Xbox has confirmed the first batch of Game Pass additions for July. The headliner this time around is Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4, which is coming to Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on July 11, which is the game’s release day. It was already known that this remake bundle was going to arrive on Game Pass on day one, but hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little reminder.
The rest of the first wave of July additions include some titles that are returning to Game Pass. Several are coming to the entry-level, console-only Game Pass Standard tier. Here’s a breakdown of what to expect and when across Xbox Cloud Gaming, console and PC:
July 1
Little Nightmares II — Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard
Rise of the Tomb Raider — Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard
July 2
July 3
July 8
July 9
July 11
July 15
Little Nightmares II, Rise of the Tomb Raider and High on Life are perhaps among the bigger games on the list. I meant to try The Ascent the last time it was on Game Pass, so maybe I’ll get a chance to do so this time around. Minami Lane, meanwhile, is a cozy, lovely-looking street management sim.
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Meanwhile, there are several titles leaving Game Pass on July 15. Among them is the fantastic Tchia, one of my favorite games of 2023. The others are Flock, Mafia Definitive Edition, Magical Delicacy, The Callisto Protocol and The Case of the Golden Idol.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Sunscreen should be simple: Apply it properly, and it will do its job shielding skin from the sun’s damaging rays. Yet despite the fact that sunscreen has enjoyed popularity for decades — and that it’s recommended for universal use by the American Academy of Dermatology — it is often misunderstood and misused.
Dr. Elnaz Firoz, anassociate professor of dermatology, clinician educator, at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School, and medical director of dermatology at Miriam Hospital in Providence, said she spots dozens of sunscreen use mistakes every time she goes to the beach.
“I’m always so shocked at the practices that I see,” Firoz said. “It makes me wonder how we can get more information out to people about how to use sunscreen.”
One way to educate people about sun protection is to connect them with dermatologists. Firoz is one of several Brown-affiliated faculty members who participate in free skin cancer screenings, including at the Amal Clinic at Clínica Esperanza, the Rhode Island Free Clinic and a series of skin check events held at Rhode Island beaches in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Health.
In this Q&A, Firoz shares sun protection advice and addresses myths about the dangers of sunscreen.
Q: What are the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to using sunscreen?
It’s very common for people at the beach to use aerosol bottles of “invisible” chemical sunscreen. Most of the product ends up getting sprayed into the air instead of on the skin, thereby providing less coverage than intended. People will also use the spray sunscreen on faces, where it can get in the eyes, nose and mouth, and cause stinging or a terrible aftertaste. I understand that the spray version is convenient, but it can be difficult to use it in a way that provides adequate protection.
Q: What type of sunscreen do you recommend?
I advise my patients to find a broad-spectrum — meaning it protects against both UVA and UVB sun rays — mineral sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30. There are two main product formulations: mineral sunscreens, which have ingredients like zinc oxide and titanium dioxide that sit on the top layer of your skin and block and reflect UV rays; and chemical sunscreens, which sink into your skin and act like sponges, absorbing the sun’s UV rays. Chemical sunscreens are somewhat less photostable than mineral sunscreens, which means they degrade over time slightly more quickly as they are exposed to UV radiation.
I’m a big fan of mineral sunscreen lotion, which is not only broad-spectrum but also safe, and lasts longer both in and out of the water. Mineral formulations tend to be thicker and some may leave a whitish cast on the skin, but technology has advanced to the point that there are now tinted and untinted mineral sunscreens that go on quite easily.
Q: In your practice, what implications for patients do you see as a result of not wearing sunscreen?
The main reason to use sunscreen is to prevent skin cancer. All types of skin cancer, including basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma, are unfortunately on the rise. Melanoma is especially worrisome because it can metastasize if not caught early and become fatal, which is why we urge people to get skin checks. Squamous cell carcinoma can also be fatal (albeit rarely), particularly in patients who are elderly or immunocompromised.
UV radiation is a carcinogen — we know that to be 100% true. Each person is going to withstand that carcinogen differently based on their genetics and behavioral practices. And there are, of course, subtypes of melanoma that are not related to the sun. But I tell patients that generally speaking, their risk for skin cancer will be lower if they practice sun safe behaviors, which includes wearing sunscreen. Wearing sunscreen also slows the process of sun damage to the skin.
WIMBLEDON — There’s something about grass that agrees with Katerina Siniakova.
