EVIDENCE of ancient alien life could be lurking on one of our nearest space neighbours: Venus.
These days, it seems like everyone is talking about celebrities going to space on private shuttles or Elon Musk getting man to Mars.
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Earth has striking similarities to Venus despite our sister planet’s present inhabitability
Venus has become somewhat of a forgotten planet, despite being closer to us than Mars and, arguably, more like Earth than the red planet in key ways.
Venus is roughly the same size and density as Earth. It is indeed closer to the Sun, but that doesn’t fully explain its toxic atmosphere and hellish surface.
Two Nasa-led missions to Venus – dubbed DAVINCI+ and VERITAS – are scheduled to trek to the planet next door and break through its violent atmosphere at the end of this decade.
With the information, data and images mined from the missions, researchers may get an answer as to whether Venus once looked like Earth.
“That quest for habitability is part of our search for signs of life in the Nasa framework,” Dr. James Garvin, the principal investigator for the DAVINCI+ mission to Venus, told The Sun in an exclusive interview. “We can all dare to hope.”
The DAVINCI+ mission will be equipped with special cameras to see through the thick atmosphere and additional technology to measure the chemical content of that atmosphere.
“We expect to discover a whole new catalog of chemistry,” Dr Garvin said.
The DAVINCI+ team does not expect the probe that will touchdown to last long – Dr Garvin predicts just 12 to 18 minutes of stable communication – but much will be achieved by mapping the planet from above and tracking the chemistry of the Venusian atmosphere.
“We can meet every one of our science objectives and others without ever touching the ground,” Dr Garvin said.
Set to launch in 2029, DAVINCI+ will forge through space for six months until arriving at our planetary neighbor.
When DAVINCI+ arrives, VERITAS will already be orbiting Venus on a mission of its own.
“VERITAS will look for water vapor in volcanic plumes – if it detects any that will mean water can still be found in the interior of Venus,” Dr Anthony Freeman, a program manager at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory told The Sun in an email.
“The verified discovery of volcanic activity would rewrite history for our sister planet,” Dr Freeman wrote.
Dr Garvin said the DAVINCI mission was designed to have “excess capacity” so after data has been harvested from Venus, the ship can continue to operate in space and potentially lead to more discoveries.
Both projects are many years in the making and will, among other things, answer whether Venus was once habitable or not.
The annual St. Patrick’s Day breakfast returned to an in-person event in South Boston Sunday, breaking a pandemic pause with jokes, music and awkwardness from some of Massachusetts’ most prominent political figures.
Returning to normal was a recurring theme for speakers at the breakfast, organized by state Sen. Nick Collins, holder of “the Southie seat” that typically hosts the event.
“It’s great to be back in the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center here in South Boston, live and in-person without masks, and some of us, self respect,” the senator quipped before launching into a rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall,” with lyrics inspired by Gov. Charlie Baker’s pandemic response. (“We don’t need no vaccination cards / Whatever happened to local control?”)
In his final head table appearance as governor, Baker, who is not seeking re-election, poked fun at the idea of nepotism in state government.
“There will be a new governor and lieutenant governor here in Massachusetts, and I’m sure one of the things they’ll do when they take office is start flipping through the payroll,” Baker said, pointing to the 40,000 employees in the executive branch. “You’re probably going to find a lot of ‘Collinses’ in there. They’re all qualified, they came by it honestly, there’s nothing going on there, so just leave those ones alone,” the governor said to laughter.
The outgoing executive also said he was proud of the people of Massachusetts for their compassionate, community-driven response to the pandemic.
“Despite the brutality and the trauma and the disruption and the isolation and all the other stuff that came with this very challenging — and at times, tragic — time, folks were good to each other,” Baker said.
Senate President Karen Spilka landed laughs by presenting Baker with an inflatable duck in honor of his “lame duck” status and laying out a mock schedule for the man seeking to be his successor, Republican Geoff Diehl.
“9 a.m., anti-science rally. 11 a.m. Capitol insurrection,” she said to laughter. “2 p.m. — and don’t worry Geoff, you’ll make this — you’ll make it to your book burning at 2 p.m,” Spilka said.
In her first turn at the head table, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu landed a few laughs by making light of the consistent protests in front of her Roslindale home over the COVID-19 vaccine measures implemented when she became mayor.
“I am proud to be the first mom elected to this office in Boston. It comes with the good and the bad,” Wu said to applause. “This morning, I woke up, once again to the sound of children throwing a tantrum. Thankfully, [my sons] Blaise and Cass usually sleep right through it, but those protesters do get loud.”
Perhaps the riskiest joke of the afternoon came from At-Large Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty, who attempted a wisecrack about Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley’s absence from the event.
“Someone told me she’s on a vacation with her dear friend Monica Cannon-Grant,” Flaherty said, referencing the prominent local nonprofit leader recently indicted for fraud. “They’re the Boston version of Thelma and Louise,” he said to a collective groan.
Norfolk County Treasurer Michael Bellotti scored the most laughs of the afternoon with a range of jokes, including a bit with intercepted mock letters.
“Dear Mayor Wu, thank you so much for courageously adhering to the strictest COVID restrictions possible for the city of Boston and putting public health before all other selfish interests. Please don’t cave in. Signed by Mayor Tom Koch and the Quincy restaurant association,” Bellotti said.
“Dear Boston Globe, I told you I was a better choice for Bostonian of the Year. Signed by everybody in Boston,” Bellotti said, referring back to Cannon-Grant and her recent indictment.
