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The Streaming Bubble Keeps Popping

(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.) One of my rules is “never bet against PE [private equity]”. This isn’t to say that I agree with their methods or tactics or strategies or financial innovations (aka shenanigans). Just that in the long arc of financial history, they’ve tended to return very good returns to their shareholders. That said, their forays into entertainment have left me...skeptical. I’ve written before about PE’s production company/celebrity production company roll ups, and those haven’t really worked out. Some PE groups tried to “roll up” an industry that isn’t “roll-up-able” for lack of a better term—since the barrier to entry for starting a production company is very low—often paying top dollar for celebrity production companies at the height of streaming valuations. So yeah maybe we can bet against PE when they venture into filmed entertainment. I’ve also noted that studio lots seemed to be a bubble back in 2022. Sure enough… Yikes! That sure sounds like some private equity guys lost some money. The only caveat being that holding a lot of land in Los Angeles is always valuable. But that wasn’t the pitch and likely real estate investment companies overpaid for said land. I mean, Goldman Sachs had to repossess it after all. (Technically, I’m not sure these buyers were traditional private equity, but PE was buying LA studio lots earlier this decade.) All to say: I call out bubbles when I see them, and they often pop. Anywho, my most famous bubble call was the “streaming bubble”, specifically that the major streamers were making too many shows and films. And that it could all come crashing down. Notably, I made this call before the strikes of 2023, but those strikes potentially accelerated the popping. And now it has indeed popped. One of my most popular articles of last year made that exact case. A year later, it’s time to update that analysis. The bottom line is that the streaming contraction continues. Credit where credit is due, Luminate—an analytics company whose data I use weekly in my streaming ratings report—called this out in a recent report I saw highlighted in both Bloomberg and The Hollywood Reporter. But I’m adding my data to their look, including streaming films and kids TV shows. I’ll also provide some other data that all tells the same picture. Let’s dive in! Subscribe The Number of Streaming TV Shows, Films and Specials Is Declining AGAIN in 2026 Let’s get right to the data, starting with my dataset. Specifically, each week I track every “notable” title to come out on streaming. I try to grab every title on every major streamer, meaning if it’s a first run or original or exclusive, I track it. This helps me call out the “dogs not barking” and the misses/flops each week. So that will be our first series of charts, my weekly collection data. Let’s start with the raw TV show, film and special data, by week. Note: As the years have gone by, I have actually added more sources (going from just one source to five sources) to find new titles, meaning that this data collection is, likely, more accurate now than in the past. Which means my team and I are more likely to have undercounted titles in the past rather than today. I like to cut the data several different ways. Here’s that same look, by quarter, to more sharply show the trends: And here’s the data just looking at the first half of each year. That’s the same data, just cut three different ways with three different time periods. Note that films, TV shows, and specials are all down by 25%, 42% and 17%, respectively, from 2022. The good news is that the number of films and specials actually increased year-over-year from 2025 to 2026, but not enough to offset the 25% decline in TV shows. Now, I also look at kids shows, and here they are pulled out on their own: And here’s that by quarter: This really seems to be a notable area of pullback by the streamers. Kids shows are down 80% from 2022. This reflects some formerly Disney+ shows going to cable TV first, but also pullbacks from HBO Max, Prime Video and Netflix. I also categorize the TV shows by English language and non-English language, and that also reveals a lot of where the drop comes from: And here is by the half-year: In this look, the good news is the drop for English language shows seems to have stabilized in the last year. But the bad news is the long term decline from the 2022 peak. Other Data So I wasn’t the only person to notice this decline in the number of shows. I have a few other data sources for this, though most only go through the end of 2025. As I said, Luminate beat me to the punch, so let’s look at their data. We’re just getting started with this issue, but the rest is for paid subscribers of the Entertainment Strategy Guy, so if you’d like to find out… What TV loss streaming didn’t make up for... How Netflix has changed their programming slate over time… Ten more images charting the decline of production... What type of films aren’t being made anymore... The good news (for movie theaters)… And more... ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support.

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Jul 31 • 2:43 PM EDT • Entertainment • entertainment.substack.com
Amazon Just Revealed a Huge Shift in Advertising. Every Business Should Pay Attention

Everyone focused on the cloud. The real marketing story is the ad business, and it signals where your budget is headed.

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Jul 31 • 2:35 PM EDT • Business • inc.com
SCGOP plans televised Republican Senate candidate debate for Aug. 3

A televised debate will give voters the opportunity to hear from candidates in the special Republican Senate primary race.

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Jul 31 • 2:09 PM EDT • Politics • greenvilleonline.com
Today’s Best Deals From IGN: LEGO Yoda Bust, Sony WH-1000XM6 Headphones, and a Bunch of Physical PS5 Games

Plus, don’t miss Pokémon TCG restocks and savings on a soundbar, an RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC, and more.

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Jul 31 • 1:55 PM EDT • Technology • ign.com
Govs. Wes Moore & Kevin Stitt on dignity in politics: Full panel

Gov. Wes Moore (D-Md.), Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-Okla.) and UNITE CEO Tim Shriver join Kristen Welker for a Common Ground conversation on restoring civility and dignity in politics.

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Jul 31 • 1:14 PM EDT • Politics • nbcnews.com
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Promises made, promises kept: Trucker of the Month Jeffrey Crise

Owner-operator Jeffrey Crise, who runs two-truck A&J Transport & Recovery out of the Baltimore area, prides himself punctuality and service -- with clear dedication to customers.

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Jul 31 • 1:10 PM EDT • Business • overdriveonline.com
Inside Tencent’s Failed Attempt to Take On ‘Grand Theft Auto’

Lightspeed’s Last Sentinel burnt through six years of development and hundreds of millions of dollars

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Jul 31 • 1:00 PM EDT • Technology • bloomberg.com
The Guardian view on the Lovell telescope: budget cuts to physics are bad science and worse politics

Editorial: Funders have picked a damaging fight with scientists and the public. They should reconsider their plans

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Jul 31 • 12:32 PM EDT • Science • theguardian.com
Don’t let Jodrell Bank Observatory become another industrial museum

Letters: Readers respond to reports that the world-famous big dish is facing closure due to spending cuts by UK Research and Innovation

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Jul 31 • 12:30 PM EDT • Science • theguardian.com
Fauci praised as 'hero' by public health experts after Senate hearing

Public health experts and advocates are defending Dr. Anthony Fauci after he faced fierce criticism from Republicans at a Senate hearing.

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Jul 31 • 12:23 PM EDT • Health • usatoday.com
AMD Reportedly Plans To Raise GPU Prices, Too

It seems like AMD is about to raise graphics card prices by around 10%, according to an industry insider on Twitter.

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Jul 31 • 12:14 PM EDT • Technology • ign.com
Is It Healthy to Eat Cheese Every Day? Dietitians Reveal the Answer

Cheese is delicious, but how much is too much? Dietitians share the healthiest way to get your cheese fix on a daily basis.

