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The prediction market giant Polymarket said it's refunding users who had funds stolen due to a third party breach.

A company can learn a lot about the market by looking at its own employees. OpenAI says that its team members are switching from chatbots to agents as their primary form of AI interaction, a trend also detected (though less pronounced) among external organizations and users. Instead of one-off ChatGPT prompts, workers are asking Codex agents to tackle multi-step tasks that take long periods of time. And those doing so are increasingly non-developers. OpenAI insists that its findings have implications for other companies, labor researchers, and policymakers, not the least of which would be a brighter revenue picture for OpenAI. Longer running tasks consume more tokens, and to the extent those can be billed, that should help diminish hundreds of billions in debt obligations. "We find that agentic AI usage is growing rapidly: the number of active users has grown more than fivefold in the first half of 2026, with the most rapid increase occurring outside the initial audience of software developers," said company researchers and academics in a paper [PDF] titled, "The Shift to Agentic AI: Evidence from Codex." OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request to clarify whether it incentivizes or encourages employees to use its AI tools – through internal communiques, token allocations, token use leaderboards, or tying tool usage to performance metrics. But we'll take it on faith that when there's enough Kool-Aid on-premises, employees may just develop a taste for it regardless of whether their jobs depend on Kool-Aid consumption. "Through August 2025, the average OpenAI worker spent less than 10 percent of their tokens on Codex," the biz explained in a blog post accompanying its paper (that suggests employee token allocations). "Now, every department, including non-technical departments such as Legal and Recruiting, uses Codex as their primary AI tool for work." Within OpenAI, 97.9 percent of employees are now using Codex, up from around 40 percent in August 2025. External organizations have also seen a usage uptick, to 17.3 percent presently. With individuals, Codex isn't much to speak of – about 0.7 percent. The thing about Codex is that, as an agent, it can operate for long periods of time. "Since the start of the year, the share of individual Codex users who submit at least one request for a task estimated to require more than eight hours for an experienced human to complete has increased nearly tenfold," the paper says. We note that comparing the time a human might take for a task (as estimated by an LLM-as-judge) to the time an AI model takes is only part of the picture if the workflow isn't entirely automated. Generating code at, say, 10x the rate a person might manage may expand the time required for code verification and deployment. OpenAI also points out that, since August 2025, non-developer usage of Codex has risen 137x for individuals, 189x for organizational users, and 12x within OpenAI. The company concedes that technical usage remains the dominant mode, but insists that adoption by non-devs shows how a broader set of knowledge workers can take on coding or technical tasks, such as automation, data transformation, and data analysis. "In June 2026, the median OpenAI employee in a legal role generated 13 times more monthly output tokens across Codex and ChatGPT than they did in November 2025," the paper says. Given that the number of US federal lawsuits filed against OpenAI and associated entities only grew about 11 percent (35 to 39) between the last six months of 2025 and the first six months of 2026, it looks like OpenAI's legal team, with its 13x token surge, is making the company's case for the productivity benefits of AI tools. ®

With the weekend nearly here, check out things to do around Santa Cruz County with a recommendation from Lily Belli and a specially curated list from Lookout’s BOLO events calendar.

The company says the increases are being driven by rising memory and console storage prices, with costs more than 2.5x higher than previous levels.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told the Senate last year that a trip to Samoa in 2019 right before a deadly measles outbreak had “nothing to do with vaccines.” New evidence from The Guardian suggests he may have lied.

In emails between Kennedy’s team and Samoan officials, one of Kennedy’s colleagues said they were on a “mission” to investigate the island’s medical records. There had been a 10-month pause in vaccinations after two infants died due to a tainted MMR vaccine, and anti-vaccine activists gained interest in the island as a potential case study in the health of vaccinated versus unvaccinated children.

“The mission involves health informatics evaluation from medical record data from all hospitals and clinics in Samoa to evaluate outcomes associated with the recent discontinuity in vaccinations,” Dr. Michael Graven, who worked at Kennedy’s anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense, wrote in a 2019 email. “Mr. Kennedy asked me to join this mission as I have performed health informatics initiatives in 48 other countries over 40 years.”

This stands in direct contrast with how Kennedy repeatedly described his work to the Senate. In response to questioning from Senator Ron Wyden during his confirmation hearings last year, Kennedy said, “I went there, nothing to do with vaccines. I went there to produce a medical informatics system with digitalized records in Samoa and make health delivery much more efficient.”

But the emails obtained by The Guardian tell a different story. Graven said in emails that he and Kennedy planned to spend weeks collecting data in Samoa, but the two ended up leaving just a few days after arriving. Antone Greubel, a State Department employee who was stationed in Samoa, sent an email on June 4 to his colleagues: “Based on conversations with my contacts RFK and Dr [Graven] fell far short of their goal to influence Samoan government vaccination policy.”

A few months after Kennedy’s visit, a measles outbreak killed 83 people out of a population of around 200,000, most of them children under five.

⚡ Quick Take

• A Donkey movie starring Eddie Murphy’s loud character is officially happening with DreamWorks.
• The film has a June 30, 2028 release date.
• Murphy has already teased some details about its plot.

Shrek 5 is coming our way in 2027 to continue this long-running franchise. It is hard to believe that the first film came out 25 years ago when some of us were teenagers or young adults. Now, a lot of us nerds are taking kids with us to see Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey go on another adventure in Far Far Away. It seems there’s a Shrek renaissance happening overall, because another character is getting his own spinoff. Deadline reports that Universal Pictures is officially making a Donkey movie that will center around Eddie Murphy’s infamously annoying yet loving character from Shrek. 

