Elon Musk has told Joe Rogan that he hopes to unveil a flying car “before the end of the year.” As Gizmodo has reported, Rogan asked Musk about about the long-delayed second-gen Tesla Roadster in his show, when the Tesla CEO suddenly started talking about wanting the vehicle to fly. If you’ll recall, Tesla unveiled a new Roadster in 2017 and had plans to start deliveries in 2020, but its production got delayed again and again. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently tweeted that he’d been having difficulties getting a refund on the $50,000 deposit he made for one way back in 2018. But instead of talking in depth about Roadster’s status, Musk talked about getting close to an “unforgettable” product demo of a prototype instead.
He was giving Rogan vague answers in the interview, but he eventually said: “Well, you know, my friend Peter Thiel, once reflected that the future was supposed to have flying cars, but we don’t have flying cars. I mean, I think if Peter wants a flying car, we should be able to buy one” He didn’t want to divulge all the details in the show, but he claimed that the vehicle Tesla is supposedly working on contains “crazy, crazy technology.” Musk said he wasn’t sure it’s a car but that “it loos like a car.” He didn’t answer when Rogan asked if it had “retractable wings” or mentioned if the vehicle would be VTOL, or a Vertical Take-off and Landing, aircraft.
Musk has been talking about developing flying cars as early as 2014, as Gizmodonotes. However, take note that the CEO is rather infamous for being overly optimistic and ambitious with his timelines, not just for the automaker but also for his other companies like SpaceX. Take for example, the aforementioned Roadster, which is yet to go into production, and the SpaceX Falcon Heavy whose first launch didn’t happen until five years later than he predicted. That said, it’s also possible for Tesla to unveil a prototype that would still have to go through massive changes and improvements if and when it becomes ready for production.
Over the past few days Disney fans who have managed to ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Walt Disney World have been among the first to experience the continuation of Tiana’s fairytale after the events 2009’s The Princess and the Frog. The ride itself serves as a sequel in attraction form, where guests follow Tiana and friends as they put together a band for their Mardi Gras celebration. But there are so many more details revealed even before you board the flume water ride for fans of the beloved Disney film.
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One of the biggest official reveals is that unlike the Disney Princesses that came before her—even as far back as Snow White—New Orleans’ very own princess has a real last name. In the queue for Walt Disney World’s attraction, fans have noticed that Tiana is referred to as Tiana Rogers, daughter of Sargent James Rogers, in newspaper clippings and cooking awards for Tiana’s Palace and Tiana’s Foods (her culinary co-op). And this was intentional, Disney Imagineer Ted Robledo shared: “There’s so much of her story that was touched upon in the film, the relationship with her father, a World War I veteran; her relationship with her mother, [who] we like to say was the entrepreneurial inspiration for her to be the successful businesswoman that Tiana is today in our story.”
See below for the in-universe confirmation of Tiana Rogers’ last name.
Image: Sabina Graves/Gizmodo
The fairytale fandom has been very tricky when it comes to the Disney Princess lineup and their official titles. Technically Rapunzel could have taken Eugene Fitzherbert’s name—but it’s never canonized in Disney content, much like the other married princesses including Snow White or Cinderella (can the real Mrs. Charming please stand up?). Even in the case of The Princess and the Frog, Tiana did marry Prince Naveen of Maldonia, which would make her Tiana Rogers, Princess of Maldonia, since she clearly kept her father’s name to honor him with her successful food company in New Orleans.
“Tiana’s story is going to be furthered in a new series that was announced,” Robledo continued, confirming that Disney Imagineers worked closely with Disney animation to keep within canon on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure as the studio prepares for her Disney Plus series Tiana, which will dig a little deeper with what’s next for the princess and her family. The series will focus on things like, “Her relationship with her husband, who is from another country of likely of mixed race. It’s a time of Indigenous people and colonization. I think that team, from what little we heard, is going to explore that route. But I will say this about Naveen: we knew early on, and even if Naveen plays a small role or big role in this story, he has a role—they’re a married couple, they care about each other. So to honor that, we want to make sure he’s included somewhere in a real way. And actually, it’s quite humorous, as this little performance of our story.” We can’t wait to see Tiana and Naveen return with more adventures down in New Orleans with Disney+ series Tiana, but for now going on bayou log boat rides will do at Disney Parks.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is now open at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL and is set to open soon at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.
Coastal Animals Are Thriving on Plastic Pollution Out in the Pacific Ocean | Extreme Earth
In the time it takes you to read this sentence — say, four seconds — the world produces nearly 60 metric tons of plastic, almost entirely out of fossil fuels. That’s about 53,000 metric tons an hour, 1.3 million metric tons a day, or 460 million metric tons a year. Those numbers are fueling widespread and growing contamination of Earth’s oceans, rivers, and the terrestrial environment with plastic trash.
In March 2022, the United Nations’ 193 member states got together in Nairobi, Kenya, and agreed to do something about it. They pledged to negotiate a treaty to “end plastic pollution,” with the goal of delivering a final draft by 2025. The most ambitious vision espoused by member states in the negotiating sessions that have taken place so far would require petrochemical companies to stop making so much of the darn stuff by putting a cap on global plastic production.
Given the existential threat this would pose to fossil fuel and chemical companies, you might expect them to be vociferously opposed to the treaty. Yet they claim to support the agreement. They’re even “championing” it, according to statements from a handful of industry groups. The American Chemistry Council has repeatedly “welcome[d]” progress on the treaty negotiations, while an executive from the International Council of Chemical Associations told Plastics Today in April that the industry is “fully committed” to supporting an agreement.
So what exactly do plastic-producing companies want from the treaty? To answer this question, Grist sifted through dozens of public statements and policy documents from five of the world’s largest petrochemical industry trade organizations, as well as two product-specific industry groups. These documents included press releases reacting to treaty negotiating sessions and longer position statements detailing the industry’s desired pathway to a “world without waste.”
Much of what these groups have published is vague — many documents call for “targets,” for example, without saying what they should be. Grist reached out to all of the groups for clarification, but only two agreed to answer questions about the policies they support.
What we found is that, although they fall far short of what so-called “high-ambition” countries and advocacy groups would like to get out of the treaty, industry groups’ proposals to bolster recycling and waste collection could cause a significant reduction in mismanaged plastic waste — even in the absence of a cap on plastic production. According to a policy analysis tool developed by researchers at the University of California, the elements of the treaty that industry groups support, cobbled together, could cut global plastic pollution by 43 million metric tons annually by 2050 — a 36 percent reduction below business-as-usual estimates.
Meanwhile, a realistic production cap could cut annual pollution by 48 million metric tons all by itself. Excluding a production cap from the treaty will make it much harder to rein in plastic pollution, said Douglas McCauley, an associate professor of biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and one of the creators of the policy tool. “It means you really have to ramp up your ambition on what some of the other policies would need to do,” he told Grist.
These numbers matter, because the plastic industry’s influence over the treaty negotiations seems to be growing stronger. At the most recent round of talks — held in Ottawa, Canada, at the end of April — nearly 200 petrochemical and fossil fuel lobbyists registered to attend. That’s 37 more than were registered for the previous session, and more than the number of representatives from European Union member states.
At the same time, several delegations promoted solutions on the industry’s terms. Malaysia warned about the unintended economic consequences of limiting plastic production, and India said the treaty should focus on pollution while considering plastics’ utility to modern society. Given the power of the plastics industry and the tendency of international negotiations to cater to the lowest common denominator, it’s possible that the treaty will strongly reflect these industry priorities.
How the industry sees the problem
To understand the industry position on the plastics treaty, it’s important to understand how plastic makers conceptualize the plastics crisis. While they agree that pollution is a scourge, they don’t think the solution is to reduce society’s production and use of plastic. After all, plastics come with myriad benefits. They’re inexpensive, lightweight, and widely used in important sectors like clean energy and medicine — their “unmatched properties and versatility have allowed for incredible innovations that conserve resources and make more things in life possible,” as the Plastics Industry Association has put it. America’s Plastic Makers, an arm of the American Chemistry Council, says policymakers should ensure that the material stays “in our economy and out of our environment.”
