Rising legal threats to press freedom and their impact on local news

Rising legal threats to press freedom and their impact on local news are taking center stage at 6 p.m. Oct. 28, when Spotlight PA hosts a live conversation with Michael Berry, one of the nation’s leading First Amendment attorneys. If you prefer your hometown newsrooms to report facts instead of fielding endless legal scare tactics, this is the hour to watch.

Where Trump’s Campaign Promises Stand

Where Trump’s Campaign Promises Stand: AllSides is keeping a running scoreboard of Trump’s 2024 pledges—what’s been delivered, what’s stalled, and what’s still auditioning as legislation—while also grading how closely those moves mirror the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. In short, a side-by-side of rhetoric versus reality, with a bonus check on whether the playbook matches the conservative think tank’s blueprint.

UK poised to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine’s defense

UK poised to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine’s defense: Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Britain, France, and Germany are “united” behind tapping the full value of those assets to help end the war—an uncommon burst of European consensus aimed at making the Kremlin foot more of the bill for its own invasion.

Next shoppers praise flattering, very comfortable faux‑leather autumn dress

Retailer Next’s latest faux‑leather autumn dress is drawing rave reviews for being flattering and very comfortable, with one shopper crowning it a bargain that “looks much more expensive than it was.” Apparently this season’s luxe trend is budget chic with no cows bothered.

Human Rights Watch rejects donations from comedians who performed at Riyadh Comedy Festival

Human Rights Watch rejects donations from comedians who performed at the Riyadh Comedy Festival, saying it “cannot accept” money from performers like Aziz Ansari who took the Saudi stage. The group added, “But while we cannot accept, it is not too late for them…”—translation: you can’t scrub a paycheck with a guilt donation, but you can still do something useful.

Las Vegas Aces clinch third WNBA championship in four seasons with 97-86 win over the Mercury

Las Vegas Aces clinch third WNBA championship in four seasons with 97-86 win over the Mercury, sweeping the league’s first best-of-seven Finals in a tidy four games—because why use seven when four will do. Las Vegas dropped 54 by halftime and averaged 90-plus for the series. A’ja Wilson didn’t love the rims at 7-for-21 but bullied the stripe for 17-of-19, while Chelsea Gray buried four threes, two in the fourth, to snuff out Phoenix’s last gasp after the lead shrank to 76-70. The Mercury got 30 from Kahleah Copper and a hobbled Alyssa Thomas triple-double, but also an ejection for coach Nate Tibbetts and a couple of technicals for good measure—passion is not a defensive scheme. Phoenix’s run, which bulldozed the defending Liberty and top-seeded Lynx, met its match against an Aces machine that never trailed on the night and rarely blinked all series. Third title in four years for Vegas: dominance, now with expedited shipping.

Wolf Alice: A good album ranks among the highest forms of art

Wolf Alice: A good album ranks among the highest forms of art — and with a fourth consecutive Mercury Prize nomination, they’ve got the receipts. The band touts the long-form album as their creative north star, pushing cohesion and narrative over algorithm-chopped singles, a quietly radical stance in an era where the skip button has a shorter attention span than most press releases.

Once Willing to Die for the Taliban, He Now Works to Prevent Radicalisation

Once willing to die for the Taliban, he now works to prevent radicalisation: Afghan-born Maiwand Banaye says he was drawn into extremism as a teenager in a Pakistani refugee camp after his family fled civil war. His turnaround highlights how displacement and conflict can feed recruitment—and how lived experience can help pull others back from the brink.

Rising Legal Threats to Press Freedom—and Their Impact on Local News

Rising Legal Threats to Press Freedom—and Their Impact on Local News take center stage at 6 p.m. Oct. 28, when Spotlight PA hosts a live conversation with Michael Berry, one of the nation’s leading First Amendment attorneys—ideal viewing if you prefer watchdogs to be barking at power instead of muzzled by thin-skinned officials and deep-pocketed bullies.

