Just two miles short of the finish line of the 2026 New York City Marathon on Nov. 1, 24-year-old runner Rachel Apa collapsed. She died of a rare and potentially life-threatening illness that can be brought on by excessive exertion, the New York Times reported.
It's called rhabdomyolysis, and while there are relatively few cases nationwide each year, it can strike during endurance or intensive exercise, including marathons.
Apa was running her first marathon to raise money for Parkinson's disease in honor of her late grandfather, according to the New York Times. But Apa was no stranger to athletics, having played Division I field hockey in college. Her family said Apa had been in "perfect health." Plus, she'd been training for the race for months.
But at mile 18, Apa texted her father, Steve, who'd been checking in at each mile: "Ow." At the end of the next mile, she wrote, "Ow ow." She stopped responding after that. Apa's mother, Michelle, was at the race and had watched her daughter run by earlier on. Her parents noticed on the marathon tracking app that Apa stopped moving after mile 24.
Apa collapsed just after running past hospital social worker Michaela Nichols, who was cheering on participants. Nichols ran over and checked Apa's pulse, but couldn't find one. Three other people — two of whom said they were physicians — ran over to give Apa CPR. Marathon medical staff tried to revive her with a defibrillator before an ambulance arrived. She was taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center and treated for six hours, but could not be saved.

#year #collapsed

The NBA is back with the start of the 2026-27 season.
The Detroit Pistons start the season Tuesday at 3 p.m. hosting the Boston Celtics in a matchup of last season's Eastern Conference 1-seed and 2-seed.
So, it's time for our annual Pistons predictions and NBA Finals picks.
We tasked our NBA experts with answering burning Pistons questions, including picking a breakout player, predicting the trade deadline, final record and mapping out the fascinating East standings and NBA playoffs.
Make "The Pistons Pulse" your go-to Pistons podcast, listen available anywhere you get podcasts (Apple, Spotify) or watch live on YouTube.

#celtics #eastern

On August 25, Aptiv (NYSE:APTV) said it will support NVIDIA's newly announced Jetson Orin Nano 2 processor, extending a partnership that already covers the more powerful Jetson Thor platform. The move puts Aptiv squarely inside the buildout of "physical AI," the term for machines like drones, robots, and industrial systems that need to sense and react to the real world in real time. For a company still just months removed from spinning off its electrical distribution business, betting on edge robotics is a statement about where it thinks the next decade of growth actually lives.
NVIDIA's Jetson Orin Nano 2 packs 78 TOPS of processing power into an 8GB, 8-core Arm chip that doubles the inference speed of its predecessor while cutting power draw by 40% at equivalent performance. That kind of efficiency gain matters for battery-powered devices like delivery drones and mobile robots, where every watt saved extends run time. Aptiv isn't just supplying compute support; it is layering in its PULSE surround-view camera and radar system for 360-degree sensing, its Gen 8 radar for object detection in tough conditions, and Wind River software to handle the unglamorous but essential work of long-term maintenance and security updates. That full-stack approach is the pitch: instead of stitching together sensors, chips, and software from separate vendors, customers get one partner who can carry a device from prototype to a fleet running in the field.
The timing lines up with what Aptiv reported in its second-quarter results on August 4, 2026. Revenue reached $3.3 billion, up 2%, while adjusted EBITDA climbed to $613 million from $547 million a year earlier, pushing margins to 18.7% from 17.1%. CEO Kevin Clark pointed to double-digit growth in non-automotive revenue, progress moving robotics from partnership talks to actual commercial deployments, and a major drone industry win secured in early July. North America sales rose 10% and Asia Pacific grew 6%, including 5% growth in China, giving the company some geographic momentum to lean on as it chases this new business line.
The quarter wasn't clean underneath the headline numbers. Free cash flow came in at just $12 million in the second quarter, down from $219 million a year earlier, and the first half of 2026 actually posted negative free cash flow of $196 million versus a positive $264 million a year ago. Operating cash flow from continuing operations fell to $82 million for the first half, down sharply from $531 million. Management also flagged automotive demand and customer mix as an incremental headwind, a reminder that Aptiv's legacy business still carries real weight even as it chases robotics and drones. EMEA revenue dropped 8%, and South America fell 4% in the quarter, both drags even as North America and Asia Pacific grew.

#jetson #robotics

By Akash Sriram
Sept 16 (Reuters) - Impulse ***** e has raised $308 million in an extension of the Series D funding round, the startup building ***** ecraft ‌to move satellites and other payloads said on Wednesday, as it ‌looks to serve a backlog from commercial and government customers.
The extension valued the company at $5.6 billion, according to a source close to the company. ***** eX's $86 billion IPO in June has bolstered investor enthusiasm for the ***** e sector, helping improve the fundraising environment for companies such as Impulse.
The extension brings Impulse's Series D financing to $808 million, following a $500 million ‌round announced in June that ⁠valued the company at $4.26 billion.
The company also hired Vizio executive Adam Townsend as chief financial officer, as it scales production and ⁠works to turn a growing backlog of government and commercial contracts into revenue.

