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Apple introduced the Pro Display XDR in 2019 with its $4999 price tag, no included stand, and an optional Pro Stand for $999. Since then, despite all of the advancements in display technology, Apple has left it untouched. While there isn’t a ton to go off of, there are a couple of smaller details that give us an idea on what Apple is working on. Apple Silicon chip Apple released the Studio Display in 2022, and it had one unique advantage over most displays: it was powered by an A13 Bionic. This allowed it to have cool features like Center Stage and spatial audio. Pro Display XDR , since it was released three years prior, does not include an Apple Silicon chipset. However, according to a Bloomberg report from 2022 , that is one thing Apple is planning for the next-generation model: Apple is working on multiple new external monitors as well, including an update to the Pro Display XDR that was launched alongside the Intel Mac Pro in 2019. It is possible, however, that the company’s next high-end display will ship after the Mac Pro, as the computer is further along in development than the monitor. Those new monitors — like the Studio Display launched with the Mac Studio — will include Apple silicon. That helps the screens rely less on resources from the attached computer. Presuming this two-year-old rumor holds up – which could make sense given the fact that Gurman mentioned that the display was behind in development, then we can likely expect some sort of Apple Silicon chipset in the Pro Display XDR 2. This could allow for the Pro Display XDR to have a built in camera and speakers, something it doesn’t currently. Quantom-dot display According to display analyst Ross Young , Apple will be adopting quantom-dot films in the next generation Pro Display XDR, similar to the new M4 MacBook Pro : Now that Apple has adopted [quantum dot] films in the MacBook Pro, it will be interesting to see if they replace KSF films and KSF phosphors in other Apple products. KSF films are found in previous MiniLED MacBook Pro’s and the Mac Pro Display XDR. We expect the next version of the Mac Pro Display to adopt it. It isn’t clear if this means Apple will adopt mini-LED in the next generation Pro Display XDR , which currently uses a higher end IPS panel with local-dimming zones. We also have no concrete information regarding refresh rate, though it would be nice if we got a 120Hz panel, especially since MacBooks have had that for over three years, and the Pro Display XDR costs over $5000. Other rumors Last year, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple will be releasing a 27-inch miniLED display in 2025. It’s unlikely that this is in reference to the Pro Display XDR, since it has a 32-inch display size, but it’s relevant to mention regardless, as Kuo refers to it as a “high end monitor.” According to Kuo, this display will be thinner, and also have narrower bezels. Additionally, we’ve reported on 9to5Mac that Apple is working on a display with a 7K resolution, which seems plausible for a future Pro Display XDR . Release date Display analyst Ross Young shared with 9to5Mac that he currently expects the Pro Display XDR 2 to launch in late 2025 or early 2026, though there isn’t yet anything concrete. Follow Michael: X/Twitter , Bluesky , Instagram
Former Fiji First General Secretary and Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has challenged all those MP’s who voted against or abstained on the pay rise and increase in benefits, should not benefit from it. He stated in a social media post that if they were genuine in their opposition or abstention, then they should have by now donated the money to a worthy charitable organisation or set up a trust to pool their funds together and give it to a charitable organisation to help ordinary Fijians. MP’s who voted against or abstained were Faiyaz Koya, Hem Chand, Premila Kumar, Joseph Nand, Viam Pillay, Rinesh Sharma, Ketan Lal. Prof Biman Prasad, Pio Tikoduadua, Agni Deo Singh, Lenora Qereqeretabua and Sashi Kiran. MP Praveen Bala wasn’t present in Parliament at the time of the vote. “These MPs, should they go ahead with this idea, should also make public the details of any trust and/or monies paid to charitable trusts or organisations,” said Mr Sayed-Khaiyum. “This way, the ordinary Fijian would know that these MPs genuinely opposed the pay rise and increase in benefits.” “It will demonstrate their sincerity, show the greed and morally bankrupt position of those who voted for it and frankly it will be a politically smart move.” “If they don’t, then they are just as bad if not worse than those who openly and ashamedly voted for the pay rise and increase in benefits for themselves while ordinary Fijians were and are facing increasingly daily uphill challenges.” All five NFP members in Parliament voted against the motion to increase MPs’ salaries and allowances.Whither Nifty this December?
