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Scotland face the World Cup waiting game after ending Brazil’s knockout hopes.

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Scotland face the World Cup waiting game after ending Brazil’s knockout hopes.

Brazil booked their place in the knockout stages of the World Cup with an emphatic 3-0 win over Scotland on Wednesday, as Vinicius Junior netted twice and Neymar made his first appearance in a Brazil shirt in nearly three years.

Vinicius’ double helped Carlo Ancelotti’s side top Group C with seven points at a packed Miami Stadium, while 64,478 fans witnessed the emotional return of Brazil’s hard-working son Neymar, who has not worn the famous yellow jersey since October 2023. Vinicius has scored 2-5 goals in every game so far. Going into the tournament to find himself in elite company, level with Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland while one goal behind Lionel Messi.

“We played well; it was like the match against Haiti (a 3-0 win). It was more of a ‘complete performance and we’re happy,’ Ancelotti said. “Now comes the best part… there were a lot of positives; we didn’t concede a goal. The introduction of Neymar is important and he can help us a lot.”

Scotland boss Steve Clarke predicted Brazil would attack.

Scotland boss Steve Clarke predicted Brazil would attack from the start and the South Americans needed seven minutes to prove him right and go 1-0 up when Scott McKenna failed to clear the ball, allowing Ryan to nick it and find Vinicius unmarked.

As goalkeeper Angus Gunn scrambled to stop him, the Real Madrid forward took just one touch to head the ball past him and tap it into the empty net, sending yellow fans into a frenzy. Brazil almost made it 2-0 before the first hydration break when Vinicius picked out Jack Hendrie’s through ball to score, but Scotland got a reprieve after a VAR check and the goal was overturned due to a foul by the Brazilian.

Scotland’s Scott McTominay (left), Lewis Ferguson and Ryan Christie (top centre) react to defeat (P.A.).
Brazil's Neymar Jr. and Vinicius Jr. celebrate.
Brazil’s Neymar Jr. and Vinicius Jr. celebrate. (Getty)

That was the theme in the first half, with Brazil more combative while Scotland failed to capitalise on set pieces as they finished the half without a goal on target. Brazil turned the knife on the stroke of half-time, winning the ball high up the pitch before Bruno Gomaris reached the far post, where a grateful Vinicius scored his second.

The two-goal cushion opened up the Brazilian’s full repertoire of moves as he cut through Scotland’s midfield with flicks and one-touch passes that led to a relieved Clarke at the half-time whistle.

Brazil pressed for a third goal and it came with another scintillating move through midfield as Guámares danced into the box to grab his second assist before setting up Matthías Cunha for his third goal of the tournament.

“It’s a dream come true. The first match was tough, the second one was better, and now it’s even better,” Cunha said. “I believe we are improving and we are doing our best to achieve our goal – to win our sixth title.”

Matheus Cunha celebrates after beating Brazil 3-0
Matheus Cunha celebrates after beating Brazil 3-0 (Reuters)
Clarke and his Scotland side face a wait to see if they make it through to the knockout rounds.

Clarke and his Scotland side face a wait to see if they make it through to the knockout rounds. 

Scotland finally tested Alisson for the first time in the 64th minute when the goalkeeper blocked a header but the Tartan Army’s roar of approval was quickly drowned out by the Brazilian fans singing in unison. But the biggest joy of the night was reserved for Neymar as Ancelotti brought on the 34-year-old who wanted to match up with Vinicius, who created three chances in 13 minutes.

Scotland’s attacking efforts remained toothless and Alisson remained a rock in goal, denying one last chance in the closing minutes as Brazil kept a clean sheet. “We gave them the goals; we gave them the game we wanted. We’re disappointed,” Clarke said.

The result leaves Scotland waiting to see if they can qualify as one of the best teams to finish third with three points but a damaging goal difference of minus three.

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East African Highland banana swallow made from matoke, a green fruit similar to plantain.

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East African Highland banana swallow made from matoke, a green fruit similar to plantain.

A dumpling-like dough made from a cooked starch and meant to accompany soups and stews, swallows are a full category of food in our recipe index.

Known generally to the Yorùbá-speaking people of South West Nigeria as ‘òkèlè’, to the Igbo-speaking people in the South East as ‘ụtara’ and to the Fulani and Hausa people of the Sahel and savanna regions of the North as ‘tuwo’ or ‘nyiir’, they get their English name (swallows) for their ability to be eaten without the need to chew. If you’ve ever moulded a starch with your fingers and then used it to scoop a flavoured broth or sauce directly into your mouth, you understand the modest role of a swallow.

I love considering the powerful interplay between dishes. Light broth, thickened stew, hearty porridge, sinewy draw soup or pepper sauce – all are opportunities to hover my whole face over, to intimately understand the dish’s qualities with all my senses. These are the comforting kinds of meals I make most often at home. Whether I’m trying to master a novel soup that I’ve experienced on a recent outing or conjure a stew straight out of dreams from my Nigerian childhood, I’m always thinking about which kind of swallow will be its brilliant sidekick.

Learning to make stews will invite you into a world of starches and redefine your relationship with your favourite dishes. It’s a topic I’ve covered before, but I’ve found myself wanting to say more. There’s so much to say about swallows.

The list below is by no means comprehensive. I would have loved to have gone deeper into others, like the East African Highland banana swallow, made from matoke, a green fruit similar to plantain. There’s also Ghana’s firm kenkey, made from fermented maize, and the dainty omo tuo (tuwo), from cooked rice. And don’t forget about bespoke banku, a mix of cassava and maize. Some styles cross many parts of Africa, such as amala, made from a dried, fermented plantain or yam flour, and semolina, made from durum wheat.

Two bags filled with white granules alongside a halved yam.
Ingredients to make stews, from top to bottom: ugali, fresh yam and garri. Credit…Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Roscoe Betsill. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.

Ingredient availability defines the styles, and, in essence, any available starch is an opportunity. Swallows contain myriad possibilities, and that’s what should keep you coming back. With an understanding of a few key techniques, you can broaden your relationship to the starches that sustain you.

