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ActBlue makes around $50 million in just 7 hours following the start of the Harris campaign

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ActBlue makes around $50 million in just 7 hours

Correction: Within seven hours of Harris’s Sunday campaign start, ActBlue donors gave a total of $47 million to all races. This article’s earlier version had false information. ActBlue, a Democratic fundraising website, revealed on Sunday that within seven hours of Vice President Harris’s presidential campaign start, small-dollar donors contributed roughly $47 million. Since Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign launch, grassroots supporters had raised $46.7 million through ActBlue as of 9 p.m. ET. The 2024 cycle’s largest fundraising day has occurred today. ActBlue stated in an update shared on social media site X that “small-dollar donors are fired up and ready to take on this election.”
The amount represents not just donations made to the Harris campaign but also the total amount raised on the platform. Shortly before 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, President Biden declared that he would be withdrawing from the presidential contest and promptly endorsed and supported Harris. ActBlue had earlier reported that the platform had raised over $27.5 million from small donors in the first five hours of Harris’s campaign. According to the New York Times, Sunday was the largest single day for Democratic online donations since the 2020 election. According to the Times, ActBlue’s fundraising of over $73.5 million on the day following the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in September 2020 set the previous record. Following Biden’s decision, significant Democratic contributors are also endorsing Harris. In recent weeks, Trump has allegedly eaten into Biden’s financial advantage, and major contributors have reportedly frozen almost $90 million from the president’s reelection campaign in response to calls for his withdrawal.

Already a Powerhouse in Fundraising, Kamala Harris

Although Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign officially began on Sunday, the vice president has already achieved great success. Her previous public remarks have generated a lot of buzz in recent weeks regarding people falling out of coconut trees on social media; fans of well-known musicians have begun to support her candidacy; and in just one day, her campaign has received over $81 million in donations, according to a statement issued on Monday. A donation tracker updated every 15 minutes is available on ActBlue, the Democratic candidates’ internet fundraising tool. The sum raised as of Monday afternoon is stated to have exceeded $100 million for the week of tracking that started on Sunday, July 21, the day President Joe Biden formally declared the end of his reelection campaign and backed Vice President Harris. In less than two days of tracking, it’s already the highest weekly gross the party has had since contributions exceeded $121 million during the week before the 2020 election.
The Harris campaign is receiving funding from several sources in addition to the platform. Politico reports that Democratic backers have committed $150 million through Future Forward, the Biden-endorsed SuperPAC. Future Forward informed the source that it would “continue working to ensure Donald Trump is defeated in this election and those dangerous consequences are never felt by the American people.”

Biden withdraws from his 2024 rematch with Trump and ends his bid for a second term in the White House

According to the campaign, the number reflects community contributions made by “all entities, including ActBlue.” It was sent to Fox News Digital. Following Biden’s announcement on Sunday afternoon that he would withdraw from the 2024 race due to pressure from the Democratic Party, Harris declared her presidential campaign. The historic declaration was made in response to calls from a growing number of Democratic lawmakers for Biden to resign, and there were reports that the party’s leadership was trying to persuade the 81-year-old Biden that he would not be able to defeat former President Trump, the 2024 GOP nominee, in November’s general election. Biden won the White House four years prior.
Biden withdraws from his 2024 match with Trump and ends his bid for a second term in the White House. Immediately after Harris assumed the role of the party’s presidential nominee, Biden gave Harris his “full support and endorsement.” In a statement to the public, Biden said, “Serving as your president has been the greatest honor of my life.” “While I have intended to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interests of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term.”

ActBlue makes around $50 million in just 7 hours

JUSTICE TRUMP: BIDEN “IS NOT FIT TO SERVE” “Who will lead the nation for the next five months?”

Because of the president’s support, other Democrats who were considering a presidential run may be discouraged, and the vice president may be able to take Biden’s place as the party’s nominee. More than 178 Democratic senators and representatives in the House and Senate have already endorsed Harris, as have more than six governors, including Kathy Hochul of New York and Gavin Newsom of California. Approximately two hours after Biden made her announcement, Harris made a statement stating that she was “honored to have the President’s endorsement, and I intend to earn and win this nomination.”
“I have traveled the nation over the past year, speaking with citizens about the obvious option in this historic election. And I’ll keep doing that in the days and weeks to come,” she continued. “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.” In a compliment to her employer, the vice president thanked Joe Biden “for his decades of service to our country and for his extraordinary leadership as President of the United States. “He has accomplished so much that his legacy is unrivaled in contemporary American history, even surpassing that of several presidents who have held office for two terms.”

 

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A historic victory over the U.S. Olympic squad by the WNBA All-Stars features Arike Ogunbowale

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Arike

Even though they still have the strongest squad in the Olympics, the US didn’t have every star in the game on Saturday night in the All-Star Game. The WNBA All-Star squad defeated the US Olympians 117-109, led by Arike Ogunbowale, who was the team’s greatest scorer and passer, and Angel Reese, who continued to produce double-doubles and was averaging double-doubles. The victory over the Olympic squad was the WNBA All-Star team’s second straight. Under the leadership of Arike Ogunbowale, who was voted the game’s MVP, the All-Stars triumphed again in 2021. Ogunbowale broke the scoring record for the All-Star game on Saturday with 34 points, and Clark narrowly missed the assist threshold in her first All-Star game. “This will be a huge assistance to us. We don’t have many opportunities to play games,” stated US leader Breanna Stewart, who finished with 31 points. “We can view the movie again and concentrate on how we can keep improving. It seemed a little bit like deja vu, but it was locked in. The Americans won their seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal in 2021, and that was their only setback. In Paris later this month, the US is hoping for a similar outcome, as no team can match the WNBA All-Stars’ depth or quality.
“Which of these teams is Arike playing for that we have coming up?” Following the defeat, US coach Cheryl Reeve joked around. The US men’s Olympic team defeated South Sudan by one point in an exhibition match played in London on Saturday, only hours before. Before competing against Belgium, Japan, and Germany at the Paris Games, the US women’s team will next play Germany in an exhibition match on Tuesday in London. Reeve remarked, “We know that we have work to do.” Sometimes there is tribulation, goodness, etc. We could have entertained ourselves without a game like this, in my opinion. We have work ahead of us to accomplish our goals, and we are aware of how difficult they are. With all of her points coming in the second half, Arike Ogunbowale proved a pain in the side for the US squad once more. In the third quarter, the 2021 All-Star MVP grabbed control of the game, scoring 21 points on six of her ten shots, including five three-pointers. The Dallas Wings standout was unstoppable despite the US team’s best efforts.

