Archives — August 2026

In the very first moments of the universe, matter didn’t exist as we know today. A millionth of a second or so after the big bang, the universe was a dense, hot soup scientists call quark-gluon plasma (QGP). For several years, particle colliders—which smash molecules together at nearly the speed of light—have been able to replicate this state, but often using heavy elements like lead. Now, a recent experiment by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (also known as CERN from its French acronym) has demonstrated this plasma can be produced by much smaller collisions. Since there’s no longer an accessible natural source of this primordial sludge, these micro big bangs can help reveal what happened in the first few minutes of our universe. First, a little context. Quarks are what make up protons and neutrons, which, in turn, are the building blocks of atoms and thus all matter. Meanwhile, gluons—as their name suggests—stick quarks together. During the first microseconds of the universe, quarks and gluons were not yet confined within protons and neutrons but instead formed an extremely hot plasma.

More Growth, a client acquisition firm based in Ottawa, Ontario, has reported that partner businesses across multiple service categories have surpassed six figures in monthly revenue, with one partner operating at seven figures monthly, under its performance based operating model. Canada, August 30, 2026 -- More Growth, a client acquisition firm operating across North America, has reported that multiple partner businesses have surpassed six figures in monthly revenue while working under its performance based model, with one partner now operating at seven figures per month. The milestones span multiple unrelated service categories and follow five years of operation during which the firm has worked with more than one hundred service business partners. For most service businesses, the constraint on growth is rarely the quality of the work itself. It is the distance between a prospective customer's first inquiry and the first real conversation. Inquiries arrive through advertising, referral, or search, and then sit unattended while the operator is on a job site, in a treatment room, or with another client. By the time anyone responds, the buyer has moved on.

1. AI costs are becoming harder to predictMany organizations are used to buying technology through fixed subscriptions or licences. AI is changing that model. Increasingly, providers charge based on usage, often measured in “tokens” that measure units of information processed by an AI model and can directly affect usage costs. This means costs can fluctuate significantly as usage grows. A successful AI tool that employees use more frequently may also become more expensive to operate. As businesses develop AI agents and embed AI into everyday workflows, many organizations are still building the capabilities required to forecast, monitor and manage AI spending effectively. The result is that AI economics is becoming a new management discipline, requiring organizations to monitor how AI is used and how those costs translate into business outcomes. 2. Organizations are paying attention to value, beyond just adoptionThe conversation around AI is changing. Early discussions focused on experimentation and deployment. Today, leaders are increasingly asking whether AI investments are delivering measurable results.

Studies suggest that almost half of American young adults ages 18–29 have used a dating app. When millennials are included in this cohort, the slightly smaller percentage still encompasses more than a third of the population. In other words, well over half of currently unmarried people know how dating apps work, which ones to pick when looking for lasting love (versus hookups), and above all, how rarely their use has made them happier. Hand in hand with the familiarity of dating apps goes the host of issues and dissatisfaction that they cause. A question worth asking, then, is whether abandoning the apps would solve our dating problems. Would in-person encounters make dating easier and lead to successful relationships more often? Sadly, my answer is no. Our dating problem has much deeper roots, resting on an impoverished understanding of the person and of human relationships and on a mistaken conception of our freedom in choosing love. This is what single people bring to the table today—even when they meet in real life.

Photo Courtesy of Getty ImagesIn the depths of sorrow, we turn to music. I know what each of my heartbreaks have sounded like. I know every song that has picked me up off the bathroom floor and every artist whose voice has been the unknowing soundtrack to my grief — due to loss, love, and everything in between. Those sonic moments of comfort — the ones that reach through the speakers and whisper that your loneliness isn’t singular — are so personal, shared between you, your headphones, and your tears. Dolly Parton has been with me for some heavy shit stuff (censored out of respect to Dolly, who hated cursing). Fittingly, since she couldn’t have kids of her own, Parton has helped me through my own journey with infertility. After my first pregnancy loss, I’d go on long walks by myself to cry, scream at the trees or God or whoever was listening, and grieve. I listened to a lot of Dolly (and Whitney and Aretha and all the divas whose voices have transcended their time on earth). What I remember most about those walks was that I listened to the WNYC podcast series Dolly Parton’s America.

“Vincent.” That’s how Van Gogh signed his works, using only his first name. But the famous Dutch artist didn’t always do so. In fact, his name appears on only 133 of his 840 known paintings… and his mental health and self-critical nature influenced this decision. Over 10 years of his professional career, he only used the name “Vincent” on about 15% of his work. This finding forms the backbone of the first systematic study of the painter’s signature, recently published by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Researcher Julia Engelmayer examines the relationship that this decision had with different stages of his life. It’s true that, beyond the Netherlands, the surname “Van Gogh” is difficult to pronounce correctly. Hence, the use of “Vincent” was also a direct and distinctive way to sign his work. However, the painter elaborates on various reasons why he preferred to sign his work this way (or not sign at all) in the letters he sent to his brother, Theo, an art dealer. In one of the letters, dated December of 1883, he even notes that he feels “rather different” from the other members of his family.