Traditionally, making stews is a multistep process of simmering a starch in a pot until it softens.

A large mortar and pestle is then used to crush and pound the tender pieces into a dough. While still hot, the dough is kneaded against the side of the mortar until it’s rich, smooth and elastic.

My preparation has you instead make a slurry and then cook it while stirring to avoid any lumpy pockets. It thickens into a soft dough, which is repeatedly folded and kneaded against the side of the pot over heat. In both cases, after a bit of an arm workout, the starches relax and take on a gluten-like, stretchy texture in a process that is quite magical to behold.

I’m learning to cook, eat and exist with significant changes in my abilities, including the loss of digits on both hands. The classic technique of pinching and rolling a small bit of swallow in between my index finger, middle finger and thumb is a distant desire. But my prosthetic hands are a point of pride, an enabler of sorts. Meals have become a time for discovery, as I find myself wielding a fork or spoon to eat my swallow. We should each bring the swallow to our lips, however we’re able. It will nourish us all the same.

An overhead image of the yam swallow dough in a Dutch oven being stirred.
At first, the swallows will resemble a thick, chalky-looking dough. Credit…Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Roscoe Betsill. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
An oval-shaped dough on a reddish plate.
The dough transforms into something glossy and stretchy after minutes of folding. Credit…Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Roscoe Betsill. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.

A staple crop across the Caribbean, West and Central Africa and South America, the West African yam, not to be confused with a sweet potato, grows underground as a magnificently large tuber. It goes by many regional names: ‘ìyán’ in the Yoruba-speaking part of Nigeria, ‘igname pilée’ in Benin, ‘yam fufu’ in Ghana and ‘foutou’ in Ivory Coast, to name a few.

The process of making it can be exhilarating and exhausting. It never fails to surprise me how the crumbly-looking starch is transformed into something glossy and stretchy after minutes of repeated folding. As a yam swallow, iyán shares the name of its main ingredient. As dense as it is, it provides nourishment and sustenance throughout the day.

This recipe is for anyone who truly enjoys the subtle and mild taste that only fresh yam can provide.

It skips a few steps for convenience: The peeled yam is puréed in a blender and then cooked into a stiff, pliable dough.

PAIR IT WITH vegetable-rich stews like èfọ́ rírò or ègúsí or a saucy braised meat for a deeply satisfying meal — comfort in a bowl.

The ugali dough as it comes together.
When making ugali, don’t use yellow cornmeal. Credit…Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Roscoe Betsill. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
A white doughy round on a green plate.
Masarepa can be an adequate substitute for the mahindi flour often used. Credit…Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Roscoe Betsill. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.

Flours milled from grains or any starch can be the basis for savouries, with each imparting a particular flavour and texture. Grains such as maize, millet and sorghum, and tubers such as yams, cassava and potatoes all star in different stews across Africa. Across East Africa, a swallow, like this one, made from milled white maize flour (called mahindi flour), goes by different names: ugali, posho, nsima and sadza.

Although you may be tempted to use a yellow cornmeal, you may not get the same results. The white cornmeal is starchy and lends itself well to vigorous folding.

PAIR IT WITH Any vegetable soup, such as light soup, the spinach-rich cagaar, the coconut-laden kuku paka or any grilled beef kebabs.

The yellow garri dough in a Dutch oven.
Although most swallows are served unseasoned, this recipe has been enriched with a bit of red palm oil for a mild, floral taste. Credit…Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Roscoe Betsill. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
A yellow swallow on a white plate.
This garri swallow is shaped in plastic wrap to form an indented ball. Credit…Photograph by Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Roscoe Betsill. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.

Cassava shows up in different dishes and in many forms — grated, crushed, fermented and dried — across Africa. It’s also found as a flour, known as ‘garri’ or ‘gari’ across West and Central Africa and ‘farofa’ in Brazil. Cassava stews have a woodsy depth and can range from mild to sour, depending on how lengthy the fermentation process has been.

When garri is made into a swallow, it is known as eba or generally as fufu in the diaspora. The garri swallow recipe here is lightly seasoned with a bit of red palm oil, giving it a notably bright colour and a floral flavour.

Pair it with eru, okra soup with shrimp and greens or ègúsí soup, and top with ọbẹ̀ onírù or any braised meat.

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Did wolves really save Yellowstone? New research challenges one of conservation’s greatest success stories.

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Did wolves really save Yellowstone? New research challenges one of conservation’s greatest success stories.

In 1995, a conservation experiment at Yellowstone National Park became the centre of worldwide celebration. Fourteen grey wolves were reintroduced after an absence of nearly 70 years, with many ecologists crediting their return for remarkable ecological improvements.

The story became a textbook example of a “trophic cascade” in which predators reshape entire ecosystems by indirectly controlling herbivore populations.

Yet three decades later, the science is proving to be more nuanced than the popular narrative. While some researchers dispute the extent to which wolves have affected Yellowstone’s recovery, an ongoing debate focuses on how much of the change can be attributed to wolves alone.

New studies suggest that bears, cougars, human hunting, climate variability, and changing herbivore populations may also have played an important role in reshaping the park’s landscape and wildlife communities.

How 14 wolves transformed Yellowstone and sparked a global conservation success story

When grey wolves disappeared from Yellowstone in the early twentieth century, the elk population expanded across much of the park. Researchers observed heavy browsing pressure, especially on young willow, aspen and cottonwood trees along rivers and streams. Following the reintroduction of wolves in 1995 and 1996, ecologists documented a decline in elk numbers and changes in elk behaviour, as well as the recovery of important plant communities.

A landmark review published in Biological Conservation concluded that the return of wolves had allowed scientists to observe “tri-trophic cascades involving wolves, elk, and plant species such as aspen, cottonwood, and willow.” Researchers found evidence of reduced browsing and vegetation recovery of young trees in parts of northern Yellowstone. Wildlife biologist Douglas Smith of the Yellowstone Wolf Project described the process as follows:

It’s like kicking a pebble on a mountain slope where the conditions were just right such that a falling pebble could trigger an avalanche of change.” Later studies also linked wolf recovery to increases in beaver colonies, improvements in habitat complexity, and broader ecological benefits for birds, fish, and scavengers.

