Let's Do The News! (January 15, 2025)

             

Your daily round-up of today's news...

- The senators clarified that the dinner held last night at the President's House was "purely social" or just a gathering, hosted by Philippine President Bongbong Marcos and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos.

- The eruption of the Kanlaon Volcano continues, and the number of areas declaring a state of calamity has increased. The latest data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council shows that 57 cities and municipalities are affected after Negros Oriental declared a state of calamity.

- COMELEC Chairman George Erwin Garcia assures that the commission will finish printing the ballots by the set deadline of April 14.

- The New People's Army no longer can influence the upcoming 2025 midterm elections. According to Lt.Col. Louie Dema-ala, spokesperson for the Philippine Army, the NPA's forces have weakened.

- Tulip Siddiq has resigned as UK Treasury minister.

- Starbucks reversed its open-door policy, meaning customers are only allowed to use the comfort room or stay inside.

- The facelifted Aston Martin Vantage received the Roadster variant, retaining the same 665PS 4.0L V8 Twin Turbo engine from its hardtop equivalent.

2026 Aston Martin Vantage Roadster

- Ford will showcase its Mustang GTD Spirit of America as well as the Mustang RTR at the 2025 NAIAS this week.

2025 Ford Mustang GTD Spirit of America

- Sophia Anne Caruso, Mark Penwill, and Anton David Jeftha join the cast for One Piece Netflix show's second season.

- Starship Entertainment issued an apology over a deepfake report involving IVE member An Yu Jin.

- Meet the contestants for the second season of the Netflix game show The Devil's Plan.

- The home of Pittsburgh Penguins player Evgeni Malkin was burglarized with three of his Stanley Cup rings stolen, the latest in a series of robberies at the residences of professional athletes.

- The Muntinlupa court issues a gag order in the Vic Sotto vs. Darryl Yap case.

TTFN.

Hyundai Palisade LX3

Hyundai's flagship SUV, the Palisade, has entered its second generation, and it's officially the most luxurious in its class. It promises luxury SUV things without the luxury SUV pricing. It looks like the Korean carmaker's going premium with this one, although the timing's bad due to...well, you know what happened.

2025 Hyundai Palisade

The all-new Hyundai Palisade aims to deliver world-class luxury at an affordable price. With a starting price of 43,830,000 Korean Won, this SUV is a bargain for its class.

2025 Hyundai Palisade

Hyundai has truly excelled in the design of the Palisade LX3. While it might resemble a modern Range Rover at first glance, it features distinctive boot-shaped front lamps and taillights for added flair, along with a striking grille that has an illuminated top. When parked next to a Range Rover, the similarities are hard to ignore, but on the bright side, the all-new Palisade serves as an affordable alternative to a Range Rover.

2025 Hyundai Palisade interior

2025 Hyundai Palisade interior

Now, let's get to know the new interior. On the driver's side, it dons the familiar steering wheel with braille symbols in the middle just like today's Hyundai models as well as the gear lever positioned behind the steering wheel, paddle shifters, a Panoramic Curved Display with AI assistant, ambient lighting, fingerprint authentication system, BOSE Premium Sound System, and for user-friendliness, buttons and knobs for the radio and climate control. The front passenger seat, meanwhile, sports a legrest reminiscent of the Nissan Teana from a distant past.

Although the Palisade LX3 is offered in a seven- or nine-seater variant, the seven-seater variant is credited with the Palisade LX3's premium luxury status thanks to the second-row seats that come with the available massagers. You won't find that in the Chevrolet Traverse.

Regarding boot space, with all seats present, it can carry up to 317 liters of goodies. With the third-row seats slid forward, it's now 348 liters. Fold the passenger seats down, and you can expect roughly four times the boot space for more.

2025 Hyundai Palisade

Unlike the previous model, the Palisade LX3 is now powered only by the Smartstream G2.5T engine, which produces 281PS of power and 43kgf-m of torque. Mated only with an 8-speed AT, the front-wheel-drive variants' fuel economy is around 9.7km/L. The Palisade Hybrid uses the same engine, but with the added 54kW electric motor and 6-speed automatic.

