2014 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix (13712612095) — Habeed Hameed, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
CHAMPIONSHIP
Perez reveals Horner told him Red Bull ‘would be happy’ racing just one car for Verstappen
Sergio Perez has revealed that former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told him bluntly on their very first meeting that the team was built entirely around Max Verstappen. Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Perez, now at Cadillac, recalled Horner’s exact words: ‘We go racing with two cars because we have to, otherwise we would be super happy just to race with one car. Everything it’s for Max, around Max.’ Perez said senior engineering resources consistently went to the Verstappen side of the garage. His final six months at Red Bull were ‘very tough’ and ‘toxic,’ prompting a year-long sabbatical before his 2026 return.
TECHNICAL
McLaren’s MCL40 is three months behind Mercedes in 2026 car development
McLaren has gone from the benchmark car of 2025 to running approximately three months behind Mercedes in 2026 development, according to team principal Andrea Stella. The team adopted certain conceptual directions that required redirection — a process Stella said takes one to two months to converge. Every team operates under the same $215 million cost cap, so McLaren must out-develop its rivals rather than simply match them to close the gap. Each major upgrade package is worth around three tenths of a second. First results from the redirected approach are expected at the Hungarian Grand Prix, with more transformative upgrades planned after the summer break.
TECHNICALREGULATION
Hamilton says computers have taken over F1 and software problems cost him three tenths in qualifying
Lewis Hamilton has expressed frustration with the growing role of software in Formula 1, telling astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson on the StarTalk podcast that computers have effectively taken over the sport. The seven-time champion, third in the standings with 147 points, said the 2026 MGU-H removal paradoxically punishes fast cornering, since high-speed sections generate less battery charge. Hamilton also revealed a qualifying session where faulty software cost him three tenths before engineers identified the cause. ‘I was like, I’m sorry, I’m slow — and they were like, you’re not slow, the software wasn’t working,’ he said. He called the situation ‘really annoying.’
CHAMPIONSHIP
Hamilton admits Ferrari had ‘distrust’ in him during a difficult 2025 — and how that changed
Lewis Hamilton has opened up about the ‘distrust’ he felt from Ferrari during a difficult 2025 season, revealing the dynamic has fundamentally shifted in 2026. Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport, Hamilton said poor results last year meant the team stopped acting on his technical feedback: ‘People tend to listen to you less then. They said: Why should we listen to you when you’re getting these results?’ In 2026, with Hamilton third in the championship and just 32 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli, the relationship has reversed. ‘The trust is there now. Things I ask for are implemented. The cooperation is finally working. That’s the most important thing.’
CHAMPIONSHIP
Massa’s Crashgate damages case against FOM, FIA and Ecclestone heads to UK Supreme Court
Felipe Massa’s long-running legal battle over the 2008 Crashgate scandal has reached the UK Supreme Court, which agreed to hear an appeal directly from the High Court, bypassing the Court of Appeal. Massa is seeking up to £64 million in damages from Formula One Management, the FIA, and Bernie Ecclestone, alleging the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix — where Renault’s Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately crashed on team orders, triggering a safety car that benefited Fernando Alonso — cost him the drivers’ championship. FOM, the FIA, and Ecclestone are appealing the High Court ruling that allowed Massa’s damages claim to proceed to full trial.
TECHNICALREGULATION
Alonso warns Spa will expose F1’s energy crisis: cars have less power than F2 when deployment runs out
Fernando Alonso has warned that the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps will sharply expose one of 2026’s most pressing technical challenges. Teams will exhaust their battery deployment before completing Sector 1, leaving cars running on combustion power alone for much of the lap. Alonso explained that deploying from La Source to Les Combes leaves nothing for Sector 2. ‘With no deployment at all, we cannot forget that this year we have significantly less power than last year and less power than F2,’ he said. Alonso holds just one championship point in nine races this season. Ferrari is reportedly bringing an exhaust upgrade to Belgium worth seven additional horsepower.
TECHNICAL
Aston Martin insider praises Newey’s leadership amid ‘painful’ 2026 season: ‘We have stayed united’
Aston Martin ambassador Pedro de la Rosa has praised Adrian Newey’s transparent leadership as the factor keeping the team cohesive through a difficult 2026 campaign. Speaking to PlanetF1, de la Rosa said the squad recognised early they were far off the pace, and made a deliberate decision not to bring interim upgrades while Newey’s design group works toward a more substantial package. ‘Going through a period of not introducing upgrades in the car is painful, but we have really stayed together and united,’ he said. Newey, serving as both team principal and managing technical partner since November 2025, keeps drivers Alonso and Lance Stroll fully briefed on the development plan.
GRID NEWS
Aston Martin confirms Jak Crawford will replace Alonso in FP1 at the Belgian Grand Prix
Aston Martin has confirmed that American driver Jak Crawford will replace Fernando Alonso for the first free practice session at next weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. Crawford, currently competing in Formula 2, is one of several young drivers given mandatory FP1 outings under regulations requiring each constructor to field a rookie in at least two free practice sessions per season. Alonso, who has scored just one championship point across nine races with Aston Martin in 2026, will return to the car from FP2 onwards. Aston Martin’s Honda power unit has caused reliability and performance difficulties throughout the season for both Alonso and Lance Stroll.
Drivers' Championship
- 1. Kimi Antonelli — 179 pts
- 2. George Russell — 154 pts
- 3. Lewis Hamilton — 147 pts
- 4. Charles Leclerc — 108 pts
- 5. Lando Norris — 97 pts
- 6. Oscar Piastri — 82 pts
Constructors' Championship
- 1. Mercedes — 333 pts
- 2. Ferrari — 255 pts
- 3. McLaren Mastercard — 179 pts
- 4. Red Bull Racing — 128 pts
- 5. Alpine — 60 pts
- 6. Racing Bulls — 59 pts
Jeremy's 2013 National League Championship Ring — JABsMusic, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
RECAP
Jordan Walker Wins 2026 Home Run Derby in Dramatic Comeback
Jordan Walker delivered one of the most dramatic finishes in Home Run Derby history Monday night at Citizens Bank Park. The St. Louis Cardinals outfielder trailed Kyle Schwarber in the final round before reeling off six consecutive home runs to win 12–11, silencing the Philadelphia crowd that had been rooting for their own. Walker, 24 and a first-time All-Star, hit 31 home runs total across the night to become the first Cardinal to win the Derby. On the season, Walker is batting .294 with 21 home runs and 70 RBI through 89 games, emerging as one of baseball’s brightest young stars.
ANALYSIS
2026 MLB All-Star Game Comes to Philadelphia Tonight
The 2026 MLB All-Star Game is set for tonight at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, with first pitch scheduled for 8 PM ET on FOX. Cristopher Sánchez of the host Phillies will start for the National League — the first Phillies pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Roy Halladay in 2011 — while Dylan Cease of the Toronto Blue Jays gets the nod for the American League. The Phillies lead all teams with six All-Star selections. Shohei Ohtani, who was selected to represent the NL, will miss the game with left knee irritation, with Kyle Schwarber stepping in as DH after his Home Run Derby run.
RECAP
AL Defeats NL 6–1 in Futures Game; Flewelling Named MVP
The American League dominated the 2026 MLB Futures Game at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday, defeating the National League 6–1 behind a standout performance from Tampa Bay Rays catching prospect Nathan Flewelling. Flewelling hit a 365-foot two-run home run in the sixth inning and was named the game’s MVP. The AL’s deep pitching staff shut down the NL’s offense after Franklin Arias drove in the first run of the game. Leo De Vries, the No. 2 overall prospect, added two stolen bases for the AL side. It was the American League’s first Futures Game victory since 2022.
INJURY
Shohei Ohtani Sits Out All-Star Game with Knee Irritation
Shohei Ohtani will miss tonight’s All-Star Game after the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar disclosed left knee irritation significant enough to require draining before the break. Ohtani, who had a previous pitching outing cut short on June 11 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, said the issue has been present for at least a month and only affects him when pitching, not hitting. He underwent a bipartite patella procedure in 2019. Despite the scare, Ohtani is expected to return to action for the second half of the season, with the Dodgers hosting the New York Yankees on July 18.
ANALYSIS
Phillies Make History with Six All-Stars; Sánchez to Open Midsummer Classic
The Philadelphia Phillies are making the most of their home-field advantage at this year’s Midsummer Classic. The Phillies lead all teams with six All-Star representatives, and left-hander Cristopher Sánchez will start the game for the National League — the first Phillies pitcher to receive that honor since Roy Halladay in 2011. Sánchez has been outstanding in 2026, posting a 2.62 ERA, striking out 144, and leading NL pitchers in WAR across 127.1 innings. Bryce Harper, a nine-time All-Star, rounds out the Phillies contingent as a Legend Pick, while Kyle Schwarber — fresh off his Home Run Derby finalist run — starts at DH for the NL.