New research challenges the well-known Yellowstone trophic cascade narrative

Although the story of the Yellowstone wolf has become one of the most cited examples of conservation, many ecologists have recently questioned whether wolves were solely responsible for the observed changes. A growing body of research argues that ecosystem recovery is due to the combined effects of multiple predators and environmental factors, not just a simple wolf-to-elk-to-vegetation chain reaction.

A recent study, ‘Flawed analysis invalidates claim of a strong Yellowstone trophic cascade after wolf reintroduction’, examined decades of data on wolves, elk, and aspen communities. The researchers concluded that reductions in elk density, rather than fear-induced behavioural changes alone, primarily drove the indirect effects.

The study also highlighted the importance of other predators, including cougars and grizzly bears, in affecting elk populations. Wildlife ecologist Daniel McNulty argued that “A big problem with the simple trophic cascade story is that it ignores the role of these other predators.”

Other scientists have also cautioned against portraying Yellowstone as a straightforward ecological success story, noting that climatic conditions, drought patterns, bison expansion, and human management decisions have affected vegetation recovery throughout the park.

What do scientists agree on today? Yellowstone wolves and ecosystem recovery

Despite disagreement over the magnitude of impact, broad scientific consensus remains that wolves have contributed significantly to Yellowstone’s ecological changes. Recent research continues to provide evidence of recovery of willows, aspens, and associated wildlife populations following the reintroduction of wolves. Another study investigated ‘Predominance of density-mediated indirect effects in communities of wolves, elk, and aspen.’

There is also strong evidence that wolf recovery reduced browsing pressure and promoted willow growth throughout northern Yellowstone. Similarly, researchers defending the trophic cascade hypothesis stated in a 2024 commentary: ”

After the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park in 1995–96, recruitment of aspen plants increased due to reduced browsing by elk.” The emerging scientific view is not that the original Yellowstone story was entirely wrong, but that it was incomplete.

Wolves appear to be an important part of a much larger ecological puzzle that involves many predators, herbivores, and environmental forces. Rather than demonstrating how a single species can instantly repair an ecosystem, Yellowstone increasingly shows how ecological recovery emerges from complex interactions spanning decades.

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Scientists finally solved how H5N1 bird flu hid in dairy cows

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Scientists finally solved how H5N1 bird flu hid in dairy cows

When H5N1 bird flu began infecting U.S. dairy cattle in early 2024,

Veterinarians struggled to identify the cause. The virus was difficult to recognise because it behaved very differently in cows than it does in other mammals. Rather than primarily infecting the lungs, H5N1 caused severe infections in the udders while leaving the respiratory system largely unaffected.

Now, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health have uncovered the biological reason behind this unusual pattern. Their findings, published in Science Advances, provide the first detailed explanation for why bird flu took such an unexpected form in cattle. The work could also help scientists better anticipate how H5N1 might behave if it spreads to new animal species in the future.

Bird Flu’s Unusual Appearance in Dairy Herds

The outbreak first emerged in dairy cattle in the Texas Panhandle, where animals developed severe cases of necrotising mastitis, a painful inflammatory disease that damages tissue in the mammary glands.

“Mastitis is a classic disease in milk-production animals, and veterinarians were dutifully looking to all the usual suspects for the source, like bacterial pathogens,” said senior author Suresh Kuchipudi, Ph.D., chair of infectious diseases and microbiology at Pitt Public Health. “When the real culprit turned out to be bird flu, everyone in the field was caught completely by surprise. We hadn’t even remotely considered that cattle could be a host for H5N1.”

Before the virus was identified, it spread from herd to herd, infecting cattle and contaminating their surroundings.

“If a cow is infected, it sheds a lot of virus into the milk,” said Kuchipudi. “This raised concerns about occupational risk for farm workers. Also, there is a habit of feeding raw milk to domestic pets, like cats, and there have been instances of cats dying, which we studied previously.”

Kuchipudi emphasised that pasteurisation effectively destroys the virus, highlighting the importance of avoiding raw milk.

Searching for the Biological Explanation

Throughout his career, Kuchipudi has studied influenza viruses, focusing on how receptor biology influences which species and tissues can be infected. Influenza viruses attach to specific receptors on cells in a lock-and-key fashion. These receptors belong to a group of sugar-based molecules known as glycans.

Earlier studies from other research groups suggested that flu-related glycan receptors were present in the noses, tracheas, and lungs of cattle. Yet cows infected with H5N1 were not developing the respiratory disease researchers expected.

That discrepancy suggested that a more detailed explanation was needed.

“Glycan biology is very complex,” said Kuchipudi. “We realised that, to understand what was really going on, we would need to use more innovative technologies and map out the fine-detailed architecture that enables the virus to bind to cells.”

To do that, Kuchipudi partnered with Harvard Medical School researcher Lauren E. Pepi, Ph.D., whose expertise is in glycomics, the comprehensive study of glycan structures.

Why H5N1 Targets Cow Udders

The research team combined multiple techniques, including binding experiments, staining approaches, and ultra-high-resolution imaging, to examine how H5N1 interacts with different tissues.

Their analysis showed that not all glycan receptors function the same way when it comes to bird flu infection. The virus was able to bind only to a specific subtype known as N-linked sialic acid receptors.

These receptors were found throughout the udder tissue of cattle but were nearly absent in airway tissue. According to Kuchipudi, this made the mammary glands a “perfect breeding ground for the virus”.

The discovery helps explain why H5N1 caused severe mastitis rather than respiratory illness in dairy cattle.

Predicting Bird Flu’s Next Move

The researchers believe their findings could do more than explain the cattle outbreak. The same approach may help scientists identify which animals and tissues are vulnerable to H5N1 before future outbreaks occur.

“We can preemptively screen different species and different tissues within them for susceptibility,” said Kuchipudi. “For example, would they exhibit respiratory symptoms? Would they show only mastitis, as in cows? Or would they show neurological disease, as our team has shown in cats? The lessons learned could potentially help prevent us from being caught by surprise again.”

