DC Comics Reveals The Joker's Real Name Jack Oswald White

Since debuting in the DC Universe, the true identity of the Joker has been a mystery for all comic book fans. Although many fans have theorized and several mediums have introduced names like Jack Napier and Arthur Fleck, DC Comics has never officially given the character a real name, until now.

In Issue #5 of Flashpoint Beyond, a sequel to Flashpoint, the universe’s version of the Joker, Martha Wayne, and the Batman of the universe, Thomas Wayne, are seen discusing the villain’s true identity. Martha reveals that she forced Psycho-Pirate, a villain with extensive knowledge of the entire DC Universe, to tell her the name of the Joker in the main DC Universe. It is then revealed that the Joker’s real name is “Jack Oswald White.” Martha then shares that she visited the Flashpoint universe’s version of Jack Oswald White, discovering him to be a struggling family man supporting his wife and a child as a janitor at Wayne Casino. Despite being destitute, Jack is well adjusted, being never subjected to the origin events that occurred in Batman: The Killing Joke that created the Joker. It is also interesting to note that musician Jack White served as the inspiration for the character’s name. White took to Instagram to share his appreciation in a post directed towards DC Comics.

Albert Pujols Hits 700th Home Run

Saint Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hit his 700th career home run on Friday night, connecting for his second drive of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers and becoming the fourth player to reach the milestone in major league history. The 42-year-old Pujols hit No. 699 in the third inning, then launched No. 700 in the fourth at Dodger Stadium. With the drive in the final days of his last big league season, Pujols joined Barry Bonds (762 homers), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) in one of baseball’s most exclusive clubs. It’s been a remarkable run for Pujols. This was his 14th home run since the start of August for the NL Central-leading Cardinals, and his 21st of the season. 

Pujols’ historic homer was a three-run shot against Dodgers reliever Phil Bickford. The ball landed in the first few rows of the left-field pavilion, the same location his two-run shot touched down the previous inning off left-hander Andrew Heaney. Pujols received a prolonged standing ovation from the crowd he finished out last season while playing for the Dodgers. He took a curtain call, raising his cap in acknowledgment. The fans chanted “Pujols! Pujols!” They finally sat down after being on their feet in anticipation of seeing history. Pujols snapped a tie with Alex Rodriguez for fourth on the list when he hit career homer No. 697 against Pittsburgh on Sept. 11. Reaching 700 homers seemed like a long shot for Pujols when he was batting .189 on July 4. But the three-time NL MVP started to find his stroke in August, swatting seven homers in one 10-game stretch that helped St. Louis pull away in the division race. “I know that early in the year ... I obviously wanted better results,” Pujols said after he homered in a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 22. “But I felt like I was hitting the ball hard. Sometimes this game is going to take more away from you than the game (is) giving you back. “So I think at the end of the day you have to be positive and just stay focused and trust your work. That’s something that I’ve done all the time.” Pujols has enjoyed a resurgent season after returning to St. Louis in March for a $2.5 million, one-year contract. It’s his highest total since he hit 23 homers for the Angels in 2019. He plans to retire when the season ends. The first HR of Albert Pujols’ career on April 4th 2001 “And after watching that kid in batting practice, that swing right there, it will not nearly be the last”. Pujols also began his career in St. Louis. He was selected by the Cardinals in the 13th round of the 1999 amateur draft and won the 2001 NL Rookie of the Year award. The Dominican Republic native hit at least .300 with at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs in each of his first 10 seasons. He helped the Cardinals to World Series titles in 2006 and 2011. He set a career high with 49 homers in 2006 one of seven seasons with at least 40 homers. He led the majors with 47 homers in 2009 and topped the NL with 42 in 2010. Pujols left St. Louis in free agency in December 2011, signing a $240 million, 10-year contract with the Angels. He was waived by the Angels in May 2021, and then joined the Dodgers and hit 12 homers and drove in 38 runs in 85 games.

Neymar Jr. Launches New Collection With PUMA

Football superstar Neymar Jr. has reconnected with PUMA for another collection of apparel and footwear. This time pulling from Neymar Jr.’s home country of Brazil, the duo looked to Brazilian football, São Paulo street art and some of Neymar Jr.’s tattoos for inspiration. The insignia found throughout the collection references the three birds tattooed on Neymar Jr.’s left side of his neck. Speaking to his connection with PUMA and the collection, Neymar Jr. shared “Since joining PUMA, they have been bringing a lot of my personality into the collections. They are authentic pieces, with cheerful colors and references from my daily life, such as tattoos. This tropical collection was also created to remind me a little of the atmosphere of Brazil and who I am as a person.”

The focus throughout this collection is premium basics with a Neymar Jr. touch. Beginning with apparel, this detailing can be found on a bomber jacket, mock neck crew, jacquard tee, relaxed tee, track pants, jacquard shorts and more. As for accessories, a backpack, crossbody bag and two headwear offerings are included. Looking at the footwear options, the duo has outfitted the PUMA Slipstream in black and white leather colorways alongside the PUMA Leadcat slide in black and yellow looks.

Release for the latest Neymar Jr. x PUMA collection is set for September 22 via PUMA and select retailers. Price range between $28 USD to $150 USD. Check out an additional look at Neymar Jr. wearing pieces from the collection below courtesy of his Instagram.

