SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " Election " 5,267 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
A democratic socialist in Wisconsin tests how far left voters want to go in a battleground state
Democratic socialists have recently won elections in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Denver
UK populist leader's election gamble backfires as his only opponent is a trash can
A gamble by UK populist leader Nigel Farage to resign as MP and trigger a snap special election has resulted in a race where his only opponent is a trash can.
Which political party is raising the most money in Mississippi?
You have to spend money to win elections, and before you can spend money, you have to have it. So the question is: who has the money in Mississippi?
G.O.P Shutdown Anxiety & McConnell’s AWOL Politics
Senate Republicans are anxious about a possible preelection government shutdown instigated by Democrats. Plus, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear pushes Mitch McConnell’s team on health updates.
US Senate nominee Platner halts campaign after assault allegations
A string of high-profile Democrats have withdrawn support for Platner following sexual assault allegation.
Graham Platner says he'll withdraw from Senate race in Maine
Platner stressed that his decision was not an admission of guilt.
Graham Platner drops Maine Senate bid, clearing way for Democrats to pick new nominee
Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner said Wednesday he was ending his campaign, clearing the way for Democrats to select a new candidate to take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins in one of the most important contests of November’s midterm elections.
Downtown Bend Business Association leader resigns
Rachel O’Rourke, the leader of a prominent downtown Bend business group, announced plans this month to step away from her role amid a period of major upheaval for the organization. Days before the resignation went public, the Downtown Bend Business Association also announced it would redo the process for a recent board of directors election. The turmoil comes after discussions over the prospect of paid parking were met with fierce pushback from […]
Supreme Court ruling likely means more political ads in Ohio
Thanks to the new U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down limits on campaign finance restrictions, even more political ads will likely be flooding the airwaves ahead of the November election.
Harvard Kennedy School names Betsy Fischer Martin as director of the Institute of Politics
Harvard Kennedy School today named Betsy Fischer Martin as the next director of the Institute of Politics (IOP). She will begin her tenure in mid-August, succeeding interim co-directors Beth Myers and Ned Price, who have led the IOP since December 2025.
The state GOP redrew Tennessee’s election maps. Voters are fighting back.
The state’s Republican leaders have made no secret that the changes are intended to eliminate its lone blue congressional district.
Clacton byelection likely to be two-man race between Reform leader and Binface
Nigel Farage’s resignation as MP means comedian might have to consider representing constituency if he wins
Trump reopens the Iran war — and a political problem he can’t shake
Republicans face fall elections tied to a conflict most voters oppose, unable to end it and mostly unwilling to break with the man who started it.
Succession fight is underway as calls mount for Graham Platner to drop out of Senate race
The allegation reported Monday prompted a chorus of calls for Platner to depart the high-stakes race against Republican Sen. Susan Collins, which could decide party control of the Senate.
Actors’ Equity, IATSE, Local 802 AFM Endorse New York Gov. Hochul
Actors’ Equity, IATSE and AFM Local 802 are backing the Democratic incumbent for reelection, citing her support for the industry.
Football Hauls in 14 Selections to Athlon Sports Preseason All-CUSA Team
MIAMI — FIU's football program received a total of 14 student-athletes named to the 2026 Preseason All-CUSA Team, as released by Athlon Sports.
Timeline: 20 years of Hamas rule in Gaza, from election to political exit
A chronological look at key milestones from Hamas's 2006 election victory to its 2026 exit from governing Gaza.
Delta launches 'basic business' fares without lounge access, seat selection
Delta is launching basic business and other stripped-down premium classes that come with fewer perks.
Marshall Football Has 12 Players Honored By Athlon Sports
Marshall Football had 12 players recognized by Athlon Sports as 2026 Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selections, the magazine released recently. The Thunde...
Hungary moves to overhaul university models banned from Horizon Europe
Hungary’s new government is aiming to overhaul the governance model of the institutions and universities that lost access to Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ funds “in a short timeframe,” according to Péter Horváth, the new state secretary for science policy and innovation. “As of today, the two non-university foundation-controlled institutions under my remit have been transformed,” he told Science|Business. “We hope the universities will follow and that this will be enough to satisfy the EU’s demands.”Under the previous government, led by Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party, many academic and scientific institutions were restructured and made into special public trust foundations, with members strongly linked to the government given lifelong mandates and significant decision-making powers with little oversight. The European Commission deemed that this undermined academic freedom and transparency in the country, leading to a ban on 34 institutions in 2022, including 21 universities, which saw academics in Hungary lose access to Horizon Europe grants. The new Hungarian government, elected in May and led by Péter Magyar and his Tisza Party, has promised to dismantle this governance model and restore the institutions to EU programmes. As a result, the European Commission has promised to return access to the Erasmus+ education mobility programme, but so far no concrete agreement has been made on the Horizon Europe programme for research and innovation. Hungary has already made legislative changes in June to allow the institutions to be reformed and set a timeline for the implementation.The non-university foundations, which are mainly cultural centres such as the Foundation for Hungarian Culture or the Makovecz Campus Foundation, will all be dissolved by August 31 this year, a date tied to EU-set milestones that Hungary must meet to unlock frozen funds, with control transferred to relevant ministries. Meanwhile, the universities will have until 31 August 2027. For each university foundation, the government will set the dissolution date and the body to take over operations. There is no final decision on a permanent new model for the universities, according to Hungarian MEP Eszter Lakos, who is shadow rapporteur for the Horizon Europe specific programme, a separate piece of legislation detailing implementation rules for the EU’s next research programme, due to start in 2028. “The aim of the transition year is to settle this with [the universities], not to impose a model, and not to put them under state control,” she told Science|Business. “The goal is to give academic independence back to universities.”There are three models that are most likely to be implemented. One would be a return to a traditional, state-run model. Another could be a newer, more self-standing public institution. A