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New medical office building at Three Rivers Health to replace 3 others damaged in tornado
WWMT-TV Newschannel 3 provides local news, weather forecasts, notices of events and entertainment programming for Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Battle Creek, South Haven, Paw Paw, Portage, Otsego, Texas Township, Oshtemo, Plainwell, Allegan, Holland, Saugatuck, Holland, Wayland, Kentwood, Middleville, Hastings, Marshall, Three Rivers, Sturgis, Constantine, Coldwater, Albion, Wyoming, Hudsonville, Allendale, Byron Center, Hudsonville, Grand Haven, Muskegon, Sparta, Rockford, Belding, Greenville, Ionia, Cedar Springs and their surrounding areas.
Noah Centineo explains why his He-Man film fell through, praises Nicholas Galitzine
Noah Centineo discussed losing the role of He-Man in ‘Masters of the Universe,’ which ultimately went to Nicholas Galitzine.
Top scientists warn El Niño may bring tallest-ever seas to California
Climate scientists explain.
Concierge business owner explains services wealthy clients request
From unpacking groceries to driving a Bentley from England to Italy, a luxury concierge business owner explains what services clients request and why.
New research explores the earliest stages of coronary plaque inflammation
"If we want to prevent plaque from forming, we need to understand those earliest changes—not just what happens after inflammation has already taken hold," one researcher explained.
Why workflow accountability may define healthcare AI's next phase
Oracle Health chief architect Manu Agrawal explains why healthcare-specific AI must be grounded, auditable and tailored to the risk of each workflow.
Not every elite sports innovation belongs in your routine
Adam Annaccone, clinical associate professor of kinesiology, explains why not every cutting-edge athletic innovation belongs in a daily health routine
Cramorant Form Change Mechanic in Pokémon GO Explained
Cramorant Form Change Mechanic, counterattacks, and timing tips to maximize Gulping and Gorging Form value in Pokémon GO battles.
How Brookhaven National Laboratory’s CFO finances big science
Dr. Susan McKeon explains why the financial decisions behind some of the world's most ambitious scientific research requires a different type of CFO approach.
Who’s in and who’s out? 'The Gilded Age' cast changes explained
Love "The Gilded Age"? Here's a look at the actors coming, going and shaking things up on the hit HBO series.
Despite complaints about other sports, the NFL has become the most predictable league in America
Over 13 seasons, 58% of Super Bowl participants had the NFL's best regular season record, making the playoffs far more predictable than other sports.
Spotify’s new Playlist Notes let users and editors explain their song picks
Spotify launches a new feature that gives users a chance to explain the stories and reasoning behind their favorite music. Editors will be using the feature, too, on top playlists like RapCaviar and others.
What happened to Dolly Parton? Singer shares update after missing Dollywood event
Dolly Parton appeared in a prerecorded video at the opening of Dollywood's NightFlight Expedition, explaining that her doctor urged her to stay home.
What Happens When Public Health and Computer Science Build AI Together?
As universities race to prepare students and researchers for an AI-driven future, a new perspective from George Washington University public health researcher Seble Frehywot argues that one of the biggest opportunities may be hiding in plain sight: bringing public health and computer science departments together.
Bronze explains out-of-character contract extension
England defender Lucy Bronze says she has found a "really good role" at a club she is "comfortable" with, after signing a rare contract extension with Chelsea.
‘Lanterns’ shocking premiere cliffhanger explained by cast and crew
Behind that shocking ‘Lanterns’ premiere cliffhanger: Kyle Chandler and the creative team explain what it means moving forward.
US Commander Says Mental Health a Priority Aboard USS Lincoln
A top US military commander said mental health is a valid concern after meeting crew deployed on the USS Abraham Lincoln, where conditions aboard the aircraft carrier have led to complaints during its long deployment in the Iran war.
Growing threat to free speech: Bogus copyright claims are making political stories disappear
Google’s removal of stories underscores mounting concern that federal copyright law is being used by people relying on automated, AI-driven and anonymous complaints to file fraudulent takedown notices, all in the name of suppressing headline news.
Poor genetic health threatens many species
Four experts explain what genetic health is and why it matters for our most vulnerable wildlife.
CBS Sports analysts explain huge difference in this year's Duke team
Two college basketball analysts explain why this year's Duke squad will have a different feel but still be extremely good.
Gloria Romero explains why she should be California's next Lieutenant Governor
Gloria Romero, a former Democratic state senator turned Republican, shared her vision for education reform, combating anti-Semitism, and addressing waste and fraud as she campaigns for California lieutenant governor.
Dan Campbell Refuses to Hand Off New NFL Responsibility
The NFL gave Dan Campbell the option to surrender one game-day responsibility. The Lions coach rejected it immediately and explained why Detroit’s challenge process will stay under his control.
Browns QB Shedeur Sanders Speaks Out After Brutal INT
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders explained his brutal interception against the Bears. The post Browns QB Shedeur Sanders Speaks Out After Brutal INT appeared first on HEAVY.
Mark Few explains evolution of Gonzaga's expectations
Coach Few talked about his early days with the Bulldogs on the eve of his Hall of Fame induction.
Killing PlayStation discs could make PS Store games cheaper, according to a former Square Enix exec
A former Square Enix business development director explains why axing PlayStation discs could make PS Store games cheaper.
Rainbow Six Siege Y11S3 Release Date + Patch Notes Explained
The Rainbow Six Siege Y11S3 Release Date is nearing closer, and it's a patch full of new changes, updates, and a new ranked division.
A 60-year-old theory about ants, bees and wasps may be wrong
Scientists have long thought an unusual genetic system helped ants, bees, and wasps evolve their extraordinary social colonies. A massive new analysis suggests that genetics alone can’t explain it—and the real secret may lie in other traits unique to these insects.
Health insurance rates expected to climb again for Minnesotans in 2027
Thousands of Minnesotans could see higher health insurance costs next year as insurers seek rate increases across individual and small-group markets.
'Hellcat' ending, explained
Let's dive into the secret of Brock Bodell's buzzy horror film.
AI-Generated Mental Health Advice Gets Uplifted Via A Strong Dose Of Artificial Wisdom
Some claim that AI will be much better at mental health guidance once it includes artificial wisdom. I explain what this is. An AI Insider analysis and scoop.
Blue Jays Coaching Staff Explains Incredible Season Turanround
The coaching staff for the Toronto Blue Jays explained why the team has made such a surprising season turnaround.Don’t look now, but the Blue Jays are just 1 GB from the third and final American League Wild Card spot, which is currently held by the Detroit Tigers. Considering the team seemed completely dead in the […] The post Blue Jays Coaching Staff Explains Incredible Season Turanround appeared first on HEAVY.
Chiefs heiress Gracie Hunt reveals why she lifts heavy weights
Gracie Hunt reveals her farmer's litmus test for clean eating and explains why heavy strength training replaced marathon running in her fitness routine.
Scientists solve the mystery of a brain “switch” that can trigger weight loss in opposite ways
Scientists have uncovered why two seemingly opposite ways of targeting the same brain receptor can both promote weight loss. In mice, activating the GIP receptor in the brainstem reduced appetite, while blocking it in the hypothalamus removed a kind of “brake” on fullness signals. The discovery helps explain why very different obesity drugs can achieve similar results and suggests that carefully combining GIP-targeting treatments with GLP-1 drugs like those related to Wegovy and Ozempic could produce stronger effects.
Coast Guard investigates charter boat business on Lake Champlain
A Burlington-area charter boat business is under investigation after authorities say a captain broke multiple rules.
Georgia massage business shut down after complaint led to sexual battery arrest
Police in Georgia say a complaint at a massage business led to a sexual battery arrest — and the business was then shut down.
Growing threat to free speech: Bogus copyright claims making political stories disappear
In what media experts are calling a threat to free speech, bogus copyright complaints have led to the scrubbing of dozens of stories about a congressional candidate from Google search results.
This bizarre star is defying physics—scientists stunned by unexplained quantum effect - Futura-Sciences
Published in Nature, the study details observations of 1E 1547.0-5408, a magnetar formed by a massive star’s supernova explosion. The star rotates once every 2.1 seconds and generates a magnetic field more than one trillion times stronger than Earth’s. Unprecedented multi-observatory campaign Testing vacuum birefringence requires magnetic fields 100 million...
Arizona has become a destination for women’s sports
Arizona has evolved into one of the nation's fastest-growing women's sports markets. Coaches, athletes and industry leaders explained how decades of progress, increased visibility and investment transformed the state's women’s sports culture.
‘Big Brother’ star Chuk Anyanwu responds to Taylor trashing his game
‘Big Brother’ star Chuk Anyanwu responds to Taylor trashing his game, and explains why he thought he had the votes to stay.
Seahawks news: Insider explains Terrion Arnold's complicated suspension status
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport broke down the complicated suspension status for Seahawks CB Terrion Arnold on Friday.
Glenn Fogel runs the world’s largest online travel business. He still personally reads customer complaints because ‘you gotta get that sh*t right’
The travel industry, like every sector, is experimenting with the best use cases for AI. Fogel is working towards a world where tourism becomes an intelligence system in its own right
Glenn Fogel runs the world’s largest online travel business. He still personally reads customer complaints because ‘you gotta get that sh*t right’
The travel industry, like every sector, is experimenting with the best use cases for AI. Fogel is working towards a world where tourism becomes an intelligence system in its own right
'The End of Oak Street' ending explainer: Wait, what? How? When?
Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor versus dinosaurs? How'd that go?
Google Play Store hides Pixel 11 series discounts in plain sight
The Pixel 11 phones are here and there's no shortage of deals. In fact, the Google Play Store has welcome discounts as well.
Google Play is hiding a Pixel 11 Pro discount in plain sight
Check your perks and compare trade-in deals before pre-ordering.
Investors sue Selena Gomez alleging fraud tied to her mental health startup
The plaintiffs say they invested nearly $1.2 million in the company, and are accusing Gomez of failing to build and market the startup.
“Taking the Twinkle Out of Stars” presented by Kona Science Cafe at Hawaiʻi Keiki Museum
Join Staff Astronomer Preethi Krishnamoorthy and Adaptive Optics Scientist Avinash Surendran as they explain how Keck Observatory takes the twinkle out of stars at the Hawaiʻi Keiki Museum’s upcoming Kona […]
Rashford, Mainoo & transfers - Carrick calls for more signings
Before his first full season as Manchester United head coach, Michael Carrick explains why the club need more players, discusses why he is in a privileged position and talks Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo.
‘X-Men 2’ star behind Lady Deathstrike has a role in ‘Marvel’s Wolverine’
‘Marvel’s Wolverine’ adds ‘X-Men 2’ star Kelly Hu as Tyger Tiger. The team explains why they didn’t cast her to reprise Lady Deathstrike.
How Thanksgiving Became Political: Francesca Hong’s Tweets Explained
Ahead of Wisconsin’s Democratic primary for governor, a past tweet by the assemblywoman that called for the holiday to be canceled was resurfaced.
How money actually works in American elections
The midterms are flooded with cash, but donors don’t always get what they want. A political scientist explains where the money matters most.
Highland Health Systems; Albany Gastroenterology Consultants Settle Data Breach Lawsuits
Settlements have received preliminary approval to resolve class action data breach complaints against Highland Health Systems and Albany Gastroenterology Settlements have received preliminary approval to resolve class action data breach complaints against Albany Gastroenterology Consultants and Highland Health Systems stemming from breaches of patient data.
Paris Jackson explains why she had ‘no expectations’ when meeting mom for the first time at 15
Michael Jackson gained full custody of Paris and her brother Prince when he divorced wife Debbie Rowe in 2000.
Paris Jackson explains why she had ‘no expectations’ when meeting mom for the first time at 15
Michael Jackson’s daughter, Paris Jackson, explains why she had ‘no expectations’ when meeting her mother, Debbie Rowe, for the first time at 15 after over a decade apart.
The Politics of the Fire Service
Dennis Compton explains why maintaining close relationships with federal officials and fire service partners is critical for the fire service to sustain success in addressing ...
CNBC Sport: Pro Padel League CEO explains business of rapidly growing sport
CNBC's Alex Sherman sits down with Michael Dorfman, CEO of the Professional Padel League.
John Harbaugh Explains Giants' Decision to Try Out Terrion Arnold
The New York Giants broke from their traditional caution by inviting Terrion Arnold to East Rutherford for a tryout Wednesday. First-year head coach John Harbaugh explained what went into that decision and how Arnold performed while working out at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center. Arnold has now tried out for at least four teams, most recently the Giants on Wednesday, a day after working out for the New Orleans Saints.
Duke's digital twin technology could take hemodynamic assessments to a whole other level
Researchers at Duke are hard at work on digital twins that could help care teams make important treatment decisions.
Wrapbook Launches New Entertainment Production Finance Series: WRAPPED
Wrapbook, the AI platform with an all-in-one solution for production finance, today announced the launch of WRAPPED, a short-form original video series exploring the business and financial mechanics behind film, television, and digital production. The inaugural episode explores the legacy and the future of federal film production incentives, diving deep to explain the recently expired and often misunderstood tax provision, Section 181.
Kelly Ripa reveals graphic details of gum surgery amid ‘Live’ absence: ‘Caused gum recession’
Kelly Ripa revealed graphic details of her painful gum surgery amid her ‘Live With Kelly and Mark’ absence. She also explained her ‘good bad habit’ that led to health issue and ‘gum recession.’
Neighbors complain about noise from Universal’s ‘Fast & Furious’ ride
Universal Studios Hollywood plans new sound barriers around its “Fast & Furious” coaster after neighbors complained about screaming during ride testing.
Consumer Reports: Should you trust AI with health questions?
More people are turning to ChatGPT and other AI tools for health questions. But Consumer Reports explains that they aren't always accurate.
'Second season syndrome is lazy punditry'
"I don't think Sunderland will be anywhere near the relegation zone," says sports journalist Ian Murtagh, despite Regis le Bris' side "entering the unknown" after securing European football. The Black Cats have gone from the third tier of English football to the Premier League, and now the Europa League, in just four years. "Sunderland are entering the unknown in the sense that they won't just be playing 40 to 42 games this season, they will be playing over 50 games," Murtagh explained.
Trial lawyers reclaim political clout in Texas GOP’s MAGA wing
Texas plaintiffs’ lawyers are bankrolling populist GOP insurgents. Tort reform groups like Texans for Lawsuit Reform are aghast.
Dems move to stop Blakeman’s AI depictions; he claims they’re trying to cheat
New York Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs filed a complaint with the state Board of Elections alleging the Blakeman campaign is violating state law.
Are wake sports bad for Wisconsin’s lakes?
They don't have to be. The president of Lakes at Stake Wisconsin explains that following depth and distance guidelines can help healthy lakes and wake sports coexist.
The science behind European heat domes
Parts of Europe see intense heat domes, which can break daily, monthly and even all-time record temperatures.
Marketplace Spotlight: Sulfur Cube-Inspired
Minecraft Marketplace moves fast. With every week that goes by, incredible new add-ons, worlds, mini games, and mash-up packs join the plethora of DLC already roosting on the Marketplace like loveable little birds. You can download birds, right? And now, with the arrival of sulfur cubes, it seems that Marketplace creators are working even faster, harder, and creative-er. How else would you explain the smorgasbord of new sulfurous delights now available for your delectation? How else would you explain the fact that these add-ons and worlds transform Minecraft with sulfury sports, sulfury contests, and even sulfury weapons? You simply can't. So, it's time for this humble (yet heroic) Minecraft.net writer to jack in to the Marketplace matrix once again and report back on what he finds. Will he come away with first impressions of seven new pieces of DLC or just a severe case of sulfur-induced nausea? Spoiler: it's both.
CBS announces Week 1 changes to 2026 NFL broadcast booths
The biggest question CBS Sports had to answer at its media days on Tuesday was asked and answered in under three minutes. After acknowledging the Tony Romo-sized elephant in the room, the network was forced to explain the down-ballot impact on the rest of its broadcast booths, with J.J. Watt being promoted to the lead…
‘Toy Story 5’ deleted scene reveals cut Jessie, Emily reunion (exclusive)
‘Toy Story 5’ deleted scene reveals the emotional reunion between Jessie and older Emily. The director explain why they cut it from the film.
Why joint practices matter, explained by Patriots players
The Patriots will host two sets of joint practices this summer.
The U.S. Healthcare System is Already Mostly Socialized
Now that Abdul El-Sayed is the Democratic nominee for Michigan’s open Senate seat, the outcome of this crucial race will depend mainly on two things: Whether Republicans succeed in demonizing El-Sayed because he’s brown and a Muslim, and whether they succeed in demonizing him as a left-wing radical. I will defer for the now the question of whether bigotry will be effective this year, although I will address it another day. What I want to address instead is El-Sayed’s signature issue — healthcare. Yes, El-Sayed advocates Medicare for All, a position the usual suspects denounce as “socialism.” I will get to the politics of his stance soon. Today, however, I want to talk about the substance. We should be clear that El-Sayed doesn’t even call himself a socialist. On the contrary, he explicitly disavows the label, saying “I’m a capitalist who just knows about capitalism”. In fact, as I explained in a previous post, the policies that El-Sayed advocates qualify him as a social democrat, not a socialist. Still, El-Sayed advocates a system under which the government would pay almost all medical expenses. Isn’t that socialism? Well, if that is the criterion then much of U.S. healthcare is already socialist. In fact, the government’s role is so large that U.S. healthcare is better described as partially privatized socialism than as anything resembling a free market. Let’s start with the raw numbers on health insurance, which pays the bulk of Americans’ medical expenses. Americans receive health insurance either from private companies or from public programs, overwhelmingly Medicare and Medicaid. Here’s what the breakdown of coverage and spending between private and public looked like in 2024: While a majority of Americans with health insurance get it from private companies, well over 100 million of us are covered by government programs instead. And these government programs pay more total dollars for medical bills than the private insurers do. Why do government programs that cover a minority of the population account for a majority of health insurers’ outlays? Mainly because Medicare covers seniors, and we’re expensive. Also, while Medicaid covers many younger Americans, disabled and elderly beneficiaries account for most of its spending. Even by the raw numbers, then, U.S. health insurance looks as much public as private. But that understates the government’s role: Private health insurance in the U.S. is both highly regulated and heavily subsidized. This is obviously true for the insurance coverage purchased by tens of millions of Americans through the exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act. But employment-based health insurance, which covers 161 million Americans, is far more of a government creation than most people realize. For employment-based insurance exists largely because of huge implicit government subsidies that come with major strings attached. Here’s how that works. If your employer pays you $10,000, that’s taxable income. But if your employer pays $10,000 toward a company health insurance plan that meets certain criteria, it isn’t taxable. That’s a huge effective subsidy, running at more than $300 billion a year. Take that subsidy into account, along with the more than $100 billion per year spent subsidizing policies purchased under the ACA, as well as the outlays on Medicare and Medicaid, and net effect is that the government pays for more than two-thirds of Americans’ health insurance. Granted, there are strings attached. Roughly speaking, employment-based health plans can’t discriminate based on medical history — that is, they can’t deny coverage to employees with pre-existing conditions — and they also can’t offer the plans only to highly compensated employees — a health plan that is only for the C-suite is considered taxable income. So given the restrictions of the federal tax code, employer-based health insurance is a lot like Obamacare, which also prohibits discrimination based on medical history and provides subsidies to make insurance affordable to lower-paid workers. The fact is that virtually all of private healthcare insurance is already well under some form of government control through regulation and tax subsidies. How should we think about this system? First of all, is Medicare socialist? Don’t tell anyone, but the way Medicare operates — it covers every senior’s medical expenses, whatever they turn out to be, while being funded by taxes that depend on one’s income — could be summarized by the old Marxist slogan “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” And back in 1961, when Ronald Reagan was the face of a last-ditch effort by the American Medical Association to block the creation of Medicare, he denounced Medicare as “socialized medicine” and warned that it would destroy our freedom. In reality, American freedom survived until Jan. 20, 2025, while Medicare is immensely popular, with an 82 percent favorable rating in the most recent KFF survey. Medicaid, government health insurance for lower-income Americans, comes in at 73 percent. This is in sharp contrast to public views about private insurers, who are widely disliked if not hated and accused of denying essential care. Furthermore, if Medicare is socialism, then the whole U.S. health insurance system, with the government paying most of the bills and placing conditions on private insurers, is almost equally socialist. If you insist on calling any program the government pays for and regulates socialist, then U.S. healthcare would best be described as a partially privatized form of socialism. And one must ask, what is the point of the part that is privatized? Do private insurers add anything positive? Or are they simply parasites, skimming off money that could have been paying for care? The case for viewing insurers as parasites is strong. Many Medicare benefits are now delivered via Medicare Advantage, that is, plans paid for by the government but run through insurance companies. MedPAC, an independent advisory commission, estimates that last year Medicare Advantage plans were overpaid by $84 billion, thanks to practices such as “upcoding,” in which patients’ health problems are overstated to get larger sums from Medicare. Assessing the waste from employer-based insurance is harder, but most evidence suggests that private insurers have substantially higher administrative costs than Medicare does. Furthermore, the complexity of private insurance, with multiple payers all trying to deny care when they can, is a huge burden both on providers — doctors, nurses, and hospitals — and on patients. What do private insurers offer to compensate for these costs? One must go through intellectual contortions to avoid the conclusion that they are, in fact, parasites. Which brings me back to El-Sayed. In supporting Medicare for All, he’s basically calling for an end to the partial, parasitic privatization of a healthcare system that is already hugely dependent on public funding. When one looks at it that way, it’s not at all a radical proposal. Admittedly, the political lift requires overcoming the opposition to higher taxes to pay for Medicare for All. Political realism rather than economics was the reason I and many other progressives supported Obamacare, with all its complexities, rather than demanding an immediate move to Medicare for All. But the political calculus may very well have shifted since the 2000s, as Americans are fed up with a system of unaffordable premiums, rampant claim denials, and byzantine claim administration. Moreover, funding healthcare insurance through taxation would allow for a much more progressive distribution of the cost. That is, compared to the present system, middle-income households would pay less as high-income households would pay more. And the U.S. would stop wasting large sums on pointless administrative costs. So let’s be clear: El-Sayed’s healthcare platform is perfectly reasonable on the merits of cost, fairness and health efficacy. And with private insurers never more hated, while millions of Americans are losing their health insurance, 2026 may be its time. MUSICAL CODA
Should You Try Ube?
Ube is a vibrant purple yam that packs vitamin C, fiber and antioxidants into every bite. A registered dietitian explains how it can benefit your health.
Guide to Austin politics: The Daily Texan explains city government, local leaders’ roles
The city of Austin is currently developing their annual city budget and considering a bond issue, while several charter amendments (link once story is up) are up for a vote in November. With all this activity in City Hall, the Texan is providing a guide to new UT students on how Austin politics works and...
About a quarter of the Netherlands now sits below sea level, and the obvious explanation is that the sea rose. However, researchers who reconstructed the past thousand years of the Dutch coastal plain concluded the opposite — much of the land came down to meet the water
The Dutch blamed rising seas for their waterlogged land, but a thousand years of geological records tell a different story: the ground itself has been sinking.
Reinventing health communication for the digital era
Nature Medicine - The commissioners behind the Nature Medicine Quality Health Information for All Commission explain why improving access to accurate, timely and evidence-based information is now...
Walking is one of the best exercises for heart health — but experts say strength training matters too
Heart health is closely tied to everyday energy and resilience. A trainer explains what actually makes the biggest difference — and where most people get it wrong.
Saber's newest game trailer takes a shot at Gearbox's CEO, if you look closely
The first hint that something might be up with the recent debut trailer for Saber Interactive’s Rideshare Stimulator is an unusual choice of words—aside from that second one in the game’s title. “Don’t take your passengers too seriously,” the trailer’s narrator says, as he describes this upcoming game. It a car game about the gig work of driving eccentric people to their destinations, a riff on Crazy Taxi. And then, he says: “When I think I’ve met the randiest of passengers, someone even stranger gets in.” “Randiest”? That suggests “randy,” which usually means having strong sexual desire. Yet none of the oddball backseat occupants featured in the trailer seem particularly lustful. One is an old man who considers his grandson a failure, another shares the theory that birds might control traffic lights, another says he’s banned from an aquarium. A little later, there’s a license plate, shown 63 seconds into the trailer, on the front of an SUV: USB DRV It’s a Texas plate. The symbol between those letters is a cog wheel. If you know, you know. That’s a reference to Texas-based Borderlands game development studio Gearbox Software (their logo features a cog wheel). More specifically, it’s a reference to Gearbox’s CEO Randy Pitchford, who in 2018 found himself explaining the nature of video he’d saved on a USB drive that was found at a Medieval Times restaurant before being returned to the studio: “It was ‘barely legal’ porn. This girl’s handle was ‘Only 18.’” The “girl” in the video had committed a solo sex act that Pitchford, an avid practitioner of magic, found remarkable. “I realized, this is not a sex worker…This is a fucking magician.” Back then, the USB drive was central to competing lawsuits against Gearbox by the studio’s former lawyer and by Gearbox against him. A settlement in late 2019 “exonerated” Pitchford, per the Hollywood Reporter. The USB story has resurfaced at times, now in a trailer from a company that not long ago was corporate brethren with Gearbox. Saber vs. Gearbox The head of Saber told Game File that the reference is payback. “The dig is because Randy took shots at Embracer in Borderlands 4,” Saber CEO Matt Karch told me when I asked him about the license plate. “Without Embracer, Randy is performing magic tricks at birthday parties for a living.” Having interviewed Karch during a cross-country flight in late 2024, I can confirm that Karch was unimpressed with Pitchford during their time both working in the Embracer group. I’d approached him not out of surprise that there was animosity but that it was manifesting publicly now. Gearbox was founded in 1999, worked on a port of Halo early on, and developed hit series such as the loot-based sci-fi shooter Borderlands before it was purchased by The Embracer Group in early 2021 for $363 million (with a possible earn-out of over $1 billion, if certain targets were hit by 2027). Saber was founded in 2001, worked on a remaster of Halo early on, had a big hit with zombie shooter World War Z and was purchased by Embracer in early 2020 for $150 million, with a potential earn-out of up to $375 million. For a few years, the Embracer group was a voracious acquirer of game studios. Then, as investment dried up, it choked. In March 2024, Embracer sold Saber to an investment company controlled by Saber CEO Matt Karch, and it sold Gearbox in an all-stock deal to long-time Borderlands publisher Take Two Interactive. Other studios were shut down. Hundreds of developers were laid off. Gearbox didn’t say much about their Embracer experience, nothing too direct, at least. In the summer 2024, Pitchford told reporter and occasional Game File contributor Nicole Carpenter that Borderlands 4’s story was in some way thematically connected to Gearbox’s experience at Embracer: “There’s this cultural and emotional shift in me, personally, and at the studio. What does it mean to trade some autonomy for organization?” When Borderlands 4 came out, there was something stranger: the matter of “Embracer’s Bluff,” a location in the game featuring an AI-powered toilet and a large trash dump, according to a detailed Kotaku account of the place. Gearbox never commented on it; Take Two never got back to me about it when I asked them last year. By contrast, since Saber exited Embracer, Karch has been one of Embracer’s biggest defenders, casting their management as well-meaning and supportive despite the layoffs and studio closures that resulted from their excessive expansion. Like others, Saber’s Karch saw Embracer’s as a shot. With Rideshare Stimulator’s trailer, he’s returned fire. “It’s amazing to me how fast people forget those who went above and beyond for them,” Karch told Game File. A rep for Gearbox did not comment by press time. Game File is a reader-supported publication. Your backing makes my reporting—including any coverage of trailer-based beefs—possible. Good news! I’m currently running Game File’s first big sale of 2026. You can get a one-year subscription for 23% off. Click here to take advantage of the limited-time offer. And thank you for your support! Item 2: In brief… 🚫 Wal-Mart has laid off the staff of Restart, a games media outlet launched in 2024, Aftermath reports. 🟥 A GTA VI preview is on the way, at last, via an “extended look” that will premiere, unusually, on Netflix at 3pm ET on August 27, then officially go live elsewhere six hours later. Last week, Game File noted that Take Two label Rockstar Games is overdue for showing off GTA VI, based on the timing of the initial hands-off previews of GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2. During a call with investors, Take Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said pre-orders for GTA VI were “unprecedented and astonishing,” but added the company can’t predict how many of those pre-orders represent bonus sales vs. sales that otherwise would have been made at launch. During the same call, Zelnick was noticeably bullish on the future of playing games over streaming cloud connections (predicting wider adoption in three or so years). He sounded unbothered by Sony’s plans to stop making discs for new games (he said the business is 90% digital already and predicted that there could still be limited edition physical editions of games “in the same way there’s still vinyl in the recorded music business.”) 👀 Take Two wrote off $43 million in their spring quarter after deciding “not to proceed with further development of an unannounced title in its pipeline from a third-party developer.” 🤔 Some rare age-demographics from a big publisher: Capcom recently told investors that “users in their 20s account for approximately half of the users of both Pragamata and Resident Evil Requiem.” Item 3: The week ahead Tuesday, August 11 Game releases: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered (Switch 2; already out for PC, PS5, Xbox) continues the Bethesda strategy of putting Elder Scrolls games on everything; Royalty Free-For-All is a Smash Bros.-style fighting game featuring public domain characters such as Mother Goose brawling with Oliver Twist in a stage based on the original Little Shop of Horrors movie. Wednesday, August 12 Game release: Pro Jank Footy (PC, console) is an arcade-style Australian Rules Football game with increasingly ridiculous rules, the more you play (I enjoyed the Steam demo) Thursday, August 13 Game release: Super Mario Sunshine (Switch 2, originally released in 2002 on the GameCube) is released for Switch 2’s Nintendo Switch Online service. This game is the black sheep of 3D Mario games. It’s the successor to the breakthrough Super Mario 64 and the rare Mario game built around a single (vacation resort) theme. Mario’s got a water-spraying backpack, a Yoshi pal and a lot of blue coins to collect.
NASA X-59 Explainer: Science of Sonic Booms
The most common misconception about sonic booms is that they’re just the sound created at the
Someone Made a Terrific Deal in the Peacock/YouTube Premium Partnership…But Who?
(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) I hope everyone around the world suffering from record heat waves is doing okay. The temperature is already up in Southern California, but obviously not nearly as bad as parts of Europe. With a super El Nińo coming this year, I worry it will get even worse. Yes, we know what’s causing this heat—it’s the carbon, duh—but we really aren’t making enough progress. I’m not “environmental strategy guy”, but if I were, I’d have some ideas of what I’d try. Honestly, for years I’ve been intrigued by the work of the folks at MEER—whose plan, super simply, is to put up mirrors to reflect heat (while continuing the important work of decarbonization)—but I’m frustrated this idea hasn’t made more progress. (Other geo-engineering groups seem to get better press.) With heat like this—cancelling events, hurting economies and, most importantly, killing people—it seems like the time to push solutions! The “mirrors on the ground” solution has barely been tried.1 While entertainment companies may not “feel the heat”, lots of outdoors/experiential industries—concerts, theme parks and so on—will. Even movie theaters could benefit, since mirrors could help lower AC costs, which I imagine is not an insignificant expense, especially in the hotter areas of the country. So I do think the entertainment industry should prioritize this issue. Anyways, let’s get back into the entertainment strategy. I was about to write, “Hey, this week we don’t have any mergers and entertainment news to dive into,” but that’s not really true, since we had more updates on Paramount-Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery. But the big story of the week involves a streamer and a Big Tech platform bundling their respective streamers. So I’ll write about the updates on Paramount buying Warner Bros., Versant making some moves, and a whole lot more. But we start with a surprising deal: Peacock licensing their content to YouTube Premium. Let’s dive in! Subscribe Most Important Story of the Week - Peacock’s Pricey Premium Partnership The story of the week is Comcast’s2 NBC-Universal’s Peacock making a deal with Google’s YouTube’s YouTube Premium subscription product to embed their content. And I’ll say this up front: Someone made a terrific deal. The question is who. And I’ll be honest: I don’t know. Let me explain why, including why this deal exists, the pros and cons for each side, the biggest unknown, and what that says about the streaming wars. Customers Love Bundles (But YouTube Has Its Own Issues) We’re just getting started with this issue, but the rest is for paid subscribers of the Entertainment Strategy Guy, so if you’d like to find out… Why customers love bundles… But why I’m worried about YouTube’s integration... How Peacock is trading scale for control… And the reason they likely made this deal... The odd budget math for this deal... Whether or not I think the Paramount-Skydance/WBD deal is more likely after the latest settlement... Versant making moves and why that’s good for Hollywood… Another distributor going out of business… ...and a whole lot more! ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support.
Democrats like AOC are trying to shrug off their ‘woke’ era. That’s bad for our politics
Democrats would very much like to figure out how to explain away some of the far-left things they said circa 2019 and 2020 — a period often referred to as “peak woke,” “woke 1.0” or “woke 1.”
Ocasio-Cortez says she's freezing her eggs as she considers her political career
The 36-year-old Ocasio-Cortez announced her decision on social media before explaining in an ABC "This Week" interview Sunday she has not ruled out running for president or for U.S. Senate.
Lion Nebula Roars to Life With NASA’s Webb
Observing across the starry “plains” of space, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has taken new images of NGC 2392, nicknamed the Lion Nebula. NASA’s Hubble
Sean Murray Explains Why We Haven't Seen More Of Light No Fire
The No Man's Sky director is in no rush to spoil the surprise
Ex-NFL kicker Jay Feely explains his decision to enter politics
Jay Feeley says he always toyed with the idea of entering politics during a more than decade-long career as a placekicker in the NFL and a subsequent stint i…
Four-star Jaxton Itaaehau explains what made Utah home
The Davis High standout reveals how a deep bond with Morgan Scalley and the coaching staff convinced the elite playmaker to spearhead the Utes' next generation.
A pilot couple explains how they make money buying and renting RVs
Full-time pilots Carrie and Brian Smiths learned early on that owning an RV fleet would not be "a cakewalk."
There’s life beyond Aussie super pace trio: Tony Dodemaide
Tony Dodemaide, who is managing Australia’s development squad that is currently training in Chennai, and is also part of the national selection group, explained that the tight international schedule leaves little room for a conventional warm-up fixture. Australia’s fourth Test against New Zealand is scheduled to finish on Jan 8, while the first Test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy is slated to begin on Jan 21.
Slow spin could explain why planets become hellish
Hundreds of Venus-like planets could soon help determine why some worlds become sweltering greenhouse hellscapes, but to fully understand that, scientists first need to know how fast those planets are spinning.
WATCH: Politics Today for the week of Aug. 9, 2026
AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — On Aug. 9, the episode of Politics Today on KAMR Local 4 News, Jack Kessler reviews multiple recent political developments and topics of interest in the Amarillo area.…
Vice President Vance says migrant communities show 'clear pattern' in federal fraud as investigations widen
JD Vance reveals $230 billion in fraud uncovered since Trump took office and explains why recouping stolen federal funds remains a major challenge.
Ben Allen explains why he should be California's next insurance commissioner
Ben Allen, a current State Senator, is running for insurance commissioner, citing his experience during last year’s Los Angeles-area wildfires as a key motivator for his campaign.
Science 4 Everyone: The difference between a storm and sanitary sewer system
What happens to the sewage system when it rains a lot? Storm Team4 meteorologist and science teacher Ryan Miller explains the difference between a storm and sanitary sewer system.
LSU and the BUSINESS OF COLLEGE SPORTS
LSU CFO Matthew LaBorde explains how revenue sharing, NIL, facility economics, football scheduling and financial uncertainty are reshaping the business of college sports.
How can a youth sports experience form a life? A US Senator explains
Cory Booker seeks to end "vulture practices" by private equity in youth sports. He shares his life-changing sports story that led him to Stanford.
Anthony Scaramucci, Podcast Star, Explains U.S. Politics to the World
He spent 11 days in the Trump White House nine years ago. Now he has a hit podcast, helping the British public, among others, understand what’s going on.
How hackers target US water utilities with cyberattacks, explained
Government officials are warning about a wave of cyberattacks on water utilities in the US. Here's how hackers can impact water systems.
Chester County doctor explains prostate cancer spread as Joe Biden's health worsens, son says
Hunter Biden, son of former President Joe Biden, said his father's cancer has spread to his bones and is "very debilitating" and "painful".