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America's most powerful CEOs don't have much to show from their China trip so far
With red-carpet treatment, selfies and culinary diplomacy, America's richest and most powerful executives - from Tesla's Elon Musk to Nvidia's Jensen Huang - sought to rekindle business ties with China this week at a leadership summit in Beijing.
Chartbook 449: Voldemort on Threadneedle street. The Bank of England and the "haunted house" of English politics.
Imagine the scene: In some Harry Potter version of 21st-century London, a group of deathless UK Treasury officials gathered from across the last century huddle over warm pints and glasses of Chardonnay. Around the table there are officials from the 1920s, the 1930s, the 1970s, 2022 and today. Inevitably, in May 2026, the subject of conversation is the disintegration of the current Labour government. Despite its huge majority in parliament, it has been reduced to tatters by catastrophic local election result. These exposed the fact that rather than having a government with a clear popular majority, the UK is like most other modern societies divided into 5 segments each of which commands between 26 and 16 percent of the vote. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the leadership at Nos 10 and 11 Downing Street - where the Prime Minister and the Chancellor (Treasury Secretary) work - seem paralyzed. They are caught between mounting discontent over unfairness and the cost of living, and tough fiscal strictures that push them into making unpopular spending decisions. In the London pub, the Treasury officials from across the ages, can barely hide their satisfaction at the latest display of democratic politics caught in the vice-grip of financial logic. “Remember the mur d’argent and the banker’s ramp?” “Just like yesterday!” There are smirks around the table. Then the representative of 2026 pipes up: “One thing you have to say about the current lot (referring to the latest hapless Labour government), you don’t have to teach them about the bond market!” There is a murmur of ascent from the Treasury Mandarins. The trauma of the fiscal crisis of September-October 2022 sits deep. Back then, in the final stages of Tory decay, a ‘mini budget’ that challenged fiscal orthodoxy led to a brief but fierce panic in one of the oldest government bond markets in the world (aka gilt market). Now all you have to do is to mention the “bond market” to hush debate. [ Paul Mason@paulmasonnews In the name of public service, and as ex-economics editor of BBC Newsnight, I offer to do a zoom call, tonight, with any Labour MP who wants to understand why bond markets do not "fall into line" with governments. 1/ 3:57 PM · May 12, 2026 · 466K Views 224 Replies · 674 Reposts · 3.93K Likes ](https://x.com/paulmasonnews/status/2054229532404519082?s=20) “And the funny thing is”, the young man in the huddle continues, “they don’t even want to talk about … ”. There is a sudden hush. Significant looks are exchanged around the table. About? One of the senior figures puts down his glass with a decisive “clink”. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has entered their thoughts. Meanwhile, a few miles away in a grubby pub in Bloomsbury, two conspirators from the camp of Critical Macrofinance huddle over cans of low-alcohol IPA. They look at each other and blurt out loud: “The Bank!” “Everyone in the bloody Labour party is talking about the bond market. But why aren’t they even mentioning … the Bank of England!?” “Why is no one talking about Voldemort?” In Paul Mason’s blogpost, after much chest-thumping about basic fiscal logic, the basic point about the Bank of England is buried in the fine print at #3 in his list of suggestions as to what a radical Labour government might actually be able to do! [ Conflict & Democracy Down with the bond market! Down with gravity! It may seem unfair to focus on Labour MP Paula Barker for her off-the-cuff assertion that the bond market would have to “fall in line” with Andy Burnham, should he replace Keir Starmer as prime minister. But Burnham himself told the New Statesman that Labour had to “get beyond this thing of being in hock to the bond markets… Read more 2 days ago · 100 likes · 3 comments · Paul Mason ](https://htsf.substack.com/p/down-with-the-bond-market-down-with?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web) Back in Bloomsbury they shake their heads and ask: “Didn’t we learn anything from the Eurozone crisis?” Meanwhile, as if summoned to the conversation by some higher force, the “pink pages” announce: “The days of ultra-cheap government borrowing have come to an end” and Martin “Whizzard” Wolf publishes the graph of the season Look at the UK in 2026, perilously positioned on the upper edge of the pack. No wonder no one in London needs any lessons about the “bond market”. But, look again. Imagine how they feel in Rome. What is London’s nightmare in 2026? The nightmare is that you end up like Italy in the early 2010s during the Eurozone crisis. Once comfortably situated in the middle of the pack, watching with horror as your ten-year yields explode to 7 percent and “spreads” become a national nightmare. One of the largest economies in Europe, a founding member of the euro, stigmatized. But the message of the Italian experience is ambiguous. After all, the stigma didn’t last. In 2026, Italy borrows at rates lower not only than the UK but the US. The US, which, as everyone knows, enjoys the “exorbitant privilege” of being the issuer of reserve, safe asets. What kind of magic is this? How did Italy, in the space of fifteen years, go from being good, to bad and back again? Which brings us back to our dissident friends in their Bloombury boozer and their memories of the Eurozone crisis. Italy never was Britain - with its ongoing fiscal deficits. Without interest payments, on primary balance, from 2000 to 2020 Italy ran a tight fiscal ship. Even in 2008 it barely went into deficit and when it was being put on the rack in the early 20210s its primary surplus matched that of austere Germany. So, what happened? How did it end up stigmatized? Of course Italian politics didn’t help. Berlusconi was at the helm and he had legal issues. But amongst friends in the Bloomsbury pub, Berlusconi is a sideshow, the name we whisper to each other is “Trichet”. From 2004 to 2011 the ECB was headed by Jean-Claude Trichet, ex of the French Treasury, more German than the Germans. After 2009 as the news of the Greek fiscal disaster broke, the European bond markets wento into panic mode and Trichet began a brutal game of cat and mouse. Between 2009 and 2011, Trichet intervened in the bond market to help, only when he thought he had compliance with austerity. When he thought they were uncooperative, he withdrew. In the summer of 2011, he even made direct suggestions to his Italian counterparts in Rome, as to how Italy should be governed. It was this cat and mouse game that drove the bond markets crazy and exposed Italy to a violent squeeze. When Mario Draghi took over the ECB at the end of 2011 and declared “whatever it takes”, the pressure on Italy, gradually eased. It is that starring role that has made Draghi into the towering figure in European politics that he remains today. So now you see why voices in London hush when it comes to the Bank of England. “The bond market” isn’t an irresistible objective force like the weather or an avalanche. It can appear like that. But that depends on the way it is being handled, or not handled by the central bank. Which is why the silence about the Bank of England in London right now is so significant. If you think this all sounds a bit fishy, coming from a left-liberal Keynesian like myself, well, let me introduce you to Robin Brooks, who, to put it mildly, plays on a different quidditch team to me. Here, from the position of a fiscal hawk is Robin’s celebratory account of the Bank of England’s role since 2022; In October 2022, at the height of the bond market blow-up in the UK, something incredible happened. Governor Andrew Bailey told British pension funds the Bank of England would end its support program for the country’s fragile gilt market, drawing a line under how much help the central bank was willing to give to exposed pension funds and - implicitly - the government. By the end of that week, Kwasi Kwarteng - the finance minister - had resigned. Prime Minister Liz Truss would soon follow. This episode is so incredible because it contrasts with what happened in the Euro