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  • YouTube Music Finally Added a Long-Missing Google Podcasts Feature

    YouTube Music Finally Added a Long-Missing Google Podcasts Feature

    There are a lot of podcast apps out there, but the easiest one to use is the one that comes built into your phone. For Android users, that was Google Podcasts—that is, until last year, when Google killed off its flagship podcast app. Again, you have your choice among alternatives, but if you go with Google’s choice, you might’ve found your way to YouTube Music.

    Like Spotify, Google’s music app offers podcast support—though it’s a bit more limited. If you’re used to the polish and feature set of a dedicated podcast app (or, frankly, even Spotify), YouTube Music might be a tough adjustment. There are signs that things are changing, however. Google hasn’t totally abandoned progress for the podcast side of YouTube Music. In fact, it’s bringing a feature that was lost in the transition from Google Podcasts.

    When Google invited users to move over to YouTube Music, it forgot a key Google Podcast feature: “trim silence.” The idea behind the feature is to automatically remove any segments of silence or dead air,so you’re only ever listening to the show. Trim silence definitely runs the risk of ruining any intentional suspense created by podcast makers, but it also makes episodes that we watch on 1.5x, 2x, or even 3x even faster. If your goal is to listen to as many podcasts as possible and to cut out any and all extra moments, trim silence is your friend—and you’re likely missing it if you use YouTube Music.

    That is now changing: As reported by Android Authority, Google is rolling out a trim silence option in the YouTube Music app. The feature was first spotted by this Redditor, but I can confirm the option is now in my YouTube Music app as well. It’s a long time coming: 9to5Google spotted trim silence in YouTube Music’s code back in March of 2024, though it never materialized in an app update. Nearly a year and a half later, it’s here.


    What do you think so far?

    How to use trim silence in YouTube Music

    It’s not clear at this time whether the feature is being added server-side or via a software update. To be safe, make sure you’re running the latest version of YouTube Music. I’m also only currently seeing the feature in the Android version of YouTube Music, so iOS users may need to wait.

    Next, start a podcast, then tap the playback speed option to the left of the playback controls. Here, you should see the “Trim silence” option: Just tap it, or the toggle, to turn it on.


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  • Dow ends just shy of record after touching new intraday high, as Warren Buffett gives Wall Street an upward nudge – Morningstar

    1. Dow ends just shy of record after touching new intraday high, as Warren Buffett gives Wall Street an upward nudge  Morningstar
    2. Markets News, Aug. 15, 2025: Dow Touches All-Time High, While S&P 500, Nasdaq Tick Lower; Stocks Post Gains for 2nd Straight Week  Investopedia
    3. S&P 500 closes lower Friday, but logs its second weekly gain  CNBC
    4. US stocks tap the brakes as Wall Street heads toward the finish of a record-setting week  The Lufkin Daily News
    5. Investors are taking profits on Friday after an impressive two-week run: Nationwide  MarketWatch

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  • Fitch Downgrades Spirit Airlines to 'CCC-'; Affirms EETC Ratings – Fitch Ratings

    1. Fitch Downgrades Spirit Airlines to ‘CCC-‘; Affirms EETC Ratings  Fitch Ratings
    2. Spirit Airlines Flight Attendants Receive Major Warning  Men’s Journal
    3. Spirit Airlines May Go Out of Business Because of the Justice Department  Reason Magazine
    4. Spirit Airlines faces Chapter 7 bankruptcy, may go out of business  TheStreet
    5. Spirit Airlines downgraded to ’CCC’ by S&P on going-concern doubts  Investing.com

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  • Mount Sinai researchers discover humans exposed to SARS-CoV-2 elicit antibody called M15 that binds to previously unknown target on spike protein

    Mount Sinai researchers discover humans exposed to SARS-CoV-2 elicit antibody called M15 that binds to previously unknown target on spike protein

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

    Journal Name: Cell Reports

    Pub Date: August 12th

    Title of the Article Clonotype-Enriched Somatic Hypermutations Drive Affinity Maturation of a Public Human Antibody Targeting an Occluded Sarbecovirus Epitope

    Corresponding Author: Camila Coelho, PhD, Assistant Professor of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

    Bottom Line: Multiple humans exposed to SARS-CoV-2 elicit an antibody called M15. This antibody has a rare ability to bind a previously unknown target in the spike protein of the virus by undergoing rare mutations that are highly specific to this antibody class as compared to similar antibodies targeting other pathogens.

