lights out and away we go A tough race for the rookies as F1 starts 2025 in Australia F1 teams show us who's fast and who's not at the start of the 2025 season. Jonathan M. Gitlin Mar 17, 2025 11:45 am | 14 A pair of McLarens out front in Australia. Credit: Clive Mason/Getty Images A pair of McLarens out front in Australia. Credit: Clive Mason/Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreFormula 1's four-wheeled circus got underway this past weekend in Melbourne, Australia. Held on the roads around a lake in Albert Park, the track is one of F1's trickier challenges, made more so on Sunday thanks to rain that eased off before the start of the race, only to return with a vengeance a dozen or so laps before the end. It proved to be a tough day for four of the sport's six new drivers, as well as some more well-known names, and it gave us a clearer idea of the pecking order between the teams, at least for now.True F1 junkies were probably following the preseason test earlier this month in Bahrain, as the sport now helpfully shows those three days of running on its streaming platform. But those devoted enough to watch the cars circulate for hours with nothing on the line also know you shouldn't read too much into a preseason test, especially one held at a circuit that is unrepresentative of most of the others that F1 visitsand in unseasonably cold weather, to boot.Little has changed in the way of the technical regulations between the end of last year and the start of this one, other than an increasing scrutiny on the front and rear wings' ability to flex when they're not supposed to. Flexing or deflecting under load at opportune times reduces the drag and allows a car to go a little faster in a straight line for the same amount of power, giving that car an unfair advantage.It looked as if McLaren would be starting the season off with the fastest car and that both Williams and Alpine tested well, but with no way to know how heavy or light any of the cars were running, it was less clear how to sort the field properly.Lando winsMcLaren's Lando Norris qualified on pole position for the race, then held his nerve through a delayed start, three safety car restarts, and the pressure of being chased by his very fast teammate, Oscar Piastriin an identically fast car, rememberand reigning world champion Max Verstappen, who needed every ounce of his considerable skill to keep up in his Red Bull, at least at first.Piastri's dream of becoming the first Australian driver to win the Australian Grand Prix looked possible at one point as he got within 0.6 seconds of Norris. But the McLaren team told both drivers to hold station for several laps as they approached traffic, blunting Piastri's charge. Things got worse for the young driver when the rain returned on lap 44, and he spun, ending up at the back of the pack. He eventually finished ninth, rescuing a couple of points and putting a wonderful overtake on Lewis Hamilton right at the end.Verstappen became Norris' main threat again for the last few laps. A third safety car period brought the pack together, then ended with six laps remaining. And as they closed in on the checkered flag, Norris made a mistake at turn 6, allowing Verstappen to close to within a second, but the McLaren driver held his nerve and took the victory. A perfectly timed pit stop was a key moment in winning the race. Credit: Clive Rose/Getty Images Who else did well?The Mercedes team will have considered this weekend to be a good one. Never as quick as the McLaren or Red Bull, lead Mercedes driver George Russell drove home to a rather anonymous third place and was followed by his new teammate Kimi Antonelli. The 18-year-old Italian has replaced Lewis Hamilton at the Mercedes team and charged from a mediocre qualifying position to finish fourth.Williams' Alex Albon scored a fine fifth for the storied team. The preseason vibes for Williams were correctafter a few years of being one ofif not theslowest, it now looks to be leading the midfield. And Racing Bull's Yuki Tsunoda demonstrated that he probably should have been promoted to the Red Bull team with a fine 5th place in qualifying that sadly did not translate to points in the race.The Sauber team, which becomes Audi next year, appeared dreadful in Bahrain but arrived in Oz with some new bodywork, including a revised front wing. That helped Nico Hulkenberg finish seventh, scoring more points in the process than the Swiss-based team managed across all 24 races last year. Albon drove a great race to fifth place. Credit: James Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images Better luck in ChinaIt was a much harder day for