Aveyro

The 2022 Mercedes-AMG G63 gets a special Edition 55 treatment to celebrate AMG's 55th anniversary. The G63 Edition 55 includes unique exterior graphics as well as a red-and-black interior with "55" references throughout. Mercedes-AMG says it'll be limited to 55 copies in the U.S. when it goes on sale later this year. In 1967, Mercedes engineers Hans Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher first laid the foundation for what would become the brand's high-performance AMG division. Now, 55 years later, Mercedes is commemorating that milestone with a specially designed 2022 Mercedes-AMG G63 dubbed Edition 55, of which only 55 copies will come to America. The Edition 55 isn't an ostentatious interpretation of the G63. In fact, only subtle exterior graphics on the lower part of its doors distinguish it from other G-wagens. However, its appearance has been specially curated for this configuration. That means every version features 22-inch forged wheels with a multispoke design and AMG's Night appearance packages, which include numerous black exterior accents. The G63 Edition 55 pictured here wears G Manufaktur Opalite White paint. However, Mercedes says that color is reserved for other markets; U.S. models only come in Obsidian Black metallic. Inside, the G63 Edition 55's color scheme is also predetermined. The seats feature black-and-red nappa leather, with red accents also appearing on the interior door panels. The trim on the doors, center console, and surrounding the instrument panel and infotainment system is matte carbon fiber. Of course, it wouldn't be a special edition without the obligatory badging, as seen by the "55" engraved on the bottom of the steering and "Edition 55" woven into the floor mats. The AMG logo illuminated in red is also integrated into the stainless-steel doorsills. The 2022 AMG G63 is powered by a hand-built 577-hp twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 that pairs with a nine-speed automatic transmission and an all-wheel-drive system with three locking differentials. Despite weighing nearly three tons, we tested a 2019 model that hit 60 mph in an incredible 3.9 seconds. While more recently Mercedes has struggled with supply-chain issues that impacted V-8 production for the 2022 model year, causing certain models to be suspended, the company has since reinstated several of them, including the 2022 G63. Unfortunately, the availability of V-8–powered Benzes is still limited, but fans of the Mercedes-AMG G63 now know there will be at least 55 available in the U.S. market. However, a company spokesman told Car and Driver that the Edition 55 isn't available to order and that customers should contact their local dealer for further details. Mercedes says the Edition 55 will be available later this year, but the company hasn't yet announced pricing for any member of the 2023 G63 lineup. Source : https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a39527374/2022-mercedes-amg-g63-edition-55-revealed/

KYIV: A huge plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday (Mar 25), AFP reporters saw, as Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles. "On the evening of Mar 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement. Moscow claimed it was the largest remaining military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, saying it supplied troops in the central part of the pro-Western country. Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying it had hit around 8pm in the village some 40km south-west of Kyiv. Kyiv's emergencies ministry said there was no threat of the fire spreading outside the oil depot. AFP saw fireballs leaping into the air from the facility, with a smaller fire blazing from a severed fuel line. "We saw the explosion, it was very big," a security guard at the facility said at a checkpoint near the depot, asking not to be identified. "Fortunately, there were no casualties," he said. Moscow's announcement of the strike came on the 29th day of what Moscow has termed a "special military operation" in Ukraine, with thousands killed and more than 10 million displaced. Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, Russian troops have destroyed more than 260 drones, over 1,580 tanks and other armoured vehicles and 204 anti-aircraft weapons systems, Moscow said. While Ukrainian forces have stalled the initial Russian advance and even launched some successful counterattacks, there are early signs that both sides are digging in for a long and bloody war that neither can easily win. Souce : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/russia-hits-ukraine-fuel-storage-site-kyiv-2586501

Scientists have discovered a secret great white shark social club in the clear blue waters of Guadalupe Island, off the western coast of Mexico. Dozens of sharks descend on the island's coastline to forage every fall and winter, but their Pacific holidays are hardly solitary getaways. According to new research published March 23 in the journal Biology Letters, a group of tagged great whites formed tight cliques during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. They preferred to patrol for food with close buddies or in same-sex pairs, sometimes spending more than an hour swimming around together. One pair of sharks particularly astonished scientists by spending roughly 70 minutes swimming together — a far longer friend date than any of the other sharks shared. "Seventy minutes is a long time to be swimming around with another white shark," lead study author Yannis Papastamatiou, a marine scientist at Florida International University, said in a statement. Lengthy interactions like these are likely to be "social associations" and not just random interactions, Papastamatiou added — think of it like the shark version of having a hunting buddy. For their new study, the researchers tagged six great white sharks (three male, three female) near Guadalupe Island between October 2017 and December 2018. Dubbed "super social tags," the monitors tracked each shark's swimming speed, depth and direction, and also alerted researchers anytime a tagged shark came into close proximity with another tagged shark. Each tag, which also contained a small video camera, popped off the shark's dorsal fin after about five days. More than 30 great white sharks at the island had already been tagged by previous research expeditions, giving researchers plenty of opportunities to see their super social tags in action. The team recorded hundreds of social interactions between the great whites — some short, some much longer. In general, male sharks preferred to hang out with other male sharks, and female sharks preferred the company of other females. But the social behavior of each shark varied wildly. One shark interacted with a dozen others in a 30-hour span before shaking loose its tag, while another shark kept its tag on for five days and associated with only two other sharks. Many of the great white interactions occurred near a seal breeding ground, suggesting that perhaps the sharks spend more time with each other when prey is near, in order for one shark to take advantage of another's hunting success, the researchers said. "They aren't working together but being social could be a way to share information," Papastamatiou said. Given the study's small sample size, the scientists concluded that more observations are needed to draw any firm conclusions about the great white social networks of Guadalupe Island. Source : https://www.livescience.com/great-white-shark-social-network

