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Freeman Health System has appointed Kyle Bridges as interim chief administrative officer of Freeman Neosho Hospital in Missouri.
They're Building Half A Bridge to Save Science...
Today’s post is about science: what you can do now to protect it from unprecedented threats, and how your action is the first half of a long-term program that Congress must take up next. Let me start with describing the embryonic state of science advocacy. There are many well-meaning organizations: the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Research!America, and subject-specific organizations such as the Society for Neuroscience and the American Physical Society. Their general approach is to emphasize the common good: the remarkable value that science and innovation have provided to all Americans. However, these organizations are offering an incomplete solution. Before I start, a preliminary: If you already know about the threat, go ahead and weigh in with OMB at this link. Ideas about what to say come from Research!America and the American Physical Society. You have until Monday, July 13 at 11:59pm Eastern. Then come back here and read the rest of this post. Finally, get in touch with whoever is likely to be your next member of Congress in 2027. The threat: An end to merit-based science… The onslaught of attacks on science is accelerating. It’s not just cuts to grants, which was the last battle. That battle is not done yet, but there is a new and worse threat. Now comes a proposed public rule from the Office of Management and Budget. The rule would take decision-making power over grants away from experts and put it into the hands of political appointees. Former NIH official Elizabeth Ginexi wrote an excellent summary of what OMB is trying to do, which is codify the executive branch’s ability to award or terminate grants, for arbitrary cause or no stated cause. Since World War II, a necessary step in scientific grant-making has been consideration of scientific merit. This approach has made America into a dominant scientific superpower, the envy of the world. Of course, political considerations do come into the mix. The proposed rule tilts the balance dramatically away from merit. …but why? Many people have difficulty comprehending why Russell Vought and OMB would want to damage science in this way. If you’re a working scientist, you are likely to be particularly uncomprehending. Who would hurt an activity so self-evidently good? The answer is: this is part of the program to replace the rule of law with a personalist regime. OMB Director Russell Vought, a Christian nationalist, would like to implement what legal scholars call a “unitary executive,” and what I would call a dictatorship. Or if you like, a personalist authoritarian regime. I am a working scientist. This rule will debilitate my research. It may chill the speech of scientists for speaking freely in the public sphere. It is a form of personalizing power and decision-making within the executive branch. In short, it sacrifices science in the service of tyranny. To Russell Vought, a decrease in the quality of science might be an acceptable cost. He might even consider it an added benefit to weaken a pillar of soft U.S. power based on knowledge and skepticism. The professional societies are building half a bridge The nonprofits are asking you to make public comment. Public comment is like building the first half of a bridge. Before implementation, OMB is compelled by law to have a period of public comment. Rules have to be consistent with the law and the Constitution. They express the federal government’s stance toward how those laws will be implemented. When a presidential administration works in good faith, these public comments are used to inform their eventual action, and sometimes mitigate it. The comment period reflects our First Amendment right to petition our government. The executive branch is then supposed to take those comments into account - completing the bridge between us, the people, and our government. Project 2025 seeks to take away the second half of the bridge. We have to replace it. The first half of the bridge Organizations like AAAS, Research!America, and SfN are partly right. You should certainly comment. Their core model is earnest: if enough of us make noise, then we will achieve change. This idealistic point of view is offered in good faith. That point of view is also currently bullshit. The fundamental reason is that the federal rulemaking process has two parts: There has to be a period of public comment. OMB makes the final rule…but is free to disregard public comment. Oops. That’s a loophole. However, not all is lost. Congress can complete the bridge Congress has enormous power. That power suggests a roadmap for how to proceed. This lawless administration is still going to issue that rule. Nonetheless, your comments still play an essential role. Here are two steps you can take. Step 1: Send your comment to your Representative and Senator. Whether they are Democrats or Republicans, many of them support science. Whatever you wrote as public comment in the Federal Register, also send it to your member of Congress. You can include information about jobs in your district or state by looking at Joshua Weitz’s ScienceMatters interactive map. Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and give your town, zip code, or state, then deliver your message. Step 2: Politicize the hell out of science. You heard me, politicize it as an issue. We hear a lot from the old scientific establishment about science being nonpartisan. This is obsolete, sentimental thinking. Under normal conditions, it was true. But we can no longer make that assumption. We can keep on pretending, but we’re putting science at risk. There is a way forward. Rules are subordinate to the law…and Congress makes laws. Therefore Congress can step in. In this fall’s election, it is likely that Democrats will retake the House of Representatives. That puts at least one chamber of Congress in the hands of Democrats. They are far more inclined than the current Congress to investigate and legislate. This opens a path to undoing the damage. It also creates a permission structure for pro-science Republicans to find a way back from the brink. We have to encourage them. In the House, every district is up every two years. In your district, contact both of the major party candidates. If your state has a Senate race, contact those candidates too. Specifically mention the proposed OMB rule. Ask for two things: For this year’s appropriations process in August and September, ask that amendments be added to stop the implementation of the new rule. Those amendments should support peer-reviewed science and stop political interference. Looking ahead to next year, ask the Congressman/Congresswoman/Senator to work to hold hearings in 2027 on the importance and benefits of peer-reviewed science for health and prosperity. What hearings and amendments will accomplish Congress can use its investigatory power to summon heads of agencies and the director of the OMB. That will allow fact-finding regarding the consequences of this rule. Congress can override the rule through the appropriations process. They can write into statute a requirement to follow peer review and best scientific practices. In this way, Congress can stop the attacks on science. Postscript: Moving forward Now I have a request for you, to help me. As many of you know, I ran for Congress in order to save democracy and science. Although I did not win, that battle continues by other means. I met and heard from thousands of supporters both here in New Jersey and nationally. I learned that pro-science, pro-democracy activists have the potential to become a much greater force. In the weeks and months ahead, I will be building ways to harness that energy. I will be announcing those plans soon. In the meantime, an important step is to wind down the Congressional campaign, which has a few remaining bills to pay. Please help me retire that last debt.
Maryland attorney general sues Education Department to stop school mental health grant cuts
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown filed a new lawsuit to stop the U.S. Department of Education from ending federally funded school mental health grants.
US, Canada strike deal to open bridge linking Detroit and Windsor after dispute delayed launch
The U.S. and Canada settled on favorable terms on how to administer tolls on the newly-constructed Gordie-Howe International Bridge. It will open on July 27.
In R.I., incumbent governor faces rocky road to reelection
Polls show Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee 20 percentage points behind in a Democratic primary rematch amid political fallout from the Washington Bridge closure.
Jeff Bridges recalls Robin Williams ‘busting everybody’s chops’ during ‘late nights’ on set: ‘Brilliant’
Bridges said the “Good Will Hunting” star “would get this kind of devilish look on his face” and command the attention of the entire crew: “He was amazing.”
Free workshop in Swisher to help beginning farmers with business planning
Practical Farmers of Iowa is inviting beginning farmers to a free Beginning Farmer Business Workshop on Monday, Aug. 10, at Cedar Ridge Distillery, 1441 Marak Road in Swisher. The one-day event is designed to help attendees build the business skills and connections needed for long-term success. Beginning farmers face a range of challenges, from accessing […]
NASA is creating a fifth state of matter on the ISS, thanks to an upgrade to a mini-fridge-sized quantum lab
A new set of upgrades to the International Space Station’s Cold Atom Laboratory is allowing NASA to probe quantum mechanics at the coldest possible temperatures while in zero gravity.
Firmware update bricks Hue Bridge Pro devices; Philips gives free replacements
Affected users will have to configure their lights and settings all over again.
Challenges and opportunities for diabetes treatment and policy right now
Johns Hopkins experts share insights from their recent research on diabetes management, disease effects, and insulin affordability.
Scientists Found Invisible Gold Hiding in The Seafloor at Record-Breaking Concentrations
But should we mine it?
Rep. Kennedy calls on House to pass Nexus for Families Act
Kennedy is calling on the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the legislation right now.
Which Pittsburgh bridge should be added to the science center's miniature railroad? Voting now open
It's time for the Kamin Science Center's miniature railroad to get a little bit bigger, and Pittsburghers can vote for which addition they want to see next.
Chelsea’s Jesse Derry set to join Sporting CP on season-long loan
The 19-year-old has signed a new six-year deal at Stamford Bridge but is finalising a loan move to Portugal for the 2026-27 campaign.