some, including most of the rookies. Racing Bull's new driver, Isack Hadjar, was caught out on the formation lap by differing grip conditions between the asphalt and painted lines on what are public roads for most of the year. Cleaning up the crash delayed the start by 15 minutes as a distraught Hadjar made his way back to the pits to watch the race unfold without him. After he barely lost out on the F2 title at the end of last year when his car stalled at the start, one hopes he can put his last couple of races behind him.Alpine's Jack Doohan, Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto (who beat Hadjar to the F2 championship last year), and Red Bull's Liam Lawson (who sort of still counts as a rookie) also each ended their days prematurely after crashing out, but so too did former world champion Fernando Alonso and last year's race winner Carlos Sainz. That two such experienced drivers also got caught out should bring some comfort to the four youngsters.It was also a rough start to Lewis Hamilton's tenure at Ferrari. The seven-time world champion and his new race engineer were developing their working relationship in real time, and Hamilton bristled at the constant suggestions from the pit wall. It was an underwhelming day in general for Ferrari, which only finished 8th (Leclerc) and 10th (Hamilton). Isack Hadjar crashed out of the Australian Grand Prix before it even happened. Kym Illman/Getty Images Isack Hadjar crashed out of the Australian Grand Prix before it even happened. Kym Illman/Getty Images Carlos Sainz's debut for Williams did not go smoothly, as he ended in the wall, too. Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images Carlos Sainz's debut for Williams did not go smoothly, as he ended in the wall, too. Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images Jack Doohan was similarly caught out by the slippery track. James Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images Jack Doohan was similarly caught out by the slippery track. James Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images Carlos Sainz's debut for Williams did not go smoothly, as he ended in the wall, too. Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images Jack Doohan was similarly caught out by the slippery track. James Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images Even the mighty Fernando Alonso was in trouble in Melbourne. Clive Mason/Getty Images Liam Lawson did not do much to dispel the idea that Yuki Tsunoda should have been promoted to Red Bull. James Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images The safety car got quite a few laps in this weekend. Clive Mason/Getty Images Lewis says he and the team have work to do after this weekend. Mario Renzi - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images This lot was busy. Clive Mason/Getty Images A much more confident Lando Norris. Clive Rose/Getty Images The sport returns next weekend in China.Jonathan M. GitlinAutomotive EditorJonathan M. GitlinAutomotive Editor Jonathan is the Automotive Editor at Ars Technica. He has a BSc and PhD in Pharmacology. In 2014 he decided to indulge his lifelong passion for the car by leaving the National Human Genome Research Institute and launching Ars Technica's automotive coverage. He lives in Washington, DC. 14 Comments

SpaceThe wind on Saturn's largest moon is strong enough to blow around rocks of up to half a metre in diameter, which could put NASA's upcoming Dragonfly mission at risk 17 March 2025 An artists impression of the Dragonfly rotorcraft on the surface of TitanNASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve GribbenNASAs Dragonfly mission is due to land on Titan in 2034, giving us an unprecedented look at Saturns largest moon but it may also have to dodge wind-driven rolling boulders.The mission, which will launch in 2028, includes a rotorcraft that will explore the moon from the skies. We have had only one up-close glimpse at Titan, thanks to the Cassini orbiter and Huygens probe, which reached the surface in 2005. That mission revealed fields of rounded boulders as well as radar-bright

The Big Wheel galaxy formed 2 billion years after the big bangWeichen WangA newly-discovered spiral galaxy, dubbed the Big Wheel, formed just 2 billion years after the big bang far earlier, considering its size, than astronomers thought possible.Themiya Nanayakkara, at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, says the discovery was an accident. He and his colleagues were looking for quasars, energetic regions at the heart of some galaxies, with the James Webb Space Telescope in November 2022 when a large spiral galaxy popped up.

