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La TV Samsung 65Q60B est actuellement l'une des meilleures offres du marché, et la bonne nouvelle, c'est qu'elle est désormais à un prix irrésistible sur Cdiscount ! Avec une réduction de prix incroyable, passant de 1339,56 € à seulement 849,99 €, cette TV QLED 65 pouces est un véritable bon plan à ne pas manquer. Taille d'écran impressionnante : avec ses 65 pouces (165 cm), la TV Samsung 65Q60B vous offre une expérience cinématographique immersive, idéale pour les films, les jeux vidéo et le visionnage de vos émissions préférées. Qualité d'image exceptionnelle : dotée de la technologie Dual LED et d'une résolution QLED (3840 x 2160), cette TV offre une qualité d'image époustouflante. Les couleurs sont riches et éclatantes grâce au Quantum Dot, tandis que la technologie HDR (Quantum HDR, HDR 10+, HLG) garantit des contrastes saisissants. Design élégant et moderne : la TV Samsung 65Q60B se distingue par son design fin et élégant. Avec ses trois bords fins et son écran d'une finesse de seulement 25 mm, elle s'intègre parfaitement dans n'importe quel espace de vie. Améliorations d'image avancées : cette TV est équipée de la technologie Dual LED pour une luminosité et un contraste exceptionnels. De plus, la calibration standard et le Micro Dimming Supreme UHD Dimming assurent une qualité d'image optimale pour chaque contenu que vous regardez. Connectivité étendue : avec trois ports HDMI, la TV Samsung 65Q60B offre une connectivité étendue pour connecter tous vos appareils, tels que les lecteurs Blu-ray, les consoles de jeu et les décodeurs. Les TV QLED offrent une qualité d'image exceptionnelle grâce à la technologie Quantum Dot, qui crée des couleurs plus vives et une luminosité accrue, offrant ainsi une expérience visuelle immersive. De plus, la technologie HDR associée à une TV QLED, comme la Samsung 65Q60B, garantit des contrastes plus profonds et des noirs plus sombres, rendant chaque image plus réaliste. Outre la qualité d'image supérieure, les écrans QLED sont réputés pour leur durabilité. Ils sont moins susceptibles de subir des brûlures d'écran, ce qui prolonge leur durée de vie par rapport à d'autres technologies d'affichage. Cette durabilité accrue en fait un choix économique à long terme pour votre divertissement à domicile. De plus, les TV QLED sont souvent dotées d'un design moderne et élégant qui s'intègre harmonieusement à votre espace de vie. En plus d'une qualité d'image exceptionnelle, elles ajoutent une touche d'esthétique à votre intérieur, ce qui en fait un choix parfait pour ceux qui recherchent à la fois style et performance dans leur téléviseur.Les tarifs mentionnés sont indicatifs et sujets à des variations. Futura peut recevoir une compensation lorsque nos lecteurs effectuent un achat via les liens inclus dans cet article. Votre soutien à travers ces liens marchands contribue directement au maintien de notre contenu informatif. https://www.futura-sciences.com/tech/breves/tech-decouvrez-tv-samsung-65q60b-experience-qled-exceptionnelle-prix-reduit-8700/

The 2024 presidential election year, which will be marked by simultaneous campaign and courtroom dramas, is off to a confusing and chaotic start. The climax of a long primary campaign in which one current and one former Republican governor have emerged to challenge former President Donald Trump is complicated by serious questions about whether Trump will appear on primary ballots in every state. After the US Supreme Court late last month agreed not to quickly rule on whether he has immunity from criminal prosecution, Trump now wants the court to fast-track the ballot question and ensure that voters have a right to see him on every ballot. It’s a bizarre irony that the government is currently prosecuting Trump for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election and disenfranchise voters while Trump is arguing that keeping him off the ballot in 2024 disenfranchises voters. Trump remains on Colorado ballot for now The first presidential primary contest – the Iowa caucuses – occurs in about 10 days and officially kicks off the monthslong, delegate-massing game by which candidates become a major party presidential candidate. Trump, for now, remains on the Colorado primary ballot, even after the Colorado Supreme Court’s December ruling that he should be constitutionally ineligible for office under the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban.” The former president on Wednesday formally asked the US Supreme Court to overturn the Colorado ruling. Trump similarly remains on the ballot in Maine, where the secretary of state has ruled Trump ineligible but an appeal is pending in state court. There is also a challenge to Trump’s eligibility in Oregon. Illinois and Massachusetts became the latest states on Thursday as a liberal advocacy group, which frequently works with anti-Trump Republican voters, has tried to use state election rules to question Trump’s eligibility. Other states, as CNN’s Marshall Cohen and Kristen Holmes reported, have rejected challenges to Trump’s qualification. The Supreme Court already rejected one Trump-related, fast-track request. Special counsel Jack Smith had asked justices to quickly decide the validity of Trump’s claim that he should essentially be immune from prosecution for anything he did as president. Instead, justices will allow that argument, which is related to Trump’s federal prosecution for 2020 election interference, to percolate up through appeals courts. The court’s rejection of Smith’s request increased the possibility that Trump’s slate of four separate criminal trials could be delayed. The federal election interference case currently has a trial date of March 4, the day before Super Tuesday, the biggest date on the presidential primary calendar. Role reversal Trump’s strategy is to delay his trials. His attorneys argued Thursday that Smith should be potentially be held in contempt of court for continuing to submit filings in the case while an appeals court considers Trump’s immunity claim. Anyone used to the normal Republican argument that state governments should get more control over who can take part in their elections will be confused by Trump’s arguments in his own case that Congress should be in charge of who gets to appear on presidential primary ballots. https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/04/politics/2024-election-campaigns-what-matters/index.html

