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World Snow Leopard Day: Community action and new science foster coexistence with humans
Snow leopards range across Asia’s rugged mountains, where they face mounting threats from climate change, declining wild prey, and retaliatory killings from local herders. Today, on Oct. 23, International Snow Leopard Day, we look back at recent Mongabay reporting highlighting how innovative science, climate-ready habitat, and community-centered conservation are helping these big cats share mountain […]
Not Just Game Discs: Sony's Killing Its Blu-Ray Players, Too
The end to Sony's last 'budget' 4K Blu-ray player means physical media could become more bespoke and—worse—more expensive.
Analysis-Ex-Prosecutor’s Killing Puts Guatemala’s Crime-Politics Nexus Back in Focus
By Sofia Menchu and Diego Oré GUATEMALA CITY, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Former Guatemalan anti-corruption prosecutor Juan Francisco Solorzano Foppa was one of the country's most high profile voices denouncing alleged links between politicians and business leaders and the country's increasingly powerful ...
How well have past GOTY winners sold?
We’re less than two months away from 2026’s The Game Awards, and what a year it’s been for fantastic games, including Resident Evil Requiem, Forza Horizon 6, Slay the Spire II, the Blood of Dawnwalker, and Control Resonant – just to name a few. So as we approach the end of the year, we thought we’d look back on our estimates for the GOTY winners of the past four years. In terms of revenue, Elden Ring (2022 winner), Baldur’s Gate 3 (2023), Astro Bot (2024), and Expedition 33 (2025) have generated a combined $3.8B via 73M copies sold: Let’s have a look, then. Elden Ring has generated $2B in revenue Elden Ring is a phenomenon in every sense. It’s sold a whopping 36.4M copies across Steam (50%), PS5 (35%), and Xbox (15% across console and PC). Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Elden Ring also just passed an astronomical milestone: $2B in revenue. While PlayStation and Xbox account for half of Elden Ring’s copies sold across these three platforms, they account for 57.5% of revenue. This – as ever – is due to regional pricing and the higher relative share of PC gamers in lower-priced markets. For example, around 17.4% of Elden Ring’s Steam copies sold were in China, where the game costs about 26% less than the price in the States. There’s an … interesting narrative going around these days that console gamers are only interested in ball-and-gun games and have the patience for little else. Well, Elden Ring’s impressive sales prove that is simply not true, and across all platforms. What’s more, over 9.8M people have played Elden Ring for over 100 hours, with nearly 3.5M people getting all of the achievements and trophies. For reference, 10.9% of Elden Ring’s PlayStation players have the platinum trophy, while 10.5% of players on Steam and 3.9% of Xbox players unlocked all the achievements. Git gud, Xbox players! Of the 1.5M people who played Elden Ring on PlayStation last month, 4% also played Dark Souls 3 last month, 4% played Bloodborne, and 3% played Sekiro. There’s those Soulsborne diehards for you. By many accounts, including my own, Elden Ring is one of the best games of all time. It’s an evergreen seller that will continue to be a cash cow for Bandai and FromSoftware for years to come. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Elden Ring has sold another 2M copies across Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox this year, generating almost $110M. This means it’s outperforming many of this year’s high-profile releases. Even Elden Ring’s standalone run-based PvE spinoff, 2025’s Nightreign, has sold 7.8M copies and generated $282M in revenue. Baldur’s Gate 3 is another billion-dollar-plus banger Another cross-platform phenomenon is Baldur’s Gate 3, which has sold 23.2M copies and generated over $1.2B in revenue. About 18.7M of these copies (80.6%) are via Steam, 2.9M via PS5 (12.7%), and 1.6M (6.8%) via Xbox. Around 1.3M folks on Steam bought BG3 before it hit 1.0. The PlayStation version launched about a month after the PC 1.0 release, while the Xbox version came four months later due to technical issues around developing local co-op on the Series S. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Across platforms, Baldur’s Gate 3’s monthly active users have never dropped below 2M, including 2.2M MAUs last month (68.5% on Steam, 21.9% on PS5, and 9.6% on Xbox). And it still regularly brings in 280K to 400K players every day: About 1% of BG3’s Steam player base has played for over 500 hours! That’s a little under 200K people. Astro Bot is also an evergreen seller, albeit a more niche, family one Astro Bot, 2024’s winner, has now sold 4.7M copies and generated $291M in revenue. The budget, including marketing, is almost certainly under $100M, given the small Japan-based core team and three-year dev timeline. You can really see why the tides are changing toward less expensive hubs. Astro Bot is the only first-party winner on this list, but follows other first-party winners of The Last of Us Part II (2020’s winner), God of War (2018), and Breath of the Wild (2017). Around 46.6% of Astro Bot’s copies sold have been physical, which is far higher than the typical game. This makes sense for a couple of reasons: There’s a large family audience for this one, and physical boxes are an item to wrap when giving Astro as a gift. Astro has collector value for the PlayStation core (this is nostalgia-fueled platformer celebrating PlayStation’s history) Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Astro is another one of those games that continues selling over time, regularly selling more than 100K a month. It’s sold around 1M more copies this year ($60M in revenue) and is a popular title with families. We can see this using the Alinea platform’s MAU crossover tool: Astro Bot’s top #2, #3, and #4 games by crossover in any given month this year are Minecraft, Fortnite, and Roblox – without fail. The #1 title every month, though, is Astro’s Playroom, a pack-in with all PS5 consoles. For every month this year, between 20% and 30% of Astro Bot players also played Astro’s Playroom that month. So the free pack-in is a noice funnel for converting players to a full paid product. Expedition 33 sells 8.7M despite Game Pass cannibalisation Finally, we have last year’s winner – Expedition 33. The turn-based-RPG banger has generated $366M via 8.7M copies sold, with 58.8% on Steam, 35.7% on PS5, and 5.5% on Xbox. Xbox’s share of copies sold is this low due to Expedition 33 launching on Game Pass, where 4.3M people across console and PC accessed the game. A little under 700K Xbox players used their subscription to play Expedition 33 this year. That said, the game’s 1.5-year Game Pass deal ended last week on October 16, and we’re already beginning to see a positive trend on Expedition 33’s copies sold via Xbox (but the jury’s still out!). There’s understandably a lot of French pride behind this one, as France is the game’s #3 market on both Steam and PlayStation. Vive la France! One thing that stood out to me is that the GOTY winners aren’t $300M Hollywood productions made in the US. They’re mostly mid-budget studios outside the traditional AAA cost centres. Lots to think about there. Also, good games sell well; who’d have thunk it!? And there’s a whole load of them this year, with GTA 6 still to come, too. GTA just made the cutoff point for the VGAs this year. What a coincidence! Loading... Cool links and other stuff Our physical games newsletter from Tuesday was picked up by GameSpot, Eurogamer, TweakTown, and a bunch of others. We’re offering a free trial of our platform for games companies. Send us a message here, or reply right here on Substack/email, and we’ll set you up. Next week, we’ve got some exciting news regarding the future of our newsletter, so stay tuned! The last word Reply to this email – or reach out here – if you have any feedback for the newsletter – or want to request a game for us to cover. Want to see why these companies (and many others) are subscribed to Alinea? Get a free platform trial! [Alinea Analytics boasts the most accurate PC and console estimates in the business. Game makers use our platform to understand their audience, keep an eye on the competition, monitor sales trends, and spot new opportunities. We equip game studios and financial institutions with accurate data and the confidence to make smarter, data-driven decisions. Want to talk about all things games market data? We’d love to chat!]
