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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An online spat between factions of Donald Trump's supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump's movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump's Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. The debate touched off this week when Laura Loomer , a right-wing provocateur with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump’s selection of Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S. Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said the tech executives who have aligned themselves with Trump were doing so to enrich themselves. Much of the debate played out on the social media network X, which Musk owns. Loomer's comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former PayPal executive David Sacks , whom Trump has tapped to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar." Musk and Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tasked with finding ways to cut the federal government , weighed in, defending the tech industry's need to bring in foreign workers. It bloomed into a larger debate with more figures from the hard-right weighing in about the need to hire U.S. workers, whether values in American culture can produce the best engineers, free speech on the internet, the newfound influence tech figures have in Trump's world and what his political movement stands for. Trump has not yet weighed in on the rift, and his presidential transition team did not respond to a message seeking comment. Musk, the world's richest man who has grown remarkably close to the president-elect , was a central figure in the debate, not only for his stature in Trump's movement but his stance on the tech industry's hiring of foreign workers. Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an a H-1B visa himself and defended the industry's need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent," he said in a post. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Trump's own positions over the years have reflected the divide in his movement. His tough immigration policies, including his pledge for a mass deportation, were central to his winning presidential campaign. He has focused on immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally but he has also sought curbs on legal immigration , including family-based visas. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a “Buy American and Hire American” executive order , which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers. Trump's businesses, however, have hired foreign workers, including waiters and cooks at his Mar-a-Lago club , and his social media company behind his Truth Social app has used the the H-1B program for highly skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign for president, as he made immigration his signature issue, Trump said immigrants in the country illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country" and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. But in a sharp departure from his usual alarmist message around immigration generally, Trump told a podcast this year that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. “I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country," he told the “All-In" podcast with people from the venture capital and technology world. Those comments came on the cusp of Trump's budding alliance with tech industry figures, but he did not make the idea a regular part of his campaign message or detail any plans to pursue such changes.A weapons call sparked a big police response to Burnaby's Metrotown mall Thursday evening. Burnaby RCMP got a report at about 6:45 p.m. about a person with a weapon, possibly a knife, according to an emailed Burnaby RCMP statement. When police arrived, they located a 37-year-old man being held by security guards near Lids in the northwest area of the mall. Police took the man into custody after he was linked to an alleged robbery at a jewelry store in the mall, according to police. The suspect used a metal tool to break display cases inside the store, police said. After his arrest, the man was taken to hospital to be treated for minor injuries. Burnaby RCMP said 10 police vehicles responded to the mall for the incident. The large police presence raised concerns among mall goers, some of whom took to social media. Metrotown Mall Attack by u /Ahootchie in burnaby A.H., who didn't want her full name published because of safety concerns, told the Burnaby NOW she posted on Reddit to find out what happened after she ran away from the area where the suspect was arrested. She said she saw a group of about four youths all clad in black puffy jackets and wearing balaclavas attack a man who had bumped into them. "They were all dressed the same," A.H. said of the youths. "Eventually, I saw one of the dudes making this stabbing motion, and I saw he had a knife, so after that I just left, and I saw two security guards running towards the scene." The investigation is ongoing, according to police. Follow Cornelia Naylor on X/Twitter @CorNaylor Email [email protected]

