This election year, Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance’s name has become more familiar across the country, but it’s not the only one he’s ever mentioned.

Vance first gained national attention as the author of the bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” in 2016, which advanced his political career in Ohio and led to his election to the U.S. Senate in 2022.

Over the past 40 years, the author-turned-politician has had three different last names: Bowman, Hamel and Vance, and his first name has been abbreviated variously.

Here’s what you need to know about Vance’s name and why the changes were made.

What was Vance’s original name?

Vance was born James Donald Bowman in Middletown, Ohio in 1984, taking the name of his biological father Donald Bowman.

Register to vote: Text USA TODAY’s elections team.

Vance’s middle name was changed to David after his parents’ divorce. He eventually took his stepfather’s surname Robert Hamel and was called James David Hamel. From high school through his time as a U.S. Marine, Vance began using his first and middle initials and called himself “JD.”

In 2013, James David Hamel officially changed his last name to honor his maternal grandmother, Bonnie Blanton Vance, often called “Mamaw.” And in 2021, when he entered politics, he removed the dots from his initials, a detail noted in his official U.S. Senate biography, which lists his first name, JD.

After the beleaguered Rams lost 3-1 to start the season on Sunday, some defensive reinforcements may be on the horizon.

The team plans to open the 21-day practice window this week for cornerback Darious Williams (hamstring) and defensive tackle Larrell Murchison (arm), head coach Sean McVay said Monday.

Both Williams and Murchison began the season as substitutes and have missed the minimum four games required before they are eligible to play again. With the 21-day training window open, they could theoretically return as soon as Sunday’s home game against the Green Bay Packers (2-2).

McVay said the Rams have no expectations for Williams or Murchison this week.

“I’m optimistic we’ll evaluate it,” McVay said. “I don’t want to put an unnecessary schedule on these guys. But I know they are making good progress. I think that playing football and simulating some situations that arise in practice will be the best indicators. But they are making good progress; That’s certainly not something I would rule out, the possibility of them leaving.”

McVay ruled out wide receiver Cooper Kupp (ankle) this week. Linebacker Troy Reeder (toe), receiver Demarcus Robinson (groin) and left tackle Alaric Jackson (knee swelling) will all be limited in practice earlier this week after being ailing in Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bears, McVay said However, he expects all three to play against the Packers.

Between the two defensive players returning to practice this week, Williams’ absence was more keenly felt.

Williams was brought back to Los Angeles as a free agent this offseason after spending the past two years in Jacksonville. The Rams signed him and Tre’Davious White to provide a more experienced presence at cornerback this year after relying heavily on second-year players at the position in 2023.

But Williams suffered a hamstring strain in the first week of training camp, then the injury aggravated again during practice in Week 1, leading to his placement on IR. In his absence, the Rams’ secondary struggled.

You don’t need some pointy-headed baseball writer to tell you that the postseason can be unpredictable. The Arizona Diamondbacks won the pennant last year. Every generation gets their perfect example of a team that rides a wave all the way to the World Series, and the 84-win 2023 Diamondbacks are the best possible example.

Unless the team that beat them in the World Series, the Texas Rangers, are an even better example. That team had a bullpen that could allow home runs on their off-days, and it was only getting worse when the postseason started. And, then, poof, they were an asset instead of a liability. As if by magic. October magic. The sickest, freakiest magic of them all.

However, there’s a wrinkle this year. For the first time I can remember, I’m not sure if there’s a team that’s favored to win it all. I’m not sure if you can whittle it down to a group of four or five. It’s possible to poke holes in every single roster. It’s also possible to acknowledge that all of these teams have a shot to win it all even without October weirdness. This is a remarkably even field.

These playoff tiers are less about long shots and favorites and more about how the whole experience will resonate with the teams and their fans if they don’t win it all. Eleven fan bases will be devastated over the next month, but some of them will be more devastated than others.

Tier 5: Aw, raspberries. But what a season! Wait ’til next year!