NVIDIA Unveils RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 Graphics Cards

NVIDIA and its graphics cards continue to push the world of technology forward with power that is climbing exponentially. Amidst the crypto mining craze, graphics cards grew increasingly difficult to find at reasonable prices. Fortunately for consumers, prices have since stabilized and NVIDIA is expanding its offerings with the introduction of its 40 Series, beginning with the RTX 4090 and RTX 4080.

Introducing the NVIDIA Ada Lovelace architecture powering GeForce RTX 40 Series GPUs:

✔️ New SMs provide up to 2x perf and power efficiency
✔️ 4th Gen Tensor Cores with up to 2x AI performance
✔️ 3rd Gen RT Cores with up to 2x ray tracing performance

Welcome to #BeyondFast

Featuring new NVIDIA Ada Lovelace architecture, the cards carry new fourth-gen tensor cores, third-gen ray tracing cores, shader execution reordering and NVIDIA DLSS 3 which boosts performance by using AI to output higher resolution frames. Results of these breakthroughs include an expected doubling of the performance from the RTX 4090 when compared to its predecessor, the RTX 3090 Ti. The RTX 4080 16GB should double the power of the RTX 3080 Ti while the RTX 4080 12 GB is comparable to the RTX 3090. Release for the NVIDIA RTX 4090 begins October 12 at a price of $1,599 USD with the RTX 4080 16GB and 12GB arriving in November priced at $1,199 USD and $899 USD respectively.

Fortnite Season 4 Begins

Fortnite’s newest season is here and it takes players to a world where everything is shiny and chrome. Fortnite: Chapter 3 Season 4 is called Paradise, and brings new powers, weapons, and locations to the game, as well as a new battle pass with skins like Spider-Gwen. The game’s biggest new addition is the Chrome Splash, which lets players make walls penetrable, allowing you to shoot through them, if you want, or even just jump through them, if that’s easier.

Players can also throw the Chrome Splash on themselves, giving them new powers, including the ability to dash mid-air (also through walls), and to become a silver-y blob while sprinting. Paradise brings more changes to the map as well, adding the Herald’s Sanctum as a point of interest, and updating areas like Condo Canyon to float in the sky. These new floating POIs will only be accessible via D-Launchers, which are spread out throughout the island. Players can also find certain weapons that have been Chromified. These weapons will include the EvoChrome Shotgun and EvoChrome Burst Rifle and can be looted from Chrome Chests. Along with their new effects and unique damage, the weapons will also upgrade their rarity the more you damage enemies with them. On top of the new Chrome weapons, Epic is also bringing back a variety of weapons from last season’s arsenal, as well as weapons that have been in the Vault for the last several seasons.

Ethereum Successfully Completed The Merge

The Merge, which took place early Thursday morning ET, will cut Ethereum’s energy consumption by an even bigger margin than previously expected, a new analysis finds. It’s also expected to slash the cryptocurrency network’s greenhouse gas emissions dramatically. Ethereum’s electricity use is expected to drop by a whopping 99.988 percent post-Merge, according to the analysis published today by research company Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute (CCRI). The network was previously using about 23 million megawatt-hours per year, CCRI estimates. Moving forward, it’s expected to use just over 2,600 megawatt-hours per year. To help visualize just how massive this is, the report compares this reduction to the Eiffel Tower shrinking to the size of a Lego toy person. That dramatic change, CCRI estimates, should reduce Ethereum’s total carbon dioxide emissions by 99.992 percent. The network’s climate pollution drops from roughly 11 million tons of CO2 emissions a year to around 870 tons, which CCRI says is slightly less than the amount of energy 100 homes in the US would use in a year.

The new report was commissioned by ConsenSys, an Ethereum software company. Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin also founded ConsenSys, which was also involved in the research and development of The Merge. The report is in line with other estimates. Alex de Vries, a researcher who runs the website Digiconomist that tracks Bitcoin and Ethereum energy use, similarly estimates that Ethereum’s electricity demand has fallen “99.98%, which comes down to possibly as much as a country like Austria requires.” Before The Merge, the Ethereum Foundation had estimated that the software update would reduce energy use by 99.95 percent. The enormous pollution reduction comes from a change in how Ethereum users earn new tokens. (For more details, check out our in-depth explainer on how that happened.) With The Merge, Ethereum is getting rid of a mechanism called proof of work that uses vast amounts of computing power to validate blocks of new transactions. Proof of work required crypto miners to solve computational puzzles, an extremely energy-intensive process, in order to validate new blocks on the chain and earn new tokens in return. Now, Ethereum uses a new mechanism called proof of stake that gets rid of puzzles and mining. Instead, validators need to stake some of their tokens for a chance to validate new blocks of transactions and be rewarded with tokens in return. You still need computers to store data and verify transactions. And validators will probably still run their hardware around the clock. But their hardware won’t be nearly as energy-hungry as crypto miners’ data farms. The small discrepancies in estimates for energy consumption post-Merge have to do with how many validators there are, what kind of equipment they’re using, and whether it runs on clean or dirty energy. The successful launch of The Merge places greater pressure on other cryptocurrencies still using proof of work. The elephant in the room is Bitcoin, which is currently estimated to gobble up more electricity per year as the country of Kazakhstan. “[The Merge] is hopefully a step into a more sustainable future for cryptocurrencies,” says Uli Gallersdörfer, co-founder and CEO of the CCRI. Some miners are resisting the change, hell-bent on keeping the existing proof-of-work Ethereum blockchain alive, which could limit the total energy savings. “It does mean that the total amount of energy that’s going to be saved here [with The Merge] could be less than 99.99% if there is a proof of work Ethereum surviving and it continues to support some amount of mining activities,” says de Vries. How much pollution that rogue chain is responsible for will depend on how valuable its new token is, which is expected to officially launch within a day. The value has to be high enough to sustain miners’ energy costs, after all. The price of that forked Ethereum token briefly surged in the hours immediately after The Merge before quickly falling.

