SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " happi " 146 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
I built 'stable' life and career, then quit; moved to Hungary
I spent years building a stable life in Scotland, then decided to quit my job and move to a new country. I'm struggling to find work, but I'm happier.
Kroger's 3,000 Corporate Job Cuts Made the News, But the Real Test Is What It Does With the Savings
Cutting costs strengthens a business when the savings are reinvested in better operations, happier customers, and long-term value creation.
The science of bouncing back
On Oct. 14, Truwit joined Dr. Lauri Santos, professor of Yale University’s popular ‘Psychology and the Good Life,’ and host of ‘The Happiness Lab’ podcast, for a live taping at the Boston Museum of Science.
Big Week For Red Wings 40-Goal Scorers
Alex DeBrincat signed a contract extension with the Detroit Red Wings this week, and the Hockeytown faithful couldn’t be happier. […]
Tamaqua Choose Happiness competition offers $50K to new businesses
Three winners of the Tamaqua Choose Happiness Business Plan Competition will share $50,000 in startup funding for new businesses in municipalities comprising the Tamaqua Area School District.
NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine Department Completes Conservation of Major Works by Black Artists at Harlem Hospital
NYC Health + Hospitals’ Arts in Medicine department today announced the completion of conservation work on several of the most significant works by Black
Brooklyn Nets Could Steal Karl-Anthony Towns From Knicks
The future of Karl-Anthony Towns with the New York Knicks will be one of the top stories of the entire NBA season. Towns has made multiple public comments expressing unhappiness over the contract negotiations with the Knicks. It appears that both sides are extremely far apart, despite Towns willing to take a discount to stay […] The post Brooklyn Nets Could Steal Karl-Anthony Towns From Knicks appeared first on HEAVY.
New PBS docuseries asks how Minnesotans pursue happiness
MINNEAPOLIS — Happiness comes in many forms. But Minnesota has as much of it as anybody, argue the makers of a new docuseries “Pursuit of Happiness.” The three-episode limited series,
Scientists Say the Secret to a Happier, Healthier Society May Begin in Childhood
How children are raised may matter for social well-being worldwide, with surveys across three culturally different countries linking supportive childhoods to adults’ trust and sense of belonging. At home, a child seeking comfort depends on a caregiver’s response, while time for free play offers room to explore. A University of Nottingham-led study linked these experiences,
Jeff Kizer doesn’t equate money with happiness. But his future concerns him.
among a handful of participants selected to work one-on-one with a financial expert for CNN’s Savings Challenge. This story was originally featured in the October 2 Savings Challenge newsletter.
Trump wants Talarico and Paxton to debate. Talarico couldn't be happier
When Democratic nominee James Talarico stopped holding campaign events in the Texas Senate race, his Republican opponent Ken Paxton saw an opening to pounce.
Trump wants Talarico and Paxton to debate. Talarico couldn't be happier
No debate has been scheduled so far. Paxton has not publicly responded to Trump's debate demand.
Who Won August and September: Original Films or Franchises?
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) I just heard someone say that if you’re reading a pundit or data analyst, and they don’t tell you that they got anything wrong, they’re not a pundit but an “influencer”. I agree with that. You have to tell your audience when you get things wrong, or they won’t (or shouldn’t) trust you as much. Today, we’ve got another edition of “What I Got Right, What I Got Wrong”. In general, I’m patting myself on the back (and patting very hard) about a few things like IP at the box office, LIV golf, horror films, crowdfunding movies, superheroes, and old people going to the theaters. That said, I also made a couple of data mistakes on the streaming bubble popping and HBO’s datecdotes, so I’m not perfect. But first, I need your feedback... Subscribe Follow-Ups: What Should We Call Mid-Budget Movies Which Aren’t Cinematic Enough for Theaters But Are Too Expensive to Make Money on Streaming? After I asked for feedback on what we should call straight-to-streaming films that are too big to pencil out on streaming but not really big enough to resonate in theaters, I got some great suggestions from you all, including... “Moldilocks” from John Aboud “Little Big Indie” from Travis Frick1 “Midflicks” from Jonathan Funke. “Extra-Medium” from Jona Nwuke. (Read the explanation in the footnote.) Between these and Brandon Katz—who suggested “Bermuda Budget Triangle”, “The Platform Gap” and “The Distribution Deadzone”—we’ve got some excellent suggestions. And they’re better than my suggestion, the “Streaming Budget Dead Zone”, so let’s take a poll! The winning entry becomes the new term. Loading... RIGHT: LIV Golf is Fully Bankrupt…Is Anyone Else Next? A few years ago, I was always a bit perplexed at all the articles I’d read praising LIV Golf and their strategy to disrupt the PGA. LIV Golf, a brand new professional golf league, offered PGA stars ten times what they made on the PGA Tour to join their new league. And folks praised this strategy for its initial “success” in that a lot of big names did indeed leave the PGA. Yeah, of course the players came over. LIV Golf paid them so, so, so much more! But LIV Golf hadn’t discovered a way to increase potential revenue. So think about this in basic business terms… They paid much more in costs… …but had no real way to increase revenue. That’s not a strategy! That’s deficit financing. It won’t work unless you bankrupt the competition (and then turn around and pay those same golfers much, much less). It’s not a sustainable strategy and only lasts as long as the company/person/nation backing it decides they’re cool with losing money. For LIV Golf, that meant Middle East oil wealth, in particular Saudi Arabian money. Clearly, the current Iran War has hurt Middle East finances, so they need to trim their more exorbitant spending. And LIV Golf was part of that trimming. This should be a major warning for others. TGL’s parent company, TMRW Sports, just got a $1 billion valuation, despite TGL’s (the indoor golf league) horrible TV viewership of less than half a million viewers per match. Unrivaled, the women’s basketball league, just secured a $650 valuation, despite its horrible TV viewership and a new rival (Project B) entering the scene next year. To relate this to streaming, Hollywood should ask which streamers may have wealthy patrons funding their losses. (Let’s be clear: Google, Amazon and Apple.) Could those patrons lose their appetite? For Amazon, probably not. But Apple has a new boss, so maybe! WRONG: My Analysis of the Streaming Bubble Was Missing a Week I’m going to be congratulating myself a lot today, but I make mistakes too, like this data goof. When I last compiled the data on the decline in TV shows, I was missing one week at the end of June. If you look at the first image, you can see that one week was mislabelled as “July”. Mainly, this image got updated to show a 27% decline, not 29%: This change doesn’t really impact the overall analysis, but it is two percent better. By the way, through the third quarter, the decline increased and it’s now a 30% decrease since 2022. (I’ll write/visualize this in an upcoming article.) But I want you to trust me and my data. Especially these days, when many people are using LLMs that I know are inserting faulty data into their charts, I want to keep earning my audience’s faith. So that’s the accurate data. RIGHT: IP Remains Very, Very Popular In July, I wrote a giant (and I mean giant) article on Backrooms, Obsession, and the box office, going over what we know, what we don’t know about what works in theaters, looking at YouTubers, IP, the horror genre, comic book movies, and a whole lot more. The month of August really tested a lot of my theses and, being honest, mostly supported my arguments. Let’s start with IP. Looking at 8-Aug (the weekend after Spider-Man: Brand New Day came out) to 18-Sep (the weekend that Resident Evil came out, which I think provides a nice bookend to this time period), there were seven films