Mazda will launch a new two-row mid-size SUV, the CX-70, in the U.S. on January 30. Based on the same platform as the CX-90, the CX-70 was originally supposed to arrive in 2023. It will offer a hybrid powertrain and is also likely to have Mazda's new 3.3-liter inline-six. UPDATE 1/3/24: The new 2025 Mazda CX-70 will debut January 30, according to a page on Mazda's Canadian website. Mazda officially describes it as, "a spacious two-row SUV designed for life's greatest adventures." It will likely go on sale in the U.S. later in the year, though we don't have a specific on-sale date yet. Check back soon for more coverage of this new crossover model, which we expect to be offered in inline-six and hybrid variants. Now that Mazda has launched the three-row CX-90 SUV, we've been waiting for its smaller sibling to arrive. Called the CX-70, this two-row mid-size crossover was originally slated to go on sale by the end of this year, but Mazda's North American CEO Tom Donnelly told Automotive News that this new model will now launch sometime in 2024. The addition of the CX-70 is part of Mazda's goal to grow its U.S. sales by offering more models to America's SUV-hungry buyers. The company's lineup will soon include the CX-30 subcompact, the CX-50 and CX-5 in the compact segment, and the CX-70 and CX-90 in the mid-size segment. We have an idea of what to expect from the CX-70, as Mazda already said that it will essentially be a wide-body version of the CX-60 (pictured), an SUV that's already on sale in Europe. The CX-70 will have a shorter wheelbase than the CX-90 but will use the same longitudinal-engine platform and is likely to share powertrains with its larger sibling. Donnelly also confirmed that the CX-70 will be offered with a hybrid powertrain, almost surely the same setup as the CX-90 PHEV that uses a 2.5-liter inline-four gasoline engine. The CX-90's turbocharged 3.3-liter inline-six, which produces either 280 or 340 horsepower depending on trim level, should also make its way into the CX-70. More information on the CX-70 is surely coming within the next few months, although Mazda has not provided a specific timeframe for when the SUV will debut. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a45596995/mazda-cx-70-release-date/

Dans un entretien accordé à Entrevue, Laurent Baffie s’est confié sans langue de bois sur les opérations de chirurgie esthétique qu’il a subies. Le comédien s’est souvenu de la douleur de certaines interventions. Laurent Baffie, 65 ans, ne maîtrise pas la langue de bois. Le comédien n’a jamais caché être passé sous le billard pour changer son apparence physique. En mars dernier, dans le documentaire Chauves, la revanche diffusé sur France 5, Laurent Baffie témoignait en ces termes : “Moi j’avais fait la totale, à la soixantaine j’ai fait les implants et les valises sous les yeux parce que ça me donnait un air fatigué. Donc quand j’ai refait de la télé les gens ont dit ‘'Oh là là, on ne le reconnaît pas, Oh là là, Baffie il a fait de la chirurgie esthétique’. Comme si j’avais fait la poitrine, les seins, les pommettes. Bah non j’ai juste fait les implants", avait-il confié Dans les colonnes d’Entrevue, Laurent Baffie s’exprime une nouvelle fois à ce sujet. Dans certains extraits dévoilés par Pure people dimanche 3 décembre 2023, on peut y lire à quel point l’ancien figurant de Mireille Mathieu à ses débuts a eu mal en raison de certaines interventions. Le papa de Jérémy (né en 1986), Mélody (née en 1988), Benjamin (né en 1995) et Bastien (né en 2004) explique alors qu’il a fait deux fois des implants capillaires et qu’il a aussi fait gommer ses poches sous les yeux qui lui “donnaient un air fatigué en permanence”. “Même mon père ne m'a pas reconnu” L’occasion pour Laurent Baffie d’évoquer la douleur provoquée par ces opérations : "Ça fait pas mal, ça fait très mal", indique-t-il au sujet du calvaire enduré par les implants capillaires. Pour les poches sous les yeux, il a été anesthésié. Il confie également avoir fait ses dents. “Entre les tifs, les valises et les ratiches, si on fait les comptes, j'ai l'équivalent d'une fermette en Normandie sur la gueule !", lâche-t-il, avec beaucoup d’auto-dérision. Puis, Laurent Baffie a ironisé sur le fait que certaines personnes ne l’ont pas reconnu en raison de son changement physique : "J'ai l'habitude, même mon père ne m'a pas reconnu", dit-il. https://actu.voici.fr/news-people/ca-fait-tres-mal-laurent-baffie-cash-sur-ses-operations-de-chirurgie-esthetique-772659?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=FR_Liberation_international&utm_content="Ça+fait+très+mal"+%3A Laurent Baffie+cash sur+ses+opérations+de+chirurg&utm_campaign=pmo_VOI_article_desktop_desktop_test_geoloc_v2_normal&dicbo=v4-KpVQpuN-1079626013

Dive in to discover seven species of sharks with mind-blowing traits. ByAllyson Shaw Think all sharks are gigantic, toothy eating machines? Think again: With more than 500 species of sharks, you’re sure to meet a few that surprise you. For instance, some sharks have teeth so small that they can’t take a bite out of anything. Others are practically vegetarian! "You think you understand sharks, and then they do something that totally shocks you," says Lisa Natanson, a biologist who studies sharks for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Can’t wait to hang out with your BFF? Neither can these sharks. Young lemon sharks often stick together for protection, helping each other watch out for larger sharks and other predators. But scientists have learned that lemon sharks won’t befriend just anybody. “They prefer to spend time with sharks that they’ve met before instead of strangers,” says Clemency White, a researcher at the Bimini Biological Field Station in the Bahamas. The sharks hang out with the same friends for years, following each other or swimming next to each other. And when scientists studied the pups in a predator-free environment, these sharks still chose to swim together rather than alone. Maybe these fish need matching friendship bracelets. A whale shark’s mouth is so wide that a 10-year-old kid could fit inside. But don’t worry: These sharks are mostly slurping up tiny shrimp like plankton about as small as a few grains of sand. Whale sharks feed by swimming slowly with their mouths open and filtering the tiny plants and animals out of the water. The largest fish in the world, whale sharks can be longer than a school bus and weigh 50,000 pounds—about four times as much as an African elephant. "They’re so big that not many animals are going to bother them," Natanson says. "So they tend to be very easygoing sharks."Through your eyes, the chain catshark seems to have brownish-yellow skin with black chain-shaped markings. But to another chain catshark swimming 1,600 to 2,000 feet below the surface, the fish glows in the dark! Pigments in the sharks’ skin absorb the blue light in the ocean and reflect it as green. These sharks have special cells in their eyes—called receptors—to see it. Because the glow patterns are different for males and females, scientists think these shy sharks use this ability to attract mates. "In that deep, dark environment, the sharks need to be able to find each other," Natanson says.Sure, great whites have 300 triangular teeth and the ability to smell a drop of blood in 25 gallons of water. But that doesn’t mean these top predators will chomp everything in their path. In fact, when great whites bite people, they usually release them. Scientists think it could be because humans aren’t on their menu, unlike seals, sea lions, and dolphins. "It’d be like if you picked up a drink thinking it’s soda, and it turned out to be coffee—bleh!" Natanson says. But it might also be that these curious sharks are just investigating a new object the only way they can: with their mouths!If you think your grandpa is old, just wait until you meet this fish. A Greenland shark swimming through deep, freezing Arctic water today might have been born when George Washington became the first president of the United States! This shark species can live for nearly 300 years—and possibly as many as 500 years. That’s the longest of any vertebrate (an animal with a backbone). Experts are still trying to figure out how these sharks can survive so long, but they think their icy-cold habitat and seriously slow lifestyle (a Greenland shark’s heart beats only once every 12 seconds; yours beats about once a second) might have something to do with their seemingly non-stop birthday parties.Bonnethead sharks are leafy-green eating machines. In fact, seagrass can make up over half of the bonnetheads’ diet. Scientists aren’t sure if these coastal sharks are trying to snack on the plants, or if they accidentally get a side salad while scooping up shrimp, mollusks, and blue crabs hiding in the seagrass. Unlike almost all other sharks, which are carnivores and don’t eat plants, bonnetheads have a special digestive system that can absorb nutrients from greens. Hey, bonnethead—you have a leaf stuck in your teeth!Some sharks ambush their prey; others bump them before going in for a bite. But only one shark species flies: spinner sharks. These predators glide beneath a school of tuna or sardines, eyeing the tasty fish huddled together in a protective ball-like shape. With a burst of energy, the shark swims toward the surface with its mouth open, its slim body twirling through the water like a ballerina. Score! The shark nabs a fish—but the show’s not over yet. The shark’s momentum pushes it up to 20 feet out of the water, rotating several times before splashing back down. Now that’s a fin-tastic show! https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/article/surprising-sharks

