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Reimagining how scientists study the chemistry of the air

Professor Victoria Barber and doctoral student Cooper Crabtree are spearheading Keck Foundation-funded project charting a path toward better understanding atmospheric oxidation. by Álvaro Castillo, UCLA College of Letters and Science From the vantage point of Victoria Barber, a UCLA assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, understanding the chemical reactions that shape air quality and climate are among the most pressing scientific challenges of our time. And thanks to a recent grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation, she and doctoral student Cooper Crabtree will spearhead a new research project exploring exactly how pollutants form in the atmosphere. Specifically, the project will examine how volatile organic compounds transform through atmospheric oxidation and explore how pollutants, like smog, form in the atmosphere. VOCs are released by sources ranging from trees and wildfires to vehicle exhaust pipes and consumer products such as cologne and perfume. As they undergo atmospheric oxidation, they can transform into a wide range of other compounds. Anyone in Southern California can attest to the urgency of this area of research — for example, in late July of this year, Los Angeles County was under an active ozone pollution advisory for almost a full week. While many people associate ozone with the protective ozone layer high in the stratosphere, ground-level or tropospheric ozone is a harmful secondary pollutant formed through atmospheric oxidation. Understanding how VOCs transform into pollutants like ozone is therefore critical to improving air-quality forecasts and informing strategies to reduce exposure. “My group is focused on trying accelerate our understanding of these networks of reactions so that we can do a better job of predicting how those pollutants form,” Barber said. “When we make decisions about how we might alter emissions, we can understand how that’s going to influence the production of these downstream pollutants.” With support from the W. M. Keck Foundation, Barber and Crabtree are developing new experimental approaches that will combine — and improve — techniques to study hundreds of chemical systems more efficiently than traditional methods allow. Instead of spending years decoding a single VOC, the project seeks to dramatically expand the pace and scale of discovery. The grant comes at a particularly important moment for environmental research. Barber, who joined UCLA in 2023, says funding for climate and air-quality research, especially for early career scientists, has become increasingly difficult to secure, a challenge compounded for ambitious projects that require building entirely new research infrastructure. The Keck Foundation’s support, Barber said, provides the flexibility to pursue bold early-stage, high-risk ideas that may be more difficult to fund using conventional federal funding sources. “It’s really, really hard to do environmental research under the current federal paradigm,” Barber said. “By stepping in and providing stable and flexible funding to explore this new idea, the Keck Foundation is making a huge difference to my research program.” In addition to funding early-career faculty, the Keck Foundation’s support is also focused on empowering graduate students like Crabtree in their scientific growth. The project gives Crabtree the opportunity to help develop an entirely new experimental approach to studying atmospheric chemistry — an experience that will provide him with valuable technical skills, scientific training and preparation for the next stage of his career. Stable funding also allows doctoral students like Crabtree to devote themselves more fully to research rather than balancing their scientific work with additional teaching responsibilities needed to cover funding gaps. “Getting to devote more of my time to research this past school year has greatly improved the pace and quality of our experiments, data analysis and planning for our future work,” said Crabtree, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in chemistry. “I feel very lucky — especially amid the current uncertainty surrounding scientific funding — to be able to continue exploring exciting knowledge gaps in our field and growing as a scientific researcher.” For Barber, mentorship is among the most rewarding and important aspects of her role as a faculty member. “Our jobs as faculty are to do good science and make good scientists,” she said. “I believe the Keck Foundation shares this belief and sees the potential positive impact this project can have.”

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Aug 21 • 3:28 PM EDT • Science • chemistry.ucla.edu
Mayor Karen Bass, labor unions push for faster decision on Paramount-Warner Bros. merger

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and entertainment labor leaders are raising concerns about continued uncertainty surrounding Paramount-Skydance's pending purchase of Warner Bros.

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Aug 21 • 10:29 AM EDT • Entertainment • abc7.com
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Most Americans aren't anti-vaccine. They're uncertain — and that's a growing public health challenge

The bigger issue at hand may be that many Americans fall into a large, uncertain middle ground – neither firmly pro-vaccine nor staunchly opposed.

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Aug 21 • 7:00 AM EDT • Health • cnbc.com
Hidden magnetism inside atoms may explain mysterious gamma rays

For decades, scientists have puzzled over why certain atomic nuclei unexpectedly produce large numbers of low-energy gamma rays. A new experiment traced the effect to magnetic changes inside the nucleus, where protons and neutrons effectively flip their tiny internal magnets. The discovery could sharpen models of everything from nuclear reactions on Earth to the creation of heavy elements in stars and neutron star mergers.

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Aug 20 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com
The Apophis encounter in 2029: A rare opportunity for planetary science and defense

The near-Earth asteroid Apophis will make an extremely close flyby of Earth on April 13, 2029, at a distance of approximately 38,000 km—an event that occurs on average only once every 7,500 years, offering an unprecedented opportunity for planetary science and planetary defense. However, significant uncertainties remain regarding the physical parameters of Apophis, such as its shape, spin state, internal structure, and material composition, and predictions of tidal effects—including potential orbital changes, spin acceleration, surface material displacement, and dust ejection during the flyby—are highly dependent on model assumptions. Although multiple nations have planned exploration missions, how to coordinate global observational resources within the limited time window, optimize rapid-response mission architectures, and translate scientific understanding into effective planetary defense strategies remain critical challenges to be addressed.

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Aug 20 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • eurekalert.org
Why certain meds can make heatwaves harder to handle

Some of the most prescribed medications, including those used to treat depression, ADHD and high blood pressure, can increase the risk of dehydration and other heat-related conditions.

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Aug 20 • 5:01 AM EDT • Health • bbc.com
Buccaneers, Vita Vea reach an agreement on a new deal

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and defensive tackle Vita Vea have put an end to weeks of uncertainty by agreeing to a new deal, keeping one of the franchise’s most important defensive players in Tampa Bay. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the agreement Wednesday, a dramatic turnaround after Vea requested a trade in late July when extension […]

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Aug 19 • 7:26 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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Why Don't Insects Live in the Ocean? Scientists Just Ruled Out One Possible Explanation Thanks to Deep-Diving Fly Larvae

Researchers thought that insects might not live there because their respiratory systems would implode from water pressure. But certain fly larvae in East Africa make daily trips toward the bottom of Lake Malawi with the help of strong air sacs that contain a stretchy protein

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Aug 19 • 4:52 PM EDT • Science • smithsonianmag.com
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Qualified Small Business Stock – Maximizing the Gain Exclusion

By Aaron Pinegar With some advance planning, certain business owners (other than corporations) can achieve substantial tax savings on cash sale proceeds by structuring the transaction as a sale of “qualified small business stock” (commonly referred to as “QSBS,” for short, or as “1202 stock” because it is governed by section 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).

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Aug 19 • 4:19 PM EDT • Business • jw.com
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Why Flutter Entertainment (FLUT) Is Down 6.2% After Profit Turnaround, Lower Guidance And CEO Change

Flutter Entertainment plc recently reported past second-quarter 2026 results showing higher sales of US$4.33 billion but a shift to a net loss of US$274 million, alongside lower full-year 2026 revenue guidance and confirmation of a CEO transition to Dan Taylor from October 1, 2026. The combination of rising sales, a move into losses, trimmed revenue expectations, and boardroom change presents a complex picture of operational progress alongside profitability and leadership uncertainty for...

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Aug 19 • 2:38 PM EDT • Entertainment • simplywall.st
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How One CEO Stepped Up to Save a Family Business

When Nubia Perez stepped into leadership in a time of uncertainty, she brought structure, vision and renewed growth to her family’s manufacturing business.

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Aug 19 • 11:38 AM EDT • Business • chase.com
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Microscopic contaminants found on Ryugu asteroid samples - Futura-Sciences

The high stakes of asteroid analysis Finding genuine traces of life or organic compounds on an asteroid would transform our understanding of how life began in the universe. But before claiming a discovery of that scale, researchers must be entirely certain they are not looking at Earthly hitchhikers. Mistaking a...

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Aug 19 • 8:30 AM EDT • Science • futura-sciences.com
Coffee drinkers have less fat, more muscle, and surprising hormone differences

Coffee drinkers may be getting more than an energy boost. A Finnish study found that people who drank more coffee tended to have less total and abdominal fat, more muscle, and healthier metabolic markers despite having similar BMIs. Higher coffee intake was also linked to lower levels of certain amino acids associated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes risk.

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Aug 19 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com
Buccaneers Only 19th in NFL Future Power Rankings

Despite a questionable high front-office grade, analysts cite coaching instability and quarterback uncertainty as major issues for Tampa Bay’s future outlook.

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Aug 19 • 2:24 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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Major sports events boost business near Chase Center, but lasting impact uncertain
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Aug 18 • 9:13 PM EDT • Business • cbsnews.com
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Sporting events bring business to Bay Area but lasting impact uncertain
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Aug 18 • 8:52 PM EDT • Business • cbsnews.com
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Oil edges up on uncertainty over exports through Hormuz

Oil prices ticked higher in early trade on Wednesday, climbing for a fourth straight day on supply uncertainty as investors weighed conflicting messages from ​Tehran and Washington on whether the Strait of Hormuz is open ‌to ships.

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Aug 18 • 8:39 PM EDT • Business • reuters.com
Patrick Mekari Reportedly Undergoes Back Surgery

Patrick Mekari’s back surgery adds another layer of uncertainty to the Jaguars’ already hobbled offensive line, raising questions about his future, and Jacksonville’s early options.

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Aug 18 • 1:25 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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Board of State Canvassers approves ballot language for money out of politics proposal

An effort to bar certain utilities and government contractors from making political contributions cleared its final major hurdle Monday, finalizing its language for the November ballot.

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Aug 17 • 4:14 PM EDT • Politics • michiganadvance.com
Digital ad tax ruling raises new questions about Maryland's finances, business climate

Maryland's first-in-the-nation tax on digital advertising is facing an uncertain future after the Maryland Tax Court struck down the law, setting up a likely ap

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Aug 17 • 3:02 PM EDT • Business • foxbaltimore.com
Trump council’s Randy Levine: Congress must act to fix college sports

College sports need certainty. Student athletes need protection. Universities need a sustainable system. It is time to pass the Protect College Sports Act in both the Senate and the House.

