It started in 1998, with a pain in Ken Rideout’s ankle. A podiatrist gave him a prescription for seven Percocet, a drug containing the opioid oxycodone. Rideout was a high-flying commodity trader in New York, outwardly successful but racked with impostor syndrome. The Percocet dulled his foot pain – and also his anxiety. Rideout was used to alcohol and cocaine, but this was different. He felt happ...
It started in 1998, with a pain in Ken Rideout’s ankle. A podiatrist gave him a prescription for seven Percocet, a drug containing the opioid oxycodone. Rideout was a high-flying commodity trader in New York, outwardly successful but racked with impostor syndrome. The Percocet dulled his foot pain – and also his anxiety. Rideout was used to alcohol and cocaine, but this was different. He felt happy, confident and optimistic. He returned to the podiatrist for more pills. Then more. Soon he was altering the prescriptions manually, changing a seven into a two and adding a zero, before targeting smaller pharmacies that wouldn’t run verification checks. A year after starting the pills, Rideout moved to London for work. This was an opportunity, he thought, for a clean break. But within a week he was suffering extreme withdrawal: depression, delirium from days of lost sleep, overwhelming flu-like symptoms. He called his younger brother and asked him to FedEx a batch of a new drug he had read about called OxyContin, which, depending on the dose, can contain a significantly higher amount of oxycodone per pill than Percocet. The OxyContin made Rideout feel amazing again. He found a private doctor who would prescribe the pills. “I wasn’t even happiest when I took the drugs,” says Rideout. “I was happiest knowing that they were coming.” View image in fullscreen Rideout with his future wife Shelby in the early 00s. Photograph: Courtesy of Ken Rideout Rideout flirted with sobriety, attending Narcotics Anonymous while in London. He tried Subutex, a medication used to treat opioid addiction by easing withdrawal symptoms, but when it was time to come off that too, he couldn’t do it. No matter how much he tried to wean himself off Subutex, he would eventually relapse. “I’d gotten myself hooked on a drug that had no high,” he writes of opioids in his recently published memoir, Everything You Want Is on the Other Side of Hard. “They kill joy, too. Not just joy and happiness but any sen...
The 23-year-old who went viral last year has plenty of targets for 2026, starting with the World Indoor Championships in Poland Amy Hunt’s mind is flashing back to the moment she unwittingly went viral last September. As untrammelled joy charged through her body, the BBC asked about her unusual journey from an English degree at Cambridge to a shock 200m world championship silver medal . Hunt’s res...
The 23-year-old who went viral last year has plenty of targets for 2026, starting with the World Indoor Championships in Poland Amy Hunt’s mind is flashing back to the moment she unwittingly went viral last September. As untrammelled joy charged through her body, the BBC asked about her unusual journey from an English degree at Cambridge to a shock 200m world championship silver medal . Hunt’s response quickly became a cri du coeur to young girls everywhere: “You can be an academic badass and a track goddess.” As the 23-year-old prepares for the World Indoor Championships in Poland that starts on Friday, she reveals her remark was entirely spontaneous. “As soon as I said it, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m on the BBC, can I even say that? Are they going to bleep that out?’” she says, smiling. “I was so incredibly high with the adrenaline and endorphins that there wasn’t that connection between my brain and my mouth, necessarily, so I didn’t really know what I was saying.” Continue reading...
Nico De Pasquale Photography Wall Street's major averages were lower on Wednesday after two days of gains after the wholesale inflation came in hotter than expected while traders focused on the Federal Reserve’s policy decision later today. The benchmark S&P 500 ( SP500 ) was last -0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite ( COMP:IND ) was -0.2%, and the blue-chip Dow ( DJI ) was -0.4%. Over in the bond ma...
Nico De Pasquale Photography Wall Street's major averages were lower on Wednesday after two days of gains after the wholesale inflation came in hotter than expected while traders focused on the Federal Reserve’s policy decision later today. The benchmark S&P 500 ( SP500 ) was last -0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite ( COMP:IND ) was -0.2%, and the blue-chip Dow ( DJI ) was -0.4%. Over in the bond market, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield ( US10Y ) was 3 basis points higher at 4.23%, while the 2-year Treasury yield ( US2Y ) rose 4 basis points to 3.72%. The February Producer Price Index came in hotter at +0.7% MoM vs. +0.3% consensus and +0.5% prior. Core PPI (excludes foods and energy) was +0.5% MoM vs. +0.3% consensus and +0.8% prior. “More evidence of hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation ahead of Middle East conflict,” said Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz. “This brings annual headline inflation to 3.4% and core to 3.9%. These figures set a high inflation baseline just as the Middle East war is certain to exert further upward pressure on prices.” The Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep rates unchanged. Investors are pricing in more than 98.9% odds of keeping the interest rates the same at 3.50%-3.75%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference will be closely watched. In geopolitical news, Iran launched a new wave of attacks against oil infrastructures in the UAE, and U.S. President Donald Trump's request of several allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz was broadly rejected, sending oil prices higher . In addition, Israeli air forces have struck a natural gas processing facility in the southwest of Iran. Crude oil futures ( CL1:COM ) were higher at $98.8, while Brent futures ( CO1:COM ) were at $108.9 per barrel. More on markets Prudent Investors Should Be Game Planning For Stagflation This Week's Dichotomy/Bifocals Needed - Weekly Blog # 932 Monetary Policy Rules Suggest Fed Should Hold Steady In Marc...
Saudi Arabia is activating its Red Sea “Plan B” to divert crude via the port of Yanbu, allowing tankers – including Chinese very large crude carriers (VLCCs) – to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, though analysts warn the route has limited capacity. The move comes after Iran effectively closed the strait in response to United States and Israeli military strikes , a conflict now in its third week that h...
Saudi Arabia is activating its Red Sea “Plan B” to divert crude via the port of Yanbu, allowing tankers – including Chinese very large crude carriers (VLCCs) – to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, though analysts warn the route has limited capacity. The move comes after Iran effectively closed the strait in response to United States and Israeli military strikes , a conflict now in its third week that has rattled global energy markets New Vista, a VLCC owned by China Merchants Energy Shipping, had departed from Yanbu and was bound for Quanzhou in south China’s Fujian province, where it is expected to arrive on April 3, according to vessel-tracking data platform Myvessel. Advertisement The oil tanker had approached the Strait of Hormuz on March 1 but did not transit the strategic waterway. That same day, at least three tankers near ports in the United Arab Emirates and Oman were struck by projectiles, causing fires and crew casualties. New Vista instead altered course towards the Red Sea, arriving at Yanbu on March 11 and departing on March 13 after loading. More tankers in the Red Sea are now en route to the port for similar crude oil pickups. Advertisement Saudi Aramco , the world’s leading oil producer, announced last week that it was redirecting a larger share of crude flows to the Red Sea through its 7 million-barrel-per-day East-West Pipeline to bypass Persian Gulf export terminals. “The Yanbu route is open to all international buyers, but China-bound cargoes are expected to take a significant share, given that China is a major customer of Saudi Aramco,” said Xu Muyu, a senior crude oil analyst at Kpler.
Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO) is a feature of AMD Ryzen processors, allowing you to adjust different parameters controlling the boost behaviour of your CPU. This powerful tool can be leveraged to achieve higher operating frequencies to improve performance or, conversely, lower power limits to reduce power consumption and heat output. Though this can absolutely be done through manual overclocking...
Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO) is a feature of AMD Ryzen processors, allowing you to adjust different parameters controlling the boost behaviour of your CPU. This powerful tool can be leveraged to achieve higher operating frequencies to improve performance or, conversely, lower power limits to reduce power consumption and heat output. Though this can absolutely be done through manual overclocking or undervolting, PBO does so while maintaining all the CPU’s intelligent frequency and power-management mechanisms active. Let AMD do the hard work for you. This means that unlike old overclocking methods, now you can push the speed higher without removing the intrinsic efficiency of single-core and idle operation. To achieve this, PBO dynamically adjusts power and frequency based on set parameters while taking into account the CPU’s real-time conditions, such as temperatures and power draw. PBO lets you set exact power limits, a dynamic voltage curve, a scalar multiplier, or an auto overclock. I will review each of these in more detail, including how to enable and configure them, and what performance and efficiency gains you can expect. For this guide, I will focus on changing these settings through the BIOS, but you can also do so via AMD’s Ryzen Master app. Before I begin, you may want to install some of the tools recommended in our monitoring and benchmarking apps explainer, which can help you keep an eye on any performance improvements or, god forbid, regressions. Also, while all the settings listed in this guide should be available on any BIOS version – aside from locked OEM firmwares – updating your BIOS to the latest version is a good call to ensure that the latest safety measures are implemented. Lastly, each manufacturer may name these settings slightly differently, but the underlying controls should be the same across Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, ASRock, and other brands. If your system becomes too unstable to even each the BIOS, you can always press the Clear CMOS butt...
A mysterious floral artist has taken over the New York Botanical Garden toggle caption New York Botanical Garden Mr. Flower Fantastic has worked with some big names and brands: Serena Williams, Michael Jordan, Spike Lee, Nike, Louis Vuitton, Netflix. Recently, when the Chicago Bulls retired point guard Derrick Rose's jersey number, Mr. Flower Fantastic covered an outdoor basketball court in a port...
A mysterious floral artist has taken over the New York Botanical Garden toggle caption New York Botanical Garden Mr. Flower Fantastic has worked with some big names and brands: Serena Williams, Michael Jordan, Spike Lee, Nike, Louis Vuitton, Netflix. Recently, when the Chicago Bulls retired point guard Derrick Rose's jersey number, Mr. Flower Fantastic covered an outdoor basketball court in a portrait made of roses and carnations. "It took thousands of flowers to pull this off — in the middle of winter. In Chicago," the artist said, laughing. "It was really special." Hundreds of people lined up in the cold to see it. Sponsor Message The floral artist — who says he often goes by "MFF" or "Flower" — stays anonymous because he wants the focus to be on his work. Usually when he's out in public, he wears a gas mask and gloves, which both hide his identity and protect his health (ironically, he's allergic to flowers). But today, showing a reporter around the New York Botanical Garden's conservatory to see his new show, there's no mask — no gloves — just a warm handshake and a warmer smile. He's a lifelong New Yorker, so when the botanical garden approached him about collaborating on their annual orchid show, he saw it as an opportunity to peek out from behind his secret identity and invite the public to view the city the way he does, finding beauty in the ordinary, everyday structures we often take for granted. What kind of structures? Well — take the maligned dumpster. Here in the many-roomed garden conservatory, it's painted matte black and bursting with white moth orchids and English ivy. toggle caption Jennifer Vanasco/NPR Or the manhole cover, framed with gentle arcs of purple and yellow moth orchids, yellow slipper orchids and pink and white Dancing Lady orchids. toggle caption Jennifer Vanasco/NPR And, more spectacularly, the car wash, which here has a taxi driving through that's made of synthetic and real carnations. toggle caption New York Botanical Garden "My fa...
Urban Grid Solar Projects, LLC HOUSTON, March 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Urban Grid today announced a new partnership with Sustain Our Future Foundation (SOFF) to launch a $750,000 community investment initiative in four project communities across Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland. This funding will support community-led programs through investments in education, training, emergency response ...
Urban Grid Solar Projects, LLC HOUSTON, March 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Urban Grid today announced a new partnership with Sustain Our Future Foundation (SOFF) to launch a $750,000 community investment initiative in four project communities across Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland. This funding will support community-led programs through investments in education, training, emergency response services, and energy efficiency. These programs will strengthen household energy affordability and safety, increase community preparedness for severe weather-related disruptions, and support local workforce development. The initiative is part of the virtual Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) between the Urban Grid project companies and Microsoft, under which Microsoft purchases renewable energy generated by four of Urban Grid’s utility-scale solar projects. By partnering with SOFF, a nonprofit focused on environmental justice and trust-based philanthropy, Urban Grid is ensuring that the benefits of clean energy development extend beyond the grid and are guided by the voices and needs of the communities themselves. This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to fair outcomes for the people and places that make the energy transition possible. “As we work to meet America’s unprecedented energy needs, we recognize the importance of ensuring our projects also serve the communities that host them,” said Stephen Gallagher, CEO of Urban Grid. “This $750,000 investment, in collaboration with SOFF, reflects our belief that energy infrastructure should not only power the grid but also empower people.” The funds will be distributed in the following communities: Aspen Road Solar in Fannett Township, Pennsylvania Spring Grove Solar II in Surry County, Virginia Jones Farm Solar in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland Egypt Road Solar in Dorchester County, Maryland “Our collaboration with Urban Grid and Microsoft is about more than clean energy—it’s about investing in the people and places that...
