Faced with an aging population and labor shortages, Japanese businesses are increasingly relying on service robots to supplement their workforce, according to Bloomberg. Research firm Fuji Keizai projects the country’s service robot market to nearly triple by 2030, to ¥400 billion ($2.7 billion). Potentially driving that growth: The Recruit Works Institute projects that the country […]
Running back Aaron Jones is re-signing with the Vikings on a two-year, $20 million deal that includes $13 million guaranteed, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
On Friday, Apple officially delayed the release of its promised iOS 18 Siri features. Those features, including personal context, on-screen awareness, and in-app actions, will now release “in the coming year.” We had already received hints that these features would be delayed, but now we know for sure. This leaves the question, what went wrong?
A small plane has crashed in the middle of a city street in Pennsylvania ... and, several videos taken at the scene show the fiery wreckage. The videos -- taken in Manheim Township in Lancaster County -- captured the aftermath of the crash ... with…
A mockup of the iPhone 17 Air from YouTube channel iDeviceHelp.
Apple is expected to release its thinnest phone yet later this year with the iPhone 17 Air. Rumors have held that the phone will be thinner than the 6.9mm iPhone 6 was, but recent leaks give us a better idea than we’ve had before of what to expect.
Rumors of the iPhone 17 Air’s dimensions have ranged over the last several months, but a recent one from leaker Ice Universe puts it at just 5.5mm thick, something that Ming-Chi Kuo predicted in January. Another analyst, Jeff Pu, said before that it would be more like 6mm.
But where Kuo said the phone will have a 6.6-inch screen, Ice Universe says it’ll actually be 6.9 inches like the iPhone 17 Pro Max — they say both phones will have the same “length, width, screen size, and bezel” as the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Later, they posted a video showing an apparent render of the device.
Exclusive: iPhone 17 Air will take my money away, which is very attractive and can be used as a great queen model. pic.twitter.com/hdctu3mtXr
On Friday, YouTuber iDeviceHelp posted a video in collaboration with leaker Majin Bu, who published similar-looking renders last month. iDeviceHelp claims to be showing mockups of the standard, Pro Max, and Air models “based on internal documents.” The video lingers on the edge of the phone at moments, and I was immediately struck by how much seeing it reminded me of looking edge-on at the 5.1mm 13-inch M4 iPad Pro, the one Apple device thinner than this is rumored to be.
It’s hard not to also notice the Google Pixel-like camera bar stretching left-to-right on the back of iDeviceHelp’s mockups of the iPhone 17 Air and Pro Max. It’s unclear whether the bar is functional or just Apple trying out some new aesthetic, but I welcome it all the same, if for no other reason than my iPhone 15 Pro is so dang floppy when laying on its back on my desk. iDeviceHelp demonstrated with the 17 Pro Max mockup that the bar seems to help there. But in both cases, the rear cameras themselves still stick up out of the bar, so it may not be perfect. Oh well, maybe next year.
As for the rest of the design, these renders and mockups appear to show it with buttons in all the same places as current iPhones (not counting the iPhone 16E, which lacks the Camera Control button), along with a USB-C port and speaker holes on the bottom. The phone is also expected to have a Dynamic Island and Face ID on the front. We won’t likely know for sure how close the renders are until September, when Apple typically reveals its latest batch of flagship iPhones.
Rebecca Wisocky has been in her Ghosts era since the show’s 2021 premiere — but what TV series would she want to haunt if she was a spirit?
“I grew up loving The Carol Burnett Show,” Wisocky, 53, exclusively reveals in the latest issue of Us Weekly. “I would have to say The Carol Burnett Show, because in my mind, and of course it was imprinted on me at a time when I was just figuring out what funny was to me, watching [the late] Harvey Korman and Tim Conway break each other.”
The actress explains that the “sheer reckless silly joy” was “so palpable watching those Carol Burnett episodes,” which informed her pick. “I can’t imagine that that wouldn’t be an amazing place just to kind of hang out,” Wisocky says.
She teases that since The Carol Burnett Show was filmed on stage 33 at CBS Television City, as a ghost she’d be kept pretty busy floating from one soundstage to the next. Wisocky notes her spirit would have to visit “The $100,000 Pyramid and Press Your Luck, and then all kinds of crazy wackadoo game shows were there too.”
When it comes to Ghosts, which is in its fourth season, Wisocky says there are a lot of laughs to be had for viewers as well. The actress tells Us that she’s most excited for fans to discover what her character Hetty Woodstone’s power is — since she hasn’t had one yet.
“It was really juicy to play for a while [when I] thought that maybe Hetty might not have a power,” Wisocky told Us, noting that Hetty’s power comes to light during the Thursday, March 13, episode. “It is related to something else that we find out about her, which was a big shocker this year that she is in fact Irish.”
Scroll down for more from Us Weekly’s exclusive interview with Wisocky ahead of Hetty’s power reveal:
Where Does Her Power Rank?
