Southern California Drama Meets Melbourne Madness

In one of the most highly anticipated matchups of the year, Thursday Night Football began on a Friday on the other side of the globe! NFC West division rivals San Francisco and Los Angeles faced off at the illustrious Melbourne Cricket Ground in front of over 100,000 people. These two teams could not have had more polar opposite offseasons, one clouded by injuries, shootings and imposter NFL players, while the other added three of the best defensive players in the world, including a (not so shocking) unretirement from one of the sport's greatest. Despite this, it was San Francisco, the underdog, who came out as the dominant victors from this matchup down under.

In what many expected to be a coming-out party for the odds-on favorite to win the Super Bowl, the 49ers completely shut down what looked to be a jet-lagged Rams team. Matthew Stafford looked horrible, missing countless throws by wide margins, and the reigning DPOY did not register a single stat. Speaking of which, Garrett has now been put on the IR and is expected to miss at least four weeks with arthroscopic surgery on his knee.

Maybe I am too giddy on the upside of the 49ers if they can stay healthy, or maybe I'm being too reactionary towards the Rams, but one of my biggest hot takes this season is that the Niners will win the entire NFC and earn that bye week in the first round of the playoffs. Shanahan has proven countless times that his teams are not to be brushed to the side, and I have full confidence in this revamped San Fran offense with Deebo back in the fold and Mike Evans as the X.

Are the Bears This Year's Cowboys?

The highest-octane matchup of the week was, by far, the game between the Chicago Bears and the Carolina Panthers, in which there were a combined 96 points scored! The Bears accounted for 59 of those points, in large part due to a Herculean effort on the ground, amassing 291 yards on just 39 carries, along with six touchdowns. Head Coach Ben Johnson did state during the offseason that he wanted the team to have the "highest scoring offense ever," and it's pretty safe to assume he was not joking.

However, there is a rather glaring issue that I see with this team, found on the other side of the ball: their defense. Last season the Bears found a lot of success due to an unsustainable amount of turnover luck. Their turnover margin was +22, while the second highest (the Houston Texans, arguably the best defense in the league) was just +17. Now if the Bears had more talent on their roster this might not be such an issue, but with the departures of Gervon Dexter, Kevin Byard, Nahshon Wright and Tremaine Edmunds, it is difficult to see them crack even the top half of the league in most defensive metrics.

Like last year's Cowboys who suffered from defensive woes that saw them miss the playoffs, the Bears have all the offensive weaponry required to go head-to-head with every team in the league. However, if they make a habit of poor defensive performances like against Carolina, a sub-par offense, then they too could fall short of the lofty goals they have for themselves.

Lamar and Josh are the Best in the Business

Following a disappointing year for Lamar Jackson, plagued by injury and offensive woes, the pressure was back on to show that he can still play at an MVP-level. Baltimore fans should be relieved after seeing how he performed, throwing for an efficient 324 yards and adding 40 more on the ground. The Ravens looked scary en route to demolishing the Indianapolis Colts, and in large part due to their superstar quarterback. We cannot forget about his running mate, Derrick Henry, who seems to be getting better with age, rushing for 144 yards and three touchdowns: a superhuman effort from the 32-year-old King.

Josh Allen was also sublime in his season debut against what many consider to be the best defense in the league. Allen also finished his 2025 season in disappointing fashion, turning the ball over five times against the Denver Broncos, but he looks in prime shape to make a charge towards his first Super Bowl. Fantasy managers across the country were delighted to see him account for four touchdowns, two through the air and two on the ground, along with 334 passing yards.

The two biggest questions surrounding the Bills will once again be their defense and Josh Allen himself limiting turnovers. Those two things killed Buffalo last year, and they'll be hoping that those nightmares don't come back to haunt them in crunch time later this season.

Having diverse perspectives is incredibly important and rightfully celebrated at Hopkins and other elite institutions. Even so, there are certain situations in which the ability of a STEM major to contribute in a humanities class based on their unique lived experience is reliant on their willingness to do so, which FA requirements interfere with.

During my freshman year, two of my floormates, both of whom were pre-med STEM majors in KSAS, took Introduction to Fiction and Poetry (IFP) in order to fulfill their FA1 Writing and Communication requirement. Throughout the semester, I watched idly as they continuously used ChatGPT to produce poetry. Beyond my concerns for their personal development, I wondered how this was impacting the quality of class discussion and participation -surely they were not the only STEM students using the introductory Writing Seminars class as an easy way to fulfill their requirements. Later on, in The News-Letter Gatehouse, I asked some fellow editors about their experiences in IFP as humanities majors; they affirmed my assumption that discussions were often filled with uninformed and uninspired contributions by non-Writing Seminars majors. On top of that, they expressed difficulty registering for the class in the first place, which is necessary for their major, due to the increased demand.

This conundrum indicates that, instead of inspiring interdisciplinary exploration and the expansion of the breadth of undergraduates' knowledge, fulfilling the FAs is an annoying chore for STEM students and a hurdle to deeper learning for humanities students. In the current age of technology, STEM students naturally employ AI and other forms of academic dishonesty to complete this chore, further weakening the quality of the humanities courses they choose.

The aspect of this issue that is unique to the humanities is twofold. First, humanities majors are more likely to be able to fulfill their FAs within the realm of their own majors - as an International Studies and History major, I have not been forced to explore beyond my existing major requirements in order to fulfill my FA credits. Because of this, humanities students who are less familiar with general STEM concepts are not populating introductory STEM courses against their will. The second issue is that, because many upper-level courses in the humanities do not require prerequisites - something more common among STEM courses - STEM students also populate upper-level courses.

The phenomenon of having STEM students without humanities backgrounds or relevant experience in upper-level humanities courses is something I am intimately familiar with. During this semester alone, I have enrolled in both 200- and 300-level History courses with significant populations of STEM students who openly admit that they have chosen the courses simply to fulfill a requirement. I can only assume that this is why the professors of these courses go on to assure the class that no prior experience is needed to succeed.

Hearing such comments is what inspired me to write this piece in the first place. Previously, I accepted TAs having to explain the foundational elements of Rousseau's philosophy, the Opium Wars, or the Articles of Confederation as a painful but inevitable fact of life. In hearing professors, especially in upper-level courses, assert that no prior knowledge of history is necessary for the class, I began to wonder whether the quality of my education was being impacted by the necessity for STEM students to take humanities courses, and whether their syllabi had been edited since STEM students flooded into their classes on account of the FA system.

If 3 of 15 necessary credits in the Science and Data FA2 requirement can apply to Elements of Microeconomics, a requirement for an International Studies major, there is no reason that a given course in, for example, the Medicine, Science, and Humanities department cannot also be tagged with the Culture and Aesthetics FA3. Separately, the reason humanities students are not fulfilling their FAs by taking, for example, Physical Chemistry I, a 300-level Chemistry course, is not only because they can fulfill their requirements elsewhere in a more relevant field - it's because they are systematically prevented from doing so. In this way, the system recognizes that admitting humanities students to upper-level STEM courses would naturally interfere with the efficiency and rigor of the course and uses pre-requisites to prevent that. Why is the same principle not applied to the humanities?

