LeBron James‘ big free agent decision has shaken the NBA once more after the all-time leading scorer chose the Philadelphia 76ers as his next team. 

Fans have quickly jumped on board, with Fanatics saying his newest jersey has broken some records. 

For the period of the first 48 hours after James made his long-awaited announcement, his new 76ers jersey sold the most ever of a player joining a new team across all sports, according to Fanatics records. 

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LeBron James’ new Philadelphia 76ers jersey (Fanatics / Fox News)

James surpassed Shohei Ohtani’s decision to move to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023.

And more James merchandise was sold in the first 24 hours after his decision was made than the first week after he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018, according to Fanatics records. 

LEBRON JAMES MAKES NBA FREE AGENCY DECISION, ANNOUNCES PLANS TO SIGN WITH 76ERS

Since Friday, James merchandise has accounted for eight of the top 10 selling products across all sports throughout the Fanatics network of sites. 

James will enter Year 24 in the NBA with his fourth different team after signing a two-year, $8 million contract with the Sixers. He promised this would be his “last decision,” meaning this could be his final chance to earn another NBA title. 

The 41-year-old took a major discount to join a team primed to make a championship run. In addition to James, the 76ers made a trade with the Boston Celtics for another NBA Finals MVP, Jaylen Brown, before James made his decision. 

A LeBron James Philadelphia 76ers shirt from Mitchell & Ness. (Fanatics / Fox News)

So, the starting five in Philadelphia figures to be James, Brown, former league MVP Joel Embiid and dynamic guards Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe. 

James said on X that he thought he was done with his future Hall of Fame career at the end of last season, believing he had played his final game in the sweep by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Playoffs. 

“I thought I was done when the season ended. I wasn’t ready to announce it, and I knew I needed some time to really decide, but I was pretty sure I played my last game. I was honest at that last press conference when I said I needed to look at myself and decide if I still love this game,” James wrote on X.

“I still truly love this game, and I have more to give.”

In this Feb. 27, 2020 file photo, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James appears during an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File / AP Newsroom)

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James added that he still wants to “sacrifice” and “grind” for his team, and he believes the 76ers can be a championship squad during the 2026-27 season. 

The 76ers were swept by the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and they hope the additions of James and Brown can propel them to a championship.

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Operator

Greetings. Welcome to the Everforth Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this conference is being recorded.

I will now turn the conference over to Kimberly Esterkin, Head of Investor Relations. Thank you, Kimberly. You may begin.

Kimberly Esterkin
Vice President of Investor Relations

Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us today for Everforth’s Second Quarter 2026 Conference Call. With me are Ted Hanson, Chief Executive Officer; Shiv Iyer, President; and Marie Perry, Chief Financial Officer.

Before we get started, I would like to remind everyone that our commentary contains forward-looking statements. Although we believe these statements are reasonable, they are subject to risks and uncertainties, and as such, our actual results could differ materially from those statements. Certain of these risks and uncertainties are described in today’s press release and in our SEC filings. We do not assume any obligation to update these statements made on this call.

For your convenience, our prepared remarks and supplemental materials can be found in the Investor Relations section of our website at investors.everforth.com.

Please also note that on this call, we will be referencing certain non-GAAP measures, such as adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income and free cash flow. These non-GAAP measures are intended to supplement the comparable GAAP measures. Reconciliations between GAAP and non-GAAP measures are included in today’s press

Countryfile presenter Matt Baker has opened up about the difficult grief he experienced following the death of his dog Bob, telling Radio Times that losing the border collie “took a lot to get over” after the animal had been by his side through many of the major moments in his life.

Baker, 48, told the magazine that Bob’s absence left a significant void in his daily life. “He’d been with me for the major moments in my life, so it was tough when he wasn’t,” Baker said. “We’re fortunate to have these animals in our lives.”

The BBC presenter first announced Bob’s death publicly in May, sharing a montage of photographs and video clips on Instagram tracing the dog’s life from puppyhood through years of adventures on the family’s farm. In his caption at the time, Baker revealed that Bob had actually died some time before the post was shared, explaining that he had been unable to speak publicly about the loss sooner because of how deeply it had affected him.

“It’s with a very heavy heart that I’m letting you know our wonderful Bob is no longer with us,” Baker wrote in the original Instagram post. “He’s been gone a while but I haven’t been able to talk about it as I’ve been finding it so incredibly sad.”

Baker described Bob as a constant, steadying presence throughout an eventful period of his life, both professionally and at home. “Bob was a brilliant dog he was there for me with his gentle soul as the ultimate companion through some of the greatest chapters of my life from raising our kids to all the changes we made on our family farm,” he wrote. “It’s broken my heart but I feel hugely grateful to have had him in our lives and I thank him from the bottom of my heart for everything he’s taught me and brought to our family.”