Where Trump’s Campaign Promises Stand

Where Trump’s Campaign Promises Stand: As of Oct. 10, 2025, AllSides is tracking which of President Donald Trump’s 2024 pledges have been kept or remain unfulfilled, alongside related legislation, and mapping those moves against the Heritage Foundation’s right-leaning Project 2025, since parts of it align with his stated goals and actions. In other words, a running scoreboard of promises made, promises kept, and promises conveniently mirrored by a think tank’s policy wish list.

Local File Inclusion Vulnerabilities Exploited in File-Sharing Platforms

Local File Inclusion vulnerabilities exploited in file-sharing platforms: researchers warn hackers are pulling server files straight from the document root in Gladinet’s CentreStack and Triofox—no authentication, no shame. The haul includes access tokens and passwords, which neatly unlock remote access to corporate file systems. In other words, one sloppy flaw, and the intruders get the master key. Apparently “zero trust” became “zero checks.”

Exabeam CEO Integrates AI Agents into SIEM Strategy

Exabeam CEO Integrates AI Agents into SIEM Strategy as new chief Pete Harteveld pushes a programmatic overhaul of security operations. The plan prioritizes securing the AI agents themselves, cutting tool sprawl, and nailing defined security outcomes—less dashboard hoarding, more results. Building on recent success, Exabeam will roll out programmatic SIEM and UEBA innovations aimed at boosting analyst efficiency and benchmarking, ideally replacing swivel-chair triage with measurable gains.

Deepfake Fraud Undermines Trust in Voices and Faces

Deepfake Fraud Undermines Trust in Voices and Faces: A judge just tossed an $8.7 million case after discovering deepfake testimony—a courtroom first and a public service announcement that eyes and ears are no longer evidence. The takeaway for business is blunt: zero trust isn’t a buzzword, it’s policy—assume nothing is real until it’s verified. From contracts to conference calls, demand verification and authentic channels or get played by a webcam and a con artist. In an era of synthetic charm and counterfeit conviction, credibility must be earned, checked, and checked again.

News Briefing

News Briefing: A past‑24‑hours roundup spotlighting pieces that challenge the climate‑emergency orthodoxy, deflate ever‑expanding public‑health “crisis” narratives, and question the ritual insistence on Western civilization’s supposed moral defects.

Boris Johnson criticizes digital ID plans as ‘HS2 online,’ calls to reinstate the Rwanda policy

Boris Johnson criticizes digital ID plans as ‘HS2 online,’ blasting the government’s proposed scheme on GB News’ The Late Show as a cloud-based boondoggle that would “cost an absolute fortune” while solving nothing; instead, he called to reinstate the Rwanda policy to tackle Channel crossings. Pointing to a UK–France returns deal that’s so far managed just 26 returns, Johnson said the “nightmare” could have been fixed if Rwanda flights had gone ahead—a scheme launched under his government in 2022, halted by courts, and scrapped by Keir Starmer in 2024 as a “gimmick.” He’s vowed never to carry a government ID, and a petition against digital IDs has topped 2.8 million signatures.

AllSides Tracker, Trump 2024 Promises and the Project 2025 Playbook

AllSides is running a live scorecard of President Donald Trump’s 2024 pledges as of Oct. 10, tracking what is kept, stalled, or parked under pending, alongside the legislation meant to support them. The tracker also flags where those moves align with the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. Translation, an audit of promises versus performance, with a public peek at which playbook pages are getting dog-eared.

SonicWall Warns Cloud Backup Users After Breach

SonicWall says customers who relied on its cloud backups face heightened risk after unidentified attackers brute forced servers holding those files. Disclosed in September, the breach is now paired with warnings that Akira ransomware operators are actively targeting SonicWall devices. The cloud was treated like a welcome mat, and the attackers did not even bother wiping their feet.

Federal Shutdown Exposes Cyber Weak Spots

The recent federal shutdown revealed stressed state and regional cyber offices, delays that hampered coordination and response, spillover risk to healthcare, and growing threats to aging operational technology. Malware did not get furloughed, and legacy systems looked less like infrastructure and more like unlocked doors.

AI Browsers Can Be Tricked Into Data Theft

New research warns that autonomous browser features, the so-called AI actions that complete tasks, can bypass security tools, follow unsafe instructions, and enable data theft, malware distribution, and unauthorized access to corporate apps. In short, we built browsers that do exactly what they are told, then handed them the company keys and hoped for good judgment.

