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Name of the game: Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II Price: 45.49$ Link Store:Press here Offer ends up after X hours: Offer ends 25 April Requirements: MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows® 10 64 Bit (latest update) Processor: Intel® Core™ i3-6100 / Core™ i5-2500K or AMD Ryzen™ 3 1200 Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 960 or AMD Radeon™ RX 470 - DirectX 12.0 compatible system DirectX: Version 12 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 125 GB available space RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows® 10 64 Bit (latest update) or Windows® 11 64 Bit (latest update) Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-6600K / Core™ i7-4770 or AMD Ryzen™ 5 1400 Memory: 12 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon™ RX 580 - DirectX 12.0 compatible system DirectX: Version 12 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 125 GB available space

Some Microsoft Outlook users will soon be able to utilize the platform not just to read their messages, but also to capture and upload video. The email client has announced it is working on a new feature that will allow users of the Outlook Mobile app to capture a video from their smartphone, before "seamlessly" uploading it to their email. The launch will see Microsoft looking to remove a time-consuming and frustrating step when users attempt to attach or include video footage in an Outlook email by hopefully making the process a lot smoother. The company says that the function will utilize Microsoft's enterprise-focused cloud storage system OneDrive for Business, with its larger capacity and increased capabilities allowing for all kinds of video to be uploaded. Uploading the video will leverage OneDrive for Business, allowing users to benefit from increased storage space and large limits for video size and length," the entry(opens in new tab) in the official Microsoft 365 roadmap reads. The service will only be available to Android users to begin with, but if it proves a success, we expect it to expand to iOS users as well. The update is currently listed as "in development", but Microsoft says a preview should be available this month, with a full rollout set to follow soon after. The launch is the latest boost to Microsoft Outlook in recent months as the company looks to stay relevant and useful for its users. Recently, it introduced reactions to Outlook, allowing users to “thumbs up, laugh, heart, celebrate, or shed a tear in reaction to emails”, giving them the chance to add a little more personality to their messages. The company's video conferencing service Microsoft Teams is also working on a feature that will bring Teams chat into Outlook, allowing participants to send a quick message, or review a chat, without having to open up Microsoft Teams separately, meaning users won't need to switch between the applications. [ https://www.techradar.com/news/Microsoft-Outlook-is-finally-solving-one-of-its-biggest-email-headaches]

With Nvidia's RTX 4070 expected to launch any day now, the leaks are coming thick and fast. We've already had Nvidia listing the unannounced graphics card in its own marketing materials(opens in new tab). Now comes what appears to be a full suite of leaked benchmarks showing the RTX 4070 matching the old RTX 3080 for overall performance. The benchmark slides posted by Videocardz(opens in new tab) are formatted in the usual Nvidia style and seem to be marketing materials or part of a review guide for journalists. Either way, they show the upcoming GPU matching the old RTX 3080(opens in new tab) at 1440p with DLSS and ray tracing enabled. So that's the same performance at $100 lower MSRP. Oh yeah, the slides also confirm the rumoured $599 pricing for the RTX 4070. Compared to the 3070 Ti(opens in new tab), the slides show a 20% improvement, while the boost over the RTX 3070(opens in new tab) is 30%. The 'leaked' performance numbers also indicate much bigger improvements with frame generation switched on, which is a given since the old RTX 30-series GPUs don't support that feature A second slide has a game-by-game break down comparing the new RTX 4070 with the RTX 3070 Ti and RTX 2070 Super. Most of the results show huge gains courtesy of frame generation, but a more limited tranche of games is also included showing smaller gains in games that don't support the feature. If you're wondering, in this leak at least there are no pure raster results without DLSS and ray tracing enabled. Given that all RTX 40-series GPUs have enhancements for ray-tracing performance versus older RTX 30 boards, you might expect the performance boost for plain old raster games to be a bit smaller. In other words, if these benchmarks are genuine they imply a generational gain over the RTX 3070 for pure raster performance of less than 30%. YOUR NEXT UPGRADE Overall, these numbers look plausible and are likely to be the real deal and also match up with another leak from a week ago or so(opens in new tab). If so, the RTX 4070 will offer only a small improvement in performance per dollar unless you consider frame rates with frame generation enabled. While it is a very useful feature, however, that is a stretch. Frame generation doesn't help where you need it most—at times when you simply can't achieve a playable frame rate because it adds latency just when you don't want it. What it's great for is making gameplay smoother where your frame rates are playable but not quite as smooth as you'd like. Anyway, by all accounts we'll know soon enough exactly how the RTX 4070 stacks up. Watch this space. [https://www.pcgamer.com/nvidias-rtx-4070-matches-rtx-3080-in-leaked-benchmarks/]

