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To Understand Our Future on Earth, Look to the Laws That Govern Nature The New York Times
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has blasted off with NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) satellite. First announced in 2017, the IXPE is the first satellite capable of measuring the polarization of X-rays that come from cosmic sources, such as black holes and neutron stars.
The fridge-sized satellite has three telescopes that can track and measure the direction, arrival time, energy, and polarization of light. When data from all those telescopes is combined, NASA can form images that could give us more insight into how mysterious celestial objects — those that emit X-ray — work. For instance, they’re hoping it can give us a more thorough look at the structure of the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant with a neutron star rapidly spinning in its center.
By observing black holes, the IXPE will help scientists gain more insight and broaden humanity’s knowledge on the regions of space we still barely know. It could provide clues on why they spin and how they gobble up cosmic materials, though it could also lead to new discoveries. Martin Weisskopf, the mission’s principal investigator, said during a briefing: “IXPE will help us test and refine our current theories of how the universe works. We may even discover more exciting theories about these exotic objects than what we’ve hypothesized.”
SpaceX used a Falcon 9 rocket from a previous mission for this launch. If all goes well, the rocket’s first stage will land on the company’s drone ship “Just Read the Instructions” after ferrying IXPE to space.
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on Engadget.
Amazon is shutting down Alexa Internet, a service that has provided web traffic analysis for more than two decades. Alexa was founded in 1996 and bought by Amazon in 1999 (15 years before the shopping giant revealed its digital assistant of the same name).
Alexa is best known for Alexa Rank, a ranking of the world’s most popular websites, with this information frequently referenced in news coverage and public resources like Wikipedia. The company extrapolates this data from a small sample of web users who use its browser extension and from sites which choose to install its traffic monitoring software directly.
In an announcement post, the Alexa.com team said the company stopped offering new subscriptions on December 8th, 2021, and will shut down the site on May 1st, 2022.
“Twenty-five years ago, we founded Alexa Internet. After two decades of helping you find, reach, and convert your digital audience, we’ve made the difficult decision to retire Alexa.com on May 1, 2022. Thank you for making us your go-to resource for content research, competitive analysis, keyword research, and so much more,” reads the post.
Paid users of Alexa’s services can export their data and delete their account.
Alexa.com’s rankings have always been simultaneously popular and contentious — not surprising given the importance of establishing traffic metrics in many online businesses. Over the years, there have been many accusations that the service’s Alexa Rank could be gamed, but it nevertheless remained the most familiar name in the web-ranking world. A number of alternate services exist, including SimilarWeb, Tranco, and ComScore.
A father and son have been arrested on suspicion of starting a massive California wildfire that forced tens of thousands to flee the Lake Tahoe area earlier this year
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A father and son were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of starting a massive California wildfire that destroyed many homes and forced tens of thousands of people to flee Lake Tahoe communities earlier this year, authorities said.
David Scott Smith, 66, and his son, Travis Shane Smith, 32, are accused of reckless arson in a warrant issued before formal charges are filed, the El Dorado County District Attorney’s office said.
Mark Reichel, the attorney for both men, said they were arrested Wednesday afternoon and that reckless arson means starting a blaze by accident but “to such a degree that it was considered reckless.”
Authorities allege they caused homes to burn and people to be seriously injured in the fire that began in August. The Caldor fire scorched more than 346 square miles (897 square kilometers) from east of Sacramento to the Nevada border, threatening ski resorts and other prominent recreational areas.
The fire destroyed more than 1,000 homes and other buildings while crossing a mostly remote forested area of seasonal cabins.
The fire crossed through three northern counties, destroyed much of the small community of Grizzly Flats and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate the resort town of South Lake Tahoe before it was contained in October. Five people were injured.
It was one of two massive fires last summer that for the first time in modern history crossed the Sierra Nevada range.
El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson provided few details about the arrest of the Smiths, citing the investigation.
Reichel, the men's lawyer, said: “They are absolutely 100% innocent.”
Reichel said he did not know details of the accusation, such as how authorities allege the fire was set.