#impulse #space

On August 25, Aptiv (NYSE:APTV) said it will support NVIDIA's newly announced Jetson Orin Nano 2 processor, extending a partnership that already covers the more powerful Jetson Thor platform. The move puts Aptiv squarely inside the buildout of "physical AI," the term for machines like drones, robots, and industrial systems that need to sense and react to the real world in real time. For a company still just months removed from spinning off its electrical distribution business, betting on edge robotics is a statement about where it thinks the next decade of growth actually lives.
NVIDIA's Jetson Orin Nano 2 packs 78 TOPS of processing power into an 8GB, 8-core Arm chip that doubles the inference speed of its predecessor while cutting power draw by 40% at equivalent performance. That kind of efficiency gain matters for battery-powered devices like delivery drones and mobile robots, where every watt saved extends run time. Aptiv isn't just supplying compute support; it is layering in its PULSE surround-view camera and radar system for 360-degree sensing, its Gen 8 radar for object detection in tough conditions, and Wind River software to handle the unglamorous but essential work of long-term maintenance and security updates. That full-stack approach is the pitch: instead of stitching together sensors, chips, and software from separate vendors, customers get one partner who can carry a device from prototype to a fleet running in the field.
The timing lines up with what Aptiv reported in its second-quarter results on August 4, 2026. Revenue reached $3.3 billion, up 2%, while adjusted EBITDA climbed to $613 million from $547 million a year earlier, pushing margins to 18.7% from 17.1%. CEO Kevin Clark pointed to double-digit growth in non-automotive revenue, progress moving robotics from partnership talks to actual commercial deployments, and a major drone industry win secured in early July. North America sales rose 10% and Asia Pacific grew 6%, including 5% growth in China, giving the company some geographic momentum to lean on as it chases this new business line.
The quarter wasn't clean underneath the headline numbers. Free cash flow came in at just $12 million in the second quarter, down from $219 million a year earlier, and the first half of 2026 actually posted negative free cash flow of $196 million versus a positive $264 million a year ago. Operating cash flow from continuing operations fell to $82 million for the first half, down sharply from $531 million. Management also flagged automotive demand and customer mix as an incremental headwind, a reminder that Aptiv's legacy business still carries real weight even as it chases robotics and drones. EMEA revenue dropped 8%, and South America fell 4% in the quarter, both drags even as North America and Asia Pacific grew.

#America #real

By Akash Sriram
Sept 16 (Reuters) - Impulse ***** e has raised $308 million in an extension of the Series D funding round, the startup building ***** ecraft ‌to move satellites and other payloads said on Wednesday, as it ‌looks to serve a backlog from commercial and government customers.
The extension valued the company at $5.6 billion, according to a source close to the company. ***** eX's $86 billion IPO in June has bolstered investor enthusiasm for the ***** e sector, helping improve the fundraising environment for companies such as Impulse.
The extension brings Impulse's Series D financing to $808 million, following a $500 million ‌round announced in June that ⁠valued the company at $4.26 billion.
The company also hired Vizio executive Adam Townsend as chief financial officer, as it scales production and ⁠works to turn a growing backlog of government and commercial contracts into revenue.

#company

NEW YORK — Forget the Honey Deuces and the celebrities-in-the-audience shots. The finest element of the U.S. Open — the Grand Slam held in the largest tennis stadium in the world — will always be the tennis itself. The trick, in 2026 and beyond, is how to get audiences to actually care about, you know, that tennis.
Ben Shelton and Alexander Zverev did their very best on Sunday, bringing both narrative and firepower to the four-set men's final. Yes, the influencers were posing at every aisle on every changeover, and more than a few fans appeared unclear on the basic concept of "sit your ******* down while the point is going on." But when Shelton and Zverev locked in, unleashing serves that nearly hit 150 mph or lashing shots that skipped a fingernail's width in bounds, the crowd was right there with them, rising and falling, a living thing that pulsed with energy unlike any other stadium in tennis.
Less than 24 hours earlier on the same court, Elena Rybakina finished off Aryna Sabalenka in a three-set triumph of resolve and willpower over emotion and firepower. Sabalenka, who had won the previous two Opens, entered as the crowd favorite. But the fans in the stands at Arthur Ashe love hard-fought on-court battles as much as they love the endless scroll of celebrity cameos on the video boards. So after a couple dozen Hollywood and music stars took their turns to varying volumes of applause, the crowd focused in on the match. Sabalenka drew motivational cheers, and then, once the result was clear, Rybakina inspired celebratory ones.
The two matches ended this year's U.S. Open on a triumphant note. At last, the tennis tournament centered on actual tennis, not ticket prices or runway-style entrances to Arthur Ashe Stadium or hundred-dollar chicken nuggets. (Yes, I admit it, I was part of the problem with that last one.)
The influencers' presence dominated the early coverage of the U.S. Open, in large part because they did their job of drawing attention to themselves. But by the time the tournament reached its final crescendo, the influencers had moved on. Two hours before the men's final, the cheapest tickets to get in the stadium could be had for less than $400, suggesting that tennis for tennis' sake isn't the primary motivator for many attending the U.S. Open.