Sony Reveals Tekken 8 Release Dates

A new installment of the longrunning Tekken franchise is in the works at Bandai Namco. The news of Tekken 8 was unveiled during Sony’s State of Play showcase on Tuesday. The fighting video game series largely centers on the King of Iron Fist Tournament, in which players control competitors as they battle it out to win the major title. The last iteration, Tekken 7, arrived in 2015 and chronicled the events leading up to the ultimate fight between boss martial artist Heihachi Mishima and his son, Kazuya Mishima.

Tekken 7 was released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Seven years later, the forthcoming Tekken 8 will debut on the latest generation of consoles, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, as well as PC via Steam. Sony’s trailer for Tekken 8 teases Mishima’s return, battling it out against his own son, Jin Kazama. The 3D animated video offers little in terms of storyline but gives a glimpse at the heated fist fight, which takes place in a fiery volcanic landscape. Watch the trailer for Bandai Namco’s forthcoming Tekken 8 above.

Ana’s Outstanding Plays Earn T1 a Win in the Dota2 Regional Qualifiers

The International 2022 (TI11) Regional Qualifiers are starting to heat up as the final set of qualifiers are beginning today. Both Western Europe (WEU) and Southeast Asia (SEA) regions are in the mix and T1’s newest roster faced off against Execration in the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals of TI11’s SEA Regional Qualifiers. The series saw Anathan "ana" Pham carry T1 to victory as the team secured a 2-0 win over Execration.

Following this win, T1 will face RSG in the Upper Bracket Semi Finals in a couple of days while Execration will fall to the Lower Bracket.
T1 vs Execration: Match recap

The community had high expectations from T1, as the organization recently picked up two-time TI winners Anathan "ana" Pham & Topias "Topson" Taavitsainen to replace the departing Karl "Karl" Baldovino & Kim "Gabbi" Santos.
 

 

Game One

Game one saw T1 drafting an unconventional Marci carry for ana whilst picking up Morphling and Nature’s Prophet. On the opposing side, Execration picked up a carry Pudge for Jinn "Palos" Lamatao along with Shadow Fiend (SF) and Death Prophet in the offlane.

The early game was going horribly for T1 as Topson was constantly being pressured in the mid lane. On the other hand Ana’s Marci was dominating his lane and this allowed the rest of T1 to help Topson recover in the mid game. Execration had no answers for the carry Marci as it called the game at 30 minutes, giving T1 its first victory of the series.
 

Game Two

Game Two of the series saw Execration retaining the Death Prophet and Shadow Fiend once again while also picking up Lycan as an offlane hero. On the other side, T1 went for one of Topson’s signature heroes, Pugna while also retaining the Morphling and Marci.

This time, Execration was the aggressor as it was constantly winning team fights in the early game. However, ana’s Morphling was playing very well as he turned things around for T1 in the later stages of the game. Despite attempts from Justine "Tino" Grimaldo’s Lycan to force a third game by backdooring T1’s base, T1 managed to end the game at 52 minutes to close the series with a 2-0 stomp.

Despite having a short time to build chemistry with other members of T1, Anathan "ana" Pham had an outstanding performance, as he managed to obtain a combined KDA of 24/2/17 and only died once in both games. Following this victory, T1 will move on to the Upper Bracket Semi Finals and shall face off against RSG in two days. Execration has a perilous journey ahead as the team is on its final chance to qualify to TI11 through the Lower Bracket.

SERAPHIM, The New Trump Card Of The World Government!

The Seraphim made their debut appearance on the raid of Amazon Lily, when the Marines attempted to capture Boa Hancock. They are new Pacifista units developed by the Marines’ Special Science Group with the intention of replacing the Seven Warlords of the Sea as one of the Three Great Powers. The Seraphim units, just like the original Bartholomew Kuma-based Pacifistas, are cyborgs built in the image of an existing person. In their case, they bear uncanny resemblances to former Warlords of the Sea, albeit at a much younger age and at a relatively larger size. The ones who were deployed to Amazon Lily, for example, had likenesses matching those of Dracule Mihawk and Boa Hancock during their childhood, the latter corroborated by the Gorgon Sisters. Aside from that, another distinct feature of the Pacifista are their lunarian-like biology, featuring brown skin, white hair, black wings and a plume of fire burning on their backs.

Like every Pacifista, the Seraphim have the designation “PX-” marked somewhere in their bodies. Furthermore, some Seraphim sport star-shaped pupils as an exclusive physical feature. Like the original Pacifista, the Seraphim execute their duties in a quiet, robotic manner. If given a directive order to attack, they will do as commanded, although without showing restraint and putting the lives of downed fighters at risk. Koby, despite being a Marine captain and member of SWORD, had apparent trouble reigning them in during the Amazon Lily siege, implying that they might be harder to control than normal Pacifista units. The Seraphim are cyborgs, as evidenced by their use of in-built laser weaponry and recording equipment. Some have access to external weaponry, such as swords, which they are capable of wielding with expertise. The Seraphim based on Dracule Mihawk, in particular, exhibits an incredibly destructive level of swordsmanship that is capable of splitting even mountains in half, not unlike the real deal. The Seraphim have shown enough strength and skill to force even one of the Four Emperors, Marshall D. Teach, into a defensive position, right after effortlessly defeating a myriad of his subordinates. Also, thanks to their lunarian traits, they appear to have vast resilience, something noted by the Gorgon Sisters, who claimed the Seraphim involved in the siege left the island with nigh a scratch over their bodies. Their young appearances may also inhibit foes who have reservations fighting children from attacking them.