Arteta backs Martinelli to thrive in ‘bigger role’ at Arsenal after Saka injuryThe Oxford University Press has named “brain rot” as the Oxford Word of the Year 2024. As I’m sure many of us can relate, “brain rot” is a term related to consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media. The actual definition is “the supposed deterioration of a person's mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging.” It’s a word – not technically a word, actually two words – first used by author Henry David Thoreau in 1854 in his book Walden . Brain rot speaks to both the addictive and irresistible popularity of social media, as well as what it does to our cognitive abilities. It can also refer to the content itself. “It demonstrates a somewhat cheeky self-awareness in the younger generations about the harmful impact of the social media that they’ve inherited,” Casper Grathwohl, president, Oxford Languages, said in a news release. Last year’s winning word was “rizz,” which means romantic appeal or charm, and is an online evolution of the word charisma. If you hadn’t noticed yet, clearly the internet is taking over our lives. This year, there were six contenders for word of the year including demure, slop, dynamic pricing, romantasy, and lore. Demure was also related to social media because it was part of a sarcastic online trend where women would say “very mindful, very demure,” in situations that were not really so. Slop — a word I had never heard in this context — also relates to technology. Oxford University Press defines it as “art, writing, or other content generated using artificial intelligence, shared and distributed online in an indiscriminate or intrusive way, and characterized as being of low quality, inauthentic, or inaccurate.” Oh boy, there’s a lot of slop out there. I think we’ve all recently seen the effects of dynamic pricing, the fourth-word candidate for this year, with this weekend’s Taylor Swift concerts and their effect on hotel and Airbnb accommodations, and Uber and Lyft ride-sharing. Dynamic pricing is when the pricing changes, very quickly, based on demand, something that only became possible with the rise of the internet. The fifth contender was lore – the background information necessary to understand someone or something. As a journalist, I’m a big fan of lore, specifically trying to keep it truthful and accurate. The final word is romantasy, which is a book genre combining romance and fantasy, also a word that arose out of BookTok, a subspace of TikTok, another social media application. All these words reflect a growing trend of words emerging first on social media and then being used offline, in real life. Social media shows no signs of fading from our daily life. On the contrary, a survey conducted by Leger DGTL , a digital agency that combines research and marketing, found that 63 per cent of Canadians use Facebook at least once a day. Among people with a Facebook account between the ages of 16 and 24, the prime use of Facebook is to search for people or accounts, for people between the ages of 25 and 44, the prime use is to buy or to sell something and for those older than 45, the prime use is to interact with people and content. That’s just Facebook, an older social media, that isn’t super popular among young people. For people aged 16 to 24, Instagram is the one platform they would keep if they could only keep one, the survey found. Other interesting tidbits: people use TikTok to learn things, like cooking or repairs, while YouTube is used both for simple entertainment and for learning how to do things. The survey was conducted among 4,004 respondents, online – of course – among the general population between Aug. 5 and 17, 2024. Meanwhile, Australia has banned social media use for anyone under the age of 16, in a bid to increase online safety. Personally, I think that like everything else, it’s all about balance. Managing a healthy use of social media means setting boundaries for yourself and others in terms of your use and how much of your life you want to share. There have been noted tragic examples of the ruin the internet can bring, such as the story of Amanda Todd , a teenage girl who took her own life after being sexually extorted online. In addition, social media companies are owned by billionaires or foreign countries – we need to be careful about the information we share with them and how much control we give them over our lives. Over this coming holiday, I’m going to try to limit social media and the associated brain rot, in favour of spending time talking and laughing with family, playing games, eating delicious foods and getting as cozy as possible. Let’s see what happens. Tracy Sherlock is a freelance journalist who writes about education and social issues. Read her blog or email her [email protected] . Got an opinion on this story or any others in Richmond? Send us a letter or email your thoughts or story tips to [email protected] . To stay updated on Richmond news, sign up for our daily headline newsletter . Words missing in article? Your adblocker might be preventing hyperlinked text from appearing.