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Aug 17 • 9:29 AM EDT • Sports • sportsbusinessjournal.com
10 years to solve a mystery—AI cracked it in just 48 hours - Futura-Sciences

10 Years, One Mystery—and a 48-Hour AI Revelation For the last ten years, a dedicated team at Imperial College London had thrown themselves into one of the most urgent battles in modern medicine: figuring out the mechanism that allows certain bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics. The topic of ‘superbugs’—those...

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Aug 17 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • futura-sciences.com
Did WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. Insiders Breach their Fiduciary Duties to Shareholders?

/PRNewswire/ -- Halper Sadeh LLC, an investor rights law firm, is investigating whether certain officers and directors of WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ:...

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Aug 17 • 3:32 AM EDT • Entertainment • prnewswire.com
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Farm Bill Politics - AG INFORMATION NETWORK OF THE WEST

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall says lawmakers must stop with the farm bill delays and deliver some certainty to rural America.

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Aug 16 • 8:00 PM EDT • Politics • aginfo.net
Scientists led by UCLA found that permanently shaded parts of pits on the Moon stay near a constant 17°C while the exposed surface swings between 127°C and −173°C — meaning humanity's first permanent lunar address may be underground.

LRO thermal data and UCLA-led modelling show why permanent shade in certain lunar pits can remain near 17°C, while cave habitability still depends on access, structure, air and power.

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Aug 16 • 4:30 PM EDT • Science • spacedaily.com
Scientists reveal the real culprit behind the surge in dangerous flight turbulence - Futura-Sciences

Why Turbulence Is on the Rise Many travelers believe flights feel more turbulent than they used to. Atmospheric measurements prove they’re right, at least when it comes to certain types of turbulence. In fact, a particular kind of turbulence has jumped by 55% along major air routes. What’s behind this...

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Aug 16 • 1:30 PM EDT • Science • futura-sciences.com
Bexar County health department at risk as ARPA money runs out

Just four years in, Bexar County's public health department faces an uncertain future as the pandemic-era funding it relied on dries up.

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Aug 16 • 6:00 AM EDT • Health • sanantonioreport.org
German companies cut US investment to three-year low, data show

German companies slashed investments in the United States to a three-year low in the first half of 2026, as Trump ​administration policies fed uncertainty between the transatlantic trading partners.

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Aug 16 • 2:35 AM EDT • Business • reuters.com
Reactions: “... a certain spectacle”

“Especially in the first half, it was quite a spectacle. After eight minutes, of course, you thought: against an Italian team, the game is basically over. But we fought our way back into it and also...

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Aug 15 • 7:45 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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Ethicists: Clinicians aren’t wrong to expect more from certain patients’ families—but they wouldn’t be right to request it, either

Many nurses have spent untold hours at the bedsides of frail and fading inpatients who, despite having blood relatives in the vicinity, rarely receive visitors. In these scenarios, it’s only human for a healthcare worker to feel some measure of resentment toward the absentee family.

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Aug 15 • 7:33 PM EDT • Health • healthexec.com
Home Depot’s CEO Leave Is a Reminder Every Business Needs a Succession Plan

Organizations can navigate unexpected leadership change by planning for uncertainty and preparing detailed succession plans.

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Aug 15 • 3:00 PM EDT • Business • inc.com
Prediction markets and sports betting: How this UK exchange is trying to do both in the U.S.

Smarkets is entering the U.S. prediction market race but also applying to run as a sportsbook within states amid regulatory uncertainty at the federal level.

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Aug 15 • 10:24 AM EDT • Sports • cnbc.com
Commanders' unofficial depth chart reveals questions at wide receiver

The Washington Commanders unofficial depth chart reveals continued uncertainty in the wide receiver room.

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Aug 15 • 8:33 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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Morgan McGarvey calls for reversal of change to asylum process

McGarvey wants the Trump administration to reverse the change, which allows officers to refer certain asylum applications to a judge without first conducting an interview

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Aug 14 • 5:48 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumnews1.com
Volunteer Develops Machine-Learning Tool to Identify Rare Clouds

Certain kinds of clouds are misbehaving – appearing more often and lower in the sky than they used to. To help identify the factors influencing these changes, scientists have asked people around the world with cameras to submit fresh images of these clouds as a part of the NASA-supported Space Cloud Watch project.

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Aug 14 • 1:35 PM EDT • Science • science.nasa.gov
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Sporting Lisbon Makes Luis Suarez Decision Amid Newcastle Transfer Links

Newcastle United continues to be linked with attacking reinforcements as Matthias Jaissle shapes his squad for the new Premier League season. One of the Magpies’ previously reported targets, Sporting Lisbon striker Luis Suarez, has resurfaced amid uncertainty in Portugal. Following some worrying developments surrounding his situation in the Iberian club, Portuguese outlet A Bola reports […]

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Aug 14 • 3:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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Los Angeles businesses call tariff refunds a huge relief amid financial uncertainty
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Aug 13 • 10:22 PM EDT • Business • cbsnews.com
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Montgomery County sues social media companies over youth mental health harm

Research shows using social media for three or more hours a day doubles the risk of certain mental health problems for teens.

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Aug 13 • 5:42 PM EDT • Health • whyy.org
Google's new Pixel 11 chip might not be 2nm, after all

Rumors seemed almost certain that the Tensor G6 would be a 2nm chip, but a new interview claims Google went with 3nm again.

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Aug 13 • 1:25 PM EDT • Technology • androidauthority.com
AI needs science’s search history

“Actually, that’s where the gold is,” said Alasdair Russell, my graduate school friend who leads a pre-clinical genome editing group at Cambridge. He was talking about the winding road of science that is omitted from published papers. “When you’re discussing how to do the experiment, and why this way is better than another way, and what does the data really mean? I know what it shows, but what does it mean?” At RAAIS 2026, he described how his group has begun logging the twisting path of discovery as it happens, recording the verbal and written exchanges that normally disappear. Ideas become nodes in a living graph: they branch when a meeting produces two plausible experiments, merge when separate lines of evidence converge, and go dark when someone quietly stops pursuing them. In his implementation, one agent scores novelty, while another tries to learn “how scientists think and how they navigate through a complex world of data,” so that high-potential nodes can trigger deeper investigation. As frontier AI labs deploy agents toward scientific discovery, giving AI authentic scientific taste remains a trillion-dollar dilemma. The bottleneck is that the record we have kept for centuries of science might be insufficient to get us there. The experiments that never make the paper Peter Medawar, 1960 Nobel laureate and “father of transplantation,” asked in 1963 whether the scientific paper was a fraud, and answered yes: the form of the paper misrepresents the thinking that produced it. Sixty years on, the diagnosis is unchanged. A paper presents a clean progression from hypothesis to result to conclusion. Lost along the way are the unconventional theories, the abandoned or unaffordable methods, and the underwhelming and inconclusive data. It reads like a browser history with every dead end deleted: the ten open tabs, the four rephrased queries, the wrong turn down a subforum. All scrubbed, leaving one clean path from question to answer as the canonical path. What has changed since then is that the discarded material is now worth something. No high-impact journal wants these artifacts, but raw trial and error is the most likely source of the training data required to develop scientific intuition, or what researchers call taste. Earlier attempts to capture the discards were motivated by scientific integrity. The Journal of Negative Results in Biomedicine launched in 2002 to publish rigorous studies that disputed established models or exposed ineffective treatments. Its archive preserved negative conclusions after they had become papers, rather than the live alternatives and arguments that produced them. BioMed Central closed it in 2017, saying the mission had been served now that other journals publish null results. A less generous reading is that in fifteen years it published around 200 papers because almost nobody wants to read a negative result, let alone write one up when it will not count toward academic tenure. AI models are different. Even an uninteresting negative result can be useful, provided it is labeled. Earlier this year, Anthropic put a version of this to the test. The company pulled 129 decision points from real Claude Code sessions between January and March 2026, showed models the work up to a human detour, and asked what should happen next. Claude Mythos Preview beat the human choice 64% of the time, while Opus 4.5 managed 51%. The comparison was tilted toward the models because Anthropic deliberately chose moments where the human decision had room for improvement. On 127 further scenarios where the human action was already strong, the models improved on it only about 20% of the time. The study was possible because Anthropic’s researchers work inside a tool that logs by default. The reasoning, detours and outcome are produced in the same working environment. Biology has no equivalent. Its reasoning happens in hallways, at benches, in Slack threads and on whiteboards, while the outcome arrives weeks later somewhere else. The record has to emerge from the work itself. Ask scientists to reconstruct it afterwards and we’ll create another polished account. Subscribe A log is not a label Before any of this becomes training data, a negative result has to say what failed. The first paper published in the Journal of Negative Results in Biomedicine examined 234 negative studies across five leading medical journals. Only 30% discussed statistical power, and half clearly defined a primary outcome. Tell a model an experiment failed, without telling it whether the assay was underpowered, a reagent had degraded, or the hypothesis was simply wrong, and it will learn noise with confidence. Decision histories have a second missing label too. When a lab considers five experiments and runs one, only the chosen branch returns an outcome. The other four are experimental counterfactuals. Researchers call this the selective labels problem: the data reveal results only for the actions someone chose to take. Such a record can teach a model to imitate a lab’s taste, but it cannot establish that the taste was good. It also smuggles local constraints into general lessons. A lab that never ran cryo-EM because it did not own a microscope teaches a model that cryo-EM is rarely the right call. Alasdair’s nodes preserve the candidate set, which is the necessary first step. To be useful, each decision record needs six fields: The evidence available at that moment, and nothing that arrived later. The candidates considered, including the ones dismissed in a sentence. For each candidate: the expected result, the confidence attached to it, and the cost in time and money. The route chosen, and the reason. What happened next. How the evidence changed the scientist’s view. These must be timestamped before the outcome, because hindsight turns uncertainty into inevitability. Disagreement also has to survive. Averaging three scientists into one clean rationale reproduces exactly the information loss we are trying to fix. But there is an obvious failure mode here. Once decisions are logged and scored, people log for the record post-facto. Anyone who has watched an electronic lab notebook fill up with retrospective tidying knows how quickly a research tool becomes a compliance exercise. A record that costs a scientist ten minutes of honest reflection per decision is worth far more than one that costs an hour of performance. A publication initiative called Registered Reports offers a useful starting point. Here, researchers submit their rationale, methods and analysis plan for peer review before the data exist, and the journal commits in principle to publish if they follow the approved plan. Nature has now expanded the format across every field it covers. This approach to paper writing timestamps intent before the outcome, but it freezes one plan. A useful search history must also preserve how the plan changed, which alternatives were rejected, when, and on what evidence. Subscribe Run the runner-up Autonomous labs show what happens when decisions and outcomes are connected in a loop. Liverpool’s mobile robotic chemist ran 688 experiments over eight days in a ten-variable formulation space. A batched Bayesian search used each result to choose the next experiments and found photocatalyst mixtures six times more active than the starting formulations. Every completed experiment changed what the system did next. The robot optimized within a goal and search space that humans had already chosen. It did not decide which scientific question mattered. So what this work demonstrates is narrower, but still useful: a search history pays off when the options return standardized outcomes quickly. Open-ended biology is harder because branches can take weeks and the discarded alternatives may never be run. Some exploration therefore has to be bought. Where two branches are plausible and the stakes justify the cost, a lab should sometimes run the runner-up. Otherwise the record captures what today’s scientists usually chose and stays silent on what they systematically overlooked. A funder could ring-fence a small fraction of a grant for the branch not taken, provided that the decision record and the outcome are both deposited. That costs money, but so does having every lab rediscover the same abandoned path. Test whether taste transfers When it comes time to evaluate if our new AI system exhibits taste, the comparison should run across laboratories and fields. At selected decision points in a live research campaign, we should freeze the six fields: the evidence, the candidates, expected results, confidence, costs and the choice made. Experts then rank the options before the outcomes are known, and those outcomes are checked independently later. We could give models one of two diets - papers alone, or papers plus decision histories - and ask them to rank the next experiment on unfamiliar projects. Then, we score information gained per dollar and week, calibration, and how quickly weak branches are abandoned. If histories improve choices only inside the lab that produced them, they amount to useful organizational memory. If they improve choices on unfamiliar problems elsewhere, Alasdair’s group will have captured something science has never managed to write down: a transferable record of taste. Until that happens, a scientific search history is a promising record, not yet a training set.