Clarksville businesses, leaders concerned about proposed changes to Clark Memorial Bridge
A proposed traffic change on Clark Memorial Bridge is raising concerns among Clarksville business owners and local leaders.
Bridgeport business owner sentenced after sexually assaulting female customers in store basement
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (WTNH) — A Bridgeport store owner convicted of sexually assaulting and unlawfully restraining female customers was sentenced to 86 months in prison, suspended after 17 months, on …
Key Bridge collapse: Baltimore, business owners fight Dali owners’ bid to limit liability
Baltimore, Baltimore County, and a business coalition are pushing back against the owners and operators of the Dali.
The New Era of College Athletics Has Gone a Bridge Too Far
Author: Matthew J Williams1 1Department of Education, The University of Virginia’s College at Wise, Wise, VA, USA Matthew J. Williams D.S.M., M.B.A., M.S., is an Associate Professor of…
AT&T to Offer Everbridge Critical Event Management Solution
AT&T will offer enterprise and public sector customers Everbridge 360, designed to help organizations communicate faster when it matters most.
From Wimbledon to World Cup Warm-Ups, These Are the Buzziest Parties of the Summer Sports Season
The summer sports season is officially in session! Wimbledon is heating up as the annual British tennis tournament moves from the qualifiers to the main competition, while this year’s epic FIFA World Cup, taking place across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, continues apace. Here, find Vogue’s roundup of all the starriest—and most stylish—sports parties of the season.
These Robot Legs Helped Me Hike 12,000 Steps in the Grand Canyon, Without My Cane
I wore this robot exoskeleton in the Grand Canyon to see if it could help me manage my spinal stenosis and keep pace with my athlete daughter.
Scientists create first man-made cell that can eat and grow
For centuries, humanity has wrestled with a profound question: what truly separates non-living matter from actual, breathing life? We used to think it took a mysterious, magical spark to bridge that g...
Oscar Health's Mark Bertolini on making 'healthcare work for all'
A former CEO of Aetna and Bridgewater (and current chairman of the board of Verizon) brings his leadership philosophy to a challenger brand.
Senior Center this week: Games galore and health checks
Waltham’s Council on Aging operates out of the William F. Stanley Senior Center at 488 Main St. The spacious, well-equipped center offers abundant
World Cup a winner for local businesses
Bars like Olde Magoun's Saloon and Phoenix Landing have seen unprecedented sales. And businesses that aren't bars are also benefitting.
Kansas' Once-Thriving Railroad Bridge Is Now A Vibrant Entertainment District With River Views And Local Eats
Rock Island Bridge in Kansas City was an abandoned relic of the meatpacking and railway days but now is a buzzy riverfront spot for locals and tourists alike.
Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli commits future to Chelsea by signing scholarship terms
The central midfielder turned down many leading European clubs in favour of continuing his development at Stamford Bridge.
Vehicle fire spreads to commercial business and apartments in Cambridge
The Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal says a vehicle caught fire on July 3, then spread to the building it was parked under in Cambridge.
Energy scientist Chen Peipei leaves Cambridge to build her own lab in Hong Kong
Andrew Mortensen Earns Georgia Tech MS in Computer Science
Woodbridge, CT resident Andrew Mortensen graduates from Georgia Tech with a Master of Science in Computer Science during the 270th Commencement exercises. (156 characters)
Poll: Americans are willing to bridge political divides at July Fourth parties, over dinner and more
But they’re sharply divided over whether they would be willing to marry or live with partners with whom they strongly disagree politically.
Chicago police looking for burglars who hit 4 Bridgeport businesses overnight, including Stussy's Diner
Top science research jobs lack diversity. A California college program aims to curb that
The climate of STEM higher education programs can be unwelcoming for some minority populations.
Pickleball tournament raises over $40,000 for community health center
Through three days of pickleball, Elevated Community Health’s 2nd annual Elevated Paddle Battle tournament raised over $40,000. The tournament, which ran from June 26-28 in Breckenridge’s Carter Park, featured 100 players from 12 states, all...
CommonSpirit Health says radiology disruptions delaying some imaging in Chattanooga
WTVC NewsChannel 9 provides coverage of news, sports, weather and community events throughout the Chattanooga, Tennessee area, including East Ridge, East Brainerd, Ooltewah, Middle Valley, Cleveland, Georgetown, Hopewell, Dayton, Dunlap and Jasper, Tennessee, Fort Oglethorpe, Chickamauga and Dalton, Georgia.