Reality Check for a Reality Brand

Industry chatter says presales for Dorit Kemsley’s snack themed Housewife book are so anemic the release may be pulled. Turns out not every reality show tagline can be packaged, priced, and shelved. The market, cruel as ever, prefers snacks it actually wants to eat.

Rutgers Professor Relocating After Death Threats Over Antifa Research

Mark Bray, a Rutgers teaching professor and author of a 2017 bestseller on antifa, says he is moving his family to Spain after receiving death threats, including one threatening arson and murder. He links the escalation to a broader crackdown on academic freedom, noting it comes amid moves by President Donald Trump to label antifa a domestic terrorist organization. Pressure intensified after a Rutgers Turning Point USA petition branded him a prominent antifa leader and urged his resignation, citing his support for the International Anti-Fascist Defense Fund and past controversy at Dartmouth. TPUSA organizers say they oppose threats but argue his work promotes political violence. Rutgers faculty unions condemned the campaign as an attack on academic freedom, and a counter petition calling for the TPUSA chapter to be disbanded has gathered thousands of signatures. The story is a grim reminder, debate is not supposed to come with death threats attached.

Trump 2024 Promises, Scorecard Meets Project 2025

As of Oct. 10, 2025, a running tally tracks which pledges have become policy, which are stalled in Congress, and which remain applause lines, cross referenced with the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025. Translation, a reality check on what has been enacted, what is pending, and what is still auditioning for reality, plus a peek at how much the wish list is writing the script.

Tel Aviv Prays as Gaza Cease-fire Nears

Friday morning, Jewish worshippers filled Hostages Square for prayers as Israel prepared to implement the first phase of a long awaited peace plan. A rare, quiet moment of collective hope as the country edges toward a Gaza cease-fire.

Dave Allen Frames Makhmudov Clash as His World Title Fight

British heavyweight Dave Allen headlines at Sheffield's Utilita Arena against towering puncher Arslanbek Makhmudov, calling the bout the defining night of his career even without a belt on the line. Stakes high, crowd loud, and no illusions about the danger across the ring.

Ump Admits Miss in Dodgers Phillies Marathon, Robo Zone Looms

Home plate ump Mark Wegner apologized to Cristopher Sánchez for a missed strike three that preceded a walk and the tying run in a 2 to 1 Dodgers win in 11. Pitchers lived on the edges while the zone stayed stingy, Ump Scorecards labeled it an off day, and ABS arrives in 2026. Accountability is nice, but fans are tired of plot twists that feel avoidable.

BlackGate Nails VR Horror, Then Rage Quits On Itself

On Quest 3 and 3S, this 4v1 survival horror delivers claustrophobic corridors, excellent spatial audio, and tense VR first design as crews patch systems while a faster alien stalks vents. Then the host leaves, the lobby implodes, and the session dies. With host based matchmaking, no quit penalties, and a small early access pool, many matches end before they begin. Movement needs polish, the map can confuse, and alien play could use more variety, all fixable if the game stops flushing sessions into space.

Biohybrid Leaf Turns CO2 and Sunlight Into Useful Chemicals

Researchers demo a plant inspired system that mimics photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide and sunlight into valuable chemical building blocks for plastics and cosmetics. A rare plot twist where carbon becomes feedstock instead of guilt, hinting at greener manufacturing if the tech scales.

Palestinian Voices in Games Launches To Elevate Developers

Industry professionals have launched Palestinian Voices in Games, a program to empower current and emerging Palestinian game developers. An overdue power up for underrepresented talent, no loot boxes required, just opportunity and visibility.

Trump’s Campaign Promises Tracker

Trump’s Campaign Promises Tracker, last updated 10/10/25 at 12:47 a.m. ET, tallies which 2024 pledges President Donald Trump has kept versus left hanging, while AllSides cross-references his actions with the Heritage Foundation’s right-leaning Project 2025 to show where his agenda overlaps—and where the campaign confetti hasn’t quite become policy.