zone earlier that year. Bond markets in Spain and Italy were under pressure amid high inflation and rising interest rates. In the middle of this, Mario Draghi - Italy’s Prime Minister - resigned, compounding pressure on bond markets of high-debt countries on the Euro periphery. Unlike the Bank of England, the ECB caved. It bought Italian and Spanish government bonds in an effort to cap yields and introduced a new tool that signaled to markets it might do such caps more frequently going forward. Faced with pressure on bond markets, the ECB capitulated to political pressure from high-debt countries like Italy and Spain. The Bank of England stood its ground and toppled the Truss government. This kind of thing has long-lasting consequences. It means markets price a higher probability of yield caps in the Euro zone, which keeps Italian and Spanish yields artificially low, while markets feel free to push up UK yields without fear of central bank intervention. As I flagged in yesterday’s post, this means you really can’t compare UK yields to those of other high-debt countries. The UK looks worse, but only because its central bank isn’t interfering with markets. There’s more to this than just that 2022 episode. The Bank of England has also been much more aggressive in its quantitative tightening (QT) than other central banks. If one motivation for quantitative easing (QE) is to lower bond yields - especially longer-dated ones - then it stands to reason QT pushes yields up. The left chart above shows a four-quarter moving average of UK government debt issuance (black line) in percent of GDP and which sectors absorb this issuance, including the Bank of England (blue bars). The right chart above compares the Bank of England’s accumulation or run-off of government bonds (blue line) with that of other central banks, where this blue line is the same as the blue bars in the left chart. The Bank of England was quicker and more aggressive than other central banks in downsizing its bond holdings, so UK yields will have risen more than elsewhere also for this reason, not just because of Governor Andrew Bailey’s remarks in October 2022. Back in October 2025, after a conversation in New York with friends in British politics, my sense of dysphoria was such that I raised the issue of the Bank of England openly in the FT Since 2008, the UK has slid into a deep economic and political predicament. Growth has stagnated to a degree far worse even than in the 1970s. The Tory leadership’s wager on the Brexit referendum spectacularly backfired, leaving the UK isolated from Europe and at the mercy of its special relationship with the US, many of whose political class regard the UK as a basket case. After years of austerity, the Labour party lurched to the left and then back to the centre. The Tory party has been eclipsed by the populist nationalism of Reform. Any British government should be worrying first and foremost about how to restart growth. Instead, Keir Starmer is beset by shades of the gilt market panic triggered by the Liz Truss government in 2022. The debt level is higher than in recent years, but there is no cause for panic. UK debt is at far from critical levels and of long duration. Whether you want to “take back control” or launch progressive economic policy, a democracy dogged by fear of bond market vigilantes is unhealthy. In a country that is a monetary sovereign, this climate points to one thing: a disconnect between the government and the central bank. Since 1997, the independence of the Bank of England has become a sacred cow. But independence is what you make of it. And in the wake of the gilt market crisis of September 2022, relations between the Bank of England and the UK government need a reset. In normal times, there is no doubt that an inflation-targeting independent central bank can serve a country well. But since 2008, the UK and other advanced economies have not had the luxury of such simple problems. To their credit, central bankers around the world have not stood on orthodoxy. After 2008, the US Federal Reserve rescued the global banking system and, through quantitative easing, it stabilised the Treasury market in the face of huge deficits. In Europe, things were trickier. Both the Bank of England under Mervyn King and Jean-Claude Trichet’s European Central Bank played cat and mouse with national governments. This was a high stakes wager that between 2010 and 2012 escalated bond market tension and triggered a disastrous turn to austerity. Shaken by the impact of those shocks, their successors, Mark Carney and Mario Draghi adopted a more protective stance (assuming you were not the government of Greece). Recall that Draghi’s legendary slogan, “Whatever it takes”, was uttered to face down the City of London’s bond vigilantes. In 2015, Draghi launched QE — financial repression by another name. In 2016, Carney used the authority of the Bank of England to stabilise markets following the vote for Brexit, an exemplary demonstration of how central banks can underpin democratic choice, even when those choices are wrong headed. All these were independent central bankers steeped in the best practice of the 1990s, who recognised that historic crises demanded radical action. It was the price surge of 2021-2023 that poisoned the atmosphere. Though the shock came mainly from the supply side, central banks ended up in the dock. Nowhere more so than in the UK. The Bank of England reacted with aggressive normalisation. Faced with a cost of living crisis, the governor called for workers to accept real wage cuts. In early 2022, as gas prices were at record levels and Russia’s army was poised to invade Ukraine, the Bank adopted a stringent programme of quantitative tightening, elevating interest rates. When the Truss government got itself in trouble, the Bank took almost a week to come to the rescue. Rather than enacting a charade of normality, it is time to recognise that in 2025 the UK faces a period of historic transition. To meet this challenge, what is needed is a new concordat with the Bank. This should not ignore inflationary pressures or the long-run trajectory of debt, but should affirm the priority of reviving investment-led growth. One could follow Donald Trump in demanding interest rate cuts. The Bank could shadow the ECB in its commitment to capping Eurozone yields. But the top priority should be to lay the ghost of September 2022. The Bank’s slowing of QT last month was a concession. An immediate and complete end would send the right signal. Such a concordat will not by itself restore sanity to politics, solve the housing problem or rebuild the NHS. But it would help to lift the fear of bond market crisis, which is paralysing the effort by democratic politicians to answer the fundamental questions facing the nation. Now, that call for a new concordat between government and Bank of Englands seems more urgent than ever. The problem is that in October 2025, Starmer still had some authority. Today the government is in tatters. And when you are the “under the harrow” - to echo a phrase of Montagu Norman’s from the 1920s - it is the worst possible time to consider institutional change. To make general arguments at a time of crisis can only seem like special pleading rather than a general argument for long-term change. The same, unfortunately, is also true for the other basic institutional reform that Britain urgently needs i.e. the abolition of the out-dated first past the post electoral system and its replacement by a moderated form of proportional representation. And thirdly - whilst we are saying the quiet parts out loud - Britain needs to reopen the question of EU membership. What the local election results of 2026 show is that this remains a key issue. And what they also show is that there is a clear majority that would favor a return. Until these basic features of Britain’s political economy are addressed the country will carry on its politics as though in a haunted house, governed by governments that lack actual majorities, conjuring up false constraints whilst ignoring the real ones. This one is for DG and MI. I love writing the newsletter. If you enjoy it too and fancy buying me a coffee once a month, you know what to do. Click below! Subscribe
How old do you look? Try this AI tool from Boston researchers
Could a selfie reveal clues about your health and life expectancy? A new AI tool developed by Boston researchers is using facial images to estimate biological age — and NewsCenter 5’s Jessica Brown tested it herself.