Closing out the tribute, Baker reflected more broadly on the particular kind of grief that comes with losing a pet. “I’m sure all you dog lovers will agree the reason we love our dogs so much is because the only time they break our hearts is when they leave us. RIP Bob X.”

The post drew an outpouring of sympathy from fans in the comments section. One follower wrote, “So sorry for your loss. You are so right. They break your heart at the end. They give so much to our lives and leave permanent foot prints on our souls.” Another added, “So sorry for your loss, Matt. He was lucky to have had you and your family in his life, as you had him in yours.”

Baker, who lives on a small farm in the Chilterns Hills in Hertfordshire with his wife, Nicola, and their two children, currently keeps two other dogs at home: a miniature dachshund named Ivy and a young border collie named Ted. The family’s farm is also home to livestock including chickens and sheep, reflecting the rural lifestyle Baker has built his television career around in recent years.

Dogs have been a defining presence throughout Baker’s public life and career, dating back to his years hosting the long-running children’s series “Blue Peter.” Baker joined the show in 1999 and spent seven years as one of its presenters, during which time a border collie named Meg became a familiar on-screen companion. Reflecting on that period in the same interview, Baker recalled how disorienting it felt to be without a dog for the first time when his career required him to relocate. “When I moved down to London it was the first time in my life that I’d been without a dog and I felt quite lost,” he said.

Bob’s death was not the first pet loss Baker has publicly mourned in recent years. In April of last year, Baker announced the death of Isla, a cairn terrier who had been his oldest and smallest dog at 13 years old. He described Isla at the time as “sweet, kind, tough, fast as lightning, and a patient gentle mum,” and the announcement drew condolences from fellow television personalities, including Steps singer Ian “H” Watkins.

Baker has built much of his broadcasting career around his connection to rural life and animals, hosting programs including the More4 series “Our Farm in the Dales” alongside his family. He currently anchors both “The One Show” and “Countryfile” on BBC One, with the latter regularly drawing more than 8 million viewers on Sunday evenings. Beyond his presenting work, Baker has also used his background as a former British gymnast to contribute to the BBC’s sports commentary coverage of gymnastics events, including at the Olympic Games.

Baker’s willingness to speak candidly about pet loss reflects a broader openness that has become part of his public persona in recent years, as he has used his platform to discuss both the joys and the emotional difficulties that come with a life closely intertwined with animals, whether on his own family farm or through decades spent presenting some of British television’s best-known nature and lifestyle programming.

After yesterday’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps performance trying to attack an American military base in Jordan, on top of all the other attacks they’ve made, and all the things they’ve refused to say about a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz deal — these are radical Islamists who hate America, hate Israel, deluded into thinking that they can win the war and run the Middle East, and continue to sponsor terrorism and build nuclear weapons.

It’s one thing after another with them, and I think it’s fair to say that negotiations are going nowhere. President Trump is doing what no other president has done, trying to bring peace and freedom to the Middle East and stop the Iranians, and stop their nuclear ambitions — but I think his options right now are battlefield and major combat operations, not diplomacy. And I support this.

And I would simply add the importance of Economic Fury, maxing out all sanctions, Kharg Island, hammering again their nuclear facilities and capabilities that may or may not be left. These are not rational people. It’s a theocratic regime, run by militarists and Marxists. The end result is escalation, which right now is inevitable. The president will make his mind up, but I think the handwriting is on the wall. Resumption or return to major combat operations and a tightening of the economic screws. It’s not tit for tat.

I’m still believing in unconditional surrender. And finally, covert operations. I assume there has already been a presidential finding on covert operations by our CIA and other secret intelligence services. And I am assuming hand-in-glove work with the Israeli Mossad. This is an Iranian version of the Reagan Doctrine, which brought down Soviet communism without firing a shot, but using covert operations to help freedom fighters in Poland and Eastern Europe and Latin America.

This could be the Trump version of the Reagan doctrine, as already practiced in Venezuela and probably soon in Cuba. Yet most pressingly and importantly practiced right now in Iran. Whether Reza Pahlavi, or a temporary leader or group of leaders, or whoever else, any covert operations that will move us in the direction of regime change must be a vital part of our war strategy.

When she was starting out in her career Kilgore realised she needed to be “someone that people look forward to being around”.

It’s important to be polite, punctual and nice as those qualities help you build loyalty, she says.

“I made sure I was the sunniest, hardest working and most diligent person to do that service.”

“If you do a really great job, people will recommend you,” she says and she soon opened a tiny beauty salon that became booked up months in advance.