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LOS ANGELES, March 24 (Reuters) - Three female comedians will share hosting duties, fans will choose two awards, and some acceptance speeches will be recorded before the live broadcast. That is part of the plan to shake up this year's Academy Awards telecast, which faces a pivotal test on Sunday to try and rebound from last year's record-low ratings. After going without a host since 2019, the latest Oscars boasts three: comedians Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes. It marks the first time a trio of women will emcee the ceremony, each bringing her own sense of humor. "We're already starting with three vaginas," Hall said in an interview. "I think three women on stage already sets (the show) off, so I think we're starting pretty hot. " "Trainwreck" star Schumer has described her style as "mean-spirited" and said she is ready to "burn some bridges" in the A-list audience. "That's why we're all here, just so we can trash each other," she joked in a video released by broadcaster ABC. At the same time, producer Will Packer promises the 94th Oscars will celebrate movies around a theme of "Movie Lovers Unite." Some presenters, including skateboarder Tony Hawk and rapper Sean Combs, come from outside the film business, a signal the show is not just for cinephiles. In its heyday, the Academy Awards reigned as must-see TV and served as a glitzy commercial for Hollywood. More than 55 million U.S. viewers tuned in when megahit "Titanic" swept the honors in 1998. Last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic prompted organizers to move the ceremony to a train station with limited attendance and no musical performances, viewership sank to 10.4 million on ABC, which has rights to televise the show through 2028. And while the audience size is shrinking, the age of viewers watching traditional television, including the Oscars, is rising, said media consultant Brad Adgate. "Younger viewers are not staying home to watch this," Adgate said. "I think the genre has become passe, like beauty pageants used to be a big event on television. It's slipping into that category. " The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organizes the Oscars, is not alone in this challenge. With the exception of NFL football games, live TV viewing has declined across the board as viewers turn to streaming shows on demand or spend time on TikTok and Twitter. The Emmys and Grammys also posted record-low viewership during the pandemic. Plus, ratings data do not capture all of the viewership on streaming. At this year's Oscars, music will be back with performances by superstars Beyonce, Billie Eilish and others. Organizers also hope to highlight some of the year's biggest movies by announcing the results of two fan polls conducted on Twitter, for favorite film and best film moment. Recent nominations have tended to focus on arthouse titles. This year's most-nominated movie, "The Power of the Dog," is a psychological thriller that streamed on Netflix (NFLX.O), about a cruel ranch owner in the American West. Producers are aiming to keep the show to three hours. Some years it has stretched beyond four. To help keep within that time limit, winners of eight awards including sound and production design will be announced inside the Dolby Theatre just before the TV broadcast. Edited recordings of their speeches will be played during the telecast. The change sparked a backlash from Steven Spielberg and others who said it was a slight to craftspeople who are critical to bringing movies to the screen. "They are trying to make the show punchier and shorter," said Nigel Smith, movies editor at People magazine. "Hopefully, that's the kind of show we're going to be seeing, something surprising and new and fresh. " If ratings decline further, he added, "they're just going to have to go back to the drawing board. Source : https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/oscars-face-make-or-break-moment-build-audience-2022-03-24/ " Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Alicia Powell in New York and Rollo Ross in Los Angeles; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Richard Chang

The Biden administration will soon release a federal regulation that overhauls the US asylum system to settle claims at a faster pace and help alleviate the immigration court backlog. The new rule gives asylum officers more authority by allowing them to hear and decide asylum claims -- cases that are usually assigned to immigration judges -- when migrants present at the US southern border. The regulation applies to migrants who are subject to expedited removal. Unaccompanied children are exempt. Administration officials have been alluding to the change in processing asylum claims for months. It comes as the administration is under mounting pressure from Democratic lawmakers and immigrant advocates to overhaul the US immigration system and amid concerns about a potential migrant surge. By shifting the adjudication of claims from immigration judges to asylum officers, officials hope cases will be completed in months, not years. There are 1.7 million cases pending in immigration court, according to Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, which tracks immigration court data. "It will help reduce the burden on our immigration courts, protect the rights of those fleeing persecution and violence, and enable immigration judges to issue removal orders when appropriate," said Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement. Border authorities have been leaning on a public health authority, known as Title 42, to turn back migrants arrested at the US-Mexico border, barring some exceptions. Those who aren't subject to the authority and are seeking asylum are then screened by asylum officers. If they pass the credible fear screening, their cases progress through the immigration court system. The new regulation could alleviate the backlog by allowing asylum officers to adjudicate claims, instead of immigration judges who are facing thousands of cases already. US Citizenship and Immigration Services -- an agency under the Department of Homeland Security -- oversees asylum processing. "It is an effort to deliver greater efficiency to the asylum process, while not compromising the due process that claimants have before them," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters last week, adding that implementation will be phased in, given resource constraints. The USCIS portion of the process, which includes the credible fear determination and a decision on the asylum claim, is still expected to take up to 90 days. The asylum seeker may be in detention or released depending on individual circumstances, officials told reporters Wednesday. If a case is denied, the individual may request review by an immigration judge under a streamlined process. The immigration judge is expected to issue a decision roughly 90 days after the proceedings begin, though continuances may also be requested, the officials added. The administration submitted the proposed version of the regulation last August and received more than 5,000 public comments. The final rule, which officials previewed Wednesday, will publish in the Federal Register in the "coming days" and likely take effect in the summer. The administration is still assessing who the rule will apply to and where it will be implemented, officials said, emphasizing that the rollout will start small. One of the challenges officials are likely to face is lack of sufficient resources given strained capacity at USCIS. Officials told reporters they're bolstering staff to implement the rule when it takes effect but declined to say how many additional resources will be required. "Based on case volumes and capacity for both the existing workload and the new work resulting from this rule, USCIS has increased and plans to further increase the staffing and infrastructure to handle the full volume of work contemplated under the rule," the USCIS official said. USCIS had previously estimated that it needed to hire around 800 new employees and spend about $180 million to implement the process for roughly 75,000 cases annually, according to text of the proposed regulation. Thursday's announcement is the latest in a series of efforts to get through immigration cases. Last year, the Biden administration introduced plans to speed up court cases for recently arrived migrant families who are seeking asylum in select cities. President Joe Biden cited that effort in his State of the Union address earlier this month. "We're putting in place dedicated immigration judges in a significant large number so families fleeing persecution and violence can have their cases heard faster and those who don't legitimately hear can be sent back," Biden said. Source : https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/24/politics/new-us-asylum-rule/index.html