What's next for Oakland County residents and businesses after water main break
Officials say the repair itself is expected to cost between $3 and $5 million.
People of UW: Association for Women in Sports Media President Rachel Cohen builds community, advocates for women
Please introduce yourself (hometown, year, major, role(s)) My name is Rachel Cohen. I am a senior studying journalism and mass communication and getting my certificates in sports communications and digital studies. I’m from Sykesville, Maryland which is a small town suburb of Baltimore. At Wisconsin I do in-game hosting for Wisconsin volleyball and sideline reporting...
Scientists discover hidden math secret inside Chinese money plant leaves
Scientists have uncovered a hidden mathematical secret inside the leaves of the Chinese money plant: a naturally occurring geometric pattern known as a Voronoi diagram, something typically associated with city planning, computer science, and network design. By mapping tiny pores and looping veins in the plant’s leaves, researchers discovered that the plant organizes itself using the same kind of elegant spatial logic humans use to solve complex distance problems — without ever “measuring” anything.
Trump’s Chronic Health Problem Takes Center Stage on His Big Trip
The president is trying to assert himself as the world’s toughest leader—while covered in bruises.
Can Thailand’s Powerful Shinawatra Family Make a Political Comeback?
Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra — one of Thailand’s most polarizing but enduring political figures since he became prime minister in 2001 — was jailed in September for corruption after returning to the country from years of self-imposed exile. Just eight months later, on May 11, he walked out of a Bangkok prison having served parts of a sentence reduced by royal pardon.
As Trump fuels Vance vs. Rubio speculation, his vice president makes anti-fraud push
Vice President JD Vance — who compared himself to the kid in “Home Alone,” with both President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in China this week — had the White House campus to himself on Wednesday for an event on fraud.
It’s Way Past Due That Rand Paul Quit His COVID-19 Crusade
At a Congressional hearing, the senator from Kentucky made a fool of himself as he tried to prove that the pandemic was a government cover-up.
Board of Health Issues Partial Condemnation for Selfridge Road House
Concerns about the home date back to June 2024.
Mars rover snaps a selfie near skyscraper-sized boulders
NASA's Perseverance rover has traveled nearly 26 miles since landing on the Red Planet in 2021.
Staff Spotlight: Meet Tiara Carter
Tell us about yourself and what brought you to THC. Hi everyone! I’m a graduating senior at the University of Cincinnati majoring in Public Health, with a minor in Women’s, […]
RFK Jr. Swaps Vaccine Rhetoric for Story Time as GOP Woos Voters
By Amanda Seitz | KFF Health News TOLEDO, Ohio — The little boy, dressed in a Toy Story sweatshirt, wrapped himself around the nation’s health secretary. “What do you guys want to be when you grow up?” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked a carpet full of preschoolers. “A ...
Rural Health Education Complex grand opening celebration set for Thursday
The ceremony will be followed by self-guided tours of the two buildings.
Scientists finally solve the 100-year mystery behind tough tires
For nearly 100 years, reinforced rubber has powered everything from car tires to airplanes, yet scientists never fully understood why adding tiny particles of carbon black made rubber so incredibly strong. Now, researchers at the University of South Florida have finally cracked the mystery using massive computer simulations that took the equivalent of 15 years of computing time. They discovered that carbon black forces rubber to “fight against itself” when stretched, dramatically boosting its strength and durability.
As I see it | US’ scientific self-harm will only help China
While Washington slashes funding for the sciences, Beijing is clinching its lead in everything from patent applications to publications.
Don’t reach for the bug spray: crickets stroke a sore antenna, as cues suggest insects feel pain
The behavioural cue of ‘flexible self-protection’ is a way to establish whether an animal feels pain, scientists say
Howard student learns to embrace her authentic self as a sports journalist
Andscape's Rhoden Fellowship taught Howard's Ciara Latham to silence her fear of rejection, be firm in her voice and stay authentic to herself.
Tiffany Haddish Reflects on Her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover
Tiffany Haddish joins TODAY to celebrate becoming the first comedian to be on the cover of the 2026 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and reveals how her bucket list moment came to be, saying, “I think it is gorgeous. I think it is everything I have dreamed of since I was a little girl.” Haddish shares how she was thinking of her late grandma, a former model, during the photo shoot, discusses her She Ready Foundation educating kids in filmmaking, and also opens up on marrying herself. Then, she helps Al Roker track the weather forecast!
