Endless swiping has left a generation of singles burned out. But get real: dating assistants and AI-aided chats will never recreate the friction of real romance After years of shrinking usage and tumbling stock prices, the dating app Bumble is teasing a major change to its product. But in solving one problem, it might be walking right into another. The company told Axios this month that it’s getti...
Endless swiping has left a generation of singles burned out. But get real: dating assistants and AI-aided chats will never recreate the friction of real romance After years of shrinking usage and tumbling stock prices, the dating app Bumble is teasing a major change to its product. But in solving one problem, it might be walking right into another. The company told Axios this month that it’s getting rid of a dating app mainstay: the swipe. The feature made it easy for people to carelessly flick through photos, said CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, leading to a user experience with too many dead-end conversations. Going forward, Bumble will focus on features that make for deeper, more meaningful connections, she said. Namely, an AI assistant named “Bee”. While it’s still unclear exactly what Bee will do, its responsibilities will include punching up users’ profiles by suggesting better options for their photos and personal blurbs. Bumble says it will also use AI to chat with people about their dating preferences and help them find others with similar “values”. Tatum Hunter is a technology journalist based in Brooklyn. She writes on Substack at Bytatumhunter Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here . Continue reading...
For years the NBA has wondered what would happen if it had a giant who could do everything. The San Antonio Spurs star has given us an answer The NBA season began with serious questions about Victor Wembanyama’s ability to last the distance in the playoffs. Could this brilliant ectomorph , a blend of rare height and even rarer skill, stand up to the rigors of a deep postseason run? Would his slim ...
For years the NBA has wondered what would happen if it had a giant who could do everything. The San Antonio Spurs star has given us an answer The NBA season began with serious questions about Victor Wembanyama’s ability to last the distance in the playoffs. Could this brilliant ectomorph , a blend of rare height and even rarer skill, stand up to the rigors of a deep postseason run? Would his slim body snap under the intensity of professional basketball’s sternest tests? The results are in: Wembanyama will this week lead the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA finals . At just 22 years of age, basketball’s next superstar has arrived: slightly ahead of schedule, but with every part of his brilliance emphatically affirmed. “Wemby” landed in America as the NBA’s No 1 overall draft pick in 2023, an alien in both stature (his official height is listed as 7ft 4in, though many claim he may be as tall as 7ft 6in), nationality (French), and foreign-language proficiency (fluent in English, despite never having lived outside his home country). Sure enough, “The Alien” quickly became his nickname. But the flood of tears with which he greeted his team’s defeat of Oklahoma City in Saturday night’s Game 7 of the Western Conference finals revealed a different side to this outlier of outliers: the human side. More than his freakish physique or the sheer absurdity of the spectacle he presents on court, towering over established giants of the game like some basketballing Burj Khalifa, it’s Wemby’s humanity that makes him such a compulsively interesting and watchable star. He is the alien who longs to be among us. Continue reading...
Updates from Monday’s fourth-round matches Email Daniel | Jódar and Fonseca into last eight Salut à tous et bienvenue à Roland-Garros 2026 – neuvième jour! And devinez quoi? It’s another banger absolu! We begin with an intriguing match on Chatrier, Flavio Cobolli beginning to establish himself as a second-week staple. His all-round game, when on, is perfect for the clay on which he was raised, a m...
Updates from Monday’s fourth-round matches Email Daniel | Jódar and Fonseca into last eight Salut à tous et bienvenue à Roland-Garros 2026 – neuvième jour! And devinez quoi? It’s another banger absolu! We begin with an intriguing match on Chatrier, Flavio Cobolli beginning to establish himself as a second-week staple. His all-round game, when on, is perfect for the clay on which he was raised, a mix of vicious attack and tenacious defence, and in Zach Svajda, he faces an opponent he knows he should beat, but also one in terrific form. Opening on Lenglen, meanwhile, we’ll enjoy Anastasia Potapova, perhaps starting to make good on her potential – to get here, she dismissed Coco Gauff, the defending champion – against Anna Kalinskaya, looking to go deep in a slam for the first time. This is the biggest match of both of their lives. All the more so given waiting for them in the last eight is either Diane Parry or Maja Chwalinska, second on Lenglen and also enjoying their best-ever major performance. And, as we move into the afternoon, Madison Keys – the 2025 Australian Open winner, words it never gets boring to type – takes on Diana Shnaider, with Naomi Osaka or Aryna Sabalenka awaiting the winner. After which, the men take centre stage, all of them seeking to profit from the opportunity of a lifetime given a draw now missing Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Chances are, Matteo Berrettini, Félix Auger-Aliassime and Frances Tiafoe have all spent time processing and reconciling the likelihood that they were unlikely to realise dreams of winning a biggun that, in their youth, seemed not only realistic but likely. Continue reading...