State senator and gubernatorial candidate Sonia Chang-Díaz played on work-from-home habits in the pandemic, putting a laundry basket and children’s toys around the event podium. “Now we can begin,” she said.
Chang-Díaz also joked about her opponent’s large war chest. Attorney General Maura Healey, who’s currently leading in polls, is sitting on $4.2 million, according to the latest state political finance figures. Chang-Díaz has about 8% of Healey’s total.
“You could use that money to endear yourself to our esteemed elected leaders, you could spring for some sound-proofing for Michelle’s house, you could take on an even bigger challenge and buy Nick Collins some singing lessons…you could do President Spilka and Speaker [Ron] Mariano a favor and fund that training to finally teach members of the state Legislature how to use the mute button on Zoom,” she said.
Notable absences included U.S. Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, as well as Congressmen Stephen Lynch, who is leading a bipartisan, seven-member delegation to Poland that has called for more military aid to Ukraine as it defends itself from Russian invasion.
After U.S. stocks staged a rebound last week in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s much-anticipated monetary policy decision, investors this week will look ahead to a somewhat quieter slate of corporate earnings and economic data releases.
One of the most closely watched earnings reports will come after market close on Monday from Nike (NKE). As one of the few companies to report earnings that cover performance for this year, Nike’s fiscal third-quarter results will provide an update as to how the multinational corporation performed in the first months of 2022 against a backdrop of an ongoing pandemic and war in Ukraine.
Nike shares have dropped by more than 20% for the year-to-date through Friday’s close, underperforming the S&P 500’s more than 6% decline over the same period. Investors have grown wary of the stock heavily exposed both to international headwinds and to ongoing supply chain issues. Nike joined a number of other U.S.-based companies earlier this month in announcing it would pare back its business in Russia, amid the country’s war in Ukraine, saying it would no longer take online orders and would close stores in Russia.
“We expect the focus in 3QF22 to be on: 1) supply chain, including inventory on hand vs. in transit; 2) China, where political backlash and COVID-19 lock downs persist; 3) wholesale distribution, and plans to streamline it further; and 3) demand, which has stayed elevated in NA [North America] and EMEA [Europe, the Middle East, and Africa],” wrote Telsey Advisory Group analyst Cristina Fernandez in a note Friday.
“Although the near-term for Nike is choppy until inventory flow normalizes, Nike should continue to benefit from enhanced connections with consumers through its membership program, high full-price selling, greater use of data across the organization, and a more integrated strategic wholesale model through the One Nike Marketplace initiative,” she added.
Nike basketball shoes worn by Los Angeles Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe (12) in the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022, in Denver. The Nuggets won 130-128 in overtime. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Back in December during Nike’s last earnings day and call, the company said it expected to see third-quarter sales grow by a low-single digit percentage, and for full-year sales to grow by mid-single digits. Fernandez said she expects Nike to reiterate this guidance on Monday.
Overall, Nike is expected to deliver sales of $10.6 billion for its quarter ending in February, according to Bloomberg consensus data. This would represent growth of 3%, compared to the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) are expected to reach 72 cents a share, compared to 90 cents per share last year.
Sales in Greater China, one of Nike’s key markets, are anticipated to rise back above $2 billion after dipping below that threshold in the fiscal second quarter, as COVID-19 cases in China impacted consumer mobility and spending. Still, the country is grappling with a fresh outbreak of the coronavirus, which may present some downside risks to both sales and supplies for Nike’s latest and future results.
In December, Nike Chief Financial Officer Matthew Friend said the company was growing “increasingly confident that supply will normalize heading into fiscal ’23.”
For many other major companies, however, supply chain concerns have remained top of mind. According to a report from FactSet, 358 S&P 500 companies cited “supply chain” during earnings calls for the fourth quarter, with that figure coming in well above the five-year average of 187.
“This is the second-highest number of S&P 500 companies citing ‘supply chain’ on earnings calls going back to at least 2010 (using current index constituents going back in time),” FactSet’s John Butters said in a note. “The current record is 362, which occurred in the previous quarter (Q3 2021).”
Consumer sentiment
On the economic data front, this week’s consumer sentiment report due out from the University of Michigan on Friday will offer an updated snapshot on the state of the consumer amid soaring inflation and the geopolitical crisis in Ukraine.
The institution’s revised Surveys of Consumers index is expected to come in unchanged from the preliminary March index at 59.7 — the lowest since 2011. Such a result would solidify the deterioration in consumers’ assessments of current and future conditions amid surging prices and turmoil abroad. It would also suggest whether inflation expectations are getting reset and embedded at historically high rates: Earlier this month, consumers said they expected inflation to rise by 5.1% in the next year, marking the highest expected rate since 1981, according to the University of Michigan.
And more importantly, the consumer sentiment index will serve as an indicator of whether declining optimism may ultimately lead to a tangible drop in consumer spending, thereby putting the brakes on U.S. economic activity. U.S. consumer spending comprises more than two-thirds of overall economic activity, and already, early signs have suggested rising prices are curbing at least some demand. Retail sales rose just 0.3% in February, Commerce Department data showed last week, to miss Wall Street’s expectations. And when stripping out gas and vehicle sales — which were primarily boosted by higher energy prices — retail sales actually declined for the month.