How to use Grammarly in Google Docs

Google Docs is the word processor used by many for writing everything from articles to emails. Writing is hard, so many lean on Docs' built-in spell checker to improve their writing. The native spell checker works well, but third-party services may offer better suggestions. Grammarly is one of the best Google Chrome extensions and offers a more enhanced check of your spelling and grammar. And if you've recently swapped out your laptop for a top-of-the-line Chromebook, you're probably missing Microsoft Word's Editor and other advanced features. Don't worry, Grammarly is a soilid addition to Google Docs that rivals Microsoft Editor.
 

How to install Grammarly

To start using Grammarly, you first have to install it.

1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Go to the Chrome Web Store.
3. Navigate to the Grammarly extension page.
4. Click the Add to Chrome button.

In the dialog box that pops up, tap the Add extension button.
Once you install the extension, a tab opens and prompts you to sign in or make a Grammarly account.

After a moment, Grammarly is installed in your Chrome browser. You can install Grammarly in other popular browsers such as Safari, Edge, and Firefox, but your best experience will be using Chrome.
 

How to enable Grammarly in Google Docs

Since Grammarly is now installed, let's make sure it's enabled and ready for use in Google Docs.
Open a Google Doc.

Click the Grammarly extension icon in the upper-right corner of your browser.
Flip the Check for writing suggestions on Google Docs toggle switch to on.

Grammarly is now ready to use in a Google Doc.

How to use Grammarly in Google Docs

Now that Grammarly is installed and enabled, let's use it in a Google Doc. Grammarly has a number of different features when using it in Google Docs. Let's take a look and what Grammarly can do.
 

Red underlines: When you're typing, Grammarly shows any suggestions it has with a red underline. If you hover over the underline, it shows the suggested correction. You can accept or reject Grammarly's suggestion in each instance.

The Grammarly icon: When you're in a Google Doc with Grammarly enabled, there is an icon in the lower-right corner. This icon tells you information at a glance. When the icon displays a spinning wheel, Grammarly is checking your work. If the icon is green, Grammarly does not see any issues with your writing. When the icon turns red with a number inside it, that means Grammarly has identified some issues.

The Grammarly sidebar: To see an in-depth list of suggestions, click the Grammarly icon, which opens the Grammarly Sidebar. You can see the edits in the sidebar, and clicking a suggestion gives a more in-depth description of the edit.

Goal setting: Grammarly allows you to set goals for your writing. You can set goals for the audience, formality, domain, and intent of your piece. Each goal has different options depending on if you're a free or premium subscriber. To modify these goals, open the Grammarly Sidebar and click the target with an arrow in it at the top.
 

Get your grammar on

Using Grammarly in Google Docs is a simple way to improve your writing. Just install it, enable it, and you're good to go. Yes, Google's word processor is a powerful tool, and you can make it even more useful with some of our favorite Google Docs tips and tricks.

NFL: Chicago Bears Defeats San Francisco 49ers

The Chicago Bears got what they needed from everyone to get a big win. The Bears erased a 10-point third-quarter deficit by scoring 19 unanswered points to beat the 49ers 19-10 in the season opener Sunday at Soldier Field. After a sluggish start, quarterback Justin Fields threw a pair touchdown passes in the second half to Dante Pettis and Equanimeous St. Brown, and a fourth-quarter interception by safety Eddie Jackson set up a Khalil Herbert rushing touchdown. Coach Matt Eberflus earned his first win as an NFL head coach and expressed his excitement about starting 1-0. "It's a happy feeling, it really is," Eberflus said. "When you see they're out of timeouts and the clock's going down and the rain is coming down. And it's a good feeling. It was exciting and for the first victory, and I'm excited for the guys too. I'm excited for everybody, offense, defense, kicking. I'm excited for the organization. It was fun. Fields threw for just 19 yards in the first half, completing 3 of his 9 pass attempts.