The University therefore has three options if it decides to rectify this issue: cross-list more STEM courses with more humanities-related FAs so that students can use relevant coursework to fulfill them; create explicit prerequisites for humanities courses; or abandon the FA project entirely. The blame does not lie with the STEM student. It lies only with the University, which failed to consider the decreased rigor of humanities courses that are natural when the FA system is implemented in its current form. Those costs are not worth the appearance of offering a more liberal arts-based education to onlookers while students pay.

Julia Schager is a junior majoring in International Studies and History from Stamford, Conn.She is a Copy Editor for The News-Letter.

In downtown Manhattan, Ed Saxberger (Willem Dafoe) lives as an aging, elderly postal office worker who seems content playing pool with his working class friends in his spare time. One day, he's approached by Meyers (Edmund Donovan), a wealthy NYU graduate, who expresses great awe and reverence towards Saxberger. Meyers explains he's obsessed with Saxberger's mostly forgotten, unacclaimed poetry collection from the '70s: Way Past Go.

Meyers invites Saxberger to meet his literary group of young, rich writers called "The Enthusiasm Society," claiming they're also fellow fervent admirers of Saxberger's writing. Saxberger agrees, and he's quickly fond of the attention he receives from the group. He's particularly drawn by Gloria (Greta Lee), the only member of the group who's an actress. As he gets more involved with the members of The Enthusiasm Society, he discovers there's less he has in common with the writers and their goals than he initially expects.

At one point, Saxberger describes Meyers as an "Edith Wharton protagonist." When Saxberger visits Meyers' massive apartment in the city, he confirms his comparison. Meyers is a truly wealthy upper-class man from a family providing significant monetary support. He shows off his first edition of Naked Lunch, which Saxberger opens to see a price tag of $1,200 inside. Later, he sets Saxberger up to meet with a literary agent who's a family friend of Meyers.

Despite all of Meyers' institutional credentials, like a MFA from a prestigious university and deep connections to the publishing world, he seems superficially interested in actually writing. While Saxberger struggles to overcome writer's block in writing a new poetry collection for publication, Meyers' primary goals are expanding the cultural reach of The Enthusiasm Society; he offers no genuine sympathy towards Saxberger when the older man confides in him about the difficulties of writing poetry again.

While the friendship between Meyers and Saxberger starts to deteriorate, Gloria and Saxberger grow closer. Saxberger realizes Gloria's performances have extended beyond the flirty actor persona she has. Unlike the other wealthy members of the Enthusiasm Society, Gloria, like Saxberger, lives with ordinary, working-class means. He finds Gloria in her regular, almost bare-bones apartment where she's unadorned by any elaborate makeup or costumes.

The two get into a disagreement as she urges him to leave, unhappy to be seen in this state of sincerity. Now, all his major relationships within The Enthusiasm Society seem strained. And earlier, before this confrontation with Gloria, Saxberger had abruptly left his pool-playing friends after attempting to share his poetry with them; his poetry was not received with proper consideration or respect. Saxberger reacts coldly to this reception, and his friends fight back too. They argue that Saxberger must think they're too "low-brow" for him.

Eventually, the reading event Meyers has planned with The Enthusiasm Society comes to pass. Saxberger reads his own poetry to a crowd and Gloria also performs some of his work. The poetry reading gets mostly negative reviews, and Saxberger must navigate the group's response and his own future as a poet.

Willem Dafoe imbues a delicate quality of subtle joy and sadness in his performance. His superb portrayal of Saxberger's resilience and wisdom makes the poet's moments of vulnerability much more impactful. Similarly, Greta Lee conveys all of Gloria's nuances with appropriate depth; a glamorous actress, a struggling woman in the city and a dreamer who follows opportunity.

Although Late Fame tackles the class and generational differences between its characters, the film's most lasting interrogation dissects the performances of all its players. As Meyers, Gloria and Saxberger accept or reject the expectations given to them, they reveal the ever-changing motives for portraying or hiding parts of their identity as an artist. Saxberger, in particular, discovers the crucial need to be true to your pursuits. After being involved in the tumultuous dynamics of the wealthy literary youth, Saxberger plays pool again with his old friends by the end of the movie. His career in poetry may have never truly actualized, but he knows who he is.

Bras started by providing a brief recount of Venice's history and how its geographical structure came to existence.

"Venice has a history of 1000 years… It became Venice when people from the north of the [Venetian] lagoon moved away from attacks of northern tribes, and in essence settled in these islands… Then [the city] was [a] maritime power and controlled commerce for a long time, all along the Mediterranean."

The Venetian Lagoon is amorphous, with many different entrances into the lagoon itself. Bras also highlighted various lines on a map of Venice from the 16th century. The Venetians diverted the rivers because they were a market power. After comparing this map to one from the present day, the diversions remain. Ultimately, these led to entrances, or inlets, into the lagoon. Had the Venetians not acted upon the environment, present day Venice would appear as a vast marshland.

"Then the other thing you notice of this lagoon is that it's an engineered environment. Nature does not make straight lines… They diverted the rivers so that sediment would not accumulate. They wanted to throw away the sediment out to the ocean because they didn't want to be invaded by land. They were [a] maritime power. They did not have armies. They had naval power, so they wanted to keep a lagoon to protect them, like a big mold for them in many ways."

This allows for a shallow lagoon, in which depths vary from 10 to 17 meters. However, on Nov. 4, 1966, intense flooding from the Arno River swept into Florence; a similar event occurred in Venice. The tide reached extreme heights, going over the seawall and over the barrier islands, even breaching some of them. This was a high tide of 0.5 to 0.6 meters over the period of the event. With the combined effect of another meteorological surge, it created a record flood level of approximately two meters. Bras then explained the concepts that are generally attributed to furthering the issue.

"There are two elements that [have] created the problem. One is sea level rising… and one is subsidence; the whole lagoon environment sinks."

According to Bras, the rate of sinking has accelerated historically especially due to reconstruction of the World Wars, where water was pumped for use by industrial regions. The lagoon has been subsiding at a rate of 0.4 millimeters per year. The rate of sea level increase has accelerated to around 2.7 millimeters per year, almost six times larger than the subsidence. In addition, the number of meteorological events that cause flooding have increased.

To solve these issues, an international contest was held for engineers and architects to come up with solutions.

"The solution, the best way to solve the problem, is to create a series of barriers that will close off the lagoon from the sea [when you predict a storm surge]. You predict the tide, you close the inlet, keep the ocean out, keep the lagoon down. Ocean can go up. Everything [is] good when everything is over. You open the barriers, and that's it."

Bras outlined how this is not a new solution. In Rotterdam, Netherlands, there are also floodgates that when a flood is predicted, they cut off the canal and create a temporary dam. However, this type of gate was not acceptable for the Venetians. They are sizable and too obvious. Venetians wanted something that was able to conserve land, not alter the cross section of the inlet, and be invisible.

What Venice decided on were flaps. These large, "invisible" flaps sit under water in a crater, usually full of water. When a meteorological event is predicted, water is pumped out and the flaps float up and rotate around a hinge to create a barrier. Each flap is independent of one another, with a gap of about 15 centimeters between. The gates can open within 20 minutes, compared to Rotterdam's six hours.

"This is the way it would operate. It's sitting on its cradle. You pump air out. They come out. They settle in. The sea goes up to wherever it goes. Creates a dam. Goes down the sea. When everything is level, you put water in, air in, and settle [back down] again."

