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‘I don't want you on my team' – Dak Prescott makes the Dallas Cowboys' mindset very clear going into the 2026 NFL season

The Dallas Cowboys quarterback knows what the 2026 NFL season is all about. And he isn't willing to hide it. Instead, he's embracing it.

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Jul 18 • 1:37 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Eben Sadie: ‘Culture, not science, makes wine’

South Africa’s pioneering winemaker, a driving force behind the country’s new wave of winemaking, talks research, instinct and succession

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Jul 18 • 12:00 AM EDT • Science • ft.com
Roki Sasaki Makes Dodgers History After Incredible Start vs. Yankees

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki pitched an amazing game on Friday, July 17th, showcasing the best stuff of his short MLB career.

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Jul 17 • 9:59 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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N.Y. lawmakers react to Trump's election speech

“He didn't release anything that hasn't already been made available to the intelligence community and to members of the legislature," Morelle said.

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Jul 17 • 9:16 PM EDT • Politics • ny1.com
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Dodgers Reveal Shohei Ohtani’s Next Start Before Yankees Series

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the media when two-way star Shohei Ohtani will make his next start as a pitcher. The post Dodgers Reveal Shohei Ohtani’s Next Start Before Yankees Series appeared first on HEAVY.

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Jul 17 • 9:01 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Lakers Make Major Change to JJ Redick’s Coaching Staff

Lakers head coach JJ Redick made the call to have South Bay coach Zach Guthrie become a Lakers assistant coach and head of player development. The post Lakers Make Major Change to JJ Redick’s Coaching Staff appeared first on LA Sports Report.

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Jul 17 • 9:00 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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Bill Barnwell Makes Bold Claims on Minnesota Vikings Roster

From Justin Jefferson's staggering trade value to surprise inclusions like Donovan Jackson, discover why three cornerstone stars could command an unprecedented haul of future first-round draft picks.

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Jul 17 • 8:48 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Colby Covington Scared For Ben Askren’s Health Ahead Of RAF 11 Debut

Ben Askren is expected to make an inspirational return to the wrestling mat this weekend at RAF 11, but some people believe it’s too soon for the former UFC fighter. This includes the always critical Colby Covington, who is headlining RAF 11 against UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan. In case you completely forgot, Askren nearly […]

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Jul 17 • 8:30 PM EDT • Health • sports.yahoo.com
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Good Sports: Madera United puts small town on the big stage with championship

Madera United's U14 girls squad plays with a smaller team than most of its competition. Coach Jesse Zapata says his girls have the drive to make up for the numbers.

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Jul 17 • 8:13 PM EDT • Sports • abc30.com
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Joanna Stern: An open letter to OpenAI’s secret gadget

The ChatGPT maker is working on its own physical device, which is shrouded in mystery — and controversy.

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Jul 17 • 8:00 PM EDT • Technology • nbcnews.com
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Ohtani to Make Next Dodgers Start Against Phillies

The Los Angeles Dodgers expect Shohei Ohtani to pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies.

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Jul 17 • 6:39 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Elevance Health CEO Snaps Up Stock After Post-Earnings Slide

Elevance Health CEO Gail Boudreaux makes her first purchase since 2025 as shares slump after second-quarter earnings.

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Jul 17 • 6:20 PM EDT • Health • barrons.com
Emmy Awards Just Cut Five Major Categories Out of 2026 Broadcast, Reason Revealed

The Television Academy is making several changes to the 2026 Emmy Awards. This time, they are moving five major categories out of the main broadcast. The change is part of an effort to make the show s...

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Jul 17 • 6:10 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com
Florida politics weekly recap: Voter data, campaign cash and 2 lawmakers in court

President Donald Trump's national address renewed the debate over election security this week, while newly released intelligence records put a spotlight on publicly available Florida voter-registration data.

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Jul 17 • 5:29 PM EDT • Politics • wflx.com
Trump raises election concerns, drawing pushback from Kentucky lawmakers

Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., and two Kentucky congressmen are pushing back on President Donald Trump’s speech Thursday night.

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Jul 17 • 5:24 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumnews1.com
Ranking Member Markey, Senator Hirono Reject Trump’s SBA Policy Proposal that Harms Underserved Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

Letter (PDF) (Washington, July 17) – Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) submitted a comment letter to the Small Business Administration (SBA) opposing a proposed rule change by Trump’s SBA to the 8(a) Business Development Program that would harm underserved small business owners and entrepreneurs. The 8(a) Business Development Program was created by Congress more than 50 years ago to level the playing field for small business owners and entrepreneurs who have faced discrimination in starting and operating their businesses. The SBA’s proposed change ignores the existence of historic discrimination that minority and underserved small businesses have faced and continue to face. In the letter, the lawmakers wrote, “SBA’s proposed rule ignores present-day barriers that entrepreneurs from minority and underserved communities face. Discrimination is not dead; minority entrepreneurs continue to face reduced access to contracting opportunities and capital, as well as racial threats and targeting, including unequal treatment, refusal by others to work with minority-owned firms, being called racial slurs, and bias in the workplace. These barriers lead to wide underutilization of, and less revenue for, minority-owned businesses compared to majority-owned businesses, as supported by decades of disparity studies. The proposed rule diminishes the history of systemic racial and ethnic discrimination in the United States by claiming that remedies for discrimination create discrimination in and of themselves.” The lawmakers continued, “The program has always been open to anyone who can prove they have experienced prejudice or cultural bias in education, employment, entrepreneurship, and other facets of our society. Nonetheless SBA has moved forward with the proposed rule. It lacks a reasoned basis, purporting that the federal government has discriminated against White Americans, but offering no substantive qualitative or quantitative data or research in support. If the examples provided in the proposed rule are the only basis for what constitutes discrimination to the agency, they are woefully insufficient. The final rule must provide strong evidence that there is discrimination against White individuals and show how the rule is narrowly tailored to address it. The record remains devoid of evidence of discrimination against White individuals on the basis of race.” Ranking Member Markey is fighting to protect federal programs that address historic discrimination against small business owners from minority and underserved communities, and for a small business agenda that ensures economic opportunity for all. In June, Ranking Member Markey released a statement condemning the SBA’s proposed changes to the 8(a) Business Development Program. Also in June, Ranking Markey released a new report highlighting Trump’s drastic reduction in federal contracting dollars awarded to American small businesses, including minority-owned small businesses. In February, Ranking Member Markey, alongside Senators Hirono and Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA-7), introduced the Strengthening Place-based Access, Resources, and Knowledge (SPARK) Act to spur entrepreneurship and increase access to capital and resources for underserved entrepreneurs nationwide. Ranking Member Markey previously held a field hearing in Roxbury, Massachusetts, to discuss how government and the private sector can come together to make entrepreneurship more accessible for underserved communities. Earlier in February, Ranking Member Markey secured funding with the Appropriations Committee for Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, SCORE Chapters, and Veterans Business Outreach Centers and provisions to rein in the Administration’s attempts to eliminate programs that support women, veterans, and underserved entrepreneurs. In January, Ranking Member Markey sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to oppose rule changes that would gut protections against discriminatory lending practices that harm small businesses. In December 2025, Ranking Member Markey sent a letter to SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler expressing significant concerns with the SBA’s overly burdensome request and unclear guidance for extensive financial documentation over the holidays, as a part of their sweeping attempts to dismantle the 8(a) Business Development Program. In July and December 2025, Ranking Member Markey sent letters to the SBA Administrator demanding answers about the Trump administration’s efforts to limit economic opportunity for American entrepreneurs, including immigrants. In May 2025, Ranking Member Markey sent a letter to the SBA Administrator rejecting President Trump’s FY 2026 budget proposal and calling on SBA to immediately release funding for the entrepreneurial development programs, which include programs like the Women’s Business Centers and the Veteran’s Business Development Centers that support underserved small business owners. In April 2025, Ranking Member Markey introduced the New Start Act of 2025 to establish a five-year pilot program providing grants to support entrepreneurial development training for currently or formerly incarcerated individuals. In February 2025, Ranking Member Markey sent letters to the SBA Administrator and Government Accountability Office (GAO) condemning President Trump’s war on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) policies and asking how the SBA intends to implement Trump’s anti-DEIA executive orders. ###