“Which of these teams is Arike playing for that we have coming up?” U.S. head coach Cheryl Reeve teased

The U.S. men’s Olympic team defeated South Sudan by one point in an exhibition match held in London just hours before Saturday’s defeat. The United States will next play Germany in an exhibition match on Tuesday in London before traveling to France to compete in the Olympics. Germany, Belgium, and Japan are in the pool with the Americans. Reeve remarked, “We know that we have work to do.” Sometimes there is tribulation, goodness, etc. We could have entertained ourselves without a game like this, in my opinion. We have work ahead of us to accomplish our goals, and we are aware of how difficult they are.
Arike Ogunbowale, who scored all of her points in the second half, was a pain in the side for the American squad once more. With 21 points from six of ten attempts, including five three-pointers, in the third quarter, the 2021 All-Star MVP gained control of the contest. Despite everything being thrown at the Dallas Wings star, the U.S. team was unable to stop her. At the break, Arike Ogunbowale claimed that WNBA team coach Cheryl Miller spoke with her about being more assertive.

“Told me to go outside and play my game and take a deep breath,” she remarked

In the last two Olympics, Arike Ogunbowale was in the U.S. national team pool, but he was not included on the roster. This time, she withdrew her name from the player pool early, claiming that the entire procedure was political. After Arike Ogunbowale finished the third quarter, the WNBA All-Stars had overcome a two-point deficit at the half to take an 88-79 lead. She scored a three-pointer late in the fourth quarter to surpass Jewell Loyd’s All-Star scoring mark of 31, which was set the previous year. After just two days of practice together, the Olympians never truly threatened. Wilson A’ja contributed 22 points.
With Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese making their All-Star Game debuts, there was a lot of excitement and build-up to this game. With record attendance and viewership this season, the two have contributed to the WNBA reaching new heights. The young stars have never performed together before. Reese, who got 12 points and 11 rebounds in the game, received one of Clark’s ten assists. “We were confident we would win after our brief 30-minute practice yesterday,” Reese stated. “The mood was established.”

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After winning at the British Open, Xander Schauffele wins his second major

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After winning at the British Open

With a final-round 65 at the 152nd Open, Xander Schauffele secured victory and his second major of the year, describing it as his best performance ever. The 30-year-old Californian declared, “There was no chance I was going to let go,” following his command of the back nine and his surge ahead of the field. Schauffele was one of six players in a tie for second place going into the final round at Royal Troon, trailing Billy Horschel by just one stroke. After the turn, he made four more birdies in a six-hole stretch, taking control of the leaderboard with straight birdies beginning at the sixth. With a final round score of nine under, the defending PGA champion finished two shots ahead of leader Horschel and playing companion Justin Rose. Over the last three holes, Rose and Horschel made two and three birdies, respectively, to maintain pressure. “After winning, I’ve always dreamed of doing it,” Schauffele remarked. “That walk-up 18 is truly one of the coolest feelings I’ve ever had, with the yellow leaderboards, the fans, and the standing ovation.” The competition hadn’t ended yet, so I had to rapidly bring myself back to reality after getting chills while heading down.” After winning the British Open, Xander Schauffele was able to obtain the renowned Claret Jug.
In response to a question about his ranking, Schauffele stated, “At the very tip-top.” My favorite round to date. Having the Claret Jug up here is an amazing sensation. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that, in the end, it is only a result. Things don’t always go the way you want them to. I thought I had a lot of control over it today. It felt like I had grasped onto it, and I wasn’t going to let go. I was able to catch myself today and ensure that none of those painful defeats from the past or those instances where I erred and dreamed too soon on the back nine occurred.” Before winning the PGA Championship in May, Schauffele was considered one of golf’s “nearly men” since he had 12 top-10 results but no major victories. Schauffele feels that his victory at Valhalla helped him seal the deal on the last day at Royal Troon. In need of a birdie at the final par-five hole to avoid a playoff match with Bryson DeChambeau, Schauffele won with the lowest 72-hole score in major league history—21 under—after sinking a six-foot putt.

Despite starting the day one shot off the pace, Schauffele produced what he called his best round ever

With four birdies on the back nine, the San Diego native pulled away and finished two ahead of fellow American Billy Horschel and England’s Justin Rose with a winning total of nine under 275. After Brooks Koepka won both the 2018 U.S. Open and PGA Championship, Schauffele became the first player to win multiple majors in the same year. Schauffele’s 21-under aggregate score for the PGA Championship was the lowest in major championship history. Schauffele remarked, “This week was hard,” mentioning the extreme weather in particular.
“It was challenging. I believe my victory in the opening major greatly aided my play on the back nine today. I felt a sense of peace come over me. During one of the hardest back nines I’ve ever played in a tournament, it was beneficial. Schauffele claimed he sensed that victory was within reach following his birdie on the par-three 14th hole. After pitching to four feet from below the front right of the green on the par-five sixteenth hole, he birdied it, extending his lead to three strokes and all but ending the championship. “I thought I did a pretty good job of limiting the mistakes,” Schauffele stated. “I was lucky to only have one really hard round in the wind and rain, and I managed that day better than I ever thought I could.” Subscribe to the On the Campaign Trail newsletter to receive weekly news and commentary on the US elections and their global significance. Register by going here.