The 29-year-old from the Czech Republic owns a winning record in singles at the All England Club, and she’s won the doubles title twice, most recently last year with Taylor Townsend. Her last singles crown came two years ago on the lawns of Bad Homburg.
On Tuesday, Siniakova added another substantial item to her resume on the green stuff, upsetting No. 5 seed Zheng Qinwen 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 to advance to Wednesday’s second-round match against unseeded Naomi Osaka. The Court 3 battle consumed 2 hours and 25 minutes on another blistering day.
It was the second Top 5 upset in a matter of hours, following No. 3 Jessica Pegula’s 6-2, 6-3 loss to Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
In four appearances at Wimbledon, the 22-year-old from China has produced only two wins.
Zheng was in good position to win the first set, leading 5-3, but Siniakova broke her usually solid serve twice and ran away with the final four games.
The second set was deadlocked at 4-all when Zhen completed a critical break with a lovely backhand overhead winner and served it out.
Siniakova, despite taking a medical timeout on the second set and at times looking affected by the heat, came out fast in the third, breaking Zheng to take a 2-0 lead, a margin that eventually ballooned to 5-0.
Continually harassing Zheng’s serve, Siniakova forced 15 break-point opportunities and converted five of them.
If Paris 2024 was the grand finale to a dramatic 1500m season, then the 2025 Bowerman Mile is the first episode of the next season, leading up to the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo from 13-21 September, and then eventually, LA 28.
So if you only watch one middle-distance race this season before the Worlds, make it the Bowerman Mile.
This episode of the mile is stacked with athletes who could all plausibly take the crown.
Let’s start with the heat around Frenchman Azeddine Habz. Until recently, he flew a bit under the radar. That was, until he ran a 3:27.49 at the Paris Diamond League, the sixth fastest 1500m time ever run. And while there’s always the chance that kind of race was a perfect storm, Habz seems ready to prove he can do it again. He’s a front-runner by nature, which makes him both dangerous and unpredictable as he could burn everyone off from the gun or risk fading late. Either way, he’ll be at the heart of the action.
Then there’s American Bowerman mile record holder and Paris 2024 bronze medallist Yared Nuguse. Steady, smooth and deceptively lethal, he’s been consistently near the top of every big race this season, even if he hasn’t quite had that breakout win yet this outdoor season.
In 2023, Nuguse went toe-to-toe with Bowerman mile record holder Jakob Ingebrigtsen in this exact race and nearly pulled off an upset. If he times his final kick right, he could finally take the victory that’s eluded him. Ingebrigtsen, meanwhile, is not on the start list this year.
Speaking of timing things right, Cole Hocker is known for showing up when it matters most. The Oregon native has had a steady stream of podium performances this season, finishing second and twice third in the 1500m race in Grand Slam Track events. Don’t be surprised if the home crowd lights a fire under their reigning Olympic 1500m champion and he unleashes that signature finishing kick when it counts. That is, if it’s timed right.
And the depth doesn’t stop there. Hobbs Kessler has quietly been running big-time numbers and seems to be in the form of his life. Cameron Myers, the 19-year-old Aussie prodigy, has already broken the 3:30 barrier and could be this year’s breakout star. Grant Fisher, Olympic bronze medallist in the 5000m and 10,000m, is stepping down in distance to sharpen his speed ahead of the World Championships, and he’s just the kind of guy who could throw a curveball into the mix.
Add to this two former 1500m world champions in Britain’s Jake Wightman (2022) and Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot (2019), and the 2025 Bowerman Mile has all the makings of a classic.
To win this year’s mile, you will need more than just speed. It’ll be about tactics, timing, and guts. Who goes early? Who waits? Who has something left in the tank with 100 metres to go?
It’s the uncertainty, the possibility, the feeling that anything could happen that makes this mile so magical.
NEW DELHI: Imagine a routine blood donation quietly holding evidence of a future cancer diagnosis. A recent study published in Cancer Discovery suggests that could soon be a reality: scientists have found cancer-linked DNA mutations in blood plasma collected years before patients showed any signs of disease.In a groundbreaking analysis, Dr Yuxuan Wang and her team at Johns Hopkins University examined plasma samples donated as part of an unrelated study decades ago. By analyzing free-floating DNA fragments, the genetic leftovers from dying cells, they were able to spot warning signs of cancer as far back as 3.5 years before diagnosis, the recent study published on May 22 in the journal Cancer Discovery mentioned.
