Crypto

XRPL Permissioned Domains Activate on Feb 4; Price Impact Likely Indirect

The XRP Ledger will activate Permissioned Domains on February 4 after more than 91% of validators backed the XLS-80 amendment. Permissioned Domains are credential-gated access layers on the public XRPL, built on the XLS-70 Credentials framework. Domain owners set accepted credentials and accounts with those credentials become members automatically, and

Culture

How Miss Piggy Went From Minor Muppet to TV’s Top Hog

Miss Piggy began as a bit player in an early Jim Henson television pilot but quickly became the breakout star of The Muppet Show. A new Muppet Show special will premiere on Disney+ and ABC on Wednesday, and a Miss Piggy film is being developed by Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone

Culture

Apple TV Doubles Down on Sci‑Fi in 2026 Slate

Apple TV revealed its first‑half 2026 slate, announcing new originals nearly every week and signalling a mix of prestige drama, thrillers, returning series and limited runs. The lineup leans into science fiction and prestige television: For All Mankind returns for Season 5, Monarch expands the MonsterVerse, and Ted Lasso

Sports

Newell's VP says club working on Lionel Messi 2027 return

Newell's Old Boys vice-president Juan Manuel Medina said the club are 'working on' a 2027 homecoming transfer for Lionel Messi, who began his youth career with the club. Medina described the plan as 'a project that goes beyond Newell's' and said the

Politics

Congress restricts pharmacy benefit managers to try to lower drug prices

The spending package passed by Congress includes new restrictions on pharmacy benefit managers, the large companies that oversee prescription benefits. The three largest — CVS Health’s Caremark, Cigna’s Express Scripts and UnitedHealth’s Optum Rx — collectively oversee some 80 percent of prescriptions, and lawmakers and employers have criticized P.

Tech

How tech CEOs approach parenting

Leading figures in technology have described a range of parenting approaches, from strict screen limits and household chores to embracing digital tools and AI in child-rearing. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said ChatGPT helped him with raising a newborn, that his child "will never be smarter than AI"

Business

Private credit faces strain as Blue Owl and others report losses

Private credit, once a fast-growing sector, has begun to show strains as investors grow wary. Blue Owl Capital's shares have lost more than half their value over the past year and investors have been pulling money from funds the firm manages. Apollo Global Management and BlackRock also rattled

Culture

Clarkson, Levine and Legend Face Off in The Voice: Battle of Champions

NBC released a trailer for The Voice Season 29: Battle of Champions, which brings back red chair winners Kelly Clarkson, Adam Levine and John Legend as Coaches. The trailer frames the season as a competition to determine the most elite Coach as they form teams and compete for the title.

Politics

Donors Pour Millions to Shield John Cornyn From Ken Paxton

Allies of Senator John Cornyn have spent about $50 million on advertising since last July as he faces a tough Republican primary challenge from Attorney General Ken Paxton in a three-way race that is widely expected to go to a runoff. Mr. Paxton has done little advertising; his main super

World

Ex-Prince Andrew moves out of Royal Lodge to Sandringham

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has moved out of his 30-room Royal Lodge residence and relocated to the Sandringham estate, the BBC reported. He is said to be temporarily staying at Wood Farm while renovations continue on a more modest permanent home at Marsh Farm, and is expected to return to Windsor in

Tech

AMD says Valve 'on track' to ship Steam Machine 'early this year'

AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su said Valve is "on track to begin shipping its AMD-powered Steam Machine early this year." The Steam Machine reportedly uses a semi-custom AMD RDNA 3 GPU paired with a Zen 4 CPU. Valve had previously stated the new Steam Machine would release at

Science

Biomedical Research, CubeSat Deployments Top Crew Schedule - NASA

Biomedical research to keep crews healthy and CubeSat deployments for educational research topped the science schedule aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday, while the crew also worked on cargo swaps and life support maintenance. NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams processed body samples for the long-running CIPHER astronaut health study,

Culture

Overwatch Spotlight 2026: start time and how to watch

Blizzard is hosting an Overwatch Spotlight event to highlight changes coming to Overwatch 2 in 2026. The showcase goes live Feb. 4 at 10 a.m. PST on Twitch and YouTube, which corresponds to 1 p.m. EST, 3 p.m. BRT, 6 p.m. GMT, 7 p.m. CET,