There are four sets of gates: Lido North, Lido South, Malamocco and Chioggia. The largest in weight are in Malamocco, which is the industrial hub of the area; the smallest is Lido North. The building of these structures required immense effort. Generally, the gates run from one end of the inlet to the other, closing off access to the land it encloses. In addition, refuge harbors were built for ships that may be stuck outside the barrier in case of a meteorological event. Essentially, the gates were floated to their location, sunk, and then joined.

"When the gates operate… the idea is that you make a prediction of the tidal flooding, and you predict that the tide is going to go above some level. The trigger in the operating rules of this is that you trigger a closure when you predict 110 centimeters."

Bras then transitioned to another history lesson of the gates, dating back to 1984, when the concept was introduced. At this time, a special law was also made where a consortium named the Consorio Venezia Nuova gained power to protect Venice and the lagoon. Construction started in 2003 and was set to be completed in 2012. However, also at this time, corruption was rampant, including bribing and illegal financing. In addition to the economic crisis of 2008, funding to complete the project was low. The Italian government also fired individuals involved with the project, which left no experts to carry out the rest of construction. In 2020, the government decided to resume construction and eventually the gates were operational by 2021. Bras emphasized that although they were operational, there still was a change in how these gates were functioning.

"The big difference is that this is being operated manually because the automatic controls were all gone."

Bras finished his lecture providing some images of a flooded Venice. He used these photos to illustrate that with the gates now in successful operation, the future of Venice is dry.

The Independent reports that the screenwriter of the upcoming 26th Bond film, Steven Knight (creator of Peaky Blinders), was recently asked in an interview with BBC Radio 4 about whether he wrote the script with the chosen actor in mind or relied on the already established canon.

"It's a bit of both. It does make life a little bit easier if you know who that person is, but also you have to write the character, not the actor," he said.

Additionally, actor Gary Oldman, of the TV series Slow Horses, whose co-star has appeared in the running for Bond, addressed the rumors when asked about the James Bond rumors on Canada's The Morning Show.

"We're going to find out pretty soon, aren't we? Because they have picked him… They have made their choice, but they have not announced it yet," Oldman said.

Since Amazon MGM acquired the Bond franchise from the long-time ownership of the Broccoli family in February 2025, all eyes have been on the talent coming in. Denis Villeneuve (director of the Dune trilogy) is set to direct. Amy Pascal (producer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Spiderman franchise and Project Hail Mary) and David Heyman (producer of Paddington and the Fantastic Beasts franchises) are set to produce. The final piece remains. Here are the frontrunners:

No time to die

Jacob Elordi is no stranger to Hollywood. He's starred in hits such as Saltburn, Frankenstein (2025) and Wuthering Heights (2026). He's also being set to star in the book-to-screen adaption of Outer Dark with Lily Rose-Depp. The Australian actor has circulated through the James Bond rumor mill for a long time, outlasting names like Idris Elba and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

"I just like that people maybe want to put me in their movies. That makes me really glad," Elordi said in 2023 when Extra asked about the casting rumors. Although he has denied recent questions at The Dog Stars premiere in London, he is still certainly a fan favorite.

You only live twice

Callum Turner, BAFTA TV award nominee and star of popular films such as Eternity and One Night Only, is another contender. He's also had leading roles in TV shows like Masters of the Air and is set to star in Apple TV's Neuromancer. In this upcoming series, he plays a hacker on the dark web intending to pull off a difficult heist against a corporate empire. The British actor has so far laughed off the speculation and has responded to Esquire.

"I'm not going to comment. It's just so loaded, it's just such a loaded thing," Turner said.

Never say never again

Paul Mescal, the future Paul McCartney in the upcoming Beatles biopics, is another popular choice. He has the range, from playing the son of the most famous fictional gladiator (Gladiator 2) to a complicated father in an indie classic (Aftersun). Although the Irish actor is likely tied up in the upcoming four-movie Beatle extravaganza, he is also a popular contender. Vogue Adria reports that after appearing in a Bond casting poll on Digital Spy, Mescal spoke about the role.

"Would I play Bond? Yeah? I don't know. If that opportunity ever came up, we'd have a conversation about it… I don't want to say yes or no. I'm a huge fan and will continue to be, regardless."

For your eyes only

Jack Barton is a newer actor, and out of the five, the most unknown. At 31 years old, his main credits include Heartstopper Forever and Steven Knight's SAS: Rogue Heroes - a TV series about how the British Special Air Service came into being during World War II. Ultimately, it may be his relative mystery that keeps him near the front of the pack as the franchise may be looking for a fresh face. Debbie McWilliams, a now retired casting director who worked on 13 of the last 25 Bond movies and cast Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig, described the role in an interview with The Independent.

"We want to know as little about [the actor] personally as possible, because that's what spies are. We don't need to know where he goes shopping or who his parents are or where he lives. We never want to see him at home. And a vital element of the whole thing is his job description. He's licensed to kill, and we have to believe that he can do that. If you don't, then you've lost the audience," McWilliams said.

On her majesty's Secret Service

Finally, there is Jack Lowden. He is Gary Oldman's co-star on Slow Horses as a demoted MI5 agent on a team of similarly dysfunctional agents to defend England. It's a funny coincidence, and the 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes for this British spy thriller only seems to fuel the rumors. Beyond the show, he is a relatively unknown actor, fitting the bill of McWilliams' descriptions. As a bonus for the James Bond purists, the actor is Scottish, just like the first Bond actor, Sean Connery.

Tomorrow never dies

Looking back at the previous Bonds, there is a common trend. While most had few credits to their name before Bond, their addition to the franchise propelled their careers into the spotlight. What fate lies in store for the seventh actor to be granted a license to kill?

Note for the purists

For the purposes of this article, only six actors who have played in classic Bond films produced by the EON Production company are being referenced. They are, in order: Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig. David Niven in the non-EON 1967 comedy spoof version of Casino Royale does not count.

The trail begins at the end of Craycombe Avenue in the Hampden neighborhood and ends at San Martin Drive, which marks the western edge of Homewood Campus. Stony Run flows north to south throughout Wyman Park, and bridges that cross the stream are limited. The newly-rebuilt footbridge is the closest crossing of the stream to much of the Homewood campus, with the trail letting out near the Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy. Since Wyman Park is located in between Homewood Campus and the Hampden neighborhood, crossing the park is often the most convenient way to get between the two.

The footbridge and trail closed in May 2025 because of potential safety concerns. Baltimore City councilwoman Odette Ramos, who represents District 14 - including both Hampden and Homewood Campus - announced over Instagram that the bridge would be closing.

"Our engineers are diligently working to resolve the issue with the bridge's structural integrity. Please stay clear of this area. This is for everyone's safety," Ramos announced.

Because of the bridge's closure, those passing between Homewood Campus and Hampden had to find alternative ways to travel. The trail remained closed while the bridge was being rebuilt by Baltimore City's Department of Recreation and Parks, until it reopened prior to the start of the academic year.

The reopening of the bridge was announced by the conservation organization Friends of Stony Run. On August 25, the organization announced on their website that the bridge was considered safe to cross and that the trail had reopened as well.

"We are excited to share that the Craycombe Road Stony Run pedestrian bridge is open again," the organization wrote.