Conan O'Brien met his match on 'Subway Takes.' She's a 68-year-old bar owner from Brooklyn.
O'Brien was killing it on the popular internet talk show. Then Debbie Shields sat down next to him.
The consumer-voter is killing German politics
Friedrich Merz's collapse in popularity owes less to his own failings than to the hollowing out of civic culture across the world's democracies.
Families angry about ads featuring brutal loved ones’ murders
Republicans are spending millions on ads that talk about brutal killings to make Democrats look soft on crime. Victims’ families say they’re shocked and furious over the use of their loved ones’ deaths. CNN’S Isabelle Chapman reports.
Former sheriff accused of killing judge wins pause on second mental health evaluation
LETCHER COUNTY, Ky. (WJHL) — The former Letcher County sheriff accused of killing a judge in his chambers has managed to temporarily halt an order that would have required him to undergo a second m…
New murder trial ordered over juror's mental health crisis in 9th Circuit
A man's convictions for a killing on the waters off California's coast were vacated by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at San Francisco on Thursday…
Guatemalan former prosecutor shot dead at sports centre
Guatemalan police say they arrested two men in connection with the killing of Juan Francisco Solorzano Foppa.
Man gets 2 life sentences for killing 2, injuring 3 in Chester business shooting
A man was sentenced to two life terms in prison for killing two brothers and injuring three other people at a laundry business in Chester in 2024.
Man accused in chainsaw killings ordered into emergency mental health treatment
Court records show the order was filed Oct. 16.
Man accused in chainsaw killings ordered into emergency mental health treatment, court documents say
Court records show the order was filed Friday, October 16. It says 47-year-old Thomas Steele’s mental condition has “deteriorated” since a judge first ordered a competency evaluation Tuesday, October 13.
'Father Of PlayStation' Ken Kutaragi Blames A 'Mentality Issue' For The Backlash To Killing Discs
The Sony veteran doesn't sound very sentimental about the end of physical media on the platform he spearheaded
Suspect in fatal Mason business shooting not competent for trial
He is accused of shooting and killing 29-year-old Vincent "Vinny" Stoetzel.
75,000 years ago, this Neanderthal was stabbed with a spear
Mercy killing or murder? The prehistoric scene reveals the highs and lows of hominin life.
Kid Rock Talks Eminem Collab 'Heal My Faith' & Killing 'Division'
Kid Rock talks about his Eminem collab "Heal My Faith" on 'Halfway 2 Jesus' and ending "division" in America.
Killing Time
Our modern lives are wired for productivity, speed and constant stimulation. Boredom? No time! Yet boredom can fire up our creativity and help teach us to manage our emotions.
Mental health diversion for driver accused of killing Oakland teacher denied
Eric Hernandez Garcia, 19, will remain in jail as he awaits trial in the death of Castlemont High School teacher Marvin Boomer, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Defense focuses on mental health after state rests in Rodney Hinton murder trial
The defense began calling witnesses Tuesday in the murder trial of Rodney Hinton, shifting the focus to his mental health after he watched video of police shooting and killing his son.
Woman sues Upstate deputy for shooting husband during 2024 mental health crisis
A lawsuit filed on Thursday alleges that a Greenville County deputy acted negligently by shooting and killing a man experiencing a mental health crisis in 2024.
Erie police say mental health may be factor in shooting that killed 9
Erie police are investigating mental health issues as they look for a motive in the mass killing in which a 45-year-old suspected gunman killed nine people, eight of whom were related, before killing himself at a residence on Perry Street on Oct. 9.
Erie police say mental health may be factor in shooting that killed 9
Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said investigators believe gunman killed six people inside house before killing two women outside and then killing self.
Isaias leaves thousands without power, kills at least 4 people
Downpours spread across the Appalachians and mid-Atlantic as Isaias’ remnants headed north after knocking out power to hundreds of thousands in three states and killing at least four people in
Rubio pledges US cooperation in Marine-linked murder case
A US Marine stationed on Okinawa has been arrested on suspicion of killing a 39-year-old woman.
A year after the ‘ceasefire’, Gaza’s healthcare is still collapsing
Continuing attacks, restrictions on medical aid and delayed evacuations are still killing Palestinians.
