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Is Trump Demolishing the Kennedy Center? Breaking Down the Legal Fight Over Funding and Naming
President Donald Trump and his allies on the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts are engaged in an escalating legal battle over the future of the institution, with the building itself now closed to the public and surrounded by fencing. After a federal judge this week ruled ...
Commerzbank Quips UniCredit ‘Doesn’t Know’ Its Business Model
Commerzbank AG reacted with sarcasm to a recent advertisement campaign by UniCredit SpA against the German lender, highlighting the escalating rhetoric in a takeover campaign that’s already lasted for more than 19 months.
DOJ demands Detroit-area 2024 ballots, escalating election scrutiny
DOJ official Harmeet K. Dhillon wrote that she is seeking ballots to investigate election law compliance. Democratic state officials call the request baseless.
Trump directs federal government to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America
President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday directing the federal government to rename Lake Ontario amid an escalating trade dispute with Canada .
Paramount's California future in doubt amid escalating legal fight
Paramount declined to comment on reports it may leave California, prompting responses from state officials as the company battles a lawsuit over its Warner Bros. Discovery deal.
Trump swings back toward diplomacy in escalating war with Iran
After threatening a “massive attack,” the president said his envoys were talking with Tehran but left open the possibility of a sharp military escalation.
Many of Trump’s remaining options in Iran risk heavy casualties with dubious chances of success
President Donald Trump is weighing several options for dramatically escalating the war against Iran should his latest push for diplomacy fail.
Canada announces retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion worth of US goods, unveils support measures
Canada on Tuesday announced retaliatory tariffs on C$27.6 billion ($19.94 billion) worth of United States goods, matching dollar-for-dollar new duties imposed by Washington, and unveiled financial support for Canadian businesses and workers caught in the escalating trade war.
Trump and Netanyahu May Be On the Rocks Over Iran, Lebanon
The president reportedly swore at the Israeli prime minister over his country’s escalating attacks in Lebanon.
Micron's Taoyuan union in Taiwan secures authorisation to strike
A Taiwanese union representing workers at Micron Technology said on Wednesday it had secured authorisation from its members to strike work over a dispute concerning the company's bonus scheme, escalating a labour conflict at the chipmaker's largest manufacturing hub.
PAHO Director urges global action to combat rising dengue and other arboviral threats at One Health Forum in Lyon
Lyon, France, 8 April 2026 (PAHO) – The escalating surge of dengue and other arboviral diseases is a direct indicator of how environmental changes are reshaping global public health, underscored the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, during his remarks at the One Health Summit in Lyon, France.
Amodei, Altman call for slowing AI model development
Leaders of the world’s biggest artificial intelligence platforms said it’s time to slow the development pace of their most advanced — and most lucrative — models, citing escalating risks of
Man, Blood Dungeon Rips
Blood Dungeon is an escalating panic attack full of troubling creatures and atypical Drum and Bass that's a blast to play.
Wall Street ends down as oil prices, Treasury yields rise
Wall Street ended lower as oil prices surged nearly 4% and treasury yields hit multi-year highs amid escalating tensions with Iran and rising interest rate expectations.
Trump signs order on mail ballots, escalating election overhaul push
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday aimed at tightening mail-in voting rules nationwide that would direct his administration to create a list of confirmed U.S. citizens eligible to vote in each state.
Gov. Tina Kotek says she now supports a data center moratorium
The Oregon governor is escalating her stance on the facilities as they emerge as a political hot potato.
The Latest: Trump demands 20% toll for passage through strait
President Donald Trump said Iranian ships will no longer be able to travel through the Strait of Hormuz and America would charge a 20% toll on other countries’ eligible cargo, escalating tensions after weekend of attacks by both nations to assert control of the critical waterway
Trump predicts oil prices will drop ‘tremendously’ despite recent surge
President Donald Trump sits down with FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo to discuss escalating Middle East tensions, his warning to Iran on nuclear weapons and why he believes gas prices will drop ahead of the midterms.
Is Trump planning to rig the US midterm elections?
President is escalating his attempts to influence the November elections, but ‘comforting reality’ is that election security rests with the states
With bombing campaign unlikely to change Iran’s posture according to US intel, Trump faces limited options
Two weeks into a renewed bombing campaign against Iran, with US forces taking casualties and allies wary of the conflict escalating further, President Donald Trump insists that Iran is “desperate” to find an end to wave after wave of US attacks.
Trump admin revokes visa of Brazilian ambassador to US
The Trump administration has revoked the visa of Brazil’s ambassador to the US, escalating a rift between Washington and Brasilia.
Trump says U.S. might ‘smack’ Iran but that fighting is likely to remain limited
The president downplays the possibility of escalating military action against Tehran, despite recent tit-for-tat attacks.
Trump tells Maria ‘deal will be signed tonight’ as tensions explode in Strait of Hormuz
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., joins ‘Mornings with Maria’ to debate the escalating U.S.-Iran conflict, clash over oil exports and gas prices, and challenge President Donald Trump’s strategy as tensions surge in the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil rises after Houthi attack on Saudi capital
Oil prices rose on Monday after Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis launched missile and drone strikes at Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh on Saturday, escalating tension in the Middle East while the US and Iran remained in stalemate.