While Ramos did not initially share the issues with the bridge's structure, Friends of Stony Run offered more context in their announcement, saying that the bridge had only been temporarily repaired. They are continuing to plan how to replace the bridge permanently.

"The failing support structures for the bridge have been reinforced with stacked heavy bags filled with structural grout - allowing the current bridge to be used again temporarily while a permanent replacement is designed. Stay tuned for the next round of improvements and plans for a permanent bridge," the organization wrote.

Sophomore Fabiana Arcila, majoring in Biomedical Engineering, worked on campus over the summer and lived in Hampden before the bridge reopened. When asked about her commute to Homewood, she said that she tried many different ways to get to campus more efficiently.

"It depended day-to-day, I used kind of a mix. At the beginning, I walked, which was a 30 minute walk from Hampden to AMR II. Then I started taking the Spin scooters," said Arcila. "I also tried taking the shuttle […] but I missed it all the time."

When Arcila did walk, she said that she was able to go through Wyman Park, but sometimes had to bypass it entirely.

"It's a very scenic route," said Arcila. "But usually, when it was raining, I wouldn't go through there because it's going to be muddy. So I would take the long route and just walk up and then walk down."

When informed of the Stony Run Bridge's reopening, Arcila thought that the bridge would have made her commute much more convenient.

"If I had a bridge, that would have made it easier for me to walk," said Arcila.

In a setting where the student body rotates every four years, many movements and student-led initiatives naturally lose momentum. Only half of the current undergraduates were present for the 2024-25 Student Government Association's open letter to President Ronald J. Daniels and administrators, which called for a 5% tuition reduction due to student challenges from ongoing construction. The News-Letter is the only media source that has covered this resolution. None likely remember the 2019 Garland Hall sit-ins against the University's implementation of the Johns Hopkins Police Department (JHPD), a private police force. The University's public records about the sit-in mostly, if not only, contain the administrators' responses. Construction and the JHPD's legitimacy still affect students and the neighboring communities to this day, yet the cyclical nature of student discontent remains hidden without proper preservation.

Let us make this clear: The News-Letter does not hope to be the only record for the University. Hopkins already has employees who take on the public-facing, breaking news role to cover innovations and changes on a 24-hour basis. However, editors of The News-Letter make sure that past and current student voices do not get lost and create a platform for workers, affiliates and neighboring Baltimore residents. The News-Letter adds alternate perspectives to the events discussed by other news sources, or we serve as the only source for ones that don't.

Lack of knowledge of important precedents in student advocacy can easily lead to its dilution. Conversely, previous students voicing their opinions encourages the environment of free expression, which the University administration deemed "a foundational value of our university and central to the Johns Hopkins experience" just as of last week in a broadcast email. The News-Letter preserves memories, allowing students in the present to engage with the University like how the generations of the students before have.

Other archival sources, of course, exist. However, internal University administrative records remain inaccessible until 25 years after their creation, including the "work product" of any administrative office or committee under the University. While administrative materials intended for public sharing can be accessed at the time of archival transfer, such as publications, recordings of public events and press releases, these documents alone do not tell a story. They simply show the information an institution wants its community to know at a given time.

This limits a key aspect of a comprehensive record: its ability to speak to present realities. Reading an internal document highlighting the truth behind University actions decades later likely will not carry the same nuance it does now, especially as relevance shifts alongside social, cultural and historical contexts among different student populations. And relying on University broadcasts to piece together an institution's history misses the conversations, thoughts and potential actions specific to that moment's unfolding - especially those that challenge the institution. The News-Letter precisely serves to capture these developments, providing a continuous, more realistic narrative to better understand why certain outcomes and perspectives may have arisen.

To visualize this role, we can examine physical accessibility on Homewood Campus. On the one hand, when searching physical accessibility and "Johns Hopkins University" online, the only University-posted voice that appears is from the Student Disability Services website, affirming to foster "accessible and equitable" student experiences. The website also features annual reports and data, but this page solely includes the percentage of students receiving disability services in a given year.

The News-Letter, on the other hand, has served as an active forum and facilitator of the accessibility movement. Many Opinions and Voices articles have actively highlighted the lack of disability discourse on campus, such as a 2021 op-ed titled "Disability isn't taken seriously at Hopkins." The author states that she has "never once... seen a visibly disabled student in a classroom at Hopkins, not even in a photo." Even further back in time to 2008, students shared their concerns over the slow progress of implementing accessible features on campus. The News-Letter allows voices like these to be recognized, and while that isn't the sole catalyst for change, having such concerns in writing acts as a propagator of discussion and an eternal reminder. Most recently, The Editorial Board advocated for a physically accessible campus in a piece published on April 20 of this year, following an investigation of how accessible routes prove highly impractical even today.

Another current example of The News-Letter's archival role is the ongoing reporting of the construction of the Data Science and AI Institute (DSAI), announced in 2023. The News-Letter has posted articles alluding to this multi-year project every year since, with references to University real estate acquisition (2024), its impact on the residential community (2025) and, most recently, a deeper dive into the construction project's destructive influence on local residents (2026). Anyone reading now, or in 25 years, can directly see how the community's attitudes towards DSAI have evolved since its announcement and construction, along with the increasing capabilities of AI compared to two years ago. However, when examining University-produced records, readers only see the mission behind the project, an overarching project timeline and promises made during its construction.

As you can see, this article has been embedded with links. We hoped you clicked on some of them;a lot of them come from The News-Letter. This isn't to say that they all come from us -the editors of the 2026-27 Editorial Board -but rather that this has been a collective effort from the past generations of editors, dating all the way back to 1896. For over a century, students followed up on interviewees, whether over email, telephone or in person, to depict a more holistic story. We recognize that the default state of a university's student community does not necessarily include a student newspaper. The News-Letter only exists because of the shared responsibility of countless writers to write the University's history, year after year.

Equally important to our role of preserving the historical record is our commitment to eliminating censorship. A comprehensive picture of a movement or a story can only exist if our contributors can write without fear of retaliation from others or the University. We are immensely proud of our financial independence from Hopkins, and we will actively work to minimize barriers for students to write for us - freely and honestly.

To all Hopkins students: Write for us. You don't need any other qualifications than being a student. If you are someone who wants to contribute to telling history, reach out. The News-Letter exists for you and continues to exist because of you.

The remark, made by United States Tennis Association (USTA) CEO Craig Tiley in reference to the US Open, has seemingly proven true. Yet this 'Disneyland,' intended to popularize the sport's appeal, has also attracted spectators unfamiliar with the sport, and not for the better. Videos have gone viral of one spectator using bright lights and another group of spectators filming distractedly, indifferent to the match in front of them.

To this, professional tennis tour athletes have shared their thoughts, some leaning toward the positives of growth in the sport. Others emphasized the added distraction to high-pressure matches.

"People are down there trying to perform, and it's their career and their job. It seems like a bit disrespectful," World No. 3 ranked player Jessica Pegula commented in an post-match interview.