Scientists stunned: students discover the purest star born right after the Big Bang - Futura-Sciences
The Search for the Universe’s Oldest Star SDSSJ0715-7334 is a star so strikingly poor in elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, it could only have been born at the dawn of the chemical evolution of galaxies, not long after the Big Bang itself. Currently, astronomers believe it is the oldest...
Cannes: Demi Moore Decries Self-Censorship, Park Chan-wook on Politics
The pointed remarks at a respectful jury press conference landed three months after an embattled Berlin Film Festival, where the jury led by Wim Wenders, became subsumed by political acrimony.
Virginia representative distances herself after agreeing with radio show host’s offensive comment about Jeffries
A Republican congresswoman from Virginia is defending herself amid calls for her to resign after she agreed with a radio host’s remark referring to House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ “cotton-picking hands.”
New drugs could wipe out the “zombie cells” linked to cancer and aging
Researchers found a new way to kill harmful “zombie” cells that linger after chemotherapy and help cancers become more aggressive. These senescent cells survive by relying on a protective protein called GPX4, even while sitting on the edge of a deadly iron-triggered collapse. New drugs remove that protection, causing the cells to self-destruct. In mice, the approach reduced tumor size and boosted survival, hinting at a promising new cancer therapy.
A rare cancer-fighting plant compound has been decoded
Scientists at UBC Okanagan have uncovered how plants produce mitraphylline, a rare natural compound with promising anti cancer potential. The team identified two enzymes that work together to build the molecule’s unusual twisted structure, solving a mystery that had puzzled researchers for years. Because mitraphylline appears only in tiny amounts in tropical plants like kratom and cat’s claw, the discovery could make it far easier to produce sustainably in the future.
Scientists discover a weak spot shared by polio and common cold viruses
Scientists at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, have uncovered a crucial trick used by enteroviruses—the group behind diseases like polio, myocarditis, encephalitis, and even the common cold—to reproduce inside human cells. The team captured, in unprecedented detail, how viral RNA recruits both viral and human proteins to assemble the machinery needed for replication, acting almost like a molecular “on-off switch” that controls whether the virus copies itself or makes proteins.
Hantavirus testing of UK passengers well under way, health officials say
Passengers self-isolating in Merseyside remain "healthy and asymptomatic", the UK's health security agency has said.
Rural Ohio hospitals feel brunt of noncompete clauses as legislators eye ban
Noncompete clauses are older than the U.S. itself, but there are little federal or state guidelines.
Patriots rookie OT Caleb Lomu makes position preference clear
Patriots rookie offensive lineman Caleb Lomu called himself a "tackle" in general, willing to play on both the left and right side.
Pope Leo says ‘honest science’ is essential, warns truth itself is under attack
The pope said the church’s embrace of rigorous and “honest science” is now not merely valuable, but “essential.”
Trump ties himself in knots to avoid resuming a full-scale war in Iran
President Donald Trump has tried to will an agreement into existence. Instead, he’s made it abundantly clear to everyone that he’s desperate for a deal.
Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes review - an iffy take on the sci-fi series that had me contending with Cylons, sabotage, and STDs
Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes is an engaging roguelike that quickly shows itself to be a bit robotic
The next Stellar Blade probably won't be PS5 exclusive, as developer Shift Up reveals intention to self-publish and reach a broader audience
Korean publisher and developer Shift Up has revealed that it wants to publish the Stellar Blade sequel itself, leaving PlayStation exclusivity in question.
Business graduate creates a diversified portfolio at Mizzou
Chase McQueary is headed to the financial hub of Chicago after investing in himself at Mizzou.
Tony Award for educators won by a Georgia teacher who stresses self-empowerment and storytelling
Freddie Hendricks, a middle school theater teacher in Georgia, is getting a Tony Award | KNSS Radio
Tony Award for educators won by a Georgia teacher who stresses self-empowerment and storytelling
Freddie Hendricks, a middle school theater teacher in Georgia, is getting a Tony Award | 104.1 FM KMOX
Shift Up Will Self-Publish The Stellar Blade Sequel To Reach A "Broad Global Audience"
Switch 2, yeah?
Learner spotlight: Vivian’s path to rights based mental health advocacy
For Vivian Anyango Aola, mental health is deeply personal. Growing up she witnessed people around her struggling with emotional distress without access to support, understanding or solutions. Those early experiences laid the foundations for her work today as a mental health advocate at St. Daniel Comboni mission in Nairobi, Kenya.“Mental health is about feelings – something we all experience every day,” Vivian explains. “Ensuring people are supported in those feelings is what drives my work.” Creating safe spaces and challenging stigmaIn her role, Vivian works closely with people living with mental health conditions and psychosocial, intellectual and cognitive disabilities. Through dialogue, listening and shared learning, she helps create safe spaces where people feel seen, heard and respected. However, stigma and discrimination remain significant barriers.“Witnessing stigma only strengthens my resolve to fight for inclusion, acceptance and equal treatment for all,” she says. Vivian enrolled in the WHO ‘QualityRights in Mental Health’ online, self-paced course available on the WHO Academy learning platform to strengthen her knowledge and advocacy skills. The six-module course provides the foundation for challenging stigma and discrimination and for promoting person-centred, rights-based approaches in mental health.“The course gave me a new perspective,” she says. “It showed me how to support people in ways that respect autonomy and promote recovery, rather than focusing only on treatment.”The importance of language and cultureSince its launch, more than 141 000 people have enrolled in the course globally, and it is now available in 17 languages on the learning platform – the highest number of languages of any WHO course. For Vivian, accessibility is key to transforming mental health systems. “Language is a bridge between professionals and communities,” she explains. “When mental health resources are available in local languages, they reduce misunderstanding, build trust and encourage people to seek help. It also empowers health workers to deliver care in ways that are culturally sensitive and relevant.”In a global evaluation of the course, which analysed data from over 3000 learners, attitudes toward people with mental health conditions improved by 22.78% overall after completing the course, with even greater shifts in low- and middle-income countries (29.18%) compared to high-income countries (20.58%)[1].“The course equips participants with the essential knowledge and skills to transform mental health into a more rights-based, inclusive and recovery-oriented system,” explains Vivian. “It reinforces that change is possible. When people understand rights, dignity and recovery, the entire system can begin to shift.”Mental Health, Brain Health and Substance Use[1] Breaking stigma, discrimination and promoting rights: global evaluation of the World Health Organization QualityRights e-training on mental health, recovery and community inclusion
1 dead in fire at Tampa self-storage business
The fire broke out Friday night at Public Storage on North 56th Street.
