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China’s DRAM Suppliers Come To The Rescue As They Ramp Up LPDDR4 Production Shortly After Samsung Abandons Customers
Samsung exclusively moving to LPDDR5 production has given Chinese DRAM makers to pursue LPDDR4 manufacturer to cater to abandoned customers
Common cleaning sponge found to release trillions of microplastic fibers
That “magic” sponge under your sink may be hiding an environmental downside. While melamine sponges are famous for effortlessly scrubbing away stubborn stains, they slowly break down as you use them—shedding tiny plastic fibers that wash into water systems. Researchers estimate that globally, these sponges could release over a trillion microplastic fibers every month, potentially entering the food chain and affecting wildlife.
Jade Market launches incubator for Asian retailers amid vision to build cultural, business hub in KC
A small group of Asian entrepreneurs leading product-based businesses are getting an opportunity to brush up on their retail readiness in Hella Good Deeds’ inaugural Jade Market Cohort.
Test your pop culture: From Hollywood to the Heartland
Test your knowledge of entertainment with this quiz on celebrities, trends and headline-making moments. Featured this week: guess the celebrity behind the Instagram post and what couple has made it official.
Trail Blazers vs. Spurs: Is Portland ready for Wemby? Series keys, schedule and prediction
SLED: Upstate man charged with selling alcohol without permit at Myrtle Beach business
Officials said Dukes was booked in the J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Horry County.
The stunning underwater world that’s at risk as the Iran war drags on
Not far from the vessels stuck in the Persian Gulf is a one-of-a-kind marine ecosystem that’s home to dolphins, sea turtles and coral. How do oil slicks affect them?
Grand Strand leaders tout new SC development, business & tourism enterprise
Grand Strand leaders say a new organizational structure will cut costs, streamline work & hear residents. Here’s what will change.
Sun Fun Festival kicks off Myrtle Beach tourist season
The first Sun Fun was held in 1951 to help draw tourists and locals to the Ocean Boulevard area.
Angry researcher drops second Windows Defender zero-day exploit: “They mopped the floor with me”
A disgruntled researcher released a second zero-day Windows Defender exploit, dubbed RedSun, shortly after Microsoft patched the first vulnerability.
TSMC Will Force Smartphone Makers To Make Chipset Downgrades This Year, With DRAM Shortage Also Contributing To This Burden
Even though 2nm chipset launches are expected in Q4 2026, one tipster claims that TSMC will be partly responsible for smartphone companies making downgrades
3 arrested after shots fired outside Clanton business
Officers responded shortly after 3 p.m. to a report of gunfire outside KMA Manufacturing, according toClanton police.
Amazon's budget-friendly answer to the Frame TV will start shipping on April 22
The Fire TVs can double as artwork in your home and come with more than 2,000 pieces of art for free.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans' welcome fans to their new and improved ballpark
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans welcomed the community to a ribbon-cutting ceremony to debut the multi-million dollar improvements to the Ballpark on Monday, April 12.
Voters ousted 3 politicians in Portland’s most purple county. Now they want comebacks
A record 14 candidates are vying for 3 seats in Clackamas County.
Sony Xperia 1 VIII: Launch details of Sony's new flagship phone surface in the wild
A new leak has now revealed some more information on what to expect from Sony's upcoming flagship smartphone. The Xperia 1 VIII will succeed last year's Xperia VII and could be scheduled to debut on the global market shortly.
Phoenix Suns bet on health and identity against Portland Trail Blazers in play-in showdown
PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns enter Tuesday’s play-in matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers in a position they have rarely held this season: relatively healthy. Nov 18, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) dribbles the ball during the first half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center.
Portland's Centennial Middle School identified as measles exposure site
A new measles exposure site has been confirmed at a Portland middle school, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) announced on Tuesday.
Business listings: See 35 new businesses in Central NY (April 14, 2026)
See a list of filings in Cayuga, Cortland, Madison and Onondaga counties.
Portland Lawmaker Wants to Majorly Turn Up the Dial on Forced Mental Health and Addiction Treatment
“If someone is in the fentanyl fold out on the streets, they are not living their best life,” state Sen. Lisa Reynolds says.
Palmetto Sports & Entertainment to air record number of Myrtle Beach Pelicans games this season
There’s even more reason to be excited about the Myrtle Beach Pelicans’ new season.
Poll: Will Steph Curry and the Warriors Advance?
The NBA play-in tournament begins Tuesday, with eight teams looking to advance in the NBA playoffs. On Tuesday, the Phoenix Suns (7 seed) host the Portland Trail Blazers (8), and the Charlotte Hornets (9) host the Miami Heat (10). On Wednesday, the Philadelphia 76ers (7) host the Orlando Magic (8), and the Los Angeles Clippers (9) host the Golden State Warriors (10).
Jersey Bulls Women stay on course for league title
Jersey Bulls Women keep their promotion ambitions on track with a 6-0 win over Hartland at Springfield.
Suns-Trail Blazers NBA Play-in matchup set
The NBA Play-In Tournament matchup between the Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers is set for Tuesday at Mortgage Matchup Center.
Eight years later, Apple quietly shuts the door on AI chief John Giannandrea
Since his retirement was announced in 2025, Apple Intelligence head John Giannandrea has been reduced to the role of an advisor, but is now expected to exit Apple Park shortly.
Heartland Sports on The Breakfast Show 4/12
Heartland Sports on The Breakfast Show 4/12
Fan World of Warcraft servers face shut down as Blizzard wins Turtle WoW case
Activision Blizzard has won its court case against Turtle WoW, delivering a Cease and Desist order to the World of Warcraft server network.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting to face questions on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
This week, Victoria Derbyshire is stepping in for Laura Kuenssberg. Tory MP James Cartlidge and Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey will also be on the show.
Reform’s Startup Culture Raises Risks Ahead of Local Elections
Earlier this year, as Reform UK official Shaun Wilkinson was shortlisting candidates for May’s local elections, he watched in astonishment as a superior remotely replaced one pick in the shared spreadsheet with a recent Conservative defector who he’d rejected.
New Myrtle Beach distillery, brewery set for grand opening at Broadway at the Beach
Ole Smoky Distillery and Yee-Haw Brewing Co. are set to open up a joint distillery and brewery at Broadway at the Beach in May, something the brand is calling a "one-of-a-kind" experience for visitors and locals alike.
“AI polls” are fake polls
A few weeks after Donald Trump’s second presidential win, I took the train up from London (where I was living at the time) to Oxford to attend a conference on polls and forecasts of the 2024 election. Most of the attendees were pollsters or academics, but I also watched presentations from Aaru and Electric Twin, two companies that do what is interchangeably called synthetic sampling, silicon sampling, or synthetic audiences. Stripped of startup jargon, that means they use large language models (LLMs) to simulate responses to public opinion polls by having AI agents take on the role of survey respondents. I had already heard of Aaru thanks to some articles with eye-catching headlines like “No people, no problem: AI chatbots predict elections better than humans” in the months leading up to Election Day. The founders were making some big, some might even say far-fetched claims, such as: “within two years, we will simulate the entire globe — from the way crops are grown in Ukraine to how that impacts production of oil in Iraq, trade through the strait of Malacca, and elections for the mayor of Baltimore.” When Semafor asked Aaru’s cofounders — Cameron Fink and Ned Koh — about my boss, they said “we respect all those who came before us.” Nate (as he so often does) shared his thoughts on Twitter: Fink and Koh were relatively good-natured about this back-and-forth when we spoke at Oxford. They even offered to mail me one of the t-shirts featuring Nate’s quote they apparently had made. I never took them up on the offer, which I now somewhat regret. These synthetic sampling companies fell off my radar for a while, but they do still exist. In fact, Aaru recently received a $1 billion valuation. Is what they’re doing anywhere close to the most important frontier in AI development? Not by a longshot, especially when Anthropic just developed a model so adept at exploiting software vulnerabilities that it’s only being released to 40 companies. Still, silicon sampling is increasingly finding its way into public polling. Axios reported in March that “a majority of people trust their own doctors and nurses” based on findings from Aaru — without mentioning that the “people” in that sentence were actually LLMs. Around the same time, the Public Sentiment Institute “boosted” their online sample of 373 real survey respondents with 114 AI agents.1 (Spoiler alert: even the co-founder of Electric Twin doesn’t think that’s a particularly defensible approach.) Polling companies like Qualtrics and Ipsos are also developing synthetic data panels. So, what should we make of these … “polls”? Let’s get one thing out of the way: whatever they are, they’re not polls in the way that term is usually defined. Subscribe You can’t replace polls with AI On one hand, using LLMs to essentially make up fake survey respondents sort of sounds like the dumbest idea ever, one that will at best imperfectly replicate real polls while introducing all sorts of biases. On the other hand, with LLMs improving at a remarkable, perhaps even alarming rate, maybe that means I’m a dinosaur at the ripe old age of 24 because I still want to rely on polls that talk to actual people. I’m not going to argue that synthetic samples are completely useless. In fact, as I’ll return to later, there is evidence that some techniques can replicate topline survey results quickly and cheaply. But the marketing from certain companies can be slightly optimistic. “No traditional poll will exist by the time the next general election occurs,” said Fink in 2024. We’re just 206 days away from the midterms, and based on the fact that I still have to collect a bunch of polls every day, I’d say he should have run that prediction by a sample of AI agents before the interview.2 To see why synthetic samples can’t replace polls, here’s a quick primer on how they work. The simplest version of these models involves taking a LLM (like ChatGPT or Claude), giving it a demographic profile (e.g., a white, college-educated woman who lives in Utah and makes $70k a year), and then asking it to respond to a survey question. You repeat that process a few thousand times using different demographic profiles and end up with a sample of synthetic survey responses. The actual models used by private companies are more sophisticated than this, usually because they incorporate more hypothesized demographic characteristics for each agent and provide them with extra information. Aaru, for example, feeds agents a diet of news and information they’d be likely to consume, while Electric Twin incorporates their customers’ proprietary data about the audience they’re trying to replicate. The way Ben Warner, the co-founder of Electric Twin, explained it to me was “we have a large amount of data on […] for instance, 5,000 people. Can we make an accurate prediction of how they would respond to another question?” Still, it should be obvious why synthetic samples can’t replace polls. Polling is fundamentally a data collection process. We might use surveys to make predictions by feeding them into election forecasts, but the main purpose of a poll isn’t prediction, it’s gathering new data about what people think and how they feel. Silicon sampling, on the other hand, produces no new data. It’s simply a model: you input LLM training data, demographic prompts, and a bunch of other information, and it spits out a prediction for what a poll would say. We love models here, but models aren’t polls. That difference is an important philosophical sticking point for most pollsters I talk to. “I think politics should stay away from [synthetic sampling], because we’re trying to […] represent the voice of the people,” said Natalie Jackson, a vice president at GQR Insights. Democratic pollster John Hagner told me: “I think I’m just incredibly skeptical of this idea. I don’t think it’s research. At that point, you’re asking the machine to tell you what you already believe.” Hagner has seen some presentations of early synthetic sampling experiments, but so far, “if it’s being used in a campaign, people are keeping it incredibly quiet.”3 But Eli, I hear you saying, aren’t polls themselves increasingly governed by modeling decisions? Indeed they are: pollsters’ choices on which sampling method to use, how to define their likely voter models, and how to weight their samples can and do lead to dramatic differences in the results they publish. Aaru even referenced these limitations in the methodology statement included with that maternal mortality “poll” — although I’m using the term “methodology statement” loosely here, because it doesn’t really explain how the model works at all. We can ignore the (frankly preposterous) implication that synthetic sampling isn’t subject to a separate set of biases. The important point is that there’s still a meaningful difference between using weighting and other statistical techniques on actual polling data and using a model to predict what a poll would say. The latter is far closer to election forecasts or techniques like MRP — potentially useful models, but not a replacement for polls.4 To be fair, other synthetic sampling companies are perfectly happy with the distinction between polls and models. Warner compared polling and synthetic sampling to different tools in a toolbox. “The mistake I think we make is we think that these new tools should either work in exactly the same way or somehow replace these old tools,” he said. “Rather than thinking of it as, okay, so we’ve always had the hammer, we’ve always had the screwdriver, now we’ve got a saw. But don’t use a saw to try [to] do the job of a hammer.” A quick comment from Nate Eli didn’t ask me for a comment — rather rude of him, don’t you think? But since I’m editing this story, I figured I’d add a few quick thoughts rather than putting words in his mouth. Beyond the frequently misleading marketing, what bothers me about the AI “poll” hype is that as AI tools make statistical inference cheaper and/or better (note that these are not synonyms) that actually increases the comparative value of collecting original data. You might be able to train a model to make a reasonable estimate of what some hard-to-reach poll respondent would say — say, a young Black man who voted for Trump. (Such a person checks a number of boxes for a voter who is usually hard to reach in surveys.) Indeed, this is closely related to what models like the Silver Bulletin forecast already do. They essentially smooth out the kinks in noisy survey data by making inferences based on past voting patterns or national polls or surveys of other states. But you don’t actually know what these voters think unless you’re reaching them directly. If there’s a shift in opinion among this subgroup, you’re not going to detect it. So if I were running a campaign, I’d invest more in going the extra mile to find a representative sample of those voters. And then I’d hire some smart quants — or Claude? — to figure out the implications for campaign strategy based on proprietary data that my competitors didn’t have access to. -Nate Silver Are these models any good? If synthetic surveys are just a new type of model, the next obvious question is whether the models are at least accurate. The answer very much depends on who you ask. On one end of the spectrum, you have the maximalist argument that synthetic sampling is more accurate than actual polls. “It’s an incredibly challenging problem to go to someone and say ‘hey, we’re going to be more accurate at predicting human behavior than you, even when you talk to your customers directly’,” Koh recently told CNBC. In his view, synthetic sampling isn’t a saw to polling’s hammer, it’s “magic.” There’s certainly evidence that synthetic samples can replicate certain survey toplines. But if Aaru does have any examples of their approach outperforming the polls, they’re keeping those to themselves.5 Aaru’s 2024 election model, for example, had Kamala Harris leading in Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin on November 4th. And although they’ve since taken down their forecast page, they gave Harris a 50.5 percent chance of winning the race on November 2nd.6 After the election, Fink told Semafor he was happy enough with those results because they were “within margin of error,” a term that is completely meaningless when applied to a “sample” of AI agents. And of course, Aaru says their models have improved since 2024, so supposedly now they’d be more accurate than the polls? Still, their stronger argument is on cost: “We are significantly faster and cheaper than traditional polling, and still more accurate,” said Fink. The first two claims are undeniably true, but the third brings us to the opposite end of the spectrum. Both Jackson and Hagner are skeptical that these models are reliable for anything beyond replicating common survey toplines. “I just […] don’t think the machines are what we want when we’re looking for nuanced views. My example on this is people in Arizona and Nevada in 2024 who voted for Trump and voted for expanding abortion in their states on ballot initiatives,” said Jackson. Hagner identified another issue. Maybe the synthetic respondents, like sycophantic LLMs, are inhuman in one important way: they’re too nice. “The reports that have come through at the meetings that I’ve been at are that the early experiments on this, they cannot get respondents to be as racist or sexist or, frankly, as negative as human respondents,” he said. Academic research mostly agrees on this point. While there are some papers that show promising results when using LLMs to replicate polling data, most show that LLMs suffer from various quirks like producing too few “don’t know” responses and can seriously overpredict the favorability of politicians like Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. They also seem to struggle with too little variation between demographic subgroups, so the difference in predicted opinion between Democrats and Republicans, for example, is too small. When I asked Warner about these studies, his response to these papers was that just because academics can’t get synthetic sampling to work doesn’t mean that the technique doesn’t work in general. “Actually, the argument is, okay, yours does not [work]. That does not mean […] for this complex set of machinery, which uses a lot of investment, a lot of time, a lot of money, you can’t get it to work.” Cards on the table, I’m somewhat sympathetic to this argument because academics aren’t exactly great at making election forecasts. Usually, the people with skin in the game are the most accurate. Warner’s argument is that the approach Electric Twin takes — which includes, for example, making multiple predictions for each synthetic respondent using different models and prompts and subsequently averaging those to get a final prediction in a sort of ensemble forecast — produces better results than the simpler academic models. Warner shared a comparison between his method and the method from a recent academic paper with me, and Electric Twin was indeed able to get more accurate replication. But even still, he acknowledged that synthetic sampling “is not a crystal ball.” “If you asked me, do I think using other data sources will be more accurate than asking somebody who they will vote for, I would probably say no. But if you asked me ‘would your system be useful for our turnout modeling today?’ I would say yes.” For better or worse, it looks like the method is already getting more popular in the market research world. Most of the clients Aaru touts these days are businesses like EY and McDonald’s. And AI will probably begin to pop up in other parts of the political polling process. Pollsters are already using it to code open-ended survey responses, and some firms, like YouGov, are testing using LLMs to ask survey respondents questions. More worryingly, one danger to actual polls is that AI agents can be used to infiltrate online surveys. Most online polls use various checks to prevent that from happening, but there’s conflicting evidence on how effective those filters are and how prevalent AI agents currently are in online panels. If those agents ever become impossible to detect, it might spell the end of online polling, but the solution isn’t to replace all of your respondents with ChatGPT. Silver Bulletin is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a subscriber. Subscribe 1 That particular poll obviously doesn’t meet Silver Bulletin standards for aggregation. But we exclude all Public Sentiment Institute polls from our averages because we classify them as an amateur polling firm. 2 You could argue that Fink meant the next presidential election, but (a) I’m also confident we’ll still have real polls in 2028 and (b) in that case he should have asked an LLM to define “general election.” 3 Quick caveat: that’s reporting from a Democratic pollster. It’s possible that Republicans are more willing to use AI in political campaigns. 4 Indeed, Silver Bulletin does not include “polls” produced by MRP in our forecasts or averages, and we think it’s extremely misleading when their practitioners describe them in a way that suggests original data had been collected among a large number of states or Congressional districts. 5 A recent report from Aaru and EY did show two examples of a synthetic estimate being closer than a survey to a real-world benchmark — but I’d take those findings with a grain of salt because the report reads more like an ad and didn’t involve any sort of prediction being made ahead of time. 6 For comparison, our odds for Harris on the same day were 48.2 percent.
Heartland Sports on The Breakfast Show 4/11
Heartland Sports on The Breakfast Show 4/11
Sisters teen keeping drivers awake with caffeine lollipop business
A Sisters teen teamed up with a Portland businessman to run a caffeine lollipop business, with the goal of ensuring people don’t fall asleep at the wheel. Kale Gardner, the […]
Chelsea monitoring Nottingham Forest’s Murillo
Chelsea have shortlisted Nottingham Forest centre-half Murillo as the Blues search for defensive reinforcement this summer, according to Jacob Steinberg.Chelsea desperately need an experienced defende...
From Hollywood headlines to Heartland buzz: Are you on the pulse?
Test your knowledge of entertainment with this quiz on celebrities, trends and headline-making moments. Featured this week: guess the iconic duo and who is causing a stir in Hollywood.
NBA player prop picks, odds, predictions, free best bets: Model includes Deni Avdija on Friday, April 10
The SportsLine model has simulated every NBA game 10,000 times and revealed its best player prop bets
Clippers, Trail Blazers duke it out for No. 8 seed
Jockeying for positioning in the Western Conference play-in round hits the home stretch on Friday when the Portland Trail Blazers welcome the Los Angeles Clippers for a crucial showdown.
New sports business major taps into Portland sports culture
For those dreaming of careers in fields like sports marketing or working with the Portland Trail Blazers, Adidas or Nike, declaring the new sports business major can unlock opportunity, according to Michael DeVaughn, dean of the School of Business. Beginning in spring 2026, the Bachelor of Business Administration in Sports Business will be available for underclassmen to declare at UP.
New sports business major taps into Portland sports culture
For those dreaming of careers in fields like sports marketing or working with the Portland Trail Blazers, Adidas or Nike, declaring the new sports business major can unlock opportunity, according to Michael DeVaughn, dean of the School of Business. Beginning in spring 2026, the Bachelor of Business Administration in Sports Business will be available for underclassmen to declare at UP.
'It should have been five or six'
Jamie Carragher says the gulf between Liverpool and Paris St.Germain in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final was "absolutely startling". The Reds, who failed to register a shot on target at Parc des Princes, have a two-goal deficit to overturn in next week's second leg.
Sen. Cory Booker shouts out an Oregon high school science teacher
The New Jersey Democrat recorded a selfie video during his visit to a Southeast Portland high school.
Country Thunder is no friend of sea turtles, or following protocol
Event promoters are already selling tickets even as the event's status remains in question.
No Man's Sky goes full-on Pokémon in new creature-battling update - "This is an entire multiplayer game all of its own"
With No Man's Sky's tenth anniversary hurtling ever closer, the exploratory space sim is back with another update - and this time it's basically Pokémon.
ASUS Resorts To Deceptive Practices, Raises The Prices Of Its Snapdragon X2 Elite Laptops Shortly After Reviews Go Live
Almost immediately after views of ASUS’ Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme and Snapdragon X2 Elite laptops went live, the company raised prices
SUNY Cortland adds business student credential potential
The Certified Financial Analyst University Affiliation Program offers a new partnership with a global business institute.
Direct Marketing Solutions to lay off Portland workers
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Another employer is permanently shuttering its Portland location and laying off employees. Direct Marketing Solutions will close its Portland production facility and lay off 106 employees, according to a worker adjustment notice filed Monday. The company’s headquarters, which are also in Portland, will remain open and continue to employ 50 marketing […]
Portland business shutting down, 106 employees laid off
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Another employer is permanently shuttering its Portland location and laying off employees. Direct Marketing Solutions will close its Portland production facility and lay off 10...
Direct mail company to eliminate 106 Portland jobs
Direct Marketing Solutions said it’s expanding elsewhere. It also has operations in Illinois and Pennsylvania.
The Boundless Deep: Young Tennyson, Science, and the Crisis of Belief by Richard Holmes
Pantheon Review by Walter Cummins The image of Alfred Tennyson I’ve carried for decades goes back to the childhood card game of Authors that depicts him with a stately continence sharpened by a jutting black beard. He’s formidable, his aura superior. Holmes opens his biography of the youthful Tennyson by describing the similar formality of the imposing Tennyson statue at Trinty College Cambridge, sharing the honor with other Trinity greats, including Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, and Thomas Babington Macaulay. Holmes doesn’t want to chip away at that statue but rather reveal its inner youthful core of the man—tall, handsome, and talented but unformed, emerging from a disturbed family of addicted or insane male siblings and four unusual sisters struggling under a violent alcoholic clergyman father. Alfred was certainly statuesque, but would he end up a block of unformed stone like his equally promising brothers? He was youngest of three equally regarded Tennyson brothers at Cambridge, all bright, handsome, and talented, in fact Alfred regarded by some as less promising than his elders who also wrote poetry. Yet Alfred wrote one of his major poems, “The Kraken,” at twenty, revealing both his talent, his interest in geological forces, and the haunting creature that embodied his anxieties. While Holmes focuses on Tennyson of the 1830s and 1840s, he can’t tell his story without exploring his involvement with the Victorian intellectual upheaval. Tennyson was fascinated by new scientific perspectives, following the latest findings as soon as books and articles were published. He was especially taken with Charles Lyell’s deep studies of geology and the discovery of fossils and a timeline of the planet’s development that did much to question fundamental religious assumptions. The impact of these discoveries is reflected in Tennyson’s poetry and led to the crisis in belief he shared with so many contemporaries. He was especially taken by the cycles of destruction and renewal that informed the struggles he confronted in In Memoriam, Maud, and Idylls of the King. Tennyson was only one of the eventual major figures at Cambridge at the same time, young men just beginning to realize their potential. Charles Darwin was at Christ College, although there is no evidence that he and Tennyson even met as students or later in life. Yet evolution became significant in Tennyson’s thinking and the issues of his poetry. One of Tennyson’s best and most important Cambridge friends was Edward FitzGerald, who became the translator of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám and in their on and off relationship served as Tennyson’s harshest critic. FitzGerald was also a friend of the novelist William Makepeace Thackeray, the two of them partying in Paris as undergraduates. That connection led to a friendship between Thackeray and Tennyson. Others who came to play significant roles in Tennyson’s life were Thomas Carlyle, the Brownings, and the Pre-Raphaelites. Tennyson’s deepest friend at college was Arthur Hallam, who at twenty wrote a glowing review of Tennyson’s first poetry collection, travelled on European adventures with him, and fell in love with his sister Emily. Hallam was also regarded as one more very promising Cambridge student. His sudden death at twenty-two in Vienna from a stroke while travelling with his father devastated many friends, but perhaps Tennyson most of all. He did not write immediate poems of grief but took years to compile those collected in In Memoriam A.H.H., published in 1850, almost twenty years after Hallam’s death For all of Tennyson’s early poetic successes and successes, Holmes reveals him as an often troubled young man suffering periods of depression, fearing planetary upheaval, concerned about supporting himself, disappointed in romances, and worried that he would inherit the family’s mental illness tendencies. Yet despite his seeming withdrawals, he was always writing poetry that he kept private and would not let go, constantly revising. 1850 became a transformative year for Tennyson. He finally consented to publishing In Memoriam with a last-minute prologue that acknowledged God and perhaps convinced the religious Emily Sellwood to marry him after years of pursuit.. He opened up to Emily, revealing his struggles with fears of depression and “weird seizures.” The devastating event of that time was the stillborn death of his unnamed first son. It shook him, but Emily’s faith brought them closer and convinced him to believe in an afterlife. Two later sons survived. With the death of William Wordworth in April of 1950, Tennyson was named poet laureate at age forty-one, reluctantly accepting. It’s as if Tennyson’s life split in half in that year. He lived another forty years, now a recognized success, with the prestige of being an official poet writing patriotic verse, wealthy and revered, no longer the insecure young man seeking an outlet for his immense talent. He earned a place in the Authors deck, now dignified and in 1884 elevated to the peerage as Arthur, Lord Tennyson. Richard Holmes is the author of twenty previous books on the Romantics and Victorians, several of which received awards. The Boundless Deep was shortlisted for the 2025 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. He captures the complex vicissitudes of Tennyson’s youth, illustrated by frequent excerpts from the poetry, placing that life in the full context of the shattering discoveries that led to an upheaval of thought in the Victorian age.
Nickelodeon Extreme Tennis Next announced for Nintendo Switch
Today, Gameloft unveiled Nickelodeon Extreme Tennis Next for Nintendo Switch. The game is launching on May 28, 2026. Nickelodeon Extreme Tennis is a fast-paced arcade tennis game featuring popular characters from SpongeBob, Avatar, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and more. Expect character customization, a story mode, split-screen multiplayer, and more. Here’s an official overview: Become your favorite Nickelodeon character, like SpongeBob...
Business economics teams advance in statewide competition
Two SUNY Cortland teams won the first round to bring their business startup ideas to the statewide level.
Winston Salem Fire Department fighting commercial business fire
The Winston-Salem Fire Department posted that they were fighting the fire shortly before 7 a.m.
MIT graduate engineering and business programs ranked highly by U.S. News for 2026-27
U.S. News and World Report ranked MIT’s graduate engineering program No. 1 in the country for 2026-27. The MIT Sloan School of Management is ranked as the nation’s No. 6 business school.
Netflix is launching a new app for kids games
It’s called Netflix Playground, and it’s out now.
GenNx360 Capital Partners Announces Heartland Business Systems Acquisition of Applied Tech Solutions
NEW YORK, April 06, 2026--GenNx360 Capital Partners ("GenNx360"), a New York City-based private equity firm focused on investing in middle market services companies, today announced that its portfolio company, Heartland Business Systems ("HBS"), has acquired Applied Tech Solutions, LLC ("Applied Tech" or the "Company"), a provider of managed IT and cybersecurity services to clients in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions. The acquisition of Applied Tech represents the first acquisition by HBS
President of Myrtle Beach Pelicans stepping down to care for his health
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans have made an announcement regarding the organization’s leadership.
Donald Trump: trouble in the heartlands
The president’s absence from the annual Conservative conference has caused dissent amongst Maga support base
Portland warns outdoor dining setups could pose health risks without proper maintenance
If you are planning to enjoy the warm weather by dining outside, you might want to check before you take your seat.
Oregon gave millions in erroneous benefits for state health plan, audit says
By Shaanth Nanguneri, Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM, Ore. -- A free Oregon health care program for adults who make too much money to qualify for Medicaid could have improperly given out $15 million in payments related to benefits for recipients, according to a recent audit of state-managed federal programs. The “questioned” funds surfaced in an 124-page
From Hollywood headlines to Heartland buzz: Are you on the pulse?
Test your knowledge of entertainment with this quiz on celebrities, trends and headline-making moments. Featured this week: celebrity scandals and guess the celebrity photo.
Op/Ed: N.C. under-invests in PK-12 public education
Partly as a consequence of North Carolina’s budgetary austerity, its spending on pre-K-12 public education has sunk to harmfully low levels. We’re chronically short of teachers; turnover is too high; and teaching is a less appealing career for smart professionals. Our children suffer.
Measles confirmed at Safeway in Portland, health officials say
People who visited the Safeway at 2800 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. within the last week may have been exposed to the measles, the Oregon Health Authority said.
In major speech, Trump says Iran war will be over 'shortly' but offers little clarity
Trump's remarks were his first formal address to the nation since the U.S. and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on Feb. 28.
Portland City Council moves toward small measure of business tax relief
City councilors took an initial step Wednesday to help the smallest of Portland businesses.
Sphere Entertainment (SPHR): Buy, Sell, or Hold Post Q4 Earnings?
The past six months have been a windfall for Sphere Entertainment’s shareholders. The company’s stock price has jumped 82.8%, hitting $116.50 per share. This was partly due to its solid quarterly results, and the performance may have investors wondering how to approach the situation.
Measles exposure location confirmed at Providence Portland Hospital ER waiting room
Health officials have identified a new measles exposure site in the Portland area.
‘Open for Business’: Portland leaders back small business tax relief plan
Portland leaders are considering a proposal to reduce taxes for small businesses by raising the income threshold for the city’s Business License Tax.
PDX launches year two of the pop-up program; two local businesses open up shop
Two new local businesses have opened up shop at Portland International Airport as part of the PDX pop-up program.
Davids Visits Community Health Center, Highlights Medicaid Cuts’ Impact on Kansas Health Care Access
OTTAWA, KS — Today, Representative Sharice Davids visited Heartland Community Health Center’s Healthy Futures mobile dental program at Ottawa High School, which provides dental exams and cleanings to local students.
Behind Portland’s homelessness data, a familiar political fight emerges
Mayor Keith Wilson says estimates of homelessness increasing in Portland don’t match his reality.
Maine business leaders speak out against data privacy bill
Business leaders gathered in Portland Tuesday to speak out against a data privacy bill in Augusta.
There's a startling new plastic surgery trend. It's called 'rib remodeling.'
'Rib remodeling' is a relatively new plastic surgery trend that's picking up steam. How did we get here?
Frankie and the Witch Fingers to perform at Gabe’s for Stop/Time Festival
Catch the electrifying on-stage dynamics of Frankie and the Witch Fingers at Stop/Time Festival as they effortlessly shift between the rumbling depths of sludgy metal and high-octane frantics of garage rock, showcasing their talent for stirring up a storm of melodies.
Employers, legislative leaders seeking change in business atmosphere with bill | The Sum and Substance
Shortly after Steve Swinney and his partners founded Kodiak Building Partners in 2011, they acquired two local companies that they viewed as core to the...
Enthusiast gets Intel Core 9 273PQE "Bartlett Lake-S" boot on consumer Z790 board
Intel Bartlett Lake-S enters POST screen on ASUS Z790, still a lot of work ahead Intel refused to launch its 12 P-Core CPUs for consumer boards, but
3 Insights Into the Future of Business From “The Diary of a CEO” Podcaster Steven Bartlett
What you need to know about agent maxxers and paper walls.
Two Olympic Channel films nominated for Sports Emmy Awards 2026 - Watch now for free
Champions of the Golden Valley and Chuskit & Saldon: Frozen Dreams of Ladakh were both shortlisted for the 47th edition of the annual awards, with the winners announced in May.
Atletico Madrid add Inter defender to summer transfer shortlist
Atletico Madrid are set for another busy summer transfer window, with several areas of Diego Simeone’s squad needing to be addressed. One of those is left-back, which has been a position of concern ...
'Hannah Montana' Star Cody Linley Says It's 'Hard to Believe' People Had Shirtless Photos of Him in Their Lockers
Cody Linley reflected on his time as Jake Ryan on 'Hannah Montana' and being a teenage heartthrob, telling Yahoo Entertainment that 'it’s hard to believe that there were girls that had pictures of me with my shirt off in their locker.'
Heartland Sports on The Breakfast Show 3/28
Heartland Sports on The Breakfast Show 3/28
Canadian business stalls over US trade deal jitters
STORY: The Canadian manufacturing hub of Windsor is home to thousands of small and specialized part makers and caters primarily to car companies and equipment manufacturers. The city thrives on close integration with Detroit, America's automotive capital, just across the river.That means it's also on the frontline of tariff and trade uncertainty with Canada's largest trading partner. JACKIE RAYMOND: "Even if we don't directly work with the automotive industry, we indirectly do."Jackie Raymond is co-owner of FASTSIGNS, a Canadian company that designs and installs custom business signs and graphics.The company is coming off its toughest year since the pandemic. Orders from its core automotive clients dried up.And while a new project brought some relief, the company says customers are placing smaller orders, demanding longer payment terms, and bargaining harder on prices.:: FileIt all points to uncertainty tied to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which is up for review this year. It's a deal U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he could scrap.:: Washington, D.C. / December 2, 2025TRUMP: "...and we'll either let it expire or we'll maybe work out another deal with Mexico and Canada...":: FileThe agreement - known as CUSMA north of the border - exempts most Canadian goods from U.S. levies.While Mexico has started formal negotiations with the U.S. over the deal's renewal, Canada has so far only held informal talks.RAYMOND: "I think the CUSMA is very, very important because it trickles down to every little business right down to your barber shop and your nail shop, which will affect all of our customers."The situation in Windsor reflects a broader unease facing Canada's economy, which contracted 0.6% in the fourth quarter. About 90% of the city's exports cross the border, often multiple times during production.Manufacturing accounts for nearly a quarter of employment in the Windsor-Essex region.Its chamber of commerce, which represents about 750 businesses, says companies paused investments, delayed production, and cut jobs at the height of the tariff uncertainty last year. :: FileWindsor partly regained its footing as Trump exempted USMCA-compliant exports from Canada from tariffs in March last year.But uncertainty still drags on business confidence and Windsor's unemployment level remains one of the highest among major cities in Canada.Local shops complain of lower traffic and restaurants report thinner crowds.And builders say the housing market – often among the first sectors to show strain from the knock-on effects of tariff uncertainties – is near a standstill.Brent Klundert of BK Cornerstone, a local real estate builder, said he laid off 13 of his 21 staff as sales and prices slumped last year. "And you know, when people are going to make the biggest investment of their life, they really want confidence in their job, in the longevity of their job in the economy itself. And people lost that due to the tariffs.” // “If we can get through CUSMA, if we can get through our trade agreements with the US, I think that that will add a lot of confidence into the marketplace that we've been lacking.”Since January Klundert has rehired 10 of his employees, hoping homebuyers would start coming back.So far, only a few have.
Oregon business leaders urge Gov. Kotek to think bigger with prosperity council effort
A leading Oregon business group is urging Gov. Tina Kotek’s economic advisers to act with greater ambition if they want to attract businesses into the state and reignite the state’s […]
Incoming women's sports bar The Sports Bra unveils downtown location
Incoming sports bar The Sports Bra — the Portland, Oregon-based eatery known for showing exclusively women’s sports — has a home downtown.
From The Sports Desk: Hoopin’ in the heartland
Three Midwest schools – Purdue, Illinois and Iowa – all won Thursday and advanced to the Elite Eight.
Did Scientists Just Detect an Exploding Black Hole?
An underwater observatory recently detected a startlingly energetic cosmic neutrino. One possible cause involves a phenomenon that so far exists only in theory.
Portland kayak business searching for alternative locations after devastating wharf fire
Portland's Custom House Wharf is still months away from being rebuilt after this winter's devastating fire.
Portland keeps losing legacy businesses. Could a new program be the solution?
A majority of business owners surveyed for the study expressed support for the program, according to the report.
Vice Provost for AI Jeffrey Bardzell resigns before data and information science school launch
Bardzell is the former dean of the School of Information and Library Sciences, until UNC announced in October that it was set to merge with the School of Data Science and Society. He took on the chief AI officer role shortly after.