As a highly anticipated summer sporting event in New York of all places, the tournament is inevitably a strong magnet for influencers and content creators. This movement is further reinforced by tournament organizers, as they aim to draw younger, diverse audiences, for example, issuing media credentials to high-profile creators like MrBeast, contracting 15-20 creators for content specifically tailored to the US Open, or popularizing the fan experience, such as selling Honey Deuce beverages with melon (tennis-looking) balls for the Instagram-worthy picture. Still, this does not dismiss the sport's noise etiquette. Distinct from the constant noisy rumble of any other sport field or stadium, tennis courts stay comparatively quiet. A polite smattering of applause, the oohs and aahs, among other verbal distractions are kept to a minimum. The chair umpire, mic'd, even gives an occasional "Quiet please." Spectator movement is also intentional, timed to happen during breaks. It is like the audience is one with the players, maximizing their focus.

Tennis historical traditions to have quiet crowds can be traced back the sports' elitist roots, when higher class British culture correlated 'lawn tennis' as symbols of leisure and luxury. Aspects like behavioral conduct, including self-restraint, honesty, and game sportsmanship reflected the 'gentlemaness' linked with the upper-class. These unspoken expectations greatly affected play structure and strokes where taking advantage of one's strength through playing at the net and volleying was looked down upon as carrying selfish, aggressive intentions for trying to end the point rather than continuing the rally, or using the drop shot to end the rally was viewed 'unsporting.' This behavioral etiquette was underlyingly "...a meaningful source of power, symbol of prestige and tool for social enhancement for lawn tennis players." Though this restrictive play is no longer practiced to such extreme, certain areas of tennis etiquette are founded on similar underlying principles of sportsmanship and restraint, such as acknowledging lucky net-cord points with a raised hand, not celebrating an opponent's unforced error, or returning balls safely during warmups and for stopped points.

Dress code also largely reflected status as tennis had thrived under its associations with the British upper class. Influenced by old money aesthetics of European aristocracy of the Victorian era, fashion was shaped as etiquette for matchwear, but also a standard and barrier for those who could afford to play and/or watch. The dress code of blazers and flannel trousers for men and long kilt skirts with corsets for women reflected the material and designs of what was worn to other high-end outdoor leisure activities. Although not ideal for comfortable play or practicality, it was a socially coded sign of affluence. In addition, the 'all white' dress became another hint toward the traditional elitist image of tennis, a way to appear more proper by managing perspiration better. Specifically, purity of white signaled privilege because they were the ones able to dress cleanly and maintain the white color all day.

The sport's upper-class fashion sentiments still reflect in today's tennis branding. Professional tennis players partner with brands for sporting clothing kits, accessories, travel/tennis gear and other custom luxury items that vary from tournament to tournament. In fact, a style movement dubbed 'Tenniscore' has also emerged, combining luxury with leisure through preppy and polished streetwear. In some ways, this trend made tennis fashion a more inclusive part of the game, serving as a ritual and a source of confidence for embracing the game wholeheartedly, pushing the idea that sport extends beyond 'game play' alone. To this day, Wimbledon, another Grand Slam tournament like the US Open, upholds an all-white dress code. Even further, there seems to be an unspoken formal and elegant aesthetic shared by attendees as well with fashion coverage from buzzworthy media outlets like Vogue. However, tennis fashion today emphasizes player style and individuality even when somewhat rooted in traditional wear. Recently, four-time Grand Slam Winner Naomi Osaka has taken the sports world by storm with her fashion game. She is one of many figures who has creatively used tennis fashion beyond self-expression: to honor heritage, communicate bold statements and break norms.

Tennis is dynamic, and so is its etiquette. While the sport has progressed tremendously since centuries ago, it has continued preserving the very practices that historically made it distinct. The least one can do when entering a new sports venue is to better understand or educate oneself on what responsible and respectful fandom looks like, enhancing the experience for players performing, fellow fans and, ultimately, oneself. Popularizing a sport does not need to undermine the etiquette that builds its game. Young American star and 2023 US Open Women's Champion Coco Gauff had fittingly noted, "if you're being invited to a red carpet, you wouldn't show up in jeans." Well, it's not much different with any sport: respect the players.

We live in tumultuous times, where the topic of immigration is highly controversial. Yet I connect the memories of my family's history of intergenerational trauma and escape to my personal experiences bringing my opinion to light: immigration should be open borders; immigrants should NOT be discriminated against.

My family has been living in diaspora for well over a century. My great-grandmother, Luba Bet-Alkhas, was a young woman in Russia in the late 1920s when the Russian Revolution's aftermath made staying there impossible. She and her husband, my great-grandfather, Elisha, fled south, eventually settling in Urmia, a city in the Assyrian region of northwestern Iran. They built a life there.

In parallel, my paternal grandfather's family fled the 1914-1918 genocide that the Ottoman Empire carried out against Assyrians, Armenians and the Greeks. When the Ottomans invaded Iran to massacre and ethnically cleanse Assyrians in Urmia and its surrounding villages, the women and children in my grandfather's family fled to the British refugee camps built in Baghdad (in current-day Iraq), while the men joined an Assyrian regiment fighting the Ottoman army alongside the British, who had promised the Assyrians that if they helped the British defeat the Ottomans, they would have a homeland of their own. World War I ended, and the British reneged on their promise. Some of my grandfather's family eventually made their way back home to Iran, though others stayed in Iraq. Either way, "home" became a concept with more than one answer.

60 years later, my grandparents fled again. This time, from the 1979 Iranian Revolution, along with my father and aunt, who eventually made their way to the United States.

I am absorbed by immigration because of my family's personal memories of intergenerational trauma of escape from political persecution and violence. Through working with nonprofits that serve gender-based violence survivors, I saw clear patterns in the trauma clients carried: Many women from West Africa were survivors of female genital mutilation, and those from Ecuador and Colombia had fled gender-based violence severe enough to make staying a matter of life and death. Each case was severe and it was very quickly proven to me how poorly run the immigration system is.

I won't pretend I can do justice to what they told me, and I don't think it's my place to retell their stories in detail; they aren't mine to tell. What I can say is that I sat with people who had survived traumas I struggle to even hold in my imagination and who still found the strength to trust a stranger with a piece of it.

None of these lives are similar, but the same thread runs throughout: having to build a new life in a new home after fleeing violence.

When my family fled Iran in the late 1970s, gaining legal status in the United States was difficult, but it was not the ordeal it is today. Now, it is nearly impossible. In June 2026, 94% of asylum cases were denied. Hundreds of immigration judges are being fired, and asylum denial rates are higher than ever. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detain and deport people who have been here for years, who have their lives here. Some of our own peers here at Hopkins had their visas abruptly revoked in 2025.

None of this makes the country safer. It just makes it crueler, and it's simply baffling to think that a first-world country like this one can make such mistakes.

Immigration policy should not be built around suspicion. Every person fleeing from violence deserves to be treated as a person, not as a security threat or a line item to be denied. My great-grandmother was not a threat, neither was the rest of my family who came thereafter or the woman I described at the start of this piece. Immigration policy should exist to give them, as it once gave my family, an honest chance at life and a chance at the American dream.

Sabrina Bet-Mansour is a senior from London, England studying International Studies.