The way to do this, according to industry groups, is through “plastics circularity,” a concept that seeks to keep the material in use for as long as possible before it’s thrown away. Generally, this means more recycling. But circularity can also refer to scaled-up systems allowing plastic to be reused, or better infrastructure for waste collection. As plastic makers see it, the plastic treaty’s function should be to increase circularity while retaining the social and economic benefits derived from plastic products.
Perhaps the biggest problem faced by circularity proponents is plastic’s abysmal recycling rate. At present, the world only recycles about 9 percent of all plastic it produces; the rest gets sent to landfills or incinerators, or winds up as litter. What’s more, in most cases the material can only be reprocessed once or twice — if at all — before it has to be “downcycled” into lower-quality products like carpeting. Although some experts believe it’s impossible to recycle much more plastic due to technological and economic constraints, plastic makers say otherwise. Indeed, plastics circularity hinges on the possibility of a better recycling rate.
The industry’s first solution: Recycling targets
To that end, several industry groups — including the World Plastics Council, the self-described “global voice of the plastics industry” — are advocating for “mandatory minimum recycling rates” as part of the treaty, as well as higher targets for recycled content used in new products.
This could mean that countries, regions, or other jurisdictions would set legally binding quotas for the amount of plastic recycled within their borders and then converted into new items. Plastic makers typically favor targets that are set at the local or national level and that differentiate based on the type of plastic, since some types are harder to recycle than others.
Industry groups also want recycling targets to be “technology-neutral,” meaning they should count plastics processed through controversial “chemical recycling” techniques. Although these techniques do not yet work at scale, the industry says they will one day be able to break down mixed post-consumer plastic into their constituent polymers using high heat and pressure, and then turn those polymers back into new plastic products. Environmental experts oppose chemical recycling, pointing to evidence that it is primarily used to burn plastics or turn them into fuel.
The two policies — on plastics recycling and recycled content — could be mutually reinforcing, with the latter creating a more reliable market for the recycled material generated by the former. Ross Eisenberg, president of America’s Plastic Makers, told Grist via email that recycling and recycled content targets would “create demand signals and provide added certainty for companies to make additional investments for a circular economy, so more plastic products are reused or remade into new plastic products.”
Plastics Europe and the World Plastics Council declined to be interviewed for this article. They did not respond to questions about their support for specific recycling and recycled content targets, although Plastics Europe has voiced support for “mandatory data and reporting objectives for all stages of the life cycle of the plastics system.” For the U.S., America’s Plastic Makers supports a 30 percent recycled content requirement in plastic packaging by 2030, and for 100 percent of plastic packaging to be “reused, recycled, or recovered by 2040.”
The industry’s second solution: Infrastructure and design changes
Additional policies supported by industry groups could indirectly facilitate an increase in the plastics recycling rate by raising money for recycling infrastructure. These policies typically involve systems for “extended producer responsibility,” or EPR, requiring companies that make and sell plastics to help pay for the collection and recycling of the waste they generate, as well as the cleanup of existing plastic pollution. Every industry group Grist reached out to says it supports EPR as a part of the treaty, although some specifically note in their policy documents that such policies should be adopted at the local or national level, rather than globally. Some groups, including the American Chemistry Council and Global Partners for Plastics Circularity — an umbrella group supported by a dozen plastics associations and companies — also call more vaguely for additional financing through “public-private partnerships and blended finance.”
For plastic packaging — which accounts for about 36 percent of global plastic production — a European industry consortium called the Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging supports “mandatory legislation on product design” to make products easier to recycle. It doesn’t back any specific design elements, but points to ideas laid out by the Consumer Goods Forum, an industry-led network of consumer product retailers and manufacturers. These ideas include using clear instead of colored plastics, limiting the use of unnecessary plastic wrap, and ensuring that any adhesives or inks applied to plastic packaging don’t render it nonrecyclable. Plastics Europe additionally supports technical and design standards for biodegradable and compostable plastics intended to replace those made from fossil fuels.
Many groups also say they support targets for “pellet containment,” referring to the tiny plastic pieces that are melted down and shaped into larger items. These pellets are notorious for spilling out of manufacturing facilities or off of cargo ships and into waterways; in Europe, 20 truckloads of them escape into the environment every day. Several trade groups say in their public statements that they support an industry-led program called Operation Clean Sweep to help companies achieve “zero resin loss” by “fostering a venue for precompetitive collaboration and peer-learning opportunities.”
However, Operation Clean Sweep has been around since 1991 and has not yet achieved its goal; some policymakers have recently called for stricter regulations on plastic pellet loss.
The industry’s third solution: Application-based regulations
In addition to capping plastic production, many countries’ delegates — along with scientists and environmental groups — would like the treaty to ban or restrict some of the most problematic plastic polymers, as well as certain chemicals used in plastics. They call these “chemicals and polymers of concern,” meaning those least likely to be recycled, or most likely to damage people’s health and the environment. Potential candidates include polyvinyl chloride, widely used in water pipes, upholstery, toys, and other applications; expanded polystyrene, or EPS, the foamy plastic that’s often used in takeout food containers; and endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as phthalates, bisphenols, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
The general idea of identifying problematic chemicals and polymers in the plastics treaty is very popular; observers of the negotiations say it’s been one of the areas of greatest convergence among delegates. Industry groups are also supportive — but only of a very specific approach. According to the World Plastics Council, the treaty shouldn’t include “arbitrary bans or restrictions on substances or materials,” but rather regulations based on the “essential use and societal value” of particular types of plastic.
For instance, polystyrene used in packing peanuts and takeout containers is virtually never recycled and might be a good candidate for restriction. But the Global Expanded Polystyrene Sustainability Alliance — a trade group for EPS makers — points to evidence that, in Europe and Japan, the material can be recycled at least 30 percent of the time when it’s in a different format — namely, insulation for products like coolers, as well as big pieces used to protect fragile shipments.
In a press release, the group said this distinction in polystyrene formatting demonstrates the need to assess plastics’ “individual material applications and uses independently.”
“We’ve got five major types” of polystyrene, said Betsy Bowers, executive director of the Expanded Polystyrene Industry Alliance, a trade group representing the U.S. EPS market. “Some of them can be recycled, and some of them can’t.”
Plastics Europe has said an application-based approach could also consider plastic products on the basis of “leakage,” how easily the products become litter; the feasibility of redesigning them; or “effects on human or animal health.” That said, the organization does not support restricting plastic-related chemicals as part of the treaty, beyond what is already spelled out in existing international agreements like the Stockholm Convention. The International Council of Chemical Associations, whose members include individual chemical manufacturers and regional trade groups, does not support any chemical regulation as part of the treaty.
In an email to Grist, the American Chemistry Council said it supports a “decision-tree approach” to prevent specific plastic products from leaking into the environment. The organization said in a letter sent to President Joe Biden last May that it opposes “restrictions of trade in chemicals or polymers” because they would “make U.S. manufacturers less competitive and/or jeopardize the many benefits plastics provide to the economy and the environment.”
The International Council of Chemical Associations, the Plastics Industry Association, and the Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging initiative did not respond to Grist’s request to be interviewed for this story, or to questions about the policies they support.
The impact of the plastic industry’s favorite policies
While it’s clear that self-preservation is at the heart of the petrochemical industry’s agenda for the plastics treaty, the policies it supports could have a positive impact on plastic pollution. According to the policy analysis toolcreated by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, Santa Barbara, a suite of ambitious policies to hit recycling and recycled content rates of 20 percent, reuse 60 percent of plastic packaging (where applicable), and dedicate $35 billion to plastics recycling and waste infrastructure could prevent 43 million metric tons of plastic pollution annually by midcentury. Most of this reduction would come from the infrastructure funding.
McCauley, one of the creators of the tool, said these policies are certainly better than nothing. They can bring the world “closer to a future without plastic pollution,” he told Grist, although he emphasized that recycling is not a silver bullet.
