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A few notable mortgage rates ticked up. Here's what to expect if you're in the market for a home loan.

Twenty-five years ago, a boy named Elian Gonzalez appeared — remarkably alive — in the waters off the coast of Miami. Immediately, his fate became the subject of an international debate: Should he stay in the U.S.? Or should he be returned to Cuba, to live with his father? From our play cousins at Futuro Studios, this is part of their series Chess Piece: The Elián González Story.

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Several important refinance rates trended upward this week, but rates are expected to trend down in the coming months.

• Gemini 2.0 now available to Gemini Advanced subscribers
• Currently in 'Experimental Advanced' mode
• It's faster than Gemini 1.5 and better at complex topics

Gemini 2.0 launched last week with the release of 2.0 Flash Experimental, but now the full version is finally available to the public via the Gemini home page, so long as you are a subscriber to Gemini Advanced, Google's AI subscription service.

Both of the Gemini 2.0 LLMs you can choose are still in beta version. The new Gemini 2.0 LLMs available are 2.0 Flash Experimental, the new lightweight LLM designed for everyday help, and 2.0 Experimental Advanced, designed for tackling complex tasks.

When Gemini Advanced customers go to the home page they'll now get the options for 2.0 Flash Experimental and 2.0 Experimental Advanced from the drop-down menu at the top of the screen. Options to use the older 1.5 Pro, 1.5 Flash 1.5 Pro with Deep Research, still exist.

The drop-down menu on the Gemini homepage now has two options for Gemini 2.0. (Image credit: Google)

If you choose either Gemini 2.0 Flash Experimental or Gemini 2.0 Experimental Advanced, you'll continually get warnings that the AI "might not work as expected" before every answer, indicating that this is still very much a beta version. Mobile users of the Gemini app are currently still on the 1.5 Flash LLM.

I've tried the new 2.0 Experimental Advanced and it seems to work as well as the older LLMs for most things, although 2.0 Flash Experimental did keep trying to generate an image of whatever I'd asked it, even though I hadn't asked it for an image.

The new Gemini 2.0 LLM is described by Google as having "significantly improved performance on complex tasks such as coding, math, reasoning and instruction following."

Gemini Advanced costs $19.99 (£18.99/AU$32.99) per month and comes as part of the Google One AI Premium subscription.

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• Yes you read that right, Skibidi Toilet is reportedly coming to Fortnite
• The crossover could include a new skin
• It is expected to go live later today

Viral internet series Skibidi Toilet is reportedly going to be next in a long line of weird Fortnite crossovers.

That’s judging by a teaser posted to the official Fortnite X / Twitter account. The post contains three emojis, a toilet, a plunger, and a camera - all associated with Skibidi Toilet. There is also a date, “12.18.2024” - or today which suggests that we might not have to wait long to see what this is all about.

Popular Fortnite leakers have also chimed in, including X / Twitter user ‘SpushFNBR’. They claim that a Skibidi Toilet bundle will be added to the game and will be available for 2,200 V-Bucks. It will allegedly include a Plungerman skin, Skibidi Toilet backpack, and Plungerman’s Plunger Pickaxe. The skin and backpack will also be available together for 1,500 V-Bucks, while the Pickaxe will reportedly cost 800 V-Bucks on its own.

The leaker also clarified that a Lego-style version of the skin will be included too. They have also since posted an image, purportedly showing the skin ahead of its release. It looks pretty much how you would expect it to if you’re up to date with the latest Skibidi Toilet lore, with a figure dressed in a black suit with a security camera instead of a head.

If you’re not familiar with the source material, Skibidi Toilet is a popular animated series that was first released on YouTube Shorts. It was created using Source Filmmaker, using a handful of models taken from games including Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike: Source.

The series depicts a post-apocalyptic world controlled by the Skibidi Toilets - evil creatures that look like toilets with human heads in the bowl. The enigmatic Cameramen serve as the protagonists, fighting back against the Skibidi Toilets in increasingly dramatic battles.

It’s quirky and weird, which is probably why it is such a hit with younger teens. Still, Skibidi Toilet appearing in Fortnite in an official capacity is not something that I ever saw coming. We’ll have to wait and see whether the leaks come to fruition later today.

Fortnite is available now as a free-to-play title on platforms such as PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Amazon Luna, and Nintendo Switch.

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Despite the correction, the study's authors stand by their conclusions about the risks of certain kitchen utensils.

Lionel trains turns 125, celebrating more than a century of holiday magic. From historic models to smartphone-controlled locomotives, these iconic toy trains continue to captivate kids and collectors alike.

