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Phillies news: Kyle Schwarber, Jose Alvarado, Munetaka Murakami
There are certain….conditions….that need to be met
Palworld Dev Offers Approximate Release Time for 1.0 Update, Says Players Do Not Need to Wipe Their Data but They Really Should
Palworld’s hotly anticipated 1.0 update launches this week, on July 10, and now developer Pocketpair has narrowed the release timing down, while issuing existing players an official recommendation on whether they should wipe their data for it.
The Science Behind Erling Haaland's Sleep Routine: Do You Really Need These Sleep Hacks?
Elite footballers spend countless hours perfecting their game, but one of the biggest factors behind peak performance happens away from the training ground. Er
Why Tech Alone Can’t Fix Rural Healthcare
As much as it’s needed, a new $50 billion federal program is too focused on expensive and unsustainable technology that could supplant the basic needs of rural health systems.
Millions may be getting the wrong cholesterol test
A new study suggests that apoB, a blood test that measures harmful cholesterol particles, is better than standard LDL cholesterol testing for deciding who needs more intensive treatment. Researchers found it could prevent more heart attacks and strokes while remaining cost-effective for the U.S. healthcare system.
Parham Doctors' Hospital's new intensive outpatient program expands behavioral health continuum of care
Parham Doctors’ Hospital recently launched a new adult intensive outpatient program, expanding access to behavioral health services for people who need more support than traditional outpatient care but do not require an inpatient hospital stay. The new program is designed to serve adults experiencing mental health challenges such as depression,
Two new food benefits available to Oregon Health Plan members with complex health needs
The Oregon Health Authority has launched new nutrition benefits for Oregon Health Plan members with chronic conditions to help improve food security.
AI in Mental Health: Why Clinicians Need to Be in the Room
As clinicians, we learn not to be agreeable, we learn to challenge and sit in discomfort. We ask the hard questions underneath the one being asked. That is the work these tools are not yet built to do.
Opinion
The evidence for needing eight hours of sleep a night is shakier than we might assume.
I Wasn't Expecting Much from Netflix's #1 Movie But It Turned Out to Be Exactly What I Needed
A new Netflix comedy is climbing the charts, and it is a chaotic, laugh-out-loud ride that might be more fun than the trailer lets on. Find out more here.
A Digital Twin-Lens Reflex Camera is Long Past Due
Of all the ways that we take photographs, the twin-lens reflex experience has been left by the wayside. Maybe that needs to change.
Ariel Roblin: DACA delays are disrupting lives and business
Our government needs to modernize the system to process DACA reauthorizations and hire the staff to address processing delays. No one should lose their livelihood, critical employees, or their homes, over slow paperwork.
Colorado needs an Independence Day
Happy 250th Birthday, America! You look fabulous. As all the cool countries are saying, “250 is the new 230.” The Declaration of Independence wasn’t merely an announcement of war against a tyrant. It was the most revolutionary political document ever written. The Declaration was a landmark in human development, perhaps the landmark of all human […]
Burcum: Minnesota's most important health care deal in years needed a referee. Ellison volunteered.
The challenging work of brokering a new 10-year deal between a feuding U and Fairview wasn't really in Keith Ellison's job description. But he stepped up anyway, columnist Jill Burcum writes.
Veteran trucker: AI made job safer but autonomous trucks aren't ready
Ingrid Brown, a trucker of 47 years, said technology like the cellphone and AI has made truck driving safer but autonomous trucks still need work.
These 10 Medications May Raise Your Risk of Heat-Related Illness
As summer temperatures climb, so do the risks of heat-related illnesses, particularly for those who take certain medications, such as GLP-1s, diuretics, antidepressants, and beta-blockers. Here's what you need to know to stay safe.
Andoni Iraola hands €100m Liverpool star an undeserved lifeline
Andoni Iraola hasn't been Liverpool's head coach for all that long but, during his short time in charge, he's already made some changes and some promises that he needs to keep. Everyone knows that the...
Where to watch Aces vs. Fever today: Channel, time, TV schedule, live stream for Sunday WNBA game
Here's everything you need to know about Aces vs. Fever, including TV channel and streaming options for the WNBA game.