Detroit Tigers

It seems rude to put them here after how hard they had to work to make the postseason, but it’s impossible to concoct a scenario where a Tigers fan doesn’t remember the 2024 team. Anyone paying attention to the 2024 Tigers right now will remember the team fondly for the rest of their days. Oh, that team from ’24? Golly, that was a fun season. What moxie! What spunk!

On Aug. 4, the Tigers were closer to the A’s than the Royals. I know these factlets can bleed together, but read that one again. That was a few weeks ago. They weren’t in a race, and they weren’t supposed to be. They went 33-15 after that, which was the best record in baseball. That’s impressive enough, but they were also obliterating their opponents, scoring 207 runs and allowing 139, which is the kind of run differential that might translate to a 104-win season over a full season. So are we sure that they’re happy with a participation ribbon?

No, but this is still a roster with perhaps the best pitcher in baseball and two or three hitters better than the league average, which is a difficult roster to ride to a championship. The Tigers have already had a great season, and they can head into the offseason with momentum, sign some missing pieces and everyone will feel good about it. Or they could shock the world and win the whole thing.

Either way, Tigers fans will be happy about the 2024 season on some level.

Kansas City Royals

The Royals lost 106 games last year. They’ve won a World Series within the last 10 years. They’re supposed to be crushed if 2024 isn’t maximum magic?  Just like the Tigers, this season has already been an unqualified success.

Unlike the Tigers, though, the Royals are entering the postseason without any wind in the sails. They should have had an easier path to the postseason with the wins they banked earlier in the year, but they stumbled at the end. Still, they have one of the most dynamic young players in baseball (Vinnie Pasquantino) and they also have Bobby Witt Jr. Their new front office has already exhibited a lot of vision. Their season won’t be defined by what they do in October. It’s already been logged as an incredible success.

Tier 4: The window is still wide open, but, uh, we’re starting to get a little impatient.

Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles are in the sweet spot that every organization wants to be in: They’re young, and they’re contending. They should be contending for a long, long time, with MVP-ceiling youngsters already in the lineup and more on the way. Their rotation is a little top-heavy, and their best pitcher will likely sign with another team in the offseason, but this is a team that’s built to last.

Beware the false sense of security that comes with a young, contending team. Sometimes it works out as expected, and your future is filled with pennants and more. Sometimes it’s more like a slasher film, where players start disappearing, one by one, until there are just a couple left, all they can do is run around and scream. If you think that’s too dramatic, look over the respective rosters for the division-winning 2021 White Sox and the not-division-winning 2024 White Sox. Luis Robert Jr. and Yoán Moncada have locked themselves in the basement and are trying to call for help, but someone cut the phone lines.

So if the Orioles could just get the World Series championship out of the way now, it would certainly take a lot of the pressure off. The window will remain open if it doesn’t happen, but that’s less comforting than you might think.

Tier 3: A pennant would be pretty cool, not gonna lie.

Atlanta Braves

In any other year, the Braves would be in a category where nothing matters but a championship. They were the best team in baseball going into the season, and there was only way for them to consider 2024 a success. Then they were attacked by weasels, sucked into the gears of industrial machinery, pushed into a spiky pit and locked in a steamer trunk being sent to Abu Dhabi, not necessarily in that order. They might have had the preseason favorites for Cy Young and MVP and lost both to injury, yet they’ve still cobbled together a roster that’s good enough to scare other teams, even if it’s far from the roster they were counting on. Not many teams would have been able to do even that.

So, yes, even if they make the World Series and lose, it’ll be a successful season. The Braves would be much happier with a championship, to be sure, but it’s remarkable that they’re even in position for one.

New York Mets

Steve Cohen didn’t kick down the door of the 2022 Winter Meetings and scream, “Come with me if you to win” because he wanted to win a pennant. They’re a championship-or-bust team in theory.

We need to return to the days where people thought that winning the pennant was almost as cool as winning the World Series. There are 28 teams that wish they could have had that kind of success, with the attention of the sports-loving world focused on a city that’s buzzing with an energy that might not be there for the next 10, 20, 30 or 40 years. Heck, it might not come again in your lifetime. Appreciate the World Series when it’s there. Pennants are pretty cool.