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Aug 13 • 11:16 AM EDT • Science • press.airstreet.com
Fear as Policy: The Growing Mental Health Toll of Mass Deportation Policies

Immigration policies have created a climate of uncertainty that affects daily life and carries long-term mental health consequences.

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Aug 12 • 4:43 PM EDT • Health • americanimmigrationcouncil.org
5 PE Companies to Watch in 2026 and Beyond

This is an exclusive BHB+ article. It's been a turbulent year for behavioral health and investors value certainty. While deals are still crossing the

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Aug 12 • 4:41 PM EDT • Business • bhbusiness.com
7NEWS POLL | Should certain businesses, like liquor stores, pay fees to fund child care?

TELL US:Should certain businesses, like liquor or gun stores, pay annual fees to fund child care?

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Aug 12 • 2:22 PM EDT • Business • wjla.com
Barcelona defender’s agent visits club facilities amid growing Arsenal interest

With the transfer window entering its final stages Jules Kounde’s future at FC Barcelona is starting to become uncertain. Now, According to Jijantes (h/t SPORT), Jonathan Kebe, the French defender��...

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Aug 12 • 11:55 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
NFIB survey: small business optimism continues to rise

Hiring plans hit their strongest level since 2022, even as owners reported stubborn uncertainty and difficulty finding qualified workers.

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Aug 12 • 8:50 AM EDT • Business • alreporter.com
Browns Sign Ex-Eagles Tight End Amid Rookie’s Ongoing Absence

The Cleveland Browns added a new tight end amid uncertainty around the rookie's future. The post Browns Sign Ex-Eagles Tight End Amid Rookie’s Ongoing Absence appeared first on HEAVY.

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Aug 12 • 12:53 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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Tony Romo’s CBS future remains uncertain as network says it’s still ‘assessing’ his fate

Romo has been placed on indefinite leave after a drunk driving arrest.

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Aug 11 • 4:41 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Small business optimism rebounds in July, led by stronger hiring plans

NFIB said small business optimism rose above its long-term average in July, driven by stronger hiring and investment plans, though uncertainty remained elevated.

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Aug 11 • 4:11 PM EDT • Business • komonews.com
The U.S. Healthcare System is Already Mostly Socialized

Now that Abdul El-Sayed is the Democratic nominee for Michigan’s open Senate seat, the outcome of this crucial race will depend mainly on two things: Whether Republicans succeed in demonizing El-Sayed because he’s brown and a Muslim, and whether they succeed in demonizing him as a left-wing radical. I will defer for the now the question of whether bigotry will be effective this year, although I will address it another day. What I want to address instead is El-Sayed’s signature issue — healthcare. Yes, El-Sayed advocates Medicare for All, a position the usual suspects denounce as “socialism.” I will get to the politics of his stance soon. Today, however, I want to talk about the substance. We should be clear that El-Sayed doesn’t even call himself a socialist. On the contrary, he explicitly disavows the label, saying “I’m a capitalist who just knows about capitalism”. In fact, as I explained in a previous post, the policies that El-Sayed advocates qualify him as a social democrat, not a socialist. Still, El-Sayed advocates a system under which the government would pay almost all medical expenses. Isn’t that socialism? Well, if that is the criterion then much of U.S. healthcare is already socialist. In fact, the government’s role is so large that U.S. healthcare is better described as partially privatized socialism than as anything resembling a free market. Let’s start with the raw numbers on health insurance, which pays the bulk of Americans’ medical expenses. Americans receive health insurance either from private companies or from public programs, overwhelmingly Medicare and Medicaid. Here’s what the breakdown of coverage and spending between private and public looked like in 2024: While a majority of Americans with health insurance get it from private companies, well over 100 million of us are covered by government programs instead. And these government programs pay more total dollars for medical bills than the private insurers do. Why do government programs that cover a minority of the population account for a majority of health insurers’ outlays? Mainly because Medicare covers seniors, and we’re expensive. Also, while Medicaid covers many younger Americans, disabled and elderly beneficiaries account for most of its spending. Even by the raw numbers, then, U.S. health insurance looks as much public as private. But that understates the government’s role: Private health insurance in the U.S. is both highly regulated and heavily subsidized. This is obviously true for the insurance coverage purchased by tens of millions of Americans through the exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act. But employment-based health insurance, which covers 161 million Americans, is far more of a government creation than most people realize. For employment-based insurance exists largely because of huge implicit government subsidies that come with major strings attached. Here’s how that works. If your employer pays you $10,000, that’s taxable income. But if your employer pays $10,000 toward a company health insurance plan that meets certain criteria, it isn’t taxable. That’s a huge effective subsidy, running at more than $300 billion a year. Take that subsidy into account, along with the more than $100 billion per year spent subsidizing policies purchased under the ACA, as well as the outlays on Medicare and Medicaid, and net effect is that the government pays for more than two-thirds of Americans’ health insurance. Granted, there are strings attached. Roughly speaking, employment-based health plans can’t discriminate based on medical history — that is, they can’t deny coverage to employees with pre-existing conditions — and they also can’t offer the plans only to highly compensated employees — a health plan that is only for the C-suite is considered taxable income. So given the restrictions of the federal tax code, employer-based health insurance is a lot like Obamacare, which also prohibits discrimination based on medical history and provides subsidies to make insurance affordable to lower-paid workers. The fact is that virtually all of private healthcare insurance is already well under some form of government control through regulation and tax subsidies. How should we think about this system? First of all, is Medicare socialist? Don’t tell anyone, but the way Medicare operates — it covers every senior’s medical expenses, whatever they turn out to be, while being funded by taxes that depend on one’s income — could be summarized by the old Marxist slogan “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” And back in 1961, when Ronald Reagan was the face of a last-ditch effort by the American Medical Association to block the creation of Medicare, he denounced Medicare as “socialized medicine” and warned that it would destroy our freedom. In reality, American freedom survived until Jan. 20, 2025, while Medicare is immensely popular, with an 82 percent favorable rating in the most recent KFF survey. Medicaid, government health insurance for lower-income Americans, comes in at 73 percent. This is in sharp contrast to public views about private insurers, who are widely disliked if not hated and accused of denying essential care. Furthermore, if Medicare is socialism, then the whole U.S. health insurance system, with the government paying most of the bills and placing conditions on private insurers, is almost equally socialist. If you insist on calling any program the government pays for and regulates socialist, then U.S. healthcare would best be described as a partially privatized form of socialism. And one must ask, what is the point of the part that is privatized? Do private insurers add anything positive? Or are they simply parasites, skimming off money that could have been paying for care? The case for viewing insurers as parasites is strong. Many Medicare benefits are now delivered via Medicare Advantage, that is, plans paid for by the government but run through insurance companies. MedPAC, an independent advisory commission, estimates that last year Medicare Advantage plans were overpaid by $84 billion, thanks to practices such as “upcoding,” in which patients’ health problems are overstated to get larger sums from Medicare. Assessing the waste from employer-based insurance is harder, but most evidence suggests that private insurers have substantially higher administrative costs than Medicare does. Furthermore, the complexity of private insurance, with multiple payers all trying to deny care when they can, is a huge burden both on providers — doctors, nurses, and hospitals — and on patients. What do private insurers offer to compensate for these costs? One must go through intellectual contortions to avoid the conclusion that they are, in fact, parasites. Which brings me back to El-Sayed. In supporting Medicare for All, he’s basically calling for an end to the partial, parasitic privatization of a healthcare system that is already hugely dependent on public funding. When one looks at it that way, it’s not at all a radical proposal. Admittedly, the political lift requires overcoming the opposition to higher taxes to pay for Medicare for All. Political realism rather than economics was the reason I and many other progressives supported Obamacare, with all its complexities, rather than demanding an immediate move to Medicare for All. But the political calculus may very well have shifted since the 2000s, as Americans are fed up with a system of unaffordable premiums, rampant claim denials, and byzantine claim administration. Moreover, funding healthcare insurance through taxation would allow for a much more progressive distribution of the cost. That is, compared to the present system, middle-income households would pay less as high-income households would pay more. And the U.S. would stop wasting large sums on pointless administrative costs. So let’s be clear: El-Sayed’s healthcare platform is perfectly reasonable on the merits of cost, fairness and health efficacy. And with private insurers never more hated, while millions of Americans are losing their health insurance, 2026 may be its time. MUSICAL CODA

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Aug 11 • 6:33 AM EDT • Health • paulkrugman.substack.com
Business Chief Opens Speaker Applications for CXO Summit 2026

London, 11 August 2026 - Business Chief, a BizClik Media brand, has opened speaker applications for the CXO Summit 2026, inviting Chief HR Officers, People & Culture Leaders, Chief Marketing Officers, Chief Finance Officers and CEOs to join its flagship executive event. The summit, which brings together C-suite leaders to address critical challenges facing modern enterprises, from AI disruption to economic uncertainty. The event has already secured an impressive lineup of speakers from global or

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Aug 11 • 5:00 AM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com
Blocked storm drains blamed for Ringgold flooding, but some businesses remain uncertain

Downtown Ringgold business owners were able to get some answers Monday night as they continue to recover from two flooding incidents last week.Questions remain

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Aug 10 • 10:19 PM EDT • Business • newschannel9.com
Australian Business Confidence Drops on Middle East Uncertainty

Australian business confidence snapped three months of gains as uncertainty over the Middle East conflict and persistent energy price strength weighed on the outlook.

