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Families with mixed immigration status are being torn apart as Trump advances his mass deportation agenda.
To mark the first 100 days of Donald Trump's second term, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a press release on April 30 titled “100 Days of Fighting Fake News.” At the top of the list, the Trump administration rails against the media for “FALSELY” — in all caps — reporting that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been deporting U.S. citizen children. “In both cases,” the release claims, “the mother made the determination to take her children with her back to Honduras.”
Over the past few weeks, as news broke that three U.S. citizen children — aged 2, 4 and 7 — were deported alongside their undocumented mothers, the Trump administration has held fast to this rebuttal. Yet attorneys for the two mothers, who were detained during routine immigration check-ins in New Orleans, Louisiana, say that the families were never given an opportunity to determine their own children's fate. The lawyers also report that the mothers were denied any contact with their legal representatives and family members before their deportation. One of the children, a 4-year-old boy undergoing treatment for a rare form of Stage 4 cancer, was sent to Honduras without his medications and now lacks access to the doctors managing his care.
“If it was truly a choice situation, then why forbid them from talking to their family members and attorneys?” Sirine Shebaya, the executive director of the National Immigration Project told PBS on April 28. “If this was a transparent situation … then there would have been no reason for immigration authorities to specifically prevent them, despite many outreaches, from being able to talk to their family members and their lawyer to actually make that choice. And it is a form of family separation.”
Most of us will remember when Trump's first administration came under fire for its so-called “zero tolerance” immigration policy, which mandated the separation of families at the U.S.-Mexico border. In 2017, the government began detaining and criminally charging adults who arrived in the U.S. without authorization, removing more than 5,000 children from their parents without an adequate system to track them. The administration claimed at the time that family separation was an unfortunate consequence of its policy of prosecuting people who cross the border without documentation — but later reporting revealed that the terror it wrought was in fact the goal.
Now, the Trump administration is insisting that its deportation of U.S. citizens is a way to avoid separating families — a rhetorical sleight of hand that casts the continued erosion of immigrants' rights as an act of compassion. In reality, the latest deportations are part of the same corrosive system that tore families apart eight years ago; the Trump administration has simply honed its marketing strategy.
Of course, basic facts of the case contradict the Trump administration's claim that ICE was just following the mothers' wishes. The father of the 2-year-old girl filed an emergency petition to keep her in the U.S., but she was nevertheless placed on a deportation flight before the courts opened. The administration's audacious disregard for due process sparked the federal judge overseeing the case to express a “strong suspicion” that the government had just done something “illegal and unconstitutional.”
The latest deportations are part of the same corrosive system that tore families apart eight years ago; the Trump administration has simply honed its marketing strategy.
“The government contends that this is all OK because the mother wishes that the child be deported with her,” wrote U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, a conservative Trump appointee. “But the court doesn't know that.”
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has deported at least one mother to Cuba who requested to take her U.S. citizen child with her. Lawyers told NBC News that Heidy Sánchez's 17-month-old daughter suffers from seizures and is still being breastfed. “They never gave me the option to take my daughter,” Sánchez said.
According to the American Immigration Council, more than 4 million U.S. citizens under the age of 18 have at least one undocumented parent. Numerous studies have found that the deportation and detention of family members can harm children's emotional wellbeing and put their physical health at risk. In the event that a parent is deported, the American Immigration Council notes that “ICE is supposed to ‘accommodate, to the extent practicable,' a detained parent's efforts to make guardianship or travel arrangements for the child prior to deportation” — accommodations that have now been ignored in at least three recent cases.
What's clear is that Trump's attempt to rapidly scale up a mass deportation machine shows little regard for human rights or due process. If the administration were truly interested in keeping families together, for instance, it would not have canceled the Family Case Management Program in 2017, which provided families seeking asylum with community-based support services as an alternative to detention. Rather than tear families apart, the short-lived pilot program allowed immigrants to stay within their communities while navigating immigration proceedings and supported them with crucial transportation, legal education and case management throughout the lengthy process.
And there's one more glaring omission in the Trump administration's “fact-checking” headlines: The deported mothers are not accused of any crime, beyond being undocumented.
What we're seeing is not a good-faith effort to keep families together. It's the continuation of a cruel regime that, just like the family separation policies of Trump's first term, seeks to sow fear among immigrant communities and uphold a white nationalist vision for the United States.
At this moment, we are witnessing a terrifying array of anti-democratic tactics to silence political opposition, increase surveillance and expand authoritarian reach.
Truthout is appealing for your support as Trump and his sycophants crack down on political speech. Nonprofits like Truthout could be caught in Trump's crosshairs as he attacks dissenting groups with bad faith lawsuits and targeted harassment of journalists.
As well, these attacks come at a time when independent journalism is most needed. The right-wing corporate takeover of media has left reliable outlets few and far between, with even fewer providing their work at no cost to the reader. Who will be there to hold the fascists to account, if not media like Truthout?
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Schuyler Mitchell is a writer, editor and fact-checker from North Carolina, currently based in Brooklyn. Her work has appeared in The Intercept, The Baffler, Labor Notes, Los Angeles Magazine, and elsewhere. Find her on X: @schuy_ler
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Live Updates
• Major escalation: India and Pakistan are on the brink of a wider conflict after India launched strikes on both Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. India said it targeted “terrorist infrastructure” in the wake of a tourist massacre in India-controlled Kashmir last month.
• Deadly attacks: Pakistan's military said 31 people were killed in India's attacks. According to a senior Indian defense source, shelling by Pakistan killed at least 12 people on the Indian side of the de facto border that divides Kashmir.
• Pakistan pledges retaliation: Pakistan's prime minister described the attack as “an act of war,” saying those killed “will be avenged.” He also claimed Pakistan destroyed Indian fighter jets in an hour-long air battle.
• About the Kashmir dispute: Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan each control parts of Kashmir but claim it in full and have fought three wars over the territory.
New satellite images shared by Maxar Technologies show the aftermath of Indian strikes in Muridke in Pakistan's Punjab province.
Video also showed the Masjid-e- Markaz Taiba religious school in Muridke on fire after India's strike early Wednesday.
Before the strikes on April 9, 2025:
After the strikes, taken on May 7, 2025:
Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistan will only hit military targets in India, not civilian.
“We will never target civilians,” he said in an interview on Pakistani news channel Geo News when asked about striking India. “We will abide by international law. We will contain this international confrontation to military targets only.”
There were 57 flights in the air when India launched its attack on Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir early Wednesday local time, Pakistan's military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said.
“There were multiple flights that were in the air at the time and the lives of the thousands of passengers on them were put in danger,” he said.
Chaudhry said the flights included planes from Middle Eastern and East Asian airlines.
In an address streamed on state television, Chaudhry shared images from flight-tracking site FlightRadar24 showing multiple planes in Pakistani airspace. CNN corroborated that the images showed three diversions shortly after 1 a.m. local time on Wednesday morning.
United States President Donald Trump encouraged de-escalation between India and Pakistan today following a sharp escalation between the two countries. He said in the Oval Office that he was willing to assist in easing the current violence.
“My position is I get along with both. I know both very well, and I want to see them work it out. I want to see them stop, and hopefully they can stop now,” Trump said, adding the situation was “so terrible.”
“They've gone tit-for-tat, so hopefully they can stop now, but I know both. We get along with both countries very well, good relationships with both, and I want to see it stop. And if I can do anything to help, I will. I will be there,” he said.
So far, it is not clear how much of a mediating role the US has taken in the conflict. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also the interim national security adviser, spoke to officials from both India and Pakistan yesterday evening.
India is urging other countries, including the United States, to tell Pakistan to stop supporting terrorism, an official Indian government source said.
The source indicated that what happens next is up to Pakistan and repeatedly emphasized that Indian strikes early Wednesday local time targeted “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and were designed to be measured and non-escalatory. The source described the strikes as a rightful response by India to last month's Kashmir tourist massacre — which New Delhi blamed on its neighbor but Islamabad denied.
India had waited two weeks to see if Pakistan took “clear, demonstrable steps” in response to the attack, but no such steps were taken, the source said. They also claimed that India had intelligence that suggested potential further attacks.
The source said India is also still working out details on the alleged downing of Indian jets by Pakistan.
Conversation with the US: Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also the interim national security adviser, spoke “at length” on a call, which took place shortly after the strikes began. The source could not say if the US was given a concrete heads up ahead of the strikes.
The US State Department said yesterday that Rubio spoke to the national security advisers from India and Pakistan and “urged both to keep lines of communication open and avoid escalation.”
The Pakistan Air Force reduced Indian jets to “smithereens,” the country's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif claimed, warning Pakistan would avenge the deaths of those killed by India's strikes.
“In an hour-long air battle, our pilots blew up the jets of the enemy to smithereens,” he said in an address to the nation on state television Wednesday night local time.
He added: “It only took a few hours for the enemy to fall on its knees.”
Pakistan claimed earlier Wednesday to have shot down five Indian Air Force jets in retaliation for Indian strikes, including three elite French-made Rafales. Indian officials have yet to respond to the claim.
Referring to the 31 people Pakistan says were killed in India's attack, he added: “The blood of these martyrs will be avenged.”
The prime minister said Pakistan has been among the countries most impacted by terrorism in the region, having lost tens of thousands of lives and suffering financial losses in the fight against it over the years.
Since the April 22 terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, when gunmen killed 26 people — mostly Indian tourists — Pakistan has stressed its condemnation of terrorism and pushed back on Indian allegations that Pakistan was behind the massacre.
The death toll in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir has risen to 31, with 57 injured, military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Wednesday night local time.
He cited India's firing at the Line of Control — the de-facto border in the disputed Kashmir region — as a reason for the increase in casualties.
Pakistan's president and prime minister attended the funeral of the seven-year-old son of an army colonel who was killed in Indian strikes on Pakistan, the country's armed forces said in a statement Wednesday.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif joined other senior government and army officials attending the funeral ceremony of the son of Lt. Col. Zaheer Abbas Turi, who was killed in Dawarandi, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Following funeral prayers in Islamabad, the Pakistani prime minister condemned India's “deliberate targeting of civilians” as a “reprehensible act of cowardice,” the statement from Pakistan's armed forces said.
The Indian military said that it targeted “terrorist infrastructure” across nine sites in Pakistan's densely populated Punjab province and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. It claims that no military sites were targeted in its strikes and that there had been no reports of civilian casualties.
“The President & the Prime Minister affirmed that the valiant Armed Forces of Pakistan are resolutely confronting Indian forces across all fronts, delivering a strong and uncompromising response,” the statement said.
The leaders said the deadly attacks, which killed at least 26 people in Pakistan, will be met with “decisive action,” the statement added.
A high-ranking French intelligence official told CNN today that one Rafale fighter jet operated by the Indian Air Force was downed by Pakistan, in what would mark the first time that one of the sophisticated French-made warplanes has been lost in combat.
Pakistan claimed earlier today to have shot down five Indian Air Force jets in retaliation for Indian strikes, including three Rafales. Indian officials are yet to respond to the claim.
The French official told CNN that French authorities were looking into whether more than one Rafale jets were shot down by Pakistan overnight.
Pictures taken of parts of an aircraft that crashed in Indian-administered Kashmir show the label of a French manufacturer, but experts said it was not possible to say whether the part came from a Rafale aircraft.
Dassault Aviation, the French manufacturer of the jet, has not responded to CNN's requests for comment.
Some background: The Rafale is a 10-ton, twin-engine multirole fighter, equipped with a 30mm cannon for air combat and ground support, along with air-to-air missiles, laser-guided bombs, and cruise missiles.
Before this latest escalation, India had 36 Rafale jets in its Air Force, purchased from French manufacturer Dassault Aviation.
The French military has not officially commented on the incident.
Pakistan's defense minister has warned that India's latest assault marked an “invitation to expand the conflict” between the two neighbors — but cautioned that Islamabad is “trying to avoid” a full-fledged war.
New Delhi's deadly barrage on Punjab and Pakistan-administered Kashmir early Wednesday was a “clear-cut violation,” according to Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif.
“(India) crossed an international boundary,” Asif told CNN's Becky Anderson on Connect the World. “This is a clear-cut violation, and an invitation to expand the conflict and maybe convert it into something much more wider and much more dangerous for the region.”
He insisted that Pakistan's military was braced “for an all-out war,” after India raised the “stakes” this week — following decades of tensions in one of the most militarized places in the world.
“What happens next is we are prepared for an all-out war. There is absolutely no doubt, because India is increasing the intensity, the stakes of this conflict,” added Asif. “So… we can't be caught with our guards down.”
Claims of downed jets: Pakistan's armed forces fired missiles and struck down five Indian fighter jets “in a dogfight,” according to the country's defense chief, who described the military's actions as a “befitting lesson” for New Delhi.
When pressed for evidence, Asif cited social media video.
“(India has) already admitted that three planes were downed,” Asif told CNN. “These planes were downed in a dogfight. Missiles were fired by our planes, and they were shot down. Very simple.”
Contrary to Asif's claims, India has not said that any of its planes have been shot down.
This post has been updated with additional comments from Pakistan's defense minister.
Israel's ambassador to India said in a social media post, following India's strikes on Pakistan, that his country “supports India's right for self defense.”
“Terrorists should know there's no place to hide from their heinous crimes against the innocent,” Reuven Azar wrote, adding “#OperationSindoor,” the Indian military's codename for their strikes on Pakistani targets.
Unlike most international statements as India and Pakistan teeter on the edge of a wider conflict, the ambassador's post does not include a call for restraint or de-escalation.
Some context: The two countries share deep military ties. India imports more weaponry from Israel than any other country, accounting for over a third of all Israeli arms exports, according to recent figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
In India's capital, New Delhi, civilians who spoke with CNN had mixed feelings about the government's decision to carry out a series of overnight strikes on Pakistan.
The Indian government said the strikes were carried out in response to an April terror attack in India-administered Kashmir that killed at least 25 Indian citizens.
Charu Murgai, 38, a makeup artist in Delhi, said she felt “that war might make the things more terrible, for the economy, for the civilians, for the people who are going to fight for on behalf of us,” while another said she didn't support the decision by the government to strike Pakistan.
“I want everybody to make peace. The war has started, but I want it to end soon, because it's important for all of us,” said Muskan Maurya, a 21-year-old graduate student.
But some supported the government's actions, with 45-year-old Monika Lakra, an educator, telling CNN she was “very happy” that the government had taken action, giving “kudos to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
Maurya said she doesn't “hate the normal people of Pakistan. I would love to meet them. I would love to hang out with them, but the government of Pakistan I really hate,” she told CNN.
“It's a very big word to say hate, but I do hate the Government of Pakistan because they have known that these terrorists can have a very big impact on the normal likes of people in Kashmir, and they still allow them to stay there.”
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif lauded his country's air force following a claim by military sources that it shot down five Indian fighter jets.
Sharif praised the Pakistani military's readiness “to deal with the enemy's planes,” as he addressed the country's parliament in capital Islamabad for the first time since India's attack early on Wednesday local time.
The prime minister also told lawmakers that India used dozens of warplanes in its attack. India's assault killed at least 26 people, including a 3-year-old girl, and wounded at least 46 other people. according to a Pakistani military official.
Sharif did not elaborate on how Pakistan might respond to India's attack, after he earlier described it as an “act of war.” His office said the country's military had been “authorized to undertake corresponding actions in this regard,” according to an earlier statement.
“A few days ago, India was proudly showing off its purchase of Rafale jets. But one shouldn't be too proud,” Sharif told lawmakers. “These jets flew from there in combat form, but our air force was also prepared.”
“We are a nuclear power and a conventional warfare power. There is no higher respect and honor than this,” he added.
Lawmakers filled the country's parliament building with calls of “Pakistan Zindabad,” which translates to “Long Live Pakistan.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistani military sources said they brought down five Indian fighter jets and one drone in an act of “self-defense” — including three Rafale aircraft, which are highly sophisticated multi-role jets manufactured in France. CNN cannot independently verify the claim and has reached out to the Indian government for a response.
The number of casualties from overnight shelling by the Pakistani military on the Indian side of the Line of Control in Kashmir has risen, with 12 civilians killed and 57 injured, a senior Indian defense source told CNN.
India and Pakistan have had near daily exchanges of fire across the Line of Control since the April 22 tourist massacre that sent relations between the two sides plummeting.
Pakistan's military previously confirmed it shelled Indian positions in Indian-administered Kashmir overnight in response to India's airstrikes on its territory. India accused the Pakistanis of unprovoked firing over the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides disputed Kashmir.
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani spoke to top officials from both India and Pakistan today, holding a phone call with the Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and a separate call with Pakistan's Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, the Qatari foreign ministry said in two statements.
According to the statements, which were nearly identical, Al-Thani “expressed Qatar's deep concern” over the situation and affirmed the country's “full support for all regional and international efforts aimed at resolving outstanding issues between the two countries through dialogue and peaceful means.”
For context: Doha has successfully acted as a mediator recently. Qatar was one of the actors mediating talks between Israel and Hamas that led to a temporary ceasefire earlier this year, played a role in discussions that led to the return of deported Ukrainian children from Russia, and facilitated the freeing of an American citizen who spent more than two years in detention in Afghanistan.
India's military operation inside Pakistan comes despite major global players urging restraint in the days leading up to the strikes.
Here's how major global players have responded:
Authorities across India are conducting civil defense security drills on Wednesday, hours after the country launched military strikes on targets in Pakistan.
The drills had been planned before the strikes. In an order from the home ministry not seen in decades, the Indian government had ordered them to be carried out in all states and union territories.
According to official statements posted on X, 244 locations will be included in the drills that will include the sounding of emergency sirens, evacuation procedures and blackouts.
Several Gulf carriers have suspended flights to Pakistan, including Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways, with airport closures in northern India also affecting many flight routes.
Emirates has canceled flights from Dubai to Sialkot, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar on Wednesday. “Customers on cancelled flights must not proceed to the airport,” it said on its website.
Flights to and from Karachi are not impacted and will be operating as per schedule, the airline said.
Etihad said it had canceled flights to Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad on Wednesday.
“Additionally, some other services may be rerouted to avoid the affected airspace, potentially resulting in extended flight times,” Etihad Airways said in a statement.
Qatar Airways said it had “temporarily suspended flights” to Pakistan, citing Pakistani airspace closure.
“The airline is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to prioritise the safety of its passengers and crew,” it said.
Meanwhile, Indian carriers including SpiceJet and IndiGo have issued travel advisories regarding cancelations to and from destinations in northern India.
“Due to the ongoing situation, airports in parts of northern India, including Dharamshala (DHM), Leh (IXL), Jammu (IXJ), Srinagar (SXR), and Amritsar (ATQ), are closed until further notice. Departures, arrivals, and consequential flights may be impacted. Passengers are advised to plan their journey accordingly and check flight status,” SpiceJet said Wednesday morning.
Multiple major airlines said Wednesday they were re-routing or canceling planes to and from Europe due to the escalation between India and Pakistan, with more than two dozen international flights diverted to avoid Pakistan airspace, according to FlightRadar24 data.
Keep in mind: Many airlines had already begun to avoid flying over Pakistan prior to India's strikes early Wednesday morning.
Access to social media platform X, formerly Twitter, has been restored in Pakistan as conflict breaks out with India.
Internet watchdog Netblocks confirmed access to the social media site was restored on Wednesday in an email to CNN.
It had been banned in the country since February 2024, around the time of the Pakistan elections, according to Amnesty International.
As the conflict escalates between India and Pakistan, these pictures show the reality on the ground in Kashmir and both countries.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has tasked his country's military to enact “self-defense” with “corresponding actions,” hours after India launched a barrage of deadly strikes early Wednesday, according to his office.
Sharif called on Pakistan's Armed Forces to “avenge the loss of innocent Pakistani lives,” after an emergency National Security Commitee (NSC) meeting on Wednesday.
India's military had struck sites in both Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir, killing at least 26 people – including a 3-year-old girl – and wounding at least 46 other people.
“Pakistan reserves the right to respond, in self-defence, at a time, place, and manner of its choosing to avenge the loss of innocent Pakistani lives and blatant violation of its sovereignty,” the readout from the NSC meeting said.
“The Armed Forces of Pakistan have duly been authorized to undertake corresponding actions in this regard,” the statement added.
“The nation stands galvanized and resolute in the face of any further aggression.”
New Delhi said it launched the attack in response to a deadly massacre in Indian-controlled Kashmir on April 22. Militant gunmen killed more than two dozen people, mostly tourists, in the restive region of Jammu and Kashmir. Islamabad repeatedly denied involvement in the attack.
Since then, both parties have leveled warring rhetoric, rupturing already fractious relations between the two neighbors and escalating fears of all-out fighting.
A Pakistani militant chief targeted in India's overnight strikes said 10 of his relatives, including five children, had been killed by the attack.
Masood Azhar, the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) – one of two militant factions that India's military said it targeted overnight – said his older sister, his brother-in-law, his nephew and niece were among those who died.
“The coward Modi targeted innocent children, unmarried women and the elderly,” Azhar said in a statement on Wednesday. “The grief and shock are so much that they cannot be described.”
The Indian military said it targeted “terrorist infrastructure” across nine sites in Pakistan's densely populated Punjab province and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. India claimed that no military sites were targeted in its strikes and that there had been no reports of civilian casualties.
Pakistan, however, said Wednesday's strikes had harmed civilians and targeted mosques across six locations in its territory. Jaish-e-Mohammed, which translates to the Army of the Prophet Mohammed, is a Pakistan-based group that operates across Kashmir, and seeks to unite the Indian-controlled area of the disputed state with Pakistan.
While the US and the UN Security Council listed JeM as a terrorist organization in 2001, an effort to include its leader, Masood Azhar, as an “internationally designated terrorist” was vetoed by China.
Videos shared to social media show the moment of impact as Indian airstrikes land inside Pakistan.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout breaks down what we know:
India launched early-morning strikes on both Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Wednesday, and Islamabad claimed it had shot down five Indian Air Force jets in “self-defense,” a major escalation between the rivaling neighbors.
The strikes came more than two weeks after a massacre of tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on its neighbor — which Islamabad denied.
Here's what we know:
Syed Asim Munir, a former spy chief who was appointed as Pakistan's army chief in 2022, will play a key role in determining how far conflict may escalate following India's strikes on Wednesday, analysts told CNN.
Seen as a hardliner on India by critics, Munir is expected to face pressure at home after India's missile attack, which it said had struck “terrorist infrastructure,” and Islamabad said had killed at least eight people, including children.
Munir's appointment came amid intense debate around the military's influence on public life.
Pakistan's powerful military is often accused of meddling in the politics of a country that has experienced numerous coups and been ruled by generals for extended periods since it gained independence from Britain in 1947.
“I think that for Pakistan not to retaliate somehow would undermine his (Munir's) credibility and his influence,” said Malcolm Davis, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
“For domestic political reasons and for… bureaucratic and organizational politics within the Pakistani military, I think that he will probably play a key role in deciding how Pakistan responds.”
CNN Military Analyst Cedric Leighton said Munir joined “a long line of military leaders who have basically called the shots in Pakistani politics for a very long time.”
He said Munir has viewed Pakistan's conflict with India through the lens of religion and treated the tensions as a national issue.
“He believes that he is defending the honor of his country,” Leighton said.
Against the backdrop of him is the Indian government's nationalist sentiment which adds to the “recipe for potential conflict,” the retired colonel said.
“He is… running against a very strong Indian leadership that is seeing it from the opposite side, very much in the Hindu nationalist, Hindu nationalist point.”
Indian shelling hit an intake structure on the Noseri Dam on the Neelum river in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, a Pakistani security source told CNN.
The Noseri Dam was targeted by Indian shelling last night around 2 a.m. local time, damaging the intake gates, according to the source.
CNN has contacted India's foreign and water ministries for comment.
The Neelum is part of the sprawling Indus river system, a vital resource supporting hundreds of millions of livelihoods across Pakistan and northern India.
Following the massacre of 26 civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir last month that India blamed on Pakistan, India suspended the Indus Water Treaty, a treaty which governs the sharing of water from the Indus River system.
The Indus originates in Tibet and flows through China and Indian-controlled Kashmir before reaching Pakistan.
Islamabad has called any attempt to stop or divert water belonging to Pakistan an act of war.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chaired a high-level meeting with senior ministers from his cabinet.
In video released by his office, Modi can be seen sitting alongside senior government figures including Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah, Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
Modi has not spoken publicly since India launched strikes on neighboring Pakistan in the early hours of Wednesday.
A United Nations team has arrived at a site in Pakistan-administered Kashmir that Islamabad says was hit by India's strikes, a CNN stringer said.
The CNN stringer at the site reported seeing two white UN vehicles in the city of Muzaffarabad, where Pakistan said a mosque was struck early Wednesday.
India claimed that no military sites were targeted in its strikes and that there had been no reports of civilian casualties.
Pakistan, however, said Wednesday's strikes had harmed civilians and targeted mosques across six locations in its territory.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has postponed a trip to visit to Croatia, The Netherlands and Norway, a senior government official told CNN.
No official reason has been given for the delay, but the announcement comes hours after New Delhi launched strikes on Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Modi has not publicly spoken about the military action on India's neighbor.
Residents of Pakistan-administered Kashmir say they were forced to flee their homes and take shelter after India launched missile strikes on its neighbor.
“All of a sudden, the electricity went out. I thought a transformer [had] burst, but later came to know that Indian troops started shelling and firing at us,” Raja Shahid Bashir, a resident of Shawai in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, told CNN.
“Shells landed close to our home and we came out and took our livestock and belongings and took shelter,” said Bashir.
Another resident, Shakeel Butt, told CNN she had to flee when shells started falling on the village. “A shell landed at a house close to the mosque in which two people were injured. Shells also hit other houses in our area and we fled from our area to a safer place,” she said.
India's military said it had struck nine “terrorist camps” in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. At least 26 civilians were killed due to Indian army action, a Pakistan military spokesperson said, according to the Reuters news agency. Pakistan said it retaliated by shooting down five Indian Air Force jets and a drone. India has not confirmed the fighter jet losses.
Zeeshan Akram, a resident of Muridke in Pakistan's Punjab province, told Reuters that drones appeared in the early hours of Wednesday and struck a mosque in the city, destroying it.
“They hit the mosque directly—destroyed its courtyard, the minister's office in front of the mosque, and the roof. Everything was crushed. There was one person sitting on the roof, on duty, he was martyred,” Akram told Reuters.
“Fear and terror spread in people. People had gone out into the fields, in the open, just like that,” Waqas Ahmed, another resident of Muridke, told Reuters.
Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it summoned the Indian chargé d'affaires in Islamabad – the head of India's diplomatic mission in the country – to formally protest India's strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Wednesday.
“It was conveyed that India's blatant act of aggression constitutes a clear violation of Pakistan's sovereignty. Such actions are in contravention of the UN Charter, international law, and established norms governing inter-state relations,” the ministry said.
“Pakistan firmly rejected India's baseless justifications for its hostile conduct.”
It called the strikes “unprovoked,” saying they had killed several civilians including women and children, and warned that India's military action posed a “serious threat” to peace in the region.
The leader of India's diplomatic mission in Pakistan used to be the high commissioner – but clashes in 2019 between the two countries prompted them to downgrade diplomatic ties with each other and remove the high commissioner, leaving the chargé d'affaires in place instead.
Overnight shelling by the Pakistani military has killed at least eight people on the Indian side of the Line of Control in Kashmir, a senior Indian defense source told CNN.
India and Pakistan have had near daily exchanges of fire across the Line of Control since the April 22 tourist massacre that sent relations between the two sides plummeting.
Pakistan's military has previously confirmed it shelled Indian positions in Indian-administered Kashmir overnight in response to India's airstrikes on its territory. India accused the Pakistanis of unprovoked firing over the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides Kashmir.
This post has been updated with the latest on the shelling.
India said its military strikes on Pakistan targeted Lashkar-e-Tayyiba “terrorist infrastructure” sites after Pakistan failed to act against the groups based in its territory behind a massacre of tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir last month.
The operation – dubbed “Operation Sindoor” – lasted for 25 minutes from 1.05 a.m.-1.30 a.m. local time, Col. Sofiya Qureshi said in a press conference on Wednesday.
None of the three Indian officials who spoke at the briefing responded to a claim from Pakistan that it had shot down five Indian Air Force jets during India's attack. CNN has been unable to verify the claim.
The briefing started with a video montage of the aftermath of attacks on India through the years that New Delhi has blamed on its neighbor Pakistan – and which Pakistan has long denied.
The officials also showed footage of what they said were strikes on the targets in Pakistan.
The officials showed a map marking locations of what they said were several Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed training camps in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and inside Pakistan's Punjab province.
Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri again blamed Pakistan for the April attack on civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir and accused Islamabad of supporting “terrorism” in the disputed region.
“Despite a fortnight having passed since the attacks, there has been no demonstrable step from Pakistan to take action against the terrorist infrastructure on its territory or on territory under its control.”
The targets were selected based on “intelligence,” Misri said.
Qureshi said no military installation was targeted in the operation and there had been no reports of civilian casualties in Pakistan.
A Pakistan military spokesperson said at least 26 civilians were killed due to Indian army action, according to Reuters.
At least 26 civilians were killed and 46 injured due to Indian army action, a Pakistan military spokesperson said, according to Reuters.
Heavily nationalist rhetoric has colored the coverage from many Indian news channels since New Delhi's strikes against Pakistan.
“How India crushed the enemy,” flashed a headline on one news channel. “India strikes Pakistan hard,” read another.
One news organization carried an image depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding a Captain America-esque shield with the colors of the Indian national flag.
On some channels, animations of military jets and explosions could be seen across screens as anchors covered “Operation Sindoor,” the official name of India's military attack on Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Such jingoism is not uncommon for India's often loud and boisterous media, which has been accused of toeing the government line.
Modi aims to govern a proud, nationalistic nation that believes in its ability to handle difficult situations. Following the tourist massacre in Indian-administered Kashmir, many media outlets immediately called for blood.
Authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir have ordered the evacuation of citizens from areas they deemed dangerous, as the conflict between New Delhi and Islamabad escalates.
The Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha, has directed districts to move villagers from “vulnerable areas to safer locations.”
Accommodation, food and medicines will be provided for evacuated citizens, the Lieutenant Governor's office said on X.
The orders come hours after India launched a series of strikes on what it called “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, pushing the rival neighbors to the brink of full-scale war.
Pakistan said the attack killed at least eight people, including children. The Indian Army said three civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir were killed in cross-border shelling by Pakistani troops.
A key ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he is “proud of our armed forces” following the country's strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
“#OperationSindoor is Bharat's response to the brutal killing of our innocent brothers in Pahalgam,” Home Minister Amit Shah wrote on X, using the Hindi name for India. Shah has been beside Modi's side for decades and is often referred to as the second most powerful person in India.
Wednesday's strikes come more than two weeks after militants killed 26 civilians in Indian-controlled Kashmir. New Delhi pinned the massacre on Pakistan, though Islamabad denied involvement.
“The Modi government is resolved to give a befitting response to any attack on India and its people. Bharat remains firmly committed to eradicating terrorism from its roots,” Shah added in his X post.
China has expressed regret over India's military action against Pakistan and said it's concerned about the current developments.
“India and Pakistan are neighbors that cannot be moved, and both are also China's neighbors,” a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry said.
As the conflict between Pakistan and India escalates, China has found itself in a diplomatic tight spot.
For weeks, Beijing has been closely watching the tit-for-tat responses between its longtime “ironclad friend,” Islamabad, and New Delhi, a regional rival with which it has a long-running border dispute.
The flare-up comes as China has been trying to improve relations with India as part of a broader diplomatic push to shore up ties with neighbors and trade partners alike to counter pressure from the Trump administration.
Pakistan, meanwhile, is one of China's closest partners and a key supporter of its Belt and Road Initiative. China is Pakistan's main arms supplier, with Chinese arms making up 81 per cent of Pakistan's weapons imports in the past five years, according to data from Swedish think tank the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
On April 27 in a phone call with his counterpart, China's foreign minister Wang Yi expressed support for Pakistan and said China is closely following developments between the countries.
“As Pakistan's ironclad friend and all-weather strategic cooperative partner, China fully understands Pakistan's legitimate security concerns and supports Pakistan in safeguarding its sovereignty and security interests,” Wang said.
India launched military strikes on targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, targeting what it called “terrorist infrastructure” on Wednesday. The attack comes more than two weeks after militants massacred tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, which New Delhi blamed on its neighbor — and Islamabad denied.
Pakistan said eight people were killed by India's attack in what the country's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described as “an act of war.” Pakistan also said it shot down five Indian Air Force jets and a drone.
Pictures taken of parts of an aircraft that crashed in Indian-administered Kashmir show the label of a French manufacturer.
The label shows an aircraft part from French filtration company Le Bozec et Gautier. Le Bozec is a French-based subsidiary of Minnesota's Donaldson Company.
A press release from Donaldson in 2005, when it acquired Le Bozec, says the French company “designs, manufactures and sells filtration equipment for the management of air, fuel, hydraulic fluid and air pressure on aircraft and helicopters.”
Pakistan claims to have shot down three of India's top-of-the-line French-made Rafale fighter jets, but experts said it was not possible to say whether the part came from that aircraft, nor Pakistan's claims of shooting down the aircraft.
Peter Layton, a senior fellow at Griffith Asia Institute and former Australian air force officer, said the part looked like it could be from a fuel tank, possibly an external drop tank.
The Pakistan Air force also has French-made Mirage III and V jets, Layton added.
This post has been updated with additional information.
Residents of Indian-administered Kashmir woke to the sounds of explosions and shelling after India launched cross-border strikes against its neighbor, with some hiding in fear and others cheering the strikes as long-overdue revenge.
“We have been tense and anxious and glued to the television channels,” a 30-year-old civilian who lives near the city of Kupwara told CNN. “This is the first time I've heard shelling this intense over my village.”
“I woke up around 2:30 a.m. and heard sounds of explosions and firing across the border. This went on until 5:30 a.m.,” said the resident, who requested not to be named.
India's strikes – on what it called “terrorist infrastructure” – come more than two weeks after militants killed 26 civilians in Indian-controlled Kashmir. New Delhi pinned the massacre on Pakistan, though Islamabad denied those claims.
Pakistan said it shot down five Indian Air Force jets in response. India has not confirmed the fighter jet losses and CNN is unable to verify the claim.
“We spent a sleepless night because of the heavy shelling,” said one resident living in the village of Uroosa, close to the Line of Control that divides Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir.
“There were cries of children, women and it was a desperate situation,” said the resident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
A 21-year-old student living in the village of Uroosa told CNN that “shelling was happening all night. Everyone is scared, there is damage in the area too. People are scared and are planning to leave.”
“We are fifteen members in the family holed up in two rooms,” the student said. “We are sitting in the back rooms of the home so we can escape shelling.”
Elsewhere in India-administered Kashmir, residents cheered news of India's attack, according to video footage by ANI.
“This is a very good move and we were waiting for India to give a befitting reply to Pakistan and India has given a commendable reply to them and we are happy that this happened,” Rishi, a resident of Poonch, told ANI.
Another resident told the outlet that “there was much anger among the people” following last month's massacre. “Hence, this was indeed needed.”
An unidentified aircraft has crashed in Indian-administered Kashmir, according to an eyewitness and a local government official.
The aircraft came down in the village of Wuyan, which lies 19 kilometers to the southeast of Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir.
“We heard the sound of a flying plane and then there was a big explosion. We rushed out of our homes in panic and saw it was on fire. Luckily no one was injured,” local resident Abdul Rashid told CNN.
A duty officer at the fire service headquarters in Srinagar told CNN that a fighter aircraft had crashed on a school building in Wuyan.
“Our personnel are still at the site and details are awaited,” the officer, who requested anonymity, said.
Photos published by AFP news agency showed aircraft wreckage lying in a field next to a red brick building in Wuyan, which CNN has also geolocated.
It was not immediately clear from the pictures of the wreckage who the aircraft belonged to.
Locals in Srinagar heard a loud explosion earlier on Wednesday around the time when India said it was conducting airstrikes against Pakistan.
The name India chose for its military operation against Pakistan appears laden with religious symbolism.
“Operation Sindoor” is a reference to the red vermilion, or powder, many Hindu women wear on their foreheads after marriage.
April's massacre on civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir left several women widowed.
In the days following the attack, an image of a woman lying next to the lifeless body of her husband went viral, becoming a symbol of the pain and heartbreak endured by victims of the assault.
India's defense and foreign ministers have both posted an image on X of the name of the operation, which depicts the red powder.
“The world must show zero tolerance for terrorism,” India's Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar wrote on X.
“Victory to India,” Defense Minister Rajnath Singh wrote in Hindi.
Following India's strikes on what it said was “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said “the world must show zero tolerance for terrorism” in a post on X.
The strikes Wednesday came more than two weeks after a massacre of tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on its neighbor.
It's now morning in India and Pakistan and the region is on edge after New Delhi launched a military attack on its neighbor in the early hours of Wednesday. Pakistan claimed it shot down five Indian Air Force jets in response, in a major escalation between the nuclear-armed rivals.
Here's what we know:
Correction: This post has been updated with the correct death toll from the tourist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir
Commercial airlines are keeping almost entirely clear of Pakistani airspace, Flightradar24.com shows, after India launched strikes inside Pakistan in a major escalation between the two neighbors.
Pakistani security sources claim three of the five Indian planes it downed were Rafale fighter jets — prized assets of the Indian Air Force that were only acquired several years ago as New Delhi looked to beef up its military.
CNN has not independently confirmed Pakistan's claims and has reached out to the Indian government and military for response.
Before this latest escalation, India had 36 Rafale jets in its Air Force, purchased from French manufacturer Dassault Aviation.
The fighter jets were first ordered in 2016 and began arriving in 2020. At the time, India's defense minister, Rajnath Singh, claimed the new jets were “among the best in the world,” and would make the Indian Air Force “much stronger to deter any threat that may be posed on our country.”
In late April, India signed a $7.4 billion deal to buy 26 more Rafale jets from France, with delivery expected from 2030.
What to know about these jets: The jets come in one-seat or two-seat versions and can be armed with air-to-air, air-to-ground and anti-ship missiles as well as a 30mm cannon, according to the manufacturer. Dassault Aviation also touts the Rafale's Flight Control System, which includes the ability for it to fly on autopilot in a terrain-following mode in all weather conditions.
The Rafale is not a stealth jet, but it is promoted as having a low profile that is not easy to detect on radar. It also has one distinct advantage — combat experience.
Flown by French forces, the Rafale has been used in operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, Iraq and Syria, according to Dassault Aviation's website.
India and Pakistan, two neighbors with a long history of conflict, are in dangerous territory, analysts warn, with Islamabad vowing to retaliate against New Delhi's strikes and the risk of tit-for-tat responses spiraling into an all out war.
Wednesday's operation inside Pakistan is the deepest India has struck inside its neighbor since the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971, the biggest war between the two countries.
The situation is now “obviously serious and fluid,” according to Fahd Humayun, an assistant professor of political science at Tufts University. “Retaliation to India's actions will likely now be inevitable.”
India's decision to strike comes more than two weeks after 26 people, mostly Indian civilians, were massacred in an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the assault, a claim Pakistan denies.
Pakistan said eight people were killed during India's Wednesday strikes, including children, in what the country's prime minister described as “an act of war.” Islamabad also claimed it shot down five Indian Air Force planes and a drone during the attack.
New Delhi has not publicly confirmed Pakistan's claim and CNN cannot independently it.
While India's decision to strike Pakistan isn't unsurprising – analysts had been saying it was a matter of when, and not if – analysts fear we could see further escalations between the two nuclear-armed nations in the coming hours and days.
“If the war escalates, even if not to the nuclear threshold, it is very likely to hold grave consequences for Indians and Pakistanis alike, as well as the broader region and the world,” said Derek J. Grossman, a senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation, a US-based think tank.
India's strikes against Pakistan come more than two weeks of mounting pressure on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to forcefully retaliate against its neighbor after a tourist massacre in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Last month militants stormed the mountainous and picturesque district of Pahalgam and killed 25 Indian tourists in the worst assault on Indian civilians in recent years. The massacre immediately cratered already hostile relations between New Delhi and Islamabad, with New Delhi swift to blame its neighbor.
Modi – a strongman Hindu-nationalist leader who has positioned himself as the protector of the nation and last year won a rare third term in power – immediately vowed to pursue the attackers “to the ends of the earth.”
He governs a proud, nationalistic nation that believes in its ability to handle difficult situations.
Following the massacre, India's loud and often jingoistic media immediately called for blood.
“We want revenge” read a headline on one channel. “Bharat is battle ready,” read another, referring to India by its Sanskrit title.
Analysts say it was only a matter of time before Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) responded with force.
“Modi and his government believe it is imperative to respond to Pahalgam,” said Derek J. Grossman, a senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation, a US-based think tank.
“Indians are very likely to support New Delhi's response – regardless of what it is, perhaps except for a nuclear response – because they believe Pakistan must be deterred in the future.”
The chief minister of Pakistan's Punjab province has asked hospitals in the region to remain on alert and ordered schools to remain closed on Wednesday.
According to Pakistan's military, six of the eight people killed in the strikes died in attacks on Ahmadpur East and Muridke in the Punjab province. CNN cannot independently verify the claim.
Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Punjab's chief minister, announced she had issued emergency response orders for Punjab, in a post on X Tuesday.
The chief minister called on rescue teams, district administration and hospitals to remain on alert. She also said educational institutions in the province will remain closed on Wednesday.
Sharif said Pakistan wanted peace but would become “a legion” if war was imposed.
“India started it, we'll finish it,” she wrote on X, adding that the whole nation stands with the Pakistani military.
Three civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir were killed in shelling by Pakistani troops from across the border, according to the Indian Army.
The Pakistan Army “resorted to arbitrary firing and artillery shelling” from posts across the Line of Control that divides the disputed territory of Kashmir, the Indian Army said in a statement.
“Indian Army are responding in proportionate manner,” the statement said.
Schools, colleges and educational institutions will be closed today across Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri and Poonch “in view of the prevailing situation,” according to Divisional Commissioner Jammu.
These are areas in the Indian territory.
Five Indian Air Force jets and one drone were shot down by Pakistan during India's attack, according to Pakistani security sources.
In a statement released to reporters, the security sources said three French-made Rafale jets, one MiG-29 and one SU-30 fighter jets were downed “in self-defense.” An Indian Heron drone was also shot down, they added.
A second senior Pakistani government official confirmed the same list of downed aircraft.
The briefing did not say precisely where the jets were downed or how.
Pakistani officials had earlier briefed that they shot down three aircraft and a drone.
CNN cannot independently verify the claims and has reached out to the Indian government for a response.
The United Arab Emirates is asking for India and Pakistan “to exercise restraint, de-escalate tensions, and avoid further escalation that could threaten regional and international peace,” according to a statement from UAE Deputy Prime Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
“His Highness reaffirmed that diplomacy and dialogue remain the most effective means of peacefully resolving crises, and achieving the shared aspirations of nations for peace, stability, and prosperity,” the statement read.
Eight people were killed, including children, and 35 injured, Pakistan's military spokesperson said after India launched military strikes on targets in Pakistan early Wednesday.
India targeted six locations with 24 strikes in both Pakistan and Pakistan administered-Kashmir, spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a news conference early Wednesday.
Previously, Pakistan said five locations were struck. India has said nine sites in total were targeted.
Five people were killed, including a 3-year-old girl, in Ahmadpur East, in Pakistan's Punjab Province, Chaudhry said. One man was also killed in Punjab's Muridke, a city near Lahore, the capital of the province.
In Pakistan administered-Kashmir, a 16-year-old girl and 18-year-old man were killed in the city of Kotli, he added.
Mosques were targeted in the strikes, according to the military spokesperson.
CNN cannot independently verify the claim.
Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly identified the capital of Pakistan, which is Islamabad.
India defended its military operation in Pakistan on Wednesday, claiming that its actions were “focused and precise.”
“They were measured, responsible and designed to be non-escalatory in nature,” the Embassy of India said in a statement. “No Pakistani civilian, economic or military targets have been hit. Only known terror camps were targeted.”
According to Pakistani sources, at least eight people were killed in Wednesday's operations, “including women and children.” Pakistani sources also said three Indian Air Force planes and a drone were shot down in locations “within Indian territory.” CNN cannot independently confirm the claims and has reached out to the Indian Ministry of Defence.
The embassy statement said it was clear that “Pakistani-based terrorists” were responsible for last month's attack in Kashmir. But that instead of taking action, Pakistan “indulged in denial and made allegations of false flag operations against India.”
Kashmir has been a flashpoint in India-Pakistan relations since both gained their independence from Britain in 1947. The two nations to emerge from the bloody partition of British India — Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India — both claim Kashmir in full, and months after becoming independent, fought their first of three wars over the territory.
Here's a quick recap:
1947: India and Pakistan gain independence from Great Britain. The ruler of Kashmir initially decides to remain independent, choosing not to become a part of either Pakistan or India. After militants from Pakistan invade, he signs a letter acceding to India. Pakistan does not recognize the letter as a legal document, sparking war. In 1949, the two countries agree to withdraw all troops behind a mutually agreed ceasefire line, later known as the Line of Control.
1965: India and Pakistan go to war again over Kashmir. The clash did not resolve the dispute over the territory.
1971: This was the biggest war fought between the two countries, which led to a humiliating loss for Pakistan and the creation of the state of Bangladesh from the region formerly known as East Pakistan.
1999: India and Pakistan fight a limited border conflict in Kashmir, after armed invaders from Pakistan cross the Line of Control in the town of Kargil.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the April attack in Kashmir, and urged India and Pakistan to “avoid a military confrontation that could easily spin out of control.”
“Make no mistake: A military solution is no solution,” Guterres wrote in a post on X, noting that tensions between the two neighbors are “at their highest in years.”
At least three Indian Air Force planes have been shot down, Pakistani security and government sources have told CNN, in the latest in the latest escalation between the two countries.
It comes shortly after India said it launched a military operation in Pakistan, hitting “terrorist infrastructure.” India has not confirmed the loss of any jets, CNN has reached out to the India authorities for comment.
At least eight people were killed in India's strikes, Pakistan said.
Meantime, a blast was also heard in the city of Srinagar, the largest city in Indian-administrated Kashmir, according to eyewitnesses.
Here's what we know so far:
CNN's Elise Hammond, Aditi Sangal, Sophia Saifi, Rhea Mogul, Max Saltman, Avery Schmitz and Thomas Bordeaux and reporter Vedika Sud contributed reporting to this post.
A third Indian aircraft has been shot down by Pakistan, Pakistani security and government sources have told CNN.
A senior Pakistani intelligence source said three Indian jets were shot down in locations “within Indian territory,” as well as a drone.
A separate senior Pakistan government source confirmed that three aircraft and a drone were shot down.
CNN cannot independently verify the claims and is reaching out to the Indian government and military for a response.
India's strikes against Pakistan are the deepest New Delhi has ventured into Pakistan's undisputed borders since the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971.
Pakistan on Wednesday said five locations were struck by India, three of them in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and two in Pakistan's Punjab province.
The locations in Punjab are Ahmadpur East and Muridke.
The 1971 Indo-Pakistani War was a major military conflict between India and Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh.
The last time India struck inside Pakistan's undisputed borders was in 2019, when Indian jets conducted airstrikes on several targets after it blamed Islamabad for a suicide car bomb attack that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary personnel in the region.
A blast was heard in the city of Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir early Wednesday, eyewitnesses told CNN.
The cause of the blast is not yet known. Srinagar is the largest city in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Reports of the blast come after India launched a military operation against Pakistan, in a major escalation between the two neighbors following a massacre on tourists inside Indian-administered Kashmir.
India and Pakistan each control parts of Kashmir but claim it in full and have fought three wars over the territory. Kashmir is one of the most militarized places in the world.
Wednesday's strikes by India are the most significant military actions since 2019, when Indian jets conducted airstrikes on several targets inside Pakistan.
India's Minister of Defense has publicly responded to the military operation launched against Pakistan.
“Victory to India!” Rajnath Singh wrote on X in Hindi, in a short statement.
Senior India officials have spoken to their counterparts in a number of countries to brief them on the steps taken by New Delhi, a senior Indian government official told CNN.
Among the countries briefed were the United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Russia.
Pakistan's military claims it has shot down two Indian Air Force aircraft.
“There are two confirmed aircraft of the Indian Air Force have already been shot down,” Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, spokesperson for the Pakistani military, told CNN's Jim Sciutto. “There are other reports of multiple damages that the Pakistani forces, both on ground and air, have inflicted. But I can confirm you at least two aircraft of Indian Air Force that have been downed,” he added.
CNN cannot independently confirm Chaudhry's claims that Indian planes were shot down. We are reaching out to the Indian Ministry of Defence for comment.
The locations of the engagement are “around Bhatinda” and Akhnoor, Chaudhry added, noting that there is an engagement “already ongoing between the two air forces.”
Bhatinda is a small town in the Indian state of Punjab that borders Pakistan and Akhnoor is located in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan issued a notice Tuesday night closing airspace around Lahore, in the country's north, and the coastal city of Karachi amid airstrikes from India. The notice went into effect at 4:30 p.m. ET and is scheduled to expire on at 2:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
The notice to airmen, also known as a NOTAM, appears to have diverted numerous flights with routes planned through or near Pakistani airspace, according to flight data reviewed by CNN from FlightRadar24.
Citing the “changing airspace conditions in the region,” major Indian airline IndiGo reported impacted flights in and out of Jammu, Srinagar, Amritsar, Leh, Chandigarh, Dharamshala and Bikaner. SpiceJet, another airline, said some airports in northern India are closed “until further notice.”
As tensions between India and Pakistan increased in recent weeks after an April mass shooting in the disputed Kashmir territory, numerous airlines have avoided flying over Pakistan, including Air France and Lufthansa.
India said early Wednesday it had launched a military operation against Pakistan, hitting “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and Pakistan administered-Kashmir.
Relations between India and Pakistan have cratered in recent weeks following a deadly rampage by gunmen who murdered 26 people, the majority Indian tourists, at a scenic spot in Kashmir. Read more about the attack.
Here's what you need to know:
Targets: India said nine sites in total were targeted. Pakistan said five locations were struck, three of them in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and two in Pakistan's Punjab province.
Casualties: At least three people were killed, Pakistan said.
What India has said since: “Justice is Served,” the Indian Army wrote on X in a short statement, its first since the operation's launch. “Jai Hind!” (Victory to India)
Pakistan's response: Pakistan's military claims it has shot down two Indian Air Force aircraft. CNN cannot independently verify the claim. Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said the country “has every right to give a befitting reply to this act of war imposed by India and a befitting reply is being given.” A military spokesperson said the country “will respond to it at a time and place of its own choosing.”
Flashpoint: Kashmir is one of the world's most dangerous flashpoints and is controlled in part by India and Pakistan but both countries claim it in its entirety. The two nuclear-armed rivals have fought three wars over the mountainous territory that is now divided by a de-facto border called the Line of Control (LOC) since their independence from Britain nearly 80 years ago.
Pakistan has called India's strikes an “unprovoked and blatant act of war” in a statement early Wednesday.
“The Indian Air Force, while remaining within Indian airspace, has violated Pakistan's sovereignty using standoff weapons, targeting civilian population across international border in Muridke and Bahawalpur, and across Line of Control in Kotli and Muzaffarabad,” a statement from Pakistan's foreign ministry said.
“India's act of aggression has resulted in martyrdom of civilians, including women and children. This act of aggression has also caused grave threat to commercial air traffic.”
India early Wednesday said it launched a military operation against Pakistan, hitting “terrorist infrastructure” in both Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, in a major escalation between the two neighbors.
The attacks come more than two weeks after a massacre on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on its neighbor — a claim Islamabad denies.
Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said the country “has every right to give a befitting reply to this act of war imposed by India and a befitting reply is being given.”
“The Pakistani nation and the Pakistani Armed Forces know how to deal with the enemy very well,” the prime minister's office said in a statement. “The enemy will never be allowed to succeed in his nefarious objectives.”
The prime minister called a meeting with the National Security Committee following the military operation, according to the Federal Minister of Information.
Pakistani military sources told CNN that India's strikes hit five locations inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
The locations are Kotli, Ahmadpur East, Muzaffarabad, Bagh, and Muridke.
Of these, Ahmadpur East and Muridke are particularly significant as they are in Pakistan's Punjab province – inside the country's undisputed borders.
Wednesday's attacks are the first time since 2019 that India has conducted strikes inside Pakistan's territory, when Indian jets targeted multiple locations after it blamed Islamabad for a suicide car bomb attack that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary personnel in the region.
That retaliation itself was particularly fraught because it was the first time India had struck inside Pakistan's undisputed borders since the two sides fought a war in 1971.
India has now taken that significant step again.
Kotli, Muzaffarabad and Bagh are in Pakistan-administered Kashmir – a mountainous, contested region controlled by Islamabad but also claimed by India. It is an area that has seen frequent periods of military contact and skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani troops.
United States President Donald Trump called India's confirmed military operation against Pakistan “a shame” and that he just learned of the news ahead of his Oval Office event Tuesday evening.
“It's a shame. We just heard about it, just as we were walking in the doors of the Oval, just heard about it. I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past, they've been fighting for a long time, you know, they've been fighting for many, many decades and centuries,” the president said after overseeing the swearing-in ceremony for his special envoy, Steve Witkoff.
“I just hope it ends very quickly,” Trump said.
India said early Wednesday it had launched a military operation against Pakistan, hitting “terrorist infrastructure” in both Pakistan and Pakistan administered-Kashmir, in a major escalation between the two countries.
The US State Department also said it is “closely monitoring developments,” according to a spokesperson Tuesday.
“We are aware of the reports, however we have no assessment to offer at this time,” the spokesperson said. “This remains an evolving situation, and we are closely monitoring developments.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with top officials from both countries last week as tensions rapidly escalated after a massacre in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Rubio encouraged India and Pakistan to work with each other to “de-escalate tensions,” according to State Department readouts of the two calls on April 30.
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told Geo News that “civilians were killed, including women and children” in India's military operation.
“India is claiming it attacked terrorist camps; this is not true, international media can visit the places civilians were targeted,” Asif said in a statement.
The Indian Army on Wednesday released its first public comments since India launched a military operation inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
“Justice is Served,” the Indian Army wrote on X in a short statement. “Jai Hind!” (Victory to India)
Kashmir has been a flashpoint in India-Pakistan relations since both gained their independence from Britain in 1947.
The two nations to emerge from the bloody partition of British India both claim Kashmir in full, and months after becoming independent, fought their first of three wars over the territory.
The divided region is now one of the most militarized places in the world.
For decades, several domestic militant groups, demanding either independence for Kashmir or for the area to become part of Pakistan, have fought Indian security forces, leaving tens of thousands killed in the violence.
But attacks on tourists in the picturesque Himalayan region are rare.
Tensions between India Pakistan over Kashmir have surged in recent years, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government revoked its constitutional autonomy in 2019, bringing it under the direct control of New Delhi.
India said early Wednesday it had launched a military operation against Pakistan, hitting “terrorist infrastructure” in both Pakistan and Pakistan administered-Kashmir, in a major escalation of tensions between the two neighbors and in response to an attack on tourists in India-administered Kashmir on April 22.
Here's what you need to know about the attack:
What happened: Gunmen opened fire on tourists in a popular travel destination in the mountainous destination of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir. At least 25 Indian citizens and one Nepali national were killed in the massacre, which unfolded in a valley only accessible by foot or on horseback. Eyewitnesses described scenes of horror as the gunmen approached, opening fire on people from close range. Some recalled how the men among the group were singled out and shot at. Other survivors told local media the gunmen accused some of the victims of supporting Prime Minister Modi.
Who claimed responsibility: Kashmir Resistance, also known as The Resistance Front (TRF), claimed responsibility for the attack on social media but it has reportedly since walked back that claim, according to multiple local media reports. Pakistan has denied involvement. India has not publicly blamed any group for the attack but has justified its retaliatory moves as a response to Pakistan's alleged “support for cross-border terrorism.”
Some background: India has long accused Pakistan of harboring Islamist militant groups that target Kashmir, something Islamabad denies. Attacks by militants have in the past led to a sharp escalation of tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, both of whom have rival claims to the Himalayan region. India conducted air strikes inside Pakistan in 2019 following an insurgent attack on Indian soldiers.
Three people, including a child, have been killed by Indian strikes in Pakistan, the country's military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told Pakistani outlet Geo TV.
Chaudhry also told Geo TV that mosques were targeted.
“The attacks on mosques indicate [Indian Prime Minister Narendra] Modi and RSS's Hindutva mentality,” Chaudhry said referring to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing paramilitary organization that advocates Hindu supremacy within India.
Kashmir, one of the world's most dangerous flashpoints, is controlled in part by India and Pakistan but both countries claim it in its entirety.
The two nuclear-armed rivals have fought three wars over the mountainous territory that is now divided by a de-facto border called the Line of Control (LOC) since their independence from Britain nearly 80 years ago.
Tensions ratcheted up again after gunmen massacred 26 civilians in Pahalgam in Indian-controlled Kashmir on last month, the deadliest assault on Indians in recent years.
India has accused Pakistan of being involved in the Pahalgam attack — a claim Islamabad denies. Pakistan has offered a neutral investigation into the incident.
The massacre sparked immediate widespread anger in India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been under tremendous pressure to retaliate with force.
In the days after the Pahalgam attack, both countries swiftly downgraded ties with each other and have been since been engaging in escalating tit-for-tat hostilities.
India ordered its citizens to return from Pakistan, shut a major border crossing and suspended its involvement in a crucial water sharing treaty that has been in force since 1960.
Pakistan suspended trade with India and expelled Indian diplomats. It said that that any attempt to stop or divert water belonging to Pakistan would be considered an “act of war.”
Both countries have also shut their airspace to each other.
New Delhi and Islamabad had also been flexing their military might as tensions simmered along the LOC with small exchanges of fire across the demarcation in recent days. Both sides have also closed their air spaces to each other's airlines.
Pakistan's military said India struck early Wednesday with missiles.
“Pakistan will respond to it at a time and place of its own choosing,” Pakistani military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told Geo TV. “This heinous provocation will not go unanswered.”
Pakistani military sources told CNN five locations were struck at Kotli, Ahmadpur East, Muzaffarabad, Bagh, and Muridke.
Three of those locations – Kotli, Muzaffarabad and Bagh – are in Pakistan-administred Kashmir. Ahmadpur East and Muridke are both in Pakistan's Punjab province.
India said early Wednesday (local time) it had launched a military operation against Pakistan, hitting “terrorist infrastructure” in both Pakistan and Pakistan administered-Kashmir, in a major escalation of tensions between the two neighbors.
“These steps come in the wake of the barbaric Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered,” India's Ministry of Defence said in a statement, referring to an attack last month tourists in India-administered Kashmir.“Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution,” the statement added.
India said nine sites in total were targeted.
Multiple loud explosions have been heard in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, according to a CNN journalist.
Pakistan's military said India had struck with missiles.
“Pakistan will respond to it at a time and place of its own choosing,” Pakistani military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told Geo TV. “This heinous provocation will not go unanswered.”
Prior to Wednesday's military operation, multiple major airlines were avoiding flying over Pakistan as relations with neighboring India crater.
Air France told CNN it has suspended flying over the South Asian country until further notice because of the “recent evolution of tensions between India and Pakistan.”
The airline is “adapting its flight schedule and flight plans to and from certain destinations,” the French flag carrier said, adding some routes will require longer flight times.
“Air France is constantly monitoring developments in the geopolitical situation of the territories served and overflown by its aircraft in order to ensure the highest level of flight safety and security,” the airline said.
Germany's flag carrier Lufthansa also confirmed to Reuters that it was “avoiding Pakistani airspace until further notice.”
Both sides had already closed their airspaces to each other's aircraft since the attack, but the increased tensions are now impacting other international airlines and will likely cost them as they burn extra fuel taking longer routes.
Flight-tracking data showed some flights of British Airways, Swiss International Air Lines and Emirates traveling over the Arabian Sea and then turning north toward Delhi in order to avoid Pakistani airspace, Reuters reported.
By the numbers, India's military would be seen as superior to Pakistan's in any conventional conflict.
The Indian defense budget is more than nine times Pakistan's, according to this year's edition of “The Military Balance,” an assessment of armed forces by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
That budget supports an active-duty Indian force of almost 1.5 million personnel, compared to 660,000 for Pakistan.
On the ground, India's 1.2 million-strong army has 3,750 main battle tanks and more than 10,000 artillery pieces, while Pakistan's tank force is only two-thirds of India's and Islamabad has fewer than half of the artillery pieces in New Delhi's arsenal.
At sea, the Indian navy's advantage is overwhelming. It has two aircraft carriers, 12 guided-missile destroyers, 11 guided-missile frigates and 16 attack submarines.
Pakistan has no carriers and no guided-missile destroyers, with 11 smaller guided-missile frigates being the backbone of its naval fleet. It also has only half the number of subs that India fields.
Both air forces rely heavily on older Soviet-era aircraft, including MiG-21s in India and the Chinese equivalent – the J-7 – in Pakistan.
India has been investing in multirole French-made Rafale jets, with 36 now in service, according to “The Military Balance.”
Pakistan has added Chinese J-10 multirole jets, with more than 20 now in its fleet.
Though Pakistan still has dozens of US-made F-16 fighters, the backbone of its fleet has become the JF-17, a joint project with China that came online in the early 2000s. About 150 are in service.
Russian-made aircraft play a significant role in India's air fleet, with more than 100 MiG-29 fighters in service with the air force and navy combined, plus over 260 Su-30 ground attack jets.
The rivals are closer in capabilities when it comes to nuclear forces, with around five dozen surface-to-surface launchers each, though Indian has longer-range ballistic missiles than Pakistan.
© 2025 Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved. CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.
“Other states must follow the lead of Colorado and enshrine transgender rights into law,” one trans activist said.
On Tuesday, Colorado lawmakers passed a landmark bill aimed at strengthening protections for transgender people in the state. After the Senate passed the measure, the House quickly approved the amendments, clearing the way for the legislation to be signed into law by the governor.
“In a time where trans people are feeling lost, alone, terrorized, and unsafe let this bill be a message. Trans people deserve to live,” Z Williams, co-executive director of Bread and Roses Legal Center, told Truthout. “Trans people can win. Trans people belong.”
Named in honor of Kelly Loving — a transgender woman killed in the Club Q shooting — the Kelly Loving Act includes several provisions designed to make Colorado a safer, more affirming place for trans people. The bill was developed in collaboration with Bread and Roses, which consulted with hundreds of trans Coloradans to identify key areas of need.
“This bill's needed because if transgender residents were never harassed, denied services, or mocked in official settings, additional clarification would be unnecessary,” Democratic State Sen. Chris Kolker said Tuesday. “The lived evidence shows that gaps persist.”
One of the most significant provisions of the Kelly Loving Act defines deadnaming and misgendering as discriminatory acts under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA), reinforcing the state's commitment to affirming the identities of trans people. Colorado Newsline reports that although the bill no longer uses the terms “deadnaming” or “misgendering,” the revised language still treats a deliberate refusal to acknowledge a transgender person's identity — such as refusing to use their chosen name — as a form of discrimination.
“As an employment lawyer and a trans Coloradan, I am thrilled with the passage of the Kelly Loving Act, which — among many critical advancements — validates the basic human right to be recognized by their chosen name: a name that reflects who they are, not who others expect them to be,” Hayden DePorter, an attorney at HKM Employment Attorneys, told Truthout. “This law provides employers with clear guidance for honoring gender expression and other protected identities with the respect and integrity all people deserve.”
The bill also ensures that students may dress according to their gender identity by choosing from any options included in a school's dress code, and simplifies the process for updating legal documents. For example, people who have legally changed their name can now request a revised marriage or civil union license from the county clerk that replaces the original and does not indicate that a name change occurred. The law also allows a person to change the gender marker on their driver's license or state identification card up to three times without needing a court order — an especially critical protection for nonbinary people and others navigating systems that no longer recognize “X” gender markers under the Trump administration's anti-trans federal policies.
“The Kelly Loving Act is an example of people-powered legislation that centers community voices. Without the many transgender people who bravely testified, shared their stories, and led in the advocacy for this bill, this would not have been possible. This is a win for trans people and for every Coloradan who believes in justice,” Rocky Mountain Equality posted on Instagram. “We're proud to have fought for this bill, and we're not done yet. Together, we're building a Colorado where everyone can live freely and authentically.”
Advocates have emphasized the mental health significance of such legislation, especially as anti-trans rhetoric and laws gain traction nationally. Surveys conducted by The Trevor Project have consistently shown that inclusive and affirming policies help reduce suicide risk among LGBTQ youth. Research from Cincinnati Children's Hospital supports these findings, reporting an 18 percent reduction in suicide attempts in states that have anti-bullying laws explicitly protecting sexual orientation and gender identity.
According to bill sponsor Rebekah Stewart, the Kelly Loving Act was intended “to just ensure that we are saying ‘we see you, you are important, you are safe and protected and wanted here in Colorado and we are going to do everything that we can to make sure that you can live your life.'” However, the bill did not pass without opposition — even from within the LGBTQ advocacy community.
According to Bread and Roses, One Colorado, a prominent statewide LGBTQ rights organization, worked against the legislation. Transgender advocates have described One Colorado's reversal — after initially supporting the bill, then working behind the scenes to undermine it — as “an act of betrayal.” Yet, One Colorado seems to have switched course after the bill's passage. On Facebook, One Colorado Executive Director Nadine Bridges said, “We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with our community in full support of the Kelly Loving Act.”
One Colorado also released a statement saying that it worked as “a united front with Bread and Roses Legal Center,” a claim Bread and Roses has refuted, saying it never authorized the statement.
“How do we define ‘a united front,'” Bread and Roses co-executive director Erika Unger asked on Instagram. “Is it weeks of passive aggressive social media posts and email blasts? Is it supporting a bill publicly while privately working to sabotage it?”
National groups including the Transgender Law Center, GLAD, PFLAG, Advocates for Trans Equality, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights also sent a letter to the bill's sponsors, voicing concerns about the original draft's ability to survive legal challenges. In addition, more than 90 Colorado schools urged lawmakers to reject the bill, citing concerns about provisions that were later removed or revised — such as language prohibiting gender-based school rules and protections related to family custody.
The Kelly Loving Act makes Colorado one of the most protective states in the country for trans people. Due in large part to the efforts of trans activists, the state has already protected access to gender-affirming care; passed a comprehensive anti-discrimination law that explicitly prohibits bias based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression; and requires public and charter schools to respect students' chosen names, treating intentional refusal as a form of discrimination. Colorado has also expanded the definition of “good cause” for legal name changes to include aligning one's name with their gender identity, reducing the obstacles for trans people with felony convictions to legally change their names.
Because of these protections, Colorado has become a destination for trans people and their families fleeing states with increasingly hostile laws. The queer relocation nonprofit Trans Continental Pipeline, based in Colorado, reported receiving over 400 relocation requests in November after Trump was reelected, and over 1,000 more in early 2025. The passage of the Kelly Loving Act will likely attract more trans people seeking refuge to the state.
“The passage of this bill is a major victory for transgender people,” LGBTQ legislative researcher Allison Chapman told Truthout. “Colorado is signaling to the country that they reject the hateful rhetoric being pushed by the Trump administration and will continue to support transgender people. Other states must follow the lead of Colorado and enshrine transgender rights into law.”
At this moment, we are witnessing a terrifying array of anti-democratic tactics to silence political opposition, increase surveillance and expand authoritarian reach.
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Zane McNeill is a trending news writer at Truthout. They have a master's degree in political science from Central European University and are currently enrolled in law school at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. They can be found on Twitter: @zane_crittheory.
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The Trump administration's alliance with the racist political party signals the rise of a far right international.
Last week, Trump administration officials blasted Germany after a 1,100-page report from that country's intelligence agency found that the Alternative for Germany (AfD) is a racist and anti-Muslim organization, labelling it “a proven right-wing extremist organization.”
The report was compiled by experts and was years in the making. Among its key findings is that the AfD poses a threat to Germany's constitution by propagating xenophobia, Islamophobia and an “ethnicity-and-ancestry-based conception of the people.” The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution submitted the report to the interior ministry in the final days of the outgoing center-left government, prompting the AfD to claim that the move was political in nature and to file a lawsuit against the agency. But the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, whose mission is to safeguard the German constitution, had long held suspicions that the AfD and its youth organization were engaged in right-wing extremist activities and now feels convinced that the confidential report has justified its suspicions; hence the agency's designation of Alternative for Germany as “a proven right-wing extremist organization.”
The Trump administration, however, is actively defending the extremist party.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X: “What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD—which took second in the recent election—but rather the establishment's deadly open border immigration policies that the AfD opposes.”
Vice President J.D. Vance also rushed to the defense of the AfD, sharing a post on X asserting that “the AfD is the most popular party in Germany” and accusing the German political establishment of rebuilding a “Berlin Wall.”
So what if the AfD's activities seek to “undermine or abolish the free democratic order,” in violation of Article 21 of the German constitution? For Trump and his minions, this is an insignificant detail as AfD's vision for the future of Germany resonates with the Trump administration's vision for the future of the United States.
The Trump team has been trying to boost Europe's far right since day one. Elon Musk has openly supported the AfD and even held a livestreamed conversation on X with AfD co-leader Alice Weidel in which he encouraged Germans to vote for the party ahead of the federal elections. As for Trump himself, he is obsessed with strongmen and has gone out of his way to embolden far right and white supremacist groups, including by issuing pardons to all those convicted in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Indeed, Trump 2.0 is carrying out an all-out anti-democracy project inside the United States the likes of which the country has not seen since the end of Reconstruction. His racist and xenophobic vision for “making America great again” echoes the history of Nazi Germany, building a platform based on the rejection of social justice and the embrace of a socioeconomic order in which the rich and powerful thrive by taking as much as they can from the poor and weak.
The infantile narcissist at the helm of the world's most powerful nation is a menace to anything and everything decent. The alleged concerns for the future of democracy in Germany by some of Trump's top officials would be laughable if they weren't so dangerous. For the fact of the matter is that Trump and his ilk despise democracy precisely because of the ideals and values, such as equality and tolerance, that are granted in the democratic state.
The AfD blames immigrants for weakening the German culture and way of life and regards Muslims in the country, specifically, as “a danger to our state, our society, and our values.” In November 2023, senior members of the AfD even attended a meeting with neo-Nazis and other extremists to discuss a “master plan” for the deportation of millions of immigrants and native citizens. Trump and his flunkies would obviously find nothing objectionable about such moves, and would see any legal attempts by the current German government to ban such activities not as protecting democracy but rather as “tyranny in disguise.”
Trump presides over the culture of white supremacy in the United States and both he and the far right Alternative for Germany embrace mass deportations as a means of keeping out what they frame as “bad genes.” Hence even the acknowledgement of racial injustice toward people of color has been banned by the Trump administration. Moreover, the Trump administration's embrace of the far right German party is the epitome of antisemitism. Indeed, as Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the progressive organization Jewish Council for Public Affairs said, pointedly, “This administration's normalization of AfD — a far right, anti-immigrant extremist party that has called Holocaust remembrance a ‘guilt cult' — fundamentally threatens the safety of Jews, countless other communities, and democracy around the globe.”
But German courts have consistently taken the approach that the activities of the AfD can be considered extremist. In February 2024, an administrative court in Cologne ruled that AfD's youth movement, known as “Junge Alternative” (JA) or Young Alternative, engaged in continuous agitation against foreigners and that it can be classified as an extremist organization.
Nearly half of Germans favor banning the AfD party. Many German lawmakers and constitutional law experts believe that there are strong grounds for banning the AfD. Whether this is likely to happen is another story. The incoming German interior minister has reservations about the ban and others fear that banning Alternative for Germany will only boost the party's popularity. France's leader of the far right National Rally party Marine Le Pen has been banned from running for office for five years but only because she was found guilty for embezzling European Union (EU) funds. The ban has polarized France, while Trump, unsurprisingly enough, has thrown his support behind Le Pen.
Trump thinks the EU was “created to screw” the United States, so he wants to destroy it. He is using the “divide and conquer” strategy to do so — hence, his support for far right leaders and parties across Europe has both ideological and strategic components. And there is no doubt that his political friends are advancing across Europe. Several EU member states (seven in total) have far right parties within the government. The far right group Patriots for Europe, which includes Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from the Hungarian Fidesz party, the French National Rally party and the Freedom Party of Austria, among others, is now the Parliament's third-largest group. The aim of the so-called Patriots for Europe is not to fight for a unified Europe but to destroy European democracy.
All of Europe's far right leaders have applauded Trump's domestic agenda and Spain's far right Vox party recently held an event in Madrid under the banner “Make Europe Great Again.” It was attended by nearly all of Europe's major neo-fascist leaders, including, among others, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, France's Marine Le Pen, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and Dutch politician Geert Wilders.
Make no mistake about it. A far right international has been formed, inspired by Trump's Christian nationalism and burning desire to destroy liberal democracy. We live indeed in extremely dangerous times. The surge of the far right on both sides of the Atlantic has echoes of the 1930s, when fascism not only destroyed Europe but was also on the march in the United States. This time around, however, it seems that it is the United States that is descending first into fascism. Europe's multiparty system seems so far to be doing a much better job at attempting to keep fascism at bay than the U.S. government's system of checks and balances. Now, it is up to courageous U.S. citizens and civic organizations to stand up to Trump and resist fascism before everything goes to hell.
At this moment, we are witnessing a terrifying array of anti-democratic tactics to silence political opposition, increase surveillance and expand authoritarian reach.
Truthout is appealing for your support as Trump and his sycophants crack down on political speech. Nonprofits like Truthout could be caught in Trump's crosshairs as he attacks dissenting groups with bad faith lawsuits and targeted harassment of journalists.
As well, these attacks come at a time when independent journalism is most needed. The right-wing corporate takeover of media has left reliable outlets few and far between, with even fewer providing their work at no cost to the reader. Who will be there to hold the fascists to account, if not media like Truthout?
We ask for your support as we doggedly pursue justice through our reporting. Truthout is funded overwhelmingly by readers like you. Please make a tax-deductible one-time or monthly donation today.
C.J. Polychroniou is a political scientist/political economist, author and journalist who has taught and worked in numerous universities and research centers in Europe and the United States. Currently, his main research interests are in U.S. politics and the political economy of the United States, European economic integration, globalization, climate change and environmental economics, and the deconstruction of neoliberalism's politico-economic project. He is a columnist for Global Policy Journal and a regular contributor to Truthout. He has published scores of books, including Marxist Perspectives on Imperialism: A Theoretical Analysis; Perspectives and Issues in International Political Economy (ed.); and Socialism: Crisis and Renewal (ed.), and over 1,000 articles which have appeared in a variety of journals, magazines, newspapers and popular news websites. Many of his publications have been translated into a multitude of languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish. His latest books are Climate Crisis and the Global Green New Deal: The Political Economy of Saving the Planet (with Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin as primary authors, 2020); The Precipice: Neoliberalism, the Pandemic, and the Urgent Need for Radical Change (an anthology of interviews with Noam Chomsky, 2021); Economics and the Left: Interviews with Progressive Economists (2021); Illegitimate Authority: Facing the Challenges of Our Time (an anthology of interviews with Noam Chomsky, 2023); and A Livable Future Is Possible: Confronting the Threats to Our Survival (an anthology of interviews with Noam Chomsky, 2024).
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The ex-president apparently believes he was just too successful to realise he should step back. He couldn't even mention his VP's name
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Does Joe Biden blame his vice-president for losing the 2024 election to Donald Trump? He certainly doesn't take any responsibility himself. And when it comes to Kamala Harris, he can't even bring himself to say her name.
Biden sat down with the BBC's Nick Robinson for his first full interview since leaving office. The 82-year-old ex-president was still able to speak pointedly about America's foreign policy, warning of the dangers of appeasing Russia and abandoning Nato. But when Robinson asked Biden about dropping out of his re-election bid in mid-2024, he got tongue-tied.
Under fire now for starting a re-election campaign he couldn't complete, Biden contended that “I meant what I said when I started” in 2020 about heading a “transition government” where he would “hand this to the next generation”. So, why didn't he? And why didn't it work? That's where Biden got increasingly incoherent.
Asked if he “regrets” not dropping out sooner to give someone else a bigger chance to beat Trump, he insisted that abandoning ship in mid-July was the right decision. “I don't think it would have mattered” if he had dropped out earlier, he claimed.
“It was a hard decision,” yet “I think it was the right decision” to go exactly then. Never mind that this happened only after Biden imploded in historic fashion on the debate stage, or that his party's elders then had to spend three weeks dragging him offstage against his will as his standing in the polls sagged.
“We left at a time when we had a good candidate. She was fully funded.”
“Fully funded” is not very high praise for your hand-picked vice-president's attributes as a candidate. It's the one thing that the party apparatus can do for literally anybody it nominates.
“Um, and what happened was” –
This is the point in the answer where a normal person would say one of three things: blame Harris and her campaign for blowing it, take some responsibility for leaving her a mess to clean up, or argue that events beyond either of their control took over.
Biden chose none of the above. He just dropped the subject of Harris without even saying her name, abandoned any effort to explain what happened in the election, and lurched into a ramble about how it was hard to quit because he was just so successful:
“What we had set out to do, no one thought we could do and become so successful in our agenda it was hard to say, ‘Now I'm gonna stop now.'… Things moved so quickly that it made it difficult to walk away.”
If Biden thinks the story of his presidency is that he was just too successful to quit, he's deluded. If he can't reflect at all on any of his failures, who does that leave to blame?
He clearly knows that he can't point the finger openly at Harris without accusing himself of bad judgment for hiring her. But for a guy who had pledged to be a transitional figure, his stubborn insistence on clinging to the top of the ticket sent a loud enough message at the time that he didn't trust Harris with his legacy.
Now, his insistence that things were just fine when she took over, coupled with his refusal to say anything more substantial in her favour than “she was fully funded,” speaks volumes in what is unsaid. When the Bidens have appeared in public with Harris, as they did at Jimmy Carter's funeral, commentators have noted the apparent venom between Jill Biden and Harris.
For Joe, it seems easier to retreat into an imaginary world where he was undone by the magnitude of his own success. But even Joe Biden's fantasies aren't extravagant enough to pretend that Kamala Harris did a good job running for president.
Dan McLaughlin is a senior writer at National Review.
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Live Updates
• On brink of wider conflict: India launched strikes on both Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir early Wednesday local time. Pakistan's prime minister described the attack as “an act of war” and Islamabad has pledged to retaliate, marking a major escalation between the two countries.
• Deadly attacks: A Pakistani military official told CNN that at least 26 civilians were killed in what India has dubbed “Operation Sindoor,” which New Delhi said targeted “terrorist infrastructure.” Pakistan has claimed it shot down five Indian Air Force jets. According to a senior Indian defense source, shelling by the Pakistani military killed at least 12 people on the Indian side of the the de facto border that divides Kashmir.
• Tourist massacre: It comes after gunmen killed more than two dozen civilians, mostly tourists, in Indian-controlled Kashmir last month. India accused Pakistan of being involved, which it denied.
• Kashmir dispute: Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan each control parts of Kashmir but claim it in full and have fought three wars over the territory.
Pakistan's president and prime minister attended the funeral of the seven-year-old son of an army colonel who was killed in Indian strikes on Pakistan, the country's armed forces said in a statement Wednesday.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif joined other senior government and army officials attending the funeral ceremony of the son of Lt. Col. Zaheer Abbas Turi, who was killed in Dawarandi, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Following funeral prayers in Islamabad, the Pakistani prime minister condemned India's “deliberate targeting of civilians” as a “reprehensible act of cowardice,” the statement from Pakistan's armed forces said.
The Indian military said that it targeted “terrorist infrastructure” across nine sites in Pakistan's densely populated Punjab province and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. It claims that no military sites were targeted in its strikes and that there had been no reports of civilian casualties.
“The President & the Prime Minister affirmed that the valiant Armed Forces of Pakistan are resolutely confronting Indian forces across all fronts, delivering a strong and uncompromising response,” the statement said.
The leaders said the deadly attacks, which killed at least 26 people in Pakistan, will be met with “decisive action,” the statement added.
A high-ranking French intelligence official told CNN today that one Rafale fighter jet operated by the Indian Air Force was downed by Pakistan, in what would mark the first time that one of the sophisticated French-made warplanes has been lost in combat.
Pakistan claimed earlier today to have shot down five Indian Air Force jets in retaliation for Indian strikes, including three Rafales. Indian officials are yet to respond to the claim.
The French official told CNN that French authorities were looking into whether more than one Rafale jets were shot down by Pakistan overnight.
Pictures taken of parts of an aircraft that crashed in Indian-administered Kashmir show the label of a French manufacturer, but experts said it was not possible to say whether the part came from a Rafale aircraft.
Dassault Aviation, the French manufacturer of the jet, has not responded to CNN's requests for comment.
Some background: The Rafale is a 10-ton, twin-engine multirole fighter, equipped with a 30mm cannon for air combat and ground support, along with air-to-air missiles, laser-guided bombs, and cruise missiles.
Before this latest escalation, India had 36 Rafale jets in its Air Force, purchased from French manufacturer Dassault Aviation.
The French military has not officially commented on the incident.
Pakistan's defense minister has warned that India's latest assault marked an “invitation to expand the conflict” between the two neighbors — but cautioned that Islamabad is “trying to avoid” a full-fledged war.
New Delhi's deadly barrage on Punjab and Pakistan-administered Kashmir early Wednesday was a “clear-cut violation,” according to Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif.
“(India) crossed an international boundary,” Asif told CNN's Becky Anderson on Connect the World. “This is a clear-cut violation, and an invitation to expand the conflict and maybe convert it into something much more wider and much more dangerous for the region.”
He insisted that Pakistan's military was braced “for an all-out war,” after India raised the “stakes” this week — following decades of tensions in one of the most militarized places in the world.
“What happens next is we are prepared for an all-out war. There is absolutely no doubt, because India is increasing the intensity, the stakes of this conflict,” added Asif. “So… we can't be caught with our guards down.”
Claims of downed jets: Pakistan's armed forces fired missiles and struck down five Indian fighter jets “in a dogfight,” according to the country's defense chief, who described the military's actions as a “befitting lesson” for New Delhi.
When pressed for evidence, Asif cited social media video.
“(India has) already admitted that three planes were downed,” Asif told CNN. “These planes were downed in a dogfight. Missiles were fired by our planes, and they were shot down. Very simple.”
Contrary to Asif's claims, India has not said that any of its planes have been shot down.
This post has been updated with additional comments from Pakistan's defense minister.
Israel's ambassador to India said in a social media post, following India's strikes on Pakistan, that his country “supports India's right for self defense.”
“Terrorists should know there's no place to hide from their heinous crimes against the innocent,” Reuven Azar wrote, adding “#OperationSindoor,” the Indian military's codename for their strikes on Pakistani targets.
Unlike most international statements as India and Pakistan teeter on the edge of a wider conflict, the ambassador's post does not include a call for restraint or de-escalation.
Some context: The two countries share deep military ties. India imports more weaponry from Israel than any other country, accounting for over a third of all Israeli arms exports, according to recent figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
In India's capital, New Delhi, civilians who spoke with CNN had mixed feelings about the government's decision to carry out a series of overnight strikes on Pakistan.
The Indian government said the strikes were carried out in response to an April terror attack in India-administered Kashmir that killed at least 25 Indian citizens.
Charu Murgai, 38, a makeup artist in Delhi, said she felt “that war might make the things more terrible, for the economy, for the civilians, for the people who are going to fight for on behalf of us,” while another said she didn't support the decision by the government to strike Pakistan.
“I want everybody to make peace. The war has started, but I want it to end soon, because it's important for all of us,” said Muskan Maurya, a 21-year-old graduate student.
But some supported the government's actions, with 45-year-old Monika Lakra, an educator, telling CNN she was “very happy” that the government had taken action, giving “kudos to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
Maurya said she doesn't “hate the normal people of Pakistan. I would love to meet them. I would love to hang out with them, but the government of Pakistan I really hate,” she told CNN.
“It's a very big word to say hate, but I do hate the Government of Pakistan because they have known that these terrorists can have a very big impact on the normal likes of people in Kashmir, and they still allow them to stay there.”
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif lauded his country's air force following a claim by military sources that it shot down five Indian fighter jets.
Sharif praised the Pakistani military's readiness “to deal with the enemy's planes,” as he addressed the country's parliament in capital Islamabad for the first time since India's attack early on Wednesday local time.
The prime minister also told lawmakers that India used dozens of warplanes in its attack. India's assault killed at least 26 people, including a 3-year-old girl, and wounded at least 46 other people. according to a Pakistani military official.
Sharif did not elaborate on how Pakistan might respond to India's attack, after he earlier described it as an “act of war.” His office said the country's military had been “authorized to undertake corresponding actions in this regard,” according to an earlier statement.
“A few days ago, India was proudly showing off its purchase of Rafale jets. But one shouldn't be too proud,” Sharif told lawmakers. “These jets flew from there in combat form, but our air force was also prepared.”
“We are a nuclear power and a conventional warfare power. There is no higher respect and honor than this,” he added.
Lawmakers filled the country's parliament building with calls of “Pakistan Zindabad,” which translates to “Long Live Pakistan.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistani military sources said they brought down five Indian fighter jets and one drone in an act of “self-defense” — including three Rafale aircraft, which are highly sophisticated multi-role jets manufactured in France. CNN cannot independently verify the claim and has reached out to the Indian government for a response.
The number of casualties from overnight shelling by the Pakistani military on the Indian side of the Line of Control in Kashmir has risen, with 12 civilians killed and 57 injured, a senior Indian defense source told CNN.
India and Pakistan have had near daily exchanges of fire across the Line of Control since the April 22 tourist massacre that sent relations between the two sides plummeting.
Pakistan's military previously confirmed it shelled Indian positions in Indian-administered Kashmir overnight in response to India's airstrikes on its territory. India accused the Pakistanis of unprovoked firing over the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides disputed Kashmir.
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani spoke to top officials from both India and Pakistan today, holding a phone call with the Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and a separate call with Pakistan's Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, the Qatari foreign ministry said in two statements.
According to the statements, which were nearly identical, Al-Thani “expressed Qatar's deep concern” over the situation and affirmed the country's “full support for all regional and international efforts aimed at resolving outstanding issues between the two countries through dialogue and peaceful means.”
For context: Doha has successfully acted as a mediator recently. Qatar was one of the actors mediating talks between Israel and Hamas that led to a temporary ceasefire earlier this year, played a role in discussions that led to the return of deported Ukrainian children from Russia, and facilitated the freeing of an American citizen who spent more than two years in detention in Afghanistan.
India's military operation inside Pakistan comes despite major global players urging restraint in the days leading up to the strikes.
Here's how major global players have responded:
Authorities across India are conducting civil defense security drills on Wednesday, hours after the country launched military strikes on targets in Pakistan.
The drills had been planned before the strikes. In an order from the home ministry not seen in decades, the Indian government had ordered them to be carried out in all states and union territories.
According to official statements posted on X, 244 locations will be included in the drills that will include the sounding of emergency sirens, evacuation procedures and blackouts.
Several Gulf carriers have suspended flights to Pakistan, including Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways, with airport closures in northern India also affecting many flight routes.
Emirates has canceled flights from Dubai to Sialkot, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar on Wednesday. “Customers on cancelled flights must not proceed to the airport,” it said on its website.
Flights to and from Karachi are not impacted and will be operating as per schedule, the airline said.
Etihad said it had canceled flights to Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad on Wednesday.
“Additionally, some other services may be rerouted to avoid the affected airspace, potentially resulting in extended flight times,” Etihad Airways said in a statement.
Qatar Airways said it had “temporarily suspended flights” to Pakistan, citing Pakistani airspace closure.
“The airline is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to prioritise the safety of its passengers and crew,” it said.
Meanwhile, Indian carriers including SpiceJet and IndiGo have issued travel advisories regarding cancelations to and from destinations in northern India.
“Due to the ongoing situation, airports in parts of northern India, including Dharamshala (DHM), Leh (IXL), Jammu (IXJ), Srinagar (SXR), and Amritsar (ATQ), are closed until further notice. Departures, arrivals, and consequential flights may be impacted. Passengers are advised to plan their journey accordingly and check flight status,” SpiceJet said Wednesday morning.
Multiple major airlines said Wednesday they were re-routing or canceling planes to and from Europe due to the escalation between India and Pakistan, with more than two dozen international flights diverted to avoid Pakistan airspace, according to FlightRadar24 data.
Keep in mind: Many airlines had already begun to avoid flying over Pakistan prior to India's strikes early Wednesday morning.
Access to social media platform X, formerly Twitter, has been restored in Pakistan as conflict breaks out with India.
Internet watchdog Netblocks confirmed access to the social media site was restored on Wednesday in an email to CNN.
It had been banned in the country since February 2024, around the time of the Pakistan elections, according to Amnesty International.
As the conflict escalates between India and Pakistan, these pictures show the reality on the ground in Kashmir and both countries.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has tasked his country's military to enact “self-defense” with “corresponding actions,” hours after India launched a barrage of deadly strikes early Wednesday, according to his office.
Sharif called on Pakistan's Armed Forces to “avenge the loss of innocent Pakistani lives,” after an emergency National Security Commitee (NSC) meeting on Wednesday.
India's military had struck sites in both Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir, killing at least 26 people – including a 3-year-old girl – and wounding at least 46 other people.
“Pakistan reserves the right to respond, in self-defence, at a time, place, and manner of its choosing to avenge the loss of innocent Pakistani lives and blatant violation of its sovereignty,” the readout from the NSC meeting said.
“The Armed Forces of Pakistan have duly been authorized to undertake corresponding actions in this regard,” the statement added.
“The nation stands galvanized and resolute in the face of any further aggression.”
New Delhi said it launched the attack in response to a deadly massacre in Indian-controlled Kashmir on April 22. Militant gunmen killed more than two dozen people, mostly tourists, in the restive region of Jammu and Kashmir. Islamabad repeatedly denied involvement in the attack.
Since then, both parties have leveled warring rhetoric, rupturing already fractious relations between the two neighbors and escalating fears of all-out fighting.
A Pakistani militant chief targeted in India's overnight strikes said 10 of his relatives, including five children, had been killed by the attack.
Masood Azhar, the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) – one of two militant factions that India's military said it targeted overnight – said his older sister, his brother-in-law, his nephew and niece were among those who died.
“The coward Modi targeted innocent children, unmarried women and the elderly,” Azhar said in a statement on Wednesday. “The grief and shock are so much that they cannot be described.”
The Indian military said it targeted “terrorist infrastructure” across nine sites in Pakistan's densely populated Punjab province and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. India claimed that no military sites were targeted in its strikes and that there had been no reports of civilian casualties.
Pakistan, however, said Wednesday's strikes had harmed civilians and targeted mosques across six locations in its territory. Jaish-e-Mohammed, which translates to the Army of the Prophet Mohammed, is a Pakistan-based group that operates across Kashmir, and seeks to unite the Indian-controlled area of the disputed state with Pakistan.
While the US and the UN Security Council listed JeM as a terrorist organization in 2001, an effort to include its leader, Masood Azhar, as an “internationally designated terrorist” was vetoed by China.
Videos shared to social media show the moment of impact as Indian airstrikes land inside Pakistan.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout breaks down what we know:
India launched early-morning strikes on both Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Wednesday, and Islamabad claimed it had shot down five Indian Air Force jets in “self-defense,” a major escalation between the rivaling neighbors.
The strikes came more than two weeks after a massacre of tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on its neighbor — which Islamabad denied.
Here's what we know:
Syed Asim Munir, a former spy chief who was appointed as Pakistan's army chief in 2022, will play a key role in determining how far conflict may escalate following India's strikes on Wednesday, analysts told CNN.
Seen as a hardliner on India by critics, Munir is expected to face pressure at home after India's missile attack, which it said had struck “terrorist infrastructure,” and Islamabad said had killed at least eight people, including children.
Munir's appointment came amid intense debate around the military's influence on public life.
Pakistan's powerful military is often accused of meddling in the politics of a country that has experienced numerous coups and been ruled by generals for extended periods since it gained independence from Britain in 1947.
“I think that for Pakistan not to retaliate somehow would undermine his (Munir's) credibility and his influence,” said Malcolm Davis, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
“For domestic political reasons and for… bureaucratic and organizational politics within the Pakistani military, I think that he will probably play a key role in deciding how Pakistan responds.”
CNN Military Analyst Cedric Leighton said Munir joined “a long line of military leaders who have basically called the shots in Pakistani politics for a very long time.”
He said Munir has viewed Pakistan's conflict with India through the lens of religion and treated the tensions as a national issue.
“He believes that he is defending the honor of his country,” Leighton said.
Against the backdrop of him is the Indian government's nationalist sentiment which adds to the “recipe for potential conflict,” the retired colonel said.
“He is… running against a very strong Indian leadership that is seeing it from the opposite side, very much in the Hindu nationalist, Hindu nationalist point.”
Indian shelling hit an intake structure on the Noseri Dam on the Neelum river in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, a Pakistani security source told CNN.
The Noseri Dam was targeted by Indian shelling last night around 2 a.m. local time, damaging the intake gates, according to the source.
CNN has contacted India's foreign and water ministries for comment.
The Neelum is part of the sprawling Indus river system, a vital resource supporting hundreds of millions of livelihoods across Pakistan and northern India.
Following the massacre of 26 civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir last month that India blamed on Pakistan, India suspended the Indus Water Treaty, a treaty which governs the sharing of water from the Indus River system.
The Indus originates in Tibet and flows through China and Indian-controlled Kashmir before reaching Pakistan.
Islamabad has called any attempt to stop or divert water belonging to Pakistan an act of war.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chaired a high-level meeting with senior ministers from his cabinet.
In video released by his office, Modi can be seen sitting alongside senior government figures including Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah, Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
Modi has not spoken publicly since India launched strikes on neighboring Pakistan in the early hours of Wednesday.
A United Nations team has arrived at a site in Pakistan-administered Kashmir that Islamabad says was hit by India's strikes, a CNN stringer said.
The CNN stringer at the site reported seeing two white UN vehicles in the city of Muzaffarabad, where Pakistan said a mosque was struck early Wednesday.
India claimed that no military sites were targeted in its strikes and that there had been no reports of civilian casualties.
Pakistan, however, said Wednesday's strikes had harmed civilians and targeted mosques across six locations in its territory.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has postponed a trip to visit to Croatia, The Netherlands and Norway, a senior government official told CNN.
No official reason has been given for the delay, but the announcement comes hours after New Delhi launched strikes on Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Modi has not publicly spoken about the military action on India's neighbor.
Residents of Pakistan-administered Kashmir say they were forced to flee their homes and take shelter after India launched missile strikes on its neighbor.
“All of a sudden, the electricity went out. I thought a transformer [had] burst, but later came to know that Indian troops started shelling and firing at us,” Raja Shahid Bashir, a resident of Shawai in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, told CNN.
“Shells landed close to our home and we came out and took our livestock and belongings and took shelter,” said Bashir.
Another resident, Shakeel Butt, told CNN she had to flee when shells started falling on the village. “A shell landed at a house close to the mosque in which two people were injured. Shells also hit other houses in our area and we fled from our area to a safer place,” she said.
India's military said it had struck nine “terrorist camps” in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. At least 26 civilians were killed due to Indian army action, a Pakistan military spokesperson said, according to the Reuters news agency. Pakistan said it retaliated by shooting down five Indian Air Force jets and a drone. India has not confirmed the fighter jet losses.
Zeeshan Akram, a resident of Muridke in Pakistan's Punjab province, told Reuters that drones appeared in the early hours of Wednesday and struck a mosque in the city, destroying it.
“They hit the mosque directly—destroyed its courtyard, the minister's office in front of the mosque, and the roof. Everything was crushed. There was one person sitting on the roof, on duty, he was martyred,” Akram told Reuters.
“Fear and terror spread in people. People had gone out into the fields, in the open, just like that,” Waqas Ahmed, another resident of Muridke, told Reuters.
Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it summoned the Indian chargé d'affaires in Islamabad – the head of India's diplomatic mission in the country – to formally protest India's strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Wednesday.
“It was conveyed that India's blatant act of aggression constitutes a clear violation of Pakistan's sovereignty. Such actions are in contravention of the UN Charter, international law, and established norms governing inter-state relations,” the ministry said.
“Pakistan firmly rejected India's baseless justifications for its hostile conduct.”
It called the strikes “unprovoked,” saying they had killed several civilians including women and children, and warned that India's military action posed a “serious threat” to peace in the region.
The leader of India's diplomatic mission in Pakistan used to be the high commissioner – but clashes in 2019 between the two countries prompted them to downgrade diplomatic ties with each other and remove the high commissioner, leaving the chargé d'affaires in place instead.
Overnight shelling by the Pakistani military has killed at least eight people on the Indian side of the Line of Control in Kashmir, a senior Indian defense source told CNN.
India and Pakistan have had near daily exchanges of fire across the Line of Control since the April 22 tourist massacre that sent relations between the two sides plummeting.
Pakistan's military has previously confirmed it shelled Indian positions in Indian-administered Kashmir overnight in response to India's airstrikes on its territory. India accused the Pakistanis of unprovoked firing over the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides Kashmir.
This post has been updated with the latest on the shelling.
India said its military strikes on Pakistan targeted Lashkar-e-Tayyiba “terrorist infrastructure” sites after Pakistan failed to act against the groups based in its territory behind a massacre of tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir last month.
The operation – dubbed “Operation Sindoor” – lasted for 25 minutes from 1.05 a.m.-1.30 a.m. local time, Col. Sofiya Qureshi said in a press conference on Wednesday.
None of the three Indian officials who spoke at the briefing responded to a claim from Pakistan that it had shot down five Indian Air Force jets during India's attack. CNN has been unable to verify the claim.
The briefing started with a video montage of the aftermath of attacks on India through the years that New Delhi has blamed on its neighbor Pakistan – and which Pakistan has long denied.
The officials also showed footage of what they said were strikes on the targets in Pakistan.
The officials showed a map marking locations of what they said were several Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed training camps in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and inside Pakistan's Punjab province.
Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri again blamed Pakistan for the April attack on civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir and accused Islamabad of supporting “terrorism” in the disputed region.
“Despite a fortnight having passed since the attacks, there has been no demonstrable step from Pakistan to take action against the terrorist infrastructure on its territory or on territory under its control.”
The targets were selected based on “intelligence,” Misri said.
Qureshi said no military installation was targeted in the operation and there had been no reports of civilian casualties in Pakistan.
A Pakistan military spokesperson said at least 26 civilians were killed due to Indian army action, according to Reuters.
At least 26 civilians were killed and 46 injured due to Indian army action, a Pakistan military spokesperson said, according to Reuters.
Heavily nationalist rhetoric has colored the coverage from many Indian news channels since New Delhi's strikes against Pakistan.
“How India crushed the enemy,” flashed a headline on one news channel. “India strikes Pakistan hard,” read another.
One news organization carried an image depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding a Captain America-esque shield with the colors of the Indian national flag.
On some channels, animations of military jets and explosions could be seen across screens as anchors covered “Operation Sindoor,” the official name of India's military attack on Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Such jingoism is not uncommon for India's often loud and boisterous media, which has been accused of toeing the government line.
Modi aims to govern a proud, nationalistic nation that believes in its ability to handle difficult situations. Following the tourist massacre in Indian-administered Kashmir, many media outlets immediately called for blood.
Authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir have ordered the evacuation of citizens from areas they deemed dangerous, as the conflict between New Delhi and Islamabad escalates.
The Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha, has directed districts to move villagers from “vulnerable areas to safer locations.”
Accommodation, food and medicines will be provided for evacuated citizens, the Lieutenant Governor's office said on X.
The orders come hours after India launched a series of strikes on what it called “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, pushing the rival neighbors to the brink of full-scale war.
Pakistan said the attack killed at least eight people, including children. The Indian Army said three civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir were killed in cross-border shelling by Pakistani troops.
A key ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he is “proud of our armed forces” following the country's strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
“#OperationSindoor is Bharat's response to the brutal killing of our innocent brothers in Pahalgam,” Home Minister Amit Shah wrote on X, using the Hindi name for India. Shah has been beside Modi's side for decades and is often referred to as the second most powerful person in India.
Wednesday's strikes come more than two weeks after militants killed 26 civilians in Indian-controlled Kashmir. New Delhi pinned the massacre on Pakistan, though Islamabad denied involvement.
“The Modi government is resolved to give a befitting response to any attack on India and its people. Bharat remains firmly committed to eradicating terrorism from its roots,” Shah added in his X post.
China has expressed regret over India's military action against Pakistan and said it's concerned about the current developments.
“India and Pakistan are neighbors that cannot be moved, and both are also China's neighbors,” a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry said.
As the conflict between Pakistan and India escalates, China has found itself in a diplomatic tight spot.
For weeks, Beijing has been closely watching the tit-for-tat responses between its longtime “ironclad friend,” Islamabad, and New Delhi, a regional rival with which it has a long-running border dispute.
The flare-up comes as China has been trying to improve relations with India as part of a broader diplomatic push to shore up ties with neighbors and trade partners alike to counter pressure from the Trump administration.
Pakistan, meanwhile, is one of China's closest partners and a key supporter of its Belt and Road Initiative. China is Pakistan's main arms supplier, with Chinese arms making up 81 per cent of Pakistan's weapons imports in the past five years, according to data from Swedish think tank the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
On April 27 in a phone call with his counterpart, China's foreign minister Wang Yi expressed support for Pakistan and said China is closely following developments between the countries.
“As Pakistan's ironclad friend and all-weather strategic cooperative partner, China fully understands Pakistan's legitimate security concerns and supports Pakistan in safeguarding its sovereignty and security interests,” Wang said.
India launched military strikes on targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, targeting what it called “terrorist infrastructure” on Wednesday. The attack comes more than two weeks after militants massacred tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, which New Delhi blamed on its neighbor — and Islamabad denied.
Pakistan said eight people were killed by India's attack in what the country's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described as “an act of war.” Pakistan also said it shot down five Indian Air Force jets and a drone.
Pictures taken of parts of an aircraft that crashed in Indian-administered Kashmir show the label of a French manufacturer.
The label shows an aircraft part from French filtration company Le Bozec et Gautier. Le Bozec is a French-based subsidiary of Minnesota's Donaldson Company.
A press release from Donaldson in 2005, when it acquired Le Bozec, says the French company “designs, manufactures and sells filtration equipment for the management of air, fuel, hydraulic fluid and air pressure on aircraft and helicopters.”
Pakistan claims to have shot down three of India's top-of-the-line French-made Rafale fighter jets, but experts said it was not possible to say whether the part came from that aircraft, nor Pakistan's claims of shooting down the aircraft.
Peter Layton, a senior fellow at Griffith Asia Institute and former Australian air force officer, said the part looked like it could be from a fuel tank, possibly an external drop tank.
The Pakistan Air force also has French-made Mirage III and V jets, Layton added.
This post has been updated with additional information.
Residents of Indian-administered Kashmir woke to the sounds of explosions and shelling after India launched cross-border strikes against its neighbor, with some hiding in fear and others cheering the strikes as long-overdue revenge.
“We have been tense and anxious and glued to the television channels,” a 30-year-old civilian who lives near the city of Kupwara told CNN. “This is the first time I've heard shelling this intense over my village.”
“I woke up around 2:30 a.m. and heard sounds of explosions and firing across the border. This went on until 5:30 a.m.,” said the resident, who requested not to be named.
India's strikes – on what it called “terrorist infrastructure” – come more than two weeks after militants killed 26 civilians in Indian-controlled Kashmir. New Delhi pinned the massacre on Pakistan, though Islamabad denied those claims.
Pakistan said it shot down five Indian Air Force jets in response. India has not confirmed the fighter jet losses and CNN is unable to verify the claim.
“We spent a sleepless night because of the heavy shelling,” said one resident living in the village of Uroosa, close to the Line of Control that divides Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir.
“There were cries of children, women and it was a desperate situation,” said the resident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
A 21-year-old student living in the village of Uroosa told CNN that “shelling was happening all night. Everyone is scared, there is damage in the area too. People are scared and are planning to leave.”
“We are fifteen members in the family holed up in two rooms,” the student said. “We are sitting in the back rooms of the home so we can escape shelling.”
Elsewhere in India-administered Kashmir, residents cheered news of India's attack, according to video footage by ANI.
“This is a very good move and we were waiting for India to give a befitting reply to Pakistan and India has given a commendable reply to them and we are happy that this happened,” Rishi, a resident of Poonch, told ANI.
Another resident told the outlet that “there was much anger among the people” following last month's massacre. “Hence, this was indeed needed.”
An unidentified aircraft has crashed in Indian-administered Kashmir, according to an eyewitness and a local government official.
The aircraft came down in the village of Wuyan, which lies 19 kilometers to the southeast of Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir.
“We heard the sound of a flying plane and then there was a big explosion. We rushed out of our homes in panic and saw it was on fire. Luckily no one was injured,” local resident Abdul Rashid told CNN.
A duty officer at the fire service headquarters in Srinagar told CNN that a fighter aircraft had crashed on a school building in Wuyan.
“Our personnel are still at the site and details are awaited,” the officer, who requested anonymity, said.
Photos published by AFP news agency showed aircraft wreckage lying in a field next to a red brick building in Wuyan, which CNN has also geolocated.
It was not immediately clear from the pictures of the wreckage who the aircraft belonged to.
Locals in Srinagar heard a loud explosion earlier on Wednesday around the time when India said it was conducting airstrikes against Pakistan.
The name India chose for its military operation against Pakistan appears laden with religious symbolism.
“Operation Sindoor” is a reference to the red vermilion, or powder, many Hindu women wear on their foreheads after marriage.
April's massacre on civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir left several women widowed.
In the days following the attack, an image of a woman lying next to the lifeless body of her husband went viral, becoming a symbol of the pain and heartbreak endured by victims of the assault.
India's defense and foreign ministers have both posted an image on X of the name of the operation, which depicts the red powder.
“The world must show zero tolerance for terrorism,” India's Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar wrote on X.
“Victory to India,” Defense Minister Rajnath Singh wrote in Hindi.
Following India's strikes on what it said was “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said “the world must show zero tolerance for terrorism” in a post on X.
The strikes Wednesday came more than two weeks after a massacre of tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on its neighbor.
It's now morning in India and Pakistan and the region is on edge after New Delhi launched a military attack on its neighbor in the early hours of Wednesday. Pakistan claimed it shot down five Indian Air Force jets in response, in a major escalation between the nuclear-armed rivals.
Here's what we know:
Correction: This post has been updated with the correct death toll from the tourist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir
Commercial airlines are keeping almost entirely clear of Pakistani airspace, Flightradar24.com shows, after India launched strikes inside Pakistan in a major escalation between the two neighbors.
Pakistani security sources claim three of the five Indian planes it downed were Rafale fighter jets — prized assets of the Indian Air Force that were only acquired several years ago as New Delhi looked to beef up its military.
CNN has not independently confirmed Pakistan's claims and has reached out to the Indian government and military for response.
Before this latest escalation, India had 36 Rafale jets in its Air Force, purchased from French manufacturer Dassault Aviation.
The fighter jets were first ordered in 2016 and began arriving in 2020. At the time, India's defense minister, Rajnath Singh, claimed the new jets were “among the best in the world,” and would make the Indian Air Force “much stronger to deter any threat that may be posed on our country.”
In late April, India signed a $7.4 billion deal to buy 26 more Rafale jets from France, with delivery expected from 2030.
What to know about these jets: The jets come in one-seat or two-seat versions and can be armed with air-to-air, air-to-ground and anti-ship missiles as well as a 30mm cannon, according to the manufacturer. Dassault Aviation also touts the Rafale's Flight Control System, which includes the ability for it to fly on autopilot in a terrain-following mode in all weather conditions.
The Rafale is not a stealth jet, but it is promoted as having a low profile that is not easy to detect on radar. It also has one distinct advantage — combat experience.
Flown by French forces, the Rafale has been used in operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, Iraq and Syria, according to Dassault Aviation's website.
India and Pakistan, two neighbors with a long history of conflict, are in dangerous territory, analysts warn, with Islamabad vowing to retaliate against New Delhi's strikes and the risk of tit-for-tat responses spiraling into an all out war.
Wednesday's operation inside Pakistan is the deepest India has struck inside its neighbor since the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971, the biggest war between the two countries.
The situation is now “obviously serious and fluid,” according to Fahd Humayun, an assistant professor of political science at Tufts University. “Retaliation to India's actions will likely now be inevitable.”
India's decision to strike comes more than two weeks after 26 people, mostly Indian civilians, were massacred in an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the assault, a claim Pakistan denies.
Pakistan said eight people were killed during India's Wednesday strikes, including children, in what the country's prime minister described as “an act of war.” Islamabad also claimed it shot down five Indian Air Force planes and a drone during the attack.
New Delhi has not publicly confirmed Pakistan's claim and CNN cannot independently it.
While India's decision to strike Pakistan isn't unsurprising – analysts had been saying it was a matter of when, and not if – analysts fear we could see further escalations between the two nuclear-armed nations in the coming hours and days.
“If the war escalates, even if not to the nuclear threshold, it is very likely to hold grave consequences for Indians and Pakistanis alike, as well as the broader region and the world,” said Derek J. Grossman, a senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation, a US-based think tank.
India's strikes against Pakistan come more than two weeks of mounting pressure on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to forcefully retaliate against its neighbor after a tourist massacre in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Last month militants stormed the mountainous and picturesque district of Pahalgam and killed 25 Indian tourists in the worst assault on Indian civilians in recent years. The massacre immediately cratered already hostile relations between New Delhi and Islamabad, with New Delhi swift to blame its neighbor.
Modi – a strongman Hindu-nationalist leader who has positioned himself as the protector of the nation and last year won a rare third term in power – immediately vowed to pursue the attackers “to the ends of the earth.”
He governs a proud, nationalistic nation that believes in its ability to handle difficult situations.
Following the massacre, India's loud and often jingoistic media immediately called for blood.
“We want revenge” read a headline on one channel. “Bharat is battle ready,” read another, referring to India by its Sanskrit title.
Analysts say it was only a matter of time before Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) responded with force.
“Modi and his government believe it is imperative to respond to Pahalgam,” said Derek J. Grossman, a senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation, a US-based think tank.
“Indians are very likely to support New Delhi's response – regardless of what it is, perhaps except for a nuclear response – because they believe Pakistan must be deterred in the future.”
The chief minister of Pakistan's Punjab province has asked hospitals in the region to remain on alert and ordered schools to remain closed on Wednesday.
According to Pakistan's military, six of the eight people killed in the strikes died in attacks on Ahmadpur East and Muridke in the Punjab province. CNN cannot independently verify the claim.
Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Punjab's chief minister, announced she had issued emergency response orders for Punjab, in a post on X Tuesday.
The chief minister called on rescue teams, district administration and hospitals to remain on alert. She also said educational institutions in the province will remain closed on Wednesday.
Sharif said Pakistan wanted peace but would become “a legion” if war was imposed.
“India started it, we'll finish it,” she wrote on X, adding that the whole nation stands with the Pakistani military.
Three civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir were killed in shelling by Pakistani troops from across the border, according to the Indian Army.
The Pakistan Army “resorted to arbitrary firing and artillery shelling” from posts across the Line of Control that divides the disputed territory of Kashmir, the Indian Army said in a statement.
“Indian Army are responding in proportionate manner,” the statement said.
Schools, colleges and educational institutions will be closed today across Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri and Poonch “in view of the prevailing situation,” according to Divisional Commissioner Jammu.
These are areas in the Indian territory.
Five Indian Air Force jets and one drone were shot down by Pakistan during India's attack, according to Pakistani security sources.
In a statement released to reporters, the security sources said three French-made Rafale jets, one MiG-29 and one SU-30 fighter jets were downed “in self-defense.” An Indian Heron drone was also shot down, they added.
A second senior Pakistani government official confirmed the same list of downed aircraft.
The briefing did not say precisely where the jets were downed or how.
Pakistani officials had earlier briefed that they shot down three aircraft and a drone.
CNN cannot independently verify the claims and has reached out to the Indian government for a response.
The United Arab Emirates is asking for India and Pakistan “to exercise restraint, de-escalate tensions, and avoid further escalation that could threaten regional and international peace,” according to a statement from UAE Deputy Prime Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
“His Highness reaffirmed that diplomacy and dialogue remain the most effective means of peacefully resolving crises, and achieving the shared aspirations of nations for peace, stability, and prosperity,” the statement read.
Eight people were killed, including children, and 35 injured, Pakistan's military spokesperson said after India launched military strikes on targets in Pakistan early Wednesday.
India targeted six locations with 24 strikes in both Pakistan and Pakistan administered-Kashmir, spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a news conference early Wednesday.
Previously, Pakistan said five locations were struck. India has said nine sites in total were targeted.
Five people were killed, including a 3-year-old girl, in Ahmadpur East, in Pakistan's Punjab Province, Chaudhry said. One man was also killed in Punjab's Muridke, a city near Lahore, the capital of the province.
In Pakistan administered-Kashmir, a 16-year-old girl and 18-year-old man were killed in the city of Kotli, he added.
Mosques were targeted in the strikes, according to the military spokesperson.
CNN cannot independently verify the claim.
Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly identified the capital of Pakistan, which is Islamabad.
India defended its military operation in Pakistan on Wednesday, claiming that its actions were “focused and precise.”
“They were measured, responsible and designed to be non-escalatory in nature,” the Embassy of India said in a statement. “No Pakistani civilian, economic or military targets have been hit. Only known terror camps were targeted.”
According to Pakistani sources, at least eight people were killed in Wednesday's operations, “including women and children.” Pakistani sources also said three Indian Air Force planes and a drone were shot down in locations “within Indian territory.” CNN cannot independently confirm the claims and has reached out to the Indian Ministry of Defence.
The embassy statement said it was clear that “Pakistani-based terrorists” were responsible for last month's attack in Kashmir. But that instead of taking action, Pakistan “indulged in denial and made allegations of false flag operations against India.”
Kashmir has been a flashpoint in India-Pakistan relations since both gained their independence from Britain in 1947. The two nations to emerge from the bloody partition of British India — Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India — both claim Kashmir in full, and months after becoming independent, fought their first of three wars over the territory.
Here's a quick recap:
1947: India and Pakistan gain independence from Great Britain. The ruler of Kashmir initially decides to remain independent, choosing not to become a part of either Pakistan or India. After militants from Pakistan invade, he signs a letter acceding to India. Pakistan does not recognize the letter as a legal document, sparking war. In 1949, the two countries agree to withdraw all troops behind a mutually agreed ceasefire line, later known as the Line of Control.
1965: India and Pakistan go to war again over Kashmir. The clash did not resolve the dispute over the territory.
1971: This was the biggest war fought between the two countries, which led to a humiliating loss for Pakistan and the creation of the state of Bangladesh from the region formerly known as East Pakistan.
1999: India and Pakistan fight a limited border conflict in Kashmir, after armed invaders from Pakistan cross the Line of Control in the town of Kargil.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the April attack in Kashmir, and urged India and Pakistan to “avoid a military confrontation that could easily spin out of control.”
“Make no mistake: A military solution is no solution,” Guterres wrote in a post on X, noting that tensions between the two neighbors are “at their highest in years.”
At least three Indian Air Force planes have been shot down, Pakistani security and government sources have told CNN, in the latest in the latest escalation between the two countries.
It comes shortly after India said it launched a military operation in Pakistan, hitting “terrorist infrastructure.” India has not confirmed the loss of any jets, CNN has reached out to the India authorities for comment.
At least eight people were killed in India's strikes, Pakistan said.
Meantime, a blast was also heard in the city of Srinagar, the largest city in Indian-administrated Kashmir, according to eyewitnesses.
Here's what we know so far:
CNN's Elise Hammond, Aditi Sangal, Sophia Saifi, Rhea Mogul, Max Saltman, Avery Schmitz and Thomas Bordeaux and reporter Vedika Sud contributed reporting to this post.
A third Indian aircraft has been shot down by Pakistan, Pakistani security and government sources have told CNN.
A senior Pakistani intelligence source said three Indian jets were shot down in locations “within Indian territory,” as well as a drone.
A separate senior Pakistan government source confirmed that three aircraft and a drone were shot down.
CNN cannot independently verify the claims and is reaching out to the Indian government and military for a response.
India's strikes against Pakistan are the deepest New Delhi has ventured into Pakistan's undisputed borders since the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971.
Pakistan on Wednesday said five locations were struck by India, three of them in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and two in Pakistan's Punjab province.
The locations in Punjab are Ahmadpur East and Muridke.
The 1971 Indo-Pakistani War was a major military conflict between India and Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh.
The last time India struck inside Pakistan's undisputed borders was in 2019, when Indian jets conducted airstrikes on several targets after it blamed Islamabad for a suicide car bomb attack that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary personnel in the region.
A blast was heard in the city of Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir early Wednesday, eyewitnesses told CNN.
The cause of the blast is not yet known. Srinagar is the largest city in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Reports of the blast come after India launched a military operation against Pakistan, in a major escalation between the two neighbors following a massacre on tourists inside Indian-administered Kashmir.
India and Pakistan each control parts of Kashmir but claim it in full and have fought three wars over the territory. Kashmir is one of the most militarized places in the world.
Wednesday's strikes by India are the most significant military actions since 2019, when Indian jets conducted airstrikes on several targets inside Pakistan.
India's Minister of Defense has publicly responded to the military operation launched against Pakistan.
“Victory to India!” Rajnath Singh wrote on X in Hindi, in a short statement.
Senior India officials have spoken to their counterparts in a number of countries to brief them on the steps taken by New Delhi, a senior Indian government official told CNN.
Among the countries briefed were the United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Russia.
Pakistan's military claims it has shot down two Indian Air Force aircraft.
“There are two confirmed aircraft of the Indian Air Force have already been shot down,” Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, spokesperson for the Pakistani military, told CNN's Jim Sciutto. “There are other reports of multiple damages that the Pakistani forces, both on ground and air, have inflicted. But I can confirm you at least two aircraft of Indian Air Force that have been downed,” he added.
CNN cannot independently confirm Chaudhry's claims that Indian planes were shot down. We are reaching out to the Indian Ministry of Defence for comment.
The locations of the engagement are “around Bhatinda” and Akhnoor, Chaudhry added, noting that there is an engagement “already ongoing between the two air forces.”
Bhatinda is a small town in the Indian state of Punjab that borders Pakistan and Akhnoor is located in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan issued a notice Tuesday night closing airspace around Lahore, in the country's north, and the coastal city of Karachi amid airstrikes from India. The notice went into effect at 4:30 p.m. ET and is scheduled to expire on at 2:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
The notice to airmen, also known as a NOTAM, appears to have diverted numerous flights with routes planned through or near Pakistani airspace, according to flight data reviewed by CNN from FlightRadar24.
Citing the “changing airspace conditions in the region,” major Indian airline IndiGo reported impacted flights in and out of Jammu, Srinagar, Amritsar, Leh, Chandigarh, Dharamshala and Bikaner. SpiceJet, another airline, said some airports in northern India are closed “until further notice.”
As tensions between India and Pakistan increased in recent weeks after an April mass shooting in the disputed Kashmir territory, numerous airlines have avoided flying over Pakistan, including Air France and Lufthansa.
India said early Wednesday it had launched a military operation against Pakistan, hitting “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and Pakistan administered-Kashmir.
Relations between India and Pakistan have cratered in recent weeks following a deadly rampage by gunmen who murdered 26 people, the majority Indian tourists, at a scenic spot in Kashmir. Read more about the attack.
Here's what you need to know:
Targets: India said nine sites in total were targeted. Pakistan said five locations were struck, three of them in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and two in Pakistan's Punjab province.
Casualties: At least three people were killed, Pakistan said.
What India has said since: “Justice is Served,” the Indian Army wrote on X in a short statement, its first since the operation's launch. “Jai Hind!” (Victory to India)
Pakistan's response: Pakistan's military claims it has shot down two Indian Air Force aircraft. CNN cannot independently verify the claim. Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said the country “has every right to give a befitting reply to this act of war imposed by India and a befitting reply is being given.” A military spokesperson said the country “will respond to it at a time and place of its own choosing.”
Flashpoint: Kashmir is one of the world's most dangerous flashpoints and is controlled in part by India and Pakistan but both countries claim it in its entirety. The two nuclear-armed rivals have fought three wars over the mountainous territory that is now divided by a de-facto border called the Line of Control (LOC) since their independence from Britain nearly 80 years ago.
Pakistan has called India's strikes an “unprovoked and blatant act of war” in a statement early Wednesday.
“The Indian Air Force, while remaining within Indian airspace, has violated Pakistan's sovereignty using standoff weapons, targeting civilian population across international border in Muridke and Bahawalpur, and across Line of Control in Kotli and Muzaffarabad,” a statement from Pakistan's foreign ministry said.
“India's act of aggression has resulted in martyrdom of civilians, including women and children. This act of aggression has also caused grave threat to commercial air traffic.”
India early Wednesday said it launched a military operation against Pakistan, hitting “terrorist infrastructure” in both Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, in a major escalation between the two neighbors.
The attacks come more than two weeks after a massacre on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on its neighbor — a claim Islamabad denies.
Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said the country “has every right to give a befitting reply to this act of war imposed by India and a befitting reply is being given.”
“The Pakistani nation and the Pakistani Armed Forces know how to deal with the enemy very well,” the prime minister's office said in a statement. “The enemy will never be allowed to succeed in his nefarious objectives.”
The prime minister called a meeting with the National Security Committee following the military operation, according to the Federal Minister of Information.
Pakistani military sources told CNN that India's strikes hit five locations inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
The locations are Kotli, Ahmadpur East, Muzaffarabad, Bagh, and Muridke.
Of these, Ahmadpur East and Muridke are particularly significant as they are in Pakistan's Punjab province – inside the country's undisputed borders.
Wednesday's attacks are the first time since 2019 that India has conducted strikes inside Pakistan's territory, when Indian jets targeted multiple locations after it blamed Islamabad for a suicide car bomb attack that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary personnel in the region.
That retaliation itself was particularly fraught because it was the first time India had struck inside Pakistan's undisputed borders since the two sides fought a war in 1971.
India has now taken that significant step again.
Kotli, Muzaffarabad and Bagh are in Pakistan-administered Kashmir – a mountainous, contested region controlled by Islamabad but also claimed by India. It is an area that has seen frequent periods of military contact and skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani troops.
United States President Donald Trump called India's confirmed military operation against Pakistan “a shame” and that he just learned of the news ahead of his Oval Office event Tuesday evening.
“It's a shame. We just heard about it, just as we were walking in the doors of the Oval, just heard about it. I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past, they've been fighting for a long time, you know, they've been fighting for many, many decades and centuries,” the president said after overseeing the swearing-in ceremony for his special envoy, Steve Witkoff.
“I just hope it ends very quickly,” Trump said.
India said early Wednesday it had launched a military operation against Pakistan, hitting “terrorist infrastructure” in both Pakistan and Pakistan administered-Kashmir, in a major escalation between the two countries.
The US State Department also said it is “closely monitoring developments,” according to a spokesperson Tuesday.
“We are aware of the reports, however we have no assessment to offer at this time,” the spokesperson said. “This remains an evolving situation, and we are closely monitoring developments.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with top officials from both countries last week as tensions rapidly escalated after a massacre in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Rubio encouraged India and Pakistan to work with each other to “de-escalate tensions,” according to State Department readouts of the two calls on April 30.
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told Geo News that “civilians were killed, including women and children” in India's military operation.
“India is claiming it attacked terrorist camps; this is not true, international media can visit the places civilians were targeted,” Asif said in a statement.
The Indian Army on Wednesday released its first public comments since India launched a military operation inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
“Justice is Served,” the Indian Army wrote on X in a short statement. “Jai Hind!” (Victory to India)
Kashmir has been a flashpoint in India-Pakistan relations since both gained their independence from Britain in 1947.
The two nations to emerge from the bloody partition of British India both claim Kashmir in full, and months after becoming independent, fought their first of three wars over the territory.
The divided region is now one of the most militarized places in the world.
For decades, several domestic militant groups, demanding either independence for Kashmir or for the area to become part of Pakistan, have fought Indian security forces, leaving tens of thousands killed in the violence.
But attacks on tourists in the picturesque Himalayan region are rare.
Tensions between India Pakistan over Kashmir have surged in recent years, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government revoked its constitutional autonomy in 2019, bringing it under the direct control of New Delhi.
India said early Wednesday it had launched a military operation against Pakistan, hitting “terrorist infrastructure” in both Pakistan and Pakistan administered-Kashmir, in a major escalation of tensions between the two neighbors and in response to an attack on tourists in India-administered Kashmir on April 22.
Here's what you need to know about the attack:
What happened: Gunmen opened fire on tourists in a popular travel destination in the mountainous destination of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir. At least 25 Indian citizens and one Nepali national were killed in the massacre, which unfolded in a valley only accessible by foot or on horseback. Eyewitnesses described scenes of horror as the gunmen approached, opening fire on people from close range. Some recalled how the men among the group were singled out and shot at. Other survivors told local media the gunmen accused some of the victims of supporting Prime Minister Modi.
Who claimed responsibility: Kashmir Resistance, also known as The Resistance Front (TRF), claimed responsibility for the attack on social media but it has reportedly since walked back that claim, according to multiple local media reports. Pakistan has denied involvement. India has not publicly blamed any group for the attack but has justified its retaliatory moves as a response to Pakistan's alleged “support for cross-border terrorism.”
Some background: India has long accused Pakistan of harboring Islamist militant groups that target Kashmir, something Islamabad denies. Attacks by militants have in the past led to a sharp escalation of tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, both of whom have rival claims to the Himalayan region. India conducted air strikes inside Pakistan in 2019 following an insurgent attack on Indian soldiers.
Three people, including a child, have been killed by Indian strikes in Pakistan, the country's military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told Pakistani outlet Geo TV.
Chaudhry also told Geo TV that mosques were targeted.
“The attacks on mosques indicate [Indian Prime Minister Narendra] Modi and RSS's Hindutva mentality,” Chaudhry said referring to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing paramilitary organization that advocates Hindu supremacy within India.
Kashmir, one of the world's most dangerous flashpoints, is controlled in part by India and Pakistan but both countries claim it in its entirety.
The two nuclear-armed rivals have fought three wars over the mountainous territory that is now divided by a de-facto border called the Line of Control (LOC) since their independence from Britain nearly 80 years ago.
Tensions ratcheted up again after gunmen massacred 26 civilians in Pahalgam in Indian-controlled Kashmir on last month, the deadliest assault on Indians in recent years.
India has accused Pakistan of being involved in the Pahalgam attack — a claim Islamabad denies. Pakistan has offered a neutral investigation into the incident.
The massacre sparked immediate widespread anger in India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been under tremendous pressure to retaliate with force.
In the days after the Pahalgam attack, both countries swiftly downgraded ties with each other and have been since been engaging in escalating tit-for-tat hostilities.
India ordered its citizens to return from Pakistan, shut a major border crossing and suspended its involvement in a crucial water sharing treaty that has been in force since 1960.
Pakistan suspended trade with India and expelled Indian diplomats. It said that that any attempt to stop or divert water belonging to Pakistan would be considered an “act of war.”
Both countries have also shut their airspace to each other.
New Delhi and Islamabad had also been flexing their military might as tensions simmered along the LOC with small exchanges of fire across the demarcation in recent days. Both sides have also closed their air spaces to each other's airlines.
Pakistan's military said India struck early Wednesday with missiles.
“Pakistan will respond to it at a time and place of its own choosing,” Pakistani military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told Geo TV. “This heinous provocation will not go unanswered.”
Pakistani military sources told CNN five locations were struck at Kotli, Ahmadpur East, Muzaffarabad, Bagh, and Muridke.
Three of those locations – Kotli, Muzaffarabad and Bagh – are in Pakistan-administred Kashmir. Ahmadpur East and Muridke are both in Pakistan's Punjab province.
India said early Wednesday (local time) it had launched a military operation against Pakistan, hitting “terrorist infrastructure” in both Pakistan and Pakistan administered-Kashmir, in a major escalation of tensions between the two neighbors.
“These steps come in the wake of the barbaric Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered,” India's Ministry of Defence said in a statement, referring to an attack last month tourists in India-administered Kashmir.“Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution,” the statement added.
India said nine sites in total were targeted.
Multiple loud explosions have been heard in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, according to a CNN journalist.
Pakistan's military said India had struck with missiles.
“Pakistan will respond to it at a time and place of its own choosing,” Pakistani military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told Geo TV. “This heinous provocation will not go unanswered.”
Prior to Wednesday's military operation, multiple major airlines were avoiding flying over Pakistan as relations with neighboring India crater.
Air France told CNN it has suspended flying over the South Asian country until further notice because of the “recent evolution of tensions between India and Pakistan.”
The airline is “adapting its flight schedule and flight plans to and from certain destinations,” the French flag carrier said, adding some routes will require longer flight times.
“Air France is constantly monitoring developments in the geopolitical situation of the territories served and overflown by its aircraft in order to ensure the highest level of flight safety and security,” the airline said.
Germany's flag carrier Lufthansa also confirmed to Reuters that it was “avoiding Pakistani airspace until further notice.”
Both sides had already closed their airspaces to each other's aircraft since the attack, but the increased tensions are now impacting other international airlines and will likely cost them as they burn extra fuel taking longer routes.
Flight-tracking data showed some flights of British Airways, Swiss International Air Lines and Emirates traveling over the Arabian Sea and then turning north toward Delhi in order to avoid Pakistani airspace, Reuters reported.
By the numbers, India's military would be seen as superior to Pakistan's in any conventional conflict.
The Indian defense budget is more than nine times Pakistan's, according to this year's edition of “The Military Balance,” an assessment of armed forces by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
That budget supports an active-duty Indian force of almost 1.5 million personnel, compared to 660,000 for Pakistan.
On the ground, India's 1.2 million-strong army has 3,750 main battle tanks and more than 10,000 artillery pieces, while Pakistan's tank force is only two-thirds of India's and Islamabad has fewer than half of the artillery pieces in New Delhi's arsenal.
At sea, the Indian navy's advantage is overwhelming. It has two aircraft carriers, 12 guided-missile destroyers, 11 guided-missile frigates and 16 attack submarines.
Pakistan has no carriers and no guided-missile destroyers, with 11 smaller guided-missile frigates being the backbone of its naval fleet. It also has only half the number of subs that India fields.
Both air forces rely heavily on older Soviet-era aircraft, including MiG-21s in India and the Chinese equivalent – the J-7 – in Pakistan.
India has been investing in multirole French-made Rafale jets, with 36 now in service, according to “The Military Balance.”
Pakistan has added Chinese J-10 multirole jets, with more than 20 now in its fleet.
Though Pakistan still has dozens of US-made F-16 fighters, the backbone of its fleet has become the JF-17, a joint project with China that came online in the early 2000s. About 150 are in service.
Russian-made aircraft play a significant role in India's air fleet, with more than 100 MiG-29 fighters in service with the air force and navy combined, plus over 260 Su-30 ground attack jets.
The rivals are closer in capabilities when it comes to nuclear forces, with around five dozen surface-to-surface launchers each, though Indian has longer-range ballistic missiles than Pakistan.
© 2025 Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved. CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.
Texas school districts have banned hundreds of titles over the past few years, leading the country in banning books.
Over the past weekend, several candidates in suburban Texas school districts who opposed book bans won their elections, defeating conservative officials who had supported and implemented such policies in recent years.
Book bans in the Lone Star State have largely targeted titles with LGBTQ themes, Black or Brown characters, or authors of the same backgrounds. In the 2022-23 academic year alone, around 625 books were banned within the state. The year prior, the state banned over 800 books, the highest number of book bans in the country.
Local elections were held throughout Texas this past weekend, including school board races featuring incumbent candidates who supported such policies. In many of those contests, voters chose to remove far right leaders who had pushed hardest for book bans.
In the Mansfield Independent School District (ISD), just outside of Dallas and Fort Worth, the board president, board secretary and another board member were all handily defeated by local candidates opposed to book bans. Ana-Alicia Horn, a data management professional, defeated Keziah Valdes Farrar, the incumbent board president who was backed by a far right mobile phone company called Patriot Mobile, attaining more than 60 percent of support from voters.
Mansfield ISD had watered down its book ban policies in 2023 in response to public outcry, but the new plan still blocked children from accessing multiple titles, shifting decisions on banning titles to a committee appointed by the school board that would review any complaint brought up by residents in the district.
On Saturday, Horn celebrated her victory, which came in large part from constituents opposed to book bans.
“Thank you to every voter, volunteer, and supporter who believed in a vision rooted in transparency, collaboration, and putting students first,” Horn wrote in a victory message. “I'm excited to get to work on behalf of ALL families in our district, and I promise to lead with integrity, accountability, and heart.”
Elections in Katy ISD, just outside of Houston, saw incumbent board president Victor Perez defeated by former principal James Cross. In addition to pushing for book bans (including pressuring a committee in the district to reconsider books it had already deemed acceptable), Perez supported a right-wing policy in the district to inform parents if their children asked teachers to use pronouns that differed from the gender they were assigned at birth, essentially outing kids without their permission. Such policies can often result in harm to children, who may have parents with transphobic views.
Cross, who campaigned on a platform of being a former educator “with a heart,” also promised to make the board more collaborative and less motivated by partisanship.
“My hope is that you see a shift (from politics) pretty quickly,” he said after his victory.
And in the Fort Bend ISD elections, Rick Garcia, a board member and backer of one of the state's “most restrictive” book ban policies, was defeated by business owner and community organizer Afhi Charania.
Charania made the issue of book bans central to her campaign, addressing bans on her website.
“Book banning doesn't protect students. It limits them,” Charania wrote, adding:
These policies risk isolating vulnerable students, compromising educator autonomy, and prioritizing control over compassion.
Book bans are unpopular across the country. Frank Strong, a Texas-based blogger and teacher, called the elections this past weekend a “drubbing” of candidates who support such policies.
“I've been covering Texas school board elections for seven cycles, and as I have documented over and over again, book bans, attacks on educators and public schools, and attempts to target LGBTQ students do not fare well at the polls,” Strong wrote on his Substack page.
“Voters across Texas clearly and consistently punished the people who have been restricting students' reading and learning,” Strong added. “They delivered a message: Texans are sick of book bans, sick of attacks on educators and librarians, sick of leaders waging culture war battles at the expense of good governance.”
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MOSCOW, May 7. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused certain EU countries of resorting to "uncivilized" tactics to hinder international guests from traveling to Moscow for Victory Day celebrations.
"In line with the campaign of intimidation of European leaders that has been unleashed by Brussels to please the Kiev regime and prevent them from traveling to Moscow, the most zealous EU members are using uncivilized methods, seeking to close transport routes leading to Russia," she said in a statement.
"EU countries continue the practice of restricting the sovereign right of nations to carry out their own foreign policy, using all means at their disposal," Zakharova went on to say.
She said the refusal of Lithuania and Latvia to allow the plane carrying Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to fly through their airspace represents "another egregious case" of that practice.
"The behavior of the Lithuanian and Latvian authorities is unfortunately not surprising," she continued. "Vilnius and Riga have long reserved for themselves the role of a Russophobic outpost, ready for any wild antics just to spite Russia and anyone who refuses to follow the lead of EU bureaucrats acting as supervisors."
"Malicious intrigues will remain fruitless in this case as well," the spokeswoman said. "No one can ruin our strategic partnership with Belgrade, the centuries-old friendship with the brotherly Serbian people."
"Russia will celebrate the anniversary of the Great Victory with dignity, together with an impressive number of foreign guests who believe it is important to mark this sacred holiday among friends in no other place but Moscow."
Russia views that not just as symbolic, but also as evidence of the "inviolability of historical truth."
Prime Minister Mark Carney meets with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, on May 6.Evan Vucci/The Canadian Press
There's a philosophy of contemporary toddler-parenting that holds that parents should strive to distinguish between behaviours that are harmful or dangerous, and those that are merely annoying. Dumping all your toys on the floor? Annoying. Throwing your toys? Harmful. Mashing food with your fork? Annoying. Mashing your hand with your fork? Dangerous. Parents are instructed to intervene when actions could cause real harm, but to mostly let the other stuff go.
The intention here is twofold: one, for parents, to preserve their sanity (it's liberating to realize you don't have to take up every battle) and two, for toddlers, to encourage their creative expression. So your toddler wants to make a mess of their dinner? So what. Let them do their thing, and get them to help clean up the mess afterward. Otherwise, every meal turns into a tantrum.
I have no insight as to whether Prime Minister Mark Carney follows “@biglittlefeelings” or similar influencer parenting accounts on Instagram. But his conduct during his first public-facing meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday followed precisely what is prescribed by such accounts for dealing with highly irrational, emotionally volatile individuals who frequently test limits and insist on doing everything themselves: two-year-olds, in other words, or on rare occasions, American presidents.
Mr. Carney spoke up when the President mused about Canada becoming the 51st state; you cannot let the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth talk openly about absorbing a sovereign nation any more than you can let a toddler try to cut her doll's hair with nail clippers. It's too dangerous. But you try to speak their language in order to soften your intervention. “As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale,” Mr. Carney said to Mr. Trump. This is the geopolitical equivalent of saying, “Yes, it's fun to play hair-salon, but those clippers might give you or your doll a boo-boo.”
Mr. Carney continued: “Having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign, over the last several months, it's not for sale, it won't be for sale – ever.” And before Mr. Trump's face could turn red, Mr. Carney redirected the conversation; he noted Canada's investment in strengthening its border security, its commitment to its partnership with the U.S., and he ended with a little flattery: “And I'll say this as well, that the President has revitalized international security, revitalized NATO and us playing our full weight in NATO.” You made your doll look so pretty with all that marker on her face.
Beyond that, the 30-minute dialogue was mostly an exercise in the Prime Minister biting his tongue. Mr. Carney didn't correct Mr. Trump when he said that Canadians are “paying a tariff on cars and steel and aluminum,” though the economist in him was surely suffering a slow death behind his pursed lips. Mr. Carney looked at his lap when Mr. Trump referred to former finance minister Chrystia Freeland – whom he didn't directly name – as a “terrible person,” and offered only the slightest side nod when Mr. Trump turned to him and said, “You know who I'm talking about.”
When Mr. Trump claimed that, “We don't do much business with Canada....They do a lot of business with us,” the Prime Minister waited about eight minutes to deliver a gentle fact check, noting that Canada is “the largest client of the United States in the totality of all the goods.” And though Mr. Carney's body language suggested he wanted to speak up when Mr. Trump claimed that the U.S. is “subsidizing Canada to the tune of maybe $200-billion a year,” the President shut down the event before he had a chance to chime in.