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Microsoft’s Copilot is an amazing development in AI, and Copilot+ PCs are designed to take advantage of the technology. If you want a Copilot+ laptop for an affordable price, check out Best Buy’s offer for the Asus Vivobook S 14. From $950, it’s down to only $650 following a $300 discount. We’re not sure when its price will return to normal though, so if you want to get this device with huge savings, you’re going to have to complete your purchase for it as soon as you can. Why you should buy the Asus Vivobook S 14 Microsoft’s Copilot was created to streamline and boost productivity, and Copilot+ PCs integrate support for the AI technology at a systemwide level. The Asus Vivobook S 14 is one of the Copilot+ laptops that are already available, passing the hardware requirements to earn this designation with its Intel Core Ultra 5 Series 2 processor, Intel Arc Graphics, and 16GB of RAM that’s on the level of top-tier machines, says our guide on how much RAM do you need . The laptop also comes with a 512GB SSD with Windows 11 Home pre-loaded, so you can already start using it right after unboxing. The Asus Vivobook S 14 is packing powerful performance under its hood, but its external features are amazing as well. It’s equipped with a 14-inch OLED screen with WUXGA resolution, a 16:10 aspect ratio, and a 0.02ms response time, for stunning and vivid visuals. The relatively compact screen makes the Asus Vivobook S 14 extremely portable, in addition to its thickness of just 0.55 inches and weight of less than 3 pounds, but the laptop offers military-grade durability so you don’t have to be extra careful with it when you’re on the move. Copilot+ PCs aren’t appearing much in laptop deals yet, so if you want to enjoy savings when buying a device that fully integrates Microsoft’s AI, you don’t want to miss Best Buy’s $300 discount for the Asus Vivobook S 14. It’s down to a more affordable $650 from $950, but the offer won’t last long. The stocks up for sale may run out at any moment, so if you want the Asus Vivobook S 14 as your next laptop, we highly recommend pushing forward with your transaction for it right now.Digital privacy

The scriptwriters couldn’t put together a better story than this. The news of five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood flipping to Michigan on Thursday night was enormous in the world of recruiting. The longtime LSU commit will stay home and play his college football in Ann Arbor. His commitment comes at the perfect time when Michigan needs a boost to the Sherrone Moore era. The Wolverines are also in desperate need of a quarterback. But they didn’t land just any quarterback; they landed the No. 2 prospect in the Rivals250. Michigan fans are rightfully buzzing after the big news. But all things lead back to the best rivalry in the sport between Michigan and Ohio State . RELATED: Five-star QB Bryce Underwood flips from LSU to Michigan | Five prospects Underwood could bring to Michigan CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Top 100 TRANSFER PORTAL: Full coverage | Player ranking | Team ranking | Transfer search | Transfer Tracker And the Buckeyes have their own five-star quarterback who grew up dreaming of playing for his home state school. Tavien St. Clair is the No. 1 prospect in the Rivals250 after his meteoric rise this summer. He’s been committed to the Buckeyes since June and is eager to arrive in Columbus in January to start his career. Underwood’s high school is just 22 minutes from The Big House. St. Clair’s high school is 55 minutes away from The ‘Shoe. Both quarterbacks are oozing with talent. Underwood has enough physical gifts that he had a big senior year on the ground. We hadn’t seen that before from him but saw the cannon of an arm. His arm talent is on display every time you see him throw the football. St. Clair is such a smooth quarterback with a blend of size, arm strength and accuracy. The Ohio native is also good at changing arm angles and throwing off platform. His ability to throw on the run has become an underrated aspect of his game even if he’s not the same type of athlete Underwood is. The Big Ten isn’t known for great quarterback rivalries but sign me up for two or three years of St. Clair versus Underwood. The first game between the two hometown kids will draw a huge television number and the stadium will be electric. Those moments are why you go to Michigan and Ohio State. The storylines write themselves. Michigan and Ohio State fans will debate which quarterback is the better prospect. The debate will carry through their college careers. This could still be a major talking point one day as the pair prepare for the NFL Draft. St. Clair versus Underwood became another layer of a storied rivalry for years to come on Thursday night. I’ll have my popcorn ready to enjoy the show. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH MICHIGAN FANS AT MAIZEANDBLUEREVIEW.COM SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH OHIO STATE FANS AT DOTTINGTHEEYES.COM Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on Rivals.com, the leader in college football and basketball recruiting coverage. Be the first to know and follow your teams by signing up here.

While the statistics may not necessarily suggest that C.J. Stroud had a horrible game, his demeanor in the post game certainly reinforced that idea. Stroud ended the game 17/31 passing for 185 yards and one interception. It’s abundantly clear that injuries have begun to catch up to the Texans offense and whether this team can compete for a championship without Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs remains to be seen. After the game, C.J. was critical of his playmaking but took ownership of his offensive production. He said, “You know, terrible on my behalf. Probably one of my worst games of my whole career, just came out flat and didn’t have any energy. I didn’t lead the offense the way I should have. I always gotta look myself in the mirror and be honest with myself and it’s not good enough today. It is what it is, can’t hang my head down but just gotta keep going.” Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Thanks for the feedback.