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Jul 31 • 12:05 PM EDT • Health • today.com
Hobbies can improve your health – here are four tips for choosing one

From sea swimming to painting, doctors are ‘prescribing’ hobbies – but you don’t need a doctor’s note to get started

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Jul 31 • 12:00 PM EDT • Health • theguardian.com
Tony Romo ‘on leave’ from CBS Sports after arrest on suspicion of impaired driving in Wisconsin

“Tony Romo is on leave from his role at CBS Sports until further notice,” the network said in a statement about its star NFL analyst.

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Jul 31 • 11:59 AM EDT • Sports • nbcnews.com
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Jeff Dunham adds second Green Bay show after first one sells out

Comedian Jeff Dunham and his well-known cast of dummies were last in Green Bay in 2024 for three shows.

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Jul 31 • 11:26 AM EDT • Entertainment • greenbaypressgazette.com
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NYU Faculty Drive Three US Department of Energy Genesis Mission Projects to Accelerate AI-Driven Discovery

Faculty across Arts and Science, Courant, and Tandon will help develop AI tools for quantum computing, decentralized scientific reasoning, and automated hypothesis generation

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Jul 31 • 11:25 AM EDT • Science • nyu.edu
Overdose deaths continue to decrease in Washtenaw County, health officials report

Overdose deaths are down in Washtenaw County, but the crisis is far from over.

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Jul 31 • 10:44 AM EDT • Health • clickondetroit.com
WhatsApp is testing a new folder for messages from large businesses

WhatsApp will automatically move messages from large businesses to a new folder a few hours after you receive them

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Jul 31 • 10:39 AM EDT • Business • techcrunch.com
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‘Measles is here’: Michigan health officials warn as vaccination rates fall dangerously low

Michigan health officials are warning of a significant measles resurgence as vaccination rates drop below herd immunity thresholds.

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Jul 31 • 10:26 AM EDT • Health • clickondetroit.com
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A bitter pill: are you wasting your money on supplements?

Will collagen make you look younger? Could magnesium help you sleep better? Or are the benefits overstated? A dietitian reveals which are worth taking

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Jul 31 • 10:00 AM EDT • Health • theguardian.com
"We will not live on past successes or be trapped by past failures" – Xbox CEO outlines priorities to turn platform around in FY27

Asha Sharma expects growth to return to Xbox by "investing in what players value"

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Jul 31 • 9:40 AM EDT • Technology • gamesindustry.biz
Drifting SpaceX rocket heading for accidental collision with moon

Scientists and sky gazers will watch intently as rocket’s upper stage slams into lunar surface on Wednesday

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Jul 31 • 9:05 AM EDT • Science • theguardian.com
Could Switch 2's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake be squaring up for a GTA 6 head-to-head? Newly sighted amiibo suggest a potential November release

Despite being announced back in June, Nintendo's Ocarina of Time remake still doesn't have an official launch date.

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Jul 31 • 8:42 AM EDT • Technology • eurogamer.net
How an 1876 massacre of Black men in South Carolina turned racial terror into political power

The men responsible for the bloodshed 150 years ago were never prosecuted; instead, they rose to South Carolina’s highest offices.

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Jul 31 • 8:09 AM EDT • Politics • theconversation.com
Live updates: Trump announces Gaza deal

Get live updates and the latest news as Trump announces a deal for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw forces from Gaza and holds a Cabinet meeting at Camp David.

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Jul 31 • 7:31 AM EDT • Politics • nbcnews.com
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PlayStation reports flat Q1 sales, says it's "cautiously moving forward" with halting physical disc production

"We have received various opinions, and people have strong views, and we understand that the community has put forward those views to us," says CFO

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Jul 31 • 7:21 AM EDT • Technology • gamesindustry.biz
AOC 2028: could she be the first female US president?

Leftwing Democrats are having their political moment in the sun, with Zohran Mamdani in New York, Adbul El-Sayed in Michigan and the endless calls for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for president in 2028

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Jul 31 • 7:03 AM EDT • Politics • theguardian.com
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Shift-Up promotes Stellar Blade 2 with AI-generated KPop music video featuring the game's main character

The video ends with Shift-Up developers interacting with an AI-generated Evie from Stellar Blade 2, chatting and eating together.

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Jul 31 • 6:59 AM EDT • Technology • eurogamer.net
Does public health *need* MAHA?