A bull elk with magnificent antlers that was a favorite of photographers and visitors to Rocky Mountain National Park has died, according to the National Park Service. Known as “Bruno,” “Kahuna” and “Incredibull,” the Colorado animal was estimated to be over 10 years old. “His cause of death is unknown,” according to Kyle Patterson of the National Park Service. “He could have died from natural causes or been preyed on by a mountain lion," Patterson said. "He got hurt during the rut this past year from another bull.” She said the Park Service is keeping the location of the elk’s carcass a secret. ‘The public should always be cautious around carcasses (elk, deer, moose, bighorn sheep) in Rocky Mountain National Park, because mountain lions could be nearby,” she said. Loren Schrag and Alli Schrag, who run the Good Bull Outdoors page and have photographed the elk over the years, said they came across Bruno's carcass after it had been eaten. Mountain lion tracks were found in the area, they said. The Schrags said Bruno had a distinctive antler configuration. Recommended Usually bull elks have small third times, "but he happened to have a relatively large third tine," Loren Schrag said. The life cycle of bull elk's antlers begin with a single tine on each side, and then by its second or third year it will have three or four tines — known then as a "raghorn," the Schrags said. They're mature when they have six tine points or greater, they said. "For him, his peak maturity was in 2019, and for the last two years he regressed," Loren Schrag said, and his antlers shrunk. He announced Bruno’s death in a Facebook post dedicated to the elk Sunday. “Being the first to place a hand on his magnificent antler (one had already been shed) was humbling and all three of us — myself, Alli and Andrew — were each blessed to be the last to see him alive and the first to see him passed on,” the post said. Source : https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/famous-bull-elk-rocky-mountain-national-park-dies-rcna21308

An image circulating on social media purports to show the new Ferrari SUV. Called the Purosangue, this new model is slated to begin production later this year. We're expecting a turbocharged V-8 engine to be standard, with a possible hybrid setup Ferrari revealed a teaser image of the Purosangue on social media, showing off the new SUV’s front end ahead of its impending reveal. We brightened the photo to get a better look, with the result lining up with the leaked images from last month. Ferrari didn’t say when its first SUV would debut. Just the idea of Ferrari producing an SUV has created plenty of controversy on its own, and this first glimpse of the upcoming Purosangue is sure to get people talking all over again. A few leaked images making the rounds on social media purport to show the new Ferrari SUV from the front and rear angles on the factory floor. Whether it's the camera angle, the poor image quality, or some combination therein, they don't paint the most flattering portrait of the Purosangue's proportions. The overall shape seen here lines up with what we've seen in spy photos of the Purosangue. It appears to have a long nose, four doors, and a sloping roofline not entirely unlike the GTC4Lusso shooting brake's. A sharp cutline runs from the hood and creates a scooped-out portion of the front door, while black plastic body cladding around the wheel well ensures that it will look the part of an SUV. The rear appears to have a full-width light bar connecting two sets of taillights. A turbocharged V-8 engine, possibly with assistance from an electric motor, is the most likely choice for the Purosangue's powertrain. But it's possible that Ferrari could stuff a hybrid V-12 setup under the hood, or a V-6 hybrid powertrain for the base model. We should learn more later this year when the Purosangue makes its official debut. Ferrari has confirmed that production will begin in 2022, with customer deliveries starting next year. Source : https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a39163135/ferrari-purosangue-suv-leaked/

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BRUSSELS: President Joe Biden arrived in Europe on Wednesday (Mar 23) on a mission to bolster Western unity and ramp up unprecedented sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and brutal bid to upset the post-Cold War balance of power. Underlining how serious the crisis raging in eastern Europe has become, Biden told reporters as he boarded the Marine One helicopter at the White House that he sees "a real threat" of Russian chemical warfare against Ukraine. With Russian troops increasingly bogged down, the possibility that President Vladimir Putin could order chemical, biological or even tactical nuclear strikes to subdue Ukraine will be one of the dire scenarios discussed at back-to-back NATO, G7 and EU summits in Brussels on Thursday. Biden, who is set to give a news conference at NATO headquarters on Thursday, will fly Friday to Poland, which neighbours Ukraine and is now the frontline in what some call a new Cold War. On Saturday he meets President Andrzej Duda before returning to Washington. The war in Ukraine has redefined Biden's 14-month-old presidency as he pivots from domestic priorities to leading the transatlantic alliance in the most serious crisis in Europe for decades. After four years of Donald Trump, who treated European nations as economic competitors and scorned the traditional US role as senior partner in NATO, Biden has put the accent on unity. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters travelling with Biden to Brussels that "what we'd like to hear is that the resolve and unity that we've seen for the past month will endure for as long as it takes Sullivan said that economic sanctions, imposed by a global network of Western allies to cripple Russia's finances, will be deepened in the summits. "We, the United States, will announce a package of sanctions designations tomorrow that relate both to political figures, oligarchs ... as well as entities," Sullivan said. Western partners were also looking to "coordinate on sanctions enforcement so that Russian efforts to evade the sanctions can be dealt with effectively". CHINA QUESTION In comments on Tuesday, Sullivan noted Ukraine's military resilience, which has been assisted by large-scale Western arms shipments, but he warned against any presumption of a quick end to the war or a climbdown by Moscow. "There will be hard days ahead in Ukraine, hardest for the Ukrainian troops on the frontlines and the civilians under Russian bombardment," Sullivan said. "This war will not end easily or rapidly. " If the conflict does drag on, Russia's ability to weather military losses and the crushing Western economic sanctions may partly depend on the position taken by its authoritarian partner China. Beijing has refused to condemn Putin's war, but Washington hopes at least to dissuade China from actively helping the Kremlin, either by bailing out the Russian economy or sending weapons. Sullivan said there was no sign that China was providing military assistance in the wake of a nearly two-hour phone call between President Xi Jinping and Biden last Friday . "This is something we are monitoring closely," he said. "The president will certainly consult on the question of China's potential participation in the conflict of Ukraine while he's in Brussels. He'll do so at NATO," Sullivan said. "He'll also do so when he addresses the 27 leaders of the European Union, because on Apr 1st, the European Union is having a summit with China," he added. "We believe we're very much on the same page with our European partners." Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/biden-europe-bolster-wests-unity-toughen-russia-sanctions-2580556

