The logo for HBO is pictured during the HBO presentation at the Cable portion of the Television Critics Association Summer press tour in Beverly Hills, California August 1, 2012. REUTERS/Fred Prouser
WarnerMedia's HBO Max streaming service gained subscribers over the holidays, defying the slowing pace of growth of some competing services, with lineup that included the rebirth of its popular "Sex and the City" series and new films such as "The Matrix"Resurrections.
HBO ended the year with 73.8 million subscribers to its streaming service and its eponymous cable network, up from 69.4 million in September.
Those gains, coupled with the addition of nearly 900,0000 monthly paid phone subscribers, pushed the stock up 3% to $ 26.46. in the midday exchanges.
“I think the streaming service's cap is much higher than what we've seen to date,” WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said in an interview.
“This will quickly become a three-way race for storytelling companies.
HBO Max still has a long way to go to capture market leader Netflix Inc, with 214 million subscribers, and Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) Disney +, with 118 million. Disney's growth slowed in the company's fiscal fourth quarter, prompting a banker to downgrade the stock. Disney + added just 2.1 million in the October quarter. Netflix, which slowed sharply in the first half of 2021, saw its subscriptions increase in October, adding 4.4 million during the quarter, driven by the global sensation “Squid Game".
WarnerMedia's HBO Max logged gains as it expanded the server reach from a single market, the United States, to 46 countries. Kilar said global expansion will continue this year, eventually targeting 190 countries.
AT&T (T.N) announced last May that it would split its WarnerMedia unit and merge it with Discovery (DISCA.O). The deal is expected to be finalized in the middle of this year.
Biden extended a student-loan-payment pause an additional three months through May 1.
He said borrowers should use this extra time to prepare for the resumption of payments.
But some lawmakers and advocates said this extra time should be used to cancel student debt.
Last month, President Joe Biden gave 43 million federal student loan borrowers an additional three-month Christmas present.
While the president said borrowers should use this extra time to prepare for resuming payments on May 1, some lawmakers and advocates have said it should be used to write off student debt instead.
“As we take this step, I also call on all student loan borrowers to do their part: make full use of the resources of the Department of Education to help you prepare for the resumption of payments; examine options for reducing payments through income repayment plans; explore the public service loan remission; and make sure you're vaccinated and boosted when you're eligible, ”Biden said in December.
Leading lawmakers on the massive student debt cancellation have applauded Biden's extended suspension of payments. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Massachusetts Representative Ayanna Pressley said in a statement the hiatus allowed borrowers to "make ends meet" and pay for basic necessities, but they still wants Biden to carry out his loan forgiveness campaign.
"We continue to call on President Biden to take executive action to write off $ 50,000 in student debt, which will help close the racial wealth gap for borrowers and accelerate the recovery of our economy," said the legislators.
Yesterday President Biden announced he was extending the pause of student loan payments for 90 days.
Supporters of student loan cancellation agree. Natalia Abrams, president of the Student Debt Crisis Center, said in a statement that the Omicron variant is "a chilling reminder that the pandemic is still a serious concern and that Americans cannot be crushed by student debt as they shoulder this health and economic crisis.
While Biden has pledged during his campaign to approve a $ 10,000 student loan forgiveness, he has yet to deliver on that promise, and some lawmakers have said it could cost the majority over Democrats in the 2022 midterm election.
Alexandria OcasioCortez of New York said last month that it was "really illusory" to think Democrats can be re-elected if they don't act on priorities voters, such as student debt.
Vice President Kamala Harris addressed supporters' concerns in a “Face the Nation” interview late last month, he said. must continue to be "vigilant" on the issue, but has not provided for specific means to obtain relief for borrowers.
“Well, I think we need to keep doing what we're doing and figure out how we can creatively relieve the pressure students are feeling because of their student loan debt,” Harris said.
Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes leaves federal court in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Nic Coury) (AP Photo/Nic Coury / AP Newsroom)
The California jury on the criminal fraud case against Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes says she is stuck on 3 of the 11 charges she faces. The panel, made up of eight men and four women, sent a notice to the judge on Monday stating that they could not reach a unanimous verdict on the seventh day of deliberations on Holmes' fate. The jury was still able to decide on the remaining eight points. This story is in progress and will be updated.
Holmes, 37, has been charged by federal prosecutors on nine wire transfer fraud cases and two wire transfer conspiracy cases for misleading investors and patients with her company's failed blood testing technology. Any charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Holmes has pleaded not guilty on all charges and stood in defense during the trial, admitting he was sorry but denied cheating on anyone.
She also accused her ex-boyfriend and former Theranos Chief Operating Officer, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, of allegedly misleading her about the effectiveness of Theranos technology, and charged him with emotional and sexual abuse.
Balwani faces his own trial next year over his alleged Holmes, who founded Theranos at the age of 19 after dropping out of Stanford University and baffling Silicon Valley and investors with the promise that Theranos technology would work with just a few Drops of blood from a patient could diagnose a variety of diseases instead of the traditional blood vessels drawn from the patient.
The young entrepreneur became a billionaire on paper after he rose more than $ 900 million in investors, but it began to solve 2015 after the Wall Street Journal exposed that Theranos using traditional machines for its testing rather than its own technology.
Flaws in the health care startup's technology were also found, indicating that Theranos' own diagnostics were not accurate.
Holmes was indicted in 2018, the same year Theranos shut down.