Report as Crystal Palace and Everton play out 0-0 draw in FA Cup third round; Dominic Calvert-Lewin controversially sent off after VAR review for tackle on Nathaniel Clyne; Dwight McNeil was stretchered off with a leg injury in another blow for Everton; replay will be held at Goodison Park Sean Dyche admitted VAR was beginning to "test his patience" after Everton had to settle for a goalless draw in their FA Cup third-round tie at Crystal Palace following Dominic Calvert-Lewin's harsh red card. With Everton pushing to break the deadlock in the second half of a tight game at Selhurst Park, Calvert-Lewin slid in to win the ball from Nathaniel Clyne, with Chris Kavanagh, the referee, allowing play to goBut with Clyne staying down after the challenge, Craig Pawson, the VAR, recommended Kavanagh conduct an on-field review, with the referee then handing Calvert-Lewin a straight red card despite the striker making minimal contact with the Palace defender's shin.Everton suffered a further blow when Dwight McNeil was stretched off - although Sean Dyche said the midfielder was "OK" - but they held on for a deserved draw, with Palace now set to visit Goodison Park for the replay. Having been knocked out in the third round in three of their last four FA Cup campaigns, Palace kept changes to a minimum after beating Brentford last time out - although Roy Hodgson did finally hand a first start to £26m summer signing Matheus Franca. Eberechi Eze finally forced a save from Joao Virginia - starting in place of the rested Jordan Pickford - early in the second half, but Everton continued to look the more likely to open the scoring. Calvert-Lewin should have done more than provide Henderson with a simple save after finding space in the area, before his evening went from bad to worse thanks to his controversial dismissal. The officials somehow deemed the 26-year-old to have committed serious foul play, meaning he will now miss Everton’s next three matches. But Everton were not deterred and continued to push for the winner, with James Garner and Jack Harrison both lashing wild finishes over the bar. McNeil then exited the game after falling awkwardly, which prompted Palace to belatedly hunt a winner, going closest when Virginia tipped Eze’s long-range shot wide. There was still time for a half-hearted Everton penalty shout when Beto threw himself to the floor under pressure from Joachim Andersen, but Kavanagh appeared to make the right call in turning down the appeals - despite Dyche's protestations. But the hosts were unable to truly test Everton’s No 2 and will now have to win at Goodison if they want to progress to the fourth round, while the Toffees will be grateful to have ended a four-game losing run. Dyche questioned the purpose of referees being called to the monitor, saying: "Every fan must think, ‘what is the point?’ "We all know the outcome - they’re going to agree with everything they’ve been told. I don’t know what the stats are but the chances of something getting turned down are miniscule. Why even bother? "I’m a fan of VAR but I just don’t get looking at the screen." Asked for his thoughts on the much-maligned system, Dyche said: "It seems a bit confused at the moment. It needs tidying up. I thought it was getting tidied up but it seems to have taken a step back. It’s beginning to test my patience." Dyche also thought his side should have had a late penalty, telling ITV: "If you’re going to slow-mo things, you’ve got to slow-mo what could have been a penalty on Beto. "He’s got his arms clearly round him, cupping his body." Hodgson admitted he was slightly confused by the decision to send off Calvert-Lewin, telling ITV: "I don't know if I can understand those things these days. I don't know what to make of it. "The fact depends how far you want to go back in the past because I'm certain there’ll be lots of people who played in the past watching, saying, 'No, that's not a red card'. "But then people playing recently will possibly say it's a red card because of the way the studs were up, and he was leading with a straight leg. "I think it's unfortunate for Calvert-Lewin and it certainly wasn't a vicious foul by any stretch of the imagination. "I thought the referee actually refereed the game quite well. There was a lot of decisions to make, a lot of challenges because both teams were relatively physical, so I thought he handled that fairly well. "If the decision is a red card, so be it, I suppose. But I'm not prepared really to come out and say definitely it was, or definitely it wasn’t. I think it's a modern-day situation." Crystal Palace's next game is on Saturday January 20 when they travel to Arsenal in the Premier League; kick-off 12.30pm. The Eagles then host Sheffield United on Tuesday January 30; kick-off 8pm. Everton's next outing is at home to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday January 14, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 2pm. The Toffees then go to Fulham on Tuesday January 30; kick-off 7.45pm. https://www.skysports.com/football/crystal-palace-vs-everton/report/500724