MD’s first ‘human composting’ facility is open for business
A facility in Elkridge turns human remains into soil, after the passage of a 2024 law legalizing the process.
Olivia Wilde says Jeff Bridges uses an unhinged technique before emotional scenes
The actress recalls her time working with the Oscar winner on "Tron: Legacy."
Rejection of Tewkesbury business park expansion is overturned
Planning inspector approves major expansion for Brockeridge Farm business centre.
Detroit youth gain access to global entertainment industry through Usher internship program
The program placed the interns directly on the R&B tour and four additional participants in awards-show shadowing roles.
Supreme Court declines to halt daily $800 fine for ex-Fox News reporter refusing to divulge sources
The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to intervene after a judge ordered an $800-a-day fine for Catherine Herridge, a former Fox News reporter, if she refuses to reveal her confidential source for stories about a Chinese American scientist who was investigated by the FBI but never charged.
Ben Franklin Bridge's 100th anniversary celebration will feature live entertainment and special light shows on July 11
The free event in Camden will include food trucks, carnival rides, historical exhibits and blue and green light displays after sunset.
STEM isn't always welcoming to diversity. A California college program aims to curb that
A state-funded program is trying to diversify the sciences by providing mentors, relationship-building, stipends and more.
Video shows masked thieves smashing glass, grabbing items during Bowie business break-in
WBFF Fox45 provides local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of events and items of interest in the community, sports and entertainment programming for Baltimore and nearby towns and communities in Maryland, including Annapolis, Crofton, Glen Burnie, Linthicum, Pasadena, Severn, Cockeysville, Dundalk, Essex, Parkville, Owings Mills, Towson, White Marsh, Woodlawn, Hampstead, Sykesville, Taneytown, Westminster, Elkton, Perryville, Pt. Deposit, Rising Sun, Aberdeen, Abingdon, Bel Air, Edgewood, Fallston, Havre De Grace, Columbia, Elkridge, Ellicott City, Fulton, and Ocean City.
Operations workforce powers ORNL’s autonomous science future
Behind every self-driving laboratory at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a team people most never see. Facilities and Operations workers are building and maintaining the infrastructure that makes autonomous science possible. More than a dozen self-driving labs operate at ORNL, placing the Tennessee national lab among the first research institutions in the world to create this autonomous laboratory model at scale.
New Illinois Republican Party chair hopes for ‘JB fatigue’ in tough midterm
In an interview with Capitol News Illinois, Bob Grogan, who was elected party chair in May, said he knows what bridges he needs to build for the party to succeed in the 2026 midterms.
Millie Bobby Brown gets 'secondhand ick' from 'Enola Holmes 3' costar Louis Partridge’s audition horror story
'So embarrassing!' Millie Bobby Brown gets 'secondhand ick' after hearing her 'Enola Holmes 3' costar Louis Partridge's audition horror story during a game of 'Lie vs. Lie' with 'Entertainment Weekly.'
How Bridge Entertainment Labs' Steven Olikara Is Building Community Across America's Deepest Divides
Steven Olikara identifies a "division industrial complex" where media and politics profit from societal polarization, fostering hatred based on false narratives. To counter this, Olikara, drawing from...
How Bridge Entertainment Labs' Steven Olikara Is Building Community Across America's Deepest Divides
Steven Olikara identifies a "division industrial complex" where media and politics profit from societal polarization, fostering hatred based on false narratives. To counter this, Olikara, drawing from his experiences in music and politics, founded Bridge Entertainment Labs.
Operations workforce powers ORNL’s autonomous science future
Behind every self-driving laboratory at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a team most people never see. Facilities and Operations (F&O) workers are building and maintaining the infrastructure that makes autonomous science possible.