Other authors on the study were Surabhi Srinivas, M.S.; Shubhada K. Chothe, Ph.D.; Santhamani Ramasamy, Ph.D.; Sougat Misra, Ph.D.; Noel Chandan Nallipogu, M.D., MPH; and Lindsey LaBella, all of Pitt; Yin-Ting Yeh, Ph.D., of Pennsylvania State University; May Wang, B.S., of Harvard University; and Heidi L. Pecoraro, Ph.D., and Brett T. Webb, Ph.D., of North Dakota State University.

This research was supported by Pitt Public Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (FP00039373/AWD00010780).

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Leeds transfer news: Harry Wilson deal agreed as midfielder set to sign on a free when Fulham contract expires Football News

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Leeds transfer news: Harry Wilson deal agreed as midfielder set to sign on a free when Fulham contract expires Football News

Leeds United have agreed a deal to sign Harry Wilson on a free transfer.

The Wales forward is set to leave Fulham when his contract expires at the end of the month.

Aston Villa and Everton were among the other clubs interested in the 29-year-old.

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Take a look at the best strikes during Wilson’s career.
Fulham tried to convince Wilson to stay and said they had offered him a new contract in a statement earlier this month.

However, he has decided to leave Craven Cottage to join Marco Silva after a career-best season in the Premier League.

Wilson scored 10 goals and set up another seven in the competition, attracting interest from clubs in the Champions League.

However, it is Leeds who have won the race for his signature – with Wilson falling at the last minute at Elland Road almost a year after deadline day.

Sky Sports News It is understood that both Wilson and Leeds signed a deal sheet in the hope that the paperwork would not be signed only for Fulham, to kill off the move.

As well as Wilson, Leeds are also looking for a move for Julian Brandt, who is set to leave Borussia Dortmund as a free agent at the end of the month.

Leeds are also in talks with Southampton for midfielder Shea Charles after their initial £20m offer was rejected by the Championship club.

Leeds summer transfer plans

Leeds face a huge summer window as they look to cement their place in the Premier League. Daniel Farke wants to add more individual quality to a squad that has built a reputation for being one of the toughest teams to come up against.

Addressing the goalie situation is a top priority. Talks are ongoing with Karl Darlow, whose contract expires on July 1, but if they go ahead, Leeds will likely need to find a new No.1, with question marks over Lucas Perry after he was let go.

Leeds made a bid for Jorgen Strand Larsson in January but Crystal Palace refused to match the £48m Wolves paid. They want to sign a striker again in this window. Relying on Dominique Calvert-Leone and Lucas Nemecha, who both have injury records, would be a gamble.

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Leeds chairman Parag Marathe has announced that Ethan Ampadu has signed a new four-year contract.

Facundo Buonanotte is unlikely to return after a six-month loan at Brighton, while Joel Piroe and winger Wilfried Gnonto both have uncertain futures. Piroe opted to stay at Leeds in the last window despite widespread interest from Celtic in the Championship, while Gnonto is wanted by Bundesliga club Freiburg.

Leeds are thin on the left side of defence, with Gabriel Gudmundsson and Pascal Strick as their only natural options. Folk have struggled thanks to the adaptation of James Justin and could look to add another defender with similar versatility this summer.

Leeds’ first five Premier League fixtures of 2026/27

August

Week 22: Nottingham Forest (A)

Saturday 29: Brentford (H)

September

Week 5: Brighton (A)

Week 12: Newcastle (H)

Week 19: Crystal Palace (H)

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The Weekly Wine 97: What exactly is CRED’s business model?

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The Weekly Wine 97: What exactly is CRED’s business model?

Hello and welcome to another edition of Weekly Wine.

It’s been a bit of a chaotic week, thanks to the World Cup, which is throwing off our circadian rhythms. The good thing is that we have something to write about that is not as furious as politics. On the other hand, the World Cup is being held amid the most politically turbulent time since World War II, in the most politically divided country, with the most politically divisive president ever. Okay, enough ranting.

In this week’s edition, we look at Kunal Shah’s meteoric rise and explain the Cred business model, examine why so many smart Indians have fallen for Jeff Bezos’s fake quote on the water, explain how Sir Alex Ferguson’s old lieutenant stopped England in its tracks, and ask why, sometimes, one’s therapist is unreachable.

CRED model

It is fitting that the person who has been chosen to lead WhatsApp globally is not some IIT-IIM techie but a gentleman who studied philosophy at Wilson College, Mumbai, and left the MBA course, which already makes him smarter than most IIT-IIM graduates.

The tech world was stunned when Meta chose Kunal Shah to lead WhatsApp globally. Then came the inevitable question, as Camus was contemplating suicide: What exactly is CRED’s business model? Is it selling 90s nostalgia to the millennial generation? Inspiring childhood heroes to break character? To those who understand Marx better than Maiman, this model may seem strange.

CRED starts by gathering India’s most valuable credit-card users: people with credit scores above 750. This gives it a rare moat, the kind of product managers dream about in their sleep: a financially disciplined, urban, high-spending base that is useful to banks, card companies and premium brands. In plain English, this group means the epitome of the upper middle class that doesn’t want to earn their money through criminal endeavours.

CRED then turns bill payment into a monthly habit. Coins, perks, and access to premium brands turn a boring job into something slightly rewarding. But the rewards are just the hook. Once CRED has an audience and habituation, it can make money through CRED Pay transactions, lending, CRED Mint and brand partnerships.

So no, CRED doesn’t just have the data. It has filtered audiences, repeat behaviour, trust, and monetisation rails. The bet is simple: a small group of wealthy, trusted users can be more valuable than a much larger crowd that came for cashback and disappeared before the invoice was paid.

Jeff Bezos and water

In 1996, Alan Sokal entered academia with a whoopee cushion in one hand and a flamethrower in the other. The NYU physicist deliberately wrote an absurd paper, filled it with fashionable jargon, decorated it with the political flavour of the time, and sent it off as a social lesson to a cultural studies magazine that considered itself intelligent. The magazine published it, after which Sokal revealed that the whole thing was a hoax.

