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Pete Hegseth’s Questionable Testosterone Plan

The secretary of defense wants to monitor the hormone levels of every service member over 30.

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Jul 15 • 9:43 PM EDT • Health • theatlantic.com
Chico City Council approves entertainment zones for downtown and Meriam Park

CHICO, Calif. - Chico City Council voted 6 to 0 to approve an ordinance creating entertainment zones in downtown Chico and Meriam Park.The ordinance, taking effect September 18, 2026, will allow customers to carry approved alcoholic beverages and walk around outside within those designated areas."I feel like the downtown could use all the help it could get right now," said Celeste Cramer, general manager of Downtown Chico Business Association. "In the other areas where they have been doing the entertainment zones and throughout California, it has increased their sales. They haven't seen an increase in violence, or tickets, or anything like that. It's a good thing to try out."Numerous other cities around California such as Redding, Sacramento and San Francisco have put their own entertainment zones into effect and have had success.Action News Now stopped by both designated locations and spoke with organizers and bar owners."I'm super excited, I think this is an opportunity for us," said Scott Baldwin, owner of Argus. "We can get a booth at the farmers market. You can order a cocktail from that booth and then we'll have it ready for you at the door as you walk through. Think of it as a picnic situation. You can grab some tacos, you can get a Kentucky Buck. You can sit down anywhere in the entertainment zone and enjoy Argus outside of Argus."Chico's Chamber of Commerce hosted community stakeholder meetings and community engagement sessions to tailor the ordinance to the city's needs as a university town and rural area.The ordinance will allow people 21 and older to walk around with open containers of alcohol within the entertainment zones as long as they have a wristband, stamp or another visible marker showing they're allowed to do so."To us it's more than an ordinance," said Jen Rothenwander, marketing manager at Meriam Park. "It's an opportunity to invest back into the community, and to continue to do what Chico does well – which is to create the spaces for people to stick around and gather, and shop and spend."The Meriam Park entertainment zone will be enclosed by Springfield Drive, Alcott Avenue, Notre Dame Boulevard and E. 20th Street.The Downtown Chico entertainment zone will span mostly from Highway 32 to Lost Park.Chico Chief of Police Billy Aldridge spoke with Redding Police and was informed they had zero problems with their entertainment zone.Chief Aldridge endorses the ordinance in Chico. freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: "actionnewsnow-com_blox_yup-rectangle-one", slotId: "actionnewsnow-com_blox_yup-rectangle-one", targeting: { "pos": "yup-rectangle-one" } });

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Jul 15 • 7:37 PM EDT • Entertainment • actionnewsnow.com
Hundreds rally at Bethesda HQ to protest Xbox layoffs, and Ars was there

Union wants to halt a "perpetual cycle" of layoffs, get back to contract bargaining.

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Jul 15 • 6:36 PM EDT • Technology • arstechnica.com
Dems unite to boycott hearing on emerging threat facing America: 'don’t want to know the truth'

Every Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee skipped the main questioning portion of a full panel hearing on exposing fraud in America.

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Jul 15 • 4:51 PM EDT • Politics • foxnews.com
The States Try to Topple WarnerMount…Thus Begins the Local Antitrust Era

(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) Well, it looks like it’s time for another strategy column. Can I finally avoid writing about M&A? No, it seems I cannot. Admittedly, I’m a week early with this column, since I usually put it out every other week. But this news couldn’t wait. This will make three “Most Important Stories” in a row with a merger or acquisition as its centerpiece. First, Roku-Fox (an acquisition), then Comcast-NBCUniversal (a divestment!), and now the State AGs and the WGA’s lawsuits against Paramount’s pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery (antitrust). M&A is usually the “most important” topic any given week, simply because a giant company merging or breaking up (or preventing those outcomes) can have the biggest impact on the streaming board. If you think about these companies as players in a game, changing the number of players is one of the biggest changes you can make. I shouldn’t really complain, either, since this lawsuit is very good news for customers and suppliers (econ speak for talent, workers and indie studios in Hollywood). So let me answer some questions about this potential trial, along with (shudder) making some heavily caveated predictions. I’ll also look at whether Hollywood must consolidate, whether or not the states can win, trouble at X-Box, Netflix’s YouTube binge, and more. Plus, I have five images that visualize this merger and the harm, including three brand new data looks you’ve never seen before. Subscribe Most Important Story of the Week - Can The States and the WGA Stop Hollywood’s Consolidation (Crisis)? If every other newsletter and news outlet is writing about the same story, I try to avoid writing about it as well, but I can’t ignore a story this consequential. The story of the last year was the fate of Warner Bros. Discovery, and this development potentially extends that saga into 2027. As I tried to figure out my angle, I realized, like my last column, I’m again faced with a series of questions. These questions, though, are much more forward-looking. Will the states win? Will the WGA win? If so, what happens to Warner Bros. Discovery? Either way, will this chill the market for future mergers? So you know what that means: predictions. About the future, no less, the hardest thing to predict.1 Just remember: nothing here comes with a guarantee. And the more confident someone is in their predictions, the less you should trust them. This situation is incredibly fluid, nuanced, uncertain and tenuous. So let’s try to explain what may happen. Question: Why File this Lawsuit? I’ll admit, a few months back, I was fairly pessimistic about the fate of this lawsuit. Rumors had started bubbling up that the state Attorneys General (in particular California) wanted to settle with either some minor divestments (usually CNN) or behavioral remedies. And that tracked for me: the states usually settle lawsuits, like the recent John Deere right-to-repair suit. Yet, they plan to fight this. (As they did the LiveNation-Ticketmaster monopolization trial and the Nexstar-Tegna merger.) Honestly, that also makes a ton of sense. Frankly, this move is just good politics for these State AGs. Most are still running for higher and higher office in blue states—some folks have emphasized that only Democratic AGs joined this suit, but given the Ellison/Trump ties, and fears of retribution, that tracks—and a high profile case like this will help them move up the electoral ladder, especially since Paramount and its leadership (the Ellisons, father and heir) have sided with the other side of the political aisle. That makes them unsympathetic to Democratic voters and Hollywood workers in particular. Why did this lawsuit happen? In addition to the very real concerns about industry consolidation, this is why. That said, I don’t think we would have seen this lawsuit for Netflix and Warner Bros., simply because they’re more sympathetic and aligned with Democrats. But those consolidation concerns are real. The “town”—meaning Hollywood and such—really is seeing the damage of mergers on this industry. That’s why the WGA also filed its own lawsuit in defense of workers as well. (Wildcard: What about Europe? Will they try to stop the deal, too? There have been some rumors out of the UK they may try to fight the deal, and UK enforcers just stopped a Getty Images-Shutterstock tie up, so there is precedence. This argument could go either way, though. On one hand, the EU doesn’t need to step in, cause they states are handling it. On the other hand, this could make the EU’s case easier. Just imagine if both sides coordinated. I’ll simply say, “We’ll see!”) Question: Will The State AGs or the WGA Win? Can the state AGs play David to Paramount-Skydance’s Goliath here? That’s really the whole thing, isn’t it? If you know this result, you could make a lot of money. When things are uncertain, it’s tempting to shrug and say, “Eh” meaning it’s a 50/50 proposition. I wouldn’t, though. When in doubt, you should expect that the merging parties succeed. AT&T did successfully buy Warner Bros., after all, and Disney bought Fox without any challenges. Many judges are extremely sympathetic to mergers, and I’d bet the state AGs get a judge who will allow the merger. (Even Obama-appointed judges often allow mergers.) As I understand it, we’ll see two main attacks. First, theatrical films. The AGs are arguing that, when it comes to share of box office and the number of both “wide releases” and blockbuster (or “tentpole”) films, the merging parties will have over 27% market share. Now, the Supreme Court once ruled from on high that any merger that exceeds 30% is presumptively illegal, but that’s guidance, not an ironclad bar. Still, the states will have to argue that this is close to having too much power, and with that power, this will likely further worsen the theater/studio splits in particular. Indeed, as Matthew Stoller pointed out, “just five studios are responsible for 95% of all blockbusters; if this merger goes through, then Paramount and Disney will control 60% of that.” So yes, movie studios will be very concentrated after this merger. Want me to visualize some of that? Well, here’s the share of films that grossed over $200 million at the domestic box office since 2022. (Note: this isn’t all films released in over 3,000 screens, but it is a good look at market power.) First, here are the 43 films by studio: Notice all the blue (Disney), orange (Universal), and purple (Warner Bros)? Yeah, those studios are powerful, and this combines Paramount with one of them. Here’s the look by studio and share of the films that grossed over $200 million: Now, if you look at that and also think, “Huh, should we break up Disney?” I’m with you. I’ve seen some folks poo-poo this idea that this is a real category, but it is! For an upcoming article, I’ve been pulling data on the share of top 100 films at the box office as a share of total box office, and it’s massive. Here’s the chart: (This analysis looks at The-Number’s top 100 films and total domestic box office each year.) To be clear, tentpoles make up 80.7% of the box office each year, so I do think it’s a genuine market. (To be clear, films grossing over $50 million make up 80% of the domestic box office, and films grossing over $100 million make up 64.1%.) I mean, the top 100 films at the box office make up 95% of each year’s grosses. Worse, the combined studios will likely cut output to flex that market power. Everyone can just look at what happened to Disney and Fox to see the precedent. (With fewer films, the remaining theaters have to give more for those few films that remain.) Here’s an image I’ve used a lot, the share of wide-release films from Disney and Fox over time: The AGs will also argue that this consolidation will also impact the cable industry. In this case, the consolidation is actually worse, but that environment is…complicated. Paramount will argue that the cable industry is shrinking. That said, predictions that cable will “go to zero” also don’t look very well supported by the data, as the declines are shrinking, meaning “cable” or “vMVPDs” will likely stabilize at some point. Can the state Attorneys General win on those two main arguments? I honestly don’t know. Again, I’d bet no, since history in general supports that, but it depends on the judge/jury and how they interpret the arguments. Notably, Paramount won’t face accusations about monopoly power in other areas, like streaming, news, sports rights, or vertical integration. I tend to disagree with leaving out sports rights, but I also see the appeal for a simpler case. The states also aren’t really pushing novel theories about labor harm either, which should help. (By the way, Sean McNulty at The Ankler wrote a great run through of potential options, and Capitol Forum also wrote a great paper on theatrical consolidation. Both these pieces predated the lawsuit. Matthew Stoller is also out with his analysis of the pros and cons of the case too.) In some ways, the WGA’s case is even stronger. Quoting Sean McNulty’s summary: “The WGA is citing WARNAMOUNT as crossing a 30% market share in multiple sectors, a number that the Supreme Court has precedent for deeming “presumptively anticompetitive” in a market. According to the WGA numbers, WARNAMOUNT would have represented: - 35% of film writing jobs between 2021 and 2024 - 36% of TV writing projects between 2022 and 2025 - 38% of overall deals between 2021 and 2024” Notably, antitrust enforcers did win recently in the Penguin-Simon & Schuster merger by focusing on labor impact, so don’t count this thinking out. (Wildcard: Will the states try to get a jury trial? Most likely no, they’ll let a judge handle it. If I’m them, though, I’d try to put this in front of a jury. Juries tend to understand monopoly power in a more realistic way than judges faced with legions of economists.) Question: What if They Win? What if They Lose?

