The Washington Commanders (8-5) should be refreshed and ready to roll when they face the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, beginning their four-game closing stretch of the regular season. If anything, what should motivate them is their Week 12 loss to a similar Dallas Cowboys team. In that Nov. 24 matchup , the Commanders were favored by 10.5 points against a 3-7 Cowboys team that was playing without its starting quarterback. Washington came out flat and struggled to move the ball for the first three quarters, only seeming to wake up when it was too late. Dallas has been resilient without Prescott, also going on to beat the New York Giants the following week and then only losing to the Cincinnati Bengals because of a special teams blunder this past Monday night. That same label can apply to the Saints, who have won three of their past four in a lost season. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following a Week 9 loss to the Carolina Panthers , which was their seventh straight after starting 2-0. This past week, in a win over the Giants, they lost starting QB Derek Carr to an injury. It's uncertain if it will be rookie Spencer Rattler or second-year player Jake Haener starting in Carr's place against Washington (Rattler previously started three games early on in the season while Carr was injured). Regardless, this figures to be a feisty Saints team that the Commanders cannot take lightly. Favored by 7.5 points on the road, Washington must use lessons learned from the Dallas loss in order to avoid another trap game. How well-prepared the Commanders are for Sunday will be quite telling of their prospects the remainder of the season.Western Michigan beats Eastern Michigan 26-18 to become bowl eligible
An Israeli airstrike flattened a multistory building in central Gaza, killing at least 25 people and wounding dozens more, according to Palestinian medical officials, after strikes Thursday across the Gaza Strip killed at least 28 others. The latest deadly strike hit the urban Nuseirat refugee camp just hours after U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters in Jerusalem that the recent ceasefire in Lebanon has helped clear the way for a potential deal to end the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the deadly strike in Nuseirat. Israel says it is trying to eliminate Hamas, which led the attack on southern Israel in October 2023 that sparked the war in Gaza . The Israeli military says Hamas militants hide among Gaza’s civilian population. The fighting has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine in some of the hardest-hit parts of the territory. Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and around 250 others were taken hostage. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Here's the latest: DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike hit the central Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least 25 Palestinians and wounding dozens more, Palestinian medics said, just hours after President Joe Biden’s national security adviser raised hopes about a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza. Photos from the scene of the blast that circulated on social media showed a completely collapsed building with people walking through its mangled and charred remains, smoke rising from piles of belongings strewn over the rubble. Officials at two hospitals in the Gaza Strip, al-Awda Hospital in the north and al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, reported they received a combined total of 25 bodies from an Israeli strike on a multistory residential building in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp. Palestinian medics also reported that over 40 people, most of them children, were receiving treatment at the two hospitals. The al-Aqsa Hospital said that the Israeli attack also damaged several nearby houses in Nuseirat. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the deadly strike. Israel is trying to eliminate Hamas, which led the attack on southern Israel in October 2023 that sparked the war in Gaza . The Israeli military says Hamas militants hide among Gaza’s civilian population. Israel’s war against Hamas has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The fighting has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine. Israel says it allows enough aid to enter and blames U.N. agencies for not distributing it. The U.N. says Israeli restrictions, and the breakdown of law and order after Israel repeatedly targeted the Hamas-run police force, make it extremely difficult to operate in the territory. UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. food agency is trying to deal with massive needs in Syria not only from escalating war-related food insecurity and an upsurge in displaced people fleeing Lebanon but also the dramatically new environment following the ouster of Bashar Assad, a senior U.N. official says. “It’s a triple crisis and the needs are going to be massive,” said Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Program, in an interview with The Associated Press late Wednesday. The WFP estimated that 3 million people in Syria were “acutely food insecure” and very hungry. However, that estimate was made before the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon pushed many Syrian refugees back to their home country, plus the instability caused by the overthrow of Assad. Due to funding cuts, the WFP had been targeting only 2 million of those people, he said. Because WFP has been working in Syria during the 13-year civil war, he said, it has pre-positioned food in the country. It has 500 staff in seven offices nationwide and has operated across conflict lines, across borders, and with all different parties, he said. Skau said Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main rebel group now in control of Syria, has promised to provide security for WFP warehouses. Humanitarian aid supplies had been looted at U.N. warehouses in the disorder after Assad fell. “We’re not really up and running in Damascus because of the continued kind of uncertainty there,” he said. WFP initially thought of relocating non-essential staff but the situation in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, has been “quite calm and orderly," he said. In the short term, Skau said, “what we’re seeing is that markets are disrupted, the value of the currency dropped dramatically, food prices are going up, transport lines don’t work,” and it’s unclear who will stamp required papers for imports and exports. This means that a bigger humanitarian response is needed initially, he