The policy tool takes for granted that higher recycling and recycled content rates are achievable, but this might not be the case. Bjorn Beeler, executive director and international coordinator for the nonprofit International Pollutants Elimination Network, said a 20 percent recycling rate would be “nearly impossible” to reach, given the relatively low cost of virgin plastic and the petrochemical industry’s projected expansion over the coming decades. Jan Dell, an independent chemical engineer and founder of the nonprofit The Last Beach Cleanup, estimated the maximum possible recycled content rate for consumer product packaging would be about 5 percent, due to insurmountable technological constraints related to plastics’ toxicity.
Experts tend to favor plastic production caps as a much faster, reliable, and more straightforward way to reduce plastic pollution than relying on recycling. According to McCauley’s policy tool, capping plastic production at the level reached in 2019 would prevent 48 million metric tons of annual plastic pollution by 2050 — even in the absence of any efforts to boost recycling or fund waste management. “It’s possible to be effective without the cap,” said Sam Pottinger, a senior research data scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, and a contributor to the policy tool. “But it requires a huge amount of effort elsewhere.”
There’s no reason the plastics treaty couldn’t incorporate a production cap in addition to the industry’s preferred recycling interventions. Some experts say this would form the most effective agreement; according to the policy tool, a production cap at 2019 levels plus the suite of recycling targets and funding for waste infrastructure could prevent nearly 78 million metric tons of annual plastic pollution by 2050. Bumping up the funding for recycling and waste infrastructure to an aggressive $200 billion, in combination with the production cap and other policies, would avert nearly 109 million metric tons of pollution each year.
“We need to use all of the tools in our toolbox,” said Zoie Diana, a postdoctoral plastics researcher at the University of Toronto who was not involved in creating the policy tool. She too emphasized, however, that governments should prioritize reducing plastic production.
What the industry doesn’t like to talk about
The case for a production cap goes beyond plastic litter concerns. It would also address the inequitable impact of toxic pollution from plastic manufacturing facilities, as well as the industry’s contribution to climate change. In April, a study from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that plastic production already accounts for 5 percent of global climate pollution, and that by 2050 — given the petrochemical industry’s plans to dramatically ramp up plastic production — it could eat up one-fifth of the world’s remaining carbon budget, the amount of emissions the world can release while still limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). To achieve international climate goals, some environmental groups have estimated that the world must reduce plastic production by 12 to 17 percent every year starting in 2024.
“Whether the treaty includes plastic production cuts is not just a policy debate,” said Jorge Emmanuel, an adjunct professor at Silliman University in the Philippines, in a statement describing the mountains of plastic trash that are harming Filipino communities. “It’s a matter of survival.”
Petrochemical companies, for their part, do not deeply engage with these arguments — at least not in their public policy documents. They claim that plastics actually help mitigate climate change, since the lightweight material takes less fuel to transport than alternatives made of metal and glass. And industry groups’ public statements mostly do not address environmental justice concerns related to plastic use, production, and disposal, except to vaguely say that the treaty shouldn’t harm waste pickers — the millions of workers, most of them in the developing world, who make a living collecting plastic trash and selling it to recyclers.
The fifth and final round of negotiations for the plastics treaty is scheduled to take place in Busan, South Korea, this November. Although many observers, including a group of U.S. Congressional representatives and the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, have called for conflict-of-interest policies to limit trade groups’ influence over the talks, these requests face long odds. The dozens of countries advocating for production limits may have to defend their proposals against an even larger industry presence than they did at the last session in Ottawa.
Who has time for summertime sadness when there are new gadget releases to check out? This month, we got an update on the Insta360 GO and a new mini-LED QLED from Sony. We also went hands-on with the ROG Ally X, which boasts a bigger battery than the Steam Deck. These waterproof JBL speakers are affordable and perfect for going out on the boat, bike, or wherever blasting music is somewhat socially acceptable. Here’s what we loved in June 2024.
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Insta 360 GO 3S
Image: Insta360
The $400 Insta360 Go 3S isn’t just an action camera for pets, but why would you use it for anything else? This is the update to last year’s GO 3 with up to 4K shooting at 30 fps—up from a maximum of 2.7K on the regular GO 3—so there’s less distortion as you move. The GO 3S has a wider lens than the regular GO 3—16mm compared to the previous GO’s 11mm—which helps cut down on edge distortion.
Samsung Odyssey OLED G8
Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
The $1,300 4K Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 brings all the saturation and vividness of the brand’s smartphones to your gaming experience on a PC or console with a 240Hz maximum refresh rate. If that isn’t enough, the Odyssey will let you stream all your favorite apps and games without a console.
ROG Ally X
Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
The $800 ROG Ally X launched this month, barely a year after its predecessor hit the scene. But it’s already boasting more promising battery life and performance due to its bigger battery pack and increased memory offering. The chassis has also been redesigned to be more comfortable for long-term gaming sessions.
Asus ProArt Laptops
Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
Asus’s new ProArt laptops are two-in-one devices with AMD and Qualcomm chips. They are part of the Microsoft Co-Pilot+ rollout, but at least they seem more promising than the other manufacturers’ AI-first PCs. The base ProArt P16 laptop is basically an ROG Zephyrus G16 gaming laptop in a thinner, tote-able chassis.
Sony Bravia 7 Mini-LED QLED 4K TV
Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo
Sony TVs continue to be compelling buys. The $2,000 65-inch Sony Bravia 7 doesn’t stand out from the other QLEDs’ designs, but its HDR colors are bright and beautiful for watching content. The only caveat is that you need to ensure you don’t have any direct light shining toward the TV since it tends to produce glare.
JBL Clip 5 and Go 4
Photo: Dua Rashid / Gizmodo
Summertime is the perfect time to invest in a waterproof Bluetooth speaker, especially if you’re heading somewhere where you can enjoy listening to music. The JBL Clip 5 and Go 4 each weigh less than one pound, which makes toting them around in a backpack or beach bag an easy sell. They’re $80 and $50, respectively.
House of the Dragon has been teasing a terrible civil war in Westeros since the foundations were laid in season one—and now, with House Targaryen bitterly divided, battles are just over the horizon. This week, in episode three, “The Burning Mill,” we see one last attempt at reconciliation—as well as the beginnings of a few journeys, a mysterious new character, and some spooky-castle shenanigans.
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Ah, the Riverlands. A place of green fields, picturesque windmills, and generations-long feuds between adjacent houses, as we see when young knights from House Bracken and House Blackwood get in each other’s faces at the border dividing their lands. These days, current events are bolstering their anger: one side’s loyal to Queen Rhaenyra, the other calls her a “babekiller” and “kinslayer” and takes the side of Team Green. Insults lead to shoving, shoving leads to swords, then the scene cuts and we see a full-on battle has taken place between the houses. The land is riddled with bodies, and that quaint windmill is now a burned-out husk.
Speaking of bodies, there’s a double burial happening on Dragonstone: the Cargill twins, reunited in their grave. As a somber Rhaenyra ponders her next move—a furious Jace wants to keep the cycle of revenge going—Rhaenys, who correctly senses that Otto Hightower has been shoved aside and that the assassination attempt was the work of “hotter blood,” sidles in with a suggestion, delivering the killer lines we’ve heard in House of the Dragon trailers. “There may be another way: Alicent Hightower … she knows war is coming and that it will be savage beyond all compare,” Rhaenys says. “There is no war so hateful to the gods as a war between kin. And no war so bloody as a war between dragons.” Alicent could be their last hope to prevent a terrible war. Rhaenyra’s skeptical, but Rhaenys’ words make her think of the raven that came from King’s Landing bearing a message from her old friend after Luke was killed… which she has yet to read.
Cole (Fabian Frankel) after reading your opinions about him on social media.Image: Ollie Upton/HBO
Speaking of King’s Landing, Ser Criston Cole–now Hand of the King, in addition to being Lord Commander of the Kingsguard–is dawdling before a Small Council meeting. When he gets there, war is (unsurprisingly) the main topic, with Aemond updating everyone about the Bracken-Blackwood battle, and King Aegon bitchily asking what their next move is. There are many suggestions, to the point where everyone is talking over each other and Alicent speaks sharply about the Council’s lack of discipline, but Cole opines that the Riverlands are the key to winning the war, and that Harrenhal is the key to the Riverlands. He’ll lead the army there himself, he says—this is a guy who really does not want to attend any more of these meetings—with Aemond, but not Vhagar, who is needed on the home front defending King’s Landing. “I’ll come too, with Sunfyre,” King Aegon pipes in, an idea nobody supports; you get the sense it’s partially because they want to travel without drawing too much attention (something a dragon always brings), but also because, let’s face it, nobody wants Aegon in the mix.
