In space no one can sniff your smells: Odor from Russian spacecraft leaves scientists baffled
Bad news for millennials: An Oxford study found a link between owning a home and living longerJimmy Carter, 39th president and Nobel Peace Prize winner, dies at 100
After three months of bargaining over issues like artificial intelligence, wages, shrinking crews, and more, The Animation Guild has reached a tentative agreement for a new three-year contract with the group that represents Hollywood's studios, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Negotiations initially began on August 12 between TAG and the AMPTP, although the two organizations did not come to an agreement in the five days allotted for bargaining. Negotiations resumed on September 16, with the tentative agreement being reached on Saturday morning and announced on Monday, per a email from TAG sent to guild members. Among the issues that TAG touts gains in are stronger AI guardrails, including consultation and notification provisions; health and pension fund improvements; wage increases; protections for remote work; additional sick days; and the recognition of Juneteenth as a holiday. They also note "craft-specific gains," including staffing minimums for writers rooms. A tentative agreement between TAG and the AMPTP is a massive step forward, but it doesn't mean the new contract is set in stone quite yet. The next step will be a ratification vote by the members, which is currently being scheduled. While there were many issues at play, getting stricter protections for generative AI was a major one for this round of negotiations, something that also played a large role in last year's writers' and actors' strikes and the ongoing video game actor strike . IGN ran a comprehensive report last year about how it's become a hot-button topic in the animation industry specifically, with some believing the technology could make their work more efficient and others arguing it's not worth risking jobs or artistic integrity. “After weeks of negotiations that covered months in the calendar, I am very proud of the agreement that we reached with the studios for our new contract,” said Steve Kaplan, TAG Business Representative, said in a statement. “Not only have we seen the inclusion of the advancements in the industry realized by the other Unions and Guilds, but we were able to address industry-specific issues in a meaningful way. The animation industry at large has been facing issues like crunch, layoffs, and low pay for years now, spawning an entire #StandWithAnimation movement. For more, check out our report about the tumultuous making of Inside Out 2 . Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
Edwards leads No. 2 South Carolina to 65th straight home win 93-47 over Wofford on Sunday.
Chef Tam Kwok Fung is synonymous with Cantonese cuisine, having won many accolades for his culinary skills. The executive chef at Wynn Palace Cotai in Macau opened Chef Tam's Seasons in October 2023. It's a conceptual restaurant inspired by the 24 solar terms of traditional Chinese wisdom that govern minute changes in temperature and humidity. "My culinary philosophy is to be true to traditional Cantonese cooking techniques, though with an open mind. I like using high-quality seasonal products; it's all about the cuisine of my style, which is Cantonese cuisine through the marriage of seasonal ingredients and finely balanced flavour profiles," says chef Tam. "I can best describe my cooking as Cantonese spoken in an intentional language." At the restaurant, he revitalises Cantonese cuisine by matching global ingredients with contemporary culinary techniques, which earned him the distinction of becoming the first chef in Macau to be named Chef Of The Year at the 2023 Black Pearl Restaurant Guide. "In today's world, things change so fast. We cannot just stand at one point. We can all say this is a recipe from 200 years ago, but in reality it doesn't work. The food sources itself, in terms of quality. Plus, changing lifestyles add to it. As a restaurant operator, as a chef, you have to provide people with the latest of everything, be it service or food. The only thing that cannot be changed at the end of the day is having a service mind," says chef Tam of his restaurant, which is known for menu changes every two weeks. Steamed shrimp dumplings with bamboo shoots. Wynn Palace Cotai "In the beginning, we discussed having a new dish from time to time, much like other restaurants. But since we are not that big a restaurant and do only 70-80 covers, we can be brave and more attentive; have a more tailor-made menu. So we told the world that we follow the traditional Chinese solar system, which means that the menu changes every 15 days. We keep learning and form our menu with up-to-date seasonal products. "This is the restaurant's signature, that the menu changes all the time. That's number one. Number two is that as a Cantonese person, I provide the dishes that are seasonal offerings of what's the absolute best in the market. That's our goal." Serving seasonality on a plate is also difficult given that we live in a world defined by climate change. However, the chef says it is easy, due to technology. "Today everyone has a mobile phone and a computer. I have at least 20 group chats related to produce and seasonal products. Some food suppliers are extremely good at updating their lists online. Our purchasing team updates us every week and some producers update us every two or three hours about the future produce using material food sources," says chef Tam. Chef Tam's menu prep is planned four weeks in advance. "I don't change just a few dishes. In Cantonese