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Shawnee, KCK chambers host World Cup marketing workshop for local businesses
Business owners are learning strategies to reach diverse audiences ahead of a major sporting event.
Rollback of state minority business program will damage Harris County’s tax revenue, legal filing says
The comptroller's action, according to the lawsuit, will damage the stability of the county's procurement system, narrow the universe of potential bidders and reduce investment, workforce development and tax revenues in Harris County. The comptroller's office could not immediately be reached for comment.
Known unknowns
We asked some of Harvard’s leading thinkers to tell us what they still don’t know, and what the answers could mean for humanity.
The Boundless Deep: Young Tennyson, Science, and the Crisis of Belief by Richard Holmes
Pantheon Review by Walter Cummins The image of Alfred Tennyson I’ve carried for decades goes back to the childhood card game of Authors that depicts him with a stately continence sharpened by a jutting black beard. He’s formidable, his aura superior. Holmes opens his biography of the youthful Tennyson by describing the similar formality of the imposing Tennyson statue at Trinty College Cambridge, sharing the honor with other Trinity greats, including Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, and Thomas Babington Macaulay. Holmes doesn’t want to chip away at that statue but rather reveal its inner youthful core of the man—tall, handsome, and talented but unformed, emerging from a disturbed family of addicted or insane male siblings and four unusual sisters struggling under a violent alcoholic clergyman father. Alfred was certainly statuesque, but would he end up a block of unformed stone like his equally promising brothers? He was youngest of three equally regarded Tennyson brothers at Cambridge, all bright, handsome, and talented, in fact Alfred regarded by some as less promising than his elders who also wrote poetry. Yet Alfred wrote one of his major poems, “The Kraken,” at twenty, revealing both his talent, his interest in geological forces, and the haunting creature that embodied his anxieties. While Holmes focuses on Tennyson of the 1830s and 1840s, he can’t tell his story without exploring his involvement with the Victorian intellectual upheaval. Tennyson was fascinated by new scientific perspectives, following the latest findings as soon as books and articles were published. He was especially taken with Charles Lyell’s deep studies of geology and the discovery of fossils and a timeline of the planet’s development that did much to question fundamental religious assumptions. The impact of these discoveries is reflected in Tennyson’s poetry and led to the crisis in belief he shared with so many contemporaries. He was especially taken by the cycles of destruction and renewal that informed the struggles he confronted in In Memoriam, Maud, and Idylls of the King. Tennyson was only one of the eventual major figures at Cambridge at the same time, young men just beginning to realize their potential. Charles Darwin was at Christ College, although there is no evidence that he and Tennyson even met as students or later in life. Yet evolution became significant in Tennyson’s thinking and the issues of his poetry. One of Tennyson’s best and most important Cambridge friends was Edward FitzGerald, who became the translator of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám and in their on and off relationship served as Tennyson’s harshest critic. FitzGerald was also a friend of the novelist William Makepeace Thackeray, the two of them partying in Paris as undergraduates. That connection led to a friendship between Thackeray and Tennyson. Others who came to play significant roles in Tennyson’s life were Thomas Carlyle, the Brownings, and the Pre-Raphaelites. Tennyson’s deepest friend at college was Arthur Hallam, who at twenty wrote a glowing review of Tennyson’s first poetry collection, travelled on European adventures with him, and fell in love with his sister Emily. Hallam was also regarded as one more very promising Cambridge student. His sudden death at twenty-two in Vienna from a stroke while travelling with his father devastated many friends, but perhaps Tennyson most of all. He did not write immediate poems of grief but took years to compile those collected in In Memoriam A.H.H., published in 1850, almost twenty years after Hallam’s death For all of Tennyson’s early poetic successes and successes, Holmes reveals him as an often troubled young man suffering periods of depression, fearing planetary upheaval, concerned about supporting himself, disappointed in romances, and worried that he would inherit the family’s mental illness tendencies. Yet despite his seeming withdrawals, he was always writing poetry that he kept private and would not let go, constantly revising. 1850 became a transformative year for Tennyson. He finally consented to publishing In Memoriam with a last-minute prologue that acknowledged God and perhaps convinced the religious Emily Sellwood to marry him after years of pursuit.. He opened up to Emily, revealing his struggles with fears of depression and “weird seizures.” The devastating event of that time was the stillborn death of his unnamed first son. It shook him, but Emily’s faith brought them closer and convinced him to believe in an afterlife. Two later sons survived. With the death of William Wordworth in April of 1950, Tennyson was named poet laureate at age forty-one, reluctantly accepting. It’s as if Tennyson’s life split in half in that year. He lived another forty years, now a recognized success, with the prestige of being an official poet writing patriotic verse, wealthy and revered, no longer the insecure young man seeking an outlet for his immense talent. He earned a place in the Authors deck, now dignified and in 1884 elevated to the peerage as Arthur, Lord Tennyson. Richard Holmes is the author of twenty previous books on the Romantics and Victorians, several of which received awards. The Boundless Deep was shortlisted for the 2025 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. He captures the complex vicissitudes of Tennyson’s youth, illustrated by frequent excerpts from the poetry, placing that life in the full context of the shattering discoveries that led to an upheaval of thought in the Victorian age.
African frogs haven’t forgotten the ice ages. Scientists can tell by where they live.
