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US

Laurel, Nebraska homicides: Here’s what we know

Laurel, Nebraska homicides: Here's what we know

A total of four people were found dead early Thursday morning at two separate homes in a northeast Nebraska town. James A. Jones, 42, was taken into custody in Laurel, Nebraska, and is being treated at a Lincoln hospital for severe burns. The motive for the homicides is unknown at this time. Here’s everything we’ve learned so far about what happened. The incidents Around 3 am Thursday, the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call about an explosion at a residence in Laurel. Fire teams found a person dead inside the home, located in the 500 block of Elm Street. Around the same time, another fire was reported at a residence in the 200 block of Elm Street. Three people were found dead at the second residence. Nebraska State Patrol also believes gunfire played a role in the deaths and fire investigators believe that accelerants may have been used in each of the fires, according to authorities. The suspectCrime scene investigators found evidence that linked Jason Jones, a Laurel resident, to the homicides . After attempts for Jones to exit the home voluntarily, the Nebraska State Patrol SWAT Team entered the home and found the 42-year-old with severe burn injuries, according to law enforcement. NSP said he was airlifted to a Lincoln hospital and is in serious condition as of Friday morning. According to court documents, Jones was arrested on four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree arson and four courts of use of a firearm to commit a felony. No motive is known at this time. Records obtained by KETV NewsWatch 7 indicate Jones lived in Omaha at one point. He’s linked to one Omaha rental property for six months in 2019 and 2020, along with a second Omaha address with no date on the entry. Jones also had multiple residences in Texas and Oklahoma during the early 2000s and his move to Cedar County took place in 2018. The victims The victim at the first residence, located in the 200 block of Elm Street, was identified as 53-year-old Michele Ebeling, according to the Nebraska State Patrol. Investigators believe she was shot at least twice. They found backpack in the home with receipts linked to the purchase of gasoline and gas cans using a credit card belonging to James Jones. The three victims at the second residence, located in the 500 block of Elm Street, were identified as 86-year-olds. old Gene Twiford, 85-year-old Janet Twiford and 55-year-old Dana Twiford. Investigators say there is evidence a pry bar was used to gain access to the home. Inside, they found a gun purchased by Jones in February, 2021. Gene Twiford was part of the Nebraska American Legion and was a past department commander for District 6. On Facebook, the post shared a photo and asked for thoughts and prayers for his family of the. The pot said Gene was instrumental in getting Highway 20 renamed as the Nebraska Medal of Honor Highway. He received letters of support from every community and county along the 432-mile stretch. The highway earned its name designation in January 2020.

LAUREL, Neb. —

A total of four people were found dead early Thursday morning at two separate homes in a northeast Nebraska town.

James A. Jones, 42, was taken into custody in Laurel, Nebraska, and is being treated at a Lincoln hospital for severe burns. The motive for the homicides is unknown at this time.

Here’s everything we’ve learned so far about what happened.

incidents

Around 3 am Thursday, the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call about an explosion at a residence in Laurel. Fire teams found a person dead inside the home, located in the 500 block of Elm Street.

Around the same time, another fire was reported at a residence in the 200 block of Elm Street.

Three people were found dead at the second residence.

The Nebraska State Patrol also believes gunfire played a role in the deaths and fire investigators believe that accelerants may have been used in each of the fires, according to authorities.

The suspect

Crime scene investigators found evidence that linked Jason Jones, a Laurel resident, to the homicides.

After attempts for Jones to exit the home voluntarily, the Nebraska State Patrol SWAT Team entered the home and found the 42-year-old with severe burn injuries, according to law enforcement.

NSP said he was airlifted to a Lincoln hospital and is in serious condition as of Friday morning.

According to court documents, Jones was arrested on four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree arson and four courts of use of a firearm to commit a felony.

No motive is known at this time.

Records obtained by KETV NewsWatch 7 indicate Jones lived in Omaha at one point.

He’s linked to one Omaha rental property for six months in 2019 and 2020, along with a second Omaha address with no date on the entry.

Jones also had multiple residences in Texas and Oklahoma during the early 2000s and his move to Cedar County took place in 2018.

The victims

The victim at the first residence, located in the 200 block of Elm Street, was identified as 53-year-old Michele Ebeling, according to the Nebraska State Patrol.

Investigators believe she was shot at least twice. They found backpack in the home with receipts linked to the purchase of gasoline and gas cans using a credit card belonging to James Jones.

The three victims at the second residence, located in the 500 block of Elm Street, were identified as 86-year-old Gene Twiford, 85-year-old Janet Twiford and 55-year-old Dana Twiford.

Investigators say there is evidence a pry bar was used to gain access to the home. Inside, they found a gun purchased by Jones in February, 2021.

Gene Twiford was part of the Nebraska American Legion and was a past department commander for District 6.

On Facebook, the post shared a photo and asked for thoughts and prayers for his family.

