"The Matrix" director Lilly Wachowski issued blunt comments about J.K. Rowling in a new interview, accusing the "Harry Potter" writer of funding transgender genocide. Now, the prolific author has responded via a statement from a representative, highlighting the right to free speech.
Jeffrey Mayer/JTMPhotos, Int'l. / MEGA
Following Wachowski accusing Rowling of "funding trans genocide" and lumping her in with ****** s, her agent, Neil Blair, issued a response to the filmmaker via Entertainment Weekly. Blair began, "Freedom of speech is a principle we should all cherish."
The statement continued, "What matters is that J.K. Rowling's views, as with anyone else's, are represented accurately, fairly and respectfully and that individual opinion does not detract from those views."
In addressing the "Matrix" director directly, the agent noted, "To correct Lilly Wachowski, through The J.K. Rowling Women's Fund, J.K Rowling supports women taking legal action in the UK to preserve their existing rights under the Equality Act 2010, which are often overlooked or threatened."

#matrix #blair #funding

Harry Potter is a magical series with countless fans, and every installment has won over both audiences and critics. However, a recent comment from The Matrix creator Lilly Wachowski could upset fans, as she suggested that fans of the Harry Potter movies written by J.K. Rowling are part of a bigger problem.
Recently, The Matrix creator Lilly Wachowski spoke with Variety about her new studio, and during the interview, she criticized J.K. Rowling over the new HBO Harry Potter series.
Wachowski said, "She is funding trans genocide. J.K. Rowling funds trans genocide, full stop. So, if you support "Harry Potter," you're supporting trans genocide."
"The money that goes into you enjoying these products, a portion of that money goes to J.K. Rowling and that money goes into her funding anti-trans legislation all over the world." She added
During the interview, Lily Wachowski did not hold back while criticizing J.K. Rowling. Before calling her fans part of a bigger problem, the Cloud Atlas star also called the British author a ***** and compared her to Elon Musk, though not in a positive way.

#rowling

VC investment in quantum computing notched a record $2 billion in Q2 across 23 deals, accounting for a third of dollars in the chips and datacenters vertical, according to a new PitchBook report.
Quantum's marquee event this quarter was Quantinuum's IPO, which accounted for most of the $19 billion in quantum exit value and was the first major test of the technology in public markets. On the VC side, Oxford Quantum Circuits raised a £260 million Series C led by Bullhound Capital.
Strategics are eyeing quantum technologies, too. Miraex, a quantum hardware startup, was bought in June following Quantum Circuits $538 million sale earlier this year.
Overall, investment in chips and datacenters fell for the second consecutive quarter, hitting $6.6 billion across 133 deals in Q2. Despite the pullback from recent highs, 2026 is still on pace to exceed 2025's record of $21.6 billion.
The declines were concentrated in semiconductor chip design startups, which posted their weakest quarter since Q1 2025 at $1.7 billion. While newer chip design entrants like Etched, d-Matrix, and Ricursive Intelligence are making waves, the dominance of larger players has given investors pause.

#investment #across #deals #datacenters

Interested in ConvaTec Group PLC? Here are five stocks we like better.
ConvaTec maintained its 2026 targets after delivering 5% first-half organic revenue growth excluding InnovaMatrix, 6% adjusted EPS growth and a 21.2% operating margin. Management expects stronger second-half growth, particularly in Infusion Care, and reaffirmed double-digit full-year EPS growth.
InnovaMatrix remains a significant headwind: first-half sales dropped to £2.5 million, prompting a £69 million non-cash impairment charge and reducing full-year revenue expectations to £5 million–£10 million. The company expects the product to approach breakeven in the second half as U.S. market conditions stabilize.
Shareholder returns and future investment increased: ConvaTec raised its interim dividend by 15% and launched a £200 million share buyback, while investing about $90 million in 2026 growth capital—primarily to expand Infusion Care capacity and support its product pipeline.
ConvaTec Group (LON:CTEC) said it remained on track to meet its 2026 financial targets after reporting 5% organic revenue growth in the first half, excluding the impact of its InnovaMatrix skin-substitute product.

