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Although video games have had a notoriously bad streak with being adapted to film and television, recent franchises have begun to reverse that trend. Arcane, an animated adventure series based on League of Legends, found great success, surpassing Squid Game to become Netflix’s highest-rated series. Sony is also pouring plenty of money into the adaptation of some of its gaming IPs which has led to the upcoming release of an Uncharted movie and The Last of Us television series....

a power-sharing cabinet that includes Sinn Fein, the IRA’s political wing. The deal broke a 19-month stalemate over implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and restored self- government to Northern Ireland for the first time in a generation. But it’s still far too early to celebrate. The new deal will be tested soon–and often. That’s partly because unionist good will has a strict, three-month timetable: the UUP’s ruling body will vote again in February on whether unionists should remain in the executive cabinet....

No federal court has ever held homophobia as a ground for asylum. “This is a remarkably important opinion,” says Jon Davidson, supervising attorney for the pro-gay group Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund. “They truly got it.” Hernandez-Montiel first began dressing as a girl at the age of 12, despite condemnation from the Mexican school system (it expelled him), his sister (she tried to have him “cured”) and countless thugs (one attack left him hospitalized)....

From the opening credits, “Bus 174” is a bumpy ride. It recounts the chaotic afternoon of June 12, 2000, when Sandro do Nascimento–young, black, desperate and probably stoned–hijacked a bus on a busy Rio thoroughfare. The police quickly surrounded the bus, with TV news crews in tow, beginning an ordeal that millions watched unfold live. The drama ended in bloodshed when police botched an attempt to jump the hijacker and rescue his hostage....

Kingdom Hearts is a strange beast in its own right; primarily a series of action-RPGs that blend Disney’s filmography with the anime-like characters and aesthetic of modern Final Fantasy games. Despite Kingdom Hearts boasting a convoluted timeline thanks to a number of “spin-off” games, what helps it succeed is its earnest examination of themes about identity, good versus evil, and more that often cleverly weaves in original Disney properties....

Certain wrestlers excel in playing both a hero and a villain. For example, Bayley started off as a beloved face but soon transformed into a scathing heel without much complication. However, some WWE superstars are better off as faces, as they feel uncomfortable playing the heel. Such superstars are highly adored and cheered by the WWE Universe. Here is a list of five such superstars. #5 Former WWE US Champion Sami Zayn Zayn has shown enough potential as a heel throughout his WWE career, be it in partnership with frenemy Kevin Owens or as a documentary filmmaker screaming probable conspiracy theories against him....

Today’s still unconfirmed reports that Mohammed Atef has been killed and that the Taliban are abandoning even their stronghold in Kandahar are seen as confirmation that the fight may soon be over. “People are too jaded, they are too tired,” says a market researcher in the United Arab Emirates. “They were willing to celebrate him for a little while, and then ‘Enough!’ There goes another one.” Even in Pakistan, the stridently anti-American mood on the streets has shifted away from uncritical support of bin Laden to a more studied neutrality....

Harrell was born with the tools to make a mark. His father, a retired Stanford Psychology professor, says that his son topped his own IQ of 146. Practically from birth, that gift was put in the service of jazz. Harrell’s father loved whistle along with big and records. At 2 Tommy was pulling Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong records off a shelf. “He wanted to know how to whistle,” says Harrell Sr....

It’s me, the top laner in your last League of Legends game. I noticed that your level one invade into the enemy jungle gave their Nidalee a kill and that didn’t make you happy. You blamed your allies for “not warding” and thus causing you to die to a stray spear coming from the fog of war. Sure, I can take responsibility for that and inform you that I would gladly try to be better next time....

The problem goes well beyond simply picking Aceh’s pocket. The Indonesian military, or TNI, recently requested an additional 8,000 troops to boost its current 22,000 forces in the devoutly Muslim province, ostensibly to crush a 26-year-old armed separatist movement once and for all. But many Acehnese wonder how eagerly the soldiers want to end the conflict. Already unwelcome because of past brutalities, troops in Aceh have also built up a vast, often illegal, business empire–encompassing everything from logging to coffee growing to everyday extortion–that would make any Mafia don jealous....

Recently, announced at CES 2021, LG announced a slew of new (and existing) TV sets will be receiving a native Google Stadia app available to download. LG’s standalone Stadia app also sets a precedent for even more expansion of the Stadia service to various smart TVs, without the necessity of purchasing extra hardware to specifically play games. The idea behind game streaming was always to ditch the hardware or console, and what better way to do that than making Stadia more widely available....

This news follows online rumors that the giant rift in Fortnite will be closing Aug 21, which suggests another major shake-up could be coming to the popular battle royale game. Despite the large rift closing, a new one has appeared in Tomato Town, in the same location from where the mascot was originally taken. While this could be as simple as the return of the mascot, it could also be a hint at what’s to come from the remainder of the season, as well as what’s upcoming in season 6 of Fortnite....

The bell for round two is due to go off this week with another set of congressional hearings. They will feature Ron Fitzsimmons, until recently a relatively obscure figure in the abortion controversy. As executive director of the National Association of Abortion Providers, Fitzsimmons, who opposes the ban, represents more than 200 clinics. Last month a reporter for American Medical News, a weekly newspaper published by the American Medical Association, interviewed him about the proposed congressional ban....

Especially since Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Maus” in 1986, cartoons have been headed for this. This month, the sobersided Yale University Press is releasing “An Anthology of Graphic Fiction,” edited by cartoonist Ivan Brunetti, drawing on a century of comics, from usual suspects Spiegelman and Robert Crumb to such rarities as a 1919 novel in woodcuts. Also this month, Norton will publish “Will Eisner’s New York,” a compilation of the influential artist’s graphic (no, not in that sense) love letters to the city....

Aimee Hernandez, the owner of Chick-fil-A Robinson in the Pittsburgh suburb of North Fayette, spoke with Newsweek about her decision to treat her employees to a holiday drawing on December 5 that featured big-ticket items. “Each Christmas party, I used to do a white elephant exchange for everybody where I would buy all the presents and wrap them all, and they would get numbers and then fight over the gifts,” Hernandez, who has owned the chicken-based fast food store for six years, said....

The understated elegance of such projects is attracting a serious clientele, the kind of patrons who wouldn’t be caught dead with a logo on their shirts—so why would they call undue attention to their houses, offices or art galleries? They’re drawn to architecture that’s less about the object—the thingness of a building—and more about the experience of space. Avant-garde critics might call such designers and their patrons timid, but they tend to be the opposite: assured and confident in their desire for something subtle....

Is this the same awkward, orthodontically challenged girl who moved into the White House three years ago clutching her cat? Despite remarkable odds imposed by life in a fishbowl, Chelsea Clinton is growing up to be a poised, funny and normal-young woman. The people who toured with the Clinton women last week say Chelsea’s charm comes naturally. “I’m so impressed. She’s a lovely, graceful young lady–very centered,” Crow says. But her seemingly easy slide into adulthood is no accident....

But the truth about the colors is more complicated than its defenders let on. Since Appomattox, the battle flag was incorporated into state flags or flown at times of white resistance to black advances: the standard was often raised not in memory of the war dead but in aid of Jim Crow. It started in Mississippi. In the 1890s, the state both legalized segregation and incorporated the battle emblem into the state flag....

In images circulated on social media, students of the Bhagat Pre-University College in Haveri were sitting at their desks during a chemistry midterm with what appeared to be cardboard cartons on their heads. As India’s News 18 noted, the images surfaced after college staff member Sateesh Herur posted them on his Facebook account the day of the test. Herur reportedly captioned the pictures: “It’s our college midterm exam today. That is Bhagat PU College, Haveri....