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Boston sues Meta, Snap, ByteDance over youth mental health
The city is suing the companies behind Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.
Longtime friends and business partners thrive as architecture grad students
Setareh Farashzadeh and Yasaman Ghaffarian came to Penn State as close friends and established architects in pursuit of the history and theory behind their chosen field. Originally from Iran, the duo started their own practice after earning their bachelor’s degrees and jointly decided to expand their understanding of the built environment. Their interests and underlying friendship led them to the dual master of architecture and master of science in architecture program in the College of Arts and Architecture’s Stuckeman School.
Leading Food Companies to Share the Science and Technology Behind their Latest Innovations at IFT FIRST Annual Event and Expo
CHICAGO, July 08, 2026--The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), a nonprofit scientific organization committed to advancing the science of food and its application across the global food system, is proud to share a sneak peek at a few of the supplier scientific sessions and demonstrations that will take place at IFT FIRST Annual Event and Expo, the leading food science and innovation expo being held July 12-15, 2026, at McCormick Place in Chicago.
Platner’s campaign working to navigate exit from consequential Maine race, sources say
Graham Platner and a small team of strategists behind his candidacy are trying to navigate an exit from the consequential Senate race in Maine without entirely squandering the movement he built, people familiar with the matter said, rather than digging in or trying to find a path forward for his candidacy.
Kansas Citian behind exclusive cigar lounge pops up with mobile cocktail bar
KC Pours is Nayeli Sharp’s mobile cocktail concept that she plans to bring to events as a pop-up or as catering for private functions.
ESPYS 2026: Stats behind Best Athlete - Women's Sports nominees
A'ja Wilson, Hilary Knight and more. The numbers behind this year's ESPYS Best Athlete - Women's Sports nominees.
ESPYS 2026: Stats behind Best Athlete - Women's Sports nominees
A'ja Wilson, Hilary Knight and more. The numbers behind this year's ESPYS Best Athlete - Women's Sports nominees.
ESPYS 2026: Stats behind Best Athlete - Women's Sports nominees
A'ja Wilson, Hilary Knight and more. The numbers behind this year's ESPYS Best Athlete - Women's Sports nominees.
From dinosaur trips to Vegas attractions: How one father built a family entertainment business
The entertainment entrepreneur behind Dinosaur Outpost is expanding his family-friendly vision with the acquisition and rebranding of Velocity Vegas.
Scientists finally crack nature's secret for building better cancer drugs
Researchers have cracked the code behind bacteria's ability to naturally manufacture multiple versions of powerful anti-cancer drugs. The discovery could make it much easier to engineer new cancer treatments inspired by nature, including improved versions of existing medicines.
A Dog Named Dug: The Science Behind Therapy Animals
Through the Cornell Companions program, volunteer therapy animals on campus bring emotional and neurochemical benefits to students during stressful times.
Exclusive | Trump-Backed Company Behind Family Crypto Wealth in Talks to Sell Core Business
The potential sale by AI Financial marks an abrupt reversal for a company that has channeled more than half a billion dollars to the Trumps.
America 250 attendees rally behind Trump's July 4 speech: 'What we needed to hear'
Attendees at the Great American State Fair react to Trump's Fourth of July National Mall speech, calling it a celebration of freedom over politics.
The business behind Chili's viral comeback
TikTok trends, affordable meals, and Gen Z hype transformed an old-school chain into one of casual dining's biggest comeback stories. Follow Fast
Politics Chat, July 7, 2026
A newsletter about the history behind today's politics.
Which Prospects Could the Phillies Trade at the Deadline?
The MLB Trade Deadline sits just a month away, and rumors are already beginning to swirl. From players who could be traded to what contending teams will be looking for, there’s lots of excitement this time of year. The Phillies are currently sitting three games behind the Braves for the NL East lead and half […] The post Which Prospects Could the Phillies Trade at the Deadline? appeared first on The Lead.
‘Love and Other Words’ Adaptation a Go From Magic Hour Entertainment
Max Siemers and Tanner Anderson are behind the new company, which will adapt Christina Lauren’s best-selling novel of the same of the name centered on childhood friends turned first loves who reconnect as adults.
‘Love and Other Words’ Adaptation Set With the Newly Formed Magic Hour Entertainment (Exclusive)
Max Siemers and Tanner Anderson are behind the new company, which will adapt Christina Lauren’s best-selling novel of the same of the name centered on childhood friends turned first loves who reconnec...
The Magnus effect: The science that allows soccer players to ‘bend it like Beckham’
Want to know how to curl a soccer ball? Understanding the physics behind the Magnus effect can give your corner kicks a serious leg up.
Food giant behind Spam, Planters sells operations in ‘challenged’ market
The transaction is expected to close in the coming weeks.