Toward the end of May, the Dodgers came into Citi Field and swept the Mets, dropping them to 22-33. It was another lost season for the Mets, another unfulfilled promise from an owner who was supposed to fix things. Even if they get to the World Series and lose to, say, the Orioles or Royals, were you not entertained?

(Can’t lose to the Yankees, though. We can all agree on that one.)

Tier 2: Please. Just one. For the love of all that is holy. Just one.

San Diego Padres

Slowly but surely, the depressing Padres factlets are going away. They went 46 years without a player hitting for the cycle, and then it happened. They went 52 years without a no-hitter, and now they have two, with both pitchers likely to be in their postseason rotation. Their all-time franchise leader in home runs used to be Nate Colbert, with 163. While he was a fine player, that shouldn’t have been a franchise record, especially for an organization that had Gary Sheffield, Fred McGriff, Dave Winfield and Adrián González at different points when they were in their 20s. The franchise record belongs to Manny Machado now, who should only add to it. This is a normal franchise home-run-record situation.

There’s one box left to check, though, and it’s so close, yet so very far. The Padres have never won a World Series, and the last time San Diego has had a championship team was when the Chargers defeated the Boston Patriots for the 1963 AFL title. There are expectations here. Realistic expectations.

With realistic expectations comes the potential for maximum sports pain. Padres fans might be used to it, but that doesn’t make it easier.

Cleveland Guardians

When Willie Mays passed away earlier this year, we were treated with replays of “The Catch” on a loop. His hat falls off. He fires the ball back to the infield. Guys in ties stand up and applaud and say things like, “hokey smokes, good golly.” It’s so familiar and comforting for baseball fans. And so old. It happened so, so long ago. The last time the Guardians won a World Series was before that. That 1954 team might have been the best in franchise history, but they lost the World Series, and it was just the beginning of a long, long drought.

Another way to describe how long it’s been: Hollywood made a movie about Cleveland baseball specifically because the franchise was synonymous with pain and frustration, and they made it so long ago that Alex Cobb was the only Guardians player alive when it came out. He wasn’t even two years old yet.

The White Sox spent nearly a century without a single postseason series win, but they got one. The Cubs finally got one, and they did it at Cleveland’s expense. It’s well past time for the Guardians to join them in the Land of Temporary and Fleeting Bliss. Yet the odds are against them, just like they’re against every team.

Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers have the most underrated championship drought in baseball, and it’s not close. They were the proto-Mariners back when they were the Seattle Pilots, and they brought some of that malaise with them when they moved east. They’ve been playing in Milwaukee since “Led Zeppelin III” came out, but they have just one pennant, from 42 years ago.

It’s a remarkable team and franchise in so many respects. They have fewer built-in advantages than any other MLB team:

MLB revenue sharing follows something called market score. The A’s, by market score, should have been disqualified. Big city, but no stadium, so they were granted a special allowance to keep receiving it. But that special allowance had an expiration. pic.twitter.com/gQ327nlY5h

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) September 23, 2024

Their former manager was poached by a big-market bully of a rival. Their biggest financial investment, Christian Yelich, finally started playing at a superstar level again, only to get hurt. They traded their best pitcher to a team they might face in the World Series, in a situation where other teams simply would have kept that starting pitcher.

That plucky, can-do spirit goes only so far, though. If, say, the Yankees or Dodgers don’t win the World Series this year, their fans will be furious and/or despondent. But they won’t have the sense of “is this it?” that teams with razor-thin profit margins and teensy markets will have. The Brewers don’t have a window so much as they have a variety of holes they’ve punched in the drywall. Anything other than a championship will be devastating at this point.

Tier 1: Don’t bother coming home without a championship. Sit in the corner until March and think about what you’ve done.

Philadelphia Phillies

It’s fun to reach the League Championship Series in two straight seasons, but it sure adds to the pressure. The Phillies have an ownership group that cares and a front office that mixes aggressiveness with practicality. That’s the secret sauce that every organization strives for, but at one point it has to work. And by “work,” we mean, “scrape enough residue of design together to get lucky and to win a World Series.”