Sony will cease production of discs for new PlayStation games in 2028
New games sold for PlayStation consoles will only be available digitally and won’t be sold on discs effective January 2028, Sony has announced. The move applies to all PlayStation games released from that point on, including those made by Sony and those released by third parties. The PlayStation group calls the change “a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,” according to a PlayStation blog post reviewed by Game File in advance of its publication. As movies, TV and music have shifted from physical media to an age of downloads and streaming, Sony’s move could speed the demise of physical media in a gaming. The industry has offered consumers games via cartridges, cassettes, floppy discs, CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays across a 50-year stretch. Sony has been reporting to investors in recent years that PlayStation games have been increasingly purchased as downloads, not as discs. The most recent figures show nearly four in five purchases of full games for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 were purchased digitally in the past year. Stats like that may cause today’s news to carry an air of the inevitable. But Sony’s declaration for 2028 is still likely to produce a shock, as the biggest gaming platform on the planet that uses game discs leaves them behind. Discs going away, but the fate of game boxes is unknown Sony is committing to still selling games in physical retailers even after they drop discs in 2028. Just how those games will be sold—in boxes with codes inside, as cards marked with digital redemption codes—is unclear. Digital games will also continue to be sold in the online PlayStation Store. New games released for PlayStation consoles prior to January 2028 will be unaffected by the policy change, Sony says. That means the PS5 games of 2027, be they a new Madden, a new God of War, a new Call of Duty, a new Sly Cooper (one can dream?), would still potentially be offered on disc. PlayStation 6 implications Sony’s timeline for a transition to a no-disc era will also spin up more speculation about the timing and configuration of Sony’s next-generation console, the probable PlayStation 6. “This pretty much guarantees that PS6 won’t arrive until 2028 at the earliest,” Piers Harding-Rolls, senior games research analyst at Ampere Analysis tells Game File. Harding-Rolls also concludes from today’s news that “the base version of a PS6 will not include a physical media drive,” as Sony looks to keep costs down on the device. Sony itself is saying nothing about the PS6 today: not its timing, nor how it might or might not support internal or external disc drives in order to run disc-based PS4 and PS5 games, should the console be backwards compatible. The many signs this was coming Industry support for games being released on physical media has been waning. As has consumer interest in them. PC games effectively went all-digital years ago, thanks to the popularity of playing games through Steam and other digital storefronts. The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that kept much of the global population home helped shift shopping patterns toward downloads. Sony’s own data shows PlayStation game downloads being an uncommon consumer choice a decade ago and now becoming the norm. On consoles, physical media has been in such decline that Sony and Microsoft both launched their current gen Xbox Series and PS5 consoles in 2020 with cheaper versions that lacked disc drives. In early 2024, Phil Spencer, then head of Xbox, told me that ““[w]e ship games physically and digitally, and we’re really just following what the customers are doing.” He added that the game industry had become an outlier in still supporting disc-based entertainment, even as movies and TV have bailed on discs in favor of downloads and steaming: “Gaming consoles themselves have kind of become the last consumer electronic device that has a drive. And this is a real issue, just in terms of the number of manufacturers that are actually building drives and the cost associated with those. And when you think about cogs that we’re going to go put in a console—and as you have fewer suppliers and fewer buyers—the cost of the drive does have an impact.” Last year, the Nintendo’s Switch 2, which uses cartridges rather than discs, introduced the concept of game-key cards, which are physical media that contain no game, just a prompt for a download. Even disc-based games aren’t what they once were, now frequently containing just stubs of games rather than the whole thing. The website Does It Play has tested over 3000 games and found that, for example, that the disc version of this year’s hit 007: First Light, only contained the game’s first mission, with the rest needing to be downloaded. Beyond all that, last week brought the news that Grand Theft Auto VI, likely the biggest game launch this decade, will debut for PS5 and Xbox Series without a disc-based version. Today’s big news comes to you for free. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and ensure more of my work is possible, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Discs helped define PlayStation However the trends in entertainment may be going, it is still remarkable to see PlayStation ditch discs given their importance in PlayStation history: In the late 1990s, the first PlayStation’s support for games on relatively cheap CD-ROMs instead of traditional game cartridges allowed the upstart console to outmaneuver cartridge-based systems from Nintendo and Sega, as it drove down game prices down in the process. (The cheaper disc format even prompted Final Fantasy VII maker Square to taunt Nintendo in a magazine ad, saying that if the game was “available on cartridge, it’d retail for around $1200.”) PlayStation devices often doubled as machines for watching movies and TV on the latest disc-based formats. In the late 2000s, for example, Sony’s pricy PS3 gained traction as a go-to device for playing then-novel Blu-Ray discs. In 2013, Sony effectively roasted the digital game-sharing restrictions proposed by rival Microsoft for its upcoming Xbox One console by showing how games could be shared for the then-upcoming PS4. In a 21-second clip that has over 20 million views on YouTube, one PlayStation executive simply handed a game box—presumably with disc inside—to another, who said “thanks.” Sony’s possible motivations The PlayStation announcement today cites “consumer preferences” and a shift away from discs among “the broader entertainment industry,” but does not delve into the decision-making process that brought Sony to this point. Sony is not discussing the economics of this move (I asked!), but there are a number of potential factors: Abandoning discs will spare Sony the cost of manufacturing and shipping them, which analysts and industry veterans I spoke to said could account for $1 or so of a game’s retail price. For first-party games, that’s direct savings for Sony, though the amount is limited by the winnowing percentage of people who were even buying the disc-based versions. For third-party games, Sony could pass the savings on to partners or just retain the better profit margin for themselves. As the 2024 comments from Phil Spencer alluded to, leaving discs behind could mean leaving disc-drives behind, allowing Sony to produce consoles more cheaply. Switching to digital-only for games could diminish the risks of copies of new games leaking. It would also seemingly make second-hand sales of used games impossible, pushing more people to buy their own copies of games. These economic benefits for Sony could be boons for the games industry overall, Ampere analyst Piers Harding-Rolls tells Game File. Among other things, it could free publishers and retailers from having to worry about securing an inventory of game discs when trying to sell games, he noted. “If there is a way to streamline the business of games retail, I generally think it’s a good thing for the industry as it removes unnecessary costs,” Harding-Rolls said. “This will help offset pressure on margins from other directions – development and staffing costs for example.” Should the industry shift from game boxes that contain discs to smaller, cheaper game cards, Harding-Rolls said, that reduces pressure on publishers and retailers. “The advantage of everything going digital for the industry is that sales can be tracked much more easily and there is less commercial risk for publishers wanting to continue selling via retail,” he said. The shift to no discs will also likely impact game development timelines, as developers will no longer face the same urgency to have a build ready to submit to PlayStation for the production of a disc, as industry experts noted around GTA VI’s no-disc news last week. Instead, projects may gain weeks of development time, in the event delivery deadlines for platform approval move closer to release date. Preservationists’ likely worries While millions of gamers have shifted to digital, there are still people who associate game discs—and only game discs—with actual ownership of PlayStation games. That portion of the gaming community spoke up last week about wanting to buy a version of GTA VI that they could hold in their hands, could lend to a friend and could potentially pop into a well-preserved PS5 console three decades from now and still see it run. Such gamers didn’t want to worry that they’d merely purchased a digital copy that could lose access to the game if, say, the company behind the game someday turns of the servers that transmit downloadable copies. Digital copies of games are inherently less long-lasting, because consumers aren’t actually buying a game (on a disc), just buying access to the game. The fine print in online gaming shops notes this, as does a recent law that went on the books in California in 2025. That lasw requires game publishers doing business in the state to refrain from words like “sell” when offering digital copies of games, unless they explicitly tell consumers that what’s being sold isn’t the game itself but a potentially revocable license to access it. A Sony spokesperson noted to Game File that “[w]ith all digital content, including games, movies, and music, players are purchasing a personal license for non-commercial use.” Regarding the fears of PlayStation games being lost to time in an all-digital era, the rep also noted that Sony remains “committed to delivering experiences from past generations to the new platforms our players are using.” They noted that PlayStation has used emulation and remasters to keep offering its classic games to modern gamers. It’s true that many consumers have become accustomed to not having physical copies of new music albums or movies, but