After winning at the British Open
Xander Schauffele of the United States holds the Claret Jug trophy aloft after winning the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Sunday, July 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

 

“Is there anything that Xander struggles with when playing golf?” Fulcher was questioned

“Well, I haven’t seen it yet,” he remarked. He’s not too bad either. He honestly couldn’t be any kinder, yet I would almost like him to be a little bit of a wanker. He’s a very kind man. Just getting to know the boy is good. Because it was so good, it was nice not to have to pay for a ticket to watch it all day. Rose and Fulcher moved aside as Schauffele and Rose got closer to the 18th green, allowing Schauffele to take in the admiration of the large audiences seated in the grandstands. “We thought 65 would win today,” Fulcher remarked of Rose and himself. Rose started the day tied with Schauffele at 3-under, one shot behind leader Billy Horschel at the 54-hole mark. And what score of 65 did Xander shoot? He completed the round that we intended to complete. You take off your hat when you witness a round that good. For that reason, Rosey and I retreated and let him go down the final [alone].” That was warranted. He was incredible. American golfer Xander Schauffele watches his drive on day four of the 152nd British Open Golf Championship during his final round from the 15th tee.
American golfer Xander Schauffele observes his drive on day four of the 152nd British Open Golf Championship, from the 15th tee, during his final round. Schauffele shot 31 on the back nine, separating himself from the crowded leaderboard. He led by two shots, thanks to his birdies on 13 and 14. With two holes remaining, he extended his lead to three strokes with his birdie on the par-5 16th. “This is the best round I’ve played,” Schauffele remarked. “Condition-wise, this is probably the best round he’s ever played,” Austin Kaiser, Schauffele’s best buddy and caddy, remarked. “He performed admirably at the PGA, but the competition was much tougher.” According to Kaiser, “hundred percent” of Sunday’s success came from the PGA victory. “You know you can win them after doing that,” Kaiser remarked. “We thought we could pull this off after glancing at the leaderboard. Nothing about it is new for us. Let’s do it once more, as we did this year.

 

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A UFC legend criticizes the Mike Perry versus Jake Paul fight

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A UFC legend criticizes the Mike Perry versus Jake Paul

A UFC great bemoans Jake Paul’s “reckless” performance versus Mike Perry, saying, “He was everywhere.” “He was in every place.”  The legendary UFC fighter Jake Paul chastises Mike Perry for his “reckless” performance. After defeating former UFC welterweight Mike Perry last weekend, Jake Paul extended his winning run against mixed martial arts competitors. However, Paul’s opponent and UFC icon, Michael Bisping, was unimpressed. “The Problem Child” defeated veteran UFC fighter Mike Perry in the sixth round to earn his 10th professional victory, demonstrating once more that his years of devotion to boxing have paid off in certain ways.” Platinum” Perry had only ever engaged in a boxing match previously, in 2015, losing to another fighter. Despite this, he was arguably the most formidable MMA fighter Jake Paul had picked to date.
After destroying Mike Perry in their most recent BKFC fight, Jake Paul, often known as “The Problem Child,” is riding high. Everywhere he goes, he brags about it and challenges opponents like Alex Pereira to the next bout. However, Michael Bisping, a former middleweight and light heavyweight fighter and veteran of the UFC, took issue with Paul’s targeting of “Poatan.” Rather than that, he handed the former Disney star, who was now a boxer, another opponent who would fit his criteria and be his ideal opponent.

Michael Bisping calls Jake Paul’s performance against Perry “reckless”

Michael Bisping was incensed before Paul’s battle on Saturday because the 27-year-old keeps picking MMA fighters who are smaller than usual for his opponents. He was so enraged that he acknowledged contemplating retiring from retirement to take on the online sensation head-on. Even though “The Problem Child” was eliminated via technical knockout in the sixth round, Bisping said the 27-year-old’s performance was “reckless” and he was not impressed. “That was a joke.” In an ad on his YouTube channel, Bisping said, “That was ridiculous; that fight should never have happened because it was a shitshow.”
It wasn’t a good fight, in theory. It wasn’t a very excellent performance, technically. Many other boxers may kind of giggle when they see this.” (Jake Paul) would have been a field day for someone with the same size, build, strength, and experience.” The UFC great went on, “He was everywhere; his feet were crossing everywhere; he was swinging wildly; it was reckless.” Not all UFC celebrities criticized Paul’s performance, including Bisping. Conor McGregor, aka “The Notorious,” also weighed in with his thoughts on the 27-year-old. The biggest asshole I’ve ever seen in my life is Jake Paul. Despite being 40 pounds lighter, he was still excreting feces.

Bisping addresses the criticism of Alex Pereira made by Jake Paul

Strangely, Paul challenged Alex Pereira, the current UFC light heavyweight champion, following his victory against “Platinum” Perry. This is just another ridiculous accusation from the 27-year-old, although it’s unlikely to be accurate considering “Poatan’s” standing in the UFC. “The sh*t show goes on,” declared Bisping. “Jake Paul says he wants to push himself and compete against the best fighters in the world. Of course, he’s going to challenge Alex Pereira because he knows for sure that they won’t fight.” After examining the current cruiserweight rankings, the UFC pundit declared that he would receive a “devastating knockout” from anyone in the top 10.
“He got knocked out by everyone in the top 10 and was given devastating punches that knocked him out, and he shit his pants. I still don’t respect that because those were just bully tactics,” said Bisping. After their first fight was rescheduled, Paul has continued to mention Mike Tyson, so it seems unlikely that he will take on a cruiserweight boxer next.