The second-year quarterback finished the game with 8 of 17 completions for 121 yards and the two scores, earning an 85.7 rating. "I think we were just trying to find a rhythm [in the first half]," Fields said. "The offense, at least, we were dealing with long fields and our defense did a great job dealing with the short fields that they got, [held] them in the red zone for three points on one of the drives. So yeah, I think we're just trying to get in a rhythm. We were backed up so when you're backed up like that, you just can't use the whole playbook. But the second half, we found a rhythm and we executed so I'm proud of the guys." The Bears defense excelled throughout the entire game, generating two takeaways. They held the 49ers to three points in the second half and held quarterback Trey Lance to a 46.4 completion percentage and a 50.3 rating. On the 49ers' first drive of the game, cornerback Jaylon Johnson forced a fumble, which was recovered by rookie safety Jaquan Brisker. "That was great. Their own drive, they had some momentum and we stopped it with that," Eberflus said. "That happens. I can go back to countless examples where the guys get in the red zone. If you just hang in there on defense and you keep pounding the rock, good things will happen, and that's what happened. Jaylon punched it, Brisker recovered it. It was an outstanding play. That happens a lot of times on the perimeter. The ball comes off the body and you get a punchout." San Francisco's defense quickly got the ball back as Talanoa Hufanga intercepted Fields at the Chicago 49. After a scoreless first quarter, the 49ers reached the end zone with 10:17 to play in the first half. The drive was led by Lance's 20-yard pass to Ray Ray McCloud. On the subsequent third down, defensive tackle Justin Jones was offsides, giving the 49ers a first down at the four-yard line. Receiver Deebo Samuel then found the end zone from six yards out to give San Francisco a 7-0 lead. The 49ers increased their lead to 10-0 on the first drive of the third quarter as Robbie Gould kicked a 25-yard field goal. Lance's 44-yard pass to receiver Jeff Wilson Jr., who beat cornerback Kyler Gordon downfield, put the 49ers at the Chicago 16. Lance rushed for another first down on the drive, but linebacker Roquan Smith and rookie defensive end Dominique Robinson teamed up for a sack on third down to hold the 49ers to the field goal. Fields then orchestrated the Bears' first scoring drive of the day. On third down, his throw to St. Brown was incomplete, but a 49ers' facemask penalty kept the drive alive. Two plays later, Fields escaped the pocket and rolled to his left, finding Pettis wide open across the field. The pair connected for a 51-yard touchdown pass, cutting into the 49ers lead at 10-7. "What a great play, the vision by Justin to see that and throw it back there was a great play," Eberflus said. "And that's the kind of plays he can make. That's what makes him dangerous because he can throw on schedule throws, but man he's got the off-schedule throws too and we've always said he's that he's an outstanding deep ball thrower. He can throw the ball deep, accurately, so we're all excited about that play for sure." After the Bears defense forced a punt, Fields led another 10-play, 84-yard touchdown drive. The quarterback opened the drive with a 22-yard pass to receiver Byron Pringle. On third down, Fields scrambled and was hit while sliding, resulting in a 15-yard penalty and a Bears first down at the San Francisco 41. Fields then hit St. Brown in the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown score. Kicker Cairo Santos missed the extra point, but the Bears took a 13-10 lead with 12:45 left in the game. On the 49ers next drive, Jackson intercepted Lance and returned it to the San Francisco 21, setting up another score for the Bears. On second down, Herbert rushed for five yards, and defensive holding penalty on the same play led to a Bears first down at the 3. Herbert then found the end zone from three yards out, building the Bears lead to 19-10 after another missed extra point. "We had a little bit of rough sledding in the first half, and I thought that the guys came out in the second half and gained some momentum in that drive right before halftime," Eberflus said. "I thought that was really good. The defense in the first half gave up a couple of plays. We had to shore some things up in the halftime, so we did that. So I thought the guys did a nice job at halftime and it's a four-quarter game. You've got to play the second half, and that's what we're built for. "We always tell the guys, 'hey, we have mental and physical stamina for what reason?' And it is because of the way we practice and the way we play and we're able to stay focused when it is the second half in those critical moments and they can play and be focused in those moments, so that was really good."

Nike Dunk Low Appears With a Navy and Teal Palette

Of all the silhouettes in Nike‘s cannon, there aren’t any that have as strong of momentum as the Dunk. General releases and collaborative offerings of the classic model continue to flood the sneaker market every month, and now the Swoosh team is adding this teal and navy colorway to its catalog. Uppers of this lifestyle-centric iteration comes fashioned with leather uppers, but the overlays and underlays differentiate in texture.

 

The former comes fashioned with tumbled leather and matches up with the Swooshes, interior linings and the laces. Toe boxes, quarter panels, tongues and collars all come formed with smoother leathers and submerged in a muted teal tone. Branding arrives in its usual spots such as the tongues, insoles and heels. Down below, the midsoles are formed with angelic finishes and arrive stacked above solid black treading. Check out this Nike Dunk Low‘s official images in the gallery above and expect Nike and select retailers to release these in the coming months.

Queen Elizabeth II has died at the age of 96

Queen Elizabeth II, the United Kingdom's longest reigning monarch, has died. She was 96. "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon," Buckingham Palace announced in a statement on Thursday. "The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow." Prior to the news of Her Majesty's death, Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday morning, "Following further evaluation this morning, The Queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision." The queen's family, including her four children, Prince Charles of Wales, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, grandchildren Prince William and Prince Harry, and several other members of the royal family, all traveled to Balmoral Castle in Scotland amid the news of her declining health. Her Majesty is survived by her children, along with eight grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. Born Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary on April 21, 1926, Her Royal Highness became an heir apparent to the British monarchy after her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated the throne. Elizabeth, whose parents were King George and Queen Elizabeth I (then the Duke and Duchess of York), attended schooling at home and became fluent in French as a child.

