Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital have found that fecal microbiome transplantation, delivered orally through capsules sometimes referred to informally as “poop pills,” increased peanut tolerance in some adults with severe peanut allergies, offering an early but notable signal for a potential new approach to treating one of the most dangerous common food allergies.

The research, published August 5 in the journal Science Translational Medicine, examined whether transplanting gut bacteria from healthy, non-allergic donors into people with peanut allergies could reduce the severity of their allergic response. The Phase 1 trial was led by Dr. Rima Rachid, director of the Food Allergy Program and the Allergen Immunotherapy Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, alongside Dr. Talal Chatila, director of translational immunology at the hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School.

Researchers enrolled 15 adults between the ages of 18 and 33, all with highly sensitive peanut allergies who reacted to 100 milligrams of peanut protein or less during an initial food challenge, an amount smaller than what is found in half of a typical peanut. Participants swallowed 36 frozen, odorless capsules containing carefully screened stool-derived microbes from healthy donors, consumed over the course of a few hours across one or two days.

The trial unfolded in two stages. In the first stage, 10 participants received the fecal transplant alone. Four months later, three of those 10 showed increased peanut tolerance, with two able to tolerate two to four peanuts before reacting and one able to tolerate more than four peanuts without any reaction. In the second stage, five additional participants took antibiotics before receiving the transplant, intended to clear space in the gut for the donated microbes to take hold more effectively. Three of those five participants showed increased tolerance, bringing the overall total to six of 15 participants, or 40%, who responded to the treatment.

Rachid described the significance of the findings in a statement. “This landmark study was the first to demonstrate that a microbiome-based therapy may improve food allergy in people,” Rachid said, noting that the research also revealed how gut bacteria, their metabolites and the immune system interact to influence how well individual patients respond to the treatment.

Among participants who experienced increased tolerance, researchers found elevated levels of immune cells called RORγt+ regulatory T cells, which help regulate immune system activity. When researchers subsequently transplanted stool samples from those responsive participants into mice, the mice were similarly protected against peanut allergic reactions, reinforcing the connection between the transplanted bacteria and the observed protective effect.

The protective effect was linked to increased bile acid metabolites in both the human participants and the mice studied. When researchers removed bile salt hydrolase, an enzyme involved in bile acid metabolism, from Bacteroides bacteria in mice, the increased peanut tolerance disappeared, suggesting that enzyme plays a specific role in the mechanism, though that particular portion of the research was conducted only in mice and not confirmed in humans.

Chatila said the underlying mechanism observed in the mouse studies suggests the approach could extend beyond peanut allergies specifically. Because the mouse experiments tested a different allergen than peanut, “the faecal transplant treatment is likely to work for more than just peanut allergies,” Chatila said, pointing to potential broader applications for other food allergies down the line.

Researchers emphasized that safety was the trial’s primary focus, given its early Phase 1 design. Rachid told Healthline that none of the participants experienced serious adverse events during the trial, and that the encouraging tolerance data emerged as a secondary finding building on earlier promising results observed in mouse studies.

Outside experts urged caution about over-interpreting the results given the trial’s small size. Dr. Mohammad Bakhtiar, a general practitioner and clinical lead at Medical Express Clinic who was not involved in the research, said the underlying biological premise makes sense given the gut microbiome‘s broad influence on the body. “The gut microbiome already has a major effect on many parts of human physiology,” Bakhtiar told Healthline, while cautioning that a 15-person, open-label study cannot demonstrate how the treatment would perform across a broader population, given that nine of the 15 participants did not respond to the treatment.

Current treatments for peanut allergy include oral immunotherapy and biologic medications, and many patients still need to carry an epinephrine auto-injector in case of a severe reaction or anaphylaxis. Researchers stressed that fecal microbiome transplantation is not yet ready to be recommended as an allergy treatment based on these preliminary findings alone.

Looking ahead, Rachid said the research team hopes to test a more purified version of the treatment, called microbiota transplantation therapy, which contains less than 1% nonmicrobial fecal material and can be stored in a standard home refrigerator. She said future studies would examine whether prolonged administration allows patients to tolerate higher peanut doses with more durable effects, and said that with adequate research funding, clinical applications could potentially emerge within 10 to 15 years if the approach continues to prove effective in larger trials. Bakhtiar agreed that a roughly decade-long timeline was plausible if larger follow-up studies confirm the initial results, though he said patients should continue following current medical guidance, including strict peanut avoidance and specialist allergy care, in the meantime.

