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World Cup serves up Wimbledon dilemma: football or tennis?
Wimbledon organisers were clear: there would be no broadcasting of World Cup matches on the tennis site's screens.Wimbledon organisers appear unlikely to consider similar action, despite some pressure.
All the celebrities at Taylor Swift's wedding at Madison Square Garden
Celebrities including Benson Boone, Ethan Hawke, and Hugh Grant were spotted near Madison Square Garden on Friday afternoon.
Prince William and Kate reportedly met with Taylor, Travis before wedding
Before Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce held what can be considered America's version of a royal wedding, the superstar couple reportedly met with some British royals.
Is Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (LYV) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
Is LYV a good stock to buy? We came across a bullish thesis on Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. on R. Dennis’s Substack by OppCost. In this article, we will summarize the bulls’ thesis on LYV. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.’s share was trading at $182.56 as of June 29th. LYV’s trailing and forward P/E were 117.49 and 500.00 […]
Taylor Swift fans turn out in small numbers for MSG wedding
Only a few brave Taylor Swift fans lined the hot NYC sidewalks outside the arena where she and Travis Kelce reportedly were tying the knot.
AI is reshaping tech jobs and boosting demand for versatile skills
AI is changing what employers want from tech workers, but demand remains strong, according to an analysis of 2.85 million job listings.
My dad had a stroke. We still made it to the World Cup
Getting my father to a World Cup match required careful planning, but the day reminded me he is still remarkably independent.
Long Reads for the Long Weekend
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Happy Fourth of July weekend! As has been a tradition of mine going back to the beginning of the EntStrategyGuy website, I’m sharing my favorite long reads of the last year, like I did in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024, and 2025. Let’s dive right in! Subscribe “Different Prices for the Same Ride: How Uber and Lyft Use AI to Get More Money Out of You“ by Derek Kravitz in Consumer Reports I don’t think surveillance pricing, like the kind described in this brilliant Consumer Reports article, is long for the world—it’s toxically unpopular—but we’ll see if either party takes on this issue. If I ran a political party focused on affordability, I would focus on a few pro-consumer and pro-market policies: Banning non-compete agreements. Ending surveillance pricing Eliminating junk fees (read more here...) Ensuring “right to repair” for consumer (and military!) products Capping excessive app store fees Stopping digital/algorithmic price-fixing tools. Preventing automatic subscription price increases. And more. If you want to fight inflation, there are a lot of great ways to do it quickly. Speaking of higher prices... “Secret Documents Show Pepsi and Walmart Colluded to Raise Food Prices Across the Economy“ by Matt Stoller in BIG Again, I think a political party should focus on lowering prices for consumers. And deals like this—Walmart making a deal/forcing Pepsi to offer the lowest prices at its stores and nowhere else—hypothetically lower prices at Walmart...but raise them everywhere else. “15 DUIs, still driving: California’s failure to take repeat drunk drivers off the road“ by Robert Lewis and Lauren Hepler in CalMatters CalMatters does terrific reporting in California, something the Golden State desperately needs more of, and this article is a great example of that. “PugLips: The next insanely popular thing you’ve never heard of…” by Simon Carless in Game Discover Co I thought that this parody article (and yes, it’s a parody, but I was definitely unsure at first) was hilarious and totally nailed how much tech/business journalism feels these days. Actually, three of my favorite articles this year were on hype in the video game industry, including Georg Zoller’s “The Video Game Industries Very Dark Night”—which I linked to recently and wrote a follow-up here—and Owen Mahoney’s “Derek Zoolander, Videogame Exec”. In particular, I like Mahoney’s focus on user experience as a guide to what trends will actually grab hold of customers. “The Matrix Lies“ by Evan Shapiro in Media War & Peace Evan Shapiro’s first person account of his experience with AI was hilarious. I think LLMs capabilities have significantly grown from last summer, and yet...my editor/researcher just had an abysmal experience using an LLM to do a quite basic task (which our LLM normally does each week) and the LLM made a mistake on every single data entry...along with seven different mistakes affecting twelve of the twenty or so entries, including mistakes that are explicitly spelled out in the prompt. That’s a brutal failure rate. Again, if you use AI/LLM for data collection, you need to take a lot of extra steps to verify and check the data. “Ghosts in the Balcony: A Cross-Country Trip to 58 Theaters Fighting to Survive“ by Matthew Frank in The Ankler I thought Matthew Frank’s pitch to head across America to visit theaters sounded insane aggressive at the time—at least it felt that way to someone a decade older than him; man, to be in your twenties again, am I right?