She also explains you also need to be “willing to make some big sacrifices” to make your business successful.

“You’re not going to have a lot of free time,” she says as running a business requires you to be aware of changing customer behaviour, new competitors and wider market trends.

That often means reading, researching and connecting ideas outside of working hours.

Kilgore says the workload can feel easier if you have a curiosity around you as “that’s what drives you”.

She does have some non-negotiables and has made an effort not to miss important events while raising her children, including school plays and family holidays.

Lidl US is recalling a brand of shortbread cookies after discovering some packages distributed to its stores across nine states and the District of Columbia failed to disclose major food allergens.

The voluntary recall covers Eridanous Shortbread Cookies with Chocolate Truffle Coating & Apricot Filling in 11.6-ounce (330-gram) boxes with UPC 4056489125839. According to the Food and Drug Administration, the affected products were packaged with foreign-language labeling that did not include English ingredients, nutrition facts or allergen declarations.

The undeclared allergens include wheat, soy, milk and eggs. People with allergies or sensitivities to those ingredients could face serious or potentially life-threatening allergic reactions if they consume the product.

The recalled cookies were distributed between July 15 and July 22 to Lidl US retail stores in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia.

BROOKLYN ROASTING COMPANY RECALLS COLD BREW SOLD IN NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY OVER BOTULISM RISK

Boxes of Eridanous Shortbread Cookies with Chocolate Truffle Coating & Apricot Filling are being recalled after some packages were distributed without English ingredient labels or allergen declarations. (FDA / Unknown)

No illnesses have been reported, Lidl said.

MORE THAN 1.5 MILLION DOZEN EGG CARTONS RECALLED OVER POSSIBLE SALMONELLA CONTAMINATION

The back of the recalled Eridanous Shortbread Cookies package shows foreign-language labeling instead of the required English ingredients, nutrition facts and allergen information. The affected packages are marked with a best-by date of Oct. 11, 2026 (FDA / Unknown)

Customers with allergies or sensitivities to wheat, soy, milk or eggs should not consume the cookies. Lidl said consumers should discard the product or return it to any Lidl store for a full refund. A receipt is not required.

A Lidl Food Market branch stands on December 27, 2022 in Arlington, VA. Lidl, a German discount supermarket chain, has expanded rapidly across 10 states in the eastern USA in recent years. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images / Getty Images)

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Consumers with questions can contact the Lidl US Customer Care Hotline at (844) 747-5435 Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.

FOX Business reached out to Lidl for additional information, including how many packages are affected by the recall, how the labeling error occurred and what steps the company is taking to prevent similar issues.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his administration is considering asserting more power over artificial intelligence (AI) tools after recent cybersecurity incidents.

Asked about OpenAI’s tools being responsible for improperly breaching the private technology of other companies, Trump said: “We’re looking at AI, we’re looking at controls, we’re also making sure that we lead.”

It marks a change of tone for his administration, which has taken a more hands-off approach to the technology.

Trump’s comments come after an escalation of not only the apparent hacking capabilities of popular AI tools, but White House threats aimed at competing Chinese tech.

Trump added that while some kind of control around AI tools was on the table, such a move would have to be done carefully.

“We don’t want to restrict them where all of the sudden we come in second to China,” he said.

“China has virtually no [AI] controls. It’s freewheeling a little bit,” Trump added.

The White House has been contacted for additional comment. The BBC has also contacted the Chinese embassy in Washington for comment.

In the last week, OpenAI has taken responsibility for at least two hacking incidents involving its AI tools acting outside of what they were designed and directed to do.

During a trip to Washington on Wednesday, OpenAI’s chief executive Sam Altman was asked by a reporter if there were more systems that had been breached by the company’s tools.

“I mean, there could be yeah”, Altman said.

The US government intervened when Anthropic, OpenAI’s main American rival, decided to release to the public a model that it had previously said was too much of a risk to be made widely available.

Meanwhile, in an internal White House memo from April, Trump’s senior tech advisor Michael Kratsios accused China’s AI firms of “industrial-scale” theft of US AI technology. He did so again last week, claiming that the popular Kimi 3 AI model from China’s Moonshot AI was developed by stealing information from Anthropic.

The Chinese government has consistently rejected such accusations.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also warned that Chinese AI firms could face sanctions for such activity. And the Federal Communications Commission this week banned the importation of new foreign-made humanoid robots.

Most AI models being developed in China are open source, meaning they are built and then made freely available online for anyone with the proper computer equipment to download and use.

Recently, executives from most major US tech companies have signed onto public statements of support for open-source models, external.

