FlashFeed

Full text

Yesterday's 1,600 layoffs at Xbox—just half of the 3,200 job cuts Microsoft intends to inflict on its gaming division by the end of its 2027 fiscal year—seem to have taken a heavy toll on the company's celebrated accessibility efforts.

In the 24 hours since CEO Asha Sharma pronounced Xbox's "reset," senior and lead accessibility specialists have confirmed that they've been affected by the associated layoffs, casting into doubt how committed the company will be to championing accessibility initiatives like it has in recent years.

The first indication that accessibility efforts weren't coming away unscathed from Microsoft's cost-cutting emerged in mid-June, when an accessibility program manager working on contract said in a LinkedIn post that he was "unfortunately part of the incoming Xbox layoffs." Beginning last week, those job cuts seemingly began to accelerate, as an accessibility test lead for the Microsoft Gaming Accessibility Testing Service made a similar post saying he was seeking work after almost three years of Xbox accessibility consulting and organizing accessibility testing on over 1,000 Xbox Store titles.

Following yesterday's announcement, the scope of the layoffs had expanded to include accessibility leads like Kaitlyn Jones , who in five years at Microsoft had led projects like the Xbox Adaptive Joystick and the company's publicly-available training program on gaming accessibility fundamentals. Elsewhere, Elisabeth Whyte—an award-winning senior user researcher for accessibility who had spent seven years at ZeniMax—made her own open-for-work posting , indicating that accessibility specialists at Xbox's game development studios were affected, too.

Xbox's accessibility initiatives have been one of its few unequivocal achievements in an era of pervasive dysfunction: By investing in the development of peripherals like the landmark Xbox Adaptive Controller and the creation of accessibility guidelines in collaboration with industry and disability specialists, Microsoft has been a driving force in promoting the gaming industry's recently-increasing implementation and normalization of accessibility and disability-conscious options.

Xbox, however, says its cuts don't mean it's retreating from those initiatives.

"Accessibility remains a priority for Xbox," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement provided to GameSpot . "While we’ve made changes across the team, creating more accessible gaming experiences for players has not changed."

We'll have to wait and see how accurate that commitment proves to be. If Xbox is truly hoping to entertain " more than a billion people each day," cutting the employees who helped ensure its games are playable by as many people as possible seems like a strange way to go about it.

2026 games : All the upcoming games

Best PC games : Our all-time favorites

Free PC games : Freebie fest

Best FPS games : Finest gunplay

Best RPGs : Grand adventures

Best co-op games : Better together

Full text

In some parts of the US, up to 30 percent of people may carry the antibody behind a red meat allergy spurred by tick bites, far exceeding the estimated number of people who actually have the allergy, according a study published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report .

The findings suggest far more Americans than previously thought may be at risk of the allergy, which can make having a hamburger for dinner a potentially life-threatening choice. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has previously estimated that only 0.14 percent of the US population (up to 450,000 people) has the allergy. But the study also highlights how little we understand about this unique disease—and the challenges of accurately diagnosing it.

The study surveyed blood donations for the disease's key antibody, which is in a class dubbed IgE and specifically attacks a double-sugar molecule called galactose-α-1,3-galactose, also known as alpha-gal. This disaccharide is found decorating the cells of nonprimate mammals, including cows and pigs, but it's also released in the saliva of ticks, particularly the lone star tick ( Amblyomma americanum ). People bitten by ticks can develop IgE antibodies against alpha-gal, which can sometimes trigger an allergic response to eating red meat as well as other animal products, such as dairy and gelatin.

Read full article

Comments

Full text

A team of conservationists has discovered and restored the tombstone of Sebastian, a formerly enslaved man who died free in 1729.

"That discovery is likely one of the oldest gravestones of a free Black person in America," Michelle Wu, the mayor of Boston, said in a July 4 speech . "It's been there all along. We just had to go look and share the story."

The stone marker is inscribed with Sebastian's chosen name, Boston, and features an image common in 17th- and early 18th-century tombstones in New England: the death's head . The symbol includes a stylized skull flanked by wings, which were possibly intended to symbolize spiritual resurrection .

On the tombstone, a simple, five-line inscription reads:

Original Inscription

HERE LYES Y e

BODY OF BOSTON

AGED 70 YEARS

DEC D FEB Y Y e 28

1728

Modern English

HERE LIES THE

BODY OF BOSTON

AGED 70 YEARS

DECEASED FEBRUARY THE 28

1728

In 18th-century American writing, the word "the" was often abbreviated with a Y-shaped letter form called a " thorn " representing the "th" sound. Tombstones also frequently abbreviated "deceased" and the month. Somewhat confusingly, before 1752, the American colonies regularly used the Julian calendar , as did Britain, in which the new year started on March 25. Boston's year of death is listed on the tombstone as 1728, but his February 28 death was actually in 1729 in our modern Gregorian calendar.

Kelly Thomas, the director of the Historic Burying Grounds Initiative for the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, told WBZ News Radio that she identified the gravestone during a restoration project at the Granary Burying Ground , the city's third-oldest cemetery. Established in 1660, the cemetery includes over 5,000 graves, including the final resting places of Declaration of Independence signers Samuel Adams and John Hancock; the U.S. Revolutionary War officer Paul Revere; and Crispus Attucks, a sailor of mixed African and Indigenous ancestry who is thought to be the first American killed in the Boston Massacre.