based on pre-existing IP: Resident Evil (2026) ($126 million) Practical Magic 2 ($65 million) _Insidious: Out of the Furthe_r ($65 million) Coyote Vs. Acme ($59 million) Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie ($53 million) Tony ($15 million) Super Troopers 3 ($7 million) Compare those to the notable original films from the past month—I actually could have included more movies, but here are just thirteen, bringing us to an even twenty films—including.... The End of Oak Street ($54 million) Buddy ($26 million) Mutiny ($15 million) By Any Means ($15 million) The Dog Stars ($14 million) Runner ($14 million) One Night Only ($11 million) Hope ($8 million) Spa Weekend ($7 million) The Uprising ($6 million) Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma ($6 million) Onslaught ($3 million) Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man ($2.8 million) Here’s that in chart form: Five of the top six films in this time period were all based on IP. I made a big chart of films that grossed over $200 million at the box office before Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey hit theaters. Let’s update that chart! By the way, if you want to see how I categorized each film—so another bar chart—here it is: I know that many of my fellow critics/pundits/analysts dislike films based on IP and how Hollywood is making so many of them. And I’m sympathetic to this point of view. As I’ve written many, many times before, you need a balance between existing franchises, new IP, and original films. And Hollywood clearly needs to make more films like Resident Evil (a well-made film from a visionary director) and fewer Practical Magic 2’s (which didn’t get critical or customer buzz). But at some point, critics and pundits need to contend with what audiences are telling them: Movie-goers aren’t showing up to original films. Audiences are speaking with their dollars, telling you they want more IP and franchises. You can try to convince studio heads to make fewer IP-based films and franchises, but the data and numbers aren’t there. Instead, critics need to work harder to convince audiences to show up for original films. Aim your ire/concern at the average person, not studio heads.2 Because they’re just making the films that audiences are telling them to make. WRONG: Original Horror Films Didn’t Break Out I’ll be honest, even though I wrote an article casting some skepticism on the horror genre in July, if you asked me to make a prediction, I would have predicted that, in August, a new, original horror film would have blown up. No, seriously, I just assumed that Obsession and Backrooms presaged a change in audience behavior. But none of the buzzy new original horror films from August—Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Onslaught (not an action film in spite of the ads), The End of Oak Street, Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man, or _Buddy—_broke out. To be clear, exactly one of those films (Buddy) had good “ROI”, but again—I try to be specific in my language—none were “popular” in any broad sense of the word. None of them will be “saving” movies theaters like Backrooms or _Obsession_helped save the summer. The new Insidious film and Resident Evil, both based on IP, were far and away the biggest horror films since July. (We’ll see if this changes in October/Halloween season.) RIGHT: Stay Skeptical about Crowdfunding... I’ve long been skeptical about crowd-investing platforms as one of Hollywood’s saviors, mainly because there’s so much hype/buzz. People need to stay more skeptical about more things, explaining both the potential upside but also the downsides. In particular, the media often hypes crowdfunding at the start and never checks in on the actual results after they’ve come in later. And August gave us our first update! _Ice Cream Man—_directed by Eli Roth—grossed $6 million off of a $5.5 million budget. This is a production of The Horror Section, which was one of the first “crowd investing” studios with 2,400 investors, which means that 2,400 investors probably lost money. They certainly aren’t getting as great of returns as if they had just invested their dollars in the stock market. Hopefully Stiletto (Tagline: “Someone’s Going to Make it Rain Blood!”) does better next month. WRONG: Another Data Goof Here’s another data error. When the first episode of House of the Dragon came out, HBO put out that it had 21.5 million viewers in the first three days, and I read that to mean in the US…but no, it was global. So my US-only datecdotes charts shouldn’t have included it. We never got US-only numbers for the first episode, but for the final episode, HBO put out that it had 11 million US viewers. (And that global dropped to 21 million viewers.) Here’s the updated chart (which I’ve since used in the Streaming Ratings Report): Still, this show is absolutely huge. RIGHT: Superhero Films Remain Very, Very Popular After Supergirl flopped, I read a few takes that “comic book movies are going the way of the Western”. Post-Spider-Man: Brand New Day, that take didn’t age well. To be fair, I have a very nuanced take on the superhero genre right now; it’s down right now, for a lot of reasons. But it’s not “dead”. Maybe _Spider-_Man is just a really popular character? I saw that take, and it’s a fair counter-argument. (But pundits arguing that superhero movies were dead should have mentioned this $1.5 billion counter-argument…) But is it just Spider-Man? The next Avengers film already has $50 million in pre-sales (and I was skeptical that that film would do well) and the Avengers: End Game re-release topped the box office two weekends ago (over three original films). And I wouldn’t bet against Batman or Superman. So maybe it’s just Spider-Man, Batman, Superman and the Avengers. Oh, and Deadpool, of course. And Black Panther. And Wolverine. And probably the X-Men. Plus a well-made Wonder Woman or the Hulk film could break out. But that’s it! It’s just those ten characters/teams. Oh, what’s that? Lanterns is also doing well on HBO? (See previous section…) To be fair, I’m actually pretty sympathetic to the argument that more popular characters—like Spider-Man and Batman—anchor more popular films. In fact, I made that exact argument three years ago when I first wrote about the “Marvel-cession”. In many ways, you can blame The Guardians of the Galaxy for fooling Marvel Studios (and the rest of us) into believing that any character could pop. It turns out, the list of iconic characters is probably smaller than most people think. But it’s probably too early to say that superhero films and comic book movies are dead unless “death” means a slight decline over a longtime. RIGHT: Who Killed Theaters? Old People I get frustrated whenever I see headlines or analysis about how young people are “returning” to theaters. As I’ve detailed(for years), young people have always powered the US box office, despite narratives about “kids these days” and their “phones”. Really, what’s changed post-2020/pandemic is that old people aren’t going to the movies nearly as much. This summer, I saw a movie (from an older director) in a theater near a retirement community, and multiple older people at the theater were talking about how this was their first time seeing a movie in years. I dislike personal anecdotes, so YouGov can fill in the data, best summarized by this headline: “Who killed movie theaters? Not the youths”. According to them, 64% of people aged 18-29 have seen a movie in the last year, but only 30% of 65-and-older. 