cuisine, the seasonal produce have their own character. In our vegetable showcase, we already have more than 10 items that are seasonal, so I can play around with the different produce, using different techniques and different seasonings. This means that the changes in the menu can be endless," he says. Crispy bean curd with bird's nest. Wynn Palace Cotai However, dishes are repeated during the seasons and are brought back to the menu. "I do use dishes that I have served before. Though I have a consistent menu, we also have a micro seasonal menu. I don't stand at one point. We are what I would describe as 'transitional Cantonese philosophy'. We have hundreds of years of philosophy and lifestyle passed down through generations. For example, during the winter we eat more turnip and green leafy vegetables, in the summer we eat more squash in various forms -- from appetisers to soups to braised and even stir-frys and desserts," explains chef Tam. "Since the beginning Cantonese cuisine has never stopped changing. The market and consumers are different. Today's generation are used to consuming more spicy dishes. We, as chefs, automatically change little by little. Before even the produce was localised compared to today, where we are using beef from Argentina, US and Japan. Today if we look for beef, there will be around 100 types to choose from. As a chef, you have more produce to try out. This reflects on our cooking, which also offers more variety. "My inspiration for cooking has also changed, but the technique doesn't change and the way of seasoning doesn't change. I blend Eastern and Western influences and introduce modern concepts and techniques, infusing traditional Cantonese dishes with new vitality." Double-boiled pork shank with conch, American ginseng and dendrobium. Wynn Palace Cotai Baked chicken puff with spring onion. Wynn Palace CotaiWhy is the price of a Christmas dinner set to increase more than inflation this year? By MATTHEW COX Updated: 00:23, 11 December 2024 e-mail View comments Britons face paying more for their Christmas dinner this year, figures show. The average Christmas dinner for four people will cost £32.57 - up 6.5 per cent on last year - according to analysis by the research group Kantar. The increase is being driven by a sharp rise in the price of potatoes - coming in at £1.65 for four portions which is a staggering 16.2 per cent jump on a year earlier. Spuds are part of an overall trend which has seen vegetable prices skyrocket this year, with parsnips 12.7 per cent more expensive (71p) and carrots up 11.4 per cent (49p). Frozen turkey has also gone up in price by 8.5 per cent to £14.09. The only thing on our plates which has not outstripped food inflation - running at 1.9 per cent - is Brussels sprouts, which are only 1.1 per cent more expensive than last year, Kantar said. But it was good news for fans of sparkling wine, which was the only item not to rise in price. The whole-basket increase is significantly higher than overall grocery inflation of 2.6 per cent, which was up again on November's 2.3 per cent, according to Kantar. Despite the rising prices , sales across the supermarkets are expected to exceed £13 billion over the four weeks of December for the first time ever. The average Christmas dinner for four people will cost £32.57 - up 6.5 per cent on last year - according to analysis by the research group Kantar Sales of assorted sweet biscuits and biscuits for cheese both doubled in November compared with the month before, while 8 per cent of shoppers bought a Christmas pudding. The proportion of spending on premium own-label products reached 5 per cent over the latest four weeks, and is expected to climb to almost 7 per cent in December, Kantar said. Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: 'Monday December 23 is likely to be the single busiest day for the supermarkets this year, although there are clear signs that shoppers are already stocking up their cupboards. Read More Major supermarkets slash the price of classic Christmas drink to just £10 'Many of us take the chance to treat ourselves at this time of year and retailers are rolling out seasonal product lines to help us celebrate in style.' Meanwhile, sales on promotion reached 30% in November, the highest since Christmas last year and driven by deals accessed through supermarket loyalty cards, as shoppers traded up to festive treats including Champagne, wine and spirits. Britain's largest grocer Tesco achieved its highest market share since December 2017 to reach 28.1 per cent, up from 27.4 per cent in 2023, as its sales grew by 5.2 per cent in the 12 weeks to December. Sainsbury's share increased by 0.3 percentage points to 15.9 per cent, and spending through its tills was 4.7 per cent higher than last year. Mr McKevitt added: 'The number of different retailers we visit in the run up to Christmas is higher than at other times during the year, including wider high street brands like M&S. Despite the rising prices , sales across the supermarkets are expected to exceed £13 billion over the four weeks of December for the first time ever 'Just under one in three households, at 32 per cent, bought food, drink and other groceries to have at home from M&S during the 12 weeks to December 1 and looking at grocery sales alone, spending at M&S rose by 10.4 per cent.' Lidl was the fastest growing bricks-and-mortar grocer, with sales up by 6.6 per cent, while spending at Morrisons rose by two per cent to reach 8.6 per cent of the market. Waitrose grew slightly ahead of the market, with spending increasing by 2.6 per cent to maintain a 4.4 per cent share, and spending at Aldi grew by 2.1 per cent to give the discounter 10.3 per cent of the market. Co-op claimed 5.5 per cent of the market and Asda has a 12.3 per cent share. 