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January 23, 2026

Sports

Rangers get MacKenzie Gore in 5-for-1 trade with Nationals

by Adhunik News
written by Adhunik News


Jan 22, 2026, 03:34 PM ET

The Texas Rangers have secured All-Star left-hander MacKenzie Gore in a five-for-one deal with the Washington Nationals on Thursday.

In return for Gore, who will celebrate his 27th birthday in February, the Nationals have acquired several prospects from the Rangers, including 18-year-old third baseman Gavin Fien, who was the 12th overall pick in last year’s amateur draft.

Gore, with two years of team control remaining, is projected to earn approximately $4.7 million in 2026 and could significantly strengthen the front end of the Rangers’ rotation. After an impressive All-Star first half with the Nationals in 2025, he experienced a downturn, posting a 6.75 ERA in the second half, finishing the season with a record of 5-15, a 4.17 ERA, and 185 strikeouts in 159⅔ innings across 30 starts.

“We are at a pivotal moment where we have a team capable of contending for a championship,” stated Rangers general manager Ross Fenstermaker. “Acquiring a player of MacKenzie Gore’s caliber allows us to look beyond what we’re giving up and focus on the positive impact he’ll have on our clubhouse, our fan base, and the overall excitement surrounding the team.”

Gore was selected as the No. 3 pick in the 2017 draft but didn’t reach big league success until 2024. Over the last two years, he has been consistent, ranking 23rd in pitcher WAR during that period, though he hasn’t yet achieved the elite status many anticipated years ago.

Gore predominantly uses fastballs and sliders against left-handed batters and fastballs and curveballs against right-handers, making the development of a fourth effective pitch crucial.

In his four seasons, his overall record stands at 26-41 with a 4.19 ERA.

“Our objective is to assist him in having a complete season,” said Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young. “Knowing his personality, his competitive nature, and his ambition to excel, he embodies the qualities of great starting pitchers, and we’re eager to support him.”

Alongside Fien, the Nationals will also receive right-hander Alejandro Rosario, first baseman Abimelec Ortiz, shortstop Devin Fitz-Gerald, and outfielder Yeremy Cabrera as part of the deal.

“We recognize the high-end talent in this return, while also appreciating the intriguing depth,” commented Washington president of baseball operations Paul Toboni. “We identified untapped potential in MacKenzie, which influenced our expectations for this trade.”

ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel contributed to this report.


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2026 Oscars Predictions in Every Category
Entertainment

2026 Oscars Predictions in Every Category

by Adhunik News
written by Adhunik News

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety chief awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

SINNERS, foreground from left: Michael B. Jordan, director Ryan Coolger, on set, 2025. © Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

Oscars Commentary (Updated: Jan. 22, 2026): In one morning, the Oscar race went from settled to chaotic, and the reason is simple: “Sinners.”

For months, Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” looked like a juggernaut poised to coast to the finish line. Instead, the race cracked wide open thanks to Ryan Coogler’s audacious vampire epic “Sinners,” which stormed the nominations with a record-breaking 16 mentions — the most ever for a single film.

“One Battle After Another” remains a formidable contender with 13 nods, a sign of deep industry respect for both the film and the auteur, now a 14-time nominee who has yet to take home a competitive Oscar. But a surprise omission — Chase Infiniti missed the best actress race — may expose just enough vulnerability to invite a challenger, and that challenger is Coogler’s box office smash.

Other contenders landed respectable hauls, but none assembled the kind of nomination package that usually produces a best picture winner.

Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet,” with eight nominations, is elegant and admired. Still, key misses — notably Paul Mescal in supporting actor and the film’s editing — make an upset difficult, even with lead actress Jessie Buckley positioned as the most likely acting winner of the season.

Guillermo del Toro’s Gothic adaptation of “Frankenstein” received nine nominations. But the absence of a directing nod is historically tough to overcome, especially in a year dominated by two heavyweight frontrunners.

