Blog

  • Swapping diet soda for water boosts chances of remission

    Swapping diet soda for water boosts chances of remission

    Share on Pinterest
    Swapping diet soda for water could help women reach type 2 diabetes remission. Image credit: Michela Ravasio/Stocksy.
    • Everyone knows that drinking soda is not a healthy choice, and there is much debate whether diet soda is a healthy alternative.
    • Past research has linked drinking diet sodas to several health risks including type 2 diabetes.
    • A new study has found that women with type 2 diabetes who regularly choose to drink water over diet soda may be more likely to achieve weight loss, as well as diabetes remission.

    Everyone knows that drinking soda is not a healthy choice, due to its high calorie and sugar content. However, there is much debate about whether or switching to diet sodas is better.

    The findings are yet to appear in a peer-reviewed journal.

    For this study, researchers recruited 81 adult women who had both type 2 diabetes and obesity or overweight, and who consumed diet soda as part of their normal diet.

    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about one-fifth of Americans drink diet sodas on a regular basis. And the amount of diet beverages consumed in the European Union has grown from 23% in 2016 to 30% in 2021.

    Diet sodas are considered ultra-processed foods due to their manufacturing process and ingredients like additives and artificial sweeteners.

    Study participants were randomly grouped to either one group that continued to drink diet soda five times per week after their lunch, and another group that substituted their usual diet soda with water.

    During the study, participants were also provided with a six-month weight loss intervention, followed by a 12-month weight maintenance program.

    At the 18 month follow-up, researchers found that participants in the water group experienced a much larger average weight loss when compared to the diet soda group.

    Additionally, 90% of study participants in the water group reached type 2 diabetes remission, compared to only 45% in the diet soda group.

    “These findings challenge a common belief in the U.S. that diet drinks have no potential negative effects for managing weight and blood sugar,” Hamid R. Farshchi, MD, PhD, CEO of D2Type, former associate professor in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nottingham, in the United Kingdom, and lead author of the study, said in a press release.

    “However, with most of women in the water group achieving diabetes remission, our study highlights the importance of promoting water, not just low-calorie alternatives, as part of effective diabetes and weight management. It’s a small change with the potential for a big impact on long-term health outcomes,” Farshchi added.

    Medical News Today had the opportunity to speak with Mir Ali, MD, a board-certified general surgeon, bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, about this study.

    Ali, who was not involved in the research, commented that it provides validation to other studies that have shown sugar substitutes to have a similar effect on the body as actual sugar.

    “Diabetes is a growing medical concern as the Western population in general becomes more sedentary, eats more processed foods, and as obesity increases,” he told us. “Any methods to reduce diabetes [are] helpful to combat this disease.”

    “Research comparing types of artificial sweeteners vs sugar may help elucidate the worst choice amongst these types of sweeteners,” Ali added.

    Monique Richard, MS, RDN, LDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of Nutrition-In-Sight, offered her top tips on how people can lower the amount of diet soda they drink and up their water intake.

    • make water containers visible and appealing, for example by purchasing “a glass or stainless steel water bottle and keep it filled at your desk, in your car, or on your counter to remind you to drink up,” and by using “color, fun ice cubes, or creative containers to make it an appealing part of your routine”
    • make water tasty by flavoring it “with natural ingredients such as [by] making herbal, caffeine-free teas” or by adding fruit, herbs, or a combination of these to water
    • set regular reminders to drink water
    • keep track of your daily water intake
    • try “habit stacking” by pairing the activity of drinking water with other everyday tasks
    • hydrate with watery foods like “fruits, vegetables, soups, smoothies, and broths”
    • try taining your taste buds by forming new habits — you could “start slowly by decreasing the amount of diet beverages you consume by 25% for 1 to 2 weeks, then try cutting back by 50%”
    • reflect on why you may be craving diet soda.

    “These simple but effective recommendations are based on biology, but rooted in common sense,” Richard said. “When we nurture our body with what it naturally needs, we’re going to optimize its function versus distract, detract, hinder and undermine it.”

    “Hydration is like fiber — it’s not flashy, but everything works better with enough of it,” she added. “Don’t wait until you’re thirsty, either: Hydration is a progressive and fluid — pun intended — process.”

