Culture

Mamdani and NYC DOT Temporarily Co-Name Manhattan Streets for Each Champion Knick

Mayor Mamdani and NYC DOT are temporarily co-naming Manhattan streets for each member of the champion Knicks, with each blue-and-orange sign matching a street number to the player's jersey number along Sixth and Seventh Avenues for four weeks.

Culture

Ice Cube's Big3 to Go Public via $290 Million SPAC Merger With Graf Global

Big3, the 3-on-3 basketball league co-founded by Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz in 2017, will go public through a $290 million SPAC merger with Graf Global, trading as TONT and expected to close in the fourth quarter.

Intelligence Brief

The Intelligence Brief: Gemini's Benchmark Sweep, the Knicks' Title and Free-Agency Open, and Kobe's Draft Day — June 27, 2026

Gemini 2.5 Pro swept the science benchmarks while Claude held AI's best paid-conversion rate; the Knicks' first title in 53 years gives way to a June 30 free-agency open; and Nike's Kobe 'Draft Day' Pack turns a 1996 draft slight into a 14-shoe story.

Culture

Mitchell & Ness and Roc Nation Launch a Reasonable Doubt 30th Anniversary Collection

Mitchell & Ness, Roc Nation, and JAY-Z launched a limited Reasonable Doubt 30th-anniversary capsule of Yankees-style jerseys ($400) and a $1,000 varsity jacket, with restocks at the July 10-12 Yankee Stadium shows.

Culture

Ford Foundation Names Ursula Burns, Former Xerox CEO, Board Chair

The Ford Foundation elected Ursula Burns — former Xerox CEO and the first Black woman to run a Fortune 500 company — as the first African American woman to chair its board in the foundation's 90-year history.

Culture

Crunch Fitness Names Chequan Lewis CEO, Succeeding Jim Rowley

Crunch Fitness named Chequan Lewis CEO, effective immediately, with Jim Rowley moving to Executive Chairman. Lewis, a Howard and Harvard Law graduate who joined as president in 2024, helped grow Crunch past 550 locations.

Technology

Fisk University's $400 Million Campus Data Center Draws Community Pushback

Fisk University's $900M Quantum Leap plan includes a $400M, 30-megawatt data center on its North Nashville campus, pitched as a revenue source for the HBCU but drawing petitions and pushback from alumni and neighbors.

Culture

Google Maps and Roc Nation Launch a JAY-Z 30 Map of Reasonable Doubt's New York

Google Maps and Roc Nation launched an interactive JAY-Z 30 map of New York landmarks tied to Reasonable Doubt's 30th anniversary, anchored by the Bowery Station experience in retired subway cars at 10 Kenmare Street.

Culture

NBA-Sanctioned NINJA BASKETBALL ARMY Reimagines 16th-Century Japan Through Basketball

NINJA BASKETBALL ARMY, an NBA-sanctioned story brand from Japanese collective NINJA BASKETBALL ANONYMOUS, builds a parallel 16th-century Japan where ninja clans seek unification through basketball rather than bloodshed.

Culture

World Cup Anime Reimagines 2026 Matches as Anime, Passing 50,000 Followers

@WorldCupAnime, an account recasting 2026 World Cup moments as AI-generated anime clips, has passed 50,000 followers since launching in June — including anime edits of France's win over Norway.

Culture

Saks Emerges From Bankruptcy and Rebrands as Exemplar Luxury Group

Saks Global emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and renamed itself Exemplar Luxury Group, cutting debt by nearly 75% and slimming to 49 Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Bergdorf Goodman stores focused on high-end service.

Culture

Mamdani and the Whitney Museum Launch a Free World Cup Art Guide Across NYC

Mayor Mamdani, the NY/NJ Host Committee, and the Whitney Museum launched a free, artist-designed World Cup activity guide citywide — complete it and get free Whitney admission through July 31.