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Trump names David Sacks co-chair of tech advisory council, expanding AI, crypto role
Trump names David Sacks as PCAST co-chair, expanding his AI and crypto czar role, with Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Oracle's Larry Ellison also joining.
Charlie Crist leads Ken Welch, everyone else in poll of St. Pete mayoral race
Deep pockets and elbow grease could play a big role as candidates work to secure support from undecided voters.
Exclusive: Occidental's Hollub, US oil's most powerful woman, prepares to hand over reins, sources say
Vicki Hollub is preparing to retire as chief executive of Occidental Petroleum , after her decade-long stewardship of the U.S. oil and gas company that made her one of the most powerful women in a male-dominated industry, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Fathom Entertainment Announces Upcoming Retirement of CEO Ray Nutt
Specialty distributor Fathom Entertainment CEO Ray Nutt has shared with the company’s Board of Directors his plans to step down from his role and retire later this year after serving as the company’s lead executive for the past nine years. Currently anticipated to depart Fathom later this year, Nutt is expected to play an active […]
Mike Pence To Speak At UChicago’s Institute Of Politics In April
Pence will participate in a student-moderated panel and is expected to speak about the role of the executive branch, populism and more.
South Korea’s Kakao Entertainment appoints JungHee Ko as Co-CEO alongside Joseph Chang in
Ko takes on an additional role as Chief Platform Officer, overseeing a newly created unit responsible for Kakao Entertainment’s platform services…
Mark Nordenberg to step down from his leadership roles with the Institute of Politics and Dick Thornburgh Forum
The chancellor emeritus, who has long been a driving force behind the wide-ranging civic initiatives, will also serve as the University’s 2026 spring commencement speaker.
As women’s sports grow, Kansas City-based group empowers women to take leadership roles
Women Leaders in Sports is a professional-development organization based in Kansas City that helps empower and connect women in or seeking leadership across the sports landscape.
National Australia Bank to cut 170 jobs amid offshore expansion
Australia's Finance Sector Union said on Thursday that National Australia Bank is proposing cutting about 170 jobs across the country as part of a restructuring of its business division, which will also create new roles offshore.
Vice Provost for AI Jeffrey Bardzell resigns before data and information science school launch
Bardzell is the former dean of the School of Information and Library Sciences, until UNC announced in October that it was set to merge with the School of Data Science and Society. He took on the chief AI officer role shortly after.
Ukraine's unique role in the Iran war: From the Politics Desk
Plus, congressional Republicans plot a new reconciliation push.
Duke University Health System names new CEO
Dr. David Zaas will return to Duke University Health System as its new CEO effective May 1. He brings experience from his recent leadership roles at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and MUSC Health.
Means’ surgeon general nomination is stalled as senators question her experience and vaccine stance
Wellness influencer Dr. Casey Means’ nomination to be U.S. surgeon general is stalled a month after senators of both major political parties grilled her on vaccines and other health topics during a tense confirmation hearing, deepening doubts about her ability to secure the votes she needs for the role.
Jury holds Meta and Google liable for role in young woman's mental health issues
The verdict marks the end of the first-ever jury trial over whether tech giants should be held accountable for social media addiction. It may influence the outcome of 2,000 other pending lawsuits.
Madeline Shepley on the Wonders of Faith and Science
Madeline Shepley discusses sharing the wonder of the universe with kids, her role as a Catholic scientist, and her love of science fiction.
Poll: 1 in 3 Adults Are Turning to AI Chatbots for Health Information, Equaling the Share Who Use Social Media for Health
About a third (32%) of adults nationally say they have turned to artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots in the past year for health information, a new KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust finds. Most who turned to AI for health information say they were in search of quick and immediate advice, though challenges affording and accessing health care also play a role, particularly for younger adults.
Fix the process before reauthorizing state PUC
What needs to be fixed before reauthorizing the Public Utilities Commission? The answer is simple: the process. The last time the commission was reauthorized in 2021, lawmakers expanded its role in meaningful ways — particularly as Colorado accelerated its clean energy transition. The PUC was asked to do more, to carry more and to implement […]
Leveraging storytelling in politics
Community college marketing and communications staff play a key role in providing the visuals and storytelling in a college's efforts to educate and influence lawmakers and other stakeholders. That...
Tone, Humor, and the Performative Aspect of Politics
Senators John Kennedy (R-LA) and Peter Welch (D-VT) joined C-SPAN "Ceasefire" host Dasha Burns to discuss the roles of tone and humor in politics.
Kari Nadeau named dean of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
Nadeau, currently chair of environmental health at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, will begin her new role in July.
Blog explains why context matters in discussions on health care spending
An AHA blog published March 24 responds to a recent KFF brief on the role of hospital care in recent health care spending growth.
In Oklahoma, Alan Armstrong Will Fill Markwayne Mullin’s Senate Seat
Gov. Kevin Stitt selected Mr. Armstrong, a fellow Republican and an energy executive, to play a caretaker role in the seat until the next election.
Brooks Nader Reveals How She ‘Manifested’ Role in New ‘Baywatch’ Reboot
'My superpowers are scaring me.'
Salamander Migration Has New Citizen Science Component
Each spring, blue-spotted salamanders emerge from their underground burrows at Presque Isle Park in Marquette and venture across the road to lay their eggs. Northern Michigan University students have been involved in conservation, data collection and public education efforts for this annual event, but this year, the general public is invited to play a more active role in salamander migration research. Northern Michigan University Biology Department Head Jill Leonard encourages community members to participate in the Marquette Citizen Science Project.
Scientists say NAD+ could slow aging and fight Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
A global team of leading scientists is zeroing in on a tiny but powerful molecule that could reshape how we age. Known as NAD⁺, it plays a crucial role in keeping our cells energized, repairing DNA, and maintaining overall health—but its levels steadily decline over time, potentially fueling diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Researchers are now exploring ways to boost NAD⁺ using compounds like NR and NMN, with early studies hinting at improvements in memory, metabolism, and physical function.