Rescuers in Japan are rushing to find 242 people missing after a devastating New Year's Day earthquake. A critical 72-hour period to find survivors from when the quake struck ended late on Thursday. On Friday, the death toll from the 7.6 magnitude earthquake in the remote Noto peninsula rose to 92. Japan's Self-Defense Forces doubled the number of troops taking part in rescue and relief to 4,600, Kyodo news agency reported. Many people are thought to be trapped under their collapsed homes - mostly in the towns of Suzu and Wajima. The wooden structures were not built to withstand powerful earthquakes that frequently plague the country. Tens of thousands of residents are still without power and water, while hundreds remain isolated from help because of landslides and blocked roads. "We will not give up," Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said after a meeting with disaster response officials on Friday. What a century of earthquakes has taught Japan Eerie search for bodies near Japan quake epicentre Mr Kishida urged rescue and relief workers to leave no stone unturned in reaching the affected communities. The earthquake on Monday evening also triggered a small tsunami that flooded at least 296 acres (120 ha) of land, according to Japan's land ministry. Japan had said it would spend 4.74 billion yen ($34m; £27m) in budget reserves to assist the victims. Photos posted by the Japan Ground Self Defense Force showed troops loading food, drinking water and toiletries on to trucks that were lined up on the road. Troops can also be seen clearing mud and debris from landslide-hit roads. In another photo, troops were shown carrying a survivor on a stretcher over a snow-covered trail. The BBC saw extensive destruction on a visit to Wajima on Wednesday, where some homes and vehicles were crushed under crumbling concrete. Many of the town's old, traditional wooden homes had collapsed. The town with a po[CENSORED]tion of 23,000 now resembles a ghost town as most heeded early evacuation warnings, when tsunamis were forecast. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-67889216

Nick movie: THE OUTLAWS Time: ChanelQhu Netflix / Amazon / HBO: N/A Duration of the movie: 98 Mins Trailer:

OnePlus Ace 3 was launched in China on Thursday as the latest flagship smartphone from the brand. The new OnePlus handset comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC and boasts a 6.78-inch BOE Oriental AMOLED screen with 1.5K resolution. The OnePlus Ace 3 is equipped with a 5,500mAh battery with 100W SuperVOOC fast charging support. It has a triple rear unit led by a 50-megapixel primary sensor. Other highlights of the handset include up to 16GB RAM, Android 14, stereo speakers, and a maximum of 512GB storage. The OnePlus Ace 3 is expected to debut in India and other global markets as OnePlus 12R later this month. OnePlus Ace 3 price The price of OnePlus Ace 3 has been set at CNY 2,599 (roughly Rs. 30,000) for the base 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variant and CNY 2,999 (roughly Rs. 33,000) for the 16GB RAM + 512GB model. A top-of-the-line 16GB RAM + 1TB storage option is also available at CNY 3,499 (roughly Rs. 40,000). It comes in Moon Sea Blue, Ming Sha Jin, and Star Black (translated from Chinese) colours and is currently up for pre-booking. It is scheduled to go on sale in China starting January 15. OnePlus is hosting its 'Smooth Beyond Belief' event in New Delhi on January 23 to unveil the OnePlus 12 and OnePlus 12R. The latter is expected to be a rebranded version of the OnePlus Ace 3. OnePlus 12, OnePlus 12R Colour, RAM, Storage Options for India Leaked OnePlus Ace 3 Specifications The dual-SIM (Nano) OnePlus Ace 3 runs on Android 14 with ColorOS 14.0 on top and features a 6.78-inch (1,264x2,780 pixels) Oriental AMOLED LTPO display with up to 4,500 nits peak brightness, 360Hz touch sampling rate, 2160Hz instant touch sampling rate, and up to 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. The display offers support for HDR and features Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection. The handset has an Aluminum alloy metal middle frame and glass back. Under the hood, the OnePlus smartphone is equipped with an octa-core 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, along with 12GB or 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM options, and Adreno 740 GPU. It packs up to 1TB UFS 4.0 storage as well.For optics, the OnePlus Ace 3 has a triple rear camera setup that houses a 50-megapixel Sony IMX890 primary sensor with an f/1.8 lens and optical image stabilisation (OIS) support. The camera unit includes an 8-megapixel ultra wide-angle sensor with f/2.2 lens and a 2-megapixel macro camera with f/2.4 lens. For selfies and video chats, it comes with a 16-megapixel sensor at the front, with an f/2.4 lens. Connectivity options on the OnePlus Ace 3 include 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, Beidou, GLONASS, Galileo, GPS, and NFC. Sensors on board include an accelerometer, e-compass, gyroscope, gravity sensor, geomagnetic sensor, IR control, light sensor, colour temperature sensor, proximity sensor, and X-axis linear motor. It packs stereo speakers with support for Dolby Atmos. OnePlus has packed a 5,500mAh battery on the OnePlus Ace 3. It supports 100W SuperVOOC fast charging, which is claimed to fill the battery from zero to 100 percent in just 27 minutes. Besides, the handset measures 163.3x75.3x8.8mm and weighs 207 grams. https://www.gadgets360.com/mobiles/news/oneplus-ace-3-launch-price-specifications-features-sale-january-15-4799025#pfrom=topstory

On the morning of January 25, 1884, Jane Pitts woke up to newspaper headlines that her daughter Helen, without her knowledge, had married the famous abolitionist and writer Frederick Douglass. The news of the union shocked many people, and scrutiny came from all sides at once toward the newlyweds, who now found themselves in the middle of a controversy. Who was Helen Pitts Douglass, and how did her marriage to Frederick become akin to a national scandal? Born to an upstate New York family whose kin included Franklin D. Roosevelt and Henry David Thoreau, Helen Pitts was raised by abolitionist and reformist parents. After pursuing higher education and obtaining a degree (a rare accomplishment for a woman at that time), she briefly worked as a teacher in Norfolk, Virginia, where a school was opened for Black children soon after the city surrendered to Union forces during the Civil War. Constantly harassed by Confederate sympathizers, Black students in Norfolk faced many barriers to receiving an education. During her tenure, Pitts stood her ground and defended her students, causing whoever harassed them to be arrested and fined for their behaviour. Unfortunately, her teaching career was cut short by an illness that forced her to stay bedridden for years. In 1882 Pitts moved to Washington, D.C., where she wrote regularly for The Alpha, a feminist newspaper. She stayed at her uncle’s house, which happened to be next to Cedar Hill, the home of Frederick Douglass and his wife, Anna Murray Douglass. Pitts and Frederick became acquaintances through letters in which they discussed politics with each other. After he was appointed Washington’s recorder of deeds, Pitts was hired as a clerk at his office. It was in that year that his wife of more than 40 years passed away. Douglass subsequently fell into a deep depression, during which he moved north to reconnect with friends, including Pitts’s family. His relationship with Pitts intensified probably sometime in 1883 when they found themselves in each other’s company discussing shared interests, from political reform to theatre. In January 1884, in a surprising move that not even their own families saw coming, Frederick Douglass and Helen Pitts married in the home of a mutual friend. The immediate reaction from their families was unfavourable, to say the least. Douglass’s children opposed the marriage because they saw it as an insult to their mother, who had passed away about 18 months earlier. Pitts’s family, though devout abolitionists, did not accept her decision as a white woman to marry a Black man. Her father, Gideon Pitts, refused to talk to her again and excluded her from his will. Around the country, responses to the marriage tended to be negative. Many national publications targeted the newlyweds’ age gap, mistakenly stating that Helen was younger than Frederick’s eldest child. In reality, Helen and Frederick were 21 years apart. Criticisms from both white people and Black people targeted the interracial nature of the marriage. Interracial marriage, especially between a Black man and a white woman, was controversial and rare in America’s predominantly white society. Black publications implied that Douglass was betraying his race and his cause by marrying a white woman. Despite the negative press, some influential activists and friends of his, such as journalist Ida B. Wells, spoke in defense of the couple. Although Frederick and Helen mostly refused to respond to the criticism, Frederick, in a letter to a friend in 1884, asked, “What business has the world with the color of my wife?” Frederick Douglass and Helen Pitts Douglass remained married until his death in 1895. After his will was contested by his children, Helen secured loans in order to buy Cedar Hill and preserve it as a memorial to her late husband. She dedicated the rest of her life to commemorating Frederick Douglass’s legacy as well as giving speeches about ongoing political issues. Because of her perseverance, Cedar Hill is now a national historic site where visitors can see original furnishings in the home that she and Frederick Douglass lived and worked in. https://www.britannica.com/story/molecular-machines-making-for-the-future