The Phillies aren’t suffocating under the weight of a century-long curse, but the last time they won the World Series, they did it when you had to close an app to answer a phone call on your iPhone. It was so long ago that people answered calls on purpose with their phones.

Bryce Harper has more World Series plate appearances than Mike Trout, but he has fewer than Pedro Feliz. The Phillies would like to fix that, and they’d also like to get him as many World Series rings as R.J. Swindle. They’ve spent an awful lot of money for that chance.

Houston Astros

If the Astros fail, it will sting less than other recent seasons. They were dead, buried, forgotten and ashamed already this season.  On June 18, they were 33-40 and 10 games out of first place. Have they not already achieved something memorable and great? The season will be remembered fondly, regardless of what happens in October.

Yes. But they’re still the Astros, and they’ve been in every ALCS since 2016, which is an absolutely freaky achievement. They don’t appreciate silver medals and second-place ribbons as gracefully as other teams might. There’s no gee-whiz that comes with a World Series in Houston; they’ve hosted four of them in the last decade. That part of the novelty is gone. It’s about parades down … whatever the famous street is in Houston. Maybe they just close down a 16-lane freeway and party there, not sure. They should do that, to be clear.

If they win this World Series, it will be with more finesse and luck than their other championships, which usually featured brute force and a glut of talent. That doesn’t mean the expectations are lower.

New York Yankees

Don’t take it from me. Take it from Giancarlo Stanton.

Are the Yankees the team to beat in the playoffs?

Giancarlo Stanton: “We’d better be. That’s the point.”

— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) September 27, 2024

Yeah, it was tempting to put the Yankees in the “pennants are neat” category, but let’s not fool ourselves. This is a franchise that will forever strain under the weight of successes that happened decades and decades ago. We’re close to the 100-year anniversary of the 1927 Yankees, which is still used as shorthand to describe one of the greatest sports teams ever assembled. But that team, along with all the others until the 1970s, came together when players’ freedom was limited, other franchises were happy to be de facto farm systems for bigger teams and only one team made the postseason from each league. Continuity was much, much easier back then. It was structurally encouraged.

Without that history, their run in the late ’90s and early ’00s is more analogous to what the A’s did in the ’70s or what the Giants did in the ’10s. It would have been a spectacle that was as unlikely as it was remarkable. Instead, though, it was the continuation of a framework that didn’t exist anymore, one which Yankees are still chasing. They don’t get to high-five each other with a close-but-no-cigar run to the World Series, fair or not.

The Yankees will be a World Series-or-bust team until people don’t remember who Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle or Derek Jeter are. And that’s not going to happen until society collapses and canned beets are the dominant form of currency. So, two months, give or take.

Los Angeles Dodgers

NO PRESSURE. Other than all of the pressure.

The Dodgers committed a billion dollars, give or take, this offseason. They’ll have four no-doubt Hall of Famers on their postseason roster, along with a couple others who have a chance if they keep it up. The most sought-after free agent in the history of the sport chose them because they represented the best chance to fulfill his championship dreams.

And after all the injuries and entropy, here’s what the Dodgers’ rotation currently looks like:

But they’ll make it work! They’ll either hit their way to a championship, or they’ll cobble together enough clean innings from their entire 12-man staff, unless they do both.

And if they don’t, what is the plan? To get another Shohei Ohtani? To develop another Clayton Kershaw? There is no plan with a better chance of success than what the Dodgers have built over the last decade. This has to work.

Baseball doesn’t give a rip about “has to work,” though. There is only chaos and malevolence for the 96.667 percent of teams that don’t win the World Series every year. No pressure, other than all of the pressure.

(Top photo of Juan Soto (left) and Bryce Harper: Chris Szagola / Associated Press)

The NFL Week 4 schedule concludes with two Monday Night Football games: the Tennessee Titans at the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium and the Seattle Seahawks at the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the NFL’s Week 4 Monday Night Football games, including game times, TV channels, streaming information, announcers, odds and game predictions.