This will be my fourth semester volunteering at a Baltimore hospital. In that time I've gone from a wide-eyed and scared pre-med fascinated with the theoretical "patient experience" to looking forward to listening, connecting and being with patients. I've picked up skills and strategies to be more present with patients. Thinking back I am almost surprised at the number of patients I do not remember. I see hundreds of patients a semester, but even though I can recall the emotions an encounter elicits, I have realized the specifics of most interactions have escaped me. I do not remember my first, and I don't remember most of the brief cups of water, fetching of blankets or restocking of gloves, nor the muted interactions that prompted them. But I do remember the patients who ask questions, who ask me to stay. I remember the pride staying 10 minutes over my shift to talk a patient down from a panic attack brought me. I remember the wonder in the eyes of a woman as she outlined her son's adventures across Laos on tuk-tuk.

But there is one patient I will never forget. I remember everything about that night. The weather that night, what I was wearing, the room. Everything. I was just over halfway through my shift and the nurse I'd been talking to prepped me for the next room. The situation was delicate and the patient spoke only Spanish. I tried to soften my composure even more and struggled to recall the three years of Spanish classes I'd taken. I knocked and entered the room with the Spanish version of my opening spiel on my lips.

"Hola, me llamo Michael, soy-"

Inside, the patient was young and the surgery she had scheduled for the next morning was the kind that scares you. Being pre-op, she was NPO (nil per os, Latin for nothing by mouth), so there wasn't water or ice chips I could offer, nor much menial I could busy my hands with. She sat there shell-shocked, scary-quiet, somewhere far away from the room. She did not react when I asked if she was cold and offered "una manta otra," another blanket.

Her mother was not quiet. She was unraveling. She crossed the room before I'd even finished my introduction, took both of my hands in hers - she had to reach up to do it, she was easily a foot and a half shorter than me-and started praying. Over her daughter. With me standing there, a stranger with a laminate who'd walked in three minutes earlier struggling to recall phrases from my Spanish classes, mentally preparing to have a conversation because I thought she wanted someone to speak to her.

I was wrong. She didn't need someone to talk to her. She needed someone to listen and let her talk to G-d. Her Spanish was rapid and as she clasped my hands and in the middle of what must have been a terrifying, horrible night, waiting on a lifesaving surgery for her daughter that she couldn't control, she thanked Him. For 30 minutes she proclaimed her faith and thankfulness for the strength He had given her until tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes, and she literally shook with the effort, taking long, shuddering breaths.

Finally, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. I asked if I could bring her a coffee. When I returned she took it gratefully, and she had grown quieter, calmer. She told me she hadn't slept in a while and thanked me profusely for just bringing her coffee calling me an angel. She introduced me to her daughter, who didn't respond, and asked where I was from. She told me I was a child of G-d, as were we all.

Honestly, I did very little. I poured a cup of coffee from a pot I didn't brew and stood in a room and listened to a language I'd really only practiced in a classroom. But before I left, she traced the sign of the cross over me and asked me a few small questions: my name again and where I was from, the kind of details I realized that she needed so she could keep praying for me after I walked out the door.

I finished up my shift, forcing everything down, going through the motions. I did not have any other deep interactions for the hour I had left. I did see one person who told me her life story, and we guessed at Family Feud answers together, but then I clocked out of my shift at 8 and then chose not to go home.

I walked aimlessly and thought about medicine. I really thought about it. Why would I, why would anyone want to go into a career of such pain? Choose to see people at their most fearful, most in pain? I began to question myself. Am I just a morbid observer happy because I can peek into people's lives before darting back to safety in the reality of my healthy body?

I know I helped that patient, or at least her family, but at the end of the day I can walk away from the horror and realities of that room.

At that point my reasons for medicine were pretty cliche. I wanted to "help people." I relished the order and stability a life in medicine might provide. Vain enough, I wanted what a white coat said about me. But all those selfish reasons really paled at the patient I had seen.

What I see as a volunteer is a snapshot. A freeze-framed moment in time of a person's life, and I feel both privileged to share that moment and duty bound to help them any way I can.

Being a volunteer has taught me the role of a health-care provider is to meet every patient where they are. No two patients are alike and your role requires an even keeled flexibility not to act a role for a patient, but to try and connect with them where they are at. At times I have been a friend, a source of home, a curious listener, an impressionable young person, a storyteller, a source of entertainment, even someone uniquely talented to decode the complicated hospital TV remotes. I was many things for that patient and I hope the connection we developed in that snapshot helped her continue on her journey as much as it has helped me on mine.

Sebastian Alderman (they/them) is a senior from Tulsa, Okla., studying Anthropology and History on the pre-med track.

During the initial period of funding changes, The News-Letter interviewed several Hopkins researchers to gain more insight into the direct and indirect effects felt. One year on, these researchers were interviewed once more to understand their current circumstances and concerns about the future.

Brendon Davis, who was a PhD student in cell and molecular biology and serving as Vice President for Science Policy of the Science Policy and Diplomacy Group at Hopkins during the time of his previous interview, highlighted the political underpinnings of the matter at hand.

"I think we saw the whole cycle last year... president requests large cuts to science, Congress generally rejects those cuts and kept funding for pretty much most science agencies, which was good... we're now in that cycle again, but I think... you're seeing a lot more people get a little more into the specific rules that are being proposed."

When asked about potential steps towards remedying the situation, Davis highlighted the need for advocacy from the scientific community.

"I think we kind of sit in these academic circles and talk about science... the ones on the ground doing the science... can go to communities and policy makers and talk about it the most effectively, as long as they get out of that bubble... we're close enough to DC that that's easy to go to a lot of big [rallies], but on the other hand, you can also set up meetings with your members of Congress... you can write op-eds... The only way that things can actually materially change is if people are actually speaking out to all those policy makers and all the people who are voting for those policy makers."

Beyond students, The News-Letter also interviewed several professors to gain insights into the experience of running a laboratory or operating in a similar position of authority throughout this situation.

Dr. Peter Winch, a professor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, previously addressed the loss of two of his projects focused on environmental sustainability in Bangladesh and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a result of federal funding changes. While he re-emphasized the detrimental effects of the reduced funding on international cooperation and the people who stood to benefit from the success of those programs, he also highlighted the specific predicament faced by Hopkins as a private rather than public institution.

"[State universities] get a check from the government to run the University, and that's like the core of their funding... the faculty positions are frozen... Private [universities] don't have any capitation, so our income comes from tuition and [mostly] from research money... Even for the funding that exists, people are unsure what the rules are, and the rules are changed all the time by the Trump administration..." Winch said.

Winch also discussed how the cuts impacted the researchers working on the project.

"The number of faculty isn't set... a lot of those people who we hire to work on specific projects [have to leave] when the funding for those projects ends... At the time when the cuts were made in January 2025, Hopkins as a whole was well-funded and there was lots of discretionary money... So we sort of kept people going for a while, hoping that funding would come back. But now that we see funding isn't coming back, we're starting [to] cut people," he added.

Winch highlighted recent staff layoffs carried out by Hopkins as examples of this phenomenon. Furthermore, he indicated his experience with graduate students having difficulty finding further jobs and with funding the indirect costs not usually accomodated for within grants.

Similarly, Steven Salzberg, who had previously spoken about his concerns regarding the effects grant funding changes could have on the future of the field, continued to highlight the threat of the financial climate to research. While his lab has been able to continue its operations, he stressed the unsustainability of operating without more stable government funding.

"There is no scenario under which private funding can possibly support the United States research enterprise... Scientists have been going to private donors already for decades. Of course, we get private funding already, and those private donors didn't suddenly get a lot richer last year..." Salzberg said.