Doom co-creator John Romero weighs in on Xbox's cuts to id Software, underlines the importance of digital preservation and the studio's history
One of the minds behind the original Doom games and id Software has commented on the layoffs executed by Xbox and the importance of the studio's history.
George Cottrell: the crypto criminal behind Farage controversy
Reform UK leader did not declare security, staff and accommodation support from convicted fraudster
ESPYS 2026: Stats behind Best Athlete - Men's Sports nominees
Jalen Brunson, Lionel Messi and more. The numbers behind this year's ESPYS Best Athlete - Men's Sports nominees
ESPYS 2026: Stats behind Best Athlete - Men's Sports nominees
Jalen Brunson, Lionel Messi and more. The numbers behind this year's ESPYS Best Athlete - Men's Sports nominees
The dangers behind health 'maxxing'
"Maxxing" is a way of promoting extreme ways to optimize physical and mental health.
Why hyperscalers, Mag 7 are falling behind in the stock market's AI trade
Microsoft and Meta in particular are struggling to keep up with the broader tech sector as investors rebel against spending.
World Cup watch parties boost business at Carlisle's restaurant in Muskegon as fans rally for Team USA
Fans in Muskegon are rallying behind Team USA at Carlisle's restaurant, where World Cup watch parties have drawn standing-room-only crowds and given the local business a significant sales boost.
Michigan students find there's business in 'day in the life' clips
Likes, views, tuition bills are business behind 'day in the life' clips for student creators.
Science SARU's 'The Ghost in the Shell' Has the Juice
The studio behind 'Dan Da Dan' pulls off the most faithful adaptation of Masamune Shirow's beloved cyberpunk manga to date, delivering a timelessly retro vibe that oozes sensuality, style, and goofiness inside its philosophical shell.
Why Paramount is keeping Conor McGregor’s UFC return off CBS
Conor McGregor’s marquee return to the UFC is the latest UFC event to stay behind the Paramount+ paywall. In August 2025, UFC reached an exclusive seven-year, $7.7 billion rights deal with Paramount in the United States. The agreement ended UFC’s pay-per-view model, moving all events to the Paramount+ streaming service, with select simulcasts on CBS.…
Meet Naomi Osaka’s Business Partners Behind Her Wimbledon Comeback
Naomi Osaka has returned to IMG while continuing to build Hana Kuma, KINLÒ and an investment portfolio spanning sports and startups.
49ers fans are convinced who RB2 is behind Christian McCaffrey
It is Kaelon Black’s job to lose, apparently.
The Science Behind Why Soccer Players at the 2026 World Cup Are Cutting Their Socks
Holes in socks have become a curious sight at this year’s World Cup. The reasons why are a weird mix of biomechanics, perception, and player habits.
Monday, July 6, 2026: Cramer says this tech giant's chip packaging business will be its next big gross margin driver
Go behind the scenes with Jim Cramer and Jeff Marks of the CNBC Investing Club as they talk candidly about the market's biggest headlines, analyst calls and holdings in the Charitable Trust—and see up close how they decide when, and if, to take action on stocks.
Sisters Behind For Goodness Cakes Co. Share Business Journey
Sisters Sammy Eiserman and Sydney Ferraro, founders of the New York based food truck and bakery, For Goodness Cakes Co., sit down with TODAY’s Dylan Dreyer to share how they built their dessert business together.
Explore the science behind women’s wellness in new fall 2026 course
NUTR 494: Science of Women’s Wellness explores the science behind women’s wellness, equipping them to cut through health myths and prepare them for future career paths that include women’s health and wellness.
David Coulthard calls for FIA entertainment focus after British GP ending
David Coulthard has urged the FIA to prioritise entertainment after the British Grand Prix ended anticlimactically behind the safety car
Starmer faces likely row at Nato summit after US rebuke on defence spending
US ambassador to Nato has called for all allies who are ‘lagging behind’ to step up immediately
The Lawyers Behind Australia’s Biggest Music Stars Launch New Entertainment Firm
Two of Australia's leading entertainment lawyers have launched Hewitt Glass, a specialist Sydney firm representing major music artists, festivals, media personalities and entertainment businesses.
The Science Behind Erling Haaland's Sleep Routine: Do You Really Need These Sleep Hacks?
Elite footballers spend countless hours perfecting their game, but one of the biggest factors behind peak performance happens away from the training ground. Er
2026 World Cup: Short-handed England holds off Mexico at home behind 2-minute Jude Bellingham brace
Go behind the scenes of DE Museum of Nature & Science's research labs
DE Museum of Nature & Science offers behind-the-scenes tours of its Collections & Research lab, as we join the tour for a preview, July 5, 2026.
