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Schwarzkopf Unveils Lindsay Lohan as Newest Brand Ambassador

Partnership celebrates Schwarzkopf’s world-class hair color formulas, trust & the longstanding bond between client and colorist

LOS ANGELES, July 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Schwarzkopf, an authority in hair for over 125 years, is proud to announce Lindsay Lohan as its newest Brand Ambassador. This partnership celebrates Lohan’s longstanding relationship with Schwarzkopf Professional’s very own Tracey Cunningham, the iconic celebrity colorist who has been coloring her hair for over two decades.

Lindsay Lohan, Schwarzkopf Brand Ambassador

“Tracey is more than my colorist—she’s a trusted creative partner,” said Lohan. “Whether I’m in a new movie or walking a red carpet – there’s only one shot to get my hair color right and it’s often a really tight turnaround. Tracey is the ultimate collaborator, and I love that she takes the time to explain what products she uses and why. I learned about Schwarzkopf through Tracey because the result is so incredible every time and it’s now the only brand I trust in the salon.”

Lohan has never been afraid to change up her hair color. The blonde she debuted this past March made waves as a covetable shade highly requested by salon goers. This latest look is a new variation of blonde named “Soft Gloss Blonde” by Cunningham – a bright, vibrant shade perfect for summer nights and reminiscent of Hollywood starlets as Lohan gears up for the highly anticipated Freakier Friday. For the first time Schwarzkopf and Cunningham are sharing the exact formula behind Lohan’s blonde.

“We love the fun that Lindsay has with her hair color. Her looks reflect the personal connections that people have with their hair and the trust they place in the professionals and brands who turn their visions into realities throughout each chapter of their lives,” said Teresa Cordova, Head of Schwarzkopf Masterbrand U.S. “At Schwarzkopf, we’re proud to create the high-performance color formulas that fuel those moments of change.“

For Cunningham, Schwarzkopf Professional’s U.S. Creative Director of Color & Technique, working with high performance, high quality hair color formulas is key.

“Lindsay and I have grown together over the years, and it’s always the most fun having her in my chair,” said Cunningham. “To take her lighter, Schwarzkopf Professional’s IGORA VIBRANCE and BLONDME were absolute essentials. These formulas allowed me to lift her hair color while maintaining its integrity and shine. It’s imperative that I trust the products I’m using on all my clients. There is zero room for error when working with an A-List celebrity or musician undergoing a color transformation for a film or TV role, a red carpet or a musical performance. I know that I can always count on Schwarzkopf Professional products to deliver.”

Sold in over 140 countries worldwide, Schwarzkopf Professional is a brand that colorists like Cunningham can trust. Schwarzkopf Professional formulas are world-class thanks to decades of research and innovation. Schwarzkopf’s BLONDME lightener, with bonding technology that helps minimize hair damage when used with BLONDME Premium Developer, helped Tracey achieve Lohan’s signature “Soft Gloss Blonde”. She then used Schwarzkopf’s signature demi-permanent color line, IGORA Vibrance to give Lohan’s hair shine. IGORA Vibrance not only provides highly customizable color and lasts up to 25 washes, but can also be used as a gloss to provide vibrant shine.

To support its professional community, Schwarzkopf Professional is unveiling a limited-time endcap at professional beauty distributors nationwide, spotlighting the exact products and hair color formulas Tracey used to create Lohan’s look. Designed with colorists in mind, the activation underscores Schwarzkopf’s commitment to education, performance, and community.

Outside of the salon – for those who are inspired by Lohan’s standout blonde look, Schwarzkopf’s Keratin Blonde shade “11.0 Hi-Lift Natural Blonde” is a premium DIY solution. Keratin’s at-home color products offer 100% grey coverage and feature Keratin’s Bond Enforcing System, for up to 80% less breakage vs. untreated hair.

Lohan’s approach to hair color is the perfect expression of confidence and creativity. It’s the philosophy Schwarzkopf stands behind. Great color doesn’t just transform your hair—it transforms your story. What story will you tell?

