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Bryson DeChambeau aims to salvage major season at The Open as LIV Golf contract nears expiration
DeChambeau's contract year has been a disaster, but he has one last chance to get something out of the four major championships
Bills Claim Recently Cut Jets WR Off Waivers Before Camp
The Buffalo Bills have claimed a former New York Jets wide receiver off waivers before training camp. The post Bills Claim Recently Cut Jets WR Off Waivers Before Camp appeared first on HEAVY.
$321 million science initiative aims to make Appalachia America's next energy innovation hub
The U.S. National Science Foundation has announced that the Resilient Energy Technology and Infrastructure (RETI) Consortium is one of only 12 recipients
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse on initially dismissing claims by Platner accuser
Backlash against Sony over PlayStation's all-digital future gets louder — here's how things could play out in court
By eliminating physical game discs in 2028, Sony may be setting itself up for antitrust battles reminiscent of Epic's monopoly claims against mobile app stores.
Jalen Brunson to Join Variety’s Inaugural Sports & Entertainment Studio in New York
Variety is bringing its acclaimed Sports & Entertainment franchise to New York City in its first-ever interview studio featuring conversations with the voices shaping the future of the sports and ente...
Imax to Develop Entertainment System for Self-Driving Cars in China
The big-screen innovator and Goer Dynamics, an arm of the Chinese manufacturing giant behind Meta's headsets and Apple's AirPods, aim to start production by the end of 2026.
JPMorgan expands EMEA corporate banking business in latest push on regional rivals
By Lawrence White LONDON, July 15 (Reuters) - JPMorgan has launched an expansion of its corporate banking business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa as it seeks to grow income and claim market share from regional and domestic lenders, James Roddy, ...
JPMorgan expands EMEA corporate banking business in latest push on regional rivals
JPMorgan has launched an expansion of its corporate banking business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa as it seeks to grow income and claim market share from regional and domestic lenders, James Roddy, head of global corporate banking at the U.S. lender, told Reuters.
Iowa Tribe claims health care sovereignty from IHS
The Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma entered the Indian Health Service’s Tribal Self-Governance Program this month, announcing it now has more direct oversight of its healthcare.
Iowa Tribe claims health care sovereignty from IHS
The Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma entered the Indian Health Service’s Tribal Self-Governance Program this month, announcing it now has more direct oversight of its healthcare.
What to watch as Apple, OpenAI face off over trade secret claims
A lawyer says a lawsuit between OpenAI and Apple over trade secret theft could set the stage for a legal battle that may reshape tech industry norms.
China’s Chip Champion to Raise Billions in Race for A.I. Control
CXMT, a linchpin in China’s drive to develop homegrown artificial intelligence technology, is aiming to raise nearly $10 billion in a blockbuster public offering in Shanghai.
TMA calls for new guardrails on betting-style apps as sports betting concerns grow
A new proposal from the Texas Medical Association is taking aim at online prediction market platforms, calling for more guardrails to protect young users from gambling-like behavior.
Georgia political leaders push back on upcoming Trump address
Speculation is rampant that the president will use the speech to air allegations of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, reportedly taking direct aim at the legitimacy of sitting Democratic Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.
‘Not harmless entertainment’: Montgomery County bill looks to tackle street takeovers
A new bill moving through the Montgomery County Council is aimed at tackling a big, sometimes dangerous problem on county streets.
47 revelatory hours with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced
To review this month’s supposed remake of 2013’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, I must first correct the record. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced isn’t a game about pirates (and assassins) in the 18th century Caribbean. Sure, sure, that’s what the trailers would have you believe. They’ve go their clips of Edward Kenway swinging his swords and steering his pirate ship into cannon-blasting combat against British frigates. Is Resynced truly a pirate game? Of the 47 hours I spent playing Resynced over the past few weeks, I will admit I spent maybe 44 (?) of them collecting plunder with Blackbeard, drinking rum with Anne Bonny and debating the pros and cons of the lawless pirate-run settlement Nassau with Benjamin Hornigold. I may in fact have spent dozens of hours sailing to remote islands, reading treasure maps, opening messages left in bottles, sinking the odd Man o’ War with a well-timed broadside, collecting sea shanties for my crew, befriending a pet monkey, and hunting whales. I am nevertheless neither so Gullible nor so Narrow-Minded as to call the magnificent Resynced a “pirate remake.” Oh no. Forget any reviews of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced you may have read. Forget what you yourself may have played, if you’ve spent any time with the game since its launch. What Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is really about I’m here to give you the scoop (spoilers for Resynced’s Animus menu lore, which many players are probably not going to see): Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, the new game whose development was led by Ubisoft Singapore, is set in the year 2096. It’s about a societal split, about revolution, about an old Assassin’s Creed adventure repurposed in the series’ distant future as propaganda or samizdat. It’s about the overheated future of 2096, essentially conquered by the series’ well-established nefarious Templar-run company Abstergo. (In this future, Abstergo is, among other things, remaking a 2013 pirate movie called Devils of the Caribbean, but this time in VR. The VR version will be backed by a marketing plan that involves AI influencers, a 10,000-avatar “metaverse premiere event” and that manufacturing of memes aimed at “50 million VR nodes.” See what I mean about Abstergo being evil?) Resynced is about a late 21st-century population mollified by the widespread use of Abstergo’s Animus devices which let people experience the lives of historical figures culled from “genetic memories.” It’s about an insurgent faction of Assassins. And it’s about a plan to wake the population into revolutionary fervor by showing them the memories of 18th century pirate Edward Kenway, who—as depicted in the original Black Flag and again in Resynced—gradually comes to an understanding about the Assassins of his day and their centuries old fight for freedom. Resynced is also about an AI developed within the late 21st-century Animus, called Ego. It has found a way to alter genetic memories, to create and show Animus users false ones. The game is about Ego’s efforts to tell the people experiencing Edward Kenway’s memories that Kenway was wrong, that fighting against order is folly, that we should crave a world where “compliance is rewarded with power.” Who are we in this game? We’re an unnamed Animus user in 2096 who experiences Kenway’s journey virtually. At four moments during Kenway’s exploits in the Caribbean our virtual jaunt can be interrupted for 10-15 minutes, as we explore Animus “rifts” where Ego explicitly tries to tell us how wrong Kenway was. None of this is what 2013’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag was about, of course. That was a different game, even if you also spent dozens of hours pirating as Kenway in that game, across missions and a map that’s been faithfully reintroduced and rebuilt for Resynced. The 2013 Black Flag was about you playing as an unnamed researcher newly hired in 2013 by Abstergo Entertainment, the video game development wing of the Templars’ evil-corp. In that game, you were assigned to use the Animus to dive into the genetic memories of Desmond Miles, a man who died in Assassin’s Creed III and who was descended from a long line of Assassins (and at least one Templar) whose adventures were featured across the prior AC games. In 2013’s Black Flag, your mission was to plumb the Edward Kenway experience for material that Abstergo could use in productions such as the motion picture Devils of the Caribbean, though the Templars had some ulterior motives for the assignment. Resynced is therefore not a remake of 2013’s Black Flag. It’s a sequel. It is a new game about a new exploration of Edward Kenway’s pirate/assassin journey, set 83 years after the framing sequences of the original game. Resynced provides a new narrative framework that, thanks to the concept of an AI that wants to alter historical memories, arrives with creative justification to tweak a now-classic 13-year old game. That makes Resynced, already a hot seller, a tantalizing hint of where Ubisoft could go with a line of Assassin’s Creed remakes. They could remake the first game, the Ezio games, even the recent ones set in ancient Egypt and Greece. And for each, they could not just modernize the graphics and controls but expand and alter their sequences of events to use them as reference points for a conflict set in the late 21st century, as rival factions try to weaponize historical memories. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, even when that work consists of ravings about Assassin’s Creed’s modern day plot, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe A story most players will probably miss If you didn’t know any of this, I’m not surprised. If you played the game and still didn’t catch it, I’m not a bit shocked. If Ubisoft has no plans to do more of this, I won’t fall down. Almost all of what I’ve described is optional and missable in Black Flag Resynced. I nearly missed it myself, as I planned for a breezy playthrough of an old Assassin’s Creed favorite. Instead, I found myself in a 40+ hour hunt for the “real” story, buried deeper in Resynced than any gold-filled chest. The story of 2096 is Resynced’s meta-story, told in two remote pockets of the game: 1) four optional playable “rifts” that players may find as they proceed through Resynced’s pirate fantasy , 2) in dozens of text files tucked three menus deep in the game’s barely-interactive Animus hub. Assassin’s Creed games have almost always had a meta-story about people in the 21st century (usually matching the game’s release year) and their connections to the main history portions you play. Those meta-stories have always been squeezed into the margins, though seldom as severely and as, uh, graphiaclly simple, as in recent games. Back in 2013, the modern-day exploits of you as an Abstergo Entertainment employee were prominent. They were portrayed via first-person portions that occasionally interrupted the third-person Kenway experience and could be explored for hours, complete with their own missions, side quests and puzzles. Resynced’s 2096 story—of Assassin “Watchers” vs. Abstergo/Tempar goons, of rogue AIs, of panicking scientists, of a woman wondering why her Animus-addicted husband is muttering about Mary Read (“What does he mean by Assassins?”), of a fight for the population’s hearts and minds via varying interpretations of Edward Kenway’s life choices—is mostly told through unlockable text files. The files are interesting. Offered via diary entries, intercepted chats and news reports, they present varied perspectives of a world in crisis. One set works as a narrative puzzle as it reveals the Rashomonic interpretations of a massacre, or was that a successful Assassin hit? Another favorite reveals the rising bitterness of a person who, through Edward Kenway’s journey, now shakes at the ignored evil around him. One surmises that Ubisoft is averse to putting the Assassin’s Creed’s meta-story in the way of more marketable pirate playgrounds and ninja/samurai epics. Instead, we get a better-than-nothing text-in-menus approach introduced in 2025’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows. In Shadows, players unlocked the meta-story text files largely via time-gated missions that called on the user to kill X number of enemy type Y, clear three enemy castles, re-win a three-phase fighting tournament, and other grinds. Time restrictions on accessing these missions and unlocking the files meant it could take players months to access the full story in-game. But even in the most hardcore Assassin’s Creed hangouts, the fanbase instead seemed to throw up their hands rather than grind to keep up. In Resynced, Ubisoft has shown some mercy, diminishing the amount of new text files that are tied to timed grinds. Now, most of the text-based 2096 lore are associated with “data file” collectibles that players can find in the world. That includes a batch of written entries that explain a historical link between the feudal Japan era in Shadows and the piracy adventures in Black Flag. Players who explore a lot will find dozens of data files, though the game does not appear to offer any in-game tracker for finding each one. You just need to keep looking for them. As of this writing, I have most of them, but not all. I can’t find any full guide for them online. And even Ubisoft’s optional $5 microtransaction that reveals lots of items in-game does not appear to reveal the locations of the text files (at least the official description omits them from its collectibles list). That’s not a huge bother, because tracking the data files down compelled me to re-explore the waves and islands of Black Flag. That was a thoroughly pleasant task to do for the first time in a dozen years. I expect many players, though, will be content to wait for the files to be reproduced in an online AC wiki somewhere, the easier to read on a web page. It may not seem enticing to play a video game in order to gradually unlock pages of text to read. Why not, you may ask, just read a book, where they put the pages in order? For one, they’ve not tucked this latest installment of Assassin’s Creed’s meta saga in a book. I also enjoy the unordered delivery, the dawning comprehension of a story about 2096’s desperate people and questionable tech, which I glimpsed first at its middle, then the end, then the front, then other moments in between1. I am also enamored with the idea of the Assassin’s Creed games I’ve previously played, including Black Flag, being repurposed for an information war. The ideas in Resynced’s meta-story, which builds off characters and ideas in Shadows’ chunks of text, are strong. The potential of where they could go with it is exciting. As for the pirate stuff? Looks great, controls pretty well, is fun to play and oh so speedy in terms of how much of a good time you can have with each sit-down. It never gets old to chase a new shanty page across a rooftop, bombard a fort with upgraded mortars or use a diving bell to explore sunken wrecks (hats off to the team at Ubisoft Barcelona that worked on the underwater portions in Resynced; that team is now facing layoffs, such is the misery of modern gaming and oft-troubled Ubisoft). New pirate missions in Resynced involving new ally characters are brief, dramatic and add more to Edward’s story, even if the gameplay perks they provide barely enhance the gameplay. A new denouement for high-class pirate Stede Bonnet is affecting; a new hunt for Blackbeard’s treasure is a welcome extra moment. A new epilogue to hunt down a pirate killer, on the other hand, over-complicates Kenway’s character. The ending credits remain my favorite of any game I’ve ever played. Black Flag provides great source material. The revisit is well-made and a great sign of what could be. It is offered in a different wrapper that hints at an opportunity for more interesting remakes to come, should Ubisoft choose to pursue such treasures—and as we brace to resist or comply with an Abstergo future. 1 The messages that Edward Kenway finds in bottles tell another out-of-order story, one about a man reckoning with the strange memories and voices he’s heard in his head since he was a boy. That tale was also in the 2013 game and develops into one of Black Flag’s most compelling character arcs. In Resynced, it has lost its climax, because the bottle story previously paid off in the halls of the first-person Abstergo Entertainment, which is exclusive to the older game. An altered resolution, written by the 2013 game’s lead writer is fine, doesn’t invalidate the 2013 version, but makes for an inferior final note.
Fender escalates Stratocaster copyright fight, taking aim at Yamaha
Fender, the U.S. maker of the iconic Stratocaster electric guitar played by Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, has widened its legal campaign to defend the guitar's design with a notice letter sent to Yamaha , the Japanese company told Reuters.
‘Bachelor No. 2’ resurfaces for Aimee Mann
Veteran singer-songwriter Aimee Mann will perform her breakthrough album at the Englert on Wednesday, July 22 at the Englert.
9th Circuit rules for California small-business owner in challenge to federal anti-money laundering rule
A Southcrest business owner challenged a rule FinCEN said was aimed at combatting money laundering
D-topia review – cosy sci-fi mystery takes aim at AI
A soft puzzle game makes a sharp point about the over-optimised future ahead
Factories Now Ready for iPhone 20's Glass Redesign, Leaker Claims
Facilities in Apple's supply chain have finished renovations ahead of "iPhone 20" production, according to a Weibo leaker who says Apple's 20th-anniversary iPhone will move to an all-glass design. In a new post on Weibo, the leaker known as "Fixed Focus Digital" said the "preferred approach" for the iPhone 20 is a return to glass, with manufacturing quality expected to land somewhere around that of the first-generation iPhone Air.
Upcoming OLED iPad Mini Allegedly Uses 60Hz 8.4-Inch Display Panel
Apple is allegedly using a 60Hz 8.4-inch display panel in the upcoming OLED iPad mini, which is expected to be released later this year. The information comes courtesy of a hit-and-miss tipster running the account "yeux1122" on the Korean Naver blog. The leaker claims to have been told by a source in Apple's supply chain that the unreleased iPad mini is equipped with a low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) backplane hybrid OLED panel clocked at 60Hz.
Trump administration claims healthcare fraud crackdown has saved taxpayers $5.56B in six months
A new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General shows most of the money comes from a small number of huge cases, where the federal government was able to reclaim hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicare and Medicaid funds being abused by criminal defendants.
Wisconsin's small businesses face headwinds to growth
Wisconsin small businesses aim to survive and grow.
Bipartisan bill seeks to bolster AI use in pediatric cancer care
Members of the Childhood Cancer Caucus are proposing the Accelerating Innovation for Kids Act, aimed at fast-tracking the deployment of this tech in pediatrics.
Silicon Valley has a science fiction problem
Tech titans claim the genre inspired them. But all they’ve done is graft their politics onto stories of a better future
Silicon Valley has a science fiction problem
Tech titans claim the genre inspired them. But all they’ve done is graft their politics onto stories of a better future
New rumours suggest Nintendo could be looking into upgrading the Switch 2 with an OLED screen
It's been claimed serious talks about upgrading the Switch 2 with an OLED screen are underway at Nintendo, but nothing has been decided yet.
Researchers Claim to Have Solved the Perplexing ‘Reverse Sprinkler’ Problem
Scientists have argued over the question since 1883.
New local business aims to bring on-site car maintenance to De Pere
DE PERE, Wis. (WFRV) — A new business is coming to the De Pere area to help anyone seeking car maintenance and repairs, according to a press release. HMS Mobile Auto opened its doors for business on J...
Shia LaBeouf says ‘Holes’ costar Sigourney Weaver allegedly ‘slapped’ his dad after he hit on her
Shia LaBeouf claims ‘Holes’ costar Sigourney Weaver ‘slapped’ his dad after he hit on her
‘Off Campus’ creator reacts to $80K pay disparity claim between leads Ella Bright and Belmont Cameli: ‘Check your sources’
‘Off Campus’ creator Louisa Levy responded to a claim a podcast made about pay disparities between lead actors Ella Bright and Belmont Cameli: ‘These numbers are far from correct.’
The Quintessential Trump-era Politician
In 2020, I wrote an article about collaboration and collaborators. The title was History Will Judge the Complicit, and it started with the story of two famous East Germans, Markus Wolf and Wolfgang Leonhard, who both landed in East Berlin just after the end of the war. Although they came from very similar backgrounds, the former stuck with the regime, eventually becoming its spy boss; the latter, horrified by the brutal reality of Soviet-style communism, escaped. By way of juxtaposition, I also wrote about Lyndsey Graham and Mitt Romney. These two men also made very different decisions when confronted by Donald Trump’s assault on the ideals that they had both grown up believing: A glance at their biographies would not have led many to predict what happened next. On paper, Graham would have seemed, in 2016, like the man with deeper ties to the military, to the rule of law, and to an old-fashioned idea of American patriotism and American responsibility in the world. Romney, by contrast, with his shifts between the center and the right, with his multiple careers in business and politics, would have seemed less deeply attached to those same old-fashioned patriotic ideals. Most of us register soldiers as loyal patriots, and management consultants as self-interested. We assume people from small towns in South Carolina are more likely to resist political pressure than people who have lived in many places. Intuitively, we think that loyalty to a particular place implies loyalty to a set of values. But in this case the clichés were wrong. It was Graham who made excuses for Trump’s abuse of power. It was Graham—a JAG Corps lawyer—who downplayed the evidence that the president had attempted to manipulate foreign courts and blackmail a foreign leader into launching a phony investigation into a political rival. It was Graham who abandoned his own stated support for bipartisanship and instead pushed for a hyperpartisan Senate Judiciary Committee investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden’s son. It was Graham who played golf with Trump, who made excuses for him on television, who supported the president even as he slowly destroyed the American alliances—with Europeans, with the Kurds—that Graham had defended all his life. By contrast, it was Romney who, in February, became the only Republican senator to break ranks with his colleagues, voting to impeach the president. “Corrupting an election to keep oneself in office,” he said, is “perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of one’s oath of office that I can imagine.” In the wake of Graham’s unexpected death on Saturday, I wrote about him again. He was, in many ways, the quintessential politician of Trump’s Washington, a man who shifted 180 degrees. Graham had been a fervent American patriot, proud reserve officer and military lawyer; he became one of the most important defenders of a president who believes soldiers are “suckers and losers” and shows no respect for law of any kind. As his politics changed, his language grew coarser and his behavior grew worse: He urged Israel to “level the place” in Gaza, and insulted the Danish prime minister in Munich, prompting a colleague, Senator Elissa Slotkin, to issue an apology. Here’s an excerpt from the article, which you can read in The Atlantic (gift link here) Like his close friend John McCain, Graham believed that America should stand at the center of a broad democratic alliance. The few times I met him were in that context, at the Munich Security Conference or at other European-American gatherings, which he once attended with great regularity. He also took seriously the practice of American democracy at home. In a 2014 conversation with The Atlantic, he described himself as a pragmatic politician who eschewed populist slogans. “I know Washington is broken, but what’s broken about it is everybody yelling and nobody trying to fix it,” he said. “I’m trying.” When Donald Trump first appeared in U.S. politics, Graham recognized him immediately for what he was: the spokesman for an alien ideology, one radically different from the idealistic patriotism that Graham had practiced and preached since childhood. Trump privately mocked the military that Graham loved as nothing but “suckers and losers.” He put falsehoods, cynicism, and personal greed at the center of his politics, while expressing disdain for transparency, accountability, and democracy itself. In 2015, Graham described Trump as a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot” who should “go to hell.” Also as a “nutjob.” When Trump won, Graham understood, as did so many others, that he would have to make some important choices. For a while, he went silent. In the spring of 2016, I saw him at one of those conferences in Europe. He seemed too depressed to speak. But then, like many other Republicans—and, more important, like many other people who have lived under political occupation or experienced radical regime change—he made the decision to abandon his previous ideals, to bury the patriotism that was once so important to him, and to become, instead, a loud, opportunistic collaborator. As I wrote in 2020, it’s very hard to look in to anyone’s heart and to understand their motivations from the outside. But it does seem that Graham had a deep need to be relevant, to be in the game, to be a player, at any cost. And that, rather than any particular achievement, is what he will be remembered for. Continuing to monitor conflicts of interest, ostentatious emoluments, outright corruption and policy changes that will facilitate outright corruption. (Read my original article, Kleptocracy Inc and check out the SNF Agora Institute chart) June 27 Trump diverted funds from more than 900 projects nationwide—including safety upgrades at national parks—to finance beautification projects around Washington, including $700,000 used to fix a White House walkway. June 28 After a years-long Department of Justice investigation into Abbott Laboratories over its management of a baby formula facility where potentially deadly bacteria turned up enough evidence to criminally charge the firm, top department officials instead opted for a financial penalty—illustrating the department’s move away from strict corporate enforcement under the Trump administration. June 29 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stacked the Defense Policy Board—which is charged with providing independent national security recommendations to the Office of the Secretary of Defense—with Trump allies, including tech billionaire Marc Andreessen, who has invested in defense contractors like OpenAI and SpaceX, after purging the panel last year. Trump purchased between $1 million and $5 million worth of stock in Axon—which makes about 90% of US tasers—two weeks before ICE solicited bids for a $220 million taser contract. The White House unveiled limited-edition US passports for America’s 250th birthday, featuring a portrait of Trump overlaid on the Declaration of Independence. June 30 Trump made around $1.2 billion from his various crypto companies last year, including more than $500 million from World Liberty Financial and $600 million from sales of his meme coin. Trump is considering issuing 250 pardons to commemorate America’s 250th birthday. These are expected to be largely doled out through the Office of the Pardon Attorney’s informal network of intermediaries. White-collar defense attorneys say they can typically win pardons for clients for $2 million. Last year, Trump administration officials awarded a no-bid contract worth up to $500 million to Clark Construction for the White House ballroom—negotiations in which the president was directly involved. July 1 The Amazon MGM Studios documentary about Melania Trump earned the First Lady more than $10 million. Trump made hundreds of individual stock purchases worth as much as $12.8 million the day before his announcement pausing “Liberation Day” tariffs for 90 days sent the S&P 500 soaring nearly 10%—one of the largest single-day gains ever. Mar-a-Lago and Trump National Doral saw record surges in revenue during Trump’s first year in office, earning $77.5 million and $121.9 million respectively, compared to average annual revenues of $25 million and $75 million during Trump’s first term. Entities across the Persian Gulf paid more than $300 million to Trump’s businesses last year, including $263 million from the sale of half his stake in World Liberty Financial to a firm backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a top UAE royal and brother of the country’s president. Kash Patel failed to properly disclose his stock purchase of a Department of Justice contractor, MicroStrategy, worth up to $250,000 last year, despite laws requiring disclosure within 45 days of the trade. July 2 Trump has been directing administration officials to steer more government contracts—so far worth more than $2.4 billion—to Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin aerospace firm, after Amazon gave $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, donated to the White House ballroom project, and reached a $40 million deal to license a Melania Trump documentary. Alongside the billions he made from cryptocurrency last year, Trump earned millions of dollars from real estate licensing fees, including $21 million from organizations in the UAE and $9.2 million in Saudi Arabia, along with smaller sums from merchandise sales, including $4.7 million from Trump Watches and $35,920 from 45 Guitar, a guitar brand endorsed by the president. House Democrats accused consultants tied to the Trump administration of financial fraud, alleging they gave prospective donors to America250—the bipartisan committee created by Congress to celebrate the nation’s semiquincentennial—the banking and routing numbers for Freedom 250, the White House’s fund for events like the UFC cage fight. Democrats also allege that Freedom 250’s CEO traveled to the World Economic Forum in Davos to solicit donations from foreign government officials and business leaders. The Trump administration’s proposed rollback of gun regulations would lift the prohibition on mailing handguns to individuals, a significant win for GrabAGun—the direct-to-consumer firearm retailer on whose board Donald Trump Jr. sits and in which he holds a 1.1% ownership stake. GrabAGun currently must rely on a middleman to transfer firearms to customers. Trump’s financial disclosure revealed that he made more than 21,000 securities trades during his first year back in office, growing his investment account to at least $858 million across stakes in around 1,600 companies, compared to the 13 total trades Joe Biden made during his entire presidency. July 4 Nearly 1 million people who bought the president’s meme coin—Trump Coin—collectively lost $3.8 billion on the token, while he walked away with $636 million. July 6 Shares of Dell closed up 4.4% after Trump recommended people buy the firm’s computers during a speech announcing the launch of Trump investment accounts for children, boosting the more than $1 million worth of shares the president owns in the company. July 9 Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh named crypto investor and Trump ally Marc Andreessen to a task force aimed at modernizing the Federal Reserve, including rethinking its approach to inflation—a key factor keeping interest rates elevated. Palm Beach International Airport has officially changed its name to Trump International Airport—a move that will require Florida to pay royalties to the president’s family for licensing his name. I was there a few months ago, during a trip to Barcelona. The sculptures were a revelation, I’d never seen so many together before. Each one has its own personality. Enjoy the good weather, if you are lucky enough to have it. History Will Judge the Complicit The Quintessential Politician Autocracy Inc Open Letters, from Anne Applebaum is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe
Sen. Lindsey Graham's sudden death spurs false claims
Sen. Lindsey Graham's unexpected death on Saturday night fueled baseless speculation on social media that his passing was the result of a criminal action. Here's a closer look at the facts.
Polymarket Promo Code SBWIRE Get $50 Bonus for World Cup, Politics & More For July 13
Use Polymarket promo code SBWIRE to skip the waitlist AND claim a $50 bonus with a $20 deposit welcome offer. Start trading prediction markets immediately.
South Carolina Plant Manager Says ICE Raid Left Business Severely Short-Staffed: ‘It’s Dead’
A South Carolina plant manager has sparked extreme reactions online after claiming his business hasn’t recovered since federal agents showed up. According to Fox Carolina, which interviewed the wareho...
Experimental Transmission Aims To Tackle The Biggest Problems With Hybrids
Faraday Future patented the Range-Extending Hybrid Transmission System to fix PHEV complexity using a multi-clutch and multi-shaft architecture.
Business Monday: Hawaiʻi Island resident creates a new app to streamline hiring process nationwide
Jessica Cockrell of Hilo has launched ShiftPass, an innovative app that aims to ease the hiring process in the short-term and improve career possibilities for Hawaiʻi residents in the long-term.
Frontline Strategies aims to lead a changing lobbying landscape
Frontline Strategies, a Baton Rouge government relations firm launched in January through the merger of Sequitur Consulting and The Tatman Group, has quickly built a diverse client base across industries including insurance, health care, education, transportation and finance. Led by Beverly Haydel, David Tatman, Doreen Brasseaux and Evan Alvarez, the firm offers lobbying, policy research, […]
Germany pushes through healthcare reform package despite pharma's drug discount resistance
Even as the effort has met with fierce pushback from drugmakers, trade groups and opposition parties in the country’s own government, German lawmakers late Friday voted to pass health insurance ref | Even as the effort has met with fierce pushback, German lawmakers late Friday voted to pass health insurance reforms aiming to cut healthcare costs, in part by hiking up mandatory rebates that pharmas must pay on branded medicines.
It's time to reclaim the Luddite
Big Tech looted our attention. Getting it back means rethinking the world offline.
Vatican hits back at U.S. claim that Pope Leo speaks as a politician
President Donald Trump's ambassador had sought to portray the pontiff as the political leader of the Holy See. The Vatican swiftly said he is “proclaiming the Gospel.”
M+C Saatchi NA launches entertainment arm as branded content booms
Jen Bacchus, a former WME executive, is leading the specialized offering that aims to help clients drive deeper cultural relevance.
How these Maine business leaders turned setbacks into superpowers
These four vignettes aim to shed light on what life is like for leaders who have grappled with a physical setback or neurological condition — and the life lessons that came out of overcoming those struggles.
VFW cartoon showing veterans facing a firing squad sparks calls for an investigation
A cartoon depicting a firing squad of bureaucrats and media with rifles aimed at US veterans has prompted a powerful congressman to call for an investigation into one of America’s oldest veterans advocacy groups, stoking a debate over free speech for political satire.
Bioenergy Life Science adopts decentralised clinical research to support nutraceutical claims
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Handover of Health Commodities
Joint Handover of Health Commodities Speech of Chargé d’Affaires Steve Bremner (…) Thank you for joining us. I am here today to demonstrate how U.S. foreign assistance under President Trump’s America First Global Health Strategy and our bilateral health MOU makes America safer and stronger while helping Madagascar build a more self-reliant health system. Through our bilateral Global Health Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in December 2025 with the Ministry of Public Health, our two governments outlined shared priorities and responsibilities, including a strong focus on infectious disease threats and Madagascar’s increasing ownership and co-investment in its own health system. The MOU outlines the structure and terms of U.S. support to Madagascar’s health sector from 2026 through 2030, with a total commitment of $134,305,000 from the U.S. government and $41,216,252 from the Government of Madagascar to work jointly to address malaria, maternal and child health, polio and global health security issues. Stronger health systems help prevent instability and reduce the risk that infectious diseases reach the United States, making both our countries safer. America First foreign assistance is clear and disciplined: It is a tool of strategic engagement, not global charity. Every U.S. taxpayer dollar must show measurable results, reduce long-term dependence on U.S. taxpayer resources, and support greater self-reliance in recipient countries. Support must be efficient and targeted, with zero tolerance for fraud, waste, or abuse. This year, through the U.S.-funded Global Health Supply Chain Program – Procurement and Supply Management project, we are distributing: 989,250 long-lasting insecticide-treated nets, worth $2,000,000 to 63 districts and 1,661 Community Health Centers across Madagascar, with the third and final delivery of these nets having arrived in late June. Through the U.S.-funded Momentum Country and Global Leadership (MCGL) project, we are funding: The full cost of Starlink internet connectivity equipment procurement, installation, and one-year subscription for 31 priority District and Regional Health Offices. Through the U.S.-funded Strengthening Infectious Disease Detection Systems project, we are supplying: 908,523 pieces of critical medical equipment and a modernized digital surveillance system to the Ministry of Public Health. These materials will strengthen health systems, improve response capabilities, and help those most in need of protection from mosquito-borne diseases — particularly malaria, which continues to claim the lives of children and women at an unacceptable rate. Deployed effectively, they will contribute to reducing maternal and newborn mortality in rural and hard-to-reach communities where the need is greatest. In these same underserved areas, Starlink connectivity will play a critical role in enabling the rapid transmission of health data and information to central levels, ensuring that decision-makers receive timely, actionable intelligence and can mount swift, coordinated responses to protect populations. For Americans, this support delivers concrete benefits. Stronger health systems in Madagascar help detect and contain infectious diseases before they spread across borders, protecting American and Malagasy families. More stable, healthier countries can expand trade and economic cooperation with the United States. Our goal is not permanent support; it is temporary, targeted assistance that helps Madagascar save lives while achieving greater self-reliance and independence from foreign assistance. To the health workers and community health agents here that will use the products we’re delivering today: your dedication and skills save lives. Your work exemplifies the kind of local ownership that will enable Madagascar to reduce dependence on foreign assistance and manage the country’s health challenges. This targeted support delivers results today while helping Madagascar build toward a future where it can sustain and expand those health gains independently, ensuring that today’s U.S. support leads to Madagascar’s self-sufficiency. Thank you, Misaotra.
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United States Delivers Life-Saving Health Supplies and equipment to Madagascar
United States Delivers Life-Saving Health Supplies and equipment to Madagascar U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Steve Bremner presided over a handover ceremony to the Government of Madagascar, represented by President of the Refoundation Col. Michaël Randrianirina, marking the delivery of nearly one million mosquito nets, over 900,000 pieces of critical laboratory equipment, and 33 internet connectivity systems. The assistance – valued at more than $2.2 million – is part of a broader U.S.-Madagascar health partnership, outlined in our bilateral Global Health Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in December 2025, totaling $134 million from the U.S. government from 2026 through 2030. “This assistance is clear and disciplined – it is a tool of strategic engagement, not global charity,” said Chargé d’Affaires Steve Bremner. “Every U.S. taxpayer dollar must show measurable results, reduce long-term dependence on U.S. resources, and support greater self-reliance. Stronger health systems in Madagascar help detect and contain infectious diseases before they spread across borders, protecting American and Malagasy families alike.” The assistance includes: 989,250 long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets - worth $2 million – will be distributed to 63 districts and 1,661 community health centers across Madagascar. Malaria remains one of the leading causes of death in the country, claiming the lives of children and women at an unacceptable rate. The third and final delivery of these nets arrived in late June and will be distributed starting this July until mid-October, ensuring that those most at risk of mosquito-borne disease now have access to this basic but life-saving protection. U.S.-funded Global Health Supply Chain Program – Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) project will ensure the distribution. 908,523 pieces of critical medical and laboratory equipment – valued at $180,000 – including personal protective equipment, laboratory supplies, diagnostic tools, and cold chain equipment – along with a modernized digital surveillance system to Madagascar’s Ministry of Public Health. This support through the STRIDES (Strengthening Infectious Disease Detection Systems) program bolsters Madagascar’s ability to detect and respond to outbreaks of diseases such as monkeypox, plague, rabies, polio, and Ebola before they become regional or global threats. Over $30,000 of funding for the full procurement, installation, and first year of service for 33 Starlink satellite internet systems at priority districts and regional health offices across the country. These systems will allow health workers in remote and underserved communities to transmit health data quickly to central decision-makers – enabling faster, better-coordinated responses when disease outbreaks occur. U.S.-funded Momentum Country and Global Leadership (MCGL) will implement this project. As the country’s largest bilateral health donor, the United States remains committed to the principle that a stronger, healthier Madagascar makes for a stronger, safer world – and a stronger, safer America.
Pierre Hintze Berated Halo Teams and Dismissed Work-Life Concerns, Sources Claim, as Xbox Leadership Stayed Silent
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Who is pitching to Bryce Harper in the Home Run Derby? Why Dodgers coach Dino Ebel is paired with Phillies star
Harper is aiming to put on a show for his home fans with a non-Phillies coach throwing pitches.
Gossip: Sunderland among four clubs keen on Muharemovic
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Zurich Broadens Claims Capabilities to Support Construction Business
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Viewpoint: SCOTUS strikes a blow against junk science in Bayer glyphosate case. Will it deter mass tort litigators?
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SDSU Dairy Quiz Bowl Team Places First at American Dairy Science Association Annual Conference
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Launch Augusta hosts 9th annual health care camp at Augusta University
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Launch Augusta hosts ninth annual health care camp at Augusta University
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Aaron Lewis says music industry turned its back on him because of his politics
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Aaron Lewis says music industry turned its back on him because of his politics
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Mick Jagger responds to John Mulaney saying he’s ‘not nice’ in standup bit: ‘You get disassociated’
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House Democrat Ro Khanna says he was detained by armed Israeli settlers in West Bank
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Patriots Fans Claim Tom Brady Is Sabotaging Drake Maye
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Mamdani administration aims to crack down on 'junk fees'
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Game Thread: Athletics (41-52) at White Sox (47-45)
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Wayzata Student Writes Earth Science Textbook, Inspires Younger Kids
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Tom Brady appears to be Seattle Seahawks’ ‘conflict of interest’
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CT chief justice aims to pilot ‘behavioral health court’ in New Haven
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Victor Marx Wins Colorado Gubernatorial Primary
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Police probe donations to Britain’s far-right Reform party
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The Galaxy Z Fold 8 just broke cover in a Samsung store — and the US price has leaked too
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John Carmack responds to Id Software layoffs, admits Microsoft stewardship claim aging badly
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Here's how Delta's new 'basic business' class will work
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Former pro baseball player sues University of Miami over alleged radiology flub
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Gov. Kelly Ayotte signs tax credit to incentivize businesses to invest in employee childcare
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White House Moves to Control Federal Science Grants as RFK Jr. Threatens Scientific Journals
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Codex joins ChatGPT app as OpenAI releases GPT-5.6 models
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2. North Carolina
North Carolina is ranked No. 2 in America's Top States for Business for 2026.
How to Bring More Data Science to YouTube and Creator Media
I am constantly writing about the challenge facing agencies and brands when in comes to YouTube. Is it TV? Social video? Search? Commerce? Do you fund it from all of those respective budgets, and measure it using all their respective metrics? Sean Odlum, Chief Product Officer at Tinuiti, says it may not make sense to try and “bucket'“ YouTube. “You kinda gotta treat it as its own thing,” he said. “Years ago, we had debates [along the lines of] ‘what is this?’ Ultimately we decided, it’s YouTube. It is hard to categorize because it is so protean.” Which ultimately means that almost every part of a media department or marketing group will likely touch YouTube in some fashion. And that it probably needs its own sets of metrics and measurement tools. At Tinuiti, that need has led the agency to develop the YouTube Intelligence Suite, which aims to help brands optimize YouTube campaigns while using all the traditional marketing tools they are used to, such as MMMs. “I wouldn’t say there is a YouTube playbook,” Odlum said. “[For media planners] there is this vast bubbling ocean, so where do you start?’ A lot of brands and agencies struggle.” “You don’t want to just brute-force it—spray dollars everywhere and eventually learn. You want to start intelligently and then learn iteratively.” The problem, Odlum and his team have found, is that “brands have largely defaulted into demand generation campaigns because they’re easier to measure.” However, “you can really build your own content ecosystem around these trusted experts.” Check out the full interview here: Thanks for reading Next in Media! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Subscribe
Fiscal Prudence Requires Real Science, Not Simplified Assumptions
The recent opinion piece framing Lakeside’s septage facility expansion as “safe” and “fiscally prudent” relies entirely on the rosy assurances of industry engineers while completely ignoring the actual science on the ground. Proponents claim the project’s design is backed by “rigorous consulting,” but independent expert reports from Hauer Environmental LLC and HydroSolutions Inc. paint a […]
Radiologist pushes back against snowbird couple’s claim he missed signs of a stroke
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Does a Sex Assault Claim Kill a Political Career? It Depends.
The swift exit of Graham Platner from the Maine Senate race followed Eric Swalwell’s similar exit from the California governor’s race, but Republicans have taken a different tack.
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LSU and FMOL Health award research grants targeting state’s critical health needs
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Reform’s Fleet Street ‘spoilers’: how party deploys tactic to get ahead of stories
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Trump blasts NATO for rejecting his efforts to claim Greenland
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