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The core anti-Pangram constituency is phony writers

Welcome to The Closing Argument, our verdict on the news, plus everything The Argument published and appeared in this week. The Verdict, by Kelsey Piper A lot of people hate AI for drowning the internet in slop and displacing human creatives. You might think that these people would be thrilled by a program that can identify and flag AI-generated work. But many people who hate AI also hate Pangram, an impressively accurate AI detector that produces very few false positives, according to high-quality independent research. This loathing found its most recent expression in a bizarre Wired article that amplifies a wide range of false arguments from Pangram skeptics: that AI detectors are racist (they’re not) or ableist (they’re not)1 or don’t work (this one does)2. Rather than starting from the premise that it would be really valuable to have a working AI detector and scrutinizing Pangram to make sure it lives up to that promise, the article starts from the premise that Pangram obviously has bad vibes and sets out to discover why. (One answer: The CEO microwaved lunch during an interview!) Why aren’t writers who resent Pangram more eager to distinguish themselves from posters who are having ChatGPT ghostwrite all their work? There are a few different things at play, but I think one key dynamic is this: These are often the same people. A core constituency for arguments like Wired’s is “writers” who are using AI to write their posts but resent this fact being made public. They stand to lose from AI detectors because AI detectors call them out. Share When Substack announced a partnership with Pangram, a sizable fraction of the platform’s authors rose up in outrage. Some people had experience with other AI detectors that didn’t work, and some felt that AI writing ought to be encouraged — both of which are fair enough. But the fury was fueled by authors passionately insisting that Pangram kept wrongly accusing them on almost every post they published. Pangram can be wrong, especially on short passages. But in the overwhelming majority of cases where Pangram looked at a whole blog post rather than a single paragraph, the program correctly detected work as AI. Even if we can’t be 100% sure in any individual case, we can notice the trend in the aggregate. Wired quotes Sam Illingworth, a professor of critical AI literacy at Edinburgh Napier University, who said, “I don’t think [AI detectors] work. … I think that detectors are prejudiced against certain people.” This spring, he said that he used AI for research and editing; this summer he acknowledged that in addition to research and editing, he also uses it “now and then for a turn of phrase I keep.” Pangram informs us that most of his posts are 100% AI-written (some are mixed AI-and-human) and that 100% AI-written posts started appearing last year. The favorable interpretation is that, as someone whose recent work Pangram consistently mistakes for AI, Illingworth sees Pangram’s flaws firsthand. The unfavorable interpretation is that the tool’s credibility trades off against his own, because its account of who writes his posts is not consistent with his. Illingworth is not alone in insisting the detector does not work. “It’s a Monday night in late July, and I’m pasting my own Substack draft into an AI detector for the first time. Not because I’m worried. Because I’m curious. I wrote every word of it myself, the way I write everything, out loud in my head first, in a rhythm that still carries the accent of a language I learned to think in before I learned to write in this one,” begins one Substack post by an author indignant that Pangram flags her writing as AI. “That’s the part I had to sit with before I could write this.” If you, like me, have worked with AIs a lot, you won’t even need Pangram there. The author of that piece is AI. It is obviously AI! I checked 10 other posts on the blog, and they were also obviously AI! “I have spent 22 years as an award-winning author and essayist. And now this bullshit tool that learned from MY writing is going to accuse me of plagiarism,” popular Substack writer Carlyn Beccia wrote in an anti-Pangram post. “For the last and final time, AI DETECTORS DO NOT WORK.” Here’s what her writing sounded like in 2020: “Most success stories revolve around one person who believed enough in you to say — give it a try. We call these people muses, but they are so much more than that. They are the strong man giants whose shoulders we stand on so we can see the horizon. Throughout the editing process, I am sure my editor felt less like a giant of greatness and more like Atlas with the world on her shoulders.” Pangram says it was 100% human-written. (So were other articles of hers in 2020.) And here’s what it sounds like now: “And then there is the reshuffling, which sounds like paperwork until you remember that empires have always loved paperwork. The Trump regime recently moved special education oversight from the Education Department to HHS. That is not a minor bureaucratic transfer. It changes the frame.”3 Pangram says this is mostly AI. I am not convinced that Pangram is wrong. In my own experience, Pangram is very effective on long texts — if it marks a long essay as AI, the essay was either written by AI or deliberately written to sound like AI. On tweet-length or paragraph-length texts, it’s not perfectly reliable. It seems to work just as well for non-native English speakers as for native speakers. While I have seen dozens of claims of pre-2022 text returning a positive result on Pangram, I have tried repeatedly to corroborate those and have never once succeeded. To be clear, I’m absolutely not saying that complaining about Pangram suggests a writer is a cheat. There are plenty of other concerns. Most are mistakenly premised, such as the false claim that Pangram trains on work you put into it, but others are reasonable: It’s unreliable on sufficiently short text segments; it creates an internet witch-hunt mentality when there are defensible uses of AI; people who are open about their AI use are sometimes blamed, when the only people really doing something wrong are the ones who hide it; and it isn’t perfect, so a single positive result shouldn’t be taken as decisive proof of misconduct. I’m happy to concede that Pangram is imperfect and possible to over-rely on. If an author’s posts are mostly non-AI and one scans as partially AI, this could be a mistake. It’s also possible to defeat Pangram with intentional effort. If you think we need something more robust and more reliable, fine! But if you don’t like AI and don’t like Pangram, your attitude really ought to be that it’s a shame that our existing tools for AI detection are imperfect, and it’s important to invent better ones. If your stance is instead that AI is evil and so is looking for AI, then ultimately you’re contributing to the sloppification of the internet. You’re making it harder for people who write their own text to distinguish themselves, and providing cover for authors who are definitely not writing their own text. Subscribe Top stories this week, by Kobe Yank-Jacobs Commentators often worry that the decline of reading could mean the decline of liberal democracy — but deliberative governance actually predated widespread literacy. This week, Maibritt Henkel pointed out that many liberal cultures thrive on a culture of raucous, interactive debate, which can happen in-person as easily, if not more so, than in text. Read on, dear reader, to learn more. It may actually cheer you up: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) [ Reading won’t save liberalism ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) Maibritt Henkel · Sep 1 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) It used to be bad to downplay climate change (if we mean denying its reality). Today, it’s actually good to downplay climate change (if we mean keeping the issue out of political fights so we can make real progress). This counterintuitive view is called “climate hushing,” and contributor Alex Trembath argued that it’s the key to enacting good policy going forward. Get up to speed on the latest in climate politics: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) [ We won’t stop climate change by talking about it ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) Alex Trembath · Sep 2 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney is standing up for the forces of liberalism against Donald Trump’s assault on our closest ally. So, why is one prominent left-wing commenter attacking Carney? Columnist Matthew Yglesias explains: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) [ When "economic liberty" means central planning ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) Matthew Yglesias · Aug 31 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) 🌟Abundance Wins of the Week🌟 Shout out to my home state of California, whose legislature passed two housing bills this week. One requires a housing density minimum in transit-oriented areas of the state’s most transit-rich cities (Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, San Diego, and Long Beach). Another bill closes two common loopholes used by third parties to delay housing projects, including an opportunity to challenge maps of a given lot created by the developer after a project has been approved. Shout out to our big-state rival, Texas, where pro-housing SB 785 took effect this week. The new state law requires municipalities to have at least one district permitted for manufactured housing without a special permit. This will promote zoning changes in 44% of municipalities. The company Fervo Energy signed a deal with Google for what is set to be the world’s largest enhanced geothermal facility, proving a technology can work at a scale that could be crucial to a decarbonized, energy-abundant economy. Share Worth watching… This week, forecasting legend Nate Silver joined Jerusalem, Matt, and Jeremiah on a crowded episode of the pod. It was a party. And speaking of parties, our round table debated the factional lines within the Democratic Party: Is it possible to be center-left and also anti-establishment? Watch or listen to find out: The Rio Grande Valley in Texas is one of the areas that swung hardest toward Trump in 2024, but musician Bobby Pulido is running to flip it back. Right now, The Argument/Split Ticket’s model has him running 1.1 points behind his Republican opponent in a district Trump won by 18 points. Tune in to find out how he differs from national Democrats and what he thinks he can to do win this seat. On Thursday, Bernie Sanders was among the first politicians to call for a ban on superintelligence. My guest this week, Andrea Miotti, has been lobbying to ban superintelligence for several years, most recently in the U.K., U.S., and Canada. I asked him how he gets legislators to take speculative risks seriously, and we dug into what plans might look like to actually pass a ban. Listen to learn more: What’s News with The Argument The Argument recommends, by Kobe Yank-Jacobs If we ever lose track of Justin Zuckerman, I’ll have the team split up and check all the movie theaters in the city. I’m shocked (and a little jealous) at how often he gets out to see good cinema. This week, he brings us It Ends, a “horror-ish movie,” which he described as a “Gen Z Waiting for Godot.” I was intrigued before he added that it was “funny, dark and existential” — at which point I was fully locked in. I guess I also had existential themes on the mind this week. One morning, a single line from a poem I read long ago just came to me: “Is death a stretch of time in which a life is just a flash?” The poem is called “From 20,000 Feet” by Heather McHugh. I suggest the version in The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry, which, by tradition, my best friend and I always bring backpacking, extra weight be damned. We’ll stay thematically dark for just one more rec from senior editor John Robert Thomason, whose upcoming trip to Baltimore reminded him to suggest Michael Clune’s memoir White Out (about being addicted to heroin in Baltimore in the 1990s). Ben Lerner’s blurb called it _“_Disturbing, brilliant, hilarious—it’s as if Proust had written Jesus’ Son.” John told me this “seems accurate, with the caveat that I’ve never read Proust.” I, personally, have also shelved Proust until retirement. At this point, I was a little concerned for the team since all of us tossed out such psychologically grim material — maybe we’re all down about the end of summer — but thankfully, at least a few of us were into more upbeat selections. Milan Singh recommended Made In’s 5-quart stainless clad saucier, suggesting he had some fun in the kitchen. Jeremiah Johnson asked if he could recommend yet more Carly Rae Jepsen. Once denied, he offered up Game Changer instead_,_ calling it “the most wildly creative game show, maybe in the entire history of the genre.” Eli Richman mentioned _Lucky, “_a B-tier show with an A-tier cast and an S-tier theme song.” I suppose he was recommending the song, Horns of a Bull. Still, despite these cheerier recs, I couldn’t help but be concerned that we were subconsciously worried about racing toward summer’s end — the end of swim trunks and splashing around. Then a message landed reminding me of the three-day weekend to come. A whole extra day for sunshine. One more swim in the lake. I was grateful this called to mind yet another line from a poem, one by Mary Oliver, the patron saint of every gorgeous summer day (and about whom a documentary is now out). Speaking to God in the poem “Thirst,” she wrote: grant me, in your mercy,a little more time. Love for the earthand love for you are having such a longconversation in my heart. We have merch! We have quarter-zips, keychains, hats, and stickers. Each one is a great conversation starter in its own way. Buy them here. Subscribe More to read: [ The Opening Argument ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite)[ Seeing like an elite ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite) Kobe Yank-Jacobs · Sep 4 What do Americans hear when they watch Sen. Bernie Sanders or Vice President JD Vance rail against the elite? Are they thinking of right-wing tech billionaires? Imperious college professors? Liberal magazine writers? [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite) [ The Weekly Scroll ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline)[ God is back on the timeline ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline) Jeremiah Johnson · Sep 5 This week, we’re talking about Substack’s new religious debates, the continuing MAGA influencer scandal, how to retire from YouTube, and aura battles. [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline) 1 This was a legitimate thing to worry about, but doesn’t seem to be a problem given the actual technology: Marijke Van Vlasselaer, Filip Van Droogenbroeck, and Bram Spruyt’s 2026 paper looks at whether Pangram is less accurate when evaluating the work of non-native speakers of English. It isn’t. That’s because Pangram isn’t really looking at how “unusual” a piece of writing is but whether it has the characteristic patterns of LLMs. The Wired article makes an odd gesture at a different Pangram-is-racist argument. There were several controversies this summer during which upcoming books were canceled after being discovered to be AI-written: “The three novels mentioned earlier — Shy Girl, Daggermouth, and Call Me, easily publishing’s biggest AI-detection scandals — were all written by writers of color.” But come on! As Zvi Mowshowitz put it: “They were not primarily written by people of color. They were primarily written by AIs.” That’s the whole problem! And as my colleague Jeremiah Johnson recently observed with respect to Cambridge’s Arday scandal, a community being unwilling to call out fraud if it’s perpetuated by people of color is not an anti-racist tendency; it is ultimately quite racist. 2 Many non-Pangram detectors don’t work, but many possible airplane designs also don’t work, and no one considers this a general argument against aviation; the thing that matters is whether any detection works. 3 The phrase “empires have always loved” mysteriously became all the rage in the last few years. See here, here, here, here and here. Before 2025, the only use of that phrase I have been able to find is a single Tweet. The logic of the sentence, too, is incoherent in an AI-characteristic way. “...sounds like paperwork, until you remember that empires have always loved paperwork”? Does remembering that make it sound less like paperwork? It’s a craft-ful sentence, but what is it actually saying??