Nick: Aveyro Real name: Anas How old are you?: 19 Which Games you play? and for how long?(each of them): idon't play games Where are you from?(country and city): Tunis , Tunisia Describe yourself(at least 50 words): Im simple , patient person who loves playing strategy games ( especially chess , 800 rating atm) , I just finished my studies , i love talking to people and my ambition still the same is to be a media engineer Note some of your qualities: Respectful and i love helping people Tell us some of your defects: irritable person Had you before any kind of responsabilities(describe it): yes iwas member in Tunisian Red Crescent On which category/categories have you been active lately?(describe your activity): Free time (Journalists) Which category/project you want to care off?: Journalists How well you speak english?(and other languages): let's say 80% / Arabic 100% / French 90% Do you use TS3? Do you have an active microphone?: everyday/ yes i have For how long can you be active after you get accepted?(days, weeks, months, years): depends on my studies . minimum 1year Contact methods: Forum / ts3 / discord Last request:

LOS ANGELES, March 22 (Reuters) - Music superstars Beyonce and Billie Eilish will perform their Oscar-nominated songs live at this year's Academy Awards ceremony on March 27, producers announced on Tuesday. Beyonce will sing "Be Alive," a song she co-wrote for the movie "King Richard" about the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams, at the film industry honors on Sunday. Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell will team for their James Bond theme "No Time to Die. " Country music star Reba McEntire also will take the stage to sing "Somehow You Do," a song written by Diane Warren for the movie "Four Good Days." "Dos Oruguitas" from animated musical "Encanto" will be performed Sebastian Yatra. All four are competing in the category of best original song at the Academy Awards ceremony that will take place in Hollywood and be broadcast on Walt Disney Co's (DIS.N) ABC. The fifth nominee, "Down To Joy" from the movie "Belfast," will not be performed during the telecast. Singer Van Morrison declined because of his tour schedule, organizers said. Source : https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/beyonce-billie-eilish-among-musical-performers-take-oscars-stage-2022-03-23/

President Joe Biden planned to depart for Europe Wednesday as he tries to keep NATO allies and other European partners united against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine. With fighting lasting nearly a month -- and Ukrainian forces unexpectedly holding Russia to a standoff -- Biden and other world leaders will seek to speed an end to the conflict. They'll face pressure to make announcements about new sanctions on Russia, humanitarian assistance for refugees and additional support for Ukraine's military. Putin and China will be watching, with the fate of Ukraine -- and Russia's place in the world -- hanging in the balance. And while Biden will command much of the attention this week, his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, also plans to speak to -- and potentially pressure -- Biden and other NATO leaders. Whirlwind diplomacy on display Biden will spend much of Wednesday traveling from Washington to Brussels, ahead of a whirlwind day of diplomacy in the Belgian capital the next day. On Thursday, he plans to attend an extraordinary summit of all 30 NATO leaders, where he will discuss deterrence against Russia and "reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our NATO allies," according to the White House. Biden will also participate in a pre-scheduled meeting of the European Council -- the political body of the European Union -- and meet with leaders of the Group of Seven, or G-7, major industrial nations. Throughout the meetings, Biden hopes to achieve "continued coordination and a unified response" to Russia, the White House said. Biden has made working in lockstep with Europe a top priority, at times holding back sanctions -- such as on Russian energy -- to maintain that show of unity. He has also fastidiously tried to avoid a wider conflict, declining to send American troops to Ukraine or support a NATO-enforced no-fly zone over the country. Whether he'll push allies to more directly confront Russia -- by committing more troops to the region, providing even more provocative military assistance to Ukraine or otherwise directly assisting Kyiv -- remains to be seen. One challenge he may face Thursday, though, is responding to Zelenskyy's remarks to NATO leaders. The Ukrainian leader has repeatedly commanded the world's attention with moving, sometimes blunt addresses to national and international bodies. His direct demands sometimes go beyond Biden and other leaders' comfort levels, and he has not held back from naming and shaming those who he does not believe are doing enough to support Ukraine. New sanctions and aid expected The president "will have the opportunity to coordinate on the next phase of military assistance to Ukraine," U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday. Biden and other leaders will announce a new "package of sanctions" on Russia, too, including "tightening the existing sanctions to crack down on evasion and to ensure robust enforcement," Sullivan said. "One of the key elements of that announcement will focus not just on adding new sanctions," Sullivan said, "but on ensuring that there is a joint effort to crack down on evasion, on sanctions-busting, on any attempt by any country to help Russia, basically, undermine, weaken or get around the sanctions." Biden will also speak with leaders about "longer-term adjustments to NATO force posture on the eastern flank," Sullivan said, referring to the United States and other NATO countries deploying additional troops to countries that border Russia, like Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. And he will announce a "joint action on enhancing European energy security and reducing Europe's dependence on Russian gas," Sullivan added, without elaborating. Focus on millions of displaced Ukrainians, US troops In Brussels, Biden "will announce further American contributions" to help the 3.5 million Ukrainians who have fled the country and for the millions more who have become internally displaced, according to Sullivan. On Friday, the president will travel to Poland, where he'll "engage with U.S. troops" – he has deployed thousands there in response to the invasion – and on Saturday, meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda. Poland has taken in more than 2 million Ukrainian refugees. "It is the right place for him to go to be able to see troops, to be able to see humanitarian experts, and to be able to meet with the frontline and very vulnerable allies," Sullivan said. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said this week that there were "no plans" for Biden to travel into Ukraine and that the White House had "not explored that option. " Putin, China watching" Biden said Monday that "the one thing I'm confident, knowing Putin fairly well -- as well as, I guess, another leader could know one another -- is that he was counting on being able to split NATO. He never thought NATO would stay resolved -- stay totally, thoroughly united." "And I can assure you," he told a group of chief executives, "NATO has never been stronger or more united in its entire history than it is today, in large part because of Vladimir Putin." In fact, Russia's invasion has united NATO against it. And a month of crushing sanctions have crippled Russia's economy and largely isolated Putin. Whether world leaders in Brussels decide to ramp up the pressure on Putin in a way that could further change Putin's calculus -- and bring an end to war, perhaps by offering him a clear off-ramp -- could determine the length and course of the conflict. But it's not clear the decreasing number of options they have left could fundamentally sway Putin. Russian troops continue to pummel Ukrainian cities and kill civilians even as the Ukrainians have prevented them from claiming major wins and toppling the government in Kyiv. And it's not clear what that off-ramp could be. "Putin's back is against the wall," Biden said Monday. And China's President Xi Jinping will be watching, too. In a call last week, according to the White House, Biden warned him of the consequences of providing aid to Russia. Sullivan told ABC News' Elizabeth Schulze on Tuesday that, since last week, the U.S. had "not seen" China provide military equipment to Russia, as it had feared China may do. The degree to which Biden is able to get European leaders on board with potential punishments for China could also determine whether Xi decides to support Putin or stay out of the fight.

