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President Donald Trump, from left, Cheryl Hines, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and ... [+] Human Services, with the commissioning document during a ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as the new head of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Agencies under his command began laying off 5,200 employees on Feb. 14. Photographer: Jason C. Andrew/Bloomberg 2025 Bloomberg Finance LPDuring the presidential campaign, President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. warned the public of impending mass firings at the Department of Health and Human Services should President Trump be re-elected. Now that he is president again, his administration has begun fulfilling the pledge to purge thousands at HHS agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Indian Health Service.Approximately 5,200 probationary workers from the agencies started getting letter from their employer saying you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and skills do not fit the Agencys current needs.The cuts are among the thousands being let go this month across the federal government, all as part of attempts to reduce the size of the federal workforce. The firings are being overseen by President Trump and the task force headed by Elon Musk, the Department of Government Efficiency.All of the most recent class of hires, roughly 1,300 individuals, who serve in CDCs Epidemic Intelligence Service were told Friday they were being dismissed, according to CBS News. The CDCs EIS officers are sometimes referred to as disease detectives who investigate new threats, from anthrax to Ebola to bird flu. The group being fired consists of nearly half of the CDCs EIS officers.It appears that cuts in staffing at CMS include people hired to conduct oversight of Affordable Care Act exchanges. Its unknown at this time which other CMS workers were among those laid off.MORE FOR YOUCuts in probationary staff have also occurred at the NIH. What isnt clear yet is which specific parts of the agency are being targeted. Its possible that this initial salvo is a prelude to what Kennedy declared prior to the election about pausing infectious disease programs and firing 600 employees at the NIH. Or, as a corollary, its plausible that the moves at NIH signal a desire to cut roughly in half the number of NIH institutes and centers from 27 down to 15, something Republican legislators have argued should happen.The Trump administration also laid off FDA staff. Thus far, it appears that the bulk of the employees being terminated are in the food, medical device and tobacco divisions of the agency. Its no surprise that the FDA, and in particular the food and nutrition division, would be a target of the purge. In an interview, Kennedy had said that there are entire departments, like the nutrition department at the FDA that have to go, that are not doing their job, theyre not protecting our kids. Additionally, Kennedy wrote on X just before the November election. If you work for the FDA and are part of this corrupt system, I have two messages for you: 1. Preserve your records, and 2. Pack your bags."Employees working on drug approval applications at FDA seem to be mostly spared for now, according to a tweet posted by Adam Feuerstein of STAT News. But Zach Brennan of Endpoints News tweeted that "sources saying probationary FDA employees under user fees still hit by cutsunclear how big of a hit itll be on PDUFA dates."Prescription Drug User Fee Act dates are essentially deadlines set by the FDA for completing its review of a new drug application or a biologics license application. Congress passed and President George H.W. Bush signed PDUFA, a law that provides FDA with resources to make the drug review and approval process more efficient. In 2024, $3.3 billion, or almost 46% of the agency's $7.2 billion budget, came from user fees, payments made by pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers to fund the staff resources required to review products expeditiously regarding their safety and efficacy.Neither Kennedy nor the likely to be confirmed FDA Commissioner Makary can unilaterally rescind PDUFA. But its possible for agencies to shed staff, including probationary workers involved in the drug approval process. Their jobs are to some degree made possible by user fees. But given HHS Secretary Kennedys dislike of user fees, it wouldnt be surprising if more dismissals in this area of FDAs work are forthcoming.Notably, the firings of personnel at the NIH, CDC, FDA and CMS are happening before their respective heads, Jay Bhattacharya, Dave Weldon, Marty Makary and Mehmet Oz are confirmed by the Senate. This implies that the firings occurred without their formal input.

Screen displaying the logo of Grok, a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by xAI, ... [+] the American company specializing in artificial intelligence and it's founder South African businessman Elon Musk.AFP via Getty ImagesxAI, the artificial intelligence company founded by Elon Musk, is set to launch Grok 3 on Monday, Feb. 17. According to xAI, this latest version of its chatbot, which Musk describes as scary smart, represents a major step forward, improving reasoning, computational power and adaptability.xAI reports that Grok 3s development was accelerated by its Colossus supercomputer, which was built in just eight months. The system, powered by 100,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs, provided 200 million GPU-hours for trainingten times more than its predecessor, Grok 2. This significant boost in computational resources has helped Grok 3 process large datasets more efficiently, reducing training times and improving accuracy.Beyond increased computing power, xAI has adjusted its training approach to improve Grok 3s capabilities. The model now incorporates synthetic datasets, self-correction mechanisms and reinforcement learning to enhance its performance:Synthetic Datasets These are artificially generated datasets rather than collected from real-world sources. They are used to train AI models by simulating various scenarios, ensuring a diverse and controlled dataset. This helps improve learning efficiency and address data privacy concerns.Self-Correction Mechanisms These are AI techniques that allow a model to identify and correct its own mistakes. By evaluating its outputs and comparing them with known correct responses, the model can refine its answers over time, reducing errors and improving accuracy.Reinforcement Learning A type of machine learning where an AI model learns by receiving rewards or penalties for its actions. The system is trained to maximize positive outcomes through trial and error, improving its decision-making capabilities.According to xAI and Musk, these improvements will reduce incorrect responsesknown as hallucinationsby using multiple validation steps, improve logical accuracy by checking information against reliable sources, and adapt more effectively through continuous self-evaluation and learning.xAI also reports that human feedback loops and contextual training have been introduced to ensure more natural and accurate responses.MORE FOR YOUHuman feedback loops refer to a training method where AI models receive direct feedback from human reviewers to refine their responses. Humans assess the accuracy, relevance, and usefulness of AI-generated content, helping the model improve over time.Contextual training involves teaching the AI to understand and adapt its responses based on context. This means considering previous interactions, user intent, and surrounding information to generate more accurate and relevant answers.According to xAI, the model has been designed to generate insightful and unexpected solutions, making it a more effective tool for problem-solvingand early tests suggest that Grok 3 outperforms its competitors, including OpenAIs ChatGPT and Googles DeepMind Gemini, in complex reasoning tasks. In a video interview at The World Governments Summit, held in Dubai from Feb. 11-13, Musk stated that this might be the last time that an AI is better than Grok.