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Sep 6 • 6:05 PM EDT • Technology • theargumentmag.com
Movie studio, amusement park planned for huge site near Phoenix

A prominent local real estate investor has unveiled a plan for a development an hour west of Phoenix that could include a movie production studio.

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Sep 5 • 8:01 AM EDT • Business • ktar.com
FSU Film alums help power some of summer movie season's blockbusters

Alumni of FSU’s College of Motion Picture Arts have left their mark on some of this summer’s most prominent movies.

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Sep 5 • 5:06 AM EDT • Entertainment • tallahassee.com
Las Vegas defense attorney says Lindsay Clancy mistrial points to mental health defense strength

With the Lindsay Clancy murder trial ending in a mistrial, a prominent attorney breaks down why the 11-1 deadlock in favor of insanity is a win for the defense.

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Sep 4 • 10:11 PM EDT • Health • fox5vegas.com
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Argentine court clears return of Nazi-looted portrait to Jewish dealer’s heir

A long-lost Italian portrait looted by the Nazis has been cleared for return to the heir of a prominent Jewish art dealer | WBBM Newsradio 780 AM & 105.9 FM

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Sep 4 • 4:36 PM EDT • Entertainment • audacy.com
Scientists reveal the hidden instructions that build the human brain

UCLA researchers have discovered two powerful influences that help guide how the human brain forms before birth. Radial glia, stem cells responsible for producing much of the cerebral cortex, change their behavior depending on how they process glucose and on physical contact with signals arriving from the thalamus. Those signals can alter which types of neurons are produced, including upper-layer neurons that are especially prominent in humans.

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Sep 3 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com
Voyages of Discovery: 20 years exploring the arts and sciences

ECU’s Voyages of Discovery series provides the community with access to impactful innovators and prominent leaders in the arts and sciences.

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Sep 3 • 9:38 AM EDT • Science • news.ecu.edu
Health Right CEO Gets National Award For Charitable Healthcare Work

A West Virginia physician has been named the 2026 Patient Advocate of the Year for the work she does with a prominent free and charitable clinic.

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Sep 1 • 5:19 PM EDT • Health • wvpublic.org
3 prominent Chicago-area hospitals to suspend OB services, Prime Healthcare announces

Obstetrical services at three major Chicago-area hospitals will soon be suspended by Prime Healthcare, the company announced in a new release.

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Sep 1 • 4:30 PM EDT • Health • nbcchicago.com
Israel’s politics pivot to shared good health

A prominent Zionist politician will run in the next election with an Israeli Arab party, perhaps making it a political kingmaker. His vision: an Israel that can heal its many divides in a way similar to how institutions of healing provide universal care based on equal dignity.

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Sep 1 • 3:02 PM EDT • Politics • csmonitor.com
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Some Jewish Republicans bashed JD Vance. Now he’ll speak to them in person.

The vice president is set to appear at a Republican Jewish Coalition summit at a time when many prominent donors and activists oppose his potential presidential bid.

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Aug 31 • 4:44 PM EDT • Politics • washingtonpost.com
Prominent Black Democrats rally behind Keisha Lance Bottoms

Republicans want to make Bottoms' record as Atlanta mayor a major liability in the governor's race, but her successor, Andre Dickens, offered an unequivocal defense on Sunday.

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Aug 31 • 9:06 AM EDT • Politics • ajc.com
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The Earth is sizzling, but climate isn't a hot topic for Democrats in this year's campaigns

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Aug 29 • 7:44 AM EDT • Politics • news4jax.com
Bill Edwards, leading St. Petersburg business figure, dies at 81

Prominent St. Petersburg businessman Bill Edwards, whose reach spanned real estate, sports and the arts, died Thursday morning.

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Aug 27 • 3:20 PM EDT • Business • yahoo.com
Prominent general contractor's Austin office raided by federal authorities

Federal authorities raided Cadence McShane Construction Co.'s Austin, San Antonio and Plano offices on Aug. 26, the Austin Business Journal has learned.

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Aug 27 • 1:22 PM EDT • Business • bizjournals.com
Zohran Mamdani’s business council includes the CEOs of Chobani and Etsy. But Wall Street and Big Tech turned him down

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Aug 27 • 12:03 PM EDT • Business • fortune.com
AP report: RFK Jr. said a Samoa trip had nothing to do with vaccines. New documents refute that

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Aug 27 • 9:47 AM EDT • Politics • pbs.org
Is Germany benefitting yet from the crisis in US research?

Science|Business - Table.Media partnershipScience|Business has partnered with Table.Media, a leading source of news about higher education and research in Germany. Each week, we are publishing one of each other’s stories to give readers an even broader range of insight into R&D policy across Europe.Drawing over 500 participants, the German Academic International Network conference in San Francisco brings together researchers, universities, scientific organisations and policymakers in the US as part of an attempt to recruit international talent for Germany. It also serves as an annual barometer for the uncertainty triggered by the Trump administration’s science policies. As was the case last year, Germany’s political presence was unusually strong: federal lawmakers, nine state ministers of science and research, and federal research state secretary Marcus Pleyer all attended. Joybrato Mukherjee, president of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), has observed a marked shift at US universities a year after the Trump administration began sweeping interventions: the initial state of "shock and paralysis" has given way to a strategic approach to the situation. Universities are seeking new funding sources, mounting legal challenges against interventions and opening themselves up more to international collaborations, including with Germany, he said. Early-career international researchers with expiring visas are considered particularly vulnerable. Germany is benefiting from increased demand among this pool of young talent; the country’s 1,000 Minds Plus programme, designed in part to lure German academics back home, has already filled up around one-third of its capacity. Meanwhile, Markus Blume, Bavaria’s science minister and current chair of the federal Conference of Science Ministers, sees an "enormous outflow of talent from the US." An increasing number of international researchers want to leave. Applications to Canada have risen by 42% January, and those to Europe by 32%. Meanwhile, the number of people drawn to the US is plummeting. "In this context, Germany must position itself as a prime destination offering reliable conditions, institutional stability and academic freedom, including through smart collaborations," Blume told Table.Briefings.“Darkest hour”At the get-together in San Francisco, the former president of the US National Academy of Sciences, Marcia McNutt, highlighted the gravity of the situation on the ground in a keynote address. She described the present moment as the "darkest hour for the US scientific system." At the same time, she said that cooperation should be maintained, especially during a crisis. Established researchers in the US are less likely to leave. Ulrike Malmendier, a former member of the German Council of Economic Experts and an economist at Berkeley, explained why established researchers are not packing their bags and leaving the US in droves: working conditions and the concentration of talent at places like Berkeley and Stanford remain unparalleled. According to Peter-André Alt, managing director of the Wübben Foundation, which helps Germany attract international academics, political restrictions are not the only grievance voiced by US-based researchers. "There are evidently still many areas where, fortunately, unfettered research is possible," Alt told Table.Briefings. Instead, the primary complaint concerns the cost of living, which has "skyrocketed” to absurd levels. "Runaway inflation, like that currently seen in the US, is certainly no draw for young scientific talent,” he said. Return homeA growing number of early-career researchers from Germany appear to be considering a return home. Jörn Benzinger, who is responsible for recruiting early-career researchers from abroad at Ruhr University Bochum, reports numerous conversations with researchers who are taking a closer look at the German academic landscape."Germany has definitely moved more into the spotlight,” he said. States, university alliances and research organisations joined forces to recruit talent. Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia were prominently represented, as were alliances such as the Berlin University Alliance and the University Alliance Ruhr. Benzinger sums up Germany’s approach with a new formula: "collaboration is the new competition." He notes that it is becoming increasingly difficult for individual universities to gain international visibility, while regional research ecosystems and collaborations are growing in importance. Afraid to leaveThe crisis in the US academic sector is also straining transatlantic research relations. Benzinger reports that some US-based researchers had to decline brief invitations to Germany because they could not be certain of being allowed to re-enter the US afterward.He considers the simple poaching of researchers to be the wrong approach; what is needed, he says, are "reliable offers and long-term partnerships."However, Green Party politician Ayşe Asar, who also attended the conference, sees a significant need for improvement, particularly regarding career paths in Germany.While lifetime professorships and academic freedom certainly make Germany attractive, young researchers also require predictable career paths, tenure-track positions and flatter hierarchies.