#crowd #shelton

This may come as somewhat of a shock, but the White Sox lost again Friday night. I know, who could've seen it coming that the team that has looked like a dumpster fire since late August would once again do everything possible to lose a game.
I don't even know how to feel, but I do know I feel numb. Just another game where the White Sox gave false hope, had plenty of opportunities to grab the win, and instead tripped over their own feet and got caught with their pants around their ankles.
It's usually a great sign to get a homer on the first pitch of the game, which Chase Meidroth did later than usual thanks to a 70-minute "rain delay" to start the game. That was followed by a Randal Grichuk double, six total bases on three pitches that got fans hopeful that the team wouldn't completely choke. Unfortunately, the starting burst was followed by a weak ground out and two awful at-bats that ended in strikeouts.
Say I'm a pessimist or "not a real fan," I don't care; anybody that's been following this team lately with a pulse knew what kind of game we were in store for. It was at that time I started checking the score of the Cleveland Guardians, game knowing what was bound to happen. Like a fool who believed in the White Sox, I also believed that maybe the Guardians wouldn't pull a win out of their hat late.
As we kept our eyes on the Cleveland score, the White Sox immediately gave back a run in the first. They never like holding a lead for long, and what are the White Sox if not predictable?

#white #don 't

Reevaluate your ******* umptions about the Mountain West. Many thought the summer realignment would disband the league. Five established teams transferred to the Pacific, resulting in a conference with a stable core and several new members.
But after two weeks, led by head coach Jason Eck and his staff, who exerted their muscle in the first game of the year against Central Michigan, a new reality has taken shape, centered in Albuquerque with these Lobos.
After a dominant and impressive opening game in Albuquerque, the New Mexico Lobos have become the conference favorites.
With championship experience from Fargo and tough competition across the region, the new Mountain West has not only survived but looks to be a heck of a conference after all.
Stat Leaders: The Pulse of the Mountain West

#five #pacific

Before the European's made their historic comeback at the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah, Ian Poulter had to make five birdies in a row to help him and Rory McIlroy win their Saturday match and trim Team USA's lead to 10-6 heading into Sunday.
"This has given us a heartbeat," Poulter said that Saturday night. One day later, the Europeans had stormed back to ****** the Ryder Cup away from the Americans in historic fashion. But the comeback all started with Poulter creating momentum out of thin air for his team to feed off — creating belief.
On Sunday at the 51st Walker Cup, Great Britain and Ireland faced a similar mountain to climb. After getting whitewashed in the morning foursomes, GB&I entered Sunday singles trailing the Americans by three points. The Americans needed just 3.5 points from their 10 matches to retain the cup and four to win outright. GB&I captain Dean Robertson believed his team could mount the biggest comeback in Walker Cup history, but first it needed a pulse.
Enter: 33-year-old mid-amateur Stuart Grehan.
The Irishman already authored a Walker Cup moment to remember on Saturday when he won the final three holes of his match against World No. 1 amateur Preston Stout to steal a crucial point. After pouring in the winning putt on Saturday, Grehan and his son were mobbed by Irish fans as chants of "Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole" filled the air.

#saturday #poulter #sunday #grehan

BEEVILLE, Texas, Sept 4 (Reuters) - The makeup and toys on Valencia Macias' table are items people buy on impulse at discount stores. But on a sweltering summer day in South Texas, she is trying to sell them to turn them into gas money, grocery money, student loan money: any kind of money.
With three young children, a job as a medical ***** istant and nursing classes at night, the 26-year-old ‌has little time for politics. But when Texas officials withdrew funding for the only after-school program available in her rural town of George West, politics became impossible to ignore.
Then, a TikTok video appeared: A Mexican American ‌woman on the screen, Gina Hinojosa, talked about the high cost of living and badly needed investments in Texas public education. Macias stopped scrolling.
"With everything just getting so expensive and the gas and everything, it's really hard to just make do," Macias said. Seeing a mother and a woman who looks like her, Macias made up her mind: "100%, she has my vote."
Hinojosa, a Democratic state representative, is trying to end an electoral drought that has defined Texas politics for a generation: no Democrat has won statewide office in Texas since 1994.