Some might view Mr. Carney's restraint as a sign of weakness, but challenging Mr. Trump's every statement would have been a foolish, counterproductive thing to do. Indeed, it was much better for everyone that the Prime Minister picked his battles – interjecting when Mr. Trump said something harmful or dangerous, but letting the annoying stuff go. Otherwise, Canada might be dealing with an awful tantrum right about now.
Though expectations for this meeting were low, Mr. Carney performed just about as well as Canada could've hoped for its new Prime Minister. He did exactly what he was elected to do, which is to act as the adult in what is really a very silly – but high-stakes – situation. Mr. Trump seemed pleased by the interaction, and quite taken by Mr. Carney personally. These are good signs for Canada, and good signs for our collective sanity. We just might make it through to the next dinnertime.
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India launched strikes on both Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir early Wednesday local time. It comes after gunmen killed more than two dozen civilians, mostly tourists, in Indian-controlled Kashmir last month. India accused Pakistan of being involved, which it denied. Pakistan's defense minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told CNN that India's latest assault marked an “invitation to expand the conflict” between the two neighbors — but cautioned that Islamabad is “trying to avoid” a full-fledged war.
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CIA, NSA and Defense Intelligence Agency all included in ‘collection emphasis message', report says
Denmark has said that it will summon the US ambassador to Copenhagen to respond to reports that US intelligence agencies have been ordered to increase espionage in Greenland.
The Danish foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said on Wednesday that he was concerned about the report in the Wall Street Journal, telling the Ritzau news agency: “It worries me a lot, because we don't spy between friends.”
Speaking on his way to a meeting in Warsaw, he added: “I can't know if it's true because it's in a newspaper. But it doesn't seem to be strongly rejected by those who speak out. That worries me.”
High-ranking officials working under Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, issued the instruction to agency heads in a “collection emphasis message”, the Journal reported.
Such messages customarily help to set intelligence priorities and direct resources and attention to high-interest targets.
The Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency were all included in the message. It told chiefs to study Greenland's independence movement and attitudes to American efforts to extract resources on the island, according to the Journal, citing two unnamed officials familiar with the matter.
Seasoned intelligence operatives say the Arctic island of about 56,000 inhabitants has not historically been a target of US espionage activity.
The move will further alarm Denmark, a US ally and Nato member, which has repeatedly vowed that the island is not available for sale or annexation. The country is planning to spend $1.5bn to protect Greenland, which has autonomous status under Denmark's constitutional monarchy.
Trump, who has mused since his first presidency about the possibility of possessing Greenland, refused to rule out seizing the 836,000 sq mile territory by force in an interview with NBC that was broadcast last weekend.
“I don't say I'm going to do it, but I don't rule out anything,” he said. “We need Greenland very badly. Greenland is a very small amount of people, which we'll take care of, and we'll cherish them, and all of that. But we need that for international security.”
The comments renewed a vow the president made in an address to a joint session of Congress in March, when he said: “One way or the other, we're going to get it.”
The Journal quoted a national security council spokesman, James Hewitt, as saying: “The president has been very clear that the US is concerned about the security of Greenland and the Arctic.” He declined to comment on the switch of intelligence focus to the island.
Gabbard issued a statement saying the newspaper “should be ashamed of aiding deep state actors who seek to undermine the president by politicizing and leaking classified information”.
Denmark's embassy in Washington has not commented.
The intelligence messages follows a visit to Greenland in March by Vice-President JD Vance, the then national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and Chris Wright, the energy secretary, that was fiercely condemned by Danish leaders and local Greenland politicians.
Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's prime minister, said the visit put “completely unacceptable pressure completely unacceptable pressure on Greenland, Greenlandic politicians and the Greenlandic population”.
She added: “President Trump is serious. He wants Greenland.”
This article was amended on 7 May 2025 to clarify that Greenland is 836,000 sq miles, not sq feet.
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India launched military strikes on targets in Pakistan, both countries said on Wednesday and Pakistan claimed it had shot down five Indian Air Force jets, in an escalation that has pushed the two nations to the brink of wider conflict.
India's missile strikes early Wednesday morning targeted “terrorist infrastructure” across nine sites in Pakistan's densely populated Punjab province and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, it said. They came in response to a massacre by militants of tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir two weeks ago, that New Delhi blamed on its neighbor.
Pakistan said at least 26 people were killed in Wednesday's strikes – including women and a three-year-old girl – and 46 wounded. The country's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described the strikes as “an act of war” and Islamabad has vowed to retaliate.
From early Wednesday the two sides have exchanged shelling across their border, with locals on both sides telling CNN they were taking shelter. A CNN journalist in Pakistan-administered Kashmir heard multiple loud explosions.
“A shell landed at a house close to the mosque in which two people were injured. Shells also hit other houses in our area and we fled from our area to a safer place,” said Shakeel Butt, a resident of Muzaffarabad, in Pakistani-administered Kashmir. A senior Indian defense source said at least eight people had been killed on the Indian side of the border.
Pakistani military sources later said they shot down five Indian Air Force jets and one drone in “self-defense,” claiming three Rafale jets – sophisticated multi-role fighters made in France – were among those downed as well as a MiG-29 and an SU-30 fighter.
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Grief and fear permeate the picturesque Kashmir valleys that separate India and Pakistan
A local resident and government official told CNN that an unidentified fighter aircraft had crashed on a school building in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Photos published by AFP news agency showed aircraft wreckage lying in a field next to a red-brick building. But it was not immediately clear from the pictures of the wreckage who the aircraft belonged to.
CNN cannot independently verify the claim and has reached out to the Indian government for a response. At a later press conference where Indian officials said their strikes had targeted training camps belonging to militant groups Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), officials did not address the claims and took no questions from the media.
Indian jets have previously bombed Pakistani territory following militant attacks on its soil but Wednesday's operation is the deepest India has struck inside its neighbor since the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971, the biggest of several wars between the two countries.
The situation is now “obviously serious and fluid,” said Fahd Humayun, an assistant professor of political science at Tufts University. “Retaliation to India's actions will likely now be inevitable.”
India dubbed its military action “Operation Sindoor” – a reference to the red vermilion, or powder, many Hindu women wear on their foreheads after marriage. It is a symbolic nod to April's massacre on civilians that left several women widowed.
World leaders and the United Nations have expressed concern over the strikes and have urged restraint from both countries. The US Department of State said it was “closely monitoring” the flare-up.
Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India have inched closer to open conflict since gunmen massacred 26 people in a popular holiday spot in Indian-administered Kashmir last month, with India's Hindu-nationalist government under intense pressure from its base to respond to the attack.
Pakistan was swift to deny any link to the attack but in the days following, both countries swiftly downgraded ties with each other and have since been engaging in escalating tit-for-tat hostilities.
Analysts said it was a question of when, not if, India retaliated.
India said its strikes were “focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature.”
“No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution,” its defense ministry said in a statement.
The strikes have put the region on alert, with commercial airlines keeping almost entirely clear of Pakistani airspace, flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed. The airport in Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir's biggest city, has been closed to civilian traffic, and several airlines have suspended or diverted flights to Pakistan and northwest India.
Video obtained by CNN on Wednesday showed chaotic scenes at a hospital in Pakistan's Punjab province, as the wounded were rushed for treatment.
Muslim-majority Kashmir has been a flashpoint in India-Pakistan relations since both countries gained their independence from Britain in 1947.
The two nations that emerged from the bloody partition of British India both claim Kashmir in full and, months after becoming independent, fought their first of three wars over the territory.
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CNN reporter shows part of disputed territory
The divided region is now one of the most militarized places in the world.
For decades, several domestic militant groups, demanding either independence for Kashmir or for the area to become part of Pakistan, have fought Indian security forces, with tens of thousands killed.
India has long accused Pakistan of harboring these militant groups – a charge Islamabad denies – and had vowed to retaliate against those they deemed responsible.
Tensions over Kashmir have also surged in recent years, after Indian Prime Minister Modi's government revoked the region's constitutional autonomy in 2019, bringing it under the direct control of New Delhi.
Observers say a response from Pakistan to the strikes will be likely, and concern now turns to how to manage what comes next.
“Pakistan‘s response is sure to come. The challenge would be to manage the next level of escalation. This is where crisis diplomacy will matter,” said Ajay Bisaria, former high commissioner of India to Pakistan.
CNN's Manveena Suri, Azaz Syed, Lex Harvey, Dhruv Tikekar, Brad Lendon and Nectar Gan contributed to this story.
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Libya's provisional government has denied claims flight could happen as soon as this week
The Trump administration is planning to deport a group of migrants to Libya, according to reports, despite the state department's previous condemnation of the “life-threatening” prison conditions in the country.
Libya's provisional government has denied the reports.
Reuters cited three unnamed US officials as saying the deportations could happen this week. Two of the officials said the individuals, whose nationalities are not known, could fly to the north African country as soon as Wednesday, but they added the plans could still change. The New York Times also cited a US official confirming the deportation plans.
It was not clear what Libya would be getting in return for taking any deportees.
Human rights groups condemned the reported plans, noting the country's poor record on human rights practices and harsh treatment of detainees.
“Migrants have long been trafficked, tortured and ransomed in Libya. The country is in a civil war. It is not a safe place to send anyone,” Sarah Leah Whitson, the executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn), wrote on X.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, wrote on the platform alongside a picture of a Libyan detention facility: “Don't look away. This is what Libya's migrant detention facilities look like. This is what Trump is doing.”
Reichlin-Melnick added: “Amnesty International called these places a ‘hellscape' where beatings are common and sexual violence are rampant. There are reports of human trafficking and even slavery.”
Claudia Lodesani, head of programs for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), said the group was “very concerned” about the possible consequences of such a plan, saying reports by media outlets and human rights organisations showed that “Libya is not a safe country for migrants”
Lodesani pointed to a 2023 United Nations report which documented “widespread practices of arbitrary detention, torture, rape and slavery and concluding there were grounds to believe a wide array of crimes against humanity have been committed against migrants in Libya”.
Government agencies, including the defense department, the White House, state department and department of homeland security did not immediately respond to the Guardian's requests for comment. The defense department later directed inquiries to the White House.
Reports of planned deportations to Libya come as the Trump administration is expanding its efforts to negotiate the deportations of US migrants to third-party countries, including Angola, Benin, Eswatini, Moldova and Rwanda. This is alongside the at least 238 Venezuelan immigrants already deported to a prison in El Salvador.
Libya is a major transit point for Europe-bound asylum seekers. For years, human rights organisations have documented how migrants trapped in the country are at the mercy of militias and smugglers. Tens of thousands of people from sub-Saharan Africa are kept indefinitely in overcrowded refugee detention centres where they are subjected to abuses and torture.
In its annual human rights report released last year, the US state department criticised Libya's “harsh and life-threatening prison conditions” and “arbitrary arrest or detention”, citing how migrants , including children, had “no access to immigration courts or due process”.
The news has prompted condemnation from aid agencies and NGOs that operate in the central Mediterranean, which have long warned about the harsh conditions faced by asylum seekers in Libya. They have also accused European governments of being complicit in such treatment by working with Libya to intercept migrants.
‘‘For 10 years now since our foundation, as a search and rescue organisation, we have continuously highlighted that Libya is not a safe place for migrants and refugees,” said Mirka Schäfer, a political expert for the German search-and-rescue organisation SOS Humanity. “Evidence from survivors onboard our vessel Humanity 1, includes refugees with traces of torture on their bodies, gunshot wounds, pain caused by beatings, physical and psychological wounds while in transit, in detention camps in Libya, or fleeing Libya across the Mediterranean.”
One person onboard the Humanity 1 ship said criminal groups operating in Libya “sell people like they would sell bread”.
Luca Casarini, the Italian founder of the NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans, said the reported move by Trump was “an endorsement of the horror that has characterised his administration's policies since the very beginning”.
‘‘Libya is one of the most hellish places on Earth, where mafias and smugglers operate with the complicity of the European Union. But Trump goes a step further. The American president claims ownership of this horror by deporting people to a hell that is Libya, flaunting his power. It is a move that drags our civilisation toward the abyss.''
Libya's government of national unity said on Wednesday it rejected the use of its territory as a destination for deporting migrants without its knowledge or consent. The government added there was no coordination with the US regarding the reception of migrants.
Trump, who made immigration a major issue during his election campaign, has launched aggressive enforcement action since taking office, increasing troops to the southern border and pledging to deport millions of undocumented immigrants from the US.
As of Monday, the Trump administration had deported 152,000 people, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Trump's administration has tried to encourage migrants to leave voluntarily by threatening steep fines, trying to strip away legal status, and sending migrants to notorious prisons in Guantánamo Bay and El Salvador.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, last week said the US was not satisfied with sending migrants only to El Salvador, and hinted that Washington was looking to expand the number of countries to which it could deport people.
“We are working with other countries to say: we want to send you some of the most despicable human beings; will you do this as a favour to us?” Rubio said at a cabinet meeting at the White House last Wednesday. “And the further away from America, the better.”
A fourth US official said the administration had for several weeks been looking at a number of countries where it might be able to send migrants, including Libya.
On 19 April the supreme court temporarily barred the Trump administration from deporting a group of Venezuelans it accused of being gang members.
Trump's administration, which has invoked a rarely used wartime law, has urged the justices to lift or narrow their order.
Reuters contributed to this report
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The Yomiuri Shimbun
20:39 JST, May 7, 2025
Two men were injured after being attacked at a subway station in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, on Wednesday evening, according to police.
The victims, both apparently in their 20s, were attacked inside a train car at about 7 p.m. by a man wielding a knife at Todaimae Station on Tokyo Metro's Namboku Line. The 43-year-old suspected attacker was apprehended by passengers and arrested by police on suspicion of attempted murder.
Police said that both victims were conscious after the attack.
Services had been suspended between Ichigaya and Komagome stations shortly before 7 p.m. due to inspections of the train cars, according to the operator. Services on the entire line are expected to resume at around 9 p.m.
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Residents in Gray's Creek sue company after extremely harmful substances contaminate land
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Two years after his heart stopped, Mike Watters climbs aboard his lawnmower and pulls on a black, Darth Vader-like mask.
The US special forces veteran fixes the strap around his head then starts to breathe through the air vents.
It is a hot spring afternoon in Gray's Creek, North Carolina, a bucolic rural neighbourhood where clap-board homes poke through glades of pine trees and wisteria.
Mr Watters turns the key in the ignition of his mower and begins to drive across the grass of his back-yard.
To the naked eye, there would appear no reason for the eerie headwear.
But Gray's Creek is contaminated ground. The grass, the soil, the water – and the local residents – are suffused with PFAS, or Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a class of chemicals so tough they may never be broken down.
In 100 years' time – even a thousand – the so-called forever chemicals will remain on Earth, outliving all the suburb's 10,000 residents.
The source is a chemical plant one mile from Mr Watters's pleasant, two-storey home. In 1980, the Dupont-owned plant quietly began to release huge quantities of PFAS into the air and water, a by-product of manufacturing highly heat-resistant industrial materials.
Today, an emerging science links the chemical class to a host of diseases: cancer, thyroid issues, endocrine disruption and birth defects.
In April 2023, Mr Watters suffered a cardiac arrest that stopped his heart for two minutes and 38 seconds. Now he takes no chances.
“I've died from PFAS contamination,” the 60-year-old says over the drone of the mower.
“I served my country,” adds Mr Watters, who still works for the department of defence at the nearby military base, Fort Bragg. “I've been shot, stabbed, blown up and bit.
“I figured that after everything I had gone through, I could come to my retirement home and relax.”
“[But] no, I'm being secretly poisoned by an American-based company. After 23 years and [time in the] special forces, the enemy didn't kill me – but my water did.”
Chemours, the company spun off from Dupont in 2015 that now owns the plant, says it is not possible to trace health conditions like those suffered by Mr Watters back to its own emissions, and denied any responsibility despite agreeing to pay for clean-up efforts in the area.
In the next few days, the Trump administration faces a court deadline that will impact the drinking water for tens of millions of Americans.
The White House must inform a federal judge by May 12 whether it intends to uphold standards set last year by the Biden administration, limiting the amount of PFAS in tap water to four parts per trillion, the lowest detectable level.
Chemical firms are suing for the standard to be thrown out. In a letter to Lee Zeldin, the Trump-appointed head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), several unions said the standards were too harsh and would increase household water bills by as much as $400 per year.
PFAS is critical to the functioning of the modern world, the firms argue, impossible to replace in the creation of green technologies including lithium-ion batteries and solar panels.
Mr Zeldin, for his part, has spoken with a preacher's zeal of his desire to cut red tape for businesses.
In March, he declared the “greatest day of deregulation in American history,” announcing 31 measures to drive “a dagger through the heart of the climate change religion and [usher] in America's golden age”.
But it is not a given the Maga-friendly former lawyer will scrap the drinking water standards. In 2021, he backed bipartisan legislation demanding a PFAS limit be established.
Mr Watters, who voted for Donald Trump, has written three letters to Mr Zeldin, urging him to prevent more Americans from coming into contact with the PFAS that threads through his own blood.
Once inside a human body, many PFAS are profoundly difficult to expel.
The compounds are among the hardiest substances known to man, formed from long chains of carbon atoms bound to fluorine.
In the 1930s, Manhattan Project scientists used PFAS to contain highly radioactive waste. Twenty years later Dupont sold it on non-stick frying pans, under the brand-name Teflon. Today, milder forms of PFAS coat a plethora of everyday goods, from firefighters' uniforms to mascara, dental floss and paper straws.
Almost all British and American citizens have it in their bloodstream. So do humpback whales and polar bears.
The body's defences are quite powerless against it. Once PFAS binds to protein in the blood, enzymes lack the resources to break it down.
Instead of being forced out in urine, many forms lodge inside the kidneys, liver and other organs.
Over the years, people sicken. In 2017, Dupont agreed to a $670 million settlement to resolve more than 3,500 personal injury lawsuits in Parkersburg, Virginia.
According to the suits, DuPont had quietly dumped PFOA, the PFAS used to make Teflon, into the rivers and ground-water. A 2011 study involving 69,000 participants established links between the chemical and testicular cancer, thyroid problems and bowel disease.
It was years later when Mr Watters first started to wonder if something was wrong in his neighbourhood.
One of his three huskies, Cesar, would race out of doors at the first sign of rain. There he would lie happily in the foliage, water splashing onto his back.
But Mr Watters began to notice wounds like chemical burns under his fur.
After a 2017 investigation by the Wilmington Press discovered the PFAS contamination caused by Fayetteville Works, he had his pets tested. Cesar's blood contained 11,600 parts per trillion, a staggeringly high level.
All three of the dogs, which were siblings, died of pancreatic cancer. “What are the chances of that?” he says.
Since then Mr Watters has dedicated all of his spare time to raising awareness in Gray's Creek. In charge of a local Facebook group, he organises barbecues, dissects legal material and links up with local scientists.
With tufts of grey hair swept back beneath a baseball cap, he retains the air of a soldier behind enemy lines – older, wider in the waist but with the same indefatigable spirit.
“We were professional assassins for the government,” he says. “But this is a different fight. Instead of a battlefield with an enemy that's shooting at us, we're fighting through the courts and with our words.”
On a drive through the neighbourhood, Mr Watters points to a sign for the Fayetteville Works, a 2,150-acre industrial site along Cape Fear river. He has arranged small protests there, dressed as a banana or a piece of faeces.
Other key members of his team are 58-year-old Jamie White, whose porch is flanked with flags that warn of poison, and Debra Stevens-Stewart, a 70-year-old former ER nurse.
In opposition stand the lawyers of Chemours. They say the firm cannot be held fully responsible for the PFAS dumping, as it did not exist during the first three decades of emissions. The strategy is “legal shuffleboard” between it and parent company Dupont, says Jean Zhuang, a lawyer with the Southern Environmental Law Centre.
All around Gray's Creek lurk subtle signs of the danger. Plastic water bottles stack up on porches; nondescript sheds house powerful water filtration systems.
These were paid for by Chemours under the terms of the 2019 consent decree. Through litigation, North Carolina's Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) forced the company to stop discharging PFAS and clean-up the damage allegedly caused by decades of illegal dumping.
It has since spent $100 million on air-purification efforts, including a thermal oxidiser it says now removes 99 per cent of PFAS from its emissions.
But the company has not paid out for damages to residents' health. Exposure to PFOA, the kind of PFAS proven to cause cancer in Parkersburg, Virginia, occurred before Chemours' formation. It argues that the replacement chemical, HF-POA, part of the “Gen X” family, passes more rapidly through the body and has not been linked to any human health problems.
The EPA disagrees. “GenX” is classed as toxic at low exposure levels, with animal studies showing particular impacts in the liver. It is one of the six forms of PFAS included in the 2024 drinking water limit.
Just because “GenX” is excreted more quickly than PFOA, it cannot be considered safer, says Dr Sue Fenton, director of the Human Health and Environment Centre at North Carolina State University. She has carried out tests on pregnant animals that show long-term damage to their children's development.
“Based on the data that we have right now, we cannot say that Gen X is any safer [than PFOA].”
In a recent appearance before the US senate, Dr Fenton argued long-term testing for the health impacts of PFAS exposure needs to be done on Gray's Creek residents like Mr Watters and Ms White. It was only this kind of investigation that led to the pay-outs in Parkersburg, Virginia. Dark Waters, a 2019 film starring Mark Ruffalo, chronicled the years-long effort to secure funding for the study.
“It's really the 20-year-olds and 30-year-olds [in Gray's Creek] that I'm worried about,” Dr Fenton says.
“They not only have those legacy exposures that their parents passed on to them, but they also have all the new ones.
“And they're all of reproductive age right now.”
Five months ago, Sally Arnott's* 21-year-old granddaughter, Eloise, gave birth to her second child.
The pregnancy had been an anxious one. Her first child, Ryan, suffers from a cleft-lip and palette.
Early scans had shown a shadow over the heart of her unborn baby. In October, she gave birth surrounded by surgeons prepared to conduct open-heart surgery on the child.
Francine was indeed born with a hole in her heart. But the surgeons felt it was small enough to heal on its own, without major intervention.
Eloise was “scared stiff,” says her grandmother, who has raised her since the age of eight. Ryan's condition required him to wear a reconstructive mask, and the three-year-old faces several more rounds of surgery.
As a child, before the PFAS dumping was public knowledge, Eloise would run around bare-foot in the horse paddock of Sally's small farm. “She hated shoes,” Sally recalls.
None of the family have had their blood tested for PFAS. But Eloise uses bottled water for all drinking and cooking; she does not even trust the water filter installed at her home at Chemours' expense.
“They know what it does,” says Sally, referring to the chemical. In West Virginia “children were born with all these birth defects”. One, Bucky Bailey, had only one nostril and eyes set at odd angles on his face.
“They know what it does,” she says once more.
In a statement, Chemours noted that other PFAS dischargers have been found in North Carolina and “while we sympathise with anyone experiencing or impacted by health issues, much of the available data doesn't support the conclusions some individuals have drawn”.
Driving out of town, I stopped for a swim in a national park. Families played in the murky-brown waters of a beautiful, placid lake.
Unable to remember if Mr Watters had advised against swimming in this area, 19 miles south of the Fayetteville Works, I kept my swim short and my head above the water. Later I spat out a mouthful of catfish at a local restaurant; checking online, I found EPA guidance that advised against eating more than one fish from the area per year.
These days Mr Watters grows his own vegetables, having constructed an elaborate, $24,000 garden replete with trenches, covers and filtration systems to remove any PFAS. Produce in Gray's Creek has been found to be contaminated with the chemicals. For children, eating as little as 10 blueberries is equivalent to drinking the maximum level allowed in drinking water, a recent study found.
The area's conservative, largely ex-military residents like to hunt, fish, and live off-grid, says Detlef Knappe, a professor of environmental engineering at North Carolina State University, who conducted some of the early tests in the region. “Every single aspect of those activities was impacted by the pollution,” he says.
Mr Watters is among more than 3,000 locals now suing Chemours for “trespass” on their property. By poisoning the water in their wells, and the soil in their gardens, they argue the chemical pollution has deprived them of the joys of home. Many feel trapped, unable to sell up and leave in good conscience.
On March 31, a judge found Chemours liable for trespass based on PFAS contamination. All that remains is the amount of damages, which will be decided at trial. The compensation is unlikely to be a life-changing sum, suggests Mr Watters, perhaps a hundred-thousand dollars at most. He might receive enough to cover the costs of his Wonka-like garden.
This week he will watch anxiously to see what the Trump administration decides in terms of the drinking water limit, due to be implemented across the US by 2029. In a worst-case scenario, it could junk the whole project. But equally it could raise the threshold for PFOA and PFOS from four parts per trillion to 10 (the same level as “GenX”). That would focus the $9 billion set aside for clean-up on the worst hit areas.
After his heart attack, Mr Watters's wife advised him to take a break, reining in the obsession that sees him spend every night after work ploughing through more data. Astride the lawn mower, he let off a familiar guffaw. Only dying a second time will put his war to a stop.
*Some names have been changed to protect the identity of children.
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The Power Within: The Kyiv Independent's first-ever magazine. Be among the first to get it.
Ukraine suggested creating a demilitarized zone jointly controlled by Kyiv and Moscow, U.S. special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg said in a Fox News interview on May 6.
Kellogg described the proposal as a buffer zone with both sides pulling back 15 kilometers, creating a 30-kilometer area monitored by observers from third countries.
He said the arrangement could accompany a ceasefire "in place," meaning both sides would maintain control of the territory they currently occupy.
The proposal contrasts with Russian President Vladimir Putin's demands, which require Ukrainian forces to withdraw from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts.
Russia claimed to annex the four regions during its full-scale invasion in 2022, but it does not fully control any of them.
Kellogg said the main obstacle to reaching a deal is Putin's refusal to accept a ceasefire.
"I think we're close. The one man who can deliver it, I believe, is President (Donald) Trump, as long as Putin agrees. And that's one of our, probably our, impediments to progress — the president of Russia right now not agreeing to it," Kellogg said.
Responding to Kellogg's statement, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow has not received any proposals from Kyiv regarding the establishment of a demilitarized zone along the front line, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
Moscow has listed maximalist demands in ceasefire talks and rejected a U.S.-proposed 30-day ceasefire, which Kyiv accepted on March 11.
"You get to a 30-day ceasefire. It'll get extended. And it is so hard to do this when you're a military guy… to restart a conflict. And I don't think they will," Kellogg added.
Since taking office in January 2025, Trump has not approved any new U.S. military aid for Ukraine. His campaign pledge to end the war within 24 hours has failed to yield results after more than 100 days in office.
Despite frustration with Moscow's refusal to de-escalate, the Trump administration has not imposed new sanctions or taken other steps to pressure the Kremlin.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump previously warned that the U.S. would withdraw from mediation efforts if talks stalled.
Hello, I own a two-year-old Mini, with 11,000 kilometres on it. To my shock, I was told that the brake rotors were rusted and needed replacement. The reason being I was not driving and braking enough.
A friend owns an electric Volvo. His vehicle developed a shake at six months after leaving the dealership floor. The problem, he was told, was rusted brakes, which was considered wear and tear, not covered by insurance. The issue again being low mileage and the brakes not being used. Eventually the dealership did cover the cost.
My question is: is this legitimate? Are cars being manufactured with a flaw in the braking system? – Gayle G., Conception Bay South, NL
Many moons ago, when I was a Honda dealer technician, I recall brake rotors that could be resurfaced/machined a couple of times and regularly lasted 200,000 kilometres before replacement was required. A vehicle owner could get at least two, sometimes even three, brake pad replacements to one set of brake rotors.
Now, we don't even bother trying to save them because they are corroded well past the point of being able to service them. You are now more likely to see a one-to-one relationship, meaning that for every brake pad replacement a set of new brake rotors are also required.
Setting aside the metallurgy discussion (as I'm sure there are those out there far better to discuss this than I am), simply put, contemporary brake rotors are made differently. They now are manufactured using grey cast iron, which differs from the brake rotors of yesteryear that were regular cast iron but with corrosion resistant compounds and quite often coated with a rust inhibiting outer layer. The differences in choice of materials simply comes down to cost savings.
Almost all drivers have now experienced the dreaded brake grinding sounds after their vehicle has sat outside for several days in the rain. The noise often dissipates once you drive the vehicle a short distance.
This is because of a layer of corrosion appearing on the brake rotors after sitting overnight and then the first few brake applications wipe away the light corrosion. However, what happens when a vehicle sits for extended periods? Without the daily drive refreshing the surface of the rotor, corrosion will build to the point where it can no longer be simply wiped away. This is what you are experiencing.
While some consider it a flaw, all manufacturers now consider this normal. The low yearly mileage that your vehicle sees indicates that you will likely deal with this repeatedly. Your friend with the EV has the added bonus that their vehicle has regenerative braking, resulting in the physical brakes being used even less than a gas-powered vehicle. This further emphasizes the rusty brakes situation, which often is first made apparent to the driver as a shake.
Lou Trottier is owner-operator of All About Imports in Mississauga. Have a question about maintenance and repair? E-mail globedrive@globeandmail.com, placing “Lou's Garage” in the subject line.
Shopping for a new car? Check out the new Globe Drive Build and Price Tool to see the latest discounts, rebates and rates on new cars, trucks and SUVs. Click here to get your price.
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U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a swearing-in ceremony for Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff in the Oval Office at the White House on May 6.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Donald Rumsfeld, it seems, is a posthumous poster boy for corporate risk management.
The former U.S. Defence Secretary's quip about “known unknowns” sounded like prattle when he first uttered it 23 years ago. It was a perplexing, yet purposeful, pivot to deflect from the lack of evidence that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.
“As we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say, we know there are some things we do not know,” Mr. Rumsfeld said in 2002.
“But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know."
By the time Mr. Rumsfeld died in 2021, his legendary quote had become a blueprint for corporate risk management. A former Canadian central banker is now reminding businesses about the utility of that framework as they struggle to assess the risks and uncertainties caused by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.
“A ‘known known' would be the erratic behaviour of President Trump, which continues to this day,” said Paul Jenkins, a senior fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute who previously served as senior deputy governor of the Bank of Canada from 2003 to 2010.
Mr. Jenkins, who made those remarks during a webcast hosted by The Globe and Mail, said some of the “known unknowns” relate to the nature of tariffs, their duration and the negative effects on both the Canadian and global economies.
As for the “unknown unknowns,” Mr. Jenkins speculated that one “could be the possibility of the U.S. wanting to force a global regime change” by upending the international trading system.
Of course, no one knows Mr. Trump's endgame – not even, it seems, the U.S. President himself. His nonsensical negotiating strategy seems to know no bounds.
“With such uncertainty, it is indeed hard to have conviction or calculated probabilities about likely outcomes. Yet we do need to face these challenges head-on,” Mr. Jenkins said as he offered advice to Canadian businesses on how to remain resilient.
“It means that we need to give more consideration to risk management, both idiosyncratic and systemic risks – even if we're talking about situations where there is a lack of sufficient knowledge to quantify risks in any precise way."
In other words, companies need to articulate these “known knowns,” “known unknowns” and “unknown unknowns” as part of a robust risk-management strategy.
Canada's economy may be softening – real gross domestic product declined by 0.2 per cent on a month-over-month basis in February – but Mr. Trump's continuing tariff chaos is highlighting the folly of businesses that skimp on risk management.
Chief risk officers, who have one of the most thankless jobs on Bay Street, are confronting new risks, including those stemming from geopolitical events, that are increasingly complex and hurting companies' bottom lines.
Small and medium-sized enterprises, which comprise the vast majority of Canadian businesses, may not have a dedicated CRO. But they too must engage in risk management.
One way for businesses to do that, Mr. Jenkins said, is to conduct possible scenario analyses to prepare for different eventualities.
The Bank of Canada, he added, offered two illustrative scenarios in its latest monetary-policy report. The first envisions that U.S. tariffs are negotiated away by 2026, while the second assumes a persistent trade war that includes permanent tariffs.
The central bank's report certainly provides a foundation to understand the potential economic fallout, but that alone provides little comfort to business owners. Sometimes risk management requires human connection.
“The very first thing we've been dealing with is the highly emotional stress that our clients have been going through,” said Tasso Lagios, managing partner of Richter, which provides advisory services to businesses.
“Obviously, this isn't an easy time. And after coming through COVID, and feeling that crisis was behind them, here we are again with a crisis situation.”
Entrepreneurs are in the unenviable position of making short-term and long-term decisions about their businesses as Mr. Trump creates constant confusion.
“For a lot of clients, the first question is, ‘What on earth is going on?'” said Sabrina Bandali, a partner at Bennett Jones who specializes in international trade.
“People are trying to understand what is real, what is just rhetoric.”
Companies, however, can take practical steps to navigate risk-management challenges relating to imports, she said.
That includes taking a more rigorous approach to customs compliance – not only to determine the correct amount of duties but also to properly declare the origin of imports.
“When you start to pick away at that, what you find is these practices that might not have had a huge amount of risk associated with them now have real dollar impacts.”
Beyond backward-looking economic data, such as GDP figures, there are other macro signals that businesses should consider while they try to troubleshoot risks.
Those include monitoring financial market activity, including any additional movements in U.S. Treasury yields, Mr. Jenkins said.
In a world defined by “known unknowns,” businesses that focus on risk will have the best foresight into what comes next.
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In an interview with Beata Lubecka on Radio ZET, Wałęsa expressed his belief that Trzaskowski is the best option for Poland, suited for the current political climate.
Wałęsa praised the candidate's strong understanding of foreign policy and commitment to fostering cooperation. He believes Trzaskowski possesses all the necessary qualities for a head of state to effectively represent Poland on the international stage.
The former president also expressed concerns about the potential for Trzaskowski's rivals to resort to dishonest tactics and urged caution as the campaign heads into its final days.
? Lech Wałęsa: Zdeklarowałem się głosować na prezydenta Warszawy @trzaskowski_, ponieważ jest w mojej ocenie najlepszym, pasującym na te czasy ⤵️@RadioZET_NEWS @BeataLubecka #GośćRadiaZET pic.twitter.com/1GVN923DGB
The first round of the Polish presidential election is scheduled for Sunday, May 18. If no candidate secures more than 50 percent of the vote, a second round will take place on June 1.
(m p)
Source: Radio ZET/X/@RadioZET_NEWS
MOSCOW, May 7. /TASS/. Moscow is deeply concerned over the rising military tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, commenting on the latest escalation between India and Pakistan.
"We are deeply concerned by the heightened military tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of a terror attack near the town of Pahalgam," the diplomat said.
According to Zakharova, "Russia resolutely condemns acts of terrorism as it opposes any manifestations of it and accentuates the need to join forces globally for an effective fight against this evil."
"We call on the parties concerned to exercise restraint in order to prevent the situation in the region from escalating," the diplomat continued. "We hope that the latest dispute between New Delhi and Islamabad will be resolved through peaceful political and diplomatic means on a bilateral basis in accordance with the provisions of the 1972 Simla Agreement and the 1999 Lahore Declaration," she concluded.
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after armed men killed 25 Indians and one Nepalese national in the popular tourist town of Pahalgam in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir on April 22.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor and struck nine targets in Pakistan. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif warned that his country has every right to respond forcefully to India's aggression.
MOSCOW, May 7. /TASS/. Moscow has not yet received any initiatives from Kiev regarding the creation of a demilitarized zone along the line of engagement, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS, commenting on a statement by US Presidential Special Envoy Keith Kellogg.
The US official earlier said that Kiev was ready for a 30-day ceasefire and willing to freeze hostilities along the contact line, provided a 30-kilometer demilitarized zone was established.
"We have not heard a single statement to this effect from Kiev," Peskov noted when asked whether Russia was prepared to consider such a proposal from the Ukrainian side.
By Air Marshal Anil Chopra (Retired), an Indian Air Force veteran fighter test pilot and is the former Director-General of the Center for Air Power Studies in New Delhi.
By Air Marshal Anil Chopra (Retired), an Indian Air Force veteran fighter test pilot and is the former Director-General of the Center for Air Power Studies in New Delhi.
India launched ‘Operation Sindoor' on the night of May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan in retaliation for a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgram, Kashmir last month. New Delhi stated that it hit at least nine targets.
“Our actions have been focused, measured, and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in the selection of targets and method of execution,” the Indian government said in a statement.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif descried the strikes as a “cowardly” attack and said Islamabad "has every right to respond forcefully to this act of war imposed by India, and a forceful response is being given."
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated to military actions following the killing of 26 innocent vacationers in Pahalgam, Kashmir by Pakistan-backed terrorists in a Hamas-style terror attack.
Pakistan Army and Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) links were established by India's National Investigation Agency days after the mass killing. The public was angry, and sought appropriate revenge.
A wide range of diplomatic and economic measures were announced by both nations following the attack. Remarkably, India has put the 1960 Indus Water Treaty (IWT) in abeyance for the first time since the pact was inked by the two neighbors. Rejecting India's move to suspend the IWT, Pakistan warned that any diversion of water will be treated as an ‘Act of War.' Islamabad also said that it would hold “in abeyance” its participation in all bilateral agreements with India, including the landmark 1972 Simla Agreement.
Pakistan pledged a full-spectrum national power response to any threat against its sovereignty, put its armed forces on high alert, and began selective mobilisation. Most measures were quite expected. But by suspending the Shimla Agreement, Pakistan unwittingly handed over big advantage to India.
The Shimla agreement between India and Pakistan was signed on July 2, 1972 at Barnes Court (Raj Bhavan) in the town of Shimla in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, between then-Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Pakistani counterpart Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. It was ratified on July 15, 1972 (by Pakistan), and August 3, 1972 (by India), and became effective the next day.
The agreement had come in the wake of Pakistan's comprehensive defeat in the 1971 war that split the country and created independent Bangladesh.
The agreement stated:“The Government of India and the Government of Pakistan are resolved that the two countries put an end to the conflict and confrontation that have hitherto marred their relations and work for the promotion of a friendly arid harmonious relationship and the establishment of durable peace in the sub-continent, so that both countries may henceforth devote their resources and energies to the pressing task of advancing the welfare of their peoples.”
The document was meant to lay the foundation of a peaceful and stable relationship between the two nations. It was decided that the two countries are resolved “to settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations or by any other peaceful means mutually agreed upon between them.”
The treaty mandated that the two countries resolve issues bilaterally, and superseded the United Nation's resolution on Kashmir. Perhaps more importantly, under the agreement, India and Pakistan established the Line of Control (LoC), previously called the Ceasefire Line, making it a quasi-border between the two nations.
New Delhi succeeded in persuading Islamabad to change the name of the ceasefire line to the Line of Control (LoC), thus delinking it from the UN-imposed 1949 ceasefire line and highlighting that Kashmir was now a purely bilateral matter between India and Pakistan.
The treaty clearly stated that Indian and Pakistani forces must be withdrawn to their respective sides of the “international border.” That in Jammu and Kashmir, the LoC resulting from the cease-fire of December 17, 1971, shall be respected by both sides without prejudice toward the recognised position of either side.
Neither side shall seek to alter it unilaterally, irrespective of mutual differences and legal interpretations. India returned around 13,000 square kilometers of land taken in battle on the western border but retained some strategic areas, including Turtuk, Dhothang, Tyakshi, and Chalunka in Chorbat Valley, covering more than 883 square kilometers, so as to facilitate lasting peace. Both sides further agreed to refrain from the threat or the use of force in violation of the LoC.
The fact that there has only been one limited war since the agreement was signed reflects its effectiveness.
Some Indian bureaucrats later argued that a tacit agreement to convert this LoC into a international border, was reached during a one-on-one meeting between the two heads of government. Pakistani bureaucrats have denied any such thing. Nor was that acceptable to Indian public.
The Shimla agreement called on both sides to resolve all issues bilaterally. But Pakistan never respected this part of the treaty, and has taken matters to an international level, especially by doing chest-beating over Kashmir at the UN. The latest example of this attitude is Pakistan's outcry over the Abolition of Article 370 by the Narendra Modi-led government in 2019. One critical clause was that “both shall prevent the organisation, assistance or encouragement of any acts detrimental to the maintenance of peaceful and harmonious relations.”
Pakistan has been engaging in cross-border terrorism as a foreign policy tool to bleed India and to foster separatism in Kashmir, as well as to keep the Indian Armed Forces pinned down. Some of the major Pakistan-sponsored Islamist attacks against India have included a terrorist attack on the Parliament of India in New Delhi on December 13, 2001, the attack on the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar in 2002; the Mumbai train blasts in 2003; twin blasts at Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar in Mumbai in 2005, Delhi bombings and 2006 Mumbai train bombings, train blasts in Jaipur in 2008, and the tragic Mumbai attacks in November 2008. The latest large-scale attacks occurred in Kashmir: a deadly terrorist attack on the Army camp in Uri killed 17 Indian soldiers and an attack on the military convoy in Pulwama resulted in the death of 40 personnel.
Islamabad believes that by suspending the treaty it can once again take all issues to the UN or other bodies and invite third parties to intervene in the India-Pakistan disputes. But by suspending the Shimla agreement, the sanctity of the LoC becomes open-ended. It will be possible for either side to unilaterally take advantage and try violate it to gain ground.
India is more powerful, both militarily and otherwise, and will have the advantage. Pakistan tried to breach the LoC in 1999, resulting in the Kargil War, where Pakistanis were not only thrown out but also faced a humiliating defeat and very high casualties. Earlier, in 1984, Pakistan attempted to take control of the Siachen Glacier, an Indian territory demarcated by the Karachi agreement. In response, India launched Operation Meghdoot in 1984, gaining full control of the glacier.
With the suspension of the Simla Agreement, New Delhi is free to use military options without violating any treaty. These options could be many. India could pro-actively target terrorist camps across the LoC in order to slow or stop terrorist infiltration. India could regain territory in critical sectors, especially gains like the Haji Peer Pass, that it had earlier frittered under international pressure. There are other sectors where India can create greater buffer zones to reduce threats to the Srinagar-Leh highway.
When the treaty was signed, Pakistan had the support of the West, particularly the US, because Washington needed Pakistan for its operation against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.
Things have changed ever since. Today the world is wooing India. India is a mature democracy with a powerful economy. It is a significant military power, too. Russia, Europe, the US, the Arab world, and even China need India for economic reasons.
India can now use the leverage it has over major powers to isolate Pakistan. It was encouraging to note that when the New York Times reported that the Pahalgam tourists were gunned down by “militants in Kashmir,” the US House Foreign Affairs Committee rectified the headline, referring to the gunmen as “terrorists.” India's ties with China are also improving – causing insecurity in Pakistan.
The Shimla agreement had not prevented the relationship between the two countries from deteriorating to the point of armed conflict even before – in the Siachen glacier or during the Kargil War of 1999.
The prerequisites for reconciliation, good neighborliness and durable peace between the two, has been breached repeatedly by Pakistan sponsored terrorism. They were expected to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of each other, this too has been violated. Pakistan's army has repeatedly vowed to avenge the humiliating defeat and surrender of 93,000 able-bodied soldiers, “throwing peace into the wind.”
The progressive normalising of relations as envisaged by the treaty was not allowed to happen by Pakistan's army, which has de-facto run the country since 1947. Pakistani Army's power flows from the insecurity of the nation's masses. Steps that were to be taken to promote travel, trade, and cultural relations kept seeing setbacks. The suspension of the treaty has raised concerns about the future of peace and stability in the region, especially regarding the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.
The suspension could potentially revive the proxy warfare tactics that the Simla framework aimed to curb. It may not have immediate tactical consequences, but could open the door to greater diplomatic and military brinkmanship. Revival of hostilities or border instability could derail developmental and democratic consolidation efforts in J&K's post-Article 370 abrogation. The escalation conflict between two nuclear-armed states have already raised alarms in the international community, prompting calls for restraint and dialogue.
The suspension of the Simla Agreement has provided India with an opportunity to recalibrate its security and diplomatic strategies. It also strengthened the case for Pakistan's re-listing in the Financial Action Task Force grey list.
By disregarding the Simla Agreement, Pakistan has done a great favour to India and Prime Minister Modi to reclaim Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, something that the entire political class of India would support. India has nearly $680 billion in foreign exchange reserves, while Pakistan's are $15 billion. Pakistan cannot sustain a conflict. The extent of armed conflict will be graded. It is time to wait and watch as things unfold.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
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A legal watchdog group founded by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has filed a lawsuit against Supreme Court Justice John Roberts and former District Judge Robert Conrad over their alleged refusal to honor Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
Chief Justice Roberts heads the Judicial Conference, and Judge Conrad is director of the Administrative Office. Both are being sued in their official capacity as leaders of these organizations.
The Judicial Conference is a group of committees that meets twice a year to make policy for the federal court system; it is always headed by the sitting Chief Justice. The Administrative Office “handles the nonjudicial, administrative business of the United States Courts such as maintaining statistics and managing Court budgets,” according to its website.
America First said in court documents that Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) consulted with these two groups in an attempt to implicate Justices Thomas and Alito of ethics violations.
In July 2024, Whitehouse asked then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel to investigate Justice Thomas for a string of other violations going back to 1991, including tax fraud and failing to disclose gifts like sports tickets and air travel. Previous inquiries had already cleared Thomas of any willful wrongdoing.
America First asserts that since the Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office cooperated in these Congressional oversight maneuvers, which “are the province of the executive branch,” they are executive agencies, and subject to FOIA transparency.
America First submitted FOIA requests to the Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office in July 2024, asking for all records relating to Justices Thomas and Alito, and any communications with Sen. Sheldon, Rep. Johnson, or their staff since April 2023.
The Administrative Office and an attorney for the Supreme Court both declined to honor the requests, saying that FOIA only applies to the executive branch of the government, not the judicial or legislative branches.
Even if the Administrative Office were subject to FOIA, the requested records “would not be releasable,” as those specific documents are exempt from FOIA requests, the Supreme Court's attorney said.
A spokesperson for the Administrative Office of the United States Courts said the organization cannot comment on pending lawsuits.
A law requiring U.S. streaming giants to inject millions into Canada's creative sector risks becoming a target in Washington amid President Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs on all foreign-produced films, experts say.
A body representing several U.S. platforms called Tuesday for a halt to the implementation of Ottawa's Online Streaming Act, which has yet to be fully enacted by Canada's broadcasting regulator.
Adam Taylor, a trade expert representing U.S. movie studios and streaming platforms, said foreign interactions with the U.S. screen industry are now “fully in the crosshairs of the Trump administration,” and the act – which was known as Bill C-11 – is likely to become another sticking point in trade negotiations.
Mr. Taylor said that “with the Trump administration targeting Canada's film industry,” it is only a matter of time before the Online Streaming Act moves up the agenda in Washington.
He said he thinks Canada should put revisiting the act on the table with the White House to stop the issue from escalating.
“We know that the U.S. Trade Representative has already flagged the Online Streaming Act as a bilateral trade issue of concern that discriminates against U.S. companies, and so we should fully expect that this issue is now in the basket of other bilateral trade issues that are going to need to be negotiated,” he said.
The act modernized Canada's broadcasting law, requiring foreign streaming platforms to support Canadian creative industries – including film and TV – as traditional broadcasters do. They are also required to promote Canadian content.
The law will compel foreign streaming giants to collectively pay about $200-million a year to support Canadian music, TV, film and radio.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has yet to fully implement the Online Streaming Act, which received royal assent two years ago. It is currently looking at modernizing the official definition of Canadian content.
Graham Davies, president and chief executive of the Digital Media Association – which represents companies with streaming platforms, including Amazon, Apple and YouTube – said the act “is discriminatory” and “unfairly punishes streaming services.”
“We are urging the new federal government to reconsider the continued implementation of this flawed legislation,” he said.
Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in internet law at the University of Ottawa, said the regime set up by Bill C-11, mandating payments by American streaming platforms to pay for Canadian productions, could be seen as protectionist and “pose significant risks in the Trump era.”
“There's a significant risk that especially Bill C-11 could become the target for Trump's clear concerns about the state of the U.S. film sector,” he said.
Last year, 19 members of Congress, including 11 Republicans, wrote to then-U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai, saying the act discriminates against Americans and asking her to take up the matter with Canada.
It was raised as an issue of concern by Ms. Tai before Mr. Trump took office in January. Bill C-11 was also raised during talks in 2022 at the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Free Trade Commission ministerial meeting.
Last year, several foreign streaming platforms – including Netflix, Amazon and Spotify – launched Federal Court challenges to how the regulator is implementing the Online Streaming Act.
Mr. Trump's tariff threat prompted calls from within Canada's film sector for greater domestic support for the industry.
Reynolds Mastin, president and CEO of the Canadian Media Producers Association, said in an e-mail that Mr. Trump's announcement “is further proof that Canada must have rules in place that support a strong, independent domestic industry.”
“We can partner with foreign companies – in fact we want to – but we need to be able to tell our stories without depending on them.”
Jack Blum, executive director of Reel Canada, said Mr. Trump's pronouncement is “potentially disastrous” not just for the Canadian film industry but the Hollywood studios, and “entirely incomprehensible.”
“I can't imagine the voices against this being any louder than in LA,” he added.
He said the film industry is “integrated across the world” and big film productions involve expertise in many countries, which “works extremely well.”
As well as shooting on location in Canada, U.S. film studios rely on Canadian expertise including in sound editing, animation and special effects, he said.
Canada must develop not just its own film industry but work more closely with filmmakers outside the U.S., including in Europe and India, Mr. Blum added. He mentioned the 2015 film Brooklyn, a co-production with Britain and Ireland starring Saoirse Ronan and Jim Broadbent, as an example of such a successful collaboration.
“We have to wean ourselves away from the U.S. and strengthen domestic production, and reinstate our relationships with other countries around the world,” he said.
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The Power Within: The Kyiv Independent's first-ever magazine. Be among the first to get it.
United States President Donald Trump attributed Russia's invasion of Ukraine to its exclusion from the Group of Eight (G8), now the Group of Seven (G7).
Speaking to reporters at a World Cup planning meeting on May 6, Trump said it was a "foolish decision" to ban Russia from the group.
"If they didn't vote Russia out... I think you probably wouldn't have this ridiculous, deadly war... It was a very bad decision," Trump said.
"They threw them out and because of that... millions of people are dying," Trump added, referring to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
When pressed about whether he would invite Russia back to the group, Trump responded that "it's not good timing now," contradicting previous statements.
Earlier this year, Trump said that he would "love" to see Russia readmitted into the G7, calling Russia's expulsion from the group a "mistake."
The G8 became the G7 after Russia was expelled in 2014 for its invasion of Ukraine's Donbas, and subsequent annexation of Crimea.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, G7 countries have collectively supported Ukraine, including through the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration program, which aims to provide Kyiv with $50 billion in loans using frozen Russian assets.
Current G7 members include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The European Union is also represented in the group.
The Power Within: The Kyiv Independent's first-ever magazine. Be among the first to get it.
United States President Donald Trump attributed Russia's invasion of Ukraine to its exclusion from the Group of Eight (G8), now the Group of Seven (G7).
Speaking to reporters at a World Cup planning meeting on May 6, Trump said it was a "foolish decision" to ban Russia from the group.
"If they didn't vote Russia out... I think you probably wouldn't have this ridiculous, deadly war... It was a very bad decision," Trump said.
"They threw them out and because of that... millions of people are dying," Trump added, referring to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
When pressed about whether he would invite Russia back to the group, Trump responded that "it's not good timing now," contradicting previous statements.
Earlier this year, Trump said that he would "love" to see Russia readmitted into the G7, calling Russia's expulsion from the group a "mistake."
The G8 became the G7 after Russia was expelled in 2014 for its invasion of Ukraine's Donbas, and subsequent annexation of Crimea.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, G7 countries have collectively supported Ukraine, including through the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration program, which aims to provide Kyiv with $50 billion in loans using frozen Russian assets.
Current G7 members include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The European Union is also represented in the group.
Columbia University announced on Tuesday that it will lay off nearly 180 staff members after the Trump administration revoked more than $400 million in federal research funding, Columbia's Office of the President said in a May 6 statement.
The layoffs, which represent about 20 percent of university employees who were funded by the now-terminated federal grants, come as Columbia grapples with the fallout from the U.S. Department of Education's decision to cancel hundreds of millions in grants and contracts.
The department cited the university's alleged failure to adequately address persistent anti-Semitism on campus as the reason for the funding withdrawal.
“Across the research portfolio, we have had to make difficult choices and unfortunately, today, nearly 180 of our colleagues who have been working, in whole or in part, on impacted federal grants, will receive notices of non-renewal or termination,” the statement read.
The university said it has been engaged in a two-pronged effort in response to the funding crisis. First, it is working to restore partnerships with federal agencies that support critical research. Second, it has asked deans and principal investigators to prioritize research activities and develop plans for managing projects affected by the loss of federal support.
During the review period, Columbia continued to pay salaries and stipends for those whose compensation had been covered by the terminated grants, according to the press release.
Columbia's leadership said they are continuing discussions with federal officials in hopes of resuming activity on the canceled research awards and other projects that remain active but unpaid.
They said the financial strain is “intense,” and the university has been forced to reduce expenditures and scale back research infrastructure in some areas. Some departments are winding down activity but are prepared to reestablish capabilities if funding is restored, according to the university.
The funding revocation follows President Donald Trump's Executive Order 14188, signed on Jan. 29, which directs federal agencies to use all available legal tools to prosecute and hold accountable those accused of anti-Semitic harassment and violence on college campuses.
The Department of Education launched investigations into several universities, including Columbia, where “widespread antisemitic harassment has been reported.”
The Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, which includes the departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, Education, and the General Services Administration, has been reviewing Columbia's compliance with federal regulations, particularly under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in federally funded programs.
In response to the crisis, Columbia has established a Research Stabilization Fund to help mitigate future funding risks and support its scientific community. The fund will provide internal grants to scientists seeking alternate sources of funding or completing research for publication. The university will also contribute funds to support graduate students and postdoctoral fellows affected by the loss of federal training grants, according to the press release.
“We are grateful for the exceptional leadership and professionalism of our deans, chairs, and senior management who have come together to navigate this critical moment with care and integrity, while upholding and advancing Columbia's mission, values, and the unique qualities that make this a vital, extraordinary place,” the statement said.
The university warned that further actions may be necessary in the coming months to preserve financial flexibility and invest in key areas.
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Illinois father Jim Walden slams liberal immigration policies after his son was killed by an illegal immigrant in a motorcycle incident. (CREDIT: Department of Homeland Security)
Families who lost loved ones to crimes committed by those in the country illegally took aim at sanctuary policies in Illinois and across the country at a press conference with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Wednesday.
Among the speakers was Jim Walden, an Illinois resident who lost his son, Jimmy, several years ago in a motorcycle incident while Jimmy was stationed in Maryland.
"My son was serving in the United States Marine Corps in the intel field. He worked for the National Security Agency. Jimmy was 21 years old," Walden said.
TRUMP SAYS MEXICAN PRESIDENT IS AFRAID OF CARTELS AFTER SHE REJECTED HIS OFFER TO SEND US TROOPS TO MEXICO
Illinois father Jim Walden took aim at Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker over the state's immigration policies May 7, 2025. (Department of Homeland Security; Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images)
"He was hit and killed by his motorcycle by an illegal that the state of Maryland admitted they knew was illegal five years before he killed my son. And in that five-year period, they had had him in jail five times. He was convicted of domestic violence and put on probation, and he was illegal. He would have been 30 years old yesterday.
"For our governor to get on national television and say that he's gonna stand up and protect these people is a gut punch to anybody that's lost one," Walden said of Gov. JB Pritzker.
"I just call on Gov. Pritzker to be a true governor and stand by the federal laws and deport every one of them, every one. I don't care if they're two or 20 or 80. Send them back. We have a path to citizenship. It's called the naturalization process."
BLUE STATE REPUBLICAN CALLS ON COUNTY SHERIFFS TO DEFY SANCTUARY LAW, DEM GOVERNOR RUMORED FOR 2028 RUN
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker speaks during a press conference at the UI Health Mile Square Health Center Feb. 28, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Noem said she did the press conference there at the "direction of President Trump today to draw attention to the dangerous policies of Illinois and the Illinois governor and what he has perpetuated as far as violence and criminality against his citizens here in this state."
President Donald Trump recently issued an executive order asking DHS and the Department of Justice to treat "sanctuary jurisdictions" as states and localities that could lose federal funding.
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"Springfield needs attention specifically because of the victims that have been here, but also because of the laws that come out of this city that impact the entire state that is protecting illegal criminals and not prioritizing American citizens and the citizens of this great state," the secretary added.
She also noted that the location of the event had a special meaning.
"But we're standing here on this block today because this is the block where a young woman was killed just a couple of houses away from here. Emma Shafer was brutally stabbed and murdered by an illegal alien who was released into the United States by the Biden administration," Noem explained.
Pritzker called the event a "publicity stunt" and took aim at the administration's immigration policies.
BLUE CITY MAYOR SAYS ICE ARRESTS OF DANGEROUS CRIMINALS ARE NOT ‘FOCUSED ON MAKING US SAFER'
Hector Garza, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC), speaks as President Donald Trump and NBPC Vice President Art Del Cueto, right, listen during a surprise visit to the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House Jan. 3, 2018, in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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"Unlike Donald Trump and Kristi Noem, Illinois follows the law," Pritzker said in a statement about Noem's visit. "The Trump administration is violating the United States Constitution, denying people due process and disappearing law-abiding neighbors, including children who are U.S. citizens. Yet, they are taking no real action to promote public safety and deport violent criminals within the clear and defined legal process.
"Trump-Noem publicity stunts do not make our communities safer or our immigration system smarter. Illinois doesn't need to abuse power or ignore the Constitution to keep our people safe. Like the millions of Americans asking for sensible, humane immigration reform, I encourage the secretary to spend less time performing for Fox News and more time protecting the homeland."
Cameron Arcand is a politics writer at Fox News Digital in Washington D.C. Story tips can be sent to Cameron.Arcand@Fox.com and on Twitter: @cameron_arcand
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Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is inching closer to getting a handful of centrist Republicans on board with the GOP effort to overhaul Medicaid in its budget megabill, but promises not to cut federal shares to states are already angering fiscal hawks, who say their support is on thin ice.
Johnson and leadership met with the centrist holdouts for nearly two hours Tuesday evening to discuss pathways forward on reconciliation, the process Republicans are using to pass one bill to codify President Donald Trump's agenda. Republicans supportive of Medicaid have expressed concerns that the proposed $1.5 trillion in spending cuts would run right through the beneficiary program, particularly as fiscal hawks claim that significant reforms to Medicaid are needed to earn their vote on the bill.
But emerging from the Tuesday meeting, several key centrist GOP lawmakers said they are leaning closer to a “yes.” Now, the proposed plan includes additional work requirements for able-bodied beneficiaries, cracking down on benefits for noncitizens, and increasing the frequency of eligibility checks.
This is a deviation from the latest plan that centrist lawmakers overwhelmingly opposed: cutting the federal cost share for states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, or FMAPs, and capping federal payments to said expansion states.
Johnson told reporters “no” when asked if Republicans were pursuing changes to FMAP. When asked about per capita caps on the funding, the speaker said, “I think we're ruling that out as well, but stay tuned.”
Changes to Medicaid that enjoy broad GOP support include implementing work requirements, more frequent eligibility checks, and ensuring illegal immigrants do not have access to the healthcare benefits designed for lower-income citizens. Johnson's office did not weigh in on what other reforms are on the table.
The speaker's decision to side with centrist Republicans on their Medicaid red lines, for now, could spell disaster for leadership, as its reconciliation passage deadline of Memorial Day is only 19 days away.
But, surprisingly, it puts Johnson in a position to hand a win to strong Trump loyalists such as Laura Loomer and Steve Bannon, who have been making the “MAGA” case for Medicaid. Loomer, a right-wing conspiracy theorist and influencer who has been somewhat successful in exerting her will in the White House, defended Medicaid in a lengthy post Monday night.
She wrote that the program is “critical to the heartland voters who propelled Donald Trump to his election victories,” warning that cuts could hit “Americans the hardest in rural red states like Texas, Florida, and Louisiana, where Trump's base depends on the Medicaid program for survival.”
Bannon, a former Trump strategist, has been sounding alarms on the GOP's approach to Medicaid since February, when he told a Fox interviewer that “a lot of MAGAs” are on Medicaid.
“If you don't think so, you're dead wrong. … You can't just take a meat axe to it,” he said.
The speaker can only afford to lose three votes to still pass the legislation along party lines, with that number fluctuating depending on Democratic absences. Though Johnson may be able to get centrists from New York and California on board, he now must wrestle with fiscal hawks who have already expressed their displeasure over Tuesday's results.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), policy chairman of the Freedom Caucus and one of the most vocal hard-line conservatives involved in reconciliation, said he has not ruled FMAP out.
“It's necessary to stop robbing from the vulnerable to fund the able-bodied,” Roy said, adding in another post that the GOP leadership's position is to “defend OBAMACARE policies.”
The $1.5 trillion in spending cuts includes $880 billion from the Energy and Commerce Committee, and the plan proposed by centrists on Tuesday would only amount to $400 billion or $500 billion, per Punchbowl News. But GOP leaders are signaling to centrist members that some committees may go above their designated savings instructions, giving the Energy and Commerce Committee some breathing room as they try to reach $880 billion in savings.
Fiscal hawks, particularly in the Freedom Caucus, have warned leadership that their votes are contingent on strong reform to programs such as Medicaid and Social Security.
“Not tackling substantive reforms to save Medicaid doesn't just mean defending Obamacare policies discriminating against the vulnerable in favor of able-bodied adults with no children and no jobs. … Under the House budget resolution, it also means scaling back the President's campaign promises on tax relief,” a statement from the Freedom Caucus reads.
“Reconciliation has to help solve the budget deficit and debt, not make it worse. Which means you need savings to pay for tax relief. Medicaid is where you get it. Without it, the math doesn't math.”
Placing Medicaid on the chopping block is a surefire way to lose centrists such as Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE) and Mike Lawler (R-NY), both of whom have said they would not support cuts to the program. But Bacon told the Wall Street Journal that some GOP leaders have encouraged him and other centrist members to get on board with reconciliation by promising that any steep cuts made by the House will not make it past the Senate.
“Here's the tactic they've been using: ‘Don't worry about the Senate. They'll fix it,'” Bacon said. “And now we're getting ready to take our third vote on this. We feel like we're being pushed up to the edge of the cliff here.”
Things may be getting more difficult for centrist lawmakers to avoid a politically damaging vote. The Congressional Budget Office released a new analysis, requested by Democrats, on Wednesday, advising that several policies the GOP is considering for Medicaid reform could lead to health insurance coverage losses for millions of people. In a letter to Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden (D-OR) and House Energy and Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone (D-NJ), CBO personnel said the per capita caps would save $225 billion in federal spending and may result in 1.5 million more uninsured people by 2034.
This will put more fire behind Democrats' narrative that Republicans are looking to gut Medicaid and Medicare, a worry that has inflamed constituents in blue and red districts, leading to fiery town halls over the last few months.
THE FOUR FACTIONS SPEAKER JOHNSON MUST PLEASE TO PASS TRUMP'S BUDGET MEGABILL
In their first legislative pushback to the GOP reconciliation plan, House Democrats filed a discharge petition on Tuesday to force a vote on a bill to protect Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. House Majority PAC, the leading campaign PAC for House Democrats, released a statement on the CBO analysis stating it hands Democrats the tools to regain the majority in the midterm elections.
“It's clear as day: House Republicans are ripping health care away from millions of Americans to hand tax breaks to billionaires—and in the process, they're writing the playbook for Democrats to take back the House in 2026,” HMP spokeswoman Katarina Flicker said.
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XX-XY Athletics founder Jennifer Sey on Washington State failing to pass proposals to protect girls' sports and a report that former President Joe Biden secretly believed that trans athletes shouldn't compete alongside women.
FIRST ON FOX: Republican lawmakers are re-introducing legislation to make sure parents seeking to only raise a child of their biological sex do not face extra roadblocks in the adoption and fostering process.
The "SAFE Home Act" would prevent agencies that receive federal funding from rejecting those parents or placing additional hurdles or oversight on them.
The legislation introduced by Sens. Jim Banks of Indiana and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, as well as House Rep. Mary Miller of Illinois, would ensure that adoptive parents would not be obligated to do any "medical, surgical, or psychological treatments" that would try to make changes to a child's gender identity.
CENSURED MAINE REP. LIBBY RIPS GOVERNOR AFTER TRANSGENDER ATHLETE REPORTEDLY WINS TRACK EVENTS
Sen.-elect Jim Banks at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 12, 2024. (Allison Robbert/AFP via Getty Images)
"Kids deserve safe, loving homes and parents shouldn't be blocked from adopting or fostering just because they oppose irreversible sex-change procedures on children. This bill makes sure families aren't punished for using common sense," Banks told Fox News Digital in a statement.
Sen. Cotton said the legislation helps tackle "radical gender policies." Part of the bill's inspiration comes from a Biden-era Department of Health and Human Services rule that makes sure children are put into homes that affirm their sexual orientation or gender identity in 2023. When that rule came out, Banks first introduced the legislation when he was in the House of Representatives, but it did not move forward.
AMBASSADOR OF RILEY GAINES CENTER DISCUSSES 'VIOLENT' PROTESTS DURING FAIRNESS IN WOMEN'S SPORTS RALLY
President Donald Trump acknowledges former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines before signing the No Men in Women's Sports executive order in the East Room of the White House on Feb. 5, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump has taken multiple executive actions related to transgender policies, including seeking to limit "medical interventions" for people under 19 years old and ensuring federally funded institutions only allow biological women in women's sports programs. The actions have faced legal opposition, including a transgender military ban that the Supreme Court ruled could go for now on as lawsuits are ongoing.
"We must defend the rights of parents to raise their children in a way that reflects reality and safeguards their future. The SAFE Home Act ensures that parents are not excluded from adopting simply for having common sense and standing against dangerous gender ideologies that threaten the well-being of children," Miller stated.
USA FENCING PREPARES TO CHANGE TRANSGENDER POLICY AMID FEDERAL PROBE, BACKLASH AFTER ATHLETE'S KNEEL PROTEST
Rep. Mary Miller speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on June 15, 2021. (Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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As of fiscal year 2022, there were over 368,000 children in the foster care system, and nearly 109,000 children were "waiting to be adopted" nationwide, according to the most recent Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System report from 2023.
Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
Cameron Arcand is a politics writer at Fox News Digital in Washington D.C. Story tips can be sent to Cameron.Arcand@Fox.com and on Twitter: @cameron_arcand
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New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is depicted crushing a Tesla with a front-loader in a city mayoral campaign ad.
The ad features Lander crushing two cars, one tagged with the word “Corruption” and another that says “Trump & Musk,” after carrying them over to a front-loader.
Lander was considered the progressive front-runner until March, when state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani picked up polling momentum. A mid-April poll saw former Gov. Andrew Cuomo lead the mayoral pack with 45% support, with Mamdani trailing at 22% and Lander at 8%. Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is highly unpopular in the city and is running as an independent, is not included in the poll.
“New York City needs a mayor who can focus on our problems, not their own,” the ad begins. “We need Brad Lander. Andrew Cuomo spent $60 million of your money to defend himself in court. That's corrupt. But Brad Lander fights corruption to make New York safer and more affordable. Lander stood up to Trump and Musk when they stole $80 million from us, and he's fought for New York, building thousands of affordable housing units.”
“Andrew Cuomo piles on the corruption. Brad Lander will crush it,” the ad concludes. Politico reported that Lander's campaign bought $700,000 worth of ads with $4.6 million cash on hand.
The ad attacking Cuomo is a familiar move for the mayoral candidates. His past sexual harassment allegations, which he has denied, have polarized Democrats. But he remains favored in the race.
A Cuomo spokesperson responded to the ad by sending a picture of 1988 Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis in a tank to the Washington Examiner. The photo-op is considered a gaffe for the Dukakis campaign, which lost resoundingly to former President George H.W. Bush.
Many Teslas have been damaged or defaced as a result of CEO Elon Musk's association with the Trump administration. The vandalism has reached the point that the Trump administration has strengthened enforcement of such incidents.
Attorney General Pam Bondi described Tesla desecrations as “nothing short of domestic terrorism.” She promised to “impose severe consequences on those involved in these attacks, including those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes.”
REPUBLICANS TURN TO 2025 GOVERNOR BATTLES AS PARTY LOOKS TO RIDE 2024 SUCCESS
The Washington Examiner reached out to Tesla and Lander's campaign for comment but did not receive a response.
Early voting begins June 14 in the New York City mayoral Democratic Primary, with the election on June 24. The general election will take place in November.
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Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., on Speaker Mike Johnson's struggle to get enough Republican votes to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government running and the FBI complying with congressional record requests.
The FBI is investigating a sophisticated criminal network targeting kids and teens online known as "764."
The predators are known for targeting minors on social media and using coercion to get them to film themselves committing violent or sexual acts, and then using those videos to extort minors for increasing violent or sexual videos that are then shared with "764" followers online.
"The FBI is investigating at least 250 subjects who are tied to violent online networks commonly referred to as '764' but includes many offshoot networks and names," the FBI told Fox News in a statement on Tuesday evening. "All 55 FBI field offices across the country are involved in these investigations."
The agency added that it is "growing increasingly concerned about a loose network of violent predators who befriend minors and other vulnerable individuals through popular online platforms and then coerce them into escalating sexual and violent behavior — pushing victims to create graphic content, child sexual abuse material (CSAM), harm family pets, cut themselves with sharp objects, or attempt suicide."
DURBIN CALLS ON DOJ TO INVESTIAGTE ANONYMOUS PIZZA DELIVERIES TO JUDGES' HOMES
The "764" predators are known for targeting minors on social media and using coercion to get them to film themselves committing violent or sexual acts, and then using those videos to extort minors for increasing violent or sexual videos that are then shared with "764" followers online. (iStock)
"Some of these predators even watch live-streamed self-harm and other violent content," the FBI said.
In a May 6 post on X, FBI Director Kash Patel called the group "deeply disturbing," adding that it is "critically important to understand what's out there and be aware of the threats American kids and families are facing every day."
MSNBC WALKS BACK ‘MISSTATEMENT' ALLEGING FBI HEAD KASH PATEL SPENDS MORE TIME AT NIGHTCLUBS THAN IN THE OFFICE
FBI Director Kash Patel, joined at right by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, answers questions as the Senate Intelligence Committee holds its worldwide threats hearing on Tuesday, March 25. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
"The criminals in these networks use online platforms to target vulnerable kids, coerce victims, and recruit others — often resulting in horrible cases of abuse. It is absolutely tragic — and I want people to know we're cracking down hard," he wrote. "Remember, last week we announced our agents and partners arrested two alleged leaders within 764. We've opened hundreds of cases around the country and our field offices are fully engaged. This is a priority for myself, [FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino], and our leadership team."
NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS ADMITS THE DEEP STATE IS ‘REAL,' CREDITS KASH PATEL'S BOOK FOR GETTING IT RIGHT
Last week, the Justice Department announced the arrests of two suspected "764" leaders, including 21-year-old Leonidas Varagiannis, also known as War, and 20-year-old Prasan Nepal, also known as Trippy, of High Point, North Carolina, for their "crimes operating an international child exploitation enterprise in connection with a nihilistic violent extremist (NVE) network known as 764."
All 55 FBI field offices across the country are involved in investigations into an online predator network known as "764." (iStock)
The network "seeks to destroy civilized society through the corruption and exploitation of vulnerable populations," the Justice Department said in a press release.
KASH PATEL, FBI TOUT $5M REWARD FOR CAPTURING MS-13 ‘TERRORIST LEADER' UNLEASHING EVIL ON AMERICANS
The two defendants allegedly operated a subgroup of 764, called 764 Inferno, through encrypted messaging platforms. They are accused of coercing or participating in the production of CSAM and facilitating the grooming ane extortion of minors.
They also allegedly ordered victims to self-harm, such as cutting "blood signs" into their skin, and engaged them in psychological torment and extreme violence using threat and manipulation tactics.
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They are accused of targeting at least eight children as young as 13 years old.
The defendants face the maximum penalty of life in prison if they are convicted, according to the Justice Department.
Fox News' Jennifer Johnson contributed to this report.
Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. Email tips to audrey.conklin@fox.com or on Twitter at @audpants.
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White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said President Donald Trump's meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney “was like watching a grand master in chess.”
In recent weeks, Trump unveiled 10% tariffs against Canada that will take effect on July 9 and a 25% tariff on foreign automobiles. Carney and Trump met for the first time Tuesday since taking their respective offices. Miller also attended the meeting and discussed his takeaways on Fox News's Hannity on Tuesday.
“What I witnessed was like watching a grand master in chess perform. President Trump has opened up a completely new relationship with Canada,” Miller said. “The prime minister of Canada talked about finally contributing their fair share to NATO's defense. … He talked about achieving fair trade with the United States and acknowledged the prime minister of Canada. Canada acknowledged the need to strike a fair trade deal with the United States, as President Trump has long asked for. He emphasized, the prime minister of Canada, his deployment of troops and guards to the Canadian border at President Trump's request to keep fentanyl out of the United States of America.”
Trump has floated a requirement that NATO countries spend at least 5% of their GDP on defense to remain in the alliance. Only 23 of the 32 allies met the current 2% benchmark, and another five allies were over 3%.
ONTARIO PREMIER INSISTS LUTNICK IS ‘WRONG' ABOUT CANADA FEEDING OFF US
Meanwhile, Carney's main request to Trump was to stop referring to Canada as the 51st state. The prime minister even repeated the request during a press conference that day.
Miller is facing a possible new job offer to replace former national security adviser Mike Waltz, who will now serve as the U.N. Ambassador. Trump has teased Miller as a possible replacement.
The US Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday unveiled a pilot program for the National Institutes of Health to tap into Medicare and Medicaid data in its search for the root causes of autism.
The database — which HHS said will draw from insurance claims, medical records and data from wearable technology such as smartwatches — is one of the first steps in HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s bid to find the causes of autism “by September.”
Early signals from health officials that they would build a database to track autism were met with swift rebuke from advocacy organizations and doctors.
NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya's initial description last month of a “new autism registry” with “broad coverage” of the US population raised red flags and questions about privacy, the Autism Science Foundation said in a statement shortly after the news. The Autism Self Advocacy Network lambasted the project as an example of how the administration has “completely frozen out autistic people.”
In first news conference as HHS secretary, Kennedy says autism is an epidemic in the US
HHS nodded to those concerns in its announcement Wednesday. It said the NIH and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will start with a data use agreement focused on Medicare and Medicaid enrollees diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and then establish a “secure tech-enabled mechanism” that will share data with “timely, privacy and security compliant data exchange.” The agencies will eventually build out the pilot database to share data on chronic illnesses and their economic burden, HHS said.
“Ever since the registry was first announced, there was an enormous sense of fear in the autism community, and they have concerns: Who's going to have access to data? How are those data going to be used?” Helen Tager-Flusberg, director of Boston University's Center for Autism Research and leader of the Coalition of Autism Scientists, told CNN.
There are also limitations to CMS data, Tager-Flusberg said. “If you're talking about Medicare and Medicaid, that only focuses on certain portions of the population.”
Medicaid is a federal and state partnership covering low-income adults and children. Medicare is a federal program primarily for Americans 65 and older, although younger people with disabilities are also enrolled.
There are permissible uses of CMS data for medical research but very stringent privacy laws, Jeff Wurzburg, former HHS general counsel and a health care regulatory attorney at Norton Rose Fulbright, said before Wednesday's announcement. “One of the primary, overarching goals of CMS is protection of the beneficiary. So it's certainly legitimate and reasonable to raise questions about how this data will be collected and protected.”
An HHS spokesperson said Wednesday, “Data with personal identifiers are subject to federal privacy laws and regulations. This data platform would be fully compliant with these laws and regulations to protect Americans' sensitive health information.”
Autism advocates and scientists have also questioned Kennedy's claim that health agencies would find the causes of autism by September, a timeline that Bhattacharya has already appeared to walk back.
“Science happens at its own pace. We're accelerating and cutting the red tape that normally comes with putting together a scientific program like this,” Bhattacharya said April 22. “We'll have, I hope, in September, something that in place where the scientists that want to want to compete for these [grant] awards will be able to do that.”
The lack of clarity around how this autism data would be used, who would have access to it and patients' consent to its use has spread fear throughout the community.
The Autism Science Foundation was “flooded” with calls, emails and texts after Bhattacharya's initial comments about a registry, co-founder and President Alison Singer said. The latest announcement did not abate those concerns.
“The one that concerns me the most is people with autism who are saying that they're afraid to go to the doctor; families who have said they have concerns about their toddlers, but they're afraid to take them for diagnosis,” Singer said. “It's having a chilling effect on medical care.”
Many in the autism community say RFK Jr. is pushing harmful and regressive rhetoric about who they are
Singer said the foundation is supportive of registries, which can be valuable for tracking care and outcomes over time. But the lack of details about privacy – or dialogue with the autism community before launching the project – has made it difficult to quell those concerns.
“We've tried to allay the fear around a registry in general, but we can't really do that until there's more information shared from the administration about how it's going to be put together.”
The HHS spokesperson said, “Let's be clear: this initiative is about advancing science, improving care, and supporting families. Understanding the scope and burden of a condition is standard in public health and crucial to driving funding, improving services, and informing policy.”
Other autism advocates are adamantly opposed to the idea of a registry, citing the way Kennedy has spoken about people with autism. The HHS secretary recently said autism is part of a “chronic disease epidemic” that “destroys” children and families, and he faced criticism for saying people with autism will “never” pay taxes, hold a job, play baseball, write a poem, go on a date or use a toilet without assistance. Kennedy later said he was speaking about people with “severe” autism.
“This is setting a precedent that it is somehow OK to weaponize somebody's medical diagnosis for political reasons,” said Nicole Clark, a nurse and co-founder of the Florida-based Adult and Pediatric Institute for Health and Wellness.
“Someone having a medical diagnosis going into a registry to prove financial burden — what's the end goal of this? What are we looking to do here?” asked Clark, who also has two young children with autism.
She described conversations with other health care providers about the fear already circulating among autistic people and their families, with some patients asking their doctors whether they can get their autism diagnosis removed from medical records.
“Are we going to use this data to create fear within providers to not want to diagnose?” Clark asked. “This just feeding off of the fear of what we don't understand.”
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The US Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday unveiled a pilot program for the National Institutes of Health to tap into Medicare and Medicaid data in its search for the root causes of autism.
The database — which HHS said will draw from insurance claims, medical records and data from wearable technology such as smartwatches — is one of the first steps in HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s bid to find the causes of autism “by September.”
Early signals from health officials that they would build a database to track autism were met with swift rebuke from advocacy organizations and doctors.
NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya's initial description last month of a “new autism registry” with “broad coverage” of the US population raised red flags and questions about privacy, the Autism Science Foundation said in a statement shortly after the news. The Autism Self Advocacy Network lambasted the project as an example of how the administration has “completely frozen out autistic people.”
In first news conference as HHS secretary, Kennedy says autism is an epidemic in the US
HHS nodded to those concerns in its announcement Wednesday. It said the NIH and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will start with a data use agreement focused on Medicare and Medicaid enrollees diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and then establish a “secure tech-enabled mechanism” that will share data with “timely, privacy and security compliant data exchange.” The agencies will eventually build out the pilot database to share data on chronic illnesses and their economic burden, HHS said.
“Ever since the registry was first announced, there was an enormous sense of fear in the autism community, and they have concerns: Who's going to have access to data? How are those data going to be used?” Helen Tager-Flusberg, director of Boston University's Center for Autism Research and leader of the Coalition of Autism Scientists, told CNN.
There are also limitations to CMS data, Tager-Flusberg said. “If you're talking about Medicare and Medicaid, that only focuses on certain portions of the population.”
Medicaid is a federal and state partnership covering low-income adults and children. Medicare is a federal program primarily for Americans 65 and older, although younger people with disabilities are also enrolled.
There are permissible uses of CMS data for medical research but very stringent privacy laws, Jeff Wurzburg, former HHS general counsel and a health care regulatory attorney at Norton Rose Fulbright, said before Wednesday's announcement. “One of the primary, overarching goals of CMS is protection of the beneficiary. So it's certainly legitimate and reasonable to raise questions about how this data will be collected and protected.”
An HHS spokesperson said Wednesday, “Data with personal identifiers are subject to federal privacy laws and regulations. This data platform would be fully compliant with these laws and regulations to protect Americans' sensitive health information.”
Autism advocates and scientists have also questioned Kennedy's claim that health agencies would find the causes of autism by September, a timeline that Bhattacharya has already appeared to walk back.
“Science happens at its own pace. We're accelerating and cutting the red tape that normally comes with putting together a scientific program like this,” Bhattacharya said April 22. “We'll have, I hope, in September, something that in place where the scientists that want to want to compete for these [grant] awards will be able to do that.”
The lack of clarity around how this autism data would be used, who would have access to it and patients' consent to its use has spread fear throughout the community.
The Autism Science Foundation was “flooded” with calls, emails and texts after Bhattacharya's initial comments about a registry, co-founder and President Alison Singer said. The latest announcement did not abate those concerns.
“The one that concerns me the most is people with autism who are saying that they're afraid to go to the doctor; families who have said they have concerns about their toddlers, but they're afraid to take them for diagnosis,” Singer said. “It's having a chilling effect on medical care.”
Many in the autism community say RFK Jr. is pushing harmful and regressive rhetoric about who they are
Singer said the foundation is supportive of registries, which can be valuable for tracking care and outcomes over time. But the lack of details about privacy – or dialogue with the autism community before launching the project – has made it difficult to quell those concerns.
“We've tried to allay the fear around a registry in general, but we can't really do that until there's more information shared from the administration about how it's going to be put together.”
The HHS spokesperson said, “Let's be clear: this initiative is about advancing science, improving care, and supporting families. Understanding the scope and burden of a condition is standard in public health and crucial to driving funding, improving services, and informing policy.”
Other autism advocates are adamantly opposed to the idea of a registry, citing the way Kennedy has spoken about people with autism. The HHS secretary recently said autism is part of a “chronic disease epidemic” that “destroys” children and families, and he faced criticism for saying people with autism will “never” pay taxes, hold a job, play baseball, write a poem, go on a date or use a toilet without assistance. Kennedy later said he was speaking about people with “severe” autism.
“This is setting a precedent that it is somehow OK to weaponize somebody's medical diagnosis for political reasons,” said Nicole Clark, a nurse and co-founder of the Florida-based Adult and Pediatric Institute for Health and Wellness.
“Someone having a medical diagnosis going into a registry to prove financial burden — what's the end goal of this? What are we looking to do here?” asked Clark, who also has two young children with autism.
She described conversations with other health care providers about the fear already circulating among autistic people and their families, with some patients asking their doctors whether they can get their autism diagnosis removed from medical records.
“Are we going to use this data to create fear within providers to not want to diagnose?” Clark asked. “This just feeding off of the fear of what we don't understand.”
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Attorney General Pam Bondi said she is aware of reports that pizzas are being anonymously sent to judges' homes but withheld comment on the deliveries, which Democrats said are meant to be threatening.
“I'm just learning about that,” Bondi told the Washington Examiner at the White House on Wednesday.
When asked if the Justice Department had a response to the incidents, Bondi said, “Not yet, but we will.”
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, called on the DOJ and the FBI in a letter Tuesday to “immediately investigate” the deliveries. He described them as “threats intended to show that those seeking to intimidate the targeted judge know the judge's address or their family members' addresses.”
“The targeted individuals reportedly include Supreme Court justices, judges handling legal cases involving the administration, and the children of judges,” Durbin said. “Some of these deliveries were made using the name of Judge Esther Salas's son, Daniel Anderl, who was murdered at the family's home by a former litigant who posed as a deliveryman.”
During a brief Q&A session with reporters outside the West Wing of the White House, Bondi said she would speak with Ed Martin, President Donald Trump‘s nominee for U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, later Wednesday. Martin is currently serving in the role in an interim capacity because he does not have enough support from Republicans for a Senate vote.
“I'll be talking to Ed today and find out what's going on with that,” she said.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced on Tuesday that he would not support Martin's nomination out of committee because of the prosecutor's comments about the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and his defense of Jan. 6 defendants.
“I have no tolerance for anybody who entered the building on Jan. 6, and that's probably where most of the friction was,” Tillis said.
Bondi was also asked about House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer‘s (R-KY) comment that files regarding Jeffrey Epstein are “missing.”
“The FBI, they're reviewing. There are tens of thousands of videos of Epstein with children or child porn,” she said. “There are hundreds of victims, and no one victim will ever get released. It's just the volume, and that's what they're going through right now. The FBI is diligently going through that.”
Bondi was at the White House on Wednesday before meeting with victims' families who have had “no closure” after former President Joe Biden “commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 death row inmates,” she said.
“They found out, some of them, on Christmas Eve,” she said. “One, a Marine who had been raped and murdered. Her family has no closure. … These were people who were commuted off death row by the Biden administration.”
PAM BONDI CELEBRATES ARRESTS THAT ‘MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN'
Bondi will hold another press conference on Wednesday afternoon with FBI Director Kash Patel about Operation Restore Justice, a coordinated operation across 55 FBI field offices to “identify, track, and arrest child sex predators.”
“That's a vital report,” she said. “It's a huge case that we've been working on, the FBI, all of my prosecutors.”
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
The deadline to get a REAL ID is almost here, after nearly two decades of postponements and delays.
A TSA employee checks IDs as people move through security at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A TSA agent hands off a non-Real ID for a traveler passing through security at Love Field airport in Dallas, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
A sign displays information about Real ID at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Matthew Nason of Vassalboro, Maine, who needed to file forms for his motorcycle, waits at the end of a long line at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles where many residents are applying for Real ID, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A TSA employee checks IDs as people move through security at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Most airports around the United States operated smoothly Wednesday as new REAL ID requirements took effect because travelers without the updated document were still allowed to move through security easily.
Those without the IDs were given flyers informing them that going forward they would need to present REAL ID or other federally accepted ID for air travel within the U.S.
“The ID you presented is NOT REAL ID-compliant,” the flyer reads. “You will need a REAL ID or other acceptable form of identification for your next flight or you may expect delays.”
It includes a QR code travelers can use to see a list of acceptable identifications.
At Philadelphia International Airport, a TSA agent was pre-checking travelers' IDs as they entered the security check line. Agents had flyers ready for those who didn't have compliant IDs, according to Philadelphia Department of Aviation spokesperson Heather Redfern.
Many airports reported wait times of a few minutes at security checkpoints on their websites on Wednesday morning, although some had longer waits. LaGuardia Airport reported no wait at one TSA PreCheck checkpoint and wait times ranging from 2 to 11 minutes in the general lines. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport's website showed wait times at its security checkpoints ranging from 5 to 16 minutes.
Nashville International Airport reported a wait time of less than 20 minutes on Wednesday morning.
“The Department of Homeland Security's REAL ID policy is now in effect, and we are pleased to share that the TSA lines are moving efficiently,” the airport said in a social media post. “You can help ensure that continues by bringing your REAL ID if you have it when you are coming to the airport.”
AP correspondent Julie Walker reports most travelers must have a REAL ID now to fly in the U.S., or face extra screening.
The day ahead of the deadline, people lined up at government offices across the country to secure their compliant IDs. In Chicago, officials established a Real ID Supercenter for walk-in appointments, while officials in California and elsewhere planned to continue offering extended hours for the crush of appointments.
“I'm here today so I won't be right on the deadline, which is tomorrow,” said Marion Henderson, who applied for her REAL ID on Tuesday in Jackson, Mississippi.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday assured people who don't yet have a REAL ID but need to take a domestic flight Wednesday that they will be able to fly after clearing additional identity checks.
Some complained about the need to secure the ID after waiting in line for hours.
Michael Aceto waited in line at a DMV in King of Prussia, in the Philadelphia suburbs, for about two and a half hours Tuesday before getting his REAL ID.
“It's a pain in the butt. It's really a lot of time. Everybody's got to take off from work to be here,” he said. “It's a big waste of time as far as I'm concerned.”
The Transportation Security Administration warned people who don't have identification that complies with REAL ID requirements to arrive early at the airport and be prepared for advanced screening to avoid causing delays.
TSA posted on X that people may get additional screening but it wasn't clear how many passengers, if any, were pulled aside for extra screening.
The new requirements have been the subject of many Reddit threads and Facebook group discussions in recent weeks, with numerous people expressing confusion about whether they can travel without a REAL ID, sharing details about wait times and seeking advice on how to meet the requirements.
Noem told a congressional panel that 81% of travelers already have REAL IDs. She said security checkpoints will also be accepting passports and tribal identification, like they have already been doing.
Those who still lack an identification that complies with the REAL ID law “may be diverted to a different line, have an extra step,” Noem said.
“But people will be allowed to fly,” she said. “We will make sure it's as seamless as possible.”
REAL ID is a federally compliant state-issued license or identification card that Homeland Security says is a more secure form of identification. It was a recommendation by the 9/11 Commission and signed into law in 2005. It was supposed to be rolled out in 2008 but the implementation had been repeatedly delayed.
¨The whole idea here is to better validate those individuals that were encountering a checkpoint to ensure they are who exactly they say they are,” said Thomas Carter, TSA's Federal Security Director in New Jersey.
Carter said those without a REAL ID should give themselves extra time to clear security.
“If they do that, I do not have a belief that this will cause people to miss their flights if they take that additional time in,” he said.
Besides serving as a valid form of identification to fly domestically, people will also need a REAL ID to access certain federal buildings and facilities.
State government offices that issue driver's licenses and state IDs have seen a significant increase in demand for REAL ID and some have extended their office hours to meet the demand. Some officials have recommended people wait for a while to get REAL ID compliant licenses and cards if they don't have flights planned in the next few months.
“We are encouraging people who have passports or other REAL ID-compliant documents and people who don't have travel plans in the next few months to wait until after the current rush to apply for a REAL ID,” said Erin Johnson, a spokesperson with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
Johnson said that the department has seen a significant increase in demand for REAL ID in recent weeks. In February, there were more than 48,000 applications for a REAL ID; that has nearly doubled to over 99,000 in April, she said.
___
Associated Press writers Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C., Janie Har in San Francisco and Joseph Frederick in Newark, New Jersey, and Tassanee Vejpongsa in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, contributed to this story.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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Between rising sea levels from the climate crisis, a history of nuclear testing causing radioactive pollution and population displacement, the Marshall Islands face numerous threats.
Now, the country – made up of 29 atolls and five main islands in the North Pacific – is shining a light on the struggles it faces by turning to an unlikely source: Soccer.
The Marshall Islands are seeking to become the last of the 193 United Nations member states to have a recognized international 11-a-side soccer team, with the aim of becoming a member of FIFA – world soccer's governing body – by 2030.
To help the cause, the nation's soccer governing body has organized a four-team tournament taking place this summer in Springdale, Arkansas, home to the largest Marshallese community outside of the islands.
But perhaps more important than the sporting benefits of the endeavor is the opportunity to raise awareness of the environmental battle the country faces as a result of climate change.
To that end, the three British men behind the initiative – Matt Webb, Lloyd Owers and Justin Walley – have also created a new team kit. Designed with the colors of the Marshall Islands flag and emblazoned with images of the islands' flora and fauna, the number 1.5 takes pride of place in the center of the “No-Home” shirt, a reference to the Paris climate agreement, in which countries agreed to make efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. A quote from Marshallese poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner is also etched onto the shirt: “We deserve to thrive.”
The message and the unique design were enough to make it a popular release. But it got even more attention when, with each photo post on social media of the new kit, parts of the shirt had disappeared; first a bit of a sleeve, next some from the midriff and then from the collar.
The gradual loss of parts of the kit was used as a stark reminder of the creeping danger that rising sea levels present to the Marshall Islands.
According to analysis by NASA, sea levels in the Marshall Islands have risen by 10 centimeters (almost 3.94 inches) over the last 30 years and could rise by 19 centimeters (roughly 7.48 inches) over the next 30 years, leading to an increase in flooding with “worsening severity.” If no measures are taken, the islands are likely to face more than 100 days of flooding yearly by the end of the century.
Webb, who works as the head of commercial for the Marshall Islands Soccer Federation, explains that while developing the soccer side was the main priority when they began their work, they are in the “fortunate position” to be able to bring attention to an issue that perhaps would fall by the wayside.
“There is an obligation to talk about aspects such as climate change, nuclear legacy. We have this kind of duty of care to mention it at least. And we decided to use the shirt as a way to it,” Webb told CNN Sports.
“It's a celebration of a rich culture of the Marshall Islands and, potentially, what could be lost if action isn't taken. We appreciate that climate change can be polarizing to some people and it's maybe not something they want to focus on in sport. But for us, it would be amiss if we didn't kind of reference it at all. And using sport as well, we've got such a huge platform where other outlets might not necessarily be able to touch upon that.”
The Marshall Islands are home to around 39,000 people and are on the opposite side of the world to the United Kingdom, where Webb and Owers live. But they stumbled across the country's sporting plight in an article in The Athletic in 2021.
The Marshall Islands Soccer Federation was founded in 2020 by President Shem Livai because his son was an avid soccer fan, but there was no structure for kids to play. Webb immediately wanted to be involved.
Webb and Owers both have experience in the Beautiful Game prior to this endeavor. Webb's day job is in marketing but he has previously been involved in soccer administration and founding clubs, while Owers has previously worked as a coach and helped in forming coaching programs for teams in the UK and abroad.
Webb recalls finding Livai on social media and eventually his email before “peppering” him with messages offering his services as a volunteer until Livai, as the Brit recounts, “relented.” Owers was introduced by a mutual connection after which he was appointed technical director and the pair set about revamping the federation.
Webb admits that they faced some skepticism from locals in the early months – “‘What are you doing? You're saying you're Marshall Islands Soccer Federation, but you're doing this from the UK,'” he remembers being asked – but have since developed relationships and connections to establish their credibility as keen volunteers.
While soccer is known as the global game, that is not the case on the Marshall Islands. Given its longstanding connections to the US – the republic is home to the US Army Garrison Kwajalein, which helps in ballistic missile testing and tracking – basketball and volleyball are the most popular sports there.
While many of the youngsters on the island may be fans of soccer, Webb explains, the lack of accessibility to adequate facilities and coaching means few play it regularly.
Webb and Owers set about using futsal – a scaled-down version of regular soccer played with five players on each team and on smaller pitches – to increase playing time, using the abundance of basketball courts as venues.
But, due to the geographic make-up of the islands, space is at a premium when it comes to full-size 11-a-side pitches, which FIFA recommends have the dimensions of 105 meters (almost 344.5 feet) x 68 meters (almost 223.1 feet).
“It's a very low-lying island nation, which is built on top of essentially a coral reef. And when you're there, you can kind of really feel how close you are and how much your islands are related to the oceans,” Webb explains.
“You've got oceans on one side, and it's basically a circular lagoon on the inside as well. So there's points on your island where it's just one road separating the ocean to the lagoon. You feel really exposed at times.”
The country did build a stadium for the Micronesian Games last summer, which gives the islands a useable pitch, but it still has no goals even now. They have focused on acquiring equipment, creating opportunities to play and providing coaches for the Marshallese people to get a taste of what the Beautiful Game can bring.
While they are hoping that this next generation of soccer-mad youngsters will provide the bedrock for a blossoming Marshall Islands national team, their current crop of players is made up of young adults and expatriates from surrounding islands, such as Solomon Islands, Fiji and Kiribati.
With the help of on-island coaches, the British volunteers were able to build a soccer system across the islands. They have seen buy-in across the generations as their reputations have grown.
On top of the sporting benefits have been the human impact, which Webb describes as arguably the more “rewarding” part of what they're doing.
On Owers' most recent trip to the Marshall Islands, he led a group from the island of Majuro – the country's capital – to the island of Kwajalein. He was told by one of his players: “This is the best weekend of my life.”
Webb explains: “We can take it for granted, the ability to move freely between places, but for some of these lads, it's the first time off island or traveling by plane and seeing new things and meeting new people. So there's that kind of personal impact you're having on people's lives.”
Both Webb and Owers are unequivocal in their aim of having the Marshall Islands being involved in the qualification process for a FIFA World Cup. But to do that, there are certain criteria they must meet to be able to join a regional confederation.
The first step on that journey is the four-team tournament in August in Arkansas, their first 11-a-side matches against other international teams.
The “Outrigger Cup” will see the Marshall Islands face the US Virgin Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Guam, all three of which are FIFA member nations.
They have started a fundraiser for the tournament, which they see as an opportunity to bring Marshallese people together.
“We want to be in a position to allow every Marshallese person the opportunity to be a part of our project regardless of where they are in the world,” Owers said. “Uniting everyone in a different place is another opportunity for us to do that.
“I think, as a byproduct of it, hopefully this then propels the project into something where we're in front of those confederations that we've applied for. They've got more awareness of what we're doing, and seeing the journey and the development of where we were, where we've gone, and then where we want to be, and hopefully using this as a bit of a platform to push on from that.”
Webb acknowledges the importance of recognizing the nuclear legacy of the Marshall Islands; the US government conducted 67 nuclear tests there between 1946 and 1958 which “left communities displaced and contributed to radioactive land and sea pollution,” per the UN.
He talks about how much the islanders value community, which too is under threat, as more families emigrate to the US to avoid the impacts of climate change. But Webb believes soccer can help bring the Marshallese together.
“We want to unite people through a medium of sport, and hopefully raise awareness to those issues that people face on daily basis. If we can have any small part in helping that, then we will.”
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ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt says that federal action against antisemitism on college campuses is 'long overdue' but warned the Trump administration risks overreach.
One of the men accused of taking part in the antisemitic sign controversy that appeared at one of Barstool Sports' bars in Philadelphia spoke out Tuesday in the latest twist in the ordeal.
A sign that read "f--- the Jews" was spotted at the bar in a video that went viral across social media over the weekend. Dave Portnoy has weighed in, at times furiously, and offered one of the men a trip to Auschwitz to learn about the Holocaust as penance for the antisemitic incident.
However, that offer has since been revoked.
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Barstool founder and CEO Dave Portnoy is seen before the Florida Atlantic Owls and Loyola (Il) Ramblers game in the Barstool Invitational at Wintrust Arena on Nov. 8, 2023 in Chicago. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Mo Khan, who Portnoy identified as one of the men involved in the incident, released a statement about the antisemitic incident and accused Portnoy of sensationalizing it to his millions of social media followers. He implored those who watched his video to donate to his GiveSendGo fundraiser and blamed Portnoy for the attacks he has received.
"Although I had nothing to do with the sign coming out, nor do I know who did it, I know that the sign was provocative because it reminded people of the unjust things Israel is doing around the world, thus leading me to report on it," Khan said, reupping his claim that he was a "citizen journalist" in the matter.
"Dave Portnoy and his friends can choose to be triggered over the sentiments of that sign and even kick me out of the establishment forever. However, they have no right to destroy my life over free speech and ultimately something that was an edgy joke. Frankly, they're more worried about destroying and uprooting me than the thousands of people getting destroyed and uprooted in genocide."
Khan claimed that Portnoy and the Jewish community have claimed that they were the victims in this incident, but he said he was the true victim. Khan said he was suspended from his university, lost an internship and received death threats over the incident.
Khan said when he agreed to Portnoy's offer of an Auschwitz trip, he was making those statements "under duress" because he does not have the means or connections that Portnoy has. He said Portnoy is "hypocritically lynching me" and trying to cancel him while building a business based on an anti-cancel culture.
Dave Portnoy visits "The Megyn Kelly Show" at SiriusXM Studios on May 1, 2025 in New York City. (Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)
"Dave Portnoy owes me restitutions and an apology for everything he has done and caused for me in these past few days," Khan said. "In an attempt to expose me, he exposed himself as almost a total fraud, going back on anything he stands for."
DAVE PORTNOY BLASTS TV STATION OVER CONTENTIOUS INTERVIEW
Portnoy responded to Khan's statement later Tuesday. He wrote in a post on X that Khan was a "flat liar."
"I talked to him on the phone with his buddy and they both owned up to it and cried about it. He then lawyered up after speaking with his family," Portnoy wrote. "His name got out because he's a moron and uploaded ‘f--- the Jews' sign to his Instagram before I even knew about it. He already went viral without me. He spreads hate and uses the conflict in Middle East as his excuse. And did it in a bar with my (company's) name on it.
"Now he's trying to profit from it. I'm sure he'll make money because there is lots of antisemitism in the world. Regardless this is the least surprising thing ever. He is the definition of a coward. Zero accountability for his actions. I don't care what religion you are or even how you feel about Middle East. This was an act of pure hate and this should disgust you."
Dave Portnoy believes "credibility with the audience" is a key to success. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Portnoy said in a separate video he felt "dumb" trying to "show grace" and make things right.
"This is what the face of being a coward is," he said of Khan.
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Philadelphia police said they were gathering information about the incident earlier in the week.
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Cristiano Ronaldo's eldest son has earned his first call-up for the Portugal Under-15 national squad, the team announced on Tuesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo Jr., 14, has been selected for the Portugal team which will take part in the Vlatko Marković International Tournament – a youth soccer tournament – later in May.
Ronaldo Sr., who is the record goalscorer in men's international soccer with 136 goals for Portugal, congratulated his son on his Instagram Stories by posting a picture of his name on the squad list, saying: “Proud of you, son!”
Ronaldo Jr. will be part of the Portugal team which will face Japan, Greece and England, as well as another game in Croatia.
Ronaldo Jr. plays in the youth system at Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, the same club where his father plies his trade having joined in December 2022.
He has followed in his dad's footsteps over his nascent soccer career, playing in the youth systems at Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United while his dad played for the first team.
Clips of Ronaldo Jr. mimicking his dad's famous “Siu” goal celebration have gone viral on social media and, according to reports, he scored 58 goals while he was with Juventus' youth set-up.
Following the announcement of Ronaldo Jr.'s call-up, the official Portugal team Instagram account posted a picture of father and son together with the caption: “Portugal's DNA” which Ronaldo reposted on his IG Stories.
Ronaldo, 40, has four other children.
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We're about to get our first window into whether the judiciary will allow Trump's trade war to continue.
by Ian Millhiser
On Tuesday, May 13, a three-judge panel of the US Court of International Trade will hear a lawsuit asking it to strike down President Donald Trump's recently imposed tariffs. The case is known as V.O.S. Selections v. Trump.
The trade court, a New York-based federal court that hears lawsuits related to US trade laws, will not be the last word on this high-stakes dispute, which is likely to wind up before the Supreme Court. The trade court, however, is poised to have the first word — meaning the May 13 hearing will offer the American public its earliest window into how federal courts view the tariffs.
Get the latest developments on the US Supreme Court from senior correspondent Ian Millhiser.
The plaintiffs in V.O.S. Selections, small businesses that import goods and thus must pay the tariffs, have two significant advantages.
One is that their legal arguments are quite strong. Under the Supreme Court's “major questions doctrine,” courts are supposed to cast a skeptical eye on, and typically reject, executive actions “of vast ‘economic and political significance.'”
According to the Yale Budget Lab, Trump's tariffs are expected to reduce the average US household's income by the equivalent of $4,900. If that's not a matter of vast economic and political significance, it's hard to imagine what is.
Two, about a dozen former Republican officials and other GOP luminaries filed an amicus brief calling on the trade court to rule that the tariffs are illegal. They include three former senators, a former US attorney general, and several former federal judges. Among them is former Sen. John Danforth, a mentor to Justice Clarence Thomas who gave Thomas his first job out of law school. The Supreme Court's Republican majority is often responsive to conservative legal elites and prominent members of their party.
That said, it is far from certain how the trade court — and, ultimately, the Supreme Court — will see this case. The major questions doctrine is brand new, and it has only been used in the past to strike down policies created by the Biden administration.
Broadly speaking, the courts could decide V.O.S. Selections (or any of several other lawsuits challenging the tariffs) in one of three ways:
The IEEPA permits the president to “regulate…transactions involving, any property in which any foreign country or a national thereof has any interest.” This power, however, “may only be exercised to deal with an unusual and extraordinary threat with respect to which a national emergency has been declared.”
The strongest statutory argument against the tariffs is that Trump has not identified an “unusual and extraordinary threat” that can justify these tariffs. In his executive order laying out the rationale for most of his tariffs, Trump claims they are necessary due to “large and persistent annual U.S. goods trade deficits,” meaning that the fact that there are many countries that buy more US goods than they sell to Americans constitutes a “national emergency that this order is intended to abate and resolve.”
But, as the amicus brief argues, this trade deficit is hardly unusual or extraordinary — rather, it is the result of “economic trends spanning more than two decades.” Emergency powers, the brief argues, cannot be used to address “longstanding policy grievances” that have existed for many years — those are the sort of grievances that can be addressed through legislative debate and congressional action. Emergency executive action, the argument goes, should be reserved for actual emergencies where there is no time for Congress to act.
In response, the Trump administration argues that courts may not review a president's decision to declare a national emergency. It even cites a federal district court decision claiming that “no court has ever reviewed the merits of such a declaration.”
While that may very well be true, the IEEPA does not simply say that the president must declare an emergency before using any powers granted by that statute. It uses much stronger language, saying that these powers “may only be exercised to deal with an unusual and extraordinary threat.” Thus, even if courts cannot review Trump's decision to declare an emergency, opponents of the tariffs have a strong argument that judges can inquire into whether decades-old trade deficits actually constitute an “unusual or extraordinary threat.”
Even if the IEEPA can be read to permit tariffs, the major questions doctrine suggests that courts should read the statute narrowly if it is at all possible to do so. As the Supreme Court said in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA (2014), “we expect Congress to speak clearly if it wishes to assign to an agency decisions of vast ‘economic and political significance.'” That is, if a law doesn't explicitly grant the executive branch a power, it doesn't have that power.
In response, Trump's lawyers make two closely related arguments. They claim that the major questions doctrine does not apply to actions taken by the president, and that it especially does not apply to presidential actions that touch upon foreign policy. As Trump's brief claims, “the major-questions doctrine has never been applied to the President's authority to address national-security interests or other circumstances where the President has independent authority.”
That statement is true. Again, the major questions doctrine is brand new and has never been used to strike down the policies of any president not named “Joe Biden.” All of the Biden-era cases invoking this doctrine involved domestic policies that technically were promulgated by agency leaders under Biden's supervision (or, in one case, a holdover policy from the Obama administration) rather than by a direct order from Biden himself.
It is difficult to predict how the courts will respond to Trump's arguments. The major questions doctrine was made up by the Supreme Court and appears nowhere in the Constitution or in any federal statute, so lower court judges have very little to go upon when they are asked to apply it to new situations.
To my knowledge, only one federal judge — Ryan Nelson, a Trump appointee — has addressed the question of whether this doctrine applies to presidential actions. Nelson concluded that it does, in large part because the Supreme Court rooted this doctrine in separation-of-powers concerns that apply equally to any member of the executive branch, including the head of it.
It is also unclear how the courts will respond to Trump's suggestion that the major questions doctrine applies with less force on matters of foreign policy. It is true that the courts are often deferential to the elected branches on questions of foreign affairs, but Trump's tariffs aren't just a foreign policy matter. They are one of the largest tax hikes in recent American history and one of the most consequential domestic policies enacted in many years. Trump justifies the tariffs in large part because he believes they will increase the number of Americans employed in domestic manufacturing jobs.
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Joey Jones joins Fox Across America With Jimmy Failla to share his thoughts on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell appearing alongside President Trump at the White House to announce the 2027 NFL Draft will be held at the National Mall.
Phil Simms, the legendary New York Giants quarterback, and his family have been wrestling with the notion of letting the team's first-round pick, Abdul Carter, wear his retired No. 11 jersey.
While Simms himself said he would be open to letting Carter wear the same number he wore at Penn State, the women in his family ultimately shut it down.
Chris Simms, Phil's son and current NBC NFL analyst, broke down the debate inside his family circle on "PFT Live with Mike Florio" on Monday, when he said "shedding tears" actually came for his sister, Deidre, and mother, Diana.
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Former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms during a ceremony to unveil a mural celebrating the New York Giants 100th season at Hackensack University Medical Center. (IMAGN)
After Simms made his comments about being open to letting No. 11 go to Carter, Chris had a phone call with his father, asking if he was going to make it happen for real.
However, Deidre called and could not believe Chris was on his father's side.
"'I thought you were going to be on my side, how dare you. Forget it, I don't want to talk to you and we're hanging up,'" Chris said Deidre told him over the phone.
ROB GRONKOWSKI ‘GLAD' LAWRENCE TAYLOR DENIED ABDUL CARTER'S GIANTS JERSEY REQUEST
"That's when I knew, ‘Uh oh, mom and sister have gotten involved here.' And mom and sister have one more vote than me and brother (Matt), and I don't know where my brother stands on this."
Chris said that his father asked him if he could sway his mom and sister to his side. However, Chris was right – the Simms women's votes held more power in the end.
"I knew they threw a fit," Chris said. "I think it's going to the point where literally there was like, they were shedding tears. I'm not trying to embarrass my mom or my sister, but that's how important it was to them. And on top of that, the blowback off of that and the amount of people that came to my dad, ‘Don't give your number up, don't do that,' I think he was a little taken aback by that.
New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms, left, and New York Giants rookie Abdul Carter. (IMAGN)
"Ultimately, he's not going to do it, he got outvoted by his family, specifically his daughter and his wife, but that's where it stands right now."
Carter, who went third overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, has sparked some controversy revolving around the jersey number he wants to wear. Lawrence Taylor, the Hall of Fame linebacker whose retired No. 56 was brought up by Carter, told the rookie to make his own number famous.
That was when Carter pivoted to No. 11, which Phil openly said he would consider giving to him. Now, however, Carter will have to find his own number like every other player.
It seems trivial to believe a rookie could take a retired number, but it has happened recently in the NFL, including with the Giants this past season. Malik Nabers got permission from the family of Ray Flaherty to wear No. 1, and he did well in it last year.
NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms on the field prior to a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. (Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports)
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Also, in this year's draft class, Warren Moon gave Cam Ward, the number one overall pick, the right to wear his retired No. 1 with the Tennessee Titans. Of course, Moon has the right to give away his number if so.
While jersey numbers usually do not carry weight for rookies, the NFL world is now fixated on what Carter will do now that both of his requests have been denied.
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Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
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AI is the future. It just can't predict it.
by Dylan Matthews
Being able to predict the future seems nice. I would've liked to know that my S&P 500 index funds would peak in mid-February and then fall off a cliff in April. It would've been helpful for my reporting in the lead-up to the inauguration to know just how far the Trump administration would go to attack foreign aid. And while I'm at it, I'd like some sense of where mortgage rates are going, so I can better judge when to buy a house.
The art of systematically making these kinds of predictions is called forecasting, and we've known for a long time that some people — so-called superforecasters — are better at it than others. But even they aren't Nostradamuses; major events still surprise them sometimes. Superforecasters' work takes time and effort, and there aren't many of them.
It's also hard for us mortals to emulate what makes them so effective. I wrote a whole profile of one of the world's best superforecaster teams, called the Samotsvety group, and despite their tips and tricks, I didn't leave the experience as a superforecaster myself.
But you know what's sometimes better at learning than I am? AI models.
In recent years, the forecasting community has increasingly pivoted to trying to build and learn from AI-fueled prediction bots. More specialized fields have, of course, been doing this in various forms for a while; algorithmic trading in financial markets, for instance, where computer programs using various prediction tools trade assets without human intervention, has been around for decades. But using AI as a more general-purpose forecasting tool is a newer idea.
Everyone I spoke with in the field agrees that the top human forecasters still beat machines.
The best evidence for this comes from tournaments run quarterly by Metaculus, a leading prediction website, where participants compete to forecast the future most accurately. Originally for humans only, Metaculus recently began bot tournaments, where contestants enter custom-made AI-driven bots whose track record can then be compared to the best human predictors.
So far there, we have results for three quarters — Q3 and Q4 of 2024, and Q1 of 2025 — and in each quarter, Metaculus's human superforecasters beat the best machines. (If you want to try, there's a $30,000 prize for each quarter's winner.)
But the gap, Metaculus CEO Deger Turan tells me, is narrowing with each quarter. More intriguing still is the fact that the best model in Q1 this year was incredibly simple: It just pulled some recent news articles, then asked o1, at the time the most advanced OpenAI model, to make its own prediction. This approach couldn't beat humans, but it beat a lot of AI models that were much more sophisticated.
o1 is no longer the cutting-edge OpenAI model; as of this writing, it's o3. And by some metrics, o3 isn't as good as Gemini 2.5 Pro, the best model from Google DeepMind. All of which is to say: While humans basically stay the same, the AIs are only getting better, and that could mean that the predictions they make will only get better as well.
Almost every arena of human life relies on good prediction. Lawyers predict whether or not their opponent will agree to a settlement. Construction supervisors predict when a building project will finish. Movie producers predict what script will be a hit. Singles predict whether the person they're chatting up would prefer a first date over coffee or beer.
We're not very good at these predictions right now, but we could get much, much better soon. We're only just starting to realize the implications of that kind of shift.
In theory, an “AI forecaster” is just a program that relies upon machine learning models of one form or another to predict future events.
Prediction is at the heart of what machine learning models do: They analyze vast reams of data and then come up with models that can predict outside that data. For generative models like ChatGPT or Claude or Midjourney, that means predicting the next word or pixel that a user wants in response to a query. For the algorithmic trading models that financiers have been building at least since the founding of the hedge fund Renaissance Technologies in 1982, it means predicting the future path of asset prices in stock, bond, and other markets, based on past performance.
For more generalized predictions about world events, forecasters these days tend to rely heavily on general-purpose models from firms like xAI, Google DeepMind, OpenAI, or Anthropic. These are trained with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of GPUs over several months, which is one reason why it's much more promising for the relatively small teams working on using AI for forecasting to piggyback on all that training than to start from scratch. (Disclosure: Vox Media is one of several publishers that has signed partnership agreements with OpenAI. Our reporting remains editorially independent. One of Anthropic's early investors is James McClave, whose BEMC Foundation helps fund Future Perfect.)
Forecasting is a world unto itself, with plenty of forecasting-specific jargon and references. Here's a brief guide to some common terms you'll hear in the forecasting world.
Base rate: The historical rate at which a given phenomenon happens (e.g., the rate at which countries go to war, or the percentage of days when the S&P 500 drops overall), before adjusting for specifics of a given case. Establishing your base rate is often the first step in forecasting.
Brier score: A common measure of how accurate forecasts turn out to be. Computed using a formula measuring the distance between a forecaster's assigned probabilities and actual outcomes.
Calibration: How well the probabilities a forecaster assigns to events happening match up with whether they actually happen — e.g., do events the forecaster estimates as 70 percent likely occur 70 percent of the time?
Metaculus: A popular website where forecasters can make predictions and compare accuracy. Not structured like a prediction market.
Prediction market: A stock-type market, usually online, where participants can bet real currency, cryptocurrency, or play money on specific events happening or not. Kalshi, Polymarket, and Manifold are popular prediction markets.
Scope sensitivity: The ability to reason clearly about the scale of different phenomena. An important attribute of good forecasters.
Superforecaster: A human whose forecasts are reliably much more accurate, and better calibrated, than the average human's.
One team based at the Center for AI Safety released a paper in October 2024 claiming “superhuman” forecasting ability by simply prompting a large language model (in this case, OpenAI's 4o model) and scraping recent news articles. That claim crumbled under scrutiny: Other researchers could not replicate the finding, and it appeared that the model could predict well in training partly because it had more recent data than it should've, a problem called “data contamination.”
Imagine if you are, in late 2024, trying to train a model to predict who the Democratic nominee that year will be; you know it will be Kamala Harris, but to train the model, you try to only give it data from before that became obvious. If that data, though, isn't purely from early 2024, and includes references to Harris's eventual nomination, your forecast could perform very well, but only because it has access to data it'd never have in a real-world context.
A more promising approach comes from UC Berkeley computer scientists Danny Halawi, Fred Zhang, Chen Yueh-Han, and Jacob Steinhardt. Their forecaster also relied on language models, but did extensive amounts of “scaffolding”: instead of simply letting the bot run free, they asked the language model to do a series of very specific things, in a very specific order, to get the final result:
Just asking the language models directly, they found, led to terrible predictions: “Most models' scores are around or worse than random guessing,” the team wrote in their paper. But once they were able to fine-tune models by showing what thousands of successful predictions (and their underlying reasoning) looked like, the results were much better.
The resulting forecasting bot got 71.5 percent of questions correct. By comparison, the human prediction website the researchers used for comparison took the average prediction of their participants and got 77 percent accuracy. That human comparator isn't as good as the best superforecasters, but it's certainly better than random chance.
The takeaway: The AI forecaster is not quite up to human level, and certainly not up to the level of human “superforecasters” who beat the crowd. But it's not too far away.
That's impressive, but progress since has been fairly slow. “Arguably, from an academic perspective, nothing has surpassed [UC Berkeley's] Steinhardt's paper, which is now a full year old,” Dan Schwarz, CEO of the startup FutureSearch, which builds AI-based forecasting tools, told me.
A full year may not sound like much, but that's because you're thinking in human terms. In the world of AI, a year is an eternity. That fact underlines something Schwarz and other entrepreneurs working on AI for forecasting told me: this stuff is harder than it looks.
One limitation is, ironically, that language models are not great quantitative thinkers or logical reasoners. Some common forecasting questions take the form of “will X event happen by Y date”: “Will China invade Taiwan by 2030,” or “Will China invade Taiwan by 2040.” One logical implication is that, for a given question, the odds should stay the same or increase as the date gets later into the future: since “China invading before 2040” includes all future where “China invades before 2030,” the odds of it happening by 2040 should, at the very least, not be lower than the odds of it happening by 2030.
But language models don't think logically and systematically enough to know that. Turan, the CEO of forecasting platform Metaculus, notes that a few bots that entered into the platform's contests have tried to impose this kind of consistency on them and were designed so as to force forecasts to be internally consistent. “They end up having way better results,” Turan says. Phil Godzin, a software engineer who won the fourth-quarter 2024 contest, has explained that the first step in his model is “asking an LLM to group related questions together and predict them in batches to maintain internal consistency.”
This limitation may become less important due to the dawn of “reasoning models,” like OpenAI's o3/o4-mini and DeepSeek's R1. These models differ from previous language models in that they undergo extensive late-stage training to ensure they give correct answers to logical and mathematical questions that can be easily checked (like “how many ‘r's are in ‘strawberry'”). They are also typically designed to use more computing power when queried, to ensure these kinds of questions are answered accurately. In theory, this evolution in the models should make consistency in forecasts easier to maintain, though it's too soon to see if this advantage shows up in practice.
Schwarz of FutureSearch cites poor web research skills as a crucial bottleneck. Despite rollouts of flashy features like ChatGPT's “Deep Research” mode, collation of basic facts about a given situation is still a major challenge for AI models.
FutureSearch this week revealed Deep Research Bench, an attempt to provide a benchmark for web-based research done by leading LLMs. It finds that, as of May 2025, even the best models struggle mightily with routine research tasks. The “Find Number” task, for instance, asked models to find a specific data point (e.g., how many FDA medical device recalls there have been in history). The best model, OpenAI o3, got a score of 69 percent on that; many got less than half right, and DeepSeek R1, which made a splash a few months ago, got less than a third.
The models did even worse at more complex tasks, like locating whole data sets. The best overall score, from o3, was 0.51 out of 1. FutureSearch estimates that a competent, smart, but fallible human should be able to get 0.8. “We can conclude that frontier agents under low elicitation substantially underperform smart generalist researchers who are given ample time,” the authors conclude.
Steinhardt, the Berkeley statistician who coauthored last year's paper, frames the situation a bit more positively. Sure, AIs have limitations, but ChatGPT was introduced just two and a half years ago, and they're already nipping at humans' heels. “I'd guess that if you applied the best-known forecasting ideas to the best AI systems today, you'd outperform the best human forecasters working as a group,” Steinhardt says. “Why is it good at this? Because humans are just really, really bad forecasters.”
Good forecasting requires you to be honest about your mistakes and to learn from them; to change your views all the time, by little increments, rather than suddenly and all at once; and to not be distracted by what's prominently in the news and being discussed around you, but give proper weight to all the information you're receiving.
Humans aren't especially good at any of that. We tend to base our beliefs on many topics on a single piece of information, often information that isn't even relevant. We give much more weight to information that is easier to recall or more readily available, whether or not it's more important. We're absolutely terrible at thinking about scope — even experts struggle to give, say, a thousand times the weight to a number in the billions compared to the millions. It stands to reason that AIs could be better at all of this.
Superforecasting, the bible of the whole field of general-purpose forecasting, came out in 2015. The psychologist who coauthored it, the University of Pennsylvania's Philip Tetlock, based it on research that had been ongoing for decades before that.
Yet it's fair to say that, friendly coverage from folks like me aside, the idea that there are clear strategies that enable you to better predict the future hasn't set the world on fire. When the New York Times reports on border tensions in India and Pakistan, it does not cite superforecasters' view on likely outcomes. The White House does not ask superforecasters for a prediction on how China might respond to higher tariffs. Investing firms don't get into bidding wars to hire the best superforecasters to project trends.
This raises an important corollary question: If the world doesn't have a ton of demand for human superforecasting, would that change at all if it's done by machines? Why should AI superforecasting be different?
This worry might account for the relatively small scale of most AI forecasting efforts. Google DeepMind, OpenAI, Anthropic, and other leading labs aren't prioritizing it. A few small startups, like FutureSearch, ManticAI (a top performer on the Metaculus competitions), and Lightning Rod Labs, are. Presumably, if the big labs thought that superhuman forecasting were a big economic game-changer, they'd invest more in it. Certainly, that's what a superforecaster would surmise.
That said, there are good reasons to think superhuman AI forecasting that is forecasting better than the best humans today would be a big deal. Human forecasters require time, energy, and resources to make good forecasts; they can't spit out an accurate probability estimate in a matter of minutes. A good AI model, in theory, could.
Compare how useful a research librarian who takes a few weeks to send you a stack of useful books would have been before the dawn of the internet, to the ability to search Google today. Both give you useful outputs. A good librarian's output might even be more useful. But getting results instantly is incredibly important, and massively increases demand for the service.
Ben Turtel, a cofounder of Lightning Rod AI, imagines his forecasting AI being especially useful in cases where someone has a lot of unstructured data that the forecaster can evaluate quickly. Take, for instance, a nurse or doctor trying to anticipate a patient's trajectory based on scattered notes in their medical records, plus evidence from studies correlating outcomes with patient attributes like whether they smoke or their age. That is a difficult task for which there is no one recipe. Having a model that can instantly and accurately combine patient-specific data with broader evidence, and provide a prognosis with a probability, would ease their jobs considerably.
Similarly, companies that operate abroad often pay for political risk consultants that purport to tell them, say, “how dangerous is it to be working in Jordan right now,” or “what are the odds that a coup happens in Myanmar while we're working there.” Demonstrably superhuman AI forecasting might change that work considerably, and could threaten a lot of those consultancies — if those AI forecasts were trusted.
The “if trusted” part, though, is key. An AI superforecaster would be, if nothing else, a deeply strange entity. Imagine going up to America's octogenarian president and saying, “We made an oracle out of silicon, and it is now better at predicting wars than the CIA. You need to listen to it, and not your advisers with millennia of combined experience.” The whole scenario feels laughable. Even if you can prove a model is better than human experts on some class of problems, there'll be a long way to go before relevant decision-makers would truly believe and internalize that fact.
The black-box nature of modern LLMs is part of the problem: If you ask one for a prediction, we don't ultimately know what computation it's doing to come to that answer. We might see a hybrid period first, where LLMs are asked for explanations of their predictions and decision makers only act on their judgment if the explanations make sense. Even still, acting on AI advice in some contexts, like medicine, could open risk-averse providers and administrators to lawsuits or worse.
But we can get accustomed to what feels strange. A good model here might be Wikipedia. In the 2000s, the website was popular and gradually improving in quality, but there were strong norms against citing it or relying upon it. Anyone could edit it; obviously it couldn't be trusted. But over time, those norms eroded as it became clear that on many topics, Wikipedia was equally or more accurate than more traditional sources.
AI prediction bots might follow a similar trajectory. First, they're a curiosity. Then they're a guilty pleasure that many secretly count on. Finally, we accept that they're onto something, and they begin shaping the way we all make decisions.
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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's ordering of at least a 20% reduction of four-star generals and admirals has raised concerns that those cuts could be weaponized to cut officers deemed insufficiently loyal to the president and secretary.
Hegseth, in a memo to senior Pentagon leadership dated Monday, directed a reduction of at least 20% of four-star positions across the Active Component, at least a 20% reduction of general officers in the National Guard, and an additional minimum of 10% cuts in general and flag officers.
The one-page memo did not specify which positions could be cut or what criteria would be used to determine which cuts to make, raising concerns among experts that it could target senior military officers who do not appear to be aligned with the president's “America First” agenda.
“We're sending a clear message that if you don't concur with the president, ideologically, you are at risk,” Gene Moran, a national security expert and former adviser to multiple Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs during former President George W. Bush's time in office, told the Washington Examiner. “Historically, we have wanted the military to be politically agnostic.”
The 20% reduction of four-star generals sounds steep, though in reality it would only amount to seven or eight officers. Currently, there are 38 four-star generals and admirals in 44 total positions, a handful of which are not currently filled. It's also unclear if the cuts will be for the current four-star generals or the total four-star positions, because some are currently unfilled. There are roughly 900 general and flag officers with at least one star, indicating that the cuts will likely be around 90 officers.
Greg Williams, the director of the Center for Defense Information at the Project on Government Oversight, also expressed concern that this reduction in senior officers “presents an opportunity for the administration to punish people who aren't falling in line with their policies,” he told the Washington Examiner.
“What we don't want to see is this kind of reduction turn into a loyal testing campaign where the people who get let go are people who are voicing independent thoughts and otherwise maintaining that the military is a non-partisan organization,” Williams added.
He recommended that the department focus on which positions they want to eliminate rather than specific individuals they want to fire.
Hegseth and the president have already dismissed multiple four-star officers: Gen. Charles Q. Brown, former chairman of the Joint Staff; Adm. Lisa Franchetti, former chief of naval operations; Gen. James Slife, the Air Force vice chief of staff; and he fired the top military lawyers of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, which are known as Judge Advocates General.
Retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, a senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the Washington Examiner that he believes the military should cut some of the four-star generals. However, he said the secretary “has shown me no reason not to be concerned” that this will be a political litmus test.
“I am concerned because Secretary Hegseth has shown me no reason to not be concerned that he would use this as a political tool,” he said, adding that it “would be massively inappropriate” if “it's some kind of political agenda masquerading as an efficiency effort.”
The firings of Franchetti and Slife “were clearly inappropriate and not based on any actual military qualification or war-fighting skill,” Montgomery added, noting that they both “met and exceeded any standard for four-star success,” though he made a distinction with Brown, given that the role of chairman of the Joint Staff is “uniquely” tied to the president.
Despite Montgomery's concerns, he's “not opposed” to the cuts broadly and said he does believe the department “needs to reduce the number of four stars, and therefore have a trickle down effect to some degree on three stars and two stars.”
He called the current posture “disproportion[ate],” given the current number of active duty forces.
Hegseth has frequently noted that the military had 17 four- and five-star generals during World War II, who commanded a roughly 12 million-person force. The military currently has slightly more than two million active-duty personnel despite more than twice the number of four-star leaders it had at that time.
The secretary has argued since before his nomination that there were too many senior generals in the military.
“I would say over a third are actively complicit” in the politicization of the military, he told radio host Hugh Hewitt last June, adding, “then you have a lot of grumblers who are sort of going along, trying to resist the nonsense as much as they can.”
HEGSETH ORDERS REDUCTION OF SENIOR COMMANDERS, CUTTING 20% OF FOUR-STAR GENERALS AND ADMIRALS
Shortly before his nomination, the former Fox News host said on another podcast, “any general that was involved — general, admiral, whatever — that was involved in any of the [diversity, equity, and inclusion] woke shit has got to go.”
Moran also tied this reduction to the White House pushing out multiple officials in the National Security Council who were accused by conservative commentator Laura Loomer of being insufficiently loyal to the president.
Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) has been a steadfast opponent of illegal immigration. In recent years, she has blasted Democrats for enabling illegal immigrants to enter the country, regularly speaking out against sanctuary cities and demanding immigration reform. The Republican congresswoman took the battle over illegal immigration and sanctuary cities to her state's governor, calling for Illinois sheriffs to defy Gov. JB Pritzker's (D-IL) sanctuary law.
In a press release issued on Tuesday, Miller insisted that Pritzker “uphold President Trump's federal immigration policies and cooperate with ICE to deport illegal aliens.”
Governor JB Pritzker's sanctuary state policies have transformed Illinois into a cesspool of crime and drugs brought by the illegals he is actively resettling. Our communities are being overwhelmed, innocent girls are being raped, and Americans are being ruthlessly murdered.… pic.twitter.com/jVQAfaeSOq
“Governor JB Pritzker's sanctuary state policies have transformed Illinois into a cesspool of crime and drugs brought by the illegals he is actively resettling,” Miller said. “Our communities are being overwhelmed, innocent girls are being raped, and Americans are being ruthlessly murdered.”
She blamed these crimes on Pritzker's policies and called on law enforcement officials to help stop them from happening. This would require them to disobey Pritzker's commands not to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
“These are the tragic consequences of his failed leadership,” Miller said. “I call on every local sheriff in Illinois to defy these dangerous directives, cooperate with ICE, and support President Trump's deportation efforts. We must act now before one more innocent American life is lost or harmed.”
During his time in office, Pritzker was instrumental in passing legislation such as the Trust Act, which created barriers for state, county, and local law enforcement in Illinois to cooperate with ICE. In 2021, he signed several bills that strengthened the Trust Act and made “Illinois the second state in the nation to require local officials to end partnerships with ICE.”
Earlier this year, Rep. James Comer (R-KY), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, identified Pritzker and other Democratic governors as “obstructing federal immigration enforcement.”
“The governors of these states must explain why they are prioritizing the protection of criminal illegal aliens over the safety of U.S. citizens, and they must be held accountable,” Comer said.
On Tuesday, it was reported that Pritzker, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), and Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) will testify before Congress on June 12 about their states' immigration policies, according to CBS News.
DEMOCRATS HAVE LEARNED NOTHING ON IMMIGRATION
As for Miller, she maintains that Pritzker's policies hurt U.S. citizens. Earlier in the month, Miller took to social media to express her thoughts on illegal immigration and its impact on national security.
Every illegal immigrant in America must be deported — our national security depends on it.
“Every illegal immigrant in America must be deported — our national security depends on it,” Miller posted.
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Footage shows aftermath of crash between tour van and pickup truck along U.S. Highway 20 near Henry's Lake State Park in eastern Idaho. (Credit: Roger Merrill/TMX)
The pickup truck that collided with a tour van near Yellowstone National Park last week is to blame for the crash, which left seven people dead, according to police.
Idaho State Police said a Dodge Ram pickup truck crossed the center line on Highway 20 near Henry's Lake State Park and hit the Mercedes tour van, causing both vehicles to burst into flames. It is unclear what caused the truck to leave its lane.
"Crash reconstruction is ongoing, and ISP troopers are working to determine all contributing factors," state police said on Tuesday.
The driver of the truck and six of the 14 people inside the tour van died in the crash, police said.
TOUR VAN CRASH NEAR YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK LEAVES 7 DEAD, POLICE SAY
The driver of the pickup truck and six tour van passengers died in the fiery collision near Yellowstone National Park last week. (Roger Merrill/TMX)
In addition to Idaho State Police, the National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the crash since it involved a commercial vehicle.
"NTSB personnel have visited the scene and are reviewing evidence. While information is being shared between ISP and the NTSB, each agency is conducting its own investigation," the ISP said.
Idaho state troopers responded to the tragic scene at around 7:15p.m. on Thursday, which took place approximately 16 miles west of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
DRIVER SUDDENLY STOPS IN MIDDLE OF HIGHWAY, CAUSES MULTI-CAR CRASH, THEN LEAVES: VIDEO
Roger Merrill, a 60-year-old man who was driving home when he saw the vehicles on fire, told The Associated Press that bystanders were caring for the van survivors on the side of the highway until first responders arrived.
First responders arrive at the scene after a deadly collision between a pickup truck and tour van near Henry's Lake State Park in eastern Idaho on May 1. (Roger Merrill via AP)
"It took an unnervingly long time for help to arrive just because of the location," Merrill said.
He also said he frequently sees tourist vans on Highway 20 as it leads to Yellowstone National Park.
The fatal crash happened in eastern Idaho, about 16 miles west of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. (Getty Images)
"We extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those lost in this tragedy," ISP Sgt. Blake Higley said. "We are incredibly grateful to the passersby who stopped to help and to the first responders whose quick actions and teamwork aided those in critical need. This was a challenging and emotional scene for everyone involved."
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The highway was closed for almost seven hours while first responders and the Idaho Transportation Department managed the scene and cleared the roadway.
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The time has come. Travelers flying within the US starting Wednesday must use a state-issued ID that is “REAL ID compliant” or be subject to further screening.
Things seemed to be operating relatively smoothly at a sampling of US airports Wednesday morning. Signs about the REAL ID requirements are posted, and TSA representatives at some airports were ushering people without REAL IDs to separate lines for enhanced screening.
Lines outside some states' departments of motor vehicles may be a different story, however, as people who haven't received a compliant ID try to catch up. In downtown Chicago, a line Wednesday morning to get into a walk-in “supercenter” dedicated to issuing REAL IDs wrapped around a city block – though it had shortened significantly by the afternoon.
REAL IDs, aside from being used to board domestic flights, also will be required to enter secure federal facilities. REAL IDs are marked with a star in the upper right-hand corner, no matter what state you live in. The 9/11 Commission recommended the new standard for enhanced security.
“State-issued driver's licenses and IDs that are not REAL ID compliant are no longer accepted as valid forms of identification at airports,” the Transportation Security Administration explained. However, if passengers show up Wednesday without a REAL ID, they will still be able to fly but “may” face additional screening, officials said this week. And air travelers can show alternative forms of ID, including a passport, a Veteran Health Identification Card, and other items.
At Philadelphia International Airport Wednesday morning, the REAL ID implementation went smoother than even some federal officials were expecting.
“The traveling public was great, they responded, they were prepared, everything went as well as it could be expected,” said Gerardo Spero, TSA federal security director for Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Security lines at the airport moved quickly, with relatively few passengers diverted for additional screening because they did not have a REAL ID. Many passengers opted to use their passports – an acceptable alternative for flights – as their ID.
“I don't think we've ever seen quite as many passports, certainly not for domestic flights,” Spero said.
A passenger in Philadelphia, Michelle Raczynski, said she made sure to get her REAL ID a few years ago because she travels frequently for work, but she wasn't surprised others were left scrambling.
“It has not been well broadcast. It has not really been publicized. They could have done a better job at that,” said Raczynski, before passing through security without problem.
At Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world's busiest airport, officials initially had a separate security lane Wednesday morning for those without a REAL ID. But that extra line was eliminated mid-morning because so few travelers were without one – and TSA officers will now do additional screenings as needed after passengers arrive at regular document checkpoints, airport lead transportation security officer Alexis Pickerel said.
And at North Carolina's Charlotte Douglas International Airport, staff were prepped with more security lanes than usual and additional staff to help travelers at the REAL ID deadline – but for the most part, travelers had the identification they needed and moved smoothly through security, a CNN crew saw.
The relative order at airports may depend on the state and how many residents obtained REAL IDs ahead of Wednesday's deadline. Georgia and Florida, for example, say more than 99% of their residents' driver's licenses or ID cards are REAL ID compliant.
Alabama, however, had only 33% REAL ID compliance, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Capt. Jeremy Burkett said. North Carolina's REAL ID compliance, meanwhile, was at 52%, state transportation department spokesperson John Brockwell said.
Illinois' REAL ID compliance rate is below 50%, Max Walczyk, spokesperson for Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, told CNN. Illinois was late in offering REAL IDs, in 2019, compared to states like Indiana, which began in 2010, and Iowa, which began in 2013, he said.
At Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, traveler Jonathan Washkevich did not have a REAL ID, but arrived two and a half hours before his flight to Tampa on Wednesday with other documents, hoping they would ease his passage through the amplified screening he knew was coming, he told CNN affiliate WLS.
“Hopefully I get through the enhanced screening pretty quickly,” he said. “I have my driver's license that has a hole in it. I have my temporary ID that they just issued me because my REAL ID is in the mail, hopefully. (I also have my) Social Security card, a birth certificate, mail, and also a paycheck.”
For the nationwide picture, the Department of Homeland Security put it this way in a Wednesday news release: “Most travelers won't even notice a difference because 81% of travelers are already REAL ID compliant.”
Here's what to expect if you're flying after Wednesday's deadline.
Wednesday is not the deadline for obtaining a REAL ID — it's just the date the new requirement for air travel goes into effect. People can still get a REAL ID after May 7.
Additionally, passengers without one will not be turned away at airports, Steve Lorincz, TSA's deputy executive assistant administrator for security operations, told CNN.
“We will process you (and you) will not be turned away,” Lorincz said. “It might take some additional time, but we're going to do it efficiently. We are fully staffed at all locations across the country.”
The quest to get REAL IDs before this week's deadline leads to frustration for many
Still, Jana Tidwell, with AAA Mid-Atlantic, is urging those who don't have REAL IDs to get them now, so they aren't hit with delays or other issues during peak travel times. “We are just a couple weeks away from Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer. Summer travel is going to ramp up,” Tidwell said.
Wednesday's deadline to enforce the 2005 REAL ID act was pushed back several times.
The 20-year-old law requires state driver's licenses to meet certain federal requirements to be used for boarding a plane or accessing federal facilities requiring identification. The enhanced features in a REAL ID include anti-counterfeiting technology. About 19% percent of people flying nationwide do not have them yet, the TSA says.
The deadline left many confused travelers scrambling to comply ahead of holidays and the summer months.
The enforcement is now happening amid flight delays and cancellations at Newark Airport, a key hub in New Jersey that serves the busy New York area.
The TSA on Tuesday reminded travelers that enforcement of REAL ID was to start Wednesday.
“Plan ahead, arrive early, and arrive prepared,” the agency said in a post on X.
Travelers can find if they are “REAL ID ready” by using the TSA's interactive tool.
“We'll have staff in front of all our checkpoints to help and direct our customers as they transit through the security process,” Lorincz said.
The agency will work with states, airlines and airports toward an eventual time where enough people are showing up at airports with the correct ID, a TSA spokesperson told CNN.
Adults 18 and over must show valid identification at airport checkpoints to travel.