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Aug 10 • 9:30 PM EDT • Business • bloomberg.com
Amid RAM price hikes, Microsoft reportedly raises Windows license cost, forcing OEMs to hike prices even further on hardware

A new report claims Microsoft has raised the cost of the Windows license by up to 10% for certain OEMs, which is much higher than usual.

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Aug 10 • 4:47 PM EDT • Technology • windowscentral.com
Saber's newest game trailer takes a shot at Gearbox's CEO, if you look closely

The first hint that something might be up with the recent debut trailer for Saber Interactive’s Rideshare Stimulator is an unusual choice of words—aside from that second one in the game’s title. “Don’t take your passengers too seriously,” the trailer’s narrator says, as he describes this upcoming game. It a car game about the gig work of driving eccentric people to their destinations, a riff on Crazy Taxi. And then, he says: “When I think I’ve met the randiest of passengers, someone even stranger gets in.” “Randiest”? That suggests “randy,” which usually means having strong sexual desire. Yet none of the oddball backseat occupants featured in the trailer seem particularly lustful. One is an old man who considers his grandson a failure, another shares the theory that birds might control traffic lights, another says he’s banned from an aquarium. A little later, there’s a license plate, shown 63 seconds into the trailer, on the front of an SUV: USB DRV It’s a Texas plate. The symbol between those letters is a cog wheel. If you know, you know. That’s a reference to Texas-based Borderlands game development studio Gearbox Software (their logo features a cog wheel). More specifically, it’s a reference to Gearbox’s CEO Randy Pitchford, who in 2018 found himself explaining the nature of video he’d saved on a USB drive that was found at a Medieval Times restaurant before being returned to the studio: “It was ‘barely legal’ porn. This girl’s handle was ‘Only 18.’” The “girl” in the video had committed a solo sex act that Pitchford, an avid practitioner of magic, found remarkable. “I realized, this is not a sex worker…This is a fucking magician.” Back then, the USB drive was central to competing lawsuits against Gearbox by the studio’s former lawyer and by Gearbox against him. A settlement in late 2019 “exonerated” Pitchford, per the Hollywood Reporter. The USB story has resurfaced at times, now in a trailer from a company that not long ago was corporate brethren with Gearbox. Saber vs. Gearbox The head of Saber told Game File that the reference is payback. “The dig is because Randy took shots at Embracer in Borderlands 4,” Saber CEO Matt Karch told me when I asked him about the license plate. “Without Embracer, Randy is performing magic tricks at birthday parties for a living.” Having interviewed Karch during a cross-country flight in late 2024, I can confirm that Karch was unimpressed with Pitchford during their time both working in the Embracer group. I’d approached him not out of surprise that there was animosity but that it was manifesting publicly now. Gearbox was founded in 1999, worked on a port of Halo early on, and developed hit series such as the loot-based sci-fi shooter Borderlands before it was purchased by The Embracer Group in early 2021 for $363 million (with a possible earn-out of over $1 billion, if certain targets were hit by 2027). Saber was founded in 2001, worked on a remaster of Halo early on, had a big hit with zombie shooter World War Z and was purchased by Embracer in early 2020 for $150 million, with a potential earn-out of up to $375 million. For a few years, the Embracer group was a voracious acquirer of game studios. Then, as investment dried up, it choked. In March 2024, Embracer sold Saber to an investment company controlled by Saber CEO Matt Karch, and it sold Gearbox in an all-stock deal to long-time Borderlands publisher Take Two Interactive. Other studios were shut down. Hundreds of developers were laid off. Gearbox didn’t say much about their Embracer experience, nothing too direct, at least. In the summer 2024, Pitchford told reporter and occasional Game File contributor Nicole Carpenter that Borderlands 4’s story was in some way thematically connected to Gearbox’s experience at Embracer: “There’s this cultural and emotional shift in me, personally, and at the studio. What does it mean to trade some autonomy for organization?” When Borderlands 4 came out, there was something stranger: the matter of “Embracer’s Bluff,” a location in the game featuring an AI-powered toilet and a large trash dump, according to a detailed Kotaku account of the place. Gearbox never commented on it; Take Two never got back to me about it when I asked them last year. By contrast, since Saber exited Embracer, Karch has been one of Embracer’s biggest defenders, casting their management as well-meaning and supportive despite the layoffs and studio closures that resulted from their excessive expansion. Like others, Saber’s Karch saw Embracer’s as a shot. With Rideshare Stimulator’s trailer, he’s returned fire. “It’s amazing to me how fast people forget those who went above and beyond for them,” Karch told Game File. A rep for Gearbox did not comment by press time. Game File is a reader-supported publication. Your backing makes my reporting—including any coverage of trailer-based beefs—possible. Good news! I’m currently running Game File’s first big sale of 2026. You can get a one-year subscription for 23% off. Click here to take advantage of the limited-time offer. And thank you for your support! Item 2: In brief… 🚫 Wal-Mart has laid off the staff of Restart, a games media outlet launched in 2024, Aftermath reports. 🟥 A GTA VI preview is on the way, at last, via an “extended look” that will premiere, unusually, on Netflix at 3pm ET on August 27, then officially go live elsewhere six hours later. Last week, Game File noted that Take Two label Rockstar Games is overdue for showing off GTA VI, based on the timing of the initial hands-off previews of GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2. During a call with investors, Take Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said pre-orders for GTA VI were “unprecedented and astonishing,” but added the company can’t predict how many of those pre-orders represent bonus sales vs. sales that otherwise would have been made at launch. During the same call, Zelnick was noticeably bullish on the future of playing games over streaming cloud connections (predicting wider adoption in three or so years). He sounded unbothered by Sony’s plans to stop making discs for new games (he said the business is 90% digital already and predicted that there could still be limited edition physical editions of games “in the same way there’s still vinyl in the recorded music business.”) 👀 Take Two wrote off $43 million in their spring quarter after deciding “not to proceed with further development of an unannounced title in its pipeline from a third-party developer.” 🤔 Some rare age-demographics from a big publisher: Capcom recently told investors that “users in their 20s account for approximately half of the users of both Pragamata and Resident Evil Requiem.” Item 3: The week ahead Tuesday, August 11 Game releases: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered (Switch 2; already out for PC, PS5, Xbox) continues the Bethesda strategy of putting Elder Scrolls games on everything; Royalty Free-For-All is a Smash Bros.-style fighting game featuring public domain characters such as Mother Goose brawling with Oliver Twist in a stage based on the original Little Shop of Horrors movie. Wednesday, August 12 Game release: Pro Jank Footy (PC, console) is an arcade-style Australian Rules Football game with increasingly ridiculous rules, the more you play (I enjoyed the Steam demo) Thursday, August 13 Game release: Super Mario Sunshine (Switch 2, originally released in 2002 on the GameCube) is released for Switch 2’s Nintendo Switch Online service. This game is the black sheep of 3D Mario games. It’s the successor to the breakthrough Super Mario 64 and the rare Mario game built around a single (vacation resort) theme. Mario’s got a water-spraying backpack, a Yoshi pal and a lot of blue coins to collect.

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Aug 10 • 4:27 PM EDT • Technology • gamefile.news
Minnesota Cannabis Businesses Grapple With Growing Pains

Minnesota's hyper-regulated cannabis industry is starting to bear fruit—er, flower. But uncertainties remain about whether operators have sufficient breathing room to build viable businesses.

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Aug 10 • 1:26 PM EDT • Business • tcbmag.com
Kuehn Law Encourages Investors of WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. to Contact Law Firm

/PRNewswire/ -- Kuehn Law, PLLC, a shareholder litigation law firm, is investigating whether certain officers and directors of WEBTOON Entertainment Inc....

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Aug 10 • 10:17 AM EDT • Entertainment • prnewswire.com
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Louisiana health officials warn of vibrio case rise

🚨 A jump in Vibrio vulnificus cases is prompting Louisiana health officials to urge caution around certain exposures to salt water and raw seafood. The bacteria is known for causing a "flesh-eating" infection. Nine people have been hospitalized, and five have died this year, officials said Thursday. (Press release)

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Aug 10 • 7:28 AM EDT • Health • axios.com
High-Signal Publisher
O’Connell Announces Office of Entertainment Executive Director

Sarah Childress to lead new office within the mayor’s office following entertainment commission uncertainty

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Aug 10 • 7:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • nashvillescene.com
RFK Jr. slated to unveil plan targeting loophole that allows chemicals in food supply

The practice known as “generally recognized as safe” allows companies to self-certify the safety of certain food chemicals or substances without strict government oversight.

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Aug 10 • 6:00 AM EDT • Health • washingtonpost.com
Why Luke O’Nien Represents the New Sunderland

From an uncertain arrival to one of Sunderland’s most respected leaders, Luke O’Nien’s journey reflects the changing culture and ambition of the club.