When your Windows computer or Mac suddenly shudders to a halt and struggles to perform basic tasks, like switching between programs, that's a sure sign that you're suffering from a lack of free random access memory (RAM). Problems like those, and others like applications crashing, can often be fixed by clearing the RAM on your computer. Ways to Free Up RAM on Windows or Mac Whether you have a Windows computer or a Mac, these methods will help you free up some RAM. Restart your computer. The simplest way to completely clear your RAM and start fresh is to restart your Windows PC or fully shut down your Mac and then turn it back on. By fully shutting down your computer, you remove power from the RAM, which clears it out. When you turn your computer back on, you'll be working with a clean slate. Update your software. Make sure that your operating system and all of the apps you use are fully updated. Older versions of operating systems and apps often exhibit problems like memory leaks or are just inefficient and use too much resources. Try different apps. If you notice slowdown whenever you use a specific app, like your web browser, shut it down and try an alternative. For example, if you're using Chrome, try Chromium-powered Edge. Clear your web browser cache. Another option, if you're experiencing trouble with your web browser, is to clear the cache. Web browser caches are located on your hard drive, not your RAM, but they can still cause similar issues when full. If you've tried the basics, and your Windows PC is still running slow, then we have a number of potential fixes that are Windows-specific. Make sure to try each of these tips before you take additional actions like upgrading your RAM. Check memory use and force quit problematic processes. The Task Manager in Windows allows you to see how much RAM each individual process is using. If you find that a particular app is hogging all your RAM, and you aren't using the app, try force quitting. You may want to consider an alternative app in the future if the problem persists. Remove unnecessary startup programs. When you start Windows, a number of apps automatically start in the background. Each of these apps takes up RAM, so having a bunch of unnecessary apps start up can cause problems. Try setting it so that only the apps you use every day start up automatically, and see if that helps. Clean up your background apps. In Windows, apps are allowed to run in the background by default. You can set it so no apps are able to run in the background, or only allow the ones that you actually use by going to Windows Settings > Privacy > Background Apps (scroll down the left pane). Clear your page file on restart. Windows uses something called a page file to store temporary data in a manner somewhat similar to RAM. Unlike RAM, which is automatically cleared when your computer powers down, the page file will stay full. Clearing the page file doesn't have a direct impact on your RAM, but it can have a similar effect. Click the Start Menu search bar, type Registry Editor, and select the Registry Editor from the results. Click Yes in the dialog box. In the left pane, navigate to HKEY_Local_Machine > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Control > Session Manager > Memory Management. Double click ClearPageFileAtShutdown. Enter 1 in the Value data field, and click OK. Increase virtual memory. This is related to the previous step, but slightly different. In Windows, the terms page file and virtual memory are used interchangeably. If clearing your page file, then adding addition space to virtual memory may help. Disable visual effects. Windows 10 employs a lot of minor visual effects that help improve the experience of using the operating system. These visual effects require system resources to run, so switching them off can effectively free up RAM for mission critical applications. Macs can also suffer from RAM issues. If you're experiencing a slowdown, apps crashing, or warnings about insufficient memory on your Mac, try these fixes. Check memory use in the Activity Monitor. The Activity Monitor allows you to see how much RAM each app is using on your Mac. If you identify any apps that are hogging all your RAM, you can try closing them. Apps you actually use will tend to grab those resources back as soon as you relaunch, so you may want to look for alternatives that require less RAM Check CPU usage in the Activity Monitor. In addition to seeing how much RAM each app is using, Activity Monitor also allows you to see how much attention each app is demanding from your CPU. While this isn't directly related to RAM, an app that takes more than its share of processing power will slow down your Mac. Try closing problem apps and replacing with alternatives if possible. Clean up your desktop. Every file and app on your desktop is loaded into RAM, so an excessively cluttered desktop can end up using a lot of resources. Do you have a high resolution display or multiple displays, with apps, photos, and various other documents and files sprayed across your desktops? Try moving those files elsewhere, or at least consolidate things into a few folders. Close excess Finder windows. If you go for extended periods of time without fully shutting down your Mac, you're bound to end up with a bunch of Finder windows open in the background. Each of these windows loads its contents into RAM, so consider consolidating them into tabs. Click Finder, right-click Preferences, and tick off Open folders in tabs instead of new windows. To consolidate your Finder windows into one, click Window > Merge All Windows. Free up disk space for virtual memory. When your RAM fills up, your Mac has the ability to use virtual memory by storing temporary files in a special location on your storage drive. It isn't able to do so if your drive is full, which can cause slowdown and even errors. To fix this problem, consider deleting files and apps you no longer use. What If You're Still Having Memory Problems? While the methods we provided above are sure to work in the short term, it's likely that your problems will eventually reoccur. If you're running more apps than your computer can handle, trying to run an app that needs more RAM than you have, or have an app that malfunctions and takes too much RAM, then most fixes are just going to be temporary band-aids. Similarly, RAM issues can be caused by malware and other problems. Here are some other ways to deal with a lack of RAM: Scan your computer for malware. If you have one or more viruses or other malware on your computer, they will often compete with your other apps for resources like RAM and subsequently slow the whole system down. A good antivirus program for Windows, or a Mac antivirus, can take care of this problem. Use a RAM cleaner app. These apps vary in utility, with some doing little at all, and others automating many of the tips found above. If you're out of options, then it's worth a try. You may want to specifically focus on fixing memory leaks if you have a Windows PC or try tuning up your Mac. Install additional RAM. When all else fails, simply adding more RAM should do the trick. Check to see whether your computer has extra RAM slots, or if you'll have to remove the old RAM and insert new units. Installing RAM in a Windows PC is usually pretty easy, while laptops are often more difficult to work with. You can also upgrade your RAM on some Macs, as long as it isn't already equipped with the maximum amount (or Apple just doesn't let you). By clearing your RAM, you free up space for your apps to use and work more efficiently. What Does RAM Do, and Why Clear It? Every computer has a type of memory called RAM that's designed for short term data storage. It's faster to read and write data from the RAM than from your computer's long term storage, so data from all of the active processes on your computers, like your operating system and apps, ends up stored in the RAM. When you shut your computer down, the RAM is completely cleared out. Then when you start your computer back up, and every time you open or interact with an app, new data is written to and retrieved from the RAM at an incredibly fast rate. This process goes on without notice, behind the scenes, until you open too many apps, or one of your apps is especially hungry for memory, and your RAM fills up. When that happens, apps will slow down, you'll have trouble switching between apps, and some may even crash. https://www.lifewire.com/best-ways-to-clear-ram-on-your-mac-or-windows-computer-5073715