Cancer is curable if detected early: Signs to pay attention to
“It’s an important step toward preclinical cancer detection,” said Catherine Alix-Panabières, a cancer researcher not involved in the study. “Earlier detection typically means better outcomes.”The research focused on 52 people: 26 who developed cancer within six months of donating blood, and 26 who remained cancer-free for at least 17 years. In seven of the cancer patients’ samples, researchers detected common cancer mutations, and in two cases, those same mutations were already present years before any tumors were found.The team dove deeper, sequencing DNA from earlier samples and comparing them to the patients’ white blood cells. In three cases, they uncovered dozens of unique genetic mutations, all hinting at cancer in its earliest molecular form.These findings, though early, shine a spotlight on blood plasma as a potential early-warning system, a kind of molecular time machine. The cancers detected ranged from breast and colon to pancreatic and liver, though some types, like brain cancer, remain elusive due to biological barriers like the blood-brain barrier.Still, it’s not all breakthroughs and optimism.“We didn’t find any mutations in 18 out of 26 cancer patients,” Dr Wang admitted, pointing to the need for larger plasma samples and better detection tools. Cost is another barrier; identifying personalized mutations through DNA sequencing can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars per patient.While full-scale clinical use may be 5–10 years away, experts are cautiously hopeful. With larger trials and stricter ethical guidelines, such tests might one day become routine for high-risk groups, giving doctors a head start before cancer gets one.For now, the study offers a glimpse into a future where a simple blood draw could change the story of cancer, long before the first symptom ever appears.
When Gill Hicks takes to the stage, she says with a small laugh that she hopes she can get through just the opening number, “without breaking down in a heap”. It will be emotional. Wryly titled Still Alive (and Kicking), the show is Hicks’s own way to mark the 20th anniversary of the suicide bombings on London’s public transport that killed 52 people, and injured more than 700 – Hicks, a survivor, lost both her legs. In her show, she weaves her story of survival and resilience around singing the jazz standards she has always loved.
She has already performed a version of it in Australia, where she now lives, but for its London outing she hopes around 20 members of the medical and emergency teams who attended that day will be in the audience. “They are extraordinary,” she says, “and their actions not only saved my life that morning, but I honestly believe they have saved me every single day since.”
That July morning, Hicks was on her way to work when one of the four suicide bombers who targeted London detonated his bomb in her tube carriage, somewhere between King’s Cross and Russell Square. Hicks is believed to have been the last survivor pulled from the wreckage some 40 minutes later, her injuries so bad that when she arrived at hospital she was simply labelled: “One unknown, estimated female”.
Before that, lying in the dark smoke-filled carriage, having used her scarf as a tourniquet around what was left of her legs to stop the bleeding, Hicks remembers making what she describes as a contract. She would get the chance to live, and she would make it count. “That’s really helped me continue to get up every day regardless of the situation I’m in. There’s a purpose and an absolute sense that there’s things to be done that help remind us of our shared humanity.”
Held with love and intention for survival … Hicks and PC Andy Maxwell, who came to her aid. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
She had lived in London for more than 20 years, working in architecture and design, then after the bombings dedicating her time to organisations that promoted peace, before moving to Australia in 2013, the same year she had her daughter. The last time Hicks came to London was in 2015 to commemorate 10 years since the bombings. But she doesn’t associate the city with trauma. That has been a conscious choice, she says. “That’s the one power that we all have, to be able to choose how we react and how we respond. Part of the honour of life for me is constantly choosing to live from a place of gratitude and positivity.”
Twenty years, she says, is long enough to consider the depth of the impact on her. “With the nature of my disability, I’m never detached from what’s happened,” she says. Forgiveness hasn’t felt necessary, or even possible given the man who blew up that tube carriage died in the blast, “so he’s taken away this exchange. It’s also made me feel I don’t have to really consider my feelings about him. I have to instead focus on what I do with my life, and how do I honour my life?” She is also always aware of those who didn’t come home that day.
