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Samsung’s entire 2027 Galaxy flagship lineup leaks with TriFold return, more
A reliable source has just detailed Samsung’s entire 2027 lineup of flagship Galaxy phones, which includes the return of a...
Three George Mason faculty members elected to Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine
The 2026 elected class includes individuals from the George Mason University: Liping Di of the College of Science, Dean Melissa J. Perry of the College of Public Health, and Siddhartha Sikdar of the College of Engineering and Computing.
Zacks.com featured highlights include PENN Entertainment, Chemours and Lumentum
PENN Entertainment, Chemours and Lumentum stand out after broker rating upgrades, supported by stronger earnings growth outlooks and improving analyst sentiment.
Toy company CEO shares how Trump's new round of tariffs could affect business
NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with Jay Foreman of toy importer Basic Fun! about President Trump's latest round of tariffs. The company has paid millions of dollars in import duties under Trump.
5 Car Brands Aiming To Bring Back Rear-Wheel Drive Sedans
Automakers confirmed to be bringing back rear-wheel drive sedans include Buick and Cadillac, while Ford, Nissan, and Mazda may also be doing so.
Denton businesses prepare for more THC products to be banned July 31
Starting Friday, Texas will prohibit the sale of smokeable products containing delta-8, delta-10 and several other intoxicating cannabinoids. Delta-9 products are not included in the ban.
Matches To Make After Busy Combat Weekend
UFC Abu Dhabi went down yesterday (Sat., July 25, 2026) inside Etihad Arena (a.k.a. Fight Island) in United Arab Emirates which saw Magomed Ankalaev stop Bogdan Guskov in the fifth and final round of their Light Heavyweight main event (highlights). But UFC wasn’t the only show on during a busy sports weekend that also included […]
Colorado Politics Calendar July 27-Aug. 2
CoPo’s weekly political calendar will help you find political and public-policy events throughout Colorado. It includes candidate and issue campaign events, public policy meetings, court hearings, state and local party conventions, assemblies, debates, rallies, parades, speaking engagements, traveling dignitary appearances, water meetings, book signings, county commission hearings, city council meetings and more. As a subscriber, […]
President Trump just implemented new tariffs. How are small businesses coping?
An NPR business correspondent explains how to cover the complex story of how small businesses are coping with tariffs.
Deals: Galaxy Z Fold8, Z Fold8 Ultra and Z Flip8 go on pre-order
And so do the Galaxy Watch Ultra2 and Watch9. Plus, we look at some alternatives. This week, Samsung unveiled its next generation foldables, which included...
Did bucket-list trip for partner's 50th birthday, including a safari
To celebrate my partner's 50th birthday, I planned a bucket-list trip around the world that included our first African safari and wildlife sightings.
Trump administration admits it canceled $7.6 billion in clean energy projects ‘based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient’s state’
In this case, that includes 16 states that voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Week in Politics: Iran War; Trump attends solemn ritual; nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia
The Trump administration is seeking tens of billions of dollars in supplemental appropriations for the Iran War, a war which the president and allies have repeatedly claimed is already won.
Lubbock business news includes best jerky, sheet metal, AI flyers
Business Reporter Alana Edgin reviews recent Lubbock area businesses news and hints at upcoming articles in the Around the Hub column.
Executive Turntable: Sphere & Fender Name New Chief Communications Officers
This week's Executive Turntable column includes Chris Palmer's elevation at Triple Tiger Records, Timo Hoffman joining Frontiers Label Group and more music industry promotions and hires.
WV Superintendent of Schools Launches First AI and Digital Science Framework in the Nation
Charleston, W.Va. - West Virginia Superintendent of Schools Michele L. Blatt will share the state’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Science Framework with educators during professional development sessions at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center, Monday through Wednesday, July 27-29, 2026. The Framework, the first of its kind in the country, outlines an approach for digital science and AI literacy education that equips students with the knowledge, skills and credentials to succeed in this rapidly evolving workforce. It also offers educators a way to increase efficiencies in their work and better personalize learning for students.Earlier this year, Superintendent Blatt appeared before a U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee to share the state’s strategy on addressing the use of AI while also protecting students, their data and educational integrity. The Framework is the result of years of planning, collaboration and development. Digital science encompasses the evolving fields of computer science, AI literacy, data reasoning, cybersecurity awareness, media literacy and the practical application of digital technologies. The framework equips educators to prepare students with the AI and digital science knowledge and skills needed to thrive in the workforce of the future.The West Virginia AI and Digital Science Framework establishes a statewide structure for sustained success. From policy to educator development and student learning, it defines how the state will implement digital science and AI readiness at scale. It serves two priority goals:Respond to the rapidly changing technology landscapeEstablish best practices as a leader for rural models of AI readiness, workforce development and digital science educationWith three statewide commitments, educators will be equipped with understanding and the tools to support implementation. These commitments are:Student Access - Every student will have access to AI literacy learning experiences and digital science instruction before graduationEducator Capacity - All counties will sustain local AI training capacity through a train-the-trainer modelWorkforce Alignment - Every approved pathway will connect to employer demand, postsecondary alignment, and portable or verified credentialsNext week, the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) will launch the framework during three educator and staff development sessions. These sessions include unique opportunities for new county central office hires, the Support, Appreciate, Invest, and Learn (SAIL) Conference, and the West Virginia Middle Schools: Bridging the Future Initiative launch. Each session is designed to meet the needs of K-12 educators, professionals, paraprofessionals, service personnel and others who serve in the education community.West Virginia is a national leader in developing a framework for AI and digital science education. We are determined to elevate our model because it prepares students and educators for the future. Our partners at Prodigy Learning and Microsoft understand this commitment and believe, as do we, that our work has national implications for accessibility and scalability because we are building systems that address learning at all levels that lead to post-graduation success.Michele L. Blatt, State Superintendent of SchoolsAs part of the partnership, Prodigy Learning is providing West Virginia educators, at no additional cost, their in-person and virtual training on all products and the materials required for license renewal.
Breaking: LeBron James Agrees To Contract With Philadelphia 76ers
In a stunning turn of events, LeBron James is taking his talents to the Philadelphia 76ers. ESPN insider Shams Charania just broke the news that James is heading to the 76ers. He's agreed to a two-year, $8 million deal that includes a player option. Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul confirmed this ...