#texas #woman

Manchester City have reached that familiar point in a transfer window where the story is about quality, timing and nerve. Deadline day tends to bring theatre, but for City the picture appears sharper than most. The priorities are clear, the names are substantial, and the sense from The Athletic is that Enzo Maresca's club are pressing hard to finish business that could shape the tone of the season.
For all the noise of the wider market, the relevant line for City is straightforward. "City will aim to push through a deal with Chelsea for Enzo Fernandez, who they had identified as a key target before the end of last season." That sentence carries weight. It speaks to long-term planning rather than impulse, and it frames Fernandez not as an opportunistic late-window raid but as a midfielder City have been tracking with purpose.
The second live issue is in attack. "City will also hope to complete a move for Everton winger Iliman Ndiaye, after a £60m deal with £5m in add-ons was agreed in principle on Monday evening." In the compressed language of deadline day, that reads as significant progress. When a fee is agreed in principle and a medical is scheduled, the transfer has usually moved beyond flirtation and into the final administrative bend.
Those two pursuits, Fernandez and Ndiaye, reveal much about where City believe the squad stands. There has been talent added, there has been movement out, and there has also been that slightly untidy feel that often comes when a powerful squad is being remodelled in real time. The challenge for Maresca is to weld all of this into a **** le-chasing whole quickly.
If City complete the Fernandez deal, it will be the headline move, because elite central midfielders alter the rhythm of teams. The report notes that Chelsea set "a public deadline of August 14 for bids", yet the matter has remained alive. More tellingly, "Fernandez has been left out of Chelsea's squad for games against Luton Town and Brighton." Those absences inevitably intensify the feeling that something material is developing.

#squad

Caroline Dubois coasted to victory over Amelia Moore to defend her WBC and WBO lightweight **** les and stay on course for a blockbuster meeting with unified super-featherweight champion Alycia Baumgardner in 2027.
Dubois dominated the fight at BP Pulse Arenain Birmingham and knocked Moore down in the fifth round but was unable to find the decisive blow against the dogged American.
The British fighter won on unanimous judges' decision, 99-90 99-90 98-91 ahead on the scorecards.
Dubois was heavy favourite for this fight and never looked less than in control, although her reliance on power and presence rather than speed ensured it went the distance to a long, inevitable conclusion.
She sent Moore to the canvas with a booming left in round five, but Moore got straight back up and was instead moved around the ring by Dubois like a cat playing with a mouse.

#fight #amelia

Uncrowned has Mikaela Mayer vs. Chantelle Cameron live results, round-by-round updates, highlights, ring walks and start time for the MVPW-06 fight card on Saturday at bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England. Three super welterweight world ******* les are on the line, as WBA and WBC champion Mikaela Mayer faces WBO champion Chantelle Cameron in the main event.
Mayer (22-2, 5 KOs), a three-division world champion, returns for the first time since defeating Mary Spencer in October to claim the WBA and WBC super welterweight ******* les. The 2016 Olympian is Uncrowned's No. 8 pound-for-pound boxer and has won four straight since her controversial loss to Natasha Jonas in January 2024, including back-to-back victories over Sandy Ryan.
Cameron (22-1, 8 KOs) captured the vacant WBO super welterweight ******* le with a unanimous decision over Michaela Kotaskova in April. The former undisputed super lightweight champion is Uncrowned's No. 5 pound-for-pound boxer and has also won four straight bouts since suffering her lone professional defeat in a November 2023 rematch with Katie Taylor, whom Cameron famously handed her first career loss six months earlier.
The Mayer vs. Cameron prelims begin at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and ESPN2. The main card starts at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+, with main event ring walks expected around 4:30 p.m. ET.
Follow all of the action with Uncrowned's live results and play-by-play of the main card below.

#live #since

Stars, they're just like us!
Andrew Garfield recently opened up about his "horrific" screen time notifications in a candid interview with Variety, published over the weekend.
Buzz: Meghan Markle Gives Herself An Honor No One Would Ever Want
"The Social Network" star told the outlet that he's "as addicted as anybody" to social media.
"My screen time notifications are horrific to me. It's like, I've given all of those hours to nothing," he said. "It's genuinely enraging because we don't have as much control over these impulses as we should, and it's been by design. It's pretty dark when you look at it."

