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WNBA star Caitlin Clark has joined Cincinnati’s bid for a National Women’s Soccer League expansion team. Major League Soccer’s FC Cincinnati heads the group trying to bring a women’s pro team to the city. The club issued a statement confirming that Clark, a rookie for the Indiana Fever this season, had joined in the effort. “The NWSL Cincinnati bid team is thrilled that Caitlin Clark has joined our ownership group in pursuit of bringing women’s professional soccer to our city,” a team statement said. “Her passion for the sport, commitment to elevating women’s sports in and around the Greater Cincinnati region and influence as an athlete and a role model for women and girls around the world, make her a vital part of our compelling bid to become the 16th team in the NWSL.” NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman has said the league plans to announce the 16th team by the end of the year. She announced Friday there are three finalists: Cincinnati, Cleveland and Denver. The league’s 15th team will begin play in 2026 in Boston. The Orlando Pride and the Washington Spirit play Saturday for this season’s NWSL championship at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City. Clark, who earned WNBA Rookie of the Year honors, averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and a league-best 8.4 assists this season for the Fever, who finished 20-20 and advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. “Her accomplishments and contributions to women’s sports is incredible, historic. It’s changed the game for everyone and she’s amazing,” Berman said. “Having her interest in the NWSL is an honor. We couldn’t be more excited about her, having shared her own personal story about having been a young soccer player and loving the game, and her messaging around being a multisport athlete, is so important for young kids who aspire to be just like her.”New Jln Tapang lorry facility in Sibu to tackle parking woes
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12. Clemson Tigers 10-3 (7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference regular season) What's next: First-round at No. 5 seed Texas, Dec. 21 Head coach: Dabo Swinney (17th season, 180-46 overall) About Swinney: The 55-year-old, who is 6-4 in the CFP, took over during the 2008 season and has won two national titles (2016, 2018). He will take the Tigers to the CFP the first time since the 2020 season and the seventh time overall. Resume The Tigers, the only three-loss team in the 12-team field, were in a must-win situation in the ACC championship game, prevailing on a last-second, 56-yard field goal to defeat SMU 34-31. Clemson lost two games to SEC opponents (Georgia and South Carolina) this season. The Tigers' other defeat came at home to Louisville. The matchup with Texas will be Clemson's first true road game against the SEC this season. Postseason history A nine-time winner of the ACC Championship Game, the Tigers notched a double-figure win total for the 13th time in the last 14 seasons. Along with its two national titles, Clemson reached the title game two other times (2019 and 2015). This will be the first Clemson-Texas matchup. The road to Atlanta It will be a tricky road for the Tigers to reach the CFP title game in Atlanta at a venue familiar to Clemson fans. The Tigers will take at least two and maybe three trips outside of their own time zone to qualify for the final. Names to know QB Cade Klubnik Klubnik, a Texas native, has been taking snaps in crucial situations since a limited role as a freshman in 2022, when he rescued the Tigers in an ACC Championship victory vs. North Carolina. Sporting a 19-8 career record as a starter, Klubnik has thrown for 3,303 yards and 33 touchdowns along with five interceptions this season. He tossed four TDs in the ACC title game Dec. 7 against SMU after receiving All-ACC honorable mention following the regular season. "He's battle-tested," Swinney said. "He has got a lot of experience under his belt. He has had some failure, which has made him better." RB Phil Mafah The senior has racked up 1,106 rushing yards with eight touchdowns this season and has 28 career scores. Mafah has averaged fewer than 17 carries per game, so he makes the most of his opportunities, and at 230 pounds he can be a load to bring down. DE T.J. Parker He's been disruptive on a regular basis, racking up 19 tackles for loss (11 sacks) this season. The 265-pound sophomore helped set the tone in the ACC title game when the Tigers feasted on early SMU mistakes. Parker is tied for the Division I lead with six forced fumbles this season. K Nolan Hauser The freshman joined the Tigers this season with great acclaim and produced a career highlight with a 56-yard game-winning field goal -- the longest in ACC title game history -- to beat SMU at the buzzer. --Field Level MediaRussian State TV Reveals Assad's Whereabouts