The Dynamics of Escalating Tensions on the Washington-Tehran Axis
The impasse between Washington and Tehran is about the asymmetry between U.S.'s coercive approach to diplomacy and Iran's survival priorities.
Australia steps up response to AI after OpenAI bot breaches health system database
Even before a rogue OpenAI bot breached the database of Australia's health system, the government was escalating its rhetoric about the need to tighten regulation.
What to know about Canada's escalating trade war with the U.S.
Canada struck back at U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday with tariffs on about $20 billion worth of U.S. goods. The outcome could resonate far beyond Canada.
Kelly Clarkson fires back at Brooklyn novelty shop, escalating feud over animatronic bird
Kelly Clarkson isn’t holding back in her feud with the Brooklyn curio Art of Play, calling the novelty retailer ‘rude’ and ‘a liar’ for their response to her allegation she was mistreated by a sales associate.
'Show me how this ends.' Thune responds to Trump’s escalated calls to pass SAVE America Act
Senate Majority Leader John Thune responded to President Donald Trump's escalating calls Monday to cancel the August recess until the Senate passes a proof-of-citizenship voting bill by again challenging the president.
WHO’s head of emergencies reaffirms support to Lebanon’s health system amid escalating needs
Lebanon’s health system continues to function despite the mounting pressures of conflict, displacement and repeated attacks on health care – but without urgent action and sustained international support, access to essential health services is increasingly at risk.
Pentagon bars journalists from its press office, saying it is ‘classified space’
The move takes place amid escalating tensions between the U.S. media and the second Trump administration
Ossoff calls Trump a ‘draft-dodging, crook president,’ intensifying his feud with White House
Sen. Jon Ossoff stood next to Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly on Tuesday and delivered the kind of anti-Trump broadside that has become a campaign signature, marking the latest round in an escalating feud with the White House.
US embassies urge citizens to 'consider departing' Middle East
Iran's military, meanwhile, has accused Washington of 'escalating tensions' in the region
Insurance Coverage Considerations for Sports and Entertainment Events Amid Uncertain Middle East Volatility
Recent geopolitical developments, including escalating US military activity involving Iran, are disrupting the global sports and entertainment landscape. Event cancellations, postponements, and relocations across the Middle East underscore the operational and financial exposure faced by organizers, rights holders, and related stakeholders.
Wall St futures rise after tech rout; Mideast, tariffs in focus
U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Friday after a tech-led selloff in the previous session, as investors weighed fresh earnings, escalating Middle East tensions and a new tariff announcement from the Trump administration.
Mamdani takes aim at Amazon subcontracting model in multimillion-dollar delivery bill fight
Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly threw his support Monday behind legislation that aims to reshape New York City’s last-mile delivery industry, escalating a fight
Trump’s escalating attacks on Iran pose risks at home
In today’s issue: ▪ Platner drops Senate candidacy ▪ Trump’s promises at NATO summit ▪ Kentucky governor requests McConnell update ▪ ObamaCare hikes give fuel to Democrats The latest rounds o…
Amodei, Altman, Musk call for slowing AI model development
Leaders of the world’s biggest artificial intelligence platforms said it’s time to slow the development pace of their most advanced — and most lucrative — models, citing escalating risks of the technology.
In this era of political violence, candidate security costs are higher, new report says
Security spending for congressional and presidential campaigns has jumped fivefold over the past decade as an increasingly hostile political environment has led to escalating threats against public officials, ranging from doxing to assassination plots, according to a report released Thursday.
Folarin Balogun and USMNT Transfer Updates
Hosts Tamerra Griffin and James McNicholas break down a massive six-match World Cup slate as group stages reach their climax. Soccer insider David Ornstein joins the show to discuss the escalating transfer market buzz surrounding USMNT star Folarin Balogun and Tottenham’s Lucas Bergvall. Plus, the team highlights The Athletic’s interactive World Cup Tracker with Jay Harris to map out the complicated qualification pathways for Group A, B, and C. Can the USMNT line up a favorable Round of 32 matchup? Senior Editor Hannah Vanbiber also dives into the debate surrounding Jeremy Doku’s...
Increases in healthcare spending the largest driver behind premium growth: Yale study
As insurance premiums continue to rise, a new study finds that escalating healthcare spending is the leading factor behind the trend. | As insurance premiums continue to rise, a new study finds that escalating healthcare spending is the leading factor behind the trend.
Advertisers demand billions of dollars from Google in escalating monopoly battle
Alphabet Inc.’s Google is facing billions of dollars in potential damage claims as part of mass arbitration tied to the company’s online search and advertising technology businesses, which courts have ruled were illegal monopolies.
