SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " flag " 100 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Sign in to save shuffle history.
Galaxy S27 series case image adds weight to earlier design leaks
Previous leaks about Samsung’s next flagship non-foldable smartphones, the Galaxy S27, Galaxy S27+, Galaxy S27 Pro, and Galaxy S27 Ultra, have revealed renders
Comcast Flags $1B 4Q Charge For Layoffs, Restructuring In Connectivity
As it continues to feel the squeeze on broadband and pay-TV, Comcast has taken a $1 billion charge ahead of layoffs and restructuring.
Samsung is expanding One UI 9 with Android 17 to the oldest qualifying flagships
Samsung’s Android 17-based One UI 9 update is starting to arrive on Galaxy S23, its oldest Galaxy flagships eligible for the update.
Illinois flag football rankings: USA TODAY Sports Super 10, Week 8
As the IHSA postseason reaches the quarterfinals, here's where Illinois' flag football teams stand in the latest Super 10 rankings.
Ubisoft plans cuts at German studios, adding to wave of workforce reductions
Ubisoft is planning to reduce its workforce in Germany, where it operates a trio of studios, by about 100 workers, Game File has learned. The company wants to offer employees buyouts to, should enough people accept, avoid having to lay anyone off. “In Germany, we initiated discussions with the Works Council last week regarding a proposed voluntary departure plan across Ubisoft Dusseldorf, Ubisoft Berlin & Ubisoft Mainz,” a company rep told Game File. A “works council” is a union-like group representing employees. “The voluntary plan is the primary measure being proposed to support the intended organizational changes,” the Ubisoft rep added. The company declined to confirm the scale of the potential headcount cut. Of the impacted studios, Mainz might be the best known to the public. It leads development of the Anno series and shipped the well-reviewed strategy game Anno 117: Pax Romana in November 2025. Berlin and Dusseldorf operate as support studios within Ubisoft’s creative network. Berlin recently supported the development of Rainbow Six Siege and the Rayman Legends Retold remake. Dusseldorf also contributed to those projects, as well as The Settlers and Ubisoft-branded escape rooms. Dusseldorf is the biggest of the three studios, with some 400+ workers, compared to just over 100 at the other two, a source familiar with the reductions and the teams told Game File. More than half of these new reductions of about 100 people are expected to happen at Dusseldorf. The planned cuts were announced at a town hall for the German studios on Tuesday of last week. In an email follow-up, the studio group’s managing director, Benedikt Grindel, said the cuts were intended to “best position our German studios for the future... with a clearer focus on their role, capabilities and organizational setup needed for the work ahead.” The email was an echo of the past. In January 2025, Grindel had emailed the Ubisoft developers in his region (or studio “zone”) to explain that a round of 185 cuts at the time, including about 65 at Dusseldorf, were “essential to improve our operational efficiency and ensure the long-term sustainability of our studios, the zone and the company.” A half-decade of continued job cuts Ubisoft has been aggressively cutting its headcount for years. At the end of September 2022, it had 20,729 workers. By the end of March 2026, that total was down to 16,590. Studio management is trying to trim costs as it grapples with a changing industry and a drought of releases, let alone hits. The company announced earlier this year that it had reduced its costs since 2022 by “nearly €325 million” ($362m) and planned to lower them through 2028 by another €180 million ($200m). In June the company said it was closing down its Winnipeg and Belgrade studios and cutting roles in its Barcelona team. Even commercial and creative success hasn’t spared studios from this ongoing company-wide contraction. As Game File was nailing down details around the proposed cuts in Germany, Ubisoft management was informing workers of cuts in its Singapore studio, which shipped a hit remake of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag this past July. Some 70 positions in Singapore are being eliminated “to align the studio with upcoming production needs,” per a company rep’s statement to Game File. In early 2024, a large team in the Singapore studio launched the multiplayer pirate game Skull & Bones. It performed poorly but has been supported with regular content updates since. Many of Ubisoft’s studios around the world are heavily subsidized via regional grants and tax breaks. Singapore had been among them for years, but received no such local assistance in the 12 months ending this past March. News of the Singapore cuts broke today alongside word that Ubisoft is also proposing the closure of RedLynx, pending negotiations with officials. The Finnish studio behind the motorbike series Trials was founded in 2000 and sold to Ubisoft in 2011. As reported by VGC (and corroborated by Game File), Ubisoft management told employees it could not come up with a new, sustainable assignment for RedLynx. The 2025 workforce at Ubisoft Dusseldorf were straight-up cuts. This time, Ubisoft