A UFC legend criticizes the Mike Perry versus Jake Paul

Michael Bisping gives Jake Paul the ideal adversary

Mike Tyson and Jake Paul were set to square off, but at the last minute, the goat developed an ulcer, forcing the bout to be postponed. But Paul stopped Mike Perry in the sixth round, carrying on his recent streak of victories over legendary fighters. However, Bisping was not overly pleased with the outcome of the match and posted a commentary on his YouTube account. The 45-year-old was incensed by Paul’s choice to keep taking on smaller MMA competitors as his opponents. Paul challenged the 6’4″, 205-pound fighter Pereira, but Bisping recommended Darren Till as his next opponent.
“That brings me to my next opponent, Darren Till, aka “The Gorilla.” Darren Till is exactly the kind of person Jake Paul is searching for. He’s widely known and has a profile. He competed to win the welterweight title. He was defeated by former Jake Paul opponent Tyron Woodley in the welterweight title bout. His final few UFC fights were at 185 pounds after he had battled at welterweight. On paper, he seems like the ideal person since he is well-known, well-liked, well-known to people, and a smaller guy. But he’s really good when he’s the smaller man,” Bisping remarked.

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Canon 5DS R is an excellent camera with its finest features and the new best model

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Canon 5DS R

The EOS 5DS R DSLR Camera is a version of the 5DS that offers the full resolving capabilities of its new sensor, neutralizing the low-pass filter on the sensor. The 50.6 MP sensor can produce an even greater resolution with more detailed information by counteracting the filter’s effects. The canceling function may increase the likelihood of moiré and other color artifacts, which could be a drawback. For those who want the highest resolution possible from the sensor and the option to adjust color artifacts in-camera or via post-processing software, this is the camera for you. With new technology and several noteworthy improvements, this eagerly anticipated successor to the acclaimed 5D Mark III raises the bar for DSLRs. With a full-frame 50.6MP CMOS sensor, the camera produces incredibly high-resolution photos that can be printed in large quantities and cropped creatively. With the capacity to manage this volume of data, the Dual DIGIC 6 Image Processors offer lightning-fast performance and the best possible image quality. Advanced video capabilities of the 5DS R also include the ability to capture HD 1080p at 30 frames per second and a Time Lapse movie function that records still images at predetermined intervals and compiles them into a complete HD movie.
With its 150,000-pixel RGB+IR metering sensor, the EOS Scene Detection System offers accurate color and exposure metering. Its 61-point High-Density Reticular AF sensor, which has 41 cross-type points, allows for precise AF placement. Additionally, Canon’s EOS iTR (Intelligent Tracking and Resolution) technology improves AF performance by utilizing data from the metering sensor. You can choose which lenses to use and what size image files to create by cropping at 1.3x and 1.6x. Your creative options are further expanded with an integrated bulb timer and intervalometer. Camera vibration is minimized for quieter operation and less blurring thanks to an upgraded mirror control system and newly adjustable shutter release lag times. By compensating for flickering light sources, the anti-flicker capability maintains consistent exposure metering even when shooting continuously. The 5DS R is still capable of up to 5 frames per second of continuous shooting, even with its enormous file sizes.

Some of the Canon 5DS R’s greatest characteristics

What do I use the Canon 5DS R for?

I’m a commercial photographer, and most of my work has been for print in the last few years. When expenses prevented me from purchasing larger cameras or when the task was an extremely last-minute assignment and the rental homes were unable to accommodate me for a larger camera, the Canon 5DS/DS R series provided me with an inexpensive, high-resolution option. Similar to how my studio is equipped with vintage Broncolor heads and packs, everything there gives me the flexibility to do any task with ease while also having the option to hire out larger equipment as needed.
Composites are used in a lot of the commercial stuff I photograph. The resolution truly helps in this situation. When there were just 20 megapixels available, we had to photograph one asset at a time; however, these days, we can shoot multiples in one shot and crop them out afterward. I use a USB3 cable to connect my camera to a computer running Capture One, which is powered by the mains. In addition to being rather good right away, the raw file conversion also adjusts well to changes in structure and clarity, which is crucial in my area of work.

Configuration for the Canon 5DS-R camera

My usual shooting settings are f/10, 100 ISO, and 125 s. It can occasionally be difficult for me to use the maximum flash sync shutter speed, but not at 125th. As one may anticipate, at 100 ISO, there is the least amount of noise. Beyond 640 ISO in decent light, I noticed that it began to lose color and detail. Other than that, I don’t require anything extra.

The Files’ Canon 5DS R

Yes, 50 megapixels is a huge file, particularly if you’ve combined multiple of them into a single tiff file. With Photoshop, you soon enter PSB territory. It is, nevertheless, much more manageable than the Phase One system. They are a little too warm and red, like with other Canon files, but it’s really simple to fix by just playing around with the colors in the post or taking a test card picture. I have shot for some extremely demanding clients in the past, and I have never received any complaints about the files it provides. I have also spent a few days shooting for a client, using the Canon on some of the shots and the Phase system on others. Nobody in the room acknowledged having noticed any changes.

Is it the Canon 5DS R or 5DS R?

It is noticeably sharper with the Canon EOS 5DS R version. That hasn’t yet caused me any problems in terms of more, which seems to be the worry. Even though my work is explicit, I wouldn’t anticipate it. Though I own one of each in case of need, my studio stand is permanently fixed to the 5DS R version. When used with a Zeiss Milvus 100mm f2 lens, this is an incredibly effective setup for recording raw files of details.

