Pending ULAs Vulcan rocket still doesnt have the Space Forces seal of approval With a Space Force review still ongoing, ULA is removing its next Vulcan rocket from the launch pad. Stephen Clark Feb 11, 2025 10:55 am | 0 This picture, taken October 21, shows the first stage of the next Vulcan rocket as it was lifted onto ULA's mobile launch platform at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The rocket's two BE-4 main engines are visible at the bottom. Credit: United Launch Alliance This picture, taken October 21, shows the first stage of the next Vulcan rocket as it was lifted onto ULA's mobile launch platform at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The rocket's two BE-4 main engines are visible at the bottom. Credit: United Launch Alliance Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreLast October, United Launch Alliance started stacking its third Vulcan rocket on a mobile launch platform in Florida in preparation for a mission for the US Space Force by the end of the year.That didn't happen, and ULA is still awaiting the Space Force's formal certification of its new rocket, further pushing out delivery schedules for numerous military satellites booked to fly to orbit on the Vulcan launcher.Now, several months after stacking the next Vulcan rocket, ULA has started taking it apart. First reported by Spaceflight Now, the "de-stacking" will clear ULA's vertical hangar for assembly of an Atlas V rocketthe Vulcan's predecessorto launch the first batch of operational satellites for Amazon's Kuiper Internet constellation.This involves removing the rocket's Centaur upper stage, interstage adapter, and booster stage from its launch mount. ULA's facilities at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, can only handle stacking one rocket at a time. A second assembly building will double this capacity when it comes online later this year.ULA hoped to launch as many as 20 missions in 2025, with roughly an even split between its new Vulcan rocket and the Atlas V heading for retirement. That would require around one launch every two and a half weeks. Six weeks into 2025, ULA's first launch of the year is still a month or more away.More than crossing Ts and dotting IsThe laborious process of certifying a new rocket or spacecraft involves numerous reviews and metaphorical stacks of paperwork. The Space Force's objective with certifying the Vulcan rocket is ensuring it will provide a reliable ride to orbit for the military's most sensitive and expensive satellites. These include spy satellites, missile warning sentinels, and spacecraft for the Global Positioning System.In 2020, the Pentagon awarded ULA and SpaceX multibillion-dollar "Phase 2" contracts to share responsibilities for launching dozens of national security space missions. At that time, these launches were projected to fly by the end of 2027, although that's unlikely to happen now.The Space Force awarded ULA 26 missions worth $4.5 billion under the Phase 2 contract, while 22 missions went to SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. SpaceX started delivering on its Phase 2 contract in January 2023. The first of ULA's Phase 2 missions launched last year on an Atlas V rocket, and 25 more are slated to fly on Vulcan.Pentagon officials haven't been pleased with ULA's progress on the Vulcan rocket. The most evident sign of the discontent came in the form of a letter last year to Boeing and Lockheed Martin, ULA's co-owners.Frank Calvelli, then the Air Force's assistant secretary for space acquisition and integration, wrote that he was "growing concerned with ULAs ability to scale manufacturing of its Vulcan rocket and scale its launch cadence to meet our needs."Development setbacks delayed the first Vulcan launch by about four years before ULA successfully completed the rocket's first demonstration flight in January 2024. At that time, ULA expected to be ready to launch the first military mission on the Vulcan rocket in mid-2024, plus two more by the end of the year. Those missions are still waiting for their ride to space."Currently there is military satellite capability sitting on the ground due to Vulcan delays," Calvelli wrote.A second Vulcan test flight launched on October 4, and while the rocket reached its targeted orbit, it overcame a malfunction in one of the rocket's two solid rocket boosters, which lost its exhaust nozzle moments after liftoff. ULA's second Vulcan rocket lifted off on October 4, 2024. Credit: United Launch Alliance The problem prompted an engineering investigation in parallel with the Space Force's certification process, which required two successful flights before clearing Vulcan for operational service. This eliminated any chance of launching the first Vulcan flight for the Space Force by the end of 2024.Tory Bruno, ULA's CEO, told reporters in December that engineers have a "pretty good idea of what happened" with the Northrop Grumman-built solid rocket booster, and boosters already in ULA's inventory will require "minor modifications" to fix the problem. "There are insulators that failed that are bonded to the inside of the shell that becomes the nozzle, and we recovered parts of those," Bruno said.The first national security mission on Vulcan, designated USSF-106, is set to deploy an experimental navigation satellite for the Air Force Research Laboratory.ULA crews at Cape Canaveral have already stacked the next Vulcan rocket on its mobile launch platform in anticipation of launching the USSF-106 mission. But with the Space Force's Space Systems Command still withholding certification, there's no confirmed launch date for USSF-106.So ULA is pivoting to another customer on its launch manifest.Amazon's first group of production satellites for the company's Kuiper Internet network is now first in line on ULA's schedule. Amazon confirmed last month that it would ship Kuiper satellites to Cape Canaveral from its factory in Kirkland, Washington. Like ULA, Amazon has run into its own delays with manufacturing Kuiper satellites."These satellites, built to withstand the harsh conditions of space and