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Poll: Who Wins the Home Run Derby?

Editor's note: Welcome to Athlon Sports' poll of the day, where we ask readers to weigh in on the biggest topic of the day. Thanks for voting, and be sure to sound off in the comment section. We've hit the MLB all-star break, and Monday night is the Home Run Derby (8 p.m.

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Jul 13 • 8:29 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Police: speculation during Widdecombe murder investigation is ‘unhelpful and distressing’

Politicians should not comment before facts are established, says former chief constable, after Farage describes killing as ‘premeditated murder’

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Jul 12 • 4:07 PM EDT • Politics • theguardian.com
5 New Stefon Diggs Landing Spots After Latest Comments
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Jul 12 • 2:53 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Lindsey Graham Dies: How the Republican Senator Became a TV Star

The late South Carolina Republican often popped up on news shows commenting on foreign policy — and in late-night comedy shows as the subject of liberal comedic fascination

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Jul 12 • 1:08 PM EDT • Politics • hollywoodreporter.com
AEW's Jim Ross Gives Health Update After Hospital Release, Talks Upcoming Brain Surgery

AEW commentator Jim Ross opens up about his condition following his release from the hospital as well as his upcoming brain surgery.

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Jul 12 • 11:29 AM EDT • Health • sports.yahoo.com
Media ghouls, commentators across political aisle mock Lindsey Graham’s death with ‘good riddance’ posts

Trump called Lindsey Graham a "true American patriot" while Ana Kasparian and Nick Fuentes both posted "good riddance" after his death at age 71.

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Jul 12 • 10:02 AM EDT • Politics • foxnews.com
At Family Science Night, Wonder Comes Before Answers.

BAR HARBOR—Family Science Night isn’t really about science. It’s about wonder. It’s about watching a five-year-old realize that the tiny creature under a microscope is a real living thing. It’s about a teenager discovering that the scientist explaining genetics or regeneration isn’t much older than they are. It’s about parents seeing curiosity spread across a child’s face the way excitement spreads across a crowd at a Fourth of July parade. For one evening, families realize that the laboratory isn’t some secretive place where knowledge is hidden behind white coats and closed doors. They learn that the lab is a place their neighbors work, their friends’ parents work, and it becomes a place where questions matter more than answers. It’s a place where wonder is the origin for knowledge. At the lab, children learn that it’s okay not to know. Adults remember that they once asked “Why?” about everything. Scientists are reminded why they fell in love with discovery in the first place. There are experiments, games, obstacle courses, and demonstrations, of course. But those are really just invitations—to touch, to explore, to laugh, to make mistakes, and to ask one more question. In a world that often rewards certainty, Family Science Night celebrates curiosity. And perhaps that’s its greatest gift. Long after the microscopes are packed away and the experiments are over, what families take home isn’t just a few new facts about biology. They take home the feeling that discovery belongs to everyone—that science isn’t something happening somewhere else by someone else. It’s simply what happens when people are given permission to wonder. A Family Science Night at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory is one of those rare community events where children and adults can experience science as something they do, not just something they read about. Hands on discovery allows hands-on learning and joy. Real scientists, some local, some scientist-interns (but still scientists) just in college make science real, approachable, and exciting. And there, complex ideas like forever chemical-filtration, DNA and so much more become not complex. Instead, they become fun. Summer fellows are challenged to explain cutting-edge biomedical research in ways a first-grader—and their grandparent—can understand. Past activities have explored gene expression, kidney function, axolotl regeneration, worms, microplastics, and phytoplankton through games and creative demonstrations. Though it’s called family night, you can also see adults going from station to station, exploring, learning together across ages. Family Science Night reflects the laboratory’s broader mission of breaking down barriers between researchers and the public, helping people understand how scientific discoveries relate to everyday life and the health of Maine’s environment. Family Science Night transforms a world-class research laboratory into a giant interactive classroom, where curiosity is encouraged, questions are celebrated, and families discover that science isn’t just something that happens in a lab—it’s an adventure anyone can join. About MDI Biological Laboratory For more than 125 years, MDI Bio Lab has been a center for training and research in comparative biology. In the last two decades its biomedical research has focused on aging, regeneration, and environmental toxins. The Laboratory houses 11 research groups staffed by an international team of world-class scientists and graduate students. It also leads a statewide network of colleges, universities and research institutions that collaborate to provide training, research experiences and financial support to help young Mainers play a bigger role in today’s biomedical revolution. Located on Maine’s rugged coast, the Laboratory’s 100+ acre campus houses research facilities, cottages and dorms that house visiting scientists and students. It is also home to MDI Bioscience, a subsidiary working to design innovative techniques to speed the drug discovery process. LINKS TO LEARN MORE NIH INBRE MDI BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY Photos: Carrie Jones and Shaun Farrar/Bar Harbor Story 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

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Jul 12 • 8:18 AM EDT • Science • barharborstory.substack.com
Have your say on the World Cup semi-finals 🤔

France vs Spain and England vs Argentina — who will advance to the grand FINAL of the 2026 FIFA World Cup? Share your thoughts on the final in the comments!The decisive matches will take place on Tu...

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Jul 12 • 5:55 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Poll: Home Run Derby or All-Star Game?

Editor's note: Welcome to Athlon Sports' poll of the day, where we ask readers to weigh in on the biggest topic of the day. Thanks for voting, and be sure to sound off in the comment section. We've got one more day of baseball action before most of the MLB's players get to relax during the all-star break.

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Jul 12 • 5:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
OPINION: Forest blowdown project is good science and good business

Guest commentary: Opinion of Jesse Short

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Jul 12 • 3:00 AM EDT • Science • lmtribune.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
Spyro: A Realm Beyond dev explains why it's not Spyro 4

Spyro is finally back with a brand new game with next year’s A Realm Beyond, but it technically isn’t Spyro 4 – at least in name. Toys for Bob recently commented on the naming decision. You may remember that when Crash Bandicoot was brought back with a brand new game, we did end up getting Crash Bandicoot 4. However, Toys...

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Jul 12 • 12:00 AM 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

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Jul 11 • 4:22 PM EDT • Entertainment • barharborstory.substack.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
Editorial cartoons for July 12, 2026: Mitch McConnell’s health, Trump red card, Platner out

The week in visual commentary.

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Jul 11 • 9:00 AM EDT • Health • syracuse.com
John Carmack responds to Microsoft laying off id Software staff, and his comments hit hard for fans who watched him help build DOOM from the ground up

Carmack speaks out after Microsoft cuts jobs at id Software, raising questions about the studio’s future under Xbox.

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Jul 11 • 8:35 AM EDT • Technology • windowscentral.com
Submit a Comment: Keep Politics Out of Science Funding  : The Hastings Center for Bioethics

Bioethicists and others should submit comments on the Office of Management and Budget proposal to revise its rules on how the government awards and manages federal grants.