Ask for Schwarzkopf color at your next salon appointment and visit Schwarzkopf Professional to explore the products. Follow @hairbyschwarzkopf.usa and @schwarzkopfusa on Instagram and TikTok to discover the latest color trends and re-create your favorite color looks.

About Henkel in North America
Henkel’s portfolio of well-known brands in North America includes all®, Purex® and Persil® laundry detergents, Snuggle® fabric softeners, Dial® soaps, Schwarzkopf® hair care, as well as Loctite®, Technomelt® and Bonderite® adhesives. With sales close to 6.5 billion US dollars (6 billion euros) in 2024, North America accounts for 28 percent of the company’s global sales. Henkel employs around 8,000 people across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. For more information, please visit www.henkel-northamerica.com and on X @Henkel_NA.

SOURCE Schwarzkopf

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July 8, 2025
XIO Soundbar from KEF Complements Modern Smart Home Living

For more than 60 years, KEF has developed high performance loudspeakers for home environments. Adding to its decades-old legacy, KEF is launching its XIO Soundbar.

The global company states that its new soundbar is engineered to deliver a transformative home audio experience for TV, movies, music and gaming.

KEF says the XIO creates a cinematic soundscape, delivering realistic sound through a suite of technologies including Uni-Q MX, P185 LF driver with P-Flex, as well as the company’s patent-pending Velocity Control Technology (VECO), and its Music Integrity Engine (MIE) for Cinema. KEF emphasizes the XIO Soundbar supports Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and Sony 360 Reality Audio to provide homeowners with an array of surround sound and immersive audio format choices.

XIO Soundbar Powers State-of-the-Art Listening Sessions

Powered by a 5.1.2 configuration (five main channels, one subwoofer channel, and two overhead channels) and with 12 class D amplifiers, the new KEF soundbar is designed to offer high-resolution spatial audio.

KEF explains to help ensure the best possible sound in any setting, the XIO Soundbar includes Intelligent Placement Technology (IPT). This built-in calibration tool automatically adapts the audio output based on the objects around the soundbar.

The soundbar also includes a dedicated dialog mode to help ensure every word is heard with detail. Located within the EQ presets, alongside night and music modes, this mode is said to enhance vocal frequencies while reducing background noise, making speech clear.

Enhancing the immersive experience even further, the XIO Soundbar is engineered to produce high levels of sound imaging, offering a realistic 3D soundscape, positioning individual sounds at different pinpoints within the room. Whether it’s a whispered conversation or a soaring musical score, KEF boasts that every nuance is faithfully reproduced.

As part of the development process for the new soundbar the company examined how the soundbar could provide a broad tonal balance with deep and detailed bass performance. Powering the XIO Soundbar’s low-frequency performance, the product incorporates a proprietary P185 LF driver that is enhanced with KEF’s P-Flex technology, which has been adapted from the company’s KC62 and KC92 subwoofers.

KEF suggests that through these technologies, the bass performance of the XIO Soundbar is equivalent to a 4 x 4-inch, low-frequency woofer. The speaker’s large cabinet space allows for twin P185 LF drivers to be positioned back-to-back in a force-cancelling configuration that reduces mechanical vibrations. This results, the company continues, is a pure and resonant low-frequency response, free from unwanted distortions.

Not surprisingly, the XIO Soundbar features KEF’s proprietary Uni-Q technologies. In this case, the soundbar features six Uni-Q MX drivers, the miniature version of KEF’s Uni-Q driver array. The decoupler, KEF explains is engineered as a precise crossover that separates the low-frequency cone and high-frequency tweeter dome, a design that allows the diaphragm to move freely at low frequencies while isolating the dome for high-frequency precision.

Further augmenting the performance of the new soundbar is the inclusion of the company’s Velocity Control Technology (VECO). KEF describes it as a solution that includes a sensor at the heart of the P185 LF driver that monitors cone motion and employs a negative feedback loop to significantly minimize distortion and compression.

