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Saturday, June 27, 2026
RACE RESULT
Antonelli Sets Pace in Both Austrian GP Practice Sessions
Kimi Antonelli delivered a commanding Friday double at the Austrian Grand Prix, setting the fastest time in both practice sessions at the Red Bull Ring. The championship leader posted a 1m07.796s in FP1 — beating teammates George Russell and Oscar Piastri — before pulling further clear in FP2 with a 1m07.014s, 0.237 seconds ahead of Piastri, with Lando Norris third. Russell fell over six tenths behind Antonelli in FP2, raising questions about the British driver’s race weekend pace. McLaren showed strong long-run performance and positioned itself as the closest challenger to Mercedes. With qualifying on Saturday afternoon and the race on Sunday, Antonelli enters the session as favourite.
Ferrari Admits Difficult Austrian GP Practice After Heat Hampers Performance
Ferrari’s Austrian Grand Prix began in difficult fashion as both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc struggled in sweltering conditions, finishing fifth and eighth respectively in FP2 — more than six tenths behind pacesetter Kimi Antonelli. Despite arriving with a new power unit upgrade this season, Ferrari’s car failed to match Mercedes or McLaren across single-lap or race-pace simulations. Team principal Fred Vasseur conceded the squad had struggled with the conditions and described Friday as difficult, saying Ferrari was far away from its potential. Track temperatures cleared 50 degrees Celsius as a European heatwave gripped the Red Bull Ring, with Hamilton also conceding the team was not as competitive as hoped.
Red Bull Seven-Part Austria Upgrade Marred by Reliability Problems
Red Bull arrived at their home Austrian Grand Prix with a seven-part upgrade package for the RB22 — including revised sidepod inlets, floor modifications, rear suspension changes, and a new rear wing — but the upgrades’ debut was clouded by reliability problems. Max Verstappen stopped twice in the pit lane in the opening 20 minutes of FP1 due to a software issue, while Isack Hadjar required a complete engine change after a problem was discovered late in the session. Team principal Laurent Mekies warned the upgrades alone will not close the gap to Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren, but expressed confidence in the team’s continued improvement path.
Cadillac’s Biggest 2026 Upgrade Hit by Fire and Chaos on Austrian GP Friday
Cadillac brought their most substantial upgrade package of the 2026 season to the Red Bull Ring — a 10-part overhaul of the MAC-26 targeting sidepods, floor, diffuser, and rear wing — but the weekend opened disastrously. Sergio Perez triggered red flags in FP1 with a mechanical failure, then caused a Virtual Safety Car in FP2 despite a complete ECU replacement between sessions. Valtteri Bottas retired mid-session after an apparent suspension failure caused his floor to scrape the track surface and catch fire. Bottas had suggested the revised floor package could be worth a few tenths per lap. Cadillac used a curfew exemption on Thursday evening to install the components.
McLaren Shelves Experimental McMacarena Wing Before Austrian GP Practice
McLaren shelved plans to test an experimental rear wing at the Austrian Grand Prix before it ran a single lap in practice. The team had intended to fit the concept — nicknamed the McMacarena — to Lando Norris’s car for FP1 at the Red Bull Ring. Designed to flip and shed significantly more drag on straights than a conventional wing, the concept was intended as a development run. Pre-session garage checks uncovered issues, prompting McLaren to remove the wing before running. The team confirmed no further attempt would be made this weekend, with the experimental design not set to return until after the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
FIA Formally Bans Ferrari-Style Exhaust Wings From 2027
The FIA has formally ratified a ban on Ferrari-pioneered exhaust wings for 2027, approved by the World Motor Sport Council meeting in Macau. Ferrari developed the concept early in the 2026 season — using exhaust gases to supply airflow to a small winglet above the tailpipe — by repositioning the differential to exploit a loophole in the technical regulations. Rival teams including Mercedes later developed their own variants using tailpipe brackets as winglets. The updated 2027 technical regulations, published Friday, impose an exclusion zone around the exhaust exit area. Additional 2027 restrictions on floor body stays, suspension design, and damper behaviour were also ratified at the same WMSC meeting.
Red Bull Confirms Verstappen Exit Clause as McLaren Talks Reports Emerge
Max Verstappen’s Formula 1 future took centre stage at his home race weekend as reports emerged of secret talks between Verstappen and McLaren about a potential switch. Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies confirmed the existence of a performance-related exit clause in the Dutchman’s contract through to 2028, which is expected to activate at the summer break if he sits outside the top two in the championship. Verstappen currently lies seventh, 101 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli. Mekies said this weekend that Verstappen wants a fast car, pointing to the Austrian upgrade package as evidence of the team’s commitment to closing the gap ahead of the contract decision.
Alonso Points to Dutch or Italian GP for F1 Decision Timeline
Fernando Alonso provided the clearest indication yet of his decision timeline at the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, saying he expects to decide on his Formula 1 future around the Dutch or Italian Grand Prix, after the summer break. Three options remain open for the 44-year-old two-time world champion: re-signing with Aston Martin, a return to Alpine, or retirement from the sport. Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer Mike Krack expressed confidence that Alonso would remain, praising his speed despite the team’s struggles. Alonso has scored just one championship point from seven race weekends in 2026 as Aston Martin have battled persistent reliability problems throughout the season.
Williams Confirms Curfew Breach to Install Mercedes Updates at Austrian GP
Williams breached the FIA-mandated overnight curfew at the Austrian Grand Prix to install Mercedes power unit reliability updates ahead of the race weekend, the team has confirmed. Alex Albon also switched to a different FW48 chassis for Spielberg, having harboured doubts about his previous car’s handling in recent races. Williams was not alone in working through the night: Cadillac also used a curfew exemption on Thursday evening to complete installation of their extensive 10-part upgrade package on both cars before Friday morning’s first practice session. Curfew exemptions, commonly known as jokers, are available to each team a limited number of times across the F1 season.
Racing Bulls Denies Signing F2 Driver for 2027 Season
Racing Bulls has denied reports claiming it has already agreed a deal for an F2 driver to join for the 2027 Formula 1 season, issuing a statement at the Austrian Grand Prix weekend. The team has become the focus of paddock speculation regarding its future driver lineup, amid expected changes across both Racing Bulls and Red Bull Racing’s 2027 grids. Racing Bulls currently fields Liam Lawson and rookie Arvid Lindblad, who sit 10th and 13th in the Drivers’ Championship with 28 and 13 points respectively after the opening seven rounds. The specific identity of the rumoured signee was not disclosed in the reports the team sought to address.
