MACON, Ga. (AP) — Ahmad Robinson had 25 points in Mercer's 75-63 win over winless Chicago State on Sunday. Robinson shot 9 of 16 from the field and went 7 for 8 from the free-throw line for the Bears (6-4). Marcus Overstreet scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Angel Montas had nine points. Noble Crawford led the Cougars (0-12) with 20 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two steals. Cameron Jernigan added 18 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Troy McCoy scored 11. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Recent data has revealed a concerning trend in the realm of money market funds, with more than 20% of these financial products experiencing a significant drop in their 7-day annualized yield, falling below the key threshold of 1.3%. This development has been particularly notable in the case of Tiānhóng Yúebǎo, one of the leading money market funds in China, as it has recently reached an all-time low in terms of its returns.
Educational Games Market is Going to Boom | Major Giants LEGO Education, DragonBox, BrainPOP
With sirens blaring and lights flashing, the police convoy swiftly cleared a path through the congested highway, ensuring a smooth and unimpeded journey to the nearest medical facility. The sense of urgency hung palpably in the air, driving the officers to push the limits of their vehicles as they navigated through the sea of cars, ensuring a safe passage for the expectant mother in need. The stakes were high, and the responsibility weighed heavy on the shoulders of those involved in this race against time.NBC Sports makes its first foray into doing an NFL alternate broadcast on Saturday when it puts the matchup between the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs into the realm of the Madden video game universe. The Madden altcast will be streamed on Peacock with the main broadcast airing on NBC, beginning at 1 p.m. EST. It is the first time NBC has done an alternate broadcast of an NFL game. CBS has done at least one game on Nickelodeon since the 2020 season, while ESPN/ABC have the “ManningCast” as well as animated presentations featuring “ The Simpsons ” and “ Toy Story .” Amazon Prime Video also has “Prime Vision with Next Gen Stats” during “Thursday Night Football.” “It’s ironic that you want to make the video game as much as actual live play as possible and now you are doing the opposite of trying to make the real game look like the video game,” said Josh Helmrich, the NFL's senior director of media and Next Gen Stats. The altcast on Peacock will blend video game elements — such as Madden 25 graphics, route trees, player cards, button icons on eligible receivers and player ratings — with live action. GenuisIQ will provide real-time data via the league’s Next Gen Stats. There will also be times when animations from the video game — such as touchdown celebrations — will be used instead of live action. NBC has used the “Sunday Night Football” games the last two weeks as test broadcasts to make sure all the technology was working as well as build cohesion in the studio in Stamford, Connecticut, with the announcers doing the game. Paul Burmeister will handle the play-by-play with Madden NFL expert Kurt Benkert and six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Chad Ochocinco providing commentary. Ochocinco will serve as a real-time player “ratings adjuster.” Henry Leverette, who won the Ultimate Madden Bowl championship ring in February, will also be part of the broadcast. Burmeister noted earlier this week that there will be more hard core football schematic chess match talk on the altcast compared to what might happen on a traditional football broadcast. “I’m really excited to toe that line and weave this in to show how much parallel the game has to the real game itself,” Benkert said. “I think will resonate really well with the younger audience and with people that are used to seeing it in the video game that way.” While the Madden video game is known for the high camera view above the quarterback, that will be used only for replays or to show formations before plays. The traditional sideline camera will be used the most since that better shows route trees and other features most associated with the game. In an added twist, Ochocinco will be able to adjust a player's rating depending on what happens during the game. The Texans (9-5) have clinched the AFC South while the AFC West champion Chiefs (13-1) are looking to remain the conference's top seed. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce were two of only six players to begin the season with 99 overall ratings in the Madden game. Houston's highest-rated players in Madden are offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil (95) and running back Joe Mixon (93). Eleven players on the Texans and Chiefs rosters have a Madden rating above 90. The Madden altcast also takes on personal meaning for NBC Sports Executive Producer of NFL Fred Gaudelli, who was Madden's producer during the final seven years of his broadcast career. Madden joined ABC's “Monday Night Football” in 2002 before Madden and Gaudelli moved to NBC for the start of “Sunday Night Football” in 2006. “The one thing John held fast is you couldn't put something in the video game that you couldn't do in a real game,” Gaudelli said. “I had some memorable times picking his brain about the advent of the video game and what led him to it. He has been foremost in my mind as we’ve all tried to strategize what this should look like on Saturday.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflOn the other hand, concerns over inflation, regulatory risks, and geopolitical tensions continue to weigh on market sentiment. The recent volatility in global commodity prices and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic add uncertainty to the economic recovery, prompting some investors to adopt a wait-and-see approach.As the world continues to grapple with environmental challenges and resource scarcity, Mr. Zhang's successful venture serves as a reminder that with innovation and determination, even the most unlikely materials can be "hatched" into valuable treasures.