The Palisade is a sizable yet refined crossover that offers a luxurious driving experience for daily use. With the optional H-TRAC all-wheel drive system featuring an off-road driving mode, it comes close to the Range Rover in terms of aesthetics. Additionally, the all-new Palisade is equipped with a preview electronically-controlled suspension, allowing it to adapt seamlessly to various driving conditions, whether on tarmac, gravel, or snow.

The Palisade LX3 features a host of safety features, ranging from the hallmark Hyundai SmartSense, the Digital Center Mirror, the Built-In Cam 2 Plus, the Surround View Distance Display, the second-row safe exit indicator, seat belt pre-tensioner, 10 airbags, and so on.

The all-new Palisade has it all: looks that mimic today's Range Rover, lights that kick, a luxurious interior, numerous high-tech features, and a turbocharged 2.5L petrol and hybrid to match its status. It really is a world-class luxury SUV without the luxury price tag, making it the bargain of the season. It doesn't stick to the status quo; it just rewrites it fair and square.

Available Colors: Robust Emerald Pearl, Creamy White Pearl, Shimmering Silver Metallic, Ecotronic Gray Pearl, Classy Blue Pearl, Cast Iron Brown Pearl, Galaxy Maroon Pearl, and Abyss Black Pearl.

Photo: Hyundai Motor Company

Hajimari wa Kimi no Sora～11 Ver.～

This is how the Love Live! Superstar!! saga ended. The song that started it all is the same song that ended it.

Hajimari wa Kimi no Sora～11 Ver.～

Liella!'s journey began with this song and ended with the same song. In the series finale, the debut song was enhanced with the new 11-member version. Fans who witnessed the end of Liella's story now get to listen to this song from start to finish.

Those who've already pre-ordered it will receive a chance to win a ticket for the "Love Live! Superstar!! Liella! 6th LoveLive! Tour ~Let's be ONE~" Miyagi Performance Day.2.

Thanks for the memories, Liella!

TRACK LISTINGS:

01.始まりは君の空 ～11 Ver.～

02.始まりは君の空 ～11 Ver.～(Off Vocal)

Let's Do The News! (January 14, 2025)

            

Your daily round-up of today's news...

- The Commission on Elections has temporarily suspended the printing of ballots for the 2025 national and local elections following a temporary restraining order issued by the PH Supreme Court that disqualified several candidates and excluded their names from the ballot.

- The Ecowaste Coalition is dismayed by the continued use of single-use plastics as banners during the upcoming feast of Sto. Niño in Tondo next week.

- Surigao del Norte Representative Robert Ace Barbers is urging the PH Food and Drug Administration to issue a policy that will oblige all pharmaceutical companies or "Big Pharma" to list "adverse side effects" on the labels and packaging of their drugs.

- Senator Risa Hontiveros proposed that the government enhance its alliances with countries that are united in opposing China's aggressive behavior. She stated that China has had a troubling start to this year, as it has instead of fostering peace in the region, contributed to increased chaos.

- Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman states the Gaza ceasefire agreement is "at its closest point" after several months.

- The special prosecutor's report says that US President-elect Donald Trump would have been convicted for a bid to overturn the 2020 US election results if he hadn't been elected.

- The launch of the Blue Origin rocket was delayed due to "a few anomalies" during the mission countdown.

- Social media is buzzing with a massive migration of "Tiktok Refugees" amid news of a potential TikTok ban across the United States this January 19th. New social media apps Neptune and Pageant gain over 100K email signups and 70K preorders on the App Store. ByteDance's new app, Lemon8, is holding the number one spot in the US App Store, while the "Chinese TikTok clone" called Rednote is also leading.

- Hamda Al Qubaisi will join AKCEL GP x PHM Racing for the F4 Middle East Championship after her two-season run with F1 Academy.

