Millions of people across the Los Angeles area are being exposed to wildfire smoke as fires burn through homes and vehicles. The fires in January 2025 have burned thousands of structures, along with the building materials, furniture, paints, plastics, and electronics inside them.When materials like these burn, they can release toxic chemicals with the potential to harm people breathing the air downwind.A 2023 study of smoke from fires in the wildland-urban interfaceareas where urban neighborhoods bleed into the wildlandsfound it contained a vast array of chemicals harmful to humans. They include hydrogen chloride, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins, and a range of toxic organic compounds, including known carcinogens such as benzene, as well as toluene, xylenes, styrene, and formaldehyde. The researchers also found metals in the smoke, including lead, chromium, cadmium, and arsenic, which are known to affect several body systems, such as the brain, liver, kidney, skin, and lungs.The short-term effects of exposure to smoke like this can trigger asthma attacks and cause lung and cardiac problems.But smoke can also have long-term effects, and those are less well understood. As an environmental toxicologist who focuses on wildfire smoke health effects, I, along with many of my colleagues, am increasingly concerned about the impact of long-term and repeated exposures to wildfire smoke that more people are now facing.Long-term smoke exposure is increasingNationwide, the acreage burned in wildfires in the U.S. has nearly doubled each decade since 1990. That is changing how people are exposed to wildfire smoke.Communities have found themselves blanketed in smoke for days and weeks at a time increasingly often. In 2023, massive wildfires in Canada repeatedly spread thick smoke into many U.S. communities. Controlled burns, which firefighters set to clear away flammable brush and reduce the severity of future wildfires, also add smoke to the air.Wildfire smoke is now the leading source of PM2.5microscopic particulate matter than can penetrate into the lungsin the Western U.S.This growing exposure increases the need to understand the long-term consequences of living and working in wildfire-risk areas.Dose, duration and frequency matterWhen scientists study the health risks of wildfire smoke, they tend to use analysis methods that were developed to assess health effects caused by low-level, chronic, urban air pollution exposurespicture car exhaust or smokestack emissions. However, these approaches fail to capture the dynamic and intense nature of wildfire smoke.Researchers suspect there are differing consequences for people exposed to smoke at varying intensities and durations. Repeated exposure to wildfire smoke may also have compounding health effects over time.Comparing concentrations of PM2.5 among fire locations shows how dynamic wildfire smoke can be, and how exposures differ by intensity and time. The spikes reflect nearby wildfires. New Albany, Ohio, shows a typical baseline level without fires. [Image: Jason D. Sacks, et al., 2025]To study the long-term impact of wildfire smoke, scientists need to know how much smoke people were exposed to, for how long and how often. Thats not an experiment anyone can conduct on humans in a lab, but the data can be gathered from communities being affected by wildfires.Right now, however, this kind of data collection is rare.Most studies that have explored long-term exposure, such as its impact on dementia or pregnancy, have used an average exposure over years rather than detailed data on exposures.A few have focused on specific events. For example, a study of residents who had been exposed to six weeks of smoke during the 2017 Rice Ridge Fire near Seeley Lake, Montana, found their lung function was significantly reduced for at least two years after the fire. That was a forest fire, and while burning vegetation is bad, its generally thought to be less toxic than burning buildings.Thinking differently about smoke exposureImproving understanding of the long-term effects of wildfire smoke will require thinking differently about smoke.If epidemiologists can begin clearly defining the negative health effects from wildfire smoke exposure in terms of dose, duration, and frequency in their studies, taking into account the dynamic and episodic nature, then toxicologists can model these human experiences in animal experiments.These experiments would have the potential to improve the understanding of the long-term health risks and then help scientists develop effective guidelines and strategies to mitigate harmful exposures.Luke Montrose is an assistant professor of environmental and radiological health sciences at Colorado State University.This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Are you exhibiting or holding an event at Milan design week? Get your event listed in Dezeen's digital guide to the festival, which will feature the week's key events.Taking place from 7 to 13 