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  • Troye Sivan Brings Nicole Kidman to the Club for ‘She’s the Best’ Music Video

    Troye Sivan Brings Nicole Kidman to the Club for ‘She’s the Best’ Music Video

    Troye Sivan has kicked off a new era with the release of his new single “She’s the Best” along with a music video co-starring Nicole Kidman.

    In the clip, directed by Gordon Von Steiner, Sivan holds the spotlight at a club filled with drag queens, including Sasha Colby. Kidman, a fellow Aussie, sips a drink while watching Sivan perform his sultry track, joining forces with the singer while he’s in drag by the end of the video.

    Steiner previously collaborated with Sivan on the music videos for his singles “Rush,” “Got Me Started” and “One of Your Girls,” which were featured on his 2023 album “Something to Give Each Other.”

    Sivan is currently gearing up for the release of his fourth studio album “She’s the Best,” out October 9. The title track is written by Sivan alongside George Daniel, Jack Antonoff, Leland and Kaeyln Behr, with production by Sivan, Daniel and Antonoff as well as Styalz Fuego.

    “‘She’s the Best’ is a painting that captures my life in all of its moods and colours,” says Sivan of the album in a statement. “It explores the high-octane highs of the last few years, and the solitude and longing that sat underneath. It’s chaotic, layered, organic, troubled and alive. It feels like the truest and most creative version of myself I’ve ever shared. At some point along the way I realised – the only constant in my life keeping me somewhat sane has not been the work, or the men, but the feminine. Thank god for them.”

    Watch the video for “She’s the Best” below:

  • Figure Q2 profit jumps 192% as loan volume reaches $4.3B

    Figure Q2 profit jumps 192% as loan volume reaches $4.3B

    Figure Technology Solutions reported $4.26 billion in Consumer Loan Marketplace volume for the second quarter on Aug. 13, up 132% from a year earlier and 47% from the first quarter.

    The Nasdaq-listed blockchain lending company also reported net income of $87.4 million, up 192%, while net revenue more than doubled to $225.6 million.

    The results mark Figure’s strongest quarter since becoming a public company and show a growing share of activity moving through its capital-light marketplace model. Figure Connect accounted for $2.77 billion, or 65%, of total consumer loan marketplace volume, compared with $767 million a year earlier.

    Figure Connect now handles 65% of marketplace volume

    Figure Connect volume rose 262% year over year in Q2. The marketplace, launched in June 2024, connects third-party loan sellers and buyers using Figure’s blockchain-based infrastructure. Figure defines Connect volume as consumer loans originated by third-party sellers through the marketplace.

    That distinction matters when interpreting the headline $4.3 billion figure. Consumer Loan Marketplace volume also includes HELOC, debt-service coverage ratio and personal loan originations through Figure’s loan origination system. It should not be read as $4.3 billion of blockchain trades alone.

    The shift toward third-party activity supports Figure’s push for a business requiring less balance-sheet capital. Ecosystem and technology fees rose to $72.9 million from $28.1 million, while gain on loan sales increased to $57.6 million from $36.3 million. Figure Connect itself represented nearly two-thirds of marketplace volume.

    Figure also added 102 origination partners during the quarter, taking its active network to 489 across mortgage banks, depositories, servicers and fintech companies. Operations and processing costs fell to roughly 67 basis points of marketplace volume from 79 basis points one year earlier.

    Figure profit grows faster than revenue

    Net revenue rose 113% year over year to $225.6 million, while net income increased from $30 million to $87.4 million. The net income margin expanded from 28.3% to 38.8%. Operating income also rose to $77.7 million from $27.7 million, showing the profit increase was not solely the result of below-the-line accounting items.

    Adjusted EBITDA reached $119.4 million, up 126%, while adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 54.6% from 47.2%. Figure’s presentation sets a medium-term adjusted EBITDA margin target of 60% for 2026 through 2028. The 60% figure is a management target, not a guaranteed outcome.

    The balance sheet also expanded. Cash and cash equivalents, excluding restricted cash, reached $1.4 billion at June 30, up $239.4 million from year-end. Loans held for sale increased 47.7% to $597 million.

