John Lewis, a high-end department store chain in the UK, briefly listed a new Kindle that’s not available from anybody else. It’s the upcoming 12th-generation Kindle ereader that Amazon has yet to announce, though its information has leaked quite a few times before Lewis prematurely posted a listing for it. While that listing is no longer live, Good Ereader and The Verge were able to take screenshots and take note of the device’s specs. Amazon called the 12th-gen basic Kindle the “lightest and most compact” one it has ever designed, with a 6-inch 300 ppi display and 16GB of storage, in the retailer’s description.

Its front light is 25 percent brighter at max setting than previous versions, and it has a higher contrast ratio, but you still won’t be able to turn the light cooler or warmer like you could on more expensive Kindles. The device will enable faster page turns than previous Kindles, though, and has a new dark mode feature that inverts the e-ink display’s colors, according to The Verge. If you prefer listening to your books, you can fire up Audible on the new Kindle and connect your headphones or speakers to it via Bluetooth, as well.

In addition to the basic 12th-gen Kindle, John Lewis also posted the listing for its Kids Edition version. It’s the same device, except it ships with a colorful case and comes with a free six-month subscription to Amazon Kids+. Previous Kids Edition Kindles came with a year-long free membership to the subscription service, but for this one, you’d have to pay $6 a month for continued access to curated books, videos and games for children after half a year. As for the 12th-gen Kindle itself, the John Lewis listing said it will set you back £95 ($124) or around £10 more than the previous version. Meanwhile, the Kids Edition will cost you a bit more, as the retailer listed it for £115 ($150).

The state of Georgia has reported a record turnout on the first day of early voting in the United States elections, revealing a high level of engagement in the key battleground state.

Hours after polls opened in the southern state on Tuesday, election officials reported that more than 251,000 voters had already cast their ballot in person.

One of several races on the ballot is the high-profile showdown for the White House: Vice President Kamala Harris — the Democratic presidential candidate — is set to face off against her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump.

Tuesday’s voter tally in Georgia blew away the state’s previous record for the first day of in-person early voting, set in 2020. That year saw 133,000 residents show up to vote.

“As of 4pm [ET] we have crossed the quarter million mark with 251,899 votes cast. Spectacular turnout. We are running out of adjectives for this,” Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer for the Office of the Georgia Secretary of State, posted on X.

Historically, large turnouts for early voting have favoured Democrats, although both parties have been urging voters to go to the polls early in states where it is allowed.

US presidential elections are ultimately determined through a weighted voting system called the Electoral College.

Each state has a certain number of Electoral College votes to award, and most grant those votes in a winner-takes-all system: Whichever candidate wins the state — no matter how small the margin — receives all the Electoral College votes.

Georgia, with its 16 Electoral College votes, is one of seven tightly-fought “swing states”, which could lean either Democrat or Republican this election cycle. Other battleground states include Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada and North Carolina.

Close races in those states could determine who becomes the next president.

Eyes on Georgia

Tuesday’s tally has been interpreted as a sign of voter enthusiasm, particularly as the presidential race enters its final stretch. Election day — the final opportunity to cast a ballot — is set for November 5.

Both Harris’s and Trump’s campaigns have set their sights on winning Georgia. Trump rallied in its capital, Atlanta, on Tuesday, and Harris is set to hold her own event in the city on Saturday.

In 2020, President Joe Biden became the first Democrat to win the state since 1992, a victory largely attributed to a huge uptick in Black voting. Black residents account for about one-third of Georgia’s population.

But with a margin of victory of just 11,779, the state also became a key lever in Trump’s campaign to overturn Biden’s victory.

In the wake of the 2020 election, Trump infamously pressured Georgia’s top election official to “find” more votes, and he actively spread misinformation that the ballot tally was marred by election fraud.

The Republican leader was subsequently indicted on state racketeering charges in relation to his alleged efforts to overturn the vote.

The pending case, led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, will not go to trial before the 2024 election. Nevertheless, recent polls show Harris and Trump remain locked in a neck-and-neck race in the state.

Some Democrats fear that an apparent softening in Black voters’ support for Harris could help tip the race.

While Black residents overwhelmingly support Democratic candidates, a recent poll from The New York Times and Siena College showed Harris polling at lower levels than Biden did in 2020.

In turn, Trump’s campaign has increasingly sought to appeal to Black voters, whom critics say Democrats have taken for granted.

Trump’s claim that migrants are taking “Black jobs” has become a mainstay of his stump speech.

Harris has also made a concerted effort to appeal more to Black men. Earlier this week, she released a policy plan that would include giving forgivable business loans to Black entrepreneurs, more support for studying diseases that disproportionately affect African-American men and legalising marijuana on the federal level.

“Black men have long felt that too often their voice in our political process has gone unheard and that there is so much untapped ambition and leadership within the Black male community,” the Harris campaign said upon releasing the proposal.

Court ruling

Meanwhile, questions about the validity of Georgia’s election proceedings, fuelled by Trump’s false claims of fraud, have continued to hang over the state’s vote.

On Monday, Fulton County Superior Judge Robert McBurney ruled that local election board members could not refuse to certify election results in any situation.

That came in response to a local election board member’s request that the court rule that the certification is discretionary.

The request stoked concerns that some election board members — particularly those who have cast doubt on the 2020 results — would refuse to certify results in their counties.

Such a refusal would have wide-ranging implications in an election that could come down to just a handful of votes.

McBurney also blocked a new Georgia State Election Board rule that would have required districts to hand-count ballots.

Election experts have warned the approach is actually less accurate than machine counting and could create long waits for a final tally. That, in turn, could help to fuel doubt and conspiracy theories about the election results.

Sony announced in January that it planned to create a movie adaptation of its 2015 PlayStation game Until Dawn and the project is moving quickly through production. Earlier this month, director David F. Sandberg posted on Instagram that the film had wrapped shooting, and today Sony production house Screen Gems announced that the movie’s release date will be April 25, 2025.

Until Dawn became a cult favorite among the horror game fans, with a branching narrative that offers dozens of different endings based on a player’s choices. If you haven’t had a chance to experience the original Supermassive Games title yet, the game recently received a timely spooky season from Ballistic Moon. One of the big questions around creating a film from the game source is which of the many possible outcomes will the team choose for the plot? And the other big question is whether Until Dawn will follow in the footsteps of successful game adaptations like or be an absolute trainwreck like ?

So far, the signs seem promising. Director Sandberg has a solid track record in horror with Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation. The final script was written by Gary Dauberman, who worked with Sandberg on Annabelle: Creation as well as penning words for other Annabelle movies, It (2017), It Chapter Two and The Nun.

The game had some notable actors involved, including Hayden Panetierre and Rami Malek. For the movie, Screen Gems tapped a cast including Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Ji-young Yoo, Belmont Cameli, Odessa A’zion and Maia Mitchell. Peter Stormare will also reprise his role of Dr. Hill in the film version.

QUESTION: Why did Elizabeth Taylor replace Vivien Leigh in the film Elephant Walk?

Elizabeth Taylor replaced Vivien Leigh in the film Elephant Walk (1954) because Leigh dropped out midway through production, citing a nervous breakdown.

The big-budget Paramount film, based on a 1948 novel by Digby George Gerahty, using the pen name Robert Standish, was originally scheduled to star Vivien Leigh and her then husband, Laurence Olivier. 

Although it was not their usual prestige production, the story had obvious mass audience appeal. It bears some similarities to Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, which had been a big success in 1940 for Olivier, his co-star, Joan Fontaine, and director Alfred Hitchcock. 

The overbearing presence of a dead father replaced the dead wife and a house was destroyed by a herd of stampeding elephants rather than a fire.

Elizabeth Taylor and Peter Finch star in Elephant Walk

Before filming began, Olivier pulled out of Elephant Walk owing to conflicting commitments, but Leigh decided to go ahead with her role as newlywed Ruth Wiley.

Olivier’s role as her husband, John, who owns a tea plantation, was given to Peter Finch.

Within days, Leigh called in sick, and soon afterwards dropped out of the film altogether. Her mental health issues could be traced back to 1948 and she was eventually diagnosed with manic depression, now termed bipolar disorder.

Biographers have claimed that Leigh was deeply affected by the role of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, which she played both on stage and in the film version released in 1951, for which she received a Best Actress Oscar. However, the role of a disturbed, fading beauty was a little too close to Leigh’s own character for comfort.

In the spring of 1953, MGM contractee Elizabeth Taylor returned to work after the birth of her son, Michael Wilding Jr, in the January. She was only 21 to Leigh’s 39, but a resemblance between the two in build and colouring allowed the location footage of Leigh, in distance shots, to be retained.

John Rutherford, Sevenoaks, Kent

Vivien Leigh, circa late 1930s

QUESTION: Where did the term hanky-panky originate?

Hanky-panky originated in the early 19th century as a slang term for legerdemain, the skilful use of one’s hands when performing magic tricks. It quickly took on a figurative use for dirty business, underhand business or double dealing.

The earliest recording of the term is in an edition of Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol 1, from September 1841: ‘Only a little hanky-panky, my lud. The people likes it; they loves to be cheated before their faces. One, two, three — presto — begone. 

‘I’ll show your ludship as pretty a trick of putting a piece of money in your eye and taking it out of your elbow, as you ever beheld.’

Its definition as ‘sexual activity or dalliance, especially of a surreptitious nature’ has been with us since the middle of the 20th century. 

In George Bernard Shaw’s 1938 play Geneva, he wrote: ‘She: No hanky panky. I am respectable; and I mean to keep respectable. He: I pledge you my word that my intentions are completely honourable.’

Mike Woodbridge, Nottingham

Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw pictured in 1856

QUESTION: What were 18th-century ‘circuit riders’?

Circuit riders were itinerant ministers, mainly associated with the Methodist Church in America, who travelled on horseback to preach to rural, often isolated, communities.

As organised churches were scarce on the American frontier, circuit riders spread religious teachings, established congregations and provided spiritual care in areas lacking clergy.  

Their routes could cover hundreds of miles and required immense dedication.

A key figure was Francis Asbury (1745-1816), whose efforts did much to assure the continuance of the church in the New World. He travelled 5,000 miles a year, establishing circuits of 25 or 30 meeting places, often huts or cabins. 

Asbury also set up teams of preachers, brave young men willing to ride a horse for weeks over wild country. By the 1780s there were more than 100 circuits established across the frontier.

The life of a rider was tough: days and nights were spent in the wild, food had to be hunted, foraged or begged from strangers, and there was a constant threat of violence.

The movement had mostly died out by the 1840s. As the US prospered, more Methodists came to live in cities so that there was population enough for a church building.

Alison Crawley, Modbury, Devon

This Diwali, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 clashes with Singham Again in the cinemas. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, director Anees Bazmee revealed the intriguing decision to film two climaxes for the much-anticipated third part starring Kartik Aaryan, Triptii Dimri, Vidya Balan and Madhuri Dixit. Bazmee shared that he kept the details of the plot tightly under wraps, disclosing minimal information to the cast.

EXCLUSIVE: Anees Bazmee on shooting two climaxes for Kartik Aaryan starrer Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3: “I didn’t reveal the story to many actors”

Speaking to our publication, the filmmaker said, “We wanted to create two climaxes to keep everyone guessing. We didn’t want anything to be revealed. I didn’t want the climax to be spoiled. Usually, after the first show on the first day, everyone knows what the climax is. But I think people still enjoy watching the film and don’t want to spoil it for their friends and family. If they like the film, they’ll say, ‘No, no, you should go watch it.’ We don’t want to spoil that. I think that’s beautiful. And it’s the audience’s right. If they’ve paid so much money to watch the film and they’re giving us so much love, they should enjoy it.”

The filmmaker went onto reveal that the actors on the set weren’t aware of the fact that they were filming two different climaxes. “So, I didn’t reveal the story to many actors. I told some one thing, some another. And even the scriptwriters weren’t given the actual climax. We were shooting multiple climaxes. We were working, working, working. My God, you’d be wondering which climax was going to be the final one. They were confused from the very beginning. I wanted everyone else to be a little clueless. I wanted there to be an element of surprise. And in the film, itself, when the characters don’t know what’s going to happen next, it’s more fun. And the audience, too, would be guessing. Maybe, they had the wrong theories,” he continued.

He concluded, “So, all this fun was happening between us four or six people who knew the secret. And we shot it very secretly. The unit was huge, but we kept it very small. We confused people, told them lies, and had a lot of fun. After all, when you’re making a film, you should have fun, right? That’s why we spend 24 hours on it. If you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, then neither will those around you. I had a lot of fun with my team. We were joking, chatting, and enjoying ourselves.”