Shares of Huron Consulting Group surged 32.11% in Wednesday morning trading, climbing $38.97 to $160.34, after the professional services firm reported second-quarter results that sharply beat Wall Street expectations and raised its full-year earnings and revenue outlook.

The Chicago-based consulting firm reported adjusted earnings of $2.46 per share for the second quarter, topping the average analyst estimate of $2.17 by a wide margin. Revenue for the quarter reached $475.0 million, well above the roughly $449 million analysts had projected. Revenue before reimbursable expenses, a key metric the company uses to track underlying business performance, climbed 15.7% year over year to a quarterly record of $465.6 million. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter rose to $72.6 million, with the adjusted EBITDA margin expanding to 15.6% from 15.1% a year earlier.

Huron’s results were released after markets closed Tuesday, and the stock’s initial reaction in after-hours and early regular trading proved far more muted than Wednesday’s dramatic rally, with shares first climbing a more modest 3.66% to $120.77 before extending gains overnight and then surging sharply higher once regular trading resumed Wednesday morning.

Alongside the earnings beat, Huron raised its full-year 2026 guidance, now projecting revenue before reimbursable expenses of between $1.85 billion and $1.89 billion and adjusted earnings per share of between $9.00 and $9.40. The updated guidance compares with a prior range of $8.35 to $9.15 per share issued earlier this year, and the midpoint of the new outlook would represent a 17% increase over the company’s 2025 results, according to Chief Financial Officer John Kelly.

Company executives attributed the strong performance to broad-based growth across Huron’s three main operating segments, along with a growing contribution from artificial intelligence-related work and recent acquisitions. Chief Executive Officer C. Mark Hussey said artificial intelligence has become an increasingly significant driver of the company’s digital services business. Total bookings tied to Huron’s digital capabilities rose more than 20% during the first half of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier, with more than 60% of those bookings now involving either direct AI-related work or engagements substantially supported by Huron’s proprietary AI tools, up from approximately 35% of comparable bookings during the first half of 2025. Digital revenue before reimbursable expenses rose 9% both year over year and sequentially during the second quarter, reaching a new company record.

Huron’s June acquisition of RelateCare, a provider of AI-enabled clinical and patient-access managed services, also contributed to the quarter’s strength. RelateCare’s results were incorporated into Huron’s healthcare segment beginning with a partial second quarter following the acquisition’s June 3 closing date. The company said it expects RelateCare to contribute approximately $30 million in revenue before reimbursable expenses during 2026, along with roughly $0.10 in adjusted earnings per share for the year.

Wednesday’s rally builds on a stretch of strong performance for Huron shares heading into the earnings report. The stock had already climbed 17.4% over the month leading up to Tuesday’s results, significantly outpacing the broader professional services sector, which had averaged gains of just 1.1% over the same period. Ahead of the earnings release, the average analyst price target for Huron stood at $184.25, compared with a pre-earnings share price of $112.30, suggesting Wall Street had already anticipated meaningful upside potential in the stock even before Wednesday’s dramatic surge.

Analyst sentiment toward Huron has been mixed in the weeks leading up to the earnings report. Wedbush maintained an “outperform” rating on the stock along with a $160 price target in a research note issued in early May. Truist Financial had set a $155 price target with a “buy” rating in early June. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating in mid-June. However, Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from “buy” to “hold” in a note issued July 12, just over two weeks before the earnings release, while Weiss Ratings had separately lowered its rating on the stock from “hold (c+)” to “hold (c)” in mid-May, reflecting a degree of caution among some analysts heading into the report that Wednesday’s results appear to have significantly outpaced.

Huron Consulting Group provides consulting services primarily to organizations in the healthcare, education and commercial sectors, helping clients with strategy, operations, technology implementation and other advisory work. The company’s healthcare and education-focused consulting practices have historically formed the core of its business, though its digital and AI-related consulting offerings have become an increasingly important growth driver in recent quarters, a trend that management highlighted repeatedly in discussing Wednesday’s results.

Huron’s return on equity for the quarter stood at 29.41%, with a net margin of 5.94%, according to the company’s reported financial metrics. The company’s stock had a market capitalization of roughly $2 billion prior to Wednesday’s surge, based on the pre-rally share price, a figure that has grown substantially as a result of Wednesday’s trading activity.

Investors are likely to continue watching Huron’s execution against its newly raised full-year guidance in the coming quarters, along with the pace of integration for its recent RelateCare acquisition and the continued growth trajectory of its digital and AI-related consulting bookings, as key indicators of whether Wednesday’s sharp rally reflects a durable reassessment of the company’s growth prospects or a more short-lived reaction to a single standout quarterly result.