Other forms of identification that will still be accepted at TSA checkpoints include a US passport or passport card, a permanent resident card, a border crossing card and a Veteran Health Identification Card, among others.
Those who do not have a valid form of identification may be asked to complete an identity verification. Once a traveler's identity is confirmed, they will be allowed to enter the checkpoint where they may be subject to additional screening, the TSA says.
Required documentation and the cost of the ID varies from state to state and each has its own system for issuing them. The TSA links to each state's department of motor vehicles to explain what residents may need to get one.
“DMVs are working really, really hard to make sure that we're getting people in so they can get their REAL IDs as we continue to move forward,” Lorincz said.
But lines at some DMVs have been long, potentially discouraging people from staying and getting the ID. In North Carolina, Elena Campbell had made several visits to her DMV to try to get a REAL ID, only to leave because of long wait times, she told CNN Tuesday on her fourth visit.
“They don't make it easy on you,” she said. “We're just out here doing what we're supposed to do.”
In preparation for the transition, California's Department of Motor Vehicles is offering extended hours and Saturday appointments to residents looking to get a REAL ID.
The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles indicates on its website that officials are seeing “an increased volume” in offices due to the REAL ID implementation.
The Oklahoma agency that issues driver's license warns on its website: “It's time to get your REAL ID. No, really.”
It reminds residents who are traveling soon to apply for a REAL ID at least four weeks early in part because IDs are mailed within one to two weeks after a visit.
CNN's Alexandra Skores, Whitney Wild, Jason Morris, Dianne Gallagher, Andi Babineau and Maxime Tamsett contributed to this report.
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Fox News' Bill Melugin reports the latest on the new policy. The 'Outnumbered' panel also weighs in on how DHS is incentivizing illegal immigrants to self-deport.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted operations in Nashville this week, resulting in the arrests of a convicted child sex predator and an alleged gang member, but the mayor of the city said the arrests were not focused on making the city safer.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shared Democratic Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell's letter to the city about the ICE arrests.
"Our top priority is keeping people safe, and we're deeply concerned that what appear to be federal actions are making that harder," O'Connell wrote. "Overnight, we understand that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents detained people during enforcement actions in Middle Tennessee. As we learn more, I want to be clear: No [Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD)] personnel were involved in last night's enforcement action."
He added that the city's police department does not have federal immigration authority, nor are its members trained to conduct immigration enforcement.
ICE TOUTS RECORD-BREAKING IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT DURING TRUMP'S FIRST 100 DAYS
Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell criticized ICE raids in Nashville, saying they are not focused on making the city safer and leave the community fearing law enforcement interaction. (Getty Images)
O'Connell also said the police department lacks access to federal immigration databases.
"This type of federal enforcement action is not focused on making us safer and leaves people in our community fearing any interaction with law enforcement when there is a crime occurring," he added. "We will be seeking the names of those detained."
DHS said the Nashville operation resulted in the arrests of a convicted child sex predator, an alleged member of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, an individual convicted of aggravated assault and multiple illegal aliens on drug charges.
ICE SAYS IT DEPORTED 174 CRIMINAL MIGRANTS FROM TEXAS, INCLUDING A MAN WITH 39 ILLEGAL ENTRIES
ICE made several arrests in Tennessee, including an alleged member of Tren de Aragua and a convicted child sex predator. (Getty Images)
"The Nashville Mayor should want these criminal illegal aliens off American streets," DHS posted on X. "Attacks and demonization of our brave law enforcement is wrong. ICE officers are now facing a 413% increase in assaults. President Trump campaigned on immigration enforcement, the American people voted for it, and DHS is delivering."
O'Connell's office did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
ICE recently announced that during President Donald Trump's first 100 days of his second term, the agency arrested over 66,000 illegal immigrants and removed more than 65,000.
VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT USES TREN DE ARAGUA AS PROXIES TO UNDERMINE US PUBLIC SAFETY, FBI ASSESSMENT FINDS
ICE made several arrests in Tennessee, including a member of Tren de Aragua and a convicted child sex predator. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
ICE arrested 66,463 illegal immigrants and removed 65,682, including those accused of threatening public safety and national security, according to a news release from ICE.
Three in four arrests of illegal immigrants involved someone accused of committing a crime, ICE claimed.
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The total number of ICE illegal immigrant arrests includes 2,288 alleged gang members from Tren de Aragua, MS-13, 18th Street and other gangs. Tren de Aragua and MS-13 are now listed as foreign terrorist organizations.
Fox News Digital's Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.
Story tips and ideas can be sent to Greg.Wehner@Fox.com and on Twitter @GregWehner.
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National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy, center, pauses while speaking accompanied by NTSB Investigator in Charge, Marcel Muise, left, and NTSB board member Alvin Brown, during a news conference, March 27, 2024, in Linthicum Heights, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
The seal of the National Transportation Safety Board is seen before a news conference at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Jan. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
The vice chair of the National Transportation Safety Board has been abruptly removed from his position, the White House confirmed Tuesday, a rare move that comes as the federal agency charged with investigating aviation disasters juggles more than 1,000 cases.
The Trump administration removed Alvin Brown a little more than a year after he was sworn in for a term that was expected to end in 2026. The White House didn't say why he was removed and Brown has not publicly commented.
The decision comes as NTSB investigates nearly 1,250 active cases across the U.S., while supporting more than 160 foreign investigations, according to March testimony by NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy.
The investigations include the deadly midair collision between a passenger jet and Army helicopter in Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people in January and the medical transport plane that plummeted into a Philadelphia neighborhood that same month, killing eight people. It's also investigating the catastrophic collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge in March 2024, which killed six construction workers.
Jeff Guzzetti, a former NTSB and FAA accident investigator, said he has never seen an administration remove a member of the board.
Board members have been known to stay on after their term is over if the administration hasn't appointed anyone yet and then they leave once the next administration selects someone else, he said.
“That happens a lot over the years, but that's normal and expected because you served your term and now it's time for someone else to serve in there,” he said. “But this wasn't that. This was just more abrupt and directly from the administration, and I don't know what the impetus is.”
By Tuesday evening, Brown's photo and biography had already been removed from NTSB's website.
The agency includes five board members who serve five year terms, according to the NTSB website. They are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The chairman and vice chairman are both designated by the president and serve for three years. By Tuesday evening, the website only showed four members of the board.
Brown was sworn in as a member of the board in April 2024 after being nominated by then-President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate to fill one of two vacancies. His term was expected to run through 2026, according to an NTSB press release at the time. He was the only Black member of the board.
He was the mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, from 2011 to 2015 and joined the board after serving as senior adviser for community infrastructure opportunities for the U.S. Department of Transportation, according to the release.
The NTSB is an independent federal agency responsible for investigating all civil aviation accidents as well as serious incidents in the U.S. involving other modes of transportation, such as railroad disasters and major accidents involving motor vehicles, marine vessels, pipelines and even commercial space operators.
It typically works on about 2,200 domestic and 450 foreign cases each year, according to Homendy. She said she expects “the number of cases annually to remain high and continue to increase in complexity.”
The agency has been excluded from the deferred resignation program and probationary employee cuts to downsize the federal workforce. Homendy often presents NTSB as a lean agency “that plays a vital role in ensuring public safety and protection of life and property,” although she did ask for modest budget increases last year and this year.
___
Associated Press writer Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
In this screengrab made from video provided by ABC7 Los Angeles, law enforcement gathers outside Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology in Inglewood, Calif., Friday, May 2, 2025, after two women were shot on the campus. (ABC7 Los Angeles via AP)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A security guard was charged Tuesday with murder in the shooting death of the dean of a small technical college near Los Angeles, officials said.
The dean of student affairs, Cameisha Denise Clark, died at the hospital Monday after being shot Friday afternoon at the Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology campus in Inglewood, according to family. Another female employee was wounded in the shooting.
Jesse Figueroa, 40, was charged with murder, attempted murder and several counts for possessing a firearm as a felon. He also faces gun sentencing enhancements, which can lead to additional penalties when a gun is used during a crime.
Figueroa will appear in court May 29 and faces a maximum sentence of life in state prison if convicted as charged. His public defender did not respond to request for comment.
The technical college's campus president, Chris Becker, said Figueroa worked for a company that provides security to the school.
Inglewood Mayor James Butts said last week it appeared to be an incident of workplace violence, but charging documents did not lay out a possible motive.
Clark's family said she had been recently promoted to dean at the school.
“Cameisha uplifted everyone fortunate enough to cross her path,” her family said in a statement to KNBC. “Her leadership, integrity, and deep sense of purpose helped shape futures of countless students from the campus of Clark Atlanta University to Spartan College. She believed in the potential of others even when they could not yet see it in themselves.”
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
In this article
Nvidia shares rose on Wednesday on a report that the Trump administration plans to revise a set of chip trade restrictions called the "AI diffusion" rule.
Shares of Nvidia closed 3% higher.
The rule, which was proposed in the last days of the Biden administration, organizes countries into three different tiers, all of which have different restrictions on whether advanced AI chips like those made by Nvidia, AMD, and Intel can be shipped to the country without a license.
The Trump administration plans to rescind the rule, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. The chip restrictions were scheduled to take effect on May 15.
Nvidia had no comment on the reported move by the Trump administration.
Chipmakers including Nvidia and AMD have been against the rule.
AMD CEO Lisa Su told CNBC on Wednesday that the U.S. should strike a balance between restricting access to chips for national security and providing access, which will boost the American chip industry.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said earlier this week that being locked out of the Chinese AI market would be a "tremendous loss."
Read the full Bloomberg story here: Trump to Rescind Global Chip Curbs Amid AI Restrictions Debate
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The Federal Reserve kept interest rates at the target range of 4.25% to 4.5% at the conclusion of its May meeting. The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee noted that "the risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have risen."
The central bank is walking a fine line: It's facing uncertainty around President Donald Trump's tariffs and economy that shows some signs of resilience – take April's payrolls – as well as weakness – like the latest gross domestic product report.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell knocked down any notion of taking preemptive rate cuts as inflation is still running above target. "It's not a situation where we can be preemptive, because we actually don't know what the right responses to the data will be until we see more data," Powell said.
The Fed has been on hold since its last cut in December as it waits to evaluate the tariff impact.
Powell said U.S. negotiations with key trade partners could have a material impact on the economic outlook, after Trump imposed higher than expected tariffs that surprised even the Fed.
"It seems to be we're entering a new phase where the administration is beginning talks with a number of our important trading partners and that has the potential to change the picture materially — or not," Powell said. "It's going to be very important how that shakes out."
Powell said the tariffs Trump implemented on April 2nd were "substantially larger than anticipated in the forecasts that I had see and in our forecasts."
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are scheduled to meet with Chinese counterparts in Switzerland this weekend. The two largest economies in the world have slapped tariffs on each other that effectively amount to an embargo, Bessent said Tuesday.
— Spencer Kimball
Despite a bevy of criticisms launched from the White House to Powell, the Fed chief said he has not asked to meet with Donald Trump or any other U.S. president.
"I've never asked for a meeting with any president, and I never will," Powell said. "I wouldn't do that. There's never a reason for me to ask for a meeting. It's always been the other way."
"I don't think it's up to a Fed chair to seek a meeting with the president," he added.
— Alex Harring
While Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the U.S. federal debt level "is on an unsustainable path," he refrained from offering any advice for Congress on the budget.
"I think they don't need my advice and our advice on how to do fiscal policy, any more than we need their advice," Powell said during a press conference on Wednesday. "It's on Congress to figure out how to get us back on a sustainable path."
— Hakyung Kim
President Donald Trump's call for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates has no effect "at all" on the Federal Open Market Committee's job or the way they do it, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said.
"We are always going to do the same thing, which is we are going to use our tools to foster maximum employment and price stability for the benefit of the American people," he said. "We are always going to consider only the economic data, the outlook, the balance of risks and that's it. That's all we are going to consider."
— Michelle Fox
Powell said he believes the Fed is in a "good position" to see how all the uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration's tariffs plays out.
"There's just so much that we don't know, I think, and we're in a good position to wait and see, is the thing. We don't have to be in a hurry. The economy has been resilient. It's doing fairly well. Our policy is well positioned. The costs of waiting to see further are fairly low," Powell said. "I can't tell you how long it will take, but for now, it does seem like it's a fairly clear decision for us to wait and see and watch."
— Sean Conlon
Powell said that if Trump's tariffs ultimately stay at their current levels, this could delay the U.S. central bank from achieving its mandated goals.
"What looks likely — given the scope and scale of the tariffs — is that we will see certainly the risks to higher inflation, higher unemployment have increased. And if that's what we do see — if the tariffs are ultimately put in place at those levels, which we don't know — then we won't see further progress toward our goals," he said. "We might see a delay in that."
Powell specified that this could delay the Fed's timeline for the next year or so.
"In our thinking, we would never do anything but keep achieving those goals. But we would at least for the next, let's say year, we would not be making progress toward those goals — again, if that's the way the tariffs shake out," he added. "The thing is, we don't know that. There's so much uncertainty about the scale, scope, timing and persistence of the tariffs."
A delay in the Fed achieving its goals could mean that the U.S. central bank might hold rates at higher levels for longer than it had previously anticipated.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said central bank is not looking to cut rates preemptively due to the fact that inflation is still running above target, with forecasts for another potential rise in inflation in the near term.
"It's not a situation where we can be preemptive, because we actually don't know what the right responses to the data will be until we see more data," Powell said.
— Jesse Pound
Powell said it's "too early" to know which side of the Federal Reserve's dual mandate of high employment and stable prices is more important.
"It's too early to know that," he said.
Powell added that the policy rate is in a good spot while the central bank awaits clarity on what President Donald Trump's tariff policy looks like. He called the Fed's current monetary policy is only "moderately restrictive" and said that the central bank will continue to monitor economic data.
This "leaves us in a good place to wait and see," Powell said of current borrowing levels amid uncertainty around tariffs. "We don't think we need to be in a hurry. We think we can be patient."
— Alex Harring
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that the current announced levels of tariffs could lead to a slowdown in economic growth and a potential rise in long-term inflation.
"If the large increases in tariffs that have been announced are sustained, they are likely to generate a rise in inflation, a slowdown in economic growth, and an increase in unemployment. The effects on inflation could be short-lived, reflecting a one-time shift in the price level. It is also possible that the inflationary effects could instead be more persistent," Powell said.
— Jesse Pound
Fed Chair Jerome Powell sees the Fed policy as appropriate despite the rising threat from President Donald Trump's tariffs.
"The risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation appear to have risen, and we believe that the current stance of monetary policy leaves us well positioned to respond in a timely way to potential economic development," the central bank leader said during his post-meeting news conference.
—Jeff Cox
The Federal Reserve's key benchmark rate sets what banks charge each other for overnight lending, but also has a domino effect on almost all of the borrowing and savings rates Americans see every day.
With a rate cut likely postponed until July, the average credit card annual percentage rate has stayed just over 20% — not far from last year′s all-time high. Auto loan rates are also persistently high, with the average rate on a five-year new car loan over 7%.
And since mortgage rates don't directly track the Fed, but are largely tied to Treasury yields and the economy, those rates are down slightly.
On the upside, the Fed's pause leaves yields for CDs and high-yield savings accounts well above the annual rate of inflation.
— Jessica Dickler
The Federal Reserve's statement "sending a shot across the bow to the administration, saying essentially if you read between the lines, 'Your policies are leading to higher inflation, higher unemployment," David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, said in an interview with CNBC's "Power Lunch."
"It says, 'We are not going to be in any hurry to cut rates because honestly there are risks to both sides of our mandate here and we are not sure which way we should be playing this,'" he added.
— Michelle Fox
The recent better-than-feared jobs report supports the Federal Reserve's decision to hold rates steady — and the central bank will likely continue to stay in a holding pattern at its next meeting, said Ashish Shah, chief investment officer of public investing at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
"The onus is on the labor market to weaken sufficiently to bring a resumption of its easing cycle," Shah said. "Any weakening in the labor market, however, could take a number of months to become apparent and we see the odds skewed towards another 'hold' at next month's meeting."
— Michelle Fox
In this meeting's Fed statement, the committee notably added that it "judges that the risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have risen." Click here for a comparison of the March and May statements.
— Alex Harring
Stocks turned lower after the Federal Reserve issued its post-decision statement.
"The Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate and judges that the risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have risen," the post-meeting statement reads.
The S&P 500 was down 0.4% on the day, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.9%. The Dow Industrials was well off its highs, up just 45 points, or 0.1%.
–Darla Mercado
Central bank policymakers kept a steady hand on interest rates, maintaining them at the target range of 4.25% to 4.5%.
This time, the Federal Open Market Committee noted that it is "attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate and judges that the risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have risen."
Click here for more details from CNBC's Jeff Cox on the Fed's rate decision.
–Darla Mercado
The three major averages were in positive territory – albeit with the Dow Industrials and S&P 500 getting a boost from Disney – just before 1:30 p.m. ET.
The S&P 500 was up 0.46%, while the Dow surged 0.93%. The Nasdaq Composite was just above the flatline.
The U.S. 10-year yield traded at 4.287%, down about 3 basis points, while the rate on the 2-year note inched up by 1 basis point to 3.8%.
–Darla Mercado
As the Federal Reserve prepares to announce its policy decision, consumer rates that are closely tied to the 10-year Treasury yield remain high.
The benchmark note yield is trading just below 4.3% as of midday Wednesday, up from the roughly 2% level where it traded during the week of March 11, 2022 – just before the Fed raised rates for the first time in this latest cycle.
Rates on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage were around 6.9% as of the week of May 2, up from 4.29% in March 2022, according to data from MND. Credit card rates also remain high, hovering at 20.12% as of last week, compared to 16.34% in March 2022, per Bankrate data.
For consumers who are saving, the five-year annual percentage yield was at 1.69% last week, according to data from Haver. That's up from the 0.5% APY institutions were paying on these CDs in March 2022, but down notably from the 2.87% they offered last September.
–Nick Wells, Darla Mercado
Central bank policymakers are widely expected to keep interest rates at their current range of 4.25% to 4.5% at the conclusion of their May meeting. Fed funds futures call for a nearly 98% likelihood that the Federal Reserve will stand pat on rate policy.
This meeting is notable because it comes a little more than a month after President Donald Trump rolled out a raft of tariffs, a move that jolted stocks and bonds in April.
Plenty of uncertainty lingers over how these levies will shape up, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last month that the duties could put the central bank in a crunch between reining in inflation and lifting economic growth.
Because of this shakiness, traders will be listening closely to Powell's press conference at 2:30 p.m., seeking clues on what could be next for rates.
Read more here from CNBC's Jeff Cox on what to expect from the Fed's rate decision.
–Darla Mercado
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Janette Nesheiwat
The White House is pulling its nomination for Fox News contributor Janette Nesheiwat to be US surgeon general, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee was scheduled to hold a hearing on Nesheiwat's nomination on Thursday.
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President Donald Trump said he's unwilling to preemptively lower tariffs on China in order to unlock more substantive negotiations with Beijing on trade.
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Fed Meeting:
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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said officials are not in a hurry to adjust interest rates, adding tariffs could lead to higher inflation and unemployment.
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held its key interest rate unchanged as it waits for the Trump administration's trade policy to take shape and sees its impact on a sputtering economy.
In a move that carried little suspense given the wave of uncertainty sweeping the political and economic landscape, the Federal Open Market Committee held its benchmark overnight borrowing rate in a range between 4.25%-4.5%, where it has been since December.
The post-meeting statement noted the volatility and how that is factoring into policy decisions.
"Uncertainty about the economic outlook has increased further," the statement said. "The Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate and judges that the risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have risen."
While the statement did not specifically address the tariffs, Chair Jerome Powell addressed the issue at his post-meeting news conference.
Stocks briefly ceded some gains after the rate announcement but mostly recovered, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up nearly 300 points despite some worries over the Fed's characterization of the economic risks.
"The May FOMC statement in effect warns that a large trade shock is still set to hit the economy in spite of efforts by the Trump administration to deescalate, with the Fed seeing the risks ahead as two-sided and not providing any early dovish lean in favor of a June rate cut," wrote Krishna Guha, head of global policy and central bank strategy at Evercore ISI. "The net implications for risk assets are negative."
Finding the balance between the two elements of the Fed's so-called dual mandate of full employment and stable prices has been made more difficult lately amid President Donald Trump's tariff push.
In noting that tariffs both threaten to aggravate inflation as well as slow economic growth, the statement raises the possibility of a stagflationary scenario largely absent from the U.S. since the early 1980s.
Policymakers have largely been in agreement that the central bank is in a good position, with the economy generally holding up for now, to be patient as it calibrates monetary policy.
Powell emphasized this during the press conference. "The economy itself is still in solid shape," he said.
The Fed's deliberations come as the White House is locked on negotiations with top U.S. trading partners during a 90-day negotiating period that began in early April. Trump slapped 10% across-the-board tariffs on U.S. imports and threatened other individual "reciprocal" duties pending ongoing talks.
As near-daily headline changes gauge the trade war, the economy has been flashing conflicting signals on growth, inflation, and consumer and business sentiment.
Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic performance, fell 0.3% in the first quarter, the product of slower consumer and government spending and a surge in imports ahead of the tariffs. Most Wall Street economists expect the economy will return to positive growth in the second quarter.
The FOMC statement noted that "swings in net exports have affected the data," and held to its recent characterization that the economy "has continued to expand at a solid pace."
Indeed, job growth has held up despite Trump's efforts to pare down the federal workforce. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 177,000 in April and the unemployment rate held at 4.2%, giving the Fed room to breathe if it expects a further economic slowdown.
Inflation has been ticking lower and approaching the Fed's 2% target, but tariffs are expected to result in at least a one-time rise in prices. Trump has pushed the Fed to cut rates as inflation has eased. The central bank's preferred gauge showed headline inflation at 2.3%, or 2.6% on core that excludes food and energy.
However, as with all aspects of the economy, it all depends on what happens with tariffs.
Recent indications of progress in negotiations along with some softening from the administration have helped reverse a huge stock market sell-off after the April 2 "liberation day" announcement from Trump. However, business surveys show a high degree of anxiety, with most managers reporting concerns about supplies and pricing from the tariffs.
Market pricing regarding Fed action has been volatile as well.
Heading into the meeting, pricing indicated virtually no chance of a cut this week and less than 30% probability of a move in June, with the next reduction expected in July. Traders are pricing in a total of three cuts this year, though that could change following Wednesday's decision.
The committee's decision to hold the benchmark rate steady was unanimous. The fed funds rate is used by banks for overnight lending but also feeds into other consumer debt such as mortgages, auto loans and credit cards.
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Apple Inc. is “actively looking at” revamping the Safari web browser on its devices to focus on AI-powered search engines, a seismic shift for the industry hastened by the potential end of a longtime partnership with Google.
Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of services, made the disclosure Wednesday during his testimony in the US Justice Department's lawsuit against Alphabet Inc. The heart of the dispute is the two companies' estimated $20 billion-a-year deal that makes Google the default offering for queries in Apple's browser. The case could force the tech giants to unwind the pact, upending how the iPhone and other devices have long operated.
In this article
Alphabet and Apple shares sank Wednesday after Eddy Cue, Apple's services chief, said he believes that AI search engines will eventually replace standard search engines such as Google, according to Bloomberg.
Cue said he expects to add artificial intelligence services from OpenAI, Perplexity and Anthropic as search options in Apple's Safari browser in the future, according to the report.
The Apple executive was testifying in a federal court in Washington as part of the Justice Department's lawsuit against Alphabet. Last year, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that Google had illegally dominated advertising technology markets, and now the judge is looking to determine what penalties or actions should be taken against the search company.
One major focus on the case is Google's practice of paying platform providers such as Apple to become the default search engine on their platform.
The lawsuit and any potential remedies threaten Google's lucrative advertising business, and Alphabet shares sank more than 8% in trading Wednesday.
But the lawsuit also threatens to ensnare Apple. Google pays the iPhone maker billions of dollars per year — as much as $20 billion per year back in 2022, according to testimony in the trial — to be the default search engine on iPhones. It's lucrative for Apple and a valuable way for Google to get more search volume and users. Apple shares fell 2% during trading Wednesday.
Cue's comments cast doubt on the long-term stability of the relationship. Cue said he believes Google should remain the default search option on Safari, saying he has lost sleep over the possibility of losing the revenue share from the two companies' agreement, according to the report.
The Apple executive said searches on Safari declined for the first time in April, which Cue attributed to the rise in people using AI, according to the report.
WATCH: Apple says searches in Google browser fell for the first time in April
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Champions League fixtures don't come much more intriguing than this. Watch the PSG vs. Arsenal semifinal second leg on Wednesday to see which of these superpowers of European football will head to Munich for the final on May 31. We have all the details you need to live stream this Champions League game — and where it's available for free — in this article.
Paris Saint-Germain has a one-goal advantage, after scraping a 1-0 win at home in the nip-and-tuck first leg last week. Between Ousmane Dembélé's early strike and Gianluigi Donnarumma's heroics in the gloves, the French side gave themselves a fantastic opportunity for a second final in five years and to finally get their hands on the trophy that has so painfully eluded them.
Mikel Arteta and the Gunners will be desperate to show that their destruction of Real Madrid in the quarterfinal was no fluke. They were strangely lackluster at the Emirates and didn't show the same killer instinct that they found against Los Blancos. Arteta will be delighted to have influential midfielder Thomas Partey available for this return leg, and he'll hope that Declan Rice can show the sparks of brilliance that have helped Arsenal reach the final four.
With PSG having sealed the French title and Arsenal unable to do likewise in England, the UEFA Champions League is now the be-all and end-all of these clubs' 2024/25 season. To see what happens next, we explain here how to watch PSG vs. Arsenal live streams from all corners of the Earth.
US:
There's good news for soccer fans in some parts of the world where PSG vs. Arsenal live streams are shown for free on Wednesday. The RTÉ Player is showing it for free online in Ireland (and the free-to-air RTÉ2 channel on TV). It will also be shown via RTL Club in Belgium and RTL2 in Luxembourg. Or if you're in the US and have never used them before, you can get a free trial of Paramount Plus or Fubo.
If you try watching your usual PSG vs. Arsenal live stream when overseas, you'll discover that it's unavailable due to geographical restrictions. To get around this, you can try using a virtual private network, or VPN. It's a clever piece of cybersecurity software that not only encrypts all of your internet usage, but can also be used on your laptop, smartphone, or streaming device to make it think that it's back in your home country.
ExpressVPN is one of the best available right now. If you're new to VPNs, ExpressVPN is amazingly easy to set up and use. Find out more with our in-depth ExpressVPN review and, if you like what you read, grab a subscription with the knowledge that you can get your money back within 30 days if you decide you don't want it after all.
With its consistent performance, reliable security, and expansive global streaming features, ExpressVPN is the best VPN out there, excelling in every spec and offering many advanced features that make it exceptional. Better yet, you can save more than 60% right now and get up to four months free.
Paramount Plus is the official UEFA Champions League streaming service in the US this season. It will show this last semifinal clash between PSG vs. Arsenal, as well as the final on May 31. Subscriptions cost $8/month or $60 for a whole year. Plus, you can try it free for a week if you haven't subscribed to Paramount Plus before.
Paramount Plus is perfect for viewers who want to stream CBS TV shows, local NFL games, and tons of content from Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, and MTV. And if you get the premium tier you can also unlock ad-free streaming and access to Showtime.
The magnitude of the game means that this fixture will also be shown on linear television via CBS. So if you pick up CBS through your aerial or have it as part of a cable package, you can watch the game there. In addition to Paramount Plus, cord-cutters can live stream PSG vs. Arsenal online through an OTT service featuring CBS, like Fubo ($85/month) or DirecTV ($85/month). Both services offer free trials for new users.
Fubo is the streaming service for sports fans. Its huge library of channels includes regional and international sports leagues, setting it apart from the competition. You can also tack on additional programming to your plan, but it'll cost you extra.
Previously known as AT&T TV, DirecTV offers streaming access to a large selection of live channels, including most key networks typically found in traditional cable packages.
This crucial semifinal match will be shown on TNT Sports in the UK. There are several different routes to getting TNT Sports if you don't already have access. Firstly, you can watch online thanks to a Discovery Plus Premium subscription, which costs £31/month. It's cancelable any time and also lets you watch other big-ticket sports, such as Premiership rugby, Grand Tour cycling, snooker, Australian and French Open tennis, and UFC. You can also add TNT Sports to TV packages from Sky, Virgin Media, and EE for an additional cost.
DAZN is Canada's exclusive UEFA Champions League streamer. The sports streaming specialist is live streaming all of the semifinal matches and the final later in the month (as well as Europa League and Conference League matches). It's most affordable by taking an annual plan, which costs either $250 upfront or $25/month on a 12-month contract. For something more flexible, you can pay $35/month on a rolling basis.
Note: The use of VPNs is illegal in certain countries and using VPNs to access region-locked streaming content might constitute a breach of the terms of use for certain services. Business Insider does not endorse or condone the illegal use of VPNs.
You can purchase logo and accolade licensing to this story here.Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at reviews@businessinsider.com.
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This is CNBC's live blog covering European markets.
European markets closed lower on Wednesday, with traders monitoring regional corporate earnings releases and awaiting the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy announcement.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed down 0.5% provisionally, with retail stocks down 2.2%, leading the losses.
Europe's pharmaceuticals industry is still reeling from U.S. President Donald Trump's Monday announcement that tariffs for the sector would be announced within the next two weeks.
Shares of Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk bucked the sectoral trend to gain 1.3%, after the company's first-quarter earnings came in above expectations. The firm cut its 2025 guidance, however, citing weakening demand for its blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy.
Investors also monitored earnings releases from Ørsted, Pandora, Veolia, Legrand, BMW, Siemens Healthineers, Fresenius, Skanska B, JD Wetherspoon, Vonovia, Delhaize and Telecom Italia on Wednesday.
Across the Atlantic, the Fed's interest rate decision is due at 2 p.m. ET. Fed funds futures trading suggests just a 3.1% chance of the central bank cutting interest rates this meeting, according to CME's FedWatch tool. Traders will nevertheless be listening for Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments after the announcement for insights into the path of rates and state of the economy.
U.S. stocks opened higher after government spokespeople said U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and top trade official Jamieson Greer would meet with their Chinese counterparts this week in Switzerland. The news was taken as a positive sign for developments on trade negotiations after turbulent market action following President Donald Trump's tariff announcement last month.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong markets jumped over 2% to lead gains in Asia-Pacific after China's central bank and financial regulators announced sweeping plans to cut key interest rates in an effort to shore up growth in the face of trade worries.
— CNBC's Lee Ying Shan and Alex Harring contributed reporting to this summary
Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen weighs in on the impact of compounded drugs on first-quarter Wegovy sales while forecasting a rebound later this year.
U.S. stocks advanced in morning deals as investors looked toward the Federal Reserve interest rate announcement expected later in the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 225 points higher, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 gained 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.3%.
— Pia Singh
Alexander Lacik, CEO of Pandora, discusses first-quarter results, revised 2025 guidance and explains how U.S. tariffs might impact the business.
New manufacturing orders in Germany rose by 3.6% month on month on an adjusted basis, provisional data from the country's statistics bureau Destatis showed on Wednesday.
Analysts polled by Reuters had been expecting orders to increase by 1.3%.
The March figures marked the first rise in industrial orders for Germany this year.
— Chloe Taylor
Retail sales fell by 0.1% month on month in both the euro zone and the European Union in March, preliminary data from statistics office Eurostat showed on Wednesday.
Countries that saw the biggest contraction in retail sales were Slovenia, where sales volumes were 2% lower on a monthly basis; Estonia, where sales fell by 1.3%; and Slovakia, where retail sales were down 0.9%.
— Chloe Taylor
British construction activity continued to slide in April, S&P Global said in its latest UK Construction PMI on Wednesday, marking the industry's fourth consecutive month of output declines amid rising business uncertainty.
Commercial projects had fallen at their fastest rate since mid-2020, researchers said, while cost pressures had led to a ramping up of job cuts in the sector.
However, S&P Global noted that April saw the slowest decline in total activity in three months, with house building showing resilience.
— Chloe Taylor
Shares of Swedish carmaker Volvo were 0.1% higher at 10:54 a.m. London time, paring gains from earlier in the session.
It came after the company said it would cut 5% of the workforce at its Charleston, South Carolina plant, according to Reuters, with the company citing new trade tariffs and market conditions as drivers of the decision.
Volvo reportedly said the cuts were separate from the hundreds of U.S. layoffs announced in its first-quarter earnings report last week.
A spokesperson for Volvo was not immediately available to respond when contacted by CNBC.
— Chloe Taylor
Wind farm operator Orsted announced on Wednesday that it would discontinue its Hornsea 4 project, a move expected to incur costs of up to 4.5 billion Danish krone this year ($680 million).
The company cited multiple "adverse developments" that had influenced its decision to withdraw funding for the project, including rising supply chain costs, higher interest rates, and greater risks involved with completing construction within the current timeline.
"These developments have increased the execution risk and deteriorated the value creation of the project," it said in a statement on Wednesday. "Therefore, Ørsted has taken the decision to stop further spend on the project at this time and terminate the project's supply chain contracts."
Hornsea 4 would have been Orsted's fourth windfarm site in the Hornsea Zone of the North Sea, with the U.K. government awarding the company a contract last year to sell energy generated from the farm at 2012 prices. At the time, Orsted said it was targeting commissioning of the project by the end of 2030.
Wednesday also saw Orsted confirm its full-year guidance for 2025 and post an 18% year-on-year jump in operating profit. Quarterly operating profit came in at 8.87 billion Danish krone, above the 8.16 billion krone expected by analysts polled by LSEG.
Shares of Orsted were down 1.3% by 10:39 a.m. in London.
— Chloe Taylor
Regional health-care stocks led losses in Europe on Wednesday, with the Stoxx Healthcare index shedding 1.2% during early morning trade.
Medical device manufacturer Ambu was the biggest loser in the sector, with its stock falling 11.9% despite the company confirming its full-year guidance and assuring investors that it is "prepared and well-positioned to navigate" new U.S. tariffs. Ambu posted organic revenue growth of 11.7% in its fiscal second quarter, with revenue for the three months to March coming in at a worse-than-expected 1.55 billion Danish krone ($240 million).
Ambu is expecting organic revenue growth in the range of 11% to 14% this year.
At the other end of the sector index, Novo Nordisk shares were up 5% after the company posted better-than-expected first-quarter profit and cut its 2025 outlook on weaker demand for its weight loss drug Wegovy.
Regional investors are also reacting to U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement on Monday that sector-specific tariffs on pharmaceuticals would be announced within two weeks.
— Chloe Taylor
German carmaker BMW confirmed its full-year guidance on Wednesday, despite acknowledging "volatile developments" in relation to U.S. trade policy.
As it posted first-quarter revenues of 33.8 billion euros ($38.5 billion) — slightly below analyst expectations, according to LSEG data — BMW said it still expects 2025 earnings before tax to be flat from the previous year. Currency-adjusted revenues were down 8.7% from the previous year.
The company said that although vehicle deliveries fell by 1.4% year on year, its fully electric vehicles saw "significant sales growth" of 32.4% to account for a quarter of all sales.
Meanwhile, BMW's automotive EBIT margin, a key profit indicator, came in at 6.9% in the first quarter — putting it at the upper end of its 2025 target range of 5% to 7%.
The company said it expects demand to rise in many markets for the remainder of the year, while noting that permanent tariffs in the U.S. could lead to rising inflation.
However, BMW said it had already priced some of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs regime into its outlook.
"The guidance published … in March 2025 includes all tariff increases that had taken effect by 12 March 2025," it said in a news release on Wednesday. "Due to the volatile developments and ongoing negotiations, the potential impact of tariffs in the current financial year can only be estimated, based on assumptions."
The company added that it expects some U.S. tariff increases to be temporary, with reductions being rolled out from July.
"The forecast also includes mitigating measures to offset the impact of higher tariffs," BMW said of its outlook. "Given the sustained demand for its attractive premium vehicles, the BMW Group is able to confirm its guidance for the year."
— Chloe Taylor
Novo Nordisk on Wednesday reported a better-than-expected rise in first-quarter net profit but lowered its full-year sales growth forecast on weaker demand for its blockbuster Wegovy weight loss drugs amid increased competition from copycat compounders.
The Danish pharmaceutical giant's net profit came in at 29.03 billion Danish kroner ($4.4 billion) for the three-month period to the end of March, ahead of the 27.8 billion Danish kroner forecast by analysts in an LSEG poll.
Sales of the company's popular Wegovy obesity drug rose 83% annually at constant exchange rates to 17.36 billion Danish kroner, slightly below the 18.51 billion Danish kroner anticipated by analysts in a Factset poll Tuesday.
Read the full story here.
— Karen Gilchrist
TCW CEO Katie Koch expects the rockiness to return to the markets as investors continue to digest economic data.
"There will be a lot of uncertainty," she said in an interview with CNBC's Sara Eisen from the sidelines of Milken Institute Global Conference Tuesday. "This is a process and it's going to take time. We are going to continue to get a series of conflicting data points."
"We've got a lot of dry powder and we're excited for the opportunity to lean in when that happens," she added.
The path of the economy can range anywhere from a soft landing to a recession to stagflation, Koch said. At the moment, she said a recession is possible but is too difficult to predict.
In the meantime, selectivity is key across the board, she said. In equities, there are some bottom-up opportunities and in private credit, she sees an opportunity in rescue financing. Still, longer term, Koch still believes in the artificial intelligence revolution and the shortage of energy to support it.
"Do I think there is massive wealth creation opportunities in equity markets by allocating capital to AI and energy? 100%," Koch said. "I just think in the near term we've got a lot of volatility that we'll have to weave through."
— Michelle Fox
Stock futures rallied after U.S. government spokespeople said that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and top trade official Jamieson Greer would meet with their Chinese counterparts this week in Switzerland.
Investors can take this as an indicator of forthcoming developments on trade negotiations after President Donald Trump's tariff announcement last month ratcheted up volatility in the market.
— Alex Harring, Kevin Breuninger
European markets are expected to open in mixed territory Wednesday.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 6 points lower at 8,591, Germany's DAX up 40 points at 23,276, France's CAC 5 points higher at 7,696 and Italy's FTSE MIB 26 points higher at 38,018, according to data from IG.
There's another busy day of earnings ahead with Novo Nordisk, Ørsted, Pandora, Veolia, Legrand, BMW, Siemens Healthineers, Fresenius, Skanska B, JD Wetherspoon, Vonovia, Delhaize and Telecom Italia. Data releases include European retail sales.
— Holly Ellyatt
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DETROIT — A closely watched barometer for used vehicle pricing jumped last month to its highest level since October 2023 as consumers rushed purchases amid fears of price hikes due to auto tariffs.
Cox Automotive's Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index — which tracks prices of used vehicles sold at its U.S. wholesale auctions — increased 4.9% last month compared with a year earlier to a level of 208.2.
It also marked a 2.7% increase from March. That's a significant increase compared with a historically typical month-to-month index move of 0.2%, according to the auto data and logistics firm.
"The 'spring bounce' normally ends the second week of April, but this year, wholesale appreciation trends continued for the entire month and were much stronger than we typically observe," said Jeremy Robb, Cox Automotive senior director of economic and industry insights. "We expected to see strong price appreciation in response to the tariffs, and that's exactly what came."
While the tariffs of 25% on new imported vehicles and many parts do not directly impact used car sales, changes in new vehicle prices, production and demand affect the used car market, which is how the majority of Americans purchase a vehicle.
Retail prices for consumers traditionally follow changes in wholesale prices, but they have not fallen as quickly as wholesale prices in recent years.
Cox reports retail used-vehicle sales in April were down 1.7% compared with March but higher year over year by 13%. Over the last four weeks, the average retail listing price for a used vehicle increased by 2% to more than $25,000, Cox said. That compares to a new vehicle at nearly $48,000.
The Manheim index remains off the record highs it hit during the Covid pandemic but is still relatively high compared to historic levels before the onset of the global health crisis in 2020.
Cox previously said it was seeing used vehicle prices continue to stabilize after swinging wildly for several years before starting to calm down in 2024.
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The 28-year-old banker whose death prompted a wave of backlash against Jefferies died from the "toxic effects" of fentanyl and cocaine, the Dallas medical examiner said.
Carter McIntosh, an associate with the bank's technology, media, and telecommunications coverage team in Dallas, was found dead in his apartment in January, leading Jefferies CEO Richard Handler to issue a memo defending the bank from "unfounded" speculation about the banker's cause of death.
The police initially ruled it an "unexplained death." An autopsy report by the medical examiner's office now says McIntosh's death was an accident caused by the "combined toxic effects" of fentanyl and cocaine, according to a copy of the report obtained by Business Insider.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 50 times stronger than heroin, has proved a rising threat in the US, fueling an alarming surge in overdoses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says overdoses remain the No. 1 killer of Americans ages 18 to 44.
"Our hearts grieve for Carter and our sincere condolences to his family, coworkers, and friends. Carter is missed by many at Jefferies and beyond," Handler told BI in a statement on Wednesday.
In the wake of McIntosh's death, Handler and the firm's president, Brian Friedman, released a memo to staff expressing their "tremendous sadness" and offering support to employees.
Handler also criticized what he called "unfounded, vitriolic attacks" against Jefferies' work culture.
"At this point, nobody knows exactly what happened and engaging in speculation with cynical assumptions serves no useful purpose and only adds to the grief that the McIntosh family is suffering," the memo said.
McIntosh worked at other financial services firms before joining Jefferies, including stints in equity research at Goldman Sachs and as an investment banking analyst at Moelis & Co., his LinkedIn page said. Before that, he attended Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.
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The 28-year-old banker whose death prompted online attacks against Jefferies died from the "toxic effects" of fentanyl and cocaine, the Dallas medical examiner said.
Carter McIntosh, an associate with the bank's technology, media, and telecommunications coverage team in Dallas, was found dead in his apartment in January, leading Jefferies CEO Richard Handler to issue a memo defending the bank from "unfounded" speculation about the banker's cause of death.
The police initially ruled it an "unexplained death." An autopsy report by the medical examiner's office now says McIntosh's death was an accident caused by the "combined toxic effects" of fentanyl and cocaine, according to a copy of the report obtained by Business Insider.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 50 times stronger than heroin, has proved a rising threat in the US, fueling an alarming surge in overdoses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says overdoses remain the No. 1 killer of Americans ages 18 to 44.
"Our hearts grieve for Carter and our sincere condolences to his family, coworkers, and friends. Carter is missed by many at Jefferies and beyond," Handler told BI in a statement on Wednesday.
In the wake of McIntosh's death, Handler and the firm's president, Brian Friedman, released a memo to staff expressing their "tremendous sadness" and offering support to employees.
Handler also criticized what he called "unfounded, vitriolic attacks" against Jefferies' work culture.
"At this point, nobody knows exactly what happened and engaging in speculation with cynical assumptions serves no useful purpose and only adds to the grief that the McIntosh family is suffering," the memo said.
McIntosh worked at other financial services firms before joining Jefferies, including stints in equity research at Goldman Sachs and as an investment banking analyst at Moelis & Co., his LinkedIn page said. Before that, he attended Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.
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Netflix's Future:
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Netflix Inc. has been such a strong performer that not even the threat of massive tariffs on films has been enough for investors to question its prospects.
National Basketball Association superstar Russell Westbrook is taking a shot off the court at simplifying funeral planning with artificial intelligence.
The famed Denver Nuggets point guard on Wednesday announced the launch of Eazewell, a startup that uses AI technology to streamline the process for coordinating funerals. Westbrook founded the venture with former Charlotte Hornets star Kemba Walker and childhood friend Donnell Beverly Jr., who serves as president of Russell Westbrook Enterprises and CEO and co-founder of Eazewell.
"My whole career, on and off the court, has been about stepping up decisively in the moments that matter most," Westbrook wrote in a statement to CNBC. Westbrook and the Nuggets are currently facing the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Western Conference semifinals. "Eazewell is exactly that — a decisive solution to a very real problem."
The Los Angeles-based company uses AI to curate funeral options catered to each user's budgets and preferences. The platform assists with paperwork, budget planning, invitations and overlooked tasks such as canceling a deceased loved one's utility bills and social media accounts. Eazewell currently has 11 employees and has already tested its beta platform with more than 1,000 families.
Eazewell has not disclosed funding but has revenue agreements with partner services. The startup is also working on partnerships with finance and life insurance companies in the space. The service is free to use and does not have an ads component "at this stage," a company spokesperson said.
"We're trying to take the weight off people's shoulders as much as we can, and make this process so much easier for people," Walker told CNBC in a phone interview. Walker played college basketball with Beverly at the University of Connecticut.
Eazewell traces its origins to Westbrook and Beverly's high school days, when their friend and basketball teammate Khelcey Barrs III passed away unexpectedly from an enlarged heart. Westbrook commemorates Barrs to this day by wearing a bracelet with the initials "KB3" in every NBA game he plays and on his signature Jordan Why Not Zer0.6 "Khelcey Barrs" shoe.
"It's a reminder that life can change in an instant," Westbrook said. "You don't get to choose the moment, but you do get to choose how you respond."
The experience left a lasting effect on the two friends, Beverly said, but it wasn't until the death of Beverly's parents that he experienced funeral planning hurdles firsthand. Beverly said the experience was "messy" and "grueling."
Disillusioned and frustrated by the process after the death of his mother and father in 2016 and 2023, respectively, Beverly turned to his close friends to come up with the solution that became Eazewell.
"It just seems like the perfect time to really turn our shared pain into purpose," Beverly said.
One of Eazewell's most innovative features is its voice-activated AI agent that can gather cost quotes and call funeral homes on a user's behalf.
Recent advancements in AI have only recently made it possible to automate tasks and create agents that can manage these jobs in an empathetic and compassionate manner, said Viviane Ghaderi, Eazewell's tech chief and a former Amazon executive.
Stephen Stokols, an Eazewell investor and CEO of Tru Skye Ventures, an early-stage sports technology and wellness venture firm, said these "transformational" AI advancements helping bring the funeral industry out of the "dark ages" initially drew him to the project.
Walker said he hopes Eazewell can offer users the tools to navigate a topic that is not taught in school or early life.
"We know how important it is to have someone by your side to help with the details that come after a loss," Westbrook said.
WATCH: The AI boom needs to stay in the U.S., says Energy Capital's Doug Kimmelman
Correction: Donnell Beverly Jr.'s father passed away in 2023. A previous version of this story had an incorrect year.
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Ford Motor has hiked prices on three of its Mexico-produced models effective May 2, becoming one of the first major automakers to adjust sticker prices following President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Prices on the Mustang Mach-E electric SUV, Maverick pickup and Bronco Sport will increase by as much as $2,000 on some models, according to a notice sent to dealers, which was reviewed by Reuters.
Ford earlier this week said Trump's trade war would add about $2.5 billion in costs for 2025, but it expects to reduce that exposure by around $1 billion. Rival General Motors said last week that tariffs were projected to cost it between $4 billion and $5 billion following the imposition of hefty levies on foreign imports of automobiles, but it expected to offset that by at least 30%.
A Ford spokesperson said the price hikes will affect vehicles built after May 2, which would arrive at dealer lots in late June. The spokesperson said the price hikes reflect "usual" mid-year pricing actions, "combined with some tariffs we are facing. We have not passed on the full cost of tariffs to our customers."
Ford shares were down 1.7% at $10.26 at midday. The automaker is still running a discount program through the July 4 weekend on many of its models, the spokesperson said.
Trump's tariffs have unleashed weeks of uncertainty across the auto sector, as major carmakers in the United States and Europe have pulled forecasts, shifted production and caused companies to idle plants.
Following weeks of pushback from the auto industry, Trump softened his tariffs on foreign auto parts imports to give carmakers credits for what is produced in the U.S. and to avoid double-tariffs on raw materials used in auto production. However, the White House has not rescinded a 25% tariff on the 8 million vehicles the U.S. imports annually.
Analysts have said U.S. auto sales could drop by more than 1 million vehicles a year if tariffs were to remain in place.
Ford is in a better position to weather tariffs than some of its competitors because of its strong U.S. manufacturing base. The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker assembles 79% of its U.S.-sold vehicles domestically, compared with GM's 53%, Barclays analysts said in a note.
Still, Ford imports one of its most affordable and popular vehicles, the Maverick, from Mexico. Most major U.S. automakers face significant price hikes on their cheaper models produced in the country.
Ford and GM also face significant levies on imports from China and South Korea, respectively. GM estimated that the costs on its Korean imports totaled about $2 billion, while Ford declined to specify the expenses around importing vehicles from China.
Automakers that rely on exports to the United States are facing increased pricing pressure. A dozen major automakers including Toyota and GM import at least 40% of the vehicles they sell in the U.S., with some such as Volkswagen and Hyundai Motor importing more than 60%, according to 2024 data from S&P Global Mobility.
Before Ford's move, most automakers had not taken the step of boosting prices, but had warned that was on the way.
Porsche said it would have to boost its selling cost if tariffs remained in place while U.S. Volkswagen's Audi brand also suggested potential price increases, without providing any details.
By contrast, BMW expects U.S. car tariffs to decline from July, based on its contacts with U.S. officials - a more upbeat assessment of the trade climate than many rivals. GM's finance chief, Paul Jacobson, told analysts last week that the automaker was not expecting imminent price increases, saying they "feel good about where the pricing environment is today."
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Travel:
Walt Disney Co. announced plans for its first theme park in the Middle East, a sprawling resort property in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
The company's 13th park will be built, owned and operated by the Miral Group, according to the announcement Wednesday. Disneyland Abu Dhabi will be constructed on Yas Island, a major tourism hub in the United Arab Emirates that includes the Miral-built Ferrari World, Warner Bros. World and SeaWorld parks.
After some dramatics, and around 10 weeks after the German election, Europe's largest economy finally has a leader: Friedrich Merz.
His ascension didn't come easy though. On Tuesday, Merz failed to be elected chancellor in a shock first-round vote, an unprecedented event in the country's modern history. Despite securing the necessary parliamentary support in a second attempt later in the day, Merz appears to be starting his new role somewhat bruised.
"It's the weakest possible start," Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING, told CNBC.
Other observers like Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank, appear less concerned.
"I think that in a week or so from now, nobody will talk much about it anymore. Instead people will look at what the government is deciding and doing," he told CNBC.
Either way, the hard work is really only just beginning for the new chancellor and head of the coalition government that is made up of his Christian Democratic Union, with its affiliate the Christian Social Union, and the Social Democratic Party.
Some of the challenges include addressing division within the country about issues like migration, geopolitical tensions around defense spending and trade, a stagnating economy and keeping the ruling coalition united and in line.
Germany's economy will be top of mind for Merz, having made promises of reforms and new investments, and having harshly criticized the previous government's policies during the election campaign.
For over two years now, the country has seen alternating economic expansion and contraction each quarter. Annual gross domestic product growth was negative in both 2023 and 2024. And latest forecasts don't seem to indicate much respite ahead.
This is despite the major fiscal package pushed through by the CDU/CSU and SPD during their coalition negotiations, which includes changes to long-standing debt rules to allow for more defense spending and a 500 billion euro ($567 billion) infrastructure and climate investment fund.
That cash at least appears to be safe, but questions have emerged about other fiscal and economic policies, ING's Brzeski said.
"I think that the 500bn euro infrastructure package will not be touched and is a done deal," Brzeski said. "All other measures, like the faster write-offs for investments or the corporate tax cuts in 2028 have become even more uncertain than before," he added, linking this to a now heightened risk of potential clashes over the country's budget.
Franziska Palmas, senior Europe economist at Capital Economics, also sees the fiscal package being implemented as planned.
"We think that will give a significant boost to GDP growth and get Germany out of stagnation after six years," Palmas told CNBC — but noted that due to the apparent dissatisfaction within parts of the coalition's factions, risks of such a boost being smaller or taking more time have risen.
Another key issue affected by Tuesday's turmoil is trust within the coalition — and that could prove vital for the government's economic policy plans, according to Otto Fricke, former member of the Bundestag for the Free Democratic Party.
"The problem really here is at the end, it's about the most important issue in politics: trust," he said, speaking to CNBC's "Europe Early Edition" on Wednesday. Germany's economy needs changes, and fast, if the goal is for it to grow, Fricke said.
"Therefore, you need trust within the cabinet, within the parliament, to do the legislation fast."
Capital Economics' Palmas pointed to Merz's vows that his government would be more stable than the previous one, which ultimately fell apart over disagreements about economic and fiscal matters.
After the tricky start to his term, however, "the risk that he will not be able to deliver on his promise that he will run a much more efficient and conflict-free government compared to the previous traffic-light coalition has risen," she said.
But despite the apparent tensions and increased instability, Hamburg Commercial Bank's de La Rubia meanwhile pointed out that, as highlighted by their joint coalition agreement, the CDU/CSU and SPD are in fact not that far apart politically.
For example, everyone should be able to agree on the need for investing in railways, roads, bridges and other infrastructure through the fund, and consensus on defense spending should also be found without "bitter conflicts," he said.
So, while Merz's first round failure on Tuesday may have been an attempt from members of parliament to teach him a lesson, it should not mean that the new government shies away from big change, de la Rubia said.
"It does not mean and it must not mean that they have to refrain from doing the necessary reforms with respect to modernizing the infrastructure, to reduce red tape especially when it comes to approval processes for construction work, wind farms, and electricity grids, improve digitalization processes and take the measures to reduce labor shortage," he said.
"I have few doubts about that the new government will be able to implement it's big policy goals"
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Rivian and Tesla are two of the most popular EV makers in the US, but after visiting their New York City showrooms, it became clear to me that the brands are taking very different approaches to their in-store experience.
After seeing a recent TikTok trend about Tesla owners ditching their cars for Rivians amid political backlash toward Elon Musk, I expected to observe more interchangeable aspects between the two brands. After visiting their showrooms, though, it feels like their brand identities have little in common aside from selling EVs.
Neither showroom offered a traditional car dealership experience. The sales staff took a low-pressure approach, and the spaces seemed to be designed to immerse customers in the brand experience rather than being geared exclusively around closing deals.
Rivian's space seemed to target environmentally friendly and outdoorsy family buyers, with employees highlighting products like camping tools, flashlights, and speakers. The space also seemed to be actively embedded in the community through partnerships with local organizations and artisan shops.
Meanwhile, Tesla's showroom, located in Manhattan's upscale Meatpacking District, sold a vision of what the future could look like with displays of its Full Self-Driving tech and humanoid robots. The space had more of a sci-fi museum feel and encouraged customers to experience the company's innovations firsthand.
Both brands have famously loyal fan bases, sell top-of-the-line EVs, and are making moves to launch more affordable models. Rivian and Tesla have some of the highest customer satisfaction ratings, according to Consumer Reports' 2025 Automotive Report Card, despite the vehicle brands being rated as among the least reliable.
Scroll on to see photos from my showroom visits that highlight how differently the two brands approach connecting with potential customers.
Rivian is renovating its Meatpacking District space, so I toured the showroom on 366 Wythe Ave in Brooklyn. It's an open space with a garage door entrance and front door.
Rivian had a Tri-Motor R1S SUV and a Tri-Motor R1T truck at its Brooklyn store.
It's an eco-friendly choice — but also an expensive one.
The employees were friendly and laid-back. The showroom didn't have a traditional office space for employees, just casual seating and some longer desks.
There were white shade lamps hanging down from the ceiling, large leafy plants placed throughout the store, and lots of funky patterns, like stripes and checkers in different colors.
There seemed to be no shortage of lounge seating.
Next to it was a neon green circle cushion and two padded chairs with wooden side tables. The area was large and included orange, red, blue, and green accents.
A station with blocks and toys was on the table in front of the couch. The store also showed off accessories like a camping bag tucked in the car.
The spokesperson said that people generally come in wanting to buy a Rivian or to learn more about EVs. They often have questions about charging, she said.
A Rivian spokesperson said that the company makes an effort to be a part of the local community. In March, it hosted an event with Roseate and the Billion Oyster Project that included a panel conversation, networking, and test drives of its vehicles.
This Sunday, it's hosting a Mother's Day flower crown-making event. A Rosie Day, a local children's programmer, is coming to the space to teach attendees how to create flower crowns, the spokesperson said.
Rivian featured a table with ANYBAG bags. According to its website, the brand repurposes single-use plastic bags and handcrafts them in Manhattan by New Yorkers.
I had the option of driving or being driven. I chose to be driven. The experience was very tech-forward and smooth. The digital screen has a cartoon-like representation of the vehicle.
I spent about an hour at the store, and there weren't too many visitors. The spokesperson told me that the store gets most of its traffic on the weekends, but there are still walk-ins and demo drive sign-ups during the week.
The showroom was located at 860 Washington Street in the heart of the Meatpacking District.
When I arrived, an employee was cleaning the windows at the entrance. Throughout my time at the showroom, the cleaning staff was dusting off counters and walls.
On a Thursday afternoon, Tesla had a handful of visitors come in and out of the showroom.
A sales employee at the store told me that on the weekends, they do about 200 test rides in a day, and most of them are with the Cybertruck.
The store mostly featured a monochromatic palette of Black, white, silver, and gray. There was an occasional tint of red or blue from the posters on the wall, the Tesla logo in the entrance, or the car lights.
There were some seating options at Tesla's showroom, but the layout mainly provided standing space.
There doesn't seem to be a shortage of children excited about the Cybertruck. However, the space didn't feel as set up to cater to families with children in the way Rivian seemed to be.
Similar to Rivian, Tesla displayed an EV charger on the wall.
The Tesla wall art was more minimalistic than Rivian, and seemed to be more aesthetically driven than educational.
Instead of including explanatory graphics and text about EV charging, Tesla had photos of its core products and light descriptions with more of an advertisement feel.
Despite recent backlash surrounding the Cybertruck, it seemed to be the showroom's main attraction and was located at the front of the entrance. Many of the visitors who came to the showroom seemed to be there for the Cybertruck.
Tesla had key pieces of its autonomous driving tech on display. The Full Self-Driving computer and Autopilot Cameras were featured in a clear glass box next to the window, making it feel like a museum.
Tesla also had a humanoid robot facing the window in the center of the space. The company isn't selling the robots, which are still in development.
While the employees were friendly, they gave me space to walk around on my own and didn't ask me any questions about my plans for purchasing a vehicle.
I declined a beverage, but it made the experience feel more luxurious.
The sales employee showed me how the digital screen worked and then took me on the drive. He started the drive off by showing off Tesla's Full Self-Driving technology, which costs extra and is currently in beta. The car drove to the Shake Shack a few minutes away.
Then, the employee showed me how fast the Cybertruck could accelerate. Depending on the model, Tesla says it can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2.6 to 6.2 seconds. However, because of the area we were in, we couldn't accelerate at the maximum rate.
Still, it was the fastest I've ever accelerated in a vehicle.
While Rivian sold outdoorsy clothing and reusable bags from local vendors, Tesla's merchandise section was about the Tesla brand. It featured hats with logos, key cards and fobs, and collectible mini items like the Cybertruck.
One of the employees told me that foot traffic to the store hadn't really changed. I asked the employee about one of the recent protests at the store on Earth Day, and he said a very small number of people showed up. He said protesters usually take their pictures and leave, and it's not as crazy as it might seem online.
Looking back at both of my experiences, Rivian seemed to target a more down-to-earth, environmentally friendly crowd. The brand emphasized outdoor adventures and informed customers about EV ownership.
Tesla, on the other hand, came across as a brand that didn't need much introduction or explaining. Its showroom felt more like a space for people who know the name and wanted to experience the tech in person, perhaps to get a closer look at the Cybertruck's angular design. While I don't feel like I need all the cutting-edge tech that Tesla offers — and I'm not in the market for a new car — it was cool to see in person and try out.
I liked the design elements of both showrooms. Rivian's boho vibe was relaxing, while Tesla's product lineup was impressive.
I didn't walk away with a favorite, but I can see how EV shoppers might identify with one brand more than the other. After all, they're each taking very different approaches.
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President Xi Jinping's government provided a jolt to China's economy ahead of landmark trade talks with the US, with officials unveiling a range of policies designed to strengthen Beijing's hand in negotiations.
The US can't keep building and buying expensive weapons that are vulnerable to drones that are produced at a fraction of the cost, the Army secretary said.
"We keep creating and purchasing these exquisite machines that very cheap drones can take out," Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said during an episode of the "War on the Rocks" podcast that aired Tuesday.
"If the number is even remotely right, that Russia has manufactured 1 million drones in the last 12 months, that just makes us have to rethink the cost of what we're buying," he continued.
"We are the wealthiest nation, perhaps in the history of the world, but even we can't sustain a couple-million-dollar piece of equipment that can be taken out with an $800 drone and munition," he said.
Driscoll was responding to a question about whether the US military was walking away from the Robotic Combat Vehicle. He said that while the concept was valuable, the cost ratio didn't work.
The US military has been watching the war in Ukraine, where cheap drones packed with explosives are damaging or destroying expensive combat equipment like tanks, other armored vehicles, air defenses, and even warships, highlighting the vulnerability of larger and more prized weapons that are insufficiently defended.
The proliferation of cheap drones — some of which cost as little as a few hundred dollars — has become a growing concern for the US military as it readies for the possibility of a large-scale confrontation between NATO and Russia in Europe or a fight with China in the Pacific.
Moscow said it produced 1.5 million drones last year. A Ukrainian tank commander called Russian drones a major threat to his American-made M1 Abrams tank, which costs about $10 million.
Ukraine has outfitted its Abrams tanks and other systems, including European-made tanks and American-made armored fighting vehicles, with additional armor to help protect the expensive equipment from drones, but it's not a perfect solution.
Armored vehicle losses in this war have been high. Ukraine, for example, has lost more than 4,400 armored vehicles, while Russia has lost more than 12,600, according to Oryx, an open-source intelligence site that tracks military equipment losses on both sides.
And drones aren't just a threat to land assets. Ukrainian naval drones packed with explosives have wreaked havoc on Russia's Black Sea Fleet. These drones have even been upgraded to launch missiles. Ukraine said one managed to take down two of Russia's $50 million Su-30 fighter jets over the weekend.
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This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jared Fisher, the CEO and cofounder of Escape Adventures, an adventure tourism agency, and owner of several bike shops in Nevada and Utah. Fisher also ran for governor of Nevada as a Republican in 2018. This story has been edited for length and clarity.
I'm a Republican business owner who's been running an adventure travel business for more than 30 years. We operate multiday motor tours and road bike tours with hiking, mostly in the Southwest, and a hut-to-hut mountain biking route in Utah. We also own retail bike shops in Las Vegas and Utah.
Recently, I made the decision to start adding a tariff tax line item directly to the price tags on certain products in our stores, especially electric bikes. All of our electric bikes from our major supplier are going to cost 10% more.
We have the exact same electric bikes hanging on the same hook in our retail stores, and some cost $4,500, and the one right next to it costs $4,950. There's no difference except when we purchased them, so one has a line item because it was purchased when that price increase was implemented due to the tariff. It really puts us in an uncomfortable situation with our customers. We have to explain to them.
Whether we like it or not, we're paying those taxes, which is how I view tariffs, as a brick-and-mortar shop. We have to pay it to get that product into our store. If I don't have a bike in a bike shop, I'm going out of business.
So now the point comes to, are we going to pass that tax on to our customers or not? The bicycle industry runs on pretty tight margins. If you cut the 10% into that, you might as well get ready to have your exit strategy for your business, because you're not going to be able to operate. There's no way — that's just how it goes.
I ran for governor of Nevada in 2018 as a Republican. I didn't vote for Donald Trump. He was the reason I ran for office. I watched how he was as a businessperson, and America's not a business. I feel like he doesn't understand how much of an impact his decisions have. He's almost got blinders on.
I believe that people need to be responsible for their actions. You can implement a policy that you think is great, and we will back you up, but we're also going to tell everybody who's doing it. I have no problem labeling where this tax is coming from on my products. People need to know that so I have a fighting chance on my end.
This tariff policy has created chaos across the board. The uncertainty is absolutely insane. I ordered new sleeping bags from China for our summer tours, and I was just informed the supply chain has been disrupted, and now I don't know when I will get that product or what I'm going to do. We're having to redo items that are time-consuming during a season when we should be focusing on our customers' experience.
As a business owner, I don't have time for this baloney. I did my planning already in my slow season. It's really disruptive to my operations for me to have to go and find items for something that I've already done.
We're also seeing the effects on our tourism business. We have lots of Canadian customers, and when all this tariff talk started, they began canceling tours. These are $2,000 to $4,000 cancellations. One group told us, "We love you guys, but we can't put our money into America because of what they're doing and what they're saying about our country."
The tariffs affect everything at some level: some very big and some you won't even notice. It's like a lot of little cuts, and eventually you bleed out. Enough's enough, and people will shut their doors. The one word I could say for this whole problem that we're facing is unnecessary. It doesn't need to happen, but it is.
Do you have a story to share about the impact of tariffs? Contact this reporter at kvlamis@businessinsider.com.
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More than half of the top holders of President Donald Trump's memecoin — who are jockeying for dinner with the president — have used foreign exchanges that say they ban US users, suggesting that many of the purchasers are based outside the US.
Buyers of the Trump token, a cryptocurrency the president began marketing days before his inauguration, drove sales higher in the past two weeks after its issuers announced an unprecedented promotion: More than 200 of the memecoin's largest holders would be invited to attend a May 22 dinner with Trump at his Virginia golf club, while the top 25 would qualify for an exclusive reception beforehand and what the memecoin's website describes as a “VIP” tour.
Now, an analysis by Bloomberg News shows that all but six of the top 25 holders who have registered on the website's leaderboard used foreign exchanges that say they exclude customers living in the US. More broadly, at least 56% of the leaderboard's top 220 holders used similar offshore exchanges. The prevalence of these likely foreign buyers echoes concerns that congressional Democrats have expressed about the ethics of marketing the coin with a promise of presidential access. And it raises questions about how attendees at the promotional dinner, who are publicly identified only by three- or four-letter usernames they've chosen, will be vetted.
Source: Bloomberg analysis of SolScan data
Note: Data as of 10 a.m. US East Coast time on May 5. Usernames are those listed on the memecoin's website and were chosen by wallet holders when they registered for the dinner promotion. One wallet that still appears on the leaderboard website's top 25 is not shown here because it sold nearly all of its holdings on May 3.
In the website's fine print, organizers say attendees must pass a background check. “We will also screen your wallet for KYC & compliance purposes. You are having Dinner with the President of the USA!” the website reads. (Wallets are digital tools that store the private keys owners use to access and manage cryptocurrencies. And “KYC” is a common term for the steps financial institutions take to know their customers.) The website provides no explanation of how such vetting would be conducted.
The memecoin's promoters didn't respond to a request for comment, nor did White House officials.
In order to appear on the official leaderboard, those who've bought the memecoin have to register with its website, which says it ranks them based on the number of tokens and the length of time they've been held. Many large holders have yet to register. But a second Bloomberg analysis of all the biggest purchasers — regardless of whether they're on the leaderboard — revealed that more than half of this broader pool of buyers also used foreign exchanges.
Read More: Trump Memecoin Shows Limits of Crypto's Democratization Pitch
It's possible that some US purchasers found ways to use foreign exchanges despite prohibitions – say, by using a virtual private network, or VPN, to mask a US-based IP address. Most exchanges say they take steps such as collecting users' personal information to try to prevent such workarounds.
The three foreign exchanges that top Trump coin holders used most often to fund their accounts or to purchase the Trump memecoin are Binance, Bybit and OKX, all of which have imposed restrictions on US users. (Bloomberg's analysis found that six holders on the Trump coin leaderboard made purchases on OKX before the company launched a trading platform in the US on April 15. An OKX spokeswoman said that until then, the company did not allow purchases by US residents.) Representatives for Binance and Bybit didn't respond to requests for comment.
Two of the three exchanges have run afoul of US law previously. Binance paid the US more than $4 billion after it pleaded guilty in November 2023 to violating federal anti-money laundering and sanctions laws through lapses in internal controls. OKX pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering violations in February and forfeited more than $420 million.
This is not the first time that Trump-related crypto ventures have attracted significant interest from foreign investors.
Justin Sun, a Hong Kong-based crypto entrepreneur, became an adviser to World Liberty Financial, a separate crypto project promoted by the president and his sons, after Sun announced that he'd bought tens of millions of dollars of that project's proprietary token. Sun, who said at the time that he didn't expect any favors from Trump in return for the investment, may also be a top holder of the president's memecoin, according to a Bloomberg analysis of crypto wallet transactions.
Justin Sun, founder of blockchain platform Tron, in Hong Kong on May 8, 2020. Photographer: Calvin Sit/Bloomberg
World Liberty is promoting a stablecoin. Zach Witkoff, one of the company's founders and the son of Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, announced at a conference on Thursday that the stablecoin would be used to close a deal between Binance and an investment firm founded by Abu Dhabi's government. World Liberty executives didn't respond to a request for comment.
“Congress should demand the President disclose who's paying him tribute in the shadows to assess whether the public interest is being compromised,” said Tony Carrk, executive director of Accountable.US, a nonprofit interest group that has set up a “Trump Accountability War Room” online. Accountable found that at least 14 of the top 50 holders of World Liberty Financial tokens have also used cryptocurrency services that aren't available in the US. Bloomberg's own analysis found an additional eight wallets that did so. World Liberty disclosed in November that its initial $300 million offering was primarily being marketed offshore.
Sources: Accountable.US, Bloomberg analysis of Etherscan data
Note: Data as of 6:45 p.m. US East Coast time on April 30.
As the president, who once called Bitcoin a “scam against the dollar,” moves further into cryptocurrencies, his administration has begun to dismantle the regulatory and law enforcement teams that oversee these digital assets. Shortly after he took office, for instance, staff members who investigated crypto at the Securities and Exchange Commission were reassigned and many of their cases were dropped. In April, the Justice Department disbanded its crypto task force.
In a letter last month, Democratic senators Adam Schiff and Elizabeth Warren called for an investigation of the Trump coin dinner promotion by the US Office of Government Ethics. They said the May 22 event presents a “severe risk that President Trump and other officials may be engaging in ‘pay to play' corruption by selling presidential access to individuals or entities, to include foreign nationals and corporate actors with vested interests in federal action, while personally enriching the President and his family.”
The Trump family benefits from increases in the memecoin's price because a company it controls maintains a large stock of the tokens. Although the Trumps aren't allowed to sell any coins for some time under the terms of the coin's issuance, any fluctuation in the price changes their fortunes on paper. The April 23 announcement of the dinner caused the price to rise from around $9 to about $14 while 436 new transactions of more than $100,000 took place over the next five days. The largest of these transactions involved accounts interacting with exchanges that don't operate in the US. (The price of the token has since dropped to $10.82 as of 6 p.m. New York time on May 6).
Sources: Dune; Bloomberg Analysis of SolScan data
Note: Data as of May 1.
To qualify for the dinner with Trump, coin holders must register a “self-custodied” wallet — one that's fully controlled by its holder, rather than a third-party exchange.
Bloomberg analyzed the transactions of the top 220 wallets on the website's leaderboard as of May 5 to determine whether their holders are likely foreign-based. A separate analysis examined all the self-custodied wallets that held enough Trump coins as of April 30 to qualify for a spot in the top 220, leaving aside any time-weighting. Many of the wallets with the largest holdings are not listed on the leaderboard, which suggests they have not yet registered or their time-weighted holdings may differ significantly from current holdings. Some may be strategically waiting to register.
While it is difficult to identify the people behind these accounts, there have been public clues for some. The entities at the top of the leaderboard have been swapping positions for the past few days — with at least one of them bragging about it online. The wallet called “MeCo” belongs to an entity called “Memecore,” which describes itself as an “EVM-compatible L1 multi-chain cross-staking mainnet secured by Proof of Meme.”
On X, the firm said: “We're not just aiming for #1 on the $TRUMP leaderboard — we're here to conquer the entire meme space.” Memecore has asked users to send it their Trump coins in order to climb the rankings. The coins will be returned to users with a bonus, the company said.
“The memecoin space is currently seen as stagnant — and we want to challenge that narrative. By showing up at this event, we want to signal that a meme is emerging again,” MemeCore's Chief Business Development Officer Cherry Hsu said in a statement over Telegram.
The holder that Memecore is chasing at the top of the list has chosen the username “Sun,” and is using a wallet belonging to HTX, according to Bloomberg's analysis of blockchain data. HTX has been linked to Justin Sun and lists him as an adviser. Sun himself, who has publicly acknowledged buying World Liberty Financial's tokens, has so far not said whether he's behind the wallet atop the memecoin's leaderboard. He did not respond to requests for comment.
The wallet labeled “Sun” began amassing a total of $17.9 million worth of the Trump coin when it was initially launched in January. It has acquired $4.5 million worth since the Trump dinner promotion was announced.
The SEC sued Justin Sun in 2023, alleging that he worked with companies he owns and controls to engineer the offer and sale of unregistered securities. Sun's attorneys denied those allegations and said the regulator's claims went “too far and should be rejected.” In February, after Sun spent at least $75 million to buy World Liberty Financial coins, the SEC paused its case against him, saying it was in both sides' interest to consider a potential resolution.
Using the Dune API, Bloomberg also compiled data on the 220 crypto wallets holding the largest number of Trump memecoin tokens. Bloomberg individually checked each wallet's activity using SolScan and categorized the account using the same methodology as for the accounts listed on the Trump Dinner leaderboard. Bloomberg removed accounts tagged by SolScan as official exchange wallets, market maker wallets and accounts tagged by Arkham Intelligence as “Official Trump Meme” wallets.
Bloomberg similarly collected data on top holders of WLF tokens from EtherScan. As with Trump tokens, Bloomberg individually checked each wallet's transactions and categorized the account based on whether it interacted with centralized cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the US or with foreign exchanges that say they are not available to US residents.
Facebook exacerbated loneliness. Meta is on a mission to make us even lonelier.
Forget those 700 Facebook friends you've largely neglected since college. In Mark Zuckerberg's latest vision for the future, we'll be filling our empty hours chatting away with our generative AI buddies. In an era when people spend more time alone than ever before, Meta's CEO is preaching not just about the power of his company to connect us to one another — but also about luring our attention to new, fake friends.
In an interview last week with the tech podcaster Dwarkesh Patel, Zuckerberg spoke about ways AI could make social media more interactive, including turning AI chatbots into friends for people who have few and want more. "Is this going to replace in-person connections or real-life connections? My default is that the answer to that is probably no," Zuckerberg says. "There are all these things that are better about physical connections when you can have them. But the reality is that people just don't have the connections, and they feel more alone a lot of the time than they would like."
Zuckerberg is far from the only one pushing a future with AI friends (and lovers, twins, coworkers, and parents), but this is his latest tone-deaf approach to the loneliness crisis that some say is inflamed by the very social media companies he owns.
On social media, his comments were met with widespread scorn. "This is what happens when you believe that humanity is reducible to binary data — you think of friendship through the lens of supply & demand," the writer Neil Turkewitz said on X. "An excellent example of the loneliness economy. Technology makes people lonely, then sells them a solution in the form of technology. Endless profit possibility," wrote Samantha Rose Hill, who's writing a book on loneliness.
Young people, forced onto Zoom during high school and college, want to meet and hang out IRL. In a 2023 survey of college and graduate students from Axios and Generation Lab, almost 80% of respondents said they used dating apps less than once a month, if at all. Nearly half of teens in a 2024 Pew Research Center survey said social media sites had a mostly negative effect on their age group, increasing from 32% in 2022. Meeting up in person helps young people: Those involved in extracurricular activities like clubs and sports have higher grades, higher aspirations, and a more positive attitude about school, research has found. People are ditching dating apps and pivoting toward book clubs, run clubs, or apps that host meetups to find their people. They're eager to hang out and be spontaneous.
The past two decades show us that Zuckerberg's ideas about friendship often leave something to be desired. Meta's own past internal research found that the company's social sites could exacerbate loneliness rather than alleviate it — but concluded Facebook was a "net positive" for loneliness. Social media has given us glimpses into thousands of people's lives at once, but the connections just skim the surface. Even if an AI pal is always at your fingertips, it's the kind of low-investment interaction that can only parrot connection, not substitute it.
That's because friendship, or at least a good one, isn't just about getting validation — it's a two-way street that's also about giving support. We feel good when we show up for friends and help them, says Jeffrey Hall, a professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas who has studied friendship. Social media platforms and the push to bake gen AI into our apps and interactions miss the entire point of having a friend, he says: "Friendship is not efficient. It actually is at its best when it's inefficient." It comes in the form of standing beside you at a wedding, maintaining a comfortable silence beside you on a long flight, and complaining over extended happy hours about the person you both hate. "There isn't anything particularly efficient about a catching-up conversation," Hall adds. "It's done because of the joy and the value of caring about another person."
Several Big Tech companies are moving our online experiences further away from connecting to one another and closer to connecting with bots, who never need to log off to sleep or work or take their kid to the emergency room. An AI chatbot doesn't need you back — it's constantly present and quick to respond with questions and validation. If companies build a chatbot that begs for your attention, it could pull us further from human connection. "It makes us want to go back to our devices more often," Hall says.
The average person spends more of their time on screens than in person with friends. The tech that promised to connect the world drove some of us further into isolation. Facebook started as a place less about meeting like-minded people online and more about adding your classmates and watching their every move for decades to come. Instagram's rise threatened to upstage photo sharing on Facebook with its more simplistic, visual-first design. The once candid app gave way to a commodified, performative playground for influencers and brands, and the comparative nature and pressure of posting have been linked to mental health issues in teens. In 2021, Zuckerberg turned his eyes to the metaverse, launching a multiyear obsession with a future in which we put on obstructive goggles and walk (as soon as they could figure out how to code legs) around cartoon malls, office parks, and arenas to see avatars of our favorite performers. It has cost Meta tens of billions of dollars.
The unrealized hype of the metaverse was quickly overtaken by the gen AI boom. It seems deeply unnatural to some that AI could become the newest way for us to seek connection without ever actually connecting to people. Pushing ahead, Meta launched an AI app last week based on the idea that AI-generated content should move from the private confines of chatbots to a more social feed. Facebook's original mission "to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected" made it sound like we had the power, but Meta's mission now is to "build the future of human connection and the technology that makes it possible."
The chatbots Meta has built are already riddled with problems: Journalists found they could lie on Instagram about being licensed therapists and could have sexual conversations with users under 18. A Meta spokesperson told me the AI are "clearly labeled and there is a disclaimer that indicates the responses are generated by AI." They added that the sexual conversations are "hypothetical," and show a manipulation of the tool. "We've now taken additional measures," the spokesperson noted, to make it "even more difficult" to manipulate.
In the podcast interview, Zuckerberg claims that the average American has three friends or fewer but the capacity and drive for about 15. It's not clear where he pulls this stat from, but he's right that loneliness is an urgent problem. In a Pew survey from 2023, 38% of American adults said they had five or more friends, but 8% said they had none. The older someone was, the more likely they were to say they had five or more close friends, with half of people 60 and older falling into the category. Just 32% of people younger than 30 said the same. In 2023, Vivek Murthy, then the US surgeon general, called loneliness an epidemic. In a 2024 poll conducted by Morning Consult for the American Psychiatric Association, 30% of adults said they felt lonely once a week, and 10% said they felt lonely daily.
Facebook did not create the loneliness crisis, but it often gave us quantity over quality in our interactions as people spent more time alone. "Likes" and "pokes" and reminders to post "happy birthday" on someone's wall could substitute a phone call. There were some meaningful connections on Facebook for me: I joined a group dedicated to my incoming college freshman class and looked for roommates or other people in my major before arriving on campus. It became an easy way to find events in a new city or send out party invites.
But largely, Facebook did little to grow or maintain deep connections on its platform — it was more a personalized newspaper for sharing college and job updates with the masses, a way to keep tabs on estranged friends and exes, and, ultimately, a gossip mill that let you know who's had a baby, who's gotten engaged, or who's dropping hints they're headed for a breakup. Facebook and Instagram have long been large and tied to our real names. In trying to take on everyone you knew as a friend or follower, a pressure grew to post in ways that looked cool to your peers but acceptable to your great-aunt. Context collapsed and curated images were everything.
None of this is to say that online connections can't be just as real as offline ones. I forged a best friendship as a teen on AIM with a girl who went to another school in the town, connecting over chat and eventually meeting up at the mall every weekend. Tumblr has fostered online friendships that span decades between people who run in the same fandom circles. Fan fiction sites offer communities, often with strict parameters and their own social norms. And AI chatbots have their benefits, too. Autistic people say they can help them practice navigating difficult social situations. Some say they act as an on-call therapist when they're working through a problem or help them prepare for job interviews.
Gen AI is still new, but we can already see that it's less like a true friend and more like an imaginary friend. "AI personas are just like fictional characters," says Hannah Kim, a professor of philosophy at the University of Arizona. "If the question is, will an AI friendship be helpful, or will an AI relationship be fulfilling, the corollary question is: Will an interactive fictional character that I engage with be as fulfilling as a friendship or relationship?" Fictional characters can help us work out ideas about society and entertain us, but they can't have real, dimensional relationships with us. A chatbot might always be available and always have its full attention on us, but relying too heavily on them could further warp people's expectations of their real-life friends. "If we expect that from humans, it's going to be pretty disastrous," Kim says.
Earlier this year, Meta took down AI-generated Instagram profiles that users hated. But Zuckerberg thinks they can get better and become our friends. For Meta, it doesn't actually matter if Facebook, Instagram, the metaverse, or AI chatbots make people less lonely. It matters that we keep clicking on them.
Amanda Hoover is a senior correspondent at Business Insider covering the tech industry. She writes about the biggest tech companies and trends.
Business Insider's Discourse stories provide perspectives on the day's most pressing issues, informed by analysis, reporting, and expertise.
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Stocks on Wall Street and beyond have been rocked by volatility in recent weeks, as U.S. President Donald Trump rolled out some tariffs, paused others, and ramped up duties on Chinese goods to unprecedented levels.
Strategists at the Bank of America shed light on where some of the capital flowing out of the U.S. may be heading.
According to their data analysis, U.S. equities saw an $8.9 billion outflow in the week to April 30. For every $100 inflow to American stocks since the 2024 presidential election, there had been a $5 outflow over the past three weeks, the investment bank's strategists said in a note to clients on May 1.
At the same time, European equities saw a $3.4 billion inflow, according to the Wall Street bank.
Meanwhile, Japanese equities saw a $4.4 billion inflow in the week to April 30 — its biggest week of inflows since April 2024.
In a sign that investors were in a risk-taking mood, BofA said that cryptocurrencies and high yield bonds saw inflows of $2.3 billion and $3.9 billion in the past week, respectively. Gold and U.S. Treasury bonds collectively had $6 billion in outflows.
Bank of America also revealed that its private clients, who collectively have $3.7 trillion in assets, began to worry more about deflation in the United States, relative to inflationary risks over the past four weeks.
The bank said its investor clients were buying shares of utilities and low-volatility high-dividend ETFs, typically considered "deflationary defensive" assets, and were selling "inflation hedges" such as debt instruments, inflation-protected Treasury bonds, and financial sector ETFs.
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There's a new warehouse robot at Amazon that has a sense of touch, allowing it to handle a job previously only done by humans. Amazon unveiled the robot, called Vulcan, Wednesday at an event in Germany.
CNBC got an exclusive first look at Vulcan in April, as it stowed items into tall, yellow bins at a warehouse in Spokane, Washington. An up-close look at the "hand" of the robot reveals how it can feel the items it touches using an AI-powered sensor to determine the precise pressure and torque each object needs.
This innovative gripper helps give Vulcan the ability to manipulate 75% of the 1 million unique items in inventory at the Spokane warehouse. Amazon has used other robotic arms inside its warehouses since 2021, but those rely on cameras for detection and suction for grasp, limiting what types of objects they can handle.
Vulcan can also operate 20 hours a day, according to Aaron Parness, who heads up the Amazon Robotics team that developed the machine.
Still, Parness told CNBC that instead of replacing people in its warehouses, Vulcan will create new, higher skilled jobs that involve maintaining, operating, installing and building the robots.
When asked if Amazon will fully automate warehouses in the future, Parness said, "not at all."
"I don't believe in 100% automation," he said. "If we had to get Vulcan to do 100% of the stows and picks, it would never happen. You would wait your entire life. Amazon understands this."
The goal is for Vulcan to handle 100% of the stowing that happens in the top rows of bins, which are difficult for people to reach, Parness said. Limiting workers to stowing on mid-height shelves, the so-called power zone, could lower the chance for worker injuries. Amazon has long struggled with injury rates far higher than those at other warehouses, though the company claims those rates have improved significantly.
"We have a ladder that we have to step onto several dozen times a day during your ten hour shift. There is a lot of reaching. We have to lunge and squat. So it's a lot of tough body mechanics," said Kari Freitas Hardy, an Amazon worker in Spokane. "As a picker, if I had an innovation like this where I could have stayed within my power zone, my days would have been just so much easier."
Amazon said Vulcan is operating at about the same speed as a human worker and can handle items up to 8 pounds. It operates behind a fence, sequestered from human workers to reduce the risk of accidents.
Experts agree that humans will work alongside robots in warehouses like Amazon's for the foreseeable future.
"Whereas if you build a terribly complicated automated system and it breaks, then everything stops," said Bill Ray, a researcher at Gartner. "Taking out the last human is so expensive. It's so disruptive. It would be a huge investment and an enormous risk."
Freitas Hardy recently transitioned from picking items to working with the robots. She's one of the 350,000 workers Amazon said it's spent $1.2 billion to upskill since 2019.
"It would be many decades off, to have them just come in and take over, so at this point it's more exciting if you ask me, to see the growth potential because that is where it does increase jobs on the back side," Freitas Hardy said.
Although Freitas Hardy said she isn't making more money in her new role, Amazon said others who participate in its Mechatronics and Robotics Apprenticeship program typically receive pay increases of about 40%.
Amazon said the team that developed Vulcan has grown from a handful of people to more than 250 employees in the three years since the project began. Amazon wouldn't disclose how much it cost to develop Vulcan, but Parness said it represents a big business opportunity.
"Vulcan can interact with the world in a more human-like manner, and that gives us a lot more process paths that we can use automation to bring down the cost that our customer pays, and the speed with which we can deliver those products to our customers," Parness said.
Another big return on investment may come from robots making fewer mistakes than humans.
"Product returns are incredibly high and product returns are incredibly expensive," Gartner's Ray said. "Some of them will be because the wrong thing was put in the box. And if you can reduce that, that's a real cost saving straight away."
Meanwhile, Amazon's humanoid robot Digit has yet to bring operational efficiency. Amazon announced in 2023 that it was testing the Agility Robotics bipedal robot to help organize and move totes, but it's yet to deploy Digit at scale.
When asked if Vulcan indicates that robots have moved from gimmick to real world application, Parness said, "It doesn't matter if the robot has legs or wheels or it's bolted to the floor. I think the thing that makes the robot useful is having that sense of touch so that it can interact in high contact and high clutter environments. That's the tipping point for me, and I think we're right there."
For now, Vulcan is only in full operation at the Spokane warehouse. Another version of Vulcan that can pick specific items from inventory is being tested in Hamburg, Germany. Amazon said it plans to add Vulcan in more U.S. and German facilities in 2026.
Watch the video for an in-depth look at exactly how Vulcan works: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/05/06/meet-vulcan-the-first-amazon-robot-with-a-sense-of-touch.html
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Data storage firm Seagate is working to develop a 100-terabyte hard drive by 2030, touting blistering demand from data centers for the 70-year-old technology in the artificial intelligence boom.
BS Teh, Seagate's chief commercial officer, told CNBC that the company is aiming to launch such a drive — which would have about three times the capacity of the firm's top-of-the-line hard drives — by 2030. The largest hard disk drive Seagate currently produces is the 36-terabyte Exos M model, which it launched in January.
"You may be thinking, 'Who would need it?'" Teh said, referring to the idea of a 100-terabyte hard drive. "Well, plenty."
"I think there's definitely strong demand," he added. "This is a key enabler for the industry to be able to deliver the storage capacity that the market needs, because there's no other technology that's able to produce this capacity of storage technology to meet the growth that the market needs."
Seagate has been touting itself as more of an AI player in recent years amid the rise of foundational models like those being developed by OpenAI, Microsoft and Google. In the computer hardware market, the AI boom has largely benefited players like Nvidia which make the graphics processing units needed for training and running AI models.
Those models require vast amounts of data for training and making the quality of the AI's outputs more advanced. At the start of the year, Microsoft said it expects to spend a whopping $80 billion on data centers in its fiscal year ending June 2025.
But the boom in data centers comes with implications for the environment. Data centers require significant amounts of power to run.
According to the International Energy Agency, a single ChatGPT query uses up an average 2.9 watt-hours per request — nearly 10 times the amount required for a typical Google search — meaning if ChatGPT was used in the 9 billion internet searches done each day, almost 10 terawatt-hours of additional electricity a year would be required.
Teh explained that Seagate is working to address climate concerns surrounding AI's energy demands by increasing storage density on its hard drives and ensuring its manufacturing is underpinned by renewable energy.
"We focus on what we can influence, and what we can influence comes down to how we have a sustainable way to manufacture the product," Teh said. "We have a target to make sure that all of our factories are using renewable energy to manufacture the product."
"With the product itself, we design it to have lower power per terabyte, or to have higher density of the device itself, such that when you actually integrate that product into your data center, you require less space, less power, less everything, because you're using your fewer drives to fulfill that capacity," he added.
It's worth highlighting that Seagate faces competition from other technologies — not least from solid-state drives, which use flash memory chips rather than magnetic platters to store data electronically. However, Teh insists hard disk drive is "a much more sustainable device technology" than solid-state drives in terms of the embodied carbon.
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Disney posted fiscal second-quarter earnings Wednesday that beat on the top and bottom lines, boosted by better-than-expected subscriber growth for its Disney+ streaming platform.
The company upped some of its fiscal 2025 guidance and posted revenue growth in all three of its business segments. It separately announced a new theme park and resort in Abu Dhabi.
Shares of Disney gained about 10% in early morning trading Wednesday.
Disney, which had previously said it expected Disney+ subscribers to decline during the quarter, reported a 1.4 million increase in subscriptions to its flagship service, bringing its global base to 126 million. Wall Street had expected Disney to report 123.35 million Disney+ subscribers, according to StreetAccount.
Disney expects a modest rise in these subscribers in its current quarter.
Revenue for its direct-to-consumer business rose to $6.12 billion, up 8% compared with the same period a year prior. Higher prices and increased subscriber numbers led to the growth, the company said.
Here is what Disney reported for the period ended March 29 compared with what Wall Street expected, according to LSEG:
Disney now expects full-year adjusted EPS of $5.75, an increase of 16% compared with fiscal 2024. Previously, the company said it expected high-single-digit adjusted EPS growth.
Disney's net income for the most recent quarter increased to $3.28 billion, or $1.81 per share, up from a loss of $20 million, or a loss of 1 cent per share, during the same quarter last year.
Adjusting for one-time items, including the resolution of a tax matter, among other items, Disney reported earnings per share of $1.45.
Disney's overall revenue was up 7% year over year to $23.62 billion.
Revenue for the entertainment segment – which includes the traditional TV networks, direct-to-consumer streaming and films – increased 9% year over year to $10.68 billion after a strong carryover from winter film titles.
While "Snow White" and "Captain America: Brave New World" underperformed, ticket sales from 2024 releases "Mufasa: The Lion King" and "Moana 2" buoyed content sales and licensing.
Linear continued to drag on overall results, with revenue falling 13% to $2.42 billion.
Revenue for Disney's sports segment, made up primarily of ESPN, rose 5% to $4.53 billion on higher advertising revenue. The company aired three additional College Football Playoff games and one extra National Football League game during the quarter, leading to higher ad rates and viewership.
For fiscal 2025, Disney said Wednesday it expects its sports segment's operating income growth will be up 18% year over year, higher than the 13% growth it had previously forecast.
Over at its experiences business, which includes parks, cruises and resorts as well as consumer products, revenue rose 6% during the quarter to $8.89 billion.
Its domestic theme parks saw revenue rise 9% to $6.5 billion, while international park revenues dipped 5% to $1.44 billion.
The company attributed revenue gains to higher guest spend at its domestic parks and higher volumes on its cruise ships following the launch of the Disney Treasure.
Its consumer products division saw revenue up 4% to $949 million due to higher licensing revenue from the newly released video game Marvel Rivals.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
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This report is from this week's edition of CNBC's The China Connection newsletter, which brings you insights and analysis on what's driving the world's second-largest economy. Each week, we'll explore the biggest business stories in China, give a lowdown on market moves and help you set up for the week ahead. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.
If people are spending in China, it's likely to be on travel — and businesses want a slice of that.
After 10 years as the only hostel in China's Datong city, Fly by Knight suddenly gained six new competitors in one year, according to founder Daniel Huang. He said his 26-room venue was booked out for the May Labor Day holiday, which officially ran from Thursday to Monday.
"Hotels are opening everywhere in Datong," he said, noting that one no-brand operator raised its prices for the holiday by more than five times to over 1,000 yuan ($140) a night.
Surging interest in history and culture is helping. The popularity of Datong's Yungang Buddhist grottoes — a Unesco heritage site from around 1,500 years ago — skyrocketed after its statues were featured in the hit video game Black Myth: Wukong released last summer.
More than 43,700 people visited the caves on May 1 alone, up over 10% from a year earlier, according to state media. The Grand Canyon averaged 13,477 visitors a day last year.
The latest holiday shows young Chinese tourists remain very interested in museums and other cultural activities, said Ashley Dudarenok, founder of ChoZan, a China marketing consultancy.
"What it means for international brands or local brands is that collaborating with those cultural icons is still a very, very important part of connecting with the consumer," she said.
Nationwide, China reported 314 million domestic tourist trips over the May Labor Day holiday, continuing the steady increase in recent years and well above the pre-Covid level of 195 million in 2019. The government has extended the holiday in recent years, giving locals more time off as businesses typically offer employees only a handful of paid vacation days.
China's recently built transportation infrastructure is encouraging locals to visit smaller cities such as Datong, Huang said. He pointed out that before the Covid-19 pandemic, travelers had to take a six-hour train from the capital city of Beijing to Datong.
Now, a high-speed train between the cities (about $20 per one-way ticket) takes less than two hours, with dozens of departure times throughout the day. The train route opened in December 2019.
Tourists in China have been turning to less popular, more remote destinations that tend to be cheaper than visiting large cities. During the latest May Labor Day holidays, trips to rural areas rose by nearly 20% from a year ago, with interest in farm-themed stays surging, according booking site Trip.com.
Retail sales, including food, rose by 6.3% during the holiday from a year ago, according to official figures. Tourism revenue increased by 8% to 180.27 billion yuan.
"Despite concerns over macroeconomic headwinds, the strength of travel numbers tells us that consumer sentiment is resilient," said Jacob Cooke, co-founder and CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies. The company helps foreign brands — such as Vitamix and IS Clinical — sell online in China and other parts of Asia.
"Chinese consumers are prioritizing spending on what matters most to them -- and right now, that includes travel," he said.
When Chinese consumers were asked where they expected to increase their spending this year, travel topped the list, followed by groceries, according to a survey conducted on behalf of financial services firm TD Cowen in February and published last month.
However, in a sign of lingering uncertainty, fewer respondents than last year said they had made travel plans for the next six months. The survey covered 2,000 Chinese residents.
Sales of retail goods have remained tepid since the Covid-19 pandemic, up by just 3.5% last year, according to official data. The services sector, including tourism, sports and childcare, has seen faster growth at 6.2% last year. China started reporting services retail sales on a year-to-date basis in July 2023.
Chinese cities have meanwhile stepped up their efforts to attract tourists, whether through short videos on social media, virtual reality experiences or elaborate light shows splashed across skyscrapers.
Some cities, such as the panda hub of Chengdu, are starting to use drones for delivering food within scenic parks, or renting out robotic-powered hiking support, Dudarenok pointed out.
"We're going to see basically a lot of what the future of tourism is going to look like, and China is testing that massively over this May day holiday," she said, noting that places that have invested a lot are seeing robust tourist numbers.
Chengdu, for instance, claimed a 6.2% year-on-year increase in tourist trips over the holiday to 15.52 million. That's nearly three-fourths of the city's population of 21.4 million, as of 2023.
Social media influencers, as well as word-of-mouth comments about cleanliness and safety are also helping Chinese cities attract foreign travelers, Huang said.
Huang said his hostel primarily served international visitors prior to Covid, and the share of foreign guests has recovered modestly to about one-fifth of customers. Local visitors tend to concentrate their travel during public holidays, while trips by foreign tourists are more spaced out, he said.
China has expanded its visa-free policies in the last two years to attract foreign tourists. Citizens of the U.S., U.K., Canada and more than 50 other countries can now stay in China for 10 days without a visa, while people from Japan, South Korea and several European countries can visit for up to 30 days.
Inbound travel to China around the May Labor Day holidays rose by more than 40% from last year, according to Hostel World. The data showed Chongqing, Yangshou and Guilin surged in popularity versus Beijing and Shanghai.
Citi CEO: Trade impact will play out quite slowly
Jane Fraser, Citi CEO, joined CNBC's "The Exchange" to discuss how she processed the weekend's news from Warren Buffett, how trade policy is impacting Citi's business and much more.
China's future lies in tech; watch biotech and semiconductors: CIO
Wong Kok Hoi, CIO of APS Asset Management, says China is going "all in" on tech, and that markets have not yet priced in what could be a major boost in productivity and efficiency
The U.S.-China trade relationship has effectively ended, says The Hoover Institution's Neal Ferguson
Neal Ferguson, senior fellow at The Hoover Institution, joined CNBC's "Power Lunch" to discuss global geopolitics and the impact of tariffs.
The U.S. and China are finally going to talk on trade. It's not a presidential call, but both sides confirmed that Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, Beijing's top official for China-U.S. economic and trade matters, will meet with his U.S. counterparts while visiting Switzerland later this week.
Ten people died after four tourist boats capsized in southwest China's Guizhou province. Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing on Monday visited the site of the accident, which state media attributed to "sudden strong winds."
China's National Health Commission is investigating a hospital scandal. The probe, involving a senior physician at a prestigious hospital in Beijing, stirred discussion on Chinese social media about the potential role of connections in obtaining highly sought-after healthcare positions.
Alibaba's Taobao e-commerce site has joined the on-demand delivery fray. The company is rolling out same-day delivery of food, clothing and other products, just days after JD.com and food delivery company Meituan ramped up their competition in the space. Taobao claimed it received more than 10 million orders in one day.
Chinese and Hong Kong stocks climbed Wednesday after the People's Bank of China and financial regulators announced sweeping plans to cut key interest rates as they strive to shore up growth.
China will cut the seven-day reverse repurchase rates by 10 basis points to 1.4% from 1.5%. The central bank will also lower the reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points.
Mainland China's CSI 300 was up 0.44% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index — which includes major Chinese companies — rose 1.5% as of 10:30 a.m. local time. The CSI 300 has lost roughly 2.8% while the Hang Seng Index has gained over 14.6% so far this year.
The benchmark 10-year Chinese government bond yield was slightly down at 1.63%.
The offshore Chinese yuan strengthened 0.18% against the greenback to 7.2227.
May 7-10: President Xi Jinping pays a state visit to Russia
May 9: China's import and export data for April
May 10: China's consumer price index and producer price index for April
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Bitcoin (BTC) is making headlines as its realized capitalization reaches an unprecedented $890 billion, signaling strong investor confidence and a potential rally towards the $100,000 mark.
The realized cap, which calculates the value of all BTC at the price they last moved, has surged to $890 billion.
This metric indicates that both long-term and short-term holders are increasing their positions, reflecting a robust belief in Bitcoin's future performance.
Large Bitcoin holders, often referred to as “whales,” have been actively accumulating BTC. Wallets holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC have added approximately 81,338 BTC over the past six weeks.
Notably, addresses with over 1,000 BTC have increased from 1,945 on March 1 to 2,006 by May 7, marking the most significant 30-day growth for this group in 2025.
As of now, Bitcoin is trading at $96,294, reflecting a 1.26% increase over the past 24 hours.
The cryptocurrency has seen an intraday high of $97,513 and a low of $94,528.
The $93,000 to $95,000 range has acted as a strong support zone, while resistance is observed between $97,000 and $99,000.
Breaking above this resistance could pave the way for Bitcoin to reach and potentially surpass the $100,000 psychological barrier.
Institutional investments are playing a pivotal role in Bitcoin's upward trajectory.
Notably, BlackRock has reportedly acquired $2.5 billion worth of BTC, underscoring the growing institutional appetite for cryptocurrencies.
Additionally, macroeconomic developments, such as the Federal Reserve's decision to maintain interest rates between 4.25% and 4.5%, are influencing market sentiment.
This steady rate, amidst economic uncertainties, is prompting investors to consider Bitcoin as a hedge against traditional market volatilities.
Market analysts are optimistic about Bitcoin's near-term prospects.
Michael van de Poppe, founder of MN Capital, suggests that the recent dip below $94,000 and subsequent recovery might indicate a market bottom, with a potential breakout to $100,000 within the next two weeks.
Similarly, crypto trader Honey anticipates a steady rise, predicting a new all-time high of $111,111 by the end of Q2.
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At Strategy World 2025, Fidelity Digital Asset's Vice President of Research delivered a clear warning to corporate America—Bitcoin is outperforming nearly every traditional asset, and the longer companies delay, the more value they destroy.
Speaking at Strategy World 2025 today, Chris Kuiper, Vice President of Research at Fidelity Digital Assets, challenged corporations to reexamine how they think about risk, capital allocation, and long-term financial health. “Bitcoin has outperformed every major asset class over the last ten years,” Kuiper said. “If you're a company sitting on cash or low-yield bonds, you're falling behind.”
JUST IN: Fidelity's Chris Kuiper presents "The Investment Case for #Bitcoin" to corporations interested in adopting BTC 💥 "Bitcoin has more good volatility than bad volatility," there is "opportunity" here 🚀 pic.twitter.com/JSqbMVhqlF
With over a decade of data, Kuiper made the case that Bitcoin isn't just a speculative asset—it's a superior strategic reserve. The numbers were front and center: Bitcoin has delivered a 79% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the last decade and 65% over the past five years. In contrast, Kuiper showed that investment-grade bonds returned just 1.3% nominally over the same period.
“Corporations often focus on volatility. But volatility isn't risk—permanent capital loss is,” Kuiper explained. He cited inflation and currency debasement as the real threats facing balance sheets today, showing how even traditional safe havens like U.S. Treasury bonds have suffered negative real returns over time.
To address concerns about Bitcoin's volatility, Kuiper offered two practical strategies: position sizing and long-term thinking. “Bitcoin doesn't have to be all or nothing,” he said. “It's not a switch—it's a dial.” Even a 1–5% allocation, he argued, can significantly improve a corporation's risk-adjusted return while limiting drawdown exposure.
The presentation then turned to corporate fundamentals. Kuiper emphasized the importance of return on invested capital (ROIC) over headline earnings, calling out the inefficiencies of sitting on cash. As an example, he noted that Microsoft's ROIC drops from 49% to 29% when excess cash is included—highlighting the drag idle capital creates.
“Corporations are laser-focused on income statements, but it's the balance sheet that tells the real story,” Kuiper said. “Cash is part of that story—and Bitcoin can turn it from dead weight into a productive asset.”
He closed with a direct question to executives: “What's your opportunity set—and do you believe those opportunities can outperform Bitcoin?”
In Kuiper's view, the answer is increasingly obvious.
Established in 2012, Bitcoin Magazine is the oldest and most established source of trustworthy news, information and thought leadership on Bitcoin.
© 2025 BTC INC
Scott Bessent suggested support for the stablecoin and market structure bills being considered in Congress in response to a question about China.
Speaking at a hearing, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent toed the party line in suggesting support for two crypto-related bills moving through Congress.
Bessent addressed lawmakers at a May 7 hearing of the House Financial Services Committee, saying that the United States should be the “premier destination for digital assets” in response to a question about American dominance over China in crypto-related innovation. The Treasury Secretary added that “good market structure” and “stablecoin legislation” could help ensure this outcome.
Bessent's remarks echoed those of other Republican lawmakers and President Donald Trump, who initially claimed he wanted to make the US the “crypto capital of the world” during his 2024 campaign. The Treasury Secretary was likely referring to the draft of a digital asset market structure bill released by House Republicans on May 6 and the GENIUS bill to regulate stablecoins, expected to be taken up for a vote in the Senate on May 8.
The Treasury Secretary, a Trump nominee, has stood by the president for significant announcements in crypto-aligned policy, including an executive order to establish a sovereign wealth fund and as a member of a working group to explore federal regulations for stablecoins and a national crypto stockpile. He suggested during a confirmation hearing that he would oppose the creation of any US-issued central bank digital currency while in office.
Related: Bitcoin ‘Realized Cap' hits $890B as BTC traders focus on recapturing $100K
Even before announcing that he intended to hold an exclusive dinner and VIP tour for some of his top memecoin holders, Trump faced scrutiny from many lawmakers over allegations of conflicts of interest surrounding his crypto ventures. However, the dinner announcement seemed to galvanize some Democrats against any crypto-related legislation.
Representative Maxine Waters, ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, led a walkout of a hearing addressing the Republican-drafted crypto market structure bill on May 6, citing the need to explore “Trump's crypto corruption.” A group of nine Democrats in the Senate likewise said they will not support the GENIUS stablecoin bill in its current form, suggesting stronger Anti-Money Laundering, foreign issuer, and national security safeguards.
It's unclear at the time of publication whether Republicans, who control both chambers, will still have the votes to pass either bill.
Magazine: Trump's crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions
Coinbase Releases Treasure Trove of SEC Docs on Ethereum, XRP and More
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New York prosecutors tried and failed to solicit the Securities and Exchange Commission's opinion on Ethereum to bolster their case against KuCoin in 2023, according to newly released SEC records acquired by Coinbase.
The exchange is one of many private conversations unearthed by a Coinbase FOIA request, offering a glimpse at the behind-the-scenes politicking that has shaped U.S. authorities' approach toward the crypto industry over the past few years.
In an email dated June 2023, the New York Attorney General's Investor Protection Bureau Chief Shamiso Maswoswe asked the Securities Commission whether it considered Ethereum a security or a commodity.
"We would like to request that the SEC file an amicus in support of the argument that Ether is a security," Maswoswe said in the email. “I think it would be beneficial to investor protection to get a court to hold that Ether is a security.”
She added, “I understand that you rarely get involved at the trial level—but rarely doesn't mean never.”
The exchange is part of a trove of internal records that detail exchanges between the Securities Commission and various state and federal agencies about the cryptocurrency industry.
The emails, which Coinbase obtained through the FOIA process and released on Wednesday, underscores regulators and authorities' uncertainty over how to regulate digital assets companies, even as they pursued highly public cases against crypto exchanges and other such firms.
The disconnect between the securities regulator's private reluctance to opine on its guiding principles and its vigorous legal pursuits of crypto firms is apparent in several of the federal agency's emails and letters, including one record of an exchange between the Commission and Ripple Labs from 2021.
In a letter dated December 9 2021, the SEC requested information about Ripple Labs' planned launch of its Liquidity Hub, asking whether the company had ensured it would not commit “violation[s] of the federal securities laws.”
“We are concerned that Ripple, either directly or indirectly, is planning to facilitate the offer and sale of XRP and other digital assets that are securities,” the SEC wrote in the letter.
Ripple rebuffed the Commission's request in a letter dated December 23, 2021.
“There is no requirement or obligation the Ripple consult with the SEC over how to conduct its business,” the response reads.Edited by Stacy Elliott.
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Funds continue to flow into Bitcoin, boosting its realized capitalization to $890 billion as traders position for a possible rally to $100,000.
Key Takeaways:
Bitcoin's realized capitalization hit a record $890 billion, reflecting strong investor conviction as long-term and short-term holders increased allocations.
Large Bitcoin holders with over 1,000 BTC have accumulated significantly since March 2025, reflecting the Q1 2024 trend.
Bitcoin (BTC) price saw a short-squeeze above $97,000 on May 6, shortly after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that trade talks would commence with China on May 10. At the same time, BTC's realized capitalization, a metric adding the dollar value of all coins at their last moved price, soared to a new all-time high of $890 billion on May 7, 2025. The surge also marks the metric's third consecutive week of record-breaking growth.
The realized cap's rise highlights the total investment held by Bitcoin owners, with long-term holders (LTHs) and short-term holders (STHs) increasing their positions. It reflects investors' conviction, signaling a potential anticipation for a price breakout.
Recent market trends have supported this optimism. Cointelegraph reported that large Bitcoin holders have been actively accumulating Bitcoin since late March 2025. Data indicates that wallets between 10 and 10,000 BTC added 81,338 BTC over six weeks. This accumulation signals confidence in the current price uptrend and the possibility of BTC returning to $100,000.
Glassnode data revealed a notable rise in Bitcoin whale addresses holding over 1,000 BTC, climbing from 1,945 on March 1 to 2,006 on May 7. This marks the most significant 30-day increase for this cohort in 2025 and the highest surge since Q1 2024, when a similar accumulation trend preceded Bitcoin's all-time high in March 2024.
Related: Why is Bitcoin price up today?
Bitcoin's support zone between $93,000 and $95,000 showed resilience on May 6, with BTC bulls holding the level, supported by activity in long perpetual positions.
There is downside liquidity between $91,600 and $89,000, which Bitcoin could retest if bearish momentum persists after this week's FOMC minutes and Federal Reserve presser. However, if BTC breaks above the resistance zone of $97,000 to $99,000, the higher time frame (HTF) outlook could tilt toward bulls.
This resistance area carries weight due to a price cluster formed in Q1, which previously led to a downward move. If BTC price clears $99,000, it might shift market dynamics, potentially pressuring short positions and adding to bullish liquidity.
The $100,000 level appears to be more of a psychological marker than a significant resistance level. If BTC surpasses the $97,000-$99,000 resistance and establishes it as support, it could pave the way for a move toward $110,000, although this would depend on market conditions and momentum.
Michael van de Poppe, founder of MN Capital, suggested that the dip below $94,000 and subsequent recovery may indicate a market bottom. He expressed optimism about a potential Bitcoin breakout to $100,000 within the next two weeks.
On the other hand, crypto trader Honey expected a steady rise for BTC, predicting a new all-time high of $111,111 by the end of Q2.
Related: Bitcoin $1B daily realized profits signal 'late-stage bull market'
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
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Bitcoin and most altcoins rose on Wednesday as investors cheered the upcoming US-China trade talks. The market also reacted positively to a drop in crude oil prices ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.
Bitcoin (BTC) rose to $97,000, its highest level since February, giving it a market cap of over $1.92 trillion. Top altcoins like Stacks (STX), Flare (FLR), JasmyCoin (JASMY), and Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by over 3%.
The primary catalyst for the rally is the planned meeting between senior US and Chinese officials in Switzerland this weekend. The talks aim to de-escalate tensions between the two countries following triple-digit tariffs imposed in April.
According to the Wall Street Journal, China is considering additional efforts to stem the flow of chemicals used to produce fentanyl in Mexico. The US, in turn, may consider reducing tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 50%.
However, while the upcoming meeting is a positive step, analysts believe that the final agreement will take time. Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, recently said that the final deal may take up to three years.
Altcoins like Stacks, Flare, Jasmy, and Dogecoin also rose as the price of crude oil continued falling. Brent and West Texas Intermediate dropped by 0.35% to $61 and $58, respectively.
Hopes of a trade deal and falling oil prices mean that inflation will not rise as fast. It also means that the US may avoid a recession, as some analysts were expecting. Indeed, Polymarket data show that the odds of a recession in the US fell to 51% from 62% in April.
These altcoins also rallied ahead of the latest Federal Reserve interest rate decision. Most economists expect the bank to defy Donald Trump and leave interest rates unchanged at 4.50%.
At the last meeting and in recent comments, Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that rate cuts would only occur if inflation trends toward the 2.0% target. Officials also want to assess the inflationary impact of new tariffs. In a note to Bloomberg, one analyst said:
“Powell just stating the facts on the recent inflation data and repeating over and over that the Fed will react to tariff impacts on inflation and growth as they happen, might be a dovish relief for investors.”
Historically, Bitcoin, altcoins, and equities tend to perform well when the Federal Reserve cuts rates or signals future rate reductions. A clear example was the rally during the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the 2022 correction as the Fed aggressively hiked rates.
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Digital bank Revolut is working with Lightspark to roll out bitcoin (BTC) transactions on Lightning Network to customers in the U.K. and select countries in the European Economic Area (EEA).
The feature aims to cut transaction fees and payments processing time for crypto users, Lightspark said in a blog post. When asked in an email, the company didn't specify the timeline for when the feature will go live.
Lightspark, led by former PayPal executive David Marcus, provides backend infrastructure for connecting to what it calls the “Money Grid” — a decentralized network for real-time global payments.
The Lightning Network is a layer-2 system built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain that allows near-instant, low-fee transactions. By connecting to the network through Lightspark, Revolut users will be able to circumvent the congestion and high fees of the base blockchain to send BTC faster and more efficiently,
"Integrating with Lightspark is a natural step," Revolut's crypto general manager Emil Urmanshin said in the post. "We're always looking to make financial services faster and more affordable — and their approach to global transactions enables us to do exactly that."
The integration puts London-based Revolut among the growing number of fintech firms leaning into faster, crypto-native payment systems. Bitcoin-focused payments firm Strike processed $6 billion in volumes last year, CEO Jack Mallers said in an investor letter shared in an X post last month.
Read more: Visa Doubles Down on Stablecoins With Investment in Blockchain Payments Firm BVNK
Disclaimer: This article, or parts of it, was generated with assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.
Krisztian Sandor is a U.S. markets reporter focusing on stablecoins, tokenization, real-world assets. He graduated from New York University's business and economic reporting program before joining CoinDesk. He holds BTC, SOL and ETH.
“AI Boost” indicates a generative text tool, typically an AI chatbot, contributed to the article. In each and every case, the article was edited, fact-checked and published by a human. Read more about CoinDesk's AI Policy.
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An early Ethereum investor sold $34M worth of ETH on Kraken ahead of the upcoming Pectra network upgrade.
A long-term Ethereum-holding whale recently sold 18,700 ETH, valued at approximately $34.11 million. The whale is believed to have acquired Ethereum's native token, Ether (ETH), during the 2015 Initial Coin Offering (ICO).
This significant offloading of ETH comes at a time when the Ethereum Pectra upgrade is approaching. In anticipation of the upgrade and hard fork, crypto exchanges like Binance have announced temporary suspensions of withdrawals and deposits for Ethereum-based tokens.
The ETH whale originally purchased their cryptocurrency during the 2015 ICO, when each Ether was priced at just $0.31. At that time, the whale acquired approximately 76,000 ETH, and the associated wallet remained dormant for years until recently, when it began transferring ETH to the Kraken exchange.
An on-chain analyst shared the activity on X, revealing that the whale transferred an additional 2,700 ETH, worth around $4.96 million, to Kraken. This move follows a series of significant sell-offs in recent weeks.
Initially, the whale sold 14,000 ETH for $24.75 million and has since continued offloading more in subsequent batches. All of the sales have been conducted through Kraken. Given the original purchase price of $0.31 per ETH, the whale has secured substantial profits from these transactions.
他又来了💦
时隔三天，「2015 年 ICO 7.6 万枚 $ETH 的巨鲸」15 分钟前再次向 #Kraken 充值 2500 ETH（459 万美元），疑似抛售
目前他仍持有 11000 ETH，价值 2020 万美元，成本低至 0.31 美元
钱包地址 https://t.co/gCEEJd0bdW；本文由 #Gateio | @Gateio_zh 赞助 https://t.co/s9WWkPebv5 pic.twitter.com/iLO3ucqyXy
— Ai 姨 (@ai_9684xtpa) May 7, 2025
According to reports, the whale currently holds 11,000 ETH, valued at approximately $20.2 million. However, it remains unclear whether they plan to sell the remaining holdings. If recent activity is any indication, this may not be the final ETH sale from the whale.
These sales are occurring as Ethereum approaches a major upgrade, during a period of reduced spot trading volume. The upcoming upgrade is expected to enhance the network's overall functionality by introducing improved scaling capabilities, more efficient staking options, and advanced infrastructure enhancements.
Adding to the market anticipation, the ETH-BTC Bollinger Bands are currently at their tightest since June 2020, a technical signal that often precedes a spike in volatility. Traders are closely watching the ETH-BTC pair, expecting increased price movement following the upgrade.
Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
Rose is a crypto content writer with a strong background in finance and tech. She simplifies complex blockchain and cryptocurrency topics, offering insightful articles and market analysis to help readers navigate the evolving crypto landscape.
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BlockChainGamer - Where the games business meets blockchain - Where the games business meets blockchain
Momentum is brewing for MapleStory Universe ahead of its inaugural game launch.
Within the first 8 hours after the public MSU Scroll NFT mint started on 6th May, MapleStory Universe hit 100,000 minted NFTs. It's now reached 300,000 minted NFTs within 12 hours.
Deployed on Avalanche, the MSU Scrolls are available for free via NFT marketplace OpenSea, and capped to one NFT per wallet. As for utility, they offer special in-game items for PC MMORPG MapleStory N, Nexon's first MapleStory Universe game launching on 15th May.
The public mint ends on 12th May.
Other positive indications ahead of the game launch are some stats recently released from Nexpace, Nexon's web3 arm developing the MapleStory Universe ecosystem.
The total number of unique wallets registered on the MSU testnet during the playtest period reached 972,000, being one of the few web3 games to almost hit 1 million during a playtest.
In addition, 76% of circulating in-game tokens were spent, and the total number of players interacting with MSU testnet reached 506,000, with one in two consistently playing MapleStory N.
Jenny started editing the Big Blockchain Game List in 2021; something that quickly sparked a passion for good blockchain projects and future possibilities for the whole industry.
Apart from editing BlockchainGamer.biz, she keeps busy cold-plunging, writing, deadlifting, drinking too much coffee and playing too few quirky onchain games.
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By Liam Turner
Ripple continued releasing its tokens from the escrow accounts. The project released $1 billion in tokens, but this release introduced some notable changes.
The changes should improve $XRP's market stability and investors' confidence. Although these releases raise questions about Ripple's price performance, pre-locking some coins helps mitigate those risks. But despite these actions, the $XRP price declined. The coin is down by 7% in the last 7 days. After the consolidation, Ripple is still holding its key support levels. But if these levels fail, $XRP could face a further decline.
Because of the potential risks, Ripple may not be a great investment option. If you are looking to earn from crypto, don't worry. We have a perfect alternative project that you can buy for a lower price than $XR, but enjoy massive utility and ROI. The project is Solaxy, and it could be a top-notch crypto with the upcoming sale to buy now.
Ripple releases 1 billion tokens from its escrow account each month as part of its broader strategy established in 2017. The main goal of these releases is to ensure sufficient liquidity, fund the project's operations, and support Ripple's payment solutions and institutional partnerships.
This month's release was different than the usual process:
Although the price fell after the release, the long-term impact of this approach will depend on various factors. The main ones are Ripple's actions with unlocked tokens, market conditions, and investor sentiment.
Despite Ripple's efforts to stabilize its token, the price drop suggests that stability isn't enough to attract investors. The investors are shifting to projects with better growth potential that can bring them massive ROI.
This is where Solaxy, Solana's Layer 2, enters the conversation. As a crypto presale with powerful features, massive ROI potential, and APY, Solaxy is a crypto presale worth watching
Here is more about the project.
Solaxy combines all the top features of Ethereum and Solana into one blockchain. The goal is to overcome Solana's pain points: failed transactions and network congestion. That's why Solaxy introduced a roll-up system, bundling transactions before sending them to Solana.
Thanks to Ethereum's liquidity, Solaxy is easy to buy or sell without significant price changes. The project is a terrific option for meme coin traders because it supports large-volume transactions.
Solaxy blockchain will be lightning-fast, cheap, scalable, and without congestion. The first features are already available through the testnet. Investors can try Block Explorer, but other features like Bridge, IDE, and Wiki will come soon.
Further, Solaxy is also a great source of passive income. Investors can stake their $SOLX coins for 120% APY. These rewards are great for revenue-focused investors who can earn terrific ROI. But, with staking, investors also help reduce volatility and create upward price pressure for $SOLX.
There is no doubt that Solaxy is a crypto presale opportunity with strong potential. The project holds the potential of the next 10x crypto. $SOLX future value projection suggest this coin could gain over 400% in 2025.
Solaxy presale has raised over $33.4 million. If you want to invest, hurry and buy $SOLX before the upcoming price increase. The next presale stage starts soon, so act now!
Solaxy has some advantages compared to Ripple, particularly for investors seeking projects with high-growth potential:
While $XRP tries hard to manage its supply, the recent price performance reflects the uncertainty that has surrounded the project for a while. Meanwhile, Solaxy is smashing through its presale with over $33 million raised.
The project has a 10x potential and is a well-regarded early-stage crypto project if you want high-growth potential.
But act now and take the opportunity to buy Solaxy before its price increases with the next presale stage.
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Global payments service provider Visa's (V) venture capital arm made a strategic investment in BVNK, a startup building stablecoin-based payment infrastructure, in a move that reflects legacy financial financial firms' push into blockchain-powered money movement.
"Visa's deep expertise in building global payment networks, combined with our stablecoin infrastructure, creates powerful possibilities for redefining how businesses operate in today's digital economy," BVNK co-founder and CEO Jesse Hemson-Struthers wrote in a blog post on Wednesday.
A BVNK spokesperson confirmed in an email that the deal has closed but declined to reveal the size of the investment.
BVNK builds software that allows businesses to send and receive stablecoins — crypto tokens pegged to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar — across global markets. The London-based company said it's already processing $12 billion in annualized stablecoin volume, and has recently expanded into the U.S. with offices in New York and San Francisco. It has applied for licenses in all U.S. states, securing approval in several.
The backdrop to this deal is a broader shift in finance. Blockchain rails and stablecoins have become increasingly central to payments, offering faster, cheaper alternative to traditional channels for uses like remittances, payroll and commerce. Global firms are racing to jump on the trend: Payments giant Stripe is testing a stablecoin tool following its $1.1 billion acquisition of Bridge; PayPal introduced its own stablecoin; and Visa has developed a platform to help banks issue stablecoins and tokenized assets.
"Stablecoins are fast becoming a part of global payment flows, and Visa invests in new technologies and builders like BVNK, staying at the forefront of what's next in commerce to better serve our clients and partners," said Rubail Birwadker, head of growth products and partnerships at Visa.
The investment follows BVNK's $50 million fundraising round last year with backers including Haun Ventures and Tiger Global.Read more: Stablecoins Could Bring 'ChatGPT' Moment to Blockchain Adoption, Hit $3.7T by 2030: Citi
Krisztian Sandor is a U.S. markets reporter focusing on stablecoins, tokenization, real-world assets. He graduated from New York University's business and economic reporting program before joining CoinDesk. He holds BTC, SOL and ETH.
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Written By:Gopal Solanky
A whale involved in Ethereum's 2015 Initial Coin Offering (ICO) has set a buzz in the crypto market with offloading a staggering 18,700 ETH valued at $34.11 million over the past week.
The transfer of ETH to crypto exchange from Whales often raises tension in the market and this time it's fueling an even more tense situation ahead of the Ethereum Pecta upgrade activation.
This whale—originally acquired 76,000 ETH at a mere $0.31 per token—transferred an additional 2,700 ETH, worth $4.96 million to the Kraken exchange. This move continues a pattern of substantial sell-offs, with the whale's average selling price pegged at $1,824 per ETH, yielding massive profits from their early investment.
The transaction was noted out by an on-chain analyst Ai 姨 (@ai_9684xtpa) with the help of on-chain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence.
更新：25 分钟前又往交易所充值了 2700 ETH，价值 496 万美元过去一周，这位远古巨鲸已疑似抛售 18700 ETH，总价值高达 3411 万美元，充值均价 $1824 pic.twitter.com/5HcyFZzzWh
On-chain data reveals the whale still holds 11,000 ETH, valued at $20.2 million, suggesting more sales may follow. Although this isn't the first instance of such activity as the same whale has been tracked over weeks, with earlier transactions including 14,000 ETH sold for $24.75 million and additional batches moved to Kraken.
The timing of these transactions is notable, coinciding with the Ethereum Pectra upgrade, which went live on the mainnet today at epoch 364032. The dual-layer hard fork introduces key improvements, including enhanced staking mechanics, smart accounts via EIP-7702, and increased blob throughput for rollups.
While the upgrade aims to bolster Ethereum's scalability and validator operations, the whale's consistent selling has sparked concerns about potential bearish pressure on ETH's price.
Since the past few weeks, the market sentiment is already strained, with Ethereum struggling to break resistance levels within the $1,800 range.
As the Pectra upgrade rolls out, traders are closely monitoring whale movements and on-chain data for signs of further market shifts. While Ethereum's fundamentals remain strong, the actions of early investors like this ICO whale continue to cast a shadow over its short-term price trajectory, urging investors to tread carefully.
Also read: $100K+ Moved from Jeffy Yu's Wallets After His Reported Death
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WASHINGTON – Congressional Democrats are increasingly concerned about President Donald Trump's personal connections to the cryptocurrency industry, and that's throwing a wrench in bipartisan efforts to regulate the digital currency.
Two of the cryptocurrency investments owned by Trump-affiliated entities have made at least $300 million in trading fees alone on sales of his meme coin and other digital currency since January.
In late April, a company affiliated with Trump promoted the $TRUMP meme coin by offering an “intimate private dinner” with the president at his northern Virginia golf club, after which the coin's value grew as much as 80%.
And another Trump family crypto firm, World Liberty Financial, announced on May 1 that one of its digital coins is being used by an Abu Dhabi government-backed investment firm for a $2 billion investment in cryptocurrency exchange Binance − a major outlay from a foreign government to the benefit of Trump's family.
At the same time, the administration is moving to support the crypto industry's growth in the United States, including creating a "strategic bitcoin reserve" and digital asset stockpile, and pulling back from a Biden-era crackdown on the industry.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill, too, had planned to advance legislation this week to create a regulatory framework for stablecoin, a type of crypto linked to the value of another asset like the dollar, in order to remain stable. The bill has been aggressively supported by crypto lobbyists and is expected to accelerate the currency's growth.
But nine Democrats who had previously supported the bill abruptly announced on May 3 that they would no longer support the stablecoin bill, dubbed the GENIUS Act, citing concerns that the legislation doesn't do enough to prevent money laundering and protect national security.
At least seven Democrats would be needed to pass the legislation in the Senate, where lawmakers need at least 60 votes to overcome the filibuster. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, repeatedly told reporters only that "Democrats and Republicans are talking to each other about the bill," while Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said the Senate will proceed with a vote regardless.
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-California, walked out of a House committee hearing on cryptocurrency on May 6 "because of the corruption of the president of the United States and his ownership of crypto and his oversight of all the agencies."
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California, called for an Office of Government Ethics investigation into the president's crypto connections, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, launched his own investigation into Trump's profits.
Blumenthal demanded information about the business structures and potential conflicts of interest of World Liberty Financial and Fight Fight Fight (the Trump-linked business that owns the $TRUMP memecoin) in letters on May 6, which were viewed by USA TODAY.
"Donald Trump is selling cryptocurrency like snake oil in the Wild West, and he's put a for sale sign on the White House for his meme coin," Blumenthal said. "People in America deserve to know how he is potentially under the influence of foreign governments and investors who are buying his crypto assets."
Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, and Schumer plan to introduce a bill on May 7 that would ban the president, vice president, members of Congress and their families from creating crypto assets. It is co-sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, who is also a co-sponsor of the GENIUS Act.
"This is not a situation where somebody is passing a few thousand dollars under the table as a bribe. This is a situation where – on the table, in full view of the public – the president is selling access to his office," Merkley told USA TODAY. "If we're going to have any credibility in working for the people, we have to end this vastly corrupt enterprise the president's engaged in."
While Democrats remain the minority in both the House and Senate, the filibuster gives Democrats some leverage over legislation's fate in the upper chamber.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement that Trump is "dedicated to making America the crypto capital of the world."
"His assets are in a trust managed by his children, and there are no conflicts of interest," she said.
It's not just Democrats who have raised concerns about the crypto legislation in the Senate. Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, and Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, said this week that they're not sure if they can support the GENIUS Act.
Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tennessee, the primary sponsor of the legislation, said he is negotiating with Democrats to get their support for the bill. After months of work, he said, "we're very close to having everything concluded and I expect it to be concluded by the end of the week."
Contributing, Josh Meyer
May 7, 2025e-Paper
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May 7, 2025e-Paper
Updated - May 07, 2025 03:45 pm IST
Many crypto enthusiasts often create or invest in tokens that reference ongoing news events [File]
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Newly created crypto tokens referencing the Pahalgam terrorist attack and the Indian government's Operation Sindoor strikes against targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir are circulating on decentralised exchanges, per coin listing platform CoinMarketCap.
The crypto assets with names such as ‘Operation Sindoor' and ‘Pahalgam' were mostly Solana tokens with relatively low market caps. Those with Operation Sindoor-related keywords were just a few hours old.
These assets have not been officially verified and listed on coin analytics platforms due to their recency and small volumes. Many did not link back to whitepapers, official websites, or formal social media channels, as legitimate projects are expected to do.
Furthermore, it is possible for almost anyone to mint a crypto token by using a cryptocurrency that has its own blockchain.
Many crypto enthusiasts often create or invest in tokens that reference ongoing news events, trending keywords, moments in pop culture, or even memes. While such tokens may balloon in price, largely due to their negligible values, essential details such as their tokenomics and founding aims remain unclear.
Crypto tokens minted on the basis of impulse often pose both financial and cybersecurity risks to users. For example, they may be pump-and-dump schemes that suddenly rise and then crash in price, enriching the founders and those who sell their assets early. Others may find that such crypto assets cannot be sold anywhere, or that the project is a front for cybercrime operations and the theft of donations.
Those who wish to invest in new or untested cryptocurrencies should first discuss such investment decisions with a financial adviser and carry out detailed research before proceeding.
Published - May 07, 2025 02:28 pm IST
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According to Alice und Bob on Twitter, there is a growing trend of discussing Web3 technology primarily in terms of price movements, which may distort the original intent behind decentralized innovations (source: @alice_und_bob, May 7, 2025). For traders, this signals a shift in community sentiment where price speculation increasingly overshadows fundamental technological analysis. This trend can lead to heightened market volatility and short-term trading opportunities as narratives focus more on token value rather than core utility. Crypto investors should consider monitoring sentiment indicators and social media discourse as part of their strategy to anticipate price swings linked to Web3 developments.
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Binance delists ANIME/BNB, STRK/BTC, and THE/BTC trading pairs on May 9 due to low trading volumes, impacting user experience.
Binance suspends deposits/withdrawals for Ethereum and other blockchain networks on May 7 to support Ethereum's hard fork upgrade.
Binance, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is making critical adjustments that will impact a large number of users this week. With Ethereum's upcoming hard fork, Binance has announced it will both delist underperforming trading pairs and temporarily suspend withdrawals and deposits on several networks.
Binance will delist three spot trading pairs—ANIME/BNB, STRK/BTC, and THE/BTC—on May 9, 2025, at 03:00 UTC. The exchange stated that the decision was made due to low trading volumes and poor liquidity, which can negatively affect the user experience and overall market quality. Users who hold positions in these pairs are advised to close or adjust them before the delisting takes effect.
In addition to the delisting, Binance will suspend deposits and withdrawals across multiple blockchain networks on May 7, 2025, to support the upcoming Ethereum network upgrade and hard fork. The suspension will begin at 09:45 UTC, approximately 20 minutes before the scheduled upgrade at 10:05 UTC.
The networks affected include Ethereum (ETH), Arbitrum (ARB), Optimism (OP), zkSync Era (ZKSYNC), Base (BASE), Manta Network (MANTA), Starknet (STRK), Polygon (POL), Metis (METIS), Scroll (SCR), Cyber (CYBER), Metal DAO (MTL), Celo (CELO), and Worldcoin (WLD). Binance has confirmed that deposits and withdrawals on these networks will resume once the upgraded network is stable and secure.
Binance noted that these measures are part of its broader effort to ensure platform reliability, asset security, and smooth operations during critical blockchain events like the Ethereum upgrade.
This Ethereum hard fork is expected to introduce several core improvements to the network, and Binance's proactive steps are designed to minimize risk and enhance user safety throughout the process.
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Coinbase has announced a multi-year strategic partnership with Riot Games, positioning itself as the exclusive cryptocurrency exchange and blockchain technology partner for the developer's global esports events. The collaboration aims to bring enhanced fan experiences to two of the most-watched esports titles: League of Legends (LoL) and VALORANT.
The initiative debuts at the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) Masters Toronto on June 7, 2025, and will extend into the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) from June 27 to July 12. As part of the agreement, Coinbase branding will be integrated throughout official broadcasts and events, solidifying its visibility within one of the fastest-growing sectors in entertainment.
In addition to traditional sponsorship elements, the partnership will introduce unique broadcast segments including “Econ Report” for VALORANT and “Gold Grind” for LoL. These features are designed to enrich viewer understanding of in-game decision-making by offering real-time analysis of in-game economies. Through this lens, fans can gain a deeper appreciation for how economic strategy shapes professional play.
Beyond broadcast integrations, the partnership also promises a range of interactive fan engagement opportunities. These include on-site event activations, exclusive promotional giveaways, and limited-edition digital collectibles. Some of the giveaways are expected to include VIP tickets, behind-the-scenes access, and even travel packages to major esports tournaments.
Both Coinbase and Riot Games have emphasized their mutual commitment to pushing the boundaries of innovation in fan engagement. As such, future phases of the partnership may include deeper Web3 integrations—such as blockchain-based loyalty programs, NFT rewards, or tokenized in-game assets. These developments would mark a significant step toward blending digital ownership and competitive gaming in a secure, scalable way.
For Coinbase, this partnership represents another strategic move into the mainstream consumer space. By aligning with Riot Games, a titan in the gaming industry, Coinbase not only reinforces its brand among younger, tech-savvy audiences but also positions itself at the intersection of entertainment, finance, and technology.
From Riot Games' perspective, the partnership underscores its willingness to experiment with new technologies and create more immersive experiences for its global fanbase. With millions tuning into LoL and VALORANT esports events each year, the partnership has the potential to redefine what digital engagement looks like for competitive gaming.
This collaboration reflects a growing trend of cryptocurrency companies aligning with the gaming and esports industries to expand their reach and demonstrate real-world applications of blockchain technology. As the partnership unfolds, it could set new standards for how Web3 tools are used in mainstream entertainment ecosystems.
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According to a recent X post by crypto trader Coinvo, Ethereum (ETH) is ‘insanely undervalued' at its current price. Several on-chain metrics appear to support Coinvo's assessment, as ETH accumulation addresses continue to stack the digital asset despite lackluster price performance over the past few years.
Ethereum May Be Due A Rally Soon
Although ETH has risen 8% over the past two weeks, it remains down 43% over the past year, trading around $1,700 at the time of writing. From its all-time high (ATH), Ethereum is down 63.6%, in stark contrast to Bitcoin (BTC), which is trading just 13.7% below its ATH.
Ethereum's relatively poor performance compared to other major cryptocurrencies has raised questions about its long-term outlook. While Bitcoin benefits from its first-mover advantage and broader institutional adoption, Ethereum faces increasing competition from rival smart contract platforms like Solana (SOL), SUI, and Polkadot (DOT).
Despite prevailing negative sentiment, some analysts believe ETH could be on the verge of a turnaround. Coinvo, for instance, claims that Ethereum is significantly undervalued and could be poised for a massive rally.
The trader shared the following chart leveraging the Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) Z-score – a metric used to identify potential market tops and bottoms. According to the chart, Ethereum's MVRV Z-score has now entered the green zone – between 0 and -1 – a range that historically signals a market bottom and possible trend reversal.
Meanwhile, inflows into Ethereum accumulation addresses have surged to historic highs. In an X post, analyst CryptoGoos shared a chart showing record ETH inflows into these addresses in 2025.
High inflows to accumulation addresses indicate that long-term investors are actively buying and holding ETH, even during market downturns. This behavior often reflects growing confidence in Ethereum's future value and suggests a potential bullish sentiment building beneath the surface.
In a separate post, CryptoGoos also highlighted that Ethereum's exchange reserves are at a multi-year low. Diminishing reserves on exchanges point to reduced selling pressure and a tightening supply, which could strengthen ETH's scarcity narrative and drive prices higher in the near term.
ETH Holders Not ‘Bullish Enough'
Noted analyst Crypto Rover drew parallels between ETH's current price action and BTC's 2021 trajectory. According to the analyst, if Ethereum mirrors Bitcoin's past performance, it may be on track to reach a new ATH in the coming months.
That said, concerns remain around further decline in ETH's price if the global macroeconomic situation worsens amid the US President Donald Trump's looming reciprocal trade tariffs. At press time, ETH trades at $1,754, down 2.1% in the past 24 hours.
Select market data provided by ICE Data services. Select reference data provided by FactSet. Copyright © 2025 FactSet Research Systems Inc.© 2025 TradingView, Inc.
This article is published under a pseudonym to protect the author's identity and maintain the confidentiality of their role. Macao News has verified the author's credentials to confirm their authenticity.
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UPDATED: 07 May 2025, 10:04 am
The glittering skyline of Macao tells a story of spectacular wealth, built chip by chip on the backs of high-rollers from across Asia. For decades, this tiny 33 square kilometre Special Administrative Region of China has flourished as the world's gambling capital, with revenues that once dwarfed Las Vegas sixfold. But Macao's leadership knows the danger of letting its economic fortunes ride on a single industry. Their problem? The diversification playbook they're using is missing what could be its most innovative chapter.
When China's anti-corruption campaigns and Covid-19 travel restrictions hit simultaneously, Macao's economic vulnerability was laid bare. Gaming revenues crashed 80 percent during the pandemic, sending GDP plummeting in a way that would make even the most stoic casino pit boss sweat. The government's long-standing desire to diversify suddenly transformed from strategic ambition to economic imperative.
Macao has been talking about diversification for two decades, but the results have been modest at best. The region desperately needs a genuine catalyst – something that aligns with its existing advantages while opening genuinely new economic frontiers.
[See more: Macao's gross gaming revenue in April up by just 1.7 percent year-on-year]
Enter digital assets and blockchain technologies – the very innovations Macao's regulators have consistently rejected. While neighbouring Hong Kong crafts a comprehensive, virtual asset service provider licensing regime – and positions itself as Asia's crypto hub – Macao has doubled down on prohibition, creating a stark regulatory divergence between the sister SARs.