America's divided birthday
President Trump used his Independence Day speech to warn against communism while promoting his political agenda. DW breaks down the messaging, symbolism, and politics behind Trump's speech with US analyst Scott Lucas.
China rare earth industry has critical weakness, study finds
New study finds China lagging behind Japan and the US in key patents for advanced rare earth technologies.
INSIGHT: Getting direct about the politics behind the August amendment
Dr. Russell Arben Fox, File photo By RUSSEL FOXProfessor of Political
Stanford grads secure $11.6 million for women's hormone bracelet
Clair Health says today's wearables overlook women's health. Read the pitch deck behind its $11.6 million seed round.
America’s entrepreneurial boom begins long before venture capital
Latino-owned businesses added 180,000 net new firms between 2017 and 2023 while white-owned firms declined — and the talent pipeline behind that growth runs through Minority-Serving Institutions now facing funding uncertainty.
Angels blown up by Boston on Independence Day
The Angels fell behind fast and stayed there after a shaky first inning from Sam Aldegheri.
Bellingham’s Runs Behind: One Of England’s Dangerous Weapons
Thomas Tuchel arrived at the World Cup building his England side upon wide connections. The central midfielders, fullbacks, and wingers coordinate via wide rotations, position exchanges, and channel runs. The idea revolves around generating spaces for crosses and cutbacks. According to Opta, only Canada (82) played more crosses than England (75) until the round of […]
Entrepreneur behind Matthew's Mattress reflects on over three decades in business
Kevin Matthews launched his first Matthew’s Mattress store over three decades years ago in the Bay Area. At his peak, he developed his own mattress brand and managed a total of 12 stores. Now he’s ready to retire, he says.
Xbox at a crossroads: 25 years later, Microsoft is done playing around
Microsoft is pressing its Xbox business for growth and stronger profits after 25 years of losses and thin margins. Here's the math and the strategy behind the reset, with Xbox layoffs expected as soon as next week.
Braves look for much-needed series win behind Chris Sale
The Braves will look to back Chris Sale to secure a series win, who they can expect another strong start from.
MRN BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT — Sheryl Scarbrough, TCBY
Today on Business Spotlight, brought to you by Bank of Springfield, Crissie Caccamo sits down with Sheryl Scarbrough, owner and operator of TCBY Quincy. Did you know TCBY stands for The Country’s Best Yogurt? As the Quincy favorite celebrates 40 years of serving the community, Sheryl shares the story behind the business, the legacy her...
Scientists may have finally solved the black hole information paradox
Researchers have proposed that black holes stop evaporating at the last moment, leaving behind tiny remnants that preserve all the information they contain. The same seven-dimensional geometry behind this idea could also help explain why elementary particles have mass.
George Russell Cannot Explain His Silverstone Sprint Pace
George Russell finished fifth in British Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying at Silverstone, just under four tenths of a second behind pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton and behind…
Ro Khanna, the Democrat Musk wants behind bars: ‘Money has hijacked politics in the US’
The Silicon Valley congressman is leading the push to release the Epstein files and does not rule out a 2028 presidential bid. ‘They are not going to silence me,’ he warns
The science behind fireworks and their brilliant colors
Fireworks displays on Independence Day are created by the combination of different metal salts, which emit light at unique wavelengths to produce vibrant colors.
Reflecting On Data & Business Process Services Stocks’ Q1 Earnings: Verisk (NASDAQ:VRSK)
Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q1 behind us, let’s have a look at Verisk (NASDAQ:VRSK) and its peers.
Firework chemistry: the science behind firework colors
Different chemical compounds create the brilliant reds, blues, greens and golds you see bursting overhead.
More than 60 North Carolina cases tied to parasite behind 'explosive diarrhea'
North Carolina is dealing with a rise in Cyclospora cases, a microscopic parasite known for unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms, including "explosive diarrhea."
Detroit young adults tour with Usher, gain backstage experience in live entertainment
Four Detroit young adults are getting a rare, behind-the-scenes education in the entertainment industry, touring the country with Usher as part of a first-of-its-kind live-touring internship program.
Rangers bolster minor-league depth by signing Cholowski, Gawdin
With Wednesday’s flurry of NHL moves behind them, the New York Rangers added some help for their the American Hockey […]
The weather and science behind a perfect fireworks show
A great fireworks show is about far more than the fireworks themselves — the weather plays a starring role. Clouds, wind and even the humidity can mean the difference between a crisp, dazzling display and a hazy, muffled dud. Meteorologist Caitlin Kaiser breaks down the science that makes fireworks burst into color and the conditions that can make or break the perfect show.