(Image credit: Sara Messinger for NPR)

Here's which ISPs offer the best deals in terms of speed, coverage and pricing in El Paso today.

• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle's latest patch has been released
• Update 2 addresses a series of gameplay bugs and a save file issue
• Xbox players should now find a dramatic improvement to global illumination

MachineGames has released a new patch for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle that addresses a number of quality-of-life issues.

The developer detailed the new changes in the Update 2 patch notes, which you can check out below, and it looks like it has primarily focused its attention on fixing general bugs, ranging from gameplay and graphics.

Namely, the latest patch has now fixed an issue where users' Game Slot was reported as "damaged" or missing, even though there was no actual problem.

In terms of gameplay, the first-person action game will now let players equip Indy's whip without any issues, his camera should no longer be permanently equipped, and it should no longer disappear after they use the quick-equip function.

Players on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will be glad to know that MachineGames has also massively improved Global Illumination. Now, shadowed areas in-game should appear as they should be instead of unusually bright.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Update 2 - Patch Notes

General

• Fixed an issue where users Game Slot may be reported as being damaged, or may appear to be completely missing, when no actual problem had occurred.

Gameplay

• Fixed an issue where player may be unable to equip Indy’s whip.
• Fixed an issue where a player may end up with Indy’s camera permanently equipped.
• Fixed an issue where player may drop and lose their camera if they use the quick-equip (“key item”) prompt to equip their camera while they are inspecting another nearby pick-up item.

Graphics

• Fix to prevent “Double vision” getting stuck on screen when Indy has almost drowned. To players who have already encountered this issue, repeating the near-drown should clear the issue.
• Some further improvements to reduce “stutter” from duplicated frames during cutscenes.

Missions and quests – Please note this section contains some small spoilers

• Fixed an issue where Gina may not approach the secret entrance to the Vatican Treasure Chamber, blocking the mission from progressing.
• Fixed an issue where Gina may go to pick the lock to the exit from the Vatican Treasure Chamber as soon as you enter the room, meaning you may miss some very important story developments.
• Fixed a big hole in the floor collision around the edge of the wall around the Ziggurat in Sukhothai that the player could fall through.

PC Specific fixes

• Fixed an issue where Nvidia DLSS may cause performance problems when enabled.
• Fixed an issue where Nvidia Frame Generation wasn’t activated properly if HDR is in use.
• Fixed an issue where Nvidia Low Latency Mode could cause performance problems when used with Frame Generation.
• Fixed an issue where global illumination may be completely disabled when playing with below minimum VRAM graphics cards.
• Fixed an issue where Lighting may be over bright in interior spaces if Path Tracing (Full Ray Tracing) is set to Medium or High Quality.
• Known Issue: Nvidia Frame Generation may be temporarily disabled if HDR is activated for the first time. To work around this issue, disable and then re-enable DLSS. This only needs to be done once.

Xbox Specific fixes

• Improvements to Global Illumination on Xbox, to fix issues where shadowed areas had appeared brighter than expected.

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• Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse's directing team has been revealed
• One of its producers has debunked a wild fan theory about the film's production
• The animated movie series' final entry has been in development for some time

Sony has finally confirmed who's directing Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse – and one of the movie's producers has already had to debunk a wild fan theory about its production following the announcement.

Yesterday (December 17), Deadline was first to report that Justin K. Thompson and Bob Persichetti were leading development on the highly anticipated animated film. Less than an hour later, the official Spider-Verse X/Twitter account confirmed this was the case, too.

News from the #SpiderVerse. Please join us in welcoming back your friendly neighborhood filmmakers, Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson, who will serve as the directing team behind Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. pic.twitter.com/aXzMGEZPORDecember 17, 2024

Thompson and Persichetti's hirings make perfect sense for the final installment of the Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen-led animated movie trilogy. Thompson was one of three individuals who directed 2023's Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – a stunning film that I gave four and a half stars out of five in my Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse review. Thompson also served as a production designer on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the movie series' groundbreaking first entry that earned critical acclaim and won multiple awards after its December 2018 release.

Persichetti, meanwhile, has also been an integral cog in the Spider-Verse machine. He was one of three filmmakers who directed Into the Spider-Verse, and was an executive producer on last year's sequel. Clearly, Sony Pictures' next animated Spider-Man film is in very capable hands with this duo at the helm.

In a statement provided to Deadline, Persichetti and Thompson said: "We have had the immense privilege of being part of Miles’ journey from the very beginning, and directing the conclusion to his story is beyond exciting. The creativity and care poured into every minute of this project has been truly inspiring. We have crafted what we feel is a very satisfying ending, and we can’t wait for fans to experience it – we’re bringing everything we’ve got!"

