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Barcelona sporting director working on fixing overreliance on Spanish international

Barcelona’s dominance this season can be credited to a mix of team effort that has been auguring well for the club under Hansi Flick.The club have also appeared far less reliant on their star player...

May 17 • 6:35 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

L.A. mayor candidates seek Latino vote. Bass is ahead of Raman, Pratt

Latinos make up about 37% of the L.A. electorate. Mayoral candidates are putting out ads in Spanish, rallying endorsements and canvassing Latino neighborhoods.

May 17 • 6:00 AM EDT • Politics • latimes.com

Midlife exercise could add two healthy years to your lifespan, study finds

A comprehensive study found that people who were most fit in their 40s and 50s developed major illness later, and lived longer.

May 17 • 5:00 AM EDT • Health • washingtonpost.com

What Your Brain Is Actually Doing While You Doomscroll, According to Science

If you find yourself endlessly scrolling as you maneuver through the various landmines intent on detonating your attention span, it could mean that you have some kind of digital addiction problem. But it could also mean your mental focus is so strong that you’ve quietly figured out how to treat social media like an external […]

May 17 • 2:30 AM EDT • Science • vice.com

Barcelona consider Julian Alvarez signing “practically impossible”

Barcelona intend to sign a new striker this summer, especially now that Robert Lewandowski’s expected exit has been confirmed. They want to bring in a big-money number nine to compete alongside Ferr...

May 17 • 12:55 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

‘Just a flea bite’: Canyon man loses home, business in Hungate Fire

A Canyon man lost his home and business in the Hungate Fire — but says it's "just a flea bite" compared to what he's already survived. NewsChannel 10's Alissa Spangler has his story.

May 16 • 8:19 PM EDT • Business • newschannel10.com

Big lessons the US can learn from a country with one of the fastest-growing lifespans

There is a lot the United States can learn about health and longevity from South Korea.

May 16 • 9:00 AM EDT • Health • cnn.com

Roma renew interest in Spanish executive Ramon Planes

In these days, Roma will focus on the pitch first, then on the rest. The derby against Lazio, scheduled for tomorrow at 12:00 PM, is too important for the club’s sporting fortunes ahead of next seas...

May 16 • 2:50 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Andalusia election offers clues to Spain’s political trajectory

Contest in the most populous Spanish region will help determine whether the conservative People’s Party will take a moderate or hard-line approach in the 2027 general election.

May 15 • 10:00 PM EDT • Politics • politico.eu

Hispanic Chamber to Host 11th Annual Women's Business Symposium

NEW ORLEANS — The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana is hosting its 11th Annual Women’s Business Symposium, an empowering gathering designed to

May 15 • 11:27 AM EDT • Business • bizneworleans.com

Chartbook 449: Voldemort on Threadneedle street. The Bank of England and the "haunted house" of English politics.

Imagine the scene: In some Harry Potter version of 21st-century London, a group of deathless UK Treasury officials gathered from across the last century huddle over warm pints and glasses of Chardonnay. Around the table there are officials from the 1920s, the 1930s, the 1970s, 2022 and today. Inevitably, in May 2026, the subject of conversation is the disintegration of the current Labour government. Despite its huge majority in parliament, it has been reduced to tatters by catastrophic local election result. These exposed the fact that rather than having a government with a clear popular majority, the UK is like most other modern societies divided into 5 segments each of which commands between 26 and 16 percent of the vote. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the leadership at Nos 10 and 11 Downing Street - where the Prime Minister and the Chancellor (Treasury Secretary) work - seem paralyzed. They are caught between mounting discontent over unfairness and the cost of living, and tough fiscal strictures that push them into making unpopular spending decisions. In the London pub, the Treasury officials from across the ages, can barely hide their satisfaction at the latest display of democratic politics caught in the vice-grip of financial logic. “Remember the mur d’argent and the banker’s ramp?” “Just like yesterday!” There are smirks around the table. Then the representative of 2026 pipes up: “One thing you have to say about the current lot (referring to the latest hapless Labour government), you don’t have to teach them about the bond market!” There is a murmur of ascent from the Treasury Mandarins. The trauma of the fiscal crisis of September-October 2022 sits deep. Back then, in the final stages of Tory decay, a ‘mini budget’ that challenged fiscal orthodoxy led to a brief but fierce panic in one of the oldest government bond markets in the world (aka gilt market). Now all you have to do is to mention the “bond market” to hush debate. [ Paul Mason@paulmasonnews In the name of public service, and as ex-economics editor of BBC Newsnight, I offer to do a zoom call, tonight, with any Labour MP who wants to understand why bond markets do not "fall into line" with governments. 1/ 3:57 PM · May 12, 2026 · 466K Views 224 Replies · 674 Reposts · 3.93K Likes ](https://x.com/paulmasonnews/status/2054229532404519082?s=20) “And the funny thing is”, the young man in the huddle continues, “they don’t even want to talk about … ”. There is a sudden hush. Significant looks are exchanged around the table. About? One of the senior figures puts down his glass with a decisive “clink”. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has entered their thoughts. Meanwhile, a few miles away in a grubby pub in Bloomsbury, two conspirators from the camp of Critical Macrofinance huddle over cans of low-alcohol IPA. They look at each other and blurt out loud: “The Bank!” “Everyone in the bloody Labour party is talking about the bond market. But why aren’t they even mentioning … the Bank of England!?” “Why is no one talking about Voldemort?” In Paul Mason’s blogpost, after much chest-thumping about basic fiscal logic, the basic point about the Bank of England is buried in the fine print at #3 in his list of suggestions as to what a radical Labour government might actually be able to do! [ Conflict & Democracy Down with the bond market! Down with gravity! It may seem unfair to focus on Labour MP Paula Barker for her off-the-cuff assertion that the bond market would have to “fall in line” with Andy Burnham, should he replace Keir Starmer as prime minister. But Burnham himself told the New Statesman that Labour had to “get beyond this thing of being in hock to the bond markets… Read more 2 days ago · 100 likes · 3 comments · Paul Mason ](https://htsf.substack.com/p/down-with-the-bond-market-down-with?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web) Back in Bloomsbury they shake their heads and ask: “Didn’t we learn anything from the Eurozone crisis?” Meanwhile, as if summoned to the conversation by some higher force, the “pink pages” announce: “The days of ultra-cheap government borrowing have come to an end” and Martin “Whizzard” Wolf publishes the graph of the season Look at the UK in 2026, perilously positioned on the upper edge of the pack. No wonder no one in London needs any lessons about the “bond market”. But, look again. Imagine how they feel in Rome. What is London’s nightmare in 2026? The nightmare is that you end up like Italy in the early 2010s during the Eurozone crisis. Once comfortably situated in the middle of the pack, watching with horror as your ten-year yields explode to 7 percent and “spreads” become a national nightmare. One of the largest economies in Europe, a founding member of the euro, stigmatized. But the message of the Italian experience is ambiguous. After all, the stigma didn’t last. In 2026, Italy borrows at rates lower not only than the UK but the US. The US, which, as everyone knows, enjoys the “exorbitant privilege” of being the issuer of reserve, safe asets. What kind of magic is this? How did Italy, in the space of fifteen years, go from being good, to bad and back again? Which brings us back to our dissident friends in their Bloombury boozer and their memories of the Eurozone crisis. Italy never was Britain - with its ongoing fiscal deficits. Without interest payments, on primary balance, from 2000 to 2020 Italy ran a tight fiscal ship. Even in 2008 it barely went into deficit and when it was being put on the rack in the early 20210s its primary surplus matched that of austere Germany. So, what happened? How did it end up stigmatized? Of course Italian politics didn’t help. Berlusconi was at the helm and he had legal issues. But amongst friends in the Bloomsbury pub, Berlusconi is a sideshow, the name we whisper to each other is “Trichet”. From 2004 to 2011 the ECB was headed by Jean-Claude Trichet, ex of the French Treasury, more German than the Germans. After 2009 as the news of the Greek fiscal disaster broke, the European bond markets wento into panic mode and Trichet began a brutal game of cat and mouse. Between 2009 and 2011, Trichet intervened in the bond market to help, only when he thought he had compliance with austerity. When he thought they were uncooperative, he withdrew. In the summer of 2011, he even made direct suggestions to his Italian counterparts in Rome, as to how Italy should be governed. It was this cat and mouse game that drove the bond markets crazy and exposed Italy to a violent squeeze. When Mario Draghi took over the ECB at the end of 2011 and declared “whatever it takes”, the pressure on Italy, gradually eased. It is that starring role that has made Draghi into the towering figure in European politics that he remains today. So now you see why voices in London hush when it comes to the Bank of England. “The bond market” isn’t an irresistible objective force like the weather or an avalanche. It can appear like that. But that depends on the way it is being handled, or not handled by the central bank. Which is why the silence about the Bank of England in London right now is so significant. If you think this all sounds a bit fishy, coming from a left-liberal Keynesian like myself, well, let me introduce you to Robin Brooks, who, to put it mildly, plays on a different quidditch team to me. Here, from the position of a fiscal hawk is Robin’s celebratory account of the Bank of England’s role since 2022; In October 2022, at the height of the bond market blow-up in the UK, something incredible happened. Governor Andrew Bailey told British pension funds the Bank of England would end its support program for the country’s fragile gilt market, drawing a line under how much help the central bank was willing to give to exposed pension funds and - implicitly - the government. By the end of that week, Kwasi Kwarteng - the finance minister - had resigned. Prime Minister Liz Truss would soon follow. This episode is so incredible because it contrasts with what happened in the Euro zone earlier that year. Bond markets in Spain and Italy were under pressure amid high inflation and rising interest rates. In the middle of this, Mario Draghi - Italy’s Prime Minister - resigned, compounding pressure on bond markets of high-debt countries on the Euro periphery. Unlike the Bank of England, the ECB caved. It bought Italian and Spanish government bonds in an effort to cap yields and introduced a new tool that signaled to markets it might do such caps more frequently going forward. Faced with pressure on bond markets, the ECB capitulated to political pressure from high-debt countries like Italy and Spain. The Bank of England stood its ground and toppled the Truss government. This kind of thing has long-lasting consequences. It means markets price a higher probability of yield caps in the Euro zone, which keeps Italian and Spanish yields artificially low, while markets feel free to push up UK yields without fear of central bank intervention. As I flagged in yesterday’s post, this means you really can’t compare UK yields to those of other high-debt countries. The UK looks worse, but only because its central bank isn’t interfering with markets. There’s more to this than just that 2022 episode. The Bank of England has also been much more aggressive in its quantitative tightening (QT) than other central banks. If one motivation for quantitative easing (QE) is to lower bond yields - especially longer-dated ones - then it stands to reason QT pushes yields up. The left chart above shows a four-quarter moving average of UK government debt issuance (black line) in percent of GDP and which sectors absorb this issuance, including the Bank of England (blue bars). The right chart above compares the Bank of England’s accumulation or run-off of government bonds (blue line) with that of other central banks, where this blue line is the same as the blue bars in the left chart. The Bank of England was quicker and more aggressive than other central banks in downsizing its bond holdings, so UK yields will have risen more than elsewhere also for this reason, not just because of Governor Andrew Bailey’s remarks in October 2022. Back in October 2025, after a conversation in New York with friends in British politics, my sense of dysphoria was such that I raised the issue of the Bank of England openly in the FT Since 2008, the UK has slid into a deep economic and political predicament. Growth has stagnated to a degree far worse even than in the 1970s. The Tory leadership’s wager on the Brexit referendum spectacularly backfired, leaving the UK isolated from Europe and at the mercy of its special relationship with the US, many of whose political class regard the UK as a basket case. After years of austerity, the Labour party lurched to the left and then back to the centre. The Tory party has been eclipsed by the populist nationalism of Reform. Any British government should be worrying first and foremost about how to restart growth. Instead, Keir Starmer is beset by shades of the gilt market panic triggered by the Liz Truss government in 2022. The debt level is higher than in recent years, but there is no cause for panic. UK debt is at far from critical levels and of long duration. Whether you want to “take back control” or launch progressive economic policy, a democracy dogged by fear of bond market vigilantes is unhealthy. In a country that is a monetary sovereign, this climate points to one thing: a disconnect between the government and the central bank. Since 1997, the independence of the Bank of England has become a sacred cow. But independence is what you make of it. And in the wake of the gilt market crisis of September 2022, relations between the Bank of England and the UK government need a reset. In normal times, there is no doubt that an inflation-targeting independent central bank can serve a country well. But since 2008, the UK and other advanced economies have not had the luxury of such simple problems. To their credit, central bankers around the world have not stood on orthodoxy. After 2008, the US Federal Reserve rescued the global banking system and, through quantitative easing, it stabilised the Treasury market in the face of huge deficits. In Europe, things were trickier. Both the Bank of England under Mervyn King and Jean-Claude Trichet’s European Central Bank played cat and mouse with national governments. This was a high stakes wager that between 2010 and 2012 escalated bond market tension and triggered a disastrous turn to austerity. Shaken by the impact of those shocks, their successors, Mark Carney and Mario Draghi adopted a more protective stance (assuming you were not the government of Greece). Recall that Draghi’s legendary slogan, “Whatever it takes”, was uttered to face down the City of London’s bond vigilantes. In 2015, Draghi launched QE — financial repression by another name. In 2016, Carney used the authority of the Bank of England to stabilise markets following the vote for Brexit, an exemplary demonstration of how central banks can underpin democratic choice, even when those choices are wrong headed. All these were independent central bankers steeped in the best practice of the 1990s, who recognised that historic crises demanded radical action. It was the price surge of 2021-2023 that poisoned the atmosphere. Though the shock came mainly from the supply side, central banks ended up in the dock. Nowhere more so than in the UK. The Bank of England reacted with aggressive normalisation. Faced with a cost of living crisis, the governor called for workers to accept real wage cuts. In early 2022, as gas prices were at record levels and Russia’s army was poised to invade Ukraine, the Bank adopted a stringent programme of quantitative tightening, elevating interest rates. When the Truss government got itself in trouble, the Bank took almost a week to come to the rescue. Rather than enacting a charade of normality, it is time to recognise that in 2025 the UK faces a period of historic transition. To meet this challenge, what is needed is a new concordat with the Bank. This should not ignore inflationary pressures or the long-run trajectory of debt, but should affirm the priority of reviving investment-led growth. One could follow Donald Trump in demanding interest rate cuts. The Bank could shadow the ECB in its commitment to capping Eurozone yields. But the top priority should be to lay the ghost of September 2022. The Bank’s slowing of QT last month was a concession. An immediate and complete end would send the right signal. Such a concordat will not by itself restore sanity to politics, solve the housing problem or rebuild the NHS. But it would help to lift the fear of bond market crisis, which is paralysing the effort by democratic politicians to answer the fundamental questions facing the nation. Now, that call for a new concordat between government and Bank of Englands seems more urgent than ever. The problem is that in October 2025, Starmer still had some authority. Today the government is in tatters. And when you are the “under the harrow” - to echo a phrase of Montagu Norman’s from the 1920s - it is the worst possible time to consider institutional change. To make general arguments at a time of crisis can only seem like special pleading rather than a general argument for long-term change. The same, unfortunately, is also true for the other basic institutional reform that Britain urgently needs i.e. the abolition of the out-dated first past the post electoral system and its replacement by a moderated form of proportional representation. And thirdly - whilst we are saying the quiet parts out loud - Britain needs to reopen the question of EU membership. What the local election results of 2026 show is that this remains a key issue. And what they also show is that there is a clear majority that would favor a return. Until these basic features of Britain’s political economy are addressed the country will carry on its politics as though in a haunted house, governed by governments that lack actual majorities, conjuring up false constraints whilst ignoring the real ones. This one is for DG and MI. I love writing the newsletter. If you enjoy it too and fancy buying me a coffee once a month, you know what to do. Click below! Subscribe

May 15 • 3:04 AM EDT • Politics • adamtooze.substack.com

AMNH Presents For the Win: Objects of Sports Excellence

New York, N.Y. - On May 15, the American Museum of Natural History will open For the Win: Objects of Sports Excellence , a special exhibition that celebrates the artistry, history, and cultural impact of the world’s most coveted athletic prizes. The exhibition will open in the Melissa and Keith Meister Gallery, part of the Museum’s Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals, and will showcase more than 70 championship rings, trophies, medals, and jewelry spanning nearly 150 years of sports history. For the Win opens in advance of FIFA World Cup 2026™ and kicks off World Cup, World Cultures: Celebrating the Community and Science of Sport, a series of programs and experiences at the Museum for New Yorkers and visiting fans from around the world.

May 14 • 9:00 AM EDT • Sports • iloveny.com

British scientists among winners of top Spanish award

British chemists David Klenerman and Shankar Balasubramanian joined French biophysicist Pascal Mayer in winning Spain's top science award on Wednesday for DNA sequencing research that helped combat coronavirus.

May 13 • 4:40 PM EDT • Science • phys.org

Lawmakers & Trump Admin. Officials Discuss The Advancement of Health Care

Lawmakers and top Trump Administration officials, including Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, participate in discussions on U.S. advancement in health care.

May 13 • 2:00 PM EDT • Health • c-span.org

Are attention spans really shrinking? What the science says

Digital distractions can undermine our focus, but research suggests that our inherent capacity to pay attention hasn’t diminished

May 13 • 11:45 AM EDT • Science • scientificamerican.com

Grocery Business Hall of Fame unveils 2026 inductees

Grocery Business Hall of Fame Class of 2026 Meet the 20 individuals being inducted into this year's Grocery Business Hall of Fame. TORONTO, May 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Grocery Business Hall of Fame has announced its 2026 class, recognizing 20 individuals for their contributions to Canada’s grocery industry and the communities they serve. Selected by an industry committee, this year’s inductees span retail, supplier and industry stewardship roles, reflecting the breadth of leadership driving

May 13 • 8:30 AM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com

Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GWHCC) Business Expo 2026

The Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GWHCC) returns with their highly anticipated GWHCC Business Expo, taking place on Thursday, May 21, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. An event focused on connecting minority-owned businesses with corporate partners, business resources, and networking opportunities. Featuring more than 80 exhibitors, the event brings together entrepreneurs, industry professionals, and decision-makers from across the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area to support collaboration, visibility, and business growth.

May 12 • 5:27 PM EDT • Business • eventsdc.com

TKO AND ARIZONA SPORTS & EVENTS ALLIANCE ANNOUNCE LANDMARK AGREEMENT TO BRING MARQUEE UFC, WWE, PBR, AND ZUFFA BOXING EVENTS TO ARIZONA

PHOENIX, ARIZ. and NEW YORK, NY – May 12, 2026 – TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), together with the Arizona Sports & Events Alliance, today announced a multi-year agreement that will stage a series of premier UFC, WWE, PBR, and Zuffa Boxing events in Arizona.The seven-event agreement will span three years and feature some of TKO’s most high-profile live events, creating new opportunities for fans to experience UFC, WWE, PBR, and Zuffa Boxing events in one of the country’s leading sports and entertainment markets.

May 12 • 8:00 AM EDT • Sports • corporate.wwe.com

About a third of students in New Orleans struggle with mental health. Many can’t find help.

More than 40% of Black and Hispanic students and 25% of White students said they felt sad and hopeless every day, which can be symptoms of depression, according to the survey last school year of about 2,000 New Orleans students in grades 6-11.

May 12 • 5:00 AM EDT • Health • nola.com

Obit Cardenas Baseball

FILE - Longtime Spanish radio broadcaster René Cárdenas waves to the crowd as he is inducted into the Houston Astros Hall of Fame Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, in Houston. (AP

May 11 • 1:22 PM EDT • Entertainment • gazettextra.com

Health Officials Say "Country is Prepared" to Deal with Hantavirus

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Oz tells reporters in the Oval Office that the country is prepared to deal with the Hantavirus outbreak and treat the disease, despite cuts to federal agencies. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy also says the CDC has been on it from day one and has been in contact with officials in Nebraska dealing with people exposed to the virus. "We have this under control, and we're not worried about it," Kennedy says. The secretary also disputes that it took four days after the World Health Organization issued an alert for the U.S. to follow suit. "It's just not true," he says.

May 11 • 12:36 PM EDT • Health • c-span.org

Jackie Martínez Marushka Launches Hispanic Entertainment Alliance Charitable Fund

The Hispanic Entertainment Alliance, founded by entertainment PR strategist Jackie Martínez [...]

May 11 • 12:08 PM EDT • Entertainment • musicrow.com

Mental health stigma persists among Hispanic students and immigrants

The stigma surrounding mental health makes many low-income descendants of immigrants opt not to pursue higher education. Those who choose to move forward in spite of it often face stronger stigma in college.

May 11 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • alligator.org

Seven inductees highlight 2026 UMaine Sports Hall of Fame class

ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame has announced its class of 2026, featuring six individuals who span more than a century of Black Bear history and one legendary team.

May 11 • 7:49 AM EDT • Sports • goblackbears.com

DeSantis’s new House map sparks bipartisan anger in Puerto Rican hub in Florida

The governor said his state needed to redistrict to account for population growth. But in a majority-Hispanic area, that growth could work against him.

May 11 • 5:00 AM EDT • Politics • washingtonpost.com

Liverpool speak to Spanish giants over potential Slot successor

Liverpool Sound Out Real Madrid Over Alonso Amid Growing Pressure on SlotLiverpool’s interest in Alonso has moved beyond admiration and into serious due diligence, with reports from Spanish outlet A...

May 11 • 4:55 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Grieving Hansi Flick Leads Barcelona to La Liga Title With Win Over Real Madrid

Led by Hansi Flick, who was grieving the death of his father, Barcelona retains Spanish league title after beating Real Madrid 2-0.

May 10 • 6:18 PM EDT • Sports • foxsports.com

Yankees swept by Brewers, walked off for second straight day

The Yankees were spanked once again on Mother’s Day.

May 10 • 5:44 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Barcelona win second straight LaLiga title after El Clásico victory

Barcelona have been crowned back-to-back Spanish champions under Hansi Flick after clinching the LaLiga title

May 10 • 4:56 PM EDT • Sports • espn.com

Athletic Club’s Nico Williams sparks Spain World Cup fears

Athletic Club star Nico Williams has on Sunday sparked concern across the Spanish football landscape.This comes after the winger was forced into a premature departure from Athletic’s latest La Liga ...

May 10 • 1:30 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

2D exploration horror adventure game remake Midnight Train: New Moon announced for PC

Publisher PLAYISM and developer LydiaBluebell have announced 2D exploration horror adventure game remake Midnight Train: New Moon. It will launch for PC via Steam in 2027 with English, Spanish, Jap…

May 10 • 8:05 AM EDT • Technology • gematsu.com

Politics And Redistricting Shake Virginia: Abigail Spanberger Faces Backlash As Court Overturns Controversial New Map In Major Political Redistricting Battle

olitics and redistricting have once again collided in Virginia, creating one of the most closely watched political battles in the state in recent years. The

May 9 • 10:24 PM EDT • Politics • nbsla.ca

Real Madrid make contact with agent of Manchester City defender

Real Madrid are in the market for a new central defender, with that being one of their priorities for the summer transfer window. The expected departure of David Alaba, coupled with the possible one o...

May 9 • 10:00 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

All passengers on hantavirus-hit ship considered high-risk contacts, EU health agency says

All passengers on the cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak are considered high-risk contacts as ​a precautionary measure, Europe's public health agency said ‌ahead of the ship's expected anchoring on Sunday off the Spanish island of Tenerife.

May 9 • 9:57 PM EDT • Health • reuters.com

Scientists successfully transfer longevity gene and extend lifespan

Scientists at the University of Rochester pulled off a remarkable experiment: they transferred a longevity-related gene from the famously long-lived naked mole rat into mice, and the mice ended up healthier and lived longer. The special gene boosts production of a substance called high molecular weight hyaluronic acid, which appears to protect against cancer, reduce inflammation, and support healthier aging. The modified mice showed stronger resistance to tumors, healthier guts, and lower levels of age-related inflammation.

May 9 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com

Art Can’t Compete With Politics in Venice or New York

Plus: Astrocartography, Michael Jackson, and a “hotspan” hack

May 9 • 7:30 AM EDT • Politics • bloomberg.com

Redistricting Ruling in Virginia Adds to Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s Headaches

Gov. Abigail Spanberger had initially been skeptical of the push for new maps, but as the state’s leading Democrat she had a political stake in its fate.

May 9 • 5:02 AM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com

How Minority Districts Fueled the G.O.P.’s Southern Ascendancy in Congress

The “majority-minority” House districts struck down by the Supreme Court last week sent a surge of Black and Hispanic lawmakers to Congress. They also opened opportunities for the G.O.P.

May 9 • 5:02 AM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com

In Dallas County, 17 years of lifespan can be a matter of ZIP code

Health disparities in Dallas County are complex, but the data shows where we must improve.

May 8 • 3:00 AM EDT • Health • dallasnews.com

P.J. Tucker announces retirement after NBA career spanning 19 seasons

P.J. Tucker played 83 NBA minutes in his rookie season. He ended up playing more than 3,000 minutes in the playoffs.

May 7 • 9:45 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

WellSpan Health Unveils First-of-Its-Kind Full-Service Robotic Kitchen

WellSpan Health York Hospital has introduced Fresh Take Eatery, an AI‑powered robotic kitchen that provides 24/7 access to hot, healthy meals.

May 7 • 4:13 PM EDT • Health • aha.org

The National Academy of Sciences Elects Two Berkeley Lab Researchers

Two Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) scientists have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. They are part of a cohort of 120 new members and 25 international members. The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution that was established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It recognizes achievement in science by election to membership, and — alongside the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine — provides science, engineering, and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations. The 2026 electees bring the total number of active members to 2,705 with 557 international members. Gary Karpen is a biologist senior faculty scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Biological Systems and Engineering Division and a Professor of Cell and Developmental Physiology in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley. Karpen studies how the structure, organization, and maintenance of genetic material impact inheritance and cell function. His lab focuses on chromatin — a packaged form of DNA strands wrapped around proteins that comprises our chromosomes — with a particular emphasis on centromeres, rarely expressed sequences called heterochromatin, DNA repair, and regulatory RNAs. His research reveals insights into fundamental aspects of nuclear organization and genome regulation that are shared across the tree of life, broadening our understanding of cancer and other diseases, birth defects, and aging. Kam-Biu Luk is a Professor Emeritus of physics at UC Berkeley and a retired senior faculty scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Physics Division. He is an experimental particle physicist whose research has focused on neutrinos: nearly massless, electrically neutral elementary particles that can pass through matter virtually undetected. Neutrinos are created during radioactive decay processes, including the fusion process occurring in stars and the fission process that powers nuclear reactors. Luk initiated and co-led the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment, a project based in China with more than 200 international collaborators. In 2012, the Daya Bay experiment discovered a new form of a phenomenon called “neutrino oscillation” in which neutrinos change from one type to another. For this discovery, Luk and his collaborator Yifan Wang received the 2014 American Physical Society Division of Particles and Fields W.K.H. Panofsky Prize for outstanding work in experimental particle physics, and he was also the co-recipient of the 2016 Breakthrough Prize. Luk is currently participating in the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) hosted by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, which will investigate any potential difference in behavior between neutrinos and antineutrinos that may shed light on the evolution of the universe, especially why antimatter is absent in the present universe. ### Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is committed to groundbreaking research focused on discovery science and solutions for abundant and reliable energy supplies. The lab’s expertise spans materials, chemistry, physics, biology, earth and environmental science, mathematics, and computing. Researchers from around the world rely on the lab’s world-class scientific facilities for their own pioneering research. Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest problems are best addressed by teams, Berkeley Lab and its scientists have been recognized with 17 Nobel Prizes. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.

May 7 • 11:00 AM EDT • Science • newscenter.lbl.gov

FBI raids Spanberger ally office as federal corruption probe targets cannabis business

The FBI raided the office of Virginia Democratic state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, a key ally of Gov. Spanberger, in a corruption and marijuana probe.

May 6 • 11:44 AM EDT • Business • foxnews.com

LG’s Third-Gen Tandem OLED Slashes Power Draw By 18% While Doubling Durability, Hitting 1200 Nits And 15,000-Hour Lifespan

LG Display unveils 3rd-gen Tandem OLED technology, cutting power consumption by 18% and enhancing durability, plus a 5K OLED panel with 221 PPI.

May 5 • 1:57 PM EDT • Technology • wccftech.com

Mary Rutan Health announces retirement of longtime leader, new roles announced

Mary Rutan Health has announced the upcoming retirement of Tammy Gump, a longtime leader whose career with the organization has spanned nearly four decades. Gump, […]

May 5 • 4:00 AM EDT • Health • peakofohio.com

Global Health & WASH: May 2026 Funding Opportunities (14 new opportunities!)

The May update for Global Health & WASH brings new calls that cluster around three distinct shifts: LMIC research leadership moving from funder encouragement into a hard eligibility constraint, pharmaceutical and corporate-linked funders running structurally independent education and use-inspired research portfolios at substantial scale, and AI adoption shifting decisively from speculative tool to operational capability across health and WASH systems alike. In LMIC Research Leadership as Eligibility, Not Encouragement, Wellcome anchors the dominant signal of the month with three separate major calls that all require or strongly center LMIC leadership in their basic eligibility architecture. Wellcome’s ESIC Hubs (£1.5-£1.9M per hub over 3-5 years) explicitly requires an LMIC-based lead applicant, treating Global South leadership as a design constraint rather than a participation goal. Wellcome’s Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Development Award funds transdisciplinary teams whose lead must be a mid-career or established researcher based at an organization in Africa, South Asia, or Southeast Asia. Wellcome’s larger Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Award (£1M-£8M for optimizing licensed interventions) requires the administering organization to be in eligible LMIC regions and at least 50% of applicants based there. Around Wellcome, the same pattern shows up at smaller scale and across funders: CHINNOVA channels $1M into West and Central African research institutions for climate-health work; IBRO’s Neuroscience Training Grants explicitly tier ceilings by region of residence with Africa receiving the highest amount ($5,000); IHME’s GBD Emerging Researcher Award reserves at least one of its two annual awards for an LMIC researcher; Sidaction’s HIV Cure call funds research teams across France, the Netherlands, and eligible African countries with a minimum two-country collaboration requirement. Taken together, these calls signal a meaningful shift in how research equity is being operationalized — not as encouragement language at the bottom of a call, but as a structural feature of who can lead, where the work must be administered, and what proportion of the team must be regionally rooted. In Pharma-Funded Independent Medical Education and Use-Inspired Research, the lineup this month is unusually deep. Pfizer alone runs four parallel calls under independent education and quality improvement frameworks: a Migraine and Women’s Health RFP (200K x 2-year, $500K pool), Migraine IME ($200K, $1M pool), JAK Inhibitor evidence-based education ($100K), and Maternal Vaccination HCP Education in Saudi Arabia ($75K), plus a separate Pediatric Pneumococcal Surveillance research call in Saudi Arabia ($400K per project). Novo Nordisk Foundation runs four parallel calls of its own at substantial scale: Infectious Diseases Catalyst Grants (DKK 60M pool, up to DKK 7M collaborative), Non-Diabetic Endocrinology Collaborative Grants (DKK 53M pool, DKK 5-10M per project), Pioneer Innovator Grant Health (DKK 1.1M), and Distinguished Innovator Grant Health (DKK 6.8M). LEO Foundation deploys DKK 2-4M per project for dermatology research excellence. Pfizer’s framing across calls deliberately separates the funding from product promotion, emphasizing measurable practice-relevant change and structural distance between scientific outputs and commercial activity. Novo Nordisk’s “use-inspired” hard filter pushes researchers toward a credible translation pathway from mechanism to deployable tool. The pattern: industry-aligned funders are running structurally independent portfolios at meaningful $ that fund implementation evidence, not promotion. In AI as Operational Capability, Not Speculation, several calls this month explicitly treat AI adoption as a near-term operational question with real evidence and governance requirements, rather than a speculative trend to be watched. Wellcome’s ESIC Hubs frames AI as “the accelerator” for evidence synthesis, asking hubs to translate technical innovation into adoption-ready workflows that can match real-world policy timelines. UNICEF Venture Fund’s new Climate Tech for Children’s Health call funds for-profit startups deploying AI, machine learning, and blockchain in low-resource environments, with a strict requirement that solutions must already have a working prototype with promising pilot results. The Water Research Foundation has launched two simultaneous AI calls treating reproducibility, cybersecurity guardrails, and human-in-the-loop deployments as core design constraints rather than nice-to-haves: one on GenAI and Agentic AI in water utilities ($200K), one on alternatives to water shutoffs that explicitly screens for implementation economics evidence. Nordic Innovation’s quantum technology call (NOK 4.5M) extends the same logic into life science and healthcare, demanding consortium-stage projects mature enough to test with real users. TEF-Health offers €300K in subsidized testing infrastructure for European healthcare AI and robotics SMEs. The pattern: funders are converting AI pilots into playbooks, requiring transfer evidence and risk controls before AI can move from experimentation to sector-wide operational practice. For LMIC-based researchers in infectious disease or evidence synthesis, the three Wellcome calls together represent the deepest concentration of LMIC-led research capital in recent memory — pair the Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Development Award (£200K, deadline May 19) as a strategic pipeline feeder into the larger Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Award (£1-£8M, deadline June 2), since the development award functions explicitly as a track into the larger trial scheme. For Nordic researchers, the four Novo Nordisk Foundation calls plus LEO Foundation and Nordic Innovation Quantum represent ~$30M in regional research capital this cycle, all with deadlines clustered in May-August. For WASH practitioners, the three Water Research Foundation calls together (each up to $200K) are a cluster worth reading across — one on AI deployment, one on shutoff alternatives, one rewarding applied innovation — and the strongest applicants will articulate how their work bridges utility operations to policy-relevant evidence. For US-based clinical researchers and educators, the four Pfizer calls plus the APF Portfolio’s 80+ programs form an unusually accessible recurring pipeline; APF’s prohibition on indirect costs is a meaningful structural feature for early-career applicants whose institutions might otherwise absorb significant overhead. Snapshot of New Opportunities Total Estimated Funding Pool: $100 Million+ USD The grants are organized into three categories: Open Calls: Current grant and opportunities with a deadline. Grants are listed by closing date. 39 open opportunities- 14 new! Rolling Applications: current grant and opportunities with rolling applications (but it’s still best to submit as early as possible). 14 rolling opportunities- 1 new opportunity! Long term planning: Grants that have closed their current rounds, but are expected to open new windows. 4 long term opportunities! A quick tip for returning readers: if you want to jump straight to the newest additions, use CTRL F to search for “New!” and navigate quickly to the latest funding opportunities This post is for paid subscribers. This helps support the time and effort it takes to curate and organize these opportunities. Subscribe To keep this accessible to everyone who needs it, we’re happy to offer pay what you can rates. You can find more details here. Open Calls: Migraine Competitive Grant Program: Migraine and Women’s Health (Quality Improvement and/or Research RFP), Pfizer.*Closing soon!* Pfizer, in collaboration with the American Headache Society, is seeking independent quality improvement and research projects that close persistent gaps in migraine care for women across the United States. The funding logic centers on measurable, practice-relevant change: proposals should generate actionable evidence, tools, or system improvements that can be shared and used widely, not just within a single site. Priority areas span menstrual migraine and screening in women’s health settings, the role of hormonal fluctuations across the lifespan, sex-specific risk factors, comorbidities and quality-of-life burden, and disparities in outcomes by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The call is structured as a two-step competitive process with an initial Letter of Intent, with the strongest concepts expected to translate scientific insight into implementable improvements in diagnosis, management, and equity. Geographies: United States. Who can apply: U.S.-based organizations (not individuals), including professional schools, healthcare institutions, professional organizations, and other entities focused on healthcare improvement. Funding amount: Up to USD $200,000 total over 2 years; total pool USD $500,000. Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: migraine, women’s health, quality improvement, clinical research, menstrual migraine, health disparities. Deadline: LOI: May 5, 2026; Full proposal (by invitation): August 28, 2026. Learn more and apply here. This RFP rewards “shareable impact”: the most competitive submissions will pair rigorous methods with a clear plan for system uptake and dissemination beyond the originating institution. ReSSARC: Strengthening the Health Sector and Food Security in the Central African Republic (AID 013381/01/0) Call for Proposals, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). *Closing soon!* AICS is seeking a limited set of high-capacity humanitarian partners to deliver an integrated package that stabilizes essential health services while reducing acute malnutrition and strengthening food security resilience in priority areas of the Central African Republic. The funder’s logic is explicitly nexus-based: proposals should meet urgent, life-saving needs while reinforcing local systems, coordination mechanisms, and community-level capacity so results persist beyond the emergency window. AICS emphasizes inclusion and protection outcomes, expecting gender-sensitive design and explicit measures for groups facing compounded vulnerability, including women, children under five, internally displaced people, and people with disabilities. The call also signals a localization pathway, encouraging stronger collaboration with national NGOs and balanced partnerships, alongside clear coordination with existing cluster and humanitarian actors to minimize duplication and improve coverage. Geographies: Central African Republic (Bangui, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Lim-Pende, Lobaye). Who can apply: Non-profit organizations registered with AICS, plus eligible non-profits without an office in Italy that have a pre-existing collaboration agreement with an AICS-listed organization. Funding amount: Total pool EUR €1,800,000; max EUR €800,000 (single applicant) or EUR €1,000,000 (ATS). Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: malnutrition prevention and treatment, maternal and child health, community health services, food security and resilience, localization partnerships Deadline: May 5, 2026. Learn more and apply here. This call is structured to reward partners who can link frontline service delivery to system durability and localization, not just short-term coverage gains. Contracts for Innovation in drug and alcohol addiction healthcare, Innovate UK. *Closing soon!* Innovate UK, on behalf of the Office for Life Sciences Addiction Healthcare Goals program, is procuring R&D to accelerate innovations that can improve treatment outcomes, strengthen recovery, and reduce harm and deaths linked to drug and alcohol addiction. The competition is positioned as a market-facing readiness push: selected projects are expected to advance solutions toward later-stage validation, generate evidence of user acceptability and UK market fit, and map credible routes through regulatory and certification requirements. Innovate UK signals a preference for innovations that can be field-tested in relevant UK settings and progressed to TRL 6 or 7, with practical plans for commercialization after contract completion. This structure favors applicants that can execute most work in-house, co-develop with service providers and people with lived experience, and translate technical progress into deployable tools for addiction healthcare delivery. Geographies: United Kingdom. Who can apply: Single organizations of any size (including EU, EEA, or international) leading delivery, with most work and key deliverables carried out in the UK; subcontractors for specialist skills only. Funding amount: GBP £200,000–1.5 million per project (inclusive of VAT); Total pool: GBP £20 million (across two strands). Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: Mental Health, Health Systems Strengthening, Research & Development, Technology Access. Deadline: May 6, 2026 (11:00am). Learn more and apply here. This call uses procurement to pull near-market addiction innovations toward operational proof and adoption pathways in UK services.

May 4 • 3:59 AM EDT • Health • impactfunding.substack.com

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Spangram, Answers For Monday, May 4 (May The Forest Be With You)

Looking for help with today's NYT Strands puzzle? Here's an extra hint to help you uncover the right words, as well as all of today's answers and Spangram.

May 3 • 10:00 PM EDT • Technology • forbes.com

Real Madrid's Ferland Mendy injured in Madrid's win over Espanyol

Defender Ferland Mendy was injured 10 minutes into Real Madrid's 2-0 win over Espanyol in the Spanish league on Sunday. The 30-year-old Mendy, who has suffered a series of injuries this season, was a member of the French squad at the 2024 European Championship but hasn't been called up since then. Mendy has played only nine matches with Real Madrid this season.

May 3 • 6:35 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Real Madrid contacted former legendary manager to replace Xabi Alonso

Alvaro Arbeloa was the selected candidate to replace Xabi Alonso as the head coach of Real Madrid after the Spanish Super Cup in January.However, the former youth team manager has not enjoyed the best...

May 3 • 6:15 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

🚨No Mbappé or Courtois in Arbeloa's squad for Espanyol

Real Madrid need to win today in Cornellà if they don’t want to see Barça crowned LaLiga champions before El Clásico. There are many absences in the Real Madrid squad, who need a win tonight agai...

May 3 • 5:47 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

🗞️Today's front pages: Possible title-winning Sunday for Barça

Barça’s victory over Osasuna leaves everything now pending what happens today between Espanyol and Real Madrid.There is no other topic in the national sports press. Today, Barça can be crowned LaL...

May 3 • 3:27 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Guindos Rules Out Return to Politics After ECB Term Ends: Pais

European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos rejected the idea of returning to Spanish politics once his term ends in May.

May 3 • 3:06 AM EDT • Politics • bloomberg.com

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Spangram, Answers For Sunday, May 3 (Something’s Fishy)

Looking for help with today's NYT Strands puzzle? Here's an extra hint to help you uncover the right words, as well as all of today's answers and Spangram.

May 2 • 10:00 PM EDT • Technology • forbes.com

‘The reality, for better or worse’: Columbia comp sci students and faculty grapple with AI’s disruption of the field

‘The reality, for better or worse’: Columbia comp sci students and faculty grapple with AI’s disruption of the field ‘The reality, for better or worse’: Columbia comp sci students and faculty grapple with AI’s disruption of the field A field that once seemed like a direct path to stable, lucrative work is becoming less certain under AI, students and faculty told Spectator. By Ria Vasishtha and Arjun Menon May 3, 2026 Shanying Liu / Deputy Illustrations Editor Asia Genawi, SEAS ’29, first encountered artificial intelligence during her sophomore year at her high school in Indiana. Back in 2023, policies on AI varied widely—even within the same district—and some schools had no guidance at all. As Genawi began to see the effects of AI trickle into her classroom, she turned to guidance from her home state’s Department of Education, which she said she found “outdated and inaccessible.” Genawi spent the rest of her high school career dedicated to the issue, including writing a 15-page memo exploring varying AI policies across Indiana schools, which she sent to every Indiana state senator and representative whose contact information she was able to find. She later helped draft a bill that would have required public high schools to establish and share their own AI policies with students in an accessible format. But with so many other bills already awaiting referral, hers never made it to committee. When Genawi arrived at Columbia to study computer science, she found that the gaps she had spent years trying to address in Indiana had followed her there. Many students and professors were also grappling with what AI meant for the field. Across Columbia’s undergraduate schools, computer science has become the most popular major—accounting for around 11 percent of degrees awarded in Columbia College, 32 percent in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and 12 percent in the School of General Studies in 2024. While the number of computer science majors in SEAS grew from 166 to 173 during the 2024-25 academic year, the total number across the three schools fell around 4.5 percent from 393 to 375, driven by declines at Columbia College and General Studies. At Barnard, it has grown to become the second most popular major as of 2025, up from third the year prior. The number of degrees awarded have grown fivefold since 2016. Faculty members and students in the department told Spectator that the surge in the major’s popularity has been driven in large part by its apparent promise of a secure, well-paid career path. However, they noted that the recent rise of generative AI has compromised the sense of stability that once defined the field, even as interest in technical skills among students persists. According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 2024, out of 74 majors tracked, computer science had the fifth highest unemployment rate among majors at 7 percent, while computer engineering had the second highest at 7.8 percent. “Anecdotally, people are moving away from CS as a major,” Daniel Bauer, a senior lecturer in the computer science department, said. “They’re still taking some of our classes, right, because they think they need that, but they’re instead majoring in other things.” Bauer described a field that had shifted from what he called a “nerdy outlier discipline” to one that “everyone needs,” a sign that technical skills have become a baseline expectation across industries with the emergence of AI. “A lot of people thought, ‘Oh, it’s a guaranteed path to a stable income. You get a six-figure job right out of your undergrad,’” Bauer said. Now, companies may see AI as a way to reduce demand for entry-level programmers, especially in what he calls “code monkey jobs,” roles where a large number of employees are “just writing out code nine-to-five.” Chris Murphy, a senior lecturer in the computer science department, described the current moment as the convergence of two forces: the downturn of the job market and generative AI coming onto the scene. “Things kind of started to really pick up in 2014, 16,” he said, recalling the years after the weaker 2010 market. Murphy added that this was also a period where “students were getting more experience outside of class than they were inside of class” through internships, jobs, and side projects. Murphy suggested that the earlier momentum helped make computer science feel like both an academic program and a reliable pathway into work. That feeling is harder to sustain now as the industry reconfigures, which is a shift that students are seeing firsthand. Rebecca Yu, SEAS ’27, said that during a recent internship in Big Tech, she saw that “every single tech company was racing to integrate” large language models. She added that her manager said her intern class was the first to complete their assigned projects, which she attributed to the increased efficiency that comes with AI. Frank Liu, SEAS ’29, said that with AI lowering the barrier to coding, companies now expect everyone to write code. “A lot of companies outright say if you’re not using coding in your job, you might get fired for not being productive enough,” Liu said. Yu similarly expressed that students increasingly have to accept AI being a part of industry workflow, adding that many also “make use of it to maximize their productivity.” Richard Li, CC ’28, described a “franticness” among his peers as the pace of change accelerates. He explained how “some new tool” is released regularly, noting that tools rise and fall in prominence within weeks. He has come to believe that he doesn’t need to “match that speed all the time” and keep up with every development. Li has learned that AI tools allow him to “take a breath” and “get back into the loop much easier than before” when he needs to. While some companies specifically target Columbia when hiring, sending representatives to campus career fairs and recruiting large numbers from Columbia, a computer science degree cannot be treated as a static credential, Yu described. “You can’t just get your degree and stop learning after that. You have to always be learning,” Yu said. “That is something you basically have to expect for your job.” AI has not only affected students’ decisions to major in computer science, but also reshaped how the subject is taught. Across departments, faculty members no longer treat work done outside the classroom as a reliable measure of understanding, shifting instead toward in-person exams, quizzes, and attendance checks. While homework once made up as much as 60 to 70 percent of a student’s grade in computer science classes, Murphy said that breakdown has since flipped, with exams and quizzes now accounting for the majority. “The assumption—especially among pessimists—is that they’re using it to do their homework,” Murphy said. “They take the homework assignment. They put it into generative AI. Out comes the solution. Submit solution. The end.” Murphy said that faculty members ranged in their responses from fully prohibiting AI use to actively teaching students how to effectively work with AI. He said he shifted his approach this year after his teaching assistants called his belief that students weren’t using the technology “naïve,” and now permits students to use AI on assignments. His surveys of students in his introductory classes have told a more complicated story than the one so-called pessimists offer: Around 60 to 70 percent of students who reported using AI said they used it to have concepts explained to them, to clarify assignment instructions, to generate test cases, or to create practice questions. “Those are all ways that you might have had a tutor in the past to do that, and now you have this AI essentially as your tutor,” he said. Bauer has taken a different approach, teaching students how to use AI productively without sacrificing the core principles of the discipline. “People who are trained to actually use AI tools productively, while being in charge of designing the overall project, will be very much in demand in the next couple of years,” he said. Over the past year, a working group of computer science faculty has been redesigning the introductory and intermediate programming sequence to integrate generative AI as both a subject and a tool, representatives from SEAS wrote in a statement to Spectator. The effort is “coordinated” across the department, “not course-by-course,” with a systematic assessment of how AI integration is affecting student outcomes underway to shape the next round of changes. The goal, the department explained, is for students to be able to “read, verify, and reason about code, whether they or a model wrote it.” Tony Dear, senior lecturer in the computer science department, is piloting individualized AI feedback in a discrete mathematics course, while a machine learning course is also testing a Socratic AI dialogue system designed to “guide inquiry rather than supply answers,” the statement reads. Beyond individual courses, SEAS funded seven cross-departmental faculty projects in generative AI this past academic year, spanning biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, industrial engineering, and computer science, according to the statement. This phenomenon extends beyond the computer science department. SEAS’ new AI minor, which it announced in November 2025, reflects the University’s attempt to adapt. The minor is specifically designed for noncomputer science majors and aims to provide “essential AI knowledge” while emphasizing practical and responsible use across disciplines, according to the SEAS website. At the center of the minor is AI in Context, a course taught by a team of faculty from the departments of computer science, applied mathematics, philosophy, music, literature, and the Writing Center, the representatives told Spectator. Bauer described it as targeted at students who want to bring AI into fields like economics or biology, rather than as a path into software engineering itself. At the graduate level, SEAS announced a new Master of Science in artificial intelligence in February, with the inaugural cohort starting in the fall. While recognizing how AI has helped them navigate coursework, students also described its rise as isolating, even among members of the Application Development Initiative, one of Columbia’s largest computer science clubs. “As people start to ask AI for questions that they would normally ask students and members, it starts to isolate people” Li said. Alexa Kafka, BC ’27, echoed Li’s sentiment, pointing out that computer science has always been a collaborative discipline with code reviews and pull requests, even as AI makes independent work easier. Despite this, Kafka noted that she hasn’t been to office hours “in at least a year.” Bauer added that faculty are exploring long-term solutions to the assessment problem. “One of the things that we’re trying to do at the department or school level is to maybe move towards computerized testing facilities,” Bauer said, referring to ideas in the department to revitalize computer labs as an alternative to pen-and-paper exams. “We have to accept that this is the reality, for better or worse.” But more exams, students say, does not mean better learning, nor does it reflect how computer science is actually done. “Code is so variable and can be approached in so many directions, there’s never just going to be one correct answer. There can be multiple optimal solutions,” Kafka said. Students also expressed concern that the shift toward exam-heavy grading pulls focus away from the applied, project-based work that better reflects both discipline and industry expectations. ADI has tried to respond more quickly than the curriculum can. Through a vibe coding workshop this past semester, club members said they wanted to help students understand not just that AI exists, but how to use it deliberately. “Vibe coding” refers to the practice of prompting AI to write code for a task or project, and has become widespread enough that ADI felt the gap in formal instruction was worth addressing, according to Sophia Huang, BC ’29. The workshop introduced students to the concept of context engineering, which Shaina Sahu, SEAS ’27, described as not just writing a prompt, but optimizing “the rest of the relevant information that you would feed into the model.” Without that, students said that AI-generated code can fail at scale or introduce difficult-to-detect bugs. Genawi said the shift toward AI has changed what it means to be good at computer science. “I think the shift has kind of gone towards what can you create and what can you do, instead of, what do you know,” she said. Indeed, during ADI DevFest, its annual hackathon, Li said more teams are trying to complete their projects than in years past. While sign-ups have historically outpaced submissions, Li said this is beginning to change because teams “have a tool that completes the vision for them.” While many students see AI as an equalizer that lowers the barrier to entry for coding and technical work, Murphy said it also creates new equity concerns inside the classroom around who can afford stronger tools and who already knows how to use them. “The equity issues I worry about are students who have access to paid versions of things versus free versions of things,” he said. Although popular AI models like ChatGPT and Claude have free versions available, both have paid models that can reach over $100 per month, which output different qualities of code. Murphy also pointed to differences in prior exposure to AI literacy itself. “Students who go to high schools or K-12 education, where they’re taught AI literacy, prompt engineering, context engineering, they understand how to do this, as opposed to students who go to schools who don’t teach that,” he said. “Then they come in, and then they’re somehow expected to know how to use these tools.” For Genawi, those disparities begin long before students arrive on campus. “It’s very interesting to consider how lucky you were geographically,” she said. “To be born where you were is influencing your ability to get access to these spaces.” Students like Yu, though broadly apprehensive about the future of computer science, are not without hope. “I’m optimistic, because I think if you’re truly passionate about CS, there will definitely be a place in the field to do something you want to do,” she said. Senior Staff Writer Ria Vasishtha can be contacted at ria.vasishtha@columbiaspectator.com. Follow Spectator on X @ColumbiaSpec. Staff Writer Arjun Menon can be contacted at arjun.menon@columbiaspectator.com. Follow Spectator on X @ColumbiaSpec. Want to keep up with breaking news? Subscribe to our email newsletter and like Spectator on Facebook. Produced with Spectate by Emily Ta

May 2 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • columbiaspectator.com

3 Medical Routines That Older People May Not Need

Some screenings and treatments no longer make sense for patients as they age. Researchers have just added a few more to the list.

May 2 • 10:47 AM EDT • Health • nytimes.com

2026 Cram for the Exam AP Government & Politics Exam Review

Former C-SPAN Teacher Fellow and Troy, Michigan teacher Ryan Werenka and Petaluma, California teacher Kevin Jackson answered students' questions about the upcoming Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics Exam and shared tips on how students can best prepare for the test.

May 2 • 10:17 AM EDT • Politics • c-span.org

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Spangram, Answers For Saturday, May 2 (All The Right Moves)

Looking for help with today's NYT Strands puzzle? Here's an extra hint to help you uncover the right words, as well as all of today's answers and Spangram.

May 1 • 10:00 PM EDT • Technology • forbes.com

Carlos Alcaraz shows up in Madrid after tournament withdrawal

Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of the Madrid Open because of a wrist injury, but that didn’t keep him away from the event entirely. The Spaniard was spotted in the stands on quarter-final day.

May 1 • 11:08 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Every Bird Counts – Delivering Gold Standard Science for North America’s Birds

Each spring, as migratory birds span continents, our ability to protect them depends on one simple but powerful force: people paying attention. This World Migratory Bird Day, the theme “Every Bird Counts – Your Observations Matter!” underscores how everyday observers and community scientists provide the essential data that drives bird conservation.

May 1 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • usgs.gov

City of Vancouver and Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber launch grant program for Fourth Plain businesses -

Fourth Plain For All investment area The City of Vancouver, in partnership with the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber, has launched a new Small Business

Apr 30 • 5:08 PM EDT • Business • cityofvancouver.us

Scientists Rethink How Much Lifespan Is in Our Control

Research upending long-held estimates of genetic influence on lifespan could relieve the pressure to get all the lifestyle factors right.

Apr 29 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • medscape.com

Certain Floridians die more often of cancer and disease. Will AI make it worse?

More Hispanics in Florida went without healthcare in 2023 and 2024 at higher rates than the Black and white populations.

Apr 29 • 10:12 AM EDT • Health • miamiherald.com

Hispanic population experiences worst health care outcomes, access in Texas, report finds

A new report from the Commonwealth Fund found Texas has worse racial and ethnic health disparities than other states in the Southwest.

Apr 29 • 9:49 AM EDT • Health • houstonpublicmedia.org

Google Translate now lets you practice pronunciation

The feature is rolling out in the U.S. and India with support for English, Spanish, and Hindi.

Apr 29 • 8:34 AM EDT • Technology • techcrunch.com

Report: Arkansas worst in nation on healthcare for Hispanic residents

Arkansas ranks worst in the nation on health system performance for Hispanic residents, according to a new report that found existing racial and ethnic health disparities are likely to worsen in every state under recent federal policy changes.

Apr 29 • 6:00 AM EDT • Health • arkansasadvocate.com

Racial health gaps persist in Pa., N.J. and Del. as Medicaid cuts loom, report finds

The Commonwealth Fund’s 2026 State Health Disparities Report showed health care gaps were the greatest among Hispanic residents.

Apr 29 • 5:00 AM EDT • Health • whyy.org

San Francisco State University Partners with UC Law San Francisco to Expand Downtown Presence  - UC Law San Francisco (Formerly UC Hastings)

SFSU’s Lam Family College of Business will use classroom and office space at 198 McAllister Street to establish a new downtown campus. San Francisco State University (SFSU) and UC Law San Francisco have reached an agreement that establishes a new downtown home for SFSU’s Lam Family College of Business at UC Law SF’s Academic Village. The agreement places SFSU business students in close proximity to leading employers, industry partners and transit hubs, enhancing opportunities for internships, networking and career advancement. The UC Law SF Academic Village is a shared-campus model designed to foster collaboration among higher education institutions and contribute to San Francisco’s ongoing revitalization. San Francisco State University (SFSU) and UC Law San Francisco have reached an agreement that establishes a new downtown home for graduate business programs from SFSU’s Lam Family College of Business at UC Law SF’s Academic Village. The agreement creates a new downtown campus location for SFSU, giving students direct access to San Francisco’s thriving business environment. Beginning in Fall 2026, graduate business students will take classes at the UC Law SF building at 198 McAllister Street, at the nexus of the Civic Center, Mid-Market and Tenderloin communities. Under the agreement, SFSU will occupy 3,200 square feet of exclusive teaching and office space and will share additional classrooms with UC Law. The move positions students in close proximity to leading employers, industry partners and transit hubs, enhancing opportunities for internships, networking and career advancement. “This partnership is an example of the growing strategic collaborations that expand opportunities for our students,” said SFSU President Lynn Mahoney. “By situating graduate business programs in the city’s urban core, we will help students build connections, gain experience and achieve their goals for meaningful careers and upward mobility.” Students enrolled in select Lam Family College of Business graduate programs will have access to the Academic Village’s modern classrooms, conference facilities, library, study spaces and resident and event support services. The site also includes lounges, on-site dining and newly built, fully furnished, apartment-style housing for students and professionals. As institutional partners, SFSU College of Business students and alumni are eligible for tuition discounts if they enroll in the UC Law SF Master of Legal Studies program, designed for professionals whose work intersects with the law. “San Francisco State University is an excellent addition to our Academic Village, and we are excited to have the Lam Family College of Business join us in the fall,” said UC Law SF Chancellor & Dean David Faigman. “The partnership advances UC Law SF’s commitment to collaborate with California’s other great public schools and adds vibrancy and energy to the heart of the city. Our students and programs will benefit from the interdisciplinary opportunities that will arise.” The UC Law SF Academic Village is a shared-campus model designed to foster collaboration among higher education institutions and contribute to San Francisco’s ongoing revitalization. The Lam Family College of Business will begin occupying its new space there in July 2026, with classes beginning in August. The move continues SFSU’s longstanding presence in downtown San Francisco and reflects a broader effort to align academic programs with the needs of both career-minded students and the region’s expanding and evolving workforce. For more than 60 years, the Lam Family College of Business has delivered high-quality, AACSB-accredited business education across the San Francisco–Silicon Valley region. Its graduate programs — including the MBAand the STEM-designated Master of Science in Business Analytics and Master of Science in Accounting and Analytics — are designed to help students develop the skills they need to navigate the complex challenges of a global, data-driven economy. About San Francisco State University San Francisco State University is a public university serving students from the San Francisco Bay Area, across California and around the world, with nationally acclaimed programs that span a broad range of disciplines. More than 20,000 students enroll at the University each year, and its more than 304,000 graduates have contributed to the economic, cultural and civic fabric of San Francisco and beyond. Through them — and more than 1,300 world-class faculty members — SFSU proudly embraces its legacy of academic excellence, community engagement and commitment to social justice. For more information, visit sfsu.edu. About UC Law SF UC Law San Francisco is a public law school of the University of California, founded in 1878 as the first law school in the UC system. Located in San Francisco’s Civic Center, it offers a comprehensive legal education with a strong emphasis on experiential learning, public service and professional preparation. Through its Academic Village, UC Law SF brings together students, faculty and partner institutions in a collaborative campus environment in the heart of the city. Other Academic Village partners include UC San Francisco, UC Davis, the University of San Francisco and the University of the Pacific Dugoni School of Dentistry. For more information, visit www.uclawsf.edu.

Apr 28 • 11:00 AM EDT • Business • uclawsf.edu

Spanberger marks first 100 days with focus on healthcare, housing and energy affordability

Gov. Abigail Spanberger celebrated her first 100 days in office Monday in Richmond by touting her administration’s progress on healthcare, housing, and energy affordability measures. She had less to say, however, about the delayed state budget, which lawmakers haven’t finalized but must send to her desk for signature in the coming weeks.

Apr 28 • 5:25 AM EDT • Health • virginiamercury.com

‘The Neighborhood’ Star Hank Greenspan Teases Series’ ‘Bittersweet’ Ending

Find out if he wants to continue acting and more about his film, 'Ethan Bloom.'

Apr 27 • 8:30 PM EDT • Entertainment • nbcrightnow.com

Brain Health Across the Life Span: A Framework for Future Studies

This Scientific Statement focuses on the role of nonvascular physical and psychological factors that impact brain health, which is described as the optimal functioning of the brain across cognitive, emotional and behavioral domains throughout life.

Apr 27 • 8:00 PM EDT • Health • professional.heart.org

Record-breaking Sun Devil 100 class recognized during honoree luncheon

An abundance of maroon-and-gold pride filled the second-floor ballroom of the Omni Tempe Hotel on Friday, April 24, as a record-breaking cohort of alumni business leaders gathered to celebrate their Sun Devil roots.Each year, the Sun Devil 100 recognizes the fastest-growing Arizona State University alumni-owned or -led businesses across the globe, spanning all industries and sizes.

Apr 27 • 3:36 PM EDT • Business • news.asu.edu

Voyager 1 shuts off instrument to buy time before ‘Big Bang’ fix to extend the mission

The farthest spacecraft from Earth has shut down another instrument in the hopes of buying time for an upgrade that could boost the aging probe’s impressive lifespan.

Apr 27 • 12:18 PM EDT • Science • cnn.com

April 30 dual language science lecture will explore industry in space

Dr. Solange Massa, founder and CEO of Ecoatoms, will give a science lecture split into English and Spanish with translation available for both languages.

Apr 27 • 11:00 AM EDT • Science • unr.edu

Gossip: Man Utd keen on Simons

Manchester United are closely monitoring Xavi Simons' situation at Tottenham as they consider moving for the 23-year-old Netherlands midfielder in the summer. (Fichajes - in Spanish)

Apr 27 • 2:26 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Be part of the region’s real estate momentum

Special Promotion Four out of five of Business Report’s most-read stories focus on real estate—spanning commercial, residential, and industrial sectors. It’s a clear signal that our business community is actively seeking insight into the growth shaping the Capital Region. That’s why our June Real Estate issue remains one of Business Report’s most in-demand editions, spotlighting […]

Apr 27 • 2:00 AM EDT • Business • businessreport.com

Insider claims Barcelona star has decided to leave this summer

Barcelona could be set to part ways with multiple heavyweights this summer, as preparations are made for fresh blood to be added into Hansi Flick’s squad. Marc-Andre ter Stegen is a leading candidat...

Apr 27 • 12:40 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Learning From the Archives: Louisiana’s Long History of Reproductive Rights, Health and Justice Advocacy

Despite having some of the most restrictive laws and among the worst reproductive health outcomes in the nation, Louisiana has a long history of reproductive rights and justice advocacy that spans religious, racial and cultural lines. A recent archival exhibit hosted by the Newcomb Institute at Tulane University showcased physical and digital archival collections at Tulane, along with personal and organizational records from community partners, documenting a history of activism from the 20th century to today in Louisiana and the broader Gulf South. By placing items from the historical archives alongside materials from current community organizations, the exhibit offered a reminder of how long Louisianans have fought to expand and defend reproductive rights and justice within the state.

Apr 26 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • msmagazine.com

Pistons look to carry momentum into Game 3 vs. Magic

The Detroit Pistons almost were unrecognizable for the first six quarters of their first-round series against the Orlando Magic, but that all changed in the span of about eight minutes.

Apr 24 • 1:30 PM EDT • Sports • cbssports.com

A New Worry for Republicans: Latino Catholics Offended by Trump

In 2024, the president made significant inroads with Hispanics. But in a competitive Arizona congressional district, voters now express dismay at his feud with the pope.

Apr 24 • 5:02 AM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com

Defeated Virginia Republicans regroup for last chance fight to save House majority

Virginia's redistricting fight heads to the state Supreme Court after a judge declared ballot language unconstitutional and blocked certification.

Apr 23 • 2:28 PM EDT • Politics • foxnews.com

Feds probe 'missing scientists' list. Who has died, disappeared?

The cases span multiple years and include a patchwork of people from different backgrounds, circumstances and connections to classified material.

Apr 23 • 1:45 PM EDT • Science • usatoday.com

Va. lawmakers OK governor's tweaks to major energy bills, reject health and labor bill amendments

The amendments that lawmakers accepted to their bills will be incorporated before the measures become law. The ones that were rejected and sent back to Spanberger have an uncertain fate. She can choose to sign them as is, or veto them.

Apr 23 • 5:26 AM EDT • Health • virginiamercury.com

UNR opens three museums for Spring into Science, with fossils, robots and solar viewing

KRXI2 NBC Reno covers news, sports, weather and traffic for the Reno, Nevada area including Sparks, Carson City, Virginia City, Silver City, Stagecoach, Silver Springs, Sun Valley, Cold Springs, Spanish Springs and Fenley, Nevada and Truckee and Tahoe City, California.

Apr 22 • 11:32 PM EDT • Science • mynews4.com

SCRC activism exhibit revisits protests, politics for America’s 250th

SCRC’s newest exhibit, “We Demand!: A Legacy of Activism in America” revisits newspapers, photographs, speeches of protests in the United States. The collection spans from the 1850s to the late 2010s.

Apr 22 • 11:28 PM EDT • Politics • dailyorange.com

28 more Spanish Springs athletes sign on for college sports

Spanish Springs held a ceremony Wednesday to celebrate 28 athletes signing for college sports; eight others announced their intentions last fall.

Apr 22 • 6:02 PM EDT • Sports • rgj.com

Health Secy. Robert F. Kennedy Testifies on 2027 Budget Request

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on President Trump's 2027 budget request for the department.

Apr 22 • 2:00 PM EDT • Health • c-span.org

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger says she’s not surprised about narrow margin of victory for Dems in redistricting fight

Apr 22 • 1:23 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com