Seasonal wardens and netted fences are helping protect the rare ground-nesting birds that arrive each spring on the UK’s shores On Ross Sands in Northumberland, a little tern has caught sight of a group of people and is sprinting across the beach. “It wants us to follow it,” says Andrew Craggs, senior manager at Lindisfarne national nature reserve . “It’s a diversionary thing – it’s got a scrape a...
Seasonal wardens and netted fences are helping protect the rare ground-nesting birds that arrive each spring on the UK’s shores On Ross Sands in Northumberland, a little tern has caught sight of a group of people and is sprinting across the beach. “It wants us to follow it,” says Andrew Craggs, senior manager at Lindisfarne national nature reserve . “It’s a diversionary thing – it’s got a scrape and it wants to take us away because it thinks we’re predators.” Craggs is no predator, and he’s not after the scrape – a small pit the ground-nesting bird has dug into the sand to lay its eggs. He is a guardian of these little birds, as well as more than 3,500 hectares (8,600 acres) of sand dunes, saltmarsh and mudflats that make up this tranquil nature reserve perched on the tip of England’s north-east coast. Continue reading...
Research for Roundhouse in London shows 87% of 18- to 30-year-olds believe they have fewer artistic opportunities Rising costs, the disappearance of third spaces and reduced access to artistic opportunities are causing young people to feel “disconnected, isolated and locked out of creativity”, according to research commissioned by a youth arts charity. The Roundhouse , a multi-arts venue in north ...
Research for Roundhouse in London shows 87% of 18- to 30-year-olds believe they have fewer artistic opportunities Rising costs, the disappearance of third spaces and reduced access to artistic opportunities are causing young people to feel “disconnected, isolated and locked out of creativity”, according to research commissioned by a youth arts charity. The Roundhouse , a multi-arts venue in north London that reopened in 2006 with a focus on running youth programmes, has released the findings to coincide with the publication of its 20-year impact report on Monday. Continue reading...
The latest in our series of writers highlighting their most rewatched comfort films is a personal tribute to the inspirational British drama For me, feeling good isn’t about escape, it’s about confrontation. Staring the thing you truly care about in the eye and giving in to it. It’s about empowerment, courage, optimism. I’m a sucker for coming-of-age films, the idea of striving to be the person yo...
The latest in our series of writers highlighting their most rewatched comfort films is a personal tribute to the inspirational British drama For me, feeling good isn’t about escape, it’s about confrontation. Staring the thing you truly care about in the eye and giving in to it. It’s about empowerment, courage, optimism. I’m a sucker for coming-of-age films, the idea of striving to be the person you want to be despite the circumstances around you, and no film hits home for me like Billy Elliot. The low-budget drama danced its way through cinema projectors and on to the screen in September 2000, a few weeks after my fourth birthday. The film, set in County Durham in 1984, focuses on Billy (played by Jamie Bell), the younger brother of Tony, who is part of the miners’ strike, alongside his father, Jackie, who is a widower. Billy is 11 and a reluctant boxer who finds himself drawn toward Sandra (Julie Walters) and her ballet classes, which are taking place in the boxing gym as their studio is being used to feed the striking miners. He knows these dreams are not for young men like him, and is petrified of how his older brother and father will respond to his newfound passion, but the chain-smoking Sandra sees a natural aptitude (and above all determination) in Billy and helps him to audition for the Royal Ballet School in London. Continue reading...