third option would be a reformed version of the foundation models that meet EU standards. According to Lakos, the dismantling of the system put in place by the Orbán government is well underway and if all goes according to plan, Hungary could regain access to EU research money by the start of the next academic year in 2027. “I believe that the Hungarian government is doing the necessary changes so the universities could return as beneficiaries to Horizon from the next school year,” she said. In the meantime, “the universities, institutes and cultural assets carry on under proper public stewardship rather than a handful of unaccountable trustees,” said Lakos. The laws passed in June impose new safeguards: board terms are capped at four years and renewable only once, appointments are made through open competitions and sitting politicians cannot join joining these boards.It remains unclear whether a domestic science funding programme set up as a back-up scheme by the former government following the EU funding ban, called HU-rizon, could be continued. “This programme should never have had to have been established in the first place, but it has proven to be quite popular,” he said. “I am considering continuing this programme with a refined focus on helping international collaborations.”Re-organising the research network One of the first priorities for Horváth and his cabinet is to resolve questions over the future of the Hungarian Research Network, Hun-Ren. The network of academic institutes was taken away from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2019 and turned into a quasi-private organisation, with similarities in its governance to the public trust foundations.Horváth and his team have consulted over 5,000 representatives from the network and the conclusion is broad unhappiness with the directors of all the institutes involved. “We have presented the results to the president and the chief executive of the network and this is currently being discussed,” Horváth said. The plan is to re-integrate the network back into the Academy of Sciences but in an improved way, “learning from mistakes of the past,” he added. The government also wants to reintegrate four humanities and social science research centres into the network that the previous government had transferred to Eötvös Loránd University. The transfer brought sharp criticism from the academic community, with a group of Hungarian research heads, including European Research Council grant recipients, sending an open letter to Orbán warning that the transfer would “cause historically significant harm to the entirety of Hungarian scientific life.” The transfer was “one of the biggest shames in Hungarian research in the past 20 years,” Horváth said. “We want to immediately re-integrate them back into the research network and to regain the trust of these institutions, because the way they were treated was really unfair.”Another pressing issue is the Élvonal Excellence Research and Talent Development Foundation, led by Nobel laureate Ferenc Krausz. The foundation signed a financing agreement with the former government earlier this year for a budget of over €730 million over the next five years. The goal is to create a world-class centre to attract top talent from abroad and to develop local researchers. But there was little transparency about this foundation, and news of its huge budget, which is nearly as much as Hungary’s entire research budget, caused a stir in the media following the recent elections. Another issue is that, as with the foundation boards of the institutes banned from Horizon Europe, there was little-to-no oversight of decisions led by Krausz. “It was an excellent idea but an unacceptable execution,” Horváth said of the foundation. “The fact that this is out of the Hungarian funding scheme, mostly concentrating on one person who decides on the budget is unacceptable for us.”The government plans to merge the centre with the National Research, Development and Innovation Office, the country’s R&D funding agency, with a reduced budget. Horváth is hopeful that Krausz will still be involved. The new government’s R&D goalsA phrase that crops up regularly during the discussion with Horváth is “democratic process.” The new state secretary is determined to involve Hungary’s research community in shaping future policies. This marks a departure from the previous government’s approach, and several people in Hungary’s research community have commented on the openness of the new government. In terms of concrete goals, Horváth and his team already have plans. He wants to create a new science fund in Hungary, based on the best practices of other European countries. The fund would not be tied to annual government budgets and would provide long-term, stable financing. “If we were to succeed in creating this fund, then I think it would be one of the biggest achievements for me in this period of government,” Horváth said. On the innovation side, he is looking into how best to bring in the private sector. “We want to make sure that we are working with the private sector to support innovation,” Horváth said. One of his big aims is to introduce entrepreneurship teaching into high schools. Hungary already has a reputable national academy offering research and innovation training in the field of natural sciences, and Horváth wants to expand this to all disciplines and across the whole country. “One of the main ways to elevate our innovative businesses is to teach our children to be innovative,” he said. “This will probably need ten years to pay off, but this is what we should do. Our aim is to make Hungary strong in our region, and this is what is needed.” Related articlesHungary’s Horizon Europe performance in numbersCommission unlocks Erasmus+ cash for Hungary, Horizon could be next‘Academic Huxit.’ Hungarian researchers speak out on impact of EU ban A more difficult task will be funding. The new government is aiming to increase research spending to 2% of the GDP by 2030, and then increase it to 3% in line with EU objectives. Currently, spending sits around 1.3%. But according to Horváth, the current budget, inherited from the previous government, is “heavily in the negative,” so any plans to increase research spending will have to start next year. Achieving 2% by 2030 already needs a big push, almost doubling the research budget. “This is something we’d definitely like to reach, and something I can see us achieving,” he said. “From the 2030s, I’d like to see an innovative generation growing up that can help us reach the 3% target.” Positivity in the new governmentDespite the many challenges facing Horváth and his team, the mood is positive. “It feels a bit like a start-up right now. Everyone is working 24/7, day and night, trying to do as much as they can. There is a lot of energy,” he said. It is a big change for the state secretary who, like many in his cabinet, is coming from a background in research or business, and not in politics. “Six weeks ago, I was sitting with my microscope and my research PhDs, so it’s been a big change for me,” said the computer scientist, who was previously the director of the Institute of Biochemistry at the Hun-Ren Biological Research Centre in Hungary and worked at the Institute for AI for Health at Helmholtz Munich. But he is relishing the task to transform the country’s R&D landscape. “We feel enormous support from the Hungarian people, but also from Europe,” he said. “We’ve received a lot of letters of support from around Europe. There is big trust there, and huge responsibility on our side. We want to get everything back on track, and there’s a lot to do.”
