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Disney CEO Admits ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu’ and ‘Moana’ Underperformed at Box Office but ‘Fueled Other Parts of Our Company’
Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro has acknowledged that “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” and the live-action remake of “Moana” both underperformed at the box office this summer, but argued the films still benefited the wider company through merchandise, theme park attractions and streaming. Speaking on Disney’s latest earnings call, D’Amaro said franchise investments continue to…
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Cloud startup Volta claims $10B AI lab deal for Norway bit barn
Norwegian AI infrastructure startup Volta has emerged from stealth with plans to build “AI factories” in Norway and elsewhere, targeting multiple gigawatts of capacity by 2030. The company, backed by Nvidia and Michael Dell’s family office, positions itself as a “vertically integrated” rent-a-GPU operator similar to rivals such as Nscale and CoreWeave, and says it…
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‘Parkinson’s Valley’: the herbicide haunting a New York farm town
In Hebron, a small farming town in New York’s Washington county, residents including farmer Gordon Chaplin believe long-term exposure to the herbicide paraquat has caused a cluster of Parkinson’s disease cases among their community. Chaplin, 81, developed symptoms nearly a decade ago and was later diagnosed with the incurable degenerative brain disease, despite having no…
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MIKE PENCE: Congress must finish Lindsey Graham’s fight against Putin
Former Vice President Mike Pence has written an opinion piece calling on Congress to complete legislative work championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham aimed at pressuring Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine. Pence praises Graham, who died recently, as a steadfast advocate for American strength as the best guarantor of peace,…
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Cooper Hoffman Is Courting Controversy — Onscreen, Anyway
Cooper Hoffman, son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, is stepping out from under the protective wing of his father’s old collaborators and taking on deliberately provocative roles, notably in Gregg Araki’s boundary-pushing film I Want Your Sex. The Hollywood Reporter profile traces his journey from unexpected overnight stardom in Licorice Pizza to a more…
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Trump is failing the vibe-check for voters
Republicans aren’t just fighting stubborn inflation and a slowing economy, they are contending with voters who feel worse about their lives across almost every category pollsters can measure.
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Johnson says things ‘don’t look good’ for Max Miller
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in an interview that things “don’t look good” for Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), who is facing calls to step down in connection with allegations of domestic abuse toward his ex-wife, the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio). Johnson told Politico’s Dasha Burns in the latest episode of “The Conversation”…
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‘Leicester Square, please guv’: Self-driving taxis cleared for London streets ‘later this summer’
Uber and the London-based technology firm Wayve have been granted the first minicab licences in London for self-driving taxis, with paid trips due to begin “later this summer” ahead of a full public launch. A human safety driver will remain behind the wheel initially, but the move marks a significant step in London becoming one…
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Robinhood to list a fund that lets anyone back Y Combinator startups
Robinhood has unveiled Robinhood Venture Fund II (RVII), a publicly traded fund set to list on 13 August that lets retail investors put money into startups linked to Y Combinator without holding direct shares in those companies. The launch extends Robinhood’s push to give ordinary investors exposure to hot private companies, but it comes with…
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Businesses in England: tell us about your experience of taking on apprentices
The Guardian is inviting businesses in England to share their experiences of taking on apprentices, following government plans to create thousands more apprenticeship places as part of a wider overhaul of technical and vocational education. The call-out aims to gather first-hand accounts from employers to inform coverage of how apprenticeship schemes are working in practice…