Paige VanZant (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesPaige VanZant has participated in a variety of combat sports, but the 30-year-old has decided to return to MMA.VanZant announced she has signed with the Global Fight League on her podcast, Paige and Austin: A Kickass Love Story.They are picking up anybody and everybody who has a name in this sport thats a free agent, VanZant said. They offered me a contract and I said yes.VanZant hasnt fought in MMA since July 2020, when she lost in the first round via armbar to Amanda Ribas. However, she has been active in other combat sports over the past five years.TAMPA, FL - FEBRUARY 06: Paige Van Zant throws a left hand to the chin of Britain Hart during the ... [+] BKFC KnuckleMania event at RP Funding Center on February 6, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images)Getty ImagesSince her last MMA fight, VanZant has had two bare-knuckle boxing bouts, a boxing match, and a slap fight. She lost both bare-knuckle fights to Britain Beltran Hart and Rachel Ostovich by unanimous decision.She drew in the boxing match with Elle Brooke but earned a victory over Christine Wolmarans in June in Power Slap.VanZant joins an increasingly interesting crop of fighters signing with the GFLs roster. The new MMA league is said to be doing a 50-50 revenue split with the fighters and offering benefits that havent been seen before in the sport.MORE FOR YOUFrom a roster concept standpoint, VanZant seems to be on point with her assessment of the leagues direction. The GFL is signing tons of fighters with big names who arent currently under contract with another mixed martial arts organization.However, that plan has the GFLs roster currently packed with fighters believed to be well past their primes, like Wanderlei Silva, Anthony Pettis, Frank Mir, Alexander Gustafsson, and Renan Barao.VanZant, at only 30, wouldnt be expected to contend in the UFC, but shes not at the age where she would be grouped with the aforementioned legends. In addition to signing big-name veterans, the GFL is seemingly looking to balance things out with a few young prospects who could springboard to stardom within the organization.Aleksandr Maslov is a 31-year-old Russian heavyweight with an 11-1 record. Ayinda Octave is a 27-year-old lightweight from Cameroon with a 5-0 record. It will be good to see fighters who havent had an opportunity with the larger promotions.The GFL plans to utilize a team-based, season and playoffs format, with a draft taking place on January 24. The season begins in April.That said, while many doubt the legends ability to produce good fights at this stage of their careers, there is still some interest in seeing them in the cage, octagon, hexagon, ring, or whatever the arena may be.Nearly 100 million people watched a 58-year-old Mike Tyson box Jake Paul for eight rounds. If the GFL can generate an audience five percent the size of Paul and Tysons Netflix extravaganza, the project would be a success.VanZant is by far the biggest female name to sign with the GFL so far. Well see if she proves to be a trailblazer.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit has started 2025 as he means to go on, with a stunning Earth photo that he described as a New Years light show.Pettit captured the amazing image from the International Space Station (ISS), where hes been living and working since September in his fourth trip to space.Recommended VideosIt captures a stunning aurora over Earth, with parts of the orbital outpost also in the frame.Please enable Javascript to view this contentOur New Years light show pic.twitter.com/NB3gq8dxuf Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) January 2, 2025RelatedAuroras are actually a fairly common phenomenon for astronauts aboard the space station, with increases in solar activity increasing the chances of catching sight of one.Auroras happen when particles from solar storms clash with gases in Earths atmosphere, resulting in beautiful light displays above the surface of our planet.Folks back on terra firma can also witness the natural wonder. The ideal vantage points are in locations in the far north like Alaska, Canada, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. In the far south, places like New Zealand and Australias Tasmania can also offer great views of aurora.But witnessing them with your own eyes from 250 miles above Earth must be something very special for astronauts on the space station.And its no surprise that Pettit has managed to capture this one in such a beautiful image. The American astronaut has earned a solid reputation for his photography work over his various orbital missions since his first one n 2002.In his most recent mission alone, hes taken photos that make clouds look like a work of art, and rivers that Pettit described assilver snakes. Star trails are also one of his specialties.With his keen eye, Pettit was also able to spot and photograph a SpaceX spacecraft as it returned to Earth at high speed at the end of the historic Polaris Dawn mission.The astronaut recently discussed his photography work in an interview from the space station.With Pettit expected to remain on the ISS until around March, we cant wait to see what other amazing shots he shares during the first few months of 2025.Editors Recommendations

