Overhauled Tiers and Pricing On Oct. 1, 2025, Microsoft announced a major overhaul of Xbox Game Pass news.xbox.com. The old Core plan is now Game Pass Essential ($9.99/mo) and Standard becomes Game Pass Premium ($14.99/mo), while Game Pass Ultimate remains the top tier. In the U.S., Essential and Premium keep their prices; Ultimate is raised to $29.99/month news.xbox.com reuters.com. (Microsoft also quietly raised the PC Game Pass price to $16.49/month windowscentral.com.) Xbox says the hikes reflect a much larger game catalog and new benefits. As Xbox’s announcement put it, “Ultimate is now priced at $29.99/month, reflecting the expanded catalog, new

Feature Drop Unlocks Adaptive Audio, Gestures & More This fall’s Pixel Buds Pro 2 update is the biggest in months. Google’s changelog reveals that firmware 4.467 introduces a host of new abilities. Most notably, Adaptive Audio automatically blends active noise cancellation with transparency: it “dynamically reduces the volume of unwanted noises and sounds” so you can stay aware without fiddling with modes androidcentral.com tomsguide.com. In practice, you no longer choose between full ANC or full transparency — the buds “automatically change what you hear based on the surrounding environment” tomsguide.com, just as Apple’s Adaptive Transparency does on AirPods Pro 3.

Release Date & Global Launch Times Sony and developer Sucker Punch officially announced in April 2025 that Ghost of Yōtei hits PS5 on October 2, 2025 blog.playstation.com. As GamesHub notes, that means most players will see the game unlock at 12:00 AM on Oct. 2, but U.S. west-coast players get an earlier start. Specifically, the global launch schedule is: Sep 30, 2025 – 9:00 PM PDT (Oct. 1) for Pacific Time; 10:00 PM MT; 11:00 PM CT; and 12:00 AM EDT (Oct. 2) gameshub.com egamersworld.com. Meanwhile Europe, Japan, Australia and other regions all go live at midnight local time on Oct. 2 egamersworld.com khelnow.com. In

Why Winter Bills Are Climbing Energy bills have already been rising faster than inflation, and last winter’s hikes are carrying into this one. A recent National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA) report finds the average household heating bill will jump ~7.6% over last winter kioncentralcoast.com. That reflects both higher fuel prices and increased demand – this winter is forecast to be slightly colder than last year. Electricity costs in particular have soared: U.S. grid prices jumped 6.2% year-over-year in August, and could climb double digits in coming years cbsnews.com cbsnews.com. As NEADA’s Executive Director Mark Wolfe explained, “we had a period of relatively stable electric bills

Situation Overview: The Zaporizhzhia plant sits near Energodar on the Dnipro river in occupied Ukraine. It was capable of powering 4 million homes before the war. Russian forces seized it in March 2022; its six VVER-1000 reactors were immediately shut down, cutting off a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity output reuters.com reuters.com. Even idle, the reactor cores and adjacent spent-fuel pools contain hot radioactive material that needs cooling. Normally this cooling comes from electric pumps powered by the grid. Since the latest power line was severed on Sept. 23, those pumps have instead been run by diesel generators reuters.com reuters.com. Zelenskiy’s Alarm: In his nightly

Background: Virginia’s Revenue Boom Virginia’s 2025 tax rebates emerged from an extraordinary run of budget surpluses. Four consecutive years of higher‑than‑expected tax receipts and underspending produced about $10 billion in surplus revenue, according to the July 2025 revenue report governor.virginia.gov. General fund revenues for fiscal 2025 exceeded official forecasts by US$572 million thanks largely to strong income‑tax collections governor.virginia.gov. Governor Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, said the surpluses allowed the state to provide $9 billion in tax relief over his term and invest in education, law enforcement and mental health governor.virginia.gov. He framed the rebates as giving taxpayers back their own money, declaring that the surplus “is