Latest news with #July17


CNET
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNET
This Emoji Won Most Popular New Emoji, but It Was Never Really a Contest
Emoji are a fun way to communicate with others, and the internet celebrates this with World Emoji Day every July 17 (since that's the date on the calendar emoji). As part of those celebrations, Emojipedia, an online directory of emoji and their meanings, announces awards for most popular new emoji, most anticipated emoji and even lifetime achievement awards. In my opinion, this year's winner for Most Popular New Emoji was bound to win. Based on Emojipedia's site data, the winner of the Most 2025 Emoji and Most Popular New Emoji is the face with bags under eyes. And I'm not surprised. I mean, look at that beautiful emoji -- its expression says so much without any words. Apple It's saying, "I've seen enough of this foolishness," "You're wrong, but I'm too tired to fight you on this" and so much more all at the same time. The emoji is countless people when they haven't had their morning cup of coffee, and it's also the face I make when someone I went to high school with tries to get me to join their multi-level marketing network. What I'm saying is, who hasn't felt like this emoji at one time or another -- or maybe every day for months? What were other popular new emoji? The face with bags under eyes was clearly going to win the Most Popular New Emoji award from the start because it's so relatable and widely understood. The contest for most popular new emoji this year was always a question of which emoji would come in second and third, and Emojipedia said that the splatter emoji came in second with the shovel emoji coming in third. The splatter emoji shows a splash of an unknown liquid, and it's generally purple. Sure, you could use it in innocuous messages about painting, but let's be real, people will use it in messages on Tinder and other dating apps. The shovel is a standard shovel. While there's no known data on how people are using the shovel emoji, I can see this evolving into a way of saying you're going to bury someone, either beating them really badly in a fight or dropping a lot of scandalous dirt on them. I bet Scandal's Olivia Pope would have loved the shovel emoji. The Emoji Lifetime Achievement Award goes to… Emojipedia One emoji in particular made history as the youngest-ever emoji to win the Lifetime Achievement Award, and that emoji is the melting face emoji. The emoji hit our devices in 2021, and even then, it was making waves. At the time, the New York Times said the melting face emoji arrived at just the right time to represent our collective burnout and dread over the pandemic. The melting face appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and British GQ said it was all of us. "Whether I'm having a mid-day panic, sweltering in the summer heat or conveying a humorous, 'it's fine, this is fine,' I'm confident meltmoji has me covered with its ability to clearly yet concisely communicate my intended message," said CNET senior editor Moe Long. "Its versatility is bar-none." People are most excited about this upcoming emoji Emojipedia The upcoming Emoji 17.0 is set to be released later this year, and it will include emoji like an orca, a Sasquatch and a cartoonish fight cloud. But the award for Most Anticipated Emoji of 2025 goes to the distorted face. It looks like someone's face viewed through a fisheye lens camera. This emoji's eyes are bulging, and it looks all around uncomfortable. The distorted face is a fine emoji, but I'm not really excited for it. Instead, I'm looking forward to the orca emoji because Free Willy was a great film, and orcas have made a splash in the news the past few years. For more on emoji, here are CNET staffers' favorite and most used emoji, the latest emoji on your device and how to decipher each emoji.


