Variety

Netflix Inks Exclusive Deal for Video Episodes of Vox Media Podcasts ‘Unexplainable,’ ‘Switched on Pop’

Netflix is still signing checks to fill out its growing podcast lineup. The streamer’s latest pact is with the Vox Media Podcast Network, now owned by James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems, for exclusive rights to video versions of podcasts “Unexplainable” and “Switched on Pop.” Under the deal, video episodes of Vox’s “Unexplainable” and Vulture’s “Switched on […]

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Variety

AI Platform Character.ai Introduces Suite of Microseries Focused on Anime, Horror, Action Adventure: ‘Deeper Connection Between Fans and Characters’

Character.ai is getting into the microseries game. The company, known for letting its users generate and engage with a suite of original and user-generated characters, is introducing “c.ai Series,” a collection of microseries created using characters native to the Character.ai platform. In a blog post Thursday, the company said c.ai Series differs from traditional microseries […]

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Variety

‘MobLand’ Sets Season 2 Release Date Following Tom Hardy Fallout, Drops First Trailer

“MobLand” Season 2 has an official premiere date at Paramount+. The 10-episode second season of the British crime drama will debut on Sept. 18, with Paramount also releasing a first-look teaser, which can be seen below. News of the second season release date comes not long after it was reported that series star Tom Hardy […]

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Variety

Salman Rushdie Says America Is ‘Having a Very Difficult Moment’ With Free Speech as He Accepts Liberatum Award: ‘The Burden of Proof Must Always Lie on the Censor’

Salman Rushdie warned that free expression in the U.S. is under sustained pressure from the Trump administration as he accepted the Liberatum Cultural Honor at Camden Town Hall at King’s Cross in London, the same building where he once worked on community relations before becoming one of the world’s most recognized novelists. The conversation was […]

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein to Host ‘Portlandia’ Rewatch Podcast (Exclusive)

‘Podlandia: A-O Rewatch' premieres on July 16.

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

LGBTQ Characters in Film Decline for Third Year

GLAAD reported that there were no LGBTQ characters in 19 films categorized as animated/family films and no transgender characters featured in the crop of 225 films from the 10 largest studio distributors.

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

Character.ai’s New Business? Microdramas

The fraught chatbot company is entering the crowded world of vertical videos — with an AI twist.

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

TechCrunch

Popular open source AI developer tool Ollama raises $65M, grows to nearly 9M users

Benchmark-backed Ollama has amassed 176,000 stars, and nearly 17,000 forks on Github by helping developers easily run AI on their PCs.

technology  Jul 9, 2026

TechCrunch

Character.ai enters the microdrama arena with its own productions, but there’s a twist

In an interesting twist that takes advantage of the company's core product, users can chat with these shows' characters, ask them questions, and even roleplay different storylines.

technology  Jul 9, 2026

MarketWatch

The U.S. and China are today’s leaders in AI. These countries could be the next-stage champions.

Economists at Bank of America spotlight South Korea and the United Arab Emirates as likely to gain from both the build-out and adoption of artificial intelligence.

business  Jul 9, 2026

The Guardian

LGBTQ+ cruise ship refused entry to Egypt days after Turkey turned it away

Scarlet Lady’s 2,000 passengers informed of change as one of those onboard pledges to ‘sparkle and spend elsewhere’A LGBTQ+ cruise ship blocked from Turkish waters earlier this week has been refused entry into Egypt.The Scarlet Lady’s 2,000 passengers, including the Broadway performer Patti LuPone, woke on Thursday morning to find a note placed under their cabin doors informing them that the ship was urgently looking for alternative ports. Continue reading...

general  Jul 9, 2026

The Guardian Politics

Andy Burnham urged to scrap income tax and NI in radical fiscal overhaul

Economists including Jim O’Neill write an open letter calling for a single levy to replace six major taxesProminent economists including Andy Burnham ally Jim O’Neill, are urging him to pursue radical tax and spending reform, to “unlock the gridlock that plagues the country”.O’Neill joins Jonathan Portes, economics professor at Kings College London, and Danny Sriskandarajah, chief executive of the New Economics Foundation, in calling for bold action in an open letter. Continue reading...

politics  Jul 9, 2026

Yahoo Finance

Judge approves Elon Musk $1.5 million SEC Twitter settlement

business  Jul 9, 2026

Bloomberg Markets

US Jobless Claims Little Changed as Layoffs Remain Limited

UIS initial jobless claims decreased by 2,000 to 215,000 in the week ended July 4, a period that included the Independence Day holiday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 217,000 applications. Mike McKee reports on "Bloomberg Open Interest." (Source: Bloomberg)

business  Jul 9, 2026

Variety

‘An Icon Is Here’: Juliette Binoche Takes Over Karlovy Vary, Talks Directorial Debut ‘In-I in Motion’ and Explains Why ‘We’re All Creators’

Juliette Binoche has taken over Karlovy Vary. “An icon is here,” said the festival’s artistic director Karel Och, welcoming her to the stage. In town to pick up the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema, Binoche also presented her directorial debut “In-I in Motion.” In the documentary, she reveals everything that went […]

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Yahoo Finance

Bitcoin and ethereum prices today, Thursday, July 9: Prices continue sliding on geopolitical tensions

business  Jul 9, 2026

Yahoo Finance

This Drone Maker’s Stock Is Falling on a Contrarian Downgrade

business  Jul 9, 2026

Yahoo Finance

Has Micron Stock Finally Topped? Not According to the Pros

business  Jul 9, 2026

Yahoo Finance

Where Will Micron Stock Be in 3 Years?

business  Jul 9, 2026

Yahoo Finance

5 Stocks Cathie Wood Is Snapping Up at a Discount Right Now

business  Jul 9, 2026