As NC early voting disputes persist, Dems ask Wake to restore NC State polling site
Last month, election officials dropped a longtime early voting site on N.C. State’s campus and replaced it with a separate university site away from main campus.
Labour calls on Farage to ‘come clean’ over £5m gift and work with crime agency over money laundering concerns
Lib Dems tell Reform UK leader ‘the game is up’ as political rivals vow to boycott ‘stunt’ Clacton byelection
DenOtter would change how politics is done
HOUGHTON — Republican Congressional candidate Matthew DenOtter is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Michigan’s 1st Congressional District. He is hoping to unseat incumbent Jack Bergman. The 1st Congressional District contains the 15 counties of the Upper Peninsula and 20 counties in the Lower Peninsula. “I grew up in Grand Rapids. I […]
Nigel Farage's political rivals rule out standing in Clacton by-election
The Reform UK leader says he wants an "establishment versus the people by-election" but Labour calls it a "circus".
Jesús Luzardo's full-circle rise leads to first career All-Star nod
Jesús Luzardo earned his first All-Star selection after a rise that took him from struggling under Don Mattingly in Miami to thriving with him in Philadelphia.
Judge rejects Justice Department's 'unreasonable' attempt to get names of 2020 election workers in Fulton County
Fulton County asked a judge to quash the subpoena, arguing it was meant to "target, harass and punish the President's perceived political opponents" and that it was "grossly over broad and untethered to any reasonable need."
Judge Quashes Justice Dept. Subpoena in 2020 Election Inquiry
The ruling cast serious doubts on the department’s efforts to reinvestigate the race, finding that it was too late to bring criminal charges in the case.
Musk-linked mailers draw complaints for targeting wrong addresses, dead voters
Election officials in North Carolina and Georgia are warning about suspicious voter-registration mailers linked to Elon Musk.
Wisconsin Supreme Court refuses to release voter records sought by conservative activist
The case has been wending its way through the courts for years and stems from attempts by conservatives to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory in Wisconsin over President Donald Trump in 2020.
Sen. Bernie Sanders says Graham Platner should drop out of the race after sexual assault allegation
Sanders, Platner's longtime backer, joined the chorus Tuesday saying that he spoke with Platner and that "in light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside.”
AI is already reshaping US politics at every level
Artificial intelligence is barging into the workplace and transforming the battlefield. Now, it’s coming to the ballot box, promising to rewrite the DNA of politics. Driven by a flood of Silicon Valley money, AI has emerged as one of the biggest financial forces in this year’s U.S. elections, fueled by hundreds of millions of dollars […]
Hungary Suspends State Media, Apologizing for Orban-Era ‘Lies’
Hungary’s state media went dark after its new leadership said it was ending years of propaganda that had propped up former leader Viktor Orban until his downfall in watershed elections earlier this year.
16 Owls Selected to Athlon Sports’ Preseason All-CUSA
KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State football continued to receive preseason honors as Athlon Sports announced a whopping 16 preseason all-Conference USA selections for the Owls this week.
Democrats begin pulling Platner endorsements after Maine Senate candidate faces sexual assault allegation
Graham Platner denied the allegation on Monday, but said he would be considering next steps for his campaign.
Business attorney and political newcomer starts mayoral campaign committee
An Evanston attorney and nonprofit leader filed paperwork last week to run for mayor in next year's special election, growing the potential field a few
Business attorney and political newcomer starts mayoral campaign committee
An Evanston attorney and nonprofit leader filed paperwork last week to run for mayor in next year's special election, growing the potential field a few
Marine Le Pen verdict live: France's far-right leader awaits appeal ruling with presidential race at stake
Marine Le Pen will learn from a Paris appeals court whether an electoral ban for illicit party financing will prevent her running in next year's presidential election.
PACs should ease up on the political propaganda in Maine
We are witness to millions of dollars being thrown at ads, as Maine struggles.
Maine Senate candidate Platner says campaign is deciding 'best path forward' after new sexual assault allegation
A woman who previously dated Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner said he drunkenly forced her to have sex after she told him to stop, according to a new Politico report.
Lone Star Politics: July 5, 2026
The Republican National Committee will gather in Dallas for a pep-rally for President Trump ahead of the crucial midterm elections. Plus, Plano Mayor John Muns speaks about the Dallas Stars’ move.
Recent Primary Election Losses Signal Potential Health Committee Leadership Changes
July 6, 2026: The most recent news from the Public Sector Healthcare Roundtable A series of … Read More
Boston Celtics officially announce Jaylen Brown
Per the team, they have "acquired 9-time NBA All-Star and 6-time All-NBA selection Paul George as well as future draft pick compensation from the ... 76ers".