This lesson was cruel because it made people uncomfortable. Wise people can swallow the garbage by wearing the garment of their faith when it comes to it.

Nearly three decades later, the Internet has transformed the SoCal Affair into a daily production model. A hoax no longer requires a journal, a submission process, or a title that sounds like a rejected Radiohead album. All it needs is a billionaire’s face, an AI panic, a climate worrier, and the word “breaking” over the top like a cheap police siren.

Which brings us to Jeff Bezos and the quote he never said.

In the viral claim, Bezos argued that water for AI data centres should be prioritised over human consumption. Some versions gave him this line: “Humans will not evolve humanity. AI will.” Another turned the same idea into polished apocalypse – talking about biological limits, infinite digital potential and the threat of a data infrastructure starved of cooling resources to preserve basic human comfort.

It sounded less like a tech conference quote and more like a Bond villain monologue written by someone who had just discovered LinkedIn.

Critical reporting of Bezos’ VivaTech appearance focused on AI, labour shortages, his venture Prometheus, Blue Origin, the Moon, and the familiar billionaire’s dream of moving polluting industries off Earth. There’s enough to examine, question, and poke fun at that servers can dream up without having to coin a line about leaving humans thirsty.

The fake travelled because it had everything a modern liar needed. Bezos is already a full-fledged cultural character: the Amazon warehouse, the rockets, the private space dreams, the unimaginable wealth and the billionaire’s habit of discussing humanity as if it were an underperforming business unit. The purpose of the claim was not to create a villain; the villain had already been selected.

Then came water, turning a policy question into a fundamental fear. Electricity seems technical, but water is intimate. We drink it, store it in summer, fight for it in drought, and remember its importance only when air comes out of the tap. Once water enters the story, Aakrosh doesn’t need much help.

AI’s resource footprint gave lies its runway. Data centres raise real questions about cooling, power, water use, local tensions, and corporate privacy, but online conversations about AI and water have already become a quagmire of bad arithmetic. People confuse annual data centre consumption with per-query usage. The chilled water mixes with the water used indirectly through power generation. Litres per year, litres per prompt and litres per image are thrown into the same bucket, after which someone throws the bucket down the timeline.

Once the denominator disappears, each number becomes a weapon.

That’s why Bezos’ quote worked. It asked people to confirm what they already feared: AI is thirsty, Big Tech is secret, billionaires are ruthless and ordinary people will be asked to subsidise the future built above their heads.

The most dangerous sentence online is, “I can imagine him saying that.” Once a claim reaches that point, evidence becomes paperwork, and the fact-checker begins to struggle. Worse, fakery helps the person it wants to attack because it allows the powerful to deny the most absurd accusation and avoid tough questions.

The water footprint of AI deserves investigation. Data centre deals are worth investigating. Billionaire techno-utopianism deserves scrutiny. That test requires numbers that remain in contact with the calculator.

Sokal showed that nonsense can fool smart people when it levels the room. Bezos’ quote shows that even smart people can be foolish.

fake general

Before he was causing a Fergie-like reaction in international football, Queiroz was the man who helped create Ferguson’s third great Manchester United team. Ferguson was a great admirer, calling him the assistant who challenged him intellectually and “the closest you can get to being manager of Manchester United without actually holding the title.”

Under Queiroz, United moved away from their flamboyant 4–4–2 style with two wingers and two central midfielders towards a more flexible 4–3–3, which gave them greater balance in midfield, more fluid forwards and a counter-attacking formation that could also defend. It was this figure who helped transform United into a more serious European power.

One match that stood out was Manchester United’s Champions League semi-final victory over Barcelona in 2008, which was decided by a classic Paul Scholes goal and a defensive masterclass in two phases in which Barcelona dominated possession and still lost. One wonders whether United’s two encounters with Barcelona in the 2009 and 2011 finals would have been slightly different had Queiroz still been there.

He was also instrumental in signing players from Portugal and Brazil, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Anderson, and helped transform Ronaldo from a touchy-feely teenager into an athletic specimen who became the complete footballer whose rivalry with Lionel Messi dominated football for almost two decades.

Like his compatriot and former student José Mourinho, Carlos Queiroz’s first goal is not to lose, a strategy dubbed “sufferball”, in which both teams suffer a loss but only one does so willingly. Against England, Queiroz had a clear structure: a disciplined mid-block, a narrow back line, and Thomas Partey screening the defence, while England kept wide possession but did not become a serious goal threat. Ghana had no desire to win the high ball against the England centre-backs. Instead, he protected the middle, pressing England’s attack-minded midfielders and preventing Harry Kane from dropping into the pocket and combining. As DAZN’s analysis noted, England had “width without penetration.”

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Postscript by Prasad Sanyal

My therapist says she can’t contact me. This is not because he lacks skills or abilities. On the contrary, she is intelligent, patient, observant and possesses the kind of calm that would make an air traffic controller mildly excited.

The problem is that every time she tries to talk to the hurt person, they send the furious person off to join the meeting. Anger, unlike hurt, comes prepared.

There are points of discussion in anger.

Rage has supporting documents.

Rage has the screenshots.

Rage has a 47-slide presentation called “Why Everything Is Terrible and Why I’m Right About It.”

Meanwhile, my therapist laid me down on a couch away from her. This is an ancient idea. Freud preferred that patients not look directly at the analyst. The theory, as I understand it, was that people speak more freely when they’re not busy managing another person’s reactions. No encouraging nods or sympathetic smiles, no direct judgement – ​​just you and your thoughts. I’m beginning to suspect that this system was invented specifically for people like me.

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It was thought that AI would eliminate engineering jobs, but new data shows they’re the most resilient

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It was thought that AI would eliminate engineering jobs, but new data shows they’re the most resilient

Whether AI is already replacing jobs is a topic of considerable debate.

Technical layoffs hit their highest single month in total in May, and AI was the most cited reason, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Grey & Christmas.