2025-03-17T16:30:18Z Read in app A U-2 Dragon Lady over the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in California in March 2016. US Air Force/Staff Sgt. Robert M. Trujillo This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? The US is flying U-2 "Dragon Lady" spy planes on patrol missions around the southern border.The top Air Force officer confirmed the involvement of the aircraft last Friday.The U-2 planes join other surveillance aircraft on missions around the US-Mexico border.The US military has its high-altitude U-2 "Dragon Lady" spy planes and other reconnaissance aircraft flying patrol missions along the southern border, a senior Air Force officer has confirmed on social media.US Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said Friday that U-2, RC-135, and remotely piloted aircraft or drone crews are providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support for US Northern Command at the border "to restore sovereignty and protect American communities."The Trump administration has deployed a range of American military assets to the US southern border with Mexico as part of the crackdown on illegal immigration and the drug cartels, which officials have said are national security concerns. Deployed military assets include aircraft, ground forces, armored vehicles, and even warships.US Air Force and Navy planes have been flying ISR missions around Mexico for several weeks now. A U-2 Dragon Lady flies above the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in California in March 2016. U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Robert M. Trujillo The U-2 is a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft that can fly at over 70,000 feet and collect intelligence. Made by Lockheed Corporation, it was introduced in the mid-1950s and has been operated by the Air Force and CIA since then. During the Cold War, it flew over the Soviet Union and other communist countries.One of these planes was famously shot down in 1960 by Soviet Air Defense Forces.The high-flying U-2 can provide signals, imagery, electronic measurements, and signature intelligence, also known as MASINT. They are based at the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base in California, although they are rotated to operational detachments around the world.Because U-2 planes operate at such high altitudes, on the edge of space, the pilots wear full-pressure suits like those worn by astronauts. The aircraft have been upgraded throughout its service life, and the 33 that are still active were built in the 1980s. The aircraft is likely looking at retirement in the next few years, possibly as early as next year. US airmen prepare to board a RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft. Gen. David Allvin via X CNN reported the U-2's involvement in the border missions last month, but Allvin's comments on X last Friday appear to be the first public confirmation of its involvement.Meanwhile, the RC-135 Rivet Joint is a reconnaissance aircraft that was introduced in the 1960s. Allvin didn't specify what kind of drones are involved, but CNN reported in February that MQ-9 Reaper drones had been flying covert missions inside Mexican airspace to monitor the cartels.Among the ISR aircraft flying missions on the border, P-8 Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft have also been reported to be involved.The Trump administration has made the southern border one of its main priorities, dispatching a large amount of military hardware to the area in a bid to tackle immigration and drug smuggling into the US.President Donald Trump issued an executive order declaring a national emergency at the US-Mexico border at the start of his term. Since then, the Pentagon has dispatched thousands of troops, Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters, and Stryker armored personnel carriers to the area. A Navy destroyer, USS Gravely, that was involved in the Red Sea conflict has also been deployed.