He said Travis Smith is an electrician and was with his father near where the fire started. The son called 911 to report seeing flames, Reichel said.
The son made several 911 calls because the calls kept dropping in the rugged area, and both men also warned campers about the fire, Reichel said.
“Neither one has ever been in trouble with the law in their life. They’re very law-abiding people,” he said.
The pair have a scheduled court appearance on Friday, Reichel said.
“There has been no evidence submitted into a court subject to my cross-examination ... that proves any of the prosecution’s evidence yet. So I urge everyone to wait and hear what really happened before they form any opinions,” Reichel added.
The district attorney’s office said the case was developed with the U.S. Forest Service, California’s firefighting agency and the California Department of Justice, with help from the Sacramento County District Attorney’s crime lab.
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Associated Press Writer Robert Jablon contributed from Los Angeles.
The House has passed the National Defense Authorization Act, a bill negotiated between both parties and both chambers. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The House on Tuesday night passed a $768 billion defense bill, negotiated between both parties and both chambers, by a vote of 363-70.
The National Defense Authorization Act would boost pay by 2.7% for servicemembers, overhaul the military justice system and update diversity training requirements.
In a win for conservatives, a provision expanding the draft to include women was dropped from the compromise measure, despite being included in both the Senate and House versions of the NDAA and earlier bipartisan support for the provision.
An effort to scrap decades-old war authorizations was also left off the final measure.
The bill also includes $27.8 billion for the Department of Energy for nuclear weapons work, $3.5 billion for military construction across the country, as well as funds for military procurement of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to F-35 aircraft.
Committee leaders hailed reforms to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including removing commanders from the decision-making process of covered crimes, such as rape, sexual assault, murder and kidnapping. The defense bill also would criminalize sexual harassment under the UCMJ.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., however, argued the reforms don't go far enough.
"House and Senate Armed Services leadership have gutted our bipartisan military justice reforms behind closed doors, doing a disservice to our service members and our democracy," she said in a statement.
The Democrat, who sits on the Armed Services Committee, pushed for a bill that would remove convening authority from the chain of command.
The legislation would beef up resources to counter Russia and China. It would authorize $4 billion for the European Deterrence Initiative, which aims to discourage Russian aggression in Europe, and $7.1 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative to discourage China's aggression in the Pacific — as well as bolster the U.S. presence there.
Domestic politics also found its way into the bill.
For example, there is a provision that would prohibit private funding for deployment of a state national guard to any other state, except for a natural disaster. This came after South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem this summer said donations from a Republican donor would pay for a deployment of guard members to the U.S. border with Mexico.
Lawmakers also use the bill to establish an independent Afghanistan War commission to study America's longest war and provide recommendations and lessons learned. President Biden received bipartisan criticism for how his administration handled America's withdrawal from the Afghanistan.
The compromise measure now heads to the Senate, where lawmakers have been unable to pass that chamber's version.
Congress has passed the NDAA, usually in a bipartisan manner, for over 60 years in a row.
(CNN)Deqa Dhalac saw it in their faces when she started campaigning.
The experts offer a few simple rules — and some advice for making overnight guests feel at ease during challenging times.
When suitcase-toting friends and relatives arrive on your doorstep during the holidays, or at any other time of year, it’s good to have a welcoming place to put them, somewhat removed from the fray of everyday life.
“Traveling can be a stressful experience, so it’s nice to offer your guests a place to relax and recharge,” said Sean Anderson, an interior designer based in Memphis. “It’s about being mindful of who your guests are and how they live, so they’re calm and at peace when they’re staying in your home.”
That’s where a well-designed guest room — if you’re fortunate enough to have the space — can make a big difference.
Because guest rooms are used less frequently than other rooms, they can end up being a dumping ground for unwanted furniture or storage boxes. But when you’re expecting visitors, it’s time to clear out the clutter and add a few thoughtful touches.
As Mr. Anderson said, “It’s the details that really do make the difference.”
For help creating a guest room that visitors will never want to leave (be careful: it’s a blessing and a curse), we asked interior designers for advice.