    Continue Reading

  • Charles Chadwick obituary | Books

    Charles Chadwick obituary | Books

    My father, Charles Chadwick, who has died aged 92, was a British Council officer involved in a career that took him to Africa, South and North America, and finally to Poland. There, as the council’s director, he administered its Know-How Fund to help pay for libraries in Kraków, Gdańsk and Poznań following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

    After retiring from the British Council, in 2005 he had a surprise success as an author when a novel he had written more than 30 years previously, It’s All Right Now, was published by Faber and Faber when he was 73.

    It’s All Right Now, by Charles Chadwick, published in 2005

    The manuscript had been rejected on various occasions in the past, but had been taken up again by the literary agent Caroline Dawnay, who managed to get Faber & Faber interested. The story of its final emergence made the national news and gave hope to many aspiring authors.

    Charles was born in Swanage, Dorset, to Trevor and Marjory (nee Freeman), who were both schoolteachers; his father volunteered in Prague during the late 1930s to help run Nicholas Winton’s Czech Kindertransport. After attending Charterhouse school in Surrey, where he captained the cricket team and twice dismissed the future England captain Peter May, a fellow pupil, he did his national service with the Royal Leicesters in Korea.

    There he trod on a landmine shortly after arriving, and ended up losing his lower leg. After recovering at various military hospitals he followed his younger brother William to Canada, where he studied English and French at the University of Toronto.

    After graduation Charles spent nine years working for the Colonial Service in what is now Zambia, first as a district officer reviewing local civil cases, then lecturing at a staff training college in Luanshya and finally teaching administration in Lusaka.

    In 1972 he left to work for the British Council, beginning in Nigeria and then spent a year in Brazil (1975-76). After a five-year spell at its London office (1976-81), he worked for the council in Canada (1981-88) and then in Poland until his retirement in 1992, when he was appointed CBE.

    Following the surprise publication of It’s All Right Now, Charles had another previously rejected novel, A Chance Acquaintance, released in 2011. Three more, Letter to Sally, My Sister Julie and Josefa, could not attract an English publisher but were accepted by a German company, which translated them for the German market.

    In retirement in London, Charles became a school governor and in 1994 was appointed for a short spell as regional coordinator of a European Union election observer team in South Africa.

    In 1965, he married Evelyn Ingeborg, a violinist; they later divorced. In 1998 he married Mary Teale.

    Mary died in 2018. He is survived by two sons, me, from his first marriage, and Samuel from his second, and two grandsons, Huw and Mackenzie.

    Continue Reading

  • Raducanu rolls past Vondrousova, sets Wimbledon meeting vs. No. 1 Sabalenka

    Raducanu rolls past Vondrousova, sets Wimbledon meeting vs. No. 1 Sabalenka

    Emma Raducanu is back in the third round of her home Grand Slam — and her next test will be a battle against the World No. 1.

    In a Centre Court clash between Grand Slam champions on Wednesday, 2021 US Open champion Raducanu of Great Britain thrilled her home fans by posting a 6-3, 6-3 victory over 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic.

    Wimbledon: Scores | Order of play | Draws

    World No. 40 Raducanu needed 1 hour and 22 minutes to breeze past Czech left-hander Vondrousova, who beat Ons Jabeur on this court for her first Grand Slam title just under two years ago.

    Vondrousova came into Wednesday’s showdown on a six-match winning streak, having just won the Berlin grass-court title, but Raducanu emphatically ended that run.

    With the win, former Top 10 player Raducanu leveled her head-to-head with Vondrousova at 2-2 — and both of Raducanu’s wins in their rivalry have come at Wimbledon.

    Raducanu’s career-best Wimbledon results have been Round-of-16 showings in 2021 (her Grand Slam main-draw debut, beating Vondrousova en route) and last year.

    Of course, between those appearances, she famously stormed to the 2021 US Open title, in just her second career Grand Slam main draw. Winning 10 straight matches over three weeks without losing a set, Raducanu became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title.

    Upcoming task — the world’s top player: Raducanu is a win away from returning to the Wimbledon Round of 16, but to get there again, she will have to upset No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka on Friday.

    In Wednesday’s first match on Centre Court, Sabalenka held off Marie Bouzkova 7-6(4), 6-4 to book her spot in the third round against Raducanu.

