'Millions' of pounds saved by replacing Palantir tech in refugee system

The government said its in-house IT system was "more flexible" while meeting "high standards" of security.

Tiny ocean life helps scientists estimate whale prevalence off the California coast

A new approach to better assessing whale population data has emerged, led by a research team of marine biologists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and statisticians from Cal Poly. Scientists typically monitor whale presence through a variety of

Leaked images reveal Xbox Elite 3 controller with mysterious new buttons

Hours after a smaller Xbox Cloud Gaming controller appeared online, Brazil's Anatel regulator has also accidentally published images of what appears to be Microsoft's upcoming Xbox Elite 3 controller. Tecnoblog has posted images that show the successor to the Elite 2

Improved life satisfaction linked to being in nature

A major international study has found that contact with the natural world is linked to higher levels of life satisfaction—and we have our bodies to thank for unlocking this benefit.

Verve Signs ‘CHIPS’ Creator Maddie Brewer (EXCLUSIVE)

Maddie Brewer has signed with Verve for representation, Variety has learned exclusively. She continues to be repped by Fourth Wall Management. Brewer is the creator, writer, and animator behind the Adult Swim series “CHIPS.” The show premiered in October 2025 and will be in

A Range Rover, a ‘Dutch Lady’ and a political dynasty rising in Indonesia’s new capital

Allegations of corruption and nepotism have sparked protests against one of the province’s most powerful political families.

Behold, the Elon Musk jackass trophy

Yesterday, in Musk v. Altman, before the jurors came in, Sam Altman's team passed up what looked - from a distance - like a little league trophy. It was not. Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers had the lawyers read the inscription aloud for the press: "Never stop being a jackass." It's a

Sarah Caplan, Longtime Television Producer, Dies at 73

Emmy award-winning TV producer Sarah Caplan, who worked on series including “Felicity,” “Lost” and “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, died April 30 at Dignitas in Zurich, three years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She was 73. Her daughter, Stella Stahl, said in a statement, “In

Q&A: Is it time to expand our thinking about dark matter? A new study says yes

We may be more in the dark about dark matter than previously thought, according to a new analysis of distant galaxy clusters. Yale astrophysicist Priyamvada Natarajan, a leading theorist on the nature of black holes and dark matter, says new observational data conflicts with

Researchers uncover chemical origins of the Perseus cluster of galaxies

An international team of researchers has developed new stellar and supernova models to explain the mysterious elemental abundance patterns left by billions of supernova explosions around the Perseus constellation, which have been difficult to explain with conventional

VA secretary to testify after House threatens to penalize him

House lawmakers approved language to withhold funding until the VA secretary appears.

Seth Rogen on Animated Alzheimer’s Movie ‘Tangles,’ Casting Madonna in ‘The Studio’ and Recreating the Venice Film Festival for Season 2: ‘It Is Crazy’

“Tangles,” a new black-and-white animated film about a 20-something illustrator named Sarah who is dealing with her mother’s Alzheimer’s disease, was all too real for its producers, Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen. The couple started dating more than two decades ago, as

Report: Saudi Arabia proposes Middle East non-aggression agreement with Iran

U.S.-Iran cease-fire talks have focused on the Strait of Hormuz rather than Iran's weapons supply and proxy militias: key concerns for neighboring countries that fear an increased Iranian military threat after U.S. presence in the region scales back, the Financial Times reports

Aleta Mitchell, Actress in ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ and ‘The Serpent and the Rainbow,’ Dies at 74

Her big-screen résumé also included ‘No Mercy, ‘Valmont,’ ‘Malcolm X’ and ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.’

A new model for predicting plant resistance can help prepare for climate change

A recent Minnesota Pollution Control Agency report found that climate change could cost Minnesotans more than $20 billion a year by 2040. This is just the local cost of a global problem. Ecosystem stability is essential to agriculture, forestry, safe housing and infrastructure,

Digital environments can generate moderate levels of psychological overload among university students

An international research team, led by the University of Warwick and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), in collaboration with Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, has recently published a scoping review in the journal Cogent Education. The review analyzes the well-being

‘CBS Evening News’ cameraman who collapsed on air was deployed from Tokyo on short notice: sources

Randy Schmidt has allegedly been working more than 24 straight hours alone after the network failed to secure Tony Dokoupil a visa to enter China.