Back on Dragonstone, before a gorgeous sunset view featuring a lone dragon flapping around in the distance, Rhaenyra is having a chat with Mysaria—who, having been given her freedom in last week’s episode, turned back at the last minute when she realized a certain ill-meaning twin had just arrived on the island. Mysaria, who says she’s still surprised that Rhaenyra was willing to let her go, would like a reward: a place in Rhaenyra’s court. She has valuable information about the inner workings of the Red Keep, and no love for the Hightowers; she’s also here to advocate for the smallfolk, and figures Rhaenyra is the ruler most likely to show them mercy. “One turn for another, then,” Rhaenyra says, and we can see a mutual respect of sorts forming between these two very differently positioned women.
Inside the castle, we finally spend more than a few passing seconds with Rhaena: Daemon’s daughter, and the younger sister of Baela. (In George R.R. Martin’s text, they’re twins, but she’s definitely positioned as the second sibling here.) Rhaenyra has a task for her, involving the younger Targaryens: she’ll take Joffrey (Rhaenyra’s youngest dark-haired son) and his dragon to the Vale, where he’ll become the ward of Lady Arryn; then, Rhaena will become the de facto mother figure for Rhaenyra’s blonde kids with Daemon (Aegon and Viserys, and yes the repeated names are confusing), taking them to Pentos for safety. As we’ve seen, no cute little kid is safe in this particular war. “Make this sacrifice willingly, for all of us,” Rhaenyra urges her. Rhaena isn’t happy about it, but if there’s one thing women in Westeros know about… it’s making sacrifices.
That’s “Your Grace” to you. Matt Smith as Daemon.Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO
And now, at last, we pick back up with Daemon as he flies through howling night winds into Harrenhal, the biggest castle in Westeros and also, need we remind you, the spookiest. It’s also incredibly damp, thanks to all the damage it’s taken over the years, and Daemon stomps through puddles and flurries of bats indoors, killing a guard on the way just because he can. If this was a vintage horror movie, he’d encounter Lon Chaney Jr. lurking in the dark, but since this is House of the Dragon and not House of Dracula, instead he meets… Ser Simon Strong, played by British stage legend Sir Simon Russell Beale, having dinner in one of the castle’s few vaguely cozy rooms.
Ser Simon has no objection to ceding control of Harrenhal to Team Black—he’s no fan of his cunningly murderous great-nephew, Ser Larys—though Daemon’s skeptical of his hospitality, and snaps at him for mistakenly calling him “my Prince” instead of “Your Grace.” For his part, Ser Simon thinks Daemon’s plan to raise an army in the Riverlands is a dubious one; the region’s liege lord, Lord Grover Tully, is a frail old man unlikely to comprehend what’s at stake. What’s the endgame here, Ser Simon wonders? This very droll exchange follows.
Daemon: “We march on King’s Landing and take the throne.”
Ser Simon: “The throne?”
Daemon: “It’s a big chair… made of swords.”
In King’s Landing, Cole’s army prepares to march with a new face in tow: Ser Gwayne Hightower, Alicent’s brother. He meets Cole with a polite but frosty attitude (Gwayne’s not thrilled Cole took Otto’s place as the Hand), and things get a little weird when Cole says goodbye to Alicent, asking for her favor (which takes the form of a handkerchief she pulls out of her cleavage) as he departs, and Gwayne looks on quizzically. The camera pulls up as the host rides out, and in the foreground we see one of the rat catcher corpses from last week, looking a bit more decayed, and with a crow making short work of its eyes.
Rhaenys (Eve Best) and Corlys (Steve Toussaint)Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO
On Dragonstone, the tension is rising along with the anticipation of this army—which Team Black has yet to spot, but knowsmust be forming; the fact that Daemon hasn’t sent any updates since he flounced away isn’t helping. Rhaenyra’s Small Council wants her to act, be that by sending dragons to burn all who oppose her, or hiding herself away and letting the council (another way of putting that is “the menfolk”) rule in her stead. After Rhaenyra departs in disgust, Rhaenys has another notable quotable to share, reminding everyone that “their Queen wears the crown of my grandsire, Jaeharys the Conciliator, a prudent ruler, the wisest of Targaryen kings, whose reign outlasted every other, even Aegon the Conquerer’s.”
But Rhaenys knows there’s trouble afoot, and she doesn’t correct Corlys in the next scene, in a rainy Driftmark rendezvous, when he refers to the Small Council as “the ditherers of Dragonstone.” The interaction between husband and wife, like so many of their meetings, is shot through with affection as well as subtle disagreements, including that old question of who should inherit Driftmark (currently, it’s little Joffrey, who’s about to be spending the rest of his childhood far from the sea). There’s a new urgency to their talk of heirs, a tumultuous subject—as we saw last season, when Corlys suffered a great injury and it seemed Lucerys Velaryon (RIP) would be inheriting Driftmark sooner than expected. “We are at war,” Rhaenys reminds the Sea Snake, and worries that something might happen to him.
On nearby Dragonstone, Rhaena bids farewell, preparing for her journey with small children and small dragons in tow. She’s resentful; Baela, who’s not only older, but has her own dragon to ride, gets to stay behind and take an active part in the war effort. But there’s a softening when Rhaenyra shows Rhaena that she’ll also be caring for a clutch of precious dragon eggs; if the worst happens in Westeros, she’ll be an important source of hope for the Targaryen future.
Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) and Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy)Photo: Theo Whiteman/HBO
After Rhaenyra says good-bye to her sons (except Jace, he gets to stay), we cut to King’s Landing, where Alicent and Heleana have a poignant conversation about motherhood, grief, and loss. And the elephant in the room comes out: “I forgive you,” Heleana tells her teary-eyed mother, and we all know she means her mother’s forbidden affair with Cole. In a nearby chamber, King Aegon (“the magnanimous”) is being fitted with… Aegon the Conquerer’s own snazzy armor. He’s planning to fly into battle, despite everyone else agreeing it’s a terrible idea. Ser Larys appears, as always armed with a bit of information that’s secretly manipulation in disguise, and says there’s talk that Aegon has been tricked into going into battle because that’s what his Small Council, including Alicent, wants, so that she and Aemond can rule in his absence. As Aegon is taking this in, he makes another impulsive appointment, naming Larys his Master of Whisperers.
And it works! Aegon decides that rather than going to battle, he’ll… spend another drunken night out on the town instead. In a scene that immerses us in King’s Landing after hours, we meet a new character. It’s a brief moment, but it’s important, since this is the bastard son of Baelon Targaryen—which makes him Daemon and Viserys’ half-brother, and Rhaenyra’s uncle. Why he’s sharing this information with random strangers (look closely; one is Samson Kayo from Our Flag Means Death) in a tavern isn’t clear, and we learn no more for now because just then King Aegon, who’s unaware of the man’s identity, shows up ready to party his face off.
King Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) is the comic relief so far this season, in a truly awful way though.Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO
Awkward family reunion averted–until Aegon walks in on Aemond snuggled up with his favorite lady of the night, to Aegon’s hooting, taunting delight. Aemond’s reaction is to stand on the table—classic Game of Thrones-style full-frontal nudity alert, though there’s tasteful shadowing—and stalk out of the room (wearing not a stitch, not even his eye patch), pretending he’s totally unbothered.
On Dragonstone, a contemplative Rhaenyra decides that now, at last, is the moment to open her message from Alicent. We can’t read the message, but the word “mother” definitely appears.