Auto Focus and Lenses on the Canon 5DS R

Many issues arose around the time of this camera’s release regarding which Canon system lenses would truly resolve the files. I mostly use a 100-mm Zeiss Milvus, which is an incredibly good lens. I also use the Canon TS-E lens line, which is a little bit lagging but not enough to be noticeable in print. The other two lenses I mounted on this body are the 50mm f/1.4 and the Sigma Art 35mm lenses. Both of these have excellent detail resolution and camera synchronization.
The Canon EOS 5D III’s autofocus is comparable, if not identical. Since the lenses I use don’t have autofocus, I don’t use them very often. However, the cameras are fine for any application I can think of that requires 50 megapixels, but they won’t hold up to mirrorless autofocus.

Build quality of the Canon 5DS R

I have no complaints at all. Though they are primarily used inside, these two cameras haven’t missed a beat. They feel much more durable than the Canon cameras I had before, and I would much sooner drop one of these than a Phase One. The body is fully weather-protected, and the card and battery doors feel robustly constructed. It is used indoors; however, drinks and water are frequently spilled over it.

Canon 5DS R: My Favorite Photos

I have saved a ton of money with this camera system. I will be able to use all of the Canon glass I have accumulated over the years, avoid renting large cameras, and save time when shooting. The bodies I own are incredibly dependable and have never failed me; the image quality is amazing considering the price range, and it has a ton of awesome features like delayed shutter release.

Canon 5DS R: What Should I Purchase Next?

There are a few things that this camera system can’t accomplish, and I frequently feel like I’m lacking, so I’m starting to consider upgrading. I’m now researching camera systems that enable far more sophisticated movements than a tilt-shift system can provide. If you’re eager to advance your photography but don’t know where to start, check out the Well-Rounded Photographer guide, which offers instruction in eight different photographic genres. Use the code “ARTICLE” at checkout to save 15% on this course as well as any other tutorial you choose to buy right now.

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Kamala Harris, President? Questions remain as Joe Biden leaves

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Questions remain as Joe Biden leaves
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris stand on stage together after delivering remarks at the DNC 2023 Winter Meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., February 3, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

With less than four months till election day, United States President Joe Biden’s departure from the 2024 presidential contest has left Democrats wondering what to do next. After receiving intense criticism from fellow Democrats for his dismal June debate performance against former President Donald Trump, Biden announced his resignation on Sunday. According to experts, Democrats’ best chance of defeating Trump now is to unite behind a fresh contender and rekindle their support base. Kamala Harris, the vice president, is the early favorite to succeed Biden, particularly now that the president has endorsed her. Additionally, Biden urged supporters to give to Harris’s campaign.

Nevertheless, Biden’s choice to step down is not only strange; it is unheard of in US politics today. “This is new ground for us,” stated Kyle Kondik, managing editor of the University of Virginia Center for Politics’ election-related periodical Sabato’s Crystal Ball. Additionally, in the upcoming days, Harris might run against opponents vying for the Democratic candidacy. At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago the following month, almost 4,000 delegates—party officials and activists—will cast their votes to select the next nominee. Parties have in the past selected their nominees at competitive conventions held following the primaries. Such was a common occurrence before the implementation of the current primary system in 1972, which gave voters more influence over the electoral process. But things are not the same for the Democrats right now.

The approval of the president

Vice President Kamala Harris was backed by Biden to take his place at the top of the Democratic Party ticket shortly after he declared his withdrawal from the contest. Kondik asserted that Biden’s support had a significant impact. The great majority of delegates are in favor of the president. Furthermore, even though they are not required to support Harris, Biden’s support might swing the odds in her favor. Following Biden’s announcement, a plethora of prominent Democrats publicly endorsed Harris, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democratic Party state leaders, and governors of California and Pennsylvania who were thought to be potential competitors for the nomination, like Gavin Newsom and Josh Shapiro.

The vice president may take over the infrastructure of the Biden-Harris campaign and has a well-known national name. According to Kondik, the “path of least resistance” for Democrats would be to nominate Harris. In agreement, Bose declared that Harris was the most “logical choice” to provide a “seamless transition.” She told Al Jazeera, “There isn’t much time for an open competition for delegate support.” Prior to Biden’s statement on Friday, Hans Noel, a professor in Georgetown University’s Department of Government, also stated that Harris was expected to win the nomination.

Unanswered questions

Now that Biden has left the presidential race, the Democratic Party must worry about how people will react to such a significant upheaval so close to the election. For US presidential campaigns to reach voters nationwide, significant financial and human resources must be committed. Some begin as much as two years ahead of schedule. Starting a campaign from the beginning won’t be simple. “To reach the voters who we know are most undecided, campaigns require enormous amounts of infrastructure, money, and messaging,” stated Casey Burgat, the George Washington University head of the legislative affairs department.

Reaching hesitant voters, according to Burgat, requires a lot of work: “You need to hit them several times.” Individuals must be pounding on doors. All that needs to be created is a massive infrastructure. Uncertainty also surrounds what will happen to the campaign monies that Biden has collected. The fate of Biden’s war fund has been a subject of controversy, as there is no precedence for the current circumstances. After all, election expenditures in the US might reach billions of dollars. Burgat did point out that Harris is less affected by campaign finance laws because she is already running as Biden’s vice president and has assisted with his fundraising.

Questions remain as Joe Biden leaves

Chances and obstacles

If Biden’s departure has disadvantages, there are also advantages. The thought of an election between Biden and Trump had not thrilled many Americans. Before Biden’s declaration, 65% of Democrats thought he ought to withdraw from the race, according to a recent poll conducted by The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Only three out of ten respondents said they were certain he possessed the mental clarity required to function as president. According to Burgat, the party may benefit greatly from the invigorating influence of a fresh, younger candidate.