#time #stars

On Saturday's boxing double-header, Moses Itauma bids to become the second-youngest heavyweight world champion against Filip Hrgovic, while Mikaela Mayer and Chantelle Cameron meet in a major world ******* le unification clash.
Briton Itauma, 21, is one of boxing's brightest young talents, with 14 wins and 12 knockouts. Hrgovic, 34, brings a 20-1 record and years of top-level experience, with his only defeat coming against Daniel Dubois.
Can Itauma take down Hrgovic at London's O2 Arena and win the vacant IBF ******* le? Or will the Croatian's experience and power end the hype?
Meanwhile, Mayer and Briton Cameron collide in a three-belt light-middleweight unification fight at BP Pulse Arena in Birmingham. American Mayer holds the WBA and WBC ******* les, while Cameron owns the WBO belt.
The bout pits two top elite fighters against each other, with both aiming to move one step closer to becoming undisputed.

#cameron #World

One thing that makes the NFL unique is that the best teams don't always play in the biggest markets. Consider that the Seahawks, the reigning Super Bowl champions, play in Seattle.
The Chiefs, winners of three Super Bowls since 2019, play in Kansas City. In addition, the team with the longest active streak of seasons reaching the Playoffs is the Bills, who play in Buffalo. Seattle (13th), Kansas City (33rd), and Buffalo (54th) are all outside the Top 10 in the 2025 Nielsen DMA (Designated Market Area) Rankings, according to the United States TV Database.
This is why the NFL is the greatest league in the world. You don't have to be in a big market to have the best fanbase. The Seahawks, the Chiefs, and the Bills all have great fanbases. As do the Bengals, with Cincinnati ranking 37th in the aforementioned rankings.
The Nielsen Scarborough NFL Fandom Index recently unveiled its top five teams, with the Bengals checking in at No. 4 on the list.
It's the first year of the study, which, as Cincinnati Enquirer Sports Editor Jason Hoffman notes, is a "comprehensive study that moves beyond simple headcount to identify where the sport's pulse beats strongest, revealing that America's most avid fans are often found in the heart of its mid-sized legacy markets."

#super #bills #nielsen

Our ****** ysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here.
Consolidated comparable sales grew 4%, exceeding internal plans due to the strength of a globally diversified business model that offset internal execution misses.
Marmaxx underperformance (1% comp) was attributed to self-inflicted execution issues regarding merchandise mix and failing to have the right goods in the right stores at the right time.
HomeGoods delivered an outstanding 7% comp, driven by a successful strategy of blending impulse 'treasure hunt' items with high-frequency consumable staples.
International divisions in Canada, Europe, and Australia saw 6% to 7% comp increases, validating the company's ability to export its off-price model to diverse geographies.

#internal #execution #tell #homegoods

Well, this was ugly in every conceivable way. However, the Diamondbacks can perhaps be forgiven for being "off" this evening in Boston, as matters off the field took center stage. Face of the franchise Ketel Marte no-showed at Fenway Park this afternoon, forcing a roster change with just minutes to go before first pitch, as he was placed on the restricted list. Mitch Bratt had a bad start, Zack Littell showed why he got DFA'd, and the offense was barely more present than Marte, as the D-backs lost the opening game of the series against the Red Sox, by a large margin, which accurately reflected the tenor and tone of this one.
The weirdness began with the late announcement of the team's line-up. And when I say late, there was less than ten minutes to go before first pitch, and there was still nothing from the D-backs. Finally, a late, shocking roster move was announced. Ketel Marte had been placed on the restricted list, with Jose Fernandez replacing him. Fortunately, Fernandez was in town anyway, as possible coverage had Nolan Arenado had to go on the injured list. That was avoided – Arenado is officially day-to-day with his trunk issue (I'm going to keep calling it that!) – so he could take Marte's spot on the roster.
But what had happened to Ketel? Everyone was stunned, even John Gambadoro, who usually is very good at having the pulse of the team, called the move "so unexpected." It was known that Marte had flown to Boston with the team – his Instagram feed made that clear, with a report of teammate Corbin Carroll winning NL Player of the Week being the last post. But he wasn't at Fenway for batting practice. The team gave him as long as possible, but eventually had to pull the trigger. Nick Piecoro had as much an explanation as anyone: "I'm told Ketel Marte is doing OK physically, he just didn't show up to the ballpark tonight."
While we all pondered what that might mean – especially given Marte's previous willingness to go AWOL, necessitating a trip to the restricted list – there was still a game going on. Sort of. In the sense that only Boston seemed to turn up. From the first pitch, it seemed that starter Mitch Bratt was not on form, with his pitches a couple of miles per hour down on normal. Considering he has been a command and control guy, rather than a power one, this wasn't good. But the command wasn't there either. He walked two in the first and, though Bratt was able to strand them, a lead-off walk in the second came round to score, plus one more, for a 2-0 Red Sox lead.
After one more inning, and one more run, Bratt was done for the night after 65 pitches. His final line: three innings of work, allowing three earned runs on four hits and three walks. He was basically a shadow of his previous three starts, where he tossed 18 innings and allowed three runs. The team turned to Zack Littell as the long relief mop-up guy, and it's safe to say his second outing wasn't anywhere near as good as his previous one either. To be blunt, we ki