En route to the Riverlands, Cole and Ser Gwayne Hightower continue to not like each other. Gwayne has decided to take his lieutenants to a nearby tavern so they can enjoy some creature comforts, while Cole’s men are all camped on the hard ground. “We will rendezvous with your army at first light,” Gwayne says breezily, as the camera tilts up to show us the current position of the sun, and—hey now, what’s that in the sky? Dragonnnnnn! Cole, Gwayne, and Gwayne’s men gallop for the safety of nearby tree cover as Baela, riding Moondancer, swoops in overhead. She’s there merely to observe, not engage, but you can see in her face she’s got a bit of that season-one Rhaenys “I want to set you all on fire” urge in her, and she gives the men a good scare. Ser Gwayne, for one, looks like he might have peed his pants a little, and finally admits Cole might know what he’s doing after all. Stealth is now the way forward for this army—“and no fucking inns,” Cole hisses.
When Baela reports back to Rhaenyra and her Small Council, again they urge it’s time to take action. Past time, really. She takes it in and says she’ll consider their arguments, as we cut to Rhaenys—and can tell she’s realizing Rhanyra is finally going to take her advice.
But first, you may be wondering, as the Small Council on Dragonstone certainly has been: what the hell has Daemon been up to? Wandering around the ruins of Harrenhal, it turns out—a place full of dripping water, barricaded doorways, and whispers from the past. He encounters an impossible tableau: young Rhaenyra, played by a returning Milly Alcock. “Always coming and going, aren’t you,” she sighs at Daemon. “And I have to clean up afterwards.” As the camera comes around we see she’s stitching little Jaehaerys Targaryen’s head onto his neck. In an instant, the vision is gone, and a strange woman—someone we saw earlier alongside Ser Simon—appears and says “You will die in this place.”
With that uneasiness lingering, we return to Dragonstone; there’s no sneaking into King’s Landing without the advice of Mysaria, so Rhaenyra gets all the intel she needs to engineer a face-to-face encounter with Alicent. This includes what disguise she’ll need (a septa; it’s not the first time this episode, nor this season, that someone points out most smallfolk won’t recognize a royal out of context) and where she’ll be able to find the Dowager Queen alone (in the Great Sept of Baelor, saying her prayers). And then, it happens: a scene between Rhaenyra and Alicent, something we were not expecting to see at all this season.
Alicent (Olivia Cooke), a nice church-going lady.Photo: Theo Whiteman/HBO
And it’s quite a powerful moment. Alicent’s shock when she realizes who’s come to call is one thing; it levels up when she realizes Rhaenyra isn’t there to kill her. Rhaenyra opens with a memory we all share: the tournament that kicked off in season one. “Men trained for battle are eager to fight,” she reminds her old friend. “I know you do not have that desire within you.” But Alicent knows the Dance of the Dragons is past the point of no return. There are no terms they can come to. Too much has happened now.
As they whisper-argue over Luke and Jaeharys, the real meat of the conversation comes to the fore: what did the dying King Viserys say to Alicent that made her think he’d changed his mind about Rhaenyra being his heir? Rhaenyra can’t believe her ears when Alicent, who steadfastly believes she was honoring her husband’s wishes, says he muttered about “Aegon” and “the prince that was promised to unite the realm.” Rhaenyra knows, as we did when we saw it last season, that Viserys was referring to the Song of Ice and Fire, a dream that Aegon the Conquerer had. Wrong Aegon, Alicent! Wrong Aegon. But for Alicent, it’s too late, no matter how much Rhaenyra protests that there’s been a mistake. “There’s been no mistake,” Alicent insists. Otto’s been kicked out of court, Cole is on the march, “you know what Aemond is,” and it’s too late. As Alicent stalks away, Rhaenyra sets her jaw. Time to go to war. At last?
New episodes of House of the Dragon arrive Sundays on HBO and Max.
The U.S. Justice Department intends to criminally charge Boeing for breaching a settlement connected to two deadly 737 Max jetliner crashes, according to reports from Bloomberg and Reuters. The federal government is reportedly seeking a guilty plea from Boeing, which may include a $243.6 million criminal fine and force the planemaker to bring on an independent compliance monitor.
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The Boeing-DOJ settlement followed a 2017 crash in Indonesia, which killed all 189 people on board; and a 2018 crash in Ethiopia, which killed all 157 people on board. Despite opposition from some lawmakers and relatives of those killed in the incidents, Boeing secured the $2.5 billion settlement in 2021, which temporarily protected it from criminal prosecution. The agreement required the planemaker to report evidence and allegations of fraud and “strengthen its compliance program,” the Justice Department said at the time.
Then a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines-operated Boeing plane in January, uncloaking continuing safety and compliance issues at the company. Four months later, the federal government said in a court filing that Boeing had breached its 2021 agreement by failing to “design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the U.S. fraud laws throughout its operations.”
The DOJ has now decided to bring criminal charges against Boeing and wants the planemaker to accept a plea deal, according to several reports. Such a deal would include about a quarter of a billion dollars in additional fines, per Bloomberg; it could also force Boeing to bring in an independent monitor to make sure the firm follows anti-fraud laws, per AP News.
The DOJ reportedly told the 737 Max crash victims’ families and lawyers about the plea deal on Sunday, and said it would give the planemaker a week to decide whether to accept the offer or argue its case in court. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reports.
That’s one of the new images above, featuring Wade (Ryan Reynolds) and Peter at work together. It’s from a scene early in the film that screened at CinemaCon 2024 and you can read all about it here. Basically, Wade and Peter are car salesman and while Peter wants Wade to go back to being Deadpool, Wade does not. This is before the birthday party you see in the trailers.
Then here’s another photo of Peter that looks more like it’s from Superstore than a superhero film but hey, he’s great so we like it.
Image: Marvel Studios
Finally, here’s the new image of Cassandra Nova, the character we all expect to be the big bad of the film. Either way, she’s certainly one of the main villains, considering the trailers have shown here with a team of B-level X-Men characters, in a gigantic Ant-Man helmet, and her powers completely baffling Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). But here we get a bit more of her stare, a bit more of her fashion, and a bit more of her lair. She looks very calm, very confident, and very much like Professor X, whom she’s related to in the comics but…is she here?
Image: Marvel Studios
Just a brief tease of Deadpool & Wolverine, which is coming very, very soon. Starring tars Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, and Matthew Macfadyen, it opens July 26.
At first blush, the remains of an ancient Roman sandal look more like little gnarled carcasses than footwear. But upon closer inspection and using X-rays, archeologists say the shoe parts they found at an ancient military site are unusually well preserved.
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Discovered at a roughly 2,000-year-old fort near Oberstimm, a village in Bavaria, Germany, the shoe leftovers include a sole and iron nails, which would have offered traction over “rough terrain,” per a translated statement from the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation (BLfD). Typically, only the nails from such footwear remain, but this was a rare case in which the soles also endured. Archeologists found the remains in a well at the ancient fort; before the x-rays, they thought the twisted mass contained what was left of an old sickle, per a statement from the BLfD.
“So-called caligae [shoes] were worn mainly by Roman soldiers during the Roman Empire,” said Amira Adaileh, a consultant at the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation. However, the discovery “shows that the practices, lifestyles and clothing that the Romans brought with them to Bavaria were adopted by the local people.” Other findings at the site included Roman ceramics, food waste, and tools.
Photo: Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation and Marcus Regel/Mareg.net
While the remains look nothing like the “gladiator sandals” of today, they’re strikingly familiar — and maybe even stylish — in a recreation published by BLfD; it depicts how they might’ve originally looked, back when the Roman fort is thought to have been occupied, between A.D. 60 and 130.
If you’re going down the bayou to ride Walt Disney World’sTiana’s Bayou Adventure, there’s a few things you need to know to make sure you’ll be able to experience the Magic Kingdom’s newest exciting attraction. It won’t have a traditional “wake up early and rush to the line” queue, but rather an online virtual queue you’ll have to wake up early to enter on the MyDisneyExperience app (with a second shot in the afternoon)—or as a pay-as-you go Lightning Lane, which has replaced Genie+ just in time for the in-demand ride’s opening.
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When Does Tiana’s Bayou Adventure open?