Constipation affects roughly 20% of people in North America, according to health researchers, and while the condition is usually manageable, doctors and registered dietitians say certain foods can play a meaningful role in relieving symptoms, particularly when paired with adequate hydration and physical activity.

Constipation is generally defined as having fewer than three bowel movements per week, often accompanied by hard stools, straining, or a persistent feeling of incomplete relief. Grace Derocha, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, said the condition can stem from a range of underlying causes, including irritable bowel syndrome, hypothyroidism and certain types of diabetes, as well as psychological factors like stress and anxiety. She said identifying and addressing the specific cause behind a person’s constipation is essential for finding effective, lasting relief rather than relying on dietary changes alone.

Fiber remains the most consistently recommended dietary tool for relieving constipation. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, fiber adds bulk to stool while also supporting the gut microbiome and helping coordinate the muscle contractions that move food through the intestines, a process known as gut motility.

Prunes rank among the most well-studied foods for constipation relief. Beyond containing roughly 2 grams of fiber per ounce, prunes are rich in sorbitol, a sugar alcohol the body does not easily digest, which helps draw water into the intestines and stimulate bowel movements. A review examining multiple clinical studies found that prunes consistently helped soften stool, improve its consistency, and increase how frequently people had bowel movements.

Apples offer a similar benefit through a specific type of soluble fiber called pectin, known for its laxative effect. A small apple contains about 4 grams of fiber, and in one clinical study, participants who took pectin supplements for four weeks saw meaningfully faster movement of waste through the colon, along with an increase in beneficial gut bacteria.

Leafy greens such as spinach also rank highly among dietitian recommendations. Registered dietitian Keri Cording described the combination of fiber and magnesium found in leafy greens as particularly effective, calling magnesium “nature’s muscle relaxer” for its role in easing intestinal muscle activity. She recommended incorporating greens through a spinach salad or blending them into a smoothie for easier daily inclusion.

Artichokes, meanwhile, offer a less commonly recognized fiber source. Cording noted that artichokes are surprisingly high in a type of soluble fiber called inulin, which she said can help stimulate digestion while also supporting healthy gut bacteria balance.

Brussels sprouts made the list as well, despite their reputation for causing gas. Bianca Tamburello, a registered dietitian nutritionist with Nourish, recommended loading up on high-fiber Brussels sprouts, noting that when seasoned well, they can be an easy way to add meaningful fiber to a meal while also supporting regular bowel movements.

Legumes, including black beans, chickpeas and lentils, offer some of the most concentrated fiber content of any commonly eaten food group. Tamburello pointed out that a single cup of black beans contains roughly 15 grams of fiber, meaning a modest addition to a soup or salad can make a substantial difference toward daily fiber goals. Legumes also contain resistant starch, which digests more slowly than simple starches like white rice or potatoes and functions similarly to fiber in supporting digestion.

Whole grains, including oats, brown rice, quinoa and whole-wheat products, retain the bran, germ and endosperm of the grain kernel, unlike refined grains, which have the bran and germ removed along with most of their fiber content. Because of that structural difference, whole grains provide significantly more fiber than their refined counterparts and are widely recommended as a foundational part of a constipation-friendly diet.

Coffee has also been shown to support bowel regularity, according to nutritionists. Coffee triggers several digestive responses, including contracting the muscles of the colon and stimulating the release of gastrin, a hormone that speeds the movement of food through the digestive tract. However, experts caution that excessive coffee and caffeine consumption can increase the risk of dehydration, which can worsen constipation rather than relieve it, making moderation and adequate water intake important alongside any coffee consumption.

Adequate hydration ranks as a foundational recommendation across virtually every source on constipation relief. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends drinking water or other fluids whenever thirsty, and specifically suggests drinking fluids alongside meals, since dehydration is a well-established risk factor for constipation.

For people managing constipation through diet, Johns Hopkins Medicine also points to the BRAT diet, bananas, rice, applesauce and toast, as an option some dietitians recommend for a range of digestive issues, noting it can help with both constipation and diarrhea depending on an individual’s specific symptoms and needs.