Physics in uncharted waters: The mysteries of marine snow

Can "snow" fall in the ocean and influence the climate of the entire planet? It turns out that it can. Research conducted by scientists from the Faculty of Physics at University of Warsaw, published in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, helps us understand how microscopic flakes

Engineered proteins store digital files with 30 times density at one-tenth cost

Massive volumes of digital data are generated every day from AI training, big data analytics and smart devices. As conventional hard drives and cloud storage are increasingly constrained by high costs, limited capacity, high power consumption and short lifespans, molecular data

Kanye West’s Unlikely New Concert Partner: Live Nation Israel

“It raises difficult questions about where the industry draws the line between business, entertainment, and accountability,” says one Israeli industry insider

AI-powered bank founded by Peter Thiel protégé wants to replace humans with code — will it work?

Augustus Bank – named after the Roman emperor – revealed earlier this week that it had received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Ferdinand Dabitz is the youngest CEO of to receive a conditional federal bank charter in more than 100 Years.

DHS Is Stepping Up Its Intimidation Campaign Against a Federal Judge

The Trump administration is targeting another federal judge who has ruled against the government, even telling its lawyers to withhold information. The New York Times, citing an internal email, reports that a lawyer for ICE told Kevin M. Bolan, a Justice Department lawyer

Marathon Reveals An Ambitious Blueprint For Making It A Game More People Want To Play

Bungie outlined new experiments with PVE and progression to widen the player pool

Hyperspectral imaging to map Gran Dolina's oldest sediments and fossils in infrared

The Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH) and the Instituto Tecnológico de Castilla y León (ITCL) have begun a collaboration to advance the application of hyperspectral analysis in the study of archaeopalaeontological sites. As part of this

Erdoğan visits Astana as Turkey and Central Asia deepen ties amid shifting regional order

Turkey and Kazakhstan signed a friendship and strategic partnership declaration in Astana, targeting €13 billion in trade.

Beverly Hills Hotel locked in brutal war with Kitson boutique — and no one is backing down

The Beverly Hills Hotel is in a legal showdown over a trademark dispute with LA boutique Kitson over stylized wording, and the owner isn't backing down

Hundreds of illegal motorbikes bulldozed in New York City crime crackdown

A moped had been used in the deadly stray-bullet shooting of a 7-month-old in Brooklyn last month, officials said.

Keith Cox, Who First Brought Taylor Sheridan to Paramount, to Exit as Chief of MTV Entertainment Studios

After 20 years with Paramount brands, MTV Entertainment Studios president Keith Cox is stepping down from his position. Paramount Television Studios president Matt Thunell and Cox announced the news in notes to Paramount employees Thursday, which were obtained by Variety. Per

CDC monitoring 41 people for hantavirus, no reported cases

Federal health officials said they are monitoring 41 people in the U.S. for hantavirus but are not going to impose any movement restrictions on them. David Fitter, incident manager for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s hantavirus response, told reporters Thursday

Required Reading

This week: artists’ antidote to AI slop, Kimberlé Crenshaw’s new memoir, New Orleans and climate change, an Art Deco train, and what do sex workers think about “Euphoria”?

2011 was packed with iconic games: Can you guess which ones we reviewed from a quote and the score?

Even if you weren't playing them, you probably heard about them.

In productive ecosystems, larger animals capture more energy per species—but human pressure is reshaping the balance

How does an ecosystem distribute its energy across body sizes? A new study suggests the answer depends on where you are—and how much humans have altered the landscape. Analyzing communities of birds and mammals worldwide, researchers show that larger-bodied species can, on

Warren, Rick Scott introduce bill to ban former members of Congress from lobbying

Prominent progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and conservative Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), a close President Trump ally, have teamed up to introduce a bill to impose a lifetime lobbying ban on members of Congress. The legislation would prohibit former members of the

Indonesia may soon lose its last glaciers

Asia's last tropical glaciers can be found near Puncak Jaya, Papua, the highest peak in Southeast Asia. But it is unlikely that they will survive until the end of this decade. Over the past 44 years, the peak has lost 97% of its ice and four of its glaciers. Its remaining two

Long-Term Optimism

Buried in dark waters, viruses reshape one of Earth's largest carbon systems

Viruses play a far more active role in Earth's carbon cycle than previously understood, according to new research that reveals how they infect and control microbes responsible for carbon production in some of the planet's largest, darkest ecosystems. The findings are published

Marathon Player Gets Banned For A Month After Taking Griefing To New Heights: ‘I Made A Mistake And Did Something F*cked Up’

Bungie dishes out punishment for viral Cryo Archive raid exploit

Border Patrol Chief Quits After Report He Hired Foreign Sex Workers

The Trump administration’s immigration operation is experiencing another major shakeup. U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks suddenly resigned from his position Thursday following accusations of sexual impropriety. Banks oversaw Donald Trump’s second-term immigration crackdown.

Music Industry Moves: Dawn Richard, Valerie June to Perform at Libera Indie Awards; Universal Music Expands Mental-Health Initiatives

R&B-pop artist Dawn Richard, singer-songwriter Valerie June, Nigerian guitar innovator Mdou Moctar and electronic artist Porches will perform at the 2026 Libera Awards, the Foundation for Independent Music and the American Association of Independent Music have announced. The

Enhanced Games want to make performance-enhancing drugs mainstream — and they’re coming to Vegas

Ready! Set! Shoot up?

Britney Spears’ Rep Denies Singer Was Walking Around Restaurant With a Knife: ‘This Is Ridiculous’

While at dinner Wednesday night, Spears was reportedly seen barking and acting erratically, but a rep for the singer says the events are being "completely blown out of proportion."

Iraq PM vows monopoly on arms as parliament approves government

Iraqi lawmakers approved a new government on Thursday led by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who vowed to ensure a state monopoly on weapons amid growing US pressure to dismantle Tehran-backed groups. Iraq has long walked a tightrope between the competing influences of its allies,

Seeing the invisible: The limits of two-photon vision

Near-infrared light is invisible to humans. And yet, under the right conditions, the human eye can perceive it. Researchers from Poland's International Center for Translational Eye Research (ICTER) have now shown that the efficiency of this phenomenon depends not only on the

How Russell Vought Became the Shadow President

One of the biggest assholes in the Trump regime is Russell Vought — and that’s really saying something; it’s a fierce competition. He’s the guy who said in 2023 that he wanted to put federal workers “in trauma”. ProPublica produced a video in Oct 2025 about how Vought is acting

Trump-Xi summit puts US exports, Iran at center of reset bid

US President Donald Trump’s Beijing summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping has produced a package of Chinese commitments on US soybeans, energy and aircraft, giving both governments a basis to steady relations after years of trade and security tensions. The

Vance in Maine: 'Sometimes I get frustrated with Susan Collins'

Vice President Vance on Thursday stumped for Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) as she seeks reelection, though he told voters that he is sometimes "frustrated" with her. The vice president was in the Pine Tree State to deliver remarks on the Trump administration's "efforts to combat

Moss: The Forgotten Relic brings two of VR's best games to consoles

Moss: The Forgotten Relic brings VR's popular Moss series to consoles as a flat screen port that united both games into one.

OpenAI’s Codex is now in the ChatGPT mobile app

OpenAI is going to let users access Codex, its desktop AI tool that can write code and use apps on your computer, from the ChatGPT app on your phone. Following the surge in popularity for Anthropic's Claude Code, OpenAI has been working quickly to try and catch up, including by

White House, Senate skeptical about House’s amended housing bill

The House-amended version of a housing supply and homeownership bill bucks the directive of the Senate to pass the upper chamber's bill.

Florida Touts Regional Incentives, Locations and Top-Notch Crew to Lure Productions

Florida is once again having a main character moment. Three major series recently utilized the region’s distinct environs: ABC’s “R.J. Decker,” Peacock’s “M.I.A.” and Apple TV’s Season 1 of “Bad Monkey.” HBO’s comedy series “It’s Florida, Man” is currently prepping for a third