—but I knew the result would be great. And it was, a terrific feature by a great young writer. Also, I loved Matthew’s recent article on who’s getting the precious few entry level jobs in Hollywood. (Hint: nepotism.) “Disney erased FiveThirtyEight“ and “Did Las Vegas get too greedy?” by Nate Silver in Silver Bulletin I love media history and analysis, and there’s no one better to get the history of FiveThirtyEight than from Nate Silver, who wrote about his personal experience in one of my favorite pieces from this year. I also loved Nate’s breakdown of what’s causing Vegas’ woes, but I’ll offer one criticism, summarized as “Might I suggest antitrust?” Many centrists/center-right/libertarian thinkers (Nate is self-described as the latter) often don’t consider consolidation or antitrust as factors in policy issues like housing, America’s military readiness, or, in this case, Las Vegas. Even if libertarians want to debunk antitrust/consolidation concerns, I’d love to read that debunking. In this case, Vegas is incredibly consolidated (though it also has been for a long time) and I’d have loved to read Nate at least contending with this factor, since he addresses almost every other potential factor for Vegas’ decline. “Why Microsoft’s Carbon Removal Pullback Is Such a Big Deal“ by Robinson Meyer in Heatmap News I’m a big supporter of carbon removal efforts, but this nascent industry faces a lot of headwinds, including this big move most recently. I think it’s clear that solar panels and batteries should be able to get the world to its carbon footprint goals, but effective carbon renewal remains necessary to prevent the worst impacts of global warming. “AI is killing the cheap smartphone“ by David Oks LLMs and AI will impact the world in ways we’re not ready for, and already, third world countries are seeing the prices of cheap cellphones skyrocket due to the cost of chips skyrocketing. This article by David Oks is a terrific breakdown. “100 Days of Madness: Netflix, Paramount, Warner and the Future of Hollywood“ by Wade Major at Hollywood Heretic Wade Major dove deep into Hollywood/streaming’s financials in this must read piece. Not that I agree with everything in this article (read my take on Warner Bros./Paramount here) but the analysis is top notch. I think many people discount how quality thinking, regardless of the argument/conclusion, will make you a better thinker. “Erased by the UFC: Frank Shamrock, The MMA GOAT of the 20th Century“ by Nate Wilcox in The MMA Draw Newsletter Growing up playing the UFC fighting game on the Dreamcast, Frank Shamrock was my favorite MMA fighter, and this history/tribute to him was great. Other Fun Reads “The Hardest Part Of History To Tell Is How It Felt“ by Craig Fehrman at Defector “Unmasking the Sea Star Killer“ by Craig Welch at bioGraphic “What Could Save the Industry? Fin-Syn“ by Richard Rushfield in The Ankler Alex Rollins Berg in Underexposed on movie bumpers, pillow shots, Disney trash cinema, cult films, and Casablanca. David H. Montgomery in YouGov’s The Surveyor on punctuation marks, condiments, dinosaurs, and comic strips and kids media. “How Medium finally pivoted its way to profitability“ and “Why the best journalists on YouTube are all former Vox employees“ by Simon Owens in Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter “It’s Not Just You, Netflix Shows Have Gotten Slightly Shorter: Here’s What the Data Says“ by Kasey Moore at What’s on Netflix “Numlock Awards: How Diane Warren became the biggest loser in Oscar history“ by Nathaniel Rakich and “Numlock Awards: The Oscar Bait era is over. The Oscar Chum era is here.” by Walt Hickey & Michael Domanico at Numlock Awards
New Pentagon office will oversee majority of drones
From small one-way attack drones to drone boats and ground robots, the new office will have vast authority over the future of uncrewed programs.
Palantir CEO Alex Karp's properties, homes: See inside
Palantir's Alex Karp has quietly built a nine-figure real estate portfolio. Here are some of the homes and properties he owns in the US.
