The Core 2 Duo and Core Time 2 are arriving in July and December, and I love that they'll last forever on a charge.

March 17, 20251 min readSee How Drought Whiplash Led to California WildfiresCalifornia is experiencing wider swings between wet and dry spells Wesley GrubbsThe devastating fires in California early this year came after a particularly unfortunate weather patternan exceptionally wet period of about 18 months, followed by an exceptionally dry spell. The wet duration encouraged grass and brush growth, and then the lack of rain dried it all out, priming it to catch on fire and spread quickly.It was a classic example of wet-to-dry whiplash, says Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles. And such whiplashes may be getting more common. With climate change, its not just that were seeing things get drier and drier. Theres also a trend toward more variability, with wider swings between wet and dry, Swain says.The warming climate is leading to what scientists call the expanding atmospheric sponge effect. Warmer air can hold more water vapor than cooler air, so the atmosphere is like a kitchen sponge that gets larger. If water is available, the atmosphere will absorb more of it, and when you wring out the sponge, you get more precipitation. But if there is no water to absorb, that thirstier air sucks more moisture out of the landscape, from bodies of water, surfaces and plants, drying everything out.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.PALMER HYDROLOGICAL DROUGHT INDEXThis measurement uses reservoir and groundwater levels, among other factors, to measure drought. Each dot on the chart below represents the drought level for one month in one region of California.Wesley Grubbs; Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Information (data)

March 18, 20255 min readReaders Respond to the December 2024 IssueLetters to the editors for the December 2024 issue of Scientific AmericanBy Aaron Shattuck Scientific American, December 2024WATERY SANCTUARIESIn The Afterlives of Oil Rigs, Asher Radziner describes how oil rigs are habitats for marine species and explores the question of whether they should be allowed to remain after they stop producing oil.For years I was an avid diver and dove on several oil rigs. I must admit that these were some of my most memorable dives. These rigs provide a sanctuary for an amazing variety of life, essentially an oasis in an ocean desert. Little, if any, life would exist there if not for these structures. Taking them down would destroy a well established ecosystem, not to mention that doing so would cost a lot of money.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.RANDY LANDRY VIA E-MAIL A COLORFUL PASTI thoroughly enjoyed The Map Color Conundrum [Math], Jack Murtaghs overview of the historical controversy over the four-color theorem, which states that no more than four colors are needed to fill in a given map so that no designated areas have the same color. Murtagh notes that Kenneth Appel and Wolfgang Haken finished a computer-aided proof of the theorem in 1976. No disrespect to Appel and Haken, but I dont regard their work as the final word on the matter. In his 1940 book A Mathematicians Apology, the great English pure mathematician G. H. Hardy stated, Beauty is the first test: there is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics. I await a more elegant proof.Of course, Martin Gardner published a famous counterexample of the four-color theorem in Scientific American back in April 1975.EAMONN WATERS RANGIORA, NEW ZEALANDMURTAGH REPLIES: Waters is in good company with many mathematicians who await a more elegant proof of the four-color theorem. Regarding Gardners publication: In 1975, only a year before Appel and Haken proved the theorem, Gardner played an April Fools prank in his long-standing Scientific American column Mathematical Games. He published a map with 110 regions and claimed that it could not be colored with only four colors, thus disproving what was then the four-color conjecture. Of course, the map did indeed have a four-coloring scheme (like all maps, we now know); it was just difficult to find. Gardner enlisted the help of mathematician William McGregor for the hoax and acknowledged it in his July 1975 column.HEALTH ANXIETYAs a psychologist, I appreciated Joanne Silberners attention to a condition that is so often minimized and used to dismiss peoples concerns in Hypochondrias Serious Toll. But I think it is important to recognize the role of safety behaviors and negative reinforcement, concepts that werent directly discussed in the article. They are central to a cognitive-behavioral understanding of the development and maintenance of illness anxiety disorder and somatic symptom disorderthe two separate syndromes that are referred to as hypochondria, as Silberner notesas well as related disorders. And addressing these concepts is central to effective treatment intervention.DANIEL KLEINER REHOBOTH BEACH, DEL.Having spent four decades as an internist, I have seen many people with hypochondria and have struggled to provide an appropriate treatment plan for these complicated patients. The article notes a book in which the author describes how he underwent multiple hospital tests for cardiac symptoms that all had normal results and how many of these symptoms were actually the side effects of a drug he had switched