Oregon man with extensive criminal record fired at three officers while speeding away from a traffic stop in 2025 A man with the unusual name Loony Toon and a lengthy rap sheet has been given 20 years in prison after admitting that he shot at police officers in Oregon , according to authorities. The 43-year-old whose name calls to mind the classic television cartoon franchise Looney Tunes – as wel...
Oregon man with extensive criminal record fired at three officers while speeding away from a traffic stop in 2025 A man with the unusual name Loony Toon and a lengthy rap sheet has been given 20 years in prison after admitting that he shot at police officers in Oregon , according to authorities. The 43-year-old whose name calls to mind the classic television cartoon franchise Looney Tunes – as well as a colloquial term some invoke when describing an eccentric or irrational person – fired a gun at three officers while speeding away from a 20 June 2025 traffic stop in the community of Milwaukie, local prosecutors said in a statement on Thursday. Continue reading...
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth told Asia’s biggest military conference that his country’s relations with China were “better than they’ve been in many years”, as he adopted a much less strident tone than at the same event 12 months ago. “President Trump and this administration seek a stable peace, fair trade and respectful relations with China,” Hegseth said on Saturday at the Shangri-La Dial...
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth told Asia’s biggest military conference that his country’s relations with China were “better than they’ve been in many years”, as he adopted a much less strident tone than at the same event 12 months ago. “President Trump and this administration seek a stable peace, fair trade and respectful relations with China,” Hegseth said on Saturday at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The two countries agreed to “build a constructive relationship of strategic...
A semi-annual reshuffle of key gauges tracking China’s yuan-denominated stocks is set to boost the representation of technology companies, a move expected to lure more inflows and further increase the sector’s appeal, according to investment banks. The shake-up was projected to spur US$3.1 billion of inflows into tech hardware and semiconductor makers, according to Goldman Sachs. Domestic brokerag...
A semi-annual reshuffle of key gauges tracking China’s yuan-denominated stocks is set to boost the representation of technology companies, a move expected to lure more inflows and further increase the sector’s appeal, according to investment banks. The shake-up was projected to spur US$3.1 billion of inflows into tech hardware and semiconductor makers, according to Goldman Sachs. Domestic brokerages including Guosen Securities said the changes would inject more confidence into tech stocks,...
Gabe Newell , the co-founder and president of the gaming company Valve Corp. , spent a morning in November 2023 with a handful of lawyers at the Arctic Club Hotel in downtown Seattle, talking in circles. Newell’s company runs Steam , the dominant online store for PC games, and was facing a lawsuit filed by a set of independent game developers who claimed that Steam operated an illegal monopoly in ...
Gabe Newell , the co-founder and president of the gaming company Valve Corp. , spent a morning in November 2023 with a handful of lawyers at the Arctic Club Hotel in downtown Seattle, talking in circles. Newell’s company runs Steam , the dominant online store for PC games, and was facing a lawsuit filed by a set of independent game developers who claimed that Steam operated an illegal monopoly in the $40 billion industry. Because developers relied so heavily on Steam, the suit argued, Valve has been able to stymie competition and charge “supracompetitive” fees. The suit, which is ongoing, centers on what the developers alleged was a tacit company policy designed to punish them for offering discounts at competing online stores. But instead of defending the purported rule, Newell just denied it existed. “Valve does not have a policy or practice of dictating prices to third-party software developers on other platforms,” he said, according to a previously unreported transcript of his deposition. Presented with internal communications in which Valve employees appeared to be enforcing the rule, Newell repeated his denial, at times verbatim, again and again. When an attorney pressed him on how Valve would react if a developer did charge less money for a game on a competing store, Newell demurred. “I’m confused by your question,” he said, before later adding, “Many of our partners and many of our customers are quite happy with the service that we’re providing.” Indeed, Valve has a rabid fan base of tens of millions of users for whom Steam is a core part of their online life. The network effects alone make it hard to imagine searching out an alternative, and other online stores have rarely offered features compelling enough to lure people away. Many gamers also regard Newell as an anticorporate hero. For Valve’s business partners, the situation can be more complicated. Having a unified software and sales hub arguably benefits gamers and game makers. Microsoft Corp. ’s former...
