By Matt Novak Published January 7, 2025 | Comments (1) | The city skyline is seen as the Palisades Fire burns amid a powerful windstorm on January 7, 2025 in Pacific Palisades, California. Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images Firefighters are currently battling at least two wildfires in Los Angeles during the first of whats expected to be two or three days of Santa Ana winds that can reach up to 100 miles per hour. The fires, known as the Palisades Fire and the Sunset Fire, are threatening homes in the northern parts of the L.A. metro area, but all of Southern California is on high alert as forecasters warn the dry conditions combined with extremely high winds are potentially historic. The Palisades Fire is currently listed at over 1,260 acres with no containment and has prompted mandatory evacuation orders in parts of the northern L.A. neighborhood of Pacific Palisades down to the Pacific Coast Highway. The California Department of Transportation has shut down southbound lanes of Pacific Coast Highway in the area, according to the New York Times. The Los Angeles Fire Department gave an update at 3:30 p.m. local time that was livestreamed by KCAL on YouTube. Officials report there are 250 firefighters are on scene, including 46 engines, three trucks, five helicopters, four brush patrols, two water tenders, six paramedic ambulances, one fast response vehicle, and a number of officers and fire investigators.As the officials at the press conference noted, the worst of the winds are expected between 10 p.m. local time Tuesday and 5 a.m. Wednesday. Genasys has the latest map of the current evacuation orders, which includes all of Pacific Palisades at the time of this writing, but those could expand quickly. Drivers have abandoned cars on the road, with the L.A. Fire Department bringing in a bulldozer to clear the vehicles. People in the area speaking to KTLA have reported internet outages and some are concerned because theyre stuck without any viable way of escaping their homes. One reporter with KTLA covering the Palisades Fire could even be seen on the news outlets YouTube stream fleeing the flames as they got dangerously close.The Sunset Fire is listed at just 1.5 acres but is also not contained yet. The power company in the area, Southern California Edison, has cut power to about 8,000 homes and warned that power could be cut off for thousands more during this high wind event in order to protect against electrical infrastructure sparking more fires. Wind gusts have reached 70 miles per hour in Southern California at the time of this writing, but the worst of the wind is expected overnight Tuesday into Wednesday. Forecasters issued a particularly dangerous situation warning, which the New York Times notes is often something only seen every few years. But this is the third warning for this season alone. Photos and videos shared on social media are alarming and show the scenes, which KTLA has sometimes described as a war zone. These are Paradise California conditions in the Palisades. We were in a neighborhood as it went up in flames. Mass panic in the streets, and the worst of the wind will hit the Palisades Fire tonight pic.twitter.com/NY4joNow4I Jonathan Vigliotti (@JonVigliotti) January 7, 2025 If youre in the area we highly recommend downloading an app called Watch Duty, which allows users to monitor wildfires in their area and turn on alerts to learn about the latest developments. The app includes user-submitted photos, but also draws together vital breaking news information from official sources, including evacuation orders. If youre in Southern California, you really should have it on your phone.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Kyle Barr Published July 31, 2024 By Germain Lussier Published July 8, 2022 By Angely Mercado Published June 23, 2022 By Mack DeGeurin Published January 27, 2022 By Matt Novak Published November 17, 2021 By Caitlin McGarry Published June 24, 2021

Today is January 7 and the next full moon isnt until January 13, but Universal has decided todays the day to reveal the transformation scene from its new Wolf Man movie, which opens January 17. The human becomes wolf moment is a crucial sequence in any werewolf movieRick Bakers visceral work in An American Werewolf in London remains the all-time champ, even after four decadesand though fans knew Wolf Man would inevitably present its own version, its still a little odd to get a glimpse of Christopher Abbotts character going through all that hairy agony out of context. Still, props to the sound designers. That is a lot of icky-squicky bone snaps to inject into your earhole! Heres the clip:Its kind of too dark to really see detailsexcellent howl, thoughso maybe director and co-writer Leigh Whannell, who also made the 2020 Invisible Man remake, also includes a different transformation scene with better lighting? Theres only so much you can do in the woods, even with a full moon. Thats Abbott (Poor Things) you see there, playing Blake, a man who returns to his childhood home in rural Oregon, where hes visited by his estranged wife, Charlotte (Julia Garner of The Fantastic Four: First Steps), and young daughter (Matilda Firth). As the films synopsis tells us, the family is attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable, and Charlotte will be forced to decide whether the terror within their house is more lethal than the danger without. Wolf Mans tag line promises a new era of terror is here, though from what weve seen so far (including the above scene), theres not a hook as distinctive as Whannells re-imagining of Invisible Man as an epic tale of gaslighting followed by some very hard-earned revenge. But who knows what twists may yet appear amid the tropes? Find out when Wolf Manhits theaters January 17. 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.