The most frequent comment we receive is, “It’s unbelievable that these are our only two possibilities. He remarked, “People have been wondering how their choice has been reduced to these two very unpopular candidates in this country of 350 million people.” Democrats in difficult congressional districts were particularly concerned that Biden’s unpopularity would hinder contenders at all levels of the ticket, decreasing their chances of winning contests that they otherwise might have. Alarming trends in that direction were shown by recent polling. According to a Blue Rose Research survey, over half of swing voters thought Democrats were lying about Biden’s mental health, according to the Wall Street Journal. The study found that nearly thirty percent of respondents who backed Biden in 2020 also felt this way.

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Head of Conflict of Interest at IIT Madras’s NEET Data Report

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Head of Conflict of Interest at IIT Madras's NEET Data Report

Live updates on NEET UG 2024 hearings: Several applications asking for the NEET UG 2024 exam, which was held on May 5 of this year, to be canceled, retested, and subject to judicial oversight are being heard by the Supreme Court. Senior counsel Narender Hooda informed the Supreme Court during his appearance on behalf of the petitioners, the students, that the leak occurred on May 4 and before the question papers were deposited with the appropriate banks, according to Bihar police inquiry statements. In response, CJI DY Chandrachud notes that the accused’s comments suggest that students were assembled to memorize on May 4 evening, indicating that the NEET UG 2024 leak occurred before May 4. Hoodia had earlier told the court that an e-rickshaw was being used to transport the question paper. In response, the CJI said that paper transportation via e-rickshaw was already established. The National Testing Authority (NTA) was instructed to post the results of the NEET UG 24 exam on their website, concealing the identities of the candidates, city-by-city and center-by-center, by the Apex Court bench, which was composed of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, during the previous hearing on July 18. As ordered by the Supreme Court, the NTA posted the results on its website on Saturday, July 20.

The Additional Affidavit of NTA

According to the legal news website LiveLaw, the NTA has submitted an extra affidavit to the Supreme Court in the NEET UG 2024 matter. The petitioners claimed that the IIT-M Director, who wrote the data analytics report, had a conflict of interest. However, the NTA has denied this claim in the affidavit. In the document leak case, the petitioners have additionally submitted an Intervention Application (IA) to the Supreme Court. For the approximately 3.5 lakh highest exam scores, the application has asked for a retest. The petitioners claimed that, out of a possible 720 points, they had also received fairly high test scores, ranging from 650 to 680.

What transpired during the previous hearing?

The top court also raised concerns about the NTA’s “hypothesis” at the July 18 hearing, stating that pupils had only 45 minutes to solve the paper after it was “leaked” and memorized. One of the petitioners’ attorneys claimed that the exam syllabus had increased and that they had only been informed of the modifications a few months prior. He added that there was a complication with the question paper transit in Hazaribag.

CJI DY Chandrachud informed the petitioners earlier in the day that to support the cancellation of the entire exam, they would need to demonstrate that the paper leak was “systemic” and had an impact on the entire test. According to a report on the legal news website LiveLaw, the CJI stated that the re-examination must be based on substantial evidence that the integrity of the entire test was compromised.

What is the position of the government?

In its affidavit, the Union government told the Supreme Court that there was no proof of widespread cheating or particular applicant groups unduly benefiting from aberrant NEET UG 2024 scores. The Ministry of Education has asked IIT Madras perform thorough data analytics on the NEET-UG 2024 results, the government further told the court.

On May 5, 23, 33 lakh students took the NEET-UG 2024 exam at 4,750 centers in 571 cities, including 14 international countries. The entrance exam for MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other associated courses in government and private universities across the country is called NEET UG, and it is administered by the NTA.

NEET UG 2024 Hearing Live: CJI claims that the paper leak occurred before May 4

NEET UG 2024 Hearing Live: The Supreme Court is now deliberating issues concerning purported misconduct and paper leaks in the NEET-UG 2024 examination. Senior attorney Narender Hooda informs the Supreme Court during his appearance on behalf of the petitioner’s counsel that the leak occurred on May 4 and before the question papers were deposited with the appropriate banks, according to Bihar police investigation statements. According to CJI DY Chandrachud, the accused’s claims suggest that students were assembled to memorize on May 4 evening, indicating that the NEET-UG 2024 leak occurred before May 4.

 

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“Is Logmein down?” and “Is Microsoft Still Down?”

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"Is Logmein down?" and "Is Microsoft Still Down?"
FILE PHOTO: A Microsoft logo is seen in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Flights were grounded, banks, stock exchanges, payment networks, and emergency services were severely disrupted, and a giant Microsoft outage caused havoc on computer systems worldwide. A tweet from Microsoft stated that “multiple services are continuing to see improvements in availability as our mitigation actions progress” about six hours after the outage was initially reported. Some Office 365 apps and services are still being impacted by cybersecurity failures, despite Microsoft’s announcement hours later that the “underlying cause for a global outage has been fixed.” Even the CEO of the antivirus company CrowdStrike announced that a problem that was responsible for the worldwide IT outage that affected banks, media outlets, and airports had been fixed.
According to CEO George Kantz, the downtime is the result of CrowdStrike Falcon, a cybersecurity platform that offers security solutions for Microsoft Windows, failing. Mac and Linux hosts, he claimed, were unaffected. Even hours after Microsoft announced it was resolving the problem, there were still difficulties. Claims of a cyberattack have been refuted by Microsoft and CrowdStrike, who both stated that a “recent update received in the product” was the cause of the outage.

Important airline interruptions

The nationwide disruption impacted the check-in systems at multiple airports. Numerous airlines were affected by this problem, including Vistara, IndiGo, Akasa Air, SpiceJet, Air India, and others. As a result, there were numerous domestic and international flight delays and cancellations. Just the low-cost airline IndiGo had to cancel almost 200 flights. “We are unable to control the global travel system breakdown, which is causing flights to be canceled. Rebooking or requesting a refund are not currently available. We appreciate your support and patience,” an announcement from IndiGo read.
KLM The disruption, according to Royal Dutch Airlines, made it “impossible” to conduct flights. The worldwide computer failure has also impacted KLM, making flight operations impossible. We are putting in a lot of effort to find a solution. We have to halt the majority of operations for the time being,” the airline stated. One of the busiest hubs in Europe, Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, was impacted by the worldwide outage. According to a spokeswoman, “the outage has an impact on flights flying from and to Schiphol.”