Disney’s Orlando theme park has officially opened the long-needed replacement for the dated and problematic Splash Mountain with a property that fans love. The Princess and the Frog universe expands with a continuation in ride form following Tiana’s adventures through the swampy, magical land of New Orleans with the bones of Disney World’s iconic log flume ride. Soft previews in the past few weeks and first-day reactions are flooding the internet with praise celebrating the incredible animatronic work, sets, and music with Disney Animation’s original cast—including Tiana herself, Anika Noni Rose, singing the ride’s finale song. So if you’re heading to Disney World this summer, it’s not to be missed if you want to keep cool on a water ride and see Princess Tiana’s fairytale continue before her Disney+ animated series Tiana arrives.
Image: Sabina Graves/Gizmodo
How to Ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
Here’s the spice: in order to ride without any additional costs beyond park admission, make sure you have the MyDisneyExperience app downloaded before your trip. On the app, ensure that your entire party’s tickets are saved under the trip planner’s profile (pick the most tech-savvy person in your group to handle this)—but multiple people can try to book on the Virtual Queue for the entire group at the same time; you just have to make sure they select all party guests for your boarding group lottery.
Walt Disney World’s Virtual Queue is available twice a day, once at 7 a.m.(which can be done at your leisure from anywhere on property) and then at 1 p.m.—the catch at Magic Kingdom is that TRON Lightcycle/Run currently still only has virtual boarding groups, so you have to choose between Tiana and Tron. If you want to do both, you can try for Tiana in the morningbut not get it, and then have a hard choice at 1 p.m. to try to secure the free boarding group pass for Tiana’s again (not guaranteed) or Tron (also not guaranteed). It’s worth noting that in order to try for a second time at 1 p.m., your party has to be inside of Magic Kingdom to be eligible—and you can only hold a boarding group once per day during the park’s operating hours.
It feels tricky—it is tricky!—but there’s another way to make sure you’ll get to ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Tron, or any high demand ride like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind which is restricted to the Virtual Queue and does not have standby lines currently available.
What is the new Lighting Lane option at Walt Disney World?
Genie+ is gone! Poof! Disney Experiences’ pay-as-you-go option has streamlined the process by rebranding as simply Lightning Lane, the line that used to contain the free fastpass (RIP to that feature). It’s had multiple names since becoming a financial add-on at both Disney World and Disneyland but will now be known as Lightning Lane, broken down into Lightning Lane Multi Pass (a three-ride package) or Lightning Lane Single Pass for an individual ride.
Purchasing a Lightning Lane Multi Pass allows you to make up to three Lightning Lane selections in a theme park. If you’re staying at a Disney hotel or a participating neighbor hotel, you will be able to access this up to seven days before your trip to make selections, and you’ll be able choose available times as you make your ride choices. If you’re purchasing the Multi Pass the day of your visit, your selections will vary on availability. Your three ride selections will come from three levels: one from rides that have the highest demands like an E-ticket new attraction (think Tiana or Tron),and two that will be lower in demand level (think classics, i.e. Haunted Mansion). The cost of a Lightning Lane Multi Pass will vary depending on when you go, scaled between peak vacation days and the off-season.
If you only want to secure a single new Lightning Lane for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure or other in-demand rides or attractions, the same booking rules apply—and day of availability will vary, with the stipulation that you’ll only be able to buy into two single Lightning Lane options for your party.
This is what the options look like on Day 1 in the afternoon at Walt Disney World.
Image: Sabina Graves/Gizmodo
Don’t miss out on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure by not being in the know—and make sure you plan your Disney World vacation with the above in mind. And if you miss out or have a Disneyland trip planned this year instead, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will also open on the West Coast soon in Walt Disney’s original park in Anaheim, CA.
Ancient Egyptian scribes held high-status jobs, making up some of the 1% of Egyptians who could read and write at that time. But the scribes suffered for it: New research published in Scientific Reports reveals that the ancient documentarians suffered from osteoarthritis as a consequence of their labors.
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The discovery was made by a team of archaeologists who studied the remains of 69 adult males found in the necropolis at Abusir, Egypt, which was used between 2700 BCE and 2180 BCE. The team found statistically significant differences in the skeletal traits of the scribes compared to a reference population; those degenerative changes were concentrated in the joints, spines, and jaws of the scribes.
“Most of these statistically significant differences” in skeletal traits “show a higher prevalence of the observed changes among the scribes (90%), which allows us to deduce that they might be related to scribal activity,” the researchers wrote, though they noted that factors such as age cannot be ruled out as a cause of some of the disfigurements.
“Officials with scribal skills belonged to the elite of the time and formed the backbone of the state administration,” Veronika Dulíková, an Egyptologist at Charles University and co-author of the study, told LiveScience. Fitting, then, that the scribes’ own backs would feel the weight of the kingdom, and carry evidence of it to the grave.
“In a typical scribe’s working position, the head had to be forward, and the spine flexed, changing the centre of gravity of the head and putting stress on the spine,” the research team wrote in the paper. Over time, the load put on the upper spine—in particular the C7-T1 motion segment, the authors note—could cause degenerative effects in the cervical spine of the Ancient Egyptian scribes.
Another disfigurement identified in the skeletal remains was to the temporomandibular joint, familiarly known as TMJ. TMJ disorders are responsible for jaw pain in many people today; in the scribes, the team wrote, it was likely caused by chewing the brush used to write hieroglyphs (in that regard, the scribes’ condition likely differs from most modern TMJ disorders). Other upper body disfigurements included osteoarthritis in the hand, which “probably reflects pinch grip work, such as frequent gripping of the pen,” the team noted. Anyone who took a standardized test with a No. 2 pencil growing up can probably relate.
In the lower body, the researchers found a higher incidence of osteoarthritis in the hip, knee, and ankle, indicating that the scribes may have preferred a specific sitting position “which could also cause overloading of the lumbar spine.” If you haven’t yet, please consider your own posture as you read this article and adjust it accordingly.
The golden age of superhero movies led by Sam Raimi’s Spider-Manfilms was like no other, the webbing on which every Marvel movie that followed bounced into the stratosphere off of. They gave us Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker with Kirsten Dunst as MJ, facing off with nefarious foes like the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and Doc Ock (Alfred Molina)—and were the blueprint to the blockbuster summers that have dominated over the last couple decades.
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To celebrate the 20th anniversary of what some consider the greatest Spidey film—Spider-Man 2—Danny Elfman’s iconic score will finally be released in vinyl record form for collectors out there. The immaculate themes are legendary and still inspire. I was at Danny Elfman’s Coachella set where he performed Spider-Man themes from the first two Raimi films and I ascended. A live orchestra in the desert calling to all the film nerds in attendance was wild but a real moment that happened.
You’ll be able to own the vinyl though Sony Music Soundtracks which will be taking pre-orders starting at midnight ET tonight, with details teased on its X and Instagram platforms.
Danny Elfman’s Spider-Man 2 score is a must for any cinephile audio collector; I’m excited to add it to my own physical media library. For more information visit Sony Music Soundtracks on X or Instagram.
File photo of Amazon’s Robotic Fulfillment Center on December 19, 2023 in Sutton Coldfield, England.Photo: Nathan Stirk (Getty Images)
Amazon plans to launch a new store that will allow U.S.-based shoppers to buy low-cost, unbranded items delivered directly from China, according to new reports from CNBC and The Information. The plan is widely seen as an attempt to compete with China-based competitors like Temu and Shein.
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Amazon’s plan for the store leaked on Wednesday after the online retail giant hosted an invite-only call with sellers in China, according to CNBC. A presentation reportedly featured products like arm weights and phone cases.
As CNBC explains, the plan is for Amazon to help ship products directly from China to customers in the U.S., a shift from the previous model that forced sellers to ship first to Amazon fulfillment centers in the U.S. before the packages made their way to American homes.
An Amazon spokesperson didn’t provide any futher details on the plan and would only say, “We are always exploring new ways to work with our selling partners to delight our customers with more selection, lower prices, and greater convenience.”
Amazon is clearly trying to fight back against relatively new competition from online retailers in China like Temu and Shein, which have gained steam in recent years by offering dirt-cheap prices and shipping direct. And that influx of money from Chinese retailers also helped other Big Tech platforms rake in cash. As just one example, Temu’s parent company PPD spent $2 billion on ads with Meta last year, according to the Wall Street Journal last month.