April, Milan design week is the world's largest celebration of design.If you're hosting a fringe event, collectively known during the festival as Fuorisalone, or taking part in Salone del Mobile, get in touch with the Dezeen Events Guide team to be featured in the guide.The guide will feature exhibitions, talks, fairs, open showrooms and product launches by global brands, taking place across the city's participating districts, such as Brera Design District, Isola Design District, Tortona Design Week and 5Vie Design Week.The 2025 festival also marks the 63rd edition of design fair Salone del Mobile, which will run from 8 to 13 April at Fiera Milano, which will be presenting the biennial Euroluce lighting exhibition.This year's guide will also feature an interactive map, highlighting the events featured in the guide and helping you navigate the city during the design week.How to get listed in Dezeen's digital guide to Milan design weekGet in touch with the Dezeen Events Guide team at eventsguide@dezeen.com to book your listing or to discuss a wider partnership with Dezeen. There are three pricing tiers:Standard listings cost 125 and include the event name, date and location details plus a website link. These listings will also feature up to 50 words of text about the event. Standard listings are included at the discretion of the Dezeen Events Guide team.Enhanced listings cost 175 and include all of the above plus an image at the top of the listing's page and a preview image on the Dezeen Events Guide homepage. These listings will also feature up to 100 words of text about the event.Featured listings cost 350 and would include everything as part of an enhanced listing plus a post on @dezeen Threads channel, inclusion in the featured events carousel on the right hand of the homepage for up to two weeks and 150 words of text about the event. This text can include commercial information such as ticket prices and offers and can feature additional links to website pages such as ticket sales, newsletter signups etc.About Dezeen Events GuideDezeen Events Guide is our guide to the best architecture and design events taking place across the world each year.The guide is updated weekly and includes virtual events, conferences, trade fairs, major exhibitions and design weeks.For more details on inclusion in the Dezeen Events Guide, including in our guide to Milan design week, please email eventsguide@dezeen.com.The illustration is by Justyna Green.The post Get listed in Dezeen's digital guide to Milan design week 2025 appeared first on Dezeen.

Why mess with what works?

With the court signaling it will release a decision on Friday, lobbyists for the app pushed lawmakers to shift course.

MacworldApple added support for the Google-supported RCS (Rich Communication Services) message standard with iOS 18. RCS was created by the cellular industry to add advanced media and other features to messaging that would work across operating systems. Google adopted RCS in Android about five years ago, and its available for most phones that can run Android 5 (Lollipop, 2014) or later. The standard requires carrier upgrades, and nearly all have made them.Turning on RCS for your iPhone lets Android users send and receive messaging information or formatting that previously was limited to Android-to-Android (via RCS) or Apple-to-Apple (via iMessage). This includes read receipts that show when the recipient has viewed a message (if they have that option enabled), emoji tapbacks, extremely long messages, and audio messages. (iMessages appear as blue bubbles in a Messages conversation and only work among people using Apple hardware. SMS, MMS, and RCS messages appear as green bubbles.)You can enable or disable RCS in iPhone 18 via Settings > Apps > Messages > RCS Messaging. Disabling RCS doesnt prevent you from communicating with Android users; instead, your iPhone reverts to interactions with them via SMS or MMS.Opt in or out of RCS via Settings > Apps > Messages.FoundryApples version of RCS doesnt yet support group texting. It also lacks the end-to-end encryption available with supported Android-to-Android RCS and is mandatory for iMessage. Your iPhone to Android messages are sent as if they passed over a secure web connection: they are encrypted and decrypted by servers on either end instead of only on your devices and that of recipients. An industry effort is underway to create an encryption standard that Apple would be able to use.This Mac 911 article is in response to a question submitted by a Macworld reader.Ask Mac 911Weve compiled a list of the questions we get asked most frequently, along with answers and links to columns:read our super FAQto see if your question is covered. If not, were always looking for new problems to solve! Email yours tomac911@macworld.com, including screen captures as appropriate and whether you want your full name used. Not every question will be answered; we dont reply to emails, and we cannot provide direct troubleshooting advice.