Salzberg emphasized the historical importance of research funded by the federal government.

"Starting back in the 1950s, universities would do research funded by the federal government, and the system grew over the years... in part because it was very successful. It still is very successful. It's brought a lot of discoveries that over the course of time have been very beneficial to United States, which is paying for this, and to human beings in general... it's the kind of long-term investment that companies just can't do or won't do," he said.

Speaking of the long-term, Salzberg highlighted the significant stressors the circumstances placed upon international recruitment and collaboration.

"It's not that it impacts the research itself, it impacts people in the lab, most of whom are not native-born US citizens, and it affects our ability to recruit new people... We've been a tremendously attractive place to come and work, and so we've been able to bring the best minds from around the world to our labs. I've had some excellent people come from other countries. Now I know that some of them don't want to come because of the hostility they perceive."

Zooming in on specific fields within research, The News-Letter had the opportunity to follow up with two faculty members studying means to explain and treat pancreatic cancer. Dr. Elizabeth Jaffee and Dr. Daniel Zabransky previously explained their boundary-pushing work was highly reliant on federal funding and consistent investment to provide the ability to take risks and plan long-term experiments.

In her follow-up interview, Jaffee highlighted the significant technological and scientific advancements that were being made in the search for a pancreatic cancer vaccine. Yet, the funding situation has added new barriers to their success.

"This current environment, politically, is squashing what we can do in science. Our grants are at risk. This is all government funded work... our work is under pressure, and I'm very worried about that... in fact, our vaccine work depends on our vaccine. We developed our vaccine ourselves, but there's only one company that will make the vaccine for us that we can give to patients right now, and that's in Germany...another lot of this vaccine came to the US border, and we were told that we had to pay an extra $13,000 because of the tariffs now. I don't know where to get that extra $13,000; they're cutting our grants," she said.

Zabransky, her frequent collaborator who continues investigating pancreatic cancer, suggests the situation might be even worse for other fields.

"I think infectious diseases and global population health research that focuses on disparities [is] much more affected by the change in priorities and the change in policies. [In comparison,] cancer research, in a broad sense, always gets a lot of popular support, and I think the importance and the significance of it is well understood. But even without direct targeting... a lot of the structural changes in how the NIH and other government funders makes it harder for everyone."

These effects have been observable directly at Hopkins. The News-Letter reached out to Radha Rajan, at the time a researcher working at the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs. She spoke about the struggles imposed by funding changes and specifically the Breakthrough ACTION project focused on the implementation of health knowledge in her previous interview. Upon follow-up, Rajan confirmed through e-mail that the project was halted and never reinstated.

Nonetheless, all fields remain under some level of threat. In his interview last year, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Jeff Coller emphasized the uncertainty faced by his field of RNA research, ranging from a loss in international competitiveness to difficulties in recruiting graduate students to sustain his work's future. During a follow-up interview with The News-Letter, he explained that many of these concerns remained or were even exacerbated by the continued difficulties as well as proposed policy changes to give the government greater oversight regarding research and grant approval. Coller also highlighted the role played by Hopkins in weathering the storm.

"Hopkins has been fantastic in the way in which they've responded to try to help and protect the faculty, mainly through the active creation of funding mechanisms. They won't be able to take care of everybody, but they've created these resilience funds which are competitive...It's actually very encouraging, and I feel very privileged to be at a university where there is this active stance by the university's administration to really try to make sure that we're protected in this in this really delicate time," Coller said.

Though the situation remains tense and continually evolving, there remain ways in which scientists, activists, and all concerned parties within the public can continue to push for solutions to the various issues described.

"I don't think anyone would ever vote against [getting] rid of cancer... I think it's harder for the public to understand [that] one of the best ways to do that is to use federal government money to really support research institutions, to support academic research labs... a lot of that work came from government-funded non-profit research support... that's the pipeline, that's the foundation for a lot of the great breakthroughs that are going to help everyone in their health in the future," explained Zabransky.

SGA Treasurer Amy Xu announced that the finance committee had been working on approving allocations and had approximately $200,000 remaining to distribute.

Black Caucus Senator Oluwanifemi Ajayi spoke about her work to increase campus visibility of Black culture. She identified multiple Black student organizations on campus and said she plans to meet with them and create a centralized platform intended to share information about Black student life at Hopkins.

Class Council Senator Kai Martin discussed several Student Service Committee projects. These included an effort to clarify meal swipe rules at Charles Street Market and a plan to meet with Hopkins Dining about the removal or exclusion of certain cultural food options. Furthermore, the committee is assigning members to serve as liaisons to University departments and planning a tabling event concerning data centers.

Senator Mamadou Thiam spoke about exploring how to make athletic trainers available to smaller club sports to help prevent injuries and give immediate on-site support when they occur.

SGA next confirmed four students to serve on CSE. The committee conducts candidate information sessions, establishes election timelines and oversees election procedures. The Senate confirmed Grace Yang, Sajiv Harikrishnan, Anahat Goraya and Jazlyn Sandhu.

Senators then discussed a proposed Accountability Act. The changes were intended to promote transparency in members' work and attendance. The proposal requires senators to remain listed in initiative reports regardless of whether or not they have an update, allowing the public to see which members are and are not actively reporting work. The act distinguishes absences from GBMs from absences at committee meetings. Members would be permitted three excused GBM absences per semester, as well as three excused absences for each committee on which they serve. The Senate voted to send the Accountability Act to the Internal Affairs Committee for further review.

SGA then considered the Fast-Forward Finance Bill on second reading. The measure allows funding requests below a designated cap to bypass first reading and proceed directly through to Finance Committee review and a second reading before the Senate. The proposal's expedited-funding ceiling was increased from $500 to $1,000. Members said many event-funding requests fall below $1,000, and some questioned whether the higher threshold would limit appropriate legislative scrutiny of a large amount of money.

The revised bill permits up to $250 in summer spending on SGA promotional materials. Senators said the provision could help SGA prepare banners and other materials before the academic year begins. The Senate also approved a separate funding bill for the Johns Hopkins University Muslim Association.

The package did not add proposed transfer-student and LGBTQIA+ caucus seats. Sponsors said those changes would need to follow a separate constitutional amendment process. The proposal vote fell short of the required three-fourths threshold, leading the Senate to table it until the next GBM.

During public input, a student announced plans to introduce legislation that would mandate SGA to release aggregate and more comprehensive statistics about how the organization distributes funding.

Welcome back to Hopkins, Blue Jays!While campus was quieter over the summer, there was plenty happening in the world of science. Here's this month's science news in review.

Scientists locate a new target for cancer immunotherapy

Recently, scientists at the Erasmus Medical Center found that cancer may interfere with the immune system before its defenders even reach a tumor. In a study published in Nature, researchers examined lymph nodes from patients with melanoma and found immune cells producing high levels of PLA2G2D, an enzyme that appears to limit the growth of cancer-fighting T cells. These lymph nodes are normally where T cells first prepare to respond to a tumor.

Researchers used mice models to study PLA2G2D. They noticed that when PLA2G2D was blocked in mice, more tumor-specific T cells developed and tumor growth decreased. This approach was then combined with a treatment targeting PD-1, another immune-system brake. This combination showed improved benefits in the study's models. Through this research, scientists have found a new direction for where to focus efforts in cancer treatment. However, further research is still needed to determine whether blocking PLA2G2D is safe and effective in patients.