A since-deleted TikTok purportedly depicts a person using an illegal flamethrower to burn the words “TRUMP” and “USA” onto a street in Glen Burnie, according to a screen recording obtained by the Capital Gazette. Before it was taken down, the TikTok post was used by Anne Arundel County Fire investigators to file one felony and two misdemeanors against Craig Philip McQuin . Authorities say McQuin, 35, set the road outside his home ablaze less than two weeks after Donald Trump won the presidency for a second, nonconsecutive term. Attorney Richard Altmark, who identified himself in an email as representing McQuin, declined to comment Wednesday. Messages sent to social media accounts for McQuin’s wife, who investigators say first published the TikTok, were not returned. The 30-second video, first published Nov. 15, shows a person walk up to a black-outlined set of letters on a street. A line of small flames ignites a blue ring of fire that expands across the road. The flamethrower soon pushes a streak into the air before the person directs it to the ground. Doing so, the word “TRUMP” appears across Hickory Hollow Drive in an orange glow. One photograph then shows the same person posing with their work before transitioning to another with the enflamed “USA.” The TikTok ends with a clip of the person setting off a firework. During the entire video, a song celebrating Trump and denouncing President Joe Biden plays in the background, while “God Bless America!” sits onscreen in red font. Investigators responded to the Creekside Village community Nov. 15 following a vandalism complaint, according to charging documents. The burn marks, they said, had stretched between 15 and 20 feet in length and approximately 5 feet in width, costing $5,500 to repair. After speaking with someone in the neighborhood’s homeowners association, investigators were told a video of the incident had been posted online by McQuin’s wife, according to charging documents. Most of the TikTok page is dedicated to two pigs she cares for, though one post makes reference to a construction site outside the White House and says, “Hang them all!” As of Monday, the flamethrower video could no longer be viewed on the wife’s TikTok account. A representative from the Creekside Village Homeowners Association declined to comment or provide the name of its president Wednesday. The association’s website does not list its board members. The flamethrower McQuin allegedly used can be purchased in every state except Maryland, according to its manufacturer, Exothermic Technologies. Though the Florida-based company describes the device allegedly used in Glen Burnie as a “long range torch,” capable of launching fire up to 25 feet, it said flamethrowers are “outright prohibited” in Maryland. State law categorizes flamethrowers as “ destructive devices ,” similar to a grenade, Molotov cocktail or missile. The felony McQuin faces for possessing a destructive device carries with it a 25-year maximum sentence and/or a fine upwards of $250,000. Though a summons has been issued for McQuin to appear before a judge, a date was not specified in the court record. Have a news tip? Contact Luke Parker at lparker@baltsun.com , 410-725-6214, or on X @lparkernews .