Due to the rapid adoption of AI-powered coding tools, software engineering is, in theory, the most vulnerable professional field to automation. However, researchers at venture firm Signalfire say hiring data shows a different picture.

Asher Bantock, head of research at Signalfire, said, “The argument given for many layoffs is consistently AI, and specifically they would say AI in relation to code; they might say one engineer can do the work of several engineers in the past.” “That’s a little inconsistent with what we’re seeing on the ground.”

Analysis from Signalfire suggests that engineering was the most flexible job in 2025, based on tracking the careers of millions of employees at over 80 million companies. Instead of focusing on layoffs, which are difficult to track because people often delay updating their employment status after a job cut, Signalfire examined hiring data as a more accurate indicator of real-time workforce trends.

According to the latest from Signalfire, overall hiring at big tech companies has declined by 25% compared to 2019 levels, with engineering roles seeing only a much smaller decline of 11%. talent status report”

In fact, in 2025 engineers comprised 55% of all new hires at the 12 companies classified by Signalfire as “Tech Majors” – Alphabet, Meta, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, Tesla, Uber, Airbnb, Block, and Stripe. According to the report, this is a significant jump compared to 2019, when engineers represented only 46% of new hires.

Data from Signalfire shows that the continued need for engineers was even more pronounced among early-stage startups, which collectively brought on 7% more engineers in 2025 than in 2019.

Bantock argued that if AI were truly replacing engineering talent, engineering hiring would be the first to decline amid the current tech hiring contraction. Instead, data from Signalfire shows that the number of engineering employees is growing faster than most other job functions in the tech sector.

While Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned last year that AI would erase half of all entry-level white-collar jobs and that unemployment would rise to 20% within five years, the company’s head of economics, Peter McCrory, told TechCrunch in March that he had yet to see any significant AI-driven impact on the workforce.

McCrory said at the time: “There is at least no major difference in the unemployment rate” between workers who use the cloud to perform “the most central functions of their job in automated ways” – such as technical writers, data entry clerks and software engineers – and workers in jobs most exposed to AI that require “physical interaction and dexterity with the real world.”

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang went even further, rejecting the theory that AI would replace engineers. “Someone said AI will destroy all software engineering jobs,” Huang said in an interview. The interview took place at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in April. He then argued that the opposite is true. Now that all of Nvidia’s engineers are using agentic AI, he said, “Software engineers are busier than ever.”

Huang said that while agents are writing code on the fly, they are also constantly pressuring engineers to come up with ‘the next idea.’

At least for now, it seems that AI-equipped engineering has become a classic example of the Jevons paradox – the idea that greater efficiency does not reduce demand for a resource; this effect increases it as work expands to fill the new capacity. As Bantock said of engineering talent in this moment: “They are suddenly much more productive, and they have countless jobs to do.”

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The Picnic Mistakes You’re Making (and the Recipes That Fix Them)

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Picnic Mistakes You’re Making

Vaughn Vreeland is a supervising video producer for NYT Cooking. An avid baker and home cook hailing from North Carolina, Vaughn can be seen making his latest creations on the NYT Cooking YouTube channel, Instagram and TikTok.

In an ideal world, the word ‘picnic’ evokes wicker and gingham, cucumber sandwiches and glass pitchers of iced tea, all backlit by golden-hour sunshine.

But in the real world, you’re batting away an army of flying critters and creepy crawlers trying to storm the hot fermented watermelon you forgot to put back in the cooler. Inevitably, something, or someone, is sticky. There’s never enough water; your friend forgot napkins, and why did the music stop?

Picnicking doesn’t have to be an ordeal, but you may be doing a few things wrong. Here are a few common mistakes — and some smart, easy fixes — that will make everyone’s alfresco dining more enjoyable.

1. Your menu can’t take the heat

An overhead image of a potato salad scattered with herbs in an aqua plastic container.
Credit…David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist. Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.

Why they’re perfect for picnics: Potato salad is a quintessentially picnic food but doesn’t always do well under the hot sun. This one skips the mayonnaise for a creamy (and vegan!) dressing that won’t spoil, while the pepperoncini add little bursts of brightness to each bite.

Whether you’re going for a snacking spread or a full-on dinner party, a smart picnic starts in the kitchen. So choose your ingredients and dishes wisely, and keep mayonnaise-based salads, leafy vegetables, soft cheeses, soft fruit and seafood to a minimum. If potato salad is a must-have in your picnic spread, choose a creamy, more stable recipe; I use whipped tahini as the base for my dressing, then add lemon, lots of herbs and pepperoncini for a bit of bite.

And nothing ruins a sandwich quite like soggy lettuce, so instead of romaine, opt for a thinly sliced cabbage slaw, as in this picnic hoagie. It provides the same crunch and vegetal respite as lettuce, but it stays crisp longer. Doubling the roasted red pepper spread gives you enough to use as a dip for guests with little, if any, extra work.

2. You’re cutting food on-site

Eight small sandwiches sit on their sides in a pan to highlight their insides.
Credit…David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist. Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.

Why they’re perfect for picnics: Who doesn’t love a saucy, crunchy sandwich? The red pepper spread is complex, slightly sweet and a bit spicy. Leave the leafy greens behind and make cabbage slaw — it offers all of the crunch without getting soggy from the sauce or the sun.

No chopping at the function! When coming up with the menu, prioritise minimally messy crowd-pleasers like a smattering of chips and dips, charcuterie boards with cured meat, grapes, sliced firm cheeses and precut vegetables. Slice any sandwiches into manageable segments and place them cut-side up. That lets your guests grab them without making a mess or touching three other portions along the way.

3. You’re not thinking about ice enough

A large jar filled with a chilled cocktail sits in the middle of two glasses on a picnic blanket.
Credit…David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist. Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.

Why it’s perfect for picnics: Refreshing, boozy and highly sippable, this batch cocktail makes eight to 10 servings, enough for a sizeable crowd. It also takes well to being paired with frozen fruit, which acts as ice (and doubles as a fun treat when you’re finished).

