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MAGA Is Winning Its War Against U.S. Science
Source: NBER With all the other terrible news right now, you may not have noticed that Donald Trump is in the process of killing American science. OK, that’s an exaggeration — but not that much of an exaggeration. The Trump administration’s latest budget proposal calls for a gigantic increase in military spending combined with severe cuts to social programs. But as the chart above shows, it also calls for debilitating reductions in research funding. Furthermore, Trump appointees have already been strangling science by sharply reducing the rate at which research grants are approved. Here, for example, is the number of new grants approved by the National Science Foundation: Source: Nature Large numbers of existing grants have also been frozen or terminated, especially in the study of infectious diseases. Add to this a sharp drop in visas issued to foreign students, who often play a direct role in research and who help support academic departments that do research: Put all of this together, and much U.S. scientific research is set to come to a screeching halt — not a few years from now, but over the course of the next year or two. This new assault on U.S. science is taking place at a time when the role of American science in the world has already been greatly eroded. The chart below, based on research recently reported by the National Bureau of Economic Research, measures national strength in science by the share of publications in highly ranked journals. In the 1990s the United States had more such publications than the rest of the world combined. Since then we’ve dropped into third place — well behind China and slightly below the European Union. And this was before the Trump administration’s attack on science had time to take its full effect. Source Some erosion in U.S. scientific preeminence was inevitable given China’s growing sophistication and wealth. But we’ve also fallen behind Europe, even though everyone says that Europe is lagging economically and technologically. Claims about Europe’s underperformance are, in fact, dubious if one looks hard at the data. But it’s still striking to see America lagging. What’s going on? There are presumably multiple factors behind America’s scientific lag. But even before Trump II the growing hostility of the U.S. right to science surely had some negative effect. And since the rise of MAGA G.O.P. attitudes toward science in general have become overwhelmingly hostile. This is true even for the Republican rank and file: And while I haven’t been able to find good survey data, it’s obvious that the anti-science turn has been even more pronounced — and began earlier — among the Republican political elite. Chris Mooney published The Republican War on Science in 2005, and even then was describing a longstanding trend. Why have Republicans turned so anti-science? Part of the answer is that they believe that scientists don’t support them. And they’re right! A study of who scientists give money to shows that only a small percentage gave money to Republicans even 20 years ago, and that almost none of them donate to Republicans now: Social scientists have always been strongly pro-Democratic, while there used to be a significant number of physical, “hard” scientists supporting the GOP. But these days physicists are almost as uniformly Democratic, or at least non-Republican, as sociologists. Why are there almost no Republican scientists? It’s not a mystery. GOP political orthodoxy includes positions that are at odds with the scientific consensus on multiple issues, ranging from the validity of the theory of evolution, to the reality of climate change, to the efficacy and safety of vaccines. In each case the scientific consensus is solidly grounded in evidence. But even before the rise of MAGA the U.S. right was increasingly hostile to evidence-based policymaking — especially, of course, where the evidence is unfavorable to fossil fuel interests or quack medicine, both financial mainstays of right-wing politics. So scientists don’t support Republicans, and the feeling is mutual. Today’s Republican Party doesn’t like science or scientists. It doesn’t like having its preconceived views challenged by appeals to evidence. It knows that very few scientists are on its side electorally. In general, it sees scientific research as a threat to its grasp on political power. Add in MAGA’s combination of rabid anti-intellectualism and allergy to any hint of criticism, and one has the makings of a drastic anti-science turn in policy. “Ignorance is strength” might was well be an official MAGA motto. And as I said, we aren’t talking about something that will happen over the course of multiple years: The U.S. scientific enterprise is threatened with severe damage, even collapse, over just the next year. There are many reasons to find this prospect horrifying: Think of all the beneficial advances, affecting almost every part of life, that won’t happen because U.S. science — still crucial to the world — has been eviscerated. But think, also, of America’s international standing. Can a nation that has forfeited its role as a leader, or even a contender, in global science, still be a Great Power? No. MUSICAL CODA
A good point but not enough for Pompey's survival
BBC Radio Solent's Andrew Moon on the 2-2 draw between Portsmouth and Oxford and the impact on the Championship relegation battle.
How much emphasis on politics? And to what end?
People today expect politics to give more than it can, often to the point of secular utopianism. There are two basic reasons for that. The first is a decline in transcendental faith. People need an […]
Let Colorado’s communities govern their own neighborhoods
By Jeff Bailey and Cindy Bailey Coloradans have always done things their own way. From how we manage our land to how we build our economies, the instinct to govern locally — to trust mayors, councils and commissioners over distant bureaucracies — is not a partisan position. It is a point of pride. When a […]
'Morale boost': NASA carries out Moon mission during tough year for science
As the four Artemis astronauts approached a high point of their lunar mission -- getting slung around the far side of the Moon -- NASA staffers crowded into Houston's famed mission control room Monday...
Will the Iran war reshape Keir Starmer’s political future?
Labour figures point to Gordon Brown’s response to financial crash as a template for embattled prime minister
Instant observations: Sixers fall to Spurs despite Victor Wembanyama injury
Joel Embiid had 34 points and 12 rebounds and the Spurs lost Victor Wembanyama at halftime, but the Sixers still fell 115-102 to San Antonio in a critical playoff race...
FTI Consulting Adds Three Leading Mining and Resources Business Improvement Experts
SYDNEY, April 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: FCN) today announced the appointments of James Chapman, Steve Dyson and Franz Wentzel as Senior Managing Directors in its Australian Transformation practice, bringing their experience as former global heads of Big Four accounting firm mining practices to help clients realise their full value potential. The appointments of Mr. Chapman, Mr. Dyson and Mr. Wentzel continue the firm’s growth of its Transformation – Mining team, fo
Rochester business leaders back Hochul in state budget negotiations
They say that the state is at a "inflection point" for families and small businesses due to rising costs.
Small Business Index Q1 2026
Small Businesses Express More Concern Over The Economy Amid Uncertainty
Auraria Health Center offers same-day appointments and free services for faculty and staff
Same-day medical appointments and no-cost health services are available to faculty and staff members through the Health Center at Auraria, offering a convenient alternative to long wait times for primary care. The center offers a broad range of clinical services, including primary care, psychiatric support and telehealth appointments. Faculty and staff can also be seen for sick visits, including infections, […]
Taylor Hougland Joins Pella Corporation as EVP & Group President, Business Units Accomplished Executive to Lead Pella's Portfolio Growth and Performance
Pella Corporation is pleased to announce the appointment of Taylor Hougland as Executive Vice President & Group President, Business Units, effective April 6, 2026. In this new role, Hougland will report directly to Emily Videtto, President & Chief Operating Officer.
How Forests Start to Fail, One Leaf at a Time
In a Swiss forest lab, scientists tracked how beech and oak leaves cool themselves and pinpointed the moment heat and drought push them past their limits.
A Look At Six Flags Entertainment (FUN) Valuation After Richard Haddrill Becomes Executive Chairman
Boardroom shift at Six Flags Entertainment (FUN) Six Flags Entertainment (FUN) appointed Richard “Dick” Haddrill as Executive Chairman on March 25, 2026, positioning a seasoned entertainment and gaming leader to focus on profitability and long term growth initiatives. See our latest analysis for Six Flags Entertainment. The latest boardroom change comes after a 9.75% 90 day share price return and an 8.26% year to date share price return, set against a 44.17% 1 year total shareholder return...
Sports betting roundup: Michigan favored against UConn in final game of March Madness
There’s only one game left in the college basketball season, with Michigan taking on UConn for the national championship on Monday night. As of Monday morning, Michigan is a 6.5-point favorite. The Wolverines are taking in 70% of the bets and 75% of the money.
Behind the Scenes with the Bachelor of Business Administration
Attracting students from a range of backgrounds, Empire State University’s Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) helps students certify the knowledge they’ve gained through work experience, gain foundational skills that are applicable industry-wide, and specialize in their areas of interest to pursue their dream careers. Whether learners are looking for an entry point into further education, […]
CNN will host a California gubernatorial primary debate on May 5
CNN will host a California gubernatorial primary debate next month, a potential inflection point in a crowded campaign that Democrats are concerned could provide an opening for Republicans.
Foley Entertainment Group, hotels appoint sales, marketing leaders
A number of hotels—as well as Foley Entertainment Group—have appointed sales and marketing leaders in recent weeks. | Hotels and resorts across the country have new sales and marketing leaders.
Cooper Flagg scores 45 points and Mavs beat injury-depleted Lakers 134-128
Flagg, who had nine assists and eight rebounds, recorded consecutive 40-point games for the first time.
Windass lauded after 'top-class' strike
Phil Parkinson lauded the quality of Josh Windass after the forward's "top-class" goal in Wrexham's 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion. The 32-year-old netted his 12th goal of the campaign across all competitions as the Red Dragons came from 2-0 down to earn a point against the Baggies at The Hawthorns on Friday. "He's a player who can produce big moments and he's done that with a brilliant finish," Parkinson said of Windass.
VHC Health development plan faces pushback at environmental meeting
A proposal for a new behavioral health center on S. Carlin Springs Road is facing pushback on environmental impacts and effects on the surrounding neighborhood. Misgivings about the 146-bed, 131,000-square-foot development proposal from VHC Health and Lifepoint Health made their way into discussions at the March 26 meeting of the county's Forestry & Natural Resources
3 injured Arsenal stars return to training ahead of Sporting
Arsenal have received a timely boost ahead of the trip to Sporting, with three senior players back in training.Photo by James Fearn/Getty ImagesOne of the main talking points over the international br...
“Why water is special” mystery finally solved.
POSTECH and Stockholm University observe water’s liquid-liquid critical point, published in Science, following the team’s 2017 and 2020 papers in the same journal. Ten years of persistent research leads to a discovery that could rewrite textbooks
Why did Jackson keep new public safety director appointment quiet?
When Jackson officials appointed Charles Terefenko to run town hall why did they line him up to oversee public safety and not tell the public?
Business owner: Don’t look now, but Roanoke is quietly becoming Virginia’s Music City
Roanoke did not set out to become a music city in the way larger markets brand themselves. It got here the old-fashioned way. One room at a time. One crowd at a time. One show at a time.
Stephen Curry drops 29 points in return from knee injury as Warriors fall to Rockets
Stephen Curry missed 27 games due to a lingering knee injury.
Cooper Flagg follows up 51-point game with 45 to outduel LeBron James, send reeling Lakers to defeat
Flagg is the first rookie to post 40-point efforts in consecutive games since Allen Iverson did it five times during the 1996-97 season.
White House Melts Down for Second Day Over Trump Health Claims
The White House snapped after a post pointed out Trump’s days-long absence from public view.
Celtics beat Raptors 115-101 behind Tatum, Brown
Jaylen Brown scored 26 points, Jayson Tatum had 23 points and 13 rebounds and the Boston Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors 115-101 on Sunday. Neemias Queta had 18 points and seven rebounds, and Payton Pritchard scored 17 points for the Celtics, who won their third straight to move closer to clinching second place in the Eastern Conference. Ja'Kobe Walter led Toronto with 16 points, and Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett each had 15.
Opinion: Why Alaska may point to the future of independent politics
Rather than labeling themselves as independents in protest of dysfunctional Republicans and Democrats, the title now stands for pragmatism and common-sense.
Study Reveals the Single Cause of Cognitive Decline—and a Cure
Researchers pinpoint a lone protein that speeds up the dysfunction of an aging brain. Eliminating it, they claim, can reverse the damage.
Oakland audit finds troubling gaps it business tax collection system
While auditors point out that it's difficult to say exactly how much tax revenue the city lost out on, they estimate that about $9 million to $12 million would generally be referred to collections or liens annually.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro Disappoints In CPU Performance Despite Moving To 2nm Process; New GPU & AI Upgrades Could Make Up For It
A tipsterclaims that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro will offer lackluster CPU performance but its GPU and AI capabilities could cover up
Jalen Hurts Has Reportedly Gotten The 'Message' In Philly
There was reportedly a lot of "friction" between Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles toward the end of the 2025 season. ESPN reported on the development. "Close observers point to a lack of creativity and synergy in the Eagles' attack. The pass game wasn't always properly tied to the run, and ...
FULL SHOW: Inside INdiana Business 4/5/26
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LinkedIn is secretly scanning your browser for 6,000 extensions, and you weren’t told
LinkedIn runs a hidden JavaScript script called Spectroscopy that silently probes over 6,000 Chrome extensions and collects 48 device data points, none of it disclosed in its privacy policy.
Miami bank lends $27.5M for Tampa hotel sale
Ocean Bank provided financing for the purchase of a Sheraton hotel near Tampa International Airport.
Influencers tout injectable peptides as key to youth and beauty. Scientists say they're 'a giant scam'
Crocodile dung. Tapeworms. Raw meat facials. Yes, at some point in history these wildly popular — and wildly unproven — treatments were how people tried to stay young. Right now, plenty of influencers will tell you that injectable peptides are the answer. But the scientists? Not so much.
Jackson County legislators talk affordability at Maquoketa forum
MAQUOKETA, Iowa — Affordability, notably around health care, was the focal point at a legislative forum hosted Saturday by the Maquoketa Area Chamber of Commerce.
Houston Rockets jersey history No. 10 - Jabari Smith Jr. (2022-26)
During his time suiting up for the Rockets, Smith wore only jersey Nos. 1 and 10 and put up 13.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game.
Recap: Bruins let points slip away again, lose to Tampa
Mo’ Florida Men, mo’ problems.
Truckloads of food are being wasted because computers won’t approve them
Modern food systems may look stable on the surface, but they are increasingly dependent on digital systems that can quietly become a major point of failure. Today, food must be “recognized” by databases and automated platforms to be transported, sold, or even released, meaning that if systems go down, food can effectively become unusable—even when it’s physically available.
Track & Field Competes in Pacesetter Sports Invitational
The Valparaiso University men's track and field team scored 21 points and finished in the top half of the field, while the women's squad accrued 19 points as the Beacons participated in Indiana State's Pacesetter Sports Invitational on Friday and Saturday in Terre Haute, Ind.
White House denies Trump is in the hospital as new health rumors explode
The White House has denied that President Trump visited Walter Reed National Military Medical Center as the Republican president's health has been a major focal point of his second term
White House denies Trump is in the hospital as new health rumors explode
The White House has denied that President Trump visited Walter Reed National Military Medical Center as the Republican president's health has been a major focal point of his second term
NASA Disappoints Artemis II Astronauts By Cutting Off Chappell Roan Wakeup Song
This is a lot cooler than Katy Perry going into space: NASA played Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” to wake up the astronauts on Artemis II this morning. However, mission control abruptly cut the audio after Roan sang “heels.” “We were all eagerly awaiting the chorus,” Commander Reid Wiseman joked. Artemis II launched on Wednesday…
After Cooper Flagg's historic 51-point performance, can he catch Kon Knueppel in NBA Rookie of the Year race?
Knueppel has been the presumptive frontrunner, but Flagg is certainly making the race interesting
ENTERTAINMENT: Inspiration Point hosts ‘Sacred Veil’
Dancers from the University of Oklahoma School of Dance and the Windsong Chamber Chorale perform “The Sacred Veil” 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. April 12 at Inspiration Point Center for the Arts.
Mavs rookie Cooper Flagg scores 51 points to become first teen to reach 50 in an NBA game
Flagg’s previous career high came against former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel, the fourth overall pick and fellow contender for rookie of the year.
Apple Is Dominating Smartphone Rivals To The Point Where Its Not Bothered To Change The iPhone 18 Appearance By Much, Says New Rumor
The iPhone 18 lineup is rumored to sport nearly the same appearance as the iPhone 17 series, according to one tipster
Bayer Leverkusen vs Wolfsburg: Team news and predicted line-up
Relegation-threatened Wolfsburg travel to the BayArena to face top-four candidates Bayer Leverkusen. Leverkusen sit comfortably in sixth place, having an eight-point gap between them and seventh-plac...
Hélène Bouffard
Circana has appointed Hélène Bouffard as Chief People Officer, where she will lead the company’s global people strategy and guide organizational evolution during a period of accelerated growth.
Cooper Flagg becomes youngest player in NBA history to post 50-point game
A 19-year-old just dropped 51 points in a game.
Rising energy costs squeeze Rochester-area businesses, forcing tough decisions
Owners point to a combination of rising expenses, including utilities, insurance, taxes and the cost of goods as key drivers behind the financial pressure.
Pope Leo's political voice and how much influence he holds
Pope Leo XIV is the first American to lead the Catholic Church, and after nearly a year of advocating for the poor and cautiously opposing controversial U.S. policies, Leo is offering a more public contrast with Trump. Compass Points moderator Nick Schifrin discusses the pope's first year and what his recent criticism says with Joseph Capizzi, Father Thomas Reese, Annie Selak and Stephen White.
Logan City School District announces leadership changes, names new business administrator
LOGAN — The Logan City School District has announced a series of leadership changes, including the retirement of its longtime business administrator and the appointment of new administrative leaders ahead
Gemma 4 and what makes an open model succeed
Having written a lot of model release blog posts, there’s something much harder about reviewing open models when they drop relative to closed models, especially in 2026. In recent years, there were so few open models, so when Llama 3 was released most people were still doing research on Llama 2 and super happy to get an update. When Qwen 3 was released, the Llama 4 fiasco had just gone down, and a whole research community was emerging to study RL on Qwen 2.5 — it was a no brainer to upgrade. Today, when an open model releases, it’s competing with Qwen 3.5, Kimi K2.5, GLM 5, MiniMax M2.5, GPT-OSS, Arcee Large, Nemotron 3, Olmo 3, and others. The space is populated, but still feels full of hidden opportunity. The potential of open models feels like a dark matter, a potential we know is huge, but few clear recipes and examples for how to unlock it are out there. Agentic AI, OpenClaw, and everything brewing in that space is going to spur mass experimentation in open models to complement the likes of Claude and Codex, not replace them. Especially with open models, the benchmarks at release are an extremely incomplete story. In some ways this is exciting, as new open models have a much higher variance and ability to surprise, but it also points at some structural reasons that make building businesses and great AI experiences around open models harder than the closed alternatives. When a new Claude Opus or GPT drops, spending a few hours with them in my agentic workflows is genuinely a good vibe test. For open models, putting them through this test is a category error. Something else to be said about open models in the era of agents is that they get out of the debate of integration, harnesses, and tools and let us see close to the ground on what exactly is the ability of just a model. Of course, we can’t test some things like search abilities without some tool, but being able to measure exactly the pace of progress of the model alone is a welcome simplification to a systematically opaque AI space. Share The list of factors I’d use to assess a new open-weight model I’m considering investing in includes: Model performance (and size) — how this model performs on benchmarks I care about and how it compares to other models of a similar size. Country of origin — some businesses care deeply about provenance, and if a model was built in China or not. Model license — if a model needs legal approval for use, uptake will be slower at mid-sized and large companies. Tooling at release — many models release with half-broken, or at least substantially slower, implementations in popular software like vLLM, Transformers, SGLANG, etc due to pushing the envelope of architectures or tools. Model fine-tunability — how easy or hard it is to modify the given model to your use-case when you actually try and use it. The core problem is that some of these are immediately available at release, e.g. general performance, license, origin, etc. but others such as tooling take day(s) to week(s) to stabilize, and others are open research questions — with no group systematically monitoring fine-tunability. In the early era of open models, the days of Llama 2 or 3 and Qwen pre v3.5, the architectures were fairly simple and the models tended to work out of the box. Some of this was due to the extremely hard work of the Llama, Qwen, Mistral, etc. developer teams. Some is due to the new models being genuinely harder to work with. When it comes to something like Qwen 3.5 or Nemotron 3, with hybrid models (either gated delta net or mamba layers), the tooling is very rough at release. Things you would expect to “just work” often don’t. I’ve been following this area closely since we released Olmo Hybrid with a similar architecture, and Qwen 3.5 is just starting to work well in the various open-source tools that need to all play nice together for RL research. That’s 1.5 months after the release date! This is just to start really investing more into understanding the behavior of the models. Of course, others started working on these models sooner by investing more engineering resources or relying on partially closed software. The fully open and distributed ecosystem takes a long time to get going on some new models. All of this is lead-in for the most important question for open models — how easy is it to adapt to specific use-cases? This is a different problem for different model sizes. Large MoE open-weight models may be used by entities like Cursor who need complex capabilities in their domain, e.g. Composer 2 trained on Kimi K2.5. Other applications can be built on much smaller models, such as Chroma’s Context-1 model for agentic search, built on GPT-OSS 20B. The question of “which models are fine-tunable” is largely background knowledge known by engineers across the industry. There should be a thriving research area here to support the open ecosystem model. The first step is to understand characteristics of different base and post-trained models to understand what they look like. The second step is to tune pretraining recipes for open models so they’re more flexible. Interconnects AI is a reader-supported publication. Consider becoming a subscriber. Subscribe For The ATOM Project and other Interconnects endeavors, we’ve put in substantial effort to measuring adoption trends in the open ecosystem. Everything takes a long time to unfold after a model is first publicly available — and adaptability is why. What we know for sure now, when Qwen has been going from strength to strength with its releases, is that technical staff across the industry has gotten comfortable working with Qwen models. Countless research methods and datasets were made to work with Qwen. It’ll take patience for any other model family to get to this point — a patience I’m not sure many open model builders have. This takes us to Gemma 4, Google’s latest open models. Gemma 3 was released more than a year ago, in March of 2025, and is a bit underrated. Gemma 4 comes in 4 sizes for now, with a bigger, MoE model of over 100B total parameters rumored but not released yet. The models we have today come in sizes of ~5B dense, 8B dense, 26B total 4B active MoE, and 31B dense. I’m most excited that they’re finally adopting a standard Apache 2.0 open source license. This’ll massively boost adoption. The standard of better licenses for strong open-weight LLMs was set by mostly Chinese open model labs in the last 1-2 years, and now U.S. companies are following suit. I will personally be so happy if the horrible Llama licenses and Gemma terms of service were an ~18-month transient dynamic of the industry being nervous about releasing strong open models. The Gemma 4 scores look very solid, the small models have incredible benchmark scores (especially in general domains like LMArena) and the 31B model rivals the recent Qwen 3.5 27B, which is the leading member of that class. The ~30B size range is an important one, as it’s accessible both to researchers and to enterprises looking to deploy the model in real use-cases. Where the 7B model scale is the default for tinkering and research, a 30B model is the default for seeing if an open model can unlock substantial value in your specific workflow — a good mix of intelligence, low price, tractability for downstream training, etc. This takes us back to the above adoption criteria I mentioned for open models and the bigger question — do I think Gemma 4 will be an overwhelming success? Previous Gemma models have been plagued by tooling issues and poorer performance when being finetuned. Gemma 4’s success is going to be entirely determined by ease of use, to a point where a 5-10% swing on benchmarks wouldn’t matter at all. It’s strong enough, small enough, with the right license, and from the U.S., so many companies are going to slot it in. I’m cautiously optimistic that Gemma 4 is going to work better here. Winds are shifting for open models built in America. We saw GPT-OSS go through a bumpy launch to become an overwhelming success. There’s a collective energy around the likes of Reflection, Arcee, Nemotron, Gemma, Olmo, and peers that show substantial demand for building new stacks around open models. There’s capital to be spent on AI stacks across the economy by those who want more ownership of everything, including the model. After launching The ATOM Project 240 days ago, the conversation is shifting into the next stage. Summer of 2025 was a crisis moment where the U.S. AI scene realized it can’t wait and figure out open models after building AGI. The two markets will capture different areas and proceed in parallel. Now that more companies in the U.S. are releasing strong models, we need to improve the ecosystem so that these models are easy to use, understand, and build value around. It’s the hard work to build another inflection point in these adoption plots I’ve been updating consistently, but that’s the work to be done. Join me in it. More data coming soon! Here’s a sneak peek:
PlayStation 6 Leaks Point To Sony Paving The Way for A Handheld
It also sounds like the next PlayStation could be imminent
White House seeks massive increase in defense spending with $1.5 trillion ask in new budget request
The White House is seeking roughly $1.5 trillion for defense as part of a fiscal 2027 budget request – a proposal that would boost military spending to its highest point in modern history as the Trump administration wages its war with Iran.
Public Health and Criminal Justice: Working Together to Reduce Gun Violence | Center for Gun Violence Solutions
Gun violence remains one of the most pressing public health challenges in the United States. Yet efforts to prevent it are too often siloed with public health and criminal justice working in parallel rather than in partnership.
Islanders Gameday: Get busy winning or get busy dying
If the regular season ended this morning, the New York Islanders would qualify for the playoffs by virtue of having more points, thanks to having played one more game, than Detroit, Columbus, or Philadelphia. Tonight that will not change but it can get either better or more fragile as they host the Flyers, who desperately […]
Business at 'breaking point' over roadworks scheme
A project to create active travel routes in Halifax town centre is testing the patience of locals.
Meloni’s gamble backfires: a turning point for Italy
The Italian PM has had an ‘aura of political invincibility’ since taking office in 2022, but a referendum on flagship judicial reforms has left her vulnerable
Spoiler Alert! Devils Rout Caps Behind Bratt, Hughes
Look at the Devils delivering maximum damage to a pair of Metropolitan Division rivals this week, although in very different ways. First, on Tuesday, they rolled over and played dead for a hapless Rangers team that got two points that won’t help them in their race to the bottom for Gavin McKenna. Forty-eight hours later […]
Nebraska women’s basketball’s Petra Bozan to enter transfer portal
Nebraska women’s basketball sophomore forward Petra Bozan will enter the portal, On3’s Talia Goodman reported late Thursday night. Bozan, from Split, Croatia, started 19 games this season for the Huskers, averaging 6.6 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per game.
A gene mutation may trap the brain in the wrong reality in schizophrenia patients
A newly identified gene mutation may help explain why schizophrenia patients struggle to update their understanding of reality. The mutation disrupts a brain circuit involved in flexible decision-making, causing mice to stick with outdated choices even when conditions change. Researchers pinpointed the issue to a key thalamus–prefrontal cortex pathway. By reactivating this circuit, they were able to restore normal behavior—raising hope for future therapies.
Kentucky lawmakers clear way for statue or artwork honoring McConnell
The Republican-led Kentucky Legislature plans to install a tribute to Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. in the State Capitol rotunda when it reopens.
Political appointments surging, career SES workforce shrinking under Trump 2.0
The Partnership for Public Service warned that the large political workforce, coupled with a smaller career SES, will lead to a loss of institutional knowledge.
Anthony Edwards becomes latest NBA star bitten by awards eligibility rules with 17th absence
Anthony Edwards is averaging a career-high 29.3 points per game this season. He still won't be making an All-NBA team.
April Carney among new appointees to FSCJ Board of Trustees
4 new members and 4 reappointments were announced Thursday.
How an upcoming Trump rally in Phoenix could bolster Turning Point's effort to gather voter data
An upcoming Turning Point USA rally in Phoenix with President Donald Trump appears to be part of a larger effort by the conservative organization to collect voter data ahead of the 2026 election cycle.
Goodwin wants repeat against other half of Old Firm
Jim Goodwin has called on Dundee United to replicate the level of performance they produced in their victory over Celtic as they bid to derail Rangers' Scottish Premiership title bid on Saturday. United defeated the other half of the Old Firm 2-0 at Tannadice in their last match before the international break to leave Martin O'Neill's side five points adrift of leaders Hearts. "We've got to take a lot of confidence out of that Celtic game," manager Goodwin said looking ahead to facing second-top Rangers, with whom they have drawn 2-2 home and away this season.
Bill Carlson appoints ‘Trumpette’ who serves dark money org supporting him to budget advisory board
She replaces another conservative, whom Carlson appointed when another controversial Republican appointment fell through.
Research points to brain-based clues for mental health
In a split second, the brain determines whether an ambiguous situation is good or bad—and those snap judgments can reveal important information about a person. A new article by Husker psychologist Maital ...
Interim Hennepin Healthcare leader steps down
Dr. Kevin Croston resigned Wednesday. He was appointed to the position after the previous interim CEO stepped down in January.
Mount Sinai to integrate OpenEvidence AI enterprise-wide
By embedding OpenEvidence directly into its Epic electronic health records, the New York health system aims to change how its clinicians access health data at the point of care to improve patient outcomes.
T-RAN Gilbert Named TN Music & Entertainment Ambassador
Gospel artist, producer and community leader Terran “T-RAN” Gilbert has been appointed as an [...]
Iowa State star Audi Crooks reportedly entering transfer portal
Audi Crooks averaged 25.8 points this season.
Poll: Ashley Moody leading all potential Democratic opponents in Senate race
The Ron DeSantis appointee is a proven statewide candidate.
Sharing her passion for science
By Danielle Rush Communications Specialist, Indiana University Kokomo Hisako Masuda, Indiana University Kokomo professor of biochemistry, was honored by the Indiana Academy of Science (IAS) as its 2026 Distinguished Scholar. The award is given to an individual who is recognized by the IAS as having an exceptional record of scholarship. Recipients are selected from nominations submitted to its awards committee. “I was surprised,” said Masuda, who joined IU Kokomo’s faculty in 2013. “I feel there are many good scientists in the Academy, so I wasn’t expecting it at all.” Patrick Motl, dean of the School of Sciences, said the Academy recognizes up to one member per year, and that Masuda is the second or third IU Kokomo faculty member to receive the commendation. “Clearly this speaks to the strength of Dr. Masuda’s accomplishments in research and scholarship and that her work stands out amongst her peers in Indiana,” said Motl, who received the award in 2019. “Many of the institutions that participate in the IAS are undergraduate institutions or primarily undergraduate institutions, but even having that caveat, Dr. Masuda has built and maintains a very active research program in her lab, working exclusively with undergraduates. She is passionate about science and can share that passion with her students. To carry on a quality research program with so many students involved in so many projects is truly remarkable and I am glad that the IAS acknowledged that for Dr. Masuda.” The IAS specifically commended her for involving more than 50 undergraduates in her research in bacterial metabolism, genomics, and their phenotypic plasticity at IU Kokomo, and publishing 23 articles with many student co-authors. Masuda’s current work primarily focuses on biodegradation and chemical repurposing of nylon. Using soil bacteria, her lab studies bacterial biodegradation of nylon and other environmental pollutants. She applies principles of green chemistry while developing a method to convert nylon waste into other nontoxic polymers. In collaborative work with health scientists, her lab investigates gut microbiomes of Indiana native birds as well as human subjects in a clinical study. She became interested in converting plastic waste while earning her Ph.D. at Rutgers University, working on methods to remove environmental waste not using chemicals or other intrusive methods. She learned about Nylon 11, which is used in pipes for transferring oil, interior components for cars, catheters, and in other industrial hard plastics. Nylon 11 is nontoxic, she added, so it is safe to include students in the research. “Those are considered to be nonbiodegradable, and have to go to a landfill,” she said. “I thought if we could come up with a way to biodegrade it, that would make some kind of impact.” Eventually, she wants to develop a product that would convert nylon waste to something useful, and to reduce waste and microplastics in the environment. “That would be my goal at some point, that we can make that change, and also make people more aware of their use of plastics,” she said. “I hope students stop to think about what we can do as scientists to address issues currently impacting us.” She appreciates the IAS for its support of scientific research at Indiana institutions, and IU Kokomo and the School of Sciences for providing funding for students to attend the Academy’s annual meeting. She added that IU Kokomo has also supported her research with funding from the School of Sciences and Academic Affairs. “Without that, I couldn’t do my research,” she said. Masuda has also earned a Senior Research Grant from the IAS, IU Kokomo’s Distinguished Research Award, and the IU Kokomo Junior Faculty Annual Research Award. She is a Fellow of the Indiana Academy of Science. Education is KEY at Indiana University Kokomo.
Spectrum Connectivity, Entertainment Are Move-In Ready at Florida Apartments
Residents of West Point Park Apartments have access to high-speed Internet and streaming services as soon as they move in, made possible by Spectrum Community Solutions.
Leaker says there's no back to black for the iPhone 18 Pro
Apple disappointed some when it launched the iPhone 17 Pro without the option to buy it in a black finish....
Warriors have no answer for Victor Wembanyama in 127-113 loss to Spurs
San Antonio's surging MVP candidate dropped 41 points and 18 rebounds as the Spurs cruised past the short-handed Warriors, 127-113.
Alperen Sengun Provides Positive Health Update After Rockets Victory Over Bucks
Houston Rockets star center Alperen Sengun delivered good news for the fan base Wednesday night. Sengun logged 29 minutes against the Milwaukee Bucks, finishing with 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 2-of-2 from three. What makes those numbers more impressive is that Sengun has battled multiple injuries throughout the year.
Real Madrid and Barcelona plan wonderkid acquisitions for summer rebuild
Barcelona are ahead of Real Madrid in the La Liga title race, with Hansi Flick’s side four points clear at the top. But with nine games remaining in the season, Madrid will also fancy their chances...
Pens Points: Down by the Bay
Pens Points is here to get you ready for a showdown in Tampa Bay.
'A considerable gamble' at 'a fragile moment'
Only Tottenham would respond to the current bin fire at the club by turning to a famously incendiary manager to put out the flames. After tens of thousands of supporters lined the streets in an act of unity, the Tottenham board split the fanbase by appointing Roberto de Zerbi. The Italian, known for his high-pressing, attacking football, arrives with a reputation that has already prompted concern from supporter groups and the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust.
Interventional radiology vendor Merit Medical to acquire rival for $140M
The Utah-based company plans to merge with View Point Medical, which manufactures the OneMark Detection Imaging System.
'A realisation of tens of thousands of people's hopes'
Construction on Hill Dickinson Stadium began in August 2021 and was completed in 2025. The Toffees finished four points above the relegation zone in 2021-22 and just two points clear of the drop zone the following season. Everton also cut ties with Russian sponsors in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine and the Friedkin Group took over the club in November 2024.
Latin America Faces Historic Fertility Decline
Latin America’s declining fertility marks a turning point in its social and economic trajectory: the region is entering a new demographic era.
Reds pitcher incredibly enters class of Jacob Misiorowski
Cincinnati Reds reliever Graham Ashcraft sees a major surge in his slider's velocity, joining elite class with Brewers star Misiorowski.
Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown shine in blowout win over Heat
Jayson Tatum had a triple-double, while Jaylen Brown dropped 43 points in the Boston Celtics blowout win over the Miami Heat
Observations after red-hot George pours in 39 points, Sixers blow out Wizards
Sixers’ Paul George pours in 39 points in blowout win over Wizards.
MSU research links mental health, school climate to attendance
Two new MSU-led studies offer fresh insight into the factors shaping chronic absenteeism pre- and post-COVID-19. Together, the findings point to actionable areas where schools and districts can intervene to improve attendance and support student well‑being.
UC names Suzanne Judd, PhD, as inaugural director of new Center for Public Health
Following an extensive national search, the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine has appointed Suzanne E. Judd, PhD, as the inaugural director of its newly established Center for Public Health. Judd, a renowned epidemiologist and interdisciplinary scholar, will lead the center’s mission to transform community health through innovative research, education and strategic advocacy.
Neta’s research points to brain-based clues for mental health
In a split second, the brain determines whether an ambiguous situation is good or bad — and those snap judgments can reveal important information about a person. A new article by Husker psychologist Maital Neta suggests that these responses, known as valence bias, could help identify risk factors for depression, anxiety and other stress-related conditions.
The Chicago Blackhawks Are Closer to Contention Than They Seem
It has been another long year for the Chicago Blackhawks, but the new-look squad is closer to contention than ever. The Blackhawks are slated to finish the season with the most points in the standings they’ve had since the 2019-2020 season. This would also be the best season under the Kyle Davidson regime, which took […] The post The Chicago Blackhawks Are Closer to Contention Than They Seem appeared first on The Lead.
Sports Spotlight: Baker’s Madison O’Connor
Baker’s Madison O’Connor ended her basketball career second in points and first in assists and steals in Montana high school history. The senior also leaves as a two-time state champion.
NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull Appoints Clifford Miller as Chief Operating Officer - NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull is proud to announce the appointment of Clifford Miller as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO). With nearly three
How Rubio's and Vance's differing stances on Iran war point to challenges ahead of 2028 election
With both seen as the party's strongest potential candidates in a 2028 primary, the two Cabinet members have to balance their roles in the Trump administration with their future political plans.