NEW YORK — I’ll get you, my pretty! And your little pygmy hippo, too! Forgive us the shameless attempt to link the fantasy hit to the delightful . But, hear us out — there’s something the two have in common as the year draws to a close. Escapism. Whether we found it on the yellow brick road, or in videos from a Thailand zoo, or perhaps in , we gravitated toward fantasy and feel-good pop culture moments this year. There were new trends, as always. became a thing, as did And for some inexplicable reason, we became obsessed with celebrity lookalike contests. There were breakups — Bennifer is, again, — and reunions: Oasis, please try to stay together for the tour. Yet some things stayed, remarkably, the same: and kept on breaking records and making history. So, after a year where much changed but some things held steady, here’s our annual, very selective trip down pop culture memory lane: Lily Gladstone poses in the press room Jan. 7 with the award for best performance by an actress in a motion picture, drama for "Killers of the Flower Moon" at the 81st Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. It starts as from a beloved “Sesame Street” figure: “ is just checking in! How is everybody doing?” The answers hint at something deeper and more worrisome. “Not great, Elmo. Not great,” says one milder reply. Doing much better is the viral phenomenon called which makes its awards season debut at the But perhaps the comes from neither film: , first Indigenous winner of best actress in a drama for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” begins her remarks in the language of her tribe, Blackfeet Nation. Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) kisses Taylor Swift on Feb. 11 after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in overtime during the NFL Super Bowl 58 football game in Las Vegas. Valentine’s Day — a perfect time to settle into a sweet love saga via TikTok. Only that’s not quite what we get with “Who TF Did I Marry?,” ’s depressing, fascinating, 50-part account of her disastrous marriage with a man who lied about absolutely everything. Meanwhile, if you're looking for a single week that encapsulates peak , try this: she begins with the Grammys in Los Angeles (becoming the first artist to win album of the year four times AND announcing a new album), then heads to Tokyo for four tour dates, then jets back just in time for the Super Bowl in Las Vegas — where she shares a with boyfriend on the field of victory. Ryan Gosling performs the song "I'm Just Ken" from the movie "Barbie" on March 10 during the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. “What was I made for?” sings at channeling . And what was made for? Not entirely clear — but it's clear was made to play him. His singalong version of is one of the most entertaining Oscar musical moments in years. Still, Christopher Nolan's prevails, a rare case of the top prize going to a blockbuster studio film. Will it happen again in 2025? and sure hope so; as presenters, they make a sly reference to their upcoming juggernaut, Speaking of marketing, people are obsessed with that bizarre popcorn bucket. Beyonce And carves her space in country music with “Act II: Cowboy Carter,” which will make her the first Black woman to top the Billboard country chart. Taylor Swift performs June 21 at Wembley Stadium in London as part of her Eras Tour. Tennis, anyone? The game’s been around for centuries, but it’s having a cultural moment right now, helped mightily by the sweaty romance triangle starring and (40-love? More like 40-sex.) Elsewhere, a new era dawns: At midnight, drops then drops another 15 songs two hours later. The fascinating and disturbing the story of a struggling comedian’s extended encounter with a stalker, debuts on Netflix. Ben Affleck, left, and Jennifer Lopez arrive Feb. 13 at the premiere of "This Is Me ... Now: A Love Story" at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. It’s time — or as it's known in 2024, another early marketing moment for and make fashion waves on the carpet and then musical ones at dinner, with a soulful performance of “When You Believe.” If the “Wicked” tour is in full force, another one stops in its tracks: amid reports of both poor ticket sales and trouble in her marriage to . It’s been an eventful year for J.Lo, who's released an album and movie called — both reflections on her renewed love with Affleck. Welcome to ! releases her , with its lime green cover, and launches a thousand memes. Collins Dictionary defines “brat,” as “characterized by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude.” At the celeb-heavy shows in London, we see shaking it off, which is either charming or cringe, you decide. Even better: and tux and performs for one night. At another stadium across the pond, infielder with his cheery number “OMG.” Stephen