the journey there, will be processed upon arrival to get them ready for launch," Amazon posted on X. "These satellites will bring fast, reliable Internet to customers even in remote areas. Stay tuned for our first launch this year."Amazon and the Space Force take up nearly all of ULA's launch backlog. Amazon has eight flights reserved on Atlas V rockets and 38 missions booked on the Vulcan launcher to deploy about half of its 3,232 satellites to compete with SpaceX's Starlink network. Amazon also has launch contracts with Blue Origin, which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, along with Arianespace and SpaceX.The good news is that United Launch Alliance has an inventory of rockets awaiting an opportunity to fly. The company plans to finish manufacturing its remaining 15 Atlas V rockets within a few months, allowing the factory in Decatur, Alabama, to focus solely on producing Vulcan launch vehicles. ULA has all the major parts for two Vulcan rockets in storage at Cape Canaveral."We have a stockpile of rockets, which is kind of unusual," Bruno said. "Normally, you build it, you fly it, you build another one... I would certainly want anyone who's ready to go to space able to go to space."Space Force officials now aim to finish the certification of the Vulcan rocket in late February or early March. This would clear the path for launching the USSF-106 mission after the next Atlas V. Once the Kuiper launch gets off the ground, teams will bring the Vulcan rocket's components back to the hangar to be stacked again.The Space Force has not set a launch date for USSF-106, but the service says liftoff is targeted for some time between the beginning of April and the end of June, nearly five years after ULA won its lucrative contract.Stephen ClarkSpace ReporterStephen ClarkSpace Reporter Stephen Clark is a space reporter at Ars Technica, covering private space companies and the worlds space agencies. Stephen writes about the nexus of technology, science, policy, and business on and off the planet. 0 Comments

patch early, patch often iOS 18.3.1 update fixes security flaw used in extremely sophisticated attack Updates may also re-enable Apple Intelligence for those who turned it off. Andrew Cunningham Feb 11, 2025 10:17 am | 13 iPhones running iOS 18. Credit: Apple iPhones running iOS 18. Credit: Apple Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreApple has released new security fixes for iPhones and iPads in the form of iOS 18.3.1 and iPadOS 18.3.1. According to Apple's release notes, these updates patch an actively exploited security flaw in the USB Restricted Mode feature, which requires users to unlock their devices periodically to continue using USB data connections via a device's Lightning or USB-C port.Apple says that the vulnerability, labeled CVE-2025-24200, "may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals." We don't know anything more specific about who those individuals are or why they might have been targeted.Apple has also supplied an identical fix for older iPads in the form of iPadOS 17.7.5, which is still being updated on old models like the 2nd-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro, the 10.5-inch iPad Pro, and the 6th-generation iPad.Apple has released updates for some of its other operating systems, too: macOS Sequoia 15.3.1, macOS Sonoma 14.7.4, macOS Ventura 13.7.4, watchOS 11.3.1, and visionOS 2.3.1. The company's security updates page says these releases don't fix any currently published CVEs, but there's always a chance this could change later on as more CVEs are disclosed.Some users have also reported that this update has been re-enabling Apple Intelligence on some systems where it had been turned off (as spotted by 9to5Mac). When they were released last month, the iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS 15.3 updates were the first to turn Apple Intelligence on by default rather than making it opt-in by default.I was able to re-create this behavior on a MacBook Air running macOS 15.3I turned Apple Intelligence off, installed the 15.3.1 update, and confirmed that Apple Intelligence had been switched back on after installation. But the same test on an iPhone 15 Pro produced different resultsI turned off Apple Intelligence in iOS 18.3, and it was still off after I installed iOS 18.3.1. Your mileage may varyand if you're updating directly to 18.3.1 or 15.3.1 from a version older than 18.3 or 15.3, Apple Intelligence will be enabled automatically as part of that update if your device supports it.Andrew CunninghamSenior Technology ReporterAndrew CunninghamSenior Technology Reporter Andrew is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica, with a focus on consumer tech including computer hardware and in-depth reviews of operating systems like Windows and macOS. Andrew lives in Philadelphia and co-hosts a weekly book podcast called Overdue. 13 Comments

We often take the internet for granted. Its an ocean of information at our fingertipsand it simply works. But this system relies on swarms of crawlersbots that roam the web, visit millions of websites every day, and report what they see. This is how Google powers its search engines, how Amazon sets competitive prices, and how Kayak aggregates travel listings. Beyond the world of commerce, crawlers are essential for monitoring web security, enabling accessibility tools, and preserving historical archives. Academics, journalists, and civil societies also rely on them to conduct crucial investigative research. Crawlers are endemic. Now representing half of all internet traffic, they will soon outpace human traffic. This unseen subway of the web ferries information from site to site, day and night. And as of late, they serve one more purpose: Companies such as OpenAI use web-crawled data to train their artificial intelligence systems, like ChatGPT. Understandably, websites are now fighting back for fear that this invasive speciesAI crawlerswill help displace them. But theres a problem: This pushback is also threatening the transparency and open borders of the web, that allow non-AI applications