Drivers' Championship
1. Kimi Antonelli — 156 pts
2. Lewis Hamilton — 115 pts
3. George Russell — 106 pts
4. Charles Leclerc — 75 pts
5. Lando Norris — 73 pts
6. Oscar Piastri — 58 pts
7. Max Verstappen — 55 pts
8. Pierre Gasly — 41 pts
9. Isack Hadjar — 34 pts
10. Liam Lawson — 28 pts
11. Oliver Bearman — 18 pts
12. Franco Colapinto — 16 pts
13. Arvid Lindblad — 13 pts
14. Carlos Sainz — 6 pts
15. Alex Albon — 5 pts
16. Esteban Ocon — 3 pts
17. Gabriel Bortoleto — 2 pts
18. Fernando Alonso — 1 pts
19. Nico Hülkenberg — 0 pts
20. Sergio Pérez — 0 pts
21. Valtteri Bottas — 0 pts
22. Lance Stroll — 0 pts
Constructors' Championship
1. Mercedes — 262 pts
2. Ferrari — 190 pts
3. McLaren — 131 pts
4. Red Bull Racing — 89 pts
5. Alpine — 57 pts
6. Racing Bulls — 41 pts
7. Haas — 21 pts
8. Williams — 11 pts
9. Audi — 2 pts
10. Aston Martin — 1 pts
11. Cadillac — 0 pts
DRIVER NEWS
Dixon Poised to Leave Ganassi for Arrow McLaren After 23 Seasons
Six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon is reportedly on the brink of leaving Chip Ganassi Racing — his team for 23 years — to join Arrow McLaren. A straight swap with fourth-place Christian Lundgaard, who would move from McLaren to Ganassi, is understood to be the shape of the deal. Indianapolis 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist, confirmed as departing Meyer Shank Racing, is also reported bound for McLaren — potentially forming a powerhouse line-up alongside Pato O'Ward — while Nolan Siegel would lose his McLaren seat. Marcus Ericsson remains off-contract at Andretti Global, and Caio Collet is among those in contention for the MSR vacancy.
Strong Road America Result Keeps Kyffin Simpson's Goals in Reach
Kyffin Simpson turned in a season-best fourth-place finish at Road America on June 21, boosting the Chip Ganassi Racing driver's confidence as he pursues goals of a first NTT IndyCar Series win and a top-10 championship finish. Simpson sits 16th in the standings with 179 points — 32 behind 10th-placed Scott Dixon — after collecting four top-10 results in 10 starts so far this season. “Best result of the year by quite a bit,” Simpson told IndyCar.com, pointing to both a maiden win and a top-10 points finish as concrete targets for the second half of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season.
Drivers' Championship
1. Alex Palou — 374 pts
2. David Malukas — 314 pts
3. Kyle Kirkwood — 313 pts
4. Christian Lundgaard — 297 pts
5. Pato O'Ward — 257 pts
6. Felix Rosenqvist — 248 pts
7. Scott McLaughlin — 248 pts
8. Josef Newgarden — 247 pts
9. Marcus Ericsson — 213 pts
10. Scott Dixon — 211 pts
11. Marcus Armstrong — 203 pts
12. Graham Rahal — 200 pts
13. Rinus VeeKay — 187 pts
14. Will Power — 180 pts
15. Alexander Rossi — 180 pts
16. Kyffin Simpson — 179 pts
17. Santino Ferrucci — 168 pts
18. Louis Foster — 147 pts
19. Dennis Hauger — 143 pts
20. Romain Grosjean — 132 pts
21. Nolan Siegel — 125 pts
22. Christian Rasmussen — 117 pts
23. Caio Collet — 113 pts
24. Mick Schumacher — 102 pts
25. Sting Ray Robb — 100 pts
26. Conor Daly — 24 pts
27. Takuma Sato — 20 pts
28. Jack Harvey — 8 pts
29. Jacob Abel — 6 pts
30. Helio Castroneves — 5 pts
31. Ed Carpenter — 5 pts
32. Ryan Hunter-Reay — 5 pts
33. Katherine Legge — 5 pts
Teams' Championship
1. Team Penske — 809 pts
2. Chip Ganassi Racing — 764 pts
3. Andretti Global — 706 pts
4. Arrow McLaren — 684 pts
5. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing — 469 pts
6. Meyer Shank Racing — 456 pts
7. Ed Carpenter Racing — 302 pts
8. Juncos Hollinger Racing — 287 pts
9. A.J. Foyt Enterprises — 281 pts
10. Dale Coyne Racing — 275 pts
11. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing — 32 pts
12. Abel Motorsports — 6 pts
13. HMD Motorsports w/ AJ Foyt Racing — 5 pts
GT WORLD CHALLENGE
2026 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa Gets Underway with Lamborghini Temerario GT3 Race Debut
The 2026 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa got underway at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday afternoon, with 69 GT3 cars taking the start at 16:30 CEST. The race marks the first 24-hour endurance appearance for the Lamborghini Temerario GT3, with Grasser Racing Team and Rutronik Racing fielding the new car — making it a milestone outing for Lamborghini's first in-house competition machine. The field spans 10 manufacturers across Pro, Gold Cup, Silver Cup, Bronze Cup and Pro-Am categories. As a round of both the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and the Intercontinental GT Challenge, the race is one of the year's most prestigious GT3 events.
Ferrari Tops Spa 24H Superpole After GetSpeed Mercedes Excluded for Brake Infringement
Alessio Rovera claimed Spa 24 Hours Superpole for the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO, dominating all four elimination segments to set a 2m18.330s benchmark. The result followed a significant upset: Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed, which had set the fastest time in regular qualifying, was excluded from Superpole after mechanics performed brake work on the No. 17 car during Q3, violating the regulations. GetSpeed's trio of Maxime Martin, Maximilian Goetz and Fabian Schiller lost all Q3 times as a result. Rovera's pole gives AF Corse Ferrari an advantageous grid position for the 24-hour race heading into night.