A sea of humanity surrounded the tee box on No. 1, as Scottie Scheffler prepared to start his third round on Saturday. It roared on contact, widening the eyes of at least one veteran FedEx St. Jude Championship volunteer hole marshal.
The day began with Scheffler leading the field by three strokes thanks to his virtuosic, course record-tying, second-round 61 at TPC Southwind. By the time Scheffler headed back to the clubhouse Saturday, he was still perched atop the leaderboard, leading Sam Burns and Sungjae Im each by two strokes.
Is this the year? Will the string of pulse-pounding, adrenaline-fueled finishes that have become reliably commonplace at Memphis' annual golf tournament finally snap? Can Scheffler leave the few still within striking distance comfortably in the dust?
On behalf of everyone planning to brave the brutally hot conditions: Nooooooo!!
Thrilling, edge-of-your-golf-stool Sundays have made the FedEx St. Jude Championship (and the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational before it) even more special than the elevated status already made them.

#saturday #round

Yesterday our own Jeremy Nielsen described the Yankee offense no-showing like they were itching to just get on the plane and start their road trip already. Tonight felt like the bats somehow never left the tarmac, because aside from Trent Grisham poking one out of the stands there just wasn't anything to show for their at-bats. The Yankees wasted another solid pitching performance and allowed a starter on the other side that has been struggling to cut right through them in a 3-1 loss to Toronto.
Shane Bieber was on the mound for the Blue Jays, and he entered this game with a gaudy 5.48 ERA — naturally, that was of little consequence to this lineup. Bieber sat down the Yankees in order in the first inning, picking up strikeouts from Grisham and Spencer Jones, and worked around a one-out Jazz Chisholm Jr. single in the second. The third brought the first real instance of a pulse, Austin Wells leading off with a walk before getting forced out at second. Grisham stepped up and provided a single that should've made it a rally, but George Lombard Jr. was caught in the middle of trying to go for third and didn't get back to second in time, instead winding up in a rundown. A Ben Rice groundout ended the disappointing frame.
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The fourth brought more opportunities to squander, as Jones led off with a double and advanced to third on a flyout from Luis García Jr. (Jones was briefly called out on the tag up, but a challenge overturned that call as he was clearly never tagged despite the throw beating him). Still, two more fly outs were all the Yankees managed, and the first one was too shallow for Jones to test with another tag up. It wasn't until the sixth inning that the Yankees finally caught a break, Grisham crushing a middle-middle fastball out to right field to get them on the scoreboard.
View Link

#yankees #jones

I can still picture my prized holographic BOOK IT! pin, the one with pages that turned as you tilted it. It filled up with stars I earned through a full Baby-Sitters Club obsession and anything even remotely ghost-related, then kicked around various jewelry boxes and bins of ephemera for years. As a kid I proudly identified as a voracious reader, and the pin was the proof. The Pizza Hut pizza was simply a bonus.
Recently, I sat down to talk with Chrissy Teigen about her partnership with Pizza Hut's BOOK IT! program, and it quickly turned into a delightful nostalgia-fest. What doubly delighted me was how authentically excited she is about reading and about passing that love down to her kids. "The little exclamation point is like what excited me the most," she told me about her own childhood pin, and we were off.
There's real substance behind the nostalgia. Pizza Hut created BOOK IT! in 1984 with a simple mission, to turn "have to read" into "want to read" for kids everywhere, and it worked. It's now the longest-running corporate-supported reading program in the country, and by Pizza Hut's own count it has encouraged more than 70 million children to read since it launched, handing out an estimated 1.5 billion pizzas along the way.
Teigen, who turned 40 this year, has spent the past few years reconnecting with her childhood friends from Snohomish, Washington. The things that got them excited as kids are the same things they text each other about now, which is exactly why a reading program wrapped in 90s vibes and pizza was an immediate yes. As a senior millennial, I understood the impulse completely.
Her four kids read in four completely different ways, which any parent of more than one totally understands. Miles (8), her biggest reader, goes nonstop, plowing through Dog Man and the I Survived series in the car and on the way to camp because he loves facts more than almost anything. Luna (10), her oldest, is aging into book reports, summer reading lists, and the very specific social world of tween reading, where friends race through the same book so they can all watch the adaptation together. Then there are the littles. Esti (3) is deep in Madeline and The Very Impatient Caterpillar, which Teigen reads aloud in full character voices while the caterpillar keeps asking "am I a **** erfly yet?" and everyone shouts back, no. Wren (3), whom she affectionately calls "a much simpler man," wants Little Blue Truck and a "beep beep" on every page.