There are two schools of thought when it comes to designing a guest room. Because it’s a room that typically doesn’t get a lot of use, some designers recommend going all out with color and pattern, to make a big statement — similar to the way they treat powder rooms.
“For me, a guest bedroom is a place to have a little fun and maybe do something a bit unexpected,” said Heidi Caillier, a designer based in Seattle. “I find people are more open to a wallpaper or print, and making them interesting,” she added, “versus a primary bedroom, where they want it more relaxing.”
In a bedroom in one Connecticut house she designed, Ms. Caillier covered the walls in Fruit wallpaper from Morris & Co., which has a lively pattern of leaves, flowers, pomegranates, peaches and citrus fruit.
Other designers prefer to keep things simple. “I want it to have personality and style that ties into the aesthetic of the rest of the home, but not be so extreme or specific that some people love it and some people hate it,” said Mel Bean, a designer in Tulsa, Okla.
Ms. Bean suggested choosing colors and patterns that are likely to be universally appealing. “It should be a place everyone would want to sleep in,” she said. “That can lead to neutrals or it can lead to lots of color, but in a way that’s not too busy or stimulating.”
The choice is a personal one, and depends on the people you envision using the space — your fashionable friends, say, or your conservative grandparents — and what you want to communicate about your own sense of style.
A guest room should not be a repository for lumpy old mattresses that would be better left at the curb. At the very least, it should provide the basics of a decent hotel room, said Roman Alonso, a principal of the Los Angeles-based design firm Commune. In other words: “a really comfortable mattress and high-end bedding,” as well as night stands, lamps for reading, and rugs if the room has hardwood, stone or ceramic floors.
Although storage might not be top of mind, every overnight guest will have luggage, so you’ll need to accommodate that, too. “I’m one of those people who, when I check into a hotel or stay as a guest in someone’s house, have to unpack everything,” Mr. Anderson said.
So in designing a guest room, he said, “I think about having somewhere to place luggage, be it on a rack or in a closet,” as well as providing a dresser, armoire or closet with hangers where people can properly store their things.
Even with inexpensive furniture, it’s possible to give a room a luxurious feeling using textiles. Start by focusing on the bed.
Fresh, clean sheets are essential. But on top of them, said Nicole Fisher, the founder of BNR Interiors in Hudson, N.Y., think about offering several different options for warmth: “Some people run hot, some people run cold, so you never know how they’re going to want to sleep.”
When Ms. Fisher prepares a guest room, she said, “there will always be a quilt, a duvet and a blanket,” so that people can adjust their layers.
Pillow preference is another unknown, so it’s helpful to provide multiple sleeping pillows with various levels of firmness — Ms. Caillier typically makes a bed with four — as well as throw pillows that can serve as back support for sitting up in bed.
Whether the bathroom is en suite or down the hall, Ms. Fisher said, it should be well stocked with fresh towels and washcloths. And if the bathroom is shared, guests should have designated towel bars, racks or hooks to keep their bath linens separate — especially with heightened concerns about germs in the midst of the pandemic.
Finally, make sure your guest room has appropriate window coverings. Rooms that get a lot of sunlight in the morning should have blackout shades or drapery, perhaps with a second layer of sheer curtains, so guests can control the light, Mr. Alonso said. In rooms that don’t get blasted by the sun, or by streetlights, an all-purpose light-filtering shade may suffice.
Even the most sociable guests will eventually want a little time to themselves. To give them a place to go, try to include a seating area in the guest room, if there’s enough space.
It could be as simple as placing a single lounge chair, small side table and floor lamp in the corner of the room. “Oftentimes, I place those by a window, so you can just experience sitting in the sun,” Ms. Bean said. Other times, when space allows, she positions a small sofa at the foot of the bed.
Also consider whether there’s room to squeeze in a desk. “We’re definitely getting that request more now, since Covid,” Ms. Caillier said, as the pandemic has made remote work a possibility for many. “People want a work space, for their guests or for themselves, in that room.”
