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Report: watchOS 27 to improve heart-rate tracking; AI health coach may not debut at launch
For the better part of a year, we’ve been hearing about Project Mulberry: Apple’s AI-powered health coach. Back in February,...
Democrats Vow a Redistricting Counterpunch but Are Facing Hurdles Republicans Don't
Democrats are poised to finish several seats behind Republicans in 2026 in the nationwide race to redraw maps for the U.S. House. They can catch up in 2028, but only if they overcome a series of redistricting hurdles that the GOP does not face. That's because Democrats, in many states, can draw ...
'I'm happy if they're happy' : Thousands flock to Capitol grounds for Vandalia Gathering
The 49th annual Vandalia Gathering in West Virginia State Capitol grounds features traditional music, dancing, food trucks, and competitions, bringing together lovers of Appalachian culture. Logan Hoy placed third in the bluegrass banjo competition.
Blue Jays Make Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Move Before Pirates Game
Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is seeing a change.
New York Rangers report cards: Grading trade candidates Trocheck, Schneider
Vincent Trocheck and Braden Schneider head into this offseason with one thing most definitely in common: their future with the […]
From red to blue: Deschutes County politics shift left after election
After Tuesday’s election results, the balance of power on the Deschutes County Commission is undergoing what some observers describe as a seismic shift to the left. Democrats and left-leaning candidates […]
Governor taps health, banking, business leaders for Northwest Florida State College board
The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.
Governor taps health, banking, business leaders for Northwest Florida State College board
The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.
Blue Origin completes investigation into New Glenn launch failure
Blue Origin has completed the investigation into the failure on the third flight of its New Glenn rocket, clearing launches of the vehicle to resume.
Unannounced Apple headphones revealed in FCC documents
A new filing in the FCC database has revealed an unannounced Apple-made Bluetooth headphone. Here are the details.
Whole Hog Politics: Blue MAGA? Yep. Democrats’ Tea Party? Probably not.
[Watch Whole Hog Politics live: Join us today at 9 am ET at TheHill.com as Chris Stirewalt and host Bill Sammon break down this week’s political news and answer questions from a live online audienc…
A Simple Chore Could Help Calm Your Mind, And It's Popular With Zen Monks
"It can start to function more like a mindfulness exercise."
Customers in shock after Providence Health Plan announces it will be canceling most coverage: 'Completely out of the blue'
St. Louis Science Center “The Blue Whale Story” opens Saturday
The Blue Whale Story exhibit features immersive activities and life-sized models including a replica skeleton and the world’s only full-scale Blue Whale heart model.
Waste Watch: How community colleges spent taxpayer-funded mental health recovery dollars
WLOS News 13 provides local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of events and items of interest in the community, sports and entertainment programming for Asheville, NC and nearby towns and communities in Western North Carolina and the Upstate of South Carolina, including the counties of Buncombe, Henderson, Rutherford, Haywood, Polk, Transylvania, McDowell, Mitchell, Madison, Yancey, Jackson, Swain, Macon, Graham, Spartanburg, Greenville, Anderson, Union, Pickens, Oconee, Laurens, Greenwood, Abbeville and also Biltmore Forest, Woodfin, Leicester, Black Mountain, Montreat, Arden, Weaverville, Hendersonville, Etowah, Flat Rock, Mills River, Waynesville, Maggie Valley, Canton, Clyde, Franklin, Cullowhee, Sylva, Cherokee, Marion, Old Fort, Forest City, Lake Lure, Bat Cave, Spindale, Spruce Pine, Bakersville, Burnsville, Tryon, Columbus, Marshall, Mars Hill, Brevard, Bryson City, Cashiers, Greer, Landrum, Clemson, Gaffney, and Easley.
That new blue whale exhibition at the Science Center? It's big
The show's highlight is an 80-foot-long replica of a real blue whale skeleton.
How Allie Clifton built a modern sports media blueprint
It’s 2,200 miles from Los Angeles to the small town of Van Wert, Ohio. And for Allie Clifton, her roots in the rural northwest corner of the Buckeye State are what have anchored her journey to national prominence as a basketball voice. “To be where I’m at now, I don’t take it lightly. I don’t…
Sutter Health Recognized in Anthem Blue Cross Annual Care Provider Recognition Program
Not-for-Profit Healthcare System’s Medical Groups Honored Among the Top Healthcare Providers in Anthem’s National Network NORTHERN CALIF. – Sutter Health today announced it earned recognition as one of only four California recipients in Anthem Blue Cross’ Care Provider Recognition Program. Developed in collaboration with Anthem’s affiliated health plans, the program honors top-performing medical groups nationwide […]
Yankees Remove Trent Grisham From Blue Jays Game With Injury
The New York Yankees lost center fielder Trent Grisham to injury on Wednesday night.
Blue Jays pitcher José Berríos undergoes Tommy John surgery
A two-time All-Star, Berríos has a 7-year, $131 million contract that runs through the 2028 season.