The 15 jobs with the best workplace experience, according to Monster
Healthcare workers, math and data science professionals, and science technicians topped Monster's ranking for the best workplace experience.
Statues of US presidents' heads are crumbling in rural Virginia
After a Virginia park closed 2010, one man saved 42 presidential statues from being crushed. Now, they're a massive tourist attraction.
DoD's weapons testing office doing more work with fewer people: GAO
Hegseth gutted DOT&E's workforce last year, leaving the office with less officers and oversight on weapons programs.
I visited Fraunces Tavern, the oldest restaurant in New York City
I visited Fraunces Tavern, New York City's oldest tavern and restaurant, which has welcomed diners for more than 250 years.
Americans flocking to DC and Boston for July 4 weekend
Travel demand for Washington, DC, over the July 4 weekend is up 120% year-over-year, according to data from Trivago.
Why Perplexity's founder doesn't think the American dream is over
Aravind Srinivas, the CEO of Perplexity, praised America's startup culture on "The Joe Rogan Experience."
FOR INSIDERS | Whole Hog Politics: A revolutionary reader
[Watch Whole Hog Politics live: Join us today at 9 am EDT at TheHill.com as Chris Stirewalt and host Bill Sammon break down this week’s political news and answer questions from a live online audien…
'Big Short' Michael Burry may have own version of 'Buffett effect'
Michael Burry from "The Big Short" told BI he doesn't believe his stock picks move markets, but several commenters said a "Burry effect" might exist.
My 11-year-old got me to play the Lotto; we won enough for ice cream
My son asked me to play the Lotto during some bad luck. The clerk drew a ticket with our lucky numbers, and we won enough for a family treat.
Goldman Sachs economist predicts AI displacing 15 million jobs
Joseph Briggs of Goldman Sachs foresees AI displacing 15 million US jobs, but suggests new roles will emerge as adoption progresses.
Local health providers urge caution against burns and smoke with home fireworks
UVA Health advises being wary of potential burns, and the American Lung Association advises against breathing the smoke.
The newest luxury hotel amenity isn't a spa. It's Pilates.
Luxury hotels like The Aster and some Ritz-Carltons are adding reformer Pilates studios to attract wellness-focused travelers.
Global wealth jumps but disparity widens, UBS report shows
Since 2020, average wealth per US adult has grown 10%, while median wealth has fallen 20%.
Founder shares AI lesson after foreign Fable access returned
A UK founder said losing access to Anthropic's Fable AI model taught him to always have a backup plan when building with AI.
See the world's 10 longest airline routes, Singapore, Qantas
Demand for ultra-long-haul flights has surged, and many of the cabins are loaded with premium perks. These are the world's farthest routes.
A heat dome with extreme temps threatens Fourth of July weekend
The heat dome arrives just before the Fourth of July weekend, when AAA predicted 72.2 million Americans would travel.
Waymo robotaxis have easter eggs for the July 4 celebration
Waymo is tweaking the in-car experience to get into the festive spirit for the Fourth of July.
Inside the recruiting practices at the hottest AI coding startups
At Replit, X profiles have become the "main medium" for recruiting, said the company's chief people officer.
Swift and Kelce surprise charities with $26M donations pre-wedding
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce give $26M to local and national charities, supporting food banks and education ahead of their NYC wedding.
Jensen Huang's leather jacket could fetch $60,000 at auction
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's black Tom Ford leather jacket is up for auction, with proceeds benefiting charity, Sotheby's said.
Meta's Watermelon AI model has caught up to GPT-5.5, Alexandr Wang says
Meta's superintelligence chief says its upcoming Watermelon model now matches GPT-5.5 on key AI benchmarks.
Sony Discusses Potential Future PlayStation Plus Price Hikes
Sony says it continues to balance value and pricing for PlayStation Plus, addressing the possibility of future subscription increases.
Zuckerberg said AI agent progress has been slower than expected
Superintelligence will take time, Zuckerberg tells Meta staff, as the company makes its AI training program opt-in after a data leak.
Small Business Owners Need Wider Adviser Support, per Voya
More than 90% of small business owners surveyed said advisers should be equipped to help with employee retention.
