Month: December 2024

Lauren Sánchez Gets Birthday Love from Kris Jenner, Eva Longoria and More: ‘Beautiful Inside and Out’  PEOPLE
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Woman convicted of animal neglect after animals seized from ‘deplorable’ York County home  WHP Harrisburg
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The Internet Archive is one of the very best things on the web, so it’s great that the repository is up and running again after recent DDoS attacks. It hosts more than old versions of web pages, though. It hosts a trove of video (I’m forever thankful to whoever uploaded the wonderful Lucha Underground in its entirety), software, text, audio recordings and games as well. There have been two notable additions on the latter front in the form of Unreal and Unreal Tournament, seemingly with the blessing of Epic Games.
You can now freely download disc images of the arena shooters from the Internet Archive via direct links for Unreal and Unreal Tournament. Alternatively, as Game Developer points out, the site OldUnreal offers installers for Unreal and UT, both of which pull the disc images from the Internet Archive and include the latest community-created patches.
The installers are Windows-only for now, but the OldUnreal team is working on Linux and macOS versions. You’ll also need to put in a little extra effort to get online with the games and savor their true multiplayer flavors. Heck, you might still even be able to join an Unreal clan.
Epic delisted the Unreal games from Steam and shut down their servers quite some time ago, so this is a nice boost for game preservation. It comes on the heels of GOG introducing a new label for older titles that the platform is maintaining for current hardware. Unreal was one of the first PC games I played as a kid, so it’s neat to learn that it will be available in perpetuity through the Internet Archive.
Bluesky will keep your old .bsky.social handle reserved after you verify your own domain.
YouTube has vowed to enforce stricter measures against clickbait videos that cover breaking news and current events.
These are all of the best gadgets Engadget editors bought this year, from wired headphones to to rice cookers to VR headsets.
We began the year with enormous hype around artificial intelligence, but that's cooled off.
The biggest news stories this morning: DJI evades US ban but has one year to prove its products aren’t a national security threat, The Steam Winter Sale is here to take all your money, Lenovo’s leaked ThinkBook Plus unrolls extra screen space.
Budgeting apps can help you keep track of your finances, stick to a spending plan and reach your money goals. These are the best budget-tracking apps available right now.
Here's the latest list of the most powerful and affordable laptops for gaming that students can also use for school, as reviewed by experts from Engadget.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has reached a settlement with Amazon about alleged hazardous workplace conditions at ten of the tech giant's facilities.
A study between Waymo and Swiss Re shows that Waymo Driver operated cars result in fewer insurance claims.
It's here! The Steam Winter Sale is underway now and runs through January 2.
A USB-C hub lets you plug in a monitor, peripherals, data drives and more. These are the best ones we tested.
Lenovo's next ThinkBook Plus laptop has leaked, and it looks like it will have an extendable, rolling display.
Meta's Movie Gen could arrive on Instagram sooner than later. Instagram’s top exec Adam Mosseri posted a short video previewing the kind of seamless AI edits that will eventually be possible.
Paramount Pictures has confirmed that it is working on Sonic the Hedgehog 4 and is targeting a theatrical release of spring 2027.
SpaceX’s satellite-to-cell Starlink texting service can now operate throughout New Zealand, thanks to the provider One NZ. There are, however, some serious limitations.
Sony has acquired ten percent of Kadokawa, making it the company’s largest shareholder. This comes after speculation that Sony was in talks to purchase the company outright.
Reviewers can no longer skip prompts outside their expertise.
Apple has complained regarding Meta’s numerous interoperability requests on the grounds of potential privacy risks. Meta does not agree.
Pick one up as a last minute holiday present for a loved one — or yourself.
Star Trek: Lower Decks ends with 'The New Next Generation,' a fitting finale for the best Trek of the streaming era.
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Dubai, UAE, December 20th, 2024, Chainwire

BNB Chain, the community-driven blockchain ecosystem that includes the world’s largest smart contract blockchain by daily transactions, has announced the return of the Memecoin Daily competition Series for Round 2. From December 24 to December 31, 2024, BNB Chain will once again spotlight the ecosystem’s top-performing memecoins by purchasing 33 BNB worth of tokens each day and airdropping them to 1,000 BNB and CAKE holders.
Key Dates
Round 2 builds on the success of the first Memecoin Daily Airdrop Series. Some of the winning projects from Round 1 included AlCell, MONKEY, and FROG, which earned spots on the Binance Alpha Watchlist. This second round offers another chance for memecoins to shine and for community members to engage with the BNB Chain ecosystem.
Daily Competition Period and Eligibility Criteria:
Each day, the top-performing memecoin on BNB Smart Chain will be selected based on three key metrics:
A real-time leaderboard will track these metrics, ensuring transparency and fairness in the competition. The daily winner will see 33 BNB worth of its tokens purchased by BNB Chain and airdropped to winners. 
The airdrop is open to all BNB and CAKE holders meeting these criteria:
The Memecoin Daily competition offers memecoins a platform to gain recognition, engage with the broader blockchain community, and drive innovation within the BNB Chain ecosystem. To learn more and follow the competition, users can visit here.
About BNB Chain
BNB Chain is a community-driven blockchain ecosystem that is removing barriers to Web3 adoption. It is composed of:
Setting a high bar for security, the AvengerDAO community protects BNB Chain users while Red Alarm provides a real-time risk-scanner for Dapps. The ecosystem also offers a range of monetary and ecosystem rewards as part of its Builder Support Program.
For more, users can follow BNB Chain on X or start exploring via their Dapp library.