New owners of One Canal Place declare bankruptcy just over 2 months after $28M acquisition
The New York brothers behind a network of for-profit summer camps and a complex web of corporations and are now under investigation by Israeli authorities.
The science behind firework colors
Meteorologist John Gross breaks down the science behind the colors you may be seeing in the sky this Fourth of July weekend.
Inside Bask Health: The Plug-and-Play Infrastructure Supporting the Telehealth Boom
Bask operates behind the scenes of the Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) telehealth market, providing infrastructure that aims to streamline the backend process.
A look at the QB2 situation in New Orleans
Kellen Moore has some options behind Tyler Shough.
Trump-backed organizer of America’s 250th birthday events may have duped donors, report from House Democrats alleges
Donors who intended to support a bipartisan nonprofit that’s organizing celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary were allegedly redirected – without their knowledge – to a separate nonprofit behind events being promoted by President Donald Trump, according to a report from a group of House Democrats, citing confidential, unnamed sources.
Scientists Were Puzzled for Years by Mysterious Seafloor ‘Crop Circles'
Divers discovered strange geometric formations on the ocean floor in 1995. It took until 2011 to find the tiny, poisonous architect behind them—and we're still unraveling why it builds them.
A strange LIGO signal could reveal the missing link behind dark matter
An unusual gravitational wave signal has renewed hopes that primordial black holes, long considered purely theoretical, may finally be within reach of discovery. If confirmed, they could solve one of astronomy's greatest mysteries by explaining the nature of dark matter.
'The old politics are gone': Steve Bannon on the democratic socialist wave
Trump's former White House chief strategist argues the U.S. is in a transformational political moment — and leadership in both parties are way behind.
Byron Donalds' front-runner wall grows with Blaise Ingoglia endorsement
Ingoglia joins James Uthmeier, Jim Boyd and Sam Garrison behind the Donald Trump-backed front-runner.
Bucs' Mayfield Disrespected in New QB Tier Rankings
Despite delivering Pro Bowl performances and stabilizing Tampa Bay post-Brady, Baker Mayfield remains overlooked, landing in a baffling "volatile" tier behind less proven signal-callers and aging stars.
Tourists down ‘Burgers, 10-8, for second straight night
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Six straight wins. Sole possession of first place in the South Atlantic League Southern Division. And a dominant pitching performance. Wednesday night had everything, and the Asheville Tourists came out on the right side of all of it, beating the Hub City Spartanburgers 10-8 behind a gem from Yeriel Santos and big nights […]
Operations workforce powers ORNL’s autonomous science future
Behind every self-driving laboratory at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a team people most never see. Facilities and Operations workers are building and maintaining the infrastructure that makes autonomous science possible. More than a dozen self-driving labs operate at ORNL, placing the Tennessee national lab among the first research institutions in the world to create this autonomous laboratory model at scale.
Exploding Colors: The Science Behind Fireworks
College of Charleston chemistry professor Kate Mullaugh explains how fireworks get their brilliant colors, brightening our skies every Fourth of July.
Operations workforce powers ORNL’s autonomous science future
Behind every self-driving laboratory at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a team most people never see. Facilities and Operations (F&O) workers are building and maintaining the infrastructure that makes autonomous science possible.
Melat Kiros is the first political star truly formed by the 2020s
What’s behind her shocking victory against a 30-year incumbent in Colorado — according to the candidate herself.
Victor Willis, Village People lead singer and voice behind 'Y.M.C.A.,' dies at 74
President Trump paid tribute to the Village People cofounder, who helped turn "Y.M.C.A." into one of disco's most enduring hits.