Supercomputers just solved a 50-year-old mystery about giant stars
Astronomers have finally cracked a decades-old mystery about red giant stars—how material from their deep interiors makes its way to the surface. Using cutting-edge supercomputer simulations, researchers discovered that stellar rotation plays a powerful role in mixing elements across a previously unexplained barrier inside the star.
Segment: Financing Action on Extreme Heat and Maternal and Newborn Health: The Way Forward
The segment “Financing Action on Extreme Heat and Maternal and Newborn Health: The Way Forward” will examine how innovative and better-aligned financing approaches can respond to these growing risks. Discussions will highlight country experiences in mobilizing domestic resources, opportunities to unlock and scale climate finance, and the role of heat-smart innovations in building resilient health systems. Particular attention will be given to low- and middle-income countries, where exposure and vulnerability remain highest, and where integrated solutions can deliver the greatest impact.
Uplifting and Not Ceding Ground on Health Equity Practice Is Critical to Strengthening Public Health and the Health of the Nation
Public health science gains in the last quarter century in the United States have been formidable due to a focus on structural and social determinants of health, thereby enhancing understanding of the role of inequitable policies in shaping health inequities and inequitable access to ameliorative resources.
German men's biathlon coaches stay, women's coaches leave after flop
Tobias Reiter und Jens Filbrich have kept their jobs as coaches of Germany's men's biathlon team despite their equivalents in the women's team leaving their roles. The season which finished on Sunday was hugely disappointing for the former biathlon powerhouses, with just one Olympic bronze medal and no World Cup wins.
Executive Council seeks greater role in half-billion-dollar rural health initiative
New Hampshire executive councilors are seeking a greater role in a $640 million rural health initiative after initially delaying approval and securing more oversight.
Your Thymus and Your Healthspan
Our thymus gland plays a central role in the development or our immune system, specifically for supporting T cell development (how these cells got their name, maturation and differentiation in the thymus) and discriminating between self and foreign, non-self antigen proteins with production of dendritic cells. As we age, our thymus gland shrinks—the process known as involution—with progressive change from spongy to fatty tissue, with loss of functionality. But this process, with respect to timeline and extent, markedly varies from one person to the next. And to make things even more complicated, our thymus gland anatomy and precise location in the chest also is highly variable. So the famous Frank Netter diagrams from the 1960s (such as at left below) don’t capture the remarkable heterogeneity that a random set of 12 chest CT scans (below at right). What I consider as 2 landmark papers in Nature this week (here and here) used AI to quantify health of the thymus in 2 large cohorts, and then correlate the metric to a broad array of health outcomes. In this edition of Ground Truths, I’m going to cover three questions: (1) How was thymus health determined by AI?; (2) How is thymus health linked to key clinical outcomes? and (3) Are there ways we can promote a healthy (aka rejuvenate) thymus gland in our later years? Subscribe 1. How was thymus health determined by AI? This was accomplished by extensive work developing and validating an AI pipeline for 2 stages, the first for localization and segmentation of the thymus bed, and the second to quantify a digital marker, termed the thymic health score. There’s a lot to this algorithmic development, so I won’t go into all the details, but just provide a rudimentary outline of what was done. The 1st stage used supervised learning with 2 radiologists reviewing 2,461 chest CT scans. That work trained a 3D U-Net model to automatically identify the thymic bed’s 3D cropped region using center of mass coordinates, which reached 99.8% accuracy. The 2nd stage used a foundation model that was pre-trained with SwAV (which stands for Swapping Assignment between multiple Views), a self-supervised model, that generated a high-dimensional thymus representation of 4,096 features. That compares to the radiology reductionist and subjective scoring of 0 to 3 where 0 means the thymus is fully degenerated and fatty, and 3 is considered dense, intact glandular soft tissue. Notably, the self-supervised learning (SSL) performance was superior to supervised (AUC ~0.75 vs 0.55, respectively) reflecting the shallowness of the 0-3 classifier vs SSL’s holistic, self-taught AI. The thymic health score ranged from 0 to 100, with the highest number indexed to fully preserved thymic health. The algorithmic work extended to explainability with both Shapely value distribution, meaning the model was holistic not relying on any “magic” pixel, and occlusion sensitivity, demonstrating the model’s performance was not affected by ribs, sternum, lung tissue, but rather focused on the thymic bed directly. Below are a few saliency maps from the occlusion sensitivity that indicate the thymic bed focus, not affected by neighboring structures, using the jet color scale. Now the AI was ready for processing ~25,000 CT scans, each over 30 MB files, from the 2 large participant cohorts to provide a thymic health score, it did so in less than 14 hours, which is less than 2 seconds per scan! Share 2. How is thymus health linked to key clinical outcomes? The two cohorts were the National Lung Screening Trial, NLST (N=25,031) and the Framingham Heart Study, FHS (N=2,581) each with baseline demographics and long term follow up of >12 years for health outcomes. From the NSLT, you can see below that increased age and body-mass index were correlated to reduced thymic health. And, overall, men had reduced thymic health scores compared with women. There are a lot of graphs in the paper for outcomes, for both the NLST and FHS cohorts. To simplify the major outcomes, below is a composite Figure with striking reduction of all-cause mortality and for the different causes of death. The results were consistent between the 2 cohorts. For example, the cardiovascular mortality hazard ratio average was 0.57 in NLST and 0.38 in FHS (weighted to be 0.53 for the aggregate). The reduction of mortality also extended to digestive diseases and pulmonary disease (data not shown below). Lung cancer incidence was reduced by 36% for high vs low thymic health (Figure below, with a panel -incidence and b panel-mortality, adjusted for age, sex, BMI, smoking status). Notably, there was a smoker’s paradox: lower incidence and improved survival for lung cancer in smokers who had a high thymus health score. Smoking was associated with lower thymic scores whereas alcohol was not. Higher thymic health was linked to higher HDL cholesterol, lower triglycerides, lower fasting blood glucose, and lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Inflammation biomarkers, such as C-reactive protein and interleukin-6, were elevated in the people with lower thymic health scores. In their second paper, the same team looked at the relationship between thymic score and outcomes for 3,476 patients receiving cancer immunotherapy. The non-small cell lung cancer progression-free survival was reduced in patients with low thymic health score. A parallel relationship for survival was seen for other types of cancer including melanoma, breast, and kidney with a 44% lower risk among high thymic scores (Figure). A similar pattern was seen with different immune checkpoint inhibitors. The thymus health score outperformed programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1)and tumor mutation burden (TMB) assay of the tumor and was an independent prognostic marker of progression-free survival. In this dataset, a direct connect with thymus score and adaptive immune function was noted with a correlation before cancer treatment for both T-cell diversity and thymus T-cell production (a metric known as T cell receptor excision circles). Thymus Removal Study There is a highly relevant citation about thymus function before moving onto ways to rejuvenate it. In 2023, a very important study of thymus removal during cardiothoracic surgery was published, with 1146 patients undergoing thymus removal vs 1146 matched controls (mean age 55 years). The adverse outcomes for thymus removal were striking, with a 2.9 higher risk of all-cause mortality and doubling of cancer incidence, 1.5 fold increase in cancer mortality, and 1.5-fold increase in autoimmune diseases. The immune function showed marked compromise after thymus removal, as reflected by CD4+ and CD8+ T cells (Figure below) Share Ground Truths 3. Are there ways we can promote a healthy (aka rejuvenate) thymus gland in our later years? In recent months we’ve learned a lot about the process of thymus involution and the pathways by which this may be modulated. Thymus involution is primarily due to loss to thymus epithelial cells (TECs) and there are 2 subtypes with different functions: the cortical, responsible for positive selection of T cells, and the medullary, for negative selection. When adipose tissue infiltrates the thymus, thymic adipocytes are pro-inflammatory, knocking out T-cell output. Likewise, systemic inflammation, or “inflammaging,” from smoking, obesity, and chronic stress promote thymic adipocytes. Now, from preclinical studies, we know about key pathways that account for these processes. Historically, back in 2014, FOXN1 was recognized as a single master transcription factor essential for TEC function, with studies in mice with forced FOXN1 upregulation leading to thymus regeneration. That laid the foundation for potential regrowth of quiescent thymus cells. It took awhile to find pathways to accomplish this goal and to even refute its role as the master regulator. The Liver-Thymus Axis Feng Zhang and his team recently showed that injection of an mRNA vaccine to the liver encoding DLL1, IL-7 and FLT3-L in combination, factors known to support thymopoiesis (Figure), successfully enhanced immune function in aged mice. However, the effect was transient. The FGF21 Story Two reports in 2025 addressed the thymus gland’s production of FGF21, a growth factor (fibroblast growth factor 21) and its control of thymus involution. This growth factor is also produced by the liver, but it doesn’t have impact on the thymus in aged rodent models. In contrast, The liver’s hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) has been shown to reverse senescent TEC structural changes. Growth hormone stimulates production of insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in the liver and the thymus. Two small studies in human participants (TRIIM, for Thymus Regeneration, Immunorestoration, and Insulin Mitigation) of 6 and 50 people, respectively, treated with combined human growth hormone, metformin and DHEA, suggested the potential of slowing epigenetic aging and improving thymus mass and function. But the combination of drugs, small sample, and lack of controls make conclusions murky. Increased thymus FGF21 led to increased CD8 T cells in old mice and extended healthspan and improved physical performance. Building on the previous FOXN1 data, ablation of β-klotho, the obligatory co-receptor for FOXN1, accelerated thymic aging. The benefit to FGF21 was confirmed in a companion paper using an FGF21 knock-in mouse model showing thymus enlargement and increased TECs throughout the lifespan. (schematic Figure below). The accompanying editorial for these 2 papers speculated: “The proposed link between age-associated thymus involution and organismal aging is intriguing, and suggests we might seek to achieve systemic rejuvenation by counteracting thymic involution.” Other Factors Lessons from the Axolotl (Mexican Salamander) In an elegant set of experiments of the axolotl (Figure), known for its complete thymus regeneration after total surgical removal, mediators were identified. Surprisingly FOXN1 was dispensable. But midkine, a growth factor, appeared to be the driver, the initiator of thymus cell growth, survival, and repair. Other components that contributed were Postn+ (periostin-expressing mesenchymal niches) and Ccl19, a chemokine protein from the bloodstream. RANK and RANKL RANK (receptor activator of nuclear factor κB its ligand (RANKL) have been considered key regulators of medullary TECs. In a study of both aged mice and human thymus cell cultures, their key role was confirmed, with multiple benefits of resorting TEC function, recruitment of progenitor cells, and T cell development. Subscribe Summing Up This body of work strongly supports the health of the thymus gland as a critical regulator of human healthspan, not just a correlate or link. The new landmark studies are reinforced by the regenerative biology experimental models that have shown, via an array of mediators, that healthspan of aged mice is at least in part dependent on thymus gland function and its critical role for maintaining adaptive immunity. It sure seems that we’d be better off having an immune reservoir of naive T cells instead of a profile in older adults of exhausted, low quality, memory T cells, with a senescent phenotype. It is striking that we ignored the importance of the thymus gland for many decades. A wake-up call was the results of the thymectomy matched control study reviewed here, with the opposite of high thymic health score improved health outcomes. The convergence of AI and healthspan here is notable. The exceptional and laborious work for developing and validating (no less explaining) the AI to quantify thymus health set the foundation for probing the connect the major health outcomes in two cohorts with extensive follow-up. We’ve never had a way to meaningfully quantify the thymus gland before, so this represents important leverage of supervised, self-supervised, and transformer models. The study wouldn’t have been possible without AI. And it begs the question as to whether there are ways we can maintain our thymus at