Public health scientists at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health used advanced computer simulations to trace how the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic spread across the United States. Their results show how quickly respiratory pandemics can expand and why stopping them early is so challenging. Published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the research is the first to directly compare how these two pandemics moved through U.S. metropolitan areas. Both outbreaks had major consequences in the United States. The 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic led to 274,304 hospitalizations and 12,469 deaths.

In a somewhat controversial Vergecast episode, I declared that AirTags are a superior product to iPads. The iPad lovers roasted me across social media. I have heard and respect their opinions. But, I’m sorry — the second-gen AirTag has only deepened my conviction that the humble, $29 item tracker is one of Apple’s most helpful gizmos. The new updates focus more on making a good thing better. There are upgraded ultra-wideband and Bluetooth chips that help extend the range by about 1.5 times. The chime has a new, higher pitch and is 50 percent louder thanks to a redesigned speaker.

Researchers have uncovered the molecular interactions that give spider silk its remarkable combination of strength and flexibility. The discovery could help scientists design new bio-inspired materials for airplanes, protective gear, and medical uses, while also offering insight into neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by scientists from King's College London and San Diego State University (SDSU), outlines fundamental design principles that may guide the creation of a new generation of high-performance, environmentally friendly fibers. Importantly, the research is the first to explain how the amino acids within spider silk proteins interact in a way that allows them to act like molecular "stickers," holding the material together as it forms.

The latest Anker 45-watt Nano charger, announced in January, which remains one of the smallest 45-watt chargers on the market, adds a full color screen displaying an animated character and a smattering of details about the device you’re charging. $30 Anker Nano 45W charger with a built-in screen Read More The display is occasionally useful if you like to keep tabs on how much power your device is drawing, but the screen feels more like a marketing gimmick than a feature most consumers will actually benefit from. But it’s not the only upgrade that makes the charger worth considering.

Reprogrammed Tregs offer a targeted approach to restoring immune tolerance in autoimmune disease. Image credit:© iStock, Marcin Klapczynski Over four decades ago, a surprising observation hinted at a specialized T cell population capable of suppressing autoimmunity. Now known as regulatory T cells, or Tregs, these immune modulators are central to the immune system’s ability to distinguish self from non-self. Scientists responsible for the foundational work on Tregs were recognized with the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries in peripheral immune tolerance. Shimon Sakaguchi, MD, PhDDistinguished Professor…

I’m an awful rock climber. Being scared of heights probably doesn’t help. But when I’ve tried it, I’ve loved the slow, methodical work of moving from one ledge to the next. It reminds me a lot of why I love running; in both sports, you achieve goals that seem insurmountable by taking them one step at a time. Cairn, a new game from The Game Bakers, is one of the few games I’ve played that truly captures that feeling. You play as Aava, a famous climber obsessed with summiting a mountain called Kami.

Born in New York state, Billy Crudup, 57, made his film debut in Sleepers in 1996. His subsequent movies include Almost Famous (2000), Big Fish (2003), Mission: Impossible III (2006), Spotlight (2015), Alien: Covenant (2017) and most recently Jay Kelly. On TV he has a long-running role in The Morning Show, for which he has won two Emmys. He stars in High Noon at London’s Harold Pinter…

Top Website Builders Best for Most People Squarespace Core Read More Best Cheap Website Builder Hostinger Business Website Builder Read More Best Free Website Builder Strikingly Website Builder Read More Publishing a website is still more complicated than it has any right to be, but the best website builders streamline the process. Instead of juggling a bunch of files on a server and learning the ins and outs of networking, website builders do exactly what's written on the tin. Piece by piece, using a drag-and-drop interface, you can design your website the way you want with immediate feedback rather than spending time buried in code and hoping it comes out on the other end.

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 115, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, go Seahawks I guess, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I’ve been reading about The Washington Post and the Murdochs and Polymarket and whatever a “Soho House for creators” is, watching Independence Day for the first time and Jurassic Park for roughly the 50th, bailing on everything for the next few weeks so I can watch…

We’re a little bit past the very worst of a mostly awful trend, where studio-owned streamers desperately rifle through back catalogues to find much-seen films they can needlessly contort into barely watched TV shows. Paramount did it with Fatal Attraction, American Gigolo and, shudder, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies; Warner gave us animated Gremlins and Aquaman shows, and Universal has tried with Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin and a pickup of Lionsgate’s The Continental: From the World of John Wick. It was all boringly inevitable and predictably pointless, but mercifully, that pipeline has now slowed.

During the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, 5G and 4K were the leading technologies available to many viewers. There was some AI, but it was mostly used for athletes’ benefit. For the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games there will be more technology than ever, for both athletes and fans. Much of that technology has never been used at the Games before, says Yiannis Exarchos, the managing director of Olympic Broadcasting Services and executive director of Olympic Channel Services. The two organizations are responsible for producing much of the television, radio, and digital coverage, and content on Olympics.com.

Notable for its moments of shocking violence and its avant-garde visual approach, Taxi Driver is brimming with memorable scenes beyond Bickle's famous squaring off in the mirror. In particular, another shorter scene really stands as the film's most important moment of visual idiosyncrasy; showcasing a distinctly European sensibility in what is ultimately a very American drama, as well as encapsulating the lonely melancholy that runs throughout. A rejection with a difference Coming a third of the way through the film, and closing its first act, it centres on a phone call Travis makes to Betsy after he's upset her with his inappropriate date choice.