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Jul 10 • 9:10 PM EDT • Science • thehastingscenter.org
Submit a Comment: Keep Politics Out of Science Funding  : The Hastings Center for Bioethics

Bioethicists and others should submit comments on the Office of Management and Budget proposal to revise its rules on how the government awards and manages federal grants.

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Jul 10 • 9:10 PM EDT • Politics • thehastingscenter.org
Krull Commentary: McConnell, Platner and the politics of entitlement

This column was originally published by TheStatehouseFile.com. By John Krull TheStatehouseFile.com July 10, 2026 The medical mystery surrounding U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and the political meltdown of Maine Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner together illustrate much of what is wrong with American politics today. Many, many ambitious people in this country see running

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Jul 10 • 8:24 PM EDT • Politics • indianacitizen.org
Tilly Norwood’s New Movie Rekindles Hollywood Concerns That AI ‘Actor’ Is Just Ripping Off Human Performances

The news of Tilly Norwood’s feature-length movie debut again brought out the digital pitchforks surrounding her existence, with commenters weighing in on everything from the concept of an AI actress l...

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Jul 10 • 4:40 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com
Opinion: Jacobs Entertainment's application for a massive sign along I-80 should be denied.

The proposed Reno's Neon Line District sign is argued to be an advertising display, not an area identification sign. Public comments can be submitted until July 24.

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Jul 10 • 9:30 AM EDT • Entertainment • thisisreno.com
Cboe expects SK Hynix options to trade two business days after Nasdaq debut, source says

Derivatives exchange Cboe Global Markets expects to list options on SK Hynix's U.S.-listed shares ‌two business days after the stock's trading debut, a source familiar ‌with the matter told Reuters on Friday. The South Korean chipmaker, which raised $26.5 billion in share sale, ​is set to make its Wall Street entry later in the day. SK Hynix, which is valued at about $1.03 trillion based on its South Korea-listed shares, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

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Jul 10 • 8:16 AM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com
Nick Fuentes to Hasan Piker: click by click, antisemitism goes mainstream

As attacks on Jews rise, USA TODAY's Extremely Normal explores how mainstream politicians and commentators are embracing antisemitism.

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Jul 10 • 5:07 AM EDT • Politics • usatoday.com
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Childcare providers say New Mexico's proposed rule changes would hurt business

Public commenters say the changes would create rigid budgeting requirements and could potentially violate educators' privacy.

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Jul 9 • 8:52 PM EDT • Business • santafenewmexican.com
A Proposed Rule Would Politicize Medical Research. Scientists Are Not Happy.

In tens of thousands of comments, researchers, doctors and others warned the rule could hamper progress on important health issues.

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Jul 9 • 3:32 PM EDT • Science • nytimes.com
Can't believe 'moral depravity' of the Democratic Party, political commentator expresses

'Fox News @ Night' panelists Brianna Lyman and Shirin Yadegar discuss Graham Platner's withdrawal from the Maine Senate race following allegations against him.

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Jul 9 • 3:01 PM EDT • Politics • foxnews.com
CMS Approach to Work Reporting Requirement Won’t Work for People with Substance Use Disorders or Mental Health Conditions

By Deborah Steinberg, Senior Health Policy Attorney, Legal Action Center A few weeks ago, CCF explained how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a new interim final rule with comment period (IFR) that went far beyond its authority to implement the new work reporting requirements. H.R. 1 – the budget reconciliation law […]

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Jul 9 • 8:42 AM EDT • Health • ccf.georgetown.edu
Broncos Pro Bowler Gets Notable Criticism Amid Rival’s Comments

His impact has been clear. The post Broncos Pro Bowler Gets Notable Criticism Amid Rival’s Comments appeared first on HEAVY.

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Jul 8 • 9:33 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Mac Jones admits Josh McDaniels leaving impacted him with Patriots

Mac Jones commented on his Year 2 slump and the Patriots' disastrous 2022 season.

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Jul 8 • 8:46 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Yahoo Sports signs Josh Norris, Hayden Winks after shutdown of Underdog content network

Popular fantasy football commentators Josh Norris and Hayden Winks are joining Yahoo Sports. The duo, which hosted Underdog’s Fantasy Football podcast until this week, when Underdog shuttered its original content network, will bring their show to Yahoo’s digital platforms and FAST airwaves. Yahoo announced the move on Wednesday morning. The show will relaunch later in July. “When…

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Jul 8 • 9:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
‘Shell-shocked’ Chicago scientists raise alarm about federal overhaul of research grant funding

Researchers here and across the country say a proposed rule could undermine a system that has helped fueled scientific innovation for generations. A public comment period ends July 13.

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Jul 8 • 6:30 AM EDT • Science • wbez.org
‘Shell-shocked’ Chicago scientists raise alarm about federal overhaul of research grant funding

Researchers here and across the country say a proposed rule could undermine a system that has helped fueled scientific innovation for generations. A public comment period ends July 13.

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Jul 8 • 6:30 AM EDT • Science • chicago.suntimes.com
Hungary moves to overhaul university models banned from Horizon Europe