to on his own insistence. There is a twist to this kind of story: an aggressive response from a physician can unintentionally produce a positive feedback loop in which the patient (perhaps subconsciously) thinks, If this is nothing to worry about, why is my doctor ordering all these tests?IAN J. WILSON COLUMBUS, OHIOWHALES AND CARBONI was fascinated by Buried at Sea, Jaime B. Palters article about proposed engineering to promote the sequestration of carbon dioxide in oceans. Recently I read about how a whale can do the work of those engineering marvels. Whales fertilize the ocean surface, which in turn promotes phytoplankton growth. In addition to providing more food for larger animals, the increased amount of phytoplankton absorbs atmospheric CO2. And when these organisms die and sink to the ocean floor, they take carbon with them. It seems that protecting and nurturing whale populations to bring them back to their historical numbers may be the best bet for our own future.EVELYN WIEBE-ANDERSON ARCATA, CALIF.PALTER REPLIES: The idea of restoring whale populations is attractive, mostly because it aims to rewild the ocean and bring it back to its state before human activity degraded the ecosystem. There is no direct evidence, however, that it can make a meaningful dent as a method of prompting the ocean to store more carbon. Scientists have tried to estimate how much additional carbon sequestration whale restoration can provide (both directly, such as by the entrapment of carbon in whale carcasses, and indirectly, such as by the stimulation of phytoplankton growth).The top-line numbers for direct pathways dont indicate climate-relevant scales, although there are deep uncertainties, especially regarding the indirect pathways, that would require future research for us to understand and better quantify. Luckily, making our oceans more sustainable and restoring ecosystems can have cultural and economic value that goes well beyond dealing with carbon.GALAXY BRANDINGI have to agree with Phil Plaits assessment that Milkomeda is an awful name for the potential future merger of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies in The Milky Ways Fate [Universe]. He suggests Andromeway would be even worse, and I have to agree again, but he is on the right track. I think a snappier name for the merged galaxy, one that would sound better and flow off the tongue with greater ease, would be the Andy Way.NELSON G. THOMAS VIA E-MAILCLARIFICATIONUntangling the Vagus Nerve, by Jena Pincott [January 2025], described a 2017 study of people with treatment-resistant depression that found vagus nerve stimulation halved symptoms for 67.6 percent of them. This result refers to a decrease of 50 percent or more.ERRATUMTessellation Revelation, by Elise Cutts, incorrectly said that the faces of a polyhedrons dual correspond to the polyhedrons edges and vice versa. Rather the faces of each shape correspond to the vertices of the other.The Astronaut Club, by Clara Moskowitz and Zane Wolf [Graphic Science; February], incorrectly represented data regarding astronauts Christina Koch, Joe Engle, Michael R. Clifford, Susan J. Helms and Timothy Nash. Corrected illustrations can be viewed here.

Not all its additions are for the better, but this excavation of Monolith Soft's alien opus remains as fascinating and enthralling as it was a decade ago. For ten years, Xenoblade Chronicles X has lived as the black sheep of Monolith Soft's grand RPG series. Its nameless, blank canvas protagonist, its full tilt into hard military sci-fi, and its recruitable cast of misfit, gung-ho soldier types all stand in direct opposition to the soaring fantasy and authored melodrama of its numbered stablemates. It couldn't look or feel more different on the surface, but playing X again now, a decade on from its original release, I've been surprised by just how much it laid the foundations for what was to come later in the series.Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition reviewDeveloper: Monolith SoftPublisher: NintendoPlatform: Played on Nintendo SwitchAvailability: Out on 20th March on Nintendo SwitchFar from being the odd one out, X has emerged as something of a proto-Xenoblade Chronicles 3 in many respects. It's here you'll find Monolith Soft beginning to toy with customisable classes, drafting in new allies to bolster your ranks, as well as giving battles a renewed sense of scale and grandeur thanks to its towering mech suits - ideas the studio would later revive in 3's Ouroboros transformations, its tag-along Hero characters and its even broader set of class-based movesets. It all makes for a familiar and smoother landing into this harder-edged branch of the Xenoblade family, especially now it's been freed from its Wii U prison with this new Definitive Edition. If you've never stepped foot on the huge continents of Mira before, there's never been a better time to do so.