At just 14 years old, Princess Elizabeth made her first radio speech during the BBC’s Children’s Hour as Britain entered World War II. In 1945, Princess Elizabeth was named honorary second officer in the Auxiliary Territorial, a women’s branch of the British Army, where she was trained in driving and mechanics. Two years later, the 21-year-old royal announced her engagement to 27-year-old Prince Philip, her second-cousin twice removed. The royal couple tied the knot at Westminster Abbey on Nov. 20, 1947. The newlyweds welcomed their first child, Prince Charles, in 1948, and daughter, Princess Anne, in 1950. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip welcomed two more sons, Prince Andrew in 1960 and Prince Edward in 1964. Queen Elizabeth took the throne at 25 years old, and was officially crowned during a 1953 coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey. She cemented her new status with a seven-month tour of the Commonwealth, alongside Prince Philip. Throughout her reign, Queen Elizabeth met with numerous world leaders, including 12 U.S. presidents, and made her first visit to the United States in 1957, where she was hosted by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Her Majesty also worked with 15 British prime ministers over her decades on the throne, including Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first female prime minister (the two had a longstanding contentious relationship). Days before her death, Elizabeth made history again, accepting the resignation of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and appointing new Prime Minister Liz Truss. She requested that these official events take place at Balmoral Castle rather than Buckingham Palace for the first time in her reign. Truss is the third female British prime minister ever and the 15th prime minister to be appointed during Her Majesty's reign. The monarchy gave an unprecedented peek into their daily lives with the 1969 BBC special Royal Family. The view of what had been a closely guarded sector of the royal family didn’t quell public criticism during a particularly turbulent period for the British economy. The 1970s was a time of activism and unrest in the U.K., resulting in protests over low wages, working conditions, equal pay, and the country’s first-ever postal workers strike. Despite being under Queen Elizabeth’s rule, antiquated gender roles were slowly being dismantled in the U.K. Parliament passed the Equal Pay Act in 1970, but calls for reform across various circuits of the British government put Queen Elizabeth’s and her sister Princess Margaret's parliamentary allowances under scrutiny. In spite of the rocky period, the queen marked her Silver Jubilee (25 years on the throne) in 1977. Throughout the ‘80s, and into the ‘90s, Prince Charles’ marriage to Princess Diana, and subsequent cheating scandal and divorce, dominated much of the global news about the royals, bringing on another trying periodfor the family. By the decade’s end, three of Queen Elizabeth’s children ended their marriages. In 1992, a fire broke out in Windsor Castle causing £36.5 million ($47 million in U.S. currency) worth of damage. Queen Elizabeth paid taxes on her royal income to help cover the restoration fees. In 1997, Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris while being pursued by paparazzi while Queen Elizabeth was away from the palace on holiday shielding her grandsons, Prince William and Prince Harry, from the spotlight while they grieved the loss. “Our grandmother deliberately removed the newspapers, and things like that, so there was nothing in the house at all. So we didn’t know what was going on,” Prince Harry revealed in a BBC documentary commemorating the 20-year anniversary of Princess Diana’s death. Amid criticism over her silence, Queen Elizabeth publicly addressed the tragedy five days after Prince Diana's death. In late 2016, Queen Elizabeth -- who was the royal patron of more than 600 organizations -- dropped responsibilities for 25 bodies in order to lighten her workload. Duties for several organizations were passed to her grandchildren, including Prince William for the Amateur Swimming Association and Prince Harry for the Rugby Football Union and Rugby Football League. Meanwhile, Prince William's wife, Kate Middleton, was chosen to represent the royal family at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon. The queen has welcomed lots of great-grandchildren over the years, a total of 12, including William and Kate's kids, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, as well as Harry and wife Meghan Markle's children, Archie and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor. Lilibet was named in her honor. These past few years have been challenging for the royal family. In 2019, Prince Andrew resigned from royal duties following a controversial interview over his ties to the late financier and convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. The next year, Harry and Meghan announced they too were stepping down from senior royal duties. They eventually moved to the U.S. and broke their silence to Oprah Winfrey in a bombshell interview about the hardships and scrutiny they faced within the royal family. Not long after the interview aired, the queen's husband of 74 years, Prince Philip, died on April 9, 2021. He was 99. Amid all this, Queen Elizabeth, who served a historic 70 years on the throne, continued making public appearances and kept up many of her royal duties right up until her death. But in February 2022, she tested positive for COVID-19 and canceled several virtual events to focus on her health. "As Her Majesty is still experiencing mild cold like symptoms she has decided not to undertake her planned virtual engagements today, but will continue with light duties," the Palace said in a statement on Feb. 22. "Further engagements to be decided in due course." In June 2022, she celebrated her Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years on the throne. The queen had to sit out several of the week-long festivities due to her health and mobility issues, though she made a surprise appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to close out the occasion. She also penned a thank you note for those who participated, writing at the time, "When it comes to how to mark seventy years as your Queen, there is no guidebook to follow. It really is a first. But I have been humbled and deeply touched that so many people have taken to the streets to celebrate my Platinum Jubilee. While I may not have attended every event in person, my heart has been with you all; and I remain committed to serving you to the best of my ability, supported by my family."

One Piece Film : Red United States Premiere Date

Gorō Taniguchi’s One Piece Film: Red will be making its way to screens in the United States and elsewhere this fall. The animated fantasy flick originally debuted in Japan earlier this month, and is now slated for release in North America, Australia and New Zealand in October. The news was announced in a rather unique format: by the school marching band at a University of Southern California football game as the USC Trojans raced off against Rice University on Saturday. A special video promoting One Piece Film: Red was streamed during halftime and the marching band performed songs from the film’s soundtrack. The script for One Piece Film: Red was written by Kuroiwa Tsuto. Series creator, Eiichiro Oda, serves as an executive producer. Kaori Nazuka voices Uta’s speaking voice and Ado is behind her singing voice. While Toei Company distributed the film in Japan, Crunchyroll will be showing the film in select theaters abroad.

Crunchyroll bills the film as follows:

Uta  the most beloved singer in the world. Renowned for concealing her own identity when performing, her voice has come to be described as “otherworldly.” Now, for the first time ever, Uta will herself to the world at a live concert. As the venue fills with all kinds of Uta fans excited pirates, the Navy watching closely, and the Straw Hats led by Luffy who simply came to enjoy her sonorous performance the voice that the whole world has been waiting for is about to resound. The story begins with the shocking fact that she is Shanks’ daughter.

