The Rock Chalkboard

Is a Big 12 vs. Pac-12 battle brewing on the conference realignment stage? | Tale of the Tait | KUsports.com Mobile
Tuesday morning, the Pac-12 released a statement that indicated that the conference had authorized its leaders to immediately begin negotiations for its next media rights agreement. The current deal is set to expire in 2024, one year before the Big 12’s current television rights deal expires in 2025.

Kansas football adds transfer O-lineman; defensive back mulls Jayhawks | KUsports.com Mobile
A 6-foot-5, 300-pound graduate of Francis Howell Central High outside St. Louis, Puni has two seasons of eligibility remaining. He played in seven games and started three at right tackle for Central Missouri in 2018, started all 13 games at left tackle in 2019 and started the first two games last season before missing the rest of the season with an unspecified injury (the MIAA did not play football in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic).

Kansas' Eriq Gilyard brings old school to new school after transfer from UCF | KUsports.com Mobile
"I feel like just the opportunity that I have here, (it's) as far as being able to play, being able to show what I can do, coaches, scheme, and honestly, I like challenges," Gilyard said. "It's no surprise that Kansas isn't as good as they should have been last year and I want to be a part of the change that comes with this program — that I know will come."

Former Kansas standout Sherron Collins uses past to prepare for future at Free State | KUsports.com Mobile
"It was something I preached to him the whole time," Longstreet told the Journal-World when asked if he thought that Collins would get into coaching. "One of the things I wanted him to envision was that he had a chance to actually be that guy in Chicago. But now he's at a point in his life where all the stuff I used to preach to him is coming to fruition. I knew it was in there somewhere; it was just about Sherron maturing and getting to this level."

Could Kansas' Jalen Wilson be in line for Big 12, All-America honors? | KUsports.com Mobile
And Kansas coach Bill Self believes returning junior Jalen Wilson could be the next name added to the list of Jayhawks who have received preseason accolades entering a season.

Eraser Dust

Highland Park parade shooting: Suspect to appear in court as questions mount over how he obtained firearms legally | CNN
Robert E. Crimo III, 21, faces seven counts of first-degree murder “for the killing spree he has unleashed against our community,” Lake County, Illinois, State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said at a news conference Tuesday. A conviction would result in a sentence of life imprisonment without parole, he said.

Boris Johnson defends actions as more Conservative allies resign - The Washington Post
While another vote of no confidence by the Conservative Party is a year off, analysts doubt Boris Johnson will be leading his party by the next election in 2025.

Brittney Griner's wife Cherelle says it is "very disheartening" that she has not heard from President Biden - CBS News
"She is probably the strongest person that I know, so she doesn't say words like that lightly. That means she truly is terrified that she may never see us again. You know, I share those same sentiments," Cherelle said.

Morrissey's "Bonfire of Teenagers" Takes a Jab at Oasis
You might recall that Liam Gallagher himself performed “Don’t Look Back in Anger” at One Love Manchester, the stacked live music event Grande organized in the aftermath of the attack. Later on in “Bonfire of Teenagers,” Moz directly references the single with some not-so-subtle contempt: “And the silly people sing ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’/ And the morons sing and sway: ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’/ I can assure you I will look back in anger ’till the day I die.”

Revealed: US water likely contains more ‘forever chemicals’ than EPA tests show | PFAS | The Guardian
In May 2021, a celebration for Portsmouth, New Hampshire’s new $17m water treatment facility drew local and national officials who declared the city’s water free of toxic “forever chemicals”.

Multiple New Marijuana Dispensaries Set to Open in Whitefish - Flathead Beacon
Many medical licensees eagerly jumped on the opportunity to open new locations, seeing the budding economic promise of adult-use recreational cannabis in the state. In the first four months of 2022, alone, marijuana providers in Montana sold $72.9 million in cannabis products.

PHOTOS: Crews clear snow from top of Going to the Sun Road | Daily Inter Lake
Crews continue to clear snow from the Logan Pass area as park officials say the full Going to the Road will not open until July 13 at the earliest.

Mortgage demand sinks even as rates drop
Rates fell 10 basis points last week and have declined 24 basis points in the last two weeks, but total mortgage demand dropped 5.4% from one week ago, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. This week’s results include a holiday adjustment to account for early closings the Friday before Independence Day.

Mid-range iPhones will no longer have the latest Apple chips - 9to5Mac
Apple is expected to announce four new iPhone models this year: iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Max (a larger 6.7-inch version that will replace iPhone mini), iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max. While the regular iPhone 14 models will retain the same design as the iPhone 13 with minimal internal upgrades, the Pro lineup will get more attention with a new screen design and significant camera upgrades.

Carlos Santana concert at Star Lake postponed after performer passes out on stage in Michigan
Santana wrote a message on social media thanking fans for their prayers and adding, “Forgot to eaty and drink eater. So I dehydrated and passed out.”

Travis Barker thanks Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Kendall and Kylie Jenner for flowers after hospital | Daily Mail Online
After a health scare that kept him hospitalized for a week, Travis Barker is doing much better.

Chet Holmgren: No. 2 overall pick shines in NBA Summer League debut as he sets record | CNN
The 20-year-old big man finished with 23 points – including 4-of-6 attempts from three-point range – seven rebounds and four assists.

Kevin Durant trade rumors: Nets not rushing deal, won't move superstar until asking price is met, per report - CBSSports.com
When Kevin Durant requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets last week, it sent shockwaves around the NBA as every team began crunching the numbers to see if they have enough to acquire one of the most prolific offensive players in league history. Durant listed his preferred destinations: the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat, and while Twitter was overloaded with screenshots of trades that would send him to any number of teams, the trade market for him has been relatively quiet.

Joey Chestnut Regrets Putting Pork Protester in Headlock - Sports Illustrated
“As soon as I grabbed the guy, I realized he was a kid,” Chestnut said, per USA TODAY Sports. “I felt bad afterwards. I was just amped up, just focused on getting back to eating. … It’s a bummer.”

Large Hadron Collider Successfully Restarted at Record Energy: Revving Up the Search for Dark Matter
A new period of data taking began on Tuesday, July 5 for the experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, after more than three years of upgrade and maintenance work. Beams have already been circulating in CERN’s accelerator complex since April, with the LHC machine and its injectors being recommissioned to operate with new higher-intensity beams and increased energy. However, now the LHC operators have announced “stable beams,” the condition allowing the experiments to switch on all their subsystems and begin taking the data that will be used for physics analysis. The LHC will run around the clock for close to four years at a record energy of 13.6 trillion electronvolts (TeV), providing greater precision and discovery potential than ever before.

NASA's 1st Mars rover touched down 25 years ago | Space
NASA's first-ever Mars rover, dubbed Sojourner, touched down in Chryse Planitia on July 4, 1997, atop its landing vehicle, Pathfinder. The pair of spacecraft heralded a revolution in Mars exploration technology that NASA's Curiosity and Perseverance rovers continue to this day, a quarter century later.

COVID was the leading cause of death in Americans ages 45-54 in 2021 | Ars Technica
In that time frame, COVID-19 ranked in the top five causes of death for every age group of people older than 15 years. Between January and October 2021, the pandemic disease was the leading cause of death among people 45 to 54 years old.

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