October is still weeks away, but for some teams, the 2024 season is already over.
September 2024
Colorado Rockies 2024 offseason preview: Can the team find the pitching to pair with a developing lineup?
The Rockies have some key pieces in places, but injuries and pitching at Coors Field continued to ail them this season.
Miami Marlins 2024 offseason preview: Can the Marlins get back into the playoff mix in 2025?
The answer will depend on getting the rotation off the injured list and finding some more offensive contributors.
Chicago White Sox 2024 offseason preview: After one of the worst seasons in MLB history, how do the Sox begin to get better?
It starts with deciding what to do about Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr.
How Rich Are You? Here’s The Net Worth That Defines Upper, Middle, and Lower Class
Statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on the 2023 Household Food Security in the U.S. Report
WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 2024 – Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service published its annual Household Food Security Report in the United States. The report shows that in 2023, while 86.5 percent of U.S. households were food secure throughout the entire year, the remaining 13.5 percent (18.0 million households) struggled with food availability, quality or variety at least some time during the year.
England: Staffordshire town celebrates LGBTQ+ pride despite funding issues
Wednesday, September 4, 2024
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Image: The Friends of Hednesford Park.
The town of Hednesford, Staffordshire, England is set to host a pride event this coming Saturday as part of the town’s monthly street market. The event, dubbed “Mini Chase Pride” in materials published by the organisers, has been set up to provide an LGBTQ+ space for the town after the Chase Pride planned for the end of August was cancelled due to issues with rising costs and “changes in Government legislation”.
Local group The Friends of Hednesford Park outfitted the town centre with a variety of LGBTQ+ imagery, including pride flags, a poster for local LGBTQ+ charity SAGE, and a banner reading Chase Pride and adorned with deer, an important local symbol featured on the logo of Cannock Chase district. The display was jointly funded by Hednesford Town Council (via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund) and the Council of Queers.
In a Facebook comment, the group said it planned to host a “family craft workshop” to support the event and the market.
On the day the event was originally scheduled to be held, local MP Josh Newbury posted a video to Facebook in which he praised The Friends of Hednesford Park for their pride decorations and celebrated the planned mini-pride. He shared his own experience as the constituency’s “first out LGBT MP”, saying “there was a time when I wished I wasn’t gay, that I could just fit in, but through things like pride we realise that accepting yourself and being able to openly be who you are is the only way to live life to its fullest”.
Chase Pride’s operations director Aiden Bowden spoke with Wikinews reporter Ash Thawley via email about the goals and challenges of Chase Pride.
Interview
[edit]
((Wikinews
)) Why was Chase Pride’s scheduled event cancelled this year?
((Aiden Bowden)) The operating costs of Chase Pride are astronomical and grow year on year, the current state of the economy hasn’t helped things, 50% of the production costs of Chase Pride are normally covered by Grants and Corporate Sponsorship, however these become harder to secure.
((WN)) The announcement post on Instagram says “we didn’t think of it ourselves”. Who thought of this idea and what was the planning like to make it into a reality?
((Aiden Bowden)) We regularly engage with our community, Chase Pride isn’t just about a party once a year, it is about promoting diversity and championing inclusivity 365 days a year, we were inspired by a comment that went along the lines of ‘just because there isn’t a pride it doesn’t mean we can’t all meet in the park ourselves!’ It was at this point that we knew we just had to do something, leaving us just 8 days to throw something together. This is not going to be a grand affair, this is going to be small, low key, think traditional pride, a safe space for a day.
((WN)) More broadly, what is the story of Chase Pride? Whose idea was it to host a pride festival in the Cannock Chase area to begin with, and what what were the goals of the event?
((Aiden Bowden)) Chase Pride is the brain child of Kathryn Downs, a local transwoman who[se] experiences saw her wanting future generations to have an easier time coming out and/or transitioning in Cannock Chase. Having encountered significant hate and prejudice on her own journey, Kathryn felt more needed to be done to make Cannock Chase a welcoming place to live for the LGBTQ+ community.
The idea soon took root on social media, with more than 50 people joining a Facebook group to discuss the possibility of bringing a Pride to the area. Following a rather cosy yet productive first meeting of the group in Kathryn’s kitchen, Chase Pride was born with the aim of running a pride and other related events to celebrate LGBTQ+ culture and history, foster community cohesion through education, to signpost the community to help, support and advice, and to create a safe space where people could be themselves without fear of encountering hated or prejudice.
((WN)) Does the planned “mini-pride” at Hednesford Market share these same goals?