INJURY
Blake Snell on Track to Return After Elbow Procedure
Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell is closing in on a return to the mound after throwing live batting practice for the first time since undergoing a NanoNeedle Scope procedure on his left elbow in mid-May to remove loose bodies. Snell said he feels like he is in the best shape he has been in two years, and the Dodgers plan to send him on a rehab assignment after the All-Star break. He is expected to need four to five rehab starts before rejoining the rotation, putting his return to the Dodgers lineup on a likely early-August timeline.
TRADE
Skubal Wants to Stay in Detroit, But Trade Deadline Looms
Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal has reportedly told friends he wants to remain in Detroit long-term, but that desire may not stop a trade before the August 3 deadline. The Tigers have been baseball’s hottest team since June 1, going 19–12 over that stretch, and sit just four games out of an AL Wild Card spot — making a deadline deal far from certain. Still, expected return for Skubal would include a top-100 prospect plus additional pieces. The Dodgers, Yankees, Cubs, Brewers, and Braves are among the teams that have made offers, per ESPN’s reporting.
INJURY
Ronald Acuña Jr. Begins Rehab Assignment During All-Star Break
Atlanta Braves star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. took a significant step toward returning to the lineup on Sunday, beginning a rehab assignment with the FCL Braves during the All-Star break. Acuña has been sidelined since June 9 after aggravating a left hamstring injury against the Chicago White Sox, a setback that came during his comeback from a torn ACL suffered in 2024. Fellow Brave Ha-Seong Kim also began a rehab assignment. The Braves resume play on July 17 when they host the Texas Rangers, and Acuña’s potential return within seven to ten days would provide a significant boost to Atlanta’s division title chase.
TRANSACTIONS
White Sox Take Roch Cholowsky No. 1 in 2026 MLB Draft
The Chicago White Sox kicked off the 2026 MLB Draft by selecting UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky with the first overall pick on Saturday. The Tampa Bay Rays followed at No. 2 with Texas prep outfielder Grady Emerson, while the Minnesota Twins took Georgia Tech right-hander Vahn Lackey at No. 3. The San Francisco Giants selected pitcher Jackson Flora at No. 4, and the Pittsburgh Pirates rounded out the top five with outfielder Derek Curiel. The draft, which ran through four rounds during All-Star Week in Philadelphia, gives rebuilding clubs like the White Sox premium talent to build around heading into the next decade.
AI-en-wikipedia-source — Trebol6, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
AIINDUSTRY
Nadella Warns Enterprises They Are Paying Twice for AI — and Giving Away Their Most Valuable Asset
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warned enterprises Sunday that using proprietary AI models means paying twice — in money and in surrendered business intelligence. In a blog post, Nadella argued that AI models “learn from exhaust” — the prompts, tool calls, and error corrections enterprises make — creating institutional knowledge “a competitor could never buy.” He called it hypocritical for AI labs to train freely on public data while restricting customers from distilling those same models. His prescription: open-source models on enterprise-owned infrastructure with “orchestration layers” to switch providers freely. Open models now account for 29% of traffic through Vercel's AI gateway.
REGULATIONSECURITY
Apple’s OpenAI Lawsuit Alleges Coached Employee Espionage, Show-and-Tell Parts Smuggling, and 400-Plus Defectors
Apple's trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI, filed July 10, contains extraordinary allegations that misconduct was institutionalized from the top. According to the 41-page complaint, OpenAI coached departing Apple engineers on how to avoid the “dreaded walkout” security procedure, giving them extra time to access confidential files. Job candidates were allegedly directed by OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer — a 24-year Apple veteran — to bring actual parts, prototypes, and CAD files to “show and tell” interviews. One engineer allegedly texted from a former colleague's Apple laptop: “LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage], so funny.” Apple says over 400 former employees now work at OpenAI.
AIINDUSTRY
PixVerse Raises $439M in Series C Extension, Valuation Crosses $2B as Video AI Market Consolidates
Singapore-based video generation startup PixVerse closed a $439 million Series C extension on Monday, pushing its valuation past $2 billion. Investors include Alibaba, Mirae Asset, and BlueFocus. The company has 150 million registered users and 15 million monthly active users across its V-Series consumer model, C-Series for professional film workflows, and R-Series world models targeting game development. Image-to-video generation is priced at $4.80 per minute. CEO Jaden Xie said the field is narrowing: “OpenAI exited the business when they shut down Sora 2. Other companies like Meta and Tencent are not able to create high-quality video models.” The company has 150 employees across Singapore, Beijing, and Shanghai.