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Jul 17 • 5:23 PM EDT • Business • sbc.senate.gov
Trump administration races to rebuild tariff wall knocked down by Supreme Court

The U.S. Treasury last year swelled with revenue from President Donald Trump’s double-digit taxes on imports from almost every country on earth. But the money dried up after the Supreme Court struck down the biggest and boldest of Trump’s tariffs in February. The question now is: Can the president’s trade team make good on its promise to replace the lost revenue?

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Jul 17 • 5:23 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org
Senator says key piece of college sports legislation 'probably' has 60 votes to clear upper chamber

A lawmaker sponsoring a key piece of federal college sports legislation says he believes the bill likely has the support it needs to make it through the upper chamber

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Jul 17 • 5:07 PM EDT • Sports • abcnews.com
Kraken CEO warns that Washington state business leaders are eyeing exits

Tod Leiweke, CEO of the Kraken NHL team and one of the key figures pushing to return the SuperSonics NBA franchise to Seattle, dished some economic words of warning for state lawmakers on Thursday.

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Jul 17 • 4:21 PM EDT • Business • kuow.org
Fast food, fries, and science: Inside U-M’s lab studying cravings

Inside a tucked-away laboratory in East Hall at the University of Michigan, researchers recreated a fast-food restaurant—not to serve lunch, but to answer a question millions of people wrestle with every day: Why do people make different food choices in tempting environments than they intended?

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Jul 17 • 2:30 PM EDT • Science • michigantoday.umich.edu
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Fed rate-hike voices swell before July decision, rates still seen on hold

Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack on Friday added her voice to ​a small but growing chorus of policymakers arguing the Fed may need to raise short-term borrowing costs to deal ‌with persistently high inflation, setting up a charged debate at the central bank's July 28-29 meeting.

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Jul 17 • 1:32 PM EDT • Business • reuters.com
Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Remake Price And Pre-Order Rumors Swirl

Also: that mobile version of Final Fantasy 14 has been canceled

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Jul 17 • 1:00 PM EDT • Technology • kotaku.com
William Shatner — yes, “that” William Shatner — to debut his heavy metal band The *uckers

The 95-year-old actor will make his Riot Fest debut in September.

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Jul 17 • 11:54 AM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com
Irvine video game maker Obsidian Entertainment lays off 52

Irvine-based video game development studio Obsidian Entertainment is laying off 52 workers as part of a larger restructuring to reset Microsoft’s Xbox video game business.

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Jul 17 • 11:29 AM EDT • Entertainment • ocregister.com
Oklahoma State Didn't Land Drew Mestemaker With Money Alone

Drew Mestemaker could've chased the biggest NIL offer or a college football blue blood. Instead, he followed Eric Morris to Oklahoma State. One quote from Morris—"Don't get caught up in all the hype... and don't break my heart"—shows why relationships still matter in today's transfer portal.

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Jul 17 • 10:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Even Microsoft couldn’t make Windows 11 work well on 8GB of RAM

RAMageddon claims another.

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Jul 17 • 9:30 AM EDT • Technology • theverge.com
Here's what makes American elections so complicated and secure

One of the strongest security features of U.S. elections is the fact that they aren’t conducted at the federal level.

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Jul 17 • 9:21 AM EDT • Politics • pbs.org
Simone Ashley On Returning For <i>Bridgerton</i> Season 5, Her New Music Career & Touring

Simone Ashley on returning for Bridgerton Season 5, her new EP Songs I Wrote In New York, and the world tour she's hoping to make happen.

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Jul 17 • 9:18 AM EDT • Entertainment • refinery29.com
Stocks Sink on Anxiety About Tech and A.I. Spending

A sell-off in Asia led by chipmakers spilled into Europe and U.S. markets on Friday.

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Jul 17 • 8:31 AM EDT • Business • nytimes.com
The Open Championship: Lucas Herbert makes history

With a front-nine 28, Herbert tied the lowest nine-hole score ever in The Open Championship.

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Jul 17 • 6:56 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
No, Doom maker id Software hasn't been "nerfed into the ground and gutted" by the Xbox cuts, insists director Hugo Martin

Doom and Quake creator id Software tries to reassure fans it's okay following the devastating recent Xbox cuts.

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Jul 17 • 6:35 AM EDT • Technology • eurogamer.net
Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Remake Pre-Order Date Appears Online

Zelda OoT Remake: August Pre-Order Date Leaked

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Jul 17 • 6:01 AM EDT • Technology • screenrant.com
Tennessee State Athletics Signs Apparel Deal With Nike

NASHVILLE — Tennessee State University Athletics and Nike have announced a new multi-year partnership that will make Nike the official apparel provider for TSU Athletics.

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Jul 17 • 6:00 AM EDT • Sports • tsutigers.com
Rimington, Frazier and Suh make Sports Illustrated's college top 50

Sports Illustrated released its top 50 best players of all-time list. Three Huskers made the list.

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Jul 17 • 5:09 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Does stopping GLP-1s make you gain the weight back? What the science says

A trio of recent studies suggest that some people can keep the weight off.

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Jul 17 • 5:00 AM EDT • Health • nbcnews.com
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Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse Might Make the Long Wait for a New 2D Castlevania Worth It

After playing the first three hours of Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, Dead Cells developer Evil Empire's take on the legendary series seems to be poised to live up to extraordinarily high standards set by its predecessors.

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Jul 17 • 3:01 AM EDT • Technology • ign.com
Energy security starts at home

By Carly West With Colorado’s legislative session behind us and a new group of lawmakers preparing to take office next year, now is a good time to step back and consider a broader question: What role should Colorado play in America’s energy future? For most Americans, energy security isn’t something they think about every day. […]

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Jul 17 • 3:00 AM EDT • Politics • coloradopolitics.com
Andy Burnham to become Labour leader and will promise to 'fix things politics has neglected'

The Makerfield MP is due to speak later when he is appointed at a special party conference in central London. He will then become prime minister on Monday.

