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Digital Science appoints Stephen Leicht as CEO; Daniel Hook joins Holtzbrinck Group as Chief Scientific Officer

Digital Science has announced that Daniel Hook will take up the role of Chief Scientific Officer at parent company Holtzbrinck Group, with company President Stephen Leicht succeeding him as CEO.

Jul 31 • 9:00 AM EDT • Science • newswise.com

UC San Diego expert available: The business of Hollywood—from Toy Story to the Paramount-Warner merger

As Hollywood continues to reshape itself through blockbuster franchises and industry consolidation, UC San Diego associate professor of communication Shawna Kidman is available to provide context on the forces transforming the entertainment business. Kidman studies media industries, intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, and the business strategies behind Hollywood's biggest successes. Her research examines how companies build enduring franchises, why media consolidation matters to co

Jul 31 • 4:00 AM EDT • Business • newswise.com

Michael Morales-UFC 330 rumors on potential fight debunked

Budding contender Michael Morales stirs up a possible fight booking on social media. Reports suggest otherwise, though.

Jul 29 • 9:48 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

ISPOR Chief Science Officer Dr Laura Pizzi Named to NJBIZ's 2026 People to Watch in Healthcare List

ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR) is proud to announce its Chief Science Officer, Laura Pizzi, PharmD, MPH, has been recognized by NJBIZ as one of its 2026 People to Watch in Healthcare.

Jul 28 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • newswise.com

Domestic Abuse Allegations Rock Max Miller’s Ohio House Race

Representative Max Miller, a Republican, is facing accusations of abuse from his ex-wife in a bitter family feud that might put his otherwise safe seat in play.

Jul 28 • 6:28 PM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com

South Carolina Republicans line up to run in special primary to replace late Sen. Lindsey Graham

WASHINGTON (AP) — The field of Republican candidates vying to replace the late Sen. Lindsey Graham on November ballots is nearly set, with at least 10 hopefuls filing their paperwork and launching into a two-week sprint toward the Aug. 11 special GOP primary. WATCH LIVE: Sen. Lindsey Graham remembered in funeral service at Washington National Cathedral It's been a jumbled and frenetic period during what would have otherwise been Graham's expected glide path toward a

Jul 28 • 10:52 AM EDT • Politics • pbs.org

Stop Telling Students Computer Science Is Dying (opinion)

The data says otherwise.

Jul 27 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • insidehighered.com

New Global CARE-AI Framework Sets Standard for Responsible AI in Health Education and Care

An international team of researchers, clinicians, educators, ethicists, and patient partners has developed and validated the Health CARE-AI (Contextual, Accountable, Responsible, and Equitable Artificial Intelligence) Framework. Published in JMIR Medical Education, the landmark study provides an actionable, consensus-backed roadmap for the responsible integration of AI across the health care learning and practice continuum.

Jul 27 • 9:45 AM EDT • Health • newswise.com

New Giants DC Leans Into Abdul Carter-Micah Parsons Comparisons

Dennard Wilson can see why Abdul Carter is the New York Giants' most valuable player. Wilson explained the comparisons between Carter and Micah Parsons, even though the Giants' edge "wants to be his own person." Carter had a disappointing rookie season, stat wise, with only four sacks in 17 games.

Jul 26 • 10:30 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Inside a 25-Day Ocean Science Mission

At sea, their days will begin in darkness.Before dawn, Rutgers oceanographers Joe Gradone and Corday Selden expect to be on deck aboard the research vessel Falkor (too), preparing instruments, reviewing data and directing the first collection of water samples of the day. Gradone and Selden will serve as co-chief scientists on a 25-day expedition in the Atlantic Ocean supported by Schmidt Ocean Institute.

Jul 24 • 8:55 PM EDT • Science • newswise.com

Powering America's Genesis Mission: Microsoft's commitment to scientific discovery

Today, we’re excited to share a long-term commitment to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Genesis Mission, backed by a $60 million investment designed to accelerate AI for science and the breakthroughs it can deliver for the country. This deepened commitment includes Microsoft’s new Scientific Partnership Advancing Research & Knowledge coordination hub and program office, otherwise...

Jul 22 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • blogs.microsoft.com

Canine Science Is Biased Toward the Western World

A new study addresses how studies on domestic dogs tend to focus on a Westernized subset.