Universal Pictures

That’s really not shocking to anyone for a few reasons. First, Donkey is one of the most quoted and popular characters in these films, thanks to Murphy’s signature wit. And Murphy himself hinted that a Donkey movie was coming to expand the Shrek franchise. 

“Donkey’s going to have his own movie, own little story with his dragon wife and his kids that are half-dragon and half-donkeys…They’ve written this funny story,” Murphy previously told ScreenRant.  

RELATED ARTICLE

SHREK 5 Trailer Features Gingerbread Twerking and a Back Alley Snowman

I’m cool with it. We could all use a lot more fantasy and funny animated stories in our lives, right? This film is set for a June 30, 2028 release date and we are sure that it will make many, many millions of dollars.

The post SHREK’s Donkey Is Getting His Own Spinoff Movie in 2028 appeared first on Nerdist.

The Supreme Court made one thing plain this week: It is an anti-immigrant court. There were hints before—big ones, to be honest. But in three rulings this week, the Republican-appointed justices voted to green light Trump administration policies against immigrants that both defy federal law and carry a massive humanitarian toll. This week’s decisions display, at best, a callous disregard for the wellbeing and safety of millions of people. At worst, they signal that an anti-immigrant mindset has taken hold of the court’s conservative wing.

On Thursday, the court issued two decisions with shocking human consequences. First, in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, the court allowed the administration to deny immigrants the right to apply for asylum simply by preventing them from technically crossing the border. The relevant law states that immigrants “arriving in” the US may apply for asylum. In a gotcha-type trick typical of a middle school bully, the administration claims that if it can prevent people from physically stepping across the border, they can ignore all the mandatory processes Congress set-up to process asylum seekers who come to the nation’s doorstep. The 6-3 majority agreed, using a juvenile grammatical argument to render the law contradictory and unenforceable. Because Congress used the preposition “in,” the administration is now free to defy the law and deny thousands of immigrants fleeing persecution their right to apply for asylum. The conclusion is as stupid as it is cruel.

Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion in the case, joined by the other five GOP appointees, ignores the policy’s devastating toll. But Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent does not. She describes the violence visited upon immigrants as they endlessly wait in makeshift camps along the border to be able to apply for asylum, and the tragedy of mothers, fathers, and children drowning in the Rio Grande after being turned away from a port of entry. 

“The consequences of today’s decision are predictable. More people will die.”

“The current asylum system developed in response to the international moral reckoning that followed the Holocaust and World War II,” Sotomayor wrote, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. In 1939, the United States turned away the M.S. St. Louis carrying Jewish refugees. Forced to return to Europe, many of its passengers died in concentration camps. “Congress passed the Refugee Act in 1980 because it did not want this country to repeat the mistakes of its past,” she continued. “Yet if the refugees on the M.S. St. Louis were to walk up to a port of entry on our southern border today, the majority’s interpretation would allow immigration officers to refuse even to consider their asylum applications by physically blocking them from stepping foot onto U.S. soil.”

“The consequences of today’s decision are predictable,” she concluded. “More people will die. More people will attempt to cross the border illegally, and some will make it while others will not.” Like in 1939, the blame for that bloodshed will be on the United States. In place of the statutory scheme Congress erected to remedy past mistakes, the majority lets the Trump administration repeat them. 

Whereas the asylum case allowed the Trump administration to turn away people seeking humanitarian relief, the next opinion gave it effectively unreviewable power to strip millions of immigrants of humanitarian relief they are already receiving in the US. Under federal law, the executive branch can grant people from crisis-torn countries what’s known as Temporary Protected Status, allowing them to legally stay in the US while their home countries remain unsafe. These TPS designations are periodically reviewed and can be extended or terminated depending on if conditions have improved.

In Alito’s opinion in Mullin v. Doe, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to prematurely terminate TPS for 350,000 immigrants from Haiti and Syria. The decision frees the administration to strip legal status from 1.3 million immigrants from 17 countries. 

In revoking TPS for Haitians, the administration made a mockery of the legally-required process. Yet the Roberts Court blessed that lawlessness on Thursday by finding that the decision to revoke TPS is generally unreviewable by courts. As a result, the rules Congress put into law to govern TPS designations are now mere suggestions. Just as in the case about blocking immigrants from ports of entry, the six justices in the majority gave the president the authority to run roughshod over the law. In both cases, mostly nonwhite immigrants will suffer the dire consequences.

While the decision left the door open for people stripped of TPS to make a constitutional claim, as Alito’s opinion shows, it’s unclear whether this court would ever agree there was a valid one. In this case, the plaintiffs argued the revocation was driven by racial animus in violation of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection mandate. The majority brushed aside the cascade of racial dog whistles and stereotypes Trump targeted at Haitians in the US. “None of the cited statements by either the President or the Secretary was overtly racial, and in substance all expressed policy views that could rest on race-neutral justifications,” Alito wrote.

In her dissent, Kagan accuses the majority of refusing to quote the presidential language that they claim is so innocent. So Kagan, joined by the other Democratic appointees, memorializes it in her dissent:

Haitians are “eating the dogs . . . . They’re eating the cats. They’re eating—they’re eating the pets of the people that live [in Springfield, Ohio].” And: Haitians are also eating “other things too that they’re not supposed to be.” And: Haitians in the United States “probably have AIDS.” And: Haiti is a “shithole country,” which is “filthy, dirty, [and] disgusting.” And: Haitian immigration is “like a death wish for our country.” And: Haitians, along with some others, are “poisoning the blood” of our country. And: “Why is it we only take people from shithole countries” like “Haiti [and] Somalia”? “Why cannot we have some people from Norway [and] Sweden?” 