This content is imported from Facebook. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

The pot said Gene was instrumental in getting Highway 20 renamed as the Nebraska Medal of Honor Highway.

I have received letters of support from every community and county along the 432-mile stretch.

The highway earned its name designation in January 2020.

.

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Technology

Is Cult of the Lamb coming to Game Pass?

A lamb is surrounded by his cult members mid-ritual.

Cult of the Lamb has just a few more days before its release, and the hype is building fast and furious. Players are looking forward to building their cults and gaining as many followers as they can.

Many are also wondering if the game will have a day-one release on Xbox Game Pass. Though the game may come to the service in the future, there are currently no plans for Cult of the Lamb to come to Game Pass. Players looking to get their hands on Cult of the Lamb on day one will need to fork over $24.99 on the platform of their choice to enjoy this oddly cute and slightly disturbing roguelike game.

Those who might be interested in the game can check out the demo that is being offered on Steam ahead of launch day. The demo will give players an idea of ​​whether the $24.99 price tag is worth it to them. It can also be pre-ordered on Steam for those who will be watching the clock and chomping at the bit to build their cult.

Players will have plenty of options to play Cult of the Lamb since the game is coming to PC via Steam, PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and the Nintendo Switch on Aug. 11. The game already has a ton of hype around it. The game had the longest line at PAX East and the closer the date comes, the more people are starting to talk about the game.

Although the game isn’t on Game Pass on day one, it still could come to the service at some point in the future. Because Cult of the Lamb is published by Devolver Digital, who has other games such as Trek to Yomi, Death’s Doorand Gray on Game Pass, it’s likely could land on the platform sometime in the future.

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Entertainment

‘Do not, in any circumstances, incite the crowd’: how the Astroworld tragedy changed gigs for ever | Music

The show must go on – except when it shouldn’t. In 2022, scarcely a week goes by without a major artist stopping a gig for safety reasons such as preventing crowd surges or alerting the medical team.

In July, Adele stopped her Hyde Park show four times to help overheating fans. Harry Styles repeatedly pressed pause during his latest tour earlier this year; Doja Cat waited five minutes for security to sort out an issue at Lollapalooza Argentina, and Sam Fender warned fans to stop fighting at his Glasgow gig. Pharrell Williams, Slipknot, Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish and the Killers have also had to act as crowd control.

This cautiousness is evidently the product of the Astroworld festival disaster last November. Run by the rapper Travis Scott, the event saw a fatal crowd crush cause the deaths of 10 fans and injure more than 300.

Scott was criticized for allegedly disregarding fans’ pleas to stop the show, although he described how he had paused it several times, including when an ambulance arrived, “to just make sure everyone was OK”. He has denied responsibility, saying he was unaware that anything was amiss until after his set of him.

“I would guarantee that since Astroworld, management companies are saying to their artists: if you see this happening, do not in any circumstances incite the crowd,” says Steve Allen. A tour manager for Led Zeppelin, Blur, Pulp and Red Hot Chili Peppers, he is now head of the consultancy organization Crowd Safety and was an expert witness in the Astroworld civil lawsuits. “If someone is saying stop the show, then stop the show. If not, it’ll be the end of your career.”

Travis Scott at Astroworld.
Travis Scott at Astroworld. Photograph: Amy Harris/Invision/AP

In September 1997, Allen coined the term “showstop procedure” while working with Oasis. At a gig in Aberdeen, the energy of the crowd was so “off the Richter scale” that it necessitated establishing a formal plan of action in the event of future mishap. “I explained to Noel that if we didn’t have this system in place, there’s a strong possibility that someone’s going to get seriously hurt.”

The system he set up saw him stand on the stage barrier ready to signal to the Gallaghers if the crowd’s safety was compromised. It was an overwhelming success, he says. “We had it down to a tee. We must have stopped 17 to 25 different shows around the world; the band were 100% compliant. They didn’t want a death or a major incident at their concerts, simple as that.”

The founder of Mind Over Matter Consultancy, Prof Chris Kemp, who started the world’s first crowd management degree, says that the procedure worked because it came from the band themselves. “Anyone else who tried to get on stage and do that [wouldn’t have worked]. The Gallagher brothers actually cared about what happened.”

So did Allen’s team, who he says accepted ridicule for wearing noise-cancelling headphones to communicate with one another – as opposed to clip-on mic headsets – before they went mainstream. Given that people die within three minutes of not having oxygen, he says, you “need to hear.”

While shows had been stopped before – Nirvana stopped a show in Oakland in 1993 to challenge a sexual assault in the crowd – it was Allen’s codification of the procedure in 1997 that made it a serious tool in the crowd manager’s arsenal, and one now widely used by security staff worldwide.

The vast majority of crowd management today is still preventive rather than – as with the showstop procedure – reactive. “There needs to be a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities,” Allen explains, referring to the extensive planning he undertook for Eminem’s Anger Management tour, in which they invited the police force from the city of the subsequent gig to prepare by attending the one before .