#Growth #group

ORLANDO — Few expected much from Scott Frost's second UCF season last time around. Then, the Knights caught lightning in a bottle, beat every team in their path and claimed a national ***** le when the NCAA's Colley Matrix rating system crowned them as champions.
As it opens training camp Aug. 3, UCF faces incredibly long odds to repeat that feat in 2026, projected to finish in the bottom half of the Big 12 for a fourth consecutive year. The Knights are 7-20 against league opponents, including a 2-12 mark away from the Acrisure Bounce House.
Frost and four players addressed local and national reporters July 7 at the Big 12's media days in Frisco, Texas. However, many of the questions asked then will not have an answer until the Knights take the field — for practice and beyond.
Here are three important queries that could define whether UCF can push toward the conference's upper echelon, or whether it will be another battle to scrape a bowl game come November.
On paper, the Knights should have gotten significantly better behind center with the addition of Alonza Barnett III from James Madison. He earned Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year honors with 2,806 passing yards, 589 rushing yards and 38 touchdowns, leading the Dukes to an unlikely appearance in the College Football Playoff.

#scott

This might sound odd coming from someone who just released his Fantasy Strength of Schedule Matrix, but you need to be careful to not overweigh those types of season-long metrics.
As I mentioned in that article, the full-season strength of schedule is good to use as a tiebreaker between players you're targeting in drafts — just don't get overconfident and let it dictate your outlooks for later in the year. That's because injuries and changes in performance on both sides of the ball can have a significant impact in the latter stages of a campaign.
Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2026 NFL season
The best way to gain an advantage using strength of schedule is by focusing on the first few weeks and drafting players set for hot starts or avoiding those likely to struggle through a tough streak of opponents. Players with difficult schedules in the early going are prime trade targets when managers begin to question their value in the opening month.
So let's take a look at each position and identify who has the hardest early-season slates.

#fantasy #Football #might

The up-and-comers of the 2026 global supply chain might surprise some sourcing executives.
Plummeting trade between China and the United States due to prolonged trade tension has opened up new opportunities for new markets, allowing players like Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Mexico and Brazil to become MVPs within many companies' sourcing matrixes. But Asia and the Americas are home to other sourcing locales that stand to rival or even supersede their rise, according to Verisk Maplecroft.
More from WWD
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Milwaukee Brewers slugger Jake Bauers leads the team in home runs, but he's usually not known for his agility.
However, when he creatively dodged Jose Fermin's tag at a play at third base, that helped set up a pair of runs in the second inning of the Brewers-St. Louis Cardinals game Thursday night, July 9, his ability to avoid being called out had play-by-play announcer Jeff Levering comparing Bauers' slide to the deft moves in the science fiction movie "The Matrix."
While Bauers' approach was about as graceful as an action in a bar league softball game, it did have a certain now-you-see-him, now-you-don't type of illusion that is often seen in the movie.
Bauers didn't have to elude anybody in slow motion on the bases in his next at-bat. He socked his 17th home run of the season, a three-run shot, to put the Brewers up 6-0 after three innings.
Here's a bit of social media reaction to Bauers' early heroics:

Milwaukee Brewers slugger Jake Bauers leads the team in home runs, but he's usually not known for his agility.
However, when he creatively dodged Jose Fermin's tag at a play at third base, that helped set up a pair of runs in the second inning of the Brewers-St. Louis Cardinals game Thursday night, July 9, his ability to avoid being called out had play-by-play announcer Jeff Levering comparing Bauers' slide to the deft moves in the science fiction movie "The Matrix."
While Bauers' approach was about as graceful as an action in a bar league softball game, it did have a certain now-you-see-him, now-you-don't type of illusion that is often seen in the movie.
Bauers didn't have to elude anybody in slow motion on the bases in his next at-bat. He socked his 17th home run of the season, a three-run shot, to put the Brewers up 6-0 after three innings.
Here's a bit of social media reaction to Bauers' early heroics:

Resmed has agreed to sell its MatrixCare business in a $490m cash deal to PE firm Frazier Healthcare Partners, allowing it to dedicate its focus to its sleep health-related business interests.
The California-based company said the move reflects its 2030 strategy, which is focused on "high-growth, scalable opportunities" in sleep health, breathing health and connected home-based healthcare.
Resmed's key products are its AirSense range of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines and its AirFit range of CPAP masks.
The divestiture also strengthens Resmed's ability to reallocate capital and resources towards innovation, operational scale and long-term value creation across its connected, home-based care ecosystem, the company added.
The decision to sell MatrixCare, a software solution for healthcare providers (HCPs) across areas including skilled nursing, life plan communities, and senior living and private duty, comes just eight years after Resmed acquired the Minnesota-based company in 2018.

The knockout phase of the 2026 FIFA World Cup has reached the final eight, meaning the margin for error has completely vanished.
At this stage of the competition, millions of managers default to identical templates, making high-quality Quarter-finals Differential Picks absolute gold.
The unique scoring matrix of the game – which awards points for tackles, chances created, and a lucrative +2 Scouting Bonus for ******* ets owned by fewer than 5% of managers – makes selecting the right World Cup Fantasy differential picks for quarter-finals essential to breaking away from the pack.
If you want to jump up the global rankings, these are the World Cup Fantasy Quarter-finals Differential Picks you need to lock into your roster before the deadline.
France prepares to trade blows with Morocco, and Doué represents one of the most explosive Quarter-finals Differential Picks on the board.

The Wisconsin Badgers football program loves to pride themselves on their defense, and for good reason.
There's nothing quite like having a high-powered, explosive offense, but Mike Tressel has given the Badgers an opportunity to stay in games when their offense has struggled.
Here in 2026, Wisconsin has a few new transfers who should change this offense for the better, but they also have a ton of defensive difference-makers.
According to Matrix ***** ytics, Tressel is the No. 4 overall defensive play-caller in the Big Ten. That's quite some praise, but it should come as no surprise, looking at his extensive resume.
Nonetheless, Tressel is still behind the likes of Washington's Ryan Walters, Indiana's Bryant Haines, and Iowa's Phil Parker. No one is asking him to be No. 1 by the end of the year, but his 0.7985 rating gives Badgers fans plenty to be excited about when it comes to this team's defense in 2026.

By Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil
NEW DELHI, June 24 (Reuters) - A fire at a New Delhi data centre owned by Singapore's ST Telemedia and India's Tata Communications caused "extensive damage" to parts of the facility, making data recovery challenging, a Tata letter seen by Reuters shows.
The firm, part ‌of the salt-to-aviation Tata conglomerate, told Indian stock exchanges on June 5 it had activated business continuity protocols to minimise disruptions after an early morning ‌fire at the STT Global Data Centres India facility.
One data centre client, India's Matrix Cellular, which provides international SIM cards, told Reuters it is struggling to recover two decades of data lost in the blaze.
Some of Google Cloud's intermittent network disruptions in India also relate to the incident, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

By Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil
NEW DELHI, June 24 (Reuters) - A fire at a New Delhi data centre owned by Singapore's ST Telemedia and India's Tata Communications caused "extensive damage" to parts of the facility, making data recovery challenging, a Tata letter seen by Reuters shows.
The firm, part ‌of the salt-to-aviation Tata conglomerate, told Indian stock exchanges on June 5 it had activated business continuity protocols to minimise disruptions after an early morning ‌fire at the STT Global Data Centres India facility.
One data centre client, India's Matrix Cellular, which provides international SIM cards, told Reuters it is struggling to recover two decades of data lost in the blaze.
Some of Google Cloud's intermittent network disruptions in India also relate to the incident, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

By winning Group D, the United States has already booked a spot in the Round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup.
So who will they play in the knockout round?
That … is a complicated question. A complicated question that involves brackets, Annex C of the FIFA Rules and Regulations, a matrix, and 495 potential combinations of the eight third-place teams advancing out of group play and into the knockout round.
So, let’s try to answer that question the best we can, starting with the World Cup bracket itself.
Let’s start here, with this World Cup bracket courtesy of USA Today.