Under Supreme Court precedent, a plausible race-neutral justification is not enough to overcome evidence of a racist motive. And yet, just as it waved the law aside, the court waves away the pesky 14th Amendment (at least as it pertains to racial minorities). After oral arguments in the TPS case, the attorney for the Syrian plaintiffs, Ahilan Arulanantham, had said that the question before the court is whether the government can “ignore the law when it tries to take away someone’s immigration status.” 

When it comes to TPS, the answer is yes. When it comes to asylum seekers, the answer is yes. And even for immigrants granted permanent residency, the Supreme Court placed executive caprice over the law.

In a third case this week, the Roberts Court also answered yes to demoting the status of green card holders, permanent residents who have lived in the United States for years, even decades. On Tuesday, in Blanche v. Lau, the same 6-3 majority gave border officials the discretion to take away a green card at a port of entry if they suspect that the legal permanent resident reentering the country may have committed a crime involving moral turpitude, a vague grouping of crimes in immigration law. As my colleague Isabela Dias wrote Tuesday, “agents at the border have just been given exceptional discretion to bypass protections generally afforded to green card holders.”

In her dissent, Jackson explained that the decision undermined the “benefits and security that come with having a green card,” empowering border officials to reclassify a permanent resident’s status on a hunch, then justify it later with “post hoc evidence.” Just as in the other two decisions from this week, in Lau the Supreme Court destabilizes the entire immigration system, relied upon not just by immigrants and their families—but also employers like hospitals and universities—by replacing the certainty of the law with the whims of the president and his agents.

With just a few days left before the justices begin their summer recess, we are still awaiting the court’s ruling on the meaning of birthright citizenship. The Trump administration is seeking to deny citizenship to thousands of people born in the US to parents of temporary visitors and undocumented immigrants. The justices are expected to reject this attempt and uphold the principle, written plainly in the Constitution, that virtually all people born in the US are citizens.

The justices may think that, by upholding birthright citizenship, they can wash their hands of the anti-immigrant stench from these three rulings. They may presume that their refusal to acknowledge Trump’s blatant racism will be cleansed when they sign an opinion bashing slavery and praising the principle of equality. They may hope that in recognizing the practical consequences of ending birthright citizenship, the cruel results of this week’s rulings will be overshadowed.

But no matter what happens in the birthright citizenship case, this court is a partner in the administration’s cruel, racist, anti-immigrant crusade. In just one week, the majority showed its true colors.

No one knows Santa Cruz County summer like the people who live it every day. Summer here has a way of bringing out the best in this community. The beaches fill up, the festivals return, the trails get busy, and somehow every weekend feels like it was made for being outside. Here is how a few Bay Federal employees spend theirs.

Erin Davidson, Home Loan Consultant

A morning yoga class at Pleasure Point, a walk down to the beach with friends, and an evening catching live music at Capitola Beach, the Crow’s Nest Beach Parties, or Midtown Fridays. “The long days and the live music are what make it feel like summer,” she says.

Andrew Thompson, Financial Services Officer – Capitola

Capitola Village is Andrew’s happy place in the summer: great food, easy energy, and plenty to do. Margaritaville and Britannia Arms are his two favorite spots. “It’s one of those places that just feels like summer every time you go,” he says.

Nicole Beaver, AVP, Regional Manager

Nicole’s perfect summer day starts with a coastal walk alongside her husband, kids, and dog. They fuel up with breakfast at East Side Eatery, a favorite dog-friendly spot, before heading down East Cliff toward Pleasure Point Beach to splash in the waves and dig in the sand. As the sun sets, they grab a slice from Pleasure Pizza, followed by s’mores. “There’s nothing better than ending the day under the stars together,” she says.

Cameron Haste, EVP Chief Operations Officer

Cameron looks forward to Sip for Second Harvest every summer. The event brings together local wine, community connection, and a beautiful Seascape setting in support of a great cause. “It’s a really memorable summer afternoon, and it feels good to give back while you’re enjoying it,” he says.

Venus Blake, Dealer Relationship Manager

Venus heads to the Forest of Nisene Marks to hike and let her dogs play in the riverbeds. The benches and picnic tables make it easy to pack a lunch and stay awhile. Afterward, dinner at Manuel’s in Aptos is the perfect way to wind down. “The owners and staff make everyone feel like family,” she says.

Raquel Diaz, Service Manager, Member Services – Aptos

For Raquel, the ideal summer day blends the outdoors with good food and family fun. She starts with a walk along Seacliff Beach out to the historic cement ship, or a hike through the Forest of Nisene Marks. Lunch at The Parish Pub in Aptos is always on the agenda, and if the Watsonville Strawberry Festival is on the calendar, she’s bringing the kids.

Alejandra Lazalde, Financial Services Officer – Capitola

Alejandra keeps it simple and restorative: a walk along Westcliff with a boba tea from UMe Tea in hand. “It’s the perfect way to decompress after a long day,” she says.

Felisa Garcia, AVP Branch Manager, River Street

Felisa starts her summer days at the Seacliff stairs for a workout before heading to the beach with her kids. Her go-to restaurant is Tacos de Fuego. “The food is amazing, and the staff always makes you feel welcome.” To close out summer, she looks forward to the Santa Cruz County Fair, where her kids love seeing all the animals.

Christina Ramirez, Lead Financial Services Officer – Freedom 

Christina has a summer ritual she shares with her son: a walk along the cliffs at Pleasure Point followed by a slice from Pleasure Pizza. “We’ve been going since he was a baby, and now, as a toddler, the pepperoni pizza is his favorite,” she says. It’s the kind of simple tradition that makes summers here feel timeless.