2025-03-17T16:24:35Z Read in app The entrance to Harvard Yard. Scott Eisen/Getty Images This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? Harvard will partially or fully cover costs for students from families earning less than $200,000.The move will allow students from about 86% of US households to qualify for financial aid.President Donald Trump has cut Harvard's funding and threatened to tax its $53 billion endowment.Harvard is significantly expanding financial aid, providing full coverage for students from families earning less than $100,000 a year.The move will allow students from about 86% of US households to qualify for financial aid from the Ivy League school starting from the 2025-26 academic year."By bringing people of outstanding promise together to learn with and from one another, we truly realize the tremendous potential of the University," Harvard president Alan Garber said in a statement on Monday.Under the new policy, students from families earning $100,000 or less will have all billed expenses covered, including tuition, housing, meals, health insurance, and travel. They will also receive a $2,000 startup grant in their first year and a $2,000 launch grant in their junior year.Families earning up to $200,000 will also receive free tuition and additional aid based on financial circumstances.In 2004 the university started covering all costs for students from families earning less than $40,000 a year. The threshold rose to $60,000 in 2006 and to $85,000 in 2023.The new financial aid comes as the Trump administration intensifies scrutiny of elite universities, including Harvard, targeting their diversity initiatives, student aid, and federal funding.Endowment threatFederal grants make up 11% of Harvard's operating revenue and fund two-thirds of its sponsored research.Trump has proposed taxing Harvard's $53 billion endowment by up to 35% a threat that Garber said "keeps me up at night."Last week, the school implemented a hiring freeze, reduced graduation admissions, and imposed spending limits in response to "rapidly shifting federal policies."To counteract these threats, Harvard has launched a new lobbying strategy, Business Insider previously reported, citing interviews with more than lobbyists, funders, professors, and alumni. It has hired Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm with close ties to Trump's inner circles, to advocate on its behalf in Washington, D.C.Harvard is also fostering alliances with conservative policymakers and red-state universities to frame federal funding cuts as a national economic issue.Some faculty and students argue the university is compromising its values to appease Trump. Meanwhile, prominent donors such as billionaire Ken Griffin are withholding contributions until Harvard moves away from what he called its "DEI agenda."

Over the weekend, the stakes of the Trump administrations deportation efforts reached a new level after the White House invoked an 18th-century legal authority to expand its powers. A federal judge attempted to block the removal of hundreds of alleged gang members, but the administration carried on with the deportations, arguing the order came too late.More than 200 Venezuelan immigrants, which the White House accused of being members of a Venezuelan gang, were flown along with some suspected members of a Salvadoran gang from the US to a supermax prison in El Salvador on Saturday. The White House claims the court order didnt apply to this flight because it was already over international waters on its way to El Salvador by the time it was put into effect. The Trump administration says it welcomes a coming legal fight over its expanded immigration authority.President Donald Trump has previously noted his hope of using these powers to target known or suspected members of a particular criminal organization: the Tren de Aragua, a Venezuela-based gang he frequently mentioned when talking about immigration and crime on the campaign trail. And earlier this year Trump took the steps to designate the group as a foreign terrorist organization invading the US. Hes now applying that law against this Venezuelan group.Tren de Aragua sprang out of Venezuela in the 2010s and has been accused of setting up and running human trafficking and extortion rings in neighboring Colombia, Chile, and Peru. As border crossings, asylum claims, and migration from Latin America in general picked up since the pandemic, the group has been of particular interest for Trump and immigration hawks.As Trump and his allies have tried to portray undocumented immigration as a threat to public safety, theyve repeatedly highlighted the Tren de Aragua (or TdA)s criminal activity in the US and abroad. That emphasis has coincided with TdAs post-pandemic expansion in the US, though its deeply unclear how many TdA members are here and how powerful the gang actually is.Still, a few high-profile incidents in which the perpetrators were accused of being TdA members have caught Trumps attention, and theyve been a consistent focus of conservative media, immigration critics, and local law enforcement agencies. Those include a high-profile forced entry in