a high health score. But it’s not so simple to rejuvenate our thymus. There are multiple risks including the induction of autoimmunity, increasing the risk of cancer, and inducing a pro-inflammatory state. For example, factors that increase TEC proliferation could compromise the medulllary negative selection process and leak out auto-reactive (self-attacking) T cells. Thymic cells could be induced to proliferate, but we know, for example, that growth hormone and IGF-1 are associated with an increase risk of cancer. If thymus rejuvenation doesn’t clear out the accumulated senescent cells in older adults, then inflammation within the gland could block the production of TECs. Keeping these risks in mind, we now have identified many ways to keep our thymus healthy as we age that undoubtedly will be tested in clinical trials going forward. Ultimately, the benefit-to-risk tradeoffs will be defined. In the meantime, we have desperately needed an immunome. As I’ve stressed in multiple prior Ground Truths, we have no test in the clinic to assess a patient’s immune status! It was very encouraging for me to get an email from Hugo Aerts, the senior author of the landmark papers in the days after they were published: “I also wanted to say that your Substack on “Why We Need an Immunome” was inspiring for this work. We found it a very compelling perspective and greatly enjoyed reading it.” Just having an assessment of a person’s immune status via a chest CT scan, with millions of these performed per year, might help in guiding the right immunotherapy for cancer (e.g. more intensive, combinations for those with low thymic health scores) and help define people who are increased risk for age-related diseases of cancer, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative. The main theme of Super Agers is that we now have many layers of data (genetics, proteins, biomarkers, organ clocks that can be integrated via multimodal AI) for us to define a person’s specific risk decades before one of these age-related diseases leads to symptoms, enabling prevention. From the new studies this week, we can add thymus health score as yet another way to understand a person’s risk, a window into their adaptive immune system and healthspan. And perhaps someday we will be able to safely rejuvenate the thymus, or maintain its health through one’s life, and use the thymus health score to monitor. NB: I wrote this post (No A.I.) A Quick Poll Loading... ********************************************************************* Thanks to Ground Truths subscribers (now > 200,000) from every US state and 212 countries. Your subscription to these free essays and podcasts makes my work in putting them together worthwhile. Please join! If you found this interesting PLEASE share it! Share Ground Truths Paid subscriptions are voluntary and all proceeds from them go to support Scripps Research. They do allow for posting comments and questions, which I do my best to respond to. Please don’t hesitate to post comments and give me feedback. Let me know topics that you would like to see covered. Leave a comment Many thanks to those who have contributed—they have greatly helped fund our summer internship programs for the past two years. It enabled us to accept and support 47 summer interns in 2025! We aim to accept even more of the several thousand who will apply for summer 2026.
‘You lose yourself’: inside the mental health crisis hitting gen X women
My generation had great role models, free university and the morning-after pill. We should be running the world. Instead, two-thirds of us are facing mental health problems – and it’s not all about the menopause
Sebastian Kehl exits role as Borussia Dortmund sporting director
Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl is leaving the team with immediate effect as the club undergoes a major shakeup after what will be a trophyless season.
Cheaper Than A Porsche: 8 Affordable Sports Cars That Deliver Track-Level Thrills
Some great and sporty alternatives to a Porsche include the 2016 Scion FR-S, the C5 Corvette, the 2018 Ford Mustang GT, and the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS.
Scientists discover surprising brain trigger behind high blood pressure
Scientists have uncovered a surprising brain-based trigger for high blood pressure, tracing it to a small region in the brainstem that normally controls breathing. This area, which kicks in during forceful exhalations like coughing, laughing, or exercise, also appears to activate nerves that tighten blood vessels—raising blood pressure. When researchers switched off this region in experiments, blood pressure dropped back to normal, suggesting it plays a direct role in hypertension.
Chuck Norris's Second Highest-Rated Movie Is One He Spent About 30 Seconds In
The second highest-rated movie associated with Chuck Norris is one he didn't even have a starring role in.
Celtics' Luka Garza filling key role as unfocused Wolves visit
Celtics' Luka Garza filling key role as unfocused Wolves visit
Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson on the values needed to keep a billion-dollar business in the family
Jenny Johnson is CEO of $12 billion family-run asset management business Franklin Templeton, which oversees nearly $2 trillion in assets. Growing the company and succeeding in the role took everyone in the family, including herself, putting their egos aside.
RJ promotes Traci Wilson to vice president of digital strategy
Wilson succeeds Jim Prather, who retires on April 3. She will assume her new role on April 6.
Big Money Flows Into State Attorney General Races as Legal Battles Shape American Politics
With control of Congress on the ballot in November, state attorney general races can get lost in the shuffle. But just outside the election spotlight, there are partisan groups, corporate interests and advocacy networks revving up campaigns for offices that are playing a growing role in American ...
Is Britain ready for US-style religious politics?
Fuelled by new funding and transatlantic links, Christian groups are playing an increasingly prominent role on the UK right
Eviction reform, Aquarion, towing laws: CT politics news
Plus: DeLauro wants to fund DHS but not ICE, and bills increasing the ECS formula and offering tax credits for paid internships advance.
Political Science study reveals how Americans decide who counts as a
The term “person of color” has grown increasingly common in American public life. A new Berkeley Political Science paper, “Who Counts as a ‘Person of Color’? The Roles of Ancestry, Phenotype,
Chuck Norris Death: Why Politics May Overshadow His Legacy
During his movie career and work on "Walker, Texas Ranger," Chuck Norris was a great screen presence. But his roles were always dark American tales.
Charleston Waterkeeper opens Community Science Lab for researching water quality, monitoring microplastics
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WBCD) — Charleston Waterkeeper has opened a first-of-its-kind Community Science Lab, inviting residents, students, and volunteers to take a hands-on role in monitoring Lowcountry wat...