The proposed ban on DJI and Da Jiang Innovations is the latest in a series of measures aimed at strengthening national security oversight of emerging technologies. In recent years, the US government has taken steps to restrict the use of Chinese-made equipment in critical infrastructure, citing concerns over potential backdoors and vulnerabilities that could be exploited by foreign adversaries. The ban on DJI drones reflects a broader trend toward greater scrutiny of technology imports and a more cautious approach to foreign investments in strategic sectors.Our sleep experts have been lying on mattresses for years -- some members for eight years at this point. Having tested around 350 beds from dozens of different mattress brands, our team has a good grasp on bed firmness levels. Even with our honed-in testing processes and extensive experience comparing firmnesses, our assessments have been solely subjective -- until recently. Built by CNET Labs' tech experts Bryan Adams, lab engineer, Jared Hannah, technical product testing analyst and Steve Conaway, the director of CNET Labs, our proprietary Mattress Smasher 9000 device offers an objective way to determine mattresses' firmness levels. This nifty machine officially launched in July and has smashed nearly 100 beds thus far. This number rises weekly as our experts continue to smash the beds currently stored in our expansive mattress warehouse and the new mattresses we regularly receive to review. Read more : We Use Tech to Test Beds: Say Hello to the Mattress Smasher 9000 Watch senior video producer Owen Poole explain how the Mattress Smasher works and why it changed the way we test beds. The mattress-smashing process On average, smashing each bed takes about thirty minutes. Moving the beds into our designated Mattress Smasher room and situating them on the platform takes some time. Once the bed is appropriately positioned and the machine is ready, we hit "start" and wait between three to five minutes for the machine to work its magic and provide us with the objective firmness level. This "magic" happens as the powerful actuator arm pushes its pressure-sensitive plate down into the mattress until it reaches a pre-determined amount of force, simulating body weight. The machine calculates the firmness based on the distance the arm and plate traveled into the mattress until they reached that force amount, traveling further (or deeper) into softer beds and not as far into firmer beds. With our custom programming software, we can change the amount of force applied to the bed to simulate different body weights, allowing us to see how the firmness would feel for lighter and heavier body types . We can adjust the actuator arm of the Mattress Smasher 9000 to test multiple areas of each bed. We can also adjust the location of the actuator arm. Moving the actuator's positioning over the bed enables us to test various areas of the mattress, which is essential for determining whether the zoned support sections are actually softer or firmer, as the brands might claim. Read more: Using Tech to Test Beds: Say Hello to the Mattress Smasher 9000 Mattress Smasher results, ranked by firmness Firmness is rated on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the softest and 10 the firmest. We use industry terms such as "medium-soft" or "true firm" to describe it. The firmness ratings provided by the Mattress Smasher are provided from the perspective of an average person weighing between 150 and 230 pounds, but we also test and discuss what the firmness might feel like for someone weighing above or below that range. We smash each bed at least three times but often four or five (sometimes up to six or seven), taking the average of those scores to determine the final objective firmness level. Of the nearly 100 beds we've smashed to date, the average firmness level is 5.7, or just a hair above medium. The graph below shows the firmness levels of the beds we’ve smashed with the Mattress Smasher 9000, organized from softest to firmest. The Nectar Luxe Hybrid and Helix Midnight Core mattresses were the softest, with firmness levels by the smasher of 2.1 and 2.17, respectively. Soft scores like this are best suited for strict side sleepers who need the most pressure relief for the shoulders and hips possible. The Mattress Smasher 9000 pushes the actuator arm into the bed. To no one's surprise on our team, the extra firm side of Plank Firm ranked the firmest of them all, landing at an impressive 9.5 out of 10 by the Mattress Smasher -- confirming that it's best