Aitken Tops Both Watkins Glen GTP Practice Sessions Ahead of Sunday Six Hours
Jack Aitken led both GTP practice sessions at Watkins Glen International ahead of Sunday's Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen, reinforcing the championship-leading No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R's pace on the 3.4-mile road course. Aitken set a 1:33.846 lap in the opening 90-minute session, outpacing the No. 93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 of Renger van der Zande by 0.315 seconds. In Saturday morning's second session, Aitken clocked a 1:33.865 to edge fellow Cadillac driver Ricky Taylor in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing entry by 0.131 seconds. The six-hour race starts Sunday at 12:10 PM ET.
IMSA and SRO to Run Historic First Joint GT3 Balance of Performance Test at Daytona
IMSA and SRO Motorsports Group announced a landmark collaboration to conduct a joint Balance of Performance test at Daytona International Speedway in December 2026, ahead of the 2027 season. Each GT3 manufacturer will be required to supply a car for the dedicated sessions, which will establish BoP parameters for the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona. While IMSA and SRO will each maintain their own separate BoP frameworks, the joint test marks the first cooperative venture between the two organizations. SRO founder and CEO Stephane Ratel said the opportunity to collaborate with IMSA at Daytona would prove mutually beneficial to both parties.
Texas 8 Hours at COTA Joins 2027 Intercontinental GT Challenge Calendar, Replacing Indianapolis
The 2027 Intercontinental GT Challenge calendar will feature an inaugural Texas 8 Hours at Circuit of The Americas, replacing Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the American round of the globe-trotting GT3 series. SRO announced the change at a press conference during the Spa 24 Hours weekend, citing an upcoming Indianapolis repave scheduled for late 2027 or 2028. COTA becomes the newest American venue on the IGTC calendar. The full 2027 IGTC calendar includes Bathurst, the Texas 8 Hours, Nürburgring 24 Hours, Spa 24 Hours and Suzuka 1000km, alongside a new partnership with Super GT.
United Autosports Extends Phil Fayer Through 2027 as LMP2 and Hypercar Programs Grow
United Autosports has extended Canadian Bronze driver Phil Fayer through the end of 2027, confirming his second full season in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship LMP2 competition. The extension keeps Fayer within the Anglo-American outfit as it prepares for a landmark period that includes operating McLaren's Hypercar program in the FIA World Endurance Championship from 2027. United will continue to field the Oreca 07 through 2028 in both IMSA and the European Le Mans Series before transitioning to the next-generation ORECA 09. The team also recently confirmed an extended technical partnership with ORECA through 2032, underscoring its long-term commitment to prototype racing.
Christensen on Extended Racing Absence: 'Not What You Wish For'
Former Porsche factory driver Michael Christensen has spoken publicly about his extended period away from racing, following the Danish driver's departure from the Porsche Penske Motorsport line-up. Christensen, who competed extensively in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA with Porsche, acknowledged that prolonged time away from competition was not ideal. His exit from Porsche's program came in the context of the manufacturer's withdrawal from the WEC Hypercar class for 2026, which prompted significant changes to its driver roster. Christensen was not retained for the 2026 IMSA-focused program and has since been seeking a return to top-level sportscar competition.
Car Collection Porsche Leads Spa 24H Warm-Up; Tresor Attempto Audi Second
Car Collection Motorsport's No. 8 Porsche 911 GT3 R led the 30-minute Warm-Up session ahead of the 2026 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, with Joel Sturm setting a 2m18.445s to top the order in the final track session before the race. A brief rain shower fell at Spa-Francorchamps during the session, adding an element of track evolution. The No. 99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi of Alex Aka finished second, 0.195s from the benchmark. Mercedes-AMG machinery occupied third and fourth through Fabian Schiller in the No. 17 GetSpeed entry and Maro Engel in the No. 48 Team Mann-Filter car. The race subsequently started at 16:30 CEST Saturday afternoon.
WEC Hypercar — Drivers
1. Kamui Kobayashi / Mike Conway / Nyck de Vries — 75 pts
2. René Rast / Robin Frijns — 71 pts
3. Sheldon van der Linde — 61 pts
4. Brendon Hartley / Ryō Hirakawa / Sébastien Buemi — 56 pts
5. Alessandro Pier Guidi / Antonio Giovinazzi / James Calado — 39 pts
6. António Félix da Costa / Charles Milesi / Ferdinand Habsburg — 28 pts
7. Louis Delétraz / Norman Nato / Will Stevens — 26 pts
8. Kevin Magnussen / Raffaele Marciello — 25 pts
9. Antonio Fuoco / Miguel Molina / Nicklas Nielsen — 23 pts
10. Harry Tincknell / Tom Gamble — 22 pts
1. Toyota — 132 pts
2. BMW — 96 pts
3. Ferrari — 62 pts
4. Alpine — 38 pts
5. Cadillac — 32 pts
6. Aston Martin — 26 pts
7. Peugeot — 15 pts
8. Genesis — 6 pts
IMSA GTP — Drivers
1. Jack Aitken — 1,760 pts
2. Laurin Heinrich — 1,616 pts
3. Felipe Nasr / Julien Andlauer — 1,606 pts
4. Nick Yelloly / Renger van der Zande — 1,552 pts
5. Kevin Estre / Laurens Vanthoor — 1,501 pts
6. Earl Bamber — 1,412 pts
7. Colin Braun / Tom Blomqvist — 1,391 pts
8. Dries Vanthoor / Sheldon van der Linde — 1,385 pts
9. Marco Wittmann / Philipp Eng — 1,383 pts
10. Tijmen van der Helm — 1,379 pts
1. Cadillac — 1,797 pts
2. Porsche — 1,772 pts
3. Acura — 1,676 pts
4. BMW — 1,628 pts
5. Aston Martin — 1,432 pts
DRAFT
Maple Leafs Select Forward Gavin McKenna First Overall in 2026 NHL Draft
The Toronto Maple Leafs selected 18-year-old forward Gavin McKenna with the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft on Friday at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. Pop star and Maple Leafs fan Justin Bieber announced the selection at the podium, in the same arena where Toronto chose Auston Matthews first overall in 2016. McKenna, a native of Whitehorse, Yukon, posted 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) in 35 games with Penn State this season, ranking tied for fifth in NCAA scoring at 1.46 points per game. He is the third player in Maple Leafs history selected first overall, joining Matthews (2016) and Wendel Clark (1985).