Yesenia Alvarez, Home Loan Consultant 

Yesenia loves spending a summer afternoon in Capitola Village. She starts with lunch at Thai Basil, then takes a walk on the beach, browses the shops, and caps it off with a scoop of Marianne’s ice cream for the drive home. “It’s one of those days where everything just feels right,” she says.

Elsa Limas, Financial Services Officer – River Street 

Elsa’s go-to summer evening starts with a stop at Garden Deli for sandwiches or Trader Joe’s for cheese and crackers before heading to Stockwell Cellars, where guests are welcome to bring their own food. They grab a table, pour a glass, and enjoy the always festive live music. Afterward, it’s across the street to Marianne’s Ice Cream for a scoop to savor on a sunset walk along Westcliff. 

From the trails to the tables, the beaches to the festivals, Santa Cruz County summer looks a little different for everyone. But the common thread is clear: community, connection, and a deep appreciation for this place we get to call home.

About Bay Federal Credit Union

Bay Federal Credit Union is a full-service, not-for-profit financial institution that serves over 97,000 members, including 3,100 local businesses and nonprofit organizations throughout Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Monterey counties. With more than $1.8 billion in assets, Bay Federal is the largest member-owned financial institution in the region. The organization has been proudly serving its members and the community since 1957. Bay Federal is a certified Community Development Financial Institution, with a primary mission of promoting community development alongside their financial activities. Bay Federal has an award-winning employee volunteer program in which employees have given their own money and volunteered for numerous local schools, nonprofit organizations, and community events each year.

The post Ask a local: Summer in Santa Cruz County with Bay Federal Credit Union appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

The company said it is discontinuing its email inbox in favor of its AI agent offering as users are increasingly handing over the reins of their email to the agents.

Watsonville Community Hospital leadership has appointed veteran healthcare executive Tim Moran to lead the facility as interim CEO. 

Tim Moran will step in as Watsonville Community Hospital’s interim CEO on July 11. Credit: Watsonville Community Hospital

Moran, who has more than three decades of healthcare leadership experience, will be at the helm of the hospital beginning July 11, following outgoing CEO Stephen Gray’s last day on July 10. 

Gray announced his departure from the hospital earlier this month, saying that he wanted to prioritize more time with his family. He took over as hospital CEO in 2023, when the facility became publicly owned after facing bankruptcy in 2022. 

Moran will serve as interim CEO through Jan. 11, 2027, as the hospital board searches for a permanent replacement for Gray, Tony Nuñez, head of the hospital’s governing board, said Wednesday night. He added that Moran’s tenure could be extended if needed. 

The board approved a $416,000 annual salary for the interim CEO position. But since Moran is expected to be in the role for only six months, the base pay is not expected to exceed $208,000, said Nuñez. Moran will also receive temporary employee benefits and a $4,500 monthly housing stipend. 

This is not Moran’s first time stepping into an interim position for Watsonville Community Hospital. He served a four-month stint as interim CEO for the facility in late 2011, under its previous management. 

More recently, Moran was at the helm of Chino Valley Medical Center, a 116-bed acute care hospital in San Bernardino County, where he helped strengthen daily operations and improve relationships with labor unions, according to a media release from Watsonville Community Hospital. He also served as CEO of Tri-City Medical Center, an almost-400-bed public hospital in Oceanside, where he helped ink an affiliation deal with UC San Diego in 2015 that allowed patients access to specialists, according to the media release. 

“Tim understands hospitals, public accountability, people, and the importance of earning trust inside and outside the organization,” said Nuñez in a media release Thursday. “As we move through this transition, our board is focused on continuity, operational stability, and maintaining the progress Watsonville Community Hospital has made for the Pajaro Valley and South County.” 

Last month, Watsonville Community Hospital received a $10.6 million state grant from a fund aimed at stabilizing hospitals in financial distress. Gray previously told Lookout that the grant is “a crucial funding bridge during a challenging financial period.” 

The hospital has faced a flurry of financial challenges since late 2024, when it fell victim to a cyberattack, leading to a delay in billing patients. It also reported a nearly $23 million loss in 2025, after seeing a decline in the number of patients and changes to state and federal funding. Hospital leadership are also searching for an external partner to help manage the facility’s day-to-day operations. 

Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.

The post Watsonville Community Hospital appoints veteran healthcare leader as interim CEO appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

⚡ Quick Take

• Krypto, Supergirl’s dog, the Joker, and the Absolute Batman comic series will each appear in their own animated shows.

DC is giving three beloved characters their own animated series. Thursday morning at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, DC Comics announced three new shows coming featuring Absolute Batman, of the bestselling comic series, the Joker, and Krypto, the super dog.

Absolute Batman DC Studios

This is not your run-of-the-mill Batman adaptation. The Absolute Batman comic series answers the oft-asked question of, “Would Bruce Wayne still be Batman if he weren’t a millionaire?” The answer, according to one of DC’s most renowned modern comic writers, Scott Snyder, is yes. However, he is different.

Artist Nick Dragotta illustrates the comics, and his Batman is, frankly, an absolute monstrosity. I mean that as a compliment. He is larger than life, and not only in terms of his intimidating persona. Fans have estimated him to be about 6 feet and 9 inches tall. With that in mind, it makes villains like Bane and Killer Croc who tower over him all the more formidable. The weapons he uses are also incredibly cool. The bat insignia on his chest transforms into a usable axe, the ears of his cowl are removable daggers, and his cape is modeled after a real bat’s wings, including the flexible “Bat-Thumb,” which he can stand on and use to slash opponents. These are just a few examples, too, and each issue reveals more of what his costume has in store.

DC Comics (Nick Dragotta and Frank Martin)

In an interview with SKTCHD, Dragotta discussed coming up with Absolute Batman’s design.

