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Chris Murphy's office issues health update after senator's stroke
The Connecticut Democrat will miss the next few weeks of Senate votes after experiencing a small brain bleed. His doctor expects a "full recovery."
Small Business Showcase awards $10,000 to Athol Trading Post
ATHOL – Some 200 people attended Thursday night’s inaugural Small Business Showcase, which featured entrepreneurs representing five small businesses. At the end of the night, Arlene and Dale Belliveau of Athol Trading Post were awarded the top prize of $10,000, while the $5,000 People’s Choice award went to Beth Jaillet of MacMannis Florist & Greenhouses. […]
Hackers Target OpenSSH SSHole Flaw Within Hours of Disclosure, Gain Root on Honeypot
Attackers are exploiting CVE-2026-123158 in OpenSSH, with root access confirmed on an Alpine Linux honeypot. OpenSSH 10.6p2 fixes the flaw.
Ask the doctors: Sharing a meal is good for your health
Dear Doctors: I read about a study that says eating meals with other people is good for your mental health. Considering takeout, convenience foods and how much time we spend apart these days, this seems like important information. Do you know what study that was and how it was done?
NASA chief Jared Isaacman defends copilot amid Learjet crash backlash
NASA chief Jared Isaacman defended the copilot in the Learjet 60 crash in Florida and said she was doing her job.
New X-Plane To Be Announced At Max Power Airshow: NASA Administrator Isaacman
NASA's boss insists it is "not the one you're thinking about" and has deflected a new question about a 'missing' SR-71.
Google Scores Big Win in Quest to Put Data Centers in Space
The prototype satellite for Project Suncatcher was able to beam back a short haiku about being in space, generated by Google’s Gemma 4 open-source AI model.
Bothell business owners hope to relieve election anxiety by voting
With the election fast approaching, many Bothell business owners are struggling with how to express a desire for change through their votes.
Hands On With Apple's MacBook Pro PROLED XDR: Yes! Touch Displays Come to Mac Laptops
Apple just teased the first full touch-screen MacBook in Los Angeles, and I got to try it. The PROLED XDR looks like a winner—and I'm excited about what it portends for future MacBooks.
Everything Apple Announced at Its 'Pro and Tell' Event: Touch-Screen MacBook Pro, M6 Macs, More
We've got all the details on Apple's week of MacBook, iMac, and iPad mini product announcements, including a MacBook Pro with an OLED touch screen.
Apple Releases Mac Studio With 512GB of RAM, But It Costs As Much As a Small Car
If you upgrade the storage to 16TB, the Mac Studio's price approaches $30,000.
With National City facing deficit, mayoral candidates debate business tax, affordability
In a forum on KPBS’ Midday Edition, City Councilmembers Marcus Bush and Jose Rodriguez discussed new protections for renters and raising the minimum wage.
NASA Leaders Visit Morehead State to Highlight Space Science Excellence
Morehead State University's growing impact in space science and aerospace education drew national attention as university leaders welcomed top NASA officials and federal policymakers to campus. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen and U.S. Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers visited Morehead State on Monday, Oct. 26, to highlight the University's Space Science Center, its partnership with NASA and its contributions to preparing the next generation of scientists, engineers and space professionals. For more than two decades, Morehead State has built a nationally recognized space science program that combines classroom learning with hands-on participation in real-world aerospace projects. MSU has developed significant capabilities in satellite tracking, mission operations and space systems engineering through its work with NASA and commercial aerospace partners. Learn about Space Systems Engineering at MSU by contacting Space Science Center Executive Director Dr. Ben Malphrus at b.malphrus@moreheadstate.edu or calling 606-783-2212.
Ask the doctors: Exercise snacks can improve health, fight boredom
Dear Doctors: You’ve mentioned the idea of “exercise snacks” a few times recently. As someone who gets bored during exercise, this appeals to me. Are they really that helpful, or is it just an “any amount is good” mentality? I’m interested in any studies on the topic and how they were done.
Green Bay Packers rookie kicker Trey Smack addresses 2 missed kicks in loss to Detroit Lions
The Green Bay Packers lost a handful of games last season because Brandon McManus missed multiple field goals that, at the end of the day, proved to be the difference in various contests. For this reason, the Packers made the decision to move on from the former Super Bowl champion and selected Trey Smack in [...]