for back and stomach sleepers seeking the most support possible from a mattress. As we continue to test and smash beds, we anticipate that the average firmness level will stay between 5 and 6. Many mattress companies offer middle-of-the-road beds that can accommodate all sleeping positions and body types and offer a combination of pressure relief and support. Read more: Best Firm Mattresses of 2024 What we've learned about mattress firmness Not to toot our own horns, but we will... This new addition to our testing process has confirmed that our team of sleep experts is highly accurate when evaluating and ranking a bed's firmness level. Brands are also pretty accurate in how they rank the firmness of their mattresses. For the Bear Original mattress, the Mattress Smasher provided 7.6, 7.6 and 7.8 scores for a total average firmness ranking of 7.65 out of 10, while Bear clocks it at 7.1. While not exactly the same, it's close, considering we have different methods and means of assessing and determining firmness -- and both rankings mean the mattress lands around medium-firm. We always test mattress firmness subjectively first, followed by its objective score. It's important to remember that even when technology is used to find the objective firmness level, firmness is still subjective at the end of the day. How one person perceives the firmness and feel of a bed may differ from another, depending on body type and weight. Our sleep team consists of members of different body types, weights and genders, allowing us to test each mattress from various perspectives and provide an all-encompassing review of the bed. Many mattresses feature zoned support, meaning different firmness levels throughout the bed provide support and pressure relief where your body needs it most. It's intended to help keep the spine neutrally aligned throughout the night. This is accomplished by altering the bed's construction, typically by having slightly firmer foam or a layer of individually wrapped coils in the center for enhanced support for your torso and hips. The outer thirds are often slightly softer to provide pressure relief for your head and shoulders. An example is the Saatva Classic , which features an additional layer of thin memory foam in the center third of the bed. The Mattress Smasher 9000 has proven that the brands' claims of zoned support are generally true and accurate. Even if we can't necessarily feel the zoned support while lying on certain beds, the Mattress Smasher can confirm that different firmness levels are present. The Saatva Rx is a prime example of this. Specifically designed for those with chronic back and joint pain, it features patented Lumbar Zone Technology. This technology provides more support in the center third of the mattress, aiming to keep your spine neutrally aligned. We moved the actuator to test each third of the mattress and confirmed this to be true -- the inside ranked around 6.1 out of 10, and the outer thirds were slightly softer, around 5.4 out of 10. With the Mattress Smasher, we can test the firmness of various areas in mattresses with zoned support, like the Saatva Rx. Interesting discoveries we had during testing Like any technology, the Mattress Smasher 9000 is not always 100% accurate. It might occasionally rank a bed higher or lower than we know it to be, and we always use our best judgment and discretion to determine why and whether the score is off from what its firmness rating truly is. We've encountered a few interesting realizations as we continue to work out any kinks with the Mattress Smasher. Mattresses with super unique construction, such as the Layla Hybrid , can sometimes throw off the firmness score provided by the smasher. We always investigate to determine the cause, and in this case, since the Layla Hybrid is flippable, the base of the mattress is soft when the firm side is up, which resulted in a few funky scores. We've also found that beds with soft top comfort layers or cushioning pillow tops tend to score softer than they are. This is because the actuator arm of the Mattress Smasher does not press down as far into the mattress layers as in a bed without a pillow top, causing it to provide a score that's softer than it would feel for a real person lying on the whole bed. An example of this is the Titan Plus Luxe . In our testing, we found this bed to be around medium-firm, while the Mattress Smasher consistently gave us lower scores between 3 and 4, which would be medium-soft. We know this is because of the soft quilted gel foam top on the