Hit stock exchanges

The outage caused disruptions to stock market operations across multiple nations. There was an impact on London Stock Exchange services. Technical difficulties were also experienced by several brokerage businesses, including Motilal Oswal, Edelweiss, and Nuvama. In India, traders reported interruptions to their business activities. Globally, payment systems were affected, including those in India.
The Paris Olympics 2024 IT operations have also been disrupted by the worldwide outage. The Paris Olympics organizing committee provided information regarding the impact of the outage just one week before the start of the Olympic Games. “To continue operations, we have activated contingency plans,” the organizing committee said in a statement.

Down: news broadcasters

Global news services were also impacted by the outage. One of the main television news outlets in Britain, Sky News, stated that they were unable to broadcast. Executive chairman David Rhodes of the network said on X that “Sky News has not been able to broadcast live TV this morning, currently telling viewers that we apologize for the interruption.”
News distribution service interruptions also affected the news agency Associated Press. India Today received an update that said, “The Associated Press is currently experiencing an intermittent service disruption that may impact your view of available content.” Following the system failure, ABC News in Australia was also unable to broadcast news.

Said Microsoft, services are improving

Microsoft’s chairman and CEO, Satya Nadella, is of Indian descent. He tweeted yesterday, saying, “CrowdStrike released an update that began impacting IT systems globally.” We are aware of this problem and are collaborating closely with CrowdStrike and other industry players to offer technical assistance and support to customers so they can safely restart their systems.”
Microsoft and CrowdStrike both acknowledged that they were aware of the problem and were attempting to fix it. As the company’s mitigation efforts advance, Microsoft stated that several services are “continuing to see improvements in availability.”.

Ways to fix the issue?

The central government’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) released a warning outlining the solution to the problem.
The CrowdStrike Team has undone the modifications that were made after the problems with the most recent version of CrowdStrike surfaced. Here are several workarounds for the issue if hosts are still crashing and can’t stay online to receive the channel file changes.

The IT Ministry of India connects with Microsoft

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that the NIC network is unaffected by the worldwide outage and that the IT ministry is in contact with Microsoft about it. Vaishnaw stated in a post on X that patches have been published to address the issue and that the cause of the outage has been found. “MEITY has communicated with Microsoft and its partners about the worldwide outage. The minister stated that the NIC network remains unaffected.

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The most popular workout at the time was the “Simmons exercise,” with Richard Simmons’

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The most popular workout at the time was the "Simmons exercise,"

There weren’t many options available to Los Angeles residents in the late 1970s when it came to aerobic exercise classes. You might visit Jane Fonda’s Beverly Hills studio, where one onlooker described everyone working out as “feather-to-lightweight.” You may attempt a few dance studios where models, actresses, and other media people who are professionally gorgeous willed their bodies to become even more beautiful. If you wanted to bulk up, you could visit Gold’s Gym or other palaces of the pump, where the nearly exclusively male patrons strived for Arnold Schwarzenegger-esque muscular bodies. Richard Simmons rose to prominence in the fitness industry amidst the perception of fitness exclusivity. He encouraged people he met to join him in their homes and at his Los Angeles studio, as well as through his home workout videos on TV and VHS.

Daniel Kunitz, the author of “Lift: Fitness Culture, From Naked Greeks and Acrobats to Jazzercise and Ninja Warriors,” stated that Mr. Simmons, who passed away on Saturday at the age of 76, “did not look like a god, and he spoke to those who didn’t aspire to look like a god,” given his signature crown of frizzy hair, sequined tank tops, short shorts, and guy-next-door physique. Mr. Simmons, as Mr. Kunitz put it, “helped break down barriers for all sorts of people who didn’t see themselves reflected in the fitness cultures of the time,” while other fitness evangelists pushed the notion that exercise was for everybody.

He claimed he was overrated since he thought his sibling received more attention from his parents

After reading an anonymous note, he decided to alter his life. “I discovered a message in my car one gloomy, rainy day. “Dear Richard, you’re very funny, but people who are overweight die young,” it said. Please do not pass away. Richard was starving himself, taking a lot of laxatives, and vomiting up after meals at the time as unhealthy ways to lose weight. He started reading up on healthy diets and exercise since he realized this was doing more harm than good.

He stated that at the time, studios primarily catered to the fit and overweight, so he launched his first fitness center in Beverly Hills in 1975, specializing in aerobics for such clients. He promoted eating in moderation and turning working out into an enjoyable hobby.  The four-time Emmy-winning Richard Simmons Show served as his first fitness TV series, airing from 1980 to 1984. He also issued several well-liked exercise cassettes and DVDs, the most well-known of which was Sweatin’ to the Oldies.

Simmons, a universal fitness guru

The fitness instructor created a multi-media empire with VHS workout programs including “Sweating With the Oldies” and “The Richard Simmons Show.” On July 10, 2002, Richard Simmons was in charge of an exercise brigade at the Isle of Capri Casino in Westlake, Los Angeles. Born Milton Teagle Simmons in 1948, the French Quarter was Simmons’ upbringing, and he made a living selling pralines on the streets. He has stated that he became overweight as a child and young adult due to the city’s rich culinary legacy. When Simmons finished high school in the 1960s, he weighed almost 270 pounds. “I was big.” You know how they used to tell you as a child that “words will never hurt you, but sticks and stones may break your bones”? According to People magazine, Simmons said, “Well, that’s a lie,” to the New Orleans Times-Picayune in 1983. “Now, though, who gets the last laugh?” Simmons overcame his weight battle by the time he was in his mid-20s, and according to his website, he relocated to Los Angeles in 1973 to build an exercise facility named Slimmons in Beverly Hills. There, he conducted seminars and kept up his teaching schedule until 2013.