“This is a new Bruce Wayne. He’s not the billionaire playboy. He’s a do-it-yourself-er, engineer, city worker. Every aspect plays into the themes that we’re playing with with the character of Bruce, and you feel it through the costume.”

Needless to say, seeing this unique Batman design animated and these weapons used is going to be an incredible experience. The comic is gritty and gory, and the show is within the “adult” category, so I would expect the show to be as well. And with Snyder signed on as executive producer and Dragotta as producer, the show will very likely stay right in line with the comics.

Joker: Laugh Riot DC Studios

For fans of Batman’s most famous nemesis, look no further than Joker: Laugh Riot. However, if you’re looking for a classic Batman versus Joker face-off, this won’t be for you. The show follows the Joker as he tries to figure out who he is without Batman after the caped crusader dies.

The Joker’s relationship to Batman has been explored in various ways throughout the years, from the Harley Quinn animated series to, don’t laugh at me, The LEGO Batman Movie. Honestly, LEGO Batman probably did it the best, despite the movie’s overly comical and family-friendly tone. I expect this show to be similar in the way their relationship is portrayed, but upscaled and more emotionally deep. That, and very much more focused on the Joker and his psyche as well.

DC Comics

This show is unrated and is not confirmed to be based on any particular comic quite yet. Other than a short synopsis, we’re going in blind. It is listed as “adult,” so we can probably expect some sort of gritty and grungy portrayal of Gotham City. In addition, it is also DC’s first-ever (official) anime! Some could try to dispute that, considering the art style of their My Adventures With Superman series. However, this will be a collaboration with SOLA Entertainment, a Japanese studio, making it an actual “anime” instead of simply “animated.”

Krypto DC Studios

Last but certainly not least, everybody’s favorite super-pup, Krypto, is getting his own series, too! This is for anybody who has ever wondered what a super-dog gets up to when his super-owners aren’t around. This kids’ show will focus on Krypto’s adventures without Superman or Supergirl. Instead, he will work alongside a group of petty criminals, and just may end up redeeming them.

Krypto has only recently moved into DC’s limelight after his appearance in the live-action Superman. And he wasn’t just a pet, but a sidekick to Superman, helping him defeat Lex Luthor and “Ultraman.” Now, fans can’t get enough.

Warner Bros.

Krypto has existed in DC’s comic history since the fifties, and this live-action appearance is clearly the first of many. DC has not made a release date for the show public quite yet, and the series is still in development.

RELATED ARTICLE

Who Is Superman’s Dog, Krypto? The DC Comics History of the Kryptonian Canine

DC has been on a kick with good animation, from Batman: Caped Crusader‘s second season coming out soon, to My Adventures With Superman. We can expect these three series to follow in their footsteps with great animation, and more importantly, stories with real depth. Obviously, the Absolute Batman comics are coming out ahead of the show’s production schedule, so we do know what will happen plot-wise, but the other two will remain mysteries until their trailers drop.

The post DC Reveals Animated Triple Threat: Batman, Joker, and Krypto appeared first on Nerdist.

President Trump, who definitely has not read all of the media coverage of the weak attendance at his rally on the National Mall on Wednesday night, insists that the event was “packed to the brim.”

“The Crowd was incredible last night, packed to the brim — At least 45,000 people were there, with a huge Television and online audience. I wish we were able to have an even larger area, which we will be able to do on July 4th when I’ll be speaking again,” the president wrote Thursday afternoon on Truth Social. “The airplane flyovers and music were fantastic. Everybody stayed right until the end of my Speech because they loved hearing about a truly successful America.”

Images of the rally, which kicked off the Great American State Fair, show that there was ample space to move around. Footage also shows that multiple people left right in the middle of Trump’s speech and did not stay “right until the end” as the president claimed. At least one person fell asleep.

Trump:
“The crowd was incredible last night packed to the brim. Everyone stayed right until the end of my speech because they loved hearing about a truly successful America.”

Not everyone 🤣👇 pic.twitter.com/GETPb3THi4

— Marlene Robertson🇨🇦 (@marlene4719) June 25, 2026

Trump has long enjoyed inflating his crowd numbers. He has claimed his July 4, 2019 speech and his infamous J6 rally in 2021 were both bigger than the 250,000-person March on Washington in 1963. Neither was true.