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Jul 17 • 2:52 AM EDT • Politics • bbc.com
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New York Yankees Make Max Fried Announcement Before Dodgers Series

On Friday evening, the New York Yankees will be back in action when they play the Los Angeles Dodgers (at home) in the Bronx.They went into the All-Star break in the middle of a four-game winning streak (after sweeping the Washington Nationals).New York Yankees Make Max Fried AnnouncementMax Fried is in the middle of his […] The post New York Yankees Make Max Fried Announcement Before Dodgers Series appeared first on HEAVY.

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Jul 17 • 2:50 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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ThaiBev Is Said to Consider Selling KFC Franchise Business

Thai Beverage Pcl, the maker of Chang beer and SangSom rum, is considering a sale of its KFC restaurant franchise business in Thailand, according to people familiar with the matter.

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Jul 17 • 1:36 AM EDT • Business • bloomberg.com
Ann Widdecombe’s death should make Britain ask itself: what sort of political culture do we want?

Dehumanising politicians is the first step towards justifying their elimination. It matters more than ever to keep putting the person back into the picture, says Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff

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Jul 17 • 1:00 AM EDT • Politics • theguardian.com
Jayden Daniels Makes His Feelings on Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes Clear

After a memorable rookie season that helped lead the Washington Commanders to the NFC Championship Game, Jayden Daniels’ sophomore campaign didn’t go as planned.Washington finished 5-12, and injuries limited Daniels to just seven games.Despite missing most of the season, Daniels became one of the four quarterbacks featured on Season 3 of Netflix’s Quarterback, which followed […] The post Jayden Daniels Makes His Feelings on Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes Clear appeared first on HEAVY.

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Jul 17 • 12:35 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
5 takeaways from Trump’s primetime speech on elections

President Donald Trump’s primetime address from the White House on Thursday night didn’t make huge news.

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Jul 16 • 11:49 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
Champions to advance public health - Center Times Plus, UT Southwestern

The Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health recognized outstanding individuals whose work is making a meaningful difference. Honored for their achievements in service, scholarship, innovation, and leadership, these changemakers represent the next generation. Learn more about their goals, passions, and visions for the future of public health.

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Jul 16 • 8:10 PM EDT • Health • utsouthwestern.edu
The Unlikely Story Of How Konami Asked Evil Empire To Make Castlevania: Belmont's Curse

What started as a simple crossover request became a years-long collaboration.

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Jul 16 • 8:00 PM EDT • Technology • gameinformer.com
Sports without politics is a fantasy and the World Cup proves it