Kentucky, UNC, Kansas, Michigan, UConn in discussions with big new blue blood-laden college basketball event
The 'Diamond Cup,' a new eight-team event, is being prepped for 2027, but can it come together as planned?
Jeff Bezos calls Amazon’s documentary about Melania Trump ‘a good business decision’
Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin founder and Amazon executive chair, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the wealth disparity in America, addressing the affordability gap, the controversy surrounding Amazon’s documentary about Melania Trump, and more.
Why Rangers could target Mavrik Bourque this offseason
This is an extremely important offseason for the New York Rangers. After missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs two seasons in […]
The company behind ChatGPT hopes to win the national AI fight
As Washington dithers on AI safety, OpenAI’s top lobbyist is persuading blue states to pass laws that advance his plan for a national AI framework — and he says he’s just getting started.
PS6 delays, cross-gen games, and more subscriptions - what Sony's latest financials could mean for PlayStation fans in the future
Rhys Elliot, video game analyst at Alinea Analytics, speaks to Eurogamer about Sony's latest fiscal year statement and what it all means.
West Texas A&M Partners with PlayFly Sports on Sponsorship and Ticketing
West Texas A&M today announced a five-year partnership with Playfly Sports, the sports industry's leading revenue maximization company for its ticketing and sponsorship sales across all sports.
Teague: Spurs used Lakers' game plan versus Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
According to former All-Star Jeff Teague, the Lakers may have given the rest of the NBA the blueprint for how to contain Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
McMahon, Rice power Yankees to win over Blue Jays
Another day, another New York nailbiter.
Dodgers activate Eric Lauer, option Wyatt Mills
The Dodgers on Tuesday activated pitcher Eric Lauer, the left-hander they acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday for cash considerations. Right-hander Wyatt Mills was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City. After a 3.18 ERA and 3.88 xERA in 2025 for the Blue Jays, Lauer this year had a 6.69 ERA and 5.86 xERA in […]
Backtrack Blues Band: 45 years of original music
Renaissance man Charles "Chuck" Ross has mediated disputes as a lawyer, run a nightclub (The Ringside Café in St. Petersburg), and invested in real estate.
Bluevine Study Reveals 2 in 3 Small Business Owners Lose Sleep Over Financial Stress
/PRNewswire/ -- A new national survey published today by Bluevine—the largest digital banking platform for small businesses in the U.S.*—reveals that financial...
In deep blue California, Dems find a villain toxic enough to rival Trump: The power company
Rising electricity prices have frustrated voters, creating a prime target for candidates.
Steam's NSFW and Mature tags ditched by Valve in favour of "more descriptive" ones like Sexual Content and Gore, as part of wider revamp
Fresh changes by Valve to the Steam store's tags include NSFW and Mature being removed in favour of "more descriptive" ones.
Board Resolution Endorses May 2026 as Mental Health Awareness Month
San Diego County Board of Education endorses May 2026 as Mental Health Awareness Month.
Photoinduced radical emission from flexible organic crystals
Light: Science & Applications - Photoinduced radical doping strategy enables blue luminescence and elastic bending (>180°) in organic crystals. Confined oxygen radicals and dynamic...
Vote for Blue FCU's Fort Collins-area Boys Athlete of Week (May 18)
Vote for Blue FCU's Boys Athlete of the Week, with nominees from Wellington baseball, Heritage Christian track and Fort Collins baseball/track.
Inter Miami CF and Heron Sports & Entertainment to Join FIFA World Cup 26™ Celebration in Club’s Elite Facilities
Inter Miami CF and Heron Sports & Entertainment will join the FIFA World Cup 26™ festivities by hosting a series of special events across its world-class facilities - Nu Stadium, Inter Miami CF Stadium and the Florida Blue Training Center. Inter Miami CF’s world-class facilities will host four nations preparing
Inter Miami CF and Heron Sports & Entertainment to Join FIFA World Cup 26™ Celebration in Club’s Elite Facilities
Inter Miami CF and Heron Sports & Entertainment will join the FIFA World Cup 26™ festivities by hosting a series of special events across its world-class facilities - Nu Stadium, Inter Miami CF Stadium and the Florida Blue Training Center. Inter Miami CF’s world-class facilities will host four nations preparing
Inter Miami CF and Heron Sports & Entertainment to Join World Cup Celebration in Club’s Elite Facilities
Inter Miami CF and Heron Sports & Entertainment will join the FIFA World Cup 26™ festivities by hosting a series of special events across its world-class facilities - Nu Stadium, Inter Miami CF Stadium and the Florida Blue Training Center. Inter Miami CF’s top-notch facilities will accommodate four nations preparing
Inter Miami CF and Heron Sports & Entertainment to Join World Cup Celebration in Club’s Elite Facilities
Inter Miami CF and Heron Sports & Entertainment will join the FIFA World Cup 26™ festivities by hosting a series of special events across its world-class facilities - Nu Stadium, Inter Miami CF Stadium and the Florida Blue Training Center. Inter Miami CF’s top-notch facilities will accommodate four nations preparing
Bird and Human Faces Share the Same Genetic Blueprint. Why Do They Look So Different?