Why have Spider-Man fans reacted with indignation to this Beyond the Spider-Verse reveal?

Trying to hold the Spider-Verse fanbase together like... (Image credit: Sony Pictures)

Let me be very clear: Persichetti and Thompson's hiring isn't the reason why Spider-Man fans reacted angrily in the immediate aftermath of this announcement. In fact, given the duo's work on two of the best Spider-Man movies of all-time, the reaction to their installation as Beyond the Spider-Verse's directing team has been positive.

Instead, frustrated observers hit out at Sony and the Spider-Verse movie series' chief creative team about what this reveal meant for Beyond the Spider-Verse's actual development. Originally, the franchise's third and final chapter was supposed to debut in theaters sometime in 2023. However, when Across the Spider-Verse's release was delayed from October 2022 to June 2023, Beyond the Spider-Verse was pushed back to March 2024.

In the months after Across the Spider-Verse's theatrical launch, though, reports emerged that its sequel wouldn't make its March 2024 release date due to various production issues, allegations of poor working conditions for its artists and animators, and the 2023 Hollywood strikes. In light of those reported troubles, Beyond the Spider-Verse has been stripped of an official release date. Indeed, the latest intel, which comes courtesy of Deadline, suggests it'll be 2026 before the film eventually debuts in theaters.

Me and who watching the Beyond the Spider-Verse directors reveal fallout (Image credit: Sony Pictures)

All of this brings us to the fan ire surrounding yesterday's announcement. Following the confirmation of Persichetti and Thompson as its directors, numerous Reddit threads were lit up by fans either mocking Sony over how long it was taking to make Beyond the Spider-Verse, asking the same question about whether its March 2024 launch date was even possible.

Personally, I didn't buy into the outrage. Yes, this movie has clearly been beset by various problems since it was first announced, and it's likely that some original ideas and/or work has been scrapped over the past few years. However, I refuse to believe that we've been duped as to how much (or, in some people's minds, how little) has actually been developed so far, and nor do I think that Persichetti and Thompson's hiring means that work has only just started.

Taking to X/Twitter, Chris Miller, one of the Spider-Verse franchise's producers, confirmed as much, writing: "To anyone confused: Bob and Justin are not the *new* directors, they have been the directors of BTSV the entire time – and doing a great job. They were just announced today."

So, there you have it. We might not have got an exciting Beyond the Spider-Verse announcement that we were hoping for in November, nor did we get a much-needed update on its eventual release. Nevertheless, work has been ongoing for the past few years, so take a breath, everyone. While we wait for the final film's arrival, you can remind yourself what happened in its forebear's final minutes by reading my Across the Spider-Verse ending explained article.

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You could lose Flexible Spending Account funds if you don't spend them by the end of the year.

• New rumors predict that a Fujifilm X-E5 camera will launch in mid-2025
• The X-E series are compact rangefinders with large APS-C sensors
• Separate rumors predict that a new X-Pro model won't land in 2025

It's that time of year again – not just for panicked Christmas shopping, but for the camera rumors to go into overdrive ahead of the new year. And of all the speculation I've seen for 2025 so far, a new rumor for the Fujifilm X-E5 has piqued my interest the most.

Inevitably, the speculation has come from the reliable Fuji Rumors , whose source has predicted that a new model in the X-E series – which are typically compact, affordable rangefinders with large APS-C sensors – "will come in the summer of 2025".

A new X-E5 is appealing for a number of reasons, not least because it'd effectively be a Fujifilm X100VI with the benefit of interchangeable lenses (which, as a Fujifilm user, I have plenty of). But what's made this rumor particularly interesting is a new one today that a new Fujifilm X-Pro model surprisingly isn't coming in 2025.

At this stage, these are just rumors. But if they turn out to be true, then the X-E5 could potentially become even more interesting as the only new rangefinder-style sibling to the X100VI that we see in 2025. Well, unless you include the rumored medium format Fujifilm GFX100RF, which will likely be beyond my budget.

Since its launch back in 2012 – not long after the original X100 – Fujfilm's X-E series has gradually shed some of its more enthusiast-friendly features, like its rear command dial and comfortable handling. With an X-Pro sequel still potentially a way off, and the Fujifilm X-M5 recently arriving for beginners and video shooters, the X-E5 could again be free to lean harder into its photographic roots.

What I'd want from a Fujifilm X-E5

(Image credit: Fujifilm)

As the owner of a Fujifilm X-T5 – which is still one of the best cameras for photography, in my opinion – my main hope for a Fujifilm X-E5 is that it replicates as much of that camera as possible, in a more compact form factor.