20% of 18-29 have seen a movie in theaters in the last week and 42% in the last month. Here’s the polling data: Most concerning? Many Americans (17%) think theaters are a worse or much worse experience than watching films at home. Slight WRONG: Hadestown Opens Big A live theater capture of the Broadway musical, Hadestown, made $20 million at the US box office, which begs the question: was I wrong to be skeptical about musicals a few years ago? Yes and no. On the one hand, $20 million is a far cry from being “popular”, so yeah, the genre isn’t that popular overall and Hadestown is one of the more popular musicals from recent years (i.e. the “Taylor Swift Data Fallacy” in action). On the other, I doubt filming this cost all that much, and I don’t think that they spent much on marketing, so this is a good source of ancillary revenue. Smaller Updates WRONG: As I mentioned in a Streaming Ratings Report, I underestimated the budget for Enola Holmes 3. It probably cost more like $50 million, if not more. But... I’m not sure that it really matters? At sub-10 million hours, prices have to come down to make this work. WRONG: Netflix is giving Ink a 27-day in theaters! To quote the kids/YouTubers these days, let’s go! Now I might actually have a chance to see Danny Boyle’s latest in theaters. I’d complained about this in a “Coming Soon” section, but I was heartened to read that Netflix is giving multiple films longer theatrical windows this year. RIGHT: Netflix is sending 4-5 films per year to theaters. Netflix is slowly but surely sending more and more films to theaters, as I cautiously predicted earlier this year. For now, it’s just three big films and a number of awards contenders, but still, this is great news. And they’ll be releasing box office grosses! Just this week, Ted Sarandos confirmed that KPop Demon Hunters 2 will come to theaters (and my guess is it performs in the box office top ten at a minimum). WRONG: Angel has 3 million subscribers! How do I know this? Well, they told Deadline, who reported it. I marked this as “wrong”, since they’ve doubled their subscribers in one year but, you know, they don’t really have a hit film to speak of and they’re still losing money. WRONG: Furious was only renewed for one more season. I accidentally wrote “two more seasons” in my latest “Renewals, Cancellations, Un-Orders and Removals Update”. RIGHT: House of David is ending with its third season. In July, Prime Video renewed House of David for a third season, as I just wrote in my latest “Renewals and Cancellations” report. Well, now it’s ending after that third season. Why? As I’ve been writing, its viewership wasn’t great. I got feedback that this show didn’t cost very much, but it cost enough that its limited viewership didn’t save it. WRONG: Adults was a Hulu original! So I missed Adults when it first came out last year; I saw that it aired on FX and just assumed that it was a linear-first program. Turns out, it aired three episodes on FX, but binge-released the rest of its episodes the next day on Hulu. Huh. So I should have covered it last year! But I just wrote about it. 1 “When I was a kid in the 90s, if you wore a t-shirt to school that wasn’t too big and also wasn’t too small, but somehow didn’t quite fit, we’d say you were wearing an “extra-medium” shirt.” 2 As always, a huge exception is Disney, which barely makes anything original anymore.
'Real buzz' around Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland midfielder Shea Charles says "he could not be happier" following the side's unbeaten Nations League window.
Scientists Just Found a Strange Link Between Cats and Happiness
Countries with more cats tended to report higher happiness, while greater exposure to a common cat parasite was linked to lower scores.
Jerry Jeudy finds perspective in tough times through his daughters
Jerry Jeudy's last 15 months or so with the Browns have been tough. However, he's found happiness in getting away from football with his daughters.
Scientists Find a Surprising Link Between Cats And Happiness Across 93 Countries
A purr-fect pet friend?
Democrats Lead Governor Races Deep in Republican Territory, Polls Show
Democratic advantages in the races for governor in Texas, Iowa, Ohio and Alaska reflect deep unhappiness with President Trump and the economy. A Republican leads in Kansas.
Is An Undergraduate Business Degree Worth It? 5 Questions To Ask
How to choose an undergraduate business school: 5 questions about alumni outcomes, from job placement and salaries to debt and happiness, that reveal true ROI.
Most Americans blame Trump for high prices as his economic approval hits new low, AP-NORC poll shows
A majority, 65%, of U.S. adults now blame Trump’s policies for persistently high costs more than factors outside of his control, signaling growing weariness over his aggressive use of tariffs and continued unhappiness with the war with Iran.
Scientists, Regulators and Industry Convene at PCPC’s 2026 Science Symposium
This annual event offers two days of presentations from experts in their fields, coupled with insight from US regulatory bodies like the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
COTTON IN BEAUTY: A Sustainable, Sensorial & Science Backed Solution
This eBook examines how brands can leverage cotton's hypoallergenic, biodegradable and sensorial properties to create differentiated products, from facial wipes and reusable rounds to period care and adult incontinence.
'It has looked like we've turned a corner'
Fulham fan Lorraine Hughes says supporters "are much happier than they were" after an improvement in performances in recent weeks. The Cottagers lost their first three league matches under new head coach Alvaro Arbeloa but have rallied with draws against Liverpool and Manchester United. "Fulham had one of the hardest opening runs in terms of fixtures so it was always going to be a tough time for us, especially with a new manager and new recruits to bed in," Hughes told BBC Radio London.
With "a dozen" music levels, Rayman Legends Retold doubles down on the best bit of the original game, and having played it I couldn't be happier
By adding in more music tracks to Rayman Legends Retold, Ubisoft proves the indefatigable spirit of the 2013 game is still alive.
Adani: ‘Pulisic’s happiness is fundamental for Milan’
Lele Adani believes Ruben Amorim’s system is the key to getting the best out of Christian Pulisic, whose goal at the weekend ended a long wait in Serie A.Speaking on La Domenica Sportiva on Rai 2, t...
Aging Untold: Why gut health matters more as you age
On this episode of Aging Untold, we sort fact from fad when it comes to gut health, exploring why digestive wellness matters more as you age. Plus, we look at why some happily married couples stay together but choose to live in separate homes and how they make it work.
Aging Untold: Why gut health matters more as you age
On this episode of Aging Untold, we sort fact from fad when it comes to gut health, exploring why digestive wellness matters more as you age. Plus, we look at why some happily married couples stay together but choose to live in separate homes and how they make it work.
Aging Untold: Why gut health matters more as you age
On this episode of Aging Untold, we sort fact from fad when it comes to gut health, exploring why digestive wellness matters more as you age. Plus, we look at why some happily married couples stay together but choose to live in separate homes and how they make it work.
Aging Untold: Why gut health matters more as you age
On this episode of Aging Untold, we sort fact from fad when it comes to gut health, exploring why digestive wellness matters more as you age. Plus, we look at why some happily married couples stay together but choose to live in separate homes and how they make it work.
Scientists tested whether pets really make us happier: the answer is surprising - Futura-Sciences
Pets are often described as good for both mental and physical health, helping ease loneliness and support emotional well-being. But a new study suggests the picture is more complicated than simply owning a dog, cat, or another companion animal. Researchers at the University of Basel in Switzerland found little evidence...
Undergraduates Learn Ways AI Can Help Produce Happier Livestock
A joint workshop has given undergraduates from a variety of disciplines a hands-on look at the ways precision livestock farming and artificial intelligence can create better living conditions for hogs.
Apple AirPods 5 review: The choice is clear
The most notable AirPods 5 upgrades are available on both models, but you’ll be happier with the pricier one.
Kauai small businesses ask tourists to return after Hurricane Lowell, with aloha and some patience
Watching her staff happily hand out free meals for hundreds of residents outside their Wailua commercial kitchen, food truck co-owner Kelly Kakalia felt fulfill
Kauai small businesses ask tourists to return after Hurricane Lowell, with aloha and some patience
Watching her staff happily hand out free meals for hundreds of residents outside their Wailua commercial kitchen, food truck co-owner Kelly Kakalia felt fulfilled.
The Science of Kindness
Dr. Laura Saunders from the Institute of Living explains how random acts of kindness boost happiness in both those who give and those who receive.