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Aug 27 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencebusiness.net
Shuttered Grocery Store Sold To Prominent Business Owner

Sale comes as plans emerged to open a new store.

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Aug 27 • 7:32 AM EDT • Business • urbanmilwaukee.com
Investing in Pandemic Preparedness for Resilient and Sustainable Health Systems

Pandemic preparedness and resilient health systems are inseparable. This message featured prominently during Symposium 5, “Resilient Health Systems for Future Well-being”, at the Public Health Summit held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 22 to 24 July. The WHO South-East Asia Regional Office (WHO SEARO) participated in the symposium, contributing to discussions on how countries can prepare for future health emergencies while sustaining essential health services, contributing to health security, and advancing universal health coverage.Photo: Public Health Summit, where the main theme was 100 years of organised community health services in Sri Lanka. The summit was supported by the WHO Country Office for Sri Lanka. The SEARO presentation at the symposium, titled “Pandemic Preparedness for Resilient Health Systems”, highlighted how lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing global health initiatives are shaping stronger, more resilient health systems capable of protecting populations during future crises.Photo : WHO South-East Asia Regional Office’s Health Emergencies Programme highlighted that pandemic preparedness strengthens resilient health systems, advances health security, reinforces primary health care, and supports progress towards universal health coverage.

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Aug 26 • 8:00 PM EDT • Health • who.int
WHO RUNS MARYLAND POLITICS NOW?

ByThe Maryland Wire The Machine Didn’t Die — It Broke Apart Mike Miller is gone. Steny Hoyer is retiring. The two men who helped define Maryland political power for generations are disappearing from the map. Nobody has inherited all of what they controlled. Instead, Maryland power has fractured among Wes Moore, legislative leaders, county organizations, federal figures and a new generation fighting to connect the pieces. By The Maryland Wire For decades, there were two names in Maryland politics that required almost no explanation. Mike Miller. Steny Hoyer. You didn’t necessarily have to agree with them. You didn’t even have to like them. But everyone understood something: Not social-media power. Not cable-news power. Not the temporary power that comes from one big election. They possessed political infrastructure. Relationships. Institutional memory. Donors. Staff. Allies. County leaders. Lobbyists. Legislators. Operatives. And the ability to connect people who needed something with people capable of delivering it. Today one is gone. The other is preparing to leave Congress after more than four decades. And Maryland faces a question it hasn’t had to answer in generations: The answer may be: Nobody. At least not the way Miller once did. Maryland’s old machine wasn’t inherited by one person. It fragmented. And now several ambitious political networks are competing to assemble the pieces. Miller presided over the Maryland Senate for 33 years, becoming one of the longest-serving legislative leaders in American history. He stepped down as Senate president in 2019 and died in January 2021. (Behavioral and Social Sciences) But Miller’s real power wasn’t the title printed on his door. It was the accumulation of relationships behind it. Miller came from Maryland’s old Democratic organization and developed into an extraordinarily adaptable political operator, retaining authority even as the Senate around him became younger and more liberal. (The Washington Post) He understood something fundamental: politics is information. Who wants what? Who owes whom? Which senator needs help? Which county executive wants something in the budget? Which committee chairman can move a bill? Which lobbyist represents which client? Which candidate should receive support today because that candidate could be a senator ten years from now? Miller knew the answers because he’d spent decades collecting them. Miller’s influence wasn’t confined to elected officials. Former Miller aides became prominent Annapolis lobbyists. Maryland Matters noted figures such as Joseph Bryce and Timothy Perry among the high-profile lobbyists who had once served as top Miller aides. (Maryland Matters) That was one of Miller’s greatest political achievements. He didn’t merely accumulate power around himself. He produced alumni. Staffers became lobbyists. Legislators became committee chairs. Allies became power brokers. And decades of relationships reinforced one another. By the end, Mike Miller wasn’t simply a person. He was an ecosystem. Hoyer’s network was different. Miller’s power was rooted in Annapolis. Hoyer connected Maryland to Washington. He served in the Maryland Senate before winning election to Congress in 1981 and ultimately became one of the longest-serving members of the U.S. House and a longtime No. 2 in House Democratic leadership. In January 2026, Hoyer announced that he would retire rather than seek another term. (The Washington Post) His influence stretched through: Prince George’s County, Southern Maryland, Congress, federal agencies, donors, campaign organizations, and generations of Democratic candidates. And Hoyer had something machine builders value enormously: a succession network. That became obvious almost immediately. When Hoyer announced his retirement, Maryland’s 5th Congressional District exploded with candidates. Twenty-four Democrats entered the race. But when the votes were counted, the winner was Adrian Boafo, Hoyer’s former campaign manager. Boafo wasn’t running without establishment help. He was endorsed by Hoyer. He was endorsed by Governor Wes Moore. And he ultimately won the Democratic nomination. (AP News) In his victory speech, Boafo described the result as voters deciding it was time to “pass the torch to a new generation of leaders.” (AP News) That phrase captures the transition perfectly. Hoyer’s seat isn’t simply being vacated. Parts of his network are being transferred. But they aren’t being transferred to another Steny Hoyer. They’re being absorbed into a newer political constellation. And standing prominently inside that constellation is Wes Moore. If someone forces you to name the single person sitting nearest the center of Maryland Democratic politics today, the answer is Governor Wes Moore. The 2026 Democratic gubernatorial primary underscored the scale of his position. Moore won renomination overwhelmingly, receiving roughly 88% of the Democratic primary vote. (WBAL-TV) But raw votes tell only part of the story. Look at the party infrastructure. The Maryland Democratic Party says Steuart Pittman ran for state party chairman in 2025 “at the suggestion of Governor Wes Moore.” Pittman took office that July. (The Maryland Democratic Party) That’s important. Governors traditionally influence their state parties. But party leadership plus fundraising, endorsements, executive appointments and national relationships creates the beginning of something bigger: a political network that could survive the governor’s term. Moore also played a role in the Hoyer succession by backing Boafo. That’s how political organizations reproduce themselves. You support tomorrow’s politician today. And that’s the distinction that matters. Moore has enormous statewide visibility. Miller had decades of accumulated legislative control. Moore can endorse candidates. Miller could influence the environment in which legislators lived every day. Committee assignments. Leadership positions. Legislative priorities. Relationships that had been accumulating since before many current lawmakers entered politics. Moore may have a larger national profile than Miller ever possessed. But he doesn’t possess Miller’s half-century of Annapolis memory. Nobody does. Which is why the modern Maryland political structure looks less like a pyramid and more like several power centers connected by overlapping relationships. One of those centers belongs to Senate President Bill Ferguson. Ferguson controls an institution no governor can simply command. The Senate. Maryland’s official 2026 legislative records identify Ferguson as Senate President. (Maryland General Assembly) That means influence over: committee structure, Senate leadership, legislative priorities, confirmations, and negotiations with the House and governor. But Ferguson is not Mike Miller 2.0. Miller’s extraordinary longevity allowed him to become almost inseparable from the institution. Ferguson possesses the office. Miller possessed the office plus decades of political mythology and accumulated relationships. Those aren’t the same thing. The House now has its own new center of gravity. Official 2026 legislative records identify Joseline Peña-Melnyk as Speaker of the House of Delegates, alongside Ferguson as Senate President. (Maryland General Assembly) That makes the current Maryland governing triangle: Executive power. Senate power. House power. None fully controls the others. And that fact alone demonstrates how different modern Maryland is from the Miller era. The governor proposes. The legislature disposes. Committee leaders negotiate. County interests intervene. And political coalitions shift issue by issue. That’s not one machine. That’s a networked power structure. Then there’s U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks. Her significance isn’t that she is the new Hoyer. She isn’t. Hoyer spent decades constructing his network. Alsobrooks brings something different: Prince George’s County roots, a statewide electoral organization, a United States Senate platform, and relationships with national Democratic leaders. That makes her a critical bridge between Maryland and Washington at precisely the moment Hoyer leaves. Hoyer’s retirement therefore doesn’t necessarily weaken Prince George’s influence. It changes who carries it. Prince George’s itself is undergoing a dramatic generational transition. Official 2026 results show Aisha Braveboy winning the Democratic County Executive primary with 87,944 votes and 73.31% of the vote. (Maryland State Board of Elections) That’s political infrastructure. Prince George’s is one of Maryland’s central Democratic vote engines. A county executive with that level of primary support gains: appointments, budget influence, organizational relationships, donor access, and a platform for cultivating the next generation of political leadership. Braveboy therefore isn’t merely another person on the Maryland power map. She controls a place from which a political organization can be built. Boafo is particularly interesting because he sits almost perfectly at the intersection between the old and new worlds. He worked for Hoyer. Hoyer endorsed him. Moore endorsed him. Then Boafo beat an enormous Democratic field for Hoyer’s seat. (AP News) That doesn’t make him powerful on Hoyer’s scale. He’s just beginning. But it illustrates how power actually transfers: not through a ceremonial handoff, but through endorsements, donors, staff, relationships, and voter confidence. Boafo may become Hoyer’s congressional successor. He will not automatically inherit Hoyer’s 40-plus years of political capital. That part has to be rebuilt. This is the part that often gets overlooked. When a machine breaks apart, power doesn’t only move upward. Some people’s relationships become less valuable. Former Miller aides still know Annapolis. Former Miller allies still possess institutional memory. Veteran lobbyists don’t forget how legislation works. But something fundamental disappeared when Miller did: the common center. The person capable of connecting all of them instantly was gone. That changes the value of a political network. Imagine knowing everybody in Annapolis. Useful. Now imagine the person who introduced many of those people, appointed committee chairs, influenced Senate priorities and understood decades of relationships is simultaneously Senate President. Much more useful. Remove that person and the individual relationships remain. But the system becomes decentralized. First: Bill Ferguson. The Senate’s institutional relationships now run through his leadership rather than Miller’s. Second: the House leadership. With the Miller-Busch generation gone, today’s House leaders are building their own committee chairs, alliances and relationships. Third: Wes Moore. Moore became governor after Miller was gone. That distinction matters. Earlier governors had to operate with Miller sitting across State Circle. Moore entered office during a generational reset. Instead of negotiating with the old machine, he has the opportunity to help build the next network. Fourth: Angela Alsobrooks and the emerging Prince George’s generation. Hoyer is leaving. Miller is gone. The county’s political leadership now belongs to another generation. Fifth: politicians who were outside the old Miller organization. When someone dominates an institution for 33 years, inevitably some politicians develop within that organization and others outside it. Miller’s departure created room for people who may never have risen as quickly under the old structure. That’s the biggest point. If Mike Miller’s power had simply transferred to Bill Ferguson, Maryland would still have a machine. If Hoyer’s influence simply transferred to Boafo, Maryland would still have a machine. If every county leader simply took orders from Moore, Maryland would have a machine. None of those things happened. Instead: Moore controls the statewide executive platform. Ferguson controls the Senate. Peña-Melnyk controls the House. Alsobrooks has statewide and federal reach. Braveboy has Prince George’s executive power. Pittman leads the state Democratic Party after Moore encouraged him to seek the role. (The Maryland Democratic Party) Boafo represents the beginning of the post-Hoyer congressional generation. And Baltimore, Montgomery County, organized labor, donors and other county organizations maintain their own centers of influence. That’s not one machine. If you want to understand where Maryland power is moving, don’t simply watch office titles. Watch endorsements. Who does Moore support? Who does Alsobrooks support? Who gets Ferguson’s allies? Who gets House leadership? Who gets Hoyer’s blessing? Who gets labor? Who gets major donors? And most importantly: That is where the new Maryland network becomes visible. The Boafo race was a textbook example. Hoyer’s successor didn’t emerge randomly from 24 candidates. He had ties to the outgoing incumbent and support from the governor. The old network and the emerging one overlapped. And voters chose him. (AP News) Moore may ultimately become the most important person in determining whether Maryland develops another durable statewide political organization. But the test isn’t whether Moore himself remains popular. The test is what happens to the people he supports. Which delegates become senators? Which senators become committee chairs? Which county officials become executives? Which staffers become candidates? Which appointees become statewide leaders? Who gets his donor network? Who gets his political advisers? Who eventually gets his endorsement when Maryland faces a post-Moore gubernatorial succession fight? That’s how we’ll know whether Moore was merely a successful governor— or the founder of another generation of Maryland power. There’s another category worth watching: politicians who came from Miller’s Maryland but remain active in the new one. Dereck Davis is one. Anthony Brown is another. Veteran legislators and former officials throughout the state still possess old relationships that newer politicians don’t. These people can function as bridges. That’s important because political systems rarely reset completely. The new machine usually grows partly from pieces of the old one. Donors don’t disappear. Lobbyists don’t disappear. Operatives don’t disappear. Institutional memory doesn’t disappear. They find new centers of gravity. If you want one name: His overwhelming 2026 Democratic renomination, executive authority, national profile and influence within the Maryland Democratic Party make that difficult to dispute. (WBAL-TV) But saying Moore “runs Maryland” the way Miller once ran the Senate would oversimplify the reality. Maryland power today looks more like this: WES MOORE Statewide organization.Appointments.Fundraising.Executive government.National Democratic relationships. BILL FERGUSON The Senate.Committees.Confirmations.Legislative leverage. JOSELINE PEÑA-MELNYK The House.Committee leadership.Budget and legislative leverage. ANGELA ALSOBROOKS Statewide electoral organization.Federal platform.Prince George’s relationships.National Democratic connections. AISHA BRAVEBOY Prince George’s executive organization.County government.A major Democratic vote base. THE POST-HOYER GENERATION Boafo and the emerging political class that will have to rebuild Hoyer’s Washington-Maryland network rather than simply inherit it. It did something more interesting. Mike Miller’s influence was too personal, too old and too deeply rooted in his own relationships to be inherited whole. Hoyer’s network is too extensive and too intertwined with decades of congressional politics to fit neatly inside one successor. So the pieces are moving. Toward Moore. Toward Ferguson. Toward Peña-Melnyk. Toward Alsobrooks. Toward Braveboy. Toward younger candidates and new county organizations. And toward veteran political survivors who understand both eras. That’s the next chapter of Maryland politics. The person who eventually connects: Annapolis, Prince George’s, Montgomery County, Baltimore, labor, business, donors, the Maryland Democratic Party, and the congressional delegation will possess something Maryland hasn’t truly seen since Miller’s heyday. Not merely another elected official. And maybe that’s why searching for “the next Mike Miller” is the wrong exercise. There may never be another one. The more important question is: Miller spent half a century becoming that person. Hoyer spent decades becoming another version of it. Maryland’s current political leaders are still competing for the privilege. And until somebody actually connects all those pieces, the most accurate answer to the question “Who runs Maryland?” may be the most fascinating one of all: No one does. Not anymore. But there are plenty of people trying. Sources University of Maryland and Maryland Matters — Miller’s 33-year Senate presidency and political legacy. (Behavioral and Social Sciences) Washington Post historical reporting — Miller’s rise from Maryland machine politics and ability to retain power as the Senate evolved. (The Washington Post) Maryland Matters — former top Miller aides who moved into Annapolis lobbying and the changing Senate power structure. (Maryland Matters) Washington Post and Reuters — Hoyer’s January 2026 retirement announcement after more than four decades in Congress and his long Democratic leadership career. (The Washington Post) Associated Press — Adrian Boafo’s 2026 victory in the Democratic primary to succeed Hoyer, including Hoyer and Moore’s support and Boafo’s “pass the torch” remarks. (AP News) Maryland Democratic Party — Steuart Pittman’s official biography stating that he sought the state chairmanship at Moore’s suggestion. (The Maryland Democratic Party) Maryland General Assembly — official 2026 records identifying Bill Ferguson as Senate President and Joseline Peña-Melnyk as Speaker. (Maryland General Assembly) Maryland State Board of Elections — official 2026 Prince George’s County results showing Aisha Braveboy’s dominant County Executive primary victory. (Maryland State Board of Elections) 2026 election reporting — Moore’s overwhelming Democratic gubernatorial primary victory. (WBAL-TV)

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Aug 22 • 10:17 PM EDT • Politics • themarylandwire.substack.com
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No, AI Probably Won’t Cure Cancer Anytime Soon, Scientists Say

Eric Topol is a prominent cardiologist known for his research into deploying AI and other technologies to improve healthcare. He considers himself a Demis Hassabis superfan, and when I spoke to him, he enthusiastically recounted scoring a blurb from the Google DeepMind chair for “Super Agers,” ...

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Aug 22 • 10:17 AM EDT • Science • theinformation.com
Kentucky GOP donor Kelly Craft named fellow at Harvard’s Institute of Politics

Kelly Craft, a prominent figure in Kentucky politics, is fall resident fellow for the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School.

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Aug 19 • 10:51 AM EDT • Politics • kentucky.com
Apple pulls AI ‘nudify’ app promoted in Meta ads

Meta ran ads for a now-pulled App Store app that let users create AI-generated pornographic deepfakes of real people, including one featuring a woman resembling a prominent US politician.

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Aug 18 • 3:28 PM EDT • Technology • 9to5mac.com
Meta Ran Ads for an App That Promised to Nudify Female Politicians

One advertisement featured a pornographic video with a deepfake closely resembling a prominent US politician. Apple removed the app from the App Store after an inquiry from WIRED.

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Aug 18 • 10:45 AM EDT • Technology • wired.com
Prominent AI startup rolls out virtual cell model in race to speed up science

A prominent AI startup has rolled out a virtual cell model, advancing the race to speed up science.

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Aug 18 • 9:00 AM EDT • Science • statnews.com
Baker Institute fall calendar brings global leaders, foreign policy scholars and science innovators to Houston

The Baker Institute’s fall 2026 calendar will bring prominent policymakers, scientists, business leaders and scholars to Houston this fall for a series of public conversations on energy and grid resilience, artificial intelligence and health, global affairs, demographics, science policy and the future of Texas.

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Aug 18 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • news.rice.edu
J.J. McCarthy Gets Encouraging Message Before Vikings-Ravens Game

The Minnesota Vikings have already named Kyler Murray their starting quarterback. After that decision, it looked like J.J. McCarthy would settle into the QB2 role. However, one prominent sports media member isn’t giving up on McCarthy being a starter in Minnesota or the NFL.During McCarthy’s time out on the field in the 13-10 preseason opener […] The post J.J. McCarthy Gets Encouraging Message Before Vikings-Ravens Game appeared first on HEAVY.

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Live Results: Wyoming midterm primaries

Wyoming voters will choose nominees for an unusually high number of open-seat races in a state primary Tuesday, thanks to two prominent Republican officials whose retirement announcements set off a scramble for contests throughout the ballot.

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Aug 17 • 8:00 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org
Russian court jails Kremlin opposition politician for opposing war in Ukraine

A court in Russia convicted a prominent opposition politician for speaking out against the war in Ukraine and sentenced him to 11 years and a month in prison in the latest crackdown on dissent ahead of next month’s parliamentary election.

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Aug 17 • 2:04 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org
Russia's prominent anti-war politician jailed for 11 years

Lev Schlosberg is found guilty of "discrediting" Russia's army - a verdict he condemns as punishment for his political position.

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Aug 17 • 12:17 PM EDT • Politics • bbc.com
A Prominent Mexican Politician Says U.S. Revoked His Visa

Andrés Manuel López Beltrán, a former president’s son, lashed out at the Trump administration after he said it canceled his visa, another flashpoint in the tense U.S.-Mexico relationship.

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Greens take on data centers, a literal hat trick by Kagan, Tablada retires, in political notes

The Green Party adds a prominent data center opponent as a campaign adviser, Sen. Cheryl Kagan literally pulls questions out of a hat for a quiz of election officials and longtime state and county environment official Horacio Tablada retires, in political notes.

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Orbitals dev on why the game was made for Nintendo Switch 2

Exclusives are becoming less prominent these days, but when Orbitals launches next month, it will only be on Nintendo Switch 2. Shapefarm has now spoken about why it’s a perfect fit for the console. Orbitals is all about cooperative multiplayer. Given that style of gameplay, having it on Nintendo Switch 2 made sense, especially because of its GameShare features. Game...

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"Woke 1 was crazy": AOC seeks do-over on 2020-era rhetoric

The most prominent democratic socialist wants a mulligan.

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Amanda Janoo wins Vermont’s Democratic governor primary

The economist, who was virtually unknown before announcing her campaign, beat out Aly Richards, the former CEO of a prominent child care lobbying and advocacy group.

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Aug 11 • 11:04 PM EDT • Politics • vtdigger.org
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Pelosi wages war over her succession

The former speaker is mobilizing her political network to stop Scott Wiener, a prominent California state senator, from succeeding her.

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Aug 10 • 5:55 AM EDT • Politics • politico.com
Troy musician nominated for 6 Josie Music Awards

Whitlee Casey, a ministry associate at Temple Bible Church, is nominated for six Josie Music Awards, prominent awards for independent music often called the ‘Grammys of independent music.’

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Energy politics prominent in big South Carolina Senate primary

Upstarts are seizing on artificial intelligence infrastructure and solar manufacturing to undercut their rivals in a crowded Republican contest.

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Aug 7 • 6:32 AM EDT • Politics • eenews.net
Louisiana Tech and LSU Health Shreveport create historic research part

Two prominent research enterprises in North Louisiana are officially partnering, after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), establishing a new framework for collaborative research, student tra

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Rep. Wesley Bell defeats former Rep. Cori Bush in a Missouri Democratic primary rematch

Bell won, NBC News projects, with ad support from a pro-Israel super PAC, while Bush had backing from prominent progressives.

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Bryan Cook is the Cincinnati Bengals' Most Overlooked Offseason Addition

The Cincinnati Bengals made several prominent defensive additions this offseason. Dexter Lawrence was the biggest name, but their additions of Boye Mafe and Jonathan Allen have also generated plenty of attention. While the Bengals went and added plenty of names, they also added another player who is being overlooked but will provide just as much of an impact, and that is safety Bryan Cook.

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Acoustirats and Jordan Lauterbach to Perform at LI Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame on Aug 23rd

As part of the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame Soundtrack to Summer Series, the band Acoustirats will perform LIVE music and Comedian Jordan Lauterbach will open with comedy set at the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in Stony Brook Village (97 Main Street, Stony Brook, NY) on Aug. 23th from 3-4pm. The event is free for members or with general admission ticket purchase or $10 at the door concert ticket purchase. For details on this and upcoming events please visit https://www.limusichalloffame.... About AcoustiRats AcoustiRats is an acoustic duo dedicated to stripping Good Rats classics down to their raw, essential form. Fronted by Stefan Marchello, lead singer and 36-year veteran of the Good Rats, alongside guitarist Matt McCarthy, who also did a run on guitar with the band. Between them, they've got decades of Good Rats DNA in their blood. After years of playing these songs loud and electric, Stefan and Matt are thrilled to break them down to the bare bones. No frills, no amps cranked to 11 — just voice, acoustic guitar, and the songwriting that made the Good Rats legendary. It's the same attitude and stories fans know, delivered in a raw, intimate format. For diehard Good Rats fans, it's a new way to hear the classics. For first-timers, it's proof that great songwriting doesn't need to be loud to hit hard. About Jordan Lauterbach Jordan Lauterbach is a fast-rising comedian who features prominently in clubs around the country. His autobiographical style and supreme wit keep audiences laughing for hours after they leave the club. Lauterbach is likable, relatable, and tremendously funny. He has opened for some of comedy's best and is quickly carving out an audience of his own.

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Aug 3 • 3:38 PM EDT • Entertainment • iloveny.com
3 Tech Brands You Might Not Realize Are Owned By TCL

TCL owns several other tech brands that help expand its marketplace reach beyond TVs and smartphones. Among the most prominent are Palm, iFFALCON, and RayNeo.

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Trump Media now selling early access to president's Truth Social posts

Trump Media launched Truth API on Saturday, allowing early access to posts from prominent Truth Social accounts, including President Donald Trump's.

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Adam Schefter Is Facing Criticism For 'Questionable' Business Move

ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter is a rich man. The prominent NFL reporter earns millions of dollars per year in salary at ESPN, covering the biggest league in America. But Schefter is an even richer man today, thanks to a smart investment. Schefter, who previously worked for the Denver Post and the ...

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METR, led by Beth Barnes, confront AI safety research talent shortage

METR, a Berkeley lab started by an ex-OpenAI researcher, has become a prominent AI umpire. CEO Beth Barnes says AI safety research needs more people.

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The Science Behind the AI Panic Is Shakier Than You Think

A column by Sascha Lobo Is AI making us dumb? So asked DER SPIEGEL on its cover a while ago. After a few weeks of recovery and a therapeutic intervention with the help of my AI, I feel able to respond. That’s a bit unfair, of course; the article itself is more nuanced than the loud cover, the image of a schoolkid with dull prompt questions, or the subtitle: “AI is conquering the schools, and educators fear a disaster.” The short answer to “Is AI making us dumb?” is: no. The long answer is more interesting, and even carries a preliminary glimmer of the spectacular. Unfortunately, it requires a detour into the sphere of artificial intelligence, into the mogul-field terrain of technology assessment, the attention economy, and the destructive virus of cultural pessimism. Along with narrowing the scope to AI’s effects on education and work rather than on intelligence. Because the honest version of the question would be: Does AI help us learn and work, or not? Generative AI, which set off the still-ongoing hype with ChatGPT, has only existed in relevant distribution since late 2022, early 2023. For a technology-driven transformation of people and society, that is extremely short. For that reason alone, research is still in its infancy. And technology assessment is not a fast discipline anyway. Prominent voices from Elizabeth Eisenstein to RAND to Tom Wheeler say we still cannot conclusively judge the consequences of the printing press. Its invention is a mere 580 years back, and some scholars would rather not circulate assessments that might have to be retracted in two or three hundred years. We’re Going Through Growing Pains A phenomenon that already caused upheaval in social media research makes serious assessment of AI’s consequences even harder: the “moving target” problem of LLM-ology, as the linguist Sean Trott called it in 2025. AI develops so quickly and so unpredictably that researchers often end up studying snapshots of the past. There are concepts, from morphological analysis to anticipatory governance, for keeping research, planning, and regulation halfway meaningful anyway. But even with those, universally valid statements are rare. DER SPIEGEL - The German View is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe We should therefore treat findings about the interplay between humans and AI as far more procedural and situational. Unfortunately, this challenge comes at the worst possible time. We are going through growing pains: AI’s everyday impact has grown very large very fast, and with it the longing for guidance. Annoyingly, the body of solid knowledge has not exploded along with it. Experts cannot be moved to broad consensus on even banal statements about AI. Sascha Lobo, born in 1975, is an author and strategy consultant focusing on the internet and digital technologies. Together with Jule Lobo, he explores the debates of the day in the podcast “Feel the News – Was Deutschland bewegt” (”What Moves Germany”). Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says software developers are dying out. Bill Gates considers coders one of only three professions that will survive the AI tsunami. Top tech economists find virtually irrefutable arguments both for and against an AI bubble. The same naturally applies to the structurally youth-hostile debate over whether AI is good or bad for young people. The gap between the demand for insight and the supply of solid knowledge creates an orientation vacuum. This vacuum of AI cluelessness is filled, as the attention economy described by Georg Franck in 1998 would have it, with half-knowledge (funnily enough, often AI-generated), marketing, and self-marketing. After all, infinite money is at stake, along with academia’s best current shot at global fame. But this iridescent froth of interpretation operates more by the algorithmic principles of the digital public sphere than by seriously earned insight. That is why dramatized, fear-feeding claims about AI are so promising. It tempts parts of academia into distorted drivel, and parts of the media then sensationalize the published drivel once more. Was the Research Aimed at a Desired Result? How badly this can influence academia and public perception is demonstrated by one of the most-discussed studies on AI’s effects: “Your Brain on ChatGPT.” The MIT study by Nataliya Kosmyna also gets plenty of space in the SPIEGEL cover story. What was measured and interpreted: lower brain activity in people who write with AI assistance, compared to people who only google or write without any tools. As is common with preprints, the study has not yet been peer-reviewed, and it contains substantial weaknesses that experts have sharply criticized. The first round had 54 participants in three groups, the second only 18, who reportedly also came from MIT’s own orbit. There was no preregistration (committing in advance to what you want to find out with which data). In their analysis, Stanković et al. even discovered an opposite effect that the study does not further explain. Some measurement data has not (yet) been published. And the EEG analysis method used is considered too imprecise to support such far-reaching conclusions. The biggest criticism, though, is the suspicion of an activism-driven study. In an interview with Time, lead author Kosmyna said she published the study immediately, rather than after full peer review, because she feared politicians might otherwise decide to put ChatGPT in kindergartens. She considers that absolutely harmful. It is legitimate to hold such a view. It just seems unscientific to approach a study with it, and then to design the setup so that the chance of a fitting desired result remains as high as possible. Ideologies Collide It is not easy to separate genuine AI insights from studies that trivialize and weaken well-founded AI criticism. The same goes for the opposing, AI-enthusiastic narratives, because the pro-AI side works against it with billions in resources. Ideologies collide, fed by egos, PR strategies, moral posturing, and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Doomsday marketing makes the search even harder: AI companies can profit from warnings about the dangers of AI, whether through the notoriety of apocalypse narratives or because, in some target groups, danger translates into power. Some seemingly negative findings are therefore quite welcome in the AI industry. If you try to get at the findings presumably less influenced by interest groups, the picture in education seems relatively clear: AI can improve educational outcomes when the right AI is used the right way, namely pedagogically. Simply dumping an AI chatbot into a classroom, by contrast, accomplishes little. Huge surprise. But something else is also obvious: whether they are allowed to or not, kids use AI for school, which is why the controlled integration of AI tools into education is, in the medium term, entirely without alternative. In the world of work, the landscape of findings is more complex and requires more differentiation. A series of serious studies points to an AI effect that suits neither the alarmists, regulation fetishists, and AI opponents, nor the trillion-dollar corporations with their armada of paid scientists, PR professionals, and ecosystems: working with AI helps the inexperienced (at least for now) considerably more than it helps the pros, in certain fields of work, and provided they know how to use it correctly. Missing Domain Knowledge Among the experienced, the professionals, and the high flyers, by contrast, despite frequent time savings, partially negative effects and new problems are emerging. Take the jagged frontier problem: AI solves task A brilliantly and fails completely at task B, even though both look similar even to professionals. Or the verification-cost problem, in which AI’s greater productivity gets eaten up by the enormous effort of checking its output. Or the illusion of competence, because AI makes new domains seem easily penetrable, until you painfully discover that deep domain knowledge is missing. Taken as a whole, the effects of working with AI do lean positive. But the promise that AI works as a turbocharger for everyone and boosts practically everything simply refuses to materialize. The AI magic the world has been feeling since ChatGPT arrived in late 2022 has so far barely shown up in most companies’ numbers. The consulting firm McKinsey has coined a term for this, the “gen AI paradox,” and believes that work processes and corporate structures would have to be rebuilt quite fundamentally to realize AI’s benefits at scale. Reuters just reported that only 3.3 percent of Microsoft’s customers have subscribed to the AI package Copilot. That may be down to the product; in other areas we continue to see soaring successes and new AI triumphs. But after the first quarter of 2026, disillusionment is the word for all too many AI projects at traditional companies: because the promised revolution of AI agents has so far failed to arrive or been postponed, and because of the leveling effect that many of the studies cited here suggest. Against Inequality The societal effects, on the other hand, appear rather encouraging. Many previous technologies operated on the Matthew principle, named for the Gospel verse about giving to those who already have: they tended to reward the more competent and more privileged. AI, however, seems more often to have an equalizing effect once a threshold of access and education is crossed. Some anecdotal insights point in this direction, for example, how an unemployed man in Leipzig successfully defended himself in court in 2025 against fraud accusations from Germany’s federal employment agency — without a lawyer, armed only with ChatGPT. The AI made mistakes and cited invented court rulings, but in the end the man walked away unpunished. And a key capability of artificial intelligence is its capacity to learn: set up correctly and fed with data, it can keep getting better. It is a question of time, or more precisely of AI innovations and training data, until even free AI chatbots write better legal briefs than law graduates with perfect exam scores. Whether that will make anyone dumb is something the world’s press will surely inform us of in due time. Subscribe Leave a comment

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Jul 29 • 4:23 AM EDT • Science • derspiegel.substack.com
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Flores named chief operating officer of healthcare group

Rev. Bolívar Flores, a prominent Jersey City pastor and Latino community leader, has been appointed chief operating officer of the Sunrise Group of

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Jul 28 • 11:38 AM EDT • Health • newjerseyglobe.com
Trump attorneys in NJ voting probe hold ties to election deniers

One lawyer on the team defended president, staffers after Jan. 6 attack, while another represented a prominent Biden foe

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Jul 28 • 12:08 AM EDT • Politics • njspotlightnews.org
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USA250: The 10 greatest Nevada college athletes ranked

Nevada and UNLV are the two prominent colleges in the state and they lead our list of 10 best college athletes from the Silver State.

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Jul 27 • 5:03 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Arsenal exploring deal for Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior

The Brazil international is in the final 12 months of his contract and is a prominent target among others for the Premier League champions.

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Jul 25 • 8:46 AM EDT • Sports • nytimes.com
Training Camp Could Decide Joshua Palmer's Future with the Bills

With a crowded receiving corps and Super Bowl aspirations, veteran Joshua Palmer must build instant chemistry with Josh Allen to secure a prominent role in Buffalo’s evolving offense.

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Jul 24 • 9:47 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
South Carolina picked by DNC panel to lead off Democrats’ 2028 presidential primary

South Carolina is poised to remain the first Democratic presidential primary state after securing a key panel’s recommendation, a move that will maintain Black voters’ prominent position on the calendar.

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Jul 24 • 1:12 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
Prominent Analyst Believes Jaguars’ Tuten Can Become a Star

As Jacksonville moves on from Travis Etienne, explosive second-year back Bhayshul Tuten faces immense pressure to silence skeptics and transform a young backfield into an elite unit.

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Jul 22 • 4:12 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
36 Prominent Playwrights Will Take on Present Politics in Women+ on the Edge of Democracy

The initiative has commissioned 36 10-minute plays and monologues in response to the current political climate.

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Jul 21 • 8:00 AM EDT • Politics • playbill.com
John Droney Jr., prominent Democrat and lawyer, dead at 79

John F. Droney Jr., a Democratic state chairman under Gov. William O’Neill and a strategist for Joseph I. Lieberman, died Sunday.

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Jul 20 • 4:59 PM EDT • Politics • ctmirror.org
Klay Thompson Gives Promising Update On Warriors Return

The topic of Klay Thompson returning to the Golden State Warriors has become more prominent this offseason after rumors of a potential buy out started. Thompson may be on the way out of the Dallas Mavericks after he joined the team originally to team with Luka Doncic and contend for an NBA championship. Dallas trading […] The post Klay Thompson Gives Promising Update On Warriors Return appeared first on HEAVY.

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Jul 19 • 1:03 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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Prominent local sports analyst names MSU AD candidate to monitor

Who will be the next Michigan State athletic director? A prominent local sports analyst has provided a candidate to keep an eye on moving forward

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Jul 18 • 8:51 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
ARKANSAS A-Z: Black men’s business league embraced economic advances

The Arkansas Negro Business Men's League was created by prominent Black business and professional leaders at a meeting in Little Rock on Dec. 31, 1902-Jan 1, 1903. The state organization grew out of the National Negro Business League, created in 1900 and headed by Booker T. Washington, principal of Alabama's Tuskegee Institute and one of the most prominent spokesmen for Black communities at the time.

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Jul 18 • 9:00 AM EDT • Business • arkansasonline.com
HHS research agency ends funding for dozens of health studies

The Trump administration terminated dozens of health research grants this week, telling grantees it is shifting priorities to issues like the “overmedication of children” and autism, according to a prominent research organization. The cuts hit projects at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, many of them multiyear awards that had already been indefinitely delayed. At least 67 […]

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Jul 17 • 4:14 PM EDT • Health • rollcall.com
Appeals for prominent Indian activist to end hunger strike as he risks health to demand education reforms

Well-known activist Sonam Wangchuk hasn't eaten in nearly 3 weeks, endangering his health as he demands changes to India's exam system.

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Jul 17 • 9:53 AM EDT • Health • cbsnews.com
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One of the world’s most prominent hospitals is testing how AI can revolutionize health care

Mayo Clinic, one of the world’s most well-known hospital systems, is using AI in hopes of improving patient care and, ultimately, saving lives.

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Jul 16 • 5:00 AM EDT • Health • cnn.com
How a teen turned a candy hobby into business sold at Disney World

An 18-year-old has transformed her COVID-era hobby into a thriving business, with her freeze-dried candy now sold at Disney World and other prominent locations.

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Jul 15 • 6:23 PM EDT • Business • ketv.com
UK's Reform Calls for 'Full Security' for Lawmakers After Politician's Murder

LONDON, July 15 (Reuters) - Britain's populist Reform UK called ⁠on ⁠Wednesday for all lawmakers ⁠to be given "full security" if they want it after the murder of Ann Widdecombe, a prominent member of the party led by veteran Brexit campaigner, Nigel ‌Farage. At a news conference, Zia ‌Yusuf,

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Jul 15 • 7:21 AM EDT • Politics • usnews.com
Rhayuela’s Next Gen Takes Over

Prominent Colombian shingle Rhayuela, known for such memorable pics as Cannes 2015 Un Certain Regard title “Alias María,” “El Páramo” and “Rebellion,” is shuffling its leadership although its six orig...

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Jul 15 • 2:52 AM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com
47 revelatory hours with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced

To review this month’s supposed remake of 2013’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, I must first correct the record. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced isn’t a game about pirates (and assassins) in the 18th century Caribbean. Sure, sure, that’s what the trailers would have you believe. They’ve go their clips of Edward Kenway swinging his swords and steering his pirate ship into cannon-blasting combat against British frigates. Is Resynced truly a pirate game? Of the 47 hours I spent playing Resynced over the past few weeks, I will admit I spent maybe 44 (?) of them collecting plunder with Blackbeard, drinking rum with Anne Bonny and debating the pros and cons of the lawless pirate-run settlement Nassau with Benjamin Hornigold. I may in fact have spent dozens of hours sailing to remote islands, reading treasure maps, opening messages left in bottles, sinking the odd Man o’ War with a well-timed broadside, collecting sea shanties for my crew, befriending a pet monkey, and hunting whales. I am nevertheless neither so Gullible nor so Narrow-Minded as to call the magnificent Resynced a “pirate remake.” Oh no. Forget any reviews of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced you may have read. Forget what you yourself may have played, if you’ve spent any time with the game since its launch. What Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is really about I’m here to give you the scoop (spoilers for Resynced’s Animus menu lore, which many players are probably not going to see): Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, the new game whose development was led by Ubisoft Singapore, is set in the year 2096. It’s about a societal split, about revolution, about an old Assassin’s Creed adventure repurposed in the series’ distant future as propaganda or samizdat. It’s about the overheated future of 2096, essentially conquered by the series’ well-established nefarious Templar-run company Abstergo. (In this future, Abstergo is, among other things, remaking a 2013 pirate movie called Devils of the Caribbean, but this time in VR. The VR version will be backed by a marketing plan that involves AI influencers, a 10,000-avatar “metaverse premiere event” and that manufacturing of memes aimed at “50 million VR nodes.” See what I mean about Abstergo being evil?) Resynced is about a late 21st-century population mollified by the widespread use of Abstergo’s Animus devices which let people experience the lives of historical figures culled from “genetic memories.” It’s about an insurgent faction of Assassins. And it’s about a plan to wake the population into revolutionary fervor by showing them the memories of 18th century pirate Edward Kenway, who—as depicted in the original Black Flag and again in Resynced—gradually comes to an understanding about the Assassins of his day and their centuries old fight for freedom. Resynced is also about an AI developed within the late 21st-century Animus, called Ego. It has found a way to alter genetic memories, to create and show Animus users false ones. The game is about Ego’s efforts to tell the people experiencing Edward Kenway’s memories that Kenway was wrong, that fighting against order is folly, that we should crave a world where “compliance is rewarded with power.” Who are we in this game? We’re an unnamed Animus user in 2096 who experiences Kenway’s journey virtually. At four moments during Kenway’s exploits in the Caribbean our virtual jaunt can be interrupted for 10-15 minutes, as we explore Animus “rifts” where Ego explicitly tries to tell us how wrong Kenway was. None of this is what 2013’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag was about, of course. That was a different game, even if you also spent dozens of hours pirating as Kenway in that game, across missions and a map that’s been faithfully reintroduced and rebuilt for Resynced. The 2013 Black Flag was about you playing as an unnamed researcher newly hired in 2013 by Abstergo Entertainment, the video game development wing of the Templars’ evil-corp. In that game, you were assigned to use the Animus to dive into the genetic memories of Desmond Miles, a man who died in Assassin’s Creed III and who was descended from a long line of Assassins (and at least one Templar) whose adventures were featured across the prior AC games. In 2013’s Black Flag, your mission was to plumb the Edward Kenway experience for material that Abstergo could use in productions such as the motion picture Devils of the Caribbean, though the Templars had some ulterior motives for the assignment. Resynced is therefore not a remake of 2013’s Black Flag. It’s a sequel. It is a new game about a new exploration of Edward Kenway’s pirate/assassin journey, set 83 years after the framing sequences of the original game. Resynced provides a new narrative framework that, thanks to the concept of an AI that wants to alter historical memories, arrives with creative justification to tweak a now-classic 13-year old game. That makes Resynced, already a hot seller, a tantalizing hint of where Ubisoft could go with a line of Assassin’s Creed remakes. They could remake the first game, the Ezio games, even the recent ones set in ancient Egypt and Greece. And for each, they could not just modernize the graphics and controls but expand and alter their sequences of events to use them as reference points for a conflict set in the late 21st century, as rival factions try to weaponize historical memories. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, even when that work consists of ravings about Assassin’s Creed’s modern day plot, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe A story most players will probably miss If you didn’t know any of this, I’m not surprised. If you played the game and still didn’t catch it, I’m not a bit shocked. If Ubisoft has no plans to do more of this, I won’t fall down. Almost all of what I’ve described is optional and missable in Black Flag Resynced. I nearly missed it myself, as I planned for a breezy playthrough of an old Assassin’s Creed favorite. Instead, I found myself in a 40+ hour hunt for the “real” story, buried deeper in Resynced than any gold-filled chest. The story of 2096 is Resynced’s meta-story, told in two remote pockets of the game: 1) four optional playable “rifts” that players may find as they proceed through Resynced’s pirate fantasy , 2) in dozens of text files tucked three menus deep in the game’s barely-interactive Animus hub. Assassin’s Creed games have almost always had a meta-story about people in the 21st century (usually matching the game’s release year) and their connections to the main history portions you play. Those meta-stories have always been squeezed into the margins, though seldom as severely and as, uh, graphiaclly simple, as in recent games. Back in 2013, the modern-day exploits of you as an Abstergo Entertainment employee were prominent. They were portrayed via first-person portions that occasionally interrupted the third-person Kenway experience and could be explored for hours, complete with their own missions, side quests and puzzles. Resynced’s 2096 story—of Assassin “Watchers” vs. Abstergo/Tempar goons, of rogue AIs, of panicking scientists, of a woman wondering why her Animus-addicted husband is muttering about Mary Read (“What does he mean by Assassins?”), of a fight for the population’s hearts and minds via varying interpretations of Edward Kenway’s life choices—is mostly told through unlockable text files. The files are interesting. Offered via diary entries, intercepted chats and news reports, they present varied perspectives of a world in crisis. One set works as a narrative puzzle as it reveals the Rashomonic interpretations of a massacre, or was that a successful Assassin hit? Another favorite reveals the rising bitterness of a person who, through Edward Kenway’s journey, now shakes at the ignored evil around him. One surmises that Ubisoft is averse to putting the Assassin’s Creed’s meta-story in the way of more marketable pirate playgrounds and ninja/samurai epics. Instead, we get a better-than-nothing text-in-menus approach introduced in 2025’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows. In Shadows, players unlocked the meta-story text files largely via time-gated missions that called on the user to kill X number of enemy type Y, clear three enemy castles, re-win a three-phase fighting tournament, and other grinds. Time restrictions on accessing these missions and unlocking the files meant it could take players months to access the full story in-game. But even in the most hardcore Assassin’s Creed hangouts, the fanbase instead seemed to throw up their hands rather than grind to keep up. In Resynced, Ubisoft has shown some mercy, diminishing the amount of new text files that are tied to timed grinds. Now, most of the text-based 2096 lore are associated with “data file” collectibles that players can find in the world. That includes a batch of written entries that explain a historical link between the feudal Japan era in Shadows and the piracy adventures in Black Flag. Players who explore a lot will find dozens of data files, though the game does not appear to offer any in-game tracker for finding each one. You just need to keep looking for them. As of this writing, I have most of them, but not all. I can’t find any full guide for them online. And even Ubisoft’s optional $5 microtransaction that reveals lots of items in-game does not appear to reveal the locations of the text files (at least the official description omits them from its collectibles list). That’s not a huge bother, because tracking the data files down compelled me to re-explore the waves and islands of Black Flag. That was a thoroughly pleasant task to do for the first time in a dozen years. I expect many players, though, will be content to wait for the files to be reproduced in an online AC wiki somewhere, the easier to read on a web page. It may not seem enticing to play a video game in order to gradually unlock pages of text to read. Why not, you may ask, just read a book, where they put the pages in order? For one, they’ve not tucked this latest installment of Assassin’s Creed’s meta saga in a book. I also enjoy the unordered delivery, the dawning comprehension of a story about 2096’s desperate people and questionable tech, which I glimpsed first at its middle, then the end, then the front, then other moments in between1. I am also enamored with the idea of the Assassin’s Creed games I’ve previously played, including Black Flag, being repurposed for an information war. The ideas in Resynced’s meta-story, which builds off characters and ideas in Shadows’ chunks of text, are strong. The potential of where they could go with it is exciting. As for the pirate stuff? Looks great, controls pretty well, is fun to play and oh so speedy in terms of how much of a good time you can have with each sit-down. It never gets old to chase a new shanty page across a rooftop, bombard a fort with upgraded mortars or use a diving bell to explore sunken wrecks (hats off to the team at Ubisoft Barcelona that worked on the underwater portions in Resynced; that team is now facing layoffs, such is the misery of modern gaming and oft-troubled Ubisoft). New pirate missions in Resynced involving new ally characters are brief, dramatic and add more to Edward’s story, even if the gameplay perks they provide barely enhance the gameplay. A new denouement for high-class pirate Stede Bonnet is affecting; a new hunt for Blackbeard’s treasure is a welcome extra moment. A new epilogue to hunt down a pirate killer, on the other hand, over-complicates Kenway’s character. The ending credits remain my favorite of any game I’ve ever played. Black Flag provides great source material. The revisit is well-made and a great sign of what could be. It is offered in a different wrapper that hints at an opportunity for more interesting remakes to come, should Ubisoft choose to pursue such treasures—and as we brace to resist or comply with an Abstergo future. 1 The messages that Edward Kenway finds in bottles tell another out-of-order story, one about a man reckoning with the strange memories and voices he’s heard in his head since he was a boy. That tale was also in the 2013 game and develops into one of Black Flag’s most compelling character arcs. In Resynced, it has lost its climax, because the bottle story previously paid off in the halls of the first-person Abstergo Entertainment, which is exclusive to the older game. An altered resolution, written by the 2013 game’s lead writer is fine, doesn’t invalidate the 2013 version, but makes for an inferior final note.

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Jul 14 • 3:17 PM EDT • Technology • gamefile.news
Indian Activist’s Health Worsens in Hunger Strike for Students

The health of a well-known Indian activist is deteriorating more than two weeks into his hunger strike over exam paper leaks, putting pressure on the government to respond to one of the country’s most prominent youth-driven protests in years.

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Jul 13 • 8:00 PM EDT • Health • bloomberg.com
Hermes agent maker Nous Research in talks for new funding at $1.5B valuation

The company is raising at least $75 million, led by Robot, with significant participation from USV and other prominent investors.

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Jul 13 • 7:31 PM EDT • Technology • techcrunch.com
How a northern Kentucky teen turned a candy hobby into business sold at Disney World

An 18-year-old from Northern Kentucky has transformed her COVID-era hobby into a thriving business, with her freeze-dried candy now sold at Disney World and other prominent locations.

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Jul 13 • 5:21 PM EDT • Business • wlwt.com
Lindsey's Graham's journey from a pool hall to the heights of political power

Lindsey Graham was the garrulous son of South Carolina pool hall owners and he rose to become a prominent senator and fixture on the global stage.

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Jul 12 • 3:05 PM EDT • Politics • wsls.com
Downtown Bend Business Association leader resigns

Rachel O’Rourke, the leader of a prominent downtown Bend business group, announced plans this month to step away from her role amid a period of major upheaval for the organization. Days before the resignation went public, the Downtown Bend Business Association also announced it would redo the process for a recent board of directors election. The turmoil comes after discussions over the prospect of paid parking were met with fierce pushback from […]

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Jul 8 • 7:18 PM EDT • Business • bendsource.com
Rahm Emanuel says U.S. should end unconditional support for Israel

The rebuke by Emanuel, one of America’s most prominent Jewish politicians is the latest sign of just how far Israel’s standing in the U.S. has fallen since the war in Gaza.

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Jul 8 • 12:41 PM EDT • Politics • chicagobusiness.com
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Weibo leaker says iPhone 18 Pro thickness will be ‘surprising’

Days after materials from Apple supplier Tata surfaced online, prominent Weibo leaker “Fixed Focus Digital” doubled down on his earlier claim that the iPhone 18 Pro will be thicker than the iPhone 17 Pro.

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Jul 7 • 1:42 PM EDT • Technology • 9to5mac.com
Prominent Bears defender to attend 'Sack Summit' this week

Chicago Bears pass rusher Dayo Odeyingbo is set to attend the high-profiled "Sack Summit" in Las Vegas, putting the NFL's top pass rushers together.

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Jul 6 • 3:59 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Trump hails U.S. exceptionalism before veering into darkly political speech to usher in America 250

While the language was similar to several other speeches Trump has given in recent days, it was notable for being delivered in a national park that commemorates some of America's most prominent presidents.

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Jul 4 • 11:35 AM EDT • Politics • pbs.org
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Prominent GOP operative gets new client: an entire branch of state government

Periklis Karoutas has a diverse list of lobbying clients and has worked for a range of Republican political candidates. His latest job comes as New Hampshire's Judicial Branch has faced increased public scrutiny.

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Jul 1 • 3:39 PM EDT • Politics • nhpr.org
Gift From Phil Hochberg ’61 Combines His Passion for Newhouse, Sports and DC

A prominent lawyer, Phil Hochberg is also well-known in Washington, D.C., as a former MLB, NFL and college public address announcer.

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Jul 1 • 10:01 AM EDT • Sports • newhouse.syracuse.edu
iPhone 18e Won't Get ProMotion Display, Says Leaker

Apple's upcoming iPhone 18e will have the same display refresh rate as the existing iPhone 17e, according to a prominent Chinese leaker. Discussing Apple's product plans for 2027 in a Weibo post, Digital Chat Station claimed that the next generation of Apple's low-cost iPhone will feature the same 60Hz low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) TFT panel as the current model.

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Jun 29 • 5:54 AM EDT • Technology • macrumors.com
What could be next for Gakpo?

Following the departure of Mohamed Salah, at least one more attacking signing is expected at Anfield this summer. Liverpool have already signed Victor Munoz from Osasuna for £34.5m and the pursuit of Yan Diomande is heating up. Talented teenager Rio Ngumoha is also set to play a more prominent role, while Florian Wirtz played off the left for Liverpool at times last season and is featuring there for Germany in the World Cup.

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Jun 26 • 3:14 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Tech: House Science advances AI bills

The House Science Committee advanced a bipartisan bill that would codify increasingly prominent artificial intelligence oversight work being done by the Commerce Department.

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Jun 25 • 12:04 PM EDT • Science • punchbowl.news
iPhone Ultra 2 Gets Green Light for Development, Says Leaker

Apple's second-generation foldable iPhone has officially been given the go-ahead for development, a prominent Chinese leaker claimed today. In a post on Weibo, the account known as Digital Chat Station said that the "iPhone Ultra 2 project" has been formally approved, and that the second book-style device will likely use the same display as the first-generation model expected later this year.

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Jun 25 • 5:27 AM EDT • Technology • macrumors.com
'Need each other': Macron hosts Meloni after Trump rift

One of Europe's most prominent right-wing leaders will arrive on the French Riviera for her first bilateral summit with Macron, fresh from her fallout with Donald Trump

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Jun 24 • 10:25 PM EDT • Politics • euractiv.com
NAWBO Honors Prominent Business Leader as Member of the Year

Credit: Courtesy SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The National Association of Women Business Owners, Santa Barbara chapter (NAWBO-SB) is proud to honor

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Jun 23 • 5:46 PM EDT • Business • independent.com
BetMGM, MLB Expand Sports Betting Partnership

The sportsbook will maintain prominent visibility across MLB platforms while expanding fan-facing experiences.

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Jun 23 • 4:11 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
How a gulf nation is working on nurturing homegrown talent

The Middle East has become a major hub for world championship events in the last decade. Now, one of the region’s most prominent countries is investing heavily in developing homegrown talent

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Jun 23 • 4:16 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Mamdani defends criticism of AIPAC after being accused of antisemitism

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday defended his remarks last week sharply denouncing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee after prominent Jewish leaders accused him of antisemitism.

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Jun 22 • 4:15 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
Can we discuss politics through the lens of faith ?

Father James Martin, a prominent Catholic voice, explains how the gospel cuts through partisanship and heals

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Jun 21 • 6:48 PM EDT • Politics • deseret.com
Tampa medical building tied to philanthropist, investor Patel sold

In the week's top commercial real estate news, a grocery store property sold in Venice, a former beach hotel sold in Clearwater, and a prominent CRE broker makes a move in Fort Myers.

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Jun 21 • 5:00 AM EDT • Business • businessobserverfl.com
Explosive report unearths prominent union money trail labeled a 'stunning betrayal' of MAGA members

A major railroad union is accused of funneling money to Democratic causes while sidelining MAGA members, according to a new accountability report.

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Jun 20 • 1:41 PM EDT • Politics • foxnews.com
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Western Pa. families declining vitamin K shots, other preventive care for newborns

A recent study in a prominent medical journal indicates that many more families are declining vitamin K shots, which prevent bleeding complications in newborns. The JAMA researchers reported that rates of refusing the preventive health measure went from 2.9% to 5.2% in eight years. A local expert says his health

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Jun 20 • 6:00 AM EDT • Health • triblive.com
Cambodian Supreme Court upholds incitement conviction of opposition politician in charged case

Cambodia’s Supreme Court has upheld the incitement conviction of prominent opposition politician Rong Chhun but suspended the remainder of his prison sentence, allowing him to remain free while barring him from politics for years | TALK 980am

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Jun 19 • 12:22 AM EDT • Politics • audacy.com
Cambodian Supreme Court upholds incitement conviction of opposition politician in charged case

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s Supreme Court on Friday upheld the incitement conviction of a prominent opposition politician while suspending the remainder of his sentence, keeping hi…

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Jun 19 • 12:22 AM EDT • Politics • thehill.com
Cambodian Supreme Court upholds incitement conviction of opposition politician in charged case

Cambodia’s Supreme Court has upheld the incitement conviction of prominent opposition politician Rong Chhun but suspended the remainder of his prison sentence, allowing him to remain free while barring him from politics for years | WBBM Newsradio 780 AM & 105.9 FM

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Jun 19 • 12:22 AM EDT • Politics • audacy.com
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Cambodian Supreme Court upholds incitement conviction of opposition politician in charged case

Cambodia’s Supreme Court has upheld the incitement conviction of prominent opposition politician Rong Chhun but suspended the remainder of his prison sentence, allowing him to remain free while barring him from politics for years | Newsradio 1140 WRVA

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Jun 19 • 12:22 AM EDT • Politics • audacy.com
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Cambodian Supreme Court upholds incitement of opposition politician in politically charged case

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia's Supreme Court on Friday upheld the incitement conviction of a prominent opposition politician while suspending the remainder of his sentence, keeping him out of prison but unable to practice politics for years.

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Jun 19 • 12:18 AM EDT • Politics • wral.com
Cambodian Supreme Court upholds incitement conviction of opposition politician in charged case

Cambodia’s Supreme Court has upheld the incitement conviction of prominent opposition politician Rong Chhun but suspended the remainder of his prison sentence, allowing him to remain free while barring him from politics for years

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Jun 19 • 12:13 AM EDT • Politics • abcnews.com
The unwanted return of tetanus; why soccer makes people so happy; breast cancer in men; plus other stories with Vanderbilt Health sources

Women’s Health interviewed Kathryn Edwards, MD, Sarah H. Sell and Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Pediatrics, for a story about her JAMA Viewpoint article on tetanus making a comeback. Women’s Health interviewed Colin Armstrong, PhD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, for a story tied to the World Cup about why soccer makes people so happy. An NBC News story about the announcement by “X-Men” actor and former wrestler Tyler Mane that he has breast cancer quotes Ben Ho Park, MD, director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. The story focuses on how a prominent man with breast cancer may help remove some stigma from a cancer that is rare in males. Prevention magazine interviewed Caitlyn Mooney, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, for a story about a BMJ study that suggests 90 to 120 minutes per week of strength training may lower the risk of death. William Schaffner, MD, Professor of Preventive Medicine, was quoted by several news outlets about public health issues, including: Women’s Health (norovirus is more common this summer); SFGate (measles in San Francisco just before the World Cup crowds); Travel + Leisure (how to avoid getting sick on a cruise); and Fox News (mosquito-borne diseases). Reporter Liz DeSantis from WKRN News 2 aired a story on the rehab unit at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Kat Hedden, PT, DPT, PCS, CBIS, Acute Pediatric Physical Therapy Clinical Team Lead and Mary McLanahan, MD, Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation were interviewed, as well as the family of patient Will Terry. Reporter Nikki Hauser from WTVF News Channel 5 interviewed Graden Knapp, Gaming and Technology Specialist at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt about his 3-D wheelchair project. Tennesseanreporter Sandy Mazza covered the announcement of the latest Leadership Nashville class, which includes Jane Freedman, MD, Deputy CEO, and Chief Health Systems Office for Vanderbilt Health; and also the announcement of the latest Leadership Tennessee cohort, which includes Jeff Upperman, MD, Surgeon in Chief at Monroe Carroll Jr Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

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Jun 18 • 11:31 AM EDT • Health • news.vumc.org
OHSU sues OPB, seeking to withhold records about fired executive

Oregon’s flagship research hospital and medical school on Tuesday sued Oregon Public Broadcasting to prevent the release of records about its firing of a prominent executive four months into his job.

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Jun 16 • 9:32 PM EDT • Health • opb.org
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U.S. Ryder Cup Team Making Analytics Hires Before 2027 Event

Jim Furyk hired a new data analytics staff for the U.S. Ryder Cup team headlined by a prominent golf writer.

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Jun 16 • 4:02 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com