Jul 21 • 6:10 PM EDT • Science • newswise.com

Shaky political "science": breakdown of the peer review process

[This article is the latest in our “Shaky Political Science” series. In our 38 page report, “Shaky political ‘science’ misses mark on ranked choice voting,” released in December 2025, we examined over 40 studies focused on ranked choice voting (RCV). Many of these studies suffered from puzzling research methodologies, poorly constructed surveys, unrealistic simulated elections, cherry picked data and faulty analyses that often were contradicted by results from real-world elections (a link to our full paper is here). Here are links to the first four articles in our series: the first one summarizing the overall results of our report; the second one analyzed a study co-authored by University of Minnesota academic Larry Jacobs, which was one of the most error-prone of all the research we reviewed in our report; a third article showing an admirable example of two political scientists holding two other political scientists accountable for their flawed, sloppy research; and a fourth article that analyzed seven studies sponsored by New America’s political reform program that deployed flawed methodology based on “simulated” elections instead of real-world elections, which when combined with some basic misunderstandings of RCV, produced odd and misleading results]. In this fifth article in our “Shaky Political Science” series, we examine two flawed studies on the impact of RCV on voter turnout authored by San Francisco State University professor Jason McDaniel. McDaniel’s research in these two papers stands out for its puzzling methodology, inadequate and cherry-picked data, and faulty analyses that not only misunderstands ranked choice voting but reflects a basic misunderstanding of politics in general. The first of the McDaniel studies actually passed through a peer review process and then was subsequently published by the Journal of Urban Affairs, despite its obvious errors. It is perplexing that a jury of peer political scientists did not catch the errors and send it back to McDaniel for a rewrite or outright rejection. This calls into question the credibility of the peer review process itself. The peer review process is supposed to represent the intellectual pinnacle of the profession – a way for academics to certify the quality of each other’s work, and to act as a check against sloppy research. In the case of the McDaniel study, the peer review process failed. Yet his flawed study has been cited dozens of times by other political scientists in their own flawed works — an unvirtuous circle of academic research. Here is the first Jason McDaniel study that we analyzed: “Writing the Rules to Rank the Candidates: Examining the Impact of Instant-Runoff Voting on Racial Group Turnout in San Francisco Mayoral Elections,” by Jason McDaniel, 2016, Journal of Urban Affairs. This study covered San Francisco’s use of ranked choice voting (RCV) in mayoral elections, purporting to show that RCV reduces voter turnout overall, increases voter errors, and has a negative impact on “marginal populations,” i.e. racial minorities, mainly as the result of the alleged complexity of RCV asking voters to rank candidates and having to be familiar with multiple candidates and related dynamics. McDaniel reached these conclusions by examining five San Francisco mayoral elections taking place in odd years (i.e. where there are no federal or state races on the ballot) from 1995 to 2011, comparing three earlier non-RCV races (in 1995, 1999 and 2003) with the later two RCV races (in 2007 and 2011). Only two RCV races were studied, and as McDaniel acknowledged, only the contest in 2011 was “competitive” (that contest in 2007 was the first mayoral election using RCV, and incumbent mayor Gavin Newsom won easily in the first round of counting, earning 74% of first choices and far ahead of the second place candidate who had just 6.3% of first choices). Yet even the allegedly competitive contest in 2011was won by an incumbent with a landslide margin of nearly 20 points. No other elections were studied by McDaniel, even though San Francisco elects 17 other offices besides mayor with RCV, including the 11 seats on the Board of Supervisors (the name for the city council) in even years, and six other citywide offices in odd years. Previous academic research has found that competitive elections can stimulate greater voter involvement and higher turnout. For unexplained reasons, this study ignored at least 34 other RCV races between the years 2004 to 2011, many of which were very competitive and had high voter turnout. Instead, McDaniel’s analysis based its conclusions on data from only a single, marginally-competitive mayor’s race using RCV. These 2007 and 2011 mayoral elections were the only two RCV elections that McDaniel used as the sole basis for his small data set to determine the impact of RCV on voter turnout. Despite having no meaningful data to inform his study, McDaniel nonetheless concluded that RCV lowered turnout when compared to the previous three mayoral non-RCV elections using two-round runoffs. Then, using the same inadequate database of San Francisco elections, McDaniel also found that “Instant-runoff voting is associated with a significant decline in Black voter turnout and White voter turnout…On average, Black voter turnout decreases by 18 points and White voter turnout decreases by 16 points …” But how could he credibly arrive at that conclusion when his study was based on voter turnout in two RCV contests that were not even remotely competitive? Beyond that, McDaniel tacitly admits that the key determining factor driving Black voter turnout was not RCV vs non-RCV elections, but the presence of a viable Black candidate. McDaniel wrote, “Black voter turnout was about 17 percentage points higher for the two elections that featured an African American candidate compared to the three elections that did not” — but one of those three elections did not use RCV. The same dynamic was present for White voter turnout, in which higher turnout was not correlated with RCV vs non-RCV elections, but the presence of a viable White candidate. Beyond that, McDaniel’s voter turnout results, whether correlated with the race of the candidates or RCV vs non-RCV elections, showed no clear patterns. In his Figure 1, he shows low Asian voter turnout in the non-RCV elections in 1999 and 2003 when there was no viable Asian candidate running, but in the 2007 mayoral election using RCV, there is still no viable Asian candidate, yet Asian turnout increases dramatically. For Latinos, voter turnout is virtually the same in 1999 (no viable Latino candidate, non-RCV elections), 2003 (leading Latino candidate, non-RCV elections), 2007 (no viable Latino candidate, RCV elections) and 2011 (leading Latino candidate, RCV elections). Meanwhile White voter turnout increased dramatically from a low in the 2007 mayoral election, in which the leading candidate was a white incumbent, to the 2011 election in which there were no leading white candidates that finished any higher than sixth place with 5.6% of the vote. Clearly other factors were determining voter turnout than either the race of the candidates or RCV vs non-RCV elections. Despite these inconsistent findings, McDaniel boldly marches forth to render conclusions about the impact of RCV on different groups of racial voters, even though his conclusions are not remotely supported by his data. This looks like the worst kind of “data cherry picking” to cover up a puzzling conclusion based on a poor data set involving only two RCV elections, neither of which were remotely competitive. McDaniel’s cherry picking didn’t stop there. In calculating voter turnout for the three non-RCV mayoral elections in 1995, 1999 and 2003, he failed to mention that in each of these years there was a two-round runoff election, with a first round election in November in which no candidate garnered a winning majority of the vote, followed by the decisive runoff in December. So there were two non-RCV elections in each election year. But McDaniel only decided to include one of the two elections in his data set, apparently the December runoff in each year (which had higher turnout in two out of the three mayor’s races, and lower turnout in the third). So he ignored the November 1995 election, the November 1999 election when turnout was only 45 percent, and the November 2003 election when turnout was only 45.7 percent. This is flawed methodology based on blatant cherry picking, since McDaniel simply omitted three elections worth of data that did not fit within his frame. His study should never have made it through a peer review process, and it is an embarrassment to political science that not only was it approved for publication, but it has been uncritically cited by dozens of other political scientists. Share A “study” without wider context or credible data Lacking a data set that included even a single competitive RCV mayoral race, McDaniel declared that RCV lowered voter turnout in 2011, when turnout was 42.5 percent. But he also ignored -- or did not realize -- that voter turnout in mayoral elections during 2011 had sharply declined in all big cities, including far more steeply in nearby Los Angeles and other cities. In fact, San Francisco’s election in 2011 had the second highest turnout of any mayoral election in the nation’s 22 largest cities from 2008-2011. Was 2011 just a particularly low turnout year all across the country, perhaps because the country was still reeling from the aftermath of the housing market collapse in 2008-2010? McDaniel ignored this factor and did not search for alternative explanations beyond his flawed thesis. Furthermore, while McDaniel suggested that RCV leads to more “overvotes” – which is an invalidated ballot in which a voter, in either a non-RCV or RCV race, makes a mistake and selects two candidates for a single choice – he failed to address that in the June 2012 US Senate primary contest, which used the typical “one-choice” plurality method and did not use RCV, there was more than five times as many overvotes in San Francisco and Oakland than in the RCV mayoral elections in those cities. Additionally, turnout had been significantly higher and more representative in RCV elections for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors races -- that McDaniel didn’t even bother to study -- as compared to previous “delayed two-round runoffs” for those offices, often higher by as much as 40% in the RCV races. Perhaps the most surprising irony was that an earlier study co-authored by McDaniel (Overvoting and the Equality of Voice under Instant-Runoff Voting in San Francisco by Francis Neely and Jason McDaniel, 2015, California Journal of Politics and Policy) found that overvotes are often more common in lower-income precincts, but that the pattern of overvoting is similar in both RCV and non-RCV contests. Wrote Neely and McDaniel: “[Overvote] errors appear to be a function of complexity in general and not IRV per se…. the pattern of overvoting is similar in both IRV and non-IRV contests…Even among votes cast in a top-of-the-ticket race like U.S. Senate, overvoting occurs in an uneven fashion” (IRV, or ‘instant runoff voting,’ is another name for ranked choice voting in single-winner contests). So McDaniel not only contradicted his own conclusion in his earlier study with Neely, but the earlier study had been an important corrective for one of the most frequently made mistakes made by anti-RCV political scientists – a continual failure to provide crucial context by pairing a comparative analysis of real world RCV elections with an analysis of real world plurality or other electoral methods. Unfortunately McDaniel’s earlier study does not get cited much by other researchers, and McDaniel did not even cite it in his own flawed study analyzed above. Incredibly, McDaniel cherrypicked McDaniel, even as his flawed study has been cited dozens of times. Despite being a textbook example of poor political “science,” featuring both inadequate as well as cherrypicked data, the shelf life of McDaniel’s study has been extended endlessly by other political scientists and media outlets who have cited it uncritically. Equally troubling, the Journal of Urban Affairs put this paper through its peer review process and published it despite its numerous flaws. McDaniel gets it wrong, Part II Not content with producing one shoddy, confused paper, McDaniel produced another one a few years later, here is the link: Electoral Rules and Voter Turnout in Mayoral Elections: An Analysis of Ranked-Choice Voting by Jason McDaniel. San Francisco State Univ. (McDaniel, 2019). In this paper, McDaniel extended his previous flawed research focused on San Francisco, about voter turnout and voter impact, to multiple RCV cities through the 2018 elections. In his data set he included San Francisco, Minneapolis, St Paul, Oakland, Berkeley, San Leandro and Santa Fe. He then compared their turnout in mayoral elections to non-RCV cities, and to mayoral elections in those cities held before first RCV usage, and concluded “a significant decrease in voter turnout of approximately 3–5 percentage points in RCV cities after the implementation of RCV.” But he replicated many of the same mistakes as his first study presented above. While in this study McDaniel attempted to distinguish between various factors, such as odd year vs. even year elections, competitive races vs. noncompetitive, contests with open seats and other factors, the analysis is superficial and inadequate. He attempts to incorporate so many often-conflicting variables that his conclusions are once again unsupported by the actual data, and ultimately unconvincing (this second study never underwent a peer review process). For example, McDaniel declared that for RCV cities “in elections that are more competitive than average (margin of victory less than 20%), there is no significant RCV effect on voter turnout.” Yet McDaniel is a professor in a city, San Francisco, in which the 2018 special election using RCV to fill a mayoral vacancy was exceedingly close, decided by a margin of only one percentage point, and resulted in the second highest turnout in San Francisco history for a mayoral election. Illustrating the complexity involved in assessing the critical factors in turnout, that special election was held on the same election day as federal and state offices, which tends to boost turnout. Yet more voters participated in that RCV mayoral election than voted on the same day in the non-RCV primary for governor in which former San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom was running. Even more puzzling, in this study McDaniel inaccurately cited his own previous study from 2015 with Neely. McDaniel wrote, “Neely and McDaniel (2015) examine individual ballot image files within a natural experiment, and find higher rates of ballot errors in RCV elections compared to non-RCV elections” (emphasis added). However, we quoted from that 2015 study several paragraphs above, and in actual fact Neely and McDaniel actually concluded the opposite -- that the pattern of overvoting – which is the most common form of ballot error – is similar in both RCV and non-RCV contests. McDaniel also ignored the fact that in Bay Area RCV elections held in even years – at the same time as federal and state elections, when turnout is highest -- the “undervote” (that is, the dropoff in ballots cast for governor or mayor) has declined, which contradicts his thesis that the act of ranking ballots in RCV elections is too complex and presents a barrier for certain demographics of voters. To his credit, McDaniel actually acknowledged another contradiction in his own paper, which found a negative RCV turnout effect in some odd-year elections but not others, admitting that “may present a challenge to the theory that increased complexity [from RCV] will have a marginal negative effect on voter turnout.” But he tried to wallpaper over that contradiction by blaming it on an unlikely source -- bad election administration. McDaniels wrote, “This would suggest that the negative impact of RCV on voter participation may be alleviated by high quality election administration,” without presenting any data or even anecdotes to support such an unfounded theory. While competent election administration of any election, whether RCV or non-RCV, is crucially important, there is no credible research that supports the far-fetched notion that the quality of election administration has much of an impact on voter turnout in US elections, whether using RCV or otherwise. Upgrade to a $5 subscription The unvirtuous circle of academic research It is puzzling how McDaniel’s first study could have survived the peer review process for the Journal of Urban Affairs. The mistakes in McDaniel’s first study above should have been obvious to anyone with a basic understanding of ranked choice voting as well as elections in general, and elections in San Francisco specifically. It undermines faith in the credibility of the peer review process to think that a jury of peer political scientists did not catch the egregious errors and reject McDaniel’s sloppy research and paper. And it remains a black mark on political science that this thoroughly discredited study has been cited dozens of times by other researchers. Indeed, in our research paper it became apparent that many political scientists cite each other’s flawed research to pad their list of citations and to legitimize their own flawed research, creating an unvirtuous circle of political science. More broadly, McDaniel’s voter turnout studies, like other studies evaluating RCV’s impact on turnout, lacked a recognition that no credible opinion or research can claim that RCV increases voter turnout merely because so many voters are excited to vote for their favorite candidates instead of “lesser evil” candidates without worrying about spoilers. Instead, with respect to turnout, the advantage of RCV has always been that, in most places where it has been used, it has eliminated a pre-November primary or post-November runoff, which usually saw about half the turnout of the November general election. This is especially true during even years when there are state and federal elections on the ballot which substantially drive turnout more than local contests. Any study that does not adequately account for this non-November primary/runoff vs November general election dynamic, or odd year vs even year election factors, is simply not credible. Both of McDaniel’s studies largely failed on those grounds. Steven Hill and Paul Haughey Share Upgrade to a $5 subscription Thanks for reading DemocracySOS…your digital portal for the pro-democracy movement. Subscribe for only $5 per month to receive full benefits and to support our work. Subscribe