    Sabalenka has defeated Raducanu in their only previous meeting — a 6-3, 7-5 victory on the hard courts of Indian Wells in 2024.

    More to come…

    Continue Reading

  • Restrained Pant struggles as India’s new safety-first style fails to suit situation | England v India 2025

    Restrained Pant struggles as India’s new safety-first style fails to suit situation | England v India 2025

    Turns out Rishabh Pant is a dab hand at doing impressions. At Edgbaston he showed off his new one, of the batter his coaches would like him to be. Pant was, by the standards of his own scatterbrained batting, a model of self-control, and restricted himself to just one glorious four and a single crisp, delicious six in the 60 minutes or so he was at the crease. They were good ones, a roly-poly sweep off Shoaib Bashir and a skip down the pitch to punch another of his deliveries over long-on, but otherwise Pant restrained himself to showing off his range of ascetic leaves, blocks and defensive shots.

    There was, it’s true, the odd moment or two when he nearly broke character. He couldn’t help himself but come running out to try to belt one of the first balls bowled by Chris Woakes after tea over the road into the botanical gardens. He seemed to change his mind midway through his swing, and ended up scuffing it away for a single, like a kid reaching his hand out to grab a cookie and then yanking it back again as they remember the promise they’d made to their parents.

    The crowd in the Hollies Stand actually started booing every time he blocked one, as if they wanted to goad him into playing the hits. Eventually Pant snapped and tried to hit Bashir for another six. But Bashir took a little pace off the ball so Pant didn’t catch it cleanly, and ended up being caught by Zak Crawley five yards in from the boundary. The problem is that Bashir’s bowling is just too damn tempting. He has taken four wickets in this series now, and every one of them has been caught in the deep. His Test career is turning into an advanced course on how to bowl when you’re being battered to all corners.

    It all felt very different to the last Test on this ground, back in 2022. Back then, Pant smacked 146 off 111 balls in the first innings, then 57 off 86 in the second, and, even though England were on the wrong end, Ben Stokes enjoyed it all so much that he said afterwards how well he felt Pant would fit into his England team. And in the idle hours of a slow second session, it was easy to wonder exactly what it would be like to watch Pant bat if he was on England’s side rather than his own. Whatever else is hypothetical about it, you can be sure that one thing Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum wouldn’t be telling him to do is to try to play more defensively.

    India, though, have retrenched ahead of this game. They have taken on the character of their coach, Gautam Gambhir, a fighting batter who once battled seven hours for 137 runs to save a draw against New Zealand. Their captain, Shubman Gill, scored a fine century off 199 balls, batting like a prefect who had just been on the wrong end of the headmaster’s lecture about leadership. They have left out their two scariest bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav, and packed the side with three all-rounders, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja, in an attempt to bolster their batting without compromising on their bowling options.

    Rishabh Pant’s innings was dominated by an unusual range of ascetic leaves, blocks and defensive shots. Photograph: MI News/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

    Reddy turned out to be Unready. He was cleaned up for one trying to leave a ball which hit the top of his off stump. The decision to pick him alongside Sundar was such a strikingly odd decision that Gambhir ought to be under heavy pressure, his team having won only three Tests out of 11 since he took over. But given that he used to be an MP for the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the BCCI are utterly intertwined with the political party, India’s board has given him their full support.

    The safety-first style doesn’t especially suit India, and more importantly, it doesn’t especially suit the situation they’re in either. There isn’t a batter in the game who wants to face Bumrah or an English one ever born who enjoys facing the sort of left-arm wrist spin Yadav deals in. If the genie gave England three wishes this week, the first would have been for India to rest Bumrah, the world’s best bowler, the second would have been to leave out Yadav, who has taken 43 wickets at an average of 24 each against them across formats, and the third would have been to encourage India’s top order that they ought to amble along at three runs an over.

    skip past newsletter promotion

    At that rate, they could bat for two days without racking up the sort of score that would make England feel outmatched, and all of the first four before they arrived at a target Stokes felt his side shouldn’t at least try for. In Gambhir’s day, a team who have made 310 for five in a day would have felt themselves well placed. In Stokes’ one, it was hard to avoid the sense that the score left them sitting just where England want them.