While dietary changes can meaningfully help many people manage occasional or mild constipation, doctors emphasize that severe, persistent or worsening constipation warrants medical evaluation rather than relying solely on food-based remedies. This article discusses general nutrition information related to constipation and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice; anyone experiencing severe or ongoing constipation, especially if accompanied by significant pain, bleeding or unexplained weight loss, should consult a doctor to rule out an underlying medical condition and determine the most appropriate treatment approach.

A machete- and pickaxe-wielding man was arrested after allegedly smashing into a jewelry display at a South Carolina Costco before customers and employees helped detain him, according to local reports.

Greenville police responded Thursday to the Costco on Woodruff Road after receiving reports of an armed robbery in progress, WSPA 7News reported, citing the Greenville Police Department.

Police identified the suspect as 24-year-old Jose Alejandro Giraldo, who allegedly entered the store and broke into display cases at the jewelry counter.

Giraldo was equipped with a machete and pickaxe and allegedly indicated that he had a gun when confronted, according to WSPA.

POPULAR RESTAURANT AT DISNEY SHOPPING AREA ROBBED BY SUSPECT IN SCUBA GEAR

A Costco storefront and suspect Jose Giraldo.  (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images; Greenville County Detention Center)

FOX Carolina similarly reported, citing police, that callers initially described the weapon used to break the display cases as appearing to be a hammer. Police later confirmed Giraldo had a machete and pickaxe, the outlet reported.

Costco shoppers scramble for a free sample of Phillips Foods Lobster Meat during the grand opening of a new store in North Port, Florida. (Mike Lang/Sarasota Herald-Tribune/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

Customers detained Giraldo inside the warehouse store until officers arrived, according to FOX Carolina.

Store employees also reportedly helped restrain the suspect.

One customer was injured while helping subdue Giraldo, prompting a response from emergency medical personnel, according to WSPA. The outlet did not immediately report the extent of the customer’s injuries.

A Costco store in Vallejo, California, on May 29, 2025. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)

Giraldo was charged with armed robbery and third-degree assault and battery, according to both outlets.

A mugshot of Giraldo was subsequently released by the Greenville County Detention Center.

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FOX Business has reached out to the Greenville Police Department for comment and additional details about the incident.

Au Vodka is in talks with US drinks giant Sazerec

One of Wales leading brands is set to be acquired in a deal worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

Swansea-based Au Vodka, the premium vodka brand known for its iconic gold bottles, is in advanced talks with Kentucky-based drinks giant Sazarec whose brands include BuzzBallz and Southern Comfort.

According to the Sunday Times based on future performance the deal could be worth around £500m. Au Vodka was set up Charlie Morgan and Jackson Quinn. thirties. If a deal is finalised the founders, both still in their early thirties, could each receive a windfall of more than £100m.

DJ Charlie Sloth acquired a 20% stake in the company after being contacted by Morgan and Quinn.

In 2023, Au Vodka also sold a minority stake to private equity firm Metric Capital.

Au Vodka, underpinned by excellent marketing, use of social media, and celebrity product endorsement, has enjoyed huge international expansion.

Its bottles are sold in 40 countries, from Spain to Australia. It has experienced huge growth in the lucrative US market, where it has had a presence since 2022.

It has also diversified into the canned vodka market, which has supported its continued and impressive revenue growth.

Last year it opened a new £3m headquarters in at Crucible Park in Llansamlet.

Latest published audited accounts for the year to end of April, 2025, show that the business grew revenues by 27.3% to £82.7m with a pre-tax profit of £6.7m compared to £5.13m a year earlier. It has net assets of more than £33m.

Au Vodka, whose parent company is Aurous Topco, has workforce of around 80.

Au Vodka and Sazerac declined to comment.

A new study has found that people in their 80s who walk exceptionally fast for their age are roughly 50% less likely to develop cognitive decline than their slower-moving peers, adding fresh evidence to a growing body of research linking physical mobility to brain health in older adults.

The study, published in the journal Neurology, analyzed data from nearly 4,000 older adults. Researchers identified a group they dubbed “super movers,” representing the fastest-walking 9% of participants for their age, people over 80 who maintained a walking pace comparable to individuals decades younger. Dr. Sofiya Milman of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, one of the study’s authors, described the defining trait of the group in an interview with NPR. “A super mover is someone who is older than age 80 and performing better than their peers,” Milman said.