to flourish. Unless we are thoughtful about how we fix this, the web will increasingly be fortified with logins, paywalls, and access tolls that inhibit not just AI but the biodiversity of real users and useful crawlers. A system in turmoil To grasp the problem, its important to understand how the web worked until recently, when crawlers and websites operated together in relative symbiosis. Crawlers were largely undisruptive and could even be beneficial, bringing people to websites from search engines like Google or Bing in exchange for their data. In turn, websites imposed few restrictions on crawlers, even helping them navigate their sites. Websites then and now use machine-readable files, called robots.txt files, to specify what content they wanted crawlers to leave alone. But there were few efforts to enforce these rules or identify crawlers that ignored them. The stakes seemed low, so sites didnt invest in obstructing those crawlers. But now the popularity of AI has thrown the crawler ecosystem into disarray. As with an invasive species, crawlers for AI have an insatiable and undiscerning appetite for data, hoovering up Wikipedia articles, academic papers, and posts on Reddit, review websites, and blogs. All forms of data are on the menutext, tables, images, audio, and video. And the AI systems that result can (but not always will) be used in ways that compete directly with their sources of data. News sites fear AI chatbots will lure away their readers; artists and designers fear that AI image generators will seduce their clients; and coding forums fear that AI code generators will supplant their contributors. In response, websites are starting to turn crawlers away at the door. The motivator is largely the same: AI systems, and the crawlers that power them, may undercut the economic interests of anyone who publishes content to the webby using the websites own data. This realization has ignited a series of crawler wars rippling beneath the surface. The fightback Web publishers have responded to AI with a trifecta of lawsuits, legislation, and computer science. What began with a litany of copyright infringement suits, including one from the New York Times, has turned into a wave of restrictions on use of websites data, as well as legislation such as the EU AI Act to protect copyright holders ability to opt out of AI training. However, legal and legislative verdicts could take years, while the consequences of AI adoption are immediate. So in the meantime, data creators have focused on tightening the data faucet at the source: web crawlers. Since mid-2023, websites have erected crawler restrictions to over 25% of the highest-quality data. Yet many of these restrictions can be simply ignored, and while major AI developers like OpenAI and Anthropic do claim to respect websites restrictions, theyve been accused of ignoring them or aggressively overwhelming websites (the major technical support forum iFixit is among those making such allegations). Now websites are turning to their last alternative: anti-crawling technologies. A plethora of new startups (TollBit, ScalePost, etc), and web infrastructure companies like Cloudflare (estimated to support 20% of global web traffic), have begun to offer tools to detect, block, and charge nonhuman traffic. These tools erect obstacles that make sites harder to navigate or require crawlers to register. These measures still offer immediate protection. After all, AI companies cant use what they cant obtain, regardless of how courts rule on copyright and fair use. But the effect is that large web publishers, forums, and sites are often raising the drawbridge to all crawlerseven those that pose no threat. This is even the case once they ink lucrative deals with AI companies that want to preserve exclusivity over that data. Ultimately, the web is being subdivided into territories where fewer crawlers are welcome. How we stand to lose out As this cat-and-mouse game accelerates, big players tend to outlast little ones. Large websites and publishers will defend their content in court or negotiate contracts. And massive tech companies can afford to license large data sets or create powerful crawlers to circumvent restrictions. But small creators, such as visual artists, YouTube educators, or bloggers, may feel they have only two options: hide their content behind logins and paywalls, or take it offline entirely. For real users, this is making it harder to access news articles, see content from their favorite creators, and navigate the web without hitting logins, subscription demands, and captchas each step of the way. Perhaps more concerning is the way large, exclusive contracts with AI companies are subdividing the web. Each deal raises the websites incentive to remain exclusive and block anyone else from accessing the datacompetitor or not. This will likely lead to further concentration of power in the hands of fewer AI developers and data publishers. A future where only large companies can license or crawl critical web data would suppress competition and fail to serve real users or many of the copyright holders. Put simply, following this path will shrink the biodiversity of the web. Crawlers from academic researchers, journalists, and non-AI applications may increasingly be denied open access. Unless we can nurture an ecosystem with different rules for different data uses, we may end up with strict borders across the web, exacting a price on openness and transparency. While this path is not easily avoided, defenders of the open internet can insist on laws, policies, and technical infrastructure that explicitly protect noncompeting uses of web data from exclusive contracts while still protecting data creators and publishers. These rights are not at odds. We have so much to lose or gain from the fight to get data access right across the internet. As websites look for ways to adapt, we mustnt sacrifice the open web on the altar of commercial AI. Shayne Longpre is a PhD Candidate at MIT, where his research focuses on the intersection of AI and policy. He leads the Data Provenance Initiative.