Goodbye neck pillows: We tried Emirates' game-changing new headrest
Emirates' A350 economy cabin already included a handful of premium features, but the new U-Dream headrest is the best yet.
Intermountain Health Plans to Expand Ownership of Hospitals and Clinic Operations Group in Southeast Idaho
Intermountain Health plans to expand its partnership with physicians in a network of facilities and providers in Southeast Idaho that includes two local hospitals along with 60+ affiliate clinics that employ about 2,300 physicians and caregivers. Plans include transitioning Surgery Partners' ownership interests in the network to In...
Bank of America Stadium renovation plans don’t include a dome. Here’s why
The newly unveiled, $1.3 billion Bank of America Stadium renovation plans didn’t include a dome. Tepper Sports’ CEO explains.
Rutgers Athletics Unveils Annual Award Winners
Rutgers Athletics recently unveiled its annual awards to honor the athletes who have distinguished themselves in a variety of areas. The awards included the Big Ten Medal of Honor, Bauer Athlete of the Year, the Freshman of the Year Award, the Sophomore of the Year Award, the Junior of the Year Award, the Senior of […]
Trump administration's transit priorities include renaming Penn Station
Trump has floated a desire to rename the iconic rail hub after him in the past.
Mark Cuban-Led Group Buys Minority Stake In Athletics Ahead Of Las Vegas Move
An investment group that includes ex-Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has bought a minority stake in the Athletics in anticipation of their move to Las Vegas in 2028.
New Penguins Defenseman Named Key Breakout Candidate
The Pittsburgh Penguins have experienced a handful of changes so far during the offseason, which have included the departure of goaltender Stuart Skinner to the Winnipeg Jets, along with the departures of Ryan Shea, Parker Wotherspoon, and Connor Clifton.The Penguins have also acquired Kaedan Korczak from the Vegas Golden Knights in return for Parker Wortherspoon, […] The post New Penguins Defenseman Named Key Breakout Candidate appeared first on HEAVY.
US health panel recommends easing restrictions on controversial peptides
Vote from advisory group – whose members include people linked to peptides industry – likely to embolden RFK Jr
Cuban's investment group purchases minority stake in Athletics
Harbinger Sports Group, an investment group that includes former Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, has bought a minority stake in the Athletics ahead of the team's move to Las Vegas in 2028.
10 iOS 27 Performance Improvements You'll Actually Notice
With iOS 27, Apple focused on making improvements to iOS performance, optimizing everything from system animations to AirDrop transfer speeds. iPhone performance is smoother and faster on all iPhones able to run iOS 27, which includes the iPhone 11 and newer. There are over 80 iOS 27 improvements Apple announced, with 10 of the most useful listed below. App Launching Apps launch up to 30 percent faster in iOS 27, and that includes Apple's own apps and third-party apps.
MATTEL AND LUCHA LIBRE AAA® ANNOUNCE WORLDWIDE LICENSING PARTNERSHIP
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., July 23, 2026 — Mattel, Inc. (Nasdaq: MAT), a leading global play and family entertainment company, and WWE, the global leader in sports entertainment, today announced a new multi-year global licensing agreement at their joint San Diego Comic-Con panel that expands Mattel's WWE portfolio to include Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), one of Mexico's most iconic and influential lucha libre promotions.
AU School of Public Health researcher awarded $1.3 million for IDD study
The project aims to improve how individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD), including autism, are included in research.
US health officials are investigating a new cyclospora outbreak
U.S. health officials are investigating a new outbreak involving the diarrhea-causing parasite cyclospora. The outbreak included 72 people as of Wednesday.
Ilicali's Hull City transfer 'clues'
Hull City owner Acun Ilicali has said he is "disturbed" by claims of the club being rejected by transfer targets and, in an unusual move, attempted to clarify the situation. "We are reading dozens of false transfer rumors in many places," wrote Ilicali in a social media post. Ilicali, who did not mention the reports he was referring to, added: "To prevent false speculation and to give you more information, I am leaving you with our latest transfer situation, which includes some clues..."
Microsoft outage hits Outlook, Teams, Xbox
Microsoft said Thursday morning that it was investigating issues with its Microsoft 365 services, which includes Outlook and Teams.
Amazon Prime Video Adds Video Games to Bundle Through Luna
The Amazon Luna gaming platform, which had been included in the larger Prime offering, will now be baked into Prime Video too.
This AI tool promises a 'second sight of eyes' to clinicians. Did patients benefit?
Medical workers in a Nairobi clinic used an AI tool to check their work. A new study evaluates the result.
Charli XCX moves beyond ‘Brat’ and nine more things you must hear this week
Britain's Charli XCX starts a new sonic era with "Music, Fashion, Film," leading a new releases week that includes titles from Shania Twain, O.A.R. the Strokes, Cypress Hill, Brantley Gilbert and more, a posthumous set from the Mavericks' Raul Malo and a Tony Award-winning musical's cast album.
Secret Service agent on Vance’s detail suspected of leaking information is put on leave amid internal review
A Secret Service agent on Vice President JD Vance’s security detail is under internal review and has been put on administrative leave after being suspected of leaking information for a news story that included details about Vance’s travel, a source familiar with the matter said.
Erlanger Health System signs letter of intent to join Prisma Health
Erlanger Health System plans to join Prisma Health, creating a 27-hospital system in exchange for a $2 billion strategic capital commitment toward care in the Chattanooga, Tennessee area. | The tentative deal includes a $2 billion strategic capital commitment from Prisma, and would yield a 27-hospital, $9 billion operating revenue nonprofit in the southeast.
Dozens of House Democrats reject bill fusing congressional stock ban with federal voter ID
The House voted on a legislative package that includes a partial ban on lawmakers trading stocks and a federal voter ID requirement.
Hasbro reveals The Legend of Zelda: Heroes of Hyrule toys
The wait is over, as Hasbro has officially revealed the first images of its new The Legend of Zelda action figure line, known as Heroes of Hyrule. The collectibles are based on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, rather than the upcoming live-action movie as some had speculated. Each figure features extensive articulation and includes a variety of...
Apple Working on New MacBook Neo With Two Upgrades
Apple is working on a new MacBook Neo with two key upgrades, including an A19 Pro chip and increased RAM, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. With the A19 Pro chip, the second-generation MacBook Neo should have 12GB of RAM, up from an A18 Pro chip with 8GB of RAM in the current model. The report suggested that the next MacBook Neo will also have new color options. Existing finishes include Silver, Blush, Citrus, and Indigo.