the relative precariousness of digital copies of games is in fact being highlighted today by…. Sony’s other big announcement: the upcoming closure of the PS3 and PS Vita online stores Sony said today that it will be closing the online marketplaces for its PlayStation 3 console and PS Vita handheld in most countries in July 2027 (sooner elsewhere: August 2026 for the PS3 store Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua; late 2026 for PS3 in other Latin American countries and the Middle East). “We know this news may be disappointing to PS3 and PS Vita players who hold a special place in their hearts for this generation of gaming,” Sony said in its announcement, saying the move “was not an easy decision for us to make.” Sony said that PS3 and Vita marketplaces “are no longer able” to support modern commerce systems, prompting a “need” to close the shops and focus on more modern PlayStation platform stores. The news may spark some deja vu. Sony announced back in March 2021 that it planned to take the PS3, Vita and PlayStation Portable marketplaces offline that summer. The move would have caused some 2,000 digital-only games to become unavailable for new purchasers, according to a VGC analysis at the time. Fans complained loudly. By April 2021, Sony walked back the PS3 and Vita shop closures, with then PlayStation boss Jim Ryan saying “it’s clear that we made the wrong decision here.” This time around, Sony is giving a longer notice period in most regions. The closure of those stores is still likely to cut off access to new purchases of digital-only PS3 and Vita games. The current PlayStation 5 marketplace sells PS5 and PS4 games, as well as a selection of PS1 and PS2 games. It does not sell PS3 games, because games for that platform can’t run on the system (some are offered via a PlayStation Plus streaming option). Vita games also aren’t sold via PS5. Sony says digitally purchased PS3 and Vita games will be downloadable after the stores’ shutdowns “for the foreseeable future.” Sony’s move contrasts with Microsoft’s Xbox platform, which continues to sell and support games from all four Xbox console generations. But it puts it in line with Nintendo, which disabled purchases in the marketplace for its Wii console (a contemporary of the PS3) in 2019. Nintendo discontinued purchases in the online shop for its 3DS portable (a contemporary of the Vita) in 2023. The big questions about Sony’s 2028 post-disc era Will Microsoft follow suit, ending support for new disc-based games on Xbox platforms and therefore all game consoles, too? Whether Microsoft does or not, will third-parties that can no longer release games on discs for PlayStation, simply ditch the disc options across the board? Given the GTA VI no-disc experiment launching this November, will more game publishers decide to forgo disc-based offerings even in 2027? How will no-disc PS5/6 games be packaged and sold in brick-and-mortar retail stores? What becomes of game sharing in an all-digital era? Will Sony modify its current set-up, which currently allows some sharing of digital games across a pair of consoles, to allow more casual lending? (See for example, Nintendo’s year-old system of letting players lend a digital game to another player in a “family group” for up to 14 days.) Will there be a version of a PS6 with a disc drive? Or will a drive be offered as an add-on? And how will gamers who want to retain access to PS4/PS5 disc-based games react to whichever configurations Sony chooses to offer? What will the final disc-based PlayStation game be?
What older adults need to know before taking a GLP-1 medication to lose weight
Starting Wednesday, millions of Medicare-qualifying adults will have access to popular medications for weight loss at deep discounts through a temporary federal program called the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge.
No injuries after fire sparks outside Morehead City carpentry business
Morehead City Fire-EMS was called to the fire at Old Salt Carpentry in the 2500 block of Bridges Street after 9:30 p.m.
Initiatives To Bridge The Digital Divide For Small Business
Nourish + Bloom Market exemplifies the way small businesses can harness technology to address community needs, and how industry partners such as AT&T can support them.
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion reveals Nintendo Switch 2 physical release with full game on cartridge
There’s finally some news about the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 version of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, as a physical release has now been revealed. To clarify, this is a true physical version with the game on the cartridge. It will not be a game-key card, which has drawn ire from collectors. The news about the physical version of The...
Trafalgar Entertainment Announces Acquisition Of The London Theatre Company
Trafalgar Entertainment is delighted to announce its acquisition of the London Theatre Company (LTC). | The deal includes The Bridge Theatre and a King’s Cross venue which hosts immersive entertainment business, Lightroom.
Palmetto Sports Daily: Hornets make big moves, 4th of July food draft begins
The crew has more on the Charlotte Hornets’ big offseason moves, including the trades of both LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges.
Netflix and Superheroes Are Having a Rough Stretch on Streaming....