Everything You Need to Know for Brazil vs. Norway
Everything You Need to Know: Brazil vs. Norway — World Cup Round of 16 Brazil enters Sunday’s FIFA World Cup Round of 16 showdown as one of the tournament favorites, but Norway believes it has the firepower to produce one of the biggest upsets of the knockout stage. Five-time world champion Brazil meets Norway at…
Apple Is Reportedly Planning 5 New iPhones -- Including a $2,500 Foldable. Here's What It Means for the Stock.
Can a busy year for Apple product releases move the needle for a company of this size?
Braves look for much-needed series win behind Chris Sale
The Braves will look to back Chris Sale to secure a series win, who they can expect another strong start from.
TP-Link Deco BE77 Review: Great Mesh Wi-Fi for the Eero-Weary
TP-Link’s mesh Wi-Fi system is super fast, stable, and probably way more than my apartment needs.
NBA Eastern Conference rankings stacked with talent, Pistons in trouble
Giannis Antetokounmpo to Heat, Kawhi Leonard to Raptors, Jaylen Brown to 76ers. And LeBron James is likely coming East. Pistons need lineup upgrade.
NBA Eastern Conference rankings stacked with talent, Pistons in trouble
Giannis Antetokounmpo to Heat, Kawhi Leonard to Raptors, Jaylen Brown to 76ers. And LeBron James is likely coming East. Pistons need lineup upgrade.
6 science-backed tips for staying hydrated in the summer heat
Experts share the latest thinking on how to make sure you’re consuming the water your body needs while avoiding health risks.
6 science-backed tips for staying hydrated in the summer heat
Experts share the latest thinking on how to make sure you’re consuming the water your body needs while avoiding health risks.
A's Catcher Shea Langeliers Leaves Game with Thumb Contusion
With Soderstrom already on the IL, the A's emergency catching plan is gone — and they may need to make have a backup plan in place before Saturday's game.
Should Jaguars Add This Top-100 Player in Free Agency?
With Devin Lloyd gone, Jacksonville faces a massive void at linebacker. Future Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner offers the elite production and veteran leadership needed to anchor this defense.
“Sunderland, Stoicism And Survival”
As the Granit Xhaka saga rumbles on, Paul Lee argues that we need to stand firm and keep our heads up.
Galaxy Z Fold 8, Z Fold 8 Ultra, Flip 8 and Galaxy Watch 9 prices leak
If you plan on buying a 2026 Galaxy Z foldable, this leak will tell you how much change you need to find inside your couch.
Dangers of youth using AI for mental health care
A nationwide study finds more and more teens are using A-I to replace mental health professionals. It’s led to some scary outcomes, even tragic endings. NBC 7’s Shandel Menezes sat down with some teens to hear what type of support they need.
How I Went From Side Hustle to 7 Figures in 12 Months Using 4 AI Tools (No Employees, No Investors)
Most solopreneurs aren't failing because they need more AI tools —they're failing because they're using AI to patch outdated systems instead of rebuilding their business around an AI-first workflow that scales.
Holiday weekend providing a needed shot in the arm for local businesses
An estimated 50,000 people are expected to attend the fireworks show in downtown Bradenton.
Jordan Spieth Warns Sports Betting Could Harm Golf Fan Behavior at Tournaments
Jordan Spieth believes the growth of sports betting is changing fan behavior at golf tournaments and says the issue may soon need to be addressed.