NEW YORK (AP) — Brian Thompson led one of the biggest health insurers in the U.S. but was unknown to millions of people his decisions affected. Then Wednesday's targeted fatal shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO on a midtown Manhattan sidewalk thrust the executive and his business into the national spotlight. Thompson, who was 50, had worked at the giant UnitedHealth Group Inc for 20 years and run the insurance arm since 2021 after running its Medicare and retirement business. As CEO, Thompson led a firm that provides health coverage to more than 49 million Americans — more than the population of Spain. United is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans, the privately run versions of the U.S. government’s Medicare program for people age 65 and older. The company also sells individual insurance and administers health-insurance coverage for thousands of employers and state-and federally funded Medicaid programs. The business run by Thompson brought in $281 billion in revenue last year, making it the largest subsidiary of the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group. His $10.2 million annual pay package, including salary, bonus and stock options awards, made him one of the company's highest-paid executives. The University of Iowa graduate began his career as a certified public accountant at PwC and had little name recognition beyond the health care industry. Even to investors who own its stock, the parent company's face belonged to CEO Andrew Witty, a knighted British triathlete who has testified before Congress. When Thompson did occasionally draw attention, it was because of his role in shaping the way Americans get health care. At an investor meeting last year, he outlined his company's shift to “value-based care,” paying doctors and other caregivers to keep patients healthy rather than focusing on treating them once sick. “Health care should be easier for people,” Thompson said at the time. “We are cognizant of the challenges. But navigating a future through value-based care unlocks a situation where the ... family doesn’t have to make the decisions on their own.” Thompson also drew attention in 2021 when the insurer, like its competitors, was widely criticized for a plan to start denying payment for what it deemed non-critical visits to hospital emergency rooms. “Patients are not medical experts and should not be expected to self-diagnose during what they believe is a medical emergency,” the chief executive of the American Hospital Association wrote in an open letter addressed to Thompson. “Threatening patients with a financial penalty for making the wrong decision could have a chilling effect on seeking emergency care.” United Healthcare responded by delaying rollout of the change. Thompson, who lived in a Minneapolis suburb and was the married father of two sons in high school, was set to speak at an investor meeting in a midtown New York hotel. He was on his own and about to enter the building when he was shot in the back by a masked assailant who fled on foot before pedaling an e-bike into Central Park a few blocks away, the New York Police Department said. Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said investigators were looking at Thompson's social media accounts and interviewing employees and family members. “Didn’t seem like he had any issues at all,” Kenny said. "He did not have a security detail.” AP reporters Michael R. Sisak and Steve Karnowski contributed to this report. Murphy reported from Indianapolis. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email.The name, image and likeness (NIL) market for student-athletes has seen unprecedented growth since its inception in 2021. According to Opendorse, an athlete marketplace and NIL technology company, the market is projected to expand from $917 million in 2021-22 to an estimated $1.67 billion by 2024-25. A combination of school policies and state laws currently dictates the deals athletes can make, ESPN reported. In states lacking oversight, the NCAA requires universities to establish policies for their athletes. Highlighting the lucrative potential of NIL deals, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, son of Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders, holds the top NIL valuation at $6.2 million, according to media and tech company On3. His endorsements include Nike, Beats by Dre and Google. In a landmark move, the House v. NCAA settlement proposal could allow Division I schools to pay college athletes for the first time in history. If finalized in April, schools could begin sharing between $20 million and $30 million in revenue with players as early as July 1, 2025, Front Office Sports reported. Participation is optional, but schools that opt in must provide revenue-sharing dollars to all athletes in their departments. The NCAA is advocating for federal guidelines to regulate the NIL market. In September, NCAA President Charlie Baker expressed concerns over dysfunction in the NIL environment, including unfulfilled promises to student-athletes. He urged Congress to establish national NIL guidelines to protect student-athletes and standardize contracts. “We continue to see evidence of dysfunction in today’s NIL environment, including examples of promises made but not kept to student-athletes. Just as anyone who owns stock or buys a house is afforded basic consumer protections, it’s clear that student-athletes entering NIL contracts should be too,” Baker wrote on X. “While we’d love to see these resources used to protect student-athletes in every NIL deal, it’s not something the NCAA has the authority to mandate. In the meantime, we’re continuing to advocate for Congress to create national NIL guidelines that will protect student-athletes from exploitation, including the use of standard contracts.” Interest in federal involvement is evident on Capitol Hill. Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, poised to chair the Commerce Committee, said a college sports bill would be a top priority, according to the Associated Press. Cruz will need bipartisan support to pass the necessary 60-vote threshold in the Senate, requiring compromise with lawmakers focused on athlete welfare over expanding NCAA authority. Members from both parties agree on the need for national NIL standards and granting the NCAA rule-making power for college sports.
