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Public Charge Rule set to impact N.Y. green card applicants
The Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security’s new public charge rule will take effect Sept. 18, 2026.
US attorney who Trump fired minutes after he got the job sues to get it back
A former US attorney in Washington state is suing the Trump administration for firing him less than one hour after a panel of federal judges unanimously voted to appoint him to the role.
Power grid serving Northern Illinois faces breakup risk as feds weigh fate
A frustrated Trump administration wants major changes to the operator of America’s largest power grid as federal regulators meet this week.
Trump administration deferring Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota
California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom accused the administration of targeting it for political reasons
Trump administration deferring Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota
California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom accused the administration of targeting it for political reasons
Tech innovator and old guard general are focus of Ukraine's political crisis
When their personalities and policies clashed, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy decided to fire popular young Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and keep Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Angus King urges Trump administration to drop rule giving political authority over research grants
King, along with 10 Democratic senators, sent a letter to the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, warning that the rule would undermine scientific research, weaken American competitiveness, and increase bureaucracy.
Treasury Secretary: The US could sanction Chinese AI companies
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration is looking into whether Chinese open source AI models were built on stolen IP.
Light Flip is the minimalist $299 Moto Razr throwback you’ve been waiting for
Light is back with its fourth device, and this time, it's calling back to one of the most influential phone designs of all time.
The Light Flip is a minimalist flip phone with a point to prove
Job number one: don’t look like a smartphone.
Google launches a cheaper alternative to large AI security models like Mythos
Google says it achieved “competitive performance” compared to larger models.
US Health Secretary Kennedy says CMS is pausing Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota
The Trump administration is pausing over $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota "because of suspected fraud and noncompliance," U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said on Tuesday.
US Health Secretary Kennedy Says CMS Is Pausing Medicaid Payments to California and Minnesota
July 21 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is pausing over $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota "because of suspected fraud and noncompliance," U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said on Tuesday. "If those states want that money they need to ...
Advocates say federal funding is being cut from groups fighting HIV
The administration is shifting some funding to states, but community groups are set to lose out.
Axing UK science department risks slower policymaking, say tech leaders
Industry figures welcome Kanishka Narayan’s promotion as AI minister but warn shake-up could push sector down agenda
COVID-19 Linked to Short-Term Increases in Medicare Health Care Spending
Postacute COVID-19 symptom diagnoses, health care spending, and utilization among Medicare beneficiaries diminish within 3 months of infection.
Joint School of Public Health Earns National Accreditation
July 20, 2026, NORFOLK, Va. — The Joint School of Public Health at Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University has earned accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).
Kyle Klein Named Associate Commissioner for Sports Administration and Championships
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Mid-American Conference Commissioner Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher has named Kyle Klein Associate Commissioner for Sports Administration and Championships, effective July 1, 2026.
These 5 Side Hustle Businesses Keep Costs Low and Profits High
With minimal startup expenses, strong demand, and room to scale, these side hustle ideas offer a path from extra cash to a full-time business.
New UK PM shuts down science and tech department
In the midst of appointing his Cabinet, new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has scrapped the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
Abacus Health Solutions Named Preferred Vendor of American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration
Abacus Health Solutions, a leader in chronic disease management solutions, has been selected to join the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration Preferred Partner Program (AP3), a trusted network of vetted organizations serving healthcare employers nationwide.
International Courts Against the Defunding of Climate Science? Revisiting the ICJ’s Climate Change Advisory Opinion
Introduction The first eighteen months of the second Trump administration have witnessed a sustained assault on scientific infrastructures enabling understanding of anthropogenic climate change. This has taken the form of cuts to national science agencies; freezes and dramatic reductions in grants to universities; and attempts to dismantle observation arrays and crucial monitoring stations. It has […]
Changes to government science department
The new Prime Minister has merged the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology into a new Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. In response, Paul Nurse, the President of the Royal Society said: “The Prime Minister understands the transformative power of science, knowledge, innovation, and technology. They are all parts of an interlinked and interdependent system of research that drives economic growth, health care, security, education, prosperity and the public...
Science department abolished as UK’s new prime minister Andy ...
New business secretary Jonathan Reynolds given responsibility for science and innovation portfolio
Experts agree at landmark event that simulation should be built into health system
On 15 June 2026, over 80 representatives from simulation societies, ministries of health, hospitals, universities, international organizations, professional associations and industry partners met at the WHO Academy in Lyon for a joint event of WHO and the Society for Simulation in Europe (SESAM). Together they tackled a pressing question: how can simulation move from isolated initiatives to systematic integration within health systems? The consensus was clear: simulation is no longer a niche educational tool. Beyond training, it strengthens health systems by improving quality of care, patient safety, workforce preparedness, team performance and organizational resilience.Participants agreed the evidence for simulation’s value no longer needs to be demonstrated, but that implementation remains fragmented and too often dependent on individual local champions. Bridging that gap, they said, means both generating further evidence and raising awareness among decision-makers.Discussions pointed to a shared path forward. To achieve scale and lasting impact, simulation must be embedded in national policies, workforce development plans, education systems and financing mechanisms. No institution can do this alone; stronger collaboration between governments, health institutions, academia, professional societies, international organizations and industry partners will be essential.“At the WHO Academy, we see simulation not simply as a training methodology but as a strategic tool for capacity-building, workforce readiness and stronger health systems,” said Dr Bart Janssens, Unit Head, Health Learning and Capacity Building. “This event is not only about discussion; it is about moving from ideas to action.”As health systems worldwide face workforce shortages, growing complexity of care and rapidly evolving competency needs, participants concluded that the question is no longer “Why simulation?” but rather how to scale it, how to sustain it, and how to ensure it becomes an integral part of stronger health systems.Looking aheadThe event marked the beginning of a collaborative effort rather than the end of a conversation. Over the coming weeks, WHO and SESAM will consolidate the discussions, recommendations and priorities that emerged, with a joint WHO–SESAM report to be published soon.
Colombia's Petro calls on supporters to defend economic reforms in last presidential speech
Outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro called on his supporters to protect his government's social and economic reforms and resist any efforts by the nation’s incoming administration to change labor laws.
White House rushes to further secure Trump’s new Air Force One — but he plans to keep flying it domestically
The White House is working to quickly upgrade the Qatari-donated jet that has newly started serving as Air Force One, a development that comes after administration officials internally discussed the need for President Donald Trump to avoid flying it in high-threat areas, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Britain Politics
Britain’s King Charles III welcomes Andy Burnham, left, during an audience at Buckingham Palace, London, where he invited the leader of the Labour Party to become Prime Minister and form
Health Brief: The grants showdown
The administration loses a key grants case, even as it presses ahead with a broader rewrite of federal funding rules.
Andy Burnham pledges to 'bring back hope' as John Healey made chancellor
The new prime minister pledged to make announcements this week to "give people some breathing space".
4 Android Phones With Physical Keyboards You Can Buy In 2026
Some Android phones that have physical keyboard include the Unihertz Titan 2 Elite, Clicks Communicator, Minimal Phone, and Ikko MindOne Pro.
What does the new British Prime Minister mean for Trump and Ukraine?
As Andy Burnham takes office as the U.K.’s Prime Minister, Northeastern University London experts examine the impact on global relations.
Trump and Burnham: Can the two leaders work together?
The BBC's Sarah Smith looks at how the new UK prime minister will manage his most crucial, and perhaps the trickiest, international relationship.
FDA’s Home as a Health Care Hub Initiative and the READI-Home Innovation Challenge: Key Takeaways for Device Sponsors
Key Takeaways The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) opened its READI-Home Innovation Challenge, offering up to nine device sponsors early,…
Mark Walter’s insurers, Guggenheim probed by prosecutors
Last year, federal prosecutors began examining Guggenheim’s $362 billion money management arm.
I Tried 2 Budget Smart Telescopes: How They Make the Stars Your New Hobby
Getting an affordable smart telescope, like the Dwarf Mini or Seestar S30, is easier and more rewarding than I thought.
NOC Brings Marine Science and Ocean Innovation to UK Parliament
The NOC hosted a Westminster drop-in event bringing together MPs, ministers, and government officials to explore how marine science and ocean innovation can advance the UK's renewable energy goals, coastal resilience, and national security.
Ghana Opposition Politician Jailed 20 Years for Illegal Mining
Ghana has sentenced a senior opposition politician to 20 years in prison after convicting him on charges linked to illegal mining, Joy FM reported.
Shaky political "science": breakdown of the peer review process
[This article is the latest in our “Shaky Political Science” series. In our 38 page report, “Shaky political ‘science’ misses mark on ranked choice voting,” released in December 2025, we examined over 40 studies focused on ranked choice voting (RCV). Many of these studies suffered from puzzling research methodologies, poorly constructed surveys, unrealistic simulated elections, cherry picked data and faulty analyses that often were contradicted by results from real-world elections (a link to our full paper is here). Here are links to the first four articles in our series: the first one summarizing the overall results of our report; the second one analyzed a study co-authored by University of Minnesota academic Larry Jacobs, which was one of the most error-prone of all the research we reviewed in our report; a third article showing an admirable example of two political scientists holding two other political scientists accountable for their flawed, sloppy research; and a fourth article that analyzed seven studies sponsored by New America’s political reform program that deployed flawed methodology based on “simulated” elections instead of real-world elections, which when combined with some basic misunderstandings of RCV, produced odd and misleading results]. In this fifth article in our “Shaky Political Science” series, we examine two flawed studies on the impact of RCV on voter turnout authored by San Francisco State University professor Jason McDaniel. McDaniel’s research in these two papers stands out for its puzzling methodology, inadequate and cherry-picked data, and faulty analyses that not only misunderstands ranked choice voting but reflects a basic misunderstanding of politics in general. The first of the McDaniel studies actually passed through a peer review process and then was subsequently published by the Journal of Urban Affairs, despite its obvious errors. It is perplexing that a jury of peer political scientists did not catch the errors and send it back to McDaniel for a rewrite or outright rejection. This calls into question the credibility of the peer review process itself. The peer review process is supposed to represent the intellectual pinnacle of the profession – a way for academics to certify the quality of each other’s work, and to act as a check against sloppy research. In the case of the McDaniel study, the peer review process failed. Yet his flawed study has been cited dozens of times by other political scientists in their own flawed works — an unvirtuous circle of academic research. Here is the first Jason McDaniel study that we analyzed: “Writing the Rules to Rank the Candidates: Examining the Impact of Instant-Runoff Voting on Racial Group Turnout in San Francisco Mayoral Elections,” by Jason McDaniel, 2016, Journal of Urban Affairs. This study covered San Francisco’s use of ranked choice voting (RCV) in mayoral elections, purporting to show that RCV reduces voter turnout overall, increases voter errors, and has a negative impact on “marginal populations,” i.e. racial minorities, mainly as the result of the alleged complexity of RCV asking voters to rank candidates and having to be familiar with multiple candidates and related dynamics. McDaniel reached these conclusions by examining five San Francisco mayoral elections taking place in odd years (i.e. where there are no federal or state races on the ballot) from 1995 to 2011, comparing three earlier non-RCV races (in 1995, 1999 and 2003) with the later two RCV races (in 2007 and 2011). Only two RCV races were studied, and as McDaniel acknowledged, only the contest in 2011 was “competitive” (that contest in 2007 was the first mayoral election using RCV, and incumbent mayor Gavin Newsom won easily in the first round of counting, earning 74% of first choices and far ahead of the second place candidate who had just 6.3% of first choices). Yet even the allegedly competitive contest in 2011was won by an incumbent with a landslide margin of nearly 20 points. No other elections were studied by McDaniel, even though San Francisco elects 17 other offices besides mayor with RCV, including the 11 seats on the Board of Supervisors (the name for the city council) in even years, and six other citywide offices in odd years. Previous academic research has found that competitive elections can stimulate greater voter involvement and higher turnout. For unexplained reasons, this study ignored at least 34 other RCV races between the years 2004 to 2011, many of which were very competitive and had high voter turnout. Instead, McDaniel’s analysis based its conclusions on data from only a single, marginally-competitive mayor’s race using RCV. These 2007 and 2011 mayoral elections were the only two RCV elections that McDaniel used as the sole basis for his small data set to determine the impact of RCV on voter turnout. Despite having no meaningful data to inform his study, McDaniel nonetheless concluded that RCV lowered turnout when compared to the previous three mayoral non-RCV elections using two-round runoffs. Then, using the same inadequate database of San Francisco elections, McDaniel also found that “Instant-runoff voting is associated with a significant decline in Black voter turnout and White voter turnout…On average, Black voter turnout decreases by 18 points and White voter turnout decreases by 16 points …” But how could he credibly arrive at that conclusion when his study was based on voter turnout in two RCV contests that were not even remotely competitive? Beyond that, McDaniel tacitly admits that the key determining factor driving Black voter turnout was not RCV vs non-RCV elections, but the presence of a viable Black candidate. McDaniel wrote, “Black voter turnout was about 17 percentage points higher for the two elections that featured an African American candidate compared to the three elections that did not” — but one of those three elections did not use RCV. The same dynamic was present for White voter turnout, in which higher turnout was not correlated with RCV vs non-RCV elections, but the presence of a viable White candidate. Beyond that, McDaniel’s voter turnout results, whether correlated with the race of the candidates or RCV vs non-RCV elections, showed no clear patterns. In his Figure 1, he shows low Asian voter turnout in the non-RCV elections in 1999 and 2003 when there was no viable Asian candidate running, but in the 2007 mayoral election using RCV, there is still no viable Asian candidate, yet Asian turnout increases dramatically. For Latinos, voter turnout is virtually the same in 1999 (no viable Latino candidate, non-RCV elections), 2003 (leading Latino candidate, non-RCV elections), 2007 (no viable Latino candidate, RCV elections) and 2011 (leading Latino candidate, RCV elections). Meanwhile White voter turnout increased dramatically from a low in the 2007 mayoral election, in which the leading candidate was a white incumbent, to the 2011 election in which there were no leading white candidates that finished any higher than sixth place with 5.6% of the vote. Clearly other factors were determining voter turnout than either the race of the candidates or RCV vs non-RCV elections. Despite these inconsistent findings, McDaniel boldly marches forth to render conclusions about the impact of RCV on different groups of racial voters, even though his conclusions are not remotely supported by his data. This looks like the worst kind of “data cherry picking” to cover up a puzzling conclusion based on a poor data set involving only two RCV elections, neither of which were remotely competitive. McDaniel’s cherry picking didn’t stop there. In calculating voter turnout for the three non-RCV mayoral elections in 1995, 1999 and 2003, he failed to mention that in each of these years there was a two-round runoff election, with a first round election in November in which no candidate garnered a winning majority of the vote, followed by the decisive runoff in December. So there were two non-RCV elections in each election year. But McDaniel only decided to include one of the two elections in his data set, apparently the December runoff in each year (which had higher turnout in two out of the three mayor’s races, and lower turnout in the third). So he ignored the November 1995 election, the November 1999 election when turnout was only 45 percent, and the November 2003 election when turnout was only 45.7 percent. This is flawed methodology based on blatant cherry picking, since McDaniel simply omitted three elections worth of data that did not fit within his frame. His study should never have made it through a peer review process, and it is an embarrassment to political science that not only was it approved for publication, but it has been uncritically cited by dozens of other political scientists. Share A “study” without wider context or credible data Lacking a data set that included even a single competitive RCV mayoral race, McDaniel declared that RCV lowered voter turnout in 2011, when turnout was 42.5 percent. But he also ignored -- or did not realize -- that voter turnout in mayoral elections during 2011 had sharply declined in all big cities, including far more steeply in nearby Los Angeles and other cities. In fact, San Francisco’s election in 2011 had the second highest turnout of any mayoral election in the nation’s 22 largest cities from 2008-2011. Was 2011 just a particularly low turnout year all across the country, perhaps because the country was still reeling from the aftermath of the housing market collapse in 2008-2010? McDaniel ignored this factor and did not search for alternative explanations beyond his flawed thesis. Furthermore, while McDaniel suggested that RCV leads to more “overvotes” – which is an invalidated ballot in which a voter, in either a non-RCV or RCV race, makes a mistake and selects two candidates for a single choice – he failed to address that in the June 2012 US Senate primary contest, which used the typical “one-choice” plurality method and did not use RCV, there was more than five times as many overvotes in San Francisco and Oakland than in the RCV mayoral elections in those cities. Additionally, turnout had been significantly higher and more representative in RCV elections for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors races -- that McDaniel didn’t even bother to study -- as compared to previous “delayed two-round runoffs” for those offices, often higher by as much as 40% in the RCV races. Perhaps the most surprising irony was that an earlier study co-authored by McDaniel (Overvoting and the Equality of Voice under Instant-Runoff Voting in San Francisco by Francis Neely and Jason McDaniel, 2015, California Journal of Politics and Policy) found that overvotes are often more common in lower-income precincts, but that the pattern of overvoting is similar in both RCV and non-RCV contests. Wrote Neely and McDaniel: “[Overvote] errors appear to be a function of complexity in general and not IRV per se…. the pattern of overvoting is similar in both IRV and non-IRV contests…Even among votes cast in a top-of-the-ticket race like U.S. Senate, overvoting occurs in an uneven fashion” (IRV, or ‘instant runoff voting,’ is another name for ranked choice voting in single-winner contests). So McDaniel not only contradicted his own conclusion in his earlier study with Neely, but the earlier study had been an important corrective for one of the most frequently made mistakes made by anti-RCV political scientists – a continual failure to provide crucial context by pairing a comparative analysis of real world RCV elections with an analysis of real world plurality or other electoral methods. Unfortunately McDaniel’s earlier study does not get cited much by other researchers, and McDaniel did not even cite it in his own flawed study analyzed above. Incredibly, McDaniel cherrypicked McDaniel, even as his flawed study has been cited dozens of times. Despite being a textbook example of poor political “science,” featuring both inadequate as well as cherrypicked data, the shelf life of McDaniel’s study has been extended endlessly by other political scientists and media outlets who have cited it uncritically. Equally troubling, the Journal of Urban Affairs put this paper through its peer review process and published it despite its numerous flaws. McDaniel gets it wrong, Part II Not content with producing one shoddy, confused paper, McDaniel produced another one a few years later, here is the link: Electoral Rules and Voter Turnout in Mayoral Elections: An Analysis of Ranked-Choice Voting by Jason McDaniel. San Francisco State Univ. (McDaniel, 2019). In this paper, McDaniel extended his previous flawed research focused on San Francisco, about voter turnout and voter impact, to multiple RCV cities through the 2018 elections. In his data set he included San Francisco, Minneapolis, St Paul, Oakland, Berkeley, San Leandro and Santa Fe. He then compared their turnout in mayoral elections to non-RCV cities, and to mayoral elections in those cities held before first RCV usage, and concluded “a significant decrease in voter turnout of approximately 3–5 percentage points in RCV cities after the implementation of RCV.” But he replicated many of the same mistakes as his first study presented above. While in this study McDaniel attempted to distinguish between various factors, such as odd year vs. even year elections, competitive races vs. noncompetitive, contests with open seats and other factors, the analysis is superficial and inadequate. He attempts to incorporate so many often-conflicting variables that his conclusions are once again unsupported by the actual data, and ultimately unconvincing (this second study never underwent a peer review process). For example, McDaniel declared that for RCV cities “in elections that are more competitive than average (margin of victory less than 20%), there is no significant RCV effect on voter turnout.” Yet McDaniel is a professor in a city, San Francisco, in which the 2018 special election using RCV to fill a mayoral vacancy was exceedingly close, decided by a margin of only one percentage point, and resulted in the second highest turnout in San Francisco history for a mayoral election. Illustrating the complexity involved in assessing the critical factors in turnout, that special election was held on the same election day as federal and state offices, which tends to boost turnout. Yet more voters participated in that RCV mayoral election than voted on the same day in the non-RCV primary for governor in which former San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom was running. Even more puzzling, in this study McDaniel inaccurately cited his own previous study from 2015 with Neely. McDaniel wrote, “Neely and McDaniel (2015) examine individual ballot image files within a natural experiment, and find higher rates of ballot errors in RCV elections compared to non-RCV elections” (emphasis added). However, we quoted from that 2015 study several paragraphs above, and in actual fact Neely and McDaniel actually concluded the opposite -- that the pattern of overvoting – which is the most common form of ballot error – is similar in both RCV and non-RCV contests. McDaniel also ignored the fact that in Bay Area RCV elections held in even years – at the same time as federal and state elections, when turnout is highest -- the “undervote” (that is, the dropoff in ballots cast for governor or mayor) has declined, which contradicts his thesis that the act of ranking ballots in RCV elections is too complex and presents a barrier for certain demographics of voters. To his credit, McDaniel actually acknowledged another contradiction in his own paper, which found a negative RCV turnout effect in some odd-year elections but not others, admitting that “may present a challenge to the theory that increased complexity [from RCV] will have a marginal negative effect on voter turnout.” But he tried to wallpaper over that contradiction by blaming it on an unlikely source -- bad election administration. McDaniels wrote, “This would suggest that the negative impact of RCV on voter participation may be alleviated by high quality election administration,” without presenting any data or even anecdotes to support such an unfounded theory. While competent election administration of any election, whether RCV or non-RCV, is crucially important, there is no credible research that supports the far-fetched notion that the quality of election administration has much of an impact on voter turnout in US elections, whether using RCV or otherwise. Upgrade to a $5 subscription The unvirtuous circle of academic research It is puzzling how McDaniel’s first study could have survived the peer review process for the Journal of Urban Affairs. The mistakes in McDaniel’s first study above should have been obvious to anyone with a basic understanding of ranked choice voting as well as elections in general, and elections in San Francisco specifically. It undermines faith in the credibility of the peer review process to think that a jury of peer political scientists did not catch the egregious errors and reject McDaniel’s sloppy research and paper. And it remains a black mark on political science that this thoroughly discredited study has been cited dozens of times by other researchers. Indeed, in our research paper it became apparent that many political scientists cite each other’s flawed research to pad their list of citations and to legitimize their own flawed research, creating an unvirtuous circle of political science. More broadly, McDaniel’s voter turnout studies, like other studies evaluating RCV’s impact on turnout, lacked a recognition that no credible opinion or research can claim that RCV increases voter turnout merely because so many voters are excited to vote for their favorite candidates instead of “lesser evil” candidates without worrying about spoilers. Instead, with respect to turnout, the advantage of RCV has always been that, in most places where it has been used, it has eliminated a pre-November primary or post-November runoff, which usually saw about half the turnout of the November general election. This is especially true during even years when there are state and federal elections on the ballot which substantially drive turnout more than local contests. Any study that does not adequately account for this non-November primary/runoff vs November general election dynamic, or odd year vs even year election factors, is simply not credible. Both of McDaniel’s studies largely failed on those grounds. Steven Hill and Paul Haughey Share Upgrade to a $5 subscription Thanks for reading DemocracySOS…your digital portal for the pro-democracy movement. Subscribe for only $5 per month to receive full benefits and to support our work. Subscribe
Burnham promises a new political and economic model
After Keir Starmer’s resignation, Andy Burnham has become the UK’s seventh prime minister in 10 years. Addressing dozens of supporters in front of 10 Downing Street, he pledged to break with the politics of the past.
Mamdani’s comment on Netanyahu highlights schism among Democrats on Israel
Some Democrats condemned the New York City mayor after he said his staff was discussing whether to arrest the Israeli prime minister when he arrives for the U.N. General Assembly.
Watch: Starmer resigns, Burnham becomes PM... the day in 98 seconds
Andy Burnham has become the UK's prime minister after being appointed by the King at Buckingham Palace.
Andy Burnham: What to Expect from the UK’s New Prime Minister
As Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade, Andy Burnham enters Downing Street with a “Manchesterism” agenda of devolution and reindustrialization—and a cooler disposition toward Washington than his predecessor.
Why Britain is getting a new prime minister without a general election
Veteran Labour Party politician Andy Burnham has become Britain’s new prime minister He takes over from Keir Starmer, who announced his resignation last month.
Andy Burnham says politicians 'need to be better' in first speech as UK's new prime minister
Burnham spoke for several minutes outside 10 Downing St., where he promised to end street sleeping by homeless people and deliver a “circuit breaker” for a system he says has taken wrong turns since the 1980s.
Andy Burnham takes over as UK prime minister, calls for 'new political model'
Andy Burnham enters Downing Street vowing to shift power away from London, but his past criticism of Trump could create early friction with Washington.
Science can serve dark as well as light
I’m not sure how many of you are watching “Star City,” Apple TV’s spin-off of its “For All Mankind” program (2019-present), but it’s one of the better sci-fi series I’ve seen in a while, with an impressively dark political message. (Some light spoilers below.) For the uninitiated, “For All Mankind” presented a slightly tweaked history of the U.S. space program in which it was the USSR that landed on the Moon first in 1969, and shortly thereafter put a woman cosmonaut on the lunar surface. This sparks an ongoing space race that, in the original series, yields a lot of benefits for humanity. President Nixon’s insistence on a female astronaut corps to compete with the Soviets boosts the feminist movement of the 1970s and the ERA passes. New fuels generated for the space program create clean and cheap energy around Earth. There are also some darker changes — the USSR is thriving well into the 2000s, there are terrorist counter-technology movements around the globe, laborers on Mars work in nightmarish conditions and organize strikes and riots, etc. the @smotus report is a reader-supported publication. To support this work, please become a paid subscriber. Subscribe That show offers glimpses into the subtle ways this Earth is different. Teddy Kennedy never went to Chappaquidick because he was racing back to Washington to deal with the space program crisis; he gets elected President in 1972. John Lennon survives his early 1980s shooting but Pope John Paul II does not. The Apple Newton succeeded. Pretty much the whole of season 4 is a setup for an Al Gore joke. Again, mostly, the vision that “For All Mankind” presents is a positive one, with technology advancing many human interests. “Star City” goes in a very different direction. This spin-off show is about the same set of events but from the Soviet perspective. As we meet them, the team of scientists and cosmonauts responsible for the lunar landing are still basking in their hero status, but their program is embedded deep in the Soviet security state of the late 1960s. Everyone’s apartment is bugged. Whole teams of clerical staff spend their days transcribing recordings of people’s lives. People in the program, including respected cosmonauts, are regularly arrested. An incredibly menacing Colonel Lyudmilla Raskova (Anna Maxwell Martin) forces confessions and tortures and kills, expressing little more than annoyance in the process. Meanwhile, the space program’s highly respected Chief Designer (Rhys Ifans) has a vision for the program that he knows the government will not approve. He insists that they need to think past the Moon to focus on colonizing the solar system, starting with Venus. (This is a rough parallel to the Americans’ pivot to Mars in the original show.) He essentially builds a secret space program within the space program, calculating that the government will embrace the mission after it has succeeded. (As an aside, I’m not sure why the Venus obsession, as a successful mission can’t produce the biggest public relations payoff: a cosmonaut standing on the surface holding the Soviet flag. Anyone standing on Venus would be immediately crushed by the 92-bar atmosphere and then cremated in the 900°F temperatures. But in a country with no free press perhaps the visual payoff was less valued.) But the overall vision is that the technological advances have only amplified the most fearsome aspects of the Soviet system. The state is paranoid (but not incorrect) about American spies and does monstrous things to protect its secrets. People are terrified to trust each other. Classic banality-of-evil figures order people to harm those they care about; those people comply rather than get shot. Others are forced into criminal behavior to protect loved ones. We’re reminded all the time these days of what happens when a government despises science. It manifests in the defunding of schools, the elevation of fossil fuels as the rest of the world pivots to solar, outbreaks of measles and diarrhea, etc. But “Star City” offers a vision of a bad government that likes science. It’s not encouraging. It’s not yet clear if there will be a season two of this show. But I strongly recommend season one. It’s both thoughtful and gripping. Share
Celebrities from across sports, entertainment and more spotted at World Cup final
Making his first appearance at this year’s World Cup, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were joined in their suite by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and wife Diana and more.
ONEXPLAYER charges $2,499 for the first Ryzen AI Max+ 388 handheld
The X2 Mini Pro combines eight Zen 5 cores with the full 40-CU Radeon 8060S. The lowest configuration still costs $2,499.
Who is Andy Burnham and what are his policies for Britain?
The new U.K. prime minister rose to prominence as mayor of the northern city. NBC News traveled there and spoke to those who know Burnham to get a sense of who he really is and what his policies might be.
Lack of proper oversight has allowed Michigan’s controversies to persist
Michigan’s lack of administrative stability has allowed the issues within its athletic department to persist despite the on-field success:
APTOPIX Britain Politics
Britain's outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer and wife Victoria hug as they leave 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, July 20, 2026.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
APTOPIX Britain Politics
Britain's outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer walks out 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, July 20, 2026.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Watch: Keir Starmer's last speech as prime minister in full
Starmer spoke in front of an applauding crowd on Downing Street.
At least 930 people have died in Congo's Ebola outbreak
Congo's health ministry said the deaths were recorded out of the 2,344 cases confirmed as of Saturday. Thirty-seven new deaths were recorded in the previous 24 hours in one of the highest totals.
Argentina 2026 FIFA World Cup™ Final Mini-Movie 🇪🇸🇦🇷🎥
Spain and Argentina met on football’s biggest stage with the FIFA World Cup™ trophy on the line. Relive the emotion, intensity and unforgettable moments from the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ Final in the official FOX Sports Mini-Movie.
Britain Politics
Britain's outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, July 20, 2026.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Live: Andy Burnham set to take over as Britain's prime minister, vows stable politics
Andy Burnham becomes Britain's seventh prime minister in a decade, promising to "rewire" the nation to focus more clearly on issues people care about.
METZ Launches the New MNH7000Z QD-MiniLED TV in Italy, Bringing Premium Home Entertainment to a New Level.
ROME, July 20, 2026--METZ officially announced the launch of its new QD-MiniLED TV MNH7000Z in Italy on May 20, combining advanced display technologies, immersive entertainment features and elegant design to deliver a premium home entertainment experience.
Singapore minister resigns over ‘interactions with a woman’, PM says
The People's Action Party, which prides itself on a clean reputation, has been rocked by a series of scandals recently.
At least 930 people have died in Congo’s Ebola outbreak
Congo's health ministry says at least 930 people have died in the country's Ebola outbreak.
At least 930 people have died in Congo's Ebola outbreak
Congo's health ministry says at least 930 people have died in the country's Ebola outbreak.
Britain Politics Burnham
Reporters prepare in Downing Street as Labour Party leader Andy Burnham is set to become the U.K.'s new prime minister on Monday, succeeding Keir Starmer in London, Monday, July 20,
What Trump's Election Address Means for Local Officials
MIT’s Charles Stewart, one of the nation’s leading experts on election administration, offers his take on the president’s speech and how local election officials should proceed into midterm season.
Test that found source of US explosive diarrhoea outbreak was false positive, health officials say
The latest update from the US Food and Drug Administration means the exact source of the parasite is still not known.
U.S. health agency now says cyclospora finding at produce company was false positive
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Sunday that laboratory experts re-reviewed sample results in the Taylor Farms Cyclospora investigation and concluded the finding should be considered a false positive.
Andy Burnham’s in-tray: The challenges facing the new UK PM
Andy Burnham will become Britain's next prime minister on Monday, with huge challenges and opportunities.
Browns rookie minicamp participant tries to earn extra CFB eligibility
Cole Hutson participated in Browns' rookie minicamp as a tryout after going undrafted, and is now trying to get an extra year at the college level
Who is Andy Burnham, the U.K.'s new prime minister?
On Monday, former Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham succeeds Keir Starmer as the United Kingdom's prime minister. Burnham's politics have been shaped by England's north-south class divide.
5 things Gemini still can't do that keep me paying for ChatGPT
Gemini has improved dramatically, but I still can't cancel my ChatGPT subscription. These are the five shortcomings holding it back.
Andy Burnham will be bolder but stick to Labour manifesto, Lucy Powell says
Burnham will replace Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister on Monday, following a meeting with King Charles III.
Kansas City health and faith leaders team up to help minimize Medicaid coverage loss
New work requirements and twice-yearly eligibility checks are expected to cause millions of adults to lose Medicaid coverage. But community religious leaders and health advocates have been meeting every other week to plan and strategize about how to mitigate the damage.
Zelenskyy Tasks Political Novice to Get Ukraine Through Winter
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is turning to a technocratic energy executive with no cabinet experience or political ties as his prime minister to prepare Ukraine to survive another winter of war.
Mamdani says he’s still looking into arresting Netanyahu if Israeli leader visits New York
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said his office is still looking into arresting Benjamin Netanyahu if the Israeli prime minister visits the city for the United Nations General Assembly in September.
Mamdani says NYC is exploring whether it can arrest Netanyahu if Israeli leader visits for UN General Assembly
Mayor Zohran Mamdani says his administration is exploring whether New York City can arrest Benjamin Netanyahu over the ICC warrant during United Nations General Assembly.
Android lockscreen bypass allows Gemini to send SMS without verification
It is apparently a known issue, and a fix is incoming. These things happen from time to time, especially when dealing with such complex software with so...
WordPress Core "wp2shell" RCE flaws get public exploits, patch now
Public exploits have been released for the critical "wp2shell" remote code execution vulnerabilities affecting WordPress Core, making it imperative that administrators patch their sites immediately.
The Clock Is Now Ticking on Netanyahu’s Political Future
Israel’s prime minister is bracing for a fight to stay in power as the parliament dissolves and the countdown to an election begins.
Faced with inadequate US healthcare, Black women fly to South Korea: ‘It could save your life’
Black women who feel minimized or dismissed in the US are traveling thousands of miles for South Korea’s patient-first approach
5 Small Business Ideas You Can Start for Less Than $1,000
These small business ideas require minimal startup capital but offer plenty of room to grow.
Burnham expected to reverse ban on new oil and gas drilling
Incoming prime minister likely to reverse manifesto pledge and allow new North Sea licences, reports say
Nuclear deal that would permit uranium enrichment by Saudi Arabia in limbo awaiting Trump admin sign off
The Trump administration has tentatively agreed to allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium without enacting international safeguards intended to prevent nuclear weapons development, according to sources familiar with the matter and documents reviewed by CNN.
Asus releases new gaming laptop globally with Mini LED display and more powerful processor
Asus has finally released one of its long-awaited gaming laptops globally. Now available with a 1,200-nit Mini LED display, the ROG Strix G18 also features a more powerful processor and a refined design to improve ergonomics.
What to know about the Trump administration's claim that 250K non-citizens are registered to vote in 4 states
Republican candidates for secretary of state share priorities for elections administration, business regulation
by Maya Shimizu Harris, WyoFile Republican candidates for Wyoming secretary of state shared their visions for the job and views on topics ranging from
Republican candidates for secretary of state share priorities for elections administration, business regulation
by Maya Shimizu Harris, WyoFile Republican candidates for Wyoming secretary of state shared their visions for the job and views on topics ranging from crossover voting to ballot drop boxes Thursday at a forum in Laramie. Wyoming’s secretary of state post has risen in prominence in recent years as worries about election integrity and shady corporations […]
Apple Loop: iPhone 18 Pro Release Date, Lego iMac G3, New EU AirPods Rule
This week’s Apple headlines: iPhone 18 Pro Max specs, iPhone 18 Pro release date, iPad Mini updates, new EU regulations for AirPods and Apple Watch, a Lego iMac G3, and more...
Ranking Member Markey, Senator Hirono Reject Trump’s SBA Policy Proposal that Harms Underserved Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs
Letter (PDF) (Washington, July 17) – Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) submitted a comment letter to the Small Business Administration (SBA) opposing a proposed rule change by Trump’s SBA to the 8(a) Business Development Program that would harm underserved small business owners and entrepreneurs. The 8(a) Business Development Program was created by Congress more than 50 years ago to level the playing field for small business owners and entrepreneurs who have faced discrimination in starting and operating their businesses. The SBA’s proposed change ignores the existence of historic discrimination that minority and underserved small businesses have faced and continue to face. In the letter, the lawmakers wrote, “SBA’s proposed rule ignores present-day barriers that entrepreneurs from minority and underserved communities face. Discrimination is not dead; minority entrepreneurs continue to face reduced access to contracting opportunities and capital, as well as racial threats and targeting, including unequal treatment, refusal by others to work with minority-owned firms, being called racial slurs, and bias in the workplace. These barriers lead to wide underutilization of, and less revenue for, minority-owned businesses compared to majority-owned businesses, as supported by decades of disparity studies. The proposed rule diminishes the history of systemic racial and ethnic discrimination in the United States by claiming that remedies for discrimination create discrimination in and of themselves.” The lawmakers continued, “The program has always been open to anyone who can prove they have experienced prejudice or cultural bias in education, employment, entrepreneurship, and other facets of our society. Nonetheless SBA has moved forward with the proposed rule. It lacks a reasoned basis, purporting that the federal government has discriminated against White Americans, but offering no substantive qualitative or quantitative data or research in support. If the examples provided in the proposed rule are the only basis for what constitutes discrimination to the agency, they are woefully insufficient. The final rule must provide strong evidence that there is discrimination against White individuals and show how the rule is narrowly tailored to address it. The record remains devoid of evidence of discrimination against White individuals on the basis of race.” Ranking Member Markey is fighting to protect federal programs that address historic discrimination against small business owners from minority and underserved communities, and for a small business agenda that ensures economic opportunity for all. In June, Ranking Member Markey released a statement condemning the SBA’s proposed changes to the 8(a) Business Development Program. Also in June, Ranking Markey released a new report highlighting Trump’s drastic reduction in federal contracting dollars awarded to American small businesses, including minority-owned small businesses. In February, Ranking Member Markey, alongside Senators Hirono and Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA-7), introduced the Strengthening Place-based Access, Resources, and Knowledge (SPARK) Act to spur entrepreneurship and increase access to capital and resources for underserved entrepreneurs nationwide. Ranking Member Markey previously held a field hearing in Roxbury, Massachusetts, to discuss how government and the private sector can come together to make entrepreneurship more accessible for underserved communities. Earlier in February, Ranking Member Markey secured funding with the Appropriations Committee for Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, SCORE Chapters, and Veterans Business Outreach Centers and provisions to rein in the Administration’s attempts to eliminate programs that support women, veterans, and underserved entrepreneurs. In January, Ranking Member Markey sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to oppose rule changes that would gut protections against discriminatory lending practices that harm small businesses. In December 2025, Ranking Member Markey sent a letter to SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler expressing significant concerns with the SBA’s overly burdensome request and unclear guidance for extensive financial documentation over the holidays, as a part of their sweeping attempts to dismantle the 8(a) Business Development Program. In July and December 2025, Ranking Member Markey sent letters to the SBA Administrator demanding answers about the Trump administration’s efforts to limit economic opportunity for American entrepreneurs, including immigrants. In May 2025, Ranking Member Markey sent a letter to the SBA Administrator rejecting President Trump’s FY 2026 budget proposal and calling on SBA to immediately release funding for the entrepreneurial development programs, which include programs like the Women’s Business Centers and the Veteran’s Business Development Centers that support underserved small business owners. In April 2025, Ranking Member Markey introduced the New Start Act of 2025 to establish a five-year pilot program providing grants to support entrepreneurial development training for currently or formerly incarcerated individuals. In February 2025, Ranking Member Markey sent letters to the SBA Administrator and Government Accountability Office (GAO) condemning President Trump’s war on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) policies and asking how the SBA intends to implement Trump’s anti-DEIA executive orders. ###
Trump administration races to rebuild tariff wall knocked down by Supreme Court
The U.S. Treasury last year swelled with revenue from President Donald Trump’s double-digit taxes on imports from almost every country on earth. But the money dried up after the Supreme Court struck down the biggest and boldest of Trump’s tariffs in February. The question now is: Can the president’s trade team make good on its promise to replace the lost revenue?
'Not much we don't do' | In rural Ohio, a ministry started its own landscaping business to combat homelessness
Even though it can be hidden, homelessness still exists in small towns across Ohio. We went to a place in Clinton County that's doing something about it, despite a lack of resources.
Trump wants to impose tariffs on Canada in retaliation for wildfire smoke
The White House did not respond to questions about what legal mechanism he would use to impose the tariffs or how the administration would calculate the rate of the levies.
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 […]
Will Argentina be punished at the World Cup over a political banner?
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer supports a FIFA investigation into Argentina's players celebrating with a political banner on the field.
Andy Burnham is declared leader of UK's Labour Party, pledges to restore hope
The former mayor of Greater Manchester was the only contender in the center-left party's leadership contest to replace departing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was forced out by a rebellion within his party.
Trump cites national security to stop offshore wind development. Here's what to know
President Donald Trump's administration has worked to stop offshore wind development on the grounds that it's a national security risk since late last year.
China warns of reciprocal countermeasures after U.S. shortens foreign journalist visas
The Trump administration announced Thursday it will drastically shorten visas for foreign journalists in the U.S. to 240 days, down from years, and cut those for Chinese journalists to only 90 days, raising concerns over press freedom in the United States and prompting China to warn of possible reciprocal countermeasures.
BBC mini-documentary shines a light on community health workers in Arizona
When people think of health care professionals, what often comes to mind are doctors and nurses. In reality, there are more than 250 distinct professions in the field. This summer, a new BBC mini-documentary is bringing attention to one of them: community health workers.
Less sleep = less health; Led Zeppelin in the OR; dangers of people-pleasing; plus other stories with Vanderbilt Health sources
Prevention interviewed Beth Malow, MD, Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics in the Vanderbilt Sleep Division, for a story about two randomized trials published in Annals of Internal Medicinethat found decreasing sleep by just 1.5 hours each night was linked with increases in body weight, waist circumference, and sedentary time in adults with elevated cardiometabolic risk. Yahoo Healthalso picked up the story. WTVF News Channel 5 reporter Nikki Hauser interviewed Ashish Shah, MD, Professor and Chair of Cardiac Surgery, for a new video podcast series called “Why Nashville” where she interviews interesting people doing interesting work about why they came to Nashville and how it is going. Among the revelations: his go-to OR music includes Led Zeppelin and AC/DC. Everyday Health interviewed Aaron Brinen, PsyD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, for a story about the TikTok trend that encourages women to speak up about their concerns or they’ll develop an autoimmune disease. Overall, people suggest that suppressing feelings of anger, minimizing your own needs, or people-pleasing raises your risk. Telemundo Nashville broadcast a story on cyclosporiasis that quotes both William Schaffner, MD, professor of Preventive Medicine, and Juan C. Salazar, MD, MPH, chair of the Department of Pediatrics and system Pediatrician-in-Chief for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Schaffner also spoke to WKRN News 2 about measles and The Cutabout shingles and long distance running. WREG (Memphis) and others picked up the measles story as well. CNN reporter Deidre McPhillips interviewed John Trahanas, MD, Assistant Professor of Cardiac Surgery, and Director of Thoracic Aortic Surgery, for a story about aortic dissection in last week’s death of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham. The Nashville Post published a story by freelance reporter Leah Hunter on robotic surgery, including a patient story and numerous quotes from Sekhar Padmanabhan, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of Surgical Oncology.
Parents want safer phones for kids. These companies are answering the call.
As parents look for alternatives to unrestricted smartphones, a growing number of companies are building phones designed specifically for kids, from feature-limited mobile devices to minimalist home phones.