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National Hurricane Center monitoring what could be Isaas, may track to the East Coast – Press of Atlantic City

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Tropical Storm Isaas will develop by Wednesday, and storm warnings are out

An already record breaking pace to the 2020 Hurricane Season will likely increase its buffer room. On Tuesday morning, the National Hurricane Center starts to issue a forecast track on "Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine", which will likely turn into Tropical StormIsaas by Wednesday morning.

As of 11 a.m. Tuesday morning, potential tropical cyclone nine has been issued a forecast track by the National Hurricane Center

The storm already contains maximum tropical storm force winds, at 40 mph. Tropical storm warnings are in effect for the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico. The northern coast of the Dominican Republic is in a tropical storm watch.

The National Hurricane Center's forecast takes the storm through the central Atlantic Ocean and have it pass through the Lesser Antilles by the end of the week.

From there, the storm will likely have a track north of Puerto Rico, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The storm could make multiple landfalls on these islands, which would weaken the storm as it passes. The reason for this is a large area of high pressure in the Atlantic Ocean, extending from Spain to Bermuda. The storm will be steered around the high pressure into the weekend.

The tropical wave, marked with an L in the Central Atlantic Ocean, will follow along the southern edge of a sprawling area of high pressure in the ocean.

From there, the forecast becomes less certain. The strength of the high pressure, as well an incoming system from the United States will play a role in its track during the first weekend of August.

More than likely, though, this storm will make a curve to the north as it nears the East Coast of the United States, continuing around the high pressure system.

The spaghetti plots, a group of different model runs places on the same map, shows the storm likely making a turn up the East Coast sometime during the weekend of Aug. 1-2.

If the high pressure is weaker, or further away from the U.S., the storm will likely spin harmlessly out to sea, or impact Bermuda. If the storm is further west, there would be a greater likelihood of an East Coast landfall. The high pressure may also be so strong that it pushes the storm into Florida or the Gulf of Mexico. However, there is no official forecast this far out for the storm.

Yes, but just as much of a chance as any other storm that's in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean 7 to 10 days before making its closest approach, wherever that may be.

The July 7 Atlantic Hurricane season update from Colorado State University has another incre

There have only been 10 tropical storms and hurricanes to make landfall in South Jersey since 1900, but does that include Tropical Storm Fay July 10. That being said, a storm 100-200 miles out can still bring impacts. Hurricane Michael in October 2018, Hurricane Florence in September 2018 and Hurricane Hermine in 2016 are all recent storms that tracked near South Jersey and brought at least high seas, rip currents and coastal flooding. Hurricane Dorian passed well offshore the Jersey Shore, but still bring rain and wind.

Remnants from Hurricane Dorian empty the Ventnor Boardwalk in September.

New Jersey is generally shielded from the worst of tropical activity from North Carolina. Located to the south of the state, storms may strike the Carolina coast and then bring a weakened version of itself to New Jersey. Furthermore, storms may make landfall on the Gulf Coast and bring remnants to the region, instead of the full impacts. Still, though, heavy rain can occur as the tropical moisture is carried hundreds of miles north.

Isaias would be the ninth named tropical system in the Atlantic Hurricane basin. That would continue to outpace the 2005 season for the most active on record.

Hurricane Hanna, which make landfall in South Jersey Saturday, turned into a Tropical Storm on July 23. That was more than two weeks ahead of 2005's pace, which was Tropical Storm Harvey.

Hurricane Irene developed as a tropical storm August 7, 2005, a mark Isaias will almost surely beat out.

The 2005 Atlantic Hurricane season in the most active on record, which goes back to 1851 (though the advent of weather satellites in the 1960s means hurricane seasons before then may not have been accurately calculated). That year 28 named storms developed, exhausting the alphabet list of storms. The NHC then had to turn to the Greek Alphabet for names.

If the names sound familiar, that's because the National Hurricane Center reuses names every 6 years. Though notable storms, like Sandy and Harvey, can be retired by the World Meteorological Organization.

"Isaas" is the Spanish and Portuguese word for the biblical Isaiah. It is pronounced ees-ah-EE-ahs.

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National Hurricane Center monitoring what could be Isaas, may track to the East Coast - Press of Atlantic City

Sea ice extent in the Arctic reaches historical low in July – The Independent Barents Observer

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By Levon Sevunts

The sea ice retreat has been especially pronounced off the Siberian coast, leading to a virtually ice-free Northeast Passage by mid-July along nearly all of Russias Arctic coastline from the Bering Sea in the east to the Barents Sea in the west, researchers said.

The record low ice extent in July followed a scorching month of June when a cell of warm air produced extremely high temperatures in Siberia that seriously impacted the sea ice cover in the Russian Arctic, according to the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate, or MOSAiC for short.

According to the U.S.-based National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), on July 15, Arctic sea ice extent stood at 7.51 million square kilometres, 330,000 square kilometres below the record for July 15, set in 2011.

In the Russian Arctic, roughly 1 million square kilometres less of the ocean is covered with ice in July than in the past seven years, according to MOSAiC.

By contrast, ice extent north of Alaska is near the 1981 to 2010 average for this time of year.

This year, temperatures on the East Siberian coast were more than 6 C warmer than the long-term average in May and June, according to MOSAiC.

In June, this warming also led to intensified sea ice retreat in the Laptev Sea, a phenomenon that spread to the East Siberian Sea in early July.

By mid-July this had progressed to such an extent that the Northeast Passage was completely open for the first time in 2020.

Since the beginning of July, a high-pressure cell has settled over the East Siberian and Chukchi Seas, accompanied by unusually warm temperatures up to 10 C above average over the Central Arctic.

Introducing so much warmth into the system so early in the year has accelerated the melting of the ice, said in a statement MOSAiC expedition sea ice physicist Marcel Nicolaus from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI).

This has also been worsened by the low albedo at this time of year, when the sun sits high in the sky during the Polar Day, producing an especially pronounced feedback.

Gunnar Spreen from the Institute of Environmental Physics at the University of Bremen and a member of the sea ice team on the MOSAiC expedition said its still too soon to say whether this trend will continue until the yearly minimum in September, since it is largely dependent on weather conditions.

Nicolaus, who like Spreen is currently in quarantine in preparation for the last cruise leg of the MOSAiC expedition, said he cant wait to start analyzing the expeditions extensive field data.

To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that the melting has been consistently monitored up to the point at which the ice completely disappears.Marcel Nicolaus, sea ice physicist

Meanwhile, the Polarstern is currently in the Fram Strait between Svalbard and Greenland.

Markus Rex, leader of the MOSAiC Project and an atmospheric physicist at the AWI in Potsdam, said while Polarstern remains firmly encased in ice, all the ice around their ice floe has long-since broken up or been ground into fragments.

Today we measured a balmy 14 C 300 metres above the floe, and the melting is in full swing. For the last phase of MOSAiC, our focus will be on the freezing phase: the last piece of the puzzle in our observations of the Arctics annual cycle.Markus Rex, leader of the MOSAiC Project

Polarstern is expected to move further north in mid-August for the last leg of its expedition, once it completes its resupply and the turnover of the research team and the vessel crew, he added.

This story is posted on Barents Observer as part ofEye on the Arctic, a collaborative partnership between public and private circumpolar media organizations.

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Sea ice extent in the Arctic reaches historical low in July - The Independent Barents Observer

Galapagos Islands: ‘Protection strategy’ set up after ‘hundreds of Chinese fishing vessels’ spotted nearby – Sky News

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A "protection strategy" for the Galapagos Islands has been set up by Ecuador's president after hundreds of fishing vessels - many of them Chinese - were spotted near the archipelago's exclusive economic zone.

The Ecuadorian Navy has identified around 260 boats and increased patrols to ensure they do not enter the area of the ecologically sensitive islands - the inspiration for Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

In several tweets over the weekend, Lenin Moreno described the Islands as "one of the richest fishing areas and a hotbed of life for the entire planet", and used the hashtag #SOSGalapagos.

He added that former Mayor of Quito, Roque Sevilla, and ex-environment minister Yolanda Kakabadse, along with "more specialists", would be "responsible for designing the Galapagos protection strategy and respect for its maritime resources".

Chinese fishing vessels appear each year near the Galapagos, attracted by marine species such as the hammerhead shark, which is in danger of extinction.

In 2017, a Chinese vessel was captured in the Galapagos Marine Reserve carrying 300 tons of marine wildlife.

"We are on alert, conducting surveillance, patrolling to avoid an incident such as what happened in 2017," defence minister Oswaldo Jarrin told reporters.

"There is a corridor that is international waters, that's where the fleet is located," he said, adding that none had attempted to enter the exclusive economic zone.