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Trump relished in being compared to dictators like Hitler and Stalin, journalist says

The New York Times journalist Jonathan Swan says the president is fixated on becoming a "great man of history" during his second term. Swan's new book, written with Maggie Haberman, is Regime Change.

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Jul 15 • 2:56 PM EDT • Politics • npr.org
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Apple's 2026 Back to School Offer Just Went Live in Select Countries

Apple's annual Back to School promotion is now live in select countries in Asia, including China, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The offer provides college students and educational staff with a free item with the purchase of an eligible Mac or iPad model. The exact offer varies by country, with options including a four pack of AirTags, AirPods 4, an Apple Pencil Pro, or an Apple gift card.

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Jul 15 • 2:48 PM EDT • Technology • macrumors.com
Want to get published in a top-tier journal? Where you're from matters

An analysis of 110,000 submissions to elite general science journals shows that researchers from prestigious universities are more than three times more likely

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Jul 15 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • colorado.edu
Wolford v. Lopez rightly arms permit holders, business owners

t Last week, I wrote about the birthright citizenship case, one of several major Supreme Court decisions handed down over the past few weeks. Today, I want to look at what is probably the second most controversial decision, and one surrounded by a great deal of confusion and misinformation.

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Jul 15 • 7:44 AM EDT • Business • southwestledger.news
UK's Reform Calls for 'Full Security' for Lawmakers After Politician's Murder

LONDON, July 15 (Reuters) - Britain's populist Reform UK called ⁠on ⁠Wednesday for all lawmakers ⁠to be given "full security" if they want it after the murder of Ann Widdecombe, a prominent member of the party led by veteran Brexit campaigner, Nigel ‌Farage. At a news conference, Zia ‌Yusuf,

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Jul 15 • 7:21 AM EDT • Politics • usnews.com
This week in Santa Cruz County business: Diving into the 2026 county workforce report; downtown development signs first retail client

Jessica M. Pasko crunches the latest county jobs numbers, notes Bookie's Pizza's impending move to a new Pacific Avenue development and highlights other local comings and goings in her latest business roundup.

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Jul 15 • 6:30 AM EDT • Business • lookout.co
‘Give while you live’: Who is Museum of Science and Industry founder Julius Rosenwald?

The museum was renamed in 2024 to highlight megadonor Ken Griffin. Its original founder did not want to put his own name on the institution.

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Jul 15 • 6:00 AM EDT • Science • wbez.org
Minerals at the Negotiating Table: Resource Politics and Peace in Eastern DRC

The United States brokered a strategic partnership deal with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in December 2025, co-signing a DRC–Rwanda peace agreement on the same day. Whether a mediator with a strategic interest can also be neutral is a question the Washington Peace Accords have yet to answer. Critical minerals are no longer a backdrop to negotiations in eastern DRC but they are increasingly the point of concern. Yet understanding their role requires looking beyond the well-worn "conflict minerals" narrative and asking a harder question: whose resource interests are actually shaping the path to a negotiated settlement?

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Jul 15 • 4:23 AM EDT • Politics • blog.prif.org
Disgraced stem cell researcher stripped of South Korea's top science award

SEOUL - South Korea's highest science and technology award presented in 2004 to former Seoul National University professor Hwang Woo-suk whose stem cell research was later found to have been fabricated was revoked this week, 22 years after it was conferred, the interior ministry said Wednesday.

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Jul 15 • 12:00 AM EDT • Science • english.kyodonews.net
Michigan Democratic voters want to see change in the American health care system, poll finds

Michigan Democratic voters were asked in a recent poll about the 2026 U.S. Senate primary and their views on various topics.

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Jul 14 • 11:00 PM EDT • Health • clickondetroit.com
Scientists are deep-freezing koala eggs and sperm to protect the species from extinction

Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia want to freeze koala sex cells in liquid nitrogen, which could preserve the DNA for decades until we need it, an expert said.

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Jul 14 • 5:15 PM EDT • Science • livescience.com
Movie theater chain says it's moving to Swansea. What we know

Local movie theater chain Entertainment Luxury Cinemas said it is coming to the Swansea Crossing plaza, where a long-vacant Regal once stood.