Final Fantasy 14 is one of my all-time favorite games, and it’s my duty to try and recruit as many new sprouts to Eorzea’s whimsical world as I possibly can. If you haven’t yet delved deep within the lore-driven MMO from Square Enix, there’s no better time to give it a go than now as you can snag the game and all of its expansion packs for half the price. The deal won’t last forever, and I genuinely believe it to be one you shouldn’t miss. It’s no secret that Final Fantasy 14 is massive, and it’s with good reason. As a dedicated Warrior of Light myself, I can attest to the fact that the iconic MMORPG has thousands of hours of chaos-causing fun to offer for all sorts of players. Love a casual, cozy experience where you simply decorate homes and tend to your own private island? FF14 has got you covered. Prefer a hardcore experience with challenging raids? Look to FF14. Getting into the heart of the story itself would take me ages, so I’ll just say that the narrative design is top-tier in FF14. In fact, I’d call it one of my favorite Final Fantasy stories in general. The cast of characters you encounter is unforgettable, and the dialogue will leave you crying. Even if you think to yourself, “I hate MMORPGs,” the cat boys and girls of Eorzea will change your mind in a matter of minutes. You can get Final Fantasy 14 and see why I’m so passionate about it now for 50% off right until Wednesday, January 17 via Square Enix. The discount applies to both the Complete Edition for $29.99 / £17.49, which contains the base game and its four expansions, as well as the Collector’s Edition, which comes with all that same game content and in-game bonus items from the DLC packs such as special mounts. It’s the perfect time to experience the magic of FF14 too, since we’ve just entered the Heavensturn 2024 event period where you can obtain a cute minion and take part in an exclusive questline. This also gives you ample time to prepare for the Dawntrail release date, the momentous launch of Final Fantasy 14’s fifth major expansion pack. While you consider joining us as a fresh-faced Warrior of Light, you can check out a few of our other favorite fantasy games if you find yourself drawn to Square’s stunning setting. Alternatively, browse through our rundown on the most fulfilling story games available to play right now if you’re more attracted to FF14’s gripping lore. Be sure to also follow us on Google News for more daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or grab our PCGN deals tracker to net yourself some shiny bargains. https://www.pcgamesn.com/final-fantasy-xiv/sale

The latest Forza title is not a racing game – it’s a match 3 puzzler. Made by UK-based studio Hutch, Forza Customs mixes a casual puzzle core with a car-customising meta that makes for one of the more unexpected licensed games of the year. It all makes perfect sense once CEO Shaun Rutland explains that Hutch is not “attached to a genre, but more attached to an audience.” To put it another way: Hutch increasingly makes ‘car culture’ games, rather than actual racing games. It signed a deal with Microsoft in early 2020 to explore how Forza could work on mobile, and three years later, the final result is Forza Customs – a puzzle-and-decorate game, essentially. “If we make a traditional racing game, how can we compete with Forza Horizon? We’re filling a need in a completely different space,” Rutland explains. “And creatively, it’s actually a really exciting problem for us. The options are endless, we really feel innovative – and a lot of people think mobile games aren’t innovative.” “The relationship with Microsoft is really good because both parties were really clear – we’re not making a traditional racing game, like a Forza Horizon on mobile,” he continues. “We went through a number of ideas together to really explore what it could mean and what would be valuable…there are risks, because I do believe the Forza audience expects a racing game, but if you’re on mobile, racing games are really hard and very skill-based. And to make a traditional racing game work on mobile requires hundreds of millions of downloads.” Match 3 meets car customisation came up early in the testing phase, says Rutland, and it stuck. “We have a process for testing and testing early, and allowing our team to try out all sorts of ideas really quickly. Microsoft were very open to it being in a different kind of space, and it’s been a real joy working with them – and terrifying, because we hero worship them.” Besides, Hutch already has that action-racing box ticked with Rebel Racing, and has found far greater success away from straight racing games with Top Drives and F1 Clash. The studio was also burned badly by its experience with 2017’s Race Kings. “That was a really painful experience for us. It was a great game but it was a really bad business,” says Rutland, who notes that the twitch racer was, in the end, not suited to the players that actually pay for content: mostly males over 25 who are not so interested in skill-based play. “We laid a massive bet on Race Kings – we raised some money, put most of our chips on it. And we had a side project called Top Drives which was basically a Top Trumps kind of collectible card game. And in that classic way the universe works, the game that had all the budget failed and the game that had no budget was huge.” Usually, at this point in the article, there’s some discussion of how the studio is tackling today’s much tougher marketing landscape. But Hutch has a lot of that figured out already, says Rutland. “Marketers will go: who’s your audience? But we’re clear about our audience and the cohorts and the segments within that audience. We’ve got a really strong marketing team and as part of MTG, that team has got a lot bigger and stronger and more global.” Hutch has, in the past, done TV advertising to support its performance marketing efforts on Top Drives and F1 Clash, and Rutland says it may do some with Forza Customs, too. “You only do it in support of and by following up with strong targeted marketing,” he says. “Performance marketing has become tougher. I’m not going to brag and say we’ve spent 10s of millions on TV advertising – we’re doing it in the right way and figuring it out.” “Tactics come and go every month,” he continues. “You’ve got to be completely humble and always change. You’ll find something and it’s like you struck oil, and then the well dries up. The strength of our marketing team is that they are always trying new stuff.” Rutland also pays tribute to Forge of Empires maker InnoGames, which is also owned by MTG. Though the two studios might seem very different, Rutland says it has been invaluable to have the InnoGames team “just a Slack message away” for advice on live ops, marketing and everything else that goes with running a mobile game company. Next, Hutch is working with NASCAR on a new title, and while of course the studio has worked well with big brands like F1 and Forza, Rutland says it isn’t moving entirely away from creating its own IP. “I want to learn more and move faster,” he adds. “But yeah, I think we want to have a blended approach.” “We’re a profitable business and I feel very grateful to my team for enabling that, but we can’t take it for granted. It’s a really, really tough time. I don’t know what next year holds for Hutch and my team. We know there’s some really phenomenal competitors out there that are bringing out phenomenal games. The lifeblood of this business is testing new ideas and finding new new products to build.” https://mobilegamer.biz/why-hutch-mixed-match-3-with-car-culture-in-forza-customs/

