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NFL offseason power rankings: No. 25 New York Giants quit messing around at head coach with John Harbaugh hire
Bonus 236: A Term of Self-Inflicted Wounds
Within minutes of the Supreme Court handing down the birthright citizenship ruling on Tuesday and rising for its summer recess, its defenders were pointing to that decision (alongside the late-arriving mail-in ballots ruling on Monday and the tariffs ruling from February) as decisive proof that the Court really is “above politics,” and that criticisms of the justices for behaving more like politicians in robes than like judges are thus unfair. For a particularly thoughtful version of this claim, see Professor Will Baude’s opening response to the latest New York Times written roundtable about the Court with Baude, Professor Kate Shaw, and me. In that roundtable, I already offered one of the two major arguments against this thesis—that it’s an assessment of the numerator without regard to the denominator, and that a full account of the Court’s behavior throughout OT2025 suggests that the Court behaved even more politically during the current term than during even the previous (highly politicized) one. Just to take one of many data points, last term (OT2024), there were six rulings in argued cases in which all six Republican-appointed justices were in the majority and all three of the Democratic appointees were in dissent (along with a slew of such rulings on the emergency docket). This term, there were … 13. (Along with two 6-3 summary reversals and 10 rulings on the emergency docket from which the three Democratic appointees all dissented.) Today’s bonus issue addresses the flip side of that coin. In particular, below the fold, I identify four different moments in which the justices could have acted in ways to specifically defuse charges of political behavior—and opted instead to lean all the way in. As much as end-of-term narratives focus on what the Court did, and on the takeaways from individual rulings, consider today’s post an attempt to identify opportunities that the Court missed, as well. At least in the examples discussed below, by opting for the outcome that made the Court look more transparently political, the Court inflicted a series of (unnecessary) credibility wounds on itself. For those who aren’t paid subscribers, we’ll be back Monday with our regular coverage of the Court. For those who are, please read on.
Inaugural Memorial Hillbilly Skydivers Boogie Convention and Blues Festival set
HUNTINGTON — This year, the organizers of the Appalachian Blues Festival and the West Virginia Skydivers Association have joined together to create a new event called the Memorial Hillbilly Boogie
How Melat Kiros, a Colorado democratic socialist, unseated a 30-year incumbent
Kiros, 29, is poised to become one of the youngest women in Congress. Her political work was sparked by the war in Gaza and caught fire in an antiestablishment year.
MVRC launches Valley Business Works Foundation
For its inaugural year, Valley Business Works will focus on the creation of the Mon Valley Youth Leadership Academy.
Augusta Popeyes briefly closed for health code violations
The restaurant, which opened in May on Western Avenue, was permitted to reopen on Saturday after it was closed a day earlier.
Exploding Colors: The Science Behind Fireworks
College of Charleston chemistry professor Kate Mullaugh explains how fireworks get their brilliant colors, brightening our skies every Fourth of July.
Trump ‘excited’ for inaugural flight on Qatari-gifted Air Force One
President Donald Trump shared his excitement for the inaugural flight of the new Air Force One, a luxury jet donated by the government of Qatar, saying the US “couldn’t build a plane like this.”
Sony will cease production of discs for new PlayStation games in 2028
New games sold for PlayStation consoles will only be available digitally and won’t be sold on discs effective January 2028, Sony has announced. The move applies to all PlayStation games released from that point on, including those made by Sony and those released by third parties. The PlayStation group calls the change “a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,” according to a PlayStation blog post reviewed by Game File in advance of its publication. As movies, TV and music have shifted from physical media to an age of downloads and streaming, Sony’s move could speed the demise of physical media in a gaming. The industry has offered consumers games via cartridges, cassettes, floppy discs, CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays across a 50-year stretch. Sony has been reporting to investors in recent years that PlayStation games have been increasingly purchased as downloads, not as discs. The most recent figures show nearly four in five purchases of full games for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 were purchased digitally in the past year. Stats like that may cause today’s news to carry an air of the inevitable. But Sony’s declaration for 2028 is still likely to produce a shock, as the biggest gaming platform on the planet that uses game discs leaves them behind. Discs going away, but the fate of game boxes is unknown Sony is committing to still selling games in physical retailers even after they drop discs in 2028. Just how those games will be sold—in boxes with codes inside, as cards marked with digital redemption codes—is unclear. Digital games will also continue to be sold in the online PlayStation Store. New games released for PlayStation consoles prior to January 2028 will be unaffected by the policy change, Sony says. That means the PS5 games of 2027, be they a new Madden, a new God of War, a new Call of Duty, a new Sly Cooper (one can dream?), would still potentially be offered on disc. PlayStation 6 implications Sony’s timeline for a transition to a no-disc era will also spin up more speculation about the timing and configuration of Sony’s next-generation console, the probable PlayStation 6. “This pretty much