The happiest states in the US, ranked
A recent study measured Americans' happiness based on three factors: emotional and physical well-being, work environment, and community.
'Science of Well-Being' workshop comes to Bemidji Public Library Sept. 23
Bemidji State associate professor Shawn E. Schooley will present, "The Science of Well-Being: Small Habits for a Happier, Healthier Life," from 6 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 23, at the library.
Happiness Through Color': Local tie-dye business celebrates 24 years of bold color and community
POCATELLO — For Bobby and Jolene Wellard, Hometown Tie Dye started with a clearance-rack impulse buy and a pile of old, stained clothes.
HAPPI Health celebrates $650,000 federal award, new FQHC status
HAPPI Health celebrates a $650,000 federal award and new FQHC status, expanding patient care access for all.
HAPPI Health becomes federally qualified health center after $102 million award
HAPPI Health is now officially a federally qualified health center after receiving a New Access Points award, a designation aimed at expanding access to health care in Huntsville.
Fact check: Trump, RFK Jr. and others make false claims on night 2 of GOP convention
(CNN) — President Donald Trump delivered another rapid-fire series of false claims on the second night of Republicans’ midterm convention on Thursday. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did his own barrage of wrongness. And various other speakers uttered statements that were untrue, misleading or missing critical context.Here is a fact check of some of the assertions from the final day of the convention. This is not intended as a comprehensive list of Thursday’s falsehoods.Trump’s many false claimsTrump made numerous false claims, some of which he also made in his longer speech Wednesday.Trump claimed that there were “no empty seats” in the Dallas arena as he spoke Thursday, which was visibly untrue. CNN White House correspondent Alayna Treene, who was there, wrote in a live chat right after Trump made the claim that “I’m looking at rows of empty seats” and that “the idea that there are ‘no empty seats’ is just laughably untrue,” though she also said the room was mostly full. Trump has for years made false claims about supposedly never having had an empty seat.Trump further inflated one of his favorite fictional figures, claiming Thursday that “$22 trillion” in investment has come into the US; on Wednesday, he had put it at “over $20 trillion,” and even that lower figure has no apparent basis in reality. As of the time he spoke Thursday, the White House’s own website claimed there had been “$11.2 trillion” in “major investment announcements” this term, not “over $20 trillion,” and the White House figure was itself a major exaggeration of actual investment.Trump, talking about elections, lied that “there’s never been bigger cheaters” than Democrats; there is no basis for broadly describing Democrats as election cheaters. For the second straight night, Trump falsely claimed that the Biden administration allowed “25 million people” to pour into the country, though that number is nowhere close to correct. Trump again falsely claimed that former President Joe Biden and other Democrats “created the worst inflation in American history,” though even peak Biden-era inflation, 9.1% in June 2022, was far from the all-time record of 23.7%; it was a 40-year high, but the rate then fell sharply before Trump returned to office.Trump also baselessly claimed that Democrats would “defund the police” and give “voting rights and welfare to 25 million illegal aliens” if they won the midterms. Republicans will still control the White House in 2027 and 2028 and the president would be in position to veto any such changes if a Democratic-controlled Congress sought to make them, but there is no indication that Democrats want to do so. Also, even groups favoring strict immigration policies estimate that the total undocumented population is far less than “25 million” or even 20 million.As he did Wednesday, Trump claimed the US now has the world’s lowest prescription drug prices. The assertion is so broad that it is unclear what exactly Trump is referencing. But experts told CNN they highly doubt that the prices for brand-name drugs in the US are generally less than they are in other countries, and the Trump administration has not provided details to prove the claim.“It’s tough to claim that you’re getting the lowest prices anywhere in the world and then also not have any evidence to support that,” said Andrew Mulcahy, a senior health economist at RAND, while Diederik Stadig, senior healthcare economist at financial institution ING, said, “To say that the US now has the lowest drug prices in the world is at this moment not true.”And as he did Wednesday, Trump said “more Americans are working today than ever before” – which is true but nearly meaningless, since the number of people working in the US generally rises over time simply because the population rises over time.“There are more Americans working because there are more Americans. That’s the entire analysis,” Justin Wolfers, a University of Michigan professor of public policy and economics, wrote in his newsletter in August.RFK Jr.’s false claims on the pandemic, Trump’s record and moreFalse claim about Democrats and the 2024 electionKennedy unsuccessfully ran for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination before withdrawing to run as an independent and then eventually endorsing Republican candidate Donald Trump. In Kennedy’s Thursday convention speech, he complained of how the Democrats handled the nomination race.At one point, he said, “For the first time in history, they cancelled their own convention. No voter ever cast a primary ballot for Kamala Harris, no elected delegate was ever consulted; the party of ‘No Kings’ simply anointed a queen.”Kennedy is entitled to express unhappiness about how quickly Democratic leaders coalesced around then-Vice President Harris after Biden unexpectedly dropped out of the race in July 2024, after the primaries were over and less than four months from Election Day. But it’s not true that the party canceled its convention or that delegates didn’t get any say.The convention was held; it was a four-day event in Chicago in August 2024. Democratic convention delegates officially nominated Harris in a virtual roll call vote in advance of the convention. It’s true that Harris was the only candidate on the roll call ballot, but that’s because she was the only candidate who gathered enough delegate signatures to appear on the ballot.It’s clear that party elites’ backing of Harris played a key role in the unusual nomination process. But Kennedy’s specific allegations that the convention was abandoned and delegates were cut out of the process are not true.False claim that Democrats closed ‘every church’ during the Covid-19 pandemicWhile attacking Democrats, Kennedy claimed that, during the Covid-19 pandemic, “They closed every church in our country for a year.”It’s not true that every church in the country was closed for a year, nor even that every church in a Democratic state was closed for a year.Every state issued some type of guidance or order about social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic, but many states – including some led by Democrats and some led by Republicans – incorporated religious exemptions into those limitations on social interactions.According to a Pew Research Center analysis from April 2020, 15 states allowed religious gatherings to continue without a limit on their size. That set of states included Colorado, Michigan and Pennsylvania, which all had Democratic governors. And at least two states with Republican governors, Alaska and Idaho, were among the states that prohibited religious gatherings at least briefly.False claim that Trump ‘ended nine wars’Trump has repeatedly claimed that he has ended “eight wars.” Kennedy went one higher on Thursday, declaring, “President Trump has ended nine wars.”That’s false. Trump hasn’t even ended eight wars.Trump’s list of eight includes two situations that were never actually wars during his tenure: a diplomatic dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia and a mysterious supposed situation between Serbia and Kosovo. The list also includes a war, involving Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, that hasn’t actually ended despite a peace agreement brokered by the Trump administration.In addition, the list includes the war between Israel and Hamas, but Israel continues to conduct frequent attacks in Gaza despite a US-brokered ceasefire agreement. And it includes the brief 2025 conflict between Israel and Iran, though Israel proceeded to join the US in starting another war against Iran in 2026.Claim about reversing a decline in longevityKennedy speaking of the Trump administration, claimed Thursday: “We have now reversed a 30-year decline in longevity. “Kennedy referenced