    Blockchain lending products expand beyond home equity

    Figure’s growth is increasingly coming from products outside its original home-equity business. Small and medium-sized business loan volume grew 57% from the first quarter, while third-party borrowing on its Democratized Prime onchain lending marketplace reached about $170 million as of Aug. 6, roughly 23 times its year-end level.

    Its regulated digital asset business also continued to scale. YLDS in circulation stood at $556 million at June 30, compared with $328 million at the end of 2025. Figure’s SEC-registered yield-bearing YLDS token expanded beyond Provenance to Sui, adding another route for the company’s tokenized financial products.

    Figure is also expanding its underlying loan inventory. As crypto.news reported, the company agreed to acquire real-estate lender Kiavi for $717 million, a transaction expected to add residential transition and DSCR loans to Figure’s marketplaces. Figure said Thursday the acquisition remains on track to close during the second half of 2026.

    Figure closed a $600 million offering of 8.5% senior notes due 2031 on July 14, with proceeds intended in part to fund the Kiavi transaction. The acquisition still depends on closing conditions and required regulatory approvals.

    Q3 guidance points to another volume increase

    Figure expects Consumer Loan Marketplace volume of $4.8 billion to $5.2 billion in the third quarter. At the midpoint, the company’s investor presentation says that would represent roughly 102% growth from a year earlier. The guidance is forward-looking and depends on lending demand, funding markets and other operating assumptions.

    CEO Michael Tannenbaum said weekly loan applications had exceeded $1 billion by July and said the pending Kiavi acquisition “will significantly grow our platform into adjacent asset classes.” The latter remains a company expectation until the acquisition closes and integration begins.

    Investors responded positively to the earnings session. FIGR closed Aug. 13 at $31.88, up 3.94%, after trading between $29.50 and $33.77 during the day.

    The next milestones are Figure’s weekly operating updates, Q3 marketplace performance and completion of the Kiavi acquisition. The Aug. 13 filing furnished the quarterly earnings release to the SEC.

  • Could Trump actually run for a third term as president?

    Could Trump actually run for a third term as president?

    Donald Trump says the law stopping him from seeking a third presidential term is ‘very strong’, but he keeps teasing the idea.

    Al Jazeera’s @avawarrinerr explains why US presidents are limited to two terms, and whether Trump could find a way around it.

    Published On 14 Aug 2026

  • Neutrl pauses NUSD redemptions over undisclosed reserve issue

    Neutrl pauses NUSD redemptions over undisclosed reserve issue

    Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Neutrl has suspended minting and redemptions for its NUSD synthetic dollar after unspecified circumstances affected protocol reserves, leaving the cause and scale of any potential impairment unclear.

    On Thursday, Neutrl said it had also paused other protocol functions on legal advice while it assesses the impact. The protocol did not identify the affected asset or counterparty, say whether reserves suffered a realized loss or provide a timeline for resuming operations.

    Structured-yield protocol Strata later said it paused minting, redemptions and related functions for contracts in its Neutrl market, which supports several NUSD-linked products. Strata said its other markets remained operational.

    With about $53.6 million in NUSD in circulation, the suspension prevents approved counterparties from exchanging the token for its backing assets while Neutrl determines whether its reserves have been impaired. Neutrl said it would provide timing and next steps when available.

    Cointelegraph contacted Neutrl for comment but had not received a response by publication.

    NUSD supply falls 18% over 30 days

    According to RWA.xyz, NUSD had a market capitalization of about $53.6 million on Friday, down 18.4% over 30 days, while monthly transfer volume fell 72.4% to $71.4 million. However, the data does not establish that the earlier contraction was related to the reserve issue.

    The synthetic dollar is designed to track the US dollar using yield-bearing crypto assets and market-neutral strategies rather than deposits held in a bank. RWA.xyz showed NUSD trading at about $0.9984, with 615 holders and 347 active addresses over the preceding 30 days.

    On May 25, verification platform Accountable said its Neutrl dashboard provided continuous cryptographic proof that NUSD reserves matched the protocol’s liabilities.