988 Colorado Mental Health Line to visit SLV
‘Community Roadshow’ is traveling to rural areas to build awareness and take stock of local needs
Long Reads for the Long Weekend
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Happy Fourth of July weekend! As has been a tradition of mine going back to the beginning of the EntStrategyGuy website, I’m sharing my favorite long reads of the last year, like I did in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024, and 2025. Let’s dive right in! Subscribe “Different Prices for the Same Ride: How Uber and Lyft Use AI to Get More Money Out of You“ by Derek Kravitz in Consumer Reports I don’t think surveillance pricing, like the kind described in this brilliant Consumer Reports article, is long for the world—it’s toxically unpopular—but we’ll see if either party takes on this issue. If I ran a political party focused on affordability, I would focus on a few pro-consumer and pro-market policies: Banning non-compete agreements. Ending surveillance pricing Eliminating junk fees (read more here...) Ensuring “right to repair” for consumer (and military!) products Capping excessive app store fees Stopping digital/algorithmic price-fixing tools. Preventing automatic subscription price increases. And more. If you want to fight inflation, there are a lot of great ways to do it quickly. Speaking of higher prices... “Secret Documents Show Pepsi and Walmart Colluded to Raise Food Prices Across the Economy“ by Matt Stoller in BIG Again, I think a political party should focus on lowering prices for consumers. And deals like this—Walmart making a deal/forcing Pepsi to offer the lowest prices at its stores and nowhere else—hypothetically lower prices at Walmart...but raise them everywhere else. “15 DUIs, still driving: California’s failure to take repeat drunk drivers off the road“ by Robert Lewis and Lauren Hepler in CalMatters CalMatters does terrific reporting in California, something the Golden State desperately needs more of, and this article is a great example of that. “PugLips: The next insanely popular thing you’ve never heard of…” by Simon Carless in Game Discover Co I thought that this parody article (and yes, it’s a parody, but I was definitely unsure at first) was hilarious and totally nailed how much tech/business journalism feels these days. Actually, three of my favorite articles this year were on hype in the video game industry, including Georg Zoller’s “The Video Game Industries Very Dark Night”—which I linked to recently and wrote a follow-up here—and Owen Mahoney’s “Derek Zoolander, Videogame Exec”. In particular, I like Mahoney’s focus on user experience as a guide to what trends will actually grab hold of customers. “The Matrix Lies“ by Evan Shapiro in Media War & Peace Evan Shapiro’s first person account of his experience with AI was hilarious. I think LLMs capabilities have significantly grown from last summer, and yet...my editor/researcher just had an abysmal experience using an LLM to do a quite basic task (which our LLM normally does each week) and the LLM made a mistake on every single data entry...along with seven different mistakes affecting twelve of the twenty or so entries, including mistakes that are explicitly spelled out in the prompt. That’s a brutal failure rate. Again, if you use AI/LLM for data collection, you need to take a lot of extra steps to verify and check the data. “Ghosts in the Balcony: A Cross-Country Trip to 58 Theaters Fighting to Survive“ by Matthew Frank in The Ankler I thought Matthew Frank’s pitch to head across America to visit theaters sounded insane aggressive at the time—at least it felt that way to someone a decade older than him; man, to be in your twenties again, am I right?—but I knew the result would be great. And it was, a terrific feature by a great young writer. Also, I loved Matthew’s recent article on who’s getting the precious few entry level jobs in Hollywood. (Hint: nepotism.) “Disney erased FiveThirtyEight“ and “Did Las Vegas get too greedy?” by Nate Silver in Silver Bulletin I love media history and analysis, and there’s no one better to get the history of FiveThirtyEight than from Nate Silver, who wrote about his personal experience in one of my favorite pieces from this year. I also loved Nate’s breakdown of what’s causing Vegas’ woes, but I’ll offer one criticism, summarized as “Might I suggest antitrust?” Many centrists/center-right/libertarian thinkers (Nate is self-described as the latter) often don’t consider consolidation or antitrust as factors in policy issues like housing, America’s military readiness, or, in this case, Las Vegas. Even if libertarians want to debunk antitrust/consolidation concerns, I’d love to read that debunking. In this case, Vegas is incredibly consolidated (though it also has been for a long time) and I’d have loved to read Nate at least contending with this factor, since he addresses almost every other potential factor for Vegas’ decline. “Why Microsoft’s Carbon Removal Pullback Is Such a Big Deal“ by Robinson Meyer in Heatmap News I’m a big supporter of carbon removal efforts, but this nascent industry faces a lot of headwinds, including this big move most recently. I think it’s