preliminary data that he said he had received from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week, but it’s unclear what metric of longevity he’s referring to.CDC data shows that US life expectancy had been steadily increasing for decades before a sharp drop during the Covid-19 pandemic. Life expectancy had already started to rebound in 2022, under the Biden administration, and reached a new record high in 2024 before Trump’s second term began.Preliminary data shared by the CDC in July suggests that life expectancy probably hit another record high in 2025.CNN has reached out to HHS for clarification on Kennedy’s comments.Claim that Democrats ‘lost 360,000 children’Speaking about Democrats, Kennedy said: “They somehow lost 360,000 children and they turned our federal government into the biggest child trafficking operation in world history.”Trump and other Republicans have made similar claims. But there’s no basis for the assertion that Democrats “lost” so many children or that the federal government was engaged in human trafficking.A 2024 report from the inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security said Immigration and Customs Enforcement had reported that more than 32,000 unaccompanied migrant children failed to appear as scheduled for immigration court hearings after being released or transferred out of custody between fiscal years 2019 and 2023 – a period that, notably, includes two years and four months under the first Trump administration. The report also said that 291,000 unaccompanied migrant children during this period were not given notices to appear in court.The report said that ICE had “no assurances” these children “are safe from trafficking, exploitation, or forced labor.” But it did not say all the children were actually “lost” and did not definitively assert that any of them were trafficked – let alone that the government was somehow involved in a trafficking operation. And, again, the report spanned parts of both a Republican administration and a Democratic administration.Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, told CNN in 2024: “Long story short, no, there are not 320,000 kids missing. 32,000 kids missed court. That doesn’t mean they’re missing, it means they missed court (either because their sponsor didn’t bring them or they are teenagers who didn’t want to show up). The remaining 291,000 cases mentioned by the (Office of the Inspector General) are cases where ICE hasn’t filed the paperwork to start their immigration court cases.”Vance on inflation, crime and taxes on Social SecurityA false claim about the media and Biden-era inflationVice President JD Vance mocked the media during part of his speech on Thursday. But he made a false claim about Biden-era inflation while lampooning how the media supposedly challenged him over another false claim on that subject.Vance said: “The president and I would go during a campaign, we’d say, ‘You know, inflation is as high as it’s been in 100 years,’ and the fake news would say, ‘No, no, no, it’s as high as it’s been in 68 years.’ That ain’t good, ladies and gentlemen.”Mainstream journalists, at least, wouldn’t say that inflation under Biden was as high as it had been “in 68 years.” Rather, CNN and others noted that peak inflation under the Biden administration, 9.1% in June 2022, was the highest in about 40 years.Vance is entitled to make his general point that this correction still doesn’t make Biden-era inflation sound good, but his specific number was, again, wrong. And he didn’t acknowledge that inflation fell sharply under Biden after hitting the 40-year high, declining to 2.9% in Biden’s last full month in office, December 2024, and 3.0% in January 2025, when Trump and Vance were inaugurated.The rate was 3.4% in July 2026, the most recent month for which data is available.Trump didn’t end taxes on Social SecurityVance claimed, “We’ve ended taxes on Social Security.” Several other convention speakers, including Rep. Lisa McClain of Michigan, Rep. Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania and Ohio House candidate Derek Merrin, similarly said the administration has achieved “no tax on Social Security.”It hasn’t. The big domestic policy bill Trump signed in 2025 did create an additional, temporary $6,000-per-year tax deduction for individuals age 65 and older (which phases out for individuals earning $75,000 per year or more), but as the White House has implicitly acknowledged, millions of Social Security recipients will continue to pay taxes on their benefits even before the temporary new deduction expires after 2028.The Social Security Administration said in 2025 that “the bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits.Claim about violent crime rate under BidenWhile criticizing the Biden administration, Vice President JD Vance claimed Thursday that the US “became a country where violent crime exploded, unless, of course, you could afford private security.”But violent crime did not explode under Biden. In fact, as FactCheck.org reported last month, data collected and published by the FBI shows that the national violent crime rate was at a lower level in 2023 and 2024, the last two full calendar years of Biden’s term, than it was in 2020, the last full calendar year of Trump’s first term. The year 2020 was highly unusual in many ways – violent crime jumped amid the Covid-19 pandemic – but Biden nonetheless left office with violent crime lower than it was when he took over. In fact, the 2024 violent crime rate was even lower than the 2019 rate under Trump before the pandemic.There was an increase in violent crime during the earlier part of Biden’s term. But given the subsequent decline, it’s misleading at best to claim violent crime “exploded” with no further context.Asked earlier this month about Trump’s similar previous claims to have reversed a Biden-era upswing in violence, crime data expert Jeff Asher said in an email: “No, crime began dropping significantly in 2023 during the Biden administration. Murder fell at record rates in 2023, 2024 and 2025 and, while 2026 may not feature a record decline nationally, it is still on track to see a sizable double-digit decline this year. Violent crime similarly fell nationally in 2023 and 2024, though the drops were more muted than the decline that was recorded by the FBI in 2025.”Other GOP speakersMike Johnson’s false claim about the inflation Republicans inherited from BidenSome other speakers at the convention took aim at inflation under Biden. House Speaker Mike Johnson claimed that “Republicans inherited from the Biden administration record-high inflation.”That’s not true. The inflation rate was 2.9% in Biden’s last full month in office, December 2024, and 3.0% in January 2025, when Trump took over. That’s lower than the most recent rate, 3.4% in July 2026, and nowhere close to the all-time record of 23.7%, which was reached in 1920, or the highest point of Jimmy Carter’s presidency, 14.8%, which was reached in 1980.Johnson correctly said moments later that inflation reached “a 40-year high of 9.1% inflation” under Biden. But a 40-year high is not an all-time record. More importantly, Johnson didn’t explain that 9.1% was much higher than the rate Trump inherited or that the 9.1% rate occurred in June 2022, with roughly two-and-a-half years left in Biden’s term.The cumulative increase in prices from the beginning of the Biden administration to the end was also not the highest in US history. Federal figures show that beginning-to-end inflation under Biden was less than half of that during Carter’s term.What Johnson left out of his claim about a congressional resolutionWhile attacking Democrats as extreme, Johnson said: “Just last week, nearly every Democrat in the House of Representatives voted against condemning socialism and Marxism. They voted against it.”But the resolution didn’t use the word “Marxism.” And Johnson didn’t mention that the resolution wasn’t only about condemning socialism. Rather, it contained other language that Democratic leadership said was the focus of the party’s opposition to the resolution.The resolution’s first provision said it “condemns and denounces socialism in all its forms, including the Democratic Socialists of America, and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States.” But its fifth provision said it “calls for enactment of the SAVE America Act,” Trump’s favored elections bill, which contains various provisions opposed by many Democrats.So while it’s very possible many Democrats would have opposed the resolution even without its expression of support for the SAVE America Act, the call to pass this elections bill served as a poison pill that ensured most Democrats wouldn’t support it.“House Resolution 1490 explicitly calls for enactment of the so-called SAVE America Act, which is the top legislative priority of far-right extremists,” Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement last week.A New Mexico candidate left out key context in an attack on his opponentGreg Cunningham, a Republican House candidate in New Mexico, used some of his Thursday speech to criticize his Democratic opponent, Rep. Gabe Vasquez. Cunningham said of Vasquez: “He even voted against a resolution honoring the sacrifices and service of the brave men and women in law enforcement who protect, every day, our communities.”But Cunningham left out important context about the resolution. While its focus was expressing support for law enforcement, its preamble contained statements praising the Trump administration and criticizing “leftist activists,” “progressive politicians” and “sanctuary city policies” for allegedly making law enforcement less safe.In other words, a House member might vote against such a resolution, as the vast majority of Democrats did, because they disagreed with conservative components of it, not the general expressions of support for law enforcement. (CNN has reached out to Vasquez’s campaign and House office for comment on his vote.) It’s common for parties to write resolutions in a way that would make it difficult for opponents to support but would open those opponents to campaign attacks if they voted “no.”An Ohio candidate’s misleading attack about Democrats and votingMerrin, the Republican candidate running against Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur for a House seat in Ohio, claimed in his speech, “While Democrats talk about letting illegal immigrants vote in our election, Republicans fight for proof of citizenship, photo ID and fair elections.”It’s a big country, so it’s possible some Democrat somewhere is talking about letting undocumented people vote in some election. But Merrin’s claim is misleading at best. There is no proposal from Democrats in Congress to let undocumented people vote in the 2026 midterms – the election Merrin appeared to be referring to when he said “our election” – or vote in future federal elections.CNN has reached out to Merrin’s campaign for an explanation of his claim.House Majority Leader Steve Scalise invoked a similar theme in his speech Wednesday, claiming that Democrats had voted last week “to allow illegals to vote in our federal elections.” But there was no congressional vote on letting undocumented immigrants vote in any elections.Rather, there was a vote on the non-binding Republican resolution that included multiple provisions, including one that “reiterates the notion that American elections are for American citizens only,” one supporting Trump’s favored elections bill and one denouncing socialism.Opposing that multi-clause resolution doesn’t necessarily mean someone supports voting by any non-citizens, let alone non-citizens in the country illegally.This article has been updated with additional items.CNN’s Deja Oliver contributed to this report.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
Talent show brings joy to kids at children’s hospital
A weekly talent show at University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children's Hospital helps pediatric cancer patients and families find support, healing and happiness through music, magic, and creative expression.
I thought I'd regret moving to Europe, but I'm happier than ever
Leah Young told Business Insider she has a better quality of life in France and can't imagine living in the US again.
CeraVe Puts Skin Barrier Health First with Super Boost Serum
CeraVe is taking skin barrier-first approach to aging with its new Skin Renewing Super Boost Serum.
The psychological effects of padel and pickleball, according to science
Wondering if the pickleball hype is real? A new systematic review confirms the sport boosts happiness and social integration, while padel research largely analyzes competitive stress and mental fatigue in athletes.
It’s Been Downloaded by Millions. It’s Supposed to Make You Happier. It Made Me Want to Strangle a Cartoon Bird.
A little bird told me there’s a way to meet my wellness goals. Then it asked me if I wanted to upgrade to their premium plan.
After 60, the happiest people share these science-backed daily habits
Most people assume happiness fades with age, that fulfillment belongs to younger decades filled with milestones and achievements. But research tracking
Not Money or Pleasure: Scientists Say They've Found The True Key to Happiness
It's all in the choosing.
Not Money or Pleasure: Scientists Say They've Found The True Key to Happiness
It's all in the choosing.
Patriots' Christian Gonzalez Expresses Unhappiness With Team Amid Contract Saga
The star cornerback wants his money and is making that known.
'There is no conflict between quantum physics and gravity': Physicists prove Einstein's 'happiest thought' holds true at quantum scales
Physicists have proven a 100-year-old prediction of relativity by showing that Einstein's equivalence principle holds at quantum scales.
'Soiled' undies and vicious friends research honoured at Ig Nobels
Each year, the Ig Nobel prizes celebrate research that makes you laugh, then makes you think. This year's winners include an "underwear index", a cumbersome kissing definition and why we want friends that will happily stab someone in the eye.
On Happiness, Politics, Language and the Universe: The Week 10 Winners of Our Summer Reading Contest
As our contest comes to a close, we honor a video and three essays, and hear reflections on this year’s submissions from our judges.
Gen Z is eyeing up ‘secure’ healthcare jobs to AI-proof their careers, but be warned: Chiropractors, doctors and paramedics are the unhappiest workers
Health care workers report burnout and lower job satisfaction. So Gen Z's safest bet might just be behind a counter, not a stethoscope, research suggests.
Rob Reiner’s daughter appears on the same show her dad made his final appearance on
Romy Reiner shared a hilarious scene with Larry David on the final episode of his new HBO series just weeks after her dad made his final screen appearance as George Washington on the same show.
Copying Taylor Swift's everyday habits could make you happier, according to science
Science suggests the everyday gestures Swift practices can boost happiness for everyone, not just celebrities
Barack Obama blames Larry David for his infamous tan suit scandal in new sketch
Former president Barack Obama pokes fun at his tan suit debacle with Larry David on the season finale of ‘Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness.’
Science Says People Who Can Laugh at Themselves Make Better Leaders (and are Happier, Too)
As long as the "joke" is affiliative and not destructive.
PwC cancels Disney World trip for US summer interns
The Big Four firm PwC has cut a 20-year tradition of taking summer interns to "The Happiest Place on Earth."
Health experts warn summer relief may hide ongoing mental health struggles for teens
Teenagers may seem happier once school ends, but mental health experts say summer can mask anxiety and depression rather than resolve it.
How often are married people having sex? What to know about the intimacy standard in America
Research reveals once a week may be the sweet spot for marital satisfaction, with no added happiness boost from more frequent sexual intimacy.
An ex-U.S. Labor Secretary and a Gen Z historian talk politics, protest and capitalism
To recognize the country’s 250th year, CNBC Make It got notable voices in politics, finance and relationships across age ranges to sit down and spark conversation about what it means to achieve happiness and success in this country today. Robert Reich, 80, a former Secretary of Labor during Bill Clinton's administration, spoke with Kahlil Greene, 26, a history newsletter writer and content creator.
Middletown linebacker inspired to give back following brother's health battle
Middletown linebacker Mekhi Corbin used his recent commitment to the University of Delaware to returned to Nemours Children's Hospital this month for a much happier reason than in the past.
Churchill: Does New York care about your health and happiness?
Has the state's rapid expansion of legalized gambling options been good for overall societal health? What about legalized recreational cannabis?
Deena Centofanti is back after husband's health emergency
On a busy Monday with plenty of ongoing news, Good Day Detroit is getting one of the happiest headlines of all – with Deena Centofanti's return.
I’m using my phone way less, and it’s making me happier
After some soul searching I realised my phone use is absolutely out of control and some changes were needed.
Colorado’s primary proved in this political climate money doesn’t buy electoral happiness
To catch you up, campaign committees from this 2026 election cycle already collected and shoveled out a lot of cash: $102.64 million. That’s contributions in all forms — dollars, in kind, loans, etc. — from December 2024 to now. Total expenditures just for advertising amount to $32.94 million. More to come for the general election. […]
Moebius Entertainment boards ‘Happily Ever After’ ahead of ...