The name Marvin Harrison Jr. may look familiar to a lot of football fans. That’s because his father is Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison Sr., who was Peyton Manning’s favorite target for several years when he was a wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts. The Super Bowl XLI champ’s son was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals with the fourth pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and is hoping he can eclipse the stellar career his dad had. Harrison Jr.’s father is one of his biggest supporters and so is the athlete ‘s girlfriend. Here’s more about Charokee Young and why you might recognize her. How long Harrison and Young have been together While it’s not known exactly when Harrison and Young started dating, the two began posting about their relationship on social media in early 2023. Young gushed on Instagram and TikTok over flowers and other thoughtful gifts her boyfriend has gotten her including a framed photo of the pair with a rose design which she shared with her followers. And the two always react or respond in the comments section of each other’s posts. Young was also by her man’s side when he was drafted and posted photos of herself during the event sitting in a floor-length black gown and holding a Cardinals cap. Young is a professional athlete as well Young was born in Jamacia on Aug. 21, 2000. Like Harrison, she is a professional athlete as well. Young attended Texas A&M University where she studied sports management and ran track and field. In 2022, she set a school record for the spirit medley relay and that same year competed at the World Athletics Championships. She is a two-time NCAA Division 1 champion. Young graduated from the school in 2023 and posted on Instagram : “Overcoming hurdles on the track and in the classroom, I proudly stand at the finish line of my college journey. Grateful to have balanced being a student athlete and professional track star. Graduation is not just a degree, it’s a testament to hard work, dedication, and divine guidance.” After graduation, she continued her career on the track and competed professionally at the Budapest World Championships in August 2023. Young represented Team Jamaica at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow in February 2024. She is a two-time silver medalist at the World Championships. And, in July 2024, she was selected to represent her home country again at the 2024 Paris Olympics Young signed a deal with a major brand In 2022, Young signed a contract with the German sportswear company Puma. She made the announcement via Instagram writing: “So blessed to announce that I am the newest member of the Puma family. Cheers to new beginnings.” Young is also an influencer. She described her YouTube channel as a “journey” and “captivating documentation of my life as an athlete, where I push my physical and mental boundaries to achieve greatness. From intense training sessions to triumphs on the field, I share the ups and downs of my athletic pursuits. “But that’s not all! I also intertwine my journey with God, revealing how spirituality fuels my passion and perseverance. As an influencer, I bring you along on incredible lifestyle vlogs, showcasing the exciting experiences, travel adventures, and everyday moments that shape my vibrant existence.”
Notice of Convening HearingA social-media tribute to Coptic Christians. A billboard in Amish country. A visit to a revered Jewish gravesite. While Donald Trump’s lock on the is legendary, he and his campaign allies also wooed smaller religious groups, far from the mainstream. As it turned out, Trump won by decisive margins, but his campaign aggressively courted niche communities with the understanding that every vote could be critical, particularly in swing states. Voter surveys such as exit polls, which canvass broad swaths of the electorate, aren’t able to gauge the impact of such microtargeting, but some backers say the effort was worth it. Just one week before the election, Trump directed a post on the social-media platform X to Coptic Christians in the United States —- whose church has ancient roots in Egypt. He saluted their “Steadfast Faith in God, Perseverance through Centuries of Persecution and Love for this Great Country.” “This was the first time seeing a major U.S. presidential candidate address the community in this manner,” said Mariam Wahba, a Coptic Christian and research analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based research institute. “It was really a profound moment.” She said many Copts share the conservative social views of other Christian groups in the Republican constituency, and they may already have been Trump supporters. But the posting reinforced those bonds. Coptic bishops sent the president-elect congratulations after his victory and cited their “shared social and family values.” Some Assyrian Christians — another faith group with Middle Eastern roots — similarly bonded with Trump, whose mispronunciation of created a viral video moment and drew attention to their support. Sam