Author: Editor-In-Chief
The killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei does not necessarily mean the immediate collapse of the regime.This is a hasty reading, reflecting wishful thinking rather than dispassionate analysis. Indeed, we are witnessing a seismic shift that is the most dangerous to hit the Islamic Republic since its establishment in 1979. But the more important political question is no. The question is, “Is the blow that bad?” Rather, “Was the system built to absorb a shock of this magnitude?”The evidence available so far shows that this system was designed from the beginning to be nothing more than a shadow of…
Jake Loosararian and Orion Correa, founders of Gecko Robotics.Provided by: GeckoPittsburgh-based robotics startup Gekko Robotics announced Tuesday it has signed a $71 million contract with the U.S. Navy to speed up ship repair times as the government rushes to reindustrialize America’s aging defense systems.The company says its robots can fly, swim and climb critical infrastructure, and use cameras and sensors to shorten a three-month process to as little as two days. Gecko also said the robot can assess required maintenance 50 times faster than other manual technologies. “This is the kind of thing that hasn’t been possible before, and that’s…
Jonathan Ra | Null Photo | Getty ImagesSenators Marsha Blackburn and Peter Welch are calling for a new version of ByteDance’s artificial intelligence app SeaDance to be shut down. The app generates videos of real people and licensed characters, raising concerns about copyright and intellectual property rights. Seedance 2.0 is “the clearest example of copyright infringement by a ByteDance product to date, and we need to immediately shut down Seedance and implement meaningful safeguards to prevent further infringing output,” Blackburn, R-Tennessee, and Welch, R-Vermont, wrote in a letter to ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo, first obtained by CNBC.Their letter reflects growing…
US President Donald Trump is trying to rally international support to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway where oil shipments have been shudderingly halted since the US and Israel began their war with Iran. He said the United States has asked countries for help and received “some positive responses,” but argued that some countries “don’t want to get involved.” So far, President Trump’s allies have not changed their stance on the idea of sending in warships, at least publicly. Late Monday, President Trump said “a number of countries have told me that they are preparing to do so,”…
Paul McGinley reflects on Rory McIlroy’s disappointing title defense at The Players and thinks he may need to reconsider his efforts on and off the course ahead of the Masters.This week aside, looking at his performance in 2026, McIlroy’s basic stats are all good and he’s had a solid enough start to the season. A back injury in the days leading up to The Players certainly distracted him, and the lack of preparation seemed to discourage him as a competitor. Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player Rory McIlroy reflects on his week at The Players, which ended…
Energy analysts and traders said Monday they would not be surprised if oil prices rose to $200 a barrel as the massive Middle East crisis drags on. The move comes as the U.S.-Israel-led war against Iran has effectively halted traffic in the strategic Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks, disrupting oil production and shipping in the region. The Strait of Hormuz is an important narrow maritime corridor connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Typically, about 20% of the world’s oil and gas passes through it. Iran vowed to continue blocking the waterway as a “means of putting…
Two months after President Donald Trump belittled NATO allies for their lackluster efforts in Afghanistan, he warned that the alliance faces a “very bad” future if those same allies fail to help the United States secure the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively blocked following U.S. and Israeli attacks. In an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday, President Trump said, “It’s only natural that the people who are the beneficiaries of the Straits work together to prevent bad things from happening in the Straits.” “I think if there is no response, or if there is a negative response,…
Steve Clarke is open to the idea of staying on as Scotland’s head coach if given the option.The 62-year-old feels the ball is in Scottish Football Association’s court and revealed he has only had initial informal talks with chief executive Ian Maxwell.Clarke, who was appointed in May 2019 and has led Scotland to three out of four tournaments, is out of contract after this summer’s World Cup, and there are plans to return to club management. “I had a very brief conversation with Ian (Maxwell) about what they want to do going forward, but there hasn’t been anything concrete since…
The Peloton Interactive logo is painted on a stationary bike at the Peloton Interactive showroom in Dedham, Massachusetts, February 3, 2021.Adam Glanzman Bloomberg | Getty Imagespeloton on Monday announced the Commercial Series, the company’s first bike and tread products made for high-traffic gym floors. The move marks the company’s move beyond its core home-based business and deeper into the multibillion-dollar commercial fitness market.CEO Peter Stern said in an interview with CNBC, “I’ve had the opportunity to talk to a lot of gyms, gym owners, CEOs of large gyms over the last year.” “It’s one of the brands that their members…
Before Balendra Shah dismantled Nepal’s political elite, he was destroying his opponents in underground rap battles. More than a decade ago, he armed himself with a microphone and his signature sunglasses and spewed out poems about Kathmandu’s corruption, broken roads, and social inequality. Those in power ignored it as noise, but the country’s youth were listening. Now the kids who were streaming his music have grown up. And last week’s national election handed the 35-year-old the keys to the country. Shah, popularly known as Baren, is on track to become the Himalayan nation’s next prime minister after youth-led protests ousted…