Junior doctors’ leaders have said they are prepared to stage yet more strikes after the longest stoppage in NHS history, as health leaders warned that this week’s action alone could cripple the health service until spring. The dire warnings came as Rishi Sunak faced fresh pressure over his pledge to reduce waiting times. Since he made his vow exactly a year ago, the list has gone up, not down – and by 500,000, official figures reveal. The prime minister must now come up with an emergency plan to “get waiting times falling immediately”, according to an open letter published today that has been signed by 73,000 people. Millions of people are “getting sicker while waiting” and living with “anxiety and uncertainty”, says the letter, organised by the campaign group 38 Degrees – which was also signed by celebrities such as Stephen Fry, Jo Brand and Michael Rosen. On Wednesday night, at the end of the first of six days of strike action, Prof Sir Stephen Powis, NHS England’s national medical director, said its impact would be felt for “weeks and months” as tens of thousands of appointments and operations were ditched and will have to be rescheduled. A blazing row also broke out on Wednesday night as it emerged that multiple hospitals under severe strain had called on junior doctors to return to work due to patient safety concerns, but almost all the requests had been rejected. The Guardian understands that as many as 20 hospitals had submitted so-called derogation requests to the British Medical Association by 9pm, calling on doctors to return to work. But the BMA said the derogation process was being “undermined” and accused several hospitals of failing to illustrate what steps they had taken to mitigate the need for junior doctors to work. All but one of the requests were rejected, and the final one was being considered by the union. The BMA said such requests should come as a “last resort” and only be used in “unexpected and extreme circumstances unrelated to industrial action”. But NHS England said it had “a robust process in place” for seeking derogations from the BMA and always provided “strong evidence” where hospitals needed support. The 144-hour stoppage – due to end at 7am on 9 January – is the ninth time junior doctors have stopped working since last March and the longest strike to hit the health service since it was founded in 1948. However, after thousands of junior doctors in England began the strike on Wednesday, Vivek Trivedi, a co-chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) junior doctors’ committee, issued a new warning that further strikes were not being ruled out. Trivedi confirmed that junior doctors would be willing to accept the 35% pay rise that they have demanded over “a number of years”, but ministers have repeatedly said 35% is unaffordable. With no end to the dispute in sight, Trivedi said junior doctors might have little choice but to strike again and again in 2024. “If the government stall, or they don’t come to the table, or they make excuses, or they try to push things down the line without any clear reason as to why that is happening … then we will be led by our members. “In the past, when those kinds of actions have been displayed by the government, our members have wanted us to call for further strike action. I hope that we don’t have to go there, but I can’t rule it out.” The prospect of further strike action will alarm NHS leaders. Hospitals reported being “exceptionally busy” on Wednesday. Queen Alexandra hospital in Portsmouth said its A&E department was “full” and declared a critical incident. Bolton NHS foundation trust said it was facing “extreme pressure”, with waiting times in A&E of “up to 11 hours”. On Wednesday evening, a critical incident was also declared across the Nottinghamshire NHS system. Warwick hospital warned that it was under “extreme heightened pressure” and Leeds teaching hospitals NHS trust announced that its hospitals were “under significant pressure”. Health officials in East Sussex, South Tees, Gateshead, Greater Manchester, Berkshire, Rotherham and the Princess Alexandra hospital in Harlow, Essex, also reported being busier than usual. Powis said: “This latest round of strike action will not only have an impact on this week, but will have an ongoing effect on the weeks and months ahead as we struggle to recover services and cope with heavy demand.” Hospital bosses said the next five days would be “incredibly tough”. Some expressed fury that the BMA and the government had failed to reach an agreement for “months and months”. Nick Hulme, the chief executive of East Suffolk and North Essex NHS foundation trust, said “patients are paying the price” as the strikes continued. Trivedi insisted that junior doctors were “not hellbent on strikes” and hoped the government would resume talks swiftly. “The notion that we’re hellbent on calling strikes and all we want to do is call strikes is not what we want. What we want is to negotiate an offer we can put to our members and for our members to accept it.” The industrial action, from 7am on Wednesday 3 January to 7am on Tuesday 9 January, comes at one of the busiest times of the year for the NHS as it faces heightened pressure from winter viruses and a surge in people coming forward who delayed seeking help over Christmas and the new year. The NHS has warned that the strike, which will see as much as half of the medical workforce in England stopping work, could lead to “the most difficult start to the year the NHS has ever faced”. It said emergency and urgent care would be prioritised during the strikes and almost all routine care would be affected. Patients are being urged to come forward to seek care if they need it. The health secretary, Victoria Atkins, said: “January is typically the busiest time of the year for the NHS, and these strikes will have a serious impact on patients across the country. “I urge the BMA junior doctors’ committee to call off their strikes and come back to the negotiating table so we can find a fair and reasonable solution to end the strikes once and for all.” The alternative manifesto: Securing the future of the NHS On Tuesday 27 February, 8pm-9.15pm GMT, join Denis Campbell, Narda Ahmed, Siva Anandaciva and Greg Fell as they discuss what an alternative manifesto for health and social care could be. Book tickets here or at theguardian.live From presidential elections to the Paris Olympics, 2024 will be a year to remember. But whatever lies in store, the Guardian will be there to document, report, investigate and explain. Thanks for joining us from Algeria. As we enter 2024, the Guardian remains emphatically not for sale. But we do need readers to support us – and there are three good reasons why you might choose to do so: 1. We believe in quality, investigative journalism as a scrutinising force at a time when the rich and powerful are getting away with more and more 2. We are free from political or commercial influence, with no billionaire owner or shareholders pulling the strings 3. We’re powered by our readers – supporting us doesn’t cost much, and it takes less time than it took to read this message Tens of millions have placed their trust in the Guardian’s fearless pursuit of the truth since we started publishing over 200 years ago, and today, more than 1.5 million people from 180 countries support our mission. As 2024 gets underway, please consider https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/jan/03/junior-doctors-leaders-warn-of-more-strikes-unless-ministers-make-new-offer