Australia is facing similar egg shortages to the US due to bird flu and industry shifts.Sales have been rationed in some stores since June.Egg production recovery is slow, taking upwards of six months.More than six months after some Australian stores restricted the sale of eggs, some shelves are still empty.As US consumers start to feel the same pinch, Australia's example could show such shortages don't end fast.This week, multiple US stores, including Costco, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's,began limiting thenumber of cartons customers could buy.It's not unfamiliar to Australians. In June last year, the chains Coles and Woolworths began limiting egg-carton purchases to two per shopper.As of January, supermarkets were still limiting sales, some shelves were bare, and the industry body Egg Farmers of Australia noted a "lower supply."The causes have much in common with the US.1) Avian influenza albeit different strains in both cases wipes out some 7% of the national flock.2) Demand went up over the holidays, further pressuring supplies.3) A long-term trend away from caged birds' eggs toward barn-laid or free-range.That resulted in a 11.5% price spike in Australia last year steep, but pretty minor compared to the 65% hike in the US.If Australia's seven-month egg shortage is anything to go by, US consumers could be waiting a while to get easy access to eggs again.Australia is looking at several months before egg production returns to normal while it repopulates its flocks, even after its government declared its bird flu outbreak over.Emily Burton, a professor in sustainable food production who focuses on poultry at the UK's Nottingham Trent University, told BI that it takes around six months from losing a flock to getting back to full-throttle egg production.With US officials still reporting sporadic outbreaks in commercial flocks as recently as Friday, supply chains may remain scrambled for some time yet.

Rebecca Yarros' "Fourth Wing" is being adapted into a TV series.Amazon MGM Studios and Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society will produce the series for Prime Video.Although a release date and cast hasn't been announced, Yarros offered some clues about the show.Rebecca Yarros' "Empyrean" series about dragon rider Violet Sorrengail has never been more popular.When "Onyx Storm," the third book in the romantasy series, was released on January 21, it became the fastest-selling adult novel in 20 years, The New York Times reported.The first and second books in the series, "Fourth Wing" and "Iron Flame," sat right behind "Onyx Storm" on the bestseller list following its release.Yarros is taking a break before writing the fourth book in the series, but in the meantime, progress is being made on the series adaptation of "Fourth Wing."Here's everything we know about the show so far.'Fourth Wing' is becoming a TV showIn October 2023, Deadline announced that Amazon MGM Studios and Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society were developing "Fourth Wing" into a Prime Video series. Yarros is also an executive producer for the show.Outlier Society produced Jordan's "Creed III" and is developing a slate of other series and films in addition to "Fourth Wing."In July 2024, Outlier Society announced it had hired Moira Walley-Beckett as the showrunner for the series. Walley-Beckett won three Emmy awards for her work as a writer and producer on "Breaking Bad," and she later created "Anne with an E." Moira Walley-Beckett in March 2019. George Pimentel/Getty Images As of February, Outlier Society had not announced casting or a release date for the series.Deadline also reported in October 2023 that Amazon MGM Studios had bought the rights for the whole "Empyrean" book series. In a January interview with Variety, Yarros said she had shared the "five-book arc" for the "Empyrean" series with Amazon and Walley-Beckett."They have the five-book arc and the general big points of what happens in between each book, but they don't have the specifics between Book 4 and Book 5, because I'm getting ready to go to my crazy plotting board and plot out every single event that happens in each book so that I make sure that I'm within my two books there," she told Variety.Yarros talked about the series' pilot while on a book tour for 'Onyx Storm'Although details about the series are limited, Yarros made a few comments about the show while promoting "Onyx Storm."Speaking at an engagement on January 24 in New York, Yarros told fans she had read the pilot for the "Fourth Wing" show and loved it."I read the latest version of the pilot last week," she said. "It's really nerve-racking when you read something like that because you're really you're trusting someone else with your baby, right? And you're trusting someone else to say, like, 'Hey, this is important in your work, and this isn't,' and you kinda get your guard up.""But guys, I, like, kicked my feet the whole time," she said. "You're gonna love it."Yarros also praised Walley-Beckett, calling her a "brilliant writer" and saying she maintained the integrity of the book in the pilot."All the lines that you love are there. And she really kept the spirit and energy," Yarros said of the pilot. "I can't say enough good things. It's phenomenal."Yarros has shared some thoughts on castingSpeaking at an event in London on August 30, 2024, Yarros said casting will ultimately fall on the show's staff, not her. She also said she intentionally hasn't shared any specific actors she hopes will be cast in the series."I will never say who my perfect fan cast is because the cast is so diverse, and I want to open that up to more diversity," she said. "And I feel like the second I say who I think this character is, that's who everyone will accept. That's only who they will accept." Rebecca Yarros in January 2025. CJ Rivera/Invision/AP "I kinda hope they find, like, an up-and-coming generation," she added. "But I would never put my fan cast in your heads."Although she won't be involved in casting the series, Yarros said at the same event that she has one hard-line casting request she has communicated to Amazon MGM Studios, Outlier Society, and Walley-Beckett."They know how staunch I am against white-washing Xaden," she said. "I think that's the biggest thing."Xaden Riorson, Violet's love interest in the series, is described as having "warm tawny skin" in "Fourth Wing" and "tawny-brown" skin in both "Iron Flame" and "Onyx Storm."