Nedoroscik is introduced June 29 at the United States Gymnastics Olympic Trials in Minneapolis. Bonjour, it’s time! In Paris! An audacious opening ceremony along the Seine is punctuated by perched on the , singing her heart out — in the rain, too. over a scene critics feel mocks Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” (organizers say it does not). Olympic stars are born — including French swimming superstar , rugby player , and bespectacled “Pommel Horse Guy” gymnast who nets two bronze medals and comparisons to Clark Kent. Baby pigmy hippo Moo Deng plays with a zookeeper Sept. 19 in the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province, Thailand. Also capturing hearts: yep, born this month. Her name means “bouncy pork.” Australia's Rachael Gunn, known as B-Girl Raygun, competes Aug. 9 during the Round Robin Battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. This is them ... now: After two decades, two engagements and two weddings, J.Lo files for divorce. One union dissolves, another returns: a reunion tour. Everyone seems to want to get in on TikToker 's act — even the Back at the Olympics, in the new sport of breaking, we meet arguably neither demure nor mindful with her “kangaroo” move. Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani brings his dog Decoy to the mound Aug. 28 before Decoy delivered the ceremonial first pitch prior to a baseball game between the Dodgers and the Baltimore Orioles in Los Angeles. Cute animal alert: perky pooch does in his Major League Baseball debut. Chappell Roan performs "Good Luck, Babe" on Sept. 11 during the MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. One of the year’s biggest breakout artists, withdraws from a music festival after speaking out about frightening fan interactions. And more on the price of fame: In an excruciating moment, the franchise’s first Asian American lead, is forced to sit through a painful viewing of her proposal to her chosen suitor, after tearfully explaining how he’d later dumped her over the phone. Tran is keeping busy though — she’s announced as part of the new “Dancing with the Stars” lineup. Also on the list: rugby player Maher, and Pommel Horse Guy! Also, , Online fandom, meanwhile, is shaken when and celebrity stan accounts post tearful farewells, revealing to many across the globe that their favorite accounts are run by Brazilians. Miles Mitchell, 21, wins of the Timothee Chalamet lookalike contest Oct. 27 near Washington Square Park in New York. “Dune” Chalamets! “Wonka” Chalamets! Thousands gather in Manhattan for a lookalike contest, and things really get interesting when He doesn’t enter the contest, though, and with his mustache, he may not even have won. The trend continues with contests for and — in a very Washington version — Kennedy scion , who's been gathering a following with some interesting social media posts. New York Liberty Kennedy Burke dances with the mascot, Ellie the Elephant, during an Oct. 24 ceremony after a parade in honor of the Liberty's WNBA basketball championship at City Hall in New York. Turning to basketball, who’s that dancing with ? Why it’s , the now-viral mascot. Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, right, appears Nov. 2 with Maya Rudolph on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" in New York. does a pretty good laugh on “Saturday Night Live,” but you know who does it better? herself. The Democratic candidate three days before the U.S. presidential election, following in the footsteps of , and others. Elsewhere in television, Bravo announces that the Emmy-nominated reality show that has lived through countless scandals, is entirely recasting its 12th season — apart from namesake . As for , she doesn't have her own TV series yet, but our favorite pygmy hippo is generating . And THAT brings us back to ... Ariana Grande, left, and Cynthia Erivo pose for photographers Nov. 11 prior to the premiere of "Wicked" at Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City. Director ’s emerald-hued fantasy remains very very popular, to quote one of its buzzy show tunes, dancing through life and defying gravity at the multiplex. Moviegoers and, in a veritable tidal wave, which beckons us back to the seas of Oceania. Once again, 2024 seems to be telling us: Give people some whimsy, a place to escape, maybe some catchy tunes — and no one knows how far they’ll go. The stories and images that defined 2024. Searching for something? From queries about U.S. politics to cricket in India, Wikipedia has become a source of information for millions of people across the globe. From the Paris Olympics to the Super Bowl. From Simone Biles to Shohei Ohtani. And, of course, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift. These are the sp... AP photographers assembled a visual catalog of our civilization as life in 2024 hurtled directly at us at every speed and in every imaginable ... In 2024, photographers captured glimpses of humanity, ranging from a deeply divisive presidential election, to hurricanes and fires that ravag... Associated Press photographers captured voters with raw emotions of joy, excitement, contemplation or sorrow. See entertainment's biggest moments in 2024, through the lens of Associated Press photographers. It beat five other finalists: demure, slop, dynamic pricing, romantasy and lore. News anchors, politicians and other public figures in the U.S. struggled with these words the most this year. Is it any surprise Merriam-Webster's word of the year is "polarization"? Here are the other words that rounded out the top 10 for 2024. Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly!Appalachian State hires South Carolina offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains as head coach

Sweetgreen Is Cheap By One Metric, And I Recommend Buying The DipRecently, I attempted to plan a road trip through Canada. What should have been exciting—imagining stunning national parks and scenic drives—became a digital nightmare of juggling 50 different websites. Just figuring out the basics was exhausting: Could I take my dog to the parks? Were there direct flights? What activities would be good for my three kids? What’s the best driving route? Each question spawned five new browser tabs. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of planning a trip yourself, you’re probably nodding your head. Here’s the reality of travel planning today: 43% of Americans dislike booking travel , including 23% of GenZ travelers. 88% of potential travelers abandon their bookings (85% of desktop users and 91% of mobile device users). 33% of families find the process extremely time-consuming . Meanwhile, travel industry companies are racing to implement basic AI chatbots that can handle simple questions like “What’s my flight status?” But they’re missing the real opportunity. Today’s AI is capable of so much more—it can think the way actual travelers think, handling complex requests, and solving real problems. Instead of forcing us to break our trips into rigid search boxes and dropdown menus, AI can help booking sites work the way our brains do. Here’s what that could look like. Search with human language No two people approach travel the same way. Some start with a destination, others with the experiences they want, and some just with a season. Travel companies could use AI to follow each person’s unique chain of thought, delivering personalized results and planning processes that fit how they think—not the other way around. Book by budget When was the last time you started vacation planning with a precise budget in mind? We think more naturally: “What can I get for my money in Thailand with the family?” Booking platforms can use AI to lay out complete vacation options at different price points—showing you exactly what each tier offers from flights to activities. Dynamic visual planning Trip ideas begin with inspiration, not itineraries. We save posts on Instagram, collect Pinterest boards, and share TikToks of dream destinations. Travel sites could harness AI to transform these wish lists into bookable trips—turning social inspiration into real adventures. On-demand replanning Travel plans aren’t set in stone. Weather changes, flights get delayed, kids get tired. Smart travel platforms should be using AI to handle these real-world changes, suggesting alternatives that keep your trip on track without starting over. Simplified group booking Planning group trips means balancing different wishes and constraints. AI can help travel companies transform individual preferences—from beachfront hotels to local hiking trails—into perfectly matched itineraries that work for everyone. The most frustrating part? None of this is science fiction. Companies already use natural language AI to understand complex customer service requests, visual AI to organize and catalog millions of images, and real-time systems to manage everything from stock trades to factory operations. The same technologies could transform travel planning—if companies would stop settling for quick fixes and start reimagining what’s possible. These examples are just the beginning of what’s possible when we reimagine travel planning. So, the next time a booking site asks you to start with “Where to?” remember: That’s not how we dream about travel, and it’s not how we should have to plan it. The future of travel planning is hiding in plain sight—we just need to demand better. Peter Smart is chief experience officer and managing partner at Fantasy. The application deadline for Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards is Friday, December 6, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.

Samsung has a new way for Galaxy users to play games. The device manufacturer has been working on getting into the gaming space for a couple years, and its latest venture is a free mobile gaming platform that’ll let you stream Android games through the cloud on a Galaxy device. The program entered beta last year in the Gaming Hub , and is now available to the public. There will be 23 games available at launch, including Monopoly Go , Candy Crush Saga , and Honor of Kings . My first question when I saw the news: What is this for? Downloading mobile games isn’t usually taxing on a device the way a large AAA game might be on a console or PC. Most people also have a mobile device they can play games on, which is very different than not having a gaming PC or console. But there’s a couple ways this tech could be used. If you don’t have enough storage space on your smartphone (very possible considering few phones these days come with expandable storage), you can stream a game instead of playing it locally. This will be a boon as games get bigger. Samsung says that this is its way to keep up with streaming in other industries. The logic is that if you can stream your favorite TV shows instantly, why not be able to do so with games? “Unlike other cloud services, there is no content gated behind a paywall and no monthly subscriptions for users to access these games via our cloud streaming tech,” Jong Woo, Samsung head of game services, said to GamesIndustry.biz . But then I saw this quote in a press release about the announcement: “Our cloud gaming platform offers the ability for publishers to significantly increase their top-of-funnel conversion rates for their user acquisition campaigns by seamlessly converting an ad click directly into first gameplay, eliminating the need to drive users to an app store to download and install,” Woo said. So, the technology will also be appealing to Android mobile game developers who want more people to play their games. Samsung’s developer page says that cloud streaming can be used to bring players right into a game if they click on an ad instead of ushering them to the app store link first. So keep that in mind if you accidentally click an ad. Samsung entered the app-based gaming space with its Gaming Hub, which is available on Samsung smart TVs . It also launched some exclusive games that didn’t require a controller. This new feature lets you play full Android games instead of just small Samsung-approved ones.An online debate over foreign workers in tech shows tensions in Trump's political coalition

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If there was a legacy that grew out of the humid and sun-drenched lawns of the old Hebburn colliery at Abermain, where the mullets return each year and converge, it is this: at the edges, no one has ever felt unwelcome. Login or signup to continue reading The mullet appears as many things: a joke, a dare, a happy rebellion against the conventions of style and culture, but it is also endearing in its roughness and brotherly in its unapologetic defiance of trend. You cannot help but become tangled in the split ends. Patrick Stewart moved up to Newcastle from Mudgee for the work. He put in a hard graft in the kitchen to make management, and when he did, he knew that he could wear his hair how he liked. He was in charge now, after all. But the cascade of dark curls that washes past his shoulders as he throws his head back to down his drink is not an empty jab at the rigidity of the status quo. It is, of course, but it is also more. "My mum died when I was 12," he said. "She always loved my dad when he had a mullet. So, growing up, it was just to remember a little bit." Mr Stewart's mother was murdered by an intimate partner when she was 38 at Bathurst. She was stabbed more than 30 times. It would be unsurprising if her surviving son would not want to remember that tragic moment, but he retells the story with a heartbreaking clarity and unblinking sincerity. "It doesn't define me," he said. "It has made my life - not better, I would always love to have my mum - but being able to do this. I know she would love every second of it." "My friends don't know things like this - but then, nobody ever asks. I don't like saying it because people feel bad or treat me differently. I don't want to get ahead because I have a sad story. I want to show people that you can live your life." Under a shade, among the crowd, Bayley Martin-Pyke from Salamander Bay was surrounded by his entourage all wearing "Team Bayley" t-shirts and bearing a giant banner of his image and the slogan "Mulletfest 2024". Mr Martin-Pyke said he grew his hair - pure white and fine as silk - because his friends told him he could not hope to keep his job if he did. "One of my friends said they would sack me if I grew a mullet," he said, and smiled. "I said, 'watch me'." He has been maintaining his mane since late 2021, but said he never had any intention to compete. "One day, I took my hair out at work and one of my coworkers said I should 'go in that Mulletfest'," he said. "I asked when it was, and she said 'Tomorrow'. So, off I went." He won that rookie heat, and at the weekend was surrounded by