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House of the Dragon Season 2 is when the Game of Thrones spinoff gets real. With both Rhaenyra and Alicent now grown-up and spearheading their own huge armies, the land of Westeros is preparing for all-out war. That war? The long-awaited Dance of the Dragons. There are ferocious beasts on both sides, each one capable of turning the tide. The scaly behemoths are responsible for quite a few of the best moments in House of the Dragon Season 2. But that's not to say it's all about dragons. Expect back-stabbings, love affairs, and tragedies galore as we look back at House of the Dragon season 2 and count down our favorite moments. Ser Criston Cole hooks up with Alicent Episode 1 – A Son for a Son After Rhaenyra rejects Ser Criston Cole years prior, he gets revenge by hooking up with her nemesis Alicent. This is a shocking moment not just because it came out of nowhere, but it shows just how salty and vindictive Cole still is. Blood and Cheese Episode 1 - A Son for a Son The murder of young Jaehaerys Targaryen by the reprobate duo known as Blood and Cheese is an awful moment given Jaehaerys' mother Helaena is forced to watch. It's not a quick act either: Blood and Cheese take a good ten seconds to saw off the boy's head and collect it in a bag. Prince Jaehaerys' funeral Episode 2 – Rhaenyra the Cruel As well as the Blood and Cheese escapade, episode two is also known for the prince Jaehaerys street processional. It involves Jaehaerys' body being paraded through the streets in a carriage. This was a political move by Otto Hightower, who used Jaehaerys' death to frame Rhaenyra, and drum up sympathy. The hanging of the ratcatchers Episode 2 - Rhaenyra the Cruel Aegon does not let the death of Jaehaerys go unpunished. When one half of the murderous duo, Blood, tells Aegon his accomplice is a ratcatcher, Aegon orders every single ratcatcher in King's Landing to be hung up and displayed in the streets. The overly brutal move isn't received well by the public. Otto is banished Episode 4 - The Red Dragon and the Gold After years of service as the King's Hand, Otto Hightower is dismissed from King's Landing - and by his own grandson too. Aegon doesn't appreciate Otto calling him out on his actions (such as killing all the city's ratcatchers), and orders him to give his badge to Criston. Just to make it slightly more complicated, Criston is sleeping with Aegon's mother. The duel between Arryk and Erryk Episode 2 – Rhaenyra the Cruel Ser Criston Cole might be Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, but he doesn't always make the best decisions. One of his worst is sending Kingsguard member Arryk to Dragonstone alone to assassinate Rhaenyra. There, Arryk runs into twin brother Erryk in Rhaenyra's bedchamber. The pair fight, with both losing their lives in pointless bloodshed. The Bracken and Blackwood slaughter Episode 3 – The Burning Mill What an opening scene. It starts with two feuding factions stumbling into one another out in an open field. At first they exchange heated words, with both supporting different sides in the brewing war. Soon, however, it descends into violence. Time passes, and the camera sweeps over hundreds of thousands of dead bodies. Aegon embarrasses Aemond Episode 3 – The Burning Mill Aegon makes a decision that will come back to bite him. In episode three, the king surprises his brother Aemond in a brothel. He barges in while Aemond is completely naked and currently occupied with a member of staff, then ridicules him in front of his guards. Aemond storms off, and gets revenge on Aegon in the very next episode. Aemond attacks Aegon with his dragon Episode 4 - The Red Dragon and the Gold In a battle involving dragons, there are always going to be casualties. Still, it seems like suspiciously good timing when Aemond uses his dragon to fry Rhaneys right when his brother, Aegon, is in the crossfire. Don't forget, in the last episode Aegon seriously embarrassed Aemond in a brothel. Afterwards, Aemond looks to finish the job with his sword, but is interrupted by Ser Criston Cole. Rhaenyra confronts Alicent Seeking to avert all-out war, Rhaenyra hatches a plan to meet Alicent in secret and hash it out diplomatically. They discuss the impending catastrophe in a quiet corner of a church, but even Rhaenyra revealing Viserys' last words on his death bed aren't enough to change Alicent's mind. After all, her son is king. Meleys' head is paraded through King's Landing Episode 5 – Regent The head of dragon Meleys' is paraded through Kings Landing following the fearsome battle in the episode prior. What initially seems like a show of strength, however, is soon revealed to be a very bad idea. The act shows dragons to be killable, which means the same fate could easily befall the dragons protecting King's Landing. Surprise surprise, another bad idea by Criston Cole. Corlys' illegitimate son Episode 4 – The Red Dragon and the Gold Corlys does indeed have a son, but the way he treats him you wouldn't think so. In episode four, the Sea Snake refuses to show him any affection, and blocks his rise up the ranks, simply because he was born out of wedlock. Rhaenys, Corly's wife, barely gets to bond with him before dying that same episode. Daemon gets weird visions Visions torment Daemon during his time at Harrenhal. The first one is among the most surprising, involving a younger Rhaenyra sewing Jaehaerys head back on. The cameo from Maddie Allcock is hauntingly delivered, and has a big effect on Daemon. Alicent has an abortion What do you do in a world without birth control? In Alicent's case, when she falls unexpectedly pregnant, her option is to either give birth and complicate everything, or drink herbal tea to destroy the fetus. As if she needed more to worry about while her sons cavort around King's Landing. King Aegon's