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BrandtShareWe may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more For anyone that spent time in clubs and around DJs any time between the 1970s and 2000s, the Technics brand is synonymous with its legendary SL-1200 line of pitch-shifting turntables. After a brief hiatus that ended thanks to the resurgence of vinyl, that heritage of bombproof direct-drive decks continues with the recently released SL-1300Ga turntable aimed more at audiophiles than festival headliners. In 2023, Technics released premium Bluetooth earbuds to extend its legacy from the LP bins into the streaming era. The company is back a year-and-a-half later with the flagship EAH-AZ100 (buy now for $299), a significant upgrade both inside and out. The earbuds are revealed today at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, but PopSci has been able to test them for a little under a month under embargo and weve walked away (and walked with them) impressed.Disclosure: Our review sample was seeded during a press trip to Kyoto, Japan, paid for by Technics parent company Panasonic.The buildOf the many changes Technics made to these earbuds, the one that immediately jumps out is their size. Whereas the EAH-AZ80 was somewhat teardrop/shaped, the AZH-100s housing is more compact and cylindrical and trims a gram off the weight (down to 6g per earbud). These stemless earbuds are a lot smaller than the typical Bluetooth earbuds weve tested, which came with a big advantage: theyre a lot more comfortable to wear. Once we popped them in, we could listen to hours without pressure or fatigue setting in. Technics includes multiple sizes of eartips in the boxwe stuck with the standard medium, which are installed by default, and we recommend trying out a couple of tip sets before deciding which ones work best.Our assessment is entirely subjective, and if you dont like stemless True Wireless (TWS) earbuds, the EAH-AZ100s may not be for you. We didnt have any trouble with them falling out of our ears, even during exercises like jumping jacks, but your experience will vary based on the shape of your ear. We initially thought that the reduction in size would result in lower battery life, but that isnt the case. Technics says these earbuds can get up to 10 hours of use with ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) enabled using the AAC codec; thats up from seven hours on the EAH-AZ80.If you enable LDAC (Lossless Digital Audio Codec) streaming on a compatible device (select Android smartphones or a dedicated digital audio player), the EAH-AZ100s offer the same battery life as their predecessor while offering better audio qualityup to 20 Hz 40 kHz using a 96kHz/990kbps connection. Technics also shrunk the size of the EAH-AZ100s case while offering increased battery life (18 hours up from 14 hours) with AAC enabled or 11 additional hours when LDAC is enabled.Technics biggest technical addition to these earbuds is technology called the Magnetic Fluid Driver, first introduced in the Technics EAH-TZ700a set of $1,199 wired earphones. Typically when reproducing sound, the driver (the part of a speaker responsible for making sound) will move around in slightly random directions. This tumbling will ultimately create distortion. Technics took a 10mm ultra-thin free-edge aluminum diaphragm then backed it with an infrastructure injecting oil-type liquid filled with magnetic particles into the space between the driver magnet and voice coil, resulting in more consistent movement.Its hard to describe the difference this makes, but once you hear the low-distortion playback, its difficult to go back to even other high-end earbuds. You can see a blown-up example of this accurate, linear assembly below.To improve ANC performance, Technics moved one of the EAH-AZ100s microphones onto the inside of the bud, which made a bigger difference than I initially expected. With ANC enabled and music at 60 percent, any typical low-level noisesfans, footsteps, keyboard typing, and even a microwavewere completely eliminated. Louder sounds like cars honking could still get through, but the ANC performance of the EAH-AZ100s was well above average, giving noise-cancellation earbud champs Bose and the excellent QuietComfort Ultra a run for their money. A setting in the Technics app allows you to have the ANC adjust to the sounds around you automatically, or manually lower its efficacy to let more outside noises in. The earbuds also feature a passthrough mode that uses microphones to filter sounds through the buds, which can be helpful when exercising in public, or in an environment where youll be speaking to people semi-frequently.The setupWe paired the EAH-AZ100s to several devices over the course of our testing, and the earbuds Bluetooth 5.3 radio had no trouble connecting to any of them. The earbuds will automatically enter a pairing state the first time theyre taken out of their case, which is convenient, at which point you need to navigate to the Bluetooth settings on your device and tap on them to connect. Once connected, you may be prompted to download the Technics app, which is required if youd like to adjust their EQ settings, download new firmware, and check the battery life of their case or buds themselves.The EAH-AZ100s will automatically connect to the first device theyve been paired to, but you can re-enable their pairing mode by holding your fingers on both buds shortly after removing them from their case and inserting them into your ears. Youll hear a voice prompt letting you know pairing mode has been enabled, at which point you can navigate to the Bluetooth settings on a second (or third) device to make the connection. The EAH-AZ100s will automatically connect to the three most recently paired devices in Bluetooth range each time you pop them into your ears.This triple multipoint pairing feature was available on the EAH-AZ80, but its as consistent and impressive as ever. The ability to reliably pause music on my phone to watch a YouTube video, or play a game on my Nintendo Switch without worrying about dropouts and interference is incredibly freeing. Some earbuds dont even offer two-device pairing, but Technics continues to be best-in-class in this area.The soundTo put it simply: Listening to music and podcasts on the EAH-AZ100s for the past few weeks has been a blast. It didnt matter if I was listening to the 2024 remix of George Harrisons Living In The Material World or Sabrina Carpenters Short n Sweetthese earbuds could handle it all. I exclusively streamed music using Apple Music (set to lossless but compressed via the AAC Bluetooth codec) and 256Kbps audio files from my personal music library. The biggest difference I heard throughout all my listening sessions was improved bass. I could hear instruments in the entire lower frequency range a lot more clearly when compared with both the EAH-AZ80, the Bose QuietComfort Ultras, and Apples AirPods Pro 2. None of those earbuds sound bad, but the EAH-AZ100s offer better low-end sound more consistently. If you listen to bass-heavy music, these are the earbuds to get.We listened to a mix of rock, pop, hip-hop, jazz, and spoken word during our listening tests and found tracks from each genre to be pleasing to the ear. Instrument separation was uniformly greatthis will come down to the quality of a tracks mixand listening to songs with a lot of different sounds happening simultaneously was a special treat. A great example of this was The Flaming Lips Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell, which features a pulsing bassline, several background sound effects, on top of echoey vocals. Each piece of the mix sounded clear and distinct when listening on the EAH-AZ100s, which was no small feat.On the complete other end of the spectrum was Neil Youngs solo acoustic version of Flying on the Ground Is Wrong off his Live At The Cellar Door album. Theres an intimacy in both his voice and piano that you can pick up on immediately when listening on the EAH-AZ100s. The earbuds reward anyone who revisits tracks from deep in their music library to hear something extra in the background or a little more detail in a particular instrument.The EAH-AZ100s offer support for Spatial Audio when listening to content with a Dolby Atmos mix, but the experience remains so-so. Its no fault of Technics, Im just not convinced yet by on-the-go immersive listening. While Spatial Audio tracks can sound more spaciousand enabling the head-turning mode, wherein the mix changes dynamically as you move your head, does mimic the experience of listening to music on speakersI mostly stuck with listening in stereo. Theres no way to fully recreate the experience of listening to Dolby Atmos tracks on a true multi-speaker component system with forward and upward-firing drivers. However, if youve liked this feature on other earbuds, youll be pleased to find it here.The conclusionWere only two weeks into 2025 and Technics has offered up a reference-grade pair of TWS earbuds. The EAH-AZ100s feel like a substantial leap over their predecessors in all of the ways that actually matter to consumers. Theyre more comfortable, last longer, have better ANC, and have an all-new audio and microphone system. Rather than opting for a simple spec bump, Technics went back to the drawing board to offer actual resultsproof that the venerable turntable brand is putting a new, well, spin on its identity and products.You can pick up a pair of Technics EAH-AZ100 earbuds today for $299.99, while the EAH-AZ80 will remain available at $199.99.