Venus's pale clouds may contain a much darker substance

Through telescopes on Earth, Venus's clouds appear pale yellow. In ultraviolet light, however, they show dark patterns that scientists have observed for decades without knowing exactly what causes these patterns. In a study published in Astrobiology, researchers used observations and computer modeling to estimate how much light the material inside the cloud droplets must absorb to produce those patterns.

Their results suggest that the liquid could appear surprisingly dark if it were collected and examined in a laboratory, even if the clouds look bright from a distance. This is because tiny droplets scatter sunlight, changing how the clouds appear. The study does not identify the mysterious light absorbing material. However, scientists now have a clearer idea of what measurements to test against possible ingredients in Venus's atmosphere.

Satellites track ocean heat to improve hurricane forecasts

In order to measure changes in ocean height, scientists at NASA are using satellites to study this year'sweather phenomenon El Niño, a climate pattern in which unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean shifts weather patterns, such as storm activity. Essentially, the one of the satellites,Sentinel-6B, first begins sending data related to weather while flying shortly behind its predecessor, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich. Together, they measure the ocean's surface with radar by recording changes in ocean height.

These measurements matter because warmer water expands, so changes in sea level can help scientists estimate how much heat is stored beneath the surface. That heat can fuel a hurricane and affect how quickly it strengthens. Researchers plan to incorporate the newer satellite data into forecasting tools, which could eventually give coastal communities more useful warnings before a storm reaches land.

If you're looking to feel less stressed about your own life, you can find some comfort in knowing that there's a Resident Evil protagonist out there going through a relentless, inescapable nightmare. Zack Cregger, best known for his critically acclaimed horror films like Barbarian (2022) and Weapons (2025), debuts his Resident Evil (2026) movie this week. Instead of attempting to adapt an interactive, longform video game, which many of the other Resident Evil movies have done, Cregger opted to write a script that parallels the events of Resident Evil 2 in a more modern era rather than a strict recreation of the game. This new, exciting take on the franchise seems promising; and considering Cregger's past filmography, Resident Evil (2026) should be a monumental treat for any fan of horror.

Perhaps you're looking for a less explicitly terrifying experience - if you are, Exit Party might be the perfect read. Emily St. John Mandel is best known for her award-winning novel Station Eleven, an examination of what happens when society collapses after a flu pandemic, and Exit Party explores similar ideas of societal decay. It's set in 2031, and America is at war with itself, but the Republic of California has been declared and residents of L.A. are going to a party to celebrate. However, this party seems to fracture reality in more ways than one. Exit Party explores shadowed worlds and fractured timelines as its characters search for answers.

Ruminating on life is an integral part of any lived experience, and beabadoobee's music offers an upbeat, catchy way to do so. The alt-rock singer-songwriter releases her fourth studio album, Pylon, this Friday. "Sun Has Set," the album's lead single, features her familiar indie rock-pop beats and introspective lyrics about a closing relationship. Pylon also features collaborations with Hayley Williams and Brendan Yates, so we can expect that the rest of the album is worth a listen.

There's not much more you can do to relax than listen to poetry, and The Writing Seminars Reading Series will host a poetry lecture from Matthew Zapruder on Sept. 16. During the 2016-2017 year, Matthew Zapruder held the annually rotating position of editor for the Poetry Column for The New York Times Magazine, and he is currently the editor at large at Wave Books. He is the author of six collections of poetry, with his most recent I Love Hearing Your Dreams out from Scribner. Don't miss this lecture from a great contemporary poet!

To watch:

• Resident Evil, directed by Zach Cregger - Sept. 18
• The Weight, directed by Padraic McKinley - Sept. 18
• Bad Apples, directed by Jonatan Etzler - Sept. 18
• Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewen - Sept. 18
• Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom, directed by Steve Cox and Matthew Walker - Sept. 18

To read:

• Exit Party, written by Emily St. John Mandel - Sept. 15
• Hollow Bones, written by Jodi Picoult - Sept. 15
• American Nightmare, written by Kelly McWilliams - Sept. 15
• Deadly Little Lessons, written by Danielle Valentine - Sept. 15
• After Year Zero: On Postwar German Thought, written by Fredric Jameson - Sept. 15

To listen:

• Pylon, by beabadoobee - Sept.18
• Day and Night, by Carly Rae Jepsen - Sept. 18
• Bass Persuades, by Miley Cyrus - Sept. 18
• Mule, by Orville Peck - Sept. 18
• Nocturne, by Wasia Project - Sept. 18

Live events:

• The Writing Seminars Reading Series: Matthew Zapruder Turnbull Lecture - Sept. 16, 6-7 p.m. at Gilman 50
  • This event is free.
• Howard French with Minkah Makalani and Madina Thiam: The Second Emancipation - Sept. 17 6-7:30 p.m. at Bird in Hand
  • This event is free.
• Ankur Thakkar Presents Blow Yourself Up - Sept. 17, 7-8:30 p.m. at Greedy Reads Remington
  • This event is free.
• Mark Leidner presents Elegy for Pangaea with Don Berger - Sept. 18, 7-8:30 p.m. at Greedy Reads Remington
  • This event is free.
• Family Movie Night: Ratatouille - Sept. 19, 6-8 p.m. at Homewood Field
  • This event is free and requires registration.

Friday

Fell's Point Oyster Fest, Broadway Square, 1641 Lancaster St., 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

The Fell's Point Oyster Fest returns Sept. 11-13 with three days of fresh Chesapeake oysters, live music, local vendors, food and waterfront entertainment. Presented by Kooper's Tavern, the free festival also features an oyster and wine dinner on Friday evening, an oyster shucking championship on Saturday and a Ravens watch party throughout the weekend.

Outdoor Movie Night: The Greatest Showman, Baltimore Peninsula, 6 p.m.

Enjoy a free waterfront screening of The Greatest Showman under the stars as part of Summer at Baltimore Peninsula. The event begins at 6 p.m., with the movie starting at dusk. Guests can bring lawn chairs and enjoy local food and drinks available for purchase before or during the film.

Saturday

Dog Walking at MDSPCA, Maryland SPCA, 3300 Falls Rd., 9 a.m.

Spend Saturday morning volunteering with BMORE Good Co. at the Maryland SPCA by helping walk dogs before breakfast. Volunteers will give the dogs time to stretch their legs and get outside while connecting with the local community. Closed-toe shoes, long pants and sleeved shirts are required, and spots are limited.

Bmore Vegan Block Party, 3-8 p.m.

The Bmore Vegan Block Party returns for its 5th annual celebration of plant-based living, community and sustainability. The free, family-friendly event features vegan food vendors, local businesses, live entertainment, wellness activities and interactive experiences for all ages. The zero-waste event also promotes reusable dishware, water refill stations and other sustainable practices.

Sunday

Football Sundays at Hampden Yards, Hampden Yards, 1 p.m.

Football Sundays return to Hampden Yards with Ravens games shown across five outdoor TVs with real sound. The Sunday lineup includes Great 8 Purple Crush, bucket specials, The Raven purple pizza and a free Jell-O shot for every Ravens touchdown. The outdoor watch party offers a festive way to enjoy football while the warm weather lasts.