The idea of “healing” or “recovery” is difficult – “My legs won’t grow back. I live in quite a lot of constant pain” – but for Hicks, the arts have been part of reclaiming her sense of self. She was a jazz musician before the bombings, but she never thought she would be able to sing or perform again. Her injuries left her with hearing loss, and one functioning lung. “It took me months to learn how to speak again,” she says. “When something like this type of life-altering event happens, it’s so easy to lose yourself, because your identity is skewed. Suddenly you’re a disabled person, so that’s one label. You’re a double amputee, that’s another. You’re a survivor, or are you a victim? I’ve been given a new life, but it’s this constant struggle of how do I do this?” The arts, including her vibrant paintings (which will be projected during the show) and working with the violinist Julian Ferraretto (also part of the show) represented “this beautiful piece of life before, that came back but with a different meaning, so it’s actually more powerful”.
Instead of thinking about the hate and extremism of that catastrophic moment, Hicks prefers to focus on the love and compassion she was shown in the months and years afterwards. She tracked down as many people involved in her care as she could, “to look into their eyes and say thank you.” Several, including one of the first paramedics who entered Hicks’s carriage, have become close friends.
This is what she wants her show to bring to people. “Through the addition of music, it becomes a real celebration of not only life, but of who we are as human beings – the extraordinary, unconditional love that I was shown as a person without identity, ‘One unknown, estimated female.’ To think that my body wasn’t just passed from one person to the next, it was absolutely held with love and intention for survival. Who I am today is because of how powerful that love and care was on that morning. I think the undercurrent for me of 20 years is: how do I tell that? How do I be the reminder?”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to prepare a coordinated plan in coordination with the provincial disaster management authorities to prevent incidents like the recent Swat tragedy.
Addressing a ceremony during his visit to the National Emergency Operations Centre of the NDMA in Islamabad on Tuesday, Sharif ordered a comprehensive reporting on such incidents. He said at least 49 people have died and several others injured across Pakistan.
Commending the state of the art NEOC facility, he assured the officials he would provide all possible assistance to strengthen the institution and build its capacity.
Sharif said he has already tasked Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Minister for Climate Change Musadik Masood Malik with securing grants and investment through public-private partnerships for building a resilient infrastructure in Pakistan.
On the subject of water security in light of India’s provocative and hostile intentions regarding the Indus Waters Treaty, the prime minister announced the government’s decision to construct non-controversial water storage facilities using Pakistan’s own resources.
Often the best movies of the second half of the year come almost preordained as the Oscars Industrial Complex revs into high gear. The first half, though, can offer more of a thrill of discovery.
The first six months of 2025 have offered plenty of that, including indie gems, comedy breakouts and sensational filmmaking debuts. Here are our 10 favorites from the year’s first half.
“The Ballad of Wallis Island”
“The Ballad of Wallis Island” is the kind of charming gem that’s easy to recommend to any kind of movie lover. It is goofy and friendly, has an armful of lovely folk songs, an all-timer of a rambling character, in Tim Key’s eccentric and completely lovable Charles, Tom Basden’s grumpy, too-cool straight man, and the always delightful Carey Mulligan. “Wallis Island” is a film about letting go and moving on told with humor, wit and a big heart. Also hailing from the British Isles is the equally delightful “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.” (streaming on Peacock) —Bahr
“One of Them Days”
The big-screen comedy has been an almost extinct creature in recent years, but Lawrence Lamont’s “One of Them Days” gives me hope. Not only was this buddy comedy a surprise box-office hit, it is probably the exhibit A in the case of Keke Palmer Should Be in Everything. She and SZA, in her film debut, play Los Angeles housemates in a madcap race to make rent. (Streaming on Netflix) —Coyle
“Sorry, Baby”
There’s a sequence in Eva Victor’s delicate, considered and disarmingly funny directorial debut, “Sorry, Baby” that kind of took my breath away. You know something bad is going to happen to Agnes, it’s literally the logline of the film. You sense that her charismatic thesis adviser is a bit too fixated on her. The incident itself isn’t seen, Victor places their camera outside of his home. Agnes goes inside, the day turns to evening and the evening turns to night, and Agnes comes out, changed. But we stay with her as she finds her way to her car, to her home and, most importantly to her friend, Lydie (Naomi Ackie). This is a film about what happens after the bad thing. And it’s a stunner. (In theaters) —Bahr