Nature, Published online: 07 January 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00022-5The US$2.7-billion Perseverance rover collected the samples looking for evidence of past life, but NASA is dithering about how to get them off the Red Planet.

Four bags of money hidden around 1640 and worth "much more than a craftsman could earn in a year" have been found inside a statue at a Gothic church in Germany.

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Carmen Sandiego has been traveling the world since 1985, evading capture as she steals some of the most valuable artifacts on the planet, and soon she'll be setting off on a new heist with the new puzzle-adventure game Carmen Sandiego on PS5, Xbox Series X, Switch, PC, and Netflix (as a mobile game). While previous titles task you with tracking down the glob-trotting thief, this is the first game in the series' history in which youll get to play Carmen Sandiego. Preorders are now open for Carmen Sandiego ahead of its April 17 release, and theres even a deluxe 40th Anniversary Edition packed with collectible goodies.Carmen Sandiego Preorder BonusNo preorder bonuses have been announced for Carmen Sandiego. Well update this section if anything is revealed ahead of launch, including retailer-exclusive bonuses.Carmen Sandiego 40th Anniversary Edition$50Continue Reading at GameSpot

In a surprising move, the Wii is getting a new Guitar Hero controller in 2025. This may surprise many, considering the Wii and the Guitar Hero series are both defunct, and have been quite for some time.