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Watch on YouTubeI should say before we begin, though, that while its seeming detachment from the rest of the Xenoblade series should, in theory, make it a great entry point for newcomers, I'd still recommend starting with Shulk and co in the first Xenoblade Chronicles if you're keen to see what all the fuss is about. For me, that game is still the beating heart of Monolith's ever-expanding epic, and a much warmer introduction to its myriad systems and dynamics. X, on the other hand, still has a slight stuffiness about it. Your (mostly) mute, customisable avatar is more of a passenger in this tale of warring alien races and imminent human extinction, and one who's still expected to help survey and uncover your new, makeshift home world hexagon by hexagon before you're allowed to progress to the next major story mission. It's quite regimented in that sense, and much more of a checklist game than almost any other RPG in recent memory. So if what you're after is an adventure with boundless exploration and a gooier, emotional core at the centre of it, there are better Xenoblades to do this with than X. Image credit: Eurogamer/NintendoDespite its idiosyncrasies, though, X is still a fascinating experiment all these years later. Its themes of massive human displacement and fighting for your right to exist against forces hellbent on destroying every last trace of human existence remain as compelling as they did a decade ago, and the ongoing mystery of why everything in the universe is so determinedly out to get you brings a tighter and keener focus to its main plotline. It's arguably one of the more straightforward stories in the series, though your status as a relative nobody in this world and just another army grunt does rob it of some of the deeper, more personal stakes that drive its numbered counterparts. Defending a whole military corporation from the threat of extinction doesn't quite have the same emotional resonance as the coming of age revenge tragedy of Xenoblade 1, for example, nor the warring, star-crossed rebellion tale of 3.But perhaps more so than any other Xenoblade game, the heart of X is really to be found in its myriad sidequests. It's here where the game's cold and clinical exterior gives way to reveal the livelier and slightly sillier core that makes these games so lovable. For in addition to the standard 'fetch me ten bird beaks' fare, X layers in multi-staged 'normal' missions that take you out into the far reaches of Mira's alien landscape, as well as special character affinity missions that are more keenly tied to specific party members. Altogether, they offer a more rounded tour through the prism of human experience, where duplicitous schemes are formed and scuppered, marriage proposals between different alien races are fostered and fought for, racism and xenophobia are stamped out, and lost cats are saved from enormous crabs, to name just a few. Some even riff quite charmingly on films such as Alien and Back to the Future. Sure, they're nothing particularly revelatory by modern day standards, of course, but as frameworks to hang its monster bashing and resource gathering on? They're very welcome reprieves indeed. Image credit: Eurogamer/NintendoReally, though, it's the world of Xenoblade Chronicles X that remains its biggest draw, and even now, with dozens of photorealistic universes having been stuffed down my eyeballs in the interim, I still get a lump in my throat when I see X's huge luminous whales soar through the sky, its giant sci-fi dinosaurs lapping at its lakeside watering holes, and its spectral squids looping through bulbous spore gardens as the fog rolls in. There really is nothing quite like stepping out onto a fresh Monolith-made world for the first time, and the added enormity of Mira's five continents to accommodate your eventual tromping mech suits just gives it an even more tantalising sense of appeal as you begin to size up its secrets.There's a vastness to this place that requires real work and effort to get your arms around it, and the pace at which X doles out its tools to help you peel back those layers feels perfectly attuned to the evolution and growth of your burgeoning home base. Indeed, considering the sheer amount of real estate we're dealing with here, I'm continually impressed by how satisfying and wondrous Mira is to explore both on foot and, eventually, through the air with your mechs, even as you reach the game's later chapters. There's always one more thing to see, one more nook and cranny to surprise and delight you with, and you'll stumble upon these either through its sidequests, or by simply following your nose thanks to a masterful display of worldbuilding that shares the same sense of mystery and eye-catching contours as Breath of the Wild (which Monolith Soft would also help to later shape and mould together with the minds at Nintendo). Image credit: Eurogamer/NintendoOf course, as you'd expect from a Definitive Edition, it's an adventure that's had a few nips and tucks along the way. Admittedly, most of the extra content included in this edition is stuff you probably won't notice at all. Aside from its refreshed character models (for the main cast at least, RIP to its palpably plainer NPC support crew), there are a handful of new recruitable party members and mech models to play with here, all the original DLC included as standard (which was all in the 2015 western release anyway - it was just the Japanese version that had extra paid content packs), plus a slightly more helpful 'Follow Ball' trinket that helps to track down mission critical items now, rather than simply lead you to your next objective. There's also a new additional story segment to play after the end credits roll for avid lore heads, too. All perfectly pleasant inclusions in and of themselves, but nothing