A 17-year-old girl has spoken about her love of delivering lambs in a bid to inspire more youngsters to take up farming. Libby Lawrence has been helping a local farmer near Earls Colne, Essex, during the lambing season for the past three years. She is currently on a gap year ahead of enrolling on a veterinary nurse course. "I couldn't be sat all day in front of a desk or at school - I love it, it's the best thing ever," she said. I like just being with animals - I'm not a huge people person and I'd quite happily spend all day by myself either with my horses or sheep. I love being up here - it's calm. "I've surrounded myself with a good group of mates - I go to Young Farmers, so everyone's got the same interests. Libby said she got an immense amount of satisfaction from working with the 500-strong flock, and while the job was not for the "faint-hearted", she would recommend it. She said although it could be physically demanding, it was fulfilling to deliver healthy lambs and assist them with feeding from their mother straight away. "You see them all out in the field - that's the nicest feeling. When you're all done, they're out in the field and they're all growing," she said. Her mother Hannah Lawrence, 48, who works in marketing, said while her daughter's love of farming had been unexpected, she was impressed by how she had taken on such a responsible role. "She's very dedicated - she's loved to learn... up at the farm and I think it's really important to get youngsters in farming," said Ms Lawrence. "It's a business that needs a boost from kids coming through to take over and not just leaving [it to] the older generation. "She's working hard, 12-hour days - she doesn't always do the night-time shifts but she's in all day, every day - keeping an eye on her flock and making sure everyone is safe." Ms Lawrence added Libby had been fortunate to live in an area surrounded by farms and had easily found work. Libby's boss, farmer Robert Prestney, 73, said his protege's reliability and enthusiasm made her a perfect fit on the farm. "I am proud - it's nice to see youngsters doing well and enjoying what they're doing because farming's mainly old people really, like me. "You do need younger ones coming in, with new ideas, and she has." For now, Libby's experience on the farm has cemented both her love of animals and her future ambitions. "I would love to have my own sheep, cows and pigs - a bit of a smallholding," she said. [https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-65190601]

The UK is set to be one of the worst performing major economies in the world this year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It says the UK economy's performance in 2023 will be the worst among the 20 biggest economies, known as the G20, which includes sanctions-hit Russia. The IMF predicts the UK economy will shrink this year, although this is a small upgrade from its last forecast. It also warned of a "rocky road" for the global financial system. It follows the collapse of two US banks last month, closely followed by a rushed takeover of Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse by its rival UBS, which sparked fears of another financial crisis. The IMF had already forecast that the UK would experience a downturn this year and be bottom of the pile of the G7 - a group of the world's seven largest so-called "advanced" economies, which dominate global trade and the international financial system. The UK topped the group in 2022 during the pandemic rebound. It now expects the UK economy to shrink by 0.3% in 2023 and then grow by 1% next year. Although the UK is forecast to have the worst economic performance this year, the IMF's latest prediction is slightly better than its previous expectation of a 0.6% contraction, made in January. IMF researchers have previously pointed to Britain's exposure to high gas prices, rising interest rates and a sluggish trade performance as reasons for its weak economic performance. Forecasts are made to give a guide to what is most likely to happen in the future, but they are not always right. For example, previous IMF forecasts picked up fewer than 10% of recessions a year ahead of time, according to an analysis it conducted of recessions around the world between 1992 and 2014. Responding to the latest IMF's predictions, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: "Our IMF growth forecasts have been upgraded by more than any other G7 country. "The IMF now say we are on the right track for economic growth. By sticking to the plan we will more than halve inflation this year, easing the pressure on everyone." But Rachel Reeves, Labour's shadow chancellor, said the estimates showed "just how far we continue to lag behind on the global stage". "This matters not just because 13 years of low growth under the Tories are weakening our economy, but because it's why families are worse off, facing a Tory mortgage penalty and seeing living standards falling at their fastest rate since records began," she added. Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney said the forecast was "another damning indictment of this Conservative government's record on the economy". A number of forecasters think the chances of a recession in the UK this year are declining. An economy is usually said to be in recession if it shrinks for two consecutive three-month periods. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility now expects the economy to contract by 0.2% this year but avoid a recession. Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey also said recently that he was "much more hopeful" for the economy, and it was no longer heading into an immediate recession. The new forecasts come against the backdrop of a world economy that continues to recover from both the pandemic and the Ukraine war energy shock. But the IMF said there were concerns about the wider impact of recent fragility in global banking markets. The IMF now expects global growth to fall from 3.4% in 2022 to 2.8% in 2023, before rising slowly and settling at 3% in five years' time. But it warned that if there is more stress in the financial sector, global growth could weaken further this year. Interest rates predicted to fall Separately, the IMF said it expects real interest rates - which take into account inflation - in major economies to fall to pre-pandemic levels because of low productivity and ageing po[CENSORED]tions. Central banks in the UK, the US, Europe and other nations have been increasing interest rates to combat the rate of price rises, otherwise known as inflation. In the UK, inflation is at its highest for nearly 40 years because of rising energy prices and soaring food costs. In response, the Bank of England has been raising interest rates, and last month increased them to 4.25%. However, in a blog the IMF said that "recent increases in real interest rates are likely to be temporary". [https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65240749]

The legally purchased AR-15-style rifle used in a deadly workplace shooting at a bank in Louisville will probably be auctioned to the public, officials say. At a news conference one day after five people were killed, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg called for a change in the way confiscated guns are handled. Four people - including a police officer - remain in hospital. The semi-automatic weapon had been purchased by the killer, a junior bank employee, on 4 April. Mayor Greenberg, who nearly died in a shooting at his campaign office last year, has previously criticised Kentucky's policy for guns seized by police. Under current state law, guns confiscated by local police - including those used in homicides - are returned to state police and then made available for purchase at auction. In February, the mayor ordered local police to temporarily disable seized weapons and affix warning labels before handing them over to state police for resale. The labels, which bear some resemblance to the health warnings on cigarette packages, say: "Deadly weapons like this one caused 146 homicides by gunshot wound in Louisville in 2022. Fourteen of those deaths were children." "Under current Kentucky law, the assault rifle that was used to murder five of our neighbours and shoot at rescuing police officers will one day be auctioned off," Mr Greenberg said at Tuesday's news conference. "Think about that. That murder weapon will be back on the streets." Meanwhile, police confirmed that bodycam footage captured by first responders who attended the scene at Old National Bank in downtown Louisville will be released later. A police officer who graduated into the force last month was struck in the head on Monday and remains in critical condition at Louisville hospital, officials said. He is identified as Louisville Metro officer Nickolas Wilt, 26. Three more survivors are still at the University of Louisville Hospital in fair but stable condition, the hospital said. The victims killed in the shooting have all been identified: Thomas Elliott, 63 James Tutt, 64 Joshua Barrick, 40 Julianna Farmer, 45 Deana Eckert, 57 Data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive shows there have been at least 147 mass shootings - defined as those in which at least four people were shot - so far in 2023, including at least 16 since the start of April. Mr Greenberg said 40 people in the city of about 628,000 have died from gun violence this year. Jason Smith, chief medical officer at University of Louisville Health, who has led care for those injured, became emotional as he told reporters: "When you hear someone screaming mommy or daddy, it just becomes too hard to come in day in and day out and do that. "Sooner or later it catches up to everybody." What we know about the Kentucky bank shooting victims How many US mass shootings have there been in 2023 Police say the 25-year-old suspect used an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle during the incident and was broadcasting the shooting online. He bought the gun from a local store, Louisville Metro Police Department interim chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel told Tuesday's news conference. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65234314]