Other proprietary technologies built into the XIO Soundbar include KEF’s Music Integrity Engine (MIE) for Cinema is KEF’s in-house suite of DSP algorithms that are specifically designed for the product. This sophisticated technology delivers multichannel processing, virtualization, and adaptive placement capabilities to help ensure high levels of performance for nearly any home space.

Soundbar Aesthetics Match its Performance

Externally, KEF point out the XIO Soundbar utilizes a sleek aluminum top plate and splash-proof fabric for style and durability. The soundbar’s contemporary, minimal design will complement range of home spaces, and the company notes the speaker’s industrial design will integrate with existing systems, making the soundbar a subtle add-on to any TV set-up. Available in slate black and silver grey, KEF incorporates adaptive shelf and wall Equalization (EQ) modes to help integrators tailor the XIO Soundbar’s sound to just about any environment.

Supporting a choice of smart home AV activities, the XIO Soundbar offers homeowners its W2 Wireless Platform that it adapted from its LS Wireless collection of high-performance, smart-home audio products. Through this platform, the soundbar offers streaming services that include TIDAL, Amazon Music, Qobuz, and Deezer. The soundbar also provides a choice of inputs such as HDMI with eARC, optical, and an RCA subwoofer output. KEF notes that if integrators want to pair the XIO Soundbar with a companion KEF subwoofer, they can utilize its KW2 RX receiver, which it says is specifically designed to provide reliable wireless connectivity.

In addition, the XIO Soundbar allows homeowners the ability to control the product through the use of the company’s KEF Connect app. Using the app dealers or homeowners can fine tune their listening experiences with the soundbar by accessing EQ modes, as well as options such as the dialog mode and the night mode that allows homeowners to maximize their lower volume home theater activities without sacrificing audio quality.

More news from CE Pro: Immersive Private Cinema in Florida Evokes Calming, Deep Sea Aesthetics

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July 8, 2025
ICC seeks arrest of Taliban leaders over persecution of women

LONDON: A new report from leading think tank Equi is warning that a crucial factor in the conversation around child welfare in the UK is being systematically overlooked: the role of faith.

The UK’s care system is facing a deepening crisis, with over 107,000 children currently in care and the number of available foster carers and adopters falling sharply.

In a landmark publication titled “Faith, Family and the Care System: A Missed Connection?”, Equi has argued that while ethnicity and culture are often factored into decisions about care placements, faith continues to be neglected, with damaging consequences for children’s emotional stability and sense of identity.

Drawing on polling conducted in partnership with Savanta, as well as interviews and case studies from across the UK, the report set out the urgent need for faith-literate reform of the child welfare system.

“Faith isn’t just a personal belief for many children, it’s a source of identity, resilience and stability. Our care system needs to reflect that,” said Prof. Javed Khan, one of the leading voices behind the report.

The research highlighted the experiences of British Muslim communities, showing that faith can play a powerful role in supporting vulnerable children, both by helping to prevent family breakdown and by fostering strong networks of informal and kinship-based care.

Despite making up 10 percent of under-18s in England, Muslim children account for less than 5 percent of those in care. It is a disparity Equi said reflected both strong community-based care and the challenges Muslim families face in engaging with the formal care system.

According to the findings, British Muslims are 66 percent more likely than the general public to provide informal care or financial support to children at risk of entering care.

Over 5,500 Muslim heritage children are currently in formal kinship care arrangements, with thousands more supported informally, a contribution estimated to save the state more than £220 million ($298 million) each year.

This strong culture of kinship care, rooted in Islamic teachings around the responsibility to care for orphaned children (“yateem”), is seen by the report authors as an underappreciated asset within the national care framework.

However, Equi said British Muslims who want to contribute more formally to the care system face significant barriers.

While members of the community are 63 percent more likely than the general population to consider fostering or adoption, nearly 60 percent report fears of discrimination.

Many point to cultural misunderstandings, bias in assessment processes and a lack of faith-sensitive placements as major deterrents.

Faith is also closely tied to children’s sense of self and well-being, the report argues.

More than 70 percent of British Muslims — and 40 percent of the wider public — said faith played a key role in shaping their identity during childhood.