Lee Health: Knowing your wishes – Why advance directives matter
Do you know how you want to be cared for if you are too sick or injured to speak for yourself?
Meet 'Working-Class Mainer' Graham Platner's Oyster Farming Business Partner, an Elite Boarding School Graduate Who Drinks 'Foraged Spring Water' and Owns the Island Where the Farm Is Based
Maine's far-left Democratic Senate nominee, Graham Platner, has leaned on his career as a "working-class" oyster farmer to cast himself as a blue-collar everyman. His Ivy League business partner—who owns the secluded island where the farm is based—is, well, anything but.
Hawaii baseball leaves itself work for Big West tourney with loss to UC Davis
UH drops last 2 to UC Davis at Dobbins Stadium
'Big players producing in the big moments'
When Martin Odegaard came on at London Stadium against West Ham United, he looked like he had a point to prove and he lifted everything about the way Arsenal were playing. Then, when that magic moment comes where he has played a lovely little give and go with Declan Rice and found space himself inside the area, did he have the calmness and awareness to wait and play the perfect pass for Leandro Trossard? Before now, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz, Viktor Gyokeres and Bukayo Saka have all played their part in crucial goals at important times.
'The Boys' showrunner reacts to show again predicting the future, as Trump unveils gold statue of himself
'The Boys' showrunner Eric Kripke reacted to the superhero show again predicting the future, after President Donald Trump unveiled a 22-foot gold statue of himself that's been dubbed 'Don Colossus': 'Seriously what the f---?'
Nintendo Shares Tumble After Lackluster Switch 2 Games Outlook
Nintendo Co.’s shares plunged the most in three months after the company forecast hardware and software sales declines, a sign that the Switch 2 has yet to create a self-sustaining demand cycle.
Jennie takes home 20 billion won from self-founded OA Entertainment over two years
K-pop star Jennie has received more than 20 billion won ($13.68 million) in earnings distributions from her own entertainment company in just two years, according to filings with the Financial Supervisory Service on Sunday.
Letter: Science corrects itself, but doesn’t issue an apology
For 20 years, climate scientists fed the public a steady diet of apocalyptic projections — flooded cities, mass extinctions, a planet on the verge of collapse. What they didn’t prominently disclose was that most of those projections w…
Dricus du Plessis crowns himself 'world champion again' after Sean Strickland beat Khamzat Chimaev
Saturday's UFC 328 main event result was a good one for Dricus du Plessis.
Kalaam Telecom Unveils "Klik for Businesses" in Saudi Arabia to Digitize Enterprise Customer Experience
Kalaam Telecom, a leading provider of digital and connectivity solutions in the region, has announced the launch of Klik, a B2B self–service digital platform designed to transform how Enterprises in Saudi Arabia interact with Kalaam's products and services.
Scientists stunned as volcano cloud destroys methane in the atmosphere
A colossal underwater volcano in the South Pacific may have revealed a surprising new weapon against climate change. After the 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai, scientists detected enormous amounts of formaldehyde in the atmosphere — a telltale sign that methane, one of the planet’s most powerful greenhouse gases, was being destroyed. Researchers now believe volcanic ash mixed with salty seawater and sunlight created reactive chlorine particles that effectively “cleaned up” some of the methane released by the eruption itself.
Could Dominic Lovett Become the Lions’ Next Surprise Weapon?
The Detroit Lions already boast one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses, but every great unit eventually needs an unexpected contributor to emerge. Heading into 2026, Dominic Lovett may be quietly positioning himself to become Detroit’s next surprise weapon out of the slot.
Auburn QB Byrum Brown named among CBS Sports' most impactful transfers
Byrum Brown found himself ranked high on the list compiled by Brad Crawford of CBS Sports.
Olin Refocuses Epoxy Business As Valuation Gap And Risks Persist
Olin Corporation (NYSE:OLN) has restructured its Epoxy segment, including rationalizing high cost assets. The company now positions itself as the last integrated epoxy producer in Europe. Olin is relying on structural cost advantages from its U.S. Gulf Coast assets to support Epoxy segment profitability. These steps come as the broader epoxy market faces volatility tied to geopolitical events and global supply chain disruptions. Olin, a chemicals and ammunition producer, is putting fresh...
Scientists say this simple music trick can boost workout endurance by 20%
A new study shows that listening to your own favorite workout music can dramatically boost endurance. Cyclists exercising with self-selected songs lasted nearly 20% longer than when riding in silence, yet they didn’t feel more exhausted at the end. Researchers say music may help people stay in the “pain zone” longer without increasing perceived strain.
Unscripted: Met Gala one step on a journey toward viewing fashion as art [entertainment column]
Decades ago, I read a magazine essay that posited that fashion is a type of art — one you wear on your body to express yourself.
2026 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship Award
First year Materials and Nanoscience graduate student Stéphane Miaule (Tolbert group) has been awarded the 2026 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship, one of the country’s most prestigious honors for graduate students in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). The program, jointly sponsored by the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force, supports doctoral students across a broad range of scientific and technological fields of strategic importance. This highly competitive fellowship provides full tuition, fees, and a monthly stipend for three years. In 2026, only 102 fellowships were awarded nationwide, and Stéphane is the sole recipient from UCLA. Before transferring from Santa Monica College to UCLA, Stéphane interned at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Marshall Space Flight Center, where he researched the mechanical and thermodynamic properties of lunar regolith, as well as radiation shielding materials for lunar habitation development. At UCLA, he joined the Soft Materials Research Laboratory under Professor Qibing Pei, focusing on the synthesis and characterization of hafnium oxide nanocomposite scintillators. After earning his bachelor’s degree in chemistry, he remained in the Soft Materials Research Laboratory as a post-baccalaureate researcher for one year before joining Professor Sarah Tolbert’s group as a Ph.D. student. Stéphane’s Ph.D. research is focused on improving the properties of conjugated polymers, which are a family of plastic materials that can conduct electricity. Stéphane is specifically looking at self-assembling polymers that can be processed in water to create light-weight, flexible, high-conductivity polymer devices without the need for toxic or volatile organic solvents. After completing his Ph.D., Stéphane hopes to work in a national laboratory, researching semiconducting polymers for applications in new electronic devices. “The Graduate (1967) featured a memorable scene in which the protagonist was told that ‘there’s a great future in plastics.’ We know this still holds true today, as polymer research has expanded rapidly due to the wide variety of applications these materials enable. Through my work on semiconducting polymers, I hope to contribute to the continued development of plastic electronics,” Stéphane said. Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penjen@g.ucla.edu.
Could Fox Sports actually lose NFL rights?
The highest-stakes poker game in the history of televised sports is playing out right before our eyes among NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Fox Corp. chairman emeritus Rupert Murdoch, and the President of the United States himself, Donald Trump. When Fox first won NFL rights all the way back in the early 1990s, it was a…
Gorsuch says ideological divides on Supreme Court come down to ‘how you read law,’ not politics
Justice Gorsuch, who calls himself a “proud textualist," stressed that competing legal philosophies, not partisanship, shape rulings and relationships on the high court.
The glaring error in the Virginia Supreme Court’s gerrymandering decision
The court buried itself in dictionaries and missed the obvious.
From prospect to castaway to favorite: The resurrection of Julian Rodriguez's career
One loss derailed Rodriguez's career, but he's built himself back up heading into Sunday's Zuffa Boxing 06
Lost my job while living abroad: Unique challenges, struggles
I lost my job while living in Germany as a Canadian. Navigating unemployment abroad was difficult, but I've created a rhythm and routine for myself.
Liberia’s community health assistants are up at dawn to work at the healthcare frontline
Launched after the Ebola epidemic of 2014–2016, the community health assistant programme has proven itself valuable. Is it now at risk?
How X Is Driving the Politics of Mutually Assured Dysfunction
Americans seem none too impressed with their polarized politics. Big majorities disapprove of the way Congress is working — or to be more precise, not working. Yet the system shows remarkably little capacity to heal itself. Why is this?
Anthropic introduces "dreaming," a system that lets AI agents learn from their own mistakes
Anthropic has launched “dreaming” for AI agents, giving Claude new self-improving tools designed to boost enterprise automation, reliability, and scale.
How Disneyland Remade American Politics
America is turning 250, and The Free Press is marking the occasion with a yearlong series of events, conversations, and stories celebrating our country’s history. Today, we’re taking a journey with historian Beverly Gage to Southern California. Beverly traded the archives for the open road for her new book, This Land is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U.S. History. We’re proud to publish an excerpt, on the theme park that shaped American politics—and the presidents who loved it. —The Editors On July 17, 1955, Ronald Reagan stood near a mocked-up wood-plank town in Anaheim, California, where a 13-star flag flew incongruously over an “Old West” landscape, and introduced the world to Disneyland. He had been invited by Walt Disney himself to co-host the park’s live ABC broadcast, alongside Art Linkletter and Bob Cummings—three Hollywood actors who seemed to embody a wholesome, all-American ethos. From the imagined past of Frontierland, the show leaped ahead to Tomorrowland, set in the far-off year of 1986, emphasizing the technical marvels yet to come: nuclear energy harnessed for civilian purposes, human beings riding rocket ships into space. Disney foretold great things for a 1980s in which the United States would serve as “a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.” But even he could not predict the most important political fact of the age: that his genial co-host would become president. Southern California was a strange place to build a park about the past, because the region at the time was all about newness and abundance and growth. For a lot of its history, Orange County had been Southern California’s version of flyover country: a vast agricultural expanse between two desirable places, Los Angeles and San Diego. But Disneyland was changing that. Before long, 50 miles south of deep-blue Hollywood, Orange County would become a region famed for its right-wing politics—but also for its mythmaking skills. Those two things, it turned out, went naturally together. ADVERTISEMENT The two presidents Southern California gave America both understood this instinctively. Richard Nixon and Reagan each built a national career on invoking a version of the American past in which the specificities of historical context mattered less than the big picture. For Nixon, progress meant proclaiming a “New American Revolution” on the eve of America’s bicentennial while dismantling the federal programs that had built the postwar middle class. For Reagan, it meant recapturing a lost optimism and an old-fashioned faith in America as an exceptional nation. Both men were less interested in history as it actually happened than in history as it felt—and Orange County, a place that had built itself almost entirely from scratch, turned out to be exactly where the myth of America’s future was getting made. I’m a historian—and historians tend to be myth-busters. With the country’s 250th birthday on the horizon, I figured it was a good time to step out of the ivory tower and check in with the past as it exists here and now, at the museums and monuments and roadside attractions where Americans go to learn about their history. After all my travels—to Davy Crockett’s Tennessee and Texas, to the real Erie Canal, to the birthplace of the American automobile and the actual Old West—I couldn’t miss out on Disneyland, the single most influential historic attraction in U.S. history.
OpenAI introduces new 'Trusted Contact' safeguard for cases of possible self-harm
The company is expanding its efforts to protect ChatGPT users in cases where conversations may turn to self-harm.
Colorado Senate honors journalism icon Fred Brown
The Colorado Senate on Thursday honored longtime Denver Post bureau chief Fred Brown with a ceremony as distinctive as the journalist himself, donning masks bearing his likeness and celebrating his five decades of shaping political reporting and ethical standards in the state. The tribute, offered by Sen. Mark Baisley, R-Woodland Park, noted Brown’s 50 years […]
Bryan Police searching for man accused of exposing himself inside local business
Police are encouraging anyone who recognizes the man or has information related to the case to come forward.
Is the FDA Really Suppressing Science? Plus. . .
It’s Thursday, May 7. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Aaron MacLean says Trump is poised to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the Iran war. Joe Klein on the life of CNN founder Ted Turner. Jillian Lederman on why cruise ships are here to stay. And much more. But first: Is the FDA suppressing science? On Tuesday, The New York Times published a story with an alarming takeaway. “FDA Blocked Publication of Research Finding Covid and Shingles Vaccines Were Safe,” read the headline. It is the latest in a string of stories that all have the same message: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and other agencies, are engaged in a cover-up—and silencing scientists trying to get the word out about the Covid vaccine. What all these stories suggest—some more subtly than others—is that the outsiders now running the public health establishment, officials such as Marty Makary at the FDA and Jay Bhattacharya at the National Institutes of Health, are on a revenge tour. That they are doing harm to the country to get back at the scientists and bureaucrats who ostracized them for deviating from the public-health consensus during the pandemic. It’s a seductive narrative. But is it true? That’s the question we address in our latest editorial. —The Editors Read [ Marty Makary's FDA Has All the Right Enemies ](https://www.thefp.com/p/marty-makary-vaccine-study-fda) [ Trump Blinks First ](https://www.thefp.com/p/iran-peace-deal-pakistan-trump-strait-of-hormuz) Aaron MacLean In return for no detectable concessions, President Trump this week gave up on forcing open the Strait of Hormuz. Now, the Trump administration looks desperate for a deal to end the war with Iran. It’s easy to understand the desire to end the war, but are they blowing the chance at victory? Aaron MacLean makes sense of the administration’s latest moves—and Iran’s response—in his column today. Read full story Aaron MacLean and Niall Ferguson: Live in New York City Join Aaron MacLean and Niall Ferguson on May 19 for a live recording of School of War at the iconic New York Historical. In a conversation as timely as it is wide-ranging, Aaron and Niall will explore the strategic stakes of the moment, including the Middle East, China, and the future of American leadership on the global stage. Get Tickets Now [ Ted Turner, the Optimist Who Built CNN ](https://www.thefp.com/p/ted-turner-cnn-tribute) Joe Klein The man who gave us CNN and the 24-hour news cycle, Ted Turner, died Wednesday at the age of 87. Today, political writer Joe Klein—who almost ghostwrote Turner’s autobiography—remembers his friend, the American media mogul who stood out for his idealism and lack of a filter—something that got Turner in trouble more than once. “His was not a traditional intelligence, but one of horizon: Ted saw things before other people did,” Joe writes. Read full story [ Nothing Can Sink the Cruise Ship ](https://www.thefp.com/p/cruise-ship-hantavirus) Jillian Lederman A viral outbreak on a cruise ship that left three passengers dead has left some people wondering: Are cruise ships on the way out? Not so fast, says Jillian Lederman, who has been on many a cruise herself. Read her piece on why 38 million people a year take a cruise—and aren’t about to stop. Read full story [ The Great Writers Who Were Terrible People ](https://www.thefp.com/p/the-great-writers-who-were-terrible) Shilo Brooks Throughout history, some of the greatest literary geniuses have also been immoral bigots. In the latest episode of Old School, Shilo Brooks is joined by Eli Lake for a conversation about those geniuses, from Voltaire to Norman Mailer and Roald Dahl—and why we should read their work despite their odious prejudices. Listen on MORE FROM THE FREE PRESS [ Inside the Digital Intifada ](https://www.thefp.com/p/digital-intifada-social-media-hamas-terror) Warren Kinsella Read full story [ This Week in American History: Trump’s Over-Arching Problem ](https://www.thefp.com/p/this-week-in-american-history-trumps-over-arching-problem) Jonathan Horn Read full story [ Humanity Is Still Evolving—and Fast ](https://www.thefp.com/p/humanity-is-still-evolvingand-fast) Razib Khan Read full story THE NEWS Thirteen D.C. Metropolitan Police officers have been placed on administrative leave and could face termination after an internal investigation found evidence that crime statistics were manipulated to make the city look safer. The Republican-led House Oversight Committee previously alleged that former D.C. police chief Pamela Smith pressured officers to skew data. Tennessee Republicans unveiled a redrawn U.S. House map yesterday that would split up Memphis’s black-majority Democratic district, the latest move in a nationwide push to redraw congressional boundaries ahead of the midterms. The effort follows a Supreme Court ruling last week on Louisiana’s districts, which Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton said gave states the green light to redraw maps along partisan lines. Israel struck Beirut for the first time since a ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect last month, saying it targeted a commander of the militant group’s elite Radwan force in the city’s southern suburbs. The strikes risk destabilizing that truce at a delicate moment, as Iran and the U.S. report progress toward a deal to resolve their own standoff. The U.S. Air Force is aiming for a Fourth of July delivery of a Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar, hoping to add it to the Air Force One fleet in time for the U.S.’s 250th anniversary, Reuters reported. (For more on the controversy surrounding the aircraft, read Jed Rubenfeld’s piece “It’s a Terrible Idea, but Trump Probably Can Accept a Free Jet from Qatar.”) Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testified privately before Congress that he has no memory of why he and his family dined on Jeffrey Epstein’s private island in 2012, according to Reuters. The admission contradicts Lutnick’s earlier claim that he had cut ties with the convicted sex offender well before that visit. Weeks before a former JPMorgan investment banker filed a lawsuit packed with explosive allegations, the bank reportedly offered him $1 million to settle his sexual assault and harassment claims, according to The Wall Street Journal. The suit, filed by Chirayu Rana, alleges he was sexually assaulted by a female colleague, subjected to racial discrimination, and forced into a degrading dynamic at work. JPMorgan says the claims lack merit, and the female colleague’s lawyers call the accusations fabricated. A new report from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research shows that, for the first time in roughly 20 years, church attendance is trending upward, with more people volunteering and clergy expressing renewed optimism. The study’s authors described the findings, based on a survey of more than 7,400 congregations, as showing signs of widespread recovery from low attendance numbers.
Women in Business hosts spring self-care event highlighting local wellness vendors
Members of the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce held its Women in Business Spring Event on Tuesday, offering locals tools to decompress.
What’s eating healthcare AI? Not healthcare AI itself
When AI fails to thrive in healthcare, the problem is usually not with an algorithm. It’s with something deeper. Three unrelated opinion pieces authored by far-flung subject matter experts hit on this theme just this week.
Ted Turner managed one Braves game — and forever changed professional sports
Turner turned the Atlanta Braves into a national juggernaut by broadcasting their games coast-to-coast. He found less success donning their uniform himself.
Robbery suspect believed to be hiding in Downtown El Paso business
A suspect in an aggravated robbery is believed to have barricaded himself inside an El Paso business, authorities said.
Developing: Police ask public to avoid Segundo Barrio as suspect barricades in business
El Paso police are asking the public to avoid an area in the Segundo Barrio on Wednesday afternoon as an armed suspect has barricaded himself inside a business.
Entertainment: Iolani Palace invites families for Mother's Day lunchtime event
The event features a free concert from award-winning Hawaiian music group Walea. Guests can enjoy self-guided tours and free workshops.
Baseball to Business Ethics: How a Valedictorian Found His Purpose
In the fallback of his injury from D1 baseball, Hemmingsen dove into his studies, curious in ways to apply the virtues of thinkers who inspired him such as Aquinas to business ethics. Soon these interests led him to professor Jooho Lee, and Hemmingsen found himself at the center of the Faith and Business Initiative.
Anthropic introduces 'dreaming' technique for AI agents
Anthropic introduces 'dreaming,' a technique for AI agents to self-improve within the Claude Managed Agents tool.
I rented my ranch on Airbnb after losing millions. It taught me resilience.
Brent Phillips bought a Texas ranch for himself and his family. When he lost millions in a stock crash, he began renting it out on Airbnb.
Scientists Say That Time Itself Can Be in Two States at Once
If gravity’s the reason that quantum wave functions collapse, then time must be “fuzzy.”
Cancer treatments can take a toll on body image
The end of cancer treatment doesn't mean the challenges end. Sanford Health helps survivors navigate self-esteem and other concerns.
Balance of power in influencer marketing shifts toward platforms
EMARKETER forecasts that brand spending to boost creator posts is on track to overtake the amount spent on the sponsored content itself.
OpenAI wants to ‘have their cake and eat it too’ with health AI policy recommendations
Policy recommendations in OpenAI's blueprint for unlocking AI’s potential to change health care are reasonable, but also self-serving, experts say.
Polanski accuses Times of ‘scraping the barrel’ over his claim to be charity spokesperson
Green leader said he hosted fundraisers for the Red Cross but accepts he should not have described himself as a spokesperson for it
University lets students earn bachelor's and master's degrees entirely on their phone
Cornerstone University's self-paced SOAR program lets students earn accredited business degrees entirely on a smartphone with a 91% persistence rate.
Big business strikes back against new hope for corporate spending ban in Nevada elections
Plus: Huge ad spending in the AG's race, a look at self-funded campaigns and the number of votes cast so far.
Braves trade catcher Jonah Heim to Athletics
Just a few hours after designating backup catcher Jonah Heim for assignment, the Atlanta Braves announced a trade to the Athletics in exchange for cash considerations. With catcher Sean Murphy ready to be activated from the IL, it was Heim who found himself as the man left out from the 26-man roster. There was discussion […]
At ORNL, Science Never Sleeps
At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, scientists are building the next generation of research: self-driving labs powered by AI, robotics and high-performance computing. Autonomous systems run continuous “design, build, test, learn” cycles to analyze data in real time and guide experiments.
Fantasy Claw Arcade Opens at AREA15 on May 7, Marking Fifth Store as Experiential Entertainment Brand Gains Momentum
Fantasy Claw Arcade will open its newest Las Vegas location at AREA15 on May 7, marking the company's fifth operating store and placing the fast-growing brand inside one of the most recognizable immersive entertainment destinations in the country. AREA15 describes itself as the world's first purpose-built immersive entertainment district, just minutes from the Las Vegas Strip, and says it has welcomed more than 15 million visitors to date.
Borderlands Studio Head Responds After Fans Rip Him For "AI Slop" Selfie
"The idea of an AI even having an identity is nonsense."
GTA 6 Should Be $80 And Other Companies Should Raise Prices, Too, Bank Of America Says
"We think it's in Take-Two's self-interest, as a publisher and partner to many developers, to raise the price point for the entire industry."
Randy Pitchford Posts Strange AI 'Selfie' and is Surprised When Gamers Don't Like It
Randy Pitchford, the CEO of Gearbox Entertainment, has uploaded a bizarre AI selfie, and despite being innocent, it wasn't taken well.
Analysis: De Zerbi channels positive performance
Roberto De Zerbi had demanded all negative thoughts be dismissed as he attempted to salvage safety in this wretched, turbulent season for Spurs. The response on the pitch was also outstanding as they tore into Villa from the first whistle, pressing high to force goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and his defenders into poor clearances and uncertainty. Spurs suddenly looked like a team bursting with self-belief and confidence as the hosts, closing in on a place in next season's Champions League, were run ragged.
McDonald’s is quietly ditching a popular in-store feature nationwide
McDonald's is quietly ending self-serve soda fountains nationwide, shifting drink prep behind the counter as it modernizes restaurants across the country.
Iowa football just inside top 25 of USA TODAY Sports 1-138 Rankings
With spring ball wrapped up, Iowa finds itself within the top 25 of USA TODAYS Sports' 1-138 re-rank.
Physicists just found a tiny flaw in time itself
Physicists are rethinking one of quantum mechanics’ biggest puzzles: how fuzzy possibilities become definite reality. New research suggests that spontaneous “collapse” processes—possibly linked to gravity—could subtly blur time itself. This wouldn’t affect clocks we use today, but it reveals a hidden limit to how precise time can ever be. The findings open a new path toward uniting quantum physics with gravity.
Sam Altman asked GPT-5.5 to plan its own party
Sam Altman asked GPT what it would like for its launch celebration. Its suggestions included toasts from its creators (but not the AI itself).
Rival boss heaps praise on absent Liverpool star
Carrick revisits Anfield memory with clear intentMichael Carrick does not often indulge in nostalgia, yet ahead of Manchester United’s latest collision with Liverpool FC, he allowed himself a glance...
Bullpen avenges itself in walk-off win over Mets
The bullpen delivers a much-needed shutdown performance in the Angels' 4-3 walk-off win over the New York Mets.