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Former US President Jimmy Carter Dead at 100By BILL BARROW, Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, has died. He was 100 years old. The longest-lived American president died on Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care , at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023 , spent most of their lives, The Carter Center said. Businessman, Navy officer, evangelist, politician, negotiator, author, woodworker, citizen of the world — Carter forged a path that still challenges political assumptions and stands out among the 45 men who reached the nation’s highest office. The 39th president leveraged his ambition with a keen intellect, deep religious faith and prodigious work ethic, conducting diplomatic missions into his 80s and building houses for the poor well into his 90s. “My faith demands — this is not optional — my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have to try to make a difference,” Carter once said. A moderate Democrat, Carter entered the 1976 presidential race as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad smile, outspoken Baptist mores and technocratic plans reflecting his education as an engineer. His no-frills campaign depended on public financing, and his promise not to deceive the American people resonated after Richard Nixon’s disgrace and U.S. defeat in southeast Asia. “If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don’t vote for me. I would not deserve to be your president,” Carter repeated before narrowly beating Republican incumbent Gerald Ford, who had lost popularity pardoning Nixon. Carter governed amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over racism, women’s rights and America’s global role. His most acclaimed achievement in office was a Mideast peace deal that he brokered by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the bargaining table for 13 days in 1978. That Camp David experience inspired the post-presidential center where Carter would establish so much of his legacy. Yet Carter’s electoral coalition splintered under double-digit inflation, gasoline lines and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His bleakest hour came when eight Americans died in a failed hostage rescue in April 1980, helping to ensure his landslide defeat to Republican Ronald Reagan. Carter acknowledged in his 2020 “White House Diary” that he could be “micromanaging” and “excessively autocratic,” complicating dealings with Congress and the federal bureaucracy. He also turned a cold shoulder to Washington’s news media and lobbyists, not fully appreciating their influence on his political fortunes. “It didn’t take us long to realize that the underestimation existed, but by that time we were not able to repair the mistake,” Carter told historians in 1982, suggesting that he had “an inherent incompatibility” with Washington insiders. Carter insisted his overall approach was sound and that he achieved his primary objectives — to “protect our nation’s security and interests peacefully” and “enhance human rights here and abroad” — even if he fell spectacularly short of a second term. Ignominious defeat, though, allowed for renewal. The Carters founded The Carter Center in 1982 as a first-of-its-kind base of operations, asserting themselves as international peacemakers and champions of democracy, public health and human rights. “I was not interested in just building a museum or storing my White House records and memorabilia,” Carter wrote in a memoir published after his 90th birthday. “I wanted a place where we could work.” That work included easing nuclear tensions in North and South Korea, helping to avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti and negotiating cease-fires in Bosnia and Sudan. By 2022, The Carter Center had declared at least 113 elections in Latin America, Asia and Africa to be free or fraudulent. Recently, the center began monitoring U.S. elections as well. Carter’s stubborn self-assuredness and even self-righteousness proved effective once he was unencumbered by the Washington order, sometimes to the point of frustrating his successors . He went “where others are not treading,” he said, to places like Ethiopia, Liberia and North Korea, where he secured the release of an American who had wandered across the border in 2010. “I can say what I like. I can meet whom I want. I can take on projects that please me and reject the ones that don’t,” Carter said. He announced an arms-reduction-for-aid deal with North Korea without clearing the details with Bill Clinton’s White House. He openly criticized President George W. Bush for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He also criticized America’s approach to Israel with his 2006 book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” And he repeatedly countered U.S. administrations by insisting North Korea should be included in international affairs, a position that most aligned Carter with Republican President Donald Trump. Among the center’s many public health initiatives, Carter vowed to eradicate the guinea worm parasite during his lifetime, and nearly achieved it: Cases dropped from millions in the 1980s to nearly a handful. With hardhats and hammers, the Carters also built homes with Habitat for Humanity. The Nobel committee’s 2002 Peace Prize cites his “untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” Carter should have won it alongside Sadat and Begin in 1978, the chairman added. Carter accepted the recognition saying