The cast includes Shuhua, the Taiwanese singer from K-pop group i-dle, in her feature debut.
Moebius Picks Up ‘Happily Ever After’ Ahead of Toronto Premiere
Hong Kong-based sales agency has acquired world rights excluding Taiwan to Fiona Roan Feng-I's second feature, selected for Special Presentations.
3 ways science can help you feel happier
From avoiding talking to strangers to buying things to make ourselves feel better, we do all kinds of things to feel happier that don’t work. Here are some interesting scientific findings from the wo...
Too Much Happiness Sent A Woman To The Emergency Room In an Incredibly Rare Case
Ever heard of happy heart syndrome?
German conservative politician resigns after pressure over surrogate baby
“I have come to realise that my personal happiness — starting a family with my husband and becoming a father — is incompatible with my political office,” Jens Spahn wrote.
Colorado’s primary proved in this political climate money doesn’t buy electoral happiness
To catch you up, campaign committees from this 2026 election cycle already collected and shoveled out a lot of cash: $102.64 million. That’s contributions in all forms — dollars, in kind, loans, etc. — from December 2024 to now. Total expenditures just for advertising amount to $32.94 million. More to come for the general election. […]
Popular diet trend could boost mental health among older adults, study finds
Older adults who followed a Mediterranean diet during COVID-19 lockdowns reported less decline in happiness and life satisfaction than their peers.
How Small Actions Can Build Health and Happiness - New York State Bar Association
There's a myth in the legal profession that success and personal well-being are a trade-off and that to build a thriving practice you have to sacrifice everything else. Attorney Jennifer Gillman knows this tension firsthand. Before building her own legal recruiting and strategy business, she was an AMLaw 100 lawyer working crazy hours that left
New Ranking Finds Happiest Cities in the World. They Could Be a Game-Changer for Your Productivity
Happiness is a strategic factor for digital nomads and business travelers seeking cities that support productivity, balance, and success.
Dr Oz shares free health changes Americans can make now to live longer, happier lives
Dr. Mehmet Oz discusses how meaningful relationships, restorative routines and screen-free evenings can help reduce stress and support more restful nights.
Hungary moves to overhaul university models banned from Horizon Europe
Hungary’s new government is aiming to overhaul the governance model of the institutions and universities that lost access to Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ funds “in a short timeframe,” according to Péter Horváth, the new state secretary for science policy and innovation. “As of today, the two non-university foundation-controlled institutions under my remit have been transformed,” he told Science|Business. “We hope the universities will follow and that this will be enough to satisfy the EU’s demands.”Under the previous government, led by Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party, many academic and scientific institutions were restructured and made into special public trust foundations, with members strongly linked to the government given lifelong mandates and significant decision-making powers with little oversight. The European Commission deemed that this undermined academic freedom and transparency in the country, leading to a ban on 34 institutions in 2022, including 21 universities, which saw academics in Hungary lose access to Horizon Europe grants. The new Hungarian government, elected in May and led by Péter Magyar and his Tisza Party, has promised to dismantle this governance model and restore the institutions to EU programmes. As a result, the European Commission has promised to return access to the Erasmus+ education mobility programme, but so far no concrete agreement has been made on the Horizon Europe programme for research and innovation. Hungary has already made legislative changes in June to allow the institutions to be reformed and set a timeline for the implementation.The non-university foundations, which are mainly cultural centres such as the Foundation for Hungarian Culture or the Makovecz Campus Foundation, will all be dissolved by August 31 this year, a date tied to EU-set milestones that Hungary must meet to unlock frozen funds, with control transferred to relevant ministries. Meanwhile, the universities will have until 31 August 2027. For each university foundation, the government will set the dissolution date and the body to take over operations. There is no final decision on a permanent new model for the universities, according to Hungarian MEP Eszter Lakos, who is shadow rapporteur for the Horizon Europe specific programme, a separate piece of legislation detailing implementation rules for the EU’s next research programme, due to start in 2028. “The aim of the transition year is to settle this with [the universities], not to impose a model, and not to put them under state control,” she told Science|Business. “The goal is to give academic independence back to universities.”There are three models that are most likely to be implemented. One would be a return to a traditional, state-run model. Another could be a newer, more self-standing public institution. A third option would be a reformed version of the foundation models that meet EU standards. According to Lakos, the dismantling of the system put in place by the Orbán government is well underway and if all goes according to plan, Hungary could regain access to EU research money by the start of the next academic year in 2027. “I believe that the Hungarian government is doing the necessary changes so the universities could return as beneficiaries to Horizon from the next school year,” she said. In the meantime, “the universities, institutes and cultural assets carry on under proper public stewardship rather than a handful of unaccountable trustees,” said Lakos. The laws passed in June impose new safeguards: board terms are capped at four years and renewable only once, appointments are made through open competitions and sitting politicians cannot join joining these boards.It remains unclear whether a domestic science funding programme set up as a back-up scheme by the former government following the EU funding ban, called HU-rizon, could be continued. “This programme should never have had to have been established in the first place, but it has proven to be quite popular,” he said. “I am considering continuing this programme with a refined focus on helping international collaborations.”Re-organising the research network One of the first priorities for Horváth and his cabinet is to resolve questions over the future of the Hungarian Research Network, Hun-Ren. The network of academic institutes was taken away from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2019 and turned into a quasi-private organisation, with similarities in its governance to the public trust foundations.Horváth and his team have consulted over 5,000 representatives from the network and the conclusion is broad unhappiness with the directors of all the institutes involved. “We have presented the results to the president and the chief executive of the network and this is currently being discussed,” Horváth said. The plan is to re-integrate the network back into the Academy of Sciences but in an improved way, “learning from mistakes of the past,” he added. The government also wants to reintegrate four humanities and social science research centres into the network that the previous government had transferred to Eötvös Loránd University. The transfer brought sharp criticism from the academic community, with a group of Hungarian research heads, including European Research Council grant recipients, sending an open letter to Orbán warning that the transfer would “cause historically significant harm to the entirety of Hungarian scientific life.” The transfer was “one of the biggest shames in Hungarian research in the past 20 years,” Horváth said. “We want to immediately re-integrate them back into the research network and to regain the trust of these institutions, because the way they were treated was really unfair.”Another pressing issue is the Élvonal Excellence Research and Talent Development Foundation, led by Nobel laureate Ferenc Krausz. The foundation signed a financing agreement with the former government earlier this year for a budget of over €730 million over the next five years. The goal is to create a world-class centre to attract top talent from abroad and to develop local researchers. But there was little transparency about this foundation, and news of its huge budget, which is nearly as much as Hungary’s entire research budget, caused a stir in the media following the recent elections. Another issue is that, as with the foundation boards of the institutes banned from Horizon Europe, there was little-to-no oversight of decisions led by Krausz. “It