Hard-right candidate George Simion emerged as the clear victor as Romanians cast their votes Sunday in a closely watched presidential election He will now face centrist Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan in a runoff on May 18 that will determine whether Romania becomes the latest EU country to lurch dramatically to the right So who is the 38-year-old firebrand leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) — and how did he get so close to the presidency Simion studied history at university and quickly got involved in activism taking part in street protests promoting the unification of Romania and neighboring Moldova He founded his AUR party in 2019 after a failed bid for election to the European Parliament as an independent. Simion, who proudly wears flaming red Donald Trump baseball caps has described the party’s style as “Trumpist.” After last year’s parliamentary election it holds the second-largest number of seats in the Romanian parliament Many of AUR’s policy positions match those of Trump’s MAGA movement from social conservatism — it bills itself as pro-Christian and pro-family — to stopping military aid to Ukraine The party’s support surged amid the Covid-19 pandemic with AUR tapping into anti-science sentiment by opposing government measures to limit the spread of the virus and fanning conspiracies about vaccines on social media Simion was banned in 2024 from entering Ukraine for three years for what Kyiv called “systematic anti-Ukrainian activities.” He denies he is against Ukraine or pro-Russian He has also been repeatedly banned from Moldova with Chișinău accusing him of endangering national security Simion has taken aim at Brussels threatening to break EU laws he disagrees with though he has stressed Romania should remain part of the bloc He told POLITICO last month he rejects the far-right label Simion has cited right-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as a political hero and called for the “Melonization” of Europe there will be a Simionization as well,” he told POLITICO last November shortly before Romania’s annulled presidential election In the months since that election result was scrapped — far-right shock winner Călin Georgescu was disqualified and a new vote ordered by the country’s constitutional court after the Romanian authorities alleged Russian interference propelled him to victory — Simion’s profile has soared Vigorously denouncing the cancelation of last year’s election he has framed the do-over as a battle for “democracy the rule of law and the constitutional order,” and vowed to appoint Georgescu to a top role if he is elected At a televised debate between presidential candidates last month, he showed up with a bouquet of flowers for Elena Lasconi the center-left candidate who came second at last year’s annulled vote before walking out in protest over the canceled election The theatrical stunt epitomizes the disruptive politics of Simion, who began his political career marching in the streets and spray-painting ultranationalist slogans on roads across the country Sunday’s election result is the culmination of his rise from fringe agitator to far-right chief — and potentially “I urge both sides to show restraint,” the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says after discussions with senior New Delhi and Islamabad officials Northern and Western Europe are the best places in the world to be a journalist The presidential election day is almost upon us president has previously described such a pact as reimbursement for billions in American aid sent to help Kyiv against Russia’s full-scale invasion Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker the candidate of Romania’s hard-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) shortly before voting closed in the first round of the country’s presidential election For European Union officials trying to get the measure of the man his words cannot have been reassuring—especially as he swept to victory with 41% of the vote The election was a re-run: last December the country’s constitutional court annulled the initial attempt after another hard-right populist it has been clear for months that Mr Simion would come first; the question was which runner-up would face him in the election’s second round on May 18th Friedrich Merz’s career is one of unforced errors and puzzling missteps. But he is serious about Europe Both Donald Trump and Ukraine’s diplomats will consider it a success Donald Trump’s insults have soured the continent on its cousins  Trump and Zelensky attend in Rome with 250,000 others Registered in England and Wales. No. 236383 | Registered office: The Adelphi, 1-11 John Adam Street, London, WC2N 6HT | VAT Reg No: GB 340 436 876 Romania has donated a Patriot air defence battery to Kyiv is training Ukrainian fighter pilots and has enabled the export of 30 million metric tons of Ukrainian grain through its Black Sea port of Constanta since Russia's invasion.The country's president can also veto important EU votes and appoints the prime minister prosecutors and secret service heads.The Trump administration has accused Romania of suppressing political opposition and lacking democratic values after November's election was cancelled on what Vice President JD Vance called "flimsy evidence".Editing by Giles Elgood Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Bucharest-based general news reporter covering a wide range of Romanian topics from elections and economics to climate change and festivals. , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host and National Guardsman has attempted to reframe the role of the Pentagon's top civilian leader during his first months on the job casting himself as a relatable everyman -- "one of the guys." Instead of the standard suit and tie, he regularly appears in khaki hiking pants, rolled-up sleeves that reveal tattooed forearms and occasionally a trucker hat emblazoned with an American flag. He often posts videos and photos of himself working out with troops But that carefully curated image -- so different from past defense secretaries -- may not be totally landing with the rank and file Interviews with service members and a review of hundreds of social media posts on message boards suggest the image the Pentagon chief is trying to project is seen by some as overly manufactured and desperate for affirmation Read Next: 'This Is Going to Be a Challenge': Service Officials Detail Fallout from Civilian Resignations Pushed by Trump "He seems too preoccupied with his personal brand," one Army captain told Military.com on the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation including alleged alcohol abuse and an incident in which he shared sensitive Yemen attack plan details in an unsecured Signal group chat that included a journalist The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday In a recent post on the Army Reddit forum that was discussing a report that Hegseth set up an unsecured internet line in his office one poster quipped that “it was hidden behind the liquor cabinet.” “I bet he has so much booze in there it is more like a liquor walk-in closet,” another poster chimed in Troops also make frequent jabs at Hegseth's past infidelity – though many posts also levy serious and thoughtful criticism of his ability to effectively lead the military Military.com spoke with more than a dozen service members ranging from noncommissioned officers to a general They were all given anonymity out of concerns over retaliation The jabs at and mocking of Hegseth, while not unprecedented for senior military officials, appear unusually persistent and pervasive. Other high-ranking leaders have been the butt of jokes and the target of online irreverence -- such as Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer, the Army's top enlisted leader who was mocked online for his perceived preoccupation with grooming standards -- but those moments have tended to fade quickly satire has become part of the daily discourse Another simply asked “can we have Mattis back please?” That was a reference to former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis who served more than four decades in the Marine Corps before taking the civilian post in the first Trump administration Duffle Blog, the Onion-style military satire blog, even has merchandise based on the jokes including a "Whiskey Leaks" drinking glass and a bottle of hand wash with the label "Clean on OPSEC," another reference to Hegseth's comments on the unsecured Signal chat about Yemen strikes that was inadvertently made public Hegseth also routinely uses the phrase "warfighter" to refer to American troops a phrase that itself has long been met with eyerolls within the military community which is known for its signature gallows humor and scoffing at anyone being overly serious ”No more ‘woke’ bullsh*t that undermines commanders and command climates,” Hegseth recently told service members at the Army War College “We are laser-focused on our mission of warfighting," he added The lion's share of his messaging is done on X -- a social media platform owned by billionaire Elon Musk and a preferred platform of the Trump administration -- while the bulk of service members spend their time on other platforms such as Instagram and TikTok "Morale isn't built through X," one Pentagon official noted Much of the communication on X from Hegseth focuses on touting the president's agenda namely cultural grievances and border security – none of it relating to the troops or their day-to-day issues The defense chief often points out that what he's doing is a directive from President Donald Trump Hegseth's apparent push to make the defense secretary a public personality more than just a public figure also sets him apart from many who served in the role in the past Almost everyone who spoke with Military.com for this story noted that rank-and-file troops shouldn't need or want to care much about someone so far removed from their daily lives Several service members remarked that before Hegseth the only time they thought about the defense secretary was when they needed to brush up for a board or inspection where they may have had to answer questions about their chain of command One Navy officer noted that when news of former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's hidden cancer diagnosis became public last year -- a major scandal and now a talking point in Pentagon communications -- the news didn't ever register with their sailors despite significant media coverage arguably done in the name of service members Hegseth announced that he was ending the "Women Peace and Security" program that was aimed at supporting women on security teams especially overseas where men may run into cultural or religious barriers "Troops hate it," Hegseth declared in a social media post Tuesday One junior officer said that while they knew about the program from personal connections and a previous deployment it's likely that they were the only person in an office of dozens who did Many who spoke with Military.com remarked that the military don't have time to be focused on the kind of policy moves that Hegseth is making They are more concerned with their day-to-day lives in the military -- an area that Hegseth and his team have largely been silent on in their view He has said nothing about quality of life," Rob Evans an Army veteran whose Yelp-style app Hots & Cots collects reviews of housing and dining facilities on military bases why has he not touched on quality-of-life challenges multiple female service members said Hegseth's comments and policy changes have made them sit up and take notice because they worry that he will make their lives more difficult or even make it impossible for them to keep serving Quality-of-life issues in the military have been long-simmering; concerns such as feeding soldiers at dining facilities is a perennial issue that has cropped up several times during Hegseth's tenure Just this week, soldiers told advocates like Evans and the moderators of the Army Reddit page that they were being turned away from getting food at Fort Johnson in Louisiana over an issue with their meal cards When a recently deployed unit returned to Fort Johnson their cards had lapsed and they were met with signs that said they would be turned away if their cards weren't fixed "Why are we creating barriers to food?" one of the leaders of the Army Reddit forum told Military.com on Thursday, noting that the issue is now being seen at other Army bases as well is an easy policy fix and ripe for someone such as Hegseth to tackle And yet the Pentagon's weekly "SITREP" videos and many of Hegseth's social media posts focus on the secretary released a list of what the Hegseth Pentagon feels it accomplished in its first 100 days on Tuesday quality-of-life issues didn't make the cut "You'll see a lot of