Leaked images of the next iPhone SE provide an early glimpse at its updated design and reveal new details about the budget-friendly device, including some color options.iPhone SEApple's budget-friendly iPhone SE lineup has always been about offering great performance at an affordable price. Now, rumors suggest the fourth-generation model will pack even more premium features, making it an exciting option for value-conscious buyers.Here's everything we've heard so far about the iPhone SE 4. Rumor Score: Likely Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Set your scopes on Sniper Elite: Resistance, the latest entry in Rebellions long-standing military stealth-slash-shooter series. Sure, the lack of innovation in this upcoming title might make it seem as though Resistance is mere DLC repackaged as a full-size game, and whilst events here take place adjacent to Sniper Elite 5 Resistances campaign length will eclipse its predecessor. Theres a handful of new things which well go over in this article too. So, without further ado, herere 15 gameplay things you need to know before you pull the trigger on Sniper Elite: Resistance.Its more of the sameWe dont mean this disparagingly. If you enjoyed Sniper Elite 4 or 5 and thought hey, Id love some more of this then Sniper Elite: Resistance is right up your alley. After all, the Sniper Elite series is famed for its blend of unparalleled sniping mechanics, stealth, and tactical third-person gameplay. Theres not an awful lot else like it. And with the developer stating they believe therere still valuable stories to tell in Western Europes domain of World War II, then Sniper Elite: Resistance is shaping up to be a worthy entry in the series.MapsThe games setting is in 1944, with the sprawling streets of Nazi patrolled Paris the most prominent environ shared thus far. The map here indicative of the maps traversable throughout the game is a sprawling, labyrinthine network of cobble streets and dusky alleyways, perfect foray for sneaking and parkour. Cities are dense with Gestapo patrols, unpredictable motorcycle riders, and enemy snipers perched within their eagles nests. A raft of fortified structures, from buildings to bridges, harbour multiple routes, approaches, and choke points to force numerous creative playstyles.Player agencySniper Elite as a series is typified by player agency, brilliant sandboxes fostering open-ended mission structure. As youd expect, Sniper Elite: Resistance is no different. Here, there are multiple ways to complete your missions, from choosing numerous infiltration and extraction points, to taking on optional objectives and side missions.MissionsMissions in Sniper Elite: Resistance comprise a main objective take out a Nazi commander, for instance plus numerous optional side objectives such as infiltrating an informants dwelling, locating allied hangouts, destroying German weapon caches, and so on. Collectibles dot throughout the cityscape too, including items which yield important intel. As this is a sandbox, youre free to undertake as many or as little of these side objectives as you like, in whatever order you please.Kill list targetsAlongside each missions major objective therell be an optional target on your kill list. Kill lists have been a thing in Sniper Elite for a while, and theyre composed of rogues who have wronged the allies in some shape or form, and we expect Sniper Elite: Resistance will function the same. Each kill list target can be killed via traditional means knifing, gunning down, and of course, sniping but in prior titles thereve been kill list challenges tasking you with knocking off your target in increasingly outlandish ways.Propaganda missionsIf all this sounds overly familiar thus far we did say Sniper Elite: Resistance is more of the same then prepare to hear about something new. Sniper Elite: Resistance has a novel gameplay mode in the form of propaganda missions, which is brand-new side content activated after locating propaganda posters dotted throughout each missions level. Here, youll undertake objectives in the role of a French resistance fighter across the same location but in a different time period. Therell be stealth and sniping challenges, with the idea being to replay these missions to chase high scores.New protagonistAnother first for the series, your player character for Sniper Elite: Resistance is British soldier Harry Hawker whom players of Sniper Elites 3 through 5 will recognise as gruff series mainstay Karl Fairburnes co-op partner. In Sniper Elite: Resistance the similarly gruff Hawker occupies a story which takes place alongside Fairburnes from Sniper Elite 5. Both games are similar in length, and thus according to developer Rebellion ensures both games exist as companions of each other.Advanced sniping mechanics returnSorry to beat this over the head, but Sniper Elites advanced sniping mechanics will be returning in full force for this latest entry. Its a game centred on observation, of course, so alongside surveying the landscape and watching for enemy patrol patterns youll need to focus your crosshairs on elemental factors like wind speed and direction. For undetectable takedowns, your gunfire will need to be masked in environmental sounds the whirring of a passing lorry engine or the crackle of a local loudspeaker, for