Commonwealth Games 2026 sports list: What's included and what's not
The Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow features a total of 16 sports - 10 able-bodied and six integrated para sports. Indian athletes will compete in 13 at the CWG.
Anaheim’s newest district, OCVibe, is cultivating community through art, entertainment
OCVibe plans to debut more than 70 original artworks as part of a long-term commitment to champion publicly accessible art in the Anaheim district and recently unveiled its plan for a public art program that is expected to include one of…
Pritzker for president? Handicapping the Illinois governor’s political future
The Illinois governor is showing up in presidential polls, and he’s building coalitions with state parties while also strengthening his national name recognition. He’s also explored fundraising that doesn’t include self-funding — if a presidential run is truly in the cards.
NC legislators target Kannapolis in latest batch of partisan election changes
The change, which also includes Albemarle and a collection of municipalities in Moore County, follows a trend of similar bills in recent years.
Powering America's Genesis Mission: Microsoft's commitment to scientific discovery
Today, we’re excited to share a long-term commitment to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Genesis Mission, backed by a $60 million investment designed to accelerate AI for science and the breakthroughs it can deliver for the country. This deepened commitment includes Microsoft’s new Scientific Partnership Advancing Research & Knowledge coordination hub and program office, otherwise...
From Paper to Action: How Systematic Monitoring Can Help Health Benefits Packages Deliver on Their Promise
Health Benefits Packages (HBPs) can be a strategic tool to advance Universal Health Coverage. But their impact depends not only on the services included, but also on whether people effectively receive those services with adequate quality and financial protection. It also depends on the factors behind implementation gaps. While there is no shortage of guidance for using evidence-informed priority-setting approaches, less attention has been paid to monitoring whether, how, and why HBPs deliver (or not) in the real world. This gap matters, particularly in the context of stagnating progress towards Universal Health Coverage, because it leaves policymakers in the dark: Are HBPs delivering on the promise made to the population? If not, why, and what corrective action can be taken?
Does the science of peptides live up to the hype?
Synthetic peptides are getting some serious hype, from fitness influencers on your FYP to people seeking new options for chronic conditions. And while the human body already makes peptides, like insulin and the hormone oxytocin, most of the viral synthetic peptides are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Scientists say that raises some big concerns about safety and efficacy. So ahead of this week’s FDA meeting to discuss seven commonly used peptides, we get into the science with health reporter Sarah Boden.Interested in more science behind health trends? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. It includes perks like bonus episodes, early access, archive access, curated playlists and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.
Hasbro Shares Sneak Peek Of Its Official Legend Of Zelda Toy Line
It will include multiple scale figures
Dixon Q. Dern Dead: Desilu, CAA Lawyer Was 97
He also worked for the animation studio UPA, CBS and United Artists Television, and his clients included Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason and The Jackson 5.
Nottingham Forest in advanced talks with Sporting CP for Ousmane Diomande
The 22-year-old centre-back was included in Ivory Coast's 26-man World Cup squad.
Lobbying Update: $340,000 of LIVE NATION ENTERTAINMENT INC. lobbying was just disclosed
$340,000 of LIVE NATION ENTERTAINMENT INC. lobbying was just disclosed, from Q2 of 2026, in a new Lobbying Disclosure Act filing.This included lobbying on issues like:"Issues related to FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (PL 118-63), including drone issues. Issues related to drones in H.R.5061 - Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act. Issues related to drones in National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (PL 119
Pressley, Warren, Booker, Moore, Dingell, Adams, Underwood, Colleagues Renew Push to Combat Maternal Health Crisis
Mamas First Act would expand Medicaid coverage to include prenatal, delivery, and postpartum care provided by doulas, midwives, tribal midwives,...
Cam Newton among ESPN layoffs after ‘First Take’ rise
Given his recent addition to the talent roster at ESPN and quick rise through the ranks at First Take, Cam Newton is one of the most surprising names to be let go in the latest round of layoffs at the company. Newton joins a list that includes NFL analyst Ryan Clark, MLB host and play-by-play man…
State employees will wait another month for raises
The newly enacted state budget includes bonuses for state employees, but the money won't appear in paychecks until late September.
Moebius Entertainment boards ‘Happily Ever After’ ahead of ...
The cast includes Shuhua, the Taiwanese singer from K-pop group i-dle, in her feature debut.
Introducing AT&T Business Unlimited Ultimate 3.0
New Unlimited Ultimate 3.0 includes connectivity for one tablet and one wearable with every voice line, helping businesses extend productivity beyond the smartphone.
iOS 26.6 Prepares Your iPhone for iOS 27
iOS 27 includes a rebuilt search architecture for Siri AI. As a result, iPhones running the iOS 27 beta go through a re-indexing process that can take many days to be completed, but iOS 26.6 should help to speed things up for users who skip the beta. iOS 26.6 "optimizes the Spotlight index to prepare for iOS 27," according to Apple's release notes for the update, which will likely be released next week.
NASA’s nuclear Mars mission to cost over $2 billion
The price tag doesn't include the cost of the science mission the new spacecraft would ferry to the Red Planet.
Private investment in youth sports draws state, federal scrutiny
Courtney Hamby and her husband spend close to $6,000 per year for their daughter Ellie’s cheer and tumbling classes, competition fees and uniforms. That doesn’t include their travel expenses for multiple out-of-town competitions, including hotel rooms, gas, meals, and sometimes even flights. “This should be something that everyone gets to play, and it shouldn’t be […]
Cyclosporiasis: the science, risks and red flags
What’s small, round and could give you explosive diarrhea? Cyclospora parasites. The diarrheal disease they cause is wreaking havoc on thousands this summer in what is the largest known flare up in the U.S. ever. What’s causing it and what can we do about it? NPR’s Joseph Kim joins host Nate Rott to talk about the outbreak – and how to protect yourself and your loved ones.Read more of Joseph’s reporting on cyclosporiasis here. Interested in more science in the news? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. It includes perks like bonus episodes, early access, archive access, curated playlists and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.