    Continue Reading

  • AI algorithm identifies patients at risk of sudden cardiac arrest

    AI algorithm identifies patients at risk of sudden cardiac arrest

    An AI algorithm used with MRI data can predict which patients are at risk of sudden cardiac arrest, researchers have reported.

    By analyzing heart imaging results, specifically cardiac MRI, electronic health records, and echocardiograms, the AI algorithm was able to “reveal previously hidden information about a patient’s heart health,” according to a statement released by Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, at which a team led by Changxin Lai, PhD, conducted the study.

    The findings could not only save lives but also avoid unnecessary medical interventions such as the implantation of defibrillators, said senior author Natalia Trayanova, PhD, in the university statement. The work was published on July 2 in Nature Cardiovascular Research.

    “Currently, we have patients dying in the prime of their life because they aren’t protected and others who are putting up with defibrillators for the rest of their lives with no benefit,” Trayanova said. “We have the ability to predict with very high accuracy whether a patient is at high risk for sudden cardiac death or not.”

    Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is one of the most common inherited heart diseases, affecting one in every 200 to 500 individuals worldwide, and is a leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young people and athletes, Lai and colleagues noted. Many people with the condition live normal lives, but some are at increased risk for sudden cardiac death — and it’s difficult for doctors to identify these patients.

    Clinical guidelines to find patients most at risk for fatal heart attacks have about a 50% chance of identifying the right ones — “not much better than throwing dice,” Trayanova said. In light of this statistic, the group developed a transformer-based, neural network model called Multimodal AI for ventricular Arrhythmia Risk Stratification (MAARS), using it in a development and validation cohort of 553 patients and another, external cohort of 284 patients. All patients were assessed via traditional clinical guidelines and MR imaging at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute in North Carolina.  

    Li and colleagues found that MAARS “significantly outperformed” clinical guidelines across all demographics, showing 89% accuracy for predicting sudden cardiac death across all patients and 93% accuracy for people 40 to 60 years old, which is the population among hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients most at risk.

    MARRS’ performance compared to other cardiac death risk assessment tools (internal cross-validation)
    Measure ACC and AHA guidelines ESC guideline HCM Risk-SCD Calculator EHR Cardiac imaging report LGE-CMR findings MARRS
    Sensitivity 89% 95% 63% 84% 84% 89% 79%
    Specificity 31% 15% 47% 72% 62% 75% 82%
    Accuracy 54% 50% 55% 77% 72% 81% 80%
    AUROC 0.62 0.54 0.54 0.84 0.8 0.86 0.89
    ACC = American College of Cardiology; AHA = American Heart Association; AUROC = Area under the receiver operating curve; ESC = European Society of Cardiology; EHR = Electronic health record; LGE-CMR = Late gadolinium enhancement cardiac MRI

    “MAARS has the potential to substantially improve clinical decision-making and healthcare delivery for patients with [hypertrophic cardiomyopathy], either directly through future integration with automated data extraction systems or indirectly by serving as a valuable proof of concept for the power of multimodal AI in enhancing personalized patient care,” the investigators wrote.

    Going forward, the team plans to test the new model on more patients and expand the algorithm for use with other types of heart diseases, such as cardiac sarcoidosis and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, it said.

    The complete study can be found here.

    Continue Reading

  • Bonita Gibson, 113, says potatoes and smiling are keys to long life

    Bonita Gibson, 113, says potatoes and smiling are keys to long life

    What’s older than a blender, penicillin, and the U.S. moon landing? A Michigan woman celebrating her 114th birthday on July 4.

    Bonita Gibson, a resident at Waltonwood Carriage Park just outside of Detroit, is believed to be the oldest living person in Michigan, according to a Waltonwood representative.

    Gibson is part of a small population of supercentenarians in the United States, or someone who is at least 110 years old.

    Other supercentenarians across the country include 114-year-old Naomi Whitehead of Pennsylvania, 114-year-old Mary Harris of Tennessee, and 113-year-old Winnie Felps of Texas, according to the Gerontology Research Group.

    Gibson became the oldest known living person in Michigan after the death of 114-year-old Irene Dunham on May 1, 2022. The Gerontology Research Group validated her age the following year on May 4, 2023, two months shy of her 112th birthday.

    More on longevity: I am 96 and the picture of longevity. These are my tips for living longer and better.