battle scars are revealed We get our first good look at Aegon's damage in the episode immediately following his life-threatening attack. He's not dead, but he wishes he was as the medical men pry off his armor and his mother Alicent watches in horror. With serious scars on his face, burns on his body, and broken limbs, it'll be a long road to recovery. Viserys returns OK, Viserys isn't really back. It's another one of Daemon's dreams. Still, it's good to see Paddy Considine's long-dead king again, even if it is through the prism of Daemon's own subconscious. Viserys reflects on what type of ruler he was and warns Daemon there's a heavy price for pole position. Heavy lies the head. Rhaenyra searches for dragon riders Rhaenyra isn't short on dragons; dragon riders, however, are few and far between. Thus begins her search through a mountain of genealogical records for Targaryen descendants to tame and ride the creatures. Vermithor sets fire to everyone Dragons are notoriously picky about who gets to ride them. We saw that days before when Seasmoke fries Ser Steffon Darklyn. Vermithor's reaction to a profession of riders trying their luck is even worse, however, killing scores of Targaryen descendants before settling on Hugh the Hammer as its rider. King's Landing riots When Rhaenyra sends food-filled ships to King's Landing as aid, it prompts a wave of fury from citizens who are discontent with the current regime who left them hungry. Alicent and Helaena bear the brunt of the fallout, nearly dying during the ensuing riot. Mysaria kisses Rhaenyra During a moment of startling honesty, Mysaria opens up about her past and reveals a traumatic incident that shaped her life. Rhaenyra moves in to hug her and the pair end up sharing a passionate kiss, only to be interrupted by one of Rhaenyra's helpers.De'Vondre Campbell's mid-game quitting overshadowed the 49ers' offensive woesJeff Bezos & Elon Musk Beef on X (Twitter) Explained By The internet scene reportedly became tense recently after Amazon Executive Chairman and Tesla CEO indulged in a back-and-forth on . The discussion revolving around the made users on X wonder whether all things are okay between the two business moguls. Here are the details of Bezos and Musk’s alleged online beef. What happened to Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk? Since the historic win by Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential elections, Elon Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX have benefited immensely. However, in a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), the tech giant aimed at Jeff Bezos. He alleged that the Amazon founder had urged people to sell their Tesla and SpaceX shares, predicting that Trump wouldn’t win. Elon Musk , “Just learned tonight at Mar-a-Lago that Jeff Bezos was telling everyone that @realDonaldTrump would lose for sure, so they should sell all their Tesla and SpaceX stock.” However, Bezos took the opportunity to debunk the allegations and to Musk, “Nope. 100% not true.” The Tesla CEO further to Bezos by writing, “Well, then, I stand corrected.” This back-and-forth became one of the key highlights on X as users stormed into the comments giving their opinions on it. Since, Trump’s win with the majority electoral votes in the elections he and Musk have been on a roll. Besides Trump’s victory being beneficial for Tesla and SpaceX’s stock, as per a report by the , Musk has also found himself becoming a part of Trump’s administration. Following his win, Donald Trump named Elon Musk to team up with to head the , also known as DOGE. As shared by Musk on X, in the statement announcing Musk as DOGE head, Trump , “I am pleased to announce that the Great Elon Musk, working in conjunction with American Patriot Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”).” Ishita Verma is an SEO contributing writer for ComingSoon. She is passionate about delivering authentic content and holds experience in SEO content writing. Apart from her quest to ensure her content is promising, Ishita is an avid Kdrama and anime watcher. Ishita is a bibliophile and also pursues gaming as one of her favorite pastimes. Share article
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OCILLA – It’s been an arduous year for Georgia pecan growers. Back-to-back hurricanes hit the eastern part of the state, while the southwestern sector grappled with weather extremes. All growers faced historic highs for input costs and lows for market prices. The looming presidential change and the tariff proposals that come with it add uncertainty, especially as Chinese tariffs continue to affect the pecan market. As harvesting wraps up, Lenny Wells, a University of Georgia pecan extension specialist, said this year was a “weird season,” one that was split right down the middle of the state. In the east, farmers sifted through fallen trees and branches. In the west, they sorted through a somewhat large pecan crop yield but were stumped by poorer quality nuts. Wells said about 75% of Georgia’s eastern pecan crop – about 36 million pounds – was lost to Hurricane Helene. Mary Bruorton, the executive director of the Georgia Pecan Growers Association, said direct tree loss from the storm adds up to about $118 million and future income loss of about $417 million. “It’s hard to put into words what the loss truly is,” she said. “I’ve never seen anything like this.” Less than two months after Tropical Storm Debby, Hurricane Helene slammed into Georgia pecan farms. Wells said there is little farmers can do to prepare for a hurricane aside from turning irrigation off a few days before. “For most growers, it’s kind of a feeling of surrender when you see a storm coming,” he said. The tree branches in Scot Hudson’s orchards, spread across Irwin, Ben Hill, Wilcox and Dodge counties, drooped with thickly clustered pecans – a promising