Yet current government policy fails to take religious background into account during care placements, following the removal of faith matching guidance in 2014.

Equi links this omission to increased identity conflict, emotional distress and instability in care arrangements.

Young people from faith backgrounds leaving care are also highlighted as being especially vulnerable to isolation. The report calls for faith-based mentoring schemes and transitional housing to support care leavers as they navigate adulthood and reconnect with their communities.

In response to the findings, Equi called on the government to embed faith literacy throughout the care system.

Among its recommendations are recording children’s faith heritage in care records, incorporating religious identity into placement decisions, offering culturally sensitive therapeutic care, and working in partnership with faith-based charities to recruit and support carers.

The report also urges local authorities to expand fostering capacity, particularly for sibling groups and multigenerational households, and to ensure clear legal and financial guidance is provided to kinship carers.

“This report isn’t just about British Muslims, it’s about the 40 percent of children for whom faith is part of who they are,” said Khan.

“It’s not about bringing faith into policymaking in an ideological sense. But, rather, it’s a wake-up call that ignoring faith ignores people’s lived realities. It harms vulnerable children’s sense of belonging and increases instability in care placements. The system must become more inclusive, fair and ultimately more effective.”

With rising pressure on the UK’s care system and a shrinking pool of carers, Equi’s report presented a timely and compelling case for unlocking underused community resources and building a more resilient, culturally competent and cost-effective model of care, it said.

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July 8, 2025
Massive underwater eruption suffocated marine life

In 2022, the underwater Hunga volcano exploded, blasting ash 37 miles into the sky – the largest volcanic plume ever captured by satellites. What followed offered researchers a rare chance to see how the ocean floor responds to sudden, massive disruption.

Months later, scientists from the University of Oregon, along with teams from the University of Rhode Island and Western Washington University, headed out on a research cruise.

Onboard, undergraduate student Marcus Chaknova discovered something unexpected: thick layers of volcanic ash coating the seafloor. The ash had suffocated deep-sea ecosystems that rely on fragile chemical exchanges to survive.

Underwater eruptions usually go unseen

“This was an extremely rare opportunity,” Chaknova said. “Observing the mass movement of underwater sediment is something that hasn’t been studied much.”

Now a graduate student in Earth Sciences at the University of Oregon, Chaknova led a research project analyzing what the underwater eruption left behind.

Working with Professor Thomas Giachetti and 16 other experts from around the world, he became the lead author on a study that looked at how volcanic ash travels – and what it does to life underwater.

“We had scientists from every single time zone you could think of,” Chaknova said. His project needed expertise from the fields of marine biology, geochemistry, and micropaleontology.

Tracking ash from the volcano

The first step was to confirm that the underwater ash had indeed come from Hunga, located about 40 miles from Tonga’s main island in the South Pacific.

After an eruption, it can take weeks or even months for ash to fall through the water and settle on the ocean floor. As it drifts, wind and currents push it farther from the eruption site.

“One grain of sediment will take weeks or months to reach the bottom of the ocean. It’s like a leaf falling from a tree. Because of the wind, it might end up somewhere completely different,” Giachetti explained.

Back in the lab, Chaknova matched the ash samples to those found near the volcano. The grains were varied – some jagged and sharp, others rounded and smooth.

In some places, the sediment was more than a meter thick. Most of it was made up of very fine particles, around the width of a human hair.

What the eruption left behind

Chaknova discovered that much of the ash came from the volcano’s caldera walls and was carried away by fast-moving underwater flows – something like underwater avalanches.

Those flows were so powerful they damaged submarine cables and carved small canyons into the seafloor. The researchers even used the timing of power loss from those broken cables to calculate how fast the ash surged.

Using computer models, Chaknova plans to simulate how the ash moved and where it went. Giachetti said this research could change how scientists think about sediment movement in the oceans.

Deep-sea life suffocated

The underwater eruption didn’t just leave a geological footprint. It disrupted entire ecosystems.