Norway Prepares for Trump’s Response to Nobel Peace Prize Decision

Norway prepares for Trump’s response to the Nobel Peace Prize decision by bracing for impact. With Trump cranking up “Peace President” branding—buoyed by a Gaza cease-fire—Oslo fears a snub could trigger one of his trademark grudges, the kind the United Nations tasted over a decades-old renovation contract. And with no U.S. trade deal to cushion the blow, the worry is blunt: a bruised ego turning into foreign policy with an invoice attached.

Republicans Doubt a Democratic ‘Blue Wave’ Is Coming

Republicans Doubt a Democratic ‘Blue Wave’ Is Coming, and they’re acting like the forecast calls for scattered headwinds at worst. Compared to 2018—when a booming economy couldn’t drown out voter fatigue with Trump’s persona and Democrats surfed to the House—GOP strategists are cautiously upbeat about 2026. They’re largely comfortable with the president’s provocations and governing-by-thunderbolt—domestic troop deployments, defying spending directives, an unleashed Justice Department, mass deportations, brushes with the First Amendment—while fretting mainly about a potential economic backlash. Translation: normalize the spectacle, and hope voters only punish you if their wallets do.

Partial Outage Affecting Responses API

Partial Outage Affecting Responses API: the earlier hiccup on the Responses component has been fully mitigated, and the status is now Monitoring—engineers glued to dashboards to make sure it stays that way.

Spiked team to appear live at Battle of Ideas

Spiked team to appear live at Battle of Ideas, with the publication confirming an in-person appearance for anyone who prefers their debates with actual eye contact.

ADIPEC 2025: AI’s Expanding Role in the Energy Sector

ADIPEC 2025: AI’s Expanding Role in the Energy Sector takes center stage in Abu Dhabi from November 3–6, where organizers promise to turn buzzwords into breaker panels under the theme “Energy. Intelligence. Impact.” The world’s largest energy gathering—205,000+ visitors, 2,250+ exhibitors, 1,800+ speakers across 380 sessions, under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed and hosted by ADNOC—will showcase how AI is cutting operating costs 10–25%, lifting productivity 3–8%, and improving energy efficiency 5–8% through predictive maintenance, real‑time forecasting, and autonomous controls. The catch: AI’s own growth is guzzling power, with data center electricity demand expected to more than double by 2030. So, yes, AI can help decarbonize—assuming the grid doesn’t pass out.

Two flagship technical programs (SPE’s Technical Conference and the Downstream Technical Conference) bring 1,100 experts and 200+ sessions, with a record 7,086 submissions—about 20% on AI—from 93 countries. The Strategic Conference convenes ministers, CEOs, and investors across 10 programs spanning geopolitics, decarbonization, finance, gas/LNG, digitalization and AI, emerging economies, and hydrogen. An AI Zone curated with ADNOC gathers Microsoft, Honeywell, ABB, Hexagon, Cognite, and more to lay out the full stack—from sensors to control systems—so operators can actually deploy it. With clean‑energy and enabling‑tech investment projected at $2.2 trillion out of $3.3 trillion in total energy spending this year, ADIPEC’s pitch is simple: turn dialogue into delivery before AI needs its own national grid.

Caerphilly leaflet row, Farage maths turns 85 percent Ukrainians into "asylum seekers"

Nigel Farage is repeating disputed claims about Wales's Nation of Sanctuary spending, with a signed leaflet to Caerphilly voters alleging £55 million is going to asylum seekers and hinting at preferential treatment. Local Ukrainians call that nonsense, noting roughly £45 million, about 85 percent, supports Ukrainian families who arrived legally under schemes like Homes for Ukraine and the Super Sponsor programme. They have filed a complaint with Returning Officer Ed Edmunds and urged residents to report the leaflet. With an October 23 Senedd by-election after the death of Labour MS Hefin David, and Labour looking shaky as Plaid Cymru and Reform scrap for advantage, Reform is doubling down with new materials linking the programme to illegal Channel crossings. Asked to explain the arithmetic, the party declined. Election season translation, when nuance meets a leaflet, nuance loses.