Care before crisis
The recent murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, a Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three children, focused national attention on maternal mental health and the structures — or lack thereof — we have in place to support it.
The plague never went away. Cases are reported in parts of Africa and the U.S. nearly every year
The plague, the rare bacterial infection infamously known for killing tens of millions in 14th-century Europe, never went away. It is now easily treated with antibiotics.
Dear business students, career obsession is killing your curiosity
Each year, top- and mid-tier firms have become increasingly predatory and pushed recruitment timelines earlier into our academic careers. The situation is so dire that it has become a joke among bu…
One dog dead, two people injured after car crashes into Pooler grooming business
A vehicle crashed into a Pooler dog grooming business Thursday afternoon, killing one dog and injuring the driver and an employee, according to Pooler Fire officials.
Horror Movies, Politics Are Killing Film Festivals: Opinion Column
The film festival circuit is drowning in bloody genre fare and ideological theater. Whatever happened to indie cred?
Prosecutor says man charged in killing of British ex-politician tried to break into Farage's home
LONDON (AP) — A man accused of killing former British politician Ann Widdecombe tried to break into the home of anti-immigration Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage about a year
Prosecutor says man charged in killing of British ex-politician tried to break into Farage's home
A prosecutor says a man accused of killing former British politician Ann Widdecombe allegedly tried to break into Nigel Farage’s home about a year earlier
Prosecutor says man charged in killing of British ex-politician tried to break into Farage's home
LONDON (AP) — A man accused of killing former British politician Ann Widdecombe tried to break into the home of anti-immigration Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage about a year earlier, a prosecutor said Wednesday.
Prosecutor says man charged in killing of British ex-politician tried to break into Farage's home
A prosecutor says a man accused of killing former British politician Ann Widdecombe allegedly tried to break into Nigel Farage's home about a year earlier.
Into the Slaughterverse: How ‘Something Is Killing the Children’ cut into film, TV, and books
Into the Slaughterverse! ‘Something Is Killing the Children’ creator James Tynion IV talks expanding his comics into a horror universe with a film, animated TV show, and prequel novel.
Ukraine’s Science Under Fire: Russia Is Targeting Knowledge, People and the Future
Russian strikes are killing scientists, destroying laboratories and equipment, and putting Ukraine’s scientific and technological capacity at risk.
Nvidia Is Killing Its Beloved Shield TV Because It Had Too Much Memory
It’s hard not to see this as a symbol for Nvidia’s turn away from its gaming roots.
Michael Allen can’t be trusted on ICE
Twenty-one months into President Donald Trump’s second administration, his approach to immigration enforcement is clear: using untrained, masked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents resulting in both the arrests and killings of Americans and the destruction of families and communities. It is a strategy that scapegoats brown-skinned Americans, denies people their right to legal representation […]
Man fatally shoots 2 co-workers at a Virginia business before killing himself, police say
MANASSAS, Va. — A man shot three co-workers during an altercation Wednesday at a northern Virginia business, killing two of them, before he took his own life during a police standoff along an interstate highway, police said. Marvin Grant, 37, of Charlotte, North Carolina, opened fire at an equipment rental
Fahy plans new bill to address chronic absenteeism
An effort last year in response to violence in Albany yielded two bills, now Fahy is preparing to introduce a third in response to the killings of four children in Mechanicville over the summer.
Fahy plans new bill to address chronic absenteeism
An effort last year in response to violence in Albany yielded two bills, now Fahy is preparing to introduce a third in response to the killings of four children in Mechanicville over the summer.
Congolese politician is killed for defending Ebola efforts as mistrust complicates response
BUTEMBO, Congo (AP) — Mourners gathered Wednesday to bury a Congolese politician who was beaten to death after publicly defending the government’s response to Ebola, a killing that highlights the mistrust health workers say is hampering efforts to slow the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history.
Man fatally shoots 2 co-workers at a Virginia business before killing himself, police say
A shooting at a northern Virginia business has left two workers dead. Police in Manassas say the suspect later took his own life during a standoff on Interstate 81. Manassas Police Chief Doug Keen says 37-year-old Marvin Grant opened fire at an equipment rental business Wednesday morning. Two wor...
IDEaS & AWS Launch Upskilling Course for Faculty, Research Engineers, and IT Specialists Working in Health Science Research
The fall cohort of 18 researchers will participate in a free, fully remote, 5-week program.
‘SNL’ Icon Reveals Trump Move Is Killing His Business
The actor and comedian blasted the president for hurting his side hustle.
BOSS Office Works Named KPAA Member Business Of The Year
BOSS Office Works has been named the Killington Pico Area Association’s 2026 Member Business of the Year, recognizing owners Vince Chiarella and Carla Meola-Chiarella for their involvement in the local business community and support of area organizations and events.
Former ‘American Idol’ contestant Caleb Flynn convicted of killing wife as she slept
Former ‘American Idol’ contestant Caleb Flynn has been found guilty of murder in the death of his wife.
CPS cited mother’s mental health as 'safety factor' before Mechanicville killings
WRGB CBS 6 provides local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of events and items of interest in the community, sports and entertainment programming for Albany, New York and nearby towns and communities in the Capital City area, including Cohoes, Watervliet, Colonie, Bethlehem, Guilderland, New Scotland, Coeymans, Green Island, Knox, Berne, Westerlo, Rensselaerville, Colonie, Menands, Green Island, Ravena, Altamont, Voorheesville.