Croatian startup Rimac, known for its electric Nevera hypercar and joint venture with Bugatti, is preparing an autonomous shuttle for a 2026 launch, according to Autocar. The Project 3 Mobility, as it's currently known, will break cover this year before undergoing a pilot program in Croatia's capital, Zagreb. Rimac is reportedly in talks with 20 cities in Europe and the Middle East to expand the robotaxi service after the pilot program is completed. Rimac's rise has been meteoric. The Croatian startup has metamorphosed from an obscure supercar builder to an electric-vehicle powerhouse, with substantial investment from Porsche in creating a hypercar joint venture between Rimac and Bugatti in 2021. Now the company is planning to move beyond high-performance machines, with Autocar reporting that Rimac will reveal an autonomous "robotaxi" early this year before the vehicle hits the road in 2026. Currently dubbed the Project 3 Mobility, the Rimac self-driving shuttle, according to Autocar, will be produced thanks to some backing from Kia; Hyundai and Kia first invested roughly $90 million in the startup back in 2019. The Project 3 vehicle will be a separate brand under the Rimac Group umbrella, not directly linked to the Rimac supercar business or the Bugatti brand, although undoubtedly utilizing learnings from the development of the company's 1000-plus-horsepower hypercars. The vehicle's development is being undertaken in the Croatian capital of Zagreb, close to Rimac's headquarters, with around 100 R&D engineers also operating out of a new facility in the United Kingdom. Details are slim, but founder and CEO Mate Rimac told Autocar that the robotaxi will strive to "change the lives of more people" than the company's first two vehicles, the sporty and pricey Concept_One and Nevera. The vehicle will reportedly be able to drive entirely without human input, with Rimac calling it "a car but a completely different type." The company has been spotted testing the Renault Espace minivan, suggesting that the robotaxi could take on a large, podlike shape designed to maximize interior space. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a46266330/rimac-autonomous-robotaxi-announced/

In my last post, I wrote about verbs that describe circular movements. I’m staying with the theme of movement today and looking at shaking movements and movements from side to side. If something judders, it shakes with violent, often uneven movements. We often use this verb to describe vehicles or machines that aren’t working smoothly. If something vibrates, it shakes with small, continuous movements. It is often used when the feeling it produces is more important than what is seen or heard: We were miles from anywhere when the car juddered and came to a sudden halt. I could feel my phone vibrating in my pocket. Quiver is used for a small movement. It is often used for part of a person’s body, especially when they are experiencing a strong emotion such as fear or sadness. The verb twitch is also used mainly for parts of the body, and describes a small, sudden and uncontrollable movement: Her lips were quivering and I could see she was trying not to cry. A small vein near his eye began to twitch. The verbs jerk and jolt also describe short, sudden, and often uncontrolled movements, but they are more forceful: At the mention of her name, his head jerked up. Our van jolted over the rough ground. Moving on to movements from side to side, someone or something that rocks moves backwards and forwards or from side to side, often in a regular, gentle motion, and if we rock someone or something, we move them in this way. If something wiggles or if you wiggle it, it moves up and down or from side to side with small, fast movements: He rocked the baby gently in his arms. Wiggle the wire around a bit until it fits into the hole. The verb sway describes a slow, gentle movement, while flap describes a less controlled movement, and often one that produces a small noise. It also describes the up and down movement of a bird’s wings: The trees were swaying in the wind. As the storm grew stronger, the sides of the tent started to flap alarmingly. Wobble describes movements from side to side when someone or something is struggling to balance. Teeter is even stronger, implying that the person or thing could fall at any moment: I put a piece of wood under the table leg to stop it wobbling. The ball hit the vase, which teetered on the edge of its shelf. I hope you find these words useful. Learning precise and more interesting words for basic concepts like movement is a great way to take your English to a more advanced level https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2024/01/03/more-verbs-to-describe-movement/

An American goldfinch soars through the warm spring air, it’s yellow feathers reflecting the sun. Suddenly the bird opens its mouth and chirps a call that sounds like “po-ta-to-chip.” This flier isn’t looking for a salty snack. It’s using this vocalization to communicate with its flock. The bird flies on, continuing its delicious call. The American goldfinch lives at the edges of forests and plains across North America in areas filled with brush and thistle plants. It can also be found in backyards and parks. The American goldfinch—which is also known as the willow goldfinch and the eastern goldfinch—is the official bird of Washington State, Iowa, and New Jersey. WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE These birds are about the length of a stick of butter and have cone-shaped beaks. Their wings are black and white, and some sport a black patch on top of their heads. During the winter, both males and females boast brownish feathers on their bodies. In warmer months the males’ feathers are bright yellow. WHAT THEY EAT American goldfinches are granivores, which means they mainly eat seeds. Some of their favorites include sunflower, thistle, and elm seeds. WHAT EATS THEM Blue jays, American kestrels, weasels, eastern garter snakes, and cats hunt and eat American goldfinches. HOW THEY BEHAVE The goldfinch is a diurnal bird, meaning it’s most active during the day. It has excellent flying skills, dipping and rising in a wavelike pattern as it soars. When it’s not airborne, or perched on plants, the bird hops along the ground searching for seeds to eat. These animals have six different vocalizations, including their “po-ta-to-chip” call. During the bird’s breeding season in summer, male American goldfinches develop brighter feathers to attract mates. Females lay two to seven eggs. Newborn goldfinches can fly about two weeks after they hatch, but many return to their nests and stay with their parents for about another month before leaving for good https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/facts/american-goldfinch