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Jul 14 • 3:47 PM EDT • Entertainment • heraldnews.com
47 revelatory hours with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced

To review this month’s supposed remake of 2013’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, I must first correct the record. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced isn’t a game about pirates (and assassins) in the 18th century Caribbean. Sure, sure, that’s what the trailers would have you believe. They’ve go their clips of Edward Kenway swinging his swords and steering his pirate ship into cannon-blasting combat against British frigates. Is Resynced truly a pirate game? Of the 47 hours I spent playing Resynced over the past few weeks, I will admit I spent maybe 44 (?) of them collecting plunder with Blackbeard, drinking rum with Anne Bonny and debating the pros and cons of the lawless pirate-run settlement Nassau with Benjamin Hornigold. I may in fact have spent dozens of hours sailing to remote islands, reading treasure maps, opening messages left in bottles, sinking the odd Man o’ War with a well-timed broadside, collecting sea shanties for my crew, befriending a pet monkey, and hunting whales. I am nevertheless neither so Gullible nor so Narrow-Minded as to call the magnificent Resynced a “pirate remake.” Oh no. Forget any reviews of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced you may have read. Forget what you yourself may have played, if you’ve spent any time with the game since its launch. What Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is really about I’m here to give you the scoop (spoilers for Resynced’s Animus menu lore, which many players are probably not going to see): Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, the new game whose development was led by Ubisoft Singapore, is set in the year 2096. It’s about a societal split, about revolution, about an old Assassin’s Creed adventure repurposed in the series’ distant future as propaganda or samizdat. It’s about the overheated future of 2096, essentially conquered by the series’ well-established nefarious Templar-run company Abstergo. (In this future, Abstergo is, among other things, remaking a 2013 pirate movie called Devils of the Caribbean, but this time in VR. The VR version will be backed by a marketing plan that involves AI influencers, a 10,000-avatar “metaverse premiere event” and that manufacturing of memes aimed at “50 million VR nodes.” See what I mean about Abstergo being evil?) Resynced is about a late 21st-century population mollified by the widespread use of Abstergo’s Animus devices which let people experience the lives of historical figures culled from “genetic memories.” It’s about an insurgent faction of Assassins. And it’s about a plan to wake the population into revolutionary fervor by showing them the memories of 18th century pirate Edward Kenway, who—as depicted in the original Black Flag and again in Resynced—gradually comes to an understanding about the Assassins of his day and their centuries old fight for freedom. Resynced is also about an AI developed within the late 21st-century Animus, called Ego. It has found a way to alter genetic memories, to create and show Animus users false ones. The game is about Ego’s efforts to tell the people experiencing Edward Kenway’s memories that Kenway was wrong, that fighting against order is folly, that we should crave a world where “compliance is rewarded with power.” Who are we in this game? We’re an unnamed Animus user in 2096 who experiences Kenway’s journey virtually. At four moments during Kenway’s exploits in the Caribbean our virtual jaunt can be interrupted for 10-15 minutes, as we explore Animus “rifts” where Ego explicitly tries to tell us how wrong Kenway was. None of this is what 2013’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag was about, of course. That was a different game, even if you also spent dozens of hours pirating as Kenway in that game, across missions and a map that’s been faithfully reintroduced and rebuilt for Resynced. The 2013 Black Flag was about you playing as an unnamed researcher newly hired in 2013 by Abstergo Entertainment, the video game development wing of the Templars’ evil-corp. In that game, you were assigned to use the Animus to dive into the genetic memories of Desmond Miles, a man who died in Assassin’s Creed III and who was descended from a long line of Assassins (and at least one Templar) whose adventures were featured across the prior AC games. In 2013’s Black Flag, your mission was to plumb the Edward Kenway experience for material that Abstergo could use in productions such as the motion picture Devils of the Caribbean, though the Templars had some ulterior motives for the assignment. Resynced is therefore not a remake of 2013’s Black Flag. It’s a sequel. It is a new game about a new exploration of Edward Kenway’s pirate/assassin journey, set 83 years after the framing sequences of the original game. Resynced provides a new narrative framework that, thanks to the concept of an AI that wants to alter historical memories, arrives with creative justification to tweak a now-classic 13-year old game. That makes Resynced, already a hot seller, a tantalizing hint of where Ubisoft could go with a line of Assassin’s Creed remakes. They could remake the first game, the Ezio games, even the recent ones set in ancient Egypt and Greece. And for each, they could not just modernize the graphics and controls but expand and alter their sequences of events to use them as reference points for a conflict set in the late 21st century, as rival factions try to weaponize historical memories. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, even when that work consists of ravings about Assassin’s Creed’s modern day plot, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe A story most players will probably miss If you didn’t know any of this, I’m not surprised. If you played the game and still didn’t catch it, I’m not a bit shocked. If Ubisoft has no plans to do more of this, I won’t fall down. Almost all of what I’ve described is optional and missable in Black Flag Resynced. I nearly missed it myself, as I planned for a breezy playthrough of an old Assassin’s Creed favorite. Instead, I found myself in a 40+ hour hunt for the “real” story, buried deeper in Resynced than any gold-filled chest. The story of 2096 is Resynced’s meta-story, told in two remote pockets of the game: 1) four optional playable “rifts” that players may find as they proceed through Resynced’s pirate fantasy , 2) in dozens of text files tucked three menus deep in the game’s barely-interactive Animus hub. Assassin’s Creed games have almost always had a meta-story about people in the 21st century (usually matching the game’s release year) and their connections to the main history portions you play. Those meta-stories have always been squeezed into the margins, though seldom as severely and as, uh, graphiaclly simple, as in recent games. Back in 2013, the modern-day exploits of you as an Abstergo Entertainment employee were prominent. They were portrayed via first-person portions that occasionally interrupted the third-person Kenway experience and could be explored for hours, complete with their own missions, side quests and puzzles. Resynced’s 2096 story—of Assassin “Watchers” vs. Abstergo/Tempar goons, of rogue AIs, of panicking scientists, of a woman wondering why her Animus-addicted husband is muttering about Mary Read (“What does he mean by Assassins?”), of a fight for the population’s hearts and minds via varying interpretations of Edward Kenway’s life choices—is mostly told through unlockable text files. The files are interesting. Offered via diary entries, intercepted chats and news reports, they present varied perspectives of a world in crisis. One set works as a narrative puzzle as it reveals the Rashomonic interpretations of a massacre, or was that a successful Assassin hit? Another favorite reveals the rising bitterness of a person who, through Edward Kenway’s journey, now shakes at the ignored evil around him. One surmises that Ubisoft is averse to putting the Assassin’s Creed’s meta-story in the way of more marketable pirate playgrounds and ninja/samurai epics. Instead, we get a better-than-nothing text-in-menus approach introduced in 2025’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows. In Shadows, players unlocked the meta-story text files largely via time-gated missions that called on the user to kill X number of enemy type Y, clear three enemy castles, re-win a three-phase fighting tournament, and other grinds. Time restrictions on accessing these missions and unlocking the files meant it could take players months to access the full story in-game. But even in the most hardcore Assassin’s Creed hangouts, the fanbase instead seemed to throw up their hands rather than grind to keep up. In Resynced, Ubisoft has shown some mercy, diminishing the amount of new text files that are tied to timed grinds. Now, most of the text-based 2096 lore are associated with “data file” collectibles that players can find in the world. That includes a batch of written entries that explain a historical link between the feudal Japan era in Shadows and the piracy adventures in Black Flag. Players who explore a lot will find dozens of data files, though the game does not appear to offer any in-game tracker for finding each one. You just need to keep looking for them. As of this writing, I have most of them, but not all. I can’t find any full guide for them online. And even Ubisoft’s optional $5 microtransaction that reveals lots of items in-game does not appear to reveal the locations of the text files (at least the official description omits them from its collectibles list). That’s not a huge bother, because tracking the data files down compelled me to re-explore the waves and islands of Black Flag. That was a thoroughly pleasant task to do for the first time in a dozen years. I expect many players, though, will be content to wait for the files to be reproduced in an online AC wiki somewhere, the easier to read on a web page. It may not seem enticing to play a video game in order to gradually unlock pages of text to read. Why not, you may ask, just read a book, where they put the pages in order? For one, they’ve not tucked this latest installment of Assassin’s Creed’s meta saga in a book. I also enjoy the unordered delivery, the dawning comprehension of a story about 2096’s desperate people and questionable tech, which I glimpsed first at its middle, then the end, then the front, then other moments in between1. I am also enamored with the idea of the Assassin’s Creed games I’ve previously played, including Black Flag, being repurposed for an information war. The ideas in Resynced’s meta-story, which builds off characters and ideas in Shadows’ chunks of text, are strong. The potential of where they could go with it is exciting. As for the pirate stuff? Looks great, controls pretty well, is fun to play and oh so speedy in terms of how much of a good time you can have with each sit-down. It never gets old to chase a new shanty page across a rooftop, bombard a fort with upgraded mortars or use a diving bell to explore sunken wrecks (hats off to the team at Ubisoft Barcelona that worked on the underwater portions in Resynced; that team is now facing layoffs, such is the misery of modern gaming and oft-troubled Ubisoft). New pirate missions in Resynced involving new ally characters are brief, dramatic and add more to Edward’s story, even if the gameplay perks they provide barely enhance the gameplay. A new denouement for high-class pirate Stede Bonnet is affecting; a new hunt for Blackbeard’s treasure is a welcome extra moment. A new epilogue to hunt down a pirate killer, on the other hand, over-complicates Kenway’s character. The ending credits remain my favorite of any game I’ve ever played. Black Flag provides great source material. The revisit is well-made and a great sign of what could be. It is offered in a different wrapper that hints at an opportunity for more interesting remakes to come, should Ubisoft choose to pursue such treasures—and as we brace to resist or comply with an Abstergo future. 1 The messages that Edward Kenway finds in bottles tell another out-of-order story, one about a man reckoning with the strange memories and voices he’s heard in his head since he was a boy. That tale was also in the 2013 game and develops into one of Black Flag’s most compelling character arcs. In Resynced, it has lost its climax, because the bottle story previously paid off in the halls of the first-person Abstergo Entertainment, which is exclusive to the older game. An altered resolution, written by the 2013 game’s lead writer is fine, doesn’t invalidate the 2013 version, but makes for an inferior final note.