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Aug 10 • 1:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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Bo Bichette leads revived Mets offense with five-hit effort

Bichette, who owns a mediocre .685 OPS — certainly not what the Mets envisioned when signing him to a three-year contract worth $126 million — has waited much of the season for a day like Sunday.

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Aug 9 • 11:22 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Oil rises as uncertainty continues over reopening of Strait

Oil prices rose ​on Monday as uncertainty ‌continued over the reopening of ​the Strait ​of Hormuz as Iran ⁠said a ​deal with ​Oman defining new shipping lanes was in ​its final ​stages, but the U.S. ‌must ⁠still meet other conditions.

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Aug 9 • 6:17 PM EDT • Business • reuters.com
Will price hikes force Apple to stop dragging its feet on certain product upgrades?

Earlier this summer, Apple dramatically increased its prices as a result of the ongoing memory crisis around the globe. Things...

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Aug 9 • 2:26 PM EDT • Technology • 9to5mac.com
Big Ten season preview: USA TODAY Sports sees one key Oregon flaw

USA TODAY Sports' preseason college football preview identified the big point of uncertainty on Oregon's 2026 roster

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Aug 9 • 12:15 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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Why a new federal definition of hemp has a Vermont industry holding its breath

“The clock is running out,” said one CBD vendor. “It's so hard to plan and make any kind of business decisions with all this uncertainty.”

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Aug 9 • 10:47 AM EDT • Business • vtdigger.org
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LSU and the BUSINESS OF COLLEGE SPORTS

LSU CFO Matthew LaBorde explains how revenue sharing, NIL, facility economics, football scheduling and financial uncertainty are reshaping the business of college sports.

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Aug 9 • 10:07 AM EDT • Business • tigerrag.com
Simpson In, Bennett Uncertain: McVay Talks Quarterback Preseason Plan

The comments came on the first day of practice at the Rams' Woodland Hills facility, following two weeks of training camp at Loyola Marymount University. The team will travel to Arrowhead Stadium for an Aug. 15 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. "Ty definitely will play," McVay said.

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Aug 9 • 10:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
A Maine Town, Once Dependent on a Paper Mill, Tries to Move On

For over a century, Madison Paper Industries was a small Maine town’s economic engine. A new owner moved in, but uncertainty persists.

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Aug 9 • 5:00 AM EDT • Business • nytimes.com
Trump’s unfinished ballroom faces uncertain path after latest legal blow

President Donald Trump has dug himself a hole.

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Aug 8 • 6:30 AM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
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Schumer caves, hands Republicans shutdown win after months of uncertainty

Senate Democrats relented on shutdown threats, with John Thune accusing Chuck Schumer of making a political calculation ahead of midterm elections.

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Aug 8 • 3:16 AM EDT • Politics • foxnews.com
New uncertainties as owner of stricken Longview mill posts quarterly loss

It's unclear whether financial challenges at Japan-based Nippon Paper will affect the restart process at its Longview mill, which shut down following a fatal accident in May.

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Aug 7 • 7:49 PM EDT • Business • seattletimes.com
All candidates for Ohio governor have this in common

Each of the candidates for Ohio governor now wants to restrict the data center boom, all proposing some form of moratorium unless certain guidelines are met.

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Aug 7 • 5:36 PM EDT • Politics • news5cleveland.com
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US economy unexpectedly shed jobs in July

The Labor Department released the July 2026 jobs report, which showed the U.S. economy shed jobs unexpectedly last month amid uncertainty over inflation.

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Aug 7 • 8:32 AM EDT • Business • foxbusiness.com
Business Restructuring Review Vol. 25 No. 4 July-August 2026

In This Issue New York Bankruptcy Court: Premature Allegations of Creditor Mistreatment Insufficient to Deny Chapter 15 Recognition of Foreign Restructuring Proceeding In In re ARD Finance, S.A., No. 25-12794 (MG), 2026 WL 817458 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Mar. 25, 2026), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York was presented with a petition seeking chapter 15 recognition of Luxembourg's recently enacted bankruptcy law governing judicial reorganization proceedings. The court granted the petition, turning aside challenges to recognition voiced by a creditor group arguing that recognition should be denied based upon allegations of unfairness to creditors in the Luxembourg proceeding that would make recognition manifestly contrary to U.S. public policy. According to the bankruptcy court, recognition was warranted because: (i) the rules and procedures governing the proceeding under Luxembourg law were fundamentally fair; (ii) the petition otherwise satisfied chapter 15's recognition requirements; and (iii) the creditor group's allegations were premature, given the fact that the Luxembourg court presiding over the debtor's restructuring proceeding had not confirmed a restructuring plan, and all creditors had the right to participate fully and voice their objections in the proceeding (including the right to appeal an order approving a plan). [read more …] Florida Bankruptcy Court Examines Scope of Discovery in Chapter 15 Cases In In re Banco Master, S.A., No. 25-24568-SMG, 2026 WL 931729 (Bankr. S.D. Fla. Apr. 6, 2026), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida granted in part and denied in part post-recognition motions filed by an insider of a foreign debtor seeking to bar or limit discovery sought by the debtor's foreign representative concerning allegedly voidable transfers involving the debtors' U.S. real property. According to the court: (i) although chapter 15 includes its own discovery provisions among the relief that may be granted to a foreign representative, the expansive discovery available in cases under other chapters of the Bankruptcy Code is also available in chapter 15 cases; (ii) the discovery sought by the foreign representative was permissible; (iii) discovery regarding matters that were the subject of a pending adversary proceeding had to be undertaken under the more restrictive rules applicable to such proceedings; and (iv) a discovery request would be barred to the extent that it sought production of documents or testimony from a subpoenaed entity that exceeded the geographic limitations specified in such rules. [read more …] Delaware District Court Affirms Chapter 15 Recognition Order Enforcing Nonconsensual Third-Party Releases In U.S. Int'l Dev. Fin. Corp. v. Credito Real S.A.B. de C.V. SOFOM, E.N.R. (In re Credito Real S.A.B. de C.V. SOFOM, E.N.R.), 677 B.R. 192 (D. Del. 2026), appeal filed, No. 26-2356 (3d Cir. June 5, 2026), the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware affirmed a bankruptcy court order granting chapter 15 recognition to a Mexican "concurso mercantile" proceeding and enforcing nonconsensual third-party releases approved by the Mexican court. Agreeing with the bankruptcy court that the releases were not manifestly contrary to U.S. public policy, the district court concluded: "It is well settled that U.S. bankruptcy courts can give effect to foreign orders in recognized foreign proceedings pursuant to the authority granted in Chapter 15, even when those orders contain relief unavailable under U.S. law. [The appellant's] arguments misconstrue the Supreme Court's narrow holding in Purdue, applicable in Chapter 11 cases, as well as the statutory framework of Chapter 15 and its core policy objectives. Accordingly, I will affirm the Enforcement Order." The ruling has been appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. [read more …] Fifth Circuit: Bankruptcy Court, Not State Court, Had Jurisdiction to Allow or Disallow Administrative Expense Claim In Storey Minerals Ltd. v. EP Energy E&P Co., LP (Matter of EP Energy E&P Co., LP), 169 F.4th 609 (5th Cir. 2026), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed lower courts' rulings disallowing a creditor's administrative expense claim. It also rejected the creditor's argument that, because the claims were predicated on state law, a state court should adjudicate the merits of the state law causes of action before the bankruptcy court could allow or disallow the claim as an administrative expense. According to the Fifth Circuit, even though the causes of action were based on state law, the bankruptcy court had jurisdiction to determine whether the creditor's claims should be conferred with administrative expense priority in the debtors' chapter 11 case. [read more …] New York Bankruptcy Court: Dismissal of Involuntary Chapter 11 Case Filed Prior to Commencement of Foreign Restructuring Proceeding Unwarranted In In re Xinyuan Real Estate Co. Ltd., No. 25-10745 (PB), 2026 WL 592250 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Mar. 3. 2026), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York considered the bona fides of an involuntary chapter 11 petition filed by certain holders of U.S. dollar-denominated notes against a holding company for a group of Chinese property development companies that filed a restructuring proceeding in the Cayman Islands after the noteholders filed the involuntary chapter 11 petition. The court denied the debtor's motion to dismiss the chapter 11 case. Given the timing of the filing of the Cayman Islands restructuring proceeding, the absence of any progress in the proceeding for seven months, the debtor's need to restructure notes governed by U.S. law, and the debtor's lack of any meaningful contacts to the Cayman Islands, dismissal of the chapter 11 case was unwarranted under the applicable provision of the Bankruptcy Code, international comity, or the doctrine of forum non conveniens. [read more …] Bankruptcy Court Evaluates Trustee's Authority to Sell Avoidance Actions and Right of Target Defendants to Object In In re Law Enf't Officers Sec. Union, No. 24-70277-JAD, 2026 WL 560452 (Bankr. W.D. Pa. Feb. 27, 2026), a chapter 7 trustee sought court approval to sell certain avoidance actions to a creditor of the debtor's estate. Potential targets of the subject avoidance actions objected, arguing that such claims were nontransferable powers of the trustee rather than saleable estate property and urging the court to approve their competing settlement with the trustee. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania disagreed with the potential defendants, holding that they lacked standing to object to the proposed sale, that avoidance actions are indeed estate property, and that the sale—rather than the settlement—best served the estate's interests. [read more …] U.S. Supreme Court Bankruptcy Roundup in Brief In Keathley v. Buddy Ayers Construction Inc., No. 25-6, 2026 WL 1686028 (U.S. June 11, 2026), the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a Fifth Circuit decision judicially estopping a chapter 13 debtor from asserting a personal injury claim against a construction company because the debtor failed to disclose the claim during his bankruptcy case. In so ruling, the Court held that "[t]he Fifth Circuit erred by artificially narrowing its inquiry to whether the debtor had knowledge of the underlying facts or a potential motive to conceal the claim." It represents the first time that the Court has applied judicial estoppel in the bankruptcy context, although it has suggested in other contexts that it may be inappropriate where an inconsistent legal position resulted from "inadvertence or mistake." Also in June, the Court denied petitions for certiorari in a few notable bankruptcy cases. [read more …] Newsworthy Heather Lennox (Cleveland/New York) (Star Individual), Bruce Bennett (Los Angeles) (Senior Statesperson), Kevyn D. Orr (Washington) (Eminent Practitioner), Gregory M. Gordon (Dallas) (Band 1), Carl E. Black (Cleveland), Corinne Ball (New York) (Senior Statesperson), Brad B. Erens (Chicago), Jeffrey B. Ellman (Atlanta), T. Daniel Reynolds (Cleveland), and Dan T. Moss (Washington/New York) were recognized as leading lawyers in the practice area Bankruptcy/Restructuring in the 2026 edition of Chambers USA: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business. The 2026 edition of Lawdragon 500 Leading Bankruptcy and Restructuring Lawyers ranked the following lawyers: Corinne Ball (New York) (Hall of Fame), Bruce Bennett (Los Angeles), Carl E. Black (Cleveland), Jeffrey B. Ellman (Atlanta), Brad B. Erens (Chicago), Gregory M. Gordon (Dallas), Heather Lennox (Cleveland/New York), Joshua M. Mester (Los Angeles), and Kevyn D. Orr (Washington). Fabienne Beuzit (Paris) and Jasper Berkenbosch (Amsterdam) were among the "Leading Individuals" ranked in the 2026 edition of The Legal 500 EMEA guide in the field of Restructuring and Insolvency or Insolvency. Rodolphe Carrière (Paris) was named a "Next Generation Partner" in the practice area Insolvency. Sid Pepels (Amsterdam) was selected by Global Restructuring Review's 40 under 40 2026. He was identified as a Rising Star within the global cross-border restructuring community. Global Restructuring Review is a leading digital subscription service, news outlet, and information platform dedicated exclusively to cross-border insolvency and corporate restructuring law. Fabienne Beuzit (Paris), Rodolphe Carrière (Paris), and Isabelle Maury (Paris) were recognized in the 2027 edition of The Best Lawyers in France™ in the practice area Insolvency and Reorganization Law. An article written by Corinne Ball (New York) titled "Comity and Fairness are Critical to Granting Additional Assistance under Chapter 15: A Canadian Reverse Vesting Order and Related Releases in Proceedings Involving Canadian and U.S.-Affiliated Companies Are Approved" was published in the June 24, 2026, edition of the New York Law Journal. An article written by Caitlin K. Cahow (Detroit) titled "New York Bankruptcy Court Weighs In on Adequate Assurance of Future Performance under Assigned Leases and Chapter 11 Plan Exculpation Provisions" was published on June 8, 2026, in Lexis Practical Guidance. An article written by Trisha L. Mowbray (Real Estate; Chicago) and Ryan Sims (Washington) titled "Chapter 11 Plan that Abridged Non-Debtor Lessee's Rights to Remain in Possession After Rejection Unconfirmable as Having Been Proposed in Bad Faith" was published on June 16, 2026, in the Harvard Law School Bankruptcy Roundtable. An article written by Dan T. Moss (Washington/New York), Corinne Ball (New York), Isel M. Perez (Miami), and David S. Torborg (Washington) titled "Texas Bankruptcy Court Adopts Barnet Rule Requiring Foreign Debtor to Have U.S. Assets to Be Eligible for Chapter 15 Relief" was published on June 10, 2026, in Lexis Practical Guidance. An article written by Daniel J. Merrett (Atlanta) and Nathaniel Parr (Atlanta) titled "Southern District of Texas Clarifies Post-Purdue Course for Consensual Third-Party Releases and Gatekeeping Provisions" was published on June 11, 2026, in Lexis Practical Guidance. An article written by Corinne Ball (New York) titled "LMEs, Sophisticated Investors and Equitable Mootness: The Fifth and Third Circuits Warn Against Testing the Limits of Chapter 11" was published in the June 2026 issue of the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal. Nicholas J. Morin (New York) was quoted in an article titled "Serta Ruling Offers Damages Road Map in Lender-on-Lender Disputes," published by Bloomberg Law on July 7, 2026. The article discussed U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez's July 7, 2026, ruling that participating lenders in Serta Simmons Bedding's 2020 non-pro rata uptier exchange breached the credit agreement's ratable-sharing provision, and awarding excluded lenders more than $261 million in damages. The opinion resolves six years of litigation related to Serta's 2020 transaction, where it raised $200 million in new financing and exchanged $1.2 billion of term loans for $875 million in superpriority debt. Judge Lopez found that the debt-for-debt exchange constituted a "payment" under the credit agreement, requiring proportional sharing among lenders, and dismissed various defenses raised by the participating lenders. The case is Serta Simmons Bedding LLC v. AG Centre Street Partnership (In re Serta Simmons Bedding LLC), 2026 WL 1968535 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Jul. 7, 2026). The New York Law Journal has recognized Andrew M. Butler (New York) as a 2026 "Rising Star" in Restructuring/Bankruptcy as part of the New York Legal Awards. The Rising Star category recognizes New York's most promising lawyers age 40 and under who have distinguished themselves through exceptional legal work, leadership, and contributions to the profession. Lawyer Spotlight: Daniel J. Merrett Dan Merrett, a partner in the Atlanta Office, has spent nearly 20 years representing all manner of stakeholders in complex corporate restructurings and chapter 11 reorganizations. His practice extends to related transactions and disputes involving acquisitions; divestitures; credit facilities; securities; environmental obligations; and vendor, employee, and governance matters. Dan has substantial experience managing mass tort liabilities, including the restructurings and related chapter 11 cases of affiliates of Georgia Pacific and Johnson & Johnson, implemented to resolve asbestos and talc liabilities. He also represents key parties in energy and infrastructure matters, including facility owners, EPC contractors, and joint-venture parties. Dan was a key player in the restructuring teams in the historic bankruptcies of the City of Detroit and Chrysler. His other significant representations in chapter 11 cases include AFA Foods, Alpha Natural Resources, Dana Corporation, M&G Chemicals, McDermott International, Monster/CareerBuilder, Transtar Industries, and Westinghouse. He is licensed in both the United States and England & Wales and recognized in restructuring by Chambers USA and Best Lawyers.

