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Celebrating UC Berkeley’s 2025–26 National Scholarship and Fellowship
We would like to wrap up the 2025–2026 academic year by congratulating all of the current Cal Bears and recent alums who received nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships this academic
Usha Prevails In Winning Colors Thriller
Usha relaxed just off pacesetter Foie Gras, poked her head in front leaving the turn, and turned back a late charge from Zeitlos to win the 23rd running of the $220,000 Winning Colors (G3) by a head Monday at Churchill Downs. Florent Geroux rode Usha to victory for ...
Torrential rain floods Lake County homes and businesses amid worsening drought
A sudden downpour in Lake County brought much-needed rain to drought-stricken areas but caused flooding and visible damage to homes and businesses.
Birthplace museum free for Armed Forces personnel
BRISTOL — The Birthplace of Country Music Museum is pleased to participate in Blue Star Museums, a program that provides free admission to currently serving U.S. military personnel and their
Report Paratici targeted by Milan as new director of sport
Fabio Paratici only accepted the Fiorentina job in February, but multiple sources claim he is being targeted by Milan to be their new director of sport.The Rossoneri are having a complete clear out of...
Exploring Travel Sports: Highs and Lows
Key takeaways:Travel sports present a unique mental health challenge for athletesParents and caregivers need to have an open and honest conversation with how their kids are doingTravel sports can teach resilience, teamwork and camaraderie, says Dr. Jessica Higgs
Exploring Travel Sports: Highs and Lows
Key takeaways:Travel sports present a unique mental health challenge for athletesParents and caregivers need to have an open and honest conversation with how their kids are doingTravel sports can teach resilience, teamwork and camaraderie, says Dr. Jessica Higgs
Lidwave Appoints Eyal Assa as Chief Business Officer to Lead Global Expansion as Physical AI Reshapes the Real World
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL / ACCESS Newswire / May 25, 2026 / Today, Lidwave, a pioneer in 4D coherent LiDAR-on-a-chip technology, announced the appointment of Eyal Assa as Chief Business Officer to lead the company's global commercial expansion as Physical ...
Meet DFP Spring Fellow, Nathan Englehart, Washington University in St. Louis -
Nathan Englehart (he/him/his) is a second year PhD student and Richard J. Walter PhD scholar at Washington University in St. Louis. Nathan’s current research focuses on gender and politics (with a focus on men and masculinity), [...]
Assessing Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NasdaqGS:MLCO) Valuation After Recent Share Price Weakness
Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MLCO) has been drawing attention after a period of weaker share performance, with the stock down over the past month and past 3 months. This has prompted closer scrutiny of its current valuation. See our latest analysis for Melco Resorts & Entertainment. At a latest share price of $5.38, Melco Resorts & Entertainment has seen its 7 day share price return fall 2.71% and its year to date share price return decline 28.36%, while the 5 year total shareholder return...
Seattle shoppers skeptical about Kroger promise to slash prices
Kroger, parent of Fred Meyer and QFC, promises to slash prices by changing how it resupplies its stores. Shoppers aren't holding their breath.
Scientists discover why Ozempic and Wegovy weight loss eventually plateaus
New NIH research reveals that semaglutide sparks different responses inside appetite-controlling brain cells, offering fresh insight into why GLP-1 weight-loss drugs don’t work the same for everyone. Scientists also found a possible way to extend the drugs’ effects, potentially helping patients push past weight-loss plateaus.
Denver Broncos roster review: Cornerback Brent Austin
Undrafted rookie free agent cornerback Brent Austin has an intriguing skillet, but can he earn a spot on the Broncos’ final 53-man roster?
Semiconductor decoupling. Powell's politics. Industrializing Ogaden. Free trade and the Magna Carta.
Thank you for opening your Chartbook email. Feliks Topolski, 1907-1989 8th Army’s Front, Italy 1944 Semiconductor decoupling Source: FT One thing that Jerome Powell deeply understood is that chairing the Fed under current conditions is a deeply political job. “Powell has successes and mistakes to his name. But he stands out as having thought more carefully about the Fed’s democratic legitimacy than any chair since Paul Volcker,” said Paul Tucker, a former deputy governor at the Bank of England, referring to the Fed chair who successfully fought the great inflation of the 1970s and early 1980s. … While Powell was at the Treasury in the early 1990s, he watched Alan Greenspan build relationships within the government. That convinced Powell he needed to follow the former Fed chair’s lead and spend more time in Congress than his predecessors Yellen and Bernanke. “The accountability for the Fed runs through Congress,” said Claudia Sahm, a former Fed official who is now chief economist at New Century Advisors. “That’s not just about having people on speed dial — it’s answering questions, explaining policy and getting feedback.” Source: FT Ethiopia’s PM Abiy and Nigerian business tycoon, with Chinese engineering, are driving industrialization in Ogaden/Somali region of Ethiopia. - Michael Masri’s reporting for Africa Report if fascinating. Ethiopia has launched a cluster of large industrial schemes in the Somali region, laying foundation stones for a urea plant and an oil refinery in Gode while opening the first two phases of the Ogaden LNG project. Abiy Ahmed framed the push as part of a broader strategy to link energy, agriculture and industry. “These projects embody more than industrial growth,” he said. “They represent our shared responsibility to harness opportunities, strengthen co-operation and promote peace.” The Gode urea plant, backed by Dangote Group and Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), is designed for 3m tonnes a year. Dangote owns 60%, while EIH holds 40%. Officials say Dangote’s equity totals about $2.5bn, while the state provides land and implementation oversight. Gas from the Calub fields will be piped 108km to the site. Construction is slated for 40 months, with operations targeted for 2028. Ethiopia imports most of its fertiliser, spending more than $1.2bn a year for 1.5m–2m tonnes. Usage was roughly 1.7m tonnes in 2023, almost half of it urea, and demand for 2024–25 is put above 2.4m tonnes. If delivered on time, the Gode plant could cover domestic needs and allow exports to neighbours. Brook Taye, chief executive of EIH, called the venture “a significant milestone in the journey toward industrial self-sufficiency”. Dangote told the groundbreaking crowd that the complex would be integrated with gas supply and a polypropylene unit to support local inputs. He pointed to Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), with a capacity of more than 5,000MW, and noted his group’s cement operations and expansion plans. The Gode refinery is being developed by Golden Concord Group of China. It is designed to process 3.5m tonnes a year of crude and condensate from the Hilala field, with associated storage. Backers say it will ease foreign-exchange pressure from fuel imports and anchor further industrial activity, including a proposed steel smelting site in Dire Dawa. GCL’s chair, Zhu Gongshan, cast the project as “a key step in Ethiopia’s path to energy sovereignty”, underscoring the Beijing–Addis ties. Financing details are still being finalised, but the refinery is central to the government’s energy-security narrative. Source: The Africa Report Dangote’s Ethiopian vision: Dangote began with cement. His crown jewel, Dangote Cement, dominates Nigeria’s market and has 10 operations in other nations in Africa. The formula has been consistent: identify sectors with chronic shortages – cement, fertiliser, sugar – commit massive local investments, and scale up to serve regional demand. Ethiopia was a natural extension of that model. In 2015, Dangote launched the Mugher Cement Plant outside Addis Ababa at a cost of $600m, with an annual capacity of 2.5 million tonnes. The investment gave him a firm foothold in one of Africa’s fastest-growing construction markets. But success came with risks. In May 2018, violent unrest led to the killing of Dangote’s country manager and temporary shutdowns at Mugher. While other investors might have retreated, Dangote doubled down. Today, he is preparing to spend $400m to expand Mugher’s capacity to 5 million tonnes, alongside a new grinding unit near Addis Ababa. Cement is just one market Dangote is targeting. Ethiopia’s enormous state-controlled sugar industry, long plagued by inefficiency and debt, has struggled for years to reform. Its Omo Kuraz Sugar Development Project, touted as one of the continent’s largest initiatives, continues to face delays and mismanagement. … The most ambitious venture of all is the planned fertiliser production complex in Gode, Somali region. Publicised on 28 August 2025, the Dangote Group and Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH) deal plans one of the world’s largest single-site urea manufacturing plants. The project costs an estimated $2.5bn and has an estimated capacity of 3 million metric tonnes annually, a rate that would not only render Ethiopia independent, but even a net exporter of fertiliser. EIH, the state wealth fund of Ethiopia, will hold 40%, while 60% is held by Dangote Group. … For Dangote, Ethiopia is a trifecta: Cement demand is projected to grow by 10% annually, its sugar consumption is growing with rapid urbanisation, and fertiliser demand is all but insatiable, given that farming supports the livelihood of 70% of Ethiopians. Source: The Africa Report The stakes for Abiy are high: For Addis Ababa, the $4bn fertiliser project in Ethiopia’s Somali region is no longer simply a manufacturing investment. It is increasingly being framed as a strategic state project tied to food sovereignty, import substitution and the government’s broader attempt to build economic resilience under mounting fiscal pressure. “Becoming self-sufficient in food is our main agenda,” Abiy says during the visit. “Land is needed; we have it. Water is needed; we have it. Human resources are needed; we have it.” The scale is enormous even by African industrial standards. Once operational, the plant is expected to produce three million metric tonnes of urea annually, potentially making it one of the continent’s largest fertiliser complexes. Ethiopian officials say the project now includes a 110km gas pipeline, a 120MW power plant, a polypropylene packaging facility and a two-million-tonne NPK blending plant. For a government grappling with chronic foreign exchange shortages, ballooning import bills and pressure on agricultural productivity, the numbers matter politically as much as they do economically. The decision to anchor the project in Gode is deliberate. Long viewed as peripheral to Ethiopia’s industrial economy, the Somali region is now being repositioned by the federal government as a future irrigation and agro-industrial corridor. Officials argue that the area’s vast land reserves and access to water could eventually support large-scale commercial farming capable of reshaping Ethiopia’s food economy. The government is simultaneously building housing infrastructure for about 5,000 residents near the plant, while officials project broader industrial expansion along the corridor. Abiy goes further, comparing the long-term revenue potential of the Gode development zone with Ethiopia’s flagship state enterprise. “The investments we are making in this Gode area, combined, will generate high revenue for Ethiopia, at par with Ethiopian Airlines,” he says. Source: The Africa Report Feliks Topolski 1907-1982 Topolski’s Chronicle, ‘Nazi Revival’, Vol. 8, Is. 1-2, 1960 HEY READERS, THANK YOU for opening the Chartbook email. I hope it brightens your day. I enjoy putting out the newsletter, but tbh, what keeps this flow going is the generosity of those readers who clicked the subscription button. Photo by Jakub Dziubak on Unsplash If you are persuaded to click, please consider the annual subscription of $50. It is both better value for you and a much better deal for me, as it involves only one credit card charge. Why feed the payments companies if we don’t have to. Subscribe Grim vision of drone warfare by Sylvie Kaufmann For contributing subscribers only. Subscribe The state of the art in Colbert-studies. Jean-Baptiste Colbert was Louis XIV chief minister from 1661 to 1683 and traditionally seen as an architect of absolutism and mercantilism. Alexander Hamilton later cited him as an inspiration in 1782. Now his legacy is disputed. Daniel Dessert, the chief critic, sees Colbert as the orchestrator not so much of an absolutist state as of an elite cabal. Would be great to have a good English-language review of this important debate. Source: lhistoire Didn’t know that the Magna Carta included free trade provisions Fighting for the right to the beach in Oregon in 1967: Source: Research Gate RAF Station – British and Polish Flags, c. 1940-45, The Ingram Collection Feliks Topolski, 1907-1989 ink and wash If you’ve scrolled this far, you know you want to click: Subscribe
House and Senate Republicans are at odds over Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund
House and Senate Republicans were fuming as they left Washington last week for a long holiday break. The source of the torment, however, was notably different on each side of the Capitol, and the d…
Map showing the distribution of the georeferenced species records.
Map showing the distribution of the georeferenced species records. Points were differentiated by colours, based on the sea upon which they lie: Tyrrhenian Sea (light blue), Ionian Sea (red) and Adriatic Sea (blue).
In ‘For All Mankind,’ America Wins by Losing
The current season of this space drama is set largely on Mars. The creators say this alternate world could have been possible if the nation had stayed focused on the stars.
Nottingham's sporting credentials to inspire regeneration scheme
Sporting venues around the River Trent can help to attract investment, officials say.
2026 NFL quarterback draft: Where did Commanders' Jayden Daniels land?
In a draft with only current NFL quarterbacks for the 2026 season, where did Jayden Daniels land?
Messi suffers injury scare before World Cup
Argentina star Lionel Messi is substituted with an apparent thigh problem before next month's World Cup.
BMW M3 Faces The End: 2027 Is The Final Model Year
The current-generation M3 is not long for this world, but don't worry; a replacement is coming.
Orioles offense disappears in nightcap, lose 4-1 to Tigers
Apparently there was no magic left in the tank for the Orioles bats in Game 2 of the doubleheader.
More to consider: Current events through the lens of religion and science - Lutheran Alliance for Faith, Science and Technology
Three areas where faith and science are meeting in 2026: AI's rise and impact, climate care, and end-of-life decisions.
Samsung reportedly renaming Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Wide Fold
Strap in for some confusion this July because Samsung is apparently renaming its highly anticipated new Galaxy foldables.
Salah starts in final Liverpool game
Mohamed Salah was in the starting line-up in his Liverpool farewell against Brentford on Sunday, days after making explosive comments about the team's playing style under manager Arne Slot.Slot, speaking on Friday, said he did not think Salah's comments had undermined him.
Steelers' second-year RB turning heads at OTAs
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson is apparently primed for a massive Year 2 jump, as he's standing out in a big way at OTAs.
Nothing Is Decided on Arne Slot Until After Brentford
The Noise Around Slot Means Nothing Until MondayThe final weekend of Liverpool’s Premier League season has arrived and once again the narrative surrounding Arne Slot is shifting by the hour. One mom...
9 Hot Rod Styles Every Gearhead Should Know
There isn't a universal definition of what qualifies as a hot rod, and maybe that's because the culture is built on so many different design styles.
Documentary to spotlight IndyCar chief starter
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Amtrak California Zephyr journey: What I'd do differently next time
I took Amtrak's California Zephyr train from Chicago to Emeryville, California. I booked a $2,200 bedroom for the 53-hour journey.
KC mini golf, axe-throwing businesses close amid lawsuit over unpaid rent
Sinkers Lounge and Blade & Timber, located in Kansas City’s Power & Light District, shut their doors in May.
Trot My Tot profile
Scott Klipper, 39, vibe coded Trot My Tot, a platform where parents can find short-term nannies for one-off gigs.
5 science-backed ways parents can build a child’s confidence
Confidence is not something children magically “have” or “do not have.” It is built in small, repeatable moments: when a child is heard without being dismissed, encouraged without being overpraised, and guided without being controlled. Research-backed parenting practices point to a simple truth: children tend to feel more secure, capable, and resilient when home is predictable, warm, and emotionally steady. They also grow stronger when adults make room for effort, autonomy, movement, sleep, and good nutrition, because these basics shape learning, mood, and self-regulation. Here are five science-backed ways parents can help build lasting confidence in children.
Licensing clinical AI like it’s a doctor: 3 medical leaders issue 6-step call
Among other attributes, the change would represent a solid upgrade over current FDA safety guardrails around AI-equipped medical devices. So say three thought leaders who are close watchers of medical ethics and technologies.
New business takes over former Rental Guys property in Citrus Heights
A new business which will focus on trailer rentals and sales is planning to open soon at the former site of Rental Guys and Aba Daba Rentals...
Protecting Purchased Goodwill: Sale-of-Business Restrictive Covenants Under National Scrutiny
Restrictive covenants entered in connection with the sale of a business occupy a different place than ordinary employment noncompetes. In a sale transaction, the buyer is not simply trying to limit a former employee’s next job. The buyer is paying for goodwill, customer relationships, confidential information, and the seller’s promise not to immediately undermine the value of what was sold.
Health Alert: U.S. Embassy in Rwanda (May 23, 2026) - U.S. Embassy in Rwanda
Health Alert: U.S. Embassy in Rwanda (May 23, 2026) Health Alert: U.S. Embassy in Rwanda (May 23, 2026) Location: Rwanda, countrywide Event: Entry and Exit Requirements Due to the Ebola outbreak, Rwanda has implemented new entry and exit requirements. On May 22, 2026, the Ministry of Health of Rwanda announced that all foreign nationals who have traveled to, or transited through, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) within 30 days of their travel to Rwanda will be denied entry. Rwandan nationals and foreign residents with valid proof of residency in Rwanda can enter and are subject to mandatory quarantine procedures. Travel to the U.S. Review the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) information on what travelers need to know about returning to the United States from DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan. Actions to Take: Do not travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Monitor the Ministry of Health of Rwanda webpage for local updates. If you are planning to travel to the United States, contact your airline to confirm your flight and route. Review the CDC webpage on the Ebola Current Situation. Review Consular Information for Americans Regarding the Ebola Outbreak. Review the CBP webpage for information on entry restrictions Notify friends and family of your safety. Have a plan to depart in case of emergency. Have travel documents up to date and easily accessible. Review the CDC Travelers’ Health Page for Rwanda. Continue to take malaria prophylaxis as recommended, as the symptoms of malaria can mimic symptoms of Ebola, leading to preventable health scares. Monitor your health for 21 days following travel in an area with an Ebola outbreak. If at risk for Ebola, alert your healthcare provider if you are experiencing symptoms consistent with Ebola to receive guidance prior to presenting for care. Review the Department of State’s Rwanda Travel Advisory for general health information. Refer to the U.S. Embassy’s list of medical providers. Check with your travel insurance provider about medical evacuation options should you fall ill while overseas. Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive safety and security updates. Assistance: U.S. Embassy Kigali, Rwanda 30 KG 7 Avenue (Kacyiru) +250-252-596-400 ACSKigali@state.gov https://rw.usembassy.gov State Department – Consular Affairs 888-407-4747 or 202-501-4444 Rwanda Country Information Enroll in Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security updates. Follow us on Facebook and X
Sanders-backed gubernatorial hopeful's past pro-life views clash with current abortion stance
Troy Jackson's abortion stance shifted dramatically from a perfect pro-life voting record to championing expanded access in his Maine governor bid, records indicate.
Intel's Latest Round Of Open-Source Projects Ended: OBS Studio Plugin, CVE Binary Tool & More
With Intel having been one of the most dominant open-source contributors for years across the software ecosystem, months after they began sunsetting various software projects no longer aligned with today's Intel, they continue formally sunsetting/archiving different open-source projects.
West Ham v Leeds: Key stats and talking points
West Ham need to beat visitors Leeds to have any chance of avoiding relegation. Two years after parting company with manager David Moyes despite finishing ninth in the league, West Ham need a favour from his current side Everton if they are to avoid relegation. The Hammers must beat Leeds and hope Tottenham slip up against Everton or they will be relegated from the Premier League for the third time after 2002-03 and 2010-11.
Scientists just found a faster, cleaner way to extract lithium for EV batteries
A breakthrough lithium-extraction method could help solve one of clean energy’s dirtiest problems. Researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a fast new technique that pulls lithium directly from salty underground brines using a temperature-sensitive solvent, avoiding the giant evaporation ponds that can take years and drain precious water supplies. Even better, the method works on low-quality lithium sources that current technologies struggle to use.
Even Positive Life Transitions Can Affect Mental Health
Recent studies suggest that the transition to marriage and parenthood may be associated with increased suicide risk in some individuals.
Bond breakout? Big effects of bad data. Immigration and thermostatic politics & dad-chat is coming for dad-books.
Thank you for opening your Chartbook email. Anna Airy, A Shell Forge at a National Projectile Factory, Hackney Marshes, London, 1918 Bond breakout - John Authers Across the developed markets, bond markets are staging a slow-motion car wreck. Looking at the drastic moves in the US, Japan, the UK and France, Barclays’ Ajay Rajadhyaksha commented: “Last week, long bonds broke. Not in one country. In all of them. Simultaneously. Four countries. Four different political systems. Four different central banks. But the same trade — “get me out of duration!”” Each country has its own contributing political problems, but the uniformity of the shift out of long-term bonds with high duration makes clear that something broader is afoot. For Rajadhyaksha, it is “simple and uncomfortable.” The developed world “has too much debt, too little fiscal discipline, and no political appetite for fixing either.” If there’s a trigger, it has been the Iran war and the resulting shock to oil supply. Source: Bloomberg G7 countries are now borrowing at rates that were enjoyed by EM in the early 2020s For contributing subscribers only. Subscribe Trade between China and Russia has grown in recent years For contributing subscribers only. Subscribe Big effects of bad data A decade ago nearly nine in ten Americans, when approached, agreed to fill out the Current Population Survey, which is administered to about 60,000 households each month and asks about, among other things, employment. Fewer than seven in ten do so now (see chart 1). For the Consumer Expenditure Survey, which tries to capture 3,700 households monthly, the response rate is down from 68% to 40%. … When the information becomes less reliable, investment decisions get more difficult to make. Some may be delayed, creating a potential drag on the economy. A new working paper by Nicholas Bloom of Stanford University, Erica Groshen, former head of the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) now at Cornell University, and Duncan Hobbs and Michael Strain of the American Enterprise Institute, a think-tank, hazards an estimate. Preserving trust in “the integrity and quality of official statistics”, the authors claim, generates economic benefits of about $25 for every $1 spent on the BLS, the agency with an annual budget of $700m that is responsible for many of these data. To arrive at their conclusion the quartet analysed an ignoble episode in the BLS’s recent history. On August 1st 2025 Donald Trump sacked Erika McEntarfer, appointed as the agency’s commissioner by his predecessor, Joe Biden. The president alleged, without evidence, that the BLS’s steep downward revision to recent jobs numbers had been “RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad”. In fact, it was the wanton dismissal that looked bad in the eyes of many observers. In the following seven days there was a 50% leap, relative to the week before, in the average value of the index of Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU), which tracks the number of articles mentioning such uncertainty that are published daily in American newspapers. This was a discernible jump even when compared to the chaos caused by Mr Trump’s trade war in April 2025 and his real one in Iran in the past two months (see chart 2). Based on Mr Bloom’s earlier study with other colleagues of the EPU’s impact on business investment, industrial production and employment, the authors estimate that the jump reduced American GDP by over $100bn (0.3%) and non-farm payrolls by 168,000 (0.1%). Source: The Economist Immigration and thermostatic politics (Sarah O’Connor in the FT) A strange thing happened a year and a half ago. No sooner had Americans elected Donald Trump as president on an explicitly anti-immigration platform than US public opinion began to swing much more favourably towards immigration. … to political scientists who study “thermostatic” politics, this development is no surprise at all. Public opinion often moves against the prevailing party, especially if they are perceived to have gone “too far” in one direction. The phenomenon was first explored in the 1990s with reference to fiscal policy, but in recent years it has been particularly evident in the realm of immigration policy. While these swings in opinion polls can make it seem as if people don’t know their own minds, they can be a useful democratic check on governments by sending bright flashing warning lights when policies stray too far from the public’s comfort zone. The problem comes when politicians misinterpret those signals. When people tell pollsters they want less immigration, or think it is bad for the country overall (or the converse), they are often expressing an opinion about how things appear to be going in that moment relative to their preferences, rather than a deep shift in their underlying views. According to Alexander Kustov, a political scientist, most Americans’ views are quite stable and moderate: they support immigration that is controlled and in the national interest, and oppose flows that are disorderly or under-enforced. In the US, he argues the Trump administration over-interpreted dissatisfaction with high immigration under Joe Biden, and implemented policies that went too far for many voters. “People don’t necessarily change their idea about their ideal immigration policy, but they can react to what the government is currently doing,” he told me. “A lot of people are not happy with what the Trump administration are doing — right now we’re not talking about border enforcement, we’re talking about people not just getting harassed, but killed.” But similarly, he added, pro-immigration advocates would be making a mistake to interpret the recent, more favourable swing towards immigration as a deep-seated ideological shift in attitudes. The recent history of UK immigration policy offers another cautionary tale. After the 2016 Brexit referendum, public concern about immigration fell. This was partly because net migration statistics declined, but also because people felt a sense of catharsis and control, says Sunder Katwala, director of British Future, a think-tank. By 2019, the public ranked immigration as only the ninth biggest issue of concern, according to Ipsos polling. But when the Conservative government liberalised visa routes for students and care workers between 2019 and 2022, that helped net migration to surge. And so, too, did public concern. Today’s Labour government has implemented another sharply restrictive turn in immigration policy. As Kustov and researcher Caitlyn Yates argue, thermostatic public opinion should be a useful check on politicians. Instead it seems to have helped to magnify the pendulum swing in the UK. The government over-interprets and overreacts to a change in public opinion, which reacts in turn, prompting a sudden swing the other way. Source: Financial Times HEY READERS, THANK YOU for opening the Chartbook email. I hope it brightens your day. I enjoy putting out the newsletter, but tbh, what keeps this flow going is the generosity of those readers who clicked the subscription button. If you are persuaded to click, please consider the annual subscription of $50. It is both better value for you and a much better deal for me, as it involves only one credit card charge. Why feed the payments companies if we don’t have to. Subscribe Anna Airy, Shop for Machining 15-Inch Shells: Singer Manufacturing Company, Clydebank, Glasgow, 1918 Racing for a vaccine … we have been here before! The deadly Ebola outbreak in two African countries driven by a virus species with no vaccine has triggered an urgent search for a potential jab, in a test of troubled global efforts to avert threats posed by emerging diseases. A World Health Organization advisory group is due to would meet on Tuesday to recommend candidate jabs to prioritise for clinical trials, the global health body said. It will assess data including an analysis by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi), which was set up after failures in the international response to a previous Ebola crisis. The latest Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda has infected hundreds of people and killed more than 80, health authorities say. Cepi’s reaction will be a crucial indicator of its progress towards its wider goal of producing vaccines for pandemic threats in just 100 days, despite steep cuts to international health funding. “If there was ever a time that we could show the world why Cepi is needed and show the world why the 100-day mission is needed, it’s now,” Nicole Lurie, the organisation’s executive director for preparedness and response, told the FT. “We’re happy to accept that responsibility, but obviously we need help from partners — particularly financial help in the long run.” DR Congo and Uganda would make the final decision on whether to press ahead with any vaccine candidates endorsed for clinical trials by the WHO experts, the global health body said. “Other ethical and community acceptability issues will be considered,” said the WHO, which declared the latest outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday. “This will be important to make sure that the trial, if it happens, will be adequately communicated to the population.” Lurie said Cepi had provided information from a survey of research teams and companies working on drugs that might be effective against the Bundibugyo virus behind the outbreak. The organisation hoped soon to announce partners in the quest for a jab, she added, although she declined to give a timescale for when one might be developed. Cepi’s Nicole Laurie said global health bodies were ‘getting some live-fire drills’ with hantavirus and the latest Ebola outbreak. The hunt for a vaccine should be helped by scientific advances including the use of artificial intelligence to find drugs active against viruses, Lurie said. Existing jabs against the Zaire Ebola virus responsible for many previous outbreaks might provide a basis for tackling the Bundibugyo species, she added. “We’ll see how far and how fast we can get,” Lurie said, adding that Cepi had done preliminary work recently on a possible jab for the rat-borne hantavirus responsible for a recent fatal outbreak on a cruise ship. “Both with hantavirus and now with Ebola, [we] are getting some live-fire drills.” Source: Michael Peel in the Financial Times Dad-chat is coming for dad-books. (By Pamela Paul and Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg in the WSJ) They were the go-to gifts for Father’s Day: a book about some little-known chapter of World War II, the sweeping narrative of a shipwreck, perhaps the latest presidential biography. These days, dad books are a dying breed. Nonfiction book sales have been in decline for the past four years, and are now the most challenged segment of the print book market. Publishers say certain types of books still fare well—including celebrity memoirs and religious titles. But in recent years, print sales in such categories as biography, current affairs and business and economics—what publishers refer to as “serious nonfiction” and which tend to resonate especially with men—have fallen considerably. Sales of nonfiction print titles were down nearly 8% through May 9 this year, and sales of books about politics and current affairs were down 19%, according to book tracker Circana BookScan. Publishing has long been subject to cyclical changes, with trends in format and genre taking over bookshelves in grand sweeps. (Remember the adult coloring-book craze? Or the stratospheric rise of romantasy?) But many in publishing believe the decline in serious nonfiction is more existential. “The trend couldn’t be clearer,” said Jonathan Karp, the former chief executive of Simon & Schuster and publisher of the new Simon Six imprint. “This is a sea change and people should wake up and realize we’re living in a new world.” One culprit for the shift: a new media diet for fans of more serious nonfiction. … Sixty-two percent of men and 54% of women consumed a podcast in the prior month, according to a recent survey by Edison Research at SSRS, up from 46% and 39%, respectively, in 2023. “When we have internal meetings to talk about this problem, it always comes around to podcasts,” said Jonathan Burnham, president and publisher of the Harper Group at HarperCollins Publishers. “The man who wants to read American history is now tuning into one of the many good podcasts about history that lends the quiet attention to a serious subject he’s looking for. It makes the idea of sitting down with a 700-page Ron Chernow book less appealing. You’ve scratched that itch.” Source: Wall Street Journal Remarkable report by Novara from the nationalist rally in London in mid May. Anna Airy, Leopard Moth and Plums, 1915 If you’ve scrolled this far, you know you want to click: Subscribe
Some Lawmakers Want a Gerrymandering Truce
Could the current partisan redistricting frenzy lead to reform?
Who qualifies for the Europa League?
Bournemouth have already guaranteed at least a top-seven finish, meaning they will either qualify for the Champions League or Europa League. If English clubs get six Champions League spots, they will lose a Europa League spot in exchange. Brighton are currently seventh and have a one-point advantage over Chelsea and Brentford, the two teams directly below them.
Forza Horizon 6 Nears 5 Million Sales, 42% on Xbox
Forza Horizon 6 recently launched on PC and Xbox Series consoles on May 19 to impressive player counts on Steam, and it has largely retained those concurrent player counts, returning to around 280,000 peak concurrent players daily throughout its launch week. It makes sense, then, that sales figures ...
Padres concession stands change name of 'FTD Burger' after apparent shot at Dodgers goes viral
Man accused of firing pellet gun at real estate business 5 times causes $40K+ in damages, SAPD says
Investigators arrested a San Antonio man they believe is responsible for shooting a pellet gun at a Northwest Side real estate firm on five different occasions.
How worried should you be about a Garden Grove chemical spill or explosion’s impact on your health?
MMA is known to be an irritant, particularly for the lungs and heart, but it is not currently a known carcinogen in humans.
Brentwood: Students Suffer Burns During Science Experiment at Adams Middle School
On Friday, two Heritage High School students were airlifted after an accident occurred during chemistry experiment demonstration.
Former police officer and current school mental health associate arrested for solicitation of a minor
'Getting harder to do': Southern Wisconsin boat rental business struggles with rising fuel costs
MADISON (WKOW) — Higher fuel prices are making it harder for one local boat rental business to keep water recreation affordable this Memorial Day weekend.
10 beloved comedies that would be horror movies if they were realistic
From 50 First Dates to The Parent Trap, movie fans discuss the rom-coms and family favorites that would be terrifying if they actually happened in real life.
The IX Sports Podcast | Why Caitlin Clark’s injury scratch matters and early reactions to the Toronto Tempo
On today's podcast the hosts discuss injury transparency related to Caitlin Clark's late scratch and the current state of the Toronto Tempo.
Corridor Media Group wins seven AABP editorial excellence awards
The Corridor Media Group, parent company of the Corridor Business Journal and the Quad Cities Regional Business Journal, took home seven total Editorial and Design Excellence awards from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers’ annual international competition, this year hosted by Greater Wilmington Business Journal in Wilmington, North Carolina. Both the Corridor Business Journal and […]
Forget the 11-year solar cycle, a single space storm can send a shockwave through your local forecast
The regular solar cycle is a mere climate murmur, but sudden geomagnetic jolts are a different story. These high-altitude outbursts appear to be hijacking the polar vortex to rewrite weather on the ground.
Google’s AI Overviews break the dictionary when you use words like ‘disregard’
In a slightly funny twist, it’s been highlighted that Google’s AI Overviews currently break when you use words such as...
Experimental mRNA vaccine may protect against multiple Ebola viruses
Tests with rodents suggest an mRNA vaccine in development offers protection against three strains of Ebola virus, including the one behind the current crisis
Kash Patel’s personal merch site hacked to trick users into installing malware
FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal merchandise site went offline after a hack apparently tricked visitors into downloading malware.
Rumor: Sonic Frontiers: Definitive Edition Nintendo Switch 2 release date leaked
SEGA has yet to officially announce Sonic Frontiers: Definitive Edition, but the game’s release date has apparently been leaked. billbil-kun reports that the game will launch on June 23, 2026. We’re also hearing that it will cost $50 and a physical release is confirmed. However, it’s unclear if that means a proper cartridge version or a game-key card. June 23...
Ageing with purpose: the surprising science of frailty reversal
Two people of the same age can age very differently. Frailty helps explain why, and what can be done to reduce risk.
Kathie Fong Yoneda, Entertainment Executive, Supporter of JA Community Organizations
Kathie Fong Yoneda was born in Sacramento on Nov. 19, 1946 to Joe Larry and Jennie Fong. She was the eldest of four sisters: sister Dana and Brent Kato and their children Lauren and Joel; sister Patrice Norris; and sister Laureen Fong-Frydendal and daughter Emily. She passed away on March 12, 2026 with her beloved […]
Haslam Sports Group to name Tim Bezbatchenko President of Global Soccer
Bezbatchenko, who possesses 17 years in soccer leadership roles and three MLS Cups, returning to oversee all current and future HSG soccer endeavors, including Columbus NWSL 2028 and the Columbus Crew
Google has apparently ended updates for every Chromecast except one
Following a strange issue causing first-generation Chromecast devices to fail, Google has ended software updates for nearly every other Chromecast...
Political anger affects the body differently to other forms of anger
We all feel emotions like anger and disgust from time to time, but they seem to cause stronger bodily sensations when they're politically induced
What is Hindutva, and what are the roots of this political movement?
Hindutva is very different from Hinduism. One is a 20th century majoritarian movement, the other an ancient faith.
Scientists warn that current vitamin B12 guidelines may be putting your brain at risk
Getting enough vitamin B12 to meet current health guidelines may not actually be enough to protect the aging brain. Researchers at UC San Francisco found that older adults with “normal” but lower levels of active B12 showed signs of slower thinking, delayed visual processing, and more damage to the brain’s white matter — the communication highways that help different brain regions work together.
World Health Assembly endorses resolution on precision medicine
At the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly, Member States endorsed a new resolution on Precision medicine: a path towards targeted, personalized and equitable care, taking an important step towards advancing precision medicine as part of efforts to strengthen equitable, effective and sustainable health systems. Precision medicine refers to the use of clinical, molecular, genomic and other health data to inform prevention, diagnosis and treatment, taking into account variability while applying appropriate ethical and legal safeguards. When integrated responsibly into health systems, precision approaches can improve outcomes across different disease areas and across the life course – from cancer and rare diseases to infectious diseases, maternal, newborn and child health, mental health and noncommunicable diseases. The resolution reflects rapid advances in genomics, diagnostics, data science and digital health, alongside widening global inequities in access to these innovations. Many populations – particularly in low- and middle-income countries – remain underrepresented in data and research, limiting the public health impact of precision medicine and risking the widening of health disparities if action is not taken now. "Precision medicine is not an aspirational idea for health delivery in the future – it is already transforming lives across the world. But its benefits remain out of reach for too many and the research driving progress is concentrated in high income countries. This WHA resolution gives global health leaders, ministries of health, and WHO a clear mandate: to act. From infant screening to setting up genomic databases WHO will work with countries to bring about the power of these innovations." Dr Meg Doherty, Director Science for HealthThrough the resolution, Member States commit to developing and strengthening national policies, infrastructure, workforce capacity and governance frameworks to support the safe, ethical and equitable integration of precision medicine into health systems, aligned with universal health coverage. This includes promoting affordability, ensuring inclusive research and data systems, strengthening regulation and data governance, and fostering collaboration across sectors and regions.WHO is requested to provide technical and normative support, review and coordinate existing guidance, facilitate global and regional collaboration, and develop a Global Strategy on Precision Medicine to guide equitable and context‑appropriate implementation. WHO stands ready to support Member States through tools such as a country maturity model for countries to self-assess capacity in implementing precision medicine depending on their context. In the immediate term WHO will map all existing guidance and frameworks and host extensive consultations with interest holders globally.By placing equity, inclusion and public value at the centre of precision medicine, the resolution reinforces WHO’s commitment to ensuring that scientific advances benefit all people, everywhere, and that no one is left behind in the next era of health innovation."By uniting people-centered healthcare with innovation, precision medicine has the potential to transform lives. This resolution helps ensure those advances serve the shared goal of health for all." Dr Sylvie Briand, Chief Scientist For further information please visit the Health Topic: Genomics
New movies to watch this weekend: See 'Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu' in theaters, rent 'Wasteman,' stream 'Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair'
The latest "Star Wars" film disappoints, "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" hits home screens and horror fans can look to "Passenger" or "Lee Cronin's The Mummy."
Science with Stevie: Rip Currents
Meteorologist Stevie Daniels explains the importance of understanding the risk of rip currents in this Science with Stevie segment!
‘Defund then abolish’: A leading Democrat in Wisconsin governor’s race urged abolishing police
Years after mayors from Democratic cities reversed course on calls to defund police departments, one of the leading Democratic candidates for governor of Wisconsin is running with a starkly different record: she didn’t just back defunding police — she called to abolish them. And unlike many in her party, she has neither deleted those posts nor renounced them.
Trump says he’s sending 5,000 troops to Poland, deepening confusion over US military deployments to Europe
President Donald Trump declared Thursday the United States will send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, an apparent reversal following recent moves by his administration to reduce the number of US troops in Europe.
Backd Business Loans Review 2026
QuickBridge term loans offer fast, short-term financing for various business purchases, but terms aren’t transparent.
Advocacy group wants TAVR changes, urging Trump admin to ‘stop getting in between patients and their doctors’
The Alliance for Aging Research wants CMS to go through with policy changes that could make many more patients eligible for TAVR. The agency is currently considering the changes, and a final decision is expected in June.
iPhone 19 Pro prototypes are being tested with quad-curved screens, new rumor says
Expect Chinese Android smartphone makers to go back to curved screens too. Apple's iPhone 19 Pro and iPhone 19 Pro Max prototypes are currently undergoing...
Six search engines worth trying now that Google isn’t really Google anymore
Google is about to look really different, and if you're not a fan of the AI overview feature, then you're not going to like what's coming.
Marshall Health Network to offer free sports physicals on June 4
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall Health Network will offer free sports physicals by appointment to middle and high school students Thursday, June 4, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Marshall Sports Medicine Institute (MSMI), located at 2211 Third Avenue, Huntington. All students must bring their West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission or Ohio High School Athletic Association physical form completed and signed by a parent or legal guardian. To schedule an appointment, visit https://tinyurl.com/MSMIphysicals2026. Sports physicals are also available throughout the year at […]
Netflix Co-Founder Reed Hastings Says Entertainment Will Be 'Least Affected' As AI Fears Rise — 'We Like Human Conflict'
Artificial intelligence may be coming for many industries, but Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) co-founder and Executive Chair Reed Hastings sees entertainment differently. The industry could be more resistant t...
Scientists discover hidden weakness shared by hundreds of cancer mutations
Scientists have unveiled a powerful new tool called PerturbFate that could change how researchers tackle diseases driven by huge numbers of genetic mutations, including cancer and Alzheimer’s. Instead of trying to target every faulty gene individually, the system tracks how different mutations reshape cells over time and identifies the hidden “control hubs” where those pathways converge.
iPhone 19 Pro Prototype in Testing Allegedly Has Quad-Curved Display
Apple is testing an iPhone 19 Pro with a display that curves around all four edges of the device, a leaker out of China has claimed. According to Weibo-based Digital Chat Station, the 2027-generation Pro device, currently at the evaluation stage, has a hole-punch cutout in the display for the front-facing camera, but Face ID is completely hidden under the panel.
Colts coach evaluates state of linebacker unit heading into OTAs
Colts LB coach James Bettcher evaluated the current state of this unit heading into OTAs.
The Sims 4 Producer Talks Future Quality of Life Updates and The Marketplace
Gaming website Gamespot published a new interview this week with producer Morgan Henry to talk about the current Sims 4 Quality of Life updates for 2026 and
⚖️ Referees' union denounces Florentino Pérez and Real Madrid
The Spanish Association of Football Referees (AESAF) has taken a firm step in defense of the group. The union has filed two complaints with the Anti-Violence Commission, aimed directly at Florentino P...
The numbers behind global mental health and its different disorders
Nearly one in eight people in the world lives with a mental disorder, and one person dies by suicide every 43 seconds.
Yankees Remove Trent Grisham From Blue Jays Game With Injury
The New York Yankees lost center fielder Trent Grisham to injury on Wednesday night.
Oxford Population Health: Global study of HIV variants underscores challenges for vaccine development
The largest-ever study mapping genetic variants of HIV-1 around the world shows the regional distribution of different subtypes of the virus continues to evolve.
Scientists discover strange “narwhal” waves that trap light beyond known limits
Physicists at Peking University have uncovered a new way to confine light far beyond conventional limits — without relying on metals and their inherent energy dissipation. By formulating the singular dispersion equation, the team discovered narwhal-shaped wavefunctions that trap light at deep-subwavelength volumes in purely dielectric materials. The advance, dubbed singulonics, could pave the way for ultra-efficient photonic chips, new quantum technologies, and imaging tools with unprecedented resolution.
The billion-dollar bite: Lyme vaccines hit the market
The following companies are leading this vector-borne boon, each tackling the problem from a different technological angle:
Meet the deep sea disrupters charting the bathysphere
Here’s who’s currently leading the charge in automating the management of aquatic frontiers:
Why The Former ‘Fastest Girl In America’ Wants To Change Sports
A record-breaking runner reveals the harmful side of sports culture and shares her ideas for how coaches, parents and young athletes can cultivate a healthier sports environment.
How to call for mental health help in Chicago
From 911 and 988 to a new email address, each service is for a different situation.
Gentoo Penguins Are Actually Four Different Species, Scientists Say, Revealing They're Not Quite 'Winners' of Climate Change After All
A new study indicates the adaptable birds evolved into distinct lineages as isolated populations shifted to match their environmental conditions over time. The work has implications for how conservationists assess threats to gentoos
OpenAI IPO Filing Could Come 'Very Soon:' Report
An OpenAI IPO filing could come later this week as the ChatGPT parent works with bankers, according to a new report.
Partner and I live in different countries; good for relationship, kids
My partner and I live in different countries. Because we both have kids, we like our long-distance setup and aren't rushing to move to the same place.
Generational cSpending Trends: What Entertainment Brands Should Know
Gen Z is navigating the world of concerts and live music with a vastly different map than their parents’ and grandparents’ generations.
Xbox expands leadership team with major hires
Xbox has added two big names to its leadership team: Matthew Ball and Scott Van Vliet. The new recruits are part of an on-going drive from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to move faster, build better products, and make more focused business decisions. The Game Business can reveal that Ball is joining as Chief Strategy Officer. He is a popular industry analyst who is responsible for the annual The State of Video Gaming report, which is widely read across the business. His first job will be to strengthen the console side of Xbox, which is facing significant pressures, not least from the rising costs of memory and storage. In an interview with The Game Business earlier in the year, he admitted he was “pretty frightened” by the situation for the console sector. Ball had previously worked as head of strategy and planning for Amazon Studios, and wrote the 2022 international best-seller The Metaverse. He is currently CEO of Epyllion, a venture partner at investment group Makers Fund and senior advisor at KKR & Co. Meanwhile, Scott Van Vliet joins as Chief Technology Officer. He was previously in charge of Azure OpenAI and AI Core infrastructure at Microsoft, and he also led engineering for Microsoft Teams during the COVID 19 pandemic. But he has a games background. He previously worked across games for Amazon, including Alexa, Amazon Game Studios and the Amazon App Store. He directly worked on the Minecraft: Fire TV Edition. Prior to that, he was VP of Digital Play at Mattel, and worked across brands such as Batman, Barbie, Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja and Cut The Rope. His job will be to improve how Xbox builds products so teams can move faster and deliver stronger results. For more breaking stories, sign-up to The Game Business today Subscribe In addition to these new hires, Xbox has promoted Chris Schnakenberg to Corporate Vice President, Partnerships & Business Development. He was previously VP of partnerships and business development, and joined from Activision Blizzard, where he spent 12 years in various strategy, business development and partner relations role. His focus is on third-party games, publishers and developers working with Xbox. The news follows a number of new hires and promotions earlier in the month, including Jason Ronald taking leadership over Xbox’s upcoming Project Helix console. “These changes are about strengthening our foundation by creating more clarity and improving execution,” Sharma said in an email to staff. “As we head toward Showcase and beyond, we’ll continue making the changes needed to position XBOX for the future.” Matthew Ball is speaking with Christopher Dring at The Game Business Live on Monday, June 8. More details on the event can be found here.
Xbox expands leadership team with major hires
Xbox has added two big names to its leadership team: Matthew Ball and Scott Van Vliet. The new recruits are part of an on-going drive from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to move faster, build better products, and make more focused business decisions. The Game Business can reveal that Ball is joining as Chief Strategy Officer. He is a popular industry analyst who is responsible for the annual The State of Video Gaming report, which is widely read across the business. His first job will be to strengthen the console side of Xbox, which is facing significant pressures, not least from the rising costs of memory and storage. In an interview with The Game Business earlier in the year, he admitted he was “pretty frightened” by the situation for the console sector. Ball had previously worked as head of strategy and planning for Amazon Studios, and wrote the 2022 international best-seller The Metaverse. He is currently CEO of Epyllion, a venture partner at investment group Makers Fund and senior advisor at KKR & Co. Meanwhile, Scott Van Vliet joins as Chief Technology Officer. He was previously in charge of Azure OpenAI and AI Core infrastructure at Microsoft, and he also led engineering for Microsoft Teams during the COVID 19 pandemic. But he has a games background. He previously worked across games for Amazon, including Alexa, Amazon Game Studios and the Amazon App Store. He directly worked on the Minecraft: Fire TV Edition. Prior to that, he was VP of Digital Play at Mattel, and worked across brands such as Batman, Barbie, Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja and Cut The Rope. His job will be to improve how Xbox builds products so teams can move faster and deliver stronger results. For more breaking stories, sign-up to The Game Business today Subscribe In addition to these new hires, Xbox has promoted Chris Schnakenberg to Corporate Vice President, Partnerships & Business Development. He was previously VP of partnerships and business development, and joined from Activision Blizzard, where he spent 12 years in various strategy, business development and partner relations role. His focus is on third-party games, publishers and developers working with Xbox. The news follows a number of new hires and promotions earlier in the month, including Jason Ronald taking leadership over Xbox’s upcoming Project Helix console. “These changes are about strengthening our foundation by creating more clarity and improving execution,” Sharma said in an email to staff. “As we head toward Showcase and beyond, we’ll continue making the changes needed to position XBOX for the future.” Matthew Ball is speaking with Christopher Dring at The Game Business Live on Monday, June 8. More details on the event can be found here.
Family Entertainment Television Selects VideoAmp as First Advanced Currency Provider
/PRNewswire/ -- VideoAmp, the media performance platform, today announced an agreement with Family Entertainment Television, Inc., parent company of...
AI Pushes Business Banking from Experimentation to Execution; Alkami Webinar Explores What Leaders Are Doing Differently
/PRNewswire/ -- Alkami Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALKT) ("Alkami"), a digital sales and service platform provider for financial institutions in the U.S., today...
Away fans give a boost to North Carolina's sports economy
Heidi Welchlin said she has traveled to several different cities to see the Carolina Hurricanes play.