that will fundamentally change your wider appreciation of the game as it stands.What you will notice, however, are the refinements Monolith Soft's made to X's core battle system, which I'm not convinced are necessarily for the better. As in other Xenoblades, all battles take place in real time, with characters attacking automatically while you manoeuvre them into position and unleash their powerful Arts attacks. Many Arts, which all have their respective cooldown periods to consider, will be more effective depending on whether you're attacking from the front, side or rear of a monster, while others can line up satisfying combos to stagger and topple enemies for extra damage. You're only ever in charge of one character in X, but the thrill of any Xenoblade battle lies in coordinating your Arts to line up perfectly with those of your AI-controlled mates, watching the flow of battle, responding to the calls and battle cries of your friends and working together to deliver an all-out assault that speeds you along to a swift and (relatively) painless victory. Image credit: Eurogamer/NintendoWhere X deviates from its numbered counterparts is in its more overt call and response system. As well as keeping an eye on whether your mates are staggering or toppling enemies, you also need to watch out for specific follow-up commands. Your team leader Elma might call for an all-out melee attack if you target and break off a monster's appendage, for example, while support tank Lin might request some ranged cover fire if you take an enemy by surprise early on. There are dozens of triggers like this for these sorts of moments, and if you respond with a corresponding Art quickly enough (which are all handily colour-coded to match the battle cry for sake of ease), you'll not only benefit from a small group heal bump, but also deal extra damage in the process.I loved this dance of strategic Arts deployment in the original X. Battles had a heightened dynamism about them over and above the simple act of getting your character into the right place at the right time, and it fostered a real sense of synchronised teamwork between your party members. Managing your Arts' cooldowns, and having a good spread of abilities to respond with in the first place, was all part of the fun, making every encounter feel like you were one, well-oiled death machine. Image credit: Eurogamer/NintendoIn this new Definitive Edition, however, there's a new cooldown bar that lets you instantly reactivate your Arts at any time, effectively removing the need to be even vaguely tactical about when or where to let them fly. It instantly regenerates at the start of each fight, too, so there's no need to be stingy with it, unless you suddenly find yourself in a large, aggro-induced pile on or a particularly lengthy boss battle. Indeed, if you're facing a single enemy, you're never in a fight long enough for it to ever fully deplete, giving you full licence to just ignore your cooldowns completely. It's a change that fundamentally alters the flow of battle, allowing for easier spamming of attacks, and a subtle, but noticeable decline in the game's overall difficulty - though you can, of course, just opt not to use it if you're a purist, relying instead on good old-fashioned patience and calculated planning.The thing is, though, as much as I lamented this addition at first, I'd also be lying if I said it wasn't a heck of a lot more enjoyable at the same time. It feels good to be so wholly engaged with what's happening onscreen, and speaking generously, I'd say it feels more akin to Xenoblade 2 and 3's Arts Cancelling techniques than outright cheating. Your mileage may vary on that assessment, but when I finally got to my first mech battles and found they didn't benefit from the new cooldown bar, that waiting period suddenly felt like an actual eternity. That's when I realised just how much more fun I was having with this new system, even though I was fully aware that all the bite had been taken from it in the process. Image credit: Eurogamer/NintendoWhile we're on the subject of mech battles, they do still feel massively overpowered at times, and can regularly turn some side and even main missions into absolute cakewalks. You can see a gradual progression in the types of enemies you face in some of these missions - gaggles of human-sized foes will eventually start rocking up with mechs of their own to complicate things - but it's not really until the very late stage chapters where you'll start to feel the heat of that extra challenge. Of course, it's not entirely smooth sailing once you get your mech - the bigger the imprint you have on this world, the bigger the enemies are who are waiting to take a bite out of you. Xenoblade has always done a brilliant job of mixing Lv.85 upward brutes with tiddly Lv.6 cannon fodder in its environments, and X is no different, making any kind of travel fraught with danger when you're noodling around outside the confines of its gated main story. Not all monsters will instantly stampede to have you for dinner, but the underlying threat that some of them will is just enough to maintain that frisson of necessary tension to keep X's enjoyable sense of progression in check.Ultimately, for all its changes and continued imperfections, I've had a much better time with X on this second go around than I ever did during its Wii U days. It still