All posts tagged: speaker

Speaker Johnson prevails in a nail-biter: Five takeaways

Speaker Johnson prevails in a nail-biter: Five takeaways

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Friday defied his most conservative critics to retain his gavel in the next Congress, overcoming threats from a group of far-right lawmakers leery of his leadership record and commitment to spending cuts. The victory puts Johnson in the driver’s seat of the lower chamber just as President-elect Trump is poised… Source link

This LG Bluetooth speaker impressed me with a design feature I’ve yet to see on competitors

This LG Bluetooth speaker impressed me with a design feature I’ve yet to see on competitors

ZDNET’s key takeaways The LG XBoom 360 XO2 is a great Bluetooth speaker for professional chillers, loungers, and relaxers, and it’s available for $197. Highlights include a focus on calming mood lighting and an elegant design. A below-average battery life and lack of advanced features may make this speaker too simple for some. more buying choices There’s nothing like having a trusty Bluetooth speaker that offers a portable listening style. These days, many Bluetooth speaker manufacturers focus on making their speakers suitable for outdoor use, opting for angular, rugged designs with dust and water resistance for use at the beach or on a hike. Also: This unassuming Bluetooth speaker caught me off guard with big bass and clear mids If you never take your Bluetooth speakers outside the house, however, you probably don’t want your new speaker’s main selling point to be that it can survive the apocalypse. I want my speaker to look like it belongs in my house, not at my local REI. If you’re like me, you’ll appreciate the latest LG XBoom 360 XO2 …

The JBL party speaker we take to soccer fields and house parties is 0 off for Cyber Monday

The JBL party speaker we take to soccer fields and house parties is $200 off for Cyber Monday

Want concert sound without having to pay Ticketmaster prices? We’re loving the deep discount on the JBL PartyBox Stage 320 right now at Amazon for Cyber Monday. This is the transportable party speaker we wheeled around all BRAT summer and fall to hype teams, kill it at Wicked karaoke, and enjoy Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, and Kendrick Lamar jams at arena-level volume without selling a kidney to get tix. If you’ve got a bonfire coming up, you should be bumpin’ that with this. JBL PartyBox Stage 320 $399 (Was $599) Jack Pinson See It You can take everything to the next level … any level, really, thanks to the built-in wheels and telescopic handle … if you pick up this 38 lbs., 240W, 27-inch-tall loudspeaker to fill more spaces and melt more faces. It has an expressive figure-eight of dancing LEDs, plus compatibility with wireless mics (sold separately). And you can establish an Auracast Bluetooth connection to let it play the same song simultaneously on multiple current-gen. JBL party speakers, such as the Xtreme 4 (the Bluetooth speaker …

interview with Northern Ireland humanist school speaker, Mary Lou

interview with Northern Ireland humanist school speaker, Mary Lou

Mary Lou is a humanist school speaker based in Northern Ireland. We caught up with her to find out more about how school speakers are making a positive impact on young people’s lives by enhancing their understanding of humanism as a lived, non-religious approach to life. Hi Mary Lou! What motivated you to become a humanist school speaker? My own experience of school in Northern Ireland was exclusively within one religion, and I really don’t recall any suggestion that any alternative beliefs should be considered. When I returned to Northern Ireland in the early 2000s, it seemed that the system had not changed. I became a humanist school speaker because I saw an opportunity to describe a way of life – humanism – in a way that could be helpful to young people. I’ve previously worked with young people from religious backgrounds who have had difficulties with their families, so it felt more important than ever. What was training like? How did it prepare you? I enjoy all of the training that I do with …

The DNC Should Have Had a Palestinian American Speaker

The DNC Should Have Had a Palestinian American Speaker

Produced by ElevenLabs and News Over Audio (NOA) using AI narration. Palestinians have, since the start of Israeli retaliation for Hamas’s massacre on October 7 last year, been living through one of the worst calamities in an already tragic history. Attacks by the Israeli military have killed tens of thousands Palestinians in Gaza, and much of the region’s population of 2 million has been displaced—repeatedly—and remains at risk of starvation and illness. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli extremists have launched more than 1,000 attacks against Palestinians in recent months. Supporters of the Palestinian cause have been left with few options politically. The next occupant of the White House will come from one of the two major parties. On the Republican side, Donald Trump, the obvious favorite of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has vowed to deport pro-Palestinian protesters and uses the word Palestinian as a racial epithet akin to an old southern slur. On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden has sought a cease-fire but has been unable or unwilling to bring the necessary …