said, but in the next phase, the U,N. will be looking at contributing to Syria’s recovery, and ultimately the country will need reconstruction. Skau said he expects a new funding appeal for Syria and urged donors to be generous. JERUSALEM — President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters in Jerusalem on Thursday that Israel’s ceasefire in Lebanon has helped clear the way for another deal to end the war in Gaza. He plans to travel next to Qatar and Egypt — key mediators in the ceasefire talks — as the Biden administration makes a final push on negotiations before Donald Trump is inaugurated. Sullivan said “Hamas’ posture at the negotiating table did adapt” after Israel decimated the leadership of its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon and reached a ceasefire there. “We believe it puts us in a position to close this negotiation,” he said. Sullivan dismissed speculation that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was waiting for Trump to take office to finalize a deal. He the U.S. believes there are three American hostages still alive in Gaza, but it’s hard to know for sure. He also said “the balance of power in the Middle East has changed significantly” since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, especially with the overthrow of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, a key ally of Hezbollah and Iran. “We are now faced with a dramatically reshaped Middle East in which Israel is stronger, Iran is weaker, its proxies decimated, and a ceasefire that is new and will be lasting in Lebanon that ensures Israel’s security over the long term,” he said. KHIAM, Lebanon — An Israeli strike killed at least one person Thursday in the Lebanese border town of Khiam, the Health Ministry said, less than a day after Israeli troops handed the hilltop village back to the Lebanese army in coordination with U.N. peacekeepers, Khiam is the first Lebanese town Israel has pull out of since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah militants began two weeks ago, and marks an important test of the fragile truce . Lebanon's Health Ministry and state news agency did not provide details on who was killed, and did not report airstrikes elsewhere on Thursday. The Israeli military said an airstrike targeted Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, without saying if the strike was in Khiam. Lebanese troops deployed in the northern section of the town on Thursday morning and were coordinating with U.N. peacekeepers to finalize Israel’s withdrawal before fully entering into other neighborhoods. An Associated Press reporter who visited Khiam on Thursday observed widespread destruction, with most houses reduced to rubble. Entire neighborhoods were flattened, with collapsed walls and debris scattered across the streets. Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, sharply criticized Israel for striking the town less than 24 hours after the Lebanese army returned, saying it was “a violation of the pledges made by the parties that sponsored the ceasefire agreement, who must act to curb Israeli aggression.” The truce was brokered by the U.S. and France. Israel has previously said the ceasefire deal allows it to use military force against perceived violations. Near-daily attacks by Israel during the ceasefire, mostly in southern Lebanon, have killed at least 29 people and wounded 27 others. Khiam, which sits on a ridge less than 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the border with Israel, saw some of the most intense fighting during the war. The Lebanese army was clearing debris and reopening roads in the northern section of the town. Civilian access to other areas remained challenging as the army clears roads and works alongside the U.N. peacekeepers to ensure the area is free of unexploded ordnance. AQABA, Jordan -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is urging the many players in Syria to avoid taking any steps that could lead to further violence. Blinken spoke to reporters in Jordan on Thursday shortly after meeting King Abdullah II as he opened a trip in the region to discuss Syria's future after former President Bashar Assad's ouster. Blinken will next visit Turkey, a NATO ally and a main backer of Syrian rebel groups. Blinken called this “a time of both real promise but also peril for Syria and for its neighbors.” He said he was focused on coordinating efforts in the region “to support the Syrian people as they transition away from Assad’s brutal dictatorship” and establish a government that isn’t dominated by one religion or ethnic group or outside power. Blinken was asked about Israel’s incursion into a buffer zone that had been demilitarized for the past half century. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the move is temporary and defensive, but also indicated Israel will remain in the area for a long time. Blinken declined to say whether the U.S. supports the move, but said the U.S. would be speaking to Israel and other partners in the region. “I think, across the board, when it comes to any actors who have real interests in Syria, it’s also really important at this time that, we all try to make sure that we’re not sparking any additional conflicts,” he said. ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin, arrived in Damascus on Thursday, according to Turkish media reports. Kalin was seen arriving at the Umayyad Mosque to pray, surrounded by a large crowd, according to video shown on Turkish television. The visit is highly symbolic. Turkish officials, who supported the opposition against Syria’s government, had predicted at the start of the civil war in 2011 that President Bashar Assad’s government would fall, allowing them to pray at the Umayyad Mosque. JERUSALEM — Paraguay reopened its embassy in Jerusalem Thursday, becoming one of a small handful of nations to recognize the city as Israel’s capital and marking a diplomatic victory for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel’s international isolation has increased as the war in Gaza drags on, and Paraguay was the first country to move its embassy to Jerusalem since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack that kickstarted the war. The United States, Honduras, Guatemala, Kosovo, and Papua New Guinea are among the few countries with Jerusalem embassies. Israel annexed east Jerusalem in 1967 but it wasn’t recognized by the international community, and most countries run their embassies out of Tel Aviv. Spirits were high at the ceremony marking the embassy’s inauguration Thursday, with Netanyahu and Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar lavishing praise on Paraguayan President Santiago Pena. “My good friend Santiago,” said Netanyahu, addressing Pena. “We’re a small nation. You’re a small nation. We suffered horrible things but we overcame the odds of history...we can win and we are winning.” Paraguay had an embassy in Jerusalem in 2018, under Former President Horacio Cartes. That embassy was moved back to Tel Aviv by Cartes’ successor, Mario Abdo Benitez, prompting Israel to close its embassy in Asuncion. Saar said Israel and Paraguay shared a “friendship based not only on interests but also values and principles.” He and the Paraguayan foreign minister, Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, signed a series of bilateral agreements and Saar said he would soon visit Asunción with a delegation from the Israeli private sector. “Israel is going to win and the countries we are standing next to Israel, we are going to win," Pena said. AQABA, Jordan — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is renewing calls for Syria’s new leadership to respect women and minority rights, prevent extremists from gaining new footholds in the country and keeping suspected chemical weapons stocks secure as he makes his first visit to the Mideast since the weekend ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad . Making his 12th trip to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war erupted lasted year but amid fresh concerns about security following the upheaval in Syria, Blinken emphasized Thursday to Jordan’s King Abdullah II U.S. “support for an inclusive transition that can lead to an accountable and representative Syrian government chosen by the Syrian people,” the State Department said. Blinken also repeated the importance the outgoing Biden administration puts on respect for human rights and international law, the protection of civilians and stopping terrorist groups from reconstituting. Blinken met with the monarch and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Aqaba before traveling to Turkey for talks with Turkish officials on the situation in Syria and the urgency of securing a long-elusive deal to release hostages and end the fighting in Gaza that has devastated the Palestinian territory since October 2023. Abdullah told Blinken that “the first step to reach comprehensive regional calm is to end the Israeli war on Gaza." GENEVA — The U.N. envoy for Syria is calling on authorities to save evidence from detention centers that were a hub of “unimaginable barbarity” that Syrians have faced for many years and cooperate with international investigators looking into such crimes. Geir Pederson referred to new images from the notorious Saydnaya military prison north of the capital, Damascus, after President Bashar Assad fled Syria as armed groups stormed in to overthrow his government over the weekend. “The images from Saydnaya and other detention facilities starkly underscore the unimaginable barbarity Syrians have endured and reported for years,” Pedersen said in a statement. Documentation and testimonies “only scratch the surface of the carceral system’s horrors,” he added. Pedersen urged authorities to cooperate with U.N. bodies like an independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria, which was created in 2011, and an independent group known as the IIIM that was set up five years later to also compile evidence of crimes. ROME — Leaders of the Group of 7 industrialized nations offered their full support for an inclusive political transition in Syria and invited all parties to preserve the country’s territorial integrity. In a message released by Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s office, the leaders said they were ready to support a transition that “leads to a credible government, inclusive and not sectarian, that guarantees respect for the state of law, universal human rights, including rights for women, (and) the protection of all Syrians, including religious and ethnic minorities.” The leaders also underlined the importance that ousted President Bashar Assad’s government is held responsible for crimes, citing “decades of atrocities.” They said they would also cooperate with groups working to prohibit chemical weapons “to secure, declare and destroy” remaining chemical arms in Syria. Italy currently holds the rotating presidency of the G-7, which also includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United States. JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says it struck Hamas militants in two locations in the southern Gaza Strip who planned to hijack aid convoys. Palestinian Health officials had earlier said that the two strikes killed 15 men who were part of local committees established to secure aid deliveries. The committees have been organized in cooperation with the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza. It was not possible to independently confirm either account of the strikes, which occurred overnight into Thursday. Israel has long accused Hamas of hijacking humanitarian aid deliveries, while U.N. officials have said there is no systemic diversion of aid . U.N. agencies and aid groups say deliveries are held up by Israeli restrictions on the entry of aid and movement within Gaza, as well as the breakdown of law and order more than 14 months into the war between Israel and Hamas. Israel has repeatedly targeted the Hamas-run police force, which maintained internal security before the war. The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, the main aid provider in Gaza, said a U.N. convoy of 70 trucks carrying humanitarian aid in southern Gaza “was involved in a serious incident,” resulting in just one of the trucks reaching its destination. It did not provide further details on the incident but said the same route had been used successfully two days earlier. Israel’s offensive, launched after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, has caused vast destruction and displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, leaving the territory heavily reliant on international food aid. DAMASCUS, Syria — An American who turned up in Syria on Thursday says he was detained after crossing into the country by foot on a Christian pilgrimage seven months ago. Travis Timmerman appears to have been among thousands of people released from the country’s notorious prisons after rebels reached Damascus over the weekend, overthrowing President Bashar Assad and ending his family’s 54-year rule. As video emerged online of Timmerman on Thursday, he was initially mistaken by some for Austin Tice, an American journalist who went missing in Syria 12 