Volunteer pressure group, the Blue Planet Society, has said "we are watching the destruction of the ocean in real time".

Spokesperson John Hourston told Sky News: "The threat that the industrial Chinese fishing fleet poses to the unique and spectacular marine life of the Galapagos archipelago cannot be overstated."

He also said the vessels were "sucking the life from this biodiversity jewel".

"Marine life doesn't recognise lines on a map. Unless the high seas are given protection, the ocean is in danger of becoming become a lifeless desert."

The Galapagos Islands are home to a wide variety of marine wildlife, including turtles, giant tortoises, flamingos and albatrosses.

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Galapagos Islands: 'Protection strategy' set up after 'hundreds of Chinese fishing vessels' spotted nearby - Sky News

Why Waterworld Was a Failure in the ’90s But Is Actually Much Better Than We Remember – Esquire.com

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Like a pack of ghoulish spectators craning their necks at a five-car pile-up, the press had already started calling it Fishtarand Kevins Gateand the most expensive gamble in movie history. This was long before anyone had even seen a single frame of the finished film, mind you. Still, the collective sense of Tinseltown schadenfreude was off the charts. And when it did finally hit theaters, the reactions of both the critics and the audience were brutal. The movie: Kevin Costners 1995 post-apocalyptic turkey Waterworld, of course. And it opened 25 years ago today.

Like any $180 million ego tripespecially one top-lined by a guy who America had decided was overdue for a crash-and-burn bit of karmic comeuppanceWaterworld was doomed to fail before it ever stood a chance. For months, the tabloids had chronicled the films ever-escalating budget, its seemingly endless string of production delays, and the off-screen trials of its star, Costner, whod become ensnarled in a messy private divorce from his wife at the time and an even messier public one from his Waterworld director, Kevin Reynolds. In retrospect, there was really no way that it couldnt have become the biggest cinematic folly of the 90s. But let me propose a possibly heretical idea: What if Waterworld isnt actually that bad? What if its actuallykind of good?

Look, I know what youre thinking. That this is just another one of those insincere, contrarian hot takes where a critic goes to bat for some dinged-up piece of pop-culture flotsam in the hopes of getting a few clicks. If I wasnt writing this, Id probably be thinking that, too. But Im dead serious. I remember seeing Waterworld on opening day 25 years ago and thinking it wasnt all that terrible. And after re-watching it for the first time earlier this week, I think its quite a bit better than that. I want to be clear, I dont think that Waterworld is some misunderstood masterpiece. But I am convinced that enough time has gone by that it deserves its day in the cinematic court of appeals. So I guess you could consider this is the case for the defense.

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For a project that would end in ignominy, Waterworld actually began in irony. The film that would go down as the most expensive in Hollywood history grew out of a pitch meeting in, where else, the offices of the notoriously cheap movie producer, Roger Corman. Peter Rader was a Harvard grad with ambitions to direct. And as he sat in the office of one of Cormans development execs one day in the late 80s, he was told that if he could write a Mad Max rip-off, there might be a South African investor willing to finance it. When Rader left the meeting, the idea began to take seed in his brain and slowly grew into something biggerand more expensiveThunderdome on water. When he went back to Cormans offices, he was told that his new idea sounded too pricey. It might even cost as much as $5 million! Corman & Co. were out.

Rader went off and fleshed the idea out on his own as a spec script. And in 1989, he sold it to producer Lawrence Gordon (The Warriors, 48 Hrs., Predator). Seven drafts later, it found its way into the hands of Costner. He liked it. And so did Reynolds, who had directed Costner in the 1985 road comedy Fandango. Before the two could team up on Waterworld, however, they went off and made 1991s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. During that film the two had had a falling out in the editing room. A power play, really. And they stopped speaking, with Reynolds walking off the project all together.

Ben Glass/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock

Now, for most sane people that sort of clash might have been seen as an omen that they shouldnt work together again any time too soon. But Costner and Reynolds both wanted to make Waterworld, so they decided to bury the hatchetkind of. In June of 1994, the two headed off to Hawaii to start filming their epic about a future after the ice caps had melted and the world was covered in nothing but ocean. Drinkable water and oil are precious commodities. People live on garbage atolls. Theres a gang of villains called Smokers (led by a bald Dennis Hopper behind an eyepatch and a Foghorn Leghorn accent). Theres a 10-year-old girl/messiah figure named Enola (Tina Majorino) with a map of a mythical Eden called Dryland tattooed on her back. Shes protected by a woman named Helen (Jeanne Tripplehorn). And finally, theres a mysterious drifter on a catamaran named Mariner (Costner), who has webbed toes and vaginal gill slits behind his ears. He also drinks his own pee, but thats neither here nor there. The Smokers want the girl; a reluctant Mariner wants to protect the girl; and everyone wants the girl to lead them to Dryland.

Ben Glass/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock

This, in short, is the plot of Waterworld. But beneath all of its George Miller-goes-to-Sea World window dressing, Rader (and about five additional screenwriters, including David Twohy and Joss Whedon) also managed to conjure a pretty ahead-of-its-time Al Gore fever dream about global warming, dwindling natural resources, and the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Its a stunningly ambitious screenplay that manages to say a lot between the lines when its not stepping on its own feet. Its also an odd project for a big-conglomerate studio like Universal to wager nearly $100 million on (which was its original greenlight budget).

Reynolds shooting schedule called for 96 days. But as storms repeatedly wreaked havoc on the movies pricey floating sets and ambitions ratcheted up rather than scaled down, cameras would keep rolling for 166 days in all, and the budget would nearly double. When they finally returned to L.A. to edit their footage, Reynolds and Costner clashed in the editing room yet again. Past, it seemed, was prologue. Costner, who now had a Best Directing Oscar under his belt thanks to Dances with Wolves, wasnt the kind of guy to take a backseat. And once again, Reynolds walked off the film. Said Reynolds later, In the future, Costner should only appear in pictures he directs himself. That way, he can always be working with his favorite actor and his favorite director.

Thats all backstory. And reading it, you might reach the conclusion: Of course, Waterworld was dead on arrival. But all you have to do is go back and look at the tortured, super-expensive production story on any James Cameron film to understand that not all nightmare shoots automatically lead to box-office disasters. But in the publics mind at least, Waterworld was already toast. And yet, Id argue that theres a lot in the movie to likeif not love.

The ecological themes in Waterworld have proven to be prescient, and Rader and Twohys screenplay is a pretty remarkable feat of world-building. Some of it is hokey, to be sure. But even some of Blade Runners world-building is a little hokey, too. The high-seas action set pieces have a swashbuckling Indiana Jones vibe thanks to the films practical, pre-CGI stunts and James Newton Howards rollicking, trumpet-blast score. Costner, Tripplehorn, and Majorino are all affecting, even if the relationship between latter two feels a little too Ripley and Newt from Aliens. And the Road Warrior-meets-Brazil steampunk aesthetic is pure dystopian eye candy. Youve probably noticed Im referencing a lot of other (better) movies here, but when Waterworld isnt original, its at least borrowing from some primo sources. As for the budget, personally I dont care what a movie costs. Its not coming out of my pocket. But Ill say his for Reynolds and Costner, they put every dollar on the screen. Its as busy and evocative as a Bosch painting.

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Honestly, the only thing that really doesnt work for me in Waterworld is Dennis Hopper as the leader of the Smokers, Deacon. In almost every phase of his career (even the black-out one), Hopper turned in performances that were masterclasses and others that were god-awful. This is one of the god-awful ones. Hes so corny and cartoony and over the top, he doesnt share scenes, he mugs them at gunpoint. Some of the other actors that were reportedly considered for Hoppers role include Gene Hackman, James Caan, Gary Oldman, Laurence Fishburne, Samuel L. Jackson, and Gary Busey. And I can picture all of them giving more interesting performances than Hopperseven Busey, whose Mr. Joshua in Lethal Weapon shouldnt be dismissed.

In the end, Waterworld would mark the beginning of a rough stretch for Costners charmed careerone that hit its nadir with yet another post-apocalyptic message movie, 1997s The Postman. But contrary to popular opinion, Waterworld wasnt the disaster its always been painted as in the press. Yes, the critics dogpiled on it and audiences in America mostly stayed away. But the movie ended up making back its production costs once international receipts, home video sales, and TV licensing were factored in. It wasnt exactly Titanic, but it wasnt Fishtar or Kevins Gate either. Im not saying that Waterworld should have been nominated for a bunch of Oscars. Not by a longshot. I guess what I am saying, though, is that if you give it an honest shot today, minus all of the white noise that accompanied its release 25 years ago, then I think youll end up agreeing that it at least didnt deserve as many Razzie nominations as it got.