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C.Alex BrandonAPBy SARAH PARVINI / APFebruary 16, 2025 1:55 PM ESTLOS ANGELES Even as he's vowed to push the United States ahead in artificial intelligence research, President Donald Trump's threats to alter federal government contracts with chipmakers and slap new tariffs on the semiconductor industry may put new speed bumps in front of the tech industry.Since taking office, Trump has said he would place tariffs on foreign production of computer chips and semiconductors in order to return chip manufacturing to the U.S. The president and Republican lawmakers have also threatened to end the CHIPS and Science Act, a sweeping Biden administration-era law that also sought to boost domestic production.But economic experts have warned that Trump's dual-pronged approach could slow, or potentially harm, the administration's goal of ensuring that the U.S. maintains a competitive edge in artificial intelligence research.Saikat Chaudhuri, an expert on corporate growth and innovation at U.C. Berkeleys Haas School of Business, called Trumps derision of the CHIPS Act surprising because one of the biggest bottlenecks for the advancement of AI has been chip production. Most countries, Chaudhuri said, are trying to encourage chip production and the import of chips at favorable rates.We have seen what the shortage has done in everything from AI to even cars, he said. In the pandemic, cars had to do with fewer or less powerful chips in order to just deal with the supply constraints.The Biden administration helped shepherd in the law following supply disruptions that occurred after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when a shortage of chips stalled factory assembly lines and fueled inflation threatened to plunge the U.S. economy into recession. When pushing for the investment, lawmakers also said they were concerned about efforts by China to control Taiwan, which accounts for more than 90% of advanced computer chip production.As of August 2024, the CHIPS and Science Act had provided $30 billion in support for 23 projects in 15 states that would add 115,000 manufacturing and construction jobs, according to the Commerce Department. That funding helped to draw in private capital and would enable the U.S. to produce 30% of the worlds most advanced computer chips, up from 0% when the Biden-Harris administration succeeded Trumps first term.The administration promised tens of billions of dollars to support the construction of U.S. chip foundries and reduce reliance on Asian suppliers, which Washington sees as a security weakness. In August, the Commerce Department pledged to provide up to $6.6 billion so that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. could expand the facilities it is already building in Arizona and better ensure that the most advanced microchips are produced domestically for the first time.But Trump has said he believes that companies entering into those contracts with the federal government, such as TSMC, didn't need money in order to prioritize chipmaking in the U.S.They needed an incentive. And the incentive is going to be theyre not going to want to pay at 25, 50 or even 100% tax, Trump said.TSMC held board meetings for the first time in the U.S. last week. Trump has signaled that if companies want to avoid tariffs they have to build their plants in the U.S. without help from the government. Taiwan also dispatched two senior economic affairs officials to Washington to meet with the Trump administration in a bid to potentially fend off a 100% tariff Trump has threatened to impose on chips.If the Trump administration does levy tariffs, Chaudhuri said, one immediate concern is that prices of goods that use semiconductors and chips will rise because the higher costs associated with tariffs are typically passed to consumers.Whether its your smartphone, whether its your gaming device, whether its your smart fridge probably also your smart features of your car anything and everything we use nowadays has a chip in it," he said. For consumers, its going to be rather painful. Manufacturers are not going to be able to absorb that.Even tech giants such as Nvidia will eventually feel the pain of tariffs, he said, despite their margins being high enough to absorb costs at the moment.Theyre all going to be affected by this negatively, he said. I cant see anybody benefiting from this except for those countries who jump on the bandwagon competitively and say, You know what, were going to introduce something like the CHIPS Act.Broadly based tariffs would be a shot in the foot of the U.S. economy, said Brett House, a professor of professional practice at Columbia Business School. Tariffs would not only raise the costs for businesses and households across the board, he said for the U.S. AI sector, they would massively increase the costs of one of their most important inputs: high-powered chips from abroad.If you cut off, repeal or threaten the CHIPS Act at the same time as youre putting in broadly based tariffs on imports of AI and other computer technology, you would be hamstringing the industry acutely, House said.Such tariffs would reduce the capacity to create a domestic chip building sector, sending a signal for future investments that the policy outlook is uncertain, he said. That would in turn put a chilling effect on new allocations of capital to the industry in the U.S. while making more expensive the existing flow of imported chips.American technological industrial leadership has always been supported by maintaining openness to global markets and to immigration and labor flows," he said. "And shutting that openness down has never been a recipe for American success.Associated Press writers Josh Boak and Didi Tang in Washington contributed to this report.More Must-Reads from TIMEInside Elon Musks War on WashingtonWhy Do More Young Adults Have Cancer?Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love11 New Books to Read in FebruaryHow to Get Better at Doing Things AloneCecily Strong on Goober the ClownColumn: The Rise of Americas BroligarchyIntroducing the 2025 ClosersContact us at letters@time.com

Key TakeawaysMeta is making a bold move into AI-driven humanoid robots, aiming to ease everyday household tasks as part of its continued investment in augmented reality and artificial intelligence.A new team in Metas Reality Labs, led by Marc Whitten under CTO Andrew Bosworth, is set to develop these advanced robotsAlthough competitors like Tesla with its Optimus robot are already in the race, global rollout is still a few years away.After its recent ventures into augmented reality and artificial intelligence, Meta is now all set to change the face of humanoid robots through aggressive investments. Humanoid robots act like humans and help with physical tasks.These advancements are expected to be capable enough to do tasks like folding clothes, carrying a glass of water, or placing dishes in the dishwashers. Basically, the kind of an assistant thatll get your tedious work out of the way for you.While the initial plan is focused on making these humanoids capable enough to assist in household chores, there isnt any concrete news about whether were gonna get a Meta-branded robot or whether its just going