Labour's library limbo, a campaign van versus its own council

Labour is being hit with hypocrisy claims after a Caerphilly by-election van blasts Save Our Libraries while the Labour-run council moves to shut 10 branches to save about £500,000 a year. Candidate Richard Tunnicliffe is fronting a petition to keep them open, even as a judge has put the closures on ice with an interim injunction pending a High Court review. The council's education lead is disappointed and touts an ambitious hubs model. Officials cite a multimillion pound budget gap and talk up community asset transfers, critics say smaller towns will get the short end of the bookmark. Plaid Cymru calls it staggering hypocrisy and pitches Lindsay Whittle as the needed reset. Welsh Labour blames a decade of UK Tory underfunding, points to an extra £261 million for councils plus more than £20 million of Pride in Place cash for the borough, and wants some of it used to avoid closures. For now the libraries are open, the court is watching, and the campaign van is arguing with the council through a loudspeaker.

Pre-election prep on pause, Welsh Government still deciding who gets a meeting

Plaid Cymru is knocking the delay in starting pre-election civil service talks ahead of the 2026 vote, with leader Rhun ap Iorwerth disappointed that First Minister Eluned Morgan has not begun the process seven months out. In Westminster these talks usually start 12 to 16 months before polling day, because governance tends to work better when it is not winging it. In Wales, criteria for which opposition parties get access are still to be determined. Professor Richard Wyn Jones called the stalemate slightly childish, noting a yearlong runway is considered good practice so officials and would-be ministers can prepare. The Welsh Government says the First Minister will decide in due course, Reform UK says it is preparing for government. All this while the government may need opposition votes to pass the next budget. Fail, and spending gets capped at 75 percent. Nothing says stability like speed dating with the civil service a few months before polling day.

GOP Governors Chair Scolds Trump on States' Rights

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, chair of the National Governors Association, publicly pushed back on Donald Trump over Texas sending National Guard resources across state lines into another state like Illinois, calling it a violation of federalism and states' rights. Stitt said Oklahomans would be outraged if Illinois sent troops into Oklahoma. Translation, if the bumper sticker says states' rights, maybe do not mail your soldiers around the country like party swag.

CDC: Heart Disease Still No. 1, Familiar Risks Still Ignored

New CDC data show heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, about 681,000 deaths or 22 percent. Cancer follows at roughly 613,000 or nearly 20 percent. Unintentional injuries rank third at about 223,000, an outlier among age driven killers and more pronounced for men. As the population ages, stroke weighs heavily on women, third for women versus fifth for men, Alzheimer’s affects women more than men, and suicide enters the male top ten while hypertension rounds out the female list. COVID 19 has fallen to tenth with nearly 50,000 deaths in 2023, while diabetes and kidney disease persist. The headline is boring, which is exactly the problem, prevention and policy get a fraction of the airtime that fast food ads enjoy.

Controllers Call In Sick as Shutdown Drags, Delays Mount

About one in ten air traffic controllers are calling in sick each day amid the government shutdown, and flight delays and cancellations are climbing. Officials say staffing shortfalls now account for roughly 53 percent of delays, up from a typical 5 percent, as towers already stretched thin get squeezed. The controllers union says it is not coordinating sickouts or actions that undermine the National Airspace System. Transportation officials say genuine illness is fine, but if absences are coordinated those people should not be in the towers. Shutdown logic in practice, ask safety critical workers to keep the skies safe without pay, then scold them for missing shifts, and promise back pay later only for hours worked once the government reopens.

Powerful 7.6 Quake Triggers Tsunami Warnings in Southern Philippines

A 7.6 magnitude offshore earthquake struck near Manay, Davao Oriental, at a shallow depth of roughly six miles, prompting immediate tsunami warnings and evacuations to higher ground across central and southern coastal areas of the Philippines. Authorities warned of aftershocks and possible waves one to three meters above normal tides. Indonesia issued alerts for northern Sulawesi and Papua, and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said Indonesia and Palau could see waves up to one meter. Officials reported panic and some building damage. The region sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and recent quakes have added strain. People in affected areas should follow local guidance and updates.