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Why Waterworld Was a Failure in the '90s But Is Actually Much Better Than We Remember - Esquire.com

Could 2020 be the year DC finally overtakes Marvel? – AsiaOne

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There is no fan like a DC fan, announced Ann Sarnoff. Well, theyre certainly loyal and patient. The Warner Bros CEO made her proclamation recently, while banging the drum for the upcoming DC FanDome.

Due on August 22, this virtual 24-hour fan experience is an online deep dive into the world inspired by DC Comics, with panels and programmes dedicated to the video games, TV shows and, most importantly, films.

An innovative marketing push allowing fans to experience the wonders of DC for free, you might say its just reward for supporters after years of lagging behind Marvel.

As far as movies go, its hard to argue against the utter dominance of the Marvel Cinematic Universe , with the intricate, interwoven tales of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and more culminating in the colossal, box-office busting two-part Avengers films, Infinity War and Endgame .

By comparison, the DC Extended Universe has been a ragbag of flops, failures and the occasional outlier, with little sense of the overall masterplan that producer Kevin Feige implanted at Marvel Studios.

In essence, there was no reason why DC Entertainment couldnt follow Marvels success. DCs Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are just as popular as Marvels roster of heroes. Their villains, led by The Joker, also take some beating.

Yet cinematic attempts to unite these characters have so far failed. Justice League , which set out to bring Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg together with Batman et al, was critically lambasted.

The films US$657 million (S$905 million)box office haul, barely breaking even after extensive reshoots and marketing, was also dwarfed by the Avengers films achievements.

Likewise, the villain-driven Suicide Squad was disappointing, despite its US$746 million worldwide gross.

While the DC universe has not enjoyed the love-in that Marvel movies usually get from the press and public, there have been positive signs. Wonder Woman was a triumph, with Patty Jenkins becoming the first female to helm a major superhero movie.

Meanwhile, the playful Shazam! starring Zachary Levi in the title role proved that there was room for mid-budget superhero movies, rather than the grossly inflated budgets of Justice League and its precursor, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice .

This year, however, looks to be an intriguing crossroads for both companies. For DC, its a chance to regroup and whisper it quietly possibly even eclipse Marvel.

After the tub-thumping of the DC FanDome, the autumn will serve up Wonder Woman 1984 , Jenkins much-anticipated follow-up to her wildly successful 2017 film.

While Marvels Black Widow will follow shortly after, DC has a genuine chance to deliver the biggest superhero movie of the year.

Although a hit Wonder Woman movie wouldnt be such a surprise, there are other innovations that show DC is attempting to claw back some of the market share from Marvel.

To begin with, there was the recent announcement that streaming service HBO Max has struck a deal to release the so-called Snyder Cutof Justice League .

Director Zack Snyder originally left the film during post-production after the death of his daughter, leaving Joss Whedon to finish the project.

Ever since, rabid online fan communities have demanded to see Snyders version, which is now a reality thanks to a US$30 million budget needed to re-edit, rescore and complete special effects.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=6v8Dl-6O5_g

The feelings concerning Whedon and his patched up version run deep. Ray Fisher, who plays Cyborg, recently stated on Twitter that Whedons treatment of the cast and crew during reshoots was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable.

At last weeks JusticeCon, an online fan event dedicated to Justice League , Fisher reiterated every single one of those words, every single one of those comments, is true and urged Whedon to sue me for slander if otherwise. Meanwhile, at the same event, Snyder said hed rather destroy the movie set it on fire than use footage Whedon shot.

Despite this very public spat, it shows how keen Warner Bros is to revive the Justice League ensemble by allowing the Snyder Cut to go ahead.

Meanwhile, over at Marvel, it feels more uncertain, with the company betting on unfamiliar characters from the more obscure corners of the canon in forthcoming films like The Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings .

Yes, there will be further outings for Thor and Dr Strange, whilst Disney + shows The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision will continue other established characters adventures. But with the Avengers now largely unassembled, the MCUs Phase Four feels more of a gamble.

By comparison, DC is rebranding its prized assets, a process it has readily done far more than Marvel.

Until it was shut down due to the pandemic, Matt Reeves The Batman was in production, with Robert Pattinson the sixth actor to play a live-action, big-screen version of Gotham Citys titular Caped Crusader in the modern era.

An HBO Max spin-off television series is also in the works TV being one medium where DC has largely outshone its Marvel counterparts, thanks to shows like Gotham , Batwoman , The Flash and Arrow .

The suggestion is that Reeves is taking a more raw approach with the character in his younger years, deploying more than one villain the Riddler (Paul Dano), the Penguin (Colin Farrell) and jettisoning the garish VFX-heavy approach that has dominated the Snyder-era DCEU.

The hope is that Reeves will be approximating something close to Christopher Nolans Dark Knight films the trilogy of Batman movies starring Christian Bale regarded by many as the greatest superhero films ever made.

Todd Phillips US$1 billion grossing Joker , featuring an Oscar-winning Joaquin Phoenix in a story set far apart from the DCEU, has shown just how successful this gloomy route can be.

Meanwhile, the DC universe is breaking free from Snyder, who kicked it all off with the first Henry Cavill/Superman film, 2013s Man of Steel , and largely steered the creative vision of the films ever since.

Instead, DC is taking a leaf from Marvels book and introducing a new crop of directors, including the irreverent James Gunn, who so successfully delivered Guardians of the Galaxy for Marvel.

At least for the moment, Gunn is in the DC stable, directing The Suicide Squad , which sees some of the actors from David Ayers 2016 film including Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn return for a new story.

True, there have been bumps along the road. Robbies solo outing as Quinn, Birds of Prey , flopped earlier this year, with Chinese-born director Cathy Yan at the helm. But all of a sudden, the DCEU is drawing from a bigger and more enticing well.

Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra, for example, is prepping Black Adam , with Dwayne Johnson playing the titular villain, a nemesis to Shazam who is undoubtedly being readied for a future crossover with Levis character.

The Flash is also set for a solo outing, thanks to It director Andy Muschietti, with Ezra Miller reprising his role as the speedy hero. According to recent reports, The Flash may feature Michael Keaton, reprising his role as Batman last seen in Tim Burtons 1992 film Batman Returns .

The idea comes from DC exploring the multiverse, alternate universes or realities that co-exist within the larger whole. Already, Millers Flash recently appeared opposite Grant Gustin, his TV counterpart, in Crisis on Infinite Earths , the first major crossover between DCs film and television worlds.

While all this opens up the possibility of future match-ups from different DC realities Pattinsons Batman vs Phoenixs Joker, perhaps? it also shows the DCEUs desire to reshuffle its deck of cards until it finds a winning hand.

After all, it has a number of aces in its pack. And a Joker too.

DC Fandome takes place on August 22. For more details, visit dccomics.com .

This article was first published in South China Morning Post.

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Could 2020 be the year DC finally overtakes Marvel? - AsiaOne

The ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ Army Is Rampaging Through Twitter – VICE

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Image: Alita Battle Angel

Just like the title character, there's nothing the Alita Battle Angel fandom can't beat in a fight. Not even Little Women.

Over the past few months, there's been a casual poll that's gone viral in film Twitter. It's a bracket match up intended to determine the "best movie of all time" that has been deliberately designed to create meltdowns. I've already gone catatonic with rage at some of these match ups (I will never stop being upset that Akira Kurosawa's magnum opus, Ran, lost to fucking Raiders of the Lost Ark).

Of all the films in the Greatest Movie of All Time Bracketthere are hundreds, as losers get a second chance in the "Bombs" bracket before they're eliminatedone movie has slowly but surely mowed down it's competition, like an amnesiac cyborg on a quest for revenge: Alita Battle Angel.

Like K-Pop stans, the Alita Army is mobilized and ready to defend their object of fandom at any given time. There are Alita themed Twitter accounts light up like the Batsignal when there's an opportunity to celebrate the film. When you mention Alita Battle Angel on Twitter, the Army will appear, ready for a rhetorical fight on why their favorite movie is good, actually.

If you haven't seen Alita and don't know what it's about, well, strap in. This movie is not only carrying the weight of being an actually good film adaptation of a beloved manga, but being a passion project that took over a decade for James Cameron, the movie's producer and original director, to get off the ground. The film ended up being directed by Robert Rodriguez, the wildly creative director that just can't seem to get audiences to sign on with his outsized imagination. On top of that, when it actually came out in theaters, it was an underdog, destined for cult classic status but not the blockbuster success one would hope that a big, splashy action movie would receive. Sure it dominated its President's Day opening weekend, but that was one of the weakest opening weekend's for the holiday in years.