Yet another Martian rock formation has revealed what may be signs of ancient life on the Red Planet. While these findings aren't as scientist-wowing as those reported last year, they add to growing evidence that ancient Mars contained organic carbon and may once have been habitable. An international team of scientists working on examining Martian rock samples collected and analyzed by the Perseverance rover reported in Science Advances Wednesday that they’d found signs of macromolecular carbon (MMC) in the Martian rock dubbed Cheyava Falls. Like most of the other life-affirming samples collected from Mars, this one comes from Jezero Crater, where Perseverance has spent the entirety of its five-year mission. Jezero Crater, and particularly the long-dried riverbed known as Neretva Vallis that fed what’s believed to be a large lake that once filled Jezero, has been the site of several potential signs of ancient life on Mars, and it’s no different in this case. Two instruments at the end of Perseverance’s arm, the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) and the Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering (WATSON), were collectively responsible for the discovery of MMCs in Cheyava Falls. MMCs found on Earth are often associated with organic compounds essential to life, including carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids, and there's a distinct possibility that the MMCs found on Mars could have come from similar sources. The Cheyava Falls team was also excited to link their findings to a discovery made by Curiosity in 2018, which found evidence of similar materials more than 3,500 kilometers away in Gale crater. The potentially organic matter discovered by Curiosity was dubbed “kerogen” by that team. From a strictly scientific standpoint, kerogen can be used interchangeably with MMC, but the Cheyava Falls team opted to avoid that terminology in order to “avoid implications of biogenicity.” That said, it’s still exciting to the team, and the widespread discovery of MMCs across Mars could indicate that “habitability … and the availability of organics, may have been widespread across the planet billions of years ago.” This discovery hasn’t led the researchers to jump to conclusions, however. As they note in the paper, there are a number of lifeless sources of MMCs that could be the cause of their detections, with meteorite impacts and abiotic synthesis of organic matter that could both be responsible. “There are multiple potential pathways to form abiotic organics on Mars, including condensation from igneous systems and associated volatiles, serpentinization, carbonation, and the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide in aqueous/hydrothermal fluids,” the team noted. In other words, this is nowhere near the confounding mystery that NASA admitted it had on its hands in September of last year. Perseverance drilled a core sample called Sapphire Canyon from the Cheyava Falls rock, which NASA said last year contained potential signs of ancient life that it couldn't readily explain through abiotic processes, though non-biological explanations remain possible. "A year ago we found what we believe to be signs of microbial life on Mars' surface," then-acting NASA administrator and transportation secretary Sean Duffy said at a press conference last year. "After a year of review [the scientific community] has come back and said it can't find another explanation." Jezero Crater has given up other signs that it may have been a vibrant, living ecosystem too. In March, researchers reported that the same region also turned up signs of nickel compounds that indicate the formation of enzymes related to bacterial biological processes, but again those signs are also explainable by non-biological action. Proof of life requires samples brought to Earth Both the report released Wednesday and the research leaders behind it are unequivocal on what it’ll take to confirm the growing body of evidence that there was once life on Mars: Samples need to be returned to Earth for inspection. “The instruments on the Perseverance rover were not designed to distinguish between rocks that formed through biologic or abiotic processes, but they are able to identify compelling rocks to sample for possible return to Earth,” SHERLOC principal investigator and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist Kyle Uckert told us in an email. Uckert reiterated to us that humanity’s best chance at fully understanding whether the various organics detected in Jezero Crater is some sort of sample-return mission, and he explained that rocks they sampled for the study are packaged, sealed, and waiting for the possibility that something like that still happens. That’s far from a sure thing at this point, as NASA’s Mars Sample Return plans are essentially scuttled at this point - something Uckert and his co-lead author, Planetary Science Institute researcher Ashley Murphy, declined to weigh in on when asked. Meanwhile, China is already pressing ahead with its own Mars sample-return mission, with launches planned for 2028 and a sample return targeted for around 2031. China already has a leg up on the US in the sample return space, with the China National Space Administration returning samples from the far side of the Moon to Earth in 2024. NASA has collected samples from an asteroid and returned them to Earth, to be fair, but Mars is still a long way off, and life or no life, getting samples back to prove it is going to be a race that China may win if its current plans work out. ®

The White House on Wednesday asked Congress for an additional $87.6 billion to cover costs incurred by President Donald Trump’s boondoggle of a war in Iran, as well as to bail out farmers who have been hurt by Trump’s idiotic trade policies, and to fund Trump’s vanity construction projects in Washington, D.C. As for where the $87.6 billion would go, the vast majority ($67.1 billion) would go…

Source

Alligator Alcatraz, the infamous Florida detention camp, will be closed, Governor Ron DeSantis said on Thursday.

DeSantis said the detention center, where immigrants described worms in their food, floors flooded with sewage, and enormous bugs, was not meant to be a permanent installation, the AP reported.

“It served its purpose for the time,” DeSantis said at a press conference.

Alligator Alcatraz was hastily erected nearly a year ago, and has been described by many as a concentration camp. The detention center was temporarily closed earlier this month in advance of hurricane season, and lawyers said that they didn’t hear from their clients being held at the facility for over a week. The detainees have since been scattered between South Florida, California, Arizona, Louisiana, and Texas, reported the AP.

Rumors began in May that the detention center would soon be closed, after Florida officials told President Donald Trump that it cost $1 million each day to operate.

Though one symbol of Trump’s inhumane immigration crackdown is disappearing, the mass deportation campaign continues. ICE is still terrorizing neighborhoods, and Trump’s assault on free speech and dissent is well underway.

DeSantis said at the press conference that 21,000 people were deported through Alligator Alcatraz. That’s 21,000 people who had to endure toilets that didn’t flush, bugs in their food, sweltering heat, and freezing cold—treated like “rats in an experiment,” as one detainee told CBS.

Tom Kean Jr. was once lost, but now he is found. At home in Westfield, New Jersey, waiting for you in a suit and tie, with his wife silently smiling in the background.

Sound strange? Well, that’s how the New Jersey Republican greeted a New York Times reporter on Wednesday night, the first sighting since effectively vanishing in March due to an undisclosed health condition and missing more than 100 votes in the House. Kean’s absence sparked intense speculation, particularly in the lead-up to his primary election earlier this month. (He ran unchallenged, made zero campaign appearances, and won.)

So what was it like to see Kean in the flesh? Honestly, it seemed unsettling!

He could be seen from the street on Wednesday evening, standing in a brightly lit front room of his Westfield home just before 8:45 p.m.

“It’s good to see you,” he said after a reporter for The New York Times rang his doorbell. He was wearing a dark suit and a red tie. “I’ll talk to you next week,” he said. “Thank you.”

Mr. Kean’s wife, Rhonda, stood in the background, smiling pleasantly. He declined additional comment and closed the door.

Last week, Kean’s office announced that the congressman would return to Congress on June 30 and finally explain the mystery surrounding his monthslong absence. But will Kean explain walking around one’s house in formalwear? At bedtime? What about the ghost stock trades? That’s what I want to know.