Last week, our friend Dr. Craig Spencer sparked an ongoing volatile discussion with his Atlantic article “Public Health Needs MAHA.” Some have come out in strong dissent, others are cheering, and others are simply lamenting that we find ourselves in such a divided world to begin with. We will dare to dip our toes in these controversial waters, too. Does public health need MAHA? We think in some ways yes, and in other ways, no. MAHA leaders versus the everyday MAHA supporter The vitriol in this debate mostly comes from one collapsed distinction: the leadership of MAHA is not necessarily the same as the people who support it. Say “MAHA” and most people picture RFK Jr. Fair enough, as he coined the term and holds most of the power. And, yes, some MAHA followers treat Kennedy as something close to a saint. But talk to the grassroots, and it’s not a monolith. They’re Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. People who distrust vaccines and vaccine supporters. It’s a wide, eclectic coalition. The data backs this too: 4 in 10 Americans support the movement—that’s a lot of people! But according to polls, vaccines and medical choice (the issues most tied to Kennedy personally) are cited by only 4% as their reason for supporting the movement. For many, the motivations are much broader. Many MAHA supporters are signing up for the idea that “something needs to change” with health in this country. They’re asking good-faith questions about corporate influence on our health systems, health care costs, nutrition, chemicals, and clean air and water. These are all questions that plenty of public health professionals recognize as legitimate and also care about very deeply. Blurring the lines between the leadership and grassroots does real damage in two important ways: It hands the 4 in 10 exactly the narrative already fed—that the health ecosystem doesn’t listen, doesn’t care, and paints every critic with the same brush. It gives the actual bad actor more power. RFK Jr. has done irreparable damage and can’t be trusted. What the MAHA movement gets right A healthy population is something the public health field was literally built on, and many of these topics are things we have dedicated our lives to. Yet the MAHA movement has captivated nearly half the country in a way the public health establishment has failed to achieve. So that means MAHA is doing something right. Some of it may be timing (after a Covid-19 pandemic and deep frustration and mistrust with institutions). The movement also does three other things really well: 1. It gives a new, louder voice to system failures. While MAHA is not a monolith, one theme stays consistent across their stories: the system failed them. For some, it was the system that flooded their communities with opioids and then walked away. For others, it was the system that let their business collapse during Covid with no safety net in sight. For others still, it was the system that failed to help them manage a complex chronic illness, bouncing them from physician to physician without any real answers. And in many ways, our health ecosystems are failing Americans. Why are medical bills so incomprehensible? Why do some kids get a healthy school lunch and others don’t? Why do an epidemiologist and a MD/PhD student have to start newsletters in the middle of the biggest public health emergency in a century, just so people can get straight information? Because the systems failed. This deep-seated frustration driving many Americans to search for solutions elsewhere needs to be recognized. 2. MAHA has brilliant comms central to their efforts. MAHA figured out something most health institutions still have not: the information landscape changed. It’s participatory now, not top-down; influence runs through many nodes in a community, not one institution; and storytelling and telling audiences “what you really think” moves people more than data dumps do. MAHA goes where audiences are listening, using podcasts, social media, and memes in ways most health institutions would scoff at—but it works. 3. They are very good at organizing. A MAHA meeting feels like a rally: energy, speakers, music, and most importantly, an action for everyone. Someone’s writing the next policy brief, someone’s seeding a narrative, someone knows the next legislative deadline, someone’s sending the text messages for a campaign. None of this is new (ask the civil rights movement), but MAHA knows it works and has capitalized on it. What MAHA gets wrong This list could be much longer, and this newsletter has spent a lot of time covering it, but here are a few things: Poor use of scientific evidence. This is the fundamental problem with many MAHA policies: the hype outpaces the science, and experts are often villainized for pointing this out. MAHA leadership has traded real solutions for cheap wins. For example, instead of taking on the powerful food industry and passing real reforms, it has celebrated french fries made of beef tallow and taken out artificial dyes from still very sugary children’s cereal. These changes won’t move the needle on America’s diet. MAHA leadership has tried to dismantle vaccine access in the U.S. While many MAHA supporters emphasize other issues, the effort to change vaccine policy has become MAHA’s signature effort. This is not surprising given RFK Jr.’s extensive track record campaigning against vaccines. It has rallied behind the wrong leader. RFK Jr. has a decades-long track record of villifying doctors, scientists, and public health workers, well before he became HHS secretary. He is known for his decades-long work sowing distrust in vaccines as well as life-saving treatments like antiretroviral therapy for HIV. This is not a serious person who can move the needle on health in the U.S, and he has already done serious damage. Public health needs more than defense Defending the evidence is absolutely necessary so health in the U.S. doesn’t move further backward. The public health establishment is very good at defense. The problem is this defense often sounds like defending the status quo, which has failed many people. Public health needs to offer an alternative to RFK Jr.’s MAHA—one that is rooted in evidence, truly listens to and addresses people’s frustrations, and has innovative solutions and the courage to change the systems. How do we get there? Find common ground. Do you know what most people care most about? The abysmal cost of healthcare. Start there. Fight for the human loudly. Too often, communications and engagement center on science with a capital S, funding mechanisms, or the CDC/FDA/NIH. Not the person. So the public doesn’t see themselves in it. Instead, they see people fighting for the very powerful systems that they feel negatively impact their health and well-being. Let the public feel and hear that you see their frustrations, you get it, and you’re fighting for them within the system. Recognize when pro-science messages are alienating people. Facts absolutely matter, but angrily venting only alienates people further. Our friend Elisabeth Marnik recently wrote a New York Times article about her experience growing up unvaccinated and how listening and empathetic conversation are the only ways to reach people that really work (a position backed by communication science). Her comments section was full of hateful comments from pro-vaccine individuals attacking her for daring to suggest we approach vaccine-hesitant individuals with empathy. It is possible to both stand firm behind scientific evidence and empathize with people who don’t trust it. Lean into politics smartly. Often, public health has shied away from politics: Don’t touch it, lest you get burned. But this fails to recognize that the third rail is what fuels the train: who is elected determines our budgets, our priorities, and our authority. Being political means being very savvy in strategy on both sides of the aisle, knowing your audience, and recognizing that political capital is as scarce as financial resources and needs to be allocated accordingly. Bottom line So does public health need MAHA? That’s not really the right question. Public health has a responsibility not to dismiss 40% of the country who feel heard by this movement and are frustrated that the system has failed them. And it has a responsibility to stick to the evidence and recognize MAHA leadership for what it is: a danger to our nation’s health. Both can, and should, be done. Love, YLE and KP A big thanks to Craig Spencer, who had the courage to put his neck out there to start a much-needed discussion at such a critical moment—one that is determining the identity of an entire field. Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD is completing an emergency medicine residency and research fellowship focusing on health literacy and communication. In her free time, she writes the newsletters You Can Know Things debunking health myths and rumors and The Public Health Roundup. Views expressed belong to KP, not her employer. Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE) comprises a team of experts, ranging from physicians to immunologists to epidemiologists to nutritionists, working together with one goal: to “translate” ever-evolving public health science so that people are well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. The YLE suite of newsletters reaches over 475,000 people across more than 132 countries. This newsletter is free to everyone, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE community members. To support the effort, subscribe or upgrade below: Subscribe

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Jul 31 • 6:30 AM EDT • Health • yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com
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Valens Semiconductor Appoints Dean Martin to Lead the Automotive Business Unit

/PRNewswire/ -- Valens Semiconductor (NYSE: VLN), a leading provider of high-performance connectivity chipsets, today announced the appointment of Dean Martin...

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Jul 31 • 6:30 AM EDT • Business • prnewswire.com
GOP's Fauci witch hunt is more than just bad political theater

Dr. Fauci deserves better than being harassed, and we deserve better than our congressional representatives leading such an embarrassing witch hunt.

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Jul 31 • 6:06 AM EDT • Health • usatoday.com
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New business sought for Red Arrow Park. It might not be a coffee shop

Milwaukee County Parks has issued a request for proposals for a business to operate year-round in the former cafe location at Red Arrow Park.

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Jul 31 • 6:05 AM EDT • Business • jsonline.com
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Sports quiz of the week: new faces, old friends, fights, fallouts and a curse

Have you been following the big stories in football, boxing, athletics, horse racing, Gaelic games, golf and cycling?

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Jul 31 • 6:03 AM EDT • Sports • theguardian.com
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We Tested the Best Website Builders for Businesses. Here’s How Shopify, Squarespace, Wix, and More Compare

If you need a website but you don't know where to start, read this guide.

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Jul 31 • 6:00 AM EDT • Business • inc.com
Sony vows to press on with discless plans, saying "digitalization is progressing" across all media despite heavy protest from players

Sony has heard your complaints, but it's done little to move the needle when it comes to PlayStation physical media and discs.

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Jul 31 • 5:35 AM EDT • Technology • eurogamer.net
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake Will Launch Head-to-Head With GTA 6 in November, Nintendo Fans Believe, After Amiibo Release Date Revealed

Nintendo will launch its The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Switch 2 remake head-to-head with GTA 6 in November, fans believe.

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Jul 31 • 5:08 AM EDT • Technology • ign.com
Democrats’ big Virginia plans were foiled, but it’s still at the center of the battle for the House

The Democratic redistricting plan creating four more blue-leaning seats got shot down in court. Instead, two existing GOP-held swing districts are home to hard-fought campaigns.

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Jul 31 • 5:00 AM EDT • Politics • nbcnews.com
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Essential brain health tips as you age

Discover five simple brain health tips that can support memory, cognitive function, and overall well-being as you age

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Jul 31 • 5:00 AM EDT • Health • qz.com
BP puts North Sea oil and gas business up for sale

Move, which would end decades of production in area, comes as new CEO tries to simplify firm and cut debt

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Jul 31 • 3:18 AM EDT • Business • theguardian.com
FDA clears RadNet’s breast ultrasound AI solution

The product works by automating lesion detection, characterization and reporting, helping streamline workflows for both radiologists and sonographers.