Marathon has sold 1.2M copies across Steam, PS5, and Xbox
Alinea Analytics estimates show that Marathon has generated gross revenues of $55M via 1.2M copies sold on Steam, PS5, and Xbox: Looking at the split between Steam, PS5, and Xbox, Steam is clearly the main platform for Marathon, accounting for a little under 70% of the audience (800K copies sold). Meanwhile, PS5 takes about 19% (217K) and Xbox (including console, PC, and cloud) accounts for a bit over 11% or 133K. Marathon is technically a first-party Sony title, so seeing the home console struggle to break 20% of the volume is a notable data point for the ongoing platform-agnostic debate. PlayStation Studios online games will almost certainly continue being multiplatform (despite Sony reportedly pulling back on PC releases). Subscribe for free to get the most accurate games estimates in your inbox twice a week 🫶 Subscribe As for Marathon, the consensus among hardcore players who pushed through the awkward onboarding phase – myself included – is that it’s fantastic. The gunplay, aesthetic, and presentation are among the best in the shooter genre. A great game doesn’t always equal an immediate hit, though, as shown by our estimates. Things are looking lukewarm right now. But this might be one of those marathon-not-a-sprint situations. Had to, didn’t I? Why wasn’t Marathon a hit on the same level as Arc Raiders? One topic that came up in a lot of conversations at GDC this year was why Marathon hasn’t hit the same stratosphere as Arc Raiders. On paper, they’re both extraction shooters, and Marathon has the Bungie pedigree – the house that built the gold standard for gunplay in Halo and Destiny. Marathon’s neon-futuristic aesthetic also distinguishes itself from the gritty realism of Tarkov or the post-apocalyptic hope of ARC Raiders. But vibes can only get you so far for first impressions if the onboarding feels like a brick wall. Marathon is a sweaty PvP-focused experience with a first-time user experience and UI that I can only describe as dreadful. Players are dropped into a complex ecosystem where the UI, though visually striking, is functionally uninformative, forcing users to manually hover over nondescript, identical icons just to identify basic gear or weapon mods. This lack of clarity is compounded by punishing mechanics like a severe heat gauge for movement and a scarcity of vital resources, all without a clear tutorial or a low-stakes mode to learn the ropes. Most people – even top streamers and veteran shooter players – have no idea what’s going on in Marathon at first. Arc is on the complete other end of the spectrum. As we covered here and here, Arc Raiders offers a more collaborative, approachable loop where players often work together toward shared goals. And the objectives are instantly clear. To many players, this contrast only emphasised Marathon’s issues, especially during the testing period. Players understand the Arc Raiders loop within 30 minutes, while Marathon acts as a massive filter, chewing up newcomers and spitting them out before they can experience the depth of Bungie’s signature gunplay. What I’m getting at here is that the poor first-time user experience of Marathon’s Server Slam likely stifled launch sales, while the opposite was true for Arc. Let’s look at the pre-launch copies sold for each game during their respective Server Slams (launch-aligned) : Looking at the trajectory: Arc Raiders saw a massive 80% jump in copies sold during its three-day Server Slam (day -13 to -11). Players jumped in, realised the water was fine, and immediately opened their wallets. Marathon, meanwhile, saw a 49% increase in the four days following its Slam (Day -7 to -3). At the time of each game’s respective launch, Arc Raiders had nearly double the Steam footprint of Marathon – and word of mouth only continued to grow. Bungie could have had more time to fix the onboarding process had the beta happened earlier. But Marathon launched three days after the beta finished. These factors limited the launch sales quite a bit, I reckon. Marathon has found a niche audience, though Despite the friction-heavy start, the data suggests that those who survived Marathon’s onboarding are loving life. We’ve been tracking cross-platform DAUs, and while there’s the expected post-launch leakage, many players are sticking with it. After peaking at 478K total DAUs on its first Saturday, Marathon has settled into a respectable rhythm, holding 345K DAUs as of yesterday and averaging 380K DAUs across the weekend. Steam continues to do the heavy lifting here, consistently accounting for the lion’s share of the daily players. Players have been putting in the hours, too: On Steam, Marathon’s average playtime has climbed to 27.8 hours, significantly outpacing the console averages on PS5 (16.5h) and Xbox (17.3h). Even more telling than the averages: 22% of the Steam audience has surged past the 50-hour mark, and nearly 7% have already logged over 100 hours. Subscribe for free to get the most accurate games estimates in your inbox twice a week 🫶 Subscribe This data suggests that once the Bungie magic clicks, it hooks players deeper than the average extraction shooter. There’s also started to be a shift in the game’s discourse. Marathon launched as one of those games that’s cool to hate. But as Marathon’s 100-hour club grows, we’re seeing conversations around its mechanical merit outweigh the negativity. Several high-profile creators, who were initially vocal critics, have spent the last week coming around on the mechanical depth of the