“Consumer sentiment, the Treasury yield curve, economists’ growth expectations and investor sentiment all show signs of fatigue and underscore the possibility of a recession looming on the horizon,” Lindsey Bell, chief markets and money strategist for Ally, wrote in an email Friday. “According to the University of Michigan, consumer sentiment has been on the decline since August and in February it recorded its lowest reading since 2011 at 62.8. Readings at 65 or below often coincide with recessions.”
“To be sure, we will need to keep an eye on the consumer as their confidence has been dinged,” Bell added. “But I believe given their still strong financial position, and the strength of the job market, it’s possible this could be a temporary blip in confidence. As we can put some of these near-term concerns behind us, the hope is that the second half of 2022 features a steadier global economy and easing inflationary pressures.”
Economic calendar
Monday: Chicago Fed National Activity Index, February (0.69 in January)
Tuesday: Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index, March (2 expected, 1 in February)
Wednesday: MBA Mortgage Applications, week ended March 18 (-1.2% during prior week); New home sales, February (815,000 expected, 801,000 in January)
Thursday: Initial jobless claims, week ended March 19 (211,000 expected, 214,000 during prior week); Continuing claims, week ended March 12 (1.481 million expected, 1.419 million during prior week); Durable goods orders, February preliminary (-0.5% expected, 1.6% in January); Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, February preliminary (0.5% expected, 1.0% in January) Non-defense capital goods shipments excluding aircraft, February preliminary (0.5% expected, 1.9% in January); S&P Global U.S. Composite PMI, March preliminary (54.2 expected, 55.9 in February); Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Activity Index, March (29 in February)
Friday: Pending home sales, February (1.0% expected, -5.7% in January); University of Michigan Sentiment, March final (59.7 expected, 59.7 in February)
Danielle Gibson might seem to have everything, to those looking from the outside – married to a former Manchester United footballer and living in a big mansion in Cheshire. But it was her vast wealth that made her feel like she couldn’t reach out for help when she and husband Darron most needed it.
Realising that things had to change in her life, Danielle decided to take her own steps to help – by training for five years to become a psychotherapist to help others who are struggling with their emotional or mental health. For Danielle knows exactly how it feels when you don’t feel that you “have the right” to complain or speak up when you are struggling, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Danielle opened up about her experiences at an event for inspiring women on International Women’s Day in Manchester. Speaking to a crowd of businesswomen and friends, including a host of fellow former Manchester United footballers’ wives and girlfriends, Danielle spoke openly and honestly about the reality of life married to a professional footballer.
She is planning to launch her own psychotherapy business The Heard Hub this year, to help others who have been in a similar situation with face-to-face and online therapy sessions. She has trained for five years and has worked for the past year in a women’s prison and also for a substance abuse service.
Danielle Gibson (centre) at the International Women’s Day event at Menagerie in Manchester (Image: Manchester Evening News)
Danielle grew up in Wythenshawe, living with her mum and sisters in a high-rise flat, and knows only too well the struggles of life when you have little money. But being catapulted into the ‘lavish Cheshire lifestyle’, as she calls it, brought with it its own problems.
She met Darron, who is originally from Derry, Northern Ireland, when they were teenagers and he had moved to Manchester to follow his footballing dreams at Manchester United. They swiftly fell in love and, in the ‘buzz’ of their early years together, she says they were living their best life.
But, in the precarious world of football, when Darron got injured it put an emotional strain on their relationship – and that led to years of Danielle feeling she had to bottle up how she felt.
“I felt like I didn’t have a right to complain, I didn’t have a right to moan because I lived in a big house in Bowdon, my kids go to private school, so I didn’t say anything to anybody, I just carried on.
“I felt like I couldn’t tell anyone how difficult it was because I was rich, and rich people aren’t supposed to have problems.”
Now Danielle’s hoping that through years of her own training, she can help make changes in the sports industry – having experienced for herself a lack of mental health support for sportspeople and their families. She told the audience at the event, organised by Julie Perry Events, that she has seen life from two very different perspectives.
“I’ve lived the lavish Cheshire lifestyle for 16 years – but I was born into a single parent family in Wythenshawe, with me and my sisters in a tenth floor flat watching my mum struggling up and down the stairs with shopping bags. I had a really simple life,” Danielle said.
“But at the age of 16 I was catapulted into a new world, and everything that it brings. It’s really important to say I’m so grateful to everything this life has given me. I have two kids in private school, I’ve flown around the world, I’ve had the absolute dream wedding.
“But I want to use this platform to validate those experiences, it still feels tricky sat here in my designer outfit saying this, but I want to be honest and say that there have been years and years where I didn’t feel thankful or grateful of any of it – I just wanted to be Danielle from Wythenshawe.”
When Danielle and Darron first got together, it was in an era before social media, and Darron had left his family in Northern Ireland at the age of just 14 to follow his dreams of playing for Manchester United.
Danielle said: “He was living every footballer’s dream, but I didn’t know anything about football so he was living this dream I knew nothing about. That buzz lasted for years, don’t get me wrong, we lived our absolute best life. We bought our first house at 19, we had an all-singing all-dancing wedding – but it’s not as easy as you think.
“At 24 he signed for Everton on a massive contract with massive money, and it felt like at times he was paying for half of Ireland. He was paying for people’s car insurances, people’s mortgages, people’s rent, everything, the list didn’t stop, the phone was non-stop all the time – this was all OK because we were loaded right? Until he got injured.”
Danielle recalls watching on TV as Darron suffered a horrific cruciate knee ligament on international duty that could have ended his career right then. In the years that followed, he would continue on a treadmill of surgeries, long recoveries and then succumbing to injuries again. It would take a huge emotional toll on them both.