pictures of [Hegseth] jogging with troops, visiting flight lines, American flag suit ... but what you won't see are ribbon cuttings for new barracks," Evans wrote in a social media post Tuesday. "When leadership prioritizes optics over outcomes When DoD leadership talks about 'lethality' but ignores that soldiers are getting sick from their own living conditions several service members told Military.com they feel Hegseth's idea of what a defense secretary is expected to do doesn't line up with what the job actually requires of him "He'd make a great company commander," one officer said "But that's not the job he's in right now." Meanwhile, online, one Reddit member who is widely known on the Navy’s forum as a recently retired Navy captain, recently wrote that Hegseth and others in the Trump administration “are not the leaders we need or deserve.” Hegseth only serves to poke at and antagonize you he only serves to embarrass and demoralize you with his incompetence,” they added Related: Hegseth Has Ordered a Combat Standards Review. It's Unclear How It Might Apply to All the Services. Israel approved plans to capture the entire Gaza Strip and remain in the territory for an unspecified amount of time The national day of commemoration honors military personnel and civilians killed in conflicts around the world since the.. Security was tight at Saturday's concert with 5,200 military and police officers deployed to Copacabana Beach No casualties were reported in what is the first known attack by the Rapid Support Forces on the Red Sea city a Coast Guard petty officer who was called to active duty from 2012 to.. Democratic senators voiced serious concerns about a former Former Lt Matthew Lohmeier's political social media posts.. The military services are poised to lose thousands of their civilian employees to the Trump administration's push for them to.. A New England Patriots plane made a trip to and from Guantánamo Bay "Multiple studies over the years have shown not only that polygraphs are hardly foolproof when it comes to vetting .. Police said the attack plot targeted a single location that was not being named “for operational reasons.” Visit our Customer Support center for solutions or to contact us Companies deploy highly-paid lawyers and appear to mislead councillors – but local authorities are fighting back It is almost 2am in Peterborough and a handful of punters are wordlessly feeding their money into the machines at Merkur Slots drifts through the shop as their funds rapidly evaporate but that does not mean the end of the gambling a near-deserted street lit by the neon signs of shuttered vape shops and fast food outlets many of the roughly 20 machines in each shop are doing a brisk trade Staff provide regular doses of caffeine and sugar chocolate bars and Haribo sweets to customers as they play their way through games such as Shaun the Leprechaun and Rainbow Riches Some Merkur venues even have compact pizza ovens Zoom out to national level and this picture – of towns and cities pockmarked by 24/7 slot shops – is replicated time and again Welcome to the business of “adult gaming centres” (AGCs) – the under-scrutinised network of slot machine arcades that are expanding rapidly on Britain’s high streets In Great Britain, the number of AGCs rose by 7% to 1,451 between 2022 and 2024, figures from the Gambling Commission show reversing a longer-term decline since 2010 Merkur alone has opened 100 new venues since 2020 and now has more than 230 in the UK each packed with machines of varying types there are now more than 14,200 £2-a-spin slot machines in Britain each making £32,600 annually from customers every terminal is sucking a sum close to Peterborough’s average salary out of the fragile local economy That adds up to £463m across the country and more than £500m when factoring in less popular £1-a-spin machines too The AGC renaissance has given addiction professionals cause for alarm have consistently been rated among the highest-risk products for problem gambling including in surveys conducted last year for the Gambling Commission by experts at the University of Glasgow “They are designed and built for prolonged play and harm is the inevitable consequence,” says Dr Matt Gaskell a consultant psychologist and clinical leader at the NHS Northern Gambling Service “Increasing their availability on the high street is of massive concern.” Whatever fears public health professionals may express nobody has been able to stop the AGC juggernaut the industry has deployed a host of highly effective tactics – ranging from legitimate legal firepower to apparent dishonesty – to sweep aside all opposition Merkur Slots has four ‘adult gaming centres’ in Peterborough Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty ImagesSpinners and losersThe sign above the door at 551 Lincoln Road advertised a Chinese takeaway called the New Golden Dragon until Merkur decided that three venues in one small city was not enough Peterborough’s newest Merkur received the green light in 2024 after a lengthy planning and licensing approval process that appears to have involved Appearing before a council committee in June 2024 a representative of the company sought to allay any concerns about Merkur’s plan to convert the store into an AGC “This is not a betting shop,” she told the committee were a very different prospect to betting shops because they were mostly patronised by women while average stakes were as little as 30p high-octane “fixed-odds betting terminals” (FOBTs) that allow customers to stake up to £50 a spin There were, however, problems with that testimony. The maximum FOBT stake hasn’t been £50 since 2019, when the government cut it to £2 That change has helped fuel the AGC boom as punters deprived of the chance to use high-stakes machines in their local bookmakers also told councillors that AGCs were places where people came to have “a game of bingo principally” But this appears to be part of a tactic commonly used to exploit a weakness in the regulatory system and increase revenues the number of £2 (category B) machines allowed in a gaming centre is limited to one quarter of the number of their lower-intensity £1-a-spin machines (category C) According to the government’s white paper on gambling reform published last year some companies have found an ingenious way around this A tablet technically counts as a category C machine This means that placing a rack of tablets in a corner allows companies to pack the remainder of the shop with more higher-stakes machines the Guardian has never seen a bingo tablet in use A Merkur Slots in London The borough of Brent is saturated with slot shops including seven within a few hundred metres of one another Photograph: Mike Kemp/In Pictures/Getty ImagesMerkur says its representative’s comments to Peterborough’s licensing committee have been “taken out of context” A spokesperson adds: “[The company] categorically denies making any dishonest or deliberately misleading representations to any local authority planning or licensing committee.” One former Merkur staff member says they believe the company has also sometimes been less than forthcoming with the local authorities about criminal damage in its shops mindful of future planning and licensing battles says Merkur spends huge sums each year on replacing or repairing machines damaged by customers who lose their temper after “playing to extinction” – the industry term for losing all your money “They don’t go after anyone for criminal damage even though it costs a fortune they want to be able to stand up and say their sites are trouble free,” the former employee says A Merkur spokesperson says it is “entirely untrue that Merker has a policy or practice of avoiding the reporting of criminal damage to the police Such a suggestion is both inaccurate and unfair.” Merkur does not need to burnish the image of its shops for it also has the entire planning and licensing system on its side the London borough of Brent is saturated with slot shops it also has relatively high levels of economic deprivation which includes some of Brent’s “trouble spots” even in the face of furious objections from local residents residents have daubed graffiti saying: “Ban gambling in deprived areas” Free daily newsletterGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Graffiti adorns the exterior of a gambling centre due to open in Harlesden town centre Photograph: Martin Godwin/The GuardianCouncillor Matt Kelcher does not condone the defacing of private property but understands the sentiment behind it “It’s that frustration people have of not being in control of their neighbourhood and their lives People have no say of what’s happening on their own high streets,” he says dozens of locals and even the police objected to a new AGC only to be outlasted and outspent by companies with a steely resolve to expand and deep pockets Merkur is owned by Germany’s billionaire Gauselmann gaming dynasty while its main rival Admiral Slots is part of Austria’s Novomatic providing their UK subsidiaries with serious financial heft “There’s one of us objecting to it and then the AGC brings two KCs and a solicitor,” says Kelcher Analysis of planning documents by the Guardian reveals that Merkur has routinely been able to submit hundreds of pages of supporting documents to under-resourced local councils One of Merkur’s main rivals is Admiral Slots Photograph: allanbellimages/AlamyThese include submissions from leading planning consultants and even reconnaissance reports from a firm of former police officers paid to stake out nearby AGCs and opine on whether they are associated with antisocial behaviour gambling operators have the resources to keep going until they get what they want When they meet a particularly resistant local authority they appeal to central government’s Planning Inspectorate According to a freedom of information request by the Guardian Merkur and its Cashino brand appealed to the Planning Inspectorate 32 times between October 2020 and June 2024 which focuses on how a business must operate once it has planning permission Labour’s landmark liberalisation of gambling laws that successive governments have begun to roll back the Gambling Commission and local authorities must “aim to permit” gambling meaning they are legally bound to err on the side of permissiveness says: “I was in a licensing committee for a Merkur application for three hours The whole thing becomes a farce because we know it will go through and they know it will go through.” Brent council is at the forefront of a nascent fightback which now has the backing of 30 local authorities and Greater Manchester’s mayor They have put forward a six-step plan including the abolition of the “aim to permit” mandate and putting AGCs into the same category as betting shops for planning purposes so that councils can consider the overall volume of gambling activity the government has made vague noises about giving councils more power over planning decisions If critics of AGCs are to win further concessions they will have to point to real evidence of harm in their communities the same Stockport branch is under investigation by the regulator after a customer complained they had deposited almost £9,000 without staff intervening to check he was in control of his gambling Part of the complaint alleges that the branch was “single-staffed” something that high street betting firms typically try to avoid When it came time for that sole employee to cash up single staffing meant that he had to be shut inside for security reasons leaving him literally locked in the grip of gambling Reviews on the employment website Glassdoor by people who said they worked for Merkur repeatedly highlight single staffing as a concern Merkur has confirmed it is cooperating with a Gambling Commission review of the customer’s claims but adds that a full internal inquiry found the allegations are “inconsistent with the investigation’s findings” Merkur says: “We take our responsibilities as a licensed operator extremely seriously particularly in relation to planning compliance its shops appear sufficiently well resourced to cope with the steady flow of gamblers who were still there in the small hours including bouncers poised to snuff out any trouble two punters are divided over whether AGCs are doing any harm “Here you can spend your money and have a good time,” she says although she does admit to having lost £1,300 at the Admiral Slots in the town centre one of six gambling establishments in a stretch of nine shopfronts adding: “They make you lose all your money.” another song serenades punters over the PA: “I got a feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good as their credit on the machines steadily counts down to zero You have come to the all new Global edition playBurley calls Manchester United's first-leg win a 'huge night' (1:11)Craig Burley