It doesn’t have to be big. A compact free-standing desk or even a wall-mounted one with a chair that tucks out of the way is usually enough space for working on a laptop.
Adding a few thoughtful touches can make a room feel extra special. Mr. Alonso and Ms. Bean like to have a coffee-and-tea station, as well as bottles of water, in guest rooms.
“I like to have a bar cart in the closet with an espresso machine and glass bottles of water,” Ms. Bean said. “You can even put a mini fridge in the closet, depending on the size.”
If you don’t have room for small appliances, place a carafe with a cup-shaped lid on the night stand, so guests won’t have to walk to the kitchen for a middle-of-the-night drink of water.
You should provide some reading material, as well, Ms. Bean said, including coffee-table books and magazines that reflect your interests: “That’s a way to share a little bit of your personality.”
For a decorative exclamation point, Ms. Fisher likes to add a vase of fresh flowers. For olfactory appeal, Mr. Anderson sometimes provides a scented candle and matches.
You might also consider providing the new constants of the pandemic — hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes — tucked into the drawer of a night stand or in a basket. “These are not glamorous things,” Ms. Bean said, “but it’s something that can add a mental layer of safety and security.”
In the end, the goal is to make your guest’s visit feel “similar to staying in a luxury hotel,” Ms. Bean said, “where you’re thinking about and anticipating their needs.”
For weekly email updates on residential real estate news, sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @nytrealestate.
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People in counties that voted Trump more likely to die from Covid – study The Guardian
Halo Infinite’s campaign launches on Wednesday, but after your first trip through the story, you won’t be able to replay missions without starting all the way over, Microsoft confirmed to Polygon. It’s a significant omission, since it means you won’t be able to get collectibles you miss the first time around. It also means Infinite is the first Halo game without a way to go back and easily replay a chapter.
That might not always be the case, though, as developer 343 Industries wants to add the feature down the line, the studio told The Verge. “We haven’t announced a date but that is being worked on,” 343 Industries associate creative director Paul Crocker said in an interview.
“We want to have replay that works well, and when you have a more open game, it gets a lot trickier,” he said. “So we made a decision to improve the quality of the single-player campaign to ensure that, as a foundation, that it’s as strong as it possibly could be so that we could then add the other features back in.”
It’s frustrating not to be able to play through missions again; Halo Infinite’s campaign has some impressive set pieces and great boss fights that I’d love to tackle without going through the entire story another time. However, there are some elements that do carry over between full campaign replays, according to Crocker, including data pads (which contain story-focused voice logs) and the hard-to-find skulls that, in past games, let you modify certain aspects of the experience (such as doubling enemy health).
Replayable story missions aren’t the only thing that was pushed back for the launch; you’re going to have to wait at least six months for the time-honored tradition of playing through the campaign cooperatively with a friend, something you’ve been able to do since the very first Halo game. The goal was “from day one” to make the game playable in co-op and allow people to replay missions, but “we just had to prioritize what we could get done in time,” Crocker said.
Halo Infinite has had a somewhat rocky development. It was originally set to release alongside the Xbox Series X / S in November 2020, but was delayed to 2021 after a gameplay reveal that birthed the infamous Craig meme. Forge mode, which was introduced in Halo 3 and lets players develop multiplayer maps and games, is also missing for Infinite’s launch. And while 343 Industries launched Halo Infinite’s free-to-play multiplayer beta early, it has had to address criticisms of the game’s progression system and lack of dedicated playlists.
Despite those problems, the extra development time paid off for Halo Infinite’s campaign and multiplayer, which are both pretty good. That bodes well for the features that won’t make it at launch — even if we don’t know how long we’ll have to wait for them.
Comparing any player’s age 35-38 seasons to what they accomplished at a younger age is a fool’s exercise. It’s akin to saying ‘that guy doesn’t run nearly as well when he wears his scuba flippers,’ or wondering ‘why can’t he dunk with Danny DeVito sitting on his shoulders drinking a chianti?’