has some of the same problems as it did back then. For starters, as wide and varied as its main cast gets compared to other Xenoblades, they all still suffer from that same Octopath Traveler-like third-wheel syndrome when it comes to cutscenes and major story beats. While some missions have certain party restrictions to help mitigate this problem, there are still plenty of moments where cutscenes featuring one group of characters will instantly cut away to who's actually tagging along in my party. Either that, or they'll be standing awkwardly off to the side, mute and non-responsive. It can't help but feel a little jarring in the moment, though I've also yet to see any RPG solve this problem effectively. Image credit: Eurogamer/NintendoXenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition accessibility optionsCamera options to invert X/Y axis, adjust responsiveness, zoomed-in camera height and positioning, as well as auto-camera reset and tracking speed. Options to adjust field UI and battle UI. On/off toggle for controller rumble. Dedicated volume sliders for game music, sound effects, voice and system sound effects. Option to select preferred mode for online/offline play. On/off toggle for subtitles, numerous notifications, mission updates and enemy, NPC and object markers.There's also still a dizzying number of menus, skill points and currencies to juggle around in your head as you get to grips with all its underlying systems. From Miranium mining and improving all the different arms manufacturers to crafting augments and upgrades and sorting through all manner of mech attachments, it's a lot to take in. Thankfully, its retooled tips menus are a veritable godsend in this edition, and the web of class masteries and equipment outfitting can't help but feel a smidge more manageable now having gone through an even knottier version of it in Xenoblade 3. It's still not as streamlined as it could be, but old hands of the series will no doubt breathe a sigh of relief at its relative simplicity.In the end, like the many alien races you'll find jostling around the streets of your transplanted Los Angeles home base, it's the diversity of ideas and design on show here that allows Xenoblade Chronicles X to stand the test of time. It's well worth revisiting if it's been a while since you last dipped your toe into the Wii U original, and certainly worth picking up if you missed it completely and loved the others. It's still a strange and standoffish kind of Xenoblade game, and one whose additions are unlikely to upset any pre-existing list of your own personal heart picks. But it's precisely that sense of contrast that makes it so fascinating to come back to in 2025, especially now we've seen where the roots of so many of its fundamental systems have ended up sprouting elsewhere. It will be interesting to see if this revival sparks any further excavations into X's recesses, because if this Definitive Edition has proven anything, it's that X remains a rich and captivating vein of the Xenoblade Chronicles timeline, and it fully deserves to stand shoulder to shoulder with its numbered siblings.A copy of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition was provided for review by publisher Nintendo.

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereEpic Games released a smaller content update for Fortnite today. The update was enabled on Tuesday at 9 AM Eastern Time, and since its smaller, it requires no download or downtime. Unfortunately, there are no changes for Chapter 6 Season 2, as the update added content for the OG mode, as well as Fortnite Festival.In this article, we will reveal more details about todays Fortnite update and everything that it brought.What did todays Fortnite update bring?The latest content update for the popular video game brought back the Crossbow to the OG mode. This weapon was originally released during Chapter 1 Season 2, so adding it back makes sense. The weapon is available in Rare (Blue) and Epic (Purple) rarities and can be found on the floor, as well as in chests and supply drops.Here are the detailed stats of the weapon.Stat/RarityRareEpicDamage8589Magazine Size55Fire Rate0.330.33Reload Time2.252.14Structure Damage11Furthermore, Epic Games adjusted Impulse Grenades. This item was previously available only in chests and was added as floor loot with todays update.New Jam Tracks will come to Fortnite this Thursday. Image by VideoGamerTodays update also added new Jam Tracks. These tracks are not available right away, as Epic will release them to the Item Shop on Thursday.Katy Perry RoarParamore Aint It FunParamore Still Into YouThe next Fortnite update is scheduled for Tuesday, March 25. This will be the second major update of Chapter 6 Season 2 and will add new content for every game mode, including Battle Royale. Since the upcoming update will be big, it will require a download, and the downtime will likely last for at least two hours.FortnitePlatform(s):Android, iOS, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/XGenre(s):Action, Massively Multiplayer, Shooter9VideoGamerRelated TopicsFortnite Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereIn Marvel Rivals, players explore destructible, ever-changing battlefields ranging from Asgard to Tokyo 2099, devising strategies using unique team-up abilities and dynamic hero synergies. From Spider-Mans slick