As of this writing, there are at least 45 lawsuits pending against President Donald Trump and his subordinates. They range from challenges to Trumps attempt to end birthright citizenship for many Americans, to suits intended to keep Trump from illegally cutting off federal spending, to challenges to Trumps attempt to reduce the size of the federal workforce, to various suits pushing back on Trumps orders targeting transgender Americans.A number of these lawsuits have achieved some success. Just three days after Trump issued an executive order attacking birthright citizenship, for example, a federal judge in Seattle temporarily blocked it. Many of Trumps efforts to impound funds that he does not wish to spend have also run into similar trouble in federal court.Still, only the most naive legal analyst would conclude right now that the US constitutional system will survive Trumps second term intact, or that the courts have definitively ruled that Trumps agenda is in jeopardy. It is certainly possible that, when all of this litigation is over, Trump will face loss after unambiguous loss and be forced to give up many of his attempts to defy the Constitution. But it is far too soon to predict how all of these lawsuits will play out or even if Trump will comply with any court orders against him.To date, no appellate court the mid-tier courts in the federal system has weighed in on any of these cases, not to mention the Supreme Court. Similarly, while some federal trial courts have ordered Trump to stop some of his illegal actions, many of these decisions are temporary stopgap orders that expire quickly, and that are intended largely to maintain the status quo while the judges hearing these cases get up to speed on the legal issues that they present.Its a lot to keep track of. And, in many of these cases, there are likely to be months or even years more litigation before the legal issues presented by these cases are fully resolved. Its also worth noting that, as these cases make their way through the federal appellate process, they are more and more likely to be heard by judges who tend to be sympathetic to Trump including a Supreme Court that has held that Trump may use the powers of the presidency to commit crimes. Initially, plaintiffs often shop around for a court where their case is likely to be heard by a sympathetic judge. As the case advances through the appeals process, however, it is more and more likely to be heard by less friendly judges or even by hardline partisans who are actively hostile to lawsuits challenging the actions of a Republican president.That doesnt mean that Trump will necessarily win every single case against him. Some of his legal arguments, such as his claim that he can simply refuse to pay money that Congress has already appropriated, are so weak that theyve been criticized in the past by the Republican Supreme Court justices. But it does mean that plaintiffs challenging Trumps actions are more likely to have early wins than they are in higher courts where they have less control over which judges hear their case. And that means that while Trump has suffered some initial setbacks in his efforts to remake the federal government, those may prove to be little more than temporary annoyances for him and his allies. The three-tier federal judiciaryBroadly speaking, the federal judiciary has three tiers. In the lowest level, known as district courts, a single judge will typically hear a case and decide on their own whether to issue an order blocking the governments actions.Even when a district judge does issue such an order,, it may not last very long. Several judges, for example, have issued what are known as temporary restraining orders (TROs) blocking some of the Trump administrations actions. In one case challenging the Treasury Departments decision to give some of billionaire Elon Musks allies access to a very sensitive computer system that manages federal payments, a New York-based judge temporarily limited access to those systems to civil servants with a need for access to perform their job.But temporarily restraining orders are, as the name suggests, quite temporary. Sometimes, a judge can even issue such an order before the defendant is aware theyve been sued (although this is only supposed to happen in order to avoid immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage). With rare exceptions, a TRO cannot be appealed to a higher court. But they also typically expire in two weeks or less.Eventually and very soon after they hand down a TRO, if one has been issued a district judge will hold a preliminary injunction hearing, where both the plaintiffs and the Trump administration will be given a full opportunity to present their legal arguments to the court. Like TROs, preliminary injunctions block the action the plaintiff is suing over. However, unlike TROs, they are an appealable order meaning that, once a district judge issues such an injunction, the government may ask a higher court to step in and reverse that decision. Assuming that no higher court steps in, however, a preliminary injunction can last for a very long time often until the case is fully litigated and the district court issues a permanent injunction blocking the governments actions forever.Before a district judge can issue a preliminary injunction, they typically must make several determinations including a determination that the plaintiff is likely to succeed on the ultimate merits of their lawsuit.The Trump administration is likely to appeal any preliminary injunction issued against the government to a court of appeals or circuit court. At this stage, the government may ask the appeals court to permanently lift the preliminary injunction, but it can also request a temporary order (or stay) suspending the preliminary injunction while the case is being appealed.Federal appeals courts typically hear cases as three-judge panels, with the three judges randomly selected from among all of that courts judges. Smart plaintiffs will think about which appeals court is likely to hear their case before they choose where to file it in the first place.Republicans, for example, will often choose to bring lawsuits in Louisiana, Mississippi, or Texas, because a federal case originating from those states will typically be heard by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit the most right-wing appeals court in the federal system. Democrats, meanwhile, might prefer the First Circuit (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, and Rhode Island) or the Fourth Circuit (Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia), both of which have a Democratic majority.RelatedThe Trumpiest court in AmericaIn any event, whichever party loses in the court of appeals can ask the Supreme Court to review the appeals courts decision. Unlike federal appeals courts, however, the Supreme Court is not required to hear the overwhelming majority of cases that come its way and the justices often simply refuse to consider a case that they do not want to hear.Just as with an appeals court, however, a party that seeks Supreme Court review can potentially get two bites at the apple. They may ask for a temporary stay of the appeals courts decision on the Courts shadow docket, and they may also ask the justices to give the case a full hearing thus establishing once and for all whether the governments challenged actions were illegal.All of which is a long way of saying that federal litigation can be a very drawn out process. None of the many lawsuits against Trump are very far along in that process. And there is likely to be a great deal of drama and shifting fortunes as higher courts get involved.See More:

PlayStation users are expecting big things from the State of Play event as the company finally reveal the event date, but will they show the most anticipated game of the year?Tech15:28, 11 Feb 2025Updated 15:30, 11 Feb 2025We now know GTA 6 will come out this yearNow with Sony announcing the outage has been fixed, the console giant is back to business with the announcement of the much-anticipated State of Play event.As we prepare to know new PS Plus Extra games this week, fans now know State of Play will be held tomorrow (February 12). However, it will be a late one for the UK with the event at 10pm GMT (2PM PT/ 11PM CET)The events, which showcase upcoming releases for the blue brand and some third-party titles, with many fans speculating on seeing glimpse of huge new titles, including GTA 6.While GTA 6 trailer dropping would blow people's minds, some game reveals are looking more likely.We all know that GTA Trailer 2 is long-overdue with many speculating that the delay is due to Rockstar Games wanting more time and holding the game until 2026.However, following the publisher Take-Two's earnings call, optimism has been restored for a 2025 release. So could we see GTA 6? Well the fans want it, that is for sureOne person said: "This is where we get that surprise GTA 6 announcement."Another added: "They've revealed GTA 5 Enchanted and Expanded version at a PlayStation event before (The Future Of Gaming) so why can't they reveal something about GTA 6 at this state of play?"Could we see Wolverine this week?But what can we really expect the event showcase? Sony has two big-hitters slated for 2025 in Ghost of Yotei (the successor to Ghost of Tsushima) and Death Stranding 2.Still, we've not seen anything about Wolverine from Insomniac Games, with the game first revealed in 2021. The infamous Insomniac leak revealed that the studio planned to launch it in 2026, but with a Venom game emerging before then could we see something from the Spider-Man and Ratchet and Clank team this week?Article continues belowOn the other hand, Xbox's now annual Developer Direct showed more about DOOM: The Dark Ages, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, South of Midnight and Ninja Gaiden 4, all of which are coming to Xbox Game Pass.For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.

Monster Hunter Wilds launches this month, and should be on every action game fan's wishlist here's why it's likely to be one of the biggest games of this yearTech15:00, 11 Feb 2025Monsters fighting each other remains a highlightIn my last job, I was lucky enough to play Monster Hunter: Wilds at Gamescom last year. I mentioned at the time that it made World, the game that got me into the series, feel like a first draft, adding additional layers and expanding the scale while keeping the same loop ol hunting monsters, grabbing materials to make better weapons, and hunting bigger monsters.So, when Capcom invited me to play the game again last month, I wasnt sure what else it could sell me on after all, theres no need to keep drilling if youve struck oil. What I found instead was a more polished version of Wilds that ran better, played better, and looked better, and even gave me a look at some upcoming monsters that havent been seen yet.Monster Hunter World is one of my favourite games of all time after hundreds, possibly thousands of hours, and Im more convinced than ever that Capcom is about to repeat the trick.Palico's are back, and as fun as everWhile my prior experience with Wilds took place right at the start of the game and was sadly a much shorter session, I was pleased to have much more time here. Thats not just to admire the games scenery (Wilds offers some absolutely huge regions) but also to get to grips with my weapon of choice, the Insect Glaive.Between life getting in the way and a ton of other releases, I hadnt actually got to try out my favourite weapon with Wilds as yet, despite the beta periods, but I did know that something had felt off about it for some players, leading Capcom to work in player feedback.Thankfully, whatever special sauce they used was absolutely the right way to go. The Insect Glaive, a weapon predicated about movement issuing orders to your bug companion, feels perfect. It really does feel as close to World as it could, but with the added bells and whistles offered by Wilds.Monster Hunter Wilds could be the biggest game of 2025 so far(Image: Capcom)The most important of those is the new Wound system. Attack a monster in the same space enough times and a wound will open up. You can hit it for bigger damage, but you can also use a focused strike to more specifically target that spot a godsend as monsters scurry, slam, or fly around.Even the focused attack feels like it has the margin for error dialed in perfectly this time around, leading it to feel much more useful than it did in my prior preview. And, when the Insect Glaive hit just right, leaving my on the monsters back, I could open up a wound and unleash a