Getting older is kinda cool sometimes, but not normally for your baseball stats. Things hurt, things creak, things tweak and reek and wreak. Getting older as a hitter is like spilling blood in the ocean, too, with pitchers swarming like sharks once they begin to find any weakness in said hitter’s swing.
Such was the case with Joey Votto, for a time. Folks who have joined us here at Red Reporter along the ride that has been the last dozen years are well aware of the trials and tribulations of Votto’s epic career - the MVP days, the devouring of his knee by Pablo Sandoval, the hobbled 2013-2014 seasons where many wrote him off as his contract extension kicked, and the Return of the King 2015-2017 seasons where he was the single most dominant offensive force in the baseball world. All those rolled right into a 2018 season that, for the first time, saw a seemingly healthy Votto look...different.
While I very much hesitate to say he ever looked done, he looked confused. Defeated, at times, given how seldom he’d ever been unable to meet an opponent’s challenge. As a result, he was crushing meatballs at a much less prolific rate than ever before, searching endlessly for answers while reverting often to an approach of doing anything, and everything he could to simply find a way to first base.
The 2021 season eschewed that epoch in a hurry. The finale of the shortened 2020 campaign did, really, as a complete overhaul of his approach, swing, and in-the-box priorities launched him right back to the top of the don’t pitch to this guy leaderboards, albeit in a way he’d also not risen before. To be frank, the now 38 year old was simply knocking the shit out of baseballs, and it was a marvel to behold.
This celebration of Votto won’t then focus on what his stats during his 2018-2021 seasons looked like relative to his MVP years. A fool’s errand, I said. Instead, we’ll simply put into context just how kick-ass Joseph Daniel was while he was doing what I just described as ‘confused,’ ‘defeated,’ and ‘unable to meet an opponent’s challenge,’ since a good portion of Reds fans who read that previous paragraph I wrote were nodding their heads in approval while reading it.
From the start of the 2018 season through the end of the 2021 season, Joey hit a combined .265/.380/.458. That was good for a .361 wOBA, a mark that was better than the likes of Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Michael Brantley (all .359), Manny machado (.358), Kyle Schwarber (.358), Jose Abreu (.353), Eugenio Suarez (.353), Cody Bellinger (.348), Carlos Correa (.345), Francisco Lindor (.345), Marcus Semien (.345), and literally hundreds of other well compensated baseball players.
If you’re going to nitpick by stating that all he did was walk in that timeframe, let’s dive into that .458 slugging percentage. That was better than the likes of Michael Conforto (.455), for instance, who’s about to land a deafening contract this winter to be a middle of the order bat for someone. It’s also better than the likes of DJ LeMahieu, Chris Taylor, Max Kepler, Yoan Moncada, Willson Contreras, and hundreds of other well compensated baseball players, too.
FanGraphs, thank god, is full of this stuff. It’s practically made for Joey Votto. Please, dear god, go there and spend time finding ways to critique Joey Votto, and get back to me when you find something other than him being slower than a 14.4k modem downloading the entire Labor Day ‘77 Grateful Dead show from Englishtown, NJ off Napster. Until then, just bask in knowing you’ve been around to exist in the same baseball realm as this all-time great.
Gizmodo released a deep-dive look into the data collection process behind its co-reported investigation with The Markup into PredPol, a software company specializing in predictive policing (hence the name, which it has since changed to Geolitica) through machine learning.
PredPol’s algorithm is supposed to make predictions based on existing crime reports. However, since crimes aren’t equally reported everywhere, the readings it provides to law enforcement could simply copy the biases in reporting over each area. If police use this to decide where to patrol, they could end up over-policing areas that don’t need a larger presence.
When Gizmodo and The Markup evaluated the areas, they found that the places PredPol’s software targeted for increased patrols “were more likely to be home to Blacks, Latinos, and families that would qualify for the federal free and reduced lunch program.”
Even as police tactics evolved to include crime and arrest data, there has been a historical disparity in how these tactics affect communities of color. As Gizmodo points out in its analysis, in New York in the 1990s, researchers at the time found that the methods reduced crime without simply displacing it to other areas. However, the approach included tactics like stop-and-frisk, which have been criticized as violations of civil rights.