Agnes Pockels’ pioneering work was unfairly dismissed by tropes about women’s domestic roles
Agnes Pockels achievements in surface science have long been overshadowed by a popular and likely untrue story that she became interested in the subject while doing the dishes
“Loyal Slaves” and Campfire Entertainment in Frank Vizetelly’s Confederate Camp
Frank Vizetelly’s illustration titled “Night Amusements in the Confederate Camp” appeared in the Illustrated London News on January 10, 1863. It was one among a number of wartime scenes that Vizetelly captured for the newspaper. Subscribe Following the war, the illustration appeared in a number of books, including John O. Casler’s Four Years in the Stonewall Brigade (1893) and Campfires of the Confederacy (1898) by Ben La Bree. The scene depicts a Confederate camp at night with an enslaved man, most likely a camp servant, performing a dance around a fire with the music provided by a soldier playing a banjo. Another enslaved man looks on at the right. Vizetelly likely witnessed the scene—one that would have been common throughout the war. It’s a wonderful example of the way in which Confederates—slaveowners and nonslaveowners alike—experienced the presence of slave labor in the army. Vizetelly was deeply sympathetic to the Confederate cause. His depiction of the enslaved man as more than happy to entertain the very people who were fighting to keep him enslaved was precisely the kind of image designed to reassure a British audience that slavery was benign, and by implication, that Britain need not feel morally troubled about recognizing or supporting the Confederacy. Share Just as importantly, the sight of a dancing slave reassured Confederates themselves that the institution of slavery remained secure even after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. I’ve come across this illustration many times before and I plan on using it in my next book project on the role of enslaved labor in the Confederate army during the Gettysburg Campaign, but this is not the reason I am sharing it with you today. It has to do with where I recently found it, which came as a complete surprise and is incredibly revealing. Let’s take a look.
New dispute emerges around Subnautica 2’s early access release
Lawyers for the ousted—and now partially reinstated—leadership team of Unknown Worlds, the studio behind Subnautica 2, are crying foul over news that the game will be released into early access in May. The release announcement earlier this week was made improperly, potentially “damaging the game and sowing additional confusion among the Subnautica community,” the lawyers said in a letter sent on Tuesday to Vice Chancellor Lori Will of Delaware’s Court of Chancery. In their letter, the lawyers also floated the idea of asking Will to find Krafton in contempt of the court’s ruling. The letter was sent just one day after Will’s bombshell ruling that publisher Krafton had breached its contract with Unknown Worlds’ executive team, when it fired them last June. The new issue isn’t necessarily the May early access timeframe, but how the news was announced. The letter and Krafton’s response have not been previously reported. A quick recap of prior events: Subnautica 2 is an unreleased, underwater survival adventure and the most-wishlisted game on Steam. Last year, longtime Unknown Worlds CEO Ted Gill, along with studio co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, were fired by Krafton. They swiftly sued, saying the publisher had terminated them to avoid paying out up to $250 million in potential performance-based bonuses. The studio leaders had hoped to earn that with an early access release of the game, which Krafton had blocked. The publisher argued in court that Subnautica 2 wasn’t ready, which the ousted execs disputed. On Monday, Will ruled that Krafton had violated its contract, firing the execs to avoid the performance payouts, and that it had to reinstate Gill and give him full authority over any early access release for Subnautica 2. On Tuesday, IGN reported on a new memo issued that day to Unknown Worlds staff by Steve Papoutsis, the executive Krafton had put in charge of Unknown Worlds after the 2025 firings. In the note, Papoutsis said that Subnautica 2 had passed a key development milestone “last week” and that he and Krafton had determined the game “is ready for Early Access release in May.” This news appeared to catch the lawyers for Gill, Cleveland and McGuire by surprise. On Tuesday night, they sent a letter to Will expressing “serious concerns” about whether it would be possible to forge an agreement with Krafton consistent with the judge’s order. Papoutsis’ memo was a problem, they wrote. He didn’t have the authority to declare anything about Subnautica 2’s release. As of 9am ET on Monday, March 16, the effective date of Will’s order, Papoutsis wasn’t CEO of Unknown Worlds. Gill was. And, per Will’s order, only Gill could make Subnautica 2 release decisions. They continued: Krafton self-servingly announced the launch without any regard to its impact on the game, the team, or the community—let alone this Court’s Opinion. Announcing the release of a game is momentous, and it is typically accompanied by significant marketing activity, fanfare, and community coordination. And most importantly, the announcement is carefully designed to maximize excitement for the game. That entire process was supposed to be driven by Mr. Gill. However, in defiance of the Court’s Opinion, Krafton has now taken that away, further damaging the game and sowing additional confusion among the Subnautica community. The lawyers speculated that Krafton had “intentionally leaked” Papoutsis’ memo and then issued an official statement to confirm the leak. Game File is a reader-supported publication. My reporting is only possible through support from readers like you. To support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe On Wednesday, lawyers for Krafton defended their client in their own letter to vice chancellor Will, saying nothing they did violated her order nor showed contempt: Papoutsis’s message was simply celebrating the UW employees’ efforts toward a past event: Krafton’s pre-Opinion determination that Subnautica 2 was ready for Early Access release. There was nothing improper about conveying the results of the milestone review or thanking the development team for their dedication and talent. They added that Gill could still make his own call about Subnautica 2’s release: In his role as CEO, Gill will be able to assess independently his views on the state of Subnautica 2 and the appropriate release schedule; nothing in Papoutsis’s message alters Gill’s authority or discretion. Vice chancellor Will has not responded to the letters and doesn’t necessarily have to. Both parties were previously ordered by Will to confer this week and submit a proposed judgment consistent with her ruling. The letter from Gill’s attorney’s this week doesn’t indicate whether he would or would not support a May release for Subnautica 2. But it could limit his options. And, if Gill’s lawyers are right, the lack of marketing fanfare around the leak of the May date could dull the launch of the game. Any harm to Subnautica 2’s launch is an extra sensitive issue given the context of the legal dispute: millions of dollars of payouts are on the line, tethered to the scale of the game’s initial performance. In her ruling on Monday, Will noted that there was obvious “bad blood” between Gill’s side and Krafton but that the two would need to work together: “They can—and must—act in good faith to navigate their remaining contractual relationship.” Item 2: A new kind of couch co-op game A highlight of GDC each year is the Alt.Ctrl showcase that features games played with extremely experimental controllers. Perusing this year’s offerings last Friday, I found a game controlled with giant scissors, another with big toothbrushes and one that amounted to dumpster diving. My favorite was Pivot, a co-op game about collectively maneuvering a couch. It was developed by students at the University of Utah’s masters of arts and engineering games program. Players lift and tilt the physical couch in order to control the position of a virtual one. That virtual one is moving through an obstacle course on-screen, while being pursued by a giant skull. Developer Nishant Verma told me at GDC that the couch is made of styrofoam (this became more evident as I watched!) and that the name was a riff on an episode of the sitcom Friends. Item 3: In brief… 🚫 Ubisoft is laying off more than 100 workers at its Red Storm studio, as the North Carolina location known for decades for its Tom Clancy games, ceases in-house game development, VGC reports. 👀 On Monday, Nvidia’s revealed its DLSS 5 AI-driven graphics technology that purports to improve game graphics… and it has been roasted about it by the media and the online gaming public for the remainder of the week. The tech changed the faces of characters in footage from Resident Evil Requiem, Hogwarts Legacy and EA Sports FC, drawing accusations of giving carefully art-directed games the generic look of AI “slop.” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had said on Monday that “DLSS 5 is the GPT moment for graphics—blending handcrafted rendering with generative AI to deliver a dramatic leap in visual realism while preserving the control artists need for creative expression.” By mid-week, Huang was telling Tom’s Hardware that the new tech’s critics were “completely wrong” because game-makers could still “fine-tune the generative AI” to suit their game’s aesthetics.