clear that solar panels and batteries should be able to get the world to its carbon footprint goals, but effective carbon renewal remains necessary to prevent the worst impacts of global warming. “AI is killing the cheap smartphone“ by David Oks LLMs and AI will impact the world in ways we’re not ready for, and already, third world countries are seeing the prices of cheap cellphones skyrocket due to the cost of chips skyrocketing. This article by David Oks is a terrific breakdown. “100 Days of Madness: Netflix, Paramount, Warner and the Future of Hollywood“ by Wade Major at Hollywood Heretic Wade Major dove deep into Hollywood/streaming’s financials in this must read piece. Not that I agree with everything in this article (read my take on Warner Bros./Paramount here) but the analysis is top notch. I think many people discount how quality thinking, regardless of the argument/conclusion, will make you a better thinker. “Erased by the UFC: Frank Shamrock, The MMA GOAT of the 20th Century“ by Nate Wilcox in The MMA Draw Newsletter Growing up playing the UFC fighting game on the Dreamcast, Frank Shamrock was my favorite MMA fighter, and this history/tribute to him was great. Other Fun Reads “The Hardest Part Of History To Tell Is How It Felt“ by Craig Fehrman at Defector “Unmasking the Sea Star Killer“ by Craig Welch at bioGraphic “What Could Save the Industry? Fin-Syn“ by Richard Rushfield in The Ankler Alex Rollins Berg in Underexposed on movie bumpers, pillow shots, Disney trash cinema, cult films, and Casablanca. David H. Montgomery in YouGov’s The Surveyor on punctuation marks, condiments, dinosaurs, and comic strips and kids media. “How Medium finally pivoted its way to profitability“ and “Why the best journalists on YouTube are all former Vox employees“ by Simon Owens in Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter “It’s Not Just You, Netflix Shows Have Gotten Slightly Shorter: Here’s What the Data Says“ by Kasey Moore at What’s on Netflix “Numlock Awards: How Diane Warren became the biggest loser in Oscar history“ by Nathaniel Rakich and “Numlock Awards: The Oscar Bait era is over. The Oscar Chum era is here.” by Walt Hickey & Michael Domanico at Numlock Awards
What Is The Point Of A Video Game Console Now?
"I’m just like ehhhh. That new Naughty Dog game will probably be good, but I don’t need to buy a now-$900 PS5 Pro to play it"
"Pitch Black" Store Promos Revealed with Special 30th Anniversary...
The store promos for Pitch Black have now been revealed -- Primarina, Zarude, and Armarouge! As usual, you'll need to spend $15 or more on Pokemon
Major retailers open for July 4: Here's where you can shop and eat on America's 250th birthday
Need last-minute July 4 essentials? See which major stores and restaurants are open, closed or have reduced hours in the United States.
Strength training for seniors is crucial for aging comfortably. This is the equipment you need to start your journey
I asked aging and fitness experts for their recommendations on the best strength-training products for seniors. Here’s what they say is worth buying.
After 18-year hiatus meant to attract new business and growth, Glades brings back impact fees
Fees pay for future infrastructure and services that growth will need.
One year after federal funding cuts, Mississippi's Vietnamese health navigators face an uncertain future
More than a year ago, federal cuts to health-related grants threw into uncertainty Mississippi’s only advocacy group devoted to serving the needs of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders statewide, and they are still working to figure out how to recover.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce need a first dance song. We asked celebrities to pick one.
What should Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce dance to at their wedding? Celebrities picked everything from "Enchanted" to "The Thong Song."
49ers News: Need more George Kittle rookie hazing stories
Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Friday, July 3rd, 2026
“He Didn’t Need to Die.” How an Immigration Detention Center Repeatedly Failed to Address a Mental Health Crisis.
Geraldo Lunas Campos repeatedly raised concerns about his mental health before he died at Camp East Montana. Records paint a portrait of how the Texas facility’s staff failed to adequately respond.
Jim Morrissey: Bumper-sticker politics come true
The cartoonist observes that what began as humorous needling in the Weiser-Bennet gubernatorial primary actually came to pass.
Al-Sadd fail in swoop for Marseille’s Nayef Aguerd
Qatari club Al-Sadd have failed in their attempts to sign Olympique de Marseille defender Nayef Aguerd (30), as per a report from Foot Mercato.Marseille need to sell players this summer. Whilst the L...
Richard Hughes has the perfect midfield signing for Liverpool
Liverpool's midfield is one of their main areas that needs to be revamped. Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch both failed to meet expectations last term with their inability to run one of their ...
Health officials warn beachgoers of flesh-eating bacteria ahead of July 4; What you need to know
From New York to Florida, cases have been recorded.