Ukraine’s Academy of Sciences warns against Russian cooperation after attack
The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine has urged the international scientific community not to “restore or legitimise institutional cooperation with Russian state scientific and educational structures,” after a Russian drone hit its Presidium building in central Kyiv, killing at least two people and injuring several others. The drone strike took place in the early afternoon on September 28 while staff were working.The academy called the strike, one of several Russian attacks on Ukraine’s capital using jet-powered drones in recent days, an act of terrorism. “It is a strike [. . .] on the very idea that knowledge, research, and the search for truth should serve life, not its destruction,” it said in a statement.The academy thanked the global scientific community for its solidarity following the attack and warned against any temptation to normalise scientific relations with Russia.“Science cannot exist outside of moral responsibility. There can be no ‘ordinary scientific cooperation’ with a state that kills people and destroys scientific institutions of another country,” it said.“We urge not to create opportunities for Russian state institutions to return to the international scientific community as if nothing happened. There can be no ‘science beyond politics’ when science is attacked with weapons.”After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Europe almost entirely cut institutional ties and joint programmes with Russian science, although personal academic contacts are still ongoing.Related articlesRussia widens targeting of European research centresHow geopolitical rifts cut scientific collaborationThe European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA), for instance, continues to exclude the Russian Academy of Sciences from its network.ALLEA condemned the latest attack as a “barbaric act” and part of a broader “systematic targeting of Ukraine’s scientific and cultural infrastructure.” This is a “deliberate attempt to erase the conditions under which free inquiry, knowledge, and democratic life are possible,” it said in a statement.Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, more than 4,650 educational institutions across Ukraine have been damaged, and a further 423 have been destroyed, according to ALLEA.National academies across Europe joined ALLEA in condemning the attack. “Science is about the pursuit of knowledge for the benefit of humanity, so this is an attack on civilisation itself,” said Paul Nurse, president of the UK’s Royal Society.Attacks on scientific, university and cultural institutions “are attacks on the foundations of society and constitute a clear violation of international law,” wrote the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.The presidents of the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine also released a joint statement condemning the attack and pledging to continue to support the Ukrainian research community.The targeting of the Ukrainian academy prompted outcry from European leaders. “Today, science became a target for Russia,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on social media.“These strikes are the latest illustration of the Russian regime’s hostile contempt for science and truth,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.
AI, outrage, walls and killing — a busy week
Like most older folks, I’m a tad nervous about the whole artificial intelligence trend. But don’t worry, everything will be OK because our current president, obsessed with gold-trimmed minutiae, gave a speech at the United Nations, of all places, to announce we should now stop using the term “AI” and start using “SI” for “super […]
NY Times exec allegedly slain by in-laws in California was reportedly mired in bitter divorce dispute
Police in Northern California are investigating the circumstances around the killing of a 40-year-old New York Times executive who was fatally shot by his in-laws in a parking lot over
Court docs reveal accusations of family abuse preceded Bay Area killing
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The man gunned down Saturday afternoon at a Dublin sports complex spent the past year embroiled in a bitter custody dispute with his wife — the
Russian strikes hit science academy and medical facility in Kyiv
Russian strikes struck a science academy building and a medical facility in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, killing at least one person and injuring six others, including three children, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy said on Monday that the casualties were reported at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine building, which sustained a direct hit. […]
Google is killing off Gemini's Gems in favor of 'skills'
As all-in-one AI agents like Meta's Muse and Instinct take off, Google is opting to end a feature which built task-specific agents.
Google is officially killing Gemini Gems
The Gems manager in Gemini is now showing a banner officially announcing that Gems will be migrated to Skills starting November 17.
Russia attacks scientists in strikes on Kyiv
A Russian drone hit Ukraine’s science academy in the heart of Kyiv, killing a woman and causing a large fire.
Parents-in-law accused of killing Dublin man at sports park
A Dublin man was shot to death in the parking lot of a local sports park Saturday afternoon and his elderly parents-in-law have been booked in jail on suspicion of committing the homicide, city police said in a case update Sunday.
Grand jury charges Sugar Creek man for killing business partner, hiding body in concrete
A Jackson County grand jury has charged a 62-year-old Sugar Creek man suspected of killing his business partner before burying his body in freshly poured concrete inside an Independence home.
Long-Time PlayStation Publisher Says "The Discussion May Change" Around Physical Media
Rumors recently appeared about Sony potentially delaying its digital-only future due to pressure from Microsoft's Xbox Helix, although they were promptly shot down by industry insiders and frequent leakers who said that Sony was dead-set on killing its physical media production—despite data...
Microsoft is killing off the ‘Copilot Plus PC’ brand
What will Microsoft’s next buzzword be?
Family of Jaquoya Wix speaks out after suspect charged; mental health system questioned
The family of Jaquoya Wix is speaking out one day after the man accused of killing her was charged with first-degree murder.
Sony Allegedly Surveyed Game Developers on its Disc-Killing Plan for 2028, Hinting at a Possible Reversal amid Fan Boycotts
According to leaker MLID, Sony has surveyed game developers on its disc-killing plan, suggesting they may consider a shocking reversal.
Microsoft is killing an Office app you've used for decades
Microsoft's advice for saving your work turns it into something you can't change
Major AI companies say their products will commit crimes. Where are the police?
Leaders and researchers at frontier artificial intelligence labs say the products they’re making may hack into other companies and have a possibility of harming or even killing humans. Lone Star Politics asks Brendan Steinhauser from the Alliance for Secure Ai where is law enforcement?
How Issues With Your Feet Could Signal Bigger Health Issues
As your body’s foundation, issues with your feet can create a domino effect with the rest of your health. Dr. Ebonie Vincent-Sleet, podiatrists and one of the stars of TLC’s “My Feet Are Killing Me,” joins TODAY to break down remedies for common issues, when you should see a doctor, and the possible warning signs your feet could be giving you about diabetes, heart failure and more.
Jessica Chastain series shelved in wake of Charlie Kirk assassination finally gets 2027 release
“The Savant,” which stars Chastain as an investigator of extremist hate groups, was put on ice following the conservative activist’s killing.
Jessica Chastain series shelved in wake of Charlie Kirk assassination finally gets 2027 release
Jessica Chastain’s ‘The Savant,’ shelved days before its planned 2025 release following Charlie Kirk’s killing, has officially been given a release set for 2027.
Scientists Discover New Compound That Burns Fat Without Killing Your Appetite
Unlike GLP-1 drugs, which suppress appetite and reduce energy intake, a newly identified molecular compound helps cells burn more energy without changing food intake or exercise and has shown promise in mouse models. The most successful new obesity drugs largely work by helping people eat less. Researchers at UC Berkeley are exploring a different strategy:
Defense questions DNA evidence in TJ Wiggins triple-murder trial
Defense attorney Debra Tuomey questioned the reliability of DNA evidence linking TJ Wiggins to the 2020 killings at Lake Streety in Frostproof.
1,700-year-old fragment of the 'Odyssey' discovered between pages of Dutch library book
The fragment is from Book 12, when Zeus curses Odysseus' men for killing and eating Helios' sacred cattle.
BIRDIE THIRTY: "Window feeders provide endless entertainment for cats" - EWN at 7:30am on 9-13-2026
Window feeders provide endless entertainment for kitties, which pays off twofold: it keeps the cats happy and amused without exposing them to the outdoor dangers of predators and cars, and also lets them watch birds without killing them, thus helping out our feathered friends, too! Feral/outdoor domestic cats are one of the top three reasons for decline in bird populations (i.e bird death) in North America, so a window feeder (and indoor cats) are two big steps in the right direction! As seen here, this parade of curious kitties is enraptured by the idea that a bird might visit momentarily. Once a cat learns that a window feeder will attract these winged wonders, it will often stay pinned at the window for hours, eagerly awaiting the next bird. Sometimes watching the cats watch the birds can be even more entertaining than watching the birds themselves!
Simplilearn and Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science Executive Education Launch Program to Advance LLM and Multi-Agent Systems Skills
Simplilearn, the global digital upskilling platform, along with Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science Executive Education, has launched Build With LLMs: From Context Engineering to Multi-Agent Systems, an 8-week live online program designed to help technical professionals develop the skills to build modern LLM-powered applications and multi-agent systems.
Prosecutors won't pursue death penalty for Rob Reiner’s son Nick in killing of his parents
Prosecutors in California say they won’t pursue the death penalty for Rob Reiner’s son Nick in the killing of his parents. Nick Reiner was charged Dec. 16 with first-degree murder in the stunning...
Prosecutors won’t pursue death penalty for Rob Reiner’s son Nick in killing of his parents
Prosecutors in California say they won’t pursue the death penalty for Rob Reiner’s son Nick in the killing of his parents.
Ranking Members Markey, Velázquez, American Small Businesses Fight Back Against Trump SBA’s Discriminatory Anti-Immigrant Lending Policies
More than 120 small businesses and organizations pen letter of support for Ranking Member Markey’s resolution striking down Trump’s ban on awarding SBA loans to green card holders Letter (PDF) (Washington, September 15) – Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today garnered additional support from Main Street small businesses for his Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to rescind the Trump administration’s discriminatory policy that bans green card holders from accessing essential Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. In a letter of support, more than 120 American small businesses and community organizations, led by Small Business Majority, applauded Ranking Member Markey’s efforts to overturn the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant lending ban and advocated for the passage of Ranking Member Markey’s CRA resolution in the Senate. House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY-7) is leading the resolution in the House of Representatives. The Trump administration’s green card holder ban is the most recent escalation of SBA’s draconian citizenship restrictions that are killing jobs and putting the American Dream further out of reach for entrepreneurs. In Fiscal Year 2025, Trump’s SBA made an estimated $5.5 billion in loans to green card holders, which supported more than 80,000 jobs nationwide. “The Trump administration’s continued attacks on American small businesses and jobs are anti-American, they’re discriminatory, and they’re dragging down our communities and our economy. Thanks to partners like Small Business Majority, countless small businesses, and community organizations, we are fighting back and holding them accountable,” said Ranking Member Markey. “I will not stop fighting to rescind this hateful policy that attacks American entrepreneurs and prevents them from pursuing the American Dream.” “Small businesses and organizations across the country are sending a clear message that the Trump administration's discriminatory lending rules are bad for business,” said Ranking Member Velázquez. “I want to thank Small Business Majority for leading this effort and amplifying the voices of the entrepreneurs who create jobs and strengthen our local economies. As Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee, I will keep pushing to stop these attacks on the American Dream and ensure that every eligible entrepreneur can access the capital they need to succeed.” In the letter, the small businesses write, “Congress must reaffirm its commitment to serving those who are rightfully and legally entitled to accessing key government guaranteed loan programs in pursuit of the American Dream. Restoring access to responsible, government-guaranteed loans for such a critical segment of our economy will allow thousands of small businesses to access the capital they require to grow and invest in American communities. If Congress does not act to protect access to the very ideals that our country was founded upon by rewarding those who adhere strictly to legal immigration pathways, local economies, communities and Main Street will pay the price.” Ranking Member Markey’s CRA resolution follows his introduction of the Investing in the American Dream Act alongside Ranking Member Velázquez earlier this year. The Investing in the American Dream Act would roll back the SBA’s draconian lending restrictions and restore previous SBA lending policies for immigrant entrepreneurs lawfully in the U.S., including green card holders, refugees, and asylees. More than 100 organizations have called for the passage of the legislation and more than 60 Massachusetts state legislators have raised concerns about the impact of the citizenship restrictions in their local communities. Ranking Member Markey is fighting for small business owners and immigrants that rely on SBA loans to start and run their businesses, create jobs, and contribute to their communities. In July, Ranking Member Markey and Ranking Member Velázquez introduced a bicameral resolution to rescind the Trump administration’s policy that bans green card holders from accessing essential SBA loans to start and grow their businesses and invest in Main Streets nationwide. In May, Ranking Member Markey highlighted the significant contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs in Massachusetts and across the country and condemned the Trump administration’s repeated attacks on immigrant communities at a Small Business Committee hearing. MIRA’s Elizabeth Sweet, who participated in Ranking Member Markey’s listening session earlier in May, provided testimony at the hearing. Also in May, Ranking Member Markey hosted a listening session at the Urban College of Boston to hear directly from several Massachusetts immigrant small business owners, lenders, and chambers of commerce how President Trump’s cruel and callous anti-immigrant policies are hurting Main Streets in the Bay State. Earlier in May, Ranking Member Markey hosted a press conference alongside Ranking Member Velázquez, Democratic lawmakers, and stakeholders to condemn the Trump administration’s harmful anti-immigrant lending policies and to introduce the Investing in the American Dream Act. In March, Ranking Member Markey released a comprehensive report detailing the harms to small business owners, workers, and consumers caused by the Trump administration’s ICE raids in communities across the country. In February, Ranking Member Markey introduced the Small Business ICE Disruption Fund Act, which would provide grants to small businesses that have been impacted by the Trump administration’s violent immigration enforcement actions on Main Streets across the United States. Earlier in February, Ranking Member Markey, Ranking Member Velázquez, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chair Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) sent a letter urging the SBA to rescind their lending rule change that bars legal permanent residents from receiving SBA loans. Previously, Ranking Members Markey and Velázquez released a statement condemning the actions of the SBA after it announced that small businesses with legal permanent residents will be barred from receiving SBA loans. In December 2025, Ranking Member Markey and all Democratic members of the Senate Small Business Committee sent a letter to the SBA reiterating concerns with the SBA’s citizenship requirements and highlighting a drop in SBA lending volume. In September 2025, Ranking Member Markey heard directly from SBA lenders about the issues with the citizenship verification requirements. In July 2025, Ranking Members Markey and Velázquez sent a letter to the SBA expressing serious concerns with the agency’s new, draconian citizenship verification requirements that require small businesses seeking SBA loans to be 100% owned by U.S. citizens, nationals, and legal permanent residents. ###
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma May Have Personally Responded to Your Customer Support Ticket
New-ish Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has had a busy first six months on the job, including killing the divisive "This is Xbox" marketing campaign, slashing Xbox Game Pass Ultimate's subscription price, and unfortunately also overseeing mass layoffs and development studio spin-outs. But as Sharma has gotten settled in her job, she's also been spending time understanding Xbox's products and customers in another way: by fielding customer support tickets.
Amazon won't work with 21 Air after fatal Miami plane crash
Amazon said it has "decided to pause our operations with 21 Air" after a Boeing 767 overshot the runway at Miami Airport, killing five people.
Congressman Greg Casar Wants to Stop AI From Killing Us All
The Democrat from Austin talks to Texas Monthly about his bill to prevent the development of superintelligence, which experts warn poses existential risks to humanity.
Scientists Resurrect 160-Million-Year-Old Molecules With Surprising Power Against Superbugs
Ancient mammalian antimicrobial peptides revealed stronger bacteria-killing activity in some cases, offering clues for designing future treatments against resistant infections. Some proteins that vanished millions of years ago may still have something to teach scientists about fighting modern infections. University of Oregon biologists have reconstructed antimicrobial molecules dating back as far as 160 million years,
How A Super-Intelligent AI Designed To Make Paperclips Could End Up Killing Us All
An AI doesn't have to be evil to end up destroying us all. Some might just want to make office equipment.
The week the AI freakout went mainstream
Warnings about AI killing many people, or everyone, are going viral. Here are 3 things the government could do.
The politics and possibilities of ‘AI could kill us all’
I found myself fielding a lot of questions from folks who don’t usually talk much about AI this week. They were mostly along the lines of “do you think AI is going to kill us all?” or “how worried should I be about this human extinction stuff?” Motivating this wave of existential anxiety was the highly dramatic resignation of now-former Anthropic employee Jacob Coxon, who quit his job while publicly sharing his concerns about safety practices at the leading AI companies. More specifically, he declared that almost everyone at OpenAI and Anthropic, the leading AI labs, believes that there’s a decent chance the AI systems they’re producing could “kill us all” by the end of the decade, and the companies aren’t “acting responsibly.” Other AI safety researchers, including those still employed at Anthropic and OpenAI, all confirmed that yes, Coxon is correct, they’re all worried that their company’s products might prove fatal for the entire human race as well. Two more AI employees quit and joined the chorus. Now, the warning shot has been covered everywhere from the Wall Street Journal to Fox News to WIRED to the Guardian. I understand why all this sounds scary, but my response to those who have asked, has generally been: No, you don’t need to worry that AI will kill go rogue and kill us all. But that does not mean we shouldn’t worry, period. Far from it. The companies building AI products are now among the wealthiest and most powerful entities in the world. And they very much are building enormous engines of mass surveillance, extraction, and automation. They can and have allowed their AI systems to carry out felony hacks of other companies, provided the government with autonomously generated kill lists, and sold enterprise technology to firms around the world that is explicitly intended to replace jobs. But “AI” has done these things not because they have all-powerful minds of their own but, ultimately, because people have programmed, calibrated, and directed them to. In other words, it’s not AI we need to worry the most about. It’s the people and corporations working to profit from and gain power by deploying it. The technology is sophisticated, sure, and, especially in cybersecurity contexts, potentially disruptive to plenty of existing systems. But if we want to stop this predatory, profiteering, and extractive form of AI—and it’s worth noting that at this point, most people do—we absolutely can. A quick note/plea: I can only do all of this with the support of readers like you, so if you find value in independent, critical tech journalism and analysis, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. I want to keep as much of this un-paywalled as absolutely possible, and I need your support to do so. Many thanks to all who continue to chip in, it’s very much appreciated. Onward. Subscribe First, some context: AI industry folks like Coxon have been discussing the prospect that AI will destroy humanity for years. Even before the beginning of the AI boom, many working in the industry, from the executive staff to the rank and file researchers, have obsessed over ‘x-risk’, or the possibility that AI will become sentient or semi-sentient and move one way or another to exterminate humanity. This is ostensibly why Elon Musk bankrolled OpenAI in the first place, and is the grounds for his lawsuit alleging OpenAI betrayed its charter by abandoning its nonprofit status to become a commercial enterprise. Many AI engineers and startup founders have calculated their own personal p(doom), or the probability that the tech product they are working on will initiate an actual humanity-extinguishing apocalypse. 