Changes in non-coding DNA sequences make all the difference.
Ford Europe plans five new vehicles to turn around passenger business
Although it has leadership in commercial vehicles on the continent, the Blue Oval has struggled with market share in the retail space.
New MatterChat Model Helps AI to ‘See’ the Language of Science
From writing emails to generating computer code, much of the artificial intelligence prevalent in our daily lives has succeeded by mastering one domain: text. However, this leaves a major blind spot in the physical sciences, where models depend on the high-resolution, three-dimensional data of the physical world, like the intricate lattice of atoms in a crystal. Delivering on the promise of using AI for science requires teaching these data-driven text models to seamlessly “talk to” physics-based models. Now, a new AI framework from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), called MatterChat, solves this problem by creating a specialized “bridge.” It connects the conversational power of a Large Language Model (LLM) with a physics-based AI that models “interatomic potentials”: the complex physical forces between atoms. The resulting system already significantly outperforms general-purpose AI tools like GPT-4 at predicting material properties, and the team hopes it can accelerate scientific discovery by serving as a robust research partner that provides grounded insights and generates step-by-step instructions for synthesizing novel materials. A paper describing this work was recently published in Nature Machine Intelligence. “Traditional simulations can provide the physical rigor required for materials science, yet their computational cost remains prohibitive for high-throughput screening. Conversely, while LLMs excel at rapid knowledge synthesis, they inherently lack the ‘structural vision’ to interpret materials directly from their underlying atomic coordinates,” said Yingheng Tang, a postdoctoral researcher in Berkeley Lab’s Applied Math and Computational Research Division (AMCR) and lead author on the paper. “MatterChat was built to solve this dilemma, empowering LLMs with a structural ‘vision’ that allows researchers to leverage their full potential for solving complex, real-world materials challenges.” Empowering language models to solve complex challenges in materials science To build MatterChat, the Berkeley Lab team drew inspiration from technologies like Vision Question Answering (VQA) and Text-to-Image (T2I) generation. In these tasks, AI must translate high-level text concepts into visual images, or vice versa. Doing so requires developers to build tools that “bridge” two fundamentally different forms of data. The researchers adapted this concept to the physical sciences. With MatterChat, they created a “bridge model” that successfully connects an LLM’s general knowledge with the deep understanding of the atomic-scale world encoded in scientific interatomic potentials. Until now, researchers using LLMs to solve materials problems usually had to feed them raw data files as if they were just strings of text. It’s like asking an AI to understand a complex 3D engine based only on a parts list: the LLM can read the names, but it can’t “see” how the atoms fit together in space. MatterChat solves this by training a specialized AI bridge model, pre-trained on millions of crystal structures and an LLM, to align the LLM’s representation of the world with the interatomic potential’s representation of the world. The bridge model can translate physical insights into a format the LLM can actually understand. By giving the LLM these “scientific eyes”— a scientific “inductive bias” in the terminology of AI — the Berkeley Lab team has transformed it into a robust research tool capable of providing grounded scientific insights into complex materials challenges, such as predicting thermal stability or analyzing electronic band gaps. “We think of atoms as living in a physical space, but from a machine learning perspective, they are just vectors living in some very non-trivially structured manifold in a high-dimensional Euclidean space; and, of course, the same is true for the sentences and paragraphs that we use to express our ideas about those atoms,” said co-author Michael Mahoney, Berkeley Lab’s Scientific Data Division (SDD) AI Initiative Research Lead. “The bridge model basically gets those two structures to ‘talk with’ each other.” As a proof-of-concept of this general approach, the team trained their bridge model on a dataset curated by pairing nearly 143,000 stable atomic structures from the Materials Project with their corresponding physical properties. This training data was automatically assembled using the Materials Project’s API and deliberately enriched with properties fundamental to microelectronics design — like formation energy and bandgap — allowing MatterChat to learn the complex patterns connecting a material’s atomic blueprint to its functional performance. To validate their model, the researchers benchmarked MatterChat against a suite of other AI systems, from general-purpose LLMs to other specialized scientific AI methods. The results show that MatterChat consistently outperformed its competitors across a range of tasks. The model was more accurate in classifying material types and demonstrated superior precision in predicting numerical properties. For example, it excelled at predicting a material’s bandgap, a property critical for designing new electronics from high-capacity energy storage to next-generation computer chips. “Our design is significantly more efficient because we don’t have to build a massive AI model from the ground up,” said co-author Zhi (Jackie) Yao, a research scientist in Berkeley Lab’s AMCR. “Instead, we take two powerful, pre-trained models — a structural encoder for materials physics and an open-source LLM — and use them off-the-shelf. The only component we actually train is the lightweight ‘bridge model’ that translates between them. It’s the difference between building an entire car factory and simply designing a smart adapter that connects a world-class engine to a world-class navigation system. This