Filip Hrgovic is the first Croatian to become a world heavyweight boxing champion after beating Briton Moses Itauma. Filip Hrgovic of Croatia beat Britain’s Moses Itauma via a ninth-round stoppage to win the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) world heavyweight title in a thrilling contest in London. Itauma, bidding to become the second-youngest heavyweight world champion after Mike Tyson, was on top during the fight’s early stages but had to be carried from the ring on a stretcher and taken to hospital from the O2 Arena on Saturday. Facing the toughest test of his 15-fight professional career against an experienced Olympic medal winner, the 21-year-old Itauma tired against an opponent with a granite chin. Itauma’s trainer Ben Davison threw in the towel in the ninth round, but by that time referee Howard Foster had stopped the fight in Hrgovic’s favour as the Croat won the world heavyweight title vacated by Ukrainian boxing great Oleksandr Usyk. It was Itauma’s first time beyond the sixth round and at one point in the ninth he looked as if he was about to topple.

There is a word the beef industry uses constantly, in its promotional materials, in its research funding announcements, in its government lobbying, and increasingly in the peer-reviewed literature produced by the scientists it mentors: “sustainability.” It appears in the name of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. It appears in the title of reports assessing the sustainability of Canadian beef production. It appears in editorials co-authored by government researchers arguing that the beef cattle industry has a “crucial role” in “ecosystem sustainability.” But the industry means something specific by “sustainability.” It means the sustained profitability of the beef industry. The project of the last decade of industry-funded climate research has not been to make beef production environmentally sound. It has been to redefine sustainability itself, so that the continued growth of the industry counts, automatically, as a sustainable outcome. It has made one question nearly impossible to ask: Should we raise fewer cattle? Here is one part of how they are doing that. Why is there a program where the beef industry mentors scientists studying animal agriculture's effect on the

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Abuja – Every month at the Primary Health Care Centre in Ugbor, Oredo Local Government Area, Edo State, in southern Nigeria, mothers gather with their babies for routine immunization and growth monitoring services. Among them is Mrs Shegu Ritawaits who arrived one morning with her eight-month-old child expecting a routine clinic visit. But that day, the interaction went beyond immunization. Alongside routine checks, a health worker demonstrated how simple activities such as talking, singing, playing, smiling and responding to a baby's cues can support learning and development during the earliest years of life. “I did not know that talking and playing with my baby could help her learn,” said Mrs Shegu. “Now I try to do it every day, even when I am cooking or washing clothes.”The early years of life are a critical period for brain development and lay the foundation for lifelong learning, health and productivity. Nurturing care during this period helps children develop the cognitive, language, motor, social and emotional skills they need to thrive.

Palma’s Picks: Memoir of a father and daughter relationship Business News: Canadian home sales drop in September

SaskatchewanJasmin Esquivel of Prince Albert, Sask., won the national pageant in Surrey, B. C. and will represent Canada at the Mrs. Universe 2026 competition in Sri Lanka this fall. She says her children are her greatest support. Jasmin Esquivel will represent Canada at Mrs. Universe 2026 pageant in Sri LankaAndrea Vera · CBC News · Posted: Aug 30, 2026 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: August 30Listen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. Jasmin Esquivel, Mrs. Canada Universe 2026, with her children, from left to right: Reign, Brianna, JM, Rendel and Jassie. (Aisha Ashraf/CBC)Earlier this summer, Jasmin Esquivel flew from Saskatchewan to British Columbia, unaware that her life was about to change. Just a few days later, Esquivel was crowned Mrs. Canada Universe 2026 at the Bell Performing Arts Centre in Surrey, B. C. “I didn't expect it, after many years, after having five kids,” Esquivel told CBC Saskatchewan.

DAMASCUS: The initial three days of the 63rd Damascus International Fair, dedicated exclusively to business representatives, investors, and official delegations, concluded with the signing of multiple agreements and memoranda of understanding spanning trade, industrial, and investment sectors. In trade, the Federation of Syrian Chambers of Commerce signed a memorandum of understanding with the Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce to boost trade, stimulate commercial exchange, and encourage joint investments between Syrian and Iraqi business communities.

Tom Pidcock dedicated his victory to late British cyclist Fin Tarling on Sunday after winning the Men Elite - Cross-country Olympic title at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships for the second time. Tarling, whose brother Josh and Pidcock were Netcompany Ineos teammates in 2023, died in a crash with a vehicle at a race in Portugal earlier this month at the age of 19. The 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships took place Aug. 26-30 in Val di Sole, Italy, and riders in five categories battled for medals and coveted rainbow jerseys. Subscribe To FloBikes To Watch The UCI Mountain Bike World Championships5 Reasons To Watch The 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World ChampionshipsTadej Pogacar Crashes in Vuelta a España Stage 8; Cycling World Awaits Update8 Riders To Watch Now That Tadej Pogacar Has Abandoned The Vuelta a España 2026"I don't have much words to be honest, it was a hard road here after the Tour," said an emotional Pidcock, who finished ninth at July's Tour de France 2026. "I want to dedicate this win to Fin Tarling, to Josh. Seeing him start the Vuelta was pretty incredible, so I dedicate it to him and his family.

After a runner-up slot on return at Les Gets World Cup round the Dutch rider struggles to work way to front

Young adults are largely ambivalent toward sports betting, with many viewing it as an acceptable activity that also carries possible risks, according to a new study. The qualitative study, funded by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, was conducted from 2023 to 2026 by NORC at the University of Chicago in partnership with Gemini Research in an effort to grasp the largely unknown relationship young adults aged 18 to 25 have with sports betting. “Many young adults perceive sports betting positively as a low-risk, casual form of entertainment, equating it with making discretionary purchases like 'buying a coffee’ or 'going out to lunch,'” researchers wrote in the study. “However, young adults commonly paired these positive descriptions of sports betting with qualifiers such as 'when done in moderation’ and within limits.”Researchers found that 71% of the 62 young adults in Massachusetts who participated in the study had previously bet on sports. And 66% of the young adults who participated in the study were between the ages of 21 and 25 while the remaining 34% were 18 to 20 years old – or younger than Massachusetts’ legal sports betting age of 21.

Skip to Main ContentAccessibility HelpMenuCBC GemCBC ListenSearchQuick LinksNewsSportsRadioMusicListen LiveTVWatchnewsTop StoriesLocalClimateWorldCanadaPoliticsIndigenousBusinessThe NationalHealthEntertainmentScienceCBC News InvestigatesDisability LifeGo PublicAbout CBC NewsBeing Black in CanadaVideoSask. woman crowned Mrs. Canada Universe wants other moms to dream big too | CBC.ca LoadedSask. woman crowned Mrs. Canada Universe wants other moms to dream big tooAugust 30|Duration 1:43August 30NewsDuration 1:43closed captionMrs. Canada Universe reigns from Prince Albert, and her name is Jasmin Esquivel. The mom of five returned to pageantry after decades away, won the national competition in July, and wants to set an example. More from NewsVideoDuration 6:45Looking for information about menopause? A new P. E. I.

Chase Jackson became the newest member of the 21-metre club, throwing a North American shot put record of 21.02m at ISTAF, a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting, in Berlin on Sunday (30). That throw, which improved on Jackson’s previous US record of 20.95m set in June 2025 and the 20.96m North American record set by Cuba's Belsy Laza in 1992, was achieved in the first round of the competition. The two-time world champion backed it up with three other throws beyond 20 metres.

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Juriënsly De Windt and Shardijon De Lanoi combined to drive in six runs, and Curaçao won its second Little League World Series title, beating Nevada 11-2 in the championship game on Sunday. De Windt started on the mound and allowed two runs in three innings. Giendry Ryan and Steven Felix were nearly flawless in relief with four strikeouts over the final three innings for the tiny island nation, which previously won the tournament in 2004. Curaçao had advanced to the finals by winning the international title in 2005, 2019, 2022 and 2023. This time, the group from Pariba Little League in Willemstad had enough firepower from the mound and at the plate to beat the U. S. champion.00:29Curaçao wins 2026 Little League World Series00:0000:00Curaçao went unbeaten in the double-elimination tournament before overcoming an early two-run deficit to the team from Henderson, Nevada. Ryan fanned four in 2 1/3 innings. Felix forced Nevada’s final batter to pop out to Giendry in center field. Once the ball was safely in his glove, the celebrations began. Giendry tossed his glove in the air as his teammates swarmed him in the outfield.

Information Technology (MW) led the S&P 500 sectors last week, up 1.8%. The sector rose 3.4% on Thursday following Nvidia’s results the previous evening. Nvidia guided to 70% revenue growth next fiscal year against a 45% consensus. Energy (OW) was among the weakest, down 2.0%, while Consumer Discretionary (UW) rose 0.1%. The rate-sensitive sectors sold off on Friday after Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech, with Real Estate (UW) down 1.3% on the week and Utilities (OW) down 4.0% on the month (chart). Here's more on Software, Energy, and Consumer Discretionary:(1) Software: Cyber and SaaS soar. Dr. Ed said on CNBC on February 26 that the market had overdone AI's potential negative impact on software stocks. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF closed at $82.60 that day. It closed Friday at $109.50, up 32.6% since then (chart). Markets initially priced software as a sector vulnerable to AI disruption, yet it is proving to be the essential distribution layer for AI integration.

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