Simmons rose to prominence as a regular on regional and national radio and television, and he even played himself for four years on the serial opera “General Hospital” as a sought-after fitness expert. According to Variety, his nationally syndicated program “The Richard Simmons Show,” which aired from 1984 to 1989, took home Daytime Emmys for both Outstanding Talk Show and Best Direction.  According to his website, Simmons had a very successful career making exercise home videos. He released 65 fitness films and sold more than 20 million copies. In the videos, which went by titles like “Party Off the Pounds” and “Disco Sweat,” Simmons would guide her followers through workouts and shout encouragement while popular music tracks provided a beat for the workouts. This narrative is shocking. Return here to read more about the life and legacy of Simmons.

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Two popular searches were “What is an IT outage?” and “What is a crowd strike?”

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"What is an IT outage?" and "What is a crowd strike?"

My sincere apologies to every one of you for the outage that occurred today. Everybody at CrowdStrike is aware of the seriousness and consequences of the issue. Our top concern was restoring client systems, so we worked rapidly to identify the problem and implement a repair. A flaw discovered in a Falcon content update for Windows hosts was the reason for the outage. Linux and Mac hosts are unaffected. There was no cyberattack here. For you to continue providing the services your clients depend on, we are closely collaborating with affected customers and partners to guarantee that all systems are restored. CrowdStrike is running smoothly, and our Falcon platform systems are unaffected by this problem. The installation of the Falcon sensor does not affect any kind of protection. For the most recent developments, keep checking these websites. CrowdStrike as a whole has been deployed to support you and your teams. Please contact technical support or your CrowdStrike representative if you have any questions or need further assistance.
Adversaries and dishonest people would undoubtedly attempt to take advantage of occasions such as these. I urge everyone to exercise caution and make sure they are speaking with authorized CrowdStrike representatives. For the most recent information, the official routes will remain on our blog, as will technical support. The faith and confidence our partners and consumers have placed in CrowdStrike means the world to me. I promise to be completely transparent with you regarding how this happened and the measures we’re taking to make sure it doesn’t happen again while we work to fix this problem.

For what is CrowdStrike well-known?

The enormous cybersecurity firm sells software globally and conducts in-depth hacker investigations. The US government uses the company’s assistance in conducting cybersecurity investigations. For instance, according to the business, CrowdStrike has been tracking North Korean hackers for more than ten years. It was also entrusted with locating the hacker organizations responsible for the Sony Pictures attack in 2014.
However, CrowdStrike’s investigation into the Russian hack of the DNC computers during the 2016 US election is arguably its most well-known accomplishment. Since 2016, it has been the focus of fictitious conspiracy theories. This was especially the case after a White House transcript surfaced, revealing that former US President Donald Trump brought up Crowdstrike during his July 2016 phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which resulted in his first impeachment. The first organization to openly warn about Russian meddling in the 2016 election was CrowdStrike, and US intelligence services subsequently validated the company’s analysis.

"What is an IT outage?" and "What is a crowd strike?"

What Is an Outage in IT?

When a resource or service for IT is unavailable, it is called an IT outage. Servers, websites, and any type of hardware or software can all experience IT outages. There are two types of network outages: total service failures and partial service failures. The time when your server or network is inaccessible is referred to as downtime. Certain types of planned IT downtime exist, such as regular maintenance. Nonetheless, two kinds of outages frequently lead to unscheduled network outages. System failures: Crashing is the term used to describe this. Failures in communication: These are sometimes referred to as network outages. Uptime denotes the consistency and availability of your system. It usually indicates how long it has been since your system last crashed or experienced an outage, as well as how long it has been since you didn’t have to shut it down to apply updates or carry out any maintenance.
Sometimes, all it takes for a service outage to happen is one miskeyed entry or button click. This can be more common in an IT department that is overworked or underfunded. Our fully managed IT service team at IT Proactive can assist your current IT staff in reducing workload and averting errors before they arise. Malicious people whose goal is to damage a corporation are the source of some IT outages. Cybercriminals can create a significant service disruption using several tactics, including ransomware, DDoS attacks, and network security breaches. For this reason, it’s crucial to confirm that your cybersecurity plans are secure. Network vulnerabilities provide hackers with unrestricted access to your networks, increasing the likelihood that you may not only see IT outages but also receive ransom notes from hackers requesting that you “buy” your server back. Vulnerabilities are fixed before anyone can find and use them, thanks to a proactive cyber security system and approach. When was the last time you performed a network and PC update? Outdated software, servers, and other electronic assets frequently result in outages. There are more security hazards when your operating system (OS) is outdated and incompatible with modern systems.
Security patches are frequently included with software updates to assist in maintaining the security of your systems. Maintaining up-to-date software and operating systems is essential because hackers frequently exploit known flaws in outdated software. Older hardware may experience comparable problems. The manufacturer frequently stops offering support for gear that has been decommissioned. This can make you vulnerable to hardware malfunctions and security threats because of improper maintenance. The way your systems, software, and hardware are connected is known as device configuration. Your systems aren’t being introduced or integrated into a regulated environment if there isn’t change control. Unexpected configuration changes can lead to several issues if you’re operating many programs or data points that are interconnected. This would occur, for instance, if your computer performed upgrades automatically overnight. Some of the programs on your computer may not function because they too need to be updated to run with the new operating system, if those updates include one. When you modify your network routing tables or upgrade infrastructure systems, you can also observe this.

 

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