friends. "I have always been a bit different," he said. "It's good to not feel like I am heaps different, if you know what I mean. It is like, we're all going to be different so none of us feel like we're different." Elsewhere, as the humidity climbed after a brief shower that did nothing to cool the temperature of the day, Meihana Coleman leant in a doorway as his mum took pictures. His hair fell in a pin-straight and jet-black stream down his back. His school friends know him as Mei Mei - the 13-year-old who marches to the beat of his own drum, exuding a quiet and reserved gentleness as he goes. "If it feels good, he'll do it," his mum said, smiling, as her son stood for photos. "It's really set a bit of a standard among his friend group at school - Mei Mei is wearing different socks to school, or Mei Mei has a mullet - all of his football team have started growing little mullets. It's a bit of a trend." Mei Mei runs his fingers through his hair: "Sometimes, if I look in the mirror and pull my mullet to the side so that I can't see it, I just look different," he said. "I'd trim it. Not cut it off." Outside, as the vintage mullets - those whose style feels baked in over countless years - strutted their stuff for the judges, Joe Falbo, wearing a handlebar moustache and ringlets to his shoulders, in a stylish and tight seventies-inspired do, took the microphone and dropped to one knee. He opened a ring box he had tucked into his sock and asked his love - Barbie Louise Roberts - to marry him after more than two decades together. Barbie Louise said yes. The couple shared a kiss as Mulletfest founder Laura Johnson announced the response over the speakers. Mrs Johnson and her family have been the driving forced behind Mulletfest since its inception in 2018. The former hairdresser and publican who had envisioned a wild bash at the back of her Kurri Kurri pub to lift spirits after the smelter closed, took her show on the road in 2022, bouncing between pubs and country towns off the main drag, evangelising the haircut and the sentiment it represents. The finalists of that national tour - now an annual event - converge on the former Hebburn No. 2 colliery each year to crown their champion and celebrate the philosophy that brings them together; a code that asks nothing but to come as you are, be as you are, and take everyone as they are. A full list of winners will be published when it becomes available. Simon McCarthy is a journalist with the Newcastle Herald and its sister publications in the Hunter region of New South Wales (NSW). He has contributed stories, photography, video and other multimedia to the pages of the Herald and its Saturday magazine, Weekender, since 2017. In 2020, he co-created the Toohey's News podcast, which he produced for four years with sports writer Barry Toohey until the show's indefinite hiatus. Since early 2023, he has served as the paper's Topics columnist and, more recently, returned to reporting with an interest in deep-dive stories that illustrate the issues shaping daily life in Newcastle and the region.McCarthy has reported for Australian Community Media (ACM) since 2013, first as a general news and sports writer for the Glen Innes Examiner and later as a group journalist and producer for the publisher's New England regional titles. He joined the Newcastle Herald newsroom as a digital producer in 2017 before returning to reporting in early 2023.He had previously worked for the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth.McCarthy was born in the New England region of NSW, where he grew up, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Southern Cross University in 2012. He covers general news, culture and community issues, with a focus on the Herald Weekender.He is a member of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) and adheres to its codes of ethics for journalists.Contact: simon.mccarthy@newcastleherald.com.au Simon McCarthy is a journalist with the Newcastle Herald and its sister publications in the Hunter region of New South Wales (NSW). He has contributed stories, photography, video and other multimedia to the pages of the Herald and its Saturday magazine, Weekender, since 2017. In 2020, he co-created the Toohey's News podcast, which he produced for four years with sports writer Barry Toohey until the show's indefinite hiatus. Since early 2023, he has served as the paper's Topics columnist and, more recently, returned to reporting with an interest in deep-dive stories that illustrate the issues shaping daily life in Newcastle and the region.McCarthy has reported for Australian Community Media (ACM) since 2013, first as a general news and sports writer for the Glen Innes Examiner and later as a group journalist and producer for the publisher's New England regional titles. He joined the Newcastle Herald newsroom as a digital producer in 2017 before returning to reporting in early 2023.He had previously worked for the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth.McCarthy was born in the New England region of NSW, where he grew up, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Southern Cross University in 2012. 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