The aftermath at the Roskilde festival in 2000.
The aftermath at the Roskilde festival in 2000. Photograph: Nils Meilvang/EPA

In 2016, Kemp worked with the Roskilde festival in Denmark – the scene of a 2000 tragedy where nine people were crushed to death during Pearl Jam’s performance – to establish a meticulous protocol including a system of staggered entry to reduce crushes. “The more you plan, the more you can mitigate the chances,” says Kemp.

“Shit,” though, as Allen says, “can happen.” It’s why the showstop procedure is still a key part of reactive management, the final emergency mechanism at the end of a daisy chain of safe practices.

Astroworld has made touring teams aware of the risks of not having such a procedure in place: as well as the potential injury to life, musicians may face legal, reputational and financial repercussions. The world’s richest artists make more than 75% of their income from touring. A gig in which a crowd feels unsafe or prompts backlash online could mean ticket sales plunging or heightened infrastructure fees. “The promoter will turn around and say: ‘For you to play here the local authority have insisted I have to double my security, so my profit is now cut,’” says Allen.

Increasingly, it’s the artist who triggers it. Fans have quickly come to understand these gig pauses as reflecting genuine concern on the part of the artist. Post-Astroworld, Billie Eilish was widely praised as one of the first musicians to pause proceedings in order to get a fan an inhaler. In turn, this reactivity from artists has created an expectation of safety among fans – particularly as they and their favorite artists return to a changed industry.

After nearly 18 months of being deprived of live music, crowds are generally more excited across the board. “You might think Rod Stewart: no problem at all. Wrong!” Allen says. “I see the genuine excitement among [all people at gigs] as if they have a Willy Wonka ticket.”

In these particularly frenzied moments, performers will chat to their teams between songs and perhaps opt for a slower number to simmer down the energy in a room. “That decision is about safety,” says Kemp. “It’s not difficult to make things work. It’s not just about money.”

Another side-effect of the pandemic is that many highly trained security staff were forced to retrain in other fields owing to the absence of work, which has led to venues working with less-qualified operatives. “The pedigree that was there has been significantly diluted,” says Allen.

Allen and Kemp are divided on whether the performer should hold the ultimate responsibility for crowd safety. “Everyone has a duty of care, but the artists are up on that stage to perform for a crowd,” says Allen. “They should have people in place via the promoter.”

Kemp disagrees. “If [they] believe the whole show is about them, that’s when you’ve got to challenge it. The artists have to accept the show is for the audience and deliver the safest [performance].” And while AI technology, such as dynamic crowd measurement, can record crowd mood and compliance, it’s the artist who has the best view, he says. “And that links the artists and the teams in the venue.”

Regardless, seeing artists getting involved in crowd safety is undoubtedly a positive trend, says Kemp. “If you haven’t actually got an audience, what use is that?”

This article was amended on 5 August 2022. An earlier version referred to Travis Scott having continued to perform until an ambulance arrived; he did pause the music at this point but detail has been added to reflect Scott’s previously reported description of stopping on two further occasions when he saw people in the crowd needing help. A spokesperson for Scott said he was “unaware of the tragedy taking place as he performed.”

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Sports

Wallabies captain Michael Hooper withdraws from tour, citing ‘mindset’ | Sport

Captain Michael Hooper has withdrawn from the Wallabies’ Rugby Championship Test against Argentina 24 hours before kick-off, saying he isn’t in the “right mindset” to lead or represent the country.

The tireless flanker had been named to lead the side in his 122nd Test on Sunday morning (AEST) but will now return to Australia, missing both matches against the Pumas. Fellow Test centurion James Slipper will captain the side in Mendoza, while Fraser McReight will replace Hooper in the number seven jersey.

“While this decision did not come easily I know it is the right one for me and the team at this point in time,” Hooper said in a statement. “My whole career I’ve looked to put the team first and I don’t feel I am able to fulfill my responsibilities at the moment in my current mindset.”

Hooper addressed teammates prior to the announcement, telling the squad he had the utmost confidence they could get win the tests against Argentina without him.

Coach Dave Rennie said his captain, aged 30, had shown “true courage.”

“Michael’s one of the most professional and impressive men I’ve coached I know this has been a difficult decision for him,” he said. “He’s shown true courage by acknowledging where he is at and acting on it. We will support him in any way we can and I know the team will be focused on getting the job done tomorrow.”

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie said there were no signs through the week of Hooper’s anguish. “Nothing was evident to us in how he trained, how he contributed around the team, around leadership was excellent but clearly he’s been struggling a bit and masking that pretty well,” Rennie told reporters from Argentina on Saturday (AEST).

“Obviously he’s been able to suppress things over the past handful of weeks and so we certainly weren’t aware of anything but he’s such a professional and he was able to get on and do the job.

“I have addressed the team today which took an enormous amount of courage to let them know that he’s not OK and that he felt it was best for himself and for the team that he gets home. “It was an easy decision to let him go home where he will get plenty of support around him.”

