Positioning for Independence Versant, the cable television unit comprising Comcast’s MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, Golf Channel, and various digital properties, is preparing to operate as an independent company following its planned separation from Comcast at the end of 2025. The spin-off will leave Comcast in control of NBCUniversal, including the flagship NBC network, Peacock, and NBC Sports. However, Versant will retain access to NBC’s sports portfolio for two years after the split, allowing it to broadcast events such as the Premier League, Olympic Games, and WNBA during that period. Versant’s president of sport, Matt Hong, emphasized that viewers will continue…
Author: Emily Harper
Jacklyn Gise Bezos remembered for resilience and dedication Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced Thursday that his mother, Jacklyn Gise Bezos, has died at the age of 78 after a long battle with Lewy body dementia. She passed away at her Miami home surrounded by family, according to the Bezos Scholars Program, a foundation she co-founded with her husband, Mike Bezos. A life marked by perseverance Born in Washington, D.C., Gise Bezos became a mother to Jeff at 17 while living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As a young single parent, she balanced night school with a bank job, where she met…
Tropical Storm Erin continues to gather strength as it moves westward across increasingly favorable Atlantic waters. As of Thursday, August 14, 2025, the National Hurricane Center reports Erin was located approximately 890 miles east of the Northern Leeward Islands, packing 60 mph sustained winds and advancing west at 17 mph. Forecasters warn that the storm is poised to intensify into a hurricane by Friday, and could escalate further into a Category 3 major hurricane by late Saturday, making it the first major hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season. Experts highlight that Erin is moving into a zone where sea surface temperatures are…
Iea Sees Faster-Than-Expected Output Growth Global oil supply is set to rise more sharply than anticipated in 2025 and 2026, driven by higher production from OPEC+ members and steady gains from producers outside the alliance, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). In its latest monthly report, the agency said output will grow by 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, up from its earlier 2.1 million bpd forecast, and by another 1.9 million bpd next year. The upward revision follows OPEC+’s decision to unwind recent output cuts ahead of schedule, adding more crude to a market already under…
Public-Private Partnership to Advance U.S. Research NVIDIA has joined forces with the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to accelerate the development of multimodal AI models designed to advance scientific discovery. This collaboration centers on the Open Multimodal AI Infrastructure to Accelerate Science (OMAI) initiative, led by the Allen Institute for AI (Ai2). The project aims to establish a fully open AI ecosystem, giving U.S. researchers access to advanced models, datasets, and tools to drive breakthroughs across scientific disciplines. The partnership aligns with the White House AI Action Plan, which prioritizes open technology and the expansion of AI-enabled science. The agreement…
On August 13, 2025, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a high-profile lawsuit against Early Warning Services (EWS), the operator of the Zelle payments platform. The suit, lodged in a Manhattan state court, alleges that the company’s failure to implement critical security measures enabled criminals to steal more than $1 billion from consumers between 2017 and 2023. The complaint names EWS as well as its seven major bank owners—Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, Wells Fargo, PNC, Truist, and U.S. Bank—accusing them of knowingly allowing a payment system to operate with exploitable weaknesses. James argued that Zelle’s design…
Government Aims to Avoid Layoffs Despite warnings from economists that significant staff reductions may be unavoidable to meet operational spending targets, Government Transformation Minister Joël Lightbound says the federal plan is to shrink the public service primarily through retirements and resignations. Speaking after the unveiling of a new Cultural Heritage Science facility, Lightbound reiterated that the government’s “intention” is to rely on attrition rather than direct layoffs, although he acknowledged it is too early to confirm if job cuts can be completely avoided. The approach follows instructions from Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali, who in…
Berlin Meeting Sets Stage for High-Level Talks Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Berlin to meet German Chancellor Friedrich Merz before a series of crucial discussions with US and European leaders. The meeting, held at the Federal Chancellery, comes just two days before US President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. According to Zelensky’s spokesperson, the agenda in Berlin focuses on aligning positions ahead of video conferences that will include European heads of government, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and President Trump. The German government confirmed that the first call involving Zelensky, Trump, and European…
Amazon is widening Prime’s Same-Day Delivery service to include fresh groceries—such as blueberries, milk, meat, seafood, baked goods, and frozen items—alongside everyday products, all in a single cart, delivered within hours. The service now spans over 1,000 U.S. cities and towns, with plans to reach more than 2,300 by the end of 2025. Prime members receive free delivery on eligible orders of $25 or more, while smaller baskets face a $2.99 fee. Non-members can still use the service for a $12.99 per-order charge. This nationwide expansion marks a bold grocery push from Amazon, allowing shoppers to consolidate perishables and non-food…
A City Like No Other When Canadian travel content creator Joshua Guvi visited Chongqing for the first time in November, he worried the city might not live up to the hype he’d seen online. Perched in the mountains of southwestern China, this sprawling metropolis is often dubbed China’s “8D city” for its dizzying, multi-level design. Including its vast rural outskirts, Chongqing covers an area the size of Austria. With little flat land and a booming population, the city has grown upward in astonishing ways — one building even has a working train line running straight through it. Guvi left impressed.…