While the timing for the launch of Amazon’s new storefront hasn’t been announced, the presentation given to sellers in China today reportedly suggested it could happen as soon as the fall.
If you’re reading this, someone you know watches a crime show on CBS. You might not be aware that person watches the show, but numbers don’t lie. Shows like NCIS, CSI, Criminal Minds, FBI, SWAT, Blue Bloods, and others have been a gold mine for the network and now its latest one is getting a little more bloody.
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Deadline reports that CBS’s latest addition to its wild collection of procedural crime shows is Van Helsing. Yes, everyone’s favorite vampire hunter is coming to CBS. This version, however, will be “a contemporary take on the monster hunter Dr. Abraham Van Helsing, who uses his uniquely inquisitive mind working alongside his ex, relentless FBI special agent Mina Harker, to solve New York City’s most harrowing cases.”
Do those “harrowing cases” involve vampires and other monsters? They damn well better! Otherwise, why the heck make a Van Helsing show? Syfy had pretty solid success with the property from 2016 to 2021, after all. And who can forget the 2004 Hugh Jackman movie with Kate Beckinsale—besides everyone, forever and always?
However, this version, which apparently landed at CBS after a “hotly contested auction,” has a proven pedigree. It’s executive produced by Rob Doherty, who took a similar approach to Sherlock Holmes with CBS’s Elementary, and will be written by Jonathan Lee, who wrote a new Netflix and BBC series called Lockerbie starring Colin Firth.
I’ve never found any CBS crime show to be particularly interesting but each one finds a slightly new twist on a proven formula. It certainly seems the network thinks Van Helsing, and all the lore that comes with the character, could be that once again. Do you agree?
Warner Bros. was designating DC shows as “Max Originals” rather than “HBO Originals” as late as last week, when the latest trailer for The Penguin dropped. But there’s been a shift in the branding, according to a report in Variety that HBO and Max content CEO Casey Bloys is “moving most of Max’s upcoming big-budget, tentpole Warner Bros. IP projects to under the HBO umbrella.”
This shift covers shows releasing in 2025 and beyond—so 2024 releases The Penguin and Dune: Prophecy are both expected to still be labeled as Max shows; “the process of licensing [The Penguin] internationally has already started,” Bloys explained. But once the calendar turns over, look for Lanterns, Stephen King-inspired It prequel series Welcome to Derry, and the Harry Potter series that WB is insistent upon making to fall under that HBO Originals banner.
This switch undoes the previous intention to keep all shows based on WB properties under the Max Originals label, and it came about when Bloys and other execs realized the WB shows weren’t all that different from HBO’s own creations. “As we started producing those shows, we were using the same methods, the same kind of thinking, as how we would approach HBO shows,” he told Variety, noting that there’s even crossover between talent, such as Watchmen’s Damon Lindelof now working on Lanterns. “The idea of the delineation kind of started to feel unnecessary … Let’s just call them what they are: HBO shows.”
What does that mean for viewers? Not a lot. It means that if you see an HBO Original being marketed, it will get the perceived prestige of being on the HBO linear channel; all HBO shows will still stream on Max. Max-only series will still exist, but they’ll be “more in the broadcast/traditional TV vein” and will have more scaled-down budgets compared to the HBO shows. When asked why the company doesn’t just make every show an HBO show, which would be the least confusing way forward, Bloys said, “I do think it is helpful to have a brand that doesn’t put the expectations or the intention of an HBO show. If it’s not designed to do that, it shouldn’t have to.”
Make of that what you will. The Penguin, perhaps the last of the DC Max Originals, arrives September 8.
The future of weight loss is fast approaching. At a recent scientific conference, drug companies showed off a variety of next-generation drugs for both obesity and type 2 diabetes. Some of these treatments might help people lose even more weight than current forerunners like Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide—the active ingredient in popular drugs Ozempic and Wegovy—while others may come with fewer side effects or be easier to take.
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Semaglutide is a drug that mimics GLP-1, one of several hormones that help regulate our sense of hunger and blood sugar. In clinical trials, semaglutide has proven to be much more effective at treating obesity than diet and exercise alone. Previously only approved for type 2 diabetes as Ozempic, semaglutide was approved for obesity in 2021 under the name Wegovy. However, it’s already started to be overshadowed by the arrival of Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, which combines GLP-1 with another incretin hormone called GIP. Tirzepatide was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2021 for type 2 diabetes under the brand name Mounjaro; in November 2023, it was approved to treat obesity as Zepbound.
Newer treatments in the works are poised to compete with and possibly surpass both of these drugs. The American Diabetes Association held its annual conference over the past weekend, and the emergence of these future medications was a big aspect of the event. Companies presented preliminary data on over two dozen GLP-1 related drugs, all in various stages of development.
“We’ve heard about Ozempic and Mounjaro and so on, but now we’re seeing lots and lots of different drug candidates in the pipeline, from very early-stage preclinical all the way through late-stage clinical,” Marlon Pragnell, ADA’s vice president of research and science, told NBC News. “It’s very exciting to see so much right now.”
Altimmune’s pemvidutide, for instance, combines GLP-1 with glucagon, another hormone key to keeping our blood sugar level stable. In Phase II trial data presented this weekend, pemvidutide was found to help people lose over 15% of their baseline weight within 48 weeks, a bit ahead of the pace seen with semaglutide (15% weight loss over 68 weeks). A dual GLP-1/GIP candidate developed by scientists in China, called HRS9531 for now, was found to cause up to 16% weight loss within 24 weeks. Eli Lilly also presented new data on its second-generation drug retatrutide, which combines GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon, finding it improved insulin’s ability to control blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. In previous research, retatrutide was found to cause up to 24% weight loss, the highest mark seen yet with these drugs.
It’s not certain that these or other GLP-1 drugs in development will truly outmatch semaglutide and tirzepatide in terms of weight loss, but they may still have other benefits over them. Pemvidutide was found to cause less lean body mass loss, for instance, possibly due to the addition of glucagon (exercise naturally raises glucagon levels, so the drug could be mimicking some of the positive effects of exercise). Some experts are skeptical that lean body mass loss is a major concern with these drugs. However, it may be important to prevent this in individuals who are more vulnerable to muscle or bone loss, such as older adults.
It will take years for these newer drugs to reach the public, assuming they continue to succeed in larger trials. Their arrival may not only help people who don’t respond to existing treatments, though, but could also drive down the overall high costs of these medications (without insurance coverage, which is often denied, a month’s supply of semaglutide can reach over $1,000 per month).
“Over the past few years, we have seen the substantial impact of new research working to solve the dual health crisis we are facing, obesity and diabetes,” said Robert Gabbay, chief scientific and medical officer for the ADA, in a statement from the ADA. “The studies we are seeing presented at this year’s annual meeting show great promise to fuel new solutions and treatment options for patients across the globe living with type 2 diabetes and obesity.”
WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange has been released from prison in the UK and will be allowed to return to his home country of Australia after he pleads guilty to illegally disseminating national security material in the U.S., according to a surprising new report from NBC News.
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Court documents filed Monday by the U.S. federal government in the Northern Mariana Islands suggest the plea deal is imminent, though the New York Times notes everything still needs to be approved by a judge. Assange previously faced 170 years in prison.
Why have the court documents been filed in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Pacific? According to the Associated Press, it’s due to Assange’s “opposition to traveling to the continental U.S. and the court’s proximity to Australia.”
The 52-year-old has been held in London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison for the past five years, a period that follows a years-long saga that saw Assange holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy while first claiming asylum in 2012. Assange was physically dragged out of the embassy by British authorities in April 2019.
“Julian Assange is free,” the WikiLeaks X account tweeted on Monday around 8:00 p.m. ET. “He left Belmarsh maximum security prison on the morning of 24 June, after having spent 1901 days there. He was granted bail by the High Court in London and was released at Stansted airport during the afternoon, where he boarded a plane and departed the UK.”
WikiLeaks also published a video of Assange, embedded below, showing him reading paperwork and appearing to board a plane, presumably bound for the Northern Mariana Islands to formally enter his plea.