    Results: M15, a public antibody against SAS-CoV-2, undergoes unique mutations in its light chain that are common in different people that elicit this antibody upon infection or vaccination. These mutations help M15 gain access to and bind stronger (increase affinity) to a newly discovered target (or epitope) on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. Interestingly, the blood level of antibodies targeting this region increases with multiple vaccine doses.

    Why the Research Is Interesting: The findings identify features that differentiate mutations improving the affinity of an antibody and also uncover a novel epitope on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2.

    Who: Humans who have been vaccinated or infected with SARS-CoV-2.

    When: Days to Years post SARS-CoV-2-infection or vaccination.

    What: SARS-CoV-2 infected or vaccinated individuals elicit a public antibody that targets a novel epitope, assisted by rare antibody mutations that are almost exclusively seen in these antibodies.

    How: M15-like antibodies were specifically identified in SARS-CoV-2 infected and vaccinated individuals based on sequence identity. Biolayer interferometry, that measures the affinity of an antibody to its epitope, coupled with a cryo-electron microscopy structure of the M15 molecule in complex with SARS-CoV-2, were used to investigate the role of convergent and clonotype-enriched mutations in improving the affinity of M15. Serum competition ELISA was used to measure the level of antibodies in blood targeting this epitope post infection or vaccination.

    Study Conclusions: Mutations in the light chain that improve affinity of a public antibody, M15, against SARS-CoV-2 are convergently acquired in multiple individuals and are enriched in the public antibody class compared to antibodies recognizing other pathogens. Such mutations help M15 access a highly conserved, novel epitope on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. Levels of serum antibodies targeting this viral region increase upon multiple COVID-19 vaccinations.

    Said Mount Sinai’s Dr. Camila Coelho of the research: “Our study shows that certain patterns in antibody mutations, such as clonotype-enrichment and convergence, can help identify which mutations actually make antibodies stronger with respect to binding. This could also be applicable to other diseases, not just COVID-19. And that’s why Mount Sinai’s PhD student Vishal Rao is further investigating this phenomenon in our laboratory. It’s a step toward designing smarter vaccines that fine-tune the immune system to produce more potent antibodies.”

    To request a copy of the paper or to schedule an interview with Dr. Coelho, please contact Mount Sinai’s Director of Media and Public Affairs, Elizabeth Dowling, at [email protected] or at 347-541-0212.


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  • SpaceX reveals why the last two Starships failed as another launch draws near

    SpaceX reveals why the last two Starships failed as another launch draws near

    Engineers recreated the diffuser failure on the ground during the investigation, and then redesigned the part to better direct pressurized gas into the main fuel tank. This will also “substantially decrease” strain on the diffuser structure, SpaceX said.

    The FAA, charged with ensuring commercial rocket launches don’t endanger public safety, signed off on the investigation and gave the green light for SpaceX to fly Starship again when it is ready.

    “SpaceX can now proceed with Starship Flight 10 launch operations under its current license,” the FAA said.

    “The upcoming flight will continue to expand the operating envelope on the Super Heavy booster, with multiple landing burn tests planned,” SpaceX said in an update posted to its website Friday. “It will also target similar objectives as previous missions, including Starship’s first payload deployment and multiple reentry experiments geared towards returning the upper stage to the launch site for catch.”

    File photo of Starship’s six Raptor engines firing on a test stand in South Texas.


    Credit:

    SpaceX

    In the aftermath of the test flight in May, SpaceX hoped to fly Starship again by late June or early July. But another accident June 18, this time on the ground, delayed the program another couple of months. The Starship vehicle SpaceX assigned to the next flight, designated Ship 36, exploded on a test stand in Texas as teams filled it with cryogenic propellants for an engine test-firing.

    The accident destroyed the ship and damaged the test site, prompting SpaceX to retrofit the sole active Starship launch pad to support testing of the next ship in line—Ship 37. Those tests included a brief firing of all six of the ship’s Raptor engines August 1.

    After Ship 37’s final spin prime test Wednesday, workers transported the rocket back to a hangar for evaluation, and crews immediately got to work transitioning the launch pad back to its normal configuration to host a full Super Heavy/Starship stack.