UFC Freedom 250 Fails to Knock Out The Ratings
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) If UFC fans wanted one image to say, “Hey, Paramount+ is crushing it with their UFC rights deal,” I could provide that image. Here it is: (Reminder: this is my creation of the Nielsen Top 30, since Nielsen doesn’t combine the lists or include sports. I take all three lists and combine them. Some streaming TV shows probably have higher ratings than many of the films on this list.) Look at that! UFC Freedom 250 is number one! It topped the Nielsen “Top 30” list for shows and films that made the top ten the week of 15-June. So if you’re a UFC fan or supporter of Paramount+, that’s the good news for you this week. This program topped the ratings charts for one week. Everything else is bad news, or at least a huge caveat to that story, which I’ll explain today in the first part of this week’s Streaming Ratings Report—for the weeks of 8-June and 15-June—which is a double issue since I’ve been writing on a bunch of topics recently. UFC Freedom 250 is one of the biggest streaming events of the year, and super relevant to Paramount+’s strategy, so it merited its own article. Let’s dive in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, JustWatch and Reelgood interest data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of June 8th to June 21st 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Check Out My Interview on UFC 250 at MMA Draw After you read this article, if you want even more thoughts on UFC and Paramount-Skydance/Paramount+, I did a written interview with MMA Draw. They asked me to answer some questions about UFC Freedom 250, and I was happy to chat with them. Find it here: [ The MMA Draw Newsletter Did Paramount really overpay for the UFC? What the data tells us so far If you know the history of American television, you also know that combat sports is often a leading indicator of the future… Read more a day ago · 10 likes · 1 comment · Nate Wilcox and Zach Arnold ](https://www.themmadraw.com/p/did-paramount-really-overpay-for?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web) I never thought I’d need a combat sports newsletter in my life, but the good folks at MMA Draw publish an excellent one on UFC, MMA, pro wrestling, boxing and more, analyzing both the sports themselves and the politics, economics and antitrust issues that impact them. Check the article and their newsletter out! Paramount+ Has Its Best Sporting Event of All Time…But Was It Worth It? Before we look at the UFC Freedom 250 data in particular, let’s talk about what we can’t say. Namely, let’s start with the lack of comparisons. First off, I’d love to put a chart out comparing this fight to past UFC fights on Paramount+…but we don’t have the data. This is the first time we’ve gotten Nielsen data about a Paramount+ UFC fight. As far as I can tell, Paramount provided data for the first fight, but it was a proprietary datecdote (saying it had “an average minute audience” of 5 million “views”) and then, for two fights, we got the linear viewership numbers when they aired on CBS, but no streaming data. Everything else was crickets. We also can’t compare this fight to other fights/combat sports on streaming, in particular the MMA and boxing, because Netflix also didn’t use Nielsen to track those events, opting for TVision and VideoAmp, respectively. (This isn’t Paramount’s fault, but does still suck.) We also can’t compare to UFC’s fights that used to be on ESPN+, since we don’t have any data for that, plus Disney+ didn’t have marquee fights. The comparisons would not be apples-to-apples. Can we compare to past Pay-Per-View fights? Absolutely not. The comparisons would absolutely NOT be apples-to-apples. That didn’t stop Paramount+, though, who bragged that their UFC events have reached drastically more people than past PPV fights. Duh. Sorry, but I gotta make this point again. A basic tenet of economics is that the cheaper something becomes, the more people consume or buy it. That’s Econ 101. (Sometimes pundits call things “Econ 101” that are actually like Econ 210 or even PhD-level economics, but no, this is really like first or second class basic economics.) Yet I still see one analytics firm consistently say that more people watch films on streaming than PVOD proves streaming which means that the streaming window is more valuable than the PVOD window. No, it’s not! Same thing here. Pay-Per-View events back in the day could be really, really, really expensive! So whole groups of people pitched in to buy them. That increased the perceived value of, say, the Mike Tyson fight. Or a UFC numbered event. So yes, the fact that Paramount+ makes numbered UFC fights essentially “free” if you’re already a Paramount+ member means consumption will go up. Obviously. Same for Netflix and their boxing matches. They’re talking about fights that used to cost consumers, in some cases, $50 in 1996…which is over $100 in today’s dollars. Over 1.6 million people paid that to watch the Tyson-Holyfield fight! Again, streaming is essentially “free”. Or $10 to $20, depending on what streamer we’re talking about and what tier you’re on. No wonder more people are “watching”. (Plus, Nielsen’s out-of-home viewing also helps these numbers.) UFC Freedom 250 Did Well…But I Have A Lot of Worries So what can we compare the fights to? Well, the good news is Nielsen put out that the fight averaged 7.0 million viewers for UFC Freedom 250, which is a solid number for a fight. We also know the length, at roughly 4 and a half hours. (I saw different run times, but this seems to be the consensus considering it started at 8 pm, had a delay and then finished after midnight on the East Coast. If you assume a shorter run time, then yes, the total hours viewed would go down.) That means I have the two numbers needed to add this to my Nielsen database. And then…I can compare this viewership to the NFL: And, uh, not great. But also within striking distance, mainly because the runtime for this event was so long. I’d also add that this event had viewership equal to a regular season NFL game on streaming, but if anything, it was more comparable to an NFL playoff or Super Bowl-esque event. And you can compare viewership to the top football games on broadcast, cable and streaming, and it’s not impressive at all: We can also compare it to other sports that week, including the NBA Finals and start of the World Cup: Again, not great. The NBA generated roughly four times as many average viewers each game for its NBA Finals. The World Cup has similarly big numbers. Also, that’s just a tiny fraction of the 25 most watched sporting events each week. The NBA, NHL and FIFA World Cup had many, many more games racking up hours. We could also compare this to other streaming programs to get an idea of “is this a good investment?” and here is how it ranks compared to other top Paramount+ programs: The worry here? Well, unlike scripted programming, which has rewatchability, older fights/sporting events have very little library value. Very, very few people are rewatching these fights, especially years from now. Paramount has also released datecdotes bragging about their subscriber numbers. Earlier this year, they claimed that the first UFC fight on Paramount+ brought in 1 million subscribers. Then, in their quarterly earnings report, they only ended up with 700K subs. Not great! They claimed they dropped lower-value international subscribers, but that’s why I tend to discount subscriber additions when they’re leaked to the press.1 I expect we may see a bump again for UFC Freedom 250, but I’d caution using subscriber growth so soon after these events to judge the success, since new subs with high churn (see Peacock) aren’t great either. Also, analysts often want to attribute all subscriber growth to their favorite/pet show, and that just doesn’t make sense. The biggest caveat for UFC Freedom 250 and Paramount’s very first UFC marquee event is that these could be high watermarks for the sport. UFC Freedom 250 had an incredible amount of earned media coverage compared to most UFC fights. I mean, it had wall-to-wall national news coverage in the lead up to the event. (The first fight also had a lot of promotion from Paramount since it was first.) Other fights could reach this bar—say the Conor McGregor return to the Octagon—but they’ll be fewer and far between. Was This Deal Worth It? All to ask: is this Paramount deal worth it? In this case, I think the UFC Freedom 250 numbers are more distracting than helpful. This fight did well and compares well to other top sporting events. But we know that the first marquee event was at least a third smaller, if Paramount’s own data is to be believed. And it’s likely the other fights are much, much, much smaller. And then you get to the paycheck that Paramount-Skydance paid. FIFA’s World Cup cost about the same for Fox, but clearly generated multiples more total viewership. (Though it’s only every four years.) The NBA is much more expensive, but until the playoffs, they likely didn’t pay for itself. Even still, Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon Prime Video likely overpaid. So, in that context, the NBA may be an overpay that makes the UFC look not so bad. But two overpays don’t make an underpay, to paraphrase the old cliché about wrongs and rights. And looking at UFC Freedom 250 as the likely ceiling of MMA on Paramount+, Paramount-Skydance likely paid too much. Share 1 I would love regular reports on subscriber additions by programs, but as is, it’s mostly leaked or rumored in haphazard ways.