Culture

The Real Story Behind Jennette McCurdy’s Novel ‘Half His Age’

Jennette McCurdy, known for her role on iCarly and for her memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died, discussed her new novel Half His Age on the Modern Love podcast. Her memoir was a New York Times best seller for over 80 weeks, and she said the novel is a

Culture

ConcernedApe wants Stardew Valley 'infinitely replayable' without AI

Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone is still working on Stardew Valley, with a 1.7 update underway while he also develops Haunted Chocolatier. He told IGN he expects a few more updates over the next 10 years as he tries to make Stardew Valley 'fully self-actualized' and to

Culture

‘Bridgerton’ Is Built on Romance. But Its Backbone Is Dance.

In the Netflix series Bridgerton, dance functions as more than spectacle: directors and choreographers describe it as the backbone of the show, a means to convey the rules and rituals of its world, advance plot and express emotion when words cannot. The season’s masquerade ball centers on Sophie, who

Tech

Next-Gen Xbox On Track For 2027 Launch Says AMD CEO

AMD CEO Lisa Su said Valve is on track to begin shipping its AMD-powered Steam Machine early this year, and that development of Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox featuring an AMD semi-custom [System on Chip] is progressing to support a launch in 2027. Su’s remarks were reported by Gamesbeat ahead

Culture

10 Composers, 2 Directors, 1 Opera: 'Complications in Sue'

Opera Philadelphia is premiering Complications in Sue, a new work with a libretto by Michael R. Jackson and starring Justin Vivian Bond. The project grew from a conceit Bond had with Tilda Swinton about two bodies sharing one mind, and it moved forward after Anthony Roth Costanzo, as the company’

Culture

Alan Ritchson First Look Revealed for Netflix's War Machine

USA Today revealed a first look at Alan Ritchson in Netflix's sci‑fi action thriller War Machine ahead of the trailer, showing a tanked‑up Ritchson facing an otherworldly threat. The film stars Ritchson alongside Jai Courtney, Stephan James, Esai Morales, Keiynan Lonsdale, Daniel Webber and Dennis Quaid.

World

Two More Victims of Maine Plane Crash Identified

The Maine Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed two additional victims of the private plane crash, bringing the total killed to six. The new identifications are Jorden Reidel, a 33-year-old second pilot from Texas, and Shelby Kuyawa, a 34-year-old sommelier from Hawaii. The Bombardier Challenger 650 crashed during takeoff

Business

Pascagoula residents press Chevron for buyouts amid Venezuelan oil influx

The U.S. claim on Venezuela’s oil and efforts to prioritize shipments to U.S. refineries have raised the prospect that more Venezuelan heavy crude could flow to Chevron’s large Pascagoula refinery, and neighbors say that could worsen pollution. The refinery already processes Venezuela’s heavy, sulfur‑rich

Crypto

Vitalik Buterin Urges New Approach as Ethereum Layer 2 Usage Drops by 50%

Vitalik Buterin urged Layer 2 networks to rethink their role after active addresses fell from 58.4 million in mid-2025 to about 30 million, even as Ethereum’s mainnet active addresses rose from 7 million to 15 million. Buterin said the original Layer 2 vision as branded shards is outdated,

Business

N.F.L. Seeks to Renegotiate TV Deals Years Early

With viewership at levels not seen since 1989 and revenue on track to reach $25 billion, the N.F.L. is expected to seek revisions to its broadcast and streaming contracts despite being in the early years of a $120 billion package that runs into the early 2030s. League officials

Culture

Property Brothers warn against reckless use of bold color in homes

Jonathan and Drew Scott, known as the Property Brothers, say a major mistake when designers get ambitious is using bold color without restraint. After cautioning against all-white schemes, they have been using their YouTube channel to outline how to use color more deliberately. They encourage statement walls and suggest options

Politics

A Winter of Anguish for Minneapolis Children

Federal immigration raids in the Minneapolis area have left many children living in fear and taking on new responsibilities at home. Xochitl Soberanes, 16, became the backbone of her family after her father was detained, saying, "It’s like living in fear all the time." Neighbors have grown