there was more work to be done. “The world is now, in many ways, a more dangerous place,” he said. “The greater ease of travel and communication has not been matched by equal understanding and mutual respect.” Carter’s globetrotting took him to remote villages where he met little “Jimmy Carters,” so named by admiring parents. But he spent most of his days in the same one-story Plains house — expanded and guarded by Secret Service agents — where they lived before he became governor. He regularly taught Sunday School lessons at Maranatha Baptist Church until his mobility declined and the coronavirus pandemic raged. Those sessions drew visitors from around the world to the small sanctuary where Carter will receive his final send-off after a state funeral at Washington’s National Cathedral. The common assessment that he was a better ex-president than president rankled Carter and his allies. His prolific post-presidency gave him a brand above politics, particularly for Americans too young to witness him in office. But Carter also lived long enough to see biographers and historians reassess his White House years more generously. His record includes the deregulation of key industries, reduction of U.S. dependence on foreign oil, cautious management of the national debt and notable legislation on the environment, education and mental health. He focused on human rights in foreign policy, pressuring dictators to release thousands of political prisoners . He acknowledged America’s historical imperialism, pardoned Vietnam War draft evaders and relinquished control of the Panama Canal. He normalized relations with China. “I am not nominating Jimmy Carter for a place on Mount Rushmore,” Stuart Eizenstat, Carter’s domestic policy director, wrote in a 2018 book. “He was not a great president” but also not the “hapless and weak” caricature voters rejected in 1980, Eizenstat said. Rather, Carter was “good and productive” and “delivered results, many of which were realized only after he left office.” Madeleine Albright, a national security staffer for Carter and Clinton’s secretary of state, wrote in Eizenstat’s forward that Carter was “consequential and successful” and expressed hope that “perceptions will continue to evolve” about his presidency. “Our country was lucky to have him as our leader,” said Albright, who died in 2022. Jonathan Alter, who penned a comprehensive Carter biography published in 2020, said in an interview that Carter should be remembered for “an epic American life” spanning from a humble start in a home with no electricity or indoor plumbing through decades on the world stage across two centuries. “He will likely go down as one of the most misunderstood and underestimated figures in American history,” Alter told The Associated Press. James Earl Carter Jr. was born Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains and spent his early years in nearby Archery. His family was a minority in the mostly Black community, decades before the civil rights movement played out at the dawn of Carter’s political career. Carter, who campaigned as a moderate on race relations but governed more progressively, talked often of the influence of his Black caregivers and playmates but also noted his advantages: His land-owning father sat atop Archery’s tenant-farming system and owned a main street grocery. His mother, Lillian , would become a staple of his political campaigns. Seeking to broaden his world beyond Plains and its population of fewer than 1,000 — then and now — Carter won an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1946. That same year he married Rosalynn Smith, another Plains native, a decision he considered more important than any he made as head of state. She shared his desire to see the world, sacrificing college to support his Navy career. Carter climbed in rank to lieutenant, but then his father was diagnosed with cancer, so the submarine officer set aside his ambitions of admiralty and moved the family back to Plains. His decision angered Rosalynn, even as she dived into the peanut business alongside her husband. Carter again failed to talk with his wife before his first run for office — he later called it “inconceivable” not to have consulted her on such major life decisions — but this time, she was on board. “My wife is much more political,” Carter told the AP in 2021. He won a state Senate seat in 1962 but wasn’t long for the General Assembly and its back-slapping, deal-cutting ways. He ran for governor in 1966 — losing to arch-segregationist Lester Maddox — and then immediately focused on the next campaign. Carter had spoken out against church segregation as a Baptist deacon and opposed racist “Dixiecrats” as a state senator. Yet as a local school board leader in the 1950s he had not pushed to end school segregation even after the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, despite his private support for integration. And in 1970, Carter ran for governor again as the more conservative Democrat against Carl Sanders, a wealthy businessman Carter mocked as “Cufflinks Carl.” Sanders never forgave him for anonymous, race-baiting flyers, which Carter disavowed. Ultimately, Carter won his races by attracting both Black voters and culturally conservative whites. Once in office, he was more direct. “I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over,” he declared in his 1971 inaugural address, setting a new standard for Southern governors that landed him on the cover of Time magazine. His statehouse initiatives included environmental protection, boosting rural education and overhauling antiquated executive branch structures. He