is hoping the reductions at its trio of German studios will largely come from workers taking a payout to leave. The company offered such voluntary dismissals at its Massive Entertainment studio (The Division) a year ago. For the German studios’ buyouts this time around, Ubisoft and the Works Council had discussed a formula that’d pay a worker’s monthly salary multiplied by 1.5 and by the number of years they’ve worked at the company, according to Game File sources. The formula is still subject to negotiations with the Works Council and has not yet been part of an official offer to workers. It could be adjusted up or down, and it could be supplemented with additional bonuses. Asked about the floated payout formula, a Ubisoft rep told Game File, “The terms of a potential voluntary departure program remain subject to negotiation with employee representatives. No final agreement has been reached, and we won’t comment on specific proposals while discussions are ongoing.” Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Item 2: Epic’s AI adventures Epic Games (Fortnite, the Unreal engine) is all-in on using AI to try to transform the way it makes video games and game-making tools. It’s leaders appear to be undeterred by any resistance among gamers and some game developers around generative AI—and instead emboldened by advances, particularly in AI-assisted programming. A recap of the last three days: On Monday, Bloomberg reported that Epic management told workers last week that development of an upcoming game combining Star Wars and Marvel characters would be “AI first.” Employees would be expected to use AI models such as Claude to code the game. A manager told Epic’s developers there would be “[n]o more hand-written code” and that art for the game would be “generated with full AI workflows,” per the outlet. Just ahead of that story running, Epic founder Tim Sweeney tweeted: “We have a huge pivot underway here at Epic, moving developers around to retool for maximum AI acceleration. The aim isn’t to do the same stuff with fewer people, but to enable everyone here to build MORE and BETTER stuff, and to bring the benefits to all teams using Unreal.” In a follow-up, Sweeney predicted that most game development processes would be at least three times faster a year from now than they were in January 2026, thanks to AI. To a person on X who told him he was failing to read the room, Sweeney said: “Much of the room wants it to be 2016 again, but it’s not. Our job, as the provider of tools and technology to much of the industry, is to design for the present that is and the future that will soon be.” On Wednesday, Epic announced it was releasing a faster launcher for its Epic Games Store marketplace. It did so by stating in a blog post as clear as could be that the launcher is an AI-enabled, vibe-coded project: Programming is hard. So, instead of doing that, we vibe coded a new Epic Games Launcher that’s way faster and more responsive than the current one, and has a new look. Programming is hard? That was unexpected phrasing from a company founded by a legendarily great programmer. Back in 2011, Sweeney told me that he’d picked up programming quickly as a kid and rejoiced at the power it gave him. “I could look at any program that anybody else had written and, with enough effort, build something cooler.” Item 3: The Xbox Labs experiment (and one of the people behind it) Microsoft’s Xbox division, which is flooding the zone with announcements lately, yesterday revealed a new internal tech-tinkering team called Xbox Labs. In the words of Xbox boss Asha Sharma Labs is “a small group of game makers, engineers and scientists whose job is to turn emerging ideas into things our players and developers can experience.” Conventional wisdom coming out of the announcement is that Labs is a team that’ll focus on ideas driven by generative AI. In her announcement, Sharma cited some of the dizzying achievements in tech and gaming over the past month as AI agents and other AI tools have been deployed to swiftly figure out how popular games work, then rebuild them and mix them up. She mentioned seeing ”games rapidly decompiled and rebuilt to run on hardware they were never originally designed to support” and said “[p]erhaps more surprisingly, we’ve seen many of the biggest games in the world have been remixed into the source code of another.” (Minecraft plus Elden Ring, for example, or Fortnite + Super Monkey Ball + Overwatch + Diablo + others.) Sharma also cited the work of Windows PC games being ported to run in browsers, a seeming reference to a recent AI-assisted fan port of Halo. Or perhaps Call of Duty or GTA. Sharma didn’t use the specific term “AI” in her memo, but she came close, citing AI “agents” and their potential for game-making tools that Labs could help craft: I think XBOX has an important role to play here. Coding became the first major workload for agents because they can write, run, and test software. Games share many of those same properties, and people spend more than 72 billion hours a year playing XBOX games, roughly five times the estimated time spent writing code worldwide. We’ve spent 25 years learning how to make great games, and I want our game makers to help shape what these new technologies make possible. As