San Jose Sharks Lead the Pack as Trade Frenzy Highlights NHL Draft Opening Night
The San Jose Sharks emerged as one of the standout teams from Friday's first round of the 2026 NHL Draft in Buffalo, selecting playmaker Ivar Stenberg second overall and defenseman Keaton Verhoeff ninth. The back-to-back top-10 picks give San Jose a blue-chip defensive prospect to pair alongside Sam Dickinson. Toronto took McKenna first and Vancouver selected center Caleb Malhotra third. The St. Louis Blues headlined draft-night trades, acquiring Mason McTavish from Anaheim using two first-round picks, while the New York Rangers landed Pavel Dorofeyev from Vegas. All 32 first-round selections were made Friday evening at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
Blues Acquire Center Mason McTavish from Ducks for Two First-Round Picks at Draft
The St. Louis Blues acquired center Mason McTavish from the Anaheim Ducks on Friday in exchange for the No. 15 and No. 29 picks in the 2026 NHL Draft. McTavish, 23, recorded 41 points (17 goals, 24 assists) in 75 games for Anaheim this season and added six points in 10 playoff games. He has five seasons remaining on a six-year contract signed with the Ducks in September 2025. Anaheim used the No. 15 pick to select forward Nikita Klepov. St. Louis entered the draft holding four first-round picks and moved two of those selections to acquire a proven young center for their rebuild.
Rangers Acquire Dorofeyev from Golden Knights, Sign Winger to Seven-Year, $77M Contract
The New York Rangers acquired forward Pavel Dorofeyev from the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday and signed the restricted free agent to a seven-year, $77 million contract. Vegas received the No. 26 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, a third-round pick (No. 92), and a conditional first-round selection in 2028. Dorofeyev set NHL career highs this season with 37 goals, 27 assists, and 64 points in 82 games for the Golden Knights. New York moved ahead of July 1 free agency to lock up Dorofeyev before open bidding could begin on a winger who had established himself as one of Vegas's most consistent offensive contributors.
NHL Draft Rounds 2 Through 7 Underway Saturday in Buffalo to Complete 2026 Classes
The 2026 NHL Draft resumes Saturday at KeyBank Center in Buffalo with rounds two through seven beginning at 11 a.m. ET, as all 32 teams complete their selections following a trade-filled opening night. Friday's first round saw Gavin McKenna go first overall to Toronto, Ivar Stenberg second to San Jose, and Caleb Malhotra third to Vancouver, with player trades reshuffling the board throughout the evening. Teams holding extra picks from pre-draft deals, including St. Louis, San Jose, and Ottawa, enter Saturday with multiple selections in later rounds. The draft features 224 total picks across seven rounds, with the remaining 192 scheduled to wrap up Saturday.
NHL Free Agency Opens Wednesday with $104M Cap and a Star-Studded Unrestricted Market
NHL free agency begins Wednesday with the salary cap rising to $104 million for 2026-27, an $8.5 million increase fueling an active open market. Defensemen Rasmus Andersson (47 points this season) and veteran John Carlson (60 points with Anaheim) headline the available field. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is also set to become an unrestricted free agent when his Florida contract expires. Alex Ovechkin, 40, scored 32 goals and 64 points in 82 games and is expected to seek a new deal. Alex Tuch came off the board this week in a sign-and-trade to Washington worth eight years and $84 million.
Ottawa Senators Add Defenseman Zellweger and Forward Burakovsky in Draft-Day Transactions
The Ottawa Senators completed two draft-day acquisitions Friday to deepen their roster heading into an active offseason. Ottawa acquired defenseman Olen Zellweger from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward Anton Wahlberg and the No. 45 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, and picked up forward Andre Burakovsky from the Chicago Blackhawks for a sixth-round selection in 2027. The moves add experienced pieces for a Senators organization that also received multiple draft picks, including two first-round selections this year, when it traded Brady Tkachuk to Florida earlier in June. Ottawa continues to accumulate assets and depth while pushing toward a return to playoff contention.
RECAP
White Sox Score 22 Runs, Rout Royals 22-1 Behind Tristan Peters Grand Slam
The Chicago White Sox erupted for 22 runs Friday night, routing the Kansas City Royals 22-1 in their most lopsided victory of the season. Tristan Peters hit a grand slam and drove in six runs, while Miguel Vargas homered and added five RBI. The White Sox sent 14 batters to the plate in a historic 10-run third inning. Rookie David Sandlin, called up from Triple-A Charlotte earlier that day, earned the win by allowing just one run across six innings with six strikeouts. Jacob Gonzalez, Andrew Benintendi, and Kyle Teel also homered. Chicago scored its most runs since a 22-13 win at Boston on May 31, 1970.
Mets Fire Manager Carlos Mendoza After 34-47 Start, Name Andy Green Interim
The New York Mets dismissed manager Carlos Mendoza Thursday after the team stumbled to a 34-47 record at roughly the season's midpoint. The move came after the Mets were swept in a four-game series by the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field earlier in the week. Andy Green, who had been serving as senior vice president for player development, was named interim manager for the remainder of the 2026 season. Green will return to his front-office role after the season, when the club will launch a search for a permanent manager. The Mets ranked last in the NL East, 16 games behind the Atlanta Braves.
Zack Wheeler Dominates Mets Again as Phillies Win 2-1 in Green's Debut
Derek Hill robbed Juan Soto of a two-run homer with a spectacular catch, and Zack Wheeler tossed seven strong innings as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets 2-1 Friday night in Andy Green's managerial debut. Trea Turner drove in Hill with a tiebreaking single in the seventh inning, handing New York its seventh consecutive defeat. Wheeler improved to 8-1 with a 2.03 ERA, allowing four hits including Jared Young's run-scoring single in the fourth. He struck out five and recorded two pick-offs in the same game — a career first. Jhoan Duran closed out the game for his 20th save. The contest finished in 2 hours, 20 minutes.
Max Meyer Improves to 9-0, Blanks Cardinals to Tie Marlins Franchise Record
Max Meyer held the St. Louis Cardinals to two infield hits across seven innings Friday, leading the Miami Marlins to a 4-0 victory and improving his record to 9-0. Meyer issued two walks and struck out five while tying Livan Hernández's 1997 mark for the best record to open a season in Marlins franchise history. Meyer remains the only qualified starter in the major leagues without a loss this season. The Marlins' offense broke through late: Graham Pauley and Kyle Stowers each drove in a run in the eighth, and Jakob Marsee's two-out single off Max Rajcic in the ninth scored two more to complete the shutout.