How Denmark’s ‘Pig Election’ Rewrote Factory Farm Politics
Could animal welfare and clean water motivate American voters?
Trump-Republican infighting hands the Democrats a chance
Republican senators increasingly spar with a president who they see as too focused on his own priorities at the expense of their reelection prospects.
Who is Steve Hilton? Here’s how he has rebranded himself multiple times
The GOP nominee for California governor wants to deregulate businesses and overturn environmental rules. He’s also praised liberal workplace policies and once made the British Conservative Party more green.
Supreme Court ruling may wipe out Democrats' cash advantage in Senate battlegrounds
The GOP and Democratic national committees, others can now spend unlimited funds from their big donors in coordination with political campaigns.
AI is already reshaping U.S. politics at every level
AI has emerged as one of the biggest financial forces in this year’s elections, and a magnet for deepening bipartisan resentment as concerns about data centers and job security grow. On the campaign trail, AI is also reworking the playbook for how to run for office.
Digesting all the consequences of a weighty Colorado primary election
I arrived home on election night just in time to catch the 10 p.m. news. Flipping to Channel 9 and Kyle Clark, I found him engaged in conversation with a reporter at the Melat Kiros primary victory celebration. The pair expressed surprise at the energetic chants of “Melat!, Melat!” The on-site reporter found the enthusiasm […]
Suwayda in Parliament: The Politics of Appointments Amid a Crisis of Trust
At the beginning of July, Syria's Higher Committee for Elections announced the names of the 70 members of parliament appointed directly
A timeline of Marine Le Pen's political career and the rise of the French far right
PARIS (AP) — French far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s political fate is at stake Tuesday when a Paris appeals court is to rule on whether she may be barred to run in the 2027 presidential election.
A timeline of Marine Le Pen's political career and the rise of the French far right
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen's political future is on the line as a Paris appeals court rules on her eligibility to stand in the 2027 presidential election
SSM Health seeks to toss St. Mary’s nurse union election
Nurses at Madison’s St. Mary’s hospital won a union election last month. Missouri-based SSM Health, who owns the hospital, wants to throw out the results.
The Supreme Court gave political parties their power back
A little-noticed Supreme Court decision could reshape how elections are funded ‒ and it's a win for democracy, not just donors.
As socialism rises in popularity, GOP turns to a new attack: ‘Communists’
As more Americans take on a positive view of socialism, and those candidates win elections, more Republicans are using a different label: communist.
UK tightens rules on overseas political donations to stop 'dodgy funding'
Britain tightened its rules on overseas political donations on Monday, as part of efforts to stop foreign money influencing elections, and as concerns swirl around what Housing Minister Steve Reed called "dodgy funding".
UK tightens rules on overseas political donations to stop ‘dodgy funding’
LONDON, July 6 (Reuters) - Britain tightened its rules on overseas political donations on Monday, as part of efforts to stop foreign money influencing elections, and as concerns swirl around what Housing Minister Steve Reed called "dodgy funding". Las...
Opinion: Legislating fisheries management from DC is fishy politics
Sen. Dan Sullivan’s bill risks turning a science-based system into election-year politics, with coastal communities left to pay the price.
Democrat Mallory McMorrow suspends her Michigan Senate campaign and scrambles the pivotal race
McMorrow’s exit comes after many Democrats increasingly viewed her as a long shot for the nomination. It also creates a fresh dynamic in one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races.
Inside California Politics: Will ballot measures drive turnout in November?
A month past the primary, election season has hit a lull before campaigns reach full swing in the fall. On Inside California Politics this week, host Nikki Laurenzo sat down with two political insiders to discuss various candidates and campaigns: Republican strategist Rob Stutzman and Democratic consultant Andrew Acosta.
Inside California Politics: Will ballot measures drive turnout in November?
(Inside California Politics) — A month past the primary, election season has hit a lull before campaigns reach full swing in the fall. On Inside California Politics this week, host Nikki Laurenzo s…
With Julia Letlow’s victory, Jeff Landry flexes political muscles as he eyes reelection next year
Landry scored a big win when Letlow won the Republican nomination for Senate. What does that mean for his reelection chances next year?
Supreme Court’s dramatic moves will reshape elections — and give the GOP a midterm boost
Legal experts said the justices’ intervention amid an election cycle and the pace at which the court moved to implement changes that largely benefit one party is all but unprecedented in recent years.
Pols & Politics: Aging Ed Markey highlights endorsement from aging Jane Fonda
An aging Sen. Ed Markey is showing off a new endorsement of his reelection campaign by 88-year old celebrity and longtime political activist Jane Fonda.
Colorado primary election voters shake things up
Every election has its surprises, but last Tuesday’s Colorado primary election results gave us several unexpected outcomes. U.S. Sen. Michael Bennett lost his bid to switch from the U.S. Senate and become Colorado’s next governor. Meanwhile, progressive Democratic U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, from Denver, who had served 30 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, […]
Trump blends history, military, politics: 7 takeaways from the 250th
Here are seven takeaways from July 4 celebrations, including Trump's views on history, the military and election legislation.
Trump’s Remarkable Losing Streak
The administration has lost at least a dozen election-related cases.
Don't read too much into election results
It is a mistake to read too much into the success of Melat Kiros and her upset win over U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette.
Politics panel says court rulings have little effect in Indiana
Two members of Indiana’s best political team said they don’t expect the Supreme Court’s transgender athlete ruling to factor heavily into elections this fall.