web-slinging to Magnetos metal manipulation mayhem, the game provides a chaotic yet thrilling experience.Doctor Stranges portals have evolved as a gaming highlight, providing tactical depth and amusing mischief. Players use his Pentagram of Farallah ability to make flawless spatial linkages, such as teleporting teammates to flank attackers or deceiving enemies into falling off cliffs. These 20-second gateways enable real-time combat exchanges, cementing Stranges status as a fan-favorite Vanguard hero.However, according to the game director, their production presented unprecedented technical obstacles, requiring the development team to innovate. Adding to the discussion, senior graphics engineer Tieyi Zhang revealed at GDC 2025 that inspiration came from an unlikely place, which is one of the most popular Game of the Year award recipients. Marvel Rivals dev reveals It Takes Two inspired Doctor Stranges portalsIts no secret that Hazelights It Takes Two has been one of the benchmark co-op games whether on console or PC platforms. The games split-screen rendering technology, which manages two views without performance issues, prompted a breakthrough for Marvel Rivals, guaranteeing Stranges portals glitter without detracting from the action.Doctor Stranges portals enable players to see a different view. Image by VideoGamer.It Takes Two, a game built on the Unreal Engine, simultaneously renders two views without catastrophic overhead, according to Zhang, who speculated that the developers may have used some magic that he was unaware of. Discovering the local function, creating a local player was the catalyst for Marvel Rivals breakthrough, though. It dawned on Zhang that incorporating a nearby player automatically enables split-screen rendering via distant cameras. The developers of Marvel Rivals allegedly skipped over the source code for It Takes Two. The issues were resolved by studying how Hazelight dealt with its performance concerns and applying a comparable approach to Marvel Rivals.Marvel RivalsPlatform(s):macOS, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series XGenre(s):Fighting, ShooterRelated TopicsMarvel Rivals Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

Cardi Bs houses are beyond extravagant, just like she is. Since rising to fame as a reality TV star and later as a rapper, Cardi B has broken records and made history in more ways than one. In addition to being the first woman to win rap album of the year at the Grammys, the Money singer was named Woman of the Year by Billboard, her album Invasion of Privacy reached number one in the US in just 24 hours, and she was included in the Time list of the most influential people in the world in 2018. When she isnt on stage, Cardi B is wearing many hats: the Bronx native is a mother of three, a trailblazer in the fashion industry, and a lover of opulent real estate. Below, we share a look at where the highly awarded rapper calls home.The childhood-dream houseIn 2018, Cardi B revealed that she had finally achieved her childhood dreambuying her mom a house. The platinum-selling rapper took to Instagram to share the news, explaining that she'd wanted to buy her mom a home for some time, but ultimately opted to hold off because the ones I was interested [in] for her werent at my price range. Only after the release of her album Invasion of Privacy was the singer finally able to save enough money and make her dreamand her moms dreama reality. Giving fans a tour of the three-story home, which features a luxurious staircase with wrought-iron details, a finished basement with a gym, and a large kitchen for family gatherings, she said, Im emotional. Im just happy that when my daughter visits her grandmas house, shes going to come here.Opulent Atlanta chateauThe year 2019 was a big one for Cardi B. She made history as the first female solo artist to win rap album of the year at the Grammys, but she also bought a dream home. Cardi B and her then partner, Offset, purchased a fairytale-worthy estate in Atlanta for $5.8 million. The palatial 22,000-square-foot home sits tucked away along a winding tree-lined road in the affluent neighborhood of Buckhead. Though built in 2006, the property has the same opulent feel of a centuries-old gilded mansion. The symmetrical exterior takes inspiration from Neoclassical French chateaus, giving the place an almost Versailles-esque feel. Visitors are greeted with a grand staircase that leads to Corinthian-style pillars, arched windows, a pediment, and intricate cornices. And the same level of extravagance continues on throughout the interiors, where youre greeted by sky-high ceilings and a grand staircase complete with archways, columns, and balconies. Beyond the entrance, the home features five bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a private study, marble bathrooms and fireplaces, and a basement complete with a full bar and wine cellar. Though the home was fit for a queen, Cardi B eventually decided Atlanta was not for her. I dont have not one friend in Atlanta, and I dont have not even one family member in Atlanta, she explained on Instagram Live. So I just dont like Atlanta. The rapper also took to X, writing My casa.. I dont want it nomore tho. Though the Grammy-award-winning singer seemed eager to sell her Atlanta palace, the home has not been on the market since 2019, according to Zillow.New Jersey estateCardi B is a New Yorker through and through, born in the Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights and raised in the Bronx neighborhood of Highbridge. After rising to fame, the I Like It singer did what many do when they start a familyshe moved back home, in a way. In 2021, the same year she gave birth to her second child, Cardi B took to Instagram to share the news of her latest real estate investment, saying, Me and my husband have always dreamed of having a crib in NY, and we have decided to add to our portfolio of homes. Now having a home in NY, I can have get-togethers with my family all the time!! The photo showcases the rapper standing in front of a double grand staircase in a home that appeared to be under construction. However, Cardi B and Offset didnt quite land in New York City like she saidreports say their new home is across the river in New Jersey. The 13,000-square-foot estate is located in Tenafly and features nine bedrooms and nine bathrooms. And to make get-togethers with her nearby family even better, the home comes complete with a movie theater, swimming pool, and tennis court.Beachfront birthday mansionFor her 29th birthday, Cardi B received the gift of a lifetimea property in paradise from her husband, Offset. (Cardi has since filed for divorce from the rapper.) The $1.49 million property is situated amongst lush palm trees in Las Terrenas, a town in the northeastern part of the Dominican Republic. The WAP singer shared a heartfelt post on Instagram, letting the world know the news of her opulent birthday gift. For a hot minute now Ive been telling Set that I really want to invest in short-term home rental properties in the DR and other Caribbean countries, but I felt like he didnt agree with me and would rather put money into other investments. Well, I was wrong. I just cant believe this, the rapper said. To add an even deeper level of sentimentality to the property, Offset worked with Cardi Bs father, who is from the Dominican Republic, on the acquisition. The sun-soaked villa boasts six bedrooms, seven and a half bathrooms, two pools, and sweeping views of the Caribbean. The property is currently available on Airbnb for $836 a night.

ADs April 2025 issuePhoto: Jason SchmidtIt takes a moment to notice the hush. Inside two side-by-side Brooklyn town houses, dated to the 1840s and now revived according to Passive House strategies, youll hear no din of ventilation systems, no noise from the streets. But while the atmosphere may be quiet, there is nothing muted about these homesboth outspoken design statements and bold case studies in energy-efficient construction.Tal Schori and Rustam Mehta, childhood friends and founders of GRT Architects, first stepped foot inside them seven years ago at the behest of brother-sister clients, who purchased the residences as adjoining homes for their respective families. The decades had not been kind to the Greek Revival structures, which had changed hands multiple times, suffering neglect, their ornament stripped. They were falling apart, recalls Schori, enticed by the prospect of designing sibling structures for sibling owners. Add to that challenge historic faades subject to rigorous review and an ambitious sustainability mandatea big job became more complicated still.An antique William Arthur Smith Benson light hangs in his familys kitchen, where cabinetry nods to the Menil house; photograph by Buck Ellison, watercolors by Susan Cianciolo.A bespoke sofa clad in Voutsa fabric anchors the brothers living room, outfitted with a Katie Stout chandelier and sconcesand a Sophie Stone rug; painting by Daichi Takagi, column illustration by Giovanni Battista Piranesi.Victorian Parlor Chair by George HunzingerVoutsa Blurry Floral FabricLulu and Georgia Quinley Floor LampSerena & Lily Miramar ChairWorking closely with master builders Mark Ellison and Adam Marelli, GRT restored the imperiled edifices (pouring new foundations, shoring up wood framing) while tailoring the interiors to the contemporary lives of two families. On the outside, that meant returning exterior ornament to its earliest known state, rebuilding shutters, lintels, cornices, clapboard, and more to match a circa 1940 photograph, with clever variations between the two addresses. Our practice loves engaging with historic architecture, says Mehta, alluding to past projects such as the conversion of a Harlem rectory. We wanted to do right by these buildings.If the exteriors were constrained to faithful re-creations, the interiors offered vessels for experimentation, with two-story volumes carved out of both homes, rear windows reconfigured or enlarged, and ceiling height added by raising the roof and digging into the basement. On both sides we wanted to create spaces that felt full of light and air but were also sculpturally complex, says Schori. All the while European Passive House standardswherein a tightly sealed building envelope and specialized ventilation system slash the need for heating or coolingguided the process. To maintain the historic faades, GRT tucked the necessary insulation along the inner walls, which in turn grew to as thick as 17 inches. We thought of it as a quilted blanket, says Schori, noting how they embraced this design inevitability by rounding the sills and jambs of the triple-glazed windows. Softness became a defining feature and a link between both houses.