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Jul 31 • 2:40 AM EDT • Business • radiologybusiness.com
Democratic candidates grapple with past stances on defunding the police ahead of key midterm races

Democrats are trying to convince voters that lawlessness under President Donald Trump is a major threat.

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Jul 31 • 12:01 AM EDT • Politics • news4jax.com
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Cowboys rookie Caleb Downs impresses early at camp, welcomes tough test against offense

One of the standouts has been rookie safety Caleb Downs, the team’s first selection in this summer’s draft.

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Jul 30 • 10:13 PM EDT • Sports • ksat.com
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Politics Chat, July 30, 2026

A newsletter about the history behind today's politics.

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Jul 30 • 9:51 PM EDT • Politics • heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
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Iris Taylor, Detroit health care and education leader, dies at 74

Taylor was serving as DPSCD's board treasurer after retiring as president and CEO of Detroit Receiving Hospital when she died.

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Jul 30 • 8:29 PM EDT • Health • detroitnews.com
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PlayStation 5 Video Games Are Heavily Discounted During Best Buy's Back to School Sale and Amazon Has Already Price Matched Many of the Deals

Amazon has already price matched many of the deals.

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Jul 30 • 7:25 PM EDT • Technology • ign.com
Fashion IPOs Became a Recipe for Disaster. Reformation Thinks Its Business Model Can Break the Curse

Reformation’s IPO shows investors may be willing to buy fashion again, but only if the story comes with profits, cash flow, and proof customers keep coming back.

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Jul 30 • 7:07 PM EDT • Business • inc.com
Boat explosion at Lake St. Clair business injures several people

The cause of the blast remains under investigation. No foul play suspected.

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Jul 30 • 6:09 PM EDT • Business • detroitnews.com
Democrats’ novel red-state strategy: From the Politics Desk

Plus, another shake-up in the Wisconsin governor’s race.

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Jul 30 • 5:51 PM EDT • Politics • nbcnews.com
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U.S. turns to war weary Ukraine for help with drone technology

Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S. told NBC News that the two nations signed an agreement last week so Ukrainian combat drones can be sent to the U.S. for military testing and evaluation.

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Jul 30 • 5:17 PM EDT • Politics • nbcnews.com
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Entertainment Headlines 7/30/26
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Jul 30 • 5:11 PM EDT • Entertainment • clickorlando.com
Gemini Spark can now use Chrome to auto browse, AI Pro access goes international

Gemini Spark is getting two big updates today, starting with Chrome auto browse integration on desktop. Additionally...

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Jul 30 • 4:29 PM EDT • Technology • 9to5google.com
Rivian beats quarterly revenue estimates as R2 launch, software business gain traction

By Akash Sriram July 30 (Reuters) - Rivian Automotive beat quarterly revenue estimates and raised annual delivery forecast on Thursday, buoyed by optimism over the rollout of its lower-priced R2 ​SUV and growth in its software business as it expands ‌b...

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Jul 30 • 4:07 PM EDT • Business • wtvbam.com
Rivian beats quarterly revenue estimates as R2 launch, software business gain traction

Rivian Automotive beat quarterly revenue ‌estimates and raised annual delivery forecast on Thursday, buoyed by optimism over the rollout of its lower-priced R2 SUV and growth in its software business as it expands beyond its premium lineup.

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Jul 30 • 4:03 PM EDT • Business • reuters.com
What is Disney?

Founded in 1923, Disney operates theme parks, film studios, and streaming services across more than 40 countries

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Jul 30 • 3:54 PM EDT • Entertainment • qz.com
Florida collector pulls 1-of-1 Ohtani card, then sells for $10M+

A memorabilia collector in Florida pulled a 1-of-1 Shohei Ohtani Dual Gold Logoman Autograph card and proceeded to sell it for more than $10 million, according to the buyer.

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Jul 30 • 3:39 PM EDT • Sports • espn.com
U.S. states are all over the map on how to regulate AI therapy chatbots

Six states have split four ways on regulating AI therapy chatbots. The same product can be legal in one place and criminally exposed in another

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Jul 30 • 3:08 PM EDT • Health • qz.com
How a Houston contractor is using her business to open doors for single moms in the trades

Sandra Lopez built a successful contracting company while creating opportunities for single mothers and people new to the trades. Now, a LiftFund loan is helping her grow even more.

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Jul 30 • 3:04 PM EDT • Business • click2houston.com
New Orlando Health Children’s Pavilion brings several clinics under one roof

Orlando Health has opened a new children's pavilion in Orlando that consolidates 19 pediatric clinics under one roof, aiming to simplify follow-up care and reduce the logistical burden on families managing multiple specialists after a child's hospitalization.

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Jul 30 • 2:59 PM EDT • Health • clickorlando.com
Democrat Mandela Barnes drops out of the Wisconsin governor’s race

Barnes, the former lieutenant governor and 2022 Senate nominee, had struggled to gain traction ahead of the Aug. 11 primary.

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Jul 30 • 2:33 PM EDT • Politics • nbcnews.com
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Business Leaders Driving Change and Innovation

These entrepreneurs adapt thoughtfully, make informed decisions, and build businesses with a clear sense of direction.

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Jul 30 • 1:34 PM EDT • Business • usatoday.com
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Cosm Detroit sets opening date, will show NFL games, movies

The 70,000-square-foot, three-level venue will show the Detroit Lions game on Sept. 17.

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Jul 30 • 12:54 PM EDT • Entertainment • detroitnews.com
Bethesda Has a New Logo to Celebrate Its 40th Anniversary — and It Harkens Back to the Studio's Old Terminator Games

Bethesda has unveiled a new logo to celebrate the studio’s 40th anniversary.

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Jul 30 • 12:48 PM EDT • Technology • ign.com
Ferris State's Tony Annese selected to Michigan Sports Hall of Fame

One of seven new inductees, coach Tony Annese won three MHSAA state titles with Muskgeon and four of the last five D2 national titles with Ferris.

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Jul 30 • 12:31 PM EDT • Sports • lansingstatejournal.com
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Frozen burritos sold at Costco spur public health alert

The mislabeled burritos could be dangerous to people with certain allergies, according to health officials.

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Jul 30 • 12:17 PM EDT • Health • usatoday.com
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JetBlue’s Mint Makeover Reveals a Bigger Business Trend

JetBlue’s Mint refresh shows that winning today isn’t about attracting the most customers. It’s about creating a premium experience.

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Jul 30 • 12:00 PM EDT • Business • inc.com
San Antonio high school students participate in hands-on research during summer Texas Biomed program

While many teenagers took a break from learning this summer, dozens of San Antonio high schoolers spent their time studying in a professional-grade laboratory.

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Jul 30 • 11:47 AM EDT • Science • ksat.com
Will Philly-area emergency rooms have to share your personal data?

A new investigation shows health officials voicing their concerns about the CPSC and KONZA Health. But what are they?

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Jul 30 • 11:27 AM EDT • Health • usatoday.com
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Mississippi sees rise in cyclospora cases, health official weighs in

Mississippi health officials report rise in cases of cyclosporiasis. How to protect yourself from the diarrhea-causing parasite.

