Almost friday...
STUDY SAYS 3 IN 4 DEAD NFL PLAYERS HAD CTE
Researchers at Boston University, Mass General Brigham and the Concussion & CTE Foundation went through 2,362 former NFL players who died between 2008 and 2023 and came back with a number the league will not be printing on a tote bag. An estimated 74.5 percent of them likely died with CTE. Among the 396 who donated their brains, 93.5 percent had it. In community brain banks, it turns up in under 1 percent of donors. The standard objection is selection bias, because families tend to donate a brain when something was obviously wrong for years. The researchers checked that, found players with cognitive symptoms were about five times more likely to be donated, adjusted for it, and still landed on three in four. They also estimated 27.2 percent had dementia during their lifetime, roughly four times the general population, and said that figure is probably low. The NFL, asked to comment on all of this, pointed reporters to a statement it already issued back in August about continuously striving to make football safer. Reusing your own press release is at least on brand. The NFLPA said studies like this are critical and that it remains committed to supporting research and player care. Neither response contained a single number. The authors do note the estimate covers deceased players only and says nothing about who is playing Sunday.
THE GUY WHO PROMISED HE WASN'T FLEEING BRAZIL IS NOW IN MIAMI
Flávio Bolsonaro lost Sunday's runoff to Lula, and by Monday Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes had given him 24 hours to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports in a money laundering investigation. Flávio filmed a video saying he would comply and had no plans to leave the country. Tuesday's deadline came and went with no passports. Brazil canceled them. At 10:50 that night he was crossing a border bridge into Argentina with his wife and two daughters, reportedly on an Italian passport. Within the hour they were on a charter jet. It stopped in Guayaquil around 4 a.m. and touched down at Opa-Locka Executive Airport outside Miami at 9:30 Wednesday morning. He then put out a letter calling himself "the true leader of Brazil" and thanking Milei, Trump and the American people for taking him in. Milei's government says it had nothing to do with any of it. Whether this is a fugitive or a refugee depends on who you ask. Investigators tie him to a lawyer accused of laundering more than $1 billion through a pension fraud scheme. He denies everything, calls it persecution, and his allies note that no charge against him has been made public. Both of those are true at once. The State Department is issuing the family visas, and Trump said he'd approve, called them fine people, and said Brazil's election had gotten bad reviews. His father ran this same play to Florida after losing to Lula in 2022, then came home three months later.
Fact or fiction
Russia has more lakes than any other country
JENNIFER LAWRENCE CONFIRMS KATNISS IS BACK
Lionsgate sat on the biggest reveal in its prequel for almost a year. On Wednesday, Jennifer Lawrence handled it herself on Call Her Daddy, confirming that she, Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson are all back as Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, in theaters November 20. Reports said as much back in December 2025. The studio never admitted it, and neither Lawrence nor Hutcherson appears in the trailer. The movie is set 24 years before Katniss, following 16-year-old Haymitch (Joseph Zada) through the 50th Hunger Games, with Ralph Fiennes as Snow. The legacy cast is expected to turn up in a flash-forward, which is studio code for do not buy a ticket expecting two hours of Jennifer Lawrence. She said being back was unbelievable because it was the same crew, the same camera guys, the same AD, and that she and Hutcherson didn't walk to the bathroom without their arms around each other. Eleven years later and they still go pee as a unit. Then Alex Cooper asked the question that ran the 2010s internet, and Lawrence said she was Team Gale, "even after he killed my sister." Gale only helped design the bomb that did, a technicality she waved off. Liam Hemsworth is not in this one. Lawrence also skipped the London premiere the same day she blew the secret on a podcast.
Sources (3)
- hollywoodreporter.com - Jennifer Lawrence Finally Confirms 'Hunger Games' Return, Reunites With Two Former Co-Stars
- deadline.com - Jennifer Lawrence On Reprising 'Hunger Games' Role For 'Sunrise On The Reaping': "It Was So Emotional"
- bustle.com - Jennifer Lawrence Confirms OG 'Hunger Games' Stars Will Return For New Film
CHIEFS FIX THEIR KICKING PROBLEM BY SIGNING A GUY WHO HASN'T KICKED SINCE 2024
Kansas City has a kicker problem. Harrison Butker is 11 of 16 on field goals this season, 68.8%, and 2 of 6 from 50 and out. He missed two in Sunday's 20-3 loss at Seattle. Since the start of last season he has missed 15 kicks, the most in the league, which is 35 points the Chiefs paid for in cash. So they went shopping. They worked out Ben Sauls and Harrison Mevis. Then they signed Justin Tucker, who has not kicked in an NFL game since 2024. Here is why he has not kicked since 2024. The Baltimore Banner reported in 2025 that 16 massage therapists accused him of sexual misconduct during sessions between 2012 and 2016. The NFL suspended him 10 games under the personal conduct policy, the Ravens released him that May, and Tucker called the accusations "unequivocally false." He was never criminally charged or sued. He worked out for the Colts, Saints and Jets and stayed unsigned for a year, right up until a contender started shanking 50-yarders. Andy Reid was asked what the signing says to female fans. "He's done his suspension," he said. "Took care of that business," and then "I'll leave it at that." He added that the team did "our homework." That was the whole answer.
Sources (3)
- cbsnews.com - Ex-Raven Justin Tucker joining Chiefs' practice squad after 10-game suspension last year, AP source says
- nfl.com - NFL Network: Chiefs signing veteran kicker Justin Tucker to practice squad
- bleacherreport.com - Justin Tucker, Chiefs Reportedly Agree to Contract Amid Harrison Butker's Struggles
APPLE BUILT A LAPTOP YOU CAN TOUCH, THEN CHARGED $14,549 FOR THE PRIVILEGE
Apple finally made a MacBook you can poke, and the top of the configurator reads $14,549. That gets you the 16-inch with the M5 Max, an 18-core CPU, a 40-core GPU, 128GB of memory, 16TB of storage, and the nano-texture glass. The 14-inch tops out at $14,249, for the guy who wants to go broke and save desk space. Starting prices are $2,899 for the 14-inch and $3,399 for the 16-inch. The climb to five figures is mostly storage. Going to 4TB adds $1,000, 8TB adds $3,000, and the new 16TB option adds $7,000 by itself. Jumping to 128GB of memory adds $2,000. The nano-texture glass is $150, the only line item on the menu priced like a physical object. The previous 16-inch MacBook Pro topped out at $10,149, so the new ceiling is $4,400 higher, roughly 43 percent. TechCrunch points at the ongoing memory shortage and AI eating hardware faster than anyone can make it. Apple would like you to look at the screen instead. If you don't have fourteen grand sitting around, Apple will take $1,212.41 a month for twelve months. Or you buy the non-touch M6 MacBook Pro that Apple announced the same day for $1,999 and touch that screen all you want. It just won't do anything.
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