In this article ELF TGT WMT BBY BURL TJX W ROST Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Shoppers enter and exit a Dior luxury boutique in Venice, Italy, on Nov. 16, 2025. Michael Nguyen/NurPhoto via Getty Images The retail industry emerged from a choppy first quarter relatively unscathed, but higher than usual tax refunds and an uptick in buy now, pay later use likely helped to buoy spendi...
In this article ELF TGT WMT BBY BURL TJX W ROST Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Shoppers enter and exit a Dior luxury boutique in Venice, Italy, on Nov. 16, 2025. Michael Nguyen/NurPhoto via Getty Images The retail industry emerged from a choppy first quarter relatively unscathed, but higher than usual tax refunds and an uptick in buy now, pay later use likely helped to buoy spending. As Wall Street looks ahead to the second quarter, the period could offer a clearer view on consumer health and just how much high gas prices and persistent inflation have disrupted the economy and pressured already-strained household budgets. "Once you got through April and May, you're really not seeing the impact of tax refunds anymore, and those months were a little bit choppier, so there's a lot of moving pieces that maybe kept the consumer going for longer than we would have expected," said Janine Stichter, a retail analyst and managing director at BTIG. "As you peel back these tax refunds, you might start to see some of the underlying weakness … the consumer has not yet fully fallen apart and that's why I think people are really looking to Q2 to say, 'All right, well, what does the health of the consumer actually look like?'" The period between February and May — which encompasses many retailers' fiscal first-quarter results — brought a fresh wave of concerns about household spending. President Donald Trump started a new conflict in the Middle East , which led to surging gas prices , plummeting consumer confidence and renewed concerns about the health of the U.S. economy . But when retailers reported their first-quarter results over the last few weeks, there were few cracks to be found as sales rose, profits grew and outlooks stayed consistent at many of the largest U.S. companies. "It was a surprisingly robust quarter," said Neil Saunders, retail analyst and managing director at GlobalData. "Despite the rising gas prices, I think despite the choppiness in consumer...
"At what point does it make sense to ditch a gas car for an EV?" NPR listener Guadalupe Higuera of Phoenix asked this question and worked with Climate Desk reporter Jeff Brady to answer it. (Image credit: Jeff Brady)
"At what point does it make sense to ditch a gas car for an EV?" NPR listener Guadalupe Higuera of Phoenix asked this question and worked with Climate Desk reporter Jeff Brady to answer it. (Image credit: Jeff Brady)
The EEOC is seeking to overturn rules created decades ago to tackle discrimination in employment. The Trump administration says those rules have led to more discrimination —against white people. (Image credit: Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images)
The EEOC is seeking to overturn rules created decades ago to tackle discrimination in employment. The Trump administration says those rules have led to more discrimination —against white people. (Image credit: Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images)
German School Forces Teens To Design 'Inclusive Brothel' Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, Parents across Germany are in uproar after a Catholic high school handed 13- to 15-year-olds the grotesque task of modernizing a brothel to make it “sexually inclusive” for every lifestyle and preference under the sun. The assignment at Cardinal von Galen Gymnasium in Kevelaer, North Rhine-Westpha...
