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DNA solves 250-year-old mystery of the Seychelles’ lost crocodiles

Scientists have solved the mystery of the Seychelles’ vanished crocodiles using DNA from historic museum specimens. The reptiles were not a unique species after all, but an isolated population of saltwater crocodiles that likely drifted thousands of kilometers across the Indian Ocean.

May 28 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com

Polish scientists and students rally in campaign for better conditions

Polish scientists and students have been flooding social media with calls on the government to raise research and development spending as part of 3% for Science, 100% for Poland, a campaign born earlier this month out of frustration with chronic underfunding in the academic sector. On May 27, thousands took the slogan on to the streets.The EU has been trying to convince member states to raise their R&D expenditures to 3% of GDP for more than two decades, but the idea has never gained traction in capitals. Finance ministers were too busy plugging budget holes created in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis, then the Covid pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and now the war in Iran.Critics say that countries missed or ignored the target because it is voluntary, but also because research communities have rarely raised their voice to put pressure on national governments. The European Commission hopes to make the target legally binding in the upcoming European Research Area Act, an EU-wide regulation that should be announced by the end of the year. Academia in Poland has been faced with a funding crisis for years, often leaving its members with no other choice but to work abroad in order to access better resources, or leave the sector altogether in the hope of earning a decent living. The risk, in the long-term, is that brain drain stifles local innovation capacity and technological competitiveness.In just a few weeks, the movement rallied nationwide support, including from major academic bodies and trade unions such as the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland and the Presidium of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Its public petition collected more than 23,000 signatures. On May 27, it formed the first large protest for science in Poland, gathering thousands of people in front of the parliament building in Warsaw.Ilona Uryga-Bugajska, representative of the Marie Curie Alumni Association Poland Chapter, was there. “The protest was peaceful, with no incidents reported, and the entire event took place in a respectful and calm atmosphere,” she said. Banners she saw in the crowd carried slogans such as “A little longer and I’ll be teaching in a supermarket,” “National culture, starvation salary,” “Stop the destruction of science,” “Passion will not pay the rent,” “Without action, don’t expect a better future,” and “Pull science out of the hole.” She also observed a strong presence of young researchers, who are on the frontline of Poland’s academic crisis.“Academics are usually people who prefer discussion, analysis, dialogue and compromise. We are not a group that protests easily,” said Katarzyna Marzec, professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Jagiellonian University Medical College and AGH University of Krakow, who also took part. “But many of us feel that we have been pushed against the wall.”Aleksandra Rutkowska, translational neuroscientist and research group leader at the Medical University of Gdańsk, agreed. “Frustration in the scientific community is very high,” she said. “Science is often used politically as a symbol of innovation and modernity, but the everyday reality inside many institutions is much more difficult. There is a large gap between the public narrative and the actual condition of the sector.”Maria Wiktoria Górna, head of the structural biology group at the University of Warsaw and one of the organisers of the movement, told Science|Business that the campaign would continue without proven results. This might involve another strike in the autumn, she said. “Empty promises are not enough by now.”Campaign demandsAccording to Uryga-Bugajska, the organisers officially presented their demands and concerns to representatives of the government present at the event. These included Marek Gzik, deputy minister of science and higher education, and Karolina Zioło-Pużuk, secretary of state of that same ministry.The headline demand, for the government to increase national spending on R&D to 3% of GDP by 2030, should be within Poland’s economic capacity, Rutkowska said. “The real question is whether there is genuine long-term political commitment to treating science as a strategic priority rather than a slogan.”In 2024, R&D expenditure in Poland stood at 1.41% of GDP, which is slightly above the average for central and eastern Europe, with countries such as Czechia recording 1.82%, Hungary 1.31% and Romania 0.46%. However, it falls noticeably short of the EU average of 2.24%, which just a handful of countries exceed, including Germany, Belgium and Sweden.Campaigners are also asking for fair wages for scientific staff, including PhD stipends and junior academic salaries, which are widely considered uncompetitive. Starting doctoral scholarships amount to some €843 gross per month, when the statutory minimum wage stands at €1,135. By pushing early-career researchers out of Poland, growing precarity has caused a generational gap in the academic workforce, with just 25% of lecturers aged under 40. In this context, the movement fears that scientific careers could soon be accessible to a privileged minority only.Grzegorz Spólnik is a case in point. After 15 years working in mass spectrometry at the Polish Academy of Sciences, he decided to leave partly “to earn enough money to live a normal life,” he said. “At that time, my earnings were similar to those of people working in grocery shops, and the work-life balance is something that does not exist in science, or is very hard to achieve.”Now a senior field service engineer for Polish laboratory equipment supplier Bioanalytic, he would consider going back to research, “but never in the public sector, maybe some start-up or a big private company with ambitious R&D.”The campaigners want to see more support for basic research and have called for €236 million to be added to the budget of the National Science Centre (NCN) in 2027 so that the average grant application success rate does not fall below 25%.“At the protest, there was a banner I particularly liked: ‘NCN is not a lottery.’ Unfortunately, for many researchers, it increasingly feels exactly like one,” Marzec said. “Personally, I am one of the lucky ones. I work at two of the strongest institutions in the country, where the research standards are very high. I know that in many other institutions, the situation is much worse and obtaining funding for research at an early-career stage is becoming nearly impossible.”Rutkowska also considers herself fortunate. After studying abroad and holding a postdoctoral position, she returned to Poland, where her pay was supported through an NCN-funded project linked to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. “This also made me very aware that good research conditions in Poland often depend on external competitive funding rather than on stable support from the system itself,” she said.Long-term strategyBeyond the lack of funds for both salaries and grants, scientists believe that the issue is structural. “The biggest problem at the moment is the complete lack of a clear long-term strategy for the development of science and research from the current government,” Marzec said. “Everything ends with declarations and promises that are never truly followed by concrete actions or structural reforms.”Rutkowska agreed, citing a lack of infrastructure, continuity and long-term institutional support.“Running a research group in Poland often means functioning as an entire institution at once,” she said. “I am a principal investigator, a mentor, a recruiter, a project administrator and, when needed, still someone who returns to the lab bench to help with experiments,” she went on. “This creates a large hidden workload that takes time and energy away from actual science. At times, it feels as though scientists are no longer expecting extra help; we simply hope the system will stop creating additional obstacles that make research unnecessarily difficult.”Related articlesStrategic thinking: Germany funds joint research with Poland and FrancePoland to transfer €30M of regional funds to boost Horizon Europe participationPoland is funding fewer basic research grants as high inflation hitsIn short, “academics are expected to teach, publish papers, apply for grants and conduct high-quality research, while funding and salaries remain very limited,” said Uryga-Bugajska, who returned to her home country after 13 years in the UK.According to Marzec, another issue is the way that research institutions are evaluated. Previously, this took place every four years, with a clear differentiation between stronger and weaker institutions. “The current government, perhaps to avoid political backlash, effectively concluded that everyone is doing well, so in practice no meaningful evaluation took place,” she said.But in her view, “some form of serious assessment is necessary” to ensure the excellence and international competitiveness of Polish institutions, and to determine how to best use public resources and where institutional structures need reform. “Some institutions may need to rethink hiring practices in order to attract ambitious young researchers who are capable of obtaining competitive grants and building internationally visible research groups.” Rutkowska has already had to adapt. “When hiring PhD students, I often have to combine different funding sources creatively to make positions attractive enough for talented people to stay in science,” she said. “Many young researchers do not see a stable future in academia in Poland, and that is deeply worrying.”

