Bowen Yang to leave Saturday Night Live after Christmas episode

Bowen Yang, a prominent performer on Saturday Night Live, will leave the long running NBC sketch show after the Christmas episode airing this weekend.  His departure occurs midway through Season 51, marking the end of a seven year tenure that included multiple Emmy nominations and numerous memorable performances. Yang joined SNL in 2018 as a … Read more

Nine major pharmaceutical companies agree to lower US drug prices under Trump plan

WASHINGTON — Nine of the largest US and European based pharmaceutical companies agreed Friday to voluntarily lower the cost of certain prescription medications in the United States, as the Trump administration seeks to tie domestic drug prices to lower prices abroad. The deal includes Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, Amgen, Gilead, GSK, Sanofi, Roche’s Genentech, privately … Read more

Target system outage disrupts online shopping during final week before Christmas

A Target system outage disrupted the retailer’s app and website during the final week of the holiday shopping rush, complicating online orders at one of the busiest moments of the retail calendar.  The disruption affected customers’ ability to place, track and in some cases view orders, according to company statements and customer reports Friday. Target … Read more

UK government hack confirmed, Foreign Office systems breached in October

LONDON — British officials confirmed Friday that the UK government hack detected in October affected systems at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), prompting an ongoing investigation into the incident and the security of sensitive data. Trade Department Minister Chris Bryant acknowledged the breach during an interview on Times Radio, partially validating media reports … Read more

YouTube down for thousands of US users as outage disrupts streaming access

YouTube down reports surged across the United States early Friday after thousands of users said they were unable to access the popular video streaming platform, according to outage tracking website Downdetector.  The disruption affected both mobile and desktop users and appeared to peak during morning hours on the East Coast, raising concerns about the reliability … Read more

Taylor Swift politics Eras Tour docuseries captures rare election season reflection

As the United States approached one of its most closely watched presidential elections in recent history, global pop star Taylor Swift offered a rare glimpse into how she navigated the political moment behind the scenes of her Eras Tour.  In Episode four of her Disney+ Eras Tour docuseries, Swift briefly addressed the national climate, framing … Read more

Data center deals hit record $61 billion in 2025 amid construction frenzy

Global data center dealmaking reached a record $61 billion in 2025, fueled by an unprecedented push to expand infrastructure for energy intensive artificial intelligence workloads, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.  The milestone, slightly higher than last year’s $60.8 billion, underscores a worldwide construction boom in the sector even amid investor concerns about inflated AI … Read more