approach is not only computationally efficient, but also makes the system modular, so we can easily upgrade components or adapt the bridge for other scientific domains in the future.” Crucially, this modular design highlights exactly how institutions like Berkeley Lab and the Department of Energy are carving out a highly valuable niche in the booming AI landscape. Rather than competing with Silicon Valley tech giants to build ever-larger language models from scratch, the lab is focusing on the specialized connective tissue that makes commercial AI useful for hardcore science. Because the bridge model approach underlying MatterChat is forward-compatible, it is perfectly positioned to leverage these parallel tracks of innovation. As Mahoney pointed out, “We expect that industry will continue to develop improved LLMs, and we expect domain scientists and facilities will continue to generate new data. An important part of scientific machine learning is not simply to solve problems on today’s data, but instead to develop general methods that will be forward-compatible with orders of magnitude more data, whether from scientific domains or from LLMs.” According to Yao, the MatterChat project, which was initially developed and enhanced with funding from a Berkeley Lab Laboratory Directed Research & Development (LDRD) Program, will now expand its capabilities. In a collaboration with Fermilab, MatterChat is already contributing to a U.S. Department of Energy Genesis Mission project — called Accelerating eXtreme Environment Specs-to-Silicon (AXESS) — that aims to speed up the development of next-generation, high-speed, radiation-hardened detectors for challenging particle physics experiments by using advanced 3D integrated circuits (chiplets) and AI-driven data analysis. In addition to the LDRD support, the team also credits supercomputing resources at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), located at Berkeley Lab, with MatterChat’s success. “We are incredibly grateful to NERSC; this research simply would not have happened without access to the Perlmutter supercomputer through their AI for Science program,” said Tang. Wenbin Xu, a NERSC postdoctoral fellow at the time, was also a major co-author of the work, as was Benjamin Erichson, a research scientist in Berkeley Lab’s SDD, highlighting the benefits of AMCR-SDD collaboration on AI for science. ### Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is committed to groundbreaking research focused on discovery science and solutions for abundant and reliable energy supplies. The lab’s expertise spans materials, chemistry, physics, biology, earth and environmental science, mathematics, and computing. Researchers from around the world rely on the lab’s world-class scientific facilities for their own pioneering research. Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest problems are best addressed by teams, Berkeley Lab and its scientists have been recognized with 17 Nobel Prizes. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.
Scientists May Have Found the Blueprint of the Human Body at the Bottom of the Ocean
Scientists discovered that the brainless sea anemone build their bodies with a technique common in bilaterians... which is what humans are.
Maryland ballot blunder triggers GOP push for federal review of blue state's voter rolls
Republicans call for a federal review of Maryland's voter rolls after a ballot vendor error forced the state to resend thousands of primary ballots.
‘It’s not supposed to look like you’re going to dive in’: Historians criticize Trump’s Reflecting Pool makeover as group sues
Workers with boots dyed an “American Flag Blue” have painted over about two-thirds of the iconic Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, covering the dull gray with bright azure following a directive by President Donald Trump to expedite the pace of the project.
CD 2 candidates gear up for Tallahassee debate Monday
Republicans battle for open Panhandle congressional seat ahead of August Primary.
Vlad Homers, Jays Beat Tigers
Blue Jays 4 Tigers 1 We got more than two runs. Or actually, we got two runs twice: We only had six hits and one walk on the day. Vlad and Varsho had two each (and all the extra base hits). On the pitching side, Kevin Gausman was great. He went six innings, allowing just […]
Dodgers Acquire Eric Lauer in Trade With Blue Jays
The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired left-handed starting pitcher Eric Lauer in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Dodgers announced the news on social media on Sunday. The Dodgers transferred right-hander Brusdar Graterol from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL to make room for Lauer on the 40-man roster. In exchange for […] The post Dodgers Acquire Eric Lauer in Trade With Blue Jays appeared first on LA Sports Report.
Dodgers Signing Left-Hander Amid Pitcher Injury Crisis
The Los Angeles Dodgers are acquiring left-handed pitcher Eric Lauer from the Toronto Blue Jays, per Katie Woo of The Athletic.
New business opens in Bluefield, celebrates with inaugural spring festival
Bluefield was certainly in bloom at the inaugural spring festival put on by Bella’s Tea & Coffee shop, a new business that officially opened on Bland Street with a ribbon cutting.
Spring sports postseason preview: Duke baseball
With postseason play on the doorstep for many spring sports, the Blue Zone is here to preview for each team. Softball, men's lacrosse, track and field and rowing have already been previewed, so it's time to look at Duke baseball, which begins the ACC Tournament Tuesday.
‘Blue Bloods’ actor had these symptoms before rare cancer took his life at 42
The comedian and actor fought the disease hard.
10 Gems of Bluesky Today
Greetings everyone. I’m writing this from my phone, which is doable, but a little clunky. One problem is that I can’t see image attributions from the image library, so I apologise in advance that I…
Why Arizona Democrats are building a Project 2025-style policy blueprint
U.S. Reps. Yassamin Ansari and Adelita Grijalva are taking a lesson from President Donald Trump and Project 2025.