In the deep sea, where sunlight doesn’t reach, life depends on chemosynthesis – organisms use chemicals like methane or ammonia from hydrothermal vents, instead of sunlight, to produce energy.

Roughly 90% of marine life lives on the seafloor, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature. After the eruption, much of that life was buried in thick sediment.

Some creatures like worms and anemones can survive brief burials, but this sudden wave of ash was too much. Many deep-sea species are suspension feeders. They grab tiny particles of food from the water and filter them through their gills.

“With all the displaced sediment, these organisms are only grabbing sediment,” Chaknova said. “That’s going to clog their gills, it’s going to clog their intestines, and that’s going to have a dramatic effect on their ability to create energy.”

Fallout from the underwater eruption

Chaknova’s early findings also show that ash made it all the way to Tonga’s coral reefs. At first, it caused a short-lived plankton bloom at the surface.

But as the ash settled, it threatened coral ecosystems that support larger marine life. When coral suffers, everything above it in the food chain is affected.

For Tonga, the eruption of this underwater volcano had more than environmental consequences. It also affected livelihoods.

Fishing is a way of life in Tonga. According to the World Bank, about 82% of households rely on reef fishing in some way for income. Marine tourism accounts for more than 7% of Tonga’s GDP.

“Although this eruption occurred on the seafloor, there is a chain of both positive and negative effects,” Chaknova said.

“The negative effects go farther than just losing power or Wi-Fi from submarine cables. This is some people’s livelihood. They need fish for food. Fishing is incredibly important for the economic and food security of Tonga.”

A warning for deep-sea mining

The study also has bigger implications. As the world turns toward clean energy, demand is growing for metals like copper and cobalt – many of which sit in potato-sized nodules beneath the ocean floor.

Private companies have approached small Pacific nations, including Tonga, with offers to mine these resources.

“The area where we collected the sediment is within the Kingdom of Tonga, and we found that they are very rich in minerals,” Chaknova said. “A lot of companies are interested in collecting these minerals, and so this area that belongs to the Kingdom of Tonga will be up for bid, in coming years, for deep-sea mining.”

While commercial mining hasn’t started yet, researchers are urging caution. The plumes of sediment created by mining could be just as harmful as those created by volcanic eruptions – clogging gills, burying habitats, and destroying fragile ecosystems.

Chaknova’s work provides some of the only real-world data we have on what that kind of disturbance could look like.

The research gives scientists and policymakers a better understanding of what’s at stake – and what might be lost if we move forward without enough knowledge.

The full study was published in the journal Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.

Image Credit: NOAA

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July 8, 2025
New York Knicks announce Mike Brown as head coach

The New York Knicks have formally named Mike Brown as their new head coach.

A two-time NBA Coach of the Year, Brown replaces Tom Thibodeau, who was fired from the position in June, even as the Knicks reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years.

“After a thorough and extensive search process, we are pleased to announce Mike Brown as the head coach of the New York Knicks,” said Knicks President Leon Rose in a statement on Monday (7 July).

“Mike has coached on the biggest stages in our sport and brings championship pedigree to our organisation. His experience leading the bench during the NBA Finals, winning four titles as an assistant coach, and his ability to grow and develop players will all help us as we aim to bring a championship to New York for our fans.”

The Knicks’ head coach role is Brown’s third after he parted ways with the Sacramento Kings, where he spent three years as head coach.

During his time in California, the 55-year-old led the Kings to their first playoff run in 16 seasons, ending the longest postseason drought in NBA history and earning him his second NBA Coach of the Year prize. However, he was dismissed last December after a 13-18 start to the regular season.

Currently 454-304 in his career, Brown previously oversaw the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers. It was with the former team that he was honoured with his first coaching award after he led the franchise to the NBA Finals in 2007.

He also has won four NBA Championships as an assistant coach, clinching three with the Golden State Warriors under Steve Kerr and one with the San Antonio Spurs alongside Gregg Popovich.

On the international stage, he served as head coach of the Nigerian national team from 2020 to 2022, where they finished 10th at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in 2021.