((Aiden Bowden)) Pride means something different to each and every single person, some enjoy being able to relax in a safe environment around fellow people, others like to reminisce on times gone by whilst thanking our forefathers for the fights they fought leading us to where we are today, there Is still an ever increasing need to fight for further equality to eradicate discrimination.
((WN)) What are the limitations of not having a dedicated space for the event? Are there any advantages?
((Aiden Bowden)) Clearly with having a limited timescale to put this event together there are several obstacles to overcome, some of which will still be in existence until we start welcoming people. The team at Hednesford Street Market have been absolutely amazing in affording us a space to utilise to hold this mini event, of course our capacity is very limited, we wont be able to hold the big numbers we have in previous years, but if only one person benefits from the event then it will all be worthwhile.
((WN)) This event will be free to attend. Are there any sources of revenue planned to make the event sustainable, or will it operate with outside funding?
((Aiden Bowden)) This year[‘]s event is very low key so the costs of operating are smaller than normal, the event is completely self-funded meaning there has been a lot of begging and borrowing from friends and family to make this happen. So no, at this stage the event is unsustainable, however we are determined to make it happen.
((WN)) Finally, Chase Pride is currently scheduled to be hosted again next year. Have you looked into venues, for example Hednesford Park again or maybe somewhere else?
((Aiden Bowden)) The planning of Chase Pride is a mammoth task, and all options are explored in great detail, legislation is continually changing so producing an event has many hurdles, to ensure logistical and operational challenges can be overcome we ensure a robust plan is in place covering all eventualities. The best way to keep up to date is by following our socials!
Sources
[edit]
- “Chase PRIDE town decorations year1 2024” — The Friends of Hednesford Park, September 2, 2024 (accessed)
- “SAGE: Sexuality and Gender Empowerment” — Sexuality and Gender Empowerment, September 2, 2024 (accessed)
- “Cannock Chase | Cannock Chase District Council” — Cannock Chase District Council, September 2, 2024 (accessed)
- Josh Newbury. “Today would have been the third Chase Pride on Hednesford Park 🏳️🌈🦌” — Facebook, August 31, 2024
- The Friends of Hednesford Park. “Hednesford Town Council gave us money from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to decorate the town to decorate the town for Chase PRIDE…” — Facebook, August 24, 2024
- Chase Pride. “We’re sad to announce that Chase Pride 2024, which is scheduled to take place on 31st August, is being postponed until 2025.” — Facebook, March 13, 2024
England: Staffordshire town celebrates LGBTQ+ pride despite funding issues
Wednesday, September 4, 2024
Image: The Friends of Hednesford Park.
The town of Hednesford, Staffordshire, England is set to host a pride event this coming Saturday as part of the town’s monthly street market. The event, dubbed “Mini Chase Pride” in materials published by the organisers, has been set up to provide an LGBTQ+ space for the town after the Chase Pride planned for the end of August was cancelled due to issues with rising costs and “changes in Government legislation”.
Local group The Friends of Hednesford Park outfitted the town centre with a variety of LGBTQ+ imagery, including pride flags, a poster for local LGBTQ+ charity SAGE, and a banner reading Chase Pride and adorned with deer, an important local symbol featured on the logo of Cannock Chase district. The display was jointly funded by Hednesford Town Council (via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund) and the Council of Queers.
In a Facebook comment, the group said it planned to host a “family craft workshop” to support the event and the market.
On the day the event was originally scheduled to be held, local MP Josh Newbury posted a video to Facebook in which he praised The Friends of Hednesford Park for their pride decorations and celebrated the planned mini-pride. He shared his own experience as the constituency’s “first out LGBT MP”, saying “there was a time when I wished I wasn’t gay, that I could just fit in, but through things like pride we realise that accepting yourself and being able to openly be who you are is the only way to live life to its fullest”.
Chase Pride’s operations director Aiden Bowden spoke with Wikinews reporter Ash Thawley via email about the goals and challenges of Chase Pride.
Interview
[edit]
((Wikinews
)) Why was Chase Pride’s scheduled event cancelled this year?
((Aiden Bowden)) The operating costs of Chase Pride are astronomical and grow year on year, the current state of the economy hasn’t helped things, 50% of the production costs of Chase Pride are normally covered by Grants and Corporate Sponsorship, however these become harder to secure.
((WN)) The announcement post on Instagram says “we didn’t think of it ourselves”. Who thought of this idea and what was the planning like to make it into a reality?
((Aiden Bowden)) We regularly engage with our community, Chase Pride isn’t just about a party once a year, it is about promoting diversity and championing inclusivity 365 days a year, we were inspired by a comment that went along the lines of ‘just because there isn’t a pride it doesn’t mean we can’t all meet in the park ourselves!’ It was at this point that we knew we just had to do something, leaving us just 8 days to throw something together. This is not going to be a grand affair, this is going to be small, low key, think traditional pride, a safe space for a day.