Walker Buehler Beats Former Team as Padres Top Dodgers 7-1 for Fourth Straight Win
Walker Buehler pitched into the sixth inning against his former team, Ty France hit a three-run homer, and the San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-1 Friday night for their fourth consecutive win. Buehler, who spent his first decade in professional baseball with Los Angeles, yielded three hits and three walks with five strikeouts. Mookie Betts gave the Dodgers a brief 1-0 lead with a second-inning homer before France launched a three-run shot off Roki Sasaki to flip the score. San Diego piled on with four more runs in the eighth inning on RBI singles from Sung-mun Song, Arturo Durán, and Fernando Tatis Jr.
Misiorowski Touches 105.5 MPH, Improves to 9-3 as Brewers Beat Cubs 6-2
Jacob Misiorowski reached 105.5 mph with his third pitch and delivered yet another dominant outing Friday, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a 6-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs for their fifth straight win. Misiorowski improved to 9-3 with a 1.45 ERA, retiring the first 15 batters before allowing Seiya Suzuki's leadoff home run in the sixth. He finished with eight strikeouts over six innings, allowing two hits, two walks, and two wild pitches. Garrett Mitchell and William Contreras hit two-run homers for Milwaukee. Contreras went deep off Jayden Murray in the seventh while Christian Yelich added an RBI double in the eighth to cap the Brewers' offense.
Royce Lewis Walk-Off Single in 10th Saves Twins After Bullpen Blows 7-Run Lead
Royce Lewis slipped an RBI single up the middle in the 10th inning for the first walk-off hit of his career, lifting the Minnesota Twins to a 9-8 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Friday after nearly squandering a seven-run lead. The Twins led 7-0 through seven innings behind starter Taj Bradley, but the bullpen collapsed in the ninth. Jake McCarthy hit a three-run homer and Hunter Goodman launched a two-run shot to cap a five-run Colorado rally that put the Rockies ahead 8-7. Byron Buxton tied the score with a wicked-hop grounder in the bottom of the ninth before Lewis delivered the decisive blow in extras.
Red Sox Beat Yankees 6-1 at Fenway, Take 2-0 Series Lead Over AL East Leaders
The Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees 6-1 Friday night at Fenway Park, taking a 2-0 series lead over the AL East leaders. Phil Tolle improved to 4-5 with the victory, scattering three hits while the Boston offense roughed up Will Warren, who fell to 7-3. The Red Sox entered the series as a long shot against the first-place Yankees, who carry a 48-33 record and a 13.5-game lead over Boston. Friday's loss snapped a two-game winning streak for New York. The Yankees dropped back-to-back games to the last-place Red Sox for the second time this season.
Arozarena, Ben Brown, Robert Suarez Among Multiple Players Hitting the Injured List
The Seattle Mariners placed outfielder Randy Arozarena on the 10-day injured list Friday, removing a key offensive piece from their lineup. In Chicago, Cubs starters Ben Brown and Edward Cabrera both landed on the injured list the same day — Brown to the 15-day IL with a neck strain, with the club also designating Eduarniel Núñez for assignment, and Cabrera sidelined by a hamstring strain. The Atlanta Braves placed setup reliever Robert Suarez on the 15-day IL, retroactive to June 23, with forearm tightness. In Cleveland, the Guardians promoted top catching prospect Cooper Ingle and designated outfielder Stuart Fairchild for assignment.
American League
1. New York Yankees — 48–33, —
2. Tampa Bay Rays — 46–33, 1.0
3. Toronto Blue Jays — 39–43, 9.5
4. Baltimore Orioles — 39–44, 10.0
5. Boston Red Sox — 34–46, 13.5
1. Chicago White Sox — 42–38, —
2. Cleveland Guardians — 42–40, 1.0
3. Minnesota Twins — 39–44, 4.5
4. Detroit Tigers — 35–47, 8.0
5. Kansas City Royals — 34–49, 9.5
1. Seattle Mariners — 42–41, —
2. Athletics — 40–42, 1.5
3. Texas Rangers — 40–42, 1.5
4. Houston Astros — 40–44, 2.5
5. Los Angeles Angels — 34–49, 8.0
National League
1. Atlanta Braves — 49–31, —
2. Philadelphia Phillies — 46–36, 4.0
3. Miami Marlins — 43–39, 7.0
4. Washington Nationals — 41–42, 9.5
5. New York Mets — 34–48, 16.0
1. Milwaukee Brewers — 50–29, —
2. Chicago Cubs — 44–38, 7.5
3. St. Louis Cardinals — 42–37, 8.0
4. Pittsburgh Pirates — 41–41, 10.5
5. Cincinnati Reds — 38–42, 12.5
1. Los Angeles Dodgers — 52–30, —
2. San Diego Padres — 43–37, 8.0
3. Arizona Diamondbacks — 41–40, 10.5
4. San Francisco Giants — 33–48, 18.5
5. Colorado Rockies — 32–50, 20.0
AI
OpenAI limits GPT-5.6 rollout after government request
OpenAI Thursday launched GPT-5.6 in three tiers — Sol (flagship), Terra (balanced), and Luna (fast, low-cost) — but restricted initial access to a small group of trusted partners following a request from the Trump administration, which is approving customers individually. Sol, priced at $5 per million input tokens and $30 per million output tokens, features a “max” reasoning mode and an “ultra” agentic mode that coordinates multiple AI subagents in parallel. OpenAI said Sol performs slightly better than Anthropic’s Claude Mythos 5 on coding workflows, with safety guardrails embedded in the core model. The company called the government review process a “short-term step” it hopes will not become permanent.
AI regulation debate shifts from rivalry to collective action
Two weeks after the Trump administration restricted Anthropic’s Fable 5 and Mythos 5 from broad deployment, OpenAI launched GPT-5.6 into a similar limited preview subject to government approval for each customer. Dean Ball — a George Mason University fellow set to join OpenAI — argues the pattern creates a “de facto involuntary licensing regime” for frontier AI models. Without formally defined safety standards, Ball warns, the informal approval process risks chilling data center investment industry-wide. The analysis argues that frontier AI companies need coordinated collective action to address the emerging regulatory dynamic rather than competing against each other in a system with no clear rules.