to be making sensors and software for other companies to manufacture and sell.One things for sure, Meta will be what Google was for Android operating systems and Qualcomm was for chips. It aims to build a foundation for the market to follow, gaining a significant first-mover advantage if it is successful.Meta, however, isnt truly the first one to enter this space though, Tesla is already working on Optimus a$30,000 humanoid that will soon be available in the market.Other companies include Boston Dynamics, a B2B targeted AI company, that makes humanoid robots for automation in business warehouses. This one isnt a direct competitor of Meta, as Meta intends to sell directly to customers.Discussions with robotics companies like Unitree Robotics and Figure AI Inc. are already taking rounds. Itll be interesting to see how Meta and Tesla accommodate themselves in this space now as Teslas Optimus robot is already steps ahead in terms of development.Musk has even gone on to say that the population of humanoid robots will surpass that of humans by 2040 seems like a far-fetched fantasy to me!According to insiders, Meta has formed a new team within its Reality Labs hardware division to lead this effort. The team shall be under the leadership of Marc Whitten, who recently resigned from the position of chief executive officer of General Motors Co., where he led the companys Cruise self-driving car division.Whitten will reportedly hire around 100 engineers for this project and will report to Andrew Bosworth, Metas Chief Technology officer.The core technologies weve already invested in and built across Reality Labs and AI are complementary to developing the advancements needed for robotics. Andrew Bosworth, Meta CTOIn a way, these humanoids are an evolved version of the AI autonomous vehicles with one major difference being theyll roam inside a persons house instead of on the roads. Meta Executives pointed out that humanoids are more challenging in this aspect as roads are fairly standardized but the layout of the home differs from person to person.In addition to this, Meta will also work to develop tools that address possible dangers like someones hand getting caught in the humanoid or power struggles in the device that could lead to mid-operation shutdown.While humanoids will surely be one of the major focuses for Meta in the upcoming years, were still a couple of years away from humanoids becoming available worldwide.Add Techreport to Your Google News Feed Get the latest updates, trends, and insights delivered straight to your fingertips. Subscribe now! Subscribe now Alpa is a tech writer and editor with a wealth of experience in alternative finance, fintech, cryptocurrency, app security software, and the medical industry. Shes passionate about breaking down complex topics and sharing informative content that provides value. View all articles by Alpa Somaiya Our editorial processThe Tech Reporteditorial policyis centered on providing helpful, accurate content that offers real value to our readers. We only work with experienced writers who have specific knowledge in the topics they cover, including latest developments in technology, online privacy, cryptocurrencies, software, and more. Our editorial policy ensures that each topic is researched and curated by our in-house editors. We maintain rigorous journalistic standards, and every article is 100% written byreal authors.

Facepalm: In the ever-evolving landscape of workplace technology, a new player has entered the scene: AI-powered notetaking tools. Tech giants like Microsoft and Google, along with numerous startups, have been rolling out these digital assistants that listen in on meetings, transcribe conversations, and summarize key points much to the chagrin of many. While touted as a leap forward in efficiency, these AI notetakers are raising eyebrows and sparking debates about etiquette, privacy, and the very nature of workplace communication.There are also legitimate concerns. Gokul Rajaram, co-founder of Marathon Management Partners in San Francisco, told Bloomberg that AI notetakers are now present in 80 percent of his meetings, sometimes with multiple bots simultaneously transcribing and summarizing."For people who have not attended the meeting, it's a great way to understand what went on," he said. "Even for those who are in the meeting, it now saves you from taking notes."But Rajaram worries about potential AI hallucinations instances where the AI might generate inaccurate quotes or extrapolate beyond what was actually said. Moreover, he points out a crucial consideration: 'It's not just taking notes. It's recording your voice."This observation strikes at the heart of the ethical dilemma posed by AI notetakers. The technology blurs the line between note-taking and recording, raising questions about consent and data privacy. Margaret Mitchell, chief ethics scientist at AI company Hugging Face, emphasizes this point: "Some of the etiquette around recording applies."She advises that anyone using an AI notetaker should inform other meeting participants and allow them to opt out if desired.Mitchell also highlights the broader implications of this technology: "As we seek to have more automation in traditionally human tasks, we cede our control, power and privacy to AI systems and the companies that own them," she explains. // Related StoriesAdditionally, she points out a critical limitation of AI notetakers their inability to interpret non-verbal cues, such as sarcasm or jokes. Unlike human note-takers, these AI systems lack the nuanced understanding of human interaction, which could lead to a minefield of misinterpretations and misunderstandings.Moreover, most AI notetakers focus primarily on audio input, meaning they cannot detect visual cues such as facial expressions, gestures, or body posture. They also struggle with accents, colloquialisms, and other speech nuances that humans easily interpret. However, this may change as advanced systems begin to provide sentiment analysis based on speech patterns and word choice.AI note-taking is still new enough that it hasn't been widely accepted in business circles. Andrew Brodsky, assistant professor of management at the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business, notes that the introduction of AI notetakers to meetings can be perceived differently by colleagues. Some might view it as a tool for better focus and record-keeping, while others could interpret it as laziness or an inability to remember important details.For the companies developing these AI tools, there are many benefits beyond market share and revenue. They capitalize on our tendency to quickly adopt and become reliant on new technologies. Moreover, these tools provide a valuable source of training data for AI systems, which is becoming increasingly scarce due to legal challenges and content restrictions.Finally, there's a risk that AI notetakers could undermine the human elements of meetings the small talk and spontaneous interactions that often spark creativity and build relationships. Additionally, if employees become overly cautious about their words being recorded and analyzed by AI, it could stifle open communication and idea generation functions that note-taking is supposed to facilitate.