On Location: January 3, 2022Catch up on the developing stories making headlines.Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
Former President Trump's eldest son and daughter have refused to comply with New York State Attorney General's subpoenas while conducting a civil investigation into the valuation of their assets by the family-owned real estate company.
"A dispute has arisen between the public prosecutor's office and the individual parties to Trump over the subpoenas," said a document published on Monday.
The document, jointly filed by New York attorney general Letitia James and a Trump Organization attorney, states that Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump are now named as suspects in James' ongoing investigation, which parallels a criminal investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump will file motions to quash the subpoenas as soon as Monday, the filing indicated.
The former president and his company have denied the wrongdoing and attacked the investigation as a policy.
The previous criminal investigations have led to indictments. Prosecutors said the company paid Weisselberg's rent, living expenses, private school fees and car leasing without properly filing its tax return.
The personal twitter account of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has been permanently suspended for violating the social media site's COVID-19 misinformation policy, the company said Sunday.
WIN MCNAMEE VIA GETTY IMAGES
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene's personal Twitter account has been permanently banned after repeatedly violating the social media site's COVID19 disinformation policy, the company said on Sunday.
The far-right Georgia Republican got the boot following what was her fifth suspension from the social media platform, resulting in her permanent deletion according to Twitter's COVID-19 guidelines.
"We have made it clear that as part of our strike system for this policy, we will permanently block accounts for repeated violations of the policy," a Twitter spokesman told HuffPost.Georgia’s 14th Congressional District remained active through Sunday. Greene replied on Twitter on Sunday calling him "an enemy of the United States".
Okay, I'm going to show America that we don't need them and that it is time to defeat our enemies. They cannot successfully complete a communist revolution when people tell the truth, She said in a statement.
Greene's personal Twitter account was last suspended for a week in August when she tweeted that COVID-19 vaccines are “failing” and that “the FDA shouldn't approve Covid vaccines.
Greene posted on social media on Saturday a list of reasons America "is no longer free" due to the coronavirus pandemic. A spokesperson for Greene told HuffPost that was the job she was penalized for. His list included, among other lies, that "unvaccinated healthy people are an underclass" and that wearing this mask makes children sick and "ruins their natural learning." Vaccination mandates are multiplying. This post remained visible on his Facebook account until Sunday morning.
After years of fighting between governments for truly climate-friendly investments, the European Union has drawn up plans to label some natural gas and nuclear power projects as "green" investments.
The European Commission is expected to propose rules in January to decide whether nuclear and gas projects are included in the EU's “sustainable finance taxonomy”.
This is a list of the economic activities and environmental criteria that must be met in order to be labeled as a green investment.
By restricting the “green” label to really climate-friendly projects, the system aims to make these investments more attractive for private equity and to stop “greenwashing”, in which companies or investors exaggerate their eco-friendly credentials.
Brussels has also taken steps to apply the system to some EU funds, which means the rules could decide which projects are eligible for specific public funding.
A draft of the Commission's proposal, seen by Reuters, would label investments in nuclear power plants as green if the project has a plan, resources and location to dispose of radioactive waste.
In order to be considered green, new nuclear power plants must obtain a building permit before 2045.
Investments in natural gas power plants are also considered green if they emit less than 270 g of CO2 equivalent per kilowatt hour (kWh), replace a more environmentally harmful power plant with fossil fuels, receive a building permit by December 31, 2030 and it is planned to switch to low-carbon gases by the end of 2035.
Gas and nuclear generation would be labeled green as they are "transitional activities" defined as those that are not fully sustainable but have emissions below the industry average and do not contain environmentally harmful assets. .
"Taking into account current scientific advice and technological progress, as well as the different transition challenges between Member States, the Commission believes that natural gas and nuclear energy play a role in facilitating the transition to a predominantly renewable future," the European Commission said in a statement.
To help states with different energy backgrounds make the transition, "under certain conditions, solutions that don't look 'green' at first glance can make sense," a commission source told Reuters, adding that the solutions are investments in gas and nuclear power would be subject to "strict regulations".
EU countries and a panel of experts will analyze the draft proposal, which could change, before it is published at the end of January.
Once published, most EU countries or the European Parliament could vetoed it .
The policy has been mired in lobbying from governments for more than a year and EU countries disagree on which fuels are truly sustainable.
Natural gas emits around half of coal's CO2 emissions when burned in power plants, but gas infrastructure has also been linked to methane leaks, a potent EU adviser had recommended that gas-fired power plants shouldn't be labeled as green investments unless they hit a lower emission limit of 100g CO2e / kWh based on deep cuts in deep emissions scientists say are needed to avoid disastrous climate change.
Nuclear power produces very low CO2 emissions but the Commission sought expert advice this year on whether the fuel should be deemed green given the potential environmental impact of radioactive waste disposal.
Some environmental campaigners and Green EU lawmakers criticised the leaked proposal on gas and nuclear.
“By including them… the Commission risks jeopardising the credibility of the EU’s role as a leading marketplace for sustainable finance,” Greens president Philippe Lamberts said.
Austria opposes nuclear power, alongside countries including Germany and Luxembourg. EU states including the Czech Republic, Finland and France, which gets around 70% of its power from the fuel, see nuclear as crucial to phasing out CO2-emitting coal fuel power.
China will cut subsidies for New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) such as electric cars by 30% in 2022 and withdraw them all by the end of the year, the Treasury Department said on its website.