One Piece Film: Red premieres in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand this October.

Labor Day Sale 2022

The majority of national retailers, including Target, Walmart, Kohl's, Macy's, Home Depot, Lowe's and more, are open Monday with holding Labor Day sales. Some grocery stores will have special holiday hours, and other retailers will operate with Sunday hours. Most pharmacies are closed Monday. Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets and banks are closed and the U.S. Postal Service will not deliver mail. Costco Wholesale clubs are closed for the federal holiday like they are for New Year's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Monday also is National Cheese Pizza Day, one of the many pizza food holidays, and some pizzerias will serve up savings. Fall has already arrived at Starbucks and Dunkin’ with the return of pumpkin spice coffee and pastries. McDonald’s, Arby's, Popeyes, Taco Bell, Burger King, Papa John's, Pizza Hut, Domino's and more are open Monday. Subway's Footlong Pass started Sept. 1 for 10,000 Subway MyWay Rewards members who bought a $15 subscription for 50% off a sandwich a day.

 

Why we celebrate Labor Day and the meaning behind it? Labor Day was first celebrated unofficially by labor activists and individual states in the late 1800s, according to the US Department of Labor. New York was the first state to introduce a bill recognizing Labor Day, but Oregon was the first to actually codify it into law in 1887. Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York had followed suit by the end of 1887. Joshua Freeman, a labor historian and professor emeritus at the City University of New York, tells CNN that the holiday developed as unions were beginning to strengthen again after the 1870s recession. In New York City, two events converged that contributed to the formation of Labor Day, Freeman says. First, the now-defunct Central Labor Union was formed as a "umbrella body" for unions across trades and ethnic groups. Additionally, the Knights of Labor, then the largest national labor convention, held a convention in the city, complete with a large parade. But the parade fell on a Tuesday at the start of September and many workers were unable to attend. The convention was a huge success, and unions around the country started holding their own labor celebrations at the start of September, usually on the first Monday of the month. At the beginning, "it was a somewhat daring move to participate, because you could get yourself fired," Freedman said. But over time, states began to recognize the holiday, and it became more common for employers to give their employees the day off. It wasn't until June 28, 1894 that Congress passed an act naming the first day of September a legal holiday called Labor Day. Freeman says that earlier that year, President Grover Cleveland sent in the military to squash the Pullman railway strike. Cleveland pushed through legislation to recognize Labor Day just days after the strike ended, in a "gesture towards organized labor," Freeman said.

What Labor Day means? At the time Labor Day was formed, unions were fighting for "very specific improvements in their working conditions," Freeman said. Workers were fighting hard for the eight-hour work day most workers enjoy today. And Labor Day was an opportunity for them to come together to discuss their priorities -- and for the country to acknowledge the contributions workers make to society. But there was also a more radical political thread to the Labor Day celebration, Freeman says. The Knights of Labor were exploring the idea that "what we call the capitalist or industrial system was fundamentally exploitative," he said. "It introduced kind of inequities and inequalities, not just in wealth, but also in power. So they wanted a greater say in society for working people." "Back when Labor Day began, there were a lot of voices that were fundamentally challenging this emerging system," Freeman added. Labor leaders at the time advocated for alternatives to the "capitalist wage system," like collective ownership of corporations or socialism.

Nike Is Giving Ja Morant a Signature Shoe in 2023

The signature athletes under Nike and its basketball roster have been established for quite some time now, so starting a new generation of signature hoopers would be a refreshing site to see. With the rise of young superstars across the league, there are a few bonafide ballers that have certainly inserted themselves into the conversation of being most deserving of such an honor, one being Ja Morant who reportedly will be the next player to granted this opportunity by Nike in 2023.

Since being drafted as the number two overall pick in 2019, Morant has been heavily rocking with the Swoosh often showing up in full Nike sweatsuits in the tunnel and rotating much of Kobe and KD‘s signature kicks. And after having an electrifying 2021-2022 season, Morant only solidified his spot as being one of the most elite two-way guards in the league, so he’s certainly earned himself the rights to his own sneaker. Per Sole Retriever, the Swoosh and the Memphis Grizzlies phenom are targeting a launch for the Nike Ja during Summer 2023. Three colorways including “Phantom/Action Green,” “Cobalt Bliss/Citron Tint” and “Game Royal/Black” are reportedly already in the works. More information centered around these launches will likely turn up in the coming months.

My Hero Academia Season 6 Gets New Trailer Featuring the Opening Theme Song

My Hero Academia Season 6 revealed a new trailer ahead of the October 1 premiere. The anime recently revealed titles for the theme songs:

• Opening: “Hitamuki” by SUPER BEAVER (which can be heard in the trailer)
• Ending: “Sketch” by Akiyama Kiro

Studio BONES is returning to animate the highly popular sequel, which will cover Paranormal Liberation War Arc. The arc spanned from chapter 253 to chapter 306. The previously revealed staff includes:

• Director: Masahiro Mukai
• Series composition: Yosuke Kuroda
• Character designers: Hitomi Odashima, Yoshiko Umakoshi
• Chief director: Kenji Nagasaki
• Music: Yuki Hayashi

My Hero Academia is a manga series by Kohei Horikoshi that has been serialized in the Weekly Shonen Jump since 2014. The manga received an anime adaptation by studio BONES in 2016. Season 2 aired in 2017, followed by the third season in 2018. The fourth part of the anime series started airing in the fall of 2019 and ended in the winter of 2020. The fifth and latest season aired in 2021 and had a total of 25 episodes. The franchise also has 3 movies: Two Heroes (2018), Heroes:Rising (2019) and World Heroes’ Mission (2021).