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Jul 14 • 3:17 PM EDT • Technology • gamefile.news
Netflix wants you to apply to its new game show with $2M prize

Netflix opens casting for a 'Monopoly' competition series, inviting applicants to join a life‑size version of the classic board game.

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Jul 14 • 3:14 PM EDT • Entertainment • usatoday.com
Maple Leafs, Sabres both want 1400-point free agent

Toronto and Buffalo are both interested in a logical free agent target.

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Jul 14 • 2:38 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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Majority of Fort Worth Council supports data center pause. Will it happen?

The majority of Fort Worth City Council wants a temporary moratorium on data centers. A supermajority is needed. This comes after the Fort Worth Zoning Commission voted not to recommend new rules for data centers within the city. Lone Star Politics speaks with Councilwoman Elizabeth Beck, one of the leaders of the effort.

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Jul 14 • 2:13 PM EDT • Politics • nbcdfw.com
‘Nobody Wants This’ star Jackie Tohn reveals Jessica Biel convinced her to drop out of college

Jackie Tohn lived with Jessica Biel and her family as a teen, and Biel convinced her to drop out of college to pursue acting.

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Jul 14 • 12:49 PM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com
LeBron James Connected to Cleveland Cavaliers Homecoming

While LeBron James is still making his decision about where he wants to play next year, don't be surprised if he ultimately winds up back where it all started, with the Cleveland Cavaliers. After eight strong seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, James is a free agent at the age of 41, and he has ...

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Jul 14 • 12:17 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
“I Want to Build People Up”: eKKL Entertainment Co-founder Michael Scott Discusses the Genesis of His Company

We recently sat down with Stan Jantz to chat about The Chosen, the Come and See foundation, and an ambitious mission to translate the series into 600 languages and share the authentic Jesus with 1 billion people around the globe.

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Jul 14 • 12:09 PM EDT • Entertainment • thecollision.org
Bennett unveils tax plan in Maine governor’s race

Bennett said he also wants a state panel to study a program in Vermont that caps property taxes at a percentage of household income.

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Jul 14 • 11:21 AM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com
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Warsh: Fed Doesn’t Want to Be in Bailout Business

Asked about whether the Federal Reserve would step in with a bailout in the event of a financial crisis involving cryptocurrencies, Chairman Kevin Warsh says the central bank does “not want to be in the bailout business.” The Fed is going to “do everything we can to mitigate those sort of extra ris

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Jul 14 • 11:04 AM EDT • Business • wsj.com
Business groups ask Senate to kill a plan limiting buybacks and dividends

Trump signed an order this year limiting buybacks and dividends by defense firms. Business groups want the Senate to strip the provision from a bill.

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Jul 14 • 10:40 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
Lindsey Graham, noble Roman

A lot of people want to be powerful. Very few people, as it turns out, are willing to do the things necessary to have power. This is, generally speaking, a good thing. Perhaps the greatest protecti…

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Jul 14 • 6:00 AM EDT • Politics • thehill.com
It Helped Sink Kamala Harris. Democrats Don’t Want to Talk About It. Now It Could Change Everything in 2026.

The surgeon turned candidate has changed the way Democrats are talking about this.

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Jul 14 • 5:40 AM EDT • Politics • slate.com
Ramp co-CEO hired gamers with Minecraft side hustle

Ramp CEO Eric Glyman said he hired a candidate because of their Minecraft business. He said that Ramp wanted leaders of "bizarre fringe communities."

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Jul 14 • 5:30 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
Want to open a business in downtown New Orleans? A new program is offering cash to help.

Strip clubs, smoke shops, massage parlors and psychics are ineligible.

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Jul 14 • 5:00 AM EDT • Business • nola.com
Heat can be deadly, but sunshine itself? Science says we could use more of it

Extreme exposure should be avoided, but we’ve gone too far the other way – enjoyed safely, the sun can have enormous health benefits, says author and MIT journalism fellow Rowan Jacobsen

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Jul 14 • 3:00 AM EDT • Science • theguardian.com
Too many stories, too little space

Well, this week’s column presents a problem: there are far too many things in Colorado Politics of interest, and I want to write about them all. But given my kindly editor is unlikely to let me expand my column to booklet length (Ed: correct), I’ll just have to mention a few things in a concise […]

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Jul 14 • 3:00 AM EDT • Politics • coloradopolitics.com
The Spurs want input on a downtown arena and entertainment district. San Antonians are eager to weigh in.

San Antonio residents shared ideas and desires for a sports and entertainment district at the first of 10 planned listening sessions.

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Jul 14 • 12:38 AM EDT • Entertainment • sanantonioreport.org
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‘Gutfeld!’: No one wants to see politics at a concert

Fox News contributor Tyrus and the ‘Gutfeld!’ panel analyze several trending headlines.

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Jul 13 • 10:23 PM EDT • Politics • foxnews.com
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Steph Curry’s Brother Still Unsigned Amid Warriors’ LeBron James Wait

Steph Curry wants to play with LeBron James, but his own brother remains unsigned as the Warriors hold off on smaller roster moves. The post Steph Curry’s Brother Still Unsigned Amid Warriors’ LeBron James Wait appeared first on HEAVY.

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Jul 13 • 8:45 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Mick Jagger says he doesn't want to "lecture" fans on politics
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Jul 13 • 6:49 PM EDT • Politics • cbsnews.com
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Enzo Fernandez: Xabi Alonso determined to keep wantaway Argentina World Cup star at Chelsea
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Jul 13 • 6:30 PM EDT • Sports • skysports.com
CBO is looking at how fighting health care fraud could help GOP boost defense spending - Live Updates

House GOP lawmakers are searching for savings to help fund their latest spending package, and want CBO to examine the Trump administration's fraud crackdown.

