Posts

It wasn’t the right way to handle a bomb. “The rule is, do not touch a suspicious article,” a police expert lectured to a group of nightclub and restaurant owners last week. That was only the start of a public-awareness and security drive that could again make metal detectors and police roadblocks routine in Africa’s most laid-back tourist mecca. The blast, which followed the bombing of a gay club earlier in November and seven other such attacks over the last 18 months, injured 48 people and deflated police claims to have crushed urban terrorism in the city....

The latest trailer for A Plague Tale: Requiem acts both as a display of gameplay and a look at the introduction to the game’s story. For anyone wanting to go into the game completely fresh, they should be warned there could be some light spoilers ahead. The trailer picks up a few months after the events of A Plague Tale: Innocence, showing Amicia, Hugo, their mother Beatrice and the young alchemist Lucas traveling to Provence, France, one of the few places seemingly untouched by the black plague....

While still following the groundwork set by A Plague Tale: Innocence, its sequel builds on plenty of things from the original game. There’s a new narrative, which sees Hugo’s rat powers grow and Amicia’s personality take a darker turn in order to protect her brother, but there are also improved combat mechanics in A Plague Tale: Requiem and other new gameplay features. There are plenty of reasons that fans have been enjoying the recent game from Asobo Studio, and it seems that the sequel’s popularity has outshone its predecessor almost immediately in many ways....

The plan to tap Klink is part of a careful Bush strategy designed to appease both sides in the abortion wars. At home the pro-life president has talked tough–vowing to beef up spending for abstinence education and floating the notion of Medicaid coverage for fetuses–but walked closer to the center, courting moderate voters by staying quiet on Roe v. Wade and approving limited funding for embryonic stem-cell research. But overseas it’s another story....

The movie “Dudley Do-Right” is the latest venture. “Dudley” finds our hero (Brendan Fraser) battling Snidely Whiplash (Alfred Molina) for the hand of Nell (Sarah Jessica Parker). It’s admittedly Ward-lite, an amiable flick for little kids, not adults. Fortunately, there’s more Ward on the way: a “George of the Jungle” sequel and a Robert De Niro production of “Rocky and Bullwinkle.” (No, really.) “If you’re a kid, you admire the plucky little squirrel and this funny moose,” says Jane Rosenthal, De Niro’s producing partner....

And then suddenly perfection wasn’t good enough. At a meeting last summer Michelin’s implacable editors reportedly informed Loiseau–who helped pioneer the artery-sparing “nouvelle cuisine” in the 1970s–that however masterful his execution, diners were getting tired of seeing the same dishes on his menu. Although the 2003 edition kept Cote d’Or’s top rating, a competing guide, GaultMillau, dropped the restaurant from 19 points (out of 20) to 17, faulting it as insufficiently “dazzling....

Rodriguez donated the bat he used when he recorded his 2,000th RBI to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. His 2,001st RBI came on the same swing, a two-run home run against the Orioles on Saturday. MORE: Baseball’s worst defensive players Rodriguez is only the fourth player to have 2,000 RBIs along with Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Cap Anson. “As records, achievements and compelling stories unfold on the field, we recount them in Cooperstown through the generosity of players, teams and fans who generously donate artifacts associated with those milestones to the Museum,” Jeff Idelson, President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, said in a release....

Written by Walker So as some of you may know, I haven’t lived in Kansas City for about seven years now. That hasn’t deterred my fandom; heck I still bought season tickets in 2012. However, it has opened my eyes to how other communities view their baseball, and how other fans view the Royals. This view was presented to me again this weekend as I walked around an Art Fair in San Diego....

Apple iPhone 5S and Samsung Galaxy S4 would be locking horns this year on who would be the people’s choice. Samsung is all set to do the unveiling in the Big Apple and Samsung has enveloped the air of Times Square with its overpowering billboard saying “Be ready 4 the next Galaxy.” Samsung Galaxy S4 is going to get launch on March 14th in New York at an unpacked event....

Looking for news? Not on local television this spring, as TV producers and correspondents have chucked journalism out the window in a frenzied pursuit of higher ratings and bigger bucks. The catalyst for the most recent spate of inanity was the just-concluded “sweeps month,” a fourtimes-yearly annoyance during which the nation’s 1,500 local stations call upon A.C. Nielsen and Arbitron to record the size of their audience, information they then use to set their ad rates....

By a 44-5 vote, the Coronavirus Relief Act 3.0, a nearly $1 billion spending measure, was passed Wednesday in North Carolina’s Senate. Among the provisions in the bill is the “Extra Credit Grant Program,” which would send a round of payments to parents to help with the cost of virtual schooling and child care during the pandemic. Eligible individuals, including spouses who file jointly, with at least one child under 17 would automatically be awarded a $335 grant by December 15....

Kemper had great access to the secret project that once attracted waves of speculation. At the center of his account is the stubborn Kamen, the inventor of such medical devices as the heart stent. Kamen is portrayed as an obsessed genius who treats his girlfriend “more like a personal assistant than a lover,” and battles to keep investors from controlling his prize. Too often, though, Kemper’s access yields mind-numbing details about the engineers’ struggle to meet deadlines....

The United States has long regarded Nazarbayev as one of the region’s most mature politicians–a pro-Western strategic thinker with moxie. Washington supported Kazakhstan’s independence, mainly to keep the country’s treasures of oil and natural gas out of Russia’s grip. But now the ““strategic partnership’’ between Nazarbayev and Washington has become stormy. A U.S. State Department official called the disqualification of Kazhegeldin a ““slap in the face.'' Nazarbayev’s victory celebration may be subdued....

But last week Condi Rice was showing her clout. She went to Moscow to begin the difficult process of selling the Russians on a deal: in exchange for Moscow’s acquiescence to President Bush’s plan for missile defense, both sides would agree to radically cut their oversize nuclear arsenals. Rice is careful to say the initiative is the president’s, but the strategy behind it, say top administration officials, is largely her creation....

Ninety years ago America’s immigrants were mostly European. Today they come primarily from Latin America and Asia. The number of foreign-born Hispanics grew 34 percent during the 1990s, and Asians born outside the United States jumped 40 percent. World War I and anti-immigrant fever ended the century’s first immigration wave. Analysts say America’s economic boom and tight labor market are fueling the surge at its end.

It doesn’t seem possible, but the fact that No. 4 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan could play in the College Football Playoff championship game on Jan. 9 is somehow being underplayed. Maybe it is the still-palpable hangover from the Wolverines’ 45-23 victory against the Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on Nov. 26. Maybe it’s that some don’t believe Ohio State can beat No. 1 Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl or that No....

Remember the Defense Department’s ill-fated proposal to create a terror futures market this year? The tone-deaf idea was quickly shot down, but the underlying science is being explored by a handful of large companies like IBM, Microsoft and Ford. Experimental economics is “a wind tunnel for business,” says HP senior scientist Kay-Yut Chen. Testing economic theories through experiments sounds like a no-brainer, but it wasn’t always so. Vernon Smith, a professor at George Mason University, began doing it in 1956....

For some, that may take the form of volunteering with a mentorship organization, and spending a set amount of time with underprivileged youth. As an individual decision, that’s laudable. But ever since the Clinton era, politicians have offered mentorship programs as a solution to the problems of at-risk youth because they fit into an individualistic, value-neutral approach to policymaking. As I write in a new research paper for National Affairs, the limits of this technocratic approach to improving the lives of poor or working-class children have become apparent....

Problem is, that prize might not do the trio justice. Not according to baseball’s advanced analytics. With 2½ weeks left in the season, it’s time to ask: Should one of those three be MVP? “It’s the best player in the league,” deGrom said. “If that happens to be a pitcher and they can win it, then it’s well deserved.” There’s no debating deGrom’s dominance, even if it’s not translating into wins for the struggling New York Mets....