was an excellent idea but an unacceptable execution,” Horváth said of the foundation. “The fact that this is out of the Hungarian funding scheme, mostly concentrating on one person who decides on the budget is unacceptable for us.”The government plans to merge the centre with the National Research, Development and Innovation Office, the country’s R&D funding agency, with a reduced budget. Horváth is hopeful that Krausz will still be involved. The new government’s R&D goalsA phrase that crops up regularly during the discussion with Horváth is “democratic process.” The new state secretary is determined to involve Hungary’s research community in shaping future policies. This marks a departure from the previous government’s approach, and several people in Hungary’s research community have commented on the openness of the new government. In terms of concrete goals, Horváth and his team already have plans. He wants to create a new science fund in Hungary, based on the best practices of other European countries. The fund would not be tied to annual government budgets and would provide long-term, stable financing. “If we were to succeed in creating this fund, then I think it would be one of the biggest achievements for me in this period of government,” Horváth said. On the innovation side, he is looking into how best to bring in the private sector. “We want to make sure that we are working with the private sector to support innovation,” Horváth said. One of his big aims is to introduce entrepreneurship teaching into high schools. Hungary already has a reputable national academy offering research and innovation training in the field of natural sciences, and Horváth wants to expand this to all disciplines and across the whole country. “One of the main ways to elevate our innovative businesses is to teach our children to be innovative,” he said. “This will probably need ten years to pay off, but this is what we should do. Our aim is to make Hungary strong in our region, and this is what is needed.” Related articlesHungary’s Horizon Europe performance in numbersCommission unlocks Erasmus+ cash for Hungary, Horizon could be next‘Academic Huxit.’ Hungarian researchers speak out on impact of EU ban A more difficult task will be funding. The new government is aiming to increase research spending to 2% of the GDP by 2030, and then increase it to 3% in line with EU objectives. Currently, spending sits around 1.3%. But according to Horváth, the current budget, inherited from the previous government, is “heavily in the negative,” so any plans to increase research spending will have to start next year. Achieving 2% by 2030 already needs a big push, almost doubling the research budget. “This is something we’d definitely like to reach, and something I can see us achieving,” he said. “From the 2030s, I’d like to see an innovative generation growing up that can help us reach the 3% target.” Positivity in the new governmentDespite the many challenges facing Horváth and his team, the mood is positive. “It feels a bit like a start-up right now. Everyone is working 24/7, day and night, trying to do as much as they can. There is a lot of energy,” he said. It is a big change for the state secretary who, like many in his cabinet, is coming from a background in research or business, and not in politics. “Six weeks ago, I was sitting with my microscope and my research PhDs, so it’s been a big change for me,” said the computer scientist, who was previously the director of the Institute of Biochemistry at the Hun-Ren Biological Research Centre in Hungary and worked at the Institute for AI for Health at Helmholtz Munich. But he is relishing the task to transform the country’s R&D landscape. “We feel enormous support from the Hungarian people, but also from Europe,” he said. “We’ve received a lot of letters of support from around Europe. There is big trust there, and huge responsibility on our side. We want to get everything back on track, and there’s a lot to do.”
Georgia can do more to protect health coverage for its youngest residents
“If children are well, then the village is well.” This adage beautifully expresses a vital public health concept: A community’s health is best measured by how it protects and nurtures the welfare of its most vulnerable members. As an OB-GYN, I celebrate some of life’s happiest moments with families: a healthy pregnancy, a safe delivery, […]
Who slept worst after the F1 British GP: Max Verstappen
No transfer options, no success, and two high-speed crashes: Can Max Verstappen even find happiness in Formula 1 anymore?
Community-first tourism, country before politics, pursuit of happiness undermined
As Charleston rewrites its tourism management plan for the first time in years, city leaders have emphasized a commitment to residents and local businesses. That's encouraging, but the details matter.
This is the real reason your cat purrs—and it’s not what you think - Futura-Sciences
The Genetic Mystery Behind the Purr If you thought your cat’s purr was just an automatic sound of happiness—like you sighing with satisfaction after a good meal—science begs to differ. Researchers from Kyoto University’s Wildlife Research Center in Japan have identified, for the first time, genetic underpinnings to this ancient...
Want to feel happier at work? Take a five-minute walk
Sitting for prolonged periods is associated with health complications – but you can counteract the risks of a sedentary life.
8 Science-Based Ways Parents Can Raise Happier, More Successful Children
And if you're looking for a little help, one of them involves grandparents.
Planning Ahead Can Actually Make You Happier—Here's the Science Behind It
Research shows that simply having something to look forward to—big or small—can meaningfully boost your sense of well-being.
MSU professor reflects on the ‘pursuit of happiness’ 250 years since America’s inception
Raul Rodriguez, professor and director of MSU's LeFrak Forum forum, answers questions on what the “pursuit of happiness” means two-and-a-half centuries later.
Left NYC for New England: Happier living in Providence, Rhode Island
I grew up in San Diego and always wanted to move to the East Coast. I thought NYC was my dream home, but now, I'm happier living in Rhode Island.
The Fitbit Air made me ditch my Pixel Watch, and I couldn’t be happier
I have fully ditched my Pixel Watch for the Fitbit Air and while it's a step back in utility, I couldn't be happier with that decision.
5 Things You Should Do First Thing In The Morning To Be Happier All Day
If you roll out of bed feeling tired or stressed, these a.m. habits can help you turn your mood around.
Fisa spy powers almost certain to expire after Congress fails to act
Law due to expire at midnight tonight following unhappiness over Trump’s pick for intelligence chief
How Sweet Loren's CEO Loren Castle balances family and business
After beating Hodgkin's lymphoma, Loren Castle wanted a career that prioritized her health and happiness. She started Sweet Loren's cookies in 2011.
Not All Wine Glasses Tinkling Happily over Santa Barbara County’s Business Improvement District
The Goldwater Institute sues County Board of Supervisors and vintners association on behalf of Lompoc’s Flying Goat Cellars.
Better sleep, improved health, happier people: how ‘cool roofs’ could help millions avoid deadly heat
A project to measure how reflective paint reduces indoor temperatures is delivering tangible benefits across Africa
I reinvented myself by losing 300 pounds and moving to Spain
Erin Vlack moved to Spain in mid-life after losing 300 pounds. She wanted to quit the rat race to enjoy time with her son. She has never been happier.
Flu win, benefit from Bolívar defeat and go through in Libertadores 🎥
Fluminense endured a nerve-racking night, but it ended happily this Wednesday (27). The Tricolor das Laranjeiras beat La Guaira 3-1 and also benefited from Bolívar’s 3-1 defeat to Independiente Ri...
Paralives Collab Drops: Everything Included On Launch Day
A host of Paralives collab drops wasn't on our launch day bingo card, but we couldn't be happier to see it!
Want to be happier and healthier? Switch up your day with movement breaks
Sitting all day may be killing us, but taking quick breaks may be the way to save ourselves — and become more productive.
Brigandine: Abyss demo now available for PC
A demo for fantasy war strategy RPG Brigandine: Abyss is now available for PC Steam, developer Happinet Corporation announced. PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and Switch 2 versions will follow at a lat…
‘Bromantasy’ author pays homage to ‘cheese-loving weirdos’
LGBTQ author Maire Roche, who will be at Marion Public Library on May 28, says “Bromantasy” is intended to be “a celebration of all of the cheese-loving weirdos in our community who just want their happily ever after.”
The Science of the Smile: Why it Can be Your Best Friend
The facial cues you provide to others can shape how they treat us. The latest emotion research shows how your smile can make you, and those you care about, happier.