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Jul 30 • 11:25 AM EDT • Health • clarionledger.com
Even GB News cringes as Reform turns dementia patients into a political football

Honest Bob was rattled at the idea of joining cross-party talks on social care. Why bother behaving as a serious opposition?

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Jul 30 • 10:58 AM EDT • Politics • theguardian.com
2026 Gen Con is open for business
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Jul 30 • 10:47 AM EDT • Business • indystar.com
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PayPal becomes a takeover target as it attempts a turnaround

Stripe and Advent International reportedly offered to buy PayPal for $53 billion as the firm faces a turnaround.

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Jul 30 • 10:34 AM EDT • Business • detroitnews.com
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This Week in Jacksonville - Business Edition: Experts urge tighter HOA oversight after $11 million fraud

Kent Justice tackles a question a lot of HOA homeowners are asking after the “Hammocks” case in South Florida: could HOA fraud happen here — and would anyone catch it in time? Kent’s guest is Marc Rodriguez, EVP of Market Operations at RealManage, who breaks down how financial oversight can fail inside volunteer-run boards, what practical controls can stop fraud before it starts, and how technology can add real transparency for both board members and homeowners.

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Jul 30 • 9:36 AM EDT • Business • news4jax.com
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Introducing: TAG Heuer, Team Ikuzawa, And Bamford Return With A Second Collaboration

In keeping with the punchy colors of the iconic Japanese team, but with the newer "Glassbox" format, this is anything but a reserved chronograph.

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Jul 30 • 9:35 AM EDT • Technology • hodinkee.com
Federal tariff refund portal offers relief for small businesses hit by import costs

Businesses across the U.S. may be in line for a significant financial boost after federal agencies launched an online system allowing importers to apply for tariff refunds.

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Jul 30 • 9:22 AM EDT • Business • ksat.com
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The US public is fed up with RFK Jr. To really ‘make America healthy again’, it should look to Europe

Americans are dying younger than Europeans, despite being the wealthiest people on the planet. Wellness fads won’t change that, says public health expert Devi Sridhar

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Jul 30 • 9:00 AM EDT • Health • theguardian.com
Money has strangled sports. Now Fifa is putting soccer up for sale

Gianni Infantino’s plan for a Fifa subsidiary is odious – but it’s hard to feel surprised

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Jul 30 • 9:00 AM EDT • Sports • theguardian.com
After Playing 4 Hours of Star Wars: Galactic Racer, I’m Convinced It’s the Shake Up the Racing Genre Needs

We've been hands-on with Star Wars: Galactic Racer's fast and furious roguelike campaign, and it's looking a game changer for racing games.

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Jul 30 • 9:00 AM EDT • Technology • ign.com
Gears of War: E-Day's Multiplayer Thrives Off Its New Horde Siege Mode

After about 10 hours with the Gears E-Day multiplayer beta, Xbox's long-time shooter series is making some smart gameplay changes.

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Jul 30 • 9:00 AM EDT • Technology • ign.com
AppMagic: Pokémon Go generates $48.5m during 10th anniversary celebrations

Weekly in-app purchase revenue reaches record high from July 6 to July 12

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Jul 30 • 8:46 AM EDT • Technology • gamesindustry.biz
Record absence of world’s oldest head of state reignites health speculation

Cameroon’s president has not made statement or been seen since leaving for ‘brief private stay’ at Swiss hotel on 7 June

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Jul 30 • 8:36 AM EDT • Health • theguardian.com
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Agassi Sports Entertainment Secures $1 Million Convertible Note From Investments AKA

Agassi Sports Entertainment entered into a $1.0 million convertible promissory note to bolster working capital. The note bears 3.96% interest, defaults to 10% upon certain events, and matures on July 27, 2027. It will automatically convert at the same price as new investors in the next equity finan…

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Jul 30 • 8:33 AM EDT • Entertainment • tradingview.com
Farley doubles down on Ford's pursuit of profits beyond core business

Ford CEO Jim Farley told Wall Street the carmaker is in discussions for more U.S. Defense work and hinted at more adjacent businesses to come.

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Jul 30 • 8:29 AM EDT • Business • freep.com
Helldivers 2 x Warhammer 40,000 Castellan's Creed Legendary Warbond Fully Revealed, Weapons and Armor Shown Off, Release Date Confirmed

As promised, we have the full reveal of the Helldivers 2 x Warhammer 40,000 Legendary Warbond today, a first look at the weapons and armor it will include, and a release date.

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Jul 30 • 8:27 AM EDT • Technology • ign.com
Preeclampsia rates in minority communities shed light on the social roots of maternal health disparities

Disproportionate rates of preeclampsia – a potentially dangerous pregnancy complication – in immigrant populations reflect the physical toll of social and economic insecurities.

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Jul 30 • 8:14 AM EDT • Health • theconversation.com
Halo: Campaign Evolved's 'death barriers' and ungenerous out-of-bounds restrictions are making the 42 skull grind a real bore

42 skulls, 10 terminals, and an out-of-bounds auto-death that is frustrating even the most seasoned reclaimers.

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Jul 30 • 8:14 AM EDT • Technology • eurogamer.net
The new "science golden age" looks suspiciously like a grift

