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Back in April, North America was treated to a rare celestial event: a total solar eclipse. Observers from Mexico to Maine witnessed an amazing sight as the moon passed in front of the sun and made it as dark as night in the middle of the day. I don't live in the path of that eclipse so I didn't get to see it in person, but I made up for that today. If you've got a copy of Microsoft Simulator 2024, you can experience an amazing simulation of April's eclipse whenever you want. Important note: I didn't figure this out myself. Reddit user Junior72 is the pilot/astronomer responsible for this cool discovery . They went into MSFS 2024, set the date to April 8, and watched the simulated moon passing in front of the simulated sun while flying around in a jet. So cool. I wasn't about the miss the eclipse again so I jumped into the game this morning and tried it myself. I picked my airport as Dallas Love Field, right in the eclipse's path. I set the date to April 8 and turned the clock to about 1:35 pm, a few minutes before the total eclipse happened. Sure enough, looking up into the sky I could see just a sliver of sunlight left as the moon passed in front of the sun. It's a little hard to see in the photo below without enlarging it, but it's there. (Please ignore my pilot's terrible hair and face.) A few minutes later it got eerily dark, and the sun completely vanished from the sky. Wait long enough, and the sky will begin to brighten as the moon continues along its path. It's really cool. I think my favorite part, though, is looking at the eclipse from space. Using the freecam, I zoomed way, way out until I could see most of North America. And there it is, the entire shadow of the moon smack dab on Texas: If you own Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, I really recommend checking it out yourself. Here's a guide to the eclipse's path , which will tell you the times it passes over the various locations on April 8. Hop into free flight, set the time and date, and enjoy the show. The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — If anybody can slow down Cincinnati Bengals receiver Ja'Marr Chase, it's Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II. Denver Broncos' Pat Surtain II reacts after breaking up a pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Denver. He did it before when both were rookies in 2021 and Surtain held Chase to a single catch for 3 yards on four targets on a day Joe Burrow threw for just 157 yards. "That was early in my career. Rookie year? Yeah, it was a good game," Surtain said. "They came in with a high-striking offense and we knew that we had to eliminate the explosives, eliminate their top threat. Ja'Marr, he's a great player, one of, if not the best, receivers in the league." Surtain and Denver's defense gets some help this weekend with the expected return of second-year cornerback Riley Moss, who has been out for a month with a sprained MCL. Moss's return to the lineup would allow defensive coordinator Vance Joseph to go back to playing primarily man coverage instead of zone, meaning Surtain could stick to Chase (108 catches for 1,510 yards and 16 TDs) while Moss defends Tee Higgins (58 receptions for 727 yards and seven TDs). "They got a lot going on with themselves on the offensive side of the ball, so it's gonna be a good challenge," Surtain said. "Trying to eliminate them like how we did that time would be great." Eliminating Chase as a game-breaking threat could go a long way toward the Broncos (9-6) eliminating the Bengals (7-8) from the AFC playoff chase. Cincinnati needs to beat Denver to stay alive and the Broncos can clinch their first playoff berth since 2015 with a win or a tie Saturday. Although ... Back in '21, the Bengals and Broncos were both 7-6 when Surtain and Chase squared off for the first time. Despite Chase having the worst statistical day of his career, the Bengals escaped Denver with a 15-10 triumph that they parlayed into a Super Bowl run. The Broncos lost their last three to finish on a four-game slide and a 7-10 record, one in a string of seven straight losing seasons, a skid they only snapped this year. The Broncos missed a chance to clinch a playoff spot last Thursday when they frittered away a double-digit second-half lead in a 34-27 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Although coach Sean Payton had written "Run It!!" in thick letters across the top of his play sheet, he only called for 14 hand-offs after the Broncos drove down the field for a TD on their opening drive in which four running backs carried seven times for 43 yards, capped by Audric Estime's 3-yard TD. The Broncos likely will look to run it more Sunday with rain in the forecast and Chase and Burrow waiting on the opposite sideline. Sent weekly directly to your inbox!Former Democrat presidential candidate Marianne Williamson has announced her bid to chair the Democratic National Committee (DNC), saying she will “work to reinvent the party from the inside out.” In a Substack blog post on Thursday, the 72-year-old author said the rise of the “MAGA phenomenon” means that Democrats need to change their “playbook” to regain control of the White House: This year’s election of a DNC Chair feels different than in past years. Before now, the party had faced defeats to be sure. But our playbook still basically worked. The waters were turbulent at times, but our ship was steady. This year, the party faces a more critical problem than we have ever faced before. The MAGA phenomenon now challenges the very way that politics are done in America, and the traditional tool kit of party organizing will not be enough to meet the moment. Asserting that Democrats need to recognize and understand President-elect Donald Trump’s “appeal,” Williamson said the typical strategies of data analysis, fundraising, field organizing, and “beefed-up” technology “will not be enough to prepare the way for Democratic victory.” “That’s why I have decided to run for DNC Chair this year,” she stated, before citing her experience running for president in 2020 and 2024. FLASHBACK: She’s Back! Democrat Marianne Williamson “Unsuspends” Her Presidential Campaign She then linked to her “Manifesto for a Renewed Democratic Party,” published on December 16, which reflected on the mistakes the DNC made that cost them the November election: In essence, the Democratic party has lost its spiritual connection with the American people. Many who used to trust the Democratic party now feel cynical about it – and often for understandable reasons. The party has squandered its moral authority, its processes and policies having been corrupted by corporate influence. It has become increasingly disconnected from the values – particularly economic values – that have always been central to the party’s identity, resulting in a mass exodus of the working people of the United States away from it. This was a huge mistake and a tragic failure. Williamson concluded her post-Christmas candidacy announcement by urging DNC members to sign her petition to get her into the candidate panels in January, adding that “Republicans will be ready on Day 1. As DNC Chair, I’ll make sure that we are ready to take them on.” The chairmanship election, which is expected to be held on February 1, 2025, has also garnered bids from New York State Sen. James Skoufis (D), Minnesota Democrat party chair Ken Martin, Wisconsin Democrat party chair Ben Wikler, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, and former Homeland Security official Nate Snyder, according to the Hill .