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"I'm listening..." Siri unintentionally recorded private convos; Apple agrees to pay $95M Apple users may get $20 each for up to five Siri-enabled devices. Ashley Belanger Jan 2, 2025 2:29 pm | 192 Credit: Wachiwit | iStock Editorial / Getty Images Plus Credit: Wachiwit | iStock Editorial / Getty Images Plus Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreApple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that its voice assistant Siri routinely recorded private conversations that were then shared with third parties and used for targeted ads.In the proposed class-action settlementwhich comes after five years of litigationApple admitted to no wrongdoing. Instead, the settlement refers to "unintentional" Siri activations that occurred after the "Hey, Siri" feature was introduced in 2014, where recordings were apparently prompted without users ever saying the trigger words, "Hey, Siri."Sometimes Siri would be inadvertently activated, a whistleblower told The Guardian, when an Apple Watch was raised and speech was detected. The only clue that users seemingly had of Siri's alleged spying was eerily accurate targeted ads that appeared after they had just been talking about specific items like Air Jordans or brands like Olive Garden, Reuters noted(claims which remain disputed).It's currently unknown how many customers were affected, but if the settlement is approved, the tech giant has offered up to $20 per Siri-enabled device for any customers who made purchases between September 17, 2014, and December 31, 2024. That includes iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, MacBooks, HomePods, iPod touches, and Apple TVs, the settlement agreement noted. Each customer can submit claims for up to five devices.A hearing when the settlement could be approved is currently scheduled for February 14. If the settlement is certified, Apple will send notices to all affected customers. Through the settlement, customers can not only get monetary relief but also ensure that their private phone calls are permanently deleted.While the settlement appears to be a victory for Apple users after months of mediation, it potentially lets Apple off the hook pretty cheaply. If the court had certified the class action and Apple users had won, Apple could've been fined more than $1.5 billion under the Wiretap Act alone, court filings showed.But lawyers representing Apple users decided to settle, partly because data privacy law is still a "developing area of law imposing inherent risks that a new decision could shift the legal landscape as to the certifiability of a class, liability, and damages," the motion to approve the settlement agreement said. It was also possible that the class size could be significantly narrowed through ongoing litigation, if the court determined that Apple users had to prove their calls had been recorded through an incidental Siri activationpotentially reducing recoverable damages for everyone."The percentage of those who experienced an unintended Siri activation is not known," the motion said. "Although it is difficult to estimate what a jury would award, and what claims or class(es) would proceed to trial, the Settlement reflects approximately 1015 percent of Plaintiffs expected recoverable damages."Siri's unintentional recordings were initially exposed by The Guardian in 2019, plaintiffs' complaint said. That's when a whistleblower alleged that "there have been countless instances of recordings featuring private discussions between doctors and patients, business deals, seemingly criminal dealings, sexual encounters and so on. These recordings are accompanied by user data showing location, contact details, and app data."Horrified Apple users sued, considering each recording "an egregious breach of social norms" that seemed to violate state and federal laws. They alleged that Apple's conduct was deliberate, arguing Apple commercially benefited from the secret recordings.Apple repeatedly moved to dismiss the suit, arguing that "there are no facts, much less plausible facts, that tie Plaintiffs receipt of targeted ads to their speculation that Siri musthave been listening to their conversations, and Apple must have used Siri to facilitate targeted ads by third parties."Through the settlement agreement, Apple ultimately agreed that Siri unintentionally recorded private conversations and is likely hoping the settlement will finally end the controversy for good.Meanwhile, Google faces a similar lawsuit in the same district from plaintiffs represented by the same firms over its voice assistant, Reuters noted. A win in that suit could affect anyone who purchased "Googles own smart home speakers, Google Home, Home Mini, and Home Max; smart displays, Google Nest Hub, and Nest Hub Max; and its Pixel smartphones" from approximately May 18, 2016 to today, a December court filing noted. That litigation likely won't be settled until this fall.Apple did not immediately respond to Ars' request to comment.Ashley BelangerSenior Policy ReporterAshley BelangerSenior Policy Reporter Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience. 192 Comments

