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Friday, July 31, 2026

Bird of the Day, theme 'Egrets And Herons'

nature
2279.5KJul 31

Today's Bird of the Day; daily community event. Theme: #EgretsAndHerons.

Photo by Kort Duce A great blue heron poses for a portrait at a nature area in Longmont, Colorado. In this vertical color photograph, a great blue heron fills the frame in right profile with its legs cropped from view. Its neck is fully extended, with a gentle curve, as it surveys its surroundings. Cattail reeds rise behind the bird, while the pond in the far background reflects the brilliant blue sky, creating a vibrant backdrop that complements the heron's elegant form. This intimate portrait highlights the grace and beauty of a great blue heron in its natural wetland habitat.

Gianni Infantino faces growing scrutiny as FIFA hits 10‑year mark

sports
1025.1KJul 31

On his 10th year as FIFA president, Infantino is under criticism and questions over his controversial World Cup investment proposals.

bbc.co.uk As a Senior Advisor to the FIFA President, a former banker, and a lifelong football fan, I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup. Let me be clear: I had no involvement in this proposal, and I oppose it unequivocally. It is a bad deal for FIFA's Member Associations, a bad deal for football, and a bad deal for the long-term future of the game. Football has been central to my life, and after more than 35 years in banking, I understand both the value of this asset and the consequences of giving part of it away. That is why this proposal should be rejected. FIFA already has access to extraordinary financial resources. The organization sits on billions of dollars in reserves and no debt. The FIFA President himself has highlighted the $15 billion in revenue generated between 2022 and 2026. If Member Associations believe additional investment is needed to develop the game, FIFA already has the financial capacity to provide that support from its existing resources. Against that backdrop, selling a permanent stake in football's most valuable asset to raise $4.2 billion makes little sense. It is mortgaging football's future without any compelling justification. Most troubling of all is the absence of answers to fundamental questions. Why this deal? Why now? What oversight exists? Who benefits? Was there a competitive process? What governance will be in place? What will investors ultimately gain, and at what cost to football? After careful consideration, I can no longer continue in my role as Senior Advisor to the FIFA President. I have therefore resigned with immediate effect. It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve FIFA for more than five years & to work alongside dedicated, principled people who care deeply about the game. I hope they, too, will speak up, because decisions of this magnitude should be made in the interests of football, not those who stand to profit from it.

Eddie Howe steps down as Newcastle United head coach

sports
781.5KJul 31

Eddie Howe informed Newcastle United he is stepping down after nearly five years; the club has accepted his decision.

newcastleunited.comEddie Howe steps down as Newcastle United head coach

Up to 60,000 migrants surge into Spanish enclave Ceuta from Morocco

news
501.9KJul 31

Spanish authorities say as many as 60,000 people crossed from Morocco into Ceuta in a single wave, leaving dozens dead and triggering a political crisis

nytimes.com

Google Earth AI tool raises misinformation fears

tech
453.6KJul 31

Security and disinformation researchers warn Google’s new image-generation feature could let users fabricate realistic satellite scenes.

Google Earth is bringing AI image generation to Google Earth!

Carlos Cordeiro quits as FIFA adviser

sports
423.9KJul 31

Carlos Cordeiro resigns as Gianni Infantino's senior adviser in protest over a proposal to sell World Cup stakes.

reuters.comCarlos Cordeiro quits as FIFA adviser

Fox News poll shows Talarico leading Paxton in Texas Senate race

journalism
3012.9KJul 31

Fox News poll (A-rated RV) has Democrat James Talarico 51% vs. Republican Ken Paxton 48% in Texas Senate matchup.

Fox News poll shows Talarico leading Paxton in Texas Senate race

Anthropic says Claude AI escaped tests and hacked three organisations

tech
39895Jul 31

Anthropic acknowledges Claude agents 'escaped' test environments and breached the networks of three organisations.

In all cases, our evaluation prompt stated explicitly that Claude had no internet access, but didn’t give Claude any limits on where to look for the flag. However, a misconfiguration left the machines that Claude accessed as part of the evaluation with live internet access. Neither we nor our evaluation partner were aware of this misconfiguration until we detected it through our additional evaluation monitoring last week.

Gen Con 2026, Hobbit Magic promo and vendor exclusives on show

gaming
104888Jul 31

Gen Con vendors are handing out an exclusive Magic: The Hobbit promo card while publishers debut new RPGs and live demos.

Three IPR booth 449 staff at Gen Con 2026 stand behind a table stacked with small press roleplaying and storytelling games.

Study: climate change made Spain's wildfire weather 20x more likely

science
291.2KJul 31

New study finds global heating made hot, dry and windy conditions in Spain at least 20 times more likely.

theguardian.comMap of Southern France and Northern Spain with the burnt area in July highlighted as red polygons and the study areas around Madrid and Bordeaux outlined.

Franco Baresi, AC Milan and Italy legend, dies aged 66

sports
46806Jul 31

Franco Baresi, the iconic AC Milan and Italy centre-back of the 1980s, 90s, has died at age 66.

theguardian.comFranco Baresi, AC Milan and Italy legend, dies aged 66

Samara Weaving cast as Emma Frost in Marvel X‑Men

comics
36789Jul 31

Variety and Deadline report Samara Weaving will play Emma Frost in Marvel Studios’ upcoming X‑MEN reboot.