10-25% p(doom)s are pretty common. (I wrote about a long weekend I spent among these folks at one of their top conferences here, to give you an idea of their ideas and belief systems.) Sam Altman himself drove the narrative of the imminent rise of a super-powerful AI, or artificial general intelligence, to prominence by declaring that the technology he was building posed an existential risk to humanity. This idea is in other words baked into the DNA of modern AI companies and into the products they engineer. It’s also why the industry is routinely accused, by myself and others, of “doom marketing,” ie, using such proclamations and framings to impart the sheer power of the technology behind your product onto investors, partners, consumers, and the state. Some ambient understanding of this tendency may have helped prevent the press from repeating the claim every time one of the x-risk folks made it over the years, including when they quit their jobs at AI companies while doing so. Yet Coxon’s AI x-risk alarm has broken containment, as they say, and has exposed the idea to the mainstream media once again. This has happened, I think, for a number of reasons. First, when AI CEOs were going around saying AI might kill everyone in 2023, their companies were well-capitalized, but not nearly to the extent they are today. They were more easily dismissed as eccentric geeks of the sort that Silicon Valley is supposed to produce. Now, not only do their products have much greater market saturation, but people are more aware of a) the often unethical ways the executives and companies comport themselves b) the other adverse impacts of AI that have already arrived, and c) the physical cost of building these systems, particularly when it comes to data centers. Finally, toss in the constant stream of headlines in 2026 about AI models going rogue or potentially upending the world’s infrastructure. [ ](https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/with-the-backlash-to-data-centers) [ With the backlash to data centers, Flock and AI glasses, a mass opposition to big tech is underway. Silicon Valley is in denial. ](https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/with-the-backlash-to-data-centers) Brian Merchant · Aug 27 [ Read full story ](https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/with-the-backlash-to-data-centers) As a result, general sentiment was already overwhelmingly skeptical of AI and its overlords, so the table was pretty well set for someone to come along and say ‘just a reminder, the companies that are building the product that promises to take your job and leave a data center in your neighborhood also think that it might exterminate the human race’ and get a strong reaction from the media and the public. The question is: Should we understand this stuff as hype, strategically fanned to feed already swelling valuations? Is it doom marketing? Genuine cause for alarm that the infrastructure that undergirds modern life is facing a novel threat vector? Or reason to be sincerely worried that AI companies are amassing too much power, and that their products are genuinely dangerous? The answer, I’m afraid, is “yes.” Let me try to untangle all of this a bit, because arguments over how to navigate this moment are extremely heated right now, as they are essentially arguments over how to approach the politics of AI at a moment where there may be a unique opening for action. Those sympathetic to AI alignment concerns and x risk arguments—which increasingly includes a faction on the left who want to shut down AI over safety concerns—argue that people who dismiss AI as all hype have their heads in the sand. Meanwhile, critics of the x-risk narrative—which I might note includes a cadre of investors and tech folks on the right, too—argue that it is hype and can be used to further inflate valuations or for pursuing regulatory capture. The challenge is that many feel that dismissing AI as just hype or purely marketing also diminishes the urgency of taking on the AI industry as the novel and threat to labor, civil society, and the public sphere it is; others that by accepting the industry’s own terms, we imbue it with undue power and enable it. But let’s be clear: Declarations that AI is so powerful it might end the world are a kind of marketing, and anyone who says otherwise is just as off base as those who say that’s all that it is. If you don’t think that these sub-trillion dollar companies have higher-ups who noticed that when their founders talked about super-powerful dangerous AI they got spikes in media interest and phone calls from investors, or that those founders didn’t notice that themselves, and lean into certain narratives to advantage their products, then I don’t know what to tell you. Not all marketing is a Pepsi ad campaign with a celebrity spokesperson. Yet confronting the AI industry should certainly be considered an urgent project. Do I share the x-riskers’ fear that out-of-control, super-intelligent AI agents might end the world? I do not. I’ve read a good deal of AI extinction literature over the last couple of years and I have not come across a credible, step-by-step documentation of how exactly AI might move from self-recursively improving AI to killing every single human on the planet. Most of what I’ve read seems predicated on a sort of reverse Ian Malcolmian logic: Eventually, it becomes smart enough and AI, uh, finds a way (to exterminate humanity). Are the AI companies also overstating and dramatizing what their products can do? Yes, pretty much all the time. They’re in a knife fight for market share and are trying to win customers and government contracts before their investors come knocking. And yet. They have concentrated enormous amounts of compute, have extensive data collection and surveillance capacities, have inserted themselves into the state in numerous capacities, including military kill chains, and they are being run by egomaniacal billionaires who are rushing to monopolize an entire new market. The way I think about their most recent frightening-seeming exploits is not as a “swarm of rogue AI agents building a new civilization” or whatever, but as corporations with a hitherto-unimaginable amount of compute at their disposal recklessly experimenting with automation programs, completely unafraid of any repercussions because we have been unwilling or unable to impose any on them. So I think we should welcome any newfound imperative to hold them accountable. I also think that ultimately, the AI critics, Pause AI folks, leftists, doomers, effective altruists, and, honestly, most of the