The restrictions on crypto in Macao are pervasive yet strangely unofficial. There's no single comprehensive law banning digital assets – instead, a web of regulatory directives creates a de facto prohibition that affects every sector of the economy.
The Macao gaming regulator (DICJ) has issued explicit instructions prohibiting any gaming-related transactions, services or activities involving virtual assets. Meanwhile, the Macao Monetary Authority (AMCM) has declared that virtual assets aren't legal tender and that exchanging crypto to or from fiat money would violate the Financial System Act.
This regulatory approach creates cascading effects. Cryptocurrency is not an accepted form of payment by any gaming operator anywhere on their properties – from gaming floors to hotel accommodations – due to these directives that effectively prevent merchants from processing such transactions through local banking channels.
Yet the prohibition hasn't actually stopped cryptocurrency from entering Macao's gaming ecosystem – it has merely driven it underground. Players routinely arrive in Macao with USDT, USDC and other stablecoins, exchanging them through illegal money changers for Hong Kong dollars before hitting the gaming floors. This shadow economy creates precisely the kind of unregulated, untraceable financial activity that proper regulations should prevent. By refusing to acknowledge and regulate this activity, Macao has inadvertently created the very problems it claims to be preventing.
[See more: Macao's hotel occupancy rates rise even as total guest numbers fall]
The restrictions extend beyond the gaming sector to impact ordinary citizens as well. Macao's banks enforce these restrictions with remarkable zeal, refusing to facilitate money transfers offshore if they suspect the funds will be used eventually to purchase digital assets. This overreach goes beyond blocking transfers to crypto exchanges – Macao's banks will even refuse transfers to traditional stock trading platforms such as Interactive Brokers if they suspect the money might be used to purchase crypto, digital assets, or even traditional stocks in companies involved in the digital asset space.
This creates a practical barrier that prevents most Macao residents from participating in the digital asset economy unless they have offshore bank accounts and obscure the true purpose of their remittances. While residents in neighboring Hong Kong benefit from a clear regulatory framework that enables licensed platforms to offer crypto services, Macao residents are essentially frozen out of an entire economic frontier if they only maintain local banking relationships – a striking disparity between sister SARs operating under the same “One Country, Two Systems” principle.
Macao's ban on cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based financial applications isn't just out of step with regional trends – it's potentially capping the ceiling on the region's diversification efforts. The territory's “1+4” diversification strategy focuses on developing finance, technology, health, sports, and cultural tourism alongside gaming. But without embracing digital assets, several of these sectors are missing powerful accelerants.
The irony is that Macao already understands virtualized value better than most economies. The entire gaming industry is built around chips – abstracted stores of value that exist within a controlled ecosystem. The conceptual leap to digital assets isn't nearly as great as regulators seem to believe.
One of the most persistent misconceptions driving Macao's restrictive stance is the belief that cryptocurrency is inherently untraceable and therefore creates risks. This fundamental misunderstanding contradicts the technology's basic design. Unlike cash transactions – which leave no digital footprint unless manually recorded – every cryptocurrency transaction is permanently recorded on a public blockchain ledger. Far from being untraceable, crypto transactions create an immutable, transparent record that could significantly enhance AML compliance when properly implemented.
[See more: Seaport slashes its gaming revenue growth forecast for Macao]
Consider the current situation: high-value patrons carrying briefcases of cash into casinos presents inherent challenges despite elaborate counting and reporting mechanisms. A regulated blockchain-based system would actually improve visibility and traceability compared to cash. Instead of banning cryptocurrency, Macao should be encouraging operators to innovate in this space and leverage these technological advantages for better compliance and security.
What's particularly troubling is how this stance undermines Macao's technology diversification goals. Global venture capital and innovative talent are flocking to blockchain and crypto technologies, with billions in smart money pouring into infrastructure that will underpin next-generation industries. Any serious technology hub must engage with these developments or risk irrelevance.
How can Macao credibly position itself as a technology centre while rejecting the very infrastructure that will likely power future innovation? You can't say you're diversifying into technology while simultaneously blocking the most significant technological revolution in finance of the past decade.
Macao's reluctance to engage with digital assets stands in stark contrast to Hong Kong's approach. Since 2022, Hong Kong has systematically developed frameworks for crypto trading, issued guidance on stablecoins, and even launched tokenised green bonds on the blockchain.
This regulatory divergence isn't just philosophical – it's creating tangible business migration.
At a time when Macao is desperately courting diversification, crypto-adjacent businesses either don't start or flee to Hong Kong. These aren't just exchanges – they're the payment processors, identity verification services, and compliance providers that form the backbone of modern fintech ecosystems.
The uncomfortable reality? Cryptocurrency and blockchain are rapidly becoming fundamental infrastructure for the global digital economy – just as AI evolved from experimental to essential. By effectively outlawing an entire technological framework, Macao has created an innovation dead zone.
[See more: Macao's mass-market baccarat revenue remains flat in the first quarter]
How can local entrepreneurs build competitive fintech when cut off from essential components of the modern tech stack? It's like trying to build a telecommunications company while pretending smartphones don't exist.
These restrictions cascade into Macao's meetings sector too. Operators of the region's sophisticated convention facilities reportedly turn away major Web3 conferences with thousands of attendees due to informal regulatory guidance. That business – along with all those high-spending visitors – flows instead to Singapore and Hong Kong.
The contradiction is striking: Macao invests billions in infrastructure to attract visitors while simultaneously rejecting an entire category of high-value commercial activity. No financial hub can remain competitive while walling itself off from the digital asset revolution that is fundamentally reshaping global finance.
Perhaps most telling about Macao's approach to financial diversification is its focus on establishing a traditional bond market and exchange. This strategy appears fundamentally misaligned with regional realities and future trends.
Macao is trying to compete in a space where Hong Kong and Singapore have decades-long head starts, established infrastructure, and global credibility. The bond market isn't just about creating an exchange – it's about developing an entire ecosystem of experienced issuers, traders, regulators, and service providers. That takes decades to build.
The decision to pursue traditional bond markets while rejecting digital assets reveals a backward-looking vision that may ultimately handicap Macao's diversification efforts. While established financial centres are racing to integrate blockchain technology into traditional securities markets, Macao is attempting to build yesterday's financial infrastructure from scratch.
[See more: Unlucky 13? One of Macao's fanciest hotels is back on the market]
It's like deciding to invest in fax machine manufacturing just as everyone is moving to digital communication. Why compete in a shrinking, saturated space when you could be pioneering the next generation of financial infrastructure? Macao should be looking forward to new areas of finance, not backward to financial structures already being disrupted.
What would a crypto-inclusive diversification strategy look like for Macao? The roadmap could include regulatory sandboxes for controlled innovation, specialized exchanges focused on particular asset classes, and integrated digital payment systems that bridge traditional finance with new digital paradigms.
The gaming industry itself presents a unique opportunity to demonstrate blockchain's advantages. Macao's casinos have already invested heavily in smart tables with RFID chip technology that track gameplay digitally. By linking these systems to a regulated blockchain infrastructure, Macao could pioneer the world's first fully traceable, cashless gaming ecosystem – eliminating most money-laundering concerns while improving operational efficiency.
Macao could carve out a differentiated position from Hong Kong. Perhaps Macao could create its own stable coin? Imagine a system where players could exchange global stablecoins like USDT or USDC directly with casinos for gaming chips through regulated channels with transactions recorded on the casino's own blockchain. Casinos could then settle in the pataca stable coin, creating an immutable audit trail far superior to cash-based transactions and displacing the current underground economy of illegal money exchangers.
[See more: Urging ‘crisis awareness,' Sam Hou Fai says Macao could face a budget deficit]
Such innovation wouldn't just solve local problems – it could become an exportable Macao product, a regulatory and technological framework that gambling jurisdictions worldwide might adopt. This could position Macao as not just a place to gamble, but as the source of next-generation gaming compliance technology.
The implications extend far beyond current applications. As artificial intelligence and robotics increasingly become economic drivers, their underlying transaction and payment systems will likely utilize blockchain and crypto technologies. These next-generation systems simply won't be running on traditional banking infrastructure or settling in patacas through BNU bank.
The AI economy will be measured in milliseconds and microtransactions. Traditional banking rails can't support that. Blockchain-based payment channels and programmable money are the only viable foundation for automation economies. By cutting itself off from crypto, Macao is effectively foreclosing its participation in these future industries before they even mature.
Despite the compelling case for embracing digital assets, Macao's regulatory stance remains rigid. This reluctance likely stems from legitimate concerns about capital controls, consumer protection, and alignment with mainland China's own restrictive approaches.
Yet Macao's unique position within the “One Country, Two Systems” framework – the same status that allows it to operate casinos when gambling is prohibited in mainland China – provides the region with policy flexibility if leadership chooses to use it.
[See more: Macao plans new funds to boost industry diversification, CE says]
The current approach feels like a missed opportunity to write new rules for a game Macao could win. The territory has always thrived by offering something that exists nowhere else in China. Digital assets could be part of that unique value proposition.
As Macao approaches the 26th anniversary of its return to Chinese sovereignty, its economic future remains unwritten. For a territory built on calculating odds and taking measured risks, the conservative approach to virtual assets might ironically be the riskiest bet of all – one that could leave it on the sidelines while the greatest technological and financial transformation of the century unfolds all around it.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Macao News.
UPDATED: 07 May 2025, 10:04 am
This article is published under a pseudonym to protect the author's identity and maintain the confidentiality of their role. Macao News has verified the author's credentials to confirm their authenticity.
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Ethereum recently rejected from a key confluence zone, including the 0.618 Fibonacci level. With price back under the point of control, traders are watching closely for signs of a deeper move or a trap.Ethereum's (ETH) price action has stalled at a technically significant region, the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement level, drawn from the most recent pivot high to low. This area is also reinforced by daily horizontal resistance and a descending VWAP, adding to its weight as a decision zone. After several failed attempts to push higher, ETH has now begun to roll over, trading back under the point of control (POC) of the local range.
After an impulsive move higher, Ethereum's price has spent several sessions consolidating below a heavy resistance zone. The 0.618 Fibonacci level, a widely watched retracement marker, is reinforced by daily horizontal resistance and a declining VWAP drawn from the last major high. This confluence attracted notable selling pressure, and ETH has now failed multiple times to break above.What adds further caution to the current structure is the recent loss of the point of control within this region. Price has now dipped below the highest-volume node of the recent range, suggesting that the market is no longer accepting value at these levels. This often precedes range rotation or continuation in the direction of the rejection, in this case, to the downside.
The technical landscape also reveals a clear short-term bearish structure forming. ETH has been unable to print higher highs or maintain higher lows, increasing the probability of a broader correction. The next logical support level sits around $1,540, not only a structural level from previous sessions but also a zone with visible price inefficiencies (e.g., unfilled fair value gaps and single prints) that could act as magnets for price.This setup opens the door for a potential 10% downside move from current levels, especially if the recent swing low fails to hold. Still, traders should remain alert to the possibility of a fakeout, as Ethereum has previously shown sudden strength from similar rejection zones.
Ethereum's failure to break out above the 0.618 confluence zone and its rejection from the POC suggest a higher chance of rotation toward lower supports. If price breaks below the recent swing low, the $1,540 region could be the next target.
However, if buyers can defend current levels and reclaim the POC, this might prove to be a local fakeout before resuming upward. For now, caution is warranted as price hovers near a decisive level.
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Medulloblastoma is one of the most common malignant tumors of the central nervous system (CNS) in children and adolescents. It develops in the area of the cerebellum, which is responsible for movement coordination, among other things. Medulloblastomas enlarge rapidly, often grow into surrounding tissue and can also form metastases. The wide variety of this tumor group also makes it difficult to find the right treatment.
A team of researchers at the Hopp Children's Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) has now investigated exactly where and when the most aggressive subgroups of these tumors develop in so-called single cell analyses. "We have genetically characterized the many thousands of individual cells from the tumor samples of numerous young patients with medulloblastoma," explains Konstantin Okonechnikov, first author of the study from KiTZ and DKFZ. "This technology allows us to obtain a high-resolution picture of the genetic make-up within a tumor, so that we can reconstruct its developmental history fairly accurately."
Accordingly, there are "early" and "late" genetic changes within a tumor. Based on the distribution of the genetic changes across the various tumor cell clones, the scientists were able to reconstruct the development of the tumor. The study shows that the particularly aggressive medulloblastomas of subgroups three and four probably develop between the first trimester of pregnancy and the end of the first year of life. The origin of the tumor development are the precursor cells of highly specialized nerve cells, the so-called unipolar brush cells of the cerebellum, which also develop between the first trimester of pregnancy and the end of the first year of life. Large rearrangements of entire chromosomes or chromosome arms take place in these cells, presumably initially by chance, as the present results show: The cells loose or gain certain chromosomes.
"We assume that the early loss or gain of certain chromosomes is the first step in tumor development and that these occur many years before the clinical symptoms appear," says Lena Kutscher from KiTZ and DKFZ, who led the study together with Stefan Pfister, Director at KiTZ, Head of Department at DKFZ and paediatric oncologist at Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD).
Only the later tumor cells carry the already known duplications or alterations of the cancer genes MYC, MYCN or PRDM6 that are typical for these types of medulloblastoma. "We therefore assume that these cancer genes are responsible for the progressive tumor growth and also for the metastasis and therapy resistance that occurs, but not for the development of the tumor," says Lena Kutscher.
Lena Kutscher explains what these results could mean for diagnosis and treatment: "If we succeed in developing sufficiently sensitive methods in the future to detect these early changes, for example as DNA fragments in the blood, this could form the basis for possible early detection in newborns and infants."
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Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a vacuum-assisted extrusion method that reduces internal porosity -- by up to 75% -- in large-scale 3D-printed polymer parts.
Large-format additive manufacturing, or LFAM, enables the direct printing of meter-scale structures used in aerospace, automotive and defense tooling. But widespread adoption has been hindered by internal porosity, or voids, that weaken printed components. Reducing porosity is key to improving strength, durability and overall performance.
ORNL researchers tackled this challenge with a novel approach: integrating a vacuum hopper during the extrusion process to remove trapped gases and minimize void formation in fiber-reinforced materials. These materials are widely used in LFAM for their stiffness and low thermal expansion but often suffer from intra-bead porosity that limits part quality.
The new system reduced porosity to under 2%, even with varying fiber content.
"Using this innovative technique, we are not only addressing the critical issue of porosity in large-scale polymer prints but also paving the way for stronger composites," said ORNL's Vipin Kumar. "This is a significant leap forward for the LFAM industry."
While the current method is designed for batch processing, ORNL has developed a patent-pending concept for continuous deposition systems, which will be the focus of upcoming research. -- Tina Johnson
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The age at which babies take their first steps is strongly influenced by their genes, according to new research from the University of Surrey. In the first study of its kind, scientists analysed the genetic information of more than 70,000 infants. They identified 11 genetic markers influencing when babies start walking, thus offering multiple targets for future in-depth biological investigation.
In a paper published in Nature Human Behaviour, the study found that genetics accounts for about a quarter of the differences in when children take their first steps.
For years, researchers knew that environmental factors could influence when babies begin to walk, but this new finding shows that genetics also has a major impact. It suggests that, just like with other traits such as height, some children may naturally start walking earlier or later because of their genetic propensity.
Professor Angelica Ronald, senior researcher on the study from the University of Surrey, said:
"Most babies take their first step sometime between ages 8 months and 24 months, so it is a wide window in which this exciting milestone happens. It is a big moment for both parents and baby; it symbolises a new phase in a child's life.
Dr Anna Gui, an author of the study and a researcher at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and Birkbeck, University of London said:
"Until now, we didn't understand what causes the wide differences between children in when they take their first step. Parents might often worry that walking early or late is a bad sign or that they have done something wrong. We see that genetics play a considerable role in influencing the timing of this milestone."
Walking isn't just a key milestone in the development of a child, but it is connected in terms of genetic influences with many other important aspects of human development. The study found that the genetic factors influencing when children take their first step are partly the same genetic factors that influence brain development including the amount of folding and ridges in the outer surface of the brain (the "cortex"). Moreover, walking later within the typical range was linked genetically with less chance of developing ADHD. Finally, the study showed that relatively later onset of walking was influenced by some of the same genes involved in higher educational attainment.
Professor Angelica Ronald said:
"It is exciting to be able to discover the genes that influence when children learn to walk. Starting to walk independently is a major milestone for young children. We hope these new genetic findings can advance fundamental understanding about the causes of walking and be used to better support children with motor disorders and learning disabilities.
"While parents should still see their GP if they are concerned, a slightly later start is not always a sign of problems. There is a lot of variety in when children take their first step on their own."
Led by scientists in the UK, the study was made possible through a large collaboration with scientists in the UK, Netherlands and Norway, and through UK and international funding including from the Simons Foundation for Autism Research Initiative.
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Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens. Newer vehicles and driver assistance technologies show promise in reducing crashes and injury severities. Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital reviewed national fatal crash data (2016-2021) and examined the vehicle age and driver assistance technologies of vehicles driven by teen and middle-aged drivers, and their associations with driver deaths during fatal crashes.
In a study published today in JAMA Network Open, researchers found that driving vehicles 6-15 years old had a 19% greater risk of driver death in fatal crashes, and driving vehicles older than 15 years had a 31% greater risk, both compared to driving vehicles 5 years old or newer, regardless of driver age. Additionally, each driver assistance technology already present in vehicles was associated with a 6% reduction in the risk of driver death in fatal crashes.
"Because every family wants their teen to arrive anywhere safely, teen driver fatalities are a serious public health concern," said Jingzhen Ginger Yang, PhD, MPH, lead author of the study and principal investigator in the Center for Injury Research and Policy of the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's. "Given teen drivers' high crash rates compared to other age groups and their increasing involvement in fatal crashes, it is crucial for teen drivers to operate the safest vehicles available."
The study found that teen drivers (15-18 years) were more likely than middle-aged drivers (31-55 years) to drive vehicles older than 15 years and vehicles with fewer driver assistance technologies at the time of fatal crashes. Older vehicles and vehicles with fewer driver assistance technologies were associated with a higher risk of death for drivers involved in fatal crashes, regardless of driver age.
"Our findings, along with those from other studies, underscore the importance of safe vehicle strategies, education for families and ensuring teens drive safer cars whenever possible," said Fangda Zhang, PhD, research scientist in the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's and co-lead author of the study. "Parents commonly pass their old vehicles to their teens who are still learning basic driving skills. While it is an exciting milestone for families with new drivers, this practice increases teens' vulnerability to vehicle malfunctions, making their driving less safe."
Because parents and caregivers often control what vehicles their teens drive, their choices significantly impact the driving safety of their teens and other road users. Families should be advised to prioritize safety features when choosing the first car for teens, ensuring it is newer and safer, given the increased involvement of teen drivers in motor vehicle crashes and motor vehicle crash-related fatalities.
Based on the study findings, study authors propose several recommendations:
Data for this study were obtained from Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), a comprehensive crash database widely recognized in traffic safety research for its detailed information on drivers, vehicles, and crash environments involved in US fatal crashes.
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In bilaterian animals, gene regulation is shaped by a combination of linear and spatial regulatory information. Regulatory elements along the genome are integrated into gene regulatory landscapes through chromatin compartmentalization1,2, insulation of neighbouring genomic regions3,4 and chromatin looping that brings together distal cis-regulatory sequences5. However, the evolution of these regulatory features is unknown because the three-dimensional genome architecture of most animal lineages remains unexplored6,7. To trace the evolutionary origins of animal genome regulation, here we characterized the physical organization of the genome in non-bilaterian animals (sponges, ctenophores, placozoans and cnidarians)8,9 and their closest unicellular relatives (ichthyosporeans, filastereans and choanoflagellates)10 by combining high-resolution chromosome conformation capture11,12 with epigenomic marks and gene expression data. Our comparative analysis showed that chromatin looping is a conserved feature of genome architecture in ctenophores, placozoans and cnidarians. These sequence-determined distal contacts involve both promoter–enhancer and promoter–promoter interactions. By contrast, chromatin loops are absent in the unicellular relatives of animals. Our findings indicate that spatial genome regulation emerged early in animal evolution. This evolutionary innovation introduced regulatory complexity, ultimately facilitating the diversification of animal developmental programmes and cell type repertoires.
A fundamental characteristic of animal multicellularity is the existence of specialized cell types. These cell types result from differential access to genomic information in each cell. Thus, evolutionary changes in genome regulation are proposed to be a major innovation linked to the emergence of complex multicellularity with stable cell differentiation6,10. This idea is supported by comparative genomic analyses showing that gene innovation at the origin of animals was less extensive than previously thought10,13, thus suggesting that an important animal innovation was the ability to coregulate existing genes in different combinations.
In bilaterian animals, genome spatial compartmentalization mediates the organization of gene neighbourhoods that can be independently regulated3,4,6 and that are specific to different cell types14. Another mechanism contributing to elaborate gene regulation in bilaterians is the combinatorial interaction of distal cis-regulatory elements and gene promoters by means of chromatin loops that bring distant regions into spatial proximity through genome folding, contrasting with the predominant regulation by proximal promoter elements in unicellular eukaryotes10. Comparative analyses of histone posttranslational modifications have shown that candidate distal enhancer elements, as defined by chromatin features, predate the origin of bilaterian animals8,15,16, whereas such enhancers are absent in the closest unicellular relatives of animals17. However, it is still unclear whether distal regulation in early-branching metazoans is mediated by physical interactions with gene promoters or linked to the existence of insulated gene regulatory landscapes.
To investigate the origins of animal gene regulation, here we comparatively studied chromatin architecture at subkilobase resolution in non-bilaterian animal lineages and their closest unicellular relatives of animals (Fig. 1). This includes the two phyla proposed as the sister group to all other animals9,18: ctenophores, which are mostly pelagic, marine predators that swim using ciliated comb cells and have complex nerve nets19,20; and sponges, which are sessile, benthic organisms that filter-feed using collared choanocyte cells8,21. We also examined placozoans, which are millimetre-sized, flat animals that feed on microbial mats by gliding using ciliary movement and mucus secretion, controlled by peptidergic secretory cells22, and cnidarians, the sister group to bilaterians that includes jellyfishes, corals and anemones23. Finally, we studied three unicellular relatives of animals, known as unicellular holozoans: ichthyosporeans, which are osmotrophic unicellular eukaryotes that reproduce through multinucleated coenocytes24; filastereans, which are heterotrophic protists with complex life cycles, including aggregative multicellular stages17,25 and choanoflagellates, which are heterotrophic flagellates that show both single-cell and colonial forms and are the closest living relatives to animals26. The comparative analysis of chromatin maps across these lineages allows us to reconstruct the evolutionary history of genome regulation in animals.
a, Comparison of genomic features across metazoans and unicellular holozoans. For H. sapiens, we used previously published mCG methylation percentage data from H1 ESCs cells. Of note, although distal cis-regulatory elements (dCRE) were identified in Amphimedon queenslandica15, their presence in E. muelleri had not been reported previously. mCG, CG methylation; TEs, transposable elements. b, Top left, phylogenetic tree showing the taxon sampling in this study, along with the number of profiled species per clade. Top right and below, Micro-C interaction maps of specific genomic regions (S. arctica, chr. 2: 3400000–3700000, bin 1 kb; C. owczarzaki, chr. 01: 3660000–3800000, bin 400 bp; S. rosetta, chr. 21: 800000–1100000, bin 800 bp; M. leidyi, chr. 8: 15500000–15700000, bin 400 bp; E. muelleri, Emue22: 2200000–2400000, bin 800 bp; T. adhaerens, TadhH1_4: 3880000–4180000, bin 800 bp; N. vectensis, NC_064040.1: 11650000–12000000, bin 1 kb; D. melanogaster, chr. 3L: 20480000–20820000, bin 800 bp; and H. sapiens, chr. 12: 69000000–71000000, bin 5 kb), showing examples of insulation boundaries or chromatin loops. All interaction maps were balanced using ICE normalization.
We used Micro-C11,12 to map genome-wide chromatin contacts at single-nucleosome resolution in representatives of non-bilaterian animal lineages (Fig. 1, Extended Data Fig. 1, Supplementary Table 1 and Supplementary Text 1): the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi19,20, the sponge Ephydatia muelleri21, the placozoan Trichoplax adhaerens22 and the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis23. As outgroup species, we studied chromatin architecture in three unicellular holozoans: the ichthyosporean Sphaeroforma arctica24, unicellular filasterean amoeba Capsaspora owczarzaki17,25 and the choanoflagellate Salpingoeca rosetta26. We also compared our chromatin maps with existing datasets from two bilaterians: Drosophila melanogaster27 and Homo sapiens12. To analyse our chromatin contact experiments, we first resequenced de novo and assembled to chromosome-scale the genomes of M. leidyi, E. muelleri and C. owczarzaki using a combination of Nanopore (Oxford Nanopore Technology) long-read sequencing and Micro-C data (Extended Data Fig. 2). For S. arctica, S. rosetta and T. adhaerens, we rescaffolded existing genomes22,24,26 to chromosome level using Micro-C data. In addition, to interpret the observed contact features, we generated genome-wide maps of chromatin accessibility (assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with high-throughput sequencing or ATAC-seq), chromatin modifications (chromatin immunoprecipitation with sequencing (ChIP–seq) for H3K4me3, H3K4me2, H3K4me1) and gene expression (RNA sequencing or RNA-seq), or used published datasets when available (Supplementary Table 2). We integrated three-dimensional (3D) chromatin data with linear chromatin marks to systematically compare genome architectural features at different resolutions3,4,7 (compartmentalization, insulation and chromatin looping) and across phylogenetically distant species with diverse genome sizes, gene densities and transposable element content (Fig. 1a).
We first analysed global chromosomal compartmentalization, which results from the spatial segregation of distinct chromatin states genome-wide (active, A; inactive, B) and is influenced by histone marks, DNA methylation and gene transcription, among other phenomena28,29. As such, compartmentalization is often considered an intrinsic biophysical property of the chromatin driven by phase separation30,31. To compare the degree of self-affinity and segregation between major chromatin compartments, we defined A/B compartment limits in each species. We then calculated the intensity of compartmentalization in genomic bins with compartment A and B interaction frequency in the top 20th percentile (Fig. 2a). Compartmentalization strength in each species was quantified as the ratio of homotypic (AA, BB) to heterotypic (AB) interactions (Fig. 2b). The relative resolutions were obtained by partitioning genomes into equal number of bins across species (Extended Data Fig. 3a,b), but the differences between species remained consistent regardless of the number of bins used (Fig. 2b). Furthermore, we assigned an intermediate compartment (I) to regions with weak spatial separation (Extended Data Fig. 3c,d).
a, Saddle plots showing contact interactions between A and B compartments in each species, organized by eigenvector ranking. To obtain the distance-normalized matrix, the ratio of observed-over expected interactions is calculated, followed by eigenvector decomposition. The eigenvectors are oriented and sorted from the lowest (B compartment) to the highest (A compartment) values. The bins of the interaction matrix then reordered according to the rank of the eigenvector. The observed (O) and expected (E) values are averaged to create a saddle plot. The top 20% of the interaction values were used to calculate the compartment strength values shown on the saddle plots. Cowc, C. owczarzaki; Dmel, D. melanogaster; Emue, E. muelleri; Hsap, H. sapiens; Mlei, M. leidyi; Nvec, N. vectensis; Sarc, S. arctica; Sros, S. rosetta; Tadh, T. adhaerens. b, Compartment strength quantification at different relative resolutions. The barplot below shows the contribution of homotypical chromatin interactions within active (AA) and inactive (BB) chromatin states. c, Aggregate plots showing contact enrichment within a rescaled region between two insulation boundaries. The boundaries are identified using the sliding diamond window to detect the changes in contact frequencies in each genomic bin. To plot pile-ups, regions between insulation boundaries are rescaled and their normalized observed and expected contact frequencies are averaged. d, Insulation score distributions illustrating the degree of isolation between linear genomic neighbourhoods. Number of annotated strong boundaries is indicated in blue, with a vertical line representing the median value of each distribution. e, Classification of insulation boundaries using hierarchical assignment of structural and genomic features. f, Size distribution of annotated chromatin loops in each species. The boxplots show the median (centre line), 25th and 75th percentiles (box limits) and the whiskers show the range of variability, excluding outliers, which are shown as individual points. g, Annotation of chromatin loop anchors with promoter (P) and enhancer (E) signatures based on normalized H3K4me3 and H3K4me2 or H3K4me1 ChIP–seq coverage. Chromatin loop anchors with undefined (U) epigenetic signature are shown in grey.
Our analysis revealed that, with exception of M. leidyi, animal genomes were globally segregated into transcriptionally active, gene-dense compartments and transcriptionally inactive, transposable element-rich compartments, similar to what is observed in bilaterian animals (Extended Data Fig. 3d). In these species, we detected a strong separation of A and B compartments in saddle plots (Fig. 2a) and the compartment strength values above 1.8 (Fig. 2b). Moreover, these compartments encompass relatively large contiguous regions across the genome (Extended Data Fig. 3b). By contrast, unicellular holozoans and M. leidyi did not show strong separation of large A and B compartments (Fig. 2a,b), similar to what is observed in yeast32 and other protists33. The absence of large-scale chromatin compartments in M. leidyi is unusual among animals, although it has been previously reported in certain species34. This lack of compartmentalization may be due to the absence of constitutively silenced regions across different cell types. Overall, our results indicate that A/B chromosomal compartmentalization is a phylogenetically conserved feature across animal genomes.
We next characterized small-scale chromosomal features across species by defining spatial insulation boundaries between neighbouring loci. The boundary elements that partition genome into domains can arise from active transcription, silenced repetitive regions or binding of sequence-specific architectural proteins at insulator or tethering elements5,27,35,36. Thus, our first goal was to identify the occurrence of insulation boundaries in each species (Fig. 2c,d and Extended Data Fig. 4), and then classify these points into different regulatory or structural features (domain boundaries, gene bodies, regulatory loops and so on) (Fig. 2e). To this end, we calculated insulation scores for each species, representing the difference in contact frequencies between each genomic bin and its neighbouring bins. We used different resolutions and sliding window sizes (Extended Data Fig. 4a,b) and, for each species, we selected the resolution and two window sizes that yielded the maximal insulation signal, indicating the strongest partitioning of the genome into isolated structural and functional domains. The median distance between successive identified boundary elements varied between 6.4 kilobases (kb) in S. rosetta and 190 kb in H. sapiens, yet the median number of genes per interval was consistently similar across species, with two to four genes (Extended Data Fig. 4c).
The presence of self-interacting domains, contiguous regions of the genome with enriched interactions, was assessed by examining the average pile-up plots between insulation boundaries (Fig. 2c). We observed weak contact enrichment between pairs of insulated boundaries in unicellular holozoans and E. muelleri. In M. leidyi, boundary elements were tethered through strong focal contacts and without intradomain interactions, contrary to what would be expected within topologically associating domains (TADs)3. By contrast, D. melanogaster showed intradomain enrichment without focal contacts, in agreement with previously reported domains37. T. adhaerens and N. vectensis showed a certain degree of self-affinity within insulated neighbourhoods, as well as focal point enrichment (Fig. 2c). The degree of insulation of genomic regions could be quantified from the distribution of genome-wide insulation scores (Fig. 2d and Extended Data Fig. 4c). M. leidyi, T. adhaerens, N. vectensis, H. sapiens and S. arctica genomes contained strong boundary elements in comparison with E. muelleri and, especially, the weakly insulated genomes of C. owczarzaki and S. rosetta (Fig. 2d and Extended Data Fig. 4c).
After identifying insulation points, we investigated the genomic features associated with these boundaries (Fig. 2e and Extended Data Fig. 4d). We first assigned insulation boundaries to annotated chromatin loops, followed by the transcription start sites (TSSs) of genes not involved in chromatin looping and then accessible chromatin regions that may represent other regulatory elements. Remaining boundaries were assigned to A/B compartment limits. This analysis revealed that most insulation boundaries in unicellular holozoans and E. muelleri were associated with active TSSs (Fig. 2e), suggesting that active transcription is the main factor defining insulation in these species37. By contrast, many insulation boundaries could be assigned to chromatin loop anchors in M. leidyi (77%; compared to 78% in H. sapiens human embryonic stem cells) and in T. adhaerens (38%), whereas in N. vectensis, we identified 166 chromatin loops that represented only 1.6% of insulation boundaries. The number of chromatin loops in M. leidyi (4,261) and T. adhaerens (3,065) was much higher than those found in N. vectensis (166) and D. melanogaster (313)27, despite their similar genome sizes and gene densities (Fig. 1a). Loop sizes were comparable in these four species (median 21–28 kb), but much smaller than in H. sapiens (median 140 kb) with a genome 15–30 times larger (Fig. 2f). To further characterize these distal contacts, we examined genome-wide H3K4me3, H3K4me2 and H3K4me1 to classify many of the identified loop anchor sites as promoter-like elements (Fig. 2g). In M. leidyi and N. vectensis, chromatin loops predominantly occurred between promoters and enhancers (77 and 69%, respectively), similar to H. sapiens (63%). By contrast, 79% of loops in T. adhaerens connected promoters to other promoters, similarly to what is observed in D. melanogaster (49%)38. Our results show that enhancer–promoter and promoter–promoter long-range chromatin loops are shared between bilaterians and early-branching animal lineages, and possibly date back to the origin of animal multicellularity.
In unicellular holozoans, we did not observe any spatial contact patterns indicative of chromatin loops. However, manual inspection revealed a few regions enriched in distal contacts. For example, in S. arctica, we could identify 296 self-interacting insulated domains that also contact each other (Extended Data Fig. 5a,b). These regions were depleted of active histone marks and were enriched in transposable elements, probably representing repressed chromatin domains that cosegregate (Extended Data Fig. 5c). In S. rosetta, there were 183 distally interacting regions that contained lowly expressed genes (Extended Data Fig. 5d,e) and were enriched in H3K4me1 and H3K27me3 or lacked profiled marks (Extended Data Fig. 5f). These may also represent repressed regions39, albeit they do not form well-defined domains like in S. arctica. In C. owczarzaki, we observed a plaid pattern indicative of chromatin microcompartments (Extended Data Fig. 5g), reflecting the spatial cosegregation of active promoters of highly transcribed genes with a strong H3K4me3 signal (Extended Data Fig. 5h,i). These microcompartment contacts form a regional small-scale checkerboard pattern with alternating loci of high and low interactions. Furthermore, we also detected high-frequency contact domains over gene bodies of highly expressed genes (Extended Data Fig. 5j).
In the sponge E. muelleri, we identified local interactions perpendicular to the main diagonal, and visually reminiscent to fountains observed in mouse, zebrafish and C. elegans40 (Extended Data Fig. 6a,b). Manual inspection further revealed 84 focal contacts between distal genomic loci (Extended Data Fig. 6c), including gene promoters interacting with other regions showing promoter or enhancer-like chromatin signatures (Extended Data Fig. 6d,e). These weak distal interactions occurred between extended genomic regions, in contrast to the point-to-point contacts typical of chromatin loops (Extended Data Fig. 6c). Although chromatin loops were absent in E. muelleri, we identified 243 distal cis-regulatory elements, consistent with findings in other sponge species15. These elements were characterized by chromatin accessibility, with surrounding regions showing high H3K4me1 and low H3K4me3 signals, and were mostly intergenic but close to annotated TSS (median 3.8 kb) (Extended Data Fig. 6f). This distance-to-TSS distribution was similar to that of annotated enhancer elements in M. leidyi, T. adhaerens, N. vectensis and D. melanogaster that do not form loops (median 5.6 kb, compared to 31 kb in loop-forming enhancers) (Extended Data Fig. 6f), suggesting that sponges' enhancer elements might function by proximity without the need for stable looping41.
Genome folding in the cnidarian N. vectensis was characterized by the presence of chromatin loops, as well as weakly insulated self-interacting domains (Extended Data Fig. 7). We identified 166 chromatin loops forming both promoter–promoter and promoter–enhancer contacts, and with some loops spanning nearly 1 megabase (Mb) (Extended Data Fig. 7a–c). Chromatin loops have also been reported in the hydrozoan Hydra vulgaris42, suggesting they are a conserved feature in cnidarians. Notably, some of the identified chromatin loops in N. vectensis showed a one-sided stripe pattern similar to those observed in other species, which are generated by cohesin extrusion43. Moreover, we identified an enriched GTGT motif (FC = 327, P = 1 × 10−40) present in 32% of loop anchors (Extended Data Fig. 7d). This motif resembles sequences with G-quadruplex-forming potential44, which have been shown to stabilize enhancer–promoter interactions in other species45. Beyond chromatin loops, we also observed self-interacting domains in N. vectensis (Extended Data Fig. 7e). The insulation boundaries of these domains were enriched for the YY1 motif (FC = 9,016, P = 1 × 10−87) (Extended Data Fig. 7f), which is known to mediate chromatin interactions35,45. These regions represent high-frequency contacts within the same gene regulatory landscape, but are not stabilized by chromatin loops as in vertebrate TADs3, nor are they as strongly insulated as the domains defined by insulator elements in D. melanogaster27.
Our high-resolution chromatin contract maps revealed a complex 3D genome organization in the placozoan T. adhaerens, characterized by many loop contacts forming 3D interaction hubs (Fig. 3a). To confirm this observation, we profiled chromatin contacts in a distantly related placozoan species, Cladtertia collaboinventa, which showed a very similar pattern (Fig. 3a). Most of these interactions are promoter–promoter hubs (n = 2,413 for T. adhaerens and n = 3,239 for C. collaboinventa) (Extended Data Fig. 8a). Notably, 7–10% of chromatin contacts (n = 241 for T. adhaerens, n = 394 for C. collaboinventa) connected promoters with intronic or intergenic enhancer regions (Extended Data Fig. 8a,b), revealing the presence of distal cis-regulatory elements in placozoans.
a, Example of syntenic genomic regions in placozoans T. adhaerens (TadhH1_4: 3860000–4060000, bin 800 bp) and C. collaboinventa (chr. 4: 8983000–9183000, bin 800 bp). b, Gaudí plots projecting ATAC-seq, H3K4me3 and exon annotation signals onto a two-dimensional Kamada–Kawai graph layout (top left) represented by the top 20% of contact pairs with solid colours highlighting statistically significant regions (P < 0.05) identified using a one-sided permutation test. The high–high (HH) signal marks genomic bins enriched in signal and that are in spatial proximity with other bins enriched in signal; low–low (LL) bins are depleted in signal as well as neighbourhoods are depleted in signal; high–low (HL) and low–high (LH) are bins that are enriched in signal, but not their neighbourhood, and in reverse. c, Classification of T. adhaerens genes into three categories (GP1, GP2 and GP3) on the basis of structural and epigenetic features. Top, example regions containing genes classified into GP1, GP2 and GP3 groups. The resolution of Micro-C maps is 800 bp, maximum intensity value of ICE normalized Micro-C maps is as in a. Bottom, average loop strength between promoter regions of the genes from each groups is measured with APA. The colour bar of pile-up plots shows enrichment of observed over expected values. d, Sequence motif found in loop regions, which are also overlapping GP1 promoter regions (left panel), is present in promoter regions of orthologous GP1 genes in other placozoan species (right panel). The total number of shared orthologues is indicated. TrH2, Trichoplax sp. H2; Hhon, Hoilungia hongkongensis; HoiH23, C. collaboinventa. e, Heatmaps showing CPM normalized ATAC-seq and ChIP–seq coverage, motif scores and Mutator transposable element density ±5 kb around the TSS of GP1, GP2 and GP3 genes. Each heatmap scale starts at zero.
We identified 321 promoter hub regions in the T. adhaerens genome and 331 in C. collaboinventa, involving 1,695 and 2,191 genes, respectively, with a median of four promoters in each hub in T. adhaerens and five in C. collaboinventa. To further reconstruct the 3D organization of these hubs, we used METALoci to calculate spatial correlation between genome folding and epigenetic (ATAC, H3K4me3 ChIP) or genomic (exon annotation) features (Fig. 3b and Extended Data Fig. 8c). This analysis revealed a nested structure where accessible promoter regions were central to the 3D interactions tightly clustered in space (ATAC-seq in Fig. 3b), whereas gene bodies and the first nucleosome (H3K4me3) occupied more peripheral locations (Fig. 3b). Furthermore, genes within spatial promoter hubs were linearly grouped along the genome, resembling the arrangement of housekeeping genes observed in mouse embryonic stem cells46. Alternatively, these structures could be associated with active transcription and the formation of micro-compartmentalized RNA polymerase II-driven transcription hotspots47.
Notably, not all collinear genes formed promoter hubs. Following this observation, we categorized genes into three groups based on their spatial and epigenetic organization (Fig. 3c and Extended Data Fig. 8d,e). This includes group 1 genes (GP1, n = 2,978 in T. adhaerens, n = 3,973 in C. collaboinventa) that had both ATAC and H3K4me3 peaks and formed chromatin loops, with an average interaction strength in aggregate peak analysis (APA) of 1.32, indicating the enrichment of Micro-C signal at loop anchors. Group 2 genes (GP2: n = 3,681 in T. adhaerens, n = 3,119 in C. collaboinventa) also showed ATAC and H3K4me3 peaks, but lacked strong distal contacts (APA = 1.12). Last, group 3 genes (GP3: n = 3,851 in T. adhaerens, n = 4,238 in C. collaboinventa) had neither chromatin loops (APA = 0.968) nor active chromatin marks (Fig. 3c). On average, GP1 genes showed a stronger H3K4me3 ChIP–seq signal and higher expression levels compared to genes in GP2 and GP3 (Extended Data Fig. 8d) and were associated with housekeeping functions, including intracellular trafficking, translation and messenger RNA processing (Extended Data Fig. 8f). By contrast, GP3 genes were enriched in cell type-specific functions related to peptidergic cells (Extended Data Fig. 8g,h), potentially explaining the lack of chromatin features in our bulk epigenomic experiments.
To understand what distinguishes placozoan GP1 genes, we analysed loop anchor sequences in both species using genomic sequences as background. We identified an enriched motif at chromatin loop anchor regions in both placozoan species (Fig. 3d and Extended Data Fig. 8i,j) and found that GP1 promoters frequently contained insertions of Mutator DNA transposable elements (Fig. 3e and Extended Data Fig. 8e), with the terminal inverted repeat (TIR) sequence of this transposon containing the identified sequence motif. To further explore this association, we constructed a phylogenetic tree including all intact Mutator TIR sequences in four placozoan species (Extended Data Fig. 8k and Supplementary Data 1). This analysis revealed a Mutator family shared across species and with consensus TIR sequences resembling the motif found in chromatin loops anchors (Extended Data Fig. 8k). The connection between chromatin loops and the Mutator transposable element suggests a potential evolutionary and functional relationship. One possibility is that an architectural protein in placozoans evolved to recognize the sequence motif within the Mutator TIRs, leading to ‘domestication' of these sites as regulatory elements. Alternatively, the presence of the motif and Mutator TIR sequences may indicate targeted integration of Mutator transposons into promoter regions of highly expressed genes. Overall, our analyses showed that roughly one-third of T. adhaerens and C. collaboinventa genes are part of promoter hubs mediated by chromatin loops and that these contacts are associated with the presence of conserved Mutator DNA transposons harbouring a specific sequence motif.
The physical architecture of M. leidyi genome is dominated by thousands of chromatin loops (n = 4,261) (Fig. 4a), primarily connecting promoter and enhancer elements (61%), as well as enhancer to enhancer regions (16%) (Fig. 2g and Extended Data Fig. 9a,b). In total, we identified 916 gene promoters participating in chromatin loops, with each promoter contacting between one (50%) and up to 15 enhancers (Fig. 4b). These enhancers are mainly located in intronic (69%) and intergenic (24%) regions at one to eight genes from the contacted promoters. We also observed the accumulation of cohesin at loop anchor sites using ChIP–seq against SMC1 cohesin subunit (Extended Data Fig. 9c). To assess whether these features are conserved across ctenophores, we profiled chromatin contacts, albeit at lower resolution, in the cydippid ctenophore Hormiphora californensis (Extended Data Fig. 9d), which diverged from the lobate ctenophore M. leidyi roughly 180 million years ago9. At the sampled resolution, we detected 239 strong chromatin loops in H. californensis. In both ctenophores, genes involved in chromatin loop formation showed higher expression (Extended Data Fig. 9e).
a, Example genomic region showing chromatin loops between promoters and enhancers at 400 bp resolution. b, Left, histogram of enhancer contacts per promoter. Right, genomic location of enhancers. c, Sequence motif enriched in loop anchors. d, DNA methylation profiles centred around motifs located at promoter and enhancer loop regions, or outside loops. e, Chromatin-bound proteome of M. leidyi, showing identified proteins sorted by abundance with architectural proteins CTEP1 and CTEP2 as the most abundant zf-C2H2s. f, DAP-seq signals around GC-motif sites with high (left) versus low (right) methylation levels, and sites located within (top) or outside (bottom) of loop anchors. CTEP1 showed higher affinity for unmethylated GC-rich motifs in DAP-seq assays with native or PCR amplified gDNA (lacking methylation). g, Boxplots showing PhastCons conservation scores across three ctenophore species (B. microptera, P. bachei and H. californensis). The boxplot limits indicate the interquartile range (IQR), with the median as the middle line and whiskers extending to 1.5× IQR. Two-sided Wilcoxon rank sum test showed significant conservation differences between intergenic enhancers (n = 969) and promoters in loops (n = 778) (***P = 1.3 × 10−15) and between promoters in loops and promoters outside loops (n = 14,996) (***P < 2.22 × 10−16), whereas intergenic enhancers and promoters outside loops showed no significant difference (not significant (NS), P = 0.88). h, Syntenic conservation within M. leidyi chromatin loops compared to H. californensis. Left plot, barplot showing the fraction of conserved orthologues (OGs) in all alignable genomic regions across ctenophore species (***P = 5.5 × 10−4, chi-squared test for given probabilities). Right plot, boxplot of shared orthologues between individual genomic regions within chromatin loops (n = 115) versus in random genomic regions (n = 259) of similar size (***P = 2.4 × 10−5, Wilcoxon rank sum test with continuity correction). Boxplot limits as in g. Silhouette of H. californensis in h reproduced from PhyloPic (https://www.phylopic.org/), created by S. Haddock and K. Wothe under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain licence.
To investigate whether the chromatin loops in ctenophores are formed in a sequence-specific manner, we searched for the enriched motif in loop anchors of both species, using GC-normalized genomic random sequences as a background. We identified GC-rich motif (FC = 8,522; P = 1 × 10−497) that was present in over 75% of loop anchors (Fig. 4c and Extended Data Fig. 9f) and at both promoter (79%) and enhancer sites (74%) involved in chromatin loops (Extended Data Fig. 9g). In addition, this motif was found in an extra 3,348 gene promoters (21% of all genes) with no chromatin loops detected (Extended Data Fig. 9g,h).
As the identified GC-rich motif contains two CpG dinucleotides, we examined DNA methylation using long-read Nanopore sequencing data. The overall methylation level in M. leidyi was low (6.8%), in agreement with previous reports using whole-genome bisulfite sequencing48. However, at loop anchor sites motifs showed low cytosine methylation, whereas motif occurrences outside loop anchor points showed high methylation (Fig. 4d and Extended Data Fig. 9i). Thus, we propose that DNA methylation of this GC-rich motif serves as a regulatory mechanism of loop formation in M. leidyi, potentially controlling the binding of an unknown, methylation-sensitive architectural DNA-binding factor, similar to mechanisms described for CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) and other transcription factors49.
The presence of DNA-binding proteins was further supported by the ATAC-seq footprint profile at motif regions in loop anchors (Extended Data Fig. 9j). To identify these potential architectural proteins, we profiled the chromatin-bound proteome of M. leidyi (Fig. 4e). We then selected the most abundant zf-C2H2 domain-containing proteins and analysed their DNA-binding specificity using DAP-seq, as zf-C2H2 factors are often associated with chromatin looping in other species2,5,35,50. This analysis identified two proteins, named here CTEP1 (Ctenophore-specific Tethering Protein 1) and CTEP2, which overlapped with 80% of detected loop anchor regions and showed strong affinity for the same GC-rich motif we had previously identified (Extended Data Fig. 9k–m). Moreover, DAP-seq confirmed that the binding of both proteins was inhibited at sites with high DNA methylation (Fig. 4f and Extended Data Fig. 9k,m). Thus, we conclude that CTEP1 and CTEP2 bind unmethylated GC-rich motif sites at chromatin loops. Notably, these proteins are conserved across ctenophore species (Extended Data Fig. 9n and Supplementary Table 3), but are absent from genomes of other metazoans.
Finally, we analysed evolutionary conservation of the sequences at the loop anchor points. To this end, we calculated genome-wide conservation scores from alignments of M. leidyi genome with three other ctenophore species (Bolinopsis microptera9, Pleurobrachia bachei20 and H. californensis51). Chromatin loop anchors, both at intronic and intergenic regions, showed higher sequence conservation compared to other introns or random genomic regions, respectively (Fig. 4g). The promoters of genes involved in distal contacts showed lower conservation score compared to other promoters (Fig. 4g), with conservation levels similar to those of random intergenic regions. Moreover, these promoters had a high frequency of transposable element integrations and elevated DNA methylation (Fig. 4d and Extended Data Fig. 9o). Furthermore, we found that genes located within enhancer–promoter loop regions in M. leidyi have higher syntenic conservation across ctenophore species compared to other genomic regions of similar size (Fig. 4h and Extended Data Fig. 9p). Overall, the conservation of loop anchor regions across ctenophore species and the increased syntenic linkage of genes suggest that gene positioning is constrained by genome architecture. These findings indicate that the distal chromatin contacts identified in M. leidyi represent an evolutionary conserved mechanism of genome regulation present in both lobate and cydippid ctenophores.
Genome architecture is the result of both physicochemical and regulatory processes3,4,31. In unicellular organisms, chromatin contact patterns are shaped by the polymer nature of the chromatin fibre32 and by gene transcriptional states52. For example, gene body contact domains are observed in highly transcribed genes in S. cerevisiae and S. pombe52, and in Arabidopsis thaliana53. Also, insulation boundaries resulting from highly transcribed genes in divergent orientations are described in dinoflagellate genomes33. In unicellular holozoans, we observed similar insulation patterns around TSSs, but without evidence of further regulatory features or sequence-specific determinants associated with insulation boundaries. We also found cosegregating inactive chromatin regions in the large genome of S. arctica, and to a lesser extent in S. rosetta39. By contrast, these structures are absent in unicellular organisms such as C. owczarzaki or S. cerevisiae, which both have gene-dense genomes without heterochromatic regions.
In bilaterian species, extra chromatin structures involved in gene regulation have been observed, often mediated by architectural proteins binding to specific sequences2,5,35,50. These include discrete chromatin loops between cis-regulatory elements and promoters, mediated by tethering elements27, as well as insulated gene regulatory landscapes, such as loop TADs bounded by convergent CTCF sites in vertebrates3. Notably, TAD-like domain structures can also result from the passive cosegregation of active versus inactive chromatin states37,54, rather than being determined by sequence-specific insulation elements. Examples of these are Polycomb bodies55 and other heterochromatic compartment domains28,29. In early-branching animals we did not identify loop-bound TADs or any evidence of sequence-defined insulated TADs. However, we did detect chromatin loops spanning tens of kilobases and linking distal cis-regulatory elements and promoters in cnidarians, ctenophores and placozoans. In the case of ctenophores, thousands of chromatin loops link enhancers and promoters, showing that distal loops can be extremely frequent even in small genomes (roughly 200 Mb). Another example is the thousands of chromatin loops in placozoans, with even smaller genomes (roughly 100 Mb). Both placozoans and ctenophores complex looping architectures are associated with transposable elements. Although the causal relationship between transposable elements and chromatin loops is unclear, this observation suggests that complex 3D genome architectures might be influenced by lineage-specific transposable element invasion histories56.
The mechanisms and factors responsible for loop formation in non-bilaterians and most invertebrates remain unknown7. The zf-C2H2 protein CTCF is the main architectural protein in vertebrates and is conserved across bilaterians. In annelids it has been associated to open chromatin regions57 and in cephalopods it defines TAD boundaries58. Given that CTCF is absent in non-bilaterians36, other factors, possibly from the zf-C2H2 family (Extended Data Fig. 9q), might be involved in the formation of these loops. In fact, a variety of architectural proteins other than CTCF have been described in Drosophila, many of which are zf-C2H2 proteins with restricted phylogenetic distributions such as the insect-specific CP190 factor2,50,59. Similarly, we identified two ctenophore-specific zf-C2H2 proteins (CTEP1 and CTEP2) associated with loop anchor regions in M. leidyi. It is possible that other, yet unidentified, lineage-specific zf-C2H2 proteins contribute to chromatin architecture in different animal lineages.
Globally, our findings suggest an evolutionary scenario (Fig. 5) in which chromatin compartment domains defined by transcriptional states28 (but lacking sequence-specific insulation or tethering elements) were present in the unicellular ancestor of animals, as seen in extant unicellular holozoans. At the origin of animals, distal cis-regulatory elements evolved, requiring sequence-determined, stable chromatin looping mechanisms to link these enhancers with gene promoters (at least at certain distances41). This added an extra layer of regulatory complexity to cell type-specific gene regulation. The origin of this distal gene regulation would also explain the existence of regulatory-linked genomic regions showing conserved synteny60, as observed in ctenophore regions between loop anchor points. Moreover, domains insulated by sequence elements probably originated at the root of bilaterian animals, as they are observed in vertebrates, insects and probably spiralians57,58. In the specific case of vertebrates these domains are formed by a mechanism of CTCF-dependent loop extrusion so far not observed in any other lineage7, which further exemplifies the potential diversity of mechanisms involved in chromatin architecture across metazoans. Future extended taxon sampling will further refine this evolutionary scenario and help solve open questions such as whether there are conserved or lineage-specific factors involved in the establishment of chromatin loops across animals, how dynamic these structures are in development and across cell types or when did sequence-determined, insulated TADs first emerged in animal evolution.
a, Phylogenetic tree illustrating the taxonomic distribution of 3D-chromatin features. b, Schematic depicting major innovations in animal genome regulation at different ancestral nodes. LCA, last common ancestor.
S. arctica coenocytic culture was grown in marine broth (Difco, 3704 g l−1) at 12 °C in 25 cm2 flasks. Cells were passaged every 7 days using a 1:100 dilution. To synchronize cells in the G1/early S phase, an 8-day old culture was treated with 200 mM hydroxyurea (Sigma-Aldrich, catalogue no. H8627) for 18 h in the presence of 0.3% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). Synchronized cells were pelleted at 2,000g for 5 min at 12 °C, washed twice with Ca2+/Mg2+-free artificial sea water (CMFSW) (10 mM HEPES (pH 7.4), 450 mM NaCl, 9 mM KCl, 33 mM Na2SO4, 2.5 mM NaHCO3) and flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen. Frozen cells were then reconstituted in CMFSW and crosslinked with 1% formaldehyde (Thermo Scientific, catalogue no. 28906) for 10 min under vacuum. The crosslinking reaction was quenched with 128 mM glycine for 5 min in the vacuum desiccator, followed by a 15 min incubation on ice. Cells were pelleted at 4 °C for 10 min at 2,000g, washed once with CMFSW, reconstituted in CMFSW to the concentration of 2 M ml−1 and crosslinked with 3 mM DSG (Thermo Scientific, catalogue no. A35392) for 40 min at room temperature on a rotating wheel. The reaction was quenched with 400 mM glycine for 5 min. Double-crosslinked cells were pelleted at 4 °C for 15 min at 2,000g and flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen.
C. owczarzaki strain ATCC30864 was maintained in axenic culture at 23 °C in the ATCC (American Type Culture Collection) medium 1034 (modified PYNFH medium) in 25 cm2 flasks. For subculture, filopodial cells were passaged every 2–3 days using a dilution of 1:100. Before collection, filopodial cells were synchronized in G1 or early S phase by treating a filopodial culture of 70–80% confluency with 100 mM hydroxyurea (Sigma-Aldrich, catalogue no. H8627) for 18 h (ref. 61). Synchronized cells were scraped off the surface and pelleted at 2,200g for 5 min at room temperature. Collected cells were crosslinked as described in ref. 62. Briefly, cells were crosslinked with 1% formaldehyde (Thermo Scientific, catalogue no. 28906) in PBS for 10 min on a rotating wheel at room temperature. The crosslinking reaction was quenched with 128 mM glycine for 5 min at room temperature followed by extra incubation on ice for 15 min. The crosslinked cells were pelleted at 4 °C for 10 min at 2,000g and washed once with ice-cold PBS. Cells were diluted in PBS to the concentration of 2 M ml−1 and also crosslinked with 3 mM DSG (Thermo Scientific, catalogue no. A35392) for 40 min at room temperature on a rotating wheel. The crosslinking was quenched with 400 mM glycine for 5 min. Cells were pelleted at 4 °C for 15 min at 2,000g and flash-frozen in aliquots of 2 million cells.
S. rosetta was cocultured with Echinicola pacifica bacteria in artificial sea water supplemented with 20% cereal grass media (CGM3) at 23 °C. To synchronize the cell culture in the G1 or early S phase, cells from a 3-day-old culture were pelleted at 2,000g for 10 min and diluted in 4% CGM3 in artificial sea water to the concentration of 300,000 cells per ml. Cells were treated with 0.05 mM aphidicolin (Sigma-Aldrich, catalogue no. 178273) in the presence of 0.3% DMSO. After 18 h of incubation, cells, including chain colonies, fast and slow swimmers, were pelleted at 2,000g for 15 min. To remove bacteria from the choanoflagellate culture, collected cells reconstituted in 1 ml of culture media were passed through a Ficoll layer (1.6% Ficoll (Sigma-Aldrich, catalogue no. F5415), 0.5 M sorbitol, 50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.8), 15 mM MgCl2, 1% artificial sea water) by centrifugation at 1,000g for 10 min at 4 °C. Pelleted choanoflagellate cells were then double-crosslinked with 1% formaldehyde in CMFSW and 3 mM DSG in CMFSW as described above for C. owczarzaki. The crosslinked cells were pelleted at 4 °C for 15 min at 2,000g and flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen.
E. muelleri sponges gemmules were hatched and grown for 1 week in Strekal's media63 in 150 × 25 mm culture dishes (Corning, catalogue no. 353025). To isolate phagocytic choanocyte cell population, specimens were fed for 10 min with 0.5 µm fluorescent carboxylate-modified FluoSpheres (Invitrogen, catalogue no. F8813) added to Strekal's media to final 0.02% concentration (1:100 dilution of stock 2% FluoSpheres slurry)64. Sponges were washed once with Strekal's media, and 1% formaldehyde solution in Strekal's media was added to crosslink specimens for 10 min at room temperature with occasional mixing. To quench formaldehyde, 128 mM glycine was added and incubated for 5 min at room temperature and 15 min on ice. Crosslinked sponge specimens were washed twice with ice-cold Strekal's media. Roughly 80 specimens were transferred in 5 ml of the Strekal's media and dissociated by trituration until all tissue was removed from the gemmule husks (roughly ten trituration passages). The dissociated cell suspension was filtered through a 40-µm cell strainer, and cells were diluted to 2 M ml−1 concentration. The second crosslinking was performed with 3 mM DSG (Thermo Scientific, catalogue no. 20593) in Strekal's media for 40 min at room temperature on a rotating wheel. The reaction was quenched with 400 mM glycine for 5 min at room temperature. Crosslinked cells were pelleted at 4 °C for 15 min at 2,000g, and then resuspended in 2 ml of ice-cold Strekal's media with 2 µg ml−1 Hoechst 33342 (Thermo Scientific, catalogue no. 62249). Choanocytes were isolated using a BD FACS Aria II sorter with BD FACSDiva v.6.1.3 (BD Biosciences) as cells showing both FluoSphere fluorescence and Hoechst nuclei staining. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) profiles were analysed with FlowJo v.10.7 (Extended Data Fig. 1b).
M. leidyi specimens were kept in 300-ml glass beakers with 5–10 individuals at 21 °C in artificial sea water (Red Sea, catalogue no. R11055) with a salinity of 27 ppt. Ctenophores were fed daily with a mixture of living rotifers (Brachionus sp.) and brine shrimps (Artemia salina). The water was exchanged once a week. For all experiments, adult lobate animals were starved for 2 days before collection. To dissociate animal tissue, roughly five adult animals (10 mm long) were transferred into CMFSW and washed twice to exchange the buffer. Animal tissue was dissociated into single cells in 5 ml of fresh CMFSW by triturating every 2 min for a total of 10 min. The efficiency of tissue dissociation was monitored under the microscope. Dissociated cells were filtered through a 40-µm cell strainer and diluted to 2 M ml−1 for the subsequent formaldehyde crosslinking. Cells were crosslinked in 1% formaldehyde in CMFSW for 10 min at room temperature. The reaction was stopped with 128 mM glycine for 5 min at room temperature and 15 min on ice. Crosslinked cells were pelleted at 4 °C for 10 min at 2,000g, washed once with CMFSW and resuspended to 2 M ml−1 for a second crosslinking with 3 mM DSG in CMFSW. The crosslinking reaction was stopped after 40 min of incubation at room temperature on a rotating wheel with 400 mM glycine for 5 min. The crosslinked cells were pelleted at 4 °C for 15 min at 2,000g.
H. californensis specimens from the first generation (F1) of a laboratory-reared culture at the Monterey Bay Aquarium (USA) were flash-frozen and pulverized in liquid nitrogen. Extracted cells and nuclei were filtered through a 40-µm cell strainer and pelleted by centrifugation at 4 °C for 10 min at 2,000g. Cells were double-crosslinked with 1% formaldehyde in CMFSW and 3 mM DSG in CMFSW as described for M. leidyi.
T. adhaerens and C. collaboinventa colonies were grown in 200 × 30 mm glass Petri dishes at 21 °C in artificial sea water (Red Sea, catalogue no. R11055) with a salinity of 33 ppt. Placozoans were fed once a week with unicellular algae (Pyrenomonas sp.), the water was exchanged every second week. To prepare single-cell suspension, roughly 500 animals were collected, washed twice with CMFSW and resuspended in 1 ml of CMFSW supplemented with 2 mM EDTA. Animal tissue was triturated every 2 min for a total of 10 min at room temperature. The efficiency of dissociation was monitored under the microscope. Dissociated cells were filtered through a 40-µm cell strainer, diluted to 2 M ml−1 and crosslinked with 1% formaldehyde in CMFSW for 10 min at room temperature on a rotating wheel. The reaction was quenched with 128 mM glycine for 5 min at room temperature and 15 min on ice. Cells were pelleted at 4 °C for 10 min at 2,000g, washed once with CMFSW and resuspended in 3 mM DSG in CMFSW for a second crosslinking. After 40 min of incubation at room temperature on a rotating wheel, 400 mM glycine was added to stop the reaction and cells were pelleted at 4 °C for 15 min at 2,000g.
N. vectensis NvElav1::mOrange transgenic line65 was maintained in one-third artificial sea water (Red Sea, catalogue no. R11055) with salinity of 14 ppt. To isolate NvElav1::mOrange positive cells, 1.5–2-month-old animals starved for 1 day before the experiment were crosslinked with 1% formaldehyde in Ca2+/Mg2+-free one-third sea water (one-third CMF: 17 mM HEPES (pH 7.4), 167 mM NaCl, 9 mM NaHCO3, 3.3 mM KCl) for 10 min under vacuum. The crosslinking reaction was stopped by adding 128 mM glycine and incubating the tissue under vacuum for 5 min, followed by a 15 min incubation on ice. The crosslinked tissue was dissociated into single cells by incubating the tissue with 10 mg ml−1 of Protease XIV (Sigma-Aldrich, catalogue no. P5147) in one-third CMF and 1 mM CaCl2 for 5 min at 24 °C triturating the tissue every 1 min. The digested tissue was pelleted at 800g for 5 min, reconstituted in one-third CMF supplemented with 2 mM EDTA and 2 µg ml−1 Hoechst 33342 (Thermo Scientific, catalogue no. 62249), and the trituration continued for another 5–10 min. Dissociated cells were filtered through a 40-µm cell strainer, and neurons were isolated using a BD FACS Aria II as cells showing both the mOrange signal and Hoechst nuclei staining (Extended Data Fig. 1b). Isolated NvElav1::mOrange positive cells were also crosslinked with 3 mM DSG for 40 min at room temperature.
Micro-C libraries were prepared as previously described11,12 with the following modification. Double-crosslinked cells (2 million cells per sample) with 1% formaldehyde and 3 mM DSG were permeabilized with 500 µl of MB1 buffer (10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.4), 50 mM NaCl, 5 mM MgCl2, 1 mM CaCl2, 0.2% NP-40, protease inhibitor cocktail) for 20 min on ice with occasional trituration. Cells were pelleted at 4,500g for 5 min at 4 °C and washed once with MB1 buffer. To digest chromatin to a 80% monomers to 20% dimer and oligomers nucleosome ratio, an appropriate amount of MNase (Takara Bio, catalogue no. 2910a) was added (Extended Data Fig. 1a), and samples were incubated for 10 min at 37 °C with mixing at 850 rpm. The digestion reaction was stopped with 4 mM EGTA (pH 8.0) followed by incubation at 65 °C for 10 min without agitation. Cells were washed twice with ice-cold MB2 buffer (10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.4), 50 mM NaCl, 10 mM MgCl2, 0.1% BSA) and pelleted at 4,500g for 5 min at 4 °C. Next, to repair the fragment ends after MNase digestion, pelleted cells were resuspended in the repair reaction mix (5 µl of 10× NEBuffer 2.1, 34 µl of nuclease-free water, 1 µl of 100 mM ATP, 2.5 µl of 100 mM DTT) supplemented with 2.5 µl of 10 U µl−1 T4 PNK (NEB, catalogue no. M0201). After 15 min of incubation at 37 °C with 850 rpm agitation, 5 µl of 5 U µl−1 Klenow Fragment (NEB, catalogue no. M0210) was added to generate 3′–5′ overhangs in the absence of dNTPs for a subsequent incorporation of biotin-labelled dNTPs. The reaction mixture was incubated for another 15 min at 37 °C at 850 rpm. To biotinylate DNA fragment ends, the mixture of dNTPs was added to the reaction mix (2.5 µl of 10× T4 DNA Ligase buffer, 11.875 µl of nuclease-free water, 5 µl of 1 mM Biotin-dATP (Jena Bioscience, catalogue no. NU-835-BIO14), 5 µl of 1 mM Biotin-dCTP (Jena Bioscience, catalogue no. NU-809-BIOX), 0.5 µl of a mixture of 10 mM dTTP and dGTP, 0.125 µl of 20 mg ml−1 BSA). After 45 min of incubation at room temperature with interval mixing at 850 rpm, the reaction was stopped with 30 mM EDTA (pH 8.0) followed by incubation at 65 °C for 20 min without agitation. The chromatin from lysed cells and nuclei was pelleted at 10,000g for 10 min at 4 °C and washed twice with MB3 buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.5), 10 mM MgCl2). Finally, the chromatin was resuspended in 1,200 µl of proximity ligation mix (920 µl of nuclease-free water, 120 µl of 10× T4 DNA Ligase buffer, 100 µl of 10% Triton X-100, 12 µl of 20 mg ml−1 BSA, 36 µl of 50% PEG 4000, 12 µl of 5 U µl−1 T4 DNA ligase (Thermo Scientific, catalogue no. EL0012)) and incubated at room temperature for at least 2.5 h. To remove biotin from unligated ends, pelleted chromatin was treated with 2 µl of 100 U µl−1 Exonuclease III (NEB, catalogue no. M0206) for 5 min at 37 °C and agitation 850 rpm. Then, chromatin was decrosslinked and deproteinased overnight at 65 °C at 850 rpm in the presence of 350 mM NaCl, 1% SDS and 1 mg ml−1 proteinase K (Roche, catalogue no. 3115879001). The DNA was purified using DNA Clean & Concentrator-5 kit (Zymo Research, catalogue no. D4014) and eluted in 50 µl of 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0) (Extended Data Fig. 1c). Next, biotinylated proximity ligated DNA fragments were captured with Dynabeads MyOne Streptavidin (Life Technologies, catalogue no. 65602). DNA ends were prepared for adapter ligation and dA-tailed using NEBNext End repair/dA-tailing mix (NEB, catalogue no. E7546). The Y-shaped Illumina adapters were ligated with NEBNext Ultra II Ligation Module (NEB, catalogue no. E7595S), and the final library was amplified using NEBNext High-Fidelity 2× PCR Master Mix (NEB, catalogue no. M0541). The final libraries were double-size selected with Ampure XP (Beckman Coulter, catalogue no. A63881) resulting in libraries ranging from 350 to 750 bp in length. The detailed Micro-C stepwise protocol is reported in Supplementary Text 1.
Genomic DNA (gDNA) from C. owczarzaki (Cowc) strain ATCC30864 was extracted with Blood & Cell Culture DNA Mini Kit (Qiagen, catalogue no. 13323). The library was constructed by the use of Ligation Sequencing Kit (Oxford Nanopore, catalogue no. SQK-LSK109) and NEBNext Companion Module (NEB, catalogue no. E7180), and sequenced with the R9.4.1 Flow Cell set on a MinION device (Oxford Nanopore). We obtained 4.3 M reads with an estimated Oxford Nanopore N50 of 5.4 kb.
E. muelleri gDNA was isolated using the Nanobind Tissue (Circulomics, catalogue no. NB-900-701-01) from 177 mg of frozen tissue of clonal juvenile sponges hatched from overwintering cysts (gemmules). Gemmules were obtained from the head tank of the Kapoor Tunnel (Sooke Reservoir), part of the drinking water system of the city of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada21. Short DNA fragments of less than 10 kb were removed with Short Read Eliminator Kit (Circulomics, catalogue no. SS-100-101-01). gDNA was quantified with a Qubit fluorometer and sequenced on an Oxford Nanopore using a PromethION flow cell (R9.4), producing 5.31 million reads with an estimated Oxford Nanopore N50 of 18.97 kb.
To reduce the level of heterozygosity during the assembly of M. leidyi genome (below), an animal culture was established from a single individual through self-fertilization. High molecular weight DNA was isolated from 5–8 animals (3–5 cm) starved for 24 h before flash-freezing. Frozen tissues were powdered with mortar and pestle, dissolved in 10 ml of urea extraction buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0), 7 M Urea, 312.5 mM NaCl, 20 mM EDTA (pH 8.0), 1% w/v N-lauroylsarcosine sodium salt) as described in ref. 66 and incubated for 10 min at room temperature on a rocking platform 20 rpm. gDNA was then purified twice with a phenol-chloroform-isoamyl alcohol mixture pH 7.7–8.3 (Sigma-Aldrich, catalogue no. 77617), precipitated with 0.7 volume of 100% isopropanol and subsequently washed twice with 70% ethanol. Finally, the isolated DNA was subjected to another round of purification with Nanobind Tissue kit (Circulomics, catalogue no. NB-900-701-01), followed by short-read elimination with the Short Read Eliminator Kit (Circulomics, catalogue no. SS-100-101-01). Sequencing was performed on Oxford Nanopore using PromethION flow cell (R9.4). We obtained 4.54 million reads with an estimated Oxford Nanopore N50 of 36.84 kb.
ATAC-seq libraries from M. leidyi and from sorted choanocytes of E. muelleri were prepared using Omni-ATAC protocol as described previously67. Briefly, two M. leidyi adult specimens were dissociated using CMFSW with 0.25% α-Chymotrypsin (Sigma-Aldrich, catalogue no. C8946). To isolate nuclei, dissociated cells were transferred into cold hypotonic ATAC lysis buffer adjusted for marine animals (10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.5), 35 mM NaCl, 3 mM MgCl2, 0.1% Tween-20, 0.01% NP-40, 0.01% digitonin, 70 µM Pitstop (Abcam, AB1206875MG)). Cell lysis was stopped after 2 min by adding marine ATAC wash buffer (10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.5), 35 mM NaCl, 3 mM MgCl2, 0.1% Tween-20, 1% BSA). Nuclei were then pelleted and resuspended in cold PBS buffer with 0.8 M Sorbitol. We used 50,000 nuclei per each tagmentation reaction.
To sort choanocytes of E. muelleri, 7 days posthatching sponges were fed with 0.5 µm fluorescent carboxylate-modified FluoSpheres (Invitrogen, catalogue no. F8813). After 10 min of incubation, sponges were washed twice with Strekal's media, collected and dissociated for 15 min at 28 °C using Protease XIV (Sigma-Aldrich, catalogue no. P5147) in Strekal's media and 1 mM CaCl2. Cells were pelleted at 800g for 5 min at room temperature and resuspended in Strekal's media with 2 mM EDTA (pH 8.0). Further dissociation and trituration of sponge tissue continued for another 15 min at room temperature. Cells were filtered through a 40-µm cell strainer, stained with 2 µg ml−1 Hoechst 33342 and sorted using FACS. Sorted cells were lysed for 3 min in ATAC lysis buffer (10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.5), 10 mM NaCl, 3 mM MgCl2, 0.1% NP-40, 0.1% Tween-40, 0.01% digitonin). For each tagmentation reaction we used 100,000 nuclei. ATAC-seq libraries were prepared as described previously67 and sequenced on Illumina NextSeq 500 using High-Output 75 cycles.
For S. arctica, C. owczarzaki, S. rosetta, M. leidyi, E. muellleri, T. adhaerens, C. collaboinventa and N. vectensis, double-crosslinked cells, as above, were washed with PBS, resuspended in 500 µl of cell lysis buffer (20 mM HEPES (pH 7.5), 10 mM NaCl, 0.2% IGEPAL CA-630, 5 mM EDTA, protease inhibitors cocktail) and incubated on ice for 10 min. Samples were centrifuged at 16,000g for 10 min at 4 °C. The resulting pellets were resuspended in bead beating buffer (20 mM HEPES (pH 7.5), 10 mM NaCl, 5 mM EDTA, protease inhibitors cocktail), and then transferred to 0.2 ml tubes containing acid-washed glass beads (Sigma-Aldrich, G8772). Cells were lysed by vortexing five times for 30 s. The supernatant was transferred to a 1.5-ml sonication tube, SDS was added to 0.6% and samples were sonicated 3–5 cycles of 30 s on, 30 s off in a Bioruptor Pico (Diagenode) to generate 200–300 bp fragments. Chromatin was diluted with 5 volumes of dilution buffer (20 mM HEPES (pH 7.5), 140 mM NaCl), centrifuged at 16,000g for 10 min at 4 °C and stored at −80 °C before use.
Chromatin immunoprecipitation was performed as previously described68 with the following modifications. Briefly, for each species 100 ng of chromatin was used for immunoprecipitation. The pool of chromatin was incubated for 14–16 h at 4 °C with 5 µl (1:50 dilution) of anti-H3K4me1 (Cell Signaling, catalogue no. 5326), 6 µl (3.4 µg) of anti-H3K4me2 (Abcam, catalogue no. ab32356), 2.5 µl (1:100 dilution) of anti-H3K4me3 (Millipore, catalogue no. 07-473), 5 µl (5 µg) of anti-SMC1 (Thermo Fisher, A300-055A) or 2 µl (2 µg) of anti-H3 (Abcam, catalogue no. ab1791) and recovered using a 1:1 mix of Protein A (Sigma-Aldrich, catalogue no. 16-661) and Protein G (Sigma-Aldrich, catalogue no. 16-662) magnetic beads. Immunoprecipitated complexes were washed, reverse crosslinked for 3 h at 68 °C, deproteinased and then purified using Ampure XP beads (Beckman Coulter, catalogue no. A63881). Final libraries were prepared using the NEBNext Ultra II DNA Library Prep Kit (New England BioLabs) according to the manufacturer's protocol. ChIP–seq libraries were sequenced on Illumina NextSeq 500 sequencer using High-Output 75 cycles.
Single-cell libraries were prepared from freshly dissociated and sorted choanocytes of E. muelleri as previously described8. To collect cells for MARS-seq libraries, 7 days posthatching, sponges were fed with 0.5 µm fluorescent carboxylate-modified FluoSpheres (Invitrogen, catalogue no. F8813). Animal tissues were dissociated and prepared for sorting as described above for ATAC-seq. Dissociated cells were sorted through FACS into four 384-well MARS-seq plates. In total, 1,536 single-cell libraries were prepared and sequenced on an Illumina NextSeq 500 using High-Output 75 cycles.
Chromatin proteomics samples were prepared as previously descibed69 with minor modifications. Briefly, double-crosslinked cells of M. leidyi (1 million per replicate) were solubilized in 1 ml of lysis buffer (4 M guanidine thiocyanate, 100 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0), 10 mM EDTA, 2% N-lauroylsarcosine sodium salt) and incubated for 10 min. Next, before adding DNA-binding beads (Invitrogen, catalogue no. 37002D), cell lysate was mixed with 1 ml of 2-propanol. The beads were separated on a magnet and the supernatant was saved as the unbound control. The beads were washed using 1 ml of wash buffer (1:1 lysis buffer to 2-propanol ratio), transferred to a 1.5-ml sonication tube and washed again with 1 ml of 80% ethanol. The chromatin was then eluted in 200 µl of 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0) containing proteinase inhibitors (Roche, catalogue no. 04693132001) and sonicated using a Bioruptor Pico at 4 °C for 3 cycles (30 s ON, 30 s OFF). To remove RNA-binding proteins, RNase A (Roche, catalogue no. 10109142001) was added to the sonicated samples, which were then incubated at 37 °C with agitation in a thermomixer. Afterwards, chromatin was re-bound to the beads by adding 250 µl of lysis buffer, vortexing and then sequentially adding 300 µl of 2-propanol. The beads were washed twice with 1 ml of 80% ethanol, and proteins were digested on the beads using trypsin (Promega, catalogue no. V5111) and LysC (NEB, catalogue no. P8109S).
Samples were analysed using an Orbitrap Eclipse mass spectrometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific) coupled to an EASY-nLC 1200 (Thermo Fisher Scientific (Proxeon)). Peptides were loaded directly onto the analytical column and were separated by reversed-phase chromatography using a 50-cm column with an inner diameter of 75 μm, packed with 2-μm C18 particles (Thermo Fisher Scientific, catalogue no. ES903).
Chromatographic gradients started at 95% buffer A (0.1% formic acid in water) and 5% buffer B (0.1% formic acid in 80% acetonitrile) with a flow rate of 300 nl min−1 and gradually increased to 25% buffer B and 75% A in 52 min and then to 40% buffer B and 60% A in 8 min. After each analysis, the column was washed for 10 min with 100% buffer B.
The mass spectrometer was operated in positive ionization mode with nanospray voltage set at 2.4 kV and source temperature at 305 °C. The acquisition was performed in data-dependent acquisition mode and full mass spectrometry scans with one micro-scan at resolution of 120,000 were used over a mass range of m/z 350–1,400 with detection in the Orbitrap mass analyser. Automatic gain control was set to ‘standard' and injection time to ‘auto'. In each cycle of data-dependent acquisition analysis, following each survey scan, the most intense ions above a threshold ion count of 10,000 were selected for fragmentation. The number of selected precursor ions for fragmentation was determined by the ‘Top Speed' acquisition algorithm and a dynamic exclusion of 60 s. Fragment ion spectra were produced by means of high-energy collision dissociation at normalized collision energy of 28% and they were acquired in the ion trap mass analyser. Automatic gain control and injection time were set to ‘Standard' and ‘Dynamic', respectively, and an isolation window of 1.4 m/z was used. Digested bovine serum albumin (NEB, catalogue no. P8108S) was analysed between each sample to avoid sample carryover and to assure stability of the instrument, and Qcloud70 was used to control instrument longitudinal performance during the project.
Acquired spectra were analysed using the Proteome Discoverer software suite (v.2.5, Thermo Fisher Scientific) and the Mascot search engine (v.2.6, Matrix Science71). The data were searches against M. leidyi database and a list of common contaminants (16,042 entries)72 as well as all the corresponding decoy entries. For the peptide identification a precursor ion mass tolerance of 7 ppm was used for the MS1 level, trypsin was chosen as enzyme and up to three missed cleavages were allowed. The fragment ion mass tolerance was set to 0.5 Da for MS2 spectra. Oxidation of methionine and N-terminal protein acetylation were used as variable modifications whereas carbamidomethylation on cysteines was set as a fixed modification. False discovery rate in peptide identification was set to a maximum of 1%.
Peptide quantification data were retrieved from the ‘Precursor ions quantifier' node from Proteome Discoverer (v.2.5) using 2-ppm mass tolerance for the peptide extracted ion current. The obtained values were used to calculate protein fold-changes and their corresponding P value and adjusted P values.
The DNA-binding domains of candidate zf-C2H2 proteins were cloned from complementary DNA (cDNA) library of M. leidyi into the pIX-HALO vector using NEBuilder HiFi DNA Assembly Master Mix (NEB, catalogue no. E2621). The obtained HALO-fusion constructs were translated using the TnT SP6High-Yield Wheat Germ Protein Expression System (Promega, catalogue no. L3260). Next, an adapter-ligated DNA library was prepared from native gDNA of M. leidyi using NEBNext Ultra II FS DNA library prep kit (NEB, catalogue no. E7805) or PCR amplified gDNA. The binding to HALO-zf-C2H2 fusion proteins and recovery of adapter-ligated gDNA libraries was performed as described in ref. 73. The generated DAP-seq libraries were sequenced in paired-end mode on an Illumina NextSeq 500 using High-Output 75 cycles.
We made preliminary genome assemblies of C. owczarzaki from Oxford Nanopore reads basecalled by Guppy v.6.0.1 using NextDenovo v.2.5.0 (ref. 74), Flye v.2.9.0 (ref. 75) and NECAT v.0.0.1 (ref. 76), which produced 20, 141 and 56 contigs including the mitochondrial genome, respectively. For the Flye assembly, we only used 5,000 bp or longer reads. We then integrated the three assemblies by manually comparing them to each other, with a help of reciprocal large-scale alignments generated with minimap2 (ref. 77). The integrated assembly was polished with the Nanopore reads using Flye ten times, and with Illumina reads78 using HyPo79 twice. A chromosome-scale duplication, which was in the end included in chromosome 15 after the 3D assembly (Extended Data Fig. 2d), was temporarily removed before annotating the genome. Finally, we manually inspected the whole assembly sequence together with the mapped Illumina data, Nanopore data and the previous Sanger sequence data25, and navigated them on the Integrative Genomic Viewer (IGV)80 to find and fix errors occurred during the consensus calling. We also manually phased chimeric haplotypes for some genes using the long reads. In total, 7,937 nucleotides were manually inserted or deleted at 430 sites and 1,193 nucleotides were substituted at 1,081 sites.
We produced two new genome assemblies for E. muelleri and M. leidyi. In both cases, we used Oxford Nanopore reads after base call correction using Guppy v.5.0.17 (using the dna_r9.4.1_450bps_sup_prom.cfg configuration the super-accurate base calling model, and a filtering reads with min_qscore=10). Then, we used two different long-read assemblers (Flye v.2.9-b1768, ref. 75 and Shasta v.0.8.0, ref. 81) and various assembly strategies (filtering by read length at 0, 10 and 50 kb), and selected the best resulting draft assemblies for each species. To that end, we evaluated the contiguity (measured using the contig N50), completeness and occurrence of uncollapsed haplotypes for each draft (Extended Data Fig. 2a,b). Contiguity was evaluated using total assembly length and contig N50. Completeness was measured with the fraction of conserved orthologues recovered by BUSCO v.5.1.2 (ref. 82) (using the genome mode and the metazoa_odb10) and the fraction of mappable genes from the original assemblies (mapped using Liftoff v.1.6.1, ref. 83). The presence of uncollapsed haplotypes was assessed with the distribution of per-base sequencing depths, calculated using the pbcstat utility in purge_dups v.1.2.5 (ref. 84) (for which we remapped the input reads to the assembly with minimap2 2.18-r1015 (ref. 77), using the -x map-ont preset for long-read mapping) (Extended Data Fig. 2e,f).
The best drafts for each species were produced using the following parameter combinations: (1) for E. muelleri, we used the Shasta assembler with the Nanopore configuration (--config Nanopore-Oct2021 flag), without filtering by read length (estimated sequencing depth roughly 100×) and (2) for M. leidyi, we used Flye with reads filtered at 50 kb (estimated sequencing depth roughly 150×), the raw Nanopore read configuration (--nano-raw flag) and an estimated total assembly size of 200 Mb.
Then, we used purge_dups to collapse putative uncollapsed haplotypes in each assembly, in the following manner: (1) we split the assembly into contigs with the split_fa utility; (2) we aligned the genome to itself with minimap2 and the -x asm5 preset; (3) we used the read alignments to the unsplit assembly (produced with minimap2 -x map-ont) to obtain the sequencing depth histogram and calculate coverage cutoffs with pbcstat and calcuts, respectively; (4) we used these cutoffs and the mapped reads to remove haplotigs and overlaps for the draft, with purge_dups proper and using two rounds of alignment chaining (-2 flag) and finally (5) we reevaluated the assembly quality using per-base sequencing depth distributions (above) and reductions in the fraction of duplicated BUSCO orthologues.
To obtain chromosome-level genome assemblies, generated Micro-C libraries were mapped to de novo draft genome assemblies (C. owczarzaki, E. muelleri and M. leidyi) or current genome assemblies (T. adhaerens ASM15027v1, ref. 22, S. arctica24, S. rosetta GCA_000188695.1, ref. 26, C. collaboinventa85) using Juicer v.1.6 (ref. 86) with an option -p assembly. Proximity ligation alignments were used by 3D de novo assembly pipeline87 to order and orient available contigs into chromosomes with the following parameters: S. arctica -r 3 --editor-repeat-coverage 10, C. owczarzaki -r 0 --editor-repeat-coverage 4, S. rosetta -r 3 --editor-repeat-coverage 2, E. muelleri -r 2 --editor-repeat-coverage 10, M. leidyi -r 2 -i 1000 --editor-repeat-coverage 2, T. adhaerens -r 3 --editor-repeat-coverage 2 and C. collaboinventa -r 3 --editor-repeat-coverage 2. The resulting assemblies were manually reviewed and corrected with Juicebox Assembly Tools88 (Extended Data Fig. 2c–f). Finally, chromosome-level genome assemblies were polished with Medaka (v.1.5.0) to correct possible sequence errors such as indels and mismatches, as follows: (1) first, we mapped the Nanopore reads to the chromosome-level assembly using the minimap2-based mini_align utility; (2) we then used Medaka consensus to obtain consensus sequences, specifying a batch size of 200 (--batch 200 flag) and the r941_prom_sup_g507 configuration (--model flag) and (3) we merged the consensus and variant calls for all chromosomes into a polished assembly using Medaka stitch.
To annotate the C. owczarzaki genome, we did not mask the repeats because the intergenic regions are very small25 and, thus, masking only increased annotation failure on duplicated genes. We used BRAKER2 (ref. 89) with OrthoDB90 protein sequence collections as hint data, as well as with RNA-seq data from a previous study61. The three preliminary annotations, evidenced by metazoan proteins, protozoan proteins and RNA-seq data, were combined with TSEBRA91, giving rise to 9,069 annotated transcripts. Finally, we manually searched and fixed wrong annotations by navigating the assembly on IGV80, comparing the combined annotation with the three preliminary annotations together with the mapped RNA-seq data. By this careful inspection, we modified or newly annotated 1,871 transcripts including alternatively spliced ones. Compared to the previously published proteome25 (v.2), only 4,076 out of 8,792 proteins (including alternatively spliced ones) had completely matched sequences to the those predicted in this study, allowing simple amino acid mismatches probably accounting for polymorphisms.
To annotate M. leidyi genome we first downloaded developmental Illumina RNA-seq samples (GSE93977), trimmed them with fastp and built a de novo Trinity assembly, which was mapped to the genome using gmap92. The RNA-seq was also directly mapped to genome using HISAT2 (ref. 93) with the –dta parameter, and genome-based transcriptomes were built for each sample using StringTie94. Merged mapped RNA-seq samples were then used to find high-quality intron junctions using Portcullis. The combination of Trinity, StringTie and Portcullis intron junctions were then fed to Mikado for transcript selection. The best resulting gene models based on mapping to UniProt were then used to train an Augustus model for M. leidyi. Augustus was used for an ab initio gene prediction, using exonic hints from Mikado, intron hints from Portcullis and coding sequence hints from a MetaEuk95 run with query fasta files combining proteins from H. californensis and UniProt. Mikado transcripts and Augustus gene models were then merged using EVidenceModeler (scores of 10 for Mikado transcripts and 2 for Augustus gene models). The resulting gene models were updated with PASA96 to incorporate the untranslated regions from the Mikado transcripts.
To annotate S. arctica, S. rosetta, E. muelleri, T. adhaerens and C. collaboinventa genome assemblies, gene models from previous assemblies were mapped onto new coordinates using Liftoff (v.1.6.1)83 with -overlap 1 -flank 1 options.
Repetitive sequences and transposable elements were annotated using EDTA (v.2.1.0)97 with the following parameters: --sensitive 1 --anno 1 (Extended Data Fig. 2g). For H. sapiens, we used RepeatMasker (v.open-4-0-3) annotation of GRCh38 genome released by UCSC.
The fast5 files obtained from the PromethION were used as input for Megalodon (v.2.5), with the Remora model dna_r9.4.1_e8 sup for 5hmc_5mc modification only on CG dinucleotides. We then built bigwig files using the bedGraphToBigWig tool from UCSC. The Megalodon CG methylation calls were compared to previously published Whole-Genome Bisulfite Sequencing remapped to the new reference genomes using Bismark (SRR8346013 and SRR10356110)21,48. Both data sources were congruent, yet Nanopore had deeper and broader coverage, we used Megalodon methylation data for subsequent analysis.
Micro-C data were processed using the 4D Nucleome processing pipeline98. Briefly, raw reads were mapped to the reference genome using bwa mem (v.0.7.17-r1188) with the -SP5M option. The mapped reads were sorted and filtered with pairtools (v.0.3.0)99. Pairs that mapped within a 2-bp distance from each other were considered duplicates. We also discarded reads mapping within the distance of 200 bp, which eliminates self-ligated pairs and reads mapping to adjacent nucleosomes. Only uniquely mapping pairs and 5′ most unique alignments of multiple ligations pairs were aggregated into 200-bp bin contact matrices and multiresolution .cool or .hic files (Extended Data Fig. 1d). Contact matrices were normalized with cooler (v.0.8.11)100 using the iterative correction and eigenvector (ICE) balancing method101 for .cool files or with Juicer tools86 using Knight–Ruiz balancing102 for .hic files. All contact heatmaps were visualized with either Cooltools (v.0.5.1)103 or Coolbox (v.0.3.8)104 and genome assembly heatmaps were visualized using HiGlass105.
Reproducibility between replicates was estimated using the stratum-adjusted correlation coefficient (SCC) implemented in HiCRep106 at resolutions of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 and 50 kb (Extended Data Fig. 1f). The SCC scores were averaged across chromosomes. Biological replicates with SCC score estimated above 0.7 at resolutions equivalent to roughly 20,000 bins per species genome (resolution of 10 kb for S. arctica, 1 kb for C. owczarzaki, 2 kb for S. rosetta, 10 kb for E. muelleri, 10 kb for M. leidyi, 5 kb for H. californensis, 5 kb for T. adhaerens, 5 kb for C. collaboinventa and 10 kb for N. vectensis) were pooled to obtain final chromatin interaction matrices. Technical replicates were first merged, deduplicated and only then combined into the final contact maps.
The decay of the average contact frequency over genomic distance from 1 kb to 100 Mb was calculated using Cooltools (v.0.5.1)103. The decay curves were calculated for each chromosome separately, and then averaged across chromosomes (Extended Data Fig. 1g).
Compartment analysis was performed on observed-over-expected contact maps at resolutions equivalent to 5,000, 10,000, 20,000 and 50,000 bins per species genome (Extended Data Fig. 3a) using Cooltools eigs-cis103. We visually examined calculated eigenvectors, and, for each organism, the E1 vector corresponded to the compartmentalization pattern of contact maps. Active (A) and inactive (B) compartment types were assigned by GC content (for all species except C. owczarzaki) or H3K4me3 chromatin signal for C. owczarzaki, such that higher GC regions or positively correlated with H3K4me3 signal regions correspond to A compartment. Saddle plots were generated using the Cooltools saddle module. Specifically, the eigenvectors were sorted from lowest to highest value and combined into 40 groups according to their eigenvector value. The first (bottom 2.5% E1 values) and last (top 2.5% E1 values) groups were ignored to exclude potential outliers. The observed-over-expected value of the remaining 38 groups was averaged across all bins and chromosomes and visualized as saddle plots.
Compartment strength was calculated as the ratio of homotypic (AA + BB) over heterotypic (AB + BA) compartment contacts. We choose the top 20% of observed-over-expected values for both homotypic and heterotypic interactions. To assess the error in estimating compartment strength, we compared the compartments strength across different resolutions as well as performed visual inspection of the contact maps (Extended Data Fig. 3b). The latter showed varying degrees of accuracy in identifying compartment types between species, with the algorithm performing particularly poorly on M. leidyi due to the lack of well-defined chromatin compartmentalization in this species in our sample. Therefore, we assigned an extra intermediate compartment I to the intermediate eigenvalues close to zero. To that end, we modelled the genome-wide eigenvalues distribution as a Gaussian mixture with three components using the normalmixEM function from the mixtools R package (v.2.0.0) as described107. The B–I and I–A thresholds were defined as intersection points between components (Extended Data Fig. 3c).
To characterize the distribution of genomic features in the A, I and B compartments, we calculated cumulative H3K4me3 chromatin signals and RNA-seq expression values for each compartment region. Furthermore, we estimated the percentage of bases annotated as transposable elements or coding gene regions within these compartments. All the values are presented as −log2(1 − the value's quantile). Thus, a normalized value of six means that the coverage is in the upper 1–2−6 quantile, that is, in the upper 1/64th of the distribution (Extended Data Fig. 3d).
To compute the insulation profiles, we first determined the optimal resolution and window sizes for a target genome. To that end, we calculated insulation scores using Cooltools insulation module103 at resolutions roughly equivalent to 50,000, 100,000, 200,000 and 400,000 genomic bins per species genome with a sliding window for each resolution that is ×5, ×10 and ×25 the applied resolution (Extended Data Fig. 4a). The resolution and two window sizes with maximum average insulation scores were considered optimal because they reflected the strongest partitioning of genomes into isolated domains. Insulation boundaries located within two bins of unmappable genomic region were removed.
Identified insulation boundaries were categorized into strong and weak using the peak prominence of their boundary strength distributions (Li threshold) as implemented in the Cooltools insulation score module. Strong boundaries were further annotated with overlapping genomic features that fall within one bin of the annotated feature from the insulation boundary. For example, if compartment boundaries were called at the resolution 5 kb, then the maximum distance to the closest insulation boundary is ±10 kb.
To estimate internal interactions within contact domains, rescaled pile-ups were generated using coolpup.py108. Contact domains were defined as valleys between two strongly insulated regions, which were not further from each other than 100 kb.
Chromatin loops were identified using SIP v.1.6.1 (ref. 109) on KR-normalized contact matrices. In M. leidyi, the SIP peak caller was applied with the following parameters: -norm KR -g 3.0 -min 2.0 -max 2.0 -mat 5000 -d 10 -res 400 -sat 0.01 -t 2000 -nbZero 6 -factor 4 -fdr 0.05 -isDroso false. For T. adhaerens, chromatin loops were called with the following parameters: -norm KR -g 5.0 -min 4.0 -max 4.0 -mat 5000 -d 20 -res 100 -sat 0.01 -t 2000 -nbZero 6 -factor 4 -fdr 0.05 -isDroso false; for C. collaboinventa: -norm VC_SQRT -g 1.5 -min 3.0 -max 3.0 -mat 5000 -d 20 -res 500 -sat 0.01 -t 2000 -nbZero 6 -factor 2 -fdr 0.05 -isDroso false; for H. californensis: -norm KR -g 2.5 -min 3.0 -max 3.0 -mat 5000 -d 10 -res 1000 -sat 0.01 -t 2000 -nbZero 6 -factor 4 -fdr 0.05 -isDroso false. Identified loops were then filtered based on APSscore, removing high-intensity signals outside the normal distribution of APSscore values. This threshold ensured accurate removal of false positive regions that corresponded to structural genomic rearrangements, such as inversions or assembly artefacts. For H. californensis, we kept only annotated loops with values greater than ten. Chromatin loops in N. vectensis and focal chromatin contacts in E. muelleri were annotated manually.
Each loop anchor was assigned a promoter or enhancer identity based on their epigenetic signature. We calculated quantile normalized counts per million (CPM) coverage of H3K4me3, H3K4me2 and H3K4me1 ChIP signals in 1-kb (T. adhaerens, C. collaboinventa, N. vectensis), 2-kb (M. leidyi, E. muelleri, D. melanogaster) or 10-kb (H. sapiens) windows from a centre of a loop anchor.
METALoci110 (v.0.3.0) analysis was applied to explore the spatial distribution and autocorrelation of epigenetic signal in T. adhaerens contact maps. For each region of interest at 800 bp resolution, the top 20% pairs of contacts were used to create a two-dimensional graph layout by means of the Kamada–Kawai algorithm111 (Fig. 3b, top left panel) using the ‘metaloci layout' with default parameters. Next, the signal of interest (H3K4me3 ChIP, ATAC, genic exon annotation) measured in the 800-bp genomic bin was mapped onto the built graph layout using ‘metaloci lm' with default parameters. Spatial and epigenetic signals were embedded into Voronoi diagrams for enhanced visualization as a Gaudí plot (Extended Data Fig. 8c), and the local Moran's index (LMI) analysis112,113 was applied for each bin of the Gaudí plot.
According to LMI analysis, each bin is assigned to one of the four distinct groups, called LMI quadrants, based on the signal value in a bin and average signal value in its neighbourhood. If a bin and its neighbourhood have similar amounts of signal (low or high), then this bin is assigned to a low–low (blue) or high–high (red) quadrant. If a bin and its neighbourhood have different amounts of signal, then the bin is assigned to a low–high (cyan) or high–low (orange) quadrants, respectively. Significantly colocalized bins according to LMI, in which a P value is obtained using a permutation test, are highlighted by colour in the LMI scatterplots (Extended Data Fig. 8c,j, left panels). An analogous colouring scheme is applied to the Voronoi diagrams of the Gaudí plots. Hence, the highlighted blue and red bins on a Gaudí plot represent bins in which the signal is significantly colocalized in the space. Thus, ATAC-seq, H3K4me3 and motif score signals are significantly enriched inside the nested focal contacts (Fig. 3b and Extended Data Fig. 8c), whereas exons are significantly enriched outside loop contacts (Fig. 3b). METALoci code is available at the GitHub repository (https://github.com/3DGenomes/METALoci).
Loop anchor regions of M. leidyi (n = 8,523) and H. californensis (n = 478) were scanned for enriched motifs with HOMER114 in de novo motif discovery mode. As background sequences, we used random genomic regions of equivalent size and GC content (n = 38,810 in M. leidyi and n = 49,097 in H. californensis). For motif enrichment analysis in T. adhaerens (n = 3,557) and C. collaboinventa (n = 4,037), we scanned loop anchor regions using random genomic sequences of equivalent size (n = 32,004 in T. adhaerens and n = 36,178 in C. collaboinventa) as background. Loop anchor regions of N. vectensis (n = 327) were scanned for enriched motif using random genomic sequences (n = 45,268) of equivalent size and GC content as background. In addition, we used ATAC-seq accessible neuronal promoter regions (n = 22,961) as background to scan for enriched motifs in genomic regions that overlap ATAC-seq peaks located at the non-loop insulation boundaries (n = 9,016). To annotate genomic regions with identified motifs, we used the monaLisa package115, selecting percentile threshold of motif scores by comparing the motif score distributions in the target regions with genome-wide motif score distributions (Extended Data Figs. 7d,f, 8i and 9f).
We evaluated the degree of sequence conservation of the M. leidyi genome by comparing it to other ctenophores (B. microptera, P. bachei and Hormiphora californiensis). To that end, we first aligned all genomes to each other using Cactus v.2.6.4 (ref. 116), following a progressive approach guided by the species trees of ctenophores, namely: ((M. leidyi, B. microptera), (H. californiensis, P. bachei)). Second, we used the hal2maf utility from the HAL toolkit v.2.2 (ref. 117) to create MAF (multiple alignment format) alignments of each chromosome, using M. leidyi as reference. To identify conserved regions in these genomes, we used the rphast v.1.6.1 implementation of the Phast toolkit118, as follows: (1) we used phyloFit119 to create an initial null model of neutral change based on the fourfold degenerate codon positions of each genome's coding regions, using a general reversible nucleotide transition matrix and the predefined species tree; (2) we used phastCons to optimize this model using the expectation–maximization procedure, re-estimating transition probabilities and tree parameters at each step (the optimization step was performed using only the longest chromosome in each genome).
We evaluated the degree of syntenic conservation of the loop regions in M. leidyi compared to the other ctenophore genomes, and compared it to that of length-matched regions not involved in loops. To that end, we first identified orthologous genes across the four ctenophore species (M. leidyi, B. microptera, P. bachei and H. californensis) using Broccoli v.1.2 (ref. 120) to obtain orthologous gene pairs (step 4), using predicted peptide sequences as input (longest isoform per gene only). Within Broccoli, we used the maximum-likelihood gene tree inference algorithm (based on IQ-TREE121) and set a k-mer length of 10,000 to avoid the removal of paralogous sequences from the analysis. Second, we mapped pairs of loop anchor regions from M. leidyi (2,353 pairs of promoter–enhancer and 99 promoter–promoter loops, n = 2,452 in total) to their closest overlapping genes, and used these genes and their orthologs as anchors to map these regions to the other ctenophore genomes. In parallel, we randomly selected length-matched, non-loop overlapping regions from the M. leidyi genome to compare their synteny conservation with that of loop regions (using the randomizeRegions function in the regioneR R package122 to select 3× background regions, n = 7,356). Then, for each pair of species, we evaluated the synteny conservation of the foreground (loop) and background regions (random non-loops) from the point of view of the flanking synteny-anchoring genes, using two different metrics: (1) the fraction of shared orthologous genes between the flanking genes across all regions in the foreground and background sets (testing the significance of the difference using a χ2 test for given probabilities) and (2) the distributions of per-region shared orthologs (tested using the one-sided Wilcoxon rank sum test with continuity correction).
We used previously published datasets of ATAC-seq for C. owczarzaki17, S. rosetta39, T. adhaerens123, C. collaboinventa123, D. melanogaster124 and H. sapiens125 as well as newly generated datasets for N. vectensis, M. leidyi and E. muelleri. Sequenced reads were demultiplexed and converted to fastq files using bcl2fastq v.2.20 Illumina. Raw reads were filtered and trimmed with Trimmomatic (v.0.39)126 before mapping to the reference genome with bwa mem (v.0.7.17-r1188) and duplicates were marked with bamsormadup from biobambam2 (https://github.com/gt1/biobambam2). Using deeptools alignmentSieve aligned reads were filtered and shifted with -ATACshift, which corresponds to mate reads being shifted +4 and −5 bp for positive and negative strands, respectively. To generate nucleosome-position data tracks, nucleosome-free and nucleosome-bound regions were defined using the following length thresholds 0–120 and 150–240 bp, respectively. ATAC peaks were called with MACS2 (ref. 127) on shifted nucleosome-free regions. Footrpint ATAC score was calculated using TOBIAS v.0.13.3 (ref. 128).
We analysed publicly available dataset for D. melanogaster129 and H. sapiens130 and 34 newly generated ChIP–seq datasets as described below. Raw reads after removal of 3′-adapters and quality filtering with Trimmomatic (v.0.39)126 were aligned to the reference genome with bwa mem (v.0.7.17-r1188). Duplicated reads were marked with bamsormadup (https://github.com/gt1/biobambam2), and peaks were called using MACS2 (v.2.2.6)127. Aggregated density plots were visualized with deeptools (v.3.1.3)131.
Raw reads from amplified and native gDNA fragments bound by HALO-zf-C2H2 protein fusions were analysed as described for ChIP–seq. Motif enrichment analysis was performed using HOMER114 in de novo motif discovery mode for MACS2 identified narrow peaks resized to 300 bp (for CTEP1 n = 14,638; for CTEP2 n = 10,615). GC- and size-normalized random genomic regions were used as background (for CTEP1 n = 25,964; for CTEP2 n = 30,744).
We used previously published datasets of bulk poly-A enriched RNA-seq for S. arctica132, C. owczarzaki61, S. rosetta39, D. melanogaster124 and H. sapiens133 (Supplementary Table 2). To process data, raw reads were aligned to the reference genome using STAR (v.020201)134 in --quantMode to estimate the number of read counts per gene. In downstream analysis, gene counts were reported as −log2(1 − gene counts quantile).
Single-cell MARS-seq libraries generated previously8,135 were aligned to new reference genomes of E. muelleri (GCA_049114765.1), M. leidyi (GCA_048537945.1) and N. vectensis (GCA_932526225.1) using Liftoff or de novo annotated gene models. To improve single-cell RNA-seq quantification, gene annotations for E. muelleri and M. leidyi have been extended using GeneExt136. Briefly, MARS-seq alignment files have been subsampled to 100 M reads and MACS2 (ref. 127) was used to call peaks using default parameters. Intergenic peaks were filtered based on the 20th percentile of the genic peak coverage and each gene was extended to the most distant peak within 5,000 nucleotides. Metacell and clustering analyses were performed as previously described8. The single-cell expression atlas for T. adhaerens was obtained from a previously published dataset123.
All public datasets used in this study are listed in Supplementary Table 2. ATAC-seq, ChIP–seq and RNA-seq datasets were analysed as described above.
Further information on research design is available in the Nature Portfolio Reporting Summary linked to this article.
Raw and processed high-throughput sequencing data are available in a Genome Expression Omnibus (GEO) repository under accession number GEO GSE260572. Raw proteomics data have been deposited to the PRIDE101 repository with the dataset identifier PXD056500. The de novo sequenced genome of C. owczarzaki is deposited under BioProject PRJDB19057; for M. leidyi genome, BioProject PRJNA1174117 (genome accession number GCA_048537945.1) and for the E. muelleri genome, BioProject PRJNA1175447 (genome accession number GCA_049114765.1). Furthermore, sequenced and assembled genome sequences, genome annotations and genomic intervals used in this study, such as chromatin loop anchors, insulation boundaries and compartmentalization domains are also available on GitHub (https://github.com/sebepedroslab/early-metazoa-3D-chromatin). In addition, datasets can be explored in interactive genome browsers137 for each species at A.S.-P.'s laboratory site (https://sebelab.crg.eu/3d-genomes-arc-jb2).
Scripts to reproduce the data processing and downstream analysis are available at GitHub (https://github.com/sebepedroslab/early-metazoa-3D-chromatin). Unless otherwise specified, scripts are based on R v.4.3.2 and Python v.3.7.7, and the language-specific libraries specified in the Methods section.
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We thank I. Maeso and M. Irimia for critical comments on the manuscript. We thank A. Hino and S. Denbo for greatly helping us to re-sequence and annotate the Capsaspora genome de novo. We are very grateful to S. B. Johnson, S. Haddock, MBARI and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for sending us H. californensis samples. Research in A.S-P.'s group was supported by the European Research Council (grant no. ERC-StG 851647) and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (grant no. PID2021-124757NB-I00). I.V.K. was supported by a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral fellowship (grant no. FJC2020-043131-I) from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. X.G.-B. is supported by the European Union's H2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 101031767. A.E. and C.N. are supported by FPI PhD fellowships from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. S.A.M. is supported by the EMBO postdoctoral fellowship grant no. ALTF 066-2022. H.S. acknowledges the financing support from MEXT/JSPS KAKENHI grant no. JP22K06343 and PUH Research Grant Programmes in 2015 and 2016. S.P.L. was supported by NSERC Discovery grant (no. 2016-15446). J.J.S.-A. and P.B. were supported by the Michael Sars Centre core budget from the University of Bergen. A.d.M. is supported by the European Research Council (grant no. ERC-StG 950230). M.A.M.-R. acknowledges support by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (grant no. PID2020-115696RB-I00).
These authors contributed equally: Cristina Navarrete, Xavier Grau-Bové
Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Spain
Iana V. Kim, Cristina Navarrete, Xavier Grau-Bové, Marta Iglesias, Anamaria Elek, Grygoriy Zolotarov, Sean A. Montgomery, Ewa Ksiezopolska, Didac Cañas-Armenteros, Marc A. Marti-Renom & Arnau Sebé-Pedrós
Centre Nacional d'Anàlisis Genòmic (CNAG), Barcelona, Spain
Iana V. Kim, Nikolai S. Bykov & Marc A. Marti-Renom
Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
Cristina Navarrete, Marc A. Marti-Renom & Arnau Sebé-Pedrós
Michael Sars Centre, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
Joan J. Soto-Angel & Pawel Burkhardt
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Sally P. Leys
Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Bioresource Sciences, Prefectural University of Hiroshima, Shobara, Japan
Hiroshi Suga
School of Biological and Behavioral Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
Alex de Mendoza
ICREA, Barcelona, Spain
Marc A. Marti-Renom & Arnau Sebé-Pedrós
Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, UK
Arnau Sebé-Pedrós
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I.V.K. and A.S.-P. conceived the project. I.V.K., X.G.-B. and H.S. sequenced and assembled genomes to chromosome level. A.d.M., H.S., X.G.-B., G.Z. and A.S.-P. annotated genomes. I.V.K. collected biological material, performed Micro-C experiments and conducted bioinformatic analysis. C.N. performed ChIP–seq and chromatin proteomics. M.I. performed ATAC-seq. A.d.M. performed DNA methylation analysis. X.G.-B. performed phylogenetic and sequence conservation analyses. E.K. and S.A.M. performed DAP-seq. A.E. configured JBrowser servers. N.S.B. and M.A.M.-R. performed METALoci and microcompartment analysis. A.S.-P. performed MARS-seq analysis. S.P.L., J.J.S.-A. and P.B. provided biological samples. D.C.-A. maintained animal cultures. M.A.M.-R. and A.S.-P. provided supervision. I.V.K. and A.S.-P. wrote the manuscript with contributions from all authors.
Correspondence to
Iana V. Kim or Arnau Sebé-Pedrós.
The authors declare no competing interests.
Nature thanks Giacomo Cavalli, Ferdinand Marlétaz and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.
Publisher's note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
a, Overview of the input material for Micro-C experiments, library preparation strategy, and sequencing statistics in each species. The D. melanogaster dataset27 was subsampled to match the coverage of generated Micro-C maps in this study. b, Top, fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) profile of crosslinked phagocytic choanocytes from E. muelleri labelled by feeding sponges with fluorescent microspheres. Only cells positive for nuclei Hoechst 33342 staining together with fluorescent beads were sorted. The sorted cell population (P3) was selected using sequential gating strategy through P1 and P2. Right, fluorescent microscopy image of sorted choanocytes, where PH stands for phase contrast, nuclei are in blue, FluoSpheres beads are in green. Scale bar (top right corner) is 50 µm. Below, the sequential FACS gating strategy (P1 - P3) to sort mOrange::NvElav+ neuronal cells (P4) from the N. vectensis transgenic line65. Wild type animals lacking the mOrange fluorescent protein were used to verify the gating strategy. The FACS sorting experiment data for E. muelleri and N. vectensis are representative of at least 6 independent experiments. c, The quality of chromatin digestion with MNase and followed proximity ligation was assessed with High sensitivity D5000 ScreenTapes using the Agilent 2200 TapeStation systems. The optimal chromatin fragmentation with Mnase results in up to 80% mononucleosomes profile. d, Barplots showing the percentage of reads mapped to the genome of each species. e, Barplots illustrating the distibution of intrachromosomal (cis) and interchromosomal (trans) interactions in each replicate experiment. The percentage of trans-contacts observed is species-specific but can be influenced by several factors: (i) the type of nuclear organization, such as Rabl-like configuration or the presence of chromosome territories, (ii) a high chromosome count, as seen in S. arctica and S. rosetta, (iii) and the reduction in nuclear diameter during the growth of coenocytes in S. arctica. f, Heatmap showing pairwise similarity scores between biological and technical replicates calculated as the stratum adjusted correlation coefficient (SCC). Below, SCC scores were estimated for a range of resolutions of 1 Kb, 2 Kb, 5 Kb, 10 Kb, 25 Kb, and 50 Kb. Differences in pairwise comparisons between experimental replicates are shown as mean ± s.d. The number of replicates per species as in (d-e). g, Top, cis-decay plots showing the rate of decay of contact frequency over genomic distance. The contact probability is averaged over all chromosomes. For C. owczarzaki, samples obtained from mitotic (blue) and synchronised G1/S stage (in orange) show different contact frequency behavior at short (below 10 Kb) and long (over 1 Mb) genomic distances. Bottom, log-derivative of cis-decay plots that predicts the folding of DNA into genomic structures and their size, most commonly chromatin loops, which tend to be the dominant micro-scale contacts. The first pronounced peak and dip at log-derivative cis-decay plots (highlighted in grey) in M. leidyi is observed at the scale from 10 Kb to 100 Kb. In H. sapiens, the peak size (highlighted in grey) ranges from 100 Kb to 1 Mb, which in both cases correspond to the average loop sizes in each species.
a, Genome assembly strategy. b, Genome assembly statistics. BUSCO completeness score was calculated using genome mode or protein mode against metazoan BUSCO dataset for all species except unicellular holozoans, where eukaryotic dataset was used. c, Chromosome-level re-assembly of S. arctica, S. rosetta, T. adhaerens and C. collaboinventa genomes using Micro-C data resulting in total of 27, 36, 6 and 6 chromosomes, respectively. Both S. arctica and S. rosetta posses genome-wide telomere clustering, whereas placozoans display strong interchromosomal compartmentalization signal. d, Left, genome-wide Micro-C contact map showing the chromosome-level assembly of C. owczarzaki. C. owczarzaki exhibit increased interactions between telomeres and between centromeres, suggesting Rabl-like chromosome configuration138. Right, chromosomal rearrangements in C. owczarzaki. Visual inspection of chromatin interaction maps revealed heterozygous deletions on C. owczarzaki chromosome 2, which is also confirmed by the uneven distribution of anti-H3 ChIP-seq coverage. In addition, one arm of the chromosome 13 exhibits genome-wide increase in the interaction frequency with other chromosomes, as well as two-fold coverage of H3 ChIP-seq, suggesting the gain of a chromosome arm pair. Finally, chromosome 15 v shares one arm with chromosome 15 and appears to be whole-arm translocation. e, Same as (d) for M. leidyi. The presence of uncollapsed haplotypes was estimated by distribution of per-base sequencing depth (left). Chromosomes in M. leidyi exhibit telomere clustering as well as increased intrachromosomal interactions similar to chromosome territories. f, Same as (d) for E. muelleri genome assembly with chromosome organisation similar to chromosome territories. g, Repeat content for each assembled genome, annotated using EDTA97.
a, Table translating relative resolutions of contact maps that were used to calculate compartmentalisation signal into base-pair resolutions. b, Example genomic regions showing eigenvector coefficients E1 and compartment annotation into A (active, red), B (inactive, blue) and I (intermediate, yellow). c, Density plots showing genome-wide distribution of E1 eigenvalues and the relative abundance of each defined compartments (stacked barplot on top). Compartments were defined using fitting of Gaussian mixture with three components (k = 3). A Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) was computed for the specified mixture (bottom plot) (see Method section). d, Association between chromatin compartments and different genomic features calculated per genomic bin at a relative resolution of 20,000 bins per genome, as in (a). The proportion of features in each compartment category follows the classification as in (c). The boxplots indicate the relative signal (measured as genome-wide quantiles) of the different features in the genomic bins belonging to each compartment category (active, intermediate, inactive). The mean value of distributions is shown as the center line on the boxplots, with interquartile range (IQR) as the box limits and whiskers extending to 1.5x IQR.
a, Insulation score profiles aligned at insulation boundary regions. Insulation score profiles were calculated for multiple resolutions with window sizes corresponding to 5x, 10x and 25x the chosen resolution. For example, for 400 bp resolution, we used window sizes of 2,000 bp (5*bin), 4,000 bp (10*bin), and 10,000 bp (25*bin). Parameters showing two strongest average insulation scores were considered optimal. For each of our studied species, an example contact map region with calculated insulation profile is shown. b, Left, overlap between regions annotated as strong boundaries using strategy described in this paper (see Method section) and previously published datasets12,27. c, Left, distribution of boundary strength values per species. Insulation boundaries (marked in blue) were selected using Li threshold as implemented in cooltools103. Middle, distribution of linear distances (Kb) between successive boundaries, with the number of examined region between boundaries indicated. Right, boxplots showing the number of genes located between insulation boundaries (same number of examined regions as in the previous plot). Boxplots center line shows the median value, with box limits indicating the IQR and whiskers as 1.5x IQR. d, Epigenetic, structural and gene features associated to insulation boundaries in each species. Note that a boundary can be annotated with multiple features (e.g. TSS, ATAC and H3K4me3 peaks).
a, Example genomic regions in S. arctica illustrating the co-segregation of inactive chromatin regions. The interacting regions, highlighted in grey, fold into chromatin domains that exhibit local compartmentalised interactions. b, The manually annotated 296 compartment domains have a median size of 18 Kb. Middle, the observed long-distance interactions within the domains display a local checkerboard pattern, where contacts are enriched within certain set of loci, while contacts between them are depleted. To quantify the contact distribution, we calculated the sum of ICE (iterative correction and eigenvector decomposition)-normalized contacts within the segregated regions and their flanking regions (30 Kb) at a resolution of 2,800 bp, across the size range of 50 Kb to 5 Mb. The contact interaction pattern observed over the silenced regions showed a reduced interaction frequency across the region body compared to flanking loci. This interaction pattern is typical for checkerboard compartmentalisation, in contrast to loop interactions, which manifest as local peaks in interaction frequencies. Right, genes located within the compartment domains are lowly expressed or silenced (*** p-value < 2.2e−16, Wilcoxon rank sum test). Boxplots center line shows the median value, with box limits indicating the IQR and whiskers as 1.5x IQR. c, Distribution of epigenetic signals across compartment domains. The regions within the annotated domains were located within the inactive B compartment and were enriched in transposable elements, predominantly Gypsy LTRs, which accounted for 63% of the total TEs in these regions. d, Size distribution of manually annotated 183 contact regions in S. rosetta that harbour lowly expressed genes (*** p-value = 4.8e−6, Wilcoxon rank sum test), boxplots as in (b). e, Example genomic regions in S. rosetta forming distal interactions. f, Same as (c) for S. rosetta. The interacting regions show weak enrichment in H3K4me1 and H3K27me3 signals compared to random genomic regions. g, Same as (e) for C. owczarzaki. h, Distal contacts in C. owczarzaki connect promoter regions of highly expressed genes (*** p-value = 5.3e−12, Wilcoxon rank sum test), boxplots as in (b). i, Distal contacts in C. owczarzaki are indicative of micro-compartmentalisation signal because of the characteristic alternating contact pattern and the decreased cumulative interactions in the promoter regions of the target genes compared to the concentration typically seen in chromatin loops annotated in T. adhaerens, M. leidyi, N. vectensis, D. melanogaster and H. sapiens. To quantify the distribution of contact interactions around TSS-TES sites, we calculated and compared the sum of ICE (iterative correction and eigenvector decomposition)-normalized contacts at species-specific resolutions (400 bp for C. owczarzaki, T. adhaerens and D. melanogaster, 500 bp for N. vectensis, 800 bp for M. leidyi and 5 Kb for H. sapiens). To eliminate confounding signals from distal compartmentalisation pattern or other long-distance interaction patterns, the sum of considered interactions was restricted to contacts that fall within the range size of annotated loops or interacting regions (4–100 Kb for C. owczarzaki, T. adhaerens, 5–250 Kb for D. melanogaster, 10–360 Kb for N. vectensis, 5–150 Kb for M. leidyi and 50–1,060 Kb for H. sapiens). To calculate the average distribution of interaction contacts around the TSS-TES sites we used the function stackup form the pybbi package version 0.4.0 (https://github.com/nvictus/pybbi). The TSS-TES regions were rescaled into 50 bins with flanking regions of 10 Kb for each species except H. sapiens with 100 Kb flanking regions. Additionally, we flipped the TSS-TES regions and their corresponding flanking regions for negative-stranded genes. Notice that in C. owczarzaki, the sum of interactions around the TSS was lower than average interactions within the gene body. This is due to a small-scale local checkerboard pattern, where regions between interaction loci showed low contact frequency. As a result, cumulative interactions at promoters were even lower than average background signal and signal over gene bodies. In contrast, in other examined species, including T. adhaerens, M. leidyi, N. vectensis, D. melanogaster and H. sapiens, where chromatin loops connected examined promoter regions to cis-regulatory elements, the contact frequency at loop anchor regions was enriched and higher than the average across gene bodies. These differences highlight distinct modes of chromatin organization of C. owczarzaki with other species. j, In C. owczarzaki, a subset of highly expressed genes (274) exhibit increased interaction frequencies between TSS and TES forming gene body interaction domains.
a, Example E. muelleri genomic regions showing contact patterns perpendicular to the diagonal of the Micro-C matrix and visually resembling flares139, jets140, or fountains40,141. b, Aggregated contact strength around the midpoints of flare regions. Random genomic regions anchored at the TSS of expression-matched genes were used as a control. Boxplots center line shows the median value, with box limits indicating the IQR and whiskers as 1.5x IQR. c, Example E. muelleri genomic regions showing distal interactions connecting promoter and enhancer-like anchor regions. Unlike typical chromatin loops, the preferential contact interactions in E. muelleri are diffuse and do not form a conspicuous dot contact pattern. d, A total of 84 manually annotated focal contacts connecting distal regulatory elements were classified as enhancers or promoters based on their H3K4me3 to H3K4me1 ratio. e, Aggregate plots demonstrating contact enrichment within rescaled contact regions, compared to random genomic regions anchored at TSS of expression-matched genes on one side and distance-matched random points on the other side. Boxplot limits are as in (b). f, Non-promoter cis-regulatory elements were identified based on chromatin state, defined by low H3K4me3 and high H3K4me1 enrichment around regions of accessible chromatin. The plots illustrate the distribution of these elements and their proximity to the nearest transcription start site (TSS) or other contact anchors within loop-forming enhancers. Notice the distance-to-TSS distribution of E. muelleri enhancer-like elements is similar to that of enhancers that do not form stable loops in other species.
a, Example genomic region in N. vectensis showing chromatin loop contacts with loop anchors highlighted in grey. b, Loop anchor regions were classified as promoter-side if characterized by high H3K4me3 ChIP-seq signal levels and low H3K4me2 or low H3K4me1 signal. Enhancer-side loop anchors were defined as regions with low H3K4me3 and high H3K4me2 or H3K4me1. c, Most loop anchors retained their original classification, regardless of whether the H3K4me3/H3K4me2 or H3K4me3/H3K4me1 ratio was used. For N. vectensis, the ratio of H3K4me3/H3K4me1 outperformed H3K4me3/H3K4me2 in classifying loop anchors, as most of the disputed loops anchors annotated as promoters with H3K4me3/H3K4me2 were predominantly located in intronic and intergenic regions (pie chart). d, Left, aggregated contact strength of chromatin loop interactions, showing the overall intensity and frequency of chromatin contacts across loop anchor points. Right, loop anchors in N. vectensis show GTGT-motif enrichment (FC = 327, p-value = 1e−40) compared to GC-normalised background genomic regions. e, Genomic regions in N. vectensis displaying non-loop self-interacting domains. f, Same as (d), but for regions between insulation boundaries that also harbour self-interacting domains. Right, motif enrichment analysis was focused on accessible chromatin regions at the insulation boundaries. Accessible promoter regions in neuronal Elav+ cells were used as the background for comparison.
a, Annotation of chromatin loop anchors with promoter and enhancer chromatin signatures for T. adhaerens and C. collaboinventa. Loop anchors annotated as enhancers were mostly located within promoter regions of other genes. To resolve this ambiguity, such loop anchors were classified as promoters based on their genomic context. b, Example contact map regions depicting promoter-enhancer distal interactions highlighted in grey in syntenic regions of placozoans. c, Local Moran's Index scatterplot visualises assignment of genomic bins to four distinct groups: High-High (HH), where examined signal (ATAC or H3K4me3) spatially co-localises in a neighbourhood of other bins with high signal; Low-Low (LL) bin has low examined signal and located in a neighbourhood of bins with low signal; when bin and its neighbourhood have different levels of signal, then the bin is assigned to Low-High (LH) or High-Low (HL) quadrants. Statistically significant values are in solid colors. Right panel illustrates intensity of examined signal layered over the two-dimensional Kamada-Kawai representation of top 20% contact interactions. p-values and r-values (Pearson correlation coefficients) were determined using a one-sided permutation test. A linear least-squares regression was then performed between z-scores of ATAC or H3K4me3 values and the signal's spatial lag. The 95% confidence interval of the regression is shown as a grey shadow. d, Boxplots showing relative gene expression (RNA-seq) and peak intensity (H3K4me3) at promoter regions of genes from GP1, GP2, and GP3 groups. For each pairwise comparison for both T. adhaerens (GP1: n = 2,978; GP2: n = 3,681; GP3; n = 3,851) and C. collaboinventa (GP1: n = 3,973; GP2: n = 3,119; GP3: n = 4,238), *** indicates p-values below 2.22e−16, two-sided Wilcoxon rank sum test. Boxplots center line shows the median value, with box limits indicating the IQR and whiskers as 1.5x IQR. e, Left, heatmaps showing CPM normalised ATAC-seq and ChIP-seq coverage, motif scores and Mutator transposable element density within 5 Kb of the TSSs of GP1, GP2, and GP3 genes in C. collaboinventa. Each heatmap scale starts at zero. Middle, aggregate peak analysis displaying the contact strength between gene promoters within each annotated group. Right: Genes in C. collaboinventa from various gene groups, classified based on the presence of chromatin loops and their epigenetic states, demonstrate overlap with orthologous genes from GP1, GP2, and GP3 in T. adhaerens. f, GO-term enrichment analysis of GP1 genes with p-values determined using Fisher's exact test. g, Barplots showing the cell type (from previously published dataset123) in which genes belonging to each group are maximally expressed. Only variable genes (with a fold-change higher than 1.8) are included. h, Scatterplot showing total gene expression (x-axis) versus gene expression variability (y-axis) across cell types. i, Distribution of motif scores in loop anchor regions compared to the genome-wide background. C. collaboinventa harbour similar motif to T. adhaerens (similarity score = 0.93) in 60% of annotated loop anchor regions. j, Local Moran's Index scatterplot and Gaudí plots demonstrate spatial co-localisation of sequence motif identified in promoters of GP1 genes of T. adhaerens (motif score above 80th percentile). Statistically significant values are calculated as in (c). k, Schematic phylogenetic tree of TIR sequences of Mutator DNA transposons from four placozoan species (Trichoplax adhaerens, Trichoplax sp. H2, Hoilungia hongkongensis, Cladtertia collaboinventa). Placozoan Mutator DNA TIRs can be classified into 5 clades with consensus sequences. The similarity score between the TIR consensus sequence and the sequence motif in GP1 promoters is indicated. Pie charts shows the proportion of Mutator transposons harbouring the consensus TIR sequences.
a, Scatter plot showing the normalised H3K4me3 and H3K4me2 ChIP-seq coverage in 2 Kb region around loop anchor. b, Comparison of loop anchor annotation using either H3K4me3/H3K4me2 or H3K4me3/H3K4me1 ratios. For M. leidyi, H3K4me3/H3K4me2 ratio were more effective in annotating loop anchors, as many loop anchors classified as promoters using H3K4me3/H3K4me1 were found within intergenic or intronic regions (pie chart). The discrepancy is attributed to the high background noise observed in the H3K4me1 ChIP-seq signal. c, Normalised coverage for different chromatin features around loop anchors classified as promoters and enhancers. d, Genomic regions in H. californensis showing chromatin loops. In total, we annotated 239 chromatin loops, with 51% of loop anchors located within intronic or intergenic regions. High-resolution chromatin maps are expected to significantly increase the number of reported loops in H. californensis. e, Boxplots showing the total expression in scRNA-seq data8 for M. leidyi or RNA-seq data51 for C. californensis of genes with a loop anchor at their promoter regions, in their introns (enhancer sites), and genes not involved in distal chromatin interactions (outside loops). *** stands for p-value < 2.22e−16 of two-sided Wilcoxon rank sum test. Boxplots center line shows the median value, with box limits indicating the IQR and whiskers as 1.5x IQR. f, Motif score distributions at loop anchors (max score in 2,000 bp window around the center of a loop anchor) compared to genomic background. In H. californensis, we detected similar to M. leidyi GC-rich motif (similarity score = 0.96) enriched in 38% of loop anchors. g, Fraction of loop anchor sites containing the identified GC-rich motif at promoter sites (in orange), at enhancer sites (green) or at the promoters of genes not involved in chromatin loops (cyan). h, Scatterplot showing total gene expression (x-axis) versus gene expression variability (y-axis) across cell types, highlighting genes with their promoter involved in chromatin loops (orange) and also genes containing the GC-rich motif in their promoters but not involved in loops (cyan). These motif-containing genes without detected loops showed lower and more variable expression across cell types than genes with detected loops, suggesting the former could be forming loops in low-abundance cell types that we are unable to detect in bulk Micro-C experiments. i, DNA methylation levels at GC-motif sites located at chromatin loops (left) compared to methylation levels in motif occurrences outside detected chromatin loops (right). j, Bias-corrected ATAC footprint profiles centered around motifs located at loop anchors. k, Distribution of CTEP1 and CTEP2 bound DAP-seq peaks across genomic regions with varying DNA methylation levels and within annotated loop anchors. Below, the number of DAP-seq peaks containing the identified GC-rich motif. l, Number of loop anchor regions that contain CTEP1 and CTEP2 DAP-seq peaks. m, DAP-seq quantile normalized CPM coverage around GC-rich motif from CTEP2 binding assay using native genomic DNA fragments or unmethylated PCR amplified genomic DNA. CTEP2 as well as CTEP1 (Fig. 4f) exhibited higher affinity for the unmethylated GC-rich motif. n, Multiple sequence alignments of CTEP1 and CTEP2 genes were performed against the dataset of 358 metazoan genomes (Supplementary Table 3). The significant hits against CTEP proteins, exhibiting sequence identity above 50%, were found exclusively within ctenophores. o, Left, boxplots showing the number of transposable element insertions per promoter region of genes involved in chromatin loops compare to genes that are outside loops (*** indicates p-value < 2.22e−16, two-sided Wilcoxon rank sum test). Right, barplots showing the fraction of promoters in loops containing TE insertions compared to promoters not involved in loops and random genomic regions. Over 90% of promoter regions involved in distal interactions harbour insertion of DNA transposon. Additionally, promoters in loops have higher frequency of insertions of LTR and Unknown type transposons. Boxplot limits as in (e). p, Syntenic conservation within M. leidyi chromatin loops compared to Pleurobrachia bachei or Bolinopsis microptera. Left, barplot showing the fraction of conserved orthologs in all alignable genomic regions across ctenophore species (chi-squared test for given probabilities). Right, boxplot showing the fraction of shared orthologs between individual genomic regions within chromatin loops (P. bachei: n = 105; B. microptera: n = 332) versus in random genomic regions of similar size (P. bachei: n = 198; B. microptera: n = 945). p-value significance was calculated using two-sided Wilcoxon rank sum test. Boxplot limits as in (e). q, Number of predicted genes with zf-C2H2 protein domain in the different species studied included in this study.
Detailed Micro-C protocol used in this study.
Quality control metrics for each Micro-C replicate.
List of publicly available datasets and their corresponding sequence read archive accession numbers used in this study.
This file contains a list of orthologous genes for CTEP1 and CTEP2 architectural proteins in other ctenophore species, as well as a list of 358 publicly available metazoan genome datasets used for multiple sequence alignments of CTEP1 and CTEP2.
Phylogenetic tree of TIR sequences of placozoan Mutator DNA transposable element.
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Kim, I.V., Navarrete, C., Grau-Bové, X. et al. Chromatin loops are an ancestral hallmark of the animal regulatory genome.
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The information-processing capability of the brain's cellular network depends on the physical wiring pattern between neurons and their molecular and functional characteristics. Mapping neurons and resolving their individual synaptic connections can be achieved by volumetric imaging at nanoscale resolution1,2 with dense cellular labelling. Light microscopy is uniquely positioned to visualize specific molecules, but dense, synapse-level circuit reconstruction by light microscopy has been out of reach, owing to limitations in resolution, contrast and volumetric imaging capability. Here we describe light-microscopy-based connectomics (LICONN). We integrated specifically engineered hydrogel embedding and expansion with comprehensive deep-learning-based segmentation and analysis of connectivity, thereby directly incorporating molecular information into synapse-level reconstructions of brain tissue. LICONN will allow synapse-level phenotyping of brain tissue in biological experiments in a readily adoptable manner.
The brain is made up of an incredibly dense, complex and fine-grained arrangement of neurons with support cells, which together constitute a functional network that enables brain function. Imaging approaches are uniquely positioned to decode the spatial organization of the brain. Determining how neurons are connected and reconstructing the circuitry that underlies information processing—that is, determining connectomes—demands accurate tracing of cellular circuit components including axons and dendritic spines, resolving synaptic connections and assigning them to specific neurons.
Light microscopy holds considerable potential for unifying synapse-level circuit reconstruction with in-depth molecular characterization. However, its resolution is conventionally limited to several hundred nanometres (best case 200–300 nm laterally, and typically substantially worse (around 1,000 nm) along the optical (z) axis)—much too coarse to distinguish densely labelled cellular structures. Electron microscopy (EM), with its nanometre-scale resolution and comprehensive structural contrast, is at present the only technology that allows dense connectomic analysis (that is, comprehensive reconstruction of cellular circuit components1,2,3), and enormous strides have been made in using EM to map connectivity in organisms as diverse as worms4, flies5,6,7, mice8 and humans9,10. These advances were facilitated by technological progress in automated data collection and deep-learning analysis, which has made the challenge of densely annotating all cellular structures tractable2,3. EM sample preparation and readout are not directly compatible with visualizing specific molecules in circuit reconstruction, and require correlation with light microscopy to obtain molecular information11,12,13. EM reconstructions allow connectivity through chemical synapses to be inferred from structural features14. However, synapses cannot be further differentiated molecularly, and information related to signalling between cells, such as the distribution of receptor molecules that have key roles beyond classical synaptic transmission, remains lacking.
Super-resolution optical imaging offers resolution beyond the diffraction limit by increasing instrument resolution15 or by expanding samples to increase distances between features16, but it has been limited mostly to sparse subsets of cells or molecule distributions devoid of cellular context. For example, multicolour ‘Brainbow' labelling with expansion and synaptic-marker detection allowed the connectivity of cellular subsets to be inferred17. To visualize living brain tissue comprehensively, fluorophores have been applied extracellularly, casting super-resolved cellular ‘shadows' when imaged with stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy18 in super-resolution shadow imaging (SUSHI)19. Combining this with two-stage machine learning enabled reconstruction at three-dimensional (3D) nanoscale resolution with LIONESS (live information-optimized nanoscopy enabling saturated segmentation)20. Fixation-compatible extracellular labelling with CATS (comprehensive analysis of tissues across scales)21 visualized tissue architecture using STED or expansion microscopy (ExM). However, LIONESS and CATS have not provided the traceability and accuracy required for synapse-level circuit reconstruction. ExM16 increases effective resolution by embedding tissue in a swellable hydrogel, disrupting the tissue's mechanical cohesiveness and expanding it. Expansion factor (exF) and corresponding resolution enhancement have been increased from around fourfold16,22 to around eight-to-tenfold23,24,25,26,27 in single-step approaches, and to around 16× and beyond with iterative application28,29,30 of two swellable hydrogels. Indiscriminate (‘pan-') labelling for protein density using amine-reactive fluorophore derivatives, such as N-hydroxysuccinimidyl (NHS) esters, revealed cellular ultrastructure with single-step25,31 and iterative30 expansion and visualized the complexity of brain tissue25,32. However, it has not been possible to achieve light-microscopy imaging at the resolution and signal-to-noise ratio that are required for dense connectomic reconstruction.
Here we present a technology that can be used to densely reconstruct brain circuitry with light microscopy at synaptic resolution. We engineered a high-fidelity iterative hydrogel expansion scheme paired with protein-density staining and high-speed diffraction-limited readout that enables manual neuronal tracing and deep-learning-based cellular segmentation (Fig. 1a). We show traceability of the finest neuronal structures, including axons and dendritic spines; simultaneous molecular measurement; deep-learning prediction of molecule locations; and connectivity analysis at single-synapse resolution. We validate the technology using independent ground truth from sparse positive labelling and quantification of spine traceability. We furthermore provide comparisons of statistical data on neuronal connectivity with previous EM measurements, a method that has been used to cross-validate EM datasets33. This technology, which we term light-microscopy-based connectomics (LICONN), offers molecularly informed reconstruction of brain tissue with broad accessibility.
a, LICONN volume of around 1 × 106 μm3 (native tissue scale) of mouse primary somatosensory cortex (layers II/III–IV, 396 × 109 × 22 µm3 original tissue scale, 0.95 × 106 µm3 before and 3.5 × 109 µm3 after hydrogel expansion of approximately 16×). Seventy-nine example cells from dense reconstruction with FFN. Right, dendrite from pyramidal neuron (box at top of left panel), with deep-learning predictions of the synaptic molecules bassoon (cyan, pre-synapses) and SHANK2 (magenta, excitatory post-synapses) and synaptically connected axons (bottom). Scale bars, 15 μm (left); 2 μm (right). Length scales and scale bars refer to biological size before expansion throughout. b, Subregion (single plane) of a. Enlarged views: top, intracellular structure of pyramidal neuron; bottom, primary cilium. Spinning-disk confocal imaging data with contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) (for comparison of raw versus CLAHE, see Supplementary Fig. 12). Scale bars, 5 μm (left); 2 μm (top right); 1 μm (bottom right). c, Single plane (with CLAHE) of dendrite with spine (box) and cell nucleus with nuclear pores (bright densities, bottom). Small panels: top, excitatory synapse with presynaptic protein-rich punctate features and bar-like feature at post-synapse (without CLAHE). Line: direction of intensity profiles (top right), measuring distance between pre- and postsynaptic features (DP: dense projection; mean ± s.d.) with violin plot. r: coordinate along line profile. Middle, single bouton contacting two spines and DP–DP distance (mean ± s.d.). Bottom, highlighted spine. Scale bars, 2 μm (main image); 100 nm (right images). d, Periodic, protein-dense structure at circumference of neurite subset (without CLAHE). Example line profile and periodicity (mean ± s.d.). Scale bars, 1 μm. e, Manual axon tracing. Top left, single plane (magnified) of LICONN volume (around 19 × 19 × 19 µm3) from primary somatosensory cortex in a Thy1-eGFP mouse with cytosolic eGFP expression in an axon (arrow). Top right, overlay with immunolabelling for eGFP. Scale bars, 1 μm. Bottom, renderings (green) and skeletons (black) of eight eGFP-expressing axons (ground truth, based on eGFP and structural LICONN channels), and skeletons generated by two annotators blinded to eGFP signal (magenta, consensus, offset for clarity). For additional datasets, see Supplementary Figs. 13 and 14. Scale bar, 5 μm. f, Manual dendrite tracing. Top, single plane (magnified) from LICONN volume (around 19 × 19 × 19 µm3, hippocampus, CA1; Thy1-eGFP mouse) with eGFP-expressing dendrite (arrow) and overlay with eGFP (green). Middle, cross-sections of eGFP-expressing dendrite with spines. Scale bars, 1 μm. Bottom, dendrite skeleton (black) generated from eGFP and structural channels (ground truth), within 3D rendering (green). Additional skeleton (magenta) generated from structural channel by two annotators blinded to eGFP. For additional datasets, see Supplementary Fig. 15. Scale bar, 5 μm. g, Left, single-tile LICONN volume (hippocampus, CA1) with manual cellular annotations (colour, 658 structures) and 3D rendering. Middle, top view. Right, neurites and magnified synaptic connections (different camera position). Scale bars, 5 μm (left); 3 μm (middle and right).