Derek Candelore Introduces The Service Blueprint Program to Support Home Service Business Growth
PITTSBURGH, PA / ACCESS Newswire / May 16, 2026 /Derek Candelore has announced the launch of The Service Blueprint, a structured business development program designed to address common operational and scaling challenges faced by home service companies. ...
'Top Gun' creators say Tom Cruise 'barfed on himself' during jet ride that sold him on doing the movie
'Top Gun' co-writer Jack Epps says Tom Cruise 'barfed on himself' when the Blue Angels took him on a gnarly jet ride to convince him to do the movie: 'They shook him around.'
ACC backs Duke's TV deal with Amazon
Amazon and Duke announced an agreement last month for Prime to exclusively air three Blue Devils men’s basketball games in the 2026-27 season.
ACC backs Duke's TV deal with Amazon
Amazon and Duke announced an agreement last month for Prime to exclusively air three Blue Devils men’s basketball games in the 2026-27 season.
ActBlue C.E.O. Agrees to Testify Before Congress About Foreign Donor Vetting
The Democratic fund-raising group, which backs candidates up and down the ballot, has been the subject of scrutiny by Republicans.
Blue Jays Make Ernie Clement Move Before Tigers Game
The Toronto Blue Jays made an Ernie Clement announcement on Saturday.
Scientists reversed memory loss by recharging the brain’s tiny engines
Researchers have shown for the first time that malfunctioning mitochondria — the cell’s energy generators — may directly cause cognitive decline in neurodegenerative diseases. By creating a new tool that temporarily boosts mitochondrial activity in the brain, scientists restored memory performance in mouse models of dementia. The discovery hints that energy failure inside neurons could happen before brain cells die, potentially offering a new target for future Alzheimer’s treatments.
Newly discovered, blue-whale-size asteroid will fly super close to Earth Monday — and you can watch it live
Newly spotted asteroid 2026 JH2, which could be up to 115 feet wide, will fly past Earth closer than some satellites on Monday (May 18). The close approach will be visible to stargazers and can be viewed via livestream.
Spencer Torkelson walks off Blue Jays for epic Tigers win
Spencer Torkelson played the role of hero for the Detroit Tigers on Friday evening in Detroit with a walk-off, two-run RBI single.
Local businesses benefit from Sabres’ postseason run
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — From downtown bars to neighborhood watch parties, fans in blue and gold are continuing to pack Buffalo businesses night after night. “For businesses everywhere it…
‘Boston Blue’: Gloria Reuben Explains the Real Story About Lena’s Dad
Mae reveals the full truth about Lena's father.
‘Boston Blue’: Gloria Reuben Explains the Real Story About Lena’s Dad
Mae reveals the full truth about Lena's father.
Blue whale skeleton will soon be on display at Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport
A blue whale skeleton is being assembled at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. The project is the culmination of more than 10 years of effort.
Feature: Moore ’26 Keeps Busy with Double Science Major and Music
Luke Moore ’26 came to Kansas Wesleyan on a music scholarship. He’s graduating this weekend (May 16) with a double major in Chemistry and Physics. He’s as active on the music side as he is with his science activities — he’s played the cello for 10 years, including four years at Kansas Wesleyan. It’s common, he said, for scientists and musicians to share those interests. “I’ve spoken to plenty of musicians who would have done science if they weren’t musicians, and I’ve talked to plenty of scientists who would have done music if they weren’t scientists,” Mooresaid. He played the cello in the string orchestra, which he’s done since his first year, and as a junior and senior, sang in the Philharmonic Choir as a bass. He hadn’t sung in a choir since middle schoolin Garden City, but he found he really enjoys that aspect of his college career. Also as a junior, Moore helped re-activate the STEM Club as vice president. For two years, he helped build the club’s battlebot. Last year the bot came home from battles in Kansas City in pieces, lots of pieces. This year it came home with the first-place trophy. He’s helped make frozen nitrogen ice cream at Homecoming and other events and helped organize the STEM Club’s first gingerbread house competition for the holidays. Willing to get his hands – and face – dirty for science, he encouraged fellow musicians and scientists to smash him in the face with whipped cream pies on Pi Day (March 14) as a fundraiser for the STEM Club. His capstone project involved developing a metallic organic framework (MOF) that takes a methylene blue dye out of water. “I’m proud that I was able to design this project, and I was proud that I did end up making the MOF,” Moore said. The professors and attitudes at KWU have made all this possible. “I don’t actually have time for everything,” Moore said. “I have to prioritize things. Things inevitably fall through the cracks, but it’s hard for me to choose one over the other, because I like a lot of things. And I don’t want to not do music, and I don’t want to not do science.” Moore said that Kansas Wesleyan, as a smaller university, gives students the opportunity to try things. “If I were to want to be in a music ensemble, it would probably be a bit harder in a larger school. One nice thing about this school is that everyone’s involved in something,” he said. “Professors know that you have other things going on, and they are flexible and understanding.” Moore has applied to grad schools, with an goal of earning his Ph.D. and landing at a university big enough to allow for a small research team that also gives him an opportunity to teach. He’s off to a good start. Moore is receiving the award for Outstanding Research in the Math, Physics and Computer Studies Department at Commencement this year. Story by Jean Kozubowski