Hooper reached out to the Wallabies team doctor Sharron Flahive, who put the wheels in motion for his return home. He will travel back to Sydney with Waratahs teammate Dave Porecki, who is unavailable for both Tests due to a training head knock.

Hooper captained Australia during their recent 2-1 series loss to England at home and has been a regular presence in the side since making his debut in 2012.

The Wallabies have a daunting schedule in the coming months. After two tests in Argentina, they return to Australia for Rugby Championship Tests against reigning world champions South Africa and then a two-test series against New Zealand, as they try and build momentum for the Rugby World Cup in France next year.

“Michael is an incredible leader, it takes a brave man to identify where he’s at and come forward whilst having the best interests of the team at heart,” Rugby Australia boss Andy Marinos said. “His wellbeing of him is and remains the highest priority right now where Rugby Australia and the Australian Rugby community will do everything to support him and his family of him.”

Hooper last year took a six-month sabbatical to leave Australian rugby and play in Japan’s Top League. He then took further contractual leave and missed most of the 2021 Super Rugby season for the NSW Waratahs.

Although Hooper returned for the latter part of the 2021 Super Rugby Pasifika season and led the Wallabies with customary aplomb in the recent home series against England, Hooper has spoken openly in the past about the stresses of professional sport, the pressure of leadership and the effects of social media on young players.

“You’re trying to be the best you can be and sometimes that doesn’t work out, and when it doesn’t: that’s hard to deal with,” Hooper told media in the past. “I think it’s important, especially for young players, to be educated on how to deal with that.

“Players are getting a lot better at talking to each other about it,” Hooper said. “It’s certainly something that’s paramount, how people are feeling. There’s so much going on, you see so much stuff that’s constantly bombarding you about your job, day in and day out.”

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US

How the battle over the Democrats’ climate, tax and health bill will play out

How the battle over the Democrats' climate, tax and health bill will play out

Senate Democrats are girding themselves for a battle royal with Republicans over a 700-plus-page bill that will reform the tax code, tackle climate change, lower drug costs and reduce the deficit in hopes of delivering what would become President Biden’s centerpiece legislative achievement.

While the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that Democrats enacted last year was a bigger bill in terms of dollars spent, the Inflation Reduction Act will deliver on what Democrats have promised for years.

It would require profitable corporations to pay more in taxes, reduce carbon emissions and slow climate change, lower the price of many prescription drugs and preserve the affordability of Affordable Care Act health plans.

The legislation will move under special budget reconciliation rules that will allow Democrats to avoid a GOP filibuster and pass it with a simple majority. But to stay in compliance with the reconciliation rules, the legislation must be strictly focused on spending, revenues or the federal debt limit.

Significant policy changes that have only a tangential impact on spending or revenues are violations of the Senate’s Byrd Rule — named after former Sen. Robert Byrd (DW.Va.).

Saturday’s schedule

Senators say there are a lot of unanswered questions heading into the debate, but they have a general idea of ​​how it will play out over the weekend.

The Senate will agree at noon on Saturday and hold a vote at 12:30 pm on a motion to discharge a nominee to serve as assistant administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency out of committee. This will serve as an attendance vote to make sure all 50 members of the Democratic caucus are present.

Eighty-two-year-old Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who has missed weeks of votes at the Capitol after falling and breaking his hip in June, is expected to be back on the floor for votes.

At some point later in the day, the Senate will vote on the motion to proceed to the Inflation Reduction Act, which is expected to break down strictly along party lines.

Leaders on Friday said they expected all 50 Senate Democrats and all 50 Senate Republicans to be present for the opening vote, which means Vice President Harris will be on hand to break a 50-50 tie. Harris also voted to break the tie on the motion to proceed to the American Rescue Plan in March of last year.

That would then trigger up to 20 hours of debate on the bill, which could stretch late into the evening or past midnight Saturday. The 20 hours of debate would be evenly divided between the parties.

At some point, Schumer will have to finish negotiating some of the provisions of the bill that were still unresolved Friday afternoon, such as money requested by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) to improve her state’s drought resilience.

GOP strategy

Republican senators said earlier in the week that they intended to use their full allotment of 10 hours to speak on the bill, which would likely mean stretching debate time into Sunday.

But Senate Republican Whip John Thune (SD) said Friday that his Republican colleagues are now eager to speed up the debate so they can move more quickly to offer amendments to the legislation.

“There will probably be an interest in getting amendments fairly quickly,” he said, predicting that amendment votes could begin as soon as Saturday afternoon.

Still, Thune didn’t rule out the possibility that Senate Republicans may try to drag out consideration of the massive bill by forcing the clerks to read its text out loud on the floor for several hours, or by using other procedural delays.

“Yet to be determined. I don’t think we know for sure the answer to that because any member can do that,” he said.

Senators are allowed up to 20 hours of debate time, but they can yield some of that back.

Then senators would begin voting on an open-ended series of amendments, a process known as a vote-a-rama.