Palestinian allies make last-ditch push for speaker on the DNC stage

Palestinian allies make last-ditch push for speaker on the DNC stage

(RNS) — Arab Americans, Muslim Americans and their interfaith allies spent much of Thursday (Aug. 22) pushing Democratic officials to allow a Palestinian American to speak from the party convention’s main stage, to convey a message of solidarity despite the party’s so-far consistent support for Israel in its prosecution of the war in Gaza. The push was accompanied by an all-night sit-in outside Chicago’s United Center at which members of the “uncommitted” movement also made speeches pressing the Democratic National Convention to feature a Palestinian speaker. The uncommitted — so-called because members of the movement wrote in “uncommitted” on their ballots rather than vote for President Joe Biden in this year’s Democratic primaries — want the DNC to recognize the suffering of Palestinians, 40,000 of whom have been killed by Israel’s massive Gaza assault of the past 10 months, an assault backed by U.S. bombs and munitions that has flattened the Gaza Strip and left tens of thousands homeless.  In an emotional speech from the stage of the convention on Wednesday, Israeli Americans Rachel Goldberg-Polin …

Amazon Fire TV Soundbar review: Does this speaker bring the audio power?

Amazon Fire TV Soundbar review: Does this speaker bring the audio power?

Is the Amazon Fire TV soundbar the best-sounding soundbar on the market? Well, that’s very much down to personal preference. For bass freaks, you may find the Fire a little lacking in that department. The additional power output makes an immediate and obvious improvement. The Fire’s DTS Virtual: X and Dolby Digital lift proceedings to new levels, the former delivering a sumptuous and truly immersive virtual 3D surround soundscape, and the latter doing what Dolby Digital does best, bringing clarity to dialogue and enriching bass for a heightened aural experience so good that you’ll wonder how/why you ever suffered sound without it. But, with no option to expand with a separate subwoofer, you may want to explore other audio-enhancing avenues. However, I found the low-end more than acceptable on Blade Runner 2049, which is basically just bass throughout. As to music, for my genres of general choice, covering the spectrum from blues to rock to ska to reggae to (some) pop and classical, I was more than pleased with the audio pumped out for a …

NSS urges Speaker to support end to parliamentary prayers

NSS urges Speaker to support end to parliamentary prayers

The National Secular Society has renewed its call to remove prayers from the official business of Parliament. The NSS wrote to the Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle on Friday to urge him to “make it clear that our Parliament is a place where religion is not imposed” and MPs of all religions and beliefs “are equally welcome and valued”. Sittings in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords begin with Anglican prayers – one of the many privileges given to the Church of England due to its established status. Nearly half of MPs took secular affirmation or swore on non-Christian text The NSS’s letter follows the recent ‘swearing in’ ceremonies required for MPs to take their seat. MPs can either take a religious oath, usually while holding a religious text, or make a secular affirmation pledging allegiance to the monarchy. The right for both religious and nonreligious MPs to take their seat by making a secular affirmation was secured by NSS founder Charles Bradlaugh MP. Following the July general …

House Speaker Mike Johnson Survived a Motion to Vacate. Here’s Why His Job Is Far From Safe

House Speaker Mike Johnson Survived a Motion to Vacate. Here’s Why His Job Is Far From Safe

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mike Johnson’s job isn’t safe yet. In a stunning show of unity in the often divided House, Democrats joined a majority of Republicans on Wednesday to save the GOP speaker from an attempt by fellow Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to remove him from his post. But while Democrats in the minority threw the Louisiana congressman a life raft by voting on his side, they made clear they might not do so again. That means the threat for Johnson still lingers as Greene and other lawmakers can at any time call up another motion to oust him. The episode highlights the increasingly precarious situation for Johnson, who faces the same conservative forces that took down his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, but with an even smaller majority that has forced him to continuously rely on Democratic support to carry out the most basic functions of legislating. Republicans control the House by the barest of margins, 217-213. Here’s what to know about how the House can remove a speaker and what’s ahead for Johnson: WHAT …