Channel crossings surge, political promises spring leaks

Small-boat crossings are on pace for a record with October barely underway. More than 35,000 people have crossed the Channel this year, hitting last year's milestone roughly two and a half months sooner. The total is just over 1,000 shy of surpassing all of 2024 and could tip over this weekend with calm weather. The record remains 46,000 in 2022, and even falling short would still be a grim tally. The Prime Minister who vowed to end this visible manifestation of illegal migration now says there are no quick fixes, and Smash the gangs has been quietly swapped for a multi-pronged approach heavy on promises. The UK France returns deal has sent back 26 and received 18 in two months, set against more than 10,000 arrivals in the same span. Calling that a deterrent requires a straight face usually reserved for budget forecasts. Labour touts law enforcement plus returns deals with countries like Albania and Pakistan, but so far the only thing scaling reliably is the smugglers' business model.

England 3, Wales 0, and that was the warm-up

Wales took a 3-0 tutorial at England that left Craig Bellamy's side nursing more than pride ahead of a crucial World Cup qualifier against Belgium. England wrote the lesson plan. Belgium will be grading with a red pen.

Ubuntu 25.10 Questing Quokka makes Wayland the default reality

Ubuntu 25.10 arrives with the Linux 6.17 kernel, GNOME 49, and a Wayland only session on Ubuntu Desktop, so no Xorg at login. It swaps in GNOME's Loupe as the default image viewer and Ptyxis as the terminal, and adds a new update notification that lets you open Software Updater or install right away. Under the hood it moves to sudo-rs by default, Dracut for initramfs, Chrony for NTP, Rust Coreutils, and TPM backed full disk encryption recovery key management. GPU support gets a shine up with NVIDIA Dynamic Boost, proper suspend resume on NVIDIA desktops to avoid wake from nap corruption, and new support for Intel integrated and discrete GPUs. It is available to download. Pet the quokka, but do not expect it to ask permission before using Wayland.

RFK Jr. pushes debunked autism claims

RFK Jr. now says it is highly likely circumcision is linked to autism, then doubled down by tying autism rates to Tylenol. Epidemiology by Mad Libs makes for spicy social posts, but it does not make science. Large, well controlled studies have found no credible causal link between circumcision or acetaminophen use and autism, and medical experts have repeatedly rejected these claims. This is one of those moments where skepticism is not a personality, it is a responsibility.

Shutdown stalemate, optics booming

Democrats blocked a GOP shutdown bill and the Senate failed for the seventh time to reopen the government, pushing the closure into day nine as the president touted a first phase deal in a Cabinet meeting after seeing Finland's leader. No resolution in sight, but the photo ops are moving briskly, because Washington never shuts down the mirror.

FBI fires two agents tied to Jack Smith probe, timing draws scrutiny

According to multiple reports, the FBI dismissed two special agents connected to special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into Donald Trump, as the Senate Judiciary Committee released an unclassified Sept. 27, 2023 document showing the FBI analyzed phone records of nine Republican members of Congress last year. The choreography may be accidental, but the optics look like they were storyboarded by a committee of bureaucrats with an eye for awkward timing.

Jeffries backs standalone military pay, presses Johnson to reconvene House

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said he supports a clean bill to ensure service members get paid during the shutdown and urged Speaker Mike Johnson to call lawmakers back after canceling votes since Sept. 29. Imagine Congress pausing its self-created cliffhanger long enough to pay the people they send into harm's way.

Dominion sold, rebranded as Liberty Vote

Dominion Voting Systems, long a target of false stolen election claims, has been sold to Scott Leiendecker, a former Republican director of elections, and will be renamed Liberty Vote. New name, familiar politics, and a tall order: convincing conspiracy entrepreneurs to retire their favorite phantom.

Kimmel says critics twisted Charlie Kirk remarks

Jimmy Kimmel told Bloomberg Screentime that his comments about Charlie Kirk were maliciously mischaracterized and says the dustup led to a brief ABC suspension. In today's outrage economy, context is the first thing cut for time.