years ago. In the video, Timmerman could be seen lying on a mattress under a blanket in what appeared to be a private house. A group of men in the video said he was being treated well and would be safely returned home. The Biden administration is working to bring Timmerman home, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Aqaba, Jordan, without offering details, citing privacy. Timmerman later gave an interview with the Al-Arabiya TV network, saying he had illegally crossed into Syria on foot from the eastern Lebanese town of Zahle seven months ago, before being detained. He said he was treated well in detention but could hear other men being tortured. AQABA, Jordan — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Jordan on his 12th visit to the Mideast since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last year and his first since the weekend ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad that has sparked new fears of instability in a region wracked by three conflicts despite a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon. Blinken was meeting in Aqaba with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Thursday before traveling to Turkey for talks with Turkish officials on Friday. The meetings will focus largely on Syria but also touch on long-elusive hopes for a deal to end the fighting in Gaza that has devastated the Palestinian territory since October 2023. Blinken is the latest senior U.S. official to visit the Middle East in the five days since Assad was deposed as the Biden administration navigates more volatility in the region in its last few weeks in office and as President-elect Donald Trump has said the U.S. should stay out of the Syrian conflict. Other include national security adviser Jake Sullivan and a top military commander who traveled there as the U.S. and Israel have launched airstrikes to prevent the Islamic State militant group from reconstituting and prevent materiel and suspected chemical weapons stocks from falling into militant hands. Blinken “will discuss the need for the transition process and new government in Syria to respect the rights of minorities, facilitate the flow of humanitarian assistance, prevent Syria from being used as a base of terrorism or posing a threat to its neighbors, and ensure that chemical weapons stockpiles are secured and safely destroyed,” the State Department said. The U.S. would be willing to recognize and fully support a new Syrian government that met those criteria. U.S. officials say they are not actively reviewing the foreign terrorist organization designation of the main Syrian rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, known as HTS, which was once an al-Qaida affiliate, but stressed they are not barred from speaking to its members. JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli forces will remain in a Syrian buffer zone until a new force on the other side of the border can guarantee security. After the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Israeli forces pushed into a buffer zone that had been established after the 1973 Mideast war. The military says it has seized additional strategic points nearby. Israeli officials have said the move is temporary, but Netanyahu’s conditions could take months or even years to fulfill as Syria charts its post-Assad future, raising the prospect of an open-ended Israeli presence in the country. Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Thursday that Assad’s overthrow by jihadi rebels created a vacuum on the border. “Israel will not permit jihadi groups to fill that vacuum and threaten Israeli communities on the Golan Heights with October 7th style attacks,” it said, referring to Hamas’ 2023 attack out of Gaza, which ignited the war there. “That is why Israeli forces entered the buffer zone and took control of strategic sites near Israel’s border.” The statement added that “this deployment is temporary until a force that is committed to the 1974 agreement can be established and security on our border can be guaranteed.” The buffer zone is adjacent to the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed. The international community, except for the United States, views the Golan as occupied Syrian territory. JERUSALEM — Israel’s military said Thursday that the attacker who fatally shot a 12-year-old Israeli boy in the occupied West Bank overnight turned himself in to authorities. The attacker opened fire on a bus near the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit, critically wounding the boy, who hospital authorities pronounced dead in the early morning. Three others were wounded in the attack, paramedics said. The shooting took place just outside Jerusalem in an area near major Israeli settlements. JAKARTA, Indonesia — The Indonesian government has evacuated 37 citizens from Syria following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad government, officials said Thursday. The evacuees were taken by land from Damascus to Beirut, where they boarded three commercial flights to Jakarta, said Judha Nugraha, director of citizen protection at the Foreign Affairs Ministry. The Indonesian Embassy in Damascus said all 1,162 Indonesian citizens in Syria were safe. Indonesian Ambassador to Syria Wajid Fauzi said the situation in Syria has gradually returned to normal. “I can say that 98% of people’s lives are back to normal, shops are open, public transportation has started running,” Fauzi said, adding that most Indonesian nationals living in Syria had chosen to stay. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian medical officials say Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 28 people in the Gaza Strip, including seven children and a woman. One of the strikes overnight and into Thursday flattened a house in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the nearby city of Deir al-Balah, where the casualties were taken. An Associated Press reporter saw the bodies at the hospital’s morgue. Two other strikes killed 15 men who were part of local committees established to secure aid convoys . The committees were set up by displaced Palestinians in coordination with the Hamas-run Interior Ministry. The Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis received the bodies and an AP reporter counted them. The hospital said eight were killed in a strike near the southern border town of Rafah and seven others in a strike 30 minutes later near Khan Younis. The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 people. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The fighting has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine. Israel says it allows enough aid to enter and blames U.N. agencies for not distributing it. The U.N. says Israeli restrictions, and the breakdown of law and order after Israel repeatedly targeted the Hamas-run police force, make it extremely difficult to operate in the territory. UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved resolutions Wednesday demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and backing the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees that Israel has moved to ban . The votes in the 193-nation world body were 158-9 with 13 abstentions to demand a ceasefire now and 159-9 with 11 abstentions to support the agency known as UNRWA. The votes culminated two days of speeches overwhelmingly calling for an end to the 14-month war between Israel and the militant Hamas group . General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, though they reflect world opinion. There are no vetoes in the assembly. Israel and its close ally, the United States, were in a tiny minority speaking and voting against the resolutions.
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From consoles to accessories and games, Black Friday deals are a dream for PlayStation gamers. Along with Sony's massive sale , Best Buy and Amazon are boasting some serious discounts, including an all-time-low price of $374 for the PS5 Slim . Whether you're buying for yourself or a gift for a loved one , these once-a-year deals are worth perusing before they're gone. And the savings don't stop there! You can find even more amazing bargains on games and accessories at retailers like Amazon , Walmart and Best Buy as well. To help you make the most of these Black Friday deals , we've rounded up some of the best offers you can shop right now below, and we'll continue to update this page throughout the holiday shopping season, so be sure to check back often. You can also check out our roundups for the best Black Friday deals on TVs and soundbars if you're looking to upgrade your entire entertainment setup. Best Black Friday PS5 console deals This Black Friday, you've got an extremely rare opportunity to grab a PlayStation 5 console at a discount. This price is for the Slim edition of the full-size console with a disk drive and 1TB of storage. If you're after the digital-only version of the PS5, you might as well pick it up as a part of this bundle, which also includes a voucher for a free digital copy of the latest entry in the iconic NBA 2K franchise. The game lists for $70 on its own, making this bundle a pretty great value. If you don't want the game, you can pick up just the console for the same price. The PlayStation VR 2 is one of our favorite virtual reality headsets on the market, and right you can pick it up at a record-low price. It features an excellent OLED display, a comfortable design advanced controllers with immersive feedback. Plus, this bundle comes with Horizon Call of the Mountain -- one of the best PSVR 2 games available and a $60 value on its own. Just note that a PlayStation 5 console is required to use the PSVR 2. This QVC bundle is a great offer if you do a lot of multiplayer or couch co-op. It includes the 1TB digital-only Slim console as well as two DualSense controllers, a dual charging dock, a silicone controller sleeve, a wired headset and a voucher for some free streaming services. It's also worth noting that new QVC customers can save an extra $20 with the promo code HOLIDAY20 if this is their first order. Best Black Friday PS5 accessory deals If you want a new controller for multiplayer and co-op, or just want one with a little more personality, you can snag it for less right now. Basic colors are on sale for $55, while the new metallic variants are available for $60. Give your Sony gaming setup a touch of personality with these colorful console face plates. There are quite a few different colors to choose from, with the basic variants selling for $45, and the metallic variants on sale for $50. It's also important to note that there are different covers for the original full-size console , the digital-only version and the new Slim edition , so be sure you're grabbing the one that's designed for your system. With so many great games to choose from, the PS5's 1TB solid-state drive can fill up pretty quickly. Fortunately, it's equipped with an extra internal drive slot, so you can easily expand it with an M.2 SSD. The Samsung 990 Pro is one of our favorite models overall on the market, and right now you can even pick it up at a great discount. This model also features a built-in heatsink, which was missing in previous generations. Best Black Friday PS5 game deals Calling all Star Wars lovers: This game is now over 70% off, a hard-to-beat savings. This is a single-player action-adventure game that continues five years after the previous game in this series, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Though it was released two years ago, God of War: Ragnarok is still one of the best PS5 games on the market -- and definitely worth grabbing at this price. Experience engaging, fast-paced combat and stunning visuals as Kratos and Atreus continue their struggle against Asgard. When will the Black Friday PS5 deals start? Sony's Black Friday sale kicked off on Nov. 22, exactly one week before Black Friday. There are some great direct discounts available, but that's not the only place to score some serious savings on PS5 games, accessories and console bundles. Most major retailers like Amazon and Best Buy also have tons of worthwhile Black Friday deals on Sony gaming gear. Many deals will carry over into Cyber Week, which starts on Dec. 2, but there's no way to guarantee which offers will stick around. So if you see something you like, we'd definitely recommend getting your order in sooner rather than later. Will Sony offer Black Friday PS5 deals? Yes, Sony is offering plenty of its own deals for Black Friday. Its sale officially kicked off on Nov. 22, and includes some serious savings on controllers, accessories and games -- as well as some rare discounts on PlayStation 5 consoles and VR headsets. The sale is set to run through Cyber Monday (Dec. 2).‘World of Warcraft’ still going strong as it celebrates 20 years