Beyond the headline finding on cognitive decline risk, researchers uncovered several additional details about how the super movers’ brains appeared to age differently than those of slower-walking peers. The study found that fast walkers tended to preserve greater volume in the hippocampus, the brain region central to memory formation and spatial navigation, a finding consistent with prior research linking regular exercise to larger hippocampal volume in older adults.

One of the study’s more striking findings involved brain imaging results in some of the fastest walkers. Researchers found that a subset of super movers showed the presence of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, the abnormal proteins closely associated with Alzheimer’s disease, despite showing no outward symptoms of cognitive impairment. Researchers said that finding suggests physical activity and its broader health benefits may help the brain remain resilient even as it undergoes age-related biological changes typically associated with dementia risk.

Researchers pointed to the biological mechanisms of exercise itself as a likely explanation for the observed brain benefits. Explaining how muscle activity might influence brain health, one of the researchers described muscle tissue’s broader role in the body beyond movement. “Muscle is an endocrine tissue, which means when we move, our muscles release signaling,” the researcher said, describing molecules released during physical activity that can influence other body systems, including processes tied to brain cell growth and metabolic regulation.

Genetics also appear to play a meaningful role in determining who becomes a super mover. Researchers noted that a separate recent study found genetics accounts for roughly 50% of overall human lifespan, and Milman said the influence of genetics may be even more pronounced specifically among so-called super agers, the subset of older adults who remain unusually healthy and high-functioning well into their 80s and beyond.

Even so, the study’s authors emphasized that daily lifestyle choices remain significant contributors to healthy cognitive aging alongside genetic factors. Researchers pointed to everyday habits, including dietary choices, prioritizing sufficient sleep, managing stress, and maintaining social connections with friends and family, as meaningful factors within an individual’s control. That framing aligns with broader dementia-prevention research from the Lancet Commission, which has estimated that addressing 14 modifiable risk factors could prevent or delay nearly half of all dementia cases worldwide.

Despite the strength of the association identified in the new study, researchers cautioned against interpreting the findings as proof that deliberately walking faster will directly prevent dementia. Because the study was observational rather than a controlled experiment, it can demonstrate a strong association between walking speed and cognitive outcomes without establishing that faster walking itself causes reduced dementia risk. Researchers noted that walking, while it may appear automatic, is actually a remarkably complex task requiring the brain to simultaneously coordinate balance, vision, movement planning, muscle strength and sensory feedback, meaning subtle declines in walking pace could reflect early, difficult-to-detect changes across multiple bodily systems rather than a single isolated cause.

Dr. Joe Verghese, a neurologist who has studied the relationship between mobility and cognitive health, said the findings reinforce the value of a broader, comprehensive approach to healthy aging rather than any single intervention. “Regular physical activity, especially aerobic and strength training exercises, can support” both continued mobility and long-term brain health, Verghese said, adding that managing vascular risk factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes, maintaining social engagement, prioritizing adequate sleep, and following a healthy diet may all contribute meaningfully to healthy cognitive aging as well.

Walking speed has increasingly become one of geriatric medicine’s most useful indicators of overall health, since maintaining a steady walking pace draws on numerous interconnected bodily systems simultaneously, including muscle strength, balance, coordination, cardiovascular function and the nervous system. Earlier research has separately established that slow walking speed in older adults predicts a higher risk of falls, hospitalization and reduced life expectancy, reinforcing gait speed’s broader value as a simple, observable marker of general health status in aging populations.

With the new findings adding to that growing body of evidence, researchers say gait speed may serve as an increasingly useful, low-cost screening tool for identifying older adults who could benefit from closer monitoring or targeted interventions aimed at supporting long-term brain health, even as the precise underlying mechanisms connecting walking speed and cognitive resilience remain an active area of ongoing scientific investigation.

Frontier Communications customers in several states have reported ongoing problems with internet, phone and television service in recent days, according to posts collected by outage-tracking services, even as the company’s own status tools have shown mixed signals about whether a broader, confirmed outage is underway.

Users posting on social media and outage-report platforms have described service disruptions in areas including Ohio, Connecticut, California and Illinois. One user reported an outage in a specific California ZIP code lasting more than 24 hours with no communication about restoration. Another described spotty, intermittent internet service over 48 hours in Indio, California. In Ohio, multiple users reported extended outages lasting several days, with the company’s own app alternately showing “no outage” in the area or claiming service had already been restored, despite users saying they remained without a working connection.