Why are frogs diverse in some parts of Africa’s rainforests and less so in others? The patterns of cooling and glaciation during the last ice age would probably not have been your first answer or even your last-ditch guess, but it is, nonetheless, correct. “When the glaciers were at their maximum
Astronomers Find the "Most Pristine" Star Yet
The newly identified star carries almost no heavy elements, making it a rare surviving relic from the universe’s earliest chapters.
Ella Duggan Promoted to Branch & Business Development Manager at The Merrimack
Merrimack County Savings Bank (The Merrimack) congratulates Ella Duggan on her promotion to Branch & Business Development Manager. In this role, Duggan will oversee branch operations while continuing to serve Contoocook and its small business community. “Ella’s promotion is well-earned and reflects her consistent growth over the years,” said Michelle Olivier, RVP Branch Manager at The Merrimack. “I’m […]
Fixing Health Care’s Affordability Crisis
In a rare display of bipartisan alignment, Ezekiel Emanuel and Brian Blase decried health care’s “perverse incentives” and monopolistic practices
Physicists moved volatile antimatter by truck for the first time ever — paving the way for groundbreaking new research
CERN scientists transported antimatter by truck for the first time, enabling ultraprecise studies that could reveal why matter dominates the universe.
MLS leads North American men's sports with youngest & most diverse player pool
Major League Soccer features the most diverse and youthful player pool among the top men’s professional sports across North America, with players from 78 countries across six continents represented on 2026 rosters.
Dental student died in ICU overseen by remote 'tele-health' physician: lawsuit
Scientists found a “lost world” of animals that shouldn’t exist yet
A remarkable fossil discovery in southwest China is rewriting the story of how complex animal life began, showing that many key animal groups appeared millions of years earlier than scientists once believed. Dating back over 540 million years, the fossils reveal a surprisingly diverse and advanced ecosystem from the late Ediacaran period—before the famous Cambrian explosion. Among the finds are early relatives of starfish, worm-like creatures, and even ancestors of animals with backbones, suggesting that the roots of modern life were already taking shape.
Why did Jackson keep new public safety director appointment quiet?
When Jackson officials appointed Charles Terefenko to run town hall why did they line him up to oversee public safety and not tell the public?
Stephen Miller Is Still Pursuing His Immigration Agenda, but More Quietly
Far from acknowledging defeat, Stephen Miller appears to have adjusted his strategy in an effort to minimize political fallout. He has remained steadfast in his view that the administration should act to reverse openness to migration.
Study Reveals the Single Cause of Cognitive Decline—and a Cure
Researchers pinpoint a lone protein that speeds up the dysfunction of an aging brain. Eliminating it, they claim, can reverse the damage.
'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie' & 'Avatar 3' Leak on Twitter
If you're still hanging around on Twitter, you've probably seen 'Avatar 3' and 'The Super Mario Galaxy' leaks on there. Second verse...
What to know about the Kansas sports authority that will oversee the new Chiefs stadium
Kansas lawmakers have voted to create an 11-member sports authority to carry out a $3 billion stadium deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. Here's a guide to the sports authority's responsibilities, membership and more.
What is the Insurance Commissioner responsible for?
Before you vote, we want to explain what exactly the Insurance Commissioner oversees.
A Dermatologist Told Me How This LED Device Reverses Thinning Hair so Well, a Reviewer Saw “3 Inches of Growth”
A reviewer saw three inches of hair growth after using CurrentBody’s LED Red Light Hair Growth Helmet, and a dermatologist explains how. Shop it for $860 on the brand’s website.
Album Review: 6WA by BigXthaPlug & 600 Entertainment
BigXthaPlug spent eight months in Nashville making a country-rap album that debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, put “All the Way” with Bailey Zimmerman at No. 4 on the Hot 100, got him a Rolling Stone cover, and filled arenas with Jelly Roll. And then he came back to Dallas, rounded up four of his signees, and made a gangsta-rap record with N.W.A’s Straight Outta Compton on the cover. 6WA is the second group release from 600 Entertainment, named after the 600 block of Meadowridge Street in Ferris, Texas, where BigX and his people grew up. The whole thing is loaded with West Coast samples. From N.W.A.’s “8Ball,” Eazy-E’s “Real Muthaphuckkin G’s” and “Boyz-N-The-Hood,” Ice-T’s “6 in the Mornin’,” Snoop Dogg’s “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang” and more. BigX is staking his name on the lineup he built—Rosama, MurdaGang PB, Yung Hood, KevanGotBandz, KaineMusic—and claiming a lineage from 1,400 miles away while insisting Dallas is its own thing. A million dollars in cash, split and handed straight to his mother. That’s the first place BigX goes on “From the Bottom.” He’d probably still be in the streets if he didn’t have his son and daughter. He only started rapping to make life better for Carter. Couldn’t start his car back then, now people get starstruck at Starbucks, and he throws the whole field away in one sentence: “How you think we competin’? You on the same bag, I just made me some millions off country.” Goyard bags off a Nashville payday, and he wants you to know exactly how far he’s come from everybody else. “Safe to Say” does something similar but looser. It’s a straight Ice Cube “It Was a Good Day” flip, and BigX nails it. Wakes up, checks both phones, nobody’s locked up, kid accounts look good. Gets pulled over, only catches a warning. Pulls up on the squad to liquor, ladies, and haze. Rosama takes the second verse and matches him. Wakes up to his girl cleaning his cuticles, twins playing peekaboo, pays off his car, calls a cousin, sees the opps and they don’t trip. Lawyer calls, he beat his case. Rosama is the strongest voice in