#reading #teigen #little #caterpillar

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) has spent close to a year going nowhere while the broader market climbed steadily, and shares recently traded near a 52-week low even after the company posted higher revenue and earnings. That gap between decent headline numbers and a beaten-down stock price is the whole story right now. Investors are trying to figure out whether a business that looks strong overseas and stuck at home is worth paying up for, all while collecting one of the most dependable dividends around.
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Outside the United States, PepsiCo's business is humming. International beverage volume climbed 5% last quarter and revenue jumped 11%, or 9% once currency swings are stripped out, and none of that came from acquisitions since those deals were concentrated on U.S. brands. Snacks told a similar story abroad, with Asia Pacific revenue up 15% and Latin America up 12%. That geographic spread matters because it's cushioning a domestic business that isn't pulling its weight. On top of that, volume is finally moving in the right direction everywhere: PepsiCo posted its fastest volume sales growth since 2022, and global organic sales volume through the first half of fiscal 2026 was the highest in four years, a sign that recent price cuts aimed at cost-conscious shoppers are working rather than just squeezing margins.
The stock's price tag adds to the case. Shares trade around 16 times forward earnings, a discount to its five-year median near 22. Layer on a dividend that's been raised for 54 straight years, with the payout still covered by adjusted earnings. Management is "restaging" four core brands, Lay's, Tostitos, Gatorade, and Quaker, with new packaging, marketing, and ingredients, while rolling out products like protein chips and probiotic drinks. Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has also been in the mix, pushing the company to move faster on growth and cost cuts.
The trouble is that PepsiCo's biggest market is still shrinking in the ways that matter. North American food sales fell 2% last quarter, and beverage volume in that region dropped 4% even as reported beverage revenue ticked up. Management pointed to higher gas prices as one culprit, arguing that pricier fill-ups are cutting into convenience store traffic, a channel where impulse buys of chips and soda matter a lot. Strip out acquisitions, and organic growth in North American beverages was just 1%.

#beverage #Growth

A project that used to take three weeks now takes one. A report that required a full day gets done before lunch. And employees are being evaluated against that accelerated standard before anyone has agreed it is sustainable, accurate, or fair. The time savings went to the company, but the pressure went to the employee.
Here is the dynamic playing out inside nearly every organization adopting AI right now: efficiency gains from AI are not being returned to employees as breathing room. They are being immediately converted into higher output expectations. The ***** umption is simple and rarely stated out loud: if AI freed up your afternoon, that afternoon now belongs to the next ***** ignment. Workers are not getting time back. They are getting more work, on a faster clock, with the same number of hours in the day.
New research from GoTo and Workplace Intelligence makes the paradox explicit. The Pulse of Work in 2026 study, which surveyed 2,500 employees and IT decision-makers across ten countries, found that employees save more than two hours per day using AI tools. But the same study found that 60% of employees feel pressured to use AI to boost productivity, 50% say they rely on it too much, and 39% say that reliance is making them less intelligent. The productivity gain and the human performance cost are arriving simultaneously. Most organizations are only tracking one of them.
An ActivTrak's ***** ysis of 443 million hours of work activity across more than 1,100 organizations found that AI doubled time spent on email and messaging while focused deep work fell by 9%. A Harvard Business Review study published earlier this year found that after AI adoption, workers operated at a faster pace, took on a broader scope of tasks, and extended work into more hours of the day, often without being asked. The tools are generating more activity while depleting the capacity for the high-quality thinking that makes that activity valuable.
When AI compresses timelines, the most visible change is speed, and speed quickly becomes the proxy for performance because it is the most legible output of AI adoption. Gallup's research finds that 65% of employees say AI has improved their productivity, and frequent AI use among managers has doubled from 15% to 30% since 2023. But that growing adoption is producing a widening gap between who benefits and who absorbs the pressure: leaders report the strongest gains, while individual contributors remain the least likely to receive guidance on how to use AI effectively. And 54% of managers say workplace expectations have directly increased due to AI. The bar is rising and the measurement framework is not keeping pace.

#employees #hours #adoption #workers

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Agentic AI is exceeding expectations around productivity and satisfaction at work, according to data from Accenture's Pulse of Change report released last week, which surveyed 3,000 C-suite leaders and 3,000 non-C-suite employees. More than two-thirds of C-suite respondents said the effect of agentic AI has been greater than expected on employee productivity, and about the same number of employees said they're overall more satisfied with their jobs overall.
Though most companies are seeing some positive impact, fewer say they're seeing sustained business value — impact that can be reported to a company's board — from their AI investments. Just 23% of companies said they saw reportable business value in the July survey, down from 32% earlier this year.
The dip follows a theme executives are seeing in 2026, where companies are trying to apply the technology to as many places as possible, rather than in targeted ways, Muqsit Ashraf, industry and enterprise global lead at Accenture, told CIO Dive. "Companies have rolled out the tools and copilots, and that produces local productivity, but it doesn't produce enterprise-level PnL impact," he said.
Nearly every enterprise is using AI in some capacity, but only the organizations that redesign their work around it can recover the millions spent on the technology.

