“We should be doing some very urgent intelligence analysis and take them out of the skies, especially if they’re flying over airports or military bases,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said Thursday, as concerns about the drones spread across Capitol Hill. People in the New York region are also concerned that the drones may be sharing airspace with commercial airlines, he said, demanding more transparency from the Biden administration. The White House said Thursday that a review of the reported sightings shows that many of them are actually manned aircraft being flown lawfully. White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said there were no reported sightings in any restricted airspace. He said the U.S. Coast Guard has not uncovered any foreign involvement from coastal vessels. “We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus,” Kirby said, echoing statements from the Pentagon and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh has said they are not U.S. military drones. In a joint statement issued Thursday afternoon, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security said they and their federal partners, in close coordination with the New Jersey State Police, “continue to deploy personnel and technology to investigate this situation and confirm whether the reported drone flights are actually drones or are instead manned aircraft or otherwise inaccurate sightings.” The agencies said they have not corroborated any of the reported sightings with electronic detection, and that reviews of available images appear to show many of the reported drones are actually manned aircraft. “There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted air space,” according to the statement. The drones appear to avoid detection by traditional methods such as helicopter and radio, according to a state lawmaker briefed Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security. The number of sightings has increased in recent days, though officials say many of the objects seen may have been planes rather than drones. It’s also possible that a single drone has been reported more than once. The worry stems partly from the flying objects initially being spotted near the Picatinny Arsenal, a U.S. military research and manufacturing facility, and over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster. In a post on the social media platform X, Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia described the drones as up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) in diameter and sometimes traveling with their lights switched off. Drones are legal in New Jersey for recreational and commercial use but are subject to local and Federal Aviation Administration regulations and flight restrictions. Operators must be FAA certified. Most, but not all, of the drones spotted in New Jersey appeared to be larger than those typically used by hobbyists. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said he was frustrated by the lack of transparency, saying it could help spread fear and misinformation. “We should know what’s going on over our skies,” he said Thursday. John Duesler, president of the Pennsylvania Drone Association, said witnesses may be confused about what they are seeing, especially in the dark, and noted it’s hard to know the size of the drones or how close they might be. “There are certainly big drones, such as agricultural drones, but typically they are not the type you see flying around in urban or suburban spaces,” Duesler said Thursday. Duesler said the drones — and those flying them — likely cannot evade detection. “They will leave a radio frequency footprint, they all leave a signature," he said. "We will find out what kind of drones they were, who was flying them and where they were flying them.” Fantasia, a Morris County Republican, was among several lawmakers who met with state police and Homeland Security officials to discuss the sightings from the New York City area across New Jersey and westward into parts of Pennsylvania, including over Philadelphia. It is unknown at this time whether the sightings are related. Duesler said the public wants to know what's going on. “I hope (the government agencies) will come out with more information about this to ease our fears. But this could just be the acts of rogue drone operators, it’s not an ‘invasion’ as some reports have called it,” Duesler said. “I am concerned about this it but not alarmed by it.” Associated Press reporters Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and reporter Darlene Superville and videojournalists Serkan Gurbuz and Nathan Ellgren in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
The ability to easily record your screen is one of the great Chromebook functions people may not be aware of . You can record yourself playing a game, record meetings, make visual guides, or show bugs you've encountered in games or code. You can either record with the computer's native tool by pressing Shift + Ctrl + Show Windows followed by the Screen Record button that appears or you can use a variety of programs powered by Google. While it may be easy to start recording, is it just as easy to stop screen recordings? Just like starting a screen recording, stopping a screen recording is also straightforward in most cases. Official Chromebook Help simply states to select the Stop Recording symbol (a red box) at the bottom right of your screen. If you don't see the Stop Recording symbol, it's possible that you have the Auto-Hide Shelf setting toggled on. This is a setting that hides the bottom shelf while recording to keep the screen clear. If turned on, the Stop Recording symbol won't be visible — along with the rest of the shelf — until you shake the mouse a bit or scroll it over where the shelf appears. To turn off Auto-Hide Shelf, right click on the shelf (or where it usually showed) and select "Always Show Shelf." If you're still having issues, there are other easy workarounds. You can also use a keyboard shortcut if you don't want to move your cursor during the screen recording or can't find the Stop Recording symbol — Search + Shift + X. Often seen as simple, the Chromebook actually has a lot of functions people may not be aware of – this includes a lot of easy-to-install Chrome extensions. If you prefer to use an extension to screen record, there's plenty of Chrome extensions to use on top of what comes with the Chromebook. These are great Chrome extensions to consider if the Chromebook's built-in screen recorder keeps giving you problems. Loom is a great option for work-focused screen recording since it's able to record the screen and the user simultaneously — and luckily there's a free version. For simplicity's sake, GoFullPage is a great screen recorder if you just want the entire screen in one click. It's also free but is focused on very straightforward tasks. Businesses should take a look at Nimbus — this Chrome extension allows for watermarks and branding on captured recordings. For more money a month, there's also project management tools. Screencastify has remained a popular pick as well due to its easy ability to share screen recordings, even inspiring engagement with an interactive question tool.Syria’s prime minister said that most cabinet ministers were back at work on Monday after rebels overthrew President Bashar Assad. However, some state workers failed to return to their jobs and a United Nations official said the country’s public sector had come “to a complete and abrupt halt”. Meanwhile, streams of refugees crossed back into Syria from neighbouring countries, hoping for a more peaceful future and looking for relatives who disappeared during Mr Assad’s brutal rule. There were already signs of the difficulties ahead for the rebel alliance now in control of much of the country. The alliance is led by a former senior al-Qaida militant, who severed ties with the extremist group years ago and has promised representative government and religious tolerance. The rebel command said they would not tell women how to dress. “It is strictly forbidden to interfere with women’s dress or impose any request related to their clothing or appearance, including requests for modesty,” the command said in a statement on social media. Nearly two days after rebels entered the capital, some key government services had shut down after state workers ignored calls to go back to their jobs, the UN official said, causing issues at airports and borders and slowing the flow of humanitarian aid. Rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, also met with Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi Jalali for the first time. Mr Jalali stayed in Syria when Mr Assad fled and has sought to project normalcy since. “We are working so that the transitional period is quick and smooth,” he told Sky News Arabia TV on Monday, saying the security situation had already improved from the day before. At the court of Justice in Damascus, which was stormed by the rebels to free detainees, Judge Khitam Haddad, an aide to the justice minister in the outgoing government, said that judges were ready to resume work quickly. “We want to give everyone their rights,” Mr Haddad said outside the courthouse. “We want to build a new Syria and to keep the work, but with new methods.” But a UN official said some government services had been paralysed as worried state employees stayed at home. The public sector “has just come to a complete and abrupt halt,” said Adam Abdelmoula, UN resident and humanitarian co-ordinator for Syria, noting, for example, that an aid flight carrying urgently needed medical supplies had been put on hold after aviation employees abandoned their jobs. “This is a country that has had one government for 53 years and then suddenly all of those who have been demonised by the public media are now in charge in the nation’s capital,” Mr Abdelmoula told The Associated Press. “I think it will take a couple of days and a lot of assurance on the part of the armed groups for these people to return to work again.” In a video shared on a rebel messaging channel, Mr al-Sharaa said: “You will see there are skills” among the rebels. The Kremlin said Russia has granted political asylum to Mr Assad, a decision made by President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on Mr Assad’s specific whereabouts and said Mr Putin did not plan to meet with him. Damascus was quiet Monday, with life slowly returning to normal, though most shops and public institutions were closed. In public squares, some people were still celebrating. Civilian traffic resumed, but there was no public transport. Long lines formed in front of bakeries and other food stores. There was little sign of any security presence though in some areas, small groups of armed men were stationed in the streets.
ABC has made the holiday season a little brighter thanks to The Great Christmas Light Fight . Season 12 is currently underway with more elaborate and unique displays. Even though Carter Oosterhouse has been judging for more than a decade, the longtime judge continues to be impressed. The construction expert and interior designer Taniya Nayak has the difficult task of deciding who out of the four families they visit in each episode takes home $50,000 and the coveted trophy. Here Oosterhouse talks about the show’s longevity and what his residence looks like during the holidays with his wife, actress Amy Smart . It’s amazing how this show has become such an annual holiday tradition for families to watch together. Carter Oosterhouse: The Great Christmas Light Fight is the gift that keeps on giving. The more we are on, the more people come up to me at the airport and reflect on how it’s a tradition for them. They tell me, “We know it’s Christmas time when we see this show come on air.” The family programming this embodies is so sweet and perfect for the holiday season. You have the holiday movies on, which are nostalgic and fun. This is a little bit different, yet gives the same moment for families to gather and have a nice little night at home. Disney/Jim Gensheimer How would you say your judging eye has evolved? That’s a