The subsidies for NEVs would be reduced by 10%, 20% and 30% respectively from 2020 to 2022. For NEVs for public transport, subsidies are to be reduced by 10% in 2021 and 20% in 2022.
China, the world’s biggest auto market, has set a target for NEVs, including plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, to make up 20% of auto sales by 2025.
Global automakers such as Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE), General Motors Co (GM.N), Toyota Motor Corp (7203. T) and Tesla Inc (TSLA .O) increase production of electric vehicles in China.
NIO (NIO.N) said on Friday that buyers of its ES8, ES6 and EC6 vehicles having posted a deposit before December 31, 2021 and taking delivery of their purchases before March 31, 2022, can still benefit from subsidies under the the 2021 Plan.
Any loopholes in the 2022 policy would be borne by the Shanghai-based company, he said.
The ministry also said that China will strengthen supervision of safety issues of NEVs to prevent accidents. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers previously estimated in December that NEV's sales in China would increase 47% to 5 million in 2021.
Germany's new government will offer personal and business tax breaks worth at least 30 billion euros ($ 34.1 billion) during this legislative period, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Sunday.
“We will relieve people and small and medium-sized businesses by significantly more than 30 billion euros,” Lindner told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. Noting that the budget for 2022 was drawn up by the previous government under Chancellor Angela Merkel, Lindner said his 2023 plan will include reliefs such as contributions to pension insurance and the end of an electricity price surcharge.
Meanwhile, Lindner, leader of the fiscally cautious Free Democrats (FDP), said he had asked his cabinet colleagues to review the spending projects of their ministries.
“We have to go back to sound public finances. We have a responsibility towards the younger generation,” he said.
Lindner stated one manner to make financial savings would be to scrap the development of a new authorities terminal at Berlin’s BER airport, set to cost 50 million euros. He recommended a temporary constructing may be used permanently.
The minister is likewise making plans a tax invoice to assist organizations deal with the continuing coronavirus pandemic, along with permitting them to offset losses in 2022 and 2023 in opposition to income from previous years.
Due to the pandemic, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's ruling coalition agreed to use an emergency clause in the constitution for the third year in a row in 2022 to suspend debt limits and authorize new loans of $ 100 billion euros.
From 2023, the coalition aims to revert to the debt brake rule in the constitution which limits new loans to a small fraction of economic output.
Health experts warned Americans on Thursday that a rising tide of COVID19 cases, led by the Omicron variant, threatened major disruptions in their lives, from schools to shopping, and urged them to prepare now for a challenging month.
The United States had a record seven-day average of new cases, with more than 290,000 new infections reported daily, a Reuters tally showed.
According to the record, at least 18 states and Puerto Rico have set pandemic records for new cases. Maryland, Ohio and Washington, DC also saw record hospital admissions as U.COVID hospital admissions rose 27%.
The increase is due to an increase in vacation travel as New Years celebrations are yet to come and schools grapple with students returning to classrooms after the winter break.
"We will see the number of cases in this country rise so dramatically that it will be difficult for us to keep everyday life going," said Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert from the University of Minnesota, told MSNBC.
"Next month is going to be a viral blizzard," he said. "It is putting pressure on society as a whole. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease official, said Wednesday that cases are likely to increase by the end.
" He and other U.S. health officials said early data shows Omicron appears less severe, but they have continued to push for vaccines, masks, and physical distance.
Services, schools and retailers among others in the coming weeks. "We have to be very careful not to underestimate Omicron too much," said Dr. Peter Hoetz, an infectious disease expert at Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN.
It is also worrying that healthcare workers are being marginalized with their own COVID cases as well as less effective therapies, said Hoetz.
"We are at a pretty serious time. As early as early 2020, 825,663 people in the United States have died of COVID, the data showed, with the latest wave of hospital admissions for the unvaccinated being driven.
" President Joe Biden announced new news this month. plans to tackle the Omicron-powered wave, including federal reinforcements to hospitals and more testing, but some experts say it's too little and too late.
So far, however, the economy appears to be stable, even if some economists are cautioned. While air traffic was largely disrupted and stores closed and events canceled in some troubled areas, other measures such as the Christmas sales were maintained.
The labor market is also holding up: the new applications for state unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in the pandemic era, the Ministry of Labor announced on Thursday. small businesses, he said he expected the first week of January to be slower than Omicron's forecast.
"The rest of January will likely depend on state and community health policies and epidemiological data," Greenberg told Reuters. Keys, especially for working parents, with systems in Washington and New York promising to stay open with further testing.
Education Minister Miguel Cardona admitted the problem was staffing but urged schools to take measures to keep the children in classrooms. Unlike last year's closings, “we now have better tools. They should stay open, ”he told MSNBC, adding that federal funding continues to be available to increase staffing levels and testing.
In the meantime, some universities have postponed their next semesters or have gone online. "We have light at the end of the tunnel," said Osterholm. “But now you have to duck.
Samsung has commenced teasing its subsequent flagship cellphone SoC — predicted to be known as the Exynos 2200 — in advance of a January eleventh statement with a tantalizing tidbit of information: the brand new chipset will function a GPU powered through AMD’s RDNA 2 pics architecture, higher regarded for powering the subsequent-gen pics at the Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, and AMD’s RX 6000-collection pics cards.
Of course, for the reason that the Exynos 2200 may be powering a cellphone, the brand new GPU won’t be magically allowing subsequent-gen pics on par with the maximum effective consoles and gaming PCs.
