SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " issue " 4,579 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
New Arizona State coach Randy Bennett ‘catching my stride’ after health issue arose in March
Arizona State hired Bennett on March 23, but the 63-year-old coach started feeling ill shortly after his arrival to the Phoenix area.
Live Sports Streaming Ad Market Rife With Fraud, Experts Say
Front Office Sports spoke with various industry insiders who raised red flags about ad sales issues in streaming.
Iowa Association of Business and Industry’s Taking Care of Business Conference starts June 2
The Iowa Association of Business and Industry will host more than 500 state leaders at its annual Taking Care of Business Conference in Coralville and Iowa City from June 2 to 4, 2026, for three days of discussions on key economic and leadership issues. The conference agenda features a CEO panel moderated by Debi Durham, […]
Mamdani's latest tax pledge 'makes no sense' and will only exacerbate Florida 'exodus': former mayor
Republican congressional candidate Scott Singer predicts continued business exodus from NYC to Florida amid Mayor Mamdani's tax-the-rich policies.
Victoria Beckham’s Teen Daughter Turned Her Skin Issues Into Business Idea
Victoria Beckham’s teen daughter turned her skin problem into a business idea. During an episode of the “Aspire with Emma Grede” podcast, the fashion designer made an appearance. She spoke about how h...
Kalshi’s Site Sure Looks Like Sports Betting
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Benjamin Schiffrin, Director of Securities Policy for Better Markets, issued the following statement in connection with Better Markets’ new Fact Sheet entitled “Everyone Should Go on Kalshi and See for Themselves Whether It Looks Like Sports Betting or Derivatives Trading”: “When Kalshi wanted to allow people to bet on elections through so-called event contracts, we warned
For the lone woman left in the California governor’s race, it’s all about ‘temperament’
Katie Porter released an ad joking about her temper. But experts say the touchy issue reveals a double standard for women candidates.
Endorsement snubs, rethinking redistricting, public campaign fund feuds, in political notes
AFSCME endorsements are missing two big Democratic names, recent events have Senate President Bill Ferguson "evaluating ... where things stand" on redistricting, and money is becoming the issue in the Howard County executive race, in political notes.
Republicans' midterm health care dilemma
Health care costs are a huge midterm issue, but Republicans are divided on solutions.
Google Pixel May 2026 update fails to fix battery drain issues
Google has started rolling out a new update for Pixel smartphones. However, while the update brings various fixes and improvements, it fails to fix a major issue that users have been facing since the March update.
Abortion reemerges as election issue amid challenges to mifepristone
On Friday, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked a federal appeals court ruling that would have prevented the abortion pill mifepristone from being mailed.
Resilia tissue developed by Edwards Lifesciences associated with long-term durability
Kevin Accola, MD, spoke to Cardiovascular Business about new 10-year data on the performance of surgical valves featuring Resilia tissue. The findings are good news for Edwards Lifesciences, which also includes the tissue on many of its TAVR devices.
Google releases Android 17 QPR1 Beta 2 for Pixel
Just two weeks after the first preview, Google is rolling out Android 17 QPR1 Beta 2. The following issues are...
Public Health Alert Issued for Ravioli Products Sold at Costco in 2 States
A public health alert was issued by the FSIS for 32-oz. plastic bag packages containing Giovanni Rana RANA Rustic Beef Sauce & Creamy Burrata Cheese Ravioli found at Costco locations in Maryland and New Jersey after the affected bags were found to contain shrimp ravioli in lobster sauce.
Public health alert issued for mislabeled ravioli that may contain shellfish
Public health alert issued for mislabeled ravioli that may contain shellfish
Older BMT Survivors Face High Burden of Late Health Risks
The Blood or Marrow Transplant Survivor Study issued findings from patients aged at least 60 years at transplant.
KFF Health Tracking Poll: MAHA and the Midterms
This KFF Health Tracking Poll finds that the cost of health care is a more prominent focus for Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) voters than issues like food and vaccine policy. Four in ten MAHA voters (42%) choose lowering health costs as the most important health priority, outranking other MAHA priorities.
Football club fined for not doing enough to remove player from field during mental health issue
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian rules football club Carlton has been fined 75,000 Australian dollars ($54,000) for its lapse handling of a player's on-field mental health episode.
Phil Mickelson pulls out of PGA Championship weeks after missing The Masters, cites 'personal health issue'
Phil Mickelson has withdrawn from next week's PGA Championship because of a personal health matter with his family, organisers have confirmed.
U.S. Congressman Tim Walberg Joins NFIB Small Business Roundtable
Owners discussed small business issues with Rep. Walberg.
Google's May security patch for Pixels is here, targeting charging and display
The update is bite-sized, but it tries to fix some prominent issues.
Dolly Parton cancels Vegas residency due to health issues. What is wrong
The iconic Dolly Parton recently canceled a planned a series of appearances in Las Vegas. Here's why.
Phil Mickelson Issues Worrying Statement as He Exits PGA Championship Amid Family Health Matter
The PGA of America recently listed Phil Mickelson in the field for next week’s PGA Championship at Aronimink, giving fans reason to believe Lefty was finally ready to return. That hope lasted less than a day.
Ohio voters talk politics, issues after casting primary ballots
Voters across the greater Columbus area cast their ballots for statewide office nominees with politics and specific issues on their mind.
Valve Says Steam Controller Sold Out 'Faster Than We Anticipated' as Scalpers Cash In
Valve Issues Steam Controller Stock Update
SEC proposes letting companies report earnings twice a year
The SEC issued a proposed rule Tuesday that would cut the number of mandatory earnings reports for public companies to two a year.
Abortion pill rulings bring the issue back to the forefront in a midterm election year
Back-to-back court rulings on abortion pill access are thrusting a contentious political issue back into the spotlight ahead of this year’s midterm elections that will determine control of Congress for the second half of President Donald Trump's term.
Supreme Court abortion case could force Trump to take a public stance on mifepristone
The return of abortion to the Supreme Court is testing President Donald Trump’s strategy of avoiding the issue as the anti-abortion advocates grow increasingly frustrated that his administration hasn’t done more to crack down on access to mifepristone, the drug approved to terminate pregnancies.
The Sims 4 Laundry List: 150 Fixes and Base Layers Coming In Next Patch (May 5th, 2026)
EA and Maxis have published a brand new The Sims 4 Laundry List for the upcoming Game Patch. Covering all the top community reported issues and bugs that have
Health alert issued for ravioli pasta that may contain shellfish
The Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a public health alert for 32-oz. plastic bag packages containing “Giovanni Rana Rustic Beef Sauce & Creamy Burrata Cheese Ravioli."
Dolly Parton cancels Las Vegas residency over health issues
Dolly Parton cancels Las Vegas residency over health issues
Abortion pill rulings bring the issue back to the forefront in a midterm election year
Recent court rulings on abortion pill access have reignited a contentious political issue in a midterm year.
Tennessee Department of Health issues tick-bite prevention tips amid national case rise
The Tennessee Department of Health is reminding everyone to take precautions to avoid tick bites and tick-borne diseases.This comes as recent nationwide numbers
Dolly Parton cancels Las Vegas residency due to health issues
The 80-year-old country music star said it will take some time for her to be "stage-performance ready" again.
Academy Sports + Outdoors Announces Pricing of Senior Secured Notes
/PRNewswire/ -- Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. ("Academy") (Nasdaq: ASO) today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Academy, Ltd. (the "Issuer"),...
HHS recognizes Mental Health Awareness Month, encourages small steps to support well-being | Health and Human Services North Dakota
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS) is highlighting the importance of mental health, while encouraging individuals to take small, manageable steps to support their overall well-being.Gov. Kelly Armstrong has issued a proclamation recognizing May as Mental Health Awareness Month across North Dakota.This year, HHS is promoting a “Healthy Habit Exchange” approach and encouraging North Dakotans to make simple, everyday changes that can positively impact mental health.
Dolly Parton cancels Las Vegas residency due to health issues: ‘Everything I have is treatable’
Country superstar assures fans her health issues are treatable
Dolly Parton cancels Las Vegas residency due to health issues: 'Everything I have is treatable'
Dolly Parton has canceled her previously postponed Las Vegas residency due to health challenges.
FDA details Class I catheter recall due to safety risk
The FDA first shared a warning about this issue back in April. Now, the agency has shared a critical update.
Dolly Parton cancels Las Vegas residency amid health struggles
Dolly Parton announced Monday she is canceling her planned Las Vegas residency as she continues recovering from ongoing health issues.
Dolly Parton cancels Las Vegas residency over health issues: ‘I’ve still got some healing to do’
The 80-year-old singer will not be performing rescheduled dates in September but assured fans she is receiving treatment and ‘improving every day’
Dolly Parton cancels Las Vegas residency as health issues force her to step back from stage performances
Dolly Parton cancels Las Vegas residency due to ongoing health issues but says she is improving every day and her conditions are all treatable.
Dolly Parton details health issues, 'still got some healing to do'
Dolly Parton revealed on social media that she's been suffering from various health issues in recent years, including chronic kidney stones.
Pittsburgh Restaurant Hit With 10 Health Violations
Bar & Grill in Pittsburgh found "out of compliance" with 10 state health violations, including pests, debris, and food safety issues. | 100.1 FM and AM 1020 KDKA
Supreme Court temporarily restores access to abortion pill mifepristone through telehealth, mail and pharmacies
The court's order will remain in effect for another week while both sides respond and the court more fully considers the issue.
USDA Issues Nationwide Health Alert For Contaminated Frozen Pizzas As Salmonella Risk Spreads Across Major Retail Brands
A major food safety alert is raising concern across the United States after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a nationwide health alert for
Methane emissions are accelerating warming. Scientists say this plan can help
As G7 discussions turn to methane emissions, more than 250 scientists have issued a plan to accelerate action on one of the fastest ways to slow warming.
Academy Sports + Outdoors Announces Offering of Senior Secured Notes
/PRNewswire/ -- Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. ("Academy") (Nasdaq: ASO) today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Academy, Ltd. (the "Issuer"),...
Steam Controller Quickly Goes Out Of Stock After Payment Processing Issues Plague Release
The launch of the Steam Controller did not go smoothly, as many were met with error messages before it went out of stock
Awkward Health Questions Women Avoid — And Why That’s Dangerous
Carly Stern sits down with Dr. Caren Behar to tackle the medical questions patients are too mortified to say out loud. From everyday issues many silently struggle with to warning signs that could...
Accel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:ACEL) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Analysts
Accel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:ACEL - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a stron
Microsoft Defender Misidentifies DigiCert Certificates As Malware, Triggering Global Disruptions
A significant technical malfunction in Microsoft Defender has triggered widespread alarm across the global cybersecurity community, after the platform mistakenly identified legitimate digital certificates issued by DigiCert as malicious software. The error, which surfaced in late April, led to false
4D mammo may be up to four times more accurate than 3D
The 4D system harnesses X-ray diffraction to measure molecular-level signatures of disease; these tissue “fingerprints” could help providers diagnose breast cancer in its earliest stages.
Golf Business Live: U.S. Representative Richard Hudson
U.S. Congressman joins NGCOA CEO and Golf Business Live host Jay Karen to discuss a wide range of issues impacting golf owners and operators on the eve of National Golf Day.
Black maternal health, systemic issues Black women face in health care & the real world consequences
In this edition of Real Conversations in the QC, the cast sat down with community members and local experts to break down disease and healthcare issues that often affect the Black community.
Black maternal health, systemic issues Black women face in health care & the real world consequences
In this edition of Real Conversations in the QC, the cast sat down with community members and local experts to break down disease and healthcare issues that often affect the Black community.
Trump's disapproval rating hits record high in new poll
In the latest Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, Trump's disapproval rating reached its highest level across both terms. Here are the top issues.
America’s political identity crisis
The outer edges of both parties are overlapping on a growing number of issues
Dispatch's Samantha Hendrickson breaks down consumer issues for you
Samantha Hendrickson has been with The Dispatch for two years and covers business, health, consumer issues and more for readers.
One Issue Uniting Democrats and Republicans? Worries About A.I.
The growing unease over artificial intelligence is something elements of the left and the right can agree on in a polarized age.
Max Verstappen reveals hidden factor behind Red Bull’s F1 turnaround
Verstappen has been surprised by Red Bull’s major step in Miami. The Dutchman reveals there is another factor at play besides the upgrades: during the F1 break, Red Bull discovered an issue in the steering system
Rep. Greg Casar pushes 'accountability and affordability message for Democrats in Austin
The Austin-area Democrat promised to hold Republicans accountable and tackle affordability, but danced around the thorny issue of state Rep. James Talarico's credibility with Black voters.
‘The reality, for better or worse’: Columbia comp sci students and faculty grapple with AI’s disruption of the field
‘The reality, for better or worse’: Columbia comp sci students and faculty grapple with AI’s disruption of the field ‘The reality, for better or worse’: Columbia comp sci students and faculty grapple with AI’s disruption of the field A field that once seemed like a direct path to stable, lucrative work is becoming less certain under AI, students and faculty told Spectator. By Ria Vasishtha and Arjun Menon May 3, 2026 Shanying Liu / Deputy Illustrations Editor Asia Genawi, SEAS ’29, first encountered artificial intelligence during her sophomore year at her high school in Indiana. Back in 2023, policies on AI varied widely—even within the same district—and some schools had no guidance at all. As Genawi began to see the effects of AI trickle into her classroom, she turned to guidance from her home state’s Department of Education, which she said she found “outdated and inaccessible.” Genawi spent the rest of her high school career dedicated to the issue, including writing a 15-page memo exploring varying AI policies across Indiana schools, which she sent to every Indiana state senator and representative whose contact information she was able to find. She later helped draft a bill that would have required public high schools to establish and share their own AI policies with students in an accessible format. But with so many other bills already awaiting referral, hers never made it to committee. When Genawi arrived at Columbia to study computer science, she found that the gaps she had spent years trying to address in Indiana had followed her there. Many students and professors were also grappling with what AI meant for the field. Across Columbia’s undergraduate schools, computer science has become the most popular major—accounting for around 11 percent of degrees awarded in Columbia College, 32 percent in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and 12 percent in the School of General Studies in 2024. While the number of computer science majors in SEAS grew from 166 to 173 during the 2024-25 academic year, the total number across the three schools fell around 4.5 percent from 393 to 375, driven by declines at Columbia College and General Studies. At Barnard, it has grown to become the second most popular major as of 2025, up from third the year prior. The number of degrees awarded have grown fivefold since 2016. Faculty members and students in the department told Spectator that the surge in the major’s popularity has been driven in large part by its apparent promise of a secure, well-paid career path. However, they noted that the recent rise of generative AI has compromised the sense of stability that once defined the field, even as interest in technical skills among students persists. According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 2024, out of 74 majors tracked, computer science had the fifth highest unemployment rate among majors at 7 percent, while computer engineering had the second highest at 7.8 percent. “Anecdotally, people are moving away from CS as a major,” Daniel Bauer, a senior lecturer in the computer science department, said. “They’re still taking some of our classes, right, because they think they need that, but they’re instead majoring in other things.” Bauer described a field that had shifted from what he called a “nerdy outlier discipline” to one that “everyone needs,” a sign that technical skills have become a baseline expectation across industries with the emergence of AI. “A lot of people thought, ‘Oh, it’s a guaranteed path to a stable income. You get a six-figure job right out of your undergrad,’” Bauer said. Now, companies may see AI as a way to reduce demand for entry-level programmers, especially in what he calls “code monkey jobs,” roles where a large number of employees are “just writing out code nine-to-five.” Chris Murphy, a senior lecturer in the computer science department, described the current moment as the convergence of two forces: the downturn of the job market and generative AI coming onto the scene. “Things kind of started to really pick up in 2014, 16,” he said, recalling the years after the weaker 2010 market. Murphy added that this was also a period where “students were getting more experience outside of class than they were inside of class” through internships, jobs, and side projects. Murphy suggested that the earlier momentum helped make computer science feel like both an academic program and a reliable pathway into work. That feeling is harder to sustain now as the industry reconfigures, which is a shift that students are seeing firsthand. Rebecca Yu, SEAS ’27, said that during a recent internship in Big Tech, she saw that “every single tech company was racing to integrate” large language models. She added that her manager said her intern class was the first to complete their assigned projects, which she attributed to the increased efficiency that comes with AI. Frank Liu, SEAS ’29, said that with AI lowering the barrier to coding, companies now expect everyone to write code. “A lot of companies outright say if you’re not using coding in your job, you might get fired for not being productive enough,” Liu said. Yu similarly expressed that students increasingly have to accept AI being a part of industry workflow, adding that many also “make use of it to maximize their productivity.” Richard Li, CC ’28, described a “franticness” among his peers as the pace of change accelerates. He explained how “some new tool” is released regularly, noting that tools rise and fall in prominence within weeks. He has come to believe that he doesn’t need to “match that speed all the time” and keep up with every development. Li has learned that AI tools allow him to “take a breath” and “get back into the loop much easier than before” when he needs to. While some companies specifically target Columbia when hiring, sending representatives to campus career fairs and recruiting large numbers from Columbia, a computer science degree cannot be treated as a static credential, Yu described. “You can’t just get your degree and stop learning after that. You have to always be learning,” Yu said. “That is something you basically have to expect for your job.” AI has not only affected students’ decisions to major in computer science, but also reshaped how the subject is taught. Across departments, faculty members no longer treat work done outside the classroom as a reliable measure of understanding, shifting instead toward in-person exams, quizzes, and attendance checks. While homework once made up as much as 60 to 70 percent of a student’s grade in computer science classes, Murphy said that breakdown has since flipped, with exams and quizzes now accounting for the majority. “The assumption—especially among pessimists—is that they’re using it to do their homework,” Murphy said. “They take the homework assignment. They put it into generative AI. Out comes the solution. Submit solution. The end.” Murphy said that faculty members ranged in their responses from fully prohibiting AI use to actively teaching students how to effectively work with AI. He said he shifted his approach this year after his teaching assistants called his belief that students weren’t using the technology “naïve,” and now permits students to use AI on assignments. His surveys of students in his introductory classes have told a more complicated story than the one so-called pessimists offer: Around 60 to 70 percent of students who reported using AI said they used it to have concepts explained to them, to clarify assignment instructions, to generate test cases, or to create practice questions. “Those are all ways that you might have had a tutor in the past to do that, and now you have this AI essentially as your tutor,” he said. Bauer has taken a different approach, teaching students how to use AI productively without sacrificing the core principles of the discipline. “People who are trained to actually use AI tools productively, while being in charge of designing the overall project, will be very much in demand in the next couple of years,” he said. Over the past year, a working group of computer science faculty has been redesigning the introductory and intermediate programming sequence to integrate generative AI as both a subject and a tool, representatives from SEAS wrote in a statement to Spectator. The effort is “coordinated” across the department, “not course-by-course,” with a systematic assessment of how AI integration is affecting student outcomes underway to shape the next round of changes. The goal, the department explained, is for students to be able to “read, verify, and reason about code, whether they or a model wrote it.” Tony Dear, senior lecturer in the computer science department, is piloting individualized AI feedback in a discrete mathematics course, while a machine learning course is also testing a Socratic AI dialogue system designed to “guide inquiry rather than supply answers,” the statement reads. Beyond individual courses, SEAS funded seven cross-departmental faculty projects in generative AI this past academic year, spanning biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, industrial engineering, and computer science, according to the statement. This phenomenon extends beyond the computer science department. SEAS’ new AI minor, which it announced in November 2025, reflects the University’s attempt to adapt. The minor is specifically designed for noncomputer science majors and aims to provide “essential AI knowledge” while emphasizing practical and responsible use across disciplines, according to the SEAS website. At the center of the minor is AI in Context, a course taught by a team of faculty from the departments of computer science, applied mathematics, philosophy, music, literature, and the Writing Center, the representatives told Spectator. Bauer described it as targeted at students who want to bring AI into fields like economics or biology, rather than as a path into software engineering itself. At the graduate level, SEAS announced a new Master of Science in artificial intelligence in February, with the inaugural cohort starting in the fall. While recognizing how AI has helped them navigate coursework, students also described its rise as isolating, even among members of the Application Development Initiative, one of Columbia’s largest computer science clubs. “As people start to ask AI for questions that they would normally ask students and members, it starts to isolate people” Li said. Alexa Kafka, BC ’27, echoed Li’s sentiment, pointing out that computer science has always been a collaborative discipline with code reviews and pull requests, even as AI makes independent work easier. Despite this, Kafka noted that she hasn’t been to office hours “in at least a year.” Bauer added that faculty are exploring long-term solutions to the assessment problem. “One of the things that we’re trying to do at the department or school level is to maybe move towards computerized testing facilities,” Bauer said, referring to ideas in the department to revitalize computer labs as an alternative to pen-and-paper exams. “We have to accept that this is the reality, for better or worse.” But more exams, students say, does not mean better learning, nor does it reflect how computer science is actually done. “Code is so variable and can be approached in so many directions, there’s never just going to be one correct answer. There can be multiple optimal solutions,” Kafka said. Students also expressed concern that the shift toward exam-heavy grading pulls focus away from the applied, project-based work that better reflects both discipline and industry expectations. ADI has tried to respond more quickly than the curriculum can. Through a vibe coding workshop this past semester, club members said they wanted to help students understand not just that AI exists, but how to use it deliberately. “Vibe coding” refers to the practice of prompting AI to write code for a task or project, and has become widespread enough that ADI felt the gap in formal instruction was worth addressing, according to Sophia Huang, BC ’29. The workshop introduced students to the concept of context engineering, which Shaina Sahu, SEAS ’27, described as not just writing a prompt, but optimizing “the rest of the relevant information that you would feed into the model.” Without that, students said that AI-generated code can fail at scale or introduce difficult-to-detect bugs. Genawi said the shift toward AI has changed what it means to be good at computer science. “I think the shift has kind of gone towards what can you create and what can you do, instead of, what do you know,” she said. Indeed, during ADI DevFest, its annual hackathon, Li said more teams are trying to complete their projects than in years past. While sign-ups have historically outpaced submissions, Li said this is beginning to change because teams “have a tool that completes the vision for them.” While many students see AI as an equalizer that lowers the barrier to entry for coding and technical work, Murphy said it also creates new equity concerns inside the classroom around who can afford stronger tools and who already knows how to use them. “The equity issues I worry about are students who have access to paid versions of things versus free versions of things,” he said. Although popular AI models like ChatGPT and Claude have free versions available, both have paid models that can reach over $100 per month, which output different qualities of code. Murphy also pointed to differences in prior exposure to AI literacy itself. “Students who go to high schools or K-12 education, where they’re taught AI literacy, prompt engineering, context engineering, they understand how to do this, as opposed to students who go to schools who don’t teach that,” he said. “Then they come in, and then they’re somehow expected to know how to use these tools.” For Genawi, those disparities begin long before students arrive on campus. “It’s very interesting to consider how lucky you were geographically,” she said. “To be born where you were is influencing your ability to get access to these spaces.” Students like Yu, though broadly apprehensive about the future of computer science, are not without hope. “I’m optimistic, because I think if you’re truly passionate about CS, there will definitely be a place in the field to do something you want to do,” she said. Senior Staff Writer Ria Vasishtha can be contacted at ria.vasishtha@columbiaspectator.com. Follow Spectator on X @ColumbiaSpec. Staff Writer Arjun Menon can be contacted at arjun.menon@columbiaspectator.com. Follow Spectator on X @ColumbiaSpec. Want to keep up with breaking news? Subscribe to our email newsletter and like Spectator on Facebook. Produced with Spectate by Emily Ta
Embrace science, logic to counter misconceptions: Ahmadiyya leader
Qadian (Gurdaspur): Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, headquartered in Qadian, has issued a strong call for greater focu.
See May Day NYC protestors march for better working conditions
May Day marks International Workers' Day, when workers, unions, students, others, march for better working conditions and other political issues.
Health freedom at the forefront of individual rights vs. government debate
Six years after the start of the Covid pandemic, health freedom and vaccine mandates are still major issues at the Arizona Legislature.
The politics of Trump's ballroom
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — President Trump was about a half-hour into his second speech of the day, musing about the danger he faced last week at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. “Saturday night, it was good for one thing. People are loving my ballroom now,” Trump told a crowd last night. “That’s the only thing. They love my ballroom.” Ever since he was hustled off stage at the Washington Hilton last week, after an attempted shooter breached the dinner’s security perimeter and sent guests diving to the floor, the president has argued that the incident is proof for why his White House ballroom is needed. Only his planned $400 million, 90,000-square-foot project, Trump has reasoned, can keep a president truly safe at major events. It’s true that a bunch of GOP lawmakers have jumped on board with new legislation and words of support for Trump’s project. House Speaker Mike Johnson, Sen. Rand Paul and other prominent Republicans went on TV to talk about the need for a ballroom. But as we reported at The Washington Post this week, “people” aren’t really changing their minds on Trump’s ballroom. A new Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found that most Americans still oppose the ballroom project: 56 percent against it versus 28 percent in favor. The numbers are the same as a poll from last year, the Post’s polling whiz Scott Clement found. Other new polls have found similar margins, too. “I’m just not a giant fan, especially of extravagance,” one independent voter told me. “I mean, in the era we’re in right now, given how much people are struggling, it just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me to spend $400 million on a ballroom.” How we got here The Washington Post has followed Trump’s ballroom project very closely. (My colleague Jonathan Edwards may have written the most total words of any reporter about the project; I may be second.) The project exploded as a national issue after Trump tore down the White House’s East Wing after initially promising not to touch it.1 Historic preservationists sued, and about a month ago, a federal judge ordered a halt to ballroom construction.2 The only way the ballroom could proceed, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled, was if Congress explicitly authorized Trump’s plans. (An appeals court has stayed Leon’s order for now.) The judge’s ruling raised an obvious question: would Congress authorize the project? Keep in mind, “authorization” doesn’t mean that Congress needs to necessarily fund the planned $400 million project; they could just sign off on the private donations that Trump has solicited to pay for the ballroom.3 But GOP lawmakers really didn’t want to talk about the ballroom, we reported at The Post just a few weeks ago. One major reason was the ballroom’s bad polling — not a small detail with many of their own midterm elections looming. The White House Correspondents’ Dinner incident, and Trump’s advocacy, may have changed the political conversation around the ballroom. As this week’s polling shows, it doesn’t seem to have affected the fundamental questions surrounding the project. To put it another way, voters still say that cost-of-living concerns are top-of-mind heading into the midterms. Some Republican and independent voters have told me that they see the ballroom as a vanity project that will help Trump but do nothing for their own lives. It might not help Republicans that Trump has dismissed some of the cost-of-living concerns. He’s described “affordability” as a buzzword manufactured by Democrats whose policies helped cause inflation. “They’ve got one good line of bullshit,” Trump said in his first speech yesterday, delivered at a Florida retirement community known as The Villages. Thanks for reading Dan Diamond's newsletter! Subscribe for free to stay up-to-date on my work. Subscribe Speaking of Trump’s speeches… I’m down in Florida because it’s my “duty week” as a White House reporter — basically, I follow the president wherever he goes. (And then hand the baton off to one of my Washington Post colleagues next week.) As part of my duty week, I’ve spent a few days covering the White House’s reaction to Saturday’s attempted shooting, including officials’ review of the security protocols to protect the president. Trump was restrained in the wake of the incident, addressing the nation from the White House briefing room about the need for peaceful dialogue and trying to lower the temperature. But he’s clearly been itching to get back out of the White House, and I was curious to hear how his Florida speeches would go. And — to my ears — it was an unburdened Trump. Not the one we saw Saturday night in the White House briefing room, but the one we witnessed on the campaign trail in 2024. Loose, dropping profanities, mocking everyone, including members of his team. “We have a man here who knows more about Medicaid, Medicare, medical crap than any human being. Where’s Dr. Oz? Where the hell are you, stand up,” Trump said, referring to Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “It’s the most boring trip I’ve ever made. He’s telling me about Medicare, Medicaid. All I want to do is take care of you, I don’t care. I said, ‘You work out the details.’” I wrote up the speech, as Trump headed to West Palm Beach to deliver more remarks a few hours later. The White House didn’t like my story. Their rapid-response team called it the work of a “total loser”4 and “a miserable TDS-ridden moron.” You can be the judge of whether it’s a fair story or the product of someone afflicted with “TDS.” (The White House’s shorthand for “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”) I’ve pasted the story below with a gift link, meaning that you don’t need to be a Washington Post subscriber to read it. It might prompt you for an email address, though. Meanwhile, I’ll be down in Florida for the rest of the weekend, covering the president. It’s TBD whether those stories will be deemed TDS-afflicted, too. 1 Jonathan details the past six months of ballroom fallout, reactions and the implications for executive authority here. I also had a great time talking about Trump’s ballroom and other projects with Australia’s ABC News Daily on a podcast this week. 2 The judge allowed underground construction and national security-related work to continue. But that hasn’t been enough for Trump, who says the ballroom itself is essential for his protection. 3 The ballroom donors include companies like Palantir, Google and Amazon. For transparency, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post, where I work. No one has ever interfered with our team’s coverage of the ballroom or our mentions of Amazon or Bezos, and if that changed, I’d speak out. 4 To be fair, I’ve spent the morning working on stories and writing this Substack post rather than enjoying the beautiful Florida weather. So they may be onto something about who’s winning and who’s losing.
Colorado Politics Calendar May 4-10
CoPo’s weekly political calendar will help you find political and public-policy events throughout Colorado. It includes candidate and issue campaign events, public policy meetings, court hearings, state and local party conventions, assemblies, debates, rallies, parades, speaking engagements, traveling dignitary appearances, water meetings, book signings, county commission hearings, city council meetings and more. As a subscriber, […]
Five burning questions to help you and your kid 'survive' youth sports
What are they getting out of it? How much should we push them? Why don't they want to be on a team? We find common ground on familiar issues.
Popular Ferndale coffee spot closing its doors on short notice
The business ran into financial issues after planning an expansion project.
Mariners' Brendan Donovan set for Double-A rehab assignment
Seattle Mariners third baseman Brendan Donovan will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Arkansas on Monday, general manager Justin Hollander said. Donovan left Seattle's 5-0 loss to the Texas Rangers on April 17 with a left hip issue, and then was placed on the 10-day injured list three days later with a left groin muscle strain.
Appeals court limits abortion pill access nationwide
A federal appeals court issued a ruling that would temporarily block people from accessing abortion pills through telehealth providers and via mail.
Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. to Host Fiscal 2026 Third Quarter Conference Call
Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: MSGE) will issue a press release on Thursday, May 7, 2026 before the market opens reporting results for its ...
'The Results Ain't Pretty' - Oblivion Remastered Analysis Claims It's 'Still Broken' After One Year
Have you had any issues with it?
2026 Innovation Issue: Building on a brother’s legacy
The late Philip Low’s research focus included using small molecules to reach cancer cells. His brother, Martin, spoke with IBJ about his brother’s science and where their company is heading.
Lansing Latino legislative advocacy event brings labor issues, maternal health into focus
In the basement of a church in downtown Lansing, members of Michigan’s Latin community grappled with policy and bold ideas that could help them protect their civil rights and attain tangible political power statewide. On Thursday, MI Poder, a nonprofit organization dedicated to amplifying Latinx grassroots efforts and justice-driven policy change, hosted its fourth-annual Latino […]
Trump Loses Ground on Several Personal Traits as Approval Rating Slips
Views of Trump's handling of some key issues facing the U.S., such as immigration policy and use of military force, have become more negative.
Commitment to Physical Fitness Leads Alumna to College of Public Health
Jennifer Wessel J.D., MPH, works to improve health outcomes, and her love for health and wellness paved the way for her to become a public health professional. “We tackle a multitude of issues to have a broader lens on ways to improve Arkansas’ health status. Therefore, I’m learning something new…
Stop eating these popular Aldi pizzas: New salmonella health alert issued
The USDA issued a public health alert for the affected products, urging customers to discard or return them.
Op/Ed: North Carolina childcare is in crisis - and a business issue
A full-blown childcare crisis in North Carolina has the full attention of business leaders. It has to. The crisis is costing our state an estimated $5.65 billion every year.
USDA issues health alert for frozen pizza sold nationwide at Aldi stores due Salmonella concerns
A health alert has been issued by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for a frozen pizza brand sold nationwide at Aldi stores because of possible Salmonella contamination.
USDA issues health alert for frozen pizza sold nationwide at Aldi stores due Salmonella concerns
A health alert has been issued by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for a frozen pizza brand sold nationwide at Aldi stores because of possible Salmonella contamination.
Microsoft fixes Remote Desktop warnings displaying incorrectly
Microsoft has fixed a known issue causing newly introduced Windows security warnings to display incorrectly when opening Remote Desktop (.rdp) files.
Lessons on U.S. health care from 'The Pitt'
Many of the episodes in 'The Pitt' clearly point out the issues and problems with the American health care system
Pickleball and protests: How a Trump visit is roiling the world's largest retirement community
Politics have become an increasingly thorny issue in the Villages, the world's largest retirement community.
California Department of Public Health Issues Annual Shellfish Safety Warning
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) -- Beginning May 1st and continuing through at least October 31st, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is advising
Health alert issued for blowing dust in Albuquerque
The Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Program issued the health alert ahead of gusty wind conditions expected Thursday evening into Friday, May 1. FULL STORY ⬇️
Trinity Health shakeup: CEO to depart, new leadership at St. Francis amid safety issues
Trinity Health of New England is replacing leadership at St. Francis Hospital and transitioning its CEO.
Mississippi ranks last in U.S. on healthcare outcomes and disparities
The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation focused on healthcare issues, released a report Wednesday that provided a nationwide look at how health outcomes, access to care, and quality of care differ based on racial and ethnic identity. The report shows that, compared to national rates, a higher number of Mississippians die from avoidable deaths, lack health insurance, and have less preventative care such as cancer screenings. These trends are heightened for Black Mississippians.
New York Issues Warning on Lyme Disease as Warm Weather Approaches
Health and environmental officials are urging New Yorkers and visitors to protect themselves from ticks and tick-borne diseases as the weather gets warmer.
Museum of Science and Mystic River Watershed Association Honored with 2026 Boston Climate Leader Award for Research and Innovation
BOSTON, April 30, 2026--The Museum of Science, in partnership with the Mystic River Watershed Association, has been selected as a recipient of the 2026 Boston Climate Leader Awards in the Community Organization category for Research and Innovation. The award recognizes the organizations’ groundbreaking work engaging communities in climate research and advancing understanding of extreme heat as an environmental justice issue.
OpenAI blames ‘nerdy personality’ for ChatGPT obsession with goblins
The company said in a blog post that it ended up retiring the “nerdy” personality entirely, but the issue remained, forcing it to create a specific override code instruction.
Surprising obesity discovery rewrites decades of fat metabolism science
A key protein involved in fat metabolism has been found to do more than scientists once thought. Instead of just releasing fat, it helps maintain healthy fat tissue and balance in the body. When it’s missing or disrupted, the results can be surprisingly harmful. This finding reshapes how researchers think about obesity and metabolic disease.
UChicago students propose solutions to city's sports stadium conundrum
The annual Harris Policy Innovation Challenge, launched in 2023, pushes students to find solutions to some of Chicago’s most pressing public policy issues.
Patriots LB Robert Spillane sheds light on ankle issue
The team captain met with the media on Tuesday for the first time since the Super Bowl.
Sony confirms it's added "one-time" DRM to digital PlayStation games requiring you to go online to avoid losing access, but doesn't comment on "CBOMB" issue
A statement by Sony has addressed the new 30-day online check DRM, but hasn't touched on fears surrounding "CBOMB" issues.
Microsoft's Internal Initiative to Fix Windows 11: Don't Rush Features Out the Door
Unless you've been living under a rock, you've seen the numerous issues Windows users have faced, from poor performance to experience-breaking bugs and updates, and AI oversaturation in the OS. While Microsoft has previously announced that it intends to address many of these complaints levelled by W...
Viewpoint: A career in science is possible, and worth it
Starting a career in science is exciting, but also demanding, with researchers often faced with intense competition, long working hours and high levels of stress. A pioneer in the field of mass spectrometry, Carol Robinson has been there. She speaks with Science|Business on the importance of creating a supportive environment, particularly for women.Robinson did not wake up one day thinking that she would become a scientist. It was only late in school that she developed an interest in chemistry. “The more you work at something, the more you think, actually, this is fascinating. So, I went much further and deeper than I ever needed to pass the exam. And then I loved it,” she says. “I thought, I’m going to give it my all. I’m going to enjoy it while I’m here. But I didn’t think this would be my career for 50 odd years.”She left school at 16 to become a lab technician with the drug company Pfizer, which is where she first worked with mass spectrometry. Fascinated, she was encouraged to take a part-time degree and then a PhD. She went on to do pioneering work in native mass spectrometry, a technique that is used to study protein structures in their natural state, paving the way for breakthroughs in drug discovery. She also broke new ground by becoming the first female professor of chemistry at the University of Cambridge, and then the first female professor of chemistry at the University of Oxford, her current home.She now wants to show young researchers that a career in science is worth it. “Sometimes, I believe the culture isn’t very encouraging, and that’s something I have worked on,” Robinson says.In 2021, she launched the Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery at Oxford, whose acronym gives a sense of what she hopes it will achieve. “Maybe it is corny,” she says. “It’s just a reminder that I would like it if we could all be kind to each other and supportive, especially for early-career researchers of either gender, because there’s quite a big attrition rate in science, and maybe it just doesn’t feel like a very friendly place to work.”And yet, a career in science comes with a lot of flexibility. “There are few careers where you have that amount of freedom, to go to conferences, to the library. Just because you didn’t see me didn’t mean I wasn’t working,” she says. “And I’m excited to come in every day. So, I don’t want people to think it’s a terrible place.”Gender equality is also important when it comes to the quality of science as a career. “The more women we have, the better it becomes,” Robinson adds.Imposter syndromeAccording to EU data, women outnumber men in university education but account for just about a third of graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem). And while the number of women working as scientists and engineers in the 27-member bloc is on the rise, their representation remains below that of men, at 41%. This discrepancy is even more pronounced in top-tier functions across these fields, where women fill just 20% of positions.Having supervised many young scientists, Robinson sees that women continue to have a greater propensity than men to doubt their abilities, a feeling she once shared. “When I was doing my PhD at the University at Cambridge, I really felt like an imposter,” she says. “I don’t think I ever felt I deserved to be there or owned it and was proud. I just thought I was lucky.” Later on, she adds, “I was always that person who said, I can’t apply yet because my CV is not strong enough.”She has now made it her job to encourage women to break with this imposter syndrome. For example, rather than calling for volunteers to give a lecture in the groups that she mentors or teaches, which nearly always results in men stepping forward, she goes straight to the women, “because I know they won’t push themselves forward.”But the gender gap in science is not just down to imposter syndrome. The “obvious” reason, Robinson says, and the reason that is on everybody’s mind when discussing workplace gender equality, is the balance between work and raising a family. Her own path was to choose between the two, taking an eight-year break after completing a postdoctoral training fellowship to bring up three children. And she continues to advise women not to work part-time while they raise a family. “You’ll just get half the pay and continue to work full-time because you are not able to fit everything in,” she says. “You should be able to have a family and come back to have the career that you want.”The solution is for men to also take career breaks. “That kind of evens it up, so that it’s not such a big thing for women,” Robinson says. “I always encourage men in my groups to do that. I think it’s important to take your share of the duties.”Support produces resultsAccording to the Women in Stem Network, a UK advocacy group, countries with strong childcare systems and equal pay policies retain more women in technical careers. In Europe, these are primarily found in the Nordic region and parts of central Europe.At the EU level, the European Commission asks all Horizon Europe applicant organisations to have a gender action plan in place. Since this criterion was introduced in 2021, the share of women leading consortia has increased to 31%, against 23% in Horizon 2020. Their overall participation, however, has risen just 1%, to 38%. After trying to weaken the requirement for gender action plans in 2025, the Commission now intends to adopt a plan for supporting women in research and innovation.Related articlesCommission scraps plan to water down gender requirements in HorizonHow gender balance can swing who wins Horizon Europe fundingRobinson herself has benefited from three Advanced Grants from the European Research Council. “I was extremely honoured and privileged to get those, because they really allowed me to fuel my passion,” she says. “Without that, it would have been a much harder slog.”Beyond applying gender rules, she says that more work is needed on translational enterprise, where women are, once again, largely underrepresented. The European Patent Office found that only 13.8% of applications were filed by women in 2022. “We have so many more women doing amazing science; why do they feel it’s not a thing to have a company?” she asks.She founded her own spin-out company, OMass Technologies, in 2016, and remains chair of its scientific advisory board now that it trades as OMass Therapeutics. As for research, Robinson is now studying how changes in the brain may be linked to depression, using port-mortem tissue. “We’re hoping to publish soon,” she says. “We had to consult with a lot of people who knew a lot more about the brain than we did. So, we’ve learnt a lot, and that’s always a lot of fun to learn a new thing. That’s what keeps you going.”
Sony clarifies recent PlayStation DRM update
PlayStation fans and gaming preservations have been alarmed since late last week that a new 30-day timer attached attached to newly-purchased digital games for PlayStation 4 and 5 might render those games unplayable if the system they’re on is offline for longer than a month. But a rep from Sony told Game File today that new system will require only a single online check before it functions as a perpetual license for the digitally purchased game. That is consistent with a newer theory that emerged by gamers testing the 30-day timer over the last two days. “Players can continue to access and play their purchased games as usual,” a rep for PlayStation told me over email. “A one-time online check is required after purchase to confirm the game’s license, after which no further check-ins are needed.” The rep’s explanation squares with the current understanding among players about what’s happening. A multi-day mystery A post last Friday by YouTuber Lance MacDonald spread awareness over the 30-day timer. Quickly, players began stress-testing the system, removing a battery within their PlayStations and checking what would happen if their systems were offline past the timer window. They noticed that setting a PS4 or PS5 to be the “primary” console—a common Sony-authorized method to retain rights to a digital game—wasn’t overriding the 30-day limit. On Tuesday came the breakthrough: A gamer called Andshrew on the Resetera forums posted the results of some tasting. They found that digital games purchased on PS4/PS5 after some time in mid-April would get a 30-day timer that could then be removed and replaced with a perpetual license that would allow the game to be played offline. The transition to the perpetual license occurred some number of days after the digital game was purchased and the system was connected to the internet. They believed that a PlayStation’s online check-in would trigger the license change no sooner than 15 days after the user had purchased the game. This synced with the theory that Sony’s new system is related to the 14-day window that PlayStation users have to request a refund for digitally purchased games. The new timer/check-in system could be a way to defeat some exploit in that refund system, some users theorized. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe In a follow-up, I asked the Sony rep if the 15-day timeline is accurate or if the perpetual license can be activated sooner after purchase. If they share more, I’ll update this post. Sony has not said why they’ve introduced the timer and whether it is designed to stop people from exploiting the refund system. But their explanation suggests that this new DRM method should not result in long-term loss of access to digitally purchased games, just because a PlayStation is offline for a month or Sony’s servers are down. Xbox flashback For many some gamers, the initial reporting of the 30-day timer conjured memories of Microsoft’s disastrous May 2013 announcement of the Xbox One, which was going to require an internet-connected check-in once a day, lest your games become unplayable.1 After widespread backlash, Microsoft abandoned that plan, ahead of the Xbox One’s launch. 1 Fun fact: That 24-hour check-in detail was my scoop from an interview I had that day with then-Xbox exec Phil Harrison. I was EiC of Kotaku at the time and rushing from one Xbox One preview appointment on Microsoft’s campus to another. I phoned the news in to reporter Jason Schreier, who wrote it up for the site.