Forbes
16-07-2025
- Science
- Forbes
The Perseid Meteor Shower Begins Thursday: When To See It At Its Best
A perseid 'falling star' on a clear sky in august The Perseid meteor shower in 2025 will begin in perfect conditions — but it won't last. The much loved annual summer display of 'shooting stars' in the Northern Hemisphere will commence on Thursday, July 17, but with the peak night in August set to be marred by strong moonlight, there are two nights to see it at its best. Here's everything you need to know about this year's Perseid meteor shower. Where And When To Look The best time to see the Perseid meteor shower is typically on its peak night, which this year occurs overnight on Aug. 12-13, when up to 100 meteors per hour can be visible under perfect conditions. However, that's just a few days after a full moon, which will bleach the night sky and make all but the brightest Perseids visible. The best nights to see the Perseids this year will, therefore, be away from the peak night. On July 17, the last quarter moon will rise around midnight and later each night after that for the next week. That creates a nice viewing window from July 17-30, during which you should see a few Perseids. With the Delta Aquariid and Alpha Capricornid meteors showers peaking together overnight on July 29-30, that's probably the best night for shooting stars this summer. Around Aug. 15, when the full moon has waned, is another good time to see some stragglers from the Perseids. What You'll See During this early phase of the Perseids, rates will be modest — perhaps 5–15 meteors per hour. But what you miss in quantity, you'll make up for in quality: skies will be darker now than they will be during the August peak when the full moon will overpower all but the brightest shooting stars. Luckily, the Perseids are known for their fast, bright meteors, many with long trails. Look vaguely northeast for the radiant of the Perseids, which lies in the constellation Perseus. However, meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, so give yourself a wide, unobstructed view. Observing Tips For the best chance of seeing Perseids, find a dark location away from city lights. Clear weather is key, so check local forecasts and scout a location with minimal horizon obstructions. Meteor showers are best observed with the naked eye, with a telescope or binoculars a poor choice. A lawn chair can help, or lie on your back on a blanket. Avoid looking at phones, which will instantly kill your night vision, and use red lights instead. The wise stargazer brings warm clothes, bug spray and snacks — and takes breaks from staring at the sky every 30 minutes or so. What's Next In The Night Sky The next major meteor shower after the Perseids is the Orionids. Active from Oct. 2 to Nov. 12, that meteor shower will peak overnight on Oct. 22-23. It coincides with October's new moon, so conditions should be perfect — clear skies allowing. However, at 10-20 shooting stars per hour (away from light pollution), it's not as prolific as the Perseids. For exact timings, use a sunrise and sunset calculator for where you are, Stellarium Web for a sky chart and Night Sky Tonight: Visible Planets at Your Location for positions and rise/set times for planets. Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.


The Verge
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Donkey Kong Bananza unearths the franchise's roots and rips them out
Several moments of my two-hour hands-on preview of Donkey Kong Bananza felt like I was playing the gritty 2009 action game Red Faction: Guerilla — except this time I was actually playing as a gorilla. For example, I had to level a multistory building during a timed minigame. Just like in Guerilla, I targeted the load-bearing columns with Donkey Kong's ripped arms to quickly bring it down. Reveling in the destruction made me feel equal parts satisfied and sinister, all while Donkey Kong struck a goofy pose. Other times, I could sense a direct throughline from Super Mario Odyssey and other major Nintendo franchises. The way that Donkey Kong can roll into a jump (and roll at the top of a jump) feels like maneuvering with Odyssey's Cappy, while exploring the heights and depths of sublevels and experimenting with physics is reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. But through it all, the new Switch 2 game coming out on July 17th feels, above all else, like it's breaking new ground as its own thing. Bananza is an open-world platforming RPG, complete with a skill tree that you can chip away at as you collect banandium gems. Finding five of them grants you one skill point. The skills range from upgrading basic moves, such as expanding the radius of the 'clap' action, which automatically picks up nearby collectibles while revealing some hidden ones, to unlocking entirely new abilities. Upgrading will happen quickly if you're the exploring type, as there are dozens of hidden rewards in every area. New routes — not just secrets — will be exposed as you punch through materials. I get the impression that no two people will explore or fight their way through this game the exact same way. As Donkey Kong, you can punch forward, upward, and downward, each with a different face button. You'll rip out a chunk of the ground beneath by pressing ZR. Pressing and holding the button again will let you aim your throw, either with the right stick or with motion controls. If you don't feel like strategizing how you'll destroy enemies, filling up your Bananergy meter by collecting gold will let you go into Bananza mode, which is apeshit. Donkey Kong can transform into different creatures, each with their own abilities. You can toggle between forms on the fly, allowing for some truly bewildering destruction and tactics. Part of my demo's focus was to explore the variety of locations in Bananza. Your main objective is to reach the core of the planet, and so you progress by digging deeper. I started at level one, and after being jumped around to a different part of the game, I was at level 300. Many of the sublevels that I visited were large, self-contained worlds full of collectibles and challenge areas. The fact that there are hundreds of them waiting to be explored has me excited to fully dig into the adventure. Another focus was on Pauline, Donkey Kong's kid sidekick, who Nintendo says is a major character in the new game. She has personal stakes in helping Donkey Kong reach the planet's core because it'll supposedly grant her the wish to go back home. In addition to fleshing out her backstory (she'll have to meet Mario at some point in the future, since she eventually grows up and becomes mayor of New Donk City, right?), Pauline is a playable character if you enable co-op mode in the game, which can be done via the pause menu. Player two isn't a bystander. They have crosshairs and can shoot at terrain and enemies to aid player one. I tested this mode with a Joy-Con 2 in mouse mode, moving it around to aim and firing with the ZR trigger. It felt pretty natural. As you move the cursor, it shows the type of material you're hovering over (concrete, sand, gold, etc.), and you can set it as your ammo type by holding ZR. Alternatively, you can control Pauline's crosshairs with a controller. Pauline's projectiles take the form of comic-style onomatopoeia (e.g., 'HA!' or 'WOW!'). There's no explanation for this other than it's just funny. But from a gameplay perspective, the action allows player two to play a major role in progression. For example, she can shoot gold at enemies and obstacles to create more damage on impact than with stone. It's a smart evolution of player two's more passive involvement in Super Mario Galaxy. I wouldn't be me if I didn't notice some technical shortcomings with this prelaunch version of the game. During some hectic transitions, the frame rate took a noticeable dip, but gameplay was smooth for the most part, which is an achievement for a game that's bursting with physics and particle effects. Also, when I was covering a lot of distance while flying in Bananza mode, there was a lot of texture pop-in. The game's fast loading speeds, detailed character models, and vibrant worlds make it clear why this had to be a Switch 2 game, but the visual issues are a little disappointing to see on the new, more powerful hardware, especially for such a high-profile release. Mario fans might bemoan the lack of a new 3D platformer, but I get the impression that Bananza — made by the Super Mario Odyssey developers — is a huge game that should keep players satisfied for a while. It's tough to shake the feeling of its joyous, yet slightly overwhelming depth, when loading a level. I'm a person who wants to see what's hiding under every stone, and now there's finally a game that will let me do just that.