• This 1966 Ford Mustang High Country special-edition coupe is up for sale on the Bring a Trailer auction site. It's one of 333 built from the model year to be exclusively sold by Colorado-area dealers. With three days to go, bidding currently stands at $16,750. • Though the Timberline Green paint caught my eye, the iconic coupe body reminded me I started restoring one of these in 1998. • Yes, started restoring in 1998. The internet is full of wormholes to waste endless hours. But for the automotive enthusiast, Bring a Trailer—which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos—is a great place to tune out news or the grind of the daily life and search for the vehicle you’ve always wanted. Or remind yourself of a project you started 24 years ago and have yet to complete. This 1966 Ford Mustang High Country did exactly that for me. During my high-school years, my father and I were looking for a restoration project. Well before things like BaT existed, we’d scour the weekly periodicals searching for the right candidate. My old man was a 20-year seasoned mechanic at the local Ford dealer, so naturally a Mustang felt right. We bought our 1966 coupe for a few thousand dollars and limped it home with the intention of having it done in two years in time for my senior prom. Oh, the joys of wishful thinking. Just like this High Country Special—a trim reserved for Colorado-area dealers that featured unique paint options and fender badges—our Coupe was powered by a 210-hp 289-cubic-inch V-8 backed by a three-speed automatic transmission. "Was" being the key word, because the following day ours was stripped nearly to its shell that, unlike this 74,000-mile example, featured a structure that was Swiss-cheesed with Midwest rot. The Fred Flintstone floorboards would need to be cut out, and the front subframe would require a weekend's worth of time and countless spot-weld drill bits to free it from its original mounting position. Over the next few years, the structure would regain a floor and a frame, and the underbody would be ground to bare metal to be primed and finished with a rubberized undercoating. Its sheetmetal's 30 years of dings and dents were smoothed out with body filler and countless layers of buildable primer. The beauty of restoring an old Mustang is that every single nut, bolt, and screw is available. Heck, you can even order an entire body if you want to start fresh. With new suspension hung, the transmission rebuilt, a disc brake conversion mounted, and a limited-slip differential bolted into the rear-axle, it hasn't been touched in 22 years. I like to tell people we're letting the primer cure. If you want a project, seek one out. But if you’re in the market for something turnkey like this somewhat rare 1966 Ford Mustang High Country Special, keep an eye on Bring a Trailer and do some digital tire-kicking like we do. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a39494628/1966-ford-mustang-bring-a-trailer-auction/

A rare Greenland shark that washed up on a U.K. beach could be at least 100 years old, but experts aren't sure why it became stranded. The dead shark was first spotted on the sand in Newlyn Harbour, Cornwall, on the southwest coast of England, on March 13. But before experts could examine it, the tide came in and took the carcass back out to sea, according to Cornwall Wildlife Trust Twitter posts. The shark was then rediscovered floating off the coast of Cornwall on March 15 by a recreational boating company called Mermaid Pleasure Trips and was brought back to shore. Greenland sharks are rarely sighted in the U.K., and this is the country's second recorded Greenland shark stranding. "Even though it's a sad event when these beautiful, spectacular animals do strand on our beaches, it's such a valuable opportunity for us to study them," Abby Crosby, a marine conservation officer who manages the marine strandings network at the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, told Live Science. Greenland sharks (Somniosus microcephalus) live in the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans up to 8,684 feet (2,647 meters) below the surface, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). A 2016 study published in the journal Science estimated that these sharks could live at least 272 years, but scientists still have much to learn about the elusive species. The shark that washed up in Cornwall was a juvenile female that measured 13 feet (4 m) long and weighed 628 pounds (285 kilograms). Although researchers have yet to determine the shark's age, Greenland sharks typically become sexually mature when they're around 150 years old, according to the 2016 study. The animals continue to grow as they age, and adults can be up to 24 feet (7.3 m) long, according to the St. Lawrence Shark Observatory (ORS). James Barnett, a veterinary pathologist from the Cornwall Marine Pathology Team, carried out a postmortem of the shark on March 16 for the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP), a national program that partners with Cornwall Wildlife Trust's Marine Strandings Network. "It looked like it probably live-stranded," Barnett told Live Science. In other words, the shark was still alive when it washed up, and it died on the beach. "It obviously hadn't eaten for some time," Barnett said. "The stomach was totally empty." Barnett noted that the shark showed possible signs of septicemia, an infection in the blood, but it's not yet clear why the shark wasn't eating and ended up in shallow waters off Cornwall. There are a variety of reasons, including disease, that can explain why marine animals become stranded and die on beaches, but the movement of ocean currents and other marine conditions also play a part in bringing living and dead animals to shore. "The majority of our strandings are common dolphins and porpoises, and they would have all died within a kilometer [0.6 mile] of our coastline, if that," Crosby said. Because Greenland sharks usually swim far from the coast, the likelihood of one being swept in by the right current and weather conditions is really rare, she added. Barnett said this is the first time a Greenland shark has been given a necropsy in the U.K., to his knowledge. "They are a species that we just don't encounter," he said. Samples taken from the shark will help inform Greenland shark research, such as studies investigating their life history and diet, Rob Deaville, project manager for CSIP at the Zoological Society of London, said in a statement.