Ukraine's investigators are probing the 155th Mechanized Brigade, a unit partially trained by France.Nicknamed "Anne of Kyiv," the highly publicized brigade was an effort by France to bolster Ukraine's defenses.But it's come under scrutiny after a Ukrainian reporter said 1,700 of its troops had deserted.Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation is probing a brigade specially trained to use French weapons after reports that hundreds of soldiers deserted the unit.Tetyana Sapian, a spokesperson for the investigative agency, toldInterfax-Ukraineon Thursday that authorities had launched a criminal investigation into abuse of power and desertion at the 155th Mechanized Brigade."The investigation is ongoing. It is too early to talk about any preliminary results," she said.The infantry brigade, named "Anne of Kyiv" after an 11th-century Kyiv princess who became a queen of France, has about 5,800 soldiers. Around 2,000 of them underwent months of training in France in 2024.There, they enjoyed a relatively high profile; French President Emmanuel Macron personally met several of 155th's battalions during a public visit to a French base in October. In October, Macron visited Ukrainian units being trained by France, including the 155th, which is now reportedly burdened by desertions and sudden personnel changes. THIBAULT CAMUS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images Paris armed the brigade with its own weaponry, including 18 AMX 10 armored vehicles, 18 truck-mounted Caesar howitzers, and 128 armored troop carriers. The unit also fields some of Germany's prized Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks.By November, the 155th was set to hit the front lines, with French officials saying these Ukrainian troops were now equipped to fight with Western battlefield training.1,700 desertions, war reporter saysBut a report last week by Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov said the brigade has been buckling from desertion and leadership issues, even before it was deployed to Pokrovsk."Before the brigade fired the first shot, 1,700 servicemen left it voluntarily," wrote Butusov.He did not provide evidence for his claim, but published a tally of the unit's strength over time that said hundreds of men deserted monthly from March to November, forcing the 155th to keep replenishing personnel.A key factor in the desertion rate, Butusov wrote, was that many in the unit had been forcibly recruited off Ukraine's streets. About 50 men also went AWOL while the unit was training in France, Butusov added.Uncertainty also hangs over the 155th's leadership. Days into its deployment on the front line, the brigade's commander, Col. Dmytro Ryumshin, abruptly announced that he would step down. Ryumshin, a seasoned officer with experience commanding two other brigades, thanked his troops in a Facebook post, saying that the 155th had undergone a "tough but significant journey."He was replaced by Col. Maksimov Taras Viktorovych, a former commander of the 14th Mechanized Brigade.Troops divvied up for other unitsThe 155th has also been moving soldiers to other units in need of replenishment, and according to Butusov, it's dealt with at least seven significant personnel changes since March.Drone-jamming specialists in the 155th, for example, had to fill infantry roles amid a manpower shortage, he wrote.Mariana Bezuhla, a controversial Ukrainian member of parliament known for criticizing military leadership, said in early December that the 155th was being "torn to pieces, seconded to others.""Even the fact that the French tried to make the brigade specialized did not save it from the stupid military decisions of our generals and tore the unit apart," she said.Butusov's report has since drawn outcry among Ukrainian figures, such as Lt. Col. Bohdan Krotevych, who serves as chief of staff in the Azov Brigade."Perhaps it's sheer idiocy to create new brigades and equip them with new technology while existing ones are undermanned," he wrote on X.Serhii Sternenko, a well-known Ukrainian lawyer who provides crowdfunded drones to military units, said his organization was assisting the 155th because the brigade lacked officially provided drones and jammers."Why create a new brigade when existing brigades are critically understaffed, only to later divide it and transfer personnel to the old brigades? What's the point?" he wrote on Tuesday on his Telegram channel.The brigade's fate threatens to mar the legacy of Macron's efforts to position France as a staunch ally of Ukraine. Paris has pledged some $3 billion in military aid to Kyiv, and Macron has been one of the most vocal European leaders pushing for Ukraine's accession to the European Union.He's also floated the idea of sending French troops to Ukraine if Russia were to score a massive breakthrough. In October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Paris for the fifth time since the war began. Remon Haazen/Getty Images The French and Ukrainian Defense Ministries did not respond to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.The 155th Mechanized Brigade also did not respond to a similar request sent via email by BI.Overall, the "Anne of Kyiv" brigade is just one of several training projects that France and Europe have been working on with Ukraine. Since late 2022, over 63,000 Ukrainian troops have been trained under the European Union Military Assistance Mission, a EU-funded program that gets member states to teach and equip Kyiv's forces.The program has a $420 million budget for the next two years ending in November 2026.

