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Judge rules for UNC in lawsuit from fired business professor
A federal judge has ruled against a former University of North Carolina business professor who sued the school for retaliation and racial discrimination after his contract was not renewed in 2024.
CMS proposes updates to home health payments for CY 2027, updates to provider enrollment and quality and value-based purchasing programs
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services July 1 issued its calendar year 2027 proposed rule for the home health prospective payment system. The rule proposes a 2.4% update, which includes a 3.1% market basket update, reduced by a 1.0 percentage point cut for productivity, as well as an 0.3 percentage point increase related to outlier payments. In addition, the agency proposes a temporary cut of 3.0% that it states is necessary to achieve budget-neutral implementation of the Patient-driven Groupings Model.
The Supreme Court just made money matter even more
The Supreme Court ruled in NRSC v. FEC that political parties can spend unlimited amounts of money in direct coordination with their own candidates, further increasing the influence of money in pol…
Justices Hold Sex, Not Gender Identity, Matters in Girls’ Sports
Alliance Defending Freedom’s Kristen Waggoner says the decisions upholding Idaho’s and West Virginia’s women’s sports laws protect fair competition and the rule of law alike.
Supreme Court decision loosening campaign finance rules could be boon for Paxton in Senate race
Now permitted to spend freely in coordination with GOP candidates, national Republican committees can use their flush war chests to help candidates like Paxton close fundraising deficits.
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.
Lightfoot claims Bally’s work doesn’t violate revolving door rules
Joining Bally’s could help Lightfoot preserve one of her top achievements as mayor, but is hard to square with her reformer credentials, a top watchdog told Crain’s.
How the Supreme Court just rewrote the rules of politics
After years of political party power players like Senator Mitch McConnell trying to take control of national party purse strings to which candidates to help and how to shape the party, all it took was one ruling by the Supreme Court to change the way campaign politics is funded. Jen Psaki talks with Jim Messina, former campaign manager for President Barack Obama about how the Supreme Court's ruling changes the game in terms of how political donations are spent.
Supreme Court strikes down political party spending limits
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that campaign finance limits on political parties violate the First Amendment, a decision expected to increase the flow of money into the midterm elections.
Court rules N.Y. all-electric buildings mandate does not violate federal law
The law would new gas hookups in new buildings under seven stories before expanding to all new buildings.
Court rules N.Y. all-electric buildings mandate does not violate federal law
The law would new gas hookups in new buildings under seven stories before expanding to all new buildings.
The Roberts court knocks down one of the last campaign finance rules
Another win for billionaires. Another loss for democracy.
The End of Independent Federal Agencies Will Change Your Business
For executives, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Slaughter v. Trump will likely lead to less certainty and consistency for the regulated aspects of their businesses, with federal rules and their enforcement increasingly determined by political expediency rather than expert analysis. Specifically, there are five ways in which all U.S. businesses will be affected: regulation will become more informal and less transparent; consistency across administrations will disappear; oversight by Congress and the federal courts will be diminished; expert advice will be devalued; and politically-connected lobbyists will drive decision-making. In this environment, business leaders will need to plan accordingly, honing their ability to shift strategy, perhaps dramatically, after every election—and perhaps even during administrations.
Political parties can now spend unlimited money supporting candidates, after Supreme Court overturns decades of precedent
A huge amount of money flows into campaigns in the United States. For 20 years, the Supreme Court has been loosening rules for who can contribute and how much. It just loosened the rules again.
Dragon Age Lead Writer Condemns AI As A 'Virulent Plague'
David Gaider doesn't hold back when explaining why genAI is so bad for games development
Supreme Court strikes down Watergate-era limits on campaign funds for political parties
The Supreme Court ruled again that campaign funding is free speech protected by the 1st Amendment.
Supreme Court rules states can restrict transgender athletes’ sports participation in schools
The decision marks another legal setback for transgender youth as the Trump administration and Republican-led state legislatures have advanced policies limiting transgender rights.
Supreme Court sides with GOP, loosens campaign spending rules
The decision is the latest in which the Supreme Court has weighed in on campaign finance rules.
Supreme Court scraps check on money in politics at request of Vance, GOP
The GOP asked the Supreme Court to scrap a Watergate-era rule preventing donors from bypassing limits on what they can give federal candidates.
US Supreme Court upholds bans on transgender women in female school and college sports
It rules that states can ban transgender athletes from competing in women's and girls' sports.
Supreme Court makes ruling on trans athletes in women's sports
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to uphold West Virginia and Idaho laws requiring student-athletes to compete based on biological sex at birth.
Supreme Court rules against trans athletes in case over sports participation
The court ruled Tuesday that Idaho and Virginia did not discriminate against runner Lindsay Hecox or high school shot-putter Becky Pepper-Jackson in barring them from playing on teams that align with their gender identity.
Live Updates: Supreme Court Rules on Banning Transgender Athletes From Women’s Sports
The court’s decision involving laws from West Virginia and Idaho has implications for 25 other states with similar restrictions. Times reporters are reading it and providing analysis.
'Lilo & Stitch' star Daveigh Chase's father reacts to daughter's death from AIDS at 35
'Lilo & Stitch' and 'The Ring' actress Daveigh Chase's father offered a heartbreaking reaction to his daughter's death after the medical examiner's office ruled her cause of death to be AIDS.
Supreme Court could rule on birthright citizenship, transgender sports cases today
The Supreme Court is expected to release decisions on birthright citizenship and laws barring transgender girls and women from participating in school sports teams.
The Latest: Supreme Court is set to rule on Trump’s challenge to birthright citizenship
The Supreme Court will rule on the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’s order on birthright citizenship declaring that children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens.
Supreme Court to rule on birthright citizenship and rights of transgender athletes
The Supreme Court will hand down the final opinions of its term today. Follow for live news updates.
Georgia lawmakers give businesses a boost in court battles
A year after overhauling court rules to help companies avoid massive jury verdicts, Georgia legislators have made legal battles easier, shorter and cheaper for businesses.
US Sen. Dan Sullivan’s same-name challenger can be on primary ballot, Alaska Supreme Court rules
The Alaska Supreme Court on Monday ruled that a man with the same name and party affiliation as Alaska Republican US Sen. Dan Sullivan is qualified to run for the seat and ordered elections officials to place him on the August primary ballot.
Those with temporary protected status fear for what's next
The Supreme Court ruled to allow the Trump administration to end TPS for Haitian and Syrian immigrants.
Scientists Slam Trump Rule Change
Dr. Esen Sefik moved from Istanbul to New Haven 20 years ago because she believed the U.S. was the best place to do scientific research. Now, her advisees are wondering whether to stay in their home countries instead. Sefik described the U.S.'s changing research climate on Monday during a press conference about a proposed rule by the Trump administration that would require a political appointee to approve all discretionary federal grants.
Republicans call for Senate to pass SAVE America Act after mail ballot ruling
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled ballots postmarked by Election Day can be counted shortly afterward
Republicans call for Senate to pass SAVE America Act after mail ballot ruling
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled ballots postmarked by Election Day can be counted shortly afterward
Supreme Court rules MSU economist Lisa Cook can remain as Fed governor
The Trump administration sought to remove Fed governor Lisa Cook amid a push to get the U.S. independent central bank to lower interest rates.
Supreme Court rules states can count late-arriving mailed ballots, rejecting Trump-led challenge
The decision rejected a Republican-led attack on laws in more than half the states and the District of Columbia that permit mailed ballots to arrive and be counted some number of days after the election, provided they are postmarked by Election Day.
Supreme Court rules on Trump's attempt to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook
The Supreme Court ruled on President Donald Trump's bid to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, potentially reshaping presidential power over the central bank and economic policy.
Supreme Court rules mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day can be counted
A decision against such ballots could have upended election procedures in states across the country ahead of the midterm elections.
Supreme Court will weigh Trump-backed Republican push to revive Arizona voting laws
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Monday it will consider a Republican push to enforce strict Arizona voting laws passed in the swing state after the 2020 election. The high court has allowed some similar rules to take effect temporarily before, including Arizona's proof-of-citizenship requirement for state and local elections and a Virginia purge of voter rolls that the state said was aimed at keeping noncitizens from voting. READ MORE: Supreme Court rejects Trump's
Supreme Court rejects legal battle over New York's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers
The dispute arose after New York's Department of Health issued an emergency rule that required healthcare workers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The war against ‘woke’ could end US science as we know it
If this rule change goes forward, science in the U.S. as we know it will not exist anymore.
Serena Williams 'Hates' The New Rules Surrounding Tennis
A lot has changed in tennis over the course of Serena Williams' career. Williams, now 44 years old, will make her return this week. She'll play in Wimbledon, which starts on Monday. Williams' first round match is set for Centre Court at 11:20 a.m. E.T. on Tuesday. But as Williams is set to return ...
Entertainment Firms Face AI Copyright Uncertainty
Editorial analysis: For AI and ML practitioners, unclear copyright rules raise the legal risk and compliance cost of using generative models in production content pipelines. According to The Economic Times, Indian entertainment firms are investing heavily in AI for content creation, but current copyright law, which is tied to human creativity, may not clearly protect AI-assisted or AI-generated works. The Economic Times reports lawyers warn that, without specific legislation or case law, such works face risks of duplication and misuse, complicating licensing, attribution, and monetization for studios and creators. The article highlights that creators and rights holders in India currently have limited legal recourse under existing statutes, per The Economic Times.
Serena Williams describes ‘grueling’ anti-doping rules in tennis ahead of comeback
Under WADA rules, players have to submit to a test when the doping control officer requires them, even if it is outside their window.
Crusaders placed under transfer embargo by IFA
Crusaders have been placed under a transfer embargo by the Irish Football Association [IFA] after a breach of the Northern Ireland Football League [NIFL] rules and regulations.
What is extra time in the World Cup knockout stage? Complete rules explained
When a match ends in a draw in the single-elimination phase of a soccer tournament, an additional 30 minutes of play are required
With time running out, Trump digs in on changing midterm election rules
Fearing a Democratic takeover of Congress, the president has spent months trying to alter how the midterms will be conducted, but obstacles keep cropping up.
Pols & Politics: Why not make looser drinking laws for World Cup permanent, observers ask
Massachusetts relaxed its rules on public drinking to accommodate World Cup fans. One libertarian magazine is wondering why it isn’t permanent. Plus: Lawsuit to compel audit being considered.
Man with same name as U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan is eligible for Alaska's primary ballot, judge rules
The judge ruled that the division’s decision to exclude Dan J. Sullivan because his candidacy was not “in good faith” was not based on the Constitution, Alaska law or the division’s own regulations.
GOP candidate with same name as senator can stay on Alaska ballot, judge rules
Supporters of incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan say a challenger with the same name is not running in “good faith,” but a judge says that is not an issue.
Thanks, Obama: Reflections on a library and a presidency
The years since Obama left office have underscored for me just how important character, temperament and respect for the rule of law are for a president.
Andy Burnham distanced himself from UK Prime Minister Starmer, but may be stuck with his policies
Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester who was sworn into Parliament hours after Starmer announced his resignation on Monday, will be constrained by the platform the center-left Labour Party was elected on that decisively ended 14 years of Conservative rule in 2024.
Man with same name as US Sen. Dan Sullivan is eligible for Alaska’s primary ballot, judge rules
Man with same name as US Sen. Dan Sullivan is eligible for Alaska’s primary ballot, judge rules
Trump admin rule puts reproductive health care for 160K Pa. patients at risk, lawsuit says
A lawsuit says family planning and health organizations in Pennsylvania could face federal funding delays or denials due to a new Trump administration policy.
Trump admin rule puts reproductive health care for 160K Pa. patients at risk, lawsuit says
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and...
Post-Budget, Trenton Needs to Improve Rules of Engagement for NJ Business
By Michele Siekerka, NJBIA President & CEO It’s a tale as old as time in New Jersey. Far too often our state is at the bottom of the list of best
Man with same name as US Sen. Dan Sullivan is eligible for Alaska's primary ballot, judge rules
An Alaska judge has ruled that a man with the same name and party affiliation as Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan is eligible to challenge the senator in the August primary
This Week's 10 Must-Read Stories on Women in Politics: Title IX Anniversary, AI's Anti-Women Bias and Ranked-Choice Voting Victories
Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation is a weekly compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, on boards, in sports and entertainment, in judicial offices and in the private sector in the U.S. and around the world—with a little gardening and goodwill mixed in for refreshment! Published every Friday. —This week marked the 54th anniversary of Title IX. —As the Taliban approaches the five-year mark of its return to power this August, a rare protest in western Afghanistan last week laid bare both the brutality of its rule and the resilience of those living under it. —A woman will replace Eric Swalwell in California … but for not two more months. —A study of 133 AI systems found that 44 percent demonstrated gender bias, and more than a quarter showed both gender and racial bias. ... and more.
Burkina Faso cuts diplomatic ties with former colonial ruler France
The military government, in power since 2022 coup, accused France of having 'neo-colonial ambitions'.
Supreme Court rules in weedkiller cancer case
Dems want to unmask Eli Lilly's obesity drug user, a new genome-editing tool raises ethics questions, and more health news
Opinion | Don't apply politics to scientific research
Under recently proposed rules, federal grants could be terminated midstream for reasons having little to do with science or merit.
Proposed Changes to Grant Rules Threaten the Future of Research: Scientists Must Act Now!
The Trump administration is seeking to politicize US federal science funding, but collective action can stop this grantpocalypse from happening.
The Big Summer Preview – Chaos Arrives in the Old World
New miniatures, rules, and more revealed for Warhammer: The Old World.
The Big Summer Preview
See the new edition of Necromunda revealed, including miniatures, rules, and more.
Blue state leaders erupt after Supreme Court’s decision ending TPS protections for Haitians, Syrians
Supreme Court rules 6-3 in favor of Trump administration in two key immigration cases on Temporary Protected Status and asylum, drawing opposition from blue state Democrats.
2026 World Cup Is Putting FIFA’s Rules on Political Neutrality to the Test
The World Cup is in full swing across North America, and the U.S. men’s team faces Turkey in its final group round appearance on Thursday. But behind the cheering fans and nail biting matches, FIFA's commitment to political neutrality is put to the test. Marisa sits down with Tariq Panja, global sports correspondent at The New York Times. They dig into the politics behind the games, from restrictions on Iran’s team and President Trump’s unusually close relationship with FIFA president Giann
College Sports Commission to continue reviewing deals by multimedia rights companies
A judge ruled that multimedia rights companies that represent university athletic departments can continue to be subject to the same rules governing millions in third party name-image-likeness payments to players that are reshaping college sports.
College Sports Commission to continue reviewing deals by multimedia rights companies
A judge ruled that multimedia rights companies that represent university athletic departments can continue to be subject to the same rules governing millions in third party name-image-likeness payments to players that are reshaping college sports.
DC Wrap: Supreme Courts rules on immigration and gun cases
A look at the day's biggest stories in national politics
Making Our Own Luck
We are cross-posting a piece that former NIH official Kris Willis wrote for Macroscience. Kris is now the President and Founder of the Woodley Park Institute, for which I’m a board member. Picking winners or hedging bets? Federal science agencies have long wrestled with the question of how to ensure their billions of dollars of grants and contracts result in maximum benefits for Americans. On the surface, it might seem that a goal-oriented, interventionist style of management would be the best policy: prioritize our most pressing problems and distribute funding accordingly.This top-down strategy creates a unique hazard, though: bad choices can send resources in the wrong direction, resulting in slow progress that impedes the delivery of tangible benefits to citizens. Moreover, if decision makers pursue an applied advance when the underlying scientific principles remain poorly understood, they risk costly failures and a loss of support for the research enterprise at large. Examples include Nixon’s 1971 War on Cancer, undertaken on the premise that a cure could be achieved in less than a decade, the drive to build an operational commercial fusion plant by the mid-1990s, and the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease, which failed to produce the effective treatments and prevention strategies promised by 2025. The contrasting laissez-faire approach is to hedge your bets. If the path to an advance is impossible to predict, then the wisest choice might be to distribute funding to as widely as possible. The main risk of this strategy is that spreading funding thinly may limit the resources available to the most promising research, resulting in the same negative outcomes as the interventionist approach: limited support for the most promising topics, slow progress, and delayed returns. In reality, at science agencies like the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, program managers navigate between these two extremes, setting some funds aside to target high-priority areas and using the rest to cover the widest possible range of meritorious proposals. This middle path seems like the most rational way to proceed, but it still requires making choices. How much should be set aside for high priority topics? What should those topics be? How should we define merit? Expert opinion can provide a helpful guide, but leading experts can have remarkably different opinions about what matters and what should be prioritized. Moreover, experts and administrators alike can be risk averse, giving an edge to high-profile, well-established concepts. What’s really needed is a data-driven framework to help guide decision-making, one that doesn’t simply repackage prestige or incumbency. Recognizing breakthroughs years in advance Many breakthroughs fail to attract funding or recognition at the earliest stages of development. Katalin Karikó, for example, spent years struggling to win grants for work on mRNA that would eventually win her and Drew Weissman a Nobel Prize. Similar stories can be told about Jim Allison’s groundbreaking studies leading to the development of cancer immunotherapy, Stan Pruisner’s demonstration that prions can self-replicate without DNA, or Robin Warren and Barry Marshall’s proof that Helicobacter pylori, not stress, causes ulcers. Yet at some point, the scientific community recognizes and responds to transformative breakthroughs like these. How does that change happen? And what if science funders could identify the areas that are on the cusp of a breakthrough? Those questions led my collaborators and me to study how scientists responded to past breakthroughs. Based on patterns in that data, we developed a means of predicting future breakthroughs, using biomedicine as a proof of concept. It’s worth taking a moment to describe how our approach works. Briefly, our prediction process begins by grouping the 18 million or so peer-reviewed papers in PubMed, the authoritative database of biomedical research, into roughly 50,000 unique topics. A small subset of these topics are so widely acclaimed as breakthroughs that they have been recognized with a major prize like a Nobel or a Lasker Award. We theorized that studying the development of these outliers over time, especially before they gained acclaim, was the key to identifying future instances of them. After defining topics, we chose 21 representative breakthroughs and asked what they looked like before they won prestigious prizes. To answer that question, we re-ran our topic-mapping algorithm repeatedly, winding back the clock one year each time, stringing together the years to follow the progress of each field as it grew and advanced. We found that in each case, the years leading up to a discovery followed a pattern: a burst of papers on a new, rapidly evolving topic, many of which quickly became influential. These characteristics—the percent of papers that are new, the percentage of papers that are brought in from other topics, and the influence of each individual paper—can all be measured separately for any given topic. Together, they act as a predictive signal that is detectable an average of five years before a transformative discovery is made, and up to thirty years before the discovery receives a major prize. Scanning the current research landscape for topics that display this signal allows us to predict what work will likely produce a future breakthrough. Each year we analyzed includes four or five signals, a number that appears to have remained constant across a twenty year time frame. In their classic work on the sociology of science, Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar established that the desire to participate in a major discovery is an important motivator for scientists as they consider whether they should take up (or abandon) a research problem. Although further work is needed, the simplest explanation for our results is that this behavior is widespread enough to detect at scale. A foundational advance, or something like it, draws the attention of scientists and causes them to change the direction of their research. They vote with their feet, staking their own reputation and careers by publishing on and citing the new idea. That upswell of interest is the foundation of our breakthrough signal. What kind of research does our model identify as a breakthrough? After building a model based on the patterns in our 21 preselected breakthroughs, we tested it by identifying all early signals of discovery from 1994 through 1997. Of the 18 signals we found in that time period, 17 can be traced forward in time to a breakthrough. Examples include super-resolution fluorescence microscopy (see the image above), the directed evolution of proteins and enzymes (Chemistry Nobel, 2018), and sequencing the human genome (National Medal of Science, 2008). The discovery of the role of leptin signaling in obesity is a particularly interesting case study. Around 1950, scientists noticed the existence of a type of lab mouse that suffered from a unique inherited form of obesity. When given the freedom to choose their own diet, these mice ate more than normal and preferred food that was high in fat. Researchers had few clues as to why the animals overate; early experiments pointed to the existence of a soluble ob factor found circulating in the bloodstream that regulated appetite, but its identity was unknown. In 1994, Jeffrey Friedman and colleagues identified and sequenced the ob gene, noting that the protein it encoded appeared to fit the profile of a circulating factor. A year later, a trio of high-profile publications demonstrated that ob was a hormone that regulated body weight and fat deposition by regulating appetite. One of these was co-authored by Friedman, who christened it leptin from the ancient Greek word for thin. Using our model, the data from 1996 make it clear this advance would become a breakthrough. Scientists had flocked to study the biology of the new hormone, generating the flurry of new papers and citations required to produce a signal. One of these demonstrated that serum leptin concentrations reflected the amount of adipose tissue in the human body, providing clinical validation of the earlier mouse studies. Before the identification of leptin, scientists were unable to point to a specific molecule that controlled appetite and adiposity, so that it was impossible to rule out non-physiological causes of obesity; its characterization fundamentally changed our concept of weight gain. In 2010, Friedman and fellow pioneer Douglas Coleman were awarded a Lasker for the discovery. Our work also identifies breakthroughs in clinical practice and behavioral and social sciences, even though these areas are less likely to draw the attention of major prize committees. One example that falls into this category is the introduction of endovascular aneurysm repair, a minimally invasive surgical procedure for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm, a leading cause of death among Americans over the age of 65. Relative to the previous standard of care, it reduces in-hospital mortality by almost four-fold. In 2017, Timothy Chuter received the American College of Surgeons’ prestigious Jacobsen Innovation award for his multiple refinements to the technique. Another under-recognized breakthrough identified by our model is the development of standardized survey instruments to assess the quality of life for HIV+ patients. The antiretroviral cocktails introduced in the mid-1990s reduced AIDS mortality, but treatment came with serious side effects. The new evaluations showed that patients whose disease progressed had worse physical functioning than Americans with other chronic diseases, while those who were asymptomatic maintained a health-related quality of life on par with the overall US population. This evidence made it possible for patients and activists to argue that even in the absence of a total cure, and in spite of the side effects, alleviation of symptoms was a worthwhile priority for clinicians. My colleagues and I have failed to identify any significant recognition for the physicians and health policy experts who pioneered this advance, although in 2016, researchers called for the World Health Organization to set targets for good health-related quality of life as part of its framework to end the AIDS pandemic. From forecasting to funding How should science funders use our predictions? Any serious discussion of what we should do with this new capability needs to begin with an understanding of its limitations. We can’t (and shouldn’t) invest all of our resources in the small number of topics predicted to produce breakthroughs. Innovative new fields are born from existing ones; they rarely arise de novo. If funders don’t maintain a diverse portfolio, the breakthroughs of tomorrow will have no antecedents. Think of this as eating the seed corn, or killing the goose that lays the golden egg. There are also multiple goals of funding beyond basic scientific discovery, including translating discoveries into clinical practice, developing new technologies, supporting economic development, and training new scientists. The investments needed to accomplish these goals are likely different from those required to support emerging breakthroughs. Finally, we must be aware that we may not capture every instance of a breakthrough. The concept is fuzzy, and not every significant discovery is recognized with a major award. Further, breakthroughs are rare, meaning that our dataset is, by necessity, small. This makes formal estimates of accuracy challenging. Although our overall success rate appears to be high, any one signal may turn out to be a false positive. We found one apparent example: the development of the third generation COX-2 inhibitors, Vioxx and Celebrex, which were much celebrated in the early 2000s as effective but non-addictive pain relievers, meets all the algorithmic criteria of a breakthrough. Five years after it received FDA approval, researchers demonstrated that Vioxx was associated with serious cardiovascular complications, and the manufacturer voluntarily pulled the drug from the market. Celebrex remains available, although like other NSAIDs, it carries an FDA warning for increased cardiovascular risk. Decision makers who were overly focused on the breakthrough potential of this research might have wasted substantial resources nurturing an area that ultimately proved to be a failure—but so would those who relied on expert opinion at the time. That said, the potential benefits of funding the next mRNA vaccine or cancer immunotherapy years earlier than we might have are large. When we can’t assume the outcome of an action, it’s worth conducting an experiment. Can targeted support for areas that are poised to produce a breakthrough increase the return on scientific investment without cannibalizing future advances? With the necessary administrative infrastructure in place, conducting this experiment would be straightforward. First, identify all the breakthrough signals between 2018 and 2023, select half at random, and commit to a decade of investment. For biomedicine, a six year window should yield about 30 topics with the potential to produce a breakthrough. Providing strong support to half of these might be accomplished for $300 million a year. That’s roughly half of the recent annual budget of the NIH Common Fund or around 20% of the fiscal year 2025 budget for ARPA-H. After five years, then again at ten, compare to see which group — the one that was actively managed, or the control — produced more breakthroughs, and on what timescale. Although we used biomedicine as an example, the same experiment could just as well be run for physics, materials science, or any other discipline. Any attempt to undertake such an experiment should keep three points top of mind. First, we can predict the topic of future breakthroughs, but the people and vision for how to move the work forward are still important. In practice, this means success requires active program managers with the expertise to develop the science and the authority to do so, including by recruiting investigators. Second, we would be wise to learn from the failures of past attempts to fund transformative research. High among these are funding modestly repackaged work, confusing the genuinely novel with the merely unfamiliar, and relying too much on incumbent investigators. All of these risks can be mitigated by thoroughly and intelligently integrating high quality data into portfolio management. Finally, we need to have patience. Even with strong funding support, producing a breakthrough takes time. If supporting breakthroughs is the best way to nurture the birth of new fields, we also need to accurately describe and properly manage the other two stages, so that we invest wisely throughout the productive lifetime of ideas and divest once they reach the point of diminishing returns. We would benefit from more study of all of these phases, especially the transition from one to another. More research could answer questions like: When does a breakthrough become an established field? How do the availability of funding, the size and characteristics of the available workforce, and the accumulation of evidence that disagrees with prevailing models affect a field’s decline? Exactly how do old ideas give birth to new ones, and can we speed up the process? The more we understand about the dynamics of scientific progress, the better we can maximize the odds that our curiosity leads to results. I’d call that finding a way to make our own luck.
Following IAM Union Advocacy, Kansas PERB Orders Count of Timely Cast Ballots in KU Health System Pharmacy Technician Union Election
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Following weeks of advocacy from the IAM Union, Pharmacy Technicians, elected officials and community supporters, the Kansas Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) has ruled that 37 previously uncounted ballots will be included in the final tally of the recent union representation election involving Pharmacy Technicians at the University of Kansas (KU)
Roundup: Shift in NIL / BlackBerry transitions / Agriculture aid
More inclusive: A recent NCAA rule change is shifting name, image and likeness opportunities away from only the biggest star athletes to a wider range of student-athletes. The update gives schools more structured involvement in managing and facilitating NIL deals, which reduces some of the previous free-for-all environment. As a result, athletes who are not […]
The Supreme Court lets Trump deport people back to war zones
Trump’s administration may ignore procedural rules governing many of the most endangered people in America.
SBA’s Proposed Update to the 8(a) Business Development Program: A New Approach to Social Disadvantage
On June 11, 2026, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) published a proposed rule that would fundamentally alter how individuals qualify as “socially
Graham Platner backs legal maneuver using Maine law to rein in political spending
Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Graham Platner wants to overturn the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that enabled corporations and other outside groups to spend unlimited money on elections by any means possible. He supports a constitutional amendment and ethics rules on the high court, which the Sullivan oyster farmer included in his latest policy rollout […]
Fed Rule Effectively Puts Automaker Polestar Out Of Business In The U.S.
Volvo’s upscale electrified division pulls the proverbial plug on future U.S. sales because of its ties to China.
Supreme Court hands Trump two major immigration victories
Supreme Court rules migrants turned away at the border cannot apply for asylum and blocks TPS recipients from judicial relief in two major decisions.
Major part of student-loan repayment overhaul is blocked in court
A federal court ruled that the Education Department's proposed borrowing caps for advanced healthcare programs cannot take effect on July 1.
Scientists uncover terrifying 19-meter sea monster that once ruled ancient oceans - Futura-Sciences
When the Deep Was Ruled by Monsters For decades, Hollywood has served us ferocious tyrannosaurs and sneaky raptors on a silver screen. But let’s not forget: the oceans of the prehistoric world had their own undisputed terrors lurking below. So move over, land-based giants—it’s time for a real-life kraken to...
Greenville sports fans discuss new NCAA eligibility rules for Division I athletes
The new model would eliminate redshirt years and waivers, making eligibility more concrete.
WATCH: Under proposed rule, USPS won't deliver mail ballots to states that don't provide voter rolls, postmaster general says
Postmaster General David Steiner told a Senate committee Wednesday that, if a proposed rule is adopted, the U.S. Postal Service would withhold mail ballots from states that do not hand over to the federal government lists of people who have requested absentee or mail ballots.
Suit alleges new NCAA rule unfair to high school Class of 2022
Less than 24 hours after the NCAA Division I Cabinet approved a monumental change in eligibility rules, a group of 15 college basketball players filed a lawsuit iclaiming the new age-based model unfairly shuts them out of further competition.
Downtown Middletown businesses say vacant storefronts continue to hold city back
Vacant storefronts have been a challenge in downtown Middletown for years, and some business owners say a lack of enforcement on existing rules has allowed the problem to continue.
Apple tells Siri AI to clearly refuse requests to summarize URLs
A new rule added to Siri AI’s system prompt in iOS 27 beta 2 changes how it should handle requests involving extracting or summarizing content behind a URL.
Potential vote could change alcohol rules in Bardstown Road entertainment district
A political effort is underway that could put the liquor status of the Bardstown Road entertainment district on the ballot this fall, a move that could bring major changes to businesses in the area.
Propsal to limit lobbying in city of San Diego politics moves forward
The San Diego City Council’s Rules Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to direct staff to begin drafting a proposed ethics reform package aimed at lobbyists and dark money.
USF football and all sports will feel a big impact under new NCAA eligibility rule
Players in all sports will have five years to complete five seasons. Redshirts and medical extensions are going away.
Bangor council rejects proposed rules limiting ICE cooperation
One councilor left abruptly in protest during a heated discussion over ICE.
Google’s new rules for the app store will allow alternative billing next week
The new rules are (almost) here.
NCAA panel approves new eligibility rules giving Division I athletes 5 years to play 5 seasons
The Division I Cabinet unanimously approved the change from the longstanding tenet of college sports that gave athletes five years to complete four seasons of competition with their eligibility clock starting at the time of enrollment, regardless of age.
EU Proposes Tax Simplification Measures in Bid to Boost Business
The European Union unveiled a new package to overhaul the bloc’s tax rules on Wednesday, the latest effort by Brussels to cut red tape and reduce the regulatory burden on business.
NCAA's New Eligibility Rules Affect Transfers, Rosters And Playing Time
NCAA's new eligibility model was approved on Tuesday, and it affects everything from transfers, playing time and rosters.
Automakers could halt car sales in California without delay in vehicle tracking law
A group representing major automakers warned on Tuesday that car companies may be forced to halt sales of both new and used vehicles in California on July 1 unless the state delays vehicle technology rules that aim to prevent perpetrators of domestic violence from tracking survivors.
Biden judge overruled on key Trump immigration policy
Federal appeals court revives Trump administration's nationwide expedited removal policy, allowing fast-track deportations of eligible illegal immigrants.
Hot chicken is OK, but soda isn’t? Battle over SNAP scrambles red-blue politics.
Both parties have been enacting state-level bans on using SNAP benefits for soda and candy. On Monday, a federal judge said the new rules violate federal laws governing the food program.
NCAA votes to approve age-based five-year eligibility rule, reshaping college football, basketball landscapes
Under the new rules, all college athletes will have five years to play five seasons
Lead Maine petitions DHHS to adopt new Medicaid rules
Libby emphasized that neither initiative would cut benefits or eligibility for MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program that spends more than $1.4 billion a year and serves 400,000 Mainers.
Trump effort to expand speedy deportations of migrants can proceed, appeals court rules
A federal appeals court handed President Donald Trump a significant win in his mass deportation efforts with a ruling Tuesday reviving his administration’s move to speed up deportations of undocumented immigrants in the United States.
Trump administration front-loaded science cuts, tracking tool reveals
The Union of Concerned Scientists' new tool documents administration rollbacks in rulemaking, personnel and funding.