LVIV: Intense Russian air strikes hit the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and street fighting raged on Tuesday (Mar 22), a day after it rejected Moscow's demand to surrender, Ukrainian officials said. The city council said the bombardments were turning Mariupol into the "ashes of a dead land". Russia's RIA news agency said Russian forces and units of Russian-backed separatists had taken about half of the city, citing a separatist leader. The governor of Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said street fighting was taking place there and civilians as well as Ukrainian troops were coming under Russian fire. On the 27th day of war in Ukraine, the plight of civilians in Mariupol, normally home to 400,000 people, grew ever more desperate. Hundreds of thousands are believed to be trapped inside buildings, with no access to food, water, power or heat. "There is nothing left there," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address to Italy's parliament. Deputy Mayor Sergei Orlov told CNN the city was under a full blockade and had received no humanitarian aid. "The city is under continuous bombing, from 50 bombs to 100 bombs Russian aircraft drops each day ... A lot of death, a lot of crying, a lot of awful war crimes," Orlov said. Mariupol has become the focus of the war that erupted on Feb 24 when Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his troops over the border on what he calls a "special military operation" to demilitarise Ukraine and replace its pro-Western leadership. It lies on the Sea of Azov and its capture would allow Russia to link areas in the east held by pro-Russian separatists with the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014. Having failed to seize the capital Kyiv or any other major city with a swift offensive, Russian forces are waging a war of attrition that has reduced some urban areas to rubble and taken a huge civilian toll. The United Nations human rights office in Geneva said on Tuesday it had recorded 953 civilian deaths and 1,557 injured since the invasion. The Kremlin denies targeting civilians. Western officials said on Tuesday Russian forces were stalled around Kyiv but making some progress in the south and east. Ukrainian fighters are repelling Russian troops in some places but cannot roll them back, they said. However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "no one" had ever thought the operation in Ukraine would take just a couple of days and the campaign was going to plan, TASS news agency reported. Western nations were gearing up to impose further sanctions on Russia to force it to reconsider its actions. They will also tighten existing measures, increasing Russia's isolation from international trade and finance. US President Joe Biden will join other Western leaders for talks on Thursday in Brussels, where NATO and the European Union are based. Then he plans to travel to Poland, which has taken in some 2.1 million refugees from neighbouring Ukraine. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden would announce measures to reduce Europe's dependency on Russian gas - a major hurdle to the West's efforts to isolate Moscow economically. The leaders will also coordinate on the next phase of military assistance to Ukraine, Sullivan said. WASTELAND A Reuters team that reached a Russian-seized part of Mariupol on Sunday described a wasteland of charred apartment blocks and bodies wrapped in blankets lying by a road. Ukraine says Russian shells, bombs and missiles have struck a theatre, an art school and other public buildings, burying hundreds of women and children sheltering in cellars. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, speaking on Ukrainian television on Tuesday, demanded the opening of a humanitarian corridor for civilians. She said at least 100,000 people wanted to leave Mariupol but could not. Referring to Russia's earlier demand that the city surrender by dawn on Monday, Vereshchuk said: "Our military are defending Mariupol heroically. We did not accept the ultimatum. They offered capitulation under a white flag." Kyiv accused Moscow of deporting residents of Mariupol and separatist-held areas of Ukraine to Russia. This includes the "forcible transfer" of 2,389 children to Russia from the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said. Moscow denies forcing people to leave, saying it is taking in refugees. Ukraine also accused Russia of blocking humanitarian access to Kherson, which lies northwest of Crimea and is the only provincial capital it has captured. The Foreign Ministry said Kherson's 300,000 residents were running out of food. The conflict has so far displaced nearly a quarter of Ukraine's 44 million people, including some 3.5 million - half of them children - who have fled abroad. MOURNING HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR In his speech to Italian lawmakers, Zelenskyy said the war would bring famine to other countries. Ukraine is one of the world's biggest grain exporters and the war has caused global prices for staple foods to surge to record levels. "How can we sow (crops) under the strikes of Russian artillery?" he said. In an address overnight, Zelenskyy also drew attention to the death of Boris Romanchenko, 96, who survived three Nazi concentration camps during World War Two but was killed when his apartment block in besieged Kharkiv was shelled last week. In killing Romanchenko, "Putin managed to 'accomplish' what even Hitler couldn't," Ukraine's Defence Ministry said. In Russia, a court imposed a new nine-year sentence on Alexei Navalny, Putin's main political opponent, for fraud and contempt of court. Navalny was already serving a two-and-a-half year sentence at a prison camp east of Moscow for parole violations related to charges he says were fabricated to thwart his political ambitions. After sentence was pronounced, he said on Twitter: "The best support for me and other political prisoners is not sympathy and kind words, but actions. Any activity against the deceitful and thievish Putin's regime. Any opposition to these war criminals." Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/ukraine-invasion-mariupol-bombing-evacuation-refugees-2579051

ROCCA CALASCIO, Italy, March 22 (Reuters) - When the sun comes up over the castle of Rocca Calascio, a mountain hamlet high up in the central Italian Apennines, it is like a silent, red thunder. One such sunrise struck Franco Cagnoli with an almost spiritual calling that led him on a personal mission to revive the medieval village that had been abandoned in 1957. The once-ghostly place is one of many small locations in Italy enjoying a revival, fuelled by cheap prices, smart working opportunities and a desire for a quieter lifestyle. "To put it in romantic terms, there is a love story between me and Rocca Calascio," Cagnoli said as he showed visitors round the castle above the hamlet known as the "Light of Abruzzo", the name of the central Italian region where it is located. Depo[CENSORED]tion of rural villages or mountain hamlets in Italy began with emigration in the early 20th century, accelerating after World War Two when the country's economic boom lured people to urban jobs. At about 1,400 metres above sea level, the castle, whose foundations date back about 1,000 years, is one of the highest in Europe. The medieval hamlet below is home to two families and others have bought properties to restore as either primary residences or second homes. Cagnoli, now 39, first saw the castle when he was 16 and living in the regional capital L'Aquila. He was on road trip to find himself. "I arrived here on my scooter as the dawn lit up the castle. I was literally blinded by the light and since that day something inside me changed," he said. "I thought it was the most beautiful place on earth. I felt special energies." His bond with Rocca Calascio never loosened. In 2012 he moved to Calascio, a village of about 80 residents three kilometres by road downhill. He is now the castle's custodian and head of a cooperative whose 26 members guide visitors. One Rocca Calascio resident, Valeria Befani, left Rome in 1996 and now runs an online business selling woollen products she makes on an old-fashioned wooden loom. "People of the previous generation didn't appreciate, or thought they didn't appreciate, the land they lived on," Befani said. "Today's teenagers, like my children, are proud of their land and are happy if they can stay here." The castle, where the 1985 film "Ladyhawke" starring Michelle Pfeiffer was filmed, began as a tower in a chain of medieval defensive fortifications to control the valleys stretching inwards from the Adriatic Sea. Rocca Calascio's future was handed a boost this month when Italy's culture ministry included it among 21 places that will receive 20 million euros ($22 million) each to restore ruins and build visitor facilities. Initiatives to repo[CENSORED]te abandoned or scarcely po[CENSORED]ted villages in Italy have included town councils giving houses away or selling them for a pittance in exchange for a commitment to restore them. Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italian-medieval-mountain-hamlet-reborn-city-appeal-dims-2022-03-22/