The FBI is directing hundreds of analysts to its investigation of Georgia's 2020 presidential election
Georgia's votes in that year's presidential race were counted three times, including once by hand, and each count affirmed Democrat Joe Biden's win.
As Trump commands 250th stage, Democrats offer their vision of patriotism
They want to show opposition to Trump without looking like they’re unwilling to celebrate the United States.
Bolsonaro Adviser Says Fiscal Bill to Be Focus
Daniella Marques, an adviser to Brazilian right-wing presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, said in an interview with SBT News that, if victorious in this year’s elections, his eventual government would propose a constitutional amendment focused on controlling spending and the debt trajectory right from the start. The goal would be to restore confidence and facilitate an adjustment in the benchmark interest rate.
Hochul joins calls for USPS to drop plan tied to Trump’s election order
The order in question seeks to create a federal list of eligible voters and potentially limit who can receive a ballot in the mail.
All of the best 4th of July deals on Samsung Galaxy gear, Google, LG OLED TVs, Copilot+ PCs, e-bikes, more
The 4th of July long weekend has arrived and we are tracking a giant selection of notable deals. This includes...
CNN analysis: Turnout in this year’s primary elections clearly favors Democrats so far
This year’s primary turnout continues a trend that’s been building since Donald Trump’s return to the White House – Democrats are more motivated than Republicans to vote.
Democratic governors press US Postal Service to drop plan tied to Trump's election order
A group of Democratic governors is asking the U.S. Postal Service to withdraw its proposed rule to comply with an executive order that seeks to create a federal list of eligible voters, including those eligible to receive a ballot by mail
NYC Board of Elections to certify primary results
During a manual recount, each campaign will make its case for votes cast in its favor.
FBI directs hundreds of analysts to probe of Georgia 2020 presidential election
The FBI describes it as a "priority investigation"
FBI directs hundreds of analysts to probe of Georgia 2020 presidential election
The FBI describes it as a "priority investigation"
F.B.I. Assigns Scores of Analysts to Examine Election Records in Georgia
The expansion of an investigation into Fulton County’s election office reflects President Trump’s desire to prove his baseless claims that the 2020 election in Georgia was rigged.
FBI assigns 260 staff members to Georgia 2020 election probe
The FBI has ramped up its investigation into the 2020 election in Georgia by dedicating more personnel to what an internal memo refers to as a “priority,” a person familiar with the matter told CNN.
Facing setbacks and resistance, Trump presses bid to reshape elections on multiple fronts
President Trump has spent months waging an unusually aggressive campaign to reshape how states run elections.
Colorado governor fires board members who criticized release of election denier
Gov. Jared Polis (D) said clemency deliberations should be confidential.
Wisconsin Senator demands investigation into Postal Service
Sen. Tammy Baldwin said hundreds of votes were not counted in the state’s April election because ballots were delivered after the deadline.
Croatia criticised for ‘unambitious’ changes to 2022 science law
Croatia’s science ministry has been accused of a lack of ambition, and even incompetence, over proposed changes to the country’s 2022 science law. Critics say an opportunity has been missed to fix wider shortcomings in the research and universities system.“This law, like all the previous ones, will not significantly change the current state of science in Croatia,” Vlatko Silobrčić, a member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences, told Science Business. “A small shift here and there will not have a significant impact.”The 2022 law introduced multi-year block grant financing of research, based on results, and changes intended to boost employment and career progression for researchers and lecturers. But implementation of the law has been uneven. “It became apparent that certain of its provisions were subject to different interpretations by higher education institutions and scientific institutes,” the science ministry said in its proposal for change. “This caused legal uncertainty in the system, administrative difficulties in implementation and, in certain cases, unequal treatment of teachers, scientists and students.”Most of the proposed amendments deal with technicalities in hiring and promoting staff, such as extending the committee deadlines from 60 to 90 days, or allowing applicants to cite all of their achievements and not only those since their last appointment.Both the ministry and Croatian media highlighted changes that would raise the retirement age from 65 to 67 years and allow part-time students 15 year rather than 10 years to finish their studies.The change to retirement age has been criticised for reinforcing a weakness in the system. According to Matko Marušić, professor emeritus at the University of Split, this will “allow unproductive teachers to advance and work longer, while hindering and discouraging productive ones.”A longtime campaigner for excellence-based meritocracy, he sees little hope in the new legislation. “I am not optimistic that things will improve,” he told Science Business. “As recent changes to the law in Croatia show, the legal framework is becoming increasingly hypocritical and harmful.”For Marušić, who analyses Croatia's university system in a recently published book, the situation is “unfavourable and constantly deteriorating” due to the criteria used for academic advancement.“The key criterion for advancement should be scientific productivity,” he said. “In Croatia [. . .] scientific criteria are increasingly lowered, and ineffective and absurd criteria such as waiting times for promotion and age limits for remaining in a job are promoted.” He would also like to see better criteria for the quality of teaching at universities. “In practice, teaching is not monitored or evaluated,” he said, estimating that up to a third of teaching simply does not take place. “Under the guise of university autonomy and bad laws, universities and faculties are allowed to earn additional money by increasing enrolment quotas that have nothing to do with the needs of the labour market.” Lack of ambitionDora Kršul, a reporter at Telegram.hr who covers science policy in Croatia, finds the rationale for changes “bizarre.” “The ministry responsible for supervising the uniform application of the law is changing the law because it is being implemented unevenly,” she said. “This primarily speaks to the power relationship in the sphere of science and higher education in Croatia, that is, the question arises as to who actually manages this system.”Rather than raising quality, she continued, the changes appear to be designed to help vocational and applied universities who have not been complying with the law.The Independent Union of Research and Higher Education Employees of Croatia said that the changes were “unambitious” and represent a missed opportunity for more important changes. “We think some of the changes are even negative,” it said in its statement on June 25. One of these is introduction of an “assistant” job title that allows people to be hired only for the duration of a project. Related articles: Elections to top science bodies test Croatia’s gender equality in researchSlovakia revises R&D approach to increase focus on competitivenessLatvia pilots citizen engagement in research grant evaluationsThe union’s president, Tvrtko Smital, who was part of the 15-member working group tasked with drafting the changes, told the local media there was a “worrying lack of ambition” in the process, and “lack of competence” in terms of research experience and understanding the problems in the system.“There is no clear will to deal with the problems,” said Smital, an assistant professor of marine and environmental sciences at the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb. “It’s a combination of unambitiousness and incompetence,” he went on, expressing his “deep frustration” with the situation. “There is no strategy, no clear thinking, and money is not being spent optimally.”Croatia’s science ministry has not responded to requests for comment.