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Jul 13 • 5:13 PM EDT • Health • politico.com
Start your business with Chicago's free entrepreneur certificate program | ChicagoLIVE

Want to learn more about getting your business off the ground? Ivan Capifali, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, joins ChicagoLIVE to discuss the city's free Entrepreneur Certificate Program and how you can get involved.

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Jul 13 • 4:27 PM EDT • Business • fox32chicago.com
2026 World Cup Odds: Books Hoping For Spain-England Title Match

One thing sportsbooks don't want? A rematch of the 2022 World Cup final. Patrick Everson breaks down the semifinal betting action.

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Jul 13 • 3:09 PM EDT • Sports • foxsports.com
Mick Jagger slams idea of artists talking politics at concerts

OPINION: Mick Jagger, lead singer for The Rolling Stones, explained in an interview why he doesn’t want to “lecture” his audience at concerts, in comparison to more political arti…

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Jul 13 • 2:04 PM EDT • Politics • thehill.com
Hochul wants answers from DHS on planned immigration detention centers in N.Y.

Gov. Hochul said in a letter the public did not hear about the projects from the federal government but from press reports and procurement records.

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Jul 13 • 12:37 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com
Deputies: Four suspects wanted after breaking into Pendleton business

The break-in happened on the morning of July 4.

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Jul 13 • 12:06 PM EDT • Business • foxcarolina.com
<i>Elle’s</i> Lexi Minetree Wants People To Acknowledge Their Privilege

Elle's breakout star Lexi Minetree isn't shying away from the tough conversations. She wants people to acknowledge privilege, and help those around her.

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Jul 13 • 11:28 AM EDT • Entertainment • refinery29.com
Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen brings big changes to the 2024 RPG

The game's creators want more casual players to enjoy Dragon's Dogma 2 ahead of a major update

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Jul 13 • 11:01 AM EDT • Technology • polygon.com
Dragon's Dogma 2 devs on the big fast travel U-turn, and wanting to "win back the trust" of RPG fans with the Dark Arisen DLC

A chat with producer Naoto Oyama and director Kenta Kinoshita about Capcom's lofty plans for a huge Dark Arisen update.

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Jul 13 • 11:00 AM EDT • Technology • eurogamer.net
Spurs Want Public Input on New Ana, Downtown Entertainment District | News Radio 1200 WOAI

The San Antonio Spurs are looking for input from the public on the proposed new arena and entertainment district.

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Jul 13 • 8:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • woai.iheart.com
$31.5 million for uninsured Kansas Citians goes to the same six providers

The city may change how the health levy tax dollars designated for indigent care are allocated. Health leaders want a new bidding process.

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Jul 13 • 7:00 AM EDT • Health • thebeaconnews.org
Want fewer Platners in politics? Stop electing outsiders.

It's rare to hear 'both sides' in this political climate, but when we asked USA TODAY readers about problematic politicians, we heard it plenty.

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Jul 13 • 6:04 AM EDT • Politics • usatoday.com
Science and innovation could be central to building a strong Canada

As we look towards the country’s 200th birthday, let’s plan the kind of country we want to leave to future generations

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Jul 13 • 6:00 AM EDT • Science • theglobeandmail.com
What Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri wants to see when he's hiring

"If you've got fire in your belly, you learn quickly, and you're self-aware, you can kind of get good at anything eventually," Instagram's CEO said.

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Jul 13 • 5:03 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
5 New Roller Coasters to Make You Scream This Summer

Let the adrenaline flow on coasters that will shoot you high in the air, spin you around and turn you upside down. You’ll definitely want a second ride.

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Jul 13 • 5:00 AM EDT • Technology • nytimes.com
Which Veterans on the Ballot Defend VA Health Care?

There’s a difference between candidates who have used VA health care and want to preserve it, and those who haven’t and want to privatize it.

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Jul 13 • 5:00 AM EDT • Health • prospect.org
Gossip: Chelsea consider move for Wharton

Chelsea are looking at a move for Crystal Palace and England midfielder Adam Wharton after Liverpool and Manchester United both cooled their interest in the 22-year-old. Caught Offside) Serie A side Roma want Chelsea winger Alejandro Garnacho. Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian) With Garnacho's expected departure, Chelsea have opened talks with the representatives of Bologna's English winger Jonathan Rowe, 23.

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Jul 13 • 3:02 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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EXCLUSIVE: LVMH Partners With IFM Fashion School on Research Chair in Science and Creativity

The world's biggest luxury group wants to study how creative minds engage with technology, as AI is poised to revolutionize fashion design.

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Jul 13 • 1:00 AM EDT • Science • ca.finance.yahoo.com
Trump Accounts architect on auto-creating accounts for millions

Investor Brad Gerstner said Trump wants up to 70 million children auto-enrolled in the investment accounts "to make sure no child is left behind."

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Jul 13 • 12:59 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
Major international trial finds healthy behaviors help brain health in older adults

The question researchers still want to answer is whether those changes translate to a reduced risk of dementia.

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Jul 13 • 12:01 AM EDT • Health • nbcnews.com
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TSMC to add 2 advanced chip packaging plants in Chiayi, Taiwan minister says

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) will add two advanced chip ​packaging plants in the Chiayi Science Park, ‌the island's science and technology minister said on Sunday.

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Jul 12 • 11:43 PM EDT • Science • reuters.com
Want to own a real T. rex? It could cost you $30 million

The Tyrannosaurus rex fossil known as "Gus" will go up for auction on Tuesday. It's not the first time dinosaur bones have been sold to the highest bidder.

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Jul 12 • 8:14 PM EDT • Technology • npr.org
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Fire being investigated as possible arson destroys beloved Sun Valley market

The owner's son said police showed the family video that appears to show the alleged arsonist behind the blaze. The family does not know who would want to target them.

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Jul 12 • 7:59 PM EDT • Business • abc7.com
Blackhawks Trade Pitch Lands Flames Former First-Round Pick

The Chicago Blackhawks have made it clear that they want to take a step forward next season. Their most notable move so far this offseason was when they traded this year’s 4th overall pick, 45th overall pick, and defenseman Louis Crevier to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for star blueliner Bowen Byram and winger Jordan […] The post Blackhawks Trade Pitch Lands Flames Former First-Round Pick appeared first on HEAVY.

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Jul 12 • 6:48 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
What Lindsey Graham Wanted

The senator always sought relevance.

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Jul 12 • 4:13 PM EDT • Politics • theatlantic.com
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The winning tune: Music school awarded $10K prize

PHILADELPHIA -- Before delivering her final pitch to judges and attendees at the MLB All-Star Small Business Luncheon at Citizens Bank Park, Shana Pistilli, founder and executive director of the Rubato School of Music and winner of the 2026 MLB & Mastercard Small Business Contest, wanted to talk about one

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Jul 12 • 1:07 PM EDT • Business • mlb.com
Nigel Farage is just one strand in the tangle of rightwing politicians and crypto investors

These financiers want to remodel the UK into a form that suits them – one that could threaten to erode the barriers between crime and business, says Guardian columnist John Harris

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Jul 12 • 7:00 AM EDT • Politics • theguardian.com
Microsoft wants to integrate your smartphone more deeply with Windows 11: Plans major UX enhancements that will make your PC and phone more seamlessly connected

Sources say that Microsoft is exploring several ways it can introduce new smartphone integration features across the Windows 11 interface in the coming months.

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Jul 12 • 7:00 AM EDT • Technology • windowscentral.com
🎖️Spain want to keep making history

To date, the national team has gone 37 official matches unbeaten, and they want to keep this great run going. Since June 2023, Spain has not known what it is to lose an official match. So far, they ha...

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Jul 12 • 5:46 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Nigel Farage Wanted a Political Showdown. Now He’s Fighting a Trash Can.

Novelty candidates have long been a feature of British politics, but it’s rare for one to be the main competition.

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Jul 12 • 5:30 AM EDT • Politics • wsj.com
They're Building Half A Bridge to Save Science...

Today’s post is about science: what you can do now to protect it from unprecedented threats, and how your action is the first half of a long-term program that Congress must take up next. Let me start with describing the embryonic state of science advocacy. There are many well-meaning organizations: the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Research!America, and subject-specific organizations such as the Society for Neuroscience and the American Physical Society. Their general approach is to emphasize the common good: the remarkable value that science and innovation have provided to all Americans. However, these organizations are offering an incomplete solution. Before I start, a preliminary: If you already know about the threat, go ahead and weigh in with OMB at this link. Ideas about what to say come from Research!America and the American Physical Society. You have until Monday, July 13 at 11:59pm Eastern. Then come back here and read the rest of this post. Finally, get in touch with whoever is likely to be your next member of Congress in 2027. The threat: An end to merit-based science… The onslaught of attacks on science is accelerating. It’s not just cuts to grants, which was the last battle. That battle is not done yet, but there is a new and worse threat. Now comes a proposed public rule from the Office of Management and Budget. The rule would take decision-making power over grants away from experts and put it into the hands of political appointees. Former NIH official Elizabeth Ginexi wrote an excellent summary of what OMB is trying to do, which is codify the executive branch’s ability to award or terminate grants, for arbitrary cause or no stated cause. Since World War II, a necessary step in scientific grant-making has been consideration of scientific merit. This approach has made America into a dominant scientific superpower, the envy of the world. Of course, political considerations do come into the mix. The proposed rule tilts the balance dramatically away from merit. …but why? Many people have difficulty comprehending why Russell Vought and OMB would want to damage science in this way. If you’re a working scientist, you are likely to be particularly uncomprehending. Who would hurt an activity so self-evidently good? The answer is: this is part of the program to replace the rule of law with a personalist regime. OMB Director Russell Vought, a Christian nationalist, would like to implement what legal scholars call a “unitary executive,” and what I would call a dictatorship. Or if you like, a personalist authoritarian regime. I am a working scientist. This rule will debilitate my research. It may chill the speech of scientists for speaking freely in the public sphere. It is a form of personalizing power and decision-making within the executive branch. In short, it sacrifices science in the service of tyranny. To Russell Vought, a decrease in the quality of science might be an acceptable cost. He might even consider it an added benefit to weaken a pillar of soft U.S. power based on knowledge and skepticism. The professional societies are building half a bridge The nonprofits are asking you to make public comment. Public comment is like building the first half of a bridge. Before implementation, OMB is compelled by law to have a period of public comment. Rules have to be consistent with the law and the Constitution. They express the federal government’s stance toward how those laws will be implemented. When a presidential administration works in good faith, these public comments are used to inform their eventual action, and sometimes mitigate it. The comment period reflects our First Amendment right to petition our government. The executive branch is then supposed to take those comments into account - completing the bridge between us, the people, and our government. Project 2025 seeks to take away the second half of the bridge. We have to replace it. The first half of the bridge Organizations like AAAS, Research!America, and SfN are partly right. You should certainly comment. Their core model is earnest: if enough of us make noise, then we will achieve change. This idealistic point of view is offered in good faith. That point of view is also currently bullshit. The fundamental reason is that the federal rulemaking process has two parts: There has to be a period of public comment. OMB makes the final rule…but is free to disregard public comment. Oops. That’s a loophole. However, not all is lost. Congress can complete the bridge Congress has enormous power. That power suggests a roadmap for how to proceed. This lawless administration is still going to issue that rule. Nonetheless, your comments still play an essential role. Here are two steps you can take. Step 1: Send your comment to your Representative and Senator. Whether they are Democrats or Republicans, many of them support science. Whatever you wrote as public comment in the Federal Register, also send it to your member of Congress. You can include information about jobs in your district or state by looking at Joshua Weitz’s ScienceMatters interactive map. Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and give your town, zip code, or state, then deliver your message. Step 2: Politicize the hell out of science. You heard me, politicize it as an issue. We hear a lot from the old scientific establishment about science being nonpartisan. This is obsolete, sentimental thinking. Under normal conditions, it was true. But we can no longer make that assumption. We can keep on pretending, but we’re putting science at risk. There is a way forward. Rules are subordinate to the law…and Congress makes laws. Therefore Congress can step in. In this fall’s election, it is likely that Democrats will retake the House of Representatives. That puts at least one chamber of Congress in the hands of Democrats. They are far more inclined than the current Congress to investigate and legislate. This opens a path to undoing the damage. It also creates a permission structure for pro-science Republicans to find a way back from the brink. We have to encourage them. In the House, every district is up every two years. In your district, contact both of the major party candidates. If your state has a Senate race, contact those candidates too. Specifically mention the proposed OMB rule. Ask for two things: For this year’s appropriations process in August and September, ask that amendments be added to stop the implementation of the new rule. Those amendments should support peer-reviewed science and stop political interference. Looking ahead to next year, ask the Congressman/Congresswoman/Senator to work to hold hearings in 2027 on the importance and benefits of peer-reviewed science for health and prosperity. What hearings and amendments will accomplish Congress can use its investigatory power to summon heads of agencies and the director of the OMB. That will allow fact-finding regarding the consequences of this rule. Congress can override the rule through the appropriations process. They can write into statute a requirement to follow peer review and best scientific practices. In this way, Congress can stop the attacks on science. Postscript: Moving forward Now I have a request for you, to help me. As many of you know, I ran for Congress in order to save democracy and science. Although I did not win, that battle continues by other means. I met and heard from thousands of supporters both here in New Jersey and nationally. I learned that pro-science, pro-democracy activists have the potential to become a much greater force. In the weeks and months ahead, I will be building ways to harness that energy. I will be announcing those plans soon. In the meantime, an important step is to wind down the Congressional campaign, which has a few remaining bills to pay. Please help me retire that last debt.

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Jul 12 • 2:14 AM EDT • Science • samwang.substack.com
Mick Jagger doesn't want to 'lecture' fans, says his job is to make people 'have the best time'

Legendary Rolling Stones frontman says his job is making audiences forget their problems, but his 2024 jab at Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry at New Orleans Jazz Fest sparked a public feud.

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Jul 11 • 10:20 PM EDT • Entertainment • foxnews.com
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T-Mobile takes the lead on a new breed of networks

T-Mobile wants AI to orchestrate its network to deliver a seamless experience for its customers.

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Jul 11 • 8:45 PM EDT • Technology • phonearena.com
SEGA talks importance of Sonic, failing to reach its goal, wanted new game to sell more

As part of a wide-ranging Famitsu interview with SEGA, president Shuji Utsumi touched upon a number of different topics, including Sonic the Hedgehog. The Japanese magazine published a lengthy discussion with the executive in this week’s issue. During their talk, Famitsu mentioned that Sonic the Hedgehog plays a pretty big role in the transmedia business. Utsumi said in response: “Sonic...

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Jul 11 • 6:00 PM EDT • Technology • nintendoeverything.com
The First Test of Bar Harbor's New Entertainment Rules.