Tayshawn Comer scores 18 to lead Evansville past Campbell 66-53Western Michigan beats Eastern Michigan 26-18 to become bowl eligibleWarning—digital fingerprinting is back Republished on December 21 with Google’s proposals to change search for iPhone and Android users as a response to the U.S. government’s push for it to sell off Chrome. With Google’s last tracking u-turn fresh in the mind, here comes another one. Not only have cookies won a stay of execution , it now looks like digital fingerprinting is back as well. But as one regulator has pointed out, Google itself has said that this type of tracking “subverts user choice and is wrong.” And yet here we are—wrong or not. “We think this change is irresponsible,” the regulator warns. For its part, Google cites advances in so-called privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) as raising the bar for user privacy, enabling it to loosen the shackles on advertisers and the hidden trackers that underpin the internet and make the whole ecosystem work. This, it says, will unlock “new ways for brands to manage and activate their data safely and securely,” while “also giving people the privacy protections they expect.” The risk is that this simply rolls the dark side of tracking cookies forward into a new era, and in a way that is impossible for users to unpick to understand their risks. The specifics are complex—these are the algorithms that ingest all the data signals you give off when browsing the internet on any device, some based on who you are—device, IP and credential identifiers, but also the sites you visit and apps you use as a map to be followed and analyzed. The change has been prompted, Google explains , in part by “the broader range of surfaces on which ads are served.” This includes smart TVs and gaming consoles, as well as all your usual browser and app activity. While Chrome has taken plenty of flack for tracking, this takes it to a new, very different level. “In the past decade,” Google says, “the way people engage with the internet changed dramatically. So we’re constantly evaluating our policies to ensure they reflect the latest evolutions in technology and meet our partners’ needs and users’ expectations.” And so from February 16 , Google will be “less prescriptive with partners in how they target and measure ads” across “the broader range of surfaces on which ads are served (such as Connected TVs and gaming consoles).” “Fingerprinting involves the collection of pieces of information about a device’s software or hardware, which, when combined, can uniquely identify a particular device and user,” explains Stephen Almond, representing the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office . “The ICO’s view is that fingerprinting is not a fair means of tracking users online because it is likely to reduce people’s choice and control over how their information is collected. The change to Google’s policy means that fingerprinting could now replace the functions of third-party cookies.” The ICO says that “when you choose an option on a consent banner or ‘clear all site data’ in your browser, you are generally controlling the use of cookies and other traditional forms of local storage. Fingerprinting, however, relies on signals that you cannot easily wipe. So, even if you ‘clear all site data’, the organisation using fingerprinting techniques could immediately identify you again. This is not transparent and cannot easily be controlled. Fingerprinting is harder for browsers to block and therefore, even privacy-conscious users will find this difficult to stop.” Changes to user tracking confirmed Both the regulator and Google have confirmed they’ll continue to engage on this change, which the ICO says is a “u-turn in its position and the departure it represents from our expectation of a privacy-friendly internet.” The regulator has also issued a stark warning for businesses that might be readying themselves for the gloves to come off in February when the changes kick in. “Businesses do not have free rein to use fingerprinting as they please. Like all advertising technology, it must be lawfully and transparently deployed—and if it is not, the ICO will act.” Google gives an example of the need for such fingerprinting in its announcement—smart TVs and streaming services. “Internet users are embracing Connected TV (CTV) experiences, making it one of the fastest growing advertising channels. Businesses who advertise on CTV need the ability to connect with relevant audiences and understand the effectiveness of their campaigns. As people and households increasingly shift to streaming platforms, the ecosystem should invest in and develop solutions that are effective and measurable in an incredibly fragmented environment.” I have approached Google for any comments on the regulatory warnings following its announced change. Put simply—cross-platform, cross-device ad tracking. A move which does take the focus away from Chrome as being the epicenter of Google’s tracking empire—the timing of which is interesting. It’s hard to imagine a more complex backdrop, with the ongoing DOJ action that is expected to see changes mandated, including the potential for Chrome to be divested . Then there is the uncertainty as to what will replace tracking cookies. “Businesses should not consider fingerprinting a simple solution to the loss of third-party cookies and other cross-site tracking signals,” the ICO says, insisting users have “meaningful control over how their information is used to show them personalized adverts.” At its simplest, while tracking cookies are a nasty underpin to the internet, they can be seen and controlled, whether by those website popups or electing to use some form of private browsing that blocks such cookies altogether. Digital fingerprinting is not as obvious and so is harder to spot and to block, it’s also more open to clever manipulation as the tracking industry tests boundaries. Google says it can “apply privacy-preserving protections that help businesses reach their customers across these new platforms without the need to re-identify them. And because we’re looking to encourage responsible data use as the new standard across the web, we’ll also partner with the broader ads industry and help make PETs more accessible.” Google has been fighting this ad tracking battle for years now. It first announced its Privacy Sandbox in 2019, a search for a better way to track users across the internet and serve their data to advertisers. Its stated intent has been privacy-preserving tracking, which have included a range of masking technologies, grouping users into semi-anonymized cohorts, and a newer suggestion of an opt-in. But Google now has a newer battle on its hand, and it could force change faster than the pedestrian pace of these tracking changes which have now hit a painful stalemate. Both battles have implications for Chrome, even if it’s not divested in the most extreme outcome. As reported by The New York Times , Google is now seeking to get in front of