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Aug 7 • 8:00 AM EDT • Business • jonesday.com
Ask Ethan: Can "following the science" save the Earth?

Between war, disease, environmental destruction, and resource overconsumption, our civilization's future is uncertain. Can science save us?

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Aug 7 • 2:00 AM EDT • Science • bigthink.com
Here's what tariffs have cost our small business

If we are uncertain whether tariffs will rise again, we become even more cautious.

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Aug 7 • 2:00 AM EDT • Business • newsday.com
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Oregon universal health care board punts single-payer report over funding uncertainty

A state board in charge of developing a universal health plan for all Oregonians will delay the release of its final report to lawmakers, citing uncertainty over how to pay for it. The Universal Health Plan Governance Board voted unanimously Thursday morning to extend its deadline to Dec. 1 for its report that will describe […]

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Aug 6 • 7:59 PM EDT • Health • oregoncapitalchronicle.com
Trump tries new tack against birthright citizenship after Supreme Court snub

President Donald Trump signed two executive orders targeting children born to foreign lobbyists and tourists. The orders are certain to face legal challenges.

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Aug 6 • 6:10 PM EDT • Politics • washingtonpost.com
BREAKING: Jahmyr Gibbs Lands MASSIVE Contract Extension With Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions have secured Jahmyr Gibbs with a massive contract extension. The deal ends his training camp uncertainty and keeps one of the NFL’s most explosive offensive players in Detroit.

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Aug 6 • 5:27 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Yankees starter admits to ‘uncertainty’ about future

Yankees starter admits to ‘uncertainty’ about future

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Aug 6 • 8:56 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Todd Blanche’s Attorney General nomination faces uncertain Senate floor vote
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Aug 6 • 7:03 AM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
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The new science of brain workouts, beyond Sudoku and crosswords

Emerging evidence suggests that only certain types of training produce meaningful benefits, and those benefits may differ between men and women.

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Aug 6 • 5:00 AM EDT • Health • washingtonpost.com
The new science of brain workouts, beyond Sudoku and crosswords

Emerging evidence suggests that only certain types of training produce meaningful benefits, and those benefits may differ between men and women.

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Aug 6 • 5:00 AM EDT • Science • washingtonpost.com
Current and potential outbreaks to be aware of—and ready to talk about

Healthcare stakeholders of a certain age range will remember when the Centers for Disease Control declared measles dead and gone in the U.S. That was in 2000. The eradication was nice while it lasted, wasn’t it?

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Aug 5 • 11:07 PM EDT • Health • healthexec.com
Science|Business summer reads of 2026