Sony will cease production of discs for new PlayStation games in 2028
New games sold for PlayStation consoles will only be available digitally and won’t be sold on discs effective January 2028, Sony has announced. The move applies to all PlayStation games released from that point on, including those made by Sony and those released by third parties. The PlayStation group calls the change “a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,” according to a PlayStation blog post reviewed by Game File in advance of its publication. As movies, TV and music have shifted from physical media to an age of downloads and streaming, Sony’s move could speed the demise of physical media in a gaming. The industry has offered consumers games via cartridges, cassettes, floppy discs, CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays across a 50-year stretch. Sony has been reporting to investors in recent years that PlayStation games have been increasingly purchased as downloads, not as discs. The most recent figures show nearly four in five purchases of full games for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 were purchased digitally in the past year. Stats like that may cause today’s news to carry an air of the inevitable. But Sony’s declaration for 2028 is still likely to produce a shock, as the biggest gaming platform on the planet that uses game discs leaves them behind. Discs going away, but the fate of game boxes is unknown Sony is committing to still selling games in physical retailers even after they drop discs in 2028. Just how those games will be sold—in boxes with codes inside, as cards marked with digital redemption codes—is unclear. Digital games will also continue to be sold in the online PlayStation Store. New games released for PlayStation consoles prior to January 2028 will be unaffected by the policy change, Sony says. That means the PS5 games of 2027, be they a new Madden, a new God of War, a new Call of Duty, a new Sly Cooper (one can dream?), would still potentially be offered on disc. PlayStation 6 implications Sony’s timeline for a transition to a no-disc era will also spin up more speculation about the timing and configuration of Sony’s next-generation console, the probable PlayStation 6. “This pretty much guarantees that PS6 won’t arrive until 2028 at the earliest,” Piers Harding-Rolls, senior games research analyst at Ampere Analysis tells Game File. Harding-Rolls also concludes from today’s news that “the base version of a PS6 will not include a physical media drive,” as Sony looks to keep costs down on the device. Sony itself is saying nothing about the PS6 today: not its timing, nor how it might or might not support internal or external disc drives in order to run disc-based PS4 and PS5 games, should the console be backwards compatible. The many signs this was coming Industry support for games being released on physical media has been waning. As has consumer interest in them. PC games effectively went all-digital years ago, thanks to the popularity of playing games through Steam and other digital storefronts. The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that kept much of the global population home helped shift shopping patterns toward downloads. Sony’s own data shows PlayStation game downloads being an uncommon consumer choice a decade ago and now becoming the norm. On consoles, physical media has been in such decline that Sony and Microsoft both launched their current gen Xbox Series and PS5 consoles in 2020 with cheaper versions that lacked disc drives. In early 2024, Phil Spencer, then head of Xbox, told me that ““[w]e ship games physically and digitally, and we’re really just following what the customers are doing.” He added that the game industry had become an outlier in still supporting disc-based entertainment, even as movies and TV have bailed on discs in favor of downloads and steaming: “Gaming consoles themselves have kind of become the last consumer electronic device that has a drive. And this is a real issue, just in terms of the number of manufacturers that are actually building drives and the cost associated with those. And when you think about cogs that we’re going to go put in a console—and as you have fewer suppliers and fewer buyers—the cost of the drive does have an impact.” Last year, the Nintendo’s Switch 2, which uses cartridges rather than discs, introduced the concept of game-key cards, which are physical media that contain no game, just a prompt for a download. Even disc-based games aren’t what they once were, now frequently containing just stubs of games rather than the whole thing. The website Does It Play has tested over 3000 games and found that, for example, that the disc version of this year’s hit 007: First Light, only contained the game’s first mission, with the rest needing to be downloaded. Beyond all that, last week brought the news that Grand Theft Auto VI, likely the biggest game launch this decade, will debut for PS5 and Xbox Series without a disc-based version. Today’s big news comes to you for free. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and ensure more of my work is possible, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Discs helped define PlayStation However the trends in entertainment may be going, it is still remarkable to see PlayStation ditch discs given their importance in PlayStation history: In the late 1990s, the first PlayStation’s support for games on relatively cheap CD-ROMs instead of traditional game cartridges allowed the upstart console to outmaneuver cartridge-based systems from Nintendo and Sega, as it drove down game prices down in the process. (The cheaper disc format even prompted Final Fantasy VII maker Square to taunt Nintendo in a magazine ad, saying that if the game was “available on cartridge, it’d retail for around $1200.”) PlayStation devices often doubled as machines for watching movies and TV on the latest disc-based formats. In the late 2000s, for example, Sony’s pricy PS3 gained traction as a go-to device for playing then-novel Blu-Ray discs. In 2013, Sony effectively roasted the digital game-sharing restrictions proposed by rival Microsoft for its upcoming Xbox One console by showing how games could be shared for the then-upcoming PS4. In a 21-second clip that has over 20 million views on YouTube, one PlayStation executive simply handed a game box—presumably with disc inside—to another, who said “thanks.” Sony’s possible motivations The PlayStation announcement today cites “consumer preferences” and a shift away from discs among “the broader entertainment industry,” but does not delve into the decision-making process that brought Sony to this point. Sony is not discussing the economics of this move (I asked!), but there are a number of potential factors: Abandoning discs will spare Sony the cost of manufacturing and shipping them, which analysts and industry veterans I spoke to said could account for $1 or so of a game’s retail price. For first-party games, that’s direct savings for Sony, though the amount is limited by the winnowing percentage of people who were even buying the disc-based versions. For third-party games, Sony could pass the savings on to partners or just retain the better profit margin for themselves. As the 2024 comments from Phil Spencer alluded to, leaving discs behind could mean leaving disc-drives behind, allowing Sony to produce consoles more cheaply. Switching to digital-only for games could diminish the risks of copies of new games leaking. It would also seemingly make second-hand sales of used games impossible, pushing more people to buy their own copies of games. These economic benefits for Sony could be boons for the games industry overall, Ampere analyst Piers Harding-Rolls tells Game File. Among other things, it could free publishers and retailers from having to worry about securing an inventory of game discs when trying to sell games, he noted. “If there is a way to streamline the business of games retail, I generally think it’s a good thing for the industry as it removes unnecessary costs,” Harding-Rolls said. “This will help offset pressure on margins from other directions – development and staffing costs for example.” Should the industry shift from game boxes that contain discs to smaller, cheaper game cards, Harding-Rolls said, that reduces pressure on publishers and retailers. “The advantage of everything going digital for the industry is that sales can be tracked much more easily and there is less commercial risk for publishers wanting to continue selling via retail,” he said. The shift to no discs will also likely impact game development timelines, as developers will no longer face the same urgency to have a build ready to submit to PlayStation for the production of a disc, as industry experts noted around GTA VI’s no-disc news last week. Instead, projects may gain weeks of development time, in the event delivery deadlines for platform approval move closer to release date. Preservationists’ likely worries While millions of gamers have shifted to digital, there are still people who associate game discs—and only game discs—with actual ownership of PlayStation games. That portion of the gaming community spoke up last week about wanting to buy a version of GTA VI that they could hold in their hands, could lend to a friend and could potentially pop into a well-preserved PS5 console three decades from now and still see it run. Such gamers didn’t want to worry that they’d merely purchased a digital copy that could lose access to the game if, say, the company behind the game someday turns of the servers that transmit downloadable copies. Digital copies of games are inherently less long-lasting, because consumers aren’t actually buying a game (on a disc), just buying access to the game. The fine print in online gaming shops notes this, as does a recent law that went on the books in California in 2025. That lasw requires game publishers doing business in the state to refrain from words like “sell” when offering digital copies of games, unless they explicitly tell consumers that what’s being sold isn’t the game itself but a potentially revocable license to access it. A Sony spokesperson noted to Game File that “[w]ith all digital content, including games, movies, and music, players are purchasing a personal license for non-commercial use.” Regarding the fears of PlayStation games being lost to time in an all-digital era, the rep also noted that Sony remains “committed to delivering experiences from past generations to the new platforms our players are using.” They noted that PlayStation has used emulation and remasters to keep offering its classic games to modern gamers. It’s true that many consumers have become accustomed to not having physical copies of new music albums or movies, but the relative precariousness of digital copies of games is in fact being highlighted today by…. Sony’s other big announcement: the upcoming closure of the PS3 and PS Vita online stores Sony said today that it will be closing the online marketplaces for its PlayStation 3 console and PS Vita handheld in most countries in July 2027 (sooner elsewhere: August 2026 for the PS3 store Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua; late 2026 for PS3 in other Latin American countries and the Middle East). “We know this news may be disappointing to PS3 and PS Vita players who hold a special place in their hearts for this generation of gaming,” Sony said in its announcement, saying the move “was not an easy decision for us to make.” Sony said that PS3 and Vita marketplaces “are no longer able” to support modern commerce systems, prompting a “need” to close the shops and focus on more modern PlayStation platform stores. The news may spark some deja vu. Sony announced back in March 2021 that it planned to take the PS3, Vita and PlayStation Portable marketplaces offline that summer. The move would have caused some 2,000 digital-only games to become unavailable for new purchasers, according to a VGC analysis at the time. Fans complained loudly. By April 2021, Sony walked back the PS3 and Vita shop closures, with then PlayStation boss Jim Ryan saying “it’s clear that we made the wrong decision here.” This time around, Sony is giving a longer notice period in most regions. The closure of those stores is still likely to cut off access to new purchases of digital-only PS3 and Vita games. The current PlayStation 5 marketplace sells PS5 and PS4 games, as well as a selection of PS1 and PS2 games. It does not sell PS3 games, because games for that platform can’t run on the system (some are offered via a PlayStation Plus streaming option). Vita games also aren’t sold via PS5. Sony says digitally purchased PS3 and Vita games will be downloadable after the stores’ shutdowns “for the foreseeable future.” Sony’s move contrasts with Microsoft’s Xbox platform, which continues to sell and support games from all four Xbox console generations. But it puts it in line with Nintendo, which disabled purchases in the marketplace for its Wii console (a contemporary of the PS3) in 2019. Nintendo discontinued purchases in the online shop for its 3DS portable (a contemporary of the Vita) in 2023. The big questions about Sony’s 2028 post-disc era Will Microsoft follow suit, ending support for new disc-based games on Xbox platforms and therefore all game consoles, too? Whether Microsoft does or not, will third-parties that can no longer release games on discs for PlayStation, simply ditch the disc options across the board? Given the GTA VI no-disc experiment launching this November, will more game publishers decide to forgo disc-based offerings even in 2027? How will no-disc PS5/6 games be packaged and sold in brick-and-mortar retail stores? What becomes of game sharing in an all-digital era? Will Sony modify its current set-up, which currently allows some sharing of digital games across a pair of consoles, to allow more casual lending? (See for example, Nintendo’s year-old system of letting players lend a digital game to another player in a “family group” for up to 14 days.) Will there be a version of a PS6 with a disc drive? Or will a drive be offered as an add-on? And how will gamers who want to retain access to PS4/PS5 disc-based games react to whichever configurations Sony chooses to offer? What will the final disc-based PlayStation game be?
Booze schmooze: The alcohol industry, frazzled by headwinds, wields its power behind the scenes
Demand for alcohol is declining. The industry is fighting harder and more creatively than ever against limits — and winning.
Yankees still falling way behind, still searching after latest loss
This time, Cam Schlittler was roughed up, and the Yankees' lineup once again couldn't mount anything in a 9-3 loss to Detroit, their sixth straight.
Creators aren’t just in marketing’s entertainment era. They’re driving it
How creators became the talent behind marketing’s entertainment pivot. Cannes didn't so much reveal that shift as rubber-stamp it.
Texas Democrats unite behind their slate of candidates, but some hurdles remain
Texas Democrats courted national attention with speakers such as New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
‘Paris & Pups’ Producer HappyNest Entertainment Expands Slate With New R.L. Stine Series, ‘Louie and Bear’ Adaptation and Space Camp Franchise (EXCLUSIVE)
HappyNest Entertainment, the producer behind Paris Hilton’s “Paris & Pups” YouTube show, is in early development on several new projects, including a series with “Goosebumps” author R.L. Stine, an ada...
'Paris & Pups' Producer HappyNest Entertainment Sets R.L. Stine Series
HappyNest Entertainment, the producer behind Paris Hilton's "Paris & Pups" YouTube show, is in early development on several new projects
Twin Cities Somali businesses face long, slow recovery after Operation Metro Surge
Customer traffic and spending remain down, and many Somali-owned shops have had to lay off workers and fallen behind on rent.
Science for Living: How acupuncture is earning its place in modern medicine
UMass Chan researchers discuss the growing evidence behind acupuncture’s role in modern integrative medicine and how it is helping to reduce chronic pain.
Simon Leis's daughter reflects on her father's legacy, youth mental health advocacy
"We definitely knew there was a love-hate relationship with my father," says Julie Raleigh, on her father, Simon Leis's legacy. Although behind the headlines, Raleigh says that Leis was simply "Dad" to her, remembering him as a man who protected his family in the same way that he tried to keep Hamilton County safe throughout his time in law enforcement.
Lawsuit accuses businessman behind unfinished entertainment venue in Bryan of diverting company funds
The Schulman’s Movie Bowl Grille at Midtown Park is years behind schedule, and its owner is facing other legal issues, KBTX has learned
Chatbots Are Replacing Therapists With Little Scientific Evidence Behind Them
Over 100 chatbots are marketed as mental-health-focused, but experts warn they shouldn’t take the place of therapy.
Netflix and Superheroes Are Having a Rough Stretch on Streaming....
(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.) I have a quick prediction before we start today’s article: You might see this data in future news articles. Not my specific charts or analysis, but the core trend I’ve been monitoring—Netflix is having a lackluster Q2—will become inescapable. Often, folks want to know “What does the data say?” Well, that’s what it says. I haven’t seen this analysis hit the trades really yet, but I have a feeling some other outlets are going to start making this case soon. Remember, you read it here first. You probably have read about the problems facing superhero films at the box office this weekend. Well, this week, I explore whether superheroes are dying on TV as well! And the data says: definitely maybe! We have a lot to cover in today’s Streaming Ratings Report, which covers the two weeks of 18-May and 25-May. Today, I’m just looking at TV, like Netflix’s disappointing Q2, superhero shows underwhelming, a few TV shows dropping off the charts, The Pitt finally ending its epic run on the viewership charts (and whether “view counts” change its status as one of the biggest shows of all time), all the flops, bombs and misses, and a whole lot more. Tomorrow, I’ve got a great rundown of the film side of things. Let’s dive right 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, Showlabs, TV Time trend 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 May 18th to May 31st, 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Television - Netflix’s Q2 Slump Continues Having analyzed streaming ratings for going on half a decade, I have learned to trust my gut, but I’m always relieved when I can find actual data to back it up. For example, after a string of very popular shows like Stranger Things, Bridgerton, The Lincoln Lawyer and The Night Agent came out, week after week, in January and February, my gut wondered if Netflix had enough new and returning TV shows to sustain them throughout the year. Since then, Netflix’s post-March slate of shows has not impressed me. This week seemed to feature a potential new hit, but then, like a classic Duffer Bros. TV show, there was a twist. I speak of The Boroughs, Netflix’s latest (and last) Duffer Bros. produced show. The pitch is “Stranger Things with older actors”. And it topped the Nielsen charts: With just two weeks of viewership, The Boroughs would have been a top 25 debut show last year: But here’s the twist: Netflix has already cancelled The Boroughs! What happened? Likely a few things. First, the show didn’t do as well globally as it did in the US. As What’s on Netflix showed, it lagged behind several other shows that got cancelled. Second, its completion rate was likely low; after an initial burst of interest, it quickly dropped off on the Samba TV and Luminate charts. Third, the Duffer Bros. left Netflix for Paramount, and that may have factored into Netflix’s decision here. (Though I tend to believe that if a show is doing well, Netflix would have kept greenlighting seasons.) Still, just because I can explain why Netflix may have cancelled this show doesn’t mean I’m justifying it. In particular, as I’ve noted before, Netflix is losing a lot of their bigger shows as they reach their natural ends, and they need to replace those shows. This show had the hallmarks of a big new genre show, and it’s their biggest hit of the last few months (in the US at least), but now it’s done. Netflix’s other show this week—The Four Seasons, the second season of the “hit” show from last year—definitely disappointed. Its sophomore season had about half the viewership of the first, only 12.7 million hours. It also only had a two week run on Samba TV, and its numbers were all down on Luminate too. In other words, even with two successes, the Q2 slump for Netflix looks real: I could add to the list of disappointments: Both Lord of the Files and Man on Fire had short runs on the Nielsen charts. Running Point’s sophomore season also opened to about half its viewership, similar to The Four Seasons. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’s second season—see below—didn’t even make any of the three viewership charts I track, unlike the first season. Netflix is absolutely having a dismal second three months of 2026. If this Nielsen data is any indication, and I think it is, I think this will show up in Netflix’s engagement report, and maybe even their financial outcomes. And the rest of June doesn’t look much better. We have two hit shows coming back—Sweet Magnolias, one of their quietest big shows, and Avatar: The Last Airbender, a big hit for them in 2024—but the other big swings are limited series crime thrillers i.e. no future season potential. Like I said above, sometimes when I uncover a juicy nugget like this, other outlets end up writing very similar articles mimicking the data without credit. We’ll see if that happens this time! Share Television - The State of Superhero Shows on Streaming When I first heard the pitch for Spider-Noir—a Sony TV show on Prime Video that binge-released eight episodes first on MGM+ then on Prime Video two days later—I had my doubts. It’s a live-action Spider-Man show set in the 1930s, starring Nicholas Cage, based on a cameo of a character in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. No, seriously, that’s the pitch. That could either go terrifically well or horribly wrong. Great because, Spider-Man. He’s the biggest superhero we have. I’ve seen tracking numbers that put the new _Spider-Man: Brand New Da_y as the blockbuster of the year and initial pre-sales back that up. And yet this Spider-Noir pitch feels very esoteric. (Also, the eight-episode binge release feels very “Amazon copying Netflix” again.) So what’s the data say? And what does this say about the future of superhero shows?
A new political party could be coming to Nebraska; state Democratic Party officials call foul
The sponsor behind the push for the new party is Robin Richards, according to paperwork obtained through the Secretary of State's office.
Free exhibition at the Science History Institute breaks down the flash, bang and boom of fireworks
"Flash! Bang! Boom! A History of Fireworks" at the Science History Institute is a blast. The free exhibition, in celebration of America's 250th, explores the history and science behind the spectacular Fourth of July tradition.
The Folks Behind Beloved Hacker Tool Flipper Zero Have a New Device for Focus
More of a life hack this time.
Evidence points to potential new LCD screen for Nintendo Switch 2
The Nintendo Switch 2 screen could be getting a revision, based on the latest evidence. On a Chinese resale site, a listing recently appeared for a a new model of the system’s LCD panel. Sharp would apparently behind the updated screen. The current Nintendo Switch 2 features a panel from Innolux. This new screen has a different circuit, connector, and...
Apple Acquires Award-Winning App 'Play'
In February, Apple notified the European Commission that it would be acquiring certain assets from and have the right to hire certain employees from Rabbit 3 Times, the company behind the award-winning app design tool Play. The notification was published on the European Commission's website this week, following a four-month waiting period. Play was a Mac and iPhone app that allowed designers to prototype iPhone app interfaces using Apple's SwiftUI frameworks, and then send them to Xcode.