Danielle said: “Shortly after the wedding was his first injury – he was playing for his country, I was pregnant with baby number two and I was watching from home.
“To see basically your husband’s leg fall in half on the pitch when I felt like a million miles away was not a pleasant experience. He snapped his cruciate knee ligament, it made such a mess that they had to shave his thigh muscle and create two new ligaments behind his knee – only 20 years ago that would have written off his career.
Darron Gibson in 2017 during his spell at Sunderland (Image: PA)
“He was young, he was at a really good team in Everton, they provided lots of physical care for him, he was in the best hands but it meant a year out of football. Physios would come for an hour in the morning, but for the other 23 hours he was at home with me.
“We had to make him a bed downstairs, he had to sleep in a metal cast, I had to take him to the toilet, to bathe him, this was for 12 months – and that was the start of a very slippery slope. He got back fit eventually, but the manager who signed him had left.
“They’d signed other midfielders, there was no place for him in the team anymore, he’d get the few minutes here and there but that’s not what he wanted. He just wanted to play football. He was fighting to make the team, that was the first time I saw him lose his confidence.
“That happened for the next five years, he was constantly injured, constantly fighting to get fit. But this story isn’t just about him, it’s about me. I struggled, I felt helpless in a very chaotic world. I felt there was nothing I could do. He withdrew, rather than talking about it.”
Danielle sought support from her mum, while feeling the weight of responsibility to get Darron better. She said: “I couldn’t control how many times he got injured, I couldn’t control if the managers were going to pick him at the weekend, I couldn’t control how many surgeries he was going to have, the poor guy is held together by nuts and bolts.
“I felt we were always on the train going down to London to see specialists. My point is there was loads and loads of physical care, it feels bizarre saying this today in this billion dollar industry which is what it is, but I didn’t feel like we had any emotional support whatsoever, yet we were getting flown to Germany, to Spain to have all these surgeries by specialist surgeons – bare in mind a therapy appointment is £70 an hour.
“He felt like he wasn’t good enough to make the team, he was constantly trying to get fit. I was a mum of two one with a poorly baby and I felt like my husband was disappearing.
“All of this while social media blew up. Internally he felt like he wasn’t good enough anymore, but externally that was being validated by comments all over social media, on news sites, like none of them were nice what they were saying, they were saying things like ‘he’s stealing a living getting a wage not playing for a year’, ‘this guy is made of glass what you doing signing him’.
“It’s alright for us to sit here and say “don’t read the comments” but when you’re in bed 23 hours a day, you’re going to read the comments.
“So all I kept thinking was my mates’ husbands don’t have these problems, my mate’s husband who is a builder goes to work, comes home and has his tea, job’s a good’un, my mate’s boyfriend who works in a call centre doesn’t get verbally attacked like this.
The football contracts would get shorter, and Danielle says they’d constantly worry what the future held. In 2017 Darron signed for Sunderland which meant he moved away from the family, leaving Danielle increasingly isolated – and her worrying how he would feel on his own too.
“Again I just internalised it all and kept everything in. I never felt like I had the right to say anything other than to be grateful for this life I was living.
” I wasn’t only a mum of two kids, one being poorly, I was a wife, a cook, a cleaner, a taxi driver, a therapist even then before I was even qualified, a mental health nurse… no one EVER asked how I was – no football manager, no football agent, ever asked how I was.”
Danielle and Darron Gibson (Image: Manchester Evening News)
A fateful moment would lead Danielle to finally have to face head on the issues she was so desperately trying to hide away from – when Darron crashed his car on the way to training and was found to be over the drink drive limit, for which he went on to receive a community service order in 2018.
She said: “Fast forward 14 months Gibbo gets injured again. But this time, he’s four and a half hours away in the North East. He couldn’t drive home because he had a leg cast on, it was hard enough him being injured at home let alone four hours away but I still had a poorly baby, I felt torn and helpless and he was feeling alone and useless.
“Saturday morning, 9am the phone rings, Darron had crashed his car on his way to training, still over the limit from the night before. I didn’t go to the police station, or travel the four and a half hours to the North East, I stayed at home in that big fancy kitchen in that big house in Bowdon with my two kids.
“I looked around and thought ‘what is this?’ And that’s when I thought I need to change this narrative, where are those football managers and agents now because that kitchen felt very quiet?
“We needed more than a therapist, I needed to become a therapist. All the professional people in football could help us with knee injuries, contracts, groin strains, investments, but who could help me with this?
“Who could help me save my husband and ultimately save my family? I knew I couldn’t control what the papers were going to write or the whispers at the school gates. But I needed to take life back into my hands because I was living in a world that was feeling out of my control.
“I wasn’t allowed to make any important decisions. Our bills, our finances, our holidays were booked by somebody else, always in someone else’s hands and I was just the wife and mum at home – well not any more.
“My husband is more than the number on the back of his football shirt. And now here we are four years later and I’m a qualified therapist.”
Danielle has spent the past year working in a women’s prison with ‘lifers’ while also spending time helping people to address substance abuse issues. But the next stage is to launch her own therapy business.
She said: “My hopes and dreams are to work for people in this industry who feel they can never pick up the phone because they have all of this. So I’m in the process of opening my own business, The Heard Hub, in September and I want to help anyone and everybody.”
Darron has just retired from professional football, which Danielle describes as a “massive relief” but says: “I’m just a very proud wife for everything that he has achieved in his career.”