May 28 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencebusiness.net

Arvin High School students explore ocean science through pilot conservation program

May 27 • 9:27 PM EDT • Science • yahoo.com

Arvin High School students explore ocean science through pilot conservation program

Arvin High students partnered with marine scientists and National Geographic Explorers in a first-of-its-kind ocean conservation pilot program.

May 27 • 8:59 PM EDT • Science • turnto23.com

31 hours with the spit-shined Mina the Hollower (and 34 with the four games that came before it)

To truly appreciate Mina The Hollower, an extraordinary new throwback of a game, I sent myself to Yacht Club University. That’s not a real institution of higher learning, but it’s the best way I can explain much of the past several weeks as I prepared to play Mina by playing the four biggest game previously made by studio Yacht Club Games. I had expected Mina the Hollower, in development for six years for PC and consoles, to potentially be something special. A demo I tried in March had felt great. Mina the Hollower had an old-school premise: a singular move for its hero that felt so good to control and so rich with possibilities that, in the hands of skilled designers, it could be riffed on in various ways for the length of a full game. Mina’s core maneuver, her hollowing, made her sort of an upside down Super Mario. Nintendo’s hero jumps through the air, discovering power-ups at the apex of his jump by bonking overhead blocks, then defeating enemies by landing on them. Mina essentially jumps into the ground, digging (“hollowing”) into the earth to fetch buried treasure, then burrows for a short distance to emerge on the other side of a wall that hides treasure or an enemy that needs some battering. I wanted to understand how good Yacht Club was at making games. I wanted to see how far they’d come. If Mina was terrific—as I predicted it might be—I wanted to feel how they got there, one button press at a time. On May 6, 21 days before the writing of this review, I checked with Yacht Club Games co-founder and programmer David D’Angelo, to ask which of the studio’s games I should play to truly appreciate the new one’s design. “Hmmm all of them?” he wrote back. “Starting with Shovel Knight definitely is helpful,” he continued, referring to Yacht Club’s first game. He gave me a link to a spreadsheet of over 400 cheat codes that could help me out, if I found the game too tough.1 “Most folks say Specter of Torment is the least difficult and quickest to finish in terms of playtime, and [it] refines much of Shovel Knight,” he told me. “King of Cards is a big celebration of everything we did in [the Shovel Knight compilation] Treasure Trove— might work for you better if you’re a fan of shorter, Mario-style courses. And it’s probably the closest to Mina in terms of polish.” So that was that. Four games, none of which were required. Mina is a whole new game in a whole new world, best I can tell. I’d barely played that first Shovel Knight before and never the other three. I just thought it’d help. It did. It turns out that playing a game studios major works before their latest is very illuminating.

May 27 • 7:55 PM EDT • Technology • gamefile.news

Jalen Hurts details philosophical shift in Eagles offense

Jalen Hurts said Sean Mannion's offense brings a different philosophical approach as the Eagles continue installing a revamped system during OTAs.

May 27 • 3:38 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Shaping global leaders: UH Hilo’s CoBE Business Night 2026 | The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo College of Business and Economics (CoBE) honored emeritus faculty member Benjamin Zenk at CoBE Business Night 2026 with the inaugural Marcia Sakai Excellence in Service Award. With more than three decades at UH Hilo, Sakai helped shape CoBE into a leading business school. “We hold a distinction that places

UH Hilo’s business school unveiled a brand-new service award at its gala run entirely by graduating seniors.

May 27 • 3:24 PM EDT • Business • hawaii.edu

NSF deploys $250 million to restart Small Business Innovation Research & Small Business Tech Transfer programs, including a new $40 million pilot emphasis on next-generation scientific instrumentation

The U.S. National Science Foundation today relaunched its Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer programs with $250 million for the nation's startups and small...

May 26 • 3:00 PM EDT • Business • nsf.gov

Camel Country After Class: A Fresh Entertainment Guide for Campbell University Nights Out

Campbell University sits in Buies Creek, North Carolina, a small college community with a surprisingly wide entertainment orbit. The campus is rooted in Harnett County, yet it is close enough to Raleigh and Fayetteville to turn a simple evening drive into a full-scale live event plan. That location gives Campbell University Camels fans a rare mix of hometown calm and quick access to arena concerts, outdoor amphitheater shows, and touring Broadway productions. For students, alumni, and locals, the best part is that a weekend in this market can feel different every time, whether the mood calls for country, pop, rock, hip-hop, or musical theater. What follows is a tailored look at standout live entertainment options around where the Camels call home.

May 26 • 10:23 AM EDT • Entertainment • gocamels.com

What do early data from Utah's Doctronic AI pilot show?

In this edition of STAT Health Tech: Early data from a Utah pilot using AI to renew prescriptions, Oura files to go public, and more.

May 26 • 9:58 AM EDT • Health • statnews.com

Los Angeles Philharmonic names Daniel Harding its next music director

Daniel Harding, the versatile British conductor and Air France pilot who made his L.A. Phil debut in 1997 at 21, will become the orchestra's 12th music director.

May 26 • 9:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • latimes.com

2026 AMAs full coverage: BTS wins Artist of the Year as New Kids on the Block and Keith Urban bring the nostalgia

Queen Latifah's hosting run comes to a close, while Twenty One Pilots, Leon Thomas and Karol G collect AMA honors.

May 26 • 5:54 AM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com

CIOs tackle hybrid roles, blending business outcomes with IT

Tech leaders are taking on dual-role mandates as businesses look to consolidate silos and capitalize on AI, according to executive search experts.

May 26 • 3:00 AM EDT • Business • ciodive.com

Advancing high-threat pathogen preparedness in WHO South-East Asia Region: 2025 in review

Effective preparedness for high-threat pathogens demands more than technical tools — it requires a coherent strategy, sustained country engagement, and the institutional infrastructure to translate evidence into action. In 2025, the Pandemic and Epidemic Management (PEM) Unit advanced all three, working across the full spectrum of high threat pathogen (HTP) preparedness: from methodology development and evidence generation to country-level technical support, emergency response, and regional workforce strengthening.At the core of the PEM unit's work is building the regional evidence and policy architecture needed to prioritize and respond to HTPs systematically. A major milestone was the development of the HTP Prioritization Methodology — a structured, multi-criteria approach to ranking pathogens by epidemic potential, severity, and national context — and its national pilot in Bangladesh, where SARS-CoV-2, Nipah, dengue, and cholera emerged as the highest-priority threats, informing the PEM unit's contribution to 2026–27 biennium prioritization and workplan development (Access link here).Underpinning this work, the PEM unit advanced the peer-reviewed evidence base for HTP preparedness in the South-East Asia Region (SEAR), with three publications in international journals in 2025: Development of a zoonotic influenza distribution assessment and ranking system (ZIDAR): Technical application in Nepal to support cross-sectoral risk-based surveillance in One Health; Implications for influenza A virus surveillance in Southeast Asian Region countries: a scoping review of approaches for the surveillance of swine influenza viruses at human-swine interfaces in BMJ Public Health; and Operationalizing multisector partnerships: a Theory of Action and Reflection tool for zoonotic influenzas in Health Policy and Planning. Together, these contributions move the Region’s HTP preparedness agenda from practice to science — generating the transferable methodological foundations that will inform evidence-based capacity strengthening in Member States.Country-level engagement in 2025 reflected the breadth of contexts in which HTP preparedness must function. Technical support was provided for Mpox and cholera events across the Region, including coordination of cholera and acute watery diarrhea prevention and control in Myanmar in the wake of the March 2025 earthquake. In Myanmar, the PEM unit contributed technical leadership to the earthquake emergency response — one of the most complex humanitarian emergencies in the SEAR — as Health Operations and Technical Support lead within the Incident Management Support Team. This included strengthening emergency response planning, supporting operational and after-action reviews, and providing monitoring and evaluation support for both acute and protracted crisis response. The breadth of HTP support provided to emergency operations across the SEAR was documented in the PEM unit’s contribution to the regional report for the Health Security Interface Technical Advisory Group.In Sri Lanka, technical collaboration with the WHO Country Office and the Ministry of Health laid the groundwork for the National Steering Committee's 2026 annual meeting, development of Standard Operating Procedures for specialized emergency response, and a national training programme — all structured around evidence-based risk assessment for specialized hazards including HTPs.Across the SEAR, the unit contributed to strengthening the workforce architecture that underpins HTP response. Technical inputs shaped the WHO South-East Asia Regional Health Emergency Workforce Strategy 2025–2030, and the PEM unit supported conceptual development of the health emergency workforce framework for the Pandemic Fund Round 3 proposal.Alongside this, the unit's sustained engagement on the meningitis agenda culminated in the launch of the Regional Implementation Framework to Defeat Meningitis in South-East Asia by 2030 at the Seventy-eighth Session of the Regional Committee, ensuring the Region's priorities were reflected in the Global Technical Task Force and expanding the unit's HTP engagement beyond outbreak-prone zoonotic pathogens (Regional Implementation Framework to Defeat Meningitis in South-East Asia by 2030).Taken together, 2025 demonstrated that meaningful HTP preparedness is built incrementally — through methodology, engagement, and the steady accumulation of institutional capacity across Member States.Bangladesh piloted the HTP Prioritization Methodology and identified the highest-priority pathogens in the country context (Photo credit: WHO Country Office, Bangladesh).