slick pirouette with my blade to do huge damage.Rompompolo is, well, grossNaturally, combat is only fun if youre challenged, and Monster Hunter: Wilds is very happy to throw some big beasties your way. I must admit, I wasnt knocked out a single time during my multi-hour playthrough, but I put that down to two reasons.The first is that I made liberal use of using the SOS flare to summon AI teammates that were much more useful than some folks Ive played online with. They utilise all of their abilities and items in a match, and that meant as they tackled the monsters I was able to set out more nefarious traps.I can see it being a great way to introduce players to higher-level online play, letting them get to grips with Monster Hunter staples like planting explosive barrels or using shock traps.The other reason is that, despite my relatively modest gaming abilities, Ive put so much time into Monster Hunter World that many of those skills transfer over nicely. Other press at the event, notably those with less experience with the series, had more difficulty, so thats worth considering.How about those monsters, though? Aside from the usual small monsters, I was lucky enough to tackle a bunch of varied foes in my time with the preview. Balahara, which has been shown in plenty of early game cinematics, was very fun, slipping under the sand and emerging quickly like a mini Dune sandworm but one which hunts in packs.Nerscylla looks like it crawled in from BloodborneCongalala returns, too, with the monkey-like creature unleashing claws and trail strikes, as well as no small amount of comical (and damaging) flatulence. Right when youve avoided him farting on you, hell burp instead, keeping you on your toes (and likely giggling, if youre anything like me).Naturally, some quests are more story-focused than others, and one objective where I had to repel Uth Duna was one such example. While I didnt get to finish it off (Ill let you experience what happens when the game launches ), I loved this fight. The huge beast is at once hulking and graceful, but as it takes damage its limbs and extremities will actually wither as it loses water.Similar can be said of Rompopolo (what a name), a creature that looks like an overgrown ant, with the power to poison you or trigger explosive gas geysers from the ground. As you wail on it, it becomes less recognisable, becoming saggy in shape.One monster not seen yet is Nerscylla, the spider-like creature that births lots of tiny spiders to slow you down (and not to be confused with Lala Barina which is similarly horrific to look at but uses a paralysing flower attached to itself). In my fight with it, it attempted to get under the web we were fighting on before tearing through. Thankfully, its possible to switch weapons now, so I was able to deliver a very satisfying thonk with my greatsword.Monster Hunter Wilds is, as expected, the logical next step from World. Its bigger, meaner, and I dont doubt itll be rammed with monsters new and old to hunt.Add to that the promise of post-launch content, and Monster Hunter Wilds might be the everlasting gobstopper that Worlds was, and then some.Article continues belowPreviewed on PS5

What are you hoping to see at the showcase? (Sony)Sony has finally announced a date and time for its next State of Play though its keeping coy on what sort of PlayStation 5 games will be shown.Between reliable insiders and a couple of PlayStation Store listings that were clearly published too early, it was safe to assume Sony would be holding one of its State of Play showcases this week.A new PlayStation showcase was certainly due, especially when Microsoft already drummed up hype for its 2025 release schedule with its January showcase, where it debuted a new Ninja Gaiden.Now Sony has properly announced a date and time for the State of Play and while it is happening this week, its a little sooner than expected.When is the February 2025 State of Play?The running theory was that this weeks State of Play would air on Valentines Day (February 14), but instead Sony has scheduled it for tomorrow evening on Wednesday, February 12 at 10pm GMT.Itll also be a decently lengthy showcase, with Sony revealing it will run for over 40 minutes, so you can expect a good handful of announcements.However, Sony has given no indication as to what sort of games will be shown off, only saying, The show celebrates a creative and unique selection of exciting games from studios around the world.That said, there are a handful of educated guesses for what you can expect. The aforementioned PlayStation Store leaks gave away a new trailer for Metal Gear Solid 3 Delta, which revealed a release date and the inclusion of an Ape Escape minigame.There was also a temporary listing for PlayStation versions of Level-5s Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, which has only ever been confirmed for the Nintendo Switch.More TrendingBarring that, Sony will no doubt show off Ghost Of Ytei and Death Stranding 2: On The Beach as those are the two big PlayStation 5 exclusives it has scheduled for 2025.As for entirely new game announcements, the recent removals of fan-made Bloodborne projects, including a mod that improves the games frame rate, have renewed some hope that Sony is finally prepping the long-demanded PlayStation 5 remaster. Especially since this March will mark the games 10th anniversary.There have also been rumblings of something related to God Of War being in the pipeline, with separate rumours claiming remasters of the original Greek saga games and a brand-new prequel starring a younger Kratos.Therell likely be at least one live service game featured during the showcase too. Although Sony did recently cancel another two of them, it still has a few in development, such as Bungies Marathon reboot. The Marathon reboot was announced in 2023 and is slated to come to Xbox as well (Bungie)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