Though there were four finalists for QB Deshaun Watson before the Browns and Texans completed the blockbuster trade that sent Watson to Cleveland, as many as 10 teams were reportedly interested in Watson’s services. In remarks he made following the trade, Houston GM Nick Caserio would not say exactly how many teams made inquiries, but he did note that the interest went beyond the Browns, Saints, Panthers, and Falcons.
“I would say there was a fair amount of teams, but what we tried to do was bring the teams that had a legitimate interest, and that was based off the compensation that was presented,” Caserio said (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). “I don’t want to get into the exact number, but there was a few more, however many teams than what everybody was reporting towards the end.”
Caserio’s comments confirm what had been reported all along: only clubs that were willing to meet the Texans’ steep asking price (three first-rounders and more) were granted permission to have an in-person meeting with Watson. While that seems like the only logical move in hindsight, it was quite a masterstroke by Caserio. Had he allowed Watson to meet with all interested clubs, regardless of proposed compensation, Watson may have decided to waive his no-trade clause for only one team, thereby undermining Caserio’s leverage. But as Florio observes, by having a “pre-qualifying” process, Caserio guaranteed that he would get what he wanted before Watson truly got a say in his next destination.
Per Florio, the Colts put feelers out to the Texans, but Caserio was not willing to deal Watson within his division. Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network reports that the Eagles remained interested throughout the process, but Watson was unwilling to waive his no-trade clause for Philadelphia, largely because he is friends with Eagles QB Jalen Hurts and did not want to take away Hurts’ starting job. Wilson adds that the 49ers also placed a call to the Texans last year.
Caserio suggested that reports on the Texans’ being interested in players as well as picks in a Watson swap were at least somewhat overstated, saying, “I would say other than three first-round picks, I would say probably the rest of it was a little bit of speculation.” Still, Wilson reports that if Houston swung a deal with the Falcons, Atlanta CB AJ Terrell would have been intriguing to Caserio, and if the Saints had been able to acquire Watson, New Orleans OLs Erik McCoy and/or Cesar Ruiz might have been a part of the package heading back to the Texans.
In the end, the Browns, who were initially believed to be out of the running for Watson, were able to acquire the three-time Pro Bowler because they were willing to give him a contract — five years for a fully-guaranteed $230MM, which Wilson reports includes a $45MM signing bonus — that other teams were not comfortable matching. We heard at the time the Cleveland-Houston deal was consummated that the financial side of the equation became untenable for the Falcons and Panthers, and Wilson confirmed in a separate piece that Carolina was resistant to a fully-guaranteed pact.
Cleveland may have felt compelled to make such a bold strike because of an unsalvageable situation with Baker Mayfield. Mayfield requested a trade while the Browns’ courtship of Watson was on-going, and when it appeared that Watson would not waive his no-trade clause to facilitate a move to northeast Ohio, the Browns indicated they would not accommodate the request. However, as Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com writes, Mayfield had no intentions of playing for the Browns in 2022 even if the club had not acquired Watson, and that reality could have forced Cleveland’s hand.
According to Cabot, the Browns had made it clear to Mayfield’s camp that they would pursue a top-flight QB this offseason, but that they were content to run it back with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 draft if such a pursuit were unsuccessful. Because it had been upfront with him about their intentions, the organization believed it could eventually smooth things over with Mayfield. As we heard last week, though, Mayfield declined owner Jimmy Haslam‘s offer to fly out to Mayfield’s home to discuss the situation, which was a clear indication that there was trouble in paradise.
Cabot further reports that the Watson situation and the team’s comments that it was looking for an “adult” at the quarterback position — thus implying that Mayfield is not, in fact, an adult — merely represented the final straw. Mayfield was said to have issues with HC Kevin Stefanski‘s play-calling and scheme, and as Stefanski will retain play-calling duties in 2022, Mayfield was prepared to skip the Browns’ offseason program and minicamp in an effort to force a trade to a team that has an offense more conducive to his skill-set. As Mayfield is eligible for free agency in 2023, the upcoming season is obviously critical for him, both from a financial and on-field perspective.
We recently learned that Mayfield would prefer to be traded to the Colts. Cabot suggests that, if Indianapolis GM Chris Ballard is interested, he may require the Browns to pay at least some of Mayfield’s $18.9MM salary, and since Cleveland has no choice but to deal Mayfield at this point, the team’s leverage in that regard and in terms of trade compensation is fairly limited.
Both Cabot and Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times confirm that the Seahawks may be interested in Mayfield but are genuinely excited by Drew Lock, who recently came to Seattle in the trade that sent Russell Wilson to the Broncos. As for the Texans, Caserio was non-committal when asked if Davis Mills, who started 11 games as a rookie in 2021 and who showed marked improvement down the stretch, would remain Houston’s QB1. Nonetheless, Mills is expected to open the 2022 campaign as the starting signal-caller, despite Caserio’s comments that the team is “starting from scratch” at the most important position in sports.
Eating disorders affect at least 9% of the world population, which includes around 30 million Americans. More than 10,000 people die from eating disorders every year, and that’s just in the United States. And the pandemic has led to an increase in the number and severity of cases, according to a January study published in the journal The Lancet Psychiatry.
Those closest to someone with an eating disorder play “a huge role in just paying attention and identifying potential risk factors or signs,” said Alvin Tran, assistant professor of public health at the University of New Haven in Connecticut. Tran does research on eating disorders and body image.