‘Like Hell’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.), the ranking member of the Budget Committee, vowed on Friday to make the process as painful as possible for Democrats.

“What will vote-a-rama be like? It’ll be like hell,” Graham declared. “They deserve this.”

He said centrist senators such as Sens. Joe Manchin (DW.Va.) and Sinema are “empowering legislation that will make the average person’s life more difficult at a time they can’t afford higher gas taxes.

Senate Republicans estimate requiring votes on between 40 and 50 amendments.

Their goal will be to inflict as much political damage as possible on vulnerable Democrats running for re-election in November such as Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D- Nev.) and Maggie Hassan (DN.H.).

Senate Republicans say they will force Democrats to take tough votes on border security, energy prices, crime prevention, inflation.

“Expect to see amendments on all of those things,” said Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.).

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) says he plans to offer an amendment related to the Title 42 health order that bars migrants from staying in the country to await the processing of asylum claims.

Lankford introduced a bill with Sinema, Manchin, Kelly, Hassan, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and several Republicans in April to delay the end of the Title 42 order until the Biden administration produced a comprehensive plan to secure the border.

A federal judge blocked the Biden administration from lifting Title 42 in May.

Republicans hope they can pressure vulnerable Democrats to vote with all 50 members of the GOP conference to adopt an amendment to the bill that will make the rest of the legislation unpalatable to the rest of Senate Democrats. But they acknowledge it’s a long-shot strategy.

They predict that Democratic leaders will offer side-by-side amendments to give vulnerable Democratic senators such as Kelly and Warnock political cover not to vote for any of the Republican ones.

At the end of the vote-a-rama, Schumer will offer a substitute amendment that will make any final changes he wants to add to the Inflation Reduction Act and strip out any amendments that may have become attached during the vote-a-rama that would imperil the final Senate passage or endanger the bill’s prospects in the House.

Manchin-Sinema pressure

Republicans are trying to pressure Manchin and Sinema to oppose the final wraparound amendment so that some amendments have a chance of being included in the final bill.

“The question for both Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema is if any of these amendments succeed at the end, will you or will you not vote for the wraparound amendment,” Thune said, adding, “I think we kind of expect the Democrats to fall in” with their leaders’ wishes.

The vote-a-rama will be capped by a final vote on the legislation, which if successful would send it onto the House and then Biden’s desk.

Schumer admitted Friday that he still doesn’t know exactly what to expect in terms of when senators will take up the motion to proceed and when the amendment votes will begin or end. But he feels confident he has final votes to pass the bill in the next few days.

“We’re feeling pretty good,” he said. “I’m pleased we have reached an agreement on the Inflation Reduction Act that I believe will receive the support of the entire Senate Democratic conference.”

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Technology

Release Date, Price, Hardware And Everything You Need To Know About The Valve Console

Steam Deck: Everything You Need To Know

The Valve Steam Deck is out in the US and we’re ready for truly next-gen handheld gaming. There are a few things to know about getting your hands on one of these units in Australia so we’ve collected everything we know about the device in one handy place. Let’s talk about Steam Deck.

When is the Valve Steam Deck release date?

The Steam Deck is out now in the US, Canada, UK, and EU. Customers are already exploring the handheld’s powerful gaming capabilities.

As for an Australian release, it’s still a waiting game. We don’t know when the console will arrive in Australia, but what we do know is that Valve has previously had a relationship with EB Games for its hardware releases, including the recent Valve Index VR unit and the Steam Controller (may it rest in peace). It would be a safe bet to expect it to show up at EB when stockists are announced.

Australia is still not on the list of territories with confirmed retail partners. Previously, those territories have been the US, Canada, the UK and the European Union.

Recently though, Valve announced that it will be launching the Steam Deck in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan later this year. This brings the hardware that little bit closer to Australia, and gets it out of NA, UK, and EU territories for the first time. We’re still watching on with jealousy as our APAC neighbors get access, but, at the very least, maybe it’s about to get a lot easier to import a Steam Deck.

How To Preorder Steam Deck in Australia?

You actually can’t. At least not yet. Given their history, the expectation is that EB Games will be the preferred retail partner for Valve and the console in Australia. But not to fret! There are still ways and means of obtaining a Steam Deck unit from US suppliers. It just takes a bit of extra work right now.

Steam Deck Price

Valve has not yet announced Australian pricing for the Steam Deck. We do have American pricing though, so we can at least draw a couple of conclusions. Here’s the US pricing with a direct Australian conversion:

  • US$399 for the 64GB version (A$555.62)
  • US$529 for the 256GB version (A$736.65)
  • US$649 for the 512GB version (A$903.76)

Based on the US pricing, you could probably expect another hundred dollars on top of the Australian conversion.

Here’s what we do know about the retail launch: we know what the box will look like. Yep, Valve is playing this launch super close to the vest right now.