The Titans suffered a 30-14 loss to the Green Bay Packers in their Week 3 NFL game.

The Dolphins lost to the Seahawks 24-3.

The Seahawks are coming off a 24-3 win over the Dolphins.

The Lions defeated the Arizona Cardinals 20-13.

NFL Week 5 Picks: Buccaneers vs. Falcons | Jets vs. Vikings | Panthers vs. Bears | Ravens vs. Bengals | Bills vs. Texans | Colts vs. Jaguars | Dolphins vs. Patriots | Browns vs. Commanders | Raiders vs. Broncos | Cardinals vs. 49ers | Packers vs. Rams | Giants vs. Seahawks | Cowboys vs. Steelers | Saints vs. Chiefs | The Arizona Republic Predictions

Watch Monday Night Football Games on FUBO (Free Trial)

When are the Monday Night Football games?

The Titans vs. Dolphins game is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. MST, 7:30 p.m. ET.

The Seahawks vs. Lions game is scheduled to begin at 5:15 p.m. MST, 8:15 p.m. ET.

What channel is Monday Night Football?Here’s how to watch Titans-Dolphins, Seahawks-Lions

What channels are the Monday Night Football games on?

The Titans at Dolphins game can be seen on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.

The Seahawks’ game at the Lions can be seen on ABC.

NFL Power Rankings Week 5:Who will be the last undefeated team?

How can I stream the Monday Night Football games?

Titans-Dolphins is available to stream on FUBO (free trial) as well as other streaming service providers that offer ESPN.

Seahawks-Lions can be streamed on FUBO (free trial) as well as other streaming service providers that offer ESPN and ESPN+.

NFL Week 5 Schedule:TV channels, how to watch, stream games

Who are the announcers for the Monday Night Football games?

Chris Fowler will be doing the play-by-play calling for the Dolphins vs. Titans game, with Dan Orlovsky and Louis Riddick as analysts.

Joe Buck will be doing the play-by-play calling for the Lions vs. Seahawks game, with Troy Aikman as analyst.

Who will win the NFL game in Week 4?Tennessee Titans vs. Miami Dolphins tips, predictions, odds

Who are the favorites in the Monday Night Football odds?

The Titans are 1.5-point favorites over the Dolphins in the NFL Week 4 odds for the game, courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook.

Tennessee is -115 on the money line while Miami is -105.

The over/under (overall score) is set at 37.5 points.

The Lions are 4.5 point favorites over the Seahawks.

Detroit is at -210 on the money line while Seattle is at +170.

The over/under (overall score) is set at 47.5 points.

NFL odds week 5:Point spread, money lines, over/under for betting on NFL games this week

Who will win on Monday Night Football?

The Arizona Republic predicts the Titans will win 20-16 over the Dolphins in the first Monday Night Football showdown. The Lions are predicted to win 27-20 over the Seahawks in game two.

Other websites’ NFL Week 4 picks and NFL Week 4 predictions are divided on the outcome of the Titans vs. Dolphins early Monday Night Football game, while opting for the Lions over the Seahawks in the later game .

Who will win the NFL game in Week 4?Seattle Seahawks vs. Detroit Lions tips, predictions, odds

We may occasionally recommend products and services that may be of interest to you. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may receive an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently and this has no influence on our reporting.

The NFL’s highest-paid players in 2024: quarterbacks | Running backs | Wide receiver | Tight Ends | Offensive Linemen | D linemen | Cornerbacks | Collateral | linebacker | Edge runner | Highest Paid Players: Total | By position | By team

Reach Jeremy Cluff at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

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Check out our live blog coverage of the Verizon outage Further current information on the major mobile phone problem can be found here.

It sounds like Verizon’s huge service outage could be coming to an end on Monday.

The company used X (formerly Twitter) to share an update late Monday afternoon. According to the post, “cellular service restoration has begun” and the company apologizes for any inconvenience caused by the outage.

Millions of outage reports were filed with DownDetector alone, affecting a number of people across the United States

SEE ALSO: Massive Verizon outage: Customers across the country without service, phones in ‘SOS mode’

I can personally confirm that the failure was real. My phone lost service around noon ET and didn’t get it back until after 5:00 p.m

The Wi-Fi worked the entire time, but when I wasn’t near a router, I couldn’t access any data unless I used the iPhone’s SOS feature. This requires a clear view of the sky, and since I live in a city full of very tall buildings, this wasn’t the best solution.

But according to Verizon, the outage problems should soon be over.

Renato Moicano believes Benoit Saint Denis needs a change in training environment if he is to overcome his two-fight loss following UFC Fight Night 243.

After Moicano (20-5-1 MMA, 12-5 UFC) scored a second-round TKO win over Saint Denis (13-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) on Saturday at the Accor Arena in Paris, he extended an olive branch to his latest opponent coming into his gym at American Top Team in South Florida.

“I invite Benoit Saint Denis to come to our gym to train with us and I can guarantee that he will become another fighter,” Moicano told reporters at the UFC Fight Night 243 post-fight press conference. In my opinion he needs to step out of his comfort zone. But I think he’s a great fighter and he’s still young. The problem is they give him Dustin Poirier and “Money” Moicano back to back. We are on a different level now. But I think he’ll get there eventually.”

Moicano said he holds Saint Denis in high regard. However, the limitations in the Frenchman’s game that Moicano saw during preparation also showed up in reality, and that will be problematic if Saint Denis wants to reach the next level of the lightweight division.

Moicano’s advice is genuine and he hopes Saint Denis takes it seriously.

“I really respect Benoit Saint Denis and what he has done in this division,” Moicano said. “I think he is very strong. I think he’s young. But I think he needs to work on his game. Because what makes him dangerous also makes him vulnerable. He puts too much pressure. If he can touch you, he will destroy you. But if he can’t touch you, it’s easy to tell. Especially when you watch his fights and watch how he faces the fighters, he is always at 100 percent. I talked to my coaches that as soon as I took this guy out, he was going to sweat it all out and gas out, and that’s exactly what happened.”

For more information on the card, check out MMA Junkie’s UFC Fight Night 243 event hub.

Hurricane Helene left a trail of destruction in its wake. Several people were killed, including retired Volusia County Sheriff’s Deputy Jim Lau.

Sheriff Mike Chitwood said he has worked for the department for decades.

“He was the first forensic digital examiner in the history of the sheriff’s office,” Chitwood said.

Lau was instrumental in establishing the sheriff’s office’s crime scene program.

“He had the foresight to see that cell phones were starting to come into play,” Chitwood said. “You know, it’s going to take someone who knows how to extrapolate the information from that. And he was the guy who was the first to do that in a sheriff’s office, going to murder scenes in big cases where you’re looking for fingerprints and blood evidence and sketching out the crime scene.”

According to the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, Lau was taking his lunch break while working security at the courthouse.

On Thursday, an emergency call came in about a truck that somehow ended up in a river and became submerged. Several rescue teams went looking for him. The next morning they found his body.

Lau’s colleagues described him as hard-working.

His daughter said he was everything she could ever want. He was also a loving and generous grandfather.

Lau has served the community for so many years.

He remains fondly remembered. Even decades later, his legacy lives on.

The new camera control button is one of the signature features of the iPhone 16 series. The button gives you quick access to the camera and camera settings. In the future, you’ll also be able to see the iPhone’s built-in AI via the new Visual Intelligence feature.

The iPhone 16 is actually the second generation of iPhone in a row to feature a new button. The iPhone 15 series featured the Action button last year, but Apple limited it to the Pro models. A year later, all four iPhone 16 models have the two new buttons.

Apple apparently won’t stop here. If a new rumor is true, Apple plans to replace the action button and volume buttons on the iPhone 17 Pro with a single button. The change sounds crazy at first, but if you’ve been following the iPhone rumors closely, it’s starting to make sense.

The claim comes from an X-leaker named Majin Bu. He is not always accurate with his Apple information, so you need to keep that in mind. But I also have to say that his last-minute Apple Watch Series 10 leaks turned out to be correct. A few days before the Glowtime event, the leaker claimed that the new Apple Watch models would feature 42mm and 46mm displays instead of the previously rumored 45mm and 49mm sizes.

If you are a long-time iPhone user, you probably know that Apple is already working on the iPhone 17 series. Rumors suggest an iPhone 17 Air will replace the iPhone Plus. It will be an ultra-slim iPhone compared to the rest of the iPhone 17 series.

Whether Bu’s claim is correct or not, Apple is certainly trying out all sorts of ideas for the new iPhone series. This could include new button designs and functions. A few days ago we learned that Apple had several changes planned for the iPhone buttons, but they didn’t materialize during the prototyping phase.

Apple reportedly wanted a larger action button that mimicked the camera control button (Project Atlas) and a unified volume button (Project Bongo). While Apple had to scupper these plans, they could always resurface with an idea similar to Bu’s.

Apple could unify the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons and merge them with the Action button. The camera control button explains how the device works. The unnamed button would be a physical button like the camera controls. However, it could also feature a sapphire crystal on the top to detect touches and a force sensor to differentiate between different touches.

Depending on how you press (or swipe) the button, you can mute the phone, adjust the volume, or trigger another action. Given the functionality of the camera control button, this would all make sense.

This also has a practical side if you assume that Apple would implement the button in all four iPhone 17 models. A significantly thinner iPhone 17 Air model will need to be just as durable as current models, especially if accidental bending occurs. The fewer button cutouts there are in the thin metal frame, the more stable it is.

The disadvantage is obvious. People who are used to the current iPhone button setup might find the change difficult at first. But like any change Apple introduces, it’s something you should get used to. I say this as a long-time iPhone user who wants to take advantage of the new camera control button. However, due to the position of the camera controls, operating with the left hand is annoying. Cases could complicate matters.

What if Apple’s action volume button on the iPhone 17 was the same size as the camera controls and completely identical? This would allow a user to choose where to place the camera controls and action volume buttons. Since I hold the phone in my left hand, I would love it if the camera controls were where the volume controls are.

Speculation aside, if this iPhone 17 Pro design detail is true, we’ll be seeing it in all sorts of leaks in the coming months.

The Vikings appear to have completely captured the attention of the national media after beating the Packers to 4-0 on Sunday. Many pundits and former players took notice this weekend and that continued into Monday, with Emmanuel Acho of FOX Sports being the latest to fully jump on the Vikings bandwagon.

“No matter how good you think the Vikings are, they’re better,” Acho said on Monday’s edition of The facility on FS1. “Find a coaching staff outside of the Chiefs that you think is better than the combination of Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores. Get this, they are first in passing touchdowns and first in interceptions. They are a He is the best offensive player and at the same time the best player in the National Football League. Not only is he a master, but he’s also Brock Purdy, down and out. Jordan love, down and out.

Dear NFL fans,

No matter how good you think the Vikings are, they’re even better.

If no one else says it on national television, I will. #SKOL pic.twitter.com/SLgx9nFoEz

— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) September 30, 2024

Minnesota took a 28-0 lead in the first half before giving up 22 unanswered points at Lambeau Field on Sunday afternoon. The Vikings held on to their lead, securing a 31-29 victory and improving to a 4-0 start that surprised many. After several strong performances against preseason favorites like the 49ers, Texans and Packers, the Vikings have clearly assured outside doubters that they mean business.

“Do you all realize that the Vikings are dismantling some of the best quarterbacks in football?” Acho continued. “The Vikings are dismantling some of the best offenses in football. The Vikings are dismantling some of the best.” teams in football.”

Minnesota now travels to London to face a 2-2 Jets team that lost 10-9 to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. Jets QB Aaron Rodgers has been sacked 10 times this season and is completing 64.1% of his passes. Playing against an old division foe that has mobility issues following an Achilles tendon injury will certainly turn heads for the ferocious Vikings defense come Sunday.

“I’ll say it again: Be careful of the offenses, be careful of the teams, because the Vikings are not playing games,” Acho said.