One of the easiest things to do is ask how to help, said Joann Hendelman, clinical director of the National Alliance for Eating Disorders. But you need to get educated first, she added, since not knowing enough can be harmful.
Here’s what else you should know about supporting someone struggling with an eating disorder.
1. Know the signs
Since early intervention is key, being able to recognize signs of eating disorders is important, Tran said. Knowing the facts about weight, nutrition and exercise can help you reason with someone about any myths fueling their habits, according to the National Eating Disorders Association.
Here are some common signs that can indicate weight loss, body size or shape, and control of food are becoming primary concerns, according to NEDA:
Emotional and behavioral
Frequent looking at reflection for perceived flaws
Preoccupation with weight, food, calories, carbohydrates, fat grams and dieting
Refusal to eat certain foods or whole categories of foods
Discomfort eating around others
Food rituals such as eating only a certain food or food group, excessive chewing or not letting foods touch
Skipping meals or eating small portions
Withdrawal from friends and activities
Extreme mood swings
Physical
Noticeable increases or decreases in weight
Complaints of gastrointestinal problems, such as stomach cramps, constipation and acid reflux
Difficulties concentrating
Dizziness, especially when standing
Fainting
Feeling cold often
Cuts and calluses on finger joints (from intentional vomiting)
The National Eating Disorders Association has lists of warning signs for each eating disorder, but know that symptoms don’t always fit into a box.
2. Share your concerns
If you want to confront your loved one about the signs you’ve noticed, rehearsing what you want to say can help alleviate some of your nervousness, according to NEDA.
Schedule a time to talk in a private setting. Instead of asking if someone has an eating disorder, making accusations or giving opinions, use factual “I” statements about what you have noticed.
That could mean saying, “‘Hey, I noticed that you’re fixated or that you’re talking more about dieting,'” Tran said. “Or ‘I noticed that you’re uncomfortable eating in front of people. Please know that I’m here to offer that support should you ever need it.'”
Bringing up someone’s weight or appearance is rarely appropriate or helpful, Tran and Hendelman said. And don’t give simplistic advice such as “just eat” or “just stop eating,” NEDA suggests.
“It’s like going to somebody with an addiction for a substance or somebody who’s a smoker and saying, ‘Just quit,'” Tran explained. “It’s not that simple of a process, and oftentimes you will experience backlash when you make comments like that.”
Be prepared for defensive reactions to your educated advice, too. Some people might get angry if your awareness threatens their chances of getting what they want from their eating disorder. If this happens, repeat your concerns, but don’t force it — say you care and leave the door open for conversation, NEDA says.
3. Encourage them to seek help
People with eating disorders need professional help to heal. If they don’t have a physician or therapist but are ready to recover, you can offer to help find one or attend appointments with them.
Getting effective treatment as soon as possible dramatically increases a person’s chances for recovery, NEDA says.
Here are some resources:
National Eating Disorders Association: People in the US can use NEDA’s helpline.
National Alliance for Eating Disorders: Use the search tool for US treatment centers or specialists.
Mind: This mental health organization lists resources in the UK.
Don’t simply believe your loved one will see a professional — ensure the person follows through.
4. Remind them why they want to get well
Whether your loved one wants to travel, make friends, have children or pursue a career, they might have goals that have been thwarted by an eating disorder.
Reminding the person of that future can help with focus on long-term recovery, rather than the short-term perceived benefits of the disordered behavior, NEDA says. Help them reconnect with their values and who they want to be.
5. Avoid body and food judgment
You should also avoid saying things that can be triggering — such as comments like “Wow, you’re getting two brownies?” or “I feel so fat right now.”
“Somebody with an eating disorder is in competition with everybody else’s body,” Hendelman said. “The voice in somebody’s eating disordered brain is, ‘You can’t compete with this person, you’ve got a bigger body, you’re bad, you should be on the diet that this person is on.'”
6. Maintain a multifaceted relationship
If all you talk about with your loved one is the eating disorder, that person might push you away, Hendelman warned.
Generally, an eating disorder is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what’s going on with the person — underneath could be problems such as depression, anxiety, trauma or insecurities.
“Understand that that loved one is in pain,” Hendelman said. “The food and eating is the way that they are numbing the pain, tolerating anxiety or getting through the day.”
Sometimes just doing fun, relaxing activities together can do two things: alleviate whatever the person’s experiencing, and show you’re there but not smothering.
Overall, supporting someone with an eating disorder requires patience, education, understanding, compassion and gentleness. But be firm, and “don’t wait until the situation is so severe that your friend’s life is in danger,” NEDA says.
A 24-year-old man who brandished a hatchet and assaulted worshippers with bear spray at a mosque in Canada on Saturday has been charged in what is believed to be a “hate-motivated incident,” authorities said.
The attack unfolded just before 7 a.m. during dawn prayer at the Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Peel Regional Police said.
The man, identified as Mohammad Moiz Omar, a 24-year-old man from Mississauga, walked into the mosque and allegedly “discharged bear spray towards people in the mosque while brandishing a hatchet,” authorities said in a news release.
Superintendent Rob Higgs, Commander of 12 Division Peel Regional Police, provides an update Saturday following an attack at a local Mississauga Mosque. (Peel Regional Police)
About 20 men were praying at the mosque when Omar sprayed them, Nadia Hasan, of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, said on behalf of the mosque.
“Some of the men turned around and they very bravely decided that they were not going to let him attack them,” she said. “They tackled him to the ground and apprehended him until the police showed up.”