    SpaceX said the explosion on the test stand in June was likely caused by damage to a high-pressure nitrogen storage tank inside Starship’s payload bay section. This tank, called a composite overwrapped pressure vessel, or COPV, violently ruptured and led to the ship’s fiery demise. SpaceX said COPVs on upcoming flights will operate at lower pressures, and managers ordered additional inspections on COPVs to look for damage, more proof testing, more stringent acceptance criteria, and a hardware change to address the problem.

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  • Stock market news for Aug. 15, 2025

    Stock market news for Aug. 15, 2025

    Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on August 15, 2025.

    Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images

    The S&P 500 slipped on Friday after hitting a record high, as investors took some gains off the table after a strong week.

    The broad market index settled down 0.29% at 6,449.80. The Nasdaq Composite shed 0.40% to end the day at 21,622.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed, rising 34.86 points, or 0.08%, to close at 44,946.12, thanks to a 12% jump in UnitedHealth. However, it was well off its all-time high reached earlier in the day.

    A decline in chip stocks and weak consumer sentiment data hurt the market Friday. Applied Materials fell 14% to lead the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) down by 2%. Nvidia lost nearly 1%.

    Meanwhile, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to 58.6 in August from 61.7 last month due to worries over inflation.

    The major averages remained on solid footing for the week, however. The Dow outperformed, up 1.74%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq respectively gained 0.94% and 0.81% week to date, thanks to new consumer inflation data that raised hopes for a Federal Reserve rate cut next month.

    “The AI boom and the required Fed rate cuts are supporting the market, so we don’t think we’ll have a tradable pullback in the S&P, despite the horrible seasonality of August and September,” said Jay Hatfield, CEO and CIO at Infrastructure Capital Advisors. “We’re actually kind of grinding higher still.”

    July’s retail sales data, released on Friday morning, also painted a still-healthy picture for the U.S. consumer. Retail sales rose 0.5% last month, meeting expectations from the Dow Jones consensus. Retail sales excluding automobiles gained 0.3%, also matching estimates.

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  • Scientists have discovered an ancient whale species. It may have looked like a mash-up with ‘a seal and a Pokémon’

    Scientists have discovered an ancient whale species. It may have looked like a mash-up with ‘a seal and a Pokémon’

    WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Long before whales were majestic, gentle giants, some of their prehistoric ancestors were tiny, weird and feral. A chance discovery of a 25 million-year-old fossil on an Australian beach has allowed paleontologists to identify a rare, entirely new species that could unlock mysteries of whale evolution.

    Researchers this week officially named Janjucetus dullardi, a cartoonish creature with bulging eyes the size of tennis balls, in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. Unlike today’s whales, the juvenile specimen was small enough to fit in a single bed.

    READ MORE: Archaeologists discover oldest known partial face fossil of human ancestor in western Europe

    Boasting fiendish teeth and a shark-like snout, however, this oddball of the ocean was nasty, mean and built to hunt.

    “It was, let’s say, deceptively cute,” said Erich Fitzgerald, senior curator of vertebrate paleontology at Museums Victoria Research Institute, and one of the paper’s authors.

    “It might have looked for all the world like some weird kind of mash-up between a whale, a seal and a Pokémon but they were very much their own thing.”

    Extinct species was an odd branch on the whale family tree

    The rare discovery of the partial skull, including ear bones and teeth, was made in 2019 on a fossil-rich stretch of coast along Australia’s Victoria state. Jan Juc Beach, a cradle for some of the weirdest whales in history, is becoming a hotspot for understanding early whale evolution, Fitzgerald said.

    Few family trees seem stranger than that of Janjucetus dullardi, only the fourth species ever identified from a group known as mammalodontids, early whales that lived only during the Oligocene Epoch, about 34 to 23 million years ago. That marked the point about halfway through the known history of whales.

    The tiny predators, thought to have grown to 3 meters (10 feet) in length, were an early branch on the line that led to today’s great baleen whales, such as humpbacks, blues and minkes. But the toothy ancestors with powerful jaws would have looked radically different to any modern species.

    “They may have had tiny little nubbins of legs just projecting as stumps from the wall of the body,” said Fitzgerald.

    That mystery will remain tantalizingly unsolved unless a specimen is uncovered with more of its skeleton intact, which would be something of a miracle. Even the partial skull that allowed the initial identification this week was an astonishing discovery.