PredPol’s algorithm has already been looked into and criticized by academics more than once. As Vice quoted Suresh Venkatasubramanian, a member of the board of directors for ACLU Utah, in 2019:
“Because this data is collected as a by-product of police activity, predictions made on the basis of patterns learned from this data do not pertain to future instances of crime on the whole,” Venkatasubramanian’s study notes. “In this sense, predictive policing is aptly named: it is predicting future policing, not future crime.”
Still, there hasn’t been an investigation as thorough as this one. This investigation used figures retrieved from public data available via the web. According to Gizmodo and The Markup, they found an unsecured cloud database linked from the Los Angeles Police Department’s website. That data contained millions of predictions stretching back several years.
Besides supposedly predicting individual crimes, a 2018 report by The Verge looked into Pentagon-funded research by PredPol’s founder Jeff Brantingham about using the software to predict gang-related crime. The former University of California-Los Angeles anthropology professor adapted earlier research in forecasting battlefield casualties in Iraq to create the platform, and the paper — “Partially Generative Neural Networks for Gang Crime Classification with Partial Information” — raised concern over the ethical implications.
Critics said this approach could do more harm than good. “You’re making algorithms off a false narrative that’s been created for people — the gang documentation thing is the state defining people according to what they believe ... When you plug this into the computer, every crime is gonna be gang-related,” activist Aaron Harvey told The Verge.
Relying on some algorithms can work magic for some industries, but their impact can come at a real human cost. With bad data or the wrong parameters, things can go wrong quickly, even in circumstances that are less fraught than policing. Look no further than Zillow recently having to shut down its house-flipping operation after losing hundreds of millions of dollars despite the “pricing models and automation” it thought would provide an edge.
Overall, Gizmodo and The Markup’s reporting is a good consideration of how significantly predictive algorithms can affect the people unknowingly targeted by them. The accompanying analysis by Gizmodo provides relevant data insight while giving readers a behind-the-scenes look into these measures. The report indicates that 23 of the 38 law enforcement agencies tracked are no longer PredPol customers, despite initially signing up for it to help distribute crime-stopping resources. Perhaps by using methods that build transparency and trust on both sides, law enforcement could spend less time on tech that leads to pieces like this, which highlights the exact opposite approach.
Happy Monday, everybody! It's Tyler Sullivan here and I'll be your gambling guru as we begin the week. If I seem a little dejected, that's largely because my fantasy team completed one of the more amazing late-season collapses that these eyes have ever seen. This was the 10th season of a league with all of my childhood friends and now my championship drought -- I haven't won since 2014 -- will continue for at least another year.
Anyhoo, let's not have that distract us from what is set to be a great Monday Night Football matchup between the Patriots and Bills. After Sunday's action unfolded in the NFL, New England finds itself as the No. 1 seed in the conference, but could fall all the way to the No. 5 seed with a loss in Buffalo. Weather is expected to be a key factor in this game, so it's certainly shaping up to be appointment viewing.
Naturally, we're going to dive deep into that game, but first let's take a look at what's making headlines across the sports world.
Now let's try and make some cash!
All times Eastern, and all odds via Caesars Sportsbook
🏈Patriots vs. Bills, 8:15 p.m. | TV: ESPN
The Pick: Patriots +3 (-120) -- Love getting the field goal hook here, but New England could very well win this game outright. Not only have the Patriots won their last six games, but they've covered in each of those games on this streak. A large part of why New England has been so good over the bulk of this streak has been their ability to run away games in the second half.
Over the last four weeks, the Patriots have outscored their opponents 63-0 over the final two quarters. That'll be put to the test as they face a Bills team that is averaging 15.6 second half points per game (second best in the NFL). Still, New England does matchup well against Josh Allen.
Not to get too technical, but the Patriots could elect to deploy Cover-3 against Allen on Monday. They've lined up in Cover-3 38% of the time this season (eighth-highest in the NFL) and Allen hasn't fared too well against that type of defense. Out of 34 qualified quarterbacks, Allen ranks 15th in yards per attempt and 14th in sack percentage against Cover-3. That's simply a small nugget that leans in New England's favor tonight.