This edition of PN is made possible by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ 🚀 Subscribe to PN 🚀 The Trump regime is trying to usher in a “Golden Age in Science” where scientific research is run like a Trump family business, artificial intelligence is all that matters, profit is everything, and expertise is for chumps. Or at least that’s the vision emerging from a new 123-page “Report to the President” from Michael Kratsios, the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In a normal administration, you could probably skip over learning about a science policy document — but this is no normal administration, and this is no normal science policy document. Instead, it’s Trump’s attempt to end the actual golden age of science that was kicked off in 1945 with the publication of '“The Endless Frontier” by Vannevar Bush. [ ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/harmeet-dhillon-portland) [ Harmeet Dhillon demonstrates danger of posting through it ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/harmeet-dhillon-portland) Liz Dye · Jul 29 [ Read full story ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/harmeet-dhillon-portland) Bush, at President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s request, laid out a vision of federal support for science that centered on funding universities to do basic research, saying that as long as those institutions were “vigorous and healthy and their scientists are free to pursue the truth wherever it may lead, there will be a flow of new scientific knowledge to those who can apply it to practical problems in Government, in industry, or elsewhere.” Kratsios’s report is supposed to be the successor to Bush’s, and even apes the format, but this isn’t really a document about science policy. It’s one about ending science research as we know it in favor of shoveling cash at big tech companies. While it might be temping to wave this away as an aspirational policy document, Trump has already begun to shift billions in research funds to AI projects and has taken a hatchet to science funding across the board. He’s teed up the shift Kratsios proposes here, and since neither Congress nor the Supreme Court seem inclined to stop him from doing whatever he wants with taxpayer money, it isn’t doomering or hyperbole to say we are staring down the barrel of a world where the only “science” the government intends to support is for-profit tech and defense advancements. Science for dummies Part of how you can tell this isn’t a document about science is that you are immediately faced with an absolute wall of business-speak of the worst sort. Did you know we must “tightly couple our science and technology enterprises to ensure that groundbreaking ideas invented in the United States are rapidly prototyped, tested, manufactured, and scaled domestically”? You do now! That tone isn’t surprising, because Kratsios has no background in science or research. He has a bachelor’s in political science and spent most of his career working for Peter Thiel at Thiel Capital. After a stint in the first Trump administration as Chief Technology Officer, where he also did not do any science, Kratsios was tasked in 2020 with overseeing the Pentagon’s research budget for a brief time, a position that, as the Wall Street Journal put it, “carries a great deal of power in terms of dictating investment allocations.” He spent the Biden years at Scale AI as “head of strategy,” which you will also note is neither a science nor a research job. But Scale AI has contracts with the Department of Defense and, as the Washington Post wrote in 2023, “has been aggressively pitching itself as the company that will help the US military in its existential battle with China.” And now you have the necessary background for our new golden age, which is going to be a golden age of taking money away from scientists and universities and giving it to companies like Scale AI. A note from Aaron: Working with brilliant contributors like Lisa takes resources. If you aren’t already a paid subscriber, please become one to support our work. 👇 Subscribe In a genuinely galling move, Katsios spends a lot of time slamming universities because of “administrative burdens on researchers” and the “well-documented inefficiencies” in academia, the message being that those damn universities waste the time of amazing researchers with paperwork. Except it’s the administration that is attempting to impose inefficient, unnecessary burdens on those researchers with a proposed Office of Management and Budget rule that would require senior political appointees to approve every science grant and ensure it aligns with Trump’s personal priorities. Researchers would also have to seek prior government approval to attend conferences or publicize their research. And political appointees could terminate any grant at any time if they feel like it. [ ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/omb-rule-science-funding) [ The murder of expertise ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/omb-rule-science-funding) Lisa Needham · Jun 11 [ Read full story ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/omb-rule-science-funding) But when it comes to AI, we’re going to “restore permissionless innovation.” The report proposes to give lucky ducky innovators a pile of cash up front for grants lasting five years or longer, saying “awards should be fully-funded in year one, with all resources earmarked upfront, to minimize administrative burdens and reduce pressure for researchers to generate intermediate results to secure continued funding.” Yeah, wouldn’t want to have to make the Very Special Tech Bros show results or get money parceled out year by year like the plebes at universities. The report also proposes that we should have “fast grants” with “simplified applications requiring just a few pages of writing” because that is definitely how science works, just writing a bit off the dome and getting some cash. [ ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-ai-action-plan-altman-llms) [ Tech elites are turning AI into ChatGPTrump ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-ai-action-plan-altman-llms) Paul Waldman · July 29, 2025 [ Read full story ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-ai-action-plan-altman-llms) Oh, and we should have prizes and challenges, where multiple teams compete. The proposed prizes include incentives like “advance procurement commitments,” which means the federal government agrees to buy whatever is being developed. There’s also “regulatory fast-tracking,” making sure all those great AI thingies don’t have to wait too long to be unleashed on a market. These aren’t incentives to do science. These are incentives to develop things with tax dollars that you can then sell to the government for more tax dollars. In the suggestion that might be the most unhinged, the most very opposite of how both government and research work, our new age will include “golden tickets.” That’s where an individual reviewer in an agency — yes, just one person — can “recommend unconventional proposals that may not pass consensus-driven review panels” because somehow this will “surface valuable ideas too divisive for committees and attract higher quality reviewers by empowering them to exercise independent scientific judgment.” Yes, that’s saying that a random person in an agency should be able to shovel money at some idea even if it can’t pass a review panel, and that the opportunity to do so will attract better employees because apparently all the best minds in science are chomping at the bit to be allowed to unilaterally fund AI research based on their personal vibes. But that isn’t at all how actual science works, and actual scientists aren’t unhappy about review panels. They work collaboratively, not siloed in some secret race to create the next AI chatbot. A 2020 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research examined whether peer review panels succeed in helping agencies predict which research ideas will best advance science. Peer review was better at finding “diamond in the rough” applicants than a single government program official. How about that. Trump always wants a taste It’s painfully clear that what Katsios is trying to do here is turn the whole of government science research and funding into the sort of “move fast and break things” paradigm that is the hallmark of big tech. That method works to line the pockets of tech executives, but it isn’t science. There’s a reason the government funds different kinds of research than private tech companies do. What Katsios either fails to understand or deliberately ignores is that the federal government is the main funder of basic research precisely because it can take a long time for it to bear fruit and is not intended to be profitable as such. “Basic” here does not mean rudimentary or simple, but rather research that is designed to advance scientific knowledge instead of achieving a specific outcome or product. Big tech companies don’t widely fund that sort of research, because it doesn’t make them money. Industry dollars account for only about 20 percent of basic research funding, while the government contributes around 60 percent. Big tech companies and startups do, however, rely on and benefit from that basic research. A 2019 study found that 35 percent of all patents obtained by venture-backed startups from 1976 to 2016 cited federally supported research. Basic research funded by the NIH contributed to every single drug the FDA approved from 2010 to 2016. [ ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-saudi-nuclear-deal) [ The Saudi nuclear farce and governance by whim and meme ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-saudi-nuclear-deal) Noah Berlatsky · Jul 27 [ Read full story ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-saudi-nuclear-deal) Unlike inventing the next ChatGPT, actual science is slow and iterative. Government funding of research that, on its face, would not appear to lead to any big new invention is actually what underpins those big new inventions. If the government hadn’t funded research into desert lizard venom, we wouldn’t know about semaglutide, and we wouldn’t have Ozempic. If research scientists hadn’t studied how bees optimize nectar foraging within a colony, we wouldn’t have the algorithm that assigns internet traffic across computer servers. The report assiduously ignores that a symbiotic, profitable relationship between the federal government, universities, and private companies already exists. Each federal research dollar generates about $1.50 to $3.00 in long-term economic benefits. The $36 billion the government awarded in NIH research funding in fiscal year 2025 generated $94 billion in new economic activity. Trump’s proposed new golden age is intended to strip those billions from universities, resulting in the dismantling of departments and the shuttering of labs. But Katsios has a plan for that: Universities should just become trade schools to churn out no-show STEM degrees! “Require universities and community colleges to embed practical technical training and externships into STEM curricula. Let hands-on experience and industry credentials count toward degrees.” It’s quite the feat to, on the one hand, strip schools of funding for scientific research while simultaneously demanding to control what is taught and, oh, also, colleges need to give degrees to employees at big tech companies just for being employees at big tech companies. The new golden age would also exacerbate the brain drain Trump’s policies have already caused. Nature found that in the first quarter of 2025, US scientists submitted 32 percent more job applications abroad than in 2024. A March 2025 poll by Nature of roughly 1,600 scientists found that over 1,200 said they were considering leaving the country. Europe is investing $565 million to make it a “magnet for researchers” and provide funding for scientists who relocate. The new golden age is also about embedding Trump’s xenophobia into the fabric of American science. The report complains of an “over-reliance on foreign students” that “creates a security challenge our institutions are ill-equipped to address” and that a “reliance on foreign talent sidelines American students.” This is, to put it mildly, nonsense. International students pay far higher tuition and often receive no financial aid. Their tuition dollars are what make it possible for American students to get financial aid. In the 2023-2024 school year alone, international students contributed $43.8 billion to the US economy and supported over 378,000 jobs. Those 1.1 million international students accounted for only six percent of the total number of students in higher education that year, but were such an economic engine that for every three international students, one job was created or supported. It’s impossible not to wonder whether part of Trump’s loathing for universities and their leading role in scientific research is that there is no way for him to corrupt the process and make money off it in the same way he can by giving millions and billions to Silicon Valley types who, in turn, give him millions in cash. There’s no way for his children to invest in universities that the government then gives no-bid contracts to, fattening the family’s bottom line, which is pretty much the Trump sons’ current venture capital practice. Trump and Katsios’s view of science is narrow, cramped, and wrong. We’re not in a crisis, we’re not a failed state. We’ve been a science superpower for decades, and the only thing that threatens that is Donald Trump. Tech bros are already living high off the hog in this administration. They don’t need any more of our tax dollars. Hopefully this new golden age never comes to pass. Thanks for reading Public Notice. This post is public so feel free to share it. Share We’ll be back with more tomorrow. If you appreciate today’s PN, please do your part to keep us free by signing up for a paid subscription. 🚀 Subscribe to PN 🚀 Thanks for reading, and for your support.