OPY '26: Thomas Pavy on capturing hope, communicating science
Thomas Pavy, Ocean Conservation (Hope) Photographer of the Year winner retells his journey into science communication and photography.
Susan MacManus sees working class voters continuing to change Florida's landscape
NPA voters could act differently than in prior pst-pandemic elections.
You Don’t Need AI to Dumb Down Your Smart TV. Do This Instead
You could run vibe-coded, side-loaded projects on your TV to disable its more intrusive features, but you really don't have to. Here are several easier ways to minimize ads and stop tracking.
NASA Is Still Aiming for the Next Moon Landing in 2028
Administrator Jared Isaacman said that the space agency was exploring ways to keep Artemis III on target without compromising safety.
10/23/26 – HAWAIʻI CLIMATE COMMISSION LAUNCHING WORKSHOPS TO BOOST SOIL HEALTH AND AGRICULTURAL RESILIENCE
HONOLULU – The Hawaiʻi State Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission (CCMAC), housed within the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), announces CASH4ʻĀina! (Conservation Agriculture and Soil Health for ʻĀina) workshops coming soon to an island near you.
Country stars pay tribute to Dolly Parton in CMA special
Country music stars perform onstage as 'CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton,' Oct. 21, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
Gov. Healey leads roundtable talk on maternal health, postpartum care at UMass Chan
The roundtable discussion was co-hosted by UMass Chan and UMass Memorial Health.
GTA 6 Standard Edition vs. Ultimate Edition: Which Version Is the Better Deal?
Rockstar offers two ways to experience GTA 6; here's how to choose which one is for you.
Political Pulse: Don Haggar runs for Public Utilities Commission as a Republican
Former state lawmaker Don Haggar is running as a Republican for the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, pledging to be an impartial voice in quasi-judicial role.
Rams to Sign Kicker Brandon McManus Pending a Physical
The Los Angeles Rams are set to sign veteran kicker Brandon McManus, provided he can pass a physical
UAFS launches manufacturing academy
The manufacturing academy at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith (UAFS) began this week and has 20 participants receiving a training cycle for free that would cost almost $4,000,...
LACMA, Perrotin, the new Metro and now the Brick: Todd Gray is having a banner year
Todd Gray has a solo show opening at the Brick on Oct. 18 — the cap on a banner year including a LACMA commission, a solo show at Perrotin and a public art piece for the Wilshire/La Cienega station for the D line.
Brandon McManus, Matt Prater to work out for Rams
Free-agent placekickers Brandon McManus and Matt Prater will work out for the Los Angeles Rams on Tuesday
How Boston Dynamics is turning robots into a real business
CFO Amanda McMaster explains how Spot found paying customers and why Hyundai's backing could help Atlas scale.
The Brockman Gallery is celebrated in new LACMA exhibition
The Brockman Gallery, founded by brothers Alonzo and Dale Brockman Davis after the Watts rebellion, became a community hub for multicultural experimentation in art. That legacy is explored in a new exhibition at LACMA.
Latino voters helped put Trump back in the White House. What's their next move?
The path to a U.S. House majority runs through heavily Latino districts in states such as Arizona, Colorado and Texas, where Democrats are counting on disaffected Trump supporters to swing back their way.
iOS’s New Handoff Feature Will Cost $10 on Verizon
It will cost twice as much to use the new feature on Verizon as on T-Mobile.
Nvidia's RTX Spark Event in San Francisco Attracts Long Lines, But Few Buyers
Dozens lined up to check out the first RTX Spark laptops on launch day, but actual purchases were few and far between, with curious Nvidia fans citing the machines' high cost.
CCIA UK Responds to CMA Investigation of Microsoft’s Business Software Ecosystem
London – The UK Competition and Markets Authority today announced the next stage in its Strategic Market Status (SMS) investigation regarding Microsoft's
Auburn Faces Difficult Decision at Center After Cole Best's Struggles
Auburn football faces questions at center after Cole Best struggled against Tennessee. Ahead of facing No. 1 Georgia, Alex Golesh could evaluate Kail Ellis, Cole Skinner and Kenneth McManus as offensive line alternatives, though a starting change appears unlikely this week.
Asus’ new business laptop will have 8GB of RAM and be aimed at less business-y types.
Asus is announcing the ExpertBook A7: a 14-inch laptop with a 120Hz OLED display and an Intel Core 5 320 chip. It’s available today, starting at $1,299.99 with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. But coming in the new year is an 8GB / 256GB version for a more affordable $899. 8GB felt workable in the XPS 13, and it didn’t have a fancy OLED, but it cost $200 less. [Image: https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/A7406CMA_Standard_06_Silver_20260813_whitebg.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] [Image: https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/A7406CMA_Standard_04_Black_20260813_whitebg.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] [Image: https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/A7406CMA_Standard_09_Black_20260813_whitebg.jpg?quality=90&strip=all]
Inside the iPhone Duo and 18 Pro Cooling System: Apple Engineers Reveal a Simple Trick
In an exclusive interview with PCMag, Apple’s silicon and thermal teams explain the engineering that lets the A20 Pro chip run hotter and faster without cooking your phone.
Rosé, part of the K-pop group Blackpink, will perform at LACMA
Rosé, a member of the K-pop girl group Blackpink, is also a successful solo female artist. She'll perform at LACMA's Art+Film Gala this year.
GTA 6 Leaker Teases 'Playable Build' Launch, Doubles Down on Crypto Scheme
CyberLeek suggests it has a 200GB software build for Grand Theft Auto 6, which it will release if its meme coin reaches a $30 million market cap.
Top Science Photography Award Winner Stripped For AI Use
Following the incident, Nikon said in a statement that it plans to 'revisit rules and evaluation procedures for future competition entries.'
Top Science Photography Award Winner Stripped For AI Use
Following the incident, Nikon said in a statement that it plans to 'revisit rules and evaluation procedures for future competition entries.'
Top Science Photography Award Winner Stripped For AI Use
Following the incident, Nikon said in a statement that it plans to 'revisit rules and evaluation procedures for future competition entries.'
Top Science Photography Award Winner Stripped For AI Use
Following the incident, Nikon said in a statement that it plans to 'revisit rules and evaluation procedures for future competition entries.'
How Baton Rouge businesses are putting AI to work
Artificial intelligence is moving faster than many businesses anticipated, forcing leaders to continually rethink how their organizations adopt the technology, train employees and improve efficiency. For Baton Rouge companies, the challenge is not simply implementing AI, but finding practical ways to integrate it into everyday operations. As Business Report writes in its Best Places to […]
Microsoft Surface and Windows Event 2026: All the Announcements and Analysis Live From San Francisco
Today's the day! We hope to learn fresh details about the Surface Laptop Ultra, the next chapter for Windows, and the future of Copilot at Microsoft's fall event. Follow along with all of our expert commentary and on-the-ground updates, and tune in to the livestream later this afternoon.
'Home of the Future' at LACMA explores dark side of American dream
Across six decades, designers and corporations sold the home as a route to health, freedom and security. The exhibition raises the harder question of who paid for that dream.
SpaceX Reveals How Close Other Satellites Get to Its Starlink Constellation
A SpaceX executive says a lack of coordination among rival satellite operators could imperil Starlink, citing the risk of collisions.
We Found the 145 Best Prime Day Tech Deals From Apple, Dell, HP, Samsung, Sony, and More
Amazon's Big Deal Days is happening right now, and here at PCMag Deals, we're tracking down the very best tech deals on top-rated products with the deepest discounts just for you.
Apple Confirms AT&T iPhone 18 Pro Max Problems. You Might Need a New Phone
This week's iOS update is intended to prevent this from happening to other phones. If your iPhone 18 Max Pro has already lost service, you'll need to return it for a new one.
Skip the Wait. Microsoft's 26H2 Update Fixes the Parts You Hate Most About Windows 11
From a movable taskbar to Bing-free search, Windows 11's 26H2 update unlocks the features Microsoft's slow rollout has kept from your PC over the last year.
Mike Rowe on America’s great tradesperson shortage: ‘I don’t care what your politics are. Math doesn’t care, either’
At Ford Pro Accelerate, Rowe sparred with Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Defense's Mike Duffy about the divide between college and the trades.
Lady A's Charles Kelley diagnosed with rare blood cancer after painful health scare
Lady A's Charles Kelley shared a video revealing that unexplained rib fractures led doctors to discover multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer.
Yankees At-Bat of the Week: Ryan McMahon (9/23)
McMahon drove in five runs on the day to lead the Yankees’ thrashing of the Rays last Wednesday.
Arkansas football has productive recruiting day for Tulsa game
Arkansas football had a productive Saturday evening hosting recruits from several different classes for unofficial visits for the Tulsa game.
Tom Cruise, Alejandro G. Iñárritu unveil new Ed Ruscha 'Digger' poster
Tom Cruise, Jesse Plemons and John Goodman — stars of Alejandro González Iñárritu's 'Digger' — attended the LACMA unveiling of a new film poster by Ed Ruscha.
Newer Chromebooks Will Be Able to Upgrade to Googlebook OS
The company also confirms it'll continue to support ChromeOS through mid-2034.
Nikon Made a $1,400 Full-Frame Camera for Gen Z and I Might Be Too Old for It
The Z5IIC targets screen-first creators by ditching the viewfinder, but taking this fun-sized full-frame camera into bright sunlight reveals the trade-off.
Mavs BREAKING: Dereck Lively Injury Update For Camp? 'Confounding'
The Dallas Mavericks center has reportedly not been cleared to participate in training camp while he recovers from a December surgery on his injured right foot, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon.
Meet the hairy-legged, red-eyed sea spiders new to science
Two new sea spider species have been discovered in the Salish Sea by UBC researchers - the first described there in almost 100 years.
Discord’s Controversial Age Checks Are Back: Here’s What the Backlash Changed
The restriction will roll out to all users from today, marking you as either a teen or an adult.
New York Yankees Announce Ryan McMahon Decision Before Rays Series
The New York Yankees are set to begin a series with the American League-leading Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday with a doubleheader scheduled.The first game is set to feature left-handed pitcher Carlos Rodón for New York and righty Nick Martinez for the Rays, with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET.Ahead of the matchup, Yankees […] The post New York Yankees Announce Ryan McMahon Decision Before Rays Series appeared first on HEAVY.
SpaceX Seems to Expand 'Free' Starlink Mini Perk to All Residential Plans
Starlink quietly tweaks language about the 'Optional Mini Kit' perk, which used to only be for the Residential Max plan.
Maringá seal second win in the Série C final stage
Maringá defeated Botafogo-PB and claimed its second win in the final stage of Série CCredits: Fernando Teramatsu / MFCMaringá secured its second win in the final stage of Série C this Saturday (19...
Science on Tap: Mechanics of Messaging
A monthly series of informal discussions by the SEE Science Center on relevant topics with local experts and scientists. Doors open at 5pm. Events are free. Advance Sign up appreciated. Food and drink can be ordered off the menu.Oct. 13 Topic: Mechanics of MessagingWe all know that Gutenberg changed the world, but printing technology did not stop there. Join us to discuss how NH has played a role in the evolution of high-tech printing and related technologies. From Dot-Matrix, to Ink jet to Laser and 3-D discover what is being employed, how it evolved and where it is headed next.Panelists will include:James K McMahon- Layer Grown Model Technology Services-Retired
CMA will honor Dolly Parton with a 2-hour live TV tribute
LOS ANGELES — The Country Music Association will put on a two-hour live TV special honoring Dolly Parton, who died last month at the age of 80. The association said
CMA to honor Dolly Parton in TV tribute on ABC, Disney+, Hulu
On Wednesday, the Country Music Assn. announced that it would produce a two-hour live special honoring Dolly Parton, who died last month at the age of 80.
CMA announces live tribute TV special for Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton will be celebrated in a new television special.
South Carolina Announces Recipients of Rural Health Transformation Program Funding
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster this week announced the state has awarded 228 grants totaling $167,299,900.69 in funding to strengthen health care access, quality and outcomes in primary care, maternal and infant care, pediatrics and behavioral...
South Carolina organizations awarded $167M to transform rural healthcare access
Gov. Henry McMaster announced Tuesday that South Carolina has awarded more than $167 million in grants to expand and modernize healthcare in the state’s rural communities.
SC awards 228 grants with Rural Health Transformation Program funding
Gov. Henry McMaster announced on Tuesday the recipients of the Rural Health Transformation Program funding.South Carolina has awarded 228 grants totaling $167,
Yankees Have a Ryan McMahon Problem They Might Not Address
Will the New York Yankees replace Ryan McMahon at third base this offseason?
Citizen science survey to assess summer impacts on UK and Irish rivers
The River Idle in Nottinghamshire. The Big River Watch will gather observations of river conditions, pollution and wildlife. The impacts of summer drought, ...
Colin McMahon: Amid political roar, Army keeps its head down
The Army must work harder than ever at staying out of politics and focusing on the task at hand.
Samsung Trolls Apple by Hiring 'Tim Cook' to Endorse Galaxy Z Fold 8
Samsung takes aim at Apple's iPhone Duo with a new ad featuring Tim Cook...from New Zealand, not the former Apple CEO.
Greenberg Traurig's Entertainment & Media Practice Congratulates Clients Recognized with CMA Awards Nominations
/PRNewswire/ -- Greenberg Traurig, LLP's Entertainment & Media Practice congratulates its clients on their nominations for the 60th annual Country Music...
Sen. King asks education secretary for answers about mental health grant cuts
Maine's independent senator and a group of Democratic colleagues penned a letter to Linda McMahon asking that she distribute $1 billion in youth mental health funding.
Hands-On With Apple's First Foldable Phone: The iPhone Duo Redefines the Formula
The Apple iPhone Duo is an impressive first-generation folding phone with tricks of its own, even if many of its ideas have been available on Samsung and Google models for years.
CMA Awards nominees 2026: Ella Langley leads the pack with 9 nominations
Lainey Wilson returns to host the country music awards show, which will air live from Nashville on Nov. 18.
Ella Langley leads Country Music Association Awards nods, with mentor Miranda Lambert close behind
Ella Langley leads the 2026 Country Music Association Awards nominations with nine nods, thanks to her hit “Choosin’ Texas.” | WWL
Health board unanimously censures McMahon for his conduct
The Board of Health voted unanimously Wednesday night to censure member Tom McMahon over his conduct during a heated exchange with resident Ryan Wilson at an Aug. 24 meeting, formally putting the board’s disapproval of his behavior on the record. The vote came after a tense, 90-minute discussion during which McMahon acknowledged that he should
You Can Get Up to $1,200 Towards an iPhone 18 Pro with Apple's New Carrier Trade-in Incentives
Anxious to get your hands on the new iPhone 18 Pro? Apple announced new carrier trade-in offers and also recently boosted trade-in values. Just make sure you do this to get top dollar for your old device.
Lori Loughlin files for divorce from Mossimo Giannulli
Designer Mossimo Giannulli and actress Lori Loughlin attend LACMA's 50th Anniversary Gala on April 18, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. (Donato Sardella/Getty Images for LACMA)
2026 NFL Odds: Which Squads Will Reach 10 Wins?
Fourteen teams are favored to reach 10 wins. Is your team one of them? See the odds.
BIM 2.0: unfinished business
BIM 2.0: unfinished business. Revit wasn't finished at launch — so why demand perfection from its challengers now?
LG TVs Reportedly Eavesdrop on Users Even When the Screen Is Off
LG's ACR system reportedly keeps a log of secondary devices connected to your network as well.
Nvidia Wants to Turn Your Idle PCs Into a Personal Home Data Center With 'PAIR'
Nvidia's PAIR links your unused laptops, desktops, and Macs together to run agentic AI locally without subscription fees or cloud privacy risks.
New York health premiums climb despite state pushback on insurers
The Department of Financial Services approved a 6% average rate increase for the individual market and an 8% average hike for small-group plans.
Health board to address concerns after McMahon’s heated exchange with resident
The Board of Health has called a meeting for Wednesday, Sept. 9, to discuss a heated exchange involving member Tom McMahon at its Aug. 24 meeting. McMahon repeatedly interrupted and raised his voice at resident Ryan Wilson, who was addressing the board during public comment. Wilson, who has two children at Marblehead High School and
Final Fantasy Resonance: How Square Enix Turned a Dead Gacha Game Into a Must-Play Console RPG
I went into Final Fantasy Resonance expecting a lazy asset flip. Instead, I found a deeply strategic, meticulously balanced RPG.
Sony and Microsoft say they’re not obligated to pass U.S. tariff refunds to consumers, echoing Nintendo
Back in July, Sony executives told investors that the company expected to receive $508 million in refunds from the U.S. government, after tariffs that the PlayStation-maker paid were ruled mostly in 2025 were found to be illegal. “Most” of the refund would by recouped by Sony’s gaming division, its chief financial officer said. This week, Sony’s lawyers are arguing that the company is not legally obligated to pass those proceeds on to consumers who paid for recently price-hiked PlayStation consoles. That’s in the face of a lawsuit from gamers calling on them to do exactly that. “Paying fair market price for voluntarily purchased consumer goods is not a legally cognizable injury in fact,” the lawyers wrote in a legal motion filed on Monday, as they asked a judge in California’s Northern District to dismiss a potential class action lawsuit over the tariff refunds. Microsoft made a similar argument two weeks ahead of Sony’s lawyers, in a similar lawsuit brought by a gamer in federal court in Washington State. As Microsoft’s legal team put it on August 21, in their request for a dismissal of that lawsuit: “There is nothing unjust about Plaintiff purchasing an Xbox at an advertised price and getting exactly what he paid for—regardless of whatever theory he devised months later about Microsoft’s cost structure.” Both legal fights are set to go on for some time. How things got to this point U.S. tariffs impacting a wide range of imported goods, including game consoles, had kicked off in early 2025. In May 2025, Microsoft raised the price of its Xbox consoles, citing “market conditions and the rising cost of development.” They raised them again that September. In August of that year, Sony raised the price of PlayStation 5 consoles, citing “a challenging economic environment.” Sony later told investors that its tariff fees for the fall quarter were nearly $200 million. in February of this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the 2025 tariffs illegal, prompting impacted companies to begin to request refunds. In turn, consumers began suing the likes of Sony and Microsoft to get what they said was their share. The gamers in the Microsoft and Sony lawsuits argue that the 2025 price hikes of PlayStation and Xbox consoles, which added $50 or more to their sticker price, were due to illegal tariffs and should now be returned to consumers. The Sony suit started in May, when a group of gamers sued in federal court in California, saying Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation) would be unjustly enriching itself if it did not pass tariff refunds to its PS5 buyers. “Sony is poised to be paid twice for the same unlawful tariff burden: once by its customers (through elevated prices) and once by the U.S. government (through tariff refunds),” the gamers’ lawyers wrote at the time. They called for Sony to partially reimburse anyone who bought a PlayStation in the U.S. since August 1, 2025. The Microsoft suit, filed by gamer Trevor Hastings against the Xbox giant in July, made similar claims. The console makers push back In late July, Nintendo’s lawyers, facing a similar suit accusing them of double-dipping on tariffs and refunds, replied with arguments that previewed Microsoft’s and Sony’s: “Nintendo or one of its retailers set a price for each product, and consumers decided whether that price was worth paying,” they wrote. Sony has buttressed that Nintendo-style argument this week by saying that the gamers have failed to prove that tariffs were the reason for its August 2025 PS5 price hike. They call thatclaim “speculative and illogical.” Other factors, including “inflation, currency fluctuations, component costs, logistics, competitive dynamics, or demand,” could have played a role. (No, the Sony lawyers do not break down the costs and factors that officially triggered the price increases). Microsoft has also argued that there’s no proof in these lawsuits that tariffs drove all or some of the price increase, as it seeks to dismiss the tariff refund suit it’s facing: “Plaintiff provides no specific allegations that would establish any pricing differential attributable to tariffs or suggest any possibility that Microsoft applied then or could recreate now any dollar-for-dollar calculation of tariff-related pricing—any more than it could any other market factor that affects pricing.” To further skewer the gamer side’s argument in its case, Sony’s lawyers have pointed to what might be a surprising defense: yet another PlayStation 5 price hike from this past spring, after the tariffs were ruled illegal. “If the original price increase were attributable to tariffs, SIE [Sony Interactive Entertainment, aka PlayStation] would have had no reason to raise prices again after the Supreme Court invalidated the IEEPA tariffs.” … “If tariffs were the cause of the price increases, one would expect SIE to lower prices once the tariffs were eliminated—not raise them again. Instead, the timeline confirms that the pricing of PlayStation consoles includes a diverse and dynamic set of input costs.” Judges have not yet ruled on the arguments made by Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo. Last week, Panic, the company behind the small, yellow Playdate handheld said it would be passing its tariff refunds on to consumers. It is the only gaming hardware maker to have made such a pledge. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my reporting, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Item 2: A reporter’s second Second Life Wagner James Au, who from 2003-2006 was paid by San Francisco-based tech company Linden Lab to be a full-time journalist embedded in their virtual world Second Life, is returning to the company. This time, he’ll be an editorial advisor and business development specialist, he tells Game File. The new role will involve trying to share the stories of people inhabiting Second Life’s ongoing online world with reporters and by extension the public. Au plans to continue to also chronicle some of that through his long-running blog New World Notes. I’ve known Au since the mid-2000s and featured him in a 2007 article for the Columbia Journalism Review about reporters like him opening up virtual news outlets within Second Life. As I wrote at the time: On April 22, 2003, writing as Hamlet Linden for the New World Notes blog on Second Life’s Web site, Au introduced himself. “For the next few months, Linden Lab has invited me to set aside my journalist cap, and instead, don the digital beanie of their in-house virtual correspondent.” He wasn’t paid to keep it positive. He wrote about builders and eccentrics, but then in August of that year, he reported on a tax revolt against Linden Lab (a complaint about the fees it charges users who build stuff) led by a resident whose avatar was a big cat. Second Life has always been less of a video game and more of a virtual world where people can live, hang out, make art, sell virtual items and flirt. Back in 2007, Au described touring it as “sort of like underwater lucid dreaming.” For the past two decades, Au has maintained New World Notes as an independent publication. But he said he’s been drawn back to Second Life and Linden Lab as a place to directly work. The virtual world has around 650,000 monthly active users, he said, “which is actually about what it was during the hype wave.” Au says he’s still finding rich stories in Second Life, the kind that keep him interested 20 years into the beat: “Over the last few months for instance, I wrote about an SL creator in Venezuela whose apartment was destroyed by the earthquakes, so the global SL community rallied to get him back on his feet,” he told me. “Then there’s the woman from a Middle Eastern country who explored her lesbian sexuality in SL, then earned enough from her virtual jewelry to escape her abusive family situation and country.” Au wants to beckon more reporters to give Second Life another look. He argues that it is often ahead of internet trends, noting, for example, an early backlash in the community against AI-made art. Now the platform is drawing curiosity from more of the user-generated content community who’ve grown up with the likes of Roblox, according to Au. “Second Life was too early during its hype wave in 2005-2010, but it now feels right for a new wave of interest,” he told me.
George Lucas on opening Lucas Museum: ‘This one almost broke my will’
Lucas Museum of Narrative Art co-founders George Lucas and Mellody Hobson spoke Wednesday at the press preview for the new museum. "This one almost broke my will," Lucas said.
Microsoft Finally Backs Down: The Windows 11 Taskbar Update You've Been Waiting For
Microsoft is at last reversing one of its most hated design choices—and giving users back the control they've been asking for.
Topicals Appoints New CEO From Fenty Beauty
Founder Olamide Olowe has stepped down from her chief executive role and will become chairwoman as Sukiana Chancy joins the company.
iPhone 18 Pro 'Surprise and Shine' Event Kicks Off Sept. 9. What We Expect to See
At the first event with John Ternus as CEO, we'll like get a foldable iPhone and new Apple Watch, but here's what's reportedly on tap for the iPhone 18 Pro lineup.
Yankees activate Ryan McMahon, add John Schreiber to active roster
The Yankees have made their September 1st roster additions.
Google Hikes Prices of TV Streamer, Nest Doorbells and Cameras
The Google TV Streamer gets a massive 50% bump, with the brand saying its price adjustments reflect rising component costs.
2026 awards calendar: When are the Emmys, VMAs, CMAs and more?
The Emmys and MTV Video Music Awards arrive in September, followed by the Billboard Latin Music Awards, Daytime Emmys, Latin Grammys and CMA Awards.
How did nine children die in a 1991 Pennsylvania measles outbreak?
Several years ago, vaccine expert Paul Offit gave a speech to medical staff at a pediatric hospital, saying some parents choose not to immunize their children...