Virginia Launches “Beyond the Blues” Campaign to Raise Awareness of Perinatal and Postpartum Depression - Virginia Department of Health
IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 15, 2026 VDH Media Contact: Cheryle Rodriguez cheryle.rodriguez@vdh.virginia.gov DBHDS Media Contact: Lauren Cunningham, lauren.cunningham@dbhds.virginia.gov Virginia Launches “Beyond the Blues” Campaign to Raise Awareness of Perinatal and Postpartum Depression Campaign helps Virginians recognize emotional changes earlier, reduce stigma and connect parents and families to support. (RICHMOND, Va.) — In honor of Maternal Mental Health Month in […]
Virginia Launches “Beyond the Blues” Campaign to Raise Awareness of Perinatal and Postpartum Depression
IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 15, 2026 VDH Media Contact: Cheryle Rodriguez cheryle.rodriguez@vdh.virginia.gov DBHDS Media Contact: Lauren Cunningham, lauren.cunningham@dbhds.virginia.gov Virginia Launches “Beyond the Blues” Campaign to Raise Awareness of Perinatal and Postpartum Depression Campaign helps Virginians recognize emotional changes earlier, reduce stigma and connect parents and families to support. (RICHMOND, Va.) — In honor of Maternal Mental Health Month in […]
Health agency names two schools affected by Berkshire meningitis outbreak
Students from Reading Blue Coat school, and Highdown secondary school and Sixth Form Centre receiving treatment
Chartbook 449: Voldemort on Threadneedle street. The Bank of England and the "haunted house" of English politics.
Imagine the scene: In some Harry Potter version of 21st-century London, a group of deathless UK Treasury officials gathered from across the last century huddle over warm pints and glasses of Chardonnay. Around the table there are officials from the 1920s, the 1930s, the 1970s, 2022 and today. Inevitably, in May 2026, the subject of conversation is the disintegration of the current Labour government. Despite its huge majority in parliament, it has been reduced to tatters by catastrophic local election result. These exposed the fact that rather than having a government with a clear popular majority, the UK is like most other modern societies divided into 5 segments each of which commands between 26 and 16 percent of the vote. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the leadership at Nos 10 and 11 Downing Street - where the Prime Minister and the Chancellor (Treasury Secretary) work - seem paralyzed. They are caught between mounting discontent over unfairness and the cost of living, and tough fiscal strictures that push them into making unpopular spending decisions. In the London pub, the Treasury officials from across the ages, can barely hide their satisfaction at the latest display of democratic politics caught in the vice-grip of financial logic. “Remember the mur d’argent and the banker’s ramp?” “Just like yesterday!” There are smirks around the table. Then the representative of 2026 pipes up: “One thing you have to say about the current lot (referring to the latest hapless Labour government), you don’t have to teach them about the bond market!” There is a murmur of ascent from the Treasury Mandarins. The trauma of the fiscal crisis of September-October 2022 sits deep. Back then, in the final stages of Tory decay, a ‘mini budget’ that challenged fiscal orthodoxy led to a brief but fierce panic in one of the oldest government bond markets in the world (aka gilt market). Now all you have to do is to mention the “bond market” to hush debate. [ Paul Mason@paulmasonnews In the name of public service, and as ex-economics editor of BBC Newsnight, I offer to do a zoom call, tonight, with any Labour MP who wants to understand why bond markets do not "fall into line" with governments. 1/ 3:57 PM · May 12, 2026 · 466K Views 224 Replies · 674 Reposts · 3.93K Likes ](https://x.com/paulmasonnews/status/2054229532404519082?s=20) “And the funny thing is”, the young man in the huddle continues, “they don’t even want to talk about … ”. There is a sudden hush. Significant looks are exchanged around the table. About? One of the senior figures puts down his glass with a decisive “clink”. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has entered their thoughts. Meanwhile, a few miles away in a grubby pub in Bloomsbury, two conspirators from the camp of Critical Macrofinance huddle over cans of low-alcohol IPA. They look at each other and blurt out loud: “The Bank!” “Everyone in the bloody Labour party is talking about the bond market. But why aren’t they even mentioning … the Bank of England!?” “Why is no one talking about Voldemort?” In Paul Mason’s blogpost, after much chest-thumping about basic fiscal logic, the basic point about the Bank of England is buried in the fine print at #3 in his list of suggestions as to what a radical Labour government might actually be able to do! [ Conflict & Democracy Down with the bond market! Down with gravity! It may seem unfair to focus on Labour MP Paula Barker for her off-the-cuff assertion that the bond market would have to “fall in line” with Andy Burnham, should he replace Keir Starmer as prime minister. But Burnham himself told the New Statesman that Labour had to “get beyond this thing of being in hock to the bond markets… Read more 2 days ago · 100 likes · 3 comments · Paul Mason ](https://htsf.substack.com/p/down-with-the-bond-market-down-with?