instance.X-ray kill cams still a thingBecause of course they are, the star of Sniper Elites show has always been the bullets. Every slug blasted out of the barrel of your rifle refocuses the camera, a slomo visage of visceral blood and mulch as your projectile penetrates your target, ripping flesh, eviscerating organs, and shattering bone in a glorious display of x-ray ultraviolence. This staple of the series has been expanded for Sniper Elite: Resistance whereby sniper rifles now share the gory event with every gun in the game. Handguns, carbines, and machine guns, for example, will now all trigger the same x-rayd viewpoint of your enemys innards.Large arsenal of authentic weaponrySniper Elite: Resistance will provide a smorgasbord of authentic World War II weaponry to wield in the hands of new protagonist Harry Hawker and owing to his British allegiance many of the guns in his arsenal will stray away from the established American made weapons Karl Fairburne carried into battle. For example, two versions of the British-made Lee Enfield bolt action sniper rifle will be at Hawkers disposal alongside British submachine gun the Sten Mk. II. German MP40s and Karabiner 98ks can be adopted too together with infamous American-made sniper rifle the M1903 Springfield. Theres a ton more, with the entire arsenal likely not yet revealed.Weapons are customisableAs you traipse through Sniper Elite: Resistances levels you may encounter hidden workbenches (there are three in each level). Each workbench unlocks a range of upgraded attachments for your firepower including scopes, stocks, muzzles, and suppressors. Each upgrade supports a style of play, with different weapon elements occupying four key stats of power, rate of fire, control, and mobility. For example, choosing attachments which maximise rate of fire will foster a more gung-ho approach to mission completion whilst a powerful scope and suppressor to boost power and control will support the games marquee stealth.Multiplayer modesDeveloper Rebellion have confirmed that familiar multiplayer game modes will be returning for Sniper Elite: Resistance, including deathmatch, no-cross, and survival, the latter of which taking place in sixteen player arenas.Axis invasion returnsA distinct multiplayer mode from Sniper Elite 5 will be returning in Sniper Elite: Resistance. Axis invasion infiltrates your mission with an invading player who can stall your progress via stealth, sniping, or other more extravagant means. Of course, the same is true for you; youre free to invade another players game to stop them completing their objectives too.Accessibility featuresAs is becoming increasingly commonplace in video games Sniper Elite: Resistance will feature a raft of accessibility features. In fact, Rebellion reckons the series latest instalment will feature the most in-depth accessibility options to date. Difficulty customisation, tutorials, subtitles, and on-screen text aside, therell be colour blindness modes, customisable audio levels with individual sliders for hit feedback, dialogue, and enemy awareness cues. Aim assist, control remapping, and accessible gamepad options round out the games features.PC requirements (and itll be PS5 Pro enhanced)Yep, saying it again, Sniper Elite: Resistance will include a PS5 Pro version. However, what exactly those enhancements will be is unclear for now. For PC requirements youll need a minimum Intel CPU Core i5-9400f or equivalent processor, Nvidia 2060 6GB or equivalent GPU, 16GB RAM, DirectX version 12, and 90GB of storage space. Recommended requirements havent been revealed yet. And just because we havent said it yet, the game comes out January 30th.

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Training provider and tools developer Compositing Academy has released Screen FX, a new plugin for creating 2D motion graphics in Nuke.The add-on provides over custom 50 nodes for creating shape animations, noise patterns, glitch effects and transitions, both for conventional motion graphics and for screen graphics for VFX.An affordable new toolkit for creating 2D motion graphics effects and transitions in NukePitched as the ultimate Nuke plugin for creating stunning 2D motion graphics, Screen FX provides a set of tools for creating common motion graphics effects and transitions.The toolkit consists of over 50 custom nodes for creating shape-based 2D animations, noise overlays, glitch effects and image-warping transitions.Many come with presets for quick iteration, including color palettes and animation styles.The tools are GPU-accelerated via Nukes hardware-agnostic BlinkScript framework, and provide near-instant playback.For individual artists and small studios, Screen FX provides a lower-cost alternative to established Nuke-compatible motion graphics tools like Boris FXs Sapphire plugins.Price and system requirementsScreen FX is compatible with Nuke 15.0+. It was developed with NukeX 15.1v4, which is strongly recommended. It doesnt work with Nuke Non-Commercial.GPU acceleration requires a NVIDIA GPUs that supports CUDA 4.2+ or an AMD GPU that supports OpenCL 1.2+.Perpetual individual licenses cost $99. Team and studio licenses cost between $250 and $6,000.Read more about Screen FX on Compositing Academys websiteHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.