All that, and we haven't even gotten to the movie's quality. Dear reader: it slaps. It is the rare kind of action movie spectacle that only comes from a mind that lives and breathes fight scenes and science fiction. The title character Alita, played charmingly by Rosa Salazar and her uncanny CGI-enhanced eyes, has both the sweetness of a teenage ingenue and the ferocity of a battle hardened warrior. The film dances along a knife's edge where it balances CW style melodrama, high octane cyborg murder and an entire sports movie arc without dropping a single beat. I have never seen anything like it, and I'm not sure I ever will again. If that's enough to convince you to stop reading this article right now and watch Alita, then how about this: Christoph Waltz plays a kindly scientist who is also a bounty hunter that murders evil cyborgs with a giant rocket hammer.

Its passionate fans are desperate for a sequel, not least because the movie ended on a mind blowing cliffhanger. In lieu of any news, they're doing what any other fandom would do: looking for avenues with which to assert their dominance. Using the hashtag #AlitaArmy, they signal each other whenever the movie needs their support. The latest target has been the Greatest Movie of All Time Bracket, and they've carried the movie from win to win.

For the most part, people following this poll have found the Alita Army's efforts charming. That changed yesterday when it came up against another adaptation of an acclaimed coming of age story about complicated female characters: Greta Gerwig's Little Women.

Gerwig, too, is an underdog as a woman in a male dominated field, and she, too, makes movies that are more cult classics than blockbusters. But Gerwig is more critically acclaimed than Rodriguez has ever been. Though she likes her share of melodrama, she doesn't make pulp, and her movies have been nominated for Oscars. Her fandom, while not as intense as Alita's, is also quite defensive of her and seeks to laud her success whenever they can. The idea of Little Women losing to a schlocky action film was too much for some of the Gerwig Gang to bear. And let's be clear; despite pulling ahead for a handful of hours, Little Women is absolutely losing to Alita Battle Angel.

Little Women stans, take a breath for a second. Louisa May Alcott has written some of the most significant literary works of all time, and Little Women has long been heralded as a classic of American literature. Gerwig's adaptation, similarly, has already overtaken the 90s movie starring Winona Ryder as the adaptation to watch, and I'm sure will warm the hearts of white women with beaded journals for decades to come. Yet, Little Women stans have positioned themselves as the underdog in this battle. If you think about it for longer than a second, it doesn't make sense.

Little Women was nominated for six Oscars and won one of them. Alita was nominated for precisely zero. Fans of Greta Gerwig know that she will return with another movie project soon enough. Alita fans are reduced to begging for a sequel on Twitter (Although he has expressed desire to direct a sequel to Alita, the film's status is still up in the air). To reduce Rodriguez's movie as just a sexist action flick, as some Little Women fans are, is not just an indicator of one's ignorance, but an insult to a great director. Rodriguez's Alita is not just about cyborg fights, though there are a lot of those. Alita treats its female lead with a level of respect that I almost never see in mainstream cinema. Everything about the movie, from its teen romance subplots to its rendering of Alita's emotional vulnerability, is absolutely sincere.

Today, the Alita Army got "Alita Sequel" trending on Twitter. In the hashtag, there isn't any hate for the fandoms that have maligned Alita Battle Angel. There's just a pure, heartfelt love for Alita. Fans recount how the movie touched them emotionally, the love they have for the world and its characters, and how all they want is a chance to visit that world again. I say, let Alita slice their way through the Greatest Movie of All Time Bracket. So many of the movies it's been up against have had their due. Let Alita Battle Angel, a movie decades in the making, a true labor of love, finally reign supreme.

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The 'Alita: Battle Angel' Army Is Rampaging Through Twitter - VICE

Ill be back? Have we seen the end of the Terminator franchise for good? – NME

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How would you kill yours? Back in the 80s, being fully prepared for a Terminator attack simply meant installing industrial crushing machinery on your doorstep, designed to activate if anyone kicked the door in wearing leather trousers. In the 90s things got more complicated you were going to need some kind of substantial smelting equipment on hand, kept constantly at the melting point of titanium. And these days, well, youd need to move into a deserted crane-making factory to be on the safe side.

Its the evolution of the threat that has kept the Terminator franchise so potent in the minds of fans for 26 years. Every 10 years or so Skynet will chuck their latest state of the art model of single-minded murderbot in the time machine to go hunt down whoevers destined to become Resistance leader, now with added nano-bastard technology making it even more resistant to our primitive weaponry, like shaking a spear at an aircraft carrier.

It might be somewhat reassuring that Skynet hadnt yet become super-intelligent enough to realise its best chance of eliminating Sarah Connor in the first place was to keep sending entire platoons of Rev-9s back to just before the first film in 1984, when she wouldnt know whats coming, but the franchises entire conceit played on a particularly fertile strand of human fear.

Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator: Dark Fate. Credit: Paramount Pictures/Entertainment Pictures

Most sci-fi scares happened in gunmetal corridors many light years away and most horror flicks depend on the viewer suspending their disbelief in Biblical demons, mystical spooks and murderers who can get up after being run over by a steamroller and keep slashing. But Terminator played on our perfectly rational fear of technology corrupted, landing the fast-evolving techno-horrors of tomorrow be they nuclear annihilation or immortal death-droid in the relatively defenceless present. In the week that Terminator Salvation comes to Netflix, a video went viral of a man-sized robot doing a forward roll. Every Termi-nerd felt a shiver of terror.

Salvation was the point where the franchise attempted to launch a second, more action-based trilogy with Christian Bale as John Connor leading the resistance into battle against legions of red-eyed Robo-Rambos and even someone such as myself whod hated the sequel to the sublime, wire-tense Alien turning out to be a war film lapped it up avidly, a sucker for anything in your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle.

Yet the disappointing box office returns and $130 million loss of last years Terminator: Dark Fate another potential trilogy starter which marked the return of franchise originator James Cameron to the fold as writer and producer and ignored everything this side of 1991s Terminator 2: Judgement Day in favour of its own fresh timeline saw all plans for further films cancelled and prompted hints from the cast that the Terminator might have crushed its last human skull into the post-apocalyptic dust.

To think that thered be a demand for a seventh film is quite insane, said Mackenzie Davies, who played augmented super-soldier Grace in Dark Fate, while Linda Hamilton, who returned as Sarah Connor for the latest film, only foresees a low-budget future for the franchise at best, but I would really love to be done.

The failure of Dark Fate was initially baffling. It fit all the criteria of a late 10s blockbuster smash: a familiar franchise with an elaborate universe, returning big names, a cult following and solid reviews. But perhaps it bombed by no longer playing on the subliminal fears of its audience.

In the early 80s The Terminator essentially slotted in as the time-travel take on the Indestructible Bad Guy alongside Alien, Halloween, The Omen and Friday The 13th but with the added frisson of nuclear paranoia. It spoke to an underlying societal dread; killer robots from the distant future seemed a fantasy but a murderous, slow-moving, cold-quipping stalker with advanced weaponry and a heart of uranium struck a deep chord in the dying days of the Cold War.

The same threat doesnt hold true for todays audiences. The threat might be discerned from the same sources but theyre far more intangible and endemic; theyre in our phones, on our timelines, in the very data we absorb. So one almighty cyborg superpower stomping down the road towards us with a futuristic AK4700 for an elbow doesnt hold quite the same intrinsic reflex terror as it once did; it seems, in fact, like as throwback to simpler, less besieged times.

Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 3. Credit: Press

Instead, directors like Ari Aster tap into very modern fears with his unseen devilments in Hereditary and the evil lurking behind welcoming smiles in Midsommar. Something in those films tugs at the unspoken dangers of clicking through a Facebook quiz or divulging our voting preferences anywhere near Alexa. In 2020, the charging polyalloy bullet sponges of the Terminator franchise seems rather crude in comparison.

Could Terminator work as a low-budget revival? It seems unlikely, given that much of its ongoing fascination is tied into the mystery of what level of diabolical CGI nanotechnology Skynet will come up with next. The original is too iconic to reboot successfully as is, but the time-travel conceit opens many alternative storylines.

Say a re-release of the first film is suddenly invaded halfway through by a brand new model sent back by Skynet to help the original Arnie hunt down Sarah Connor in 1984? Half an old film, half a new one even if its a nonsensical shitshow, youd have to watch it right? In fact, Id endure all manner of timeline-splicing tomfoolery if it means Arniell be back.

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Ill be back? Have we seen the end of the Terminator franchise for good? - NME

What’s Needed to Deliver the Nationwide Quantum Internet Blueprint – HPCwire

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While few details accompanied last weeks official announcement of U.S. plans for a nation-wide quantum internet, many of the priorities and milestones had been worked out during a February workshop and are now available in subsequent reports. The Department of Energy is leading the effort which is part of the U.S. Quantum Initiative passed in 2019.

The race to harness quantum information science whether through computing, communications, or sensing has become a global competition. In many ways quantum communications is the furthest along in development and its promise of near absolute security is extremely alluring. DOEs 17 National Laboratories are intended to serve as the backbone of the U.S. quantum internet effort.

As noted in the official announcement, Crucial steps toward building such an internet are already underway in the Chicago region, which has become one of the leading global hubs for quantum research. In February of this year, scientists from DOEs Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Illinois, and the University of Chicagoentangled photons across a 52-milequantumloop in the Chicago suburbs, successfully establishing one of the longest land-based quantum networks in the nation. That network will soon be connected to DOEs Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois, establishing a three-node, 80-mile testbed.

Turning early prototypes into a scaled-up nationwide effort involves tackling many technical challenges. One thorny problem, for example, is development of robust repeater technology, which among other things requires reliable quantum memory technology and prevention of signal loss. Interestingly, satellites may play a role as a bridge according to the report:

A quantum Internet will not exist in isolation apart from the current classical digital networks. Quantum information largely is encoded in photons and transmitted over optical fiber infrastructure that is used widely by todays classical networks. Thus, at a fundamental level, both are supported by optical fiber that implements lightwave channels. Unlike digital information encoded and transmitted over current fiber networks, quantum information cannot be amplified with traditional mechanisms as the states will be modified if measured.

While quantum networks are expected to use the optical fiber infrastructure, it could be that special fibers may enable broader deployment of this technology. At least in the near term, satellite-based entanglement bridges could be used to directly connect transcontinental and transatlantic Q-LANs. Preliminary estimates indicate that entangled pairs could be shared at rates exceeding 106 in a single pass of a Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite. Such a capability may be a crucial intermediate step, while efficient robust repeaters are developed (as some estimates predict more than 100 repeaters would be needed to establish a transatlantic link).

The report from the workshop spells out four priorities along with five milestones. (The event was chaired by Kerstin Kleese van Dam, Brookhaven National Laboratory; Inder Monga, Energy Sciences Network; Nicholas Peters, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and Thomas Schenkel, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory).

Here are the four priorities identified in the report:

Some of the test cases being discussed are fascinating such as one across Long Island, NY:

For example, there would be considerable value in expanding on the current results gleaned from the Brookhaven LabSBUESnet collaboration, which in April 2019 achieved the longest distance entanglement distribution experiment in the United States by covering approximately 20 km. Integral to the testbed are room-temperature quantum network prototypes, developed by SBUs Quantum Information Technology (QIT) laboratory, that connect several quantum memories and qubit sources. The combination of these important results allowed the BrookhavenSBU ESnet team to design and implement a quantum network prototype that connects several locations at Brookhaven Lab and SBU.

By using quantum memories to enhance the swapping of the polarization entanglement of flying photon pairs, the implementation aims to distribute entanglement over long distances without detrimental losses. The team has established a quantum network on Long Island, N.Y., using ESnets and Crown Castle fiber infrastructure, which encompasses approximately 120-km fiber length connecting Brookhaven Lab, SBU, and Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology (CEWIT) at SBU campus locations.

As a next step, the team plans to connect this existing quantum network with the Manhattan Landing (MAN- LAN) in New York City, a high-performance exchange point where several major networks converge. This work would set the stage for a nationwide quantum-protected information exchange network. Figure 3:3 depicts the planned network configuration.

Here are milestones called out in the report:

A fifth broad milestone the Cross-cutting milestone: Build a Multi-institutional Ecosystem emphasizes the importance of federal agency cooperation and coordination and names DOE, NSF, NIST, DoD, NSA, and NASA as key players. While pursuing these alliances, critical opportunities for new directions and spin-off applications should be encouraged by robust cooperation with quantum communication startups and large optical communications companies. Early adopters can deliver valuable design metrics.

Its a clearly ambitious agenda. Stay tuned.

Link to announcement, https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/doe-unveils-blueprint-for-the-quantum-internet-in-event-at-university-of-chicago/

Link to slide deck, https://science.osti.gov/-/media/ascr/ascac/pdf/meetings/202004/Quantum_Internet_Blueprint_Update.pdf?la=en&hash=8C076C1BEB7CA49A3920B1A3C15AA531B48BDD72

Link to full report, https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2020/07/f76/QuantumWkshpRpt20FINAL_Nav_0.pdf

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What's Needed to Deliver the Nationwide Quantum Internet Blueprint - HPCwire

Commentary: America must invest in its ability to innovate – MIT News

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In July of 1945, in an America just beginning to establish a postwar identity, former MIT vice president Vannevar Bush set forth a vision that guided the country to decades of scientific dominance and economic prosperity. Bushs report to the president of the United States, Science: The Endless Frontier, called on the government to support basic research in university labs. Its ideas, including the creation of the National Science Foundation (NSF), are credited with helping to make U.S. scientific and technological innovation the envy of the world.

Today, Americas lead in science and technology is being challenged as never before, write MIT President L. Rafael Reif and Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie in an op-ed published today by The Chicago Tribune. They describe a triple challenge of bolder foreign competitors, faster technological change, and a merciless race to get from lab to market.

The governments decision to adopt Bushs ideas was bold and controversial at the time, and similarly bold action is needed now, they write.

The U.S. has the fundamental building blocks for success, including many of the worlds top research universities that are at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19, reads the op-ed. But without a major, sustained funding commitment, a focus on key technologies and a faster system for transforming discoveries into new businesses, products and quality jobs, in todays arena, America will not prevail.

McRobbie and Reif believe a bipartisan bill recently introduced in both chambers of Congress can help Americas innovation ecosystem meet the challenges of the day. Named the Endless Frontier Act, the bill would support research focused on advancing key technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing. It does not seek to alter or replace the NSF, but to create new strength in parallel, they write.

The bill would also create scholarships, fellowships, and other forms of assistance to help build an American workforce ready to develop and deploy the latest technologies. And, it would facilitate experiments to help commercialize new ideas more quickly.

Todays leaders have the opportunity to display the far-sighted vision their predecessors showed after World War II to expand and shape of our institutions, and to make the investments to adapt to a changing world, Reif and McRobbie write.

Both university presidents acknowledge that measures such as the Endless Frontier Act require audacious choices. But if leaders take the right steps now, they write, those choices will seem, in retrospect, obvious and wise.

Now as then, our national prosperity hinges on the next generation of technical triumphs, Reif and Mcrobbie write. Now as then, that success is not inevitable, and it will not come by chance. But with focused funding and imaginative policy, we believe it remains in reach.

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Commentary: America must invest in its ability to innovate - MIT News

Global Automotive Turbocharger Market (2020 to 2025) – Asia Oceania set to Dominate the Industry – ResearchAndMarkets.com – Yahoo Finance

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The "Automotive Turbocharger Market by Technology (VGT, Wastegate, Electric), Material (Cast Iron, Aluminum), Component, Fuel Type, Application (Agriculture, Construction), Vehicle (Passenger Car, LCV, Truck & Bus), Aftermarket, Region - Global Forecast to 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global automotive turbocharger market size is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.5% during the forecast period, where the revenue in 2020 is estimated to be USD 11.1 billion and is projected to reach USD 18.4 billion by 2025.

The growth of the automotive turbocharger market is influenced by factors such as upcoming regulation in Asian countries such as China and India, increased production of mild - hybrid vehicles, and increased popularity of TGDI among others. Some of the market restraining factors are the declining share of diesel vehicles, a recent decline in global vehicle production, and possible shift towards electric cars.

Aluminum is estimated to be the fastest-growing material for turbochargers.

The automotive turbocharger consists of various components like turbines, turbocharger housing, compressor housing, bearings, and turbocharger shaft. Cast Iron, Aluminum, Stainless Steel, Nickel - based alloys, Titanium - alloys are the essential materials used for the manufacturing of turbochargers. The durability of turbocharger components at high temperatures depends upon the type of material been used for it. Owing to the light-weighting trend, and the benefits offered by Aluminum over cast iron, the demand for Al is estimated to be the largest in the coming years.

Passenger car segment is estimated as the largest market for turbochargers.

Passenger car is the major market for turbochargers in the vehicle segment, considering the overall production globally. According to ACEA, the passenger car production hit 74.9 million in 2019 and is expected to go beyond ~70 - 72 million by 2024 - 2025, with Asia Pacific and North America being the leading regions. In 2019, Asia Oceania passenger car production was around 40.2 million units as compared to 43.8 million units in 2017. In 2019, the Asia Oceania region accounted for 79.4% of the global passenger car production. On the other hand, China accounted for 29.2% of the worldwide passenger car production, which makes Asia Oceania is the largest market for turbochargers.

