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Netflix Sets ‘Heartstopper: Ending on a Hi’ Special
Netflix has announced a behind-the-scenes special titled Heartstopper: Ending on a Hi, marking the conclusion of its acclaimed LGBTQ+ teen romance series starring Kit Connor and Joe Locke. The special draws on previously unseen archival footage spanning every season through to the final film, and brings together the cast, creator Alice Oseman, executive producer Patrick…
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A current Valve designer recreated Half-Life 2’s Ravenholm in the Source 2 engine, and says he was “blown away at how powerful these tools are”
A designer currently working at Valve has rebuilt Ravenholm, the memorably grim zombie-infested town from Half-Life 2, inside the newer Source 2 engine, and shared his enthusiasm about the experience. He said he was “blown away at how powerful these tools are,” offering fans a glimpse of how one of the series’ most iconic locations…
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Protomartyr confirm venues and support acts for autumn North American and European tour
Protomartyr, the Detroit post-punk band, have announced a run of live dates across North America and Europe, beginning in autumn 2025 and continuing into early 2026. The tour matters chiefly for fans awaiting new activity from the group, whose most recent album, Formal Growth in the Desert, arrived in 2023, with no follow-up yet confirmed.…
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Chefs name America’s best fast-food fried chicken and biscuits — and one chain stands above the rest
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen has been named the best fast-food chain for fried chicken and biscuits by a panel of five professional chefs, in a taste comparison organised by the website Allrecipes. The near-unanimous verdict matters as a marker of brand standing in the fiercely competitive American fried chicken market, where Popeyes was judged to have…
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UK must stop young people spending ‘endless hours in solitude, relentlessly online’ or risk another Southport massacre, inquiry hears
The second phase of the public inquiry into the 2024 Southport stabbing massacre has opened in London, warning that action must be taken to stop isolated young people spending “endless hours in solitude, relentlessly online” and being drawn towards imitating the killer, Axel Rudakubana. This stage matters because it moves beyond the individual failings that…
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Bolt of lightning struck house, traveled through wiring and shocked boy who was playing computer game, investigators say
A 13-year-old boy in Cypress, Texas, near Houston, was shocked while playing computer games when a bolt of lightning struck his home on Tuesday, according to investigators. Vlad Skuridin was at his bedroom desk when he was thrown backwards after the current reached him through a metal part of the desk that his skin was…
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Travis Kelce Recalls ‘Epic’ Day With Taylor Swift Leading Up to His Marriage Proposal
On the latest episode of his New Heights podcast, posted on Wednesday (8 July), NFL star Travis Kelce revealed that he was privately planning to propose to Taylor Swift throughout the recording of her celebrated guest appearance last August. The disclosure matters because that episode — the podcast’s most-viewed upload — turned out to be…
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Moana review – Dwayne Johnson’s demigod on autopilot in dull live-action remake
The Guardian has published a review of Disney’s live-action remake of its 2016 animated hit Moana, awarding it a lukewarm verdict. The reviewer describes the film as competent but essentially pointless, a “back-to-basics” retelling that adds little to the original and comes across as a cynical, commercially driven exercise. The critique matters as another example…
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Moana live-action remake left disappointingly flat, Collider critic finds
Collider critic Taylor Gates has reviewed Disney’s new live-action remake of *Moana*, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Maui and newcomer Catherine Laga’aia as Moana, and found it underwhelming. Published on 8 July 2026, the review argues that the film feels unnecessary — particularly as the animated original was released only a decade ago —…
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Solo GP Ashley Smith announces second $25M fund to back startups in AI, security and more
Vermilion Cliffs Ventures, the firm founded in 2023 by operator-turned-investor Ashley Smith, has announced the close of a $25 million second fund to back early-stage technical founders. Smith runs the firm as one of the few solo women general partners in venture capital, and the new fund continues her thesis of investing in startups building…