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Geography Graduate Students Receive National Science Foundation Award Offers for the 2026 Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Congratulations to our first year graduate students; Danielle Losos, Emily Nagamoto, and Lauren Palermo for receiving award offers from the National Science
Deloitte's Space Business Reaches New Heights as Two New Satellites Enter Orbit
/PRNewswire/ -- Key takeaways Deloitte-2 and Deloitte-3, launched on March 29, 2026, from Vandenberg Space Force Base to expand Deloitte's on-orbit footprint....
TCL CSOT Will Launch A Dual-Mode Monitor With 4X Refresh Rate Switching With Up To 640 Hz
TCL CSOT plans a dual-mode monitor with 4X refresh rate switching, reaching up to 640 Hz at 1080p, potentially featuring OLED technology.
Trendforce says hi-tech glue key to an invisible crease in the iPhone Ultra
It’s believed that Apple has waited many years to launch the first folding iPhone in large part because the company...
SCORE Offers Free Business Mentoring Sessions
Local entrepreneurs and small business owners in Pasadena have a valuable resource at their fingertips with the ongoing SCORE One-on-One Mentoring Sessions. These free and confidential appointments provide individuals with expert guidance on starting, running, or growing a small business, courtesy of SCORE, the nation’s largest network of volunteer business mentors. The sessions are designed to offer personalized advice and strategic insights from experienced professionals. SCORE, which stands for Service Corps of Retired Executives, is a non-profit organization and a key resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Its mission is to foster vibrant small business communities through dedicated mentoring and education. The organization comprises a network of seasoned business owners and executives who generously volunteer their time to support the next generation of entrepreneurs. As SCORE states, their mentoring is a “free, confidential service for anyone starting, running, or growing a U.S.-based small business.” These one-hour mentoring sessions are held every other Tuesday from 1 to 5 p.m. at two branches of the Pasadena Public Library: the Lamanda Park Branch Library and the Santa Catalina Branch Library. Appointments can be conveniently reserved up to 14 days in advance, ensuring that individuals can schedule a time that best suits their needs. This recurring service underscores SCORE’s commitment to continuous support for the local business community, helping them to plan, launch, and grow successfully. Need to Know: The SCORE One-on-One Mentoring Session offers free business guidance. These one-hour appointments are available every other Tuesday from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Pasadena Public Library’s Lamanda Park Branch (140 S Altadena Drive, Pasadena, CA 91107) and Santa Catalina Branch (999 E Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104). The service is free. For more information or to book an appointment, visit [https://www.score.org/].
Rumour: Fable Has Apparently Been Delayed Internally, But May Still Launch In 2026
"They are worried about the launch of GTA6"
‘Lady Disdain’ world premiere rides sparkling into Overture
Madison company Forward Theater presents Lauren Gunderson’s bawdy enemies-to-lovers adaptation of “Much Ado About Nothing” through April 26.
Lauder gift of $10M to aid science center's expansion in W. Palm Beach
A $10 million gift in the name of the late cosmetics billionaire Leonard Lauder and his widow, Judy, will help expand a West Palm Beach science center.
Seneca Falls Park Launches Suffrage & Science Week
Suffrage & Science Week is coming to Seneca Falls! ♀️ Explore the connection between women's rights and the scientific world at the Women's Rights National H...
Hospitals roll out chatbots, looking to reclaim their role in patients' health conversations
A handful of hospitals are launching their own chatbots, a risky bet aimed at better serving current patients and gaining new ones.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles 2 DLC character Shinobu Kocho (Infinity Castle) launches April 17
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles 2 downloadable content character Shinobu Kocho (Infinity Castle) will launch on April 17, publisher Aniplex and developer CyberConnect…
8.8-inch OLED, Snapdragon 8 Gen 5: High-end compact tablet gets official launch date
Compact tablet enthusiasts have likely been awaiting more details regarding the Oppo Pad Mini tablet. As revealed by the company, the 8.8-inch OLED tablet powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 SoC is set to see the light of day later this month.
Barron Trump’s beverage brand unveils first flavors ahead of launch
Barron Trump-linked beverage startup SOLLOS is teasing its first yerba mate flavors and packaging as the company builds momentum ahead of its planned May 2026 launch.
The business of having fun
WARREN — Offering a nod to Cyndi Lauper’s 1983 worldwide hit single and subsequent feminist anthem, “Girls Just Want To Have ...