How Trump Is Trying to Change the Electoral Process to Help Republicans
Here’s how President Trump is using the powers of his office to try to reshape the rules governing the midterms and future elections.
Telling themes to take away from Tuesday’s primary elections
Let’s be clear about how Colorado’s primaries arrived at these unexpected results. The most significant voting cohorts on both the Democratic and Republican sides were women from 65 to 75-plus. These senior women voters selected Phil Weiser and have given Barb Kirkmeyer a chance. They may be on the farther side of their lives, but […]
Colorado governor fires two clemency board members who spoke out about Tina Peters’ commutation
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday fired two members of the state’s clemency board after they spoke out against his controversial decision to grant clemency to Tina Peters – an election denier whose sentence was cut in half by the outgoing Democratic governor in May.
PwC predicts: Providers, payers, pharma, medtech—all will have new to-do lists after the midterm elections. And that’s regardless of results.
With Election Day only four months away, healthcare is again emerging as a major source of idealistic campaign promises. Many of these are driven by widespread public angst. What sorts of changes can U.S. healthcare stakeholders realistically expect once the results are in?
Ukraine's General Valery Zaluzhny emerges as a key figure in national politics
While still hypothetical, elections have reportedly been discussed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the fall, fueling speculation about a possible candidacy by the former commander-in-chief. Like Zaluzhny, several senior officers enjoy strong public support and could play a major role in political life after the war.
Landlocked Colorado’s sea-change primary
Colorado’s primary elections held in the doldrums of early summer tend to be routine affairs, most often predictable and by the book. Tuesday’s battlefield was anything but. It is no exaggeration to call it a sea change. Its ripples will shape our state’s politics for many years to come. Writing on this morning after, let’s […]
Party fever: Another political party is gathering signatures to get on Nebraska's ballot
A party that wants to put Americans and Nebraskans first is collecting signatures to secure a ballot line ahead of the November election. A similar effort is underway to establish a Nebraska Working People Party. Both efforts have a July 15 deadline to get enough signatures.
Lindsey Graham expects housing package to become law despite Trump's election bill demands
"We need the housing bill." U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham says President Trump shouldn't let Tim Scott's bipartisan housing bill become collateral damage in the fight over the SAVE America Act.
Is the GOP race for Colorado governor heading into mandatory recount territory?
Not yet — not until the race tightens further as election officials tally more votes. The race for governor in the Republican primary between state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer and ministry leader Victor Marx tightened on Tuesday night to roughly 1,400 votes, but whether a mandatory recount is triggered will depend on whether the margins shrink […]
Thomas, Hurst Headline Athlon Sports Preseason Awards
Wide receiver Amare Thomas and offensive lineman Shadre Hurst were Houston Football's two Athlon Sports Preseason All-America Third-Team selections announced...
Democratic socialist Melat Kiros defeats longtime House incumbent in Colorado primary
Kiros, a 29-year-old lawyer turned doctoral student, is the latest candidate to rise from the party's left flank and boot establishment-backed candidates.
Sony will cease production of discs for new PlayStation games in 2028
New games sold for PlayStation consoles will only be available digitally and won’t be sold on discs effective January 2028, Sony has announced. The move applies to all PlayStation games released from that point on, including those made by Sony and those released by third parties. The PlayStation group calls the change “a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,” according to a PlayStation blog post reviewed by Game File in advance of its publication. As movies, TV and music have shifted from physical media to an age of downloads and streaming, Sony’s move could speed the demise of physical media in a gaming. The industry has offered consumers games via cartridges, cassettes, floppy discs, CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays across a 50-year stretch. Sony has been reporting to investors in recent years that PlayStation games have been increasingly purchased as downloads, not as discs. The most recent figures show nearly four in five purchases of full games for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 were purchased digitally in the past year. Stats like that may cause today’s news to carry an air of the inevitable. But Sony’s declaration for 2028 is still likely to produce a shock, as the biggest gaming platform on the planet that uses game discs leaves them behind. Discs going away, but the fate of game boxes is unknown Sony is committing to still selling games in physical retailers even after they drop discs in 2028. Just how those games will be sold—in boxes with codes inside, as cards marked with digital redemption codes—is unclear. Digital games will also continue to be sold in the online PlayStation Store. New games released for PlayStation consoles prior to January 2028 will be unaffected by the policy change, Sony says. That means the PS5 games of 2027, be they a new Madden, a new God of War, a new Call of Duty, a new Sly Cooper (one can dream?), would still potentially be offered on disc. PlayStation 6 implications Sony’s timeline for a transition to a no-disc era will also spin up more speculation about the timing and configuration of Sony’s next-generation console, the probable PlayStation 6. “This pretty much guarantees that PS6 won’t arrive until 2028 at the earliest,” Piers Harding-Rolls, senior games research analyst at Ampere Analysis tells Game File. Harding-Rolls also concludes from today’s news that “the base version of a PS6 will not include a physical media drive,” as Sony looks to keep costs down on the device. Sony itself is saying nothing about the PS6 today: not its timing, nor how it might or might not support internal or external disc drives in order to run disc-based PS4 and PS5 games, should the console be backwards compatible. The many signs this was coming Industry support for games being released on physical media has been waning. As has consumer interest in them. PC games effectively went all-digital years ago, thanks to the popularity of playing games through Steam and other digital storefronts. The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that kept much of the global population home helped shift shopping patterns toward downloads. Sony’s own data shows PlayStation game downloads being an uncommon consumer choice a decade ago and now becoming the norm. On consoles, physical media has been in such decline that Sony and Microsoft both launched their current gen Xbox Series and PS5 consoles in 2020 with cheaper versions that lacked disc drives. In early 2024, Phil Spencer, then head of Xbox, told me that ““[w]e ship games physically and digitally, and we’re really just following what the customers are doing.” He added that the game industry had become an outlier in still supporting disc-based entertainment, even as movies and TV have bailed on discs in favor of downloads and steaming: “Gaming consoles themselves have kind of become the last consumer electronic device that has a drive. And this is a real issue, just in terms of the number of manufacturers that are actually building drives and the cost associated with those. And when you think about cogs that we’re going to go put in a console—and as you have fewer suppliers and fewer buyers—the cost of the drive does have an impact.” Last year, the Nintendo’s Switch 2, which uses cartridges rather than discs, introduced the concept of game-key cards, which are physical media that contain no game, just a prompt for a download. Even disc-based games aren’t what they once were, now frequently containing just stubs of games rather than the whole thing. The website Does It Play has tested over 3000 games and found that, for example, that the disc version of this year’s hit 007: First Light, only contained the game’s first mission, with the rest needing to be downloaded. Beyond all that, last week brought the news that Grand Theft Auto VI, likely the biggest game launch this decade, will debut for PS5 and Xbox Series without a disc-based version. Today’s big news comes to you for free. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and ensure more of my work is possible, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Discs helped define PlayStation However the trends in entertainment may be going, it is still remarkable to see PlayStation ditch discs given their importance in PlayStation history: In the late 1990s, the first PlayStation’s support for games on relatively cheap CD-ROMs instead of traditional game cartridges allowed the upstart console to outmaneuver cartridge-based systems from Nintendo and Sega, as it drove down game prices down in the process. (The cheaper disc format even prompted Final Fantasy VII maker Square to taunt Nintendo in a magazine ad, saying that if the game was “available on cartridge, it’d retail for around $1200.”) PlayStation devices often doubled as machines for watching movies and TV on the latest disc-based formats. In the late 2000s, for example, Sony’s pricy PS3 gained traction as a go-to device for playing then-novel Blu-Ray discs. In 2013, Sony effectively roasted the digital game-sharing restrictions proposed by rival Microsoft for its upcoming Xbox One console by showing how games could be shared for the then-upcoming PS4. In a 21-second clip that has over 20 million views on YouTube, one PlayStation executive simply handed a game box—presumably with disc inside—to another, who said “thanks.” Sony’s possible motivations The PlayStation announcement today cites “consumer preferences” and a shift away from discs among “the broader entertainment industry,” but does not delve into the decision-making process that brought Sony to this point. Sony is not discussing the economics of this move (I asked!), but there are a number of potential factors: Abandoning discs will spare Sony the cost of manufacturing and shipping them, which analysts and industry veterans I spoke to said could account for $1 or so of a game’s retail price. For first-party games, that’s direct savings for Sony, though the amount is limited by the winnowing percentage of people who were even buying the disc-based versions. For third-party games, Sony could pass the savings on to partners or just retain the better profit margin for themselves. As the 2024 comments from Phil Spencer alluded to, leaving discs behind could mean leaving disc-drives behind, allowing Sony to produce consoles more cheaply. Switching to digital-only for games could diminish the risks of copies of new games leaking. It would also seemingly make second-hand sales of used games impossible, pushing more people to buy their own copies of games. These economic benefits for Sony could be boons for the games industry overall, Ampere analyst Piers Harding-Rolls tells Game File. Among other things, it could free publishers and retailers from having to worry about securing an inventory of game discs when trying to sell games, he noted. “If there is a way to streamline the business of games retail, I generally think it’s a good thing for the industry as it removes unnecessary costs,” Harding-Rolls said. “This will help offset pressure on margins from other directions – development and staffing costs for example.” Should the industry shift from game boxes that contain discs to smaller, cheaper game cards, Harding-Rolls said, that reduces pressure on publishers and retailers. “The advantage of everything going digital for the industry is that sales can be tracked much more easily and there is less commercial risk for publishers wanting to continue selling via retail,” he said. The shift to no discs will also likely impact game development timelines, as developers will no longer face the same urgency to have a build ready to submit to PlayStation for the production of a disc, as industry experts noted around GTA VI’s no-disc news last week. Instead, projects may gain weeks of development time, in the event delivery deadlines for platform approval move closer to release date. Preservationists’ likely worries While millions of gamers have shifted to digital, there are still people who associate game discs—and only game discs—with actual ownership of PlayStation games. That portion of the gaming community spoke up last week about wanting to buy a version of GTA VI that they could hold in their hands, could lend to a friend and could potentially pop into a well-preserved PS5 console three decades from now and still see it run. Such gamers didn’t want to worry that they’d merely purchased a digital copy that could lose access to the game if, say, the company behind the game someday turns of the servers that transmit downloadable copies. Digital copies of games are inherently less long-lasting, because consumers aren’t actually buying a game (on a disc), just buying access to the game. The fine print in online gaming shops notes this, as does a recent law that went on the books in California in 2025. That lasw requires game publishers doing business in the state to refrain from words like “sell” when offering digital copies of games, unless they explicitly tell consumers that what’s being sold isn’t the game itself but a potentially revocable license to access it. A Sony spokesperson noted to Game File that “[w]ith all digital content, including games, movies, and music, players are purchasing a personal license for non-commercial use.” Regarding the fears of PlayStation games being lost to time in an all-digital era, the rep also noted that Sony remains “committed to delivering experiences from past generations to the new platforms our players are using.” They noted that PlayStation has used emulation and remasters to keep offering its classic games to modern gamers. It’s true that many consumers have become accustomed to not having physical copies of new music albums or movies, but the relative precariousness of digital copies of games is in fact being highlighted today by…. Sony’s other big announcement: the upcoming closure of the PS3 and PS Vita online stores Sony said today that it will be closing the online marketplaces for its PlayStation 3 console and PS Vita handheld in most countries in July 2027 (sooner elsewhere: August 2026 for the PS3 store Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua; late 2026 for PS3 in other Latin American countries and the Middle East). “We know this news may be disappointing to PS3 and PS Vita players who hold a special place in their hearts for this generation of gaming,” Sony said in its announcement, saying the move “was not an easy decision for us to make.” Sony said that PS3 and Vita marketplaces “are no longer able” to support modern commerce systems, prompting a “need” to close the shops and focus on more modern PlayStation platform stores. The news may spark some deja vu. Sony announced back in March 2021 that it planned to take the PS3, Vita and PlayStation Portable marketplaces offline that summer. The move would have caused some 2,000 digital-only games to become unavailable for new purchasers, according to a VGC analysis at the time. Fans complained loudly. By April 2021, Sony walked back the PS3 and Vita shop closures, with then PlayStation boss Jim Ryan saying “it’s clear that we made the wrong decision here.” This time around, Sony is giving a longer notice period in most regions. The closure of those stores is still likely to cut off access to new purchases of digital-only PS3 and Vita games. The current PlayStation 5 marketplace sells PS5 and PS4 games, as well as a selection of PS1 and PS2 games. It does not sell PS3 games, because games for that platform can’t run on the system (some are offered via a PlayStation Plus streaming option). Vita games also aren’t sold via PS5. Sony says digitally purchased PS3 and Vita games will be downloadable after the stores’ shutdowns “for the foreseeable future.” Sony’s move contrasts with Microsoft’s Xbox platform, which continues to sell and support games from all four Xbox console generations. But it puts it in line with Nintendo, which disabled purchases in the marketplace for its Wii console (a contemporary of the PS3) in 2019. Nintendo discontinued purchases in the online shop for its 3DS portable (a contemporary of the Vita) in 2023. The big questions about Sony’s 2028 post-disc era Will Microsoft follow suit, ending support for new disc-based games on Xbox platforms and therefore all game consoles, too? Whether Microsoft does or not, will third-parties that can no longer release games on discs for PlayStation, simply ditch the disc options across the board? Given the GTA VI no-disc experiment launching this November, will more game publishers decide to forgo disc-based offerings even in 2027? How will no-disc PS5/6 games be packaged and sold in brick-and-mortar retail stores? What becomes of game sharing in an all-digital era? Will Sony modify its current set-up, which currently allows some sharing of digital games across a pair of consoles, to allow more casual lending? (See for example, Nintendo’s year-old system of letting players lend a digital game to another player in a “family group” for up to 14 days.) Will there be a version of a PS6 with a disc drive? Or will a drive be offered as an add-on? And how will gamers who want to retain access to PS4/PS5 disc-based games react to whichever configurations Sony chooses to offer? What will the final disc-based PlayStation game be?
Steelers film study: Eli Heidenreich's playmaking skills need more seasoning
It wasn’t just a good story that led to Eli Heidenreich being a seventh-round selection in his hometown by his hometown team. The Pittsburgh native...
Affordable Healthcare Emerges as a Voter Priority in Purple Nevada
The Trump administration’s cuts to Medicaid and SNAP may complicate Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo’s reelection chances.
5 takeaways from Colorado’s shocker of a 2026 primary election
Voters in Colorado’s Democratic primary on Tuesday night mostly let their elected officials know that they’re fed up with the party’s Washington politicians and ready to back the most aggressive fighters they can find. At the same time, the voters who cast ballots in the Republican primary mostly embraced the GOP’s establishment, throwing the beleaguered […]