sight – in the days leading up to the storm. However, Helene destroyed all hopes of a profitable season. The fifth-generation farmer said he felt helpless as Helene tore through his orchards, resulting in the loss of about 30% of his larger, older pecan trees. Younger, smaller trees fared better with only about a 5-10% loss. “The weather that's hitting us is making me scared that I’m going to be the generation that loses the farm,” Hudson said. In response to the devastation, the Growers Association has been advocating for disaster relief and financial aid, including specialty crop block grants. After Hurricane Michael, the USDA allocated $800 million to affected producers, and the Georgia Department of Agriculture provided $347 million. “We are working, advocating and lobbying for our growers and talking with Congressional offices daily regarding disaster relief,” Bruorton said. In southwest Georgia, pecan harvest season is a different picture but still yielding disappointing results. Tim Sikes farms 165 acres of pecans in Dawson. He lost 500 trees during Hurricane Michael and said a direct hit from Hurricane Helene would have pushed him out of the pecan industry. Sikes wrote in an email that this year was a challenge “just like every other year.” “But something has been just a little off this year for farming, and I can’t put my finger on just what it is,” Sikes wrote. He chalked it up to failed pollination from weather extremes. April was unseasonably cold and wet, much to the dismay of sun-loving pecan trees. June saw less than a half-inch of rain in its first 25 days, and then Tropical Storm Debby drenched the region in August. Still, Sikes wrote that the pecan crop looked promising all year until the end, when poor quality began to reveal itself. Alex Willson of Sunnyland Farms in Albany saw the same issue in his crop. His trees were packed with nuts by early summer, but cracking open the kernel in fall revealed meat that was 3% less full than it should have been. “That doesn’t sound like a lot, but then you start talking about over hundreds or thousands of acres ... then it starts to make a bit of a difference,” he said. “The higher the meat in the nut, the better price you get for it.” Willson said he was bracing for Helene to be “another Michael.” His farm is still waiting for trees planted after the 2018 storm to become productive. “We dodged this one, but unfortunately, it seems like this is becoming the new norm,” he said. “We're going to really have to think about how we can plan for storms like this.” Beyond the challenges of weather, Georgia’s pecan growers are facing low prices in trying to sell their pecans – a problem exacerbated by tariffs on U.S. exports to China. When Donald Trump takes the presidential office again in January, he’s proposed a 10% across-the-board tariff on all imported goods. “It’s just kind of an uneasiness at the end of the day,” Hudson said. “We’re worried about whether the tariffs ramp up, like the rhetoric’s saying, will their country (China) retaliate?” He said his operation is built on international trade and thrived with the Chinese market. Chinese tariffs, in response to Trump’s 2018 tariffs on imported goods to the U.S., saw his sales slip. Hudson said ultimately it’s out of growers’ control, and he’ll handle the cards he’s dealt. Still, he said he fears for his farm’s future. Higher production costs coupled with low prices mean farmers are struggling to break even. Low sale prices mean farmers are cutting costs everywhere they can. They’re switching to pecan varieties that require less input costs: from fertilizer, irrigation, etc. However, Hudson said cutting input costs risks cutting quality. Sikes turned to newer technologies that helped him cut costs. In 2022, he was the first pecan grower to start using Smart Guided Spray Systems. It uses an advanced mapping system on the trees to tell the fertilizer sprayer exactly how much chemical spray is needed. Sikes said it resulted in about a 45% savings on his chemical costs. Many are diversifying their operations, turning to retail sales, e-commerce or growing other crops as well. Farmers also implement management practices to build up some resistance to storms, which Wells said data show will continue to increase in intensity. Most farmers have adopted hedge pruning, a strategy that reduces the size of the tree, making it less susceptible to high winds. Wells said 10 years of research documented as much as a 60% reduction in damage from more moderate storms. Despite the challenges that come with it, Hudson said there is nothing he’d rather be doing. He said he hopes open dialogue with lawmakers leads to assistance, both at the state and federal level.
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By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER WASHINGTON (AP) — One year after the Jan. 6, 2021 , U.S. Capitol attack, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department was committed to holding accountable all perpetrators “at any level” for “the assault on our democracy.” That bold declaration won’t apply to at least one person: Donald Trump. Special counsel Jack Smith’s move on Monday to abandon the federal election interference case against Trump means jurors will likely never decide whether the president-elect is criminally responsible for his attempts to cling to power after losing the 2020 campaign. The decision to walk away from the election charges and the separate classified documents case against Trump marks an abrupt end of the Justice Department’s unprecedented legal effort that once threatened his liberty but appears only to have galvanized his supporters. The abandonment of the cases accusing Trump of endangering American democracy and national security does away with the most serious legal threats he was facing as he returns to the White