Key Trend: Patriots are 4-1 ATS vs. teams with a winning record.
The Pick: Dawson Knox Over 29.5 receiving yards (+105) -- Good value here with the Patriots possibly being without safety Kyle Dugger due to COVID protocols. He'd be the one best equipped to square up against Knox, so there is a lane for him to find success against New England's secondary. He's gone over this number in six of his nine games played this season and has played well in his three career games against the Patriots. Over that stretch, he's averaging 47.3 receiving yards per game.
The Pick: Kendrick Bourne Over 2.5 receiving yards (-170) -- Not a ton of juice here, but that number seems a bit too low to ignore. Bourne has blossomed into one of Mac Jones' go-to weapons in the passing game and has gone over this number in six-straight games coming into Monday night. The weather could very well impact that passing game in this divisional matchup, but Jones will be forced to throw at some point, right? When he does, he'll more often than not look in Bourne's direction. Meanwhile, it also helps that Buffalo is without star corner Tre'Davious White.
Spurs vs. Suns, 9 p.m. | TV: NBA League Pass
The Pick: Chris Paul to record a double-double (+105) -- Phoenix will be without Devin Booker (hamstring) once again tonight, which leaves Paul with even more responsibility on his shoulders. In the two games Booker has missed, Paul has averaged a double-double, which certainly trends favorably for this prop. With both the Suns and Spurs inside the top 10 in the NBA in possessions per game, this could very well be a high-paced game, which helps Paul's chances of piling up numbers.
Looking for the best products to gift — and to get — this holiday season? Check out Underscored’s Holiday Guide here.
Watching a loved one rip into a package on Christmas morning is nice. But knowing several more will be coming throughout the year? Now, that’s what we call capturing the holiday spirit. Monthly subscription services truly are the gifts that keep on giving, and whether you’re shopping for a foodie, a beauty lover, a plant fanatic or someone who’s coffee-obsessed, there’s a service for everyone on your list.
Voracious readers will appreciate a gift subscription to this service that allows them to choose from five curated new titles each month. Haven’t had time to finish a book before the next book is sent? You can skip a month. Want more to read? Add other books from the site, including top books from previous months for an additional fee.
A monthly subscription to the Audible service will be well received for those who prefer to listen to their books. The service includes thousands of audiobooks, podcasts and original programming. Want to take it for a spin yourself? Test it out with a free 30-day trial and cancel anytime.
Each Bokksu box comes packed full of 20-plus varieties of Japanese candies and snacks from family-owned businesses, plus a tea pairing and a cultural guide detailing its contents’ origins and flavors. Read our review of it here.
A gift for a furry friend is truly the best one you could give. Every Barkbox comes with two toys, two bags of all-natural treats and one chew, all tailored to a monthly theme.
The sweetest gift for the sugar fiends on your list? A box filled with goodies (think chocolates, buttery cookies, Moose Munch popcorn and more) delivered to their doorsteps each month. Each box comes with a different theme so they’ll never grow tired of a certain treat.
With the gift of MasterClass, your giftee can choose to study creative writing with Margaret Atwood, acting with Samuel L. Jackson and so much more. Offering digestible virtual lessons on users’ own time, MasterClass is anyone’s best bet for learning a new skill.
Whether there are folks on your list looking to improve their wellness or others who are just super busy and could use a little help with meals, a weekly subscription to Daily Harvest is sure to be a big hit. Available in three sizes — small (nine items), medium (14 items) or large (24 items) — you choose weekly or have the option of monthly delivery and can customize what comes in the box. Everything is made with real fruits and veggies, and options include smoothies, bowls, soups, flatbreads, lattes, snack bites, desserts and more.
Amateur bartenders will toast this gift subscription that delivers a box filled with three recipes and all the ingredients (minus the alcohol) needed to make 12 drinks (four per recipe). Available in monthly, three-month, six-month or 12-month subscriptions, the November box featured an American apple brandy theme, with recipes from New York-based mixologists. We’ll drink to that!