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) I have a quick prediction before we start today’s article: You might see this data in future news articles. Not my specific charts or analysis, but the core trend I’ve been monitoring—Netflix is having a lackluster Q2—will become inescapable. Often, folks want to know “What does the data say?” Well, that’s what it says. I haven’t seen this analysis hit the trades really yet, but I have a feeling some other outlets are going to start making this case soon. Remember, you read it here first. You probably have read about the problems facing superhero films at the box office this weekend. Well, this week, I explore whether superheroes are dying on TV as well! And the data says: definitely maybe! We have a lot to cover in today’s Streaming Ratings Report, which covers the two weeks of 18-May and 25-May. Today, I’m just looking at TV, like Netflix’s disappointing Q2, superhero shows underwhelming, a few TV shows dropping off the charts, The Pitt finally ending its epic run on the viewership charts (and whether “view counts” change its status as one of the biggest shows of all time), all the flops, bombs and misses, and a whole lot more. Tomorrow, I’ve got a great rundown of the film side of things. Let’s dive right in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, Showlabs, TV Time trend data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of May 18th to May 31st, 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Television - Netflix’s Q2 Slump Continues Having analyzed streaming ratings for going on half a decade, I have learned to trust my gut, but I’m always relieved when I can find actual data to back it up. For example, after a string of very popular shows like Stranger Things, Bridgerton, The Lincoln Lawyer and The Night Agent came out, week after week, in January and February, my gut wondered if Netflix had enough new and returning TV shows to sustain them throughout the year. Since then, Netflix’s post-March slate of shows has not impressed me. This week seemed to feature a potential new hit, but then, like a classic Duffer Bros. TV show, there was a twist. I speak of The Boroughs, Netflix’s latest (and last) Duffer Bros. produced show. The pitch is “Stranger Things with older actors”. And it topped the Nielsen charts: With just two weeks of viewership, The Boroughs would have been a top 25 debut show last year: But here’s the twist: Netflix has already cancelled The Boroughs! What happened? Likely a few things. First, the show didn’t do as well globally as it did in the US. As What’s on Netflix showed, it lagged behind several other shows that got cancelled. Second, its completion rate was likely low; after an initial burst of interest, it quickly dropped off on the Samba TV and Luminate charts. Third, the Duffer Bros. left Netflix for Paramount, and that may have factored into Netflix’s decision here. (Though I tend to believe that if a show is doing well, Netflix would have kept greenlighting seasons.) Still, just because I can explain why Netflix may have cancelled this show doesn’t mean I’m justifying it. In particular, as I’ve noted before, Netflix is losing a lot of their bigger shows as they reach their natural ends, and they need to replace those shows. This show had the hallmarks of a big new genre show, and it’s their biggest hit of the last few months (in the US at least), but now it’s done. Netflix’s other show this week—The Four Seasons, the second season of the “hit” show from last year—definitely disappointed. Its sophomore season had about half the viewership of the first, only 12.7 million hours. It also only had a two week run on Samba TV, and its numbers were all down on Luminate too. In other words, even with two successes, the Q2 slump for Netflix looks real: I could add to the list of disappointments: Both Lord of the Files and Man on Fire had short runs on the Nielsen charts. Running Point’s sophomore season also opened to about half its viewership, similar to The Four Seasons. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’s second season—see below—didn’t even make any of the three viewership charts I track, unlike the first season. Netflix is absolutely having a dismal second three months of 2026. If this Nielsen data is any indication, and I think it is, I think this will show up in Netflix’s engagement report, and maybe even their financial outcomes. And the rest of June doesn’t look much better. We have two hit shows coming back—Sweet Magnolias, one of their quietest big shows, and Avatar: The Last Airbender, a big hit for them in 2024—but the other big swings are limited series crime thrillers i.e. no future season potential. Like I said above, sometimes when I uncover a juicy nugget like this, other outlets end up writing very similar articles mimicking the data without credit. We’ll see if that happens this time! Share Television - The State of Superhero Shows on Streaming When I first heard the pitch for Spider-Noir—a Sony TV show on Prime Video that binge-released eight episodes first on MGM+ then on Prime Video two days later—I had my doubts. It’s a live-action Spider-Man show set in the 1930s, starring Nicholas Cage, based on a cameo of a character in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. No, seriously, that’s the pitch. That could either go terrifically well or horribly wrong. Great because, Spider-Man. He’s the biggest superhero we have. I’ve seen tracking numbers that put the new _Spider-Man: Brand New Da_y as the blockbuster of the year and initial pre-sales back that up. And yet this Spider-Noir pitch feels very esoteric. (Also, the eight-episode binge release feels very “Amazon copying Netflix” again.) So what’s the data say? And what does this say about the future of superhero shows?
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