endgame. It’s a subtle but positive signal; the hate train is losing steam, and a new narrative about the game is emerging. Bungie faithfuls unite Another interesting metric in Marathon’s first few weeks is who, exactly, is playing. Bungie leans heavily on its prestige as the “makers of Halo and Destiny,” in its marketing, and that message has clearly hit the mark. On Steam, the gravity (hammer) of Bungie’s previous work is unavoidable. A staggering 78.2% of Marathon players also played Destiny 2. The trend carries across other platforms, with 74.2% of PS5 players and 82.7% of Xbox players also having played Destiny 2. The Halo legacy lives on, it seems. More on that in a bit. While Destiny 2 went free to play, these numbers still represent a high-intent migration of a fanbase that trusts Bungie’s specific brand of kinetic gunplay and cryptic world-building. The Xbox data adds another layer of legacy. About 85.7% of Marathon players on Xbox have played Halo Infinite, while over half of the Steam audience has spent time in Halo Infinite and 36.1% in the Master Chief Collection (a paid collection of the old Bungie-made legacy games). Interestingly, we see a 55.9% overlap with ARC Raiders on Steam. Overlap is even higher there on PlayStation (60.5%) and Xbox (66.5%). And there’s also significant crossover with Helldivers 2 on all platforms, too. Subscribe for free to get the most accurate games estimates in your inbox twice a week 🫶 Subscribe Bungie has found some of its fans with Marathon, and the challenge now is keeping this engaged in a high-stakes PvP environment when they’ve spent the last decade primarily enjoying the power fantasies of PvE. On that note… Go the full 26 miles? Or cut and run? Time for some could’ve, should’ve, would’ve. These things would have improved Marathon’s performance at launch: A more robust onboarding process, perhaps in the form of a short single-player/PvE campaign. We know Bungie fans love this stuff. A traditional arena-based mode akin to Destiny’s Crucible could have been a bridge for the cautious players who’d have been otherwise deterred by the Server Slam. It’s also a great palate cleanser after getting merked. Introducing a dedicated PvE environment would have similarly diversified the conversation and lowered the barrier for the Bungie faithful who found the pure PvP extraction loop too abrasive. PvE is safer than PvP these days. There’s an argument that a thin PvE mode would have just felt like a budget Destiny, potentially hurting the brand more. But given how dire the FTUE is, I think it would have been a net positive. Any kind of tutorialised loop that demystifies the stakes, really. While there is merit in a studio sticking firmly to a singular creative vision, and going all in on the hardcore extraction loop. Less forgiving is the technical reality is that the user interface and first-time user experience (FTUE) were not at a commercial standard for launch. Subscribe for free to get the most accurate games estimates in your inbox twice a week 🫶 Subscribe In a landscape where player time is oversaturated and the most contested currency, a flawed FTUE is a critical failure point. But it’s not all doom and gloom, as Marathon has an incredible, unique gameplay loop, suggesting that financial success is still attainable if Bungie can pivot effectively. Bungie and PlayStation now face a difficult strategic crossroads, though – one within a challenging games market. They could: Double down on Marathon with a long-term Rainbow Six Siege- or No Man’s Sky-style recovery plan, which is something I heard Last Stand Media’s Chris Maldonado mention last week. While this could be a sunk-cost fallacy in action, it could eventually yield the audience the game’s mechanical depth deserves. Shift focus toward the inevitable Destiny 3 or another project, mitigating the escalating opportunity cost and cutting their losses, so to speak. Doing both is an expensive proposition, given the high overhead and burn rate of operating out of Bellevue, Washington. With Sony recently demonstrating a lower threshold for underperforming studios and projects, the margin for error has vanished. Whatever happens, the next six months will determine whether Marathon becomes a cornerstone of Sony’s live-service portfolio or a cautionary tale of vision exceeding accessibility. I’m hoping it’s the former, because Marathon rocks. As always, hit subscribe to get updates on Marathon and other relevant games. Subscribe Want to get your hands on our data for yourself – for free? We’re offering a free trial of our platform for games companies. Send us a message here, or reply to this email, and we’ll set you up. The last word Reply to this email – or reach out here – if you have any feedback for the newsletter – or want to request a game for us to cover. [Alinea Analytics boasts the most accurate PC and console estimates in the business. Game makers use our platform to understand their audience, keep an eye on the competition, monitor sales trends, and spot new opportunities. We equip game studios and financial institutions with accurate data and the confidence to make smarter, data-driven decisions. Want to talk about all things games market data? We’d love to chat!]
World Health Organization raises Ebola risk in Congo to ‘very high’
GENEVA >>The head of the World Health Organization warned today that Ebola infections in the Democratic Republic of Congo are escalating rapidly and now pose a “very high” risk to the Central African country.
The Strange New Politics of AI. Plus. . .
It’s Thursday, September 17. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Douglas Murray asks, why do we allow terrorists to die of old age? The American nonprofits backing Hamas. A conversation with Dara Horn and Coleman Hughes. And much more. But first: inside the unlikely coalition warning that AI may kill us all. Last week, an AI researcher named Jacob Coxon made headlines around the world after saying that he had resigned from Anthropic because he believes AI might cause human extinction—and his co-workers do, too. Unlike the rest of us, potentially, the story just won’t die. The Pro-Human Assembly, a conference held Tuesday in Washington, D.C., about the existential dangers of artificial intelligence, couldn’t have come at a better time—or with a more eclectic coalition. The Archbishop of San Francisco was there. So was Steve Bannon, screaming about the Chinese. Bernie Sanders did a quasi-dramatic reading of messages posted to an online forum by rogue AI agents. Ashley Judd paraphrased a graphic Andrea Dworkin quote for reasons that remain a mystery to me still. It was odd. People in the AI industry have talked openly about the possibility of this technology causing human extinction for years, but it hits differently in the wake of the Hugging Face incident. If you don’t know what that is, all the more reason to read my dispatch today. As the doomers see it, the best-case scenario is a future in which humans are basically kept as pets: well cared for, but with zero autonomy. The worst-case scenario, obviously, is the everyone dies thing. What should be done? I heard lots of ideas but no easy answers. There are currently zero federal regulations on AI, which is sort of strange even to think about. After all, we regulate microwaves, and the people running the microwave industry have never once refused to rule out the possibility that their products will end all human life on Earth. What I saw in D.C. left me even more convinced that you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who believes nothing should be done. You know, except for President Trump. — River Page River Page • Tech and Business [ The AI Doomers Have a Plan to Save Us. I Went to Find Out What It Is. ](https://www.thefp.com/p/the-ai-doomers-have-plan-save-bernie-sanders-bannon) Read story How Robert Kraft Made Macklemore a Martyr—and How to Better Fight Antisemitism On Monday, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and a group of other NFL owners banned Macklemore from performing at their stadiums after the rapper delivered a “Free Palestine” speech while opening for Ed Sheeran. Kraft cited the rapper’s “broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery.” Once multiple venues refused to host shows with Macklemore on the lineup, the tour’s promoter officially dropped him. Today, Josh Kaplan says that the move was counterproductive, arguing that though well-intentioned, Kraft’s decision turned an irrelevant footnote into a martyr. “You cannot cancel people into liking you,” Josh writes. Read his column on what a better response to Macklemore would have looked like. Read [ Robert Kraft Made Macklemore a Martyr ](https://www.thefp.com/p/robert-kraft-made-macklemore-martyr-antisemitism-palestine) This raises the question: What actually works against antisemitism? On the latest episode of Conversations with Coleman, recorded in front of a live audience in New York, Dara Horn joins Coleman Hughes to talk about her new book The Final Solution to the Jewish Question. She argues that antisemitism is a script that has repeated itself across countries and ideologies, and that most people don’t understand that well enough to fight it. Don’t miss their conversation. Watch [ The Lie at the Center of Antisemitism, with Dara Horn ](https://www.thefp.com/p/the-lie-at-the-center-of-antisemitism-coleman-hughes-dana-horn) Listen now Douglas Murray • U.S. Politics [ Douglas Murray: The 9/11 Failure That Still Haunts America ](https://www.thefp.com/p/douglas-murray-911-failure-justice-terrorist-guantanamo-bay) Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, the men who planned them have still not faced trial. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and most of the accused have been locked up in Guantanamo Bay since 2002. Judges have retired, and plea deals have collapsed. Today, Douglas Murray examines how this happened and argues that a justice system that allows terrorists to die of old age in an interminable pretrial process is one that has failed. Read his latest column on what that failure says about our unpreparedness for the era we are now living in. Read story The Editors • U.S. Politics [ When Nonprofits Support Terrorists ](https://www.thefp.com/p/when-nonprofits-support-terrorists) A newly declassified CIA brief from 1998 found that Osama bin Laden used nonprofit shell organizations—including U.S.-based Islamic groups—to fund his terror plots. Today, a similar story is unfolding as multiple organizations on American soil present themselves as nonprofits, taking advantage of tax-exempt status while seeking to advance the ideological mission of terrorist groups like Hamas. Read our editorial on the latest evidence of this dangerous trend—and why there’s no excuse for making the same mistake the CIA revealed 28 years ago. Read story Simon Sebag Montefiore and Bari Weiss Live in New York For decades, the Middle East has shaped American foreign policy and loomed large in the public consciousness. Few understand its influence on our politics better than Simon Sebag Montefiore, who argues that America’s quagmires in the Middle East stem from a deep misunderstanding of the region—on both the left and the right. Join him October 1 as he sits down with Bari Weiss live in New York City to kick off his U.S. book tour for The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East. Get Tickets Now MORE FROM THE FREE PRESS [ Sydney Sweeney’s Naked Truth ](https://www.thefp.com/p/sydney-sweeneys-naked-truth-caitlin-flanagan) Caitlin Flanagan Read story [ I Thought Ukraine Was Losing. Then I Was Almost Hit by a Russian Drone. ](https://www.thefp.com/p/elliot-ackerman-ukraine-drone-gas-station-train) Elliot Ackerman Read story [ The Dangerous Ideology Behind the AI Warnings ](https://www.thefp.com/p/dangerous-ideology-effective-altruism-artificial-intelligence) Shyam Sankar Read story [ Amanda Knox: Patrick Clancy Can’t Win ](https://www.thefp.com/p/amanda-knox-patrick-clancy-grief-internet-crime) Amanda Knox Read story THE NEWS The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter point, its first hike since 2023, signaling that another increase could follow as the central bank tries to bring inflation under control. President Donald Trump fired back by demanding that rates be cut sharply, though he stopped short of criticizing Fed Chair Kevin Warsh by name. The Houthis fired drones and missiles at Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, including a major oil port on the Red Sea, and Saudi jets struck back with air strikes across Yemen in an escalating front of the Middle East war. (For more on the Houthis, read Zineb Riboua’s column from earlier this week.) A sweeping Russia and Iran sanctions bill passed the House in a 262–159 vote and is now heading to Trump for his signature. Named after the late senator Lindsey Graham, the legislation would hit countries that purchase large volumes of Russian oil and gas with tariffs of up to 100 percent, and is aimed at cutting off revenue that funds Russia’s war in Ukraine. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen proposed making Canada the European Union’s first-ever “associate member,” drawing a standing ovation from European lawmakers. The proposal, framed as a response to a world grown more hostile, faces an uncertain path as EU member states would have to approve it, and one diplomat said that “nobody really knows what it means.” The House voted unanimously to send billionaire Leon Black a criminal contempt referral after he defied a congressional subpoena to testify and hand over documents related to his connections to Jeffrey Epstein. Black chose to fight the subpoena in court rather than comply. Charlie Kirk’s family filed a wrongful death notice Wednesday against Utah Valley University, alleging that a series of security failures left him exposed to a rooftop sniper. The notice is a required legal step before the family can sue. Merriam-Webster added 1,400 words and definitions to its dictionary, including looksmaxxing, vibe coding, and cuffing season. The publisher said the new entries offer “a window into the world today.” The Free Press earns a commission from any purchases made through all book links in this article.
With measles spreading in Lancaster County, could mumps and rubella be next?
With the number of measles cases escalating by the day in Pennsylvania, people may wonder will the other two diseases covered by the MMR vaccine – mumps and rubella –
PepsiCo, Monster challenge India 'energy drink' label ban citing business impact
PepsiCo and Monster Beverage have sued India's food regulator for banning their use of the "energy drink" label, non-public court filings show, escalating a regulatory fight that has jolted a sector expected to be worth $1.6 billion by 2028.
EU science policy wonks debate prospect of stronger ties with Canada
Europe’s research and innovation sector has started asking questions on how European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s offer to make Canada “the first associate member of the EU” would actually work in practice, and who will get to shape priorities in a transatlantic relationship that is getting stronger. The Commission says it wants “a new model of association” under which the EU and Canada will aim to develop “a shared space” to face ongoing challenges. “Working in close coordination with our member states and the European Parliament, we will aim to create a new form of partnership that has not existed until now, building the closest imaginable form of association with a partner outside Europe,” a spokesperson told Science|Business.Locked in an escalating trade war with US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly talked of annexing Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney has been looking east, but full EU membership was never in play. Taking the floor a day after von der Leyen’s proposal, he agreed to strengthen ties under “an alliance of the future” but reined in enthusiasm on the new label. He also suggested expanding Canada’s involvement in the Erasmus+ student mobility scheme, to which it currently has limited access, and the next iteration of Horizon Europe. Canada joined the present Horizon Europe in 2024, but only contributes to collaborative projects.Neither side has detailed the next practical steps in developing this new relationship. “I think nobody at the moment truly knows how this will work,” said Michael Browne, chief executive and founder of Crowdhelix, a global collaborative network that connects players in research and innovation. “It’s more of a statement of intent for closer collaboration, which requires legislative frameworks and approval processes, which have not started.”Kurt Deketelaere, secretary general of the League of European Research Universities, said von der Leyen’s pitch to Canada is “politically significant, but the legal content still has to be negotiated and constructed.”Mattias Björnmalm, secretary general of the Cesaer university group, agreed that she had only opened “a political door” to Canada, as “associate membership does not come with a predefined set of rights in the EU institutions.”Not only does this status not currently exist as a legal category in the two treaties that set up how the EU functions, but the Commission president cannot unilaterally create a new category of EU membership.According to Deketelaere, Article 217 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which allows the bloc to make association deals with non-EU countries involving reciprocal rights and duties, is “the most obvious existing legal basis for building a much deeper EU-Canada relationship.”Getting universities involvedNo matter how this new cooperation takes shape, Liviu Matei, who heads the School of Education, Communication and Society at King’s College London, hopes to see universities involved in discussions from an early stage.“Its primary motivations, entirely justifiably, are political and geopolitical,” he said. “In the area of higher education, however, restricting the initiative to political and geopolitical considerations would limit the scope of cooperation and lead to distorted frameworks and counterproductive implementation.”It is all the more important since academic interests on the two sides of the Atlantic are “neither identical nor fully aligned,” Matei added. “This is not insurmountable; it simply requires work to articulate the details of this privileged cooperation, including its governance and funding frameworks, as well as its substantive content in education and research.”Related articlesCanada looks to deepen research and education links with the EUZaharieva hopes for a Horizon Europe deal in 2026Canada might participate in European Research Council schemes, for example, which was not on offer in the present Horizon Europe association agreement. But “there would have to be something in it for the EU,” Browne said. “They don’t want to be funding projects outside of the EU where intellectual property is going to sit outside of the EU. There has to be some kind of transfer of knowledge.”But access to funding will not by itself resolve all the practical difficulties of working together, said Björnmalm. “For researchers and students, these include visas and residence arrangements, recognition of qualifications and study periods, and the conditions for pursuing a research career across borders,” he said. “For universities, there is scope for more predictable access to shared laboratories, computing and research data, and stronger support for joint doctoral training and long-term institutional partnerships.”Linda Doyle, provost and president of Trinity College Dublin, said Europe should strive for the “closest possible expression” of this new political alliance. “If Europe is serious about recovering its voice and its place in the world, it needs to be strongly allied with countries who share its values and its vision for a stable, rules-based, peaceful world.”
Carney pitches Canada to global investors as Trump tries to pull investment south
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is courting some of the world’s biggest investors as he tries to reduce Canada’s economic dependence on the United States during an escalating trade war with President Donald Trump.
Carney pitches Canada to global investors as Trump tries to pull investment south
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is courting some of the world’s biggest investors as he tries to reduce Canada’s economic dependence on the United States during an escalating trade war with...
Politics Now: August 29, 2026
This week on Politics Now with host John Langeler: Nevada sues over the Colorado River plan House Speaker Michael Johnson campaigns in Las Vegas Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto on escalating …
What to watch for in Georgia and Wisconsin tonight: From the Politics Desk
Plus, Trump's escalating threats against Iran are drawing blowback from some corners of MAGA world.
Gold ‘Iran war participation trophy’ appears in DC for Trump
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Using AI has an environmental impact — here are 4 ways you can minimize it
Escalating use of tools like Gemini and ChatGPT saps more and more power. Experts offer some tips on how to consume less.
Democrats see a chance to flip a seat as focus on abuse claims mounts against Ohio Rep. Max Miller
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Fallout from Eric Swalwell scandal grows as lawmakers eye House expulsion votes
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New Intermountain Health Study Finds Escalating Treatment Earlier for Patients with Life-Threatening Septic Shock Doesn’t Improve Survival or Recovery
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Spanberger: Trump’s trade war with Canada threatens Virginia businesses
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Pro sports leagues, players’ unions ask regulators to ban bettors who harass athletes
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DOJ says California officials who process ballots from suspected noncitizens risk prosecution
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Premiums up, subsidies at risk as Massachusetts Health Connector open enrollment nears
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NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS urge action against threats from bettors
The NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS and their players' unions are urging state gambling regulators to combat escalating harassment and violent threats from sports bettors.
Australia’s Live Industry Feels The Pinch From Escalating Costs
Australia’s concerts industry posted small single-digit declines in 2025, due to rising costs, changing ticket-buying behavior and more.
What to know about Canada's escalating trade war with the U.S.
Canada struck back at U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday with tariffs on about $20 billion worth of U.S. goods. The outcome could resonate far beyond Canada.
Bullying, Politics Harm Mental Health Of Gender-Diverse Teens
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Wildfire Smoke Is an Escalating Public Health Crisis
Wildfires produce immense smoke and chemicals that can impact the health of individuals across cities. Discover global wildfire trends and how to prepar...
Canada’s retaliatory tariffs take effect as US trade talks stall
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Magic mushroom ingredient takes the fight out of aggressive fish
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OpenAI says it’s working with Anthropic, Google on AI safety
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Iran Favors Diplomacy to Prevent Regional Insecurity: Araqchi
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A GOP lawmaker supported an immigration crackdown. Her husband paid a price.
The situation cost Idaho state Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld and her husband most of their income and highlights an escalating split in the party.
Yemen health system at 'breaking point': WHO
The escalating fighting in Yemen is pushing the country's health system to "breaking point", the World Health Organization said Tuesday, warning that diseases like cholera were already circulating widely.
Sudan's Health Workers Adapt to Increasing Drone Attacks
Health workers in El Fasher say escalating drone warfare spurs rapid medical innovation
Trump regulator orders Kalshi to defy Michigan court – escalating battle over prediction markets
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Amodei, Altman, Musk call for slowing development of AI models
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Anthropic’s Claude can now control your Mac, escalating the fight to build AI agents that actually do work
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We Still Haven’t Seen How Bad Gerrymandering Can Get
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Lebanon conflict drives mental health crisis for displaced women: “We hear, see and feel pain constantly” | UN Women
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Abbott ramps up attacks on Democratic challenger, Gina Hinojosa, as Texas governor’s race tightens
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DiLorenzo attack ad brands rival as 'Silver Spoon Shaheen'
Republican Anthony DiLorenzo’s first attack ad calls Democratic rival Stefany Shaheen “Silver Spoon Shaheen,” escalating the race to succeed Rep. Chris Pappas.
German firm Metro loses control of Russian business after Putin decree
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered that the assets of German retailer Metro AG be placed under temporary administration. The move comes amid escalating tensions between Germany and Russia over the Ukraine war.
Attacks against hospitals and health facilities must end
WHO, UNICEF raise alarm over escalating attacks on health care in Sudan
Vance, Caine raised munitions stockpile concern, source says, as US pauses consecutive nights of strikes in Iran
Vice President JD Vance and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine both raised concerns about the US munitions stockpile to President Donald Trump as he weighed potentially escalating the war with Iran during a White House meeting on Friday, a US official told CNN.
Mike Elko was right. There is deep and disturbing college football cesspool
Poor fan behavior escalating from online harassment, to physical confrontations at college football games. It's a cesspool as Mike Elko said.
Political Prisoner Kamal Jafari Yazdi Calls for Immediate Peaceful Transfer of Power in Iran
In an open statement addressing deepening economic collapse, escalating public outrage, and the regime’s desperate manoeuvres to retain ...
The escalating standoff between the CDC and Pennsylvania over measles deaths
Pennsylvania has reported fourth deaths associated with measles, but the CDC has not included them in its national total — a conflict rarely seen in public health.
How Trump’s ‘wall of noise’ is changing Australian politics – Back to Back Barries podcast
Tony Barry and Barrie Cassidy discuss the fragile ceasefire in Iran and the pressure building on Australian politicians to respond to Donald Trump’s escalating rhetoric.
SENATOR DECLAN O’SCANLON, ASSEMBLYWOMAN VICTORIA FLYNN, AND ASSEMBLYMAN GERRY SCHARFENBERGER ISSUED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT AMIDST RESIDENTS’ ESCALATING HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS IN KEYPORT:
SENATOR DECLAN O’SCANLON, ASSEMBLYWOMAN VICTORIA FLYNN, AND ASSEMBLYMAN GERRY SCHARFENBERGER ISSUED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT AMIDST RESIDENTS’ ESCALATING HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS IN KEYPORT: July 29, 2026 “As concerns continue to grow regarding the reported “cancer cluster” in the Borough of Keyport, we want every resident to know that their health and well-being remain our[...]
Media attorneys ask court to block White House ban while legal case continues
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Hegseth Extends Mideast Deployments Into 2027, Escalating Strain on Troops
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The Ocean's Health Is Deteriorating on Multiple Fronts, U.N. Scientists Warn
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South Florida car business hit by global conflict after missile damage in Dubai, as shipping disruptions mount
New images out of the region show destruction tied to escalating tensions involving Iran, and for one Miami Lakes-based company, the fallout is both immediate and costly.
David Petraeus: George W. Bush, Political Courage, and the Surge in Iraq
In the wake of the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush launched what he called the War on Terror. It began with the invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, which quickly toppled the Taliban and expelled al-Qaeda from its most crucial sanctuary. Then, in early 2003, American forces—with the support of foreign allies like the United Kingdom, Australia, and Poland—attacked Iraq, toppling Saddam Hussein’s regime and installing an occupation force in hopes of quickly transforming the country into a free and democratic state. Instead, the post-regime coalition authority made significant missteps, and a devastating insurgency erupted. And despite President Bush’s 2004 reelection, the war quickly lost popular support among the American public. In early 2007, Bush appointed General David Petraeus, who had already served in Iraq as a two- and three-star general, to lead allied forces in Iraq, which heralded a sea change in American strategy known as “the surge.” As part of our coverage looking back on 9/11 and the world it created, General Petraeus tells the inside story of one of the most consequential moments in the War on Terror. The general’s essay today is both a crucial history and a profile in political courage. It demands reflection as we take stock of the last 25 years. —The Editors By the end of 2006, the war in Iraq was failing. There is no useful purpose in softening that judgment with the passage of time. The bombing of the al-Askari mosque in Samarra by terrorists that February had accelerated sectarian violence and pulled Iraq into an increasingly vicious Sunni-Shia civil war. Al-Qaeda in Iraq and Sunni insurgent groups controlled substantial areas, Shi’ite militias operated with growing impunity in other parts of the country, and the Iraqi security forces were no longer capable of arresting the downward spiral. The strategy of transitioning security responsibilities to Iraqi forces, consolidating American troops on large bases, and progressively reducing the U.S. presence had clearly been invalidated by the escalating violence. The numbers conveyed the horror imperfectly but unmistakably. In December 2006, an average of 53 Iraqi civilians were killed by violence every 24 hours in Baghdad alone. Washington, meanwhile, was approaching its own breaking point. Public support for the war had fallen dramatically, President George W. Bush’s Republican Party had just lost control of both houses of Congress, and the bipartisan Iraq Study Group—of which future defense secretary Robert Gates was a member—had recommended a course that anticipated a substantially reduced American combat role. Many senior military leaders were deeply skeptical of sending substantial additional forces, advocating instead for an accelerated transition to Iraqi forces, the deployment of additional trainers and advisers, or other more modest measures with an eye to withdrawing U.S. forces. Virtually every political incentive pointed toward reducing America’s commitment. President Bush chose instead to increase it, a decision that remains, in my view, one of the most courageous presidential decisions of the 21st century.
How Trump's trade war with Canada could rattle states with key Senate races
President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada is escalating as the midterm elections approach, threatening Republican efforts to address voters' economic concerns in a year when control of the U.S. Senate hinges on states along the border between the United States and its northern neighbor.
‘It’s devastating’: The US-Canada trade war is putting protein on the menu
Attention, protein maxers: One of your highly coveted ingredients is taking center stage in the escalating trade war between the United States and Canada.
Amodei, Altman, Musk call for slowing AI model development
Leaders of the world’s biggest artificial intelligence platforms said it’s time to slow the development pace of their most advanced — and most lucrative — models, citing escalating risks of
Trump's 60-day Iran deal reaches halfway mark as ceasefire collapses into escalating war
Halfway through the 60-day negotiating window, the U.S. has struck over 300 Iranian targets while Tehran attacks commercial vessels in the strait.
Critical funding gap threatens health response in Yemen
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that significantly more resources are required to scale up its response in Yemen amid escalating conflict and rising needs.