But it probable will allow a few upgrades in pics, along with something different improve Samsung has up its sleeve for its modern flagship chip.
A successor to the 2021 Exynos 2100, the Exynos 2200 is expected to power some of Samsung's top performing phones in 2022, including the alleged Galaxy S22 and S22 Ultra. Limited to international models of their upcoming flagships, with the US variants presumably configured for the recently announced Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset from Qualcomm.
Fortunately, we don't have to wait long for more details on the Exynos 2200 (or whatever Samsung calls it) as the company promises an official debut on January 11th.
The cyber espionage group APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) Blackwell has been targeting Japanese companies with a new type of malware that researchers call "Flag pro". Second level malware and run it.
Breaching corporate networks
The chain of infection begins with a phishing e-mail that was developed for the target organization and pretends to be a message from a trusted partner.
The e-mail contains a password-protected ZIP or RAR attachment with a Microsoft Excel file [.XLSM] linked to a malicious macro. Running this code creates an executable file in the Flag pro home directory.
When it first runs, Flagpro connects to the C2 server over HTTP and sends the system identification details obtained by executing hard-coded operating system commands.
In response, the C2 can send additional commands or a second-level payload that Flag pro can execute.
An example of a sent commandSource: NTT Security
Communication between the two is base64 encoded, and there is also a configurable delay between connections to avoid creating an identifiable operating model.
Communication between Flagpro and the C2Source: NTT Security
Flagpro has been used against Japanese companies for more than a year, at the latest since October 2020, according to a report by NTT Security.
The most recent samples the researchers were able to obtain are from July 2021. The target companies are from a variety of industries, including defense, media and communications technology.
Flagpro v2.0
At some point in their analysis, NTT researchers noticed a new version of Flag pro that can automatically close relevant dialog boxes to make external connections that could reveal their presence to the victim.
"In the Flag pro v1.0 implementation, if a dialog box titled 'Windows セ キ ュ リ テ ィ' appears when Flagpro is accessing an external site, Flagpro will automatically click the OK button to close the dialog box" explains NTT Security report. “This handling also works if the dialog is written in Chinese or English indicates destinations are in Japan, Taiwan, and English-speaking countries.
Inserted code serving as obfuscation in Flagpro v2.0 Source: NTT Security
Blackwell APT is a lesser known player discovered by Trendier researchers in the summer of 2017 and has partnered with China. His typical targets are in Taiwan, although he has occasionally targeted companies in Japan and Hong Kong to steal technology.
In February 2021, a report from Unit 42 linked Blackwell to Waterbear Flag pro, another cyber espionage group believed to have the backing of the Chinese government like Apt, Black tech, Knowledge and Refinement to adapt their tools to new reports like this one, Flag pro is likely to be modified for more stealth use.
As the NTT report concludes, “Recently they (Blackwell) started using another new malware called Selfsame Loader and Spider RAT. “That means they are actively developing new malware. Defenders should be aware of the new indicators of exposure to new malware and follow all security best practices to maintain a strong defense against sophisticated threats like Blackwell.
The box will be opened on Tuesday,
said Virginia Governor Ralph Northam. Twitter
WASHINGTON: Workers dismantling a Confederate general's statue pedestal discovered a copper box believed to be buried 130 years ago, the second apparent time capsule unearthed at the site.
site.
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam tweeted along with pictures of the box.
"This is probably the time capsule everyone has been looking for. According to an 1887 newspaper article, a time capsule hidden at the foot of the statue of General Robert E.Lee of the Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War contained relics such as buttons and balls, Confederate currency, cards, a rare picture of assassinated President Abraham Lincoln in his coffin and other items, the box will open at 1:00 p.m. (1800 GMT) Tuesday, Northam said in a subsequent tweet, adding that it was "Experts believe there could be coins, books, buttons and even ammunition from the Civil War," he said.
The statue's base was opened by Conservatives last week, but it clearly wasn't the capsule in that time the 1887 newspaper article because it contained three soaked books, a photo in a soaked cloth cover, and a coin.
The items appeared to be memorabilia left for posterity by some of the workers who erected the statue. The time capsule found on Monday is roughly twice as big. Lee's statue in Richmond, the city of Virginia, which was the southern capital during the bloody conflict of 1861-65, was overthrown in September, one of several memorials the Pro-Slavery Confederation has seen in recent months. The statue became the focus of protests against racial justice last year after the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by a white Minnesota police officer. During the Civil War, the Confederate southern states separated from the United States and fought to maintain slavery, which the rest of the country had abolished.
Both Squid Game director Hwang Dong Hyuk and Netflix have discussed their plans for future seasons of the hit series.
On December 28th, Hwang Dong Hyuk participated in an interview with KBS in which he spoke about it “I’m currently in the midst of discussions with Netflix about Season 2 and Season 3 [of ‘Squid Game’].”
“I think we’ll be reaching some sort of conclusion [to our discussions] soon,” continued the director. “We know that many people are waiting, so everyone is working hard to prepare for the next season with a positive outlook.”
Hwang Dong Hyuk also revealed what will be the main storyline for Season 2. “The focus [of the season] will be the story of [Lee Jung Jae's character] Seong Gi Hun, who unravels [the secrets of the organization behind the game]." Split. "The overall story of season two will be the story of the people who have favourited Gi Hun and the people he chases.
