BILL Shorten believes Labor can still win next Saturday’s election despite new opinion polling predicting his party will struggle.

UPDATES: Senator Nick Xenophon said it doesn’t make sense for the agreement between the Liberal and National parties to be kept as a private secret.

A national review of social work in Scotland has been launched in a bid to address ‘systemic racism’ within the sector.

The Herald understands that former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has made no decisions on whether she will stand for election in 2026.

3D Scotland are an innovative, Glasgow-based company who specialise in the design and manufacture of unique chess sets. Their sets have proved extremely popular as Christmas gifts, graduation gifts, fathers’ day gifts and everything in between.

Public sector pay increases are outstripping those in the private sector for the first time in four years

A "renowned" restructuring advisory business has been acquired by a major player.

Family business Graham’s Family Dairy has secured a multinational listing

Emergency services were called to the Glebe Place area of the town

A film about a campaign to ban greyhound racing in Scotland has won an animal welfare award at a ceremony in London.

A baroque fiddle believed to have been played by Robert Burns will be performed live on stage in the United States for the first time.

The site, on the shores of a famous Scottish loch, has been acquired for a luxury lodge development

As Chris and Anna Marie work out where the Romulan Neutral Zone is in their bed, Kelley steps in to host the show. There's also marbles. Time to go date some dog owners.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 553: “Greasing the Marbles” appeared first on RPGamer.

The cast regulars (Anna Marie, Chris and Kelley) are joined by Robert and newcomer Corey to discuss this week's news. A heated debate about free-to-play mechanics breaks out as the crew is split on Genshin Impact and other mobile titles while Chris eats chocolate covered almonds. Three weeks to go until Extra Life!

The post RPG Cast – Episode 560: “Kmart Breath of the Wild” appeared first on RPGamer.

This week we discuss the bacon that broke Anna's back, Kelley shows us the power of the nip-nado, Pascal meets the Bok Choys, Josh is sponsored by revengecrabs.com, and Robert speedruns the produce department.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 567: “Supermarket Cloth Map” appeared first on RPGamer.

Chris launches a new MLM. Alex plays Shooty Souls. And Kelley reveals a new screenshot from her upcoming game. Now if you don't mind, we all have resolutions to go break.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 569: “Mario’s Essential Oils” appeared first on RPGamer.

Chris does an Xbox 180 while Josh steals Anna Marie's needle. Robert gets the snotty kleenex award because he can't figure out how to stream Suikoden. And Kelley is too busy fawning over Revali to notice.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 570: “Kmart Cowboy Bebop” appeared first on RPGamer.

It's just the core trio this week, as Chris tosses a coin to his hunting horn partner Kelley, and Anna Marie rolls her eyes as Chris cracks terrible jokes about what the Vita really means. We all consider MiHoYo's bottom line, as well as whether we're classified as normies.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 580: “Marshmallow Is Canon” appeared first on RPGamer.

Chris has a normal amount of coffee on his shirt. Kelley conks her cat on the head with a controller. And Josh thinks Maglam Lord is a contraceptive device.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 617: “Yoko Taro Made This While Queuing for His Raid” appeared first on RPGamer.

Chris develops a Yakuza game with all Pokémon. Josh is surprised by microtransactions. And Kelley get surprised by a secret mobile game.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 622: “Secret Maple Syrup Agent” appeared first on RPGamer.

This week on RPG Cast, Kelley falls asleep for four years and misses the announcement of Kingdom Hearts 4. Chris is a five year old with beefy fists. Sam tells us how her video game marriage life works. And we all agree that Bidoof is our buddy.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 627: “Maybe His Feet Are Nobodies” appeared first on RPGamer.

Kelley watches the American Sailor Moon pilot acid trip fever dream. Tam is going off to get 800 glamour shots. Chris gets carded while trying to buy a Mara.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 644: “Is That a Demon Machine Making a Pizza?” appeared first on RPGamer.

Chris is on the dice web. Kelley's cat will break her foot with a metal d20. Johnathan fights his "bad me" supervillain self.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 658: “Space Marines Were in the Bible” appeared first on RPGamer.

Chris is a nub on the internet. Kelley enslaves dogs to find silver ore. Ryan goes 8-bit.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 663: “Min-Maxing Anna Marie” appeared first on RPGamer.

Kelley is the master of the hunting horn. Chris is too old to play Solid Snake. Robert only steals from old people. And Ryan stuffs all the kids into the cannon.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 667: “Nintendo Has an Animal Crossing Jail?” appeared first on RPGamer.

Chris suffers from "The Curse of the Steam Deck." Kelley can't pickpocket, so she mugs people at night. And Ryan likes practical grave robbers. Curl up in your clothmap quilt and enjoy our cozy '60s demon world.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 681: “Ganon Is Afraid of Homemade Apple Pie” appeared first on RPGamer.

Josh learns that despite Bethesda's best efforts, Starfield is not Fallout 76. Robert learns the taste of Amiibo blood. Chris is just here to ask, "kink-why?" And Kelley is obsessed with Red XIII on a chocobo.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 692: “Vending Machine Isekai” appeared first on RPGamer.

Chris builds a house with a tiger in it. Ryan remembers that bush. And Robert has to fend off the fan boys trying to take his Nikke girls. One week till Extra Life, please help us heal kids and identify bicycles.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 697: “Paper Marliano” appeared first on RPGamer.

Phil goes for the water bottle. Sam releases her Thirst-Sona. Matt talks about cantaloupes in panties. Kelley regrets visiting a kitty strip club. All of this and Extra Life to boot! Donate! Now!

The post RPG Cast – Episode 698: “Marry, Thwack, Puff Puff” appeared first on RPGamer.

Robert wants to be Tuxedo Mask, but with food and goggles. Kelley plays Find the Smell every day. Chris longs for freedom from his loot torture.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 707: “Pictomancers Working for Exposure” appeared first on RPGamer.

Chris force feeds people desserts to make people like each other. Ryan likes bad games, just like Chris. Kelley has a penchant for losing pendants. Matt throws some garbage in the pot and suddenly it's pizza. Now let's grow old and lose stats together.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 721: “Skyrim Helmet Sleep Mask” appeared first on RPGamer.

Today's cast gets dangerously close to a patent law cast as Chris finds a new pirate game to ignore. Kelley wants truck-kun to be isekai'd into a person. And Josh asks, "What do you get from petting the bear?" No one answers.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 741: “Make A The Rum!” appeared first on RPGamer.

World-building, identity and decolonising spaces in the digital and offline realms.

The post Interview: Gabriel Massan & LYZZA appeared first on Fact Magazine.

Super Mario Party Jamboree (NS) has remained in first place on the retail charts in Japan with sales of 57,522 units, according to Famitsu for the week ending October 27, 2024. 

Farmagia (NS) debuted in eighth place with sales of 4,296 units.

Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven (NS) remained in second place with sales of 14,646 units. The PS5 version fell from third to seventh place with sales of 5,097 units.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (PS5) is up one spot to third place with sales of 8,620 units and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (NS) re-entered the top 10 in fourth place with sales of 5,782 units.

Professional Baseball Spirits 2024-2025 (PS5) is up two spots to fifth with sales of 5,729, and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (NS) is up two spots to sixth place with sales of 5,492 units.

The Nintendo Switch was the best-selling platform with 60,096 units sold. The PlayStation 5 sold 13,965 units, the Xbox Series X|S sold 2,610 units, and the PlayStation 4 sold 53 units.

Here are the best-selling games in Japan:

1. [NSW] Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo, 10/17/24) – 57,522 (364,484)
2. [NSW] Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven (Square Enix, 10/24/24) – 14,646 (85,013)
3. [PS5] Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Activision, 10/25/24) – 8,620 (35,567)
4. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo, 04/28/17) – 5,782 (6,044,039)
5. [PS5] Professional Baseball Spirits 2024-2025 (Konami, 10/17/24) – 5,729 (84,989)
6. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo, 09/26/24) – 5,492 (294,371)
7. [PS5] Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven (Square Enix, 10/24/24) – 5,097 (37,254)
8. [NSW] Farmagia (Marvelous, 11/01/24) – 4,296 (New)
9. [NSW] Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo, 03/20/20) – 4,253 (7,943,533)
10. [NSW] Minecraft (Microsoft, 06/21/18) – 4,242 (3,666,338)

Here is the hardware breakdown (followed by lifetime sales):

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.

Full Article - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/463007/super-mario-party-jamboree-tops-the-japanese-charts/

The Nintendo Switch was the best-selling console in Japan with 241,803 units sold for October 2024, according to VGChartz estimates. The Nintendo Switch has now sold an estimated 34.30 million units lifetime in Japan.

The PlayStation 5 sold an estimated 49,056 units to bring its lifetime sales to 6.12 million units. The Xbox Series X|S sold 5,862 units to bring their lifetime sales to 0.64 million units. The PlayStation 4 sold an estimated 162 units to bring its lifetime sales to 9.68 million units.

PS5 sales compared to the same month for the PS4 in 2017 are down by nearly 53,000 units, while the Xbox Series X|S compared to the same month for the Xbox One are up by over 5,000 units. PS4 sold 101,851 units for the month of October 2017 and Xbox One sales were at 563 units.

Nintendo Switch sales compared to the same month a year ago are down by 41,368 units (-14.6%). PlayStation 5 sales are down by 17,208 (-26.0%) and Xbox Series X|S sales are down by 2,294 units (-28.1%). The PlayStation 4 is down by 5,362 units (-97.1%) year-over-year.

Looking at sales month-on-month, Nintendo Switch sales are down up nearly 67,000 units, the PlayStation 5 sales are down by over 4,000 units, and Xbox Series X|S sales are up by over 2,000 units.

2024 year-to-date, the Nintendo Switch has sold an estimated 2.47 million units, the PlayStation 5 has sold 1.16 million units, and the Xbox Series X|S has sold 0.09 million units.

Monthly Sales:

Japan hardware estimates for October 2024 (Followed by lifetime sales):

1. Switch - 241,803 (34,300,699)
2. PlayStation 5 - 49,056 (6,121,649)
3. Xbox Series X|S - 5,862 (636,764)
4. PlayStation 4 - 162 (9,679,626)

Weekly Sales:

Japan October 12, 2024 hardware estimates:

1. Switch - 55,097
2. PlayStation 5 - 11,810
   
3. Xbox Series X|S - 429
4. PlayStation 4 - 31

Japan October 19, 2024 hardware estimates:

1. Switch - 58,866
2. PlayStation 5 - 11,324
3. Xbox Series X|S - 1,612
4. PlayStation 4 - 36

Japan October 26, 2024 hardware estimates:

1. Switch - 67,736
2. PlayStation 5 - 11,951
3. Xbox Series X|S - 1,207
4. PlayStation 4 - 40

Japan November 2, 2024 hardware estimates:

1. Switch - 60,104
2. PlayStation 5 - 13,971
3. Xbox Series X|S - 2,614
4. PlayStation 4 - 55

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.

Full Article - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/463008/switch-comfortably-best-seller-japan-hardware-estimates-for-october-2024/

Publisher Xbox Game Studios and developer The Coalition have announced John DiMaggio, the voice actor for Marcus Fenix, and Carlos Ferro, the voice actor for Dom Santiago, will reprise their roles for the prequel Gears of War: E-Day.

"On today's 18th anniversary of Gears of War, we're proud to share that John DiMaggio and Carlos Ferro are reprising their roles as the iconic voices of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago in Gears of War: E-Day," announced the developer.

Gears of War: E-Day is in development for the Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Xbox Game Pass.

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.

Full Article - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/463012/marcus-and-dom-voice-actors-to-return-for-gears-of-war-e-day/

A TV series based on the video game series Mass Effect is officially in development at Amazon, according to a report from Variety.

F9: The Fast Saga writer Daniel Casey will write and be an executive producer on the series. Karim Zreik will also be an executive producer under his Cedar Tree Productions, which is under an overall deal at Amazon.

Ari Arad and BioWare's Michael Gamble will also be executive producers. Arad previously was a producer on other video game adaptations - Borderlands and Uncharted.

Developer BioWare is developing a new entry in the Mass Effect series. 

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.

Full Article - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/463013/mass-effect-tv-series-has-been-greenlit-by-amazon/

Capcom has updated its list of Platinum Titles, games that have sold over one million units as of September 30, 2024. The list includes 122 games with sales over one million units, 64 over two million units, 14 over five million units, and six over 10 million units sold.

Resident Evil 4 remake sold 400,000 units to bring lifetime sales to eight million units, Resident Evil 2 remake sold 300,000 units to bring sales to 14.5 million units, and Resident Evil 3 remake sold 200,000 units to bring lifetime sales to 9.2 million units. 

Resident Evil 7: biohazard sold 300,000 units to bring lifetime sales to 14 million units and Resident Evil Village sold 400,000 units to bring sales to 10.5 million units.

Monster Hunter Rise sold 600,000 units in the quarter to bring lifetime sales to 16 million units. Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak sold 400,000 units to bring lifetime sales to 8.8 million units.

Monster Hunter: World sold 400,000 units in the quarter to bring lifetime sales to 20.9 million units, while the Iceborne expansion sold 600,000 units for a total of 14 million units.

Dragon's Dogma 2 sold 300,000 units in the quarter to bring lifetime sales to 3.3 million units. Street Fighter 6 sold 400,000 units in the quarter to bring lifetime sales to 4.1 million units. Devil May Cry 5 sold 300,000 units to bring sales to 8.7 million units. 

Check out the complete list below:

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.

Full Article - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/463020/capcom-updates-its-best-sellers-list-monster-hunter-world-at-209m-re4-remake-at-8m-more/

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company in September filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Palworld developer Pocketpair. 

At the time Nintendo did not share which patents Palworld infringed on, however, Pocketpair has now revealed what patents Nintendo are claiming were infringed on.

"As announced on September 19, 2024, The Pokémon Company and Nintendo Co Ltd (hereinafter referred to as the Plaintiffs) have filed a patent infringement lawsuit against us," said Pocketpair. "We have received inquiries from various media outlets regarding the status of the lawsuit, and we would like to report the details and current status of this case as follows.

"The Plaintiffs claim that Palworld, released by us on January 19, 2024, infringes upon the following three patents held by the Plaintiffs, and are seeking an injunction against the game and compensation for a portion of the damages incurred between the date of registration of the patents and the date of filing of this lawsuit."

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are each seeking an injunction and damages of five million yen plus late payment damages.

Pocketpair added, "We will continue to assert our position in this case through future legal proceedings. Please note that we will refrain from responding individually to inquiries regarding this case. If any matters arise that require public notice, we will announce them on our website, etc."

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.

Full Article - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/463022/nintendo-and-the-pokemon-company-seeking-injunction-and-damages-from-pocketpair/

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick in the company's latest earnings report said he isn't worried about Rockstar getting Grand Theft Auto VI to run on the Xbox Series S.

"Look, we support the platforms where the consumers are for as long as they’re there, and we find a way to support platforms despite different levels of tech," said Zelnick (via VideoGamesChronicle) when asked about the Xbox Series S.

Zelnick added, "Our labels are really good at that. I’m not really worried. I’ve never worried about where hardware was going. And I’ve said this many times over the years because, first of all, I don’t worry about things over which I have zero control.

"Secondly, I believe in the audience. The audience is going to show up if you have great properties, and so we just have to make sure to be on an array of platforms."

Zelnick added PC is an important platform to release games on, despite the fact Grand Theft Auto VI has not been announced for PC.

"If one platform diminishes in value, there’s always another one," he said. "So we’re seeing great growth in PC right now, for example. And I have been able to view that open formats would continue to grow. PC is an open format.

"I do think PC will continue to be a more and more important part of the console business going forward, and that isn’t complicated for us to support at all. So the bottom line is we are selective about which platforms we support. We make the tech work when we can make it work as long as the audience is big enough to make that worthwhile."

Grand Theft Auto VI will launch for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in Fall 2025.

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.

Full Article - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/463023/take-two-ceo-is-not-worried-about-grand-theft-auto-vi-performance-on-xbox-series-s/

Sega has sold Humankind and Endless developer Amplitude Studios to members of its internal team, announced the developer in a community post. This means the studio is now independent.

"Our studio is backed by strong and meaningful franchises and our team is committed to creating the best games possible," said Amplitude Studios founder Romain de Waubert de Genlis.

"With our extensive experiences in strategy game development and two exciting titles currently in progress, we are confident in our ability to deliver outstanding experience to players. This decision allows us to be more agile in our approach while continuing to shape the vision that has been ours from the very beginning, empowering us to push boundaries and be closer as ever of our community."

Sega in its own statement said: "Sega Europe has today announced the sale of Amplitude Studios following a management buyout from senior leaders and employees at the Parisian studio. The move will see Amplitude go back to its roots as an independent organisation and concludes the structural reforms that have been taking place in Sega’s European business.  

"The decision to part ways follows a period of close consultation between Sega Europe and Amplitude. As an independent studio once more, Amplitude will focus on its in-development projects and growing its own franchises, while Sega will continue to advance its strong and diverse stable of Japanese and Western IP. 

“Sega Europe acquired Amplitude in 2016, and together have released epic strategy titles like Endless Space 2 and Humankind, along with Endless Dungeon, the successor to 2014’s indie hit, Dungeon of the Endless.

"While Amplitude is no longer a part of the Sega family of studios, the two entities will continue to work together on the smooth transition of services and operations, ensuring minimum disruption for Amplitude employees and continuity of service for players of Amplitude games."

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.

Full Article - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/463024/sega-sells-humankind-developer-amplitude-studios/

Publisher Whitethorn Games and developer Balloon Studios announced Botany Manor will launch for the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on December 17.

The game first released for the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC via Steam, and Xbox Game Pass in April of this year.

Our own Lee Mehr gave the game an eight out of 10 in his review and stated, "The lynchpin to Botany Manor's success is it being like an orderly garden: a well-attended array of various flowers with nary a dastardly weed in sight.  It may not capture the next mind-blowing concept within the genre, nor overwhelm you with a wild barrage of challenges, but there's an understated value in being among the most succinct within its field."

View the PS5 and PS4 release date trailer below:

Read details on the game below:

Botany Manor is a botanical puzzle game set in a historical English homestead brimming with a lifetime of memorabilia and research to explore, where players will uncover long-forgotten seeds and piece together clues as they solve puzzles to help each rare plant grow.

The enduring estate of Botany Manor is home to retired botanist Arabella Greene. After a long career, she has amassed a collection of rare, long-forgotten plants that require some research to help them live again. Play as Arabella and explore the stunning historic manor and its grounds to look for clues in her notes, books, posters, and items scattered around the residence to determine the correct set of circumstances to help the flora flourish. Unlock new seeds and plant them. Interactable items around the property that can be turned and flipped will provide information to help you solve each gardening puzzle, grow the plants, and discover their mysterious qualities.

Features:

• Explore the peaceful grounds and many calming rooms of the beautifully rendered, historically accurate 19th century manor.
• Pick up, flip, turn, and rotate the many items found around the estate to piece together the clues to solve each plant-based puzzle.
• Learn about Arabella’s life, career, and the challenges she faced as a woman scientist during the 19th century as you explore.
• Fall in love with the calming soundtrack that perfectly compliments the environment and flowers you bring to full bloom.

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.

Full Article - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/463043/botany-manor-headed-to-ps5-and-ps4-on-december-17/

WASHINGTON CROSSING, Pennsylvania—At a campaign rally in the most important swing state in the country, anti-Trump activist George Conway told the Daily Beast why he thinks Kamala Harris can win over Republicans.

“She’s kind of done it already,” he said. “Look at all those people who voted for [Nikki] Haley when she was already done. I actually think there’s kind of a hidden Harris vote for Republicans who are just exhausted by Donald Trump.”

Turnout is another factor that plays to Democrat’s advantage, Conway predicted. “I also think that even the people who are still for Trump and won’t vote for Harris, I don’t think the turnout’s going to be great for him.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Journalists at CNN, including some of the network’s biggest personalities, are living in fear of “inevitable” layoffs and pay cuts as its new CEO looks to shore up finances amid declining ratings.

That’s according to The Ankler, which reported Wednesday that 77-year-old Chris Wallace—whose already been relegated to a weekend program—is among the network’s most well-known names whose future is in limbo.

Wallace’s $8.5 million contract, signed by the ex-CNN boss Jeff Zucker to recruit him away from Fox News three years ago, is reportedly up and he was spotted in CEO Mark Thompson’s office on Tuesday.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Billionaire Bill Ackman spent days after the ABC presidential debate promoting false claims that a network “whistleblower” had allegedly uncovered collusion between ABC and Kamala Harris’ campaign. Now, a month and multiple denials later, he sees the claims differently.

“It seems pretty clear that the alleged @abc whistleblower debate story claiming that @KamalaHarris was given questions in advance and other advantages was a fake,” Ackman posted on X alongside a blog post by Megyn Kelly discussing the dubious claims.

What Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, did not acknowledge, however, is that he was one of falsehood’s early boosters. After an X account named “Black Insurrectionist” claimed it had been in touch with a whistleblower who alleged the Harris campaign had been given debate topics ahead of the showdown with Donald Trump and had demanded Trump—and Trump alone—be fact-checked.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

A collective gasp echoed like a thunderclap in a valley in our Daily Beast newsroom late Wednesday afternoon at the news that singer Liam Payne, who became famous as a member of the group One Direction, died at age 31.

TMZ reports that Payne fell from a hotel balcony in Argentina, where he had reunited with bandmates at 1D-er Niall Horan’s concert. He had, according to the site, been behaving “erratically,” earlier in the day, and was spotted smashing a laptop in the hotel lobby and having to be carried back to his room. He had been in headlines on gossip blogs over tension with his ex-fiancée Maya Henry, who, TMZ says, alleged “he'd left her after asking her to get an abortion.”

In the shock of his death, fans couldn’t ignore the eerie nature that Payne had just connected with his One Direction bandmates. Dark questions emerge when a celebrity dies so young: What role did the often horrific toll of fame have on a person like Payne, who has been open about addiction and suicidal ideation? But there’s also an impulse to go back to the roots of a person’s talent, to revisit what it was that we all fell in love with—and was their passion—in the first place.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

In a contentious interview with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, Fox News host Bret Baier spent no time going after the vice president with a laundry list of the subjects often highlighted by former President Donald Trump on the campaign trail.

Immediately after the interview kicked off, Baier opened by asking: “How many illegal immigrants would you estimate your administration has released into the country over the last three and a half years?”

Harris began a carefully worded answer, but Baier consistently interrupted her before she could finish a sentence.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Donald Trump praised Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier for a “great job” in his interview with Democratic 2024 presidential hopeful Kamala Harris on Wednesday night, claiming Baier had “showed how totally incompetent Kamala is” while himself demanding she undergo a cognitive ability test.

Trump joined his campaign in calling the interview a total disaster for Harris. During the interview, Harris and Baier engaged in multiple back-and-forths; at one point, on the topic of immigration, Harris clapped back at Baier as he interrupted her: “May I finish responding to you?”

Immediately after the interview aired, the campaign—notably advisers Stephen Miller and Steven Cheung—took to X to decry Harris’ responses.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Online interactions are based on trust, since there are few definitive ways to certify the identity of the person with whom one is communicating. Naturally, this situation can lead to deception and manipulation, as it has—to tormenting effect—for Tegan and Sara, the popular indie rock duo whose lives have been turned upside down by a mysterious bad faith actor who, for more than a decade, has impersonated Tegan with fans, friends, and business partners.

Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara is an investigation into the myriad means by which the internet can be wielded to nefarious ends. More than that, though, it’s an anatomy of a crime and the complicated wreckage wrought by it, not just for the famous artists but also for the innocent admirers who were tricked into believing that fiction was reality.

Premiering on Hulu on Oct. 18, following its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, Erin Lee Carr’s documentary is a chilling snapshot of the unholy marriage of corrosive fandom and online duplicity. At its center are Tegan and Sara, the identical twin songstresses who began making a name for themselves in the early 2000s both for their talent and for being openly gay. This earned them a loyal fanbase of queer women and men who saw themselves reflected in Tegan and Sara, and that bond was strengthened by the siblings’ active interest in interacting with fans in person—Tegan would chat with show attendees in line and at the merch table—and on LiveJournal and other budding message-board platforms that afforded a previously unavailable degree of contact.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called his party’s presidential nominee, Donald Trump, a “stupid,” “ill-tempered,” and “despicable human being,” according to his own records.

McConnell made the withering assessments in a series of private “personal oral histories” that he gave to Michael Tackett, the deputy Washington bureau chief of the Associated Press, who has a forthcoming biography about the Kentucky senator called The Price of Power. The AP conveniently reported the book’s juicy details.

McConnell’s remarks were made after the 2020 election that Trump lost, and the senator was apparently elated to see the backside of the former president, musing, “it’s not just the Democrats who are counting the days” until he leaves office.

Read more at The Daily Beast.