Rebecca Wisocky, Román ZaragozaBertrand Calmeau/CBS
“Hetty is very invested in where her power ranks,” Wisocky teases, revealing, “It is not something onerous or stinky like Isaac.”
She explains, “It could end up being very useful. It is surprising and shocking and opens up a new relationship for Hetty. It opens up a new kind of portal into the living world. But of course, it comes with its restrictions and [a] shortcoming.”
The TV star adds that when Hetty receives her power in the “St. Hetty’s Day” episode she “thinks it’s at the top” of the list ranking wise. “At the end of the day, not so much,” Wisocky says.
What Is Hetty’s Reaction to Gaining Her Power?
“She’s shocked and excited and feels that it opens up a whole new world of possibilities for her,” she dishes. “It’s also kind of humbling and sweet.”
How Many Blue Dresses Does Hetty Go Through?
Rebecca WisockyBertrand Calmeau/CBS
Throughout the series, Hetty wears an iconic blue dress that signifies her life in the late 1800s. Wisocky, however, says there isn’t just one blue gown on set.
“I have many different dresses,” she explains. “They’ve tweaked them and suddenly changed them in how they fit over the years and had to source and create new [ones] because there was a limited amount of that blue silk fabric, so they had to actually go and recreate it and then make new dresses from that fabric.”
She says, “I think maybe there’s like six now. And I have various different corsets, depending on how tortured I wish to feel on any given day.”
What’s Her Favorite Part of Hetty’s Evolution?
“One of my favorite things that they’ve done with her and they’ve allowed me to do with her is she’s this wonderful juxtaposition between stick in the mud, uptight, ornery, and also incredibly childlike,” Wisocky shares. “I love those sides of her when she gets to be, you know, innocent and open and eager about discovering new things.”
She jokes, “Of course, she does so through this very odd lens from her own time period in her own, you know, life, it’s humorous and kind of adorable too. The way she gets it all wrong.”
Wisocky praises the character for approaching “many of these new things and challenges and concepts with both judgment and complete childlike abandon and that’s so much fun for me as an actor.”
After working together for four years, Wisocky tells Us that the cast “really love each other” and that “chemistry” has grown thanks to their “closeness, that sense of comradery and being on the same team.”
The actors film in Montreal, so when they are on location Wisocky says they often “go out to dinner” or “hockey games, we go to concerts,” because “we’re stuck there.” She notes that when the group shoots over Thanksgiving week they celebrate the holiday together.
Their other activities include pickleball, dinners and playing boardgames. “Everyone was into pickleball this past year and that’s been really fun. Most of us play pickleball up there and we play Scrabble,” Wisocky reveals. “Brandon [Scott Jones] and I are super into Scrabble.”
She continues, “Some of us had taken French lessons together.” Wisocky says with a laugh, “It’s like summer camp, but it’s summer, fall, winter.”
For more details on Wisocky’s role on Ghosts pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.
17 Again star Sterling Knight is remembering the time he spent with his late movie sister, Michelle Trachtenberg, in the wake of her sudden death.
“Some quick thoughts. Thanks to everyone for the bday wishes, I ended up having emergency gallbladder removal surgery (would not recommend) but I’m healing up nicely. With the timing of that, and the passing of Michelle, who was so unbelievably kind to me, it made me think,” Knight, 36, wrote via Instagram on Friday, March 7. “Tomorrow is not guaranteed and it’s important to tell those close to you that you love them and appreciate them as often as possible.”
He added, “Michelle was generous, kind and beyond helpful to me as I navigated my first big movie. I had grown up watching her (as we all did) and she always had time for me if I had questions or was struggling.”
Knight and Trachtenberg, who died in February at the age of 39, played siblings Alex and Maggie in 2009’s 17 Again. The two former child stars portrayed the children of Matthew Perry and Leslie Mann’s respective characters. (Perry died at age 54 in October 2023.)
“I’ll never forget hanging out with Matthew and Michelle in her trailer, for hours, talking about life and work, lessons and wisdom they had picked up,” Knight said on Friday. “Bit of a combo update/gratitude post, but thanks again to everyone and I’m feeling much better. Miss you Michelle. Love y’all.”
“It is with great sadness to confirm that Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away,” her rep told Us in a statement on February 26. “The family requests privacy for their loss. There are no further details at this time.”
Michelle Trachtenberg, Matthew Perry, Sterling KnightNew Line/courtesy Everett Collection
Trachtenberg — best known for roles in Harriet the Spy, Ice Princess, Gossip Girl and Buffy the Vampire Slayer — is survived by her parents, her sister and her boyfriend. (Trachtenberg started dating talent agentJay Cohen in 2020.)
A cause of death has been ruled as “undetermined” after the actress’ family objected to an autopsy. Trachtenberg had initially been found unconscious by her mother, Lana, inside her New York City apartment.
“On Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at approximately 0801 hours, police responded to a 911 call of an aided individual at 1 Columbus Place, within the confines of the Midtown North Precinct,’” local law enforcement officers said in a statement at the time. “Upon arrival, officers observed a 39-year-old female unconscious and unresponsive. EMS responded to the location and pronounced the victim deceased. Criminality is not suspected.”
“It’s very under control. It took over my life for a long time, but I’m 95 percent better,” Gaga, 38, told The Sunday Timesin a profile published on Sunday, March 9. “I still have pain days, but they are very rare. I feel lucky.”
She added, “People do not always make it through the career and the success that I have had. They don’t always get to the other side, given how it can affect your mental health and body. But I did.”
The pop star revealed her diagnosis in her 2017 Netflix documentary, Gaga: Five Foot Two.
“The whole right side of my body is in a spasm,” Gaga explained to the cameras at the time. “My f—ing face hurts. I just think about other people that have maybe something like this that are struggling to figure out what it is, and they don’t have the money to have somebody help them.”
A source later gave Us Weekly insight into how Gaga was treating the pain.
“She’s been trying everything to rid herself of pain,” the insider exclusively told Us Weeklyin March 2018, adding that the pop star was undergoing various treatments including acupuncture and reiki healing. “It’s a very slow road to her getting better.”
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
Gaga’s health also forced her to end her Joanne World Tour early.
“Unfortunately, Lady Gaga is suffering from severe pain that has materially impacted her ability to perform live,” a February 2018 statement read. “As a result, Live Nation and Lady Gaga are announcing the cancellation of the final 10 dates of the European leg of her Joanne World Tour. Last night, with strong support from her medical team, Lady Gaga made the tough decision to immediately come off the road. She is extremely sorry and deeply saddened that she cannot perform for her European fans, who have waited so patiently.”
Four years later, Gaga embarked on her Chromatica Ball tour.
“When I went on the Chromatica Ball tour in 2022 that was the first time I’ve performed not in pain in … I don’t even remember,” she recalled to Vogueof the concerts in September 2024. “I haven’t smoked pot in years. I’ve, like, changed. A lot. I feel like this new album, in a lot of ways, is about that time but from a place of happiness instead of misery. And now, Michael [Polansky, my fiancé] and I are really excited to organize our lives — and our marriage — around our creative output as a couple.”
Gaga dropped her latest album, Mayhem, earlier this week.
As the globe reels from the political events of the last week, Ukrainians blame Donald Trump for backing Vladimir Putin in what they see as another attempt by Russia to wipe them out completely. World affairs editor Sam Kiley reports from Kyiv
Pro-Palestinian activist and Columbia University alumnus Mahmoud Khalil was arrested Saturday by immigration authorities, his lawyer confirmed to Axios.
The big picture: Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents told Khalil that his student visa had been revoked before his arrest.
However, Khalil is a legal permanent resident and not in the U.S. on a student visa, attorney Amy Greer said in a statement.
Greer told the AP that an agent informed her in a phone call that they were executing an order from the State Department to revoke Khalil's student visa. Upon being informed he was a permanent resident with a green card, the agent said they were pulling his green card too.
Greer said in a statement to Axios that Khalil's legal team was informed Sunday morning he had been transferred to an ICE facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey. But when his pregnant wife, a U.S. citizen who was also threatened with arrest by ICE, went to visit him, she was told he was not there.
What they're saying: Columbia University said in a Sunday statement about reports of ICE on campus that law enforcement must have a judicial warrant to enter university buildings.
ICE arrested Khalil at his university-owned apartment, Greer told the AP.
A State Department spokesperson told Axios that the department has broad authority to revoke visas but said they could not comment on individual cases.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) referred Axios to the White House when asked for comment. The White House did not respond to Axios' request.
A petition calling for Khalil's immediate release said he has been the target of "various zionist harassment campaigns" that serve to "instill fear in pro-Palestine activists as well as a warning to others."
Khalil told the AP before his arrest that the university accused him of misconduct weeks before his December 2024 graduation, adding that most of the allegations concerned social media posts he had "nothing to do with."
Khalil became one of the most well-known student activists during the Columbia encampment and protest last spring, giving interviews and engaging in negotiations with the university about the protesters' demands.
Friction point: Khalil's detainment comes as the Trump administration has called for revoking student visas for foreign nationals it deems to be "Hamas sympathizers" — a process Axios reported would involve AI-assisted reviews of tens of thousands of student visa holders' social media accounts.
Columbia also remains in the crosshairs of the White House, which announced Friday it would yank some $400 million in federal grants and contracts from the university. The school became the epicenter of nationwide protests last spring over Israel's handling of the war in Gaza.
The Trump Education Department cited alleged inaction in the face of "persistent harassment of Jewish students" in announcing it would slash funding, saying additional cancelations are expected to follow.
What we're watching: "We will vigorously be pursuing Mahmoud's rights in court, and will continue our efforts to right this terrible and inexcusable – and calculated – wrong committed against him," Greer said.
His arrest follows what she described as the government's "open repression of student activism and political speech," targeting Columbia students protesting the Israel-Hamas war, in particular.
"The U.S. government has made clear that they will use immigration enforcement as a tool to suppress that speech," she said.
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