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These small business owners will become uninsured after key ACA subsidies expire
When patients come to Eric Frankenfeld’s chiropractic practice with insurance woes, his wife, Lisa, the office manager, tells them not to worry because she’ll work with them to keep care affordable.
Trump’s top adviser slammed for ‘stupid’ immigration take inspired by old Christmas special
"Imagine watching" the "Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra Family Christmas Show," Stephen Miller tweeted, "and thinking America needed infinity migrants from the third world."
Year in review: Trump's foreign policy : The NPR Politics Podcast
Editor's note: This episode originally aired on December 16, 2025.As we approach 2026, the NPR Politics Podcast is taking a look back at the year that was in different political areas. Today, we explore what President Trump's administration has done in terms of foreign policy, and what might be expected in the coming year.This episode: senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith, White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, and national security correspondent Greg Myre.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye.Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.
The 5 stories that defined San Francisco’s crazy politics in 2025
An Instagram-savvy mayor. A showdown with the feds. A 200-hour supervisor. In terms of political drama, 2025 was the gift that kept on giving.
See 'Malcolm in the Middle' family reunion on the bathroom set of sitcom revival
The 'Malcolm in the Middle' family reunited on set in a preview of the series revival, with Bryan Cranston, Frankie Muniz, and Jane Kaczmarek joining together in a sneak peek at the family bathroom.
Advocates want bill to protect children during custody battles in state budget
Kyra's Law would be named for 2-year-old Kyra Franchetti.
Waymo explains why its robotaxis clogged San Francisco streets during a power outage
Waymo says the San Francisco power outage overwhelmed its robotaxis at scale, creating a backlog that led to response delays.
Business owners stress economic damage from power outage in San Francisco
Some local business owners are just starting to figure out just how much economic damage was done by the holiday weekend outage in San Francisco.
Bears Over Beers: Playoffs Clinched! 49ers SNF Preview
The latest episode of @bearsoverbeers talks the Chicago Bears upcoming game against the San Francisco 49ers and more!
The Heinz History Center is renaming its sports museum to honor Franco Harris
It’s been 53 years to the day since Franco Harris hauled in the Immaculate Reception and carried the ball into the end zone at Three Rivers Stadium. In...
49ers Players on Team's Mindset: 'Just Handle Business Each Week'
San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy, TE George Kittle, RB Christian McCaffrey, T Trent Williams, and LB Dee Winters highlighted team chemistry, preparation, and the importance of staying focused as the 49ers look ahead to the playoffs.
The $100 million investment that kept San Francisco tourism afloat
Unlike other parts of SF tourism, cruises excelled after the pandemic.
Vince Zampella, video game pioneer behind megahit Call of Duty, dies at 55
One of Vince Zampella's crowning achievements was the creation of the Call of Duty franchise, which has sold more than half a billion games worldwide.
Why This Business Model Is Opening the Door to Entrepreneurship for People With Almost No Capital
Micro-franchising helps people with limited resources become business owners by offering low-cost and proven franchise models.
The disunity of science is a feature, not a bug
Mathematical models wield miraculous power, but mistaking them for reality has trapped science in a destructive quest for a “Theory of Everything.” Physicist and philosopher Ragner Fjelland argues that this leads to bloated, Frankenstein theories kept alive by clumsy, ad-hoc amendments, which reduce rather than boost science’s power. Fjelland calls for a radical shift in our attitude: we must reorientate towards creating entirely new theories, celebrating rather than lamenting disunity and diversity in science. Science, from the scientific revolution in the seventeenth century to the present day, has more or less developed in a “reductionist” way. The fundamental assumption is that all sciences may be ordered in a hierarchy that can be represented as an upside-down pyramid. At the top we find the human sciences, and at the bottom physics. Strong (or “ontological”) reductionism maintains that all theories at one level can be completely reduced to the lower level, all the way down to theories of atoms and elementary particles, or whatever is “at the bottom.” In the end, all diversity in the world can be unified in one fundamental theory. Hence it is called a final theory, or a Theory of Everything.One of the central figures in developing the idea of a Theory of Everything is the Dutch theoretical physicist Gerard 't Hooft, who received a Nobel Prize in physics in 1999 for his work. He emphasizes the non-empirical status of the theory:There exists no closely resembling alternative theory. This means that any slight change brought about in the rules would make the theory unlikely or inelegant. The theory will be a "package deal": take it, or leave it. This should hold both for the local laws and for the boundary conditions.This endeavor is not new. On the contrary, it goes all the way back to the birth of Western philosophy 2,500 years ago. The Babylonians made regular astronomical observations during a period of 600 years, from 747 BCE until 150 ACE. They developed mathematical techniques to predict astronomical phenomena, but they made no attempts at explaining them. However, the Greeks developed models, both material and theoretical, to explain the observed phenomena.The best example is Plato’s late dialogue Timaeus. Here he introduces a divine craftsman, the Demiurge, who has constructed the universe according to an original plan. Plato seems to have thought that the original plan is what is actually real, while the material world is merely an imperfect realization of it. He therefore does not, in the Timaeus, reconstruct the material universe, but the original plan, which can then be used to explain the material universe.Plato’s aim in producing a theoretical model is to reconstruct the original plan. That is what he carries out in Timaeus—and some modern physicists have embarked on the same project. For example, Einstein’s basic attitude is reflected in the title of Abraham Pais’ biography: “Subtle is the Lord...,” echoing Einstein’s comment, “Subtle is the Lord, but malicious He is not.” In an interview Einstein compared our situation to a child who enters a huge library. The child knows that someone has written the books, but he does not know the languages in which they are written. He suspects that there is a mysterious order, but he does not know what it is.___“We have all been working in what Husserl called the Galilean style; that is, we have all been making abstract mathematical models of the universe to which at least the physicists give a higher degree of reality than they accord the ordinary world of sensation.”Steven Weinberg, Nobel Prize in Physics (1979)___This Platonist view is contrary to a widespread impression of science, symbolized by the picture of the “father” of modern science, Galileo Galilei, with his telescope. According to this impression, Galileo liberated himself from the dominating metaphysics of his day—basically Aristotelian philosophy—and constructed a telescope that he directed towards the sky, showing that Jupiter has four moons. He also performed experiments with bronze balls rolling down inclined planes and found the law of freely falling bodies.However, in other cases Galileo emphasized the unreliability of our senses. It is easy to see why. He defended Copernicus’ heliocentric hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, we are not at rest at the center of the universe, but moving at a tremendous speed through space. Why don’t we observe this motion? Galileo praises Copernicus because “with reason as his guide he resolutely continued to affirm what sensible experience seemed to contradict.” In other places he directly refers to Plato. SUGGESTED VIEWING The quest for a final theory With Michio Kaku Galileo’s Platonism goes back to his early writings. In The Assayer, published as early as 1623, Galileo compared the universe to a grand book that is written in the language of mathematics, and “its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometric figures without which it is humanly impossible to understand a single word of it.” Therefore, things that cannot be described by mathematics—for example, colors, smells and odors—are not real. They are merely subjective.This division into subjective and objective, advocated by Galileo and his younger contemporary René Descartes, is normally associated with a mechanistic world view, which is regarded as the opposite of Platonism. When we reduce something to, for example, molecules and atoms, we move “downwards.” In contrast, the Platonist moves “upwards,” to abstract entities. However, it only shows that when we address fundamental questions, we should be careful in applying everyday spatial metaphors like “up” and “down.”___Nature is complex, and we cannot in general construct mathematical models that adequately describe the world.___The endeavor of finding a Theory of Everything has been heavily criticized. In 2006, the theoretical physicist Lee Smolin published “The Crisis in Fundamental Physics.” He argued that one of the most fundamental principles of science is that we should only regard theories as scientific if we have the possibility to show that they are false by experiments. Although he did not refer to Karl Popper, other critics have referred to Popper and argued that a theory is not scientific if it cannot be falsified (see for example Ellis & Silk 2014).These were not the first physicists to be anti-reductionists. In 1972, the journal Science published an article by the physicist Philip Anderson with the title “More Is Different.” This is the kind of article a scientist would normally write only after he has won a Nobel Prize. However, Anderson won the Nobel Prize for physics five years later, in 1977. The article is amazing, not primarily because it argues in favor of anti-reductionism in general, but because it argues for anti-reductionism within physics itself. Anderson’s conclusion was:At each stage entirely new laws, concepts, and generalizations are necessary, requiring inspiration and creativity to just as great a degree as in the previous one. Psychology is not applied biology, nor is biology applied chemistry.We may say that Plato started the “unity of science movement,” based on Euclidean geometry as the model of all knowledge. A distinguishing mark of geometry is that all possible constructions can be reduced to a few fundamental principles. We have to acknowledge that this approach has limitations. In general, we can easily model technological systems. In addition, we may construct simplified and idealized models that capture important aspects of systems, from various perspectives and for various purposes. But nature is complex, and we cannot in general construct mathematical models that adequately describe the world. In a complex system, each level has its distinct, emergent, properties that are characteristic of this level. Therefore, a complex system should be investigated at different levels and from different perspectives. Instead of exclusively pursuing a scientific ideal based on the unity of science, we should acknowledge the diversity—or even the disunity—of science.
Velo 2025 Road Bike of the Year Winner: The Cannondale Synapse
We could have picked a Tour de France-winning superbike. Instead, we chose the bike that redefines usability for the rest of us.
Purdy matches Montana to keep 49ers title bid alive
Brock Purdy throws a career-high five touchdown passes as San Francisco beat Indianapolis 48-27 to keep their NFC West title hopes alive.
49ers playoff picture: How win over Colts impacts postseason chances
San Francisco already clinched a playoff berth but finds itself in the thick of the NFC West and wild card races.
Vince Zampella, 'Call of Duty' co-creator, dies after crash on Angeles Crest Highway
Vince Zampella, the video game developer who launched the 'Call of Duty' franchise and 'Apex Legends' outlet Respawn Entertainment with Jason West, has died.
'Call of Duty' co-creator Vince Zampella dies at 55 — 'his work helped shape modern interactive entertainment'
One of Zampella's crowning achievements was the creation of the Call of Duty franchise, which has sold more than half a billion games worldwide.
S.F. businesses were ready for one of the year’s busiest weekends. Then the power outage stole it
San Francisco businesses lost thousands of dollars when power went out on one of the busiest weekends of the year.
Vince Zampella, video game developer behind 'Call of Duty' franchise, killed in mountain road crash
Vince Zampella is the former CEO of video game developers Infinity Ward, the studio behind the wildly successful "Call of Duty" franchise.
Vince Zampella, video game developer behind 'Call of Duty' franchise, killed in mountain road crash
Vince Zampella is the former CEO of video game developers Infinity Ward, the studio behind the wildly successful "Call of Duty" franchise.
Elon Musk takes dig at Waymo after San Francisco blackout
Elon Musk mocks Waymo after rival's self-driving cars stopped at intersections during San Francisco power outage, while claiming Tesla's robotaxi remained unaffected.
Launch Family Entertainment closes out 2025 with record growth, six new openings, and accelerated multi-unit development
WARWICK, R.I. – Launch Family Entertainment (Launch), a leading indoor family entertainment franchise, is ending 2025 with major development milestones, including six new park openings, 13 secured …
US entertainment giant Universal Studios to build multibillion dollar theme park in Saudi Arabia | World News - The Times of India
Middle East News: Universal Studios is considering a multi-billion dollar theme park in Saudi Arabia's Qiddiya, part of Vision 2030 to boost tourism and entertainment in the Kingdom. This early concept could bring global franchises to the region.
San Francisco businesses, families throw out food due to PG&E power outage
France's Political Crisis Rattles Trust in Institutions
French confidence in national institutions collapsed in 2025 amid a year of political upheaval.
S.F. Power outage: restaurants and cafes open without electricity
Businesses opened their doors Sunday morning in San Francisco despite an ongoing power outage that left thousands of residents without electricity.
Waymo shut down service during San Francisco's blackout because its driverless taxis got confused
A widespread power outage in San Francisco affected thousands of residents. It also left Waymo robotaxis stalled on city streets.
'Reshaped the direction of the city': The history behind San Francisco's MUNI
December 28 marks 113 years since the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI) began operating.
I sold my home and moved to Europe at 55. I'm not living my dream life yet, but it's better than working my life away in the US.
Natalie Lynch moved from San Francisco to Europe with her dog last year. She told BI that her life isn't perfect, but it's better than in the US.
Indie Game Awards disqualify Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 after generative AI controversy
According to a statement issued by the Indie Game Awards, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been stripped of both awards it won. This decision came after producer François Meurisse confirmed the use of generative AI in the game’s development.
Hardware Store Marauder’s Map Is Clarkian Magic
The “Marauder’s Map” is a magical artifact from the Harry Potter franchise. That sort of magic isn’t real, but as Arthur C. Clarke famously pointed out, it doesn’t nee…
Saint Bonaventure defeats Le Moyne 92-81
OLEAN, N.Y. (AP) Frank Mitchell scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half and Saint Bonaventure beat Le Moyne 92-81 on Saturday.
10 greats set for enshrinement to Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame
Penn State interim head coach Terry Smith, an Aliquippa native, and professional wrestling champion and New Brighton native “The Franchise” Shane Douglas are two of a group of 10 athletic greats who will be celebrated with enshrinement into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame on June 13 at The Club at Shadow Lakes in Aliquippa.
Initial Impressions from the Oklahoma Game
Well, that was something. Alabama opened last night’s game looking like the team we saw in Atlanta. Frankly, they looked like an unprepared team perhaps led by a coach who had been distracted at practice. Down 17-0 in the second quarter without so much as a single first down for the offense, rallying for 27 […]
From Avatar to Amadeus: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
James Cameron’s Smurftacular franchise is back for an action-packed third outing, and musical geniuses butt heads in the new TV adaptation of Peter Shaffer’s play
Southern California business owner sentenced for defrauding over $5 million from clients and evading taxes
A Southern California man was sentenced to prison for defrauding his clients out of over $5 million and evading more than $1 million in taxes. Frank Seung Noah, 64, of Corona, is a customs broker w…
Nevada launches Orion, a new business licensing platform
Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar announced that the state's new business licensing system is on track to replace an outdated platform next year.
This Week in Jacksonville - Business Edition: Franchise opportunities grow in River City
In this episode of This Week in Jacksonville: Business Edition, Kent Justice talks with David Montanez, vice president of franchise development for Authority Brands, about the growing franchise opportunities in Northeast Florida and beyond. Montanez explains how franchising offers a proven business model that reduces risk and supports entrepreneurs, including many veterans transitioning from military service.
This Week in Jacksonville - Business Edition: Franchise opportunities grow in River City
In this episode of This Week in Jacksonville: Business Edition, Kent Justice talks with David Montanez, vice president of franchise development for Authority Brands, about the growing franchise opportunities in Northeast Florida and beyond. Montanez explains how franchising offers a proven business model that reduces risk and supports entrepreneurs, including many veterans transitioning from military service.
The World’s 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams 2025
See Forbes' 2025 list of the world's most valuable sports teams, which features franchises from six different leagues and ranges from $5.4 billion to $13 billion.
In Memoriam 2025: Politics
In the Politics section of our In Memoriam issue, we commemorate John Carney Jr., state Sen. Frank Niceley, Judge Randall Wyatt and more.
Taylor Swift Put a ‘Curse’ on Chiefs, Says NFL Star
Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua drew attention this week by blaming Taylor Swift for the Kansas City Chiefs’ collapse. The remark came on social media when the Chiefs confirmed an early exit from playoff contention. The conversation also dived deeper into injuries this season and what comes next for the franchise, including Travis Kelce. […] The post Taylor Swift Put a ‘Curse’ on Chiefs, Says NFL Star appeared first on Mandatory.
San Francisco mayor, local business owner talk about city’s economic recovery
Inside xAI's all-hands: Elon Musk says if the company can survive the next 2 to 3 years, it will come out on top
At a companywide meeting at xAI's San Francisco headquarters, Musk discussed the company's future, its finances, and data centers in space.
Proposal would bring stadium, sports complex to Clearwater
The Landings Golf Course, which first opened in 1970, would be replaced. The stadium does not currently have any sports franchise as a potential suitor.
Francis Collins and Marc Siegel say medicine is a gift from God
“To have Christians be the group that was most resistant” to the Covid vaccine “really seems wrong here,” said former NIH Director Francis Collins.
Fowler in his pomp - on this day in 1995
This was the year when Frank Bruno finally became a boxing world champion, when Oasis let (What's The Story) Morning Glory? Michael Jackson's Earth Song was topping the charts, usurping Robson & Jerome, and Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise had left its musical mark weeks earlier. Curly Watts was marrying Raquel in Corrie, there were footballers serving bans for kicking fans and there were grey kits that were soon to become a thing of controversy.
Year in review: Trump's foreign policy : The NPR Politics Podcast
As we approach 2026, the NPR Politics Podcast is taking a look back at the year that was in different political areas. Today, we explore what President Trump's administration has done in terms of foreign policy, and what might be expected in the coming year.This episode: senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith, White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, and national security correspondent Greg Myre.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye.Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.
Every media business becomes an events business
"People show up for figures who can build strong parasocial connections. But none of that matters if the other people who show up can't hang."
‘Terrific entertainment’ or ‘self-indulgent’? Critics go to war over ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’
James Cameron's third trip to Pandora is coming in on the low end of the review spectrum for the Avatar franchise.
French Health Tech Unicorn Plans Secondary Investment Of Hundreds Of Millions
Doctolib, once France’s most valuable startup, was worth $6.4 billion at its previous funding round in 2022.
Jackpot Digital to Deploy Electronic Poker Tables at Two PENN Entertainment Properties in Mississippi
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 16, 2025) - Jackpot Digital Inc. (TSXV: JJ) (OTCQB: JPOTF) (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: LVH3) (the "Company" or "Jackpot Digital")Jackpot Digital, the world's leading provider of innovative dealerless electronic poker gaming solutions, is pleased to announce that it has finalized installation agreements to deploy its Jackpot Blitz® dealerless poker electronic table games ("ETGs") at Boomtown Casino Biloxi and Hollywood Casino Gulf Coast in...
Afcon 2025: Defenders 'scared' of Nigeria's Victor Osimhen, says Frank Onyeka
Victor Osimhen is described as a striker "on another level" by team-mate Frank Onyeka ahead of Nigeria's bid to win the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Jackpot Digital to Deploy Electronic Poker Tables at Two PENN Entertainment Properties in Mississippi
Jackpot Digital Inc. (TSXV: JJ,OTC:JPOTF) (OTCQB: JPOTF) (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: LVH3) (the "Company" or "Jackpot Digital")Jackpot Digital, the world's leading provider of innovative dealerless electronic poker gaming solutions, is pleased to announce that it has finalized installation agreements...
Business leaders agree AI is the future. They just wish it worked right now
By Deepa Seetharaman, Supantha Mukherjee and Krystal Hu SAN FRANCISCO/STOCKHOLM, Dec 16 - Last spring, CellarTracker, a wine-collection app, built an AI-powered sommelier to make unvarnished wine
Golden Nuggets: We’re on to Indianapolis
Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Tuesday, December 16th, 2025
Donald Trump is sports-fan-in-chief : The NPR Politics Podcast
President Trump has built a brand as the sports-fan-in-chief, attending roughly a dozen major sporting events so far this year. We discuss how professional men’s sports align with Trump’s political brand.This episode: senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith, White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye.Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.
Donald Trump is sports-fan-in-chief : The NPR Politics Podcast
President Trump has built a brand as the sports-fan-in-chief, attending roughly a dozen major sporting events so far this year. We discuss how professional men’s sports align with Trump’s political brand.This episode: senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith, White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye.Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.
Phillip Rivers will make second start for Colts in Week 16 against 49ers
A decision is in at quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts set to face the San Francisco 49ers
How Roots Chicken Shak is Building a Radical New Business Model for Restaurant Franchises
The company is choosing franchisees based on shared values, then giving hands-on training to prepare them for success.
Waterville business accelerator's new program manager brings business, policy experience
Jeff Frank brings a diverse background in private-sector innovation, public policy and community development to his new role at Dirigo Labs.
Farmers and politics threaten to put EU's free-trade deal with South America on ice
France is creating a last-minute hurdle for a major trade deal between the European Union and the Mercosur bloc.
Farmers and politics threaten to put EU's free-trade deal with South America on ice
France is creating a last-minute hurdle for a major trade deal between the European Union and the Mercosur bloc
Adelanto City Council’s gift makes science camp possible for local kids
Students at Gus Franklin Jr. Elementary School will attend science camp thanks to a generous contribution by the Adelanto City Council.
NFL legend Fran Tarkenton explains why he invested millions in Apple — and is bullish on Tim Cook
NFL Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton holds hundreds of thousands of Apple shares. He told Business Insider why he's bullish on the tech giant's future.
Drew Gilbert Has Chance To Have Stellar Season For Giants
Gilbert will watch his old Tennessee head coach, Tony Vitello, get a chance at the MLB level with San Francisco.
Analyst looks back at Pirates’ Bryan Reynolds trade
The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Bryan Reynolds in a trade with the San Francisco Giants in 2018.
Franklin County's 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment prioritizes food security
The 2025 Baystate Franklin Medical Center Community Health Needs Assessment identified food security, maternal and infant health, behavioral health and substance use disorders as priority health concerns in Franklin County and the North Quabbin region, with the assessment highlighting the need for increased attention to and resources for food insecurity, mental health and substance use prevention.
Thomas Frank reaction — What did Spurs boss say after heavy defeat to Nottingham Forest?
Thomas Frank's reprieve from harsh, intense criticism following Tottenham Hotspur's recent poor performances was rather brief, as Spurs were wayward once again in a 3-0 defeat away to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Sen. Rand Paul says redistricting could lead to political violence
The Kentucky Republican said he believes redistricting efforts across the political aisle are a "mistake" that could lead voters to feel disenfranchised.
Star Trek Fans Need To Watch This Underrated Sci-Fi Series On Peacock
This sci-fi series streaming on Peacock isn't trying to copy the Star Trek franchise, but it should appeal to Trekkies for many of the same reasons.
Real Madrid: Good news arrives for Franco Mastantuono
Franco MastantuonoAt Real Madrid, there’s good news for Franco Mastantuono.Since November 1, despite several stints on the bench, Franco Mastantuono hasn’t featured on the pitch. Now fully recover...
Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham Hotspur – Match Preview and Team News
Tottenham Hotspur travel to the City Ground on Sunday afternoon, aiming to secure three consecutive wins in all competitions for the first time under Thomas Frank.They face a Nottingham Forest side lo...
‘Silent Hill f’ Wins Big at The Horror Game Awards 2025, Including Game of the Year
Unlike The Game Awards 2025 last Thursday, Konami’s Silent Hill f was the big winner at The Horror Game Awards 2025. Nominated in six categories, NeoBard’s survival horror hit took home four awards, including the coveted Game of the Year. Apart from Silent Hill f, the only other multiple award winner was Frankie Smile Show’s […]
'Heated Rivalry' actors respond to 'I Love LA' star dissing show's sex scenes: 'It's not how gay people f---'
'Heated Rivalry' actors François Arnaud and Hudson Williams have responded to 'I Love LA' star Jordan Firstman dissing the hockey romance's sex scenes, saying, 'It's not how gay people f---.'
Bill aims to safeguard small businesses operating franchise chains
A returning bill in Arizona aims to protect small-business owners operating large chain restaurants and businesses as franchisees, facing heavy opposition.
Franklin County commissioners weigh health insurance stipend
A resolution would take health stipends away from all commissioners, conforming to budget cuts made by a county’s Budget Advisory Committee.
The rise and fall of Hooters
Since 1983, Hooters has been an iconic brand. But in 2025, its franchisor, Hooters of America, went bankrupt. Can the original founders save it?
Franklin restaurant to close after nearly 30 years of business
Barbara’s Home Cookin' shared in a Facebook post that it would be permanently closing on December 31.
Which blockbuster movies defined 2025's year in film?
A year of daring originals and audience-favorite franchises top the list of 2025's most memorable films of the year.
Lampard wins second manager of the month award
Coventry City boss Frank Lampard is named the Championship's manager of the month for November with striker Ellis Simms winning the player award.
New laws to be considered after ‘harrowing stories’ from ex-Vodafone franchisees
Concerns about power imbalance in franchise agreements amid claims over firm’s treatment of small-business owners
‘You won’t understand unless you chew on it’: Hideo Kojima wants you to remember his games for decades
With narrative storytelling, multimillion-dollar budgets and A-list casts, Hideo Kojima’s arthouse games — including the critically acclaimed “Metal Gear Solid” and “Death Stranding” franchises — are as cinematic as, well, cinema.
Theresa May and the Brutality of Politics
Former UK Prime Minister Theresa May speaks with Francine Lacqua about Vladimir Putin and her approach to leadership in a world seeing a rise in "strongmen." (Source: Bloomberg)
Warlock: Dungeons and Dragons Is a New Single-Player RPG That Leans Into 'Expressive Magic' | The Game Awards 2025
The Dungeons & Dragons franchise has been steadily making more attempts to expand into video games, and we're seeing that next effort with Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons, a new open-world single-player action-RPG that's all about wielding dark magic to battle foes.
The Maker Of Baldur's Gate 3 Reveals Its Next RPG And This One's 'Even Larger'
Larian Studios teased a new game set in the Divinity franchise
Announcing Total War: Warhammer 40,000!
Award-winning strategy franchise moves into the 41st Millennium
‘I didn’t want to tear it down.’ Michael Jordan, Jim France see a new day in NASCAR
Michael Jordan and Jim France stood opposed for over a year. On Thursday, they were united, “moving forward instead of moving separately.”
Ravens Sports Network Broadcasting DII Soccer Championship Weekend in Spanish
NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. -- For the third straight season, Franklin Pierce's Ravens Sports Network will be on the road the NCAA DII men's and women's soccer championships this weekend. FPU students Erik Valdovinos and Elliot Scholes traveled to Colorado Springs, Colo. to live stream all six games this weekend in Spanish.
The New WHO Pandemic Treaty and Global Health Governance: Incorporating Common but Differentiated Responsibilities into PABS - Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
On May 20, 2025, the World Health Assembly unanimously adopted the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Agreement, an international treaty designed to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. The product of three years of arduous negotiations, the treaty marks a new era of global cooperation in public health. However, core aspects of the agreement remain unresolved—notably the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) System, which is intended to ensure equitable access to pandemic-related materials and benefits. To support the successful implementation of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” should be formally incorporated into the negotiating agenda of the PABS annex. Introduction For the first time, an international treaty has enshrined the principle of “One Health,” the compelling idea that the health of animals, humans, and the environment all contribute to pandemic risks. SARS (2003), H1N1 (2009–10), Ebola (2014–16), and COVID-19 all emerged through zoonotic spillover from animal hosts—respectively, civets, hogs, and bats. Together, they underscore the need for a coordinated, cross-sectoral approach. The Pandemic Agreement responds to this call, requiring state parties to acknowledge the ecological interplay and commit to a comprehensive “One Health” strategy. Specifically, Article 5 charges governments to address “the drivers of pandemics and the emergence and re-emergence of infectious disease at the human-animal-environment interface,” including wild animal markets, deforestation, and antibiotic overuse. Yet the effectiveness of this “One Health” vision depends equally on the free flow of scientific information and data among countries and institutions. Just as environmental and animal health factors have been neglected in past global frameworks, so too has data sharing been marginalized, despite its centrality to timely detection and response. The Pandemic Agreement takes an important step by requiring governments to enhance data collection and cooperate with the World Health Organization (WHO). However, these provisions will remain aspirational without a robust Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) annex. The PABS system will determine whether countries and researchers can rapidly exchange pathogen samples and genetic data while ensuring equitable access to resulting research and development, including diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. Without such mechanisms, the treaty’s promise to operationalize “One Health” and strengthen global preparedness will risk becoming largely symbolic, echoing earlier failures to translate shared principles into coordinated action. Equity Concerns When the 2025 Health Assembly adopted the Pandemic Agreement, it left the difficult question of access to pathogens and the sharing of resulting benefits to be addressed in a separate agreement. Negotiations on this separate agreement, PABS, are now underway in Geneva. Yet governments remain divided over fundamental questions of equity between the countries that primarily contribute to the system and those that primarily draw from it—and consequently benefit. For example, wildlife in countries bordering the equator is likely to produce PABS materials, but companies in Europe are likely to use them to develop lucrative products. The most likely contributor countries are likely to be those biodiverse countries around the equator, such as Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Indonesia, where the number of human-mammalian viral host interactions is large. Conversely, countries most likely to benefit from this material are those with the technology, investors, and infrastructure to capitalize on genomic data, such as the United States, EU member states, and Japan. This imbalance reflects a broader pattern seen in prior international frameworks. Now, as in the past, the wealthiest countries in the world (a useful heuristic is membership of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)) disproportionately benefit from systems in which pathogens and genomic sequencing data are contributed to a common source. Under the International Agreement on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (the “Plant Treaty” or “Seed Treaty”) and the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework, companies from Europe and North America disproportionately withdraw biological samples and data for development into lucrative medical products. Their governments and companies have both statutory and contractual claims to the products that those companies correspondingly produce. PABS appears poised to follow the same pattern. The text calls for strong language on access to pathogens and associated data, but the corresponding benefits that should flow to poorer countries are couched in equivocal or non-binding language. Common but Differentiated Responsibilities To address these inequities, the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” should be formally incorporated into the negotiating agenda of the PABS annex. Common but differentiated responsibilities are often a feature of climate change negotiations. The basic principle is that, even though all countries should reduce carbon emissions, governments that became rich and powerful through massive carbon emissions (e.g., France, the United Kingdom, the United States) should have a greater obligation to address the resulting crises. Applied to PABS, it would require that governments hosting and supporting companies developing lucrative products carry greater obligations toward the cost of running the PABS system; share benefits or final medical products; and transfer technology to help countries worldwide develop their own capacities to innovate and manufacture vaccines during an emergency. For example, an annex could mandate that any company based in an OECD country that withdraws PABS material would be obligated to donate the resulting diagnostics, therapeutics, or vaccines to the WHO during a public health emergency or pandemic. Questions remain about how robust those donations would be, but the principle is that they should deliver highly significant lifesaving benefits to be equitably shared. Theoretically, this approach mirrors the PIP Framework, in which companies withdrawing influenza samples are required to pay half of the operating costs. In practice, however, the framework has fallen short. The PIP Framework Secretariat has struggled to secure payments from companies, with companies often disagreeing over how much is owed. Additionally, without another pandemic influenza to test the strength of the agreement during a public health emergency, corporate compliance with sharing mechanisms remains unknown. Even if these limitations did not characterize the PIP Framework, partially paying for operating expenses does not address the inequity in access to genetic data and pathogen samples that left less developed countries last in line for COVID-19 vaccines (and, before them, H1N1). Common but differentiated responsibilities would go further, addressing governments’ legitimate grievances regarding information sharing. It would make withdrawals of PABS material and resulting products more transparent, building trust across the board. Enforcement and Enduring Success A key implication of this approach is that the governing mechanism of the PABS must have real enforcement authority. The WHO Pandemic Agreement delegates its core governance responsibilities to a Conference of the Parties (COP)—a governing body composed of one representative from each participating government, similar to those established under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The proposed WHO Pandemic Agreement COP is charged with oversight functions but ultimately possesses no real authority to compel a government to take any action it does not wish to take. The text does not give the COP the ability to, for example, sanction a party that does not comply with either textual obligations or PABS provisions. In other words, there are no effective mechanisms in place to ensure compliance. Perhaps just as significant, establishing a meaningful enforcement mechanism within the PABS system would strengthen the WHO’s credibility and its ability to ensure compliance across global health governance. By setting a precedent for accountability, such a mechanism could enhance the organization’s authority not only within the Pandemic Agreement but also in enforcing the revised International Health Regulations and other frameworks for public health emergencies. Conclusion The PABS annex can—and should—be different. It should establish clear responsibilities for funding as well as for sharing the diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines that result from contributions to the system. The system, in turn, must include a dedicated body empowered to hold governments and the corporations they sponsor accountable for their responsibilities before, during, and after pandemics. Doing so would restore trust in the broader agreement, which was eroded as commitments were repeatedly diluted while parties scrambled to meet their own self-imposed deadlines during the Pandemic Agreement negotiations. A robust PABS Annex would cement a grand social bargain. Wealthier countries and their corporations would gain unimpeded access to scientific information essential for developing and manufacturing lifesaving medical products. As such, they would stand to gain considerable economic benefit. Yet that privilege must be matched with responsibility. The grand bargain must include not only the right to innovate, but also the duty to ensure that innovation serves all. As medical products are developed and produced through collective contributions, every person must have equal access. All human beings deserve an equitable chance to survive—to save their own life, the lives of their families, and the well-being of their communities. … Sam Halabi, JD, MPhil, is the Bette Jacobs Endowed Professor at Georgetown University’s School of Health and the Director of the Center for Transformational Health Law at Georgetown Law. He serves as the co-lead for the WHO’s Working Group on Regulatory Consideration on AI and Health’s training workstream. He earned his JD from Harvard, his MPhil from Oxford, and undergraduate degrees from Kansas State University. Lawrence Gostin, LLD (Hon.), JD, BA, is University Distinguished Professor and Founding Director and Timothy and Linda O’Neill Professor of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. He is the author of Global Health Security: A Blueprint for the Future (Harvard University Press, 2021); Global Health Law (Harvard University Press, 2014); Public Health Law: Power, Duty, Restraint (University of California Press, 3rd ed., 2016); Public Health Law and Ethics: A Reader (University of California Press, 3rd ed., 2018); Law and the Health System (Foundation Press, 2014); Principles of Mental Health Law & Practice (Oxford University Press, 2010). He also directs the WHO Collaborating Center at Georgetown University. Image Credit: United States Mission Geneva, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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