Team BOLO (Be On The Lookout) is gathering and curating all of Santa Cruz County’s biggest and best happenings from now until forever — or at least until the latest gigs are officially announced.

Latest additions are marked as NEW below.

Use the following links to see the major events happening by month:

• June
• July
• August
• September
• October
• November
• December
• January 2027
• April

And away we go with Down The Line …

June

June 25: “Wild Women of the ’60s,” Kuumbwa Jazz Center

June 25: Khemmis, Felton Music Hall

June 27: Santa Cruz Roller Derby, Santa Cruz Civic

June 27: Andre Nickatina, The Catalyst

June 28: Billy Childs, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

June 29: Luciana Souza & Marcel Camargo, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

July

July 7: Taj Farrant, Moe’s Alley

July 7: Angelica Glass, Bookshop Santa Cruz

July 8: TAE & the Neighborly, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

July 9: Beth Stelling, Felton Music Hall

July 9: Mads Tolling, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

July 10: Fleetmac Wood, Felton Music Hall

July 10: Alice Howe & Freebo, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

July 10: Cabrillo Stage opening night: “Sister Act, the Musical,” Crocker Theater

July 11: Depeche Mode tribute, Felton Music Hall

July 11: Santa Cruz Shakespeare opening night: “Much Ado About Nothing,” Audrey Stanley Grove

July 12: Santa Cruz Shakespeare opening night: “Macbeth,” Audrey Stanley Grove

July 13: Maruja Limon, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

July 13: White Denim, Moe’s Alley

July 14: Nation of Language, Felton Music Hall

July 16: RJD2, Felton Music Hall

July 16: Tony Lindsay Quintet, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

July 17: Hot Buttered Rum/Tea Leaf Green, Felton Music Hall

July 18: Kr3ture, Felton Music Hall

July 18: Water Tower, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

July 18: Babe Rainbow, The Rio

July 19: Leah Song, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

July 19: Los Tranquilos, Felton Music Hall

July 20: Keshav Batish, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

July 20: Pink Ladies of the Sonnets, Audrey Stanley Grove

July 21: Ocean Vuong, The Rio

July 23: James McMurtry, The Rio

NEW: July 23: Daniel Mason, Bookshop Santa Cruz

July 26: Sue Foley, Moe’s Alley

July 27: Ray Obiedo’s Latin Jazz Ensemble, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

July 27: Chloe Chapin, Bookshop Santa Cruz

July 28: Yilian Cañizares, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

July 28: Santa Cruz Shakespeare opening night: August Wilson’s “Fences,” Audrey Stanley Grove

July 29: Monophonics, Moe’s Alley

July 30: Peter Asher & Jeremy Clyde, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

July 31: Maria Muldaur, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

July 31: Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music: “On Freedom,” Santa Cruz Civic

August

Aug. 1: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Quarry Amphitheater

Aug. 1: Eileen Jewel, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Aug. 1: Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music: “Defiant Dreams,” Santa Cruz Civic

Aug. 2: Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music: Family Concert, Santa Cruz Civic

Aug. 3: Kim Nalley, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Aug. 3: Heart tribute, Audrey Stanley Grove

Aug. 6: Sylvia Cuenca’s Bridging Generations, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Aug. 7: Bria Skonberg, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Aug. 7: ALO, Felton Music Hall

Aug. 8: Shawn Colvin, The Rio

Aug. 8: Mickey Avalon, Felton Music Hall

Aug. 8: Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music: “Control,” Santa Cruz Civic

Aug. 9: Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music: “Hope As Our Banner,” Santa Cruz Civic

Aug. 10: David Bowie tribute, Audrey Stanley Grove

Aug. 12: John-Robert, The Crepe Place

NEW: Aug. 12: Angelo De Augustine, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Aug. 13: Marina Crouse, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Aug. 14: Death & Saxes, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Aug. 14: The Polish Ambassador, Felton Music Hall

Aug. 14: Atmosphere, Quarry Amphitheater

Aug. 15: Snail, The Rio

Aug. 15: Ani DiFranco/Valerie June, Santa Cruz Civic

Aug. 16: The Blues Project, Moe’s Alley

Aug. 17: Jazz Mafia, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Aug. 17: Nina Simon, Bookshop Santa Cruz

Aug. 19: Bill O’Connell Trio, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Aug. 19: Steve Hawk, Bookshop Santa Cruz

Aug. 20: Jon Dryden, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Aug. 22: Earthless, Moe’s Alley

Aug. 24: Keyon Harrold, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Aug. 25: La Luz, Felton Music Hall

NEW: Aug. 25: “Winter in America,” Bookshop Santa Cruz

Aug. 26: Duane Betts, Felton Music Hall

Aug. 26: The Kirtan Love Experience, The Rio

Aug. 26: Built to Spill, The Rio

Aug. 27: Simon Phillips, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Aug. 28: Tim Flannery & the Lunatic Fringe, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Aug. 29: Greyboy All-Stars, Moe’s Alley

Aug. 31: Eagles of Death Metal, The Catalyst

September

Sept. 1: Rehash, The Catalyst

Sept. 3: Paula Arai, Bookshop Santa Cruz

Sept. 4: Santa Cruz Shakespeare opening night: Noel Coward’s “Private Lives,” Audrey Stanley Grove

Sept. 5: Clinton Fearon & the Boogie Brown Band, Moe’s Alley

Sept. 5: Public Image Ltd., The Rio

Sept. 6: Tommy Castro & the Painkillers, Moe’s Alley

Sept. 7: Tom Petty tribute, Audrey Stanley Grove

Sept. 9: PawPaw Rod, The Catalyst

Sept. 9: Laurie R. King, Bookshop Santa Cruz

Sept. 10: Nduduzo Makhathini, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Sept. 11: Santa Cruz Shakespeare opening night: Jason Robert Brown’s “The Last 5 Years,” Audrey Stanley Grove