we learn, we’ll share the tools we build with developers across the industry, just as we always have. When I asked an Xbox rep if Labs was an AI-centric team, they said genAI was not the focus, describing it as having a broader mandate for using new tech in new ways in gaming. As an example, they pointed to Xbox’s recently launched disc-to-digital gaming usage rights program. Microsoft didn’t specifically name anyone involved full-time in Xbox Labs yesterday, but on social media and LinkedIn, I spotted Adrian Mato IDing himself as leading the creatio of tools at Labs and talking up the launch. Mato first caught my attention in late September, when he said on X that he was “starting to build a new team at Xbox focused on products and tools for how games get built and distributed as agentic tools become more capable.” At the time, he framed AI-based tools as a supplement to traditional game dev tools. “I don’t think we need to replace them,” he said. Since then, he’s publicly shown interest in AI and in games. He’s recently spent some of his X feed marveling at the power of AI agents and praising the lighting in the latest Gears of War. Following the Labs announcement yesterday, he enthused about the Xbox Labs’ stylish landing page. He wrote: “We built some fun tools to art-direct shaders in real time, experimented with interactive ASCII art, and sprinkled in lots of tiny details. “Move your mouse to leave a colorful trail that reveals the original footage, or interact with the video to trigger bursts of particles. “A lot of love went into making it all feel just right. “More to come”
USA TODAY Sports Super 10 Georgia high school flag football rankings, Week 5
There was little movement in Georgia's flag football rankings this week. See which teams are in this week's Super 10 rankings.
Críticas: On bikes and politics
In college, I rode my bike everywhere I went. It was this slick yellow roadster with checkered flag rim tape. I called it el italiano. I’d take it to
Justice Dept. demands California prove citizenship for lists of voters or withhold ballots
The U.S. Department of Justice has given California election officials 48 hours to prove the U.S. citizenship of voters its flagged as potential noncitizens, or withhold their ballots.
Baton Rouge startup selected for national health tech competition
Baton Rouge health technology startup Chrysalis is among 15 teams selected to participate in a national competition focused on using AI to help people living with chronic, difficult-to-diagnose illnesses. The company, co-founded by husband-and-wife duo Brent and Brittany Martin, will present its flagship product, Chrysalis Health Spaces, Thursday afternoon during the final demonstration of the […]
Oregon makes girls flag football history. Nike, Seattle Seahawks helped make it happen
With support from some of the Pacific Northwest's biggest names, Oregon makes history for itself and hits a milestone for the nation.
Samsung launches Certified Re-Newed Galaxy phones on Amazon starting at $489
Samsung is bringing its Certified Re-Newed Galaxy S24 and S25 flagship phones with new batteries and a warranty to Amazon starting at $489.
Utah Tech University receives National Institutes of Health flagship research grant
Utah Tech University has received its first National Institutes of Health research grant, worth more than $1 million, creating more opportunities for student learning, workforce development and scientific discovery in
Tax Relief on Losses Stimulates Business Risk-Taking, OECD Says
Countries that provide limited tax relief to loss-making companies risk stifling entrepreneurial risk-taking and the creation of new businesses, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said.
Canada wants to expand its LNG business. Critics raise red flags
As Canada’s LNG exports grow, critics raise concerns over human rights abuses linked to major corporate investors.
North Carolina flag football rankings: USA TODAY Sports Super 10, Week 7
As flag football season continues in North Carolina, these teams sit atop this week’s Super 10 rankings.
Seattle Art Museum renovations: Peek inside at construction
An $8.1 million project is underway at Seattle’s flagship art museum, adding more public spaces to gather, work and dine at the museum. Take a peek!
Xreal's New Flagship One Pro+ AR Glasses Offer Better Brightness And Increased Comfort
There's still no camera here, so they won't be confused for pervert specs.
Giant iPhone Duo installations spotted at Apple Fifth Avenue ahead of launch
While the iPhone Duo doesn’t launch until Friday, preparations are already underway at Apple’s flagship Fifth Avenue store in New York for the big day.
K-pop Entertainment Company Hello82 Aims to Plant a Flag in Festival Market with Inaugural 82World
The two-day, fan-focused festival arrives in Los Angeles this weekend, headlined by the chart-topping boy group ATEEZ.
USA Football to host Nations Cup flag football tournament as sport's Olympic debut approaches
SeaWorld Orlando closes Mako roller coaster after deadly Six Flags incident (exclusive)
SeaWorld Orlando has closed its Mako roller coaster ‘out of an abundance of caution’ as the ride is from the same manufacturer as the one involved in the deadly Six Flags Over Georgia incident.
Six Flags Entertainment plunges 14% after fatal roller coaster incident
Six Flags (FUN) stock plunges 14% to a 52-week low after a fatal coaster incident and ride closures; see key metrics, risks, and what’s next—read now.
Canton eateries flagged for gnats and other health code issues
Wayne County inspectors found gnats and improper storage at several Canton restaurants between August and October.
2026 NBAA Top Safety Focus Areas
The NBAA Safety Committee has identified the association’s Top Safety Focus Areas for 2026, highlighting multiple priorities in support of a greater commitment to business aviation safety standards.
Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE:FUN) Stock Falls 3.8%
Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE:FUN) Stock Price Down 3.8% - Here's What Happened
USA TODAY Sports Top IX flag football players of Week 8
These nine flag football players made their mark across the country this week.
AU report raises red flags on these Ga. health problems
The 2026 “Healthy Georgia: Our State of Public Health” report, produced by the Institute of Public and Preventive Health, compiles the latest available numbers on 31 health topics.
Activision's Head Marketer Says Modern Warfare 4 Faces A 'Call Of Duty Tax'
The newest sequel needs to bolster flagging engagement
North Carolina flag football rankings: USA TODAY Sports Super 10, Week 6
As flag football season continues in North Carolina, these teams sit atop this week’s Super 10 rankings.
Physical media is here to stay
As society delves deeper into the digital age, physical media separates itself as its own niche. On July 1, PlayStation announced that production of physical video game discs would be discontinued from January 2028. From that point forward, all future releases would be available only digitally in the PlayStation store or retailers. PlayStation claims the...
Spurs' De'Aaron Fox questions fall by Thunder's Chet Holmgren
The entanglement and ensuing dust-up on Tuesday night resulted in a flagrant 1 foul for Fox and three technicals fouls for Oklahoma City.
Fanatics plans flagship Atlanta Hawks store at Centennial Yards
Fanatics plans to open a flagship Atlanta sports store at Centennial Yards through a new retail partnership with the Atlanta Hawks.
You Should Enable This Chrome Feature That Flags Suspicious Websites
When Enhanced Protection is enabled, Google will warn you if you navigate to a site that looks like other known scams.
Maryland flag football rankings: USA TODAY Sports Super 10, Week 4
These teams top the high school flag football scene in Maryland this week.
Four teams remain in Indiana girls flag football state title hunt. State finals schedule
Here is the schedule for the 2026 Indiana high school girls flag football state finals in Westfield.
CSU’s Ties with TimelyCare Raise Red Flags for Student Mental Health
Two weeks ago, we raised alarms over CSU management’s strange fixation on TimelyCare and their push to enter into a systemwide contract with the private,
Top salaries at Rush University Medical Center
Rush University Medical Center is a West Side academic medical center and the flagship of the Rush University System for Health.
As flag football becomes official sport in Oregon, Salem-Keizer coaches, players hopeful about future
The decision is particularly meaningful for some Salem-Keizer Public Schools teams that have been invested since the sport began gaining popularity in 2023.
Why an Oregon high school football player was ejected from rivalry game before kickoff
Video shows the player violently shove an opposing player who was running onto the field carrying the American flag.
Dealroom.co | Four entertainment giants take stakes in Japan's Flag
What's the deal? Japanese entertainment marketing firm Flag has…
Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE:FUN) Reaches New 52-Week Low
Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE:FUN) Sets New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?
The RTX 5090 Isn’t 'Alive' if It Costs $10,000, No Matter What Nvidia Says
Nvidia's flagship GPU may still be in production, but that isn't saying much for the state of Nividia's RTX 50-series lineup.
High school flag football: Wednesday and Thursday scores
CIF City Section high school girls' flag football scores for Wednesday and Thursday.
Simple math can predict when AI is about to go rogue, physicists say
A new mathematical formula tracks an AI's internal "compass needle" to flag undesirable outputs before they happen.
Framework Laptop 12 (2026 upgrade) review: Intel's Core Series 3 fixes a key flaw
Framework’s Laptop 12 was conceived as a Chromebook killer, but now it has a flagship chip inside. Does it work as a grown-up machine?
ESA flags retro console maker Anbernic for inclusion on US government's Notorious Market List
Trade body claims Anbernic "normalises hardware-based piracy by delivering illicit catalogues through a polished consumer product"
Colorado flag football rankings: USA TODAY Sports Super 10, Week 9
With the semifinal stage set, here are the Colorado flag football teams leading the state.
New Google Messages Feature: Circle to Search a Message to See if It's a Scam
Google Messages now lets you use Circle to Search to instantly scan text messages for red flags and potential scams.
Georgia amusement park to reopen as scheduled days after roller coaster death
Six Flags Over Georgia is expected to open for the first time since a man fell to his death from the Goliath roller coaster. Authorities are investigating the death, which
NVIDIA Denies RTX 5090 Discontinuation Reports; Jeff Fisher Confirms Flagship GPU Will Continue Shipping
NVIDIA denies the discontinuation of the RTX 5090 despite reports, emphasizing its importance amid severe supply constraints as prices exceed $5000.
Terry Crews on Using His Platform to Advocate for Mental Health
Actor and mental health advocate Terry Crews and Project Healthy Minds founder and CEO Phil Schermer, join Saturday TODAY to discuss their flagship event on World Mental Health Day. Crews also shares how he uses his platform to encourage others to get the help they need and reflects on how mental health issues have been destigmatized over the years.
Liwa International Festival 2027 Returns to Al Dhafra Region with New Experiences, Global Entertainment and More to Discover
/PRNewswire/ -- Liwa International Festival 2027 (Liwa 2027), Al Dhafra Region's flagship winter celebration, will return from 11 December 2026 to 2 January...
USA TODAY Sports Super 10 Georgia high school flag football rankings, Week 4
Milton breaks into the top five of Georgia’s Super 10 flag football rankings after convincing wins over St. Anne-Pacelli and Lambert.
Kansas high school flag football rankings: USA TODAY Sports Super 10, Week 6
See who remains near the top in this week's Kansas flag football Super 10 rankings.
Follow the money or follow the flag? Politics clouds port investment
Washington’s expectations for US ownership of Panama’s next port tenders could do more damage than the financing costs
Teresa Rand named News-Journal's 'Most Influential Woman in Business'
Shades of pink filled a conference room in The Shores Resort & Spa on Oct. 22 as businesswomen from Volusia and Flagler counties gathered to celebrate a long-running Daytona Beach News-Journal tradition.
Kansas girls flag football championship halted following fatal crash
Depositphotos Kansas championship games suspended after fatal incident at soccer complex Kansas’ inaugural girls high school flag football championship was interrupted on October 17 after a fatal incident at Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita left 2 people dead and 10 others injured. The incident occurred on a nearby youth soccer field, prompting the Kansas State…
100+ Manufacturing, Business Groups Urge Congress to Pass Bipartisan Permitting Deal
Washington, D.C. – The National Association of Manufacturers, joined by members of its Council of Manufacturing Associations, Conference of State Manufacturers Associations and other leading manufacturing and business organizations, sent a coalition letter urging Congress to swiftly pass the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act. Representing businesses across the country and industries throughout the manufacturing …
Why is Six Flags Entertainment stock crashing today?
Why is Six Flags Entertainment stock crashing today?
Nvidia RTX 5090 Reportedly Dead, but It's So Expensive That It Doesn't Really Matter
While the RTX 5090 was already hard enough to get at a reasonable price, new leaks suggest that Nvidia is flat-out discontinuing its flagship graphics card.
Bank of America, Johnson & Johnson, Six Flags Entertainment, Citigroup and Applied Materials: Why These 5…
BAC, JNJ, FUN, C, AMAT were among the stocks seen trending among investors on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026.
USA TODAY Sports Super 10 Arizona high school flag football rankings, Week 4
Arizona's flag powerhouses hold strong on the top half of the Week 4 Super 10. See who joins them in this week's rankings.
NFL Mexico and CONADE Join Miami Dolphins Academy to Create Year-Round Flag Football and Education Programming Across the Country
The initiative, implemented through the Global Markets Program (GMP), reflects the commitment of the Miami Dolphins and their local partners in Mexico to promoting sports and bringing physical education to communities across the country.
Technics EAH-A1000 review: Superior sound and excellent ANC in a premium package
Technics’ flagship over-ear wireless headphones are light on compromises, but enter a competitive market.
USA TODAY Sports Super 10 California high school flag football rankings, Week 8
See how California's top flag football teams stack up as the season wears on.
Girls flag football rankings: USA TODAY Sports Super 25, Week 10
JSerra remains No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports girls flag football Super 25 rankings as Evanston surges into the top 15 and playoff action heats up.
How Politics Shapes American Catholicism
Are US bishops moving left while Catholic voters and young priests move right? Mike Lewis tells DOMRADIO.DE American Catholicism is more complicated.
USA TODAY Sports Super 10 California high school flag football rankings, Week 9
Here's how the state stacks up before the postseason takes hold this week.
USA TODAY Sports Top IX flag football players of Week 9
These nine flag football players made their mark across the country this week, earning a spot among USA TODAY Sports Top IX.
Six Flags closes 10 major coasters around the world after guest death in Georgia
Six Flags has closed 10 major roller coasters around the world after the deadly Six Flags Over Georgia incident on Goliath, including Fury 325 at Carowinds, Orion at Kings Island, and more.
China, Russia Deepen Arctic Ties as Japan, Iceland Boost Science Cooperation
Russia floats a rival Arctic framework while Japan and Iceland, marking 70 years of diplomatic ties, lean on polar research to deepen cooperation.
Six Flags Sinks 10%, United Parks & Resorts Drops 5%: Is the Goliath Accident Still Weighing on Theme Park Stocks?
A fatal roller coaster accident cast a shadow over one theme park operator, but now a second company with no connection to the ride is getting pulled down alongside it, raising questions about how far the damage spreads through the sector.
Six Flags Entertainment Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:FUN)
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE:FUN - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders acquired 3,322 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 119% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,515 put options.
SMAC Entertainment, CAA, EverWonder Studio Launch Grand Slam of Flag Women’s Flag Football Series
SMAC Entertainment, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), and EverWonder Studio have launched Grand Slam of Flag, a global tournament series featuring top women’s national flag football teams and their federations. The...
Maine Department of Health and Human Services will hold public hearing on Prime Healthcare
Democratic Representative Julie McCabe requested the public hearing. She represents Lewiston, home to Central Maine Healthcare's flagship hospital.
California falls short on Medi-Cal fraud, state report says - The Business Journal California auditor flags Medi-Cal fraud oversight concerns
California's state auditor raises concerns about Medi-Cal fraud oversight, citing millions in questionable claims and thousands of high-risk providers not under investigation.
Why Are Modern Politicians Sounding Like Preachers?
Many politicians are speaking to our “moral moment.”
New Richland Lab Could Transform How Scientists Study Microbes and Boost Regional Jobs
The BriefGroundbreaking held Tuesday: PNNL officially began construction on the M2PC lab, a 30,800-square-foot facility funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science that will study soil microbes to improve crop productivity and develop new biotechnology applications. The facility will be open to researchers from around the nation and the world.Research timelines could shrink dramatically: The facility's automation and AI capabilities could reduce experiments that currently take six months to just 72 hours, allowing scientists to explore more possibilities faster than ever before.New jobs coming to the Tri-Cities: The project is expected to create positions for automation engineers, AI experts, roboticists, technicians, and skilled craftspeople, with the facility opening in 2029.RICHLAND, Wash. — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory broke ground Tuesday on a first-of-its-kind facility that could accelerate scientific discoveries about the microscopic organisms living in soil—organisms that may hold the key to growing more food and developing new energy technologies.The Microbial Molecular Phenotyping Capability, or M2PC, represents a significant investment in automation and artificial intelligence to speed up research that traditionally takes years to complete. The 30,800-square-foot facility will house more than 100 connected automated instruments designed to study microbes at a pace and scale never before possible.Reshaping Agriculture's FutureThe M2PC facility will not put a new tool directly into a farmer's hands tomorrow morning, but it is actively reshaping the commercial pipeline to solve agriculture's biggest headache with biologicals: inconsistent field performance. For years, PNNL researchers have explored how microbes work and how they might help produce useful materials, advance energy technologies, and address challenges involving critical materials and minerals. But those experiments have been limited by what researchers could accomplish by hand."They can be used to provide nutrients to a plant so that the plant would grow more. So, like increasing your crop productivity, for example," said Douglas Mans, PNNL's Associate Laboratory Director for Integrated Discovery Sciences.PNNL's own research shows soil microbes can help plants access nutrients and withstand drought—benefits that could prove crucial as farmers face growing environmental pressures. The M2PC facility will allow scientists to identify and optimize useful microbes faster than ever before, accelerating the development of biological solutions that actually work consistently in the field.What Makes M2PC UniqueThe Microbial Molecular Phenotyping Capability differs from traditional research labs because it operates as a first-of-its-kind, AI-enabled autonomous laboratory designed to shrink experimental timelines from years down to months or weeks. The M2PC lab will connect more than 100 automated instruments to grow microbes, prepare samples, measure their behavior, and link observations to the molecular processes behind them. Artificial intelligence will help analyze results and guide the next experiments, allowing scientists to explore more questions faster.Deb Gracio, PNNL Director, emphasized the transformative potential during Tuesday's groundbreaking ceremony: "Research that has taken years will become possible in months and hopefully in weeks."That acceleration is already being demonstrated. PNNL's smaller automated lab, called the Anaerobic Microbial Phenotyping Platform or AMP2, completed three experimental cycles in just 72 hours—a process that normally would have taken about six months."That normally would have taken us about six months … and we were able to do that in 72 hours," Mans said.The AMP2 laboratory is not being closed or replaced. Instead, the current 1,800-square-foot laboratory serves as an active prototype and precursor for the much larger M2PC facility. AMP2 will continue operating as a separate lab designed to run anaerobic experiments—those conducted in the absence of oxygen—while M2PC will focus on aerobic research.Broader Applications Beyond AgricultureWhile improving crop productivity is one important application, the M2PC facility is designed to support research into multiple areas critical to national priorities. The lab will advance research into biofuels, manufacturing materials, and energy technologies. It will also help researchers understand how microbes respond to environmental changes and how to design biological systems for biotechnology applications.As a flagship component of the Department of Energy's Genesis Mission, M2PC represents a significant investment in using artificial intelligence and automation to accelerate U.S. scientific discovery. Dorothy Koch, Associate Director of the DOE Office of Science Biological and Environmental Research program, highlighted the facility's importance during the groundbreaking."M2PC will accelerate biological discovery and design," Koch said, noting that the facility is expected to conduct a minimum of 500 strain experiments per week, 100 microbiome experiments per week, and take a million measurements per month.Economic Opportunity for the RegionBeyond the scientific breakthroughs, the M2PC project represents significant economic opportunity for the Tri-Cities region. The facility will require hiring automation engineers, AI experts, technicians skilled in operating robotics, and specialized craftspeople to build and maintain the sophisticated equipment."We're anticipating that type of hiring," Mans said when asked about job creation.PNNL has already begun recruiting talent nationally and internationally for positions related to the smaller AMP2 lab, bringing automation engineers from cities like Boston and San Francisco to work in the region. The M2PC facility is expected to accelerate that trend."This capability won't really exist anywhere else in the world," Mans said, suggesting the facility could become a draw for scientific talent seeking to work on cutting-edge biotechnology research.Timeline and Next StepsThe M2PC facility is expected to open in 2029. Between now and then, construction crews will level and prepare the ground, while the building takes shape. Simultaneously, Ginkgo Bio Works, the automation contractor, will build the facility's automation components off-site so they can be installed as the building is completed.In the interim, PNNL researchers and the broader scientific community will begin planning the first experiments to be conducted in the facility, ensuring research is lined up and ready to begin as soon as the doors open.The groundbreaking ceremony included representatives from the Department of Energy, PNNL leadership, and elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels, underscoring the project's significance to the region and the nation's biotechnology future. News The U.S. Department of Energy Secretary tours Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Dan Hanson, Apple Valley News Now News Beyond DNA: Scientists Explore New Frontiers in Biology Research Dan Hanson, Apple Valley News Now News TRIDEC optimistic that Hanford, PNNL will see funding in national budget Robert Desaulniers News Big picture science: monitoring the Yakima River Basin News PNNL research could shape the future of fighting fentanyl COPYRIGHT 2026 BY APPLE VALLEY NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
Centennial Yards lands flagship retail for growing Entertainment District
A company described as world-class and one of the most powerful players in sports retail is planting its flag in the growing Entertainment District at the heart of Centennial Yards and the doorstep of Atlanta’s largest sports coliseums.
Mignon Faget moving from Magazine Street location as landlord turns to 'regional' brand
Maghan Oroszi, who has run the jeweler since 2024, said this week it will move out of its flagship retail space at 3801 Magazine at the end of October. The store will set up a temporary location across the street as it searches for a permanent home elsewhere on the six-mile commercial strip.
Maryland artist creates Black maternal health flag out of hospital baby blankets
“Black maternal health deserved a symbol and something to bring awareness,” Prince George’s County artist Lex Marie said.
Announcing Call for Editors: American Political Science Review (APSR) -
The American Political Science Association (APSA) invites applications for the editorship of American Political Science Review (APSR), with a term beginning on June 1, 2028. APSR is one of the Association’s flagship journals now in [...]
Six Flags Entertainment Investigation Notice: SueWallSt Notifies Investors of Pending Investigation Into Six Flags Entertainment (FUN)
/PRNewswire/ -- Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE: FUN) fell $1.02 in overnight trading to open at $10.90, a decline of about 8.56%, following reports of a fatal...
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! Health Screening Assistance at Flagler Schools
Volunteers needed to assist with Health Screenings (vision, hearing, height/weight BMI and screening for scoliosis) for Flagler Schools Adults over 18 years of age. Community Service hours for school and/or […]
Top salaries at Rush University Medical Center
Rush University Medical Center is a West Side academic medical center and the flagship of the Rush University System for Health.
Double trouble: Sister duo powers nationally ranked flag football team's 15-0 run
Together, the sisters have produced more than 1,800 yards of offense during the Titans' undefeated season.
Mavs Trade of Kyrie Irving? 'Makes Sense,' Predicts NBA Analyst
Kyrie Irving was named the Mavericks player who should be traded as Dallas balances his return with Cooper Flagg's long-term timeline.
Girls' flag football: Tuesday's Southern Section playoffs scores
Check out Tuesday's girls' flag football scores.
Fanatics to Open Flagship Atlanta Sports Retail Experience at Centennial Yards as Part of New Multiyear Partnership with Atlanta Hawks
Deal pairs e-commerce with in-venue retail operations at State Farm Arena New retail destination, as part of mixed-use Centennial Yards real estate development, to offer Hawks and Atlanta team sports merchandise year-round
From Animal Camouflage to AI: The Evolving Science of Staying Unseen
Nature’s game of hide and seek is entering the age of intelligent machines. A new article in National Science Review traces how animal camouflage, advanced materials and artificial intelligence are converging to reshape the contest between detecting an object and keeping it concealed.
Final USA TODAY Sports Super 10 Alaska high school flag football rankings
After winning the state championship, North Pole has been crowned the top flag football team in Alaska.
USA TODAY Sports Super 10 Alabama high school flag football rankings, Week 8
There were plenty of top-10 matchups last week, but only one team walked away with an upset victory.
Ashley Graham joins Business Insider's The Long Play on October 29
Ashley Graham will take the stage at The Long Play, Business Insider's inaugural flagship event taking place October 29 in New York City.
Tax Relief on Losses Stimulates Business Risk-Taking, OECD Says
Countries that provide limited tax relief to loss-making companies risk stifling entrepreneurial risk-taking and the creation of new businesses, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said.
Four Red Flags and One Truth Amid the Peptide Hype
Experimental peptides are all the rage on longevity and “optimization” podcasts, but a lot of the chatter is misleading.
Six Flags Stock After Fatal Roller Coaster Accident Has The Bull Case Changed?
Six Flags Entertainment reported that a man died and several guests were injured after falling from the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia on October 12, 2026, and stated that the park is cooperating fully with local authorities. The incident adds fresh scrutiny to Six Flags Entertainment's ride safety practices and could affect operating costs, legal exposure, and capital priorities related to park maintenance and attraction upgrades. This article now examines how Six Flags...
‘Not Exactly What I Want To See Puka Nacua Doing’ — Sports Doctor Flags Rams WR’s Risky Play vs. Bills
Fans couldn’t have asked for a better Monday Night Football matchup as the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills delivered a thriller at SoFi Stadium. Although Josh Allen and the Bills came out on top with a 37-34 overtime victory, the Rams kept the game close and forced overtime in the final seconds of regulation.
Mavericks Overwhelmed By Hawks As Defensive Problems Persist
Dallas struggles to contain Atlanta's offense in its preseason finale as Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg return, leaving Dusty May with concerns before opening night.
Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE:FUN) Sets New 52-Week Low
Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE:FUN) Reaches New 52-Week Low - Here's Why
Six Flags Entertainment (FUN) Moved, So What Is Drawing Attention Now?
A fatal accident on the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Entertainment (FUN) Over Georgia has become the central focus for investors watching the stock after a sharp after hours selloff. The latest move leaves Six Flags Entertainment trading at US$11.92, with a 1-day share price gain of 4.47%. This partly offsets a 30-day share price decline of 9.15% and a 90-day share price fall of 36.63% as investors reassess operational and legal risk after the accident. The 1-year total shareholder...