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Our strategy for dense light-microscopy-based connectomics achieves an increase in resolution through hydrogel expansion rather than optical super-resolution, exploiting the speed, optical sectioning and availability of standard, diffraction-limited, spinning-disk confocal microscopes. Hydrogel embedding34 and expansion homogenize the refractive index to that of water. This facilitates the acquisition of volumes extended both laterally and along the z axis, which is notoriously difficult with other super-resolution techniques because of aberrations, scattering and photobleaching. It also allows facile multicolour readout of specific molecules at a resolution essentially identical to that of the structural channel.
To achieve high-fidelity tissue preservation and neuronal traceability, we developed an iterative expansion technology based on independent, interpenetrating hydrogel networks including tailored chemical fixation, retention of cellular proteins and hydrogel chemistry that obviated hydrogel cleavage and signal handover steps. Available single-step or iterative approaches provided insufficient performance and straightforward modifications to increase exF resulted in unstable hydrogels (Supplementary Figs. 1–3).
We transcardially perfused mice with hydrogel monomer (acrylamide, AA)-containing fixative solution, equipping cellular molecules with vinyl residues, which subsequently co-polymerized with the hydrogel. Optimization of perfusion, with a lower monomer concentration (10% AA) than that used previously22,32, improved cellular preservation (Supplementary Fig. 4), probably reflecting osmotic effects. Chemical fixation does not preserve the precise shape of extracellular space19,33. However, LICONN maintains low-signal-intensity regions around cells, which is advantageous for tracing and segmentation, similar to extracellular-space-preserving protocols35 in EM connectomics. We collected and sliced brains, and exploited the broad reactivity of multi-functional epoxide compounds36,37—specifically, glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) and glycerol triglycidyl ether (TGE, bearing three epoxide rings)—to functionalize proteins more broadly with acrylate groups for hydrogel anchoring than common amine-reactive compounds, and to further fix and stabilize biomolecules, respectively. Alternatively, amine-reactive anchoring38,39 using N-acryloxysuccinimide (NAS)27 resulted in traceable datasets (Supplementary Figs. 2, 5, 6), but epoxide use improved cellular ultrastructure and emphasized synaptic features.
We polymerized an expandable acrylamide–sodium acrylate hydrogel, integrating functionalized cellular molecules into the hydrogel network, and disrupted mechanical cohesiveness using heat and chemical denaturation22 (Supplementary Fig. 7). After around fourfold expansion, we optionally applied immunolabelling to visualize specific proteins. A non-expandable stabilizing hydrogel prevented shrinkage during the application of a second swellable hydrogel intercalating with the first two hydrogels. To achieve structural preservation and homogeneous expansion, we optimized the composition of the hydrogels (Supplementary Figs. 8, 9), and found that chemically neutralizing unreacted groups after each polymerization step improved high-fidelity expansion by abolishing cross-links between hydrogels, ensuring their independence. Finally, protein-density (‘pan-protein') staining with fluorophore NHS esters comprehensively visualized cellular structures, mapping (primary) amines that were abundant on proteins.
These triple-hydrogel–sample hybrids yielded an expansion of around 16-fold and were mechanically robust, facilitating handling and extended imaging (exF = 15.44 ± 1.68, mean ± s.d., n = 4 technical replicates across n = 3 mice; Supplementary Fig. 10; unless otherwise stated, we give length measures in original tissue size by scaling measured post-expansion lengths with this exF). Expansion-induced distortions were similar to those in previous work28,29,32 (Supplementary Fig. 10). Spinning-disc confocal imaging with a high-numerical-aperture (NA = 1.15) water-immersion objective lens in the green spectral range yielded an expected resolution of around 280 nm laterally and around 730 nm axially. With an exF of around 16, this translated into effective resolutions of around 20 nm and and around 50 nm, respectively, demanding an effective voxel size of about 10 × 10 × 25 nm3 for adequate sampling. Overall, this workflow was robust and provided the resolution, contrast and throughput required for connectomic tissue reconstruction.
We analysed a tissue volume of around 1 × 106 µm3 (native tissue scale, 396 × 109 × 22 µm3, 0.95 × 106 µm3 pre-expansion, effective voxel size 9.7 × 9.7 × 25.9 nm3, 3.5 × 109 µm3 post-expansion; Fig. 1a), spanning layers II/III–IV of the primary somatosensory cortex (Supplementary Fig. 11). A total of 132 partially overlapping subvolumes were imaged (arranged on a 6 × 22 grid) and an automated algorithm40 (scalable optical flow-based image montaging and alignment; SOFIMA) was used for seamless volume fusion. With high parallelization in spinning-disc confocal microscopy (around 300 focal points in our system), the approximately 4.2 × 109-µm3 post-expansion size (0.47 teravoxels, including tile overlap) was imaged within 6.5 h. This corresponded to an effective voxel rate of 17 × 106 voxels per second (17 MHz), including overhead from sample stage movement and tile overlap. Individual neurons with their axons and dendrites were clearly delineated from each other in densely packed neuropil and showed rich subcellular structures (Fig. 1b–d and Supplementary Fig. 12), including mitochondria, Golgi apparatus and primary cilia. When we inspected dendrites and their spines—postsynaptic structures that are typical of excitatory synapses (Fig. 1c)—we found putative synaptic transmission sites highlighted by protein-rich, high-intensity features, akin to postsynaptic densities (PSDs) in EM data on chemically fixed specimens14. Similarly, presynaptic sites exhibited protein-dense nanoscale features, arranged in a lattice-like pattern spaced at 97 ± 28 nm, at a distance of 139 ± 19 nm from PSDs (192 synapses, 3 technical replicates across n = 2 mice) (Fig. 1c), again similar to features seen in EM. We also observed prominent ring-like periodic patterns at the circumference of a subset of neurites (Fig. 1d and Supplementary Fig. 12). The periodicity of 89 ± 12 nm (32 distance measurements, n = 2 mice) was highly suggestive of the actin and β-spectrin cytoskeletal lattice that organizes specific proteins41 below the plasma membrane. Periodicity was consistent with the value of 182 nm that was previously reported when labelling only one component41. Together, these results indicate that our expansion and imaging procedure reports the cellular constituents of brain tissue with high fidelity from the tissue scale to the nanoscale.
Thin, tortuous axons in dense neuropil and dendritic spines with their thin necks are among the most challenging structures for connectomic tracing. To evaluate the reliability of manual tracing, we compared human consensus skeletons with sparse fluorescent labelling. Specifically, we obtained ‘ground-truth' neurites from cytosolically expressed enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP, detected by immunolabelling) in a subset of neurons in Thy1-eGFP mice. We compared those with independently traced skeletons of the same objects, manually generated exclusively from the LICONN structural channel (Fig. 1e,f). After training (Methods), 2 tracers received 12 LICONN datasets with 37 axon stretches (880 µm cumulative length, n = 3 technical replicates across n = 2 mice, cortex), with a seed point in each eGFP-expressing axon. Tracers were blinded to the eGFP signal itself. They independently traced the indicated axons, compared results and found consensus at locations of disagreement (Fig. 1e). Of 37 axons analysed, the consensus skeletons followed a wrong path in one case, compared with eGFP ground truth (1.1 errors per mm; Fig. 1e and Supplementary Figs. 13, 14). In a similar analysis of eGFP-expressing dendrites in the hippocampus, the blinded tracers correctly identified 259 out of 289 spines (Fig. 1f and Supplementary Fig. 15; 90%, n = 3 technical replicates across n = 2 mice).
Encouraged by the consistency between LICONN-derived skeletons and their eGFP ground truth, we returned to the 1 × 106-µm3 cortical dataset in Fig. 1a. We validated the traceability of axons and dendrites across tile borders (Extended Data Fig. 1). We further sought to exclude the possibility of sizeable numbers of non-traceable spines, and used an exhaustive tracing analysis of local volumes. We sampled 38 subvolumes of 2 × 2 × 2 µm3 at random locations. An expert annotator marked all spine heads on the basis of morphology and PSDs; spine density was 1.0 ± 0.3 per µm3 (mean ± s.d.), consistent with previous cortical data1. The annotator then manually attached spine heads to parent dendrites. Of 306 spine heads, 285 (93.1%) were unambiguously traced to a dendrite. Overall, this confirmed the high traceability of LICONN data and excluded the presence of a large population of non-traceable ‘orphan' spines.
To test whether LICONN enabled volumetric annotation, we manually reconstructed neuronal structures in a 19.3 × 19.3 × 8.1-µm3 volume (imaged at an effective voxel size of 9.7 × 9.7 × 13.0 nm3) from the hippocampal CA1 stratum oriens (Fig. 1g and Supplementary Video 1). We reconstructed 658 structures, revealing their complex shapes and interwoven arrangement. This showed that LICONN is suitable for detailed volumetric annotation. However, manual reconstruction scales poorly, and would be difficult to apply comprehensively for the volume in Fig. 1a.
Having manually validated traceability and segmentability, we analysed larger volumes by adopting deep-learning segmentation algorithms from EM connectomics. Specifically, we trained flood-filling networks (FFNs)42, which have achieved state-of-the-art segmentation accuracy on diverse connectomic datasets.
We imaged a 109 × 74 × 22-µm3 region in the hippocampal CA1 (Fig. 2a and Extended Data Fig. 2) in a 4 × 6 tile arrangement with an effective voxel size of 9.7 × 9.7 × 13.0 nm3. Within this volume, we chose an 83,825-µm3 bounding box (85 × 69 × 14 µm3, 68.6 gigavoxels at native imaging resolution) and produced ground-truth annotations by iterative model predictions and manual proofreading (Methods).
a, Rendering of 85 × 69 × 14-µm3 LICONN volume (native tissue scale) from hippocampal neuropil in CA1, overlaid with dense FFN-based segmentation of neuronal structures in the bottom corner. Neuronal structures were comprehensively proofread in this volume by correction of split and merge errors (without any manual painting of voxels; see https://neuroglancer-demo.appspot.com/#!gs://liconn-public/ng_states/expid82.json for original data and proofread segmentation). Scale bar, 10 μm. b, Magnified view from a single plane with (top to bottom) raw structural data (CLAHE applied), dense segmentation after proofreading and overlay. Scale bars, 1 μm. c, Rendering of 5.8% of axons contained in the volume in a (see https://neuroglancer-demo.appspot.com/#!gs://liconn-public/ng_states/expid82_fig2_axons.json for browsable data). Scale bar, 10 μm. d, Rendering of 27.3% of dendrites and a small number of axons (see https://neuroglancer-demo.appspot.com/#!gs://liconn-public/ng_states/expid82_fig2_dends.json for browsable data). e, Rendering of example dendrites. Scale bar, 10 μm. f, Spatial arrangement of selected axonal and dendritic structures, highlighting various types of contact. Scale bar (top right), 2 μm. g, Segment size (number of voxels on a logarithmic scale) of neuronal structures for the base FFN segmentation (blue), after automated agglomeration (white) and after full manual proofreading of the automated agglomeration (yellow) for the dataset in a (n = 1 dataset). Vertical bar, lower and upper quartiles; dot, median; vertical lines, 1.5× interquartile range. h, Edge accuracy for the base segmentation (blue), after automated agglomeration (white) and after manual proofreading (yellow). i, Distribution of spine-head volumes in the same segmentation volume, analysed for 59,332 spines. Percentage numbers refer to the intervals indicated by the vertical lines (<0.01, 0.01–0.05, 0.05–0.1, 0.1–0.2, >0.2 µm3).
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An FFN was trained on the ground-truth annotations, applied to the whole bounding box (Fig. 2) and evaluated on 99 manually skeletonized neurites (69 axons, 1.8 mm cumulative path length, 30 dendrites with 1,041 dendritic spines; Supplementary Figs. 16, 17). The mean spine density along skeletonized dendrites (1.6 ± 0.3 per µm, nine dendrite stretches) was similar to that in previous EM data43. We optimized the FFN base segmentation (Methods) to minimize merge errors, as confirmed by comparison with the skeletons (0 mergers, 413 splits, 80.1% edge accuracy; see ref. 42 for metric details). We applied automated agglomeration42, which increased the edge accuracy to 92.8% (Fig. 2h), reducing splits by 92.5% (from 413 to 31), with some misattached spines but no mergers between axons or dendrites.
We then attempted to eliminate remaining errors in the automated reconstruction through comprehensive manual proofreading of the entire 83,825-µm3 volume (correcting object-level split and merge errors; Methods). We labelled objects in the proofread segmentation as axons, dendrites or glia using an automated classifier (Methods) and found 18,268 axons with a cumulative length of 342.3 mm, of which 5.8% (by length) are shown in Fig. 2c (segmentation: https://neuroglancer-demo.appspot.com/#!gs://liconn-public/ng_states/expid82_fig2_axons.json), and 1,643 dendrites with a cumulative length of 119.1 mm (Fig. 2d,e), of which 27.3% are shown in Fig. 2d (segmentation: https://neuroglancer-demo.appspot.com/#!gs://liconn-public/ng_states/expid82_fig2_dends.json), with 71,269 spines. Using the manually generated skeletons, we evaluated the contributions of base segmentation, automated agglomeration and manual proofreading to increasing segment size and edge accuracy (Fig. 2g,h). The proofread reconstruction yielded an edge accuracy of 95.6% with one morphological merger, 29 incorrectly attached spines (2.8% of spines), 14 uncorrected spine splits (1.4%) and zero splits involving axons or dendrite trunks. We did not process glial segments and blood vessels further, because the FFN models were trained exclusively on neuronal structures. Dense segmentation (browsable at https://neuroglancer-demo.appspot.com/#!gs://liconn-public/ng_states/expid82.json) thus revealed the complex 3D arrangements of neuronal structures in nanoscale detail (Fig. 2e,f and Supplementary Video 2).
Visual inspection suggested that signal-containing regions that were not covered by segments corresponded mainly to slight deviations in segment shape. Areas that were not captured in automated segmentation contained mostly intracellular regions or spines. We therefore quantified the traceability of spines in the volume, randomly sampling 40 subvolumes of 2 × 2 × 2 µm3. An annotator traced 281 of 301 spines (93.4%) to a parent dendrite, using only raw imaging data. The spine density was 0.9 ± 0.3 per µm3, similar to previous reports in CA1 (ref. 43). We next compared ground-truth skeletons with the FFN segmentation, in which the remaining error was dominated by spines that were not labelled by the FFN (83 of 1,041 spines in the skeletons, 8.0%). Nearly all spine necks in the automated segmentation were attached to a dendrite; occasionally the FFN neglected to segment voxels at spine necks, but agglomeration and proofreading were mostly still able to attach spine heads to the correct dendrite (1,000 of 1,041 spines on the manually generated skeletons). Measured spine-head volumes (Fig. 2i; 53% within 0.01 and 0.05 µm3) were consistent with EM data44.
Overall, LICONN enabled FFN-based segmentation with automated accuracy comparable to state-of-the-art EM results7,42 and manual correction of remaining errors using standard connectomic proofreading workflows.
We next sought to take advantage of the ability of light microscopy to visualize specific molecules, to directly verify cellular, subcellular and synaptic identities and place molecules in the context of the tissue's 3D architecture and connectivity. Post-expansion immunolabelling (applied here after the first expansion) avoided extra tissue processing before expansion and promoted epitope accessibility22,29 in the expanded, molecularly decrowded tissue–hydrogel hybrid. This approach also renders the displacement of fluorophores from biological targets irrelevant by effectively ‘shrinking' antibodies from their physical size of around 10 nm to less than 1 nm. Although certain epitopes are denatured during expansion, our limited screen identified a range of commercial antibodies that are compatible with LICONN. Iterative expansion with multicolour readout in standard spinning-disc confocal microscopes directly provided super-resolution measurements of structural and molecular channels, which is difficult when correlating light microscopy with EM connectomics (Supplementary Fig. 18).
We first focused on synaptic proteins by immunolabelling bassoon, a presynaptic active-zone scaffolding protein, and PSD95, a postsynaptic scaffolding protein at excitatory synapses, and visualizing them in structural context in triple-colour measurements (Fig. 3a). At the high 3D resolution achieved here, bassoon labelling revealed lattice-like arrangements of nanoscale spots, recapitulating the protein-dense features in the structural channel (Fig. 1c). Both PSD95 and SHANK2, another postsynaptic scaffolding protein, were arranged in more compact, disc-like arrangements mirroring PSDs in the structural channel. Distance measurements between bassoon and SHANK2 yielded 154 ± 19 nm (Fig. 3b; mean ± s.d., 106 synapses, n = 2 mice), comparable to previous measurements from cultured neurons45. Applying the FFN-segmentation model from Fig. 2a–f located the synaptic molecular machinery to the respective neuronal structures, such as spiny dendrites (Fig. 3c). We labelled additional synaptic proteins in LICONN's super-resolved structural framework (Fig. 3d and Extended Data Fig. 3). As expected, the active-zone markers MUNC13-1 and RIM1 and RIM2 (RIM1/2) spatially overlapped at pre-synapses. We also visualized P/Q-type Ca2+-channels (CaV2.1) at pre-synapses. Labelling for the vesicular glutamate transporter VGLUT1 highlighted synaptic vesicles, and co-labelling with RIM1/2 concomitantly demarcated active zones. The NMDA glutamate receptor GLUN1 overlapped with SHANK2 at post-synapses, with the centres of mass of their 3D distributions spaced 16 ± 5 nm apart (185 synapses, n = 1 mouse; Fig. 3e).
a, Immunolabelling for presynaptic bassoon (cyan) and postsynaptic PSD95 (magenta) in LICONN volume (somatosensory cortex). Right, magnified views of synapses (boxes in left panel) showing immunolabelling and structural channels separately and overlaid. Scale bars, 2 μm (left); 500 nm (right). b, Distance between bassoon and SHANK2 signals (mean ± s.d., violin plot including median and quartiles, 106 synapses). c, Three-dimensional renderings of bassoon and SHANK2 immunolabelling mapped onto a dendrite from FFN segmentation of the volume in a. Scale bar, 2 μm. d, Top, LICONN with immunolabelling for synaptic markers. Bottom, overlay with structural channel. Single planes from volumes in hippocampal CA3 (stratum lucidum, leftmost panel) and CA1. Scale bars, 500 nm. e, Left, dendritic spine with SHANK2 (magenta) and GLUN1 (cyan) immunolabelling, showing maximum intensity projections of respective immunolabellings (points: centres of mass). Scale bars, 100 nm. Right, mean ± s.d. and violin plot of centre-of-mass distances, including median and quartiles (184 synapses). f, Illustration of excitatory-synapse detection through bassoon (cyan) and SHANK2 (magenta) immunolabellings, converted to point annotations. Examples include 1:1 and 1:2 presynaptic to postsynaptic connections. Scale bar, 100 nm. g, Immunolabelling renderings with detected synapses (2:1, 1:1 and 1:2 presynaptic to postsynaptic connections). Cyan and magenta balls, pre- and post-synapses; grey and black bars, computationally detected connections and manually generated ground truth. h, Ground-truth (proofread) immunolabelling-based excitatory-synapse detections in a 913-µm3 volume (hippocampus, CA1, stratum radiatum). Scale bar, 2 μm. i, Three-dimensional rendering of dendrite (hippocampus, FFN segmentation) with excitatory synapses (bars), detected through bassoon (pre-synapses, cyan) and SHANK2 (post-synapses, red) immunolabelling. Magnified views include synaptically connected boutons. Scale bar, 10 μm. j, LICONN with immunolabelling for gephyrin (yellow, inhibitory post-synapses) and SHANK2 (magenta, excitatory post-synapses), with immunolabelling shown separately and overlaid for the boxed region. Inhibitory post-synapses show less pronounced structure than excitatory post-synapses. Scale bars, 2 μm (left); 500 nm (right). k, Left, LICONN with immunolabelling for VGAT (cyan, inhibitory pre-synapses) and gephyrin (yellow), with channels shown separately for the boxed region. Right, similar measurement with immunolabelling for bassoon (cyan, excitatory and inhibitory pre-synapses) and gephyrin (yellow). Scale bars, 1 μm (main); 500 nm (enlarged boxes).
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Proximity between neurites is a weak predictor of synaptic connectivity1. We therefore used molecular information as ground truth for connectivity and developed an automated synapse identification pipeline based on immunolabelling (Fig. 3f–h and Supplementary Fig. 19). We first computationally annotated pre-synapses and excitatory post-synapses as defined by the presence of bassoon (excitatory and inhibitory pre-synapses) and SHANK2 (excitatory post-synapses), respectively (Fig. 3f); sampling intensity in the structural channel facilitated distinguishing synaptic signal from unavoidable immunolabelling background (Methods). We then automatically matched corresponding pre- and post-synapses to full synapses, including both one-to-one and one-to-many connections (Fig. 3g,h). Unpaired pre-synapses corresponded to inhibitory synapses, missed SHANK2 detections (for example, owing to low copy number or partial epitope degradation resulting in sub-threshold signal) or infrequent synapses lacking SHANK2 (but identifiable as excitatory because of a prominent PSD). We therefore revisited unpaired pre-synapses and classified neighbouring post-synapses as excitatory if a prominent PSD was present in the structural channel. When comparing purely automated synapse detections with manually validated synapse locations in a test dataset (1,059 excitatory synapses), we obtained 95% accuracy for the detection of pre- and post-synapses, and 90% for fully assembled synapses (Supplementary Fig. 19) (913 µm3 volume, F1: range 0–1, combining precision and recall; pre-synapses: F1 = 0.94; post-synapses: F1 = 0.95; full synapses: F1 = 0.90). We found detection to be robust against variation in imaging parameters and applicable in both hippocampus and cortex (Supplementary Fig. 19). Finally, by integrating FFN-based neuron segmentation with automated synapse detection, we inferred excitatory axonal inputs onto a specific dendrite (Fig. 3i). LICONN thus allowed us to map molecularly defined synaptic connectivity onto automated morphological reconstructions.
We then used immunolabels to molecularly identify and distinguish excitatory and inhibitory synapses. To identify inhibitory synapses, we labelled gephyrin, a postsynaptic scaffolding protein. Gephyrin-positive, inhibitory post-synapses were less conspicuous structurally than their excitatory, SHANK2-positive counterparts, and these molecules were mutually exclusive at individual synapses (Fig. 3j). As a consistency check, we also co-labelled vesicular GABA transporter (VGAT) and gephyrin, identifying pre- and postsynaptic compartments in the same inhibitory synapses. As expected, presynaptic bassoon and postsynaptic gephyrin were closely juxtaposed (Fig. 3k). Molecular labelling thus distinguished excitatory and inhibitory synapses in LICONN volumes.
Next, we related molecular properties to neurite tracings for characterizing fundamental parameters of synaptic wiring, including inhibition and excitation. We imaged two LICONN volumes in primary somatosensory cortex (143 × 20 × 24 µm3 and 179 × 20× 24 µm3, one mouse), with immunolabelling for excitatory (SHANK2) and inhibitory (gephyrin) post-synapses (Fig. 4 and Supplementary Figs. 20, 21). We manually analysed 11 spiny dendrites (Fig. 4a; total length 123 µm, 322 spines) and found 2.8 ± 1.2 (mean ± s.d. throughout) synaptic inputs per µm length (Fig. 4b), with a higher density of SHANK2-positive (2.6 ± 1.1 per µm) than gephyrin-positive (0.3 ± 0.2 per µm) inputs. Synapses were found mostly on spine heads (90.3%), whereas 1.6% and 8.1% located to spine necks and shafts, respectively (Fig. 4c). As expected, the vast majority of spine heads were positive only for SHANK2 (95.7 ± 3.0%); on rare occasions, they had only a gephyrin-positive connection (0.6%) or a gephyrin-positive connection in addition to the usual excitatory input (1.7%). A similarly small number of spine heads (2.1%) had neither SHANK2- nor gephyrin-positive connections, but had a PSD in the structural channel, with SHANK2 either not expressed or not labelled (Fig. 4d). Shaft synapses were overwhelmingly inhibitory (gephyrin-positive, 93.5%), whereas 6.5% were positive for SHANK2. As expected, these molecules were mutually exclusive at any given synapse (Fig. 4e). Immunolabelling directly yielded the balance of excitatory versus inhibitory inputs to dendrites (90% versus 10%, respectively; Fig. 4f). The results were consistent when the analysis was repeated using structural information—that is, the locations of synapses in axon outputs (shaft, spine head or neck)—to classify axons into excitatory or inhibitory, as is commonly done in EM-based connectomics (Supplementary Fig. 21).
a, Spiny dendrite with SHANK2-expressing excitatory (magenta) and gephyrin-expressing inhibitory post-synapses (yellow), connected axons (presynaptic bassoon: cyan) and seed locations. b, Input density onto spiny dendrites (primary somatosensory cortex), defined by immunolabelling: excitatory (SHANK2+); inhibitory (gephyrin+); IF+: total immunofluorescence. Numerical values: mean ± s.d. throughout; box plots: median; lower and upper quartiles; whiskers: minimum and maximum (throughout). Data points: individual dendrites (11; 123 µm total, 351 IF+ synapses, b–f). c, Synapse (SHANK2+ or gephyrin+) target locations. d, Molecular properties of spine heads, with synapses identified by immunolabelling or PSDs. e, Molecular properties of shaft synapses. f, Excitatory (E) versus inhibitory (I) synapses onto dendrites. g, Spine seeding by excitatory axon outputs. h, Output density of spine-seeded axons (19 axons (data points) with two or more outputs, total length 990 µm). i, Spine fraction traced to parent dendrite for spines contacted by the same 19 axons (128 spines, mean ± s.d. over individual axon). Data points: axons. j, Inhibitory axons seeded at an AIS (gephyrin+, no PSD). k, Output fraction onto shafts of AIS-seeded axons (eight axons with three or more outputs). l, Deep-learning prediction of bassoon and SHANK2 location from structural LICONN channel. Single plane from LICONN volume (CA1, stratum radiatum, not included in training), comparing prediction with immunolabelling. Scale bars, 1 μm. m, Corresponding volumetric renderings. n, Excitatory input and output for a pyramidal neuron from the dataset in Fig. 1a. Synapse detections through bassoon and SHANK2 prediction mapped onto FFN segmentation. Magenta numbers: detected synapses between indicated branch points. Magnified views: structural channel, molecule predictions and cellular segments (partial proofreading, eliminating false-positive detections without adding missed detections). Scale bars, 2 μm (top); 20 μm (middle); 500 nm (bottom). o, Connectivity prediction in hippocampal dataset from Fig. 2a. Left, rendered synapse predictions. Middle, axon (black) with connected dendrites. Right, dendrite (black) with connected axons. Scale bar, 10 μm. p, Integration of structural, immunolabelling and deep-learning analysis. Dendrite (primary somatosensory cortex) with immunolabelling-based detection of excitatory (501) and inhibitory (80) post-synapses. Insets: presynaptic partners identified by deep-learning bassoon prediction. Scale bar, 10 μm.
Source Data
We next classified axons as excitatory according to structural and molecular criteria: we selected a spine and identified an axon synaptically connected to it (‘spine-seeded'), by requiring (i) a PSD in the structural channel and (ii) SHANK2 at the synaptic seed site. When we manually traced 19 such axons (total length 990 µm), they exhibited 0.16 ± 0.07 synaptic outputs per µm length (Fig. 4g,h), with 0.15 ± 0.07 per µm onto spines and 0.01 ± 0.01 per µm onto shafts, recapitulating the known preference of excitatory outputs for spines10. We used these axons as seeds for a further independent test of spine traceability (‘axon-seeded' spine tracing), again allowing us to trace the vast majority of spine necks (96%, 123 out of 128) to the parent dendrite (Fig. 4i).
For inhibitory axons (defined by (i) seeding from a synapse at a dendritic shaft; (ii) lack of PSD; and (iii) presence of gephyrin), we found an inverse target preference (Supplementary Fig. 21i,j). Finally, we selected three cells in which the entire axon initial segment (AIS) was contained in the imaging volumes (Fig. 4j). AISs were characterized by a pronounced periodic labelling pattern in the structural channel, akin to the actin- and spectrin-induced lattice in neurites (Figs. 1d, 5a), extending over 43.8 ± 1.3 µm. We detected 0.25 ± 0.15 gephyrin-positive inputs per µm AIS. We selected axons that provided inhibitory input to AISs (gephyrin-positive, no PSD) and traced their outputs. The 8 axon stretches analysed with 3 or more outputs formed 44 synapses at dendrites (synapses onto soma or AIS not analysed), with a strong preference for shafts (92.5%; Fig. 4k).
a, Molecular identification of interneurons through somatostatin immunolabelling (SST+, cyan). Overview plane of LICONN volume (cortex), with maximum intensity projection of immunolabelling. Nuclear infoldings: orange. Scale bar, 5 μm. b, Ankyrin G immunolabelling (red) (cortex), with periodic protein-density modulation in structural channel, highlighting the AIS. Magnified images: channels shown separately. Low-protein-density voids (straight arrows) around axons indicate myelination (Extended Data Fig. 5). Scale bars, 1 μm. c,d, Primary cilia in LICONN (cortex, hippocampus; c) with intensely labelled centrioles (schematic; d) in the basal body. Scale bars, 500 nm. e, Immunolabelling for acetylated tubulin (magenta) and adenylate cyclase 3 (cyan) at a primary cilium (hippocampus, CA1) and overlay with the structural LICONN channel, with the membrane-bound adenylate cyclase signal ensheathing axoneme. Scale bars, 500 nm. f, Length of primary cilia (mean ± s.d. throughout) according to cell type in dataset from Fig. 1a (78 cells; box plots: median; lower and upper quartiles; whiskers: minimum and maximum (throughout); points: individual cells). g, Length of primary cilia in wild-type and Hnrnpu+/− mice (hippocampus, CA1, pyramidal layer; Supplementary Fig. 25). h, LICONN volume (border of corpus callosum and alveus; Extended Data Fig. 9) with immunolabelling for acetylated tubulin (red), revealing multi-ciliated cells. Scale bar, 1 μm. i, Cross-section of cilium with ninefold symmetry in protein density, probably reflecting microtubule doublets, with ring diameter and doublet distance. Scale bar, 100 nm. j, GFAP (red, astrocytes) and glutamate receptor GLUN1 (magenta) immunolabelling with deep-learning bassoon prediction (cyan) in LICONN volume (hippocampus). Magnified images: astrocytic primary cilium at different z-planes, apposed to synaptic boutons. Scale bars, 1 μm (main image); 500 nm (right images). k, Immunolabelling for the astrocytic gap-junction protein connexin-43 (orange) and the inhibitory-synapse marker gephyrin (yellow) in LICONN (cortex). Magnified images, gap junction between astrocytes. Scale bars, 1 μm (main image); 500 nm (right images). l, ‘Virtual' five-colour measurement (cortex). LICONN with connexin-43 (orange) and (gephyrin, yellow) immunolabelling, deep-learning prediction of pre-synapses (bassoon, cyan) and excitatory post-synapses (SHANK2, magenta). Channels shown separately for boxed region. Scale bars, 1 μm. m, Density of gephyrin-positive inhibitory synapses and connexin-43-positive gap junctions (four volumes; cortex, hippocampal CA1).
Source Data
LICONN thus provided a natural means to integrate structural and molecular information to derive fundamental neuronal network parameters related to excitatory and inhibitory connectivity.
To overcome limitations in microscopy hardware and imaging time from adding colour channels for further molecular targets, we used the correspondence between molecular and structural features to predict, rather than measure, the locations of synaptic molecules. We restricted prediction to excitatory synapses, which have more pronounced structural features than inhibitory synapses. Using deep learning, we predicted both bassoon at presynaptic sites and SHANK2 at excitatory post-synapses (Fig. 4l). Instead of human annotation, measurements of bassoon and SHANK2 (16,699 µm3, around 16,250 excitatory synapses), paired with the structural LICONN channel, were used to train neural networks21,46 that predicted the locations of molecules from the structural channel. When evaluated on datasets not included in training, predicted signals were highly consistent with ground-truth immunolabelling data (Fig. 4l,m). We converted molecule predictions to presynaptic and postsynaptic annotations and implemented post-processing (similar to that used in immunolabelling-based detection; Methods) to increase accuracy. Comparison of deep-learning-based synapse prediction with human ground-truth annotations yielded F1 scores higher than 0.9 for detecting synapses (hippocampus, CA1, stratum radiatum; pre-synapses: F1 = 0.94; post-synapses: F1 = 0.95; full synapses: F1 = 0.92, using 14,207 µm3 (around 13,650 synapses) for training and 180 µm3 for testing). We obtained a similar accuracy on test datasets with varied imaging parameters (z-step size) or brain region (cortex) (Supplementary Fig. 19). These results show that the locations of excitatory synapses can be predicted with high fidelity from structural LICONN data.
We then applied deep-learning-based synapse prediction to map the synaptic input field of an identified neuron in a dataset devoid of immunolabelling. We chose a pyramidal neuron from the FFN-based segmentation of the cortical dataset in Fig. 1a and related both pre-synapse (bassoon) and excitatory post-synapse (SHANK2) predictions to the cellular segmentation (Fig. 4n and Supplementary Video 3). The imaging volume contained 821 µm of this cell's neurites. On dendrites (454 µm), we detected 705 excitatory synaptic inputs (1.6 per µm, 475 on apical and 230 on basal dendrites). The volume also contained 367 µm of the neuron's axonal output, with eight predicted pre-synapses. We next applied the prediction of bassoon and SHANK2 to map excitatory synaptic connectivity onto the densely proofread neuronal segmentation in the hippocampus from Fig. 2a–f. We detected 79,291 pre-synapses (0.95 per µm3) and 71,976 excitatory post-synapses (0.86 per µm3) and mapped them onto individual neurite segments (Fig. 4o). Visualizing one axon with its synaptic partners shows rich connectivity, with 31 synapses onto 28 different dendrites. Similarly, focusing on a single spiny dendrite, 284 axons established 303 synaptic contacts with it (267 single connections, 16 axons with 2 synapses and one with 4 synapses; Fig. 4o).
We further created a ‘virtual' four-colour connectomic volume combining the LICONN structural channel, deep-learning bassoon prediction (for detecting pre-synapses) and super-resolved immunolabelling of gephyrin and SHANK2 (for molecular synapse differentiation), again in the somatosensory cortex (subset of dataset in Fig. 4a–k). We found 501 excitatory and 80 inhibitory synapses on a dendrite reconstructed over a 162-µm length (Fig. 4p). By contrast, on cell somata, inhibitory connections were dominant (Extended Data Fig. 4). We further verified the robustness of deep-learning synapse prediction by replacing measured SHANK2 locations with predicted SHANK2 on the same dendrites and axons as in Fig. 4a–f. In this virtual four-colour volume (structure, measured gephyrin, predicted bassoon and predicted SHANK2), we obtained similar connectivity (Supplementary Fig. 22) to that found with SHANK2 immunolabelling, and quantifications of the balance of excitation and inhibition were in line with previous EM connectomics data8,10,47.
We now sought to use both structural and molecular information in LICONN to characterize cell types and subcellular specializations. Similar to EM connectomics, analysing cell shape enabled an expert to classify cells in the cortical dataset in Fig. 1a (78 cells analysed) as pyramidal neurons (64 cells, 82.1%), interneurons (9 cells, 11.5%), and glial cells (5 cells, 6.4%). The relative proportions were comparable to those in EM data from the mouse visual cortex48. Adding specific immunolabelling molecularly identified cell types, including inhibitory interneurons expressing somatostatin (Fig. 5a and Supplementary Fig. 23) or the voltage-gated potassium channel KV3.1b (Supplementary Fig. 24).
We then used molecular labelling to clarify the identity of subcellular structures and characterize their structural appearance. Labelling for ankyrin G molecularly highlighted AISs. We discovered that ankyrin G showed a lattice-like pattern at AISs, mirrored by a similar pattern in the protein-density map (Fig. 5b). This differentiated AISs from dendrites, which were mostly devoid of protein-density stripes near the soma. Similarly, labelling for myelin basic protein (Extended Data Fig. 5) clarified the identity of halo regions of low protein density around certain axons (Fig. 5b), unambiguously identifying them as myelinated axons.
Primary cilia (Figs. 1b, 5c–g) are key signalling hubs on many neuronal and non-neuronal cells, and their connectivity and function in the brain have been investigated49,50. We corroborated their identity by immunolabelling for acetylated tubulin, a common post-translational modification of stable microtubules, and adenylate cyclase 3 (Fig. 5e). We quantified cilia length according to cell type (Fig. 5f) from manually generated skeletons in 78 cells in the cortical dataset in Fig. 1a (mouse aged 2 months, 64 pyramidal neurons: 6.9 ± 1.1 µm; 9 interneurons: 8.7 ± 3.2 µm; 5 glial cells: 5.8 ± 2.1 µm). Ciliary function is essential for many aspects of brain development. In humans, mutations in the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein U (HNRNPU) gene cause early-onset epilepsy, autistic features and intellectual disability. In the developing mouse brain, HNRNPU has been localized on primary cilia51. In addition, changes in the expression of genes associated with cilia organization have been observed in a human model system of induced-pluripotent-stem-cell-derived neurons from patients with HNRNPU mutations52. We hypothesized that mutations in Hnrnpu affect primary cilia length, and tested this in a haploinsufficient (Hnrnpu+/−) mouse model. We skeletonized primary cilia of pyramidal neurons in the hippocampal CA1 (Supplementary Fig. 25) in both Hnrnpu+/− (80 cells, 7 technical replicates across n = 3 mice) and wild-type (78 cells, 7 technical replicates across n = 3 mice) mice (Fig. 5g), and concluded that, at least for hippocampal neurons, Hnrnpu mutations do not result in obvious defects in primary cilia (length (wild type): 10.3 ± 1.6 µm, length (mutant): 10.5 ± 1.6 µm, no statistically significant difference (t-test, P = 0.64)).
Finally, we applied LICONN more broadly throughout the brain to assess tissue characteristics beyond synaptic connectivity. We confirmed its applicability in various regions, including the hypothalamus, piriform area and cerebellum (Extended Data Fig. 6), and imaged the characteristic organization of the hippocampal CA3 stratum lucidum (Extended Data Fig. 7). When analysing white matter, including the corpus callosum—a key structure connecting the two hemispheres—and the alveus, we found layers with a high density of myelinated axons (Extended Data Fig. 8). We were intrigued by nearby clusters of cells with multiple prominent processes (Fig. 5h and Extended Data Fig. 9). Investigating their ultrastructure (Fig. 5i), we realized that they corresponded to multiple cilia, originating from basal bodies, again with ninefold internal symmetry. Cilia were prominently highlighted when immunolabelling for acetylated tubulin (Fig. 5h). The microtubule ring had a diameter of 214 ± 27 nm (mean ± s.d.), with individual doublets spaced 63 ± 9 nm apart (Fig. 5i).
The ability to map electrical connectivity through gap junctions would be especially useful. This information is typically missing from connectomics datasets, because reliable detection of gap junctions requires particularly high resolution in EM53. These intercellular channels contribute to functional network properties in addition to chemical synapses. We immunolabelled connexin-43, a gap-junction protein expressed in astrocytes54, and identified astrocytes by the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) (Fig. 5j,k). LICONN visualized both the electrical connections and the cellular partners. GFAP labelling also molecularly assigned cellular structures bordering capillaries to astrocytes (Extended Data Fig. 5). Immunolabelling of connexin-43 and gephyrin visualized electrical and inhibitory connections. Complementing this with excitatory synaptic connections through deep-learning prediction of bassoon and SHANK2 (Fig. 5l) enabled simultaneous mapping of excitatory, inhibitory and electrical connectivity in the same circuit. Similarly, specific immunolabelling allowed us to determine the density of inhibitory (0.039 ± 0.010 per µm3, gephyrin) and electrical (0.054 ± 0.015 per µm3, astrocyte-associated connexin-43) connections (four imaging volumes across hippocampus and cortex, two each) (Fig. 5m).
To axially extend LICONN volumes beyond the imaging depth accessible with high-NA objective lenses (0.6-mm working distance, in our case), we implemented a block-face imaging method to obtain LICONN volumes built from partially overlapping subvolumes arranged on a 3D grid, allowing seamless fusion without gaps (Extended Data Fig. 10). We first imaged partially overlapping volumetric tiles arranged in two dimensions (2D) to obtain a first slab of LICONN data. We then used a conventional vibratome to slice off most of the imaged hydrogel layer, while placing the cut within the imaged slab. In a subsequent imaging round, we obtained an axially offset multi-tile volume situated more deeply in the tissue, featuring a continuous region of axial overlap with the first multi-tile volume. We then computationally fused the individual imaging volumes in 3D in a voxel-exact manner (Methods), enabling tracing of neuronal structures, including thin axons, across imaging slabs (Extended Data Fig. 10; original data for fused volume: https://neuroglancer-demo.appspot.com/#!gs://liconn-public/ng_states/expid146.json). To demonstrate the potential for further scaling, we iteratively applied this block-face imaging and sectioning approach across 12 rounds, with 108 volumetric imaging tiles arranged on a 3 × 3 × 12 grid in 3D. After voxel-exact fusion, the resulting volume covered 205 µm axially and allowed tracing of neuronal structures across tile borders in 3D (Extended Data Fig. 10 and Supplementary Video 4; see https://neuroglancer-demo.appspot.com/#!gs://liconn-public/ng_states/multiround_fusion.json).
In summary, LICONN is a straightforward technology that directly provides integrated structural and molecular characterization across brain regions, cell types and spatial scales.
The development of connectomics methods has been driven by the ambition of simultaneously achieving dense 3D reconstruction of neurites, synapse-level connectivity, diverse molecular annotations and cost-effective scaling to large volumes (cubic millimetres or more). Successive generations of EM-based technologies have enabled enormous progress2, but important limitations remain, particularly in the ability to extract molecular details. By contrast, current light-microscopy techniques for visualizing cellular tissue architecture19,20,21,25,32, including LIONESS20 and CATS21, do not reach the accuracy and traceability required for connectomic reconstruction. Here we introduce LICONN, which, like EM, enables reliable manual tracing of dendrites, axons and spines (Fig. 1), high-accuracy automated reconstruction of those structures (edge accuracy 92.8%; Fig. 2) and reliable detection of chemical synapses (F1 > 0.9 for immunolabelling- or deep-learning-based detection; Figs. 3, 4). However, unlike EM, LICONN enables direct and simultaneous measurement of spatially resolved molecular information, including specific proteins that reveal chemical synapse subtypes (Fig. 3), electrical synapses and key subcellular features (Fig. 5).
We used LICONN to acquire volumes of up to roughly 1 × 106 μm3 (native tissue scale; Fig. 1a), which are similar volumes (albeit with more limited axial extent) to those of previous EM-based connectomics datasets, on which biological analysis of neural circuits has been successfully performed1,10,47. We achieved reasonable acquisition rates (6.5-h acquisition time for around 1 × 106 μm3 native scale, 0.39 teravoxels, 17 × 106 voxels per s (17 MHz) effective voxel rate including overhead from tile overlap and sample stage positioning) even without optimizations for imaging speed20. Within the axial range of the working distance of the objective lens (here 600 µm), simple optical sectioning replaced the ultrathin (nanometre to tens of nanometres) physical sectioning or milling in EM reconstruction. However, the largest EM datasets span a cubic millimetre, and a major long-term goal is mapping the hundreds of cubic millimetres of an entire mouse brain55. One promising strategy for scaling LICONN volumes includes hydrogel sectioning to parallelize readout. LICONN hydrogels are mechanically robust, facilitating handling and sectioning. We typically expanded 50-µm-thick slices for experimental convenience, but this does not constitute a fundamental limitation. We expect that scaling LICONN expansion to larger samples will be possible by adjusting denaturation, polymerization and labelling parameters. For example, with slight adaptations for 300-µm-thick sections (Methods and Extended Data Fig. 10), we obtained LICONN imaging volumes that appeared, judged from the structural channel, equivalent in resolution, signal-to-noise ratio and structural preservation to datasets used for extensive validation of traceability. We further showed that consecutive, overlapping imaging volumes in the axial direction can be acquired and computationally fused by removing slabs of the expanded LICONN hydrogel already imaged. Such axial extension of volumes will be required for comprehensive analysis of cellular connectivity, whereas lateral tiling is more straightforward (for example, around 3,000 tiles, approximately 1-mm2 native scale in Extended Data Fig. 2).
We have also shown the detection of specific proteins by immunolabelling. Using post-expansion labelling, LICONN benefits from improved epitope access22,29 and avoids fluorophore-to-epitope linkage error. Further refinement will expand LICONN's molecular information content. For example, hydrogel-compatible spatial transcriptomics methods have emerged56,57,58,59 that measure gene expression directly in tissue. By integrating connectivity with in situ molecular information from individual cells, LICONN presents a viable path towards multimodal descriptions of mammalian brain cells, including morphology, connectivity (including electrical connections), physiology and gene expression60.
We further applied LICONN to quantify cellular properties beyond synaptic connectivity, focusing on cilia. Analysing primary cilia in a model of neurodevelopmental disease exemplifies how LICONN can be used to study genotype-to-phenotype relationships and cellular alterations in diseased brains. LICONN was developed to reconstruct arguably the most complex tissue structure, specifically identifying and tracing the finest neuronal processes, such as axons and spines, in the brain; we expect the technology to be broadly useful in other organs and systems in which high-resolution tissue analysis is desirable.
Finally, we note that LICONN is highly accessible. Acquisition is driven by broadly available conventional light-microscopy hardware (here, spinning-disc confocal), and, although LICONN sample preparation introduces new strategies to achieve high-fidelity tissue expansion, the protocol is not fundamentally more complex than previous expansion techniques that have been widely adopted. Deep-learning-based analysis used FFNs and other deep-learning frameworks that have previously been applied in neuronal segmentation and synapse prediction. These and the custom code we developed here are available open source. In conclusion, LICONN forms a technological basis for the routine adoption of connectomic studies in non-specialized neuroscience labs, as well as enabling high-resolution studies in organs other than the brain.
Animal procedures were performed in accordance with national law (BGBLA 114 and Directive 522), European Directive 2010/63/EU and institutional guidelines for animal experimentation, and were approved by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Research (authorizations BMBWF-V/Sb: 2020-0.363.126, 2021-0.550.199, 2021-0.842.237, 2022-0.121.445 and 2023-0.930.355).
Mice were housed in groups of three to four under controlled laboratory conditions (12:12-h light–dark cycle with lights on at 07:00; 21 ± 1 °C; 55 ± 10% humidity) with food (pellets, 10 mm) and autoclaved water ad libitum. Mice were housed in commercially available individually ventilated cages made from polysulfone with a solid cage floor, dust-free bedding (woodchips) and nesting material.
For all experiments, male and female mice were used interchangeably to demonstrate the technology. Adult mice (aged typically two to three months, unless otherwise noted) were used as indicated with the following genotypes: C57BL/6J wild-type mice, Thy1-eGFP (STOCK Tg(Thy1-eGFP)MJrs/J mice, 007788, RRID:IMSR_JAX:007788 hemizygous) and haploinsufficient Hnrnpu+/− mice (deletion of one allele of Hnrnpu spanning axons 4 to 14, generated by crossing the HnrnpUWT/flox line (Hnrnpu
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The hippocampus1,2,3,4,5,6, as well as dopamine circuits7,8,9, coordinates decision-making in anxiety-eliciting situations. Yet, little is known about how dopamine modulates hippocampal representations of emotionally salient stimuli to inform appropriate resolution of approach versus avoidance conflicts. Here we studied dopaminoceptive neurons in the male mouse ventral hippocampus (vHipp), molecularly distinguished by their expression of dopamine D1 or D2 receptors. We show that these neurons are transcriptionally distinct and topographically organized across vHipp subfields and cell types. In the ventral subiculum where they are enriched, both D1 and D2 neurons are recruited during anxiogenic exploration, yet with distinct profiles related to investigation and behavioural selection. In turn, they mediate opposite approach–avoidance responses, and are differentially modulated by dopaminergic transmission in that region. Together, these results suggest that vHipp dopamine dynamics gate exploratory behaviours under contextual uncertainty, implicating dopaminoception in the complex computation engaged in the vHipp to govern emotional states.
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All snRNA-seq data reported in this study have been deposited in the Gene Expression Omnibus under the accession number GSE227313. Source data for all statistical analyses are provided with this article. All other data, including raw photometry data, are available on request from the corresponding authors. Source data are provided with this paper.
Sample code and data for the fibre photometry signal analysis are publicly available on GitHub (https://github.com/arthurgodino/Photometry-analysis). All other custom scripts and code utilized in this study, including for statistical analysis, are available on request from the corresponding authors.
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We thank S. Pirpinias, K. Beach, C. McManus, K. Schmidt, N. Pulido, K. Rosen, C. Blaschke and E. Mouzon for transgenics breeding and genotyping; and X. Qiao and E. Aritzia from the Dean's Flow Cytometry CoRE at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai for assistance in nuclei sorting. This work was supported by grants from the Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds (PhD Fellowship to A.G.), the US National Institutes of Health (RF1MH128970 and U01MH116442 to P.R., and R01DA014133 and R01MH051399 to E.J.N.) and the Hope for Depression Research Foundation (to E.J.N.).
Arthur Godino
Present address: Aix-Marseille Université, INSERM, INMED, Marseille, France
These authors contributed equally: Arthur Godino, Marine Salery
Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
Arthur Godino, Marine Salery, Angelica M. Minier-Toribio, Vishwendra Patel, Veronika Kondev, Eric M. Parise, Freddyson J. Martinez-Rivera, Carole Morel & Eric J. Nestler
Department of Psychiatry and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
Vishwendra Patel, John F. Fullard, Panos Roussos, Robert D. Blitzer & Eric J. Nestler
Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences and Icahn Genomics Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
John F. Fullard & Panos Roussos
Center for Disease Neurogenomics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
John F. Fullard & Panos Roussos
Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
Carole Morel & Robert D. Blitzer
Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Centers, James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA
Panos Roussos
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A.G. and E.J.N. conceived the project. A.G. developed all methodology, except for the PMA task, which was developed by A.M.M.-T. and F.J.M.-R. A.G. performed all behavioural experiments and photometry recordings, with help from A.M.M.-T. and V.K. for PMA testing and E.M.P. and V.K. for stereotaxic surgeries. M.S. performed nuclei sorting, FISH and confocal imaging. V.P. performed the electrophysiological recordings, with supervision by R.D.B. J.F.F. performed snRNA-seq library preparation. P.R. contributed resources for snRNA-seq and software for analysis. C.M. contributed software for photometry analysis. A.G. performed all formal analysis and visualization. A.G. wrote the manuscript, which was reviewed and edited by M.S., A.M.M.-T., J.F.F., F.J.M.-R., C.M., P.R., R.D.B. and E.J.N.
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Arthur Godino or Eric J. Nestler.
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a, Representative images after RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for eGFP, Drd1 and Drd2 transcripts in the DG (top) or vSub (bottom) of a D1-Cre (left) or D2-Cre (right) x fl/fleGFP::L10a male mouse. b, Drd1 and Drd2 combinatorial expression in eGFP-positive cells in the DG (top) or vSub (bottom) of D1-Cre (n = 4 male mice, 2 hemisections/mouse) and D2-Cre (n = 5 male mice, 2 hemisections/mouse) x fl/fleGFP::L10a male mice. Cells circled in yellow are Drd1+/Drd2+. LMM-ANOVA: D1/D2 F1,7 = 0 p = 1, region F1,49 = 0 p = 1, Drd1/Drd2 F3,49 = 45.86 p < 0.0001, D1/D2 x region F1,49 = 0 p = 1, D1/D2 x Drd1/Drd2 F3,49 = 238.30 p < 0.0001, region x Drd1/Drd2 F3,49 = 8.96 p < 0.0001, D1/D2 x region x Drd1/Drd2 F3,49 = 17.47 p < 0.0001; followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests. c, Representative Fluorescence-Activated Nuclei Sorting (FANS) gating strategy from a D1-Cre x fl/fleGFP::L10a male sample. d, Representative sorting summary. e, Percent of GFP-positive nuclei for all D1-Cre (n = 4) and D2-Cre (n = 4) x fl/fleGFP::L10a sorted samples. Data represented as mean ± sem. Scale bars 100 µm.
Source data
Same data as in Fig. 1: n = 23,809 GFP-positive cells from D1-Cre x fl/fleGFP::L10a mice (3 female, 4 male); n = 20,136 GFP-positive cells from D2-Cre x fl/fleGFP::L10a mice (4 female, 4 male), 3-5 hemisections/mouse. a, Density heatmaps of D1 (red) and D2 (green) cells along dorso-ventral (DV) and antero-posterior (AP) coordinates in the subiculum and CA1 pyramidal and stratum oriens layers (left) and in the DG hilus (right). b, Distribution of D1 and D2 GFP-positive cells, as a proportion of the total D1 or D2 GFP-positive cells detected. LMM-ANOVA: region F11,121 = 55.51 p < 0.0001, region x D1/D2 F11,121 = 13.95 p < 0.0001; followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests. c, Segregation of D1 (left) and D2 (right) vHipp cells between GAD67+|CaMKIIα− inhibitory cells and GAD67−|CaMKIIα+ excitatory cells, as a proportion of the total D1 or D2 cells detected in each subregion. LMM-ANOVA: region F11,253 = 4.00 p < 0.0001, inh/exc F1,253 = 1320.13 p < 0.0001, D1/D2 x inh/exc F1,253 = 34.36 p < 0.0001, region x sex x inh/exc F11,253 = 2.34 p = 0.0094, region x D1/D2 x inh/exc F11,253 = 15.03 p < 0.0001; followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests. Data represented as mean ± sem. FDR < 0.05*, <0.01**, <0.001***.
Source data
a, Workflow for snRNAseq of vHipp from male D1-Cre (n = 4) and D2-Cre (n = 4) x fl/fleGFP::L10a. b, Sample integration. c, Proportion of all nuclei in individual clusters. d, D1-sorted or D2-sorted origin of individual nuclei, quantified in Fig. 2b. e, Expression of dopamine receptor Drd1 and Drd2 genes in individual nuclei. Nuclei are considered as co-expressing D1 and D2 receptors (yellow) either if both Drd1 and Drd2 are detected, if Drd1 is detected in a D2-sorted nucleus or if Drd2 is detected in a D1-sorted nucleus. Insert shows the repartition of D1-D2 co-expressing nuclei across clusters. f, Expression of published marker genes for different cell types across clusters. Full lists of cluster marker genes available in Supplementary Table 1.
Source data
a, Representative spread, fiber placements (red lines) and representative image of AAV-DIO-GCaMP6s expression in the vSub of D1-Cre (left) and D2-Cre (right) male mice. b, Representative spread, fiber placements (red lines) and representative image of AAV-dLight-1.1, AAV-GRABDA-1h expression in the vSub. Full hemisection illustrates spread of a control AAV-GFP virus, while zoomed insets depict faint membrane expression patterns of dopamine sensors. Note the difference in GFP signal intensity with neighboring entorhinal cortex (EC). FT fiber tip. c, Representative spread and representative image of AAV-DIO-mCherry, -hM3Dq and -hM4Di expression in the vSub of D1-Cre (left) and D2-Cre (right) male mice. Placement was verified in all mice either by confocal imaging or by dissection of fresh tissue under fluorescent illumination. d, Representative spread, fiber placements (red lines) and representative image of AAV-DIO-EYFP and -ChR2 expression in the vSub of D1-Cre (left) and D2-Cre (right) male mice. vSub was primarily targeted (dark shaded areas), but unavoidable viral spread encompassed various degrees of vCA3 and vDG (light shaded areas). Only animals with notable somatic expression in neighboring entorhinal cortex (<10%) were removed from analysis. Scale bars 500 µm.
Data are obtained from the same mice as in Fig. 3 (D1: n = 11, D2: n = 10 male mice). a, Distance travelled (left; t-test: t14.63 = −0.73 p = 0.4783) and velocity (right; t-test: t14.70 = −0.71 p = 0.4885). b, Open arm (OA) exploration time (left; LMM-ANOVA: cell type F1,19 = 0.0013 p = 0.9713, compartment F2,38 = 498.02 p < 0.0001, cell type x compartment F2,38 = 8.12 p = 0.0012; followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests), total number of OA entries (middle; LMM-ANOVA: cell type F1,19 = 1.87 p = 0.1876, compartment F2,38 = 64.02 p < 0.0001, cell type x compartment F2,38 = 2.51 p = 0.0950; followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests) and average OA exploration bout length (right; LMM-ANOVA: cell type F1,19 = 0.011 p = 0.9167, compartment F2,38 = 36.85 p < 0.0001, cell type x compartment F2,38 = 0.14 p = 0.8673; followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests). c, Number of head-dips (total: t-test: t18.945 = 0.83 p = 0.4170; per behavioral outcome: LMM-ANOVA: cell type F1,19 = 0.69 p = 0.4180, outcome F2,38 = 44.21 p < 0.0001, cell type x outcome F2,38 = 4.04 p = 0.0256; followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests). d, Correlation of GCaMP6s signal intensity with individual OA (left, D1: n = 163; Pearson's r = 0.0499, p = 0.5273; D2: n = 107; Pearson's r = 0.3242, p = 0.0007) or closed arm (CA, right, D1: n = 197; Pearson's r = −0.2383, p = 0.0007; D2: n = 198; Pearson's r = −0.1984, p = 0.0051) exploration bout lengths. e, Average GCaMP6s signal in D1-Cre (n = 27 head-dips) and D2-Cre (n = 36 head-dips) mice around head-dips events with unclear outcome. Boxplot represents the median time ± inter-quartile range of the times of maximal acceleration (max. acc.) after each head-dip. f, Maximum (peak) GCaMP6s signal before (pre) or after (post) each head-dip event. LMM-ANOVA: cell type F1,22.22 = 0.27 p = 0.6069, outcome F2,375.77 = 7.06 p = 0.0010, pre-post F1,385 = 84.64 p < 0.0001, cell type x outcome F2,375.77 = 16.74 p < 0.0001, cell type x pre-post F1,385 = 0.17 p = 0.6775, outcome x pre-post F2,385 = 11.69 p < 0.0001, cell type x outcome x pre-post F2,385 = 34.37 p < 0.0001; followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests. g, GCaMP6s signal change slope after head-dip events. LMM-ANOVA: cell type F1,23.29 = 1.29 p = 0.2679, outcome F2,380.68 = 6.90 p = 0.0011, cell type x outcome F2,380.68 = 28.50 p < 0.0001; followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests. h, Time delay between the time of maximal GCaMP6s signal change (max. slope) and the time of movement initiation (max. acc.). LMM-summary: intercept ≠ 0 t67.07 = −3.68 p = 0.0005, and LMM-ANOVA: cell type F1,23.10 = 0.0053 p = 0.9427, outcome F2,383.84 = 0.19 p = 0.8241, cell type x outcome F2,383.84 = 0.46 p = 0.6310; followed by individual LMM-summary for intercept ≠ 0 for each cell type x outcome combination and FDR adjustment of p-values. i, SVM workflow schematic. j, Classification of unclear-outcome head-dips using a SVM trained on manually-annotated avoid/explore D1 and D2 time-series. Both average GCaMP6s signal (top) and heatmaps of individual time-series (bottom) are represented for both D1 and D2 signals, split by SVM outcome prediction. Data represented as mean ± sem, regression lines with their 95% confidence intervals.
Source data
Calcium imaging of vSub D1 and D2 excitatory neuron activity during EPM testing. a, Experimental schematic (n = 6 D1-Cre, n = 6 D2-Cre male mice). b, Representative images at the fiber tip (FT) in a D1-Cre (left) and D2-Cre (right) mouse vSub. GCaMP6f-positive cells in magenta if CaMKIIα+|GAD67−, in cyan if CaMKIIα−|GAD67+, in yellow if CaMKIIα+|GAD67+. EC entorhinal cortex. c, Quantification in D1-Cre (top, 1 hemisection/mouse) and D2-Cre (bottom, 1 hemisection/mouse) animals indicating GCaMP6f expression largely restricted to excitatory CaMKIIα+|GAD67− cells. d, Representative D1-Cre (top) and D2-Cre (bottom) GCaMP6f signal. e, Heatmaps of average GCaMP6f signal. f, Average GCaMP6f signal in during entries in the open arm (OA) or closed arm (CA). D1: n = 15 OA, n = 33 CA, D2: n = 18 OA, n = 32 CA. g, Signal intensity (AUC) by EPM compartment. LMM-ANOVA: compartment F2,20 = 58.21 p < 0.0001, cell type F1,10 = 1.12 p = 0.3142, compartment x cell type F2,20 = 1.04 p = 0.3724; followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests. Data represented as mean ± sem. Scale bars 100 µm.
Source data
a, Experimental schematic (n = 7 D1, n = 8 D2 male mice). b, Representative D1-Cre (top) and D2-Cre (bottom) GCaMP6s signal. c, Heatmaps of average GCaMP6s signal. d, Average GCaMP6s signal during entries in the arena center (D1: n = 50; D2: n = 149 entries). e, Average GCaMP6s signal around exits from immobility in arena corners (D1: n = 231; D2: n = 178 events). Dotted line indicates movement initiation. f, Signal intensity (AUC) by OFT zone. LMM-ANOVA: zone F3,39 = 6.40 p = 0.0012, cell type F1,13 = 0.33 p = 0.5742, zone x cell type F3,39 = 7.74 p = 0.0004; followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests. g, Experimental schematic (n = 6 D1, n = 7 D2 male mice). h, Representative D1-Cre (top) and D2-Cre (bottom) GCaMP6s signal. The first (1) feeding bout is denoted. i, Heatmaps of average GCaMP6s signal. P food pellet. j, Average GCaMP6s signal around the initiation of feeding bouts (D1: n = 68; D2: n = 88 bouts). k, Average GCaMP6s signal around exits from immobility in arena corners (D1: n = 87; D2: n = 32 events). Dotted line indicates movement initiation. l, Signal intensity (AUC) by NSF arena zone and feeding activity in the center zone. LMM-ANOVA: zone F4,44 = 10.36 p < 0.0001, cell type F1,11 = 0.64 p = 0.4405, zone x cell type F4,44 = 1.65 p = 0.1785; followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests. Data represented as mean ± sem.
Source data
Effects of CNO itself (n = 10 CNO, n = 10 vehicle male mice) on a, OA exploration time (t-test: t14.65 = −0.061 p = 0.9523); b, total number of open arm entries (left; t-test: t17.99 = −0.53 p = 0.6045) and average OA exploration bout length (right; t-test: t17.26 = −0.057 p = 0.9548). c, Experimental schematic. Data are obtained from the same mice as in Fig. 4a–c (n = 12 D1-mCherry, n = 8 D1-hM3Dq, n = 11 D2-mCherry, n = 12 D2-hM3Dq male mice). d, Total number of OA entries (left; t-test: t8.16 = 0.73 p = 0.4857) and average OA exploration bout length (right; t-test: t16.42 = 1.05 p = 0.3095) for D1-Cre mice. e, Total number of OA entries (left; t-test: t20.68 = −2.16 p = 0.0423) and average OA exploration bout length (right; t-test: t14.63 = −2.18 p = 0.0463) for D2-Cre mice. f, Experimental schematic. Data are obtained from the same mice as in Fig. 4d–f (n = 12 D1-mCherry, n = 11 D1-hM4Di, n = 12 D2-mCherry, n = 12 D2-hM4Di male mice). g, Total number of OA entries (left; t-test: t20.94 = 0.64 p = 0.5284) and average OA exploration bout length (right; t-test: t20.60 = −1.89 p = 0.0723) for D1-Cre mice. h, Total number of OA entries (left; t-test: t21.68 = 1.55 p = 0.1354) and average OA exploration bout length (right; t-test: t21.93 = 1.80 p = 0.0858) for D2-Cre mice. i, Experimental schematic. (n = 11 D1-mCherry, n = 11 D1-hM3Dq, n = 11 D2-mCherry, n = 12 D2-hM3Dq male mice for OFT, and n = 11 D1-mCherry, n = 11 D1-hM4Di, n = 12 D2-mCherry, n = 12 D2-hM4Di for NSF). j, Total locomotor activity in OFT for D1-Cre (left; t-test: t13.25 = −2.52 p = 0.0253) and D2-Cre (right; t-test: t20.99 = 0.08 p = 0.9374) mice. k, Time spent in the OFT center zone for D1-Cre (left; t-test: t18.84 = 2.6052 p = 0.0175) and D2-Cre (right; t-test: t19.62 = −0.63 p = 0.5379) mice. l, Latency to the first feeding bout during NSF testing for D1-Cre (left; t-test: t18.31 = 0.51 p = 0.6171) and D2-Cre (right; t-test: t21.82 = −2.32 p = 0.0303) mice. m, Experimental schematic. Data are obtained from the same mice as in Fig. 4g–i (n = 10 D1-EYFP, n = 9 D1-ChR2, n = 11 D2-EYFP, n = 10 D2-ChR2 male mice). n, Total number of OA entries (left; LMM-ANOVA: stimulation zone F1,17 = 0.67 p = 0.4232, virus F1,17 = 2.63 p = 0.1234, stimulation zone x virus F1,17 = 2.55 p = 0.1284; followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests) and OA exploration bout length (right; LMM-ANOVA: stimulation zone F1,17 = 8.88 p = 0.0084, virus F1,17 = 0.58 p = 0.4580, stimulation zone x virus F1,17 = 5.8529 p = 0.0271; followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests) for D1-Cre mice. o, Total number of open arm entries (left; LMM-ANOVA: stimulation zone F1,19 = 8.70 p = 0.0082, virus F1,19 = 7.94 p = 0.0110, stimulation zone x virus F1,19 = 0.036 p = 0.8526; followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests) and OA exploration bout length (right; LMM-ANOVA: stimulation zone F1,19 = 2.62 p = 0.1221, virus F1,19 = 6.1645 p = 0.0225, stimulation zone x virus F1,19 = 9.55 p = 0.0060; followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests) for D2-Cre mice. Data represented as mean ± sem.
Source data
a, Experimental schematic. (n = 13 RdLight−1, n = 15 GRABDA−1h). b, Representative RdLight-1 (top) and GRABDA−1h (bottom) signal. c, Heatmaps of average signal. d, Average RdLight−1 signal during entries to (left) and exits from (right) the open arm (OA) or closed arm (CA) (entry: n = 24 OA, n = 99 CA, exit: n = 42 OA, n = 97 CA). e, Average GRABDA-1h signal during entries to (left) and exits from (right) the OA or CA (entry: n = 28 OA, n = 92 CA, exit: n = 44 OA, n = 77 CA). f, Average control signal during entries to (left) and exits from (right) the OA or CA (entry: n = 33 OA, n = 112 CA, exit: n = 45 OA, n = 105 CA). g, Signal intensity by EPM compartment. Data analyzed together with Fig. 5e data, statistics in Fig. 5e legend. Data represented as mean ± sem.
Source data
a, Experimental schematic. Data are obtained from the same mice as in Fig. 5i–l (n = 11 shDrd1, n = 11 shDrd2, n = 14 GFP male mice). b, Drd1 mRNA expression. LM-ANOVA: virus F2,32 = 3.60 p = 0.0389; followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests. c, Drd2 mRNA expression. LM-ANOVA: virus F2,32 = 7.14 p = 0.0027; followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests. d, Total number of OA entries in EPM. LM-ANOVA: virus F2,33 = 0.12 p = 0.8839. e, Total locomotor activity in OFT. LM-ANOVA: virus F2,33 = 0.67 p = 0.5190. f, Time spent in OFT center zone. LM-ANOVA: virus F2,33 = 1.66 p = 0.2049; followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests. g, Latency to the first feeding bout during NSF testing. LM-ANOVA: virus F2,33 = 3.33 p = 0.0482; followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests. Data represented as mean ± sem.
Source data
a, Experimental schematic (n = 4 RdLight−1, n = 13 D1-GCaMP6s, n = 8 D2-GCaMP6s male mice). b, Average GCaMP6s signal around electric foot-shock onset when on the grid (left, RdLight-1 n = 22, D1-GCaMP6s n = 69, D2-GCaMP6s n = 45 events), reward magazine entry (middle, RdLight−1 n = 25, D1-GCaMP6s n = 6, D2-GCaMP6s n = 11 events) or the first platform exit after tone/shock (right, RdLight-1 n = 18, D1-GCaMP6s n = 43, D2-GCaMP6s n = 40 events). c, Quantification of peri-event signal changes. LMM-ANOVAs (Foot-shock, DA: F7,147 = 18.64 p < 0.0001. Foot-shock, D1: F7,475.06 = 79.37 p < 0.0001. Foot-shock, D2: F7,308 = 48.69 p < 0.0001. Reward, DA: F7,161 = 6.88 p < 0.0001. Reward, D1: F7,35 = 0.27 p = 0.9605. Reward, D2: F7,70 = 3.15 p = 0.0059. First platform exit, DA: F7,119 = 7.64 p < 0.0001. First platform exit, D1: F7,294 = 1.19 p = 0.3109. First platform exit, D2: F7,273 = 9.72 p < 0.0001); followed by FDR-adjusted post-hoc tests (all pairwise comparisons were computed but only the ones significant vs the first 1.5 s time-bin are represented, p < 0.05*, <0.01**, <0.001***). d, Times of peak photometry RdLight−1 and D2-GCaMP6s signals after foot-shock (left, LMM-ANOVA: sensor F1,22.94 = 4.99 p = 0.0355) and first platform exit (right, LMM-ANOVA: sensor F1,19.468 = 1.49 p = 0.2376). e, Correlation of RdLight-1 and D2-GCaMP6s signal (n = 1 dual-injected male mouse) around foot-shocks (left; Pearson's r = −0.18 p < 0.0001), reward consumption (Pearson's r = −0.37 p < 0.0001) and first platform exit after tone end (right; Pearson's r = −0.19, p < 0.0001). Data represented as mean ± sem, regression lines with their 95% confidence intervals.
Source data
a, Experimental schematic (n = 10 D1-mCherry, n = 7 D1-hM4Di male mice). b, Approach behavior (lever presses) during extinction sessions, during tone presentation (left; LMM-ANOVA: session F4,60 = 6.50 p = 0.0002, DREADD F1,15 = 0.47 p = 0.5023, session x DREADD F4,60 = 0.31 p = 0.8692) and inter-trial intervals (ITI, right; LMM-ANOVA: session F4,60 = 1.10 p = 0.3644, DREADD F1,15 = 1.45 p = 0.2466, session x DREADD F4,60 = 1.35 p = 0.2623). c, Avoidance behavior (time on platform) during extinction sessions. LMM-ANOVA: session F4,60 = 21.56, p < 0.0001, DREADD F1,15 = 0.003 p = 0.9568, session x DREADD F4,60 = 0.36 p = 0.8348. d, Freezing upon tone presentation during extinction sessions. LMM-ANOVA: session F4,60 = 2.92 p = 0.0283, DREADD F1,15 = 2.73 p = 0.1191, session x DREADD F4,60 = 0.19 p = 0.9424. e, Approach behavior (lever presses) during conditioning sessions for D1-Cre mice during tone presentation (left; LMM-ANOVA: session F9,135 = 3.05 p = 0.0024, DREADD F1,15 = 0.04 p = 0.8533, session x DREADD F9,135 = 0.27 p = 0.9808) or during inter-tone intervals (ITI; right; LMM-ANOVA: session F9,135 = 5.61 p < 0.0001, DREADD F1,15 = 0.003 p = 0.9608, session x DREADD F9,135 = 1.08 p = 0.3846). f, Avoidance (time on platform) behavior during conditioning sessions for D1-Cre mice. LMM-ANOVA: session F9,133.1 = 15.04 p < 0.0001, DREADD F1,15.006 = 2.79 p = 0.1156, session x DREADD F9,133.1 = 1.67 p = 0.1027. g, Experimental schematic (n = 11 D2-mCherry, n = 9 D2-hM4Di male mice). h, Approach behavior (lever presses) during extinction sessions, during tone presentation (left; LMM-ANOVA: session F4,72 = 64.75 p < 0.0001, DREADD F1,18 = 5.27 p = 0.0339, session x DREADD F4,72 = 0.83 p = 0.5099) and inter-trial intervals (ITI, right; LMM-ANOVA: session F4,72 = 22.15 p < 0.0001, DREADD F1,18 = 0.006 p = 0.9379, session x DREADD F4,72 = 2.03 p = 0.0994). i, Avoidance behavior (time on platform) during extinction sessions. LMM-ANOVA: session F4,72 = 26.69, p < 0.0001, DREADD F1,18 = 6.13 p = 0.0234, session x DREADD F4,72 = 0.57 p = 0.6858. j, Freezing upon tone presentation during extinction sessions. LMM-ANOVA: session F4,72 = 4.25 p = 0.0038, DREADD F1,18 = 0.003 p = 0.9570, session x DREADD F4,72 = 1.45 p = 0.2278. k, Approach behavior (lever presses) during conditioning sessions for D2-Cre mice during tone presentation (left; LMM-ANOVA: session F9,162 = 10.30 p < 0.0001, DREADD F1,18 = 1.03 p = 0.3227, session x DREADD F9,162 = 1.54 p = 0.1373) or during inter-tone intervals (ITI; right; LMM-ANOVA: session F9,162 = 5.50 p < 0.0001, DREADD F1,18 = 4.12 p = 0.0575, session x DREADD F9,162 = 1.11 p = 0.3589). l, Avoidance behavior (time on platform) during conditioning sessions for D2-Cre mice (LMM-ANOVA: session F9,162 = 26.31 p < 0.0001, DREADD F1,18 = 0.44 p = 0.5170, session x DREADD F9,162 = 1.91 p = 0.05385). Data represented as mean ± sem.
Source data
List of marker genes for snRNAseq cell type clusters
List of D1 vs D2 DEGs for each snRNAseq cell type cluster
List of D1 vs D2 DEGs grouped by gene expression pattern
List of gene ontology terms associated with DEG lists in each gene expression pattern
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Godino, A., Salery, M., Minier-Toribio, A.M. et al. Dopamine D1–D2 signalling in hippocampus arbitrates approach and avoidance.
Nature (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08957-5
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volume 641, pages 374–379 (2025)Cite this article
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Climate extremes are escalating under anthropogenic climate change1. Yet, how this translates into unprecedented cumulative extreme event exposure in a person's lifetime remains unclear. Here we use climate models, impact models and demographic data to project the number of people experiencing cumulative lifetime exposure to climate extremes above the 99.99th percentile of exposure expected in a pre-industrial climate. We project that the birth cohort fraction facing this unprecedented lifetime exposure to heatwaves, crop failures, river floods, droughts, wildfires and tropical cyclones will at least double from 1960 to 2020 under current mitigation policies aligned with a global warming pathway reaching 2.7 °C above pre-industrial temperatures by 2100. Under a 1.5 °C pathway, 52% of people born in 2020 will experience unprecedented lifetime exposure to heatwaves. If global warming reaches 3.5 °C by 2100, this fraction rises to 92% for heatwaves, 29% for crop failures and 14% for river floods. The chance of facing unprecedented lifetime exposure to heatwaves is substantially larger among population groups characterized by high socioeconomic vulnerabilities. Our results call for deep and sustained greenhouse gas emissions reductions to lower the burden of climate change on current young generations.
Climate extremes have detrimental effects on society and are a foremost concern around climate change1. Anthropogenic influences have been identified in heatwaves, river floods, droughts, crop failures and certain aspects of wildfires and tropical cyclones2,3. With continued atmospheric warming, the intensity, frequency and duration of some of these events are projected to increase further4,5,6,7,8,9, with varying levels and spread depending on the event considered3. Current policies could warm global mean temperature (GMT) to +2.7 °C (+2.2–3.4 °C) above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century10. As this warming is expected to increase human exposure to climate extremes3, young generations will reap the consequences of the present-day mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions.
The above climate extremes are projected to occur most frequently across the lifetimes of current young generations11. As such, the number of climate extremes experienced across a person's lifetime can far exceed the expected exposure under a pre-industrial climate. Yet, the number of people who will experience this unprecedented lifetime exposure (ULE) to climate extremes remains unclear. Here we cross an extensive portfolio of multi-model projections of climate extremes with demographic data, GMT trajectories and two measures of vulnerability. We evaluate the emergence of ULE to extreme events at the grid scale to estimate the global membership of birth cohorts that will face ULE (Methods). Then, we show how this sub-population is stratified in terms of vulnerability. This is one of the first estimates of the number of people projected to experience ULE across a multidimensional framework, including birth year, warming scenario and vulnerability.
We illustrate what ULE means for extreme heatwaves in one grid cell (0.5° × 0.5°) located over Brussels, Belgium, for three GMT pathways in which warming above pre-industrial temperatures reaches 1.5 °C, 2.5 °C and 3.5 °C by the year 2100. People born in 1960 and spending their life in Brussels are projected to experience three heatwaves in their lifetime, showing little sensitivity to the GMT pathway (Fig. 1a). In this location, the 1960 birth cohort does not exceed the threshold of ULE, which we define as the 99.99th percentile of a large sample of lifetime exposures in a pre-industrial control climate and which is six heatwaves here (Fig. 1b, grey histogram and dashed line). By contrast, the 1990 birth cohort emerges into ULE for the two warmest GMT pathways shown (Fig. 1c,d). This implies that, under temperature pathways reaching 2.5 °C or higher warming by 2100, this cohort will face more heatwaves than they would have been expected to experience with a one in ten thousand chance in the absence of climate change. Different GMT pathways cause a further divergence in the lifetime exposure of those born in 2020 in this location (Fig. 1e,f). In the 1.5 °C pathway, the 2020 birth cohort is projected to experience nearly 11 heatwaves, yet this increases to 18 and 26 heatwaves in pathways reaching 2.5 °C and 3.5 °C, respectively, by the end of the century. This by far exceeds the ULE threshold under each GMT pathway, with an age of emergence already around 40 years old for the 2.5 °C and 3.5 °C pathways (Fig. 1e). We then count the number of people per birth cohort that eventually reach ULE, using absolute population estimates at the grid scale and relative cohort sizes at the country level. In this location, a best estimate of 21,000 people from the 1990 birth cohort and 24,000 people from the 2020 birth cohort are projected to experience ULE (except for the 1990 birth cohort under the 1.5 °C pathway). Under a 1.5 °C pathway, all cohorts born in Brussels after 1990 reach ULE, totalling 665,000 people. For a 3.5 °C pathway, ULE begins for people born in 1978, increasing this total to 941,000 people. For cohorts that emerge, it is virtually certain (at least >99.99% chance) that their lifetime heatwave exposure cannot be explained by internal climate variability.
a,c,e, Multi-model mean time series of cumulative heatwave exposure for people born in 1960 (a), 1990 (c) and 2020 (e) in 1.5 °C (blue line), 2.5 °C (gold line) and 3.5 °C (red line) pathways. b,d,f, Histograms for 1960 (b), 1990 (d) and 2020 (f) birth cohorts show the pre-industrial sample density of 40,000 bootstrapped lifetime exposures overlaid with final lifetime exposures from the time series of the birth cohort. Dashed lines show the 99.99th percentile of the pre-industrial sample distribution, that is, the threshold of unprecedented lifetime exposure (ULE) for this location, cohort and climate extreme. Counts of people (right of d,f) show the population of the birth cohort that has emerged beyond the 99.99th percentile of the pre-industrial sample distribution.
We now repeat this analysis for every land grid cell and project the population fraction of each birth cohort experiencing ULE to heatwaves across the globe (CFheatwaves for cohort fraction reaching ULE to heatwaves). Of the 81 million people born in 1960, on average, around 16% (13 million people) face ULE to heatwaves regardless of the scenario. This fraction rises towards younger generations, and from the 1980 birth cohort onwards, CFheatwaves begins to depend on GMT pathways (Fig. 2a). In a 1.5 °C pathway, CFheatwaves stabilizes for recent birth cohorts, reaching an average of 52% for the 2020 birth cohort (62 million people). Comparatively, CFheatwaves of the 2020 birth cohort is almost doubled in a 3.5 °C pathway, reaching 92%. This implies that 111 million children born in 2020 will live an unprecedented life in terms of heatwave exposure in a world that warms to 3.5 °C compared with 62 million in a 1.5 °C pathway.
a, Box plots show the cohort fraction reaching ULE to heatwaves (CFheatwaves) for 1.5 °C (blue), 2.5 °C (gold) and 3.5 °C (red) pathways for global birth cohorts between 1960 and 2020 (middle line, median; box limits, upper and lower quartiles; whiskers, extend to the full range of the model ensemble). b, Bars show global cohort sizes in millions, with totals in grey and median numbers of people reaching ULE to heatwaves for 1.5 °C (blue), 2.5 °C (gold) and 3.5 °C (red) pathways. c–e, Maps display country-level CFheatwaves of the 2020 birth cohort for 1.5 °C (c), 2.5 °C (d) and 3.5 °C (e) pathways.
At the country level, CFheatwaves for the 2020 birth cohort is the highest in the tropics under low GMT pathways, yet this pattern disappears as heatwaves become widespread under high GMT pathways (Fig. 2c–e and Supplementary Tables 1–3). Under a 1.5 °C pathway, equatorial regions have relatively high CFheatwaves; of the 177 countries in this analysis, 104 have most of the population of 2020 birth cohort living with unprecedented exposure to heatwaves (CFheatwaves ≥ 50%; Fig. 2c). This latitudinal pattern is less apparent in a 2.5 °C pathway (Fig. 2d). Here, 157 countries have CFheatwaves ≥ 50%. In a 3.5 °C pathway, 167 countries have CFheatwaves ≥ 50%, 155 countries have CFheatwaves ≥ 90% and in 113 countries the entire birth cohort faces unprecedented heatwave exposure (CFheatwaves = 100%; Fig. 2e).
We then expand the analysis to a total of six climate extremes12 and 21 warming pathways (Fig. 3 and Methods). For every combination of birth cohort, climate extreme and warming pathway, we quantify the number of people experiencing ULE at the grid scale and subsequently aggregate to the country or global level. Cohort fraction (CF) for climate extremes other than heatwaves is lower across all birth years and GMT pathways because they are generally less widespread than heatwaves; however, they still affect a large population fraction (Fig. 3 and Supplementary Tables 4–18). In a 3.5 °C pathway, 29% of those born in 2020 will live through unprecedented exposure to crop failures (Fig. 3b). This is followed by river floods, in which 14% will face unprecedented exposure to this extreme (Fig. 3e). As not all climate projections reach high warming levels, the ensemble size shrinks towards higher warming levels. Consequently, crop failures, droughts, river floods and tropical cyclones, which are more dependent on changes in the water cycle than heatwaves, exhibit discontinuities in CF at some GMT intervals (Fig. 3b,d–f). These sampling artefacts disappear when visualizing CFs for a smaller subset of simulations that are available for all GMT trajectories (Supplementary Note 1 and Supplementary Fig. 1). Although model uncertainties are larger for extremes other than heatwaves, differences in CF across birth cohorts are statistically significant for all six climate extremes (Supplementary Note 2 and Supplementary Figs. 2 and 3).
a–d, Cohort fraction (CF) across all birth years (1960–2020) and GMT pathways (1.5–3.5 °C) for heatwaves (CFheatwaves; a), crop failures (CFcrop failures; b), wildfires (CFwildfires; c), droughts (CFdroughts; d), river floods (CFfloods; e) and tropical cyclones (CFtropical cyclones; f). Each extreme event panel has its colour bar range.
Across all projections available for the 2.7 °C pathway aligned with current policies10, ULE to heatwaves occurs in the Americas, Africa, the Middle East and Australia already for the 1960 birth cohort and globally for the 2020 birth cohort (Supplementary Figs. 4m–o and 5e,k). The ULE to crop failures expands around the United States, South America, Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia between 1960 and 2020 cohorts (Supplementary Figs. 4 and 5b,h). The ULE to river floods occurs in northern latitudes for the 1960 cohort, in line with the observations and model projections for precipitation changes13,14,15 and expands southwards into much of the world for the 2020 cohort (Supplementary Fig. 5d,j).
The lower CF of some extremes, such as tropical cyclones, is expected given the geographical constraints of these events and their distinct meteorological drivers. Tropical cyclones can, therefore, be re-evaluated by limiting the analysis to regions that can experience them. We consider these regions to be any grid cells exposed at least once to the event across our whole ensemble of exposure projections (Supplementary Fig. 6). CFtropical cyclones nearly doubles when constraining total birth cohort size to exposed regions. For the 2020 birth cohort, this estimate changes from 6% to 11% in a 1.5 °C pathway and from 10% to 19% in a 3.5 °C pathway.
Finally, we cross our grid-scale projections for ULE to heatwaves against two grid-scale indicators of socioeconomic vulnerability (Methods): (1) the Global Gridded Relative Deprivation Index v.1 (GRDI; ref. 16), which expresses relative deprivation according to six socioeconomic indicators; and (2) lifetime mean GDP per capita (denoted as GDP; ref. 17). Binning our birth cohort members into the top and bottom 20% of GRDI (Fig. 4a) and GDP (Supplementary Fig. 7a) enables a grid-scale comparison of ULE for population groups with high and low socioeconomic vulnerability. Using GRDI, we find that the most vulnerable subset of each birth cohort projected to experience ULE to heatwaves under current policies is substantially larger than the least vulnerable subset. This implies that socioeconomically vulnerable people have a consistently higher chance of facing unprecedented lifetime heatwave exposure compared with the least vulnerable members of their generation (Fig. 4b). For example, of the 2020 birth cohort, 95% or 23 million members of the high deprivation (high socioeconomic vulnerability) group face ULE to heatwaves, whereas this is 78% (19 million) for the low deprivation group. This disparity is similar when using GDP, but with only 1974 and later birth years having significant differences across vulnerability strata (Supplementary Fig. 7). Here, for the 2020 birth year, 92% (22 million) of the low-income group face ULE under current policies, whereas this is 79% (19 million) for the high-income group. Under alternative warming pathways of 1.5 °C and 3.5 °C, although the same direction of disparities remains across vulnerability strata, the lowest vulnerability groups (low deprivation and high GDP) benefit the most from a low warming pathway (Fig. 4c,d and Supplementary Fig. 7c,d). Socioeconomically vulnerable groups have lower adaptive capacity and face more constraints when it comes to implementing effective adaptation measures18,19. Our results highlight that precisely these groups with the highest socioeconomic vulnerability and lowest adaptation potential face the highest chance for unprecedented heatwave exposure (Fig. 4). This underlines the disproportionate risk for deprived communities in light of past and future climate extremes.
a, Geographic distribution of the 20% highest (brown markers) and 20% lowest (green markers) scoring 2020 birth cohort members (with roughly equal population) in the GRDI16. Grid cell marker sizes and colours are scaled by their population. b, Fraction of these two groups projected to experience ULE to heatwaves under the current policies pathway of 2.7 °C warming by 2100 for every fifth birth year. Light-coloured bars show total cohort sizes per birth year and vulnerability group, whereas dark colours indicate the affected fraction. Error bars show the standard deviation across projections. Asterisks indicate that a low- or high-vulnerability group from a given birth cohort has significantly more members with ULE to heatwaves than the alternative vulnerability group of the same birth cohort (at the 5% level). c,d, The high deprivation (c) and low deprivation (d) share of the birth cohort that is projected to experience ULE under the 1.5 °C (blue) and 3.5 °C (red) pathways.
Our analysis only quantifies local exposure by design; yet in reality, the effects of climate extremes cascade non-locally. For example, in 2023, smoke from an active wildfire season in Canada was transported south along the east coast of the United States, exposing millions of people to hazardous air quality20 and causing an increased cardiopulmonary disease burden21. Climate extremes also affect society through economic impacts, including the rising cost of living due to supply chain disruptions22 and taxation to recover public infrastructure23. For instance, climate change endangers staple crop production in the main breadbasket countries that supply most of our caloric intake globally24, forcing market instabilities that only the wealthiest can cope with25. These missing non-local impacts make our estimates conservative.
By contrast, we do not capture how people adapt to extremes and thereby potentially reduce their exposure or vulnerability. For example, exposure to heatwaves can be reduced for population groups that can afford access to air conditioning18. However, maladaptive responses to climate extremes can instead create lock-ins of vulnerability and exposure1. Therefore, our lifetime exposure estimates omit beneficial adaptation outcomes as well as detrimental non-local and maladaptation effects. Finally, opting for a threshold below 99.99% would lower the bar and increase ULE estimates, and vice versa. Yet this effect is limited because the reference distribution is typically composed of small integers. By contrast, using thresholds above 99.99% risks redundancy in our bootstrapped data sample (Methods).
Some demographic realities are not accounted for here. Factors such as within-country migration, fertility and mortality respond in reality to the climate extremes considered here11. In the United States, where the population faces exposure to all extremes analysed in this study, city centres attract young people26 and disparities in life expectancy have been found across race–county combinations27 and rural–urban residency28. For instance, life expectancy is longer for those living in cities, yet here we apply country-average life expectancy and cohort size distribution uniformly within each country. Furthermore, we do not account for within-grid-cell heterogeneity, that is, we miss some fine-scale variations in socioeconomic vulnerability and exposure in socioeconomically diverse regions such as cities. Finally, we focus on the socioeconomic dimension of vulnerability, thereby neglecting that vulnerability to climate extremes may also vary with, for instance, age, gender or disability status. As demographic and multidimensional vulnerability information becomes available at ever higher spatial resolution and explicitly accounts for climate impact projections, it will become possible to deepen the analysis of the interaction between climate change and population dynamics.
The uncertainties of the extremes other than heatwaves are non-negligible. Hydrological variables have high internal climate variability29 and projecting these events requires an additional impact-modelling step relative to heatwaves, which are computed directly from global climate model output (Methods). Furthermore, these events have sensitivities to input data quality and process representation across the modelling chain (Supplementary Note 2). Other uncertainties, such as demographic representation, are not captured in this analysis. Finally, we opt for assessing ULE at the grid scale instead of at the country level. In doing so, we downscale demographic data instead of upscaling climate data, thereby projecting lifetime exposure based on the local climate of individual birth cohort members. This incurs a trade-off for accepting natural variability in locations at which ULE occurs, yet minimizing year-to-year variability in country- and global-scale CF estimates (Supplementary Note 3 and Supplementary Fig. 8).
In summary, we find that large fractions of global birth cohorts are projected to live unprecedented exposure to heatwaves, river floods, droughts, crop failures, wildfires and tropical cyclones. As the frequency of these six climate extremes increases with warming, so does the fraction of people who will face ULE to these events. More ambitious policies are needed to achieve the goal of the Paris Agreement of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C by 2100 relative to the 2.7 °C warming expected under current policies, especially as the most vulnerable groups have more members projected to face unprecedented exposure to heatwaves. Children would reap the direct benefits of this increased ambition: a total of 613 million children born between 2003 and 2020 would then avoid ULE to heatwaves. For crop failures, this is 98 million, for river floods 64 million, for tropical cyclones 76 million, for droughts 26 million and for wildfires 17 million. This underlines the urgent need for deep and sustained greenhouse gas emission reductions to safeguard the future of current young generations.
The Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP) provides a simulation protocol for projecting the impacts of climate change across sectors such as biomes, agriculture, lakes, water, fisheries, marine ecosystems and permafrost (www.isimip.org). In ISIMIP2b, impact models representing these sectors are run using atmospheric boundary conditions from a consistent set of bias-adjusted global climate models (GCMs) from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) that were selected based on their availability of daily data and ability to represent a range of climate sensitivities17; the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Earth System Model (GFDL-ESM2M; ref. 30), the earth system configuration of the Hadley Centre Global Environmental Model (HadGEM2-ES; ref. 31), the general circulation model from the Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace Coupled Model (IPSL-CM5A-LR; ref. 32) and the Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate (MIROC5; ref. 33). Impact simulations are run for pre-industrial control (286 ppm CO2; 1666–2099), historical (1861–2005) and future (2006–2099) periods. Future simulations are based on Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 2.6, 6.0 and 8.5 of GCM input datasets. Global projections of annual, grid-scale fractions of exposure to each extreme event category are calculated from ISIMIP2b impact simulations and GCM input data. For the full details of these computations, we refer to ref. 12, but we summarize extreme event definitions below.
For heatwaves, droughts, crop failures and river floods, we use localized pre-industrial thresholds to determine event occurrences, whereas for tropical cyclones, we use a single absolute threshold, and wildfires are modelled explicitly (Supplementary Table 20). Heatwaves affect an entire grid cell if the Heat Wave Magnitude Index daily (HWMId; refs. 34,35) of that year exceeds a threshold in the pre-industrial control HWMId distribution in that grid cell11. Although we refer to heatwaves throughout the paper, our definition technically refers to a 3-day extreme heat event that is expected on average once per century under pre-industrial climate conditions. These extreme heat events occur, by definition, everywhere across the world, but with different associated absolute temperature values. Previous analysis highlighted that intergenerational inequalities in lifetime heatwave exposure are robust across a range of heatwave definitions11. Crop failures are based on the sum of the area occupied by maize, wheat, soy or rice within a grid cell when their simulated yield falls below a threshold of their pre-industrial reference yield. Droughts, such as heatwaves, affect an entire grid cell if, for 7 months, monthly soil moisture remains below a threshold of pre-industrial soil moisture levels. Floods only correspond to river flooding, and the flooded area is derived from comparing daily discharge simulations from models of the global water sector to pre-industrial discharge. CaMa-Flood, a global river-routing model36, is used to convert these discharge values to flooded areas. Tropical cyclones occur if a grid cell sustains hurricane-force winds (≥64 knots) at least once a year37,38. Exposure to tropical cyclones does not encompass the flood hazards typically associated with tropical cyclones. Wildfires occur when the burnt area is simulated in a grid cell. Burnt area is either taken directly from annual burnt area calculations or as the annual sum of monthly burnt area in cases in which impact models simulate burnt area sub-annually, capped at 100% of a grid cell. We reiterate that all exposure definitions here neglect potential exposure reduction measures and non-local effects.
We subsequently quantify human exposure to climate extremes in a way that facilitates comparison and aggregation across extreme event categories. We consider all people in a grid cell exposed to a climate extreme in a particular year if the climate extreme occurs in that year. We thereby assume that if such a river flood or wildfire occurs somewhere in a 0.5° × 0.5° grid cell, this is sufficiently close to any person located in that grid cell to be considered affected by this extreme event. Using demographic data (see below), we subsequently convert this annual human exposure to lifetime exposure of birth cohorts by summing annual grid fractions of individual event categories across their lifetimes.
Demographic data for population totals, cohort sizes and life expectancy enable our projection of the CF experiencing ULE to these six extremes. Population totals at the grid scale come from the ISIMIP database (Fig. 2b; ref. 17) and originate from population estimates from v.3.2 of the History Database of the Global Environment (HYDE3.2; refs. 39,40) for the historical period (1860–2000) and population projections from middle-of-the-road Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP2; refs. 41,42) for the future period (2010–2100). We note that these datasets at present do not account for the impact of climate on population dynamics, for example, through changes in migration, fertility and mortality, although these feedbacks may substantially alter the demographic data. Cohort sizes from the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital43 provide estimates of country-level population totals every 5 years (between 1950 and 2100) for each 5-year age group (0- to 4-year-olds, 5- to 9-year-olds, and so on, until 95- to 99-year-olds and a final age group for those 100 years and older). Life expectancy data come from the United Nations World Population Prospects (UNWPP; ref. 44) and describe the life expectancy of 5-year-olds at the country level for 5-year blocks (1950–1955 to 2015–2020). In this dataset, life expectancy is reported for 5-year-olds to exclude biases from infant mortality. Countries that can be spatially resolved at the ISIMIP grid scale and have cohort and life expectancy estimates in these datasets meet the requirements of this study and total 177. We refer to the supplementary material of ref. 11 for a broader discussion of these datasets but explain our application of them in this analysis below.
All demographic datasets are modified to represent lifetimes annually, beginning from 1960 to 2020. Life expectancies for each country are first linearly interpolated to annual values by assuming that the values of the original 5-year groups are representative of the middle of that group. Furthermore, we add 5 years to annual life expectancies to capture the life expectancy of each cohort since birth, as the original data begin at age 5. As the maximum UNWPP life expectancy for people born in 2020 prescribes the final year in this analysis (2113), annual population totals must be extrapolated to reach this year. For population totals, we take each year beyond 2100 as the mean of the preceding 10 years of the dataset, such that population numbers for 2101 are the mean of 2091–2100. For cohort sizes in each country, we interpolate annual cohort sizes and age groups from the original 5-year age groups and divide age totals by 5 to maintain original population sizes in this dataset and linearly extrapolate these estimates to 2113. This provides the absolute numbers of 0- to 100-year-olds for each year across 1960–2113.
To downscale this demographic information to the grid scale, we assume spatially homogeneous cohort representation and life expectancy. Birth cohort size is represented as the number of people of age 0 of a given birth year in a given grid cell. This is estimated by multiplying the absolute population of the birth year (using the annual grid-scale population totals from ISIMIP) by the relative size of the age 0 cohort (using the interpolated 0- to 100-year-old population totals from the Wittgenstein Centre cohort data). Spatial variability in age structure and life expectancy within a country is therefore ignored in this study.
To project CF across different warming pathways by 2100, we construct a series of incrementally warming GMT pathways between 1960 and 2113 based on GMT trajectories taken from the AR6 Scenario Explorer45. The time series from the AR6 scenario explorer were chosen as anchor points for interpolation to produce a range of plausible GMT time series. Furthermore, they were selected to minimize overshooting in the early years of low GMT pathways over higher GMT pathways, which can skew lifetime exposure estimates for early birth cohorts (Supplementary Fig. 9). The upper bound of this subset was limited to 3.5 °C in favour of sampling more simulations for higher GMT projections, which we discuss further below. For the lower bound, 1.5 °C was chosen because it is a more realistic minimal warming scenario than 1.0 °C. Note that the 1.5 °C anchor scenario maximally reaches 1.57 °C before reducing to 1.5 °C by 2100. It is, therefore, referred to as 1.5 °C throughout this analysis. These warming levels are reported relative to pre-industrial temperatures from 1850 to 1900. This yields a total of 21 GMT pathways for which we project CF.
Our dataset of extreme event exposures represents occurrences of these extremes forced by GCM-modelled climates. These climates have unique GMT warming pathways that depend on their radiative forcing scenario (historical or RCP), as prescribed by the ISIMIP2b modelling protocol. To project these exposure maps along even intervals of warming scenarios, which the original simulations do not provide, we use the 21 GMT pathways described above. For each pairing of the 21 target GMT pathways and the concatenated historical and future exposure projections, we sample exposures by matching the GMT warming levels of the exposure series to the years of the target GMT pathways (Supplementary Figs. 9 and 10). The GMT warming levels behind the exposure projections are first smoothed with a 21-year rolling mean before GMT mapping is undertaken. In cases in which our constructed GMT pathways exceed the GMT warming levels of GCM simulations by too much, this mapping erroneously resamples the year of exposures corresponding to the maximum warming level of their forcing GCM. To this end, we implement a constraint in this sampling procedure such that GMT-mapped series are only used if the maximum difference across all GMT pairs is no larger than 0.2 °C. This constraint incrementally reduces ensemble sizes of exposure projections for higher GMT pathways (Supplementary Table 19).
Estimating lifetime exposure to extreme events requires crossing life expectancy data at the country level with grid-scale exposure projections. For each GMT trajectory (1.5–3.5 °C, 0.1 °C intervals), birth year (1960–2020) and country (177), exposures are summed across lifetimes at the grid scale. This assumes life expectancy to be spatially homogeneous across each country. Exposure during the death years is also included in this sum by multiplying these exposure projections by the fraction of the final year lived. This produces country-wide maps of lifetime exposure at the grid scale for each GMT trajectory and birth year in this analysis.
To generate a baseline distribution of lifetime exposure in a world without climate change, large samples of pre-industrial lifetime exposures are bootstrapped assuming 1960 life expectancy in each country. Here, for each exposure projection originating from a simulation under a pre-industrial climate, 10,000 lifetime exposures are estimated by resampling exposure years with replacement. Depending on ISIMIP2b data availability, pre-industrial exposure projections have a length of 239–639 years per simulation from which to resample from11. This process generates 40,000–310,000 country-wide maps of lifetime exposure, depending on the extreme event considered and its underlying data availability, enabling exposure projections in a pre-industrial climate. Using the pre-industrial period as a baseline enables (1) our GMT mapping procedure; (2) bootstrapping a stationary time series to achieve a large reference dataset; and (3) the production of a reference dataset with information that is independent of the projections forming our ULE estimates.
We define an emergence threshold for ULE to extreme events as the 99.99th percentile of our grid-scale samples of pre-industrial lifetime exposure. When it comes to the selection of this percentile, we went as extreme as possible given the bootstrapping of the pre-industrial control runs. This choice was based on a sensitivity analysis for different percentile values that showed a levelling off of lifetime exposure for percentiles more extreme than 99.99%. This indicated that the 99.99th percentile achieves the limit of reliable information that can be extracted from the empirical distribution. For each extreme event, birth year, GMT pathway and grid cell, we assess if lifetime exposure emerges or passes this threshold of extreme exposure in a pre-industrial climate. If this threshold is passed, we consider the whole birth cohort in this grid cell to have emerged, tallying its size among a global pool of the same birth cohort and GMT trajectory of people projected to live ULE. This means that, in some locations, even if the sum of exposed grid cell fractions across a pre-industrial lifetime does not cover the entire grid cell, we still extract the entire birth cohort size associated with that grid cell. We sum the number of emerged people in each birth cohort globally, although this birth cohort has a different life expectancy in each country. Once the number of people who have emerged globally is tallied, we divide this by the respective total cohort sizes to estimate CF per birth cohort. Note that ULE, therefore, does not refer to unprecedented in terms of the magnitude of assets or people exposed, but rather in terms of the number of events accumulated across an average person's lifespan in comparison with what they would face in a pre-industrial climate.
We use two grid-scale indicators of vulnerability to compare with our estimates of ULE to heat waves. The first is an ISIMIP2b GDP input dataset using concatenated historical and SSP2 time series covering 1860–2099 annually17. This dataset was disaggregated from the country to grid level using spatial and socioeconomic interactions among cities, land cover and road network information and SSP-prescribed estimates of rural and urban expansion46. The second indicator is the Global Gridded Relative Deprivation Index v.1 (GRDI; ref. 16), which communicates relative levels of multidimensional deprivation and poverty (0–100, least to most deprived). This deprivation score uses six input components. First is the child dependency ratio, which is the ratio between the population of children and the working-age population (15–64 years). This can indicate vulnerability, for which high ratios indicate a dependency of supposed consumers and non-producers on the working-age (producing) population47. Second, infant mortality rates (IMR), taken as the deaths in children younger than 1 year of age per 1,000 live births annually, are a signal of population health and form a long-term Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations48. Third, the Subnational Human Development Index (SHDI), an assessment of human well-being across education, health and standard of living, originates from the Human Development Index, the latter of which is considered one of the most popular indices to assess country-level well-being. The SHDI improves on the HDI in terms of spatial scale and in representing 161 countries across all world regions and development levels49. Fourth, as rural populations are generally prone to multidimensional poverty50, low values in the ratio of built-up to non-built-up area (BUILT) signal high deprivation. The fifth and sixth components use the mean (of 2020; VNL 2020) and slope (2012–2020; VNL Slope) of nighttime light intensity, a proxy for human activity, economic output and infrastructure development51, to indicate deprivation for areas of low nighttime light intensity. These input components range from 30 arc seconds (roughly 1 km) resolution to subnational regions and are harmonized in an ArcGIS Fishnet feature class for aggregation onto a 0–100 range representing low to high deprivation. For the final aggregation, the IMR and SHDI components are given half the weight of the rest of the inputs, given their coarser resolution. The GRDI, therefore, encapsulates multiple dimensions through which generations face deprivation and therewith socioeconomic vulnerability to climate extremes. Although our approach does not explicitly account for actual or potential adaptation to climate change, this multidimensional approach to vulnerability provides relevant information on the current adaptation potential of local populations.
We preprocess GDP and GRDI products to enable their comparison with our ULE estimates across birth years. For GDP, similar to other datasets in our analysis, we extend the series to 2113 to accommodate the longest life expectancy of the 2020 birth cohort by copying the final year of the original dataset. We then use our ISIMIP population totals to compute GDP per capita at the grid scale. Using the GDP per capita metric, we calculate lifetime mean GDP per capita using our life expectancy information for the 1960–2020 birth cohorts. We refer to lifetime mean GDP per capita as simply GDP. For GRDI, we conservatively regrid the original grid cells of about 1 km to the 0.5° ISIMIP grid. Although GRDI is a map composed of data spanning 2010–2020, we assume this to be representative of 2020, but nonetheless compare it with the 1960–2020 birth cohort range, similar to the rest of the analysis.
We then identify 20% quantile ranges (that is, (0–20], (20–40], … (80–100]) for the lifetime GDP of each birth year and for the singular GRDI map (assumed to align with 2020 population totals). To this end, we rank the vulnerability indicators and apply these ranks to our birth cohort totals on the same grid and for the matching year. For example, the ranks taken from the lifetime mean GDP of the 2020 birth cohort are aligned with the population totals of newborns in 2020. Finally, we bin the ranked vulnerability indicators by their associated population totals into five groups of nearly equal population (as it is not possible to achieve perfect bin sizes given the sums of grid-scale population totals). This groups the richest and poorest and least and most deprived into the aforementioned quantile ranges. The quantile range of each vulnerability indicator is then a map that can be used to mask the existing locations of ULE, such as birth years and all GMT pathways. With GRDI (Supplementary Fig. 11) and GDP (Supplementary Fig. 12), we compare the lowest and the highest 20% of each indicator by population.
The data for this analysis originate from multiple sources and are hereby listed. Model inputs, raw impact model simulations and post-processed extremes (the latter as Derived Output Data) from ISIMIP2b, as well as GDP data, are accessible at the ISIMIP repository here (https://data.isimip.org). Cohort sizes are taken from the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital (https://dataexplorer.wittgensteincentre.org/wcde-v2). Life expectancy data come from the UN demographics data portal (https://population.un.org/dataportal/home?df=10750103-f8fa-4a7e-bb6a-b0f151970005). Global mean temperatures are extracted from the AR6 scenario explorer45 (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7197970). GRDI is hosted on the NASA EARTHDATA platform (https://doi.org/10.7927/3xxe-ap97). Maps in this analysis contain base map information made with Natural Earth (naturalearthdata.com).
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We acknowledge the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) for their coordination of ISIMIP and the modellers contributing runs to ISIMIP2b. We thank M. Andrijevic, C.-F. Schleussner and E. Byers for their discussions regarding this paper. W.T. acknowledges funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the Horizon Framework research and innovation programme of the European Union (grant agreement no. 101076909; ERC Consolidator Grant LACRIMA). We acknowledge further funding from the European Union under the grant agreement no. 101081369 (SPARCCLE). The computational resources and services used in this work were provided by the VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center), funded by the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) and the Flemish Government, department EWI. This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust 309498/Z/24/Z.
Department of Water and Climate, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
Luke Grant, Inne Vanderkelen & Wim Thiery
Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Luke Grant
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Inne Vanderkelen
Royal Meteorological Institute Belgium, Brussels, Belgium
Inne Vanderkelen
Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Lukas Gudmundsson, Erich Fischer & Sonia I. Seneviratne
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L. Grant helped to conceive this study, performed the analysis and wrote the paper. W.T. helped to conceive the study and write the paper. I.V. helped with coding parts of this analysis and writing the paper. L. Gudmundsson, E.F. and S.I.S. helped generate ideas for the analysis and curate the paper.
Correspondence to
Luke Grant.
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Grant, L., Vanderkelen, I., Gudmundsson, L. et al. Global emergence of unprecedented lifetime exposure to climate extremes.
Nature 641, 374–379 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08907-1
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Including some huge feet.
A team of German archaeologists recently uncovered an ancient statue sanctuary in Cyprus dedicated to Apollo. Known as Frangissa (due to its location in the remote Frangissa Valley), the site was originally discovered in 1885 but was subsequently covered in sand and lost once again. The archaeologists on this team not only rediscovered the Frangissa site, but excavated it, exposing the walls of the dedication courtyard and over 100 statue bases.
The site features hundreds of statutes—some shockingly large—and the remnants of some of those have been found for the first time, according to a translated statement from the Cyprus Department of Antiquities and the Deputy Ministry of Culture. The team also recovered statue fragments not cataloged in the 1880s, some of which will help complete partial statues taken from the site and displayed in the Cyprus Museum and the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, restoring those statues to their original design.
Additionally, the team found entirely new types of statutes previously unknown to have existed in Frangissa. “The discovery of clearly larger-than-life feet, for example, means that the existence of colossal male limestone figures from archaic times can now be proven,” according to the statement. “Such larger-than-life figures were previously only known here in Frangissa made from terracotta, including the famous ‘Colossus of Tamassos' in the Cyprus Museum exhibition.”
The site also contained marbled glass beads and Egyptian amulets made of faience—materials that show cultural exchanges. “A preliminary evaluation of the finds showed that the area had been in use since the Iron Age and was used throughout the archaic, the classics, and Hellenism,” according to a statement from the University of Frankfurt.
The inscriptions on the bases of two statues help tell that story. One features local Cypro-Syllabic characters, while the other refers to the Ptolemies—the Hellenistic rulers of Egypt who also controlled Cyprus at one time—in Greek. The inscriptions show that the sanctuary was not only popular during the seventh and sixth centuries B.C., but through the end of the royal period.
“In fact,” the Cyprus statement said, “the place of worship even underwent an explicit expansion phase during this time, which can be seen in the architecture.” During the expansion, a peristyle courtyard—likely used for banquets—was built next to the votive offering room, highlighting how the site evolved to serve as both a religious and social center.
Other marquis finds in the sanctuary include small chariots, horsemen, and warrior figures made of terracotta, as well as large-format hollow terracottas that could be as big as life-size. Limestone statues also feature horses and riders on horses.
While the larger pieces were captured by German researcher Max Ohnefalsch-Richter in 1885—and have ended up in museums in Canada, the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, Cyprus, and possibly even Russia—numerous fragments of limestone figures and large-format terracottas were left behind.
“It was a surprising realization that not only the pedestals for votive statues were found in the 19th-century backfill, but also vast quantities of statue fragments themselves,” according to the Cyprus statement. “Apparently, in 1885, in the rush to find impressive discoveries, they were not recognized as artifacts.”
Luckily, today, we see them for the treasures they are.
Tim Newcomb is a journalist based in the Pacific Northwest. He covers stadiums, sneakers, gear, infrastructure, and more for a variety of publications, including Popular Mechanics. His favorite interviews have included sit-downs with Roger Federer in Switzerland, Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, and Tinker Hatfield in Portland.
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May 7, 2025
4 min read
Blood of Man Who's Had 200 Snakebites Helps Make a Potent Antivenom
A new snakebite treatment combines an existing drug with antibodies from a hyperimmune reptile collector, raising both hopes and ethical concerns
By Katherine Bourzac & Nature magazine
A cocktail containing antibodies and an enzyme inhibitor protects mice against the venom of the king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah).
GlobalP/Getty Images
Scientists have made a potent antivenom using antibodies from a man who has been bitten hundreds of times by venomous snakes. The therapy protects mice against the venoms of 19 species of deadly snake, including the king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah).
The antivenom combines the existing drug varespladib with antibodies that are copies of those in the blood of Tim Friede, a US snake collector who has given himself more than 600 doses of venom to build up his immunity. He has also been bitten roughly 200 times by venomous snakes. The antivenom is reported today in a paper in Cell.
Scientists say that the research could lead to direly needed treatments, but that its reliance on material from a person who performed dangerous experiments on himself makes it ethically murky. The paper's authors say they played no part in Friede's self-exposure to venom. “We did not advise Friede to do this and no one else needs to do this again — we have all the molecules we need,” says co-author Jacob Glanville, chief executive of biomedical firm Centivax in South San Francisco, California. “Snake venom is dangerous,” he adds, and he cautions people not to follow Friede's example.
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Current antivenoms are made by injecting horses and other animals with snake venom and then gathering the resulting antibodies. Each antivenom protects against the venom of at most a few species.
“Considering the advanced technologies available in immunology today, it is unacceptable to continue relying on these outdated methods for treating snake bites,” says Kartik Sunagar, a biologist who develops antivenoms at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru.
The paper's authors sought to make an antivenom that would protect against a wide range of the world's 600-plus venomous snake species. As a start, the team focused on the Elapidae family, which includes nearly half of those species. Elapid venom contains peptides called short-chain neurotoxins (SNX) and long-chain neurotoxins (LNX). Both types of peptide bind to the same receptors on nerve cells, impairing communication between neurons and potentially causing muscle paralysis and respiratory failure.
Glanville and his co-author Peter Kwong, a biochemist at Columbia University in New York City, had read news coverage about Friede, who took careful notes about his venom exposure. After receiving approval from an ethics review board, getting informed consent from Friede, and supplying him with documents about the dangers of snake venom, the team collected two vials of Friede's blood. They isolated antibodies from it and tested them against a panel of toxins from elapid snakes. Antibodies that bound to the toxins were then tested in mice that had been dosed with snake venom. Seeking to add protection against even more species, the researchers tested a third element: varespladib, which inhibits a snake-venom enzyme that breaks down muscle and nerve tissue.
Antibodies from snake collector Tim Friede, here with a water cobra (Hydrodynastes gigas), have been used to make a broad-spectrum antivenom.
Centivax
They found that a cocktail made up of varespladib and two antibodies from Friede allowed mice to survive otherwise lethal doses of venom from any one of 19 species of dangerous elapid snakes. One of the antibodies binds to a molecular feature shared by toxins in the LNX family. The other binds to a feature shared by toxins in the SNX family.
Glanville says that exact copies of human antibodies could pose less risk of adverse reactions than those based on animal antibodies and broad-spectrum synthetic antibodies designed with computational approaches.
Sunagar and other scientists expressed concerns about the ethics of this research, because of the risks Friede took. But he also says that the study is well executed, and shows that combinations of small-molecule drugs such as varespladib and monoclonal antibodies — copies of human antibodies — hold promise. However, it's not clear whether these antibodies can be produced at an industrial scale for an affordable price, he says.
Jean-Philippe Chippaux, a specialist in venomous-snake bites and an emeritus researcher at the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development in Paris, says that the main challenge in addressing snake bite is not the efficacy of the treatments, but the fact that they are often administered too late. “We need to think about ways to bring antivenoms closer to the areas where venomous snake bites occur and to convince patients to come to the hospital more quickly,” he says. “There is no reason to believe that the new generation of broad-spectrum antibodies will achieve these results.”
Glanville says he is thinking about ways to make these therapies more portable and affordable. He also says it's important to provide proof that the cocktail works in the real world before initiating any human trials.
Centivax is planning to test the experimental cocktail in dogs bitten by snakes in Australia. Dogs will first be given the experimental treatment; if it doesn't work after a few minutes, they will receive conventional antivenom.
This article is reproduced with permission and was first published on May 2, 2025.
Katherine Bourzac is a journalist based in San Francisco, who covers environment, climate, chemistry, health and computing for Nature, Science News, and other publications.
First published in 1869, Nature is the world's leading multidisciplinary science journal. Nature publishes the finest peer-reviewed research that drives ground-breaking discovery, and is read by thought-leaders and decision-makers around the world.
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We are living longer and longer with no end in sight.
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From iconic songs by Queen and Alphaville to Isaac Asimov's radical sci-fi vision of the essence of life eternally encoded into computers, immortality has been a human desire that has persisted since the first deathless gods emerged thousands and thousands of years ago. Could we really live forever if there was no physical or biological force to strike us down?
The omnipresence of that questions explains why humans have a history of trying anything to defy the finality of death. Ancient Egyptians mummified their dead because of the belief that the deceased would need their bodies in the endless fertile fields and gilded palaces of the afterlife. Adaptogen beverages brewed from mushrooms have become the newest New-Age immortality tonic. Walt Disney had himself cryogenically frozen (well, this one may be a stretch).
But so far nothing has worked, and according to many experts, nothing ever will. Several studies have hypothesized a hard limit to the human lifespan. But recently, researchers Lucio Vincius and Andrea Migliano from the University of Zurich have argued against that—they do not see the lifespan of our species plateauing just yet.
While there has yet to be evidence of any human being making it past the age of 122 (a record still held by French supercentenarian Jeanne Calment), Vincius and Migliano have set out to disprove the claim of a hard limit on human life expectancy suggested in a 2024 study led by epidemiologist S. Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois. Olshansky acknowledges that advances in medicine and public health have steadily increased the human life expectancy over time, but at least in the world's wealthiest (and longest-lived) nations, increases have slowed down drastically in the past 30 years. What these findings don't take into account, however, is the rest of the global population.
“Both female and male lifespans continue to linearly increase at a global scale,” Vinicius and Migliano said their study, which is in the process of being peer-reviewed and has been uploaded as a preprint to the server bioRxiv. “This remarkably long trend observed since 1840 remains at odds with our expectation that human lifespans must at some point hit a biologically imposed ceiling.”
Even with life expectancy rising by fewer years per decade, the researchers have found nothing in the data that conclusively proves the trend has hit a ceiling. In fact, they caution that previous claims of such a ceiling are only premature predictions. Now, Olshansky and his colleagues are doubtful that any more than 15% of females and 5% of males will reach their hundredth birthday, and stated “radical human life extension is implausible.” However, these findings are limited to ten countries in which the rise in life expectancy has slowed down, presumably with an end in sight. (This is also not a new assumption—humanity was thought to have approached its upper limit to life expectancy as far back as 1990.)
Referring to the Human Mortality Database—whose longevity data covers 41 countries—what Vinicius and Migliano see is a continuation in the improvement of life expectancy on a global scale. Male lifespans have increased by an average of 2.03 years per decade since 1840, and female lifespans increased by 2.31 years per decade in that same time frame. Between 2000 and 2020, male lifespans have increased by 1.96 years per decade for males and 1.45 years per decade for females, neither of which is that far off from previous decades. Men are catching up to women, and countries with lower life expectancies are catching up to those with higher life expectancies.
Whether lifespans in those countries will reach (or even exceed) what was studied by Olshansky remains unknown. If there is a longevity ceiling, nobody has hit it yet.
So, as far as we know, we are living longer and longer. Figuring out just how long we could live could take centuries, millennia or just a few decades. There is a proposed limit, but even that is hypothetical. The end is not (yet) in sight.
Elizabeth Rayne is a creature who writes. Her work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Ars Technica, SYFY WIRE, Space.com, Live Science, Den of Geek, Forbidden Futures and Collective Tales. She lurks right outside New York City with her parrot, Lestat. When not writing, she can be found drawing, playing the piano or shapeshifting.
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Local farmers had been digging up hoards of treasure just these have been for centuries.
Whether people buried their wealth as ritual offerings to the gods or to hide it from greedy leaders, the ancient hoards they left behind are extremely valuable to modern-day scientists. Using metal detectors and LiDAR surveys, one archaeological team recently found over 300 artifacts from at least six different hoards in Hungary, including weapons, amber beads, and tusks of domestic boars. Researchers published their findings in the journal Antiquity.
The excavations took place at Somló—a wine region in western Hungary located mostly on the slopes of an extinct volcano—and were part of a larger research project by the National Institute of Archaeology of the Hungarian National Museum Public Collection Centre.
Researchers determined that the hoards date back to between the Late Bronze Age (1450–800 B.C.) and Early Iron Age (800–450 B.C.). The transition between these periods is marked by the fall of several prominent Bronze Age civilizations and, as the name suggests, a shift to iron and steel tools. One notable find at the site is an elaborate Alpine-style spearhead, but archeologists also discovered fabric and leather remains buried in the area, along with countless other objects associated with bronze working.
Though the study is impressive, it's far from the first time relics have been discovered in the area. Modern-day Somló is known for its wine production, and in the 19th century, local farmers began accidentally unearthing artifacts on the hilltop. Unfortunately—as Bence Soós, first author of the study, told Live Science—there was no formal documentation tracking where the farmers found the hoards. However, researchers do know that the farmers discovered artifacts like jewelry, weapons, and bronze vessels.
According to the paper, the “[s]ix new hoards present the unparalleled opportunity to study hoarding traditions and depositional practices, and to evaluate the changing roles and functions of the hilltop site.”
Researchers concluded that the hoarding practices in the area were “intentional and complex,” and the evidence from the new hoards will be combined with older discoveries to provide a more thorough understanding of the region. In the future, the team seeks to date the hoards and the inhabitants that buried them more precisely.
According to the paper, one of the six hoards—known as “Hoard V”—will be particularly useful in this effort.
“Hoard V is probably the most recent of the Late Bronze Age depositions so far identified on the hill,” the paper reads. As a result, “radiocarbon dating of zooarchaeological material associated with this hoard [...] could provide clearer chronological understanding of the transitional period between the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age at the site.”
Emma Frederickson is a Pace University student by day, journalist by night. She enjoys covering anything from pop culture to science to food. Her work appears in several publications including Biography.com and Popular Mechanics. When she's not writing, Emma can be found hopping between coffee shops on the hunt for the world's best oat milk cappuccino.
Archaeologists Re-Discovered Ancient Lost Statues
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May 7, 2025
3 min read
The Pyrotechnic Chemistry of the Vatican's Pope Smoke Signals Explained
Pyrotechnic chemistry drives the Vatican's recipes for the black and white smoke used to announce papal election outcomes
By Meghan Bartels edited by Clara Moskowitz
Black smoke billows from the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel indicating that the College of Cardinals have failed to elect a new Pope on March 13, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
The Vatican's cardinals gather in conclave today to begin electing the successor to the late Pope Francis—which means the world's attention is on a chimney attached to the Sistine Chapel. Here puffs of black smoke mark voting rounds that fail to converge on a winner until the cardinals announce that they have come to an agreement by releasing a plume of white smoke, the dramatic prelude to the unveiling of the new leader of the Roman Catholic world.
Although the ritual may feel like something from another era, the papal conclave's colored smoke signals only came into use in 1903, according to NBC News—a relatively recent development for a process that's been going on for nearly a millennium. Historically, the signals have sometimes been ambiguous, but for recent elections, the Vatican has clearly consulted with scientific experts to ensure the Sistine Chapel's chimney announces a clear verdict. Around the time of the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis, the Vatican published the ingredients of each smoke mix. (The Holy See Press Office did not respond to requests for confirmation that the same recipes remain in use this year.) Here's the chemistry behind the conclave's smoke announcements.
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For chemists, “where there's smoke, there's fire” refers to combustion. In combustion reactions, a fuel reacts with an oxygen-rich substance called an oxidizer, creating waste products that often include water and carbon dioxide.
But the Vatican's focus is the smoke, rather than the combustion that creates it. Smoke is made up of small particles suspended in air, says John Steinberg, a pyrotechnics expert. The smoke's color is dictated by the particle color, which means white and black colored smoke result from waste products other than carbon dioxide, which is colorless. “You don't want complete combustion because if we burn carbon completely, we get carbon dioxide,” he says.
The solution, Steinberg explains, is to stop the reaction before the fuel is fully burned—a goal that can be accomplished by designing a reaction with more fuel than oxidizer and by lowering the temperature at which it occurs. These principles underlie both smokes produced by the Vatican conclave.
When a round of voting is inconclusive, the conclave sends black smoke up through the chimney. Here the pyrotechnics at play are straightforward because black particles are simple to create—they result from most types of organic fuels. “Black smoke is the easiest” to make, Steinberg says.
The 2013 recipe for black smoke consists of a mix of potassium perchlorate, anthracene and sulfur. In this reaction, potassium perchlorate is the oxygen-rich oxidizer, a role it frequently serves in fireworks because it is fairly safe and easily gives up its oxygen; anthracene is the fuel. But anthracene is relatively difficult to burn, Steinberg explains—hence the addition of a little sulfur. The sulfur melts at a low temperature, allowing the potassium perchlorate and anthracene to mix more thoroughly; sulfur also burns easily, encouraging the mixture to combust.
White smoke from the roof of the Sistine Chapel indicating the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Roman Pontiff with the name of Pope Francis I in Vatican City on March 13, 2013.
Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images
Chemically speaking, white smoke is more challenging, Steinberg says. Some sources of white particles, such as zinc chloride or ammonium chloride, can be strongly irritating—which the Vatican seems to have wanted to avoid. Instead the 2013 recipe calls for potassium chlorate, the common sugar lactose and a type of pine resin sometimes known as Greek pitch.
The first two ingredients are a common pair, Steinberg says: “Any pyrotechnician knows that if you want smoke, you start with potassium chlorate and sugar.” Potassium chlorate includes one fewer atom of oxygen per molecule than the potassium perchlorate used in black smoke and is an even stronger oxidizer—so strong it's dangerous to use with combustion-prone sulfur. The powerful oxidizer is required in this case, however, because neither sugar nor pine resin are particularly eager to burn, Steinberg says.
It's the pine resin that lends the papal smoke its white hue. Pine resin is relatively rich in water and long chains of oxygen-containing hydrocarbons called carboxylic acids. Together the water and carboxylic acids ensure the combustion produces an artificial cloud of water vapor to herald the new pope. “That's basically what this smoke is,” Steinberg says. “It's a dense fog of water droplets.”
Meghan Bartels is a science journalist based in New York City. She joined Scientific American in 2023 and is now a senior news reporter there. Previously, she spent more than four years as a writer and editor at Space.com, as well as nearly a year as a science reporter at Newsweek, where she focused on space and Earth science. Her writing has also appeared in Audubon, Nautilus, Astronomy and Smithsonian, among other publications. She attended Georgetown University and earned a master's degree in journalism at New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program.
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© 2025 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, A DIVISION OF SPRINGER NATURE AMERICA, INC.ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
May 7, 2025
4 min read
Prepare for ‘Sex, Drugs and Zombies'—Brood XIV Cicadas Are Coming
As 17-year cicadas emerge this spring, a zombifying fungus is waiting for them
By Mindy Weisberger edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier
A periodical cicada—victim of a zombifying fungus—shows a plug of yellow spores where its abdomen used to be.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
As spring warms the eastern U.S. and green shoots peek from the ground, other forms of life stir in the soil. Periodical 17-year cicadas in Brood XIV—one of 15 broods found only in North America—begin to creep from their underground burrows. Last seen in 2008, they will emerge in the billions across a dozen states from early May through June.
Above ground, flightless cicada nymphs transform into black-bodied, winged adults, ready for a month-long bacchanal of song and sex. But for many cicadas—possibly tens of millions—mating will be a gruesome parody of procreation in which their body is turned into a disintegrating puppet by the deadly fungus Massospora cicadina, which only infects 13-year and 17-year cicadas.
An infected insect will try to mate even though its genitals have been consumed by the fungus and replaced by a plug of fungal structures called conidiospores, which spread their “zombification” effect on contact. M. cicadina makes male cicadas flick their wings like amorous females do; healthy males become infected when they try to mate with the imposters. The fungus also floods cicadas with cathinone, a stimulant that also occurs in khat, a plant chewed as a recreational drug in some parts of the world. In cicadas, cathinone may boost hypersexualized behavior.
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“It's sex, drugs and zombies,” says John Cooley, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Connecticut. “Nature is stranger than any science fiction that's ever been written.”
Massospora cicadina-infected 13-year cicadas (Magicicada tredecassini) collected in Nashville, Tennessee in spring 2024.
Matt Kasson
Fungus and cicada, zombifier and zombie: their relationship is at least 100 million years old, and scientists are still piecing together how it works, says Matt Kasson, a mycologist at West Virginia University. Every brood emergence helps address questions that can't be answered in a lab, such as when the fungus invades nymphs' bodies.
“When you're dealing with something that spends 16.9 years underground, there's a lot of uncertainty there,” Kasson says.
When M. cicadina infects adults, it produces durable, thick-walled “resting spores” that drop from its host's crumbling abdomen onto the ground. Resting spores infect other nymphs, which, after metamorphosis, develop their own plug of stalklike conidiospores—the spores that sexually transmit the fungus to other adults. But scientists don't know if resting spores infect nymphs after they hatch or when they surface more than a decade later.
In fact, the fungus may have more than these two spore types; they can possibly produce others that kill nymphs underground, Kasson says. Researchers recently found that M. cicadina has the largest genome in the fungus kingdom, meaning that certain aspects of its biology—such as its reproductive cycle—could be quite complex. The only other fungi with a comparable genome size are rust fungi: plant pathogens with up to five life cycle stages. Given that rust fungi and M. cicadina both have unusually large genomes, M. cicadina might share other features with rust fungi, such as multiple spore varieties, Kasson suggests.
Verified historic sightings of Brood XIV.
Daniel P. Huffman and John Cooley
According to Cooley, periodical cicadas' unusually long nymph stage has led to a lack of specialized predators of these insects, with one exception: M. cicadina. “It's not surprising that the thing that would crack the cicada life cycle is a fungus that can have resting stages, so it can just wait out until the appropriate time,” he says.
Because M. cicadina prevents its hosts from reproducing, the fungus may also affect cicada populations and brood distribution; that relationship, Cooley adds, is another piece of the periodical cicada puzzle.
For Cooley, periodical cicadas offer a window into species distribution and how populations shift over time. Despite their lengthy underground stage, periodical cicadas are nonetheless good research subjects because adults are abundant and easy to find.
“They're loud; they're obvious; they tell you exactly where they are,” Cooley says. “They turn out to be one of the world's best study organisms for asking really big evolutionary questions about species and speciation.”
Over time, climate change and human activity have reshaped the cicadas' habitats: populations wax and wane, and some broods vanish entirely. Brood XIV will include three periodical cicada species: Magicicada cassini, Magicicada septendecim and Magicicada septendecula. Their emergence will show how the species and populations interact and identify potential mates of their own kind.
“What I'm going after directly is the question of range change,” Cooley says. “I'm also looking for overlaps between this and other broods.” Within the broods, patterns of waxing and waning zombie infections can reveal how cicada populations change over time.
Brood XIV cicadas will be most abundant in Kentucky and Tennessee, with smaller populations as far south as northern Georgia and as far north as Massachusetts. Places with more cicadas will almost certainly have more zombies, says entomologist Chris Alice Kratzer, author and illustrator of the field guide The Cicadas of North America.
“I would expect to see a lot more Massospora in Kentucky and Tennessee this year than in some places like Pennsylvania or Massachusetts,” Kratzer says.
Based on prior records from the crowdsourcing app iNaturalist for other broods, Kasson predicts that approximately two to four percent of Brood XIV will be zombified. For people who want to contribute to M. cicadina research, “uploading photos to community science platforms like iNaturalist is really essential for scientists like myself to figure out where the fungus is and is not,” he says.
Kratzer, who has previously confirmed sightings of cicadas and M. cicadina for iNaturalist, is also verifying Brood XIV sightings for the platform. When someone posts a sighting of a cicada with a Massospora infection, Kratzer encourages the observer to create entries for both the cicada and the fungus. “It's a very exciting part of science to be in because anyone with a camera or a microphone can contribute.”
If cicada-spotters are patient, they could pinpoint a zombie or two. But even if they don't find any, the sheer number of periodical cicadas is impressive to behold. With predictions of as many as 1.5 million insects per square acre in some places, this year's Brood XIV emergence will be a sight that observers won't soon forget.
“Everybody loves a spectacle,” Cooley says. “And if these aren't a spectacle, I don't know what is.”
Mindy Weisberger is a science writer covering biology, paleontology, climate change and space. She studied film at Columbia University and produced, wrote and directed media for the American Museum of Natural History for more than a decade, creating videos about dinosaurs, astrophysics, biodiversity and evolution that have appeared in museums and science centers worldwide. Her book Rise of the Zombie Bugs: The Surprising Science of Parasitic Mind-Control will be published in the spring of 2025 by Hopkins Press.
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© 2025 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, A DIVISION OF SPRINGER NATURE AMERICA, INC.ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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Climate injustice persists as those least responsible often bear the greatest impacts, both between and within countries. Here we show how GHG emissions from consumption and investments attributable to the wealthiest population groups have disproportionately influenced present-day climate change. We link emissions inequality over the period 1990–2020 to regional climate extremes using an emulator-based framework. We find that two-thirds (one-fifth) of warming is attributable to the wealthiest 10% (1%), meaning that individual contributions are 6.5 (20) times the average per capita contribution. For extreme events, the top 10% (1%) contributed 7 (26) times the average to increases in monthly 1-in-100-year heat extremes globally and 6 (17) times more to Amazon droughts. Emissions from the wealthiest 10% in the United States and China led to a two- to threefold increase in heat extremes across vulnerable regions. Quantifying the link between wealth disparities and climate impacts can assist in the discourse on climate equity and justice.
Over the past two decades, extreme events attributable to climate change resulted in an annual average of US$143 billion in damages1. How these costs could and should be covered—both between and within countries—is a matter of debate2. Central to this debate is the stark disparity between those responsible for emissions and those affected by their impacts. The wealthiest 10% of the global population accounted for nearly half of global emissions in 2019 through private consumption and investments, whereas the poorest 50% accounted for only one-tenth of global emissions3. At the same time, regions with low historic emissions and income levels are typically more frequently and severely exposed to climate impacts4,5 and have limited resources for adaptation6. This cause-and-effect injustice is widely acknowledged7, yet a quantification of how emissions inequality translates into unequal accountability for the resulting global temperature levels and extreme climate events is missing. This translation should account for the individual warming contributions of emissions of non-CO2 GHGs, such as methane (CH4), given their major role in recent warming8.
In this study we combine wealth-based carbon inequality assessments3 with an emulator-based climate modelling framework9 to systematically attribute changes in global mean temperature (GMT) levels and grid-cell-level climate extremes to emissions from different wealth groups. We use the Model for the Assessment of the Greenhouse Gas Induced Climate Change (MAGICC)10, a simple climate model, in conjunction with the Modular Earth System Model Emulator for Monthly Temperature and Precipitation (MESMER-M-TP)11, a model that is able to generate large ensembles of spatially explicit monthly temperature and precipitation data that closely resemble those of complex Earth system models at a fraction of the cost.
We use attribution science frameworks to link human-induced GHG emissions to changes in the modelled frequency and intensity of extremes12. These frameworks were originally developed to attribute changes in total human emissions13,14. Today, they are increasingly applied for source attribution; that is, to quantify the relative contributions of individual emitter groups, such as companies or countries15,16. When attributing impacts among multiple emitters, various approaches exist and serve distinct purposes17,18. Here we assess the changes in the characteristics of monthly extremes but for the emissions attributable to a specific emitter group15,18.
We generate counterfactual emission pathways by subtracting the 1990–2019 emissions of specific emitter groups, namely the wealthiest 10%, 1% and 0.1% globally, as well as in the United States, EU27, India and China (Fig. 1b). Emissions data are drawn from ref. 3 and include emissions from domestic consumption, public and private investments and trade. These emissions are attributed primarily to consumers, except emissions from capital formation in production sectors, which are attributed to firm owners3. Emissions are reported as a basket of GHGs with warming expressed in CO2 equivalents. We convert these counterfactual pathways into GMT levels and gridded climatic variables (Fig. 1a), allowing us to compare the 2020 climate against the hypothetical 2020 climate state that we would observe if these groups had not emitted. Specifically, we attribute GMT levels and changes in the probability and intensity of extremely hot and dry months (Fig. 1c). Prolonged heat poses a significant burden on human health19 and sustained precipitation deficits impair crop yields and threaten water resources20, meaning that both climate extremes are highly relevant in driving climate impacts. We measure meteorological droughts with the standardized precipitation index computed over 3-month periods (SPI-3)20.
Counterfactual emissions were converted into GMT using the simple climate model MAGICC and subsequently translated into grid-cell-level realizations of climatic variables using MESMER-M-TP. a, Counterfactual CO2 emissions pathways. Historic emissions with and without contributions from selected emitter groups after 1990 (orange). b, Median GMT levels for historic and counterfactual emissions pathways (solid lines) along with 5th–95th confidence intervals (shaded envelopes) derived from 600 ensemble members. c, Reference, present-day and counterfactual distributions at a single grid-cell using temperature as an example.
We quantify climate impacts associated with wealthy emitters and compare them to the global average per capita contribution. We do not assess what would constitute fair or just emissions, nor do we assign direct responsibility for the resulting impacts. For illustration, we also provide counterfactual warming outcomes based on rescaling global emissions according to the per capita profile of individual income percentiles.
Our modelling framework depicts natural variability and uncertainty in the global response to emission changes (Methods). Unless mentioned otherwise, we provide median results with the 5th–95th confidence intervals in parentheses. All results are statistically significant (established via a one-sample t-tests, Methods) unless explicitly marked otherwise. As our database provides only basket emissions, we derived the main results by assuming that emissions for each GHG scale proportionally with the globally aggregated emissions (Methods). We explore the sensitivity to this assumption in Supplementary Section 2.