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July 8, 2025
Cancer Cell Membrane Power Surges May Drive Disease
Key findings:
- Energy-generating waves on the membranes of cancer cells may help to fuel disease progression.
- Disrupting the process could slow or halt cancer metastasis.
- Higher levels of the enzymatic waves appear linked to more severe forms of cancer, indicating that measuring them could help scientists stage cancers.
In a bid to better understand how cancer cells power their explosive growth and spread, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have shed new light on the location and function of power-generating waves on the covering, or membrane, of these cells. The scientists say the waves, generated by rhythmic propagation of enzymes that produce energy from glucose, could potentially be used to better stage cancers, and as targets of drugs designed to slow down or halt the spread of cancer.

In experiments with human cancer cells grown in the laboratory, the researchers also suggest that measuring the energy-producing waves could help to stage cancers in a more universal and standardized way, regardless of subtypes and genetic mutations.

A report of the findings, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, was published July 1 in the journal Nature Communications.

“Our findings suggest a correlation between higher levels of the energy-producing waves and a greater severity of the cancer, or the cancer’s potential to spread to other organs,” says Peter Devreotes, Ph.D., the Isaac Morris and Lucille Elizabeth Hay Professor of Cell Biology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

In cancer biology, scientists have long known of the Warburg effect, a process in which cancer cells utilize more energy from a less efficient pathway – glycolysis – rather than the more efficient mechanism, oxidative phosphorylation.

“That appears to be a paradox for cancer because cancer cells need much more energy to grow than normal cells,” says David Zhan, Ph.D., postdoctoral researcher in Devreotes’ lab.

The researchers say it was taught in biochemistry class for many decades that glycolysis occurred uniformly in the cytosol, or the fluid matrix of the cell.

But when the Johns Hopkins team examined cancer cells grown in the lab, they found that energy-generating enzymes gather and move as waves on the cell membrane, suggesting a more fine-tuned energy production process.

“This finding may challenge the canonical textbook knowledge that we all learn from the biochemistry course,” Zhan says.

Zhan and colleagues began the study by comparing samples of normal cells from the lining of human breast ducts with the same type of cells from people with breast cancer. The scientists used genetic engineering to tag fluorescent molecules to these glycolytic enzymes, enabling visibility and accurate measurement of these energy-producing enzymes under a high-powered microscope.

In breast cancer cells, the scientists found an abundant amount of glycolytic enzymes on the cells’ membrane, and that the molecules moved in organized waves. In normal cells, the scientists observed almost no glycolytic enzymes in the cell surface or waves.

“The more aggressive the cancer, the more waves we found on the cell surface,” says Devreotes. This discovery stems from earlier research from Zhan and Devreotes, published in 2020 in Developmental Cell, which suggests that cancer stages are linked to glycolytic wave activity.

In the most recent study, the scientists measured the level of ATP, the energy “currency” within breast cancer and normal cells, and found that more aggressive breast cancer subtypes were associated with higher levels of ATP produced from these waves.

Using other cancer cell types, including lab-grown cell lines of human pancreatic, lung, breast, colon and liver cancers, the researchers found similar results: increases in wave activity and levels of ATP in subtypes of cancer considered to be more aggressive when compared with less aggressive types of cancer cells.

“The increased presence of these glycolytic waves drives more ATP production from glycolysis in cancer cells, and that leads to enhanced reliance on glycolysis for energy,” Zhan says.

In search of a way to slow down the cancer cell energy wave activity, they used a small molecule, Latrunculin A (LatA), that disrupts the assembly of the glycolytic waves in cancer cell lines. The scientists then found a 25% decrease in ATP, suggesting that cancer cells largely depend on these waves to fuel and execute their daily energy-intensive activities.

“When we inhibit the activity of these waves, we may be able to stop these cancer cells from being able to consume nutrients and grow,” says Zhan. “Cancer cells require a lot of energy to drive cancer malignancy, so disrupting this process might be able to slow or stop its spread.”