Why it matters: We're living in an increasingly noisy world, and many people are turning to noise-canceling headphones to escape the cacophony. However, some audiologists are raising concerns that frequently blocking out ambient sounds could negatively impact the brain's ability to process audio effectively. The issue revolves around a condition called auditory processing disorder (APD), in which the brain struggles to interpret sounds and speech, even when a person's hearing is technically normal. Those with APD often have difficulty determining the direction of sounds or focusing on specific voices in noisy environments.APD is typically linked to brain injuries, ear infections, and neurodiversity. However, audiologists in England who spoke to the BBC report an increasing number of cases in young people that appear unrelated to these common risk factors. Their theory is that excessive use of noise-canceling headphones may be delaying proper auditory development.One such case is 25-year-old Sophie, an administrative assistant who was diagnosed with APD last year after struggling to comprehend speech. Her audiologist believes that her habit of using noise-canceling headphones for up to five hours a day may have been a contributing factor. Without subtitles, she found that speeches and lectures often turned into "gibberish."Claire Benton, VP of the British Academy of Audiology, told the publication that isolating yourself in a noise-free environment during crucial years of brain development may hinder the maturation of complex listening abilities. In short, if all you hear is your music or podcasts, your brain might start forgetting how to tune out unimportant background noises."More complex, high-level listening skills in your brain only really finish developing towards your late teens," she suggested. // Related StoriesAccording to the BBC, several NHS audiology departments have reported an increase in young people referred for hearing issues, only to find that their ears are functioning normally. The real problem? Their brains are struggling to process noise effectively.Unfortunately, APD assessment and treatment resources are extremely limited within England's public healthcare system. Currently, only one NHS provider offers full diagnostic workups, with a waiting list of nine months. Part of the bottleneck stems from the fact that evaluating APD is incredibly time-intensive, sometimes requiring over two hours of testing, plus additional cognitive assessments.Should you ditch your AirPods Max? Probably not. Noise cancellation still plays a vital role in preventing noise-induced hearing loss from prolonged exposure to loud volumes. The report specifically highlights the risks of excessive noise cancellation use among young people, particularly teenagers, whose high-level listening skills are still developing.For them, audiologists emphasize balance as allowing their ears to regularly experience natural, unmuffled environments is essential to maintaining effective sound-filtering abilities.

Table of ContentsTable of Contents25. Rome (2005-2007)24. Carnivle (2003-2005)23. Big Little Lies (2017-Present)22. Mare of Easttown (2021)21. Silicon Valley (2014-2019)20. Tales from the Crypt (1989-1996)19. True Detective (2014-Present)18. Oz (1997-2003)17. Westworld (2016-2022)16. The Leftovers (2014-2017)15. Chernobyl (2019)14. Sex and the City (1998-2004)13. Six Feet Under (2001-2005)12. Veep (2012-2019)11. The Last of Us (2023-Present)10. Watchmen (2019)9. Succession (2018-2023)8. The Larry Sanders Show (1992-1998)7. Boardwalk Empire (2010-2014)6. Band of Brothers (2001)5. Deadwood (2004-2006)4. Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-2024)3. The Wire (2002-2008)2. Game of Thrones (2011-2019)1. The Sopranos (1999-2007)Long before Max came along and diluted the quality of what it meant to be an HBO original series, this premium cable network set the gold standard for television shows. Its not TV, its HBO was both a tagline and a mark of quality. Its not an exaggeration to say that HBO has had some of the greatest TV shows ever made, many of which helped transform the medium as we know it.To celebrate over four decades of HBO originals, were taking an extended look at the 25 best HBO shows ever while counting down to No. 1 on the list. But longtime HBO subscribers should have a pretty good idea about which series got the top spot.Recommended VideosHBORome was a historical drama that felt like a precursor for HBOs Game of Thrones. The series was set late in the life of Julius Caesar (Ciarn Hinds), and the show primarily followed two of the soldiers under his command: Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson).RelatedVorenus and Pullo dont always like each other, but theyre bound by the bonds of brotherhood through their shared experiences. The series unfolds from their perspective as they witness the beginning and ending of Caesars reign, and the civil war that follows. Despite its relatively short two-season run, Rome still has a satisfying ending.Watch Rome on Max.HBOHBO didnt venture into much fantasy or horror during the early part of the 21st century, but Carnivle was an exception. The series was set in 1934 during the Great Depression, as a young man with healing powers named Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl) joined a traveling carnival of freaks and oddities. Meanwhile, a Methodist preacher, Brother Justin Crowe (Clancy Brown), was haunted by dark visions.While the individuals in the carnival were interesting characters, the show was ultimately about the struggle between Ben and Brother Justin, both of whom were avatars for greater powers of light and darkness, respectively. Brother Justin was incredibly compelling as a man who desperately didnt want to become the storys villain. And yet a showdown between Ben and Justin was inevitable, even though it took the show a full two seasons to get there.Carnivleended prematurely just as the overall story was beginning to take shape. Yet for the two seasons it ran, it was among the best shows on TV.Watch Carnivle on Max.HBOLike several other HBO originals, Big Little Lies is loaded with a cast that could put most movies to shame. That powerhouse lineup includes Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Zo Kravitz, Laura Dern, Adam Scott, and Alexander Skarsgrd.There is a murder at the heart of this series, but Big Little Lies makes the audience wait before revealing both the victim and the killer. But nobody has a bigger motive than Celeste Wright (Kidman), a woman who is viciously abused by her husband, Perry (Skarsgrd). Thats something that Celeste tries to hide from her friends, and its not the only secret lurking beneath the surface of this town.Watch Big Little Lies on Max.HBOKate Winslet gives a commanding and Emmy-winning performance in Mare of Easttown as Detective Sergeant Marianne Mare Sheehan. And when the miniseries starts, Mares life is in shambles. Her marriage is over, her son has committed suicide, and even Mare is questioning her skills as a detective after being unable to solve a missing persons case for over a year.The murder of a teenage mother, Erin McMenamin (Cailee Spaeny), gives Mare a renewed urgency to solve the crime. It also gives her a new partner, Detective Colin Zabel (Evan Peters). Regardless of her past mistakes, Mare still has a chance to finish this case.Watch Mare of Easttown on Max.HBOOffice Spaces Mike Judge took on tech startup companies in his HBO comedy series, Silicon Valley, and its become a modern classic comedy. Thomas Middleditch stars as Richard Hendricks, a programmer who launches his own company, Pied Piper, with Bertram Gilfoyle (Martin Starr), Dinesh Chugtai (Kumail Nanjiani), and others in a bid to get independence.The lesson that Richard learns the hard way is that even his small company needs a continuous flow of money. Thats why Richard has to go to Erlich Bachman (T.J. Miller) for funding, a decision that the former comes to regret. Theres more than one way to the top in Silicon Valley, but Richard and his friends are almost always on the verge of losing everything theyve worked for.Watch Silicon Valley on Max.Tales from the Crypt HoldingsIn the early 1990s, the Cryptkeeper ruled on HBO, and Tales from the Crypt was the networks most prominent original series. The show was based on an EC Comics horror title from the 50s, and each episode of this anthology series was introduced by the Cryptkeeper, as voiced by John Kassir.Tales from the Crypt was like The Twilight Zone without the morality tales, and it frequently attracted big-name guest stars including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brad Pitt, Dan Aykroyd, John Lithgow, Michael J. Fox, Tom Hanks, and more. This show hasnt been on HBO for a long time, but its legacy deserves to be remembered.Tales from the Crypt is not available to stream.HBOThe first season of True Detectivewas so masterfully executed that it could have landed on this list by itself. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson gave powerhouse performances as Detectives Rustin Rust Cohle and Martin Marty Hart, respectively. Nic Pizzolattos thrilling story skirted on the edge of an occult mystery, while director Cary Joji Fukunaga gave the show cinematic visuals.Then Pizzolatto had to start again from scratch in season 2 without his stars or Fukunaga, and it just wasnt the same show. True Detective has rebounded a bit with seasons 3 and 4, both of which featured all-new casts and storylines. Its still worthy of a place on this list; its just not going to get much higher.Watch True Detective on Max.HBOIf you were expecting Dorothy and the Yellow Brick Road, youve come to the wrong Oz. This version of Oz is no fantasy, and it was HBOs breakout drama before The Sopranos. This series probably didnt cross over to become a larger mainstream hit because of its ruthlessness within the prison.The only connection between the fantasy land of Oz and Oswald State Correctional Facility is the Emerald City wing, which is an ongoing experiment run by Warden Leo Glynn (Ernie Hudson) thats meant to rehabilitate its prisoners. Its not a spoiler to say that the Warden will be disappointed. But with a supporting cast that includes Harold Perrineau, J. K. Simmons, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Oz has secured its place on this list. Its just not for the faint of heart.Watch Oz on Max.HBO / HBOFallouts Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy completely reinvented Michael Crichtons Westworld for HBO, and the results were so promising in season 1 that it seemed like this series would be the next Game of Thrones. In the near future, Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins) created android hosts who were so convincingly human that its almost impossible to tell that theyre machines.Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood) and Maeve Millay (Thandiwe Newton) dont initially realize that theyre hosts, but their rival rebellions against the humans send Westworld and its affiliated parks into chaos. Meanwhile, the Man in Black (Ed Harris) searches Westworld for clues to solve a larger puzzle. Viewership started to fall off after the answers were revealed in season 1, and the series ended short of an actual conclusion in season 4.It has to be said that Westworlds removal from Max for tax purposes is shameful. And now, Westworld isnt even available to stream on any FAST services. For a show that ranks among HBOs best, thats an unforgivable corporate sin by Warner Bros. Discovery.Rent or buy Westworld on Prime Video.HBODamon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta were upfront about their intent to never definitively answer why 2% of the worlds population simply vanished in The Leftovers. They kept their word, and the show wasnt really about those who had left. Instead, it was about the broken people they left behind, none more so than Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux) and Nora Durst (Carrie Coon).Everyones sanity was affected by the Sudden Departure, but Kevin saw visions of the dead, and he apparently survived dying on more than one occasion while going on a metaphysical journey through the afterlife to understand what he really wanted. Nora lost her family to the departure, and her self-destructive tendencies almost cost her the bond she made with Kevin as well. One of the most satisfying things about this show is the way that these two broken people complete each other. Who needs answers when you have that human connection?Watch The Leftovers on Max.HBOChernobyl is a dramatization of the 1986 nuclear power plant accident in Ukraine, which doubles as a horror story. The miniseries depicts the stories of the people who were the first responders on the scene as they tried to mitigate the effects of the accident, as well as those who had the thankless task of trying to clean up after the accident.Theres heroism and heartbreak in these tales. And some of the physical effects that the radiation leaves behind are truly difficult to look at. Theres no happy ending to be found in this series, but its one of the most haunting stories that HBO has ever produced.Watch Chernobyl on Max.HBOAt the turn of the century, Sex and the City was one of the most prominent HBO original series. Sarah Jessica Parker stars as sex columnist Carrie Bradshaw, a woman in her 30s who is still close friends with Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte York (Kristin Davis), and Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon).The women confide just about everything with each other, and the series was so popular that a heavily edited version actually began airing in syndication. But theres only one true version of Sex and the City. And even the follow-up series, And Just Like That, hasnt been able to recapture the cultural moment that was embodied in this show.Watch Sex and the City on Max.HBOHow we react to death is just as important as how we react to life. And for the Fisher family in Six Feet Under, death is a way of life. Alan Balls first HBO series follows the family-run funeral parlor after Nate (Peter Krause) and David Krause (Michael C. Hall) take over for their late father. Their younger sister, Claire (Lauren Ambrose), and their mother, Ruth Fisher (Frances Conroy), also remain deeply involved in their lives.Death comes for everyone, and each episode opens with the demise of someone who will pass through the funeral parlor and affect the Fishers in some way. Its not as morbid as it sounds, as the family sometimes manages to work through their issues with each other and their business. But its their constant struggle that makes this show so interesting.Watch Six Feet Under on Max.HBOThere was no Seinfeld curse for Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who won six Emmy Awards for Best Actress in a Comedy for Veep, to go along with the two Emmys she previously won for Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine. The series cast Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer, the Vice President and later, the President of the United States. Shes also largely inept at her job.Veep had a fantastic supporting cast, including Anna Chlumsky, Tony Hale, Reid Scott, Timothy Simons, Matt Walsh, Sufe Bradshaw, Kevin Dunn, and Gary Cole. As great as Louis-Dreyfus was in the role, her fellow cast members helped solidify Veep as one of HBOs best comedies.Watch Veep on Max.HBO / HBOHollywoods video game adaptations havent always been very good. But The Last of Usis on another level, thanks in large part to its fidelity to the games story and characters, as well as a strong creative team led by Chernobyls Craig Mazin and Last of Us co-creator Neil Druckmann.The Mandalorians Pedro Pascal plays Joel Miller, the man hired to smuggle a 14-year-old girl named Ellie (Bella Ramsey) out of a quarantine zone and bring her across the country because she may be the only person alive who is immune to the Cordyceps infection that has ravaged the world. This post-apocalypse makes The Walking Deadlook like a cakewalk, and the character development on this show is second to none. This is HBOs next great genre franchise, assuming the second season can live up to the first.Watch The Last of Us on Max.HBOWatchmens greatest contribution to our culture might be the fact that it brought the 1921 Black Wall Street massacre in Tulsa to the public forefront after it had been largely overlooked or buried for decades. Damon Lindelof and his team treated that event as if it were the destruction of Krypton for Will Reeves (Jovan Adepo), a man who ushers in the era of costumed heroes.The original Watchmen comic by Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons is considered one of the greatest superhero stories ever told. This series not only lived up to the original, but it surpassed the hype with an engaging story set in an alternate present. Regina King led the cast as Angela Abar, a woman who discovers that her link to Will has greater implications for the past, present, and future than shes ready for. Angela is also hiding a pretty big secret about one of the main characters from the comicWatch Watchmen on Max.HBOWere not privy to the inner workings of the Murdoch family that controls Fox, but we wouldnt be too shocked if they were like the Roy family from Succession. Series creator definitely seems to have had Rupert Murdoch in mind when he created Logan Roy (Brian Cox), an aging billionaire who needs to decide which of his children will take over his entertainment empire, Waystar RoyCo.Connor (Alan Ruck), Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook) would do almost anything to each other to ensure that they inherit their fathers throne. Their actions are darkly funny at times, but the stakes are high enough that the show never loses sight of the drama as well.Watch Succession on Max.HBOThe late Garry Shandling was once a regular guest and guest host on The Tonight Show. But rather than making a permanent move to late night, Shandling came to HBO to star in his own sitcom about a late-night talk show host. Thats the origin story of The Larry Sanders Show, which just missed HBOs golden age of original programming by a year.Shandling co-created the series and starred as Larry Sanders. The show had a ridiculously talented supporting cast including Rip Torn, Jeffrey Tambor, Janeane Garofalo, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Bob Odenkirk, and more as Larrys staff. Many celebrities also appeared as themselves, both as guests on his show and in Larrys life behind the scenes.Watch The Larry Sanders Show on Max.HBOThe Sopranos veteran Terence Winter found a second act with his Prohibition-era drama, Boardwalk Empire. Winter even convinced director Martin Scorsese to helm the pilot episode and executive produce the series with him. Steve Buscemi took the lead as Enoch Nucky Thompson, the treasurer of Atlantic County whose criminal connections made him a very rich man.Boardwalk Empire featured an assortment of actual people from that time period, including Al Capone (Stephen Graham). But some of the most compelling characters on the series were the original characters, including Nelson Van Alden (Michael Shannon), a Prohibition agent whose fall from grace was so swift that he found himself working for Capone.Watch Boardwalk Empire on Max.HBOFollowing their collaboration on Saving Private Ryan, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg co-created Band of Brothers, based on Stephen E. Ambroses novel of the same name. The story of the miniseries is taken from the real-life accounts of Easy Company, a regiment who were chosen for the book and the miniseries because they saw action at some of the biggest moments in the war, including the invasions of Normandy and Germany, as well as the liberation of concentration camps.The series also took the time to flesh out the personalities of the soldiers going to war, which only added to the impact when many of them perished in battle. Its an unforgettable World War II story that still ranks among the greatest HBO projects ever made.Watch Band of Brothers on Max.HBOThe Old West has rarely felt more alive than it was on Deadwood, a series that blurred the lines between history and fiction. John Wicks Ian McShane swore up a storm as Al Swearengen, a man whose profanity-laden spiels were almost Shakespearean in scope. Al owned The Gem Saloon and acted as one of the real powers holding Deadwood together. Naturally, he butted heads with Sheriff Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) over a variety of issues.Perhaps the most amazing part of Deadwood is how much of an impact it had with only a three-season run. The show ended very prematurely, which left fans without proper closure. Fortunately, HBO and series creator David Milch eventually rectified that mistake with Deadwood: The Movie by givingthe show a definitive ending.Watch Deadwood on Max.HBOIf youve ever heard of a Larry David moment, it came from Curb Your Enthusiasm. Davids follow-up to Seinfeld put him in the lead, playing a slightly fictional version of Larry David, who absolutely excelled at placing himself in awkward situations. Larry also had a knack for alienating some of his closest friends, including Ted Danson and Richard Lewis, both of whom played themselves.For the first few seasons, Larry was married to Cheryl (Cheryl Hines), but even her tolerance for Larrys self-centered nature had its limits. The only ones who could stand to be around Larry for any length of time were his friends, Jeff Green (Jeff Garlin), and Leon (J. B. Smoove), a roommate who just never left. Through 12 seasons, Larry found new and inventive ways of angering the people around him. And were really going to miss him now that the show is over.Watch Curb Your Enthusiasm on Max.HBOTelevision is littered with crime dramas, but The Wirestill stands out as one of the best shows ever made. David Simons seminal series examined both sides of the law and ensured that the series didnt fall into cop show clichs. The police werent always the heroes, and sometimes the criminals were able to escape justice and outmaneuver the law.One of the shows most memorable characters was Stringer Bell, a role that helped make Idris Elba a breakout star. Bell was a drug kingpin whose ambitions went far beyond simple crimes. Bell wanted to transition towards more legitimate business enterprises, but he couldnt escape the pull of the drug trade or partners who didnt share his vision. He was just as amoral as the other criminals, but it was hard not to root for Bell to succeed. Its a rare show that can pull off that feat.Watch The Wire on Max.HBOThere are still Game of Thrones fans who are furious about the way that the show wrapped up its storylines in its abbreviated final seasons. And it certainly didnt deliver the happy ending that many viewers wanted to see. Regardless of anyones feelings about the shows conclusion, theres no denying that this series was incredibly impactful for both HBO and the greater TV landscape. No other fantasy series has even come close to matching the gravitas of this adaptation of George R. R. Martins novels. Even the majority of fantasy movies fall short of Game of Thrones when the series was at its best.The show followed the Stark family, including Sansa (Sophie Turner), Arya (Maisie Williams), Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) during a tumultuous period in the seven kingdoms of Westeros, which were ruled by House Lannister, including King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) and his successors. Half a world away, the daughter of a previous king, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), slowly rose to power as one of the few who could make a legitimate claim on the Iron Throne. And Daenerys had dragons.Game of Thrones characters were just as interesting and compelling as those of any great drama. This show set the bar so high that even its follow-up prequel series, House of the Dragon, hasnt yet been able to come close to its mark.Watch Game of Thrones on Max.HBOWhen it comes to the No. 1 HBO show of all time, theres really only one choice: The Sopranos. There were HBO original dramas before The Sopranos premiered in 1999, but this series rewrote the entire television landscape, elevated HBO to another level, and paved the way for the age of the antihero. Shows like The Shield, Breaking Bad, and Better Call Saulwouldnt have existed without The Sopranos.David Chase created an all-time great character in Tony Soprano, who was unforgettably portrayed by the late James Gandolfini. Tony was a mobster spread so thin by his responsibilities to his crime family and his actual family that it led to panic attacks in the first episode, forcing him to go into therapy with Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco). That pilot episode set the tone for the rest of the series, which became a rich blend of drama, comedy, and tragedy.Tony wasnt the only fleshed-out character on the series, which also focused on his wife, Carmela (Edie Falco), and their children Anthony Jr. (Robert Iler) and Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler), as well as Tonys other family, including Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli), Silvio Dante (Steven Van Zandt), Paulie Gualtieri (Tony Sirico), and more. Through six seasons, Tony tried his best to serve both of his families. He also left a lot of death and destroyed lives in his wake. The ambiguous ending of the show is still polarizing among fans of the series, but only The Sopranos could pull off that move and remain on top of everything that came before and after it.Watch The Sopranos on Max.Editors Recommendations

Table of ContentsTable of ContentsChoose the best picture modeBrightness and black levelsContrastTint and saturationImage modes are a nuisanceAnd what about sound?So youve grabbed yourself a brand new TV (be it a sweet OLED, QLED or the best-of-both QD-OLED)in preparation for March Madness, but you want to make sure its all set and ready for some hot hoops action.Whether youre screaming at the top of your lungs for Duke, UNC, Kansas, Kentucky, UConn, South Carolina, or any of the dozens of other schools battling it out on the hardwood mens or womens NCAA basketball is one of the most watched sporting events in the world (and the 2024 womens championship game was the most-watched womens college basketball game ever!).Recommended VideosIf youre watching the madness unfold on your TV, it probably isnt optimized for sports if most of your watching is of the movie or TV show variety. But dont sweat it, a few quick tweaks can transform your viewing experience, making every buzzer-beater look its best. To that end, we have a few must-have tweaks to get you there.RelatedChoose the best picture modeLG / LGMost TVs have presets you can choose out of the box, with names like Vivid, Cinema, Movie, and, of course, Sports. Our first note of advice is to avoid the Sports mode, which we find puts too much emphasis on increasing brightness, contrast, and color saturation, often resulting in a blown-out image especially those brilliant school colors! Vivid and Dynamic modes are just as guilty.Instead, we suggest using your TVs Cinema, Movie, or Natural picture modes as they tend to offer the most natural-looking picture that will be great for your NCAA action. If your TV has a Filmmaker mode, give that a whirl, too.You want to be able to see everything, even when the picture is ultra bright or dark and shadowy. To set your TV up to deliver the best of both ends of the spectrum, we recommend using a scene from a movie or show that is really dark, like a scene from a Batman movie or a horror film, and hit pause.Now, access your TVs brightness settings and increase it until you can see everything lurking in the shadows expose that Caped Crusader or serial killer hiding in the closet. Then, slowly bring the brightness back down until the blacks are rich dark, while maintaining those subtle details. The moment they start to disappear, stop. Youve nailed it. Its a balance, and you may have your own preferences, but thatd what this is all about dialling it in for you.Also known as white levels, contrast is what controls the difference between the darks and brights. And similar to what you did with the brightness, scan your favorite movies and shows, and find a scene with lots of white the bright arena lights, a players white jersey, even the refs crisp white shirt and pause it.Lower the contrast until you can see the details clearly the glare off the court, the texture of the jerseys, the wrinkles on the refs face. Then, increase it as high as you can without losing those details. If they disappear, back it off a bit and thats your sweet spot.Most TVs have a pretty good balance of tint and color saturation, so first have a look at yours and you might just find that theyre OK as they are for watching basketball. In our experience, though, its well worth playing around a little, and hey, if you get too deep and you dont like it, just reset it to the default no travelling, no foul.If you are going to play around, find a close-up of a players face, pause it, and adjust the tint until the skin tones look natural. Whether its a mens or womens game, the principle is the same. Do the same with saturation youre looking for natural-looking skin tones.Finally, ditch those extra image modes. Motion smoothing, noise reduction, image enhancement they all sound good, but theyre usually terrible. Blurry details, weird artifacts, the dreaded soap opera effect (aka motion smoothing) theyll ruin your picture. Just turn them all off.Zeke Jones / Digital TrendsLets be honest, your TV speakers arent exactly courtside seats and you should probably just not use them unless you have to. A soundbar is a fantastic upgrade, and if you already have a proper audio setup with an AV receiver and a great pair of speakers, we suggest play around with the presets.For example, maybe the sports mode on your receiver is actually good for sports, and most modern AV receivers have a long list of additional presets like Movie, Concert, and more that might surprise you. What youre looking for in the end is clarity: you dont just want to hear the roar of the crowd drowning out the commentators or the players on the court. But the only way to dial this in to what you prefer is trial and error. The next time you put a game on (and it doesnt specifically have to be basketball any sport with a crowd will do), flip through the audio modes and find what works. Maybe throw on a rerun of last years thrilling NCAA womens final to really put your setup to the test with a loud crowd.Editors Recommendations

Herms employees will receive a 4,500 euro bonus in response to the company's 2024 financial performance.Bonuses have steadily increased at Herms despite a luxury market slump.Herms earned over $15 billion in revenue last year.Herms employees are cashing in on the company's success.On Friday, Herms presented its 2024 financial report that showed better-than-expected sales. (Business Insider converted the euros to dollars based on currency rates as of Friday.)The French luxury group said that sales reached 4 billion euros ($4.1 billion) during the fourth quarter, an 18% increase at constant and current exchange rates. Additionally, Herms earned 15.2 billion euros ($15.9 billion) in revenue last year.In response, Herms employees are getting a 4,500 euro ($4,723) bonus. There are more than 25,000 staffers currently at Herms."True to its commitment as a responsible employer and its willingness to share the fruits of growth with all those who contribute to it daily, Herms will be giving out a bonus of 4,500 to all its employees worldwide at the beginning of the year in respect of 2024," the report said.Herms has made a habit of gifting year-end bonuses to its employees, but the amount has steadily increased over the last five years. The company offered a 1,250 euro ($1,312) bonus following its 2020 financial results, then handed out a 3,000 euro ($3,148) bonus the following year.The bonus was bumped to 4,000 euros ($4,198) following the company's 2022 and 2023 financial results."In 2024, in a more uncertain economic and geopolitical context, the solid performance of the results attests to the strength of the Herms model and the agility of the house's teams, whom I thank warmly," Axel Dumas, executive chairman of Herms, said in a statement on Friday.The company's financial results are a bright stop in the luxury industry, where some companies struggled to navigate a market slump in 2024. Share prices for LVMH, Burberry, and Kering all dropped last year.Would-be luxury shoppers in China cut back on spending amid an economic crisis, while inflation prompted many Americans to avoid pricey luxury goods. In Europe, uncertainty surrounding politics led shoppers to hesitate."50 million luxury consumers have either opted out of the luxury goods market or been forced out of it in the last two years," Claudia D'Arpizio of consulting firm Bain & Company said in a November report.Representatives for Herms did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider that was made outside regular business hours.