Police said worshippers suffered minor injuries from the bear spray.
Omar faces multiple charges including assault with a weapon, administering a noxious substance with intent to endanger life or cause bodily harm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, utter threat to cause death or bodily harm, carrying a concealed weapon and mischief to religious property.
Canadian Prime Minister Justice Trudeau condemned the attack in a Twitter post, calling it “incredibly disturbing.”
“I strongly condemn this violence — which has no place in Canada — and I’m keeping the community in my thoughts today,” Trudeau wrote. “I also want to applaud the courage of those who were there this morning.”
It’s the weekend, which means it’s time for another Dealmaster. Our latest roundup of the best tech deals from around the web includes a good price on the Apple Watch Series 7, as the 41mm variant of Apple’s flagship smartwatch is currently down to $339 at Amazon and Walmart.
The Series 7 is the top pick in our guide to the best smartwatches: it has the same excellent build quality and robust software as any other Apple Watch, but adds a larger and always-on display, faster charging, and more advanced health tracking features like blood oxygen monitoring and ECG functionality. It’s still not the most in-depth activity tracker, it’s still for iPhone users only, and there’s no real need to upgrade if you already own a Series 6. But it remains a well-rounded wearable that works for both basic-but-useful health tracking and smartphone-style utility. And while the Apple Watch SE is a fine alternative for those on a tighter budget, it sacrifices the always-on display, a little processing power, the faster charging rates, ECG, and blood oxygen tracking by comparison.
Note that only the green and “midnight” colors are available at this price. We’ve also seen the Series 7 fall into the $350-360 range a few times in recent months. Still, if you’ve been looking to take the plunge, this discount matches the lowest price we’ve tracked to date and comes in a good $60 below Apple’s MSRP.
Elsewhere, our deals roundup includes a promotion at Target and Best Buy that gives you a bonus $10 in store credit when you spend $100 on an Apple gift card. We’ve seen this offer multiple times before, but if you use either retailer and plan on buying something directly from Apple anyway—whether it’s an iCloud or Apple Music subscription, an App Store download, or a new device at a physical retail store—this deal gives you a little something extra for no added cost. You’ll see each offer after adding the gift card to your cart.
Enlarge/ Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda Game and Watch handheld.
Jeff Dunn
Gaming deals
Enlarge/ Xbox Series S (left), next to Xbox Series X (right). The former doesn’t include a disc drive and isn’t as powerful, but it’s significantly more affordable and can still play all your modern Xbox games, albeit typically at lower settings.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — If the first season of “Bridgerton” lit a fire under you, season two is more of a slow burn.
The steamy romance that made the lavish period drama one of the most popular and sexiest Netflix shows of all time? Gone. Breakout star Regé-Jean Page opted out of the series and leading lady Phoebe Dynevor has been relegated to recurring status.
But, heavy sigh of relief, this Regency Era tale, from executive producer Shonda Rhimes and showrunner Chris Van Dusen, remains every bit of the soapy guilty pleasure you remember. Come for the fancy balls, costumes and pop songs remixed into orchestral bops, stay for the secrets, scandals and forbidden love!
The second season opens in the same manner as the first: at the start of London’s annual marriage mart with Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) looking to select this season’s “Diamond,” aka the most eligible bachelorette of the season. It’s a decision followed closely by Lady Whistledown (voiced by Julie Andrews), the TMZ of the ton, and Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey). Seems the eldest and most serious of the Bridgerton siblings is finally ready to settle down and find a wife.
Enter Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran), a beautiful, kind and well-read young woman who has just arrived for the marriage season from India along with her protective sister, Kate (Simone Ashley), and devoted mother, Mary (Shelley Conn). Anthony sees her perfectly suited for the role of his Viscountess. Their courtship begins, much to the dismay of Kate, who after an exhilarating initial encounter with the Viscount, realizes he doesn’t love her sister and is only looking to check a box.
The two swear themselves as enemies and bicker constantly, that is, when they’re not busy exchanging stolen glances at each other. You need not a passing grade in Romance Novel 101 to know where this is headed. What is required, however, is a great deal of patience. Their romance moves at a pace you’d expect of two people who value duty, responsibility and propriety over pesky endeavors like love, passion and honesty. Poor Edwina, who deserves so much better than this.
In episode five of last season, the Duke of Hastings uttered those now four iconic words to Daphne, “I burn for you.” The best season two can offer at the same point in time is Anthony telling Kate, rather matter of factly, “You are the bane of my existence and the object of all my desires.” But before anything untoward can happen, she storms off, something she does frequently this season, leaving the viewer to live to swoon another day.
This more methodical approach to the central romance gives some of the other characters more room to breathe and a chance to shine. Lady Featherington (Polly Walker) makes quite a comeback after being cast as the villain last season. Left desperate and near penniless after the death of her husband, her scheming and clawing for the survival of her and her daughters in London society by any means necessary amid the arrival of a new Lord Featherington provides the series with its most entertaining moments of the new season. Walker is clearly having a blast in the role and will you too watching her.
Just as surprising is the transformation of Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) from observant wallflower to cold-blooded pot-stirrer and, gulp, the season’s real villain. Her secret identity as Lady Whistledown puts her on a crash course with best friend Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie), who is as determined as ever to unmask the town gossip. The pursuit leads her to an unlikely and dangerous new relationship. The emotional fallout is devastating and hits harder than you might expect, a credit to both actresses.