Kengan Ashura Season 2 Gets 2023 Premiere, Teaser Visual

The previously announced Kengan Ashura Season 2 revealed a release date – 2023, along with a teaser visual. The anime is a Netflix original and will be streaming on the platform exclusively. The staff for the sequel hasn’t been revealed yet.

The anime is based on Kegan Ashura manga written by Yabako Sandrovich and illustrated by Daromeon. The manga ran from 2012 to 2018 in Shogakukan’s Ura Sunday magazine. A sequel Kengan Omega from the same author/artist duo started in 2019.

An anime adaptation by LARX Entertainment began streaming on Netflix in 2019. It was directed by Seiji Kishi, with character designs by Kazuaki Morita. Makoto Uezu oversaw the series composition. Yasuharu Takanashi composed the music. The first season was streamed in two parts and each was 12 episodes long. The cast included:

• Tatsuhisa Suzuki as Ohma Tokita
• Cho as Kazuo Yamashita
• Chado Hori as Adam Dudley
• Junya Enoki as Cosmo Imai
• Joji Nakata as Hideki Nogi
• Matthew Masaru Baron as Jerry Tyson
• Hiroshi Shirokuma as Julius Reinhold
• Yumi Uchiyama as Kaede Akiyama
• Soichiro Hoshi as Keizaburo Sawada

Netflix describes the plot as:

Underground gladiator Tokita Ohma fights on behalf of business mogul Nogi Hideki, who wagers mega-business deals on the outcomes of the brutal matches.

PUBG MOBILE Teases Collaboration With Dragon Ball

Following the release of Dragon Ball Super: SUPER HERO, battle royale game PUBG MOBILE has announced an upcoming collaboration with the classic manga turned anime series. Both have a history of collaborating with each other’s respective industries as PUBG MOBILE has connected with other critically acclaimed anime such as Neon Genesis Evangelion and Jujutsu Kaisen while the Dragon Ball franchise is fresh off a collaboration with Fortnite.

Details regarding what to expect from Dragon Ball and PUBG MOBILE’s collaboration have not been outlined yet. Based on precedents from previous projects the two have done, collaborative in-game costumes, thematic items and more are all on the table. In the case of Neon Genesis Evangelion x PUBG MOBILE, an entire game mode was designed to celebrate the partnership. Unfortunately, Dragon Ball won’t be joining PUBG MOBILE until 2023. However, this hopefully provides enough time for fans to reread or rewatch their favorite Dragon Ball moments in the meantime. Stay tuned as the duo continues to tease what to expect from them next year.

Marvel’s Spider-Man Fan Adds PS1 Model To The Game

For nearly four years, Marvel’s Spider-Man remained exclusive to PlayStation. That’s no longer the case now that Spider-Man Remastered is available on PC, yet many still consider it synonymous with the PlayStation brand due to how successful it was as a Sony exclusive. It’s fitting then that one fan has kept the Spidey/PlayStation theme alive by modding the character model from the original PS1 Spider-Man into Marvel’s Spider-Man.

It’s now possible to kick it old-school in the wall-crawler’s most modern game courtesy of modder Crazy Potato, who created a mod for Marvel's Spider-Man that swaps out the Classic Suit in Insomniac’s open-world title with the Spidey from Neversoft’s 2000 game. The PS1-era character model is recreated perfectly here, complete with the dislocated limbs and the flat outfit texture placed over a rough polygonal body.

A clip of the Marvel's Spider-Man mod in action was also shared by Reddit user jjarack. The footage is short and fairly basic, showing the PS1 Spidey performing a few melee and web attacks on a rooftop before jumping off to web-sling past a few buildings and eventually landing atop one to take a selfie. Still, it’s a good showcase for the brief runtime, and it’s neat to see Neversoft’s version of Peter Parker performing tricks and moving with a fluidity that wasn’t really possible to achieve back at the turn of the century.

Crazy Potato’s mod is the realization of the dream of fans who have been wanting to see the PS1 Spider-Man added to Marvel’s Spider-Man, though it’s not without at least one issue. According to Crazy Potato, the suit can glitch out and turn blue on occasion, but while this can apparently be fixed simply by fast-traveling or loading the last save, they stated that they will work on a proper fix.

As for whether fans may someday be able to play as Neversoft’s Spidey officially, that’s hard to say. Although Marvel’s Spider-Man has plenty of alternate suits referencing previous iterations of Peter Parker, there’s a fair bit of red tape to consider in this case. Sony owns the rights to make Spider-Man games at the moment, but Neversoft’s game was published by Activision, which is soon to be owned by Microsoft. The amount of parties that would probably need to be involved would likely not make it worthwhile for Sony, and that’s also why a remaster of the original PS1 Spider-Man game might not be likely any time soon.

Despite the hurdles, odds are fans won’t stop hoping for it to happen one day. While it may be quite antiquated by today’s standards, especially given the bar set by Insomniac’s games, Neversoft’s Spider-Man remains a beloved entry in Spider-Man’s video game history for how well it nailed the feel of the comics. No wonder then that fans have been eager to see it represented in a modern Spidey game one way or another.