Poll: Cornyn and Paxton deadlocked in Texas GOP Senate primary

A University of Houston and Texas Southern University survey shows Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton tied for the lead, with Rep. Wesley Hunt about 10 points back. It is a coin flip at the top while Hunt searches the couch cushions for momentum.

Fetterman: Nobel for Trump if Gaza agreement holds

Sen. John Fetterman said on Fox News that President Trump should receive a Nobel Peace Prize if the Israel and Hamas peace plan sticks. Peace first, prizes later, and for once a bipartisan sentence that does not require a fact-checker and a fire extinguisher.

IPO-ready CEOs see ideal market conditions to list—will the window last?

IPO-ready CEOs see ideal market conditions to list—will the window last? After a yearslong drought and a SPAC hangover worthy of medical intervention, a run of mostly successful debuts and a roughly 70% jump in IPO proceeds year-to-date has confidence back—and private equity, sitting on a record 29,000 portfolio companies worth $3.6 trillion, is itching for exits after average holds stretched past six years. Regulators are dangling sweeter terms, even musing about less-frequent report cards, worried that endless private cash will hollow out America’s great national pastime: the stock market.

Investors, chastened by 2021’s carnival, now want a quaint relic called profits—a quarter of this year’s IPOs had them, more than double 2021’s share. Names in the queue or just through the door: CoreWeave, Figma, Wealthfront, Navan, Netskope, StubHub, and Proofpoint, which could float around $20 billion. Blackstone broke a four-year lull with one listing and is prepping Ancestry.com; it’s also weighing an IPO for Encore. Goldman just had its busiest IPO week since July 2021.

Caveat: post-listing performance is patchy—the Renaissance IPO index is only slightly ahead of the S&P, buoyed by a few high-fliers. As one CEO put it, investors want the window open—and fast. With “capital not free any longer” and PE overextended, the window is open; it just might be a drive-thru, not a banquet.

Temple University researchers secure NCAA grant to develop AI mentor for student-athletes

Temple University researchers secure NCAA grant to develop AI mentor for student-athletes: Meet Sam, the virtual mentor inside JournAI, a Temple-built app designed to support athletes’ mental health, career planning, and life after the final whistle—aka that “go pro in something other than sports” moment the NCAA loves to advertise. Led by associate professor Elizabeth Taylor with former Owls athletes, the team landed roughly a third of the $100,000 2025 Innovations in Research and Practice Grant; early pilot tests with about 30 Division I–III athletes showed promising behavioral changes. Sam is non-gendered, confidential, and built with guardrails—no, it won’t write your term paper—and serves as a bridge to campus resources rather than a replacement for humans. The next phase aims to enroll 75–100 participants in Spring 2026, with the long-term goal of making Sam available to all NCAA athletes, and maybe all college students. In short: an NCAA-backed tool that might actually help student-athletes go pro in well-being, not burnout.

Tim Westwood, former Radio 1 DJ, faces rape charges

Tim Westwood, the former Radio 1 DJ, faces rape charges, with the 68-year-old now charged with sexual offences against seven women. Authorities have not released further details at this time.

C-SPAN caller confronts Speaker Mike Johnson over potential lapse in military pay: “My kids could die”

C-SPAN caller confronts Speaker Mike Johnson over potential lapse in military pay: “My kids could die.” In a rare C‑SPAN call-in—the first by a sitting Speaker since 2001—Johnson fielded an emotional plea from a woman whose husband serves, as military families brace for a possible pay lapse. Johnson put the onus on Democrats for refusing to back a GOP spending package, a master class in Washington’s favorite exercise: turning troop pay into a partisan tug-of-war. The exchange laid bare the stakes for families while leaders keep perfecting the art of blame without budget.

Upcycled water bottles transformed into a high-performance supercapacitor

Upcycled water bottles transformed into a high-performance supercapacitor: Researchers reporting in Energy & Fuels used heat-based fabrication to turn landfill-bound PET from single-use bottles into both electrodes and separator films, building an all-plastic supercapacitor that outperformed a similar device using a traditional glass fiber separator. In other words, a bottle that finally stores energy instead of guilt—proof that with a little ingenuity, our throwaway culture can be tricked into doing something useful. Now if only the companies churning out PET could keep up.