Technologies and South West Water as a way to fight climate change. Opponents of plans by Premier Inn to build a 90-room hotel in believed Cornwall Council's recommendation to approve the scheme was a total whitewash. The massive financial scale of the was revealed by administrators. At the end of January, work stopped on the controversial regeneration housing scheme after all companies involved went bust. Documents available on Companies House show that Sennybridge Ltd, the company through which the funds for the Hayle Harbour North Quay regeneration project flowed, racked up massive debts of more than £135.4m as of January 31, 2024. Truro when disposing of toxic asbestos and putting the health of its staff, contractors and the general public at risk when it and its director Paul Stephens pleaded guilty to offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in connection to the removal of asbestos from the former Cliffdene Hotel, on Narrowcliff in , ahead of its demolition in the summer of 2020. Former , 33, from was killed in an Israeli drone strike while providing security to a charity feeding starving children in Gaza. Meanwhile, figures showed that thousands of elderly patients in Cornwall waited more than 24 hours in A&E before being admitted to hospital in 2023. FOI requests submitted to hospital trusts by the showed 2,523 over-65s had to wait more than 24 hours in the ’s emergency department prior to admission.

(CNN) — Donald Trump has selected his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s father, Charles Kushner, to serve as the next US ambassador to France, the president-elect announced Saturday. Trump described Charles Kushner as a highly successful business leader, philanthropist and dealmaker, with deep experience in the real estate industry. “Charlie is the Founder & Chairman of Kushner Companies, one of the largest & most successful privately held Real Estate firms in the Nation. He was recognized as New Jersey Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, appointed to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, & served as a Commissioner, & Chairman, of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, as well as on the Boards of our top institutions, including NYU,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. Kushner was pardoned by Trump in 2020 after serving a prison sentence following a conviction on federal charges. This story is breaking and will be updated. The-CNN-Wire TM & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

Letter: Political CommentNo. 22 Xavier faces South Carolina St., eyes rebound from lone lossWalker shot 7 for 12, including 6 for 10 from beyond the arc for the Jaguars (4-5). Paul Zilinskas shot 5 for 9, including 4 for 7 from beyond the arc to add 15 points. DeSean Goode had 14 points and shot 4 of 5 from the field and 5 for 5 from the line. The Trolls were led in scoring by Tylan Harris, who finished with 11 points. Kaden Eirhart added nine points for Trinity Christian. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

New Maha cabinet: Fadnavis retains home, Shinde gets urban development, Ajit Pawar takes finance

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