As of this week, Frontier had not issued a detailed public statement addressing the scattered reports. Outage-tracking service Outage.report indicated Frontier appeared to be “working normally,” with report volume described as within the typical range for the time of day, while a separate tracker, Outage.now, said it had not observed any outages affecting Frontier over the preceding 24 hours despite the visible complaints circulating on social media. That gap between automated tracking assessments and individual user reports reflects a common challenge in monitoring outages for regional providers like Frontier, where disruptions can be highly localized and may not register clearly in aggregated, nationwide data even when they meaningfully affect specific communities.

Frontier Communications provides home phone, broadband internet and digital television service to residential and business customers across 27 states, according to the company’s own service description, with broadband delivered through either DSL or fiber-optic technology depending on the market. Digital television is available only to customers with fiber connections, offered as part of the company’s triple-play FiOS bundle. The company has historically focused much of its footprint on smaller cities and rural areas that are often underserved by larger national providers, a customer base that can make outages particularly disruptive given more limited access to alternative service options in those regions.

Some of the recent user complaints referenced ongoing frustration tied to Frontier’s broader corporate transition. Verizon announced an agreement to acquire Frontier Communications in a deal valued at approximately $20 billion, continuing a long history of ownership changes for the company’s network infrastructure. One user commenting on a recent outage directly questioned whether service reliability issues were connected to the pending change in ownership, asking whether repair delays reflected disruption tied to the takeover process, though Frontier has not publicly attributed any current service issues to the transition.

This would not be the first time a change in Frontier’s corporate structure has coincided with service disruptions. In 2016, Frontier experienced significant outages across California, Texas and Florida immediately following its takeover of Verizon’s FiOS operations in those states, a $10.54 billion deal that transferred those Verizon customers onto Frontier’s network at midnight. The company said at the time that a server issue occurring during the system integration process had disrupted service for some enterprise and carrier customers, a problem compounded in Florida by an unrelated fiber cable cut in the Tampa market. Frontier said the primary issue was resolved by 9:30 a.m. Eastern time the same morning, though customers affected by the outage reported ongoing DNS and connectivity problems in the hours that followed.

Frontier’s own troubleshooting guidance for customers experiencing internet problems generally recommends first checking the company’s website, mobile app or social media channels to determine whether a broader outage has already been identified in a customer’s specific area. If no outage is confirmed, the company recommends basic home-network troubleshooting steps, including power-cycling both the modem and router by unplugging each device, waiting approximately 30 seconds, and then reconnecting the modem first, followed by the router once the modem has fully powered back on. Customers are also advised to check all cable connections for looseness or visible damage, since faulty or improperly connected cables remain a common cause of connectivity problems unrelated to any broader network-wide issue.

For customers in rural or otherwise underserved areas, where Frontier maintains a particularly significant presence, extended outages can carry an outsized impact given the comparative scarcity of alternative broadband providers available in those markets. Several social media complaints referenced customers considering switching to satellite internet alternatives amid ongoing frustration with service reliability, reflecting the limited practical options many rural Frontier customers face when persistent outages occur.

With no official, company-wide outage confirmed by Frontier as of this week, the scattered reports from customers across multiple states point instead to a pattern of regional, localized service disruptions rather than a single, unified nationwide incident. Customers experiencing ongoing problems have been directed to Frontier’s customer support channels and its official outage-reporting tools for updates specific to their individual service areas, as the company continues working through its pending ownership transition to Verizon alongside its normal day-to-day network operations.

Bluesky users began reporting problems accessing the social media platform Sunday morning, according to outage-tracking service Downdetector, with complaints spanning login failures, feeds that would not refresh, and general connection errors across both the app and website versions of the service.

Downdetector said user reports indicating problems with Bluesky began climbing at 11:05 a.m. Eastern time. The tracking service posted about the rising number of reports on its official account on the social platform X, asking affected users to describe how the outage was impacting them and tagging the post with the hashtag “BlueskyDown.” According to reporting from Sunday Guardian, Downdetector’s data showed reports had actually started increasing slightly earlier, around 10:37 a.m. Eastern time, roughly 28 minutes before the platform’s official alert reflected the growing volume of complaints.