public, want a lot of the same things: legitimate checks and limits on AI companies’ power, actual transparency into what the companies are doing, and for more of AI to be under public control. (Ultimately, a lot of what animates the x-risk fears are rooted in just that: a fear of losing control.) How we move towards all this, exactly, is the question of the day, and while there’s much to be argued over in terms of building a viable political platform to challenge the AI industry’s power, I do want to cast a vote against one particular approach. Not to pick on Chris here, as there are a lot of folks out there proposing stuff like this, and the policy ideas actually stem from AI safety groups. But not only would this be challenging to land politically (I can already hear the ‘China will beat us to AGI’ calls) and all but unworkable in practice, this approach is a) far too limiting, b) fails to address the current harms caused by AI and c) would likely only wind up serving Anthropic and OpenAI; it’s what regulatory capture looks like in action. Full model transparency is the floor for what should be on offer here. If these companies believe their products will kill us, the very least we deserve is to know how. It’s in the public interest. I would also argue we might get a lot of the way to stopping any currently envisioned robot apocalypse simply by forcing AI companies to assume liability, and to submit to the full brunt of the law. If Sam Altman were liable to be charged with a felony for approving the hack on Hugging Face1, if Google was forced to pay defamation fines each time it published a false and injurious AI Overviews, these companies might suddenly find cause to restrain their models’ output, and we might hear less about rogue AI. We would need to introduce new frameworks and available tools for tracking automated lawbreaking, to be sure, but I’d wager that little would frighten the AI companies more than actually being held accountable for what their products enable. To that end, Illinois has passed an AI liability law, which the industry fought tooth and nail, and Florida is considering one. The next steps would be towards moving AI under public control; again, it’s only reasonable, since everyone, not just AI insiders, should get a say over how a technology whose developers say might kill us is developed and deployed. Dismantling the whole industrial project as currently structured should be on the table, too, pending democratic input. But that’s for another post. For now, suffice to say that while I won’t be losing any sleep about an AI-enabled extinction event, Mr. Coxon and co. have given us an opportunity to underscore the urgency of the clear and present damage AI companies are doing, the extreme power they wield and the extent to which they hold themselves unaccountable, and the abundance of political capital there is out there for taking them on. Subscribe 1 Purely speculative! I do not know if he did or not.
Business leaders plan to continue AI spend, even if bubble bursts
They’re also investing in upskilling and reskilling efforts to meet AI demands, new report says.
Rick Springfield says it’s ‘hard’ to process his memory of killing man in Vietnam: ‘Didn’t really know what I was doing’
“It still seems like years ago, another guy, another place.”
Rick Springfield says it’s ‘hard’ to process his memory of killing man in Vietnam: ‘Didn’t really know what I was doing’
Rick Springfield is haunted by killing a man in Vietnam when his band toured an active war zone when he was a teenager in the late 1960s: ‘It still seems like years ago, another guy, another place.’
A fossil feather from the age of dinosaurs may explain why only some birds survived
An extremely well preserved fossil feather could reveal why some birds survived the dinosaur-killing asteroid, and others did not.
What Would Charlie Kirk Do Today?
A year after the killing of the 31-year-old conservative youth leader, the movement he helped create has splintered. Would that be the case if he were still alive?
Charlie Kirk’s legacy, political violence & case against Tyler Robinson: One year later
One year after Charlie Kirk’s killing, Turning Point USA is growing as the man accused of his murder prepares to stand trial.
Political violence has become a twisted form of virtue signaling
For college students, the rationalization of the killing of a Charlie Kirk or a Brian Thompson is now a litmus test of your movement bona fides.
Josh Shapiro and Utah Gov. Cox condemn political violence in joint appearance on eve of anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s killing
Gov. Josh Shapiro said his family has repeatedly faced terroristic threats. "And oftentimes it’s rooted in an attack on me because of how I worship,” the governor noted.
Bangladesh measles deaths surpass 1,000 after vaccination drive falls short
Bangladesh faces its worst measles outbreak, killing 1,002 children and infecting nearly 190,000 since March.
Clancy murder case spotlights maternal mental health in U.S., Arkansas
The murder trial of Lindsay Clancy in the January 2023 killing of her three young children ended in a mistrial in Massachusetts on Friday when one of 12 jurors refused to join the others in finding her not guilty by reason of insanity.
CPS report details mental health concerns before Marlene Vidal was charged in children’s deaths
A newly released Child Protective Services fatality report offers new details about concerns involving Marlene Vidal’s mental health and stability in the year before she was charged with killing her two children and setting a car on fire with them inside.
Davante Adams’ Australia research takes deadly turn before Rams opener
Davante Adams may not be an Australia expert, but he has compiled a useful list of nearly everything there capable of killing him. Asked whether he researched the country before...
Key moments in the Lindsay Clancy case: the 911 call, mental health care, mistrial
The judge has declared a mistrial in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial. After seven days of deliberating, the jurors failed to reach a verdict on whether she was criminally responsible for killing her three young children at her Massachusetts home. Judge William Sullivan declared the mistrial Friday. That came after jurors sent a note saying that they were “unable to come to a unanimous decision and will not be able to." The emotionally charged case has sharply divided many Americans and generated intense interest for over a month. It’s drawn attention to issues around maternal mental health after childbirth.
Jenks Center presents ‘Stone Age Science’ with Joshua Passell
The following was submitted by the Jenks Center: On Tuesday, Sept. 15, the Jenks Center, 109 Skillings Road, will host “Stone Age Science,” from 6-7 p.m., with Joshua Passell. The natural world is rich with mysteries, but not so mysterious that our ancient ancestors were unable to understand
Amazon plane barrels off runway; at least 5 dead
MIAMI — An Amazon cargo plane barreled off a runway at Miami International Airport on Sunday, killing at least five people and injuring five others as it struck vehicles and
Lindsay Clancy case exposes dangers of fragmented U.S. health system, experts say
In the months before killing her children, Lindsay Clancy repeatedly sought help for her deteriorating mental health.