Palm Beach police union offers backup for Belinda Keiser
'In Washington, she will effectively advocate for the needs of law enforcement, defending the rule of law.'
Are You Tracking These 5 Warehouse Metrics? If Not, Here's Why You Should Be.
Many leaders prioritize marketing, customer acquisition and sales channels to scale, but what they really need is hiding in plain sight.
Thousands need medical attention from ‘already overwhelmed’ Venezuelan healthcare system: Aid worker
Claudia Manresa, Venezuela Regional Manager at Project HOPE joins Meet the Press NOW to discuss the urgent humanitarian situation following last week’s twin earthquakes and the strain the disaster is putting on the country's already struggling systems.
Why the 49ers need another rotational pass rusher
Nobody has ever said you have too many pass rushers
Small Business Owners Need Wider Adviser Support, per Voya
More than 90% of small business owners surveyed said advisers should be equipped to help with employee retention.
What Schools Need to Know About the Supreme Court’s Transgender Sports Ruling
The justices upheld two state laws that bar transgender girls from participating in female sports.
Three health systems compete for New Hanover County hospital expansion
Three groups have filed certificate-of-need applications with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to add acute care beds in New Hanover County.
CVS Health Foundation Invests $1 Million in Rhode Island Nonprofits Tackling Community Health Needs
Local organizations receive Hometown Fund support to expand access to health care, food, housing and essential services WOONSOCKET, RI / ACCESS Newswire / July 2, 2026 /Originally published on CVS Health Company Newsroom The CVS Health Foundation ...
Croatia criticised for ‘unambitious’ changes to 2022 science law
Croatia’s science ministry has been accused of a lack of ambition, and even incompetence, over proposed changes to the country’s 2022 science law. Critics say an opportunity has been missed to fix wider shortcomings in the research and universities system.“This law, like all the previous ones, will not significantly change the current state of science in Croatia,” Vlatko Silobrčić, a member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences, told Science Business. “A small shift here and there will not have a significant impact.”The 2022 law introduced multi-year block grant financing of research, based on results, and changes intended to boost employment and career progression for researchers and lecturers. But implementation of the law has been uneven. “It became apparent that certain of its provisions were subject to different interpretations by higher education institutions and scientific institutes,” the science ministry said in its proposal for change. “This caused legal uncertainty in the system, administrative difficulties in implementation and, in certain cases, unequal treatment of teachers, scientists and students.”Most of the proposed amendments deal with technicalities in hiring and promoting staff, such as extending the committee deadlines from 60 to 90 days, or allowing applicants to cite all of their achievements and not only those since their last appointment.Both the ministry and Croatian media highlighted changes that would raise the retirement age from 65 to 67 years and allow part-time students 15 year rather than 10 years to finish their studies.The change to retirement age has been criticised for reinforcing a weakness in the system. According to Matko Marušić, professor emeritus at the University of Split, this will “allow unproductive teachers to advance and work longer, while hindering and discouraging productive ones.”A longtime campaigner for excellence-based meritocracy, he sees little hope in the new legislation. “I am not optimistic that things will improve,” he told Science Business. “As recent changes to the law in Croatia show, the legal framework is becoming increasingly hypocritical and harmful.”For Marušić, who analyses Croatia's university system in a recently published book, the situation is “unfavourable and constantly deteriorating” due to the criteria used for academic advancement.“The key criterion for advancement should be scientific productivity,” he said. “In Croatia [. . .] scientific criteria are increasingly lowered, and ineffective and absurd criteria such as waiting times for promotion and age limits for remaining in a job are promoted.” He would also like to see better criteria for the quality of teaching at universities. “In practice, teaching is not monitored or evaluated,” he said, estimating that up to a third of teaching simply does not take place. “Under the guise of university autonomy and bad laws, universities and faculties are allowed to earn additional money by increasing enrolment quotas that have nothing to do with the needs of the labour market.” Lack of ambitionDora Kršul, a reporter at Telegram.hr who covers science policy in Croatia, finds the rationale for changes “bizarre.” “The ministry responsible for supervising the uniform application of the law is changing the law because it is being implemented unevenly,” she said. “This primarily speaks to the power relationship in the sphere of science and higher education in Croatia, that is, the question arises as to who actually manages this system.”Rather than raising quality, she continued, the changes appear to be designed to help vocational and applied universities who have not been complying with the law.The Independent Union of Research and Higher Education Employees of Croatia said that the changes were “unambitious” and represent a missed opportunity for more important changes. “We think some of the changes are even negative,” it said in its statement on June 25. One of these is introduction of an “assistant” job title that allows people to be hired only for the duration of a project. Related articles: Elections to top science bodies test Croatia’s gender equality in researchSlovakia revises R&D approach to increase focus on competitivenessLatvia pilots citizen engagement in research grant evaluationsThe union’s president, Tvrtko Smital, who was part of the 15-member working group tasked with drafting the changes, told the local media there was a “worrying lack of ambition” in the process, and “lack of competence” in terms of research experience and understanding the problems in the system.“There is no clear will to deal with the problems,” said Smital, an assistant professor of marine and environmental sciences at the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb. “It’s a combination of unambitiousness and incompetence,” he went on, expressing his “deep frustration” with the situation. “There is no strategy, no clear thinking, and money is not being spent optimally.”Croatia’s science ministry has not responded to requests for comment.