Blender 4.4 ReleaseMarch 18th, 2025Press ReleasesPablo Vazquez html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Blender Foundation and the online developer community proudly present Blender 4.4!Splash artwork: Flow Dream Well Studio, Sacrebleu Productions, Take FiveImage licensed under CC-BY-SA https://flow.movie/Featuring artwork from Flow, the Oscar-winning film entirely made in Blender. Read the user story with director Gints Zilbalodis.Showcase ReelWhats NewBlender 4.4 focuses on stability, with over 700 issues tackled through the Winter of Quality. Read more on the Code blog.Major improvements include a new way to pack multiple data-block animations into one Action using Slots, a full CPU rewrite for the Compositor, Grease Pencil stabilization and feature parity, Video Sequencer text editing improvements, and, as always, better performance and a more refined user interface to enhance the user experience.Watch the video summary on Blenders YouTube channel.Explore the release notes for an in-depth look at whats new!Thank you!This work is made possible thanks to the outstanding contributions of the Blender community, and the support of the over 7300 individuals and 35 organizations contributing to theBlender Development Fund.Happy Blending!The Blender TeamMarch 18th, 2025Support the Future of BlenderDonate to Blender by joining the Development Fund to support the Blender Foundations work on core development, maintenance, and new releases. Donate to Blender

As Tesla stock has fallen in recent weeks, members of the board and an executive at Elon Musk's company have been selling off millions of dollars in stock, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.Together, four top officers at the company have offloaded over $100 million in shares since early February.Last week, longtime Musk ally James Murdoch -- the estranged son of Fox boss Rupert Murdoch and a board member since 2017 -- became the latest to do so, exercising a stock option and selling shares worth approximately $13 million, according to an SEC filing. The sale took place on March 10, coinciding with the stock's largest single-day decline in five years.MORE: As Tesla stock falls, some pension fund managers worry and critics rage=According to one filing, the shares were sold "to cover the exercise price relating to the exercise of stock options to purchase 531,787 shares, which are scheduled to expire in 2025."Elon Musk's brother, Kimbal Musk, who also sits on the board, unloaded 75,000 shares worth approximately $27 million last month, according to a filing.The chairman of the board, Robyn Denholm, has offloaded more than $75 million dollars worth of shares in two transactions in the past five weeks, federal filings show. The selloffs made by Denholm came as part of a predetermined sales plan.A number of board members and executives made similar moves in November and December. But the recent sales come at a tumultuous time for Tesla, with the stock falling nearly 50% from a peak in mid-December. The company's shares have suffered most of those losses since President Donald Trump took office and Musk began his controversial governmental cost-cutting efforts as the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency.Tesla Cybertrucks are seen parked at a dealership, on March 12, 2025, in Plano, Texas.Julio Cortez/AP"Whenever insiders, including directors, are selling shares, it's not a positive signal," Jay Ritter, a professor of finance at the University of Florida, told ABC News.However, Ritter added, an exception applies to the predetermined sales plan adopted by Denholm in July 2024, which marks a routine effort to avoid the perception an officer unloaded shares based on inside information."Filing a plan months ago to sell some of those shares over time is common," Ritter said.Tesla did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.Seth Goldstein, an analyst at research firm Morningstar who studies the electric vehicle industry, said some of the stock sales may owe to personal financial choices made by individual officers."While a sale doesn't necessarily mean an executive or board member feels negatively about a company's outlook, it could mean they think the stock is at a fair price or even overvalued," Goldstein said.MORE: Trump's White House Tesla showcase for Musk raises ethics concernsThe share selloffs made by board members and executives totaled about $118 million, but the transactions often came after the individuals exercised stock options, the costs of which totaled about $16 million. The officers ended up with a profit of just over $100 million.ABC News previously reported on concerns from shareholders and pension funds, some of whom have called on Musk to turn his attention back from slashing government spending to running his car company.Tesla Chief Financial officer Vaibhav Taneja also sold off shares totaling more than $5 million over recent weeks. Some of those transactions came as part of predetermined sales plans, but a transaction earlier this month did not stem from a scheduled sale.