Here’s a quick teardown video of the Steam Deck

Take Valve’s advice here. If you do manage to get hold of a console, don’t perform your own teardown. Let Valve do it for you. This video will give you a quick, clear look at the parts that make up the unit and how it all fits together.

What are the Steam Deck specs?

If there’s one thing we like to know about a new gaming device, it’s the numbers. Here’s the spec sheet:

CPUs: AMD Zen 2 (4 core/8 thread)
CPU Clock Speed: 2.4-3.5GHz
GPU: AMD RDNA 2
Memory: 16GB LPDDR5
Storage: 64GB eMMC / 256GB NVMe SSD / 512GB NVMe SSD
Display: 7-inch LCD touchscreen, 1280 x 800 60Hz
Audio: Stereo speakers, 3.5mm jack, dual mics, USB Type-C/Bluetooth
connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB Type-C with DisplayPort 1.4 support

What conclusions about the Steam Deck specs can we draw from this? Well, for a start, it’s fairly powerful for a handheld. Certainly beefy enough to handle most modern games on at least High settings, though if you’re shooting for 60fps, you’ll likely want to take everything down to Medium.

Steam Deck Features and Design

The console follows a familiar handheld design, with grips at the rear and face buttons on the left and right of the screen. The Steam Deck eschews the Nintendo Switch’s off-set stick configuration, placing both thumbsticks at the top of the device, close to the screen. The unit features a USB-C port for charging and connectivity, as well as Bluetooth for wireless pairing. It’ll even offer DisplayPort support if you’re using a Mac screen.

The operating system is a Linux-based suite built around the Steam store platform, though that won’t prevent you from using the device in a manner similar to a regular PC. The wide grips on the left and right of the screen provide greater comfort to players with larger hands.

Did you know that the Steam Deck is actually super customizable? It’s true! Valve designed the console to be highly moddable, and we’re only now starting to see the benefits of that through case mods and part resellers.

And if that’s not enough for you, here’s a handy list of tips and tricks we’ve put together for when you can get your hands on the console.

Steam Deck Gameplay

In all likelihood, you’ll be able to play anything you like, provided it’s on Steam! Though there is a list of Steam Deck Verified games that have been optimized for play on the hardware, it should be beefy enough to run just about any title currently on the Steam storefront.

Our expectation is that the graphics on the Deck will be very pretty indeed. Targeting 30fps target allows the device to display higher fidelity visuals without compromising overall performance. 30fps might be hard to swallow for PC players used to 60fps as a default, but that’s still a mightily impressive result from games that weren’t designed to run on a handheld device. This, naturally, has not stopped modders from getting the Steam Deck to run games far beyond what its specs should be able to handle. In fact, the things you can run smoothly on the Steam Deck have been quite surprising. Valve itself ensured that Elden Ring would run smoothly on the handheld. Someone even got Windows 10 running on it because they decided they didn’t care for Steam OS.

It’s hard to argue with performance and versatility like that on a handheld device. Barring a few smaller competitors, Valve will very much have this segment of the market cornered.

Steam Deck Accessories

There are a number of accessories! Valve’s Nintendo Switch-style dock for Steam Deck was advertised quite a bit in the lead up to its launch in North American territories, but when launch arrived the dock never appeared. That’s apparently because Valve was busy updating the dock’s specs in light of information gathered after launch. The Dock has dumped its original 1x USB 3.1 port and 2x USB 2.0 ports for a full set of three USB 3.1 ports. That’s a pretty significant update where transfer speeds are concerned. The Dock’s ethernet jack will now support gigabit transfer speeds too. Beyond this, the rest of the Dock’s connections — DisplayPort 1.4 port, HDMI 2.0, and a USB-C port — all remain the same

Similar to the Nintendo Switch, the Steam Deck Dock will allow users to connect the device to external displays, wired networks, USB hubs and peripherals, and external power. Each unit will also ship with a carry case included in the box.

Can I use Steam Deck for more than just Steam Deck games?

You can! Though the core of the system’s Linux-based operating system is indeed bound to the Steam platform, that does not mean that third-party apps and games can’t be installed. Because the Steam Deck functions in a manner similar to a PC, the door is wide open for a vast array of apps. Even competing platforms like the Epic Games Store and EA Origin could theoretically work fine on the Steam Deck.

One question we’ve seen crop up a lot is around software exclusivity. Could a platform like this have exclusive games? The answer isn’t a hard No, but it would be pretty unlikely. Bound as it is to the Steam storefront, it’s hard to imagine Valve opening the door to exclusives. The entire philosophy behind this machine is that it puts an entire gaming PC in your pocket. If it’s on Steam, it will work on your handheld. Exclusively flies somewhat in the face of that goal.

How does Steam Deck compare to the competition?

Based on its spec, our expectation is that gameplay on the platform will be quite smooth indeed. Valve says it expects to hit a baseline 30fps target, and specs coming from devkits in the wild seem to support that. Compared to other handheld systems, the Steam Deck is quite the powerhouse. The Nintendo Switch, for instance, can’t hold a candle to the Steam Deck on raw grunt. Competing devices like the AYA Neo and One X Player feature comparable spec and come from companies far smaller than Valve.