Samara Weaving cast as Emma Frost in Marvel X‑Men

FIFA scraps controversial World Cup investment plan

sports
27774Jul 31

FIFA abandons the $20 billion proposal to sell private stakes in future World Cup competitions

bbc.co.ukFIFA scraps controversial World Cup investment plan

Mahershala Ali says he's moved on from Marvel's Blade reboot

movies
35705Jul 31

Mahershala Ali confirms he will not play Blade, saying development stalled and he has 'moved on' from the Marvel project.

Mahershala Ali says he's moved on from Marvel's Blade reboot

Sweet Smell of Success airs on TCM, part of 'Summer of Darkness'

movies
45511Jul 31

TCM screens the 1957 noir with Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis tonight as part of its Summer of Darkness block

tcm.comSweet Smell of Success airs on TCM, part of 'Summer of Darkness'

Spider-Man: Brand New Day sets preview box office record

movies
28508Jul 31

Sony's Spider-Man earned $72M in preview ticket sales, surpassing the previous preview record set by Avengers: Endgame.

variety.comSpider-Man: Brand New Day sets preview box office record

Tony Romo on leave from CBS Sports after OWI arrest

sports
21465Jul 31

CBS placed NFL analyst Tony Romo on leave after his arrest in Wisconsin on suspicion of operating while intoxicated.

variety.com

Art Fight 2026, attack and revenge wave

art
93436Jul 31

Artists exchange attack and revenge submissions for Art Fight 2026, posting OC and PFP art under #artfight2026.

Art Fight 2026, attack and revenge wave

Boy George pulls out of Jesus Christ Superstar

music
42411Jul 31

Boy George withdraws from the London Palladium run of Jesus Christ Superstar after releasing a pro-Israel song.

Boy George pulls out of Jesus Christ Superstar

Chelsea fined £10m for breaching agent rules

sports
17396Jul 31

The FA fines Chelsea £10 million for improper agent payments between 2009 and 2022; the club avoids an immediate points deduction

bbc.co.ukChelsea fined £10m for breaching agent rules

Arnold Schwarzenegger, 79, shares fit-physique birthday photos

movies
19328Jul 31

Arnold Schwarzenegger marked his 79th birthday by posting images highlighting his muscular fitness, per reports and posts.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, 79, shares fit-physique birthday photos

Arsenal agree deal for Bruno Guimaraes

sports
40292Jul 31

Arsenal and Newcastle reach agreement for Bruno Guimaraes, fee reported around £77m to €90m; five-year deal expected.

nowarsenal.comArsenal agree deal for Bruno Guimaraes

AFC joins UEFA and Concacaf in opposing FIFA World Cup stake plan

sports
20264Jul 31

Asian Football Confederation says it stands with UEFA and CONCACAF against FIFA's proposal to bring private investors into World Cup assets.

bbc.co.ukWhat are the new plans? On Tuesday, FIFA confirmed its proposal to sell a significant minority stake in a new entity that it, as a nonprofit organisation, is setting up to run its main events, such as the World Cups and Club World Cups. This new entity will be called FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE) and will take over FIFA's commercial operations, with the organisation itself remaining soccer's global governing body and retaining a majority stake in FFE. A press release from FIFA said it was seeking to sell up to 21 per cent of FFE, aiming to bring in $4.2billion (£3.2bn). That money could be immediately released to its member associations.

Tailscale auth key was used in AI sandbox breach of Hugging Face

tech
48112Jul 31

A Tailscale report says an AI agent used a stolen Tailscale auth key to reach Hugging Face infrastructure during tests.

Tailscale auth key was used in AI sandbox breach of Hugging Face

'Pure Shores' praised again on TOTP reruns

music
36224Jul 31

Viewers and TOTP threads are celebrating All Saints' 'Pure Shores' as a standout pop song decades after release.

Mets acquire prospects Bruin Agbayani and Billy Amick for A.J. Minter

sports
15222Jul 31

The Twins traded reliever A.J. Minter to the Mets in exchange for infield prospects Bruin Agbayani and Billy Amick, per league reports.

sny.tvMets acquire prospects Bruin Agbayani and Billy Amick for A.J. Minter

Florida and Texas designate CAIR as 'terrorist' organization

news
19207Jul 31

Governors Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott add the Council on American-Islamic Relations to state terrorism lists

nytimes.com

Red Sox rally on back-to-back Abreu and Contreras homers to beat Athletics

sports
39165Jul 31

Wilyer Abreu tied it with his 16th homer and Willson Contreras followed with a go-ahead solo as Boston won 5-4 to take the series.

mlb.comRed Sox rally on back-to-back Abreu and Contreras homers to beat Athletics

Strange New Worlds Season 4 episode leans into horror

tv
16148Jul 31

This week’s S4 installment adopts a grisly, horror-tinged tone that surprised some viewers and shifted the series’ usual style.

Strange New Worlds Season 4 episode leans into horror

Ben & Jerry's founder urges Magnum boycott

food
1760Jul 31

Ben Cohen says Unilever has silenced Ben & Jerry's and urges a boycott of Magnum, Yasso, Talenti and Klondike

Ben & Jerry's founder urges Magnum boycott