    A February assessment by risk-advisory team BA Labs nevertheless classified a proposed Neutrl integration as higher risk because of counterparty, operational and liquidity exposure. It said direct redemptions were limited to KYC or KYB-approved counterparties and that requests exceeding the liquid buffer could enter a queue targeted for completion within 48 hours, without a guarantee.

    BA Labs estimated NUSD supply at $226 million and reserves at $233.7 million at the time, implying a 103.6% collateralization ratio. It said more than 87% of reserves were held through Fireblocks, while smaller amounts sat on centralized exchanges.

  • Water supply for three US states drips down, Lake Mead at record low

    Water supply for three US states drips down, Lake Mead at record low

    The largest reservoir in the United States, located on the border of Arizona and Nevada, just hit a record low. Lake Mead’s water levels are down by two-thirds, potentially impacting supplies of water and energy for millions across the western United States.

    Published On 14 Aug 2026

  • Parties Lay Out Key Discovery And Other Dates For Pending Paramount-WBD Antitrust Trial

    Parties Lay Out Key Discovery And Other Dates For Pending Paramount-WBD Antitrust Trial

    This week has been dominated by headlines about Paramount‘s threat to leave California, by unions and other officials urging a settlement and by Capitol Hill Democrats warning of investigations.

    But on Thursday, attorneys completed the rather routine step of proposing key dates and deadlines in advance of an antitrust trial over the proposed merger of Paramount with Warner Bros. Discovery.

    A joint case management statement was filed by the plaintiffs — 12 state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America — and the defendants, Paramount and WBD. The fact discovery is proposed to start on Aug. 17, and to close on Jan. 8, a key element of trial preparation that typically generates disputes.

    Last week, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín set a trial for March 2-19, a timeline that stands to cost Paramount more than $1 billion in “ticking fees” due. As part of their deal, Paramount agreed to pay WBD $7 million for each day that the transaction doesn’t close after Sept. 30. They also face a June 4 deadline for the expiration of a deal, with Paramount on the hook for a $7 billion termination fee.

    Figures including Xavier Becerra, the Democratic nominee for California governor, have called for a settlement, while the Directors Guild of America and IATSE urged one with a list of proposed conditions on the transaction.

    Per the latest filing to the judge, the parties say they “are having constructive discussions regarding the identification of two alternative magistrate judges to preside over a settlement conference for the Actions and will provide a further update to the Court as soon as possible.” Such settlement talks also are not unusual before a trial.

    Among the disputed points, per the filing, are how much time each side will be given during the March proceedings. The state AGs and the WGA propose eight of the 12 trial days, noting that they are two different cases; Paramount and WBD say that time should be split equally.

    The judge has not said when she would make a decision after the trial, but set a deadline of April 5 for filing of proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. The final pretrial conference would be on Feb. 24.

    More from this Story Arc

    Paramount WB

  • Jenna Ortega’s Sister Reacts to Public Discourse Over ‘Wednesday’ Star’s Appearance

    Jenna Ortega’s Sister Reacts to Public Discourse Over ‘Wednesday’ Star’s Appearance

    Amid the recent online commentary surrounding Jenna Ortega‘s health and body, her younger sister is coming to her defense.

    On Wednesday, a fan of the Emmy-nominated actress took to Instagram to tell people to “mind their own business and leave @jennaortega alone, especially after her recent interview has created so many questions and assumptions about her health.”

    The fan’s comments were in response to the wave of discourse on social media about Ortega’s appearance in a recent Esquire video interview, with many fans pointing out her noticeably thinner physique in the footage, comparing it to past videos and photos of the actress.

    “She doesn’t owe anyone an explanation her life is her life, and her body belongs to her,” the fan, named Amrita Singh, continued in their lengthy post. “She has every right to make whatever decisions she feels are best for herself without being judged, discriminated against, or subjected to unnecessary speculation. We don’t know what she may be going through, and we shouldn’t assume anything based on appearances or a few comments from an interview. Sometimes the most respectful thing we can do is simply give someone privacy, support them, and let them be.”

    “Please, For God’s sake, she is a human being first, before she is a celebrity in the public eye, and I think that’s what people tend to forget. She deserves privacy, peace, and the freedom to live her life without constantly being questioned or analyzed. Stop concerning yourselves with her personal life and asking intrusive, unnecessary, and random questions just leave Jenna alone and allow her to live her life on her own terms,” they added.