GMT in 2020 is 0.61 °C (0.45–0.83 °C) higher than in 1990. We found that about 65% (0.40 °C (0.27–0.56 °C)) of this increase is attributable to the global top 10%, 20% (0.12 °C (0.09–0.17 °C)) to the top 1% and 8% (0.05 °C (0.03–0.07 °C)) to the top 0.1% (Fig. 2a and Supplementary Table 3). These warming contributions are higher (by about one-fifth) than the respective group's contributions to aggregated GHG basket emissions (Supplementary Table 2), underscoring the importance of non-CO2 GHGs21 (see also Supplementary Section 2).
a, Median GMT increase over 1990–2020 and the shares attributed to global top 10%, 1% and 0.1%. Hatched areas indicate the warming for each group based on an equal per capita contribution to warming. CIFs indicating the group's contribution to global warming relative to the average contribution are given above the bars. Vertical lines represent the 5th–95th confidence intervals from natural variability and uncertainty in the global temperature response. Circles highlight median values from the sensitivity analysis (Methods; the lower circle is CO2-based emissions and the upper circle is non-CO2-based emissions). Estimates are based on 600 ensemble members each. b, Median hypothetical GMT increase from 1990–2020 if everyone emitted like the given income groups, with the 5th–95th confidence intervals represented as vertical lines. Estimates are based on 600 ensemble members. c, Regional breakdown of the global top 10%,1% and 0.1% in 2019. d, Global (solid line) and regional (symbols) income distributions in 2019. e, Same as a but for the regional top 10%, 1% and 0.1% in the United States, the EU27, India and China. Grey bars highlight the median GMT increase attributable to each region as a whole. Two CIFs are given: the lighter (darker) value is relative to the country's equal share (actual emissions) and measures global (regional) inequality. Vertical lines represent the 5th–95th confidence intervals from natural variability and uncertainty in the global temperature response. Circles highlight median values from the sensitivity analysis. Estimates are based on 600 ensemble members each.
To put these numbers into perspective, we defined a group's equal share as the contribution to warming they would have if their per capita impact matched the global average. Therefore, we scaled the total GMT increase according to the group's share of the global population (for example, the equal share of the global top 10% would be 10% of the full 0.61 °C increase). We then derived climate inequality factors (CIFs) as the group's actual contribution to global warming relative to their equal share. CIFs increase from 6.5 for the top 10% to 20 (77) for the top 1% (0.1%), indicating an amplification of climate inequality with increasing wealth.
The full depth of the disproportion in contributions to GMT level becomes tangible when global emissions are rescaled according to the per capita profile of global income groups (Fig. 2b). If the entire world population had emitted like the bottom 50%, there would have been minimal additional warming since 1990. However, if the entire world population had emitted like the top 10%, 1% or 0.1%, the GMT increase since 1990 would have been 2.9 °C, 6.7 °C or 12.2 °C.
Between 1990 and 2020, emissions from the global top 10% arose primarily in the world's highest emitting countries: the United States, the EU27, China and India (Fig. 2c). Note that the composition of the global top 10% shifts over time (Supplementary Fig. 1), and while our focus is on wealthy individuals from the world's largest economies, those from smaller (wealthier, as well as less wealthy) countries also contribute disproportionately3. Income levels from regional top emitters deviate from their global counterparts: the top 10% and 1% in the United States and the EU27 (India and China) are wealthier (poorer) than the globally wealthiest 10% and 1% (Fig. 2d).
Attributed GMT shares by regional emitter groups combine within- and between-region inequality. In the United States (EU27), the top 10% contribute 3.1 (2.8) times more to global warming than the average citizen, but 17 (8) times more than the global average. For the United States, the contribution of the top 10% alone exceedes the entire country's equal share. This relative inequality increases with increasing wealth: the top 1% in the United States (EU27) contribute 53 (21) times their equal shares, and the top 0.1% contribute 190 (64) times their equal shares. In China, where the overall CIF is near 1, the top 10%, 1% and 0.1% emit 4, 13 and 50 times their equal shares, showing even greater regional influence from societal elites. Similarly, in India, where the national CIF is 0.3 (implying that the countries per capita average emissions are below the global average), the top 10%, 1% and 0.1% emit 1.2, 4 and 10 times the global average.
We attribute regional increases in the frequency of extremely hot (dry) months, here defined as 1-in-100-year events in a pre-industrial climate, to the emissions of the global top 10% (Fig. 3a), so throughout this Article extremes or extreme events refer to a month being at least as hot (dry) as the hottest (driest) 1% of months in a pre-industrial climate. We state attribution results as additional event counts over a modelled 100-year period of current climate conditions compared with those in 1990 (Methods). For example, 10 additional attributable events indicate that a pre-industrial 1-in-100-year event happens an additional 10 times within 100 years, meaning that its probability has increased tenfold.
a,b, Monthly distributions of heat extremes (a) and drought extremes in the Amazon (b) across grid cells attributable to the global top 10%. Distributions were derived by first computing the median attribution results at each grid cell (estimated from 15,000 ensemble members each) and then computing statistics across all 2,652 grid cells. Colour shading is qualitative. c,d, Spatial distribution of the median number of heat (c) and drought (d) extremes during peak temperature months attributable to the global top 10%. Median estimates are derived from 15,000 ensemble members. Hatched regions indicate insignificant results and/or insufficient model agreement. e,f, Median number of additional heat (e) and drought (f) extremes by region (highlighted on the maps in c and d). CIFs indicating the group's contribution to extremes relative to the average contribution are given above the bars. Vertical lines correspond to 5th–95th confidence intervals. We omit showing global drought estimates because of insufficient agreement among grid-cells. Distributions were derived by first computing median attribution results at each grid cell (estimated from 15,000 ensemble members each) and then computing statistics across all grid cells within each region.
For heat extremes, changes are most (least) pronounced in August (February), where 11.5 [8.5–15.4] (3.5 [2.4–4.3]) additional events are attributable to the global top 10%. These changes refer to the global median over land that is predominantly located on the Northern Hemisphere. Areas in strongly affected regions, such as the Amazon region, Southeast Asia or central Africa, face months with up to 30-fold increases in probability (see also Supplementary Figs. 5–8).
To account for differences in seasonality between the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere, we assessed heat extremes during the month with peak temperatures (Supplementary Fig. 4). Emissions from 1990–2020 led to a 12.3-fold (9.7–17.9) increase in the probability of heat extremes in the peak temperature month. The top 10% (1%) contribute 7.3 (25.7) times the global average to this (Supplementary Figs. 9–13e). In addition, the intensities of these extremes increased by 0.83 °C (0.75–0.97 °C) since 1990. Of this increase, 0.55 °C (0.50–0.67 °C) (0.17 °C (0.16–0.21 °C)) is attributable to the top 10% (1%), suggesting that their contribution is 6.7 (21.1) times higher than the global average (Supplementary Figs. 9–13).
Attribution results for meteorological drought extremes strongly depend on region and month, with robust drying found mainly in Central America, the Amazon, the Mediterranean, southern Africa and northern Australia (Fig. 3d and Supplementary Figs. 5–8). This is expected, given the considerable intermodel disagreement and large uncertainties in regional precipitation projections22,23,24. We found the strongest attributable drying trend in the Amazon region in October. Overall, the region faces a threefold increase (1.7–4.2) in extreme probability compared with 1990 (Fig. 3b). The top 10% (1%) contribute 6.1 (16.7) times the global average to this increase. The Amazon region is of global importance, given its uniquely biodiverse system and its major role in the global carbon cycle. Drought events over the past century have already negatively impacted carbon storage in Amazonian rainforests25.
Overall, the spatial disparity in attributable changes at the grid-cell-level (Fig. 3 and Supplementary Figs. 5–13) implies that the regions that disproportionately contribute to the emissions of the top 10% (for example, the EU27 and the United States; Fig. 2) face smaller increases than regions that have contributed very little (for example, western North America and west and central Europe compared with the Amazon region and west southern Africa in Fig. 3c,d).
The relatively small (attributable) changes over India and parts of China and the simultaneously high intermodel disagreement are worth noting, given that they are inconsistent with the increasing number of climate-related disasters India is already facing26. We assume that this is related to the climate effects of air pollution, which we discuss in greater detail in Supplementary Section 3.
The inequality in warming contributions from affluent groups in high-emitting regions exceeds the inequality in their global counterparts (Fig. 2). This disparity also appears at the grid-cell-level: in the global median, emissions from the top 10% (1%) in the United States are associated with 1.3 (1.0–1.8) (0.3 (0.3–0.5)) additional 1-in-100-year heat events during peak temperature months. This impact represents 23 (60) times the global average contribution and about 3 (2) times the relative contribution of the global top 10% (1%) (Fig. 3). The increase in extreme heat is unevenly distributed across regions. For example, in heat-affected areas such as the Amazon and southeast Africa, emissions from the top 10% in China (the United States) are linked to 2.7 (1.9–3.2) (2.5 (1.7–2.8)) and 2.7 (1.1–3.4) (2.5 (1.0–3.2)) additional occurrences of extreme heat during months with peak temperatures (Fig. 4). In these areas, we can also robustly attribute heat extremes to the regional top 1%. In the Amazon, 0.8 (0.7–1.0) additional heat extremes are attributable to the top 1% in China. This corresponds to an increase in occurrence frequency of 80%.
Left: median number of additional heat extremes in selected regions that are attributable to the top 10% of emitters in China, the United States, the EU27 and India. Right: same as on the left but for the top 1% of emitters. Wider bars indicate that more events are attributable to a given emitter group. The values in the bars indicate the additional numbers of events over the course of 100 years. Median estimates were derived by first computing median attribution results at each grid cell (estimated from 15,000 ensemble members for each) and then computing statistics across grid cells within each region.
Attributing changes in extreme events to country-specific wealthy emitter groups becomes increasingly challenging as emitter groups decrease in per capita size, meaning that their cumulative emissions decrease even if their relative emissions contributions increase. Projected temperature distributions are characterized by strong changes in the trend and by consistency across models, allowing robust attribution results even for seemingly small emission amounts, particularly in highly affected regions. The magnitude depends on the definition of extremes, with tail risks seeing the strongest increase (Supplementary Figs. 18–21). For droughts, the situation is more complex. The SPI-3 signal is dominated by variability and considerable intermodel disagreement, which prevented us from deriving robust attribution results when emissions are small.
This study introduces a framework to link wealth-based emissions to shifts in GMT and to changes in regional monthly heat and meteorological drought extremes. We found that the wealthiest 10% contributed 6.5 times more to global warming than the average, with the top 1% and 0.1% contributing 20 and 76 times more, respectively. For heat, this imbalance is more pronounced at the grid-cell-level: the wealthiest 10% and 1% contributed over 7 and 25 times more than the global average to the increase in frequency of pre-industrial 1-in-100-year heat extremes during months with peak summer temperatures. The warming contributions of the wealthy are associated with considerable transboundary effects—for example, the contributions of the wealthiest 10% within the United States and China led to a two- to threefold increase in heat extremes across vulnerable regions such as the Amazon, Southeast Asia and southeast Africa. The robust attribution of drought signals is more complex. We found the strongest signals in the Amazon region in October, where the emissions of the global top 10% (1%) led to a 2.3-fold (0.8-fold) increase in the frequency of extreme droughts.
Our analysis also underscores the critical role of CH4 emissions in near-term warming (Supplementary Fig. 2) and calls for new research to disentangle income-based emissions at the level of individual gases. Reducing CH4 emissions in line with Paris Agreement-compatible pathways could yield immediate reductions in global temperatures and climate extremes27.
We note that our study focuses on monthly extreme heat (that is, extremely hot months), meaning that heatwaves—defined as prolonged periods of abnormally high temperatures lasting from two days to months28—do not directly relate to our metric. However, the probability of extreme daily temperatures is amplified during extremely hot months29, implying that attributable results for short-duration heatwaves might be even more pronounced. Further research is needed to explicitly explore this relationship.
Wealth-based emissions comprise private consumption and investment in capital formation across production sectors that supply goods and services consumed by society. Recognizing the associated unequal warming contributions can inform policy interventions. For example, deliberation over a coordinated global wealth tax can draw on this work, illustrating the climate co-benefits of attenuating stark wealth-based disparities in climate impact responsibilities30,31. The transboundary impacts we identify highlight how high-emitting individuals contribute to intensified extremes, even in distant regions. Similarly, the warming attributable to the investments of the wealthy underscores the need to realign financial flows to meet global climate goals32. This is particularly relevant for the wealthiest 1% and 0.1%, whose transboundary contributions to worsening local extremes arise primarily through investments, rather than consumption. Efforts to redirect these financial flows should also consider the shared responsibilities of governments to expedite systemic changes in financial and regulatory structures33.
Our granular impact analysis shows that low-income regions incur the brunt of the harm caused by emissions concentrated among wealthier populations worldwide. From an adaptation and loss-and-damage perspective, this provides a basis for policy discussions around contributions to compensatory and preventative measures. The amounts of adaptation and loss-and-damage finance provided currently are minuscule compared with the assessed needs34. Our work motivates innovative policy instruments targeted at wealthy individuals to bridge these glaring finance gaps35. Such policies can also improve perceptions of climate justice, a vital factor in fostering social acceptance of climate action36,37. Moving towards evidence-based and targeted policies that reflect polluter-pays principles, including on the domestic level in terms of individual contributions, may therefore be an important cornerstone to enhance policy support for climate action in general.
Considerations of our results in policy debates must, however, recognize the conceptual challenges and value judgements in our approach and implementation. First, our attribution relies on consumption-based emissions accounting, allocating emissions between consumers and shareholders through shared ownership (see ref. 3). Our approach contrasts with production-based approaches used to quantify the responsibilities of producers15. Exploring diverse accounting frameworks is key to developing policy mechanisms that address multiple dimensions, but requires care in determining responsibility. Second, we employ the ‘but for' attribution method. This approach directly links emissions to observed climate change while accounting for the timing of emissions and impacts. However, it is sensitive to the sequence of emissions removal and the design of the counterfactual scenarios18. Third, our approach is limited to changes in climate hazards only, and does not account for on-the-ground vulnerabilities and exposure, which are often key to driving the eventual impact of extreme climate events38. Integrating other causal drivers into extreme event attribution analysis increasingly allows us to address those limitations38,39 in a step towards using extreme event attribution to inform the discourse on loss and damage40,41. At the same time, wealth levels are a key determinant for adaptive capacity and vulnerability in the face of climate change, particularly at the levels of households and individuals42,43. We would therefore expect wealth-related drivers of vulnerability and exposure to further exacerbate the inequalities in responsibilities and experience of the impacts of the climate hazards we studied here.
All quantitative estimates are tied to these three assumptions, and we must recognize the choices and value judgements involved in the analysis when evaluating the ethical and legal implications of our findings.
Our analysis is further limited by the lack of data on how GHG emission compositions vary with income and wealth. This limits the accuracy of our results, given the role of non-CO2 GHGs in recent warming. In addition, our drought indicator only considers precipitation, which may lead to underestimations in drought risks24. Finally, our analysis is based on modelled data, which may deviate from observations44,45.
Accordingly, our analysis does not explicitly assign full responsibility for resulting climate impacts, nor does it determine fair emission levels for any income group. Such determinations require an integrated view of fairness, justice and socio-economic factors46,47, with different reference points for societies at varying levels of development.
In conclusion, our findings demonstrate how individual emitter groups have contributed to increases in regional extremes globally. In times of growing economic and climate inequalities, advancing frameworks for attributing emissions to individual emitters can inform global climate action and enhance climate justice.
We quantified intensity and frequency changes in extremely hot (dry) months attributable to specific emitter groups. The methodological framework relies on three steps (Fig. 1): first, we constructed counterfactual emissions pathways (that is, emissions pathways with and without the emissions of selected population groups); second, we translated emissions into gridded temperature, precipitation and potential drought data via a chain of computationally efficient emulators; and third, we built on the framework of extreme event attribution to quantify changes in the grid-cell-level distributions of the climatic variables.
We relied on the SPI-3 to identify meteorological droughts20. The SPI-3 is computed from precipitation data only, meaning that it does not account for changes in soil- and plant-based water demands. As climate-driven precipitation signals are dominated by natural variability and intermodel disagreement24, climate change-induced trends in our drought indicator are probably a conservative estimate of actual changes20. Therefore, we also computed the SPEI-348. The SPEI-3 takes changes in water demands via potential evapotranspiration (PET) into account. Ideally, PET is estimated from temperatures, radiation, wind speed and humidity via the Penman–Monteith equation20,49. Given that our emulation framework only depicts temperature and precipitation, we relied on the Thornthwaite method to compute PET from temperature data only50. However, PET estimates via the Thornthwaite method are prone to overestimations in terms of magnitude and temporal trends51. This left us with an indicator for meteorological droughts (SPI-3) that probably underestimates drought risks and an additional indicator for potential droughts (SPEI-3 via the Thornthwaite method) that probably provides an overestimation. We used the conservative estimates in the main part of our analysis and show potential drought risks in Supplementary Section 5.
We assessed what our climate today would look like if the wealthiest 10%, 1% and 0.1% globally, as well as in the United States, EU27, India and China, had not contributed to global emissions between 1990 and 2019. We followed ref. 52 to construct a time series of historic baseline emissions from 1850–2019 resolved by gas. Next, we removed emitter-specific contributions from these baseline emissions (Fig. 1). To do so, we relied on a dataset of consumption-based CO2e emissions categorized by country and income decile between 1990 and 20193. The estimates relate to all emissions except those from agriculture, forestry and other land use. Our analysis required us to make assumptions about how to disaggregate the reported basket emissions into individual gases. We focused on decomposing emissions into CO2, nitrogen oxide (N2O) and CH4. These three gases make up 98.7% of the total global GHG emissions (excluding agriculture, forestry and other land use)53. The composition of production-side GHG emissions varies strongly by country, ranging from primarily CO2-based emissions (for example, Singapore) to almost equal shares of CO2 and CH4/N2O (for example, Qatar) and, in low-income countries in particular, primarily CH4/N2O (for example, Chad)54. The carbon inequality dataset from ref. 3 employs input–output tables that redistribute production-side emissions to consumers across countries. About one-half of global CH4 emissions are embodied in global trade, with household consumption dominating the final demand category55. Given these considerations, and a lack of alternative data, we chose to apply the same decomposition assumptions across countries and emitter groups. For our central estimate, we assumed that emissions for each GHG scale proportionally with the globally aggregated emissions. We tested the sensitivity to this assumption by providing two extreme cases in which the wealthy emitters (1) solely emit carbon (CO2case) or (2) solely emit CH4 and N2O (non-CO2case). Note that in the non-CO2 case, the emissions associated with the global top 10% are larger than the total global CH4 and N2O emissions combined, and we removed the excessive emissions from the CO2 time series. We converted between individual GHGs and CO2e using the Global Warming Potential 100.
We transformed counterfactual emissions into grid-cell-level distributions of temperature and precipitation using emulators and subsequently computed drought measures from the emulated data. The emulation consisted of two steps: first, converting emissions into GMT; and second, translating GMT into grid-cell-level monthly mean temperature and precipitation distributions (Fig. 1). The first translation step was carried out with MAGICC10,56. MAGICC is a simple, computationally efficient climate model for global climate indicators. Our temperature outcomes were calculated with MAGICC v7.5 in a probabilistic setting that reflects the assessed uncertainty ranges from the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report24. We generated 600 GMT trajectories for each scenario. The second translation step was carried out using MESMER-M-TP11. MESMER-M-TP combines parametric approaches and stochastic sampling to approximate the behaviour of individual climate models. For any climate model, the emulator can be calibrated with a small set of actual climate model data and then used to generate gridded temperature and precipitation data that statistically resemble the climate model data. Here we calibrated MESMER-M-TP with 24 different models from the Phase Six of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (Supplementary Table 4). Subsequently, we converted each GMT trajectory into a single gridded time series of temperature and precipitation. We computed the SPI-3/SPEI-3 indicator following ref. 48 and used the gamma distribution for normalization. This provided us with a dataset containing 4 variables × 600 realizations × 2,652 grid points × 170 years × 12 months for each scenario.
Traditional attribution studies typically aim to understand how climate change altered the statistics of a specified observed extreme. Our study deviates from this approach. We were interested in understanding the extent to which changes in a broad class of historic extremes can be related to emissions from specific emitter groups. We therefore used the framework for event attribution as a guideline14 but modified it according to our research questions. Most importantly, our analysis fully relied on modelled data, meaning that we were not taking observational data into account. Hence, the event attribution framework was reduced to three essential steps: first, we defined extreme events; second, we performed an analysis using emulated (climate model) data; and third, we synthesized the hazards into an attribution statement.
We defined extreme events relative to the reference period 1850–1900 and focused on 1-in-100-year (main text) and 1-in-50/1-in-10,000-year (Supplementary Information) events.
In a first step, we tested whether changes in the grid-cell-level distribution of a climatic variable under a given counterfactual scenario were significantly different from its present-day distribution. To this end, we computed the differences between the present-day and counterfactual present-day distributions and employed a Student's t-test57 to verify that the distribution was significantly different from zero. If this was the case, we proceeded with the actual attribution. We used the modelled distribution of climatic variables over the reference period to derive grid-cell-specific intensity thresholds for our defined events. To assess frequency changes, we counted how many times the reference intensity threshold was exceeded in a present-day (2020) climate and in a counterfactual 2020 climate, and attributed the difference to a specific emitter group. Similarly, we quantify intensity changes by assessing how hot (dry) a specific extreme would be in a present-day climate as compared to a counterfactual climate, and attribute the difference in values.
Further information on research design is available in the Nature Portfolio Reporting Summary linked to this article.
The data generated for this study are available via Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14860538 (ref. 58). The results can be reproduced using public data records. The starting point of our analysis was time series of per capita CO2e emissions from ref. 3. We also used historic emissions data available in ref. 52. We used MAGICC v7.5 (refs. 10,56) to translate our input data into GMT levels and MESMER-M-TPv0.1.0 (refs. 11,59) to generate a large ensemble of temperature and precipitation data.
Our code is publicly available via GitHub at https://github.com/sarasita/attribution.git. The exact version used to produce this study is available via Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15011461 (ref. 60). Note, parts of our code rely on processing data according to ref. 60.
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S.S. acknowledges support from the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU). S.S. and C.F.S. acknowledge funds from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant number 101003687 (PROVIDE). C.F.S. acknowledges funds from the European Union's Horizon Europe Programme under grant number 101081369 (SPARCCLE). Z.N. acknowledges support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Funding Programme (grant number 101003536, Earth System Models for the Future, ESM2025). R.H. acknowledges funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe Programme under grant agreement number 101094551 (SPES) and grant agreement number 101162653 (2C-RISK) supported by the European Research Council. S.P. acknowledges funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under grant number 101056873 (ELEVATE). We also gratefully acknowledge funding from IIASA and the National Member Organizations that support the institute. Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Open access funding provided by Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria
Sarah Schöngart, Zebedee Nicholls, Roman Hoffmann, Setu Pelz & Carl-Friedrich Schleussner
Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
Sarah Schöngart
IRIThesys, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Sarah Schöngart & Carl-Friedrich Schleussner
Climate Resource, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Zebedee Nicholls
School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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S.S., Z.N., R.H., S.P. and C.-F.S. conceived the study. S.S. performed the data analysis with contributions from Z.N. S.S. wrote the manuscript with contributions from Z.N., R.H., S.P. and C.-F.S. S.S., Z.N., R.H., S.P. and C.-F.S. have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Solar geoengineering research involves investigating ways to ‘dim' the Sun's rays in an effort to cool Earth's temperatures. Credit: Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty
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The United Kingdom's high-risk research agency will fund £56.8 million (US$75 million) worth of projects in the controversial area of geoengineering — manipulating Earth's environment to avert negative effects of climate change. The 21 projects include small-scale outdoor experiments that will attempt to thicken Arctic sea ice and to brighten clouds so that they reflect more sunlight. The hope is that successful technologies could one day contribute to efforts to prevent the planet from passing dangerous climate tipping points.
The UK's $1-billion bet to create technologies that change the world
The UK's $1-billion bet to create technologies that change the world
Supported by the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) as part of its five-year Exploring Climate Cooling programme, the projects are among the most significant geoengineering experiments funded by a government.
The research has the potential to be beneficial, but must be undertaken cautiously, says Peter Frumhoff, a science-policy adviser at the Woodwell Climate Research Center in Falmouth, Massachusetts. “I am strongly supportive of responsible research on solar geoengineering and other climate interventions,” he says.
The funding package is the latest from ARIA, which was established in 2023 by the UK government and is modelled on the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. With an £800-million budget, it funds high-risk, high-reward research into technologies that could have major consequences for humanity, including artificial intelligence and neurotechnology.
Another such area identified by ARIA was geoengineering, says Mark Symes, an electrochemist at the University of Glasgow, UK, who leads the Exploring Climate Cooling programme.
ARIA-funded experiments will investigate whether Earth's diminishing ice sheets can be artificially thickened.Credit: Sean Gallup/Getty
Symes says the programme's goal is not to find ways to replace more accepted approaches to tackling climate change, such as reducing carbon emissions. Instead, he says, geoengineering could be useful to prevent the world reaching certain tipping points that might occur before emissions reductions can have an effect. That could include “the collapse of circulations in the North Atlantic driven by the runaway melting of the Greenland ice sheet”, he says.
But even as climate change continues unabated, the concept is controversial: last year, researchers at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, cancelled a project that would have introduced particles into the atmosphere in an effort to ‘dim' the Sun after an outcry in Sweden, where the experiment was to take place.
Divisive Sun-dimming study at Harvard cancelled: what's next?
Divisive Sun-dimming study at Harvard cancelled: what's next?
Wary of such concerns, ARIA is taking a cautious approach. “We want to keep this research in the public domain,” says Piers Forster, a climate-change scientist at the University of Leeds, UK, who chairs a committee that will monitor ARIA's climate-cooling projects. “We want it to be transparent for everyone.”
The 21 projects were selected through a competitive application process, which received about 120 proposals.
These fall into five research categories: studying ways to thicken ice sheets; assessing whether marine clouds could be brightened to offset damage to coral reefs; understanding how cirrus clouds warm the climate; looking at whether materials could be released into the stratosphere to reflect sunlight; and theoretical work on whether a sunshade deployed in space could cool portions of Earth's surface.
Five projects involve the most controversial area of geoengineering — outdoor experiments that interact with the environment. Frumhoff says that “building trust will be essential” in conducting such research. “I would be opposed to outdoor experiments being funded by any nation that isn't aggressively and seriously reducing its own emissions,” he says.
A cloud-brightening trial will spray seawater particles over the Great Barrier Reef to make the clouds above it whiter and more reflective.Credit: Associate Professor Daniel Harrison/Southern Cross University
The stratospheric experiment — which is among the first outdoor solar-geoengineering experiment to receive government funding — will involve using balloons to carry materials such as limestone and dolomite dust into the stratosphere, to a height of about 15–50 kilometres, to see how they respond to the conditions. No particles will be released into the stratosphere, says ARIA.
Shaun Fitzgerald at the Centre for Climate Repair in Cambridge, UK, leads one of the ice projects. His team will conduct small-scale experiments in the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and in Canada to pump water from beneath ice sheets and spread it on top, covering up to one square kilometre in area, to see whether such a method could thicken Earth's diminishing ice sheets.
“We're going to see whether we've actually been able to grow more sea ice in the Arctic winter,” says Fitzgerald. Early results from work that Fitzgerald's team did last year, before receiving ARIA funding, showed ice growth of “about half a metre”, he says.
Julienne Stroeve, a sea-ice researcher at University College London, isn't sure how effective this method would be in preventing widespread sea-ice loss. “I do not think this is feasible at any real scale needed,” she says, noting that the impact on local ecosystems is also unclear. ARIA says that Fitzgerald's experiment will be scaled up only if it is deemed to be “ecologically sound”.
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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-01389-1
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The UK's $1-billion bet to create technologies that change the world
Divisive Sun-dimming study at Harvard cancelled: what's next?
Earth shattered heat records in 2023 and 2024: is global warming speeding up?
Give research into solar geoengineering a chance
Three ways to cool Earth by pulling carbon from the sky
Why we still don't know the mounting health risks of climate change
Why bringing back oyster reefs could protect coasts from climate change
What's the best way to tackle climate change? An ‘evidence bank' could help scientists find answers
How climate change is hitting Europe: three graphics reveal health impacts
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The UK's $1-billion bet to create technologies that change the world
Divisive Sun-dimming study at Harvard cancelled: what's next?
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Give research into solar geoengineering a chance
Three ways to cool Earth by pulling carbon from the sky
Why we still don't know the mounting health risks of climate change
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Amazon has established itself as a smart home leader with a large portfolio that includes such big names as Echo, Blink, and Ring. The devices made it easier than ever to control and secure your home while integrating with Alexa. Amazon's desire to dominate the smart home space was evident when it attempted to acquire iRobot, the firm behind Roomba robot vacuums. However, after regulatory setbacks, Amazon withdrew the purchase in January 2024.
In any case, Amazon continues to offer some of the lowest prices on smart home products, and today's offer on the iRobot Roomba Combo Essential (Y0140 model) robot vacuum and mop is excellent. Now, this great iRobot Roomba combo is only $149 which is a massive 46% off its regular price of $274. That's the all-time lowest price for this model, and it's great if you're looking to keep your home clean any time.
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This Roomba model unites mighty vacuuming and mopping in a single machine with a 4-stage cleaning system that strikes dust and dirt on all types of floors. Its edge-sweeping brush picks up even baseboards and corners spotless. The robot's smart navigation system cleans in neat rows and uses sensors to find and avoid drops and obstacles so you can let it drive around furniture and stairs independently.
Roomba Combo Essential is out-of-the-box ready to use and only requires several minutes to assemble: Wi-Fi connectivity means it can be used with the iRobot Home app or through Alexa or Google Assistant voice commands. The app lets you schedule a clean, monitor progress of the cleaning, and even receive a Clean Map report of where the robot has cleaned-prefect for busy households or pet owners who want to ensure all areas are being cleaned.
Performance-wise, the Roomba Combo Essential comes with three levels of suction power and three water level settings for mopping so you can tailor the cleaning to your home's needs. The mop uses a micro pump to keep the pad consistently wet, and the washable microfiber cleaning pad can be reused for up to 30 cycles and remains effective and eco-friendly.
Battery life is also impressive at giving you up to 120 minutes of cleaning on a single charge. If the battery ever runs out, the robot will automatically find its way back to its charging station so you don't have to worry about interruptions. Its thin shape makes it possible for it to duck under beds and sofas, and reaches into spaces usually missed when cleaning by hand.
All things considered, this iRobot Roomba combo for $149 is a fantastic bargain which combines affordability, reliability, and intelligence. If you've been considering a robot vacuum and mop for your cozy home, then this record-low price makes it time to buy.
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When former national security adviser Mike Waltz had a picture taken of him last week, he didn't expect for the whole world to see that he was using TeleMessage, a messaging app similar to Signal. Now the app has been hacked, with portions of data linked to government entities like Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and companies like Coinbase. Today on the show, we're joined by WIRED senior writer Lily Hay Newman to discuss what this incident tells us about the growing vulnerabilities in government communications.
Articles mentioned in this episode:Mike Waltz Has Somehow Gotten Even Worse at Using Signal, by Lily Hay NewmanThe Signal Clone the Trump Admin Uses Was Hacked , by Joseph Cox and Micah LeeThe Signal Clone Mike Waltz Was Caught Using Has Direct Access to User Chats, by Lily Hay Newman
You can follow Zoë Schiffer on Bluesky at @zoeschiffer and Lily Hay Newman on Bluesky at @lhn. Write to us at uncannyvalley@wired.com.
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Zoë Schiffer: Hi, this is Zoë. Before we start, I want to take the chance to remind you that we want to hear from you. If you have tech-related questions that have been on your mind or a topic that you wish we'd cover, write to us at uncannyvalley@WIRED.com. And if you listen to and enjoy the show, please rate it and leave a review on your podcast app of choice. It really honestly makes a difference. Welcome to WIRED's Uncanny Valley. I'm WIRED's director of business and industry, Zoë Schiffer. Today on the show, the hacking scandal surrounding TeleMessage, the knockoff version of Signal, which is used by at least one high-ranking member of the Trump administration. The app has temporarily suspended its services while it investigates the incident. We're going to talk about how former national security adviser Mike Waltz was seen last week using the app in a cabinet meeting and what this latest incident tells us about the growing vulnerabilities in government communication. I'm joined by Lily Hay Newman, senior writer at WIRED. Lily, welcome to the show.
Lily Hay Newman: It's a pleasure to be here.
Zoë Schiffer: What exactly is TeleMessage?
Lily Hay Newman: Yeah. So TeleMessage is a company that's been around since the late '90s. It was founded in Israel, and it creates apps that are sort of mirror images or clones of existing communication apps, and then adds in an archiving feature. So this is especially perhaps wanted for apps that are securing communications, such that it's difficult to retain copies of the messages. So if you need copies for compliance or you need a record, the idea is that these services are giving the same functionality as apps you know, like WhatsApp or Telegram or Signal, but with the addition of these archiving features.
Zoë Schiffer: And that's important, obviously, for people who work in government because, technically, members of the press and other people are supposed to be allowed to access a lot of the communications that aren't classified by submitting Freedom of Information Act requests. And you can't do that if the messages are disappearing.
Lily Hay Newman: Correct. There are record retention laws in the US and other countries for transparency and information requests, as you said. But historically, the way governments and other institutions have complied with that is by using communication platforms that are built for the purpose of government communications, tailor-built to be in compliance in a number of ways. So all of this is coming up because now the Trump administration in recent months has been sort of departing from the standard ways that officials in the US have communicated to use consumer platforms, particularly the secure messaging platform Signal, to talk to each other, but doing so in a very ad hoc consumer way like in the same way that you and I would set up a Signal conversation. That's what they've been doing, and that's where you get into this whole question of how do you comply with records requirements. How do you comply with safety requirements when you're just kind of using off-the-shelf tech in a regular way? And so that's where TeleMessage comes in.
Zoë Schiffer: Well, it seems like one of the people, as we mentioned earlier, who was using TeleMessage was Mike Waltz, the now former national security adviser, who at this point is best known for starting that infamous Signal group chat a few weeks back that accidentally added a senior member of The Atlantic Newsroom. How did we find out that he was using TeleMessage in the first place?
Lily Hay Newman: So his screen, the screen of his phone, was sort of inadvertently captured in a photo of a cabinet meeting, a Reuters photo, that Mike Waltz was participating in, was sitting at the table with Trump and a number of officials. The photo is a bit funny because it seems like he thinks no one can see him using his phone, or he is kind of checking his phone. I mean, we've all been there, looking under the conference table at our phone. But additionally, his screen shows what appears to be Signal. So we're really going, zooming in deep into this photo, right. We're looking over his shoulder at his phone. Now we're seeing this notification. And then in the notification, instead of the normal words that would be there, people noticed that the Signal … where it would normally say Signal, was being referred to as TM Signal. And that's how people realized that, actually, he was using this other app called TeleMessage.
Zoë Schiffer: Got it. Yeah. Nothing makes me love reporters more than the absolute psychotic behavior of zooming in on a tiny little phone screen to be like, “What exactly is going on here?” But kudos to 404 Media, because I think they were the first ones to point that out. You wrote in a recent WIRED article that Mike Waltz has inexplicably gotten even worse at using Signal. So, I guess what did you mean by that? How is he getting worse at using this end-to-end encrypted app?
Lily Hay Newman: This whole revelation about his use of TM Signal is building on this previous situation called Signal Gate. Mike Waltz was the person who inadvertently added Jeffrey Goldberg, the top editor of The Atlantic, to the chat. And so already Mike Waltz was not having a great track record, and then disappearing messages were on the whole time. And so, one of the many criticisms was that this was not in compliance with government record-retention laws. So we don't know this, but presumably then he started using TM Signal as a solution to that aspect of the issues raised. But I just want to be clear. We don't know. It could be that they were already using it, or he was already using TM Signal at the time. I'm not sure. But one might suspect that hearing some of this criticism, he was like, “OK, let me find a solution that does retain records and does have an archiving feature.” And that's where TeleMessage would come in.
Zoë Schiffer: So the national security advisoer sets up this group chat, presumably not in compliance, then switches to one that looks like it might be in compliance, and then that version is promptly hacked. Do we know at this point who is behind the hacking?
Lily Hay Newman: More and more is coming out about potential hacks of TeleMessage or sort of ability to intercept messages and see messages in memory. First, 404 Media and Micah Lee published a piece with an unnamed hacker providing evidence that they could breach TeleMessage. And then, on Monday, NBC News published an additional report with an additional unnamed hacker. So clearly there's a lot of insecurity here. And the criticism of TM Signal from this company, TeleMessage, is that it claims to have all the same security features as real Signal and to sort of preserve that, and just add on this archiving feature. But, definitionally, adding in the archiving feature breaks Signal security. The way signal is designed and other end-to-end encrypted apps like WhatsApp, when you add in this other party, it's virtually impossible that the security guarantees could be preserved. And then, on top of that, it seems like from source code review that's starting to come out, and research that's starting to happen, and analysis into TM Signal, that actually it's just not constructed in a very secure way at all. So, just a lot of layers to get to the point, which is that this was a wildly insecure app for Mike Waltz to be using, sitting at a table with the top cabinet members and the president of the United States. It's wild.
Zoë Schiffer: We're going to get into what exactly was accessed in this hack. But before we do that, we're going to take a short break.
[break]
Zoë Schiffer: We are back. So let's get into what exactly was accessed when it looks like multiple hackers were able to break into TM Signal, which was being used by at least one member of the Trump administration.
Lily Hay Newman: So far, these researchers, what they've shown is that some messages, sometimes at least, are being sent to the archiving server in plain text, meaning they are readable. That's precisely what a platform like genuine Signal is trying to avoid. And so that's what's happening. So these were sort of fragments or pieces or whole messages, but not whole conversations, things like that, so far. One thing that 404 Media reported on from these leaks was evidence that US Customs and Border Patrol agents have been using TM Signal. It's not totally clear what's going on with this. WIRED reached out to CBP. We've been trying to get clarification on what this leaked data means. There seem to be confirmed CBP phone numbers associated with these accounts that came out of this breach. CBP has told WIRED just that they're looking into it. But that's an example that is really concerning, it would potentially show that this app is in wider use across other agencies in the US government.
Zoë Schiffer: Is there a national security concern with the fact that this app was developed in Israel, regardless of the fact that it was acquired by a US company recently?
Lily Hay Newman: The thing is, even without getting into any specific geopolitics, the point of the protocols that exist for the US government to use its own purpose-built communication platforms is that any and all foreign governments conduct espionage. The US does it. Everyone does it. So, for your most sacred and sensitive national communication, you want to do that on a platform that you completely control, that you have built and vetted yourself, and just all parameters are controlled by you. You don't want to involve any other parties. So Israeli espionage groups are known for being very aggressive, very innovative, very cunning. So, for that reason, particularly, perhaps it's a concern that TeleMessage was founded in the country and has those ties. But just in general, regardless of what country it is, I think it's important conceptually to understand that it doesn't make sense to use the app in this way.
Zoë Schiffer: After this reporting came out, TeleMessage has paused or stopped its services. What's the status of the company right now?
Lily Hay Newman: Right. So clearly, they have concerns, and their parent company, Smarsh, has concerns about these findings as well. They say that they are investigating a potential breach and have employed a third-party firm to help them with that. And they've taken down all the content from the TeleMessage website and paused TeleMessage operations, essentially. So they say it's a pause and pending the investigation, but a pretty big reaction here to these findings.
Zoë Schiffer: That's a good place to end it. When we come back, we'll share our recommendations for what to check out on WIRED.com this week. Welcome back to Uncanny Valley. I'm Zoë Schiffer, WIRED's director of business and industry. I'm joined today by WIRED senior writer Lily Hay Newman. Before we take off, Lily, tell our listeners what they absolutely have to read on WIRED this week.
Lily Hay Newman: I'm just fascinated by this story by our colleague Caroline Haskins. US border agents are asking for help taking photos of everyone entering the country by car. And this is, we're just continuing our CBP discussions for today. CBP has apparently released a request for information seeking pitches, essentially for companies to help them do vehicle surveillance at the border and face recognition technology to see specifically who is in cars, not just the front seat. And I think it's really important for all of us to be aware of the extensive and expansive surveillance dragnet at the US border and all different types of US border crossings. The southern border of the US has long been known as sort of like a forefront of surveillance technology. And so it's dark, but interesting to hear that CBP feels like they don't yet have what they need to do this type of analysis and face recognition in cars, but that they want it, and they're trying to expand the analysis they can do on who is in every car.
Zoë Schiffer: Right. And it'll be interesting to see which company gets this contract. OK. Well, I wanted to flag a piece that we published yesterday by Paresh Dave and Kylie Robison. It's about OpenAI announcing that it is not, in fact, going to restructure its company to make the nonprofit arm not in control. In other words, the nonprofit arm is going to remain in control of the company. And this is a reversal of a prior announcement where it said it was going to become a public benefit corporation, likely to make fundraising easier. But after the plan was announced, the company got a ton of pushback from a variety of civic organizations and also Elon Musk, who was involved in the founding of the company before an acrimonious split in 2018. These groups don't usually agree on a lot, but they agreed on this, that becoming a for-profit company was in violation of OpenAI's founding mission. So we have a lot of good reporting on how people are taking this news and what it means for the future of the company. That's our show for today. We'll link to all the stories we spoke about in the show notes. Make sure to check out Thursday's episode of Uncanny Valley, which is about Trump's meme coin saga and the conflict of interest that come with it. Adriana Tapia produced this episode. Amar Lal at Macro Sound mixed this episode. Jordan Bell is our executive producer. Condé Nast's head of global audio is Chris Bannon. And Katie Drummond is WIRED's global editorial director.
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Emulated docked performance is comparable to a GTX 1050 Ti.
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While we still have a month before the Nintendo Switch 2 makes its official debut, hardware sleuth Geekerwan managed to obtain an engineering board for the device. This allowed him to put the onboard Tegra T239 SoC under a FIB-SEM (Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscope) to examine the chip's internals, allowing for precise layer-by-layer analysis of the structure, revealing important details such as the core layout and process node.
Given Nintendo's strict legal stance and letigous precedents, it's quite amazing how Geekerwan managed to get ahold of the board, proceeded to dissect the SoC, and spilled all the juicy details on YouTube. Apparently, the board was acquired by hardware analyst Kurnal from Xianyu (Taobao's version of eBay) and then passed on to Geekerwan. Either way, this analysis answers many questions, as Nintendo has yet to officially disclose many SoC details.
The Switch 2 SoC measures around 207mm2 in size, twice as large as the previous X1 SoC (Mariko/Tegra T210). This exact unit was taped out sometime in 2021, and is codenamed "Tegra T239" as revealed by the stamps on the metal layers of the chip after decapping. This suggests the Switch 2 was planned for an earlier reveal, but was likely postponed due to unknown reasons.
Based on the data gathered by Geekerwan, the Switch 2's SoC uses a customized Samsung process that blends features from its 10nm and 8nm technologies. In essence, it carries similar characteristics to Samsung's 8N node employed on the RTX 30 series, but is slightly different. Earlier speculation suggested Nintendo might employ a more advanced 5nm process. However, porting Ampere, which was originally designed for 8N, to a completely new process would necessitate redesigning and revalidating all IP blocks, with added costs, and that's something Nintendo likely wanted to avoid.
The closest relative to the T239 is Nvidia's Tegra T234 used in the Jetson Orin. Die-shot analysis of the T239 reveals 8x Arm Cortex-A78C cores, each with 256KB of private L2 cache, sharing a 4MB L3 pool, next to an Ampere-based GPU, likely based on the GA10B die, with 6 TPCs, for a total of 12 SMs or 1,536 Ampere-based CUDA cores. The CPU-side A78AE (T234) and A78C (T239) cores are similar in size at 2.4mm2, however, each GPU SM (Streaming Multiprocessor) in the T239 (2.71mm2) is 22% smaller than the T234 (3.47mm2). Interestingly, both of these carry larger SMs than the GA102-based RTX 3090, which sits at 2.57mm2.
Aside from the SoC, the board is equipped with 256GB of TLC-based UFS 3.1 storage from SK hynix, while the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules are sourced from MediaTek. The built-in power delivery system can supply up to 34.4W of power, though I doubt that the Switch 2 will actually need that much juice. Memory-wise, we're looking at 12GB (2x6GB) of LPDDR5x-8533 RAM from SK hynix. However, it'll likely be downclocked to 6400 MT/s (Docked) and 4266 MT/s (Handheld) to conserve power, like the previous Switch.
Geekerwan emulated the performance of the Switch 2 using an underclocked RTX 2050 laptop GPU. While not a one-to-one recreation, in synthetics, the laptop (using leaked docked specifications) showed similar performance to a GTX 1050 Ti, while the handheld-spec configuration matched a GTX 750 Ti, slightly inferior to the Steam Deck. We'll need to wait for the official embargo next month to get a better idea about the performance. However, it wouldn't be wrong to expect Nintendo to eye a mid-gen refresh using a more modern 5nm/3nm process.
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Hassam Nasir is a die-hard hardware enthusiast with years of experience as a tech editor and writer, focusing on detailed CPU comparisons and general hardware news. When he's not working, you'll find him bending tubes for his ever-evolving custom water-loop gaming rig or benchmarking the latest CPUs and GPUs just for fun.
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Everyone's favorite old paperclip is back in action — in a manner of speaking.
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If you're old enough to remember when 8MB thumb drives hit the scene, you'll probably remember Clippy, Microsoft's digital writing assistant. Clippy lived in the bottom corner of Microsoft Office from 1996 to 2003, but now he can return to your desktop with a new life as a mouthpiece for AI, thanks to a new project from software engineer Felix Rieseberg.
This odd couple of 90's UI design and the modern-day AI craze provides potential users the ability to set up any locally installed LLM and use Clippy as its mouthpiece. Many of the most popular publicly-available LLMs will function with Clippy, with one-click installation supported for the newest from Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Qwen. Clippy's original art and animations are joined by a Windows 98-styled chat and settings window.
On installation, Clippy silently cycles through animations while the program automatically downloads Google's Gemma3-1B model. Once paired with an LLM, the Clippy-bot approximates the original Clippy's tone thanks to a lengthy prompt instruction that seeks to disguise the model in use. Users are able to edit or replace this starting prompt to get their most Clippy-esque experience (or to give your Clippy more of his highly-memed snark).
Rieseberg, creator of new Clippy, refers to the program as "a love letter and homage to the late, great Clippy," as well as Microsoft's 90s visual aesthetic. He calls the app a piece of "software art," or, if you don't like it, "software satire." There is certainly something to be said about the relationship between an artist and programmer designing a quirky writing aide character, and a chatbot later told to attempt to emulate that work — though the list of people waxing philosophical about Clippy likely doesn't extend far beyond this author.
We've seen Clippy replacements before, but this new-and-improved paperclip doesn't require access to a paid tier of ChatGPT, nor does it seek to modernize Clippy's look to match Windows' newer design sensibilities. This is the Clippy you know and love (?): a more 90's-looking blend of old and new computing sensibilities.
The Clippy Desktop Assistant is available for download for Windows, Mac, and Linux via the project's website, with a deeper look behind the curtain available on Github. While it's not likely to revolutionize any desktop workflows, this new Clippy stands at the ready for those happy few with one foot in the vector-graphics of the 90s... and the other in the AI-present.
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Uber and Chinese autonomous vehicle technology company WeRide plan to expand a commercial robotaxi partnership and bring the service to another 15 cities over the next five years. The expansion comes five months after the two companies launched a commercial robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi.
As part of that expansion, Uber will increase its investment into WeRide by $100 million, according to a Wednesday regulatory filing. WeRide said it expects the cash to come through by the second half of 2025.
The companies said the expansion will include cities in Europe. Under the partnership, WeRide's robotaxi services are available through the Uber app. The relationship is similar to Uber's deal with Waymo, in which the ride-hailing company handles the network routing and fleet operations, while the autonomous vehicle company remains responsible for the AV tech.
Uber and WeRide, which went public on the Nasdaq in late October, operate together in Abu Dhabi and announced plans to add Dubai. In Abu Dhabi, they work with local Tawasul Transport to handle fleet operations.
The additional 15 cities will focus on cities outside of China and the United States.
Uber has locked up more than 15 partnerships with a wide-range of autonomous vehicle technology companies over the past two years across ride-hailing, delivery, and trucking. In the past two months, Uber has announced deals with Ann Arbor, Michigan-based May Mobility Volkswagen, and Chinese self-driving firm Momenta.It's most high-profile partnership in the U.S. — and one that is commercially operating today — is with Waymo. The companies offer a Waymo on Uber service in Austin and are about to do the same in Atlanta.
This story was originally published May 5. It has been refreshed with Uber's capital commitment to WeRide.
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With the retail embargo lifting tomorrow, reviews of AMD's China-exclusive RX 9070 GRE have gone live. Hardware publication EXPreview has published its review of a custom model from XFX, providing us with insight into the card's performance and where it stands versus the competition. Positioned as an intermediary between the RX 9070 and the soon-to-launch RX 9060 XT, the RX 9070 GRE is a series of hits and misses. It trails the RTX 5070 in rasterization, and its pricing doesn't really add to its value versus AMD's own RX 9070. Around 10 days ago, the RX 9070 GRE unexpectedly became available for pre-order across major Chinese online stores. AMD later officially confirmed the card, but it is currently region-locked, with no word on when it might hit the global market. Under the hood, it carries a cut-down Navi 48 GPU wielding 3,072 Stream Processors (48 CUs) — roughly 25% fewer than the RX 9070 XT. It offers 12GB of GDDR6 memory at slower 18 Gbps speeds, but that is likely an artificial limitation. The GPU launched at 4,199 RMB ($575). For context, the RX 9070 and RTX 5070 both debuted at 4,499 RMB ($625). Saving $50 means you'll be missing out on exclusives, like RTX HDR, VSR, Smooth Motion, and MFG found on the RTX 5070, and the extra VRAM and compute power with the RX 9070 that can enable 4K gaming. The RX 9070 GRE does not have an MBA (Made By AMD) variant, similar to other RX 9070 GPUs. The model under review is the XFX RX 9070 GRE Snow Wolf, a pure-white card with a triple-fan cooler and dual 8-pin connectors. Internally, the card is equipped with 20 Gbps GDDR6 modules from Samsung, so you might be able to extract some performance gains by memory overclocking.Across a suite of games at 1440p, the RTX 5070 appears to be on average 5-10% faster than the RX 9070 GRE in raw rasterization performance. Based on our testing, we expected this to translate to a 15-20% performance gap versus the RX 9070, expanding to almost 30% versus the RX 9070 XT. The RX 9070 GRE easily outperforms the RTX 5060 Ti, which is expected with the price difference between the two. What's interesting is the raytracing performance, where the RX 9070 GRE appears to — surprisingly — keep pace with the RTX 5070 in a handful of titles.
Games (1440p)
RX 9070 GRE (FPS)
RTX 5070 (FPS)
RTX 5060 Ti (FPS)
RX 9070 GRE vs RTX 5070
Borderlands 3 (Raster)
135
134
100
0.74%
Forza Horizon 5 (Raster)
143
157
127
-9.79%
Assassin's Creed: Shadows (Raster)
50
54
42
-8.00%
Far Cry 6 (Raster)
163
166
128
-1.84%
Cyberpunk 2077 (Raster)
100
110
81
-10.00%
F1 24 (Raster)
187
186
144
0.53%
Rainbow Six Siege (Raster)
247
301
229
-21.86%
Black Myth Wukong (Raster)
36
43
32
-19.44%
Assassin's Creed: Shadows (RT)
39
39
30
0.00%
F1 24 (RT)
104
100
73
3.85%
Cyberpunk 2077 (RT)
41
46
35
-12.20%
Far Cry 6 (RT)
142
140
111
1.41%
Much of the same story repeats at 4K, where both GPUs are held down by the 12GB framebuffer. At idle, this specific RX 9070 GRE model draws 9.3W of power, jumping to 245W under load, with a peak of 317W. Once adjusted for global prices, the RX 9070 GRE's MSRP translates to roughly $500 (minus the 13% VAT). In a world where RDNA 4 GPUs were readily available, the RX 9070 GRE would've been another upsell for the RX 9070, which already acts as a stepping stone for the RX 9070 XT. That said, it's important to remember the RX 7900 GRE also launched with a steep $700 price tag in China before its global launch at $549. In any case, RX 9070 GRE GPUs, along with pre-built systems from System Integrators, will be available for purchase tomorrow in China. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
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Hassam Nasir is a die-hard hardware enthusiast with years of experience as a tech editor and writer, focusing on detailed CPU comparisons and general hardware news. When he's not working, you'll find him bending tubes for his ever-evolving custom water-loop gaming rig or benchmarking the latest CPUs and GPUs just for fun.
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Foundation season two wrapped up in September 2023—a thrilling, thoroughly entertaining outing that improved upon season one in many ways. Will that trend continue for the third season of Apple TV+‘s Isaac Asimov adaptation? It seems highly likely considering the teaser and first-look images the streamer just shared, along with a premiere date: July 11.
Despite some behind-the-scenes duty-shifting that saw David S. Goyer stepping back as showrunner, though he's still very much involved with the series—as well as delays related to the 2023 Hollywood strikes and some budget concerns—season three still looks as large-scale and epic as the previous two.
Here's the official description for the season: “Set 152 years after the events of season two, the Foundation has become increasingly established far beyond its humble beginnings while the Cleonic Dynasty's Empire has dwindled. As both of these galactic powers forge an uneasy alliance, a threat to the entire galaxy appears in the fearsome form of a warlord known as ‘The Mule' whose sights are set on ruling the universe by use of physical and military force, as well as mind control. It's anyone's guess who will win, who will lose, who will live and who will die as Hari Seldon, Gaal Dornick, the Cleons, and Demerzel play a potentially deadly game of intergalactic chess.”
Jared Harris stars as Hari, with Lou Llobell as Gaal and Lee Pace as the middle-aged (and hottest, duh) Cleon. Laura Birn is the crafty android Demerzel; Cassian Bilton and Terrence Mann play the younger and older Cleons, respectively. Rowena King also returns as the legendary mathematician Kalle.
New characters in season three—necessary due to that time jump, as well as the fact that a lot of folks did not survive season two—will be played by Cherry Jones, Brandon P. Bell, Synnøve Karlsen, Cody Fern, Tómas Lemarquis, Alexander Siddig, and Troy Kotsur.
Pilou Asbæk, a fan favorite from Game of Thrones, is playing the terrifying Mule—introduced in season two as more of a shadowy future promise—which feels like perfect casting.
Here are some first-look season three images, including our pal the Mule:
Foundation returns Friday, July 11 to Apple TV+. It'll run 10 episode with a weekly rollout through September 12.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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Goyer's still involved with the show, but the regime change speaks to a larger instability across the streaming and TV landscape.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is just the latest genre show worth watching on the service, alongside the likes of Severance , For All Mankind , Silo , and more.
"Creation Myths" wrapped up the second season of Apple TV+'s Isaac Asimov adaptation, but left a door yawning open for more.
The Apple TV+ Isaac Asimov adaptation starring Jared Harris and Lee Pace is better than ever in its second season.
The season two premiere of the Asimov-inspired series, "In Seldon's Shadow," is now streaming on Apple TV+.
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If you've ever found yourself wishing for a second screen while working from a coffee shop, on a plane, or even at the kitchen table, you're not alone. Portable monitors are extremely convenient, even if you're just working from home. More real estate for all the things you need to do on your computer is always a good idea. And if you don't want to be tied to a traditional desk setup, that goes double. There's just one problem, though. Second monitors can be overpriced, or just not that great in general. That's why you won't want to miss out on this deal at Amazon.
The 15.6-inch MNN Portable Monitor is just $60 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $90. That's $30 off and a discount of 33%. That's an absolutely excellent price if you're looking to supplement a monitor you already have, and in fact is less than the price than a fancy dinner out.
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Plus, this monitor checks all the right boxes: it's lightweight, slim, easy to carry, and has full HD visuals perfect for when you're crunching spreadsheets or watching Netflix. Nearly 16 inches makes it the perfect size to act as a secondary screen next to your laptop without feeling too small or cramped. And because it uses an IPS panel, you'll get solid color accuracy and wide viewing angles without the potential for color weirdness.
You can just plug this monitor in and go, without a lengthy setup procedure. It includes two USB-C ports and a Mini HDMI port, so whether you're connecting to a MacBook, Windows laptop, Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, or even your phone, it's basically ready to go out of the box.
It also comes with a smart cover that doubles as a stand, so you don't need to bring a separate stand or prop it up awkwardly. The cover folds into position to give you multiple viewing angles depending on how and where you're using it. And while it doesn't have built-in speakers or touch features, it's a solid screen. And that's probably what you're looking for, anyway.
You aren't beating this monitor's price for just $60. It's an invaluable addition to a portable work station and an even better way to spruce up your desktop area at home. But if you're planning on buying it, be sure to do so quickly. There's no way they won't sell out at this price.
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Tech executives have long talked about how AI is going to revolutionize the advertising industry. In particular, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been quite vocal about how exactly he wants his company to lead the transformation.
Speaking onstage at Stripe's annual Sessions conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, Zuckerberg laid out his plans to automate the entire ad industry with a black-box, end-to-end AI ad tool.
A key component of such a product would entail putting thousands of AI-generated “test” ads in front of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads users, said Zuckerberg.
“The basic end goal here is any business can come to us, say what their objective is — we get new customers to do this thing, or sell these things — tell us how much they're willing to pay to achieve those results, connect their bank account, and then we just deliver as many results as we can,” he explained. “In a way, it's kind of like the ultimate business results machine. I think it'd be one of the most important and valuable AI systems that gets built.”
Zuckerberg first described this hypothetical machine on Ben Thompson's Stratechery podcast last week, and — if built as Zuckerberg envisions it — it would have huge implications for the ad industry. During his Sessions appearance, Zuckerberg posited that while creative ad agencies would continue to exist were Meta to deploy this AI, small businesses might not “have to start off with the creative” and Meta could simply handle all of their advertising operations.
In fact, Zuckerberg asserted during Sessions that Meta's ad tools, several of which have generative AI capabilities, are sophisticated enough already that the company doesn't even recommend that customers specify the demographics they'd like to target. Meta's tools can find interested users better than human marketers can, claimed Zuckerberg. The next logical step, he says, is trying to apply this data-driven optimization to the creative side.
“We're gonna be able to come up with, like, 4,000 different versions of your creative and just test them and figure out which one works best,” said Zuckerberg.
While this sort of solution may appeal to businesses, it's an open question as to what AI ad testing will do to Meta's platforms from a user experience point of view, considering they're already brimming with generative AI slop.
Meta has experimented with AI-generated images and comments in feeds, as well as AI chatbots users can interact with. The company more recently launched a social portal and dedicated app that spotlights generative AI content. Now, it appears yet another category of generative AI — ads — is poised to gunk up Meta's social media ecosystem.
If it wasn't clear before that users are the product on Meta's platforms and advertisers the customers, it's about to become crystal. While testing AI-generated ads may deliver value for companies, it means users will have to suffer through yet more slop.
The ad industry isn't likely to take kindly to Zuckerberg's vision, either.
There's been significant backlash over the ethics of using generative AI in creative fields. In October 2024, more than 11,000 creators signed an open letter condemning the use of human-generated art to train AI systems. Creators have also filed lawsuits against companies developing AI art tools, such as Midjourney and Stability AI.
To be fair, there are just as many creators and advertising executives who believe AI tools won't threaten their livelihoods anytime soon. Johnny Hornby, founder of the ad agency The&Partnership, on Tuesday published an op-ed arguing that creating successful branding campaigns is still a uniquely human task.
In any event, it seems that Zuckerberg has a pretty clear idea of how he wants to automate the ad industry and fill Meta's feed with AI — whether ad agencies or users like it or not.
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Our laptops can handle a lot all by themselves, yes. But if you're working at just your laptop, you're severely limiting yourself. What's considered a big laptop is like 17 inches, yet monitors pretty much start at 10 inches larger than that nowadays. Then you have the super wide, 4K displays for even more field of view. Maybe you do a lot of typing at your desk and you'd prefer having a tactile mechanical keyboard. On-board speakers for your laptop not loud enough? Gotta plug in speakers too. Then we have microphones, headphones, maybe even a drawing tablet for the artists out there. And all those need to be plugged in but you just have the one USB port on your laptop.
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Well, that's why you need a good docking station. This one from Anker has everything you could possibly need in one hub. Plus, Amazon currently has it marked down 26% for a limited time. That brings the price from $190 to just $140, saving you $50.
This Anker docking station is a single cable solution so you can avoid a messy desk and tangled wires. Just plug your laptop in with the USB-C cable to connect to all of your accessories at your desk in one go while also charging your device.
It wouldn't be an Anker product without fantastic charging capabilities. This docking station is equipped with a 85W laptop-charging USB-C port. It's also got an 18W Power Delivery USB-C port. You can connect you laptop to the 85W port while you phone is charging off the 18W Power Delivery USB-C port to get simultaneous high-speed charging.
Beyond the charging ports, the Anker laptop docking stations houses a USB-C data port, 3 USB-A ports, 2 HDMI ports, a DisplayPort, an Ethernet port, SD/microSD card slots, a 3.5 mm AUX port, and a DC input. That means you can connect to three different monitors at once in 1080p at 60Hz.
The SD/microSD card slots are are wonderful additional for photographers. Most computers no longer have an SD card slot built in, meaning we need to rely on dongles that can get lost easily. SD/microSD card support right on the docking station means always having it at the ready.
Anker's USB-C 13-in-1 docking station is a marvelous addition to any desk for laptop users. And thanks to Amazon's ongoing sale, you can get the handy device for just $140. That's $50 off (-26%) from its usual price of $190.
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7/10
“Bald Eaglet Dies During Snowstorm.” “Third Eaglet Belonging to Famous Big Bear Bald Eagles Dies.” “Jackie and Shadow Continue to Care for Their Eaglets.”
These were but a sampling of headlines from large news outlets back in mid-March, announcing not a significant national news event but the trials and tribulations of a pair of nesting eagles on Friends of Big Bear Valley's 2025 bald eagle nest cam. For years now, millions of viewers have been tuning in to live nest cams like this one, watching various bird species assemble nests from foraged sticks, feed fish and snakes to their young, and engage in all manner of activities both heartwarming and not. What if you could have the same experience, except instead of watching birds across the country you'd be seeing the miracle of life unfold in your own backyard?
This is the promise of Birdfy's new Polygon smart nest, a garden ornament of sorts that also serves as a backyard bird life documentarian. Instead of capturing birds simply eating, as with a smart bird feeder (Birdfy, a subsidiary of Netvue, also happens to make our favorite one), the Polygon and its AI-assisted app are primed and waiting to auto-edit a social-media-ready “story”—a prelude, followed by the process of nesting, hatching, growing, and fledging, and then The End, when the nest is officially abandoned for the season. Unlike with many smart feeders, it comes with unlimited cloud storage, and no additional subscription is required.
Putting a camera inside a nest box is obviously not a new idea, but the Polygon is thoughtfully designed to make the process of spying on birds as discreet and simple as possible. Its single 2-MP, 1080p camera and associated mechanisms are in a cavity separate from the nest box itself, the box's back hinges open for easy cleaning, and there's a totally waterproof remote control attached to a 10-foot wire, so you can restart the camera or charge it remotely if the built-in rooftop solar panel fails or runs out. (Though I never had to use this feature, as the camera stayed quite well charged—even during extended cloudy periods—during my testing period.)
Birdfy Nest Polygon Smart Birdhouse
Rating: 7/10
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The Polygon's somewhat avant-garde design sets it apart from Birdfy's two other smart nests, which feature the expected plain, rectangular wood boxes. Looking a bit like a jaunty parallelogram, this box is made of FSC-certified, rot-resistant bamboo with turquoise-painted panels on the front and back. It's certainly unique—it even won the gold award at 2024's French Design Awards. The floor of the nest cavity itself has holes to drain water or debris, there are horizontal indentations acting as a sort of ladder for the nestlings, and there's even a little “skylight” on top to let in light for the camera view.
Birdfy Nest Polygon Smart Birdhouse
Rating: 7/10
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Also of interest are the included interchangeable entry holes (0.9 inch, 1.5 inches, and 2 inches), each with its own metal predator guard to prevent chewing by squirrels or other unwanted visitors. The Birdfy website lists the types of birds that are attracted to each size hole, but I found some of Birdfy's suggestions, such as the size preferred by the black-capped chickadee, to contradict advice I'd seen elsewhere. I recommend consulting Cornell Lab's NestWatch project for both hole sizes and nesting box heights.
Out of the box, the Polygon comes mostly assembled, aside from needing to snap the camera in. Setup was extremely quick and simple—there are brackets, hose clamps, and a strap for mounting it to a pole, tree, or wall. I was able to quickly mount it by myself on a 1-inch-diameter pole from Amazon.
Birdfy Nest Polygon Smart Birdhouse
Rating: 7/10
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You'll definitely want to keep in mind the nesting seasons for your geographic region, as this is not a device for year-round use. The camera needs to be kept above 32 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal operation, and birds' nesting instinct is activated within a fairly rigid window of time. If you're in the US, the US Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency has a handy chart of date ranges by state during which you'll want to keep nesting boxes up.
Aside from the questionable nesting hole size advice, a couple of other Polygon features gave me pause. There's no roof overhang to keep rain from blowing into the hole; this was confirmed by the fact that I saw water droplets inside the nest every time it rained. The inside is also varnished, something experts explicitly advise against, though there is no discernible odor.
After five weeks of the birdhouse being up in my Pacific Northwest backyard within the nesting season window and not having so much as one curious visitor (at least, not one captured on camera), I reached out to Robyn Bailey, project director of NestWatch at Cornell Lab of Ornithology, with photos of my Polygon setup to see if something about it might be scaring the birds away.
“If you live somewhere that is warm, then I would have expected something to at least have gone inside it to look by now,” she said. She did point out that she has a similar nest box from another brand and noticed that the inside is quite cavernous compared to what birds typically prefer in the wild.
Birdfy Nest Polygon Smart Birdhouse
Rating: 7/10
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“I think most birds shy away from boxes that are much bigger than their needs, preferring to nest in a box that is just the right size,” she said. "I don't know exactly why … maybe it saves them the energy of having to make a much bigger nest to fill the bottom, or maybe it has something to do with temperature regulation. That said, if there is a shortage of good nesting sites, I would expect something to use the box.”
Something else I couldn't help but note: The camera makes an audible click when triggered either by movement or by opening the live view in the app. The sound is unfortunately further amplified by the roomy size and smooth varnish of the box. Given that birds are scared off my feeders when a door opens 30 feet away, I can see how sudden noises from inside their actual nest might be a deal-breaker.
Bailey pointed out, however, that because birds are most active during the day, there's enough ambient noise around that a camera click may not register, though this could vary widely from species to species. Despite the camera having quite decent infrared night vision, I will likely refrain from checking on any nesting birds at night, since they will be more likely to become startled by the noise.
So, in the meantime, I wait. At least I can say that the Polygon's Wi-Fi connection has never faltered despite the box being about 20 feet away from the house, and the 3-watt solar panel has kept the camera's 5,200-mAh battery well-charged. If and when birds do decide to pay a visit, I'm confident the Polygon will be ready.
Birdfy Nest Polygon Smart Birdhouse
Rating: 7/10
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Netflix announced on Wednesday that it's testing a short-form video feature, signaling that even a streaming giant with over 300 million subscribers is concerned about losing viewers' time spent on mobile to apps like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels.
The company debuted the feature at its first-ever product and tech event, where it also revealed several other upcoming plans for the service. These plans include an AI-powered search tool, as well as a redesign of the TV homepage and improved real-time recommendations.
Netflix's new mobile-only vertical feed allows users to easily scroll through clips of its original titles. Within this feed, users can tap on buttons to watch the entire show or movie immediately, save it to their “My List,” or share it with friends.
Of note is that the clips are curated from the “Today's Top Picks for You” section rather than being chosen from Netflix's entire library. This approach makes it specifically tailored to each user, ultimately encouraging viewers to watch the full shows.
The experiment rolls out globally in the coming weeks on iOS and Android devices. It'll appear for users as a tab on the in-app homepage.
The introduction of this feature comes at a pivotal time, as competition among platforms for viewer attention intensifies. Audiences increasingly favor quick entertainment, leading to a shift in traditional viewing habits. As a result, even large players like Netflix are adapting to retain and attract subscribers. This also follows President Trump's second extension of the deadline for the TikTok ban.
The latest test follows a trend among other streaming services that are trying out similar features. Tubi had its entry into short-form video last year with its “Scenes” feature. More recently, Peacock launched curated vertical video playlists earlier this year that not only feature short clips from TV series and films but also sports and news content.
Netflix is no stranger to experimenting with short-form video content. In 2021, the platform rolled out a TikTok-inspired feature called “Fast Laughs,” which focused on funny clips. However, this new test aims to reach a broader audience beyond just comedy fans and will be more personalized.
In terms of Netflix's new homepage update, one small change implemented is that the shortcuts for “Search” and “My List” were moved to the top of the page, where they were previously located on the left-hand side, making them easier to access.
Netflix also has new “callout” badges that help viewers discover titles. For example, if users are searching for the latest Emmy-winning content, these badges will be prominently displayed on the title cards featured on the homepage.
Additionally, Netflix improved its real-time recommendation system. Now when subscribers search for content, it considers factors such as the trailer a viewer recently watched or the actors they are looking up. For instance, if they give a thumbs-up to the popular TV series “Wednesday,” the system will quickly adjust their homepage to display similar recommended titles.
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Get inside access to Europe's top investment minds — with leaders from Monzo, Accel, Paladin Group, and more — plus top-tier networking at StrictlyVC London.
ServiceNow acquires Data.World months after snatching up Moveworks
Apple is looking to add AI search engines to Safari
Figma releases new AI-powered tools for creating sites, app prototypes, and marketing assets
Carta abandons startup shutdown business, instead backs SimpleClosure's $15M Series A
Microsoft adopts Google's standard for linking up AI agents
Uber invests $100M in WeRide to fuel robotaxi expansion across 15 more cities
Amazon to invest $4B in Chile to launch AWS infrastructure region
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Are you looking to get the most out of your new iPad? If you consider yourself an artist or are looking to expand yours horizons with a new skillset, the Apple Pencil Pro can take you there. Some might even consider you're only getting half of your iPad's functions without the pencil. It turns your tablet into a canvas. You can draw, sketch, color, take notes, mark up documents, and more. Well right now you can save 23% on the Apple Pencil Pro. That brings it's price down from $129 to just $99. Some quick napkin math with a regular pencil will tell you that will save you $30.
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The Apple Pencil Pro has both tilt and pressure sensitivity so you can simulate both the feeling of writing or drawing a real pencil as well as simulate the result. Painting, sketching, doodling, note-taking, any activity or task that you could do with pen and paper, you can now do with your iPad. It's much more satisfying to take on these sorts of actions with the Apple Pencil Pro than it is just using your finger. It's industry-leading low-latency will make each time you write or draw with the Apple Pencil Pro feel like the real thing.
It's easy to pair with you Apple iPad. Just magnetically attach the Apple Pencil Pro to the side of the iPad. It will both pair with the iPad over Bluetooth and begin charging. Leave it there when not in use so you always know where it is ad you always have a full battery when you need it. The Apple Pencil Pro weighs less than an ounce and is approximately six and a half inches long.
The Apple Pencil Pro has a handful of features designed in parallel with newer iPad Pro models, unique to it over the standard Apple Pencil 2. For one, it has a new squeeze function which allows you to switch between pre-programmed tools, colors, line weights. That means less time fiddling with settings and more time drawing. It also has a gyroscopic barrel roll for better brush and pen control along with custom haptic feedback, pulsing in your hand.
For a limited time, you can score yourself the Apple Pencil Pro for a reduced price. It is usually set at $129, however, at the moment Amazon has the digital drawing pen marked down buy 23%. That brings it down to just $99, saving you a cool $30. Check the product page to confirm compatibility with your model of iPad.
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If you had the opportunity to know your odds of developing Alzheimer's in the not-too-distant future, would you take it? And how might the knowledge change you? Research this week is among the first to try answering that second question.
Scientists in Israel and the U.S. conducted the study, which surveyed hundreds of people before and after they received a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan to assess their Alzheimer's risk status. Regardless of whether they tested positive or negative for increased Alzheimer's risk, their mental health remained stable. That said, people did become less motivated to maintain healthy lifestyle habits that could reduce their dementia risk, the study found.
Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, currently affecting over 7 million Americans. There is still some debate over how Alzheimer's develops, but one of its defining characteristics is a build-up of amyloid beta plaques in the brain (plaques being the hardy clumps of a misfolded form of amyloid beta).
This buildup starts to happen years, even decades, before someone shows the first symptoms of Alzheimer's, and a specific type of PET scan can eventually spot the build-up. The test alone doesn't confirm whether someone has or will develop Alzheimer's, but it can rule out the condition (at least in the near future), and is currently an important tool for diagnosing and monitoring the potential risk of Alzheimer's.
Shingles Vaccine Offers Hope Against Dementia
There has been some research looking at how people are affected by knowing their Alzheimer's risk, but these studies have typically been small or involved people who might already be seeking potential experimental treatments for Alzheimer's, according to the researchers (certain inherited mutations all but guarantee a person will develop early-onset Alzheimer's). They wanted to see how a relatively large group of cognitively healthy people in particular would respond to learning their risk from PET scans.
They recruited 199 healthy people aged 40 and older who had a family history of Alzheimer's for their study. Before the PET scan, the volunteers were surveyed about their current mental health, how worried they were about their memory, and how motivated they were about adopting or maintaining healthy habits thought to reduce dementia risk, such as exercising regularly. Six months after their test, they were asked the same questions.
People whose scans ruled out an immediate risk of Alzheimer's, the researchers found, experienced noticeable improvements in their overall levels of depression, anxiety, and memory concerns. Meanwhile, people with a confirmed risk of Alzheimer's experienced less anxiety and didn't become more depressed or more worried about their memory than before. Both groups, however, reported feeling less motivated to stick to their healthy habits.
“Our findings suggest no psychological harm in elevated and non-elevated [amyloid beta] PET scan status disclosure,” the authors wrote in their paper, published Wednesday in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia.
Can a Drug Prevent Alzheimer's Disease Decades Before It Happens?
The findings are especially relevant since we might be on the brink of a breakthrough in treating Alzheimer's. Several anti-amyloid drugs have been approved in recent years that can clear plaque from the brain and potentially slow down the progression of cognitive decline. These drugs are only modestly effective, but scientists are working on newer drugs or methods that could boost the potency of these treatments. Another promising approach might come from giving high-risk individuals anti-amyloid medications many years before they would be expected to show symptoms.
If early preventative treatment can work as hoped, it's possible that PET scans will become a common screening tool for Alzheimer's, the researchers say. That means understanding how people will react to their results is important, especially if we want to further reduce their risk. Even if today's medicine can't stop Alzheimer's from happening, for instance, studies have estimated up to 45% of cases are tied to lifestyle habits that we can change for the better. So finding a way to keep people motivated to stay healthy will be vital for Alzheimer's prevention moving forward.
“The decrease in motivation to implement lifestyle changes after the disclosure of elevated or non-elevated [amyloid beta] status warns against false reassurance during the disclosure process,” the researchers wrote.
In other words, learning about your Alzheimer's risk shouldn't be the end of the road. Regardless of your status, there's a lot you can do to keep your aging brain and body in relatively good shape, from regular cardio to getting certain vaccines. And someday soon, there might be even more tools available to ward off dementia.
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Research announced today is the first of its kind to suggest that anti-amyloid drugs can delay or even stop the progression of symptoms in people with early-onset Alzheimer's.
Scientists are testing an experimental anti-amyloid antibody in people expected to develop early-onset Alzheimer's.
A new review of the evidence shows that the 21-day rule isn't a rule after all.
New research suggests that inhaled xenon gas can help protect the brains of those with Alzheimer's disease.
A groundbreaking antipsychotic, a powerful new antibiotic, and a vaccine-like prophylactic for HIV are some of the most important drugs to have arrived this year.
The specialized ink could eventually replace clunky EEG wires and "potentially revolutionize" brain-computer interface devices.
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Nearly a decade ago, Nike's Vaporfly 4% ushered in running's “super shoe” era. With its big-rebound super foam midsole and carbon plate, boasting 4 percent efficiency gains, that shoe's revolutionary design triggered a running shoe arms race as rival brands adapted the formula for themselves. That battle is still raging, and now Puma wants in, with the Fast-R Nitro Elite 3—a hi-tech shoe that it says delivers the biggest gains yet.
It's a bold claim, but Puma is so confident that it offered WIRED access to its testing facility, allowing us to compare the Nitro Elite 3 against other running shoe brands. To make things interesting, we decided to compare it with the elite racer's favorite, the $250 Adidas Adios Pro 4, as well as a mid-priced daily running shoe, the $140 Asics Novablast 5.
The results were pretty surprising. And if you're about to push for a marathon PR, you'll definitely want to read on.
The impact of a good running shoe can't be underestimated. With records—both on road and track—tumbling in recent years, World Athletics was forced to change its footwear rules in 2020, limiting the stack height of road race competition shoes to a maximum of 40mm and a single carbon plate.
But those limitations haven't stifled the gains. Every brand still works within the World Athletics constraints trying to produce the next game-changing shoe, it's just now the designers have fewer levers to pull.
They can still tweak the properties of the gas-injected foams for cushioning, compression, resilience and energy return. Or fine-tune the stiffness, length, geometry and position of the carbon fibre plate to enhance the leverage.
The test subjects, from left to right: Adidas Adios Pro 4, Asics Novablast 5 and the Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3.
Recent shoes, like the Adidas Adios Pro 4, have experimented with the position and curvature—or the rockering—of the midsoles in a bid to roll runners into a more efficient gait.
Weight saving is a top priority, too. Studies show that for every 100 grams (about 3.5 oz) shaved off your shoe, running economy improves by approximately 1 percent. The hunt is always on for lighter foams, ways to cut unnecessary material from the midsole, plate and outsole. Stripped-back uppers also play a part with minimal heel collars, thin tongues and barely-there mesh.
Whether you're targeting a sub-3 or sub-5 hour marathon, the lure of the promised performance gains is strong. However, the effectiveness of carbon shoes varies significantly from shoe to shoe, and runner to runner.
Research indicates that while some runners experience improvements in running economy with new footwear tech, others see minimal benefits or even a decline in performance. Individual biomechanics, running speed, and adaptation to the shoe's design all play a significant role. The key is finding the shoe that you respond to.
The mixed results mean we've not seen any rival claims to compete with Nike's original 4% stamp. Until now.
Puma says the new Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 not only unlocks efficiency gains that outperform any other shoe on the shelves right now. But it's also a running shoe all runners respond to.
It sticks with the classic super-shoe recipe: a high-rebound, nitrogen-injected foam, a full length carbon plate, incredibly lightweight uppers and a very thin layer of outsole rubber. But in some ways it cuts a unique shape with a decoupled midsole, a steep heel cutaway that saves weight and an extended carbon plate that lips out at the front for additional leverage.
The changes from the Puma Fast-R2 to the Fast-R3 are subtle, but Puma promises they make a difference. Zeroing in on the details that unlocked the improved efficiency required a new design approach inspired by Formula 1's digital prototyping. Nowadays, tweaks to F1 cars are often modelled virtually, rather than physically on the track. Puma essentially applied a similar digital modelling approach to its running shoe development.
“We 3D recorded the foot strike of 15 athletes running, then used a computer to average them out and turn them into one,” says Todd Falker, product lead for running at Puma. “We could then take that digital foot strike and watch how the foot of all the runners interacted with the digital shoe.”
Romain Girard, VP of innovation at Puma adds more. “We replicated runner behavior in a 3D world, but the replication is 100 percent accurate. The way the shoe behaves in reality is exactly the same in the computer simulation.”
The technology not only allowed designers to identify parts of the shoe that weren't being used, for example 5.2 percent of the volume of the midsole foam had no impact. So that was cut. But it enabled designers to “test” 100s of different design permutations without having to go through the lengthy process of creating lots of physical prototypes to retest on runners.
“Usually you need to build one plate, a second plate, a third plate, and then you test them,” says Girard. “But we were able to test hundreds of plates and configurations digitally until we had a couple that were looking better, and then we had to make a decision.”
“We did this on a foam level, on a plate level, on traction level, on the feet level, so we could optimize the entire product from the second generation to the third.”
A closer look at the making of the Fast-R Nitro Elite 3.
This design process informed every detail of the new shoe, helping Puma cut 100 grams from the previous generation. The Puma Fast-R3 now weighs in at just 6.2 oz or 176 g in a US men's 9.5—one of the lightest running shoes going.
The super foam in the Puma shoe returns more energy, too—90 percent compared to 85 percent from the PEBA foam in the likes of the Nike Vaporfly.
“The product that you see here, is the first physical prototype that we built after this digital optimization,” says Girard.
“Basically what the computer said would work, works,” adds Falker.
It's got research to back it up, too. Once the Fast R-3 was finalized, Puma commissioned industry specialist Wouter Hoogkamer—the same person who wrote the original Nike Vaporfly 4% paper—to test the running efficiency benefits of its new shoe.
Hoogkamer's team put 15 volunteers, all of whom had run 5km in under 21 minutes (that's pretty quick, the average is closer to 30 minutes), in various leading carbon shoes, to test their running economy in a series of treadmill tests.
The results showed that on average, the Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 offered 3.5 percent efficiency gains over the Nike Alphafly 3 and the Adidas Adios Pro Evo 1. In fact, it offered improved running economy against every shoe on test, including its predecessor, the Fast-R2. But what's even more surprising, is that all of the 15 runners were their most efficient in the Fast-R3.
"The most striking result from this study was the consistency of the running economy improvements,” says Hoogkamer, who is also an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts. “For every single participant the numbers showed that running was easiest—requiring the least amount of metabolic energy—in the Fast-R 3.”
“We've never seen any other shoe beat this [the Fast-R 3] on any person in the lab, full stop. The least [response] has been about 2 percent,” adds Falker. “But on average, we're about 3.5 percent percent more efficient than the largest and second largest footwear brand's best shoes.”
Kieran gets to work with a running economy test in Puma's Nitro Lab.
Brands don't often invite close comparison with rival brands but numbers like those from Hoogkamer's study might explain why Puma threw open the lab doors for us to test it for ourselves.
The team at Puma's Nitro Lab put me through the same test used for Hoogkamer's study—something called a running economy test. This test is commonly used to benchmark the impact of running shoes on performance and measures oxygen usage to quantify the effort required to run at a given speed.
“The less oxygen you use, the lower your running economy and the better your running efficiency,” says Laura Healy, senior manager for research & sport science at Puma.
“Running economy savings can directly translate to running performance, meaning you can run faster for the same amount of energy. In theory, if we can make you more efficient with our shoes, we can make you faster.”
The Puma research team strapped me into an oxygen exchange mask, a bit like those often used for VO2 Max tests. After an obligatory Bane impersonation and a 10 minute warm-up on the treadmill, I was asked to maintain a series of 5 minute efforts, running around 10 seconds slower than my target marathon pace in each of my test shoes.
I ran twice in each one, reversing the order on the second set, with two minutes rest between each effort. During the runs, the team measured the amount of oxygen I used and carbon dioxide I output. The results from the two tests were then averaged and compared.
The results of Kieran's running economy test.
While I was secretly hoping my underdog, the mid-priced Novablast 5 might produce a shock win, from a subjective perspective, the Adidas and Puma shoes felt more efficient. I also felt more natural in the Puma shoe, but that was a much closer call.
My results followed the findings of the University of Massachusetts study. I was 4.9 percent less efficient in the non-plated Asics Novablast 5. I was also 2.23 percent less efficient in the carbon-plated Adidas Adios Pro 4.
In the world of elite, or indeed serious amateur, running, those are significant numbers. While the efficiency gains don't translate one-for-one into time savings, the efficiency improvements would mean a theoretical performance gain for a half marathon of close to a minute and half (from 1:22:00 to 1:20:37) or 3 minutes knocked off my marathon time (from 2:54:00 to 2:50:58).
Of course there's more to running a PR than the shoes you do it in but, with all other things in balance, those are big potential time savings.
Boosting efficiency on a treadmill in a lab is one thing, but it's another to reproduce that performance on the feet of real runners taking part in real runs. But early tests in the wild are certainly positive for Puma.
At the recent 2025 Boston Marathon and London Marathon, Puma put 180 runners in its Fast-R3, and more than a third of them beat their previous marathon records. That still means more didn't than did, of course, but it's notable that 38 runners beat their times by more than three minutes.
In a slightly less prestigious test, this WIRED guinea pig knocked 12 seconds off their 5km PR, running 17:41 at a London parkrun. I also put the Puma supershoes through my own, more thorough, real-world examination at the London Marathon.
The shoes undoubtedly worked, albeit maybe too well in the first half. I finished with a time of 2:58:57—that's 4 minutes slower than my marathon PR, but on a very hot day. Also, if you know anything about marathon pacing, you'll know it's a terrible idea to run a half marathon PR in the first half of the marathon. Which is exactly what I did. I also threw in a 10-mile and a 30KM PR in that mix. I can't prove it, but I think some of that was down to how strong I felt in the Puma shoes.
Looking closer at my stats, I held PR pace up to the 19th mile before dropping off. Even in the last 6 miles, the smooth, snappy feedback from the Fast-R3 helped me hang on when it looked like sub-3 might be lost.
I review a lot of the best running shoes, and I have no hesitation in saying the Puma Fast-R3 are the real deal. Light, punchy, propulsive and crucially comfortable over the full 26.2 miles, even when things aren't quite going according to plan. If you're chasing a PR, this shoe should be on your list to consider.
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On a crisp Saturday in March, beneath a canopy of pixelated cherry blossoms, two avatars stood in front of a digital altar crafted from shimmering quartz blocks and flickering redstone torches. They were surrounded by a sprawling Minecraft village, complete with custom-coded NPCs reciting lore about the couple's decade-long digital courtship. Nearby, pixelated foxes darted between guests—each one logged in from across the world, dressed in custom skins as forest druids and rogue mages. After the vows (typed and read aloud on Discord), guests dispersed for side quests, scavenger hunts, and an enchanted maze culminating in a virtual fireworks show. This wasn't a rehearsal for an in-person wedding—this was the wedding.
Welcome to the new frontier of love: the hyper-niche internet wedding.
Over the past decade, virtual weddings emerged as a necessity—Zoom ceremonies during Covid-19 lockdowns, livestreams for distant relatives, even robotic proxies for international couples facing visa issues. But what's happening now is different. More couples are choosing to host their ceremonies in the very digital spaces where they first met, bonded, and built their lives. Not as a compromise, but as a celebration of who they are—and the communities that shaped them. As such, platforms like Minecraft, Discord, and VRChat have become unconventional yet meaningful venues. These aren't stopgap solutions; they're deliberate, deeply personal choices.
These digital ceremonies often incorporate interactive elements: virtual scavenger hunts, themed quests, and personalized avatars. Guests might receive digital invitations embedded with augmented reality features, allowing them to experience a 3D animation of the couple's journey together. One couple, who met in a Discord server dedicated to indie game development, tells WIRED they hosted their wedding within that same server, complete with custom emoji, bot-generated confetti, and a playlist curated by fellow server members.
The appeal isn't just about novelty. For many, it's about authenticity and accessibility. Virtual weddings can be more inclusive, allowing friends and family from around the globe to attend without the constraints of travel. They also offer a canvas for creativity, enabling couples to design experiences that reflect their unique stories and shared interests. It's not uncommon to hear vows referencing video game lore or to see ring exchanges coded into emotes or Discord bots.
Sarah Nguyen, 24, from Portland, Oregon, and Jamie Patel, 25, from Leicester, England, met when they were 13 years old on a Minecraft role-play server. What started as a random team-up to build a tavern in a medieval village turned into years of collaboration. “We'd log on almost every day after school,” Nguyen tells WIRED. “Sometimes we'd just build or farm; sometimes we'd write whole stories for our characters. It was this creative outlet that became our friendship and then something more.”
By the time they were 18, Nguyen and Patel had developed their own shared Minecraft world—a sprawling, custom-coded fantasy realm where their avatars led an epic saga as rulers of a magical kingdom. “We didn't just game together,” Patel says. “We were world-building, storytelling, living inside this universe we made.
When Patel proposed last year, it happened, fittingly, in Minecraft. He designed a secret quest line for Nguyen's character, culminating in a mountaintop scene where an NPC delivered his proposal via in-game dialog. “He knew I'd say yes before I even reached the end,” Nguyen says, laughing.
“We've lived apart our whole relationship. That world is where we live together.”
So when it came time to plan their wedding, Minecraft wasn't just a nostalgic choice—it was inevitable. “It's the closest thing we have to a shared home,” Nguyen explains. “We've lived apart our whole relationship. That world is where we live together.” (The couple now lives together in Portland.)
Their virtual wedding included 15 custom NPCs recounting their love story, a cathedral constructed from sea lanterns and obsidian blocks, and a scavenger hunt where guests helped retrieve a “forgotten heirloom” to unlock the altar. Around 50 friends and family attended, logging in from eight countries. “We had some older relatives watch via Twitch since they weren't gamers,” Patel says.
While some guests were skeptical at first, both families ultimately embraced it. “My parents loved that it was so personal,” Nguyen says. “They didn't really understand Minecraft, but they understood that this was us.”
The whole event cost around $300, mostly for custom skin commissions, server hosting, and paying a designer to help with scripting the NPCs and quests. “Way cheaper than a real-world venue,” Patel says. “And no seating charts.”
They also held a small in-person dinner a few weeks later for local relatives, but for them, the Minecraft ceremony was “the real wedding.”
In the Roblox metaverse, Ashley Rivera, 27, from San Diego, and Luna Kim, 26, from Seoul, held their wedding inside a pastel castle floating among digital clouds. The couple met five years ago in a Roblox fashion design community, bonding over a shared love of avatar styling, digital art, and hyperpop playlists. “We'd spend hours just designing outfits together,” Kim says. “It wasn't just about dressing up—it was about creating little versions of ourselves and dreaming up lives for them.”
Though they had never played Roblox competitively, they were deeply embedded in its social and creative subcultures. “We met most of our friends there,” Rivera says. “It's where we threw birthday parties, hosted art shows, organized karaoke nights. It was our town square.”
When Kim proposed last summer, it happened inside a Roblox “fashion show” they'd built together. “She walked an avatar down the runway holding a giant neon ring,” Rivera says. “And I just started sobbing.”
Their wedding reflected that same playful spirit. Guests arrived as anime-style avatars dressed in themed looks—cottagecore, fairy, or postapocalyptic chic. Instead of a cocktail hour, guests completed an obstacle course Kim designed. Instead of a DJ, they programmed a scripted dance party synced to their favorite hyperpop tracks.
“It was chaotic but perfect,” Kim says. “We wanted it to feel like a game, not a ceremony.”
Their families were supportive, if bemused. “My grandma thought Roblox was a new church,” Rivera says, laughing. “But my little cousins were obsessed.” They also hosted an IRL brunch with family a month later.
The entire virtual event cost them about $500, mainly spent on custom avatar assets and hiring a Roblox developer to script the venue and activities. “We had way more freedom than a real-world venue would allow,” Rivera says. “And no clean-up after.”
Though both couples admitted to some early fears about being judged, they found their communities overwhelmingly supportive. “People think it's weird until they see how beautiful and personal it actually is,” Rivera says. “We weren't trying to replace weddings. We were just making one that felt true to us.”
Jessica Hu, 34, an ordained officiant based in Chicago, has made a name for herself as a “digital celebrant,” specializing in ceremonies across Twitch, Discord, and VRChat. Since launching her virtual wedding services in 2020, she has officiated over 40 ceremonies in online spaces.
“It's easy to dismiss it as novelty,” Hu says. “But these weddings are deeply sacred. I've had couples exchange vows using emoji reactions. I've had Discord bots cue the processional music. I've seen Twitch chats cry in real time.”
For many, Hu says, these ceremonies aren't just an alternative to real-life weddings—they're more accessible, more creative, and more authentic. “I've worked with queer couples whose families wouldn't attend a physical wedding, or couples in countries where their identities aren't recognized. In virtual space, they can be surrounded by love, on their own terms.”
for the wedding industry at large, the interest in custom digital weddings opens up new possibilities. Event planning companies are starting to offer digital packages. For instance, Wedfuly specializes in virtual wedding services, providing equipment and professional support to livestream ceremonies with multi-angle coverage and interactive features. Designers are creating custom skins and virtual fashion. Tech developers are building plug-ins and mods specifically for ceremonies in platforms like Minecraft or VRChat. A cottage industry is emerging around this demand, one that merges code with creativity, UX with intimacy.
There's also a broader cultural resonance: These weddings speak to a generation raised on fandom, internet-native humor, and platforms where the line between creator and consumer is blurred. They're not looking for a one-size-fits-all fairy tale—they want a love story they cowrite.
So no, the church bells aren't going silent anytime soon. But in the background, you might hear something else: the swell of a custom-coded orchestral track, the soft ping of an emoji reaction, or the laughter of guests navigating a post-ceremony quest.
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AMD warns that the U.S. export tariffs may hit its sales
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Late on Tuesday, AMD announced its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2025, posting its highest quarterly revenue ever. The company's results were driven by sales of expensive client and datacenter CPUs as well as improved sales of Instinct MI300-series AI accelerators. However, the company's gaming earnings dropped mainly due to the slowdown of console sales. But while the company's revenues in Q1 set records, AMD warned that the U.S. export tariffs may hit its sales by around $1.5 billion in 2025.
AMD posted a revenue of $7.438 billion for the first quarter of 2025, up 36% year-over-year. When it comes to earnings, this is the best quarter posted by AMD throughout its history. In fact, it is more than AMD earned for the whole year 2019. AMD's gross profit totaled $3.736 billion, whereas its net income achieved $709 million for the quarter (up a whopping 2,139% for the same quarter a year ago) as its gross margin hit 50%.
"We delivered an outstanding start to 2025 as year-over-year growth accelerated for the fourth consecutive quarter driven by strength in our core businesses and expanding data center and AI momentum," said Dr. Lisa Su, AMD chair and CEO. "Despite the dynamic macro and regulatory environment, our first quarter results and second quarter outlook highlight the strength of our differentiated product portfolio and consistent execution positioning us well for strong growth in 2025."
In the first quarter, AMD's Client and Gaming division generated $2.9 billion in revenue, reflecting a 28% increase compared to the same period last year. The Client subsegment contributed $2.3 billion, marking a 68% rise year-on-year, largely fueled by high interest in the latest generation of Ryzen AI processors and a product mix that included more premium parts (such as Ryzen 9000 X3D for desktops and Ryzen AI 300-series for laptops).
In contrast, revenue from the Gaming subsegment declined 30% to $647 million, mainly due to reduced contributions from AMD's semi-custom system-on-chips for Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation game consoles. Nonetheless, AMD expressed optimism about sales of its latest Radeon RX 9070-series graphics cards for desktop PCs based on the RDNA 4 architecture.
AMD's Data Center division reported $3.7 billion in revenue in Q1 2025, reflecting a 57% rise compared to the same quarter last year. This sharp increase was primarily fueled by continued momentum in server processor, particularly the 5th Generation EPYC CPUs. Nonetheless, AMD says that sales of its Instinct MI300-series accelerators for AI also inreased. Specifically, AMD, highlighted new deployments of of its AI GPUs with Core42, Oracle, and Siemens.
AMD's Embedded products unit generated $823 million in the first quarter, a 3% decrease from the prior year. This decline reflected varied conditions across end markets, with some areas showing strength while others struggling. Specifically, the launch of the EPYC Embedded 9005 processors, which are being integrated into IBM's latest storage systems and Cisco's high-end network security appliances, positively affected performance of the division. In addition, AMD also began shipments of Spartan UltraScale+ FPGAs and second-generation Versal AI Edge SoCs. However, demand for other products was a mixed bag.
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Looking ahead to the second quarter of 2025, AMD anticipates revenue to be around $7.4 billion ±$300 million. However, the company's profitability is expected to be impacted by a one-time $800 million inventory-related charge tied to the recently imposed U.S. export controls, which will lower the reported gross margin to around 43%. Without this adjustment, the gross margin would be around 54%.
Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom's Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.
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Brings crash dump analysis into the AI era by integrating GitHub Copilot with WinDBG.
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Software engineer Sven Scharmentke (AKA Svnscha) has shared a project that they say "might change crash dump analysis forever." The new contextual natural language conversational tool contrasts sharply with manually typing arcane commands into a terminal to analyze crash data, which is the established modus operandi of a professional software engineer, even in 2025. Svnscha goes on to assert that the new open-source tool, available as mcp-windbg on GitHub, can go deep. The AI runs a "simply amazing" array of WinDBG/CDB commands, boosting productivity and eradicating a once tedious task.
AI peddlers have developed large language models that initially targeted creative writing and have since moved to visual arts – graduating from hand-drawn style art and photorealistic creations to videos in recent times. AI has also made significant inroads into computer programming. However, most people want AI to leave the fun, creative stuff to humans and take the sting out of dull, soul-crushing, repetitive tasks. This seems to be where Svnscha's mcp-windbg might actually succeed.
In brief, the mcp-windbg tool enables AIs to interact with Microsoft's multipurpose debugger WinDBG. Its cunning skill is in giving LLMs the ability to execute debugger commands. And, even if you have swallowed the WinDBG manual, this AI will likely know debugger commands better than you. Copilot will probably also interpret assembly code, decode hexadecimal, traverse structures with symbols, and perform other tasks much better than you. You just have to ask the right questions.
Svnscha goes into some detail about their prior frustration in debugging crashes, the lightbulb moment to involve AI, and how the mcp-windbg tool works, all in a dedicated blog post. The software engineer humbly admits the 'hard part" of this work was implementing the CDB (Microsoft's Command-Line Console Debugger) interaction layer, and this was done during a session "vibe-coding with two coffees on a Saturday morning."
However, the videos shared help encapsulate the leveraging of Copilot with CDB. There are two to watch on the linked blog, starting with a Crash Analysis and Automated Bugfix using Copilot, followed by an Automated Crash Dump Analysis of Multiple Crash Dump Files.
What you first see shows Svnscha installing mcp-windbg, then running a Windows app that crashes. Next, GitHub Copilot is fired up and asked to find the crash dump and fix the underlying code issue. "The AI quickly identifies that the application crashed, explains which specific conditions led to the crash, and suggests a fix," says Svnscha.
The second video is similar but shows the tool analyzing multiple files simultaneously.
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What this all means, in practical terms, is that mcp-windbg can enable natural language crash analysis, contextual debugging, and root cause identification. Svnscha believes this can be a game-changer for other software engineers, support, quality assurance, and anyone else who comes into contact with crash dumps.
"It's like going from hunting with a stone spear to using a guided missile," Svnscha not-too-humbly boasts. However, they remind those eyeing this new tool, that it isn't a magical coding cure-all and that a modicum of debugging knowledge is still required to make the most of what is basically a "simple Python wrapper around CDB that relies on the LLM's WinDBG expertise."
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A patient who types with his brain thanks to a Neuralink implant is using AI chatbots to speed things up.
Last November, Bradford G. Smith got a brain implant from Elon Musk's company Neuralink. The device, a set of thin wires attached to a computer about the thickness of a few quarters that sits in his skull, lets him use his thoughts to move a computer pointer on a screen.
And by last week he was ready to reveal it in a post on X.
“I am the 3rd person in the world to receive the @Neuralink brain implant. 1st with ALS. 1st Nonverbal. I am typing this with my brain. It is my primary communication,” he wrote. “Ask me anything! I will answer at least all verified users!”
Smith's case is drawing interest because he's not only communicating via a brain implant but also getting help from Grok, Musk's AI chatbot, which is suggesting how Smith can add to conversations and drafted some of the replies he posted to X.
The generative AI is speeding up the rate at which he can communicate, but it also raises questions about who is really talking—him or Musk's software.
“There is a trade-off between speed and accuracy. The promise of brain-computer interface is that if you can combine it with AI, it can be much faster,” says Eran Klein, a neurologist at the University of Washington who studies the ethics of brain implants.
More volunteers will get Elon Musk's brain implant, but don't expect a product soon.
Smith is a Mormon with three kids who learned he had ALS after a shoulder injury he sustained in a church dodgeball game wouldn't heal. As the disease progressed, he lost the ability to move anything except his eyes, and he was no longer able to speak. When his lungs stopped pumping, he made the decision to stay alive with a breathing tube.
Starting in 2024, he began trying to get accepted into Neuralink's implant study via “a campaign of shameless self-promotion,” he told his local paper in Arizona: “I really wanted this.”
The day before his surgery, Musk himself appeared on a mobile phone screen to wish Smith well. “I hope this is a game changer for you and your family,” Musk said, according to a video of the call.
“I am so excited to get this in my head,” Smith replied, typing out an answer using a device that tracks his eye movement. This was the technology he'd previously used to communicate, albeit slowly.
Smith was about to get brain surgery, but Musk's virtual appearance foretold a greater transformation. Smith's brain was about to be inducted into a much larger technology and media ecosystem—one of whose goals, the billionaire has said, is to achieve a “symbiosis” of humans and AI.
Consider what unfolded on April 27, the day Smith announced on X that he'd received the brain implant and wanted to take questions. One of the first came from “Adrian Dittmann,” an account often suspected of being Musk's alter ego.
Dittmann: “Congrats! Can you describe how it feels to type and interact with technology overall using the Neuralink?”
Smith: “Hey Adrian, it's Brad—typing this straight from my brain! It feels wild, like I'm a cyborg from a sci-fi movie, moving a cursor just by thinking about it. At first, it was a struggle—my cursor acted like a drunk mouse, barely hitting targets, but after weeks of training with imagined hand and jaw movements, it clicked, almost like riding a bike.”
Another user, noting the smooth wording and punctuation (a long dash is a special character, used frequently by AIs but not as often by human posters), asked whether the reply had been written by AI.
Smith didn't answer on X. But in a message to MIT Technology Review, he confirmed he'd used Grok to draft answers after he gave the chatbot notes he'd been taking on his progress. “I asked Grok to use that text to give full answers to the questions,” Smith emailed us. “I am responsible for the content, but I used AI to draft.”
The exchange on X in many ways seems like an almost surreal example of cross-marketing. After all, Smith was posting from a Musk implant, with the help of a Musk AI, on a Musk media platform and in reply to a famous Musk fanboy, if not actually the “alt” of the richest person in the world. So it's fair to ask: Where does Smith end and Musk's ecosystem begin?
That's a question drawing attention from neuro-ethicists, who say Smith's case highlights key issues about the prospect that brain implants and AI will one day merge.
What's amazing, of course, is that Smith can steer a pointer with his brain well enough to text with his wife at home and answer our emails. Since he'd only been semi-famous for a few days, he told us, he didn't want to opine too much on philosophical questions about the authenticity of his AI-assisted posts. “I don't want to wade in over my head,” he said. “I leave it for experts to argue about that!”
The eye tracker Smith previously used to type required low light and worked only indoors. “I was basically Batman stuck in a dark room,” he explained in a video he posted to X. The implant lets him type in brighter spaces—even outdoors—and quite a bit faster.
The thin wires implanted in his brain listen to neurons. Because their signals are faint, they need to be amplified, filtered, and sampled to extract the most important features—which are sent from his brain to a MacBook via radio and then processed further to let him move the computer pointer.
With control over this pointer, Smith types using an app. But various AI technologies are helping him express himself more naturally and quickly. One is a service from a startup called ElevenLabs, which created a copy of his voice from some recordings he'd made when he was healthy. The “voice clone” can read his written words aloud in a way that sounds like him. (The service is already used by other ALS patients who don't have implants.)
Researchers have been studying how ALS patients feel about the idea of aids like language assistants. In 2022, Klein interviewed 51 people with ALS and found a range of different opinions.
Some people are exacting, like a librarian who felt everything she communicated had to be her words. Others are easygoing—an entertainer felt it would be more important to keep up with a fast-moving conversation.
In the video Smith posted online, he said Neuralink engineers had started using language models including ChatGPT and Grok to serve up a selection of relevant replies to questions, as well as options for things he could say in conversations going on around him. One example that he outlined: “My friend asked me for ideas for his girlfriend who loves horses. I chose the option that told him in my voice to get her a bouquet of carrots. What a creative and funny idea.”
These aren't really his thoughts, but they will do—since brain-clicking once in a menu of choices is much faster than typing out a complete answer, which can take minutes.
Smith told us he wants to take things a step further. He says he has an idea for a more “personal” large language model that “trains on my past writing and answers with my opinions and style.” He told MIT Technology Review that he's looking for someone willing to create it for him: “If you know of anyone who wants to help me, let me know.”
The new general AI agent from China had some system crashes and server overload—but it's highly intuitive and shows real promise for the future of AI helpers.
What the firm found challenges some basic assumptions about how this technology really works.
The country poured billions into AI infrastructure, but the data center gold rush is unraveling as speculative investments collide with weak demand and DeepSeek shifts AI trends.
We're starting to get a better sense of how chatbots are affecting us—but there's still a lot we don't know.
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Marathon Venture Capital, a venture firm in Athens that prides itself on being “day one partners to Greek tech partners,” just closed its newest fund with €75 million in capital commitments, according to partner Panos Papadopoulos.
The vehicle brings the firm's total assets under management to €175 million — a meaningful amount for an 8-year-old, seed-stage investor in Greece and a reflection, too, of some sizable exits. Among them was the sale last year of Marathon's portfolio company Augmenta to CNH, a maker of farm machinery and construction equipment in a cash deal that valued Augmenta at $110 million. Marathon also sold some of its shares in Hack the Box, a cybersecurity upskilling and talent assessment platform, to the investment firm Carlyle in a secondary transaction.
We chatted with Papadopoulos ahead of an in-person sit-down with him as part of TechCrunch's first StrictlyVC evening in Athens on Thursday, May 8, a night that will also include a deep dive with Greece's prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
What we wanted to know — and what the central questions will be Thursday night — is why Greece, and why now?
Greece has historically seen less venture investment than other European countries. What, if anything, has changed locally that enabled you to raise a €75 million fund when global fundraising has become more challenging?
For starters, Marathon I is a top percentile performer globally in [realized returns]; we built a portfolio that captured the current zeitgeist well before, for example, AI-assisted scientific research, robotics, or defense became the norm.
What is your firm's thesis and how does this newest fund's thesis differ given the extended timeline we're seeing for exits globally?
We are backing founders who do something hard in important markets. It can be hard because it requires unique knowledge, like a research PhD, or high agency, meaning understanding of a regulated or overlooked industry like power grid management. And we're going to continue doubling down on our fast-growing community, which has been accumulating experience and expertise, along with ambition.
Greek startups have traditionally faced challenges scaling beyond the domestic market. How are you evaluating a company's international growth potential in this environment where capital efficiency matters more than rapid expansion?
I beg to differ. Greek startups leverage local talent to serve leading global customers and markets from day one. Across our portfolio there is virtually no revenue coming from the domestic market. But they are serving the best part of Fortune 500.
At the same time, capital efficiency and team grit are second nature to our community.
We're seeing fewer IPOs globally and extended holding periods for venture-backed companies. How did this affect your conversations with your limited partners about expected timelines and returns?
We don't need decacorns for our fund economics to work. We invest early on, maintain substantial equity positions, and keep our fund sizes small. These provide for various opportunities for meaningful returns, including secondaries and strategic M&A, well before an IPO. We did secondaries back in 2021 when most of the market was promising infinite holding times. In our culture, cash is king. It seems that many others forgot it.
Many European VCs are emphasizing deep tech and AI. Is Marathon taking a similar approach, or do you see different opportunities specific to the Greek ecosystem?
Of course we all are, but the definition of deep tech is stretched and means many different things to different people. We are not focusing on any specific sector per se — instead, we are focusing on people changing their sectors. We were perhaps the first generalist VC to invest in defense before the Ukraine war.
Greek founders have historically received less funding than counterparts in Berlin, Paris, or Stockholm. Are you seeing valuations for Greek startups that reflect this discount, and does this create opportunities for better returns?
In our experience, this is not about geography or price. We are backing founders in nonconsensus opportunities that most VCs would ignore. We move fast with conviction and we don't ask who else is investing. These might sound like table stakes; they still are not.
Given the challenging global exit environment, how are you advising your portfolio companies about strategic alternatives like secondary sales or acqui-hires?
We work with our portfolio companies toward default alive scenarios. Starting from there, all options are on the table. We see founders truly want to run their companies for the long term. We believe a secondary sale can actually help towards that, and most often we are supportive of such scenarios.
The EU has emphasized supporting startups through various funding mechanisms. How important is nondilutive capital from these sources to your portfolio companies compared to five years ago?
We welcome any such initiative. We advise, however, our portfolio founders not to waste time on non-market-related activities.
How has Greece's improved macroeconomic situation affected both your fundraising process and the quality of startups you're seeing?
It's always good when you are not making the press headlines, but what we do is less relevant to local macro. When it comes to the talent front, I would say truly based on naive empiricism that, if there is any correlation, that is inverse. Adversity is the mother of all invention.
Many American VCs have pulled back from European investments. Has this created more opportunities for local funds like Marathon, or has it made syndicating deals more challenging?
It is definitely a different market but also creates increased opportunity for European investors. I do not think the flood of capital in 2021 truly changed the opportunity for European companies. We must always count on ourselves and be aligned with founders for the long term.
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Two new advanced predictive algorithms use information about a person's health conditions and simple blood tests to accurately predict a patient's chances of having a currently undiagnosed cancer, including hard to diagnose liver and oral cancers. The new models could revolutionise how cancer is detected in primary care, and make it easier for patients to get treatment at much earlier stages.
The NHS currently uses prediction algorithms, such as the QCancer scores, to combine relevant information from patient data and identify individuals deemed at high risk of having a currently undiagnosed cancer, enabling GPs and specialists to call them in for further testing. Researchers from Queen Mary University of London and the University of Oxford have used the anonymised electronic health records from over 7.4 million adults in England to create two new algorithms which are much more sensitive than existing models, and which could lead to better clinical decision making and potentially earlier diagnosis of cancer.
Crucially, in addition to information about a patient's age, family history, medical diagnoses, symptoms, and general health, the new algorithms incorporated the results of seven routine blood tests (which measure a person's full blood count and test liver function) as biomarkers to improve early cancer diagnosis.
Compared with the existing QCancer algorithms, the new models identified four additional medical conditions associated with an increased risk of 15 different cancers including those affecting the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. Two additional associations were also found for family history with lung cancer and blood cancer, and seven new symptoms of concern (including itching, bruising, back pain, hoarseness, flatulence, abdominal mass, dark urine) were identified as being associated with multiple cancer types.
These results showed that the new algorithms offer much improved diagnostic capabilities, and in fact are the only ones currently which can be used in primary care settings to estimate the likelihood of having a current but as yet undiagnosed liver cancer.
These algorithms are designed to be embedded into clinical systems and used during routine GP consultations. They offer a substantial improvement over current models, with higher accuracy in identifying cancers - especially at early, more treatable stages. They use existing blood test results which are already in the patients' records making this an affordable and efficient approach to help the NHS meet its targets to improve its record on diagnosing cancer early by 2028."
Professor Julia Hippisley-Cox, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Predictive Medicine at Queen Mary University of London, and lead author of the study
Dr. Carol Coupland, senior researcher at the Queen Mary University of London and Emeritus Professor of Medical Statistics in Primary Care at the University of Nottingham, and co-author, said: "These new algorithms for assessing individuals' risks of having currently undiagnosed cancer show improved capability of identifying people most at risk of having one of 15 types of cancer based on their symptoms, blood test results, lifestyle factors and other information recorded in their medical records. They offer the potential for enabling earlier cancer diagnoses in people from the age of 18 onwards, including for some rare types of cancer type."
Queen Mary University of London
Hippisley-Cox, J., & Coupland, C. (2025). Development and external validation of prediction algorithms to improve early diagnosis of cancer. Nature Communications. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-57990-5.
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More people are landing in the hospital with cannabis-related problems-and for many, a mental health condition is the primary issue, according to a new study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
The study, conducted in Arizona, found that between 2016 and 2021, cannabis-related hospital visits across the state rose by 20%. Among those visits, one quarter ended up with a primary diagnosis of a mental health condition, including bipolar disorder, depression, and psychotic disorder. That compared with only about 3% of visits unrelated to cannabis.
Overall, people with a cannabis-related hospital visit were nearly eight times as likely to have a primary diagnosis of a mental health disorder. And the link between the two grew stronger over the five-year study period.
The reasons for the rising rate of cannabis-related visits are unclear, according to lead researcher Madeline Meier, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology at Arizona State University, in Tempe, Ariz.
But, she said, legalization of non-medical (recreational) cannabis use is not to blame: Arizona legalized non-medical use for adults in late 2020, with sales beginning in 2021-too late to explain the trends seen during the study period.
On the other hand, Meier said, medical use of cannabis was legal in Arizona throughout the study period. So it's possible that easier access to the drug is partly responsible for the trends her team found. Meier noted that when states have less-restrictive policies on medical cannabis-such as making it available in dispensaries rather than pharmacies-that can make it easier for any adult to get the drug.
The findings also raise other key questions: Why do so many people with cannabis-related hospital visits have a mental health condition, and why is the connection between the two growing stronger over time?
"There are many possible explanations, and this study can't address them," Meier said. But based on other research, she said, one possibility is that cannabis use led to mental health conditions in some people. Another is that some people were using cannabis to treat mental health symptoms-and that tendency increased over time.
If that's the case, Meier said, it points to a need for better public education. "I think it's important for people to be aware that the science on using cannabis to treat mental health problems is really not there yet," she said. "In fact, there is evidence suggesting that cannabis use can worsen mental health conditions, or even increase the risk of developing them."
The study also found some interesting patterns related to age: Older adults (age 65 and up) showed a bigger jump in cannabis-related hospitalizations between 2016 and 2021, versus other adults. And the growing tendency for those hospitalizations to be linked to mental health conditions was most pronounced among older adults.
That's not necessarily surprising, Meier said, given Baby Boomers' permissive attitudes about cannabis use. But, she added, older adults may need particular education about the potential risks of using the drug-including the fact it is much more potent (and potentially intoxicating) these days, compared with the cannabis of decades ago.
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
Meier, M. H., et al. (2025). Trends in cannabis-related hospitalizations in Arizona from 2016–2021 and associations with mental health-related hospitalizations. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. doi.org/10.15288/jsad.23-00379.
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A quarter of women who gave birth in metropolitan France and were surveyed reported that they were treated disrespectfully during childbirth and/or while staying in the hospital after giving birth.
Among the 7,332 women surveyed in the Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica study, 1,888 reported that they experienced words, gestures, or attitudes that shocked, offended, or made them feel uncomfortable from health care professionals. They were more frequently nulliparous, had a high education level, a birth plan, and an instrumental or cesarean birth. Women with psychiatric history or prenatal psychological distress were also more likely to experience disrespectful care.
Disrespectful care was also reported more frequently when women breastfed.
"Professionals should welcome women's birth plans as a means of communicating their wishes and should treat them with respect, even when medical complications arise," the authors wrote. "This study highlights the need for the healthcare system to further develop training for healthcare professionals and consider a thorough overhaul of its functioning to foster an environment where more women experience respectful maternity care."
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Jacques, M., et al. (2025) Frequency and determinants of words, gestures, and attitudes experienced as disrespectful during childbirth and postpartum: A national population-based study. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica. doi.org/10.1111/aogs.15119.
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Our brains go through some changes as we age. They lose some volume, becoming smaller, which can lead to cognitive issues, such as problems remembering things.
As we get older, the outer layer of the brain — called the cortex — becomes thinner, and the brain typically starts producing lower levels of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, which can all contribute to cognitive decline.
Past studies show there are a number of ways in which people can help retain brain health as they age, including following a healthy diet, getting enough quality sleep, quitting smoking, getting enough mental stimulation through activities like puzzles and reading, and being physically active.
“Age and disease-related declines in cognitive function have far-reaching personal and public health impacts,” Audrey M. Collins, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Neuroscience at the AdventHealth Research Institute in Florida, told Medical News Today.
“Thus, there is a clear need for further research to better understand cognitive aging and how we can promote brain health across the lifespan. Physical activity is a lifestyle behavior that may play a role in not only the prevention and attenuation of cognitive decline, but the promotion of cognitive function in late life,“ Collins explained. “Research has shown that even in late adulthood, our brains do not lose the capacity for plasticity, if leveraged in the right way.”
She is the co-lead author of a new study recently published in the journal Age and Ageing, which showed that as little as 5 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity can potentially help keep the brain healthy as we age.
For this study, researchers analyzed health data from 585 older adults between the ages of 65 to 80 who participated in the U.S.-based IGNITE study.
This study examined the relationship between a person's activities over a 24-hour period — sleeping, sedentary time, light physical activity, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity — to their cognitive performance.
Examples of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity include jogging or running, brisk walking, swimming, cycling, playing tennis, and dancing.
“In the context of cognitive function, we have often studied sleep, sedentary behavior, and physical activity as if they are independent of one another,” Collins said. “Rather, these lifestyle behaviors are linked through the context of time, where we are fixed to 24-hours per day.”
“Prior science was limited due to statistical challenges, which we were able to overcome in our paper using novel techniques,” she continued. “Therefore, we examined 24-hour time-use composition in order to understand whether the way time is used across the day may be differentially related to cognitive function in late adulthood.”
At the study's conclusion, Collins and her team found that participants who spent more time during the day performing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity had significantly better:
“The significance of this finding is that we can confirm that the way in which time is used across the 24-hour day may be differentially related to cognitive function in late adulthood, and that this relationship may be domain-specific,” Collins explained.
“This means that time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity may not influence all domains of cognitive function uniformly. However, the reason for this remains a matter of speculation and will need further research,” she cautioned.
Additionally, the researchers discovered that the biggest cognitive gains were seen in participants who went from doing no moderate-to-vigorous physical activity to a minimum of 5 minutes a day.
“Our results suggest that hypothetically reallocating time to moderate-to-vigorous physical activity may be beneficial for cognitive function, regardless of what lifestyle behavior this time was reallocated from,” Collins said. “Further, even small increases of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity may be favorable.”
“Our study highlights the importance of increasing and/or maintaining time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for cognitive function in late adulthood, specifically for domains of processing speed, working memory, and executive function,” she continued.
“As these results are cross-sectional, we plan to test these relationships longitudinally and experimentally, which may in turn inform 24-hour guidelines for public health and dementia prevention. Additionally, we aim to evaluate how 24-hour time use may be related to other brain health outcomes in late adulthood,” she told us.
MNT had the opportunity to speak with Raphael Wald, PsyD, a neuropsychologist at Marcus Neuroscience Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida, about this study.
“The results are not shocking but helpful in pointing to the importance of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity — assuming a person is healthy enough to do so — rather than lighter exercise as an important factor in cognitive functioning,” Wald, who was not involved in this research, commented. “Exercise, in general, is crucial for our brain and heart health as we age.”
“As people are living longer than they did in past decades, we are seeing more dementia [cases] than in the past,” he continued. “Increasing age is the biggest risk factor for dementia, which in turn means that dementia is becoming a bigger health crisis than it was in the past.”
While he welcomed the results of the recent study, Wald pointed to the need of finding accessible prevention options for people with limited mobility, too:
“In my experience, many older adults have physical limitations like arthritis that prevent them from being able to exercise vigorously. I think it would be helpful to examine the motivation for exercise in individuals with these limitations. Pain is a huge barrier to exercise for many.”
MNT also spoke to Gary Small, MD, chair of psychiatry for Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey and author of more than a dozen books on brain health and aging, about this research.
“These results are consistent with previous research supporting the clear cognitive benefits of physical exercise for older adults,” Small, who was not involved in the study, commented. “The finding that even short bursts of moderate-to-vigorous exercise can bolster brain health is encouraging that people need not become triathletes to protect their mental abilities as they age.”
“The key is to exert oneself enough to push the heart and lungs to pump oxygen and nutrients to the brain,” he continued. “We know that such aerobic exertion increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BNDF) — a protein that improves brain cell communication. Cardiovascular conditioning also has been shown to grow the size of the brain's hippocampal memory center.”
“This study also informs us that even just 5 minutes of vigorous exercise offers cognitive benefits, but longer exercise sessions are even better. The bottom line is, if time permits, take that extra jog or walk around the block. Your brain will thank you.”— Gary Small, MD
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Bishal Gyawali, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Oncology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Disclosure: Bishal Gyawali, MD, PhD, has disclosed the following financial relationships:Serve(d) as a consultant for: Vivio Health
| May 07, 2025
Disclosure: Bishal Gyawali, MD, PhD, has disclosed the following financial relationships:Serve(d) as a consultant for: Vivio Health
This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Hello, everyone. This is Dr Bishal Gyawali, from Queens University, Kingston, Canada, continuing with our Skills Lab series on how to interpret the clinical trial publication well. In the past few videos, we have discussed the methods section and we touched briefly on surrogate endpoints.
This is a pretty big topic, so we will continue discussing surrogate endpoints today.There is much confusion about surrogate endpoints. There are several questions that people ask about surrogate endpoints. In these videos, we're trying to answer those, but it may not be comprehensive. If you want to get a comprehensive understanding of almost all the questions regarding surrogate endpoints in oncology, I highly recommend you read this publication, which we have recently published and is open access.
Continuing with surrogate endpoints, we discussed in the last presentation about how to differentiate between prognostic and predictive surrogate endpoints. Today, let's talk about how we classify and define them.
We classify them in different ways, and one of those ways is surrogate endpoints in the setting of early cancer drug trials, as in neoadjuvant and adjuvant setting trials, and in advanced-setting trials. Within the advanced setting, we have different types of surrogate endpoints, such as response rate, clinical response, partial response, and overall response rate, as well as progression-free survival.
These are usually defined on the basis of criteria known as RECIST. RECIST stands for Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, and that's classically what almost every clinical trial uses to define the surrogate endpoints in the advanced setting.
First, let's talk about the goal of the RECIST criteria. Why was this developed in the first place? It was not developed to make therapeutic decisions or intended for drug approvals. The whole idea around RECIST was to help clinical trials define success or lack of success early on, without the need to wait for overall survival.The goal was to make those decisions about whether these should be tested in a phase 3, from a phase 2, and so on. You can read the RECIST publication in detail, but briefly, to classify under RECIST, you need a target lesion. There are conditions on what can classify as a target lesion and what cannot.
Progression of disease, or PD, is classically defined as at least 20% increase in the sum of the maximum tumor diameters, with an absolute increase of at least 5 mm, or a development of a new lesion that was not there before, or death of the patient. Any of these will classify as disease progression, so we classically keep talking about progressive disease as a 20% increase in the size of the tumor.
Complete response, as the name indicates, is complete disappearance of all lesions. Partial response is shrinkage in the sum of the maximum tumor diameters by at least 30%. Anything in between, meaning the tumor size has decreased less than 30%, or the tumor size has increased less than 20%, is called a stable disease. Anything in between disease progression and partial response is stable disease.
Overall response rate, sometimes called objective response rate,isthe complete response rate plus the partial response rate, so the percentage of patients who had any response is the overall response rate. We also measure the duration of response, which is the duration after achieving response until the tumor starts to grow again.
There are also some other, what I call make-believe, meaningless endpoints. For example, people talk about the clinical benefit rate, which is theoverall response rate plus the stable disease rate. The idea is that if the disease does not progress, then that's a clinical benefit. These do not correlate with any meaningful endpoint. People should not focus on the clinical benefit rate.
Why we're defining this is to see why t hese surrogate endpoints do not necessarily correlate with overall survival or quality of life: (a) because these were not intended to be used as such; and (b) the way we define them is quite arbitrary. As you can see, there is nothing magical that happens at 20% progression or 30% shrinkage of the tumor.
You can imagine that if a person has a disease progression of 18% vs 22%, that's not going to cause any meaningful difference. A disease might grow by only 10%, but if it's at a sensitive location, such as intracranial, then it could lead to some symptoms. Not all disease progression events will be the same; therefore, they do not correlate with clinical endpoints.
Now let's talk about the early cancer trial setting. In the neoadjuvant/adjuvant setting, we have endpoints such as disease-free survival, invasive disease-free survival, event-free survival, metastasis-free survival, relapse-free survival, andpathologic complete response.
Pathologic complete response deserves a special mention because it's used more as a prognostic marker. It's not reliable as a predictive marker, but it's reliable as a prognostic marker. That means, irrespective of how you achieve pathologic complete response, you'll have a good prognosis. That does not necessarily mean that a drug that improves pathologic complete response will improve survival.
Event-free survival is basically disease-free survival, but in the neoadjuvant setting. Of course, it's not feasible to go through the definition of each and every endpoint here, so again, if you want to have a more comprehensive understanding, I refer you back to that publication where all these endpoints are defined.
Another way of defining endpoints is that there can be response-based endpoints, such as the objective response, complete response, partial response, and pathologic complete response that we talked about, vs time-to-eventendpoints.This is important because they are measured and analyzed in a different statistical way.
Time-to-event endpoints are any endpoints that are measured in terms of the time it takes for the event to happen. This includes disease-free survival, progression-free survival, and metastasis-free survival. All of these are time-to-event endpoints.
Let's spend some time talking about response rate because it's getting more and more frequently used in clinical trials and also as a basis for approval, but it's a very weak surrogate. The correlation with overall survival is even weaker than progression-free survival.
The other interesting thing about response rate is that there is no way to define success. If we are measuring response rate in a phase 2 or a single-arm trial, is a 30%response rate enough? Is a 50% response rate enough? Is a 20% response rate enough? In how many patients? In 50 patients? In 40 patients? There is no way to define success here. As I mentioned, this was not meant for approval or clinical use. This was meant for transitioning from phase 2 to phase 3.
In fact, we did a comprehensive study on the response rate of placebo in randomized controlled trials of cancer drugs. You'd expect that placebo would have a 0% response rate, but we were surprised to find that even placebo had a 1% response rate. Complete response rate was, of course, zero with placebo.
When you put that in context with what we're approving nowadays, this is 1% response rate overall. There were some typical examples. For example, I'm showing this trial in renal cell carcinoma where interferon was compared with placebo. In this particular case, placebo had a higher response than the drug. The response from the drug was 4.4% and placebo had a 6.6% response rate.
In another example from desmoid tumors, placebo had an overall response rate of 20%. If you compare that with some of the drugs that we have approved on the basis of response rate, like a 12% response rate in the CheckMate 032 trial, a 15% response rate in the EZH-20221 trial, and a 70% response rate in KEYNOTE-224.
These are not good enough response rates, but we're approving drugs on the basis of these very small response rates. We need to be very careful. I think that, even if we were to rely on the response rate, it has to be in the context of a randomized trial where we're comparing the response rate of the drug against the response rate of the comparator arm. Just relying on the response rate in a single-arm trial is very likely to give us false positives.
Let's also talk about progression-free survival. We talked about progression-free survival in the last video, but I'd also like to mentionthat there are some specific occasions where progression-free survival absolutely cannot be relied on, such as in later-line therapy trials or in situations where the prognosis is so bad that survival events happen within a year.
For example, if we're talking about second- or third-line cholangiocarcinoma, in pancreatic cancer trials, patients have a median survival of 6-8 months — and not even 6 monthsif we're talking about second or third line.
In that situation, there is no sense to use progression-free survival because you can measure survival so quickly, and there is no point in having a drug that does not improve survival. When the prognosis is very short, especially for later-line therapy trials, progression-free survival cannot be used.
For combination therapies, when we are combining drug A plus B vs drug A alone, of course if we combine two drugs, it will extend progression compared with one drug alone. The point to ask is whether combining up front is better than giving the same drug sequentially. Only overall survival can answer that.
For maintenance therapies, these are situations where we continue on a treatment for a long time, where the standard of care actually is to do no treatment. If you're giving an active drug instead of not giving a drug, of course you'll extend progression. Does that lead to improved survival outcomes and should we subject all of our patients for that extended duration of treatment? In these situations, progression-free survival cannot be used.
Let's spend some time on the adjuvant setting as well. In the adjuvant setting, I find it even trickier to rely on a surrogate endpoint, such as disease-free survival, as opposed to overall survival. In the adjuvant setting, by definition, we're treating all the patients, some of whom may not need treatment and some of whom may not benefit from treatment, but 100% of the patients will get toxicities.
In this particular example, in this Kaplan-Meier graph, at the 2-year landmark, 22% of the patients have relapsed or died even after getting the drug. There are 67% of patients who did not relapse even if they only received placebo. We are benefitting only that small margin of patients, that 11% of patients who benefited from getting the drug. Again, in this situation, we should also ask whether the patients who received placebo in this trial actually received the drug when they relapsed and how it affected overall survival.
We had this publication where we advocate to use the approach of three E's — evidence, ethics, and economics — to decide whether or not treating all the patients upfront on the basis of disease-free survival or surrogate endpoints is better than treating only the patients who relapse at the time of their relapse.
That ends our video for today. In the next video, we'll continue discussing some additional considerations about surrogate endpoints.
Lining the shelves of American supermarkets are food products with chemicals linked to health concerns. To a great extent, the FDA allows food companies to determine for themselves whether their ingredients and additives are safe.
Companies don't have to tell the FDA about those decisions, and they don't have to list all ingredients on their product labels. Instead, companies can use broad terms such as “artificial flavors.”
In 1958, Congress mandated that before additives could be used in foods manufacturers had to prove they were safe and get FDA approval. However, Congress carved out an exception for substances "generally recognized as safe," which came to be known simply as GRAS.
As conceived, GRAS promised regulatory relief for standard ingredients like salt, sugar, vinegar, and baking powder. Over time, "the loophole swallowed the law," said a 2014 Natural Resources Defense Council report.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to close or tighten the GRAS loophole. He has railed about the risks of food additives for years and has said he wants to end "the mass poisoning of American children."
Whether changes come from the FDA or the food companies, it's clear Americans are becoming more concerned about what they're buying.
This article was reprinted from khn.org, a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF - the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.
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Medical cold chain units are essential for maintaining the safety and efficacy of vaccinations. These units are intended to provide continuous and reliable performance, but like any other piece of integral equipment, they require regular maintenance to function properly.
Image Credit: B Medical Systems S.à r.l
With the right care and attention, you can keep your unit running efficiently while also extending its lifespan.
To help you get the most out of your investment, this article presents five practical tips that can make a real difference. Incorporate these into your routine, and your unit will continue to perform reliably for years to come.
Dust accumulation can gradually affect your unit's efficiency and performance. If left unchecked, it can block vents, reduce cooling effectiveness, and even lead to overheating or corrosion. To prevent these issues, regularly clean the unit's exterior to remove visible dust and debris.
For harder-to-reach areas, use a soft brush or a vacuum cleaner, especially around ventilation openings and fans. Making a habit of checking and cleaning for dust at least once a week helps keep your unit running at peak performance while minimizing unnecessary strain on its components.
Consistent cleaning also improves energy efficiency, which can lead to lower operational costs over time.
While condensation is a normal part of refrigeration, allowing excess water to accumulate in your fridge unit can lead to long-term damage. Too much moisture can promote mold growth and harm essential components, ultimately affecting performance and lifespan.
To prevent these issues, make it a habit to manage condensation daily. Using the drainage plug to remove excess water is a simple yet effective step with significant benefits. This routine not only helps maintain a clean and hygienic environment but also safeguards the unit's internal mechanisms from potential water damage.
The condenser fan plays a crucial role in keeping your unit's cooling system running efficiently, ensuring that stored products remain at a stable and safe temperature.
If airflow is obstructed, the unit has to work harder to maintain performance, leading to higher energy consumption and a reduced lifespan. To prevent these issues, regularly check the fan area for dust or debris and make sure nothing is blocking airflow. Keeping the fan clean and unobstructed helps your unit run smoothly and efficiently.
Proper ventilation is essential for keeping your unit running efficiently and in good condition. When dust and debris clog the ventilation holes or condenser, the unit has to work harder than necessary, leading to higher energy consumption and faster wear and tear. Over time, this can result in costly breakdowns.
Regularly checking and cleaning these components is a simple yet effective way to maintain optimal performance and extend your unit's lifespan.
Even with regular cleaning, professional maintenance is key to ensuring your unit's longevity. Over time, components can experience wear and tear that may not be immediately noticeable.
Scheduling an annual inspection with a qualified technician allows for a thorough assessment, ensuring all systems are functioning correctly and addressing minor issues before they turn into major problems.
Preventative maintenance not only protects your investment but also improves operational efficiency. Catching potential issues early helps prevent unexpected breakdowns that could disrupt workflows and lead to costly repairs.
This proactive approach keeps your unit running reliably year-round while extending its lifespan. B Medical Systems' expert technicians are available to provide specialized care and guidance tailored to your unit's specific needs.
By incorporating these five simple tips into your routine, you can significantly extend the lifespan of your B Medical Systems unit. Regular cleaning and ongoing minor maintenance help prevent major issues before they arise.
Not only does this reduce the risk of costly repairs, but it also ensures your unit operates reliably—safeguarding the integrity of its valuable contents. A little consistent care goes a long way in maintaining efficiency and performance for years to come.
B Medical Systems S.à r.l (formerly Dometic/Electrolux) is a global manufacturer and distributor of medical cold chain solutions. Based in Hosingen, Luxembourg, the company was founded in 1979, when WHO approached the Swedish manufacturing giant Electrolux to provide a solution to safely store and transport vaccines around the world. Across the 3 major business portfolios of Medical Refrigeration, Blood Management Solutions, and Vaccine Cold Chain, the company currently offers 100+ models. B Medical Systems' major products include Laboratory Refrigerators, Laboratory Freezers, Pharmacy Refrigerators, Ultra-Low Freezers, Plasma Freezers, Contact Shock Freezers, Vaccine Refrigerators (Ice-Lined Refrigerators and Solar Direct Drive Refrigerators), and Transport Boxes. All products have integrated 24/7 temperature monitoring capabilities that further ensure that these products offer the highest level of safety and reliability.
Throughout its over 40 years of experience, the company has created innovative solutions to store and transport pharmaceuticals, blood components, laboratory specimens, vaccines, etc across the world safely and reliably. Its commitment to supporting health institutions, governments, and NGOs has not only saved innumerable lives but helped entire communities develop and prosper.
The company's products are essential to hospitals, health centers, blood banks, laboratories, and more, as their great reliability and efficiency ensure that any biological requiring cold storage can indeed be stored safely at its intended temperature. As modern medicine becomes more complex and very often requires the use of unstable compounds or produces thermosensitive solutions, B Medical Systems medical cold chain equipment provides the peace of mind scientists and healthcare workers need in their day-to-day life.
Moreover, as the established market leader in the Vaccine Cold Chain for the past 40 years, B Medical Systems has provided equipment to support its partners in vaccinating more than 350 million children in developing countries. Through its long-lasting relationships with global humanitarian organisations such as UNICEF, the WHO, Gavi, Health Ministries, etc., B Medical Systems has installed more than five hundred thousand units across 140+ countries across the world for safely storing and transporting vaccines, medicines, blood and other samples.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, B Medical Systems has been actively supporting governments worldwide in the formation of their vaccine responses, by supporting the establishment of a reliable and versatile vaccine cold chain able to meet any storage temperature requirement.
B Medical Systems is also one of the first few companies in the world to receive EU MDR certification for its active refrigeration product lines across medical refrigeration and blood management business lines. B Medical Systems is also one of the few companies in the world to have an end-to-end refrigeration solution certified by EU MDR, US FDA and WHO PQS.
Sponsored Content Policy: News-Medical.net publishes articles and related content that may be derived from sources where we have existing commercial relationships, provided such content adds value to the core editorial ethos of News-Medical.Net which is to educate and inform site visitors interested in medical research, science, medical devices and treatments.
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While many nurses work set schedules with occasional overtime, Martha Mendez, a registered nurse (RN) in El Centro, California, prefers a more flexible approach to patient care. It's the same way an Uber driver decides when they want to turn on their app and drive clients.
Mendez signs up for shifts days — and sometimes hours — in advance and works for multiple health systems to care for patients all over Southern California. She is one of a growing number of nurses who have joined the gig economy.
“After being in a traditional role for many years, I was looking for…more control over my career, my schedule, and my earnings,” Mendez told Medscape Medical News. “When I learned about the logistics of [gig work], it really caught my attention, and I gave it a shot.”
The use of contract or gig workers in healthcare grew 18% from 2014 to 2021, and up to 53% of nurses planned to take on more temporary nursing shifts. Nurses can register with platforms like Float Health, CareRev, ShiftMed, and Clipboard Health to choose shifts that fit their schedules.
The model, also known as per diem or float nursing, has been hailed as a potential solution to staffing shortages, allowing health systems to fill short-term staffing gaps and meet immediate patient needs.
“Every state has a nursing shortage…and that shortage is projected to increase,” said Katie Jett, DNP, RN, MSN, dean of the School of Nursing at Ponce Health Sciences University in St. Louis. “A lot of nurses don't want to work 12-hour shifts and mandatory overtime… [Gig work allows nurses] to book around their schedules or come in for a 4-hour shift, and that is very enticing.”
Medscape continually surveys physicians and other medical professionals about key practice challenges and current issues, creating high-impact analyses. For example, in Medscape's Nurse Career Satisfaction Report 2023,
Healthcare is struggling with nursing shortages, widespread burnout, and low job satisfaction, leaving health systems struggling to attract and retain nurses and fill shifts. Currently, 66% of healthcare facilities are not able to operate at full capacity due to staffing shortages.
The gig model, once limited to rideshare drivers and food deliveries, has entered healthcare.
Nurses choose a gig work platform and complete an onboarding process that often includes proof of licensure and certifications, background checks, and drug screens. Upon approval, platforms post open shifts, and nurses can claim those that match their credentials and specialties.
Mendez started picking up shifts through Float Health in 2022. She'd worked in hospital emergency rooms, medical-surgical units, and correctional facilities for more than a decade and loved being at the bedside but felt that working conditions, including mandatory overtime, were “unacceptable.”
At first, Mendez only picked up one or two shifts per month doing at-home infusions for patients and continued to work in her full-time nursing role. The option for a flexible schedule, one-on-one patient care, and higher pay led her to leave that staff role and make the switch to per diem nursing.
“There was no comparison [with pay]; I would absolutely give up a 12-hour shift to take a Float patient for a few hours,” she said. “But one of the biggest drivers is not money; it's being able to have the peace of mind that I have the balance to care for my family, not only financially, but to be there for them and offer the same care that I offer to others.”
Signing bonuses and improved compensation and benefits packages are common approaches to attracting nurses, but nurses also crave flexibility. The latest data show that 33% of nurses wanted to pick up shifts on an as-needed basis and cited the ability to work partial shifts and pick up additional work at different facilities as key areas of career interest.
The recognition that gig platforms account for a growing part of the healthcare workforce has led some health systems, including St. Louis-based Mercy Health, to create their own gig work platform.
In 2022, Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Missouri, launched Mercy Works on Demand, a cloud-based platform that enables nurses to pick up shifts. More than 50 nurses signed up for the 2022 pilot, including full-time school nurses who wanted to earn extra income and RNs who took time off to raise children but wanted to return to the bedside for a few hours per month. The internal float pool concept expanded to other hospitals within the Mercy system.
Bon Secours Mercy Health in Cincinnati followed with Andgo in 2024. The program sends text messages about available shifts and allows nurses to claim the gigs. Since going live, the hospital has seen an increase in the number of shifts picked up, resulting in decreased costs and safe patient care, according to Jodi Pahl, RN-BC, DNP, the system chief nursing officer of Workforce, Outcomes, and Experience of Care at Bon Secours Mercy Health.
Pahl points to the advantages of an internal model, citing consistent care from nurses trained within the organization and aligned with its culture and standards, adding, “These nurses are more engaged, adaptable, and cost-effective than gig workers, avoiding the high fees and variability associated with external staffing.”
Internal float pools also serve as a retention pipeline for future permanent hires.
The expanding gig work in healthcare has raised some concerns. A recent report from the Roosevelt Institute, New York City, called the model a “Wall Street takeover of US healthcare infrastructure” and warned that gig nursing platforms offer lower rates, fail to guarantee available shifts or offer certainty about the nature of the work, and fail to account for worker safety and patient well-being.
Jett is familiar with the concerns.
“We have to take it back to [patient] outcomes,” she said. “The literature is well documented that consistent care by knowledgeable nurses improves health outcomes for patients, so there's no doubt that you're more likely to get better care with a nurse that knows the unit, knows the policies, knows the procedures, has an orientation…that is the best for our patients.”
But she adds that burnout is also linked to lower patient safety, quality of care, and patient satisfaction.
There is also some debate about the fees paid to RNs who work on a per diem basis. The average rate for RNs picking up shifts through gig work apps is $59 per hour, according to the Roosevelt Institute report (compared with a median wage of $41.38 per hour), according to nurse.org. However, some apps have a bid-for-gigs model that allows health systems to hire nurses willing to work for the lowest rates. Jett called it “algorithmic wage discrimination” and noted that it can drive down rates for gig workers. In addition, nurses working as independent contractors may lack protections like sick leave and unemployment insurance.
Despite the criticisms — and the need for real solutions to address nursing shortages, burnout, and unsafe work environments — Jett believed gig work is “here to stay” in healthcare and encourages solutions that balance the needs of nurses, patients, and health systems.
“My hope is that there is a way to…provide flexibility and work-life balance and fair compensation to nurses,” she said. Gig work might be it.
Jodi Helmer is a freelance journalist who writes about health and wellness for Fortune, AARP, WebMD, Fitbit, and GE HealthCare.
Send comments and news tips to news@medscape.net.
A recent study conducted by researchers from Universidad San Francisco de Quito and Johns Hopkins University has revealed critical insights into the mental health of healthcare providers in Ecuador during the COVID-19 pandemic. Published in journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, this research examines the balance between compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress among healthcare professionals working in public institutions across Ecuador, a low-and middle-income country.
The study surveyed 2,873 healthcare providers from 111 public institutions across 23 provinces in Ecuador between February and July 2022. Using the Professional Quality of Life Scale Version-5 (ProQOL V5), researchers assessed self-reported levels of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. Key findings include high compassion satisfaction (84.9%), moderate burnout (57.1%, higher in the Amazon), and moderate secondary traumatic stress (59.6%), that correlated with burnout levels.
The study also highlighted significant differences based on gender, professional roles, and geographic regions. Male healthcare providers exhibited slightly higher burnout levels than their female counterparts, while physicians reported the highest burnout rates compared to other professions such as nurses and first responders.
These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted mental health policies and interventions to support healthcare providers in low- and middle-income countries like Ecuador. Despite high levels of compassion satisfaction, many professionals are grappling with moderate burnout and secondary traumatic stress, which can impact both their well-being and the quality of care they provide."
Dr. Michelle Grunauer, lead author
The research calls for additional studies to explore factors contributing to burnout in resource-constrained settings and emphasizes the importance of developing mental health legislation tailored to the needs of healthcare providers in Ecuador and similar countries.
Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.
Jaramillo-Cartwright, M. J., et al. (2025). Characterizing Mental Health in an LMIC Context: Measuring Compassion Satisfaction, Burnout, and Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Health Care Providers in Ecuador During COVID-19 with the ProQOL V5 Questionnaire. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2025.114.
Posted in: Medical Research News | Healthcare News
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Waters Corporation today announced that its Empower™ Software now supports biologics data acquisition and quality control (QC) analysis from Multi-Angle Light Scattering (MALS) and differential Refractive Index (RI) instruments in its Wyatt Technology™ Portfolio. This integration expands the scope of critical quality attributes that a biopharmaceutical laboratory can manage using Empower Software. Additionally, this advancement will simplify the process and digital footprint of acquiring and submitting compliant data to regulatory authorities – from biologics development through QC – saving customers up to six months of software validation time.
Empower Software is the industry's most established and compliant-ready chromatography data system (CDS), widely adopted globally and used to submit data for more than 80% of novel drugs to regulatory authorities. The new integration unlocks the ability to use MALS techniques in quality control for biotherapeutics, improving efficiency and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) readiness, while reducing end-user training in compliant settings.
Today's launch of Empower for Multi-Angle Light Scattering Detectors underscores our commitment from the Wyatt acquisition to integrate advanced analytical technologies into our Empower CDS ecosystem.”
Dr. Udit Batra, President & CEO, Waters Corporation
“Specifically, MALS supported on Empower Software reveals high molecular weight species that are not visible to other detectors – reducing the risk of erroneous results in biotherapeutic quality control. By combining the strengths of compliant software with deep analytical light scattering instrumentation, we are providing customers with a unified solution that enhances productivity and data accuracy – ultimately supporting high-volume QC testing to ensure the safety of life-saving biologic therapies for patients.”
The integration of the DAWN™, miniDAWN™, and OptiLab™ Detectors will enable the measurement of more critical quality attributes of peptides and proteins in a single run, reducing analysis time by 20% and providing earlier insights into the stability, safety, and efficacy of biologics.
"As a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), we anticipate that MALS on Empower Software will enhance our service offerings,” said William Wittbold, Senior Director of Operations, at Pace Analytical. “The detailed MALS data is essential for understanding complex biotherapeutics. Combined with the reliability of Empower Software, we believe this integration will deliver exceptional value to our customers, ensuring our drug development partners receive the highest quality results."
The capability to integrate the DAWN, miniDAWN, and OptiLab Detectors with Empower Software will be available for peptide and protein workflows in July 2025.
Waters Corporation
Posted in: Drug Discovery & Pharmaceuticals
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In the first comprehensive investigation into the trends of mental health diagnoses among children with public health insurance, a new study reports the percentage of mental health and neurodevelopmental disorder diagnoses increased substantially in the decade before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Researchers from Emory University and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta used Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program claims data to analyze trends in mental health and neurodevelopmental disorder diagnoses among nearly 30 million publicly insured children ages 3-17 across 22 U.S. states from 2010-19.
The study, which was published in JAMA on Thursday, found the percentage of children diagnosed with such disorders in each year rose from 10.7% to 16.5% during this period. After accounting for population changes over time, this translated into an increase of 6.7 percentage points.
The size of the increase is alarming and clinically significant on its own. But it is even more concerning that we saw this increase and our last year of data was 2019, when we know from other sources that mental health among children continued to decline after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic."
Janet Cummings, PhD, lead author, professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health
"Our data represents a significant number and percentage of the children in our communities. These increases in both the number and rates of children being diagnosed with mental health and neurodevelopmental disorders have important implications for chronically underfunded mental health systems that have already been struggling to meet the needs of this vulnerable population," Cummings says.
"As mental health diagnoses among children increase," Cummings continues,"we must make sure the systems that support them have enough resources to address their challenges and help them get better. Mental health is foundational for a child's development, and investment in the systems that serve children with public insurance is critical for their well-being, their life trajectory and their long-term success."
Emory University
Cummings, J. R., et al. (2025). Trends in Mental Health Diagnoses Among Publicly Insured Children. JAMA. doi.org/10.1001/jama.2025.4605.
Posted in: Child Health News | Medical Research News | Healthcare News
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Learn how experts are advancing benzodiazepine analysis and detection using insights from the lab.
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Artificial intelligence algorithms have now been combined with traditional laboratory methods to uncover promising drug leads against human enterovirus 71 (EV71), the pathogen behind most cases of hand, foot and mouth disease. The study, published today in Cell Reports Physical Science by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, showed that reliable antiviral predictions can be made even when only a modest amount of experimental data are available.
Using an initial panel of 36 small molecules, the investigators trained a machine learning model to spot certain shapes and chemical features that help stop viruses, scoring each compound's likelihood of blocking EV71. The authors put their AI-chosen shortlist to the test: out of eight compounds, five successfully slowed the virus in cell experiments-about ten times more hits than traditional screening methods usually deliver.
"We are collapsing what used to be months of trial‑and‑error into days," said César de la Fuente, PhD, a Presidential Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Microbiology, Bioengineering, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Chemistry. "The approach is especially powerful when time, budget or other constraints limit the amount of data you can generate up front."
EV71 infections can escalate from mild rash and fever to severe neurological complications, particularly in children under seven and immunocompromised adults. No FDA-approved antivirals currently target the virus.
All five confirmed results were tested using computer simulations, which showed that they stuck to certain spots on the virus, findings which could help future researchers stop the virus from changing shape and entering cells.
We see this as a template for rapid antiviral discovery. Whether the next threat is another enterovirus, an emergent respiratory pathogen or a reemerging virus like polio, our AI-driven method shows that, even with limited data, machine learning can accelerate the development of effective solutions and drive a swift response to future outbreaks."
Angela Cesaro, PhD, postdoctoral researcher, study co-author
The work included collaboration with Procter & Gamble and Cornell University. Research reported in this publication was supported by the Langer Prize (AIChE Foundation), the NIH R35GM138201, DTRA HDTRA1-21-1-0014, and NIAID NIH R01AI149487. Figures created with BioRender.com are attributed as such. Molecules were rendered using the PyMOL Molecular Graphics System, Version 3.1.1 Schrödinger, LLC.
Cesar de la Fuente-Nunez is a co-founder of, and scientific advisor, to Peptaris, Inc., provides consulting services to Invaio Sciences, and is a member of the Scientific Advisory Boards of Nowture S.L., Peptidus, European Biotech Venture Builder, the Peptide Drug Hunting Consortium (PDHC), ePhective Therapeutics, Inc., and Phare Bio. The de la Fuente Lab has received research funding or in-kind donations from United Therapeutics, Strata Manufacturing PJSC, and Procter & Gamble; however, only support from Procter & Gamble was used in this work. An invention disclosure associated with this work has been filed.
Penn Medicine
Cesaro, A., et al. (2025). Antiviral discovery using sparse datasets by integrating experiments, molecular simulations, and machine learning. Cell Reports Physical Science. doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrp.2025.102554.
Posted in: Device / Technology News | Disease/Infection News
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Adding tomato and mixed fruit juices to children's asthma treatment led to better symptom control and happier, healthier lives, without side effects, say Thai researchers in a new clinical trial.
Study: Effectiveness of an antioxidant-rich diet on childhood asthma outcomes: A randomized controlled trial. Image Credit: Africa Studio / Shutterstock
In a recent study published in the journal BMC Nutrition, researchers evaluated the effects of an antioxidant-rich diet on asthma outcomes in children.
Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in children. The prevalence and incidence of asthma have steadily increased in various age groups over the past decades worldwide. In 2012, asthma prevalence was 9% in children aged 6–12 in Bangkok, Thailand. Given the chronic nature of the illness, asthma patients require long-term disease management.
However, medication adherence, particularly with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), remains a significant challenge. Oxidative stress contributes to inflammatory processes in the airways of asthmatic patients. As such, an antioxidant-rich diet may augment asthmatic outcomes, but evidence on antioxidant-rich diets and asthma control is scarce.
Unique Juice Blend: The intervention used a precisely formulated mix of 64% tomato juice combined with strawberry, passion fruit, and orange juices, a combination designed to maximize antioxidant synergy while appealing to children's taste preferences.
In the present study, researchers examined clinical outcomes, pulmonary function, and serum antioxidant levels in asthmatic children in Thailand. Asthmatic children registered at an outpatient department of two primary care settings in southern Thailand were enrolled between October 5, 2021, and May 11, 2022. Eligible patients were aged 4–15 years, with physician-diagnosed moderately or mildly persistent asthma and ICS treatment within the past two years.
Individuals were excluded if they had an airway infection within the past four weeks, acute asthmatic exacerbation within the past three months, chronic diseases (psychiatric, renal, neurological, pulmonary, or cardiovascular conditions), or consumed high doses of supplements like lycopene, ascorbic acid, or beta-carotene in the past three months. This study was a randomized, parallel, controlled trial spanning eight weeks.
Participants were randomized to the intervention or control group. The control group received conventional usual care, whereas the intervention group received usual care and mixed fruit and tomato juices. Participants completed a questionnaire on sociodemographics, asthmatic clinical data, history of related allergic conditions, and medication use.
Further, a modified asthma control test (ACT) was administered. An ACT score ≥ 20 indicated well-controlled asthma, while a score below 20 indicated uncontrolled or partially controlled asthma. The Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAQLQ) was also administered. Pulmonary function was tested using a mobile spirometer.
Further, serum antioxidants (ascorbic acid, lycopene, and beta-carotene) were measured. Measurements and questionnaires were administered at baseline and the end of the trial (eight weeks later). Fisher's exact test was used to assess the correlation between the intake frequency of the antioxidant-rich diet and the level of asthma control. Student's t-test was used to examine the associations between serum antioxidants and asthma control level.
The study also assessed the palatability and adherence to the juice intervention. Participants in the intervention group were instructed to consume tomato and mixed fruit juice daily, and compliance was carefully monitored.
In total, 48 and 33 participants were randomized to the intervention and control groups, respectively. Of these, 80 completed the trial, as one control group subject was lost to follow-up. However, only 46 subjects (29 intervention and 17 control participants) had complete measures of serum antioxidants. No adverse events were reported with the antioxidant-rich diet.
Advanced Lab Analysis: Serum antioxidant levels were measured using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), a gold-standard method ensuring precise quantification of lycopene, beta-carotene, and vitamin C.
Baseline sociodemographic characteristics were comparable between groups. Mean pulmonary function test results differed between the two groups at baseline, although these differences were not statistically significant. The team observed a non-significant difference in the frequency of consumption of vegetables, fruits, and juices between participants with well-controlled and uncontrolled asthma.
Baseline levels of serum antioxidants were non-significantly different between participants with uncontrolled and well-controlled asthma. At the end of the trial, the ACT score was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group. Likewise, PAQLQ also showed a significantly higher change in the intervention group than in controls. ICS use was not different between the intervention and control groups.
Notably, there were no significant differences in forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% (FEF25%–75%), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), and percent of FEV1/FVC between the two groups. Although serum antioxidant levels in the intervention group showed slight increases, particularly for beta-carotene, only the within-group change for beta-carotene was statistically significant; however, the difference between intervention and control groups was not significant. No serious adverse events were identified; only two subjects complained of abdominal bloating or nausea.
Importantly, compliance with the juice intervention was high, with 95.8% of the intervention group consuming at least 75% of the expected total juice volume. Approximately half of the participants rated the juice as favorable or most favorable in terms of taste, supporting the palatability and practicality of this dietary approach.
The authors noted several limitations, including the small sample size (due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic), the short duration of intervention, and incomplete blood sample data for some participants. Additionally, most children had only mild asthma at baseline, which may have limited the ability to observe changes in pulmonary function or ICS usage.
The study was conducted at two primary care settings in southern Thailand, which may affect the generalizability of the findings beyond similar healthcare environments.
In sum, the consumption of tomato and mixed-fruit juices for eight weeks improved asthma symptom control and quality of life in children. Serum beta-carotene increased within the intervention group, though this was not significantly different compared to controls. However, pulmonary function, ICS usage, and between-group antioxidant levels were unaffected by the intervention. High compliance and favorable palatability were observed, and only mild, transient side effects occurred. Given these findings and the study's limitations, mixed fruit and tomato juices may be a well-tolerated adjuvant non-pharmacological intervention for childhood asthma, though larger and longer-term studies are warranted.
Posted in: Child Health News | Medical Science News | Medical Research News | Medical Condition News
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Tarun is a writer based in Hyderabad, India. He has a Master's degree in Biotechnology from the University of Hyderabad and is enthusiastic about scientific research. He enjoys reading research papers and literature reviews and is passionate about writing.
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Sai Lomte, Tarun. (2025, May 06). Tomato and fruit juice improve quality of life for kids with asthma. News-Medical. Retrieved on May 07, 2025 from https://www.news-medical.net/news/20250506/Tomato-and-fruit-juice-improve-quality-of-life-for-kids-with-asthma.aspx.
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Sai Lomte, Tarun. "Tomato and fruit juice improve quality of life for kids with asthma". News-Medical. 07 May 2025.
Announcing a new article publication for Zoonoses journal. Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), caused by the tick-borne severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), is a disease that is endemic to East Asia and has mortality rates reaching 30%. Despite its substantial public health impact, no vaccines or antiviral treatments are currently available. The SFTSV genome encodes key structural proteins, including glycoproteins (Gn and Gc) and nucleocapsid protein (NP), which serve as critical vaccine targets.
This article reviews the current status of SFTSV-related vaccine platforms—such as viral vectors, inactivated viruses, DNA, mRNA, and protein-based approaches—and highlights the immune responses elicited by these platforms against key antigens, particularly glycoproteins and NP. Future research directions are additionally proposed to accelerate the development of effective SFTSV vaccines by leveraging insights from existing studies.
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Hyo-Jin Ro & Nam-Hyuk Cho. (2025) Current Advances in Vaccine Development for Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus (SFTSV). Zoonoses. doi.org/10.15212/ZOONOSES-2025-0005.
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New research suggests that low testosterone could be more than a hormonal issue; it might also raise a man's risk of developing painful kidney stones.
Study: Older age and low testosterone levels are independently associated with kidney stone prevalence in men: results from a large cross-sectional study. Image Credit: Om Yos / Shutterstock
In a recent study published in the International Journal of Impotence Research, researchers examined whether serum testosterone concentration is independently associated with the presence of kidney stones in adult men.
Kidney stones are a growing global health concern, with prevalence rising worldwide and occurring two to three times more often in men than in women. These stones can cause severe pain, disrupt daily life, and frequently recur even after treatment. Testosterone, the primary male sex hormone, has been proposed as a potential factor in stone formation, but research findings remain inconsistent. Some studies have found elevated testosterone levels in men with kidney stones, while others, including large population-based surveys, have reported lower levels. Many earlier studies were constrained by small sample sizes or reliance on self-reported stone history (introducing recall bias), highlighting the need for further research to clarify this relationship.
Researchers analyzed data from 3,234 men who participated in routine health checkups between 2010 and 2020 at a university hospital in Seoul, South Korea. All participants were at least 20 years old and completed blood tests, kidney–ureter–bladder radiography (KUB), and abdominal ultrasonography on the same day. Men receiving androgen therapy, those with kidney abnormalities or tumors, and those taking diuretics were excluded.
Morning blood samples were collected after fasting to measure serum testosterone levels. Stone detection used a combination of ultrasonography and radiography, which improves accuracy compared to using either method alone. Stones were identified as echogenic structures with acoustic shadowing, which indicates clinically relevant kidney stones (≥3 mm in size, as smaller stones without shadowing were excluded).
The study also considered various health indicators such as age, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, creatinine (Cr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), uric acid, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), calcium, albumin, aspartate transaminase (AST), and alanine transaminase (ALT). Researchers applied logistic regression models to evaluate associations and adjusted for all relevant confounding factors. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to determine the testosterone cutoff most predictive of kidney stone presence. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Out of the 3,234 men included in the analysis, 178 (5.5%) were diagnosed with kidney stones. The participants had a median age of 53 years and a median serum testosterone level of 4.7 nanograms per milliliter. The optimal testosterone threshold for predicting kidney stones was identified as 3.33 nanograms per milliliter (higher than thresholds linked to hypogonadism symptoms like low libido or erectile dysfunction), providing a sensitivity of 24.7% and specificity of 80.6%.
Initial analysis without adjusting for confounders showed that both older age and low LDL cholesterol levels were associated with kidney stones. However, once the analysis controlled for all relevant health variables, only older age (OR = 1.029 per year) and testosterone levels below 3.33 nanograms per milliliter remained significantly linked to kidney stones. Men with testosterone below this threshold had 65.5% higher odds (OR = 1.655) of having kidney stones compared to those with higher levels.
Previous research has produced mixed findings. Small case–control studies often reported higher testosterone in men with stones, while larger surveys, such as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), found the opposite. Those studies that identified an inverse relationship between testosterone and stones tended to include men over 40 years of age.
This study supports the notion that low testosterone levels may play a role in kidney stone formation. One explanation may lie in shared lifestyle risk factors, such as reduced physical activity, lower water intake, and higher protein consumption, all of which are known to increase the risk of kidney stones. Dehydration has been strongly associated with stone formation, and studies have shown that men with lower physical activity are more likely to develop stones. Diets high in protein may also contribute to both reduced testosterone and increased stone risk.
Although LDL cholesterol initially appeared to be a predictor, its significance disappeared after adjusting for other variables. This highlights the importance of comprehensive analysis in identifying true risk factors. While the study focused on a single hospital population, it avoided common biases by using imaging to detect stones rather than relying on patient memory. The large sample size and detailed data adjustment strengthen the findings.
To summarize, this study found that men with serum testosterone levels lower than 3.33 nanograms per milliliter (a threshold distinct from hypogonadism criteria) were significantly more likely to have kidney stones. This relationship held true even after accounting for other health indicators, including age, blood pressure, and metabolic factors.
These results suggest that testosterone may play a protective role against stone formation. Clinicians might consider monitoring testosterone levels as part of kidney stone risk assessments. Further research using long-term observational data or clinical trials is needed to determine whether testosterone replacement therapy can reduce kidney stone risk or if low testosterone is a symptom rather than a cause.
Posted in: Men's Health News | Medical Science News | Medical Research News | Medical Condition News
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Vijay holds a Ph.D. in Biotechnology and possesses a deep passion for microbiology. His academic journey has allowed him to delve deeper into understanding the intricate world of microorganisms. Through his research and studies, he has gained expertise in various aspects of microbiology, which includes microbial genetics, microbial physiology, and microbial ecology. Vijay has six years of scientific research experience at renowned research institutes such as the Indian Council for Agricultural Research and KIIT University. He has worked on diverse projects in microbiology, biopolymers, and drug delivery. His contributions to these areas have provided him with a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter and the ability to tackle complex research challenges.
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Kumar Malesu, Vijay. (2025, May 06). Low testosterone linked to higher kidney stone risk in men, study finds. News-Medical. Retrieved on May 07, 2025 from https://www.news-medical.net/news/20250506/Low-testosterone-linked-to-higher-kidney-stone-risk-in-men-study-finds.aspx.
MLA
Kumar Malesu, Vijay. "Low testosterone linked to higher kidney stone risk in men, study finds". News-Medical. 07 May 2025.
Cristiano Ronaldo was left red-faced after ballooning a shot miles wide during Al-Nassr's clash with Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Ittihad.
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Carli Lloyd's 16 year international career saw her reach legendary status for the U.S. Women's National Team, lifting the FIFA Women's World Cup three times and winning two Olympic gold medals as she established herself as an all time great.
However, Lloyd's relentless pursuit of success didn't come without sacrifices, something she has reflected on since retiring in 2021, and even more so since becoming a mom in 2024.
A first-ballot member of the 2025 U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame class, the 42-year-old took to the stage in Frisco, Texas, where she used her platform to apologize to her former teammates for being “an emotionless machine” throughout her trophy-laden career.
“I'm sorry I wasn't always able to give you all of me,” Lloyd said, via The Guardian. “I wouldn't say I have regrets, but if there's one thing I do wish, I wish I had let more people understand me over the years. I operated like an emotionless machine.
“I was intense and I truly believe that the only way for me to survive in such a cut-throat environment was to be that way.”
Lloyd's intense approach to sports may come at a cost, forcing her to not only adopt a somewhat robotic persona around her teammates but to also miss various personal events, as she noted in her speech, but it ultimately paid off on the field. With 316 appearances for the USWNT, she retired as the second-most capped player in team history, behind Kristine Lilly. Meanwhile, her 134 goals are the third all time behind Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach.
Along with her aforementioned World Cup and Olympic Games victories, Lloyd, twice named the FIFA Player of the Year, also helped guide the USWNT to six Algarve Cups, four SheBelieves Cups, and two CONCACAF Women's Championships.
However, with her playing days now firmly in the rear view mirror and a six-month-old now keeping her occupied, it seems motherhood has changed Lloyd's perspective on life, and how she approaches emotional vulnerability.
“I always knew I wanted a child, but I had no idea how this little baby could completely change me as a person,” she explained. “Unlike during my playing career, I have been present. I have allowed myself to be vulnerable, emotional, and fully engaged in every moment I get to spend with her.”
Ultimately, despite the heavy price paid, Lloyd maintained that the path she took was worth it in the end.
“As lonely and difficult as the journey was at times, I would do it all over again,” Lloyd admitted. “There was nothing I loved more than winning, but winning comes at a cost, and I paid that price.”
Winning is something that the USWNT has been accustomed to throughout the majority of its existence. That being said, the last few years have seen various hiccups, including a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics and a Round of 16 exit at the 2023 World Cup.
Now with former Chelsea boss Emma Hayes at the helm, the program is undergoing something of a renaissance as she attempts to breathe new life into the USWNT and women's soccer as a whole in the U.S. Someone Lloyd is very familiar with, having worked together with the Chicago Red Stars, the former NWSL star recently gave Hayes her full backing ahead of a push for the 2027 World Cup.
“She's a motivator. She takes the brunt of the PR. She takes the pressure off the players,” Lloyd explained in a recent press conference. “She seems like she just, kind of brings this energy and they are playing with joy and I do think that there is a balance with that of grinding and playing hard and having those high expectations, but also not really taking the game as seriously. And I think that she has that blend right.”
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Top officials offered a message that stuck to the Trump administration's focus on minimizing legal immigration and removing those who overstay their visas.
By Karoun Demirjian
The Trump administration says foreign soccer fans considering attending next year's FIFA World Cup are welcome to visit for a good time, but not a long time.
At a meeting of the World Cup task force at the White House on Tuesday, administration officials extended a conditional welcome to those who would attend the tournament, which the United States is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico.
“Everyone is welcome to come and see this incredible event,” Vice President JD Vance said. “But when the time is up, they'll have to go home. Otherwise, they'll have to talk to Secretary Noem,” he added, referring to Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, another member of the panel.
Ms. Noem, speaking next, did not pick up Mr. Vance's refrain. But Sean Duffy, the Transportation Secretary, soon echoed his sentiments.
“Go on a road trip. See America,” he said to potential visitors. But in the next breath, he added: “Don't overstay your visa. Don't stay too long.”
The blunt warnings to tourists not to overstay their visas is in keeping with the Trump administration's approach to foreigners over the last few months, which has included not only deporting immigrants illegally present in the United States, but also efforts to expel or turn away some authorized to be in the country.
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Sergio Busquets did not hold back when speaking about Inter Miami's chances at this summer's FIFA Club World Cup.
As the host nation for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, Inter Miami were handed a spot in the newly expanded tournament. The Herons received the bid after they won the 2024 Supporters' Shield for their record-breaking MLS regular season under Gerardo "Tata" Martino.
Fast forward five months later and Inter Miami are somewhat unrecognizable under Javier Mascherano. The club sits fourth in the Eastern Conference standings and just suffered two poor defeats in their Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal tie. Vancouver Whitecaps eliminated the Herons 5–1 on aggregate, leaving Inter Miami with a lot of questions moving forward.
In fact, the lopsided tie prompted Busquets to look ahead to Inter Miami's FIFA Club World Cup campaign, and the former Barcelona star is questioning his side's ability to make a deep run in the tournament.
"It's clear that we are not at the level to compete at the Club World Cup, but we will try to compete in our group," Busquets said. "Go game by game, fight and hopefully advance to the next round though it'll be difficult."
Inter Miami were sorted into Group A with SE Palmeiras, FC Porto and Al Ahly FC. On paper, a team with Busquets, Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Jordi Alaba should be able to make it out of its group, but much tougher competition is on the horizon. With European giants like Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City all participating in the tournament, the Herons are fighting an uphill battle, especially if they do not improve their recent form.
Unlike Busquets, though, Mascherano believes it is too early to shift focus to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. After all, Inter Miami still must play six MLS matches before the tournament begins.
"We now have to keep focusing on MLS," Mascherano said after the Herons crashed out of the Concacaf Champions Cup. "I don't think ahead to the Club Cup because we are a month and a half away. Now it's time to focus on MLS. We've been competing in two competitions for two months and a half and we did it well."
Mascherano will hope Inter Miami's 4–1 victory over New York Red Bulls at the weekend will get the Herons back on track. The team has already suffered four defeats across all competitions in the last two months and will be eager to string together some important victories to climb back up the Eastern Conference standings.
All eyes will be on Messi and Inter Miami, though, when the Herons kick off the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup against Al Ahly on June 14.
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Amanda Langell is a Sports Illustrated Soccer freelance writer covering the European game and international competitions.
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12:02 EDT 07 May 2025, updated
12:02 EDT 07 May 2025
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LUKE POWER
A Premier League manager has reportedly informally agreed to take the reins at Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal.
One Saudi outlet claims that the manager is willing to join before the Club World Cup starts in June.
However, Al-Hilal are reportedly waiting on the response of another candidate - who they prefer - before formalising their move for the Premier League man.
The manager in question is none other than Fulham's Marco Silva.
Mail Sport reported in 2023 that Silva had turned down a mega £40million offer to manage Al-Ahli for two years.
But now it would appear that the temptation of the Saudi cash has returned, if Arriyadiyah are to be believed.
TalkSPORT have also reported that Silva is stalling on signing a new contract due to the interest from Saudi.
They claim that Al-Hilal are after Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi, who has qualified the Italian giants for a second Champions League final in three years.
Silva's deal at Craven Cottage expires in 2026.
He took over at Fulham in 2021, leading them to the Championship title in his first season and since stabilising them at Premier League level.
The Cottagers could yet qualify for Europe as they sit 11th in the Premier League, a position which could be enough to earn them a place in continental football.
A run of three defeats in their last four has dampened their hopes somewhat, but they are only two points behind eighth-placed Bournemouth.
Should Silva join Al-Hilal, he would be teaming up with former Fulham striker Alexsandar Mitrovic as well as ex-Premier League stars Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves, and Joao Cancelo.
The side, majority owned by Saudi's sovereign wealth fund, have also made a lucrative offer to Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes.
Mail Sport exclusively revealed that they can afford to pay the Portuguese around £65million per season.
However, Fernandes' camp has not yet responded.
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The United States has been waiting for men's soccer to take off; it has been close, but next summer could be the big ascend.
Next year, of course, marks the first time since 1994 that the United States will host the World Cup (along with Canada and Mexico).
The U.S. Men's National Team (USMNT) has yet to get over the hump, but they have reached the knockout stage in each of their last two World Cups. With one good showing, former USMNT star Clint Dempsey thinks the sport could be the next big thing in America.
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“When I think back to the 1994 World Cup and going to my first game in Dallas, because of how well the U.S. team did and how much the game grew because of having the World Cup here, I'm curious to see what will happen from a good showing next year, if the U.S. can perform well, what could come of that,” Dempsey told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. “It's too many times it seems like every four years, everybody that's mainstream American taking notice instead of mainstream American taking notice every year.
“You have [Lionel] Messi moving the needle in terms of creating an impact in mainstream media, but if the U.S. have a great showing at the World Cup, the sky is the limit as to what can be accomplished. I am a little bit nervous, though, right now, but I'm looking forward to a strong showing at the Gold Cup to get a dance for the big dance in 2026.”
Why is Dempsey nervous? Well, not advancing out of the group stage in the Copa América last year, a tournament that only includes countries in North and South America, on their own home soil will do that.
“It was a failure. You're the only host country to not get out of the group stage in COPA America,” Dempsey said bluntly.
“But they can get back on track. I think [head coach Mauricio Pochettino] needs a little more time with them. Hopefully Gold Cup, strong showing, get back on track, and try to do something special.”
TRUMP NAMES ANDREW GIULIANI, SON OF FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR RUDY GIULIANI, TO FIFA WORLD CUP TASK FORCE
The World Cup will naturally garner viewers and grow the game on its own. However, Dempsey has always felt a “responsibility” to do it himself. So, that is why he has partnered with Abbott, the Official Health and Nutrition Sciences Partner of Real Madrid Football Club, to make the Abbott Dream Team.
Abbott and Real Madrid are hosting soccer tryouts for 18- and 19-year-olds in Chicago, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Dallas this summer, when the 11 top players will travel abroad on an all-expenses-paid trip to Ciudad Real Madrid in Valdebebas, Madrid this fall.
“I'm happy to give kids a platform to chase their dreams. One of those cities to try out happens to be Dallas where I kind of started it all. It comes full circle for me, as that's where I played my club ball growing up in the classic league. So look forward to being a part of that,” Dempsey said. “These young players have an opportunity to chase their dreams and also learn about nutrition to prolong their careers if they get lucky enough to get to do this as a profession. I'm happy to get people be a part of something that gives people the chance to chase their dreams, because at the end of the day, that's what it's all about. I was lucky enough to make it my dream and do it for a living.”
“I just kind of always felt like I've been trying to grow the game in terms of trailblazing, but at the same time, if you have opportunities like this to give back and give people that platform to have those experiences, it's special, because that's what life's about,” he added. “I have six kids, and it's pretty busy chasing them around, and sometimes it feels like you're an Uber driver, but's it's me watching them try to chase their dreams. That's what this life is about. You wanna give people the chance to to do something special in their life so you can be at peace and look back be happy with everything. So that's just kind of I'm at in life. I wanna help people out, and this was a perfect platform for that.”
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Dempsey, like all of us, is hoping the word “failure” is not brought up next summer during the World Cup. The USMNT can avoid that, Dempsey said, as long as they can continue what they have done in recent Cups.
“At the bare minimum, I think you have to get out of the group. If you don't the group, it's a failure,” Dempsey said. “There's gonna be a lot of pressure on this team for being one of the host countries, and not getting out of the group will be a failure. It starts with getting out of the group, get people believing, and anything can happen when you get into the knockout rounds.”
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Carli Lloyd had six months to figure out her National Soccer Hall of Fame speech. However, since fellow Hall of Famer Alexi Lalas told her she would be a first-ballot inductee during a surprise visit at her home in New Jersey, she has worked to find just the right words.
Her speech at the induction ceremony on Saturday was surprisingly unguarded for a player who had built her entire professional persona around her aloof strength. It was a rare moment of vulnerability that almost didn't happen.
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“I wanted to stand up there and not explain to people, but just show people that this is all of the things that were going through my mind in my professional career,” Lloyd told The Athletic. “This is everything that I had to deal with, that I had to navigate from a human standpoint.”
Call it whatever you want — explaining, showing — Lloyd revealed more on that stage in Frisco, Texas, than she ever has before. She grappled with many of the same ideas during her final months as a player: What it took to make it to multiple World Cups and Olympics and the cost of a single-minded focus on soccer.
“Everything that I do and say comes from my heart,” Lloyd said, “whether that's the popular thing or the not-so-popular thing to say. I don't say things for clicks or for likes or for people to write about me. Everything is what I'm feeling in that particular moment.”
That's Lloyd, to a T. She hasn't changed, not really. We're just seeing a little more of her these days.
“I'm not all of a sudden a new Carli Lloyd,” she said. “I was that person pre-professional career, and then had that professional career of just going into another zone for 17 years, of being that person, that emotionless machine.
“That was my fight or flight. That was my way of surviving. I didn't want to let people in, and I didn't want to. I couldn't necessarily trust people. People would chop you up. That's just how I felt. So maybe that's why fans, the media and some of my teammates and coaches had that reluctance with me, of really not understanding me.”
Lloyd has grappled with this tension of wanting to be understood before.
In 2021, during her final days as a professional athlete, she told The Athletic, “What people don't understand is to reach the heights that I have, I almost had to be emotionless.” She compared it to fight or flight then too, and spoke about being emotionally numb.
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There's more clarity now, though, almost four years on.
Lloyd's still a runner, and she used the alone time on her runs to get her thoughts in order, including preparing a mental draft of the speech: “My love for the game, and all that stuff,” she said, calling it obvious. “I love the game. I work hard. I do this, I do that. Everybody knows that about me.”
She was on a flight when she realized what she wanted to accomplish with her speech. She started writing it in her notes app: “Was it all worth it?”
“That was something that I really wanted to share because I've never spoken about it,” Lloyd said. “You know me, I was never vulnerable. I've never shown any type of weakness.” In that same 2021 interview, she was asked if she was happy — a related, but fundamentally different, question from whether it had all been worth it.
“What I kept coming back to again and again was one simple question,” Lloyd began in her speech before a litany of questions to her past self. “Was it all worth it? Was it worth dedicating my entire youth to soccer? Was it worth being so ruthless on myself when things didn't go well? Was it worth having my life be consumed by the game? Was it worth the guilt of taking time off, or feeling like I hadn't trained enough? Was it worth all the sacrifices — missing funerals, birthdays, holidays, weddings and other important milestones? Was it worth allowing a trainer into my life that, over time, created a wedge between me and my family for over a decade?”
At this question, a moment of levity interrupted: Lloyd's six-month-old daughter let out a happy squeal in the audience.
“Thank you, Harper,” Lloyd said with a smile.
A post shared by NJ Lifestyle Photographer (@jennakanephotography)
“Was it worth putting my husband second? Was it worth being so intense, so obsessed every single day of my career? Was it worth not allowing myself to fully enjoy some of the most meaningful moments, out of fear that I might slip backwards? And the biggest question of all: was it worth putting off starting a family?”
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Lloyd's rift with her family has been well documented, a 12-year estrangement that came to a close when she cut ties with her long-time personal trainer James Galanis. The shutdown prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic helped her hit pause and opened her eyes.
“The control, the manipulation, the brainwashing, driving a wedge through my family. All of these things that I didn't see or I didn't have the opportunity for life to slow down for me to see, I saw it all. I was going back and back, and the person you trust with your life, you think someone that is in your life for that long is going to do right by you, and it was the total opposite,” Lloyd said about Galanis in an episode of Kickin' It in 2023.
Only four years before, in an article for The Players' Tribune, Lloyd had detailed how Galanis had become her personal coach in the wake of being cut from the U.S. youth national team before a minor international tournament in 2003. “I'll train you free and won't charge your parents anything,” Lloyd recounted Galanis saying at the start of their relationship. “But you have to dedicate your entire life to this. If I call you at 10 p.m. on a Saturday, and I tell you to come to the field, are you going to come?”
For years, she did. “The truth is,” Lloyd said in her Hall of Fame speech, “the path of a professional athlete can be incredibly lonely.”
Even her mother, Lloyd said, hadn't fully understood what she had struggled with throughout her career, how deeply she had felt the sacrifices.
“It felt freeing,” Lloyd said this week. “It felt so good to be standing up there, on my terms, in one of the biggest moments of my career, being able to share.”
In some ways, the boundaries between Lloyd the person and Lloyd the player have collapsed, but mostly she is not afraid of any consequences anymore — even if, for years, they probably wouldn't have happened, or worse, been self-imposed.
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Lloyd called herself a “black sheep” of the USWNT plenty of times over the years, but she revisited one of the early moments in her national team career this week — the fallout from the 2007 World Cup goalkeeping selection by then head coach Greg Ryan — as a defining moment.
The short version: Hope Solo had started the first four games of the tournament but Ryan made the call to start Briana Scurry in the semifinal against Brazil, and the USWNT lost 4-0. Solo criticized the decision in public comments after the match. Lloyd was still new to the team; she's entirely uninterested in litigating who was right and who was wrong, but on the human level, she felt sad for Solo.
“Everyone shunned Hope. We didn't allow her in the team meal. We didn't allow her to fly home with us. Nobody stood next to her in a pool recovery workout. We're talking about some public comments, but that was the length of it,” Lloyd said. She felt awful, seeing Solo without any support network. So she supported her, because she felt like it was the right thing to do. But she still feels like that sets her apart from the rest of the team.
“I became the person that didn't follow the crowd, and didn't support everybody else,” Lloyd said.
Maybe it was self-inflicted, she noted, but that's where she started thinking she was on the outs with the USWNT. Teammates looked at her differently, and the coaching staff handled her a little more hesitantly. The barrier came up as protection. “I just need to figure out how I'm going to survive and perform and help my team without draining any other ounce of my mental energy on anything else.”
Lloyd felt every slight, real or perceived, coming her way. She was never good enough. She didn't play well enough. She had to prove people wrong.
None of this will be all that surprising to people who have watched her through the years, but she's had more time to reflect on it.
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“I wouldn't say I have regrets,” Lloyd said in her Hall of Fame speech, “but if there's one thing I do wish, I wish I had let more people understand me. Over the years, I operated like an emotionless machine. I was intense, and I truly believe that the only way for me to survive in such a cutthroat environment was to be that way. So to my teammates, I want to say this: I'm sorry I wasn't always able to give you all of me.”
A few days later, she did say that by the end, she had let in more teammates — when she was benched later in her career, there were a few that also saw her in a deeply emotional state. But this wasn't an apology where she was expecting people to text her after or anything. “I just wanted to address — not necessarily the elephant in the room — but maybe certain teammates that didn't understand why I was the way that I was.”
She pointed out several times that she has no ill-will towards anyone in the U.S. program — she was never angry at teammates, she said, she was just trying to survive. “Whatever comes of it is awesome,” she said. “We all had our unique journeys. I'm open to anything.”
There are certainly more conversations for Lloyd to have on that front, but maybe that apology opened the door a bit further. After all, what's more human than wanting to be understood, even as the barriers to being known are of your own making?
The twist is that Lloyd has changed.
“We are so blessed to have Harper. She is my greatest accomplishment. I always knew I wanted a child, but I had no idea how this little baby could completely change me as a person. Unlike during my playing career, I have been present. I have allowed myself to be vulnerable, emotional and fully engaged in every moment I get to spend with her.”
So, yes, in the end, it was worth it. Sporting her new red Hall of Fame blazer, her family in the audience, Harper watching on, Lloyd was ready to do it all over again if it got her to this moment.
“There was nothing I loved more than winning, but winning comes at a cost. I paid that price, yet in return, I gained more than I ever could have imagined.”
(Top photos: Getty Images; design: Will Tullus)
Meg Linehan is a senior writer for The Athletic who covers the U.S. women's national team, the National Women's Soccer League and more. She also hosts the weekly podcast "Full Time with Meg Linehan." Follow Meg on Twitter @itsmeglinehan
World Cup
U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested that Russia's men's national team being allowed into the qualification process for the 2026 World Cup could be an incentive for the country to end the war in Ukraine.
Since their illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia's national teams and domestic clubs have been suspended by FIFA and UEFA, which respectively govern world and European soccer. Those suspensions were upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in 2023 after Russia appealed.
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Trump has held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in recent months in a bid to broker a peace deal.
The possibility of Russia's three-year ban from soccer being lifted has been heightened recently with Gianni Infantino, FIFA's president, saying last month he hoped the country's return would come “soon”. Infantino has also spoken of his close relationship with Trump ahead of the 2026 men's World Cup, which is organised by FIFA and will be held across the U.S., Canada and Mexico next summer.
A task force for the event has been set up, chaired by Trump, which will also oversee both this summer's Club World Cup. Speaking at the task force's first meeting on Tuesday, Trump said he was unaware Russia could not, under its current ban, qualify for next summer's tournament.
“I didn't know that. Is that right?” Trump asked, before Infantino confirmed it was. “They are banned for the time being from playing but we hope that something happens and peace will happen so that Russia can be readmitted,” Infantino added.
Trump then replied: “That's possible. Hey, that could be a good incentive, right? We want to get them to stop. We want them to stop.”
Speaking at the 49th UEFA Congress in Belgrade, Serbia, Infantino discussed the peace talks being mediated by the U.S.“As talks are going on for peace in Ukraine, I hope that we can soon move to the next page, bring back, as well, Russia in the football landscape because this would mean that everything is solved,” he said.
The UEFA qualifying groups for the 2026 World Cup have already been drawn and matches have already been played in some of them. The Athletic has contacted FIFA and UEFA for comment.
It was confirmed on Tuesday that Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, would be the executive director of the World Cup task force with Carlos Cordeiro, a FIFA advisor and former United States Soccer Federation president, a senior advisor and U.S. Vice President JD Vance acting as vice chair.
(Top photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho has given an update about his future at Old Trafford and said he's "different" to idol Cristiano Ronaldo.
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The United States has been waiting for men's soccer to take off; it has been close, but next summer could be the big ascend.
Next year, of course, marks the first time since 1994 that the United States will host the World Cup (along with Canada and Mexico).
The U.S. Men's National Team (USMNT) has yet to get over the hump, but they have reached the knockout stage in each of their last two World Cups. With one good showing, former USMNT star Clint Dempsey thinks the sport could be the next big thing in America.
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U.S. Men's National Team star Clint Dempsey, #8, dribbles upfield against Jamaica during the first half of their CONCACAF World Cup qualifying game at Crew Stadium on Sept. 11, 2012. (Kyle Robertson / USA TODAY NETWORK)
"When I think back to the 1994 World Cup and going to my first game in Dallas, because of how well the U.S. team did and how much the game grew because of having the World Cup here, I'm curious to see what will happen from a good showing next year, if the U.S. can perform well, what could come of that," Dempsey told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. "It's too many times it seems like every four years, everybody that's mainstream American taking notice instead of mainstream American taking notice every year.
"You have [Lionel] Messi moving the needle in terms of creating an impact in mainstream media, but if the U.S. have a great showing at the World Cup, the sky is the limit as to what can be accomplished. I am a little bit nervous, though, right now, but I'm looking forward to a strong showing at the Gold Cup to get a dance for the big dance in 2026."
Why is Dempsey nervous? Well, not advancing out of the group stage in the Copa América last year, a tournament that only includes countries in North and South America, on their own home soil will do that.
"It was a failure. You're the only host country to not get out of the group stage in COPA America," Dempsey said bluntly.
"But they can get back on track. I think [head coach Mauricio Pochettino] needs a little more time with them. Hopefully Gold Cup, strong showing, get back on track, and try to do something special."
U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino gives a press conference ahead of an international friendly soccer match against Mexico at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)
TRUMP NAMES ANDREW GIULIANI, SON OF FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR RUDY GIULIANI, TO FIFA WORLD CUP TASK FORCE
The World Cup will naturally garner viewers and grow the game on its own. However, Dempsey has always felt a "responsibility" to do it himself. So, that is why he has partnered with Abbott, the Official Health and Nutrition Sciences Partner of Real Madrid Football Club, to make the Abbott Dream Team.
Abbott and Real Madrid are hosting soccer tryouts for 18- and 19-year-olds in Chicago, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Dallas this summer, when the 11 top players will travel abroad on an all-expenses-paid trip to Ciudad Real Madrid in Valdebebas, Madrid this fall. Players can sign up at abbottdreamteam.com.
"I'm happy to give kids a platform to chase their dreams. One of those cities to try out happens to be Dallas where I kind of started it all. It comes full circle for me, as that's where I played my club ball growing up in the classic league. So look forward to being a part of that," Dempsey said. "These young players have an opportunity to chase their dreams and also learn about nutrition to prolong their careers if they get lucky enough to get to do this as a profession. I'm happy to get people be a part of something that gives people the chance to chase their dreams, because at the end of the day, that's what it's all about. I was lucky enough to make it my dream and do it for a living."
"I just kind of always felt like I've been trying to grow the game in terms of trailblazing, but at the same time, if you have opportunities like this to give back and give people that platform to have those experiences, it's special, because that's what life's about," he added. "I have six kids, and it's pretty busy chasing them around, and sometimes it feels like you're an Uber driver, but's it's me watching them try to chase their dreams. That's what this life is about. You wanna give people the chance to to do something special in their life so you can be at peace and look back be happy with everything. So that's just kind of I'm at in life. I wanna help people out, and this was a perfect platform for that."
United States forward Clint Dempsey, #8, against Belgium during the round of sixteen match in the 2014 World Cup at Arena Fonte Nova. (Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)
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Dempsey, like all of us, is hoping the word "failure" is not brought up next summer during the World Cup. The USMNT can avoid that, Dempsey said, as long as they can continue what they have done in recent Cups.
"At the bare minimum, I think you have to get out of the group. If you don't the group, it's a failure," Dempsey said. "There's gonna be a lot of pressure on this team for being one of the host countries, and not getting out of the group will be a failure. It starts with getting out of the group, get people believing, and anything can happen when you get into the knockout rounds."
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Ruben Amorim has opened up on Al-Hilal's interest in Bruno Fernandes and revealed Manchester United's stance on a possible transfer.
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Chelsea have been urged not to sign Cristiano Ronaldo for the Club World Cup, with Premier League icon Chris Waddle aiming a dig at the Al-Nassr star.
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The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected the appeal by Leon who had qualified by winning the CONCACAF Champions Cup in 2023.
"This is the greatest damage done to a team that has always competed with humility and honesty," Leon said in a statement.
"The only thing left for us is to win again to regain the place on the field that was taken from us. Have no doubt, as long as no one prevents us from doing so again, we will do it."
The expanded 32-team Club World Cup runs from June 14 to July 13 in the United States with $1 billion in prize money at stake.
Apart from the winners of each confederation's premier club competitions, teams also qualified based on their ranking based on their performances over a four-year period.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has said the ruling body will look to organise a playoff between Los Angeles FC and Club America to decide which team will replace Leon in the tournament.
By
Charisma Madarang
The cameras rolled on Tuesday as President Donald Trump held his first 2026 World Cup task force meeting in a public spectacle that included several Cabinet members, as well as FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Millions of foreigners from around the world are expected to visit the United States for soccer's most anticipated international tournament, yet Trump and some of his Cabinet members chilled the usually celebratory mood with ominous warnings to travelers planning to attend next year's World Cup.
When asked if people who have taken part in pro-Palestinian protests should be concerned about visiting the U.S., Trump replied, “I think people are allowed to protest.” He continued: “You have to do it in a reasonable manner, not necessarily friendly, but reasonable.”
“Pam will come after you, and you're going to have a big problem,” he then warned, referring to Attorney General Pam Bondi, who attended Tuesday's task force meeting.
It's hardly an idle threat. Trump's administration has sought to revoke the visas of hundreds of foreign students for participating in pro-Palestine activism, detaining some and seeking their deportation.
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“Of course, everybody is welcome to come and see this incredible event,” Vice President J.D. Vance said. “But when the time is up, they'll have to go home. Otherwise, they'll have to talk to Secretary Noem,” Vance added. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has led the administration's crackdown on immigration.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also chimed in, and said, “If you're coming to see some soccer … go on a road trip. See America,” before saying: “Don't overstay your visa. Don't stay too long.”
The threats come as some countries warn their citizens about traveling to the United States. Last month. Canada issued a travel advisory warning that officials could demand to search citizens' electronic devices at the border without any reason.
The U.K. updated its guidance to tell citizens traveling to the U.S. to “comply with all entry, visa and other conditions of entry,” adding: “The authorities in the U.S. set and enforce entry rules strictly. You may be liable to arrest or detention if you break the rules.”
Several European countries have warned citizens about Trump's trans crackdown and how it may affect travelers to the U.S.
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Noem said Wednedsay that two million people were expected to visit the U.S. for the World Cup and assured listeners that her department would be working with the Department of State and the FBI to process visitors' travel documents and that the massive event “will go smoothly.”
“America will welcome the world,” Infantino insisted. “Everyone who wants to come here to enjoy, to have fun to celebrate the game, will be able to do that.”
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Real Madrid have approached Liverpool in an attempt to bring forward the signing of Trent Alexander-Arnold so that he is available to play in the Club World Cup, which starts on 14 June in the United States. The right-back is set to join the Spanish side when his contract expires at the end of June, but Real are eager to take him earlier.
Any agreement would lead to Liverpool receiving a fee. Fifa has implemented a two-window summer to benefit those playing at the Club World Cup, with the first lasting from 1 to 10 June and the second opening on 16 June. Real's first fixture is on 18 June against Al-Hilal at the Hard Rock Cafe Stadium in Miami.
Alexander-Arnold, who helped Liverpool win the Club World Cup in 2019, announced on Monday that he would not be renewing his contract after two decades with Liverpool, having started in the academy aged six. He is yet to confirm Real is his next destination, but is expected to move there on a five-year deal.
“After 20 years at Liverpool Football Club, now is the time for me to confirm that I will be leaving at the end of the season,” said Alexander-Arnold. “This is easily the hardest decision I've ever made in my life. I know many of you have wondered why or been frustrated that I haven't spoken about this yet, but it was always my intention to keep my full focus on the team's best interests, which was securing number 20,” referring to the club's 20th league title.
Real's eagerness to accelerate Alexander-Arnold's arrival is partly down to the problems they have at right-back. The veteran defender Dani Carvajal is out injured with cruciate ligament damage and the forward Lucas Vázquez has been filling in for his Spain teammate.
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Officially official
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) handed down their verdict on Tuesday in the case of Club León against FIFA, and unfortunately for the Liga MX outfit, they have sided with FIFA. León were appealing their expulsion from this summer's Club World Cup due to their shared ownership structure with another participant, Club Pachuca.
So, with FIFA's own decision upheld about their own tournament, León are now officially out, and will be replaced by either Los Angeles FC (LAFC) or another Liga MX side, Club América. These two are set to play a one-off playoff (play-in?) at the end of the month, at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on May 31.
The winner of that game will face Chelsea a couple weeks later, in Atlanta on Friday Monday, June 16, in the first group stage game.
Chelsea's other two games in the group stage of the tournament will be in Philadelphia, against Flamengo on Friday, June 20, and ES Tunis the following Tuesday, June 24.
A one-match playoff is set to be played by LAFC and Club América to determine the final spot in the 2025 Club World Cup, per @tombogert and @JacobsBen The match will be played at BMO Stadium on May 31st and the winner will replace Club Leon in this summer's Club WC. pic.twitter.com/mRWlcMLWKY
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Tennis
A federal judge has ruled that the men's professional tennis tour cannot retaliate against players who join an ongoing lawsuit against it, nor against players who consider joining the lawsuit.
The ruling, issued by judge Margaret Garnett of the U.S. District Court in New York Wednesday, serves as an early victory for the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), which filed an antitrust lawsuit against the ATP Tour, its women's counterpart the WTA, the International Tennis Federation and tennis anti-doping authorities in March.
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After the filing of that lawsuit, the ATP Tour circulated a letter to be signed by its players. The letter said that any players that signed it did not support the lawsuit, nor the PTPA. Garnett ruled that the circulation of that letter, and a specific instance in which an ATP board member pressured two players to sign it, amounted to “coercive, deceptive, or potentially abusive” behavior.
Judge Garnett added that it was reasonable for players to understand the ATP rulebook as allowing the tour to threaten the livelihood and benefits of any player who decided to sue the organization.
She also ordered the ATP to within seven days circulate and post a letter to players, making it clear that they cannot be punished or threatened with punishment for joining litigation against the organization.
The letter, known as a corrective action, informs players that “ATP Tour Inc. is legally prohibited from retaliating in any way or threatening retaliation, directly or indirectly, against you for considering participating in or ultimately deciding to participate in this lawsuit.”
Ahmad Nassar, the executive director of the PTPA, said: “the decision speaks for itself.”
A spokesperson for the ATP Tour was not immediately available for comment. When the PTPA filed the lawsuit, the organization said: “we strongly reject the premise of the PTPA's claims, believe the case to be entirely without merit, and will vigorously defend our position.”
The PTPA, co-founded by 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, has spent much of the past year convincing players that they would not experience retaliation for being a named plaintiff on the lawsuit, or for supporting it. Twelve players elected to be named plaintiffs. Of the six ATP players, three have retired from tennis. None of the other three are ranked inside the top 90, though Nick Kyrgios has been ranked as high as world No. 11. A number of top players declined to join the lawsuit, fearing retribution or a loss of potential prize money, playing opportunities and benefits.
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The lawsuit, which describes the governing bodies of tennis as a “cartel,” would overturn the structure of professional tennis if fully enacted, but is more likely to result in more gradual changes around the proportion of revenues shared with players and the structure of the tennis calendar.
The judge also ordered to the ATP to retain all future communication with players regarding the lawsuit.
(Photo: Ilya S. Savenok / Getty Images)
Matthew Futterman is an award-winning veteran sports journalist and the author of two books, “Running to the Edge: A Band of Misfits and the Guru Who Unlocked the Secrets of Speed” and “Players: How Sports Became a Business.”Before coming to The Athletic in 2023, he worked for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Star-Ledger of New Jersey and The Philadelphia Inquirer. He is currently writing a book about tennis, "The Cruelest Game: Agony, Ecstasy and Near Death Experiences on the Pro Tennis Tour," to be published by Doubleday in 2026. Follow Matthew on Twitter @mattfutterman
Jack Draper has made great strides throughout the course of the 2025 season.
He claimed his biggest title at the Indian Wells Masters and the Brit has reached a career-high ranking of number five.
Now the 23-year-old has begun to show his pedigree on clay after he reached the Madrid Open final.
Jack Draper is looking to build on these results ahead of what he hopes to have a strong French Open campaign.
Draper's run to the Madrid Open championship match is the best result of his career on clay.
He aimed to become the first British man since Andy Murray to triumph in the Spanish capital, but Casper Ruud had other ideas as he completed a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 win to lift his first Masters 1000 title.
Draper's performances on clay are a work in progress and after a solid run in Madrid, he identified three things that he wants to improve on the surface with the French Open on the horizon.
“On the clay especially. I'm a lot more comfortable moving on the hard courts and that sort of thing,” he told reporters. “I think on the clay, my movement can be better. I think my serve could definitely be better, my accuracy on my serve. I'm 6′-4″ and it is a weapon, but I think it could be better.
Jack Draper, what a tournament that was 🧡@jackdraper0 finishes runner up in the Madrid Open final, with Casper Ruud taking the win 7-5, 3-6, 6-4#BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 | @MutuaMadridOpen pic.twitter.com/ESxthexoeS
“I think my defense and my attack, the mix of that has got really a lot better, but I think there's so many chances I'm getting to come forward to the net. I don't think I utilize that enough. I think I need to keep on coming forward more to finish off the points and put more pressure on my opponents.
“Yeah, I think mentally as well, like more exposure to these big matches and key moments I'm going to get better. I think physically as well. Like, I'm on a journey with that. I've definitely been someone who has struggled in the past with injuries and, you know, not lasting as long as I wanted to, but that's improving all the time as well.
“But again, nowhere near where I want to be, so I think, yeah, there's plenty of things that are going to keep on improving, and I'm going to keep on getting better and better. I believe that.”
Draper is in Rome preparing to compete in the Italian Open for just the second time in his career.
The World number five has claimed just one match win in Rome, and that came against Borna Coric in the opening round in 2024.
This year Draper will start his campaign in the second round and will take on either home favourite Luciano Darderi or Yunchaokete Bu.
The pair will play one another on Wednesday to determine who Draper's first opponent of the Italian Open will be.
Tennis champion Laura Robson has experienced some incredible moments during her career, from winning Junior Wimbledon at the age of 14 to scooping a silver medal with her mixed doubles partner, Andy Murray, at the London Olympics.
But off court, one of her greatest memories is of spending time with the Princess of Wales when they spectated together at Wimbledon, describing the special day as "a really cool experience".
Laura, who was on the player relations team at the time two years ago, exclusively tells HELLO! that she "didn't know that was going to be part of my job that day".
"[Kate] really loves her tennis," she recalls. "We went out to watch [British female No. 1] Katie Boulter, and then she was going for lunch with Roger Federer afterwards because they were all in the royal box that day.
"I think it's just great to see someone like that support tennis and to have such a passion for it, and the rest of her family are always at Wimbledon as well, so the more support the better."
After being forced to end her playing career in 2022 due to injury, Laura, 31, is now behind one of the most hotly anticipated dates on the British tennis calendar: she is tournament director for the new Women's WTA 500 event at London's historic The Queen's Club.
Taking place in June, the tournament sees female players compete at the exclusive members-only tennis club in West London – founded in 1886 – for the first time since 1973.
And perhaps there, amid the terraces lined with tulips, she will be reunited with the Princess of Wales, who is the royal patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. "I would love to see her at the women's event here."
Her enthusiasm for the new event – running from 9-15 June – is infectious.
Sponsored by HSBC, the men's championships, which have been held at the club since 1889 and follow this year from 16 June, are one of the most-watched grass court events of the season, and the WTA event is expected to be equally popular.
British tennis stars Katie – a good friend of Laura's – and Emma Raducanu are hoping to play, as are Australian Open champion Madison Keys, four-time major winner Naomi Osaka and last year's Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova.
"The players are really excited," says Laura. "The women have known about the club for so long but have never been able to play here."
Many will wonder why women's tournament tennis stopped more than 50 years ago at the £15,000-a-year members' club.
Laura explains: "Because of the site being what it is, the tournament couldn't grow as a combined event, which is what it was then. That's where tournaments like Nottingham [where Laura was tournament director from 2022 until 2024] and Eastbourne came about, and they were women-specific for a while."
Now, though, it makes sense that the four biggest UK tournaments are all male and female events, Laura says. "Hopefully people will see it [Queen's] as a two-week tennis festival and come to both."
She's already implemented a crucial change in her new role: this year will see the introduction of a children's creche for players' and coaches' families.
"A lot of players rent houses rather than stay at hotels across these weeks and they want to bring their kids," she explains.
"It really feels like a club experience, whereas Wimbledon is huge and you're so far away from the players. Queen's is so intimate, you're going to see the best players in the world from a really close standpoint."
Who does she tip to win? "I'm hesitant to say one person, but I think as a director of a British tournament, you always want the Brits to do well," she says with a smile.
Tickets to the HSBC Championships and all the LTAs grass court events are on sale via www.LTA.org.uk
Photographer: Damien Hockey
Hair & Make-up: Julie Rea @ Carol Hayes Management
To read the full exclusive interview, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK on Monday. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
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Tennis
Emma Raducanu is working with coach Mark Petchey to disguise her service motion, adding more shoulder turn and power in time for Wimbledon this summer; watch Raducanu in the first round of the Italian Open from approximately 4pm on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports Tennis
Interviews, Comment & Analysis
@RazMirza
Wednesday 7 May 2025 15:15, UK
Emma Raducanu's promising performances at the Madrid Open have not gone unnoticed with coach Mark Petchey working on elevating her serve in time for Wimbledon.
The 22-year-old posted her first win on outdoor clay courts since 2022 with a straight-sets victory over Suzan Lamens in the Spanish capital but her hopes of another strong WTA 1000 run ended with a second-round loss to Marta Kostyuk.
Raducanu is next in action in the first round of the Italian Open as she faces 19-year-old Australian Maya Joint in the first round in Rome on Wednesday - live on Sky Sports Tennis from approximately 4pm.
The former US Open champion took a break from the WTA Tour following her run to the Miami Open quarter-finals last month and instead took part in a training block with Mark Petchey ahead of the clay-court swing.
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Sky Sports' Colin Fleming felt clay novice Raducanu could take a lot from her defeat against world No 36 Kostyuk, who is seen as a specialist on the red dirt.
"This was a good level at times on a surface where she hasn't played a lot of tennis recently," he said during commentary.
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"If she can keep working, keep finding her feet in the clay, her movement, her balance and just comfort on this surface. I think she can still have some great results in this clay-court season and I think it will serve her well for beyond that into the grass and the hard.
"A lot of positives to take from this one."
Fleming also said Raducanu gave a clear indication of what she has been working on alongside coach Petchey since he came on board for their ad-hoc partnership after mentoring her at the Miami Open.
Petchey has previously coached former world No 1 Andy Murray into the world's top 50, splitting in 2006 after less than 12 months together, and briefly worked with Greek ace Maria Sakkari.
"She's gone back to her more natural service motion since working with Mark Petchey recently," revealed Fleming. "She has done a bit of work with Nick Cavaday [former coach] on adjusting the motion.
"She's always had a natural, flowing rhythmic service motion, and it became a bit more abbreviated with the work under Cavaday. I understand why! Trying to get the serve bigger, more impactful during matches. It's back to that longer, flowing rhythm."
Raducanu served four aces, winning 56 per cent of her first serve points [25/45] and 66 per cent of her second serve points [19/29] with just one double fault during her win over Lamens, while did not serve any aces during her defeat against Kostyuk, hitting four double faults, and winning 60 per cent [35/58] of her first serve points but 41 per cent [14/34] of her second serve points.
Former four-time Grand Slam champion turned tennis analyst, Jim Courier, hopes Raducanu will give his colleague Petchey the opportunity to work through the grass season, where he believes she can thrive.
"When Covid-19 hit, they went to work together, in private in the UK, so he knew her before she became a star," the American said on the Tennis Channel.
"That's obviously important for her in a time when she's not been able to find a regular relationship with coaches.
"Relying on someone that she knew before it happened is really important so I don't know how long it can last, but frankly the fact that they're spending time together right now is really important. What I do hope is that it's able to last at least through the grass-court season.
"No one's expecting her to play well on clay, it's not a natural surface for her. Grass is a surface where she first surfaced, she made the round 16 at Wimbledon before she won the US Open so for me, it's about the building blocks for the grass-court season."
Courier also indicated the young Brit has been working on masking her service motion and adding more potency in preparation for Wimbledon which begins on June 30.
Before the grass season, however, Raducanu competes at the WTA 1000 in Rome before the French Open.
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Courier added: "What I do know already is he's changed her service motion by adding more shoulder turn which the idea is to try and give her a little bit more disguise and a little more power. But I think overall this is a net positive for her on so many levels, we'll see where it goes."
Raducanu has been without a permanent coach since parting ways with Nick Cavaday in January.
Before adding Petchey to her team, the British tennis star had a two-week trial period with Vladimir Platenik.
Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as the US Open in New York, live on Sky Sports in 2025 or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
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Up-and-coming Canadian tennis player Victoria Mboko, shown in this handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Tennis Canada-Sarah-Jade Champagne*MANDATORY CREDIT*
ROME - Canadians Bianca Andreescu and Victoria Mboko cruised to wins over local favourites Wednesday in opening-round action at the Italian Open WTA 1000 tennis tournament.
Andreescu, from Mississauga, Ont., faced few problems from Italy's Federica Urgesi in a 6-0, 6-3 victory, winning 97.1 per cent of first service points without facing a break point in a dominant first set.
The 24-year-old cruised to a 5-1 lead in the second set before Urgesi responded with a hold and a break. Andreescu put the game away with her six break-point conversion on 10 chances.
Andreescu will face 20th-seed Donna Vekic of Croatia in the second round. Vekic won the only other match between the two at last year's Paris Olympics, which was also played on clay.
Andreescu, a former world No. 4 and the 2019 U.S. Open champion, made her return from a six-month absence to the WTA circuit earlier this year at the Open de Rouen. She improved to 2-3 on the season, with her other victory coming at the Madrid Open WTA 1000 event.
Earlier, Toronto's Mboko posted a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 victory over Italy's Arianna Zucchini
Mboko, who advanced to her second career 1000-series event through qualifying, converted six break points, including three in a sequence that saw the 18-year-old Canadian and Zucchini trade breaks over the final five games of the second set.
Mboko, ranked 158th in the world, has compiled a 33-3 record this season while racking up five titles on the lower-tier ITF circuit.
She will face fourth seed Coco Gauff of the United States in the second round.
The other Canadian in the women's draw, Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., is seeded 24th and has a first-round bye.
Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriel Diallo, both from Montreal, and Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., are entered on the men's side.
Diallo faces American Marcos Giron in first-round action Thursday while Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov have byes.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2025.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Azarenka weighed in on the Jannik Sinner saga and outlined just how she'd fix her sport.ByDavid KanePublished May 07, 2025 copy_link
Published May 07, 2025
ROME, Italy— Victoria Azarenka shook her head as she walked out of a press conference at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.“I'm surprised I didn't have any non-match related questions,” she said. “Everybody else gets asked and I don't get asked. I mean, I have opinions.”The weekend leading up to the tournament had been consumed by hot topics ranging from anti-doping to player safeguarding, and the former No. 1-turned-WTA Player Council stalwart was feeling left out of the loop.Azarenka got her crack at the sport's latest hot topics at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, starting with the return of ATP world No. 1 Jannik Sinner from a three-month anti-doping suspension.
“I'm surprised I didn't have any non-match related questions,” she said. “Everybody else gets asked and I don't get asked. I mean, I have opinions.”The weekend leading up to the tournament had been consumed by hot topics ranging from anti-doping to player safeguarding, and the former No. 1-turned-WTA Player Council stalwart was feeling left out of the loop.Azarenka got her crack at the sport's latest hot topics at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, starting with the return of ATP world No. 1 Jannik Sinner from a three-month anti-doping suspension.
The weekend leading up to the tournament had been consumed by hot topics ranging from anti-doping to player safeguarding, and the former No. 1-turned-WTA Player Council stalwart was feeling left out of the loop.Azarenka got her crack at the sport's latest hot topics at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, starting with the return of ATP world No. 1 Jannik Sinner from a three-month anti-doping suspension.
Azarenka got her crack at the sport's latest hot topics at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, starting with the return of ATP world No. 1 Jannik Sinner from a three-month anti-doping suspension.
“I really like Jannik, personally,” she opened on Wednesday after a first-round victory over Camila Osorio. “I think he's a great guy. He's always been very sweet to me. He seems like a pretty humble person. I don't know him too well, but it's hard for me to be too critical in a personal sense.“In terms of professional, I think there are discrepancies, where I don't believe all players are treated the same. It's not only his case. I think there are a lot of different questions in terms of how things were conducted.”A player committee member of the International Tennis Integrity Association (ITIA), Azarenka is up to date on all current anti-doping cases, including the recent decision regarding Australian doubles champion Max Purcell, and feels the current system is too reliant on the structure set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to adapt as she feels is necessary to fit a tennis-specific landscape.
“In terms of professional, I think there are discrepancies, where I don't believe all players are treated the same. It's not only his case. I think there are a lot of different questions in terms of how things were conducted.”A player committee member of the International Tennis Integrity Association (ITIA), Azarenka is up to date on all current anti-doping cases, including the recent decision regarding Australian doubles champion Max Purcell, and feels the current system is too reliant on the structure set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to adapt as she feels is necessary to fit a tennis-specific landscape.
A player committee member of the International Tennis Integrity Association (ITIA), Azarenka is up to date on all current anti-doping cases, including the recent decision regarding Australian doubles champion Max Purcell, and feels the current system is too reliant on the structure set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to adapt as she feels is necessary to fit a tennis-specific landscape.
I just want to see our sport grow, honestly...This sport gave me so much in my life, and I want to see it grow, become bigger, keep being a dominant sport for women. There's a lot of sports coming up and giving us competition. We need to keep making those strides forward too. Victoria Azarenka
“We're still under the WADA umbrella, which makes it harder to implement some of the rules,” explained Azarenka. “Otherwise, we'd have to take ourselves out of the Olympic pool, which I don't necessarily think a bad idea.“We're often asked, ‘How do you feel about [the system]?' How I feel about it doesn't really matter. It's more about how the rules applied: Are they applied the same way? Is there a modification that needs to be made? I think that's the conversation that we should be having, more about the things that can be done better.”The two-time Australian Open champion, who has been struggling with injuries since last season, conceded that the legal element of anti-doping cases further complicate—and sometimes obscure—the issue, citing the secrecy surrounding Sinner's positive tests for the banned substance Clostebol.“If you talk about Jannik Sinner's case, people will ask why nobody knew,” said Azarenka. “Well, there's a legal aspect to it; I understand that. But, you know, it's a little bit on the edge.”
“We're often asked, ‘How do you feel about [the system]?' How I feel about it doesn't really matter. It's more about how the rules applied: Are they applied the same way? Is there a modification that needs to be made? I think that's the conversation that we should be having, more about the things that can be done better.”The two-time Australian Open champion, who has been struggling with injuries since last season, conceded that the legal element of anti-doping cases further complicate—and sometimes obscure—the issue, citing the secrecy surrounding Sinner's positive tests for the banned substance Clostebol.“If you talk about Jannik Sinner's case, people will ask why nobody knew,” said Azarenka. “Well, there's a legal aspect to it; I understand that. But, you know, it's a little bit on the edge.”
The two-time Australian Open champion, who has been struggling with injuries since last season, conceded that the legal element of anti-doping cases further complicate—and sometimes obscure—the issue, citing the secrecy surrounding Sinner's positive tests for the banned substance Clostebol.“If you talk about Jannik Sinner's case, people will ask why nobody knew,” said Azarenka. “Well, there's a legal aspect to it; I understand that. But, you know, it's a little bit on the edge.”
“If you talk about Jannik Sinner's case, people will ask why nobody knew,” said Azarenka. “Well, there's a legal aspect to it; I understand that. But, you know, it's a little bit on the edge.”
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Sinner was successfully able to overturn the provisional handed down by the ITIA before they were made public. Though the ITIA initially found Sinner bore No Fault or Negligence for the presence of Clostebol in his sample, WADA appealed the ruling and Sinner served his suspension between the Australian Open and Roland Garros.Though she praised the ITIA's efforts to educate players—the organization offers in-person workshops at tournaments—she argued for transparency over bureaucracy.“I think overall, there has to be better integrity from the organization, personally. It's a big problem is that we're under WADA and WADA only has specific windows when they look to make changes to their rules.“I don't think I have all the answers, but there are valid questions that could be asked and see if it makes sense.”
Though she praised the ITIA's efforts to educate players—the organization offers in-person workshops at tournaments—she argued for transparency over bureaucracy.“I think overall, there has to be better integrity from the organization, personally. It's a big problem is that we're under WADA and WADA only has specific windows when they look to make changes to their rules.“I don't think I have all the answers, but there are valid questions that could be asked and see if it makes sense.”
“I think overall, there has to be better integrity from the organization, personally. It's a big problem is that we're under WADA and WADA only has specific windows when they look to make changes to their rules.“I don't think I have all the answers, but there are valid questions that could be asked and see if it makes sense.”
“I don't think I have all the answers, but there are valid questions that could be asked and see if it makes sense.”
My concern is less for me and more for younger players because it's going to be a lot harder for them to have a career as long as I've had, to play 20-plus years on tour. Victoria Azarenka
A meditation on anti-doping and corruption gave way to Azarenka's broader wishlist of what she'd change in the sport. A pro for over two decades and a mom to eight-year-old son Leo, she took a blue-sky approach in the mixed zone and outlined everything from prize money to scheduling to marketing the sport and its players.“My concern is less for me and more for younger players because it's going to be a lot harder for them to have a career as long as I've had, to play 20-plus years on tour,” she said, taking a stand against the influx of two-week 1000-level tournaments and best-of-five-set scoring. “From that end, I also think there should also be a conversation about how differently the balls have changed and evolved over the years, surfaces as well.“When it comes to scheduling, we need more predictability to sell product for players to prepare, for fans to watch and business to distribute,” she added.“I just want to see our sport grow, honestly. I really want our sport to do well. This sport gave me so much in my life, and I want to see it grow, become bigger, keep being a dominant sport for women. There's a lot of sports coming up and giving us competition. We need to keep making those strides forward too.”With only 15 minutes on the mic, Azarenka was forced to table numerous other issues, but could make a return appearance at the pulpit should she win her second round against No. 26 seed Magdalena Freçh.
“My concern is less for me and more for younger players because it's going to be a lot harder for them to have a career as long as I've had, to play 20-plus years on tour,” she said, taking a stand against the influx of two-week 1000-level tournaments and best-of-five-set scoring. “From that end, I also think there should also be a conversation about how differently the balls have changed and evolved over the years, surfaces as well.“When it comes to scheduling, we need more predictability to sell product for players to prepare, for fans to watch and business to distribute,” she added.“I just want to see our sport grow, honestly. I really want our sport to do well. This sport gave me so much in my life, and I want to see it grow, become bigger, keep being a dominant sport for women. There's a lot of sports coming up and giving us competition. We need to keep making those strides forward too.”With only 15 minutes on the mic, Azarenka was forced to table numerous other issues, but could make a return appearance at the pulpit should she win her second round against No. 26 seed Magdalena Freçh.
“When it comes to scheduling, we need more predictability to sell product for players to prepare, for fans to watch and business to distribute,” she added.“I just want to see our sport grow, honestly. I really want our sport to do well. This sport gave me so much in my life, and I want to see it grow, become bigger, keep being a dominant sport for women. There's a lot of sports coming up and giving us competition. We need to keep making those strides forward too.”With only 15 minutes on the mic, Azarenka was forced to table numerous other issues, but could make a return appearance at the pulpit should she win her second round against No. 26 seed Magdalena Freçh.
“I just want to see our sport grow, honestly. I really want our sport to do well. This sport gave me so much in my life, and I want to see it grow, become bigger, keep being a dominant sport for women. There's a lot of sports coming up and giving us competition. We need to keep making those strides forward too.”With only 15 minutes on the mic, Azarenka was forced to table numerous other issues, but could make a return appearance at the pulpit should she win her second round against No. 26 seed Magdalena Freçh.
With only 15 minutes on the mic, Azarenka was forced to table numerous other issues, but could make a return appearance at the pulpit should she win her second round against No. 26 seed Magdalena Freçh.
Aryna Sabalenka has described herself as a “very unpleasant person” on the tennis court as she asserted her belief that players “have to be mean.”
The world No 1's fierce on-court attitude and intensity has earned her the reputation of being one of the toughest competitors in tennis.
However, Sabalenka is also well known for her sense of humour and likeable personality away from the match court.
The Belarusian star extended her huge lead at the top of the WTA Rankings to 4,345 points with her triumph at the Madrid Open.
Sabalenka defeated Coco Gauff 6-3, 7-6(3) in the final of the WTA 1000 event in Madrid to claim her third title of 2025 after wins in Brisbane and Miami.
The 27-year-old has also been a runner-up at the Australian Open, the Indian Wells Open and the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart this year.
Speaking to Bolshe!, Sabalenka spoke with brutal honesty about her on-court personality.
“I can say that I am a very unpleasant person on the court, I am downright nasty. Well, not nasty, no, very tenacious, with a character,” Sabalenka said (translated from Russian).
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“Probably b**chy. In short, a b**ch, yes. That's how they called me here. Probably, I have sporting greed and tenacity.
“I think you have to be mean. Of course, you can be a good person, a good girl off the court, but on the court you have to be mean, hungry, greedy and very unpleasant.”
Sabalenka will aim to extend her six-match winnings streak at the Italian Open, where she is seeking a maiden title. She was a runner-up to Iga Swiatek in Rome last year.
Ahead of her Italian Open campaign, Sabalenka was asked about her 3-3 record in finals this season.
“Well, honestly, that's a good problem to have,” Sabalenka said in her pre-tournament press conference.
“At the same time some of the finals I lost were really heartbreaking and were really tough to kind of like accept.
“At the same time, I understand that sometimes you just have to learn and sometimes you're not that good on court, you just have to accept, learn from that loss, and come back stronger.
“What I'm actually proud of [is] that I was able to come back in those finals and I was able to change things and see if the lesson was learned, try to bring better tennis in the next final.”
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The 2025 Italian Open draw is out and we have some interesting match-ups.
A look at your post-Madrid Open WTA Rankings as Aryna Sabalenka dominates.
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Australian ATP star Nick Kyrgios took a harsh jab at Jannik Sinner ahead of his return at the 2025 Italian Open. The 30-year-old replied to an encouragement post on social media, snubbing the Italian's chances to excel at the upcoming Masters 1000 event in Rome. This came amid the 3-time Grand Slam champion's return from serving a 3-month-long ban after testing positive for a banned substance.
Sinner was imposed with a three-month ban after testing positive for the banned drug Clostebol. However, the allegations were marked as a mistake caused by the treatment from his physiotherapist. Kyrgios emerged as one of the strongest critics as he was upset with the decision and believed the punishment was too soft. He started the feud by posting on social media, saying that players with better resources get easier treatment. Kyrgios called it unfair, marking it as a sad day for tennis.
While the Aussie remained quiet until the Italian served the 3-month-long ban, he recreated his position as a critic by denying Sinner's authority as the World No. 1. The controversy began after a tennis insider named Scott Barclay showcased firm belief in Jannik Sinner's potential. He predicted the Italian's rise in the upcoming event, optimistically mentioning that he would clinch the title.
Nick Kyrgios couldn't stop himself from being a part of the conversation and snubbed Sinner's chances to secure a top position in the upcoming event, using brutal satire.
Kyrgios made a comeback in 2025 after keeping out of competition for more than 2 years. However, the Aussie couldn't handle the pressure, facing opening round exits in Brisbane, Melbourne and Indian Wells.
Jannik Sinner expressed mixed emotions during the doping ban. The Italian player mentioned how he never really wanted to accept the ban, but his conscience asked him to move past the controversy as soon as possible. Although he had to miss four crucial Masters 1000 events in the last months, the 23-year-old expressed relief over not missing out on any Grand Slams.
Although Sinner admitted to not setting his expectations high for the upcoming event, he is preparing to compete against the top-ranked rivals, including Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and others. The Italian will look to chase his 20th tour-level title, with his comeback showdown scheduled for May 9.
Akshay Kapoor
Tennis Writer at Sportskeeda
Quick Links
The Italian Open is now underway, with the WTA and ATP tours continuing to progress towards the French Open.
Jack Sock thinks Jannik Sinner can win the French Open, with the world number one returning from his three-month ban at the Italian Open.
He is the top seed at the ATP Masters 1000 event, with Aryna Sabalenka the top seed at the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome.
Both Sinner and Sabalenka have received byes into round two, with many first round matches now taking centre stage.
The Italian Open helps continue the clay-court season, and comes shortly before the ATP and WTA tours return to the French Open.
Wimbledon and the US Open complete the 2025 Grand Slam schedule, with both taking place later this summer.
And one recent champion of the former is currently dealing with an injury that has forced her to withdraw from the Italian Open.
READ MORE: WTA Italian Open 2025 – how to watch, top players, prize money & predictions
Marketa Vondrousova, who triumphed at Wimbledon in 2023, has taken to social media to confirm her late withdrawal.
Withdrawing just before her match against Xinyu Wang, she wrote on her Instagram story: “Tried my best but not ready yet. See you next year Rome.”
Vondrousova was replaced by Kamilla Rakhimova at the Italian Open, with the latter going on to beat Wang 6-3, 6-2.
The former meanwhile will likely continue working on her road to recovery, with the Czech ace currently sitting 68th in the WTA rankings.
READ MORE: Jon Wertheim shares what Jannik Sinner was really like to interview after having conversation with him before his return to tennis in Rome
At 25, Vondrousova has two career titles to her name so far, including that superb 2023 final win over Ons Jabeur at the All England Club, where she became the first unseeded woman in the Open Era to win Wimbledon.
She also has a promising record at the French Open, having made it all the way to the final in 2019 before losing to Ashleigh Barty.
Will the World No. 2 feature on the hallowed grass?
After recent rumours about potentially taking a break after the 2025 Roland Garros Championships, World No. 2 Iga Swiatek has hit back at the media. Her statements come in the aftermath of inconsistencies with form, which led to multiple reports about the 23-year-old possibly skipping the grass court season before the US Open. And now, Swiatek has given an eye-opening reply at the 2025 Italian Open to everyone concerned.
At the recently concluded Madrid Open, Swiatek was dumped out of the tournament by No. 4 seed Coco Gauff. It was a surprisingly meek performance from the five-time Grand Slam winner, resulting in a 1-6 1-6 thumping. Considering the supremely high standards set by Swiatek on tour, 2025 has proven to draw blanks for her. She is yet to win a title this year or enter a final thus far.
READ ALSO: Cameron Norrie vs. Christopher O'Connell Head to Head Record, Preview and Prediction for ATP Italian Open Rome 2025
Contrary to the prior reports, former World No. 1 Swiatek has denied having plans to skip the solitary grass court major. “Who said that,” countered Swiatek when asked about the hearsay regarding her grass court season plans. “You shouldn't believe this stuff. Well during the past few days, I saw like a million comments that were not true so…”
Earlier Brad Gilbert, former coach of players like Coco Gauff and Andy Murray, criticised the alleged decision of Swiatek to skip Wimbledon. However, the Polish sensation did not pay heed to the white noise. “I don't get it. There are so many theories right now, I would say especially in Polish media, about me that are not true.”
🗣️ “During the past few days, I saw like a million comments that were not true.”Iga Swiatek on recent rumors ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/U5p17wTXtF
“I think, I don't know, you guys like to make some articles that will attract people. And I get it – it's part of the job. But yeah, for sure I'm not going to skip Wimbledon. I really want to learn how to play on grass better and every year is another opportunity. So I will play Wimbledon for sure – unless I get injured.”
Iga Swiatek thrashed current World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final of last year's Rome 1000 event. She is the No. 2 seed in the 2025 edition of the competition – and starts off with a bye in Round-1. She will face either Elina Avanesyan or Elisabetta Cocciaretto in Round-2. A familiar foe in Danielle Collins could potentially await the defending Roland Garros champion in the Round of 32.
Provided Swiatek makes it through to the Round of 16, fans could be treated to a blockbuster clash against No. 16 seed Elina Svitolina. In the quarterfinals, it could be one of the two powerhouses – Paula Badosa or Madison Keys – who opposes the Pole from entering the final four. As per the seeding, either Jessica Pegula or Jasmine Paolini will be Swiatek's possible semifinal opponents before a potential rematch against World No. 1 Sabalenka in the summit clash.
Can Iga Swiatek retain her coveted crowns in Rome and Paris this year? Rest assured, she will gather some much-needed confidence and momentum before heading to Wimbledon if she can.
READ MORE: Maya Joint vs Emma Raducanu Head-to-Head Record, Preview, and Prediction for the Italian Open 2025
A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The PlayOffs, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.
My message to the readers is don't be shy to express yourself - regardless of whether it's playing, talking or writing about sport. And if you're a fan Roger Federer, Lionel Messi and/or Stephen Curry - I'm your guy.
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07/05/25
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Roland Garros is back as the world's best tennis stars head to Paris for the second Grand Slam of the year.
Check out the latest schedule, draws, player lists and information on how to watch this year's Roland Garros.
When is Roland Garros 2025?
This year's Roland Garros will kick-start on Monday 19 May with the qualifying stages before the main draw action gets underway on Sunday 25 May.
The 15-day long tournament will conclude Sunday 8 June.
The Wheelchair tennis draws will begin on Tuesday 3 June through to Saturday 7 June.
Day sessions are scheduled to take place at 10:00 BST, with the night sessions starting at not before 19:15 BST.
Where is Roland Garros 2025 being held?
Roland Garros, also known as the French Open, is staged at Stade Roland Garros in the heart of Paris.
The 21-acre complex is home to 20 red clay courts, including the iconic Court Philippe Chatrier and Court Suzanne Lenglen.
What is the Roland Garros schedule?
The 2025 Roland Garros schedule is as follows:
Check out the full schedule
Roland Garros 2025 draw
This year's Roland Garros draw will take place on Thursday 22 May.
Keep updated with the latest draw information on our website and via the link below:
Roland Garros draws
Where to watch Roland Garros 2025
You can watch all the action from Roland Garros 2025 live in the UK on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Which British players will be competing at Roland Garros 2025?
A British quartet of Katie Boulter, Emma Raducanu, Sonay Kartal and Jodie Burrage have direct entry into the main draw of Roland Garros this year.
British No.1 Boulter made her debut at Roland Garros last year and will be hoping to build on positive results she's managed to pick up on the clay at the Billie Jean King Cup and in Madrid.
Raducanu had a strong run to the third round of the Australian Open earlier in the year and has showed her quality to make the quarter-final of the Miami Open. The former US Open champion has the game to deliver damage on the clay and will be hoping to find her form again in Paris.
Kartal has only continued her rise up the rankings on the clay. Having made the last 16 at Indian Wells, Kartal was the star for GB in the Billie Jean King Cup with two crucial victories and has picked up WTA 1000 wins in Madrid and Rome.
Finally, Burrage has secured her place with a protected ranking as she continues her comeback from a series of injuries.
Harriet Dart, Francesca Jones and Heather Watson are set for qualifying.
Jack Draper will head to Paris as one of the favourites for a deep run, after the 23-year-old has cemented his place as arguably the in-form player on the ATP Tour this year.
So far in 2025, Draper has won the Indian Wells title, reached finals in Madrid and Doha, made the fourth round of the Australian Open and broken into the world's top five for the first time.
He'll be joined by Jacob Fearnley who has continued his ascension this season and has had some impressive results on the clay – including a run from qualifying to the third round at the Mutua Madrid Open.
Cam Norrie has picked up more positive results of late, with a third round run in Madrid and Indian Wells. Norrie has won titles on clay in the past an has previously made the third round in Paris on three occasions.
Billy Harris, Jan Choinski and Dan Evans are on this year's qualifying entry list.
More information on which British tennis players will be competing in the doubles, wheelchair and qualifying draws will be available soon.
Who are the reigning Roland Garros champions?
Roland Garros results
You can follow all the latest French Open results of our British tennis players on our website and social media channels.
Come back soon to find out more.
Roland Garros 2025 prize money
The Roland Garros prize money for this year's tournament has seen a significant increase, with EUR 56,352,000 being handed out across all draws.
The men's and women's champions will take home €2,550,000 while the runners-up will be awarded €1,275,000.
Round
Singles
Doubles
Winner
€2,550,000
€590,000
Runner-up
€1,275,000
€295,000
Semi-final
€690,000
€148,000
Quarter-final
€440,000
€80,000
Fourth round
€265,000
N/A
Third round
€168,000
€43,500
Second round
€117,000
€27,500
First round
€78,000
€17,500
Qualifying third round
€43,000
Qualifying second round
€29,500
Qualifying first round
€21,000
Sue Barker is the only British singles player to have won the Roland Garros title in the Open Era after she beat Czech star Renata Tomanova in the 1976 women's final.
At the start of the Open Era in 1968 and 1969, Britain's Ann Jones made back-to-back finals but finished runner-up in both to Nancy Richy and Margaret Court.
However, Jones did win the women's doubles title in both those years as well – teaming up with France's Franciose Durr.
Virginia Wade was also crowned women's doubles champion with Court back in 1973, beating Durr and Betty Stove 6-2, 6-3.
Andy Murray is the only male British player to have made a singles final in Paris during the Open Era back in 2016 when he ascended to world No.1. Murray lost out to now three-time champion Novak Djokovic in the final 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
In the mixed doubles, Great Britain has had two winners in the Open Era. First was John Lloyd with Australia's Wendy Turnbull in 1982 and then later, Joe Salisbury with American Desirae Krawczyk in 2021.
Neal Skupski and Krawczyk finished runners-up in 2024, joining Winnie Shaw (1971) as Britain's only other mixed doubles runner-up.
Check out the latest schedule, UK time, draws, order-of-play and player lists for Australian Open 2025. Read more.
Read article
Follow the results and draws for every British tennis player competing at Australian Open 2025. Read now.
Read article
Find out which British tennis players are competing at Roland Garros from 20 May to 9 June 2024 and track all the latest French Open draws and results.
Read article
Follow the results and draws for every British player competing at Wimbledon 2024.
Read article
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Tennis
Christopher Clarey, who covered tennis and international sports for 40 years for the International Herald Tribune and the New York Times, wrote what is widely regarded as the definitive book on Roger Federer: “The Master: The Long Run and Beautiful Game of Roger Federer.”
Now he has produced a similarly authoritative book on Federer's longtime rival and friend, Rafael Nadal: “The Warrior: Rafael Nadal and His Kingdom of Clay.” The book tells the story of both Nadal and clay-court tennis, using the Spanish great's relationship with Roland Garros, the French Open, as its frame.
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In an interview with The Athletic, Clarey explained why he chose this approach for tackling the subject of the 22-time Grand Slam champion, someone he covered for the entirety of his career and, as a Spanish speaker, with whom he was able to communicate in Nadal's native language.
“Rafa is a lot funnier and wittier and quicker and a little more acid, for sure, when he's at ease in his own language than he is as the philosophical snippet Rafa from English press conferences over the years,” Clarey said.
An excerpt from Clarey's book follows the interview, detailing the four French sports heroes without whom Nadal's Roland Garros legacy could never have existed.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Why did you take this approach to Nadal?
The one thing that really ate at me over the years that I knew I would regret if I didn't do was a Roland Garros book. That was the one that I had connected to as a very young person. I lived a couple of blocks away. My wife is French. She's from that area. And that was the one that I really connected with. Wimbledon was the first one that I covered, but I learned French as I was covering Roland Garros. All these things happened there. I really knew from a pretty early age as a journalist that if I didn't write a book about that at some point, I was going to have a regret about it.
Rafa had done a good autobiography. I wanted to find a way to do something a little more challenging and original for me, and fresh. I don't want to reduce him to Roland Garros, but this gave me a chance to go at Roland Garros and put them together, because I don't think there's anybody else who could be as defined by the dominance of one event than him.
You grew up in America on hard courts. Where did your affinity for clay come from?
Watching on TV as a kid. We didn't have that much like we do now, but my family was a tennis family and we watched the majors when we could and listened to Bud Collins and his nicknames and all the rest, and the French Open had this mystical, exotic quality. You had to move so differently. I taught tennis for one summer in East Hampton Tennis Club after Williams College to make money for traveling. It was on green clay. By the end, like the last week or two, I could actually slide on the stuff.
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And then, when I met my wif,e and I got a chance to go to Roland Garros and cover it, I just loved the scrape, the sound, the light. In Paris, at Roland Garros, at night … That sort of end-of-day light across the clay, the colors … I think it was just the fact that it was so different from what I had grown up with as a youngster that made it so appealing.
There used to be the argument that the French Open doesn't produce the all-time greats in the same way that the other Slams do.
It is a fair point because the game was played primarily on grass initially, then on quicker surfaces through the hard-court era. The speed of the game and the skill sets hadn't been as homogenized at that point, so there really were big deltas in terms of what somebody was able to do on one surface versus another. What I didn't grasp until later on, and actually it came from talking to Americans and adopted Americans like Patrick McEnroe and Jose Higueras, was what an incredible tool clay-court tennis is for learning the game. If you can get the speeds right and the technique a little bit more compact, it can translate to everything because of the angles that you have to create and the geometry you have to understand.
For a long time, I think the really underappreciated thing about Rafa was how great a tennis mathematician and geometrist he was. I think people thought of him as a slugging warrior type — look at my title of the book — somebody who was more grit than genius. I think that's selling him short.
Did you get much pushback from his people that you were portraying him as a clay-court specialist?
There's no doubt that what he is going to be remembered 20 years from now is his 14 Roland Garros titles. In your memory, a red-clay backdrop. Now, in no way does that sell anything else that he did short. In some ways, it magnifies the things he was able to do elsewhere. Even if he had never played on clay, he still would have had a double-times-two Hall of Fame career. Eight other majors put him in John McEnroe and Andre Agassi territory, and no one's complaining about them.
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His camp was afraid it was going to diminish the overall body of work. I really don't think it does that. He was chasing other things from a very early age. But their career-long focus was to make Rafa a global champion, an all-court champion. They wanted to take Rafa big and broad, and their ticket to that was to go beyond clay.
Was there a point between his first and 14th titles when you thought someone was going to take him out?
In 2015, 2016, when Novak Djokovic finally solved him there and Rafa was going through his tennis existential crisis, the anxiety attacks on court. But that led to the big comeback year of 2017. I always knew he'd be competitive on clay, but I thought Novak had solved it and Novak had taken over the game. In tennis, when you're king of the hill and somebody deposes you, you're never quite the same again. Novak had all the tools to make his life miserable on every surface.
What was the most surprising thing you heard as you were researching and writing this?
How much people in Mallorca were accessible to him. These were guys who were more on the expert level than probably Toni Nadal was, who coached juniors nationally in Spain. Early on, Rafa would just play it at light speed. Bounce the ball, serve. Ball, serve, with all that life-force and vitality that he has. They felt like he was burning himself out that way, so they gave him his routines to slow him down. If they had let him just go with his natural thing, kind of like Federer, his natural original state of just madness and self-immolation on the court … That's quite a different thing than what we saw.
I didn't realize quite how much of a village had raised him tennis-wise. Toni is the main guy; never take that away from him. But how does a guy like that really raise a champion to the level of Nadal? Well, the fact is, he didn't do it really alone. He had Carlos Costa, who had been top 10 in the world. He was very much early on in the process as the agent, but also knew a heck of a lot about tennis. And then he also had Carlos Moya, who was in many ways just as essential.
What does a hyper-competitive person like Nadal do in retirement to fill that need to compete?
That competitive streak does not exclude having the ability to have fun. Nadal has that duality in him, but anybody who knows him will talk about that vitality and that intensity of energy during the day. I think both he and Federer were hyperactive children, just overflowing energy that needed to come out and was channeled into sport.
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He set up so many things with business, with the academy structure. He's definitely focused on that through his family and Toni's influence, but it's spreading and he's got a lot of business deals going on. And I definitely see him trying to compete recreationally in golf.
Maybe it will be more of “you'll come to me,” but I wouldn't be surprised to see him become part of a coaching team for a top Spanish player, maybe even Carlos Alcaraz down the road. They have a big connection.
These guys, Nadal and Federer, will stay engaged. They know that they're tied together and they know that part of the business model is a Big Three. We'll see what happens with Djokovic when he retires, whether they integrate him into their club. But Nadal and Federer will do things. They've built these empires.
The following excerpt introduces four French tennis professionals from almost a century ago, who had an indelible impact on Nadal's tennis legacy and that of the French Open. The full chapter, ‘The Founders,' outlines their shared lives from the tennis court to the fields of battle, and details how their collective success resonated throughout the tennis world and through history.
Roland Garros, the dusty French domain that Rafael Nadal would rule for nearly twenty years, almost certainly would not have existed without four men he never met who played their best tennis nearly a century ago. They were known, predictably for French sports heroes, as the Musketeers, even if the first to nickname them was an American rival who had seen a movie based on Frenchman Alexandre Dumas's work.
All for one and one for all (unless they were playing each other), les Mousquetaires — Jean Borotra, Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet, and René Lacoste — changed the history of tennis and of Parisian landmarks, creating the need, with their resounding success, for a tennis stadium worthy of staging what was in 1928 one of the leading events in global sport: the Davis Cup.
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“The Musketeers of Alexandre Dumas were ready to die for each other,” Borotra once said. “Luckily, we didn't have to go that far, but there was a mutual devotion between us of a higher order, every bit as profound.”
Tennis would have continued to grow in France without their breakthrough, but the prime and leafy location where Roland‑Garros Stadium was constructed would very likely have been developed differently without the Davis Cup victory in 1927 against “Big” Bill Tilden and the Americans. Other French organizations and sports federations coveted the site, whose lease had just expired, but tennis was now a national priority in France.
The Musketeers were riding on the momentum and enormous interest that had been generated by their compatriot Suzanne Lenglen. She was one of the transcendent athletes and personalities of the 1920s, and she reveled in it, breaking social codes with her knee‑length tennis outfits that were risqué for the time. She dominated the game and the courtside conversations with her balletic shot making full of leaps and flourishes, losing just one singles match between 1919 and 1926.
She inspired not only sportswriters but songwriters: “Ah! Suzanne!” was a hit in Paris in 1925, its title drawn from what spectators would exclaim as they watched her at play. Lenglen was also a muse for the Musketeers. She convinced Brugnon, the oldest of the four, to postpone his law studies and focus on tennis, and partnered successfully with him, Borotra, and Cochet in mixed doubles. She even offered tactical and technical advice, recommending that Lacoste lower the grip on his ground strokes and shorten his preparation time. But she, unlike Lacoste, was no poker‑faced technician. La Divine, as she was known in France, was a flamboyant attacking player, and Borotra, who played with the same brio and spontaneity, was mesmerized when he first saw Lenglen play in 1919.
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“She had adopted what was traditionally the game of a man, with the volleys and an overhead of great power,” Borotra told me. “She had remarkable reflexes. She had an incredible game. There was never another one like her. She was also an intelligent woman, a great credit to France.”
But her business decision to turn professional in 1926 — she was the first female tennis player to do so — did not leave a void for long in French tennis because the Musketeers were establishing themselves as the preeminent force in the men's game.
They had sobriquets of their own. The dashing and sometimes maddening Borotra, who was born in the French Basque country in Biarritz and was fond of wearing a blue beret on court, was the Bounding Basque. Cochet, a diminutive and seemingly nonchalant shot maker extraordinaire from Lyon, was the Magician. Brugnon, primarily a doubles specialist in an age when doubles mattered more, was Toto. Lacoste, with his cunning and relentless game, was the Crocodile.
I never got the chance to interview Cochet or Brugnon before their deaths. But after I moved to France, I did spend time in the early 1990s with Lacoste and Borotra when I was on assignment for the International Herald Tribune. Given their advanced ages — Lacoste was 88, Borotra was 94 — I was well aware of how precious an opportunity this was. I twice visited Lacoste and his wife, Simone, at their villa in the Basque country near Saint Jean de Luz on the Chantaco golf course, which Simone's father had built in honor of Simone's golfing achievements.
Lacoste, at this stage, was frail, restricted in his movements because of a heart condition and reliant on a motorized chair to mount and descend the house's sweeping central staircase. “Doctor's orders,” he explained to me. “If you were a pretty woman, you could ride up on my knees, but you are not.”
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I met Borotra briefly at the 1991 Davis Cup final in Lyon, where he was doused with champagne after a French team led by Guy Forget, Henri Leconte, and charismatic captain Yannick Noah ended a 59‑year Davis Cup drought that dated to the Musketeers by upsetting another powerhouse United States squad that this time included a young Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.
In 1993, a year before Borotra died, he granted me an audience (that was how it felt) in his elegant Haussmannian apartment on Avenue Foch in Paris. In a dark business suit and with his hair slicked back over his high forehead, Borotra was still full of vigor as he took me on a train‑to‑catch tour of his drawing room, where a shiny replica of the Davis Cup was on prominent display. He was firm of handshake and brisk of step and, though hitting forehands had become too painful because of arthritis, he continued to practice his backhand with hitting partners or, more often, against the wall at his longtime fief, the Tennis Club de Paris.
“The wall has no problem hitting to my backhand,” Borotra explained.
He was droll. He was dry. The problem for me was that Borotra was so hard of hearing that our interview had to be conducted at a shout, which was no way to build rapport. But Borotra's mind and memory, like Lacoste's, were still sharp: a fine advertisement for spending much of one's life in and around tennis. Both came to the game relatively late — as teenagers — and were drawn to it after trips to England. But while Lacoste, at age 15, committed himself immediately and systematically to studying the game's finer points, Borotra, a natural athlete who had played Basque pelota and other sports in his early youth, did not get truly serious about tennis or even join a club until after World War One.
He was in his early twenties, but with trademark energy and unconventional technique, he made up for lost time by relentlessly attacking the net. More man of action than reflection, he won nineteen major titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, and was the only Musketeer to win the Australian Championships (and the only one to make the long sea voyage to play in the Australian Championships). He sparred with Tilden, who often found him insufferable and dubbed him “the Bantering Basque,” put off by his attention‑grabbing behavior and gallantries. Borotra liked to doff his beret and kiss female spectators' hands if forced to chase a shot into the stands. But he was certainly a crowd favorite, one of tennis' and Wimbledon's main attractions in the 1920s and 1930s.
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Lacoste was from an affluent background: His father, Jean Jules, was a top executive at luxury automaker Hispano Suiza and started his own automotive company. But René, his only son, would have a successful business career of his own. He worked in shipping, banking, and the automotive and aviation industries but was best known for co-founding the Lacoste Clothing Company, which became a leading global brand with its crocodile trademark inspired by Lacoste's nickname. But when I asked him in French what he considered himself, he answered un bricoleur, which literally translates to “handyman.”
“Tinkerer” might be more appropriate. He was an inventor at heart: creating, with Simone's help, the innovative cotton Polo shirts that helped him through the hot American summers; and constructing and patenting the first metal tennis racket. It was later called the Wilson T2000 and used by Jimmy Connors and Billie Jean King to win major titles. Connors, no lover of authority or polished manners, treated “Mr. Lacoste” with great deference throughout his playing career.
“I will be perhaps dead next week, but for the moment, I am thinking about what I will be doing and inventing next year, and in two years,” Lacoste told me.
Even at a late stage in life, his workshop was overflowing with plans and prototypes for new rackets, vibration dampeners, and golf clubs. Golf was arguably his own family's most successful sport. Simone won the British Ladies Amateur title in 1927. Forty years later, Catherine, their only daughter, stunned the golf world by winning the 1967 U.S. Women's Open at age 22. She was the first European to win a women's golf major and remains the only amateur to have won the U.S. Women's Open.
“When Catherine went to the USA the first time, someone asked her, ‘Are you the daughter of René Lacoste?' And she was a bit upset by that,” René said. “Several years later, after she won the U.S. Open, we were all heading to the USA, and somebody asked me at customs if by any chance, I was the father of Catherine Lacoste. Catherine was delighted.”
Excerpted from “The Warrior”: Rafael Nadal and His Kingdom of Clay. Copyright © 2025 Christopher Clarey. Published by Grand Central Publishing, a Hachette Book Group company. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
(Top photo: Clive Brunskill / Getty Images)
Matthew Futterman is an award-winning veteran sports journalist and the author of two books, “Running to the Edge: A Band of Misfits and the Guru Who Unlocked the Secrets of Speed” and “Players: How Sports Became a Business.”Before coming to The Athletic in 2023, he worked for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Star-Ledger of New Jersey and The Philadelphia Inquirer. He is currently writing a book about tennis, "The Cruelest Game: Agony, Ecstasy and Near Death Experiences on the Pro Tennis Tour," to be published by Doubleday in 2026. Follow Matthew on Twitter @mattfutterman
Tennis
Christopher Clarey, who covered tennis and international sports for 40 years for the International Herald Tribune and the New York Times, wrote what is widely regarded as the definitive book on Roger Federer: “The Master: The Long Run and Beautiful Game of Roger Federer.”
Now he has produced a similarly authoritative book on Federer's longtime rival and friend, Rafael Nadal: “The Warrior: Rafael Nadal and His Kingdom of Clay.” The book tells the story of both Nadal and clay-court tennis, using the Spanish great's relationship with Roland Garros, the French Open, as its frame.
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In an interview with The Athletic, Clarey explained why he chose this approach for tackling the subject of the 22-time Grand Slam champion, someone he covered for the entirety of his career and, as a Spanish speaker, with whom he was able to communicate in Nadal's native language.
“Rafa is a lot funnier and wittier and quicker and a little more acid, for sure, when he's at ease in his own language than he is as the philosophical snippet Rafa from English press conferences over the years,” Clarey said.
An excerpt from Clarey's book follows the interview, detailing the four French sports heroes without whom Nadal's Roland Garros legacy could never have existed.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Why did you take this approach to Nadal?
The one thing that really ate at me over the years that I knew I would regret if I didn't do was a Roland Garros book. That was the one that I had connected to as a very young person. I lived a couple of blocks away. My wife is French. She's from that area. And that was the one that I really connected with. Wimbledon was the first one that I covered, but I learned French as I was covering Roland Garros. All these things happened there. I really knew from a pretty early age as a journalist that if I didn't write a book about that at some point, I was going to have a regret about it.
Rafa had done a good autobiography. I wanted to find a way to do something a little more challenging and original for me, and fresh. I don't want to reduce him to Roland Garros, but this gave me a chance to go at Roland Garros and put them together, because I don't think there's anybody else who could be as defined by the dominance of one event than him.
You grew up in America on hard courts. Where did your affinity for clay come from?
Watching on TV as a kid. We didn't have that much like we do now, but my family was a tennis family and we watched the majors when we could and listened to Bud Collins and his nicknames and all the rest, and the French Open had this mystical, exotic quality. You had to move so differently. I taught tennis for one summer in East Hampton Tennis Club after Williams College to make money for traveling. It was on green clay. By the end, like the last week or two, I could actually slide on the stuff.
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And then, when I met my wif,e and I got a chance to go to Roland Garros and cover it, I just loved the scrape, the sound, the light. In Paris, at Roland Garros, at night … That sort of end-of-day light across the clay, the colors … I think it was just the fact that it was so different from what I had grown up with as a youngster that made it so appealing.
There used to be the argument that the French Open doesn't produce the all-time greats in the same way that the other Slams do.
It is a fair point because the game was played primarily on grass initially, then on quicker surfaces through the hard-court era. The speed of the game and the skill sets hadn't been as homogenized at that point, so there really were big deltas in terms of what somebody was able to do on one surface versus another. What I didn't grasp until later on, and actually it came from talking to Americans and adopted Americans like Patrick McEnroe and Jose Higueras, was what an incredible tool clay-court tennis is for learning the game. If you can get the speeds right and the technique a little bit more compact, it can translate to everything because of the angles that you have to create and the geometry you have to understand.
For a long time, I think the really underappreciated thing about Rafa was how great a tennis mathematician and geometrist he was. I think people thought of him as a slugging warrior type — look at my title of the book — somebody who was more grit than genius. I think that's selling him short.
Did you get much pushback from his people that you were portraying him as a clay-court specialist?
There's no doubt that what he is going to be remembered 20 years from now is his 14 Roland Garros titles. In your memory, a red-clay backdrop. Now, in no way does that sell anything else that he did short. In some ways, it magnifies the things he was able to do elsewhere. Even if he had never played on clay, he still would have had a double-times-two Hall of Fame career. Eight other majors put him in John McEnroe and Andre Agassi territory, and no one's complaining about them.
His camp was afraid it was going to diminish the overall body of work. I really don't think it does that. He was chasing other things from a very early age. But their career-long focus was to make Rafa a global champion, an all-court champion. They wanted to take Rafa big and broad, and their ticket to that was to go beyond clay.
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Was there a point between his first and 14th titles when you thought someone was going to take him out?
In 2015, 2016, when Novak Djokovic finally solved him there and Rafa was going through his tennis existential crisis, the anxiety attacks on court. But that led to the big comeback year of 2017. I always knew he'd be competitive on clay, but I thought Novak had solved it and Novak had taken over the game. In tennis, when you're king of the hill and somebody deposes you, you're never quite the same again. Novak had all the tools to make his life miserable on every surface.
What was the most surprising thing you heard as you were researching and writing this?
How much people in Mallorca were accessible to him. These were guys who were more on the expert level than probably Toni Nadal was, who coached juniors nationally in Spain. Early on, Rafa would just play it at light speed. Bounce the ball, serve. Ball, serve, with all that life-force and vitality that he has. They felt like he was burning himself out that way, so they gave him his routines to slow him down. If they had let him just go with his natural thing, kind of like Federer, his natural original state of just madness and self-immolation on the court … That's quite a different thing than what we saw.
I didn't realize quite how much of a village had raised him tennis-wise. Toni is the main guy; never take that away from him. But how does a guy like that really raise a champion to the level of Nadal? Well, the fact is, he didn't do it really alone. He had Carlos Costa, who had been top 10 in the world. He was very much early on in the process as the agent, but also knew a heck of a lot about tennis. And then he also had Carlos Moya, who was in many ways just as essential.
What does a hyper-competitive person like Nadal do in retirement to fill that need to compete?
That competitive streak does not exclude having the ability to have fun. Nadal has that duality in him, but anybody who knows him will talk about that vitality and that intensity of energy during the day. I think both he and Federer were hyperactive children, just overflowing energy that needed to come out and was channeled into sport.
He set up so many things with business, with the academy structure. He's definitely focused on that through his family and Toni's influence, but it's spreading and he's got a lot of business deals going on. And I definitely see him trying to compete recreationally in golf.
Maybe it will be more of “you'll come to me,” but I wouldn't be surprised to see him become part of a coaching team for a top Spanish player, maybe even Carlos Alcaraz down the road. They have a big connection.
These guys, Nadal and Federer, will stay engaged. They know that they're tied together and they know that part of the business model is a Big Three. We'll see what happens with Djokovic when he retires, whether they integrate him into their club. But Nadal and Federer will do things. They've built these empires.
The following excerpt introduces four French tennis professionals from almost a century ago, who had an indelible impact on Nadal's tennis legacy and that of the French Open. The full chapter, ‘The Founders,' outlines their shared lives from the tennis court to the fields of battle, and details how their collective success resonated throughout the tennis world and through history.
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Roland Garros, the dusty French domain that Rafael Nadal would rule for nearly twenty years, almost certainly would not have existed without four men he never met who played their best tennis nearly a century ago. They were known, predictably for French sports heroes, as the Musketeers, even if the first to nickname them was an American rival who had seen a movie based on Frenchman Alexandre Dumas's work.
All for one and one for all (unless they were playing each other), les Mousquetaires — Jean Borotra, Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet, and René Lacoste — changed the history of tennis and of Parisian landmarks, creating the need, with their resounding success, for a tennis stadium worthy of staging what was in 1928 one of the leading events in global sport: the Davis Cup.
“The Musketeers of Alexandre Dumas were ready to die for each other,” Borotra once said. “Luckily, we didn't have to go that far, but there was a mutual devotion between us of a higher order, every bit as profound.”
Tennis would have continued to grow in France without their breakthrough, but the prime and leafy location where Roland‑Garros Stadium was constructed would very likely have been developed differently without the Davis Cup victory in 1927 against “Big” Bill Tilden and the Americans. Other French organizations and sports federations coveted the site, whose lease had just expired, but tennis was now a national priority in France.
The Musketeers were riding on the momentum and enormous interest that had been generated by their compatriot Suzanne Lenglen. She was one of the transcendent athletes and personalities of the 1920s, and she reveled in it, breaking social codes with her knee‑length tennis outfits that were risqué for the time. She dominated the game and the courtside conversations with her balletic shot making full of leaps and flourishes, losing just one singles match between 1919 and 1926.
She inspired not only sportswriters but songwriters: “Ah! Suzanne!” was a hit in Paris in 1925, its title drawn from what spectators would exclaim as they watched her at play. Lenglen was also a muse for the Musketeers. She convinced Brugnon, the oldest of the four, to postpone his law studies and focus on tennis, and partnered successfully with him, Borotra, and Cochet in mixed doubles. She even offered tactical and technical advice, recommending that Lacoste lower the grip on his ground strokes and shorten his preparation time. But she, unlike Lacoste, was no poker‑faced technician. La Divine, as she was known in France, was a flamboyant attacking player, and Borotra, who played with the same brio and spontaneity, was mesmerized when he first saw Lenglen play in 1919.
“She had adopted what was traditionally the game of a man, with the volleys and an overhead of great power,” Borotra told me. “She had remarkable reflexes. She had an incredible game. There was never another one like her. She was also an intelligent woman, a great credit to France.”
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But her business decision to turn professional in 1926 — she was the first female tennis player to do so — did not leave a void for long in French tennis because the Musketeers were establishing themselves as the preeminent force in the men's game.
They had sobriquets of their own. The dashing and sometimes maddening Borotra, who was born in the French Basque country in Biarritz and was fond of wearing a blue beret on court, was the Bounding Basque. Cochet, a diminutive and seemingly nonchalant shot maker extraordinaire from Lyon, was the Magician. Brugnon, primarily a doubles specialist in an age when doubles mattered more, was Toto. Lacoste, with his cunning and relentless game, was the Crocodile.
I never got the chance to interview Cochet or Brugnon before their deaths. But after I moved to France, I did spend time in the early 1990s with Lacoste and Borotra when I was on assignment for the International Herald Tribune. Given their advanced ages — Lacoste was 88, Borotra was 94 — I was well aware of how precious an opportunity this was. I twice visited Lacoste and his wife, Simone, at their villa in the Basque country near Saint Jean de Luz on the Chantaco golf course, which Simone's father had built in honor of Simone's golfing achievements.
Lacoste, at this stage, was frail, restricted in his movements because of a heart condition and reliant on a motorized chair to mount and descend the house's sweeping central staircase. “Doctor's orders,” he explained to me. “If you were a pretty woman, you could ride up on my knees, but you are not.”
I met Borotra briefly at the 1991 Davis Cup final in Lyon, where he was doused with champagne after a French team led by Guy Forget, Henri Leconte, and charismatic captain Yannick Noah ended a 59‑year Davis Cup drought that dated to the Musketeers by upsetting another powerhouse United States squad that this time included a young Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.
In 1993, a year before Borotra died, he granted me an audience (that was how it felt) in his elegant Haussmannian apartment on Avenue Foch in Paris. In a dark business suit and with his hair slicked back over his high forehead, Borotra was still full of vigor as he took me on a train‑to‑catch tour of his drawing room, where a shiny replica of the Davis Cup was on prominent display. He was firm of handshake and brisk of step and, though hitting forehands had become too painful because of arthritis, he continued to practice his backhand with hitting partners or, more often, against the wall at his longtime fief, the Tennis Club de Paris.
“The wall has no problem hitting to my backhand,” Borotra explained.
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He was droll. He was dry. The problem for me was that Borotra was so hard of hearing that our interview had to be conducted at a shout, which was no way to build rapport. But Borotra's mind and memory, like Lacoste's, were still sharp: a fine advertisement for spending much of one's life in and around tennis. Both came to the game relatively late — as teenagers — and were drawn to it after trips to England. But while Lacoste, at age 15, committed himself immediately and systematically to studying the game's finer points, Borotra, a natural athlete who had played Basque pelota and other sports in his early youth, did not get truly serious about tennis or even join a club until after World War One.
He was in his early twenties, but with trademark energy and unconventional technique, he made up for lost time by relentlessly attacking the net. More man of action than reflection, he won nineteen major titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, and was the only Musketeer to win the Australian Championships (and the only one to make the long sea voyage to play in the Australian Championships). He sparred with Tilden, who often found him insufferable and dubbed him “the Bantering Basque,” put off by his attention‑grabbing behavior and gallantries. Borotra liked to doff his beret and kiss female spectators' hands if forced to chase a shot into the stands. But he was certainly a crowd favorite, one of tennis' and Wimbledon's main attractions in the 1920s and 1930s.
Lacoste was from an affluent background: His father, Jean Jules, was a top executive at luxury automaker Hispano Suiza and started his own automotive company. But René, his only son, would have a successful business career of his own. He worked in shipping, banking, and the automotive and aviation industries but was best known for co-founding the Lacoste Clothing Company, which became a leading global brand with its crocodile trademark inspired by Lacoste's nickname. But when I asked him in French what he considered himself, he answered un bricoleur, which literally translates to “handyman.”
“Tinkerer” might be more appropriate. He was an inventor at heart: creating, with Simone's help, the innovative cotton Polo shirts that helped him through the hot American summers; and constructing and patenting the first metal tennis racket. It was later called the Wilson T2000 and used by Jimmy Connors and Billie Jean King to win major titles. Connors, no lover of authority or polished manners, treated “Mr. Lacoste” with great deference throughout his playing career.
“I will be perhaps dead next week, but for the moment, I am thinking about what I will be doing and inventing next year, and in two years,” Lacoste told me.
Even at a late stage in life, his workshop was overflowing with plans and prototypes for new rackets, vibration dampeners, and golf clubs. Golf was arguably his own family's most successful sport. Simone won the British Ladies Amateur title in 1927. Forty years later, Catherine, their only daughter, stunned the golf world by winning the 1967 U.S. Women's Open at age 22. She was the first European to win a women's golf major and remains the only amateur to have won the U.S. Women's Open.
“When Catherine went to the USA the first time, someone asked her, ‘Are you the daughter of René Lacoste?' And she was a bit upset by that,” René said. “Several years later, after she won the U.S. Open, we were all heading to the USA, and somebody asked me at customs if by any chance, I was the father of Catherine Lacoste. Catherine was delighted.”
Excerpted from “The Warrior”: Rafael Nadal and His Kingdom of Clay. Copyright © 2025 Christopher Clarey. Published by Grand Central Publishing, a Hachette Book Group company. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
(Top photo: Clive Brunskill / Getty Images)
Matthew Futterman is an award-winning veteran sports journalist and the author of two books, “Running to the Edge: A Band of Misfits and the Guru Who Unlocked the Secrets of Speed” and “Players: How Sports Became a Business.”Before coming to The Athletic in 2023, he worked for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Star-Ledger of New Jersey and The Philadelphia Inquirer. He is currently writing a book about tennis, "The Cruelest Game: Agony, Ecstasy and Near Death Experiences on the Pro Tennis Tour," to be published by Doubleday in 2026. Follow Matthew on Twitter @mattfutterman
The Russian faces the Rome tournament with renewed hopes and reveals curious reflections on his career during the pre-match press conference.
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An odd stage of his professional career is what Daniil Medvedev is going through at the moment, with his title drought becoming alarming. The former world number 1 and Grand Slam winner hasn't lifted a trophy since his victory at the Foro Itálico two years ago. In the press conference before the 2025 Rome ATP Masters 1000, he expressed his feelings on that and other topics.
Many believe his best days are behind him and that Daniil Medvedev needs to embrace a change in his career trajectory. However, a born winner like the Russian is not going to give up easily. He has gone two years without a single title, dropped out of the top 10, and his game seems to have lost that genuine spark that characterized him during his major successes. He discussed this in the lead-up to the 2025 Rome ATP Masters 1000, an event that could be crucial for him.
- Medvedev admits he never thought he would win a Masters 1000 on clay
"I feel that winning here two years ago gave me a lot of serenity and helped me better understand this surface. Obviously, I prefer to play on hard courts, but since I became champion at the Foro Itálico, I haven't lost my temper on a clay court again; I am a more optimistic person and believe much more in my chances of achieving good results. I never thought I would win a Masters 1000 on clay, but I did, and now I'm here again with things to prove, so let's go for it," said the Russian.
When asked about the importance of factors like confidence and what his main motivations are now that it seems his prime has passed, Daniil Medvedev is firm. "My motivation is to be better every day. Last year, I didn't show my best version; I wasn't a recognizable tennis player, but every time I enter a tournament, I do so with the mentality that I can win it. I need some luck for everything I'm working on to translate into good results. What I'm clear on is that when I retire from tennis, I want to do it knowing that I gave my best and have nothing to regret," affirmed a man who will strive to return to the top 10 at this 2025 Rome ATP Masters 1000.
This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Medvedev: "Quiero retirarme del tenis y sentir que di todo lo que tenía"
View the discussion thread.
8 may. 2025 11:00
Victoria de Arnaldi por 2-0.
Cuota: 2
8 may. 2025 15:20
Alexander Bublik gana
Cuota: 1.73
9 may. 2025 15:40
Reilly Opelka gana
Cuota: 1.91
On Wednesday afternoon, 133 Cardinals representing some 70 countries will gather in the Sistine Chapel to begin the age-old process of selecting the successor to Pope Francis.
Eventually, the Conclave will produce the next leader for 1.4 billion Catholics and, after the signature white smoke emerges, he'll appear on the balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square.
At the same time, a mere four kilometers away, another global selection process will be underway at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. Forty-nine of the Top 50 players in the PIF WTA Rankings are scheduled to begin play on Tuesday -- only Barbora Krejcikova (back injury) is missing.
All eyes will be on World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, winner of the past two WTA 1000 events, the most recent on the red clay of Madrid, and No. 2 Iga Swiatek, who has won the Rome title three of the past four years.
Here's a look at some of the leading storylines:
No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka (31-5 in 2025): After winning the Madrid title for a third time, confidently eyeing a first title in Rome.
Best Rome result: Finalist 2024.
No. 2 Iga Swiatek (26-8): The defending champion is looking for some inspiration after as 6-1, 6-1 semifinal loss to Coco Gauff in Madrid.
Best Rome result: Champion 2024, 2022, 2021.
No. 3 Coco Gauff: (19-7) Starting to click on clay after reaching the Madrid final, beating Swiatek, Mirra Andreeva and Belinda Bencic along the way.
Best Rome result: Semifinalist 2024, 2021.
No. 4 Jessica Pegula: (27-8): Won the title on the green clay in Charleston but 2-2 on the red stuff since.
Best Rome result: Quarterfinalist 2021.
No. 5 Jasmine Paolini: (16-8) Italy's greatest hope in her sixth main appearance has struggled (2-5) on home turf.
Best Rome result: Round of 32 in 2020
No. 6 Madison Keys: (23-5) Making her 11th main-draw appearance.
Best Rome result: Finalist 2016, losing to Serena Williams.
No. 7 Mirra Andreeva: (24-6) Semifinalist last year at Roland Garros, looking for a similar breakthrough in Rome.
Best Rome result: Round of 128 in 2024.
No. 8 Zheng Qinwen: (9-7) Only 2-2 on clay so far this year, hoping for a renaissance in Rome.
Best Rome result: Quarterfinalist 2024, 2023.
No. 9 Emma Navarro: (15-10) Lost second match in Madrid to Donna Vekic.
Best Rome result: Round of 64 in 2024.
No. 10 Paula Badosa: (12-7) Withdrew from Madrid with chronic back injury, will again be a game-time decision in Rome.
Best Rome result: Quarterfinalist 2023.
Naomi Osaka vs. wild card Sara Errani
Marketa Vondrousova vs. Wang Xinyu
Dayana Yastremska vs. Anastasia Potapova
Naomi Osaka comes into Rome with some serious momentum after capturing the L'Open 35 de Saint-Malo title in France. It was the first career clay-court title for Osaka, a wild card who defeated Kaja Juvan of Slovenia 6-1, 7-5 in the final. Osaka's ranking rose six spots this past week to No. 48.
She went 5-0 for the week, her first clay matches since last summer Olympic Games in Paris, when she lost in the first round to Angelique Kerber. It was her first title at any level since collecting her fourth Grand Slam singles crown five years ago at the Australian Open.
Kinda ironic to win my first trophy back on the surface that I thought was my worst. That's one of my favorite things about life though, there's always room to grow and evolve. Thanks to everyone accompanying me on this journey, I know it's turbulent but it's also really fun and… pic.twitter.com/oR5OY5pTJN
Three players are using their personal ranking to join the main draw: Petra Kvitova, Bianca Andreescu and Anastasija Sevastova.
Kvitova plays Irina-Camelia Begu, always dangerous on clay. Andreescu gets 20-year-old Italian wildcard Federica Urgesi, while Sevastova meets another Italian, Lucia Bronzetti.
Sevastova wasn't sure she'd walk unaided again. She was wrong
Chris Evert won the most titles (five) at the Italian Open. Conchita Martinez, Gabriela Sabatini and Serena Williams are the next with four each. Martinez is the only player male or female to win on four consecutive occasions, between 1993 and 1996.
Williams (44) has the most women's singles match wins in the Open Era, with Conchita Martinez (43) registering the next most. Victoria Azarenka's 28 are the most of any active player.
Sixteen-year-old Tracy Austin (1979) is the youngest player in the Open Era to win the women's singles at the Italian Open. Serena, at 34, was the oldest champion, winning the title in 2016. She won the title three times after turning 30.
Only three women have won the titles in Madrid and Rome in the same season -- Dinara Safina (2009), Serena Williams (2013) and Iga Swiatek (2024), and all did it as World No. 1. Aryna Sabalenka has the opportunity to match them.
Among players with multiple appearances at the event in the Open Era, Evert holds the best winning percentage at the Italian Open (.923), while Swiatek (.909) has the second-best.
Only a few weeks ago, 17-year-old Tyra Caterina Grant -- one of the most promising young players in the world -- was playing under the United States colors, but here in Rome she's representing Italy. She received a wild card and many will be watching her first-round match against a qualifier to be named later.
Grant was born in Rome to an American father and Italian mother and grew up near Milan and trained at the Piatti Academy where Jannik Sinner learned his craft. Grant spent time in Florida at the USTA national campus as well. Grant has won three junior Grand Slam doubles titles and reached the singles semifinals at last year's French Open. The move has been anticipated for several weeks.
Play is Monday and Tuesday and will deliver a dozen players to the main draw.
Top seeds: No. 1 Katie Volynets, No. 2 Anna Blinkova, No. 3 Zeynep Sonmez, No. 4 Maya Joint, No. 5 Ajla Tomljanovic.
Surprise guest: 35-year-old Alize Cornet. She announced her retirement last year at Roland Garros but returns to action, opposite No. 22 seed Anna Bondar
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May 07, 2025 12:33AM EDT
By Natalia Lobo
As the Italian Open starts, the absence of dominant figures on both the ATP and WTA Tours is more noticeable than ever. Jannik Sinner's three-month suspension left a temporary void at the top of the men's game, while the women's circuit had new champions. Madison Keys, who won the Australian Open early this year, reflected on the change of tide, especially after legends such as Serena Williams, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal left the game.
“There are so many players now […] you wouldn't be surprised if 20 different people won a tournament,” Keys said recently, reflecting on the current state of the game. “It's happening on both tours.”
According to the American, part of this shift stems from the retirement of iconic names such as Williams, Federer or Nadal. “You don't have Serena showing up and assuming she's going to win every time. On the men's side, you don't have Roger, Rafa, and Novak [Djokovic] every single week either.”
But the change isn't just about who's missing, it's also about how much deeper the competition has become. “The base level has gotten much higher. The margin for error is so much smaller,” Keys said. “If both players are playing well, the match could come down to just two points.”
Novak Djokovic has struggled during the 2025 season (Getty Images)
She also noted that today's players are getting stronger and that the game is now “more physical” than ever. “Players are getting fitter and staying healthy longer,” she added. “That's why we're seeing so many close, competitive matches.”
see also
She was a World No.12 who defeated Serena Williams in a Grand Slam but grew tired of tennis and retired at 32
While Keys has long been a consistent force on the WTA Tour, 2025 has been her most successful campaign to date. In January, she captured her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, defeating Aryna Sabalenka in a career-defining final. It marked a return to the sport's biggest stage nearly eight years after her first major final appearance at the 2017 US Open.
The 30-year-old began her season with a title in Adelaide, beating fellow American Jessica Pegula in the final. Strong showings at Indian Wells and the Madrid Open have followed, cementing her status as one of the year's most consistent players. However, as she expressed, anything can happen this season.
Natalia is a sports journalist at Bolavip US, where she covers soccer, tennis, and the broader sports world. She also works as an entertainment journalist at Spoiler US, focusing on the film industry, series, reality TV, and celebrity news. With a diverse background that includes reporting on sports, fashion, and culture, she brings a rich and varied perspective to her current roles. Natalia holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication and Media from the Universidad Central of Venezuela (UCV) and has over eight years of experience in digital media. She has previously contributed her bilingual skills in English and Spanish to outlets such as Revista Exclusiva and Cambio16.
Bolavip, like Futbol Sites, is a company owned by Better Collective. All rights reserved.
By Gianni Taina
May 06, 2025 09:39PM EDT
Long before Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal dominated the global stage, Spain boasted tennis trailblazers like Carlos Moyá, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and Sergi Bruguera. But even earlier, pioneers such as Andrés Gimeno, Manuel Santana, and Manuel Orantes laid the groundwork for Spain's rich tennis tradition.
Manuel Orantes, born in 1949 on the outskirts of Barcelona, is one of those foundational figures. Growing up in humble surroundings, his tennis journey began as a ball boy at Club de Tenis de la Salut, where coach Pedro Mora discovered and guided him through his junior career. By 1966, Orantes was making waves, capturing junior titles at Wimbledon and the Orange Bowl.
Orantes turned professional in 1968 during the dawn of the Open Era, an era that transformed tennis into the professional and globally organized sport it is today. Early on, Orantes showcased his talent, earning notable victories over legends like Jimmy Connors and Guillermo Vilas.
With 34 career titles, Orantes is the second most decorated Spanish player in the Open Era, trailing only Rafael Nadal's 92 titles. He achieved his first professional victory in 1969, defeating Manuel Santana in Barcelona. His career-high ATP ranking of World No. 2 came during a dominant stretch in the early 1970s, highlighted by his eight titles in 1972 and 1973.
Former players Stan Smith, Manuel Orantes and Ile Nastase pose during the ATP Finals Club presentation. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Orantes' crowning moment came at the 1975 US Open when he defeated top-seeded Jimmy Connors in straight sets to claim the title. This victory followed an unforgettable semifinal against Guillermo Vilas, where Orantes staged an epic comeback, rallying from two sets to one down and saving three match points in the fourth set.
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Orantes and Vilas shared a love-hate relationship. The duo started as doubles partners, achieving early success together in tournaments like Buenos Aires and Sweden. However, their friendship soured over time.
In a 2024 interview with La Vanguardia, Orantes reflected on the rivalry. “There's a story with Vilas… We had become friends. I usually played doubles with Antonio Muñoz, but he didn't have a high enough singles ranking to qualify for Wimbledon. In 1974, I partnered with Guillermo. We played in Sweden and Buenos Aires, and we started winning matches,” he recalled.
Guillermo Vilas of Argentina stands on the tennis court during a match in the 1982 French Open. (Steve Powell/Getty Images)
But tensions rose during an Australian tournament, which Vilas won while Orantes reached the semifinals. “Fame went to his head. From that point on, whenever we played, I didn't just want to beat him—I wanted to go all out,” Orantes continued.
The rivalry reached its peak at the 1975 US Open semifinal, where Orantes delivered one of the most dramatic victories of his career. “I was losing two sets to one against Guillermo Vilas. In the fourth set, I was down 0-5 and 0-40. I turned it around to win the set and eventually took the fifth, 6-4. That year, I won nine tournaments,” he added.
Orantes retired in the mid-1980s and briefly served as captain of Spain's Davis Cup team. His tenure ended in the early 1990s following disputes with Emilio Sánchez Vicario. Despite stepping away from formal coaching roles, Orantes has remained deeply connected to the sport.
Manuel Orantes receives his blue blazer after being inducted into the International Tennis Hall Of Fame. (Darren McCollester/Getty Images)
In 2012, Orantes was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, cementing his place among the game's all-time greats. Today, he continues to inspire the next generation of Spanish players and is revered as a national icon.
Gianni Taina is a bilingual journalist, fluent in English and Spanish, specializing in soccer, the NBA, and tennis. He began his professional career in 2020 with Mundo Deportivo US, where he made his initial strides as a writer. Gianni has covered major sports events such as the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the NBA Finals, and Grand Slam tournaments like Roland Garros. His ability to report on real-time events and write under pressure has established him as a valuable member of a top-tier team of journalists. In 2024, he joined Bolavip US, where he covers a wide range of sports, including European soccer, MLS, and the NBA. Gianni earned his degree in Communication from Deportea in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Bolavip, like Futbol Sites, is a company owned by Better Collective. All rights reserved.
After Casper Ruud won his first Masters 1000 title in Madrid, the ATP Tour moves to Rome for the last clay Masters 1000 of the season. The first round begins Wednesday, without the seeds yet, but still with plenty of interesting matchups in prospect. It should be a great day of tennis in the Italian capital to kickstart the tournament.
Head-to-head: Tseng 1-0 Passaro
Ranking-wise, this is the closest match of this round, with #101 taking on #102. As the rankings suggest, it should be a really close match and it is very hard to call which way it will go. Tseng played really good tennis to make it through qualifying but Passaro's home court advantage might well be the difference maker in such a close matchup.
Prediction: Passaro in 3
Head-to-head: Altmaier 1-0 Comesana
Altmaier won a long five setter when the pair faced at the Australian Open this year, but both of these players play their best stuff on clay so this should be a considerably higher quality match. Comesana has been playing at a really good level on clay this year and could well get revenge on Altmaier for the loss in Australia.
Prediction: Comesana in 3
Embed from Getty Images
Head-to-head: Medjedovic 1-0 Virtanen
Virtanen played some good tennis to make it through qualifying and he definitely has the ability to cause problems to Medjedovic here, but the latter is the better and more talented player overall and should have the edge here, even if it should be quite a close encounter.
Prediction: Medjedovic in 3
Head-to-head: first meeting
Norrie is very far from the level that saw him reach the Top 10, win a Masters 1000, and reach a Slam semifinal, but he's still a tough player to beat and on clay he should have the edge in this particular matchup, as O'Connell's best results have all come on faster surfaces. While Norrie likely isn't a threat to go far, he should pull through here.
Prediction: Norrie in 2
Main Photo Credit: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports
The WTA Italian Open rolls on, and while several of yesterday's picks have paid out, there are still matches to play. If you enjoyed any
WTA Rome continues first-round action on Day 2 as former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka gets her campaign underway against Italian Sara Errani. Elsewhere on
After Casper Ruud won his first Masters 1000 title in Madrid, the ATP tTur moves to Rome for the last clay Masters 1000 of the
Day 2 of WTA action in Rome will see Victoria Azarenka, hoping to better her 2013 runner-up finish, but first she has to get past
After Casper Ruud won his first Masters 1000 title in Madrid, the ATP tTur moves to Rome for the last clay Masters 1000 of the season. The first round begins Wednesday without the seeds, yet still with plenty of interesting matchups in prospect in what should be a great day of tennis in the Italian capital to kickstart the tournament.
Head-to-head: Thompson 4-0 Perricard
Thompson has won all four matches and all eight sets between the pair–two of them this year at Masters 1000 level, in Miami and Monte Carlo. While Mpetshi Perricard's huge serve is effective on faster surfaces, the same doesn't seem to be the case on slower surfaces for now, and even if Thompson himself struggles on clay he should have a clear edge when it comes to returning and rallying and this match could well pan out in a similar way to their Monte Carlo encounter.
Prediction: Thompson in 2
Head-to-head: Lehecka 2-0 Muller
Both Lehecka and Muller had strong starts to the season but have been struggling to get wins in recent tournaments, so they will be looking to gain some momentum back here in Rome. While Muller is a solid player, Lehecka seems to have a clearly higher upside and if he plays anywhere close to his best level he should prevail here.
Prediction: Lehecka in 2
Embed from Getty Images
Head-to-head: first meeting
Darderi started the clay season amazingly, with a title in Marrakech, but he hasn't been able to maintain that level since. Now playing at home in Rome he theoretically has a very nice first round draw as he should be able to overcome Bu on a slow clay court. Under normal circumstances, Darderi should pull through here in relatively straightforward fashion.
Prediction: Darderi in 2
Head-to-head: first meeting
Carreno Busta is a former Top 10 player with several good Slam runs and a Masters 1000 title, but he has really been struggling to get back to his best after injury. He actually lost in qualifying here but has been given a second chance, albeit against a good opponent on clay like Ugo Carabelli. It should be a very close match, with lots of gruelling rallies and decided by who executes better in key points.
Prediction: Carreno Busta in 3
Main Photo Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
The WTA Italian Open rolls on, and while several of yesterday's picks have paid out, there are still matches to play. If you enjoyed any
WTA Rome continues first-round action on Day 2 as former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka gets her campaign underway against Italian Sara Errani. Elsewhere on
After Casper Ruud won his first Masters 1000 title in Madrid, the ATP Tour moves to Rome for the last clay Masters 1000 of the
Day 2 of WTA action in Rome will see Victoria Azarenka, hoping to better her 2013 runner-up finish, but first she has to get past
The ATP Rome Masters first round features several intriguing matchups, including Tallon Griekspoor looking to build on strong clay form against Miomir Kecmanovic. With players aiming to find rhythm ahead of the French Open, these early clashes could set the tone for the week in the Italian capital.
Head-to-Head: first meeting
Cameron Norrie may benefit from having played two qualifying matches in Rome, giving him a better feel for the conditions despite a final-round loss. Christopher O'Connell has had a quiet clay season so far and didn't make much impact in Munich. With Norrie's grinding style and experience on the surface, he should be slightly favored to come through this first-time meeting.
Prediction: Norrie in 3
Head-to-Head: Nishioka 2-1 Struff
Yoshihito Nishioka leads the head-to-head 2–1, but he's just returning from injury and has played very little clay-court tennis this season. Jan-Lennard Struff hasn't been in great form either, but his power game and greater match play on clay give him an edge. If he keeps his unforced errors in check, Struff should be favored to win this one.
Prediction: Struff in 2
Embed from Getty Images
Head-to-Head: first meeting
Vilius Gaubas has been impressive on clay this season, winning the Menorca Challenger and posting a strong 13–5 record on the surface. Damir Dzumhur, though more experienced, has also been solid with recent wins in Madrid. Gaubas is a rising talent, but Dzumhur's consistency and tour-level experience make him a slight favorite in this first-time meeting.
Prediction: Dzumhur in 3
Head-to-Head: Griekspoor 3-1 Kecmanovic
Tallon Griekspoor comes into Rome with solid clay form, including a recent final in Marrakech, and holds a 3–1 head-to-head lead over Miomir Kecmanovic. While Kecmanovic has had flashes of good tennis this year, his inconsistency and Griekspoor's edge on clay give the Dutchman the upper hand. Expect a tight match, but Griekspoor should be favored to advance.
Prediction: Griekspoor in 3
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
The WTA Italian Open rolls on, and while several of yesterday's picks have paid out, there are still matches to play. If you enjoyed any
WTA Rome continues first-round action on Day 2 as former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka gets her campaign underway against Italian Sara Errani. Elsewhere on
After Casper Ruud won his first Masters 1000 title in Madrid, the ATP Tour moves to Rome for the last clay Masters 1000 of the
After Casper Ruud won his first Masters 1000 title in Madrid, the ATP tTur moves to Rome for the last clay Masters 1000 of the
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Alpine have confirmed that Franco Colapinto will replace Jack Doohan for the next five race weekends, starting from the upcoming Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, with the team deciding to “rotate” the race seat alongside Pierre Gasly.
The news comes following the confirmation on Tuesday evening that Alpine Team Principal Oliver Oakes had resigned with immediate effect. Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore will be covering the duties previously performed by the Briton.
READ MORE: Alpine announce resignation of Team Principal Oliver Oakes
Having previously served as a reserve driver for the Enstone-based team, it was announced last summer that Doohan was set to be promoted to the main race squad for 2025. The 22-year-old was then given an earlier-than-expected debut at the 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi, following the departure of Haas-bound Esteban Ocon.
After starting his first full-time campaign this year, Doohan has struggled to match team mate Gasly, and his troubles continued last time out in Miami, where he retired from the race following a Lap 1 collision with Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson.
Franco Colapinto will race for Alpine over the next five rounds of the 2025 season, starting at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
Now Alpine have announced that Doohan's seat will be filled by Colapinto for the next five rounds, with the Argentinian having been signed to the outfit as one of their roster of reserve drivers following his impressive nine-race run as a substitute for Williams in 2024.
“As part of an on-going assessment of its driver line-up, the team has made the decision to rotate one of its race seats for the next five rounds of the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship,” said an Alpine statement.
“BWT Alpine Formula One Team therefore announces that Franco Colapinto will be paired with Pierre Gasly from the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, ahead of a new evaluation before the British Grand Prix in July.
“Jack Doohan remains an integral part of the team and will be the first-choice Reserve Driver for this period of time.”
ANALYSIS: Why Alpine chose to promote Colapinto and bench Doohan – concluding a dramatic 12 hours after Oakes' resignation
Doohan has shown flashes of pace but has also had a series of incidents in his seven-race run with Alpine, including his opening lap collision with Lawson in Miami as well as a heavy practice crash in Suzuka, when he failed to close his Drag Reduction System before turning into Turn 1.
Colapinto, meanwhile, returns to the grid following his eye-catching showing in the second half of 2024, where he bagged points for Williams in Azerbaijan and Austin after replacing Logan Sargeant. However, his Williams stint also included heavy crashes in Sao Paulo and Las Vegas.
Speculation over Doohan's future at the team had been a frequent topic of discussion since Colapinto's signing as a reserve in January, with Oakes having moved to quash those reports as recently as the Miami Grand Prix weekend.
2025 Miami Grand Prix: Doohan out of the race after Lap 1 clash with Lawson
“Firstly, I want to thank the team for giving me the opportunity to drive competitively for the next five races,” said Colapinto. “I will work hard with the team to prepare for the next race in Imola and the upcoming triple-header, which will no doubt be intense and a big challenge for everyone.
“I have stayed sharp, and I am as ready as possible with the team's race support testing programme, as well as on the simulator at Enstone. I will do my best to get up to speed quickly and give it my all to deliver the best possible results alongside Pierre.”
READ MORE: 5 Winners and 5 Losers from Miami – Who excelled in the Sunshine State?
Doohan said: “I am very proud to have achieved my lifelong ambition to be a professional Formula 1 driver and I will forever be grateful to the team for helping me achieve this dream. Obviously, this latest chapter is a tough one for me to take because, as a professional driver, naturally I want to be racing.
“That said, I appreciate the team's trust and commitment. We have long-term goals as a team to achieve and I will continue to give my maximum efforts in any way I can to help achieve those. For now, I will keep my head down, keep working hard, watch with interest the next five races and keep chasing my own personal goals.”
Flavio Briatore has said the team need to 'rotate' their line-up to have a 'complete and fair' assessment of their drivers ahead of 2026
Flavio Briatore, Alpine's Executive Advisor, added: “Having reviewed the opening races of the season, we have come to the decision to put Franco in the car alongside Pierre for the next five races.
“With the field being so closely matched this year, and with a competitive car, which the team has drastically improved in the past 12 months, we are in a position where we see the need to rotate our line-up. We also know the 2026 season will be an important one for the team and having a complete and fair assessment of the drivers this season is the right thing to do in order to maximise our ambitions next year.
“We continue to support Jack at the team, as he has acted in a very professional manner in his role as a race driver so far this season. The next five races will give us an opportunity to try something different and after this time period we will assess our options.”
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© 2003-2025 Formula One World Championship Limited
By Lynette Rice
Senior TV Writer
It's official: a Dutton is coming to CBS.
The network has ordered the Yellowstone sequel Y: Marshals (working title) for its midseason lineup. The new drama will feature Luke Grimes reprising his role as Kayce Dutton, who joins an elite unit of U.S. Marshals. It will air on Sundays at 9 P.M.
The official logline has Kayce “combining his skills as a cowboy and Navy SEAL to bring range justice to Montana, where he and his teammates must balance family, duty and the high psychological cost that comes with serving as the last line of defense in the region's war on violence.”
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Deadline first wrote in March that Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone universe was eying further expansion beyond Paramount Network and Paramount+, and that the potential offshoot would air on sibling CBS. Sources said showrunner Spencer Hudnut had been working on ideas for over a year for the spinoff while it went through the approval process with Sheridan and getting a commitment from Grimes.
Watch on Deadline
Y: Marshals joins another Yellowstone spinoff series, headlined by Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser, which was announced last December.
Y: Marshals will be produced by MTV Entertainment Studios with Sheridan along with David C. Glasser executive producing for 101 Studios as well as John Linson, Art Linson, Hudnut, Luke Grimes, Ron Burkle, David Hutkin and Bob Yari. Hudnut will serve as executive producer and showrunner. The series will be distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.When asked whether the Yellowstone sequel will look and feel as expensive as the mother ship on Paramount Network, CBS President Amy Reisenbach said “we don't do cheap.”
“Spencer Hudnut had run a broadcast show before,” Reisenbach said of the former SEAL Team showrunner. “We do have a budget for that show that is in line with other broadcast series.”
As for Sheridan's involvement, Reisenbach said, “we're still early in the process. He's a very busy guy, so we'll take what we can get.”
Yellowstone fans will recall that Kayce signed the entire land over to Rainwater and his tribe for $1.25 an acre, the price he said 1883's James Dutton (Tim McGraw) paid when the family settled there. The sale is conditional: the sprawling land can never be developed, and Kayce, wife Monica (Kelsey Asbille) and son Tate (Brecken Merrill) will stay on a small parcel where they've built a house and would remain.
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The three will debut the moving song at the ACM Awards Thursday night.
By
Melinda Newman
The first time Reba McEntire heard “Trailblazer,” she cried. So did Lainey Wilson and Miranda Lambert as they wrote it.
The star trio are debuting the emotional, mid-tempo ballad about thanking those who came before them — and lifting up those who come after — at the ACM Awards tomorrow (May 8). The song will be available on all streaming services at 8 p.m. E.T. Thursday.
Wilson and Lambert wrote the song with Brandy Clark on Lambert's back porch, specifically as a song that the pair and McEntire could sing together.
“We were like, ‘OK, we're going to do a song with Reba — what kind of song do we write?” recalls Lambert on Wednesday after rehearsals at The Star in Frisco, Texas, in the only interview the three artists are doing together. “We were calling her on the set [of sitcom Happy's Place] and trying to figure out, ‘What's the right message for this trio? What do we really want to say in three minutes?'”
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They decided they wanted a country song that talked about influences —the song namechecks “Dolly and Loretta, Patsy and Tammy, too”— and how to pass it down. “We were just having a conversation about how both [Lambert and McEntire] have influenced me and [about] passing the torch and blazing trails for each other,” says Wilson, who came up with the title. “Generation after generation, it's going to continue, but we got to keep blazing those trails for the next one.”
It was also important to drop some Easter eggs into the song that tied back to each artist. For example, the lyrics include “Kerosene,” the title of one of Lambert's biggest hits, and also talk about being from Louisiana, Wilson's home state, and Oklahoma, where McEntire grew up.
“We wanted to lean in pretty hard to paying tribute to each person,” Lambert says. “We had to do it strategically though, because we didn't want it to be so blatant — but more like a secret thing that you would have to listen to it twice.”
But they still needed to keep the song's appeal universal and beyond music. “I remember thinking that this could be a song that a grandmother and a daughter and a grandchild could listen to,” Wilson says. “And not just about the history of country music… If we're not thinking about the people that we're singing to then they're not going to be able to relate.”
The song came together quickly and felt, Wilson says, divinely inspired. “When you're writing a song and you get that like feeling, it's like the Holy Spirit feeling. And you just feel it all over your body. Definitely had that.”
Wilson, Lambert and Clark had butterflies when they sent it to McEntire, but they needn't have worried. “I remember listening to it in the dressing room. I couldn't find a flaw in it, not a word,” McEntire says. “It was that great. I was very emotional when I heard it.” The three recorded it together in Nashville with McEntire and her longtime producer Tony Brown co-producing.
Another overarching theme in the song is friendship and the three have clearly cultivated close ties. They giggle conspiratorially when they talk about their group text. “We can't tell you what's in it,” Lambert says. “It's off-color.”
Their relationship exists in a way that McEntire says couldn't have when she was coming up, in part because of technology.
“There's something different totally in these generations than the earlier generations, mainly because of the social aspect,” McEntire says. “We've got texting, we've got emails, communication at our fingertips, and we didn't have that starting out. And I like it that things are more approachable. When I was getting started, I wouldn't have even thought about talking to Dolly when she walked by me in 1977. I was brand new. She was a huge, mega, beautiful star. And I don't know if it's confidence that's totally different, but I had [my musical heroes] all up on this pedestal where you can't touch, you can't talk. Now, we're more friends and it's a family. It's totally different, and I like it this way.”
The three stress their friendship and McEntire says that is another big takeaway from “Trailblazer.” “We've got that camaraderie; we've got that helpful nature. If somebody needs something, the others come in to help. That's very important. A lot of people think it's backstabbing and so competitive. There's enough room in this business — and all businesses — for everybody to be successful. We've just got to help each other and share what we've gone through and say what didn't work. ‘Now here's what did work. Maybe it will work for you.'”
There's a line in the song about paying tribute to those who “gave me a seat at the table.” “One of the very first people to give me a seat at the table was that one right over there,” Wilson says, looking at Lambert. “She made me feel like I was welcome, and like she was my cheerleader. I think a lot of times people like to pit women against each other, and I think we're just proving otherwise.”
That group text isn't all about jokes: It provides a tremendous support system. “Sometimes you need someone to talk to when you're so exhausted,” Wilson says, looking at McEntire. “I know I texted you one timem and you told me, ‘Sometimes I have to get up [on stage] and sing for a different reason. Sing for my sister. Sing for whomever it is.' I remember those things when I'm on stage and feel like I can't do it anymore.”
“I remember at the end of one of my long Vegas runs, I texted you,” Lambert says also looking at McEntire. “I was like, ‘I'm crying getting ready. Just wanted to let you know. It's one of those tiring days.' And I feel like I'm not alone in that, because they've been there.”
When they sing “Trailblazer” tomorrow on the ACM Awards, they will be singing it for more than themselves. “It's not about us,” Lambert says. “It's about what the song means to little girls out there watching, or anyone out there watching that really has a dream or needs to be surrounded by people they love, and needs a little nudge to know they're not alone.”
And there will hopefully be more coming. When asked if “Trailblazer” is their last collaboration, McEntire says “No, ma'am” before the question is even finished. “I love singing with these gals. They're a lot of fun. They're great singers. Our harmonies blend so well. So why not?”
The ACM Awards stream live on Amazon Prime Video May 8 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
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One of IndieWire's Best Queer Films of the 21st Century was Lucio Castro‘s “End of the Century” from 2019, a slightly surreal will-they, did-they, won't-they gay romance set in Barcelona. His follow-up film “After His Death,” about a woman (Mia Maestro) in freefall after an affair with an enigmatic musician (Lee Pace) who appears to quite literally have a cult following, premiered at the Berlinale and took Argentine writer/director Castro briefly out of the queer cinematic space.
But he's back with another gay quasi-romance, this time in New York City, with “Drunken Noodles,” which feels like Apichatpong Weerasethakul directing an early '80s New Queer Cinema indie. It has a lo-fi, shot-on-film aesthetic mixed with mystical elements, and it's premiering in the Cannes Film Festival ACID parallel section later this month. (Standing for Association du Cinéma Indépendant pour sa Diffusion, ACID is dedicated to elevating indie filmmakers.) Here, the mind-bending elements of “End of the Century” take on fuller force (and in a film that is not to mention quite sexy).
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“Drunken Noodles” takes place over two summers, in both the city streets and the forest paths of upstate New York, as art student Adnan (Laith Khalifeh) has a series of unexpected, intimate, and even otherworldly, time-and-space-warping encounters. Watch the IndieWire exclusive trailer before the film's Cannes premiere below.
Here's the official synopsis: “Adnan, a young art student, arrives in New York City to flat-sit for the summer. He begins interning at a gallery where an unconventional older artist he once encountered is being exhibited. As moments from his past and present begin to intertwine, a series of encounters – both artistic and erotic – open cracks in his everyday reality.”
“In the summer of 2021, a friend introduced me to the work of Sal Salandra, an artist in his late 70s who had recently begun creating explicit sexual tableaux in needlepoint — a craft typically reserved for gentler themes, like kittens playing with balls of yarn,” Castro said as to the film's origins in a press statement. “I was instantly captivated and went to interview Sal at his Long Island home, thinking I might make a documentary. However, I left feeling that what drew me to his work remained out of reach. I realized that what I wanted to explore couldn't be articulated in a documentary, it had to be done through fiction.”
Joel Isaac, Ezriel Kornel, and Matthew Risch co-star in the film, which features cinematography by Barton Cortright, who most recently shot “The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed,” out of the 2023 Cannes Directors' Fortnight.
Watch the trailer for “Drunken Noodles” below. The film premieres at the festival in the ACID section Sunday, May 18.
The film is produced by Castro and Cortright under their Alsina 427 banner, with co-producers Joanne Lee and Julia Bloch, and executive producer Pierce Varous of Nice Dissolve. M-appeal is handling world sales. U.S. distribution is currently in negotiation and is expected to be announced shortly.
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By Mike Fleming Jr
Co-Editor-in-Chief, Film
EXCLUSIVE: Ferris Bueller's Day Off stars Matthew Broderick and Alan Ruck are negotiating to reunite in The Best Is Yet To Come, a comedy that Allan Loeb scripted and Jon Turteltaub will direct. The film is backed by MRC and Lionsgate is in talks to distribute. It is based on the French film of the same title.
Amy Baer is producing through her Gidden Media banner, and the executive producer is Dimitri Rassam, who produced the 2019 original through his company Chapter 2. Loeb will also be EP.
Last time Broderick and Ruck held the screen together, the latter played a disillusioned son of a wealthy man, a dad who seemed to prize his 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder more than his son. That lead the kid to launch the classic car out a glass window, a dilemma even his best pal Ferris is hard pressed to fix. Here, they will take another road trip.
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They play best friends who, through a colossal misunderstanding that creates a ticking clock, hop in a car to find the estranged son of one of them and also try to do all the things that life has prevented them from doing. The original was directed by Alexandre de La Patelliere and Matthieu Delaporte.
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Broderick and Ruck (Succession) have stayed friends since first starring in the John Hughes 1986 touchstone comedy.
Broderick is repped by CAA and Entertainment 360, Loeb is repped by WME and Mosaic, Turteltaub by WME and Oasis Media, Ruck by IAG and Teitelbaum Artists Group.
Deals are being finalized and the filmmakers are eyeing a summer production start. Lionsgate declined comment.
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Early in the pandemic, at-home fitness companies like Peloton led a music licensing boom. But after people returned to normal life, licensing went in a different direction.
By
Glenn Peoples
Five years ago, fitness companies looked like the next big thing for music rights owners as the onset of the COVID-19 lockdown turned Peloton, the maker of high-tech stationary bicycles and treadmills, into a household name and the leader in a suddenly hot connected fitness market.
Peloton's founder, John Foley, had created an online version of music-driven, brick-and-mortar studios such as SoulCycle. Unlike the staid strength and cardio products of earlier years, the new breed of bikes and treadmills manufactured by the company were internet-ready and could stream live or pre-recorded workouts. Other startups took notice, with competitors like Tonal and Hydrow vying for market share.
“There were fitness companies who saw what Peloton was doing, which was really putting music at the center of their workouts,” says Vickie Nauman, a licensing expert and founder/CEO of CrossBorderWorks. Instructors, some of whom would become small-time celebrities, used music to create identities and build communities. “This was the original founder's vision,” she says.
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Flush with investment capital, fitness companies followed Peloton into expensive licensing agreements with rights holders to infuse music into their at-home products. Royalties from connected fitness companies, as well as social media and other new revenue streams, went from about 3% of the average catalog's revenue in 2021 to “something like 7%” in 2023, according to Jake Devries, a director in Citrin Cooperman's music and entertainment valuation services practice.
As it turned out, 2020 and 2021 were peak at-home fitness. The financial impact of the post-pandemic fitness bubble was seen in Universal Music Group's results for the fourth quarter of 2024: A decline in its fitness business accounted for a nearly one percentage-point decline in its subscription growth rate, equal to approximately $12.5 million. And during its most recent earnings call on April 29, the company noted that fitness revenue was flat in the first quarter.
After pandemic restrictions ended, the stay-at-home fitness business ran into competition from gyms and fitness studios as people returned to public life. As a result, according to numerous people who spoke with Billboard, connected fitness companies had less cash to put into music licensing and, realizing they didn't need massive catalogs and didn't have the expertise to properly manage the rights and issue royalty payments, looked for more affordable, less arduous options.
Peloton, founded in 2012, was a trailblazer in at-home fitness. Its studio-quality bikes, which currently cost between $1,445 and $2,495, are outfitted with touchscreens that stream live and on-demand content for an additional $44 per month. Music is a focal point for the online classes, just as brick-and-mortar studios like SoulCycle incorporate popular songs into their workouts. Despite the high prices of Peloton's bikes, online content has a greater financial impact: In its latest fiscal year, subscriptions accounted for 63% of the company's $2.7 billion of revenue and 96% of its $1.2 billion of gross profit.
Music enhances online workouts in the same way it makes going to a fitness studio or a gym more enjoyable. But building cycle workouts around setlists of specific songs isn't straightforward. Unlike brick-and-mortar locations that require only blanket licenses from performance rights organizations such as ASCAP and BMI, Peloton required more expensive direct licenses to incorporate music into its streaming content. After being sued by music publishers for copyright infringement in 2019, Peloton settled the following year and began negotiating the proper licenses.
Such a license had never been done for a fitness company, so major labels and publishers modeled custom licenses for Peloton based on their deals with Spotify and other on-demand music platforms, according to a licensing executive familiar with the negotiations. The agreements called for Peloton to pay rights holders based on a monthly per-subscriber fee, and the pool of royalties would then be proportionally divided based on usage, according to this person.
Peloton had built a name for itself in the fitness community by 2019, but it was supercharged the following year by the COVID-19 pandemic. As people stayed away from public places such as gyms and fitness studios, Peloton's revenue jumped from $384 million in fiscal 2019 to $1.45 billion two years later, and its share price climbed from $27 following its September 2019 initial public offering to $171 in January 2021.
The enthusiasm for at-home fitness also benefited Peloton's competitors. Hydrow, which offers rowing machines with Peloton-like streaming content, raised $25 million in June 2020 and another $55 million in March 2022. Tonal, a connected strength training platform, had raised a total of $90 million by 2019, before the pandemic piqued interest, then raised $110 million in September 2020 and $380 million in two funding rounds in 2021 and 2023 — the latter at a lower valuation.
As other connected fitness companies quickly sought music licenses to replicate Peloton's success, rights holders offered them a version of the Peloton license, which provided them rights to large catalogs. (Peloton, the lone publicly traded company of the bunch, revealed in its 2021 annual report that it had a catalog of 2.6 million tracks.) “Once there was a model, it was always going to be easier to replicate a model you think is working than create a new licensing deal,” says the licensing executive.
But these fitness startups, desperate to corner share in a fast-growing market, initially made some missteps. “Because it was such a race, I think that many online fitness companies saw this as an existential opportunity, and they did not take the time to investigate what they were getting into,” says Nauman. “And so, they licensed all of this music, and that sent a signal to rights holders all over the world that fitness was going to be an enormous new line of business.”
The Peloton-style licenses weren't cheap. Record labels and publishers were “aggressive with the rates they were asking for a lot of the services,” says an attorney familiar with the terms of the licensing contracts. An app-based product would likely pay 30% of revenue to music rights holders, according to this person, while hardware-based products with higher overhead and costs would pay approximately 16% of revenue. “That's a pretty big share of revenue for a company that is not a music company,” the attorney adds.
The Peloton-style sync licenses also came with more complexity than fitness companies could handle. Managing a music catalog requires technology and know-how that fitness companies don't have. They needed help matching compositions to sound recordings to ensure licenses were acquired from all rights holders, and the reporting required for PROs and making direct payments to record labels and publishers were outside of the fitness companies' expertise.
As fitness companies dealt with stagnant growth, they laid off staff and tightened their budgets. From February 2022 to May 2024, founder/CEOs at Peloton, Tonal and Hydrow were forced out. When Peloton replaced Foley with former Spotify CFO Barry McCarthy in February 2022 and announced plans to lay off 20% of its corporate staff, its share price was trading under $30, down more than 82% from its high mark just 13 months earlier. Tonal and Hydrow each laid off about 35% of their workforces in 2022, and Hydrow further thinned its staff in 2023.
Sync licenses are crucial to Peloton because classes are often built around playlists, and music is crucial to the indoor cycling experience. But not every connected fitness product needs to integrate music in a way that requires a more expensive, Peloton-style license. For many other companies, a non-interactive, DMCA-compliant radio service with pre-cleared music is more than adequate.
Constrained by tighter budgets, some connected fitness companies started looking for alternatives to their original licenses. Today's connected fitness CEOs tend to be most concerned about the cost and complexity of music licensing and the likelihood of being sued, says Jeff Yasuda, founder/CEO of Feed.fm, a provider of licensed music to connected fitness companies such as Hydrow, Tonal, Future and Ergatta. Being able to use popular music in their apps isn't a priority.
“For a fitness company, your job is to make the best jumping jack app on the planet,” says Yasuda. Making a mistake handling music rights would put a company in jeopardy of facing lawsuits brought by music rights holders. “It's just not worth the risk,” he says.
Feed.fm assures clients that the rights are compatible with various laws in different countries. It provides pre-cleared catalogs from Warner Music Group, Insomniac Music Group and A Train Entertainment, and it works with record labels to create thematic stations, including one curated by CYRIL, a recording artist for Warner-owned Spinnin' Records, and a Brat-inspired station featuring Charlie xcx, Dua Lipa, Chappell Roan and other artists that represent the brat summer of 2024. A rights holder itself, Feed.fm has signed 40 to 50 artists, which its vp of music affairs, Bryn Boughton, says gives it greater flexibility in licensing.
Outsourcing the licensing ultimately saves fitness companies money, says Con Raso, co-founder/managing director of Australia-based Tuned Global. Raso's pitch to fitness companies is to invest money in marketing and let companies like Tuned Global handle the technology. “We don't think, unless you're doing it on a massive scale, you're going to save money,” he says. Raso estimates that Tuned Global can remove 70% of clients' costs versus licensing music and managing rights themselves.
Beyond traditional fitness apps, there's big potential for licensing ambient or mood music for a new wave of mental health-focused apps. In the last six months, Raso has seen an uptick in demand for licensed music from companies more broadly associated with health and medical care. Consumers have a wide choice of apps for yoga, meditation, mindfulness and sleeping that incorporate music. Led by companies such as Calm, the market for spiritual wellness apps hit $2.16 billion in 2024, according to Researchandmarkets.com, and will grow nearly 15% annually to $4.84 billion by 2030. Record labels have already made forays into this space. Universal Music Group, for example, formed a partnership in 2021 with MedRhythms, which uses software and music to restore functions lost to neurological disease or injury.
The COVID-era boom of connected fitness products, though, seems all but over, having failed to live up to lofty expectations. Chalk it up to the chaotic nature of the pandemic and fast-moving startups battling for market share, says Nauman. “I don't think it's anybody's fault,” she says. “I think it was such a lightning-in-a-bottle time that they were in a race to get to market as fast as they possibly could.”
Additional reporting by Liz Dilts Marshall.
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By Nellie Andreeva
Co-Editor-in-Chief, TV
We have a broadcast pickup — but not the kind one would expect the week before the upfronts. ABC has given a pilot order to RJ Decker, a drama from Elementary creator Rob Doherty based on the 1987 novel Double Whammy by Carl Hiaasen.
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While atypical for the traditional broadcast development cycle, the timing is consistent with ABC's own model, which involves 1-3 spring pilot pickups for midseason consideration. This marks the network's first pilot greenlight in 2025 so far. As Deadline reported in our Pilot Season 2025 report in March, RJ Decker had been a leading drama contender at ABC.
Paul McGuigan (Will Trent) has come on board to direct the RJ Decker pilot from a script by Doherty. The drama centers on the eponymous RJ Decker, a disgraced newspaper photographer and ex-con who starts over as a private investigator in the colorful-if-crime-filled world of South Florida, tackling cases that range from slightly odd to outright bizarre with the help of his journalist ex, her police detective wife, and a shadowy new benefactor, a woman from his past who could be his greatest ally … or his one-way ticket back to prison.
Doherty is executive producing RJ Decker alongside his Elementary executive producers Carl Beverly and Sarah Timberman of Timberman-Beverly Productions as well as McGuigan and Hiaasen. 20th Television is the studio.
The works of Florida native Hiaasen, who started his career as a newspaper reporter, have become a hot commodity. The pilot order for RJ Decker follows the first Hiaasen series adaptation, Bill Lawrence's Bad Monkey, starring Vince Vaughn, for Apple TV+, which has been renewed for a second season. Lawerence also has a series based on Hiaasen's Skinny Dip in the works at Max. Hiaasen is repped by CAA.
Doherty was creator, executive producer and showrunner of CBS' modern Sherlock Holmes adaptation Elementary, which aired for seven seasons. Before that, he served as co-showrunner and executive producer of Medium. Doherty is repped by UTA and attorney Ken Richman at HJTH.
McGuigan has a strong track record as pilot director for such hit ABC dramas as Will Trent and Scandal as well as the opening episodes of Marvel's Luke Cage for Netflix, Lifetime's Devious Maids and ABC/Netflix's Designated Survivor. He is repped by WME and Curtis Brown in the UK.
Timberman and Beverly are repped by UTA, Adam Berkowitz of Lenore Entertainment Group and attorneys Bruce Gelman and Jeff Finkelstein.
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For decades, the studios have churned out movies that celebrated truth, justice and the American way. Now, as Donald Trump attacks allies, tears down democratic institutions and cozies up to dictators, U.S. exceptionalism is a hard sell onscreen.
By
Patrick Brzeski
Asia Bureau Chief
From postwar liberation to Cold War supremacy, U.S. soft power has never been more potent than when projected onto a movie screen. For decades, Hollywood cast the American hero — from Rick Blaine to John McClane, Rocky Balboa, Ethan Hunt and Captain America — as the planet's natural protagonist: the first responder to global chaos, the last line of defense against tyranny. But as Pax Americana begins to wane, with Donald Trump undercutting allies, eroding the rule of law and cozying up to autocrats, the studios face a question novel to their long history: Are American heroes still appealing — or even plausible — to vast swaths of the world?
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“The Trump administration has initiated a shock and awe campaign — only this time, against our allies. Has it changed the minds of many around the world about us? Yes, and justifiably,” says Kal Raustiala, a professor of law and international relations at UCLA. “Allies are stunned, confused and much more wary of us today — and that is likely to translate into how their euros or yen are spent in their downtime. We are already seeing this in tourism. It would be a surprise if it didn't also create some blowback toward the screen.”
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In its most recent quarterly survey, published March 4, research firm YouGov found that opinion of the U.S. in Europe since Trump's election had plummeted to its lowest level on record — and this was before the president's “Liberation Day” tariffs escalated aggression toward the bloc's economies. There's currently no country in Europe where more than half of the population has a positive attitude toward the U.S. From August 2024 to February 2025, favorability in Germany fell from 52 percent to 32 percent, and in Denmark — amid Trump's threats to overtake Greenland by force — positive views of the U.S. slid to 20 percent.
“Historically, Hollywood has played a double role in U.S. soft power: It gave the country global relevance as a source of popular culture that was attractive in its own right, and it also presented an attractive ethical system and way of life that was distinct from that experienced elsewhere,” says Nicholas Cull, a professor of public diplomacy at USC's Annenberg School. “Hollywood told the world about the importance of democracy and the rule of law even as it showcased the prosperity that American-style capitalism delivered to ordinary citizens.”
Notes a veteran European producer, “Most Europeans grew up on these images of the heroic cowboy or American soldier coming to the rescue, but that looks quite a bit different with a Trump government that is cuddling up with Russia.”
As with the full impact of Trump's tariffs in other sectors, it will take some time to assess the damage his administration's hostile actions and rhetoric have wrought on American content's appeal across borders. The studios' slow start to 2025 offers limited benchmarks so far.
Disney and Marvel's Captain America: Brave New World had problems more urgent than the geopolitical context of its release (as indicated by its B- CinemaScore), but its namesake certainly didn't help it in territories around the world, industry insiders say. Since its Feb. 14 release, Brave New World has earned 51.7 percent of its $415 million worldwide box office total overseas, compared to an average of 60.7 percent from offshore sales for the first three films in the franchise.
“There's going to be some discounting, which is not good for a business that's already very challenged,” says Noah Segal, co-president of Elevation Pictures, a leading Canadian indie distributor. “I certainly don't think we'll see a heroic U.S. war film right now — and if we do, it's probably going to be divisive,” he adds.
How much interest international viewers will continue to have in popular streaming series about the sacrifices of U.S. spies and diplomats who are dedicated to upholding democratic ideals — like Netflix's The Diplomat and The Night Agent or Michael Fassbender's The Agency for Paramount+ — remains to be seen.
“International buyers might begin to become wary of the Yellowstone-style, all-American series and films,” notes an exec at a leading European film sales company, adding: “Buyers in a number of countries are more critical of America and American culture than I've ever seen.”
The U.S. film industry, of course, isn't in the business of propaganda. Many of the most treasured classics of 20th century American filmmaking were explicit critiques of U.S. foreign policy, from Dr. Strangelove to The Deer Hunter. Somewhat paradoxically, though, such works simultaneously enhanced international admiration for the American way of life.
Explains UCLA's Raustiala: “When Hollywood began to more directly criticize U.S. foreign policy — films like Apocalypse Now or Coming Home, which both tackled Vietnam — they bolstered American soft power by showing that open dissent and critique were possible. This was something the Soviets, for instance, would never permit. Our relatively free society was on display for all to see in these films.”
The studios haven't made dramas that take on overtly political themes for the better part of a generation, though. The unfortunate fate of last year's Trump biopic The Apprentice speaks to the genre's challenges.
The film premiered to rave reviews and an eight-minute standing ovation in Cannes on its way to becoming an awards-season breakout, scoring two Oscar nominations — for Sebastian Stan, playing Trump, and Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn. But no major studio or streamer stepped up to distribute the movie. Those close to the film alleged the majors had succumbed to self-censorship, fearful that putting The Apprentice in theaters worldwide might invite an angry reprisal of some kind from weaponized Trump administration regulators or investigators. In any case, few doubted that the movie would have driven massive global engagement had it been picked up by Netflix (which passed on the film) and made available in the midst of the 2024 U.S. election. There was also decidedly little for the world to admire about the U.S. and its vaunted ideals in the episode.
In truth, the U.S. studios' aversion to political nerve or principle is nothing new. They began scrubbing their biggest films of discernible American nationalism and explicit commitments to human rights and democracy more than a decade ago. The goal was pragmatic: to ensure smooth access to China's once-booming but tightly controlled theatrical market. But the subtle kowtowing nonetheless proved insufficient when geopolitical tensions intensified. After Trump launched his first trade war with China in 2017 — just as Chinese commercial filmmaking was rapidly improving — local audiences began turning away from U.S. blockbusters. Today, Marvel tentpoles earn about one-tenth of what they once did in the country.
Ironically, from one point of view, the studios' internalized institutional practice of keeping their escapist product ideologically neutral at all costs could serve them well in the current, fraught moment. As long as it doesn't have “America” in the title, the superhero film will likely remain relatively easy for global viewers to disassociate from Trump's America First movement. Even Tom Cruise's final outing as American spy Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible— The Final Reckoning is expected to trade more on global nostalgia than on any reflection of today's geopolitical reality — or so many industry insiders seem to hope and believe.
But as Hollywood largely avoids the visceral emotions elicited by Trumpism, international industries are leaning into it.
Elevation Pictures is doubling down on homegrown Canadian storytelling, looking to harness the rising “elbows up” sentiment provoked by Trump's tariffs and his insulting “51st state” remarks. “There's definitely going to be a lift in Canadian content — and I assume something similar will happen across other international markets,” says Segal, noting that the company is even considering adding a “Made in Canada” label to all of its local film marketing.
Trump's disdain for classic neoliberal U.S. soft power — and for the values and institutions that uphold it — is likely to hurt American interests in just the same way his tariff regime and utter ignorance of real-world trade theory do.
“The movie business is always looking for something new, and this sensation of global outrage is very real,” says Segal. “It's not going to help the U.S. industry. Others around the world are going to seize the opportunity. It's going to internationalize the film business.”
Adds Sabine de Mardt, president of the German division of French studio Gaumont, in a recent interview with THR: “A certain narrative — the great American dream narrative, the one that we in Western Europe used to so closely identify with — is being questioned and reconsidered. There's a new opportunity to strengthen our European identity, and I am really looking forward to that.”
This story appeared in the May 7 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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By
Rob Sheffield
In case you had any doubts, André 3000 is living his — or anyone's — best life. Instead of doing what people want or expect, he's out here following his muse wherever it takes him. In 7 Piano Sketches, he goes for almost literally the last thing you'd predict from one of the greatest rappers ever: 16 minutes of improvised doodles, mostly recorded at home in 2013, with his iPhone sitting on the piano. “I'd rather go amateur interesting than master boring,” André told Rolling Stone last year, and he lives up to that motto on 7 Piano Sketches. There's a true ATLien spirit in releasing this to the public, with the label, “Warning: No Bars.”
Like spaceships, pianos don't come equipped with rear-view mirrors, and that's the whole point here. He's stepping free of the OutKast legacy, so he can start from scratch in a spirit of pure discovery. No goals, no expectations. Like his surprise 2023 flute album New Blue Sun, it's a playfully enjoyable exercise in spiritual renewal by heading into the unknown, lost in music. As he describes it in his notes, it's a “palette cleanser.”
André dropped 7 Piano Sketches as a total shocker on Monday night, at the same time he was attending the Met Gala fashion event in New York, wearing a piano strapped to his back. (He might be an amateur at his instrument, but the man's a virtuoso at rollouts.) As with his flute experiment, he takes pride in coming to his axe as a raw beginner. For a sophisticated music mastermind who once played Jimi Hendrix in a movie, it's a bold statement about doing something specifically because you don't know what you're doing.
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“I cannot name which notes, keys or chords that I'm playing,” he writes in his social-media liner notes. “I simply like the sound and mechanics of piano playing. Some of my favorite piano music composers and players that inspire me are Thelonious Monk, McCoy Tyner, Philip Glass, Stephen Sondheim, Joni Mitchell and Vince Guaraldi.”
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New Blue Sun was a lot more than a solo flute trip — he was collaborating closely with other musicians. That's not happening here. He knocked it out in a Texas house where he and his son were living with no furniture — “only a piano, our beds and tv screens.” But there was no thought of making an album. “These piano pieces weren't recorded with the intention of presenting them in any formal way to the public,” he explains. “They were personal, at home recordings. I would sometimes text them to my family and friends.”
But Three Stacks' melodic sensibility comes through loud and clear, giving the whole thing a bittersweet low-key flow, even when he's just winging it. “And then one day you'll…” is a gorgeously jazzy meditation that sounds like the music you hear in your head driving alone in the rain — you can really hear his obsession with Monk. Same with the first minute of “hotel lobby pianos,” before it takes off on the riff from Dave Brubeck's “Take Five.” (Or Pavement's “5 – 4 = Unity”?) The high points come at the end, in “off rhythm laughter,” with its eerie echo and overdubbed human chuckles, dissolving into a reverberant drone. “I spend all day waiting for the night” has a welcome hip-hop beat, which gives him something to play against.
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Nothing too complex here, obviously — André is attracted to throwaways the way driven artists often are, as an exercise to keep their artistic muscles loose and limber. His original title: The Best Worst Rap Album In History. “It's jokingly the worst rap album in history because there are no lyrics on it at all,” he explained. “It's the best because it's the free-est emotionally and best I've felt personally. It's the best because it's like a palette cleanser for me.”
So what's next? A ukelele album? A harmonica concerto? A 40-minute cello solo recorded in a rented Mazda at the Burger King drive-through? Whatever it is, it'll be exactly what André wants to try. 7 Piano Sketches is a tribute to enthusiasm for its own sake. He sat down at the piano and played around, with no thought of living up to his history — just jumping into a moment of freedom and riding it all the way through.
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Longtime HGTV star Alison Victoria is over the moon for her beau of more than a year, filmmaker Brandt Andersen. On May 6, 2025, the “Windy City Rehab” star revealed on Instagram that Andersen's critically acclaimed documentary, “The Stranger's Case,” has been picked up by film distributor Angel Studios and will be released in theaters on Christmas Day.
Captioning a series of black and white photos of them together, Victoria wrote, “My heart. My love.Watching you and seeing you fight for this film of yours is my greatest inspiration. Now it's all coming true and I can't wait for the world to see your big beating heart… on the big screen! @thestrangerscasemovie 12.25.2025″
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In between filming her HGTV shows, including her current stint as a competitor on the sixth season of “Rock the Block,” Victoria has traveled the world with Brandt, as “The Stranger's Case” was shown at various film festivals.
Andersen's producer credits, per IMDb, include “Everest” starring Jake Gyllenhaal, “Lone Survivor” starring Mark Wahlberg, “2 Guns” starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg, Martin Scorsese's “Silence” starring Adam Driver, and “American Made” starring Tom Cruise. But according to EuroNews, after Andersen worked with humanitarian agencies, he felt drawn to document life in European refugee camps.
He first wrote and directed 2020's critically-acclaimed short film “Refugee,” according to the outlet. Then, in early 2024, he made his feature film directorial debut with “The Stranger's Case,” about the chain of events that happens across families after an explosion “forever alters the lives of a Syrian family in Aleppo.” The movie made its premiere at the Berlinale Film Festival.
The movie will have a limited theatrical release on December 25, followed by a wide release in theaters January 2026, according to a press release from Angel Studios, which bills itself as a “values-based distribution company for stories that amplify light to mainstream audiences.” Its biggest box office hit was 2023's “Sounds of Freedom.”
“I am honored and grateful to partner with Angel to share ‘The Stranger's Case' with a global audience,” Andersen said in the statement. “I cannot wait for everyone to see the hard work of this amazing cast and crew on the big screen. This film is deeply personal, and I believe its message of shared humanity is more important now than ever.”
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Victoria went Instagram official with Andersen in June 2024, sharing multiple photos of them together at the Daytime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles.
Victoria was stunned and thrilled by how much media attention her first Instagram post with Andersen generated in June, telling Us Weekly a week later, “We did not think it was that big of a deal. But to me, I just love him.”
“He is the most amazing human I've ever met,” she gushed to the outlet. “I love that everybody already knew how amazing he was. And now I could just be so proud to be next to him.”
In November, she told Entertainment Tonight, “I've never felt, like, more safe. And that just is something I never have felt in my life. I've always just been someone that's like, ‘I got it. I'll do it myself.' You know? Like, forge ahead and armor up. And it's like I don't have to wear that armor with him. And I get to just be, like, my authentic, vulnerable, scared-little-girl self with him and he takes care of me.”
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Two days after Kolbi Jordan was eliminated from season 23 of “American Idol,” the 26-year-old powerhouse singer broke her silence with a touching Instagram post on May 6, 2025. Jordan, who made it to the top 10 before being cut, was showered with love by her fellow contestants and fans she's made along the way.
“After an unforgettable journey on American Idol, I'm bidding farewell to the show that helped launch a transformative chapter in my artistic journey is nothing but God's timing,” Jordan wrote. “From the first audition to the final performance, the experience has left a lasting mark—both professionally and personally.”
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When Jordan, who hails from Atlanta, auditioned for “American Idol,” she blew away judges Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, and Lionel Richie with her vocals and spunky personality as she performed “Epiphany (I'm Leaving),” a 2009 Gospel song by Chrisette Michele.
Toward the end of the season premiere on March 9, viewers saw the judges surprise Jordan with the first season 23 platinum ticket — establishing her as one of their favorite contestants and allowing her to skip the first round of competition in Hollywood.
“Auditioning for American Idol changed my life,” Jordan wrote in her May 6 post. “I'm so grateful for the chance to share my God-given gift, connect with some of the most talented musicians, stylist, vocalists, beauticians in the world, and showcase my artistry on one of the biggest stages out there.”
Jordan continued, “This journey came with its challenges—some I'm still working through—but I know God didn't bless me with this voice for no reason. I'm excited for what's next… to keep growing, creating, and stepping into everything that's ahead.”
Expressing gratitude for all who supported her journey on the show, Jordan concluded, “Thank you from the bottom of my heart for every comment, vote, and word of support. This isn't goodbye—it's just the beginning. IF YOU GOT THIS FAR! Keep watching American Idol— That's all I'll say.”
Many of Jordan's new friends from the show flooded her post with love, including top 7 contestant Gabby Samone, who wrote, “My babyyy!!! I love you!!! This experience would not have been the same without you!”
Another top 7 finalist, 17-year-old Slater Nalley, simply wrote to Jordan, “I love you”
Fellow platinum ticket winner Filo, who was cut after making the top 12, wrote, “Love you Kolbi!!! Just wait and see what God has in store for you. You deserve all the glory that's coming your way❤️”
It's likely Jordan will be back for the May 19 season finale, given that the top 10 typically returns for group performances and, potentially, collaborations with celebrity guests. A perfect pairing for Jordan would be R&B icon Patti LaBelle, whom Richie called during Jordan's audition, announcing that he'd love to see them perform together.
When Jordan walked into the audition room, she was so star struck by the judges that she launched into a story about how she once briefly met LaBelle, another one of her idols. After Jordan sang, Richie called LaBelle to have her say hello to their newest contestant, who was shaking and squealing as she spoke to the star.
“I hear you're a ‘sanger,' not a singer,” LaBelle told Jordan.
“My dream is to have the two of you singing side by side,” Richie said. “I can't even imagine what that's gonna be.”
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With seconds left before the end of the live “American Idol” episode on May 5, 2025, the judges feverishly debated which of the bottom two contestants to save in order to complete the top seven of season 23.
Host Ryan Seacrest stalled for time as 16-year-old Mattie Pruitt and 23-year-old Josh King awaited the decision. But then King did something no one expected: he forcefully nodded his head toward Pruitt, silently encouraging the judges to pick her — which, in the end, they did.
Whether King's kind gesture impacted the judges' decision isn't known, but his willingness to sacrifice his spot for Pruitt touched many fans, especially since he explicitly said earlier in the show he wanted very much to stay after performing Michael Bublé's song “Home.”
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Once the episode ended and King was sent home — to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he's an airport pianist — fans commented across social media about his last moments on the show.
“Josh rooting on Mattie and pulling for her was everything you need to know about his character and how good of a person he is,” one person wrote on Instagram.
Another person commented, “Watching @officialjoshking gesturing to the judges to save Mattie was one of the most wholesome moments I've seen in a long while. Friendship at its finest”
On a photo of King posted by the “Idol” account, over 100 people liked a comment that said, “Him leaning at Maddie was so precious!! You're a good one Josh!! ❤️”
“You had a great performance,” another fan wrote to King, “but my heart exploded when you kept motioning for the judges to pick Maddy! That was so selfless! You have a bright future ahead of you Josh!”
“Josh King is nothing but class,” someone else tweeted. “In his singing and his heart.”
Leaving his “Idol” family can't be easy for King. A week prior to being sent home, he got choked up on the April 28 episode as he explained his decision to sing Celine Dion's “All By Myself,” which helped him land in the top 10. He vulnerably shared that he was lonely growing up, and that he worried the friendships he made at “American Idol” would fade post-show.
“Growing up, I was not a loner by choice, but not that many friends,” he admitted to producers. “I never had a place for me. Coming to ‘Idol' changed all that.”
“They're some of the greatest friends I've ever had, and I love them for that,” he said of his fellow contestants, getting choked up. “But it's that fear in the back of mind that once this ends and this journey ends with ‘American Idol,' that things will go to the way they used to be.”
“I want to have as many good memories with everyone for as long as possible,” he added.
During the judges' feedback, Lionel Richie told King, “I want you to believe this. Since Luke and I have been here, there has never been a class this talented, ever, for us. You will never, ever be alone again in your life. Never.”
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By
Daniel Kreps
An intrepid YouTuber has recreated Eminem's “Lose Yourself” using dialogue plucked from 331 different movies and TV shows.
The Unusual Suspect — who has previously given the “CinemaSings” treatment to wordy tracks like Billy Joel's “We Didn't Start the Fire” (257 films were needed for that one) and M.I.A.'s “Paper Planes” — uploaded the mega-montage for the Oscar-winning 8 Mile track Tuesday, complete with the video evidence of where each snippet of dialogue was culled from.
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While the clips — like Eminem's wordplay — arrive rapid-fire, among the films used in the CinemaSings “Lose Yourself” are Ferris Bueller's Day Off (a crucial “Over”), High Fidelity, Lilo & Stitch, Gangs of New York, Galaxy Quest, Blues Brothers, Spaceballs, Interview With the Vampire, Batman Returns, Point Break, Frozen (contributing a “Let it go,” naturally) and hundreds more.
In other Eminem news, the now-grandpa's documentary about superfans — titled Stans, after the 200 song that coined the term now used to describe artists' rabid fanbases — will premiere at the inaugural SXSW London Screen Festival this June. The rapper serves as producer on the film, which digs into the complicated relationship between artists and their fan bases.
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Orton will square off against his longtime rival John Cena at Backlash this Saturday night (May 10) at 7 PM EST on Peacock.
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Carl Lamarre
As the WWE continues to invade pop culture after a star-laden WrestleMania last month, headlined by Travis Scott's interference in John Cena's record-setting 17th world title triumph, one name that has RKO'd its way into the main event of these conversations is that of Randy Orton.
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Known for his brazen, bullish personality, Orton has captivated fans beyond the squared circle, courtesy of his now-viral finisher. In recent years, artists like Key Glock and Eladio Carrión have made songs honoring The Viper and his precocious move-set. Carrion went far enough to include Orton in his “RKO” video, where the WWE legend demonstrated the move first-hand, delivering it unsuspectedly to a photographer.
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“In the video, I get dressed for a wrestling match, and I'm on the pitcher's mound with Eladio, acting like an overzealous fan,” remembers Orton. “It was great because they told me that it was freezing outside. They could tell I would be miserably cold and said, ‘You don't have to put on your wrestling gear.' You can just be in regular clothes.' Then, I was like, ‘Man, but it'd be way better if I were in wrestling gear. So I did that, and I was really happy with the finished product and how they edited everything together. Eladio was great. Being part of that culture and getting the love is a great feeling.”
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After 20 years in the WWE, Orton remains an indomitable force, striking fear into the hearts of his opponents. With a Hall of Fame-caliber resume, the apex predator appears coiled and ready to strike at his next challenger, John Cena, this Saturday (May 10), at Backlash in Orton's hometown of St. Louis. Billed as a “One Last Time” match, with Cena's retirement looming, the two wrestling gods hope to deliver a slobberknocker and add a final chapter to a storybook of a rivalry.
“It's different, because I'm the good guy, and that's never been the case before — so I don't know what to expect,” Orton tells Billboard ahead of his match. “I wouldn't say I'm nervous, but I'm very excited to see, because usually I know the type of reaction I'm going to get, or at least I know the type of reaction I want. Usually, it's close to that. But with this, I don't know. They might love John. They might s–t on me and be booing me.”
He adds: “I know it's my hometown and I'm from St. Louis and I grew up here — but as far as being the hometown guy, I'm not at all the Cardinals games, or wearing the Blues jersey, and doing all that s–t. I'm a homebody. I'm not out. I have my kids and wife, and we stay to ourselves when I'm in town. It's not that I don't rep the city, but I'm not out there repping the city. So it's not like everyone is going to love me necessarily. I'm very curious to see how Saturday goes.”
Billboard spoke to Randy Orton about his potential final match with Cena, being beloved in the hip-hop community, his Mount Rushmore of female rappers, and how he managed to transcend sports entertainment with the most three dangerous letters: RKO.
You're coming off a fun WrestleMania where you took on Joe Hendry. Being a month removed from your 20th Mania, how special was that match knowing how things fell apart with your original opponent Kevin Owens?
There was a lot up in the air just a couple of things prior to Mania. Owens had the neck thing and it was starting to bug him. So once they took a closer look at that, the doctors said he was a no-go. This one was important to me because it was my 20th, and I'm closer to the end of my career than the beginning.
Getting these Manias in, and leaving as much of a legacy behind [as possible], is important. It kind of came down to, “OK. We need to get Orton an opponent. Who's it gonna be?” And there was a very short list of guys on our own roster, but we had some new guys coming in — and it was one of those things where I needed to win, but considering we knew where I was going to be going thinking about Backlash, we needed me to look good coming out of Mania. It couldn't be one of our new guys, because when we debut a new talent into the show [we couldn't] have him start with a loss.
So we put our heads together and it was actually my idea [for it to be] Joe Hendry. I kept pushing for it, and a couple people we're unsure, but I was able to talk everybody into it. I'm really glad that they went with him. It was perfect. It was different from anything else on the card. It was a legitimate surprise, and we were able to keep it a surprise for the most part. We got that really cool, “Holy s–t” moment when his music hit, and it was great. He was great. It was actually a stress-free fun Mania for me, because I didn't have this crazy 30 minutes balls-to-the-walls match with all this high-risk s–t. I had this cool little segment with Joe, and we didn't have to do much to have fun out there. So I was really able to enjoy the week and just soak it all up.
Your and Cena's final match is headlined “One Last Time.” How special is this final encounter versus previous chapters, especially knowing that the roles are reversed with you playing a good guy to John's heel character?
Well, I mean, you said it right there. We've had dozens and dozens of big matches, but it was all 10-15 years ago when he was always the good guy. They were s–tting on him for a while as a good guy. You sound like you're a fan, so you remember when the whole arena was filled up and it was “Let's go Cena, Cena sucks.” It was deafening, and I'm in there too. It didn't matter — he just brought that noise whether they loved him or hated him.
Now, it has the potential to be completely opposite of how it used to be, and the pressure is on me as the good guy. But I think being in the hometown [of St. Louis], him being the bad guy, it's just really weird. There's no way to call it — and I think the match itself will be good, but I think the energy in that arena is going to cause it to be possibly very good. It's completely up to the energy of that St. Louis crowd. So I'm hoping they're all ready to go.
There's a certain reverence behind your 2009 character that continues to live on today, especially on social media. I think I saw a post saying '09 Randy would be the one to take out that Silverback Gorilla.
That's funny to me — because back in '09, no one would have thought that, right? It's like over the course of 15, 16 years, it's become that. It's wild to me. I love all of that.
Why do you think that persona lives on and carries so much weight today?
I remember in '09, it all kinda clicked as a bad guy. I just kind of let loose and acted a little bit more crazy. Even down to the body language and stuff. But I think what it came down to was who I was facing in the ring in '09. I was booked really strong. I think I won the Rumble that year and main-evented WrestleMania with Triple H.
I did the thing where he was handcuffed and I assaulted Stephanie [McMahon] in front of him and he was an inch away. He had to sit there and watch as I messed with her. I kicked Vince in the head. I destroyed the entire McMahon family, and looked real strong doing it. I think when a company gets behind a character like that — I mean look at Roman Reigns. I think it's been 11, 12 years since they decided he was the guy, and when the company gets behind somebody, they can make that guy a star. If that's what they want, that's what they'll get. So for a chunk of '09, that was the case with me. I think it was [a matter of] being given an opportunity in '09 and I had a home run with it.
How surprised are you that the “RKO” has transcended wrestling and entered pop culture the way it has?
Yeah, I just look at it like I'm lucky. Right place, right time. I had a great fans. I met Logan Paul for the first time, and it's funny because he was a wrestling fan, but I don't think he was following it quite as much — but he was aware of what the “RKO” was. That's what he told me when I first met him, and I thought that was pretty funny. But to your point, it's kind of like transcended wrestling and me and became a thing of its own.
I think that was the [era of the] Vine app, and the kids started editing videos of me RKO'ing everybody. Whether it was maybe a toddler that fell over or someone at the alter getting married, anyone taking a bump out there, they'd put a little Randy Orton RKO out of nowhere, and it became a thing. I benefitted from it only because it made people more aware of who I was as a WWE wrestler. Whoever started that trend, man, I would love to buy them a steak dinner. [Laughs.]
Because you come from a long lineage of storied professional wrestlers, how have you embraced the celebrity aspect of wrestling when entertainers like Travis, Logan or Bad Bunny step into the ring?
You can tell right away if they're a real fan or not, because they'll know a little bit about what's going on. They'll have an idea. So, very quickly, you'll know whether they're full of s–t and they're just there for the press and they're pushing their movie or they were told to be there by their agent just for the face-time. Logan definitely wants to be there, obviously. He's just very good. He's an amazing athlete. He's charismatic. He works very hard. He's one in a million.
Bad Bunny, too. These guys that I'm naming, they'll go down to the Performance Center, they'd practice, take the bumps, and wake up sore the next day and go back. They knew it was going to be tough and was a lot harder, but they stuck with it.
Then, Bad Bunny is in the Royal Rumble one year, and then he has a match here and a match there. That s–t is hard, man — but for someone like that to be that mainstream and that well-known to come and be a part of what we're doing, and to enjoy it, what a huge crossover that is for us. The Bad Bunnys and the Logan Pauls of the world, I praise them and am thankful they grew up as wrestling fans.
How gratifying is it seeing artists like Key Glock and Eladio Carrion pay homage to your and your legacy by naming songs after you?
It's wild — and I felt the love more, and more, and more the longer that I've done it. Polo G mentions hearing voices in his head like Randy Orton. My son told me about that one a couple of years ago. I think it's “Caroline.”
But Key Glock, I was introduced to who he was because he came out with the song. I think I reached out and I got a reply and that was it. Because he's aware of who Randy Orton the wrestler is, that influenced him in some way to make a song and name it “Randy Orton.” To me, it doesn't get much cooler than that. And Eladio, of course. He came out with a song called “RKO.” It was in the hook and then he had me come out at some baseball stadium up north. It was [Citi Field] and they rented out the whole stadium. I'm RKO'ing some cat. It's like 45 degrees and I remember the day they shot the video. It's funny, if you haven't seen it, for anyone who's reading this, you gotta give it a look.
You've mentioned during your Celtic workout with Sheamus that you're a huge fan of female rappers like GloRilla, Megan Thee Stallion to even KenTheMan. What are the ladies bringing to the table that's impressed Randy Orton most?
I think it's a little bit of a lot of things, man. These women can f–king rap. It's a little risqué, and I'm bumping it loud. I have a nice system in my home gym and when I'm working out, I'm playing Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, GloRilla, KenTheMan, every one I name [from the Sheamus workout video]. Baby Tate, Nicki Minaj, Bia.
There's a rapper from Italy and she was at the show. I didn't meet her or anything. They just went to her and did a live shot. I forget where we were in Italy, but her name was Anna Pepe. I looked her up and she's great. I put her on the playlist. There's a Spanish girl. Snow Tha Product. There's always a bad-ass bassline in the back. It's just fun to workout to, but I like a little bit of everything, too. I grew up on classic rock. My dad used to have that playing. Zeppelin, Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Styx, Rush, but then in high school, Nirvana, Metallica, all that s–t.
My first rap cassette tape that I got, I was like 11, 12, 13, early '90s, was LL Cool J, “I'm Bad.” [Starts rapping] ‘No rapper can rap quite like I can/ I'll take a muscle-bound man and put his face in the sand,” I remember going to bed listening to that s–t and just fell in love with it. 2 Chainz, Lil Wayne, Kendrick, Mac Miller, Eminem and there's so many different artists on the playlist that sometimes I'll throw Pandora on and I won't even know who I'm hearing, but I'm digging it. I love a little bit of everything, man.
Who's in your Mount Rushmore for female rappers?
I think Cardi and Nicki have to be up there. F–k. Megan and GloRilla.
That's a hard four.
That's a nice team right there.
Just make sure Sexyy doesn't hear that.
Ah, man. You know what? I get in trouble with my wife if I play her songs in the gym. [Laughs.]
You can't play that loud. You gotta have it in the headphones.
I got to meet Sexyy at an NXT show in October and my wife and kids were there. She was great, and of course she's from St. Louis. I don't know who I'd take off, but maybe we'll do a top five an throw Sexyy in there, too.
You have arguably one of the best entrance music themes of all-time. Do you remember when you first realized that the song was actually bigger than you could have ever imagined it would be?
I didn't know, man. I mean, how do ya? Because it's a little slower and I know the guys who sing it hate hearing me say this, but it wasn't ever my absolute favorite. Matter of fact, I was going to change my music coming back from my back surgery in late 2023. We ended up making the decision to keep it, and we were going to change it when I got into something big or turned heel. Then, we go to Leon, France and I think it was a year ago that we were there — and I mean, everything changed. The whole place was singing my song word-for-word, and from that point forward, every venue, every show, no matter where we're at, more or less, the crowd is singing or at least trying to sing to my song. I ain't changing it now. It took 16, 17 years, however long I had that song, but they're finally singing it. Hell yeah.
Seth [Rollins] comes out and the place goes wild and I'm thinking, “Man. I wish I had a song like that where the crowd went nuts.” Now, I'm closer to having that. Some times are louder than others, but overseas, come on — it gets insane with how loud those guys get singing that song. Back to your question, no, I didn't think it was going to be as big of a song and work out well for me. As a matter of fact, I thought we could do better. But now, at this point, I'm feeling it more than I've ever before, because that crowd is finally singing along and feeling it too.
There have been talks about Seth Rollins' new faction and how it could potentially mirror Evolution — with him being Triple H, Paul Heyman being Rich Flair and Bron Breakker being Batista. If you could fantasy book a young wrestler to be the Randy Orton of the group, who would it be and why?
Gosh. That's a tough-ass question. So, you got a kid in NXT named Miles [Borne]. A lot of people compare me to him, and I guess he's got some mannerisms. Maybe there's a little bit of how we look similar, so his name pops up right away. I've seen him work, and he's a badass in the ring. He'd be up there.
But I've always been an Austin Theory fan. I feel like he just needed to mature a little bit — just like we all do 'cause he started young — but starting that young and having that much going for you, you're ahead of the game. Now that he's becoming a man — so to speak before our eyes — I could see him finding who he is in that ring and settling down and being the fourth member for a group like that. And I did hear they're comparing that new faction to Evolution, and all I can say is that I'm honored. That's awesome. I love that they're still talking about stuff that I've done 20 years ago today. I take pride in that.
Last question. When I had my first conversation with Cody Rhodes two years ago, if you two were to wrestle today, he were consider it a “first-time-ever match.” Flipping the question onto you, what would a match between you and Cody present-day look like, knowing the history between you both?
I think at the very, very least, you're looking at two guys who are equals in the ring. When he was younger and we had a few matches — I might have been his first match when he got called up, if I remember correctly. I think things would go a lot differently in this day in age then they did back then.
I'm very proud of Cody. We were really close when he came in. He used to drive the car and I'd trust him behind the wheel, 'cause I'm not the best night time driver. I was doing my thing, and Cody got me town-to-town safely, and what a good kid. All we did was talk wrestling, and I know he's got the heart for it.
That's another thing — and I'm not s–tting on NXT in any way shape or form — but you have a lot of athletes coming from these D-1, D-2 schools, and they have this new program. I think it's an amazing program, but they're not necessarily wrestling fans. They don't necessarily know who Stone Cold Steve Austin is, or The Undertaker.
I think knowing that Cody is one of the last guys that has done it all, been all over, seen the independents, and has a love for this business, not because of who his family is, but because he truly loves it — I think there's a lot of guys who have come and gone that were fans and might say they love it, but I think Cody, this is his life. I think he's going to do, and he has done, whatever he needed to do to get into this position he's in now ,and it's very fulfilling for me to see him reach that level.
So yeah, me and Cody in the ring, it would be a match with two equals going at it. I think the storytelling capabilities that we have — even though the stuff with Roman, with Brock and with John was great — it would blow all of that s–t out of the water. When the time comes for me and Cody to tell that story, I think it'll blow anything out of the water.
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Among the many challenges in the world streaming, one of the most persistent is discovery. We've all spent an hour scrolling through thumbnails to find something you and your partner can actually agree upon to watch. Now Netflix believe generative artificial intelligence can help with that process.
Netflix announced on Wednesday its latest overhaul of its TV homepage. While many of the changes are aesthetic and designed to make it easier to find information you need or the My List tab, it's also partnering with OpenAI on a chatbot that will give you recommendations based on prompts in simple sentences. You can say, “I want something funny and upbeat,” and it will give you some options. We'll be waiting for the person who goes viral when that prompt inevitably tells you to watch “Adolescence” or “Baby Reindeer.”
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But the TV homepage will also now have TikTok-style reels that offer short-form clips if you're browsing on mobile, vertical video shorts that you can swipe through or add something directly to your My List if you like what you see or share it with a friend.
The other improved features are simply more visible shortcuts, better real-time recommendations, and elevated design. The new features will be rolled out in the next couple weeks and months as a beta version on iOS devices for now.
In a presentation touting the changes, Chief Product Officer Eunice Kim and Chief Technology Officer Elizabeth Stone showed how Netflix's TV homepage has evolved dramatically over the years.
“One of the reasons I joined (and why I stay) is because this company has always had a unique ability to marry incredible tech with incredible entertainment. That's our superpower,” Stone said. “Obviously, everything starts with great shows and movies that people love. But if you think about all of the areas where Netflix has a big advantage — our reach, our recommendations, our fandom — tech enables all those things.”
Check out a video of all the new features demoed here.
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By
Jon Blistein
Ye (fka Kanye West) spent approximately three minutes doing an interview with Piers Morgan before storming off, which, to be fair, is probably about as long as we'd want to spend talking to Piers Morgan.
Which is not to say that, in this instance — to paraphrase the tweet — you gotta hand it to him. Ye's exit was prompted by a dispute about social media followers, and preceded by a hilariously contentious exchange with Morgan about the views in Majorca and some not-so-thinly veiled comments from Ye about “being attacked by the banks.”
Ye's appearance on Uncensored got off to a rip-roaringly stupid start when Morgan asked how he was doing and Ye replied, “I mean, you see that view? … Judge it on the view, as the answer to how my life is. Judge me by the view.”
Morgan then suggested the serene Balearic view behind him was in stark contrast to the tumult that's engulfed the rapper/mogul/troll's life over the past few years. It was a remark that successfully piqued Ye into his first little diatribe: “I already disagree,” he said. “It's not in contrast, there's so many people and artists that are championing the idea of someone being able to just express who they really are, and have been able to go through the war of being attacked by the banks, being attacked, you know, by the banks — that's the best way to put it. Being attacked by the banks, and to still be here with this view is, you know, that's the win. So I think that's — I'm in contrast to your contrast.”
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Impressively, the veteran journalist Morgan did not run with the follow-up that many would find obvious in light of Ye's longstanding history of antisemitic comments and ask him what he meant by “the banks.” Rather, he managed to inadvertently derail his interview by getting Ye's follower numbers on X wrong. Morgan said 32 million, to which Ye fired back, “Look right now, you're not gonna take inches off my dick, bro. How many followers do I have?” (That Ye knew 32 million was wrong immediately is extremely unsurprising.)
After Morgan confirmed that the correct number was actually 33 million followers, Ye leaned in one last time, spouting, “I'm a gift, bro. Why do all you people in media act like you haven't played my songs at your weddings or graduations or funerals or when your child was born? … It just shows the hate you put out for people that put love, there's so much love.”
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When Morgan tried to interject that he had no idea what Ye was talking about, Ye returned to the pressing issue of the incorrect X followers: “Now you're not taking accountability or responsibility. This is what you get for now. We can circle back when you can count.”
Ye then got up and left, leaving Morgan to spend the next 10 minutes or so talking to the popular/controversial social media personality, Sneako. To which we must paraphrase another tweet: we ain't watching all that, happy for you though, or sorry that happened.
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Could Sydney Sweeney be a murderer, and if so, would her mother Julianne Moore even care?
Such are the questions at the center of the highly-anticipated Apple Original Film “Echo Valley,” directed by “Beast” and “Encounter” filmmaker Michael Pearce and written by “Mare of Easttown” scribe Brad Inglesby. Sweeney stars as Claire, the troubled daughter of Kate (Moore), who shows up on her doorstep covered in someone else's blood. “As Kate pieces together the shocking truth of what happened, she learns just how far a mother will go to try to save her child in this gripping tale of love, sacrifice and survival,” the logline reads. The film is set on the secluded Echo Valley Farm in Pennsylvania, with the tagline teasing that the feature is a “heart-pounding thriller about just how far a mother will go to save her child.”
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Kyle MacLachlan, Edmund Donovan, Domnhall Gleeson, and Fiona Shaw co-star. “Echo Valley” is produced by Ridley Scott's Scott Free Films and The Walsh Company, with Michael Pruss, Ingelsby, and Kevin Walsh for The Walsh Company under his multi-year Apple TV+ producing deal. Pruss and Ingelsby developed the script together. The film will be executive produced by Scott Greenberg, Scott Free's Rebecca Feuer, and Nicole Jordan-Webber. Erika Olde and Sam Roseme will also executive produce through Black Bicycle Entertainment. Tanja Tawadjoh will co-produce.
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Sweeney told Vanity Fair that she watched hundreds of YouTube videos of addicts interviewed on Los Angeles' Skid Row to prepare to play Claire. She also drew from personal encounters with addicts as well. “I've had a lot of family members deal with addiction and then struggle with similar issues as Claire and her friends, and her group that she hangs out with,” Sweeney said. “I've kind of had firsthand experience with it. I mean, there's a manipulation underneath a lot of it. But when there was love in the air in the room, you truly still felt it. The person that they are at the core, as buried as they might be, is still there.”
Director Pearce credited Sweeney for going all out for the role, saying, “It's kind of spooky how quickly she can get to a very raw emotional place when you call ‘action,' and she's just straight away exactly where the character needs to be. Which is often a very place of extreme emotional duress. Then you'd call cut and maybe change your lens, and she's very light. You'd call ‘action' again, and she's straight there in a matter of seconds.”
Pearce continued, “The way that she was screaming at Julianne, I thought she was going to burst her eardrum. It was so intense. But as soon as we called ‘cut,' they were just laughing. They were just so happy to get their teeth stuck into such a meaty scene.”
And co-lead Moore hinted at just how twisted the film is: “These are my favorite kinds of movies: movies about relationships,” Moore said. “What will people do for one another? What kind of decisions do you make? How far will you go? I'm kind of curious what the reaction will be,” she says. “There will be a sense, certainly, among parents going, like, ‘well, would I do that? How far would I go?' You're left with those questions.”
“Echo Valley” premieres June 13 on Apple TV+. Check out the trailer below.
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By Matt Grobar
Senior Film Reporter
Focus Features has debuted the first trailer for Honey Don't!, its dark comedy reuniting Margaret Qualley with filmmaker Ethan Coen on the heels of last year's Drive-Away Dolls.
Slated for release in theaters on August 22nd, Honey Don't! sees Qualley take on the titular role of Honey O'Donahue, a small-town private investigator who delves into a series of strange deaths tied to a mysterious church.
Aubrey Plaza and Chris Evans also feature prominently in the cast, which additionally includes Charlie Day, Billy Eichner, Lera Abova, Jacnier, Gabby Beans, Talia Ryder, Kristen Connolly, Lena Hall, Don Swayze, Josh Pafchek, Kale Browne, Alexander Carstoiu, and Christian Antidormi.
Described as being in the same tonal vein as Drive-Away Dolls, Honey Don't! shot in New Mexico last year. We were first to report on the project. It's set to have its world premiere in the Midnight Screenings section of this year's Cannes Film Festival and will be released internationally by Universal Pictures International.
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Coen directed from his script written with wife Tricia Cooke, the veteran editor who has cut such Coen Brothers classics as The Big Lebowski and O Brother, Where Art Thou?, also co-writing Drive-Away Dolls.
Producers on the project are Coen, Cooke, Robert Graf and Working Title's Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. Watch the trailer above.
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The ‘Parks and Recreation' star and co-creator will both be writers and EPs on the series along with J.J. Philbin.
By
Rick Porter
Television Business Editor
Peacock is staging a Parks and Recreation reunion of sorts — though it will be set far from Pawnee.
Parks and Rec star Amy Poehler and co-creator Mike Schur are reteaming for the first time since their NBC show ended in 2015 on a comedy called Dig, which Peacock has ordered to series. Poehler is set to star and executive produce alongside Schur and J.J. Philbin (Only Murders in the Building, Single Parents); all three will serve as writers on the show.
Dig, from Universal Television (where both Schur and Poehler have overall deals), is based on the novel Excavations by Kate Myers. The logline reads, “Four women working at an archeological dig in Greece are at wildly different crossroads in their lives. When the team uncovers a long-buried secret with the potential to rewrite history, they find themselves at the center of a high-stakes international conspiracy.”
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The show will also mark Poehler's first ongoing role in a live-action series since Parks and Rec. The Emmy winner voiced Joy in last year's Inside Out 2 from Pixar; her other recent credits include Fox's animated series Duncanville (which she also co-created), Chelsea Peretti's First Time Female Director and Netflix's movie Wine Country. She also hosts the podcast Good Hang from The Ringer.
The show also marks the first time married couple Schur and Philbin have teamed on a half-hour series. They previously worked together at Saturday Night Live in the late 1990s.
Schur (via his Fremulon banner), Poehler (via Paper Kite Productions) and Philbin executive produce Dig with Morgan Sackett, Dave Becky and David Miner of 3 Arts, Sharon Jackson of Ocean Avenue, and Paper Kite's Kate Arend and Jordan Grief. Excavations author Myers is a co-EP.
Poehler is repped by WME, 3 Arts, Ocean Avenue and Sloane Offer. Schur is with UTA, 3 Arts and Hansen Jacobson. Philbin is repped by UTA and Rise Management. Myers is repped by CAA and Claire Friedman at Inkwell Management.
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Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson also star in director Francis Lawrence's dystopian feature that hits theaters later this year from Lionsgate.
By
Ryan Gajewski
Senior Entertainment Reporter
Mark Hamill oversees a deadly journey in the trailer for the film adaptation of Stephen King‘s The Long Walk.
Director Francis Lawrence‘s dystopian thriller movie hits theaters Sept. 12 from Lionsgate. Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Roman Griffin Davis and Judy Greer round out the cast.
The Long Walk focuses on an annual contest in which 100 teen boys set out on the titular journey that requires them to maintain a quick pace. The walk ends with just a single survivor.
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In the trailer, the teens are directed to keep moving along “until there's only one of you left.”
Lawrence helmed the feature from a script by JT Mollner (Strange Darling). The film adapts King's 1979 novel of the same name that was originally published under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman. Serving as producers are Lawrence, Roy Lee, Steven Schneider and Cameron MacConomy.
Hamill, Jonsson and Lawrence debuted the movie's first footage during Lionsgate's CinemaCon presentation last month. “The premise alone is nightmare-inducing, but it's good to get out of your comfort zone,” Hamill told the crowd about working on the project. The actor also reflected on playing the project's villain: “If you can't be the hero, there's nothing better than being the villain. If you get booed and people hate your guts, then you've done your job.”
Additionally, Lawrence explained that he had been a longtime fan of the source material and was drawn to the memorable premise. “You can imagine yourself in the shoes of one of the boys,” the director noted.
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Margaret Qualley is back on the road with Ethan Coen after “Drive–Away Dolls.” The actress leads cowriters Coen and co-writer Tricia Cooke‘s latest dark comedy “Honey Don't!” as the titular Honey, who is investigating a local cult.
Chris Evans stars as the religious leader at the center of Qualley's investigation, while Aubrey Plaza plays a key “mystery woman.” Charlie Day, Billy Eichner, and Talia Ryder co-star. The ensemble also includes Lera Abova, Jacnier, Gabby Beans, Kristin Connolly, Lena Hall, Don Swayze, Josh Pafchek, Kale Brown, Alexander Carstoiu, and Christin Antidormi.
The official “Honey Don't!” synopsis reads: “Honey O'Donahue is a small-town private investigator who delves into a series of strange deaths tied to a mysterious church.”
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“Honey Don't!” is set in Bakersfield, California, though it was shot in New Mexico. The feature is produced by Coen, Cooke, Robert Graf, Tim Bevan, and Eric Fellner, and will debut at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. The project was first announced in 2024.
Qualley previously told IndieWire that she was more than excited to reunite with Coen and Cooke. “I just love Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke so damn much and love being on their set. I can can hardly put into words how special making that movie was for me and working with Aubrey Plaza, who is one of my favorite actors and people of all time.”
“Drive-Away Dolls” was Ethan Coen's first narrative feature sans his brother Joel Coen, who also made his solo debut with “The Tragedy of Macbeth” in 2021. Ethan Coen recently teased a Coen Brothers reunion to Empire magazine, saying he and brother Joel Coen are “working on writing something” together after a creative split in 2018.
“Nothing happened, certainly nothing dramatic,” Ethan said at the time. “You start out when you're a kid and you want to make a movie. Everything's enthusiasm and gung-ho, let's go make a movie. And the first movie is just loads of fun. And then the second movie is loads of fun, almost as much fun as the first. And after 30 years, not that it's no fun, but it's more of a job than it had been.”
He added, “Going our own separate ways sounds like it suggests it might be final. But none of this stuff happened definitively. None of the decisions are definitive. We might make another movie.”
“Honey Don't!” premieres August 22 in theaters from Focus Features. Check out the trailer below.
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By Nellie Andreeva
Co-Editor-in-Chief, TV
EXCLUSIVE: Apple TV+ has greenlighted The Wanted Man, an eight-episode thriller drama starring Hugh Laurie (House, The Night Manager) from Hijack co-creator George Kay, New Pictures (The Long Shadow) and Kay's Observatory Pictures.
Thandiwe Newton (Westworld), Fionn Whitehead (Dunkirk), Gina McKee (My Policeman), Hazel Doupe (Say Nothing), Blitz star Elliott Heffernan and Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones) also star in the series,created, written and executive produced by Kay.
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The Wanted Man charts the rise and fall of Felix Carmichael (Laurie), the elusive and powerful head of notorious British crime syndicate ‘The Capital.' Untouchable for twenty years, Carmichael is finally apprehended, but while he's held in the infamous Staplehurst prison, it becomes clear that he's been betrayed by one of his own. As the traitor moves to dismantle the empire he has built, Carmichael must risk everything in a daring escape. Willing to stop at nothing to take his revenge, if he succeeds, he'll be a wanted man once more.
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Newton is believed to be playing a single mother, with Heffernan as her son. McKee is believed to be playing Felix's wife, Dillane his older brother.
This marks SAG Award and Golden Globe winner Laurie's return to Apple TV+ where he most recently starred on Season 3 of Tehran.
The Wanted Man is co-produced by New Pictures and Kay's Observatory Pictures. Kay, who also serves as showrunner, executive produces alongside Willow Grylls (The Missing) and Matt Sandford (The Long Shadow). The series is directed Jakob Verbruggen (The Fall).
The Wanted Man is Apple TV+'s latest drama out of U.K., joining Hijack, starring and executive produced by Idris Elba, Slow Horses, headlined by Gary Oldman, and the upcoming Down Cemetery Road, starring Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson, among others.
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By
Nikki McCann Ramirez
President Donald Trump's meme coin is already a thing that shouldn't exist, much less as a vehicle for foreign entities to funnel money to the sitting president, yet here we are.
According to a Wednesday report from Bloomberg, over half of the top holders of $TRUMP — a personal cryptocurrency token established days before his inauguration — are likely foreign buyers, who have dumped millions into the project.
And likely not without motive. Last month, the token announced that Trump would be hosting an exclusive May 22 dinner for about 200 of $TRUMP's largest investors at his Washington, D.C., golf club, leading to a flurry of purchases. According to Bloomberg, “76 percent of the token value held among the top 220 wallets likely belongs to foreign owners because the wallets used exchanges that are not available to U.S. residents.” According to a separate analysis by The Washington Post, roughly $100 million worth of tokens were purchased after the dinner was announced.
$TRUMP's existence as a piggy bank through which so-far anonymous entities from across the globe can dump untold amounts of cash into the president's coffers in exchange for exclusive access to his time is a pretty clear cut case of corruption. According to an analysis published by the Associated Press earlier this week, the coin has already generated over $320 million in transaction fees for its creators.
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The president's crypto coin is by no means a safe investment. A Tuesday report from NBC News found that of the approximately two million crypto wallets that purchased $TRUMP, around 764,000 lost money on their investment. Just 58 wallets account for roughly $1.1 billion in value gains, each making more than $10 million on their investment.
“The sitting president appears to be selling personal cryptocurrency while in office, granting access to people who buy it, and thereby enriching his business and his family. It's gobsmacking,” Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) told Politico on Wednesday. “I'd like to hear one Republican senator defend it. Any self-respecting Congress would demand an accounting of everyone trading this coin who has any business before the government.”
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Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct.), ranking Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, issued letters to Fight Fight Fight LLC and World Liberty Financial — the two primary business entities of the Trump family's growing crypto empire — notifying them that the committee is “conducting a preliminary inquiry into potential conflicts of interest and violations of the law from President Trump's cryptocurrency venture.”
“Donald Trump is selling cryptocurrency like snake oil in the Wild West, and he's put a for sale sign on the White House for his meme coin,” Blumenthal told USA Today. “People in America deserve to know how he is potentially under the influence of foreign governments and investors who are buying his crypto assets.”
On Tuesday, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Ct.) introduced the Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement (MEME) Act, which would prohibit the president, vice president, other members of the executive branch and members of Congress and their families from launching meme coins or financially benefiting from other types of cryptocurrency schemes.
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“Trump's meme coin [is] the most unethical, most corrupt thing a president of the United States has ever done,” Murphy said in a video announcing the legislation. “It's essentially a way for any corporate CEO, any Saudi prince, any foreign oligarch who has business before the Trump administration to send Trump money privately, secretly, and then whisper to the Trump administration about how much money they've sent and the favor that they need.”
“No member of the executive branch, no member of Congress, should be able to profit off of their position — and certainly we should not allow for these secret ways for very powerful, very rich people to be able to send money to a member of Congress or the President of the United States,” he said. “This is a common sense bill and we should just get it done.”
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Check out the latest action across Billboard's dance charts.
By
Xander Zellner
Billboard's Dance Moves roundup serves as a guide to the biggest movers and shakers across Billboard's many dance charts — new No. 1s, new top 10s, first-timers and more.
This week (on charts dated May 10), Beyoncé, Gryffin, PinkPantheress and others achieve new feats. Check out key movers below.
Beyoncé's 2022 LP Renaissance rises 8-5 on the Top Dance Albums chart, earning 6,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the April 25-May 1 tracking week (up 26%), according to Luminate, as the superstar kicked off her Cowboy Carter Tour April 28 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. While the setlist primarily highlights her 2024 country album Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé included several Renaissance tracks during the tour's first three shows (all at SoFi), including “America Has a Problem,” “My House,” “Cuff It” and “Alien Superstar.”
The album wasn't Beyoncé's only beneficiary: Her entire solo catalog sports gains following the tour's launch. Her catalog raked in 57 million official U.S. streams during the tracking week, up 18% from the 48.3 million streams the week before. Cowboy Carter had the largest gains and surges 193-64 on the Billboard 200 with a 73% increase in units.
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Gryffin, Excision and Julia Michaels' new collaboration, “Air,” debuts at No. 25 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, fueled entirely by its 620,000 first-week streams. The track arrived April 25 via 10K Projects.
“Air” earns Gryffin his 38th career entry on the chart, and his second of 2025, after “In My Head,” with Kaskade and Nu-La, peaked at No. 15 in February. It also becomes Excision's 10th entry and Michaels' fifth.
PinkPantheress lands her second entry on the Hot Dance/Pop Songs chart with “Stateside.” Released April 25 on Parlophone/Elektra/Atlantic Records, the track debuts at No. 11 and joins her previous single, “Tonight,” which ranks at No. 13 after debuting at No. 5 in April. Both songs are set to appear on her second mixtape, Fancy That, a nine-track project due out Friday (May 9).
PinkPantheress previously charted two tracks on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs: “Way Back” with Skrillex and Trippie Redd (No. 13 in January 2023), and Kaytranada's “Snap My Finger,” on which she's featured (No. 40 last June). Her breakthrough collaboration with Ice Spice, “Boy's a Liar, Pt. 2,” climbed to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 2023.
MEDUZA, Innellea and GENESI's “Edge of the World,” featuring Nu-La, debuts at No. 33 on the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, marking the highest new entry of the week. It gained by 33% in plays among 24/7 dance reporters and pop stations' mix show hours.
The release marks a milestone for Italian house group MEDUZA, which scores its 10th career entry and first since “Another World,” with HAYLA, hit No. 1 in December, becoming the act's third leader. It's also the first entry for both Innellea and GENESI and the second for Nu-La, whose “In My Head,” with Gryffin and Kaskade, rises to a new No. 14 high.
In a fun twist, the chart's second-highest debut is the similarly titled “End of the World” — Miley Cyrus' latest single. It enters at No. 35 with a 30% gain in plays, becoming her 12th career hit on the chart.
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By Andreas Wiseman
Executive Editor, International & Strategy
EXCLUSIVE: Meghann Fahy (The White Lotus) is set to lead supernatural thriller Banquet from The Platform filmmaker Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia.
Fahy, who recently starred in Universal thriller Drop, is set to play Jenny Cochrane, a woman whose perfect life is shattered by the return of her estranged son, which reawakens a terrifying secret buried in her bloodline.
The film is based on an original screenplay from writer Sam Steiner (Fingernails), with Lewis Taylor producing for Film Transmission, and James Harris for Tea Shop Productions (Fall). XYZ Films is financing and will launch international sales at Cannes this month with CAA Media Finance co-repping the U.S.
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David Yates (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Parts 1 & 2) will executive-produce under his banner Wychwood Media alongside Florian Zeller (The Father) and Federica Sainte-Rose for Blue Morning Pictures. XYZ is gearing up to begin production in October in the UK.
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Spanish filmmaker Gaztelu-Urrutia's first feature, The Platform won awards at TIFF, Sitges and the Spanish Academy of Motion Pictures (the Goyas). It garnered 56 million views in its first month, putting it in the all-time top ten most watched films on the streamer at the time. He recently directed The Platform 2, which was the most-watched film on Netflix in its first two weeks and remained in the top 10 for five weeks.
Fahy will be seen next in Sirens, Netflix's dark comedy also starring Julianne Moore and Kevin Bacon.
She is repped by WME, Anonymous Content, and Sloane, Offer. Gaztelu-Urrutia is represented by CAA, XYZ Management, and attorney Marios Rush. Steiner is represented by CAA and in the UK by Under New Management.
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By
Jon Blistein
Michael Pitt, the actor best known for his roles in Dawson's Creek and Boardwalk Empire, was arrested last week and charged with sexual abuse and assault in New York City.
Pitt was arrested Friday and arraigned on the charges in Brooklyn Supreme Court. He's facing eight counts total, including two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, assault with a blunt object, and strangulation.
According to online court records, Pitt pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him and was released on $15,000 bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 17.
Jason Goldman, a lawyer for Pitt, told Rolling Stone, “Unfortunately, we live in a world where somebody like Mr. Pitt — an accomplished professional who would never so much as contemplate these crimes — can be arrested on the uncorroborated word of an unhinged individual. In reality, this baseless claim is suspiciously raised some four or five years after the alleged incident, at a time when the two parties were in a completely consensual and voluntary relationship. This case will be dismissed.”
According to court documents obtained by the New York Post — which was the first to report on Pitt's arrest — the charges against the actor stem from four alleged incidents involving an ex-girlfriend that occurred between April 2020 and August 2021. Pitt is accused of forcibly groping his ex on one occasion, and sexually assaulting her and hitting her with a wooden plank on another. Prosecutors also alleged that Pitt assaulted his ex with a cinderblock in June 2021 and strangled her in August of that year.
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The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office did not immediately return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
Pitt was previously arrested in July 2022 for assault and petty larceny after allegedly hitting a man several times and taking his phone. He was hospitalized a few months later after being accused of throwing items at people in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn. He was not charged with a crime in that instance as the police determined that he was emotionally disturbed.
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Former Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson was rocking two eye-catching accessories at the May 5 Met Gala.
One was a new short hairdo- a cropped bob with baby bangs.
The other- her oldest son with rocker Tommy Lee- 28-year-old Brandon Thomas Lee.
The 57-year-old actress wore a sparkly, bejewelled long-sleeve Tory Burch gown encrusted with layers of intricate beading, jewels and sequins. And while she kept true to her new look of minimal makeup, she did add a diamond Pandora ear cuff to complete the fit.
A post shared by Good Morning America (@goodmorningamerica)
A post shared by Pamela Anderson (@pamelaanderson)
Pamela Anderson summed up how she felt about her look for the Met Gala in three words.
In an Instagram post showing her from every angle, she wrote: ‘Bold… Brave… Precise. A celebration of courage and craftsmanship. Thank you for the invitation—an honor. Love, P'.
And her fans were quick to agree, including singer Katy Perry.
The pop star commented: ‘One of my favorite looks! And the hair was the cherry ❤️'.
Perry has sported some of the most iconic looks of the Met Gala in years past, but was not at this year's event.
Fans and followers on Instagram gushed: ‘WOW this hair and this look are perfection love the hair!!!!”; ‘Absolutely sublime! You look ethereal!' ‘THE MOST GORGEOUS GIRL IN THE WORLD'.
‘You look fabulous! Love this new hair on you!'; ‘Bold, brave, and BOB!! ‘Pamela Anderson is a goddess!';
“Love the bob, fringe & bold lippy! The dress is stunning too. Gorgeous.”
“THE MOST GORGEOUS GIRL IN THE WORLD”
Others commented on her timeless, old Hollywood look, writing, “Pam is so naturally beautiful, her profile is amazing. She reminds me of Mia Farrow with her hair like this 😍”
‘Stunning as always! Pamela brings timeless glam to the Met. ✨'; ‘beauty. Old hollywood glam vibes.'
“channeling Mia Farrow 🤍”
Pandora, who Anderson is a spokesperson for, also chimed in with “An absolutely incredible look! It is an honor to have our jewelry worn by you at the Met Gala again. 💕”
Anderson's oldest son, Brandon Thomas Lee, kept his look simple with a classic black tuxedo by Genuardi.
Pam shares sons Brandon, 28, and Dylan Lee, 26, with her ex-husband, musician Tommy Lee.
And this isn't the first time Brandon has been Pam's plus one.
A post shared by Brandon Thomas Lee (@brandonthomaslee)
He was her date to this year's Golden Globes, when Anderson was nominated for her performance in “The Last Showgirl.”
In an Instagram post about the night, Lee wrote, “Such a wonderful evening and so incredibly proud of @pamelaanderson for all she has accomplished with her film The @lastshowgirl . With only 18 days to shoot and a small budget this film and your performance stand amongst the giants it was nominated next to. I think @jamieleecurtis said it best… 1 in 10 is magic… and I think you have done just that. ✨
I can't wait to see where we go from here 🙏”
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Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band have announced their first album since 2023 breakthrough Dancing on the Edge. The new album is called New Threats From the Soul, and it comes out on July 25. It'll get released in the United States via Sophomore Lounge, while Tough Love is handling the release in the United Kingdom and Europe. Listen to the new album's title song below.
Ryan Davis—a visual artist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter based in Louisville, Kentucky—recorded his new album with producer Seth Manchester at Machines With Magnets. Davis' band on the album included Manchester, percussionist Dan Davis, violist and violinist Elisabeth Fuchsia, drummer and pianist Will Lawrence, bassist and saxophonist Jim Marlow, pedal steel player Christopher May, and violinist Aaron Rosenblum. In addition, today's new song features guest vocals from Catherine Irwin of Freakwater. (Irwin and Davis are pictured above in the single artwork, photographed by Chad Smith.)
Read about Dancing on the Edge in Pitchfork's feature “The 37 Best Rock Albums of 2023.”
All products featured on Pitchfork are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
New Threats From the Soul:
01 New Threats From the Soul02 Monte Carlo / No Limits03 Mutilation Springs04 Better If You Make Me05 The Simple Joy06 Mutilation Falls07 Crass Shadows (at Walden Pawn)
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Host Drew Afualo gives our 2025 Billboard Women in Music Breakthrough honoree Ángela Aguilar flowers for being a pug mom, and Aguilar returns the favor to her mom, her fans and her husband for supporting her backstage at Billboard's Women In Music 2025.
Drew Afaulo
Here we are again, backstage with the iconic, the legendary Ángela Aguilar. Honored to have you, queen. How are you feeling tonight?
Ángela Aguilar
I'm so happy. No more nerves. Tequila hit and the speech was good. I feel good.
Drew Afaulo
Period. I could hear the mariachis in the air.
Ángela Aguilar
I know!
Drew Afaulo
Stunning and gorgeous. And when they walked out, I said, ‘Period, period, period,' as they were walking past. ‘Yes, thank you. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Work, it, work, it.' Love that. I think you're stunning and amazing. So actually, first I want to ask you, how does it feel celebrating other women in music tonight?
Ángela Aguilar
It feels amazing. You know, I'm very happy to be here, because my mom has always been behind the scenes, and she was always my momager, she was like, helping me since I was very little with like my dress and stuff,
Drew Afaulo
That's cute.
Ángela Aguilar
And they're honoring her tonight as well.
Drew Afaulo
Oh my gosh, how amazing.
Ángela Aguilar
The first awards ceremony that they honor me and my mom, and she deserves it more than I do.
Drew Afaulo
Oh my gosh, that's so sweet and amazing. What a milestone. Incredible. So for some fun things, I actually am going to give you some flowers tonight.
Ángela Aguilar
Thank you!
Drew Afaulo
Yes, of course, these are for you, both literally and metaphorically, giving you your flowers. These are well known, my favorites, mine too. Look at us. OK, and we're falling in love. My question for you is: Who do you give flowers to for getting you where you are now?
Watch the full video above!
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Well, it seems as though Edward Berger's Oscar-winning “Conclave” could have been a documentary. Life is imitating art as Politico has revealed that real-life Catholic cardinals are binging the film ahead of the papal conclave process to replace late Pope Francis, which begins today, May 7.
“Some have watched it in the cinema,” one of the 133 high-ranking clerics told POLITICO. According to the source, the cardinals view the film as being “remarkably accurate” and therefore a “helpful research tool, especially at a time when so many of the conclave participants have little experience of Vatican politics and protocol,” as POLITICO reported. A majority of the cardinals were appointed by Pope Francis, who died April 21 due to complications from a stroke; these cardinals have thus never experienced a conclave before, and also hail from small international dioceses, much like in Berger's film.
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“Conclave” stars Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, who serves as the dean of the College of Cardinals and the steward of the conclave. Following the death of the pope in the film, the political race to campaign for and later select the successor unravels into scandal.
And that gossipy nature that Berger captured appears to be accurate in tone: Vatican insiders have been leaking anonymous attacks against rivals to the Roman press, while some top contenders have suddenly been linked to abuse cases. Politico further reported that one cardinal was banned from the conclave proceedings after a posthumous letter sent by Pope Francis outed him for partaking in financial fraud.
The Catholic cardinals aren't the only ones who resorted to watching “Conclave” to learn about the pontiff nominations. Viewership for the film increased by 283 percent within hours of Pope Francis' passing being announced.
There will soon be even more pope-themed films, too: Martin Scorsese is producing a documentary on Pope Francis, titled “Aldeas — A New Story.” The feature was developed in collaboration with the late Francis' Scholas Occurrentes; the film will include a sequence of Scorsese in conversation with the pope, plus his final in-depth on-camera interview.
“Now, more than ever, we need to talk to each other, listen to one another cross-culturally,” Scorsese said in a statement. “One of the best ways to accomplish this is by sharing the stories of who we are, reflected from our personal lives and experiences. It helps us understand and value how each of us sees the world. It was important to Pope Francis for people across the globe to exchange ideas with respect while also preserving their cultural identity, and cinema is the best medium to do that.”
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By Stewart Clarke
EXCLUSIVE: Culpa Nuestra launches in October and it's safe to say the final instalment of the Prime Video trilogy is much anticipated – the trailer for the closing chapter has ranked the most-watched ever for an original streaming movie.
The trailer for the Spanish-language film notched 163M views across all platforms in the week after it dropped in April, according to data from WaveMetrix shared with Deadline. That is more than for any other original movie for a streamer across the same seven-day timeframe.
Culpa Nuestra (Our Fault) follows Culpa Mía (My Fault) and Culpa Tuya (Your Fault) and will be the final of the three adaptations of Mercedes Ron's Wattpad book series. Banijay Iberia prodco Pokeepsie Films makes the movies, which have spawned an English-language remake, My Fault: London.
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The fact that expectation levels are high for Culpa Nuestra is no surprise given the success of the previous films, which are short on critical acclaim but are beloved by fans around the world. Culpa Tuya took the number one spot for Amazon Prime Video in over 170 countries. We revealed in January that it was the biggest ever international original launch for the streamer.
The Culpa Nuestra trailer shows Nicole Wallace and Gabriel Guevara as they reprise their roles as Noah and Nick and the story of their relationship further unfolds.
WaveMetrix data is an industry standard for reporting trailer views. It captures engagement for every iteration of a trailer across social platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X. Official, talent and third-party posts count, and original projects from streaming services including Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+, Hulu, Apple TV+ and Peacock are tracked.
Culpa Nuestra topped the overall rankings ahead of Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine rom-com The Idea Of You, also for Prime Video. Netflix also featured in the podium positions as Gal Gadot spy thriller Heart of Stone rounded out the top three.
In case you missed it, here's the Culpa Nuestra trailer.
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Host Drew Afualo gives Becky G flowers, and she shares how Selena Quintanilla has helped inspire her music, her love for her fans and more at Billboard Women in Music 2025.
Drew Afualo:
Y'all, we're here with the talented, iconic, hilarious and stunningly gorgeous Becky G, period. How are you feeling being here at Billboard Women in Music?
Becky G:
We're not just at Billboard Women in Music. We're in Inglewood, my hometown, so I'm very happy to be home. It's very nice. And also, we're celebrating so many bada– women.
So I love that, and I do want to start off by giving you your flowers. First, hold on. Here you go. That's for you. So I'd like to ask you: Who do you give flowers to for getting you where you are now?
Ooh, um, my mom. I quite literally would not be here without her.
I love that, that's beautiful. And who do you give flowers to for inspiring your music?
Selena Quintanilla, easy answer.
What a grand answer. “Si Una Vez” is my favorite song of hers. Yours?
All of them, of course, all of them — “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom,” “Tú Sólo Tú,” “Si Una Vez”
We love that.
I can go on and on.
Don't get me started on Selena.
It's fine.
OK? And last, kind of serious one, what do you give flowers to your fans for?
Oh, you know, I think any artist who's been doing it for a long time, one thing we can thank our fans for is rocking with us throughout every phase. Yeah, I grew up doing this longer than I've ever not been doing it, and they have seen my life is basically chronological on the Internet, like a bubble.
Keep watching for more!
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The company also grew Disney+ subscribers to 126 million in its fiscal second quarter, after losing subs in the previous quarter.
By
Alex Weprin
Senior Editor
The Walt Disney Co. blew past Wall Street earnings expectations in its latest quarter, the company's fiscal Q2.
The company delivered revenue of $23.6 billion, up 7 percent from a year prior, and operating income of $4.4 billion, an improvement of 15 percent from a year earlier.
The company also announced a major new project: Its seventh theme park and resort, to be located in Abu Dhabi.
Every division — Entertainment, sports and experiences — beat expectations, with streaming driving particular growth in the entertainment division.
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Disney's entertainment division had revenue of $10.7 billion, up 9 percent vs the prior year, with operating income of $1.3 billion, up 61 percent from last year. Direct-to-consumer operating revenue soared to $336 million, compared to $47 million in the same quarter a year ago.
In fact, after losing 700,000 Disney+ subscribers in the prior quarter, the company added 1.4 million subscribers in its latest quarter, bringing its Disney+ subscriber total to 126 million. ARPU also improved to $7.77. Hulu's SVOD offering added 1.3 million subscribers, likely helped by the integration into Disney+.
In the experiences division, revenues rose by 6 percent to $8.9 billion, while operating income rose by 9 percent to $2.5 billion. The growth was attributable to the U.S. parks, as well as Disney Vacation Club and Disney Cruise Line, with the international parks down slightly year over year.
At sports, revenue rose by 5 percent to $4.5 billion, with operating income falling 12 percent to $687 million. The decrease was due to the presence of three extra college football playoff games and one extra NFL game in the quarter, which increased costs, offset by a boost in advertising.
And while some other companies are pulling guidance, Disney continues to give investors a window into its expectations, forecasting modest growth in Disney+ subscribers in Q3, and double digit growth in entertainment and sports this year, though it acknowledged the macroeconomy and uncertainty of the current moment.
Disney's most ambitious and important theatrical films are also set to release in the second half of the year, including Marvel's The Fantastic Four, and the next Avatar film.
“Our outstanding performance this quarter — with adjusted EPS up 20% from the prior year driven by our Entertainment and Experiences businesses — underscores our continued success building for growth and executing across our strategic priorities,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger in a statement. “Following an excellent first half of the fiscal year, we have a lot more to look forward to, including our upcoming theatrical slate, the launch of ESPN's new DTC offering, and an unprecedented number of expansion projects underway in our Experiences segment. Overall, we remain optimistic about the direction of the company and our outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year.”
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Following his performance at David Yurman's Miami flagship opening, the 22-year-old megastar chats exclusively with The Hollywood Reporter about fashion, entertaining and the intersection of the two.
By
Erin Lassner
E-Commerce Writer
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, The Hollywood Reporter may receive an affiliate commission.
Benson Boone is everywhere right now, and that includes the grand opening of David Yurman‘s newest flagship in Miami.
For his performance at the star-studded party (attended by A-listers and brand ambassadors like Eiza González and Winnie Harlow), the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter sported an assortment of mixed metal rings. “I have always been a silver guy but David Yurman does these rings where it's a silver band but then they've got a gold [accent], so I'm like half way to gold,” he tells THR of his jewelry favorites.
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Beyond incorporating gold into his current rotation, Boone has another newfound obsession: cardigans. The sweater that started it all? A limited-edition crochet zip-up from the collaboration between Adidas and Clot by Edison Chen. “I've worn like one cardigan in my life before last month and then Adidas sent me [this collab] and I love it… so I've been rocking the cardigan game.”
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But cardigans certainly aren't the only thing he's rocking as of late. The performer has become known for his vibrant wardrobe on stage including, of course, his deep-V jumpsuits.
“My dad has always been a fanatic about Halloween and costumes,” the singer reminisces. “Every year our family would go all out and we would do family pictures… and I think now because of that, I see being on stage as an opportunity to dress up and be a little more of an elevated version of myself, because obviously I would never pull up to hangout with the boys in a jumpsuit,” he laughs. “But at the same time, when I'm on stage… I want to give people something that's interesting, that's fun, that's cool, that's colorful, that's sparkly, that I can move around in — sometimes that's jumpsuits, sometimes that's open vests with dress pants and I'm sure it will elevate to something else.”
For two consecutive weekends in April, an assortment of sparkly jumpsuits did, in fact, accompany Boone onto the Coachella main stage. “I probably spent more time on my outfits than I think I ever have in my life, but definitely the highlight was having Brian May up on stage… he is incredible and such a lovely person.”
A post shared by Benson Boone (@bensonboone)
“It was actually my first time going to Coachella so I had really no idea what to expect,” Boone says of the experience. “The crowd for sure was tough,” he adds, as playfully referenced in a recent TikTok video, “but really other than that, the experience is pretty wild… it was incredible.”
For further style inspiration, shop the rest of the singer's David Yurman ring collection below (as seen in the event photo above). And to catch Benson Boone live in concert, tickets for his newly announced American Heart Tour go on sale Friday, May 9, at 10 a.m. local time.
Related: Jaylen Brown on Life Off the Court, NBA Tunnel Looks and New Campaign With David Yurman
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Despite being prescient, Gough says her character did not forsee the disastrous events of episode eight.
By
Brian Davids
Writer
[This story contains spoilers through Andor season two's eighth episode.]
In Andor's season two premiere, Denise Gough's Dedra Meero is paid a very specific compliment by Orson Krennic. Ben Mendelsohn's Imperial Director recognized that the highly determined ISB Supervisor could foresee the future, particularly the pitfalls of his plan to seize the planet Ghorman through a propaganda campaign. Dedra then raised the added idea of cultivating a local radical insurgency, so that the Empire could ultimately use brute force to eliminate their manufactured “terrorist” threat and strip-mine the planet of its kalkite mineral to help fuel their forthcoming Death Star.
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In the second chapter of creator Tony Gilroy's first three-episode block, Dedra issues a plea to her superior, Major Partagaz (Anton Lesser), to keep her on the trail of Axis (Stellan Skarsgård's Luthen Rael) instead of the secretive Ghorman assignment. But Partagaz quickly shuts her down out of respect for Krennic and the Imperial chain of command. Well, following episode eight's Ghorman massacre and the death of Dedra's beloved Syril Karn (Kyle Soller), the question now becomes whether Dedra anticipated the possibility of such a disastrous outcome when she first implored Partagaz to remove her from the Ghorman project.
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According to Gough, Dedra didn't predict this specific turn of events, and she genuinely just wanted to finish what she started in regard to the Axis network. If anything, she thought she could control the Ghorman scheme so tightly that she could have her cake and eat it too. She knew Syril would be the perfect patsy to embolden the Ghorman Front and unknowingly lead the Ghor to slaughter. But she mistakenly thought she could minimize the consequences of her law-abiding partner's discovery that he's been aiding large-scale grand theft and a planned genocide involving thousands of innocent lives.
“Her biggest fear is to lose control. So when Syril finds out what she's done and you see her desperately say, ‘No, we're going to go back [to Coruscant] …' she's losing control of this situation,” Gough tells The Hollywood Reporter. “That is what makes her feel bad about that whole Ghorman situation. It's not really the massacre, unfortunately. It's not that she sees that she's wiped out all these people; it's that she's lost Syril.”
Below, during a spoiler conversation with THR, Gough also looks back on Dedra's earlier showdown with Syril's mother, Eedy (Kathryn Hunter).
***
As of the first block of episodes, Dedra and Syril are playing house together, and they're finding unique ways to save money on their electric bill.
(Laughs.)
Did she quickly talk herself into the idea of him after he saved her life on Ferrix a year earlier?
It's really interesting because I was thinking about that today: “How long have they lived together?” She strikes me as being very clinical about it all, and it makes sense that he would now be in her house. So I don't know how long it's been going on, but it's definitely been going on for a while. It's still interesting to wonder, “What was their first date? Where did they go? Did they date? What [else] happened in that [season one finale] cupboard?” Yeah, there's a lot of “what happened?” in that [unseen] year, but when we meet them again, they're established.
The thing about Dedra that I've really learned now is that she needs to feel safe all the time, and the way that she feels safe is by being in control of everything. So Syril comes under that umbrella, and the closer he is, the more she has to control the outcomes. He's the only person who's ever seen her vulnerable, so she needs to keep that close.
There have been many epic showdowns in the Star Wars galaxy: Luke Skywalker/Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker and Rey/Kylo Ren. And now they have company in the form of Dedra Meero versus Eedy Karn. How excited were you to lay down the law with Kathryn Hunter's Eedy?
(Laughs.) As a theater actress, Kathryn Hunter is one of our legends. I've known about her and her work forever, for as long as I've been acting. And so the thought that I was going to get to work with her was such a gift, first of all. But what's so fantastic about that scene is, on paper, it can look like an intimidation. Dedra does her Dedra-ing and intimidates Eedy, and then Eedy does what she's told. But when you work with a legend like Kathryn, they make much more complex choices within the scene. So, instead of being intimidated, she was impressed, and as soon as I saw that, I thought, “Oh my God, this isn't as simple as Dedra laying down the law.” Dedra does her Dedra thing, but she's matched with Eedy who finds it quite tasty. So, at the end, there's a respect there.
Kyle [Soller] said that he thinks it's like a bully being called out. If you stand up to a bully, the bully suddenly goes, “Oh, I like you, actually.” So I felt that from Eedy during what I called “the negotiation.” And Kyle's choice to lie on the bed like a broken bird was so inspired while these two women got to it. So that scene is one of the highlights of my career in all seriousness. Working with her was really something else.
It's truly one of the best scenes in the entire series.
God, that means a lot. Thank you.
In 201, Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) compliments Dedra for being able to see many moves ahead, and then there's a key scene in 202 where she asks Anton Lesser's character, Partagaz, to let her out of Krennic's secret Ghorman assignment. Did she foresee who and what she'd have to risk by staying on the project?
That's a really good question. I think it's more because she's still obsessed with Axis [Stellan Skarsgård]. She knows that the chain of command means she has to do as she's told, and she knows that it will be all-consuming. I don't think she knows necessarily that she would use Syril the way that she does, but she's quite calculated about it. I don't think she would be fearful of taking on the [Ghorman] assignment because she's indoctrinated into the Empire. She'll go to any lengths for the Empire, but it's the fact that [Ghorman] gets in the way of Axis, and that's her downfall. She can't let go of Axis. If there was no Axis. I think she'd be thrilled to take Ghorman on and make it her mission.
Dedra grew up in an Imperial kinder-block, which means she had no example of love, of affection, of joy, of affirmation, of boundaries or of any parenting. So when Syril comes into her life and she has all these feelings that a normal person would be able to put in a place of safety within them, Dedra is undone by it. If she didn't have these weird things with Syril, she'd have sacrificed him. If she had assigned somebody else to the Ghorman project, she'd be like, “Okay, I need this person to go in there and do this, this, and this. It'll be all very calculated.” The problem is that she is undone by her feelings for Syril, but she doesn't know what those feelings are.
If you look at Cassian and Maarva [Fiona Shaw] in the first season, she teaches Cassian about love. When he says, “I'll be worried about you all the time,” she says, “That's just love.” But nobody has ever told Dedra what love is, or what it means when you look at a person and you're happy for them. In 205, when she says, “It's good to see you happy,” she doesn't say it in a way that's like, “Oh, it's so good to see you happy!” She [coolly] says, “It's good to see you happy,” and she doesn't know what that is doing. So Syril being the person that she sends into Ghorman and uses like that is what makes her feel bad about that whole Ghorman situation. It's not really the massacre, unfortunately. It's not that she sees that she's wiped out all these people; it's that she's lost Syril.
To me, Axis just felt like a convenient excuse because she couldn't tell Partagaz that she knew she'd have to use her boyfriend as the perfect patsy and, in turn, risk her relationship to fulfill this Ghorman objective.
That's fantastic. I love that you got that reading from it. I always just felt it was, “Oh God, now I have to go and work under [Krennic]. Partagaz lets me be in control of everything, and I won't have control if I'm working under Krennic. I don't like Krennic. I don't know how to work Krennic in the same way.” So it's maybe both of those things. She knows that if she works for Krennic, she's not in control. She's safe if she works with Partagaz and is chasing Axis, because she knows that she's in control of that.
Her biggest fear is to lose control. So when Syril finds out what she's done and you see her desperately say, “No, we're going to go back [to Coruscant] and we're going to be this … ” she's losing control of this situation. But if Syril wasn't involved, I don't know if she'd feel so out of control. I think she'd be quite mechanical about it. He's the thorn; he's the thing that undoes it.
So I think that's brilliant, and I wish I had thought that. I wish I had thought that Dedra is seeing all of this ahead of her, but I don't think she is. She's genuinely obsessed with Axis and obsessed with being in control of Axis, and if she catches him, she redeems herself for Ferrix and everything. If she goes to Ghorman, then this Krennic guy gets all the glory of all her work.
***Andor season two is currently streaming on Disney+.
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On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are chatting about Gaga's positively massive show in Brazil.
Lady Gaga reportedly played to 2.5 million fans during her concert at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Saturday night. It's a hard-to-fathom crowd size, considering we've never seen anything like it for a concert in the United States.
When it comes to free U.S. shows, some estimates put Garth Brooks' 1997 concert in New York's Central Park — nicknamed “Garthstock” — around 900,000 or even 1 million fans. (For non-concert crowds, the Chicago Cubs' 2016 World Series celebration reportedly drew 5 million fans for a parade and rally — but that's not a single-stage event.)
On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are talking about the positively massive show and whether it could ever be replicated here in the U.S. — like, are Los Angeles beaches even big enough for such a thing? And where would people park?!?
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Also on the show, we've got chart news on how Ghost scores its first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart — and brings hard rock back to No. 1 for the first time in four years. Plus, how Alex Warren's “Ordinary” hits a new high on the Billboard Hot 100, climbing all the way to No. 2.
The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard's managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)
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"The death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil." Tony Gilroy breaks down Mon Mothma's searing anti-authoritarian warning from the third block of episodes in 'Andor' season two.
By
James Hibberd
Writer-at-Large
Great sci-fi often serves as an allegory for current social and political issues.
But never before has Star Wars hit such a topical bullseye — intentional or not — as Tuesday's episodes of Andor season two when a character delivered a stunner speech that warned of rising government authoritarianism, the dilution of fact-based reality, and the reluctance to use the word “genocide.”
Airing on Disney+ the same day a Drudge Report headline became the latest to warn of “America's Slide Into Authoritarianism,” the acclaimed drama series featured a sequence where the courageous politician Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) risks her life to deliver a speech before the Galactic Senate where she furiously attacked Emperor Palpatine and his Imperial forces. But one can also easily imagine her words being said by a politician on C-SPAN right now.
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“I believe we are in crisis,” Mothma says. “The distance between what is said today and what is known to be true has become an abyss. Of all the things at risk, the loss of an objective reality is perhaps the most dangerous. The death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil. When truth leaves us, when we let it slip away, when it is ripped from our hands, we become vulnerable to the appetite of whatever monster screams the loudest.”
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And then, referring to a prior sequence where Imperial forces massacred peaceful protesters on the planet Ghorman — a world the Imperials invaded to exploit a precious mineral — Mothma says, “What took place yesterday… was unprovoked genocide.”
At this, the other senators cry out in protest at Mothma's use of the word. “Yes, genocide!” she repeated. “And the monster screaming the loudest, that we helped create, the monster who will come for us all, soon enough, is Emperor Palpatine.”
It's worth noting that Andor season two began production in November 2022 and wrapped around February 2024. So filming was completed long before the reelection of Donald Trump and just a few months after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 (the latter having sparked much debate among experts over the last two years — such as here and here — over the right or wrongness of using the word “genocide” when describing Israel's military response in Gaza). Nonetheless, the scene has some viewers on social media interpreting the moment as pro-Palestinian.
Asked about the sequence and its real-life inspirations, Andor creator Tony Gilroy told The Hollywood Reporter, “The really sorry truth about the about this question — and we get it a lot — is that peace and prosperity and calm are the rarities. Those are rarities throughout the last 6,000 years of recorded history. You could drop this show at any point in the last 6,000 years, and it would make sense to some people about what's happening to them.”
Continued Gilroy: “I mean, the control of truth has always been a scabbard of power. Power dictates the narrative, and always has tried to always do that. Look at what the Empire does to Ghorman with their propaganda campaign. The very first scene [in the season] that Krennic has where he talks about Ghorman, that's based on the Wannsee convention — the convention where the Nazis got together and planned the final solution over a business lunch. You could say all this about the Gulf of Tonkin — which got America into Vietnam — or you could say the burning of the Reichstag [which paved the way to the Nazi's rise to power], or you could say the sinking of the Lusitania [which pushed America into World War I]. You go all the way through history, and power is the control of truth. So I think with that speech, we were looking to be timeless and classic.”
Added the creator, a bit wearily, “And I'm not psychic.”
The second and final season of the Star Wars drama has been not pulling punches when it comes to depicting a wartime drama. In addition to that Wannsee convention scene (see the real-life photos and how closely the Andor setting matched up), the show made headlines during its premiere episodes by staging the first rape attempt in Star Wars content in a scene involving Bix (Adria Arjona).
“I get one shot to tell everything I know — or can discover, or that I've learned — about revolution, about battles, with as many incidents and as many colors as I can get in there, without having [the story] tip over,” Gilroy said about the latter sequence. “I mean, let's be honest, man: The history of civilization, there's a huge arterial component of it that's rape. All of us who are here — we are all the product of rape. I mean armies and power throughout history [have committed rape]. So to not touch on it, in some way… It just was organic and it felt right, coming about as a power trip for this guy. I was really trying to make a path for Bix that would ultimately lead to clarity — but a difficult path to get back to clarity.”
Andor Disney+'s acclaimed Star Wars drama series which currently has the highest rating of any Star Wars TV show or movie on Rotten Tomatoes. The show follows the adventures of Rebel Alliance leader Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and leads up to the events in the film Rogue One. The final three episodes air next week.
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Carol Burnett opened up about her close friendship with the late Lucille Ball during her upcoming Mother's Day special, “The Carol Burnett Show: Mother of All Marathons.”
As shared by People on May 6, Burnett said, “The woman who influenced me probably the most was Lucille Ball.”
The actress shared, “She came to see me in ‘Once Upon a Mattress,' which was my first Broadway break, and she was there the second night, and I was more nervous that she was in the audience than I was the night before, when all the critics were.”
“We sat and we talked for about a half-hour and she was so supportive and she said, ‘Kid…' — she called me kid, she was 22 years older than I was — and she said, ‘Kid, whenever you need me, give me a call,” Burnett recalled.
The “Annie” star then revealed that a few years later, she was given a big break but was asked to bring in a well-known celebrity. She said that's when she called Ball and nervously asked her to help her.
Burnett and Ball made appearances on each other's shows after that and became good friends. “We were very close, and she always sent me flowers on my birthday,” Burnett said.
She continued, “So this one morning I got up, turned on the television set — it was my birthday — and she had died that morning, on my birthday. And that afternoon, I got the flowers that said, ‘Happy birthday, kid.”
On April 30, “The Carol Burnett Show” announced on Facebook, “Shout! TV presents ‘The Carol Burnett Show Mother of All Marathons,' streaming exclusively on Shout! TV and The Carol Burnett Show Channel on May 10th and 11th in celebration of Mother's Day!”
The post continued, “Carol will host the marathon through brand-new introductions as she reflects on memorable moments from the show and why it remains a cherished favorite for families along with answering fan-submitted questions in the spirit of the show's original audience Q&As.”
Those with the following apps Roku, Android, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV can watch the special on Shout! TV.
Viewers can also stream the show through Samsung TV Plus, Prime Video FAST, Local Now, Plex, Sling Freestream, The CW, Fubo, Xumo Play, Vizio, and LiveTVx.
“However you're spending this weekend, I hope you're ready to spend it laughing together,” Burnett said in the teaser.
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Warmer climates than Earth's could accelerate life's development, potentially increasing the number of planets with more advanced life forms.
Recently, Cambridge University scientists discovered the best candidate so far for extraterrestrial life on an ocean world, 120 light years away. Using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, they saw biosignatures in the atmosphere, dimethyl sulphide and dimethyl disulphide. We have these compounds on Earth too, because our bacteria and marine phytoplankton both produce them. Seeing these signs of life on K2-18b, a Neptune-like world that orbits the red dwarf star K2-18, is a solid indication that we may not be alone.
K2-18b is a bit unusual as a planet in the “habitable zone,” where the temperature is just right for water to exist and support life as we know it. Scientists estimate that its climate actually swings from -100 degrees to 116 degrees Fahrenheit. However, it likely has a warm ocean that could be full of simple, algae-like life, Cambridge astrophysics and exoplanetary science professor Nikku Madhusudhan, Ph.D., told The New York Times. He's an author on a study of K2-18b that was published in April in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
According to astronomers' estimates, K2-18b is still only one of potentially 300 million worlds in the Milky Way that could exist in a habitable zone. Life on a planet other than Earth still needs to be confirmed. But scientists are now studying nearly 6,000 known exoplanets, planets outside our solar system, that could support life. The most intriguing of these, and the ones researchers are focusing on, are worlds that have warmer climates than Earth, because any extraterrestrials there may have a leg up in their development.
Researchers have observed that warmer conditions on Earth are often the key to rapid evolution. In fact, evolution could occur several times faster on planets that are warmer than our own, potentially producing advanced civilizations faster than our own planet did, according to some scientists. On Earth, warm climates may put more genetic pressure on life forms to adapt, giving rise to greater variation, says a 2024 Nature Communications study of E. coli bacteria. So, warmer planets are great contenders for finding more complex life, because heat tends to encourage accelerated mutation rates and other biological processes.
Emily Mitchell, Ph.D., an evolutionary zoologist at Cambridge who wrote a recent paper with Madhusudhan about ocean worlds with hydrogen-rich atmospheres, believes the discovery of intelligent life beyond Earth is plausible. A relatively small increase in average ocean temperature can lead to more than double the rate of evolution, according to their paper in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. “Finding life in the universe is an incredibly exciting prospect,” she told The Times. “But that's not necessarily life you can say hello to—they're two very different things.”
Earth's own civilization—us—emerged in an evolutionary blink of the eye. However, it took a long time to reach that turning point. While life on this planet is 3.7 billion years old based on fossil evidence, the earliest human ancestors emerged between 5 and 7 million years ago, and the first modern humans, Homo sapiens, only started appearing in the fossil record about 300,000 years ago in Africa.
According to Mitchell and Madhusudhan's paper, it's conceivable that advanced beings on other planets could develop much faster after life emerges—if the conditions are right. Astronomers estimate that one-fifth of stars in our galaxy likely have planets in habitable zones. There may be hundreds of millions of planets in the Milky Way alone with this potential, according to the SETI Institute (the Search for Extraterrestrial Life).
If life is confirmed on just one of these distant worlds, studying it could significantly increase scientists' estimates for the number of advanced aliens in our galaxy—and the chances of encountering intelligence life in the universe.
Before joining Popular Mechanics in 2022, Manasee Wagh worked as a science journalist, a newspaper reporter, a technical writer, and an engineer. She has a bachelor's degree in computer engineering and a master's degree in journalism. Her favorite stories are about the discoveries that unearth even deeper mysteries, and she enjoys helping people understand the science behind the remarkable world we live in. She lives in the Northeast with her two favorite people and one curious, feisty feline, but always seeks to combine her love of food, nature, and travel into memorable journeys away from home.
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Architecture firm Rogers Partners and two other tenants signed deals at JEMB Realty's 150 Broadway, Commercial Observer has learned.
In the largest lease, Rogers Partners will be relocating from 100 Reade Street after signing a seven-year, 6,286-square-foot lease on the sixth floor of the property, according to landlord brokers JLL. Asking rent in the building is $55 per square foot.
“There has been a tremendous amount of movement in Lower Manhattan as tenants readjust their footprints and, in some cases, relocate from properties that are being converted to apartments,” JLL's Andrew Coe, who worked on deals with Margaux Kelleher, Jakob Cohn and Joseph Sipala, said in a statement.
Ken Fishel of Legacy negotiated on behalf of the Rogers and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the second lease, modeling agency Muse Management signed a seven-year deal to move from its current 3,626 square feet on the 11th floor of the building to 5,432 square feet on the third floor. Marcus Rayner and Sam Einhorn of Colliers handled the deal for Muse Management, but did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It's unclear when the tenant moved into the building.
Lastly, art and design studio UAP signed a seven-year, 4,468-square-foot deal to relocate from 33 Bond Street to the third floor of the JEMB-owned building with Coe, Kelleher and Cohn representing them in the deal.
Other tenants in the building include manufacturer of modular wall systems ALUR, which signed a deal for 4,015 square feet in September 2023, and Chinese retailer Miniso — which sells cosmetics, stationery, toys and other home goods — which took 5,000 square feet of retail space in June 2024.
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
Read the latest edition of the Commercial Observer online!
David Dastmalchian & Georgina Campbell to Star in ‘The Shepherd' from ‘Sick' Director John Hyams
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Drop star Meghann Fahy has been set to lead the supernatural thriller Banquet from The Platform director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, Deadline reports this morning.
Banquet is based on an original screenplay from writer Sam Steiner (Fingernails).
Fahy will play “Jenny Cochrane, a woman whose perfect life is shattered by the return of her estranged son, which reawakens a terrifying secret buried in her bloodline.”
While that's not a lot to go on as of yet, it's worth pointing out that Gaztelu-Urrutia's feature debut, The Platform, became one of Netflix's all-time top ten most watched films upcon release and received a sequel last year. The Platform also amassed glowing critical praise won a Goya at the Spanish Academy of Motion Pictures for Best Special Effects.
After breaking out in season two of “The White Lotus,” Meghann Fahy is keeping busy. After a starring role in Christopher Landon's Drop, the actor is next slated to appear in Netflix's dark comedy Sirens. All of which to say that the talent behind Banquet so far has our curiosity piqued.
David Yates (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Parts 1 & 2) will executive-produce under his banner Wychwood Media alongside Florian Zeller (The Father) and Federica Sainte-Rose for Blue Morning Pictures.
XYZ Films is financing and will launch international sales for Banquet this month and production is set for October in the UK, so stay tuned for additional news as it arrives.
Horror journalist, RT Top Critic, and Critics Choice Association member. Has appeared on PBS series' Monstrum, served on the SXSW Midnighter shorts jury, and moderated horror panels for WonderCon, SeriesFest, and Popcorn Frights Film Fest.
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Modern genre favorites David Dastmalchian (Late Night with the Devil) and Georgina Campbell (Barbarian) will star in the horror-thriller The Shepherd, Variety has learned.
Production is set to begin in the fall with John Hyams (Sick, Alone) directing from a script written by Alexander Gustaveson.
Set in the desolate Nevada night, the film follows a young woman in labor fleeing an abusive past who has her escape hijacked by a mysterious stranger hiding an ominous threat in the back of her car.
Steven Schneider (Insidious, Paranormal Activity) and Roy Lee (It, Barbarian) produce for Spooky Pictures with Ben Cornwell, Jordan Foley and Nick Smith for Paperclip Ltd. (Alone, Snack Shack), Sébastien Raybaud (Greenland, The Night House) for Anton, and Jonathan Rosenthal (Alone).
Dastmalchian is executive producing under his Good Fiend Films banner. Anton and Image Nation are financing.
“Once I turned the first few pages of The Shepherd I was hooked,” said Dastmalchian. “I immediately wanted to see this high-octane, horrifying world brought to life and John is the perfect person to make it happen. After collaborating with Roy and Steven on Late Night with the Devil, I have been looking forward to getting back in the sandbox with them and I can't wait to bring the genre force of Good Fiend Films into the equation.”
“Following the success of Late Night with the Devil, we're excited to be working with David Dastmalchian once again on The Shepherd,” added Image Nation CEO Ben Ross. “David brings a distinctive energy and depth to every project he's part of, and this film marks another strong collaboration in our ongoing partnership with Spooky Pictures.”
Dastmalchian's upcoming genre films include the action-horror Epilogue with Kate Siegel, the psychological thriller Kodak SuperXX with Kelly Marie Tran, the sci-fi horror The Cure with Ashley Greene, and the psychological horror Sender with Britt Lower and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Campbell, meanwhile, has the sci-fi thriller Cold Storage with Joe Keery and the Influencer sequel Influencers with Cassandra Naud coming soon.
Georgina Campbell in ‘Barbarian'
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The new Kinetica Freezeguard range, developed in its in-house research and development hub, has now been made commercially available.
It is certified according to the newest PAS24:2022+A1:2024 security test standard and accredited by Secured by Design.
These updated standards ensure locks can withstand extreme tampering, protecting against increasingly sophisticated break-in techniques including freezing, gluing, snapping, drilling, picking, and bumping.
While the industry continues to adjust to new requirements, UAP has already delivered fully compliant products that fabricators and installers can rely on.
Adam Dixon, senior technical manager at UAP Ltd, said: “Our status as the first in the industry to achieve the new BSI Kitemark is testament to our team, who work tirelessly to develop products that meet and exceed security standards.
“The new Kinetica Freezeguard range shows our commitment to leading the way with proactive security innovation, giving our clients a competitive edge.”
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ComingSoon is debuting an exclusive Aliens Uncovered: Moments of Disclosure trailer, previewing the upcoming documentary that serves as the second part of a series that analyzes footage from an area reported to be a hotspot for UFO and UAP activity.
The trailer dives into the history of the ancient Phoenix area and how it can potentially connect to the supernatural or extraterrestrial worlds. The documentary is set to release on June 3, 2025, and will be available on digital platforms.
Check out the exclusive Aliens Uncovered: Moments of Disclosure trailer below (watch other trailers and clips):
Aliens Uncovered: Moments of Disclosure is directed by Clive Christopher and is produced by Christopher, Rich Wolff, Michael Conroy, and Maryjane Byfield. It was written by Jared Suter, Christopher, Dominick Vasques, Tom King, and Andre McBride. The film is distributed by Breaking Glass Pictures. It stars Suter, Christopher, Vasques, King, McBride, Brian Suggs, Debbie Kelley, and Clayton John.
“A suburban team uncovers clues leading to a groundbreaking discovery. As they link local sightings to cosmic puzzles, they face public skepticism. A shocking revelation tests their resolve, challenging humanity's place in the universe. Join them on a thrilling quest where truth collides with cosmic mysteries, turning ordinary spaces into extraordinary gateways,” says the synopsis.
The film is part of the ongoing Aliens Uncovered series of documentaries and has a runtime of 75 minutes.
The post Aliens Uncovered: Moments of Disclosure Trailer Previews UFO Documentary | Exclusive appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
An Irish startup has created the world's first silicon-based quantum computer — it can still integrate seamlessly with classical computing in data centers.
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A startup has launched the first quantum device in the world that blends the potential of quantum computing with the convenience and integration of traditional high-performance computing (HPC).
Equal1 representatives unveiled Bell-1 on March 16 — a new six-qubit machine that can fit seamlessly into existing HPC environments like data centers, company representatives said in a statement.
The machine tips the scale at slightly more than 440 pounds (200 kilograms) but it's rack-mountable — meaning it can be mounted onto a physical rack in a data center — and it's roughly the same size as existing graphics processing unit (GPU) servers.
Unlike other quantum computers, the Bell-1 doesn't require specialized infrastructure to deploy, and it doesn't need additional equipment to be cooled to near-absolute zero.
Related: China achieves quantum supremacy claim with new chip 1 quadrillion times faster than the most powerful supercomputers
That's because it boasts its own self-contained, closed-cycle cryo cooling unit, which enables the system to operate at a remarkable 0.3 kelvin, or minus 459.13 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 272.85 degrees Celsius).
The machine makes use of the latest semiconductor fabrication techniques as well as purified silicon, which allows for a high level of control and long coherence times (a qubit's ability to exist in multiple states simultaneously, which is crucial for quantum algorithms and computations).
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The Bell-1's qubits are silicon-based, meaning they're smaller than conventional qubits, and the chip at the heart of the machine incorporates quantum processor units (QPUs) with Arm CPUs — traditional processors known for their small size and efficiency — and neural processing units (NPUs) — specialized processors for accelerating machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI).
Incorporating all these elements onto a single chip eliminates the complex orchestration that would otherwise be necessary between classical and quantum computing elements. As long as you've got the space in a rack, all it requires is a standard electrical outlet: plug it in and it's ready to work, Equal1 representatives said.
The company's chip, called the UnityQ 6-Qubit Quantum Processing System, utilizes spin qubits, in contrast to many quantum computing platforms that rely on either trapped-ion or superconducting qubits. Silicon-based spin qubits are compact, leading to potentially higher qubit density, and could leverage existing semiconductor fabrication techniques, meaning more scalability.
The chip fitted into the Bell-1 also incorporates error correction, control and readout, while taking advantage of existing semiconductor infrastructure for reliability and scalability.
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Although this first generation of the chip includes six qubits, the company wants to make more powerful versions with a higher qubit count. The Bell-1 is also future-proof in that early adopters can upgrade existing systems as new models are rolled out, rather than replacing them with new machines, company representatives added.
The Bell-1 builds on advances first published by the company in December 2024, which established new peak performance marks for silicon qubit arrays as well as quantum controller chips.
These included the world's highest recorded single-qubit and two-qubit gate fidelity (meaning fewer errors) and gate speed (meaning faster operations). The platform also utilizes a specialized, AI-powered error correction system developed in partnership with Arm.
Alan is a freelance tech and entertainment journalist who specializes in computers, laptops, and video games. He's previously written for sites like PC Gamer, GamesRadar, and Rolling Stone. If you need advice on tech, or help finding the best tech deals, Alan is your man.
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Quantum 'miracle material' can store information in a single dimension thanks to newly discovered magnetic switching
World's first computer that combines human brain with silicon now available
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DOYLESTOWN, PA — The Bucks County Writers Workshop has released its spring/summer edition of the "Neshaminy Journal: The Bucks County Literary Journal," featuring stories about the county's past, present and future.
Here's a sampling of what you'll find inside the pages of the latest edition of the journal:
The Spring/Summer 2025 issue of Neshaminy: The Bucks County Literary Journal is a publication of the Bucks County Writers Workshop and can be obtained at local bookstores and online from Amazon.com. The Journal welcomes submissions. More information at neshaminyjournal.org.
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Water Matters
Europe's water is under increasing pressure. Pollution, droughts, floods are taking their toll on our drinking water, lakes, rivers and coastlines. Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters, how our wastewater can be better managed, and to discover some of the best water solutions. Video reports, an animated explainer series and live debate - find out why Water Matters, from Euronews.
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We give you the latest climate facts from the world's leading source, analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing. We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt.
Radio Schuman
This is Radio Schuman, your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news, insights, and behind-the-scenes from Brussels and beyond.
Brussels, My Love?
From the economy to the climate and the EU's role in world affairs, this talk show sheds light on European affairs and the issues that impact on our daily lives as Europeans. Tune in to understand the ins and outs of European politics.
No Comment
No agenda, no argument, no bias, No Comment. Get the story without commentary.
My Wildest Prediction
Dare to imagine the future with business and tech visionaries
The Big Question
Deep dive conversations with business leaders
Euronews Tech Talks
Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives. With explanations, engaging Q&As, and lively conversations, the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society.
Water Matters
Europe's water is under increasing pressure. Pollution, droughts, floods are taking their toll on our drinking water, lakes, rivers and coastlines. Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters, how our wastewater can be better managed, and to discover some of the best water solutions. Video reports, an animated explainer series and live debate - find out why Water Matters, from Euronews.
Climate Now
We give you the latest climate facts from the world's leading source, analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing. We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt.
Disinformation circulating online has been sowing confusion as the secretive conclave to elect the next pope kicks off in the Vatican on Wednesday.
The conclave follows the death of Pope Francis, an event which was also marred by a wave of disinformation. Considered one of the most progressive figures to have served as pope, the late pontiff was frequently targeted by false narratives, prompting him to denounce disinformation as “dangerous”, and a “tragedy” that “foments conflict.”
The closed-door conclave that begins on Wednesday will see 133 Cardinal electors isolate themselves within the Vatican's Sistine Chapel, with one round of voting expected to take place on Wednesday followed by four rounds each day before a cardinal receives the two-thirds majority needed to be elected pope.
The process will take as long as it needs to achieve the necessary majority, although the three most recent conclaves have all lasted less than three days.
Cardinals are sworn to secrecy about the voting process.
But the conclave has been tainted by a raft of false claims and conspiracy theories that have been circulating online in recent weeks.
Euroverify identified several unfounded claims that the pope had already been elected before the conclave had taken place.
As early as 21 April, a video emerged on YouTube – purporting to be a news report – claiming that the Philippines' Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle had been selected.
The false report, first spotted by Filipino digital news media The Rappler, is headlined "Breaking: Cardinal Tagle Elected As Pope Luis I."
Cardinal Tagle is being tipped as one of the leading candidates to replace Pope Francis once the conclave has concluded.
The 67-year-old Filipino has decades of cardinal experience and is considered to belong to the "moderate" wing of the Catholic Church. He's also been dubbed by some as the "Asian Francis" due to his concern for the poor and the marginalised which came to distinguish Pope Francis.
Tagle has however faced criticism for what some consider his timid response to sexual abuse allegations against Catholic Church members and the the brutal crackdown in his native Phillippines at the hands of former president Rodrigo Duterte, now facing trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Similar false claims purporting Cardinal Robert Sarah – considered a favourite among the most conservative of the vote-holding cardinals – has been elected pope have been circulating, mainly on Facebook and TikTok.
A Facebook post published by a bot-like account reads: “Breaking news: The new pope has just been announced.”
It's accompanied by an AI-generated photo showing Cardinal Sarah in the papal dress, against the backdrop of the Vatican. A reverse-image search shows there is no published evidence that Cardinal Sarah has ever worn the attire, and the photo is flagged as AI-manipulated by three AI detection tools consulted by Euroverify.
There is no truth to these claims. The papal seat has been vacant since Pope Francis' death, a period known as Sede Vacante, and will remain so until the conclave has concluded.
Another Cardinal considered a frontrunner to be the next pope, Italy's Pietro Parolin, has been targeted with a raft of false news reports about a decline in his health days before the conclave.
Italian outlets have tried to point the finger at US Catholic news site Catholicvote.org, which published the misleading report on 1 May citing “Italian media sources”.
But the news also featured in Italian sites such as Virgilio and Il Giornale, and were in turn amplified by journalists on social media.
A spokesperson for the Holy See Press Office flatly denied those claims during a press briefing last Friday, and the Press Office later released a statement saying that “during the meeting with journalists, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, refuted the hypothesis of Cardinal Pietro Parolin falling ill, specifying that no such incident had occurred. He also denied the involvement of medical or nursing staff.”
Analysts have long denounced how false rumours can discredit candidates in the run-up to a new appointment, with Pope Francis facing similar false reports about his health in the run-up to the 2013 conclave.
Cardinal Parolin – formerly Pope Francis' chief advisor – is being touted as one of the strongest papabiles, or candidates to be elected the next pope.
A doctored screenshot mimicking a Guardian op-ed titled "The next pope must be Muslim or there will be violence on the streets of Europe" has also been circulating online.
The op-ed is falsely attributed to journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown. Both The Guardian and Alibhai-Brown have confirmed that they never published such an article.
A look at The Guardian's author page for Alibhai-Brown also shows that she hasn't written for the publication since 2016.
A closer look at the screenshot shows that the logo says ‘The Grauniad', a well-known colloquial name for the British newspaper, showing how it has been doctored.
The screenshot was first published by an X account named ‘The Grauniad Official', which consistently attributes false headlines to The Guardian.
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