Startup Aseon Labs raises $10M to build robotic pit stops for robotaxis
Redwood City, California startup Aseon Labs has raised $10 million in a seed round led by Crane Venture Partners to build automated pods that can inspect, clean, and charge robotaxis on location, eliminating the costly deadhead miles fleets accumulate driving to distant maintenance depots. The company, a Y Combinator 2026 spring cohort graduate co-founded by former Tesla engineer George Kalligeros and Dan Keene, calls its units “robotic pit stops.” Pods use computer vision and robotic arms to handle routine service and are classified as temporary structures to avoid lengthy permitting. Aseon plans to build five prototypes and grow its six-person team to roughly a dozen employees.
China's LineShine claims top spot on global supercomputer list
China reclaimed the top spot on the TOP500 supercomputer list for the first time since 2017, after LineShine — housed at the National Supercomputing Center in Shenzhen — debuted at number one on the biannual ranking published Wednesday. The system achieves 2.19 exaflops, approximately 22 percent faster than the previous leader, El Capitan, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. LineShine’s roughly 14 million processing cores run on Chinese-made chips — no GPUs — and the system integrates conventional computing with AI capabilities. Researchers are using it to run weather prediction models combining physics and AI, completing simulations covering 2016 to 2025 in 14.6 hours.
Trump administration proposes removing brake-pedal rule for self-driving vehicles
The Trump administration proposed eliminating the federal brake-pedal requirement for vehicles “designed to be driven exclusively by automated driving systems,” opening a 30-day public comment period. NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said the country is at “the cusp of the greatest technological revolution in vehicle technology since the innovation of the Model T.” The proposal would benefit Tesla’s Cybercab robotaxi and Amazon-owned Zoox; Tesla is operating a small pilot robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. Tesla has never sought a manual-control exemption; Zoox previously obtained one. Waymo, which uses retrofitted vehicles that retain manual controls, does not need an exemption under existing rules.
Hacked Klue faces second extortion group as Icarus deletes data
Market research company Klue, hacked June 12 in a breach that let the criminal group Icarus steal data from customers including Gong, Jamf, LastPass, and HackerOne, said Thursday it believes Icarus is now deleting the stolen data. The Icarus website has since gone dark. A second, unnamed hacking group posted on its own site claiming to have obtained the Klue data from Icarus — exploiting what it described as a teenage operator in the U.K. — and is demanding ransom from up to 195 affected companies. Klue told customers the second group appears to hold only “samples of data for a subset of customers,” and advised against payment.
Netris raises $15M from a16z to speed up AI neocloud launches
Network automation startup Netris has raised $15 million in a Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz to expand its software platform for AI data centers, or “neoclouds.” Netris runs on network switches and uses hardware-accelerated algorithms — rather than traditional software-defined networking — to automate setup, configuration, and multi-tenant operations, helping neoclouds launch faster. The platform is deployed at more than 35 GPU clusters globally, covering roughly one million GPUs, with customers including Lightning AI, Foxconn, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and TensorWave. Nvidia recommended Netris to its own customers after a demonstration two years ago. a16z partner Guido Appenzeller is joining the company’s board.
INTEROPERABILITY
TEFCA Network Hits One Billion Health Records Exchanged, ONC Strengthens Oversight
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) announced that the TEFCA network — the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement — has surpassed one billion health records exchanged, up from just 10 million a year ago. To support continued growth, ONC awarded a new oversight contract to verify that Qualified Health Information Networks comply with required policies and procedures; the agency is also conducting additional reviews of QHINs and their participants. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called secure access to health records "a fundamental right," while National Coordinator Thomas Keane declared that "exchange across the TEFCA network is just getting started."
HHS Reveals AI Governance Priorities After Sweeping Request for Information
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services held a public webinar Thursday laying out key takeaways from its sweeping AI request for information, revealing what healthcare organizations say they need most from federal regulators. The sector's top three asks: cross-agency coordination within HHS, practical implementation and governance support, and better tools for evaluating clinical AI products. "Trust in this technology is the only thing that will lead to responsible, but also effective, adoption," said Arman Sharma, HHS deputy chief AI officer. Meanwhile, ARPA-H is building AI agents to autonomously manage cardiovascular disease care, and the FDA is developing lifecycle-based AI regulation frameworks.
Pope Leo XIV's AI Encyclical Offers Governance Blueprint for Healthcare Leaders
Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, has implications extending well beyond faith-based health systems, according to legal experts at Epstein Becker Green writing in Fierce Healthcare. Attorneys Greg Krabacher and Jim Flynn identify three key takeaways for healthcare leaders: a governance-first, deliberative posture toward AI adoption; rigorous auditing of AI tools for bias, discrimination, and privacy risks; and ensuring human dignity remains central to care delivery. The 42,000-word encyclical cautions that those who design AI systems inherently impose their own moral code, obligating healthcare organizations to actively confirm alignment with institutional values before deployment.
Innovaccer Signs Multi-Year AI Collaboration with AWS to Scale Agentic Healthcare Deployments
Health AI company Innovaccer has signed a multi-year strategic collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services to help health systems and payers deploy agentic AI solutions at production scale. The partnership targets what Innovaccer CEO Abhinav Shashank calls healthcare's "production problem, not an innovation problem" — organizations have AI pilots in place but lack the infrastructure to run agents reliably, securely, and at enterprise scale. Through the agreement, Innovaccer will scale agentic AI workloads on AWS cloud infrastructure and expand go-to-market reach through the AWS Marketplace. The companies also announced co-investment in customer success programs to support health system deployments.
Houston Methodist Launches AI Nutrition Screening That Monitors Every Inpatient Daily
Houston Methodist has deployed HealthLeap's AI-driven clinical screening platform to identify patients at risk of inadequate nutrition across its inpatient population. The system screens 100% of inpatients daily throughout the entire care journey, enabling continuous monitoring that supports earlier interventions and potentially shorter hospital stays. "By incorporating advanced screening tools into the clinical workflow, we can help care teams recognize risk earlier, intervene sooner, and support more timely recovery for patients," said Michelle Stansbury, Houston Methodist associate chief innovation officer and VP of IT applications. The deployment is designed to reduce complications, prevent avoidable care delays, and support shorter hospital stays, the company said.