Still, there’s a reason the novel on which this season is based is called “The Viscount Who Loved Me.” The love story between Anthony and Kate is indeed tortured and can be maddening to watch at times as their actions, or more accurately, inaction constantly digs them deeper into an untenable situation. But it’s never not interesting. Bailey, perhaps the least compelling Bridgerton of season one, injects the Viscount with complexity and depth this time around, aided by flashbacks that recount the circumstances of his father’s death. Ashley gives Kate a disarming combination of vulnerability and strength thanks to an uncanny ability to act with her eyes and face as much as with her voice. Their performances draw you in, their chemistry so palpable that when they finally surrender to it, the result is a crescendo of passion that is, yes, worth the wait.
Turns out yearning can be just as satisfying as burning. It just takes a little longer.
All eight episodes of “Bridgerton” season two will be available on Netflix starting March 25
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover looks back at its wheel tracks on March 17, 2022, the 381st Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The rover’s self-driving capabilities will be put to the test this month as it begins a record-breaking series of sprints to its next sampling location.
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is trying to cover more distance in a single month than any rover before it – and it’s doing so using artificial intelligence. On the path ahead are sandpits, craters, and fields of sharp rocks that the rover will have to navigate around on its own. At the end of the 3-mile (5-kilometer) journey, which began March 14, 2022, Perseverance will reach an ancient river delta within Jezero Crater, where a lake existed billions of years ago.
This delta is one of the best locations on Mars for the rover to look for signs of past microscopic life. Using a drill on the end of its robotic arm and a complex sample collection system in its belly, Perseverance is collecting rock cores for return to Earth – the first part of the Mars Sample Return campaign.
“The delta is so important that we’ve actually decided to minimize science activities and focus on driving to get there more quickly,” said Ken Farley of Caltech, Perseverance’s project scientist. “We’ll be taking lots of images of the delta during that drive. The closer we get, the more impressive those images will be.”
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover will follow the proposed route to Jezero Crater’s delta shown in this animation. The delta is one of the most important locations the rover will visit as it seeks signs of ancient life on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS/University of Arizona
The science team will be searching these images for the rocks they’ll eventually want to study in closer detail using the instruments on Perseverance’s arm. They’ll also hunt for the best routes the rover can take to ascend the 130-foot-high (40-meter-high) delta.
But first, Perseverance needs to get there. The rover will do this by relying on its self-driving AutoNav system, which has already set impressive distance records. While all of NASA’s Mars rovers have had self-driving abilities, Perseverance has the most advanced one yet.
“Self-driving processes that took minutes on a rover like Opportunity happen in less than a second on Perseverance,” said veteran rover planner and flight software developer Mark Maimone of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which leads the mission. “Because autonomous driving is now faster, we can cover more ground than if humans programmed every drive.”
How Rover Planning Works
Before the rover rolls, a team of mobility planning experts (Perseverance has 14 who trade off shifts) writes the driving commands the robotic explorer will carry out. The commands reach Mars via NASA’s Deep Space Network, and Perseverance sends back data so the planners can confirm the rover’s progress. Multiple days are required to complete some plans, as with a recent drive that spanned about 1,673 feet (510 meters) and included thousands of individual rover commands.
Some drives require more human input than others. AutoNav is useful for drives over flat terrain with simple potential hazards – for instance, large rocks and slopes – that are easy for the rover to detect and work around.
Thinking While Driving
AutoNav reflects an evolution of self-driving tools previously developed for NASA’s Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity rovers. What’s different for AutoNav is “thinking while driving” – allowing Perseverance to take and process images while on the move. The rover then navigates based on those images. Is that boulder too close? Will its belly be able to clear that rock? What if the rover wheels were to slip?
Upgraded hardware allows “thinking while driving” to happen. Faster cameras mean Perseverance can take images quickly enough to process its route in real-time. And unlike its predecessors, Perseverance has an additional computer dedicated entirely to image processing. The computer relies on a single-purpose, super-efficient microchip called a field-programmable gate array that is great for computer vision processing.
“On past rovers, autonomy meant slowing down because data had to be processed on a single computer,” Maimone said. “This extra computer is insanely fast compared to what we had in the past, and having it dedicated for driving means you don’t have to share computing resources with over 100 other tasks.”
Of course, humans aren’t completely out of the picture during AutoNav drives. They still plan the basic route using images taken from space by missions like NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Then, they mark obstacles such as potential sand traps for Perseverance to avoid, drawing “keep out” and “keep in” zones that help it navigate.
Another big difference is Perseverance’s sense of space.
Curiosity’s autonomous navigation program keeps the rover in a safety bubble that is 16 feet (5 meters) wide. If Curiosity spots two rocks that are, say, 15 feet (4.5 meters) apart – a gap it could easily navigate – it will still stop or travel around them rather than risk passing through.
But Perseverance’s bubble is much smaller: A virtual box is centered on each of the rover’s six wheels. Mars’ newest rover has a more sensitive understanding of the terrain and can get around boulders on its own.
“When we first looked at Jezero Crater as a landing site, we were concerned about the dense fields of rocks we saw scattered across the crater floor,” Maimone said. “Now we’re able to skirt or even straddle rocks that we couldn’t have approached before.”
While previous rover missions took a slower pace exploring along their path, AutoNav provides the science team with the ability to zip to the locations they prioritize the most. That means the mission is more focused on its primary objective: finding the samples that scientists will eventually want to return to Earth.
More About the Mission
A key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).
Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.
JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.