The Fat ‘Upgrade’ A Doctor Recommends To Lower Bad Cholesterol
In TODAY.com’s Expert Tip of the Day, a doctor explains why we need fat and how to choose the best type for heart health.
Meta Is Charging a Subscription for Smart Glasses Features. Welcome to the New Era of Consumer Tech
You bought the hardware. Now you’ll need to subscribe for “expanded access” to the most advanced features.
Teens are turning to chatbots for mental health help. We need rules to keep them safe
The share of young people using AI chatbots for mental health advice rose more than 40% in a single year, researcher writes.
The new presidential fitness test is a positive step, not the solution, experts say
Physical activity needs to be fun to keep kids engaged. And the test risks embarrassing them, instead.
They say Andy Burnham is ‘good at politics’ – but the proof will only come in time
The PM-in-waiting brings the promise of likability and a mission voters can believe in. He’ll need all that and more to survive, says Guardian columnist Zoe Williams
New Costco approved in California, but some locals say location is 'unnecessary'
A proposed Costco warehouse and gas station in Downey, California, cleared a key approval, but many residents say another location isn't needed.
Red Wings’ biggest offseason business remains, but their outlook looks bleak
The Red Wings addressed two of their biggest needs, but the strength of the Atlantic Division makes for a grim landscape.
WHO, Member States discuss expanding South-East Asia Emergency Health Fund SEARHEF
With climate-related disasters, disease outbreaks and other health emergencies becoming more frequent and complex across South-East Asia, WHO and Member States today discussed measures to strengthen and expand the South-East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund (SEARHEF) to ensure countries have rapid access to life-saving support when crises strike. "Health emergencies are becoming more frequent, more complex and more costly. Countries need rapid, flexible financing that can be mobilized immediately when lives are at risk. SEARHEF represents regional solidarity in action, enabling Member States to support one another when emergencies strike," said Dr Catharina Boehme, Officer-in-Charge WHO South-East Asia Region. She was addressing the Fifteenth Meeting of the Working Group on the Governance of SEARHEF.
Valley Regional Transit expands Rides2Wellness program to Mountain Home for health rides
Elmore County residents who need a ride to medical care in Ada County can now book free transportation through a six-month expansion of Valley Regional Transit’
The World Cup is providing connection and inspiration Americans need
My family did not plan to make the World Cup the centerpiece of our summer, but once it began, we couldn't stop watching.
New Illinois Republican Party chair hopes for ‘JB fatigue’ in tough midterm
In an interview with Capitol News Illinois, Bob Grogan, who was elected party chair in May, said he knows what bridges he needs to build for the party to succeed in the 2026 midterms.
Trump admin blasts Machado's "grotesque political opportunism" after Venezuela quakes
Machado's attempts to return to Venezuela have saddled the State Department with "extra needless drama," an official said.
The Climate-Health Crisis Needs Money, Not More Declarations
With the fight for attention successfully won, the hard part begins – getting into the rooms that can fund the response to the worsening climate-health crisis.