The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by the Bar Harbor Historical Society. BAR HARBOR—The Finback Alehouse was the first real test of the town’s new special amusement permit process, July 7 while eight other permits sailed through the process last week. The permit allows music in places where liquor is served. The town’s ordinance which was recently tweaked for a new process allows for the regulation of noise and hours of activity. The only discussion at the July Town Council meeting was about the Finback Alehouse on Cottage Street, in the heart of Bar Harbor’s downtown district. The Finback’s distinctive design—a front wall that is like a garage door that can be opened and closed—was a key to that discussion. The restaurant, which often hosts live bands, singers, and karaoke, at night, has had one substantiated noise complaint this season, which is documented on its application. According to Bar Harbor Police Chief David Kerns, most complaints about noise happen after 10 p.m., and if the Finback had two more violations within a year, they’d have to stop having music. One town councilor said that he’d have no problem reissuing the permit if the door was down. The permit passed through the process with no conditions. Vice Chair Earl Brechlin moved the motion with two time changes for two holiday weekend dates. It passed unanimously. The council asked the Finback why they’d chosen an indoor license with a wall that can be opened to the street. Dale Stockburger, representing the Finback, said he’d applied for an indoor permit rather than an outdoor structure or partial structure (which is usually applied to tents or pavilions). The restaurant has traditionally had an indoor license. Stockburger said that whether the door is open or closed is immaterial because he now stands outside with a decibel reader to make sure that the music isn’t too loud. OTHER SPECIAL AMUSEMENT PERMITS New Councilor Deborah Vickers worried that she had potential conflicts of interests on two other renewals due to the location of her employee housing. Vickers co-owns the Black Friar Inn. They have employee housing directly behind the Finback, which is also 300 yards from the Bar Harbor Inn, she explained. The Bar Harbor Inn also had a permit up for renewal. The councilors unanimously voted she did not have a conflict of interest. The councilors approved permits at The Bluenose Inn, 90 Eden St, Class A; Acadia Hotel Downtown, 20 Mount Desert St, Class A and C; the Bar Harbor Inn, 8 Newport Dr, Class A, B, C and D; C-Ray Lobster, 882 State Hwy 3, Class D; Holiday Inn Bar Harbor Regency, 123 Eden Street, Class B; Finback Alehouse, 30 Cottage St, Class B; Project Social, 278 Main St, Class C and D; Bar Harbor Beer Works, 119 Main St, Class B and D; and Mainely Meat BBQ Dreamwood Hill, 369 State Hwy 3, Class D. That process is laid out in the Special Amusement Ordinance of the Bar Harbor Town Code which is Chapter 14 of the town code. Special amusement permits have class codes. These are the meanings: Number - how many musicians are allowed by the permit. Class A - Indoor non-amplified entertainment. Class B - Indoor amplified entertainment or dancing. Class C - Outdoor non-amplified entertainment. Class D - Outdoor amplified entertainment. RESIDENCE LICENSES RENEWED AND A TAXI LICENSE The councilors also renewed the licenses for three specific sorts of residences that require that yearly renewal per the town code. The employee living quarters at Atlantic Oceanside Hotel, 119 Eden St and another at 278 Main Street were renewed. The shared accommodations license renewal at 39 Kebo Street also occurred. These are annual renewals. Bernard Taxi Services’ license was also renewed. This license had been added to the agenda at the meeting. Bar Harbor Update on Leaf and Grass Clipping Disposal BAR HARBOR — Bar Harbor residents will still have a place to throw away their leaf and grass clippings this summer. The town’s agreement with EMR in Southwest Harbor for disposing of those items will continue through November 30. The agreement, according to a town press release, will continue “while the Town continues evaluating long term composting solutions and the required state permitting process.” As of July 1, residents bringing their grass and leaves across the island to the facility in Southwest Harbor will have to fill out a property registration card. Each property can throw out up to 85 pounds of the grass and leaves. “Any disposal exceeding the 85 pound allowance during this period will be the responsibility of the property owner at the applicable disposal rate,” the press release explains. LINKS TO LEARN MORE Watch the meeting Meeting agenda QUICK NOTE: We’d released the Bar Harbor Leaf information as a brief, but wanted to make sure that people saw it, so we’ve included it here, too. HELP SUPPORT THE BAR HARBOR STORY When we started The Bar Harbor Story, we didn’t know if anyone would read it. But you showed up. You shared. You sent tips. Now—over 400,000 views every month later—it’s clear: people here care about their community and each other. We’ve kept everything free because news should never be out of reach, but every one of our stories takes time to write, and your support keeps The Bar Harbor Story going. If you value our work, please consider a paid subscription, a founding membership, or a sponsorship. It truly helps us cover one more meeting, tell one more story, shine one more light. Even $5 a month makes a difference. Click here to become a one-time supporter now. Thank you so much for being here. Founding member information can be found here. Have questions about sponsorships? Just send Shaun an email at sfarrar86@gmail.com, he’d love to hear from you. Subscribe Share Bar Harbor Story Share Leave a comment

Vance reflects on perks of being VP — and not getting ‘too big for my britches’

The vice president told a podcaster his life had been “totally transformed” by his post but said he wants to make sure he doesn't “internalize” the changes.

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Jul 11 • 4:19 PM EDT • Politics • washingtonpost.com
Koei Tecmo talks Pokemon Pokopia, wanted to make the best-selling Pokemon spin-off

Koei Tecmo has shared a few comments about Pokemon Pokopia’s massive success, including some lofty sales hopes the company had back when it was working on the project. Famitsu recently spoke with Koei Tecmo president and CEO Hisashi Koinuma in a wide-ranging interview. Of course, it was only natural for Pokemon Pokopia to come up during the interview. When Famitsu...

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Jul 11 • 4:14 PM EDT • Technology • nintendoeverything.com
Kentucky governor wants update on his state's missing Sen. McConnell: 'Just tell us what's going on'

Kentucky's Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, renewed his call for Mitch McConnell, the senior Republican senator from his state, to release information about his health after he was hospitalized on June 14 and hasn't been seen publicly since. "Let's end...

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Jul 11 • 3:40 PM EDT • Health • seattletimes.com
Mick Jagger Gets No Satisfaction from Springsteen’s Trump-Bashing Concerts: ‘You Don’t Want to Lecture’

Mick Jagger said he doesn't want The Rolling Stones concerts to sound like Bruce Springsteen's anti-Trump shows during an interview with The New York Times

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Jul 11 • 3:20 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com
Dave Portnoy explains why he wants "Barstool Sports" to be like "Saturday Night Live"
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Jul 11 • 12:28 PM EDT • Sports • cbsnews.com
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Pokemon Company document shows wanting to increase price from $60, encouraging people to buy both versions

An internal document from The Pokemon Company has surfaced which shows past interest in increasing the price of Pokemon games as well as encouraging people to buy both versions. Going back to the original Nintendo Switch era, Pokemon titles were $60 for each version. However, there was at least some consideration to go higher than that. One thing that prevented...

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Jul 11 • 9:04 AM EDT • Technology • nintendoeverything.com
Dolphins Earn Unwanted 'Worst Team' Label Before Training Camp Opens

Many analysts entering training camp have predicted the Miami Dolphins will finish with the worst record in the NFL in 2026. Bleacher Report is also among those who are bearish on the Dolphins ahead of training camp. A group of NFL analysts for the publication, including Kristopher Knox, assessed all 32 teams ahead of training camp, and the Dolphins landed dead last.

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Jul 11 • 8:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Want to Boost Your Brain Health? A Neurologist Says to Change This 1 Thing About Your Daily Walk

A long-term study from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine revealed a powerful link between walking and cognitive resilience.

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Jul 11 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • inc.com
Center position a lingering question for Penguins

The subject was broached here earlier in the week, but let’s take another look at the 32 Thoughts lingering question of the offseason for the Penguins. Via Sportsnet: Pittsburgh Penguins: Can they add a centre before next season? GM Kyle Dubas has had a tricky job to balance between an aging core that wants to […]

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Jul 11 • 8:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
GoFundMe raises over $400K for family of slain business owner Lorenzo Salgado Araujo

“He was the kind of man who showed up: for his family, for his friends, for his neighbors, and on every job he ever took.”

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Jul 11 • 7:23 AM EDT • Business • wane.com
Which Penguin would you want on your beer league team?

This is a good one from the NHL social media team, asking players who they would want on their beer league teams. Who would be the best from the Penguins? Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, duh, they stand apart as an opportunity you’d never forget to get to share the ice with some of the […]

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Jul 11 • 6:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
AI Is Moving Faster Than Most Businesses. Here’s How Leaders Can Catch Up

Want to learn about the ins and outs of AI? These educational strategies can help.

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Jul 11 • 5:00 AM EDT • Business • inc.com
Great players want to play with Steph Curry. Could LeBron James be next?
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Jul 11 • 1:53 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Patrick Dempsey for Senate? Pop culture colonized electoral politics long ago.

Patrick Dempsey won’t be running for the Maine Senate seat Graham Platner wanted. But had he entered the race, it wouldn’t have come as a shock: Pop culture colonized electoral politics long ago.

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Jul 11 • 12:01 AM EDT • Politics • bostonglobe.com
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UAE defense firm EDGE Group wants to turn homegrown military tech into a global business

EDGE Group CEO Hamad Al Marar discusses the UAE’s push to build a globally competitive defense industry — and how technology, manufacturing and exports are shaping that ambition.

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Jul 11 • 12:00 AM EDT • Business • cnbc.com
Tiny bubbles could revolutionize inkjet printing

Ultra-fine bubbles may offer a cleaner way to perfect inkjet printing for next-generation electronics. By simply changing the number of bubbles in each droplet, researchers were able to dramatically reshape the final printed pattern without leaving behind unwanted chemical residues.

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Jul 10 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com
Fort Wayne Sport Club competing in USYS National Championships

Over a dozen girls soccer standouts from northeast Indiana will compete in the USYS National Championships next week in Tennessee.

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Jul 10 • 6:00 PM EDT • Sports • wane.com
SC agency considers entering the carbon business to improve state forests

SC natural resources agency wants to get into the business of selling credits to environmentally friendly and carbon neutral companies.

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Jul 10 • 4:42 PM EDT • Business • scdailygazette.com
MLB Fans Want Sports Gambling Banned After Bryce Harper Situation

Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper is making headlines this week for the wrong reasons. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that a sports bettor by the name of Terry Thompson gambled $18.5 million with FanDuel and lost roughly $2 million of his money. He filed a lawsuit against the sportsbook, ...

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Jul 10 • 4:35 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
LA will replace Pico Boulevard parking with bike lanes. Small businesses worry about the impact

Small business owners want a safer Pico Boulevard, but fear losing hundreds of curbside parking spots in the neighborhood.

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Jul 10 • 4:00 PM EDT • Business • laist.com
Baker Mayfield Sets New Contract Deadline – And It's Coming Up Fast

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took a chance on embattled quarterback Baker Mayfield in 2023. That chance paid off. Now Mayfield wants the partnership to pay off more, to the tune of a massive raise. Mayfield is under contract for the NFL 2026 season, in the final year of a three-year, $100 million ...

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Jul 10 • 3:42 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Couple, Both 45, Sold Their Business For $3 Million — Now They're Fighting Over Whether To 'Play It Safe' Or 'Go Big'

A married couple, both 45, sold the manufacturing business they built together for $3 million after a buyer approached them out of nowhere. Now they can’t agree on what to do with the money: one wants to put nearly all...

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Jul 10 • 1:01 PM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com
Suwanee announces new headliner for August Concert

The show will go on, but with a different headliner, the city of Suwanee announced on Friday.

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Jul 10 • 11:24 AM EDT • Entertainment • gwinnettdailypost.com
MAGA's attack on science is even worse than it looks

In my post on America’s 250-year anniversary, I argued that respect for the individual was the “secret sauce” in the U.S.’ long-lasting preeminence among nations. But it was certainly not the only factor. There were plenty of institutional innovations that helped the U.S. stay on top — economically, militarily, and in terms of the attractiveness of its society. One of these was American science. Today we take things like the modern research university, government grants for science, public-to-private research spinoffs, etc. for granted, but a lot of that infrastructure wasn’t there before World War 2. It was either invented or scaled up massively by the U.S. government in the postwar period, led by far-sighted scientist-bureaucrats like Vannevar Bush (pictured above). If you want to read about this history, a good place to start would be Jonathan Gruber and Simon Johnson’s excellent book Jump-Starting America. Those scientific institutions didn’t exist in a vacuum, however. They were backed by the U.S. government’s abiding faith in the power of science — and, even more fundamentally, by deep popular trust in the scientific enterprise. Science gave us radar and the atom bomb in wartime, and in peacetime it gave us plastics, vaccines, cheap food, and a thousand other things that made our lives easier. Science was also the driver behind American industry — chemicals, aerospace, telecommunications, computers, electronics, and so on. We owed science our jobs, our livelihoods, our comfortable living standards, and our greatness and power as a nation. It’s little wonder that both political parties, even as they fought viciously over other issues, were steadfast in their support of science. For a long time, the only people who distrusted science were a hippie fringe on the left who disliked modernity (or thought they did, anyway), who also disliked American industry and American power, and who subscribed to an early version of degrowth environmentalism. America’s scientific enterprise is still strong, especially compared to the systems in Europe, Japan, Korea, and other developed countries. It has lost a lot of ground to China in a relative sense, but a lot of that is because of China’s incredible growth; as China has poured untold amounts of money and talent into its research labs, spending and output have overtaken the U.S. by some measures. There are a few ways in which China’s rise creates problems for American science — for example, top scientists can choose to work in China instead of in the U.S. — and of course there’s the concern that China’s technological strength will help its military to reign supreme. But overall, China’s rise in science should be good for American science, since American scientists can use Chinese discoveries for free and build on them. The much bigger problem is that the scientific enterprise America built during and after World War 2 is now being threatened with absolute decline. The biggest problem, of course, is that much of the country — the Republican half — has basically lost faith in the scientific enterprise. To what degree this loss of faith is justified is an open question, and deserves to be discussed openly. But the larger point — that the system that powered American dominance is under threat — is true either way. Most Americans still trust science, but MAGA Republicans don’t There’s a myth, popular in right-wing circles, that scientists have lost the trust of regular Americans — either due to the increasingly left-wing composition of academic departments, or to misbehavior during Covid, or to DEI-related research taking over science, etc. This also fits with a wider narrative that Americans are losing trust in all of our institutions. But it just isn’t true. Poll after poll shows that on the whole, Americans still trust scientists and want to spend more on science. For example, here’s a Pew poll from late 2025 showing that although about a fifth of Republicans did lose confidence in science in 2020, two thirds still have at least “a fair amount” of confidence: That same poll found that scientists are among America’s most trusted groups — even better trusted than the military! In fact, Americans trust scientists more than people in most other countries do. Other polls show that although Republican trust in science has dropped somewhat, Republican support for spending more on science remains very strong: A Pew poll in 2023 found the exact same thing: So when MAGA types tell you about scientists losing their credibility, or a drop in trust in science, they’re only talking about themselves. Whatever left-wing politicization of science happened during the Biden administration — and there was definitely some of that — it was not enough to make most Republicans lose faith in the scientific enterprise, or favor research cuts in order to purge unwanted ideology from the system. That doesn’t mean I think progressives should continue down the path of politicizing scientific research. They should not, and Biden made real missteps in this area. Objectivity clearly matters for public trust of science in the long term. But as of right now, there’s no crisis of trust in science, except among the smallish minority of people who are running around screaming that there’s a crisis of trust in science. But despite science’s overwhelming popularity and public trust, Trump and his administration are launching an unprecedented and devastating attack on American science — cutting funding, and forcing science projects to undergo ideological review by government commissars. Trump’s comprehensive attack on science

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Jul 10 • 11:23 AM EDT • Science • noahpinion.blog
Deal with developer could lead to new sports stadium in Rochester

Rochester’s city council unanimously approved an exclusive agreement with Wisconsin-based Landmark Development. It gives the company six months to decide if it wants to build a facility on a piece of city-owned land downtown.

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Jul 10 • 10:20 AM EDT • Sports • mprnews.org
"They want us to accept this as a done deal and quietly disappear" – Bethesda union members organise protest in response to Xbox layoffs

440 OneBGS devs were affected by cuts at Bethesda Game Studios, Id Software, and ZeniMax Online Studios

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Jul 10 • 9:22 AM EDT • Technology • gamesindustry.biz
This New Browser Extension Blocks All Those Junky, Fake Brands on Amazon

Knockoff works by filtering out brands you probably don't want to buy from anyway.

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Jul 10 • 9:01 AM EDT • Technology • cnet.com