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There is a very strong argument to be made for the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D being the best gaming CPU around right now. It's certainly the best gaming chip that AMD has ever made, but it's also capably outperforming Intel's top CPU when it comes to gaming frame rates, and is doing so for a lot less cash. Ryzen 9 7950X3D(opens in new tab) was the first of the new 3D V-Cache chips to hit our test bench, and it offers a mix of high-end gaming performance and a full 16-cores of Zen 4 processing. But its hybrid design, which offered one eight-core chiplet (or CCD) with the extra 64MB of L3 cache fused on top of it and another CCD without, demanded some extra hoops for the operating system to jump through, and also sacrificed some of a standard 16-core chip's raw multithreaded performance. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D, however, is as straightforward as AMD's 3D V-Cache gets. There's one eight-core chiplet with extra cache, and no messing around with provisioning or applications scratching their heads to figure out which of the big CPU's CCDs it ought to be using at any one time. So, does that make it a better dedicated gaming chip? Well, it's not necessarily faster—which highlights how well AMD actually delivered on the 7950X3D's hybrid design—but it makes far more sense as the CPU at the heart of your next gaming PC. Simply put, if you want the absolute highest gaming frame rates, and care not a jot for the CPU-intensive distractions of rendering or encoding, then AMD's latest chip is the processor for you. It wears its gaming predilections on its sleeve, and delivers performance that could make a Core i9 blush. No jack of all trades, but certainly a master of one, and that's gaming. It's seriously efficient, too, and that combination of gaming power and low electrical power makes this new 3D V-Cache processor a tantalising choice for your gaming rig. Now that AMD's AM5 platform has matured we're finding more affordable motherboard options every day, and DDR5 memory, and PCIe 4.0 SSDs seem to be constantly dropping in price as well. The value argument for Intel's Raptor Lake platform is starting to look ever thinner when you can build an impressively future-proof PC from AMD's affordable options. At $450 it's more expensive than the more versatile Core i5 13400F(opens in new tab), but until Intel can get a handle on its chips' power demands AMD's best gaming CPU is by far the most elegant. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D is no jack of all trades, but it is certainly a master of one, and that's gaming. The Zen 4 architecture(opens in new tab) inside the new 7800X3D is a known quantity by now. It's mostly a derivative spec of the old Zen 3 design, but here built on the TSMC 5nm process for the CCD and 6nm for the I/O die. The bigger news at launch was the addition of PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 support from the get-go, that and a new socket with a funky new heatsink design. There's a little more L2 cache in the Zen 4 CPU make-up, giving 1MB of L2 for each core, and some front end optimisations, which along with the higher clock speeds of the main range has delivered a welcome bump in Ryzen processor performance. Even if the core counts have remained the same. But the 7800X3D goes further in one way, while taking a step back in the other. This is a resolutely eight-core CPU in the same vein as the Ryzen 7 7700(opens in new tab) and Ryzen 7 7700X(opens in new tab), so this 16-thread design alone is not new for a Zen 4 chip. But the extra 64MB L3 cache mounted on top of the eight-core CCD is. The compromise is—as with the Ryzen 7 5800X3D(opens in new tab) which kicked this whole cache-heavy enterprise off—about clock speeds. Where the 7700X can deliver up to 5.4GHz and the 7950X(opens in new tab) up to 5.7GHz, the 7800X3D is resolutely stuck at just 5GHz. Yeah, we're at a point where I can say 'just' about hitting 5GHz regularly out of the box. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D is still a 120W chip, however, which puts it in a higher bracket than the 105W 7700X. Though, having run through all my testing now, that TDP number is starting to feel a little delusive considering just how efficient the chip is in operation. Even while delivering effectively the highest gaming performance of any chip we've tested. [https://www.pcgamer.com/amd-ryzen-7-7800x3d-review-benchmarks-performance/]

Making the most of virtual backgrounds in Microsoft Teams might actually get easier and more intuitive thanks to a new release from the company. The video conferencing service announced in March 2023 that it would be bringing green screen technology to help boost the detail and accuracy of virtual backgrounds and blur effects without the need for any additional software or hardware. Now, the company has revealed more details on exactly how the new tool will work, and how it belives green screens can take your Microsoft Teams calls to the next level. a Microsoft Tech Community blog post(opens in new tab), company expert Jan Steberl outlined how the green screen feature, which is now in public preview, can provide, "an enhanced virtual background effect". He noted how, "green screen improves the sharpness and definition of the virtual background effect around your face, head, ears, and hair. It also allows you to show a prop or other object in your hand to be more visible to other meeting participants." Users will need to ensure they have a solid color screen or a background wall behind them to use the feature, which must be flat without any stains or other irregularities. They will also need to carefully select the backdrop color in order to ensure the background or blur effect is applied correctly and looks high-quality. Rteberl reminded users that they will need to apply a background effect in Teams meeting before enabling the green screen effect, which can be done after joining the call by clicking the “More” icon in the meeting toolbar, then selecting Video effects > Green Screen Settings in the Backgrounds section, and toggling the option under Teams settings -> Devices -> Green screen. He did warn that activating a green screen will automatically disable background blur and Together Mode, although it is compatible with several Presenter mode options, including Standout, Side-by-Side and Reporter, PowerPoint Live Standout, and background replacement (JPEG/PNG). Green screen on Microsoft Teams is currently only supported on Windows and macOS devices with Intel and AMD chips - Apple Macs with M1/M2 hardware are not able to enjoy the feature just yet. [https://www.techradar.com/news/microsoft-teams-wants-to-make-its-lamest-feature-actually-worth-using]

Since they hit the mainstream in the early 2000s, dual-clutch transmissions (DCTs) have travelled a long a curious curve of driver acceptance. Initial joy that they were so much more compelling than the torque-converter slushers and automated manuals they replaced eventually gave way to a yearning for manuals as the novelty wore off. However, it’s hard to imagine Lamborghini’s new LB744 plug-in hybrid hypercar being fitted with anything else Sant’Agata but doubtless drawing on the wider Volkswagen Group’s huge experience with DCT technology, Lamborghini’s eight-speed “double-clutch” transmission (so many different names for the same thing) is completely new and developed especially for the LB744. Breaking with Lamborghini’s tradition of mainly longitudinal engines and forward-facing gearboxes, the LB744 is powered by what might be described as a T-drive, with a longitudinal engine coupled to a transverse gearbox behind it. What would’ve been the transmission tunnel ahead of the battery is occupied by a small (3.8kWh) drive battery. All DCTs work on the principle of splitting gear ratios between separate shafts within the gearbox. Longitudinal gearboxes might have two shafts, whereas those designed to fit in the compact spaces of front-wheel-drive cars, like Volkswagen’s DSG ’boxes, might have three. Despite the transverse mounting of Lamborghini’s unit, the design is able to stick to two, no doubt because of the car’s width. The gears are arranged with the even numbers on one shaft and odd numbers on the other, each set being controlled by one clutch. As with all DCTs, the idea is that when the car is accelerating through upshifts, the gearbox preselects the next ratio but the clutch controlling it remains open. When the driver calls for a shift, the clutches simultaneously opens and closes, taking the previous ratio out of drive while introducing the higher ratio at exactly the same time. In this case, a feature called continuous downshifting (activated if you hold down the left paddle) drops the DCT through multiple gears under braking to give you a greater sense of control. At 193kg, Lamborghini’s new eight-speed DCT weighs notably less than the Huracán’s seven-speeder. It’s faster-shifting, too. The gearbox’s role as part of a drive system is more complete than usual in that it forms part of the hybrid strategy. Of the LB744’s three electric drive motors, one is located above the gearbox while the other two are axial flux (pancake-style), one on each wheel. The rear motor also acts as the starter and in generator mode powers the front motors via the battery. An uncoupling mechanism with a dedicated synchroniser connects the motor to the gearbox, allowing it to be connected to the engine or independently to the wheels. In that way, it can either feed power to the engine or be driven by the engine to generate electricity. When it’s uncoupled from the engine and driving the wheels alone, the LB744 becomes a 4WD EV. Another clever touch is the use of the front motors for reversing, removing the need for a reverse gear in the gearbox and thereby helping weight reduction. Porsche has begun producing engine crankcases for older 1960s and 1970s Porsche 911s again but using the latest production techniques. Starting with computer-aided design data, moulds are made from sand bonded with a resin. Once freed from the moulds, the castings are machined by five-axis computer numerical control machines and checked for accuracy using 3D-measuring probes. [https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/technology/under-skin-genius-lamborghini-revueltos-gearbox]

A leak of classified US Defence Department documents is a "very serious" risk to national security, the Pentagon has said. The documents appear to include sensitive information regarding the war in Ukraine, as well as on China and US allies. Officials say the files are in a format similar to documents issued to senior leaders. An investigation has been opened to determine the source of the leak. The documents - some of which officials say may have been altered - first appeared on online platforms such as Twitter, 4chan and Telegram, as well as on a Discord server for the video game "Minecraft". In addition to highly detailed information about the war in Ukraine, some of the leaked documents are said to cast light on sensitive briefing materials relating to US allies. Other documents reportedly focus on defence and security issues in the Middle East as well as in the Indo-Pacific region. What does the huge leak of Ukraine war documents tell us? Speaking to reporters on Monday, a high-ranking Pentagon official said the documents were "a very serious risk to national security and have the potential to spread disinformation". "We're still investigating how this happened, as well as the scope of the issue," said Chris Meagher, the assistant to the secretary of defence for public affairs. "There have been steps to take a closer look at how this type of information is distributed and to whom." Mr Meagher declined to answer when asked if the Pentagon believes the documents to be genuine, although he said that some "appear to have been altered". The Justice Department is now investigating the leak, alongside officials from the Pentagon, White House and elsewhere in the US government. The format of the documents is similar to that "used to provide daily updates to our senior leaders on Ukraine and Russia-related operations, as well as other intelligence updates," Mr Meagher added. The Pentagon first became aware of the document leak last week, with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin first briefed on the matter on 6 April, he said. Mr Meagher said that the document leak has prompted US officials to reassure its allies "of our commitment to safeguarding intelligence and fidelity to our security partnerships". At a separate briefing, national security spokesman John Kirby said that US President Joe Biden was first briefed about the leak last week. When asked whether the leak has so far been contained and whether other documents have yet to be released, Mr Kirby said "I don't know". BBC News has so far reviewed more than 20 of the documents, many of which appear to detail the deployment and state of Ukrainian and Russian forces ahead of a long-awaited spring offensive by Ukrainian forces. Some documents, for example, appear to outline US training and equipment being provided to Ukraine ahead of the offensive, as well as when various Ukrainian units will be ready and the anticipated delivery time of military supplies. While Mr Meagher declined to comment on the potential impact that the documents could have on the front lines in Ukraine, he said that "the Ukrainians have demonstrated their capability and competence in this war". "The president and secretary [of defence] have both made clear that the United States is going to be with them for as long as it takes," he said [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65235121]

Four people were killed when an employee opened fire in a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, and livestreamed the attack on Instagram, police say. The victims were aged between 40 and 64. Among nine others injured was a rookie police officer who graduated into the force two weeks ago. The officer was struck in the head and is still critical after brain surgery. Police responded within three minutes, and fatally shot the attacker in an exchange of gunfire. The shooting took place at the Old National Bank in the city centre at about 08:30 local time (12:30 GMT). Witness Caleb Goodlett told local media that his wife, an employee at the bank, had locked herself inside the vault when the attack began. Other witnesses described seeing the shootout between police officers and the lone attacker. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said a close friend had been killed in the attack. "This is awful. I have a very close friend that didn't make it today," Mr Beshear said in an emotional news conference. He added that another friend was injured "that I hope is going to make it through". The victims have all been identified: Thomas Elliot, 63 James Tutt, 64 Joshua Barrick, 40 Julianna Farmer, 45 Jim Ryan, CEO of the Old National Bank, said the safety of employees and customers was "paramount", adding that bank officials were "keeping everyone affected by this tragedy in our thoughts and prayers". The officer who was struck in the head was identified as Louisville Metro police officer Nickolas Wilt, 26. City Councilman Anthony Piagentini told the Courier-Journal newspaper that Mr Wilt graduated from the academy on 31 March, and that his brother is enrolled in the police academy. "These are irreplaceable, amazing individuals that a terrible act of violence tore from all of us," the governor said. "I think what we need most right now is love," he continued. "It seems like we argue so much in this country, so much anger," he continued. "But I still believe that love and compassion and humanity can lead us to a better place." The suspect was named as 23-year-old Connor Sturgeon, who police said used a rifle during the incident and was broadcasting the shooting online. The attacker is described in an online profile as being a syndications associate and portfolio banker at Old National Bank. Instagram's owner Meta said it had "quickly removed the livestream of this tragic incident this morning". The shooting took place just two weeks after a violent attack on a Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee - 160 miles (260km) - south of Louisville - that killed six people. Data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive shows that there have been at least 146 mass shootings - defined as those in which at least four people were shot - so far in 2023, including at least 15 since April began. Also on Monday morning, Louisville Police responded to a second shooting outside the Jefferson Community & Technical College, less than two miles away from the incident at Old National Bank. At least one person was killed and one wounded, according to police. The two shootings are unrelated, LMPD Maj Russell Miller said. President Joe Biden tweeted on Monday: "Too many Americans are paying for the price of inaction with their lives. "When will Republicans in Congress act to protect our communities?" Democrats and Mr Biden have long pushed for Congress to push stricter gun safety legislation. These efforts face staunch opposition from most Republican lawmakers, who often represent constituents and communities that support expanded gun rights. Kentucky is one of 26 states that allow most adults over 21 years old to purchase and carry a firearm without a license [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65233350]

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Name of the game: NBA 2K23 Price: 14.99 $ Link Store:Here Offer ends up after X hours:Offer ends 15 April Requirements MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7 64-bit, Windows 8.1 64-bit or Windows 10 64-bit Processor: Intel® Core™ i3-2100 @ 3.10 GHz/ AMD FX-4100 @ 3.60 GHz or better Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 450 1GB/ ATI® Radeon™ HD 7770 1 GB or better DirectX: Version 11 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 110 GB available space Sound Card: Directx 9.0x Additional Notes: Dual-analog Gamepad recommended. Initial installation requires one-time internet connection for Steam authentication; software installations required (included with the game) include DirectX and Visual C++ Redistributable 2012. In order to play NBA 2K23 on PC, you need a processor capable of supporting SSE 4.2 and AVX. RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7 64-bit, Windows 8.1 64-bit or Windows 10 64-bit Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-4430 @ 3 GHz/ AMD FX-8370 @ 3.4 GHz or better Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 770 2GB/ ATI® Radeon™ R9 270 2GB or better DirectX: Version 11 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 110 GB available space Sound Card: Directx 9.0c Additional Notes: Dual-analog Gamepad recommended. Initial installation requires one-time internet connection for Steam authentication; software installations required (included with the game) include DirectX and Visual C++ Redistributable 2012. In order to play NBA 2K23 on PC, you need a processor capable of supporting SSE 4.2 and AVX.

Google is rolling out the first iteration of WebGPU which will allow the Chrome browser to use a computer’s graphics card to enhance web-based video games and their graphical fidelity. The new API (Application Programming Interface) is the result of a six-year development cycle by the GPU for the Web Community Group(opens in new tab) with contributions from several tech giants like Mozilla, Apple, and Microsoft. As a successor to the current WebGL model, WebGPU is said to lessen the “JavaScript workload” for its browser as well as triple the performance of “machine learning model inferences.” The end goal is to have browser games sporting “highly-detailed scenes with many different objects” as “many modern rendering techniques” will be now possible. Pre-existing titles like those found on Javascript 3D libraries like Babylon.js will see an improvement too. Outside of gaming, the API can be used by productivity apps to “offload computations to the GPU. Teleconferencing platforms like Google Meet can utilize the improved machine learning to run more efficiently, according to the WebGPU Explainer(opens in new tab). WebGPU is currently available as a default setting on the beta version of Chrome 113(opens in new tab), which is available for download on Windows, ChromeOS, and macOS. However, at least for the first two systems, you'll have to meet a few system requirements. Windows devices must support Direct3D 12 while ChromeOS devices must have the Vulkan API enabled. If you prefer to wait for a stable launch instead, Chrome 113 will officially launch(opens in new tab) with WebGPU on April 26. For early adopters like us, Google provides a couple of resources so people can see the API in action. We tried out several games found in the Babylon.js library(opens in new tab) on both Chrome 111 and the Chrome 113 beta to see if there were any significant upgrades. Single-player titles like Temple Run 2 didn’t really have a big performance boost apart from being slightly faster. However, with Shell Shockers, a free FPS (first-person shooter) multiplayer game, we did notice faster load times and a smoother frame rate. Graphics-wise, none of the games looked any different, but keep in mind, adoption is just beginning. To see what WebGPU is graphically capable of, Babylon.js has a free tech demo on its website(opens in new tab). As for other browsers, Google states WebGPU support for Firefox and Safari is still “a work in progress”. Linux and Android devices are also slated to get the API later down the line. No official word for iOS release, but considering the macOS support, it’s probably only a matter of time. If you’re looking for another way to procrastinate, check out TechRadar’s list of the best free web browser games. [https://www.techradar.com/news/chromes-new-webgpu-tech-promises-new-era-for-browser-games]

Upgrading the Steam Deck SSD might seem like a frightening concept, but it doesn't have to put you into a spiralling panic, or even be super time consuming. There are a few simple steps to follow below, just don't do what I did and try to adapt established Steam Deck SSD upgrade methods(opens in new tab) to your needs, because Linux is not kind to those who assume things. Before you make the switch on a Steam Deck SSD upgrade, the first step is figuring out whether you want to reimage your Steam Deck and start from scratch, or whether you need to fully clone your Steam Deck. If you only have a few games on your Deck and aren't on a metered internet connection, it's probably smarter just to reimage the Deck with the latest SteamOS, and maybe copy your game files over using Steam's new, default file transfer service(opens in new tab). If you've spent hours upon hours tweaking your settings in desktop mode, or have a whole bunch of emulators and ROMs for example, a SteamOS reimage is going to wipe all your hard tinkering away. Instead you'll want to clone the Steam Deck SSD, to avoid the hassle of redownloading, setting switching, and frankly navigating the Linux-based maze that is the SteamOS. Either way, performing a Steam Deck SSD upgrade shouldn't end up being too stressful if you follow the steps below. First though, you need to gather a few things together HOW TO CLONE THE STEAM DECK SSD Start by holding the power button when the Deck is turned on, and tapping switch to desktop mode. You might want to set yourself a Sudo password before you continue as it will ask for one during the process. To do that, go to the bottom bar and tap the app launcher (bottom left icon, just like the start bar in Windows). Then either go System > Konsole and type 'passwd' to set a password, or click your Steam Deck user profile image at the top of the app launcher, and hit Change Password on the right. Pick something simple as when you type it in the Konsole you won't be able to see your password at all. It doesn't even come up with little stars as you type, so don't choose a 20 character long monster Steam Deck password. Then type the following command in the Konsole: sudo lsblk If you're ok with starting over from scratch with a new SteamOS, start here. The first step is to download the Steam Deck recovery image(opens in new tab) on your PC. Save it somewhere safe as that's the file you need to select in Rufus(opens in new tab), the easy OS boot drive creation app. Get that downloaded, too, and open it. Make sure your external hard drive is connected via a blue USB 3.0 SuperSpeed port, or it'll take forever. In Rufus make sure you have List USB hard drives checked on under Advanced drive properties. Select the right drive under Device, and next to Boot selection click Select. Find and select the Steam Deck recovery image file you just saved, and hit the Start button at the bottom of the Rufus window. That might take a moment, so take the time to tear down your Deck. Once you've inserted your new SSD into the Deck safely(opens in new tab), plug in your charger to pull it out of battery storage mode. If the Deck turned itself on, switch it off again and then swap the charge cable for your imaged external drive. Next hold the Volume down button and press the Power button once. Release the volume button when the Steam splash screen appears. This will land you in the Steam Deck boot menu. All you have to do now is select the external drive you want to reimage from, wait a moment, and simply tap Reimage Steam Deck in the top left of the desktop once. Click Proceed, then again once all the fancy coding work is over. Sorted. You now have a fresh SteamOS. Time to get downloading some of the best Steam Deck games [https://www.pcgamer.com/steam-deck-ssd-upgrade-step-by-step/]

Michelle Collins says she is terrified to enter her kitchen every morning because of the grey squirrels which have been living in her house for the last three years. Evading the efforts of pest controllers, they have chewed up her doors and skirting boards and have eaten her dogs' food. The 39-year-old gym owner said they go into her kitchen at night, leaving her at the end of her tether. Michelle, from Kilwinning in Ayrshire, said: "I never imagined squirrels could do this to my home, it's unbelievable what they can do. "I've tried everything but nothing is working. I feel terrorised by them. "I'm terrified to go into my kitchen every morning." ." Michelle told BBC Scotland she became aware of the problem when she started hearing a noise in the walls, then noticed piles of sawdust at doors and skirting boards. "I live near woodland and they jump off the trees, on to my car port and then on to my house," she said. "There is a hole where they have dug under my porch and are coming up the inside of my walls." Red squirrels: Vaccine call to save animal from killer pox She keeps her dogs' food in the conservatory, which is off the kitchen - and the squirrels had chewed through the door to get to the food. "I now put the food away when I go to bed, but in the morning I've found the towel I've used to stop up the gap is pulled out and chewed too." She said a pest controller had given up after trying everything to catch the squirrels. Pest controllers are not allowed to trap and kill grey squirrels living in guttering or roofs - but once they enter lofts or other rooms in a house they can be exterminated. Pest controller Scott McIntyre, who covers Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife, said he had seen the "nightmare damage" that could be done by squirrels. "The worst was a woman in Fife who had every electrical cable chewed, so she had to have her whole house rewired. The damage they caused cost £30,000. "Another woman in Edinburgh had her cables chewed through in her converted attic, and I've seen them chew through from attics into bedrooms. "What they can do to a house can be devastating." His technique is to scare squirrels out of houses before blocking up the holes. But he said that on one occasion he was attacked by three male squirrels which he had cornered in an attic. "They jumped on me and tried to claw and bite me, but usually squirrels run away when I go into attics." BBC Scotland has spoken to a number of people who have experienced squirrel problems in their homes. Jacqueline Hewitt, 49, from Gracemount in Edinburgh, said a pest controller had been to her house, but she could still hear scratching in her roof. "He put down nine trays of poison and they were all eaten when he checked two weeks later. "He told us squirrels can be vicious so to be very careful. We haven't dared to look in the attic. "We don't know where the hole is so we can't get it blocked up. "My daughter has been having nightmares that they are in her bed and she thinks they are going to come through the walls. The scratching sound is terrible." Alayne Costello, from south Edinburgh, said there had been an issue with squirrels in her house since she moved in a year ago. She said: "They chewed right through the lead flashing around my skylight and during the storms before Christmas it meant I was flooded. "All the insulation was soaked, the wall in my hall was damaged as well as my bathroom. It has been a nightmare." Nan Dickson, 75, and her husband Gerry, 85, have lived in Edinburgh's Mortonhall area for 43 years. Nan said: "We have had squirrels for the first time and the noise of them jumping above our heads is horrible. We have been worried about the damage and they gnawed through the eves. "When my husband went into the attic one of the squirrels stuck its head out of the hole and we were very stressed. "We have been shocked at what they have done." The British Pest Control Association said there were thousands of call-outs every year because of squirrels. "This is in part due to the damage they cause to your home and the noises squirrels make at night - which can be very distressing. "As their numbers have increased in the UK, so has the damage they cause," it said. It said there were no poisons which could be used by the public. However, the association did recommend attempting to seal all entry points to a property. Josh Galera, 20, the owner of Precise Roofing in Edinburgh, said he recently helped a customer who had seven squirrels living in her house. He had discovered that the verge at the edge of the roof was not screwed in. "It was flapping open and squirrels were getting in. We screwed the dry verge into the fascia so their access point into the roof was closed." [https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-65092730]

China has simulated precision strikes against key targets on Taiwan and its surrounding waters during a second day of military drills. The drills - which Beijing has called a "stern warning" to the self-governing island - are a response to Taiwan's president visiting the US last week. As the Chinese military simulated an encirclement of the island, the US urged China to show restraint. Taiwan said about 70 Chinese aircraft flew around the island on Sunday. Eleven Chinese ships were also spotted. On Saturday, Taiwan said that 45 warplanes either crossed the Taiwan Strait median line - the unofficial dividing line between Taiwanese and Chinese territory - or flew into the south-western part of Taiwan's air defence identification zone. The operation, dubbed "Joint Sword" by Beijing, will continue until Monday. Taiwanese officials have been enraged by the operation. On Saturday defence officials in Taipei accused Beijing of using President Tsai's US visit as an "excuse to conduct military exercises, which has seriously undermined peace, stability and security in the region". On day one of the drills, one of China's ships fired a round as it sailed near Pingtan island, China's closest point to Taiwan. Taiwan's Ocean Affairs Council, which runs the Coast Guard, issued video footage showing one of its ships shadowing a Chinese warship, though did not provide a location. In the footage a sailor can be heard telling the Chinese ship through a radio: "You are seriously harming regional peace, stability and security. Please immediately turn around and leave. If you continue to proceed we will take expulsion measures." Other footage showed a Taiwanese warship, the Di Hua, accompanying the Coast Guard ship in what the Coast Guard officer calls a "standoff" with the Chinese vessel. While the Chinese exercises ended by sundown on Saturday evening, defence officials in Taipei said fighter jet sorties started again early on Sunday morning. US state department officials have urged China not to exploit President Tsai's US visit, and have called for "restraint and no change to the status quo". A state department spokesperson said the US was "monitoring Beijing's actions closely" and insisted the US had "sufficient resources and capabilities in the region to ensure peace and stability and to meet our national security commitments". The US severed diplomatic ties with Taipei in favour of Beijing in 1979, but it is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. US President Joe Biden has said on several occasion that the US would intervene if China attacked the island, but US messaging has been murky. At Wednesday's meeting in California, Ms Tsai thanked US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for America's "unwavering support", saying it helped "reassure the people of Taiwan that we are not isolated and we are not alone". Mr McCarthy had originally planned to go to Taiwan himself, but opted instead to hold the meeting in California to avoid inflaming tensions with China. Chinese state media said the military drills, which are due to run until Monday, would "simultaneously organise patrols and advances around Taiwan island, shaping an all-round encirclement and deterrence posture". It added that "long-range rocket artillery, naval destroyers, missile boats, air force fighters, bombers, jammers and refuellers" had all been deployed by China's military. But in Taiwan's capital Taipei, residents seemed unperturbed by China's latest manoeuvres. "I think many Taiwanese have gotten used to it by now, the feeling is like, here we go again!" Jim Tsai said on Saturday. Meanwhile, Michael Chuang said: "They [China] seems to like doing it, circling Taiwan like it's theirs. I am used to it now. "If they invade we can't escape anyway. We'll see what the future holds and go from there." Taiwan's status has been ambiguous since 1949, when the Chinese Civil War turned in favour of the Chinese Communist Party and the country's old ruling government retreated to the island. Taiwan has since considered itself a sovereign state, with its own constitution and leaders. China sees it as a breakaway province that will eventually be brought under Beijing's control - by force if necessary. China's President Xi Jinping has said "reunification" with Taiwan "must be fulfilled". [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-65223970]

The father of two British-Israeli sisters killed in a shooting in the occupied West Bank embraced their bodies while mourners sang songs of grief at their funeral on Sunday. Maia and Rina Dee, 20 and 15, were killed on Friday when suspected Palestinian gunmen opened fire on them in their car in the Jordan Valley. Their mother, Leah, is in a critical condition following surgery. The attack came amid soaring Israeli-Palestinian tensions and violence. The low rhythmic songs swelled and swayed with the crowd, who were packed beneath the white rafters in the prayer hall at a cemetery in the settlement of Kfar Etzion. Many at the funeral were teenagers - some from the school Rina went to. At the front, by a low podium, the family gathered, talking together and holding each other for long moments in silence. The bodies were brought out, one covered in black cloth, one in blue - a Star of David embroidered on each, in gold and silver. They were embraced by their father, Rabbi Leo Dee, originally from Radlett in the UK. He then sat back, his face contorted in pain, his hands reaching out to touch his remaining three children. Rabbi Dee also spoke, questioning how he would explain to the girls' mother what had happened to their "two precious gifts" when she wakes up. He told those assembled that "today the Jewish people have proven we are one". "A simple, quiet family is devastated," he said. "The whole country hurts." Israel's national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, was among the mourners. The family live in Efrat, having moved from London nine years ago. The car carrying the two sisters and their mother crashed after coming under fire. They were then fired on again at close range, Israeli media reported. Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that 22 bullet casings were found, apparently from a Kalashnikov assault rifle. The victims were travelling in one of three cars on their way to Tiberias in the Galilee for a family holiday. Israeli military personnel blocked roads in the area and said they had "started a pursuit of the terrorists" responsible. Speaking to the BBC on Saturday evening, Rabbi Dee described his daughters as beautiful, smart and po[CENSORED]r. He said he had not been able to sleep since their deaths. "Every time, I had nightmares and woke up," he said, "but the reality was worse than the nightmare, so I went back to sleep. Recurring nightmares... that's how it went." He said Maia, who was volunteering for national service in a high school, was "wonderful, beautiful, had a lot of friends... she was very keen to do a second year of volunteering". Rina, he said, was "beautiful, fun, very smart, top grades in every subject, very po[CENSORED]r with friends, sporty... very responsible, she would take responsibility for many things". "When it came to sweeping out the youth club floor, if other people didn't turn up, she would be there by herself for three hours on a Friday morning, to make sure it was done," he said. Rabbi Dee heard news of the attack without realising his own family were involved, he said. He called his wife and daughters, but they did not answer. He then saw a picture online of the car that was attacked. "And we could just see one of our suitcases in the back seat," he said. "There was a massive panic and screaming." He then drove to the scene. He was not allowed access but was handed his daughter's ID card, which confirmed the worst. Rabbi Dee has said he and his three remaining children "will get through this" Rabbi Mordechai Ginsbury, from the Hendon United Synagogue in north London, said he spoke briefly with his close friend Rabbi Dee before the funerals. "Naturally, as are we all, [he was] devastated, shocked at how just in a few moments with an act of absolute evil and madness - insanity - things can change around," he told the BBC. "The loss of two gorgeous daughters, and his wife now lying critically ill in a hospital in Jerusalem. "But through the sadness there's still that determination that he has to find any positives one can find, to try and be strong for his remaining children." Rabbi Ginsbury added that Rabbi Dee felt "supported and embraced by a blanket of warmth and love" from within Israel and from people across world who had contacted him. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who described the incident as a terror attack, sent his condolences to the family in a tweet naming the sisters on Saturday. The UK's chief rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, said that "no words can describe the depth of our shock and sadness at the heart-breaking news". After the two sisters were shot, Israel Police commissioner Kobi Shabtai called on all Israelis with firearms licences to start carrying their weapons. Also on Friday, an Italian tourist was killed and seven other people were wounded, including three Britons, in a suspected car-ramming attack in Tel Aviv. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-65224751]