The Times explains that a plea deal was deemed acceptable to top officials at the Justice Department because Assange had already served five years in the UK while awaiting extradition to the U.S.
The original charges against Assange were brought by the U.S. Department of Justice under President Donald Trump in 2019, despite the fact that Trump would often talk about how much he loved WikiLeaks. Trump failed to pardon Assange before leaving office, something many Assange backers insisted the former president would do.
Assange faced 18 counts of violating the Espionage Act along with charges related to criminal hacking, but the Times reports he’ll only plead guilty to one charge. Assange allegedly provided instructions to whistleblower Chelsea Manning on how to access classified computers, which is what experts claimed was the differentiating factor that made his conduct more serious than a typical journalist who simply disseminates sensitive information.
Some of the documents were published by WikiLeaks in 2011 under the name “Collateral Murder,” including a video from 2007 that showed U.S. forces in Iraq killing several civilians, including two journalists from Reuters.
The plea deal would put an end to the incredibly long saga that has engulfed Assange for over a decade now, though it’s not clear whether the WikiLeaks founder would immediately get back to work. Assange started as a celebrity among lefty and libertarian circles in the early 2010s before becoming celebrated more by the political right-wing after furthering conspiracy theories that supported Donald Trump in 2016.
Stella Assange, Julian’s wife, released a video statement along with WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson which appears to have been shot shortly before Julian was actually released.
“I just came out of Belmarsh prison and what I hope is my last visit to see Julian here in this prison where he spent five years, two months and two weeks. And if you’re seeing this, it means he is out,” Hrafnsson says in the video.
Stella Assange says that a crowdfunding campaign would be launched to support Julian’s “recovery” and health care costs.
SA KH statement 260624
The Australian government and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made repeated pleas to the White House for Assange’s release, though it was never clear whether President Joe Biden was going to intervene in the case. Assange has reportedly suffered various health issues in prison, though the short video clip released by WikiLeaks appears to show Assange is visibly healthy.
This week, Star Trek: Prodigy dropped the first trailer for its second season, and it’s full of all the sort of good Star Trek action you’d want—even more so if, like me, you’re a Voyager fan. But as a Voyager fan, there was one shot in particular that called to me: Admiral Janeway, her uniform jacket removed, down to her high-waisted pants and a grey, Starfleet-issue tank top.
Luke Macfarlane | First Fandoms
This is a ludicrous thing to have your attention drawn to, but being a Star Trek fan often involves having reactions and emotions about ludicrous things. And yet, here I was: tank top Janeway? Oh man, shit’s about to go down. To me, that’s “Macrocosm” Janeway, Ripley-ing her way through giant virus bugs on the compromised Voyager. It’s “Year of Hell” Janeway, hobbling through Krenim space as her ship and crew are picked apart around her.
Sometimes the situations surrounding stripped-down Star Trek moments aren’t dire at all; we’ve seen people rocking the look casually, on hot planets, while working on something particularly strenuous. What, exactly, Starfleet officers wore under their black and division-color-accented uniforms from TNG onwards has always been in flux—there’s long-sleeved undershirts, vests like Janeway’s, t-shirts, all with varying design differences—but regardless of what was under them, regardless of the Trek show or the character, every time you saw them, it felt like you were witnessing something vulnerable, something revealing.
We’re so used to the way the Starfleet uniforms look—and the situations they’re almost always worn in—that they become this symbol of professionalism-under-pressure that encapsulates Star Trek’s love of competence porn. You’re wearing that uniform on the bridge, you’re wearing it under fire, you’re wearing it at the bar, you’re wearing it on away missions, you’re wearing it knee-deep in isolinear chips working on some panel in the ass end of a Jeffries tube. No matter the situation, arguably no matter how impractical, a Starfleet officer does their job in that uniform, looking like a Starfleet officer. So when you strip away layers of that uniform, out of necessity or out of casual circumstance, you’re stripping away the layers of that mythos around it and revealing something about the person underneath.
Screenshot: Paramount
Think about the dishevelled look Sisko has by the end of “In the Pale Moonlight”, where, in the interstitial scenes set in the present, he increasingly undresses layers of his uniform until he’s in an unbuttoned vest and his command undershirt is zipped down to reveal his chest, embodying his reflection of the moral sacrifices he’s made over the course of the episode. Or how Picard in First Contact, the direr the situation gets, strips down further until he’s in nothing in his vest and trousers by the time he’s squaring off with the Borg Queen. The rare times we actually saw one of our heroes either in a situation casual enough to not warrant their full uniform, or stressful enough that they felt like they had to strip away parts of it, are somehow burned into your minds as significant—like they are for me when I see Janeway in that tank top, like it’s a different mode or form of her.
It’s such a small, but clever bit of visual storytelling in Star Trek that doesn’t often come up all that much—but when it does, it hits something primal in your Trek-loving brain to draw attention to its significance.
The bizarre marketing for Longlegshas raised the intrigue level for the summer horror movie sky-high. But one thing audiences have yet to catch a good glimpse of is its biggest star: Nicolas Cage, who plays the title character. And there’s a careful reason behind that.
Will The MSI Claw Scratch Your Handheld Gaming Itch?
In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Longlegs director Oz Perkins confirmed he’s been deliberately withholding of the titular villain’s design. “It’s driving people towards a freak show at a circus tent,” according to Perkins. We’ve got the thing behind the curtain, and when there’s enough people gathered ‘round, we’re going to pull the curtain.”
Cage bombastically echoed his director’s statement, claiming his character’s visage is so ghastly, it could potentially incite mass hysteria if not treated delicately enough. “It’s the equivalent of putting a warning label on a jar of nitroglycerin. The monster is a highly, highly dangerous substance. The way it’s moved, unveiled, deployed has to be treated very carefully,” he said. “Forget about the movie theater blowing up; the whole city could blow up, nay the country, maybe even the world. He is going to change your reality. Your doors of perception are going to open, and your life is not going to be the same.”
That is one hell of a claim for a humble little horror movie to live up to. Just what is the secret of the film’s serial murderer, only referred to as “Longlegs?” According to EW, the full reveal of Cage’s character doesn’t come until the movie’s been underway for awhile.
“Editing a picture is a nearly psychedelic experience,” says Perkins. “It really is because it’s so infinite. The permutations and combinations you can get from putting this there and that there, you’re in a Rubik’s Cube of possibilities. I think we found the sweet spot. This guy lives just outside the consciousness of our protagonist. He’s there, but he’s totally not there, but he’s totally there.”
While we don’t know what the character looks like, plot hints suggest Longlegs has both ties to the occult and a “personal link” to Maika Monroe’s character, FBI agent Lee Harker. While we wait on tenterhooks for the film’s July 12 release to see for ourselves, you can call the film’s official hotline in the meantime to at least hear Cage’s character rant at you ghoulishly.
At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul | Trailer 1964 #movie
In 1964, Brazilian director, co-writer, and star José Mojica Marins unleashed his singular creation—Coffin Joe—into the world of horror cinema. At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul kicked off a film series built around the character, a murderous undertaker who’s the most monstrously awful guy you’ll ever meet, while also being someone you simply can’t take your eyes off whenever he’s onscreen. Stream on Shudder.
Here at io9, we love Godzilla Minus One. We also love very cool art. And we especially love very cool Godzilla Minus One art. So it’s a good job Toho is getting ready to release some of the film’s most glorious official posters for us to plaster our walls with—and we’ve got your first look.
io9 can exclusively reveal four new Godzilla Minus One posters coming this Thursday, June 20, to the U.S. Godzilla store—bringing familiar art with a new twist, and home access to some of the swankiest official posters dropped during the film’s titanic run at the box office.
The new drop includes four releases: the “Destruction” poster, depicting Godzilla looking over the ruins of Ginza, in a lenticular format created with the poster experts at Bottleneck Gallery; the U.S. and Japanese theatrical posters for the film’s black-and-white re-release as Minus One/Minus Color; and the “For Your Consideration” poster used as part of Minus One’s successful Oscar nomination campaign earlier this year.
All four posters will be available exclusively through the U.S. Godzilla store starting at 12 p.m. PT tomorrow, June 20—click through to take a look and get more details!
