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Anthropic debuts Opus 5 at half the price of its Fable sibling
Anthropic has launched Claude Opus 5, saying it approaches the capabilities of its higher-end Fable 5 model while charging half as much per input and output token. The release matters to businesses facing growing AI usage costs, although task-level spending can still differ because models need varying numbers of tokens to complete the same work.…
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‘The dogs were getting upset’: How LA band Muna survived their worst ever gig
Muna have recalled their “worst ever gig”, an acoustic performance at a Las Vegas dog-adoption festival where faulty equipment produced painful feedback and distressed the dogs. The incident came early in the LA trio’s career, but it now illustrates the difficult beginnings they overcame to become an acclaimed live act with prominent supporters including Taylor…
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Norwegian Zombie Comedy ‘Grandmonster’ Wins Big Laughs and Top Outpost Award at Fantasia’s Frontières Market
Norwegian director Vegard Dahle’s zombie comedy “Grandmonster” won the top Outpost Award at Fantasia Festival’s Frontières Co-Production Market, earning post-production services. The project drew a notably enthusiastic response during its pitch, suggesting strong industry interest in its blend of horror, comedy and dementia-related family drama. The film follows an American dropout who accidentally causes a…
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The “best” band Josh Homme thought would never be famous
Josh Homme praised Creedence Clearwater Revival as an exceptional band whose lasting appeal has only grown with time, despite their unassuming image making them seem unlikely candidates for mass fame. The article presents this as evidence that strong songwriting and a distinctive sound can outweigh fashion or scene-driven expectations. Homme suggested that CCR, led by…
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‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Is Hiding the Scarlet Witch’s Return in Plain Sight
Marvel Studios has fuelled speculation that Scarlet Witch could return in Avengers: Doomsday by displaying a changing “Latverian Witch” costume at San Diego Comic-Con. The article argues that the wording is more significant than the changing colours, because recent MCU series have established witches as a distinct magical tradition closely associated with Wanda Maximoff. The…
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Ontario Wildfires Prompt Mask-Up Orders and Drone Bans on Film Sets — But Production Rolls On
Ontario’s severe wildfire season has brought smoke-related health precautions and drone restrictions to film and television shoots, but production across the province has largely continued. The situation matters because Ontario’s screen industry is a major economic sector still recovering from pandemic disruption and the 2023 Hollywood strikes. Around 146 fires were active as of Wednesday,…
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PSN Was Down for 6+ Hours, But All Services Now Up and Running
PlayStation Network suffered widespread disruption for more than six hours on 24 July, affecting log-ins, friends lists, game downloads and the PlayStation Store. Sony later said services were fully restored, although some users may have continued to encounter isolated problems; the incident mattered because it prevented players from accessing key online and purchased-content features. The…
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Why Trump’s new tariffs are less likely to lose a legal battle
Donald Trump’s new tariffs are considered more legally defensible because they rely on Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, a provision that explicitly permits action against unfair foreign trade practices. This differs from earlier broad tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court, which had been imposed under emergency powers that did not clearly authorise…
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Prentis, new AI lab co-founded by Reid Hoffman, Marc Pincus in talks to raise $100M
Prentis, an AI research lab co-founded by Ritankar Das, Reid Hoffman and Marc Pincus, is reportedly discussing a $100 million funding round at a $1 billion valuation. The company is developing AI agents that can operate computers to automate routine office work, a potentially significant market as businesses seek to reduce administrative workloads. Launched in…
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Donald Trump warns it will be ‘very bad’ for Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin if China or Russia arm Iran
Donald Trump warned that it would be “very bad” for Chinese president Xi Jinping and Russian president Vladimir Putin if China or Russia were to arm Iran. The warning highlights concern over the possibility of outside powers increasing Iran’s military capacity amid wider international tensions. The article, as provided, does not include details of when…