Directed by Anees Bazmee and initiated by Bhushan Kumar, the film gears up for a grand release this Diwali on November 1, 2024.

ALSO READ: Anees Bazmee reveals two climaxes shot for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3: People will be shocked

More Pages: Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 Box Office Collection

BOLLYWOOD NEWS – LIVE UPDATES

Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection, New Movies Release , Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood Live News Today & Upcoming Movies 2024 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.

Harris says second Trump term would be ‘dangerous’ as presidential candidates hold duelling rallies in key swing state.

US Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has accused her Republican rival Donald Trump of being a threat to democracy, as the pair held duelling rallies in the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania.

Harris and Trump addressed their respective supporters on Monday evening, with Harris speaking in the city of Erie and Trump hosting a town hall in Oaks, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia.

“A second Trump term would be a huge risk for America – and dangerous. Donald Trump is increasingly unstable and unhinged,” Harris told the crowd, referencing recent comments in which Trump warned that the United States faced an “enemy from within”.

Trump has leaned into increasingly incendiary rhetoric as the race for the White House heats up ahead of the November 5 vote.

The former president has adopted dehumanising rhetoric about immigrants, and he also recently suggested the country faced internal enemies who could be addressed with military force.

“I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within,” he told Fox News in an interview that aired at the weekend when asked about potential chaos on Election Day. “We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics.”

He added: “It should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by [the] National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military.”

Trump also has previously shared content on his social media platform suggesting that his political opponents were traitors who should face military tribunals.

For years, Democrats have sought to portray Trump as a threat to US democracy, particularly after a mob of his supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an effort to prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 election results.

President Joe Biden – who defeated Trump in that 2020 vote – said last year that the ex-president’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) campaign was an “extremist movement that does not share the basic beliefs in our democracy”.

But recent polls suggest Trump and Harris are locked in an extremely tight race for the White House, less than a month before the election.

In recent weeks, Harris has been on a media blitz as her campaign pushes to appeal to key segments of the Democratic base, including Black men as well as Arab and Muslim Americans who have shown waning support for the candidate.

At her rally on Monday, she showed clips of Trump’s most recent comments as she warned against electing him to another term.

“He considers anyone who doesn’t support him, or who will not bend to his will, an enemy of our country,” the US vice president said.

Polling averages show Harris with a narrow lead of less than 1 percent in Pennsylvania, a northeastern state that could prove critical in the upcoming election.

For his part, during his event in the Pennsylvania town of Oaks, Trump repeated a pledge to increase US oil drilling, which he said would drive down costs though domestic production is already at record highs.

“We’re going to drill baby drill. We’re going to have so much energy and we’re going to bring prices down,” Trump said.

After medical incidents in the crowd interrupted his town hall, the Republican candidate requested that the song Ave Maria be played for the audience.

“Those two people who went down are patriots,” Trump said afterwards. “We love them. And because of them, we ended up with some great music, right?”

By Eleanor Harding Education Editor

Published: 17:33 EDT, 14 October 2024 | Updated: 17:37 EDT, 14 October 2024

A university boss famous for his free speech campaigning and ‘anti-woke’ views has been suspended amid ‘serious allegations’.

James Tooley, vice chancellor of the University of Buckingham, is barred from working while an inquiry takes place, students have been told.

They were informed by a letter sent by university managers last week, but it is not clear what the claims relate to.

Last night, Professor Tooley issued a statement through his lawyer branding the claims ‘baseless and malicious’, adding that he would soon be ‘vindicated’.

James Tooley, vice chancellor of the University of Buckingham (pictured), is barred from working while an inquiry takes place, students have been told

Buckingham, the country’s oldest private university, was founded in 1976 and granted university status seven years later

 Professor Tooley, who specialises in education policy, has led the private university since 2020, when he succeeded historian Sir Anthony Seldon.

Earlier this year, he unveiled a new course on the ‘woke’ movement, with related MA and PhD programmes.

At the time, he said he had been inspired by Buckingham’s co-founder and former chancellor, Margaret Thatcher, who he felt had been ‘at his shoulder’.

And he said: ‘Our vision is viewpoint diversity, we want to be a leader in academic freedom…

‘Nine out of ten social science academics in the UK are left-leaning.

‘We want to give a voice to conservatism, classical liberalism and libertarianism.’

Professor Tooley also went against the grain this year by criticising Cambridge University for ‘discriminating’ against privately educated white boys, because of diversity targets.

And he also said the drive to decolonise the curriculum was ‘dangerous’.

On Friday last week, university managers sent out a letter reading: ‘I am writing to inform you that the Vice Chancellor has been suspended following a number of serious allegations…

‘It is our intention to carry out an independent inquiry to ascertain the veracity of these claims.’

According to the letter, chief financial officer David Cole, chief administrative officer Chris Payne and pro vice-chancellor Harriet Dunbar-Morris have been asked to act as interim co-heads of the university.

Last night, Professor Tooley issued a statement through the firm Griffin Law rejecting the claims.

He said: ‘The allegations made against me are baseless and malicious.

‘I look forward to being vindicated in due course, but in accordance with the University’s processes, I am unable to comment further at this time.

‘I remain, however, a committed advocate of free speech and academic freedom.’

A University of Buckingham spokesman said: ‘We can confirm a member of the University staff has been suspended due to a number of serious allegations.

‘It is our intention that an independent inquiry be conducted to ascertain the veracity of these claims.

‘We are unable to make any further comment until this investigation is completed.’

Buckingham, the country’s oldest private university, was founded in 1976 and granted university status seven years later.

Professor Tooley is also known for his work helping to set up low-cost private schools, having helped create similar schools in developing countries.

He was formerly an academic at Newcastle University and has a PhD from the Institute of Education at the University of London.

Google is turning to nuclear energy to help power its AI drive. On Monday, the company said it will partner with the startup Kairos Power to build seven small nuclear reactors in the US. The deal targets adding 500 megawatts of nuclear power from the small modular reactors (SMRs) by the decade’s end. The first is expected to be up and running by 2030, with the remainder arriving through 2035.

It’s the first-ever corporate deal to buy nuclear power from SMRs. Small modular reactors are smaller than existing reactors. Their components are built inside a factory rather than on-site, which can help lower construction costs compared to full-scale plants.

Kairos will need the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve design and construction permits for the plans. The startup has already received approval for a demonstration reactor in Tennessee, with an online date targeted for 2027. The company already builds test units (without nuclear-fuel components) at a development facility in Albuquerque, NM, where it assesses components, systems and its supply chain.

The companies didn’t announce the financial details of the arrangement. Google says the deal’s structure will help to keep costs down and get the energy online sooner.

“By procuring electricity from multiple reactors — what experts call an ‘orderbook’ of reactors — we will help accelerate the repeated reactor deployments that are needed to lower costs and bring Kairos Power’s technology to market more quickly,” Michael Terrell, Google’s senior director for energy and climate, wrote in a blog post. “This is an important part of our approach to scale the benefits of advanced technologies to more people and communities, and builds on our previous efforts.”

The AI boom — and the enormous amount of data center power it requires — has led to several deals between Big Tech companies and the nuclear industry. In September, Microsoft forged an agreement with Constellation Energy to bring a unit of the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania back online. In March, Amazon bought a nuclear-powered data center from Talen Energy.

There are few faster ways to improve your smartphone photo and video game than by snapping up a gimbal. This increases image stabilization, reducing hand shake to make for smoother shots and help ensure a still is framed just as you want it. is an option worth considering, especially since it’s on sale. This model is currently $20 off, which brings it .

The Osmo Mobile 6 has a larger clamp than DJI’s previous models, meaning larger smartphones and ones with bulkier cases can slot in. If you attach an iPhone, the Mimo app goes into camera view when the gimbal is unfolded so you can start shooting photos and videos with it faster.

DJI

Vloggers, action videographers and still photographers alike could all benefit from the DJI Osmo Mobile 6. The smartphone gimbal has dropped to its lowest price ever in a new sale.

$119 at Amazon

The handle is said to be more comfortable to hold compared with earlier versions. DJI retained the built-in extension rod from the previous model, so you can use the Osmo Mobile 6 as a selfie stick. You can set it up as a tripod too.

DJI included an array of smart features, such as timelapse, gesture control, automatic dynamic zoom, panorama and story mode. Using a side wheel, you can adjust the focal length and zoom level manually.

There’s a new status panel built in that displays battery levels and a button that lets you switch between various modes. DJI also upgraded its ActiveTrack feature. This supports stable tracking over longer distances and helps your phone’s front camera to better track subjects as they rotate.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.