    Michigan woman flew for the first time at 100 years old

    Gibson drove until she was 99 years old, and took her first plane ride at the age of 100, flying to San Diego, a lifelong dream of hers, Waltonwood said.

    Gibson told USA TODAY some of the keys to her living such a long life include:

    • Eating potatoes (seemingly a nod to her late husband and the business he worked in)
    • Healthy eating
    • Staying positive and always smiling
    • No smoking or drinking

    Michigan woman survived multiple historical events, spent great deal of her life in Idaho

    Gibson was born on July 4, 1911 in a northwestern Kansas city called Hoxie, according to the Gerontology Research Group. She grew up in rural Missouri, and lived through the Spanish Flu Pandemic. 

    As a child, she survived the mumps, measles, and whooping cough, said a representative for Waltonwood Carriage Park. Most recently, she survived COVID-19 in 2020, making her one of the oldest known survivors of the disease, according to the research group.

    Gibson married Kenneth Gibson, her high school sweetheart, in April 1930 in Oregon, Missouri; the pair married during the Great Depression. The couple lived on a farm at the time.

    “We had chickens and a huge garden and all kinds of fruit trees,” Gibson told CBS Detroit in July 2023. “We had plenty to eat. We just didn’t have any money to spend.”

    They eventually moved to Idaho, where her husband’s relative had a farm. The move is what introduced them to the potato industry.

    “He said Kenny can help me in the field and you can be the cook,” Gibson told CBS Detroit. “I hadn’t cooked a thing in my life.”

    After seven years of marriage, the pair had a son, Kenneth Richard, in January 1937. After that, the couple moved to Newdale, Idaho and later, Idaho Falls as her husband worked as a potato farmer. He later worked as a potato broker until he retired in 1977. He died in 2003.

    After decades in Idaho, a move to Michigan

    At the age of 102, she began living in a nursing home in Canton, Michigan, where her grandson lives. As her grandson was moving her to Michigan, Gibson had a request for him, Waltonwood Executive Director Angie Hanson told McKnight’s Senior Living. 

    “She wanted to ride on the back of his Harley, but he wouldn’t let her,” Hanson said.

    Gibson still speaks to her son, 88-year-old Kenneth Richard, every night. She also has three grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren.

    Today, she loves reading and cards, watching “Price is Right” each day, and catching up with her friends at Waltonwood.

    This year, she plans to celebrate her birthday by participating in the downtown Plymouth Fourth of July Parade. There will be a banner announcing her birthday, Waltonwood said.

    As Gibson reflected on her life back in 2023, she recalled being married for over 70 years. She and Kenneth made it a point to enjoy themselves, having the most fun in the 1950s and 1960s, she told CBS Detroit.

    “We would go dancing every Saturday with a group of friends,” she told the outlet.

    When asked what helped to hold their marriage together, she tried to answer from the perspective of her high school sweetheart.

    “I would’ve taken her back home several times, but we didn’t have any money, so we had to stay together,” she said.

    Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.

    Continue Reading

  • What David Beckham’s Knighthood Says About Modern Britain

    What David Beckham’s Knighthood Says About Modern Britain

    Academics in politics, sociology and history at Northeastern University in London look at the significance and origins of the U.K. honors system.

    David Beckham greeting King Charles III with a laugh while King Charles III is in the middle of saying something.
    Ex-footballer David Beckham was given a knighthood in King Charles’ Birthday Honours. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, Pool, File)

    LONDON — “Arise Sir David,” will come the call from King Charles when he formally makes ex-footballer David Beckham a knight of the British realm.

    The former free-kick maestro and co-owner of Inter Miami football club will have a sword ceremonially “dubbed” on each shoulder by the British sovereign as he joins a modern brigade of sport stars, musicians, TV personalities and everyday citizens to be given a U.K. honor.

    Due to join him in the rank of knight at a royal investiture ceremony will be Roger Daltry, lead singer of the rock band The Who, and actor Gary Oldman, who starred in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.

    All three were announced as part of the King’s Birthday Honours in which more than 1,200 people from across the U.K., ranging from age 11 to 106, were recognized, with knighthoods and damehoods being two of the highest ranking awards handed out.

    Josephine Harmon, an assistant professor in political science at Northeastern University in London, says the knighting is partly about modern Britain’s projection of itself on the world stage.