good question. I think sometimes as a judge you don’t even realize how these displays continue to get better. And it’s not just bigger. It’s more than more lights. I always say I can pick the winner right when the lights go on, but that’s not always true because now what I’ve seen is the creativity level has skyrocketed. People are more and more creative than ever before. It’s not just about putting lights on a tree or making sure the balance is correct or the color profile is engaging and interesting. It’s really about creativity. What that means is people are starting to tell stories with their lights. That’s fascinating. In scripted or nonscripted TV, it’s all about telling a story. When you watch something, that is why you keep going back to it. Now these families with these light displays are telling stories. As the viewer, it’s so much more dynamic and interesting to the point you have to scratch your head and say, “I’m blown away. I’m shocked. Just when you think you’ve seen them all, you haven’t.” Technology has also advanced within these displays through computer programming and drones. The technology is there and every year it gets better. Sometimes we do have people who are extremely good with computers and putting light and synchronized lights together, but that’s not always the winner. I don’t want to say it’s usually not the winner, but it seems to me what I have learned is over time I go back to the creative ones. Those are going to be the winners. If they can throw tech in there, even better because it makes it faster, more efficient maybe, and more interesting to some degree. As far as technology goes, every year we’re seeing something different. The light fighters who have been doing it for decades and are at the forefront of this technology, really geek out over that. I do too. I love learning more about it. Then some people who are doing it for the first time knock your socks off because they have no frame of reference. They just want to do something they want to do and in their mind is really cool. I’m always amazed at the dedication of these participants. The light fighters work extremely hard. They are very diligent with what they are doing. The families are in the grind. When September comes around, they are starting to put their lights up and it’s all hands on deck. It’s a lot of work. As a judge too, I want to make sure I applaud them and give them the credit they deserve. It is impressive to see the lengths they go. These guys are beyond the next level. They know the drill. They take the kids to school, go to work, and then come home to start working on their display at all hours of the night. Then they get up the next day and do the same thing. The cool thing is I’d say 99 percent of the people are happy to do this for their community. That’s the best part. On your travels, have there been places you never thought about going but are glad you went? For Trading Spaces , we traveled all over the United States. I think that was the indoctrination of a really crazy travel schedule. I’d say the good thing is I can go back to some of these areas. To your point, I do get to see areas that have lit up these lights or sometimes they are theme parks because we do heavyweights as well. We get into bigger areas that have the capability of dressing it up. Those are eye-opening. I’m in this last round of shooting right now where there are plenty of places I’ve said, “I want to bring my daughter back here.” That’s a sign they’ve done a really good job. You and Taniya are solo judging in these episodes, but do you talk much? We touch base a couple of times during the season and before. It’s funny because it is all very similar for us. There is a progression of what these light fighters are doing. I always feel like I can figure it out if they are going to be a top tier when the lights go on. Lately, I feel as you’ve gotten into it, this is not what I expected at all and even better. That’s fun. Taniya and I have been on the same page with all that. Carter Oosterhouse and Amy Smart at “Common Ground” Screening. (Gregg DeGuire/Variety via Getty Images) Does this being known for this show put pressure on you at home to deliver a good display? Does Amy get you to work? Good question. It used to be my wife saying, “So what are we doing? Why aren’t we having any lights?” I say, “I am the judge of The Great Christmas Light Fight . I feel like I would not do a service and carry out the oath of being a judge and fail miserably putting lights up.” Usually, when I get home it’s a lot closer to Christmas. So, we do the inside. I’ve been trying to bring back things people make as a builder and duplicate them. There are a lot of makers out there. You see this guy who has been working in his workshop, who has this crazy Santa Claus walking up a ladder built on a timing system. I think that’s really cool that I want to go home and do that. So I have dabbled in those. You mentioned you’re filming right now for next year. Do you go back and watch the episodes airing as a family at home? We try to, absolutely, when I’m not shooting for next year. We critique. If my daughter is into it, I feel like I’m doing my job. There are tons of shows she can watch, especially during the holidays. I feel if she is into it, I’m doing alright. What’s your go-to Christmas movies to watch? Do you watch Amy’s movie Just Friends ? I feel sometimes people forget that is a Christmas movie. Just Friends , we do watch that. That is definitely a Christmas movie. We go back to all the nostalgic movies. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation , we run back through all that. Now there are all these shows, too. Like these Christmas baking shows. I feel like those are of interest to us too. I guess we’re finding shows I never thought I would watch and falling into. Also, being on a show this long, we’re so thankful it has been on the air this long and having such a successful run. You go through a rollercoaster of emotions. Right now, we’re doing great. It’s fun. It’s a new interest not just on the show but on Christmas too. It’s all about being loved ones. This experience has really helped me dive deeper into the whole Christmas world and look at it from other angles compared to when I first started on the show. 2024 Holiday TV Roundup: Full Schedules for NBC, CBS, ABC, More Anything you can tease about the episodes to come? There is one episode that is coming up, and what was really of interest was the coordination. Not just of the lights but things that these blow molds were doing within the light display. We see a lot of coordination from the tech world, but when you can take traditional elements and mix those into a newer feel, that was really impressive. There was this choir of blow molds in the show, and that was so dynamic because you think, “Wait? Are those blow molds singing to me now?” There was a ton of them. Not only was it visually interesting but to hear it was amazing. What do you want to see from the show moving forward? I do like the heavyweights. Those are really fun to shoot because they are on such a different level. It’s also the community is helping out as well. You just have more people involved. I’d like to see more of those to tell you the truth because there seems to be a lot more people, which creates a bigger energy. That’s not to say the homes don’t do that. We only do one of these types of episodes a year, but I’d love to see more of them. The Great Christmas Light Fight , Thursdays, 8/7c, ABC More Headlines: ‘Firefly’ Reunion! Who Will Be at Emerald City Comic Con 2025 for ‘Serenity’s 20th Anniversary? ‘Christmas Light Fight’ Host Carter Oosterhouse on Holiday Traditions, Marriage to Amy Smart & More Snoop Dogg Gives Daughter Pre-Wedding Pep Talk in E! Docuseries Sneak Peek (VIDEO) ‘Bold and the Beautiful’ Breakup? Thorsten Kaye on Ridge’s Blowup With Brooke and If He’d Go Back to Taylor ‘Farmer Wants a Wife’ Renewed for Season 3 With a New Host: All the UpdatesLamar Jackson takes on Philadelphia's top-ranked defense when the Ravens host the EaglesNone
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BENNINGTON — There’s a sense of familiarity inside the Mount Anthony girls basketball program that’s been missing over the past few seasons. Coach Jordyn Burke is optimistic it will translate into more success on the court this winter. Burke enters her second season in charge of the program she once shined for as a player. Her return is a welcome sight to the team’s seniors who had three different coaches in as many seasons leading up to this year. The senior class will undoubtedly be asked to lead the Patriots – especially Abby Sekora, Alicia Harrington, Grace McQueeney and Madi Moore – all four-year varsity players. They have a ton of varsity experience that their coach said is already helping the team. “You can already tell, team chemistry is something that we’ve been working on for a long time so it’s really nice to see them all back in the gym again just building on stuff we worked on last year,” she said. “They already know the drills, they know some of the plays so we can perfect them a little bit better. I know them [as players] a little bit better.” Burke said that familiarity is already paying dividends in the preseason. The Patriots faced off against Arlington, Drury High School and Mount St. Joseph Academy Saturday in a scrimmage jamboree. In one of those games, Burke called a timeout and drew up a new play MAU had yet to practice. The Patriots executed it, finishing with a score. “It left me feeling really great after the scrimmage,” Burke said. “Last year was really getting to know them as basketball players and identifying your team. It takes longer than just a season to get to know them. After last year I have a better starting point. It’s just a more positive influence and positive environment in the gym this year.” Kyla McGurn, Eva Cross and Ryleigh Ware round out the group of seven seniors. With just five underclassmen, including no juniors, the Patriots will be meshing lots of experience with some youth. Three sophomores return after cracking the varsity roster as first-year players: Aundrea Toromino, Haleigh Thompson and Sadie Sekora. Thompson is currently in a walking boot and will be sidelined until mid-January. The Patriots also welcome a pair of first-year players in guard Bella Moore and power forward/center Meya Beaudoin. Both are expected to contribute right away. “Playing time makes you better, I definitely see the two of them giving possible impact and possible contributions to the team,” Burke said. “I see a lot of promise in both of them. I’m really excited to have them on the squad this year.” The Patriots failed to make the playoffs last year, finishing at 2-18. In her second year in charge, Burke wants to see her players improve any and every way they can. The main goal is to excel in two areas they can control: effort and attitude. “Everybody coming in the gym, giving their best effort and best attitude, and everybody getting better, whatever that looks like,” Burke said. “Whether it’s they’re a better leader this year, a better teammate this year, they’re a better player – obviously we want everybody to get better as a player, but sometimes that’s not in the cards for certain kids. “I want to see people get better. If we can get better, then we’re going to get better as a program, and that’s the goal.” The Patriots begin their season with the North-South Classic in Rutland Saturday, facing off against Essex at 3 p.m. They play their first home game Dec. 28, hosting West Rutland for a 2:30 p.m. tip. What can fans expect to see from the Patriots when they walk into Kates Gymnasium? “They will see those girls leave every sweat, blood and tear on that floor,” the second-year coach said. “Every time they play, they give 100 percent – and that’s all I ever ask of them ... They’re on every loose ball, they’re giving it their all, they’re hustling ... every time you walk in the gym, no matter what the score is, you know that my girls are definitely giving it their all.”
‘Christmas Light Fight’ Host Carter Oosterhouse on Holiday Traditions, Marriage to Amy Smart & More