Next year’s schedule is slowly coming together for the University of Utah men’s basketball team.
In addition to a variety of reports on nonconference matchups, last week the Big 12 announced its scheduling matrix for the 2026-27 season — giving a glimpse at who the Runnin’ Utes will play in their 18-game conference schedule.
While there is still plenty to be set in stone, here’s a look at how Utah’s schedule is shaping up for the second season under head coach Alex Jensen.
Based on various insider reports, here’s a look at where Utah’s nonconference schedule stands. The University of Utah hasn’t officially announced its nonconference schedule — last offseason, the school announced this portion of the schedule in mid-August.
Nov. 5 — vs. Towson, Huntsman Center (via Runnin’ Hoops Podcast’s Andrew Crowley)

With the 2026 World Cup in full swing, people across the country will be tempted to dust off their boots. This is great news – the more people exercising, the better, in my eyes.
But if you plan to do this, there is one common footballing mistake worth avoiding, as I found out when Brooks Running invited me to spend a day training with Cambridge United FC.
Most recreational players tend to run a couple of ***** -for-leather 5Ks around their local town then declare themselves fit for duty. But that doesn’t do a very good job of preparing you for an actual game, explains Laurence Bloom, Cambridge United’s executive performance lead.
“A player covers roughly 10 to 12km per game,” he says. “If you do that distance once per week as a continuous, steady-state run, you’d probably think that was pretty comfortable and you could do it without too much muscle fatigue or soreness.”
However, a game of football is not a continuous effort. It is a matrix of sprints, accelerations, decelerations and changes of pace, all of which are far more demanding on the body than simply running 5km in the same direction.

The 48-team World Cup doesn’t just expand the map — it blows up the usual old bets. Forget the old guard for a second; the real magic of this edition lies in the national teams that will step onto football’s biggest stage for the first time in their history. They’re not here for the ride; they’ve earned their ticket the hard way, reshaping the global football ecosystem and bringing the fresh air this tournament desperately needed.
The “White Wolves” shattered their historic curse in the AFC’s third round. Their qualification was sealed mathematically after an utterly relentless campaign in Group A, securing the second automatic spot behind Iran. The key was their robotic consistency: an unreadable defensive block that barely conceded goals, and ruthless efficiency in Tashkent that saw them drop not a single vital point against direct rivals.
Jordan’s run was pure epic and belief. After emerging as Asia’s surprise package, they proved it was no mirage in a chaotic qualifying group. Their ticket was punched thanks to a perfect matchday: they smashed Oman 3-0 away from home while their direct rivals stumbled. With vertical football, lightning-fast transitions, and fearless attacking intent, they locked down second place in Group B and sent Amman into madness.
The “Blue Sharks” pulled off one of the greatest feats in modern African football in CAF Group D. They weren’t intimidated by running into a giant and World Cup regular like Cameroon; quite the opposite, they stood up to them, stole key points, and physically overpowered the rest of the group with tactical rigor. They were crowned undisputed champions of their section, playing elite-level combination football.
An absolute Caribbean fairy tale in CONCACAF. The island nation didn’t just take advantage of the absence of the three North American giants (automatically qualified as hosts) — it executed a master plan in recruitment and tactics. Combining the talent of players developed in Europe’s top academies with an ultra-disciplined unit, they became the giant-killers of their confederation, proving that even with 150,000 inhabitants, you can break football’s Matrix.

We also used suggestions from these four Reddit threads.
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