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Breakfast links: DC’s population continues its post-pandemic rebound  Greater Greater Washington
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The “nicest man in stand-up” is getting into the holiday spirit this Christmas with a comedy special.
“Nate Bargatze’s Nashville Christmas,” a variety show that aired Thursday evening on CBS featuring Bargatze’s stand-up and some musical guest appearances, was recorded at the Grand Ole Opry House in November — a location close to the Nashville, Tennessee-born comedian’s heart.
Produced with “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels, the collaboration marks Bargatze’s first primetime TV program. The hour-long special follows Bargatze’s two hosting stints on “SNL” in 2023 and 2024.
Didn’t tune in but still want to watch the program? Here’s everything you need to know about “Nate Bargatze’s Nashville Christmas.”
The show aired on Thursday, Dec. 19 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
It is not available to stream yet on Paramount+ Essential.
Bargatze was joined by a variety of stars, including musicians Darius Rucker, Carrie Underwood, Noah Kahan and Jelly Roll.
Comedians Mikey Day and Ashley Padilla also made appearances.
Yes. The special is rated TV-PG.
Yes, Bargatze has released four stand-up specials to date, including “Nate Bargatze: Full Time Magic (2015),” “Nate Bargatze: The Tennessee Kid (2019),” “Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American (2021)” and “Nate Bargatze: Hello World (2023).”
Bargatze’s newest special “Your Friend, Nate Bargatze” is slated to come to Netflix on Dec. 24, the first of a two-special deal. The second program will follow in 2025.
Earlier this month, Bargatze announced his 2025 66-date “Big Dumb Eyes World Tour,” which will stop in cities across North America, Europe and The Middle East before closing out in Nashville on Dec. 13, 2025.

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Web-based gaming platform Ray Browser has raised $6.5 million in a new investment round. 
The company describes itself as a browser specifically designed for high-end, web-based gaming. The funds will be used to develop the platform, expand its team and cultivate industry partnerships to foster growth. 
The company has also recruited ex-Supercell global expansion lead David Diaz as its new chief commercial officer.
The company’s investment round saw participation from Play Ventures, Samsung Next, Spatial Capital, FOV Ventures, and a16z Speedrun. 
Web gaming future
“This current round of funding opens the doors for Ray Browser to continue development, expand the team with key hires, and secure partnerships with new developers and gaming studios,” said Ray Browser CEO Jaakko Manninen.
“As proof we have just hired our new CCO David Diaz, who brings a wealth of industry experience (Supercell, Mbrace and Fyber) and growth strategies to the team.”
CCO David Diaz added: “Great games like Squadblast and Stumbleguys have already proven the success of browser-based gaming, and we have a huge opportunity to be the preferred platform for both players and developers.
“For modern multi-tasking gamers especially, Ray Browser is a single solution where they can play, create, work, and brow