Later that day, Netflix officially addressed the possibility of a third season of Squid Game, making it clear, "It is true that we are discussing a variety of possibilities for Squid Game, including producing a third season, but has nothing happens, but it's set in stone.
The latest The Flash trailer suggests that Michael Keaton's Batman has a bigger role in the film than many initially assumed. Ezra Miller makes his DCEU return as the Scarlet Speedster after starring in Zack Snyder's Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League. Directed by Andy Muschietti, The Flash's first trailer was released at DC FanDome 2021, offering a sneak peek at what to expect from the standalone flick.
It's no secret that The Flash was in production limbo for quite some time with a few director changes. But, the movie finally kicked into production in 2021 and is currently filming. Specific plot details are still scant at the moment, although a few pertinent details have been confirmed. That includes the return of Kiersey Clemons as Iris West and the introduction of Sasha Calle as Supergirl/Kara Zor-El. Barry Allen is also joined by two Batman variations: the first one being Ben Affleck's and the other one being Michael Keaton's. Obviously there's a lot of excitement surrounding their involvement, but there's heightened anticipation about Keaton's Batman iteration simply because this is the first time he will reprise the superhero role in two decades.
Considering the fact that it's the Flash's solo outing, it was initially unclear how involved Keaton would be in the film. Set photos revealed him back as the Bruce Wayne persona, and the actor's personal interviews confirmed that he's indeed wearing the cape and the cowl again. Still, with very little known about the movie's plot, there were questions about the extent of his appearance. Some argued that it wouldn't be anything more than an extended cameo, with the primary focus on Barry Allen instead. This makes sense since he is the movie's headlining character. However, The Flash's trailer suggests that Batman's role in the film is going to be more prominent than initially perceived; much of the trailer focuses on him, including both versions of the Flash visiting Tim Burton's Wayne Manor and then, his Batcave. It even ends with the tease of the 1989 Batmobile reveal.
Interestingly, despite all the references to Keaton's Caped Crusader, the hero doesn't properly appear in The Flash trailer. Instead, there's only a shot of his iconic cowl looking outside the Batcave. But, the fact that he provides the narration for the majority of the trailer further indicates the extent of his appearance. At one point, it seems like the two Barry Allens and Supergirl recruit him for a mission, and it's safe to say that he at least considers joining his fellow DC heroes in the movie. It's worth noting that The Flash appears to be an adaptation of the Flashpoint storyline from the comics. Barry's time-traveling likely fractured space-time which has had ripple effects in other universes, including that of Supergirl and Keaton's Batman. The voice-over dialog is Bruce Wayne making sense of everything that's happening.
The question now is, how does Affleck's Batman fit into all of this? Based on what's known about The Flash production, the actor didn't start to film his scenes until the middle of principal photography. Some theories suggest that Affleck's Batman dies in the movie, and that it could serve as motivation for Barry's time travel. Furthermore, many are also curious if Affleck's version of the hero will cross paths with Keaton's Caped Crusader. Fans will likely have to wait for the movie's debut to find out.
Robert Pattinson’s Batman takes multiple bullets to the chest in the latest trailer for The Batman, indicating how bulletproof his version of the Batsuit is. Although he lacks superpowers, Batman fights crime in Gotham City with superlative fighting skills, a genius-level intellect, and state-of-the-art gadgetry. A common piece of equipment for live-action Batman adaptations is a Batsuit made of bulletproof material. Not all the Dark Knight's costumes have the same level of protection, so how does Pattinson’s suit compare to the others and the comic source material?
In his first comic book appearances, Batman wore no armor, using a simple, lightweight, and flexible costume with an intimidating appearance instead. One of the earliest uses of an armored Batsuit comes from the first standalone Batman book in 1940, in which the Caped Crusader survives a gunshot wound from The Joker thanks to a layer of armor underneath the main suit. Modern comic iterations of Batman wear fully armored Batsuits, offering significant protection against gunshots; partially inspired by the various film adaptations and their many shout-outs.
In the latest trailer for The Batman, Robert Pattinson’s Batsuit is put to the test multiple times. While fighting a gang of criminals in clown makeup, Batman is shot point-blank with a handgun, but he shrugs this off rather quickly and continues fighting. Later in the trailer, Batman walks towards a group of assault rifle-toting assailants, who pepper him with gunfire. Batman walks through the hail of bullets mostly unimpeded before counterattacking. This indicates that Pattinson’s Batman uses an extremely durable material that can withstand more gunfire than most versions of the Dark Knight.
While Adam West’s Batman wore no armor, Michael Keaton’s iteration in the Tim Burton films had a highly durable suit that could take direct gunshots. However, as shown multiple times in Batman and Batman Returns, while the suit kept gunfire from proving immediately lethal, the force often knocked Batman off his feet and left him winded on some occasions. Pattinson’s gear provides more protection, allowing him to remain in fighting condition even when shot numerous times.
Christian Bale’s first Batsuit in Batman Begins also offered protection from gunshots, though Lucious Fox explicitly advised against taking direct hits. While protective, the suit proved to be too restrictive, so Bale’s Bruce wore a modified` suit in The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. Bale’s second Batman suit offered far more flexibility, though it was even more vulnerable to gunfire, which Bruce learned firsthand when facing off against Two-Face.