The U.S. government has determined the attacks by Myanmar's military against the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority, constituted genocide and crimes against humanity, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Monday. The legal determination comes nearly five years after the brutal violence killed approximately 9,000 Rohingya and drove nearly 1 million from the Southeast Asian country across the border into Bangladesh, fleeing murder, rape and arson. Despite calls from Congress, human rights advocates, and other bodies to designate the atrocities a genocide, the State Department had held out. But now, with many of the same military leaders that were responsible for the genocide in power as part of a military coup last year, Blinken said recognizing the genocide was a key part of promoting accountability for its victims. "The day will come when those responsible for these appalling acts will have to answer for them," Blinken said firmly during remarks at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. The determination is only the eighth such one made by the State Department in the decades since the Holocaust, including in Bosnia and Rwanda, by ISIS and the Chinese government. It doesn't bring with it any automatic punishment. Instead, Blinken vowed to continue efforts toward accountability, including by announcing $1 million in new funding for the United Nations' Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar. U.N. investigators have already found that the military committed "genocidal acts," but the IIMM is collecting evidence for potential future prosecutions of military commanders involved in atrocities, just as investigations continue at the International Criminal Court and elsewhere. The U.N.'s top court, the International Court of Justice, also ruled in January 2020 that Myanmar must "take all measures within its power" to prevent the genocide of Rohingya after The Gambia, a small West African country, filed a lawsuit against Myanmar on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a coalition of countries with significant Muslim po[CENSORED]tions. Still, activists and human rights groups say Blinken's historic announcement could help spur action, ahead of the fifth anniversary of the military's deadly campaign this August. "Rohingya faced genocide, one of the most terrible crimes imaginable, and then faced the international community not even acknowledging it had happened. Today, the U.S. has gone a long way to correcting that," said Tun Khin, a Rohingya activist. But Myanmar, still called by its former name, Burma, by the U.S. government, is now led by the military commanders who oversaw and orchestrated the genocide, including Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the leader who deposed Myanmar's democratically-elected government and its civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Myanmar has denied it has committed a genocide, instead calling it a military operation against Islamist extremists. It has rejected the ICJ's findings and refused to cooperate with the ICC probe. The Trump administration stopped short of designating the atrocities a genocide, in part because of concerns that pushing Myanmar's government too strongly would cause a military coup that collapsed the power-sharing civilian-military government. But critics have argued the impunity the military largely faced laid the groundwork for its February 2021 coup, just days after President Joe Biden took office. Trump's first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, called the attacks "ethnic cleansing" and his successor, Mike Pompeo, quietly released a State Department report documenting the atrocities, but declined to speak to its significance. But that report was one "key" basis for Blinken's determination, he said Monday. When he took office, he said the department would conduct a new review of the evidence and make a determination. Conducted in 2018, the State Department report documented through interviews with victims of grisly crimes that approximately three-quarters personally witnessed a killing, a majority witnessed sexual violenceand one-fifth witnessed a "mass casualty event" in which more than 100 people were killed or injured. Blinken didn't just cite those statistics Monday, he also read the firsthand accounts of some victims, including those documented by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's exhibit, "Burma's Path to Genocide," which he toured before his remarks. "It's painful to even read these accounts, and I ask you -- I ask each and every one of you listening -- put yourself in their place. ... These stories force us to reckon with the immeasurable pain wrought by every heinous abuse. That pain ripples outward -- from the individual victims and survivors to loved ones, to friends, to entire communities," he said -- adding a reference to his stepfather Samuel Pisar, a Holocaust survivor and renowned author, who he said "carried" that pain "for the rest of his life." But despite that pain, Myanmar's military leaders have suffered few consequences for their bloody actions -- not just the genocide, but last year's coup -- according to some activists. Successive rounds of U.S., European Union, British and Canadian sanctions, including on key economic sectors and military-owned enterprises, have not changed their course, especially amid continued support from Russia and China. "Stronger actions must be followed to punish perpetrators, to protect remaining Rohingya in Myanmar, rebuild our lives," Wai Wai Nu, a Rohingya activist, tweeted Monday. Since the coup, the military has widened its attacks on civilians across the country and on other ethnic minority groups, while the same systems of persecution and violence that repressively targeted Rohingya for decades and presaged the genocide remain in place. "We urge the administration, and the international community, to continue to do more to hold the military junta accountable, redouble efforts to restore democracy and bring about a genuine national reconciliation to Burma," said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and James Risch, R-Idaho, the chair and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. But that kind of reconciliation seems increasingly out of reach. Over a year after the coup, the armed forces have killed more than 1,600 people and detained thousands more. An opposition "National Unity Government" has received some backing from the U.S., but the country is heading toward a protracted civil war with increasingly dangerous implications for Myanmar and the region, according to some analysts.