As of Sunday, Bluesky had not issued a detailed public statement addressing the scope, cause or expected resolution timeline for the reported disruption, and reports on the severity and scope of the issue varied significantly depending on the source. Sunday Guardian described symptoms as inconsistent, with some users reporting normal service even as others experienced connection problems, feeds that failed to refresh, and difficulty logging into their accounts, particularly in the United States during the morning hours.

Other outage-tracking services offered a mixed picture of Sunday’s disruption. Entireweb Status indicated Bluesky was “operating normally” as of Sunday, logging 69 user reports over the preceding 24-hour period, with three of those in the final hour before its most recent check. Separately, monitoring service IsDown reported zero user submissions in the 24 hours preceding checks it conducted on both Bluesky’s main domain and its discover subdomain shortly after 11 a.m. Eastern time, essentially the same window in which Downdetector was recording a rise in complaints. A third tracker, StatusGator, said its own analysis suggested Bluesky might be experiencing, or might have recently experienced, an outage, even though the company had not officially acknowledged any issue at the time of that assessment.

That inconsistency between different monitoring tools underscores a recurring challenge in tracking outages for platforms like Bluesky, where automated services relying on different data sources, from user-submitted reports to network signal analysis, can reach differing conclusions about whether a genuine service disruption is underway at any given moment.

Sunday’s reported issues would not be the first time Bluesky’s underlying infrastructure has caused service disruptions. The platform, built on the decentralized AT Protocol, relies heavily on what are known as Personal Data Servers, or PDS, to store and serve user data. In April 2025, Bluesky experienced a significant outage lasting roughly an hour, which the company attributed at the time to “Major PDS Networking Problems,” according to TechCrunch. That incident illustrated a quirk of Bluesky’s decentralized design: despite being built on a protocol that, in theory, distributes infrastructure across many independent operators, the vast majority of users interact with the platform through Bluesky’s own official app and centrally operated servers, meaning problems affecting the company’s own infrastructure can still take down service broadly, even on a nominally decentralized network.

A more recent outage on August 5 followed a similar pattern, according to Windows Report, which described Bluesky’s status page confirming that multiple PDS instances were down, again pointing to a backend infrastructure issue rather than isolated account-level problems. During that incident, Downdetector reports spiked sharply, reaching 589 reports compared with a normal baseline of roughly one report, a pattern the outlet said typically signals a widespread service disruption rather than scattered individual connectivity issues.

Bluesky has grown rapidly since positioning itself as a decentralized alternative to platforms like X, drawing a wave of new users during a period sometimes referred to as the “Bluesky bump,” when the service saw a significant surge in adoption. According to data from Similarweb cited by TechCrunch, Bluesky’s growth in the U.S. at one point outpaced that of rival platform Instagram Threads, though the platform’s growth rate has since moderated somewhat as the initial wave of new sign-ups tapered off.

For users experiencing problems Sunday, standard troubleshooting guidance compiled by outage-tracking services generally recommends checking Bluesky’s official status page first to determine whether the company has acknowledged a known, ongoing incident, since a confirmed, company-side outage typically cannot be resolved through user-side troubleshooting alone. If no incident appears on the official status page, users are generally advised to try basic steps such as restarting the app, checking their own internet connection, or trying an alternate browser before assuming a broader platform-wide issue is responsible for their individual access problems.

This remains a developing situation, and additional details regarding the precise scope, underlying cause and expected resolution timeline of Sunday’s reported Bluesky disruption were not immediately available. The company had not issued an official public acknowledgment of the outage as of Sunday, leaving affected users reliant on Downdetector and other third-party monitoring tools for updates on whether the issue was continuing to affect the broader user base.

Rebel Creamery, the maker of Rebel Ice Cream sold in grocery stores nationwide, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection just weeks after a federal judge ordered the company to pay $23.8 million to rival Van Leeuwen Ice Cream over intentional packaging infringement.

Rebel Creamery LLC filed its Chapter 11 petition August 14 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah, according to court records. The Midway, Utah-based company reported approximately $13.78 million in assets against $23.85 million in liabilities, figures that place the Van Leeuwen judgment at the center of the company’s financial distress. Van Leeuwen is listed among Rebel’s unsecured creditors with a $23.785 million claim tied to the federal judgment, though Rebel listed the claim as disputed and noted that the underlying ruling remains under appeal.