Hungary’s new government is aiming to overhaul the governance model of the institutions and universities that lost access to Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ funds “in a short timeframe,” according to Péter Horváth, the new state secretary for science policy and innovation. “As of today, the two non-university foundation-controlled institutions under my remit have been transformed,” he told Science|Business. “We hope the universities will follow and that this will be enough to satisfy the EU’s demands.”Under the previous government, led by Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party, many academic and scientific institutions were restructured and made into special public trust foundations, with members strongly linked to the government given lifelong mandates and significant decision-making powers with little oversight. The European Commission deemed that this undermined academic freedom and transparency in the country, leading to a ban on 34 institutions in 2022, including 21 universities, which saw academics in Hungary lose access to Horizon Europe grants. The new Hungarian government, elected in May and led by Péter Magyar and his Tisza Party, has promised to dismantle this governance model and restore the institutions to EU programmes. As a result, the European Commission has promised to return access to the Erasmus+ education mobility programme, but so far no concrete agreement has been made on the Horizon Europe programme for research and innovation. Hungary has already made legislative changes in June to allow the institutions to be reformed and set a timeline for the implementation.The non-university foundations, which are mainly cultural centres such as the Foundation for Hungarian Culture or the Makovecz Campus Foundation, will all be dissolved by August 31 this year, a date tied to EU-set milestones that Hungary must meet to unlock frozen funds, with control transferred to relevant ministries. Meanwhile, the universities will have until 31 August 2027. For each university foundation, the government will set the dissolution date and the body to take over operations. There is no final decision on a permanent new model for the universities, according to Hungarian MEP Eszter Lakos, who is shadow rapporteur for the Horizon Europe specific programme, a separate piece of legislation detailing implementation rules for the EU’s next research programme, due to start in 2028. “The aim of the transition year is to settle this with [the universities], not to impose a model, and not to put them under state control,” she told Science|Business. “The goal is to give academic independence back to universities.”There are three models that are most likely to be implemented. One would be a return to a traditional, state-run model. Another could be a newer, more self-standing public institution. A third option would be a reformed version of the foundation models that meet EU standards. According to Lakos, the dismantling of the system put in place by the Orbán government is well underway and if all goes according to plan, Hungary could regain access to EU research money by the start of the next academic year in 2027. “I believe that the Hungarian government is doing the necessary changes so the universities could return as beneficiaries to Horizon from the next school year,” she said. In the meantime, “the universities, institutes and cultural assets carry on under proper public stewardship rather than a handful of unaccountable trustees,” said Lakos. The laws passed in June impose new safeguards: board terms are capped at four years and renewable only once, appointments are made through open competitions and sitting politicians cannot join joining these boards.It remains unclear whether a domestic science funding programme set up as a back-up scheme by the former government following the EU funding ban, called HU-rizon, could be continued. “This programme should never have had to have been established in the first place, but it has proven to be quite popular,” he said. “I am considering continuing this programme with a refined focus on helping international collaborations.”Re-organising the research network One of the first priorities for Horváth and his cabinet is to resolve questions over the future of the Hungarian Research Network, Hun-Ren. The network of academic institutes was taken away from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2019 and turned into a quasi-private organisation, with similarities in its governance to the public trust foundations.Horváth and his team have consulted over 5,000 representatives from the network and the conclusion is broad unhappiness with the directors of all the institutes involved. “We have presented the results to the president and the chief executive of the network and this is currently being discussed,” Horváth said. The plan is to re-integrate the network back into the Academy of Sciences but in an improved way, “learning from mistakes of the past,” he added. The government also wants to reintegrate four humanities and social science research centres into the network that the previous government had transferred to Eötvös Loránd University. The transfer brought sharp criticism from the academic community, with a group of Hungarian research heads, including European Research Council grant recipients, sending an open letter to Orbán warning that the transfer would “cause historically significant harm to the entirety of Hungarian scientific life.” The transfer was “one of the biggest shames in Hungarian research in the past 20 years,” Horváth said. “We want to immediately re-integrate them back into the research network and to regain the trust of these institutions, because the way they were treated was really unfair.”Another pressing issue is the Élvonal Excellence Research and Talent Development Foundation, led by Nobel laureate Ferenc Krausz. The foundation signed a financing agreement with the former government earlier this year for a budget of over €730 million over the next five years. The goal is to create a world-class centre to attract top talent from abroad and to develop local researchers. But there was little transparency about this foundation, and news of its huge budget, which is nearly as much as Hungary’s entire research budget, caused a stir in the media following the recent elections. Another issue is that, as with the foundation boards of the institutes banned from Horizon Europe, there was little-to-no oversight of decisions led by Krausz. “It was an excellent idea but an unacceptable execution,” Horváth said of the foundation. “The fact that this is out of the Hungarian funding scheme, mostly concentrating on one person who decides on the budget is unacceptable for us.”The government plans to merge the centre with the National Research, Development and Innovation Office, the country’s R&D funding agency, with a reduced budget. Horváth is hopeful that Krausz will still be involved. The new government’s R&D goalsA phrase that crops up regularly during the discussion with Horváth is “democratic process.” The new state secretary is determined to involve Hungary’s research community in shaping future policies. This marks a departure from the previous government’s approach, and several people in Hungary’s research community have commented on the openness of the new government. In terms of concrete goals, Horváth and his team already have plans. He wants to create a new science fund in Hungary, based on the best practices of other European countries. The fund would not be tied to annual government budgets and would provide long-term, stable financing. “If we were to succeed in creating this fund, then I think it would be one of the biggest achievements for me in this period of government,” Horváth said. On the innovation side, he is looking into how best to bring in the private sector. “We want to make sure that we are working with the private sector to support innovation,” Horváth said. One of his big aims is to introduce entrepreneurship teaching into high schools. Hungary already has a reputable national academy offering research and innovation training in the field of natural sciences, and Horváth wants to expand this to all disciplines and across the whole country. “One of the main ways to elevate our innovative businesses is to teach our children to be innovative,” he said. “This will probably need ten years to pay off, but this is what we should do. Our aim is to make Hungary strong in our region, and this is what is needed.” Related articlesHungary’s Horizon Europe performance in numbersCommission unlocks Erasmus+ cash for Hungary, Horizon could be next‘Academic Huxit.’ Hungarian researchers speak out on impact of EU ban A more difficult task will be funding. The new government is aiming to increase research spending to 2% of the GDP by 2030, and then increase it to 3% in line with EU objectives. Currently, spending sits around 1.3%. But according to Horváth, the current budget, inherited from the previous government, is “heavily in the negative,” so any plans to increase research spending will have to start next year. Achieving 2% by 2030 already needs a big push, almost doubling the research budget. “This is something we’d definitely like to reach, and something I can see us achieving,” he said. “From the 2030s, I’d like to see an innovative generation growing up that can help us reach the 3% target.” Positivity in the new governmentDespite the many challenges facing Horváth and his team, the mood is positive. “It feels a bit like a start-up right now. Everyone is working 24/7, day and night, trying to do as much as they can. There is a lot of energy,” he said. It is a big change for the state secretary who, like many in his cabinet, is coming from a background in research or business, and not in politics. “Six weeks ago, I was sitting with my microscope and my research PhDs, so it’s been a big change for me,” said the computer scientist, who was previously the director of the Institute of Biochemistry at the Hun-Ren Biological Research Centre in Hungary and worked at the Institute for AI for Health at Helmholtz Munich. But he is relishing the task to transform the country’s R&D landscape. “We feel enormous support from the Hungarian people, but also from Europe,” he said. “We’ve received a lot of letters of support from around Europe. There is big trust there, and huge responsibility on our side. We want to get everything back on track, and there’s a lot to do.”

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Jul 8 • 5:47 AM EDT • Science • sciencebusiness.net
Argentina 3-2 Egypt: Hossam Hassan says officiating 'unfair' and World Cup 'directed towards' reigning champions

Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan criticised refereeing during dramatic 3-2 loss to Argentina in World Cup last 16; Enzo Fernandez scored late header to win game after Egypt had two penalty claims waved away; Hassan said refereeing was unfair; Sky Sports News has approached FIFA for comment

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Jul 7 • 5:08 PM EDT • Sports • skysports.com
Longtime Kentucky Commentator Said He Spoke With McConnell This Morning—What We Know About His Health

The 84-year-old senator has been hospitalized twice this year, with his latest hospitalization lasting weeks.

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Jul 7 • 2:37 PM EDT • Health • forbes.com
Netanyahu reacts to Mamdani comments on Israel as Jewish state
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Jul 7 • 1:02 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
Community-driven law firm receives Salem chamber’s ‘New Business of the Year’ award

All-women law firm founded by a Willamette Law grad was recognized for its excellence in business and community engagement. To comment on this story, use the form at the end of the report.

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Jul 7 • 12:37 PM EDT • Business • salemreporter.com
Doom co-creator John Romero weighs in on Xbox's cuts to id Software, underlines the importance of digital preservation and the studio's history

One of the minds behind the original Doom games and id Software has commented on the layoffs executed by Xbox and the importance of the studio's history.

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Jul 7 • 9:51 AM EDT • Technology • eurogamer.net
Commentary: Night shifts are deadly, not just inconvenient

During his 26 years as a night-shift nurse, Ed Collum watched colleagues nod off mid-conversation, battle chronic illnesses and, too often, die young from cancer, stroke or suicide. Collum puts

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Jul 7 • 4:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • thederrick.com
McConnell spokesperson shares statement amid growing concerns about the Senator’s health

WAVE reached out to his team for any comments about the Senator and reports questioning his ability to serve.

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Jul 6 • 10:32 PM EDT • Health • wave3.com
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How Political Is This Supreme Court?

Legal commentator Elie Honig thinks that the Trump-appointed Justices are getting unfair criticism.

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Jul 6 • 5:57 PM EDT • Politics • newyorker.com
Brad Stevens Press Conference: Celtics President Addresses Jaylen Brown Trade

Follow along right here for Brad Stevens' most notable comments from Monday's press conference.

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Jul 6 • 3:30 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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Mario Lopez responds to being labeled a Trump supporter: ‘I’m not a political person’

Mario Lopez responded to reports that he supports Donald Trump in a since-deleted Instagram comment.

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Jul 6 • 1:13 PM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com
Listen to whales to improve connection, care & ocean health (commentary)

Seventy years ago, Le Monde du Silence, a film by Jacques Cousteau and Louis Malle, depicted the ocean as silent. Today, we know that the ocean is filled with the melodies of millions of vocalizing sea creatures, from the crisp snapping of shrimps to the complex singing and speaking of whales. In fact, the first […]

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Jul 6 • 1:07 PM EDT • Health • news.mongabay.com
Commentary: The ‘Supergirl’ flop is being misread

Contrary to its title character, "Supergirl" did not take flight. The film grossed $38 million domestically in its opening weekend, less than one-third of what "Superman" earned in its debut

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Jul 6 • 6:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • lodinews.com
Why AI Doesn’t Think, Cannot Reason, Isn’t Intelligent and Will Never Achieve Consciousness

Recent public comments made about AI suggest that Americans have difficulty with the implications of linear time. This is odd given that its conception is largely Western and is centered on the clock time used to coordinate capitalist employment. The conceptual difficulty regards sequencing, or plans for future actions. But it also involves the distribution of profits. 100% of the capital equipment used in Western economic production was produced by workers. So, why does the resulting product belong to financiers rather than those who produced it?

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Jul 6 • 2:00 AM EDT • Technology • counterpunch.org
Rams' Aaron Donald Drops Cryptic Emoji on Return Speculation Post

Los Angeles Rams legend Aaron Donald may have stoked the fires of his return by commenting on a social media post with a cryptic emoji.

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Jul 5 • 3:42 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
For America’s 250th, we’re reopening our public square: Letter from the Editor

the cleveland.com news site has reopened comments on politics stories for subscribers, aiming to foster civil, moderated debate.

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Jul 4 • 8:13 AM EDT • Politics • cleveland.com
Universal Health Services (UHS) Is Up 8.7% After CMS Proposes Hospital Payment Increase and Analyst Support

In recent days, Universal Health Services received a boost after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed a 2.4% payment rate increase for hospitals, alongside supportive analyst commentary on its operating performance and upcoming second-quarter results. This regulatory tailwind for hospital reimbursement comes as UHS continues to expand its behavioral health footprint and prepare for its next earnings update, potentially influencing how investors assess its longer-term growth...

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Jul 4 • 8:09 AM EDT • Health • finance.yahoo.com
Greatest Sports Moments in USA History

Happy 4th of July! To celebrate America’s 250th birthday, the TOC Staff wanted to share what we felt are the most iconic sports moments in our nation’s history. We hope you enjoy our lists. And we look forward to seeing your lists in the comment section. O Basse 1. Babe Ruth calling his shot in […]

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Jul 4 • 6:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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Trump joins Usha Vance’s “Storytime” podcast, reading on presidents and sports

President Trump made a guest appearance on second lady Usha Vance’s children’s podcast, where he read a picture book about U.S. presidents while offering unscripted commentary on his presidential p…

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Jul 3 • 4:26 PM EDT • Sports • thehill.com
Tucker Carlson Floats Idea of New Political Party Amid Split From Trump

The conservative commentator isn’t the only former MAGA figure to push for a challenge of America’s two-party system.

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Jul 3 • 1:49 PM EDT • Politics • time.com
'Big Short' Michael Burry may have own version of 'Buffett effect'

Michael Burry from "The Big Short" told BI he doesn't believe his stock picks move markets, but several commenters said a "Burry effect" might exist.

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Jul 3 • 7:40 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
F1 practice LIVE: British Grand Prix 2026 UK time, start time, grid, radio & updates

Follow live text updates and listen to BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra commentary of practice for the British Grand Prix.

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Jul 3 • 7:12 AM EDT • Sports • bbc.com
The ‘Weight’ of a Nation: St. Augustine, Dante, and the Soul of American Politics

COMMENTARY: On America's 250th birthday, remember we were made by God to receive love ourselves, and to show love to others.

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Jul 3 • 6:00 AM EDT • Politics • ncregister.com
India investigating Tata data leak that exposed Apple iPhone secrets

India is investigating a data breach at Tata Electronics ​that exposed documents linked to Apple's unreleased iPhone ‌18 Pro, the country's IT secretary said on Thursday in the government's first public comments on the incident.

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Jul 3 • 5:37 AM EDT • Technology • reuters.com
Political commentator calls CNN story on deportee caught in Venezuela earthquake 'absolutely ridiculous'

'Fox News @ Night' panelists discuss CNN's story on a deportee caught in the Venezuela earthquakes and an MS NOW guest saying Democrats have 'gone off the rails.'

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Jul 2 • 11:50 PM EDT • Politics • foxnews.com
Saving science as we know it: Overview of new proposed rule from the Office of Management and Budget, and how we can make our voices heard.

The Office of Management and Budget has proposed to completely restructure federal funding for science as we know it. In this bite, we review the most relevant points in the proposal and describe how to submit public comments on it by the deadline of July 13th, 2026.

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Jul 2 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • astrobites.org
Negotiations between Cherriots, business leaders paused after months of meetings

Talks between the Salem Area Mass Transit District and representatives from a coalition of six business and real estate groups, and citizens were halted last week, Cherriots said in a press release. The two groups formed a task force to find a compromise after a proposed payroll tax sparked frustration last year. To comment on this story, use the form at the end of the report.

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Jul 2 • 1:38 PM EDT • Business • salemreporter.com
No, Xbox's Obsidian studio ISN'T shutting down — new comments dispute closure claims

Fresh rumors claimed Obsidian could shut down, but a new report says the acclaimed Xbox studio isn't going anywhere.

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Jul 2 • 11:46 AM EDT • Technology • windowscentral.com
Tucker Carlson, Who Broke With Trump, Plans to ‘Help Build a Third Party’

The influential conservative commentator’s relationship with the president and the G.O.P. fractured over the war with Iran. Now, he says he is charting a new course.

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Jul 2 • 11:39 AM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com
Social media erupts over socialist's 9/11 comments after House primary win: 'Radical lunatic'

Melat Kiros sparked backlash after her Democratic primary win over claims the U.S. made the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center inevitable.

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Jul 2 • 8:55 AM EDT • Politics • foxnews.com
Croatia criticised for ‘unambitious’ changes to 2022 science law

Croatia’s science ministry has been accused of a lack of ambition, and even incompetence, over proposed changes to the country’s 2022 science law. Critics say an opportunity has been missed to fix wider shortcomings in the research and universities system.“This law, like all the previous ones, will not significantly change the current state of science in Croatia,” Vlatko Silobrčić, a member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences, told Science Business. “A small shift here and there will not have a significant impact.”The 2022 law introduced multi-year block grant financing of research, based on results, and changes intended to boost employment and career progression for researchers and lecturers. But implementation of the law has been uneven. “It became apparent that certain of its provisions were subject to different interpretations by higher education institutions and scientific institutes,” the science ministry said in its proposal for change. “This caused legal uncertainty in the system, administrative difficulties in implementation and, in certain cases, unequal treatment of teachers, scientists and students.”Most of the proposed amendments deal with technicalities in hiring and promoting staff, such as extending the committee deadlines from 60 to 90 days, or allowing applicants to cite all of their achievements and not only those since their last appointment.Both the ministry and Croatian media highlighted changes that would raise the retirement age from 65 to 67 years and allow part-time students 15 year rather than 10 years to finish their studies.The change to retirement age has been criticised for reinforcing a weakness in the system. According to Matko Marušić, professor emeritus at the University of Split, this will “allow unproductive teachers to advance and work longer, while hindering and discouraging productive ones.”A longtime campaigner for excellence-based meritocracy, he sees little hope in the new legislation. “I am not optimistic that things will improve,” he told Science Business. “As recent changes to the law in Croatia show, the legal framework is becoming increasingly hypocritical and harmful.”For Marušić, who analyses Croatia's university system in a recently published book, the situation is “unfavourable and constantly deteriorating” due to the criteria used for academic advancement.“The key criterion for advancement should be scientific productivity,” he said. “In Croatia [. . .] scientific criteria are increasingly lowered, and ineffective and absurd criteria such as waiting times for promotion and age limits for remaining in a job are promoted.” He would also like to see better criteria for the quality of teaching at universities. “In practice, teaching is not monitored or evaluated,” he said, estimating that up to a third of teaching simply does not take place. “Under the guise of university autonomy and bad laws, universities and faculties are allowed to earn additional money by increasing enrolment quotas that have nothing to do with the needs of the labour market.” Lack of ambitionDora Kršul, a reporter at Telegram.hr who covers science policy in Croatia, finds the rationale for changes “bizarre.” “The ministry responsible for supervising the uniform application of the law is changing the law because it is being implemented unevenly,” she said. “This primarily speaks to the power relationship in the sphere of science and higher education in Croatia, that is, the question arises as to who actually manages this system.”Rather than raising quality, she continued, the changes appear to be designed to help vocational and applied universities who have not been complying with the law.The Independent Union of Research and Higher Education Employees of Croatia said that the changes were “unambitious” and represent a missed opportunity for more important changes. “We think some of the changes are even negative,” it said in its statement on June 25. One of these is introduction of an “assistant” job title that allows people to be hired only for the duration of a project. Related articles: Elections to top science bodies test Croatia’s gender equality in researchSlovakia revises R&D approach to increase focus on competitivenessLatvia pilots citizen engagement in research grant evaluationsThe union’s president, Tvrtko Smital, who was part of the 15-member working group tasked with drafting the changes, told the local media there was a “worrying lack of ambition” in the process, and “lack of competence” in terms of research experience and understanding the problems in the system.“There is no clear will to deal with the problems,” said Smital, an assistant professor of marine and environmental sciences at the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb. “It’s a combination of unambitiousness and incompetence,” he went on, expressing his “deep frustration” with the situation. “There is no strategy, no clear thinking, and money is not being spent optimally.”Croatia’s science ministry has not responded to requests for comment.

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Jul 2 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencebusiness.net
Editorial: The most important thing you can do to protect science

Your comments on a dangerous rule putting politicals in charge of science can matter.

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Jul 2 • 6:00 AM EDT • Science • arstechnica.com
Sony will cease production of discs for new PlayStation games in 2028

New games sold for PlayStation consoles will only be available digitally and won’t be sold on discs effective January 2028, Sony has announced. The move applies to all PlayStation games released from that point on, including those made by Sony and those released by third parties. The PlayStation group calls the change “a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,” according to a PlayStation blog post reviewed by Game File in advance of its publication. As movies, TV and music have shifted from physical media to an age of downloads and streaming, Sony’s move could speed the demise of physical media in a gaming. The industry has offered consumers games via cartridges, cassettes, floppy discs, CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays across a 50-year stretch. Sony has been reporting to investors in recent years that PlayStation games have been increasingly purchased as downloads, not as discs. The most recent figures show nearly four in five purchases of full games for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 were purchased digitally in the past year. Stats like that may cause today’s news to carry an air of the inevitable. But Sony’s declaration for 2028 is still likely to produce a shock, as the biggest gaming platform on the planet that uses game discs leaves them behind. Discs going away, but the fate of game boxes is unknown Sony is committing to still selling games in physical retailers even after they drop discs in 2028. Just how those games will be sold—in boxes with codes inside, as cards marked with digital redemption codes—is unclear. Digital games will also continue to be sold in the online PlayStation Store. New games released for PlayStation consoles prior to January 2028 will be unaffected by the policy change, Sony says. That means the PS5 games of 2027, be they a new Madden, a new God of War, a new Call of Duty, a new Sly Cooper (one can dream?), would still potentially be offered on disc. PlayStation 6 implications Sony’s timeline for a transition to a no-disc era will also spin up more speculation about the timing and configuration of Sony’s next-generation console, the probable PlayStation 6. “This pretty much guarantees that PS6 won’t arrive until 2028 at the earliest,” Piers Harding-Rolls, senior games research analyst at Ampere Analysis tells Game File. Harding-Rolls also concludes from today’s news that “the base version of a PS6 will not include a physical media drive,” as Sony looks to keep costs down on the device. Sony itself is saying nothing about the PS6 today: not its timing, nor how it might or might not support internal or external disc drives in order to run disc-based PS4 and PS5 games, should the console be backwards compatible. The many signs this was coming Industry support for games being released on physical media has been waning. As has consumer interest in them. PC games effectively went all-digital years ago, thanks to the popularity of playing games through Steam and other digital storefronts. The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that kept much of the global population home helped shift shopping patterns toward downloads. Sony’s own data shows PlayStation game downloads being an uncommon consumer choice a decade ago and now becoming the norm. On consoles, physical media has been in such decline that Sony and Microsoft both launched their current gen Xbox Series and PS5 consoles in 2020 with cheaper versions that lacked disc drives. In early 2024, Phil Spencer, then head of Xbox, told me that ““[w]e ship games physically and digitally, and we’re really just following what the customers are doing.” He added that the game industry had become an outlier in still supporting disc-based entertainment, even as movies and TV have bailed on discs in favor of downloads and steaming: “Gaming consoles themselves have kind of become the last consumer electronic device that has a drive. And this is a real issue, just in terms of the number of manufacturers that are actually building drives and the cost associated with those. And when you think about cogs that we’re going to go put in a console—and as you have fewer suppliers and fewer buyers—the cost of the drive does have an impact.” Last year, the Nintendo’s Switch 2, which uses cartridges rather than discs, introduced the concept of game-key cards, which are physical media that contain no game, just a prompt for a download. Even disc-based games aren’t what they once were, now frequently containing just stubs of games rather than the whole thing. The website Does It Play has tested over 3000 games and found that, for example, that the disc version of this year’s hit 007: First Light, only contained the game’s first mission, with the rest needing to be downloaded. Beyond all that, last week brought the news that Grand Theft Auto VI, likely the biggest game launch this decade, will debut for PS5 and Xbox Series without a disc-based version. Today’s big news comes to you for free. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and ensure more of my work is possible, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Discs helped define PlayStation However the trends in entertainment may be going, it is still remarkable to see PlayStation ditch discs given their importance in PlayStation history: In the late 1990s, the first PlayStation’s support for games on relatively cheap CD-ROMs instead of traditional game cartridges allowed the upstart console to outmaneuver cartridge-based systems from Nintendo and Sega, as it drove down game prices down in the process. (The cheaper disc format even prompted Final Fantasy VII maker Square to taunt Nintendo in a magazine ad, saying that if the game was “available on cartridge, it’d retail for around $1200.”) PlayStation devices often doubled as machines for watching movies and TV on the latest disc-based formats. In the late 2000s, for example, Sony’s pricy PS3 gained traction as a go-to device for playing then-novel Blu-Ray discs. In 2013, Sony effectively roasted the digital game-sharing restrictions proposed by rival Microsoft for its upcoming Xbox One console by showing how games could be shared for the then-upcoming PS4. In a 21-second clip that has over 20 million views on YouTube, one PlayStation executive simply handed a game box—presumably with disc inside—to another, who said “thanks.” Sony’s possible motivations The PlayStation announcement today cites “consumer preferences” and a shift away from discs among “the broader entertainment industry,” but does not delve into the decision-making process that brought Sony to this point. Sony is not discussing the economics of this move (I asked!), but there are a number of potential factors: Abandoning discs will spare Sony the cost of manufacturing and shipping them, which analysts and industry veterans I spoke to said could account for $1 or so of a game’s retail price. For first-party games, that’s direct savings for Sony, though the amount is limited by the winnowing percentage of people who were even buying the disc-based versions. For third-party games, Sony could pass the savings on to partners or just retain the better profit margin for themselves. As the 2024 comments from Phil Spencer alluded to, leaving discs behind could mean leaving disc-drives behind, allowing Sony to produce consoles more cheaply. Switching to digital-only for games could diminish the risks of copies of new games leaking. It would also seemingly make second-hand sales of used games impossible, pushing more people to buy their own copies of games. These economic benefits for Sony could be boons for the games industry overall, Ampere analyst Piers Harding-Rolls tells Game File. Among other things, it could free publishers and retailers from having to worry about securing an inventory of game discs when trying to sell games, he noted. “If there is a way to streamline the business of games retail, I generally think it’s a good thing for the industry as it removes unnecessary costs,” Harding-Rolls said. “This will help offset pressure on margins from other directions – development and staffing costs for example.” Should the industry shift from game boxes that contain discs to smaller, cheaper game cards, Harding-Rolls said, that reduces pressure on publishers and retailers. “The advantage of everything going digital for the industry is that sales can be tracked much more easily and there is less commercial risk for publishers wanting to continue selling via retail,” he said. The shift to no discs will also likely impact game development timelines, as developers will no longer face the same urgency to have a build ready to submit to PlayStation for the production of a disc, as industry experts noted around GTA VI’s no-disc news last week. Instead, projects may gain weeks of development time, in the event delivery deadlines for platform approval move closer to release date. Preservationists’ likely worries While millions of gamers have shifted to digital, there are still people who associate game discs—and only game discs—with actual ownership of PlayStation games. That portion of the gaming community spoke up last week about wanting to buy a version of GTA VI that they could hold in their hands, could lend to a friend and could potentially pop into a well-preserved PS5 console three decades from now and still see it run. Such gamers didn’t want to worry that they’d merely purchased a digital copy that could lose access to the game if, say, the company behind the game someday turns of the servers that transmit downloadable copies. Digital copies of games are inherently less long-lasting, because consumers aren’t actually buying a game (on a disc), just buying access to the game. The fine print in online gaming shops notes this, as does a recent law that went on the books in California in 2025. That lasw requires game publishers doing business in the state to refrain from words like “sell” when offering digital copies of games, unless they explicitly tell consumers that what’s being sold isn’t the game itself but a potentially revocable license to access it. A Sony spokesperson noted to Game File that “[w]ith all digital content, including games, movies, and music, players are purchasing a personal license for non-commercial use.” Regarding the fears of PlayStation games being lost to time in an all-digital era, the rep also noted that Sony remains “committed to delivering experiences from past generations to the new platforms our players are using.” They noted that PlayStation has used emulation and remasters to keep offering its classic games to modern gamers. It’s true that many consumers have become accustomed to not having physical copies of new music albums or movies, but the relative precariousness of digital copies of games is in fact being highlighted today by…. Sony’s other big announcement: the upcoming closure of the PS3 and PS Vita online stores Sony said today that it will be closing the online marketplaces for its PlayStation 3 console and PS Vita handheld in most countries in July 2027 (sooner elsewhere: August 2026 for the PS3 store Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua; late 2026 for PS3 in other Latin American countries and the Middle East). “We know this news may be disappointing to PS3 and PS Vita players who hold a special place in their hearts for this generation of gaming,” Sony said in its announcement, saying the move “was not an easy decision for us to make.” Sony said that PS3 and Vita marketplaces “are no longer able” to support modern commerce systems, prompting a “need” to close the shops and focus on more modern PlayStation platform stores. The news may spark some deja vu. Sony announced back in March 2021 that it planned to take the PS3, Vita and PlayStation Portable marketplaces offline that summer. The move would have caused some 2,000 digital-only games to become unavailable for new purchasers, according to a VGC analysis at the time. Fans complained loudly. By April 2021, Sony walked back the PS3 and Vita shop closures, with then PlayStation boss Jim Ryan saying “it’s clear that we made the wrong decision here.” This time around, Sony is giving a longer notice period in most regions. The closure of those stores is still likely to cut off access to new purchases of digital-only PS3 and Vita games. The current PlayStation 5 marketplace sells PS5 and PS4 games, as well as a selection of PS1 and PS2 games. It does not sell PS3 games, because games for that platform can’t run on the system (some are offered via a PlayStation Plus streaming option). Vita games also aren’t sold via PS5. Sony says digitally purchased PS3 and Vita games will be downloadable after the stores’ shutdowns “for the foreseeable future.” Sony’s move contrasts with Microsoft’s Xbox platform, which continues to sell and support games from all four Xbox console generations. But it puts it in line with Nintendo, which disabled purchases in the marketplace for its Wii console (a contemporary of the PS3) in 2019. Nintendo discontinued purchases in the online shop for its 3DS portable (a contemporary of the Vita) in 2023. The big questions about Sony’s 2028 post-disc era Will Microsoft follow suit, ending support for new disc-based games on Xbox platforms and therefore all game consoles, too? Whether Microsoft does or not, will third-parties that can no longer release games on discs for PlayStation, simply ditch the disc options across the board? Given the GTA VI no-disc experiment launching this November, will more game publishers decide to forgo disc-based offerings even in 2027? How will no-disc PS5/6 games be packaged and sold in brick-and-mortar retail stores? What becomes of game sharing in an all-digital era? Will Sony modify its current set-up, which currently allows some sharing of digital games across a pair of consoles, to allow more casual lending? (See for example, Nintendo’s year-old system of letting players lend a digital game to another player in a “family group” for up to 14 days.) Will there be a version of a PS6 with a disc drive? Or will a drive be offered as an add-on? And how will gamers who want to retain access to PS4/PS5 disc-based games react to whichever configurations Sony chooses to offer? What will the final disc-based PlayStation game be?

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Jul 1 • 8:00 AM EDT • Technology • gamefile.news
Food science sector warns proposed US grant rules could weaken research independence

As the deadline for public comment approaches, a proposed overhaul of the rules governing federal financial assistance is drawing increasing attention from research institutions, universities, and industry organizations, with implications that could extend across the US F&B sector.

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Jul 1 • 7:45 AM EDT • Science • foodingredientsfirst.com
Taylor Sheridan makes rare comment on Kevin Costner's departure from 'Yellowstone'

Taylor Sheridan is speaking out about Kevin Costner's departure from 'Yellowstone' in season 5, revealing that the actor had been 'ready to go.'

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Jun 30 • 1:22 PM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com
Gov. Little celebrates U.S. Supreme Court’s decision upholding protections for women’s sports

Boise, Idaho – Governor Brad Little commented today on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Little v. Hecox. The ruling upholds Idaho’s ban on men participating in women’s sports. “Idaho was the very first state to ban men from participating in women’s sports with the passage of the Fairness

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Jun 30 • 10:30 AM EDT • Sports • gov.idaho.gov
Unredacted comments from California hospital lawsuits show stunning admissions and a 'forced' McKinsey collaboration

Who controls the Medicaid market, GLP-1 usage and pizza household costs, and more from Health Care Inc.

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Jun 29 • 1:03 PM EDT • Health • statnews.com
Fox News apologizes for Kevin O'Leary's data center opponents claim

Fox News host Johnny Joey Jones read out an apology on the channel's "Big Weekend Show" after O'Leary made the comments on the show in late May.

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Jun 29 • 12:09 PM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
Jodie Turner-Smith offers rare comments about co-parenting with ex Joshua Jackson

Jodie Turner-Smith says she and ex-husband Joshua Jackson are 'learning' and 'not alway getting it totally right' when it comes to co-parenting their daughter together.

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Jun 29 • 12:03 PM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com
Commentary: Putting students before politics

After another school year, superintendents across Texas are not just packing up classrooms; we are staring down spreadsheets, trying to piece together next year’s budgets. It is a grueling annual...

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Jun 28 • 1:57 PM EDT • Politics • myrgv.com
Don Lemon, DL Hughley bring 'Anything Goes' tour to Columbus this fall

Emmy Award-winning journalist Don Lemon and renowned comedian DL Hughley will visit Columbus as part of their extended tour this fall. The comedy-political commentary duo are set to perform at Mershon...

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Jun 27 • 7:42 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com
Steve Yzerman on Red Wings' Dylan Larkin trade request

GM Steve Yzerman made his first public comments since Dylan Larkin's request to be traded by the Detroit Red Wings to a contender.

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Jun 27 • 5:06 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
How AI-Powered Public Comments Are Entering US Climate Politics

Officials have been confounded by the new phenomenon.

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Jun 27 • 11:59 AM EDT • Politics • bloomberg.com
‘A total fairytale’: Former Watergate prosecutor reacts to Vance’s comments on the scandal
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Jun 26 • 7:06 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
Xprize founder says 'humans behave better when they’re being watched'

Peter Diamandis is the latest tech executive to argue that global surveillance will make the world a better place, following Larry Ellison's comments in 2024.

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Jun 26 • 11:46 AM EDT • Technology • techcrunch.com
PlayStation Boss Says New Console Experiences Will Involve 'Leveraging Technologies That Can Be Used in Various Forms and Locations' — and I'm Convinced He's Teasing a PS6 Handheld

Recent comments from Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Hideaki Nishino have suggested PlayStation may move towards more hybrid, Switch-like consoles in the future to match modern on-the-go players.

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Jun 26 • 6:16 AM EDT • Technology • ign.com
Chris Evert shares devastating health update

It is the news that no one wanted to hear about Chris Evert. Amid the Netflix press tour and her upcoming ESPN commentary duties at Wimbledon, we learned on Wednesday that she quietly stepped away to deal with a health…

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Jun 25 • 3:18 PM EDT • Health • sports.yahoo.com
Another look at carrots and eyesight; how to get more fiber; why mosquitoes bite some people and not others; plus other stories with Vanderbilt Health sources

AARP reporter Stacey Colino interviewed Milam Brantley, MD, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, in 2020 for a story about whether eating carrots can improve vision. Sacramento Bee reporter Samantha Agate has now used Brantley’s comments in an AI-curated story created by content specialists on the same topic that has been picked up by MSN and others. Prevention magazine interviewed Heidi Silver, RD, PhD, Founding Director of the Vanderbilt Diet, Body Composition, and Human Metabolism Core, for a story about the importance of fiber and how people can get more of it in their diet. William Schaffner, MD, Professor of Preventive Medicine, was quoted by several news outlets about public health issues, including: Women’s Health (tick bites and alpha-gal syndrome); The Washington Post (tetanus); and Healthline (why mosquitoes prefer to bite some people and leave others alone). A visit to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt by some Banana Ball baseball players was covered by The Tennessean and WZTV Fox 17 News, and The Tennessean’s story was also picked up by Yahoo! Sports. Clarksville Now published a story written by the Montgomery County Economic Development Team, whointerviewed Bradley Stancombe, MD, professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Vanderbilt Neonatology, about the new energy of Vanderbilt Clarksville Hospital and how the facility is recruiting physicians. Healio Allergy/Asthma group editorial director Richard Gawel interviewed Mark Rolfsen, MD, Clinical Fellow in the Division of Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, for a story about his presentation at the American Thoracic Society meeting on metal health outcomes following ICU discharge. Nashville Scene reporter Hannah Herner interviewed James Crowe, MD, Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Antibody Therapeutics, for a story about his efforts to prepare for the next pandemic by isolating antibodies that can neutralize dangerous viruses. Medscape reporter Kathleen Doheny interviewed Neesha Choma, Associate Chief of Staff of Vanderbilt University Hospital, for a story about how hospitals can reduce readmissions.

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Jun 25 • 10:56 AM EDT • Health • news.vumc.org
Protests at Sen. Collins’s office on Dobbs anniversary

Members of Indivisible Maine and supporters of Graham Platner gathered outside Sen. Susan Collins’ office on Wednesday to criticize her comment that she does “not regret” supporting Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination.

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Jun 25 • 9:10 AM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com
Commentary: Why Archie Bunker voters are disillusioned with U.S. politics

The 1970s “All in the Family” stalwart supported law-and-order, cultural conservatism and strong labor unions, values to which many Republicans have gravitated, while Democrats evolved into a constituency that adopted identity…

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Jun 25 • 5:30 AM EDT • Politics • orlandosentinel.com
EPA Tells Staff Not to Smuggle Politics Into Official Opinions

The EPA’s comment letters to other agencies seeking input on environmental reviews must stick to the topic—clean air, water, and land—according to a Wednesday memo from David Fotouhi, the agency’s deputy administrator.

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Jun 24 • 3:41 PM EDT • Politics • news.bloomberglaw.com
Former Disney CEO Bob Iger defends ABC pulling Jimmy Kimmel over Charlie Kirk remark

Bob Iger, who presided over ABC's parent company when Jimmy Kimmel was pulled from the air in 2025, denies that the decision was politically motivated, arguing that Kimmel's comments about Charlie Kirk's murder were 'in bad taste.'

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Jun 24 • 12:08 PM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com
An Olympic-sized collaboration between Lake Placid, Big Apple

Commentary: Governor Kathy Hochul’s recent announcement about New York City possibly hosting the Olympics isn’t a new idea.

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Jun 24 • 8:51 AM EDT • Sports • rbj.net
NM lawmaker urges tribes to reopen gaming compact to allow online sports betting

Rep. John Block's comments came as the state and several pueblos are suing online platform Kalshi allegedly allowing illegal sport gambling.

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Jun 24 • 8:00 AM EDT • Sports • sourcenm.com
AI-Powered Emails Are Influencing Politics on Hot-Button Issues

From California to North Carolina, officials weighing policy changes are being inundated with comments via platforms that tout AI capabilities.

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Jun 24 • 6:30 AM EDT • Politics • bloomberg.com
‘This moment demands attention’

Opinion, comment and editorials of the day

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Jun 23 • 12:35 PM EDT • Politics • theweek.com
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Stock sell-off: What top investing minds are saying about the chip rout

Top investors and market commentators say the brutal sell-off in the chip sector could be part of a broader rotation in stocks as AI mania cools.

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Jun 23 • 11:21 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
How Jaguars have differentiated themselves under Gladstone and Coen

Mathieu Araujo's latest comments offered insight into the organizational alignment and culture the Jaguars have worked to establish under Liam Coen.

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Jun 23 • 11:19 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Warhammer 40,000 Devs Announce And Roll Back Launcher In 24 Hours

Owlcat Games’ original announcement has nearly 2000 comments and zero likes

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Jun 23 • 9:15 AM EDT • Technology • kotaku.com
Tucker Carlson says he will no longer support the Republican Party

Longtime conservative commentator Tucker Carlson said on a podcast that “there’s no chance I would support the Republican Party” ahead of the November midterm elections, dismissing the political affiliation he’s defended as a pundit for decades, including as one of Fox News Channel’s most popular hosts.

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Jun 22 • 11:09 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
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Tucker Carlson says he will no longer support the Republican Party

The comments come two months after Carlson expressed regret for supporting President Donald Trump.

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Jun 22 • 10:14 PM EDT • Politics • nbcnews.com
High-Signal Publisher
UK political commentator calls for general election as Starmer steps down
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Jun 22 • 8:38 PM EDT • Politics • komonews.com
Longtime Georgia radio host, political commentator Martha Zoller has died

Martha Zoller, a longtime Georgia radio host, political commentator, and conservative activist whose voice became a fixture in state politics for more than three decades, has died.

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Jun 22 • 2:26 PM EDT • Politics • fox5atlanta.com
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‘The United States is showing troubling parallels’

Opinion, comment and editorials of the day

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Jun 22 • 1:22 PM EDT • Politics • theweek.com
Commentary: Chicago budget includes abstract goals that don’t come with built-in accountability

City government's identity is getting lost in a growing list of expenses without a clear definition of success, writes a municipal finance expert.

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Jun 22 • 8:37 AM EDT • Business • chicagobusiness.com
The 2026 legislative update of health care laws

Commentary: Maryland's 2026 legislative session introduced laws affecting healthcare staffing, insurance coverage, nursing homes, and data privacy.

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Jun 22 • 5:20 AM EDT • Health • thedailyrecord.com
Anti-Myles Garrett commentary starts to leak out of Cleveland

A recent column out of Cleveland slighted the Defensive Player of the Year’s leadership.

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Jun 21 • 12:00 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Spain vs Saudi Arabia LIVE: World Cup 2026

Live updates as Spain face Saudi Arabia in Group H - follow the build-up, analysis and live text commentary of the game.

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Jun 21 • 9:00 AM EDT • Sports • aljazeera.com