As most people in the European research and innovation policy bubble are going on a well-deserved summer break, we have come up with a list of our favourite books, podcasts and essays from the past year that ask deeper questions about science, technology and politics.BooksPasteur’s Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological Innovation, by Donald StokesIf you haven’t read Pasteur’s Quadrant yet, now is the time. In the EU and elsewhere, we’re living through a period of dwindling faith that curiosity-driven research automatically leads to economic growth and technological progress. Pasteur’s Quadrant, published in 1997 by the Princeton academic Donald Stokes, is the most influential critique of the standard “linear model” of R&D: the idea that new discoveries made in ivory-tower labs get neatly passed on for commercialisation by start-ups. In reality, Stokes argues, practical applications often inspire more theorical lines of inquiry. Of course, we have long known that things are more complex than the linear model, but even today, it’s still often assumed in Brussels discourse. The book is a useful corrective, and is being used now to argue for new types of scientific institutions. David MatthewsThe Weaponization of Expertise: How Elites Fuel Populism, by Jacob Hale Russel and Dennis PattersonAre society’s problems solvable by technical expertise alone? “If only the benighted would listen,” say Jacob Hale Russel and Dennis Patterson, two professors at Rutgers Law School who got frustrated with how scientists and politicians handled public health communication during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the book, they argue that clichéd mantras about scientific evidence and expertise perpetrated by academics, journalists and politicians have harmed public trust in the very institutions they were trying to defend. Paradoxically, slogans such as “we believe in science,” “follow the science” and “defer to the experts” can fuel mistrust in science, experts and democratic institutions. The authors criticise “condescension” and “technocratic paternalism” in the public discourse and make the case for a more nuanced approach to scientific and expert policy advice that rests on humility, doubt, scepticism and open dialogue. “Most complex social questions in fact revolve around values, not the recitation of unambiguous facts,” they say. Florin ZubascuBreakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future, by Dan WangIn this book, Dan Wang compares the structural differences between the US and Chinese industrial policies, but raises a very timely question for innovation policy wonks: how can advanced manufacturing know-how contribute to technology-intensive economic growth? Wang says technology has three components: the tools, the blueprints and patents, and the process knowledge. The third component represents the “proficiency gained from practical experience, which isn’t easily communicated and requires years of implementation.” According to Wang, rather than seeing tools and blueprints as the ultimate ends of technological progress, policymakers should see them as milestones in the training of better scientists and manufacturers. Over the past decades, China has amassed “process knowledge” because capital flowed to complex fabrication facilities, while investors in the West have parked their money in capital-light businesses such as digital platforms or chip companies that focus on design. As it turns out, thanks to its oversized focus on manufacturing, China has gained remarkable advantages in the global technology race. Florin ZubascuBaltic: The Future of Europe, by Oliver MoodyWhat can Europe learn from the nine countries surrounding the Baltic Sea? Alongside the familiar stories about Estonia's digital transformation, the book examines how the region has used technology, resilience, education, governance and long-term thinking to respond to geopolitical, economic and security challenges. Innovation policy wonks might find fresh perspectives on how innovation can strengthen defence, societal resilience and Europe's capacity to adapt in an uncertain world. Whether or not you agree with all of Oliver Moody's conclusions, the book is a useful guide to a region that is increasingly shaping European debates on security, competitiveness and technology. Goda NaujokaityteThe Invention of Nature, by Andrea Wulf This book chronicles the wild and adventurous life of natural science pioneer Alexander von Humboldt who at some point in the 19th century seems to have been just about the most famous person in the world. Through scientific expeditions to the Andes Mountains and to the depths of Siberia, von Humboldt contributed a host of discoveries and concepts. During his life he met and formed relationships with historical figures as different as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Simon Bolivar, Thomas Jefferson, Napoleon Bonaparte and Charles Darwin. He is also claimed to be the person in the world with most things named after him, a list that includes an ocean current, a penguin and a region of the Moon. Still venerated in Germany, with numerous scientific institutions named after him, von Humboldt has slipped out of public consciousness in most of the rest of the world. For anyone not familiar with him, this book does a good job of describing his fascinating life. Ole EllekrogCareless People, by Sarah Wynn-WilliamsYou may have heard this referred to as the book Meta doesn’t want you to read. The 2025 memoir from Sarah Wynn-Williams, former director of global public policy at Meta, then just called Facebook, includes explosive claims about everything from a toxic workplace culture to how the company worked with advertisers to target vulnerable teens, and the lengths it was prepared to go to in order to break into China. It’s a fascinating insight into how and why the tech company gradually shifted its approach to policy, whether in the US, Europe or Asia. Meta has denied the allegations in the book, and last year won an emergency ruling to prevent Wynn-Williams from promoting it. In response, the author is now suing her former employer. If that doesn’t make you want to read it. Martin GreenacrePodcastsThe Europeans: Europe’s anti-ElonThis podcast is a great choice for a light-hearted dose of European policy and culture news. Most of it has little to do with research, innovation and technology, but this particular podcast features an interview with Mastadon’s founder Eugen Rochko. He talks about his experience running an open-source, federated, European-made social media platform, and leaving it all behind. The conversation, which starts 14 minutes in, gently encourages us to reflect on what kind of technology we, as Europeans, want to make. Goda NaujokaityteSolarpunk and how we escape dystopiaNew technologies are very often taken from science fiction. Alberto Santos-Dumont, inventor the airship, was inspired as a child by the adventure stories of Jules Verne. OpenAI’s attempt to build a personal assistant with the voice of Scarlett Johansson was lifted from the 2013 film Her, completely ignoring the movie’s cautionary message. So if we want better tech, we need to imagine it first. Unfortunately, the state of current sci-fi is relentlessly dystopian, giving inventors precious few ideas or hope. However, a new genre, Solarpunk, which envisages a technologically advanced but ecologically harmonious future, is now taking off. The actual tech the genre imagines, such as permaculture, renewable energy or community repair workshops, while nice, isn’t all that inspiring or ambitious. But it’s a first step towards rescuing sci-fi from its pessimistic Blade Runner rut. David MatthewsEveryday AbundanceLaunched in June, Everyday Abundance is a podcast that tells the stories of the inventions we now take so for granted that we barely given them a second thought. For example, the washing machine, which liberated women from a lifetime “bent over washtubs and washboards.” Or modern dentistry, which ended the reality that “tooth pain was simply part of human life.” Historians of technology, Virginia Postrel and Charles C Mann are very much on the optimistic end of the spectrum when it comes to the capacity of invention to improve human life. Here, they set out their case: if it wasn’t for progress, you might be hunched over a washtub with toothache rather than reading these words. David Matthews‘We will not know what we lost’: Conservation fallout a year after USAID shutdownSince his return to the White House, Donald Trump has been on a mission to undermine science. He slashed jobs at federal agencies, terminated grants in some research areas, took unprecedented control over university affairs and, within hours of his inauguration, suspended the US Agency for International Development. While its initial focus was to administer health and food aid around the world, it had since expanded to conservation projects. The result? Some of these projects were stopped abruptly. In this Mongabay podcast, environmental reporter Michelle Nijhuis tells the story of the EcoGuard conservation programme in Liberia, whose local patrols had helped protect rainforests, monitor endangered wildlife and track illegal threats. From one day to the next, these were left without salaries. Luckily, she notes, the initiative was able to get emergency funding from international NGOs, but its future remains “incredibly uncertain.” Juliette PortalaEssaysThe Mars Delusion, by Henry WismayerWhy is humankind so fixated on establishing a colony on Mars? asks London-based writer Henry Wismayer. From space evangelists promoting Martian settlement as an insurance policy, to billionaire Jeff Bezos, who said humans should settle on Mars “because it’s cool,” the mission is not running short of advocates. However, in this essay, Wismayer reminds us that some critics expect any future Mars pioneer to end up “irradiated, sick, mad and dead.” Scientists have already looked into the possible effects of prolonged exposure to Martian gravity, and it’s not pretty: muscle shrinking, bones weakening, changes to the central nervous system and other biological modifications to make us all reconsider the journey. “Some researchers have forecast that the future settler, after generations of evolutionary conditioning, will look less like an Übermensch and more like ET,” Wismayer writes. Juliette Portala

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Aug 5 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • sciencebusiness.net
Nationals outlast Phillies after Painter exits post-deadline start early

Andrew Painter, who looked strong, exited early with left hamstring tightness as the Phillies’ post-deadline rotation picture grew more uncertain.

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Aug 5 • 6:45 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Scientists are certain a wayward SpaceX rocket slammed into the moon as predicted

A SpaceX rocket that launched a pair of lunar landers slammed into the moon as predicted on Wednesday after drifting off course for the past year, scientists reported.

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Aug 5 • 6:05 PM EDT • Science • abc7.com
Business Uncertainty Drives Changes in C-Suite Strategy: Sentry

Economic uncertainty—fueled by shifting trade policies, geopolitical instability, and operational disruptions—is driving leaders to rethink planning, risk management, and long-term strategy, according to new research from Sentry Insurance. New data from a survey of more than 600 executives reveals that C-suite confidence has fallen sharply since the start of 2026, with 82% of U.S. executives … Continued

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Aug 5 • 11:29 AM EDT • Business • carriermanagement.com
The Science Lab Where Technicians Are Drowning in Feces

Samples—and a certain stink—are accumulating at Quest Diagnostics thanks to the cyclosporiasis outbreak. “You get used to it.”

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Aug 5 • 10:00 AM EDT • Science • wsj.com
Malaysia Says Investment Pipeline Holds Despite Political Angst

Malaysia continues to attract strong foreign investor interest despite growing political uncertainty following a string of local election setbacks for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition.

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Aug 5 • 4:08 AM EDT • Politics • bloomberg.com
Vikings Training Camp Notes: 8/4 Edition

The Vikings held another training camp practice today, this one in shells. Overall it was a lighter practice- tomorrow’s practice is to be a longer, padded practice, so not as many things to report from this practice, but certainly some tidbids here and there. On the Quarterback Competition Other Notes That’s all I have for […]

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Aug 4 • 8:59 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
NEC Transfers Overseas Network Equipment Resale Business and Other IT Businesses

NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with a consortium led by Assist Group S.r.l. with business leaders who have extensive experience across a wide range of industries to transfer its overseas network equipment resale business—which involves building systems for overseas telecommunications operators and enterprises using network equipment from partner companies—as well as its IT services business for governments and local authorities in certain countries, which includes system development for biometric authentication and smart cities.