    “The knighthood system is sending out signals about Britain’s cultural exports,” says Harmon, “whether it is soccer and David Beckham, The Beatles or whether it is Gary Oldman being known for playing all these different acting parts.

    “It says something about the country and the fact that we think of ourselves as punching above our weight in cultural terms. After the economic and relative decline after the age of empire, Britain pivoted its image of itself and what it does as a country within the world. 

    “Part of that was famously about financial services and other services. But another major part is our cultural sector and the way that we export our music, our films, our playwrights and whatever else. The honors system is related to that image of modern Britain.”

    People can be nominated, and the monarch announces a new set of recipients twice a year in the birthday and New Year’s lists. The choices are vetted and approved by a committee beforehand. Other times, honors are given when Parliament has completed a full term, known as dissolution honors, or when a prime minister resigns. 

    “Gongs,” as they are colloquially known, are typically given to well-known personalities, government employees and ordinary people who have served their community with distinction.

    Beckham, who previously played for Manchester United and Real Madrid and is estimated to be the eighth highest-paid athlete of all time, is a rare breed in that he is known to have publicly courted a knighthood. Leaked emails from 2013, published four years later, used colorful language to express his displeasure at being snubbed for a knighthood, allegedly calling the British knighting system an expletive.

    A “red flag” had reportedly been raised by the U.K. tax office concerning Beckham’s financial investments, an issue that held up any chance of a knighthood until it was cleared in 2021. But after having been a regular attendee at royal events and weddings — along with Spice Girl wife Victoria — carrying out charitable works and having already been bestowed with the lesser honor of Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2003, he has been given the top accolade of a knighthood.

    Beckham’s elevation, says Gergana Dimova, associate professor in politics and sociology, gives the monarchy a chance to align itself with one of Britain’s most-recognized and high-profile cultural stars and offers the opportunity to modernize itself in the process.

    “The modern monarchy is constantly reinventing itself,” says the London-based Northeastern academic, “and one of the most viable ways for it to stay relevant in the age of social media is to reach out to celebrities. 

    “David Beckham is the ultimate celebrity as he has managed to galvanize his sports success into a palpable public presence. A testimony to the power of his image is that he has 88.2 million followers on Instagram and earns around $40 million from brand endorsements. He is the epitome of the good looking, successful, modern man.”

    Dimova says a knighthood and damehood can also allow the recipient to reform or reinforce their own image. In Beckham’s case, it offers the chance for the newly minted “Sir David,” who comes from a working-class background, to align himself with the establishment.

    “Knighthood is mutually beneficial,” continues Dimova. “By accepting the knighthood, Beckham moves from the realm of new money to the polished world of tradition.”

    Beckham, 50, seemed to recognize that journey himself when he said after the announcement: “Growing up in east London with parents and grandparents who were so patriotic and proud to be British, I never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling honor.”

    Similarly, others, such as pop star David Bowie and film director Danny Boyle, turned down knighthoods so as not to be seen as tied to the establishment or the institution of the monarchy. 

    While becoming a knight or dame does not come with any formal elevated position, Harmon argues that there is still an undefined authority that arises from being afforded the distinction. In fact, people who fall below the standard expected of those holding the rank can be stripped of their honor, as was seen when Queen Elizabeth II’s courtier Anthony Blunt was ousted as a spy for Russia.

    “I think there are certain forms of power which are not tangible,” Harmon says. “An honor doesn’t involve legal powers over people. But there is this cultural, social authority that you get just from this title and from this recognition that people are impressed by it.”

    The U.K. is not alone in having such a system for recognizing citizens’ achievements, Harmon points out. In the U.S., the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal are given to citizens for their merits. But it is the history of the British honors system that helps to set it apart.

    Chloe McKenzie, assistant professor in medieval history, explains that the concept of bestowing knighthoods can be traced to the eighth century in Western Europe, and that it became ingrained in British life after the Norman conquest in 1066.

    “In medieval society, there was a three-tiered society, which comprised of those who fight, those who pray and those who work,” says McKenzie. “And those who fought were the knights, and they were the natural leaders of society.

    “The Norman conquest solidified that social structure. William I used his knights by rewarding them with lands and they in turn subjugated the local population in the decades after the conquest. But things really start to shift, I would say, in the 13th and 14th centuries when the honors system, as we would recognize it, comes into being.”