What separates “Sinners” isn’t merely the volume it amassed. It’s also that it clearly resonated across all 19 branches of the Academy. Coogler enters the race having shattered records for Black representation. Ten Black artists are nominated for their work on the film, tying “Judas and the Black Messiah” (2021) for the most from a single movie. Coogler is only the third Black filmmaker nominated in the same year for producing, directing and screenwriting, joining Jordan Peele and Spike Lee, and the seventh Black man nominated for directing. His producing partner and wife, Zinzi Coogler, also made history as the first Filipina producer and the third Black woman nominated for best picture.

The film’s impact stretches across the crafts, with breakthroughs in cinematography — Autumn Durald Arkapaw is the first woman of color to be recognized — and costume design for two-time winner Ruth E. Carter, now the most-nominated Black woman in Oscar history.

More important, there’s precedent for an upset.

The race between “La La Land” and “Moonlight” from 2016 proved that a timely and urgent drama could overtake a seemingly unstoppable musical frontrunner. And “Moonlight” achieved that with only a Golden Globe for best picture (drama) and a WGA prize under its belt.

When the World War I epic “1917” (2019) swept key precursors, only for the Academy ultimately to crown Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” the first non-English-language best picture winner, it showed the group could rise to the occasion of a historic moment, even though the film had just a SAG ensemble win to its name.

Overall, the noms revealed an unusually top-heavy year. Only 50 films were recognized across all categories, matching last year’s total and marking the lowest number since 2008. Whether that reflects shrinking viewing habits or an oversaturated landscape remains up for debate.

In some areas, the Academy continued to expand its horizons. A landmark four non-English-language performances earned acting nominations, and international cinema placed two films in both best picture and international feature for the second consecutive year. Latino artists posted historic gains across producing (Guillermo del Toro), acting (Wagner Moura for “The Secret Agent”) and animation (Yvett Merino for “Zootopia 2”). At the same time, women reached new highs in directing, sound — with “Sirāt” fielding the first all-women sound team — and overall representation, with a record 74 women nominated.

Taken together, this year’s nominations paint a portrait of an Academy in transition. Still imperfect and still evolving, it is increasingly responsive to films that marry craft, ambition and cultural relevance.

What once felt like an inevitable model now feels thrillingly uncertain.

Projected winner leaders (films): “Sinners” (7), “One Battle After Another” (3), “F1,” “Frankenstein” and “Sentimental Value” (2)

Projected winner leaders (studios): Warner Bros. (10), Netflix (3), Apple (2), Neon (2)

*** = PREDICTED WINNER
(All predicted nominees listed below are in alphabetical order)

Source: variety.com

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Sports

Jaxson Dart says Giants ‘can’t wait’ to play for John Harbaugh

by Adhunik News
written by Adhunik News


  • Jordan RaananJan 22, 2026, 05:06 PM ET

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      Jordan Raanan covers the New York Giants for ESPN and can be heard hosting on ESPN Radio. Raanan joined ESPN in 2016.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart had an extensive conversation with coach John Harbaugh during the team’s pursuit of the Super Bowl XLVII champion. They spoke on multiple occasions over the phone, culminating in an in-depth meeting during Harbaugh’s interview on January 14.

Harbaugh, who reached an agreement by the end of that day and was officially hired as the Giants head coach over the weekend, was the preferred choice for Dart and his teammates.

“When Coach Harbaugh’s name came up, that was the one that we were all really, really excited about and wanted to have,” Dart said in an interview with ESPN while enjoying a family vacation. “From our perspective, the guys just can’t wait to play for him and have the chance to be coached by him.”

Harbaugh was let go on January 6 after 18 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. Dart was pleasantly surprised to see him available. This development allowed the Giants to combine a seasoned coach with a promising young quarterback.

“Winning,” Dart emphasized when reflecting on his expectations of working with Harbaugh. “A whole lot of winning. That’s it.”

Harbaugh welcomed the high expectations during his introductory press conference on Tuesday, stressing that the objective is to earn the title of world champions in New York.

Dart is a significant part of why Harbaugh believes this is achievable, as he thoroughly assessed all quarterbacks from coaching vacancies before deciding to join the Giants.