Next, Devreotes says his team plans to investigate exactly how the energy-producing waves occur in the cell membrane.

Funding support for this research was provided by the National Institutes of Health (GM118177, FA95501610052, R01GM136711, S10 OD016374), the Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative of the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a Cervical Cancer SPORE Pilot Project Award (P50CA098252), the Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, a Johns Hopkins Discovery Award and the W.W. Smith Charitable Trust Award.

In addition to Devreotes and Zhan, other scientists who contributed to this work are Dhiman Sankar Pal, Jane Borleis, Yu Deng, Yu Long and additional corresponding authors Chris Janetopoulos and Chuan-Hsiang Huang of Johns Hopkins.

/Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) might be of the point-in-time nature, and edited for clarity, style and length. Mirage.News does not take institutional positions or sides, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s).View in full here.
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July 8, 2025
Taylor Fritz avoids fifth set and advances to first SW19 semi-final with win over Karen Khachanov

Fritz will play the semi-final against the winner of unseeded Briton Cameron Norrie and two-time Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz.

The Californian has always been proficient on grass, where he has won his last three titles, including Eastbourne just last month on the British coast. He now finds himself in fine form with a 13-1 record on the surface this season going into the semis at SW19.

With Fritz dominating the opening two sets in 76 minutes, the Paris 2024 doubles bronze medallist stood a set away from the final four.

But Khachanov refused to back down so easily, roaring back in style by winning eight out of the next nine games from the third set onwards. The Olympic silver medallist was rejuvenated, pushing the fifth seed to brink after the third set.

27-year-old Fritz recovered from 0-2 down in the fourth to work his way back into the lead, though could not prevent a fourth set tiebreak with his opponent fighting for a fifth. He conceded his 4-1 tiebreak lead as Khachanov roared his way back into it, but when the moment arose, Fritz was clinical with a double mini break to prevail.

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July 8, 2025
Fortnite Maker Epic Games Settles With Samsung Following App-Blocking Lawsuit

Epic Games says it’s reached a settlement after taking legal action against Samsung, which it sued last year along with Google over antitrust issues.

In a motion filed in a California district court, Epic requested a dismissal of its claims against Samsung, saying Epic, “has reached a settlement agreement with Defendants Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd. and Samsung Electronics America, Inc.”

Epic did not disclose terms of the settlement, but the original suit focused around Samsung blocking the installation of apps on its mobile devices, making it more difficult for users to install Epic Games titles such as Fortnite on them. At the time, Epic claimed it took 21 steps to get a game installed because of Samsung’s Auto Blocker feature.

In an email to CNET, Epic Games pointed to CEO and founder Tim Sweeney’s post on X, which says: “We’re dismissing our court case against Samsung following the parties’ discussions. We are grateful that Samsung will address Epic’s concerns.”

A representative for Samsung did not immediately return a request for comment.

Epic’s legal battles against Apple and Google are ongoing.

The Federal Trade Commission recently extended a deadline for players to claim money in a $245 million settlement involving Fortnite. That deadline is now July 9.

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July 8, 2025
Sabalenka survives scare against Siegemund to reach Wimbledon semis

WIMBLEDON — World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka survived a scare from Laura Siegemund in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, coming from a break down twice in the third set in a Centre Court thriller to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in 2 hours and 54 minutes — the third-longest match of this year’s Championships. Sabalenka advances to her 12th career Grand Slam semifinal, and third at Wimbledon.

Wimbledon: Scores | Order of play | Draws

Sabalenka has made at least the last four in 10 of her last 11 major appearances dating back to the 2022 US Open. The only exception in this timeframe was her quarterfinal finish at Roland Garros 2024, where she fell to Mirra Andreeva. She also advances to a tour-leading ninth semifinal of 2025, ahead of Iga Swiatek’s six in second place.

A runner-up at the Australian Open and Roland Garros already this season, Sabalenka will bid to make her third Grand Slam final of the year against either No. 13 seed Amanda Anisimova or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The last player to reach the first three major finals of a single season was Serena Williams in 2016.