proclaimed Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the slain civil rights leader’s home state. And he decided, as he received presidential candidates in 1972, that they were no more talented than he was. In 1974, he ran Democrats’ national campaign arm. Then he declared his own candidacy for 1976. An Atlanta newspaper responded with the headline: “Jimmy Who?” The Carters and a “Peanut Brigade” of family members and Georgia supporters camped out in Iowa and New Hampshire, establishing both states as presidential proving grounds. His first Senate endorsement: a young first-termer from Delaware named Joe Biden. Yet it was Carter’s ability to navigate America’s complex racial and rural politics that cemented the nomination. He swept the Deep South that November, the last Democrat to do so, as many white Southerners shifted to Republicans in response to civil rights initiatives. A self-declared “born-again Christian,” Carter drew snickers by referring to Scripture in a Playboy magazine interview, saying he “had looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.” The remarks gave Ford a new foothold and television comedians pounced — including NBC’s new “Saturday Night Live” show. But voters weary of cynicism in politics found it endearing. Carter chose Minnesota Sen. Walter “Fritz” Mondale as his running mate on a “Grits and Fritz” ticket. In office, he elevated the vice presidency and the first lady’s office. Mondale’s governing partnership was a model for influential successors Al Gore, Dick Cheney and Biden. Rosalynn Carter was one of the most involved presidential spouses in history, welcomed into Cabinet meetings and huddles with lawmakers and top aides. The Carters presided with uncommon informality: He used his nickname “Jimmy” even when taking the oath of office, carried his own luggage and tried to silence the Marine Band’s “Hail to the Chief.” They bought their clothes off the rack. Carter wore a cardigan for a White House address, urging Americans to conserve energy by turning down their thermostats. Amy, the youngest of four children, attended District of Columbia public school. Washington’s social and media elite scorned their style. But the larger concern was that “he hated politics,” according to Eizenstat, leaving him nowhere to turn politically once economic turmoil and foreign policy challenges took their toll. Carter partially deregulated the airline, railroad and trucking industries and established the departments of Education and Energy, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He designated millions of acres of Alaska as national parks or wildlife refuges. He appointed a then-record number of women and nonwhite people to federal posts. He never had a Supreme Court nomination, but he elevated civil rights attorney Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the nation’s second highest court, positioning her for a promotion in 1993. He appointed Paul Volker, the Federal Reserve chairman whose policies would help the economy boom in the 1980s — after Carter left office. He built on Nixon’s opening with China, and though he tolerated autocrats in Asia, pushed Latin America from dictatorships to democracy. But he couldn’t immediately tame inflation or the related energy crisis. And then came Iran. After he admitted the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979 by followers of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Negotiations to free the hostages broke down repeatedly ahead of the failed rescue attempt. The same year, Carter signed SALT II, the new strategic arms treaty with Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union, only to pull it back, impose trade sanctions and order a U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Hoping to instill optimism, he delivered what the media dubbed his “malaise” speech, although he didn’t use that word. He declared the nation was suffering “a crisis of confidence.” By then, many Americans had lost confidence in the president, not themselves. Carter campaigned sparingly for reelection because of the hostage crisis, instead sending Rosalynn as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy challenged him for the Democratic nomination. Carter famously said he’d “kick his ass,” but was hobbled by Kennedy as Reagan rallied a broad coalition with “make America great again” appeals and asking voters whether they were “better off than you were four years ago.” Reagan further capitalized on Carter’s lecturing tone, eviscerating him in their lone fall debate with the quip: “There you go again.” Carter lost all but six states and Republicans rolled to a new Senate majority. Carter successfully negotiated the hostages’ freedom after the election, but in one final, bitter turn of events, Tehran waited until hours after Carter left office to let them walk free. At 56, Carter returned to Georgia with “no idea what I would do with the rest of my life.” Four decades after launching The Carter Center, he still talked of unfinished business. “I thought when we got into politics we would have resolved everything,” Carter told the AP in 2021. “But it’s turned out to be much more long-lasting and insidious than I had thought it was. I think in general, the world itself is much more divided than in previous years.” Still, he affirmed what he said when he underwent treatment for a cancer diagnosis in his 10th decade of life. “I’m perfectly at ease with whatever comes,” he said in 2015 . “I’ve had a wonderful life. I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence.” ___ Former Associated Press journalist Alex Sanz contributed to this report.Meet the Investment Guru! Discover His Secrets to Wealth