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Seats filled: 1 7.20pm ‘If I was given the opportunity to be housing minister, I would grasp it with both hands. It desperately needs the greatest level of change in this country,’ says Eoin Ó Broin Eoin Ó Broin admits that he would “absolutely relish the opportunity to try and fix housing,” as a minister if he got the chance. “If I was given the opportunity to do that (be housing minister), I would grasp it with both hands because that's one of the areas we desperately need the greatest level of change in this country,” he told the Irish Independent. “I would absolutely relish the opportunity to try and fix housing. I've been a housing activist as long as I've been a political activist and housing is just the single biggest issue, both in my own constituency and across the State. “I'd like it not because I want to be a minister, I'd like it because I really think the plan that we have and the people around us could do so much better for people, whether it's people waiting on council list, people who are homeless, people who are looking to buy or rent affordably, also older people approaching pension age and living in the private rental sector and scared of what's going to happen in the future.” Ó Broin is proud of his “united,” campaign with Mark Ward, and hopes more Sinn Fein TD’s are elected this weekend. “Both myself and Mark Ward ran a really strong united campaign here in Dublin Mid-West and the objective was to try and take the first two seats. “I've been declared and my surplus is now going to be distributed. Mark will get the lion's share of that. While it might not bring him in this count, he'll certainly take the second seat, if not tonight, early tomorrow. “Two Sinn Fein TD's return from Dublin Mid-West with the plan and hopefully by tomorrow afternoon that will be achieved. “David Cullinane has beat me to be the first elected, and he will never let me hear the end of that. I'm delighted David did really, really well. It looks like Connor McGuinness, his running mate, has a really good chance of getting a second Sinn Fein seat in Waterford, which will be a huge gain.” 7pm ‘I’m scarlet,’ Sinn Fein’s Eoin Ó Broin first elected in Dublin Mid-West Whilst being lifted up in the air, Sinn Fein’s Eoin Ó Broin laughed ‘I’m scarlet.’ The spokesperson for housing got a total of 9892 votes in the first count. His colleague Mark Ward followed with 5325, and Ó Broin hopes that he’ll be elected later tonight or early tomorrow morning. 5.35pm Labour Party’s Cllr Francis Timmons bids farewell to Dublin Midwest election race. Cllr Francis Timmons, who was previously an Independent politician, ran as a Labour candidate in the General Election 2024. But with 5.3pc (2500) votes, he has thanked the public for the votes, but admitted this is not the change that he wanted. He said: “Thanks everyone that voted for me! Not the change I desperately wanted but the people that voted have spoken! Whoever forms the government I wish them well - there is no shortage of challenges but I hope they change direction or it will be the same issues in 5 years time!” 5:20pm First count is underway Social Democrats Councillor Eoin Ó Broin brings his “number one supporter,” to the count centre at the Adamstown Community Centre. His daughter Éanna is “keeping an eye on the proceedings,” ahead of the first count result. Social Democrats Councillor Eoin Ó Broin brings his daughter Éanna to the count centre. 12pm:In the tallies, Sinn Fein have come out on top with 32.3pc of the votes in Dublin Midwest. Fine Gael followed with 17.7pc with Fianna Fail third with 11.4pc. SF’s O'Broin has 20.7pc of the overall votes and his colleague, Ward is behind him with 11.7pc. The following in the top spots is Emer Higgins (FG) with 10.8pc and Shane Moynihan (FF) with 9.6pc of the votes. Paul Nicolas Gogarty, who is an Independent candidate, has 7.9pc of tally votes. Fine Gael’s Vicki Casserly is currently in sixth place with 7.7pc of the votes. Social Democrats Eoin O’Broin has 6.2pc of the final tally. With the official count taking place this afternoon and transfers on the cards, it could still be anyone’s game. 10am: Sinn Féin are dominating the tallies so far in Dublin Midwest with 36.3pc of the total votes in the bag. So far, 35pc of the boxes have been opened and tallied. In the candidate breakdown, Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó’Brion has 29.9pc and his colleague Mark Ward has 15.4pc. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity.