Latest news with #HailMary
The Herald Scotland
15 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Make indy great again? Why Swinney should hijack Trump's visit
But his administration is weak and anaemic. It's bereft of ideas and energy. That's what happens when you hold power for a generation. The biggest problem for the SNP and Swinney, though, is independence. The leadership has no notion of how to achieve another referendum, and it struggles to explain precisely what independence actually means. When your flagship policy is in tatters, then you're in tatters. If Swinney could find a way to revivify the independence campaign, then he'd see life flow back into his party. Working out how to get people interested in the Yes movement again – whether for or against, it doesn't really matter – would send a blast of electricity into the neck-bolts of this moribund party. Read more by Neil Mackay That means he must take some risks. The game hasn't gone his way, so he needs to grab the ball and make a mad dash for the goal: an all or nothing desperation move. Donald Trump could be the very man to help him score. Trump's imminent arrival in Scotland is just about the last event the [[SNP]] wants to deal with: he represents everything they despise, but he's a president whom they cannot risk offending. Swinney will meet Trump. The visit itself is rather ridiculous. It's not an official state visit, but a personal trip, where Trump will wander around his golf courses. Ozymandias surveying his statues. The tour will have a crippling effect on policing in terms of costs and officers working brutal hours to protect MAGA's King when they could be protecting us. There will be protests. Essentially, it's aggravation that Scotland could do without. But given we're lumbered with it, Swinney should be smart and take advantage of the circus. After all, Trump's odious vice-president, JD Vance, took potshots at Scotland's abortion laws, so why not get something in return as payment now? That sounds fair, especially for a president renowned for the art of the deal and turning life into one inglorious transaction. Swinney should quite simply hijack Trump's visit for the [[SNP]]'s own purposes. When he meets Trump, he needs merely to mention Scottish independence. At the moment, he appears prepared to talk about difficult subjects: the Middle East, Ukraine and tariffs on Scotch whisky. Just add independence to the list. And don't bother telling the Labour Government. That's an important part of the Hail Mary strategy. Swinney should shape the discussion in a way that gets inside Trump's psychology. Part of MAGA's ideological universe is the fixation with "states rights": the conflict over where the federal government's power begins and ends. This has an ugly history, all the way back to slavery and the Civil War. It plays into "deep state" conspiracies. So Swinney could be tricksy, framing Scottish independence as an issue similar to states rights, but within the UK's borders. Trump is also pretty free and easy when it comes to commenting on the integrity of the borders of other nations. Just ask Canada, Greenland and Panama. Swinney doesn't need to suck up to Trump. He just needs to pour the necessary words into the ear of this very combustible man. If Swinney then emerged from the meeting and simply mentioned in passing to the media that he'd raised Scottish independence, all he'd have to do is stand back and watch the news agenda do what it does. Trump would at some point be asked about the issue. What he may or may not say would essentially be irrelevant as far as the SNP was concerned. If he nixed the idea, then the Yes movement can say it is under attack by this demon from Washington. Every liberal-leftie in Britain would immediately feel some pang of sympathy, even if they hated the idea of Scotland leaving the union. If Trump showed a smidgen of favour to independence then the debate gets rocket fuel in the tank, and the Tory Party and Reform are undercut. If he says something diplomatic (aye, right) like "this is an internal matter for the UK", then he still pushes the debate onto the news agenda internationally. The foreign press would start to cover it, and the SNP would find itself once more making the political weather in Scotland, rather than, as it does now, letting the weather buffet the party where it may. Starmer would be caught on the hop, and he and the rest of the Westminster pack would have to start talking about independence. Donald Trump is big on states rights (Image: Getty) The UK Government would have to reiterate its refusal of a second referendum in a very different climate where the US and European media are paying much more attention. Starmer is utterly terrified of Trump so he'd dance around the issue absurdly, adding more fuel to the media fires. This is a Hail Mary strategy, though, so it requires real cojones and skill to pull off. Hail Marys often end in fumbling face-plants if not perfectly executed. So Swinney cannot be seen to cosy up to Trump, he can't play the craven bootlicker like Starmer. Nor can he be seen to endorse a single MAGA policy or anything Trump stands for. Trump is toxic to the SNP's progressive brand. All Trump is, in this case, is a bridge to a goal. The SNP is a wreck at the moment, down on its luck with a hole in the seat of its pants. It needs to find a way to turn its fortunes around. All it's got – indeed all the party has ever had – is the power which independence can unleash if wielded correctly as a political weapon. Trump is essentially a human Jack-in-the-Box. With the right winding-up, you're guaranteed that he will spring into the air, yammering and causing international ructions. Swinney just has to give the handle a few subtle turns, then walk quickly from the room and leave Trump and the international media to do the rest for him. Neil Mackay is The Herald's Writer at Large. He's a multi-award-winning investigative journalist, author of both fiction and non-fiction, and a filmmaker and broadcaster. He specialises in intelligence, security, crime, social affairs, cultural commentary, and foreign and domestic politics.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Science
- Yahoo
This camera was 370 million miles away when radiation fried the electronics. What NASA did next literally saved the mission
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. As a photographer, I've known the horror of opening images to find them corrupted – but I imagine that feeling pales in comparison to what NASA felt when Juno, a spacecraft orbiting Jupiter 370 million miles away, began returning corrupted images from a radiation-fried camera. Launching another camera isn't exactly an option, considering the total costs of the Juno spacecraft and mission sit a $1.13 billion, and it's not like there's a camera repair shop on Jupiter. So what did NASA do? NASA took a risk and intentionally overheated the camera in an attempt to save it. Juno, a spacecraft studying Jupiter, successfully completed its primary mission in 34 orbits. But as the spacecraft continued to study the planet, around the 47th orbit, the images that Juno sent back were beginning to show signs of sensor damage. Nine orbits later, and nearly all of the images that Juno was sending back were corrupted, with lines running through the images and more graininess than normal. NASA scientists theorized that the damage was due to radiation. JunoCam – which is a color, visible light camera – is housed in a 'radiation vault' lined with titanium, NASA says, but Jupiter has some of the most intense radiation in the Solar System. Essentially, that camera is traveling through radiation as strong as 100 million X-rays. Based on clues, NASA researchers believed that the damage to the camera was in a voltage regulator. But how do you repair a component integral to a camera's power supply from 370 million miles away? NASA turned to a little-understood process called annealing, a procedure for heating up a material for a certain length of time, then allowing it to cool. Annealing has been shown to alter materials like silicone, an essential component in a camera's sensor and electronics. 'We knew annealing can sometimes alter a material like silicon at a microscopic level but didn't know if this would fix the damage,' Jacob Schaffner, a JunoCam engineer from Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, said. 'We commanded JunoCam's one heater to raise the camera's temperature to 77 degrees Fahrenheit — much warmer than typical for JunoCam — and waited with bated breath to see the results.' After overheating the camera, JunoCam began sending back cleaner images. But after a few more orbits, continuing to venture further into the radiation with each pass, the images began returning with defects once again. No amount of post-processing was able to recover the data, Michael Ravine, the JunoCam Instrument Lead, said, but Juno was due to orbit near the moon Io at the time. The team, keen to photograph one of Jupiter's moons and continue gathering visual data from the mission, tried one more thing. 'With the close encounter of Io bearing down on us in a few weeks, it was Hail Mary time: The only thing left we hadn't tried was to crank JunoCam's heater all the way up and see if more extreme annealing would save us,' Ravine said. Test images showed improvement after the first week, then, finally, as Juno was making its close approach to Io, the camera returned images nearly as good as the day the spacecraft's first images were taken, allowing researchers to capture images of Io. Io is one of 95 moons on Jupiter, but NASA says the moon is the most volcanically active space in the solar system. Repairing the camera allowed Juno to photograph the volcanoes dotting the surface. This Hail Mary move happened in December of 2023, but NASA recently presented the data at an engineering conference earlier this month. Since using the process to repair Juno's camera, the team has also used it to repair other components aboard Juno. The team expects that the process could be used to maintain spacecraft as well as satellites in the future. Juno has now orbited Jupiter 74 times and is beginning to show signs of further radiation damage. But, the annealing allowed researchers to catch a glimpse of the moon Io and continue photographing the planet. Not bad for long-distance camera repair. You may also like Browse the best lenses for astrophotography or take a look at DCW's top picks for the best tripods.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
How Divya Deshmukh, 19, brought down ex-women's world champion Tan Zhongyi to enter FIDE World Cup final
Like David with a slingshot and a stone, 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh just brought down another Goliath at the FIDE Women's World Cup in Batumi after defeating former women's world champion Tan Zhongyi on Wednesday. This will be one of the contenders for the most dramatic game of the year, a five-hour battle that lasted 101 moves and saw Tan having an edge at one stage, then making an error to allow Divya to take control of the game, then Divya repaid the favour by throwing away a winning position. And just when a draw appeared to be the likeliest outcome, an error from Tan allowed Divya victory. The end of the game some emotional moments from both players: as Tan searched desperately for another escape hatch and tried to think of a Hail Mary of a move, Divya, realising that there was no way she was going to lose, covered her eyes and composed herself. Tan herself looked aghast at how she had let the game slip away. The 19-year-old from Maharashtra thus earns a spot in the FIDE Women's Candidates tournament, a grandmaster norm and a spot in the final. The other semi-final of the day, between Koneru Humpy and Lei Tingjie ended in a draw after a phase where Humpy had winning chances. Humpy and Lei will be back on the board tomorrow for rapid tiebreaks for a chance to face off against Divya. Divya has been the revelation of the Women's World Cup in Georgia's Batumi, taking down promising IM from Serbia Injac Teodora, world no 6 from China Zhu Jiner, veteran Indian grandmaster Dronavalli Harika, and finally a woman who was the women's world champion in 2018. Divya's run at the ongoing FIDE Women's World Cup is reminiscent of the 2023 FIDE World Cup when an 18-year-old Praggnanandhaa had gone on a giant-killing spree, taking down Arjun Erigaisi, Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura before losing in the final to Magnus Carlsen. Only last year, Divya became a World Junior Champion. Since then, she's been the face of the Indian women's team that won the gold at the Chess Olympiad at Budapest last year, where she won an individual gold medal herself. Amit Kamath is Assistant Editor at The Indian Express and is based in Mumbai. ... Read More
Axios
2 days ago
- Sport
- Axios
New-look Bears open 2025 training camp hoping to end years of rebuilds
The Bears begin training camp at Halas Hall on Wednesday with a new coach, a new offensive line and a new sense of urgency to bring winning football to Chicago. Why it matters: The Bears have the talent to turn around a dismal decade that has been marred with rebuilds and yearly retooling. Flashback: Bears fans have heard this before. Last year, the team pushed the narrative that quarterback Caleb Williams would forgo usual rookie growing pains because the team was emerging from a two-year rebuild. Reality check: They were wrong. The team struggled with Williams under center and sputtered to a 5-12 record, leading to the in-season firing of head coach Matt Eberflus. Eberflus' on-the-field gaffes, like giving up a Hail Mary touchdown to the Commanders and mismanaging the clock in a last-second loss to the Lions on Thanksgiving, were national embarrassments. State of play: Whiz-kid and former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has taken over this team, which once again, has the goods … on paper. Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles made the offensive line the offseason priority, bringing in proven veterans to anchor protection for Williams. They used their top draft picks to select tight end Colston Loveland and wide receiver Luther Burden to give Williams more weapons. Between the lines: The Bears brass are hoping Johnson and Williams click, and Johnson is known for high-octane offense and clicking with his quarterbacks, so the chances are good that it will happen here. Then again, Johnson has never been a head coach before. The Bears last two head coaches without experience were Eberflus and Matt Nagy. The other side (of the ball): The defense should be improved as well. The team brought in reinforcements to help Montez Sweat on the defensive line, but it's more about keeping their young players on the field in 2025. Safety Jaquan Brisker should be back after missing most of last season with a concussion. The latest: The Bears' only Pro-Bowler, Jaylon Johnson, has been put on the injury list and will miss the beginning of training camp. The bottom line: The hype is real and the Bears are hoping to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1985 Super Bowl team with a repeat performance.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
Bears' Coaching Changes Seem Timely For Tyrique Stevenson
LANDOVER, MARYLAND - OCTOBER 27: Noah Brown #85 of the Washington Commanders looks on as a hail mary ... More pass attempt against the Chicago Bears is tipped during the fourth quarter at Northwest Stadium on October 27, 2024 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by) Tyrique Stevenson is getting a fresh start from the Bears' new coaching staff. But neither Ben Johnson nor anyone else is promising the third-year cornerback that he'll be the starter opposite Jaylon Johnson when the season rolls around. Training camp and the three-game exhibition schedule will be huge for Stevenson as he attempts to put his Hail Mary embarrassment behind him. Terell Smith and rookie Zah Frazier are set to step in if Stevenson can't regain the strut — and ability to defend in man-to-man coverages — he had after returning an interception for a touchdown in the 2024 opener. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen was the biggest addition in a flurry of hires by Johnson and General Manager Ryan Poles. The former Saints and Raiders head coach is regarded as something of a savant, known for both his intelligence and his ability to teach. He will be keeping a close eye on the secondary, with the immediate concerns being safety Jaquan Brisker's return from concussions and Stevenson's play at cornerback. It would be one thing if Stevenson's lapse on the game-ending play in Washington was an isolated mistake. But the former Miami and Georgia standout has been more inconsistent than the Bears hoped after Poles traded up to get him in the 2023 draft. Stevenson started 16 games as a rookie and overall has started 30 of 32 games in the NFL. While his first season was similar to Johnson's 2020 season — after the Bears selected him in the second round from Utah — he did not take a step forward in his second season. Pro Football Focus ranked Stevenson 80th among qualifying cornerbacks in '23 and 83rd last season. He likely suffered from a sense of uncertainty playing under two head coaches and defensive coordinators in those seasons, and is looking to quickly become grounded in Allen's defense, which generally emphasizes press coverage on outside targets. 'It's mano a mano,' Stevenson told reporters during a June mini-camp. 'I'm going to show you I've been working and I'm better than you. I feel like that can take a lot of guessing out of the game for the corners.' More than anything else, Stevenson must like that all the reminders of the Hail Mary play — a tipping point for the 5-12 season — come from fans and media. 'Clean slate from here on out,' new defensive backs coach Al Harris said. Matt Eberflus benched Stevenson for the start of the next game following the 18-15 loss. Stevenson's taunting fans when he should have been lining up for the certain Hail Mary stayed in the spotlight when Eberflus was fired midway through a 10-game losing streak that turned a 4-2 start into empty calories. But Ben Johnson has never mentioned it in meetings with Chicago players. 'I think he learned his lesson from that, and his peers have certainly talked to him about it,' Johnson said. 'There really wasn't any reason for me or the staff to piggyback on that because he's learned from it, he's grown from it, and what's in the past is in the past, and we're moving forward.' Albeit with no guarantees. Smith, a fifth-round pick in the same draft when Stevenson was selected in the second round, has arguably outplayed him but in a limited capacity. He has played only 584 defensive snaps in his backup role while Stevenson has played 1640. That's a huge difference. But Smith has made the most of playing time. He was graded out 40th among 127 qualifiers by PFF in his rookie season and, while he didn't get enough snaps to qualify because of a hip injury, ranked 14th among 223 cornerbacks last season. That's Marlon Humphrey and Quinyon Mitchell territory, the caveat being the small sample size. Frazier, a fifth-round pick from Texas-San Antonio, is a bigger corner at 6-3. He'll turn 25 in October and led the AAC with six interceptions last season. PFF gave him an 85.9 grade, which suggests he is capable of opening eyes in camp. "The biggest thing is you've got a big, long press corner that can run," Allen said after a rookie camp. 'He has got a lot of things that he's got to learn but he's got the tools for us to work with.'' Poles has added veterans Nick McCloud and Nahshon Wright as depth options alongside special-teamers Josh Blackwell and Ameer Speed. For Allen's defense, cornerback will be the position to watch this summer at Halas Hall. The joint practices against the Dolphins (Aug. 8) and Bills (Aug. 15) provide the first true tests. There are major financial consequences for Stevenson. He could set himself up as a long-term piece of the defense with a strong bounce-back under the new coaches. His head should be in the game on every snap this time around.