If you’re shopping for a homebody on your list (and this year, who isn’t), GlobeIn delivers handcrafted items from around the globe to keep your surroundings beautiful. Check out our review of it here.
Flowers on repeat? Yes, please! Brighten someone’s day over and over again with this thoughtful gift that delivers lovely arrangements to the lucky recipient’s door on a weekly, biweekly or monthly schedule. Choose from Classic, Seasonal or Luxe bouquets — from $55, $85 and $105 per delivery, respectively — and be prepared for many, many thank-you notes to come.
The green thumb on your list will give two enthusiastic thumbs up for this monthly service that curates a featured plant each month along with a pot, accessories and other goodies needed to help it grow.
The overall winner of Underscored’s best overall coffee subscription box testing, Blue Bottle’s service offers customized, delicious, high-quality coffee perfect for a wide variety of coffee drinkers. Choose from several subscriptions that allow you to opt for single-origin coffees, espresso beans or decaf, or a mix-and-match option and pick from one-, two-, three- or four-week intervals as well as coffee sizes from 6 to 36 ounces.
Rated Underscored’s best coffee subscription for those craving variety, Trade’s service begins with a helpful coffee quiz to get you started and offers a number of customizable settings and more than 400 coffee options. It’s easy to try new and interesting coffees with a seemingly unlimited variety of coffee beans to choose from. Plus, Trade allows you to pick which coffees are sent to you, giving you more control than many other services.
Huge coffee snob on your list? Rated the best coffee subscription for the budding connoisseur, a Black Box subscription from Angel’s Cup is a no-brainer. This subscription sends you a box of four different roasts, with only the roast date and a five-digit number to differentiate them. The idea is that each shipment is a blind tasting, so once you brew and drink each coffee, you go to Angel’s Cup’s mobile app to input and rate your tasting notes, comparing your scores to the roastmaster and other people who have tasted the same coffee.
Pairing a favorite hot beverage with classic literature? Sign us up! This unique subscription allows you to choose novels for adults or children, a drink — coffee, tea, hot chocolate or “surprise me” — and an essentials or premier box. Boxes include a book, beverage, bookmark and two accessories. The premier option adds a mug, snack and reusable box.
Know someone stressed out who could use a monthly reminder to indulge in some self-care? This highly rated box is filled with 10 or more treasures each month, including full-size vegan, cruelty-free products. Past boxes have featured jewelry, face serums and masks, candles, snacks, tea, soaps, books, bath bombs and coffee mugs.
Shopping for someone seriously into skin care? This subscription sends sheet masks as well as other K-beauty goodies their way, making it especially good for someone who wants new beauty products on the regular.
Makeup and beauty obsessives will swoon over a subscription to Birchbox, which, since 2010, has been delivering boxes filled with sample-size items. Available in monthly, three-month or 12-month plans, products include skin care, hair care, makeup, nail polish and more. And if there’s a grooming product-loving guy on your list, there’s a men’s box available for $10 per month that includes five deluxe samples as well.
Curated specifically for women of color, this highly rated subscription service box includes five to eight full-size and deluxe travel-size products featuring everything from lipstick to body wash and face masks to false eyelashes.
Love the idea of your BFF, sister or favorite workout pal unpacking a curated box filled with wellness, fitness and beauty products four times a year? This popular subscription service curates six to eight full-size items (and allows for customization for some of them). Past boxes have included a Michael Kors beanie, Koral ankle weights, Dr. Brandt collagen serum, a Sur La Table silicone utensil set and an Unhide blanket, to name just a few.
The spiritually minded will show loads of gratitude for these monthly boxes that feature five to seven full-size products such as crystals, spiritual growth tools, aromatherapy, snacks and vegan beauty items. Past boxes have included candy, candles, jewelry and essential oil sprays.
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Federal agents say they busted a pair of travelers, who tried to take a cruise out of PortMiami with very illega...