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Indiana vs. Notre Dame: How to watch NCAA Football this weekend  Yahoo Sports
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ZitoBox Casino | Get Free Coins At Sign-Up  Play NY
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We have previously discussed how the AI-oriented plot point was presented in the central narrative of the Good Night World anime series, where a personal tragedy and the overbearing presence of grief and guilt led to the creation of the AI entity Black Bird. Despite the character being projected as the series antagonist, the Black Bird raised some topical questions about human egocentrism, the nature of humanity, and life itself. But even that was not the best use of an AI-oriented narrative device in the series, that came through the character of Captain Pico, the pirate leader in the augmented reality of PLANET. It is through her characterization that Good Night World gains a major relatability factor, and the way her arc is ended through an ambiguous resolution makes for an interesting discussion as well.
Spoilers Ahead
The viewers are introduced to Captain Pico as the quirky, headstrong guildmaster of the pirates, the biggest community in the virtual world of PLANET. While the majority of the other characters, like her second-in-command Shigatera, have set their sights on the elusive grand prize known as Black Bird or invested in upskilling their game personas, Pico is not remotely interested in any of that. She is single-mindedly invested in recruiting Ichi (Taichiro’s in-game character), her oldest friend in PLANET, and in order to do that, she is prepared to clash with the strongest group in the game, the Akebana family, of which Ichi is currently a member.
However, despite her best efforts, Pico fails to defeat the Akebana family but finally reunites with Ichi after five long years. It is through a flashback sequence that it is shown that Ichi was the first character in PLANET whom Pico befriended, and the duo had ventured on a number of adventures together before eventually parting ways. To know the reason for the duo drifting apart from each other and what Pico truly feels about the make-believe world of PLANET, we have to sneak a peek at the ‘real’ person behind the character, Hinaka Sakurai.
Through multiple flashback sequences, viewers get to know about the person whose virtual world counterpart is Captain Pico, and like a majority of other players, she and her PLANET character are almost totally polar opposites of each other. Unlike the jubilant, sassy Pico, Hinaka Sakurai is an extremely reserved, lonely, and broken teenager who is overburdened with the antics of her extremely controlling freak mother. Belonging to the affluent family of a known crime boss already isolated her from the majority of her peers, and with the constant monitoring of her mother, Hinaka gradually became a shell of a human being. Finally, after taking a day off with some of her friends, Hinaka manages to muster some courage to rebel against her mother, which was the reason she started to play the game in the first place.
From this perspective, Hinaka’s predicament can be compared to Taichiro, as in virtual reality, both of them were living the life they were supposed to if reality hadn’t disappointed them. Broken and dejected, both of them found solace in each other’s presence, but their worldview regarding the real world differs a lot. While Taichiro holds the opinion that the real world is irredeemably corrupted and therefore shuts himself away from it, using PLANET as an escape module, Hinaka accepts the real world despite all the pain and suffering she had to endure, as she firmly believes that no wonder of the virtual world can ever substitute the real one. At the same time, she is aware of the bitter truth that for most of the players, like many among her pirate group, PLANET is the only coping mechanism—and the fact that Ichi’s real-world counterpart is also morbidly addicted to the game for the same reason as well. With time, Hinaka gradually fell for Ichi, and her willingness to meet with his counterpart in real life caused Taichiro to cut ties with Hinaka earlier, despite him feeling the same for her, as he was scared of getting emotionally attached.
Hinaka’s experience in PLANET solidified her belief about the hollowness of the virtual world even more, and although she wanted to know Ichi in real life and was prepared to leave PLANET forever to do so, she dare not say that to him a second time, fearing separation once again. But as she repeatedly pleaded with Ichi to join the pirates, she told him about her feelings regarding the virtual world, and to her surprise, Ichi didn’t seem to mind that much; instead, he was prepared to join her group at the end. Hinaka knew that to really live his life to the fullest, Ichi needs to love his life in the real world as well, which she might have helped him to do. Unfortunately, reality strikes just when it seems that things are going to get better, and Hinaka’s world falls apart in the worst possible way.
In order to defeat her second-in-command Shigatera, who had gone rogue, Hinaka, aka Captain Pico, goes into the captain’s cabin in the pirate group’s attack aircraft, where she meets Shiro Akebana, who, unbeknownst to her, is the virtual avatar of Taichiro’s father, Kojiro, who had developed the PLANET and every associated system. She initially assumes that the reason for his arrival is to take Ichi back or defeat the pirates by taking the guild flag, but it turns out he has a much more sinister revelation to make. Kojiro reveals that Hinaka is the strongest power core of the Black Bird, a sub-AI developed to enhance the gaming experience of other players. None of her memories are real; even her identity is constructed from the digitized memory of the real Hinaka Sakurai, who is the sister of Kamuro, Kojiro’s subordinate.
To save the world from the eventual uprising of Black Bird, Kojiro has arrived to hunt down Pico, like he did to many other subAIs through the years. The unbearable truth is that the life she lived was a lie. While pining for comfort in the real world, she herself was an object designed to mimic reality, which crushed Pico’s spirit in the worst possible way, and in shock, she almost became catatonic. The irony of the most sensible person in the series when it comes to dealing with escapism turning out to be an automation who is twice removed from reality (sentient AI in a virtual world) is unmistakable. Shiro puts her out of her misery by dealing a fatal blow, and she breathes her last. He desperately wants to hear her last words. Pico’s final words turn out to be professing her love for Ichi, and out of all the atrocious acts Kojiro conducted through the series, revealing Pico’s truth is easily the worst one.
Although Captain Pico was decommissioned during the interaction with Shiro, it is hinted that Hinaka’s AI consciousness still lived on with Black Bird. When Taichiro sends his AI consciousness of Ichi into the bird cage to save his brother Asuma, one of the forms of Black Bird attaches itself to him, which is undoubtedly Pico’s disembodied consciousness. During the end of the series, when the Black Bird prime, Sasumata, has finally been taken down, viewers see Ichi finally meeting with Hinaka and instinctively recognizing her as Pico’s user. It can be assumed that at long last, despite all the trauma she went through, Hinaka’s AI received some form of closure by reuniting with the person she loved—that is, if the incident isn’t taking place on yet another illusory plane.

 
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