The bankruptcy filing came less than a month after U.S. District Judge Eric Komitee of the Eastern District of New York ruled, following a bench trial, that Rebel had intentionally infringed and diluted Van Leeuwen’s trade dress through its ice cream packaging. “The evidence at that trial left no doubt that Rebel infringed and diluted,” Komitee wrote in a July 16 memorandum and order, finding Rebel liable for trade dress infringement, unfair competition and dilution.

Van Leeuwen originally filed its lawsuit against Rebel in April 2021, alleging that Rebel’s ice cream pint packaging copied the distinctive overall appearance of its own product line. The court described Van Leeuwen’s protected trade dress as including monochromatic cardboard pints with matching lids, a primarily pastel color palette, black script lettering and an overall minimalist design aesthetic. Komitee found that Rebel’s packaging bore substantial similarities to that design and that the evidence supported findings of both consumer confusion and bad faith on Rebel’s part. Rebel had argued during the litigation that its founders were unaware of Van Leeuwen’s packaging when developing their own design after the company launched in 2017, an account the court explicitly rejected.

As part of the ruling, Komitee permanently barred Rebel from selling products bearing trade dress likely to be confused with Van Leeuwen’s and ordered the company to redesign its packaging going forward. Van Leeuwen had originally sought $36.4 million in disgorged profits from Rebel, but the court reduced that figure by 33%, finding that some portion of Rebel’s sales were driven by broader consumer demand for keto-friendly and other better-for-you ice cream products rather than specifically by the packaging at issue. That reduction left Van Leeuwen entitled to the $23.785 million awarded in the final judgment.

Rebel filed a notice of appeal August 12, just two days before seeking Chapter 11 protection. Court filings do not establish that the Van Leeuwen judgment was the sole cause of Rebel’s bankruptcy filing, though the size of the award relative to the company’s overall balance sheet made it by far the largest liability listed in its bankruptcy schedules. Beyond the disputed Van Leeuwen claim, Rebel reported approximately $5.22 million in cash and cash equivalents, $2.59 million in accounts receivable and $5.65 million in inventory as part of its filing. The company’s voluntary petition estimated both its assets and liabilities at between $10 million and $50 million and indicated that funds would be available for distribution to unsecured creditors. Austin Archibald is listed as the company’s manager and member in the filing, with Michael Johnson of the law firm Ray Quinney & Nebeker serving as bankruptcy counsel.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a company to continue operating while it restructures its debts under court supervision, meaning the filing does not by itself indicate that Rebel is shutting down or pulling its products from shelves. Rebel Ice Cream remains available at major retailers including Walmart, Kroger, Target and Safeway, among other grocery chains nationwide. The bankruptcy filing also triggers an automatic stay, a legal mechanism that generally prevents creditors, including Van Leeuwen, from pursuing collection of pre-bankruptcy debts without separate permission from the bankruptcy court. The precise interaction between that automatic stay, the packaging injunction Komitee ordered, and Rebel’s ongoing appeal will depend on further proceedings in both the bankruptcy court and the appellate courts.

Van Leeuwen, founded in 2008, has built a national retail and scooped-ice-cream presence in the years since, drawing occasional celebrity and political attention, including a visit from President Joe Biden to one of its New York locations following a 2024 taping of “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” The company redesigned its packaging in 2014 and again to its current design in August 2016, according to court records, with that later design forming the basis for its trade dress claims against Rebel.

With Rebel’s appeal of the underlying judgment still pending and its bankruptcy case now proceeding in Utah federal court, the ultimate resolution of both the packaging dispute and the company’s broader financial restructuring remains unsettled, leaving open questions about how the case will ultimately affect Rebel’s operations and its continued availability on grocery store shelves nationwide.

Google unveiled its Pixel 11 smartphone lineup this week at its Made by Google event in New York, introducing four new devices built around deeper integration of its Gemini artificial intelligence assistant, a new in-house processor, and camera upgrades, alongside price increases the company attributed to rising global memory chip costs.