((WN)) More broadly, what is the story of Chase Pride? Whose idea was it to host a pride festival in the Cannock Chase area to begin with, and what what were the goals of the event?
((Aiden Bowden)) Chase Pride is the brain child of Kathryn Downs, a local transwoman who[se] experiences saw her wanting future generations to have an easier time coming out and/or transitioning in Cannock Chase. Having encountered significant hate and prejudice on her own journey, Kathryn felt more needed to be done to make Cannock Chase a welcoming place to live for the LGBTQ+ community.
The idea soon took root on social media, with more than 50 people joining a Facebook group to discuss the possibility of bringing a Pride to the area. Following a rather cosy yet productive first meeting of the group in Kathryn’s kitchen, Chase Pride was born with the aim of running a pride and other related events to celebrate LGBTQ+ culture and history, foster community cohesion through education, to signpost the community to help, support and advice, and to create a safe space where people could be themselves without fear of encountering hated or prejudice.
((WN)) Does the planned “mini-pride” at Hednesford Market share these same goals?
((Aiden Bowden)) Pride means something different to each and every single person, some enjoy being able to relax in a safe environment around fellow people, others like to reminisce on times gone by whilst thanking our forefathers for the fights they fought leading us to where we are today, there Is still an ever increasing need to fight for further equality to eradicate discrimination.
((WN)) What are the limitations of not having a dedicated space for the event? Are there any advantages?
((Aiden Bowden)) Clearly with having a limited timescale to put this event together there are several obstacles to overcome, some of which will still be in existence until we start welcoming people. The team at Hednesford Street Market have been absolutely amazing in affording us a space to utilise to hold this mini event, of course our capacity is very limited, we wont be able to hold the big numbers we have in previous years, but if only one person benefits from the event then it will all be worthwhile.
((WN)) This event will be free to attend. Are there any sources of revenue planned to make the event sustainable, or will it operate with outside funding?
((Aiden Bowden)) This year[‘]s event is very low key so the costs of operating are smaller than normal, the event is completely self-funded meaning there has been a lot of begging and borrowing from friends and family to make this happen. So no, at this stage the event is unsustainable, however we are determined to make it happen.
((WN)) Finally, Chase Pride is currently scheduled to be hosted again next year. Have you looked into venues, for example Hednesford Park again or maybe somewhere else?
((Aiden Bowden)) The planning of Chase Pride is a mammoth task, and all options are explored in great detail, legislation is continually changing so producing an event has many hurdles, to ensure logistical and operational challenges can be overcome we ensure a robust plan is in place covering all eventualities. The best way to keep up to date is by following our socials!
Sources
[edit]
- “Chase PRIDE town decorations year1 2024” — The Friends of Hednesford Park, September 2, 2024 (accessed)
- “SAGE: Sexuality and Gender Empowerment” — Sexuality and Gender Empowerment, September 2, 2024 (accessed)
- “Cannock Chase | Cannock Chase District Council” — Cannock Chase District Council, September 2, 2024 (accessed)
- Josh Newbury. “Today would have been the third Chase Pride on Hednesford Park 🏳️🌈🦌” — Facebook, August 31, 2024
- The Friends of Hednesford Park. “Hednesford Town Council gave us money from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to decorate the town to decorate the town for Chase PRIDE…” — Facebook, August 24, 2024
- Chase Pride. “We’re sad to announce that Chase Pride 2024, which is scheduled to take place on 31st August, is being postponed until 2025.” — Facebook, March 13, 2024
Angels’ Ben Joyce comes 0.3 mph short of fastest pitch ever recorded
The Angels flamethrower struck out the Dodgers’ Tommy Edman with some ridiculous heat.
Today’s Wordle Hints (and Answer) for Wednesday, September 4, 2024
If you’re looking for the Wordle answer for September 4, 2024 read on. We’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solution. Today’s puzzle is easier; I got it in three. Beware, there are spoilers below for September 4, Wordle #1,173! Keep scrolling if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Wordle game.
How to play Wordle
Wordle lives here on the New York Times website. A new puzzle goes live every day at midnight, your local time.
Start by guessing a five-letter word. The letters of the word will turn green if they’re correct, yellow if you have the right letter in the wrong place, or gray if the letter isn’t in the day’s secret word at all. For more, check out our guide to playing Wordle here, and my strategy guide here for more advanced tips. (We also have more information at the bottom of this post, after the hints and answers.)
Ready for the hints? Let’s go!
Does today’s Wordle have any unusual letters?
We’ll define common letters as those that appear in the old typesetters’ phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU. (Memorize this! Pronounce it “Edwin Shirdloo,” like a name, and pretend he’s a friend of yours.)
They’re all letters from our mnemonic today!
Can you give me a hint for today’s Wordle?
Serious, like a talking-to.
Does today’s Wordle have any double or repeated letters?
There are no repeated letters today.
How many vowels are in today’s Wordle?
There is one vowel.
What letter does today’s Wordle start with?
Today’s word starts with S.
What letter does today’s Wordle end with?
Today’s word ends with N.
What is the solution to today’s Wordle?
Ready? Today’s word is STERN.
How I solved today’s Wordle
I started with RAISE and TOUCH, which yielded four of five letters. There were a number of solutions with these letters that started with R and T, which had been ruled out, so STERN was the most likely answer.
Wordle 1,173 3/6 🟨⬛⬛🟨🟨 🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Yesterday’s Wordle answer
Yesterday’s Wordle was easier. The hint was “weak or barely perceptible” and the answer contained four common letters and one fairly common letter.
The answer to yesterday’s Wordle was FAINT.
A primer on Wordle basics
The idea of Wordle is to guess the day’s secret word. When you first open the Wordle game, you’ll see an empty grid of letters. It’s up to you to make the first move: type in any five-letter word.
Now, you can use the colors that are revealed to get clues about the word: Green means you correctly guessed a letter, and it’s in the correct position. (For example, if you guess PARTY, and the word is actually PURSE, the P and R will be green.)
-
Yellow means the letter is somewhere in the word, but not in the position you guessed it. (For example, if you guessed PARTY, but the word is actually ROAST, the R, A and T will all be yellow.)
-
Gray means the letter is not in the solution word at all. (If you guessed PARTY and everything is gray, then the solution cannot be PURSE or ROAST.)
With all that in mind, guess another word, and then another, trying to land on the correct word before you run out of chances. You get six guesses, and then it’s game over.
The best starter words for Wordle
What should you play for that first guess? The best starters tend to contain common letters, to increase the chances of getting yellow and green squares to guide your guessing. (And if you get all grays when guessing common letters, that’s still excellent information to help you rule out possibilities.) There isn’t a single “best” starting word, but the New York Times’s Wordle analysis bot has suggested starting with one of these:
-
CRANE
-
TRACE
-
SLANT
-
CRATE
-
CARTE
Meanwhile, an MIT analysis found that you’ll eliminate the most possibilities in the first round by starting with one of these:
-
SALET
-
REAST
-
TRACE
-
CRATE
-
SLATE
Other good picks might be ARISE or ROUND. Words like ADIEU and AUDIO get more vowels in play, but you could argue that it’s better to start with an emphasis on consonants, using a starter like RENTS or CLAMP. Choose your strategy, and see how it plays out.
How to win at Wordle
We have a few guides to Wordle strategy, which you might like to read over if you’re a serious student of the game. This one covers how to use consonants to your advantage, while this one focuses on a strategy that uses the most common letters. In this advanced guide, we detail a three-pronged approach for fishing for hints while maximizing your chances of winning quickly.
The biggest thing that separates Wordle winners from Wordle losers is that winners use their guesses to gather information about what letters are in the word. If you know that the word must end in -OUND, don’t waste four guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND; combine those consonants and guess MARSH. If the H lights up in yellow, you know the solution.
One more note on strategy: the original Wordle used a list of about 2,300 solution words, but after the game was bought by the NYT, the game now has an editor who hand-picks the solutions. Sometimes they are slightly tricky words that wouldn’t have made the original list, and sometimes they are topical. For example, FEAST was the solution one Thanksgiving. So keep in mind that there may be a theme.
Wordle alternatives
If you can’t get enough of five-letter guessing games and their kin, the best Wordle alternatives, ranked by difficulty, include:
-
Dordle and Quordle, which ask you to play two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles at the same time, with the same guesses. There is also Octordle, with eight puzzles, and Sedecordle, with 16.
-
Waffle, which shows you several five-letter words, scrambled in a grid; you play by swapping the letters around until you solve.
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Absurdle, which changes the solution after each guess, but needs to stay consistent with its previous feedback. You have to strategically back it into a corner until there is only one possible word left; then you guess it, and win.
-
Squabble, in which you play Wordle against other people with a timer running. You take damage if you spend too much time between guesses; winner is the last one standing.
-
Antiwordle, in which you are trying not to guess the day’s solution. You’re required to reuse any letters that you (oops) guessed correctly, so the longer it takes you, the better you are at the game.