Sept. 12: Black Uhuru, Moe’s Alley

Sept. 14: John Pizzarelli, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Sept. 15: “Smoke Cabaret,” Laurie Rivera, Audrey Stanley Grove

Sept. 17: The Growlers, The Catalyst

Sept. 17: Sarah Elizabeth Charles, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Sept. 19: Rayland Baxter, Moe’s Alley

Sept. 20: Vieux Farka Toure, Felton Music Hall

Sept. 22: Al DiMeola, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Sept. 22: Welcome Week Rave, Santa Cruz Civic

Sept. 23: Brass Queens, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Sept. 24: Bill Frisell & Harmony Five, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

NEW: Sept. 26: Laurie Anderson, The Rio

Sept. 28: Linda Ronstadt tribute, Audrey Stanley Grove

Sept. 29: Aldous Harding, The Rio

Sept. 30: Cyrille Aimee & Mathis Picard, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

October

Oct. 1: El Khat, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Oct. 2: Soda Blonde, The Crepe Place

Oct. 2: Fruit Bats, The Rio

Oct. 3: The Bends, Felton Music Hall

Oct. 4: Mike Dawes, Felton Music Hall

Oct. 5: Hiromi, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Oct. 6: Kishi Bashi, The Rio

Oct. 8: Rickie Lee Jones, The Rio

Oct. 8: Ben Flocks, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Oct. 10: Damien Jurado, Felton Music Hall

Oct. 10: Banff Center Mountain Film, The Rio

Oct. 11: Yellowjackets, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Oct. 12: Somi, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Oct. 14: Bonnie Raitt, Santa Cruz Civic

Oct. 14: Acoustic Alchemy, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Oct. 14: Alborosie & Shengen Clan, Moe’s Alley

Oct. 15: Bumpin’ Uglies, The Catalyst

NEW: Oct. 16: Young Dubliners, Moe’s Alley

Oct. 17: B-Side Players, Moe’s Alley

NEW: Oct. 19: Buster Williams, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Oct. 23: Black Flag, Felton Music Hall

Oct. 26: Fonville & Fribush, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

NEW: Oct. 27: Great Lake Swimmers, Felton Music Hall

NEW: Oct. 28: Lyle Lovett, Santa Cruz Civic

Oct. 29: Laura Anglade, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

NEW: Oct. 30: The Mother Hips, Moe’s Alley

November

NEW: Nov. 1: Andrew Duhon, Moe’s Alley

NEW: Nov. 4: Joshua Redman, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Nov. 6: Elijah Scott, Felton Music Hall

Nov. 7: Henry Diltz: Behind the Lens, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Nov. 8: Southern Culture on the Skids, Moe’s Alley

Nov. 9: Alex Cameron, The Crepe Place

Nov. 12: Jake Xerxes Fussell, Felton Music Hall

Nov. 14: Nick Shoulders, Felton Music Hall

Nov. 14: Jon Spencer, Moe’s Alley

NEW: Nov. 29: Sandra Bernhard, The Rio

December

Dec. 8: Buck Meek, Moe’s Alley

NEW: Dec. 12: The Wooten Brothers, Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Dec. 17: Pokey LaFarge, Felton Music Hall

January 2027

NEW: Jan. 21: Jesse Cook, The Rio

April

April 23: Fashion Teens, The Rio

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF BOLO

Sign up for Lookout’s Weekender newsletter, sent every Thursday afternoon.

If you’re planning or producing your own event, click CREATE AN EVENT on the calendar.

Questions, comments, concerns? Email bolo@lookoutlocal.com.

The post Down The Line: All the biggest and best shows, gigs & events ahead in Santa Cruz County appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Base Power is skipping the PJM's troubled interconnection queue by placing its batteries at people's homes, offering backup services in exchange.

Elizabeth Warren had to explain to President Trump’s pick to lead the White House Council of Economic Advisers that 4.2 percent is more than 3.4 percent.

At a confirmation hearing Thursday for Christopher Phelan, the Democratic senator was making the point that inflation is outpacing wage growth, thereby diminishing Americans’ purchasing power.

“You’ve already told me inflation is 4.2 percent, right? What’s the annual wage growth right now?” Warren asked Phelan, an economist at the University of Minnesota.

“I do not have that in front of me right now,” he said.

Warren sighed. “It’s 3.4 percent. So let’s put this one together. Is 4.2 higher than 3.4?” she asked.

“I will repeat what I said, which is: Real wage growth in this administration is positive,” Phelan said, ignoring Warren’s obvious point that inflation was rising faster than wages.

“Right now families are falling behind,” Warren replied. “These are facts that come out of the Trump administration, they’re there for anybody to see. And you can’t bring yourself, as the person who sits there and says, ‘I want to be the head of the Council of Economic Advisors,’ to give objective economic advice, and you can’t even say ‘yeah, inflation is running higher than wages right now.”

“I think this person has disqualified himself,” she concluded.

Here’s video of the exchanged, via The Bulwark:

Sen. Warren: "What's the annual wage growth right now? It's just a facts question."

Phelan: "I do not have that in front of me right now."

Warren: "It's 3.4%. So let's put this one together. Is 4.2% higher than 3.4%?"

Phelan: "I will repeat what I said, which is real wage… pic.twitter.com/G01jYmgPYX

— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) June 25, 2026

Despite ChatGPT's commanding market lead, consumers who pay for AI have been increasingly choosing Anthropic's Claude, data shows.