Monster Hunter Wilds certain to be the biggest entry yet (Capcom)GameCentral gets to play Capcoms next evolution of Monster Hunter, featuring the return of a classic arachnid.Despite being Capcoms second-best selling series behind Resident Evil, the conversation around Monster Hunter always comes back to accessibility. The series has been a juggernaut in Japan for decades, but it didnt achieve popularity in the West until 2018s Monster Hunter: World, which went on to become the highest-selling game in Capcom history.For most other franchises, this kind of success would negate the need to smoothen out design kinks for newcomers; yet, much like FromSoftwares brand of punishing friction, Monster Hunters infamously steep learning curve requires constant re-evaluation. In Monster Hunter Rise, a side-step sequel to World, the big gambit for new players was the faster Wire Bug movement system and Palamute mounts, with both serving as a way to cut down on the trudge between its set piece battles.While it was successful in enticing more new players, there was a sense that some of the depth had been lost in the transition to a speedier pace. Monster Hunter Wilds, based on a six-hour hands-on session, feels like its trying to find an agreeable middle ground between the two and it might just be the most accomplished Monster Hunter experience yet.Our play session encompassed the opening five hours (along with some later-game hunts) and, based on this introduction, one of the big takeaways is the heightened cinematic flair. Monster Hunters recent entries have always felt epic in scope during battles, but Wilds feels like its determined to leave a much bigger impression from the start.As anyone who jumped into the beta will know, Wilds begins with a sandworm chase in the desert, atop the games new rideable companion: Seikrets. These bird-like creatures appear to be similar to the Palamute companions in Rise, but they serve a somewhat different purpose. Unlike Rises mounts, Seikrets dont fight alongside you in battle. Instead, they act like horses, allowing you to ride around and attack while mounted, as well as carrying an additional weapon you can switch to mid-combat.in the absence of Wire Bugs, Seikrets are the key to Wilds flexibility. They cut down on the time scrambling to the next major encounter, but the option for a quick gallop to safety, or to switch tactics with another weapon mid-scrap, opens up new strategic possibilities. Tired of battering away with the great sword? Call your Seikret, switch to a bow, and rain down arrows while on horseback all within the space of a few seconds.Admittedly, there is a learning curve to controlling your Seikret. We often found ourselves calling them and switching weapons by accident, resulting in a fiddly scramble to re-adjust as a furious ape bounded towards us. Even as you wrestle with Monster Hunters convoluted interface though which is perhaps still the biggest barrier to newcomers the thrill of the close calls and visual spectacle keeps the frustrations somewhat in check.It helps that this is the most immersive Monster Hunter has ever been. Previous games have stuck to the same rigid and segmented structure: take on a hunt from the quest board, kill the monster, jump back to camp to craft fancy armour. But here, for the first time, it all takes place within a seamless open environment. It sounds like a small change, and you are still ultimately taking part in the same gameplay loop, but the ability to ride out from your camp without a loading screen spoiling the immersion only accentuates the monster hunting fantasy.Theres also a greater effort to hide Monster Hunters naturally repetitive mission structure. In the early hours, youll travel to a nearby settlement to connect with the locals, only to aid them when a gaggle of monsters comes charging into town. Or you can find yourself captured by a group of comical forest creatures, which culminates in a typical large-scale encounter. Its still Monster Hunters bread and butter at its core but dressed in ways where it feels like a traditional story campaign, rather than just a sequence of quest board hunts. Monster Hunter Wilds puts more emphasis on characters and cut scenes (Capcom)The abundance of cut scenes within missions is another boon for its presentation even if it does feel unnecessary at times. Theres a lot more emphasis on showcasing the characters and story, and while some of the cut scenes flex this bizarre universes personality, we imagine most players will be hammering the skip button so they can get back to thwacking a dragon.Monster Hunter Wilds improved rhythm partially extends to the combat itself, thanks to the newly added Focus mode. As you clobber a beast, weak spots will glow red in classic video game fashion, which youll then be able to lock onto to perform Focus strikes for added damage. During our playthrough using the bow, the gratification from using charged-up smatterings of arrows became our driving dose of dopamine especially in the nick of time as a monster barrels towards your position.More TrendingThe monsters themselves are the showpieces of every Monster Hunter, but the stellar animation and variety in creature designs reaches new heights here especially in the two later-game hunts we tried beyond the opening. The first was Rompopolo, a repulsive-looking blend between a wyvern and a mosquito coated in oil in a bubbling hot basin. Design-wise its creature feature horror in all the best ways but it was mechanically interesting too, requiring a quick-footed approach as it sends out bubbling oil bursts through the ground.For anyone who played Monster Hunter 4, the other beast was returning arachnid Nerscylla. Another nightmare design of spiky, spindly legs and extendable pincers, which can paralyze you in webs as its icky baby spiders encroach on your position. Its a hellhole for arachnophobes (although there is a spider filter graphical option), but a spooky contrast to the mammoths, sandworms, and camouflaged leviathan, Uth Duna, which was the closing spectacle of our session.If we were more curious than excited heading into Monster Hunter Wilds, the hands-on led to a reassessment of social commitments around February 28. Theres still a question as to whether the cinematic presentation is adding to the experience, or just getting in the way, but when the core hunts are this refined and entertaining its hard not to feel like the phenomenon is about to strike even bigger than ever.Formats: PlayStation 5 (previewed), Xbox Series X/S, and PCPrice: 64.99Publisher: CapcomDeveloper: CapcomRelease Date: 28th February 2025Age Rating: 16 The village is now part of the open world (Capcom)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy