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Inflation surged in March as Iran war's energy impact hit consumers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest consumer price index data which showed that CPI inflation surged in March as the Iran war's imapct took a toll on consumer prices.
Fed's favored inflation gauge remained elevated in February, delayed report shows
The Commerce Department on Friday released the February 2026 PCE inflation report, which showed the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge remained stubbornly high for consumers.
Sabrina Carpenter Shouts Out Queer Community’s Impact on Entertainment: ‘I Don’t think Pop Music Would Exist If it Wasn’t for the Queer Community’
In an interview with Perfect, the pop star showed love to her LGBTQ+ friends and collaborators.
Scientists discover spice synergy that boosts anti-inflammation 100x
Chronic inflammation often works quietly in the background but can fuel serious diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. New research reveals that everyday plant compounds—like menthol from mint, cineole from eucalyptus, and capsaicin from chili peppers—can team up inside immune cells to dramatically boost their anti-inflammatory power. While individual compounds showed modest effects, certain combinations amplified results hundreds of times over by activating different cellular pathways at once.
Scientists discover spice synergy that boosts anti-inflammation 100x
Chronic inflammation often works quietly in the background but can fuel serious diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. New research reveals that everyday plant compounds—like menthol from mint, cineole from eucalyptus, and capsaicin from chili peppers—can team up inside immune cells to dramatically boost their anti-inflammatory power. While individual compounds showed modest effects, certain combinations amplified results hundreds of times over by activating different cellular pathways at once.
High school sports top performers from a busy Monday put up huge stats
No cases of the Mondays here. These 17 high school athletes showed they're in midweek form already. Here's who stood out from action April 6.
SBJ Women’s Sports: On the ground at the Final Four, PWHL’s record night
Phoenix showed why it's a women's basketball town while hosting the Final Four, as SBJ's Women's Sports newsletters details. The PWHL is also building even more momentum with another record-breaking sellout, and data showing the colleges playing flag football.
Study shows support is falling for AI in health care
In a national survey of 1,007 adults, results showed just 42% are open to AI being used as part of their care.
Moonshot on iPhone: Astronaut Reid Wiseman snaps unbelievable photo of the lunar surface
Artemis II's Commander Reid Wiseman showed off a fantastic photo of the lunar surface he took on his iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Train transfer hub linked to reduced healthcare spending
Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University and Japan System Techniques Co., Ltd. evaluated the 2019 Osaka-Higashi Line station openings using a natural experiment and health insurance claims. While the overall rail-line effect was not significant, Shigino Station, a well-connected transfer hub, showed an estimated cumulative reduction of about JPY 62,500 per medically treated person over four years, highlighting that station connectivity and local context may determinewhether new stations deliver healthcare cost benefits.
UCLA locks down South Carolina for dominant win, program's first NCAA championship
UCLA got to the Final Four on the strength of the nation’s best offense. When it showed up, it was a defensive juggernaut.
Nvidia shows neural compression can cut VRAM usage from 6.5GB to 970MB
Consider Nvidia's work on Neural Texture Compression (NTC). In its "Tuscan Wheels" demo, the company showed VRAM usage dropping from roughly 6.5GB with traditional BCN-compressed textures to...
The revolution in dinosaur science started 50 years ago—here's what we have learned
The study of dinosaurs has been through a revolution in recent decades. The story began half a century ago, when Robert McNeill Alexander, a professor of zoology at the University of Leeds, showed how ...
Nuçi’s Space hosts Athens Business Rocks: Party Out of Bounds
On Saturday, April 4, Nuçi’s Space held the annual rendition of their annual Athens Business Rocks festival. The festival not only brought the Athens community together, but also showed mass
Saudi Arabia's non-oil business activity shrinks in March amid conflict, PMI shows
Saudi Arabia's non-oil private sector activity contracted in March for the first time since August 2020, as the war in the Middle East snarled up supply chains, a business survey showed on Sunday.
How NASA approved the iPhone 17 Pro Max for the Artemis II space mission
Early images of the Artemis II launch showed an iPhone floating inside the spacecraft. Here's how Apple's smartphone got approved for spaceflight.
The night Geno Auriemma snapped — and Dawn Staley showed the game has changed
A power dynamic shift is happening at the top of women's basketball. And Auriemma knows it.
How Pam Bondi lost her job
Her time in office showed her willingness to go where previous attorneys general wouldn’t and mold the Justice Department to a president’s political vision.
Caesars Entertainment (CZR) Valuation Check As Shares Rebound Despite Multi Year Return Weakness
Caesars Entertainment overview and recent performance snapshot Caesars Entertainment (CZR) has been drawing attention after recent price moves, with the share price last closing at $26.53 and total return data giving a mixed picture across different time frames. Over the past day, the stock showed a 0.08% decline, while the past week reflected a 1.34% decline. Over the past month, total return stands at 6.04%, and over the past 3 months at 12.61%. Year to date, Caesars shows a 12.61% total...
Local garage door repair business, customers targeted by nationwide scam
Fallout from a nationwide trend of garage door repair scams showed up at the doorstep of Ray and Brad Larson in the form of angry customers they never heard of.
Springfield water system exceeds contaminant standard; officials say no health risk
The Springfield Water and Sewer Commission is notifying customers after test results showed the city’s drinking water exceeded federal standards for a disinfection byproduct at multiple sampling si…
Latest peek into pika science written by CMU student during senior year
Karli Weatherill was a Colorado Mesa University sophomore when she showed up at the office of Johanna Varner and voiced an interest in doing scientific research in the mountains.
Surprise! Zendaya wears something blue, after the old, new and borrowed
First she wore something old. Then new, then borrowed — and now blue. Zendaya showed up at her New York premiere for “The Drama” in a dazzling blue Schiaparelli couture
US economy added 178,000 jobs in March, well above expectations
The Labor Department released the March jobs report on Friday which showed the economy added jobs at a solid pace last month after an unanticipated decline in February.
Two-time All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore announces his retirement
Two-time All-Pro cornerback and 2019 NFL AP Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore, who last played in 2024, has announced his retirement. Gilmore issued an Instagram post Thursday that showed video highlights of his career and closed with the message, “The game ends here, but the journey continues.” “To my first love, Football — As a young, scrappy kid from Rock Hill, South Carolina, with humble beginnings, the eldest of 6 — you gave me focus, opportunity, strength, and friends to last a lifetime,” Gilmore said in the post.
New weight-loss pill hits the market, promising 'greater flexibility'
FDA approves Foundayo, a once-daily weight loss pill by Lilly. Clinical trials showed adults lost an average of 27.3 pounds on the highest dose, although there are side effects.
Hector Mujica enters CD 28 race, setting up potentially competitive challenge to Carlos Giménez
His switch from running for Senate to a Congressional bid follows polling that showed him within striking distance of the incumbent.
Physicists just solved a strange fusion mystery that stumped experts
Fusion scientists have solved a long-standing mystery inside tokamaks, the donut-shaped machines designed to harness fusion energy. For years, experiments showed that escaping plasma particles hit one side of the exhaust system far more than the other, but simulations couldn’t explain why. Now, researchers have discovered that the rotation of the plasma itself plays a crucial role—working together with sideways particle drift to create the imbalance.
Trump arrives at Supreme Court to attend birthright citizenship arguments
President Trump became the first sitting president to attend Supreme Court oral arguments. He showed up to a hearing Wednesday weighing the legality of his birthright citizenship executive order.
Maine GOP says audit shows continued problems in state government
House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) said he and other Republicans have been demanding improvements since last year’s audit showed deficiencies.
They found a lifeline to global health in their own backyard
Northeastern Oakland's first Global Health Consortium showed students how local communities need global health strategies too.
How to improve the chances of a healthy pregnancy as more women are having babies later in life
More and more women are having babies later in life. A federal report showed that 21% of all births in the U.S. were to women 35 and older in 2023, up from 8.8% in 1990.
Surf camp in Bali attracts global adventurers seeking community
What a week of surfing Bali's blue waves showed five strangers about taking risks in the water and in life.
What teens eat could be affecting their mental health more than we thought
What teens eat might matter more for their mental health than previously thought. A sweeping review of nearly 20 studies found that healthier diets are often linked to fewer depressive symptoms, while poor eating habits may go hand in hand with greater psychological distress. Interestingly, focusing on whole dietary patterns—not just individual nutrients—showed more consistent benefits, suggesting that overall eating habits could play a meaningful role during this critical stage of brain development.
What teens eat could be affecting their mental health more than we thought
What teens eat might matter more for their mental health than previously thought. A sweeping review of nearly 20 studies found that healthier diets are often linked to fewer depressive symptoms, while poor eating habits may go hand in hand with greater psychological distress. Interestingly, focusing on whole dietary patterns—not just individual nutrients—showed more consistent benefits, suggesting that overall eating habits could play a meaningful role during this critical stage of brain development.
Federal ruling on UF case deals blow to state law limiting faculty dispute appeals
Court filings showed multiple professors were denied arbitration after challenging terminations and performance reviews under the law.
Health Insurance May Slow Toxin-Related Aging
A new study found that people with health insurance showed fewer signs of biological aging than those without coverage.
The fastest-growing and fastest-shrinking US cities
New Census Bureau data showed which cities experienced population growth from July 2024 to July 2025. Several Southern metros grew the fastest.
Trump showed off a classified map during a 2022 plane trip, Raskin alleges in letter
President Donald Trump showed off a classified map on a 2022 flight to his New Jersey golf club and held onto a record from his first term that was so sensitive only six people would have had access to it, according to a letter released Wednesday by a top House Democrat.
Trump Retained Classified Documents Because Of His ‘Business Interests,’ Jack Smith Alleged
Trump allegedly showed a classified map to people aboard his private plane, Smith found during his investigation.
White House says Donald Trump ‘did nothing wrong’ amid reports he showed classified map on plane in 2022
President also held on to record from his first term so sensitive only six people had access, says letter from leading Democrat on House judiciary committee
German business sentiment fell noticeably in March, Ifo finds
German business morale fell in March, a survey showed on Wednesday, as the Iran war made companies grow more pessimistic about the future.
Iran war starts to hit global economy, business surveys show
The Iran war is already taking a toll on major economies around the world, according to business surveys on Tuesday which showed how a surge in energy prices and rising uncertainty were dampening activity and pushing inflation expectations higher.
US business activity slips to 11-month low in March amid Iran war, S&P Global survey shows
U.S. business activity slowed to an 11-month low in March as the war in the Middle East raised prices for energy products and other inputs, a survey showed on Tuesday, reinforcing fears of an acceleration in inflation in the months ahead.
Scientists Say Surprising Smells Are Unlocking the Secrets of Ancient Mummies
Analyzing samples of mummies from different dynastic periods showed how the mixtures of substances used in mummification became more complex with time.
Your Thymus and Your Healthspan
Our thymus gland plays a central role in the development or our immune system, specifically for supporting T cell development (how these cells got their name, maturation and differentiation in the thymus) and discriminating between self and foreign, non-self antigen proteins with production of dendritic cells. As we age, our thymus gland shrinks—the process known as involution—with progressive change from spongy to fatty tissue, with loss of functionality. But this process, with respect to timeline and extent, markedly varies from one person to the next. And to make things even more complicated, our thymus gland anatomy and precise location in the chest also is highly variable. So the famous Frank Netter diagrams from the 1960s (such as at left below) don’t capture the remarkable heterogeneity that a random set of 12 chest CT scans (below at right). What I consider as 2 landmark papers in Nature this week (here and here) used AI to quantify health of the thymus in 2 large cohorts, and then correlate the metric to a broad array of health outcomes. In this edition of Ground Truths, I’m going to cover three questions: (1) How was thymus health determined by AI?; (2) How is thymus health linked to key clinical outcomes? and (3) Are there ways we can promote a healthy (aka rejuvenate) thymus gland in our later years? Subscribe 1. How was thymus health determined by AI? This was accomplished by extensive work developing and validating an AI pipeline for 2 stages, the first for localization and segmentation of the thymus bed, and the second to quantify a digital marker, termed the thymic health score. There’s a lot to this algorithmic development, so I won’t go into all the details, but just provide a rudimentary outline of what was done. The 1st stage used supervised learning with 2 radiologists reviewing 2,461 chest CT scans. That work trained a 3D U-Net model to automatically identify the thymic bed’s 3D cropped region using center of mass coordinates, which reached 99.8% accuracy. The 2nd stage used a foundation model that was pre-trained with SwAV (which stands for Swapping Assignment between multiple Views), a self-supervised model, that generated a high-dimensional thymus representation of 4,096 features. That compares to the radiology reductionist and subjective scoring of 0 to 3 where 0 means the thymus is fully degenerated and fatty, and 3 is considered dense, intact glandular soft tissue. Notably, the self-supervised learning (SSL) performance was superior to supervised (AUC ~0.75 vs 0.55, respectively) reflecting the shallowness of the 0-3 classifier vs SSL’s holistic, self-taught AI. The thymic health score ranged from 0 to 100, with the highest number indexed to fully preserved thymic health. The algorithmic work extended to explainability with both Shapely value distribution, meaning the model was holistic not relying on any “magic” pixel, and occlusion sensitivity, demonstrating the model’s performance was not affected by ribs, sternum, lung tissue, but rather focused on the thymic bed directly. Below are a few saliency maps from the occlusion sensitivity that indicate the thymic bed focus, not affected by neighboring structures, using the jet color scale. Now the AI was ready for processing ~25,000 CT scans, each over 30 MB files, from the 2 large participant cohorts to provide a thymic health score, it did so in less than 14 hours, which is less than 2 seconds per scan! Share 2. How is thymus health linked to key clinical outcomes? The two cohorts were the National Lung Screening Trial, NLST (N=25,031) and the Framingham Heart Study, FHS (N=2,581) each with baseline demographics and long term follow up of >12 years for health outcomes. From the NSLT, you can see below that increased age and body-mass index were correlated to reduced thymic health. And, overall, men had reduced thymic health scores compared with women. There are a lot of graphs in the paper for outcomes, for both the NLST and FHS cohorts. To simplify the major outcomes, below is a composite Figure with striking reduction of all-cause mortality and for the different causes of death. The results were consistent between the 2 cohorts. For example, the cardiovascular mortality hazard ratio average was 0.57 in NLST and 0.38 in FHS (weighted to be 0.53 for the aggregate). The reduction of mortality also extended to digestive diseases and pulmonary disease (data not shown below). Lung cancer incidence was reduced by 36% for high vs low thymic health (Figure below, with a panel -incidence and b panel-mortality, adjusted for age, sex, BMI, smoking status). Notably, there was a smoker’s paradox: lower incidence and improved survival for lung cancer in smokers who had a high thymus health score. Smoking was associated with lower thymic scores whereas alcohol was not. Higher thymic health was linked to higher HDL cholesterol, lower triglycerides, lower fasting blood glucose, and lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Inflammation biomarkers, such as C-reactive protein and interleukin-6, were elevated in the people with lower thymic health scores. In their second paper, the same team looked at the relationship between thymic score and outcomes for 3,476 patients receiving cancer immunotherapy. The non-small cell lung cancer progression-free survival was reduced in patients with low thymic health score. A parallel relationship for survival was seen for other types of cancer including melanoma, breast, and kidney with a 44% lower risk among high thymic scores (Figure). A similar pattern was seen with different immune checkpoint inhibitors. The thymus health score outperformed programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1)and tumor mutation burden (TMB) assay of the tumor and was an independent prognostic marker of progression-free survival. In this dataset, a direct connect with thymus score and adaptive immune function was noted with a correlation before cancer treatment for both T-cell diversity and thymus T-cell production (a metric known as T cell receptor excision circles). Thymus Removal Study There is a highly relevant citation about thymus function before moving onto ways to rejuvenate it. In 2023, a very important study of thymus removal during cardiothoracic surgery was published, with 1146 patients undergoing thymus removal vs 1146 matched controls (mean age 55 years). The adverse outcomes for thymus removal were striking, with a 2.9 higher risk of all-cause mortality and doubling of cancer incidence, 1.5 fold increase in cancer mortality, and 1.5-fold increase in autoimmune diseases. The immune function showed marked compromise after thymus removal, as reflected by CD4+ and CD8+ T cells (Figure below) Share Ground Truths 3. Are there ways we can promote a healthy (aka rejuvenate) thymus gland in our later years? In recent months we’ve learned a lot about the process of thymus involution and the pathways by which this may be modulated. Thymus involution is primarily due to loss to thymus epithelial cells (TECs) and there are 2 subtypes with different functions: the cortical, responsible for positive selection of T cells, and the medullary, for negative selection. When adipose tissue infiltrates the thymus, thymic adipocytes are pro-inflammatory, knocking out T-cell output. Likewise, systemic inflammation, or “inflammaging,” from smoking, obesity, and chronic stress promote thymic adipocytes. Now, from preclinical studies, we know about key pathways that account for these processes. Historically, back in 2014, FOXN1 was recognized as a single master transcription factor essential for TEC function, with studies in mice with forced FOXN1 upregulation leading to thymus regeneration. That laid the foundation for potential regrowth of quiescent thymus cells. It took awhile to find pathways to accomplish this goal and to even refute its role as the master regulator. The Liver-Thymus Axis Feng Zhang and his team recently showed that injection of an mRNA vaccine to the liver encoding DLL1, IL-7 and FLT3-L in combination, factors known to support thymopoiesis (Figure), successfully enhanced immune function in aged mice. However, the effect was transient. The FGF21 Story Two reports in 2025 addressed the thymus gland’s production of FGF21, a growth factor (fibroblast growth factor 21) and its control of thymus involution. This growth factor is also produced by the liver, but it doesn’t have impact on the thymus in aged rodent models. In contrast, The liver’s hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) has been shown to reverse senescent TEC structural changes. Growth hormone stimulates production of insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in the liver and the thymus. Two small studies in human participants (TRIIM, for Thymus Regeneration, Immunorestoration, and Insulin Mitigation) of 6 and 50 people, respectively, treated with combined human growth hormone, metformin and DHEA, suggested the potential of slowing epigenetic aging and improving thymus mass and function. But the combination of drugs, small sample, and lack of controls make conclusions murky. Increased thymus FGF21 led to increased CD8 T cells in old mice and extended healthspan and improved physical performance. Building on the previous FOXN1 data, ablation of β-klotho, the obligatory co-receptor for FOXN1, accelerated thymic aging. The benefit to FGF21 was confirmed in a companion paper using an FGF21 knock-in mouse model showing thymus enlargement and increased TECs throughout the lifespan. (schematic Figure below). The accompanying editorial for these 2 papers speculated: “The proposed link between age-associated thymus involution and organismal aging is intriguing, and suggests we might seek to achieve systemic rejuvenation by counteracting thymic involution.” Other Factors Lessons from the Axolotl (Mexican Salamander) In an elegant set of experiments of the axolotl (Figure), known for its complete thymus regeneration after total surgical removal, mediators were identified. Surprisingly FOXN1 was dispensable. But midkine, a growth factor, appeared to be the driver, the initiator of thymus cell growth, survival, and repair. Other components that contributed were Postn+ (periostin-expressing mesenchymal niches) and Ccl19, a chemokine protein from the bloodstream. RANK and RANKL RANK (receptor activator of nuclear factor κB its ligand (RANKL) have been considered key regulators of medullary TECs. In a study of both aged mice and human thymus cell cultures, their key role was confirmed, with multiple benefits of resorting TEC function, recruitment of progenitor cells, and T cell development. Subscribe Summing Up This body of work strongly supports the health of the thymus gland as a critical regulator of human healthspan, not just a correlate or link. The new landmark studies are reinforced by the regenerative biology experimental models that have shown, via an array of mediators, that healthspan of aged mice is at least in part dependent on thymus gland function and its critical role for maintaining adaptive immunity. It sure seems that we’d be better off having an immune reservoir of naive T cells instead of a profile in older adults of exhausted, low quality, memory T cells, with a senescent phenotype. It is striking that we ignored the importance of the thymus gland for many decades. A wake-up call was the results of the thymectomy matched control study reviewed here, with the opposite of high thymic health score improved health outcomes. The convergence of AI and healthspan here is notable. The exceptional and laborious work for developing and validating (no less explaining) the AI to quantify thymus health set the foundation for probing the connect the major health outcomes in two cohorts with extensive follow-up. We’ve never had a way to meaningfully quantify the thymus gland before, so this represents important leverage of supervised, self-supervised, and transformer models. The study wouldn’t have been possible without AI. And it begs the question as to whether there are ways we can maintain our thymus at a high health score. But it’s not so simple to rejuvenate our thymus. There are multiple risks including the induction of autoimmunity, increasing the risk of cancer, and inducing a pro-inflammatory state. For example, factors that increase TEC proliferation could compromise the medulllary negative selection process and leak out auto-reactive (self-attacking) T cells. Thymic cells could be induced to proliferate, but we know, for example, that growth hormone and IGF-1 are associated with an increase risk of cancer. If thymus rejuvenation doesn’t clear out the accumulated senescent cells in older adults, then inflammation within the gland could block the production of TECs. Keeping these risks in mind, we now have identified many ways to keep our thymus healthy as we age that undoubtedly will be tested in clinical trials going forward. Ultimately, the benefit-to-risk tradeoffs will be defined. In the meantime, we have desperately needed an immunome. As I’ve stressed in multiple prior Ground Truths, we have no test in the clinic to assess a patient’s immune status! It was very encouraging for me to get an email from Hugo Aerts, the senior author of the landmark papers in the days after they were published: “I also wanted to say that your Substack on “Why We Need an Immunome” was inspiring for this work. We found it a very compelling perspective and greatly enjoyed reading it.” Just having an assessment of a person’s immune status via a chest CT scan, with millions of these performed per year, might help in guiding the right immunotherapy for cancer (e.g. more intensive, combinations for those with low thymic health scores) and help define people who are increased risk for age-related diseases of cancer, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative. The main theme of Super Agers is that we now have many layers of data (genetics, proteins, biomarkers, organ clocks that can be integrated via multimodal AI) for us to define a person’s specific risk decades before one of these age-related diseases leads to symptoms, enabling prevention. From the new studies this week, we can add thymus health score as yet another way to understand a person’s risk, a window into their adaptive immune system and healthspan. And perhaps someday we will be able to safely rejuvenate the thymus, or maintain its health through one’s life, and use the thymus health score to monitor. NB: I wrote this post (No A.I.) A Quick Poll Loading... ********************************************************************* Thanks to Ground Truths subscribers (now > 200,000) from every US state and 212 countries. Your subscription to these free essays and podcasts makes my work in putting them together worthwhile. Please join! If you found this interesting PLEASE share it! Share Ground Truths Paid subscriptions are voluntary and all proceeds from them go to support Scripps Research. They do allow for posting comments and questions, which I do my best to respond to. Please don’t hesitate to post comments and give me feedback. Let me know topics that you would like to see covered. Leave a comment Many thanks to those who have contributed—they have greatly helped fund our summer internship programs for the past two years. It enabled us to accept and support 47 summer interns in 2025! We aim to accept even more of the several thousand who will apply for summer 2026.
New dispute emerges around Subnautica 2’s early access release
Lawyers for the ousted—and now partially reinstated—leadership team of Unknown Worlds, the studio behind Subnautica 2, are crying foul over news that the game will be released into early access in May. The release announcement earlier this week was made improperly, potentially “damaging the game and sowing additional confusion among the Subnautica community,” the lawyers said in a letter sent on Tuesday to Vice Chancellor Lori Will of Delaware’s Court of Chancery. In their letter, the lawyers also floated the idea of asking Will to find Krafton in contempt of the court’s ruling. The letter was sent just one day after Will’s bombshell ruling that publisher Krafton had breached its contract with Unknown Worlds’ executive team, when it fired them last June. The new issue isn’t necessarily the May early access timeframe, but how the news was announced. The letter and Krafton’s response have not been previously reported. A quick recap of prior events: Subnautica 2 is an unreleased, underwater survival adventure and the most-wishlisted game on Steam. Last year, longtime Unknown Worlds CEO Ted Gill, along with studio co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, were fired by Krafton. They swiftly sued, saying the publisher had terminated them to avoid paying out up to $250 million in potential performance-based bonuses. The studio leaders had hoped to earn that with an early access release of the game, which Krafton had blocked. The publisher argued in court that Subnautica 2 wasn’t ready, which the ousted execs disputed. On Monday, Will ruled that Krafton had violated its contract, firing the execs to avoid the performance payouts, and that it had to reinstate Gill and give him full authority over any early access release for Subnautica 2. On Tuesday, IGN reported on a new memo issued that day to Unknown Worlds staff by Steve Papoutsis, the executive Krafton had put in charge of Unknown Worlds after the 2025 firings. In the note, Papoutsis said that Subnautica 2 had passed a key development milestone “last week” and that he and Krafton had determined the game “is ready for Early Access release in May.” This news appeared to catch the lawyers for Gill, Cleveland and McGuire by surprise. On Tuesday night, they sent a letter to Will expressing “serious concerns” about whether it would be possible to forge an agreement with Krafton consistent with the judge’s order. Papoutsis’ memo was a problem, they wrote. He didn’t have the authority to declare anything about Subnautica 2’s release. As of 9am ET on Monday, March 16, the effective date of Will’s order, Papoutsis wasn’t CEO of Unknown Worlds. Gill was. And, per Will’s order, only Gill could make Subnautica 2 release decisions. They continued: Krafton self-servingly announced the launch without any regard to its impact on the game, the team, or the community—let alone this Court’s Opinion. Announcing the release of a game is momentous, and it is typically accompanied by significant marketing activity, fanfare, and community coordination. And most importantly, the announcement is carefully designed to maximize excitement for the game. That entire process was supposed to be driven by Mr. Gill. However, in defiance of the Court’s Opinion, Krafton has now taken that away, further damaging the game and sowing additional confusion among the Subnautica community. The lawyers speculated that Krafton had “intentionally leaked” Papoutsis’ memo and then issued an official statement to confirm the leak. Game File is a reader-supported publication. My reporting is only possible through support from readers like you. To support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe On Wednesday, lawyers for Krafton defended their client in their own letter to vice chancellor Will, saying nothing they did violated her order nor showed contempt: Papoutsis’s message was simply celebrating the UW employees’ efforts toward a past event: Krafton’s pre-Opinion determination that Subnautica 2 was ready for Early Access release. There was nothing improper about conveying the results of the milestone review or thanking the development team for their dedication and talent. They added that Gill could still make his own call about Subnautica 2’s release: In his role as CEO, Gill will be able to assess independently his views on the state of Subnautica 2 and the appropriate release schedule; nothing in Papoutsis’s message alters Gill’s authority or discretion. Vice chancellor Will has not responded to the letters and doesn’t necessarily have to. Both parties were previously ordered by Will to confer this week and submit a proposed judgment consistent with her ruling. The letter from Gill’s attorney’s this week doesn’t indicate whether he would or would not support a May release for Subnautica 2. But it could limit his options. And, if Gill’s lawyers are right, the lack of marketing fanfare around the leak of the May date could dull the launch of the game. Any harm to Subnautica 2’s launch is an extra sensitive issue given the context of the legal dispute: millions of dollars of payouts are on the line, tethered to the scale of the game’s initial performance. In her ruling on Monday, Will noted that there was obvious “bad blood” between Gill’s side and Krafton but that the two would need to work together: “They can—and must—act in good faith to navigate their remaining contractual relationship.” Item 2: A new kind of couch co-op game A highlight of GDC each year is the Alt.Ctrl showcase that features games played with extremely experimental controllers. Perusing this year’s offerings last Friday, I found a game controlled with giant scissors, another with big toothbrushes and one that amounted to dumpster diving. My favorite was Pivot, a co-op game about collectively maneuvering a couch. It was developed by students at the University of Utah’s masters of arts and engineering games program. Players lift and tilt the physical couch in order to control the position of a virtual one. That virtual one is moving through an obstacle course on-screen, while being pursued by a giant skull. Developer Nishant Verma told me at GDC that the couch is made of styrofoam (this became more evident as I watched!) and that the name was a riff on an episode of the sitcom Friends. Item 3: In brief… 🚫 Ubisoft is laying off more than 100 workers at its Red Storm studio, as the North Carolina location known for decades for its Tom Clancy games, ceases in-house game development, VGC reports. 👀 On Monday, Nvidia’s revealed its DLSS 5 AI-driven graphics technology that purports to improve game graphics… and it has been roasted about it by the media and the online gaming public for the remainder of the week. The tech changed the faces of characters in footage from Resident Evil Requiem, Hogwarts Legacy and EA Sports FC, drawing accusations of giving carefully art-directed games the generic look of AI “slop.” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had said on Monday that “DLSS 5 is the GPT moment for graphics—blending handcrafted rendering with generative AI to deliver a dramatic leap in visual realism while preserving the control artists need for creative expression.” By mid-week, Huang was telling Tom’s Hardware that the new tech’s critics were “completely wrong” because game-makers could still “fine-tune the generative AI” to suit their game’s aesthetics.
Joe Kent's resignation over Iran war reignites antisemitism fears and debate over Israeli influence
It was no surprise when Joe Kent showed up on Tucker Carlson’s podcast a day after quitting his counterterrorism job in President Donald Trump’s administration. But before long, the conversation moved in a different direction as Kent nodded to conspiracy theories that pro-Israel forces were behind the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Scientists recreated a dinosaur nest to solve a 70-million-year-old mystery
Scientists recreated a life-size oviraptor nest to understand how these dinosaurs hatched their eggs. Their experiments showed the parent likely couldn’t heat all the eggs directly, meaning sunlight played a key role. This uneven heating could cause eggs in the same nest to hatch at different times. The results suggest oviraptors used a hybrid incubation method unlike modern birds.
Texas primary results showed limitations of polling
Many factors explain why pollsters face challenges in getting good sample sizes that truly reflect who is going to cast a ballot.
Arizona baseball loses at home to New Mexico
Though it lost two of three at Utah last weekend in its first Big 12 series, Arizona showed plenty of fight by tying or taking the lead in the 9th inning of each game. Unfortunately, that kind of effort didn’t come back with the Wildcats from Salt Lake City. The UA lost 6-3 to New […]
Hawks fans sport Magic City gear despite canceled promotion
Hawks fans showed up in Magic City gear Monday night even though the NBA shut down the team's short-lived promotion with the well-known adult entertainment club.
Dell's workforce quietly shrank 10% in the last year
Dell's employee headcount has fallen by 27% in the last three years, the tech giant's latest 10-K filing showed.
Still crazy: chaotic Six Nations showed the timeless appeal of great sporting drama
France’s dramatic triumph in the most extraordinary tournament was proof Test rugby played at full throttle ranks among the most compelling spectacles
Three-quarters of nine-month-olds in England have ‘daily screen time’
Study showed average time on screens each day was 41 minutes, with some watching more than three hours a day
iOS 27 Will Reportedly Be Like Mac OS X Snow Leopard
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated that iOS 27 will be similar to 2009's Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that one of Apple's biggest priorities is bug fixes for improved performance and stability. At WWDC 2008, Apple showed a presentation that said Mac OS X Snow Leopard had "0 new features," as it opted to focus on performance and stability improvements.
How Investors May Respond To Flutter Entertainment (FLUT) Earnings Miss Amid New US$250 Million Buyback
Flutter Entertainment’s latest results showed Q4 revenue of US$4.74 billion, up 24.9% year on year but below analyst forecasts for both revenue and earnings per share. On the same day, the company also launched the fifth tranche of its multi‑year share repurchase program, authorizing Goldman Sachs to buy back up to US$250 million of shares to reduce its share count. We’ll now examine how Flutter’s Q4 earnings miss against analyst expectations reshapes the previously optimistic investment...
Burt Jones was the inevitable Republican nominee for Georgia governor. Then Rick Jackson showed up
Burt Jones is Georgia’s lieutenant governor and he seemed to have a clear path to be the Republican nominee for governor this year with President Donald Trump’s endorsement, But then health care tycoon Rick Jackson got into the race in February and he’s already spent more than $30 million of his own money on television campaign ads
Burt Jones was the inevitable Republican nominee for Georgia governor. Then Rick Jackson showed up
Burt Jones is Georgia's lieutenant governor and he seemed to have a clear path to be the Republican nominee for governor this year with President Donald Trump's endorsement, But then health care tycoon Rick Jackson got into the race in February and he's already spent more than $30 million of his own money on television campaign ads.
U.S. Sanctions Pause Adds Political Win to Russia’s Economic Gain From Iran War
Kremlin officials said the American move, which Europe opposes, showed that Moscow could not be dislodged from the center of global energy markets.
Fed's favored inflation gauge remained stubbornly high in January as consumer price pressures persist
The Commerce Department on Friday released the January 2026 PCE inflation report, which showed the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge remained stubbornly high for consumers.
Clayton Fuller and Shawn Harris Advance to Runoff in Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Georgia District
Clayton Fuller will face Shawn Harris, a Democrat, in an April runoff. Mr. Fuller’s win over a flashier Republican showed the power of the president’s support.
Small biz optimism flat amid opposing forces of better profits, worse sales expectations
Small business optimism was essentially flat month over month in February as deteriorating sales expectations canceled out improved profits from the previous quarter, the NFIB showed Tuesday.
Small biz optimism flat amid opposing forces of better profits, worse sales expectations
Small business optimism was essentially flat month over month in February as deteriorating sales expectations canceled out improved profits from the previous quarter, the NFIB showed Tuesday.
Particles may not follow Einstein’s paths after all
Physicists have long struggled to unite quantum mechanics—the theory governing tiny particles—with Einstein’s theory of gravity, which explains the behavior of stars, planets, and the structure of the universe. Researchers at TU Wien have now taken a new step toward that goal by rethinking one of relativity’s core ideas: the paths particles follow through curved spacetime, known as geodesics. By creating a quantum version of these paths—called the q-desic equation—the team showed that particles moving through a “quantum” spacetime may deviate slightly from the paths predicted by classical relativity.
Engineers make magnets behave like graphene
Engineers have discovered an unexpected link between two very different realms of physics: the behavior of electrons in graphene and magnetic waves in specially engineered materials. By designing a thin magnetic film with a hexagonal pattern of holes—similar to graphene’s structure—the researchers showed that magnetic “spin waves” can follow the same mathematical rules as graphene’s famously unusual electrons. The surprising overlap reveals a deeper connection between electronic and magnetic systems and gives scientists a powerful new way to study complex magnetic materials.
Suns' Ighodaro favored, Maluach struggles in Bulls loss
With Mark Williams on the shelf for multiple weeks, Oso Ighodaro showed his comfort against the Bulls while Khaman Maluach played like a rookie.
Ducks comeback magic runs out to sturdy, league-leading Avalanche
Anaheim allowed the first goal of the game for the fourth straight game out of the Olympic break, but Colorado showed its mettle as the NHLs' top team to bolster and button down that early lead en route to a 5-1 victory.
Andy Dick says his heart stopped after apparent overdose, now has '5 to 7 holes' in his brain
Andy Dick says that his heart stopped after he suffered an apparent overdose in December, and a recent CAT scan showed he has '5 to 7' holes in his brain as he maintains sobriety.
Apple Accidentally Leaks Potential Budget MacBook Ahead of Big Event
The 'MacBook Neo' just showed up in Apple's regulatory documents. Could this be the budget MacBook we've been waiting for?
MongoDB shares plummet 27% on weak growth in cloud business, muted forecast
MongoDB's shares plunged 27% to a six-month low on Tuesday after the software firm forecast first-quarter profit below estimates and disappointed investors with slower quarterly revenue growth for its cloud database product Atlas. Revenue in the Atlas business, seen as a beneficiary of growing AI adoption, rose 29% in the fourth quarter ended January 31, down from 30% in the previous quarter, with UBS analysts highlighting that MongoDB did not offer a concrete explanation for the relatively softer performance. More than 19 of 42 analysts covering the stock lowered their price targets after the results, LSEG data showed.
DC Health lifts Potomac River recreation advisory after tests show safe E. coli levels
The District Department of Health has lifted its recreational advisory for the Potomac River effective immediately, water quality testing showed bacterial level
Apple Discusses Google Hosting New Siri as Need for Cloud Help Grows
In January, when Apple announced an agreement to use Google’s Gemini models in Apple products, it was an admission that the iPhone maker hasn’t been able to compete in AI on its own over the past couple years. But the deal also showed that Apple is again relying on an outside company to help it ...
Nothing just revealed Phone (4a)’s colors, but Phone (4a) Pro remains a mystery [Gallery]
Ahead of its full launch later this week, Nothing just showed off the new colors of its Phone (4a) series...
TCL's New Screen Blends Nxtpaper Tech With AMOLED, and It Looks Fantastic
TCL showed off a new screen concept at Mobile World Congress that brings its Nxtpaper technology to AMOLED for the first time. It also announced a new tablet, available with or without Nxtpaper.
Research in college and NFL athletes links early sports specialization to higher injury rates
New research presented at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) studied college and National Football League (NFL) players to determine the long-term impact of early, single-sport specialization on injury risk. The studies showed that repetitive stress from focusing on one sport from a young age can have negative, lasting effects on the musculoskeletal system, potentially making them more prone to hip dysfunction, reduced function, and surgical interventi
Lenovo’s Latest Wacky Concepts Include a Laptop With a Built-in Portable Monitor
At MWC 2026, the company also showed off a dual-screen Yoga Book with 3D capabilities, and the Legion Go Fold—a gaming handheld with a folding screen that converts into a mini laptop.
Heli-Skiing in California Seemed Like a Pipe Dream. Then These Two Guys Showed Up.
Two ski industry mavericks believe they’ve discovered the secret of operating a heli-skiing business in the Golden State, where red tape, finicky snowfall, and plenty of danger have torpedoed past operations
Trump says he is a savior of women’s sports. His ice hockey joke showed what he really thinks
The president and his allies have never been interested in helping or elevating female athletes. His true feelings were exposed on Sunday
The more you fear aging, the faster your body may age
Worrying about getting older—especially fearing future health problems—may actually speed up aging at the cellular level, according to new research from NYU. In a study of more than 700 women, those who felt more anxious about aging showed signs of faster biological aging in their blood, measured using cutting-edge “epigenetic clocks.” Fears about declining health had the strongest link, while concerns about beauty or fertility didn’t appear to have the same biological impact.
She showed warnings of a failing behavioral health system in rural AZ. Her crisis turned deadly.
"She was failed by the system as much as society was." As Angela Bouck crossed the center line in a fatal 2025 crash, her history of bipolar disorder & lack of a mental competency evaluation reveals a breakdown in Arizona’s behavioral healthcare system.
MAGA Meets Europe: Trump’s Envoys Rip Up Diplomatic Playbook
At least Bill White, Donald Trump’s ambassador to Brussels, showed up when summoned by the foreign ministry over some undiplomatic interventions into Belgian politics.
If you think politics shaped these Winter Olympics, just wait until LA 2028
In Milan, athletes showed that patriotism can be generous. In Los Angeles, that definition will be tested on the biggest, loudest stage sport can offer
Newsom blasted by CA GOP Chair over viral clip labeled 'racist' by critics: 'He should be embarrassed'
California GOP chairwoman accuses Gov. Gavin Newsom of condescending remarks after viral clip showed discussing his poor SAT score with Atlanta mayor.
FBI director joins U.S. men's hockey team in celebration of Olympic gold medal
Videos shared on social media showed a pumped-up Patel drinking beer from a bottle and spraying the rest around the locker room
FBI director joins U.S. men's hockey team in celebration of Olympic gold medal
Videos shared on social media showed a pumped-up Patel drinking beer from a bottle and spraying the rest around the locker room
German business sentiment rose more than expected in February, Ifo survey finds
German business morale rose more than expected in February, a survey showed on Monday, as both current conditions and expectations increased.
What we learned about Texas politics this primary cycle
Texas is changing politically. Our time in the political trenches showed how.
Euro zone business activity improved in February as manufacturing bounced back, PMI shows
Euro zone business activity accelerated faster than forecast this month as manufacturing swung back to growth for the first time since October, though the dominant services sector marginally underperformed expectations, a survey showed.
Young Giants left-handed pitcher Carson Whisenhunt shows off big jump in velocity at spring training
Young San Francisco Giants left-hander Carson Whisenhunt showed off a big jump in velocity during a simulated game at spring training Thursday.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger Will Deliver Democratic Response to Trump’s State of the Union
In selecting the Virginia governor, Democrats turned to a centrist former congresswoman whose winning campaign last year showed how their party’s candidates can succeed in the Trump era.
Zuckerberg's courthouse entourage showed up in Meta Ray-Bans
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in Los Angeles about social media's impact on youth. The judge cracked down on smart glasses in court.
After finally reaching No. 1, mighty Michigan looks ready to separate from the sport heading into March
Purdue was the preseason No. 1, but Michigan's win Tuesday showed why it is the (overdue) true No. 1 in college basketball
Japan's exports jump 16.8% in January on strong Asia demand
Japan's exports rose for a fifth consecutive month in January, data showed on Wednesday, a sign that firm global demand was underpinning a fragile economic recovery.
Microplastics have reached Antarctica’s only native insect
Even Antarctica’s toughest native insect can’t escape the reach of plastic pollution. Scientists have discovered that Belgica antarctica — a tiny, rice-sized midge and the southernmost insect on Earth — is already ingesting microplastics in the wild. While lab tests showed the hardy larvae can survive short-term exposure without obvious harm, those exposed to higher plastic levels had reduced fat reserves, hinting at hidden energy costs.
Why some kids struggle with math even when they try hard
A new Stanford study suggests math struggles may be about more than numbers. Children who had difficulty with math were less likely to adjust their thinking after making mistakes during number comparison tasks. Brain imaging showed weaker activity in regions that help monitor errors and guide behavioral changes. These brain patterns could predict which children were more likely to struggle.
🥐Comebacks, complaints and more: the 5️⃣ Sunday headlines
From Real Madrid's victory in La Liga, to Cristiano Ronaldo's return with a goal, Sunday starts with plenty to talk about. Madrid, leaders and captivatingWithout Mbappé, this Real Madrid showed that ...
Business Lookahead: Giddy Up
STORY: From bellwether Walmart reporting earnings... to new economic data out of the UK... these are the stories to watch in business and finance in the coming week.:: The trillion dollar clubFresh off hitting $1 trillion in market value, Walmart posts quarterly results on Thursday.Walmart's report offers a glimpse into consumer spending after recent data showed December U.S. retail sales were unexpectedly flat.A surprisingly strong employment report for January eased some concerns about economic weakening.Economic reports in the coming week include the advance reading of fourth-quarter GDP, a monthly consumer sentiment survey, and the personal consumption expenditures price index, a key inflation measure.:: Heavy metalsEurope's four largest mining companies report earnings in the coming week.Copper, gold, silver and other precious metals all recently hit records - but the January rally has given way to a sharp February sell-off.Last month's rally boosted the market values of Rio Tinto, Glencore, Anglo American and Antofagasta.Their earnings will test whether the momentum can be sustained.:: UK economic data UK labor market data and inflation readings will provide fresh fodder for markets, even though investors are still digesting the fallout from the recent government instability.Labor market numbers due on Tuesday will show if a gradual cooling of wage growth has continued.Then, January inflation data comes Wednesday.The political turmoil has set a tense backdrop, leaving markets highly sensitive to data swings. Fitch is also due to review its UK rating on Friday.
Annual inflation cooled to 2.4% in January, an eight-month low
The annual rate of inflation slowed to an eight-month low last month, new data showed Friday.
Inflation slowed in January: CPI increased 2.4%, under the forecast
The new consumer price index report showed the inflation rate slowed more than expected.