an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado, that Trump seized upon last summer and highlighted during his debate against former Vice President Kamala Harris.But not much is actually known about the group, how it operates, or the extent of its reach within the United States. Still, that hasnt stopped officials, politicians, and commentators from using real instances of crime and violence to paint a picture of a dangerous migrant invasion.Trump himself did that on Tuesday night, referencing the murder of a 12-year-old Texan girl in the Houston area. Two undocumented Venezuelan men were eventually charged with her murder, and both are accused of being members of the gang which Trump called the toughest gang, they say, in the world, known as Tren de Aragua.Whether the Tren de Aragua is the toughest in the world is debatable. But back in Venezuela and along the routes that migrants follow to get to the US, it has contributed to insecurity, instability, and violence. What is the Tren de Aragua?While we dont know a lot about the state of the organization in the United States right now, a lot is known about the groups origins. The Tren de Aragua has its roots in a trade union that was formed to build a railroad in 2005, during Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavezs tenure. According to researchers who have studied the groups rise and local journalists, it morphed from being a railway workers group into an organization that embezzled funds and extorted contractors during that construction process. The project ended up falling apart in 2011, but by then the group had morphed itself into a larger criminal organization, being led out of the infamous Tocoron prison, a detention center in the state of Aragua, Venezuela, that had been overtaken by inmates.It was there that the groups current leader joined the group, and eventually led the Tren de Aragua to expand its extortion, local drug dealing, and human trafficking into other Venezuelan states, and eventually into Colombia, Chile, and Peru. Its no coincidence that the TdAs rise happened around the start of Venezuelas economic crisis in 2014 and in 2017. Rising poverty, collapsing social safety nets, and political repression created opportunities for both recruitment and targets of extortion, human trafficking, and sexual exploitation among the very migrants and refugees fleeing instability back home.After establishing itself in those neighboring countries since 2018 and with the rise in Venezuelan refugees and other South American migrants in the United States since the pandemic, reports of people with alleged ties to the group have steadily increased in the US. Scores of news and government reports have tied supposed gang members to murders, sex trafficking and exploitation cases, and petty crime. Immigration officials, meanwhile, frequently label undocumented immigrants who have been arrested and are in the process of being deported as alleged TdA members.But its hard to prove these associations, Charles Larratt-Smith, an assistant professor of security studies and researcher on transnational migration at the University of Texas at El Paso, told me. Unlike in the cases of other transnational criminal groups like Mexicos drug cartels or MS-13, the Salvadoran gang born in Los Angeles that ended up wreaking havoc in El Salvador after its members were deported or removed from the US theres no evidence or intelligence sharing between the US and Venezuela that can help identify members, and no straightforward hierarchy or line of command within this network. Essentially anyone can claim or be accused of being a member of the group, since theres no reliable way to cross-reference membership, or for the group itself to hold its members accountable. Even the tattoos and other symbols used to try to identify group members can be inconsistent. And the groups original base of operations, the Tocoron prison, has since been retaken by the Venezuelan government, and its leader has disappeared.In other words, the groups influence, reach, and actual power may have been exaggerated over the years. If youre comparing those organizations to the Tren de Aragua, the comparison is farcical, Larratt-Smith said. The shadowy group just doesnt have the same means, resources, organization, or power to compete with the groups various American government and Homeland Security officials have compared it to.And yet both Trumps and Bidens administrations have argued they pose enough of a threat to warrant federal responses, Just last year, the Biden administration levied sanctions against the group and designated it as a transnational criminal organization. And in January, the Trump White House went one step further, reclassifying it as a foreign terrorist organization.So while there are places where the groups presence is better established, like in New York City, the shadowy description of the group also serves other political purposes.For Larratt-Smith, the fear the Tren de Aragua, and its presence in the US, inspires in people serves to both justify the Trump administrations crackdown on immigration in general, and helps to muddy the differences between those actual TdA gang members in the US and any Venezuelan immigrants who commit crimes in the US or may have criminal records back home. Its a useful signifier for Venezuelan criminality and that does exist, you would have to be nave or delusional to say otherwise but its disproportionately publicized compared to acts of criminality committed by American citizens, because it fits this broader [anti-immigrant] narrative, he told me.Update, March 17 at 10:35 am ET: This story was originally published on March 7, 2025, and has been updated to include the Trump administrations latest Tren de Aragua-related immigration actions.See More:

What makes something an American crime? Its a question thats inadvertently surfaced in true crime entertainment lately. The trend started with the twin pillars of O.J. Simpson television projects in 2016 American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson, Ryan Murphys fictionalized account of the 1995 trial, and the documentary series O.J.: Made in America. Since then, weve seen a number of true crime shows most docuseries, but scripted ones too being given the title American [X]. Netflix has been especially keen on the naming trend recently. Theres 2023s Waco: American Apocalypse, about the deadly Branch Davidian siege in Texas in 1993. Last years American Conspiracy delved into a gnarly conspiracy theory linked to the death of a freelance journalist in West Virginia in the early 90s. American Nightmare told the horrific story of a womans encounter with cops who refused to believe her abduction had been real.In addition to American Crime Story, which also aired seasons about the murder of Gianni Versace and the Clinton impeachment scandal, there are the other American series. American Murder has so far covered the killings of three different women (Shanann Watts, Laci Peterson, and Gabby Petito), while American Manhunt has looked at the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing, O.J. Simpson from Bronco chase to trial, and the quest to track down Osama bin Laden. The trend shows no sign of stopping: Hulu will soon air Good American Family, a dramatization of the convoluted story of Natalia Grace.Brand strategist and linguist Laurel Sutton suggests that the phenomenon grew out of American Psycho, in which novelist Bret Easton Ellis consciously used the title as a critique of the countrys culture and values that helped create a monster. These true crime shows, similarly, are attempting to identify something that is specifically American about the kinds of crimes or criminals that theyre profiling, she says. What that something is, though, is in the eye of the beholder. Branding anything with America is designed to have all these different resonances for all these different people, Sutton explains. Thats partly why the word is effective from a marketing perspective, because it applies to so many different things depending on who youre talking to. Its also a uniquely American trend: You dont see that branding in other places. You dont see German Crime or Dutch Housewives.In a 2016 piece on the trend of American shows in that era, a branding expert put forth that the word America codes for a multiplicity of perspectives and outlooks, which is why the word is so common in anthology series, yet also points to a larger collective experience, which is why the word accompanies so many shows that explore race and gender.Cristina Misln teaches media history at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, and she points out that the true crime genre acts as something of a black mirror to the nation itself, with its history of violence and current precarious status. To call these shows American, she suggests, says something about what this country is with all its contradictions and complications on full display.One way to think about this bumper crop of true crime titles is that theyre intended to be read ironically, to make you aware that theres some lie at the heart of whats being examined. For example, each of the victims profiled in the American Murder series has been a middle-class white woman supposedly living out a heteronormative version of the American dream. For the Peterson and Watts families, that package included marriage, children, and financial prosperity; for Gabby Petito, it included traveling the country with her boyfriend in an idealized #vanlife. All three women projected a positive, upbeat public image, but all three had partners who ultimately murdered them. The American Murder series takes pains to highlight the ways in which the murders evince larger social themes, including domestic violence, the pressures of parenthood, and, in Petitos case, the inadequate protections of law enforcement. The series also makes sure you understand its aware of the problem its perpetuating: Missing White Woman Syndrome, wherein the stories of white women who vanish consume far more public interest than those of people of color. Sutton suggests the irony is part of the appeal; both she and Misln spoke of a kind of catharsis that can come from seeing this uneasy juxtaposition onscreen. I think a lot of Americans do have this ironic awareness, Sutton