Politics Unplugged Podcast: Laura Gersony on the SRP election and Turning Point's impact
Arizona Republic reporter Laura Gersony joins us to talk about the SRP election, and why it was a loss for Turning Point USA. Then Dennis and Colin talk about the President’s threat to end a civilization and Melania Trump's Epstein-focused press conference.
NH Food Bank unveils new brand and strategic vision
The New Hampshire Food Bank, a program of Catholic Charities New Hampshire, has launched a new brand and strategic vision, including a new logo, mission statement and vision statement. The
The Masters: Rory McIlroy wins back-to-back green jackets
Rory McIlroy becomes only the fourth golfer to win back-to-back Masters tournaments, joining Jack Nicklaus (1965-1966), Nick Faldo (1989-1990) and Tiger Woods (2001-2002).
Byron Donalds to announce industry-focused workforce initiative
The candidate for Governor will announce his LaunchPad plans as part of his 'Defending the Florida Dream' tour.
Masters 2026: Only one question remains for Rory McIlroy — how high will he climb among golf's all-time greats?
McIlroy may never have the numbers to catch Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods, but he certainly has a pathway to No. 3 all-time.
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream ROM leaked online
It's now been confirmed that the Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream ROM has leaked online just days before launch.
Oppo officially reveals Find X9 Ultra days before global launch
The Oppo Find X9 Ultra is an upcoming flagship smartphone set to launch globally on April 21. The company's official Weibo account has revealed the device's design ahead of launch, showcasing it in three color options.
Apple reportedly testing four designs for upcoming smart glasses
These glasses are a step back from an ambitious plan that once called for Apple to launch a variety of mixed and augmented reality devices.
UCLA Gets $33M Grant for Youth Mental Health Training
UCLA received $33 million from Ballmer Group to expand youth mental health workforce training in Los Angeles County, aiming to produce 2,600 new graduates by 2031.
LA Leaders Create Foundation to Fight $50M Health Cuts
Los Angeles community leaders launched The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA to offset $50 million in LA County public health budget cuts affecting clinics.
I use Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT every day—here's the only one you should pay for
The battle of the bots.
Business briefs: Gary schools launch community gardens initiative
News and events around the area
As WhatsApp faces lawsuit, Elon Musk launches 'no tracking' messaging app XChat
App will offer encrypted chats, voice and video calls, large group messaging and disappearing messages, initially for iPhone and iPad users only, with no ads or phone number required to sign up
Sandy Lyle recalls Jack Nicklaus's 1986 Masters win
Sandy Lyle recalls playing with Jack Nicklaus during his legendary 1986 Masters win and what he learned from it.
Arc Raiders Launches Map Conditions tracker - here's what the tracker tells us
Embark Studios has released a new tracker to help players monitor map conditions across Arc Raiders.
Coachella 2026 YouTube livestream: How to watch Karol G on Sunday
How to watch Coachella 2026 Day 3 YouTube livestream: Karol G, BigBang, Laufey, Little Simz, Kaskade, Young Thug, FKA Twigs, Subtronics and more.
Anthropic brings Claude into Microsoft Word, and legal contract review leads its use cases
Anthropic's Claude for Word beta is live in Microsoft Word for Team and Enterprise users, with legal contract review as the tool's first listed use case
‘Euphoria’ has outgrown itself, on screen and off
Everything was different when “Euphoria” premiered in 2019. Now, as the series makes its long-awaited return Sunday, the third and final season of the show is emerging into a drastically different world, both in terms of the story being told on screen and the generation of stars the show helped launch off screen.
Pokemon Champions Battle Pass Season M-2 rewards leaked
Pokémon Champions has already leaked details about its Battle Pass Season M-2 rewards. The next season isn’t expected to start for quite a bit. Pokemon Champions just launched this week, and alongside that, Season M-1 started up. It should be running until May 12, so the next one isn’t expected until at least a month from now. That said, if...
Watch: Provost Dittmar, Project Metis leaders outline vision for brain health, brain economy
Four months after its launch, Project Metis is building momentum — with a new website and video offering a deeper look at the initiative’s vision to position the Houston-Galveston region as a global leader in brain health and the emerging brain economy.
Let the state’s narrative-laundering season begin
Politics is a game of narrative. Whoever controls the narrative wins. Sure, the truth is interesting. But truth doesn’t sell. It takes time to uncover, assuming people care enough to go digging for it. Narratives are easier. They’re simple, comforting and come pre-approved by the crowd. Groupthink isn’t just easy. It’s safe. The truth, on […]
Health Secretary Wes Streeting to face questions on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
This week, Victoria Derbyshire is stepping in for Laura Kuenssberg. Tory MP James Cartlidge and Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey will also be on the show.