More to come…

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July 8, 2025
Carbs may not increase cats’ body fat or insulin resistance

Cat’s wild ancestors didn’t get many carbs from their diets of small mammals, reptiles and birds. Before the rise of the pet food industry, domesticated cats likewise only ate the grains and plant sugars that were their prey’s last meals. However, that doesn’t mean cats can’t handle some carbohydrates in their diets. A meta-analysis examining the effects of dietary carbohydrates in commercial cat foods challenged the idea that higher carbohydrate content contributes to obesity, insulin resistance, or elevated glucose levels in cats.

The meta-analysis comprised 16 peer-reviewed studies examining the dietary macronutrient composition and feline metabolic health markers. The outcomes analyzed were body fat mass, fasting insulin and fasting glucose concentrations. The researchers accounted for dietary fat, protein and carb content measured as nitrogen-free extract (% metabolizable energy), as well as daily energy intake and body weight, while also considering individual study design parameters.

Among the 16 studies, the scientists identified three themes.

1. No positive association between dietary carbohydrates and obesity or insulin resistance
Increasing dietary carbohydrate content was not associated with increases in body fat mass, fasted insulin or glucose concentrations. In fact, in lean cats, higher nitrogen-free extract content relative to energy intake was correlated with reduced body fat mass. Fasted insulin levels were more closely associated with body fat and dietary fat rather than carbohydrate content.

2. Dietary fat, not carbohydrate, linked to increases in body fat mass
High-fat diets (>35% metabolizable energy) consistently promoted greater energy intake and weight gain under ad libitum feeding conditions. Several models demonstrated that increased dietary fat, rather than carb content, was a more reliable predictor of higher body fat mass and fasting insulin levels.

3. No significant effect on fasted glucose
Across 14 studies, no significant relationship was observed between macronutrient composition and fasted glucose levels. This may be due to metabolic adaptations of domestic cats. As obligate carnivores, cats prioritize gluconeogenesis from amino acids and show slower glucose clearance rates compared to omnivorous species.

“The results of this meta-analysis indicate that dietary carbohydrates (NFE), included between 2.8% and 57% metabolizable energy, are not a risk factor for greater body fat mass, fasted insulin, and glucose concentrations in cats, suggesting that NFE does not pose a risk for feline obesity, insulin resistance, or hyperglycemia,” the study authors wrote in the Journal of Animal Science. “However, future studies should consider postprandial responses of insulin and glucose to macronutrient compositions to further investigate the role of dietary carbohydrates on insulin resistance in cats, with particular attention to the role of dietary fat, and the role of body condition.”

While the models showed moderate predictive power, limitations included small sample sizes, heterogeneity in study design and lack of control for variables such as sex, age, neuter status and feeding regimen. Most studies fed cats their maintenance energy requirements, potentially minimizing diet-induced changes in body fat mass. Only fasted insulin and glucose values were analyzed to ensure consistency across studies. This limited insight into postprandial metabolic responses, which is potentially a more sensitive indicator of insulin resistance.

Implications for pet food formulation

These findings may prompt re-evaluation of long-held assumptions about the metabolic risks associated with carbs in cat food. While the industry has increasingly shifted toward low-carb, high-protein formulations, the evidence suggests that dietary fat may play a more significant role in driving excess fat storage and insulin issues.

Overall, the analysis highlighted the complexity of pet cats’ metabolism and emphasized the importance of considering both energy intake and body composition in conjunction with macronutrient ratios. As dietary carbohydrate content increases, the displacement of fat or protein must also be considered when assessing metabolic effects.

While carbohydrates have a bad reputation in current human and pet diet trends, evidence suggests that carbs may not always be metabolic villains. Instead, dietary fat intake and overfeeding behaviors warrant closer scrutiny in the fight against cat obesity and metabolic disease. These findings support a more nuanced view of macronutrient formulation in feline diets. Reducing fat levels or monitoring total energy intake may be more effective strategies for managing feline weight and metabolic health than simply minimizing carbohydrates.Tim Wall using DALL-E

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July 8, 2025