said. You want to watch something to see yourself get taken down a little bit. As an American, were gonna find out how horrible Americans really are, and I know this in my soul, but its nice to hear somebody else say it.At the same time, that irony only goes so far when true crime shows inherently peddle what they critique. While American Murder takes pains to demonstrate Shanann Wattss intense focus on presenting the perfect family image for her social media audience, its hard not to see such shows as examples of the voyeurism they condemn.True crimes fixation on mining individual cases for storytelling may also be part of the problem. We often want to place everything on individual stories because this is a country of individualism, Misln points out. Part of Americanness and American exceptionalism is this idea of rugged individualism. Take American Nightmare, which makes a compelling argument that systemic misogyny undergirded the police response to victim Denise Huskins when she was abducted from her home in 2015. It is both a valiant attempt by the documentarians and all too easy for the audience to zero in on the singular crime at hand regardless. Misln argues that we have an easier time focusing on the discrete stories of drama, tragedy, and occasional triumph offered by true crime but a much harder time thinking about the structures that make them possible.We tend to not be able to think systemically, she said, pointing specifically to the impact of policing and the crime beat on American criminal justice.We get some catharsis, but we never actually hold the system to account at the end of the day. Still, there are so many basic aspects of American society that get interrogated through true crime that it remains, for many people, a useful lens through which to think about larger issues. Crime is a place where everything is heightened, Sutton says. That pulls us in, and creates an opportunity for us to contemplate how, under the right circumstances, we too could end up in a story like this.Even these series attempts at rectifying narratives that have long been sensationalized imply something about American identity. As Misln points out, sensationalism is the point: our insatiable appetite for true crime, and the willingness of the media to capitalize on that, is the reason theres even a narrative to begin with.To look at the current crop of American true crime, then, is to come up with a portrait of America thats illuminating: clearly flawed, built on broken systems and cultural beliefs that need interrogating but perhaps, striving for something better.See More:

EA FC 25's Ultimate Team saw an influx of cash from one unsuspecting parent, with Emma Harris stunned to see her son had racked up hundreds in microtransactionsTech13:59, 17 Mar 2025Updated 14:07, 17 Mar 2025EA FC 25's microtransactions have claimed a single mum's monthly wage(Image: Electronic Arts)EA FC (formerly FIFA) is a huge seller year in, year out, with the football sim racking up millions of sales in the last couple of decades.In recent years, the focus has been on Ultimate Team, a mode that lets players build their dream lineup of current players and legends by buying card packs and completing objectives.Article continues belowWhile Ultimate Team has been hugely successful for publisher EA, it's led to parents struggling to keep tabs on the amount kids are spending on the popular title as Emma Harris, 38, recently discovered (as per Blackpool Gazette).One youngster racked up a princely sum looking to earn the game's top players(Image: Electronic Arts)Harris, a full-time hospital administrator and single mum of three was paid on January 10, but on January 15 was unable to withdraw cash.Contacting her bank, she found where her money had been sent transactions totalling her entire monthly wage which were spent by her 12-year-old son, Leo.When I rang my bank, they told me the transactions had been processed through PlayStation in hundreds of small payments. Thats when I realised it had to be from the FIFA game I bought for Leo.Despite her best efforts, neither Sony or EA would offer a refund on the in-game purchases.They just said it was my responsibility because my card was linked to the account, Harris said of Sony customer service, while EA said all purchases are final and ineligible for refunds."They said there were parental controls, but my son never saw any warnings or needed a password," she explains.He thought he was just playing, moving players around and earning points he had no idea every few clicks was draining my bank account.Harris has now been forced to take out an overdraft to cover essentials like food and rent, while Leo is "won't leave his room and he keeps saying he's ruined everything.""Ive told him its not his fault, but he wont even look at me.I had no idea a game could drain money this easily. I assumed there would be an approval step before any payments went through."Article continues belowIt should never be this easy for a child to accidentally spend thousands.I dont want another family to go through this. No game is worth this kind of stress.For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.