MAFBI agents (right) escort Vincent James Costa (center) and Michael Vincent Geegan (left) from Federal Court 1/12. The two men together with four others were arrainged before UC commissioner for the $1,219,000 Brinks robbery on January 17,1950. Bettmann / Contributor via Getty ImagesThe newspapers called it the crime of the century. It became the basis for four different films. And at the time, it was the biggest cash robbery in the history of the United States.On the evening of January 17, 1950, thieves entered the building of the Brinks security company in Bostons North End. They entered smoothly, seven armed men quickly tying the hands and taping the mouths of the five employees working to close up for the day.In roughly 20 minutes, they made their way out again, carrying $1,218,211.29 in cash and another $1,557,183.83 in checks and securities.Everything went off so well that the police superintendent was convinced the theft involved someone on the inside. There is no doubt it was an inside job. It was probably planned for weekseven with blueprints and rehearsals, Edward W. Fallon told the papers.The Infamous 1950's Brinks Robbery: A Meticulously Planned Heist | Yore Town Podcast EP. 73Watch on He was partly right: Though none of the thieves was a Brinks employee, they had planned the robbery meticulously. They cased the building for months, methodically removing the lock cylinders from each door to copy keys for them. They repeatedly practiced their approach and getaway. When the day came, they all wore peacoats, gloves, chauffeurs caps and Halloween masks to conceal their identities and avoid leaving traces behind.Most important, they made a clean getaway. Of the few items that remained at the scene of the crime were the rope and tape used to bind and gag the employees and a chauffeurs cap. Soon after, Brinks announced it would pay $100,000 for any information about the crime (and that the company would be changing its locks). The police also appealed to the public, prompting slew of fruitless, and often false, tips.With little to go on, investigators pursued almost any potential lead, only to find dead ends. They looked to Bostons criminal underworld but couldnt find enough evidence to indict any suspects.The watershed moment came several years later, when Joseph Specs OKeefe, a member of the robbery gang, confessed. By then, OKeefe was in prison for a different crime, and he had been upset with the other members of the gang for years. Hed been shortchanged on his share of the loot, and in 1954, a hitman hired by the group attempted to kill him.In January 1956, OKeefe told investigators everything. The group had been organized by Anthony Pino, who had no equal and was very energetic when it comes to stealing, as another member of the gang later told the Boston Globe.The night of the robbery, most of the gang hid outside the building, waiting for a signal from another man on a nearby rooftop. When the all-clear came, sevenincluding OKeefewent in to pull off the heist while Pino and the getaway driver remained in the car. The eleventh man, who wasnt present during the robbery itself, met them later that night at a safehouse. They split the loot, taking roughly $100,000 apiece, and went their separate ways.Within a week of OKeefes confessionand just days before Massachusetts six-year statute of limitations expireda grand jury issued indictments for the 11 men involved in the Brinks robbery. That fall, eight surviving members of the gang went on trial. (Two members of the group had died in the intervening time, and OKeefe pleaded guilty before serving as the prosecutions star witness.)After three-and-a-half hours of deliberation, the jury determined all the men were guilty. Still, one question would never be answered: More than $1 million of the cash they stole was never unaccounted for.Almost 30 years after the holdup, John Adolph Jazz Maffie, who did almost 14 years in prison for his role, told the Washington Post that though the Brinks job was an adventure, he wouldnt try it again. However, Sandy Richardson, another of the Brinks gang, maintained it was well worth the trouble.Sure it was worth it, he said. Hey, have you ever had a hundred grand all your own for six years?Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Crime, Money, On This Day in History

Huuuge Games cuts 29% of workforce122 employees affected, studios in the Netherlands and Finland shutteredImage credit: Huuuge Games News by Sophie McEvoy Staff Writer Published on Jan. 17, 2025 Poland-based Mobile developer and publisher Huuuge Games has announced a 29% cut in its workforce, affecting 122 employees.89 workers facing redundancy are situated in its Polish studio, representing 21% of the branch's staff. The layoffs are expected to be completed by the end of February 2025.Huuuge Games is also ceasing operations at its studios in the Netherlands and Finland. It is discontinuing new game development to focus on its social casino titles.The developer will also cease financing of Bananaz Studios, writing down its assets value by $3.5 million."We deeply value the contributions of all our team members and are taking steps to support those affected through this transition," said Huuuge CEO Wojciech Wronowski."While these decisions are never easy, they reflect a commitment to streamlining operations and accelerating our ability to innovate."As part of its strategic changes, Huuuge games also announced the appointment of Maciej Hebda as treasurer and EVP of finance, effective April 1, 2025. This follows the resignation of Marek Chwałek.