Asia Oceania to dominate the automotive turbocharger market.

Asia Oceania is estimated to be the largest market for automotive turbochargers. The automotive industry has changed the landscape of the Asia Pacific region. Increased production of automobiles, the presence of key players such as IHI, continental AG, Mitsubishi heavy industries, BorgWarner have broadened the scope for turbochargers in this region. China's passenger car production is estimated to cross 20 million by 2024, with 50% of them already equipped with TGDI now will expand the turbocharger market. Other emerging economies stress on cleaner vehicles such as Mild hybrid vehicles, and stringent emission norms will positively impact the turbocharger industry in the future.

Market Dynamics

Drivers

Restraints

Opportunities

Challenges

Companies Profiled

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/em622r

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200722005370/en/

Contacts

ResearchAndMarkets.comLaura Wood, Senior Press Managerpress@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

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Global Automotive Turbocharger Market (2020 to 2025) - Asia Oceania set to Dominate the Industry - ResearchAndMarkets.com - Yahoo Finance

Jessica Thivenin (LMvsMonde5) at war with Oceania El Himer ? More is known – The Saxon

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The shooting of Marseille vs the rest of the world 5 will end soon. While there is only a few days to the candidates to try to win the competition, Jessica Thivenin made some big revelations about the game problems. In speaking of the mother of Maylone, and we wondered what she thought of Ocane El Himer. As a reminder, this last went on the shooting in the south of France, despite his leg injury. His arrival was greatly anticipated by some candidates since the young woman is not really appreciated by all, including Benjamin Samat. But then, Jessica Thivenin she took the side of his friend or the sister of Navy El Himer ?

After the revelations of the account Instagram aka.tvshow, Jessica Thivenin would not be at war with Ocane El Himer. On the contrary, the two young women would even be friends because they follow each other on social networks. For the blogger, the fact that Jessica Thivenin hate Alix would have greatly played. He explained : Jessica does not hinder to be friend with the one which has popped the couple of Benjamin Samat and Alix. Also, be aware that Thibault Garcia just follow Ocane El Himer on Instagram. At the beginning, it is hoped that the young woman has managed to integrate into his family. Also, find out if Kevin Guedj and Carla Moreau are in the cold with Jessica Thivenin because of their elimination in The Marseille vs. the rest of the world 5.

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Jessica Thivenin (LMvsMonde5) at war with Oceania El Himer ? More is known - The Saxon

National Guard Commander To Testify ‘Excessive Force’ Used on White House Protesters – Defense One

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Officer on the scene saw spent tear gas canisters, contradicting key details of Attorney General Barrs account of the controversial night.

A National Guard commander who was present during the forcible clearing of protesters in front of the White Houselast month accused the Trump administration of an unprovoked escalation and excessive use of force on peaceful protesters, and contradicted key elements of Attorney General Bill Barrs account including whether tear gas was used in theincident.

In a prepared statement to be delivered to a House committee on Tuesday, Maj. Adam DeMarco said that protesters gathered in Lafayette Park were behaving peacefully, exercising their First Amendment rights when Park Police abruptly moved in to clear the area so that President Donald Trump could walk through to take a photograph at a nearby church, approximately 30 minutes before a 7 p.m. city curfew. Although the Park Police issued three warnings over a megaphone, DeMarco said warnings required both by law and court rulings the announcements were barely audible and I saw no indication that the demonstrators were cognizant of the warnings todisperse.

DeMarco also accused a Park Police liaison officer of misleading him about the use of tear gas. On June 1, DeMarco was on the scene serving as the liaison between the D.C. National Guard and D.C. Health, the city governments department for health, and local hospitals, to facilitate immediate needs requests, surge capacity planning, and emergency events associated with the pandemic. He said that when he asked his Park Police liaison if tear gas was being used on protesters, the liaison officer claimed that explosions DeMarco could see from the clearing operation were stage smoke, not teargas.

But I could feel irritation in my eyes and nose, and based on my previous exposure to tear gas in my training at West Point and later in my Army training, I recognized that irritation as effects consistent with CS or tear gas, DeMarco said. And later that evening, I found spent tear gas cannisters [sic] on the streetnearby.

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Barr, defending the operation in a press conference on June 4, claimed that protesters in the park were growing increasingly unruly and refused to disperse after receiving three warnings. He has claimed that the maneuver was an appropriate use of force needed to create more of a buffer around the White House complex, denying that it was a last-minute change to create a photo opportunity for the president. He has defended police tactics, insisting that there was no gas and pepper spray is not a chemicalirritant.

The Trump administrations use of force at that event, and its handling of the protests in Washington, D.C. broadly,have faced widespread condemnation, including from four prominent retired generals. Trumps first defense secretary, Jim Mattis, former Joint Chiefs chairmen Mike Mullen and Martin Dempsey, and retired top Afghanistan war commander John Allen all issued public missives condemning the militarized response to the protests and unrest, and specifically decried the parkoperation.

DeMarco will appear alongside Gregory Monahan, the acting chief of the Park Police, at 10 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 3, in front of the House Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over the ParkPolice.

According to DeMarco, he was briefed at approximately 5:30 p.m. that the park was to be cleared in order to install a larger security barricade on H street, pushing the protesters farther away from the White House. Because D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowsers curfew was not until 7 p.m., DeMarco said he was not expecting any movement before then. DeMarco said he also asked prior to the operation whether tear gas would be used, having noticed canisters strapped to Park Police officers vests. The Park Police liaison said the chemical irritant would not be employed, DeMarcosaid.

At 6:05 p.m., DeMarco reported, Barr appeared and conferred with Park Police officers. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley who has been criticized for his presence during the operation also arrived and spoke with DeMarco. General Milley told me to ensure that National Guard personnel remained calm, adding that we were there to respect the demonstrators First Amendment rights, DeMarcosaid.

Milley has denied any prior knowledge of the clearing operation and later said he was wrong for appearing at the protests in fatigues, which critics have said crossed an important line between civilian law enforcement and the military. I should not have been there, he said, in a speech ten dayslater.

The first of three warnings were given at 6:20 p.m., according to DeMarco, and the clearing operation began shortly thereafter. No National Guard personnel participated in the push or engaged in any other use of force against the demonstrators, DeMarco said, backing up official statements from the Pentagon. From the northeast corner of the square, DeMarco said he witnessed people fall to the ground as some Civil Disturbance Unit members of the D.C. police used their shields offensively asweapons.

At around 7:05 p.m., DeMarco said he saw Trump walk towards St. Johns Church, where he would be photographed holding up a Bible. His arrival came as a complete surprise, DeMarco said, because we had not been briefed that he would enter oursector.

As for the new security barrier, whose installation was the stated purpose of the clearing operation, the materials to erect it did not arrive on the scene until around 9:00 pm, and it was not completed until later that night, DeMarcosaid.

DeMarco in his testimony condemned the operation as an unnecessary use of force that was deeply disturbing to me, and to fellow NationalGuardsmen.

Having served in a combat zone, and understanding how to assess threat environments, at no time did I feel threatened by the protestors or assess them to be violent, he said. From my observation, those demonstrators our fellow American citizens were engaged in the peaceful expression of their First Amendment rights. Yet they were subjected to an unprovoked escalation and excessive use offorce.

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National Guard Commander To Testify 'Excessive Force' Used on White House Protesters - Defense One

Washington Football Team coach Ron Rivera will stand during national anthem, might kneel for coin toss – Yahoo Sports

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Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera will not be kneeling during the national anthem, he told The Athleticon Monday.

Rivera, who earlier this offseasonexpressed support for any of his players who decideto kneel, said he may take a kneeduring the coin toss to show his support of Black Lives Matter. But his decision to stand during the national anthem is tied to honoring family who haveserved.

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"I'm not gonna kneel because my father served in the military," Rivera said."My brother was a first responder. My wife's family was in the military. My dad had brothers that served in World War II. So to me, standing at attention is what I'm going to do. That's how I'm going to honor them. I might kneel during the coin toss because I do support Black Lives Matter. I do support the movement to help correct the policing."

In reiteratinghis support for players who decide to kneel, Rivera citedtheir rights to do so under the first amendment of the Constitution of the United States, which gives people the freedom of speech and right to peaceably assemble.