Credit Acceptance Appoints Steffen Schumann as Chief Business Officer
New Role Strengthens Enterprise Business Planning, Pricing Strategy, and Performance Management to Support Disciplined GrowthSouthfield, Michigan, March 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Credit Acceptance Corporation (Nasdaq: CACC) (referred to as the “Company”, “Credit Acceptance”, “we”, “our”, or “us”) today announced that Steffen Schumann has joined the Company as Chief Business Officer, reporting to Chief Executive Officer Vinayak Hegde. In this newly created role, Schumann will help drive growth
Why Generative AI Threatens Creative Roles In Media And Entertainment
Generative AI is bound to shrink the labor market for creatives, according to this task-technology fit analysis, by making them more efficient and by supplanting them.
NBAA: Business Aviation’s Leadership in Sustainability Innovation Underscored in ‘CLIMBING. FAST.’ Capitol Hill Fly-In
The CLIMBING. FAST. Capitol Hill Fly-In, organized by NBAA, underscored the industry's essential role in supporting 1.3 million American jobs and nearly $340 billion in economic output, while driving innovation in sustainable technologies and clean fuels.
HSBC mulls job cuts that could impact around 20,000 roles, Bloomberg News reports
HSBC Holdings Plc is weighing a wave of deep job cuts over the coming years that could ultimately impact around 20,000 roles, or about 10% of its total workforce, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Scientists recreated a dinosaur nest to solve a 70-million-year-old mystery
Scientists recreated a life-size oviraptor nest to understand how these dinosaurs hatched their eggs. Their experiments showed the parent likely couldn’t heat all the eggs directly, meaning sunlight played a key role. This uneven heating could cause eggs in the same nest to hatch at different times. The results suggest oviraptors used a hybrid incubation method unlike modern birds.
Mark Korshak Joins Giovanni Entertainment As Chief Media Officer
Mark Korshak has joined recently launched production and finance company Giovanni Entertainment in the new role of Chief Media Officer.
Mark Korshak Joins Giovanni Entertainment As Chief Media Officer
EXCLUSIVE: Mark Korshak has joined the recently launched production and finance company Giovanni Entertainment in the newly created role of Chief Media Officer. Korshak joins following four years as C...
Scientists Discover the Brain Chemical That Helps Break Old Habits
A mouse study highlights the role of acetylcholine in behavioral flexibility, offering new insight into the brain mechanisms involved in addiction and obsessive compulsive disorder.
Seth Cohen to become new dean of UC Irvine's School of Physical Sciences
Renowned leader in advanced chemistry research will assume new role Aug. 1
This overlooked organ may be more vital for longevity than scientists realized
The role of the thymus in our long-term immunity and health is poorly understood. A new study suggests we need to pay attention
Meta and Google legal veteran Allen Lo takes top role at MSG, Sphere
Lo joins from Meta, where he was vice president, legal and deputy general counsel. He starts March 30 and will oversee legal affairs at both companies.
Al Hilal identify Liverpool’s Richard Hughes as leading contender for sporting director role
The former Scotland midfielder was widely credited with playing a key role in Liverpool’s Premier League title win last season.
Milwaukee's Walker's Point gets new indie game store
Tabletop Bookshelf, a new indie game store specializing in unique role-playing games, opens its first physical location in Milwaukee.
Colorado voters will decide whether to ban trans kids from gendered sports, outlaw gender-affirming surgery for children
Voters will also be asked whether to make child sex trafficking punishable by life in prison without the possibility of parole
Former state health commissioner appointed to role supporting Minnesota hospitals
Former Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm will collaborate with leaders from hospitals and health systems across the state to tackle financial challenges to support hospitals and ensure access to care statewide.
Science & Innovation
Challenges to the American scientific enterprise—from the reproducibility crisis, to administrative bloat within research institutions, to diminished public trust in universities—together with sweeping reforms to the government’s role in science, make this a pivotal moment for science policy. An agenda to strengthen American science must enhance its productivity and credibility, preserve our research advantages, and ensure that the scientific enterprise remains accountable to American citizens.
Jasmine Crockett confirms member of her security team killed by Dallas police
She said the man, Diamon Robinson, had gone by a different name during his employment. Police said he had "multiple felony warrants" and a parole violation warrant.
Dana Walden unveils expanded Disney entertainment leadership team
Exec starts her expanded role on March 18.
ISO Ian Hyland, president, Ireland INC
Ian Hyland, president of Ireland INC, discusses Irish business, investment, and the role Irish companies play in the U.S. economy.
Education programs strengthen VA’s health care workforce
VA recognize trainees, academic partners and staff for the role they play in the education for the next generation of health care professionals.
A Life in Science: The role of data in advancing medicines
New in our A Life in Science series, we hear from Audrey Clapéron, Translational Biology Director, about the essential role of data in
How The Star’s new Missouri politics reporter brings KC context to state actions
The Star’s new Missouri politics role will focus on the issues closest to Kansas City in its coverage of state government and politics.
Why it’s time to rethink “leadership from 20,000 feet”
CEOs should not step back completely as organizations grow. Leaning too much on a belief in “leadership from 20,000 feet” and the myth that their role is only strategic can cost companies momentum and results.
Warner Bros Montréal reportedly hit with staff cuts
Former employees state that roles across multiple divisions were made redundant last Friday
Reports: some 9/11 WTC health staffers reassigned to ICE, other roles
The Senate’s top Democrat joined a group of local Republican lawmakers seeking answers amid reports that 9/11 World Trade Center health fund program workers are being reassigned to other agencies, including U.S. Immigrations & Customs Enforcement. “It would be bad enough if they just reduced the number. That would be horrible enough,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) told…
Sean Penn wins supporting actor Oscar for 'One Battle After Another'
Sean Penn won the Oscar for supporting actor Sunday for his role, but he did not attend the ceremony, with presenter Kieran Culkin accepting the award on his behalf.
Hilton Singapore GM said hires should do one thing in interviews
Michael Janssen said potential hires should ask more than four questions in interviews to understand the role and gain career advice.
‘It’s not a solvable problem’: Maine’s outgoing hospital lobbyist says there’s no fix for rising health care costs
As Steven Michaud leaves his long-time role with the Maine Hospital Association, he reflected on pivotal events during his tenure.
Scientists discover AI can make humans more creative
Artificial intelligence is often portrayed as a tool that replaces human work, but new research from Swansea University suggests a far more exciting role: creative collaborator. In a large study with more than 800 participants designing virtual cars, researchers found that AI-generated design galleries sparked deeper engagement, longer exploration, and better results.
Inside our swing voter project (Politics+)
Swing voters will play a pivotal role in this year's midterms, and we wanted to hear directly from them. So NPR has partnered with Engagious (a messaging group led by Rich Thau) and Sago (a market research firm) to run focus groups — once a month in a different swing state. How do these focus groups work? And what have we learned from them so far? In today's bonus episode, Mara Liasson and Ashley Lopez pull back the curtain on the project. To unlock this and other bonus content, and get sponsor-free listening, sign up for NPR Politics Podcast+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Regular episodes haven't changed and remain available every weekday!
Scientists discover ALS protein that links DNA repair to cancer and dementia
A protein tied to ALS and dementia may have a much bigger role in disease than scientists realized. Researchers found that TDP43 controls a key DNA repair process, but when the protein becomes imbalanced, the repair system can spiral out of control, harming neurons and destabilizing DNA. The team also discovered that high levels of the protein are linked to increased mutation rates in cancer. The discovery places TDP43 at the center of both neurodegeneration and cancer biology.
Emails reveal unseen maneuvering as Dallas debates City Hall’s future, business strategy
Messages show Economic Development Corp. CEO Linda McMahon pushing for a larger role and clashing with city leaders over corporate recruitment.
Linux Finally Catches Up to Windows with a Game-Changing Performance Feature
For years, the Linux kernel’s scheduler has been world‑class at balancing loads, yet it missed a crucial, cache‑aware instinct. In modern multi‑core systems, that gap can turn into measurable latency, especially when threads bounce between cores that don’t share the same cache. A new upstream feature, often called Cache Aware Scheduling, is now set to change that equation. A cache‑savvy scheduler arrives At the heart of any OS, the scheduler decides which thread runs where and for how long. In modern CPUs, small private caches (L1 and L2) sit beside each core, while a larger Last Level Cache (LLC, typically L3) is shared among groups of cores. When a task migrates across LLC boundaries, its warm data may vanish from the cache, forcing slower trips to main memory. Cache Aware Scheduling keeps related tasks close to their shared LLC, reducing destructive migrations. By respecting cache topology, the kernel minimizes cold‑start penalties and preserves locality that many workloads desperately need. The result is less thrashing, fewer memory stalls, and more consistent throughput. "Keep tasks close to their data, and the system will keep performance close to its peak." Why this narrows the Windows gap Windows has long leaned on topology‑aware, cache‑sensitive heuristics, especially since the Windows 10 era. That advantage helped Microsoft handle hybrid designs with P‑cores and E‑cores, plus complex cluster and NUMA layouts. With cache awareness integrated upstream, Linux brings parity to this vital dimension, without sacrificing its trademark flexibility. The Linux approach remains deeply configurable, reflecting the ecosystem’s breadth across servers, desktops, and embedded devices. It layers atop existing NUMA‑balancing and energy‑aware logic, refining placement rather than reinventing the wheel. Crucially, it aligns scheduling with the hardware’s real shape, not just with abstract CPU counts. Real‑world gains and who benefits Early tests on Intel Sapphire Rapids platforms point to gains in the 30–45% range for select workloads. Those wins appear in cache‑sensitive tasks like in‑memory analytics, high‑thread compilation, and microservices with tight working‑sets. Games and latency‑bound engines can also feel steadier frame‑times, especially when threads share hot assets. The benefits extend to AMD’s 3D V‑Cache parts, where keeping threads near enlarged cache slices prevents needless misses. Hybrid x86 designs with performance and efficiency cores further profit when cache and core roles are scheduled in concert. Even handhelds running SteamOS can squeeze more out of limited power, translating cache locality into smoother play. Key advantages include: Lower end‑to‑end latency Fewer expensive misses to RAM Better multi‑socket and NUMA behavior Improved energy efficiency More predictable QoS under mixed loads Stronger scaling on dense servers Caveats, tuning, and rollout No scheduler change is purely free, and trade‑offs still exist. Favoring locality can reduce cross‑cluster balance if limits are set too tight. Likewise, fairness and utilization must remain healthy, especially under heterogeneous, bursty workloads. Linux’s implementation is designed to be measured and tunable, not a blunt instrument. It cooperates with energy‑aware scheduling for mobile efficiency, and with NUMA‑balancers on big iron. Expect architecture‑specific refinements as vendors surface richer topology hints and cache‑sharing maps. Upstream integration has begun, with broad distribution adoption likely over the next cycles. Many users will encounter the change through standard kernel updates in 2025–2026, depending on distro cadence. Server‑class kernels may enable or tune it sooner for targeted fleets where cache locality is money in the bank. How to think about performance impact Cache Aware Scheduling amplifies gains when your workload is both CPU‑bound and cache‑sensitive. Think tight inner loops, hot code paths, and datasets that fit snugly in shared LLC. It’s less dramatic for I/O‑bound services or memory‑hungry tasks that blow past cache capacity. Still, even modest locality improvements often translate into smoother tail‑latency, which is where user experience and SLAs typically break. Developers can further help by pinning related threads, batching work, and aligning data to reduce cross‑cluster chatter. The scheduler’s new awareness works best when applications expose good hints. The bottom line By understanding and honoring cache topology, Linux removes a subtle yet costly bottleneck. The kernel’s smarter placement keeps hot data hot and work near where it belongs. That narrows a long‑standing gap with Windows, while preserving the openness and tunability Linux champions. For gamers, creators, and operators, the payoff is practical: more consistent frames, faster builds, and snappier services. For the ecosystem, it’s another step toward hardware‑savvy scheduling that turns transistor complexity into real‑world speed. And for Linux itself, it’s a timely upgrade that matches today’s silicon with tomorrow’s expectations.
How to Gauge Your Personal Risk For a Hernia
By Carole Tanzer Miller HealthDay ReporterSATURDAY, March 14, 2026 (HealthDay News) — If you’re carrying extra weight, smoke, or have a cough or sneeze that won’t go away, you may be at higher risk for a condition many people don’t think about: A hernia. Your risk is even higher if you’ve ever had ...
Would Norman Dale of 'Hoosiers' hold up as a high school coach today?
If you walked into a gym today, would the Hickory High basketball coach's role hold up? We took a deeper look, and consulted an expert.
The NBA's reigning Rookie of the Year is learning a new role: Soccer team owner
As Stephon Castle’s basketball career takes off, he also has an eye on soccer as a minority owner of CT United, a team in Major League Soccer's second division.
Is the ACA driving up healthcare costs? The evidence is mixed
What to know in the debate surrounding the role of the Affordable Care Act in driving up medical costs.
Carter's relationship included dinner with OSU leaders, business lobbying
Former Ohio State President Ted Carter tried to leverage his leadership roles to help a woman he was involved with romantically, sources confirmed.
Gen. Herkimer's Role in Battle of Oriskany Explored in New Play
There is a new play exploring the pivotal Battle of Oriskany and General Herkimer.
Hollywood's top films were less diverse in 2025, study finds
The percentage of women and people of color holding lead roles in Hollywood's top movies dropped in 2025, according to a new UCLA study.
New vision for old Sunrise Mall could play 'catalytic role' as city leaders mull sports center
The Citrus Heights City Council will consider a proposal to transform the old Sunrise Mall location into a "first facility of its kind in California" as a home-to-sports complex, complete with full-size ice rinks, turf fields and a concert arena, according to organizers from The Mettle Shop.
Tracie Thoms Joins Pamela Anderson, Billy Bob Thornton & Ariana Greenblatt In Brian Klugman Drama ‘Somedays’
EXCLUSIVE: Tracie Thoms (upcoming The Devil Wears Prada 2) has landed a role alongside Pamela Anderson, Billy Bob Thornton, and Ariana Greenblatt in Somedays, the new indie drama from writer-director ...
What does Denmark think of Gov. Jeff Landry’s Greenland role? We asked an expert from there.
“He’s considered a very important person from a Danish perspective,” the professor said.
New Chambersburg director brings business and nonprofit experience
Angie Allaire begins her role as Downtown Chambersburg’s director, emphasizing collaboration, local stories and community connection.
Ocean warming may supercharge a tiny microbe that controls marine nutrients
As deep-sea waters warm, scientists expected trouble for the microbes that help keep ocean chemistry in balance. Instead, researchers found that Nitrosopumilus maritimus can adapt to warmer, iron-limited conditions by using iron more efficiently. Because these microbes control key nitrogen reactions that support marine life, their adaptability could help sustain ocean productivity. In a warming world, they may play an even bigger role in shaping marine nutrient cycles.
Lauren Shehadi Lands Netflix MLB Reporter Role
MLB Network and TNT Sports host/reporter Lauren Shehadi is joining Netflix as an in-game reporter, sources tell FOS.
Stage Entertainment names new CEO
Today, Stage Entertainment announced the appointment of Roel De Vries as the next CEO of the Company, effective 1 May, 2026. Roel assumes the role from Arthur de Bok who is stepping down as CEO after nine years of exemplary leadership.
Gov. Tim Walz says he’ll play active role in midterms as he mulls his political future
Walz said he’ll travel the country during this year’s election to campaign for Democratic governor candidates.
‘A philosophical attack on the nature of science’
Norine Noonan and Susan Coady Kemnitzer, who have retired from decades-long senior leadership roles at key science agencies and the White House, talk about the importance of collecting data at this historic moment
Critical Minerals Are a Tricky Business. What Could Help.
The government has an important role to play in managing critical mineral markets, Morgan Bazilian, Brad Handler, Ian Lange, and Andrew Bauman write in a guest commentary.
'Entertainment Tonight' Names Emily Curl As NY-Based Correspondent
'Entertainment Tonight' has brought on Emily Curl as a New York–based correspondent. She begins her new role today, March 9.
Shue to talk about art and business in Greer Lecture
A little faith can lead to big results, which is why mustard has a central role in Isaac and Karina Shue’s Newton business, Gallery Mostaza. Isaac Shue will give an artist talk at Bethel College March 12 at 7 p.m. in the Administration Building chapel, as part of the periodic Greer Lecture series. Gallery Mostaza […]