Titan Plus Luxe. The Titan Plus Luxe has a thick pillow top that slightly affected the Mattress Smasher's scoring. When the bed (particularly one with memory foam) is cold from being outside in cool weather or a room with no heat, it will score higher (firmer). The bed can become more rigid when it reaches a certain threshold, as memory foam is sensitive to temperature fluctuations. The foam molecules become more tightly packed when cold, resulting in a harder feel. Typically, memory foam beds feel best between 68 and 72 degrees . Read more: The Foam in Your Mattress Matters. Here’s How It's Made Our sleep team knows this well. We are patient when unboxing memory foam mattresses from the cold delivery truck in the winter, as they're much more rigid and firm than they will be once they've had a chance to warm up and properly inflate. It's the same when lying on a memory foam bed in a cold room -- it takes extra time for your body heat to warm before the foam begins to respond appropriately, sinking and contouring around you. The building where our mattress warehouse is situated recently encountered heating issues, which meant there was no heat in the rooms where we store, film and smash beds. The resulting cooler room temperatures affected the Mattress Smasher scores for memory foam mattresses, causing them to rank higher than they should. Watch us unbox the extremely cold Casper Snow Max. Why we use technology to test beds Our sleep experts always provide in-depth descriptions of a bed's firmness and feel in our reviews to help you decide if it's the right bed for you. These qualities are largely subjective. How a bed feels from person to person will differ. We take turns lying on and dissecting the mattress's construction, collecting opinions on the firmness level from multiple CNET sleep experts with varying body types and preferred sleeping positions because it's critical to test and review this characteristic from a wide range of perspectives. Until CNET Labs created the Mattress Smasher 9000, this was the only way we could test a bed's firmness. Now, having an objective way to test and determine firmness supplements our expert assessments and makes our reviews even more precise by providing entirely unbiased data. As a dedicated member of CNET's sleep team, the Mattress Smasher 9000 will continue to test and analyze beds alongside the rest of us for the foreseeable future. Read more: How CNET's Sleep Experts Test Mattresses
Construction for Multnomah County deflection center will cost nearly double original estimateIn conclusion, the recent statements from Chen Kailin and Kevin Cheng have put to rest any doubts about the status of their relationship. They have shown that open communication and a united front are key to overcoming adversity and maintaining a strong and healthy partnership. As they continue to navigate the ups and downs of life in the public eye, one thing is certain: Chen Kailin and Kevin Cheng are in it together for the long haul.In conclusion, the forecasted milestone of small and medium-sized OLED shipments exceeding 1 billion units by 2025 underscores the strong growth potential of the OLED market. With ongoing technology advancements, decreasing production costs, and expanding application opportunities, OLED displays are poised to play a central role in the future of consumer electronics. As the industry continues to evolve, consumers can look forward to a new era of visually stunning and immersive displays across a wide range of devices."I truly believed that we could beat Manchester City before the match even started," Henderson stated. "We knew it would be a tough challenge, but we were prepared both mentally and physically to give it our all on the pitch. The belief in our team's capabilities was strong, and that was evident in our performance throughout the game."
On the other hand, Real Madrid, the most successful club in the history of the Champions League, find themselves in unfamiliar territory in Opta's predicted standings. Zinedine Zidane's side is expected to finish a lowly 21st in the group stage, a position that will undoubtedly be met with shock and disbelief among the club's fans. Despite boasting a talented squad including players like Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos, and Eden Hazard, Real Madrid have struggled in recent seasons to replicate their past successes in the Champions League. Zidane will have his work cut out for him to overturn these predictions and guide Real Madrid to a more respectable finish in the tournament.