A China Eastern Airlines jetliner carrying 132 people crashed in the mountains in southern China's Guangxi region on Monday afternoon, according to the country's Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC). The Boeing 737 was en route from the southwestern city of Kunming to Guangzhou when it lost contact over the city of Wuzhou. On board were 123 passengers and nine crew members, CAAC said in a statement posted online. China Eastern Airlines confirmed those details and said it had activated emergency procedures, including a line for emergency assistance for family members. Rescue efforts are underway at the scene of the crash, but there were no immediate details on the possible cause or the number of casualties. China Eastern offered its condolences to those who were killed in the incident, without confirming any death toll. "The cause of the plane crash is still under investigation. The company expresses its sorrowful condolences to the passengers and crew members who died in this plane crash," the airline said in a statement. A piece of wreckage from China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 is seen in this photo, released by the Xinhua News Agency on March 21. Boeing said in a statement: "Our thoughts are with the passengers and crew of China Eastern Airlines Flight MU 5735. We are working with our airline customer and are ready to support them." The company added that it is in contact with the US National Transportation Safety Board and that its technical experts are ready to assist in the CAAC investigation. China Eastern staff wait to lead the relatives of those on board the crashed flight MU5735 to a special area at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, the destination of the flight, on Monday. Chinese President Xi Jinping instructed the country's emergency services to "organize a search and rescue" operation and "identify the causes of the accident," state media reported. "After the accident, President Xi Jinping immediately made instructions to start the emergency mechanism, organize search and rescue, and properly deal with the aftermath," state broadcaster CCTV said. Sudden descent The aircraft lost contact with emergency services before "suddenly descending" around 2:19 p.m., Chinese government officials and state media reported Monday. "A China Eastern plane (flight number MU5735) lost contact at 2.15 pm ... Rescue teams are on the way to ground zero, and rescue work is being laid out in order," the Guangxi Emergency Management Department said in a statement. The plane's altitude dropped from 8,869 meters (29,098 feet) to 1,333.5 meters (4,375 feet) in the span of three minutes, state news agency China News Service reported, citing VariFlight, a Chinese technology company that provides civil aviation data services. Hours after the accident, CCTV reported that the airline was grounding all its Boeing 737-800s and that the aircraft currently in the air would "not carry more flights after landing." CCTV also reported that rescue efforts could be hampered by bad weather and limited accessibility to the site. Heavy rescue equipment was unable to reach the scene -- which lacks electricity -- as it is surrounded by mountains on three sides and accessible only through a narrow path, CCTV said, citing the Guangxi Wuzhou fire department. Separately, Guangxi Meteorological Bureau warned that the rescue effort could be hindered by an incoming cold front that would see heavy rainfall and a temperature drop in Tengxian County, where the crash site is. Eyewitness describes falling plane In an interview with state media outlet Beijing Youth Daily, an eyewitness described seeing a plane "falling directly from the sky in front of him around 2 p.m." "The plane fell vertically from the sky. Although I was very far away, I could still see that it was a plane. The plane did not smoke during the fall. The fire started after it fell into the mountain, followed by a lot of smoke," the witness, who was only identified by his surname, Liu, said. "My heart was thumping. I immediately informed friends about the situation, that this area is dangerous and not to come nearby," Liu continued. In a separate interview with China News Service, a resident from Molang village in Tengxian county -- close to the scene of the crash -- reported seeing "wings and pieces of the plane, as well as pieces of clothing hanging from trees." The witness -- whose name was not published -- told state media he drove his motorcycle to the crash site after hearing "a huge explosion" around 2:40 pm to "see if he could participate in the rescue." The onlooker added that the accident caused "about 10 acres of fire," according to his visual estimates. Video showing what appears to be a plane falling nose first from the sky circulated widely on Chinese social media Monday, before being picked up and published by state media. Footage posted online and shared by state media outlet People's Daily show plumes of smoke billowing from a mountainous, forested area. Another clip shows what appears to be wreckage from the plane on a muddy mountain path. The colors on the Boeing and China Eastern Airlines websites were changed to black and white in China, as a sign of respect in response to the crash.

Honda's first full-size wind tunnel in the U.S. has a 26-foot fan that enables aerodynamic work at up to 193 miles per hour on road and race cars, while an array of 556 microphones enables aeroacoustic work. It's called HALO (Honda Advanced Laboratories of Ohio) and it's set among the automaker's existing R&D facilities and manufacturing plants in East Liberty, Ohio. The five-year, $124 million project will greatly improve vehicle development efficiency, Honda says. It will be fully operational later this summer and available for third parties to rent toward the end of 2023. High Altitude Low Opening and Helping Animals Live On have a new contender among the acronyms for HALO. We just visited Honda's just-completed $124 million wind tunnel dubbed Honda Advanced Laboratories of Ohio, in East Liberty, Ohio. Set among Honda's vehicle development facilities and manufacturing plants, it's an investment the automaker expects to keep on giving to the benefit of its customers, engineers, and race teams. The automaker has three full-scale wind tunnels in Japan, but the U.S. operations have been limited to a smaller tunnel that maxes out at 40 percent scale. Mike Unger, the HALO facility lead engineer with 29 years at Honda, said the smaller tunnel is "mainly about solidifying styling and the scale." But there are limitations at 40 percent scale, "especially under body bits," Unger said, "because we can't scale the air. To get that last little bit, you've got to have full-scale." Ever stricter fuel-economy regulations demand that last little bit, so Honda has sent expensive prototypes and engineers all over the world to full-scale tunnels. Having a pricey prototype sitting on a ship for weeks or months wasn't the best use of resources, and the strain on engineers was untenable. "We had a lot of people traveling all over the world," Unger said. "A lot of hotel rooms." HALO gives the domestic teams the ability to do more work more efficiently and find more opportunities for collaboration. Honda says HALO's range of capability is unmatched. The 26.2-foot fan can send gusts around the 1/8-mile wind tunnel circuit at up to 192.6 miles per hour. A modular rolling road system fits either a five-belt road for upper body aerodynamic work, or a single, wide-belt rolling road best for downforce work on high-performance and race cars. The turntable holding the road can flip through 180 degrees. The operator's station can gather 127 aerodynamic and aeroacoustic data channels. An array of 502 external microphones and 54 in-car microphones measure where wind noise is created and perceived outside and inside the vehicle. A heat exchanger filled with 16,000 gallons of glycol and water can vary wind temperature from 50 degrees to 122 degrees Fahrenheit. An 80-ton overhead arm can hold a probe to within a millimeter of its desired placement at the top shear speed of 193 mph. And it's so quiet inside the test center that at a wind speed of 87 miles per hour, the noise level outside the airflow measures 56.5 dBA—which is less noisy than normal conversation. And that's merely the beginning of the feature set. By serving the diverse needs of engineers at Honda, Acura, and the Honda Performance Development racing division, HALO puts a massive breadth of knowledge in one place. Furthermore, once HALO has finalized its process and is running smoothly, Honda will make the facility available to rent to any third party; HALO was built with corporate variety and corporate secrecy in mind, and a third-party contractor will run the tunnel for any renter that doesn't want Honda involved. There could be a Civic, an MDX, an IndyCar racer, a drone, and an architectural model bolted to the test bed in a single week. This makes HALO a living library of engineering, offering a potential exchange of information never available to the U.S. operations before. On top of improving development efficiency and vehicle testers to spend more time at home, this is where Unger really sees dividends, especially as the automaker dives into electric vehicles. "What we're going to do in the future, with people and processes, that's going to be the magic."