The only live-action Batman iteration whose suit provided similar levels of protection to Pattinson’s is the DCEU Batman. As shown in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Ben Affleck's Batman wears a light and flexible suit that allows him to take gunshots to the head at point-blank range with little impediment. The suit has some vulnerable points, as evidenced by an assailant’s knife puncturing the suit near the shoulder, but this may have been a lightly-armored area for the sake of articulation. Ben Affleck’s Batman armor, like Pattinson’s Batsuit in The Batman, is fully bulletproof, protecting Batman from gun-toting enemies.
Katey Sagal played one of the most important characters in Sons of Anarchy, but what has she done since the show came to an end? In 2008, Kurt Sutter took the audience to a small town in California to meet a motorcycle club and all the drama in their daily lives in the TV series Sons of Anarchy. The series premiered on FX in 2008 and lived on for a total of seven seasons, coming to an end in 2014. Sons of Anarchy got positive reviews throughout its whole run, with most praise going towards the themes it addressed (such as corruption and racism) and the performances of the main cast.
Sons of Anarchy tells the story of Jackson “Jax” Teller (Charlie Hunnam), VP of the motorcycle club Sons of Anarchy in the fictional town of Charming, California. The series kicks off when Jax finds a manifesto written by his late father, John “JT” Teller, one of the founding members of the MC. In it, JT shared his plans and vision for the club, which were very different from those of the current President and Jax’s stepfather, Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman). Reading his father’s ideas and seeing how different the club was, among other events, send Jax on a personal journey that leads him to question his path, role in the club, relationships, family, and more. Sons of Anarchy also introduced the audience to Gemma Teller-Morrow (Katey Sagal), Jax’s mother and the matriarch of the club, who even though wasn’t a member of it, had a lot of influence in it and the town in general, but she was also a very dangerous woman.
Katey Sagal’s role as Gemma in Sons of Anarchy was one of the most praised elements of the series, and she was one of the few characters from the first season who made it to the final one, though not to the series finale, as she was killed by Jax in the second last episode. Gemma Teller has become one of Sagal’s most memorable roles, but it definitely isn’t her most famous one, as she has played a variety of characters before and after Sons of Anarchy. Prior to living in Charming, Sagal did a lot of voice work in film, such as in Recess: School’s Out (playing Mrs. Flo Spinelli) and the Futurama movies, voicing Turanga Leela. In TV, she became known for playing Peggy Bundy in the sitcom Married… with Children from 1987 to 1997, and other notable roles include Edna Hyde in That 70’s Show and Cate S. Hennessy in 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.
While working on Sons of Anarchy, Sagal continued doing voice work, most notably in Futurama, and once the show came to an end, she explored other genres in TV. Sagal played Annora of the Alders in The Bastard Executioner, Penny’s mother in one episode of The Big Bang Theory, and Lanie Schultz in This Is Us. Sagal reprised her role as Gemma in one episode of Mayans M.C, the spinoff series of Sons of Anarchy, and after that, she went on to play Dr. Ingrid Jones in Shameless, Louise Goldufski in The Conners, Teresa Williams in Grand Hotel, and Eleanor Hale in Dead to Me. Her most recent work is in the legal comedy-drama Rebel, inspired by the life of Erin Brockovich, and in which she plays the lead role of Annie “Rebel” Bello. On the big screen, she played Lee Ann in There’s Always Woodstock, Katherine Junk in Pitch Perfect 2, and Louise Pazienza in Bleed for This.
In addition to an incredible acting career that has covered almost every genre, Katey Sagal has a musical career and released her first solo album in 1994, and she also contributed with at least one song per season in Sons of Anarchy. Katey Sagal is a woman of many talents, and while many will always remember her as Gemma Teller-Morrow, it’s definitely worth checking out her other works in both film and TV.
Using a combination of moves and items, players can maximize Pikachu's build in Pokémon Unite. Players will need to fight both wild Pokémon and those on the opposing team to score points and win. As an Attacker Pokémon, a well-built Pikachu can work great for an offensive, ranged strategy.
With 5-on-5 matches between trainers, and wild Pokémon in each stage, a well-rounded, carefully built team will be vital for success. Players just getting started in Pokémon Unite may need to test different skills in order to find the best build. Having a strong offensive Pokémon will help players knock out their opponents and collect their Aeos energy to score points. As Pikachu gains experience, more moves will become available, and it can become a powerful fighter.
Each Pokémon in the game, such as Pikachu or Gengar, has an ideal build. Pikachu is a Ranged Attacker class in Pokémon Unite, so it can deal high damage but has low endurance. Focusing on moves and items that maximize damage and utilize Pikachu's stun abilities will create the best build for this character. Players can also equip items that compliment or increase Pikachu's strengths and damage output.
There are two ways for players to obtain Pikachu in Pokémon Unite: they can either choose it as their first Pokémon upon completing the tutorial or purchase it from the Unite Battle Committee. Pikachu costs 6000 Aeos coins or 345 Aeos gems. Once obtained and leveled up, players can focus on using the right moves and items to capitalize on Pikachu's offensive potential. Pokémon can have two moves active and three items equipped at a time. The best options for Pikachu appear below.
Pikachu's Best Moveset
Thunderbolt: Charge and shoot a bolt of lightning that stuns and damages opponents in the area. Upgrade Thunderbolt to increase the damage dealt.
Electro Ball: Throw an electric orb that damages and stuns enemies in the area of effect. Missing HP will increase damage to opponents. Electro Ball can be upgraded to increase damage.