Invoca Launches Nico AI Agent to Convert Patient Inquiries Into Appointments
AI platform Invoca has launched Nico, a healthcare patient engagement AI agent designed to convert patient inquiries into appointments across voice, web forms, and digital advertising channels. Cleveland-based University Hospitals was among the first to implement the tool, reporting that Nico recovered 25 appointments during its first night of operation. When a patient texted from inside the hospital requesting help, the agent — though it wasn't scripted for this scenario — correctly directed the patient to find a staff member. "It's an impressive use case," said Matt Eaves, University Hospitals VP of digital marketing. Nico is available via Invoca's AI Messaging Agent and in beta with its AI Voice Agent.
Assort Health Reaches Unicorn Status with $120M Series C for Agentic Patient Journey AI
Assort Health has raised $120 million in Series C funding led by Menlo Ventures, reaching a $1.2 billion valuation and entering unicorn status. The total brings the company's overall fundraising to more than $222 million. Co-founded and co-led by Jeffery Liu and Jon Wang, Assort offers AI agents for scheduling, intake, referrals, lab requests, and revenue cycle management, built on more than 190 million patient interactions. The company is expanding from its voice AI patient access platform into an "agentic operating system" for the full patient journey, anchored by a feature called Patient Journey Memory. John Muir Health is among the health systems partnering with Assort for ambulatory operations.
Trase Lands $107M Seed Round to Scale AI Agents Across Healthcare and High-Stakes Industries
Trase, a Virginia-based company building AI agents for high-stakes environments, has secured $107 million in seed funding led by ARCH Venture Partners, with Red Cell Partners also participating. Trase's flagship product, Trase Origin, is an agentic AI operating system for healthcare, government, and enterprise use, powering purpose-built agents for patient access, clinical research, care management, and revenue cycle workflows. "Agents are handling the onerous, immutable tasks that bog down highly trained individuals," said CEO Grant Verstandig, noting that Trase aims to make healthcare "cheaper, faster and better." Duke University's Heart Center has deployed Trase agents to automate high-volume fax triage workflows.
ANALYSIS
A Century of Radio History Ends as BBC Silences 198 kHz Long Wave
A century of radio history came to an end today as the BBC permanently silenced Radio 4 on 198 kHz longwave. The transmitter at Droitwich, UK — the last of its kind — has been decommissioned after manufacturers discontinued the high-power vacuum tubes that kept it running. The BBC first began longwave broadcasting in the mid-1920s, and the 198 kHz frequency became a beloved institution, serving mariners, night-shift workers, and shortwave enthusiasts. It was home to the Shipping Forecast and the original radio premiere of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The band (153–279 kHz) was also widely used as a precision frequency standard.
3D-Printed Case Squeezes Mini-ITX Hardware Into Steam Machine Footprint
Valve’s 2026 Steam Machine uses a custom non-standard PCB that can’t be swapped for off-the-shelf components — but maker [3DCatt] found a way around that limitation. Working in cooperation with AMD’s Jacob Terkelsen, 3DCatt designed a 3D-printed enclosure (Printables model #1493449) that matches the Steam Machine’s footprint while accommodating a standard Mini-ITX motherboard, SFF power supply, and even a full-size discrete GPU — including the RTX 5060. The biggest hurdle was cooling: Valve’s design shares a heatsink between CPU and GPU, so the DIY version required extra ventilation cutouts to keep temperatures in check.
Swift Comes to the Apple II via a Custom 6502 Bytecode VM
Software engineer Yeo Kheng Meng has achieved an improbable first: a working Swift development environment targeting the Apple II platform. Swift — Apple’s modern programming language introduced in 2014 as an Objective-C successor — now compiles to bytecode interpreted by a custom virtual machine running on the 6502 CPU. The Apple II, launched in 1977 with a 1 MHz processor and just 4 KB of RAM, requires at least 48 KB once upgraded. The implementation works on the original Apple II through the IIe. Yeo used Claude Code and GPT 5.5 Codex to help piece together the bytecode interpreter.
This Magic 8-Ball Draws Its Answers From Real Quantum Randomness
David Noel Ng has built what might be the world’s most philosophically defensible magic 8-ball: one powered by genuine quantum randomness. The device attenuates light down to roughly one photon at a time, then passes each photon through a beam splitter. A photon that passes through reaches photomultiplier A; one that bounces reaches photomultiplier B — a binary outcome governed by quantum mechanics rather than classical statistics. The output was validated with the NIST Statistical Test Suite across 1.6 billion bits, passing all tests. The device also exposes a live public API at quantumlever.stream/api/magic-8-ball, so you can query the quantum oracle from anywhere.
Science Settles It: Metal-Roofed Birdhouses Are Not Ovens
Do metal-roofed birdhouses turn into ovens for their occupants? Builder [Of Human and Nature] — part of a 500-birdhouse marathon — decided to find out empirically. Using thermocouples and a calibrated heat lamp, the setup held the metal roof at a sustained 70°C for four hours. The interior temperature, however, barely budged — staying comfortably in the mid-20°C range throughout. The key factor is the air gap between the metal roof and the wooden box, which allows convective airflow to carry heat away before it reaches the interior. Conclusion: metal roofs pose no thermal threat to cavity-nesting birds.
Discounted Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Surfaces at 1.25 GHz Clock Speed
A lower-binned variant of the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B is now appearing online at a discounted price — sold as a 1.25 GHz unit, compared to the 1.5 to 1.8 GHz range of standard Pi 4 boards. The chip binning practice — common in the semiconductor industry — refers to sorting processors by their verified maximum stable clock speed before sale. Units that don’t quite reach the standard threshold get sold at a lower frequency and a reduced price. For makers running less demanding workloads, this offers a budget-friendly entry to the Pi 4 ecosystem without sacrificing compatibility.
Makerfabs MaTouch ESP32-P4: 10.1-Inch HMI with 4G LTE, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi 6
Makerfabs has launched the MaTouch ESP32-P4, a 10.1-inch HMI display board packing serious connectivity into a maker-friendly package. The board pairs an ESP32-P4 dual-core RISC-V processor (400 MHz) with an ESP32-C6 for wireless, delivering Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, and 802.15.4 alongside a SIMCom SIM7670G 4G LTE Cat 1 module and 10/100 Mbps Ethernet. The 1280×800 IPS display is joined by a 2MP MIPI camera, 32 MB PSRAM, 16 MB flash, and six USB-C ports. Compatible with ESP-IDF, Arduino, PlatformIO, and LVGL, it targets industrial HMI and IoT applications. Available for $79.80 at the Makerfabs store.