#dive #daily

Good news: Joan Laporta's is back in action after a few days' rest following a medical procedure.
The FC Barcelona club president had to undergo surgery to fix a cardiac arrhythmia — that is, an irregular heartbeat — on Tuesday. Doctors used a defibrillation procedure, essentially using controlled electrical impulses to shock his heart back into a normal rhythm.
Afterwards, he had to take a few days off to recover. On Friday, he's been officially cleared to return to work.
Laporta celebrated on Instagram: "I've been discharged! Heading home!"
The president thanked the Hospital de Barcelona, including the Emergency, ICU, Laboratory, Anesthesiology, Cardiology, Radiology, and Endoscopy departments and several specific doctors by name.

#Barcelona #doctors #days

The Big Ten is taking its turn in the media day fun this week in Chicago. Big Ten football media day gets underway with the start of a three-day event on Tuesday, and Penn State will be one of the schools in the spotlight. New head coach Matt Campbell is in Chicago with player representatives Rocco Becht, Anthony Donkoh, and Tony Rojas to discuss the status of the Nittany Lions heading into the 2026 season.
Penn State was picked to finish in sixth place in the unofficial Big Ten media poll, so it will be interesting to hear just what the pulse is of the program from its reps in Chicago. Will this be a team flying under the radar in the College Football Playoff push, or will there be some time needed to rebuild the confidence of the program?
Here is how to stay on top of everything going down at Big Ten Media Day today.
Watch Big Ten Media Days on Fubo
TV Channel: Big Ten Network

#Chicago #program

After failing to win a chance at training camp to secure a spot as one of Lamar Jackson's backups, former Ravens quarterback Diego Pavia has entered the NFL's waiver system.
If unclaimed, what's next?
He could choose to wait for another NFL opportunity. Injuries could open a door for Pavia to participate in a training camp as an extra arm, which would in turn give him an opportunity to earn a 53-man roster spot or a position on a practice squad.
If there's no NFL interest, Pavia could go to the CFL. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers hold his negotiating rights, and they've made it clear that they are interested.
The UFL apparently has interest, too — if the social-media team has its finger on the pulse of the league's priorities. The league retweeted the announcement of Pavia's waiver by the Ravens with the eyes emoji.

#Ravens #training #Opportunity #lamar

Hello, and welcome back to the Pac-Mountain Pulse, a Mountain West Connection podcast. Thank you for joining us today!
In this episode, Hike's Peak host Jack Thompson (JackTalksCFB) joins Derek to discuss various Pac-12 topics, such as the hype and expectations surrounding Texas State quarterback Brad Johnson, which teams will exceed or fall below their FanDuel win total expectations and the ongoing discussions of conference realignment a couple of years down the line.
View Link

#expectations #hello #pulse

The Oklahoma Sooners took to the podium for the 2026 edition of SEC Media Days in Tampa, Florida on Monday. Joining head coach Brent Venables to represent OU were redshirt senior quarterback John Mateer, redshirt junior defensive lineman Taylor Wein, and redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Eddy Pierre-Louis.
While Mateer was at media days last year, it was the first time at the event for both Wein and Pierre-Louis. Naturally, both players were asked about their starting quarterback, and both gushed about what Mateer means to the program.
Wein has been going against Mateer in practice for the past couple of seasons, watching from the other side of the ball as Mateer leads the unit. It's been a period of rebuild for the offense after the 2024 disaster, but Wein believes in Mateer and in his ability.
"A very excellent quarterback," Wein said. "He plays very, very consistent. I know that he's very, very self-motivated, just like a lot of the guys on the team, and he does a good job just attacking his weaknesses. I've seen John completely elevate his game and completely transform as a player and his mentality, and it's only elevated the whole offense, and it's brought a huge pulse to the offense, and we're excited. We know John has a very good mindset and he's competitive, and it's actually really funny going against him at practice every day, he's the number one dude talking smack. We're going back and forth and whatnot. It's a really good thing. So, we're excited."
Pierre-Louis will now start alongside Mateer on the offensive side of the ball, and he will work to protect the star quarterback and help lead an offensive resurgence. Growing up in Tampa, Pierre-Louis was a fan of the Sooners, watching from hundreds of miles away during the Baker Mayfield era in Norman. He compared Mateer to Mayfield, who now quarterbacks the hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

#louis #quarterback #we 're #redshirt