"I was reviewing the photos of headstones, and then I noticed that the stone only had one name," rather than a first and last name, Thomas told WBZ News Radio, suggesting that Boston was either enslaved or free when he died. Based on a search of historical records, Thomas determined that Boston's enslaved name was Sebastian and that he also went by Bastian.

RELATED STORIES

'It's a huge deal': Archaeologists discover second cannonball from the Battle of the Alamo, and it was likely fired by Texans

8-year-old African American boy from Colonial Maryland found buried with white Colonists, and it's unclear if he was enslaved

Lost Indigenous settlements described by Jamestown colonist John Smith finally found

A surprising amount of information was recorded about Boston and his wife, Jane Lake. In 1701, they had their daughter, also named Jane, baptized at First Church in Boston, where they regularly attended worship services. But while the two were married with children, they were also both enslaved and lived in different households, historian Gloria Whiting wrote in a 2016 study .

Boston was likely freed in the early 18th century, some time after the 1702 death of John Waite, who had held him in slavery. By 1708, a list of free Black people included the name Boston, and he had gained a reputation in the city as a hardworking handyman, according to Whiting's study. He had been freed for roughly 30 years when he died in 1729 and was well-known enough to have an obituary published for him in the New-England Weekly Journal , a rare occurrence for enslaved or freed Black people in colonial America.

Wu also said that, in recent weeks, archaeologists in Boston had discovered musket balls and gun flints from the infamous Battle of Bunker Hill that took place on June 17, 1775. The battle was fought by British Crown forces and New England troops in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War.

See if you know what these mysterious artifacts are with our archaeological fragments quiz!

Full text

Hyundai is expanding the Palisade lineup with a new Black Ink Edition.

New range-topper starts at $59,280 and features a blacked out exterior.

Crossover has a hybrid powertrain producing 329 hp and 339 lb-ft.

Hyundai introduced the Ioniq 9 Performance Calligraphy Black Ink in April and now they’re following up with the 2027 Palisade Hybrid Calligraphy Black Ink Edition. It’s a blacked out flagship with a ridiculously long name.

var adpushup = window.adpushup = window.adpushup || {que:[]};

adpushup.que.push(function() {

if (adpushup.config.platform !== "DESKTOP"){

adpushup.triggerAd("0f7e3106-c4d6-4db4-8135-c508879a76f8");

} else {

adpushup.triggerAd("82503191-e1d1-435a-874f-9c78a2a54a2f");

}

});

Tongue twister aside, the model embraces the dark side as it sports a number of black components including the grille and badging. They’re joined by gloss black paint on the window trim, roof rails, and wheels.

Review: The Palisade Calligraphy Feels Like A Range Rover Autobiography For Hyundai Money

Since that clearly isn’t dark enough, the model also sports dark chrome accents and satin black flourishes. While the crossover is available in Abyss Black Pearl, Hyundai also offers Creamy White Pearl and Ecotronic Gray Pearl for customers who want a two-tone appearance.

var adpushup = window.adpushup = window.adpushup || {que:[]};

adpushup.que.push(function() {

if (adpushup.config.platform === "DESKTOP"){

adpushup.triggerAd("ea4d4b5a-f8e5-4d5d-9d9a-53a3b956b6cd");

} else{

adpushup.triggerAd("44c0a4dc-e25b-4ba5-ac64-2c510461b92a");

}

});

The black theme continues inside as the traditional silver accents have been replaced by a “premium black finish.” Hyundai was surprisingly coy on details, but noted everything from the door handles to speaker grilles and center console bezels are now black.

While the cabin comes off as dark and dreary, the crossover should come nicely equipped as the standard Palisade Hybrid Calligraphy has eight-way power front seats that are wrapped in Nappa leather and feature heating, ventilation, and a relaxation mode. They’re joined by a heated second- and third-row as well as a heated leather steering wheel and a tri-zone climate control system.

Buyers will also find a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 12.3-inch infotainment system, and a 12-inch heads up display. Other niceties include a 14-speaker Bose premium audio system, a dual pane panoramic glass roof, a hands-free power liftgate, and a wireless smartphone charger.

Power comes from a hybrid system that combines a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with a 1.65 kWh battery and a six-speed automatic transmission with integrated electric motors. This gives the crossover a combined output of 329 hp (245 kW / 334 PS) and 339 lb-ft (459 Nm) of torque. We can also expect a fuel economy rating of around 31 mpg city, 32 mpg highway, and 31 mpg combined with front-wheel drive.

The Palisade Hybrid Calligraphy Black Ink Edition will arrive at dealerships later this month and pricing starts at $59,280 with front-wheel drive and $61,280 with all-wheel drive – including a $1,600 destination fee.

var adpushup = window.adpushup = window.adpushup || {que:[]};

adpushup.que.push(function() {

if (adpushup.config.platform !== "DESKTOP"){

adpushup.triggerAd("bb7964e9-07de-4b06-a83e-ead35079d53c");

} else {

adpushup.triggerAd("9b1169d9-7a89-4971-a77f-1397f7588751");

}

});