    McKenzie says that, prior to the 1300s, it was mainly military men from a certain class or background who were knighted. But around 1348, King Edward III founded the Order of the Garter, which remains to this day the pinnacle of the U.K. honors system, with the likes of Tony Blair, the former prime minister, inducted in 2022.

    The Order of the Garter started off as a way of rewarding Edward’s military leaders after his victory over the French at the Battle of Crecy in 1346, with the knights belonging to the order “supposed to be beyond reproach,” explains McKenzie, who is currently researching the order’s early history.

    As time went on, the order’s function changed to being first about promoting King Edward’s family and helping create family unity before turning political.

    “As the 14th century wears on and goes into the 15th century, the Order of the Garter takes on more of an overtly political function, and that evolves over time,” says McKenzie.

    “You stop having people who are military commanders, and you might have somebody who is politically useful to reward.”

    Other honors rankings would go on to be formed, such as the Order of the Bath in the 18th century and the Order of Merit in 1902, but, according to McKenzie, they can all trace their origins to those medieval rulers wanting to celebrate their most impressive subjects.

    “They are part of that same system of rewarding people for different purposes,” McKenzie adds.

    Society & Culture

    Recent Stories


    Continue Reading

  • Google Chrome Warning—Update Or Stop Using Browser By July 23

    Google Chrome Warning—Update Or Stop Using Browser By July 23

    Google has confirmed that Chrome is under attack again, and has issued another emergency update for all users following the mandatory “configuration change” it pushed out last week. Whatever device you’re running, you need to ensure you have downloaded the latest software and then you need to restart your browser.

    As I suggested would happen, America’s cyber defence agency has now mandated federal employees update or stop using Chrome within 3 weeks, on or before July 23. The warning also applies to Microsoft Edge and other Chromium-based browsers.

    ForbesDo Not Use Your Credit Card Online If You See These 2 ThingsBy Zak Doffman

    CISA warns that Chrome’s V8 Javascript engine “contains a type confusion vulnerability that could allow a remote attacker to perform arbitrary read/write via a crafted HTML page.” That means just visiting the wrong website could put you at risk.

    In confirming CVE-2025-6554, Google explained that it would not release any further details at this time, “until a majority of users are updated with a fix.” But the fact it was discovered by Google’s own Threat Analysis Group just five days before the fix was released — with a config change even faster than that — tells you how urgent this is.

    The assumption is that this will have been found in highly targeted attacks, the kind that use specialized websites to lure specific victims or links and other social media, email or text messages to deploy its attacks. But the fact this is now public domain and being fixed means the risks are high as attackers deployments before it’s too late.

    This is the fourth actively exploited zero-day this year, and it highlights how important it is to keep all browsers updated at all times. While CISA’s mandate only applies to federal agency staff, its remit extends to all organizations to help them “better manage vulnerabilities and keep pace with threat activity.”

    ForbesChange Your Browser Settings Now—‘Massive Security Risk’By Zak Doffman

    You will see a flag within Chrome telling you an update has been downloaded and you need to restart. All your tabs should reopen, albeit your Incognito private browsing tabs will not. So make sure there’s nothing unsaved in any of those.

    Following Google’s warning that it’s “aware that an exploit for CVE-2025-6554 exists in the wild,” we can expect more detail on the vulnerability over the coming weeks.

    Continue Reading

  • DRIVEN BY WORDS: Help Create The New Gulf x Atlassian Williams Racing Livery

    DRIVEN BY WORDS: Help Create The New Gulf x Atlassian Williams Racing Livery

    Fans around the world are invited to help create an iconic one-of-a-kind livery for Atlassian Williams Racing!

    Celebrating the passion and emotion that fuels racing at the pinnacle of motorsport, we need you to submit the words that best capture what Williams and Gulf mean to them.
    These messages of support, pride and love will be woven into a unique design fusing bold typography with the instantly recognisable Gulf colours that will transform the FW47 driven by Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz at this year’s Brazilian Grand Prix in November.

    Starting today, fans will have until August 25 to make their voices part of this standout livery. Follow the link below to start submitting five words a day that encapsulate the moments, ambitions and memories that make Williams and Gulf special – in any language, and from around the world.