Buddy Barrier: When using the Unite move, Pikachu and the nearby ally with the lowest HP will gain a shield
Alternative - Float Stone: Increase movement speed when Pikachu isn't in combat
Best Battle Items for Pikachu
X-Attack: Boost the damage of attacks and special attacks
Alternative - Potion: Restore a Pokémon's health.
Using a strong combination of moves and items will help players gather Aeos energy and score points. While using Pikachu, players should focus on dealing as much damage as possible while being aware of their health loss. Since Pikachu is also a Ranged Pokémon, it's recommended that players keep their distance when possible to avoid being knocked out. Pikachu can stay near a Defender Pokémon for extra protection and stun enemies that come within range.
A new mod for Dark Souls 3 pits the final boss of the game's last DLC against the final DLC boss from fellow FromSoftware title Bloodborne. FromSoftware has developed a reputation for challenging bosses over the past decade and seems to be continuing that trend with the upcoming Elden Ring, which fans have been awaiting eagerly for some time now following its initial reveal at E3 2019. A more in-depth trailer released at Summer Games Fest earlier this year revealed many of the hallmarks fans have come to expect from the upcoming title.
Another unique aspect FromSoftware titles have cultivated over the years is a dedicated modding community that still puts out content for installments as far back as the original Dark Souls. As with other communities, the mods cover a wide range of changes and additions, including one that brings sports into Dark Souls 3. Thanks to the work of the modding community, one fan was recently able to answer a unique question: who is the ultimate final DLC boss?
YouTuber Garden of Eyes started their channel at the end of 2020 with the focus of pitting Bloodborne bosses against one another. Since then, however, that goal has expanded to encompass more FromSoftware titles, and their latest fight features Dark Souls 3's Slave Knight Gael from "The Ringed City" DLC against Bloodborne's Orphan of Kos from "The Old Hunters." The video consists of three bouts between the two bosses, featuring an updated version of Orphan of Kos from a mod named "Call of the Abyss." Each fight takes place in a different boss arena from Dark Souls 3. Despite a victory in round one, the Orphan of Kos ends up losing to Slave Knight Gael in the following two rounds, culminating in a neck and neck competition in the finals.
Boss vs boss battles are not the only FromSoftware content Garden of Eyes posts. Sometimes the fights feature NPCs or notoriously difficult mini bosses taking on the actual bosses as well as one another. The channel also features some unique FromSoftware mods such as a Bloodborne first-person camera mod. It goes to show how much creativity can be found in the gaming industry, even in the player base of such a brutally difficult franchise as Dark Souls.
There is an undeniable appeal in watching Dark Souls and Bloodborne bosses savagely beating each other instead of a helpless player. It comes from a shared struggle every player of From Software's games has had at some point, particularly when going through these titles for the first time. It also helps that the bosses themselves are imposing figures, and make for thrilling adversaries when turned against each other. Elden Ring will likely add more notable bosses that will not only make seasoned players feel right at home, but bring a new generation of players into the fold that have not yet taken on the FromSoftware experience. Until then, however, players can continue to fight against what came before and, if ever things become too difficult, watch the likes of Gael and the Orphan smack each other around for a change.
Mon-El actor Chris Wood recalls the silly "stunt" that resulted in him breaking his jaw while filming Supergirl. The Arrowverse series has enjoyed a long run, but it will be coming to an end very soon. Supergirl, which stars Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers, started out on CBS before moving to The CW for season 2. During the show's 6-season run, Supergirl has faced countless enemies and teamed up with fellow Arrowverse heroes like The Flash (Grant Gustin) and Batwoman (Ruby Rose). The sixth and final season is currently airing and will conclude in November.
Supergirl has featured a wide and eclectic group of characters over the years, but some are more memorable than others. One of the most controversial is perhaps Mon-El, a Daxamite prince who joined the series in its second season. Mon-El initially hid his royal heritage from Kara, but after they formed a romantic relationship, he came clean. Wood remained a series regular on Supergirl for 2 seasons before departing, though he's come back several times as a guest star. He'll even be among those returning for the series finale, along with Jeremy Jordan (Winn Schott) and Mehcad Brooks (Jimmy Olsen).
During this weekend's DC FanDome event, Supergirl received a special farewell panel featuring the entire cast. When looking back on some of the wildest stunts from the show, Wood mentioned a scene from season 2 when he had to bite into 10 pancakes at once. His castmates were quick to laugh, but Wood pointed out that it wasn't all that funny because "my jaw sort of dislocated a little bit." The Supergirl cast also teased him for deeming it a stunt, but he defended the qualification. "It was a big stack of pancakes and I was like, 'Oh, this is gonna be so funny,' and then my jaw went like," Wood said before demonstrating the painful moment.
Injuries on the set of a superhero production aren't uncommon, and the Arrowverse itself is no stranger to these kinds of incidents. Before departing Batwoman, Rose had to get emergency surgery after sustaining a neck injury on set. When considering that example, Wood's Supergirl experience isn't as drastic. However, a dislocated jaw is far from fun, and to have it happen during an innocuous kitchen scene probably came as quite a shock.
While Supergirl's end is bittersweet for the fans and those who worked on the show, there are some reasons as to why this is the perfect time to conclude it. Kara has been on quite the journey over these past 6 seasons, and hopefully she'll go out on a high note. For her part, Benoist admitted during the DC FanDome panel that she will miss playing a superhero, though she'd said before that she will not be sorry to leave Supergirl's flying scenes behind. This cast has endured plenty of bumps and bruises, but now they can rest and content themselves with a job well done.