Eva Victor in a scene from “Sorry, Baby.” (Mia Cioffy Henry/A24 via AP)
Eva Victor in a scene from “Sorry, Baby.” (Mia Cioffy Henry/A24 via AP)
Cate Blanchett, left, and Michael Fassbender in a scene from “Black Bag,” a film written by David Koepp. (Claudette Barius/Focus Features via AP)
Cate Blanchett, left, and Michael Fassbender in a scene from “Black Bag,” a film written by David Koepp. (Claudette Barius/Focus Features via AP)
“Black Bag”
Arguably the best director-screenwriter tandem this decade has been Steven Soderbergh and David Koepp. They were behind the pandemic thriller “Kimi” and another standout of 2025, the ghost-POV “Presence.” But their spy thriller-marital drama “Black Bag,” starring Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett as married British intelligence agents, may be their best collaboration yet. It’s certainly the one with the most delicious dialogue. How has it taken the movies this long to make a dinner scene with spies dosed with truth serum? (Streaming on Peacock) —Coyle
“Materialists”
Dakota Johnson, left, and Pedro Pascal in a scene from “Materialists.” (A24 via AP)
Dakota Johnson, left, and Pedro Pascal in a scene from “Materialists.” (A24 via AP)
Celine Song’s “Materialists ” might not be the film people wanted it to be, but it’s the film they need in this land of high-end dating apps, designer dupes and everyone pretending to live like minor socialites on Instagram. A thoughtful meditation on money, worth, love and companionship, this is a film that upends everything we’ve come to think we want from the so-called romantic comedy (the idea of prince charming, the inexplicable wealth that’s supposed to coexist with middle class mores). Lifestyle porn will always have a place in the rom-com machine, but this is a populist film, both modern and timeless, that reminds us that love should be easy. It should feel like coming home. “Materialists” is simply the most purely romantic film of the year. (In theaters) — Bahr
“Sinners”
Michael B. Jordan (twice) and Omar Benson Miller in a scene from “Sinners.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
Michael B. Jordan (twice) and Omar Benson Miller in a scene from “Sinners.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
Not only does the wait go on for Ryan Coogler to make a bad movie, he seems to be still realizing his considerable talents. There are six months to go, still, in 2025, but I doubt we’ll have a big scale movie that so thrillingly doubles (see what I did there) as a personal expression for its filmmaker as “Sinners.” This exhilarating vampire saga is ambitiously packed with deep questions about community, Black entertainment, Christianity and, of course, Irish dancing. (Streaming on Max) —Coyle
“Pavements”
In a world of woefully straightforward documentaries and biopics about musicians, Alex Ross Perry decided to creatively, and a little chaotically, upend the form with his impossible-to-categorize film about the 90s indie band Pavement. Blending fact, fiction, archive, performance, this winkingly rebellious piece is wholly original and captivating, and, not unlike Todd Haynes’s “I’m Not There,” the kind of movie to turn someone who’s maybe enjoyed a few Pavement and Stephen Malkmus songs into a fan. (In theaters, streaming on MUBI July 11) —Bahr
“April”
A rare and exquisite precision guides Dea Kulumbegashvili’s rigorous and despairing second feature. Beneath stormy spring skies in the European country of Georgia, a leading local obstetrician (Ia Sukhitashvili) pitilessly works to help women who are otherwise disregarded, vilified or worse. This is a movie coursing with dread, but its expression of a deep-down pain is piercing and unforgettable. (Not currently available) —Coyle
“On Becoming a Guinea Fowl”
A visually, and thematically arresting marvel, Rungano Nyoni’s darkly comedic, stylish and hauntingly bizarre film about unspoken generational trauma takes audiences to a place, I’m guessing, many have never been: A Zambian family funeral. And yet its truths ring universal, as the elder generation turns their heads from the awful truth that the dead man, Fred, was a predator and pedophile, while the younger wonders if things must stay as they are. (Streaming on HBO Max on July 4) –Bahr
“Friendship”
Tim Robinson, left, and Paul Rudd in a scene from “Friendship.” (A24 via AP)
Tim Robinson, left, and Paul Rudd in a scene from “Friendship.” (A24 via AP)
On TV, Tim Robinson and Nathan Fielder have been doing genius-level comedy. Fielder hasn’t yet jumped into his own films, but, then again, it’s hard to get an epic of cringe comedy and aviation safety like season two of “The Rehearsal” into a feature-length movie. But in “Friendship,” writer and director Andrew DeYoung brings Robinson, star of “I Think You Should Leave,” into well-tailored, very funny and dementedly perceptive movie scenario. He plays a man who awkwardly befriends a cool neighbor (Paul Rudd). While their differences make for most of the comedy in the movie, “Friendship” — which culminates in a telling wink — is really about their similarities. (Available for digital rental) — Coyle