    Ortega’s sister, Aliyah Ortega, commented on the post, “!!!,” seemingly emphasizing that she agrees with the fan’s perspective. Her sister didn’t appear to add any additional remarks.

    The Wednesday star isn’t the only celebrity to be battling online commentary about their body recently, as Ariana Grande has also been at the center of the conversation, especially after the release of her “Petal” music video.

    Earlier this month, it was revealed that Grande would be “taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour” and “taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny.”

    The singer later clarified that the announcement “was not a reactive or impulsive thing. It was something that I have decided. A plan that I had quietly made a long time ago.”

    Ortega is currently busy filming Wednesday season three for Netflix and will next be heading out on the press tour for the dystopian sci-fi adaptation Klara and the Sun, which hits theaters on Oct. 23.

  • Alexa Nikolas Wins Key Ruling In Defamation Case Against Bryan Freedman Over Smear Claims

    Alexa Nikolas Wins Key Ruling In Defamation Case Against Bryan Freedman Over Smear Claims

    Months after a resolution to the sprawling legal battle over the filming of It Ends With Us, Hollywood power lawyer Bryan Freedman is still dealing with fallout from the case.

    Zoey 101 alum Alexa Nikolas won a key ruling on Wednesday in a defamation lawsuit against Freedman, with a court finding that she’s established a probability of prevailing on defamation claims accusing him and those in his orbit of marshaling a smear campaign against her.

    Nikolas, founder of advocacy organization Eat Predators, has a long and contentious history with Freedman, who had represented her ex-husband Michael Milosh when she sued the musician for sexual abuse. She had organized protests outside of his offices in 2022 after discovering that he had also been accused of sexual assault in a case that resulted in a no-fault settlement in 1991. Around the time of these protests, a smear site that aimed to undermine her activism — including through assertions that her current husband was a predator — popped up about her.

    Nikolas didn’t connect Freedman to the site until Lively sued It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer. The thrust of Lively’s lawsuit focused on alleged sexual harassment on the set of the film, but it also accused Baldoni and his public relations team — led by top crisis publicist Melissa Nathan and digital fixer Jed Wallace — of spawning a smear machine that threatened her reputation. This led to sister lawsuits, including one from publicist Stephanie Jones, who claimed that Nathan and Wallace have long engaged in creating smear sites targeting women. That gave Nikolas the ammunition to file a lawsuit, which points to alleged data identifying Freedman as involved in the generation of some of the sites.

    In Wednesday’s ruling, Los Angeles Superior Court judge Michael Whitaker rebuffed Freedman’s bid to dismiss the case. He concluded that Nikolas has produced enough evidence to potentially prove the alleged campaign was defamatory.

    Among the findings: Nikolas sufficiently demonstrated a probability of proving the allegedly defamatory statements were untrue. This includes a claim on a second smear site about her that she partnered with former California senator Joe Dunn to push others into making false accusations of sexual assault.

    Whitaker also pointed to court records across multiple cases in which several plaintiffs describe a “similar modus operandi and common website traffic optimization tactics.”

    Freedman had argued that Nikolas can’t prove the assertions advanced in the sites were false and that some were simply statements of opinion, which can’t give rise to a defamation claim. On this front, the court said that the allegations in the site “all imply provably false assertions of fact” that Nikolas is “either a criminal who has committed criminal acts, or she is not.”

    Multiple smear sites identified in the case between Jones and Baldoni appear to have evidence of common authorship, including Alexanikolas.net, which claimed she extorted multiple ex-boyfriends by threatening them with manufacturing sexual abuse claims, among other things. In Jones’ case, a cybersecurity expert submitted an expert report indicating that those who created the site about Nikolas may have also created ones about Amanda Ghost, who’s engaged in a defamation battle against Rebel Wilson.

    “There is a tangled web of connections between these sites and numerous others in addition to that authored about plaintiff,” Whitaker wrote, noting a “conspiracy to smear various individuals” who had adversarial connections to Freedman’s clients. That not only suggests a motive, the court found, but also indicates that the lawyer may have been “involved in directing or otherwise effectuating all of those alleged smear campaigns.”

    Earlier this year, Wilson’s crisis public relations team — comprised of Nathan and Wallace — was heard discussing plans to create anonymous sites that accused Ghost of sex trafficking as part of an alleged smear campaign solicited by the actress against The Deb producer. In a recording obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Wallace instructed Nathan to assert without evidence that Ghost is a “madame” whose work involves procuring young women for wealthy and powerful men.

    “We can’t just do, like, oh, she’s a bitch, she sucks,” Wallace says in the recording. “It’s, like, it’s got to be really, really heavy and connected to something that heavy.”

    At one point in the conversation, Wallace referenced the involvement of Freedman, Wilson’s then-counsel in the case. Freedman and Nathan didn’t respond to requests for comment, though they’ve previously denied involvement in the creation of the smear sites.

  • ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 Finale Hits 21 Million Viewers in Three Days

    “House of the Dragon” concluded its third season on HBO on Sunday night, with the finale reaching 21 million viewers in its first three days of availability. More than 11 million of those viewers were in the U.S.

    That total comes from a combination of Nielsen’s measurement of linear viewers on the HBO cable channel plus Warner Bros. Discovery’s own tally of streams on HBO Max. It represents a mostly steady trajectory for the season, with a slight decrease of 2% from the Season 3 premiere’s 21.5 million viewers. (WBD did not disclose viewership totals for Episodes 2-7.)

    Overall, the season is averaging 34 million viewers per episode thus far, nearly matching Season 2’s 35 million-viewer average. According to HBO, this puts it among the HBO Max’s top three most-watched returning seasons ever.

    Sunday also marked the seventh and final episode of “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness.” The sketch series, created by and starring Larry David, is averaging approximately 4 million viewers per episode in the U.S.

    More to come…

  • Warner Bros. Discovery’s Gerhard Zeiler to Recieve Directorate Award at This Year’s International Emmys

    Warner Bros. Discovery president of international Gerhard Zeiler has been tapped to receive the 2026 International Emmy Directorate Award. He joins Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria, who was previously announced as this year’s honoree for the org’s founders award. Zeiler and Bajaria will acceot their awards at the 54th International Emmy Awards Gala on Monday, Nov. 23, in New York.

    “Gerhard Zeiler has built and led some of the world’s most influential media businesses, helping shape the international television industry through periods of profound change,” said International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences president/CEO Bruce L. Paisner in a statement. “Throughout his career, his commercial acumen has been grounded in a deep appreciation for the creative talent and storytelling that define our business.”

    Per the International Emmys, the directorate award “is presented to organizations or individuals in management, administration, engineering, news, programming, and/or international relations for outstanding contributions over a period of time to the arts and sciences of international television.”

    Recent winners include Grupo Globo president João Roberto Marinho (2025), Gaumont CEO Sidonie Dumas (2024), Balaji Telefilms’ Ekta Kapoor (2023), CJ ENM’s Miky Lee (2022) and ZDF’s Thomas Bellut (2021).

    Zeiler first joined Time Warner’s Turner in 2012, expanding the company’s international operations, including its regional sports and pay-TV businesses. He was named WarnerMedia International presidnet in 2020, and as president of international for Warner Bros. Discovery, Zeiler has expanded HBO Max footprint to more than 130 countries in just over three years and helped oversee the integration of WarnerMedia and Discovery.

    Prior to Turner, he was CEO of RTL, and earlier in his career held senior leadership roles at Austria’s public broadcaster, ORF.

    “I am deeply honored to be recognized by the International Academy with the International Emmy Directorate Award,” Zeiler said in a statement. “My passion for media began before I can even remember, and from a young age I understood the power of television to bring people together and open a window into different cultures and ideas. The role of media in connecting the world requires a deep understanding of distinct cultures – global trends and local nuances alike – and I feel very fortunate to have had a career filled with learnings and perspectives across the world on what makes compelling television. This is an industry like no other, driven by passion, ambition, and the desire to create stories that audiences can connect with. I receive this recognition with great appreciation for the colleagues, partners and creative talent who have inspired that journey.”