RELATED: DWAYNE HASKINS UNSURE IF HE WILL KNEEL DURING ANTHEM

"Let's go back to our Constitution, to our Bill of Rights, the amendment," Rivera said."Let's go back to the oath of office to serve and protect. Part of the Constitution is the First Amendment. There's a lot of people out there that support the Second Amendment vehemently. Well, if you support the Second Amendment vehemently, why wouldn't you support the first one, which is freedom of expression, freedom of speech? And that's all that is. That's an extension of one of our unalienable rights, one of our God-given rights, one of the things written into the Constitution. So, again, let's at least applaud that. Let's celebrate that as well."

In June, following the death of George Floyd, Washington running back Adrian Peterson said he "without a doubt"would be kneeling during the national anthem this fall to protest police brutality. He said other players would too: "We're all getting ready to take a knee together."

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Encoded Therapeutics bags $135M to push ‘precision gene therapy’ into the clinic – FierceBiotech

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GW Pharmas Epidiolex made history in 2018 when the cannabis-based treatment scored an FDA nod for Dravet syndrome, a genetic disorder marked by intractable seizures. But children with Dravet face much more than just seizures. Enter Encoded Therapeutics, which just raised $135 million to advance a precision gene therapy that could treat the disease in its totality.

The series D financing will bankroll a natural history study, slated for the second half of 2020, of Dravet syndrome stemming from mutations in the SCN1A gene, as well as a phase 1 study to start in 2021. Drawn from a long list of marquee investors including GV, Matrix Capital Management and Arch Venture Partners, the capital will also support a clutch of earlier-stage gene therapies for other pediatric central nervous system (CNS) disorders.

Encoded aims to surmount hurdles in the gene therapy space, including the treatments ability to zero in on specific cells, their potency and their ability to control endogenous genes, CEO Kartik Ramamoorthi, Ph.D., told Fierce Biotech in a previous interview.

RELATED: Encoded Therapeutics bags $104M to propel 'precision gene therapy' for Dravet syndrome

Rather than "knock out" defective genes, introduce a new gene into the body or replace a faulty gene with a healthy copy, Encoded targets pieces of DNA that control gene expression. Its technology screens for and identifies sequences in the human genome dubbed regulatory elements because they control the expression of other genes.

Theyre fundamentally important as to why different types of cells are unique and operate differently, Ramamoorthi said. We can incorporate these sequences into any gene delivery vehicle of interest; were focused on adeno-associated viruses as an initial application.

Its lead program, ETX101, is designed to remedy mutations in the SCN1A genewhich causes the majority of Dravet casesby boosting expression of SCN1A in a specific cell type in the brain. This way, Encoded aims to tackle gait problems, impaired coordination and developmental delays.

Encoded hasnt disclosed its programs beyond ETX101, but Ramamoorthi said they target diseases that are similar to Dravet syndrome.

Many of these pediatric disorders result in cell type-selective dysfunction, meaning a particular type of cell in the central nervous system is not operating appropriately, usually due to a single gene dysfunction, he said.

RELATED: Taysha Gene Therapies hits the ground running with $30M, 15 programs

The latest financing comes about a year after Encodeds $104 million series C round. Since then, the company has filled out its team with gene therapy trailblazers like Chief Manufacturing OfficerAndrew Stoberand Chief Regulatory OfficerNancy Boman, M.D., Ph.D., both of whom were on the AveXis team that developed and submitted the gene therapy Zolgensma for FDA approval.

Theyve done it before in gene therapy and theyre hungry for more, Ramamoorthi said.

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Encoded Therapeutics bags $135M to push 'precision gene therapy' into the clinic - FierceBiotech

GV’s David Schenkein comes in to help mentor and bankroll a gene therapy 2.0 player, intrigued by their ‘science heavy’ approach to conquering…

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After weeks of buildup and controversial delays, Moderna has launched its pivotal study to determine whether their Covid-19 vaccine actually works. And BARDA is committing another $472 million to get them there.

The 30,000 person study will test whether two 100 g doses of their mRNA vaccine can prevent people from becoming symptomatic with Covid-19. The launch marks the beginning of a second stage in the hunt for a coronavirus vaccine, as the most well-backed and advanced efforts having been tested for safety and immunogenicity in small groups of volunteers move into studies that will determine whether they can actually prevent Covid-19 and be available in the fall or winter to stem the pandemic.

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GV's David Schenkein comes in to help mentor and bankroll a gene therapy 2.0 player, intrigued by their 'science heavy' approach to conquering...

Few CMOs are equipped to manufacture cell and gene therapies – Pharmaceutical Technology

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As more than 7,000 cell and gene therapies progress through the development pipeline and only 152 CMOs have the capabilities to manufacture them, production bottlenecks are the major obstacle to large-scale commercial manufacture once more Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) are approved, experts say.

In a panel discussion called Discover/Develop: But How Will you Manufacture Your Therapeutic? at BIO Digital Conference 2020 on June 8, John Erickson, Chief Technology Officer at NIIMBL (Newark, DE, US), said the problems lie with flexibility, process control, speed, sustainability, and capital costs. Bottlenecks, especially in viral vector manufacturing, and slow processing will limit wide-scale commercial manufacture of ATMPs, he said.

Panellist Sue Behrens, Professor in Bioprocessing and Director of the Amgen Bioprocessing Center at Keck Graduate Institute (Claremont, CA, US), agreed, highlighting product stability and sterility as the big challenges, stemming from a poor understanding of how technologies interact. Process control for ATMPs is inherently difficult due to variability in the biologic starting material, but real-time biosensor readings could fix this by allowing adjustments during the process, she said.

The largest CMOs are predicting great future demand and have significantly invested in ATMP manufacturing capabilities. In May 2019, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Waltham, MA, US) acquired Brammer Bio (Cambridge, MA, US) for $1.7B, and Catalent (Somerset, NJ, US) acquired Paragon Bioservices (Baltimore, MD, US) for $1.2B in May 2019 and later MaSTherCell Global (Hainaut, Belgium) for $315M in February 2020. Despite demand being unpredictable and many problems still existing with the ATMP manufacturing process, there has been consistent and sustained spending on enhancing related capabilities (particularly for the viral vector bottleneck issue) even over recent months, as Table 1 shows.

Table 1: CMO Investments in API Biologics Cell, Gene, Vaccine, and Virus, AprilJuly 2020

Currently, there are only 34 marketed gene and cell therapies globally. It is a relatively new and high-value treatment, with Gilead Sciences Incs (Foster City, CA, US) Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel), Novartis AGs (Basel, Switzerland) Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec-xioi), and Novartis Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) being particularly lucrative in terms of 2019 revenues. However, as Figure 1 shows, there are a large number of ATMPs in the drug pipeline. In future, they will become increasingly approved and therefore improvements to the production process are required to remove manufacturing bottlenecks and enable cost-efficient manufacture at a commercial scale.

Figure 1: Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products in the Drug Pipeline

Source: GlobalData, Pharma Intelligence Center Drugs Database (Accessed: 8 July 2020) 2020 GlobalData Plc.

Notes: Pipeline drugs are in Discovery, Preclinical, IND/CTA Filed, Phase 0, Phase I, Phase II, Phase III, and Pre-Registration stages

Producing gene or cell therapies requires an inherently high level of manufacturing expertise and expensive facility requirements many pharma companies do not possess. Figure 2 assesses the current manufacturing source outlook and CMO opportunities for 12 cell or gene therapies approved in the US or EU and whose manufacturing arrangements are publicly disclosed. Many of the sponsors for these products are large-cap ($10B100B) or mega-cap (>$100B) companies, which typically choose to invest in developing their own manufacturing facilities. However, API, dose, and packaging have been outsourced for 39%, 26%, and 29% of ATMPs respectively, proving that significant opportunities exist for CMOs. Licensor/Partner agreements accounted for 56% of all manufacturing relationships.

Based on these findings, there are considerable opportunities for CMOs with the capabilities to manufacture ATMPs. However, only 152 CMOs have the capability to produce cell or gene therapy API for global markets and of these only 121 are dedicated contract CMOs, according to the Contract Service Provider database.

Figure 2: Manufacturing Sources for Gene and Cell Therapies Approved in US/EU

Source: GlobalData, Pharma Intelligence Center Drugs by Manufacturer Database (Accessed: 8 July 2020) 2020 GlobalData Plc

GlobalData is this websites parent business intelligence company.

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Few CMOs are equipped to manufacture cell and gene therapies - Pharmaceutical Technology

Thermo Fisher Launches Cell And Gene Therapy Mfg. Offering – Contract Pharma

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Thermo Fisher Scientific has launched a compliance and services portfolio, compatible with current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP), designed to enable rapid start-up of clinical and commercial cell and gene therapy manufacturing.