guarantees that PS6 won’t arrive until 2028 at the earliest,” Piers Harding-Rolls, senior games research analyst at Ampere Analysis tells Game File. Harding-Rolls also concludes from today’s news that “the base version of a PS6 will not include a physical media drive,” as Sony looks to keep costs down on the device. Sony itself is saying nothing about the PS6 today: not its timing, nor how it might or might not support internal or external disc drives in order to run disc-based PS4 and PS5 games, should the console be backwards compatible. The many signs this was coming Industry support for games being released on physical media has been waning. As has consumer interest in them. PC games effectively went all-digital years ago, thanks to the popularity of playing games through Steam and other digital storefronts. The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that kept much of the global population home helped shift shopping patterns toward downloads. Sony’s own data shows PlayStation game downloads being an uncommon consumer choice a decade ago and now becoming the norm. On consoles, physical media has been in such decline that Sony and Microsoft both launched their current gen Xbox Series and PS5 consoles in 2020 with cheaper versions that lacked disc drives. In early 2024, Phil Spencer, then head of Xbox, told me that ““[w]e ship games physically and digitally, and we’re really just following what the customers are doing.” He added that the game industry had become an outlier in still supporting disc-based entertainment, even as movies and TV have bailed on discs in favor of downloads and steaming: “Gaming consoles themselves have kind of become the last consumer electronic device that has a drive. And this is a real issue, just in terms of the number of manufacturers that are actually building drives and the cost associated with those. And when you think about cogs that we’re going to go put in a console—and as you have fewer suppliers and fewer buyers—the cost of the drive does have an impact.” Last year, the Nintendo’s Switch 2, which uses cartridges rather than discs, introduced the concept of game-key cards, which are physical media that contain no game, just a prompt for a download. Even disc-based games aren’t what they once were, now frequently containing just stubs of games rather than the whole thing. The website Does It Play has tested over 3000 games and found that, for example, that the disc version of this year’s hit 007: First Light, only contained the game’s first mission, with the rest needing to be downloaded. Beyond all that, last week brought the news that Grand Theft Auto VI, likely the biggest game launch this decade, will debut for PS5 and Xbox Series without a disc-based version. Today’s big news comes to you for free. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and ensure more of my work is possible, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Discs helped define PlayStation However the trends in entertainment may be going, it is still remarkable to see PlayStation ditch discs given their importance in PlayStation history: In the late 1990s, the first PlayStation’s support for games on relatively cheap CD-ROMs instead of traditional game cartridges allowed the upstart console to outmaneuver cartridge-based systems from Nintendo and Sega, as it drove down game prices down in the process. (The cheaper disc format even prompted Final Fantasy VII maker Square to taunt Nintendo in a magazine ad, saying that if the game was “available on cartridge, it’d retail for around $1200.”) PlayStation devices often doubled as machines for watching movies and TV on the latest disc-based formats. In the late 2000s, for example, Sony’s pricy PS3 gained traction as a go-to device for playing then-novel Blu-Ray discs. In 2013, Sony effectively roasted the digital game-sharing restrictions proposed by rival Microsoft for its upcoming Xbox One console by showing how games could be shared for the then-upcoming PS4. In a 21-second clip that has over 20 million views on YouTube, one PlayStation executive simply handed a game box—presumably with disc inside—to another, who said “thanks.” Sony’s possible motivations The PlayStation announcement today cites “consumer preferences” and a shift away from discs among “the broader entertainment industry,” but does not delve into the decision-making process that brought Sony to this point. Sony is not discussing the economics of this move (I asked!), but there are a number of potential factors: Abandoning discs will spare Sony the cost of manufacturing and shipping them, which analysts and industry veterans I spoke to said could account for $1 or so of a game’s retail price. For first-party games, that’s direct savings for Sony, though the amount is limited by the winnowing percentage of people who were even buying the disc-based versions. For third-party games, Sony could pass the savings on to partners or just retain the better profit margin for themselves. As the 2024 comments from Phil Spencer alluded to, leaving discs behind could mean leaving disc-drives behind, allowing Sony to produce consoles more cheaply. Switching to digital-only for games could diminish the risks of copies of new games leaking. It would also seemingly make second-hand sales of used games impossible, pushing more people to buy their own copies of games. These economic benefits for Sony could be boons for the games industry overall, Ampere analyst Piers Harding-Rolls tells Game File. Among other things, it could free publishers and retailers from having to worry about securing an inventory of game discs when trying to sell games, he noted. “If there is a way to streamline the business of games retail, I generally think it’s a good thing for the industry as it removes unnecessary costs,” Harding-Rolls said. “This will help offset pressure on margins from other directions – development and staffing costs for example.” Should the industry shift from game boxes that contain discs to smaller, cheaper game cards, Harding-Rolls said, that reduces pressure on publishers and retailers. “The advantage of everything going digital for the industry is that sales can be tracked much more easily and there is less commercial risk for publishers wanting to continue selling via retail,” he said. The shift to no discs will also likely impact game development timelines, as developers will no longer face the same urgency to have a build ready to submit to PlayStation for the production of a disc, as industry experts noted around GTA VI’s no-disc news last week. Instead, projects may gain weeks of development time, in the event delivery deadlines for platform approval move closer to release date. Preservationists’ likely worries While millions of gamers have shifted to digital, there are still people who associate game discs—and only game discs—with actual ownership of PlayStation games. That portion of the gaming community spoke up last week about wanting to buy a version of GTA VI that they could hold in their hands, could lend to a friend and could potentially pop into a well-preserved PS5 console three decades from now and still see it run. Such gamers didn’t want to worry that they’d merely purchased a digital copy that could lose access to the game if, say, the company behind the game someday turns of the servers that transmit downloadable copies. Digital copies of games are inherently less long-lasting, because consumers aren’t actually buying a game (on a disc), just buying access to the game. The fine print in online gaming shops notes this, as does a recent law that went on the books in California in 2025. That lasw requires game publishers doing business in the state to refrain from words like “sell” when offering digital copies of games, unless they explicitly tell consumers that what’s being sold isn’t the game itself but a potentially revocable license to access it. A Sony spokesperson noted to Game File that “[w]ith all digital content, including games, movies, and music, players are purchasing a personal license for non-commercial use.” Regarding the fears of PlayStation games being lost to time in an all-digital era, the rep also noted that Sony remains “committed to delivering experiences from past generations to the new platforms our players are using.” They noted that PlayStation has used emulation and remasters to keep offering its classic games to modern gamers. It’s true that many consumers have become accustomed to not having physical copies of new music albums or movies, but the relative precariousness of digital copies of games is in fact being highlighted today by…. Sony’s other big announcement: the upcoming closure of the PS3 and PS Vita online stores Sony said today that it will be closing the online marketplaces for its PlayStation 3 console and PS Vita handheld in most countries in July 2027 (sooner elsewhere: August 2026 for the PS3 store Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua; late 2026 for PS3 in other Latin American countries and the Middle East). “We know this news may be disappointing to PS3 and PS Vita players who hold a special place in their hearts for this generation of gaming,” Sony said in its announcement, saying the move “was not an easy decision for us to make.” Sony said that PS3 and Vita marketplaces “are no longer able” to support modern commerce systems, prompting a “need” to close the shops and focus on more modern PlayStation platform stores. The news may spark some deja vu. Sony announced back in March 2021 that it planned to take the PS3, Vita and PlayStation Portable marketplaces offline that summer. The move would have caused some 2,000 digital-only games to become unavailable for new purchasers, according to a VGC analysis at the time. Fans complained loudly. By April 2021, Sony walked back the PS3 and Vita shop closures, with then PlayStation boss Jim Ryan saying “it’s clear that we made the wrong decision here.” This time around, Sony is giving a longer notice period in most regions. The closure of those stores is still likely to cut off access to new purchases of digital-only PS3 and Vita games. The current PlayStation 5 marketplace sells PS5 and PS4 games, as well as a selection of PS1 and PS2 games. It does not sell PS3 games, because games for that platform can’t run on the system (some are offered via a PlayStation Plus streaming option). Vita games also aren’t sold via PS5. Sony says digitally purchased PS3 and Vita games will be downloadable after the stores’ shutdowns “for the foreseeable future.” Sony’s move contrasts with Microsoft’s Xbox platform, which continues to sell and support games from all four Xbox console generations. But it puts it in line with Nintendo, which disabled purchases in the marketplace for its Wii console (a contemporary of the PS3) in 2019. Nintendo discontinued purchases in the online shop for its 3DS portable (a contemporary of the Vita) in 2023. The big questions about Sony’s 2028 post-disc era Will Microsoft follow suit, ending support for new disc-based games on Xbox platforms and therefore all game consoles, too? Whether Microsoft does or not, will third-parties that can no longer release games on discs for PlayStation, simply ditch the disc options across the board? Given the GTA VI no-disc experiment launching this November, will more game publishers decide to forgo disc-based offerings even in 2027? How will no-disc PS5/6 games be packaged and sold in brick-and-mortar retail stores? What becomes of game sharing in an all-digital era? Will Sony modify its current set-up, which currently allows some sharing of digital games across a pair of consoles, to allow more casual lending? (See for example, Nintendo’s year-old system of letting players lend a digital game to another player in a “family group” for up to 14 days.) Will there be a version of a PS6 with a disc drive? Or will a drive be offered as an add-on? And how will gamers who want to retain access to PS4/PS5 disc-based games react to whichever configurations Sony chooses to offer? What will the final disc-based PlayStation game be?
Putting the Science in Science-Fiction: Midwestern Hosts Booth at Phoenix Fan Fusion
Students, faculty, and staff taught anatomy of predators and prey, debunked creatures from cinema, and ignited passion for scientific inquiry
I thought I was raising a confident girl. Then her words surprised me.
My young daughter doesn't think she can become a doctor because she's a girl. I don't know how this got into her head.
The best new science-fiction novels published in July 2026
Sci-fi fans can enjoy a new Red Dwarf novel – the first for 30 years – this month, as well as sci-fi horror from Paul Tremblay and a journey to Planet Happy with Riley August
Around the Empire: Aaron Judge targeting August return
Yankees provide Judge return timetable; Fried throws first sim game; Cruz called up; Jazz clears concussion protocol
Communism isn't taking over the US, despite what GOP says
The idea that some overhyped radical left is about to take over the nation is laughably false.
An enormous explosion has occurred in deep space – and scientists caught it within minutes of the detonation | BBC Sky at Night Magazine
Using the Submillimeter Array observatory on Maunakea, Hawaii, astronomers zoomed in on a gamma‑ray burst within minutes of its discovery.
WATCH: Angel mom turns tables on sanctuary politicians with basic question about their priorities
Jessica Gorman told lawmakers her daughter Sheridan “was not a talking point" as she accused sanctuary city leaders of failing to protect American citizens.
The End of Independent Federal Agencies Will Change Your Business
For executives, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Slaughter v. Trump will likely lead to less certainty and consistency for the regulated aspects of their businesses, with federal rules and their enforcement increasingly determined by political expediency rather than expert analysis. Specifically, there are five ways in which all U.S. businesses will be affected: regulation will become more informal and less transparent; consistency across administrations will disappear; oversight by Congress and the federal courts will be diminished; expert advice will be devalued; and politically-connected lobbyists will drive decision-making. In this environment, business leaders will need to plan accordingly, honing their ability to shift strategy, perhaps dramatically, after every election—and perhaps even during administrations.
Jazz Under the Stars returns August 6
KCCK's Jazz Under The Stars celebrated the station's 50th anniversary last year by reuniting some of Iowa's best-known jazz, blues and R&B performers. Iowa's Jazz Station kicks off its second
How 'Bad Santa' brought naughty Billy Bob Thornton onto 'Landman'
If you've ever thought that you'd seen Billy Bob Thornton's Tommy Norris before, you're jolly right. The "Landman" central character is the spiritual cousin to Thornton's infamous role as Willie
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered for Switch 2 launches August 11
The Switch 2 version of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered will launch on August 11, publisher Bethesda Softworks and developer Bethesda Game Studios announced. Pre-orders for the physical e…
Supreme Court upholds bans on transgender athletes participating in women and girls' sports
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who has long coached his daughters' and other girls basketball teams at school, wrote the court's majority opinion.
Maine high court to hear appeal ballot initiative case
Oral arguments are set for 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Capital Judicial Center in Augusta.
'Lilo & Stitch' star Daveigh Chase's father reacts to daughter's death from AIDS at 35
'Lilo & Stitch' and 'The Ring' actress Daveigh Chase's father offered a heartbreaking reaction to his daughter's death after the medical examiner's office ruled her cause of death to be AIDS.
Plus Therapeutics Provides Mid-Year Business Update Including Corporate Rebranding
Plus Therapeutics to become Cerenome, to trade under new Nasdaq ticker CNSY on August 3, 2026 Affirms 2026 guidance on key milestones Reports positive...
Rafael Nadal talks tennis prize money, his hotels, and what sports taught him about business
Rafael Nadal opened his fourth Zel hotel as he expands into hospitality, education and sports after retiring from tennis.
Simon Leis's daughter reflects on her father's legacy, youth mental health advocacy
"We definitely knew there was a love-hate relationship with my father," says Julie Raleigh, on her father, Simon Leis's legacy. Although behind the headlines, Raleigh says that Leis was simply "Dad" to her, remembering him as a man who protected his family in the same way that he tried to keep Hamilton County safe throughout his time in law enforcement.
ESPN Analyst Chiney Ogwumike Defends Alyssa Thomas' Behavior
ESPN WNBA analyst Chiney Ogwumike is coming to the defense of Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas. Thomas was suspended for one game and fined for her hits on Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark last week. Thomas was caught hitting Clark in the groin and the neck, though she wasn't called for a ...
Fired FTC commissioner speaks to OutFront as Trump touts Supreme Court ‘big win’: ‘we should be worried’
US Sen. Dan Sullivan’s same-name challenger can be on primary ballot, Alaska Supreme Court rules
The Alaska Supreme Court on Monday ruled that a man with the same name and party affiliation as Alaska Republican US Sen. Dan Sullivan is qualified to run for the seat and ordered elections officials to place him on the August primary ballot.
College Football Analyst Calls Historic Program No Longer 'Relevant'
College football analyst Paul Finebaum didn't hold back on his thoughts on the University of Michigan and its football program. Michigan won the national championship for the 2023 season, but after the win, Jim Harbaugh went to the NFL, and the program was accused of stealing signs. The program ...
Jodie Turner-Smith offers rare comments about co-parenting with ex Joshua Jackson
Jodie Turner-Smith says she and ex-husband Joshua Jackson are 'learning' and 'not alway getting it totally right' when it comes to co-parenting their daughter together.
Rumour: Naughty Dog Chose to Remake The Last of Us 1 for PS5 Instead of Uncharted 1
Lost treasure
PENN Entertainment to Report Second Quarter Results and Host Conference Call and Webcast on August 6
PENN Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq: PENN) announced today that it will release its 2026 second quarter financial results at 7:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, August 6,...
Naughty Dog Chose The Last of Us Remake Over Uncharted Remake, It's Claimed
Naughty Dog is no stranger to a remake, and evidence suggests an Uncharted 1 Remake was on the cards, with datamined files proving it.
Unrivaled Sports to Host Inaugural Ripken National Championships Presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods at Cooperstown All Star Village
/PRNewswire/ -- Unrivaled Sports, the nation's leader in youth sports experiences, today announced the 2026 Ripken National Championships presented by DICK'S...
The knockout rounds of the World Cup are here
The Yodel newsletter: Get caught up on this morning's news
Jamie Foxx, Daughter Anelise's Duet During Kehlani's 2026 BET Awards Performance Will Warm Your Heart
Jamie Foxx and daughter Anelise Bishop, 17, played piano and guitar while Kehlani performed "Folded" at the 2026 BET Awards June 28 at Los Angeles' Peacock Theater.
I grew up in China, but I'm raising my daughter in LA. A trip back to visit family made me rethink my parenting style.
CD Projekt is rebranding as CD Projekt Red, but confusingly, CD Projekt Red is still CD Projekt Red
CD Projekt has rebranded itself as CD Projekt Red – or CD Projekt Red Spółka Akcyjna, to be precise.
Ann Blyth, teen star of 'Mildred Pierce,' dead at 98
LOS ANGELES — Ann Blyth, a versatile Hollywood star who received an Oscar nomination at 17 as Joan Crawford’s wayward daughter in “Mildred Pierce,” sang opposite Mario Lanza and Howard
England will miss Stokes' winning persona
Former England captain Michael Vaughan reflects on Ben Stokes' shock retirement and how the team can move on from one of their "greatest" players.
Science confirms this viral ‘secret’ praise parenting technique is certifiably genius
A mom's viral technique of praising her daughter within earshot has over a million likes, and psychologists say it really works.
Los Alamos Faith And Science Forum Announces Schedule Of Lectures Through Aug. 12
Courtesy image/LAFSF Los Alamos Faith and Science Forum News: For 2026, the Los Alamos Faith and Science Forum invites the public to examine issues at the interface of faith and science on Wednesdays through Aug. 12. After a light dinner at 6 p.m., presentations will begin at 6:30 p.m. to be followed by a Q […]
Scientists Publish Extremely Serious Research About Whether Tickling Apes Makes Them Giggle
Scientists tickled apes and examined their laughs to gain some very serious insights into primate evolution.
Lyles to take charge of Ultimate Championship entertainment
Noah Lyles has been announced as an Ultimate Star for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, taking place from September 11-13 in Budapest, Hungary.Lyles, the dominant US sprinter who has won consecutive 200m golds at the past four World Championships, is locked in to compete at the inaugural edition of the new global championship. Lyles has earned automatic qualification into both the 100m and 200m by virtue of his podium-topping performances in those disciplines at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, respectively.
New Captain Jack Sparrow Entertainment Coming to 2026 Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
Halfway to the Holidays is over, which can only mean one thing: Halloween is almost here at Walt Disney World!!! Don't roll your eyes or laugh. This isn't a joke. At least, not a funny
'Laughable': UC Davis cut a college team, parents say it was a fix
The school has not responded to these allegations since April.
Community baby shower in Landover aims to address disparities, promote healthier lifestyles
This weekend in Prince George’s County, people came together for a community baby shower aimed at promoting healthier lifestyles among Black and Brown families across the DMV. With a lot of energy and laughter in the room, hundreds of people gathered at Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex in Landover. The free event offered support for expecting mothers and parents…
Ann Blyth, Oscar nominee for 'Mildred Pierce,' dies at 98
LOS ANGELES — Ann Blyth, who was nominated for an Academy Award for playing the wicked, manipulative daughter in the 1945 noir melodrama "Mildred Pierce," has died at age 98.
Valleywise Health acquires system to better treat premature and critically ill infants
Valleywise Health has a new system to better treat premature and critically ill infants, becoming the first Arizona hospital to implement it.
Meet Troy Rohrbaugh and Doug Petno, who are vying for Jamie Dimon's job
Doug Petno and Troy Rohrbaugh are the frontrunners to succeed Jamie Dimon. Here's a guide to the men in line for one of Wall Street's top jobs.
Man with same name as US Sen. Dan Sullivan is eligible for Alaska's primary ballot, judge rules
An Alaska judge has ruled that a man with the same name and party affiliation as Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan is eligible to challenge the senator in the August primary
Police seek help identifying suspect in California Avenue business break-in
The Bakersfield Police Department is asking for the community’s help in identifying a man accused of breaking into a business on California AvenuePolice said it
This Week's 10 Must-Read Stories on Women in Politics: Title IX Anniversary, AI's Anti-Women Bias and Ranked-Choice Voting Victories
Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation is a weekly compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, on boards, in sports and entertainment, in judicial offices and in the private sector in the U.S. and around the world—with a little gardening and goodwill mixed in for refreshment! Published every Friday. —This week marked the 54th anniversary of Title IX. —As the Taliban approaches the five-year mark of its return to power this August, a rare protest in western Afghanistan last week laid bare both the brutality of its rule and the resilience of those living under it. —A woman will replace Eric Swalwell in California … but for not two more months. —A study of 133 AI systems found that 44 percent demonstrated gender bias, and more than a quarter showed both gender and racial bias. ... and more.
We almost had a smartphone in the 90s. Why did it fail?
In the early 90’s, a company called General Magic began working on a portable device that would allow people to check email, make phone calls, even play games. It was basically a smartphone. But it never caught on.On today’s show, a theory about why this device failed. General Magic had generous investors, world-class talent and creative freedom. But is it possible what they needed was constraints?Support:Planet Money+Read: Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletterOur weekly Indicator round-up newsletterFollow: InstagramTikTokYouTubeFacebookThis episode was hosted by Erika Beras and Emma Peaslee. It was produced by Emma Peaslee with help from Sam Yellowhorse Kesler and James Sneed. It was edited by Marianne McCune and fact-checked by Charlotte Isidore. It was engineered by Jimmy Keeley with help from Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer.
A World Cup watch party reconnected me with someone from my past
Jill Tucker taught English in Cape Verde 35 years ago, and was surprised when one of her former students recognized her at a World Cup watch party.
Disagreements between Supreme Court justices bubble into public view as major rulings loom
The Supreme Court is handing down major opinions at a rapid clip, but even with some of the biggest decisions yet to come there are signs of tension between the justices.
Ann Blyth, teen star of 'Mildred Pierce,' dead at 98
Ann Blyth, an Oscar nominee at 17 as Joan Crawford’s wayward daughter in “Mildred Pierce” who later sang opposite Mario Lanza and Howard Keel in MGM musicals of the 1950s,
Sheriff’s office releases body-cam video after viral arrest at Augusta business
The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office has issued a statement after a video has been circulating social media of a woman’s arrest.
HYPE: Joe Horn to enter Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
New Orleans Saints legend Joe Horn will be inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame as part of the 2026 class! Horn caught 523 passes for 7,622 yards and 50 touchdowns in 102 games for the Saints from 2000-06.
Climbing gym planned in former Summerlin-area movie theater
The gym, which will fill the old Regal Theater on 9400 W. Sahara Ave. in Summerlin, is set to open later this year or early next.
The Largest, Most Detailed Image of the Milky Way's 'Heart' Shows 60 Million Stars
The dark-universe telescope turned inward and caught 60 million stars.
Six Watauga students graduate from N.C. School of Science & Mathematics
MORGANTON/DURHAM — Six students from Watauga County were part of 470 from all across North Carolina who graduated this year as members of the residential Class of 2026 of the
Samsung will soon start charging to access its smart home API
Regular users could get caught by Samsung’s new $4.99 monthly charge for individual developers.
Here's How The New Xbox Prices Compare To PS5, Switch 2 & Steam Machine
Going live as of August 2026
Meet the 'Queen of Magazine,' the retail adviser who's brought over dozen brands to the street
We caught up to Carly Ibach during a recent visit to scout out Magazine Street for another national retailer.
Twin City Entertainment collaboration to host the Carol Burrnett Show in West Monroe June 27th
WEST MONROE, La. (KTVE/KARD) — Residents in the West Monroe area will have the chance to enjoy a night of laughter later this week as a live stage production inspired by The Carol Burnett Sho…
It's Xbox's turn (again), as console prices keep going up
Microsoft announced a price hike for the Xbox Series consoles today, the third in little over a year. Effective August 1, the Xbox Series S, which launched in 2020 for $300, will cost $500 in the U.S. The Xbox Series X, which launched in 2020 at $500, will go for $800. This follows a round of PlayStation 5 price increases from Sony this spring, and a slow-motion increase for Nintendo’s Switch 2, which will kick in in the U.S. in September. (Mind you, there were also eight video game industry price hikes in six months of 2025). The chart up top shows the sudden ascent of console prices over the past year, a sudden surge in an already unusual hardware generation. Prices had been flat for years, now “up” is the new “flat.” Game console prices used to go down across the length of a console generation, but not this time around. Microsoft’s explanation for the new price hike today: We hoped another price increase would not be necessary, and we have spent the last several months working with suppliers on options. Unfortunately, console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027. The entire consumer electronics industry is struggling with the current components crisis, but the effects are particularly hard on consoles. Unlike phones, computers, speakers, and other consumer devices, consoles are typically not sold at a profit, but instead for less than they cost to make. This is an issue well beyond game consoles. Apple announced price hikes on its computers and tablets today as well. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Item 2: Brutal Bungie cuts Bungie laid off “most” of its Destiny development team and some developers who worked on Marathon, the newest game from the struggling Sony-owned studio. A WARN notice issued by Sony to Washington State, where Bungie is based, tallied cuts impacting 292 workers, effective next month. That’s strictly for Bungie/Sony jobs in Washington and wouldn’t account for any elsewhere. The video I clipped below shows the redacted list of Bungie cuts filed to Washington State officials. As you’ll see, I had to scroll for a while… In a note emailed to PlayStation workers and published online, PlayStation game studios chief Hermen Hulst offered the following explanation for these latest cuts at Bungie: This is painful news, especially for talented colleagues whose roles have been eliminated. This decision was made only after extensive discussion and careful consideration, and I want to provide some context on how we arrived here. Over the past several months, together with Bungie leadership, we reviewed the studio’s long-term direction, development priorities, resource needs, and role within our broader portfolio strategy. We explored multiple alternatives before concluding that a reduction was necessary to align the studio’s resources with its current priorities and long-term goals. In 2022, Sony bought Bungie for $3.7 billion. The studio’s marquee game, the multiplayer live service shooter Destiny 2 was losing popularity at the time. Its next game Marathon, released earlier this year, has been well-reviewed but had a slow start. Bungie is renowned for making great shooter games, and Destiny fans have mourned the wind-down of Destiny 2. They’ve also expressed bewilderment over reports that Destiny 3 is not, per Bloomberg, immediately in the cards.
Larry David and Barack Obama's American history show is deeply cringe
For Larry David and Barack Obama, history is a laughing matter. And they've got the sketch comedy show to prove it.
City council members request special meeting on planned Sports and Entertainment District
San Antonio Council Districts 1, 5 and 7 want a special meeting before Aug. 7 to guide public input on the Spurs arena’s $75M Community Benefits Agreement as the city considers a $489M Sports and Entertainment District.
This week in science: Exoplanetary salt clouds, ancient families and laughter's origin
Hosts from NPR's science podcast Short Wave talk about an exoplanet with pink, salty clouds, the surprising social structure of ancient human relatives and the origins of laughter.
Updated XBOX Console Prices
Effective August 1, 2026, the price of XBOX consoles will be increasing by US$100 for 512 GB models and US$150 for 1 TB models.
Yes/Boston Announces Inaugural Cohort of 12 Innovators Advancing Food and Health Solutions
/PRNewswire/ -- Yes/Boston, an initiative intended to accelerate innovation at the intersection of food systems and health, today announced its inaugural...
Tickled Apes Reveal the Rhythmic Roots of Laughter
A study of chimps, gorillas and other great apes, including human children, sheds light on how laughter has evolved.
Bluehost Launches Inaugural Market Study on State of Small Business AI Confidence in the U.S.
/PRNewswire/ -- Bluehost, the SMB business platform that millions of small businesses, developers, and agencies globally trust to run, grow and scale in the AI...
Protests at Sen. Collins’s office on Dobbs anniversary
Members of Indivisible Maine and supporters of Graham Platner gathered outside Sen. Susan Collins’ office on Wednesday to criticize her comment that she does “not regret” supporting Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Fed's favored inflation gauge accelerated in May amid energy price shock
The Commerce Department PCE inflation report for May showed the Federal Reserve's favored inflation gauge rose higher amid the energy price shock caused by the Iran war.
Sports and Dramas Drive April Viewing Patterns in Nielsen’s Latest Gauge Reports
Cable Gains Share for Second Consecutive Month in Six-Month-High Finish, Boosted by NCAA Tournament Final Four...
Science with Stevie: Making your own rain gauge
Meteorologist Stevie Daniels shows kids how to become weather scientists with a fun summer experiment that measures rainfall from seasonal storms.
UT San Antonio College of Sciences invests in new multidisciplinary research through inaugural Seed Grant Initiative
Three research projects were selected to receive up to $50,000 in seed funding.
REV Entertainment Expands College Baseball Series to Spartanburg, South Carolina, in 2027
REV Entertainment today announced the addition of Spartanburg, South Carolina, to its growing College Baseball Series schedule, with Fifth Third Park set to host the inaugural Spartanburg College Baseball Series, Feb. 26-28, 2027. The four-team...
Pints & Politics with WUNC's Colin Campbell in Pittsboro
To celebrate WUNC's 50th anniversary this year, we're hosting 50 events across North Carolina! Please join us on August 19 at BMC Brewing at The Plant in Pittsboro for Pints & Politics with WUNC Capitol Bureau Chief Colin Campbell! The event kicks off at 6 p.m.We'll chat about all things North Carolina politics, and your first pint will be on BMC Brewing in a special WUNC 50th anniversary pint glass! This event is free and open to the public, but an RSVP is encouraged as space is limited. Please RSVP at the link below to let us know if you are planning to join us. You can also submit a question for Colin in advance when you sign up to attend. We hope to see you soon!> RSVP Here
Scientists observe water switching between 2 different molecular structures, boosting decades-old theory
For decades, scientists suspected water secretly behaves like two different liquids. A new AI-powered study has finally caught it happening at the molecular level.
Water might secretly be a mix of 2 different liquids, scientists say
For decades, scientists suspected water secretly behaves like two different liquids. A new AI-powered study has finally caught it happening at the molecular level.
Trio behind string of business burglaries caught after chase through Tucker
Police said the suspects threw cash register tills and other stolen items from the vehicle.
A preventable tragedy: What my sister’s death taught me about public health
Rabies is 100% preventable when institutions work together. We must engage trusted community leaders and break down siloes between animal and human health.
A NASA satellite caught a giant tsunami doing something no one expected
A Pacific-wide tsunami triggered by a magnitude 8.8 Kamchatka earthquake gave scientists their first detailed satellite view of a major tsunami in motion. The observations revealed unexpected wave behavior and helped uncover a larger earthquake rupture than earlier models predicted.
Abortion rights fight underscores key themes in Maine’s U.S. Senate race
Four years ago today, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade. In the majority of that decision was Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine had voted to confirm after he had told her the landmark decision was “settled law.”
OpenAI Touts Progress in 19-Week-Old Ad Business
OpenAI is promoting progress in what it expects to become a $100 billion ad business. The artificial intelligence (AI) startup is making its inaugural
Israel’s Military Is Caught in a Political No Man’s Land in Lebanon
While Trump wants operations there to end, Israel’s public wants the military to keep fighting.
Daughter of Oscar-winning director found dead with husband in car
Judith Sheldon, daughter of Oscar-winning 'Ben-Hur' director William Wyler, was found dead with her husband Wylie Sheldon in their car along the side of Interstate 5 near Redding, Calif., on June 15.
Kenny Chesney calls out stars who cancel concerts at the last minute
Kenny Chesney criticizes artists who cancel concerts last minute, saying years of playing clubs and bars taught him gratitude and a work ethic.
ESPN, Disney Jr. team up with Every Kid Sports to get preschoolers moving
Families can now register for preschool sports grants through "Disney Jr. Let's Play!," a global campaign to encourage young children to get laughing, moving and, of course, playing.
Drawing the Line Between Art and Science
“The lectureship will highlight both art and science, but I hope it also serves as a venue to hear from individuals with disabilities,” said Amanda Behr, PhD.
Interstellar Arc wins “Best Location-Based Entertainment” at prestigious Auggie Awards
LAS VEGAS — Interstellar Arc at AREA15, the awe-inspiring, visionary experience from the Emmy®-winning creators at Felix & Paul Studios, announces it has been awarded “Best Location-Based Enter…
Man arrested 9 years after business manager killed outside Charlotte shop
The deadly shooting happened on Fugate Avenue in August 2017.
Alabama School of Healthcare Sciences prepares for its inaugural class
Officials said the school met its enrollment goal of around 85 students, including incoming ninth graders and a smaller group of incoming sophomores.