the 600 camp after BigX, and “Life of a Gangster” is why. Third person, riding low, blacked-out windows, snub-nose revolver. A character who chose sticking people up over selling dope. “Quick eraser like a number-two pencil.” He never breaks character, and his delivery drops lower and slower than anything he does on the group cuts, like he’s telling you something at a cookout that he probably shouldn’t. Then on “Long Live Fre$h” he’s a completely different rapper. “Short-bus diamonds, these bitches retarded,” wide-body Durango he can’t even park. That kind of range matters on a group record. MurdaGang PB’s best verse is on the title track. Feds at his door at 6 AM, cameras busted, flushing dope, ram truck putting everybody on the floor. Yung Hood on “The Hottest” just lays out four reasons to keep hustling. Who wants to be broke, women cost money, you need bail, and home has to be straight. It’s funnier and more honest than most rappers get when they’re trying to explain why they sell drugs. KevanGotBandz on “Ain’t Never Slowin’ Down” talks about his father getting caught on the dope while he’s sitting on $300K somewhere in the hills, which is a specific kind of guilt that doesn’t usually make it onto crew tapes. KaineMusic, the newest signee, takes the back half of “Who Dunnit” and introduces herself in third person—“Took flight just to show these hoes how to perform”—but it’s too short to know if she can hold a full song. The flex tracks fill the middle of the LP and mostly run together. “I Go” is Rosama and PB trading brands, guns, and food punchlines. Rosama’s “anemic, my iron tucked low in this shirt” is a slick gun bar, PB fires back with “.223 with a clip ‘bout as big as a toddler” and “I go Burger King, stay with that whopper.” Quick, funny sometimes, but it’s all shopping lists. “Dopeman” is a chant. “6ixer Party” brings Snoop Dogg, who does exactly what you’d expect Snoop Dogg to do. BigX contributes the night’s wildest overshare: “She say she brought a friend too, well, I’m tryna put sausage on her dental.” These songs move fast and don’t overstay, but three or four of them could trade verses and nobody would catch it. Midway through, The D.O.C. shows up for a spoken-word interlude. Tracy Curry. West Dallas native, former N.W.A affiliate, co-writer on a lot of the records getting sampled on this very album. He thanks BigX for the tribute and then gets direct: “This your time, this DFW time. You need to do it like we do it down here.” Leave bread crumbs so everybody behind you can eat. Keep God in your life. It’s fatherly and generous, and it does raise the question of whether 6WA follows that advice. The album borrows heavy. The cover art, the Eazy-E samples, “Amerikkka’s Most Wanted” opening with a direct “Boyz-N-The-Hood” lift, Yung Hood rapping “Flag on my left side, Crip until I die.” But the stuff that actually stays with you is Dallas. BigX talking about Pleasant Grove, Rosama calling himself a country boy, PB recounting a raid that could’ve been last Tuesday. The record smells most like itself when it smells like Ferris, Texas, and least like Compton. BigX on “The Hottest” says his father was the first person he knew who had chickens. Not the way rappers usually wave at the drug trade. He means his actual father, his actual family. On “600 Degrees,” Rosama compares his chopper’s stutter to a speech disorder, PB claims he still has the block on his back even after leaving the city. BigX closes that one saying he used to spin and smack, and now the plaques are platinum. Thirty-two minutes was right for this. Nobody overstays, Tony Coles and Rance and Charley Cooks keep the production punchy, and BigX gives his signees real room instead of crowding every song. 6WA doesn’t reinvent anything. Five rappers, good beats, short clock. Most of what they say you’ve heard before. Some of it—the million to his mother, the cuticles and peekaboo, the four reasons to hustle—you won’t forget. Solid (★★★½☆) Favorite Track(s): “Safe to Say,” “From the Bottom,” “The Hottest” Subscribe
This exploding star was spotted doing something weird. Now scientists think it might have solved a key cosmic theory | BBC Sky at Night Magazine
New evidence proves these magnetic monsters are the secret engines behind the Universe’s biggest explosions
Students found a star from the dawn of the universe drifting into the Milky Way
A group of undergraduate students stumbled into a cosmic time capsule—one of the oldest stars ever discovered—while combing through massive astronomy datasets. What began as a class project quickly turned into a breakthrough when they spotted an extraordinarily “pristine” star made almost entirely of hydrogen and helium, hinting it formed near the dawn of the universe.
Pure entertainment now streaming in Women’s Storytelling Festival
The annual celebration of diverse spoken-word artists is available online until April 28, and ticket sales close April 8.
Palumbo family business secrets revealed in settlement agreement with IDOT
It turns out there were more connections than previously known between Sebastian "Sam" Palumbo, his construction firms and a road-building group overseen by relatives known as Builders Companies. But the firms insist those ties didn't violate Palumbo's agreement not to participate in state or federal contracts following a 1999 guilty plea in a racketeering case.
What to know about the Kansas sports authority that will oversee the new Chiefs stadium
The 11-member group will oversee one of the largest economic development projects in the state’s history. We put together a guide to the sports authority's responsibilities, membership and more.
Matsui, Vang clash over health care, campaign finance, Gaza in packed forum
Mai Vang said Rep. Doris Matsui does not support Medicare For All. Matsui said she’s not adverse to it.
Deafness reversed: One injection restores hearing in just weeks
A new gene therapy is giving people born deaf the chance to hear, often within just weeks. In a small but groundbreaking study, researchers delivered a working copy of a key hearing gene directly into the inner ear using a single injection. All ten patients, ranging from young children to adults, experienced improved hearing, with some showing rapid gains in just one month.
Found: Most pristine star in the universe
A record-setting pristine star provides a window into the dawn of stars and galaxies in the universe. This groundbreaking find connects the work of two telescopes at Carnegie Science's Las Campanas Observatory—the du Pont, where spectra for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-V are taken, and the state-of-the-art Magellan Clay.
Acting CHA leader tells staff it’s business as usual, defying Johnson’s attempt to block CEO hire
Matthew Brewer's insistence to move ahead despite the mayor efforts to remove him makes it clear Johnson will have to pursue legal action or otherwise convince a supermajority of the CHA’s board to reverse course.
Trump’s ballroom gets the green light from loyalist-stacked commission
President Donald Trump’s sprawling ballroom project officially got the green light on Thursday from a board that oversees planning for federal buildings and land, marking the latest step in an accelerated process that now faces some legal uncertainty.
Politics Should Not Determine Who Gets Admitted To Medical School
The Trump administration is investigating admission policies at three medical schools to pressure them to stop building a more diverse healthcare workforce for the U.S.
Kansas creates new sports authority to oversee multibillion dollar stadium deal for Chiefs
The agreement between the Kansas City Chiefs and the state of Kansas to build a new $3 billion domed football stadium, headquarters, training facility and entertainment district could be the largest stadium deal in American history, and most Kansas lawmakers agreed last week to establish a sports authority board to oversee the project.
The best new science-fiction books of April 2026
A collection of stories set in George R. R. Martin’s Wild Cards universe and a novel from The Expanse author James S. A. Corey are among the science-fiction books we’re looking forward to this month
Multimodal Fusion Used In Self-Driving Cars Is Uplifting AI That Provides Mental Health Guidance
AI uses text to converse on mental health aspects. We are moving to multimodal interactions. Fusion is crucial. Especially for mental health chats. An AI Insider scoop.
Night With A Nerd Is Back April 16 At Bradbury Science Museum
LANL NEWS RELEASE The Universe is bursting with activity with hundreds of cosmic explosions occurring every second. These explosions provide astronomers a window into the universe, studying everyth…
Know the risks: Campus Health’s guide to responsible cannabis use
Not every college student uses cannabis, but for those who do, it’s important to know how to reduce potential risks. This April, learn about the resources available through Campus Health Services to help you reduce your risk and finish the semester strong. Cannabis use is not a replacement for self-care and good stress management practices. Using cannabis can lead to adverse mental health outcomes, like heightened anxiety, feelings of paranoia…
'Pieced Together': Art show features traditional, unique quilt designs
A new exhibit called “Pieced Together” at Skull City Studio showcases 28 quilts by 14 artists, blending traditional American quilting with diverse and lesser-known styles to highlight the craft’s creativity
China’s TCL to Buy Majority Stake in Sony’s Home Entertainment
TCL Electronics Holdings Ltd. agreed to buy a majority stake in Sony Group Corp.’s global home entertainment business as the Chinese company seeks to expand overseas.
Quantum magnetism: FSU researchers demonstrate spin-flip process in atomic nucleus does not account for all magnetic behavior
In the air people breathe, the water on the Earth, the stars in the sky and more, atoms are the building blocks that make up the universe. Understanding
Two's company: ISTA scientists identify new class of star remnants
In the vastness of the Universe, any new object with interesting properties can spur the search for similar objects, potentially establishing a new class of stars. In a paper published in Astronomy & Astrophysics and an arXiv preprint, researchers from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) describe two stellar remnants that share five properties, including X-ray emission, despite being isolated objects. According to the team, these two remnants are sufficient to define a new class of stars.
Military Health Care in Korea: What You Should Know
Moving to Korea is an exciting assignment filled with new opportunities, experiences, and adjustments. One of the first questions many arriving service members and families ask is simple: How does health care work overseas? The good news is that U.S. military beneficiaries stationed on the Korean Peninsula have access to a comprehensive health care system that combines American military medicine with one of the most advanced civilian health networks in the world. Through Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs) operated by the Army, Air Force, and Navy -- along with TRICARE Overseas host nation providers and hospitals -- patients receive coordinated, high-quality care designed to support readiness while keeping families healthy throughout their tour. Here’s what to expect when receiving care in Korea.
Hasbro Entertainment Hires Animation Veteran Rob Doherty as New VP of Production
Hasbro Entertainment has announced the appointment of Rob Doherty as Vice President, Production. He will oversee production across Hasbro’s expanding animation and digital content slate, supporting the company’s continued growth in the space. Doherty brings over 30 years of experience in the kids’ television industry, with deep expertise in development and international co-productions. He has […]
In wrangling dark matter, some scientists find inspiration in the Torah, Krishna and Christ
Dark matter and dark energy are mysteries that have confounded scientists for decades, even though they comprise 95% of the universe's mass.
Lawsuit Accuses Americans of Political Killings for Hire Overseas
Three men working for an American security contractor say the United Arab Emirates paid them to carry out targeted killings in Yemen. One of their targets is suing them in U.S. federal court.
Monster black holes are silencing star formation across the universe
A blazing supermassive black hole can influence far more than its own galaxy. Scientists found that quasars emit radiation strong enough to shut down star formation in nearby galaxies millions of light-years away. This could explain why some galaxies near early quasars appear faint or missing. The finding suggests galaxies grow and evolve together, not in isolation.
Farthest, fastest and most diverse: 6 major records the Artemis II astronauts will smash as NASA returns to the moon
The Artemis II astronauts will soon launch on the first crewed mission to the moon in more than 50 years. During this trip, they will travel farther and faster than any humans in history — and will each claim a different individual record.
In wrangling dark matter, some scientists find inspiration in the Torah, Krishna and Christ
When an invisible entity making up 85% of the universe's mass stumps the greatest scientific minds of our time, awe is an understandable response.
What is the Superintendent of Public Instruction responsible for?
Before you vote, we want to explain what exactly the Superintendent of Public Instruction oversees.
Letter | UW Health must reinstate gender-affirming care immediately
Dear Editor: Thank you so much for publishing "Reverse UW Health's decision on gender-affirming care."
Why Most Quantum Computers Need to Be Colder Than Space
Quantum computers promise to revolutionize whole industries by outperforming classical computers on complex calculations. They just need to be colder than the coldest natural place in the universe.
In wrangling dark matter, some scientists find inspiration in the Torah, Krishna and Christ
Dark matter and dark energy are mysteries that have confounded scientists for decades, even though they comprise 95% of the universe's mass.
Hingham Schools Eye Business Curriculum Expansion as Class Size Concerns Mount
HINGHAM - March 23, 2026 - The Hingham School Committee moved to modernize its high school offerings Monday night, reviewing a comprehensive plan to expand the “small but mighty” Business Department while simultaneously grappling with data that places Hingham as an outlier in elementary class sizes. Director of Social Studies Andy Hoey presented a two-year program review that highlighted the department’s success in community partnerships but warned that high student demand is testing current staffing limits. Meanwhile, committee Chair Jen Benham presented independent research showing Hingham is the only benchmark district with second-grade classes hitting a 25-student cap, sparking a directive for the Policy Subcommittee to review class-size standards. Editors note: South Shore News is going paid in April, subscribe now to make sure you don’t miss a story. Reach out for group or organizational pricing. Subscribe The Full Story The meeting opened with a look into the future of Hingham High School’s (HHS) curriculum. Andy Hoey, who oversees the Business Department, presented the first formal program review for the department since 2009. [15:09] Hoey characterized the department as a vital elective hub that currently serves between 14% and 27% of the HHS student body in any given year. [31:31] “We are very proud of our business department here at Hingham High School... while we’re very proud of it, we are always striving to make improvements and enhancements.” [15:55] — Andy Hoey, Director of Social Studies A key highlight of the presentation was the announcement of a new AP Business with Personal Finance course launching next year, pending enrollment. [20:08] The review team found that while the program is “well-aligned” to national standards, it remains a high-school-only offering. Hoey outlined an action plan to explore “vertical articulation,” potentially introducing business or financial literacy units at the middle school level to fill a “gap” identified between fifth and eighth grade. [41:48] However, the department faces “smoke and mirrors” regarding student GPA, according to Hoey. Currently, most business courses are “unleveled” and do not count toward a student’s GPA, which survey data suggests may deter some students from enrolling. [28:15] The committee discussed the possibility of offering Honors or College Prep (CP) credit for advanced courses, such as investing or marketing, to better reflect their academic rigor. [38:27] The discussion took a sharp turn toward elementary education during an enrollment update. Superintendent Dr. Katie Roberts noted a net gain of four students mid-year, but it was Jen Benham’s “rabbit hole” data analysis that caught the committee’s attention. [50:35] Benham researched 13 benchmark towns—representing 34 elementary schools—and found that Hingham was the only district with a second-grade section reaching 25 students this year. [51:36] Benham’s findings suggested that while many districts lack formal class-size policies, Hingham’s current cap of 25 for second grade may be too high. “I think if we could at least have 23 at a cap for grade two,” Benham suggested, noting the importance of that grade level for literacy development. [53:09], [54:55] Dr. Roberts cautioned that smaller classes require more staff, which is a significant hurdle following a budget season where nine general education positions were cut across the district. [55:56] The committee also finalized the 2025 Town Report, which was updated to be more “student-centered” and highlight staff early in the document. [11:12] Additionally, a series of food service policies were approved to align with Massachusetts’ universal free school meal mandate, including new protocols for meal modifications due to allergies or religious needs. [59:23] Share Why It Matters The meeting underscored a tension between Hingham’s desire to offer elite, specialized programming and the foundational pressure of class sizes. The expansion of the Business Department—including potential Microsoft certifications and AP courses—aims to prepare students for a “real world” where credit scores and financial literacy are paramount. [46:20] However, the revelation that Hingham’s second-grade classes are larger than those in all neighboring benchmark towns suggests a potential strain on early education that could impact long-term student performance if not addressed by the Policy Subcommittee. Official Minutes & Data Key Motions & Votes Motion: To approve the Hingham Public Schools 2025 Town Report. [13:16] Vote: Unanimous (7-0) ([01:13:28]) Motion: To approve the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for summer counselor work regarding course placement. [57:33] Vote: Unanimous (7-0) ([57:50]) Motion: To approve Policy EFBA (School Food and Nutrition/Meal Modifications). [01:00:32] Vote: Unanimous (7-0) ([01:00:44]) Motion: To approve Policy EFC (Universal Free School Meals). [01:00:54] Vote: Unanimous (7-0) ([01:01:07]) Public Comment No members of the public spoke during the meeting or via the remote link. [01:02:30] What’s Next The Policy Subcommittee will take up the review of elementary class-size caps over the next year to determine if the Grade 2 limit should be lowered from 25 to 23. [52:18] The Business Department will monitor enrollment for the new AP Business course and continue exploring dual-enrollment partnerships with Quincy College. [38:13] Source Video: Harbor Media South Shore News is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe
NASA pauses its lunar Gateway plan, a comet reverses its spin and more science news
Here are some of this week's most interesting science stories.
Kansas Senate passes bill to create sports authority for future Chiefs stadium
The Kansas Senate passed a bill to create a sports authority, a board that would oversee a new stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, and a team headquarters in Olathe.
Young researchers explore big questions at the Oklahoma State Science and Engineering Fair
More than 150 projects competed across a diverse range of sciences in Stillwater on Friday.
Hegseth Criticized for Removing Four Officers From Promotion List
Bitter rifts have opened over the defense secretary’s campaign to reverse policies that he says are prejudiced against white officers.
Apple hires ex-Google executive to head AI marketing amid push to improve Siri
SAN FRANCISCO, March 27 (Reuters) - Apple on Friday said it has hired Lilian Rincon, who previously spent nearly a decade at Google overseeing its shopping and assistant products, as the vice
Apple hires ex-Google executive to head AI marketing amid push to improve Siri
Apple on Friday said it has hired Lilian Rincon, who previously spent nearly a decade at Google overseeing its shopping and assistant products, as the vice president of product marketing for artificial intelligence, reporting to its marketing chief Greg “Joz” Joswiak.
Apple hires ex-Google executive to head AI marketing amid push to improve Siri
SAN FRANCISCO, March 27 (Reuters) - Apple on Friday said it has hired Lilian Rincon, who previously spent nearly a decade at Google overseeing its shopping and assistant products, as the vice
Paranovus cuts share count from 11.3M to 944,778 in reverse split
Nasdaq trading shifts March 31 under the same PAVS ticker, with shares consolidated 12-to-1 and fractional holdings rounded up to whole shares.
iPhone 18 Series: Same Bezels But Smaller Dynamic Island, Says Leaker
Next year's regular iPhone 18 will feature the smaller Dynamic Island rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro models this September, according to Chinese leaker Ice Universe, who has a decent track record for leaks.
Christian Ulvert, EDGE Communications nab national award for Eileen Higgins’ Miami Mayor campaign
The win highlights a campaign operation that blended field, messaging and media into a cohesive strategy that resonated across Miami’s diverse electorate.
NASA’s Hubble Detects First-Ever Spin Reversal of Tiny Comet
Astronomers using Hubble found evidence that the spinning of a comet 41P slowed and then reversed its direction of rotation.
South Korea’s Kakao Entertainment appoints JungHee Ko as Co-CEO alongside Joseph Chang in
Ko takes on an additional role as Chief Platform Officer, overseeing a newly created unit responsible for Kakao Entertainment’s platform services…
Henry’s handball, last-lap drama, Stanley Cup chaos: unjust moments in sport that could have been overturned
Following the result of the AFCON final being reversed, our writers have selected incidents where similar could have happened
This Phillies sports fan knows bad. He says fans have little to complain about
The Parx Casino sports gambling influencer is playing the reverse Uno card on curmudgeonly fans upset about paying steep tix prices.
Reality TV is now a cultural powerhouse. There's no stopping it
The television genre is showing no signs of loosening its grip on viewers, who have helped propel series into sprawling universes.
Democratic lawmaker asks judge to take Trump's name off Kennedy Center
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Your Thymus and Your Healthspan
Our thymus gland plays a central role in the development or our immune system, specifically for supporting T cell development (how these cells got their name, maturation and differentiation in the thymus) and discriminating between self and foreign, non-self antigen proteins with production of dendritic cells. As we age, our thymus gland shrinks—the process known as involution—with progressive change from spongy to fatty tissue, with loss of functionality. But this process, with respect to timeline and extent, markedly varies from one person to the next. And to make things even more complicated, our thymus gland anatomy and precise location in the chest also is highly variable. So the famous Frank Netter diagrams from the 1960s (such as at left below) don’t capture the remarkable heterogeneity that a random set of 12 chest CT scans (below at right). What I consider as 2 landmark papers in Nature this week (here and here) used AI to quantify health of the thymus in 2 large cohorts, and then correlate the metric to a broad array of health outcomes. In this edition of Ground Truths, I’m going to cover three questions: (1) How was thymus health determined by AI?; (2) How is thymus health linked to key clinical outcomes? and (3) Are there ways we can promote a healthy (aka rejuvenate) thymus gland in our later years? Subscribe 1. How was thymus health determined by AI? This was accomplished by extensive work developing and validating an AI pipeline for 2 stages, the first for localization and segmentation of the thymus bed, and the second to quantify a digital marker, termed the thymic health score. There’s a lot to this algorithmic development, so I won’t go into all the details, but just provide a rudimentary outline of what was done. The 1st stage used supervised learning with 2 radiologists reviewing 2,461 chest CT scans. That work trained a 3D U-Net model to automatically identify the thymic bed’s 3D cropped region using center of mass coordinates, which reached 99.8% accuracy. The 2nd stage used a foundation model that was pre-trained with SwAV (which stands for Swapping Assignment between multiple Views), a self-supervised model, that generated a high-dimensional thymus representation of 4,096 features. That compares to the radiology reductionist and subjective scoring of 0 to 3 where 0 means the thymus is fully degenerated and fatty, and 3 is considered dense, intact glandular soft tissue. Notably, the self-supervised learning (SSL) performance was superior to supervised (AUC ~0.75 vs 0.55, respectively) reflecting the shallowness of the 0-3 classifier vs SSL’s holistic, self-taught AI. The thymic health score ranged from 0 to 100, with the highest number indexed to fully preserved thymic health. The algorithmic work extended to explainability with both Shapely value distribution, meaning the model was holistic not relying on any “magic” pixel, and occlusion sensitivity, demonstrating the model’s performance was not affected by ribs, sternum, lung tissue, but rather focused on the thymic bed directly. Below are a few saliency maps from the occlusion sensitivity that indicate the thymic bed focus, not affected by neighboring structures, using the jet color scale. Now the AI was ready for processing ~25,000 CT scans, each over 30 MB files, from the 2 large participant cohorts to provide a thymic health score, it did so in less than 14 hours, which is less than 2 seconds per scan! Share 2. How is thymus health linked to key clinical outcomes? The two cohorts were the National Lung Screening Trial, NLST (N=25,031) and the Framingham Heart Study, FHS (N=2,581) each with baseline demographics and long term follow up of >12 years for health outcomes. From the NSLT, you can see below that increased age and body-mass index were correlated to reduced thymic health. And, overall, men had reduced thymic health scores compared with women. There are a lot of graphs in the paper for outcomes, for both the NLST and FHS cohorts. To simplify the major outcomes, below is a composite Figure with striking reduction of all-cause mortality and for the different causes of death. The results were consistent between the 2 cohorts. For example, the cardiovascular mortality hazard ratio average was 0.57 in NLST and 0.38 in FHS (weighted to be 0.53 for the aggregate). The reduction of mortality also extended to digestive diseases and pulmonary disease (data not shown below). Lung cancer incidence was reduced by 36% for high vs low thymic health (Figure below, with a panel -incidence and b panel-mortality, adjusted for age, sex, BMI, smoking status). Notably, there was a smoker’s paradox: lower incidence and improved survival for lung cancer in smokers who had a high thymus health score. Smoking was associated with lower thymic scores whereas alcohol was not. Higher thymic health was linked to higher HDL cholesterol, lower triglycerides, lower fasting blood glucose, and lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Inflammation biomarkers, such as C-reactive protein and interleukin-6, were elevated in the people with lower thymic health scores. In their second paper, the same team looked at the relationship between thymic score and outcomes for 3,476 patients receiving cancer immunotherapy. The non-small cell lung cancer progression-free survival was reduced in patients with low thymic health score. A parallel relationship for survival was seen for other types of cancer including melanoma, breast, and kidney with a 44% lower risk among high thymic scores (Figure). A similar pattern was seen with different immune checkpoint inhibitors. The thymus health score outperformed programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1)and tumor mutation burden (TMB) assay of the tumor and was an independent prognostic marker of progression-free survival. In this dataset, a direct connect with thymus score and adaptive immune function was noted with a correlation before cancer treatment for both T-cell diversity and thymus T-cell production (a metric known as T cell receptor excision circles). Thymus Removal Study There is a highly relevant citation about thymus function before moving onto ways to rejuvenate it. In 2023, a very important study of thymus removal during cardiothoracic surgery was published, with 1146 patients undergoing thymus removal vs 1146 matched controls (mean age 55 years). The adverse outcomes for thymus removal were striking, with a 2.9 higher risk of all-cause mortality and doubling of cancer incidence, 1.5 fold increase in cancer mortality, and 1.5-fold increase in autoimmune diseases. The immune function showed marked compromise after thymus removal, as reflected by CD4+ and CD8+ T cells (Figure below) Share Ground Truths 3. Are there ways we can promote a healthy (aka rejuvenate) thymus gland in our later years? In recent months we’ve learned a lot about the process of thymus involution and the pathways by which this may be modulated. Thymus involution is primarily due to loss to thymus epithelial cells (TECs) and there are 2 subtypes with different functions: the cortical, responsible for positive selection of T cells, and the medullary, for negative selection. When adipose tissue infiltrates the thymus, thymic adipocytes are pro-inflammatory, knocking out T-cell output. Likewise, systemic inflammation, or “inflammaging,” from smoking, obesity, and chronic stress promote thymic adipocytes. Now, from preclinical studies, we know about key pathways that account for these processes. Historically, back in 2014, FOXN1 was recognized as a single master transcription factor essential for TEC function, with studies in mice with forced FOXN1 upregulation leading to thymus regeneration. That laid the foundation for potential regrowth of quiescent thymus cells. It took awhile to find pathways to accomplish this goal and to even refute its role as the master regulator. The Liver-Thymus Axis Feng Zhang and his team recently showed that injection of an mRNA vaccine to the liver encoding DLL1, IL-7 and FLT3-L in combination, factors known to support thymopoiesis (Figure), successfully enhanced immune function in aged mice. However, the effect was transient. The FGF21 Story Two reports in 2025 addressed the thymus gland’s production of FGF21, a growth factor (fibroblast growth factor 21) and its control of thymus involution. This growth factor is also produced by the liver, but it doesn’t have impact on the thymus in aged rodent models. In contrast, The liver’s hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) has been shown to reverse senescent TEC structural changes. Growth hormone stimulates production of insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in the liver and the thymus. Two small studies in human participants (TRIIM, for Thymus Regeneration, Immunorestoration, and Insulin Mitigation) of 6 and 50 people, respectively, treated with combined human growth hormone, metformin and DHEA, suggested the potential of slowing epigenetic aging and improving thymus mass and function. But the combination of drugs, small sample, and lack of controls make conclusions murky. Increased thymus FGF21 led to increased CD8 T cells in old mice and extended healthspan and improved physical performance. Building on the previous FOXN1 data, ablation of β-klotho, the obligatory co-receptor for FOXN1, accelerated thymic aging. The benefit to FGF21 was confirmed in a companion paper using an FGF21 knock-in mouse model showing thymus enlargement and increased TECs throughout the lifespan. (schematic Figure below). The accompanying editorial for these 2 papers speculated: “The proposed link between age-associated thymus involution and organismal aging is intriguing, and suggests we might seek to achieve systemic rejuvenation by counteracting thymic involution.” Other Factors Lessons from the Axolotl (Mexican Salamander) In an elegant set of experiments of the axolotl (Figure), known for its complete thymus regeneration after total surgical removal, mediators were identified. Surprisingly FOXN1 was dispensable. But midkine, a growth factor, appeared to be the driver, the initiator of thymus cell growth, survival, and repair. Other components that contributed were Postn+ (periostin-expressing mesenchymal niches) and Ccl19, a chemokine protein from the bloodstream. RANK and RANKL RANK (receptor activator of nuclear factor κB its ligand (RANKL) have been considered key regulators of medullary TECs. In a study of both aged mice and human thymus cell cultures, their key role was confirmed, with multiple benefits of resorting TEC function, recruitment of progenitor cells, and T cell development. Subscribe Summing Up This body of work strongly supports the health of the thymus gland as a critical regulator of human healthspan, not just a correlate or link. The new landmark studies are reinforced by the regenerative biology experimental models that have shown, via an array of mediators, that healthspan of aged mice is at least in part dependent on thymus gland function and its critical role for maintaining adaptive immunity. It sure seems that we’d be better off having an immune reservoir of naive T cells instead of a profile in older adults of exhausted, low quality, memory T cells, with a senescent phenotype. It is striking that we ignored the importance of the thymus gland for many decades. A wake-up call was the results of the thymectomy matched control study reviewed here, with the opposite of high thymic health score improved health outcomes. The convergence of AI and healthspan here is notable. The exceptional and laborious work for developing and validating (no less explaining) the AI to quantify thymus health set the foundation for probing the connect the major health outcomes in two cohorts with extensive follow-up. We’ve never had a way to meaningfully quantify the thymus gland before, so this represents important leverage of supervised, self-supervised, and transformer models. The study wouldn’t have been possible without AI. And it begs the question as to whether there are ways we can maintain our thymus at a high health score. But it’s not so simple to rejuvenate our thymus. There are multiple risks including the induction of autoimmunity, increasing the risk of cancer, and inducing a pro-inflammatory state. For example, factors that increase TEC proliferation could compromise the medulllary negative selection process and leak out auto-reactive (self-attacking) T cells. Thymic cells could be induced to proliferate, but we know, for example, that growth hormone and IGF-1 are associated with an increase risk of cancer. If thymus rejuvenation doesn’t clear out the accumulated senescent cells in older adults, then inflammation within the gland could block the production of TECs. Keeping these risks in mind, we now have identified many ways to keep our thymus healthy as we age that undoubtedly will be tested in clinical trials going forward. Ultimately, the benefit-to-risk tradeoffs will be defined. In the meantime, we have desperately needed an immunome. As I’ve stressed in multiple prior Ground Truths, we have no test in the clinic to assess a patient’s immune status! It was very encouraging for me to get an email from Hugo Aerts, the senior author of the landmark papers in the days after they were published: “I also wanted to say that your Substack on “Why We Need an Immunome” was inspiring for this work. We found it a very compelling perspective and greatly enjoyed reading it.” Just having an assessment of a person’s immune status via a chest CT scan, with millions of these performed per year, might help in guiding the right immunotherapy for cancer (e.g. more intensive, combinations for those with low thymic health scores) and help define people who are increased risk for age-related diseases of cancer, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative. The main theme of Super Agers is that we now have many layers of data (genetics, proteins, biomarkers, organ clocks that can be integrated via multimodal AI) for us to define a person’s specific risk decades before one of these age-related diseases leads to symptoms, enabling prevention. From the new studies this week, we can add thymus health score as yet another way to understand a person’s risk, a window into their adaptive immune system and healthspan. And perhaps someday we will be able to safely rejuvenate the thymus, or maintain its health through one’s life, and use the thymus health score to monitor. NB: I wrote this post (No A.I.) A Quick Poll Loading... ********************************************************************* Thanks to Ground Truths subscribers (now > 200,000) from every US state and 212 countries. Your subscription to these free essays and podcasts makes my work in putting them together worthwhile. Please join! If you found this interesting PLEASE share it! Share Ground Truths Paid subscriptions are voluntary and all proceeds from them go to support Scripps Research. They do allow for posting comments and questions, which I do my best to respond to. Please don’t hesitate to post comments and give me feedback. Let me know topics that you would like to see covered. Leave a comment Many thanks to those who have contributed—they have greatly helped fund our summer internship programs for the past two years. It enabled us to accept and support 47 summer interns in 2025! We aim to accept even more of the several thousand who will apply for summer 2026.
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