AIHARDWARE
Altman vs. Musk: Space Data Centers Are Not a Near-Term AI Business, Experts and Now OpenAI’s CEO Agree
Sam Altman and Elon Musk traded barbs on social media Sunday over space-based AI compute. Responding to Musk calling him a scammer, Altman wrote that Musk is “the one sellling public market investors on short-term space datacenters.” The exchange highlights growing scrutiny of SpaceX's orbital data center ambitions, which experts say are a primary driver of its two-trillion-dollar post-IPO valuation. Experts — from Google's orbital compute team to space data center entrepreneurs — consistently find the same verdict: economical space data centers require much cheaper rockets and high-powered satellites produced at scale, likely pushing viability to the 2030s. SpaceX's Starship faces its 13th test flight as early as July 16.
AISOFTWARE
Nous Research Targets $1.5B Valuation With $75M+ Round for Open-Source Hermes Agent
Nous Research, maker of the open-source Hermes AI agent, is finalizing a new funding round at a $1.5 billion valuation, TechCrunch reported. The raise — at least $75 million, led by Robot Ventures with significant participation from Union Square Ventures — would push the 2023 startup toward unicorn status. Hermes, which competes with OpenClaw's agent, has accumulated 214,000 GitHub stars and 40,000 forks. Unlike earlier agents, Hermes ships with built-in skills for web search, coding, and image understanding, and automatically learns new skills from user behavior without manual intervention. Users can interact with it via Telegram and Discord. A cloud-hosted tier is available for $20 to $200 per month.
AIINDUSTRY
Anthropic Launches Rupee Pricing for Claude in India, Its Biggest Market Outside the U.S.
Anthropic has begun rolling out Indian rupee pricing for Claude in India, its second-largest market globally, where it accounts for 5.8% of all Claude usage. Claude Pro is now listed at ₹2,000 per month when billed annually — roughly $21, compared with $17 in the U.S. — with local taxes included. Claude Max starts at ₹11,999 per month (~$125) versus $100 in the U.S. The move comes after Anthropic opened a Bengaluru office in February and struck enterprise partnerships with Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services. UPI support — the payment method used by most Indian consumers — has not yet launched, unlike competitor ChatGPT, which added UPI support in August.
ROBOTICSINDUSTRY
Uber Is Building the Data Layer for Autonomous Vehicles — Not Competing to Build the Cars
Uber Chief Product Officer Sachin Kansal told TechCrunch the company is explicitly not pursuing Level 4 autonomy, positioning itself instead as the “race track” for multiple AV partners. Uber's new AV Labs business unit — six months old — is deploying hundreds of sensor-equipped vehicles in Austin and Atlanta to collect millions of miles of driving data, particularly edge-case scenarios autonomous vehicle partners struggle to obtain. The company separately sells driver audio-labeling work to generative AI companies commercially. Waymo operations in Phoenix were wound down by mutual agreement, with Kansal citing Uber's “hybrid network” model of human drivers and robotaxis sharing the same markets. Uber One has 51 million members.
Andrew Yang Speech in Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs Festival 2019- Produced by DingDingTV — Diana Ding, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
TALENT
Anthropic Recruits Monzo Co-Founder Tom Blomfield for AI Compute Team
Anthropic has hired Tom Blomfield, co-founder and former CEO of digital bank Monzo, as a member of technical staff on its compute team. Blomfield announced on July 13 that he is taking a leave of absence from Y Combinator, where he has been a group partner since 2021. He will work alongside Anthropic co-founder and chief compute officer Tom Brown. Blomfield co-founded GoCardless in 2011 and Monzo in 2015. The hire continues Anthropic’s 2026 recruiting push, which has also added former OpenAI researcher Andrej Karpathy, Nobel Prize-winning DeepMind researcher John Jumper, and former Microsoft Azure executive Eric Boyd to the company.
HIRING
Apple Sues OpenAI Over Alleged Poaching of 400 Employees and Trade Secret Theft
Apple filed a federal lawsuit in Northern California on July 10 against OpenAI, alleging systematic trade-secret theft through the recruiting of former employees. The complaint names Chang Liu, a former senior systems electrical engineer who left Apple in January 2026, and Tang Yew Tan, a 24-year Apple veteran who now serves as OpenAI’s chief hardware officer. Apple alleges OpenAI coached recruits on evading security protocols and directed candidates to bring Apple hardware samples to “show and tell” sessions. More than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI. OpenAI denied the allegations, stating it has no interest in other companies’ trade secrets.
EXECUTIVE
OpenAI’s No. 2 Executive and Epic President Step Down in Back-to-Back Departures
Two closely watched executive departures unfolded within days of each other in early July 2026. Fidji Simo, CEO of AGI Deployment at OpenAI and the company’s No. 2 executive, shifted to a part-time advisory role on July 9 after a three-month medical leave for a chronic illness. Sumit Rana, president of Epic and one of its longest-tenured leaders, announced he will step down on August 14 after more than two decades at the company, joining in 1998 as a software developer and rising to president in 2024. Rana said the departure will allow him to support his mother in India and be more present for his family.
HR TECH
Workers Spend Nearly a Full Day per Week Babysitting AI Outputs, Glean Report Finds
Digital workers now spend an average of 6.4 hours per week on “botsitting” — verifying AI outputs, debugging mistakes, rerunning prompts, and cleaning up incorrect answers — nearly a full working day, according to Glean’s Work AI Index, covered by HR Dive on July 13. The report, which surveyed 6,000 full-time digital workers across the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, also found that nearly 7 in 10 AI users admitted to “botshitting”: submitting AI-generated work they had not reviewed, did not fully understand, or could not defend. Heavy AI users were 73% more likely than their peers to be actively hunting for a new job.
HR TECH
Workday and Former Software Engineer Dismiss Retaliation and Discrimination Lawsuit
A federal district court has approved a joint dismissal motion in Mohan v. Workday, a lawsuit in which a former female software engineer alleged gender discrimination and retaliation by the HR software company. The plaintiff claimed her manager passed her over for promotion in favor of less experienced and less qualified White male candidates, and that when she raised concerns he threatened a negative performance review. Workday HR staff twice reprimanded her for leaving negative feedback about her manager weeks before her termination, the complaint alleged. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Workday did not respond to a request for comment.
PXL 20231118 150122002 — Voluntour, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
POLICY
Trump’s Proposed Grant Rules Spark Outcry From Nonprofit Sector, Draw 100,000 Comments
The Office of Management and Budget has proposed rules that would overhaul how more than 100,000 nonprofits receive federal grants. The changes would prohibit awards to groups that support DEI programs, undocumented immigrants, or people who are transgender, and would install a political appointee at each agency to ensure grants advance the president’s priorities. Agencies would be free to terminate grants for any reason. The public comment period, ending July 13, drew more than 100,000 responses. Critics warned the rules would make it easy for political appointees to blacklist disfavored grantees, while sector advocates said essential services including early childhood education and health care could be jeopardized.
REGULATION
Florida’s Sweeping New Nonprofit Governance Law Takes Effect, Prompting Bylaw Reviews
A comprehensive modernization of Florida’s nonprofit law took effect July 1, prompting legal experts to urge all organizations incorporated under the Florida Nonprofit Act to conduct governance reviews. The legislation, enacted as HB 797, materially affects nonprofit governance, member rights and procedures, officer standards of conduct, and the statutory framework governing mergers, restructurings, and other fundamental transactions. The updates apply not only to charitable nonprofits, but also to trade associations, professional organizations, and community associations. Florida nonprofits should anticipate the need to review and potentially revise their articles of incorporation, bylaws, governance policies, member procedures, and transaction documentation to ensure alignment with revised statutory defaults, according to attorneys at Polsinelli.
FUNDRAISING
U.S. Fundraising Salaries Rose 0.9 Percent in 2025 as Rising Benefit Costs Emerge as New Challenge
Fundraising salaries in the United States rose 0.9 percent in 2025 to an average of $97,280, while Canadian compensation increased 6.2 percent to $104,442, according to the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy’s 2026 Compensation and Benefits Study. Based on responses from nearly 2,700 AFP members, the report found 43 percent of U.S. and 28 percent of Canadian respondents reported increases in health insurance premiums. Women in the U.S. reported an average salary of $93,753 compared with $118,038 for men. Only 18 percent of respondents said they were actively seeking employment elsewhere, suggesting mission alignment and workplace culture remain strong retention factors alongside compensation.
PHILANTHROPY
Strategic Philanthropy Urged to Invest in HBCUs to Close Sarcoidosis Research Gap for Black Americans
A strategic philanthropy analysis argues that investing in historically Black colleges and universities could jumpstart sarcoidosis research. Sarcoidosis is a rare but serious inflammatory disease affecting approximately 150,000 to 200,000 people in the United States, disproportionately impacting Black Americans. Despite this disparity, Black people make up as little as 5 percent of clinical trial participants across interstitial lung diseases. HBCUs, representing just 2.3 percent of U.S. medical schools, have produced nearly 10 percent of all Black physicians. The Milken Institute and the Ann Theodore Foundation have directed over half a million dollars toward a clinical study on a promising therapeutic, offering a model for targeted philanthropic investment in underserved communities.
ANALYSIS
Choreographer Argues Reparations Movements Need Cultural Investment, Not Just Policy, to Reach the Public
A choreographer argues that reparations movements have a narrative problem: policy alone cannot create the emotional conditions required for the public to receive repair. Writing in NPQ, Christopher Rudd says his work WITNESS, previewed at New York’s Apollo Theater, moves audiences through scenes of American slavery, criminal justice, and collective healing, creating spaces for what he calls “collective witnessing.” Philanthropy has spent decades funding policy conversations and “dramatically underfunding the cultural conditions” required for the public to engage emotionally with them, Rudd argues. His company, RudduR Dance, is expanding WITNESS into a civic convening in Harlem this fall pairing performance with structured public dialogue.
ANALYSIS
Boston Reparations Commissioner: Gen Z and Millennials Are Positioned to Lead Structural Repair of Racial Inequity
The co-director of the Repair America Collective argues that Gen Z and millennials are uniquely positioned to demand structural repair. “We did not design the racial and economic fault lines that run beneath this country,” writes Harison Mitchell Clark, a commissioner on the Boston People’s Reparations Commission. “But we have arrived at the crossroads, and the burden of repair … has been placed at our feet.” Clark argues his generation has the tools to reckon with history, the will to name harm, and increasingly the coalitions to hold power accountable. Liberation Ventures offers a framework he finds clarifying: reckoning, acknowledgment, accountability, and redress.
FUNDRAISING
Fundraising Consultant Rhea Wong: Summer Is the Sector’s Biggest Strategic Advantage, Not a Slow Season
Summer may appear slow for nonprofits, but fundraising expert Rhea Wong argues the quiet months are the sector’s biggest strategic advantage. “Donors don’t disappear in the summer. Fundraisers do,” Wong writes in NPQ’s Ask Rhea column. Major gifts that close in December are built in July, she notes: fundraisers who wait until October to cultivate are begging on a deadline. Wong recommends three summer strategies—a portfolio review to cut stalled relationships, booking fall donor meetings before September, and stewardship with no-strings-attached gratitude. She encourages fundraisers to take vacations but to distinguish rest from disappearance, blocking mornings for calls while leaving afternoons free.
IMPACT
Vietnamese American Artist Pursues Permanent Boston Memorial Marking 50 Years of Refugee Diaspora
A Vietnamese American artist and cultural organizer argues that Vietnamese refugee histories remain much harder to encounter in public memory, particularly in Northeastern states, and that public art matters because “it gives displaced communities a visible place to remember.” Ngoc-Tran Vu, lead artist of “1975: A Vietnamese Diaspora Memorial” in Boston’s Little Saigon Cultural District, describes the project as a grassroots effort to mark 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War and the beginning of mass Vietnamese displacement and diaspora life. A temporary installation in Dorchester’s Town Field Park in 2025 drew significant community engagement; Vu is now seeking a permanent site, public land access, and financial support.
1 – Tokyo Shaking – Filmmaking (2020) — Roussels, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
BOX OFFICE
Disney’s Live-Action Moana Opens to Disappointing $43M, Could Lose Up to $125M on $250M Budget
Disney’s live-action“Moana”opened to a disappointing$43 millionin North America this weekend from 3,827 theaters, far below the studio’s projected $60–65 million domestic debut. The remake carries a$250 million production budget, and with a global launch of$95 million, analysts estimate the title could lose between $100 million and $125 million in its first cycle. Disney’s own internal competition—including the still-performing “Toy Story 5”—and the film’s proximity to the animated sequel “Moana 2,” released less than two years prior, are cited as key factors in the underperformance. The release underscores thestrategic risks in Disney’s live-action remake pipeline.
BOX OFFICE
“Michael” Crosses $1 Billion Worldwide, Becomes Lionsgate’s First $1B Film and the Highest-Grossing Biopic Ever Made
“Michael,”Lionsgate’s Jackson biopic directed by Antoine Fuqua and starringJaafar Jacksonas his real-life uncle, has crossed $1 billion worldwide after 12 weekends in release—the studio’s first film ever to reach that milestone. The tally stands at$1.001 billionglobally, with $371.8 million domestic and $629.8 million international. The achievement surpasses both “Bohemian Rhapsody” ($911 million) and “Oppenheimer” ($975 million) to make “Michael” the highest-grossing biographical film ever made. Lionsgate’s$60 million marketing campaignleaned on nostalgia and fan community outreach, including claiming the @michaelmovie social account before releasing a single piece of creative, accumulating 20,000 followers organically.
STREAMING
A24’s Record-Breaking “Backrooms” Arrives on Digital Today, 46 Days After Its $81M Theatrical Opening
“Backrooms,”theA24horror film fromKane Parsons—the 20-year-old director who adapted his own YouTube series—arrives on digital sales and rental platforms onJuly 14, marking a 46-day theatrical-to-digital window. The film generated $192.3 million domestic and over $361 million globally, becoming A24’s highest-grossing title ever with an $81.4 million domestic opening. Before its digital bow, A24 released an extended “Everything Must Go Edition” with 16 minutes of additional footage last weekend. The digital release arrives as Backrooms continues to play on 1,262 domestic screens, earning$1.49 millionin its most recent weekend.
TRAILER
Warner Bros. Drops First “Digger” Trailer as Tom Cruise Stars in Iñárritu’s $125M Absurdist Disaster Comedy
Warner Bros.released the first full trailer for“Digger,”director Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s absurdist political comedy starringTom Cruiseas Digger Rockwell, a billionaire whose company may have triggered a nuclear-scale ecological disaster. The film, described as “a comedy of catastrophic proportions,” marks Iñárritu’s first English-language feature since 2015’s “The Revenant” and carries a$125 million production budget. Shot over six months in the U.K. with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki using VistaVision, the title opens October 2. The ensemble cast includes Sandra Hüller, Jesse Plemons, Riz Ahmed, Sophie Wilde, and Emma D’Arcy.
TRAILER
Peacock Releases First “Crystal Lake” Trailer, Sets October 15 Premiere for the Friday the 13th Prequel Series
Peacockreleased the first full trailer for“Crystal Lake,”the prequel series to theFriday the 13thfranchise, alongside first-look photos and a confirmed premiere date ofOctober 15. The series stars Linda Cardellini as Pamela Voorhees, a grieving single mother whose young son Jason drowned in the lake the prior year. The show follows Pamela before the events of the original 1980 slasher film, with a storyline centered on her inability to escape her grief. Sky has acquired international rights for the series across its territories. The trailer opens with a creepy children’s chorus chanting before introducing Cardellini in the central role.
BOX OFFICE
Stephen Chow’s “Kung Fu Soccer” Opens to $73.6M in China in Two Days, Maoyan Projects $369M Total
Stephen Chow’s“Kung Fu Soccer,”a spin-off of 2001’s “Shaolin Soccer,” scored a$73.6 million(RMB 500.3 million) two-day opening at the China box office on July 11–12, marking Chow’s first directorial effort in seven years. The film follows an all-female soccer squad who incorporate martial arts techniques during a major tournament and has earned a 9.4 rating on the Maoyan ticketing platform, which is projecting a$369 million(RMB 2.5 billion) final gross. The two-day tally accounted for nearly three-quarters of all ticket sales in China that weekend, nine times the take of its nearest competitor. Encore Films holds international rights outside China.
STREAMING
Paramount+ Sets “Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender” for July 25 Streaming Debut After April Leak Hastened Release
Paramount+will debut“Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender”globally onJuly 25, confirmed alongside the release of a first trailer and first-look images. The animated film was originally slated for a theatrical release onOctober 9before Paramount shifted it to streaming in December 2025; the studio later investigated when the entire film leaked online in April 2026. The film stars Eric Nam as Aang, with Dave Bautista, Steven Yeun, Jessica Matten, and Dionne Quan in supporting roles. An appearance at San Diego Comic-Con is planned ahead of the July 25 launch.