Congressman Tom Kean’s hospital treatment for depression may encourage men’s mental health
When a Republican, male politician spoke publicly about a leave he took to get help for his depression, the US saw something uncommon and needed, experts say.
Lindsey Graham expects housing package to become law despite Trump's election bill demands
"We need the housing bill." U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham says President Trump shouldn't let Tim Scott's bipartisan housing bill become collateral damage in the fight over the SAVE America Act.
The Kaedan Korczak-Parker Wotherspoon trade is simply smart business
It is not a major move that moves the needle for the Pittsburgh Penguins, but it is still a smart move.
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?
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Wilmington Small Business Coalition: Building Momentum in 2026 by Heather McWhorter
This article was contributed by Lydia Thomas, UNCW CIE Program Manager. North Carolina continues to be one of the best states to start a business and in 2025, Wilmington, North Carolina earned a spot on the GoDaddy list of the top 10 most entrepreneurial cities in the U.S. While many know Wilmington as small beach town with exceptional food, lots of coffee shops, and fun, vibrant summer activities, a closer look reveals a thriving innovation economy. You’ll find startups emerging across industries including software, healthtech, bluetech, and fintech. At the core of this entrepreneurial ecosystem is the Wilmington Small Business Coalition, with small business advocates and entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs) dedicated to helping founders grow, thrive, and succeed. “No Wrong Door” Established in 2016, the Coalition was designed to make it easier for individuals and small businesses to access resources most suited to their particular needs. The Coalition is designed to have a “no wrong door” entryway into the regional startup ecosystem. Whether you are exploring a new idea sketched on the back of a napkin or leading a more established, growth-stage company, Coalition members can help connect you with the programs, funding opportunities, mentors, and resources best suited to your needs. No matter where you are in your entrepreneurial journey, any Coalition organization can help point you in the right direction. Coalition Members and Leadership Coalition members include the UNCW Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (UNCW CIE), AARP, Brunswick Community College Small Business Center, Cape Fear Community College Small Business Center, Cape Fear Region SCORE, Genesis Block Foundation, Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington (NEW), Small Business & Technology Development Center (SBTDC), Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, YWCA Living the Dream Center for Entrepreneurship, Carolina Community Impact Fund (CCI Fund), Partner Community Capital, 717mkt Office Collaborative, NC Biotech, and Institute NC. In May 2026, the Coalition held its leadership elections, resulting in the selection of a new executive team. The following officers were elected to serve two-year terms: Chair: Lydia Thomas, UNCW CIE Vice Chair: Diane Lantz, CCI Fund Secretary: Aariene Hansley, Genesis Block Foundation Treasurer: Gloria Monroe, SBTDC Vision for the Wilmington Small Business Coalition In 2026, the Wilmington Small Business Coalition continues its work as a collaborative network of organizations. By connecting programs, expertise, and services across partner organizations, entrepreneurs can more easily find the right support at the right time. Rather than operating in silos, the Coalition aims to function as a unified, cohesive system of support for small businesses and entrepreneurs, ensuring that resources and expertise across partner organizations are visible and accessible. Through stronger collaboration and shared pathways, entrepreneurs can move more seamlessly from idea to startup to growth. Looking to dive into the Wilmington entrepreneurial ecosystem? Connect with any of the Coalition partners to get started! Connect with CIE To learn more about CIE and our services, programs, and events, join the CIE newsletter. You can also follow us on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, or YouTube. CIE’s website is uncw.edu/cie. Heather McWhorter is the director of the UNCW Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE). CIE supports innovation-forward start-ups and helps to build a vibrant innovation economy for all in southeast NC.
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Netflix and Superheroes Are Having a Rough Stretch on Streaming....
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) I have a quick prediction before we start today’s article: You might see this data in future news articles. Not my specific charts or analysis, but the core trend I’ve been monitoring—Netflix is having a lackluster Q2—will become inescapable. Often, folks want to know “What does the data say?” Well, that’s what it says. I haven’t seen this analysis hit the trades really yet, but I have a feeling some other outlets are going to start making this case soon. Remember, you read it here first. You probably have read about the problems facing superhero films at the box office this weekend. Well, this week, I explore whether superheroes are dying on TV as well! And the data says: definitely maybe! We have a lot to cover in today’s Streaming Ratings Report, which covers the two weeks of 18-May and 25-May. Today, I’m just looking at TV, like Netflix’s disappointing Q2, superhero shows underwhelming, a few TV shows dropping off the charts, The Pitt finally ending its epic run on the viewership charts (and whether “view counts” change its status as one of the biggest shows of all time), all the flops, bombs and misses, and a whole lot more. Tomorrow, I’ve got a great rundown of the film side of things. Let’s dive right in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, Showlabs, TV Time trend data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of May 18th to May 31st, 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Television - Netflix’s Q2 Slump Continues Having analyzed streaming ratings for going on half a decade, I have learned to trust my gut, but I’m always relieved when I can find actual data to back it up. For example, after a string of very popular shows like Stranger Things, Bridgerton, The Lincoln Lawyer and The Night Agent came out, week after week, in January and February, my gut wondered if Netflix had enough new and returning TV shows to sustain them throughout the year. Since then, Netflix’s post-March slate of shows has not impressed me. This week seemed to feature a potential new hit, but then, like a classic Duffer Bros. TV show, there was a twist. I speak of The Boroughs, Netflix’s latest (and last) Duffer Bros. produced show. The pitch is “Stranger Things with older actors”. And it topped the Nielsen charts: With just two weeks of viewership, The Boroughs would have been a top 25 debut show last year: But here’s the twist: Netflix has already cancelled The Boroughs! What happened? Likely a few things. First, the show didn’t do as well globally as it did in the US. As What’s on Netflix showed, it lagged behind several other shows that got cancelled. Second, its completion rate was likely low; after an initial burst of interest, it quickly dropped off on the Samba TV and Luminate charts. Third, the Duffer Bros. left Netflix for Paramount, and that may have factored into Netflix’s decision here. (Though I tend to believe that if a show is doing well, Netflix would have kept greenlighting seasons.) Still, just because I can explain why Netflix may have cancelled this show doesn’t mean I’m justifying it. In particular, as I’ve noted before, Netflix is losing a lot of their bigger shows as they reach their natural ends, and they need to replace those shows. This show had the hallmarks of a big new genre show, and it’s their biggest hit of the last few months (in the US at least), but now it’s done. Netflix’s other show this week—The Four Seasons, the second season of the “hit” show from last year—definitely disappointed. Its sophomore season had about half the viewership of the first, only 12.7 million hours. It also only had a two week run on Samba TV, and its numbers were all down on Luminate too. In other words, even with two successes, the Q2 slump for Netflix looks real: I could add to the list of disappointments: Both Lord of the Files and Man on Fire had short runs on the Nielsen charts. Running Point’s sophomore season also opened to about half its viewership, similar to The Four Seasons. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’s second season—see below—didn’t even make any of the three viewership charts I track, unlike the first season. Netflix is absolutely having a dismal second three months of 2026. If this Nielsen data is any indication, and I think it is, I think this will show up in Netflix’s engagement report, and maybe even their financial outcomes. And the rest of June doesn’t look much better. We have two hit shows coming back—Sweet Magnolias, one of their quietest big shows, and Avatar: The Last Airbender, a big hit for them in 2024—but the other big swings are limited series crime thrillers i.e. no future season potential. Like I said above, sometimes when I uncover a juicy nugget like this, other outlets end up writing very similar articles mimicking the data without credit. We’ll see if that happens this time! Share Television - The State of Superhero Shows on Streaming When I first heard the pitch for Spider-Noir—a Sony TV show on Prime Video that binge-released eight episodes first on MGM+ then on Prime Video two days later—I had my doubts. It’s a live-action Spider-Man show set in the 1930s, starring Nicholas Cage, based on a cameo of a character in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. No, seriously, that’s the pitch. That could either go terrifically well or horribly wrong. Great because, Spider-Man. He’s the biggest superhero we have. I’ve seen tracking numbers that put the new _Spider-Man: Brand New Da_y as the blockbuster of the year and initial pre-sales back that up. And yet this Spider-Noir pitch feels very esoteric. (Also, the eight-episode binge release feels very “Amazon copying Netflix” again.) So what’s the data say? And what does this say about the future of superhero shows?
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