Today’s Papers – Shocking Milan, Juventus celebrate
La Gazzetta dello SportInter in Como for the Scudetto. Pio must do a LautaroNapoli in Parma with the comeback dream. Conte: ‘Let’s put pressure.’Great LadyWins in Bergamo and narrows the Champio...
Pandemics Are Not Just Biological Crises
People typically think of pandemics in terms of their biological consequences, but science journalist Laura Spinney argues that their impact is shaped just as
Tigres thrash and outclass Chivas at El Volcán!
Tigres made a statement at El Volcán, thrashing Chivas 4-1. The felines controlled much of the match, handing the Liga MX leaders one of their most painful defeats of the Clausura 2026. The party st...
An AI launched this retail store and hired employees on its own
Andon Labs let an AI loose with $100,000 to start a small store in San Francisco.
How aggressive breast cancer turns off the immune system
Researchers are launching a new project to crack the mystery of aggressive breast cancer, where predicting disease progression remains a major hurdle. By studying how tumors interact with and suppress the immune system, scientists aim to identify new biomarkers that reveal how the cancer evolves. Using real patient samples, the team hopes to turn earlier discoveries into practical clinical tools. The goal: more precise, personalized treatments that can outsmart even the most dangerous tumors.
Small business marketplace opens up in Warren
Helping bring communities that are drifting apart back together. That was the push behind the launch of Hands and Heart United’s spring market Saturday afternoon.
VA launches new electronic health record system in Battle Creek
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has launched a new electronic health record system at its Battle Creek medical center.
Laurel: Making a hit at the school science fair
In Brian Nelson's Laurel cartoon, our girl's entry in the school science fair makes a considerable hit.
Laurel: Making a hit at the school science fair
In Brian Nelson's Laurel cartoon, our girl's entry in the school science fair makes a considerable hit.
L.A. Times readers celebrate UCLA women's basketball's title win
Times readers cheer UCLA coach Cori Close and players Gabriela Jaquez, Kiki Rice, Lauren Betts, Gianne Kneepkens, Angela Dugalic and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
The business of travel is booming in Seward
With a class offered through Alaska Vocational Technical Center, locals are learning business basics and launching new careers.
XChat to launch on iPhone and iPad
Can this X-affiliated chat app compete with WhatsApp and Signal?
Anthropic's Claude for Word is a new challenge to Microsoft's empire
Anthropic launched a beta version of Claude for Word. It's another challenge to Microsoft's software empire, and a bid to appeal to lawyers.
“AI polls” are fake polls
A few weeks after Donald Trump’s second presidential win, I took the train up from London (where I was living at the time) to Oxford to attend a conference on polls and forecasts of the 2024 election. Most of the attendees were pollsters or academics, but I also watched presentations from Aaru and Electric Twin, two companies that do what is interchangeably called synthetic sampling, silicon sampling, or synthetic audiences. Stripped of startup jargon, that means they use large language models (LLMs) to simulate responses to public opinion polls by having AI agents take on the role of survey respondents. I had already heard of Aaru thanks to some articles with eye-catching headlines like “No people, no problem: AI chatbots predict elections better than humans” in the months leading up to Election Day. The founders were making some big, some might even say far-fetched claims, such as: “within two years, we will simulate the entire globe — from the way crops are grown in Ukraine to how that impacts production of oil in Iraq, trade through the strait of Malacca, and elections for the mayor of Baltimore.” When Semafor asked Aaru’s cofounders — Cameron Fink and Ned Koh — about my boss, they said “we respect all those who came before us.” Nate (as he so often does) shared his thoughts on Twitter: Fink and Koh were relatively good-natured about this back-and-forth when we spoke at Oxford. They even offered to mail me one of the t-shirts featuring Nate’s quote they apparently had made. I never took them up on the offer, which I now somewhat regret. These synthetic sampling companies fell off my radar for a while, but they do still exist. In fact, Aaru recently received a $1 billion valuation. Is what they’re doing anywhere close to the most important frontier in AI development? Not by a longshot, especially when Anthropic just developed a model so adept at exploiting software vulnerabilities that it’s only being released to 40 companies. Still, silicon sampling is increasingly finding its way into public polling. Axios reported in March that “a majority of people trust their own doctors and nurses” based on findings from Aaru — without mentioning that the “people” in that sentence were actually LLMs. Around the same time, the Public Sentiment Institute “boosted” their online sample of 373 real survey respondents with 114 AI agents.1 (Spoiler alert: even the co-founder of Electric Twin doesn’t think that’s a particularly defensible approach.) Polling companies like Qualtrics and Ipsos are also developing synthetic data panels. So, what should we make of these … “polls”? Let’s get one thing out of the way: whatever they are, they’re not polls in the way that term is usually defined. Subscribe You can’t replace polls with AI On one hand, using LLMs to essentially make up fake survey respondents sort of sounds like the dumbest idea ever, one that will at best imperfectly replicate real polls while introducing all sorts of biases. On the other hand, with LLMs improving at a remarkable, perhaps even alarming rate, maybe that means I’m a dinosaur at the ripe old age of 24 because I still want to rely on polls that talk to actual people. I’m not going to argue that synthetic samples are completely useless. In fact, as I’ll return to later, there is evidence that some techniques can replicate topline survey results quickly and cheaply. But the marketing from certain companies can be slightly optimistic. “No traditional poll will exist by the time the next general election occurs,” said Fink in 2024. We’re just 206 days away from the midterms, and based on the fact that I still have to collect a bunch of polls every day, I’d say he should have run that prediction by a sample of AI agents before the interview.2 To see why synthetic samples can’t replace polls, here’s a quick primer on how they work. The simplest version of these models involves taking a LLM (like ChatGPT or Claude), giving it a demographic profile (e.g., a white, college-educated woman who lives in Utah and makes $70k a year), and then asking it to respond to a survey question. You repeat that process a few thousand times using different demographic profiles and end up with a sample of synthetic survey responses. The actual models used by private companies are more sophisticated than this, usually because they incorporate more hypothesized demographic characteristics for each agent and provide them with extra information. Aaru, for example, feeds agents a diet of news and information they’d be likely to consume, while Electric Twin incorporates their customers’ proprietary data about the audience they’re trying to replicate. The way Ben Warner, the co-founder of Electric Twin, explained it to me was “we have a large amount of data on […] for instance, 5,000 people. Can we make an accurate prediction of how they would respond to another question?” Still, it should be obvious why synthetic samples can’t replace polls. Polling is fundamentally a data collection process. We might use surveys to make predictions by feeding them into election forecasts, but the main purpose of a poll isn’t prediction, it’s gathering new data about what people think and how they feel. Silicon sampling, on the other hand, produces no new data. It’s simply a model: you input LLM training data, demographic prompts, and a bunch of other information, and it spits out a prediction for what a poll would say. We love models here, but models aren’t polls. That difference is an important philosophical sticking point for most pollsters I talk to. “I think politics should stay away from [synthetic sampling], because we’re trying to […] represent the voice of the people,” said Natalie Jackson, a vice president at GQR Insights. Democratic pollster John Hagner told me: “I think I’m just incredibly skeptical of this idea. I don’t think it’s research. At that point, you’re asking the machine to tell you what you already believe.” Hagner has seen some presentations of early synthetic sampling experiments, but so far, “if it’s being used in a campaign, people are keeping it incredibly quiet.”3 But Eli, I hear you saying, aren’t polls themselves increasingly governed by modeling decisions? Indeed they are: pollsters’ choices on which sampling method to use, how to define their likely voter models, and how to weight their samples can and do lead to dramatic differences in the results they publish. Aaru even referenced these limitations in the methodology statement included with that maternal mortality “poll” — although I’m using the term “methodology statement” loosely here, because it doesn’t really explain how the model works at all. We can ignore the (frankly preposterous) implication that synthetic sampling isn’t subject to a separate set of biases. The important point is that there’s still a meaningful difference between using weighting and other statistical techniques on actual polling data and using a model to predict what a poll would say. The latter is far closer to election forecasts or techniques like MRP — potentially useful models, but not a replacement for polls.4 To be fair, other synthetic sampling companies are perfectly happy with the distinction between polls and models. Warner compared polling and synthetic sampling to different tools in a toolbox. “The mistake I think we make is we think that these new tools should either work in exactly the same way or somehow replace these old tools,” he said. “Rather than thinking of it as, okay, so we’ve always had the hammer, we’ve always had the screwdriver, now we’ve got a saw. But don’t use a saw to try [to] do the job of a hammer.” A quick comment from Nate Eli didn’t ask me for a comment — rather rude of him, don’t you think? But since I’m editing this story, I figured I’d add a few quick thoughts rather than putting words in his mouth. Beyond the frequently misleading marketing, what bothers me about the AI “poll” hype is that as AI tools make statistical inference cheaper and/or better (note that these are not synonyms) that actually increases the comparative value of collecting original data. You might be able to train a model to make a reasonable estimate of what some hard-to-reach poll respondent would say — say, a young Black man who voted for Trump. (Such a person checks a number of boxes for a voter who is usually hard to reach in surveys.) Indeed, this is closely related to what models like the Silver Bulletin forecast already do. They essentially smooth out the kinks in noisy survey data by making inferences based on past voting patterns or national polls or surveys of other states. But you don’t actually know what these voters think unless you’re reaching them directly. If there’s a shift in opinion among this subgroup, you’re not going to detect it. So if I were running a campaign, I’d invest more in going the extra mile to find a representative sample of those voters. And then I’d hire some smart quants — or Claude? — to figure out the implications for campaign strategy based on proprietary data that my competitors didn’t have access to. -Nate Silver Are these models any good? If synthetic surveys are just a new type of model, the next obvious question is whether the models are at least accurate. The answer very much depends on who you ask. On one end of the spectrum, you have the maximalist argument that synthetic sampling is more accurate than actual polls. “It’s an incredibly challenging problem to go to someone and say ‘hey, we’re going to be more accurate at predicting human behavior than you, even when you talk to your customers directly’,” Koh recently told CNBC. In his view, synthetic sampling isn’t a saw to polling’s hammer, it’s “magic.” There’s certainly evidence that synthetic samples can replicate certain survey toplines. But if Aaru does have any examples of their approach outperforming the polls, they’re keeping those to themselves.5 Aaru’s 2024 election model, for example, had Kamala Harris leading in Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin on November 4th. And although they’ve since taken down their forecast page, they gave Harris a 50.5 percent chance of winning the race on November 2nd.6 After the election, Fink told Semafor he was happy enough with those results because they were “within margin of error,” a term that is completely meaningless when applied to a “sample” of AI agents. And of course, Aaru says their models have improved since 2024, so supposedly now they’d be more accurate than the polls? Still, their stronger argument is on cost: “We are significantly faster and cheaper than traditional polling, and still more accurate,” said Fink. The first two claims are undeniably true, but the third brings us to the opposite end of the spectrum. Both Jackson and Hagner are skeptical that these models are reliable for anything beyond replicating common survey toplines. “I just […] don’t think the machines are what we want when we’re looking for nuanced views. My example on this is people in Arizona and Nevada in 2024 who voted for Trump and voted for expanding abortion in their states on ballot initiatives,” said Jackson. Hagner identified another issue. Maybe the synthetic respondents, like sycophantic LLMs, are inhuman in one important way: they’re too nice. “The reports that have come through at the meetings that I’ve been at are that the early experiments on this, they cannot get respondents to be as racist or sexist or, frankly, as negative as human respondents,” he said. Academic research mostly agrees on this point. While there are some papers that show promising results when using LLMs to replicate polling data, most show that LLMs suffer from various quirks like producing too few “don’t know” responses and can seriously overpredict the favorability of politicians like Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. They also seem to struggle with too little variation between demographic subgroups, so the difference in predicted opinion between Democrats and Republicans, for example, is too small. When I asked Warner about these studies, his response to these papers was that just because academics can’t get synthetic sampling to work doesn’t mean that the technique doesn’t work in general. “Actually, the argument is, okay, yours does not [work]. That does not mean […] for this complex set of machinery, which uses a lot of investment, a lot of time, a lot of money, you can’t get it to work.” Cards on the table, I’m somewhat sympathetic to this argument because academics aren’t exactly great at making election forecasts. Usually, the people with skin in the game are the most accurate. Warner’s argument is that the approach Electric Twin takes — which includes, for example, making multiple predictions for each synthetic respondent using different models and prompts and subsequently averaging those to get a final prediction in a sort of ensemble forecast — produces better results than the simpler academic models. Warner shared a comparison between his method and the method from a recent academic paper with me, and Electric Twin was indeed able to get more accurate replication. But even still, he acknowledged that synthetic sampling “is not a crystal ball.” “If you asked me, do I think using other data sources will be more accurate than asking somebody who they will vote for, I would probably say no. But if you asked me ‘would your system be useful for our turnout modeling today?’ I would say yes.” For better or worse, it looks like the method is already getting more popular in the market research world. Most of the clients Aaru touts these days are businesses like EY and McDonald’s. And AI will probably begin to pop up in other parts of the political polling process. Pollsters are already using it to code open-ended survey responses, and some firms, like YouGov, are testing using LLMs to ask survey respondents questions. More worryingly, one danger to actual polls is that AI agents can be used to infiltrate online surveys. Most online polls use various checks to prevent that from happening, but there’s conflicting evidence on how effective those filters are and how prevalent AI agents currently are in online panels. If those agents ever become impossible to detect, it might spell the end of online polling, but the solution isn’t to replace all of your respondents with ChatGPT. Silver Bulletin is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a subscriber. Subscribe 1 That particular poll obviously doesn’t meet Silver Bulletin standards for aggregation. But we exclude all Public Sentiment Institute polls from our averages because we classify them as an amateur polling firm. 2 You could argue that Fink meant the next presidential election, but (a) I’m also confident we’ll still have real polls in 2028 and (b) in that case he should have asked an LLM to define “general election.” 3 Quick caveat: that’s reporting from a Democratic pollster. It’s possible that Republicans are more willing to use AI in political campaigns. 4 Indeed, Silver Bulletin does not include “polls” produced by MRP in our forecasts or averages, and we think it’s extremely misleading when their practitioners describe them in a way that suggests original data had been collected among a large number of states or Congressional districts. 5 A recent report from Aaru and EY did show two examples of a synthetic estimate being closer than a survey to a real-world benchmark — but I’d take those findings with a grain of salt because the report reads more like an ad and didn’t involve any sort of prediction being made ahead of time. 6 For comparison, our odds for Harris on the same day were 48.2 percent.
GTA 6's Rockstar breached by hacker group with secret data up for ransom
GTA 6 could be in the crosshairs as a suspicious hacker group flaunts a ransom across the dark web
NASA Science, Cargo Launch Aboard Northrop Grumman CRS-24
NASA is sending more science, technology demonstrations, and crew supplies to the International Space Station following the successful launch of the agency’s
UMA, UMPI launch online medical laboratory science bachelor's degree to expand Maine’s healthcare workforce
The University of Maine at Presque Isle and the University of Maine at Augusta are launching a bachelor of science in medical laboratory science degree
UMA, UMPI launch online medical laboratory science bachelor's degree to expand Maine’s healthcare workforce
The University of Maine at Presque Isle and the University of Maine at Augusta are launching a bachelor of science in medical laboratory science degree
Mets news: Clay Holmes exited Friday’s game with hamstring injury
The injury bug bites again.
Anthropic closes in on OpenAI as US business use surges
Divergence reflects company’s recent rapid growth owing to strong interest in its Claude Code products
In praise of popular science
As a kid, I was enthusiastically and unreservedly in favor of a manned space program. Our destiny lay in the stars, I figured. Get people out there. We need Star Trek here and now. As I got older, I became rather disenchanted with the idea. Humans are expensive, fragile, and inefficient as space cargo. We could flood the solar system with 100 robotic probes for the price of any single manned mission and get back just as useful data. Besides, it turns out space travel is dangerous. Tusk is a reader-supported publication. To support this work, please become a paid subscriber. Subscribe When it came to the recent Artemis II mission, my cynical side didn’t really see the point. Flying around the Moon and back is literally something we did before I was born, and I once owned a Members Only jacket. Apollo 8 circled the Moon ten times and returned to Earth safely the same month that “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” was released. What was the point of repeating a feat that far braver people once did with tin foil and slide rules? Yet I’ve surprised myself with how moving I’ve found the Artemis II mission to be. The photos have been stunning. The crew has been professional and engaging. There have been modest but important milestones — the farthest humans have travelled from Earth; the first woman, person of color, and non-American to leave low-Earth orbit; innovations in communication, and more. One thing that really stood out is that this is really NASA at its finest. Not that this is the most important mission they ever pulled off, but they did this in a competent way that celebrated the achievements and kept the crew and the science at the forefront of the project. This wasn’t some billionaire throwing celebrities or cars into orbit as a vanity project — this was a collective effort to send experts in to do a job and come home safely. We don’t see that sort of thing much these days. I’m guessing few people would describe many government agencies as inspiring, but this one counts for me. We’re living through a profoundly anti-science era, in which pathbreaking, lifesaving discoveries like mRNA vaccines are routinely downplayed or even vilified. As I’ve noted previously, this era is something like that of the Red Scare in the 1940s and 50s, in which “egghead” professors were portrayed as out of touch or even hostile to regular Americans. One of the things that helped break that spell was Sputnik — the Soviet communications satellite that demonstrated that the United States was falling behind in crucial scientific research and applications. Its launch triggered a new appreciation for American science and goaded the federal government into supporting research universities and labs. I’m not saying that Artemis is the equivalent of Sputnik, but it potentially reminds people that there’s some value to scientific endeavors and the human faces attached to them. Despite my love for the show “For All Mankind,” I’m far from convinced that there’s any real value to putting colonies on the Moon or Mars that would justify the capital investment and the massive health risks to the astronauts. But sending scientific good will ambassadors on a trip into space once in a while? Bring it. Share
2026 Frontiers in Science: Advancing Space Exploration
One day after the historic Artemis II launch, the College of Sciences welcomed more than 150 researchers, students, and community members to its signature Frontiers in Science conference.
DC leads the nation in first-year business failures
Washington, D.C. is the toughest place in the country to launch a new business right now. One in three businesses will fail in the first year, according to a new survey from Lending Tree.
XChat, X's standalone messaging app, launching on iPhone and iPad next week
XChat, the standalone messaging app from X, now has a release date. XChat will arrive on iPhone and iPad in...
Spring Mountain Treatment Center launches program to support moms’ mental health
Pregnancy and the early years of motherhood can be an emotional time, but for some women it can also bring serious mental health challenges. Spring Mountain Tre
80 Years of Excellence: 49ers Launch Reimagined Mobile App
Sourdough Sam AI guides fans through a redesigned app, offering personalized stats and stadium info. Celebrate 80 years with this groundbreaking digital experience.
Cenkusha Launches C1: An AI-Enabled Business Management System that Reveals How Value Flows in Organizations
Cenkusha is a technology company that provides the organizational nervous system and structural backbone that modern enterprises need to operate intelligently in an increasingly complex world.
Canadian politician goes viral for using sprawling LGBT acronym critics compare to a Wi-Fi password
A Canadian politician's use of the lengthy acronym MMIWG2SLGBTQQIA+ during public remarks went viral, with social media users comparing it to a password.
Gov. Laura Kelly signs bills altering defendant competency process, child health care program
Gov. Laura Kelly announces the signing of more than 50 bills approved by the 2026 Kansas Legislature.
Watching Sports on TV Is More Annoying Than Ever. Can the Government Help?
The Justice Department launches an investigation into the NFL’s media universe. It’s a bigger riddle than football.
New iPhone Fold leaks cover ‘Ultra’ name, launch timing, more
iPhone Fold rumors keep coming, and today new posts from notable leakers cover the ‘iPhone Ultra’ name, launch timing, and more.
Missouri sports betting market officially launched: Get over $3,000 in sportsbook sign-up bonuses, promos
Missourians can now place sports bets with mobile sportsbooks and get Missouri sports betting offers for the Missouri betting launch
'Euphoria,' returning for a third season, launched a generation of new stars
“Euphoria” returns Sunday with its starry cast for a third season on HBO Max | Talk 1370
'Euphoria,' returning for a third season, launched a generation of new stars
“Euphoria” returns Sunday with its starry cast for a third season on HBO Max | KNSS Radio
Missouri sports betting is now live: See the best sports betting apps to snag over $3,000 in launch promos
Missouri sports betting is now live, and the top Missouri sportsbooks are offering Missouri sports betting promos
Amazon launches ‘Prime Video Ultra’ with new features, higher price
Last month Amazon announced that Prime Video Ultra would be launching soon in the US, and that day has officially arrived.
New movies to watch this weekend: See 'Faces of Death' in theaters, rent 'EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert,' stream 'Christy' on HBO Max
Sydney Sweeney's critically lauded performance in "Christy" hits HBO Max, while the not-so-critically lauded "The Bride!" is available for rent.
PEN America launches a US safety program for authors facing harassment
PEN America has launched the U.S. Safety Program to counter harassment against the literary community | 104.1 FM KMOX
PEN America launches a US safety program for authors facing harassment
PEN America has launched the U.S. Safety Program to counter harassment against the literary community | KCBS All News 106.9FM and 740AM
PEN America launches a US safety program for authors facing harassment
PEN America has launched the U.S. Safety Program to counter harassment against the literary community | Talk Radio 1210 WPHT
Professor Layton and the New World of Steam Adds PC and PS5 Release to 2026 Global Simultaneous Launch — but There’s No Xbox Version
Professor Layton and the New World of Steam is coming to PC via Steam and PlayStation 5 as well as Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, developer Level 5 has confirmed.
Honkai: Star Rail version 4.2 update ‘So Laughed the Masses’ launches April 22
The version 4.2 update for Honkai: Star Rail, dubbed “So Laughed the Masses,” will launch on April 22, developer miHoYo announced.
Kiln open beta lets you check out the Xbox Game Pass game on Steam before launch
Players on PC can now check out the upcoming multiplayer pottery game Kiln on Steam via Double Fine's new open beta for the upcoming Game Pass title.
Sue Serino Invites Seniors to Learn Laughter’s Health Benefits
Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino and the County’s Office for the Aging (OFA) invite older adults to enjoy an uplifting and engaging afternoon focused on the health benefits of humor at “Spring Into Happiness: Laughter Edition."
Brookdale Launches New Sports Management Option A.S. Degree to Prepare Students for Careers in the Growing Sports Industry
Brookdale Community College is expanding its academic offerings with the introduction of a new Associate of Science (A.S.) degree in Sports Management, designed to prepare students for a wide range of careers in the fast-paced
Crime Scene Entertainment launches new interactive experience
Crime Scene Entertainment has launched a brand-new interactive experience, the Case File: Open Detective’s Office, offering a flexible, self-guided alternative to full-length immersive murder mystery events.
OpenAI has quietly launched its ads manager as it races to build out its ads business
The AI platform launched the ads manager within its ChatGPT ads pilot advertisers last week, and also lowered the barrier to joining the test.
Melania Trump tried to sweep the Epstein saga away, but she ended up reviving it
The most plausible explanation for first lady Melania Trump’s out-of-the-blue address on the Jeffrey Epstein drama was that she was trying to make it go away.
'Death of a Salesman' review: The timely Broadway revival feels as urgent as ever
Nathan Lane, Laurie Metcalf, and Christopher Abbott lead a stellar cast in a Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' that feels as timely and urgent as ever. Read EW's review.
Marathon Reportedly Had a Budget of Over $200 Million — and While the Pressure Is on Bungie to Gain More Players, It Is Not Facing an Imminent, Concord-Style Shutdown
A new report has claimed Marathon’s budget is over $200 million, and while player numbers have fallen significantly since launch, Bungie’s extraction shooter is allegedly not facing an imminent shutdown.
Why Anthropic sent its Claude AI to an actual psychiatrist
Mythos is "the most psychologically settled model we have trained to date."
France Launches Government Linux Desktop Plan as Windows Exit Begins
France is transitioning government desktops to Linux, with each ministry required to formalize its implementation plan by autumn 2026.
MUSC launches $250M capital campaign for new cancer hospital
MUSC Health on Thursday announced a $250 million capitol campaign to build a new Comprehensive Cancer Hospital,
TCU FTDM launches business of entertainment media major
TCU is set to add a Business of Entertainment Media major to the FTDM department this fall.
HHS Secretary Kennedy announces launching of new health podcast
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Thursday that he would be launching a health podcast.
Oppo Find X9 Ultra full specifications, images emerge via premature listing
The Oppo Find X9 Ultra is expected to go official on April 21 across multiple markets, including China. Ahead of the launch, the device briefly appeared on China Telecom’s database. While the listing has now been removed, it revealed several key specifications and design details, as seen in screenshots circulating online. Oppo Find X9 Ultra […]
Checking In On ‘Marathon’ A Month After Launch
How is Marathon doing a month after launch, both in terms of player sentiment, critic scores and sales and player numbers?
Apple Releases macOS Tahoe 26.4.1 With Bug Fixes
Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.4.1, a minor update to the macOS Tahoe operating system that came out last September. macOS Tahoe 26.4.1 comes two weeks after Apple launched macOS Tahoe 26.4. Mac users can download the new software by opening up the System Settings app and navigating to the Software Update section. Mac users can download the new software by opening up the System Settings app and navigating to the Software Update section.
Kiln: Double Fine Shares Their Favorite Pots as Open Beta Goes Live
Now’s your chance to sample Kiln before launch on April 23 during the Open Beta Throwdown on Steam – and Double Fine is here to help inspire your creations with some of their most-favorite pots! Pre-order Kiln today on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC.
Don’t Starve Elsewhere announced for PC
Klei has announced Don’t Starve Elsewhere, a new Don’t Starve survival game. It will launch for PC via Steam. A release date was not announced.
Free-to-Play Borderlands Mobile Game Suddenly Available as 'Limited-Time Test' on iPhone
A brand new free-to-play Borderlands game has suddenly launched today on iPhone, and you'd be forgiven for not knowing it was due for release.
2K Says Surprise ‘Borderlands’ Mobile Game Launch Isn’t An Accident
A new Borderlands game has launched on mobile, and has surprised everyone. Some thought it was an accidental launch, but it's not.