    Gulf Driven By Words

    Submit five words a day that encapsulate the moments, ambitions and memories that make Williams and Gulf special

    “We are delighted to unveil this new campaign with Gulf, uniting two icons of motorsport in a tribute to the people who fuel F1: the fans,” James Vowles commented.

    “Driven by Words is the latest example of our commitment to bring fans closer to the team than ever before, whether that is through fan zones, behind-the-scenes social media content or exclusive online experiences.

    “Atlassian Williams Racing has one of the most loyal and passionate fanbases in sport, and I can’t wait to see their words transformed into an unmissable livery for the Brazilian Grand Prix.”

    Fans can submit their entries right here. Submissions open on July 2 and close on August 25.

    Continue Reading

  • Who Ends Alex Palou-Kyle Kirkwood Streak at Mid-Ohio?

    Who Ends Alex Palou-Kyle Kirkwood Streak at Mid-Ohio?

    Today’s question: Alex Palou and Kyle Kirkwood are the only drivers to win an NTT INDYCAR SERIES race this season. Which driver is most likely to end that streak this Sunday in The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport?

    Curt Cavin: Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward has been among the closest to derailing this year’s Palou-Kirkwood train, and Mid-Ohio will be a return to the scene of one of his three race wins from a year ago. O’Ward leads this season in second-place finishes in 2025 – he has three – and one of those was a brilliant drive at The Thermal Club in which he led 51 of the 65 laps. He also finished second on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and at World Wide Technology Raceway. Nine drivers in this field have won NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at Mid-Ohio, including eight in the past eight races, but it feels like O’Ward will break several trends this weekend.

    Eric Smith: I’m predicting the upset. One could consider two winners in nine NTT INDYCAR SERIES races an upset in and of itself. So could Robert Shwartzman winning the pole for the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. To continue that theme, how about more chaos? Wouldn’t it be fitting if a rookie ended this Palou/Kirkwood domination? I’m going with Louis Foster for the win on Sunday. It’s not as far-fetched as it seems. He became the second rookie NTT P1 Award winner of the season the last time out in Road America. Foster is also good at Mid-Ohio. He finished first and second, respectively, in USF Pro 2000 competition in 2022. He earned his first INDY NXT by Firestone win here in 2023 and finished second last year. RLL typically produces strong cars on its home track, and Foster has been fast on natural road courses this season to the tune of qualifying 10th, 12th, third and first, respectively. With a fast car, a strong track for him and the team, plus the ability to go off strategy if needed, give me the upset. Bobby Rahal earned his first Mid-Ohio victory 40 years ago. His son and Foster’s teammate, Graham Rahal, won 10 years ago. The year of the “5s” is kind to the Rahal’s at Mid-Ohio, so how about the No. 45 RLL Honda to victory lane on Sunday.

    Arni Sribhen: You can’t talk about an INDYCAR SERIES race at Mid-Ohio and not begin a list of favorites to win with Scott Dixon. But I’m going to focus on another Kiwi who runs well at Mid-Ohio – Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin. Scotty Mac has history at Mid-Ohio. He’s the only driver not named Alex Palou to finish in the top five in each of the last three seasons at Mid-Ohio and he knows how to win at there, notching a victory in 2022. Chevrolet’s still looking for win No. 1 for one of its drivers this season and winning in Honda’s backyard with the Team Penske driver and the “Thirsty 3s” would be an ideal place to get it done.

    Paul Kelly: It’s Will Power’s time to end the Palou-Kirkwood duopoly and put Team Penske back into victory lane for the first time since Scott McLaughlin won last Sept. 1 at Milwaukee, as crazy as that sounds. Power has successful recent history at Mid-Ohio, and I think recognizing that recent success is more important due to the changes in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES car since 2019, namely the addition of the aeroscreen and the hybrid. Power won in 2020 with the aeroscreen and finished third in 2022 and 2023. Plus, Power has been the best of the three Team Penske drivers in this disappointing season, with more top-five and top-10 finishes than teammates McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden. There’s also the well-known matter that Power is in a contract year, and who knows what his future with the team is at this point? But delivering the first winner’s trophy to Roger Penske this season might not hurt Willy P’s chances at an extension if a decision hasn’t been made already.


    Continue Reading