HIRING
GMAC Survey: One in Three Employers Are Replacing Entry-Level Tech Roles With AI
The GMAC Corporate Recruiters Survey, based on responses from approximately 600 hiring professionals, finds that one in three employers now admit to replacing entry-level roles with artificial intelligence, with technology and manufacturing sectors identified as most at risk. Forty percent of tech employers reported that AI is actively displacing junior positions. The survey also finds a parallel compensation decline: median starting salaries for MBA graduates dropped to $120,000 in 2026, down from $125,000 in 2025. The results, published by Fortune on June 26, indicate that Gen Z graduates are facing what the outlet describes as a genuine hiring crisis.
Two Former Governors Launch RAISE US Coalition With $500M to Address AI Workforce Shock
Two former governors—Gina Raimondo, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and Eric Holcomb, former governor of Indiana—launched RAISE US on June 26, a bipartisan nonprofit coalition aimed at preparing American workers for AI-driven job displacement. The initiative has secured more than $500 million toward a $1 billion fundraising target. Anchor corporate partners include Amazon, Microsoft, Anthropic, the OpenAI Foundation, and Bank of America. RAISE US will initially direct workforce retraining programs toward four states: Arkansas, Connecticut, Maryland, and Utah. Fortune reported the launch as a bipartisan effort to confront what the organizers call the coming AI jobs shock.
AI Coding Agents Are Fueling Burnout Among Silicon Valley’s Tech Workers, Bloomberg Reports
A Bloomberg investigation published June 26 profiles Silicon Valley tech workers struggling to disconnect as AI coding agents create an always-on work culture. The report centers on Matt Van Horn, a serial entrepreneur and father of four, who keeps more than a half-dozen Anthropic Claude Code agents running at all times. The agents prompt Van Horn for direction every ten minutes or so—while he’s at his children’s soccer practice, during school drop-off, and on family vacations. When he goes to sleep, one agent steps in to babysit the others. Bloomberg reports that AI-driven burnout of this kind is spreading across Silicon Valley’s tech workforce.
TrueUp Tracker: 421 Tech Layoffs in 2026 Have Eliminated Nearly 158,000 Jobs
The TrueUp Tech Layoffs Tracker, updated June 26, shows that 421 layoff events at technology companies in 2026 have affected 157,807 workers—a rate of approximately 892 people per day. The most recent entry on the tracker is CompanyCam, a photo and communication app for contractors, which conducted layoffs on June 26. Other recent additions include Oracle Romania, which cut 500 employees on June 25, and Culture Amp, which eliminated 70 positions—9 percent of its workforce—the same day. The tracker currently lists 262,386 open tech jobs across startups and large technology companies.
PHILANTHROPY
Are Wealthy Donors Giving Big Again? Yes. But It's Complicated
Seven wealthy philanthropists each made gifts of $100 million or more to nonprofits in May 2026—the first time this year so many nine-figure donations were announced in a single month. But advisers who work with major donors tell the Chronicle of Philanthropy that political and economic uncertainty continues to complicate wealthy donors’ giving decisions. Some donors are pivoting away from programs that explicitly name racial equity, choosing instead to support organizations serving low-income communities broadly, to avoid drawing federal attention. Others have abandoned multi-year plans for new programming, redirecting gifts to keeping nonprofits afloat amid federal funding cuts. Advisers say fundraisers should focus right now on their longest-tenured supporters, make honest asks to accelerate existing pledges, and invest in sincere stewardship before requesting new gifts. The pipeline of major giving is re-emerging, but requires patience and a relationship-first strategy.
OpenAI Foundation Opens $50 Million Grant Fund for Nonprofits Adopting Artificial Intelligence
The OpenAI Foundation announced on June 24 the launch of the 2026 People-First AI Fund, a $50 million grant program open to U.S.-based nonprofits seeking to responsibly explore and implement artificial intelligence in their work. Grants are unrestricted and sized at up to 10 percent of an applicant’s annual operating budget, with eligibility limited to 501(c)(3) public charities with budgets under $15 million. The fund targets organizations using AI to expand access to information, strengthen community services, preserve cultural expression, and support local journalism. Community foundations and regranting intermediaries are eligible for the first time in 2026. Applications are open through July 15, with award notifications expected in October. The foundation—a separate entity from OpenAI’s commercial operations—is also finalizing more than $130 million in additional grants focused on biosecurity, cybersecurity, model safety, and the effects of AI on children.
Can a $350 Million Gift Change AI's Trajectory?
In 2018, billionaire Stephen Schwarzman gave the Massachusetts Institute of Technology $350 million to reshape how universities train the next generation of AI leaders. Eight years on, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that MIT’s Schwarzman College of Computing has hired nearly 50 faculty across 19 departments, creating unprecedented collaboration between computing, the humanities, and social sciences. An initiative called SERC—Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing—has reached more than 300 students across 25 departments, with over 1,000 MIT students annually taking ethics-integrated courses. The article asks whether philanthropy can counterbalance the commercial AI industry’s competitive instincts. Experts say independent university research is essential when political gridlock makes federal AI ethics funding unlikely. The Schwarzman gift represents a long-term bet that educating more thoughtful technologists today can shift corporate decision-making a generation from now.
Nonprofit Quarterly Analysis Calls Sector’s Reliance on Heroic Executive Leadership a Justice Issue
An analysis published June 26 in Nonprofit Quarterly challenges the sector’s longstanding assumption that strong individual executive leadership is the foundation of organizational health, arguing that the “myth of heroic leadership” is a structural failure with equity consequences. The piece contends that overreliance on executive directors concentrates power in ways that mask institutional weakness, reduce organizational resilience, and reproduce inequity by making an organization’s fate dependent on the endurance and judgment of a single person. When that person leaves, burns out, or errs, the piece argues, organizations built around heroic leadership have no system to absorb the loss. The authors call for distributed governance, genuine staff capacity, and shared decision-making as the true sources of organizational resilience. The critique arrives as the nonprofit sector faces compounding pressures from federal funding cuts, rising service demand, and record rates of executive burnout.
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