German School Forces Teens To Design 'Inclusive Brothel' Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, Parents across Germany are in uproar after a Catholic high school handed 13- to 15-year-olds the grotesque task of modernizing a brothel to make it “sexually inclusive” for every lifestyle and preference under the sun. The assignment at Cardinal von Galen Gymnasium in Kevelaer, North Rhine-Westphalia, formed part of a “Sexual Education of Diversity” module. Students were told to simulate running an existing brothel in a big city, with a fixed floor plan they could only tweak by adding doors and staircases. Insane pic.twitter.com/hFYy379mQV — Basil the Great (@BasilTheGreat) May 29, 2026 They had to detail which sexual preferences the spaces must cater to, what “services” to offer, target groups, advertising, and crucially “what skills and abilities” the workers would need “so that all kinds of people could be served and satisfied.” In what world is it OK to ask children to do this? The workbook, titled “Puff für alle” – slang for “Brothel for All” – framed the exercise as responding to “developments in our society with a diversity of lifestyles and gender roles.” Headmistress Christina Diehr defended the material to WDR, stating it was “deliberately designed to be provocative in order to stimulate discussion.” She added that it “addresses the heavy use of social media channels by children and young people and the associated flood of information about various forms of sexuality.” After the worksheets leaked and sparked widespread fury on social media, the school held what it called “constructive” talks with parents, the teacher, and the class parents’ committee. Officials confirmed they will not re-issue the assignment and are now preparing alternative lessons on “diversity of lifestyles and sexuality.” One older student pushed back sharply in comments to WDR: “People should be questioning the acceptance surrounding the topic of sex work… 95 percent of all sex worker...
Commerce ministry warns EU over trade tools The Ministry of Commerce said that China and the EU are important, equal and mutually beneficial economic partners. The ministry urged the EU to abide by World Trade Organization rules and oppose protectionism, warning that China will take countermeasures if the bloc unilaterally introduces new trade tools and discriminatory restrictions.
Commerce ministry warns EU over trade tools The Ministry of Commerce said that China and the EU are important, equal and mutually beneficial economic partners. The ministry urged the EU to abide by World Trade Organization rules and oppose protectionism, warning that China will take countermeasures if the bloc unilaterally introduces new trade tools and discriminatory restrictions.
Actress Dakota Johnson is selling her West Hollywood home that she has lived in for the last 10 years—having purchased it with the money she made from starring in “Fifty Shades of Grey.”
Actress Dakota Johnson is selling her West Hollywood home that she has lived in for the last 10 years—having purchased it with the money she made from starring in “Fifty Shades of Grey.”
syahrir maulana/iStock via Getty Images To My Partners: The performance of our portfolio for the first quarter of 2026 and since inception is summarized below. 1578 Partners, LP S&P 500 Gross Net Total Return 2026: Q1 3.80% 3.41% -4.33% Since Inception (08/01/15): Annualized 21.90% 20.07% 13.16% Cumulative 726.16% 603.26% 273.76% Click to enlarge The first quarter began with the SaaS-pocalypse. An...
syahrir maulana/iStock via Getty Images To My Partners: The performance of our portfolio for the first quarter of 2026 and since inception is summarized below. 1578 Partners, LP S&P 500 Gross Net Total Return 2026: Q1 3.80% 3.41% -4.33% Since Inception (08/01/15): Annualized 21.90% 20.07% 13.16% Cumulative 726.16% 603.26% 273.76% Click to enlarge The first quarter began with the SaaS-pocalypse. Anthropic ( ANTHRO ) released its Opus 4.5 model on November 24, 2025. Over the ensuing weeks, it became clear that the new model offered a step-function increase in the capabilities of agentic coding systems. The ease with which AI agents could now code - and the rapid trajectory of improvement - ignited fears about new and serious competitive threats to software-centric business models. Enterprises might soon replace expensive software vendors with bespoke, internally developed solutions. New start-ups might serve less demanding small and medium-sized businesses with stripped down versions of existing services at a fraction of prevailing pricing. And even SaaS businesses that prove able to retain logos over time might experience far more pushback on pricing and a diminished number of "seats" against which to charge. These concerns weighed not only on the prices of publicly-traded SaaS stocks but also on sentiment towards various forms of SaaS-related credit instruments and funds. At the end of February, the SaaS-pocalypse passed the baton of financial market attention to Operation Epic Fury. The U.S. and Israel began a military campaign against Iran on February 28, 2026. The conflict sparked financial market volatility, including a surge in oil prices and a sell-off in the equity market. Brent Crude surged almost 10% when markets opened after the initial strikes and ended the quarter at $126.69 per barrel, up more than 100% from where it started. The S&P 500 hit the skids over the course of March, accumulating a 5.5% decline for the month and dragging the return for the qua...