May 25 • 8:00 PM EDT • Health • who.int

New pilot program helps educators recognize behavioral health issues, offers resources to find help

A new program is educating educators to identify behavioral health issues in students as the mental health crisis among children continues to grow.

May 25 • 5:21 PM EDT • Health • news5cleveland.com

Microsoft Copilot Returns as a Sidebar in Windows 11

Microsoft is still experimenting with how to integrate its Copilot AI into the Windows 11 operating system, and the company seems determined to make its AI companion a primary feature on the desktop. According to a change that is gradually rolling out, Copilot now appears as a sidebar application, r...

May 25 • 3:41 AM EDT • Technology • techpowerup.com

Jardine to Buy Australian Imaging Firm I-MED in $2.4 Bilion Deal

Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd. agreed to buy Australian medical diagnostic imaging provider I-MED Radiology Network Ltd. from private equity firm Permira, as the Asia-focused conglomerate seeks to expand its portfolio.

May 24 • 10:00 PM EDT • Business • bloomberg.com

How integrating tradition and self-care has strengthened public health in the Americas

On 13 May 2026, a regional dialogue for the Americas titled, Innovative Experiences to Strengthen Health and Self-Care through Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Medicine, was hosted by EsSalud, the government agency responsible for social security and health care in Peru.The event brought together representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), WHO collaborating centres, the health sector and academia. It presented regional perspectives from BrBolivia, Brazil, Mexico and Peru to explore how self-care and traditional medicine can strengthen public health, empower communities and support more inclusive models of care. Across all four countries, a clear message emerged: traditional medicine is not being positioned as an alternative to formal systems, but as a way to strengthen them. In the Americas region, the challenge is to consolidate intercultural and holistic care, with the aim of strengthening the healthcare system – making care more preventive, culturally relevant and community-based.Peru: institutionalizing complementary care over 28 years Dr Martha Villar López from EsSalud Peru demonstrated how integration can be institutionalized over time. With nearly three decades of investment, including a research programme dating back to 1998, traditional medicine is now embedded within public health infrastructure. EsSalud’s flagship programme, Reforma de Vida, operating as Prevenir, takes multidisciplinary teams into workplaces to reduce and detect risk factors for chronic noncommunicable diseases. Education cycles are structured around three pillars: celestial nourishment, focused on life purpose and movement; terrestrial nourishment, centred on regional food and healthy diets; and human nourishment, addressing identity, relationships, stress and spirituality. Grounded in Andean cosmovision and the principle of the ayllu, the programme aligns with local cultural values. Since 2007, it has trained over 6600 health leaders, certified more than 3100 health-friendly organizations and built alliances with nearly 11 000 employers.Bolivia: legal recognition and medical pluralism Adelino Pau Carpacheco, an 82-year-old Callawaya healer, described working with more than 220 medicinal plants, supported by deep generational knowledge. Traditional healers and plant medicine are highly respected in the country. Bolivia’s contribution also highlighted the role of policy in enabling integration. Through Law 459, traditional medicine has been formally recognized within a legal framework and led the country to medical pluralism where traditional medicine coexists with biomedicine, and both are now offered free of charge through the public health system. Mexico: preserving Indigenous knowledge and reinventing food culture Mexico presented two complementary approaches focused on knowledge preservation and food systems. In Veracruz, communities partnered with a university to safeguard Totonac traditional medicine through a diploma programme launched in 2019. This collaboration has already produced practical outputs, including manuals and a dictionary, helping to sustain knowledge at risk due to migration and generational change. Alongside this, Dr Hernán García, Directorate of Traditional Medicine and Intercultural Development – Mexico, explained how the Dieta de la Milpa programme addresses Mexico’s dual burden of malnutrition and rising noncommunicable diseases. Rooted in traditional Mayan cultivation systems and ingredients, it promotes healthier diets through community-led, intercultural approaches involving local authorities, Indigenous leaders and cooks. By reconnecting food, culture and health, it offers a practical pathway to prevention. Brazil: community therapy as a public health tool Brazil’s experience centred on Integrative Community Therapy, a methodology developed over 40 years ago by Dr Adalberto Barreto and now used in more than 47 countries. Therapy circles create spaces where participants share experiences and coping strategies, building social support networks at very low cost. Within Brazil’s Unified Health System, the approach has expanded rapidly since its inclusion in national policy in 2017. By 2025, more than five million integrative practice procedures were delivered annually in primary care, with registrations for this therapy increasing by over 500% in eight years. The main challenge now is equity, with access still concentrated in urban areas such as São Paulo. A shared regional direction against a global backdrop Drawing these experiences together, Dr Natalia Aldana of the TCIM Network of the Americas highlighted the shared outcomes of the interventions discussed. Such approaches strengthen healthy behaviours, social networks and community resilience; they are low-cost, adaptable and enable active participation in care, while showing potential to reduce the burden of noncommunicable diseases.The regional momentum mirrors a broader global shift. Dr João Paulo Souz, Director of BIREME (Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information), the specialized center of PAHO/WHO, emphasized that the Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034 promotes a vision centred on people, evidence and integrated use. He noted that health should be understood through the relationships between people, community, nature and spirituality. Self-care interventions as a critical pathway towards universal health coverage Dr Manjulaa Narasimhan, Unit Head for Sexual Health and Well-being across the Life-course at WHO, delivered a presentation titled Advancing Self-Care in Traditional Medicine: Aligning the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034 with the WHO Self-Care Framework, co-authored by Dr Geetha Krishnan Gopalakrishna Pillai, Unit Head for Research, Data and Innovation at the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre. WHO recommends self-care interventions for every country and economic setting as a critical path to reach universal health coverage – and traditional medicine acts as a bridge for self-care. Dr Narasimhan explained that traditional medicine contributes most effectively to self-care when embedded directly into primary health care, not operating in parallel, siloed systems. This, she stated, “is possibly the only sustainable way to deliver continuity of care that meets the needs, rights and priorities of communities and individuals”. The Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034 is a move towards a more people-centred approach to health care that champions holistic approaches to health equity and patient autonomy.The integration of traditional medicine and self-care requires collaboration across disciplines, clear referral pathways, trained health and care workers, and strong leadership that supports integration. The WHO self-care competency framework defines 10 key competencies for health and care workers to support self-care in their clinical practice, supported by the WHO guideline on self-care interventions for health and well-being. These documents help health-care workers safeguard their own well-being and ensure that care is consistent, safe and grounded in shared standards and values.Together, the discussion through this dialogue points to a fundamental shift in how health systems are designed in the region, and globally, towards models that are more inclusive, culturally-grounded and responsive to the needs of the communities they serve. It is a move towards a system where traditional medicine is respected and responsibly integrated, where self-care provides empowerment and evidence-based care, and where health systems are supportive rather than being distant from these systems.Traditional medicine perspectives from Bolivia, Mexico and Peru - WHO's "Restoring Balance" seriesInnovative Experiences to Strengthen Health and Self-Care through Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Medicine was streamed in Spanish, with Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. Recordings are available through the CABSIN YouTube channel with Portuguese subtitles and on the BVS MTCI Americas YouTube channel with Spanish subtitles. Dr Narasimhan’s session can be watched in English on both channels.