There is already the Fujifilm X-T50, but that has more of a mini-DSLR design than the sleeker X-E series, whose electronic viewfinder is tucked away neatly in the top-left corner (like the X100VI and X-Pro 3).

As much as I'd like an X100VI – which is arguably camera of the year – I don't think I could live with its fixed 23mm f/2 lens. I prefer longer focal lengths to isolate subjects in street and travel photography, so a compact body that could be permanently paired with my XF35mm f/2 and XF50mm f/2 lenses would be an ideal daily carry when I don't want a larger setup. The Xf27mm f/2.8 R WR would also be a great partner for it.

With the X100VI getting in-body image stabilization (IBIS), that feature seems almost certain for an X-E5 – as does the latest 40MP APS-C sensor, which is handy for cropping. Dare I also hope for weather-sealing? That might be a step too far, but in the absence of a new X-Pro model, perhaps Fuji might take the X-E down a more premium route. I could also probably live with a single card slot and old-school NP-W126S battery.

There are undoubtedly going to be more powerful and innovative cameras than an X-E5 in 2025. It's been a quiet year for Sony, so I'm expecting it to launch a Sony A7 V and perhaps an A7R VI. Who knows, maybe the rumored Ricoh GR IV or even a Sony RX1 successor will arrive to tempt me elsewhere.

But for my needs, a modern, updated version of the X-E4 sounds like the ideal fit – as long as Fujifilm manages to avoid the stock nightmares that have afflicted that camera and the X100VI in 2024.

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The Nvidia App has been out for just over a month now – it’s Team Green’s replacement for GeForce Experience – but the new software is reportedly slowing down gaming performance for some folks.

A user named Sebastian Castellanos on X flagged up this issue, noting that with the Nvidia App installed, their gaming PC was being slowed down to the tune of 15%, and also suffering “horrendous” frametime issues (essentially jittery gameplay).

Yikes, looks like having the NVIDIA app installed was destroying perf in some of my games (mainly UE5 ones) like Black Myth Wukong and The Talos Principle 2. Uninstalling the NVIDIA app fixed some horrendous frametime issues and gave me an extra 15%+ of performance! pic.twitter.com/KimvcahJ1PDecember 15, 2024

Castellanos said that this mainly happened with games using Unreal Engine 5 (specifically Black Myth: Wukong and The Talos Principle 2). Other X users also chimed in on the thread to note slowdowns to the tune of 10% to 15% or thereabouts.

First of all, Castellanos observed that the issues occurred with or without the Nvidia App’s overlay running in games, and subsequently posted again to say that they’d pinned down the problem to the ‘Game filters and Photo mode’ option in the app’s settings.

Apparently, turning this off cured the observed frame rate blues. Running some benchmarks with the game filters mode turned on, then off, Castellanos found that Black Myth: Wukong ran 22% faster with the mode disabled.

Stuttering was also way more pronounced with the mode enabled, as you can see in the graphs provided (check out the 1% percentile lows – the biggest dips in the frame rate) in the below post.

Now that I have some time, I made a couple of benchmark runs with this option disabled vs enabled in both Black Myth: Wukong and The Talos Principle 2 using @CapFrameX, and I'm seeing some huge perf gains by turning the "Game filters and Photo mode" option off: pic.twitter.com/7QuxCEqKmQDecember 16, 2024

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler) Analysis: Hopefully this fudge will work for most gamers

As Tom’s Hardware reports – which also found similar levels of slowdown due to this bug – Nvidia has confirmed that it’s now investigating the purported glitch.

Team Green advises as follows: “We are aware of a reported performance issue related to Game Filters and are actively looking into it. You can turn off Game Filters from the Nvidia App Settings > Features > Overlay > Game Filters and Photo Mode, and then relaunch your game.”

It’s certainly worth trying that suggested fix, although Castellanos cautions that this might not work for everyone affected. If it doesn’t cure any sluggishness you might be experiencing with the Nvidia App, then about the only other option is to simply uninstall it and go without – until Team Green applies a fix. You can run with just the bare Nvidia graphics driver without needing the app, in case you were wondering.

Hopefully Nvidia will be able to swiftly implement a patch to resolve this one, as it’s a pretty nasty bug by all accounts – one that should arguably have been caught in the lengthy beta for the Nvidia App.

Via Wccftech

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Maximize your earnings by opening one of these CDs before the Fed cuts rates.

Even if the Fed lowers rates, experts still recommend a high-yield savings account for your savings goals next year.

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As President-elect Trump promises to eliminate government agencies and regulations, one American industry — mining — is asking for more intervention. They say national economic and military security are at stake.

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