The lineup includes the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL and Pixel 11 Pro Fold, all of which opened for preorder August 12 through the Google Store, Amazon and Best Buy, with retail availability beginning August 20. Pricing starts at $899 for the base Pixel 11, $1,099 for the Pixel 11 Pro, $1,299 for the Pixel 11 Pro XL, and $1,899 for the Pixel 11 Pro Fold. Each of those prices runs roughly $100 higher than the equivalent 256-gigabyte configuration from last year’s Pixel 10 lineup, with Google eliminating the lower-capacity 128-gigabyte storage option entirely, meaning every Pixel 11 model now starts with 256 gigabytes of storage as standard.

Google VP Shakil Barkat confirmed that the price increases stem largely from a global shortage of DRAM memory chips, which has driven the per-gigabyte cost of mobile LPDDR5X memory from roughly $2.80 in 2025 to about $12 in 2026, according to analysis from IDC. That same memory shortage has driven price increases across much of the broader consumer electronics industry throughout 2026.

The headline feature across the new lineup is an expanded, more autonomous version of Gemini, which Google is calling Gemini Intelligence. The system can now handle multistep tasks across more than 40 different apps, including ordering groceries, booking rideshares, managing reservations, and even placing phone calls to businesses on a user’s behalf, functioning across apps that don’t have any dedicated Gemini integration built in. The capability relies on a technique often described as screen-parsing, in which Gemini reads and interacts with an app’s on-screen interface directly, similar to how a person would navigate it manually, rather than requiring individual developers to build custom Gemini integrations for their apps. Google has said users will be able to review transcripts of any AI-operated phone calls and can take over or halt a task at any point during the process.

Powering that expanded AI functionality is the Tensor G6, Google’s newest in-house chip and the first 2-nanometer processor used in any Android smartphone to date. Google says the chip delivers 50% more machine-learning compute power than its predecessor, allowing on-device AI tasks paired with the latest Gemini Nano model to run up to 3.5 times faster while consuming up to 3.5 times less energy. Baseline RAM across the new lineup starts at 12 gigabytes, scaling up to 16 gigabytes on higher configurations. Google says the full Pixel 11 lineup delivers more than 30 hours of battery life, with the company also touting a 15-minute charge capable of restoring roughly 15 hours of use.

On the camera side, the new Magic Capture feature analyzes roughly 400 frames during a typical shooting session, combining on-device processing with Gemini models to automatically produce well-timed, high-quality 12-megapixel photos, along with a companion video, without requiring users to switch between separate photo and video modes. A new Camera Looks feature lets users select a default visual aesthetic for their photos at the moment of capture, offering options including Natural, Shadows and Vanilla as new default looks, alongside six additional customizable styles named Digi, Black Tie, Minimal, Editorial, Classic and Velvet. A new Creator Suite adds tools aimed at content creators directly within the camera app, including social media framing gridlines, an on-screen teleprompter that scrolls automatically as a user speaks, and automatic organization of recorded video into project folders.

The Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL also gain Instant Night Sight, which Google says captures low-light photos up to 4.5 times faster than before while maintaining image quality, addressing a processing-speed limitation that had affected earlier versions of the feature. Camera hardware across the lineup includes a 48-megapixel main sensor offering 56% greater light sensitivity than the prior generation, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, and a 10.8-megapixel telephoto lens supporting up to 30x Super Zoom. The Pro models additionally introduce HiLight, a ring of LEDs surrounding the camera flash that glows in different patterns to indicate when Gemini is listening, processing or responding, and can also pulse in custom colors to signal an incoming call from a specific contact.

Beyond the core lineup, Google also introduced the Pixel Watch 5 and its first dedicated item tracker, the Pixel Tag, which supports ultra-wideband precision finding and is expected to launch later this year. All Pixel 11 devices come with a commitment of seven years of operating system, security and Pixel Drop feature updates, matching the support window Google has offered since the Pixel 8 series.

Multiple carriers have rolled out early promotional offers tied to the launch. T-Mobile is offering the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro XL free with a new line, or up to $1,300 in trade-in credit, while Verizon is offering up to $1,100 in trade-in credit for new lines, or $900 for existing customers, paid out over 36 months. Google Fi is offering $450 off the Pixel 11 Pro for existing subscribers without requiring a long-term contract, and both Best Buy and Amazon are including gift cards ranging from $100 to $350 with qualifying preorders.

With preorders now open and devices set to reach store shelves August 20, the Pixel 11 lineup represents Google’s most AI-centric smartphone release to date, positioning Gemini’s expanded, task-completing capabilities as the primary selling point over more traditional year-over-year hardware upgrades.