May 24 • 8:00 PM EDT • Health • who.int

Business Notes: Grand Furniture donates 50 beds to kids; Deep Creek Bridge project reaches milestone

See which Hampton Roads businesses are giving back and which ones are celebrating milestones.

May 24 • 1:37 PM EDT • Business • pilotonline.com

To A.I. Executives, We’re All Just ‘Meat Computers’

A term first used in philosophy and cognitive science circles has lately taken on a more ominous cast. Moo.

May 24 • 5:01 AM EDT • Business • nytimes.com

In 1908, something exploded in the sky over Siberia with hundreds of times the energy of the Hiroshima bomb, flattening more than 2,000 square kilometres of forest. When scientists finally reached the site years later, they found no crater at all

On the morning of 30 June 1908, an object from space exploded above the basin of the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in central Siberia. It flattened roughly 2,150 square kilometres of forest, an area larger than Greater London, and tens of millions of trees were knocked down in a pattern that radiated outward from a single […]

May 23 • 12:57 PM EDT • Science • spacedaily.com

Scientists discover a shortcut to the moon that NASA missed

Getting to the moon is partly a fuel problem. Plotting the most efficient path between two points in space saves propellant, and every kilogram of propellant conserved is money in the bank. Even tiny ...

May 22 • 5:30 PM EDT • Science • yahoo.com

Hawaii Hilo wins 3rd straight PacWest Hawaii Challenge, 4th in 5 years

HPU claims most PacWest Challenges with 7

May 22 • 3:00 PM EDT • Sports • spectrumlocalnews.com

How states can incentivize local investing to find new capital for businesses and housing

Geographic and corporate concentration in banking and retail is limiting entrepreneurship in many U.S. communities. Existing place-based policies help, but often fail to deliver scalable, tailored investment solutions broadly across rural and urban areas.

May 22 • 11:10 AM EDT • Business • brookings.edu

Microsoft lets users exile floating Copilot button after interface rage

Listening to your customers? Who are you, and what have you done with Microsoft?

May 22 • 10:26 AM EDT • Technology • theregister.com

Microsoft is letting Office users remove an annoying Copilot button

A floating Copilot button has irritated Excel users the most.

May 22 • 5:52 AM EDT • Technology • theverge.com

If Majoring In Computer Science Is Doomed Due To AI, The Latest Claim Is That Majoring In Philosophy Is The Next Best Choice

Some say computer science as a major in college is doomed due to AI. The claim is that majoring in philosophy is better. I tackle this. An AI Insider analysis and scoop.

May 22 • 3:15 AM EDT • Science • forbes.com

Azure Striker Gunvolt Trilogy Enhanced - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition announced, includes new story mode

Azure Striker Gunvolt Trilogy Enhanced – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is on the way, Inti Creates has announced. The package will be out later in 2026. Azure Striker Gunvolt Trilogy Enhanced previously came to Nintendo Switch. For this version, however, there’ll be support for higher frame rate and enhanced resolution as well as a new story mode called “Azure Striker...

May 21 • 10:00 PM EDT • Technology • nintendoeverything.com

Swansea Board of Health moves to suspend food permit at Venus De Milo

May 21 • 6:16 PM EDT • Health • turnto10.com

Stellantis unveils $70B turnaround strategy with 60 new models

Stellantis announces a $70 billion turnaround strategy focusing on core brands, external partnerships and more efficient factory capacity use.

May 21 • 3:35 PM EDT • Business • foxbusiness.com

2026 NBA Draft: Koa Peat and Milan Momcilovic headline 10 prospects who should return to college basketball

With the withdrawal date looming, these 10 players would benefit more from another year of college basketball

May 21 • 1:27 PM EDT • Sports • cbssports.com

2020 election misinformation continues to ripple through Wisconsin politics - Wausau Pilot & Review

by Henry Redman, Wisconsin Examiner May 20, 2026 As the long tail of the 2020 presidential election continues to reverberate through Wisconsin politics, a

May 20 • 7:02 PM EDT • Politics • wausaupilotandreview.com

New in Edge for Business: AI for work, safe from day one

TL;DR: Edge for Business adds agentic browsing in limited preview, a Copilot-inspired new tab page, and mobile availability for multi-tab reasoning and YouTube summarization. These experiences are built on a secure enterprise browser foundation w

May 20 • 12:00 PM EDT • Business • blogs.windows.com

Philosopher examines Aristotle’s claims on women’s health - College of Arts and Sciences

Philosophy professor Mariska Leunissen examines Aristotle’s false claims and assumptions about women and women’s health create a complex image of the ancient philosopher.

May 20 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • college.unc.edu

Scientists discover why Alzheimer’s risk hits women so much harder

Women may be especially sensitive to the effects of common dementia risk factors, according to a new UC San Diego study of over 17,000 adults. Researchers say tailoring prevention strategies specifically for women could be key to reducing Alzheimer’s risk.

May 20 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com

Hawaiʻi-Philippines Business Tradeshow, Symposium and Reception to showcase expanding economic opportunities

A tradeshow featuring products from Hawai‘i and Ilocos Norte will run concurrently. The event will close with an evening banquet featuring remarks from Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green, followed by a reaffirmation ceremony marking 22 years of sister-state relations between Hawai‘i and Ilocos Norte.

May 19 • 9:30 PM EDT • Business • mauinow.com

'Harry Potter' TV show recasting: Gracie Cochrane leaves series

Gracie Cochrane will depart from her role as Ginny Weasley due to 'unforeseen circumstances.' The character will be recast for Season 2 of HBO's 'Harry Potter' TV show.

May 19 • 4:15 PM EDT • Entertainment • latimes.com

Taylor Bishop soars toward political career thanks to MSU internships

When Taylor Bishop (Class of 2026) came to Morehead State University from nearly three hours away in Greensburg, he found two things that put him on a clear path to college graduation and his future career. The first was his interest in history growing up, which expanded into political science after he started taking classes at MSU. "I really got interested in politics when I got to Morehead State," Bishop said. "It was like learning a language that I'd never known, and I fell in love with it instantly." The second key factor that shaped much of Bishop's college experience was taking his First-Year Seminar with instructor Rebecca Wright. Wright is also the coordinator of internships for MSU's Center for Career Development & Experiential Education and gave Bishop some important advice. For more information on gaining real-world experience like education abroad and internships at Morehead State University, contact the Center for Career Development & Experiential Education at careerservices@moreheadstate.edu or 606-783-2233. To learn more about MSU's Department of History, Philosophy, Politics, Global Studies and Legal Studies programs, contact hgpl@moreheadstate.edu or 606-783-2655. "You need to get internships wherever you can so it can get you wherever you want." Bishop took those words to heart and for much of his undergraduate career, he benefited from several meaningful experiences outside of the classroom that expanded both his knowledge and his confidence to succeed.