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web) Back in Bloomsbury they shake their heads and ask: “Didn’t we learn anything from the Eurozone crisis?” Meanwhile, as if summoned to the conversation by some higher force, the “pink pages” announce: “The days of ultra-cheap government borrowing have come to an end” and Martin “Whizzard” Wolf publishes the graph of the season Look at the UK in 2026, perilously positioned on the upper edge of the pack. No wonder no one in London needs any lessons about the “bond market”. But, look again. Imagine how they feel in Rome. What is London’s nightmare in 2026? The nightmare is that you end up like Italy in the early 2010s during the Eurozone crisis. Once comfortably situated in the middle of the pack, watching with horror as your ten-year yields explode to 7 percent and “spreads” become a national nightmare. One of the largest economies in Europe, a founding member of the euro, stigmatized. But the message of the Italian experience is ambiguous. After all, the stigma didn’t last. In 2026, Italy borrows at rates lower not only than the UK but the US. The US, which, as everyone knows, enjoys the “exorbitant privilege” of being the issuer of reserve, safe asets. What kind of magic is this? How did Italy, in the space of fifteen years, go from being good, to bad and back again? Which brings us back to our dissident friends in their Bloombury boozer and their memories of the Eurozone crisis. Italy never was Britain - with its ongoing fiscal deficits. Without interest payments, on primary balance, from 2000 to 2020 Italy ran a tight fiscal ship. Even in 2008 it barely went into deficit and when it was being put on the rack in the early 20210s its primary surplus matched that of austere Germany. So, what happened? How did it end up stigmatized? Of course Italian politics didn’t help. Berlusconi was at the helm and he had legal issues. But amongst friends in the Bloomsbury pub, Berlusconi is a sideshow, the name we whisper to each other is “Trichet”. From 2004 to 2011 the ECB was headed by Jean-Claude Trichet, ex of the French Treasury, more German than the Germans. After 2009 as the news of the Greek fiscal disaster broke, the European bond markets wento into panic mode and Trichet began a brutal game of cat and mouse. Between 2009 and 2011, Trichet intervened in the bond market to help, only when he thought he had compliance with austerity. When he thought they were uncooperative, he withdrew. In the summer of 2011, he even made direct suggestions to his Italian counterparts in Rome, as to how Italy should be governed. It was this cat and mouse game that drove the bond markets crazy and exposed Italy to a violent squeeze. When Mario Draghi took over the ECB at the end of 2011 and declared “whatever it takes”, the pressure on Italy, gradually eased. It is that starring role that has made Draghi into the towering figure in European politics that he remains today. So now you see why voices in London hush when it comes to the Bank of England. “The bond market” isn’t an irresistible objective force like the weather or an avalanche. It can appear like that. But that depends on the way it is being handled, or not handled by the central bank. Which is why the silence about the Bank of England in London right now is so significant. If you think this all sounds a bit fishy, coming from a left-liberal Keynesian like myself, well, let me introduce you to Robin Brooks, who, to put it mildly, plays on a different quidditch team to me. Here, from the position of a fiscal hawk is Robin’s celebratory account of the Bank of England’s role since 2022; In October 2022, at the height of the bond market blow-up in the UK, something incredible happened. Governor Andrew Bailey told British pension funds the Bank of England would end its support program for the country’s fragile gilt market, drawing a line under how much help the central bank was willing to give to exposed pension funds and - implicitly - the government. By the end of that week, Kwasi Kwarteng - the finance minister - had resigned. Prime Minister Liz Truss would soon follow. This episode is so incredible because it contrasts with what happened in the Euro zone earlier that year. Bond markets in Spain and Italy were under pressure amid high inflation and rising interest rates. In the middle of this, Mario Draghi - Italy’s Prime Minister - resigned, compounding pressure on bond markets of high-debt countries on the Euro periphery. Unlike the Bank of England, the ECB caved. It bought Italian and Spanish government bonds in an effort to cap yields and introduced a new tool that signaled to markets it might do such caps more frequently going forward. Faced with pressure on bond markets, the ECB capitulated to political pressure from high-debt countries like Italy and Spain. The Bank of England stood its ground and toppled the Truss government. This kind of thing has long-lasting consequences. It means markets price a higher probability of yield caps in the Euro zone, which keeps Italian and Spanish yields artificially low, while markets feel free to push up UK yields without fear of central bank intervention. As I flagged in yesterday’s post, this means you really can’t compare UK yields to those of other high-debt countries. The UK looks worse, but only because its central bank isn’t interfering with markets. There’s more to this than just that 2022 episode. The Bank of England has also been much more aggressive in its quantitative tightening (QT) than other central banks. If one motivation for quantitative easing (QE) is to lower bond yields - especially longer-dated ones - then it stands to reason QT pushes yields up. The left chart above shows a four-quarter moving average of UK government debt issuance (black line) in percent of GDP and which sectors absorb this issuance, including the Bank of England (blue bars). The right chart above compares the Bank of England’s accumulation or run-off of government bonds (blue line) with that of other central banks, where this blue line is the same as the blue bars in the left chart. The Bank of England was quicker and more aggressive than other central banks in downsizing its bond holdings, so UK yields will have risen more than elsewhere also for this reason, not just because of Governor Andrew Bailey’s remarks in October 2022. Back in October 2025, after a conversation in New York with friends in British politics, my sense of dysphoria was such that I raised the issue of the Bank of England openly in the FT