B P


What Super Bowl 2026’s Ads Say About Where Brands (and Viewers) Are Now

What Super Bowl 2026’s Ads Say About Where Brands (and Viewers) Are Now

Super Bowl LX’s ads felt like a snapshot of where brands – and viewers – are in 2026: nostalgic, celebrity‑obsessed and quietly anxious about AI. To see the spots in one place before diving in, you can watch this roundup: Top 10 Super Bowl LX Commercials 2026. Budweiser’s “American Icons” Clydesdales spot and Lay’s sentimental “Last Harvest” story topped USA Today’s Ad Meter, leaning into heartland imagery and family moments that could have aired a decade ago, just with sharper cinematography.


B P

Meghan Markle Shares Rare Valentine’s Day Photo of 4‑Year‑Old Princess Lilibet

Meghan Markle Shares Rare Valentine’s Day Photo of 4‑Year‑Old Princess Lilibet

Meghan Markle marked Valentine’s Day by sharing the clearest photo yet of Princess Lilibet’s face, offering a rare look at her 4‑year‑old daughter with Prince Harry. In the sunset shot, Harry beams while cradling Lilibet in a grassy field as she clutches red heart balloons, with Meghan captioning the image, “These two + Archie = my foreverines,” a line that quickly set royal‑watch social feeds buzzing. The picture, posted on February 14, drew extra attention because it highlights Lilibet’s matc


B P

Jill Scott Drops To Whom This May Concern, Her First Album in Over a Decade

Jill Scott Drops To Whom This May Concern, Her First Album in Over a Decade

Jill Scott is back with To Whom This May Concern, her first studio album in more than a decade, arriving February 13, 2026 with 19 tracks of grown‑woman neo‑soul, spoken word and jazz‑funk. Critics are calling it one of her most adventurous and empowering projects yet, weaving themes of healing, middle‑aged romance, divorce, community and self‑accountability into lush live‑band production and guest spots from Tierra Whack, Too $hort, JID, Trombone Shorty and more. You can read more in Variety’s


B P

Social media addiction trials

Social media addiction trials

Meta, TikTok, YouTube and other platforms are facing landmark “social media addiction” trials in California, where juries are weighing whether features like endless feeds and autoplay are harming young users. A lead Los Angeles case brought by a woman known as K.G.M. has become the template for hundreds of similar suits, and TikTok and Snap have already quietly settled while denying wrongdoing—signaling some companies may prefer deals over having their recommendation engines dissected in open co


B P

Shaé Universe Honors D’Angelo With Soulful New Single “D’ANGELO’S JOINT”

Shaé Universe Honors D’Angelo With Soulful New Single “D’ANGELO’S JOINT”

Shaé Universe is making waves this week with her new single “D’ANGELO’S JOINT,” a soulful R&B tribute honoring the late D’Angelo and released to coincide with Black History Month. Written the day after D’Angelo’s death, the song blends Shaé’s airy, church‑trained vocals with a warm, live‑band feel that nods directly to his classic neo‑soul sound while still sitting comfortably in today’s R&B landscape. Visually, the track arrives with a lyric video and social clips built around the evolution of


B P

‘Wuthering Heights’ Rises to 34.8 Million Dollars at the Box Office for a No. 1 Debut

‘Wuthering Heights’ Rises to 34.8 Million Dollars at the Box Office for a No. 1 Debut

Emerald Fennell’s new Wuthering Heights is the clear box‑office story of the weekend, opening No. 1 in North America with an estimated 34.8 million dollars over its first three days, the biggest debut of 2026 so far. Powered by women, Wuthering Heights “digs up 34.8 million dollars at the box office for a No. 1 debut,” according to ABC News. Women are driving the turnout in a big way: studio polling suggests about 76% of ticket buyers were female, with Warner Bros. positioning the gothic, R‑rat


B P

How Ray Turned Super Bowl Weekend Into His Own Co‑Hosted Show

How Ray Turned Super Bowl Weekend Into His Own Co‑Hosted Show

Ray isn’t in the booth calling the game, but he and Tota have basically turned Super Bowl weekend into a live‑streamed crossover episode for their communities. Instead of a blazer and a studio desk, his “set” is the Fanatics red carpet and the NFL’s celebrity flag football field, where they stream for hours, bouncing between events, reading chat and grabbing whoever wanders past for off‑the‑cuff interviews. Clips from Vegas show Ray doing a goofy NFL “check‑in” segment, reuniting with Tota on t


B P

Lieu Presses Bondi on Epstein Files and Alleged Trump Assault in Fiery House Hearing

Lieu Presses Bondi on Epstein Files and Alleged Trump Assault in Fiery House Hearing

Rep. Ted Lieu used this week’s House Judiciary oversight hearing to press Attorney General Pam Bondi on why the Justice Department has not prosecuted high‑profile men linked to Jeffrey Epstein, including former Prince Andrew and at least one witness’s allegation involving Donald Trump. In a tense exchange, Lieu said both Bondi and her predecessor Merrick Garland had “dropped the ball,” then accused her of lying under oath after she testified there was “no evidence” Trump committed a crime, citi


B P

Remembering James Van Der Beek: Dawson’s Creek Star Passes Away at 48

Remembering James Van Der Beek: Dawson’s Creek Star Passes Away at 48

James Van Der Beek, best known for playing Dawson Leery on Dawson’s Creek, has died at 48 after a years‑long battle with colorectal cancer. His wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, announced that he “passed peacefully this morning,” saying he met his final days with “courage, faith, and grace,” and asked for privacy for their family in an Instagram post titled “Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning.” Van Der Beek revealed in November 2024 that he had been diagnosed with st


B P

After Sonya Massey’s Death, An Illinois Jury Delivers a Rare Murder Verdict

After Sonya Massey’s Death, An Illinois Jury Delivers a Rare Murder Verdict

In July 2024, Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson responded to a 911 call from 36‑year‑old Sonya Massey, a Black woman in Springfield, Illinois, who had reported a possible intruder at her home. Body‑camera footage shows deputies asking her to check a pot of hot water on the stove, warning “we don’t need a fire while we’re here,” then Grayson shouting that he would shoot her “right in the face” before ordering her to drop the pot and firing as she ducked and apologized; investigators l


B P

Seventeen’s Tiny Desk Proves K‑Pop Has Officially Cracked the “Serious Music” Canon

Seventeen’s Tiny Desk Proves K‑Pop Has Officially Cracked the “Serious Music” Canon

Seventeen just made Tiny Desk history as the first K‑pop group to perform an in‑office concert at NPR, delivering a nine‑song medley with a live band squeezed behind the famous shelves. The set, which Music Connection highlighted in its January “Song Biz” column, strips away arena‑scale production in favor of tight harmonies, reworked choreography for a cramped stage and arrangements tailored to Tiny Desk’s intimate, musician‑forward format. With only part of the group present and an audience o


B P

The Max Mara Art Prize for Women Goes Global, Starting With Jakarta

The Max Mara Art Prize for Women Goes Global, Starting With Jakarta

The Max Mara Art Prize for Women is entering a new phase, bringing in New York–based curator Cecilia Alemani to oversee its 10th edition and adopting a nomadic format that debuts with Jakarta’s Museum MACAN. As noted in ArtAsiaPacific’s “Weekly News Roundup: January 26, 2026”, the prize, launched in 2005 for women artists working in the UK and long tied to London’s Whitechapel Gallery, will now travel to a different country for each edition while still offering a six‑month residency in Italy and


B P

Rock Wasn’t Dead, It Was Offstage

Rock Wasn’t Dead, It Was Offstage

Metallica are still running their M72 stadium loop into 2026, My Chemical Romance are stretching their Long Live the Black Parade run across another year, and a reunited Rush is out on a “Fifty Something” tour with Anika Nilles behind the kit, selling the kind of tickets algorithm‑pop can’t touch. Loudwire’s tour guide, The Rock + Metal Bands Touring in 2026, treats those acts as just three pillars in a crowded calendar that also includes Iron Maiden, Ghost, System of a Down and Korn doing the


B P

Pink to Guest Host The Kelly Clarkson Show

Pink to Guest Host The Kelly Clarkson Show

Pink is set to guest host The Kelly Clarkson Show in March, temporarily taking over the reins of the daytime talk show from her longtime friend. According to early details from network and entertainment reports, she will handle the opening monologue, celebrity interviews and at least one musical performance, effectively putting her own stamp on the established format. The booking comes as the show experiments with occasional guest hosts while keeping Kelly Clarkson as its primary face, a strate


B P

After Supreme Court Loss, Maxwell Looks to Washington for a Way Out

After Supreme Court Loss, Maxwell Looks to Washington for a Way Out

Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a 20‑year federal sentence for conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse minors and is now trying to cut that term short through clemency and politics rather than further appeals. In 2021, a New York jury convicted Maxwell on sex‑trafficking and related counts tied to recruiting and grooming underage girls for Epstein over many years; she was sentenced in June 2022, with the judge calling her conduct “heinous and predatory.” Her direct appeals have effectiv


B P

Kim Kardashian and Lewis Hamilton Fuel “Situationship” Talk

Kim Kardashian and Lewis Hamilton Fuel “Situationship” Talk

Kim Kardashian and Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton have added to ongoing dating rumors after being spotted together in a suite at Super Bowl LX in California. Photos and eyewitness accounts describe Hamilton watching the game near Kardashian and members of her circle, including Kendall Jenner, in a high‑profile box overlooking the field. Their Super Bowl appearance follows earlier reports that the pair spent time together in Paris, with some outlets characterizing the trip as “romantic” while sto


B P

February Turns Into Streamers’ First Big Test of 2026

February Turns Into Streamers’ First Big Test of 2026

Instead of being a post‑holiday lull, February 2026 is running like a mini‑fall season, with at least one headline show landing on a major platform almost every week. Streamers are jamming together returning series like The Lincoln Lawyer, Cross and Dark Winds with buzzy newcomers such as How to Get to Heaven From Belfast, The ’Burbs and 56 Days, so there’s always something fresh sitting on the front page. The effect is less “catch up on your backlog” and more “try to keep up,” extending Januar


B P

Cardi B and Stefon Diggs Spark Split Rumors

Cardi B and Stefon Diggs Spark Split Rumors

Cardi B and NFL wide receiver Stefon Diggs have sparked breakup speculation after fans noticed they no longer follow each other on Instagram in the wake of Super Bowl LX. The social media change came shortly after Diggs’ New England Patriots lost to the Seattle Seahawks, a game where both stars were reportedly in the area but were not photographed together. @espn (📺 NBC) #espnsocial #nfl #football #superbowl ♬ i was only temporary - my head is empty Entertainment outlets note that the pair


B P

Ukraine Shifts From Drone Buyer to Drone Exporter

Ukraine Shifts From Drone Buyer to Drone Exporter

Ukraine is preparing to open 10 weapons export centers across Europe and begin production of Ukrainian‑designed drones in Germany, marking a shift from wartime arms recipient to emerging arms exporter. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told students at the Kyiv Aviation Institute that the export hubs—planned for 2026 across the Baltic and Northern European states—will sell systems built with Ukrainian technology, with German production to start in mid‑February and lines already running in the UK. A


B P

New Science Books Argue That Art, the Internet, and Weight‑Loss Drugs Are Quietly Rewiring Our Lives

New Science Books Argue That Art, the Internet, and Weight‑Loss Drugs Are Quietly Rewiring Our Lives

February’s batch of popular science books leans into big‑picture questions about the universe, the climate and our own bodies, framed as winter‑reading picks in New Scientist’s roundup of the month’s best new titles. Space scientist Maggie Aderin’s memoir “Starchild” anchors the list, weaving her work on satellites and the moon together with the story of raising a daughter and finding wonder in the night sky. Set against January’s offerings, where Daisy Fancourt’s “Art Cure” argued that concert


B P

Venezuela’s Maduro Faces U.S. Narco‑Terrorism Case in New York

Venezuela’s Maduro Faces U.S. Narco‑Terrorism Case in New York

Venezuela’s ousted president Nicolás Maduro is in U.S. federal custody in New York, where he and his wife, Cilia Flores, face a superseding indictment in the Southern District of New York on narco‑terrorism, cocaine‑importation conspiracy, weapons and related charges. Prosecutors allege that for years Maduro and senior Venezuelan officials worked with Colombian guerrilla groups and traffickers to move large quantities of cocaine from Venezuela toward the United States, using state resources and


B P

Coco Jones Honors Whitney Houston With “Lift Every Voice and Sing” at Super Bowl LX

Coco Jones Honors Whitney Houston With “Lift Every Voice and Sing” at Super Bowl LX

Coco Jones helped open Super Bowl LX with a rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” joining the pregame slate alongside Charlie Puth and Brandi Carlile. The Grammy‑winning R&B singer and Bel‑Air star performed the hymn often referred to as the Black national anthem before kickoff at Levi’s Stadium, continuing the NFL’s practice of including it in major events since 2020. Her look was as talked‑about as her vocals. Jones stepped onto the field in an all‑white Karl Kani ensemble—a cropped athle


B P

Bad Bunny Brings Latin Hit Parade to the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show

Bad Bunny Brings Latin Hit Parade to the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show

Bad Bunny headlined the Super Bowl LX halftime show with a Spanish‑language set built around his own catalog and Latin pop collaborators. Over roughly 13 minutes, he performed songs including “Tití Me Preguntó,” “Yo Perreo Sola” and “Voy a Llevarte Pa PR” on a field‑level stage styled to resemble a Puerto Rican neighborhood, with dancers, extras and street‑themed props filling the space. Coverage noted a mix of musical performance and visual storytelling. Outlets highlighted staging elements su


B P

Djokovic and Alcaraz Set for Australian Open Final

Djokovic and Alcaraz Set for Australian Open Final

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are set to meet in the Australian Open men’s final, creating another generational showdown at one of tennis’s biggest stages. A win for Alcaraz would complete the career Grand Slam at a remarkably young age, adding Melbourne to his titles at the other three majors, while Djokovic is chasing an all‑time record 25th major and yet another trophy on Rod Laver Arena. Broadcasters and news outlets have framed the clash as a historic moment, with the matchup highlighte


B P