House. It was the culmination of a monthslong defense effort to delay the proceedings at every step and use the criminal allegations to Trump’s political advantage, putting the final word in the hands of voters instead of jurors. “We always knew that the rich and powerful had an advantage, but I don’t think we would have ever believed that somebody could walk away from everything,” said Stephen Saltzburg, a George Washington University law professor and former Justice Department official. “If there ever was a Teflon defendant, that’s Donald Trump.” While prosecutors left the door open to the possibility that federal charges could be re-filed against Trump after he leaves office, that seems unlikely. Meanwhile, Trump’s presidential victory has thrown into question the future of the two state criminal cases against him in New York and Georgia. Trump was supposed to be sentenced on Tuesday after his conviction on 34 felony counts in his New York hush money case , but it’s possible the sentencing could be delayed until after Trump leaves office, and the defense is pushing to dismiss the case altogether. Smith’s team stressed that their decision to abandon the federal cases was not a reflection of the merit of the charges, but an acknowledgement that they could not move forward under longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. Trump’s presidential victory set “at odds two fundamental and compelling national interests: On the one hand, the Constitution’s requirement that the President must not be unduly encumbered in fulfilling his weighty responsibilities . . . and on the other hand, the Nation’s commitment to the rule of law,” prosecutors wrote in court papers. The move just weeks after Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris underscores the immense personal stake Trump had in the campaign in which he turned his legal woes into a political rallying cry. Trump accused prosecutors of bringing the charges in a bid to keep him out of the White House, and he promised revenge on his perceived enemies if he won a second term. “If Donald J. Trump had lost an election, he may very well have spent the rest of his life in prison,” Vice President-elect JD Vance, wrote in a social media post on Monday. “These prosecutions were always political. Now it’s time to ensure what happened to President Trump never happens in this country again.” After the Jan. 6 attack by Trump supporters that left more than 100 police officers injured, Republican leader Mitch McConnell and several other Republicans who voted to acquit Trump during his Senate impeachment trial said it was up to the justice system to hold Trump accountable. The Jan. 6 case brought last year in Washington alleged an increasingly desperate criminal conspiracy to subvert the will of voters after Trump’s 2020 loss, accusing Trump of using the angry mob of supporters that attacked the Capitol as “a tool” in his campaign to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence and obstruct the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. Hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters — many of whom have said they felt called to Washington by Trump — have pleaded guilty or been convicted by juries of federal charges at the same courthouse where Trump was supposed to stand trial last year. As the trial date neared, officials at the courthouse that sits within view of the Capitol were busy making plans for the crush of reporters expected to cover the historic case. But Trump’s argument that he enjoyed absolute immunity from prosecution quickly tied up the case in appeals all the way up to the Supreme Court. The high court ruled in July that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution , and sent the case back to the trial court to decide which allegations could move forward. But the case was dismissed before the trial court could get a chance to do so. Related Articles National Politics | After delay, Trump signs agreement with Biden White House to begin formal transition handoff National Politics | Rudy Giuliani in a courtroom outburst accuses judge in assets case of being unfair, drawing a rebuke National Politics | Surveillance tech advances by Biden could aid in Trump’s promised crackdown on immigration National Politics | Expecting challenges, blue states vow to create ‘firewall’ of abortion protections National Politics | Washington power has shifted. Here’s how the ACA may shift, too The other indictment brought in Florida accused Trump of improperly storing at his Mar-a-Lago estate sensitive documents on nuclear capabilities, enlisting aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showing off a Pentagon “plan of attack” and classified map. But U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case in July on grounds that Smith was illegally appointed . Smith appealed to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but abandoned that appeal on Monday. Smith’s team said it would continue its fight in the appeals court to revive charges against Trump’s two co-defendants because “no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.” In New York, jurors spent weeks last spring hearing evidence in a state case alleging a Trump scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex. New York prosecutors recently expressed openness to delaying sentencing until after Trump’s second term, while Trump’s lawyers are fighting to have the conviction dismissed altogether. In Georgia, a trial while Trump is in office seems unlikely in a state case charging him and more than a dozen others with conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. The case has been on hold since an appeals court agreed to review whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case. Associated Press reporter Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed.