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Bryan Smith, 47, from the Easton area of Bristol, was pursued by officers (pictured) across the city on September 2 after he stole a car and tried to make his escape in it.

EA employees and the Communications Workers of America union have condemned the company's proposed $55 billion private acquisition -- backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, "claiming they were not represented in the negotiations and any jobs lost as a result would 'be a choice, not a necessity, made to pad investors' pockets," reports Eurogamer. From the report: Following the announcement, there's been plenty of speculation around the future of EA and its multiple owned studios, split between EA Sports and EA Entertainment. Now, members of the United Videogame Workers union and the CWA have issued a formal response alongside a petition for regulators to scrutinize the deal. "EA is not a struggling company," the statement reads. "With annual revenues reaching $7.5 billion and $1 billion in profit each year, EA is one of the largest video game developers and publishers in the world." This success has been driven by company workers, the union stated. "Yet we, the very people who will be jeopardized as a result of this deal, were not represented at all when this buyout was negotiated or discussed." Citing the number of layoffs across the industry since 2022, workers fear for "the future of our studios that are arbitrarily deemed 'less profitable' but whose contributions to the video game industry define EA's reputation." "If jobs are lost or studios are closed due to this deal, that would be a choice, not a necessity, made to pad investors' pockets - not to strengthen the company," the statement reads. "Every time private equity or billionaire investors take a studio private, workers lose visibility, transparency, and power," it continues. "Decisions that shape our jobs, our art, and our futures are made behind closed doors by executives who have never written a line of code, built worlds, or supported live services. We are calling on regulators and elected officials to scrutinize this deal and ensure that any path forward protects jobs, preserves creative freedom, and keeps decision-making accountable to the workers who make EA successful." As such, workers have launched a petition in a "fight to make video games better for workers and players -- not billionaires". The statement concludes: "The value of video games is in their workers. As a unified voice, we, the members of the industry-wide video game workers' union UVW-CWA, are standing together and refusing to let corporate greed decide the future of our industry."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Daniel Martin made repeated appearances on With Love, Meghan. But he has discovered that however close you are to the Duchess of Sussex you are never far from disaster

Previously Paris, 27, has always said that she doesn't believe that her 'kind-hearted' father could have sexually abused anyone, and denounced those suggestions as 'lies'.

Martin Hewitt appeared at a parliamentary committee yesterday.To his CBE and QPM there should perhaps be added the OPD, the Order of Prize Dribblers.

Seeing a crowd of young people protesting against the war in Ukraine in the heart of St Petersburg on Wednesday will have sent an unfamiliar chill down Vladimir Putin 's spine.

Michelle Keegan cut a casual figure as she headed to her local petrol station and dashed into the shop on a quick nappy run, just hours after her £80,000 Range Rover got keyed by vandals. 

With his background as a vintage car salesman from Essex and his love of lads' holidays and football, Sam Palmer has always had something of a macho image.

Earlier this week, the actress shared a jaw-dropping bikini-clad snap of herself while on vacation celebrating her birthday back in August, captioning it: 'This is 59.'

Miami-Dade County is piloting a self-driving police car built by PolicingLab and powered by Perrone Robotics, equipped with 360-degree cameras, AI analytics, license plate readers, and even drone-launch capabilities. The Drive reports: "Designed as a force multiplier, the PUG combines advanced autonomy from Perrone Robotics with AI-driven analytics, real-time crime data, and a suite of sensors including 360-degree cameras, thermal imaging, license plate recognition, and drone launch capabilities," [says the PolicingLab's announcement.] "Its role: extend deputy resources, improve efficiency, and enhance community safety without additional cost to Miami-Dade taxpayers," it continued. For starters, this is merely a pilot program being sponsored by PolicingLab, not a standard addition to the department's fleet. And second, at least initially, it's being soft-launched as a feeler for the Sheriff's public affairs folks. It'll be posted up at public and media events in order to "gather feedback" before the department considers whether to press it into service. Once it's actually brought online, PolicingLab says the squad car will offer several benefits to the department: "The 12-month pilot will evaluate outcomes such as improved response times, enhanced deterrence, officer safety, and stronger public trust," it said. "Results will inform whether and how the program expands, potentially serving as a national model for agencies across the country." In other words, PolicingLab expects that the data collected about real-world policing will more than offset the costs of building and supporting the car in the long run, but if these are ever pressed into regular service, you can bet they'll come with hefty subscription and support costs, even if they do eliminate expensive human labor (and judgment) from the situation.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Mark and Nicola Rowe hired former Hollyoaks actress Julie Peasgood to promote their company offering help to sell timeshares for elderly owners worried about rising maintenance fees.

Would you inject chemicals into your body without knowing with a high degree of certainty what they were?

Wanted: a companion for the last great A-list Hollywood star. Must be young, gorgeous, successful, at home in a helicopter - and a Scientologist.

The first term of the new school year is surely a time for hope and new beginnings. There's hope that the blazer will survive three days without getting lost.

My heart was pounding in terror as I stared at the reflection in the mirror. My teeth were dotted with chunks of flesh - blood-red, fresh and oozing. Oh my god, my baby. Had I actually eaten my baby?

Don't worry, there's a simple way to escape detection. Just put on a pair of glasses... and you'll be unrecognisable.

Oh no, not again! Can it really be true? How can so many designers remain so tone deaf to the condemnation of using preternaturally skinny models?

Wendy Holden reviews this month's best popular fiction

Eithne Farry reviews this month's best historical fiction

Geoffrey Wansell reviews the best crime books out this month