From ancient Greece to Nazi Germany, sport and politics have long been intertwined. Nevertheless, we still imagine that international sport can be kept above the fray and serve as a neutral arena where nations compete on merit alone. In this article, diplomacy scholar Geoffrey Allen Pigman argues the 2026 FIFA World Cup shows this is a dangerous illusion. When international sport is left entirely to revenue-maximizing private bodies like FIFA, it doesn't escape politics, but rather surrenders to its worst expressions. With the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics fast approaching, the IOC must decide whether to learn that lesson or repeat the same mistakes. The largest and most lucrative FIFA World Cup ever draws toward its climactic conclusion amidst a swirl of controversy. Team members, staff, fans, and spectators have been denied their right to enter the United States to participate, and US President Donald Trump intervened with FIFA boss Gianni Infantino to overturn a referee’s call that Trump believed disadvantaged the US national team. It is a moment to step back and reflect on what the purposes of international sport mega-events like the World Cup, and international sport more broadly, are, and what they should be. Does international sport serve public purposes? Is there a public interest? Or is it primarily a private endeavor organized by commercial enterprises to entertain the global public (and generate profit in the process), which is occasionally used by governments and leaders for raisons d’etat? Central to the idea of sport is the principle of fair play, which in the international context demands that games be free from political interference. However, it is impossible to separate sport from politics, all claims to the contrary notwithstanding. The most positive political use of international sport through the millennia has been to facilitate diplomacy. The use of international sport for diplomatic objectives has existed since at least the time of the ancient Olympic Games, around which was instituted the custom of the Ekecheiria, or Olympic Truce, between participating states to facilitate fair competition and diplomatic achievements by ensuring that participants could travel safely to the Olympiad. In his seminal work On Diplomacy (1987), diplomacy scholar James Der Derian characterized the objectives of diplomacy as overcoming alienation and mediating estrangement between governments and between peoples. One increasingly important diplomatic tool in the technology-infused media environment over the past century has been public diplomacy, under which governments and non-state diplomatic actors (e.g. transnational corporations) communicate to global publics about their international policy objectives and to shape their global brand image. Political scientist Michał Kobierecki, in his important book Sports Diplomacy (2020), views sports diplomacy as falling broadly within the ambit of public diplomacy, as international sport intimately involves the participation of global publics as spectators and consumers of global media. Diplomacy scholar Stuart Murray and this author, in a 2013 article, distinguish between international sport used for diplomatic purposes and international sport-as-diplomacy, which encompasses the range of diplomacy that occurs as teams and competitors, spectators and fans, and government officials all converge for international sporting events like the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup. Diplomacy scholar H.E. Chehabi, in a 2001 article on US-Iran sports diplomacy, describes the interaction between spectators and fans at international sporting events as “people-to-people diplomacy,” in which relationships develop independently of governments and their objectives. Diplomacy by the aforementioned definitions is often unsuccessful. Moreover, all too often the tools of diplomacy may be employed by governments and other actors to thwart or oppose the objectives of diplomacy as characterized by Der Derian. Governments routinely use the tools of public diplomacy to disseminate propaganda, spreading misinformation in the attempt to deceive global publics about their objectives and to create misleading impressions about their brand identity. Within sports diplomacy, the term “sportswashing” has been coined recently to describe how governments invest in and promote international sport to create positive global public impressions of their nations and, in doing so, to distract the global public from their deficient records in areas such as human rights and democratic governance. Murray, in his 2018 book Sports Diplomacy: Origins, Theory and Practice, introduces the concept of sports anti-diplomacy, wherein governments intentionally use international sport to advance aggressive and nationalistic objectives. Obvious historical examples include Hitler’s use of the 1936 Berlin Olympics to glorify his Third Reich and the 1969 El Salvador-Honduras football “war.” SUGGESTED READING The beautiful game made ugly By Emily Ryall FIFA argues that it is and seeks to be apolitical in its stewardship of international Association Football (soccer). FIFA policies governing bids to host the World Cup require uninhibited and non-discriminatory access for players, team staff, and spectators of all participating countries to host nations and venues. It became clear soon after Trump returned to power in the United States in January 2025 that Trump’s political intentions and objectives to limit non-US citizens from living and working in the United States and, in numerous cases, even visiting the country, would collide with FIFA’s host nation policies. Beginning soon after the start of the second Trump administration, US federal authorities imposed restrictions on entry to the United States of citizens of between 20 and 40 countries for any purpose, with only limited exceptions. Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began arresting non-US citizens in the United States, including persons with and without legal status, holding them in jails, concentration camps, and other detention facilities until they were deported to their home or third countries, where they faced substantive risks to their personal safety. FIFA boss Gianni Infantino, in an effort to ensure the most successful and lucrative World Cup in history, engaged diplomatically with President Trump in an attempt to facilitate entry to the US for World Cup participants. Infantino did all in his power to ingratiate himself with Trump, to the extent of creating a FIFA “Peace Prize,” which he awarded to Trump in December 2025 at a ceremony in the then Trump-controlled John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, on the occasion of the World Cup draw. The prize was an ersatz consolation for someone who aspired in vain to win the rather more prestigious and well-known Nobel Peace Prize. And in the run-up to the World Cup, conditions became worse. In February 2026, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a war of aggression against Iran, illegal under international law, under the false pretence that Iran’s government was preparing to attack the United States and Israel. During the US aerial bombardment of Iran, US planes bombed Azadi Stadium, the facility where Iran’s national football team trained. As the 2026 FIFA World Cup began, it was clear that Infantino’s efforts had been for naught: the Trump administration would not adhere to FIFA policies governing access to World Cup host nations. World Cup referee Omar Artan, a citizen of Somalia, was denied a US visa to enter the United States to participate in the World Cup. Trump’s government only granted US visas to Iran’s football team ten days before they were scheduled to arrive for the tournament. Numerous members of the support staff for Iran’s team were denied US visas. Iran’s team, which had been scheduled to train in Arizona, was directed to shift its training site to Tijuana, Mexico, notwithstanding that all three of their group stage matches took place at US venues. The US Department of Homeland Security only permitted the Iranian team to enter the US on the day before each scheduled match and then to return to Mexico immediately after playing. Members of Iraq’s and Switzerland’s football teams were delayed for hours by US officials at the US border, and an Iraqi team photographer was refused entry. Spectators and fans from Haïti and Iran were denied entry to the United States altogether. A large number of fans from a range of countries had their applications for US visas rejected. There were multiple off-ramps through which participants could have avoided the negative consequences of Trump’s decisions for the 2026 World Cup. Once it was clear that the Trump government intended to violate the established expectations for World Cup hosts, FIFA could have shifted the matches scheduled to take place in the United States to Mexico and Canada. The three nations were already designated as co-hosts, and host cities and venues had been selected. Once it was clear that FIFA, governed by FIFA boss Gianni Infantino’s dependent and dysfunctional relationship with Trump, would never consider this option on its own, it fell to the national football federations to act. The national federations, particularly some combination of federations of the leading contenders (France, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Morocco, England, Germany, etc.), could have refused to participate under the US-imposed conditions or, at the least, demanded an ironclad agreement with the Trump government that FIFA policies on access would be respected. ___ International sport is inextricably entangled with diplomacy of different sorts, for good or ill, it cannot be considered to be in the purely private realm and left to revenue-maximizing private actors. ___ Why did neither FIFA nor the national football federations act to protect the interests of players, team staff, referees, fans, and spectators? In essence, the relentless engines of capitalism prevailed over norm observance, ethics, and fair play. The revenue interests of FIFA, sponsors, global media, and host cities won out. FIFA’s managers viewed hosting another World Cup principally in the United States as a veritable pot of gold for FIFA and its collaborators. FIFA has estimated its own revenue over the 2023-26 budget cycle, which includes the 2026 World Cup, at $13 billion, revised up from an initial projection of $11 billion, and 72% higher than the previous revenue cycle. Of that total, FIFA is estimated to have generated $8.9 billion from the Cup itself in revenue from TV rights ($3.92 billion), sponsorships ($2.69 billion), ticket sales ($3.1 billion), licensing rights, and other sources. A joint study by FIFA and the World Trade Organization estimates that the World Cup will contribute over $40 billion to global GDP, including nearly $14 billion in direct visitor spending in the three host countries (but principally in the United States, which hosted the lion’s share of the matches). The FIFA World Cup is now reportedly “the single most lucrative recurring commercial property in global sport.” And yet, notwithstanding the Trump government’s uses of the World Cup for sports anti-diplomacy, and the climate of anxiety that this created for participants and spectators, diplomacy that did not depend upon governments was able to thrive at the World Cup. Examples of successful people-to-people diplomacy were legion, as citizens of towns and cities across the States, as well as in Mexico and Canada, welcomed team members, their families and supporters, to training sites across North America. Fans of different teams joined together in person in stadiums for matches, at watch parties and bars, and at welcome events sponsored by host cities. The joy and camaraderie shared between the citizenry of Boston and Scotland’s “Tartan Army” of fans is but one example of how the “Beautiful Game” brings people together. Friendships forged across continents are likely to endure well beyond the Cup final. Even those achievements cannot be seen as unalloyed, however. As South African football fan Byron Pillay commented to Al Jazeera, “Football is called the Beautiful Game for a reason, for its ability to unite people. But it’s hard to believe in that magic with the politics and war rhetoric off the field of play, especially when one of the tournament hosts is central to that.” Ultimately, the experience of the 2026 FIFA World Cup illustrates that, as international sport is inextricably entangled with diplomacy of different sorts, for good or ill, it cannot be considered to be in the purely private realm and left to revenue-maximizing private actors. As long as there is the possibility of diplomatic progress in mediating estrangement between governments or between peoples, there is a broad and overarching public interest in international sport. Likewise, as it would be difficult to put on an international sport mega-event without international sporting organizations like FIFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), global media firms, and companies purchasing sponsorships, public and private interests in international sport must coexist, most likely somewhere on a shifting spectrum between partnership and rivalry or cross purposes. As the World Cup wraps up, the IOC needs to consider its lessons before the scheduled 2028 Los Angeles Olympics if they want to avoid a media-hyped Trump version of the 1936 Berlin Olympiad. The IOC and the National Olympic Committees need to set conditions on and make demands of Trump’s government with clearly articulated consequences for non-compliance, up to and including cancellation of the Games. Time is running out for the IOC, as unlike with the FIFA World Cup, there is no at-the-ready alternate venue for Los Angeles.

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Jul 16 • 8:00 PM EDT • Politics • iai.tv
EU Orders Google to Give Rival AI Apps the Same Android Access as Gemini

The European Commission today formally ordered Google to give third-party AI services the same access to Android device features that Gemini has. Europe's Digital Markets Act requires software makers like Apple and Google to grant equal interoperability to third-party apps and services, and the EC is enforcing it. DMA interoperability rules are why Siri AI won't be available in the European Union when iOS 27 launches.

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Jul 16 • 6:45 PM EDT • Technology • macrumors.com
Trump is expected to make election conspiracies a focus of his national address

President Trump is set to address the nation on topics he says will include elections and voting machines.

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Jul 16 • 6:23 PM EDT • Politics • nbcwashington.com
Summer heat slowing business at Indian Creek Plaza, business owners say

On a hot summer day at Indian Creek Plaza, business owners say the heat can make it harder to draw daytime crowds.

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Jul 16 • 5:42 PM EDT • Business • idahonews.com
Doctors in Royal Oak perform world’s first single-port robotic heart surgery

Surgeons at Corewell Health in Metro Detroit have performed what the health system says is the world’s first documented single-port robotic mitral valve repair, a breakthrough they believe could help make heart surgery less invasive for some patients.

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Jul 16 • 5:31 PM EDT • Health • clickondetroit.com
GOP frontrunner Minogue: Governors should put people above party politics

Mike Minogue, a Republican candidate for governor, says that he wants to make Massachusetts a place people can stay and raise families like his.

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Jul 16 • 5:18 PM EDT • Politics • wgbh.org
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😐 Neutral (22%)
love
40%
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36%
ahah
24%
I Think ESPN's FPI Is Too Low on Oklahoma State

ESPN's Football Power Index isn't as high on Oklahoma State as I am. The Cowboys are underdogs in several key Big 12 games, but I think the model is underrating a team with 87 newcomers, Drew Mestemaker and Caleb Hawkins. This isn't the same team that went 1-11 a year ago.

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Jul 16 • 4:22 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen Insists Sony Killing Physical Discs 'Doesn't Matter at All' Because Video Game Sales Make Up So Little of His Business

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen has sparked a fiery debate in the gaming community after remarking that sales of physical games are “totally irrelevant" to his business.

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Jul 16 • 4:20 PM EDT • Technology • ign.com
Trump media firm plans to sell high speed access to Truth Social posts

The move would allow Wall Street firms and other institutions to get news from Truth Social contributors in milliseconds so they can make quick profits off transactions in stocks, bonds and interest rates

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Jul 16 • 4:19 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com
Classic PS1 Shooter’s PS5 Remake Out Today on PlayStation Store

A cult classic from the PlayStation 1 days has gotten a new HD remaster, and it's out now. Better yet, the game is also discounted.

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Jul 16 • 3:32 PM EDT • Technology • playstationlifestyle.net
GameStop CEO Says Physical Video-Game Sales Are ‘Irrelevant’ to Business

GameStop Corp. Chief Executive Officer Ryan Cohen dismissed concerns about the demise of physical discs for video games, insisting that those sales make up a small part of the company’s overall business and reiterating that his long-term strategy is to focus on gaming collectables and purchasing e-commerce giant eBay Inc.

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Jul 16 • 2:12 PM EDT • Business • bloomberg.com
Congress debates: Should daylight saving or standard time be year-round?

Legislation to make daylight saving time year-round passed the U.S. House this week and is now being considered by the Senate. It comes as many Americans disapprove of how the U.S. manages time.

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Jul 16 • 1:24 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com
Google is better at playing the EU regulations game

Google scored a grace period to bring Android in line with EU rules, while Apple must make Siri AI compliant before launch.

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Jul 16 • 12:55 PM EDT • Technology • theverge.com
First Impressions: Nintendo's Latest 'Switch 2 Edition' Is Here, And It'll Really Make You Sweat

Towel at the ready

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Jul 16 • 12:00 PM EDT • Technology • nintendolife.com
Urban Renaissance Entertainment Announces Marcus Nel-Jamal Hamm's Expanded Role on Merry F-ing Christmas and New Creative Partnership with Tiffany Toney

Filmmakers Tiffany Toney and Marcus Nel-Jamal Hamm join forces on Merry F-ing Christmas.LOS ANGELES, July 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Urban Ren...

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Jul 16 • 12:00 PM EDT • Entertainment • markets.businessinsider.com
Trump officials want to make testosterone drugs easier to prescribe. Is that a good idea?

Officials under President Donald Trump want to make it easier for men to get a prescription for testosterone, the latest shift in a decades-long debate over the benefits and risks of replacing the hormone that affects sex drive, mood and other health factors.

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Jul 16 • 11:54 AM EDT • Politics • pbs.org
🙂 Positive (35%)
CGC hoping three iconic sports cards can shift perceptions in PSA-dominated grading landscape

As the last remaining sizable competitor to grading giant PSA, CGC is trying to make further inroads with sports card collectors.

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Jul 16 • 11:31 AM EDT • Sports • nytimes.com
RIP, OnePlus – Smartphone Maker Calls It Quits

The report from earlier in the week was correct - OnePlus has officially called it quits in the US, Canada, and beyond. Through community posts on their awkwardly launched US-specific forum and...

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Jul 16 • 11:10 AM EDT • Technology • droid-life.com
White House Faces Stiff Pushback on Subjecting Grants to Political Review

Academics, city leaders and congressional lawmakers number among the thousands to urge the Trump administration to reconsider a plan to assert more control over grants.

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Jul 16 • 11:01 AM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com
Larry Rhoden: Rancher, welder and three-decade politician makes his case to earn SD's trust

South Dakota's governor reflects on his ranching roots and three decades in politics ahead of the Republican runoff.

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Jul 16 • 10:46 AM EDT • Politics • southdakotasearchlight.com
Maker of Drone Boats Used in Iran War to Open New Texas Shipyard

Saronic Technologies will make naval and commercial vessels at the facility. The company’s naval drone helped rescue the crew of a downed Apache helicopter last month.

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Jul 16 • 10:45 AM EDT • Business • nytimes.com
Trump is expected to make election conspiracies a focus of his national address

President Donald Trump is set to address the nation on Thursday night on topics he said will include elections and voting machines, suggesting he is likely to revisit some of the unproven claims he has previously made about Republican losses, particularly his own in 2020.

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Jul 16 • 10:44 AM EDT • Politics • pbs.org
Trump expected to make election conspiracies a focus of his national address

The president has long insisted he won the 2020 election, even though the very people he appointed to oversee it said the count was accurate

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Jul 16 • 10:42 AM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com
Trump expected to make election conspiracies a focus of his national address

Trump's comments suggest he's likely in Thursday's speech to revisit some of the unproven claims he's previously made about Republican losses

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Jul 16 • 9:36 AM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com
Amid political division, Alaska lawmakers close in on final compromise gasline bill

Legislative leaders say they will introduce a final compromise tax bill for the proposed AKLNG gasline on Thursday, which is then scheduled to be taken up for a vote by the full House and Senate.

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Jul 16 • 9:15 AM EDT • Politics • alaskabeacon.com
Youth sports have turned into a five-figure-a-year commitment for many parents

But they’re willing to make sacrifices — and deals — to keep their kids playing

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Jul 16 • 8:00 AM EDT • Sports • marketplace.org
SLO County coffee trailer wants to make eco-friendly easy. Inside Tiny Café

The mobile coffee shop is the first cafe in SLO County to be green-business certified.

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Jul 16 • 8:00 AM EDT • Business • sanluisobispo.com
Why standard time is better for your health than daylight saving time

Proposed legislation would make daylight saving time permanent. But standard time is actually better for your body, according to science.

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Jul 16 • 7:50 AM EDT • Health • washingtonpost.com
Merck’s cholesterol pill gets US FDA approval

Merck said on Thursday the U.S. FDA has approved its cholesterol pill, the first of its kind to receive the health regulator’s ​nod, bolstering the drugmaker’s efforts to diversify beyond its blockbuster ‌cancer treatment Keytruda.

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Jul 16 • 7:38 AM EDT • Health • cnn.com
A $399 Smart Ring Aims to Replace the 150-Year-Old Blood Pressure Cuff

A three-year-old startup says it has produced a smart ring that can track blood pressure as accurately as a traditional arm cuff and that — eventually — it could be able to make medical diagnoses. If the company, called Vital Signals, can successfully deliver on the promise, it would represent a significant breakthrough in consumer wearables.

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Jul 16 • 7:00 AM EDT • Technology • bloomberg.com
Yankees news: Bombers close to securing $3B financing deal

Yanks close to securing $3 billion financing deal, new draftees make Yankees’ top 10 list, Chapman finally moves on

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Jul 16 • 5:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Physician lawmakers introduce bipartisan fix for radiologist Medicare pay woes

Members of the Democratic and GOP Doctors Caucuses are proposing the Patients First Act, bolstering incentives to save independent practices and “reversing decades of consolidation.”

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Jul 16 • 4:13 AM EDT • Business • radiologybusiness.com
Ukraine's parliament to elect new government amid outcry over defence chief

Ukrainian lawmakers will vote on a new ​wartime government on Thursday amid popular protests over the dismissal of reformist Defence Minister Mykhailo ‌Fedorov at a critical point in Kyiv's conflict with Moscow.

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Jul 16 • 4:03 AM EDT • Politics • reuters.com
‘Social media bans are likely to make things worse’: psychologist Candice Odgers on kids, tech and mental health

She has studied adolescent mental health for 25 years and fears the debate obscures some of the biggest issues facing teenagers – from the impact of Covid to the health of their adult caregivers

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Jul 16 • 12:00 AM EDT • Health • theguardian.com
$321 million science initiative aims to make Appalachia America's next energy innovation hub

The U.S. National Science Foundation has announced that the Resilient Energy Technology and Infrastructure (RETI) Consortium is one of only 12 recipients

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Jul 15 • 11:43 PM EDT • Science • wvexplorer.com
ECU Health hospitals now out of network with UnitedHealthcare

Multiple patients said they either switched insurance providers to keep their doctors at ECU Health or, unable to make that change, must now travel to other areas for treatment.

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Jul 15 • 8:31 PM EDT • Health • witn.com
ZeniMax Online Studios leadership to exit as part of Xbox cuts

There are major changes happening atop Maryland-based ZeniMax Online Studios, developer of the Elder Scrolls Online, Game File has learned. Joe Burba, a 14-year veteran of the studio who was appointed to run it last July, is departing, along with ESO executive producer Susan Kath, studio game director Rich Lambert and production director Ala Diaz. Their roles were listed among hundreds of others cut last week from the Maryland offices of ZeniMax, in a WARN letter sent to the state by ZeniMax and obtained today by Game File. Tonight, BUrbam Kath, Lambert and Diaz notified Zenimax Online Studios workers of plans to “transition” to a new leadership team consisting of promoted ZOS veterans. That transition will occur “over the next few months,” they told workers, according to a copy of the notice reviewed by Game File. “We will remain in place during the transition period to help ensure a smooth handoff.” Last week, Microsoft laid off of 1,600 workers across its vast gaming teams in locations around the U.S. and abroad. Just who has been impacted and how hard various studios have been hit has been emerging day by day. Game File reported last week that Microsoft/ZeniMax notified officials in Maryland that 379 gaming jobs were being cut across the state. They tallied cuts in two locations: one for ZeniMax Media Inc. (covering Elder Scrolls/Starfield/Fallout-maker Bethesda Game Studios and central Bethesda game publishing) and one for ZeniMax Online Studios (Elder Scrolls Online). More than 200 jobs were cut at the latter. Last week’s totals did not reveal job titles, nor did Microsoft announce any leadership changes in the ZeniMax group. That has now happened. Earlier today, Game File obtained from Maryland officials a breakdown of the 379 impacted roles, which, extraordinarily, included “studio head.” Microsoft later confirmed to Game File which studio head that referred to: ZeniMax Online Studios’. Microsoft has since has notified studio employees and internally announced new leadership. ZOS will now be run by Josh Henderson, previously head of business operations at the studio, and Nick Giacomini, who was promoted to game director for ESO last August. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my journalism, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Last week’s news of 200+ cuts at ZeniMax Online Studios generated public sympathy for those workers and questions about the long-term viability of the Elder Scrolls Online. ESO is a massively multiplayer online game that inherently persists on the strength of new content being developed for it. Earlier today, fans and workers in Maryland protested the cuts at the ZeniMax teams in a rally organized by the Communication Workers of America, the union that represents many of the impacted employees. Regarding concerns around the game, a community manager stated on Saturday: “The plan is still to deliver great content, and we will hopefully have an update soon.” In their note to the studio today, the outgoing leaders of ZeniMax Online Studios predicted “growth” for the game: We have tremendous confidence in Josh and Nick, the future of this studio, and the continued growth of ESO. With exciting experiences still ahead for our players as we wrap up work for Update 51 and beyond, we believe that your passion, creativity, and commitment to each other and the community will continue serving as the heartbeat of ESO. The list of jobs cut in the ZeniMax WARN notice in Maryland includes several very senior roles, including: Studio Head Studio Operations Director Studio Game Director Studio Audio Director Studio Art Manager Vice President and Controller VP, Global Sales & Business Development While some of those job descriptions match the exiting ZOS leadership team, Game File couldn’t verify if all were from that studio. The full list of cut roles shared by Maryland officials also covers workers at Bethesda Game Studios and its central publishing office. The following is an excerpt: The list of 379 eliminated ZeniMax jobs in Maryland also includes: four animators three bilingual CS (community service) leads for Chinese, Italian, and Japanese a creative director for the Elder Scrolls Online Player Life Cycle two food service workers seven producers more than 60 senior QA testers. and many others The WARN notice states that almost all of the 379 workers were notified of their layoff on July 6. In fine print, it states: “Approximately 9 employees were notified of the elimination of their position prior to July 6, 2026.” A 2021 mega-merger scaled back Microsoft announced in 2020 that it intended to buy ZeniMax and its network of game studios in 2020, and closed the $7.5 billion deal in March 2021. The purchase, which preceded Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, added several award-winning studios to Microsoft’s portfolio, including Bethesda (Elder Scrolls, Fallout), Arkane (Dishonored), and id Software (Doom). The studios’ output since then included a 2024 Game of the Year contented from MachineGames in the form of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle along with Starfield from Bethesda and the poorly-received Redfall from Arkane Austin. In recent years, a Microsoft repeatedly in cutback mode closed ZeniMax’s Tango Gameworks (which was reconstituted by Krafton) and closed Arkane Austin. The Xbox cuts last week have hit the ZeniMax group hard, with 158 jobs eliminated in Texas, many of them at id, and 379 from the ZeniMax teams in Maryland. Xbox also said last week that it would be entering a consultation process around Arkane Lyon, a process expected to end in a sale, shutdown or other form of divestment. The Lyon team has been working on a game tied to Marvel’s Blade vampire-hunting super-hero.

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Jul 15 • 7:42 PM EDT • Technology • gamefile.news
The ’Gay’ Attacks on Lindsey Graham Are All About Politics

Was Lindsey Graham gay? As the author of a book about the history of gay Washington, D.C., it’s a question I’ve been asked frequently for years, and even more so since his sudden death last weekend. The South Carolina Republican’s lifelong confirmed bachelorhood, vocal intonation, and Southern dandy demeanor (if not sartorial choices) prompted many to conclude that he was, as they say in that part of the country, “light in his loafers.” Graham’s repeated attestations to the contrary had zero effect on those invested in the narrative that he was. Only about the matter of J. Edgar Hoover’s rumored cross-dressing (for which there is much circumstantial but no direct evidence) am I questioned more. Whenever I’ve been asked to speculate upon Graham’s sexuality—and speculate was all that I or anyone else could do—I always answered the question honestly. While my personal sense is that Graham was probably gay, as a journalist and a historian I cannot rely on my intuition to make factual assertions. (Gaydar hasn’t yet been scientifically perfected.) Given the absence of any known female or male romantic interests, Graham may very well have been a heterosexual unlucky in love. He might also have been asexual. Barring the highly unlikely postmortem emergence of a personal diary or some other unassailable evidence attesting to Graham’s innermost yearnings, we will never know the answer. As is depressingly the case these days when a public figure dies, a chorus of voices reveled in Graham’s passing, many of them making light of his presumed homosexuality.

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Jul 15 • 7:30 PM EDT • Politics • thefp.com
Former Marine running for Congress says Trump is the Antichrist and 'must be killed' in shocking video

William Upham, a Florida 5th District write-in candidate, posted a video on social media calling President Trump "the Antichrist" and saying he "must be killed."

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Jul 15 • 6:53 PM EDT • Politics • foxnews.com
The States Try to Topple WarnerMount…Thus Begins the Local Antitrust Era

(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) Well, it looks like it’s time for another strategy column. Can I finally avoid writing about M&A? No, it seems I cannot. Admittedly, I’m a week early with this column, since I usually put it out every other week. But this news couldn’t wait. This will make three “Most Important Stories” in a row with a merger or acquisition as its centerpiece. First, Roku-Fox (an acquisition), then Comcast-NBCUniversal (a divestment!), and now the State AGs and the WGA’s lawsuits against Paramount’s pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery (antitrust). M&A is usually the “most important” topic any given week, simply because a giant company merging or breaking up (or preventing those outcomes) can have the biggest impact on the streaming board. If you think about these companies as players in a game, changing the number of players is one of the biggest changes you can make. I shouldn’t really complain, either, since this lawsuit is very good news for customers and suppliers (econ speak for talent, workers and indie studios in Hollywood). So let me answer some questions about this potential trial, along with (shudder) making some heavily caveated predictions. I’ll also look at whether Hollywood must consolidate, whether or not the states can win, trouble at X-Box, Netflix’s YouTube binge, and more. Plus, I have five images that visualize this merger and the harm, including three brand new data looks you’ve never seen before. Subscribe Most Important Story of the Week - Can The States and the WGA Stop Hollywood’s Consolidation (Crisis)? If every other newsletter and news outlet is writing about the same story, I try to avoid writing about it as well, but I can’t ignore a story this consequential. The story of the last year was the fate of Warner Bros. Discovery, and this development potentially extends that saga into 2027. As I tried to figure out my angle, I realized, like my last column, I’m again faced with a series of questions. These questions, though, are much more forward-looking. Will the states win? Will the WGA win? If so, what happens to Warner Bros. Discovery? Either way, will this chill the market for future mergers? So you know what that means: predictions. About the future, no less, the hardest thing to predict.1 Just remember: nothing here comes with a guarantee. And the more confident someone is in their predictions, the less you should trust them. This situation is incredibly fluid, nuanced, uncertain and tenuous. So let’s try to explain what may happen. Question: Why File this Lawsuit? I’ll admit, a few months back, I was fairly pessimistic about the fate of this lawsuit. Rumors had started bubbling up that the state Attorneys General (in particular California) wanted to settle with either some minor divestments (usually CNN) or behavioral remedies. And that tracked for me: the states usually settle lawsuits, like the recent John Deere right-to-repair suit. Yet, they plan to fight this. (As they did the LiveNation-Ticketmaster monopolization trial and the Nexstar-Tegna merger.) Honestly, that also makes a ton of sense. Frankly, this move is just good politics for these State AGs. Most are still running for higher and higher office in blue states—some folks have emphasized that only Democratic AGs joined this suit, but given the Ellison/Trump ties, and fears of retribution, that tracks—and a high profile case like this will help them move up the electoral ladder, especially since Paramount and its leadership (the Ellisons, father and heir) have sided with the other side of the political aisle. That makes them unsympathetic to Democratic voters and Hollywood workers in particular. Why did this lawsuit happen? In addition to the very real concerns about industry consolidation, this is why. That said, I don’t think we would have seen this lawsuit for Netflix and Warner Bros., simply because they’re more sympathetic and aligned with Democrats. But those consolidation concerns are real. The “town”—meaning Hollywood and such—really is seeing the damage of mergers on this industry. That’s why the WGA also filed its own lawsuit in defense of workers as well. (Wildcard: What about Europe? Will they try to stop the deal, too? There have been some rumors out of the UK they may try to fight the deal, and UK enforcers just stopped a Getty Images-Shutterstock tie up, so there is precedence. This argument could go either way, though. On one hand, the EU doesn’t need to step in, cause they states are handling it. On the other hand, this could make the EU’s case easier. Just imagine if both sides coordinated. I’ll simply say, “We’ll see!”) Question: Will The State AGs or the WGA Win? Can the state AGs play David to Paramount-Skydance’s Goliath here? That’s really the whole thing, isn’t it? If you know this result, you could make a lot of money. When things are uncertain, it’s tempting to shrug and say, “Eh” meaning it’s a 50/50 proposition. I wouldn’t, though. When in doubt, you should expect that the merging parties succeed. AT&T did successfully buy Warner Bros., after all, and Disney bought Fox without any challenges. Many judges are extremely sympathetic to mergers, and I’d bet the state AGs get a judge who will allow the merger. (Even Obama-appointed judges often allow mergers.) As I understand it, we’ll see two main attacks. First, theatrical films. The AGs are arguing that, when it comes to share of box office and the number of both “wide releases” and blockbuster (or “tentpole”) films, the merging parties will have over 27% market share. Now, the Supreme Court once ruled from on high that any merger that exceeds 30% is presumptively illegal, but that’s guidance, not an ironclad bar. Still, the states will have to argue that this is close to having too much power, and with that power, this will likely further worsen the theater/studio splits in particular. Indeed, as Matthew Stoller pointed out, “just five studios are responsible for 95% of all blockbusters; if this merger goes through, then Paramount and Disney will control 60% of that.” So yes, movie studios will be very concentrated after this merger. Want me to visualize some of that? Well, here’s the share of films that grossed over $200 million at the domestic box office since 2022. (Note: this isn’t all films released in over 3,000 screens, but it is a good look at market power.) First, here are the 43 films by studio: Notice all the blue (Disney), orange (Universal), and purple (Warner Bros)? Yeah, those studios are powerful, and this combines Paramount with one of them. Here’s the look by studio and share of the films that grossed over $200 million: Now, if you look at that and also think, “Huh, should we break up Disney?” I’m with you. I’ve seen some folks poo-poo this idea that this is a real category, but it is! For an upcoming article, I’ve been pulling data on the share of top 100 films at the box office as a share of total box office, and it’s massive. Here’s the chart: (This analysis looks at The-Number’s top 100 films and total domestic box office each year.) To be clear, tentpoles make up 80.7% of the box office each year, so I do think it’s a genuine market. (To be clear, films grossing over $50 million make up 80% of the domestic box office, and films grossing over $100 million make up 64.1%.) I mean, the top 100 films at the box office make up 95% of each year’s grosses. Worse, the combined studios will likely cut output to flex that market power. Everyone can just look at what happened to Disney and Fox to see the precedent. (With fewer films, the remaining theaters have to give more for those few films that remain.) Here’s an image I’ve used a lot, the share of wide-release films from Disney and Fox over time: The AGs will also argue that this consolidation will also impact the cable industry. In this case, the consolidation is actually worse, but that environment is…complicated. Paramount will argue that the cable industry is shrinking. That said, predictions that cable will “go to zero” also don’t look very well supported by the data, as the declines are shrinking, meaning “cable” or “vMVPDs” will likely stabilize at some point. Can the state Attorneys General win on those two main arguments? I honestly don’t know. Again, I’d bet no, since history in general supports that, but it depends on the judge/jury and how they interpret the arguments. Notably, Paramount won’t face accusations about monopoly power in other areas, like streaming, news, sports rights, or vertical integration. I tend to disagree with leaving out sports rights, but I also see the appeal for a simpler case. The states also aren’t really pushing novel theories about labor harm either, which should help. (By the way, Sean McNulty at The Ankler wrote a great run through of potential options, and Capitol Forum also wrote a great paper on theatrical consolidation. Both these pieces predated the lawsuit. Matthew Stoller is also out with his analysis of the pros and cons of the case too.) In some ways, the WGA’s case is even stronger. Quoting Sean McNulty’s summary: “The WGA is citing WARNAMOUNT as crossing a 30% market share in multiple sectors, a number that the Supreme Court has precedent for deeming “presumptively anticompetitive” in a market. According to the WGA numbers, WARNAMOUNT would have represented: - 35% of film writing jobs between 2021 and 2024 - 36% of TV writing projects between 2022 and 2025 - 38% of overall deals between 2021 and 2024” Notably, antitrust enforcers did win recently in the Penguin-Simon & Schuster merger by focusing on labor impact, so don’t count this thinking out. (Wildcard: Will the states try to get a jury trial? Most likely no, they’ll let a judge handle it. If I’m them, though, I’d try to put this in front of a jury. Juries tend to understand monopoly power in a more realistic way than judges faced with legions of economists.) Question: What if They Win? What if They Lose?

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Jul 15 • 4:48 PM EDT • Entertainment • entertainment.substack.com
Deep dive
😐 Neutral (20%)
wow
39%
ahah
38%
love
23%
For years NC lawmakers got undisclosed free Charlotte speedway passes. That's about to change
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Jul 15 • 4:23 PM EDT • Politics • newsobserver.com
Blanche confronts questioning of deal for Trump at confirmation hearing

Blanche insisted the $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" was "not moving forward." But lawmakers raised concerns the Trump administration has yet to commit in writing that the fund is dead.

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Jul 15 • 4:21 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com
Former Steelers WR takes shot at Matt Canada

Calvin Austin makes his feelings about Matt Canada loud and clear.

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Jul 15 • 3:31 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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☹️ Negative (-5%)
wow
62%
love
38%
City Council settles November ballot: ShotSpotter in, ICE and pension questions out

A City Council standoff over advisory referendum questions means Chicagoans will vote on reviving gunshot detection technology and creating a permanent festival venue, while proposals on immigration costs, pensions and other issues won't make the November ballot.

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Jul 15 • 3:28 PM EDT • Politics • chicagobusiness.com
😐 Neutral (11%)
wow
100%
Eli Lilly is reinventing the pharma business

The world’s largest drugmaker is betting big on preventive medicines—and learning from big tech

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Jul 15 • 2:52 PM EDT • Business • economist.com
Business leaders call for stronger partnerships to accelerate sustainable development at 2026 SDG Business Forum

/PRNewswire/ -- Business leaders, policymakers, United Nations officials and representatives from civil society came together yesterday at the 2026 SDG...

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Jul 15 • 2:19 PM EDT • Business • prnewswire.com
Joey, Jesse Buss pursuing NBA Europe ownership: Sources

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday that NBA Europe is expected to make decisions regarding bids in the upcoming weeks.

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Jul 15 • 2:16 PM EDT • Sports • nytimes.com
WATCH: House lawmakers speak ahead of Kathy Ruemmler interview in Epstein probe

Kathryn Ruemmler, the former top lawyer at Goldman Sachs who was White House counsel to President Barack Obama, said Wednesday in testimony to Congress that it “was a mistake to deal with” Jeffrey Epstein but insisted she never witnessed criminal activities.

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Jul 15 • 2:01 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org
New Jersey Couple Aids Meteorite Discovery After it Crashes Through Their Roof

A New Jersey couple helped scientists uncover the makeup of an unusual asteroid after it fell into their bedroom.

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Jul 15 • 2:00 PM EDT • Science • nytimes.com
The House voted to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. Here’s what’s next

The US House on Tuesday voted in strong bipartisan fashion to enact year-round Daylight Saving Time across the country. But the measure’s fate in the Senate remains far from certain.

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Jul 15 • 1:57 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
Phone maker OnePlus says it won't release new phones in the U.S. and Europe

OnePlus could also wind down its operations in India by 2027.

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Jul 15 • 1:53 PM EDT • Technology • techcrunch.com
Phone maker OnePlus reportedly plans to wind down US and Europe operations

OnePlus could also wind down its operations in India by 2027

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Jul 15 • 1:53 PM EDT • Technology • techcrunch.com
Senators Question Trump’s CDC Nominee Dr. Erica Schwartz on Vaccines

Dr. Erica Schwartz said she would uphold science amid lawmaker questions over vaccine policy and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

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Jul 15 • 12:53 PM EDT • Politics • wsj.com
'The Odyssey' review: Christopher Nolan's new movie is an unexpected spiritual sequel to 'Oppenheimer'

Christopher Nolan makes Homer's material his own — and becomes an Oscar frontrunner in the process.

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Jul 15 • 12:00 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com
Is ‘The Odyssey’ Christopher Nolan’s best movie?

Is it possible that Christopher Nolan is only just now hitting his peak as a filmmaker with ‘The Odyssey’?

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Jul 15 • 12:00 PM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com