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Aug 4 • 6:10 PM EDT • Business • nec.com
The Beauty Of Settled Science

Commenters convinced me I made a subtle mis-step in my framing of Psychology Research Is Mostly Fine. My framing emphasized that social priming studies had failed to replicate, but that many other subfields of psychology hadn’t. This naturally led commenters to point to failed replications in other subfields. Although none of these were as bad as social priming, few or none were entirely problem-free. Instead of emphasizing the difference between social priming and other subfields, I should have emphasized the difference between settled science and novel research. Here are some of my favorite psychology findings: The brain is sculpted by reinforcement learning, and a key driver of this learning is a prediction-error-based algorithm located in the nucleus accumbens and implemented through dopamine. Psychedelic drugs exert their effects through 5-HT2A receptors, pointing to a role for these receptors in some sort of construct like the balance between priors and new evidence. Certain cognitive functions are localized to certain brain areas (for example, impulse control to the frontal lobes; linguistic structure to Broca’s area, linguistic meaning to Wernicke’s area. But injure one of these areas, or render a certain function useless (eg a blind person having no more use for their visual cortex), and these mappings can gradually shift - suggesting that neurons are general-purpose compute whose specialization is a contingent fact about convenience and efficiency rather than a necessity. Most personality traits and general capabilities are about 50% genetic and 50% random, with little role for family environment or childhood history, with a few notable exceptions like partisan preference. Recent research complicates this story, but the further you go from this basic picture, the gnarlier the chains of indirect causation you require. Neurons fire together in “brain waves”, whose exact frequency corresponds with the character of consciousness; These divide neurons into natural subpopulations and linked graphs. The gamma rhythm corresponds surprisingly well to items in conscious awareness. GABA receptors seem to be involved in something like relaxation. By hitting different GABA receptors in different ways, you can modulate the exact type of relaxation you produce. Hitting GABA-A directly is too powerful and can cause dangerous levels of sedation, but allosteric modulation of GABA is an incredibly fruitful strategy that underlies drugs from benzos to barbituates to alcohol. If you know your GABA-A subunits, you can target specific subtypes of relaxation; for example, Ambien hits GABA-A1 and induces sleep. Memory divides somewhat fuzzily into bins of immediate-sensory, short-term, and long-term, with separate retrieval and storage functions, and separate systems for declarative vs. procedural learning. These can be harmed selectively, usually by hippocampal injury, so that some patients can remember their life stories but not form new long-term memories, or learn new skills like bike-riding but not new facts. The exact substrate of memory is unclear but seems to involve new synaptic connections between neurons in at least some way. The ability of modern psychology and psychiatry to treat mental illness is real but limited. SSRIs work for half or slightly fewer than half of patients; antipsychotics work with extreme side effects; benzodiazpines work but produce addiction and tolerance in many (not all) people. Most supplements are stuck in Poor Quality Study Replication Crisis Hell, but melatonin and l-theanine stand out as especially promising. Psychotherapy works with moderate effect size, but (with a few exceptions) seems to be more about the relationship with the provider than the details of the therapy itself. Mental hospitalization can sometimes defuse immediate crises but work less well than mental hospitals would like, with some studies showing overall negative effects. Schizophrenia is mostly genetic, but risk also increases with prenatal infection (especially rubella) and obstetric complications; there is suggestive evidence for roles of social stress and drug use (with psychedelics and marijuana making things worse, and nicotine if anything making things better). Bipolar and schizophrenia are so closely linked on a pathophysiological level that it seems like they might be the same disease; on the clinical level, they do seem to follow two separate courses/prognoses but can sometimes surprise clinicians by eg someone who seemed condemned to permanent schizophrenia unexpectedly recovering. The brain’s native reinforcement learning algorithms cash out in the phenomena of classical and operant conditioning; different reinforcement schedules reinforce at different levels, which can be exploited by bad actors to make especially compelling products (eg slot machines). None of these are immune to doubt. A few are speculative; one or two are genuinely unorthodox. But they’re all a step above one p = 0.049 paper that might not replicate. If they get overturned, they’ll be overturned by the same sort of genuine scientific shift that replaced Ptolemy with Copernicus or Lamarck with Darwin, not some sort of sordid discovery about someone entering random numbers into a spreadsheet. In 2008, Eliezer Yudkowsky wrote about The Beauty Of Settled Science: If you only care about scientific issues that are controversial, you will end up with a head stuffed full of garbage. The media thinks that only the cutting edge of science is worth reporting on. How often do you see headlines like “General Relativity still governing planetary orbits” or “Phlogiston theory remains false”? So, by the time anything is solid science, it is no longer a breaking headline. “Newsworthy” science is often based on the thinnest of evidence and wrong half the time—if it were not on the uttermost fringes of the scientific frontier, it would not be breaking news. Scientific controversies are problems so difficult that even people who’ve spent years mastering the field can still fool themselves. That’s what makes for the heated arguments that attract all the media attention. Worse, if you aren’t in the field and part of the game, controversies aren’t even fun. Don’t be embarrassed to read elementary science textbooks, either. If you want to pretend to be sophisticated, go find a play to sneer at. If you just want to have fun, remember that simplicity is at the core of scientific beauty [...] A steady diet of science news is bad for you: You are what you eat, and if you eat only science reporting on fluid situations, without a solid textbook now and then, your brain will turn to liquid. Psychology isn’t centrally the new paper in Annals Of Recently-Breaking News saying that an n=5 study showing that large portion sizes increase support for terrorism. Psychology is centrally ideas like brain waves, GABA receptors, reinforcement learning, twin studies, and connectionism. People who think differently are worrying too much about BREAKING NEWS!!!, and should stop. The key distinction isn’t “recent research in social psychology” vs. “recent research in cognitive/bio/behavioral psychology”, as my essay last week unfortunately implied. It’s recent research in general vs. the deposit of settled science, battle-tested hypotheses, and carefully-earmarked speculation. And part of the reason social priming in particular was such a disaster was that it defied that heuristic, building itself up over hundreds of studies until it approached or even entered the pantheon of settled science - before collapsing (5-HTTLPR was also sort of like this). This isn’t a claim that settled science is always right - Freud was “settled science” for a long time - just that there’s an intuitive distinction between the level of credence you should have in the existence of power posing vs. the existence of Broca’s Area. (I compounded this error by calling the last post “Psychology Research Is Mostly Fine”, which suggested I was talking about the new research rather than the settled science. I actually meant to distinguish between research-psychology-the-field vs. clinical-psychology-aka-therapy, but this framing unintentionally pushed against the point I wanted to make) Some commenters on the previous article understood this point, but challenged its weight. It’s very cool, they said, to know how many neurons are in which brain lobe, but the main way that Psychology affected their lives was through bad clickbait studies used to buttress dumb policies; some p = 0.049 study says that exposure to microaggressions makes minorities’ brains shrivel into raisins, and now their company has to implement punitive DEI or be sued for hazardous work conditions. I won’t dispute this as an accurate description of how the sausage gets made, but it’s worth examining the trains of thought that connect this observation to a campaign against psychology in general: The dumb woke psychology was wrong and bad, and I don’t have good heuristics for distinguishing dumb woke psychology from other psychology, so I’m going to assume it’s all wrong and bad. The dumb woke psychology was wrong and bad; it seems useful to punish/discredit psychology as a whole to assist my campaign against it, so for propaganda purposes I will try to discredit psychology as a whole. To people in the first camp, my response is: come on, your heuristics aren’t that bad. “Microaggressions makes minorities’ brains shrivel up like raisins” is in the woke category; “the hippocampal theta rhythm seems to be associated with both memory and pathfinding, suggesting an unexpected yet surprisingly compelling relationship between the two” is in the not-woke category, don’t play dumb here. To people in the second camp, my response is: deliberately exaggerated propaganda campaigns are bad and this is a confession, not an excuse. Inability to view science through anything but a political lens was what got us into this problem; doubling down on it is a temporary solution but a recipe for permanent disaster. If you pronounce entire fields of science to be acceptable collateral damage in your campaign against bad political actors, you will alienate not just scientists but patients, clinicians, and general lovers of truth. Instead, you can say the thing you mean - that woke partisans shouldn’t try to occupy and exploit the otherwise-noble science of psychology for their own political gain - and wage the same campaign with a halo rather than a comic-book-villain goatee. From the font of oracular wisdom that is Weird Sun Twitter: [ Vessel Of Spirit@VesselOfSpirit i love you all conditionally but i love the good part of you unconditionally. even if it becomes a very small part 2:11 AM · Jan 22, 2015 1 Reply · 5 Reposts · 29 Likes ](https://x.com/VesselOfSpirit/status/558084551772471298) This is how I feel about psychology1, too, but with a touch more optimism. The good part of psychology is enormous, a hoard of endless treasures. You just have to look past the headlines! 1 To play devil’s advocate - should one always be so magnamious? Astrology? Phrenology? These seem different in that their entire orientation was flawed from the start; they didn’t simply fail to find the correct constellation-personality connections, the whole project of searching for connections between constellations and personality was doomed from the start. More difficult might be asking the same question about education research, which is notoriously bad. I don’t know enough about education research to know if there’s some settled science of correct and enlightening results lurking in the background beyond the day-to-day froth of poorly-conducted and politically-motivated studies. I think if it’s 90% bad, 10% good, it’s correct to call it bad as a compact way of communicating a useful truth; I think psychology is better than that, but admit it’s a tough judgment call.

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Aug 4 • 5:33 PM EDT • Science • astralcodexten.com
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Business uncertainty up sharply as economic headwinds reshape C-suite decision-making

/PRNewswire/ -- C-suite confidence has fallen sharply since the start of 2026. New research from Sentry finds 82% of U.S. executives are more concerned about...

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Aug 4 • 11:08 AM EDT • Business • prnewswire.com
Physics PhDs Are Leaving the US at a Record-high Rate

The exodus of non-US citizens has “certainly” been influenced by science funding and visa policy changes under Trump, a new AIP report says.

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Aug 4 • 10:07 AM EDT • Science • aip.org
NASA Engineers Help Prolong Voyager 2’s Science Mission

By switching off certain powered devices and substituting them with lower-powered alternatives, the team has been able to avoid turning off more science instruments.

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Aug 4 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • jpl.nasa.gov
Politics & Power: Scandals, splits, uncertain road to November mean midterms are still in flux

Scandals, ideological schisms, and foreign‑policy crises have blurred the midterm map. Candidate quality, outside spending, and voter perceptions of the economy — plus President Donald Trump’s outsized role — will determine control of Congress.

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Aug 4 • 7:24 AM EDT • Politics • news4jax.com
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‘I can't be thinking about that:' Moro Ojomo opens up on his contract and future

Moro Ojomo knows his future in Philadelphia is uncertain., but the rising Eagles defensive tackle is focusing solely on another breakout season.

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Aug 4 • 7:00 AM EDT • Sports • nbcsportsphiladelphia.com
I Help Professionals Buy Their Own Businesses: This Is the $1.1 Million Mistake I See All the Time

Waiting to buy a business because of fear or uncertainty often costs professionals significantly more in missed compounding wealth than the risks they are trying to avoid would cost.

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Aug 4 • 6:00 AM EDT • Business • kiplinger.com
Spirit's collapse hits businesses in Detroit Metro's Evans Terminal

Spirit Airlines' exit from Detroit Metro Airport has left vendors in the Evans Terminal facing empty gates, declining sales, uncertainty.

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Aug 4 • 12:02 AM EDT • Business • detroitnews.com
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