Tesla annual sales declined for the first time in over a decade.The US EV giant sold 1.79 million cars in 2024, a 1% drop from the 1.81 million sold in 2023.Tesla is still the world's largest EV maker but Chinese rivals like BYD are closing in on it.Chinese auto companies like BYD are giving Tesla a run for its money this week.On Thursday, Tesla announced that it had delivered 1.79 million vehicles last year, a 1% drop from the 1.81 million vehicles it delivered in 2023. This is the first time Tesla's annual sales have declined in over a decade.Tesla shares fell by as much as 8% on the same day, trading as low as $373.40 before paring losses.Tesla's Chinese rivals, on the other hand, saw a rise in sales at the end of 2024.BYD said on Wednesday that it had sold 1.76 million battery electric cars in 2024, a 12% increase from the 1.57 million cars it sold in 2023.Smaller EV makers like Nio and Xpeng saw similar improvements in their sales figures as well.Nio said in a statement on Wednesday that it had delivered 221,970 vehicles in 2024, a 38.7% increase from the 160,038 cars it delivered in 2023.Xpeng delivered 190,068 vehicles last year, a 34% increase from the 141,601 vehicles delivered in 2023, per a filing made on Wednesday.To be sure, Tesla is still the world's largest EV maker. The company played a pioneering role in popularizing EVs when it first burst into the scene with the Roadster in 2008.But the Elon Musk-led EV giant had to engage in a price war in the past year to fend off its rivals.Besides slashing prices for its vehicles in China, Tesla also doled out incentives like three months of free Supercharging and its Full Self Driving (Supervised) beta software to entice US customers.Back in January 2024, Musk told investors in an earnings call that Chinese automakers are the "most competitive car companies in the world.""If there are no trade barriers established, they will pretty much demolish most other car companies in the world," Musk said.Tesla, BYD, Nio, and Xpeng did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

Tokyo International University Ikebukuro Campus / TAISEI DESIGN Planners Architects & EngineersSave this picture! Creative EyesUniversityToshima City, JapanArchitects: TAISEI DESIGN Planners Architects & EngineersAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:35896 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2023 PhotographsPhotographs:Creative EyesManufacturersBrands with products used in this architecture project Manufacturers: Fuji Sash, LIXIL, TAKAHASHI CURTAIN WALL CORPORATION, YABASHI MARBLE More SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Save this picture!Floating above the Park: A Stage-Like Campus Where Students Play the Leading Roles -The project involves the construction of a new campus for Tokyo International University on the site of the former Tokyo Mint Bureau in Toshima Ward. The project site is situated in Ikebukuro, known as Theater City, which has a vision of becoming an international art and culture city. It is located on the boundary between the city center, including Sunshine City, and the low-rise residential area to the south. With the idea of preserving the academic ambiance unique to the university campus and bringing in the lush, open atmosphere of the adjacent disaster prevention park (IKESUNPARK), we created a campus featuring a stage-like design with the second floor as the students' base.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!The International Deck on the second floor is accessible from all four sides via outdoor staircases, and the volume is designed with a pilotis on the park side, creating a large open plaza within the campus. With the high-rise volume gradually stepping back from the park, the rooftop gardens and a student lounge are provided at the changeover points. The exterior is made of PC panels faced with white granite, giving it a dignified, long-lasting, and beautiful appearance. At the same time, the sharp detailing and the volume composition with a floating feeling create a light impression. The soffit of the low-level eaves is made of custom-made metallic silver-colored aluminum panels, establishing an interplay of the students' reflection and the beautiful shade of trees in the park. Through the manifestation of students' lively interactions and activities in the various places forming this way, the entire campus serves as a stage, producing a special place that generates strong interrelationships with the park and the community.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!While developments and urbanization processes are progressing in various parts of the world, more and more places are losing their unique atmosphere. Increasingly diversified values are accelerating the loss of the distinctive characteristics of public places. Rather than only providing borderless, homogeneous spaces or spaces bustling with activity that everyone can enjoy casually, we believe that creating places like sanctuaries that evoke a sense of enclosure and reverence, where people can come into contact with the wisdom of their predecessors and then accumulate architecture possessing the power of such extraordinary places, will lead to more vibrant cities in the future.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessProject locationAddress:Toshima City, JapanLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this officePublished on January 03, 2025Cite: "Tokyo International University Ikebukuro Campus / TAISEI DESIGN Planners Architects & Engineers" 03 Jan 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1025275/tokyo-international-university-ikebukuro-campus-taisei-design-planners-architects-and-engineers&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream