WILL AMAZON

Mar 12 2026ENTERTAINMENT

A New Kid on the Block: A Teen’s Fight with Anxiety

Will Ropp, who has acted in shows like “The Way Back” and “Love, Victor, ” decided to step behind the camera. He wanted a script that felt real. Ropp tried to sign up for The Black List, but the site said he had no film credits. He then used a friend’s login and looked through about one hundred scri

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Mar 07 2026TECHNOLOGY

Amazon Fire TV’s Hidden Gaming Power

Amazon Fire TV users often think it only streams shows and movies. But the device can also become a cloud gaming console, thanks to a feature many miss. This service lets people play high‑end games on their TV without buying expensive hardware. The gaming platform is called Luna, and it wor

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Mar 04 2026ENTERTAINMENT

Audible Adds Big‑Name True Crime and Investigation Podcasts

Amazon’s audio platform is expanding its nonfiction lineup by merging several well‑known investigative shows under one banner. The move follows the company’s recent reorganization of its Wondery division, which had previously hosted popular series such as “Dr. Death” and “Over My Dead Body. ” Now, t

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Mar 03 2026BUSINESS

Amazon Buys GWU Campus for Tech Hub

Amazon has announced a purchase of the George Washington University campus in Virginia, paying $427 million for the site. The deal gives Amazon the right to build a data‑center or IT facility in Ashburn, Virginia. The university can keep its programs running there for up to five years before the cam

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Feb 18 2026EDUCATION

Barbour’s Quiet Fight for Equality

William “Wilbur” Miller Barbour grew up in Middletown and later made a name for himself far beyond his hometown. After finishing high school there, he went on to study at Elizabethtown College and then pursued a career in social work. He joined the National Urban League, where he helped plan program

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Feb 15 2026TECHNOLOGY

Smart Doorbells: A Double-Edged Sword for Society

Amazon's Ring doorbells were designed to help people feel safe. They can alert you if someone is at your door and even record video. But recently, these devices have sparked a big debate. Some people think they are helpful. Others worry they could be used to spy on people. A recent TV ad for Ring s

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Feb 14 2026CRIME

Ames Creator Shines Light on Unsolved Crime's Impact

Willy Nast, a resident of Ames, has taken a unique approach to true-crime storytelling. His podcast, "City of Lights, " focuses on the aftermath of a tragic event rather than the crime itself. The story begins in Aurora, Illinois, where Nast, then a 22-year-old creative writing student, knocked on t

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Feb 11 2026TECHNOLOGY

Amazon Engineers Push Back on Internal AI Tool Rules

Amazon’s internal teams are feeling the squeeze from new rules that limit their use of Anthropic’s Claude Code in everyday work. Even though the company backs Anthropic heavily and sells its AI services through AWS Bedrock, employees can’t deploy Claude in live products without special permission.

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Jan 29 2026BUSINESS

Amazon's Big Job Cuts and the AI Factor

Amazon is letting go of about 16, 000 corporate workers. This is the second big round of job cuts in just a few months. The company says it wants to use AI to do some of the work instead. They also want to make things simpler and get rid of extra layers in the company. Amazon didn't say which parts

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Jan 29 2026POLITICS

Big Spender: Amazon's Pricey Bet on Melania

Amazon has been making waves with its massive investment in a documentary about Melania Trump. The company shelled out a whopping $40 million for the rights to the film, which is a lot more than what Disney was willing to pay. The documentary, directed by Brett Ratner, follows Melania Trump in the l

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