Since 2008, the UK has slid into a deep economic and political predicament. Growth has stagnated to a degree far worse even than in the 1970s. The Tory leadership’s wager on the Brexit referendum spectacularly backfired, leaving the UK isolated from Europe and at the mercy of its special relationship with the US, many of whose political class regard the UK as a basket case. After years of austerity, the Labour party lurched to the left and then back to the centre. The Tory party has been eclipsed by the populist nationalism of Reform. Any British government should be worrying first and foremost about how to restart growth. Instead, Keir Starmer is beset by shades of the gilt market panic triggered by the Liz Truss government in 2022. The debt level is higher than in recent years, but there is no cause for panic. UK debt is at far from critical levels and of long duration. Whether you want to “take back control” or launch progressive economic policy, a democracy dogged by fear of bond market vigilantes is unhealthy. In a country that is a monetary sovereign, this climate points to one thing: a disconnect between the government and the central bank. Since 1997, the independence of the Bank of England has become a sacred cow. But independence is what you make of it. And in the wake of the gilt market crisis of September 2022, relations between the Bank of England and the UK government need a reset. In normal times, there is no doubt that an inflation-targeting independent central bank can serve a country well. But since 2008, the UK and other advanced economies have not had the luxury of such simple problems. To their credit, central bankers around the world have not stood on orthodoxy. After 2008, the US Federal Reserve rescued the global banking system and, through quantitative easing, it stabilised the Treasury market in the face of huge deficits. In Europe, things were trickier. Both the Bank of England under Mervyn King and Jean-Claude Trichet’s European Central Bank played cat and mouse with national governments. This was a high stakes wager that between 2010 and 2012 escalated bond market tension and triggered a disastrous turn to austerity. Shaken by the impact of those shocks, their successors, Mark Carney and Mario Draghi adopted a more protective stance (assuming you were not the government of Greece). Recall that Draghi’s legendary slogan, “Whatever it takes”, was uttered to face down the City of London’s bond vigilantes. In 2015, Draghi launched QE — financial repression by another name. In 2016, Carney used the authority of the Bank of England to stabilise markets following the vote for Brexit, an exemplary demonstration of how central banks can underpin democratic choice, even when those choices are wrong headed. All these were independent central bankers steeped in the best practice of the 1990s, who recognised that historic crises demanded radical action. It was the price surge of 2021-2023 that poisoned the atmosphere. Though the shock came mainly from the supply side, central banks ended up in the dock. Nowhere more so than in the UK. The Bank of England reacted with aggressive normalisation. Faced with a cost of living crisis, the governor called for workers to accept real wage cuts. In early 2022, as gas prices were at record levels and Russia’s army was poised to invade Ukraine, the Bank adopted a stringent programme of quantitative tightening, elevating interest rates. When the Truss government got itself in trouble, the Bank took almost a week to come to the rescue. Rather than enacting a charade of normality, it is time to recognise that in 2025 the UK faces a period of historic transition. To meet this challenge, what is needed is a new concordat with the Bank. This should not ignore inflationary pressures or the long-run trajectory of debt, but should affirm the priority of reviving investment-led growth. One could follow Donald Trump in demanding interest rate cuts. The Bank could shadow the ECB in its commitment to capping Eurozone yields. But the top priority should be to lay the ghost of September 2022. The Bank’s slowing of QT last month was a concession. An immediate and complete end would send the right signal. Such a concordat will not by itself restore sanity to politics, solve the housing problem or rebuild the NHS. But it would help to lift the fear of bond market crisis, which is paralysing the effort by democratic politicians to answer the fundamental questions facing the nation. Now, that call for a new concordat between government and Bank of Englands seems more urgent than ever. The problem is that in October 2025, Starmer still had some authority. Today the government is in tatters. And when you are the “under the harrow” - to echo a phrase of Montagu Norman’s from the 1920s - it is the worst possible time to consider institutional change. To make general arguments at a time of crisis can only seem like special pleading rather than a general argument for long-term change. The same, unfortunately, is also true for the other basic institutional reform that Britain urgently needs i.e. the abolition of the out-dated first past the post electoral system and its replacement by a moderated form of proportional representation. And thirdly - whilst we are saying the quiet parts out loud - Britain needs to reopen the question of EU membership. What the local election results of 2026 show is that this remains a key issue. And what they also show is that there is a clear majority that would favor a return. Until these basic features of Britain’s political economy are addressed the country will carry on its politics as though in a haunted house, governed by governments that lack actual majorities, conjuring up false constraints whilst ignoring the real ones. This one is for DG and MI. I love writing the newsletter. If you enjoy it too and fancy buying me a coffee once a month, you know what to do. Click below! Subscribe
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