Forbes
18-06-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Trump Cuts LGBTQ+ Support Service From Suicide Hotline
Support for LGBTQ+ callers to the national suicide prevention hotline will end next month, the Trump administration confirmed Wednesday, ending a counseling service first introduced in legislation during President Donald Trump's first term. The suicide prevention hotline will 'no longer silo' its services and will instead 'focus on serving ... More all help seekers,' officials said. The Trevor Project, a nonprofit that provided support to LGBTQ+ callers in a partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, said Wednesday the Trump administration ordered the specialized line to be closed by July 17. SAMHSA confirmed the order and referred Forbes to a statement, indicating the specialized support was closed to 'no longer silo' the hotline's services and to 'focus on serving all help seekers.' This is a developing story.


The Verge
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Nintendo shows off Donkey Kong Bananza's destructive gameplay
Switch 2 owners will soon have another big Nintendo game to play. During its latest Direct presentation, the company showed off plenty more of Donkey Kong Bananza, a 3D platformer that launches as a Switch 2 exclusive on July 17th — and it's looking like a surprisingly robust experience. In the new game DK teams up with a younger version of the singer Pauline — who apparently has been hidden inside of a rock for some time — and travels to an underground realm that seems kind of like Nintendo's take on Hollow Earth. Despite being below ground, the game takes place in a varied and diverse world, with beaches, mountains, and icy locales. There are even giant elder characters and Breath of the Wild -style ancient ruins with unique challenges. The Direct was primarily focused on gameplay, which in Bananza is built around destruction. DK can smash up the environment, tear of chunks of terrain to use as a weapon, and also, uh, turn into a number of different animals. The game's 'banana transformations' let DK transform into creatures like an ostrich (so he can fly) or a zebra (so he can run so fast he can even sprint on water). These powers utilize a substance called 'bananergy.' There are also other abilities that can be unlocked through a skill tree. Maybe the most important: you can purchase new outfits for both DK and Pauline. So even though it mostly plays like a platformer, it appears that Bananza has significant role-playing elements. There's a two-player co-op mode where one person controls Pauline, and the multiplayer supports GameShare, so you can play on two different consoles using only one copy of the game. Bananza also has a bonus mode where you can sculpt rocks using the Switch 2's new mouse controls. Bananza was first revealed during Nintendo's big Switch 2 unveiling in April. It's the second major first-party release for the console, following Mario Kart World, which launched alongside the new console. Bananza is the franchise's first 3D platformer since the Nintendo 64 era, and is the first mainline entry since Tropical Freeze more than a decade ago.