May 19 • 3:38 PM EDT • Politics • moreheadstate.edu

MEET THE SAILORS, FLY-BYS AND NON-STOP ENTERTAINMENT – WHAT NOT TO MISS IN CAGLIARI THIS WEEKEND

The first stop on the ‘Road to Naples’ for the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup is happening this weekend in Sardinia, on the beautiful waters of the Bay of Angels sat before the bustling port city of Cagliari. Forecasters are predicting ‘champagne’ conditions for the eight teams contesting the Prelim Regatta, and if the sea-breeze comes in, we can expect a feast of top-class international foiling in the world’s most exciting fleet-racing class – the AC40.

May 19 • 8:09 AM EDT • Entertainment • americascup.com

Gemini is in danger of going full Copilot

Hey Google, knock it off.

May 19 • 6:30 AM EDT • Technology • theverge.com

Uncertainty makes science powerful — and incredibly vulnerable

Related Content Science fiction and the authoritarian imagination Thinking outside Schrödinger’s cat box: Reality as quantum Chatbots aren’t conscious, but it’s important to understand the science and philosophy of why In Silicon Valley, creationists and atheist post-libertarians have a lot in common Why thinking about aliens can help us better understand philosophy of science What […]

May 19 • 3:01 AM EDT • Science • flux.community

Stellantis to push US revival, brands and Chinese deals in high-stakes pitch to investors

Stellantis' CEO Antonio Filosa will outline ​a new long-term strategy to investors on Thursday with a focus on reviving crucial U.S. sales, tightening the group's sprawling portfolio, ‌and leveraging tie-ups with Chinese firms.

May 19 • 2:03 AM EDT • Business • reuters.com

Which Rams players have most to gain during OTAs?

Puka Nacua headlines a group of Rams players entering OTAs with contracts, roster spots, and starting roles on the line

May 18 • 4:50 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Google just made big changes to Gemini usage limits

Following in the footsteps of GitHub’s Copilot plans, Google’s AI subscriptions are moving to “compute-based” usage limits rather than a fixed number of requests.

May 18 • 3:52 PM EDT • Technology • pcworld.com

Democratic leadership needs to stop with the Goldilocks politics

Despite the current political climate, Democrats are struggling to take a stand on important issues, leading to individual candidates rising in popularity by taking their own stands and calling for…

May 18 • 1:00 PM EDT • Politics • thehill.com

Why Your AI Demo Will Die in Production

95% of enterprise AI pilots fail to launch. Why?

May 18 • 9:30 AM EDT • Science • towardsdatascience.com

Inside the U’s baby science research lab, a look at how the world learns

The University of Minnesota Child Brain and Perception Lab explores how infants and toddlers make sense of the people around them. MPR News spent a day recently at the lab watching one of the “pilot babies” discover their world.

May 18 • 5:00 AM EDT • Science • mprnews.org

Rare earth breakthrough in China’s icy northeast

A new type of deposit in Heilongjiang and Jilin promises easier, cheaper mining than in southern clay-rich areas, say scientists.

May 18 • 1:00 AM EDT • Science • scmp.com

BUSINESS MONDAY: Spotlight on Bizen Gourmet Restaurant & Sushi Bar in Great Barrington

The Berkshire institution is celebrating 30 years of blending authentic Japanese cuisine, ancient pottery traditions, and a philosophy rooted in craftsmanship, care, and community.

May 18 • 12:07 AM EDT • Business • theberkshireedge.com

GPT-5.3-Codex is now the base model for Copilot Business and Enterprise

As announced on March 18, 2026, GPT-5.3-Codex is now the base model for all Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise organizations, replacing GPT-4.1. The base model is used when your organization…

May 18 • 12:01 AM EDT • Business • github.blog

Event to showcase Filipino products, business opportunities while building Hawaii-Philippines ties

Gov. Josh Green, Ilocos Norte Gov. Cecilia Araneta Marcos, and Hawaii Senate President Ronald Kouchi are set to give keynote speeches.

May 17 • 11:46 PM EDT • Business • hawaiinewsnow.com

Reno council scheduled to consider 18-month pilot program for indoor live entertainment

Reno's independent, online news and events source. Established in 2009.

May 17 • 7:00 PM EDT • Entertainment • thisisreno.com

Business Notes: Virginia Beach disability advocates honored; free mortgage for military family

View the latest business happenings in Hampton Roads.

May 17 • 3:05 PM EDT • Business • pilotonline.com

As Springfield weighs annexation request, regional behavioral health needs hang in the balance

Springfield councilors will ponder an annexation request that would set the stage for Oregon’s first behavioral health campus that has both a psychiatric hospital and stabilization center on site.

May 17 • 7:45 AM EDT • Health • lookouteugene-springfield.com

China unveils a giant rideable robot straight out of sci-fi movie

A Chinese robotics company has started selling a giant pilotable robot. It costs €500,000, walks on two legs, and can also smash through walls. Welcome to the future?

May 17 • 3:00 AM EDT • Science • euronews.com

Heart of Midlothian: A 150-1 Long Shot Is Set to Shock the Scottish Premier League

Plus, the World War I pilot who helped shape this week’s PGA Championship, the slugger who lost his home run stroke and Jason Gay.

May 16 • 7:55 AM EDT • Sports • wsj.com

These Oshkosh residents want you to log off and talk politics — in real life - Wausau Pilot & Review

by Miranda Dunlap / Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin Watch May 13, 2026 Click here to read highlights from the story Oshkosh resident Nikolas DeGroot started

May 15 • 5:02 PM EDT • Politics • wausaupilotandreview.com

UnitedHealth’s AI push now includes employee tracking

UnitedHealth Group is pushing deeper into artificial intelligence—and tracking whether some employees are actually using it, Bloomberg writes. The health care giant is monitoring AI engagement among some Optum workers, including whether they make at least one daily query using tools such as ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot. The effort is part of a broader companywide […]

May 15 • 3:47 PM EDT • Business • businessreport.com

Hayden Panettiere reflects on dating 30-year-old Milo Ventimiglia when she was 18, predicts her daughter will do the same

Hayden Panettiere is preparing for her 11-year-old daughter to date an older man after the actress dated her 30-year-old 'Heroes' costar Milo Ventimiglia when she was just 18.

May 15 • 3:04 PM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com

How one rural health system is designing targeted AI pilots to ease care delivery pressures

Berkshire Health Systems CIO William Young says artificial intelligence must do more than impress people with new features. It has to save time, cut waste, and help a rural health system survive mounting financial and operational strain.

May 15 • 12:42 PM EDT • Health • healthcareitnews.com

Commentary: Rent control does more than protect tenants from rent hikes

R.I. city councilors should overturn Mayor Smiley’s veto of the rent stabilization ordinance, which will help support community health, write city councilor and public health leader.

May 15 • 5:55 AM EDT • Health • bostonglobe.com

Britain's pound, stocks and bonds fall on political uncertainty, global inflation angst

British government bonds, stocks and sterling fell on Friday, ​as domestic political uncertainty clashed with global worries about an inflationary shock, leaving UK ‌assets in the mire.

May 15 • 4:01 AM EDT • Politics • reuters.com

Chartbook 449: Voldemort on Threadneedle street. The Bank of England and the "haunted house" of English politics.