Raiders top newcomers ranked by immediate impact
We went about listing the Raiders top ten veteran newcomers and ranking them by how much of an impact they will have right away.
Your First AI Policy: Six Burning Issues for Every Growing Business to Consider Before You Scale
AI is already part of everyday work at growing companies. Employees use it to draft emails, summarize documents, generate marketing copy, assist with
4 health care groups compete for 92 acute care beds in western North Carolina
Four health care providers in western North Carolina have filed applications with the state's Department of Health and Human Services to add acute care beds.
Portland to consider removing zoning rule that limits entertainment licenses
Could the removal of a 30-year-old zoning rule lead to more activity in downtown Portland? Some business owners hope so.
I got laid off after 31 years at Disney
Chris Bess says a social media post about losing his Disney job reached millions and expanded his professional network.
Meet Meta's new vibe-coding app: Pocket
Pocket is a new app from Meta that lets you create and share interactive content, like mini games, with friends. It's powered by Meta's AI.
Meet Meta's new vibe-coding app: Pocket
Pocket is a new app from Meta that lets you create and share interactive content, like mini games, with friends. It's powered by Meta's AI.
House panel explores direct health contracting to lower costs
The House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions July 1 examined whether direct health care contracts between employers and providers could help address rising health care costs.
Raiders roster 2026: Remaining free agent
Are there some in-house free agents that could still return
Freestone Grove's energy head Michael Pope leaves the firm
Michael Pope closed his firm, Wellfield Capital, before joining Freestone Grove to focus on energy trades. The fund will now focus on other sectors.
New Jersey Business Magazine Celebrates America's 250th Birthday, NJ's Contributions
This special July edition of New Jersey Business Magazine celebrates America’s 250th birthday with an array of feature stories highlighting the state’s top industries. The magazine, which is powered by NJBIA and is the Garden State’s longest standing business publication dating back to 1954, explores the historical significance of these industries and how they complement the nation’s semiquincentennial birthday. “We approached this issue as[...]
Steelers' Defensive Line Future Hinges on Keeanu Benton Contract Decision
For the first time in what feels like a very long time, the Pittsburgh Steelers are getting second deals done with their draft picks. Joey Porter Jr. is in line for his deal, Darnell Washington got his, and Nick Herbig also cashed in during the 2026 offseason. According to a Steelers insider, the team may leave 2023 second-round pick Keeanu Benton on the outside looking in.
PACE Provider myPlace Health Achieves High-Acuity Care Reductions
The SCAN Group affiliate myPlace Health has acheived significant reductions in hospitalizations as its program exceeds 300 participants. The company
I compared same breakfast sandwich from Starbucks, Dunkin', Tim Hortons
I compared sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches from Starbucks, Dunkin', and Tim Hortons. My favorite had a flavorful egg and creamy cheese.
I left New York for small town 5 years ago; I wish I could move back
We left New York City for a charming village about an hour away. After just a few years, we started missing the city and planning to move back.
At 71, I've worked in my family's 120-year-old business since 12.
Michael Petri is the majority owner of his family's 120-year-old plumbing business. Now 71, he has worked there since 12 when he first helped his dad.
What Makes Live Nation Entertainment (LYV) a Good Investment Bet?
TimesSquare Capital Management, an equity investment management company, released its “U.S. Mid Cap Growth Strategy” first-quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Strategy fell 7.72% (net) in the quarter compared to -6.35% for the Russell Midcap Growth Index. In the first quarter, markets navigated geopolitical tensions and economic resilience alongside […]
Roundup: Beach Chairs, Tom Lowrie, Teardowns …
An update on the Great Compo Beach Fireworks Land Grab Arms Race: Here was the view as of 8:30 this morning. (Photo/Karen Como) (Photo/Amy Schneider) That’s the scene at ground level. A drone…
This startup wants to make city streets searchable with AI
Orchestra has installed more than 100 cameras in San Francisco. Next up: 900 more, then the rest of the world.
A strange LIGO signal could reveal the missing link behind dark matter
An unusual gravitational wave signal has renewed hopes that primordial black holes, long considered purely theoretical, may finally be within reach of discovery. If confirmed, they could solve one of astronomy's greatest mysteries by explaining the nature of dark matter.
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.
Bonus 236: A Term of Self-Inflicted Wounds
Within minutes of the Supreme Court handing down the birthright citizenship ruling on Tuesday and rising for its summer recess, its defenders were pointing to that decision (alongside the late-arriving mail-in ballots ruling on Monday and the tariffs ruling from February) as decisive proof that the Court really is “above politics,” and that criticisms of the justices for behaving more like politicians in robes than like judges are thus unfair. For a particularly thoughtful version of this claim, see Professor Will Baude’s opening response to the latest New York Times written roundtable about the Court with Baude, Professor Kate Shaw, and me. In that roundtable, I already offered one of the two major arguments against this thesis—that it’s an assessment of the numerator without regard to the denominator, and that a full account of the Court’s behavior throughout OT2025 suggests that the Court behaved even more politically during the current term than during even the previous (highly politicized) one. Just to take one of many data points, last term (OT2024), there were six rulings in argued cases in which all six Republican-appointed justices were in the majority and all three of the Democratic appointees were in dissent (along with a slew of such rulings on the emergency docket). This term, there were … 13. (Along with two 6-3 summary reversals and 10 rulings on the emergency docket from which the three Democratic appointees all dissented.) Today’s bonus issue addresses the flip side of that coin. In particular, below the fold, I identify four different moments in which the justices could have acted in ways to specifically defuse charges of political behavior—and opted instead to lean all the way in. As much as end-of-term narratives focus on what the Court did, and on the takeaways from individual rulings, consider today’s post an attempt to identify opportunities that the Court missed, as well. At least in the examples discussed below, by opting for the outcome that made the Court look more transparently political, the Court inflicted a series of (unnecessary) credibility wounds on itself. For those who aren’t paid subscribers, we’ll be back Monday with our regular coverage of the Court. For those who are, please read on.
"PS5 Will Be My Last Console": After 45K Votes, 86% of DF Viewers Say Sony Should Reconsider Killing Physical Games
That's just under 40,000 people writing in to oppose Sony's plans.
4 tech stocks that can weather an upheaval in the AI trade
Ben McMillan, IDX Advisor's chief investment officer, said of his clients are growing wary of a sea change in the AI trade.
Paramount ad tech org chart: Who has power after leadership shuffle
David Ellison's Paramount Skydance is reshaping its ad product and tech teams. Here's what changes were made, and who's rising within the company.
How an interior designer started an eco-friendly product side hustle
An interior designer launched an eco-friendly online marketplace for household products to expand his creativity and make more money.
Maryland's first 'human composting' facility is open for business
Maryland's first 'human composting' facility is turning human remains into soil, considered a greener alternative to cremation or traditional burial
NC lawmakers consider changes to vehicle child seat laws
A child passenger restraint systems bill that would put more emphasis on a child’s height is moving slowly through state Senate committees.
American dessert taste test: McDonald's, Burger King, Wienerschnitzel
I ranked fast food desserts from McDonald's, Burger King, Krispy Kreme and Wienerschnitzel to find the best patriotic treat.
Pre-Deployment Simulations Are Vital To Developing Generative AI That Can Best Provide Mental Health Advice
Pre-deployment simulation is a new technique from OpenAI. It can be used to better shape AI-led mental health guidance. An AI Insider analysis and scoop.
Apple plans five new iPhones through 2027, eyes Chinese-made chips amid foldable push, reports say
Apple is planning five new iPhones by 2027 and is considering Chinese memory suppliers as it expands foldable production, reports say.
Will Ferrell says dad gave him the 'best showbiz advice ever'
Even though it wasn't a "rah-rah speech," Will Ferrell said his father's words "took the pressure off succeeding."
Vinton Cerf says AI must learn these 3 lessons
From standardization to turning a product into a platform, Vinton Cerf said there are lessons AI must learn from the internet boom.
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?
In another 250 years, what will be considered an American classic?
NEW YORK – What makes a Great American Novel? Which books deserve to be called classics? You may think of the books you read in school, like F.
Priced out: The growing cost of live entertainment
Summer tours are trying to fill seats while keeping up with growing ticket prices. Tickets for the Ed Sheeran concert at U.S. Bank stadium are BOGO through the 4th of July, and the Mystic Lake Amphitheater is doing an offer of four tickets for $99 for select concerts. Meanwhile shows like Noah Kahan are having no problem selling tickets with high ticket prices. Music critic for the Star Tribune Chris Riemenschneider joins All Day to talk about the drama around concert tickets.
Bethesda Makes Clever Oblivion 'Physical' Post As Sony Scraps Discs
Bethesda Game Studios has made a post on social media that seems to be poking some kind of fun at Sony's recent PlayStation disc news.
Buncombe County Detention Facility partners with Wellpath to expand mental health care
The Buncombe County Detention Facility has launched a new partnership with correctional healthcare provider Wellpath.
Xbox is reportedly considering dropping disc drives as it tests new feature that lets players digitize physical games
A new report now claims Xbox, like PlayStation, is set to "drop the disc drive."
Trump's new Air Force One: differences, design, cost, photos of inside
Donald Trump flew on the new Air Force One, a luxury jet gifted from Qatar, for the first time. Here's how it compares to the old presidential plane.
Stomach bug causing explosive diarrhea. How to reduce your risk
In the past nine days, health officials have diagnosed more than 170 people with cyclosporiasis, a diarrheal illness. It is considered an outbreak.
Maine high court considers trans signature debate
The debate Wednesday focused on Bellows’ obligation to balance the U.S. Constitution, the Maine Constitution and a 2022 federal consent order requiring Maine to allow nonresidents to circulate petitions.
CMS proposes updates to home health payments for CY 2027, updates to provider enrollment and quality and value-based purchasing programs
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services July 1 issued its calendar year 2027 proposed rule for the home health prospective payment system. The rule proposes a 2.4% update, which includes a 3.1% market basket update, reduced by a 1.0 percentage point cut for productivity, as well as an 0.3 percentage point increase related to outlier payments. In addition, the agency proposes a temporary cut of 3.0% that it states is necessary to achieve budget-neutral implementation of the Patient-driven Groupings Model.
The engineer who became Anthropic's political secret weapon
Tom Brown, an Anthropic cofounder, helped mediate the White House complaints over Fable and Mythos. His background in AI is brief but noteworthy.
The engineer who became Anthropic's political secret weapon
Tom Brown, an Anthropic cofounder, helped mediate the White House complaints over Fable and Mythos. His background in AI is brief but noteworthy.
Sony says goodbye to discs for new PlayStation games in 2028
Sony said it will stop production of physical discs for PlayStation games in response to industry and consumer shifts.
WATCH: Obama, Harris advisor warns ‘betrayed’ Black voters could be Texas Senate candidate's kryptonite
Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico is facing a problem of Black voter enthusiasm in Texas after defeating Rep. Jasmine Crockett, according to party insiders.
Alex Karp says AI models are 'irresponsibly oversold'
Palantir CEO Alex Karp said that "something has gone completely wrong" in the AI market. "The enterprises are just tired of it," he said.
Meta names Denise Moreno as its new CMO
Denise Moreno, a marketing vet, is stepping into the role as Alex Schultz becomes Meta's first chief data officer.
The most iconic sandwich shop in every state
From roadside stands to famous delis, these are the most famous and beloved sandwich shops in America.
REVIEW: Trying all of Trader Joe's summer foods + photos
From key-lime tea cookies to Green Goddess Gouda, Trader Joe's has stocked its shelves with new seasonal summer products. Here's how they tasted.
Science Notes: Assisted Migration and Climate Change
As climate change reshapes habitats, assisted migration is gaining attention as a tool to help vulnerable species adapt, with New York considering legislation to support these efforts.
Luxury realtors are spending thousands on Botox, skincare, and clothes for work
Luxury real-estate agents are spending thousands on skincare, Botox, and designer clothes to project the aspirational lifestyle their clients want.
Enter The Sadie-Verse
After ‘Stranger Things’ and ‘John Proctor Is the Villain,’ Sadie Sink is burning up stage and screen in equal measure. Next stop: ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day.’
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?
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