Updated 5/8/22: Now includes new info on the console’s recent APAC launch news.

Categories
Entertainment

Jordy Kerwick’s paintings selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars

Jordy Kerwick's paintings selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars

Kerwick’s paintings are colorful and vibrant: they often depict exotic animals like tigers and cobras with two heads. The Tiger was Kerwick at his most Kerwick, an acrylic painting of a two-headed tiger.

Kerwick's painting Le Tigre sold for just over $400,000 in March.

Kerwick’s painting Le Tigre sold for just over $400,000 in March.

And it’s not the only work that has collectors forking out serious cash. Also in March, British auction house Phillips sold Kerwick’s cool cats (2019) for $112,300, smashing its estimate of $10,000. In their New York stable it was a similar story, with Untitled 7 (2021) going for $201,600.

Right now, the Australian is one of the most talked about rising contemporary artists in the world. In five years as a full-time artist, Kerwick has exhibited in Paris, London, New York, Berlin, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Los Angeles.

Spain’s national museum of 20th and 21st century art in Madrid, the Reina Sofia, home to the greats of Spanish art including Picasso’s renowned Guernica, recently acquired one of Kerwick’s paintings.

“It’s a career highlight,” he says.

An eclectic group of people have bought Kerwick’s work. Celebrities like Sofia Richie (Lionel Richie’s daughter) and the Olsen twins, billionaire hedge fund manager and owner of the New York Mets Steve Cohen, and Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa (who famously bought a Basquiat painting for $110 million) also have a Kerwick.

Kerwick, who is represented by well-known gallerist Vito Schnabel (son of American artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel) in New York, and Toby Clarke’s Vigo Gallery in London, says he is proceeding with caution.

“The secondary market is scary,” he says.

While Kerwick’s work can now fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars, to date he’s only pocketed a fraction of that, as most of the markup comes after the initial sale.

“I think I might have made a couple of thousand bucks, not much. But at the time I was thinking it’s still a lot of money for someone to buy a painting,” he says.

“I think a lot of people buy work more as an asset. It’s not good for me long term because if there is an oversupply in the secondary market, the demand in the primary market goes down, and then I’m just left making work that nobody wants.”

Kerwick's solo exhibition The Three Month Dream at Piermarq Gallery in Sydney in 2020.

Kerwick’s solo exhibition The Three Month Dream at Piermarq Gallery in Sydney in 2020.

“We have to be careful who we sell to, which was never the intention, I wanted to make art that people would like.”

Justin Callanan, director and co-founder of Sydney gallery Piermarq, worked with Kerwick at the beginning of his career and has worked on three exhibitions with him, the most recent in 2021.

“We were thrilled for him and taken back,” he says. “Historically the global art market hasn’t looked at Australia for contemporary art, once an artist moves into that commercial category they can catapult quickly.”

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Callanan first approached Kerwick on Instagram in 2017, a platform that he says allows young artists like Kerwick to share their work with a wider audience and connect with artists and galleries across the world.

“Jordy not only interacted using those mediums, he built networks with other artists, similar to how a school of artists approached collaboration back in the day.”

He hopes that Kerwick’s success means the global art world will “start to look at Australia a little bit more now.”

Kerwick has kept the house he bought with his wife in Williamstown, and there’s at least one career goal still on his list.

“Being a Melburnian I’d love to do something at the NGV, it would be a dream.”

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Categories
Sports

Checkers returns to face the Dees

Checkers returns to face the Dees

key-forward Brody Mihocek will return for the Pies this Friday night to replace the injured taylor adams.

Mihocek has been a consistent performer in 2022 and will be a fantastic inclusion for the Pies. He has kicked 34 goals this season, an equal career high with three games to go before finals.

Collingwood are looking to make it 11 wins in a row on Friday night, but will face strong competition against an in-form Melbourne side.

senior coach Craig McRae noted in his press conference on Thursday that, “This is our biggest test for a number of weeks, we are playing the best team in the competition, I feel.”

This isn’t the first time Collingwood have faced the Demons in 2022, the Pies were 26-point victors in Round 13. Notably, Mihocek kicked four goals and had 16 disposals in what was one of his best performances for the season.

Under the Friday night lights, this game shapes up to be a cracker.