“The quarterback is pretty essential. That’s a big deal,” Harbaugh remarked. “I’m thrilled about Jaxson Dart. … I admire his style of play, his skills, and everything he’s accomplished, but more importantly, I appreciate who he is and what he represents. He’s definitely about football.”

Dart was equally impressed. Their in-person meeting during Harbaugh’s interview at the team facility was going so well that it had to be cut short because it continued for almost two hours.

Harbaugh has a strong track record of creating an environment conducive to a quarterback’s development. He mentored Joe Flacco and Lamar Jackson during his tenure in Baltimore, which adds to Dart’s excitement, given that Harbaugh’s teams made the playoffs in 12 out of 18 seasons and secured a Super Bowl win.

“From a football perspective, he has the ability to build competitive teams every year, irrespective of the talent level,” Dart noted. “He consistently positions his team for victory. That’s the coach I aspire to play for, and as a person, I respect him as well.”

Dart mentioned that he hasn’t yet connected with Jackson, Baltimore’s two-time MVP quarterback, but he did talk to former Giants and Ravens wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who gave glowing reviews after his experience in Baltimore during the 2023 season.

The Giants quarterback, who was named a finalist for Offensive Rookie of the Year on Thursday, expressed his amazement at how impressed Harbaugh is with his performance. Dart recorded 24 total touchdowns and seven turnovers in his rookie year.

“Yeah, I mean, that says a lot,” Dart commented. “It means a lot since you want to play for a coach who believes in you.”

Harbaugh has been occupied recently, working on assembling his coaching staff for the Giants. It’s believed he aims to bring Todd Monken from Baltimore as the offensive coordinator to collaborate with Dart, provided Monken isn’t tapped for the head coaching role with the Cleveland Browns.

Dart mentioned he has been engaged in “a lot of communication” regarding the search for coaches, although technically he’s still classified as a rookie and is not being asked for input on who should be hired.

If he were consulted, Harbaugh would have been his clear choice for head coach, and his interactions with the new hire only reinforced that belief.

“He was just a coach whose messages resonated with me immediately, and the way he carries himself, plus his impressive track record, is remarkable,” Dart said. “The winning culture, the intensity, and the passion for the game are evident in everything he brings to the team. I can’t wait to get started with him.”


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Blockit
Top Lists

Former Sequoia partner’s new startup uses AI to negotiate your calendar for you

by Adhunik News
written by Adhunik News

Kais Khimji has spent most of his professional career as a venture investor, including six years as a partner at the prominent VC firm Sequoia Capital.

But just like several other former Sequoia partners — including David Vélez, who founded the Brazilian digital bank Nubank — Khimji (pictured left) has always wanted to be a startup founder. On Thursday, he announced that he has revived an idea he began working on as a student at Harvard about 10 years ago, turning it into the AI calendar-scheduling company Blockit. In a major vote of confidence, Khimji’s former employer, Sequoia, led the company’s $5 million seed round.

“Blockit has a chance to become a $1Bn+ revenue business, and Kais will make sure it gets there,” Pat Grady, Sequoia’s general partner and co-steward who led the investment, wrote in a blog post.

While many startups have tried to automate scheduling in the past, Khimji believes that thanks to advances in LLMs, Blockit’s AI agents can handle scheduling more seamlessly and efficiently than many of its predecessors, including now-defunct startups Clara Labs and x.ai. (Yes, that domain name ended up with Elon Musk’s AI company.)

Unlike the current category leader Calendly, which was last valued at $3 billion and relies on users sharing links to find availability, Blockit is betting that its AI agents can master the nuance required to handle the entire scheduling process without human involvement.

With Blockit, Khimji and co-founder John Hahn — who previously worked on calendar products, including Timeful, Google Calendar, and Clockwise — are building what is essentially an AI social network for people’s time.

“It always felt very odd. I have a time database — my calendar. You have a time database — your calendar, and our databases just can’t talk to each other,” Khimji told TechCrunch.

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Khimji says that Blockit can finally solve this disconnection. When two users need to meet, their respective AI agents communicate directly to negotiate a time, bypassing the typical back-and-forth emails entirely.