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Jul 30 • 8:12 AM EDT • Science • publicnotice.co
What video review controversies in sports reveal about AI and human decision-making

The World Cup’s VAR controversies reveal a broader challenge for AI-assisted decision-making: deciding what AI should handle, what it should support and what should be left to human judgment.

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Jul 30 • 8:12 AM EDT • Sports • theconversation.com
Flawed studies linking hormone therapy to breast cancer made doctors reluctant to prescribe it for menopause relief – especially for breast cancer survivors

Menopausal hormone therapy no longer has the highest-level warning label about the risk of breast cancer, opening a gray area on who would benefit most from treatment.

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Jul 30 • 8:07 AM EDT • Health • theconversation.com
Cuts to state, federal assistance and rising costs rock Oregon hospitals

Oregon hospitals lost $450 million in 2025 and $1.25 billion from 2022 to 2025, according to a report released July 29.

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Jul 30 • 8:02 AM EDT • Health • statesmanjournal.com
Research Says This Is The Best Way To Walk For Heart Health

In TODAY.com’s Expert Tip of the Day, a researcher reveals the best way to walk for a “higher, better” impact on health.

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Jul 30 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • today.com
After Hobbes vs Rousseau: Politics must move beyond human nature

Since the great debate between Hobbes and Rousseau, our political theory has been organised around a single question: is human nature essentially good or essentially corrupt? Graham Harman, the philosopher behind object-oriented ontology, argues that this is simply the wrong question to be asking. The real forces governing our collective fate - climate change, artificial intelligence, geography, and pandemics - are non-human; therefore, questions about human nature are not the central ones. Instead, Harman proposes a politics reorganised around our relationship to non-human objects and environments, in which quasi-government institutions incentivise and deter actions with the aim of extending the survival of the human race. “It is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.” This has become one of the most popular phrases among twenty-first-century intellectuals. Often misattributed to Fredric Jameson, it has been warmly embraced by such influential authors as Slavoj Žižek and the tragically departed Mark Fisher, and has fueled the notion that the major problem with the political Left is that it simply needs to become more speculative and creative. Naturally, this is never a bad idea in any human pursuit. But what if the political distinction between Left, Right, and Center itself results from a failure of imagination? SUGGESTED READING Hobbes vs Rousseau: are we inherently evil? By Robin Douglass This particular division has been with us only since the summer of 1789. During the simmering prelude to the French Revolution, it referred originally to the physical position in the National Assembly of radical figures on one side and loyal monarchists on the other. These positions are linked with two entirely different camps of modern political theory. On the Left we find a series of authors ranging from the moderate (Locke) to the supercharged (Rousseau) to the truly radical (Marx), all of them contending that exploitation of the many by the few justifies revolutionary overthrow of the existing order. On the Right they are countered by the likes of Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Schmitt, a group of thinkers convinced that corrupt human nature can be tamed only by force. In the words of the Nazi supporter Schmitt: “One could test all theories of nature and state and political ideas according to their anthropology and classify these as to whether they consciously or unconsciously presuppose [humans] to be by nature evil or by nature good.” This is the division we continue to face today, even in the daily retail politics of Western democracies.___Our species has regularly proven itself capable of both the noblest gestures and the most scathing cruelties, making it hard to define us as essentially either emancipatory or brutal in our aims.___The most refreshing feature of David Graeber and David Wengrow’s 2021 book The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity was their awareness that the forced choice between Rousseau and Hobbes (as they put it) is no longer sufficient. Our species has regularly proven itself capable of both the noblest gestures and the most scathing cruelties, making it hard to define us as essentially either emancipatory or brutal in our aims. Far from being stationed “beyond good and evil,” we seem to be fully entangled with both. We are not naturally good or evil, Graeber and Wengrow contend, but naturally experimental and imaginative. They rest their case on the archaeological record, which seems to bear witness to numerous episodes of seasonally shifting governments and festivals, which vacillate in the same society (even in the same year) between the egalitarian and the dictatorial. Such praise of political experiment makes a good fit with the generally anarchist position defended by these authors. Yet it is also what I find most disappointing in their position. Although they are right that the forced choice between Hobbes and Rousseau falls short of what our new situation requires, the authors simply replace it with praise for the human being as a political tinkerer and performer. In other words, they give us just another theory of human nature, one that would not have been out of place in the sixteenth or seventeenth century. What other options might we have?___The time is ripe for a retheorization of politics on the basis of something other than human nature… We are not just alienated and limited by objects, but also empowered and unleashed by them___One fresh approach would be to treat politics within a broader framework than human nature, given that the polis does not exist in a vacuum filled exclusively with people. When Bruno Latour went to observe the baboons of Kenya with the San Diego anthropologist Shirley Strum, they jointly concluded that these primates were more socially interdependent than our own species. Each baboon is so reliant on the dynamics of the group that they find themselves locked into constant surveillance of their potentially dangerous peers. The group structure turns out to be inherently volatile. Humans, by contrast, are able to stabilize their societies to a large degree through the mediation of inanimate objects. Although one’s position in society may seem to fluctuate over time, considerable stability is produced through such items as apartment keys, wedding rings, and identification cards, all of them serving to secure us a place distinct from that of our fellows. The Italian philosopher Maurizio Ferraris has written at length about the crucial role of documents in establishing social relations, making him a hero among notaries in his country. Proper names and license plates cement our position amidst other humans, as do symbolic achievements such as graduation from a top university or distinguished wartime service with its various medals and ribbons. None of this is found among baboons, despite their closeness to us on the evolutionary tree: after all, we did share a common ancestor just 25 to 30 million years ago. SUGGESTED VIEWING The goodness paradox With Richard Wrangham The time is ripe for a retheorization of politics on the basis of something other than human nature, whether understood in the manner of the Left or of the Right. We are not just alienated and limited by objects, but also empowered and unleashed by them. But initially, it is true, we face non-human things primarily in the form of constraints. It would be difficult, perhaps impossible, to form a human civilization underwater, deep underground, atop Mount Everest, or in outer space. Human dependence on the non-social background takes on subtler form in discussions of political geography, especially unloved on the more idealistic Left. Consider the luckless position of Poland during World War II, sandwiched between Hitler on one side and Stalin on the other. By contrast, note the good fortune of the United States in not having a military peer positioned on any land border. Anglo-American geopolitics, since the writings of the American naval commander Alfred Thayer Mahan and the British geographer Sir Halford Mackinder, has been wedded to the notion that one or more liberal offshore naval powers should prevent any authoritarian “heartland” regime from gaining effective control of Eurasia. That remains the case whether the opponent is the impatient Napoleon, the swashbuckling German Kaiser, the villainous Hitler, the murderous Stalin, or the industrial juggernaut Chinese. In their current Foreign Affairs article “Heartland vs. Rimland,” Michael Beckley and Hal Brands analyze the current and coming state of the world on the basis of these same rather durable principles. In recent years a similar outlook has been embraced, in inverted form, by the Putin-loving Russian philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, an icon of the Rightist intellectual underworld. For Dugin, the Anglo-Saxons are an evil force bent on destroying the spiritually superior people of the land: much like Athens in its failed war with Sparta, or Carthage in its eventual collapse against Rome. But the shared notion on both sides is that any strategy that fails to take geography into account is likely to end up as a defeated form of excessive optimism.___When dealing with environmental degradation, then, we are doing business with forces that promise dire effects on our species as a whole.___More striking for us today than geography is the non-human object called climate, which threatens rimland and heartland equally. Even if we contend that humans are one hundred percent responsible for triggering the climate crisis, it remains non-human in the sense of being an independent force beyond our effective control. In a major work published just before his death in 2002, The Structure of Evolutionary Theory, the American paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould noted the tendency of evolutionary theorists to focus too closely on the fate of individuals in view of their successful or failed adaptation to circumstances. With climate change, however, we confront a force that goes well beyond the scope of any individual life. Whereas Richard Dawkins extended evolutionary questions downward from individuals to the sub-individual gene, Gould pushed it upward, speaking of entire species or clades as impacted by environmental change. The asteroid that struck the Yucatán 66 million years ago is only the most famous example of this sort. In the wake of that catastrophe, large animals needing abundant supplies of food were at a fatal disadvantage by contrast with the smaller birds and mammals of the planet. When dealing with environmental degradation, then, we are doing business with forces that promise dire effects on our species as a whole. The effect is to shift our attention away from individual beings towards the survival of the group.In the United States in particular, the COVID-19 pandemic sparked considerable backlash among those who asserted a nearly absolute degree of individual freedom. In California I encountered those who demanded that their businesses be allowed to reopen, that it was enough to cover their mouths but not their noses, or that they should have the right to enter any public area despite refusing vaccination. Yet public health is probably the clearest argument against libertarianism, which often merely asserts the autonomy of individuals against any claims of the commons. In normal times the individual is worth defending; under conditions that threaten the survival of part or all of our species, compulsion may be our only resort, as with perfectly reasonable blackouts and rations in wartime. To rebuild human society under the constraints of climate change will be one of the great challenges of the century to come, as will our improvised grappling with artificial intelligence. Such phenomena pose existential risks for humanity, and leave far less room for tolerance of individual brattiness. Cases are mounting of devastating wildfires caused by arson. Recently it was reported that there is even a website where one can bet on the location of coming wildfires, raising the specter of deliberate blazes set to collect on wagers. The death penalty has steadily lost support in a world where many stress the infinite value of human life. But if we focus instead on entire ecosystems, those who purposely burn the forests may begin to look worse than serial murderers.___The politics of the future may be splintered by disagreement over such topics as how to manage our environing background and how to permit or restrict the entry of new objects into the political sphere.___So far I have spoken of force, authority, and punishment: measures sure to have greater appeal to those who identify with what we know as the Right. But other implications of the post-anthropocentric world are likely to have different backers. If non-human objects are seen as structuring political space, it stands to reason that they can no longer be introduced solely by the pace of technical breakthrough. Fields ranging from cybernetics to energy will demand increased politicization once they are reconceived not just as products of individual human investment, but as renovations of collective political geography. This need not involve world government, with its inherent risk of tyranny, but may involve quasi-governmental enforcers of prestige along the lines of a less corrupt FIFA or International Olympic Committee, punishing deviant states not with violence but with less tangible incentives.Politics will never lose its historic links with conflict and faction. But rather than factions aligned by differing theories of human nature, the politics of the future may be splintered by disagreement over such topics as how to manage our environing background and how to permit or restrict the entry of new objects into the political sphere. This will prove just as incommensurable with the modern Left/Right spectrum as a globe is with a two-dimensional map.

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Jul 30 • 8:00 AM EDT • Politics • iai.tv
Samsung Electronics posted a record profit on AI chip demand — but its mobile business swung to a loss

The South Korean tech giant's memory chip division hit all-time highs on AI server demand, while elevated component costs pushed its mobile unit into the red

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Jul 30 • 7:53 AM EDT • Business • qz.com
Lindsay Clancy was having 'one of her best days,' ex-husband says. Then everything changed.

Patrick Clancy testified his ex-wife Lindsay was having "one of her best days." But psychosis can change suddenly.

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Jul 30 • 7:37 AM EDT • Health • usatoday.com
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Nvidia GPUs see yet another price hike of up to 30 percent, as the generative AI hardware crisis worsens

In response Samsung announced another price increase across DRAM as the personal computing nightmare deepens.

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Jul 30 • 7:37 AM EDT • Technology • eurogamer.net
Why are biomedical scientists being vilified?

Protect those scientists who provide the underlying research that can continue furthering progress toward lifesaving preventions and treatments

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Jul 30 • 6:05 AM EDT • Science • news-press.com
Sheet metal, Plainview dentist, data leak make Lubbock business news

Business Reporter Alana Edgin reviews recent Lubbock area businesses news and hints at upcoming articles in the Around the Hub column.

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Jul 30 • 5:30 AM EDT • Business • lubbockonline.com
Nintendo May Send Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Remake Straight At GTA 6, As Rating Points To a Possible November Launch

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake was rated by ESRB ahead of a potential showdown with Grand Theft Auto VI.

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Jul 30 • 5:30 AM EDT • Technology • wccftech.com
Lunar eclipse, meteor shower set to light up the night in August

A near-total lunar eclipse and the Perseid meteor shower will light up the nights of August, making up for a solar eclipse too far away to make more than a dent locally.

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Jul 30 • 5:01 AM EDT • Science • worcestermag.com
Science grants opened my world. Proposed cuts would cut students off at knees

I was my family's first college grad. Federal science funding grants were my ticket. Cuts would rob Buckeye State, Ohio University professor writes.

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Jul 30 • 4:48 AM EDT • Science • dispatch.com
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Trump blew billions on Iran instead of keeping you insured

President Donald Trump blew more money in five months of war with Iran than it would have cost us to keep millions of Americans insured for the year.

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Jul 30 • 4:31 AM EDT • Health • usatoday.com