Suzette Louis-Jean, an event planner and the owner of La TAS Events in New Jersey, prefers dry ice to keep things chilled, but regular ice in an insulated bag or cooler works just fine. The more important part is how you pack it: Place the ice at the bottom to keep anything delicate from getting crushed. (Our friends at Wirecutter came up with a great method, along with a helpful diagram.)

The most frustrating part about ice is also the most obvious: It melts. To keep the party going well after you’ve arrived with your chilled cooler, ask your most reliable (and punctual) friends to bring two bags each. Overestimate how much you’ll need: You can really never have enough ice.

And please keep in mind that frozen fruits are another brilliant way of chilling your punch, lemonade, tea and other fruit-friendly drinks. Add frozen cherries and pineapple to your tropical drinks or frozen peaches to your iced tea. If you want to plan ahead, freeze lemon wedges and cucumber slices for spa water. It won’t dilute the drinks and often enhances the flavour. It’s also adorable.

4. You’re using the wrong gear

A picnic spread packaged in lidded containers.
Credit…David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist. Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.

If picnicking is to become your summertime personality, it might be worth investing in some key items that make travelling easier. Airtight storage containers prevent leakage, and stackable ones are especially good for picnicking, as are lidded baking vessels, like loaf pans or 9-by-13 pans.

Rimmed baking sheets or plastic cutting boards are particularly effective ways to secure container foundations. Pack your items as flat as possible, rather than stacking them vertically and leaving gravity to topple them all. Lay things on their bigger, flatter sides and stack upward. Pad and secure your containers with things that have multiple uses — like kitchen towels — to keep the food from tumbling around too much.

A pan of triple-layer brownies in the pan on a picnic blanket.
Credit…David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist. Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.

Why they’re perfect for picnics: These sturdy brownies are great to take just about anywhere and are a much more viable way to celebrate than a cake you spent forever on, only to see the buttercream weeping. I like to precut them, then place each square on its side to show off its cross section.

5. You’re not asking for help

If you go through the trouble of making all of that food, count on your friends. (People are often delighted to be appointed to meaningful tasks, research suggests.) Ask them to bring the rest.

What’s often forgotten:

  • Trash bags

  • Paper towels

  • Portable speakers

  • Hand wipes

  • Sunscreen

  • Bug spray

  • Drinking water

  • Seltzer

  • Chargers

  • Bottle openers

Keep in mind that the weather and your environment will always have an impact. Bugs will happen; wind will happen. Don’t be too hard on yourself if it isn’t perfect.

“It’s about the thoughtfulness that goes into it,” Ms Louis-Jean said. “A picnic is a state of mind. Remember that you are the vibe. You are the special ingredient.

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Man United now have three key things to do to beat Tottenham with Matisse Fernandes.

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Man United now have three key things to do to beat Tottenham with Matisse Fernandes.

West Ham midfielder Matías Fernandes’ pursuit of a summer move to Manchester United continues, but Tottenham Hotspur are also interested in the Portuguese star.

 

Man United are interested in Portugal and West Ham midfielder Matisse Fernandes. (Photo: Getty Images)

Manchester United are facing stiff competition from Tottenham Hotspur for West Ham star Matías Fernandes. The Portuguese midfielder is understood to be set for a move to Old Trafford this summer.

But a free report indicates that the Hammers insist on a significant proportion of any agreed price up front. It is also claimed that Spurs have offered a superior package overall.

Fernandes is said to have a higher wage offer than United, and the 21-year-old is keen on the move. It is therefore clear that the Reds will need to offer Fernandes a higher wage, more money in front of West Ham, and a bigger overall financial package to the Hammers, as well.

West Ham have slapped an £85m price tag on Fernandes, but that would be the starting point for talks with a club that needs to raise the cash to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Manchester City’s £120m plus bid for Elliott Anderson shows the market for the midfielder is huge. Top midfielders are in high demand, and clubs will reap the most cash in possession of these players.

Anderson was seen as a dream signing at Old Trafford, so it is no surprise that United are also considering Fernandes. The Portuguese star may have more upside than the England international, as he is two years younger, so he should continue to improve.

Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal have also been linked with Fernandes, so United may need to act quickly if they are to secure his signature.

Matisse Fernandes after the Premier League match between West Ham United and Leeds United at the London Stadium.

Mateus Fernandes is a key transfer target for Manchester United. (Photo: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

And his former coach Vasco Cebra has spoken about him. Radio Renasenka: Why Fernandes is so sought after by Europe’s biggest clubs

He said, “He’s got a huge range of abilities. I mean he’s got technical quality and he’s a kid with a great heart and mentality.

“We expected, and I especially expected, that he would reach the top teams rapidly, but it would be wrong to say that I hoped that after two years, he could be in Real Madrid’s plans. He was really young when he came through us.”

Cebra backs Fernandes to succeed in the Premier League. He added: “I expected him to reach the Premier League level in a very short period of time. He really had a mindset and a daily commitment, both in training and in matches, that made me believe he could reach a very high level.”

Midfield is a priority position that United are looking to strengthen and the Reds have already agreed a deal to sign Ederson from Atalanta. The Brazilian will join after an initial fee of £35m between the two clubs plus £3.8m in add-ons.

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Switching to Counter Service Made My Restaurant More Sustainable

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Switching to Counter Service Made My Restaurant More Sustainable

Now Open is a yearlong series celebrating some of 2026’s most exciting new restaurants. Throughout the year, we’ll check in with teams in Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C., to hear what it’s really like behind the scenes of a buzzy opening.

Then, we’ll host exclusive meals at these restaurants as part of Dinner Party, presented by Capital One. Read along for challenges, candid reflections, and advice from the proprietors behind some of the country’s hottest new openings.

After opening in 2016, Tail Up Goat quickly became D.C.’s go-to fine dining restaurant for celebrations of all sizes, racking up national accolades including a Michelin star and James Beard Award nods. But after nearly a decade of service and a wave of new challenges for the hospitality industry, the restaurant’s owners knew they needed to make a big change.

Rather than give up the lease to their Adams Morgan spot, co-owners Jill Tyler and Jon Sybert decided to shift the concept into a counter-service model called Rye Bunny. Guests file into the restaurant and order before shifting into table service that feels exactly like your standard restaurant experience.