Users can invoke the Blockit agent by copying it on an email or messaging it in Slack about a meeting. The bot then takes over the logistics, negotiating a mutually convenient time and location that fits the preferences of all participants.

Khimji said that Blockit can work as seamlessly as a human executive assistant. Users simply need to provide the system with specific instructions about their preferences, such as which meetings are nonnegotiable and which are “movable” based on daily needs. “Sometimes my calendar is crazy, so I need to skip lunch, and the agent needs to know that it’s okay to skip lunch,” he said.

The system can even be trained to prioritize meetings based on the tone of an email. For instance, a user might instruct the agent that a meeting request signed with a formal “Best regards” should take precedence over a casual interaction ending with “Cheers.”

By learning the preferences of its users, Blockit appears to be capitalizing on what venture firm Foundation Capital’s partners Jaya Gupta and Ashu Garg call “context graphs.” In a widely shared essay, the investors describe a multibillion-dollar opportunity for AI agents to capture the “why” behind every business decision by relying on the hidden logic that previously only existed in a person’s head.

Blockit is already being used by more than 200 companies, including AI startup Together.ai, the newly acquired fintech company Brex, and robotics startup Rogo, as well as venture firms a16z, Accel, and Index. The app is available for free for 30 days. After that, it costs $1,000 annually for individual users and $5,000 annually for a team license with support for multiple users, Khimji said.

Source: techcrunch.com

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Sports

‘Heated Rivalry’ stars Connor Storrie, Hudson Williams to serve as Milan Olympics torchbearers

by Adhunik News
written by Adhunik News


Jan 22, 2026, 08:13 PM ET

MILAN — The stars of the popular hockey romance TV show “Heated Rivalry” are preparing to serve as torchbearers for the Olympic flame leading up to the Opening Ceremony of the Milan Cortina Games.

The organizing committee revealed on Thursday that Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie will participate in the torch relay, with the Opening Ceremony set for Feb. 6.

This series, inspired by the “Game Changers” novels, has captivated audiences with its tale of a Canadian athlete and his Russian rival who share a secret relationship spanning a decade.

The debut season ranked as the top series on HBO Max. Initially created for the Canadian platform Crave, the show landed a distribution agreement with HBO and has been confirmed for a second season, set to air in Italy next month.


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Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril Industries, during an interview on "The Circuit with Emily Chang" at Anduril
Technology

Palmer Luckey says the coolest thing about Anduril expanding to Long Beach is the fighter jets

by Adhunik News
written by Adhunik News

Defense tech company Anduril on Thursday announced its plans to expand its Southern California presence with a major campus in Long Beach, the coastal town where founder Palmer Luckey grew up.

The expanded campus will eventually support about 5,500 jobs. Luckey told TechCrunch that these will be new jobs, not transfers from other operations.

Anduril’s headquarters is nearby, in Costa Mesa, California, and it also has a massive manufacturing facility in Ohio. The Long Beach campus will span 1.18 million square feet across six buildings, combining office space and industrial areas dedicated to R&D. It is expected to be ready by mid-2027, the company said.

Long Beach is “a major aerospace hub right in our back yard,” Luckey told TechCrunch about why the company chose that location.

The plan is to hire similar types of employees to those working at headquarters: manufacturing workers, technicians, assembly workers, and engineers across disciplines (electrical, mechanical, aerodynamics), as well as build and test roles, and “a lot of people on the logistics side, because the things that we’re going to be making there, we’re going to be sending all over the world,” he said.

While bringing thousands of jobs to his childhood town made headlines today, Luckey said the most exciting part for him was the fighter jets.

“It looks like we’re going to be able to manufacture autonomous fighter jets that will take off right from the factory and fly to wherever the customer needs them,” he said. “We might have jets leaving the factory, flying directly into combat. And I think that that is extremely cool.”

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Anduril makes autonomous military drones and aircraft for land, air and sea. In 2025, it unveiled a fighter jet called Fury, designed to fly autonomously, meaning it operates using AI rather than being piloted remotely by a human operator. The AI executes flight plans set by humans. The Fury completed its first test flight in California on October 31.

Source: techcrunch.com

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