mark berman roanoke times
The Virginia Tech men's basketball team's leading scorer could be on the move.
Sean Pedulla announced on Twitter Wednesday that he will be entering the transfer portal.
However, the junior guard may not end up going to another school. He said in a tweet that he is entering the portal “with strong consideration of returning to Virginia Tech for his final year.”
Pedula averaged a team-high 16.4 points and a team-high 4.6 assists this year, making him third-team All-ACC.
”[Becoming an all-conference player was the result of] “I remember, not since I came to Virginia Tech, but just getting into college and getting a Division I scholarship meant so much to me,” Pedula said. said this month. I remember training at 5 a.m. with his father and brothers. I would go to the gym, shoot when I didn't want to, and stay up when I wanted to sleep. ”
Others are also reading…
Virginia Tech's Sean Pedulla, who averaged a team-high 16.4 points this year, will enter the transfer portal. But he still plans to remain a Hokie.
Matt Gentry, Roanoke Times
Pedula, who averaged 32.2 minutes per game this year, was invaluable to the Hokies with his scoring and ball-handling ability.
Pedula was asked this month if he felt any pressure because of how important he is to the team.
“That's just part of my role,” he said this month. “Pressure? Maybe there's more pressure at some points than at others. But I want you to hear a lot.” [of] myself. …I can now handle pressure better. I think last year was worse than this year in terms of how I handled pressure. That's a tall order to ask of me, but I think I'm ready for it. …I think we could have handled some games better, but we still have a lot to look forward to and I think we improved a lot this year.” ”
The Oklahoma State native had 148 assists and 104 turnovers this year. He made 53 3-pointers and averaged 4.3 rebounds. He stole a team-high 37 bases.
Last year, he averaged 15.0 points and 3.8 assists as a sophomore. He made 67 3-pointers that season.
Pedula becomes the third Hokie player to enter the transfer portal, joining starting center Lynn Kidd and backup forward John Camden.
If Pedula leaves, Tech will have to replace four starting pitchers. Starting guard Hunter Catur and starting forward Robby Beran were graduate students entering their fifth and final year of eligibility this year.
If Pedulla leaves, Tech will be without its top three scorers on the team this year. Kattoa averaged 13.5 points and Kidd averaged 13.2 points.
Virginia airport uses biometric facial recognition
Virginia airport uses biometric facial recognition
The next time you stand in line at airport security, instead of having a Transportation Security Administration agent check your ID, a camera and screen will use biometric facial recognition to match your face to a photo ID. You may need to verify your identity and verify your identity. It's not fake.
TSA has installed the system at more than 200 U.S. airports to improve identity verification accuracy and keep lines running.
Spokeo used information from Customs and Border Protection to find out how many airports in each state are using facial recognition software for security screening, and to examine the pros and cons of such programs.
The TSA began piloting the system at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia in 2020, but this is not the first time it has used biometrics. Since the mid-2000s, foreign nationals entering the United States have been required to submit biometric data at customs to verify their identity.
The technology behind facial recognition is even older. Computer scientist Woodrow Wilson Bledsoe pioneered facial recognition technology in the 1960s when he developed a system that used distances between facial coordinates to identify faces in photo databases.
Machine learning has helped expand the technology and its capabilities by mining many databases to improve prediction accuracy.
The United States is not alone in using facial recognition technology. Airports around the world, including Canada, Ireland, Bermuda, the Bahamas and the United Arab Emirates, also use the software to aid in the inspection process. In Australia, travelers using electronic travel authorization submit their passport information electronically to authorities by swiping a passport chip on their smartphone. According to the Guardian, passport photos will be automatically passed on to authorities, eliminating the need to remove passports at customs.
Read the domestic version of this story here.
Jim Watson/AFP //Getty Images
Facial recognition programs continue to expand
TSA's initial deployment covered 16 airports of various sizes across the country, including Baltimore. Boston; Dallas; Detroit; Orlando, Florida. Phoenix; Salt Lake City; San Jose, California. and Gulfport Biloxi, Mississippi. States with busy international airports continue to add the technology as TSA pilots expand.
The system is intended to speed up security lines and limit physical contact with TSA agents, but passenger reactions have been mixed. While some travelers who flew through Las Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport in February 2020 praised the convenience, others were concerned about privacy and the use of their facial images.
Airports using this technology in Virginia include:
Washington Dulles International Airport
(Airport code: IAD, located in Washington)
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
(Airport code: DCA, located in Washington)
norfolk international airport
(Airport code: ORF, located in Norfolk)
Norfolk Chambers NAS Airport
(Airport code: NGU, located in Norfolk)
Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport
(Airport code: PHF, located in Newport News)
Manassas Regional Airport
(Airport code: MNZ, located in Manassas)
Leesburg Executive Airport
(Airport code: JYO, located in Leesburg)
spoke o
The future of facial recognition
Privacy issues are a concern for many when it comes to facial recognition technology, especially when passengers' biometrics are used for profiling and surveillance without their knowledge.
Passengers can opt out of the system and undergo manual screening. But it could run into some problems, like when Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley refused to use screening technology at Reagan National Stadium in 2023. The agent warned that manual processes would cause delays (they didn't), but those warnings could force others to use the system. TSA says it does not store images or use the technology to profile or monitor passengers. Still, CBS News reports that some information will be kept for up to two years to help evaluate the technology.
Critics of facial recognition biometrics also cite racial bias. According to Harvard University, studies have shown that facial recognition algorithms are more prone to errors when trying to identify black people, especially dark-skinned women, and that they are more prone to errors than lighter-skinned men. They are 34% more likely to be correctly identified.
TSA says its facial biometric system has a 99% success rate, with a false negative rate of less than 3%. Still, 2.9 million passengers fly in the U.S. every day, and full implementation could cause headaches for tens of thousands of travelers.
Meanwhile, TSA continues to test, evaluate and implement facial recognition technology, and also plans to test iris scans as a means of verifying identity.
This article features data reporting by Elena Cox and is written by Jill Jaracz and is part of a series leveraging data automation across 47 states.
This story originally appeared on Spokeo and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
Thomas Koex/AFP //Getty Images