Developed to simplify and optimize the cGMP equipment installation and validation processes, the Thermo Scientific Cell Therapy Systems (CTS) Series Laboratory Equipment are comprised of a range of key lab equipment routinely used in cell and gene therapy manufacturing, including biological safety cabinets, centrifuges, CO2 incubators and cold storage systems. Each product includes a factory acceptance test documentation package comprised of operating certificates, performance specifications, user guides and technical manuals. The portfolio is also supported by field compliance services, including installation setup, IQ, OQ and other support, such as temperature mapping and calibration.

The CTS Series Laboratory Equipment are manufactured at ISO13485-certified sites, and designed to meet global mechanical and electrical safety standards.

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Thermo Fisher Launches Cell And Gene Therapy Mfg. Offering - Contract Pharma

2020 Growth: Gene Therapy Market 2020 Research on Import-Export Details, Business Standards and Forecast to 2025 – Owned

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Global Gene Therapy (COVID-19) Market Report 2020 by Key Players, Types, Applications, Countries, Market Size, Forecast to 2026 (Based on 2020 COVID-19 Worldwide Spread)

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Gene Therapy Market Segmentation:

By Disease Indication

Cancer

Genetic disorders

Cardiovascular diseases

Ophthalmology

Neurological conditions

Others

By Type of Vectors

Viral vectors

Non-viral vectors

By Type of Cells

Somatic cells

Germline cells

By Region

North America

o U.S.

o Canada

o Mexico

Europe

o UK

o France

o Germany

o Russia

o Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific

o China

o South Korea

o India

o Japan

o Rest of Asia-Pacific

LAMEA

o Latin America

o Middle East

o Africa

Gene Therapy Market Key Players:

Pfizer Inc.

Novartis AG

Bayer AG

Sanofi

GlaxoSmithKline plc.

Amgen Inc.

Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH

uniQure N.V.

bluebird bio, Inc.

Celgene Corporation

Others

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2020 Growth: Gene Therapy Market 2020 Research on Import-Export Details, Business Standards and Forecast to 2025 - Owned

4D Molecular Therapeutics Announces First Patient Dosed in Phase 1 Clinical Trial of 4D-110 by Intravitreal Injection for the Treatment of…

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EMERYVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--4D Molecular Therapeutics (4DMT), a clinical-stage leader in the development of precision-guided AAV gene medicines based on directed evolution, announced that the first patient has been dosed in the Phase 1 clinical trial of 4D-110, a Roche-licensed product candidate, delivered by a single intravitreal injection for Choroideremia. Choroideremia is a blinding and currently untreatable X-linked inherited retinal disease.

Dosing the first patient in the Phase 1 clinical trial of 4D-110 marks the first of three Therapeutic Vector Evolution pipeline candidates expected to enter the clinic in 2020, said David Kirn, MD, co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of 4DMT. 4DMT harnesses the power of directed evolution to develop precision-guided AAV gene medicines. In the case of 4D-110, this proprietary and optimized AAV vector is designed to provide targeted delivery to the retina of a functional copy of the CHM gene by intravitreal injection, a routine clinical route of administration. Ultimately, our aim is to alter the course of this debilitating disease and to treat patients with all stages of the disease. I would like to thank the Choroideremia patient community, their families and caregivers, the Choroideremia Research Foundation, and the clinical trial physicians and staff, without whom 4DMT would not have reached this stage.

With no currently approved therapies available for patients impacted by Choroideremia, gene therapy represents a promising therapeutic approach, said David Birch, PhD, Scientific Director, Retina Foundation of the Southwest and a principal investigator for the study. Due to its optimized vector, 4D-110 is a novel gene therapy approach that shows promise in safely treating a broad region of the retina and in a broad range of patients. The potential to slow-down or halt the debilitating visual field constriction seen in this disease is an exciting opportunity for patients.

The Phase 1 open-label, dose-exploration and dose-expansion study is expected to enroll up to 15 patients with Choroideremia. The study is designed to assess the preliminary safety, tolerability and biological activity of a single intravitreal injection of 4D-110. In addition, the clinical trial will evaluate the effect of 4D-110 on the visual function and retinal degeneration.

"On behalf of the Choroideremia Research Foundation and Choroideremia patients internationally, I am extremely excited by the initiation of 4DMT's clinical trial, said Christopher Moen, MD, Chief Medical Officer of the Choroideremia Research Foundation. This pivotal milestone brings us one step closer to a transformative treatment which has the potential to end blindness from Choroideremia."

About Choroideremia and 4D-110

Affecting approximately 10,000 individuals in the United States and the European Union, Choroideremia is an X-linked, slowly-progressive, degenerative disease of the retina and choroid of the eye caused exclusively by deletions or mutations in the CHM gene, resulting in a missing or defective REP1 protein. Choroideremia initially manifests as night-blindness and peripheral visual field defects, usually starting in the first two decades of life. As the disease progresses, the visual field begins to constrict relatively early in the diseases progression, which hinders patients ability to conduct daily activities and eventually leads to vision loss.

4DMTs precision-guided gene therapy approach holds promise for the treatment of Choroideremia by using a proprietary and optimized AAV vector to deliver a functional copy of the CHM gene, resulting in the production of the REP1 protein. 4D-110, which is licensed to Roche, is comprised of a CHM transgene insert and 4DMTs proprietary vector 4D-R100, a vector designed to provide targeted delivery via intravitreal administration and to efficiently transduce all layers of the retina.

About 4DMT

4DMT is a clinical-stage precision gene medicines company harnessing the power of directed evolution to unlock the full potential of gene therapy for rare and large market diseases in lysosomal storage diseases, ophthalmology, neuromuscular diseases, and cystic fibrosis. 4DMTs proprietary Therapeutic Vector Evolution platform enables a disease first approach to product discovery and development, thereby empowering customization of AAV vectors to target specific tissue types associated with the underlying disease. These proprietary and optimized AAV vectors are designed to provide targeted delivery by routine clinical routes, efficient transduction, reduced immunogenicity, and resistance to pre-existing antibodies -- attributes that could enable the development of gene therapies that overcome known limitations of conventional AAV vectors. 4DMT vectors are designed to exhibit improved therapeutic profiles that enable the company to pursue previously untreatable patient populations and to address a broad range of rare and large market disease markets.

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4D Molecular Therapeutics Announces First Patient Dosed in Phase 1 Clinical Trial of 4D-110 by Intravitreal Injection for the Treatment of...

Apic Bio Announces Formation of Scientific Advisory Board – Business Wire

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apic Bio, Inc. today announced the formation of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) which includes internationally recognized gene therapy experts.

The SAB will provide clinical and scientific expertise to help the Company advance its pipeline and leverage its proprietary silence and replace THRIVE platform.

Apics CEO, John Reilly, MS/MBA, stated, "As we continue to advance our programs, it is critical that we obtain input from individuals with diverse expertise across a broad range of relevant research and development areas. The formation of our SAB represents another important step forward for the company. We are honored to welcome such an esteemed group of clinicians and researchers who have been at the forefront of gene therapy translational medicine.

The appointments to Apics Scientific Advisory Board include:

Robert H. Brown Jr, DPhil, MD, Leo P. and Theresa M. LaChance Chair in Medical Research, Professor of Neurology, Director of the Program in Neurotherapeutics, University of Massachusetts Medical School

R. Jude Samulski, PhD, President, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder at AskBio

Barry Byrne, MD, PhD, Director of the Powell Gene Therapy Center at the University of Florida and Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Genetics & Microbiology

Rob Kotin, PhD, Adjunct Professor at University of Massachusetts Medical School

Kevin Flanigan, MD, Robert F. and Edgar T. Wolfe Foundation Endowed Chair in Neuromuscular Research and Director of the Center for Gene Therapy in The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, and Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine

Mark Kay, MD, PhD, Dennis Farrey Family Professor in Pediatrics and Professor of Genetics at Stanford University School of Medicine

SAB member biographies are available at http://www.apic-bio.com/

About Apic Bio

Apic Bio is an innovative gene therapy company focused on developing first-in-class treatment options for rare, undertreated neurological and liver diseases. The Company's lead program is an adeno-associated (AAV)-based gene therapy for the treatment of the copper zinc superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) genetic form ALS. Preclinical studies of additional genetic forms of ALS (C9Orf72) and Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (Alpha-1) are ongoing. The Company is also advancing discovery programs for two undisclosed CNS indications that leverage its proprietary silence and replace THRIVE platform. The Company is backed by leading and disease-centric investors, including Morningside Ventures, ALS Investment Fund, and The Alpha-1 Project (TAP). For more information please visit http://www.apic-bio.com.

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Apic Bio Announces Formation of Scientific Advisory Board - Business Wire