Darmo, a Phoenix real estate agent and co-founder of Assyrians for Trump, said many community members cited the economy, illegal immigration and other prominent voter issues. They echoed other conservative Christians’ concerns, he said, on issues such as abortion, gender identity and religious expression in public. But he said Trump supported various Middle Eastern Christians recovering from the Islamic State group’s oppressive rule. Darmo also credited Massad Boulos, father-in-law to Trump’s daughter Tiffany, for mobilizing various Middle Eastern Christian groups, including Chaldean Catholics, and other voters, particularly in Michigan, such as Muslims. “He brought all these minority groups together,” he said. “We’re hoping to continue that relationship.” But members of Middle Eastern-rooted Christian groups, and their politics, are far from monolithic, said Marcus Zacharia, founder of Progressive Copts, a program of Informed Immigrants, an organization that promotes dialogue on sensitive topics among such groups in the United States and Canada. He said many younger community members question Trump’s stances on issues such as immigration, and sense that conservatives sometimes tokenize them by focusing on the plight of persecuted Christians in the Middle East while neglecting wider issues of repression in countries there that the U.S. supports. He said there needs to be more informed dialogue across the political divide in these communities. “There is no more high time than these next four years to have that way of conducting conversations,” he said. Republicans also made an aggressive push for , particularly in the swing state of Pennsylvania, where they are most numerous at about 92,000 (many below voting age). The GOP has made similar efforts in the past, even though researchers have found that less than 10% of them typically vote, due to their separatism from society. But Republicans used billboards, mailers, ads and door-to-door campaigner to drive turnout in Lancaster County, home base to the nation’s largest Amish settlement. On Election Day, Amish voters Samuel Stoltzfus and his wife Lillian Stoltzfus said they were supporting Trump, citing their anti-abortion beliefs. “We basically look at it as murder,” Stoltzfus, 31, said outside a polling center in the Lancaster County community of New Holland, where dozens of other members of the local Amish community voted. Trump has wavered on the issue, dismaying some abortion opponents, though many have said Republicans still align more closely to their views. Stolzfus added: “Make America great again and keep the moral values,” he said. “Let’s go back to the roots.” Steven Nolt, a history professor at Elizabethtown College in Lancaster College who studies the Amish and their voting patterns, said that while it’s too early to say definitively without further research, he doesn’t see evidence of a larger turnout this year. Lancaster County as a whole — most of which is not Amish — is a GOP stronghold that Trump won handily, though both parties’ votes edged up from 2020, according to unofficial results posted by the Pennsylvania Department of State. Trump’s biggest increases were in urban or suburban areas with few Amish, while some areas with larger Amish populations generally saw a modest increase in the Trump vote, said Nolt, director of the college’s Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. “Bottom line, percentage-wise, not much change in the parts of Lancaster County where the Amish live,” he said. Trump directly reached out to members of the Chabad Lubavitch movement, a prominent and highly observant branch of Orthodox Judaism. Related Articles On Oct. 7, the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, Trump made a symbolically resonant the burial site of the movement’s revered late leader, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson. Wearing a yarmulke, the traditional Jewish skullcap, Trump, who has Jewish family members, brought a written prayer to the Ohel and laid a small stone at the grave in keeping with tradition. The site in New York City, while particularly central to Chabad adherents, draws an array of Jewish and other visitors, including politicians. About two-thirds of Jewish voters overall supported Trump’s opponent, Democrat Kamala Harris, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters. But the Trump campaign has made a particular outreach to Orthodox Jews, citing issues including his policies toward Israel in his first administration. Rabbi Yitzchok Minkowitz of Chabad Lubavitch of Southwest Florida said it was moving for him to see images of Trump’s visit. “The mere fact that he made a huge effort, obviously it was important to him,” he said.
Ousted Syrian leader Assad flees to Moscow after fall of Damascus, Russian state media sayUS agencies should use advanced technology to identify mysterious drones, Schumer says
NoneOn online baby message boards and other social media forums, pregnant women say they are being asked by their providers to pay out-of-pocket fees earlier than expected.