    For an amateur paleontologist, a life-long obsession paid off

    Janjucetus dullardi was named by researchers after an amateur fossil hunter who doesn’t mind its looks in the slightest.

    “It’s literally been the greatest 24 hours of my life,” said Ross Dullard, who discovered the skull while fossil hunting at Jan Juc Beach. After Wednesday’s confirmation of the new species, the school principal walked like a rock star onto campus with “high fives coming left, right and center,” he said.

    His friends and family are probably just relieved it’s over.

    “That’s all they’ve heard from me for about the last six years,” he said.

    Dullard was on a regular low-tide hunt at Jan Juc the day he spotted something black protruding from a cliff. Poking it dislodged a tooth.

    He knew enough to recognize it was unlikely to belong to a dog or a seal.

    “I thought, geez, we’ve got something special here,” he said. Dullard sent photos to Museums Victoria, where Fitzgerald saw them and immediately suspected a new species.

    Ancient whale finds are rare but significant

    Confirming the find was another matter. This was the first mammalodontid to be identified in Australia since 2006 and only the third on record in the country.

    Fossils of sufficient quality, with enough of the right details preserved to confirm uniqueness, aren’t common.

    6″Cetaceans represent a fairly miniscule population of all life,” Fitzgerald said. Millions of years of erosion, scavengers and ocean currents take their toll on whale skeletons too.

    “It’s only the chosen few, the vast minority of all whales that have ever lived and died in the oceans over millions of years, that actually get preserved as fossils,” he added.

    Finds such as Janjucetus dullardi can unlock insights into how prehistoric whales ate, moved, behaved — and evolved. Researchers said the discoveries also helped to understand how ancient cetacean species adapted to warmer oceans, as they study how today’s marine life might respond to climate change.

    Meanwhile, Dullard planned to host a fossil party this weekend, featuring cetacean-themed games and whale-shaped treats in jello, to celebrate his nightmare Muppet find, finally confirmed.

    “That’s taken my concentration for six years,” he said. “I’ve had sleepless nights. I’ve dreamt about this whale.”

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  • Sleep Theory’s ‘Static’ No. 1 on Mainstream Rock Airplay Chart

    Sleep Theory’s ‘Static’ No. 1 on Mainstream Rock Airplay Chart

    Sleep Theory achieves its second consecutive No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, leading the list dated Aug. 23 with “Static.”

    Ascending to the top of the tally via a 4-1 leap, the song follows Sleep Theory’s two-week reign on the chart in February with “Stuck in My Head.”

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    The band, formed in Memphis in 2019, has steadily improved on its Mainstream Rock Airplay fortunes with each release. It first made the chart in July 2023 with “Numb,” which peaked at No. 9 the following January. “Fallout” followed with a No. 2 peak in 2024, while “Stuck in My Head” reached the summit over a 24-week trip to the top (“Static” hits No. 1 in its 20th frame).

    Concurrently, “Static” buzzes 24-20 on the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart with 2 million audience impressions in the week ending Aug. 14, up 8%, according to Luminate.

    On the most recently published, multimetric Hot Hard Rock Songs ranking (dated Aug. 16, reflecting data measured Aug. 1-7), “Static” placed at No. 16, after debuting and peaking at No. 5 in February. In addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 903,000 official U.S. streams in the tracking week.

    An additional single, “Gravity,” is currently positioned toward alternative radio and lifts 40-37 on Alternative Airplay in its second frame.

    Both songs are on Afterglow, Sleep Theory’s debut studio album. The set debuted at No. 6 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart in May and has earned 138,000 equivalent album units to date.

    All Billboard charts dated Aug. 23 will update Tuesday, Aug. 19.

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  • Applied Materials Suffers Worst Rout Since 2020 on China Woes

    Applied Materials Suffers Worst Rout Since 2020 on China Woes

    A technician works on a computer at the Applied Materials Inc. facility in Santa Clara, California.

    (Bloomberg) — Applied Materials Inc. suffered the worst single-day stock decline in five years after giving a disappointing sales and profit forecast, renewing concerns that the US trade dispute with China is weighing on demand.

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    Revenue will be approximately $6.7 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter, the company said in a statement Thursday. Analysts had estimated $7.32 billion on average. Profit will be about $2.11 a share, excluding some items, compared with a projection of $2.38.