4 Android Phones With Physical Keyboards You Can Buy In 2026
Some Android phones that have physical keyboard include the Unihertz Titan 2 Elite, Clicks Communicator, Minimal Phone, and Ikko MindOne Pro.
House Momentum, Senate Headwinds, and the Return of Shutdown Politics
With the House finally beginning to break its floor paralysis, appropriations may be back in motion. However, the path to funding the government for FY27, and keeping the lights on past September 30, remains complex. Last week, the House passed the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs (NSRP) appropriations bill, which included a closely watched vote on Rep. Thomas Massie's amendment targeting aid to Israel.
iOS 27 beta 4 mentions new iPhone model with multi-battery feature
iOS 27 beta 4 arrived today, and per Macworld it includes code references to what’s likely a new iPhone Ultra feature: dual batteries.
'Entertainment center' with bowling, arcade, restaurant, bar planned for southeast Mahomet
A 17,000-square-foot entertainment center, planned for Tabeling Development's Prairieview Commons subdivision, will include bowling, arcade games, a sports bar and a full-service restaurant.
'Entertainment center' with bowling, arcade, restaurant and bar planned for southeast Mahomet
A 17,000-square-foot entertainment center, planned for lots B and C of Tabeling Development's Prairieview subdivision, will include bowling, arcade games, a sports bar and a full-service restaurant.
iOS 26.6 includes key feature that prepares your iPhone for iOS 27
Apple has debuted the RC for iOS 26.6, and its release notes confirm the inclusion of a feature meant to prepare your iPhone for iOS 27.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 announces open beta for Nintendo Switch 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is getting an open beta on Nintendo Switch 2, it’s been announced. This will be happening during the weekend of August 28. You’ll have until September 1 to participate. Here’s the rundown on what’s included in the beta: Get ready to drop into multiple Multiplayer maps and modes, choosing from a wide selection of...
DOH-Charlotte Expands Clinical Services to Include School and Sport Physicals and EKGs - Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County
The Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County is expanding its clinical services to include school and sport physicals and electrocardiograms (EKGs).
Grant opportunity open to refresh storefronts in East Palestine
Eligible applicants include business owners, tenants with owner approval, and commercial property owners operating within East Palestine’s municipal boundaries.
Shaky political "science": breakdown of the peer review process
[This article is the latest in our “Shaky Political Science” series. In our 38 page report, “Shaky political ‘science’ misses mark on ranked choice voting,” released in December 2025, we examined over 40 studies focused on ranked choice voting (RCV). Many of these studies suffered from puzzling research methodologies, poorly constructed surveys, unrealistic simulated elections, cherry picked data and faulty analyses that often were contradicted by results from real-world elections (a link to our full paper is here). Here are links to the first four articles in our series: the first one summarizing the overall results of our report; the second one analyzed a study co-authored by University of Minnesota academic Larry Jacobs, which was one of the most error-prone of all the research we reviewed in our report; a third article showing an admirable example of two political scientists holding two other political scientists accountable for their flawed, sloppy research; and a fourth article that analyzed seven studies sponsored by New America’s political reform program that deployed flawed methodology based on “simulated” elections instead of real-world elections, which when combined with some basic misunderstandings of RCV, produced odd and misleading results]. In this fifth article in our “Shaky Political Science” series, we examine two flawed studies on the impact of RCV on voter turnout authored by San Francisco State University professor Jason McDaniel. McDaniel’s research in these two papers stands out for its puzzling methodology, inadequate and cherry-picked data, and faulty analyses that not only misunderstands ranked choice voting but reflects a basic misunderstanding of politics in general. The first of the McDaniel studies actually passed through a peer review process and then was subsequently published by the Journal of Urban Affairs, despite its obvious errors. It is perplexing that a jury of peer political scientists did not catch the errors and send it back to McDaniel for a rewrite or outright rejection. This calls into question the credibility of the peer review process itself. The peer review process is supposed to represent the intellectual pinnacle of the profession – a way for academics to certify the quality of each other’s work, and to act as a check against sloppy research. In the case of the McDaniel study, the peer review process failed. Yet his flawed study has been cited dozens of times by other political scientists in their own flawed works — an unvirtuous circle of academic research. Here is the first Jason McDaniel study that we analyzed: “Writing the Rules to Rank the Candidates: Examining the Impact of Instant-Runoff Voting on Racial Group Turnout in San Francisco Mayoral Elections,” by Jason McDaniel, 2016, Journal of Urban Affairs. This study covered San Francisco’s use of ranked choice voting (RCV) in mayoral elections, purporting to show that RCV reduces voter turnout overall, increases voter errors, and has a negative impact on “marginal populations,” i.e. racial minorities, mainly as the result of the alleged complexity of RCV asking voters to rank candidates and having to be familiar with multiple candidates and related dynamics. McDaniel reached these conclusions by examining five San Francisco mayoral elections taking place in odd years (i.e. where there are no federal or state races on the ballot) from 1995 to 2011, comparing three earlier non-RCV races (in 1995, 1999 and 2003) with the later two RCV races (in 2007 and 2011). Only two RCV races were studied, and as McDaniel acknowledged, only the contest in 2011 was “competitive” (that contest in 2007 was the first mayoral election using RCV, and incumbent mayor Gavin Newsom won easily in the first round of counting, earning 74% of first choices and far ahead of the second place candidate who had just 6.3% of first choices). Yet even the allegedly competitive contest in 2011was won by an incumbent with a landslide margin of nearly 20 points. No other elections were studied by McDaniel, even though San Francisco elects 17 other offices besides mayor with RCV, including the 11 seats on the Board of Supervisors (the name for the city council) in even years, and six other citywide offices in odd years. Previous academic research has found that competitive elections can stimulate greater voter involvement and higher turnout. For unexplained reasons, this study ignored at least 34 other RCV races between the years 2004 to 2011, many of which were very competitive and had high voter turnout. Instead, McDaniel’s analysis based its conclusions on data from only a single, marginally-competitive mayor’s race using RCV. These 2007 and 2011 mayoral elections were the only two RCV elections that McDaniel used as the sole basis for his small data set to determine the impact of RCV on voter turnout. Despite having no meaningful data to inform his study, McDaniel nonetheless concluded that RCV lowered turnout when compared to the previous three mayoral non-RCV elections using two-round runoffs. Then, using the same inadequate database of San Francisco elections, McDaniel also found that “Instant-runoff voting is associated with a significant decline in Black voter turnout and White voter turnout…On average, Black voter turnout decreases by 18 points and White voter turnout decreases by 16 points …” But how could he credibly arrive at that conclusion when his study was based on voter turnout in two RCV contests that were not even remotely competitive? Beyond that, McDaniel tacitly admits that the key determining factor driving Black voter turnout was not RCV vs non-RCV elections, but the presence of a viable Black candidate. McDaniel wrote, “Black voter turnout was about 17 percentage points higher for the two elections that featured an African American candidate compared to the three elections that did not” — but one of those three elections did not use RCV. The same dynamic was present for White voter turnout, in which higher turnout was not correlated with RCV vs non-RCV elections, but the presence of a viable White candidate. Beyond that, McDaniel’s voter turnout results, whether correlated with the race of the candidates or RCV vs non-RCV elections, showed no clear patterns. In his Figure 1, he shows low Asian voter turnout in the non-RCV elections in 1999 and 2003 when there was no viable Asian candidate running, but in the 2007 mayoral election using RCV, there is still no viable Asian candidate, yet Asian turnout increases dramatically. For Latinos, voter turnout is virtually the same in 1999 (no viable Latino candidate, non-RCV elections), 2003 (leading Latino candidate, non-RCV elections), 2007 (no viable Latino candidate, RCV elections) and 2011 (leading Latino candidate, RCV elections). Meanwhile White voter turnout increased dramatically from a low in the 2007 mayoral election, in which the leading candidate was a white incumbent, to the 2011 election in which there were no leading white candidates that finished any higher than sixth place with 5.6% of the vote. Clearly other factors were determining voter turnout than either the race of the candidates or RCV vs non-RCV elections. Despite these inconsistent findings, McDaniel boldly marches forth to render conclusions about the impact of RCV on different groups of racial voters, even though his conclusions are not remotely supported by his data. This looks like the worst kind of “data cherry picking” to cover up a puzzling conclusion based on a poor data set involving only two RCV elections, neither of which were remotely competitive. McDaniel’s cherry picking didn’t stop there. In calculating voter turnout for the three non-RCV mayoral elections in 1995, 1999 and 2003, he failed to mention that in each of these years there was a two-round runoff election, with a first round election in November in which no candidate garnered a winning majority of the vote, followed by the decisive runoff in December. So there were two non-RCV elections in each election year. But McDaniel only decided to include one of the two elections in his data set, apparently the December runoff in each year (which had higher turnout in two out of the three mayor’s races, and lower turnout in the third). So he ignored the November 1995 election, the November 1999 election when turnout was only 45 percent, and the November 2003 election when turnout was only 45.7 percent. This is flawed methodology based on blatant cherry picking, since McDaniel simply omitted three elections worth of data that did not fit within his frame. His study should never have made it through a peer review process, and it is an embarrassment to political science that not only was it approved for publication, but it has been uncritically cited by dozens of other political scientists. Share A “study” without wider context or credible data Lacking a data set that included even a single competitive RCV mayoral race, McDaniel declared that RCV lowered voter turnout in 2011, when turnout was 42.5 percent. But he also ignored -- or did not realize -- that voter turnout in mayoral elections during 2011 had sharply declined in all big cities, including far more steeply in nearby Los Angeles and other cities. In fact, San Francisco’s election in 2011 had the second highest turnout of any mayoral election in the nation’s 22 largest cities from 2008-2011. Was 2011 just a particularly low turnout year all across the country, perhaps because the country was still reeling from the aftermath of the housing market collapse in 2008-2010? McDaniel ignored this factor and did not search for alternative explanations beyond his flawed thesis. Furthermore, while McDaniel suggested that RCV leads to more “overvotes” – which is an invalidated ballot in which a voter, in either a non-RCV or RCV race, makes a mistake and selects two candidates for a single choice – he failed to address that in the June 2012 US Senate primary contest, which used the typical “one-choice” plurality method and did not use RCV, there was more than five times as many overvotes in San Francisco and Oakland than in the RCV mayoral elections in those cities. Additionally, turnout had been significantly higher and more representative in RCV elections for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors races -- that McDaniel didn’t even bother to study -- as compared to previous “delayed two-round runoffs” for those offices, often higher by as much as 40% in the RCV races. Perhaps the most surprising irony was that an earlier study co-authored by McDaniel (Overvoting and the Equality of Voice under Instant-Runoff Voting in San Francisco by Francis Neely and Jason McDaniel, 2015, California Journal of Politics and Policy) found that overvotes are often more common in lower-income precincts, but that the pattern of overvoting is similar in both RCV and non-RCV contests. Wrote Neely and McDaniel: “[Overvote] errors appear to be a function of complexity in general and not IRV per se…. the pattern of overvoting is similar in both IRV and non-IRV contests…Even among votes cast in a top-of-the-ticket race like U.S. Senate, overvoting occurs in an uneven fashion” (IRV, or ‘instant runoff voting,’ is another name for ranked choice voting in single-winner contests). So McDaniel not only contradicted his own conclusion in his earlier study with Neely, but the earlier study had been an important corrective for one of the most frequently made mistakes made by anti-RCV political scientists – a continual failure to provide crucial context by pairing a comparative analysis of real world RCV elections with an analysis of real world plurality or other electoral methods. Unfortunately McDaniel’s earlier study does not get cited much by other researchers, and McDaniel did not even cite it in his own flawed study analyzed above. Incredibly, McDaniel cherrypicked McDaniel, even as his flawed study has been cited dozens of times. Despite being a textbook example of poor political “science,” featuring both inadequate as well as cherrypicked data, the shelf life of McDaniel’s study has been extended endlessly by other political scientists and media outlets who have cited it uncritically. Equally troubling, the Journal of Urban Affairs put this paper through its peer review process and published it despite its numerous flaws. McDaniel gets it wrong, Part II Not content with producing one shoddy, confused paper, McDaniel produced another one a few years later, here is the link: Electoral Rules and Voter Turnout in Mayoral Elections: An Analysis of Ranked-Choice Voting by Jason McDaniel. San Francisco State Univ. (McDaniel, 2019). In this paper, McDaniel extended his previous flawed research focused on San Francisco, about voter turnout and voter impact, to multiple RCV cities through the 2018 elections. In his data set he included San Francisco, Minneapolis, St Paul, Oakland, Berkeley, San Leandro and Santa Fe. He then compared their turnout in mayoral elections to non-RCV cities, and to mayoral elections in those cities held before first RCV usage, and concluded “a significant decrease in voter turnout of approximately 3–5 percentage points in RCV cities after the implementation of RCV.” But he replicated many of the same mistakes as his first study presented above. While in this study McDaniel attempted to distinguish between various factors, such as odd year vs. even year elections, competitive races vs. noncompetitive, contests with open seats and other factors, the analysis is superficial and inadequate. He attempts to incorporate so many often-conflicting variables that his conclusions are once again unsupported by the actual data, and ultimately unconvincing (this second study never underwent a peer review process). For example, McDaniel declared that for RCV cities “in elections that are more competitive than average (margin of victory less than 20%), there is no significant RCV effect on voter turnout.” Yet McDaniel is a professor in a city, San Francisco, in which the 2018 special election using RCV to fill a mayoral vacancy was exceedingly close, decided by a margin of only one percentage point, and resulted in the second highest turnout in San Francisco history for a mayoral election. Illustrating the complexity involved in assessing the critical factors in turnout, that special election was held on the same election day as federal and state offices, which tends to boost turnout. Yet more voters participated in that RCV mayoral election than voted on the same day in the non-RCV primary for governor in which former San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom was running. Even more puzzling, in this study McDaniel inaccurately cited his own previous study from 2015 with Neely. McDaniel wrote, “Neely and McDaniel (2015) examine individual ballot image files within a natural experiment, and find higher rates of ballot errors in RCV elections compared to non-RCV elections” (emphasis added). However, we quoted from that 2015 study several paragraphs above, and in actual fact Neely and McDaniel actually concluded the opposite -- that the pattern of overvoting – which is the most common form of ballot error – is similar in both RCV and non-RCV contests. McDaniel also ignored the fact that in Bay Area RCV elections held in even years – at the same time as federal and state elections, when turnout is highest -- the “undervote” (that is, the dropoff in ballots cast for governor or mayor) has declined, which contradicts his thesis that the act of ranking ballots in RCV elections is too complex and presents a barrier for certain demographics of voters. To his credit, McDaniel actually acknowledged another contradiction in his own paper, which found a negative RCV turnout effect in some odd-year elections but not others, admitting that “may present a challenge to the theory that increased complexity [from RCV] will have a marginal negative effect on voter turnout.” But he tried to wallpaper over that contradiction by blaming it on an unlikely source -- bad election administration. McDaniels wrote, “This would suggest that the negative impact of RCV on voter participation may be alleviated by high quality election administration,” without presenting any data or even anecdotes to support such an unfounded theory. While competent election administration of any election, whether RCV or non-RCV, is crucially important, there is no credible research that supports the far-fetched notion that the quality of election administration has much of an impact on voter turnout in US elections, whether using RCV or otherwise. Upgrade to a $5 subscription The unvirtuous circle of academic research It is puzzling how McDaniel’s first study could have survived the peer review process for the Journal of Urban Affairs. The mistakes in McDaniel’s first study above should have been obvious to anyone with a basic understanding of ranked choice voting as well as elections in general, and elections in San Francisco specifically. It undermines faith in the credibility of the peer review process to think that a jury of peer political scientists did not catch the egregious errors and reject McDaniel’s sloppy research and paper. And it remains a black mark on political science that this thoroughly discredited study has been cited dozens of times by other researchers. Indeed, in our research paper it became apparent that many political scientists cite each other’s flawed research to pad their list of citations and to legitimize their own flawed research, creating an unvirtuous circle of political science. More broadly, McDaniel’s voter turnout studies, like other studies evaluating RCV’s impact on turnout, lacked a recognition that no credible opinion or research can claim that RCV increases voter turnout merely because so many voters are excited to vote for their favorite candidates instead of “lesser evil” candidates without worrying about spoilers. Instead, with respect to turnout, the advantage of RCV has always been that, in most places where it has been used, it has eliminated a pre-November primary or post-November runoff, which usually saw about half the turnout of the November general election. This is especially true during even years when there are state and federal elections on the ballot which substantially drive turnout more than local contests. Any study that does not adequately account for this non-November primary/runoff vs November general election dynamic, or odd year vs even year election factors, is simply not credible. Both of McDaniel’s studies largely failed on those grounds. Steven Hill and Paul Haughey Share Upgrade to a $5 subscription Thanks for reading DemocracySOS…your digital portal for the pro-democracy movement. Subscribe for only $5 per month to receive full benefits and to support our work. Subscribe
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Obvious historical examples include Hitler’s use of the 1936 Berlin Olympics to glorify his Third Reich and the 1969 El Salvador-Honduras football “war.” SUGGESTED READING The beautiful game made ugly By Emily Ryall FIFA argues that it is and seeks to be apolitical in its stewardship of international Association Football (soccer). FIFA policies governing bids to host the World Cup require uninhibited and non-discriminatory access for players, team staff, and spectators of all participating countries to host nations and venues. It became clear soon after Trump returned to power in the United States in January 2025 that Trump’s political intentions and objectives to limit non-US citizens from living and working in the United States and, in numerous cases, even visiting the country, would collide with FIFA’s host nation policies. Beginning soon after the start of the second Trump administration, US federal authorities imposed restrictions on entry to the United States of citizens of between 20 and 40 countries for any purpose, with only limited exceptions. Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began arresting non-US citizens in the United States, including persons with and without legal status, holding them in jails, concentration camps, and other detention facilities until they were deported to their home or third countries, where they faced substantive risks to their personal safety. FIFA boss Gianni Infantino, in an effort to ensure the most successful and lucrative World Cup in history, engaged diplomatically with President Trump in an attempt to facilitate entry to the US for World Cup participants. Infantino did all in his power to ingratiate himself with Trump, to the extent of creating a FIFA “Peace Prize,” which he awarded to Trump in December 2025 at a ceremony in the then Trump-controlled John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, on the occasion of the World Cup draw. The prize was an ersatz consolation for someone who aspired in vain to win the rather more prestigious and well-known Nobel Peace Prize. And in the run-up to the World Cup, conditions became worse. In February 2026, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a war of aggression against Iran, illegal under international law, under the false pretence that Iran’s government was preparing to attack the United States and Israel. During the US aerial bombardment of Iran, US planes bombed Azadi Stadium, the facility where Iran’s national football team trained. As the 2026 FIFA World Cup began, it was clear that Infantino’s efforts had been for naught: the Trump administration would not adhere to FIFA policies governing access to World Cup host nations. World Cup referee Omar Artan, a citizen of Somalia, was denied a US visa to enter the United States to participate in the World Cup. Trump’s government only granted US visas to Iran’s football team ten days before they were scheduled to arrive for the tournament. Numerous members of the support staff for Iran’s team were denied US visas. Iran’s team, which had been scheduled to train in Arizona, was directed to shift its training site to Tijuana, Mexico, notwithstanding that all three of their group stage matches took place at US venues. The US Department of Homeland Security only permitted the Iranian team to enter the US on the day before each scheduled match and then to return to Mexico immediately after playing. Members of Iraq’s and Switzerland’s football teams were delayed for hours by US officials at the US border, and an Iraqi team photographer was refused entry. Spectators and fans from Haïti and Iran were denied entry to the United States altogether. A large number of fans from a range of countries had their applications for US visas rejected. There were multiple off-ramps through which participants could have avoided the negative consequences of Trump’s decisions for the 2026 World Cup. Once it was clear that the Trump government intended to violate the established expectations for World Cup hosts, FIFA could have shifted the matches scheduled to take place in the United States to Mexico and Canada. The three nations were already designated as co-hosts, and host cities and venues had been selected. Once it was clear that FIFA, governed by FIFA boss Gianni Infantino’s dependent and dysfunctional relationship with Trump, would never consider this option on its own, it fell to the national football federations to act. The national federations, particularly some combination of federations of the leading contenders (France, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Morocco, England, Germany, etc.), could have refused to participate under the US-imposed conditions or, at the least, demanded an ironclad agreement with the Trump government that FIFA policies on access would be respected. ___ International sport is inextricably entangled with diplomacy of different sorts, for good or ill, it cannot be considered to be in the purely private realm and left to revenue-maximizing private actors. ___ Why did neither FIFA nor the national football federations act to protect the interests of players, team staff, referees, fans, and spectators? In essence, the relentless engines of capitalism prevailed over norm observance, ethics, and fair play. The revenue interests of FIFA, sponsors, global media, and host cities won out. FIFA’s managers viewed hosting another World Cup principally in the United States as a veritable pot of gold for FIFA and its collaborators. FIFA has estimated its own revenue over the 2023-26 budget cycle, which includes the 2026 World Cup, at $13 billion, revised up from an initial projection of $11 billion, and 72% higher than the previous revenue cycle. Of that total, FIFA is estimated to have generated $8.9 billion from the Cup itself in revenue from TV rights ($3.92 billion), sponsorships ($2.69 billion), ticket sales ($3.1 billion), licensing rights, and other sources. A joint study by FIFA and the World Trade Organization estimates that the World Cup will contribute over $40 billion to global GDP, including nearly $14 billion in direct visitor spending in the three host countries (but principally in the United States, which hosted the lion’s share of the matches). The FIFA World Cup is now reportedly “the single most lucrative recurring commercial property in global sport.” And yet, notwithstanding the Trump government’s uses of the World Cup for sports anti-diplomacy, and the climate of anxiety that this created for participants and spectators, diplomacy that did not depend upon governments was able to thrive at the World Cup. Examples of successful people-to-people diplomacy were legion, as citizens of towns and cities across the States, as well as in Mexico and Canada, welcomed team members, their families and supporters, to training sites across North America. Fans of different teams joined together in person in stadiums for matches, at watch parties and bars, and at welcome events sponsored by host cities. The joy and camaraderie shared between the citizenry of Boston and Scotland’s “Tartan Army” of fans is but one example of how the “Beautiful Game” brings people together. Friendships forged across continents are likely to endure well beyond the Cup final. Even those achievements cannot be seen as unalloyed, however. As South African football fan Byron Pillay commented to Al Jazeera, “Football is called the Beautiful Game for a reason, for its ability to unite people. But it’s hard to believe in that magic with the politics and war rhetoric off the field of play, especially when one of the tournament hosts is central to that.” Ultimately, the experience of the 2026 FIFA World Cup illustrates that, as international sport is inextricably entangled with diplomacy of different sorts, for good or ill, it cannot be considered to be in the purely private realm and left to revenue-maximizing private actors. As long as there is the possibility of diplomatic progress in mediating estrangement between governments or between peoples, there is a broad and overarching public interest in international sport. Likewise, as it would be difficult to put on an international sport mega-event without international sporting organizations like FIFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), global media firms, and companies purchasing sponsorships, public and private interests in international sport must coexist, most likely somewhere on a shifting spectrum between partnership and rivalry or cross purposes. As the World Cup wraps up, the IOC needs to consider its lessons before the scheduled 2028 Los Angeles Olympics if they want to avoid a media-hyped Trump version of the 1936 Berlin Olympiad. The IOC and the National Olympic Committees need to set conditions on and make demands of Trump’s government with clearly articulated consequences for non-compliance, up to and including cancellation of the Games. Time is running out for the IOC, as unlike with the FIFA World Cup, there is no at-the-ready alternate venue for Los Angeles.