Jul 20 • 9:29 AM EDT • Science • democracysos.substack.com

Samyang Roundsquare Launches Spindle, a Science-Led Metabolic Health Brand Focused on the Gut–Muscle Connection

Samyang Roundsquare announces the launch of Spindle, a science-led metabolic health brand with its debut product, Spindle Muscle+, to redefine how adults think about strength and aging. Spindle Muscle+ is powered by Akkermansia MYO™, a clinically studied strain shown to support muscle strength, through the gut.

Jul 19 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • newswise.com

U.S. National Science Foundation, NSF National Radio Astronomy Observatory, and U.S. Naval Observatory Partner on Pathfinder for Next Generation Very Large Array

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), the NSF National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO), and the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) are advancing a new collaboration to support the future of high-resolution radio astronomy and astrometry, with the development of a pathfinder instrument for the proposed Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA).

Jul 17 • 9:50 AM EDT • Science • newswise.com

Sports without politics is a fantasy and the World Cup proves it

From ancient Greece to Nazi Germany, sport and politics have long been intertwined. Nevertheless, we still imagine that international sport can be kept above the fray and serve as a neutral arena where nations compete on merit alone. In this article, diplomacy scholar Geoffrey Allen Pigman argues the 2026 FIFA World Cup shows this is a dangerous illusion. When international sport is left entirely to revenue-maximizing private bodies like FIFA, it doesn't escape politics, but rather surrenders to its worst expressions. With the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics fast approaching, the IOC must decide whether to learn that lesson or repeat the same mistakes. The largest and most lucrative FIFA World Cup ever draws toward its climactic conclusion amidst a swirl of controversy. Team members, staff, fans, and spectators have been denied their right to enter the United States to participate, and US President Donald Trump intervened with FIFA boss Gianni Infantino to overturn a referee’s call that Trump believed disadvantaged the US national team. It is a moment to step back and reflect on what the purposes of international sport mega-events like the World Cup, and international sport more broadly, are, and what they should be. Does international sport serve public purposes? Is there a public interest? Or is it primarily a private endeavor organized by commercial enterprises to entertain the global public (and generate profit in the process), which is occasionally used by governments and leaders for raisons d’etat? Central to the idea of sport is the principle of fair play, which in the international context demands that games be free from political interference. However, it is impossible to separate sport from politics, all claims to the contrary notwithstanding. The most positive political use of international sport through the millennia has been to facilitate diplomacy. The use of international sport for diplomatic objectives has existed since at least the time of the ancient Olympic Games, around which was instituted the custom of the Ekecheiria, or Olympic Truce, between participating states to facilitate fair competition and diplomatic achievements by ensuring that participants could travel safely to the Olympiad. In his seminal work On Diplomacy (1987), diplomacy scholar James Der Derian characterized the objectives of diplomacy as overcoming alienation and mediating estrangement between governments and between peoples. One increasingly important diplomatic tool in the technology-infused media environment over the past century has been public diplomacy, under which governments and non-state diplomatic actors (e.g. transnational corporations) communicate to global publics about their international policy objectives and to shape their global brand image. Political scientist Michał Kobierecki, in his important book Sports Diplomacy (2020), views sports diplomacy as falling broadly within the ambit of public diplomacy, as international sport intimately involves the participation of global publics as spectators and consumers of global media. Diplomacy scholar Stuart Murray and this author, in a 2013 article, distinguish between international sport used for diplomatic purposes and international sport-as-diplomacy, which encompasses the range of diplomacy that occurs as teams and competitors, spectators and fans, and government officials all converge for international sporting events like the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup. Diplomacy scholar H.E. Chehabi, in a 2001 article on US-Iran sports diplomacy, describes the interaction between spectators and fans at international sporting events as “people-to-people diplomacy,” in which relationships develop independently of governments and their objectives. Diplomacy by the aforementioned definitions is often unsuccessful. Moreover, all too often the tools of diplomacy may be employed by governments and other actors to thwart or oppose the objectives of diplomacy as characterized by Der Derian. Governments routinely use the tools of public diplomacy to disseminate propaganda, spreading misinformation in the attempt to deceive global publics about their objectives and to create misleading impressions about their brand identity. Within sports diplomacy, the term “sportswashing” has been coined recently to describe how governments invest in and promote international sport to create positive global public impressions of their nations and, in doing so, to distract the global public from their deficient records in areas such as human rights and democratic governance. Murray, in his 2018 book Sports Diplomacy: Origins, Theory and Practice, introduces the concept of sports anti-diplomacy, wherein governments intentionally use international sport to advance aggressive and nationalistic objectives. Obvious historical examples include Hitler’s use of the 1936 Berlin Olympics to glorify his Third Reich and the 1969 El Salvador-Honduras football “war.” SUGGESTED READING The beautiful game made ugly By Emily Ryall FIFA argues that it is and seeks to be apolitical in its stewardship of international Association Football (soccer). FIFA policies governing bids to host the World Cup require uninhibited and non-discriminatory access for players, team staff, and spectators of all participating countries to host nations and venues. It became clear soon after Trump returned to power in the United States in January 2025 that Trump’s political intentions and objectives to limit non-US citizens from living and working in the United States and, in numerous cases, even visiting the country, would collide with FIFA’s host nation policies. Beginning soon after the start of the second Trump administration, US federal authorities imposed restrictions on entry to the United States of citizens of between 20 and 40 countries for any purpose, with only limited exceptions. Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began arresting non-US citizens in the United States, including persons with and without legal status, holding them in jails, concentration camps, and other detention facilities until they were deported to their home or third countries, where they faced substantive risks to their personal safety. FIFA boss Gianni Infantino, in an effort to ensure the most successful and lucrative World Cup in history, engaged diplomatically with President Trump in an attempt to facilitate entry to the US for World Cup participants. Infantino did all in his power to ingratiate himself with Trump, to the extent of creating a FIFA “Peace Prize,” which he awarded to Trump in December 2025 at a ceremony in the then Trump-controlled John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, on the occasion of the World Cup draw. The prize was an ersatz consolation for someone who aspired in vain to win the rather more prestigious and well-known Nobel Peace Prize. And in the run-up to the World Cup, conditions became worse. In February 2026, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a war of aggression against Iran, illegal under international law, under the false pretence that Iran’s government was preparing to attack the United States and Israel. During the US aerial bombardment of Iran, US planes bombed Azadi Stadium, the facility where Iran’s national football team trained. As the 2026 FIFA World Cup began, it was clear that Infantino’s efforts had been for naught: the Trump administration would not adhere to FIFA policies governing access to World Cup host nations. World Cup referee Omar Artan, a citizen of Somalia, was denied a US visa to enter the United States to participate in the World Cup. Trump’s government only granted US visas to Iran’s football team ten days before they were scheduled to arrive for the tournament. Numerous members of the support staff for Iran’s team were denied US visas. Iran’s team, which had been scheduled to train in Arizona, was directed to shift its training site to Tijuana, Mexico, notwithstanding that all three of their group stage matches took place at US venues. The US Department of Homeland Security only permitted the Iranian team to enter the US on the day before each scheduled match and then to return to Mexico immediately after playing. Members of Iraq’s and Switzerland’s football teams were delayed for hours by US officials at the US border, and an Iraqi team photographer was refused entry. Spectators and fans from Haïti and Iran were denied entry to the United States altogether. A large number of fans from a range of countries had their applications for US visas rejected. There were multiple off-ramps through which participants could have avoided the negative consequences of Trump’s decisions for the 2026 World Cup. Once it was clear that the Trump government intended to violate the established expectations for World Cup hosts, FIFA could have shifted the matches scheduled to take place in the United States to Mexico and Canada. The three nations were already designated as co-hosts, and host cities and venues had been selected. Once it was clear that FIFA, governed by FIFA boss Gianni Infantino’s dependent and dysfunctional relationship with Trump, would never consider this option on its own, it fell to the national football federations to act. The national federations, particularly some combination of federations of the leading contenders (France, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Morocco, England, Germany, etc.), could have refused to participate under the US-imposed conditions or, at the least, demanded an ironclad agreement with the Trump government that FIFA policies on access would be respected. ___ International sport is inextricably entangled with diplomacy of different sorts, for good or ill, it cannot be considered to be in the purely private realm and left to revenue-maximizing private actors. ___ Why did neither FIFA nor the national football federations act to protect the interests of players, team staff, referees, fans, and spectators? In essence, the relentless engines of capitalism prevailed over norm observance, ethics, and fair play. The revenue interests of FIFA, sponsors, global media, and host cities won out. FIFA’s managers viewed hosting another World Cup principally in the United States as a veritable pot of gold for FIFA and its collaborators. FIFA has estimated its own revenue over the 2023-26 budget cycle, which includes the 2026 World Cup, at $13 billion, revised up from an initial projection of $11 billion, and 72% higher than the previous revenue cycle. Of that total, FIFA is estimated to have generated $8.9 billion from the Cup itself in revenue from TV rights ($3.92 billion), sponsorships ($2.69 billion), ticket sales ($3.1 billion), licensing rights, and other sources. A joint study by FIFA and the World Trade Organization estimates that the World Cup will contribute over $40 billion to global GDP, including nearly $14 billion in direct visitor spending in the three host countries (but principally in the United States, which hosted the lion’s share of the matches). The FIFA World Cup is now reportedly “the single most lucrative recurring commercial property in global sport.” And yet, notwithstanding the Trump government’s uses of the World Cup for sports anti-diplomacy, and the climate of anxiety that this created for participants and spectators, diplomacy that did not depend upon governments was able to thrive at the World Cup. Examples of successful people-to-people diplomacy were legion, as citizens of towns and cities across the States, as well as in Mexico and Canada, welcomed team members, their families and supporters, to training sites across North America. Fans of different teams joined together in person in stadiums for matches, at watch parties and bars, and at welcome events sponsored by host cities. The joy and camaraderie shared between the citizenry of Boston and Scotland’s “Tartan Army” of fans is but one example of how the “Beautiful Game” brings people together. Friendships forged across continents are likely to endure well beyond the Cup final. Even those achievements cannot be seen as unalloyed, however. As South African football fan Byron Pillay commented to Al Jazeera, “Football is called the Beautiful Game for a reason, for its ability to unite people. But it’s hard to believe in that magic with the politics and war rhetoric off the field of play, especially when one of the tournament hosts is central to that.” Ultimately, the experience of the 2026 FIFA World Cup illustrates that, as international sport is inextricably entangled with diplomacy of different sorts, for good or ill, it cannot be considered to be in the purely private realm and left to revenue-maximizing private actors. As long as there is the possibility of diplomatic progress in mediating estrangement between governments or between peoples, there is a broad and overarching public interest in international sport. Likewise, as it would be difficult to put on an international sport mega-event without international sporting organizations like FIFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), global media firms, and companies purchasing sponsorships, public and private interests in international sport must coexist, most likely somewhere on a shifting spectrum between partnership and rivalry or cross purposes. As the World Cup wraps up, the IOC needs to consider its lessons before the scheduled 2028 Los Angeles Olympics if they want to avoid a media-hyped Trump version of the 1936 Berlin Olympiad. The IOC and the National Olympic Committees need to set conditions on and make demands of Trump’s government with clearly articulated consequences for non-compliance, up to and including cancellation of the Games. Time is running out for the IOC, as unlike with the FIFA World Cup, there is no at-the-ready alternate venue for Los Angeles.

Jul 16 • 8:00 PM EDT • Politics • iai.tv

VIDEO AVAILABLE - Science Communications Research to Practice Webinar: Knowing Your Audience

Jul 16 • 5:30 PM EDT • Science • newswise.com

'We'll be out of business': Jensen Huang bet his last dollars on a chip he never held in his hands

In 1997, with dwindling cash, the Nvidia CEO ordered mass production of a graphics chip tested entirely in a simulator.

Jul 13 • 4:45 PM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com

Servier completes the acquisition of Edgewise Therapeutics' Muscular Dystrophy Business

/PRNewswire/ -- Servier, an independent international pharmaceutical group governed by a foundation, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of...

Jul 13 • 8:30 AM EDT • Business • prnewswire.com

Yale scientists found a hidden network inside the eye

Researchers have discovered that the retina uses an unexpected communication network that lets separate visual pathways cooperate instead of working alone. A newly identified "commander" cell appears to coordinate this system, helping the eye detect faint details that might otherwise be missed.

Jul 13 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com

Lindsey Graham’s journey from a pool hall to the heights of political power

A former military lawyer who reached the rank of colonel in the Air Force, the wisecracking Graham was known for his Southern drawl, political flexibility and reliably hawkish stance on foreign policy.

Jul 12 • 9:24 PM EDT • Politics • wsbtv.com

3 bold trades the Steelers should make before 2026 season

Before the 2026 NFL season, the Pittsburgh Steelers would be wise to consider these three trades.

Jul 10 • 6:48 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

A 58-year-old Texan bet $430,000 of retirement funds on a golf franchise — and the business was profitable in one month

From boredom in retirement to the pursuit of higher investment returns, older Americans are launching businesses instead of settling into traditional retirement.

Jul 9 • 2:12 PM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com

More than 1 in 5 social media users say they’ve made health choices based on their feeds. How to use it wisely

Social media can be a helpful source of health advice — but it can also spread misinformation. CNN’s Dr. Leana Wen helps you figure out the difference.

Jul 9 • 9:00 AM EDT • Health • cnn.com

Science Communications Research to Practice Webinar: Know Your Audience

Register for the next best practices webinar: Are You Talking to ME? Audiences for Science Communication.

Jul 8 • 5:20 PM EDT • Science • newswise.com

Meta wants its AI glasses to seem less creepy. Its AI strategy says otherwise.

Meta is adding a new safeguard to stop people from secretly recording others with its AI glasses. But the update comes as the company continues to expand how much personal data its AI products collect and use.

Jul 8 • 1:11 PM EDT • Technology • techcrunch.com

The New Era of College Athletics Has Gone a Bridge Too Far

Author: Matthew J Williams1 1Department of Education, The University of Virginia’s College at Wise, Wise, VA, USA Matthew J. Williams D.S.M., M.B.A., M.S., is an Associate Professor of…

Jul 7 • 11:46 AM EDT • Sports • thesportjournal.org

Twelve Sick, One Recall, and No Word From Public Health: E. coli O145:H28 Turns Up in Publix GreenWise Frozen Blueberries

A tip o' the pen to David Neal at the Miami Herald, who flagged a recall that a lot of people would have skated right past over a holiday weekend. On

Jul 4 • 11:27 AM EDT • Health • marlerblog.com

Trump hails U.S. exceptionalism before veering into darkly political speech to usher in America's 250th anniversary

The president's speech capped an Independence Day eve otherwise most notable for a brutal heat wave that gripped much of the eastern part of the country.

Jul 4 • 6:18 AM EDT • Politics • cnbc.com

Steelers install new grass field at Acrisure Stadium after NFLPA survey graded previous surface poorly

Jul 3 • 5:39 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

AMERICA AT 250: COMPETING CELEBRATIONS REFLECT NATIONAL POLARIZATION, SAYS SMU POLITICS EXPERT

DALLAS (SMU) – As the nation marks its 250th anniversary with separate celebrations in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, SMU political scientist Matthew Wilson says the split reflects a deeper reality about modern America: the absence of a shared national narrative. Wilson argues that what should have been a unifying moment of national pride has instead become a symbol of the country's growing political polarization, with rival groups promoting fundamentally different visions of Amer

Jul 2 • 7:15 PM EDT • Politics • newswise.com

Popular Windsor egg farm exits egg business amid hard times for small farms

Tiffany Holbrook, co-owner at Wise Acre Farm, announced this week that the farm shut down its local egg operations and will move to a new location in Sonoma County to focus on meat production. She said the realities and costs of running the…

Jul 2 • 5:44 PM EDT • Business • pressdemocrat.com

Business Confidence Improves Modestly Ahead of Q3 2026

Colorado business leaders entered the third quarter of 2026 with modestly improved confidence, though expectations remain below neutral as inflation, political and policy instability, and geopolitical uncertainty continue to shape the business outlook.

Jul 2 • 8:00 AM EDT • Business • newswise.com

New Collaboration between Tufts University and Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences Boosts Experiential Opportunities for Graduate Students

Tufts University is advancing this mission through a new collaboration with Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay, Maine, giving graduate students direct access to immersive real-world ocean research.

Jul 1 • 9:55 PM EDT • Science • newswise.com

Bickering Over Healthcare Coverage Disrupts House Panel Hearing

Finger pointing over the number of Americans losing health insurance roiled what otherwise would have been a technical House hearing over employee health coverage.

Jul 1 • 1:40 PM EDT • Health • news.bgov.com

Operations workforce powers ORNL’s autonomous science future

Behind every self-driving laboratory at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a team most people never see. Facilities and Operations (F&O) workers are building and maintaining the infrastructure that makes autonomous science possible.

Jul 1 • 10:35 AM EDT • Science • newswise.com

This satellite constellation transformed earth science by creatively tuning in to GPS signals

Key takeaways —The first constellation to produce high-quality data by picking up GPS microwaves reflecting off Earth, called CYGNSS, is featured in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Living in the Space Age exhibit. —Distortions in the reflected signals can reveal information about Earth, including hurricane wind speed and the distribution of moisture in soil, and the constellation provided unprecedented coverage in both time and space. —GNSS-R data is useful for mon

Jul 1 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • newswise.com

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ 2026 TSRI Science Day Highlights Advances in Cancer Biology

June 17 saw more than 400 scientists, clinicians, research staff, and other Children’s Hospital Los Angeles team members come together for The Saban Research Institute’s (TSRI) yearly symposium and poster session—Science Day 2026.

Jun 30 • 8:30 PM EDT • Science • newswise.com

Scrolling for science: How a Twitter post discovered a new wasp in Fukuoka, Japan

Researchers at Kyushu University recently identified a wasp species, Eupelmus curvator, in Japan for the first time after citizen scientists posted photos of it on Twitter (now X), marking both a new national record and the first formal description of the male of the species. The discovery highlights the growing role of social media in biodiversity research, allowing scientists to tap into observations from the public that would otherwise go unnoticed.

Jun 30 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • eurekalert.org

What 124 Future Business Leaders Really Think About AI and Work

Insights from 124 career assessments written by UMD-Smith graduate students show 98% expect artificial intelligence to transform, not eliminate, their careers. The analysis also found AI raises performance expectations while increasing demand for strategic thinking, AI literacy, ethical judgment and critical evaluation of AI-generated work.

Jun 30 • 7:40 PM EDT • Business • newswise.com

Argonne Open House 2026: Science comes to life for visitors

Jun 30 • 3:50 PM EDT • Science • newswise.com

Magnetic sperm and the ugliest shark: science stories of the week

From a lupus breakthrough to why humans naturally move anticlockwise, here are the most interesting scientific developments of the week

Jun 28 • 2:25 AM EDT • Science • theweek.com

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.

Jun 27 • 2:20 PM EDT • Health • ktar.com

AI Makes Your Business Faster

Is your business wiser for it?

Jun 25 • 8:00 AM EDT • Business • inc.com

Think 8 Hours of Sleep Is the Best for Your Cognitive Health? A New Study Suggests Otherwise

Research reveals a hidden genetic link that dictates exactly how your nighttime routine impacts your brain.

Jun 24 • 4:01 PM EDT • Health • inc.com

Roku May Help Fox Avoid Aggregeddon

(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) Scrolling through links over the last week, I stumbled across this fun headline: Wow. Formula 1 (the sport, not the docu-series) is the perfect “dog not barking”. As a reminder, each week in my Streaming Ratings Report, I call out the shows that miss every viewership chart. I dub them “dogs not barking”—like the Sherlock Holmes mystery—because without any data, we forget they even exist. This is in contrast to something like, say, a film flop—cough The Mandalorian and Grogu cough—where even underperforming at the box office is widely discussed here, there and everywhere. In the US, Formula 1 is now in “no public viewership data, so not discussed” territory. After moving to Apple TV from its former home of ESPN, basically no one talks about it. Apple did publish an initial, unsourced, unsubstantiated, (dare I say unserious) datecdote claiming more folks are watching Formula 1 on Apple than ESPN, but we haven’t gotten any updates since. This stands in contrast to when the sport streamed on ESPN, and ESPN PR provided weekly viewership figures. Formula 1 was, at best, a niche sport in America—averaging 1.3 million viewers in the Big Data Plus era—but now it’s basically anonymous. (And yeah, after moving to Apple, I very, very, very much doubt its ratings increased.) Unfortunately, that story isn’t quite big enough to warrant a section in today’s “Most Important Story of the Week” column, but I wanted to call it out, because otherwise, no one else will! Certainly, no one will write articles about the silence/ratings decline, unlike when they wrote breathless articles connecting the rise in viewership to Netflix’s Drive to Survive, including Reuters just last month. (This is a topic I’ve tried to provide a moderate/nuanced/non-hyped take since 2022.) Anyway, on to this week’s issue. I was a bit worried I didn’t have a juicy topic, then the Murdochs went out and did their Murdoch thing: buying Roku. So that’s the story of the week, and it happens to touch on quite a few themes of the streaming wars and the disruption therein. I’ll cover that, plus why more consolidation in Hollywood media looks likely, more good news on the Hollywood labor front, whether we’ll see an uptick in production in Los Angeles, some Broadway and theme park news, cellphone prices going up in the third world (and possibly everywhere), and more. Subscribe Most Important Story of the Week - Another Big Media & Entertainment Merger The story of the week is clearly Fox is buying Roku for $22 billion. I read a lot of good strategy takes on why Fox bought this streaming TV device maker—and I’ll have mine below—but what fascinates me more is how this deal connects to quite a few themes of the streaming wars, linking to everything from the pace of M&A to “aggregeddon” to Netflix’s recent M&A actions/inactions to the shift to advertising from pure play streaming and more. The only topic I can’t really connect it to is my old theory, “never bet against Rupert Murdoch” because he isn’t the one who did this deal; his son Lachlan inked it. (Do I think he provided advice, even at his 95 years of age? Sure.) That plus I have one additional piece of strategy for all entertainment players, inspired by this deal. So let’s dive into all those topics, starting with why I like this deal. Roku is a Great M&A Buy

Jun 23 • 2:23 PM EDT • Entertainment • entertainment.substack.com

Hidden bird species discovered in Japan after DNA reveals a stunning secret

A bird long thought to be a single rare species in Japan has turned out to be two. Scientists discovered that the elusive Ijima’s Leaf Warbler and a newly identified Tokara Leaf Warbler look almost identical, but their DNA and songs reveal they are distinct species. The finding marks Japan’s first new bird species discovery in more than 40 years and highlights how modern genetic tools are uncovering hidden biodiversity that would otherwise go unnoticed.

Jun 23 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com

Cardiology groups strongly oppose expansion of Medicare AI prior authorization model

ASE, ASNC and SCAI have come out against a WiSER model using AI for traditional Medicare prior authorizations.

Jun 22 • 1:33 PM EDT • Business • cardiovascularbusiness.com

Has Kyler Murray Already Won The Job As The Vikings Starting QB?

It's hard to argue otherwise.

Jun 21 • 9:22 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Fantasy Baseball 2026: Winners and Losers From Week 12

The Pittsburgh Pirates lost a game in Colorado because of a cleat. The cleat of pinch-runner Billy Cook grazed third baseman Kyle Karros’s glove on a slow ground ball that would have otherwise tied the game. The call gave Paul Skenes a loss instead of a no-decision and surely fantasy baseball results were harmed by the call, which was the actual correct call.

Jun 21 • 10:31 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Americans are paying thousands to flee states over politics — but experts say using specialized agencies is not worth it

Looking for help moving to another state for political reasons? There’s a real estate agency for that.

Jun 21 • 9:00 AM EDT • Politics • finance.yahoo.com

Discovery Supercomputer’s First Applications Selected for Day-One Science

Scientific computing experts at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have selected the first nine research projects that will run on Discovery, the nation’s next flagship supercomputer, slated for deployment in 2028.The projects will be developed through the Discovery Center for Accelerated Application Readiness (CAAR) program at ORNL’s Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF).

Jun 17 • 4:55 PM EDT • Science • newswise.com

Department of Energy Selects 36th Class of Computational Science Graduate Fellows

Twenty-nine students working toward achieving doctorates in fields that emphasize the use of computing and mathematics have been selected for the Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (DOE CSGF) program.

Jun 17 • 1:35 PM EDT • Science • newswise.com

Preview: UFC Vegas 119 prelims

Mixed martial arts hangover is a real thing, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Here’s your Alka-Seltzer.

Jun 17 • 8:05 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Knights wise to move on from Torts

John Tortorella was fine for the interim but it's time to give Ryan Craig his shot to be an NHL head coach .

Jun 16 • 3:17 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Pedestrians Prefer to Veer Left—and Scientists Have No Idea Why

The bias certainly appears to exist, but scientists still have no idea why it exists.

Jun 15 • 11:25 AM EDT • Science • gizmodo.com

Commission to examine how precision approaches improve healthcare effectiveness, cost-efficiency, equity, and scalability worldwide.

Prof. Michèle Ramsay at the Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience is one of four co-chairs of the Lancet Commission on Precision Health.

Jun 14 • 10:00 AM EDT • Health • newswise.com

Oregon couple uses social media sketches to advocate for transparency in healthcare

Dr. and Lady Glaucomflecken — otherwise known as Will and Kristin Flanary — are using humor for healthcare advocacy and education.

Jun 14 • 9:00 AM EDT • Health • opb.org

The Only Good Thing About ‘Destiny 2’ Ending

Destiny 2 is over, but that has produced at least one silver lining on what is an otherwise very sad situation for players.

Jun 13 • 9:24 AM EDT • Technology • forbes.com

Selena Gomez reacts to claims she shaded Taylor Swift over Knicks game: 'Forget that most assume otherwise'

Selena Gomez took to social media to respond to speculation that a comment she posted was shading her longtime friend Taylor Swift for cheering on the New York Knicks during Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

Jun 12 • 12:40 PM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com

JMIR Publications Signs Three-Year Open Science Partnership with MetaROR

JMIR Publications, a leading publisher of academic journals dedicated to digital health and open science, today announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a three-year partnership with MetaROR (MetaResearch Open Review).

Jun 12 • 9:00 AM EDT • Science • newswise.com

Nearly Everyone, Everywhere, Veers Left When Walking

Researchers are at a loss for why people across cultures and ages, regardless of their dominant hand, have a natural bias toward wandering in a counterclockwise direction.

Jun 10 • 4:32 PM EDT • Science • nytimes.com

NUTRITION 2026: The Leading Source for the Latest Science

NUTRITION 2026 puts science in the spotlight as thousands of nutrition researchers and health professionals convene for the the annual flagship meeting of the American Society for Nutrition. Qualifying journalists are invited to join the action July 25–28 in National Harbor, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C.

Jun 9 • 9:00 AM EDT • Science • newswise.com

From Classroom to Racetrack: How Charlie Baur is Building a Motorsports Career in a Business Discipline

Charlie Baur can trace his racing story back to a Christmas morning in Michigan — the kind that starts with snow on the ground and ends with a throttle in a kid’s hands. “I remember being 3 years old and then for Christmas that year, my parents had gotten me a 120 cc snowmobile,” Baur said. Long before sprint cars, he was a Michigan kid on snowmobiles, dirt bikes, four-wheelers and jet skis — and a regular at car shows and races with his family. Photo courtesy of Charlie Baur That early exposure became a calling. At 12, he sat in a sprint car for the first time and knew he’d found the next chapter. He started in quarter midgets, moved to go-karts, and the day before he turned 16 — one day shy of the minimum age required by track insurance — he made his first sprint car start after convincing officials to let him race. Five years later, Baur is still pushing forward, now racing sprint cars on both pavement and dirt while pursuing an automotive business education at Northwood University — with a clear-eyed understanding that motorsports encompasses more than what happens under the lights on Saturday night. “It’s a business,” said Charlie, a 20-year-old who calls Fenton, Michigan, home when he’s not at a racetrack or at Northwood’s residential campus in Midland, Michigan. Photo courtesy of Charlie Baur Racing is the product — but preparation is the job To the average fan, race day begins around dinner time. For a team, race day can be a 12-hour shift — plus the work that came before it. And Baur’s racing operation is a family affair. “The team is my parents and myself,” he said, explaining they own the cars, maintain equipment and manage the business side — from sponsor relations to budgeting. On race weekends, the core group includes Baur and his parents (Eric and Stefanie), plus a couple of additional hands (Alex Photiou and Robert Flannigan) who help with the intensity and pace of trackside work. That structure has shaped how he thinks about efficiency and professionalism. “We’ve always kind of had the mentality of we’re never working on the car for maintenance at the track,” he said. “Our goal is to do as little work as possible to the car because it should be ready when that car rolls out of the trailer to go racing.” That mindset shows up in routines: bolt checks, tire procedures, safety equipment and a repeatable process designed to limit errors. “Once I fire the car up and put my helmet on, that’s when it’s go time,” he said. “You can plan as much as possible for how the race is going to play out, but until you take the green flag … you don’t know how it’s going to go.” Photo courtesy of Charlie Baur First-generation driver, student of the game In racing, “first-generation” matters — and Baur wears that label with pride. “A lot of the drivers are third or fourth generation,” he said. “My family has never been in motorsports. So for me, we’ve always looked at it as we’re new to it and we want to be as different as possible. From a marketing standpoint, it helps us stand out.” It also pushes him to seek out mentors — especially veteran drivers who have seen every scenario, solved every problem and won in multiple eras. Baur credits accomplished driver Jason Blonde, a 10-time champion, for becoming his driver coach and helping him develop as a competitor. “To me, learning from Jason helps me because he has had lots of success and knows what to do,” Baur said. “You have to humble yourself and say, ‘I don’t know what to do; can you help me out?’” That willingness to learn extends off the track, too. Baur says one of his biggest challenges is not a mechanical limitation, but credibility. “It’s my age,” he said. “Some people won’t take me seriously because I’m so young. Even though … I do know what we’re talking about and have a general idea.” His answer has been to out-prepare, out-communicate and treat the operation like a real enterprise — because it is. Photo courtesy of Charlie Baur Northwood’s role: Turning passion into a plan Baur is majoring in automotive aftermarket management and pursuing an accelerated path that pairs undergraduate study with graduate work. He’s also exploring how to align his studies with motorsports-focused coursework as Northwood advances related programs and pathways. He sees the value clearly: motorsports needs business-literate professionals who understand budgets, sponsorship, marketing, operations and long-term strategy — and who can translate between the language of the shop and the language of the boardroom. That’s why his Northwood experience isn’t limited to the classroom. He has been involved with the Northwood University International Auto Show and serves as motorsports chair — a leadership role that demands outreach, contracts, coordination and a steady professional demeanor. “There’s so much outside work that makes the auto show successful that people don’t realize,” he said. “And it is truly student led.” He’s also participated in industry experiences through Northwood at major events such as AAPEX, SEMA and PRI, along with other automotive networking events — opportunities he describes as a fast track to understanding how business really gets done. “You learn a lot in the classroom,” he said. “But if you learn it and you can’t apply it to the real world, it loses its value. Or if you learn it and can apply it, but you don’t know anyone, it is still of no value.” In his words, Northwood helps him win because it “gives me the tools to succeed” — including flexibility and faculty support as he balances travel and racing commitments with academics. Photo courtesy of Charlie Baur Racing as an ecosystem — and a talent gap waiting to be filled Baur is blunt about what he sees across the motorsports world: a deep bench of experienced professionals, and not enough young talent entering the pipeline. “I go to car shows, I go to these different events, and typically … the average age is between 45 to 55,” he said. “There’s not a lot of young people going into the motorsports world.” That reality reinforces Northwood’s communications focus: positioning motorsports not as a narrow lane, but as a wide ecosystem of business careers — sponsorship, logistics, data, media, leadership, hospitality and innovation — with real demand for prepared graduates. It also shapes how Baur talks to younger students who love racing but aren’t sure what their future looks like. “If you have a passion for motorsports, there’s gonna be a spot for you somewhere,” he said, emphasizing that driving is only one of many career paths — and that local tracks and hands-on experience are often the best first step. But if someone is interested in driving as a career path, it will take a team to make that happen. Baur’s team includes Stahl’s Motors and Music Experience, Rhino Racing, Randy Wise Buick GMC Chevrolet, Western Michigan Fleet Parts, Mother’s Polish, Schaeffer’s Oil, Hepfner Racing Products, Ameriguard Storage Centers, Justice Brothers, Race 1 Wraps, TBM Brakes, Behind Your Design, CharlieBaur.com and Northwood University. “There are so many people who invest not only in myself but in my race team and who believe in us to succeed,” he added. Pictured: Charlie Bauer’s sprint race car. Looking ahead: A headline worth chasing Ask Baur to imagine 2035, and he’ll give you two answers — one dream, one blueprint. “In a perfect world,” he said, “winning the Indy 500.” Realistically, he wants to build a life where business ownership and racing reinforce each other and where he can pay forward the help he has received by mentoring younger drivers, especially those trying to break into motorsports without a family legacy. “When I retire from full-time racing, I want to be able to provide the same opportunities that were presented to myself to the next generation of drivers,” Baur said. “I know how difficult it is to get your foot in the door.” For now, the focus is simple: keep building the operation, keep learning the business, and keep showing up prepared — because in sprint car racing, as in life, process matters. And once the helmet goes on? “It’s go time,” Baur said. Photo courtesy of Charlie Baur Learn more Students interested in motorsports careers — whether in competition, team operations, marketing, finance, sponsorship, data, or management — can explore opportunities through Northwood University’s Center for Automotive and Mobility Studies. For Charlie Baur’s latest motorsports adventures, follow Charlie_Baur and Charlie Baur Racing on social media. To learn more about Northwood’s Bachelor of Business Administration in Automotive and Mobility Studies and motorsports management concentration, visit www.northwood.edu/programs/automotive-mobility-studies/. Photo courtesy of Charlie Baur Pictured: Charlie Baur at Butler Motor Speedway on May 31, 2026. Share this page

Jun 9 • 8:30 AM EDT • Business • northwood.edu

Mark Cuban says small businesses are desperate for AI talent — and it's where job seekers should look first

The serial entrepreneur took to X this week to bang the AI will lead to more job creation drum.

Jun 7 • 2:45 PM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com

The Best Bets for the F1 Monaco Grand Prix 2026

Monaco puts qualifying position, low-speed grip, and wall discipline at the center of betting decisions, with 2026 rules adding a new energy-management layer. Here's how to wager wisely.

Jun 6 • 7:29 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

All Confirmed & Rumored Games For XBOX Games Showcase 2026

It's almost time for the XBOX Games Showcase, so let's dive into what games will feature during the event, confirmed or otherwise.

Jun 6 • 8:23 AM EDT • Technology • insider-gaming.com

Biophysical Society Condemns OMB Proposed Rule to Politicize Science

BETHESDA, MD – The Biophysical Society condemns the Office of Management and Budgets (OMB) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Federal Financial Assistance, released Friday, May 29th. The NPRM is a sweeping overhaul of federal rulemaking and oversight, removing individual oversight from federal agencies to promulgate rules and oversee how regulations are implemented and enforced internally.

Jun 5 • 11:40 AM EDT • Science • newswise.com

She thought she slept great. Her Oura ring said otherwise

Regular visits with your primary care doctor remain the standard health recommendation. But wearable tech devices can be an extra tool.

Jun 4 • 7:11 AM EDT • Technology • usatoday.com

All Confirmed & Rumored Games For Summer Game Fest 2026

Summer Game Fest is almost here, so let's dive into which games will feature during the showcase, confirmed or otherwise.

Jun 4 • 6:48 AM EDT • Technology • insider-gaming.com

Why Are Politicians Swearing More?

n American politics, cursing and “four-letter words” are no longer confined to hot mics or hidden behind closed doors. Politicians and pundits are increasingly using so-called “bad words” in speeches, social media posts and campaign ads. Benjamin Bergen, professor of cognitive science and Pamela Ban, associate professor of political science, both from UC San Diego’s School of Social Sciences, examine why swearing among politicians is on the rise and what it reveals about persuasion,

Jun 2 • 9:35 PM EDT • Politics • newswise.com

The work you can't always see: Beer is political, part 2

Recently I published a piece about beer, politics, and the question of who speaks up and who doesn’t. I meant every word of it. I still do. And then my inbox opened up. Cleveland Prost is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe I’ve been writing about beer since 2014. For most of that time, I kept things deliberately light — taproom profiles, new releases, the people behind the pints. Gradually, over years of building this thing, you gave me something I didn’t expect: permission. Permission to go deeper. To say what I actually saw in this industry and what I actually believed about it. That trust isn’t something I take lightly. It’s why that piece existed at all, and it’s why this one does too. I’m not walking anything back. But I want to go further. In that piece, I wrote that beer has never existed outside the system. That immigration policy affects who staffs breweries and harvests ingredients. That labor policy affects taproom workers. That civil rights policy affects who feels safe walking into a taproom. That “beer does not exist in a vacuum. The idea that it does is comforting. It is also false.” I believe that as much now as I did when I wrote it. But one idea came back at me, in different forms, over and over (from reader emails, comments, and conversations): that beer itself isn’t political — that it only becomes political when someone decides to make it that way. That what we’re really seeing is a choice by individuals to inject division into something that doesn’t inherently require it. It’s a comforting idea. It’s also wrong — and I think it’s worth being precise about why. That framing assumes that breweries operate outside the conditions shaping everything else. That politics is something you choose to bring into a room that was, until then, clean and neutral. That if you stay quiet, you stay clear of it. But the room was never neutral. It was never clean. Politics is already in the room. It’s in who walks through the door comfortably and who hesitates. It’s in whether a space can be used for organizing without fear. It’s in whether helping someone quietly might carry consequences you have to think carefully about in advance. It’s in who staffed the brewery, who harvested the grain, who can afford to be a regular. The idea that you opt out of all that by staying quiet is an illusion. You only change how visible your response to it is. This is, I realize, a hard thing to hear if you came to a beer newsletter for something lighter. I wrote recently that “beer, for me, has always felt like a refuge — a third place in an increasingly fractured world.” I meant that. I still do. But a refuge is not an escape from reality. It’s a place to gather strength to face it. Here’s what I actually missed — and what I want to correct. Multiple people in the industry reached out to me. I’m not naming them and I’m not identifying their businesses, because that’s not my call. If and when they want to be loud about what they’re doing, that agency belongs to them. What I can share is the substance of what they said, because it complicated something I presented too cleanly. The overall message: *You don’t know what we all are doing.* And they’re right. I don’t. One example involved a collaboration brewed quietly to support another business facing serious challenges in a whole different region, with proceeds directed toward solidarity, community, and keeping operations afloat. No announcement. It could have been broadcast widely. The point was never publicity. Another example involved logistical support for community efforts: organizing safe transportation, providing space for meetings on otherwise closed days, facilitating gatherings under difficult conditions. All of it happening while balancing real financial pressure and genuine concern for personal safety. None of what they described is a brewer “deciding to make beer political.” It’s people responding to the conditions around them — conditions that are already shaping who feels safe, who has access, who can gather, who needs help, and who has the capacity to offer it. Politics, again, already in the room. Already shaping choices. Whether anyone announced it or not. I’ve spent decades in taprooms, at barrel releases, at festivals, in back offices and brewing floors, talking to the people who built this industry from nothing. I know how much happens that never makes it onto social media. I know the owner who quietly comp’d a tab for someone having a crisis. The brewer who drove an hour to pick up a stranger who needed a safe ride. The taproom that stayed dark on a Tuesday so a community group could use the space without it becoming A Whole Thing. None of that gets a post. Most of it never will. So when I wrote recently about silence — when I said that “silence right now doesn’t feel neutral, it feels like complicity” — I was writing about what I could see. And I was right about what I saw. The public silence of breweries that have the platform, the stability, and frankly the safety to say something and choose not to? That still troubles me. I’m not softening that. But some of what I read as silence is actually something else entirely. It’s people doing the work with their hands instead of their phones. It’s people who are genuinely afraid — not of being canceled, but of real consequences for their families, their employees, their ability to keep the doors open at all. That deserves more than a footnote. It deserves to be named clearly. Here’s the tension I want to sit with honestly: public statements matter. They matter because people can’t rally around something they can’t see. Visibility creates awareness and solidarity. It helps people find each other. It tells someone standing outside your taproom door, uncertain whether they’ll be welcomed inside, something they need to know — or whether it’s even safe for them to be in public at all. That’s not performative. I wrote recently that the craft beer movement “was built on collective defiance. It was built on rejecting consolidation. On pushing back against homogeneity.” I believe that too. And I’ll extend it: breweries should be at least as loud about their values as they are when they drop a new seasonal. Your hazy IPA gets a full rollout — the label art, the tap handle photo, the countdown post. Human dignity deserves the same energy. Be as loud about human rights as you are about your beer. There is no reason those two things should require different levels of courage from you. But visibility isn’t the only form of courage. And not everyone can be visible right now without real consequences — financial, personal, sometimes physical. There are people in this industry doing hard, unglamorous, sometimes risky work in the background, and announcing it would compromise it or paint a target on someone who’s already stretched thin. That’s not silence as complicity. That’s operational discipline under pressure. What I want to push back on — clearly, not gently — is the idea that behind-the-scenes action and public visibility are in competition with each other. The person organizing quietly in the back room and the person posting a statement of solidarity on a Tuesday morning are both doing something real. We need both. We need the quiet infrastructure and we need the visible signal. We need people to know that this industry — at its best, at its most independent, and human — gives a fuck. I closed that piece with a question: “Reactive and fearful? Or clear and values-driven?” That question still stands. But having heard from you, I’d add a corollary: the values-driven path isn’t always the loudest one. Sometimes it’s a phone call and a recipe. Sometimes it’s a room made available on a closed Tuesday. Sometimes it’s a drive across town for someone who needed a safe ride home. All of it is political. All of it was always political. You don’t get to opt out of that — you only get to decide what you do with it. I’ve spent more than a decade writing about this industry because I believe it can be exactly that. I’ve been lucky enough to build an audience that lets me say so plainly. That’s a privilege I intend to use. The work is happening. Some of it you’ll see. Some of it you won’t. Support it either way. Cleveland Prost is a reader-supported publication covering beer and brewing across New York state. To receive new posts and support this work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Cleveland Prost is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe

Jun 2 • 10:13 AM EDT • Politics • clevelandprost.substack.com

What Wise Leaders Understand About Business Ecosystems | MIT Sloan Management Review

Articles in MIT SMR’s summer 2026 issue highlight the value in taking a generous approach to sharing lessons with peers.

Jun 2 • 9:47 AM EDT • Business • sloanreview.mit.edu

Servier to buy Edgewise's muscular dystrophy business for $2.65bn

Servier has signed an agreement to acquire Edgewise Therapeutics’ muscular dystrophy business in a deal valued at up to $2.65bn.

Jun 2 • 4:32 AM EDT • Business • pharmaceutical-technology.com

ESCP Business School Publishes First Live, Learn & Love in Europe Survey Revealing Strong Optimism and Emerging European Identity Among Young People

ESCP Business School has published the results of the first edition of its Live, Learn & Love in Europe survey, offering a candid portrait of how young people experience, navigate, and envision life on the continent.

Jun 1 • 10:05 AM EDT • Business • newswise.com

Digital Science Launches AI-Assisted Profile Curation in Symplectic Elements

Digital Science has announced a new suite of AI-powered capabilities for Symplectic Elements that streamline how research information is captured and maintained across higher education institutions.

Jun 1 • 9:00 AM EDT • Science • newswise.com

Everyone told this Atlanta couple to sell their inherited cemetery business — it now makes $6 million a year

Atlanta couple quit their full-time jobs to run cemeteries — and it's paying off big

May 30 • 9:30 AM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com

34,000 Small Businesses Said AI Is Working. The Data Says Otherwise

A QuickBooks study of 34,000 businesses reveals the gap between AI adoption and measurable results. Five metrics every small business should track now.

May 29 • 7:41 PM EDT • Business • forbes.com

The World Around Us Shapes The Health Within Us

For many years, we have treated human health and environmental health as separate conversations. My own life has taught me otherwise.

May 29 • 1:07 PM EDT • Health • forbes.com

Joe Neunder says he’s not the developer candidate. The receipts say otherwise.

Developer money shadows Joe Neunder’s controlled-growth campaign pitch in Sarasota.

May 28 • 4:28 PM EDT • Politics • floridapolitics.com

Couple who sold to Pepsi for $2 billion says going into business with your romantic partner is ‘not for the weak’

Poppi’s husband-and-wife cofounders Stephen and Allison Ellsworth will be the first to tell you “there’s no such thing as balance.”

May 28 • 8:35 AM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com

Scientific Societies Launch “Trust Seal” to Strengthen Confidence in Science

Scientific societies and scholarly publishing organizations launch the Trust Seal, a new community-led initiative designed to strengthen confidence in science by supporting trustworthy publishing practices, transparency, and independent governance across the research ecosystem.

May 27 • 10:25 AM EDT • Science • newswise.com

Visiting students explore sustainability through physics REU program

Students visiting Penn State for its Physics Research Experiences for Undergraduates program not only conduct hands-on research, but also explore the environmental, social and global impacts of that research. The program, hosted by the Department of Physics in the Eberly College of Science and the Center for Nanoscale Science, supports students from across the country who may not otherwise have access to research opportunities.

May 26 • 1:12 PM EDT • Science • psu.edu

Learning Health System holds 7th annual symposium

Co-sponsors of the Learning Health System (LHS) Symposium held May 14 at the Vanderbilt Student Life Center join keynote speaker Kevin High, MD, MS, (second from right), a leader in academic LHS for Charlotte, N.C.-based Advocate Health. From left are Christiane Roumie, MD, MPH, Director of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs VETWISE-LHS Center of Innovation, Cheryl Gatto, PhD, and Matthew Semler, MD, MSCI, from the Center for Learning Healthcare of the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, and, at far right, symposium Chair Sunil Kripalani, MD, MSc, Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Health Services Research. (photo by Susan Urmy) Recipients of the Operational Partner Award were honored at the May 14 Learning Health System (LHS) Symposium for their efforts, in partnership with the LHS academic initiative, to improve frontline patient care at Vanderbilt Health and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Tennessee Valley Healthcare System. (photo by Susan Urmy)

May 26 • 1:01 PM EDT • Health • news.vumc.org

Monday high school sports roundup: Cumberland district tournament

WISE, Va. (WJHL) – The Eastside Spartans baseball team dominated the diamond Monday night in the Cumberland district championship game. After changing host locations to the campus of UVA-Wise…

May 25 • 11:04 PM EDT • Sports • wjhl.com

"Every Xbox controller can be calibrated": This app's "historic breakthrough" claims to fix Xbox stick drift forever

Stick drift can ruin an otherwise excellent gaming experience, but DriftGuard has an answer.

May 25 • 9:42 AM EDT • Technology • windowscentral.com

Republicans Want to Change How You Buy Health Care

President Trump and other leading conservatives are pushing policies they hope will empower patients to shop more wisely for the health care they need.

May 21 • 3:01 AM EDT • Health • tradeoffs.org

Dexcom CEO hints at future uses for CGM

In this edition of STAT Health Tech: Takeaways from a conversation with Dexcom CEO, and updates on WiSeR, and Epic's market share.

May 19 • 10:10 AM EDT • Health • statnews.com

Science behind sobriety field tests

Albany High students in Elizabeth Lopatniuk's health classes participated in a dynamic lesson about the effects of alcohol on the body. After taking an in-depth look at the science behind why and how alcohol slows the activities of the brain and central nervous system, students learned about how a variety of factors can impact the level of intoxication and how blood alcohol concentration can impair one's ability to operate a motor vehicle. Albany High Student Resource Officer Nick Schuler led students through an overview of field sobriety tests that are routinely performed during a traffic stop when an officer suspects a driver may be under the influence of alcohol. Officer Schuler explained the three elements of a physical sobriety test, including walking a straight line with turns and checks for motor skill patterns, standing on one foot to check for balance and following a moving stimulus with eyes only to check for Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN), an involuntary, rhythmic jerking of the eyes as they look to the side. Students volunteered to try walking a straight line both with and without alcohol impairment simulation goggles. Officer Schuler pointed out particular behaviors and patterns that would lead to a failed field sobriety test during the simulation. As prom and graduation festivities approach, we applaud our Albany High staff for empowering our Falcons with valuable lessons so they can make wise and safe choices.

May 18 • 4:20 PM EDT • Science • albanyschools.org

Science behind sobriety field tests

Albany High students in Elizabeth Lopatniuk's health classes participated in a dynamic lesson about the effects of alcohol on the body. After taking an in-depth look at the science behind why and how alcohol slows the activities of the brain and central nervous system, students learned about how a variety of factors can impact the level of intoxication and how blood alcohol concentration can impair one's ability to operate a motor vehicle. Albany High Student Resource Officer Nick Schuler led students through an overview of field sobriety tests that are routinely performed during a traffic stop when an officer suspects a driver may be under the influence of alcohol. Officer Schuler explained the three elements of a physical sobriety test, including walking a straight line with turns and checks for motor skill patterns, standing on one foot to check for balance and following a moving stimulus with eyes only to check for Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN), an involuntary, rhythmic jerking of the eyes as they look to the side. Students volunteered to try walking a straight line both with and without alcohol impairment simulation goggles. Officer Schuler pointed out particular behaviors and patterns that would lead to a failed field sobriety test during the simulation. As prom and graduation festivities approach, we applaud our Albany High staff for empowering our Falcons with valuable lessons so they can make wise and safe choices.

May 18 • 4:17 PM EDT • Science • albanyschools.org