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Share Tweet Share Share Email In an era where data is the new currency, safeguarding user information has become a paramount challenge for tech giants. With public scrutiny intensifying, companies must navigate the fine line between innovation and privacy. Ajay Krishnan Prabhakaran, a senior data engineer in Silicon Valley, offers a rare glimpse into the meticulous strategies employed to ensure data integrity. The Data Lifecycle: From Collection to Deletion Every interaction, whether it is a login, a post, or even a scroll, generates data. Ajay explains, “Each piece of data is annotated at the time of logging to distinguish between sensitive and non-sensitive information.” Sensitive data, like user IDs, is flagged to ensure its handling adheres to strict privacy protocols. These annotations are a cornerstone for ensuring privacy is baked into the system from the ground up. To illustrate, consider how a social media platform might handle user data. When a user logs in, their session data is tagged with a unique identifier that is separate from their personal information. This separation ensures that even if the session data is accessed, it cannot be directly linked back to the individual without additional authorization. This method not only protects user privacy but also complies with regulatory requirements. The annotated data is stored in Hive, a robust system designed for massive-scale data processing and analysis. Data retention policies are carefully calibrated to balance operational needs with privacy considerations. For instance, detailed logs containing user-specific information are retained for only a few weeks, while aggregated and anonymized data, compressed into summaries, can be stored for years to support long-term analytical needs. This approach allows companies to derive valuable insights without compromising individual privacy. When users choose to delete their accounts, the company faces the challenge of erasing all traces of their information. Ajay’s team developed an innovative solution by introducing replacement IDs (rids). At the time of data logging, user IDs are linked to rids in a secure mapping table. When an account is deleted, the corresponding row in the mapping table is removed, effectively anonymizing the data and severing any connection to the user. This process not only ensures compliance with privacy laws but also builds trust with users by demonstrating a commitment to their privacy. Preventing Data Misuse: A Multi-Layered Approach Storing data securely is only part of the equation; preventing unauthorized access and misuse is equally critical. Ajay highlights a two-year project his team undertook to develop a data lineage tracking system. This tool maps the flow of data across applications and flags any unauthorized data sharing or movement. This capability is essential for meeting stringent regulatory requirements like GDPR, which mandates transparency and accountability in data handling. To ensure legitimate use cases comply with privacy standards, thorough audits are conducted regularly. These audits require demonstrating that the requested data access is essential for integrity purposes and aligns with strict privacy protocols. He emphasizes the importance of this oversight, saying, “We must ensure every bit of data usage is justified and transparent.” To further bolster security, systems are designed with advanced monitoring tools that detect anomalies in real-time. Whether it’s identifying unusual access patterns or potential data breaches, these tools act as a frontline defense, ensuring threats are addressed proactively. For example, machine learning algorithms can be employed to recognize patterns that deviate from the norm, allowing for swift intervention before any damage occurs. Moreover, companies are increasingly adopting zero-trust architectures, which assume that threats could be internal as well as external. This approach requires continuous verification of user identities and access privileges, minimizing the risk of unauthorized data access. By implementing such comprehensive security measures, companies can significantly reduce the likelihood of data breaches and misuse. The Bigger Picture: Balancing Innovation and Privacy Beyond technical solutions, Ajay underscores the importance of fostering a company-wide culture of accountability. Regular third-party audits, stringent penalties for privacy violations, and a commitment to transparency are all critical to maintaining user trust. He believes this cultural foundation is what differentiates companies that excel in privacy protection from those that fall short. He also highlights the ethical dimensions of data engineering. “It’s not just about solving problems; it’s about considering the societal impact of the solutions we implement,” he notes. By designing tools and processes that prioritize user privacy, engineers contribute to a broader vision of ethical innovation. This approach ensures that technological advancements are aligned with societal values and expectations. In addition, companies are increasingly engaging with stakeholders, including users, regulators, and advocacy groups, to ensure their privacy practices meet evolving expectations. This dialogue helps companies stay ahead of potential issues and fosters a sense of shared responsibility for data protection. Looking Ahead: The Future of Data Privacy As artificial intelligence and machine learning redefine how data is utilized, the complexity of safeguarding privacy will only increase. His insights highlight the importance of staying ahead of emerging challenges. Detecting AI-generated profiles, refining models to prevent fraud, and addressing the nuances of cross-border data flows are just a few of the issues that will dominate the data privacy landscape in the coming years. He emphasizes that adaptability and continuous learning are crucial for engineers working in this space. “The landscape is evolving rapidly. We must remain agile and committed to innovation,” he says. In a world increasingly reliant on digital platforms, the stakes for data privacy have never been higher. By combining technical expertise with a steadfast commitment to ethical practices, engineers like Ajay are not only safeguarding user data but also setting the stage for a more secure and trustworthy digital ecosystem. Related Items: Securing Trust in a Digital World , Trust in a Digital World Share Tweet Share Share Email Comments