    Applied Materials CEO Gary Dickerson said tariffs and other economic issues have brought “a level of uncertainty.” Photographer: I-Hwa Cheng/Bloomberg
    Applied Materials CEO Gary Dickerson said tariffs and other economic issues have brought “a level of uncertainty.” Photographer: I-Hwa Cheng/Bloomberg

    Applied Materials, the largest American producer of chipmaking gear, is seeing less demand from customers in China, Chief Executive Officer Gary Dickerson said in an interview. It also faces delays in approval for exporting technology to that country, he said. Moreover, large customers are putting off some purchases in the face of prolonged negotiations around tariffs and other economic issues.

    “It just creates a level of uncertainty,” Dickerson said.

    The outlook sent shares of Applied Materials down 14% on Friday, the most since the early days of the pandemic in March 2020. They had been up 16% this year heading into the report.

    In the third quarter, which ended July 27, revenue rose 7.7% to $7.3 billion. Analysts had anticipated $7.21 billion on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Profit was $2.48 a share, compared with an estimate of $2.36.

    Applied Materials’ customer ranks include some of the biggest names in the chip industry, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Samsung Electronics Co. and Intel Corp. Those manufacturers order gear well ahead of starting production, making Applied Materials’ forecasts a barometer for future demand.

    The company said last week that it would participate in an Apple Inc. plan to boost manufacturing in the US by spending more than $200 million on a facility in Arizona. Applied Materials will also sell equipment to Texas Instruments Inc.’s US factories to support Apple products.

    “Applied Materials’ decision to be a core member of Apple’s ‘American Manufacturing Program,’ a drive to increase factory production within the US, could strengthen its position as a key supplier of chipmaking tools for advanced semiconductors used in iPhones,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Masahiro Wakasugi said in a note.

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  • Apple’s smart home play could boost subscriptions revenues, reestablish AI leadership

    Apple’s smart home play could boost subscriptions revenues, reestablish AI leadership

    The news: Apple could soon renew its smart home and robotics plans with a slew of products.

    • The hardware giant is planning an AI-enabled tabletop robot, per Bloomberg, a smart home camera, and a smart speaker with a display.
    • This could all be accompanied by a major Siri upgrade built on large language models (LLMs).

    AI game: This slate of products could signal a hardware-first strategy to gain AI leadership. While competitors like OpenAI and Google lead with software—which is not Apple’s strongest area—it may be playing the long game by putting AI into tangible consumer experiences.

    Apple could deepen reliance on its product ecosystem by expanding into the home.

    • Smart home integrations could let Apple bill Siri as a daily-use AI companion, not just a voice assistant.
    • A tabletop robot could define a new product category, representing an iPhone-like inflection point.

    Subscription growth: We’ve previously suggested that Big Tech companies focus more on service and subscription revenues amid an expected decline in digital ad spending growth.

    Apple’s first-party home operating systems could compete with fragmented smart home platforms like Google’s and help Apple capture more recurring revenues. This might include subscription-based storage for home security products.

    Apple could also receive referral commissions for purchases made through its tabletop robot, similar to how Amazon monetizes Alexa.

    Moonshot? A table robot could be Apple’s most extreme hardware release since the Vision Pro. It may include face and voice recognition, a context-aware presence, and deep integrations with an improved Siri, per Bloomberg.

    Still, it risks becoming a high-end novelty product like the Vision Pro.

    • If hardware is still too expensive, users may stick with lower-cost alternatives like Amazon’s Echo.
    • Consumers may not see a need for a dedicated robot when smartphones and other smart speakers offer on-device AI.

    Potential failure: These plans could be delayed, scrapped, or scaled back considering Apple killing prior big bets, like its now-dead Project Titan EV.

    Privacy is another concern: Facial recognition, smart cameras, and home robots are all minefields. However, half (49%) of US adults trust Apple with personal data, per All About Cookies, which could set Apple up for success.

    Our take: This could be Apple’s biggest ecosystem play since the iPhone. If successful, it could drive growth in a post-iPhone era, reestablish Apple in the AI game, and usher in a new era of home-based intelligence.

    This content is part of EMARKETER’s subscription Briefings, where we pair daily updates with data and analysis from forecasts and research reports. Our Briefings prepare you to start your day informed, to provide critical insights in an important meeting, and to understand the context of what’s happening in your industry. Non-clients can click here to get a demo of our full platform and coverage.

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