- Hertz Team JOTA now using the Cadillac V-Series.R racing machine for the 2025 WEC season.

- Mike Wallace was hoping to return to NASCAR competition at the Daytona 500 next month. However, NASCAR has ruled that he is ineligible to compete because he has not been active in the sport for several years.

- Disney has been sued for allegedly copying the idea for the Moana movies. Buck Woodall is suing the company for allegedly stealing his idea and is seeking damages equivalent to 2.5% of the Moana movies' gross revenue or $10B. 

- Kim Kardashian demands that the thousand incarcerated firefighters battling LA wildfires should get over 10.24 dollars a day.

TTFN.

Let's Do The News! (January 13, 2025)

           

Your daily round-up of today's news...

- The situation in the Iglesia Ni Cristo's National Rally for Peace at the Quirino Grandstand remains peaceful. Meanwhile, Senate President Chiz Escudero supported the INC's Rally for Peace.

- Senator Sherwin Gatchalian believes there will be more delays in pursuing the impeachment complaint against PH Vice President Sara Duterte. This is also related to the National Rally for Peace held by the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) today in Manila.

- Wildfire threats in Los Angeles remain very high, as officials warn that wind conditions will worsen in the coming days. The death toll has now reached 24. Meanwhile, US President-Elect Donald Trump slammed California Democrats as "incompetent".

- Amazon is discontinuing its Prime "Try Before You Buy" program at the end of January 2025.

- An anime movie based on Strawberry Prince member Jel's Toi-san video series is coming this Summer 2025.

- Los Angeles Chargers player Khalil Mack is an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his 11-year career. He says he's unsure about his football future.

- The camp of Darryl Yap claims that Eat Bulaga presenter Vic Sotto received the script from the upcoming biopic movie The Rapists of Pepsi Paloma.

TTFN.

ABB FIA Formula E S11 - Mexico City ePrix

Season 11 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship continues in Mexico City, kicking off the year 2025 with intense zero-emission action situated at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. A chance for the GEN3 EVO machines to flex their electric muscles in the Mexican setting.

Screengrab from Formula E

Oliver Rowland won the first race of the season for NISMO. He beat out two Porsche drivers, Antonio Felix Da Costa and Pascal Wehrlein, to take the checkered flag.

The next race is in Jeddah for this season's first two-parter this February 14 to 15, 2025.

Let's Do The News! (January 11, 2025)

          

Your daily round-up of today's news...

- Donald Trump is sentenced with "unconditional discharge", avoiding jail time, fines, and probation. By the time he returns to the White House on January 20th, he will be the first sitting US President with a felony conviction.

- A night-time curfew was imposed in the fire-hit Los Angeles as the city warns of looting in residences burnt by multiple wildfires.

- The United States announced a $25 million reward for the arrest or conviction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on the day he was sworn in for his third term in rule.

- Meta terminates all of its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs immediately.

- Andy Cowell assumes the role of CEO and Team Principal of the Aston Martin Formula 1 team immediately.

- PREMA Racing announced its IndyCar driver lineup, which consists of Callum Ilott, Robert Shwartzman, and reserve driver Romain Grosjean.

- GTWS winner Igor Fraga earned his full-time driver status for the 2025 Super Formula season.

- The Tesla Model Y minor change was unveiled.

2026 Tesla Model Y

- 2NE1 member Dara will host a new audition program featuring EXO member Chen, AB6IX member Park Woo Jin, and more as mentors.

- The NBA postpones its Supers-Lakers and Hornets-Clips matches in Los Angeles in the wake of the devastating wildfires.

- Bill McCartney, the coach who led the Colorado Buffaloes to their only national football title in 1990, has died at the age of 84. McCartney was a three-time coach of the year in the Big Eight Conference.

- The MLB banned two fans who interfered with LA Dodgers' Mookie Betts during a World Series game at Yankee Stadium from attending games at big league ballparks.

TTFN.