In the late 1970s, two Steves founded Apple Computer, Inc, with operations starting out in Steve Jobs' garage. With him was Steve Wozniak, and the two would go on to revolutionize not just the computer industry, but the entire technology sector on a global scale. While the company had its ups and downs, the foundations laid by Wozniak and Jobs in the '70s — and all of the smart decisions both of them made along the way — have led to Apple becoming a trillion dollar company today. These days, Apple covers multiple facets of tech, including smartphones, audio, VR headsets, and of course, computers. The Macintosh, nowadays known as the Mac, has been Apple's line of computers that served as direct competition to Windows-powered computers. Macs have always distinguished themselves as being computers for the higher end, and their designs almost always reflected that. Here are the best looking computers that Apple ever designed. Most commonly known under the acronym TAM, this flagship Mac was released in 1997 to celebrate Apple's 20th anniversary. The audio hardware, custom designed by Bose, was contained in a giant cylinder, a design that would appear once more on the 2013 refresh of the Mac Pro. The metal cylinder is the weak link in this case, as the TAM's design really shines through on the monitor. Actually, the monitor piece contains more than just the monitor. It also includes a 4x CD-ROM drive and a floppy drive, which take up quite literally half of the monitor panel. The monitor itself was a very contemporary matrix LCD with a 12" screen. It included a separate power supply and built-in subwoofer, as well as a trackpad from the PowerBook devices. Under the hood was the PowerPC 603e processor running at 250 Mhz, paired up with an ATI Rage 3D graphics chipset. It's funny by modern standards, but back in 1997, this machine was state of the art. It also started at $7,500 in 1997, almost $15,000 in today's money. [Featured image by Kai Wegner via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY 2.0 ] By the late 1990s, it was clear that Apple had gotten bored of appeasing the enterprise and professional market. In 2001, Steve Jobs came out on stage at that year's WWDC to announce the latest evolution of the consumer focused iBook, the G3. This was one of Apple's first consumer grade laptops to truly take off, and it laid the foundations for the later consumer focused MacBooks like the 2015 12" MacBook and the current MacBook Air. One of the most notable aspects of the iBook G3 was its design. It resembled the iMac G3, in itself one of the strangest Macs of all time. The very period-correct rounded shape and its flashes of color here and there really worked, and even to this day, the iBook G3 is one of the most recognizable laptops in history. Powering the iBook G3 was standard Mac fare for the time, a PowerPC 750 CPU running at 300 Mhz, various hard drive options, and a pretty high-res — for the time — 1024x768 screen. The G3 revision also included an AirPort, which we know today as wireless internet or Wi-Fi Despite being discontinued in 2003, from a design standpoint the G3 can still hold its own even with Mac OS X. [Featured image by D' via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 2.0 ] Before the Mac Pro, Apple's flagship desktop towers had an even more authoritative name: Power Macintosh. First launched in 1994, the Power Macs were the first computers to use PowerPC architectures, which Apple stuck with until 2006 and the switch to Intel architectures. The best-looking iteration of the Power Mac is undoubtedly the G5. Launched in the early 2000s, the G5 had the most serious design language out of all of them, but also what had to be the coolest design language. A solid metal tower with a mesh design on the front, and grab handles that integrated into the lines of the case. Such a menacing looking tower also deserves good power, and that was certainly the case. The Power Mac G5 used various PowerPC CPUs throughout its life, all of which used a 64-bit architecture. 64-bit is the norm today, but it was really uncommon back in the early 2000s. The last and most powerful G5s were clocked up to 2.5 GHz, an absurdly high number by the standards of the day. GeForce graphics did all the graphics heavy lifting, and you could spec the G5 with up to 16GB of RAM. Proper workstation stuff. [Featured image by Bernie Kohl via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC 1.0 ] 2015 saw the launch of what can best be described as a highly experimental MacBook. Instead of a Core i5 or Core i7 processor, the original 12" MacBook used an Intel Core M CPU and joined the Air as an entry level consumer grade Apple laptop. The 12" MacBook, like the name implies, also had a much smaller footprint than any of its stablemates, which left no room for active cooling. However, with such a low power chipset it wasn't necessary. We really enjoyed the the 12" MacBook when it launched and praised it for distilling everything that made the MacBook so good into such a tiny, more consumer-focused package. The biggest criticism levied at the earliest tiny MacBook was its single USB-C port, which you were forced to use for everything. Apple kept the 12" MacBook around for a few more years, but it went away in 2017. [Featured image by Maurizio Pesce via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY 2.0 ] As well as the Power Mac line of desktop towers, Apple also had a Power laptop line called the PowerBook. Whereas the iBook line used mostly plastic in its construction, the later PowerBook line of laptops was 100% metal, and some of them even came in titanium like the most recent iPhone models. Back in the early 2000s, experimentation was the name of the game when it came to portable computer design. Acer was making bright red Ferrari laptops, Asus threw its hat in the ring with the Lamborghini laptop, and various companies were cramming full Windows — including keyboards and mouse inputs — into devices the size of present-day smartphones . In comparison to those, the PowerBook G4, the last Apple laptop to use a PowerPC CPU, looks almost impossibly sleek and understated. It's a masterclass of design that lives up to the Power part of its name, and it's no surprise that every Apple laptop that came after it follows a similar design philosophy. Of course, the most notable thing about the PowerBook G4 was its 2006 rebranding to a name that we're all familiar with — the MacBook Pro. 2022 saw the first proper redesign of the MacBook Air in years. The screen bezels were slimmed down significantly and Apple also added the display notch that was previously only seen on the Pro line. A boxier overall design that was now even all the way around was introduced, along with, finally, the return of the much loved MagSafe charging. The 2022 Air was also moved to the M2 system on a chip, the second generation of the in-house designed Apple Silicon chipsets. Even though this is an ARM-based processor, it makes mincemeat of most tasks. I am using a 2022 M2 MacBook Air to write this, and when I first got it, it was so snappy, I had to check if the display is 120Hz or more. It isn't, but it certainly felt that way coming off an ancient (by comparison) Windows desktop with a puny Skylake Core i3. This evolution of the Air's design is a truly fantastic one, and it really is one of the sleekest laptops on the market right now. Not biased, I promise, it just is. The Midnight color that was introduced in the 2022 Air certainly contributes to that — when it's not caked in fingerprints and dust, that is. For those take on more demanding tasks on a daily basis, the Apple Silicon-powered MacBook Air is probably best avoided. A more appropriate choice would be the MacBook Pro, which is designed to chew through really tough tasks like it's nobody's business. Ever since the Pro line moved to the in-house Apple Silicon chipsets in 2020, it has become one of the very best laptops on the market — assuming money is no object, of course. The most recent iteration is the M4-powered MacBook Pro, and once you dry your eyes from the eyewatering price tag, it's almost unbelievable that a laptop has this kind of horsepower. Naturally, because Apple pays attention to the details, it's also quite the looker. From the big Retina display on the front, to the keyboard and its black backing regardless of the body color, to the precisely crafted exhaust ports on either side of the keyboard, the MacBook Pro does things that were only really possible on massive workstations a few years ago, but it also does it in style. While the PowerMac lineup was always fantastic, one of the potential issues that could crop up for a lot of users was their sizing. The PowerMac towers were quite the bulky machines, and if there's a space constraint on the user's desk, it could prove to be a problem. Apple's solution was the very sleek PowerMac G4 Cube. Launched in July of 2000, the G4 Cube had all of the horsepower and the performance of the standard PowerMac G4, but it introduced a much more compact design in the shape of — you guessed it, a cube. Powering the Cube was a PowerPC G4 processor that could be configured up to 500 Mhz and up to 1.5GB of RAM was also on offer. The G4 Cube was also a total revolution in one important aspect — it was one of the very first computers to be passively cooled. This is where the foundations of the modern Mac mini were laid, and the Cube is definitely a key part of Apple's computer history. [Featured image by Patrick Kuhl via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY 2.0 ]Yelp chief product officer Craig Saldanha sells $38,050 in stock
US stock market, Wall Street are making wrong S&P 500 predictions for 2025? Expert cites forecasting blunders since 2000Pay first, deliver later: Some women are being asked to prepay for their babyAlbania on Saturday announced a one-year ban on TikTok, the popular short video app, following the killing of a teenager last month that raised fears over the influence of social media on children. The ban, part of a broader plan to make schools safer, will come into effect early next year, Prime Minister Edi Rama said after meeting with parents' groups and teachers from across the country. "For one year, we'll be completely shutting it down for everyone. There will be no TikTok in Albania," Rama said. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours. Several European countries including France, Germany and Belgium have enforced restrictions on social media use for children. In one of the world's toughest regulations targeting Big Tech, Australia approved in November a complete social media ban for children under 16. Rama has blamed social media, and TikTok in particular, for fueling violence among youth in and outside school. His government's decision comes after a 14-year-old schoolboy was stabbed to death in November by a fellow pupil. Local media had reported that the incident followed arguments between the two boys on social media. Videos had also emerged on TikTok of minors supporting the killing. "The problem today is not our children, the problem today is us, the problem today is our society, the problem today is TikTok and all the others that are taking our children hostage," Rama said.
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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Workers pushing for an end to smoking in Atlantic City casinos say the main employee union has been won over by tobacco companies seeking allies in the fight against smoking restrictions. An official of a union involved in the anti-smoking push on Monday called for the head of the Atlantic City casino workers' union, Donna DeCaprio, to resign for failing to protect her members from the dangers of secondhand smoke. DeCaprio is president of Local 54 of the Unite Here union, which opposes a smoking ban on the grounds that so much business would be lost by smokers taking their money elsewhere that it could cause one or more casinos to shut down, costing thousands of workers their jobs. “She should be ashamed of herself,” said Ray Jensen, assistant director of United Auto Workers Region 9, which represents dealers at three Atlantic City casinos and is part of a lawsuit seeking to have the courts force an end to smoking in the gambling halls. “She should hand in her union card.” DeCaprio said her union supports the health and safety of its members, adding improvements to the workplace environment need to be made. “A balance needs to be reached that will both protect worker health and preserve good jobs,” she said. “We are protecting our members against multiple casino closures and job losses. The UAW is eager to sacrifice the entire casino industry and put 25,000 good jobs with benefits at risk.” DeCaprio said between 50% and 72% of all in-person casino revenue in Atlantic City comes from smoking sections, which occupy only 25% of the casino floor. She said her union “and the vast majority of the labor movement” support a proposal that would improve ventilation in casinos and prevent any employee from being assigned to work in a smoking section against their will. Whether to ban smoking is one of the most controversial issues not only in Atlantic City casinos but in other states where workers have expressed concern about secondhand smoke. They are waging similar campaigns in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Kansas and Virginia. Workers have been pushing for four years to end an exemption in New Jersey’s clean air law that allows smoking inside the nine casinos. They say they or their co-workers are becoming ill with cancer, heart disease and other conditions related to exposure to second-hand smoke. Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, has said he will sign a bill to end casino smoking if it reaches his desk. The casinos, joined by Local 54, oppose that effort, saying it will cost Atlantic City thousands of jobs and lead to decreased tax revenue for state programs for senior citizens and the disabled. On Monday, the workers group that calls itself CEASE (Casino Employees Against Smoking’s Effects) filed an appeal of a court ruling in August that allowed smoking to continue in the nine casinos. The Casino Association of New Jersey declined to comment Monday. Attorney Nancy Erika Smith said as far back as 1993, tobacco companies targeted labor unions in the hospitality industry as potential allies to work against smoking bans in the restaurant and hospitality industries. That effort included the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union, a precursor of the Unite Here union. “HERE and the related AFL-CIO affiliates are critical allies which should be cultivated as supporters of the effort to prevent smoking bans,” a public relations firm wrote in a memo to Philip Morris Companies that was made public during several states' litigation against tobacco companies. The memo said having HERE “as an ally in this effort would be a very powerful voice.” As far back as 2001, HERE was part of a 12-member coalition including labor unions advocating for improved indoor ventilation instead of government-imposed smoking bans, according to another document cited in Monday's appeal. The anti-smoking campaigners cite a 2022 report by Las Vegas-based C3 Gaming, a consulting firm, showing that casinos that went smoke-free "appear to be performing better than their counterparts that continue to allow smoking.” Follow Wayne Parry on X at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get local news delivered to your inbox!What a Dietitian Says About Donald Trump’s Fast Food Obsession