reacts to Manchester United's 3-0 opening leg win over Athletic Club Former Manchester United head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said that watching his former club "struggling" is "hard to watch" and that looking at the Premier League table is "never easy." The legendary former United striker's tenure at Old Trafford spanned between December 2018 and November 2021. He was first appointed as interim coach after José Mourinho's exit and then as permanent manager when he led the club to the Europa League final in 2021 where they lost on penalties to Villarreal Solskjaer was named as head coach of Besiktas on Jan. 18 and signed a contract with the Turkish Super Lig side until the end of next season Despite looking well-set to reach their first Europa League final since Solskjaer's time at the club, United have endured a difficult campaign. Under Ruben Amorim, they are 15th in the Premier League table with four matches left to play "Man United is my family and will always be part of me," Solskjaer told the BBC you don't feel sorry for anyone because we are privileged absolutely 100% privileged to be able to work in clubs like this it is hard to watch because it is your family that is struggling It is never easy at the weekend when you look at the table." Besiktas sit fourth in the Turkish Super Lig They harbour hopes of a top-three finish which depending on the result of the Turkish cup final would offer a Europa League playoff spot for next season's competition Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was named Besiktas head coach in January. Mehmet Emin Menguarslan/Anadolu via Getty ImagesAsked why he opted to take the reins at Besiktas I spoke to a lot without doing anything about it This was the only one I spoke to where I looked back afterwards and thought 'I wish I was there' because there is so much potential "You feel the identity and culture in the club is aligned with you; the values about honesty We were the first club in Turkey to go abroad to play It is very similar to Man United in that sense It just reminded me of Man United when I was there." Solskjaer will come face to face with the man he replaced at Old Trafford on Saturday when Besiktas take on Mourunho's Fenerbahce who are second in the table The 52-year-old said he is expecting a fevered atmosphere at Fenerbahce's Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium when you are at home and winning these games there is nothing better," he says Athletic had two or three massive chances and Victor saves one on the goal line "The margins between winning and losing in football are so close It is better to be lucky than good sometimes Yuleima Borja has lived in La Pista for five years It’s the largest informal migrant settlement in the Americas In the 1980s, the 54-year-old fled the violence of Colombian guerrillas and settled in Venezuela Borja made a life for herself: she became a business administrator and had her daughters But the economic situation became unsustainable She returned to Colombia in 2015 to sell candy on buses using her earnings to pay for a room that she shared with her sister they no longer had enough money to cover the rent I arrived with only a folding bed and a suitcase full of clothes She speaks with EL PAÍS while sitting in her home thousands of people like Borja have settled in La Pista one of the meanings of “pista” is “runway.” In this case the informal settlement literally sits along a former runway at Maicao Airport Most of the more than 9,000 inhabitants counted in the latest census are Venezuelan but there are also Colombian returnees and Wayuu Indigenous people They live on small plots of land near the mile-long former airfield while the luckiest residents live in houses that are covered with metal to keep out the rain during the harsh winters there were up to 20 organizations located in the middle of the settlement the International Organization for Migration Branch offices operated in the Temporary Solidarity Center (CTS) Today, however, the center is abandoned. All of the NGOs ceased their activities after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the closure of USAID — the U.S which were essential for the work being conducted in communities such as La Pista Borja — in addition to being a resident — is the president of the settlement The Colombian has held this position for over a year and has experienced firsthand the devastation caused by the withdrawal of humanitarian organizations when a person didn’t have access to healthcare the hospital only responds if you’re dying All of that’s gone,” she laments through tears the CTS coordinator and liaison between the community and NGOs “The departure of these allies is deeply felt,” he says standing in one of the center’s now-empty tents I have information that more women are prostituting themselves to provide food for their families Some organizations continue to operate on a mobile basis and are able to address some cases The lack of financial support provided by NGOs has halted the progress some families had envisioned a 44-year-old Venezuelan woman who prefers to keep her real name private She’s been living in La Pista for seven years and she’s been preparing homemade chicha — a Venezuelan rice-based drink — for her husband to sell outside a nearby school she was enrolled in a Save the Children program to improve her sales skills The initiative — which promised more than one million Colombian pesos (about $250) to boost her business — has since been shuttered “We were very sad when they told us they wouldn’t be able to give us the money I was going to buy a refrigerator,” she laments Another 20 entrepreneurs were also affected Those of us who go to another country do so to get ahead But he doesn’t listen to the cries of our people.” Colombia is the country in the region that has received the most development grants from the United States Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) provided almost 70% of the humanitarian aid that Colombia received Now dozens of organizations have been forced to close while those that remain active have had to reduce their staff and operations The NGO Forum in Colombia estimates that 1,300 humanitarian workers have been laid off following Trump’s cuts estimates that 40% of the budget planned for 2025 has disappeared we no longer have a presence in six departments,” she noted during a trip organized by the NGO to Maicao because we’d been implementing important initiatives and creating a very valuable network for the communities Our operations disappeared overnight.” The NGO’s work in La Guajira — Colombia’s northernmost department and home to La Pista — has been weakened after the layoff of more than 30% of its staff The closure of USAID has also harmed international organizations such as UNHCR The organization’s Colombia office recently warned of the risk of “losing years of progress” regarding the “protection and integration” of displaced peoples UNHCR announced that it has been forced to “suspend essential services.” This will affect thousands of people primarily internally displaced persons and Venezuelan migrants who don’t reside in the settlement on a permanent basis Xiomara (not her real name) is one of them She’s an Indigenous Wayuu woman and lives in Las Huertas a small municipality in Venezuela very close to the border with Colombia She crosses the border to receive medical care she cannot access treatment for the anemia that she suffers from She also seeks treatment in Colombia for “other illnesses” that cause her to face frequent episodes of dizziness and vomiting Her brother-in-law makes money however he can Jorge Paz explains that many of these commuter residents haven’t returned to La Pista “As they realize that they’re no longer going to be receiving the benefits that the NGOs used to provide — and as they don’t have jobs in the community — they’ve had to leave I hear about families who have sold their shacks because they’re unable to support themselves.” Therefore the population will decline further if the NGO’s don’t resume their activities No governmental authorities reacted when some families began moving onto the old airport’s land 10 years ago The rapid growth of makeshift settlement has posed a challenge for the administration openly admits that the city “doesn’t have the capacity” to care for migrants He emphasizes that the withdrawal of international NGOs has been “disastrous” and is “very regrettable.” When asked if there’s a contingency plan, Aragón responds by noting that his office has “knocked on the doors” of the federal government, led by Colombian President Gustavo Petro “The assistance has been almost nonexistent They tell us they’re working on ‘building programs,’ but so far they’ve only given us some trucks to distribute water,” he maintains The legal situation of La Pista is another thorny issue Although the settlement doesn’t comply with land use regulations evicting the residents would be daunting and highly unpopular Aragón says that he doesn’t feel “willing to remove people” from their homes The mayor’s proposal is to modify the regulations to regularize the neighborhood’s status and the regulations will also help more than 40 other smaller settlements across the city This vision brings some comfort to the residents of La Pista but she acknowledges that the road is still long I’d love to see houses with proper building materials health centers and recreational spaces.” But with all the NGOs and humanitarian workers having left the area her dream now seems farther from reality than ever Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition ¿Quieres añadir otro usuario a tu suscripción ¿Por qué estás viendo esto? cambia tu suscripción a la modalidad Premium Cada uno accederá con su propia cuenta de email lo que os permitirá personalizar vuestra experiencia en EL PAÍS ¿Tienes una suscripción de empresa? Accede aquí para contratar más cuentas En el caso de no saber quién está usando tu cuenta, te recomendamos cambiar tu contraseña aquí. Si decides continuar compartiendo tu cuenta, este mensaje se mostrará en tu dispositivo y en el de la otra persona que está usando tu cuenta de forma indefinida, afectando a tu experiencia de lectura. Puedes consultar aquí los términos y condiciones de la suscripción digital. Presidential candidate George Simion addresses supporters via video link after polls closed for the first round of the country’s presidential election redo in Bucharest Far behind in second place was Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan with 20.89% and in third place the governing coalition’s joint candidate Eleven candidates vied for the presidency and a runoff will be held on May 18 between the top two candidates winner of the first round of last year’s annulled election during the first round of the presidential election redo in Bucharest Supporters of presidential candidate George Simion react to the exit poll results backdropped by depictions of Romanian historical figures outside the headquarters of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) after polls closed for the first round of the country’s presidential election redo in Bucharest A woman holds a baby as she casts her vote in the first round of the presidential election redo in Bucharest Presidential candidate George Simion exits a voting cabin before casting his vote in the first round of the presidential election redo in Mogosoaia Presidential candidate Nicusor Dan gestures as he addresses supporters after polls closed for the first round of the country’s presidential election redo in Bucharest Presidential candidate Crin Antonescu walks surrounded by media shortly before polls closing during the first round of the country’s presidential election redo in Bucharest Supporters hold religious icons outside the voting station where Calin Georgescu and Presidential candidate George Simion voted in the first round of the presidential election redo in Bucharest holds a religious icon as he walks with Calin Georgescu after casting his vote in the first round of the presidential election redo in Mogosoaia Presidential candidate Nicusor Dan speaks to media after polls closed in the first round of the country’s presidential election redo in Bucharest A man wears a t-shirt showing Calin Georgescu winner of the first round of last year’s voided election outside the headquarters of presidential candidate George Simion after polls closed during the first round of the country’s presidential election redo in Bucharest A woman holds up a mobile phone backdropped by depictions of Romanian historical figures outside the headquarters of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) shortly before polls close in the first round of the country’s presidential election redo in Bucharest A little girl peers from under a curtain as her father casts his vote in a