Imagine the scene: In some Harry Potter version of 21st-century London, a group of deathless UK Treasury officials gathered from across the last century huddle over warm pints and glasses of Chardonnay. Around the table there are officials from the 1920s, the 1930s, the 1970s, 2022 and today. Inevitably, in May 2026, the subject of conversation is the disintegration of the current Labour government. Despite its huge majority in parliament, it has been reduced to tatters by catastrophic local election result. These exposed the fact that rather than having a government with a clear popular majority, the UK is like most other modern societies divided into 5 segments each of which commands between 26 and 16 percent of the vote. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the leadership at Nos 10 and 11 Downing Street - where the Prime Minister and the Chancellor (Treasury Secretary) work - seem paralyzed. They are caught between mounting discontent over unfairness and the cost of living, and tough fiscal strictures that push them into making unpopular spending decisions. In the London pub, the Treasury officials from across the ages, can barely hide their satisfaction at the latest display of democratic politics caught in the vice-grip of financial logic. “Remember the mur d’argent and the banker’s ramp?” “Just like yesterday!” There are smirks around the table. Then the representative of 2026 pipes up: “One thing you have to say about the current lot (referring to the latest hapless Labour government), you don’t have to teach them about the bond market!” There is a murmur of ascent from the Treasury Mandarins. The trauma of the fiscal crisis of September-October 2022 sits deep. Back then, in the final stages of Tory decay, a ‘mini budget’ that challenged fiscal orthodoxy led to a brief but fierce panic in one of the oldest government bond markets in the world (aka gilt market). Now all you have to do is to mention the “bond market” to hush debate. [ Paul Mason@paulmasonnews In the name of public service, and as ex-economics editor of BBC Newsnight, I offer to do a zoom call, tonight, with any Labour MP who wants to understand why bond markets do not "fall into line" with governments. 1/ 3:57 PM · May 12, 2026 · 466K Views 224 Replies · 674 Reposts · 3.93K Likes ](https://x.com/paulmasonnews/status/2054229532404519082?s=20) “And the funny thing is”, the young man in the huddle continues, “they don’t even want to talk about … ”. There is a sudden hush. Significant looks are exchanged around the table. About? One of the senior figures puts down his glass with a decisive “clink”. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has entered their thoughts. Meanwhile, a few miles away in a grubby pub in Bloomsbury, two conspirators from the camp of Critical Macrofinance huddle over cans of low-alcohol IPA. They look at each other and blurt out loud: “The Bank!” “Everyone in the bloody Labour party is talking about the bond market. But why aren’t they even mentioning … the Bank of England!?” “Why is no one talking about Voldemort?” In Paul Mason’s blogpost, after much chest-thumping about basic fiscal logic, the basic point about the Bank of England is buried in the fine print at #3 in his list of suggestions as to what a radical Labour government might actually be able to do! [ Conflict & Democracy Down with the bond market! Down with gravity! It may seem unfair to focus on Labour MP Paula Barker for her off-the-cuff assertion that the bond market would have to “fall in line” with Andy Burnham, should he replace Keir Starmer as prime minister. But Burnham himself told the New Statesman that Labour had to “get beyond this thing of being in hock to the bond markets… Read more 2 days ago · 100 likes · 3 comments · Paul Mason ](https://htsf.substack.com/p/down-with-the-bond-market-down-with?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web) Back in Bloomsbury they shake their heads and ask: “Didn’t we learn anything from the Eurozone crisis?” Meanwhile, as if summoned to the conversation by some higher force, the “pink pages” announce: “The days of ultra-cheap government borrowing have come to an end” and Martin “Whizzard” Wolf publishes the graph of the season Look at the UK in 2026, perilously positioned on the upper edge of the pack. No wonder no one in London needs any lessons about the “bond market”. But, look again. Imagine how they feel in Rome. What is London’s nightmare in 2026? The nightmare is that you end up like Italy in the early 2010s during the Eurozone crisis. Once comfortably situated in the middle of the pack, watching with horror as your ten-year yields explode to 7 percent and “spreads” become a national nightmare. One of the largest economies in Europe, a founding member of the euro, stigmatized. But the message of the Italian experience is ambiguous. After all, the stigma didn’t last. In 2026, Italy borrows at rates lower not only than the UK but the US. The US, which, as everyone knows, enjoys the “exorbitant privilege” of being the issuer of reserve, safe asets. What kind of magic is this? How did Italy, in the space of fifteen years, go from being good, to bad and back again? Which brings us back to our dissident friends in their Bloombury boozer and their memories of the Eurozone crisis. Italy never was Britain - with its ongoing fiscal deficits. Without interest payments, on primary balance, from 2000 to 2020 Italy ran a tight fiscal ship. Even in 2008 it barely went into deficit and when it was being put on the rack in the early 20210s its primary surplus matched that of austere Germany. So, what happened? How did it end up stigmatized? Of course Italian politics didn’t help. Berlusconi was at the helm and he had legal issues. But amongst friends in the Bloomsbury pub, Berlusconi is a sideshow, the name we whisper to each other is “Trichet”. From 2004 to 2011 the ECB was headed by Jean-Claude Trichet, ex of the French Treasury, more German than the Germans. After 2009 as the news of the Greek fiscal disaster broke, the European bond markets wento into panic mode and Trichet began a brutal game of cat and mouse. Between 2009 and 2011, Trichet intervened in the bond market to help, only when he thought he had compliance with austerity. When he thought they were uncooperative, he withdrew. In the summer of 2011, he even made direct suggestions to his Italian counterparts in Rome, as to how Italy should be governed. It was this cat and mouse game that drove the bond markets crazy and exposed Italy to a violent squeeze. When Mario Draghi took over the ECB at the end of 2011 and declared “whatever it takes”, the pressure on Italy, gradually eased. It is that starring role that has made Draghi into the towering figure in European politics that he remains today. So now you see why voices in London hush when it comes to the Bank of England. “The bond market” isn’t an irresistible objective force like the weather or an avalanche. It can appear like that. But that depends on the way it is being handled, or not handled by the central bank. Which is why the silence about the Bank of England in London right now is so significant. If you think this all sounds a bit fishy, coming from a left-liberal Keynesian like myself, well, let me introduce you to Robin Brooks, who, to put it mildly, plays on a different quidditch team to me. Here, from the position of a fiscal hawk is Robin’s celebratory account of the Bank of England’s role since 2022; In October 2022, at the height of the bond market blow-up in the UK, something incredible happened. Governor Andrew Bailey told British pension funds the Bank of England would end its support program for the country’s fragile gilt market, drawing a line under how much help the central bank was willing to give to exposed pension funds and - implicitly - the government. By the end of that week, Kwasi Kwarteng - the finance minister - had resigned. Prime Minister Liz Truss would soon follow. This episode is so incredible because it contrasts with what happened in the Euro zone earlier that year. Bond markets in Spain and Italy were under pressure amid high inflation and rising interest rates. In the middle of this, Mario Draghi - Italy’s Prime Minister - resigned, compounding pressure on bond markets of high-debt countries on the Euro periphery. Unlike the Bank of England, the ECB caved. It bought Italian and Spanish government bonds in an effort to cap yields and introduced a new tool that signaled to markets it might do such caps more frequently going forward. Faced with pressure on bond markets, the ECB capitulated to political pressure from high-debt countries like Italy and Spain. The Bank of England stood its ground and toppled the Truss government. This kind of thing has long-lasting consequences. It means markets price a higher probability of yield caps in the Euro zone, which keeps Italian and Spanish yields artificially low, while markets feel free to push up UK yields without fear of central bank intervention. As I flagged in yesterday’s post, this means you really can’t compare UK yields to those of other high-debt countries. The UK looks worse, but only because its central bank isn’t interfering with markets. There’s more to this than just that 2022 episode. The Bank of England has also been much more aggressive in its quantitative tightening (QT) than other central banks. If one motivation for quantitative easing (QE) is to lower bond yields - especially longer-dated ones - then it stands to reason QT pushes yields up. The left chart above shows a four-quarter moving average of UK government debt issuance (black line) in percent of GDP and which sectors absorb this issuance, including the Bank of England (blue bars). The right chart above compares the Bank of England’s accumulation or run-off of government bonds (blue line) with that of other central banks, where this blue line is the same as the blue bars in the left chart. The Bank of England was quicker and more aggressive than other central banks in downsizing its bond holdings, so UK yields will have risen more than elsewhere also for this reason, not just because of Governor Andrew Bailey’s remarks in October 2022. Back in October 2025, after a conversation in New York with friends in British politics, my sense of dysphoria was such that I raised the issue of the Bank of England openly in the FT Since 2008, the UK has slid into a deep economic and political predicament. Growth has stagnated to a degree far worse even than in the 1970s. The Tory leadership’s wager on the Brexit referendum spectacularly backfired, leaving the UK isolated from Europe and at the mercy of its special relationship with the US, many of whose political class regard the UK as a basket case. After years of austerity, the Labour party lurched to the left and then back to the centre. The Tory party has been eclipsed by the populist nationalism of Reform. Any British government should be worrying first and foremost about how to restart growth. Instead, Keir Starmer is beset by shades of the gilt market panic triggered by the Liz Truss government in 2022. The debt level is higher than in recent years, but there is no cause for panic. UK debt is at far from critical levels and of long duration. Whether you want to “take back control” or launch progressive economic policy, a democracy dogged by fear of bond market vigilantes is unhealthy. In a country that is a monetary sovereign, this climate points to one thing: a disconnect between the government and the central bank. Since 1997, the independence of the Bank of England has become a sacred cow. But independence is what you make of it. And in the wake of the gilt market crisis of September 2022, relations between the Bank of England and the UK government need a reset. In normal times, there is no doubt that an inflation-targeting independent central bank can serve a country well. But since 2008, the UK and other advanced economies have not had the luxury of such simple problems. To their credit, central bankers around the world have not stood on orthodoxy. After 2008, the US Federal Reserve rescued the global banking system and, through quantitative easing, it stabilised the Treasury market in the face of huge deficits. In Europe, things were trickier. Both the Bank of England under Mervyn King and Jean-Claude Trichet’s European Central Bank played cat and mouse with national governments. This was a high stakes wager that between 2010 and 2012 escalated bond market tension and triggered a disastrous turn to austerity. Shaken by the impact of those shocks, their successors, Mark Carney and Mario Draghi adopted a more protective stance (assuming you were not the government of Greece). Recall that Draghi’s legendary slogan, “Whatever it takes”, was uttered to face down the City of London’s bond vigilantes. In 2015, Draghi launched QE — financial repression by another name. In 2016, Carney used the authority of the Bank of England to stabilise markets following the vote for Brexit, an exemplary demonstration of how central banks can underpin democratic choice, even when those choices are wrong headed. All these were independent central bankers steeped in the best practice of the 1990s, who recognised that historic crises demanded radical action. It was the price surge of 2021-2023 that poisoned the atmosphere. Though the shock came mainly from the supply side, central banks ended up in the dock. Nowhere more so than in the UK. The Bank of England reacted with aggressive normalisation. Faced with a cost of living crisis, the governor called for workers to accept real wage cuts. In early 2022, as gas prices were at record levels and Russia’s army was poised to invade Ukraine, the Bank adopted a stringent programme of quantitative tightening, elevating interest rates. When the Truss government got itself in trouble, the Bank took almost a week to come to the rescue. Rather than enacting a charade of normality, it is time to recognise that in 2025 the UK faces a period of historic transition. To meet this challenge, what is needed is a new concordat with the Bank. This should not ignore inflationary pressures or the long-run trajectory of debt, but should affirm the priority of reviving investment-led growth. One could follow Donald Trump in demanding interest rate cuts. The Bank could shadow the ECB in its commitment to capping Eurozone yields. But the top priority should be to lay the ghost of September 2022. The Bank’s slowing of QT last month was a concession. An immediate and complete end would send the right signal. Such a concordat will not by itself restore sanity to politics, solve the housing problem or rebuild the NHS. But it would help to lift the fear of bond market crisis, which is paralysing the effort by democratic politicians to answer the fundamental questions facing the nation. Now, that call for a new concordat between government and Bank of Englands seems more urgent than ever. The problem is that in October 2025, Starmer still had some authority. Today the government is in tatters. And when you are the “under the harrow” - to echo a phrase of Montagu Norman’s from the 1920s - it is the worst possible time to consider institutional change. To make general arguments at a time of crisis can only seem like special pleading rather than a general argument for long-term change. The same, unfortunately, is also true for the other basic institutional reform that Britain urgently needs i.e. the abolition of the out-dated first past the post electoral system and its replacement by a moderated form of proportional representation. And thirdly - whilst we are saying the quiet parts out loud - Britain needs to reopen the question of EU membership. What the local election results of 2026 show is that this remains a key issue. And what they also show is that there is a clear majority that would favor a return. Until these basic features of Britain’s political economy are addressed the country will carry on its politics as though in a haunted house, governed by governments that lack actual majorities, conjuring up false constraints whilst ignoring the real ones. This one is for DG and MI. I love writing the newsletter. If you enjoy it too and fancy buying me a coffee once a month, you know what to do. Click below! Subscribe

May 15 • 3:04 AM EDT • Politics • adamtooze.substack.com

Microsoft starts canceling Claude Code licenses

Thousands of Microsoft developers will use GitHub Copilot CLI instead

May 14 • 3:00 PM EDT • Technology • theverge.com

Why big digital health players are missing from Medicare's chronic care experiment

In this edition of STAT Health Tech: Why big digital health players skipped Medicare's ACCESS pilot, Isomorphic's big raise, and more.

May 14 • 10:07 AM EDT • Health • statnews.com

Giant “stealth” magma surge triggered thousands of earthquakes beneath Atlantic island

Deep beneath Portugal’s São Jorge Island, a massive surge of magma silently pushed upward from more than 20 kilometers underground in 2022, triggering thousands of earthquakes and briefly raising fears of a volcanic eruption. Scientists discovered that the molten rock climbed astonishingly fast — enough to fill 32,000 Olympic swimming pools — before stalling just 1.6 kilometers below the surface in what researchers call a “failed eruption.”

May 14 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com

Giant squid discovery uncovers a hidden deep-sea world off Australia

Scientists exploring deep underwater canyons off the coast of Western Australia uncovered a hidden world packed with bizarre and elusive marine life — including signs of the legendary giant squid. By analyzing traces of DNA floating in seawater from depths exceeding 4 kilometers, researchers identified 226 species ranging from deep-diving whales to strange fish rarely or never seen in the region before. Some of the creatures may even be unknown to science.

May 14 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com

Microsoft Is Retiring Copilot Mode On Edge, Because Everything Is Copilot Mode Now

Copilot features are now available on Edge for mobile.

May 13 • 11:57 PM EDT • Technology • engadget.com

Was that a foul? Pistons lose in OT after no-call costs them free throws at end of regulation

It sure looked like Jarrett Allen tripped Ausar Thompson.

May 13 • 11:31 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Scientists discover the strange way CO2 cools part of Earth’s atmosphere

Scientists have finally cracked the mystery behind one of climate change’s strangest fingerprints: while Earth’s surface heats up, the upper atmosphere is rapidly cooling. Researchers at Columbia University discovered that carbon dioxide acts very differently high above the planet, where it actually helps radiate heat into space instead of trapping it. The team found that certain infrared wavelengths fall into a “Goldilocks zone” that becomes increasingly effective as CO2 levels rise, accelerating cooling in the stratosphere.

May 13 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com

Microsoft’s Edge Copilot update uses AI to pull information from across your tabs

Copilotification.

May 13 • 6:04 PM EDT • Technology • theverge.com

The war between businesses and hackers enters a perilous new phase

AI agents present novel dangers

May 13 • 4:23 PM EDT • Business • economist.com

Science doesn't have a monopoly on good ideas

Scientific disciplines often shy away from asking fundamental "what if" questions. But philosophy – if unencumbered by dogma or ideology – has much to offer evidence-based enquiry

May 13 • 1:00 PM EDT • Science • newscientist.com

Red Foxes’ Hudson Valley Entertainment Playbook

When the maples blaze and a cool breeze rolls off the Hudson, Poughkeepsie slips into its best season—festival weather, sweater weather, show-going weather. Marist College Red Foxes call this river city home, and the campus hum becomes a perfect launchpad for music and theater all over the Mid-Hudson region. From ornate 19th-century opera houses to big-sky amphitheaters that echo into the hills, autumn here is tailor-made for set lists and standing ovations. Consider this your locally tuned guide: a mix of chart shapers, roots revivalists, and Broadway juggernauts—plus the nearby halls that turn a crisp evening into a memory.

May 13 • 11:13 AM EDT • Entertainment • goredfoxes.com

Fairground Entertainment Solves Streaming's "Scroll Fatigue" with Carousel: A New AI-Driven Content Format

Fairground Entertainment today announced the wide-market launch of Carousel, a first-of-its-kind AI content platform designed to transform streaming libraries into high-engagement, broadcast-ready entertainment. By automating the production of tailored "Discovery Shows," Carousel lowers subscriber churn and helps solve one of the industry's most persistent problems: the 12-minute 'decision paralysis' - the amount of time it takes to choose what to watch.

May 13 • 10:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • finance.yahoo.com

AI Chatbots For Mental Health – What Works, What Harms, and What’s Next

More than half of all Americans have used an AI chatbot like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or Copilot, and one in three teenagers use one daily. AI chatbots, which

May 13 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • nam.edu

NAMRU Dayton spotlight: Driving Warfighter Health

Lt. Cmdr. Travis Landry's day-to-day responsibilities at NAMRU Dayton are incredibly diverse. On the clinical side, he maintains his operational skills by conducting submarine and physicals and supporting recruiters heading back to the fleet. Notably, he also provides essential medical care for a large, displaced population of Navy personnel in the Dayton area who are far from traditional Navy Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs)—ensuring that these sailors maintain their readiness even while stationed away from the fleet. On the research side, he plays a critical role in human subject safety. Before any study begins, he evaluates participants to ensure they qualify, reviewing their medical histories and medications to guarantee that the research will cause no harm and that the data collected will be accurate.

May 13 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • dvidshub.net

Mountain View entertainment zones go into effect May 28

Mountain View’s pilot program to create public drinking entertainment zones on Castro Street will go into effect on May 28.

May 13 • 3:15 AM EDT • Entertainment • losaltosonline.com

We Keep the Warfighter’s Mind in the Fight: NMRTC Cherry Point Mental

The minds and mental health of Marines and Sailors serving aboard Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point are just as important as their physical fitness and occupational skills.

May 12 • 8:00 PM EDT • Health • cherrypoint.tricare.mil

Scientists discover a mysterious silicone pollutant that may be everywhere

Researchers have uncovered unexpectedly high levels of silicone-based pollutants called methylsiloxanes floating through the atmosphere across cities, rural regions, and even forests. Much of the pollution appears to come from vehicle emissions, likely linked to engine oil additives that survive combustion and escape into the air. Scientists say humans may inhale more of these compounds daily than other notorious pollutants like PFAS or microplastics.

May 12 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com

Conan O’Brien to return as Oscars host in 2027

Conan O'Brien's era as Oscars host is becoming a trilogy

May 12 • 4:55 PM EDT • Entertainment • spectrumlocalnews.com

Conan O’Brien to return as Oscars host in 2027

Conan O'Brien's era as Oscars host is becoming a trilogy

May 12 • 4:55 PM EDT • Entertainment • spectrumlocalnews.com

City of Evanston seeks input via survey from business owners for new retail initiative

The City of Evanston and Retail Activation Strategist Claire Seizovic are inviting Evanston business owners to help shape a new Pop-Up and Incubator Pilot

May 11 • 6:08 PM EDT • Business • evanstonroundtable.com

‘Brave Knight’: Animated Musical Pic Sets Five; Lookbook Entertainment Selling At Cannes

EXCLUSIVE: Sydney Agudong (Lilo & Stitch, Ripple), Skylar Astin (Pitch Perfect, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist), Meg Donnelly (Zombies, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series), Jordan Fisher (Had...

May 11 • 2:39 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com

The Claude Delusion

If you asked philosophers what the most mysterious thing about the mind is, most of them would say: consciousness. It’s just a really weird thing. An exhaustive physical description of a brain state doesn’t obviously tell us anything about why that state would be associated with the experience of tasting strawberry rather than the experience…

May 11 • 12:40 PM EDT • Technology • defector.com

What's the early read on Cardinals' Mike LaFleur-led offense?

It hasn't taken long for Cardinals playmakers to understand (or even love) the philosophy behind first-year head coach Mike LaFleur's offense.

May 11 • 11:53 AM EDT • Sports • arizonasports.com

Inside Business Power List 2026: Emeritus

All the people on this Emeritus List are engaged in the community and have been for years, if not decades.

May 11 • 7:21 AM EDT • Business • pilotonline.com

Inside Business Power List 2026: 75 power players

These 75 power players come from various backgrounds and sectors and are visible leaders in their fields.

May 11 • 7:17 AM EDT • Business • pilotonline.com

Inside Business reveals the 2026 Power List and Top 25

Inside Business creates its annual Power List to highlight the people who are influencing the economy in Hampton Roads. This year’s Top 25 influencers are listed in alphabetical order.

May 11 • 7:13 AM EDT • Business • pilotonline.com

Tool sparking creativity or hindrance for artists?

To create a beautiful sculpture, one needs wood extracted from a strong, solid trunk. To forge a fine blade, one needs high-quality steel. The Latin adage “Ex nihilo nihil fit,”

May 11 • 1:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • valpotorch.com

Column: America’s broken politics are dragging it down a fiscal black hole

Restoring fiscal control demands a comprehensive plan to raise taxes and cut entitlement spending substantially, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Clive Crook writes.

May 10 • 4:05 PM EDT • Politics • pilotonline.com

Business Notes: 128 graduate from Apprentice School; 196 books donated to CHKD

The Newport News Shipbuilding Apprentice School recently celebrated the graduation of 128 people, Sylvan Learning of North Suffolk has reopened at a new location and more business news.

May 10 • 1:52 PM EDT • Business • pilotonline.com

11 TV Hill: Making Baltimore an entertainment destination

Big-name artists like Barry Manilow, Olivia Dean and J. Cole are coming to CFG Bank Arena this year, highlighting a push to bring major acts to Baltimore.

May 10 • 11:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • wbaltv.com

Armani could split 15% stake among L'Oreal, LVMH, EssilorLuxottica, report says

Italian fashion house Giorgio Armani is considering selling its 15% stake ​in three equal parts following the ‌designer's death, potentially bringing in three buyers he had selected as shareholders, a newspaper reported on ​Sunday.

May 10 • 6:09 AM EDT • Business • reuters.com