Tulane QB Mensah transfers to Duke
49ers’ guard Dominick Puni reflects on the one (snap) that got awayTulane QB Mensah transfers to Duke
EU rules requiring all new smartphones, tablets and cameras to use the same charger came into force on Saturday, in a change Brussels said will cut costs and waste. Manufacturers are now obliged to fit devices sold in the 27-nation bloc with a USB-C, the port chosen by the European Union as the common standard for charging electronic tools. "Starting today, all new mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones, speakers, keyboards and many other electronics sold in the EU will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port," the EU Parliament wrote on social media X. The EU has said the single charger rule will simplify the life of Europeans and slash costs for consumers. By allowing consumers to purchase a new device without a new charger, it will also reduce the mountain of obsolete chargers, the bloc has argued. The law was first approved in 2022 following a tussle with US tech giant Apple. It allowed companies until December 28 this year to adapt. Makers of laptops will have extra time, from early 2026, to also follow suit. Most devices already use these cables, but Apple was more than a little reluctant. The firm said in 2021 that such regulation "stifles innovation", but by September last year it had begun shipping phones with the new port. Makers of electronic consumer items in Europe had agreed on a single charging norm from dozens on the market a decade ago under a voluntary agreement with the European Commission. But Apple, the world's biggest seller of smartphones, refused to abide by it and ditch its Lightning ports. Other manufacturers kept their alternative cables going, meaning there were about half a dozen types knocking around, creating a jumble of cables for consumers. USB-C ports can charge at up to 100 Watts, transfer data up to 40 gigabits per second, and can serve to hook up to external displays. At the time of its approval, the commission said the law was expected to save at least 200 million euros ($208 million) per year and cut more than a thousand tonnes of EU electronic waste every year. "It's time for THE charger," the European Commission wrote on X on Saturday. "It means better-charging technology, reduced e-waste, and less fuss to find the chargers you need." ub/giv
Lexus: A guide to everything you need to know
The world’s oldest known wild bird is back in her familiar stomping grounds — this time, with a new beau. Wisdom, a Laysan albatross who is at least 74, returned to her annual nesting site at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge on the Hawaiian archipelago late last month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Region announced on social media this week . This year, Wisdom not only laid an egg, but was seen “interacting with a male” that the wildlife agency identified as her new mate. (The septuagenarian was previously linked to a mate named Akeakamai for decades, but he hasn’t been seen in years.) If all goes well, Wisdom’s egg will hatch in around two months . She’s been mother to about thirty surviving chicks over the years, with her most recent offspring hatching in 2021. The fact that this elder bird is still alive, let alone still laying eggs, is astonishing. In 2021, after Wisdom’s latest chick hatched, seabird ecologist Richard Phillips told The New York Times the next-oldest albatross he’d ever heard of was 61. Wisdom was fitted with an identification band around her ankle in 1956, and scientists have monitored her ever since. There are some skeptics who believe that something is amiss with the story, like perhaps the identification band was swapped out to another albatross at some point, as The Washington Post noted previously. But the numerous scientists interviewed in news stories over the years have generally treated Wisdom’s advanced age as fact. “I think it’s impossible for us to look at that bird and not be stunned that she is still breeding and has laid an egg,” marine ecologist Dr. Carl Safina told the Times . Related From Our Partner