voting booth in the first round of the presidential election redo in Bucharest ____This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors Romania (AP) — Hard-right nationalist George Simion secured a decisive win Sunday in the first round of Romania’s presidential election redo The election took place months after an annulled vote plunged the European Union and NATO member country into its worst political crisis in decades READ MORE: Protests roil Romania’s capital after far-right Georgescu barred from presidential election redo the 38-year-old leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians was far outpacing all other candidates in the polls with 40 percent of the vote after 97 percent of votes were counted from Sunday’s vote Far behind in second place was Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan with 20.67 percent with 20.62 percent — a gap that is expected to widen as the last votes from larger cities are counted about 9.57 million people — or 53.2 percent of eligible voters — had cast their ballots with 973,000 votes cast at polling stations set up in other countries The rerun was held after Romania’s political landscape was shaken last year when a top court voided the previous election in which the far-right outsider Calin Georgescu topped the first round following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference WATCH: Romania election results thrown out after Russian interference claims In a prerecorded speech aired after polls closed Romanians “have risen up” and “we are approaching an exceptional result.” “I am here to restore constitutional order,” said Simion who came fourth in last year’s race and later backed Georgescu and I have a single objective: to give back to the Romanian people what was taken from them and to place at the center of decision-making the ordinary antiestablishment sentiment is running high in Romania fueled by high inflation and cost of living a large budget deficit and a sluggish economy Observers say the malaise has bolstered support for nationalist and far-right figures like Georgescu who is under investigation and barred from the rerun who appeared alongside Simion at a polling station on Sunday in the capital called the vote rerun “a fraud orchestrated by those who have made deceit the only state policy,” but said he was there to “acknowledge the power of democracy the power of the vote that frightens the system The presidential role carries a five-year term and significant decision-making powers in national security and foreign policy a 55-year-old mathematician and former anti-corruption activist who founded the Save Romania Union party (USR) in 2016 “It is about the trust of Romanians and our partners in democracy … and in my opinion it is a new beginning that we all have a responsibility to do correctly,” Dan said after the polls closed a veteran centrist who campaigned on retaining Romania’s pro-Western orientation said Sunday that he voted for “a united Romania but it is a battle of ideas,” he said after voting had closed “Let’s not forget that we are fellow citizens also pushed a MAGA-style “Romania First” campaign and boasted of having close ties to the Trump administration stands in fourth place with 14.3 percent of the vote who came second in last year’s first round ballot and participated in the rerun only obtained about 2.6 percent of the vote She positioned herself as a staunchly pro-Western railing against what she described as a corrupt political class said Simion’s clear victory indicates a complete “reshape” of the political spectrum “it will be a clear signal that the political class and the political establishment have lost.” “You have a populist or pro-sovereign movement … and you also have this liberal pro-Western segment of Romania that wants change,” he said adding that it would be a “huge rejection of the classic political parties … and this will mean that the entire political spectrum will be reshaped.” Distrust in the authorities remains widespread especially for those who voted for Georgescu a sizable electorate that Simion has sought to tap into “The antiestablishment sentiment is not like an anarchic movement but is against the people who destroyed this country,” Simion told The Associated Press days before the rerun Simion said that his hard-right nationalist Alliance for the Unity of Romanians party is “perfectly aligned with the MAGA movement,” capitalizing on a growing wave of populism in Europe after U.S President Donald Trump’s political comeback AUR rose to prominence in a 2020 parliamentary election and freedom,” and has since doubled its support who works in the energy sector and voted for Simion says he hopes that if he secures the presidency Romania can “return to the basic principles of democracy “What happened in December 2024 is definitely a dark chapter in the history of this country “I’m hoping things will get back to normal.” The election redo is a crossroads moment for Romania as it seeks to restore its democracy and retain its geopolitical alliances which have become strained since the canceled election fiasco The decision to annul the election and the ban on Georgescu’s candidacy drew criticism from U.S which publicly supported his candidacy in the rerun © 1996 - 2025 NewsHour Productions LLC PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization Subscribe to Here's the Deal with Lisa Desjardins You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed Economy Kyle FitzgeraldWashingtonMay 05 Have a question about Anchorage or Alaska history or an idea for a future article Go to the form at the bottom of this story He was like any other soldier serving in the Aleutians during World War II And he was a member of the Communist Party this is a story all about how hard-boiled crime writer Dashiell Hammett’s life got flipped turned from glitzy Hollywood to the gray shores of Adak the “dean of the so-called ‘hard-boiled’ school of detective fiction,” as described in his New York Times obituary he enlisted in the first world war and spent a formative stint with the notorious Pinkerton National Detective Agency prompted by health issues and a general unease with their often vicious methods a foundation for his new career writing mysteries but his career took off with his first novel “Red Harvest.” It was serialized in a crime fiction magazine from 1927 to 1928 then published as a standalone text in 1929 “The Maltese Falcon” (1930) and “The Thin Man” (1934) His take on reality was unceasing shades of gray maladjusted protagonists hurtling themselves through life with all the art of a ball thrown while blindfolded and spinning in place Hammett himself said of his lead characters “I see in him a little man going forward day after day through mud and blood and death and deceit — as callous and brutal and cynical as necessary — towards a dim goal with nothing to push or pull him towards it except he’s been hired to reach it.” and “The Thin Man” became the basis for six films The 1941 film adaptation of “The Maltese Falcon” starring Humphrey Bogart is a classic of studio system-era cinema and a noir standard he was the rare writer featured in movie advertisements there were no fewer than 12 movies based on his works a celebrity familiar to people who hadn’t even consumed any of his works was determined to once again serve in the Army as proven when he pressed through three abrupt denials the Army had little use for a gaunt 47-year-old author no matter his familiarity with the cold-rolled steel of a typewriter he was nearly 6-foot-2 and a meager 140 pounds topped with a shock of admittedly thick white hair Hammett also suffered from active tuberculosis Several severely rotten teeth were the excuse for rejection number three he had the objectionable remnants of teeth removed and successfully enlisted in September 1942 back where I started twenty-four months ago— a private in the United States Army.” Still “So far my middle-aged bones are holding up pretty fair under the strain of romping around on the drill field with a lot of kiddies and I feel fine — have even put on some weight.” And by that following January the esteemed man of letters severely underestimated his perceived utility to the Army He previously spoke of war in terms of excitement and brotherhood “I am big strong man who throw out the chest and laughs at war ‘ha ha!’” But the Army put him to work editing training manuals Enlistees of his age were not sent into combat zones he was reassigned from New Jersey to Fort Lawton at Seattle a staging ground for deployments to the Pacific Theater “Most of the men I came west with have been shipped “The Maltese Falcon” also reached Anchorage that month nearly two years after its original release it played at the Empress Theatre on Fourth Avenue and he was immediately struck by its unique beauty “Alaska is one of the few places that looks just like Alaska,” he pithily declared to Hellman the windswept island in the Aleutian chain and he arrived right as the front moved elsewhere Japanese forces occupied Attu and Kiska in June 1942 A joint American and Canadian operation liberated Attu in May 1943 The Japanese military abandoned Kiska in July and the island was formally retaken on Aug Hammett thus assumed his posting in Alaska would be brief “The new address at the top of this letter is the fourteenth I have had in less than eleven months in the Army and I don’t see any reason for thinking I’ll keep it much longer than I did any of the others.” On Aug “Now that the Japanese are gone from Kiska guesses and hopes about what will be done by or to the Alaska Defense Command but of course none of us really knows anything.” Instead of departing for more illustrious he spent the remainder of the war in Alaska For while Hammett viewed his part in the war as a kind of noble adventure considered a subversive by many powers that be he was among a group of 38 American authors — including John Steinbeck and Eugene O’Neill — who petitioned President Franklin Roosevelt to embargo Nazi Germany But he was also severely critical of capitalism a perspective reflected in his sour depictions of society He despised the Soviet Union and frequently disparaged the Communist Party itself evidence suggests the Army parked many of its more problematic soldiers in the Aleutians out of sight and far from anywhere of wartime consequence there was “an unusual concentration of suspected subversives” stationed in the islands “When I left where we did the basic training they put us on a ship and started us to a place called Amchitka Alaska,” which he described as “God’s forsaken island in the middle of nowhere where trees don’t grow!” He added never got a chance to got to France or Japan or any of these interesting places Soldiers and sailors stationed in the Aleutians widely despised the experience since it combines constant dampness with constant wind and a constant cloud cover which means that what would call for gale warnings elsewhere is just another day in the Aleutians Add to this a cold dampness and the continual overcast of low gray clouds for about 360 days a year and you have one of the most depressing places in the world Navy Petty Officer Walter Stohler spent most of the war in the Aleutians that was a pretty lonely existence up there Some people kind of went a little nutty up there which is straight alcohol and got pretty sick and they was nutty.” [Torpedo juice: The legendary, illegal WWII liquor drunk in Alaska and around the world] “Don’t worry about me going ‘Aleutwacky.’ I can last for the duration and at that time I hope to turn my job over to some civilian service sucker.” From another letter “I know fellows who would enjoy getting shot just for a chance of getting home you can realize what the Aleutians are like.” What Stohler termed “nutty” and Beaton “Aleutwacky,” Spitzer called the Aleutian Stare that produced in soldiers what was called the Aleutian Stare In the early days our company took its meals in the mess of a National Guard Company that had been there a year having arrived with the American invasion on the heels of the Japanese pull-out I thought I had run into a collection of zombies The guardsmen stared into their plates unseeingly and pushed food into their mouths mechanically and marched out dully into the howling snow.” Hammett likewise described his Quonset hut bunk in less than glowing terms filling our hut with fumes of the diesel oil we burn is blowing up through the cracks between the floor and walls in my corner of the hut but it does chill my fingers and the Coca-Cola I keep under my bunk showing there’s some good and some bad in everything.” In another letter You don’t know that’s news.” All of them on Adak were “penned up on an island where they can’t get away from us without swimming in some of the coldest water known to whales.” the aging mystery scribe was the exception or at least was more willing to engage with the positives We scouted the tundra with one eye alert for a theoretical enemy (After all one can flatten oneself just as expertly in a berry patch as elsewhere; and eating doesn’t interfere with one’s alertness—nobody expects to taste the enemy.)” And he had his own take on the Aleutian Stare While others watched their feet and shuffled as in a daze he enjoyed the vistas and walks on the tundra He exhorted one companion to look up and see Mount Moffett “clean and lovely against the sky.” In a 1943 letter to Hellman “One of the things wrong with this Army is that everybody thinks he had a better time in civilian life than he actually did have.” However briefly he even considered living in the Aleutians once all the fighting was tied up He also possessed enough money that he often didn’t worry about cashing in his wages so I won’t have to be going around with only $837.76 in my pockets,” roughly $15,400 in 2025 money having nothing else to do.) Money is a problem here: what to do with it Such gambling as I do usually leaves me a little ahead and you’d get bowlegged carrying back from the PX more than a couple of dollars’ worth of goods.” the complete lack of expectations and his relatively protected status as a famous enlistee contributed to the ambience even less was asked of the celebrated author or to reread all the classics he packed or had shipped up sending more to his daughter Jo than he had before the war His first true assignment was to co-write a history on the retaking of Attu and Kiska the 24-page booklet “Battle of the Aleutians,” rife with illustrations and maps likely didn’t require much effort on his part he successfully petitioned the island commander enlisted men did not respect him; only the brass did.” Hammett’s first name was Samuel the first issue of the Adakian was published on Jan notably including two Black soldiers before the Army integrated “Most of my tentative staff are youngsters who haven’t been up here very long who are fascinated by a chance to work with the old master on something like this respond immediately to any pointless tale.” The newspaper lasted through 1946 well after Hammett had departed the island Hammett occasionally penned editorials for the paper meant for the local troops on matters and events of that precise and limited audience His editorial note for the first issue noted If we ever forget it — lower the boom on us.” The May 27 Although they could have spelled his name correctly in the headline he assisted three staff cartoonists — Bernard Anastasia Miller — to collect their best work for the Adakian into a book Hammett obtained the necessary permissions and wrote the introduction “Wind Blown and Dripping,” is a sarcastic masterpiece defeated mood of the average serviceman stationed in the Aleutians it is packed with complaints about the weather When other celebrities visited the Aleutians such as Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland it took nearly a year for most of the Alaska public to learn the famous author was stationed in the north “Famed writer is local G.I.” They additionally noted he “looks Hammett began visiting the other bases around Alaska This included significant time in Anchorage If the Alaskan media were slow to realize Hammett was among them the FBI inquired about the known “Communist Party sympathizer” enlisting in the Army replied that Hammett was still a private citizen as far as they knew did not return to the matter until April 1944 when they investigated Hammett and left him under “casual surveillance.” His first Anchorage experience was like a shock so accustomed was he to the sparseness of the Aleutians after a year and more out on the tip of the world it is a completely satisfactory metropolis “I’ve been too long away from the part of the Army that keeps its shoes shined and its hair cut and wears a necktie and makes neat beds .. I’ll get back into those tidy habits if the war and I last long enough but meanwhile they irk my free and soggy Aleutian soul.” There were train rides to Denali and parties though he quickly gifted it to the Black manager This was likely Corrine Benny Green’s Black & Tan Club on Fifth Avenue Far more effort was expended researching Alaska aviation history travelling through Canada on his way to Fort Dix in New Jersey “The weather is hot as hell after two years in Alaska I suppose — or go back to my north country.” It had been over a decade since his last novel his desire to dive back into those worlds long since diminished were peaceful if not creatively productive He lived on a farm and dabbled in teaching His Hollywood relationships had long since evaporated but there were three separate radio adaptations of his works on the air he co-founded a bail fund for political activists was used to free 11 men appealing a conviction for “criminal conspiracy to teach and advocate the overthrow of the United States government by force and violence.” Hammett was called to testify in 1951 as a trustee of the fund but he refused to name any of the contributors He was found guilty of contempt and sentenced to six months in prison where he was assigned toilet-cleaning duties The House Un-American Activities Committee subsequently investigated him but he was summarily blacklisted everywhere that mattered radio shows were canceled and books went out of print The final indignity was a lung cancer diagnosis in late 1960 While Hammett is not the household name he was in the 1930s and 40s street-level dialogue were pioneering hallmarks of his novels and short stories Now they’re features of shows on Disney Plus His flawed creations influenced and continue to influence fictional character designs “If you were to go merely by the quantity (rather than the quality) of his imitators you could argue that Dashiell Hammett was a more important writer than James Joyce.” And for all that his story is yet incomplete unless it includes a relatively brief sojourn in Alaska Wind Blown and Dripping: A Book of Aleutian Cartoons Dies: Created Hard-Boiled Detectives.” New York Times “Famed Writer is Local G.I.” Anchorage Daily Times Selected Letters of Dashiell Hammett 1921-1960 Stade, George. “Dashiell Hammett.” New York Times, October 16, 1983, https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/16/books/dashiell-hammett.html Stohler, Walter. Aleutian World War II National Historic Area Oral History Project. By Joshua Bell. January 9, 2014, National Park Service. Symons, Julian. Dashiell Hammett. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1985. Opens in new windowADVERTISEMENTADVERTISEMENTADVERTISEMENTADVERTISEMENTMost read by subscribers1 playFlick: Yamal has to stay calm to reach the level of Messi & Ronaldo (0:39)Hansi Flick praises Lamine Yamal and speaks about his development Yamal, 17, scored Barça's first goal as they fought back to draw 3-3 with Inter in the Champions League semifinal first leg on Wednesday with his display earning praise around the globe Inter coach Simone Inzaghi labelled him a talent that only comes along every 50 years while Flick called him a genius after the match "He knows what I want from him," Flick said ahead of Saturday's LaLiga game against Real Valladolid when asked what the next step is for Yamal Every player has potential to get better and this is also what he needs it's also hard work when you want to reach this level "We all have to stay calm and let's see what happens We are really happy that he's playing with us and he's on this level at 17 "We know he also has to work hard to [maintain] this and maybe to get better and better Lamine Yamal has scored 15 goals this season. Carl Recine/Getty ImagesYamal who has scored 15 goals and created 24 more this season is one of several players who could rest when Barça travel to bottom of the table Valladolid in LaLiga on Saturday Flick said there will be changes with the second leg against Inter to come on Tuesday, with goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen set to come into the side for his first appearance since injuring his knee in September "I think it's also good for Tek [Wojciech Szczesny] to recover a little bit I am not thinking about [definitive] changes until the end of the season It's the Valladolid game and then we see." While Barça will rotate against Valladolid whose relegation to the second division was confirmed last week they can't afford to take their foot off the gas too much With five games to go in Spain's top flight, they lead Real Madrid by just four points at the top of the table in their pursuit of a treble "LaLiga is the most important [trophy]," Flick added "It doesn't matter where Valladolid are playing next season You can lose the LaLiga title in these matches." with all three pushing to return against Inter Essential digital access to quality FT journalism on any device Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders Complete digital access to quality analysis and expert insights complemented with our award-winning Weekend Print edition Terms & Conditions apply Discover all the plans currently available in your country Digital access for organisations. Includes exclusive features and content. See why over a million readers pay to read the Financial Times. Reporting by Luiza Ilie and Elizaveta Gladun Today's print edition Home Delivery Hard-right euroskeptic George Simion won the first round of Romania's presidential election rerun on Sunday after a ballot seen as a test of the rise of Donald Trump-style nationalism in the European Union Ballots from nearly 99.6% of voting stations showed Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan They will meet in a runoff on May 18.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); A Simion victory could isolate the country erode private investment and destabilize NATO's eastern flank where Ukraine is fighting a 3-year-old Russian invasion In a time of both misinformation and too much information quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing Your subscription plan doesn't allow commenting. To learn more see our FAQ Sponsored contents planned and edited by JT Media Enterprise Division By subscribing I accept the terms of use and privacy policy Samsung Electronics has renegotiated a tax incentive package with the city of Taylor after delays pushed back the launch of its US$18 billion chip foundry by nearly two years The updated deal significantly scales back financial perks originally.. Some subscribers prefer to save their log-in information so they do not have to enter their User ID and Password each time they visit the site check the 'Save my User ID and Password' box in the log-in section This will save the password on the computer you're using to access the site On Feb. 28, multiple media outlets — including The Athletic — reported that North Carolina’s football program and coach Bill Belichick were expected to be featured this season on “Hard Knocks,” the episodic docuseries that airs on HBO shortly before a public announcement was to be made Jordon Hudson, Belichick’s girlfriend played an instrumental role in stopping the production related to her request to be heavily involved in the project according to multiple industry sources briefed on the negotiations The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly In a December 2024 email to North Carolina officials identified herself as the chief operating officer of Belichick Productions (The Athletic has been unable to identify any company registered under that name either in Massachusetts where Hudson’s other business entities are listed According to documents obtained Tuesday by The Athletic NFL Films was scheduled to begin filming March 1 as part of a two-month stint on campus that would delve behind the scenes into the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach’s first UNC team Jessica Boddy — the NFL’s vice president for commercial operations and business affairs — sent an email to North Carolina’s counsel confirming that showmakers “will not proceed with the production of the Belichick project.” The only explanation offered as to why weeks of negotiations had suddenly fallen apart “The conversation took a turn we were not comfortable with,” wrote Boddy also one of the show’s executive producers North Carolina’s athletic department deferred a request for comment to “Hard Knocks,” because it was the production company’s decision to step away from the project which oversees “Hard Knocks,” declined comment the decision for NFL Films to back out of the agreed-upon deal between the league-owned production company and the school meant the end of a project Belichick himself had wanted North Carolina lost out on $200,000 in facilities fees and untold more in exposure More than 200 pages of emails obtained by The Athletic through a public records request detail how the project was pitched and how close it came to completion Hudson is not mentioned or included in the emails assistant director of football operations Bobby Teahan wrote in an email to school administrators including athletic director Bubba Cunningham that “this production is at the request of Coach Belichick.” That note came three days after North Carolina and the “Hard Knocks” team first connected as NFL Films reportedly struggled to find a pro franchise to feature in the offseason version of its traditional preseason show Its pitch in pivoting to UNC was simple: a “behind-the-scenes audiovisual project about Bill Belichick’s transition from the National Football League to Division I college football and the process of building a team.” Filming for a five-part docuseries would start within days with at least two crews in or around the football facilities daily Robotic cameras were to be stationed in the staff meeting rooms and the team auditorium as well as the offices of Belichick and general manager Michael Lombardi The show also pitched shooting “Scenic B-Roll” of Belichick’s temporary residence but that location was not included on the final version of the contract the parties agreed to during negotiations In addition to the facilities fees UNC stood to earn the Tar Heels were scheduled to receive up to $50,000 in reimbursed costs NFL Films and UNC tried to sync up an announcement around the NFL Scouting Combine — even going so far as to circulate a drafted press release now 73: I’ve been a fan of NFL Films for the entirety of my 51-year coaching career and have enjoyed every collaboration with them I’ve been waiting for the right time to partner with the ‘Hard Knocks’ filmmaking team and that time has arrived I’m excited to show off UNC’s tremendous leadership who I hope to teach how to be ‘pros’ on and off the field updating the color and logo on Belichick’s hoodie for a graphic of “Hard Knocks: Offseason with Bill Belichick & The Tar Heels,” coming this summer on HBO and its streaming service The Tar Heels were “excited about the possibility of the show” as they worked through logistics and broadcasting rights senior director of media relations Kevin Best wrote in a separate email “DO NOT announce,” one of the show’s executive producers the Tar Heels’ senior associate athletic director for external affairs and strategic communications replied: “Any sense on your end if he is going to approve today “It’s my hope that it happens this afternoon but we are still waiting for Coach to approve,” Rodgers wrote back UNC’s Office of University Counsel received authorization to start receiving contracts to sign UNC’s director of university governance and associate university counsel even sent a final message to the “Hard Knocks” crew before they started filming “Thanks again for helping make this happen,” Pratt wrote leaving a deal that was at the finish line suddenly dead All that was left by that point was a final clean-up Boddy offered for NFL Films to reimburse North Carolina for any expenses the school had incurred and reiterated that “we greatly appreciate your assistance throughout this process.” Then Boddy’s one final correspondence over a deal that had stunningly fallen apart: “We should proceed with wrapping this up.” (Top image: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Photo: Peyton Williams / Getty Images) Lombo) have loudly insisted that a deal was never done To the point where NFL Films and North Carolina were hoping to announce the production on February 28 the same day that multiple outlets reported it to be a done deal So what happened? TheAthletic.com reports that coach Bill Belichick’s girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, “played an instrumental role in stopping the production related to her request to be heavily involved in the project.” The report cites “multiple industry sources briefed on the negotiations.” And it meshes with everything we’ve heard about how something that was locked and loaded ended up shooting blanks NFL Films was due to begin filming the day after the reports first surfaced NFL Films would have spent two months on campus of commercial operations and business affairs Jessica Boddy emailed North Carolina’s counsel to say that NFL Films “will not proceed with the production of the Belichick project.” “The conversation took a turn we were not comfortable with.” The missed opportunity resulted in North Carolina losing $200,000 in “facilities fees,” along with the free publicity that would have come from having the program showcased by HBO and North Carolina reportedly intended to announce the series around the Scouting Combine which had this quote from Belichick himself: “I’ve been a fan of NFL Films for the entirety of my 51-year coaching career and have enjoyed every collaboration with them I’ve been waiting for the right time to partner with the Hard Knocks filmmaking team and that time has arrived who I hope to teach how to be ‘pros’ on and off the field.” the press release would have landed on the afternoon of Friday Beyond Hudson’s desire to be heavily involved (we’ve heard talk of her possibly wanting to be credited as an “executive producer”) the internal reaction to the initial reports was not ideal Multiple owners weren’t thrilled with the idea that the league would grant such a valuable platform to Belichick and North Carolina With college football more competitive than ever — and with the various owners loyal to their own schools — why throw Chapel Hill a bone why do anything to help a former NFL coach who It could be as simple as this: NFL Films had misgivings about dealing with Hudson to the point where some were on the fence about moving foward Any negative feedback from the folks who own and operate the entire operation could have been enough to nudge NFL Films away from proceeding A Division of NBCUniversal DISCLAIMER: This site and the products offered are for entertainment purposes only and there is no gambling offered on this site This service is intended for adult audiences No guarantees are made for any specific outcome If you or someone you know has a gambling problem The Athletic reported Wednesday that Jordon Hudson played an "instrumental role" in the show being audibled away from North Carolina she requested to be "heavily involved with the project." HAYES: Bill Belichick-Jordon Hudson interview reveals North Carolina may be headed for train wreck just days before it was reportedly set to be officially announced The Athletic reported that Belichick wanted North Carolina to be featured on the show – which is overseen by the NFL – according to more than 200 pages of emails the outlet acquired in a public records request UNC's assistant director of football operations claimed "this production is at the request of Coach Belichick." It was sent to school administrators According to documents obtained by The Athletic with film crews sticking on campus for two months But emails sent from Jessica Boddy – NFL vice president for commercial operations and business affairs – to Belichick's counsel stated "the conversation took a turn we were not comfortable with." They were dated March 3 Hudson was not mentioned or included in the emails REQUIRED READING: Bill Belichick's girlfriend Jordon Hudson shuts down question on how they met Belichick and Hudson's relationship have been under heightened scrutiny this week after they appeared on an interview segment on CBS "Sunday Morning" to promote Belichick's new book "The Art Of Winning: Lessons from My Life in Football." When Belichick was asked how he and the 24-year-old met Your support helps make our show possible and unlocks access to our sponsor-free feed Why is it so hard to find a bathroom when you need one we used to have lots of publicly accessible toilets But many had locks on the doors and you had to put in a coin to use them Pay toilets created a system of haves and have nots when it came to bathroom access Problem is: when the pay toilets went away how toilets exist in a legal and economic netherworld; they're not quite a public good not quite a problem the free market can solve This episode was produced by Willa Rubin with help from James Sneed It was edited by Marianne McCune and engineered by Cena Loffredo Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter Listen free at these links: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney Music: Audio Network - "Smoke Rings," "Can't Walk Away" and "Bright Crystals." Become an NPR sponsor We recognise you are attempting to access this website from a country belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA) including the EU which enforces the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and therefore cannot grant you access at this time e-mail us at info@citizentribune.com or call us at 423-581-5630 Whether you love it or loathe it, the makers of Malört have rolled out a new item that’s sure to divide Chicagoans. The company’s website unveiled a new item this week called “Malört Sucks” candies hard candies that come in 2-ounce tins and are meant for either fans or foes of the divisive liquor the candies are packed with the “taste you love to hate,” and can be shared with “unsuspecting friends or enemies.” Unfortunately for those who didn’t snap some up right away though shipping is expected to occur in the next four weeks Malört was the brain-child of Carl Jeppson who brought the recipe over from his native Sweden The traditional beverage was first produced in the 1930’s and after many decades of being an under-the-radar concoction it exploded onto the scene in the early 2010s CH Distillery purchased the Carl Jeppson Company from Patricia Gabelick in 2018 and brought production of the iconic beverage back to Chicago in 2019 with most drinkers loathing the drink’s aftertaste while others appreciate its abrupt and bitter flavor We'll catch you up on the news you need to know with the Chicago Catch-Up newsletter The Pectra Hard Fork is Ethereum’s next major upgrade after Dencun It brings powerful improvements across three main areas: Smarter Accounts (EIP-7702): Upgrades EOAs with smart contract features like transaction batching all without needing to switch to a contract wallet EIP-6110): Enhances validator experience by increasing the maximum balance More L2 Scaling (EIP-7691): Doubles blob data throughput significantly improving scalability and reducing costs for Layer 2 solutions Pectra is a combined name of Prague (execution layer) and Electra (consensus layer) It represents Ethereum’s steady push toward scalability we’ll break down the major changes in the Pectra hard fork and explain why they’re needed for Ethereum’s future EIP-2537 addresses a significant issue with Ethereum's cryptographic security Ethereum uses the BN254 precompile for cryptographic operations like signature verification which is considered weak in modern cryptography this level of security could become vulnerable to attacks like aggregating multiple signatures or public keys leading to higher gas costs and slower processing times This inefficiency makes it difficult for Ethereum to support scalable applications such as rollups and decentralized apps (dApps) which rely on strong and efficient cryptographic operations EIP-2537 proposes a new precompile for Ethereum using the BLS12-381 curve which provides 120+ bits of security—a much stronger level of protection The introduction of seven new precompiles (located at addresses 0x0b to 0x11) will allow for efficient operations like point addition the multi-scalar multiplication functions (G1MSM and G2MSM) use optimized algorithms to handle signature aggregation tasks more efficiently This upgrade will enable Ethereum to perform critical tasks such as BLS signature verification for proof-of-stake consensus supporting the needs of growing applications like rollups and staking The benefits of EIP-2537 extend beyond just security improvements ensuring that invalid inputs are caught and preventing exploits like infinite loops or denial-of-service attacks the new precompiles simplify the process of building secure applications by providing a more efficient way to handle complex cryptographic tasks making Ethereum more cost-effective for developers building rollups ensuring that existing contracts continue to function as expected though it will require a hard fork to implement This upgrade strengthens Ethereum's cryptographic foundation and better equipped for future innovations Ethereum’s current system only allows access to the last 256 block hashes through the BLOCKHASH opcode which limits how smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) verify past block data This is especially problematic for stateless clients which don’t store the entire blockchain state but need to validate operations based on historical blocks stateless clients must either store or retrieve this data externally which complicates the vision of a stateless Ethereum This limitation also affects Layer 2 solutions like rollups and cross-chain bridges which need historical block data to prove validity across chains EIP-2935 addresses this issue by introducing a system contract that stores the last 8,191 block hashes directly in Ethereum’s state which is a circular array that overwrites the oldest hashes as new ones are added The contract automatically stores the parent block's hash at the start of each block without consuming gas or requiring manual intervention This change allows stateless clients to query the system contract for recent block hashes improving their ability to validate transactions without needing to store the full blockchain history The update also benefits Layer 2 solutions by giving them access to a longer history of block hashes (8,191 blocks) making it easier to prove data availability and build fraud proofs While the BLOCKHASH opcode still only provides the most recent 256 block hashes the system contract allows for efficient access to a much longer history more secure verification for decentralized applications and bridges that rely on Ethereum’s state on-chain method for accessing block hashes EIP-2935 makes Ethereum more scalable and adaptable supporting the growth of stateless clients and enhancing Ethereum’s compatibility with scaling solutions EIP-6110 addresses critical issues in Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism related to validator deposit processing deposits are handled through the "eth1data" mechanism where proposer voting and polling the Ethereum 1.0 (Eth1) network introduce significant delays with deposits taking up to 12 hours to be processed This mechanism also creates security vulnerabilities as an adversarial majority could manipulate deposit data as client sync issues and inconsistencies between different implementations of JSON-RPC APIs can lead to failures maintaining deposit contract snapshots to bootstrap new nodes adds unnecessary complexity making the system harder to manage and less user-friendly EIP-6110 resolves these issues by moving the responsibility for deposit processing from the Consensus Layer to the Execution Layer Validator deposits will be directly appended to Execution Layer blocks from logs emitted by the deposit contract removing the need for proposer voting and dramatically reducing deposit processing time to approximately 13 minutes The proposal ensures that only legitimate deposits are processed by validating them within the Execution Layer making it impossible for adversaries to manipulate deposits without controlling the Execution Layer this shift removes the reliance on external JSON-RPC APIs reducing the risk of failure due to inconsistencies and improving client software design The solution also simplifies Ethereum's deposit system by eliminating the need for deposit contract snapshots and making the validation process more robust the system no longer depends on polling external data sources EIP-6110 introduces new fields in the Execution Layer’s block structure and specifies parameters like DEPOSIT_CONTRACT_ADDRESS and DEPOSIT_EVENT_SIGNATURE_HASH to streamline deposit handling This shift not only improves security and scalability but also enhances the user experience for validators EIP-7002 introduces a new mechanism that allows Ethereum validators to initiate exits and withdrawals through the execution layer using the withdrawal credential instead of relying solely on the validator’s active key Ethereum’s validator lifecycle was controlled by the consensus layer where only the active (hot) key—used for signing duties like proposing and attesting blocks—could request an exit this created a security limitation: the withdrawal credential (cold key) which truly owns the staked ETH and is typically held offline for safety could not directly trigger exits or partial withdrawals If the active key was lost or controlled by a third party (e.g. the true ETH owner had no way to retrieve their funds EIP-7002 solves this by introducing a precompile contract at address 0x00000961Ef480Eb55e80D19ad83579A64c007002 in the execution layer This contract exposes a standardized interface that allows withdrawal credential holders to submit exit or partial withdrawal requests for a specific validator index the contract appends the request to a withdrawal queue which is then processed by the consensus layer Each block can process up to 16 requests (with a soft target of 2 per block) to avoid overloading the system To prevent denial-of-service attacks or spam EIP-7002 includes a dynamic fee model: the base fee to make a request increases if the queue is saturated and decreases when usage is low—similar to Ethereum’s EIP-1559 gas adjustment logic This discourages abuse while keeping the system fair and functional This upgrade is particularly useful for smart contract-based staking solutions or multisig-controlled validators where the withdrawal credential is managed programmatically and should retain full authority over staked funds if a validator operator becomes unresponsive or compromised the withdrawal credential owner (like a staking pool contract) can still exit the validator and recover ETH without needing cooperation from the validator operator EIP-7002 enhances Ethereum’s staking architecture by empowering the true owner of funds (the withdrawal credential) with direct on-chain control over validator exits and withdrawals and strengthens the security and decentralization of Ethereum staking Ethereum currently limits each validator to a maximum effective balance of 32 ETH which creates issues for both solo stakers and large staking operators Big operators must manage thousands of validators to handle their ETH leading to over 830,000 validators by October 2023 This bloats the network with peer-to-peer traffic and memory usage—slowing things down and increasing operational costs can’t stake more than 32 ETH per validator and don’t benefit from compounding rewards EIP-7251 proposes increasing the maximum effective balance to 2048 ETH (while keeping the 32 ETH minimum) This change would let large stakers merge multiple validators into fewer more efficient ones—reducing network load—and give solo stakers more flexibility to stake above 32 ETH and earn better rewards The upgrade works through several mechanisms: a new smart contract (from EIP-7685) allows validators to merge their ETH stakes into fewer validators A queue system limits how many can merge at once Ethereum adjusts how many validators can enter or exit at a time (churn limits) allows partial withdrawals (thanks to EIP-7002) and reduces penalties for merging stakes — all to make consolidation easier there's a maximum limit of 262,144 consolidation requests It makes Ethereum’s staking system more scalable benefiting both solo and institutional stakers—without compromising decentralization or security EIP-7549 proposes moving the committee index field out of the signed Attestation message in Ethereum’s consensus layer to improve vote aggregation efficiency each attestation includes the LMD GHOST vote Because the committee index is inside the signed message validators with identical votes produce different signatures By relocating the committee index outside the signature and into a separate field called committee_bits identical votes from different validators can be aggregated into a single signature This drastically reduces the number of attestations needed to reach consensus from around 1366 to just 22 in large validator sets It also allows blocks to include up to 8 slots' worth of votes instead of 2 significantly increasing on-chain vote capacity and efficiency This proposal only affects the consensus layer—no changes are required on the execution layer It sets the committee_index in the signed part of the attestation to zero and moves the actual indexing to an outer container using committee_bits It also increases the size of the aggregation_bits to cover all slot committees the proposal reduces MAX_ATTESTATIONS and cuts MAX_ATTESTER_SLASHINGS from 2 to 1 Bitvectors are used instead of Bitlists for better space efficiency Because this change alters how attestations are verified it is backward-incompatible and requires a hard fork Although the first block after the fork may have zero attestations due to the format switch the impact is minimal—only one epoch’s worth of penalties for affected validators as gossip-level mutation is mitigated by signature checks and verification rules Malicious attempts to alter committee index data in transit are dropped by peer validation before reaching consensus Ethereum transactions can include extra data in a section called calldata This is where rollups and many smart contracts store things like proofs The problem is: sending data in calldata is extremely cheap especially if that data is made up of many zero bytes This means someone can send a huge amount of data for very little gas a transaction with mostly zero bytes can still legally exist inside a block and cause the block to balloon in size — in some cases up to 7.15 megabytes (MB) That’s far larger than the typical block size of ~100 kilobytes (KB) Even though these large blocks are technically compressed using Snappy during peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing between nodes and process that data — putting extra stress on bandwidth This rising block size trend was mostly being driven by rollups and apps using Ethereum just to post raw data The issue got even more serious after Ethereum introduced EIP-4844 which created a special space (called blobs) for posting large amounts of data That change made it even more important to keep block size variability under control so that Ethereum nodes don’t get overwhelmed and network performance remains stable EIP-7623 addresses this by increasing the cost of calldata especially when the transaction is mostly just dumping data without doing real computation Instead of charging the same low price per byte this proposal introduces a “floor cost” per unit of calldata The new rule says: a transaction must pay at least 10 gas per calldata token no matter how cheap the rest of the transaction is A “token” here is a weighted measure: each zero byte counts as 1 token and each non-zero byte counts as 4 tokens (because non-zero data is harder to compress) if a transaction includes lots of data but very little execution logic it still has to pay this minimum base cost This discourages oversized transactions that are just using Ethereum as a cheap data dump If you’re doing something that includes significant smart contract logic — like swapping tokens or bridging assets — you continue to pay the same as before But if your transaction is mostly just dumping data into the blockchain bringing the maximum EL (execution layer) payload size down to about 0.72 MB from a theoretical 7.15 MB significantly reducing resource load on Ethereum nodes The proposal is backwards-incompatible because it changes gas pricing rules so it requires a hard fork — meaning all Ethereum clients and wallets must upgrade to understand the new cost system the transition should be seamless once wallets and infrastructure have updated many validators—the entities responsible for securing the network—are now being managed by smart contracts instead of individuals These smart contracts often need to carry out actions that affect the Consensus Layer (CL) such as changing validator settings or initiating upgrades to send such instructions or requests to the CL these actions often require manual intervention or the use of off-chain systems This limitation becomes a serious obstacle as more parts of Ethereum’s infrastructure become automated and self-governed by code EIP-7685 solves this problem by introducing a standard framework for communication from the Execution Layer to the Consensus Layer It does this by adding a new field called requests_hash to each execution block header smart contracts can generate structured “requests” (such as asking for a validator update) which are collected by the execution layer and summarized into a single requests_hash and act on these requests in a secure and consistent way the system is flexible: the format and meaning of each request are defined separately allowing new types to be added in the future without changing the core block structure and secure by giving smart contracts a trusted way to suggest consensus-level actions without relying on off-chain tools or human coordination Ethereum introduced "blobs" with the Dencun upgrade in March 2024 to help Layer 2 (L2) rollups post transaction data more cheaply and efficiently the number of blobs per block was limited—3 on average and 6 at most—to avoid overloading the network while the new system was still being tested This small limit became a problem as more L2s started using Ethereum for data availability With many rollups competing for limited blob space this restriction slowed down their growth and reduced the overall scalability of Ethereum EIP-7691 solves this issue by increasing blob capacity per block It raises the target from 3 to 6 blobs and the maximum from 6 to 9 This decision is based on real-world data showing that Ethereum’s network has handled blobs well so far Improvements to the gossip network protocol making room for more data without harming performance The proposal only changes a few constants in Ethereum’s code It also adjusts how the blob fee is calculated to keep prices stable despite the higher capacity this change helps L2s handle more transactions and boosts Ethereum’s scalability—while keeping things simple and safe for the network Ethereum's Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs) are controlled by private keys and offer basic functionality but they lack advanced features found in smart contract wallets approving and spending ERC-20 tokens) are executed in one transaction which leads to higher gas costs and more complexity especially for users of decentralized exchanges (DEX) where users can limit what sub-keys can do (like spending only a small percentage of funds daily) These limitations make EOAs less ideal for complex apps and lead users to use more complicated smart contract wallets Ethereum struggles to offer a smooth user experience and their absence leads to higher costs and potential security risks Users must either manage multiple transactions or rely on others to pay for gas EIP-7702 aims to fix this by allowing EOAs to delegate code execution to smart contracts so they can use advanced features without needing to switch to complex smart contract wallets EIP-7702 solves the problem by introducing a new type of transaction (SET_CODE_TX_TYPE 0x04) that lets EOAs permanently set their code to delegate actions to a smart contract This is done by providing a signed list of authorizations which specifies which contract the EOA will delegate to This allows EOAs to use batching (doing multiple actions in one transaction) sponsorship (having someone else pay the gas fees) and privilege de-escalation (giving limited permissions to sub-keys) a user could set their EOA to only allow spending 1% of their ETH per day and security is ensured by controlling gas costs and checking the nonce EIP-7702 also improves security by requiring signed approvals for delegation and limiting the number of delegation chains to avoid problems like infinite loops It also reduces risks like front-running and protects against replay attacks through nonce checks this means a better experience with lower gas costs While it requires a hard fork to change the Ethereum network’s rules EIP-7702 is backward compatible with existing contracts and fits into Ethereum's future goals such as account abstraction (like ERC-4337) helping Ethereum grow and adapt to advanced features EIP-3074 and EIP-7702 both aim to make Ethereum wallets (EOAs) smarter EIP-3074 lets your wallet give control to another smart contract called an invoker but the downside is that it puts a lot of trust in the invoker—if it’s buggy or malicious EIP-7702 takes a safer and more flexible approach it allows your wallet to temporarily behave like a smart contract just for one transaction This means you get advanced features like custom login So in short: EIP-3074 is simpler but riskier while EIP-7702 is more powerful and secure designed for the long-term evolution of Ethereum wallets Ethereum's Dencun upgrade introduced "blobs" - special data containers that help Layer 2 solutions post data more affordably The network needs to control how many blobs can be included in each block through parameters like target count When these values need to change (like in the upcoming Prague fork) This creates unnecessary complexity and makes it harder to adjust these parameters in the future as network capacity evolves EIP-7840 introduces a simple but effective solution: adding a dedicated blobSchedule object to client configuration files This object lists the blob parameters for each network fork making it easy to update values without changing the core client code This approach solves several problems at once it allows dynamic adjustment of blob parameters without requiring client software updates it avoids the complexity of passing these values through the Engine API (the interface between Ethereum's execution and consensus layers) with every block it ensures execution clients have access to these parameters for features like the eth_feeHistory RPC method which needs to calculate blob gas usage ratios The proposal is intentionally flexible about how clients handle missing or incomplete configuration allowing each implementation to choose its own approach By standardizing this configuration format across all clients future-proof way to manage blob parameters as Ethereum continues to scale through its rollup-centric roadmap This small change significantly simplifies how Ethereum handles capacity upgrades in the future Summary: The Pectra upgrade brings key improvements to Ethereum's scalability EIPs like 2537 enhance cryptographic security while 2935 and 6110 improve data integrity and validator deposit handling and other proposals like 7251 and 7549 streamline validator balance and committee structures EIP-7702 enables EOAs to use smart contract features These changes collectively make Ethereum more efficient WIREDAffordable. Easy to set up. Easy to maintain. Can be converted to 240V, or simply used as 120V on a regular outlet.TIREDRequires daily and weekly maintenance.My wife is convinced that there are two types of people in the world: “Soakers” and “Non-Soakers.” While she would consider a leisurely day a six-hour hike with 20 kg backpacks in the Himalayas, I consider it a day spent lounging in the water. I have, like any self-respecting Soaker, always wanted a proper hot tub to enjoy my biweekly tubbing, but I never wanted to buy an inflatable tub (I am as clumsy as I am lazy), nor spend thousands on a proper “home spa” from a local retailer. Photograph: Parker HallEnter this AquaRest, the cheapest hard-sided hot tub I could find on Wayfair. It arrived on a pallet, plugs into my normal 120-volt outdoor outlet, and was hot and ready in two days. It costs about double what you’d pay for an equivalent inflatable, but feels significantly more robust, and can even be upgraded to a 220V outlet if you want more “traditional” hot tub heating. The four-person tub means a good time for friends and family. Even my wife is coming around to joining me for the occasional dip on our back patio. I have used it for months at this point with no issues to speak of, save the one time my power went out and I forgot to turn it back on. If you’re after a nice, durable hot tub that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, I highly recommend it. Photograph: Parker HallThe AquaRest comes on a pallet, completely wrapped in plastic. This worked out amazingly well for me, because when it arrived I was in the middle of a remodel and needed to leave it outdoors for a couple months (covered). It survived that wait just fine, and I unwrapped it and moved it to a permanent location on a level (ish) patio that we had. All products featured on Wired are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. You’ll want to make sure that you have a good level space that can handle the thousands of pounds a full hot tub weighs before you place this thing there: it’s not light, and it absolutely shouldn’t be placed on an unreinforced deck or a raised patio you don’t want sagging into the ground. My location was disused and very nearly level, with pavers over sandy soil that can take the weight. Make sure you investigate this before even considering a hot tub. The only real assembly, apart from making sure you have enough power (either a standard 120V circuit or 240V dryer outlet will work, with 240 being noticeably faster to heat), is installing the lid. It’s a normal flip-top style hot tub lid with foam insulation. It comes with drillable clips so that you can make sure it stays secure on windier days. Photograph: Parker HallThe tub has 12 jets and four clear seating positions, with a common footwell for everyone to share once inside. It’s a bit tight with larger folks, but you can pretty comfortably fit four adults in the tub, and very easily fit two (and a baby, my wife and I discovered, if the temp is low enough). Controls are simple buttons on the side of the tub, with a temp readout that tells you what the current temp is, with the set temp adjustable by arrow keys, as well as the small spa light, and the jets. The jets themselves are easily turned on and off with said switch, unless the spa is heating, at which time they remain on to circulate the heated water. You can adjust how strong the bubbles are with clever little knobs on top of the tub rim next to the cupholders (essential for a hot tub). Photograph: Parker HallIf you’re a new hot tub buyer, it’s essentially as easy as filling up the tub, then waiting the 24-ish hours it takes to heat up water to your desired temperature. I set the tub to its maximum 104 degrees Fahrenheit for a proper heat soak, and it took a bit over 24 hours to heat the tub from tap-cold water on 120V in the middle of winter. Your mileage will vary, but plan on a day or two until it’s properly rocking. I was worried it would make a huge dent in my electric bill, but I haven’t noticed a significant change, likely owing to the fact that it’s simply a 120V system that sips power to keep warm. The foam insulation in the tub and the lid seems more than adequate for my temperate climate in Oregon. The thing has been running for months now at my home with no issues whatsoever, and I think it even looks pretty great given how cheap it is. If you’ve been in the market for a way to relax in these stressful times but also know you’re not the inflatable type, I highly recommend you give this model a go. It’s really much nicer than it has any right to be. It is the essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our lives—from culture to business The breakthroughs and innovations that we uncover lead to new ways of thinking A bundled SeekWizard app moves the visible HDD actuator arm in interesting ways which is nicely visible when using the external drive's angled stand owners can see the platters spinning and the read/write heads skating across the magnetic surface the attractions of this hardware lean heavily on its looks Buffalo boasts of the "premium quality" machined and anodized aluminum construction of its anniversary 4TB HDD The packaging is quite lavish for this kind of product For a real piece of executive desk toy action users can load up some software from Buffalo called SeekWizard (Windows only) This application allows users to animate the HDD arm visible through the window in the following modes (remember this information is based on a machine translation this product is a follow-up to one Buffalo previously launched back in 1978 – its first Skeleton HDD model Though they aren't entirely relevant to the appeal of this limited edition product We already mentioned that this is a 4TB HDD at heart The drive sits in a nicely made angled metal bracket and the whole caboodle weighs about 1.5kg If you want to use it as more than an inanimate ornament you will need to plug it into your Mac or PC via its USB 3.2 (Gen 1) Micro-B interface this drive's special SeekWizard software only works with Windows There is no sign of this commemorative product on the U.S the firm will hold a lottery where those interested can win the chance to buy one of just 50 of these limited edition units Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason Seagate's 28TB Expansion portable HDD drops to $329 — Massive storage for your desktop Best Buy shaves $50 Off Seagate's 26TB Expansion HDD — now just $11.50 per TB Star Trek fans in May The Fourth RTX 5090 competition Here's an excerpt on Hudson's involvement in the failed Hard Knocks deal from the report: While there were no specific details regarding Hudson's alleged hand in undermining the Hard Knocks deal the report curiously stated that Belichick himself wanted the project to go through The Athletic also stated that the UNC-Hard Knocks deal came very close to completion When the deal was reportedly at the finish line production for the series was rather suddenly stopped and the project was scrapped Two days after NFL Films was scheduled to begin filming who is the NFL's vice president for commercial operations and business affairs and additionally serves as one of Hard Knocks' executive producers sent an email to UNC confirming the cancellation of the project Belichick and UNC football's messy fallout with Hard Knocks seems to remain shrouded in uncertainty The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER