Search headlines

Dazzling photographs show nature in a new way

Photographer Jon McCormack explores patterns found in the natural world.

May 16 • 4:00 AM EDT • Technology • cnn.com

Tri-state political maps unlikely to change despite national redistricting debate

While a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling has lawmakers in some states talking about redrawing their congressional maps, it’s unlikely Iowa, Illinois or Wisconsin will see any changes ahead of

May 16 • 2:00 AM EDT • Politics • telegraphherald.com

Syracuse Academy of Science 2026 junior senior prom: See 82 photos

See photos taken by a syracuse.com photographer who was at the event.

May 15 • 10:47 PM EDT • Science • syracuse.com

Downtown Youngstown entertainment venues rebound financially

YOUNGSTOWN — The city-owned entertainment facilities started the year off strong with a $300,448 operating surplus during the first quarter — the fourth-best January-March in its history — rebounding from a $484,728 loss in 2025. “It’s a great start for the year,” said Eric Ryan, president of JAC Management Group, which operates the Covelli Centre, […]

May 15 • 8:00 PM EDT • Entertainment • vindy.com

ASUS Republic of Gamers Announces ROG NUC 16

ROG NUC 16: ASUS unveils a compact gaming PC for gamers and creators. Features Intel Core Ultra, NVIDIA RTX 5080 Laptop GPU, AI-enhanced graphics, QuietFlow cooling, and versatile dual-orientation design. Subscribe to ASUS Pressroom for the latest tech updates!

May 15 • 1:09 PM EDT • Technology • press.asus.com

Can fossilized vomit tell you what prehistoric animals ate?

Learn how paleontologists study fossilized vomit to explore what prehistoric predators ate.

May 15 • 12:56 PM EDT • Science • sciencefriday.com

Our understanding of Charles Darwin continues to evolve

Historian Janet Browne’s Darwin: A Biography lifts the curtain on the private life of Charles Darwin, one of science’s most controversial pioneers.

May 15 • 11:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencenews.org

At Yale, Matthew Verich explored the science of human connection

Neuroscience major Matthew Verich explored the brain in Yale labs, found purpose in psychiatry, and built community through music, mentorship, and faith.

May 15 • 10:59 AM EDT • Science • news.yale.edu

The State of Rural Hospitals in the U.S, 2012-2023

ASPE’s Office of Health Policy has developed an Issue Brief modeling the key determinants of rural hospital closure or conversion as well as an interactive Rural Hospital Dashboard to highlight key characteristics and trends among rural hospitals. The Issue Brief uses a Cox proportional hazards model to identify low occupancy rates, for-profit ownership and proximity to an urban county as key determinants of closure or conversion to outpatient only facilities.

May 15 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • aspe.hhs.gov

Art, but Make It Sports

The creator behind the viral meme account that pairs famous artwork with sports photography is stopping at Mia for his book tour.

May 15 • 6:20 AM EDT • Sports • mspmag.com

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

May 15 • 3:04 AM EDT • Politics • adamtooze.substack.com

Local business leaders, state commit $13 million to Field of Dreams

DYERSVILLE, Iowa — Dubuque County families and business leaders and the state of Iowa have committed $13 million to support ongoing and future development at the Field of Dreams movie

May 15 • 2:00 AM EDT • Business • telegraphherald.com

Dell releases new 14-inch laptop globally with 120 Hz display and Arc B390 graphics

Dell has released a new 14-inch laptop for consumers. Built around Intel's Panther Lake platform, the Dell 14S also comes with a 70 Wh battery, up to 32 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and a choice between 1200p OLED or 1600p IPS displays.

May 14 • 6:45 PM EDT • Technology • notebookcheck.net

Tiny ocean life helps scientists estimate whale prevalence off the California coast

A new approach to better assessing whale population data has emerged, led by a research team of marine biologists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and statisticians from Cal Poly. ...

May 14 • 5:00 PM EDT • Science • phys.org

NSF announces $1.5B NSF X-Labs initiative to pursue generational breakthrough science efforts

Today, the U.S. National Science Foundation announced $1.5 billion over the next decade toward the NSF X-Labs initiative to tackle pressing scientific challenges through novel and innovative...

May 14 • 1:00 PM EDT • Science • nsf.gov

Essentia Health hosting free heart failure symposium

It’s estimated that more than six million adults in the United States are living with heart failure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

May 14 • 11:18 AM EDT • Health • essentiahealth.org

Local business leaders commit $10 million to support Field of Dreams

DYERSVILLE, Iowa -- Three Iowa families and business leaders have committed $10 million to support ongoing and future development at the Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville.

May 14 • 11:15 AM EDT • Business • telegraphherald.com

AMD’s FSR 4.1 upscaling tech is coming to older graphics cards

A performance boost for your GPU.

May 14 • 10:06 AM EDT • Technology • theverge.com

Markets/Coverages: AXA XL Starts Prevention-Focused Business Unit; Markel Adds New Media, Entertainment Offerings

AXA XL announced the creation of a new Business Unit dedicated to prevention. The new unit, led by Global Chief Underwriting Officer Libby Benet, will

May 14 • 9:08 AM EDT • Entertainment • insurancejournal.com

Anthropic forms $200 million partnership with the Gates Foundation

Anthropic is an AI safety and research company that's working to build reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems.

May 14 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • anthropic.com

Donovan Mitchell turns ankle on photographer’s shoe vs. Pistons

The Cavaliers went from watching Donovan Mitchell rearrange franchise postseason marks to watching him land awkwardly.

May 13 • 9:12 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

The 2026 Science Division Distinguished Alumni Award recipients

Gregory Reyes (Kresge ’76, biology), Larry de Ghetaldi (Merrill ’76, biology and chemistry), and Nicholas Suntzeff (Ph.D. ’80, astronomy) are recognized for careers of exceptional distinction in biomedical research, healthcare policy, and observational cosmology.

May 13 • 6:25 PM EDT • Science • news.ucsc.edu

Man Tears Up After Learning Shocking Value of Handbag He Thrifted for $1.50

An 'Antiques Roadshow' guest is blown away by the price of a bag that he "just picked it up" because he "thought it was pretty"

May 13 • 2:28 PM EDT • Technology • aol.com

Essentia Health-Fosston hosting annual stroke and trauma awareness community event

In recognition of National Stroke Awareness Month and National Trauma Awareness Month, Essentia Health is hosting its annual community stroke and trauma awareness grill-out in Fosston on Wednesday, May 20.

May 13 • 2:16 PM EDT • Health • essentiahealth.org

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Nintendo Switch 2 tech analysis, including frame rate and resolution

Digital Foundry has provided its technical analysis of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on Nintendo Switch 2, which goes over the game’s frame rate, resolution, and more in detail. Overall, MachineGames has produced what looks to be a solid port. The game even retains ray tracing and other graphical features present in other versions. Here’s the full roundup of...

May 13 • 1:22 PM EDT • Technology • nintendoeverything.com

BioShock creator says Nintendo Switch 2 proves gaming graphics are hitting "diminishing returns"

Ken Levine, creator of BioShock, recently used the Nintendo Switch 2 as an example while criticizing the gaming industry’s increasing obsession with graphical realism, arguing that the medium has reached a point of “diminishing returns” when it comes to visuals. Speaking with IGN, Levine discussed how modern games continue to chase photorealism, but believes players and developers alike are starting...

May 13 • 12:30 PM EDT • Technology • nintendoeverything.com

What's in the billion dollar paragraph behind the White House ballroom debate

The $1 billion request is tied directly to the transformation of the East Wing into a massive ballroom, though limited to “security”-related needs. Here's what we know.

May 13 • 12:03 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org

Introducing Claude for Small Business

We're launching Claude for Small Business, a package of connectors and ready-to-run workflows that put Claude inside the tools small businesses use every day.

May 13 • 8:00 AM EDT • Business • anthropic.com

The iPhone Camera App Is Being Revamped for ‘Professional’ Photographers, Report Says

New customizability is reportedly coming in the form of "widgets."

May 12 • 10:25 PM EDT • Technology • gizmodo.com

The MedTech Conference 2026: Where Medtech Does Business

The MedTech Conference, brings together the companies shaping the future of innovation. Hosted by AdvaMed®, The Medtech Association, #MTC26 gives companies a focused moment to connect, collaborate, and turn conversations into outcomes in Boston, October 18–21, 2026.

May 12 • 4:31 PM EDT • Business • advamed.org

Panasonic’s new Lumix L10 is a compact camera with a focus on photography

The L10 features the same sensor as the Lumix GH7 but with a fixed lens and limited video capabilities.

May 12 • 12:56 PM EDT • Technology • theverge.com

"It's expensive and it doesn't age": Why Ken Levine didn't aim for realistic graphics in BioShock, and won't for Judas either

Bioshock still looks good today because Irrational Games aimed for style over realism. It's a choice that Ken Levine made again with Judas.

May 12 • 11:30 AM EDT • Technology • rockpapershotgun.com

How science can escape the nostalgia trap

A new paper by Lingfei Wu in Science shows that older researchers produce less disruptive work — though they offer strengths of their own, too.

May 12 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • pittwire.pitt.edu

Officials: Lack of community financial commitment stalled Dubuque sports facility project

Three years after a company based in Arizona took possession of the Dubuque Soccer Complex, officials with the company say they remain committed to constructing an indoor sports facility elsewhere

May 12 • 2:00 AM EDT • Sports • telegraphherald.com

ASU urban planning graduate blends expertise in geographic information science with passion for designing cities

When Dorian Lemarchand began pursuing his bachelor’s degrees online at Arizona State University during the pandemic, he was looking for a fresh start and a chance to rebuild his academic confidence.

May 11 • 12:51 PM EDT • Science • news.asu.edu

Scientists Put A Dead Salmon In An fMRI Scanner And Showed It Emotive Photographs. Here's What Happened

Must have been a red herring.

May 11 • 11:33 AM EDT • Science • iflscience.com

UNC Health plans Wilmington hospital

UNC Health plans to create a community hospital on a 62-acre proposed site in New Hanover County, pending regulatory approvals, according to an announcement Monday morning. “Planned for the southeast corner of South 17th Street and Shipyard Boulevard, the site was selected for its accessibility and its geographic infill capacity in serving a rapidly growing region,” according to the release. “This project marks a significant step forward in UNC Health’s commitment to improving access to primary care and specialty care closer to home.” Officials said the proposed hospital would offer a range of specialties, including emergency care, cardiology, oncology, OBGYN and more. While the not-for-profit, state-owned health system’s officials are planning the hospital, the proposal still requires state approval through North Carolina’s certificate of need (CON) process before it can become a reality. UNC Health is targeting an opening date of 2030, the release stated, and “will continue to engage openly with local community leaders and residents and share updates as plans evolve and progress is made towards achieving CON approval.” The state’s CON law requires healthcare providers to obtain a CON from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services before developing or offering what the department’s website dubs “a new institutional health service.” The term encompasses a wide range of facilities, including hospitals. The news of UNC Health’s Wilmington plans follows the recent addition of Ernie Bovio to UNC Health. Bovio, who had served as president of the Novant Health Coastal Region since 2024, became regional president of UNC Health’s Southeast Coastal Region in April. “This is an important first step in our commitment to ensuring that families in Wilmington and the surrounding areas have access to the high-quality, compassionate care they deserve – right here at home,” Bovio stated in the release. “As I’ve listened to my own neighbors and community members across the region, I’ve heard a clear message: Wilmington is ready for more choice in healthcare – and UNC Health is ready to deliver it.” According to the release, Wilmington Health – one of the largest independent, physician-owned practices in Southeastern North Carolina – also supports the project, and its providers are expected to participate on the medical staff of the new facility. “Wilmington Health has served this community for more than 50 years, and we know firsthand that our patients are interested in choice,” stated Jeff James, CEO of Wilmington Health, in the release. “We strongly support UNC Health’s plan to bring a new community hospital to our region – closing critical gaps in specialty care and ensuring families across our region have options to access the services they need, right here at home.”

May 11 • 10:24 AM EDT • Health • wilmingtonbiz.com

Preparing for The Quantum Era: AT&T Business Debuts Post-Quantum Cryptography Secure SD-WAN, Powered by Cisco

AT&T sets a new benchmark for networking as the first major North American service provider to deliver Post‑Quantum Cryptography-enabled SD‑WAN

May 11 • 10:00 AM EDT • Business • about.att.com

A conversation with Jim Henson biographer Brian Jay Jones

The Clarion Ledger sat down with Brian Jay Jones author of the bestselling biography "Jim Henson: The Biography." Check out our Q+A.

May 11 • 6:04 AM EDT • Entertainment • clarionledger.com

Jim Henson biographer details the artist and genius behind 'The Muppets'

Author Brian Jay Jones discusses writing Jim Henson’s biography, from the Muppets to filmmaking, TV innovation and Henson's endlessly curious mind.

May 11 • 6:01 AM EDT • Entertainment • clarionledger.com

USDA to bring new science jobs to Athens lab

May 11 • 4:01 AM EDT • Science • aol.com

GrapheneOS says Google is making life harder for rival operating systems and devices

Graphene argues that Google's device verification systems could lock users into approved hardware and software.

May 10 • 11:47 PM EDT • Technology • androidauthority.com

Study Shows 75% of Americans Prefer to Text Instead of Call Their Moms on Mother’s Day

The new study also revealed the top 10 U.S. cities where people call and text their moms the most on Mother’s Day

May 10 • 6:30 AM EDT • Technology • aol.com

Business leaders use their voices to advocate for child care

North Carolina's business leaders are joining forces to advocate for a child care subsidy reimbursement floor.

May 10 • 5:00 AM EDT • Business • ednc.org

Tri-state people in business: New hires, promotions, recognitions

Tiberius Mocanu joined the City of Dubuque as its new human rights director.

May 10 • 2:00 AM EDT • Business • telegraphherald.com

Holy Cross event focuses on brain health with a rural emphasis

HOLY CROSS, Iowa — For a few hours Saturday morning, the population of Holy Cross likely doubled.

May 10 • 2:00 AM EDT • Health • telegraphherald.com

How Sports Illustrated is getting back in the game after scandal, layoffs

One of the hottest tickets for the events surrounding Super Bowl LX in February was a party thrown at the Cow Palace in San Francisco by Sports Illustrated, where attendees

May 10 • 2:00 AM EDT • Sports • telegraphherald.com

Companies are increasingly favoring temporary staff over permanent hires

Employers across the U.S. and Europe are increasingly relying on temporary workers to keep their businesses going, holding off on permanent hires because of economic instability and artificial intelligence-driven disruptions.

May 10 • 2:00 AM EDT • Business • telegraphherald.com

Politics: Grassley calls on DOJ to follow rule of law in release of Epstein files

During a visit to Balltown, Iowa, on Thursday, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, sat down with the Telegraph Herald and spoke on a variety of federal issues of importance to

May 10 • 2:00 AM EDT • Politics • telegraphherald.com

Holy Cross event focuses on brain health with a rural emphasis

HOLY CROSS, Iowa — For a few hours Saturday morning, the population of Holy Cross likely doubled.

May 9 • 2:30 PM EDT • Health • telegraphherald.com

Scientists just sent unhackable quantum keys across 120 kilometers

Scientists have taken a major step toward ultra-secure quantum communication by demonstrating a remarkably stable quantum encryption system that worked across more than 120 kilometers of optical fiber. Using tiny semiconductor quantum dots that emit single particles of light on demand, the team achieved one of the highest secure key rates yet for this type of technology while maintaining continuous operation for over six hours without manual adjustments.

May 9 • 1:24 PM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com

19 breathtaking images from the Milky Way Photographer of the Year 2026 awards

'Milky Way photography goes beyond capturing the stars. It becomes a way to explore remote environments, challenge physical limits, and reconnect with both nature and history.'

May 9 • 8:02 AM EDT • Science • popsci.com

Art Can’t Compete With Politics in Venice or New York

Plus: Astrocartography, Michael Jackson, and a “hotspan” hack

May 9 • 7:30 AM EDT • Politics • bloomberg.com

A different kind of leader: Scaling impact in geospatial science

David Page, head of the Geographic Data Science Section at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, leads with a focus on judgment, collaboration and empowering teams. Drawing on experience in academia, entrepreneurship and national security science, he has helped advance faster, scalable geospatial analysis while building resilient, forward-looking research teams.

May 8 • 4:18 PM EDT • Science • eurekalert.org

Arizona Science Center's new experience features Bad Bunny's music and visuals of Puerto Rico

The experience features a program with original immersive visuals and 360-degree cinematography set to Bad Bunny’s music.

May 8 • 3:04 PM EDT • Science • abc15.com

Microsoft warns of sophisticated phishing campaign heavily targeting health care organizations

Microsoft Threat Intelligence is warning of a large scale, multistage phishing campaign that disproportionately targeted the health care sector, sending “code of conduct” themed emails to lure users into credential theft and token compromise.

May 8 • 7:00 AM EDT • Health • aha.org

See How the G.O.P. Cut Up Tennessee’s Only Majority Black District

A recent Supreme Court ruling makes it much harder to argue that a map illegally dilutes Black voting power. Tennessee has since broken up a predominantly Black district.

May 8 • 5:03 AM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com

UCLA team awarded $5 million DARPA contract to develop AI for math advancement

Fields medalist Terence Tao is part of Team ALPHA, which aims to unlock progress in physics, cryptography and other challenging fields.

May 7 • 4:47 PM EDT • Science • universityofcalifornia.edu

Seton Hall Program Helps Clifton Students Explore Health Careers

Through hands-on learning and mentorship, ACE Health helped one Clifton High senior pursue her goal of becoming a nursing student.

May 7 • 3:18 PM EDT • Health • shu.edu

Korvick Finding Identity in Life After Sports

Korvick Finding Identity in Life After Sports

May 7 • 9:52 AM EDT • Sports • gamecocksonline.com

Pitt’s new quantum lab will advance innovation across the region

The Western Pennsylvania Quantum Information Core represents more than a decade of Pitt’s commitment to partnerships in quantum science and industry commercialization.

May 7 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • pittwire.pitt.edu

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.

May 7 • 6:20 AM EDT • Science • thefp.com

You Asked: Lamont and Climate School Experts Tackle Reader Questions on Science and Sustainability

We invite readers to share their most pressing questions about climate, science and sustainability.

May 6 • 9:40 AM EDT • Science • news.climate.columbia.edu

Man Finds $1 Million Worth of Yu-Gi-Oh Cards in a Dumpster

It was already a sordid tale of online drama, blurry photographs, and erratic TikToks. Then his mom started posting.

May 6 • 9:21 AM EDT • Technology • 404media.co

Star Fox Remakes Star Fox 64 On Switch 2 This June

Updated graphics, characters, and more bring Star Fox 64 to the modern age.

May 6 • 8:00 AM EDT • Technology • gameinformer.com

Fifty years of science still can't tell us the cost of deep-sea mining

A new review of over 50 years of research has found that the environmental consequences of deep-sea mining remain deeply uncertain.

May 6 • 2:38 AM EDT • Science • oceanographicmagazine.com

Stevens: Politics and vulgarity not a good mix

If you have sensed that our politicians are using more vulgarity in public discourse in the last 10 years, you are right. In the past, politicians have only occasionally used

May 6 • 1:30 AM EDT • Politics • telegraphherald.com

Lego Batman's Developers Are Trying To Do It All

Lego Batman has to distill decades of comic book iconography into a rewarding but breezy adventure

May 5 • 1:34 PM EDT • Technology • kotaku.com

UNC Health Rex launches new mobile mammography unit in 21 counties

A new UNC Health Rex mobile unit aims to bring mammograms directly to patients across North Carolina.

May 5 • 1:03 PM EDT • Health • wral.com

Seton Hall and TCNJ Partner on Graduate Health Pathways

Seton Hall and TCNJ introduce streamlined pathways into graduate programs in physical therapy, occupational therapy and athletic training.

May 5 • 11:45 AM EDT • Health • shu.edu

Student Startups Take Center Stage at Seton Hall’s 2026 Pirates Pitch

From AI-powered video editing to sustainable refill systems, Seton Hall students pitched innovative startup ideas at the 2026 Pirates Pitch Competition, competing for $16,000 in prizes.

May 5 • 11:39 AM EDT • Business • shu.edu

Yale’s HoSang awarded a 2026 Carnegie fellowship

For the third consecutive year, the Andrew Carnegie Fellowship will support scholars who are studying political polarization and how to address it.

May 5 • 6:00 AM EDT • Politics • news.yale.edu

‘We Want to Move on From Losing’: Pritzker on Antisemitism, Trump and 2028

The Illinois governor reflects on his national profile and what comes next.

May 5 • 5:55 AM EDT • Politics • politico.com

Photos: 2026 Business 500 Reception, presented by Bayer & Science Delivers

On April 30, business leaders and honorees gathered in the Grand Hall at St. Louis Union Station for the St. Louis Business 500 Reception, presented by Bayer and Science Delivers. The evening celebrated the second edition of the Business 500 list, recognizing some of the metro area’s most influential, impactful, and innovative leaders. Guests enjoyed […]

May 4 • 2:46 PM EDT • Business • stlmag.com

Pearl of the week: What insurer data confirms about mental health access

A new index shows where costs and payment disparities are holding patients back

May 4 • 2:00 PM EDT • Health • ama-assn.org

Amazon launches 3PL business

E-commerce giant opens its sprawling logistics network to all shippers.

May 4 • 12:47 PM EDT • Business • dcvelocity.com

Ron DeSantis signs Florida's new congressional map

The fresh cartography could net Republicans as many as 4 U.S. House seats.

May 4 • 12:46 PM EDT • Politics • floridapolitics.com

MIT scientists finally reveal the hidden structure of a mysterious high-tech material

For decades, relaxor ferroelectrics have powered everything from medical ultrasounds to sonar systems, yet their inner atomic structure remained a mystery—until now. Researchers have finally mapped their three-dimensional structure in unprecedented detail, uncovering hidden patterns in how electric charges are arranged at the nanoscale. The breakthrough not only challenges long-standing assumptions about how these materials behave but also allows scientists to refine the models used to design them.

May 4 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com

Jimmy Oñate is the new dean of Pitt’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

The international leader in human movement assessment and injury prevention will join the University of Pittsburgh from The Ohio State University, effective June 1.

May 4 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • pittwire.pitt.edu

SBA Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year: CT RUN CO. (Ridgefield Running Co. LLC)

CT RUN CO. is a specialty retailer focused on footwear, apparel and accessories for walking, running and everyday use. The company operates three locations and provides personalized fitting services and […]

May 4 • 4:00 AM EDT • Business • hartfordbusiness.com

Global Health & WASH: May 2026 Funding Opportunities (14 new opportunities!)

The May update for Global Health & WASH brings new calls that cluster around three distinct shifts: LMIC research leadership moving from funder encouragement into a hard eligibility constraint, pharmaceutical and corporate-linked funders running structurally independent education and use-inspired research portfolios at substantial scale, and AI adoption shifting decisively from speculative tool to operational capability across health and WASH systems alike. In LMIC Research Leadership as Eligibility, Not Encouragement, Wellcome anchors the dominant signal of the month with three separate major calls that all require or strongly center LMIC leadership in their basic eligibility architecture. Wellcome’s ESIC Hubs (£1.5-£1.9M per hub over 3-5 years) explicitly requires an LMIC-based lead applicant, treating Global South leadership as a design constraint rather than a participation goal. Wellcome’s Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Development Award funds transdisciplinary teams whose lead must be a mid-career or established researcher based at an organization in Africa, South Asia, or Southeast Asia. Wellcome’s larger Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Award (£1M-£8M for optimizing licensed interventions) requires the administering organization to be in eligible LMIC regions and at least 50% of applicants based there. Around Wellcome, the same pattern shows up at smaller scale and across funders: CHINNOVA channels $1M into West and Central African research institutions for climate-health work; IBRO’s Neuroscience Training Grants explicitly tier ceilings by region of residence with Africa receiving the highest amount ($5,000); IHME’s GBD Emerging Researcher Award reserves at least one of its two annual awards for an LMIC researcher; Sidaction’s HIV Cure call funds research teams across France, the Netherlands, and eligible African countries with a minimum two-country collaboration requirement. Taken together, these calls signal a meaningful shift in how research equity is being operationalized — not as encouragement language at the bottom of a call, but as a structural feature of who can lead, where the work must be administered, and what proportion of the team must be regionally rooted. In Pharma-Funded Independent Medical Education and Use-Inspired Research, the lineup this month is unusually deep. Pfizer alone runs four parallel calls under independent education and quality improvement frameworks: a Migraine and Women’s Health RFP (200K x 2-year, $500K pool), Migraine IME ($200K, $1M pool), JAK Inhibitor evidence-based education ($100K), and Maternal Vaccination HCP Education in Saudi Arabia ($75K), plus a separate Pediatric Pneumococcal Surveillance research call in Saudi Arabia ($400K per project). Novo Nordisk Foundation runs four parallel calls of its own at substantial scale: Infectious Diseases Catalyst Grants (DKK 60M pool, up to DKK 7M collaborative), Non-Diabetic Endocrinology Collaborative Grants (DKK 53M pool, DKK 5-10M per project), Pioneer Innovator Grant Health (DKK 1.1M), and Distinguished Innovator Grant Health (DKK 6.8M). LEO Foundation deploys DKK 2-4M per project for dermatology research excellence. Pfizer’s framing across calls deliberately separates the funding from product promotion, emphasizing measurable practice-relevant change and structural distance between scientific outputs and commercial activity. Novo Nordisk’s “use-inspired” hard filter pushes researchers toward a credible translation pathway from mechanism to deployable tool. The pattern: industry-aligned funders are running structurally independent portfolios at meaningful $ that fund implementation evidence, not promotion. In AI as Operational Capability, Not Speculation, several calls this month explicitly treat AI adoption as a near-term operational question with real evidence and governance requirements, rather than a speculative trend to be watched. Wellcome’s ESIC Hubs frames AI as “the accelerator” for evidence synthesis, asking hubs to translate technical innovation into adoption-ready workflows that can match real-world policy timelines. UNICEF Venture Fund’s new Climate Tech for Children’s Health call funds for-profit startups deploying AI, machine learning, and blockchain in low-resource environments, with a strict requirement that solutions must already have a working prototype with promising pilot results. The Water Research Foundation has launched two simultaneous AI calls treating reproducibility, cybersecurity guardrails, and human-in-the-loop deployments as core design constraints rather than nice-to-haves: one on GenAI and Agentic AI in water utilities ($200K), one on alternatives to water shutoffs that explicitly screens for implementation economics evidence. Nordic Innovation’s quantum technology call (NOK 4.5M) extends the same logic into life science and healthcare, demanding consortium-stage projects mature enough to test with real users. TEF-Health offers €300K in subsidized testing infrastructure for European healthcare AI and robotics SMEs. The pattern: funders are converting AI pilots into playbooks, requiring transfer evidence and risk controls before AI can move from experimentation to sector-wide operational practice. For LMIC-based researchers in infectious disease or evidence synthesis, the three Wellcome calls together represent the deepest concentration of LMIC-led research capital in recent memory — pair the Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Development Award (£200K, deadline May 19) as a strategic pipeline feeder into the larger Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Award (£1-£8M, deadline June 2), since the development award functions explicitly as a track into the larger trial scheme. For Nordic researchers, the four Novo Nordisk Foundation calls plus LEO Foundation and Nordic Innovation Quantum represent ~$30M in regional research capital this cycle, all with deadlines clustered in May-August. For WASH practitioners, the three Water Research Foundation calls together (each up to $200K) are a cluster worth reading across — one on AI deployment, one on shutoff alternatives, one rewarding applied innovation — and the strongest applicants will articulate how their work bridges utility operations to policy-relevant evidence. For US-based clinical researchers and educators, the four Pfizer calls plus the APF Portfolio’s 80+ programs form an unusually accessible recurring pipeline; APF’s prohibition on indirect costs is a meaningful structural feature for early-career applicants whose institutions might otherwise absorb significant overhead. Snapshot of New Opportunities Total Estimated Funding Pool: $100 Million+ USD The grants are organized into three categories: Open Calls: Current grant and opportunities with a deadline. Grants are listed by closing date. 39 open opportunities- 14 new! Rolling Applications: current grant and opportunities with rolling applications (but it’s still best to submit as early as possible). 14 rolling opportunities- 1 new opportunity! Long term planning: Grants that have closed their current rounds, but are expected to open new windows. 4 long term opportunities! A quick tip for returning readers: if you want to jump straight to the newest additions, use CTRL F to search for “New!” and navigate quickly to the latest funding opportunities This post is for paid subscribers. This helps support the time and effort it takes to curate and organize these opportunities. Subscribe To keep this accessible to everyone who needs it, we’re happy to offer pay what you can rates. You can find more details here. Open Calls: Migraine Competitive Grant Program: Migraine and Women’s Health (Quality Improvement and/or Research RFP), Pfizer.*Closing soon!* Pfizer, in collaboration with the American Headache Society, is seeking independent quality improvement and research projects that close persistent gaps in migraine care for women across the United States. The funding logic centers on measurable, practice-relevant change: proposals should generate actionable evidence, tools, or system improvements that can be shared and used widely, not just within a single site. Priority areas span menstrual migraine and screening in women’s health settings, the role of hormonal fluctuations across the lifespan, sex-specific risk factors, comorbidities and quality-of-life burden, and disparities in outcomes by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The call is structured as a two-step competitive process with an initial Letter of Intent, with the strongest concepts expected to translate scientific insight into implementable improvements in diagnosis, management, and equity. Geographies: United States. Who can apply: U.S.-based organizations (not individuals), including professional schools, healthcare institutions, professional organizations, and other entities focused on healthcare improvement. Funding amount: Up to USD $200,000 total over 2 years; total pool USD $500,000. Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: migraine, women’s health, quality improvement, clinical research, menstrual migraine, health disparities. Deadline: LOI: May 5, 2026; Full proposal (by invitation): August 28, 2026. Learn more and apply here. This RFP rewards “shareable impact”: the most competitive submissions will pair rigorous methods with a clear plan for system uptake and dissemination beyond the originating institution. ReSSARC: Strengthening the Health Sector and Food Security in the Central African Republic (AID 013381/01/0) Call for Proposals, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). *Closing soon!* AICS is seeking a limited set of high-capacity humanitarian partners to deliver an integrated package that stabilizes essential health services while reducing acute malnutrition and strengthening food security resilience in priority areas of the Central African Republic. The funder’s logic is explicitly nexus-based: proposals should meet urgent, life-saving needs while reinforcing local systems, coordination mechanisms, and community-level capacity so results persist beyond the emergency window. AICS emphasizes inclusion and protection outcomes, expecting gender-sensitive design and explicit measures for groups facing compounded vulnerability, including women, children under five, internally displaced people, and people with disabilities. The call also signals a localization pathway, encouraging stronger collaboration with national NGOs and balanced partnerships, alongside clear coordination with existing cluster and humanitarian actors to minimize duplication and improve coverage. Geographies: Central African Republic (Bangui, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Lim-Pende, Lobaye). Who can apply: Non-profit organizations registered with AICS, plus eligible non-profits without an office in Italy that have a pre-existing collaboration agreement with an AICS-listed organization. Funding amount: Total pool EUR €1,800,000; max EUR €800,000 (single applicant) or EUR €1,000,000 (ATS). Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: malnutrition prevention and treatment, maternal and child health, community health services, food security and resilience, localization partnerships Deadline: May 5, 2026. Learn more and apply here. This call is structured to reward partners who can link frontline service delivery to system durability and localization, not just short-term coverage gains. Contracts for Innovation in drug and alcohol addiction healthcare, Innovate UK. *Closing soon!* Innovate UK, on behalf of the Office for Life Sciences Addiction Healthcare Goals program, is procuring R&D to accelerate innovations that can improve treatment outcomes, strengthen recovery, and reduce harm and deaths linked to drug and alcohol addiction. The competition is positioned as a market-facing readiness push: selected projects are expected to advance solutions toward later-stage validation, generate evidence of user acceptability and UK market fit, and map credible routes through regulatory and certification requirements. Innovate UK signals a preference for innovations that can be field-tested in relevant UK settings and progressed to TRL 6 or 7, with practical plans for commercialization after contract completion. This structure favors applicants that can execute most work in-house, co-develop with service providers and people with lived experience, and translate technical progress into deployable tools for addiction healthcare delivery. Geographies: United Kingdom. Who can apply: Single organizations of any size (including EU, EEA, or international) leading delivery, with most work and key deliverables carried out in the UK; subcontractors for specialist skills only. Funding amount: GBP £200,000–1.5 million per project (inclusive of VAT); Total pool: GBP £20 million (across two strands). Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: Mental Health, Health Systems Strengthening, Research & Development, Technology Access. Deadline: May 6, 2026 (11:00am). Learn more and apply here. This call uses procurement to pull near-market addiction innovations toward operational proof and adoption pathways in UK services.

May 4 • 3:59 AM EDT • Health • impactfunding.substack.com

4D mammo may be up to four times more accurate than 3D

The 4D system harnesses X-ray diffraction to measure molecular-level signatures of disease; these tissue “fingerprints” could help providers diagnose breast cancer in its earliest stages.

May 4 • 12:11 AM EDT • Business • radiologybusiness.com

Prisma Health hosts 20th Dragon Boat Festival, raising thousands for cancer research

This was the 20th anniversary of the event.

May 3 • 4:18 PM EDT • Health • foxcarolina.com

City of Ventura Launches Small Business Week With Events Supporting Local Businesses

The City of Ventura’s Economic Development team is celebrating Small Business Week, May 4-8, with a series of events and opportunities designed to support and connect the local business community.

May 3 • 12:26 PM EDT • Business • edhat.com

Gatorade getting a rebrand targeting non-athletes

Sixty years after it invented sports drinks, Gatorade is making a surprising pivot: It’s no longer focusing primarily on athletes. PepsiCo, Gatorade’s parent company, says the brand wants to broaden

May 3 • 2:00 AM EDT • Business • telegraphherald.com

Rise & Dine: New innkeepers restore 'historic touches' to Galena home

GALENA, Ill. — The Avery House Bed & Breakfast has served only a handful of guests since opening its doors under new ownership last month, but Shane Wilkinson can already

May 3 • 2:00 AM EDT • Business • telegraphherald.com

‘The reality, for better or worse’: Columbia comp sci students and faculty grapple with AI’s disruption of the field

‘The reality, for better or worse’: Columbia comp sci students and faculty grapple with AI’s disruption of the field ‘The reality, for better or worse’: Columbia comp sci students and faculty grapple with AI’s disruption of the field A field that once seemed like a direct path to stable, lucrative work is becoming less certain under AI, students and faculty told Spectator. By Ria Vasishtha and Arjun Menon May 3, 2026 Shanying Liu / Deputy Illustrations Editor Asia Genawi, SEAS ’29, first encountered artificial intelligence during her sophomore year at her high school in Indiana. Back in 2023, policies on AI varied widely—even within the same district—and some schools had no guidance at all. As Genawi began to see the effects of AI trickle into her classroom, she turned to guidance from her home state’s Department of Education, which she said she found “outdated and inaccessible.” Genawi spent the rest of her high school career dedicated to the issue, including writing a 15-page memo exploring varying AI policies across Indiana schools, which she sent to every Indiana state senator and representative whose contact information she was able to find. She later helped draft a bill that would have required public high schools to establish and share their own AI policies with students in an accessible format. But with so many other bills already awaiting referral, hers never made it to committee. When Genawi arrived at Columbia to study computer science, she found that the gaps she had spent years trying to address in Indiana had followed her there. Many students and professors were also grappling with what AI meant for the field. Across Columbia’s undergraduate schools, computer science has become the most popular major—accounting for around 11 percent of degrees awarded in Columbia College, 32 percent in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and 12 percent in the School of General Studies in 2024. While the number of computer science majors in SEAS grew from 166 to 173 during the 2024-25 academic year, the total number across the three schools fell around 4.5 percent from 393 to 375, driven by declines at Columbia College and General Studies. At Barnard, it has grown to become the second most popular major as of 2025, up from third the year prior. The number of degrees awarded have grown fivefold since 2016. Faculty members and students in the department told Spectator that the surge in the major’s popularity has been driven in large part by its apparent promise of a secure, well-paid career path. However, they noted that the recent rise of generative AI has compromised the sense of stability that once defined the field, even as interest in technical skills among students persists. According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 2024, out of 74 majors tracked, computer science had the fifth highest unemployment rate among majors at 7 percent, while computer engineering had the second highest at 7.8 percent. “Anecdotally, people are moving away from CS as a major,” Daniel Bauer, a senior lecturer in the computer science department, said. “They’re still taking some of our classes, right, because they think they need that, but they’re instead majoring in other things.” Bauer described a field that had shifted from what he called a “nerdy outlier discipline” to one that “everyone needs,” a sign that technical skills have become a baseline expectation across industries with the emergence of AI. “A lot of people thought, ‘Oh, it’s a guaranteed path to a stable income. You get a six-figure job right out of your undergrad,’” Bauer said. Now, companies may see AI as a way to reduce demand for entry-level programmers, especially in what he calls “code monkey jobs,” roles where a large number of employees are “just writing out code nine-to-five.” Chris Murphy, a senior lecturer in the computer science department, described the current moment as the convergence of two forces: the downturn of the job market and generative AI coming onto the scene. “Things kind of started to really pick up in 2014, 16,” he said, recalling the years after the weaker 2010 market. Murphy added that this was also a period where “students were getting more experience outside of class than they were inside of class” through internships, jobs, and side projects. Murphy suggested that the earlier momentum helped make computer science feel like both an academic program and a reliable pathway into work. That feeling is harder to sustain now as the industry reconfigures, which is a shift that students are seeing firsthand. Rebecca Yu, SEAS ’27, said that during a recent internship in Big Tech, she saw that “every single tech company was racing to integrate” large language models. She added that her manager said her intern class was the first to complete their assigned projects, which she attributed to the increased efficiency that comes with AI. Frank Liu, SEAS ’29, said that with AI lowering the barrier to coding, companies now expect everyone to write code. “A lot of companies outright say if you’re not using coding in your job, you might get fired for not being productive enough,” Liu said. Yu similarly expressed that students increasingly have to accept AI being a part of industry workflow, adding that many also “make use of it to maximize their productivity.” Richard Li, CC ’28, described a “franticness” among his peers as the pace of change accelerates. He explained how “some new tool” is released regularly, noting that tools rise and fall in prominence within weeks. He has come to believe that he doesn’t need to “match that speed all the time” and keep up with every development. Li has learned that AI tools allow him to “take a breath” and “get back into the loop much easier than before” when he needs to. While some companies specifically target Columbia when hiring, sending representatives to campus career fairs and recruiting large numbers from Columbia, a computer science degree cannot be treated as a static credential, Yu described. “You can’t just get your degree and stop learning after that. You have to always be learning,” Yu said. “That is something you basically have to expect for your job.” AI has not only affected students’ decisions to major in computer science, but also reshaped how the subject is taught. Across departments, faculty members no longer treat work done outside the classroom as a reliable measure of understanding, shifting instead toward in-person exams, quizzes, and attendance checks. While homework once made up as much as 60 to 70 percent of a student’s grade in computer science classes, Murphy said that breakdown has since flipped, with exams and quizzes now accounting for the majority. “The assumption—especially among pessimists—is that they’re using it to do their homework,” Murphy said. “They take the homework assignment. They put it into generative AI. Out comes the solution. Submit solution. The end.” Murphy said that faculty members ranged in their responses from fully prohibiting AI use to actively teaching students how to effectively work with AI. He said he shifted his approach this year after his teaching assistants called his belief that students weren’t using the technology “naïve,” and now permits students to use AI on assignments. His surveys of students in his introductory classes have told a more complicated story than the one so-called pessimists offer: Around 60 to 70 percent of students who reported using AI said they used it to have concepts explained to them, to clarify assignment instructions, to generate test cases, or to create practice questions. “Those are all ways that you might have had a tutor in the past to do that, and now you have this AI essentially as your tutor,” he said. Bauer has taken a different approach, teaching students how to use AI productively without sacrificing the core principles of the discipline. “People who are trained to actually use AI tools productively, while being in charge of designing the overall project, will be very much in demand in the next couple of years,” he said. Over the past year, a working group of computer science faculty has been redesigning the introductory and intermediate programming sequence to integrate generative AI as both a subject and a tool, representatives from SEAS wrote in a statement to Spectator. The effort is “coordinated” across the department, “not course-by-course,” with a systematic assessment of how AI integration is affecting student outcomes underway to shape the next round of changes. The goal, the department explained, is for students to be able to “read, verify, and reason about code, whether they or a model wrote it.” Tony Dear, senior lecturer in the computer science department, is piloting individualized AI feedback in a discrete mathematics course, while a machine learning course is also testing a Socratic AI dialogue system designed to “guide inquiry rather than supply answers,” the statement reads. Beyond individual courses, SEAS funded seven cross-departmental faculty projects in generative AI this past academic year, spanning biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, industrial engineering, and computer science, according to the statement. This phenomenon extends beyond the computer science department. SEAS’ new AI minor, which it announced in November 2025, reflects the University’s attempt to adapt. The minor is specifically designed for noncomputer science majors and aims to provide “essential AI knowledge” while emphasizing practical and responsible use across disciplines, according to the SEAS website. At the center of the minor is AI in Context, a course taught by a team of faculty from the departments of computer science, applied mathematics, philosophy, music, literature, and the Writing Center, the representatives told Spectator. Bauer described it as targeted at students who want to bring AI into fields like economics or biology, rather than as a path into software engineering itself. At the graduate level, SEAS announced a new Master of Science in artificial intelligence in February, with the inaugural cohort starting in the fall. While recognizing how AI has helped them navigate coursework, students also described its rise as isolating, even among members of the Application Development Initiative, one of Columbia’s largest computer science clubs. “As people start to ask AI for questions that they would normally ask students and members, it starts to isolate people” Li said. Alexa Kafka, BC ’27, echoed Li’s sentiment, pointing out that computer science has always been a collaborative discipline with code reviews and pull requests, even as AI makes independent work easier. Despite this, Kafka noted that she hasn’t been to office hours “in at least a year.” Bauer added that faculty are exploring long-term solutions to the assessment problem. “One of the things that we’re trying to do at the department or school level is to maybe move towards computerized testing facilities,” Bauer said, referring to ideas in the department to revitalize computer labs as an alternative to pen-and-paper exams. “We have to accept that this is the reality, for better or worse.” But more exams, students say, does not mean better learning, nor does it reflect how computer science is actually done. “Code is so variable and can be approached in so many directions, there’s never just going to be one correct answer. There can be multiple optimal solutions,” Kafka said. Students also expressed concern that the shift toward exam-heavy grading pulls focus away from the applied, project-based work that better reflects both discipline and industry expectations. ADI has tried to respond more quickly than the curriculum can. Through a vibe coding workshop this past semester, club members said they wanted to help students understand not just that AI exists, but how to use it deliberately. “Vibe coding” refers to the practice of prompting AI to write code for a task or project, and has become widespread enough that ADI felt the gap in formal instruction was worth addressing, according to Sophia Huang, BC ’29. The workshop introduced students to the concept of context engineering, which Shaina Sahu, SEAS ’27, described as not just writing a prompt, but optimizing “the rest of the relevant information that you would feed into the model.” Without that, students said that AI-generated code can fail at scale or introduce difficult-to-detect bugs. Genawi said the shift toward AI has changed what it means to be good at computer science. “I think the shift has kind of gone towards what can you create and what can you do, instead of, what do you know,” she said. Indeed, during ADI DevFest, its annual hackathon, Li said more teams are trying to complete their projects than in years past. While sign-ups have historically outpaced submissions, Li said this is beginning to change because teams “have a tool that completes the vision for them.” While many students see AI as an equalizer that lowers the barrier to entry for coding and technical work, Murphy said it also creates new equity concerns inside the classroom around who can afford stronger tools and who already knows how to use them. “The equity issues I worry about are students who have access to paid versions of things versus free versions of things,” he said. Although popular AI models like ChatGPT and Claude have free versions available, both have paid models that can reach over $100 per month, which output different qualities of code. Murphy also pointed to differences in prior exposure to AI literacy itself. “Students who go to high schools or K-12 education, where they’re taught AI literacy, prompt engineering, context engineering, they understand how to do this, as opposed to students who go to schools who don’t teach that,” he said. “Then they come in, and then they’re somehow expected to know how to use these tools.” For Genawi, those disparities begin long before students arrive on campus. “It’s very interesting to consider how lucky you were geographically,” she said. “To be born where you were is influencing your ability to get access to these spaces.” Students like Yu, though broadly apprehensive about the future of computer science, are not without hope. “I’m optimistic, because I think if you’re truly passionate about CS, there will definitely be a place in the field to do something you want to do,” she said. Senior Staff Writer Ria Vasishtha can be contacted at ria.vasishtha@columbiaspectator.com. Follow Spectator on X @ColumbiaSpec. Staff Writer Arjun Menon can be contacted at arjun.menon@columbiaspectator.com. Follow Spectator on X @ColumbiaSpec. Want to keep up with breaking news? Subscribe to our email newsletter and like Spectator on Facebook. Produced with Spectate by Emily Ta

May 2 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • columbiaspectator.com

Reaching for the stars: enduring symbols of Soviet science

The photographer Eric Lusito takes us on a scientific journey through space and time in a book on Soviet scientific institutes

May 2 • 7:01 PM EDT • Science • theguardian.com

Scientists Develop New Antibody For Virus That Infects 95% of People

A crucial milestone.

May 2 • 5:00 PM EDT • Science • sciencealert.com

Scientists Develop New Antibody For Virus That Infects 95% of People

A crucial milestone.

May 2 • 5:00 PM EDT • Technology • sciencealert.com

ONBOOKS | OPINION: Forensic science, uncertainty, and ‘classical mistakes’

New biography of Alan R. Moritz traces how forensic science learned to define what it can — and cannot — know.

May 2 • 2:30 PM EDT • Science • arkansasonline.com