IN: Brody Mihocek
OUT: Taylor Adams (groin), Trent Bianco (omitted)

AFL ROUND 21
Collingwood v Melbourne
friday 5 august
CGM
7.50pm (AEST)

COLLINGWOOD v MELBOURNE
B. Nathan Murphy Darcy Moore Jeremy Howe
HB Scott Pendlebury Brayden Maynard isaac quaynor
C Josh Daicos Jack Crisp John Noble
HF Jamie Elliott Darcy Cameron Steele Sidebottom
F beau mcreery Brody Mihocek Jordan De Goey
R Mason Cox Nick Daicos Patrick Lipinsky
INT Josh Carmichael Ash Johnson Will Hoskin-Elliott
Jack Ginnivan
EMERG Trent Bianco Oliver Henry Callum Brown
Will Kelly
Categories
Australia

NSW Health issues alert for meningococcal disease after Splendor in the Grass attendee dies, another positive test

The silhouette of a punter is framed by lasers over the mainstage of Splendour In The Grass 2022

People who attended Splendor in the Grass last month have been advised by NSW Health to stay alert for symptoms of meningococcal disease after the death of a Sydney man who attended the festival and another case.

All ticket holders of the event at the North Byron Parklands from July 21 to 24 received an email on Friday.

“NSW Health has been notified of two cases of meningococcal disease in people who attended the 2022 Splendor in the Grass festival,” the email said.

Authorities warn while the disease is uncommon, it can be severe and people need to act immediately if they see any symptoms, as they can appear suddenly and become serious very quickly.

Authorities were notified on Thursday after the man in his 40s was identified to have had the infection following his death.

Symptoms are nonspecific but include a sudden onset of fever, neck stiffness, or a red-purple spotted rash.

There have been 15 cases recorded so far this year in New South Wales with the disease tending to increase in late winter and early spring.

Dr Jeremy McAnulty from NSW Health said people who were at the festival should watch for symptoms, which include a rash and nausea.

“We think the risk is low, but we don’t know for sure, so we’re just asking people to keep in mind the symptoms so in the unlikely event you get them to seek medical attention,” Mr McAnulty said.

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Categories
US

DC braces for second night of storms after deadly lightning strike

DC braces for second night of storms after deadly lightning strike

Comment

After an evening of frequent and violent storms that unleashed flooding rain, damaging winds and deadly lightning, the Washington region faces another bout of turbulent weather Friday.

Thunderstorms, some producing torrential rain and dangerous lightning, are likely, especially after 4 pm or so.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch from 3 to 8 pm Friday.

“Any thunderstorms will be capable of producing very heavy rainfall, with localized totals of two to four inches possible,” the Weather Service wrote. “Much of the rain may fall within a one to three hour period, making rapid rises in creeks and streams possible, as well as flash flooding in urban areas.”

A few storms also could contain damaging tastes, although the wind threat is somewhat lower than it was Thursday.

Wisconsin couple dead after lightning strike Thursday near White House

Looking back on Thursday’s storms

Thursday’s storms were more numerous and longer-lived than expected. We had called for hit-or-miss storms ending around sunset; instead, widespread storms developed during the evening and lasted until after midnight.

The Weather Service received about 140 reports of severe weather over the greater region; downed trees and gusts over 39 mph generated most of those reports. However, there were a handful of reports of flash flooding in the District and Baltimore. Rainfall totals were mostly between 0.5 and 1.5 inches, but there were some areas that posted between 1.5 and 3.5 inches, mostly east of Interstate 95.

The wind damage was concentrated in small pockets and was associated with downward bursts of wind high in the sky that slammed into the ground and fanned out; these are known as microbursts. One particularly intense microburst caused tree damage around Alexandria and Landmark in Virginia. This same storm unleashed at like 58 mph at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Va. Trees also were toppled inside the District, and around Winchester, Gaithersburg, Columbia and Baltimore.

Why it was stormier than forecast

Looking at the weather maps, the overall environment seemed benign: There were no nearby fronts, and the jet stream was displaced far to the north over Canada. With the jet stream so far north and a massive “ridge” of high pressure dominating the Mid-Atlantic, wind shear was weak and not thought to have contributed to the storm severity. There was a weak high-altitude disturbance evident that might have helped kick off storms over the region, independent of the activity that was mainly confined to the mountains.

However, given the exceptionally high surface temperatures and humidity — highs reached the mid- to upper 90s — the atmosphere became very unstable. The unstable air fueled intense but short-lived storm updrafts that quickly paved the way for torrential downpours, concentrated cloud-to-ground lightning and the microbursts.

What happens when lightning strikes — and how to stay safe

Additionally, the cool downdrafts of these cells spreading along the surface quickly congealed and helped lift the air over a broader region, causing loosely organized clusters of storms to evolve as the hours ticked on. In a sense, the storms “bootstrapped” themselves into expanded coverage and a higher degree of organization. The prediction models did a poor job handling this consolidation. The greatest degree of consolidation was near and east of I-95, where the axis of greatest instability lay. Additionally, cooler winds off Chesapeake Bay increased temperature contrasts, intensifying nearby storms.

The storms were picturesque

While hazardous, the storms produced some stunning scenes across the skies. A number of readers captured views of lightning strikes and rainbows simultaneously and, in the storm’s wake, beautiful mammatus clouds. These clouds feature pouch-like appendages that sometimes hang beneath the anvil of intense thunderstorms.

Below are some examples…