Bill McDermott said he was able to rise through the ranks at Xerox before moving on to CEO roles at SAP and ServiceNow, largely because he worked harder than the people around him.
Bill McDermott said he was able to rise through the ranks at Xerox before moving on to CEO roles at SAP and ServiceNow, largely because he worked harder than the people around him.
A group of hackers suspected of working at least in part for the Russian government targeted iPhone users in Ukraine with a new set of hacking tools designed to steal their personal data, as well as potentially steal cryptocurrency, according to cybersecurity researchers. Researchers at Google and security firms iVerify and Lookout analyzed new cyberattacks against Ukrainians which were launched b...
A group of hackers suspected of working at least in part for the Russian government targeted iPhone users in Ukraine with a new set of hacking tools designed to steal their personal data, as well as potentially steal cryptocurrency, according to cybersecurity researchers. Researchers at Google and security firms iVerify and Lookout analyzed new cyberattacks against Ukrainians which were launched by a group identified only as UNC6353. The researchers looked at compromised websites in a hacking campaign that, they say, is related to one uncovered earlier this month. This most recent campaign used a hacking toolkit the companies called Darksword. The discovery of Darksword, which follows that of a similar hacking toolkit, suggests that advanced, stealthy, and powerful spyware for iPhones may not be as rare as previously thought. Even then, Darksword only targeted users in Ukraine, implying some restraint in what could have otherwise been a widescale hacking campaign targeting users worldwide. In early March, Google revealed details of a sophisticated iPhone-hacking toolkit called Coruna. The search giant said that the tool was used first by a government customer of a surveillance tech vendor, then by Russian spies targeting Ukrainians, and finally Chinese cybercriminals looking to steal cryptocurrency. As TechCrunch later revealed, the hacking toolkit was originally developed at U.S. defense contractor L3Harris, in particular by its hacking and surveillance tech department Trenchant. Coruna was originally designed for use by Western governments, in particular those part of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence alliance, made by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom, according to former L3Harris employees with knowledge of the company’s iPhone hacking tools. Now, researchers said they uncovered a related campaign using more recent hacking tools exploiting different vulnerabilities. The Darksword toolkit, according to the researchers, w...
10am: Wall Street stocks open lower as oil prices spike US stocks have opened lower, after oil prices rebounded on new threats from Iran to retaliate against Gulf energy infrastructure. The Dow Jones started with a 0.5% drop, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq falling 0.3%. Biggest fallers...
10am: Wall Street stocks open lower as oil prices spike US stocks have opened lower, after oil prices rebounded on new threats from Iran to retaliate against Gulf energy infrastructure. The Dow Jones started with a 0.5% drop, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq falling 0.3%. Biggest fallers...
Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) is set to release results for its fiscal 2026's second quarter on March 18. Shares of the company have been in terrific form on the market over the past year, rising an incredible 323% as of this writing, driven by eye-popping revenue and earnings growth. Analysts and investors will be eagerly awaiting Micron's earnings report to see whether this semiconductor stock ...
Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) is set to release results for its fiscal 2026's second quarter on March 18. Shares of the company have been in terrific form on the market over the past year, rising an incredible 323% as of this writing, driven by eye-popping revenue and earnings growth. Analysts and investors will be eagerly awaiting Micron's earnings report to see whether this semiconductor stock can sustain its momentum. The good news for Micron investors is that the company can indeed jump higher after its upcoming report, primarily driven by the incredible demand for memory chips that's outpacing supply. The favorable pricing conditions in the memory market should continue to be a tailwind for the memory specialist, potentially paving the way for more upside in Micron stock following its results. However, there is another company that's reaping the benefits of the booming memory demand: Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX) , whose shares could get a nice boost following Micron's report. Let's see why that may be the case. Continue reading