An analysis by WIRED this week found that ICE and CBP’s face recognition app Mobile Fortify, which is being used to identify people across the United States, isn’t actually designed to verify who people are and was only approved for Department of Homeland Security use by relaxing some of the agency’s own privacy rules. WIRED took a close look at highly militarized ICE and CBP units that use extreme tactics typically seen only in active combat. Two agents involved in the shooting deaths of US citizens in Minneapolis are reportedly members of these paramilitary units.

The final exposure control feature is one I use a lot, and it's exposure compensation. This works with the auto exposure and can be used to combat the tendency to go too slow with the shutter speed be forcing the Ace Pro 2 to underexpose the image. The exposure comp here is the best among action cameras, running from –4 stops to + 4 stops in ⅓-stop increments. I set the Xplorer Grip to control EV, so when I am in auto mode, the dial is an exposure comp dial just like "real" camera.

A few days after Christmas 2022, Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican reggaetonero, appeared without warning on one of the most unlikely of stages: the roof of a Gulf Oil gas station in San Juan. To a massive crowd singing every word, he performed a surprise concert, along with friend and collaborator Arcángel, that was part hype-y music video shoot…

Save more money. That was the most popular New Year's resolution in 2025 and the second most popular in 2026, according to Statista. There's a difference between making a resolution and acting on it, however. Get on your path to better financial health by taking care of some routine personal finance tasks. Right now at the beginning of the year—after the holiday crunch and before tax season, when you're planning your annual travel and expenses—is a great time to do it.

I’m not what you might consider Infinite Jest’s target demographic. The novel’s reputation precedes it as a book infamously few ever finish, and those who do tend to belong to a particular breed of college-age guys who talk over you, a sect of pedantic, misunderstood young men for whom, over the course of 30 years, Infinite Jest has become a rite of passage, much as Little Women or Pride and Prejudice might function for aspiring literary young women. Most readers come to the novel in their formative years, but I was a late bloomer.

Google and Meta both deny the allegations in the complaint. “Providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work,” said Google spokesperson José Castañeda in a statement. “In collaboration with youth, mental health, and parenting experts, we built services and policies to provide young people with age-appropriate experiences, and parents with robust controls.” “For over a decade, we’ve listened to parents, worked with experts and law enforcement, and conducted in-depth research to understand the issues that matter most,” said Meta spokesperson Stephanie Otway in a statement.

Compare Top 7 Slippers More Slippers We Love Photograph: Boutayna Chokrane Bearaby Pillow Boots for $149: These indoor booties are, in fact, made from Bearaby pillows and wrapped in organic cotton. They're uber-snug, cozy enough to wear without socks, and surprisingly don't make your feet sweat as most slipper boots do. They're breathable and machine-washable, but they need to be hung dry, which can take quite some time. Sizing is also limited to small, medium, and large, with the largest fitting up to a men's 10.5 or a women's 12.5.

Other Services We Want to Test There are numerous online tax services, and we want to do the heavy lifting for you. We plan to test more tax services, and here are some that have caught our attention: Cash App Taxes: A mobile finance tool similar to Venmo, Cash App has free federal and state filing and free audit defense if you received a 1099 from work, a bank, or anywhere else. Plus, it's geared for people who use Cash App a lot, with free filing for people who are self-employed, have a side gig, do contract work, or own a small business.

In 2021, famed Russian figure skating coach Alexei Mishin said that no figure skater would ever be able to successfully perform a quad axel in his lifetime. The following year, two-time Olympic gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu was training to master the jump, but when he attempted it at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, he fell short of finishing the four-and-a-half revolutions in the air.

“What I picked up… that man blind man. That man is blind,” Bradley said on his channel. Bradley points to a fighter who doesn’t consistently pick up opponents before they step into range. Fundora reaches, feels, and closes distance without fully reading what’s in front of him. “It’s like he feeling like it’s dark. It’s dark,” Bradley said. “So he feeling, he touching… but he really can’t see people.” That’s why Bradley is so hard on Fundora’s defense. On the outside, before the fight turns physical, he sees openings that keep appearing.

Rebekah Stewart, a nurse at the US Public Health Service, got a call last April that brought her to tears. She had been selected for deployment to the Trump administration’s new immigration detention operation at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. This posting combined Donald Trump’s longtime passion to use the offshore base to move “some bad dudes” out of the United States with a promise made shortly after his inauguration to hold thousands of noncitizens there. The naval base is known for the torture and inhumane treatment of men suspected of terrorism in the wake of 9/11.

For all their prestige and gravitas, the Olympic Games have lately proven to be a hotbed for scandals. From a famous judging controversy in 2002 to bid bribery probes and even the resignation of a top Olympic official who was filmed offering to sell tickets for the 2012 London games on the black market, the modern Games have always felt vulnerable to bad actors. And while no major known Olympic betting controversy has ever bubbled to the surface, the massive rise of sports gambling in recent years—especially in the US, where the Supreme Court paved the way for states to legalize it in 2018 and prediction markets like Kalshi have also begun…

Christian Medina (27-4, 19 KOs), fighting in his hometown, started quickly by outlanding Curiel in the opening round and finding success to the body through the early stages. Medina continued that approach in the second and third rounds, appearing to build an early lead. Adrian Curiel (26-7-1, 5 KOs), a former IBF light flyweight champion, adjusted from the fourth through seventh rounds, increasing his activity and work rate to bring the fight back to even terms. Curiel had one of his best moments in the eighth round, landing a clean overhand right that snapped Medina’s head back.