The Sith are the primary antagonists of the Star Wars saga, but they’re largely absent from the sequel trilogy, having been seemingly replaced by a different dark side religion: The Knights of Ren. All conflicts in the Skywalker Saga lead back to the Sith sooner or later, specifically their deadliest and most brilliant Dark Lord, Darth Sidious, aka Palpatine. The Sith seemingly died with Palpatine in Return of the Jedi, but The Emperor survived, and, thus, the Sith Order did, too. With Sith influence remaining behind the scenes yet again, the Knights of Ren became the new face of the galaxy’s dark side menaces, with their leader, Kylo Ren, being second in command of the Galactic Empire’s successor state, the First Order.
Although the Jedi are the galaxy’s most effective and famous Force users and the Sith the most powerful dark side users, the two are hardly the only Force religions in the franchise. The Sith created a splinter group, the Inquisitors, as a means to use corrupted Jedi as Imperial agents. Star Wars: The Clone Wars included a significantly reimagined version of the Legends-era Nightsisters, who use the dark side in the form of spells. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story introduced the Guardians of the Whills, a Force-using religion separate from the Jedi who guarded the Kyber crystals on Jedha. Considering how many Force-using religions exist in the Star Wars franchise, the sequels' introduction of a dark side group other than the Sith was fitting.
The Sith orchestrated the Separatist Crisis and the Clone Wars in the Star Wars prequels, paving the way for Palpatine to replace the Republic with the Galactic Empire with Darth Vader at his side. With the Sith seemingly gone at the end of the original trilogy, the sequels introduced Kylo Ren, the son of Leia Organa and Han Solo, as the successor to Vader and the leader of the Knights of Ren. The Knights had only a brief appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and a small role in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but their origins and philosophies were expanded on in the four-issue comic miniseries Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren.
Thousands of years before the events of Star Wars' Skywalker Saga, a group of fallen Jedi formed the Sith Order on Moraband. Although they began as a Jedi splinter group, the Sith Order has a fundamentally different outlook on the Force and the galaxy than the Jedi. Using the corrupted power of the dark side rather than the Force, the Sith believed in dominating the galaxy from the shadows and imposing their absolute rule over all other beings. The Sith also developed the Rule of Two as a means to keep the order alive and reduce in-fighting. The Rule of Two, created by Darth Bane, kept the Sith two only a master and apprentice, each trying to replace the other.
The exact origins of the Knights of Ren are unknown, but at some point a gang of dark side-using marauders established themselves in the galaxy’s Unknown Regions, terrorizing the people of the galaxy. Unlike the Sith, the Knights of Ren had a far more passive philosophy and use of the dark side. While the Sith sought to control the dark side and use it to control the galaxy, the Knights of Ren followed the dark side, following its pull wherever it took them and stealing, pillaging, and murdering wherever their travels brought them. Unlike the Sith, the Knights of Ren didn’t limit their members, but given their dark side use, only the strongest and most ruthless could join their ranks.
While the Sith and the Knights of Ren have fundamentally different philosophies, the two do share some commonalities. Aside from using the dark side of the Force, both organizations also used similar weapons, in some cases. The signature weapon of the Sith is the red-bladed lightsabers, which they created by corrupting Kyber crystals with the dark side and making them “bleed.” While the Knights of Ren use various scavenged weapons, their leader also uses a red-bladed lightsaber, though theirs tend to be different from Sith weapons. Ren, the earliest known leader, built a self-destruct mechanism into his weapon, and Kylo Ren modified his weapon with a cross-guard to vent the unstable blade’s excess energy.
Two of the Star Wars sequel trilogy’s main villains, Snoke and Kylo Ren, are not Sith. Kylo Ren, despite worshipping his Sith Lord grandfather, never became a Sith himself. After leaving Luke’s revived Jedi Order, Ben Solo joined the Knights of Ren, eventually killing their leader and taking his place as their new master, Kylo Ren. As a Knight of Ren, Kylo wore body armor and a fearsome mask, which served multiple functions. In addition to protecting his head and indicating his knighthood, the mask also allowed Kylo to feel more like his grandfather and idol, Darth Vader.
Snoke wasn’t officially part of any dark side religion, Sith, Knights of Ren, or otherwise. Snoke was an unaffiliated dark side user and the Supreme Leader of the First Order, though he did mentor Kylo Ren, serving as his dark side master, which gave him a degree of authority over the Knights of Ren. Snoke was, ultimately created as a proxy for Darth Sidious, so despite his free will and incredible strength in the dark side, Snoke was yet another tool of the Sith Order, and his betrayal by Kylo Ren followed the Sith Rule of Two perfectly.
Despite never having joined the Sith, Kylo Ren became an ally of the order in The Rise of Skywalker. Working with Palpatine, Kylo combined the First Order with the Sith Eternal, forming the Final Order. The Knights of Ren followed Kylo Ren into this alliance as well, continuing to serve Palpatine after Kylo became Ben Solo once more. This was a fitting move for the Knights of Ren since they follow the dark side, rather than rule over it. With Palpatine, the galaxy’s most powerful dark side user, growing in strength, it makes sense that the Knights would follow his incredible dark side power and serve him. The key difference between the Sith and the Knights of Ren in Star Wars is revealed in their names. The Sith Lords rule over the dark side of the Force in the Star Wars saga while the Knights of Ren serve the dark side.