Tyler and Sybert say this fresh concept gives guests access to the same top-notch seasonal dishes—just in a format that they believe is better for both guests and staff. As the couple launches their reimagined concept, we checked in with Tyler to learn more about how they melded Rye Bunny to fit changing dining habits while supporting the team’s mission to make hospitality careers more sustainable.

Liz Provencher: After running Tail Up Goat for nearly 10 years, what made you decide to shift into a more casual concept?

Jill Tyler: We were coming up on our 10-year lease and deciding what was next. I don’t know that we were sure it was restaurants. The last five years, post-pandemic, have been incredibly challenging in many, many ways, and we weren’t really sure what we were going to do. Then my friend Arjav, who has a restaurant in Austin called Birdie’s, said, “

You need to open a counter-service restaurant. It’s the only way restaurants will work in the future. This is what you should be doing and the model you should be looking at.”

Were you immediately sold?

I was really reticent. At that point, I’d only ever seen counter service equal fast-casual, and that’s not what I wanted to run. There are many great things about that side of the business. And it can be very profitable, especially looking at some of the D.C. IPOs in the last 10 years. But it wasn’t what I love about what I do. So I went to Austin and staged with him. An hour into my stage, he was like, “What are you going to do?” And I said, “I’m going to open a counter-service restaurant.”

So what changed your mind?

Restaurants are kind of broken, so I wanted to build something that worked. Even if it might have worked when we were new and everyone wanted to see the new thing for a year, it wasn’t a sustainable business. We knew the things that were critical to us: providing competitive wages, PTO, and healthcare. All these things make it a much more expensive business to run, so we started with our non-negotiables and then tried to figure out how we could build a sustainable business that occupies the middle responsibly.

Going out to eat is now expensive. It’s a treat to do regardless of what level you’re doing it at. So for us, it was like, Okay, how do we responsibly occupy a middle space that might be something where neighbourhood folks come in every other week and for other people it’s a special occasion?

And how do we do that in a way that aligns with our values and who we want to be as owners? That’s how we ended up with Rye Bunny. Jon and I want to run something where we build a community—and that means we have to be more accessible, so that’s why we’re here.

The Rye Bunny menu at the restaurant counter

Rye Bunny operates with a counter-service model. Farrah Skeiky

What were the major pain points you wanted to solve with this new concept?

The main pain point at Tail Up Goat post-pandemic was that everything was pricier. You have yearly rent increases; you have inflation that’s done a number on food and wages; and healthcare premiums are going up anywhere between 12 and 17 per cent every year, year over year. All the things that were important for us to provide became much pricier.

Dining habits also just changed. We were no longer seeing one or two turns on a weekday. We were filling reservations between 6 and 8 p.m., but we never got back to seating until 10 p.m. So much of it changed in a way where the pieces just didn’t fit back together.

Why do you think counter service is a more sustainable model?

One of the main things we had to figure out was labour. We were running a $100,000 payroll every two weeks, which is not sustainable. This model allows us to run with fewer people. Compared to Tail Up Goat, our back-of-house team has one fewer person in the morning and one fewer person in the evening, but we’re still putting out this amazing food. But on the front-of-house side, we don’t have hosts anymore, and we’re running with one fewer manager and two fewer servers, so we’ve cut our team quite significantly.

With this counter-service [and] full-service hybrid model, you still have a server and a team of people taking care of you once you sit down. I don’t think it feels lacking. We didn’t want to open a business that pulled back on hospitality because that’s our favourite part of going out to eat. It’s just repackaged in how it all comes together.

Giving back to the community also appears to be important to you and Jon, and I know that you offer limited reservations with a fee that’s donated to charity. Can you tell me more about that?

Before COVID, we had been able to give $100,000 in cash to organisations that we wanted to support in D.C. through event fundraising efforts a few times a year. It was truly remarkable when I look back. But after that, there were just never any more pennies to rub together to do something like that, so it was really important to me that we had some sort of giving plan baked in.

There are so many wonderful organisations, but I don’t think we’re doing our best, most impactful work by just saying yes to every [charitable] gift card or event request. So Jon and I really wanted to pick two organisations that were important to us and make those the focus. We knew if we selected local organisations, throughout the course of the year, [we’d be] able to get up to $10,000 in their coffers. That makes a really big difference for those organisations and allows them to grow their work.

Knowing we were going to be a walk-in-only restaurant, I realised there was an opportunity for a fairly nominal fee. Again, $25 is not the most expensive. If four of you are going out, that’s six bucks each. You can skip the line and go straight to a table, and that fee is donated to our nonprofit partners.

We’re working with Dreaming Out Loud, which is an incredible organisation that does urban farming and food and security work in [D.C.’s] Wards 7 and 8, and the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, which is working with folks facing deportation in the DMV area. They are both causes that are important to Jon and me and reflective of the ethos of our staff overall.

As white owners from a place of privilege, we believe it’s crucial to clearly communicate our identity, values, and commitment to supporting our community.

So far, is this hybrid service model helping support the type of employee-centred business you want to run?

Yeah, I think it will. It’s still early days. We’re one P&L in, so we’ll see how everything develops over the next year. We’re also not fully operating yet. We added a sixth day in June and the seventh in July because we wanted it to be a sustainable opening. Openings were kind of wild, so slowly adding them as the staff felt really good about it was our plan. But so far, it seems like it’s going to be much more sustainable.

Since you mentioned opening craziness, how has this opening differed from Tail Up Goat?

I’m 10 years older. So I joke that I definitely feel it differently. But I’m also 10 years wiser. Part of the magic of Tail Up Goat when we opened was, gosh, we were so naive. The three of us had never opened restaurants before.

There was so much stuff I’d never seen. I had never really managed a P&L in any meaningful way before we opened Tail Up Goat. My perspective has shifted a lot just growing up in the space, too. I put value on different things. I think it’s easier this time to trust what we’re doing and let some of the noise not get in—and that’s taken 10 years to learn.

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