this. “Google said on Friday what it thought should change to address a ruling that it had illegally maintained a monopoly over online search: not much.” Google’s goal appears to be to reverse slowly back over the line it is ruled to have crossed, that it has “illegally maintained a monopoly in online search by paying companies like Apple and Samsung to be the search engine that automatically appears when users open a web browser or a smartphone. In response, the government last month asked the judge to force Google to sell Chrome.” Search is advertising’s twin pillar—between them they hold up the empire. And Google dominates search with key deals with Apple and across Android which have made “google” synonymous with “search.” Lee-Anne Mulholland—Google’s VP for Regulatory Affairs—suggests in a blogpost that “if DOJ felt that Google investing in Chrome, or our development of AI, or the way we crawl the web, or develop our algorithms, were at all anticompetitive, it could have filed those cases. It did not.” She warned that “DOJ’s proposal would harm American consumers and undermine America’s global technology leadership at a critical juncture — such as by requiring us to share people’s private search queries with foreign and domestic rivals, and restricting our ability to innovate and improve our products.” Google’s proposed remedies include changing agreements with “browser companies like Apple and Mozilla,” such that they would “have the freedom to do deals with whatever search engine they think is best for their users... Our proposal allows browsers to continue to offer Google Search to their users and earn revenue from that partnership. But it also provides them with additional flexibility: It would allow for multiple default agreements across different platforms (e.g., a different default search engine for iPhones and iPads) and browsing modes, plus the ability to change their default search provider at least every 12 months,” which was the period of time referenced by the court. And Google has also suggested something similar on Android, giving “device makers have additional flexibility in preloading multiple search engines, and preloading any Google app independently of preloading Search or Chrome. Again, this will give our partners additional flexibility and our rivals like Microsoft more chances to bid for placement.” The interesting twist here is Microsoft spamming its own Windows users with constant ads and security warnings, pushing Edge and Bing. The timing is all very interesting. Digital fingerprinting is back on the table and is going beyond traditional browsers, just as the tracking and search ecosystems are being shaken up. There are more moving parts now than there have been for many years—the long period of stability is coming to an end, driven by AI as much as anything else. It’s very unclear where this will end up. For users, though, the choices should be clear and transparent at all times. You should know when and how you are being tracked, and you should have an easy-button to say thanks, but no thanks.
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Man who set off makeshift bomb outside Alabama attorney general’s office sentenced to nine yearsBUENOS AIRES (AP) — Si Javier Milei aplica la motosierra al gasto del Estado, su vicepresidenta convalida un aumento de salarios a funcionarios. Si el presidente argentino confronta a la oposición por obstaculizar sus medidas de ajuste, Victoria Villarruel mantiene un trato cordial con esos sectores. Aquella sociedad presidente-vicepresidenta, que se mostraba inseparable en campaña y fraguó un inesperado cambio político en Argentina, lleva ahora una tensa convivencia en la cúspide del poder. Se saludan de beso en la mejilla en actos oficiales, pero no se hablan más, como ocurrió días atrás en una condecoración de policías. Esta dinámica ha levantado suspicacias sobre las reales intenciones de la enigmática vicepresidenta, de 49 años, en un oficialismo que no controla el Congreso y teme por un juicio político al economista ultraliberal. Milei no oculta su fastidio y ha llegado a exponer públicamente la ruptura. “Ella no tiene ningún tipo de injerencia en la toma de decisiones”, declaró en una reciente entrevista. “Porque, además, ella en su visión muchas de las cosas de lo que nosotros hacemos, está mucho más cerca del círculo rojo y de lo que ella llama la alta política, que es lo que nosotros llamamos la casta”, apuntó en referencia al sistema político tradicional. El diálogo entre ellos, admitió Milei, se limita a “lo que se necesita institucionalmente para cumplir con nuestros roles”. Más centrada, sin experiencia partidaria previa, hábil para el debate mediático y experta en temas de seguridad, Villarruel funcionaba como el complemento ideal para el extrovertido dirigente libertario durante la campaña a la Presidencia. Pero había otro aspecto de la historia personal de Villarruel que le daba réditos al economista en su disputa electoral contra el progresismo. Hija de un teniente coronel que combatió a grupos insurgentes en los 70 y sobrina de un oficial de inteligencia acusado por crímenes de lesa humanidad durante la última dictadura (1976-1983), Villarruel se adhiere a una corriente de pensamiento que cuestiona el “Nunca más”, el paradigma dominante en política de derechos humanos tras el retorno de la democracia, que se enfoca en reconocer a las víctimas —los desaparecidos— de la represión militar. La vicepresidenta milita a favor de una “memoria completa” que busca poner en un plano de igualdad a las víctimas de los ataques perpetuados por la guerrilla izquierdista con los crímenes de lesa humanidad cometidos por las Fuerzas Armadas en la convulsionada década de 1970 en Argentina. AP solicitó varios pedidos de entrevista a Villarruel para este perfil, pero fueron rechazados por su equipo de prensa. Durante la campaña a la presidencia, Milei había prometido que Villarruel tendría el control de la seguridad y la defensa de su gobierno por considerarla una experta en la temática. Se especializó en la lucha contra el terrorismo en el Centro de Estudios de Defensa Hemisférica William J. Perry en Washington. Tras asumir en diciembre, el mandatario designó en esas áreas a dirigentes de partidos políticos aliados y Villarruel quedó relegada a su función constitucional de presidenta del Senado, sin mayores explicaciones. Lo más cerca del Poder Ejecutivo que ha estado fue como reemplazo de Milei en sus viajes al exterior, tal como indica la Carta Magna. La vicepresidenta —que siempre luce distintos modelos de escarapelas albicelestes— buscó desde entonces diferenciarse del mandatario . “Si diseccionas los personajes con las ideologías, Milei y Villarruel no pegan ni con cola”, dijo a AP el periodista Juan Luis González, quien se ha especializado en la investigación del fenómeno de las nuevas derechas en Argentina y escribió el libro “El Loco”, en el que revela el recorrido de Milei y su entorno antes de asumir el poder en diciembre. “Milei es un libertario", añadió. "Su punto cero ideológico es que el Estado es una imposición violenta, no tiene que existir. Villarruel es una nacionalista conservadora, católica y cree en la fortaleza del Estado”, acotó. González y la mayoría de sus colegas que cubren a diario los entretelones del gobierno también apuntan a la mala relación de Villarruel con la hermana del presidente y secretaria general de la presidencia, Karina Milei, quien al parecer desconfía de las ambiciones políticas de la vicepresidenta. En una encuesta realizada a fines de octubre por la consultora D’Alessio IROL / Berensztein, Villarruel tiene una imagen positiva del 43% frente al 41% del presidente, entre 1.118 encuestados. “Villarruel me representa, la noto muy preparada”, expresó Joanna Salcedo, una peluquera de 34 años. “Sabe de lo que habla. Me gusta su estilo, es cálida, la noto cercana a la gente. La votaría si se presenta a presidenta”. En la primera y única entrevista que dio en televisión tras ser elegida, Villarruel calificó a Milei de “pobre jamoncito” porque está en el medio entre ella y Karina. “Tiene mucho carácter y yo también. Es brava”, definió a su contrincante interna. Villarruel avaló un aumento de salarios en el Senado pese a la política de “motosierra” que lleva adelante Milei sobre los gastos del Estado . “Si a la motosierra le das y le das, después te comés un montón de juicios laborales", justificó. También viajó al Vaticano a principios de octubre para una audiencia con el papa Francisco, a los pocos días de que el líder religioso lanzara filosas críticas contra el gobierno de Milei. A su vez, generó un contrapunto diplomático con Francia cuando lo tildó de “país colonialista” al salir en defensa de los jugadores de la selección de Argentina, en un escándalo por cánticos racistas durante la Copa América. El gobierno de Milei tuvo que pedir disculpas formales. Otro incidente en política exterior se dio con motivo de un reciente acuerdo con Gran Bretaña para retomar los vuelos mensuales entre Brasil y las islas Malvinas con una escala en la provincia argentina de Córdoba, pero sin reabrir la discusión sobre la soberanía del archipiélago, que los británicos tienen cancelada desde su victoria en la guerra de 1982. “Todos saben lo que representa Malvinas para mí y que ese es mi límite ”, expresó la Villarruel, hija de un excombatiente en sus redes sociales. “La propuesta de acuerdo anunciada con el Reino Unido es contraria a los intereses de nuestra Nación”. “Ella es una líder con pretensiones presidenciales. Eso la induce a diferenciarse parcialmente del presidente, un líder a quien naturalmente por sus características le gusta tomar riesgos, ir mas allá”, apuntó el analista político Sergio Berensztein. Al igual que Milei, Villarruel no es una emergente de la política tradicional. Mientras el mandatario cobró notoriedad como columnista económico en programas de televisión, su segunda inició su militancia a principios de este siglo como miembro de agrupaciones de esposas, hijos, camaradas y abogados de militares detenidos de la última dictadura, considerada una de las más sangrientas de Latinoamérica. Estos grupos buscaban contrarrestar las posturas de los organismos de derechos humanos fundados por familiares de los desaparecidos, como Madres y Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, y también frenar los procesos judiciales. Alegaban que la represión se dio en el marco de una guerra contra la guerrilla y que si hubo abusos, estos debían ser juzgados por tribunales militares. Villarruel fundó en 2006 la asociación civil Centro de Estudios Legales sobre el Terrorismo y sus Víctimas (CELTYV) con el objetivo de investigar el accionar de las organizaciones armadas de izquierda, como ERP y Montoneros. Esto la llevó a tener trato frecuente en la cárcel con algunas de las figuras más relevantes de la dictadura, como el expresidente de facto Jorge Rafael Videla, fallecido en 2013, y tres exmarinos condenados por crímenes de lesa humanidad. Elegida diputada en 2021 y vicepresidenta dos años después, el ascenso político de Villarruel se da en el marco de “un crecimiento de los discursos relativistas y negacionistas ”, advirtió el Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS), un organismo de derechos humanos fundado en 1979. “Este tipo de posiciones representan un daño mayúsculo a la construcción social, política e institucional que simboliza el ‘Nunca Más’ para la democracia, un piso común de acuerdo y convivencia al que se comprometieron todos los gobiernos previos, los tres poderes del Estado y el Ministerio Público Fiscal”, añadió. Si bien, antes de Villarruel, hubo otras voces dentro de la dirigencia política argentina que han puesto en duda la emblemática cifra de 30.000 desaparecidos y cuestionado la transparencia de las indemnizaciones que pagó el Estado a sus familias, ella es la primera que desde un alto cargo impulsa medidas concretas en línea con un revisionismo de los 70. Durante un acto en el Senado en homenaje a las víctimas de la guerrilla, prometió reabrir las causas judiciales contra sus responsables pese a la jurisprudencia que ha declarado prescritos esos delitos. “Mientras no haya justicia, verdad y reparación para las víctimas del terrorismo y se termine la impunidad de estos señores, no hay posibilidad de reconciliación”, argumentó. Días atrás logró que el Senado aprobara un proyecto de reparación económica para los herederos de una docena de soldados muertos durante un ataque de un comando de Montoneros –el brazo armado del peronismo de izquierda— a un regimiento militar de la provincia de Formosa. Entre la causa por la “memoria completa” y la convivencia con Milei, Villarruel también proyecta su futuro político más allá de 2027. En TikTok —la red social que elige para un contacto directo con sus partidarios— dijo que su anhelo cuando finalice el mandato como vicepresidenta es que “los argentinos me recuerden como parte de su familia”. “Tiene potencial porque es una figura fuerte, Argentina siempre busca caudillos o caudillas”, apuntó Berenzstein. "Es una mujer fuerte, típicas de la Argentina desde Evita (Perón) en adelante... Se inscribe dentro de esa tradición de mujeres argentinas que no llegaron para acompañar, no son mujeres ‘de’. Quieren poner su impronta”.