Heres a bit of budgeting magic for you gamers youcould drop $70 on one of the brand-new game releases likeAssassins Creed Shadows,MLB The Show 25, orHitman: World of Assassination. But if your monitor is weak, it would make so much more sense to chip in a few extra bucks and head to Amazon to grab the limited-time deal on this 23.8-inch ASUS TUF Gaming Monitor for just $99.Over 8,000 notoriously picky Amazon reviewers have given the ASUS TUF Gaming Monitor an outstanding average rating of 4.6 stars, and most of those probably came from gamers who bought the monitor at its full price of $159. When you see all the amazing features and perks of this 23.8-inch gaming monitor, youll see why.See at AmazonNo Lag, No Hiccups, Just SpeedEveryone knows the first number you check when youre shopping for a gaming monitor is the all-important refresh rate. Simply put, thats a measure of how quickly a monitor can refresh the image on the screen. If youre gaming, thats everything a slow refresh rate means a laggy performance when speed is of the essence. The ASUS TUF Gaming Monitor clocks in at a screaming-fast 165Hz, with support for 144Hz. Thats a pro-level performance that will give you amazingly immersive gameplay.ASUSs Extreme Low Motion Blur allows the monitor to deliver a 1-microsecond response time, and with Adaptive sync to eliminate ghosting and other visual shortfalls. The ASUS TUF also deploys AMDs FreeSync Premium technology to create the most fluid gameplay possible, especially for super-fast games like sports or intense third-person shooters likeHelldivers II.Total Focus at All TimesLesser monitors have so many little annoying pitfalls that you might not even notice until you play on an advanced pro-level monitor like the ASUS TUF. Choppy frame rates, or even something as simple as the dark areas being too dark and the light areas being blown out and overly bright, are hallmarks of an outdated monitor or one thats nearing the end of its life.The ASUS TUF has among its many advanced features Shadow Boost technology to enhance the image details in dark areas like the guy sneaking up on you from the shadows to take you out and brings out the most detail in bright areas without reducing them to just an overlit blur. With support for both Adaptive-Sync with NVDIA GeForce graphics cards (including the GTX 10 and 16 series and RTX 20 series) and FreeSync with AMD Radeon cards, compatibility will not be an issue.That $70 game will still be around in a couple of weeks. This incredible $99 deal on the ASUS TUF 23.8-inch gaming monitor, however, probably wont be. Choose wisely and head to Amazon now before that fat 38% limited-time discount is gone.See at Amazon

By Germain Lussier Published March 17, 2025 | Comments (0) | The gang from 2021's Mortal Kombat, seen above, is back for part two. Image: Warner Bros. The 2021 Mortal Kombat remake was basically a prequel. It followed the evil head of the Outworld, Shang Tsung, who was trying to kill all of Earths fighters so they would be unable to compete in the titular tournament. He, of course, failedand now in Mortal Kombat 2, out October 24, the tournament is on. Not only that, its also the driving narrative of the whole movie. They keep score throughout the movie, Ed Boon, co-creator of Mortal Kombat, told Entertainment Weekly. Theres a visual representation of who is winning Its not just a tournament for the sake of a tournament. There are huge consequences, so you really are keeping score. And there are a lot of twists in it that keep you on your toes. The wild character list is sure to also keep audiences on their toes. All the big characters from the first film are coming back, as well as a few who died. Theres Cole Young (Lewis Tan), Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada), Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim), Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Jax (Mehcad Brooks), and Raiden (Tadanobu Asano), as well as Kano (Josh Lawson) and Kung Lao (Max Huang), who were both killed. Theyre back, but we dont know how just yet. Theyll then be joined by Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) and Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford), who appearances were secret until today, as well asJohnny Cage (Karl Urban), who is apparently the key figure for the audience this time around. [Johnny Cages] integration into the Mortal Kombat story and universe is a big part of what this movie explores, Boon said. Hes a washed-up Hollywood guy thrown into this magical, ultra-violent thing. Karl, his depiction of Johnny Cage is different than our games in some ways. Hes adding his own flare to it, but I think itll feel fresh. Theres like a noveltyfactor in there. We have to imagine several of those are going to be the victims of brutal fatalities though as the field for the tournament keeps getting dwindled down and a champion is crowned. And thats key too because if Earth loses the tournament, itll be the 10th in a row, which means the Outworld can take over the planet. So yes, the literal fate of the world is at stake in Mortal Kombat 2. Which of Earths fighters will step up and save us all? Well find out in a few months.Head over to EW for more on Mortal Kombat 2 including some new images of Cage, Kitana, Scorpion, and Shao Kahn. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.Mortal Kombat 2 Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Germain Lussier Published February 11, 2025 By Gordon Jackson Published August 7, 2024